Heart to Spark :..: Cliffjumper/Maryse Bélanger : fluff :
Her foot tapped against the pavement, arms crossed over her chest as she felt herself shaking. The cold weather was less than generous with her, wind whipping her hair around her head. She scowled at the empty road, her mind wandering to the Cybertronian mech who had been due to pick her up about fifteen minutes ago, and with the day she was having, she very much needed to get away from this stupid private school. The cuts and bruises on her arms stung with each powerful blow of the wind, and the dried blood on her lower lip felt gross and bothered her.
If only those pompous girls had left her alone, she wouldn't look like a mess. Maryse only ever looked her best, even when in her uniform, but now, she looked like an Autobot after an intense battle; scratched up, bleeding (though not as much as they sometimes were), and sore. Her muscles ached to be able to recline in the warm seats that belonged to her guardian - that is, if he ever arrived. She pulled her arms closer to her body, hoping to muster up some warmth.
The French teenager hardly noticed the two-wheeler that pulled up in front of her, Sadie's image flickering before slowly disappearing, and she already knew who it was. She could recognize the Autobot femme anywhere, her distinctive alt-mode giving her away, and she sighed. Her engine roared as she drove closer, stopping in front of Maryse, perhaps to get a better look at her. After all, the human rarely showed the Autobots a disheveled girl, wanting them to know she was not a brutish person.
"Hop on," Arcee spoke, earning a slight smile from the brunette before she stretched her leg over the seat, gripping onto the handlebars and allowing herself to relax. Relieved that her companion had not pried for answers, she found herself leaning forward to rest her forehead on the cold metal. "I'd suggest you come up with a good explanation. I doubt Cliff's going to be happy when he sees you like this."
Rolling her eyes, the human sat straighter and looked down at the road, which was now rushing by. The wind cut against her skin, picked at her injuries and drew a wince from the vexed girl. "Whatever," she muttered under her breath, the bad day she had finally catching up to her and putting her in a worse mood yet. Under her, she heard Arcee chuckle as she slowed down, no longer speeding for the base and instead leisurely driving down the avenue.
Arcee was, for the most part, not a bad femme. In fact, other than Cliffjumper, she was the Autobot she felt closest to. The two didn't always spend time together (a given, seeing as there was still a war going on, even though Decepticon activity was slowly beginning to die down), but they were close. At the base, Maryse had no human companions to speak to when the others were busy, so she felt lonely sometimes. Not that she minded the peace and quiet the base offered when the only Cybertronian there was the medic, who wasn't too bad at intellectual conversation.
Mulling over all the Autobots in her mind, she found that she couldn't remember her life before them. Well she could, but it was strange. She had always been alone, a snot-nosed brat if there ever was one, and she had thought herself the center of the universe. Maryse realized that she was still the slightest bit narcissistic, but she had been so much worse. A laugh spilled passed her lips at the memory of her blatant discomfort at being put under Cliffjumper's protection. At the time, she had thought it the end of the world, ready to demand another partner, but now...
Now she knew that he was the best suited to help her see the world beyond her.
Her phone ripped her from her thoughts, vibrating in her pocket like a madman, and she glanced down. Dark red skirt slightly shaking with the movements of her cellphone, Maryse reached down and pulled out her phone, flipping it open and holding it to her ear, her other hand gripping tighter onto Arcee (who was stopped at a red light at the moment, thank God). "What's on your mind?"
"Feel the love, Maryse," his voice echoed through the receiver and wrapped around her heart, bringing a smile onto her face like it always seemed to do.
"Oh, sorry. I'll make sure to sing next time, Cliffjumper." She heard him chuckle on his head, her heart fluttering in her chest at the sound. Her hold on the handles loosened just slightly, her body relaxing and forgetting all about the aches that seemed to grow with each second. He was like her own personal medical treatment - not that either of them minded. "Seriously, what did you call for?"
Cliffjumper made a noise of offense, a joke on his part, before speaking again. "What, I can't just call ma fleur rare out of the love in my spark?" Hearing him speak French jolted her, sent a shock of affection through her body that left her fingers tingling and her heart feeling light.
She jokingly rolled her eyes, no longer feeling the wind against her. It was as though the world around her was shifting to leave her alone with nothing but his voice in her ear, and the faint feeling of his arms around her. That happened often, she noted, and he had told her it was because of his EM Field, something that Cybertronians could never hide from their intended, even if they were of a different species, apparently.
(Ratchet had explained to her what the term 'intended' meant, after Cliffjumper had laughed teasingly at her when she asked what it was and left to go chase a fleeting symbol of Decepticon activity. That conversation had been the only one where the old medic hadn't reprimanded her for her lack of Cybertronian knowledge. Needless to say, she was incredibly flattered to learn that Cliff was certain that they were meant to be, and suprised to find that she was certain of it too.)
"No, you can't."
"Fine," he huffed, "I guess you wouldn't accept that anyways. I called to say I'm sorry for not being there to get you from school. I was on a scavenger hunt, helping Optimus and Bee mine some energon we found. Every bit counts, you know?" Maryse nodded her head, understanding that the survival of the Autobots was more important than who retrieved her.
"It's fine, Cliffjumper. Don't bust your aft to explain yourself, it's a bit embarrassing." She teased, hearing him laugh, and it was so loud and vibrant that if she closed her eyes, it would be like he was here with her. The French girl could hear the faint sound of confused beeps and whirs (Bumblebee, probably asking what was so funny), and then a brief explanation from the bull-horned mech.
"Oh whatever! Primus, I'm not the only one that's done something embarrassing before," he smirked on his end (she just knew he did), and she grew confused (which he knew). "Don't play dumb, Mary. Remember that time when I lightly tapped you into a lake, and you completely freaked out?"
"Well that's hardly my fault! The water was cold, imbécile!" She laughed as she spoke, a wide smile on her face. "Besides, I wasn't the one that knocked themselves unconscious after their sparkmate merely kissed them on the cheek."
Cliffjumper was laughing on his end, the same laugh that felt like safety, like home, to her. He was a cheerful mech, a stark contrast to the femme bringing her to the base (though she loved them both), and his joy always found a way to seep into her heart and make her smile too. "It was the first show of affection you showed me! I just got really excited, okay?"
Maryse raised a teasing eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips as she giggled. "Enough to slam your head against the ceiling?"
"Enough to want to kiss you somewhere else."
Her heart skipped a beat at his words, her gaze softening, and she let out a sigh. "You've kissed my heart, if it counts." She didn't speak very loudly, hoping that Arcee hadn't heard, but when the speed picked up just slightly, she knew that the cobalt blue femme had been listening. An embarrassed blush coated her cheeks as Cliffjumper chuckled under his breath, the kind of chuckle she knew meant he was feeling sheepish.
"You've done the same. I think it's only fair I returned the favor."
The French girl giggled, her hand readjusting her hold on her phone as she finally looked ahead. She saw that they were already on the road leading directly to the base, so she decided to end the call. "Alright you dork, we're almost to the base. See you there?"
"Of course you will."
She hung up the phone and dropped her phone back into her pocket, a contagious smile on her face. Until the world came crashing down around her, and she remembered just how much of a mess she looked. Grabbing the end of her sleeve, she brought it up to her lips and stuck her tongue out, wetting the fabric and beginning to wipe at the blood on her lip.
"Don't bother. He'll find out sooner or later."
Maryse realized that the femme wasn't wrong, so she let out a defeated sigh and dropped her hand, grabbing onto the handlebar again as the entrance opened up. Arcee raced in, the echoing sound of the large door closing behind them, and the human prepared herself for any reactions from the other Autobots. She didn't expect anyone to drop everything, of course, but stares were what she was expecting.
The two-wheeler stopped just under the archway at the end of the long corridor, and the brunette climbed off of the blue and pink femme to stretch her limbs. Her gaze skimmed over the large room, spotting the red mech at the other end of the room, and she began making a beeline for him. The telltale sound of a transformation resonated behind her, but she didn't turn to look.
Though Cliffjumper did.
His optics switched from his partner to his sparkmate, and his reaction was instantaneous. Pedes carrying him to her side, he knelt down to carefully wrap his servos around her body, raising her up to his chassis and hiding her from view. It was quite obvious that he did not want anyone to see her in this condition (even though they had all been in much worse). He said a quick farewell to the other Autobots before turning around and making his way to the nearest bathroom.
The walk was silent, Cliffjumper worriedly glancing down at her every once in a while, and it was terrible. Maryse was becoming aware of all the scratches and dried blood, and she felt like shit. He already had so much to worry about, and she didn't even consider cleaning herself up at Sapientes Academy. She wrapped her arms around her chest, hands carefully resting over her bruises to hide them.
Upon arriving to the bathroom, he placed her on her feet before disappearing, his holoform taking his place and standing only slightly taller than her (a 'gift' from the Decepticons - an upgrade that allowed their botform to just simply vanish when taking up their holoforms). He ushered her into the bathroom, following after her and closing the door behind them. He searched through the cabinets and grinned when he found what he was looking for, bringing out a medical kit and placing it on the sink.
His blue optics caught her light brown eyes, and she knew that he could see her frustration with herself, because he gave her his charming smile that reduced her to a flustered mess. Cliffjumper gently pushed her onto the toilet, his hands working on unbuttoning her school shirt as she untied the bow around her neck, dropping it to the floor and helping him with her top. Once it was off, she was left in a white tank top, revealing to him the other bruises that had been hiding above her elbows.
The Cybertronian got to work, ripping open a packet of alcohol pads and beginning to gently press them against her wounds, stinging her skin and making her hiss. He didn't have to say anything for her to know that he wanted to be told what happened, so Maryse began. "It happened directly after school. These stupid girls in my class tried to ambush me on my way to my locker. Sure, they landed a couple hits - bon Dieu," the exclamation was enough to make him falter.
"Sorry. Can't control the way this works," he held up the pad, before tossing it in the nearby trash can.
"I think you got all of them. You just have to use the bandages now, right?"
Cliffjumper grinned up at her, leaning up and fleetingly pressing his lips to her bloody ones, and he used his tongue to clean the blood from there. He didn't linger, instead nodding as he took out the bandages. "Right. Continue,"
Getting over the rush of blood to her face, Maryse composed herself enough to finish the story. "Anyways, they landed a couple hits, but I'm not weak. You've been teaching me how to defend myself, after all. I got the best of them and sent them running home. I think I broke one of their noses."
Laughter came tumbling passed his lips, and the noise made her smile down at him. He was nearly done by this point, only having to use bandages for one significantly nasty looking injury, but he kept stumbling. "I wish I'd been there to see that. Or to keep them off you."
"No," Maryse said, holding her arm steady as he calmed down. "I'm glad you weren't there. Because of that, I realized that I'm actually learning something."
His optics looked up at her, emotions swimming freely in them and telling her things he didn't have to say aloud. In that moment, she could swear that she felt his desire to kiss her right then and there, and knowing him, he would eventually get to it. Rising to his feet, he finished wrapping her wound and placed the remaining bandages in the kit. "Well, congratulations. I doubt they'll bother you again any time soon."
"I doubt it too," she replied, feeling his hands grab her own and trace patterns on the skin of her palm. "I do have the best teacher in the business."
"You bet your aft you do," Cliffjumper joked, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers in what she had taught him was an eskimo kiss. The show of affection nearly left her breathless, the two staring into each other's eyes, and she smiled up at him. His gaze momentarily dropped to her lips, and before she could muster up a response, he was kissing her. He intertwined their fingers as he closed his eyes.
Her eyes closed too, returning the affection and feeling him smile against her lips. He never slipped his tongue into her mouth, only using it to finish up his earlier work of cleaning up the blood on her lips, but the feeling made her shake just the slightest bit. His hands moved away from hers, snaking around her waist and lifting her to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck, straightening her back to reach him a little more easily while he bent down the slightest bit.
(It bothered her that even in his holoform, he was taller than her, but he couldn't get enough of it. He loved being able to tease her about her height, and she teased him right back.)
(Cliffjumper especially loved being taller when they kissed. Said it was cute.)
He swayed back and forth, taking her with him as he pulled his tongue back into his mouth. Maryse unexpectedly let out a slight whine, and her lips tugged into a pout when he chuckled. Finally feeling the need for air, she pushed away from him and looked down to the bathroom floor, breathing heavily. She heard him laughing happily down at her, and she swallowed the lump in her throat before gazing up at him.
Staring into his bright turquoise eyes felt hypnotizing, and it was in that moment that she knew that she could never love anyone - past, present, or future - as much as she loved Cliffjumper. He completed her more than she could ever hope to understand, and she was okay with that. He was her intended, after all, and she would do anything just to be able to wake up to the sight of his optics.
The realization was overwhelming at first, filling the human girl with fear and uncertainty. He loved her as much as she loved him (he had shown her enough times to assure her that this was correct), but she was a human. She would die long before him, her life practically a mere blink compared to his long one. Maryse wondered why God, or Primus, had made it so that someone so beautiful in both mind and body was destined to far outlive his intended. What kind of sick joke was being played?
He hummed under his breath, and she knew that somehow, he was well aware of the road her mind was walking, because the way he looked at her told her that he was okay with it. Cliffjumper was dedicated to her, just as she was to him, and if that meant having to love her now and be alone later, he would do it. He had been the one to tell her to live in the now, she remembered. So even though the issue pressed at the back of her head like the whispers of Death himself, she pushed the thoughts away and settled for resting her head against his chest.
"I'm proud of you for kicking aft, Mary." He spoke simply, but his tone dug deeper than just pride; he spoke with such a thick undertone of passion, and Maryse worked to ignore the tears threatening to surface. Live in the now, his voice echoed in her head, and she smiled. She finally understood why Optimus had assigned him as her guardian, and she would have to thank him later.
The war for Cybertron, for the freedom of sentient beings, it was a cruel one. There was no promise of tomorrow, no guarantee that any of them would rise above the ashes after the war finally ended. And even if she might die tomorrow, or Cliffjumper the day after, the mech wanted to face every tomorrow knowing that the girl he loved felt the same. He wanted to live any tomorrow they had with her, and who was she to deny herself that love?
"I've learned from the best, haven't I?"