June pulled on her sweater, being sure to be bundled up when she went to meet Jack; didn't want to cut her visit with him short, least of all because she got cold. And in a desert, it got cold fast at night.
When she left her room, she flinched at seeing the closed door to Jack's room. Even knowing he was still alive, that he was still him...it was hard to come to grips with the fact he could never live with her-at least, not unless they came to some arrangement with the Autobots and June didn't see that happening even if Optimus was telling the truth.
His results showed he was indeed where he said he was, and every suspicious blip had been accounted for. Still, for Jack's sake she wasn't going to fully invest in Optimus' innocence until she could be certain this wasn't some trick to make them let their guard down.
Paranoid yes, but her son had been a prisoner on the Nemesis for months and she wasn't going to let that happen again.
June made her way downstairs, but after noting that she still had at least an hour before chancing going to the construction site, she saw a flash of blue outside. The woman looked out the window, and sure enough she saw Arcee sitting on the curb of the driveway.
She debated talking to Arcee, as she kept June in the dark as much as the other Autobots regarding Jack, but if there was one bot Jack was likely to let near him it would be Arcee.
Or it could blow up if Jack regarded her deception as a bigger betrayal-not more than Optimus', but close.
Still, even the possibility of her helping Jack would be worth it. And so she went outside, and began to roll Arcee towards her garage.
Unfortunately, her neighbour, who was just getting in from work, saw her. "Isn't that Jack's motorcycle? Did they find him?"
June flinched, her hands tightening on the handlebars. "No." she said quietly. "One of his friends had borrowed it, and just returned it earlier. He's...still missing."
Her neighbour winced. "Geez, I'm sorry, June. Me and my big mouth."
"It was only a mistake." June replied, but still got into the garage as quickly as she could.
Arcee transformed once the door was down, and looked down at June in concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"
June nodded shakily. "Yes, knowing Jack's alive has been more of a relief to my nerves," her expression darkened, "especially since he's not with Knock Out."
Arcee mirrored her expression. "Don't worry, June, he will pay."
June didn't doubt it, but she'd hoped she could have had a crack at him-unlikely as it would be. "What are you doing here though?"
"I know it's not a good idea, but...I needed to talk to someone about Optimus." Arcee said uneasily. "I wish I didn't need to bring this up to you, but...but when we do have Jack back with us, I want to be able to look at him and not think still following Optimus is a betrayal to him."
June sighed. It weighed on her mind too, because she knew it wasn't a stretch to assume that Jack probably trusted only a very few right now. "Explaining to him that Optimus might be telling the truth isn't going to mean much unless we can give him proof that something else is going on."
Arcee furrowed her optic ridges. "You think something's wrong?"
"The way I see it, either Optimus is very good at lying, or someone did something to Jack." June replied. "I know humans and Cybertronians are different, but is there anyway to influence a bot? You must have viruses if Optimus got sick."
"There are, but I'm not exactly familiar with that area. It's more Ratchet's forte. I could question him about it. He probably wants to clear Optimus' name more than anyone." Arcee said.
June nodded. "Could you ask? I think I'll just hang back for now."
When the femme nodded, June made her way out and noticed the glow of the ground bridge as she got into her car. Starting it up, June kept her eyes on the road as she made her way to the construction site. She parked her vehicle behind a pile of beams, and settled in to wait for the sign of her son flying in.
She didn't have to wait long, it turned out. The yellow and purple jet stuck out in the dim dark blue sky, and he landed just a few feet from her. She smiled up at him, but froze when she heard a car, though Jack held up a hand.
"It's okay, it's just Wheeljack."
"Just?" The white and green mech sounded offended, and when he transformed, he sent Jack a look that conveyed as much. When he looked at June, it was all confidence. "See? Told you I'd find him."
Jack smiled, and June realized with a start that he was smiling at Wheeljack. "I believe I was the one who found you."
The Wrecker waved it off. "Details." he smirked back at Jack. "I'll be back. Gonna check the perimeter."
Jack's smile faded when Wheeljack drove off, and he sighed, looking worriedly down at June. "It's...nice to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too, but I think you've got something bigger to say." June said gently.
Jack furrowed his ridges, and he glanced in the direction Wheeljack had gone in. "I...I don't know why it happened, but...I've gotten a transference crush on him." he rubbed a servo over his face. "I know its not healthy, but it just snuck up on me."
June thought deeply before answering. This was not something that deserved a cavelier attitude towards. "It might not be healthy, but it's not uncommon." she began delicately. "It's nothing to be ashamed of though, it just happens. You went through something terrible and your mind is trying to adjust by growing attached to someone who's shown you concern."
Jack frowned only deeper. "It shouldn't be Wheeljack then." he admitted softly. "Will...will it fade?"
"Yes, in time." June assured him. "It's best you talk to him about it though, if only so he knows that it's only infatuation."
Jack groaned, rubbing his temples. "I hate Knock Out," he spat, "I hate him so much."
June didn't say anything, knowing that sometimes all that was needed was just a listening ear.
Knock Out was restless. He hadn't been allowed out again to find his Jack, he hadn't been allowed to torture that rookie when he'd been captured, and he hadn't had anything to do while stuck in that wall until Starscream had shown up out of nowhere and then was his presence deemed 'necessary'.
His time was wasted, especially since every moment Jack was free meant the longer the hold he had over his spark could weaken. He wasn't denying how much fun he'd have asserting himself over his Jack, claiming his prize over and over again. Knock Out's optics closed in bliss, but he had to stop himself from reaching for his spike.
He was on duty, after all. There'd be plenty of time to fantasize about having Jack back with him later.
The red mech looked between Megatron and Starscream, both hooked up to the monitor for the cortical psychic patch, and he crossed his arms as he waited for the show to start.
It was disappointing really, seeing Starscream's silly dreams being played, watching as he declared himself Lord of the Decepticons, did those ridiculous dance moves, that-
-Knock Out's optics burned. His energon began to boil.
On the screen, the fake Starscream spun and had reached back, his servo grabbing onto another winged bot's servo and pulled them in. The bot didn't resist, laughing as he wrapped his servos around the fake Starscream's neck.
"I can't hear you." The order he'd given the fake Vehicons was repeated, much lower this time as his servos rested on the purple and yellow seeker's waist.
The fake Jack grinned, bumping his forehead against the other seeker's. "All hail Starscream." he whispered, and tilted his head up to press their lips together.
Megatron raised an optic ridge, while the actual Starscream's wings drooped as he looked nervous. "Dare I ask?"
"He's...no one." Starscream replied quickly. "Just part of an...active imagination."
Knock Out grounded his denta together as he glared at Starscream's body. To know that Jack actually was with Starscream all this time, that the seeker had fantasized about touching him...it made his energon boil further.
But now he did know, and Starscream was going to pay.