Disclaimer: Hey guess what? ...yeah, they're still not mine.
A/N: At the suggestion of Standout4Christ, I've made some brief alterations to the first chapter of this story, with the intent of giving a bit of a physical description of Terry. The changes are listed below, for those who don't want to go back, re-read the chapter, and pick out the differences. Hopefully the additions willl help with any mental images of Terry you readers are trying to form. ^.^ Feel free to send me any other suggestions or comments, either through reviews or private message. Any feedback is appreciated!
So instead, I discovered just why America has a problem with illegal immigrants. Getting a job under the table, with no ID, was surprisingly easy. So was finding a place to stay, once I had the cash in hand. From there, it was just a question of working my way up the quasi-legal job ladder. It was strange, and yet liberating, to be completely free from my old life. I found myself taking interesting turns in personality.
I'd been a reclusive classics major who only went out for special occasions before - a library geek, an academic, more into my books than the traditional 'girly' things. After a year in this alternate reality, I only set foot in the library to use the internet - and infrequently for that. Instead, I spent most of my time either waiting tables at Eric's Family Restaurant and Gas Station, on the outskirts of San Francisco, or hanging out with the friends I'd acquired, either in bars, going to movies, shopping, or other outings. I actually went tanning regularly now, and found myself concerned with my hair and makeup, where before such things had been of no interest to me. I suppose it was my way of dealing - I couldn't go back to my old life, so I chose to just forget it, to become as different from it as possible.
...
"Hi, my name's Terry, I'll be your server. What can I get for you this morning? Trucker's specials all around?" I asked, tucking my shoulder-length brown hair behind one ear as I surveyed the four men that were our first customers for the day. A more different group of people I couldn't imagine. Though their trucks were sitting out in the lot, only one had the stereotypical trucker look, complete with the baseball hat. Two of them had the classic sports team jock look down, and the last obviously had either some relation to the army or really liked the look.
...
"Nice lone ranger entrance," Chelsey commented, startling me, and I jerked my head around to find her peering over my shoulder - quite the feat, considering I was six feet even, and she was well under that.
"Thank you," the trucker said with a nod, bringing my attention back to him.
- Chapter 3 -
I didn't hear from Hammond again, so I just continued as normal. Eric was a bit terse around me for awhile, but eventually got back to his normal self, and Magnus kept stopping by. Summer ended, autumn passed, and winter rolled around. Magnus apparently took my half-hearted complaints about the green of the season to heart though - it was nice to be able to comment on the differences between San Francisco and my native Calgary to him, even if he didn't get most of them - because he asked me if I wanted to go somewhere for Christmas. Someplace in the mountains, say, where there was snow. I, of course, said yes.
I literally had to beg Eric for the time off, but I managed to get a week and a half off, from the 22nd to the 2nd. I was unbelievably happy when Magnus picked me up and we headed out, me practically bouncing in the seat. Magnus was entertained, accusing me of being 2 years old as I squeed over the first appearance of snow - I ignored him and kept on in blissful happiness, choosing not to make a pointed comment about him being an old fart.
Our destination, at the end, was a cabin at a resort - quite probably very expensive, and containing only one bedroom. I was amused by this, especially when mentioning it made Magnus look extremely uncomfortable before changing the topic. I let him be on it, though I was curious as to how sleeping arrangements would work - I still wasn't sure if the human I was seeing was a holoform or a robotic avatar or what, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was another reason he'd slept apart from me all this time, besides my assumption of perceived organic expectations that he wasn't willing, or perhaps able, to investigate.
Once we were settled, we had to go get some food for the cupboards and fridge - I refused to let Magnus order in every night, though he said he was perfectly willing and able. We ended up coming back with a fair bit, as well as a pre-cooked chicken and fries for supper. After eating, we made a fire and snuggled as we chatted, me still giddy over the snow. When it came time to go to bed, I decided to have pity on Magnus, though.
"I'm gonna go to bed," I said with a yawn. "As long as you're fine staying up to make sure the fire dies by yourself?"
"I'll be fine," he said, seeming relieved at the easy out. "You go to bed, you're tired from the trip."
"K, good night then," I said with a smile, and heading to the bedroom. I don't think he joined me that night - I woke to him cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Bacon and eggs, with toast. I don't know why I was surprised that he could cook, but I was, and pleasantly so. The food was delicious.
Over breakfast we debated what to do that day, and by the end I had won in my demands for a Christmas tree and Christmas present shopping. This of course brought up the curious question of 'what do you buy a Autobot for Christmas?' Fortunately, my tradition of buying absolutely nothing useful served me well - I found an amusing little bobble head of Thor for his dash, along with a book about Star Trek physics and how they were slowly becoming reality. I figured he wouldn't get the first (since it was in direct relation to my greatly-amused observation about how 'Transformers: Animated' Ultra Magnus was robot Thor - my brother had staunchly denied it, and I'd had great fun teasing him about it), but the second would probably entertain him if he hadn't already read it, and maybe help if I dragged him to anymore SciFi. I also bought him a scarf, because it entertained me, and it was blue and white. I figured it fit my 'nothing useful' tradition, since he had no need for it.
Of course, just shopping for him wasn't enough, and I dragged him out the next day to help me shop for my friends and co-workers in San Francisco. He was good-natured about it, even coming up with a few good ideas himself, and buying the occasional present himself for friends. I continued to give Magnus excuses to stay up past when I went to bed, so I don't think he ever actually used the bed, except on Christmas Eve, when he came to snuggle. He was up in the morning before me, making breakfast, so I didn't know long he'd stayed, but it had been nice.
He enjoyed his presents the next day, though as anticipated, he seemed confused about the bobble-head. The book he did actually seem interested in, and the scarf he immediately put on, amusing me. He'd gotten me a few things as well - a book about classic Greek literature, which he claimed was because I seemed interested in the subject. I was surprised he'd caught it, since I'd tried to stay away from the classics, still trying to avoid my old life. The book was a little simplistic for someone with a BA in classics, but it was appreciated, an unexpectedly welcome reminder of my past. Like a good boyfriend, he also got me a rather nice selection of chocolate, which I started consuming as soon as I opened them. He also passed on a gift from 'Orien' and 'Ariel' - a DVD of a movie Magnus and I had gone to see awhile back, and had enjoyed.
New Years Eve we went to a party the resort was holding, counting down with everyone else before heading home, me lightly buzzed from the champagne. I dragged Magnus to bed with me that night, though for nothing more than some intense kisses before falling asleep. He was again up before me to the next morning, making breakfast, which he served to me in bed.
"It's hard to think this vacation is almost over," I said as I finished, Magnus nabbing a last grape from the fruit salad he'd made before moving the breakfast tray off the bed.
"I hope that's because you've been enjoying yourself," Magnus said as he leaned back against the bed.
"No, I absolutely loathed every moment," I told him with happy sarcasm as I snuggled up to him.
"Glad to hear it," Magnus said with a chuckle. There was a long pause. "Terry..." he trailed off, and I looked up at him, finding an odd expression on him face.
"What's up?" I asked him curiously. He glanced away, out the window.
"I - there's something I wanted to speak with you about," he sounded uncomfortable, and I frowned slightly.
"Is it bad?" I asked.
"It could be," he said hesitantly, and I looked at him for a moment, wondering suddenly if this was where he told me he was an alien. "It's important that I speak with you about it, however."
"Well, I'm here, and listening," I told him, as soothingly as I could, though inwardly I was trying to kick my mind into high gear, trying to figure out the best way to handle this.
"Could we go outside?" the request would have been random if I didn't know what to expect.
"If it helps, sure," I said with a small smile, and crawled out of bed to get dressed as Magnus headed out ahead of me. After I bundled up, I followed him out, finding him standing in the snow next to 'his truck' in his jeans and t-shirt, not even having bothering with socks or shoes. This was definitely it. "What did you want to talk about, Magnus?" I asked as I headed for him.
"Stop," he said suddenly without looking at me, and I instinctively froze in place. He turned to look at me, his expression uncertain. "Sorry, I...need some space for this. Terry, I'm not what I appear to be." He hesitated only a moment longer before his human self blinked out of existence - answering my question of hologram versus android avatar - and then he transformed.
It was, perhaps, a slightly longer than normal transformation. It certainly seemed to take longer than Optimus had in the movies, but I watched passively, trying not to let my fascination show as I watched his pieces shift and rearrange. Once the transformation had stopped, he shook himself slightly, sprinkling the area around him, including me, with melted snow. I ducked my head and waited for the shower to stop before looking back up at him, finding that he'd crouched down, so he wasn't towering above me anymore. There was silence for a moment, as I observed him, and he observed me.
"You're not surprised." He seemed to be the surprised one, ironically.
"No, I'm not," I told him, figuring if he was telling me the truth, it was time I told him the whole truth.
"Why not?" he asked, frowning. His face, while made of metal plates, was similar to his human one, and surprisingly easy to read.
"I've known who you were since you told me your name. Or, well, once you told me your name and then Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide showed up," I told him.
"You were at Mission City," he said after a pause, seeming tense.
"Never been there in my life," I told him truthfully.
"Then how...?" he frowned again.
"You know how I told Hammond about how I got drunk one night in Calgary and woke up the next morning in San Francisco and didn't exist?" I asked, and Magnus nodded, a curiously human-seeming gesture. "My friends and family and I weren't the only things that didn't exist anymore. Some movies suddenly didn't exist, and in their place, there were some curious news stories that corresponded frighteningly well to the events of the missing movies. Those movies? Were called Transformers. And they were about the Autobot's battles on earth against their enemies, the Decepticons." Magnus stared down at me for a long moment.
"I'd ask you why you didn't say something, but I suspect I'd have the question tossed back in my face," he said slowly, finally.
"You would," I said with a nod. "I decided pretty early on that I'd let you tell me when you were ready, though I almost blew it that first day. It was so very tempting to snap back at Ironhide with a far too pointed comment." Magnus smiled slightly. "By the way, why doesn't he like me?"
"He doesn't not like you, specifically. He doesn't like the fact that I like you, a human," Magnus replied.
"Ah, ok," I said with a nod, and Magnus frowned once again.
"You know a lot more than just who and what I am, don't you?" he said.
"I'd like to think I do, though I have no idea how correct it all is," I said with a shrug.
"I think this conversation will be a lot longer than I expected," Magnus said as he straightened. Then he collapsed into transformation again, going much quicker this time, and when he was a truck again, he popped open a door. The hologram didn't appear again, and the driver's door was the one that popped open, so I climbed in. Magnus' engine didn't start, but there was heat inside, which I was suddenly grateful for, realizing how cold it had been outside.
"I thought this would be more comfortable." Magnus' voice came from the stereo, and I nodded towards it.
"Probably. Questions though - where do I aim my comments, and can you see me like this?" I asked.
"Anywhere and yes." Magnus replied with a chuckle. "Most humans find it easiest to address the stereo."
"I may fall back on that," I told him, though I didn't specifically aim the comment to the stereo. "So. Where do we start?"
"What do you know?" Magnus asked curiously. After I laughingly told him that was a pretty broad topic, he started asking more specific questions, and I returned them in kind. I found it surprising, how much of what I knew was accurate - and he was surprised by just how much I knew. He wasn't really shocked until I asked about Primus, though, at which point he explained that, to prevent problems, Optimus had essentially ordered the Autobots not to mention their god if they could help it.
"That's a rough order," I commented, making a face.
"He wasn't too pleased at having to make it, but considering how upset humans get about religion, he figured it was best just to avoid the subject," Magnus replied.
"Probably a wise idea. Though I'd love to see a face off between some of the religious nut-job senators and an Autobot," I said with amusement.
"We wouldn't," Magnus said dryly, and I laughed and conceded the point, promising I wouldn't mention Primus to anyone else, and we continued with our Q&A. Lunch eventually brought an end to the questions, and only then did Magnus' hologram make a re-appearance, helping me make lunch, though he didn't have any.
"How did you eat, anyways?" I asked.
"It's easy enough to simulate with a few extra force fields - it's just messy to dispose of later," Magnus answered with a shrug, and I paused for a moment, thinking that through.
"Yeah, ok, ew," I said, and Magnus chuckled as I continued eating. After lunch, when we'd cleaned up, Magnus essentially dragged me down onto the couch so we could snuggle, which brought to my mind the most important question I had.
"So, to repeat myself from our first date...you show up and stare at me creepily, then a few months later, ask me out. Where did that come from?" I asked, watching him curiously as I spoke. He looked down at me with a faint smile.
"What, all that knowledge you have doesn't include that a Cybertronian could like a Human?" he asked, and I thought about it for a moment.
"No," I admitted finally. "The idea is nice, but I would think there would be...compatibility issues." Magnus chuckled.
"Physical ones, yes, but that matters very little to us Cybertronians," he said. "I'm sure you're aware of the size variance among our own species - now try to imagine a culture maintaining any sort of physical compatibility taboos with that."
"Good point," I replied.
"Besides that..." Magnus trailed off, then cleared his throat. "You'd probably be better off asking Ratchet." I had a feeling that wasn't what he was going to say, but didn't question him on it. We spent most of the rest of the day talking, then at night, he actually followed me to the bedroom, which led to questions about what he actually did at night, and subsequent teasing from me about icky organic mating rituals. He teased right back about kinky robot sex, a phrase he'd apparently picked up from Mikaela Banes, before bidding me goodnight and disappearing.
The next morning, the last day of our vacation, I packed up quickly, and we hit the road. Magnus actually asked me to take the driver's seat, letting his hologram rest.
"It's not like you'll get pulled over anyways," he commented.
"Oh?" I asked.
"You haven't noticed the diplomatic plates? After an entire year?" he asked with amusement as we headed off.
"Honestly, no," I said with a laugh. "I was distracted by other things."
"Well, I assure you, even if we are pulled over, I know a few people in high places. I did get Hammond off your back, after all." Magnus sounded smug at that.
"That was you? What, was that you phoning him or something?" I asked with amusement.
"No, actually, that was his boss, who I'd just gotten off the phone with," Magnus said with a snicker. "Though, I suppose it was the least I could do - we found out later that you were only brought to the government's attention because they, as usual, have been keeping an eye on us, and tried to do a background check on you."
"And that didn't turn out so well," I said with a laugh.
"No, not really," Magnus agreed. It was funny, how much easier it was to talk to each other now - not that we had a problem before, but that invisible wall had come down.
We were almost back to San Francisco when a familiar yellow Camaro suddenly passed us, horn blaring, then started weaving back and forth in front of Magnus. Magnus staunchly ignored it, continuing with our conversation, until finally I gave in.
"OK, what's up with Bumblebee?" I asked with amusement as Magnus took a turn and Bumblebee had to do some fancy maneuvering to catch up.
"Check the mirrors," Magnus offered, and I did.
"OK, so what's up with Bumblebee ahead and Optimus Prime riding your tail?" I asked, even more curious now.
"I've had my communications blocked since yesterday. They knew I was going to tell you, but I haven't spoken to them yet to tell them the outcome, and my dear brother is a bit impatient. Also bored apparently, since Elita is off-planet."
"You've been ignoring them? Why?" I asked with a chuckle.
"I'm avoiding having to explain, for one thing. And for another I figured that I might deserve to enjoy the last day of my vacation with you in solitude, instead of having them pestering me to know if I'd told you yet." The last part was said quite pointedly, and considering how Bumblebee abruptly straightened out ahead of us, then dropped back, I figured he'd heard. Both Bumblebee and Optimus stayed behind us, however.
"Are they going to follow us all the way back to my place?" I asked uncertainly.
"...Likely," Magnus said with a sigh. "As I said, my brother is bored. It rarely happens, but he's a pest when it does." A loud truck horn suddenly sounded from right behind us, startling me, and I cursed.
"I take it they can hear us," I said.
"A bit. They're trying to eavesdrop, but all they can really get is bits and pieces of me," Magnus replied.
"Ah. Is there any way we could ditch them?" I asked.
"Probably not, though they should follow me once we get to your place," Magnus said with a sigh.
As it turned out, they didn't. Somehow or another, we all ended up in my living room, Optimus apparently determined to tell every embarrassing story he could about Magnus, who was returning the favour, while Bee put in his own commentary, and I just sat and listened with amusement.
"OK, I'm going to bed," I said eventually, my cheeks hurting from grinning so much. It was around two in the morning. "You three clear out."
"Yes ma'am!" Bee said cheerily, and I was amused at how he practically dragged Optimus out of my apartment, leaving just Magnus and I.
"Aaaand...now he's harassing me over the communications channel. Primus, he's bored silly," Magnus said with a groan about thirty seconds after the door had shut behind Bee and Optimus.
"You'd better go keep him entertained," I said, giving Magnus a peck on the lips. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Terry," he said, pulling me back in for a deeper kiss before heading out the door. I smiled faintly before heading to bed.