I apologise for the unforgivable lateness of the update.

*dodges pitchforks and burning torches, hangs head in shame and stands in the naughty corner*

Seriously, I'm sorry guys. But there has been a LOT going on in life, my plot bunny committed suicide so I had to wait for a new one to be delivered, I've had some health problems, and my poor dog, Molly, has been very unwell. We honestly thought she wasn't going to make it at one point. I love her so much, and I just couldn't concentrate on writing. She's doing okay now, thankfully. *promptly dies of relief and is resurrected by pixies*

Aw. I just re-read the last chapter of this and couldn't help but smile there at the end. Sleepy little OP is so darn CUTE! ^_^ Definitely going to write more moments like that. I need to draw that moment or something. Just a tiny OP asleep in Tanya's arms. AW! *squee attack*

Author's Sheepish Note; Um, I completely forgot to include OP's flames in my description of him in the last chapters. (Thank you PrimesSparrow for telling me!) Let's just pretend I didn't, kay? Let's use our imagination and pretend he doesn't have any flames. Simply because I'm FAR too lazy to go back and change it. *laughs and hits self on head repeatedly* I am a BAD fangirl! BAD!

Oh yeah, this takes place about three months after the first movie. Just thought I'd tell y'all. :) And apparently, like me, Tanya hates humanity a little bit. Okay, a lot. But can you really blame us? Can you really blame us for hating a society that allowed the insult to literature named Twilight to even get past the publisher?

And now my minions, ONWARDS TO FLUFFINESS! LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT!

Chapter Two

Refugee

The howling cry of a blizzard roused Tanya from her slumber.

Groggily, she checked the clock. It was 11 o'clock in the morning. Sighing, she looked out the window. She'd forgotten to close the curtains, so she could see the way the snow flew past her window in large flakes, the morning sunshine obscured by the thick grey clouds heralding the arrival of icy reinforcements. The wind howled and changed direction, a number of large flakes smacked against the glass of the window with small taps.

Tanya shivered slightly and looked away, glancing down at the little robot that was still sleeping serenely in her arms. She felt a warm smile slide onto her face when she saw the way he was curled into her, his small hand placed gently in her own.

He's so tiny. Tanya had a silent conversation with herself. About the size of a two year old. Maybe even smaller. But he's obviously not a kid. So what, he's just really really small? Odd. Very odd indeed. And while we're on the subject of all things odd, Brain, how did he get in the middle of the moor all alone? Where did he even come from anyway? A lab? Is he some kind of...advanced weapon? Maybe a spy-drone? Are there creepy military people spying on me?

Then she paused, and mentally kicked herself.

What the hell Tanya?! Are you really that dense? A weapon? That's the stupid human arrogance and paranoia talking. He's too alive to be a lab creation. Get a hold of yourself woman!

A few moments passed.

Well, what do I do now? I can't do anything while he's asleep. I'll deal with whatever comes my way when he wakes up. No point sitting about doing nothing.

Tanya gently placed him down on the seat, and crept upstairs to get dressed. She rounded the stairs into her bedroom, her sleep-covered eyes assaulted by the bright blue of the walls, and fumbled about in her wardrobe, eventually pulling out a pair of jeggings and a long jumper. She showered and dressed quickly.

As she dried her hair, her thoughts wandered. Just who was this Optimus? Whatever he was, he definitely wasn't just a robot. She paused in her movements as she thought about the bad dreams Optimus had endured the night before, how she'd soothed him in a vain attempt to keep the demons at bay. She felt her heart clench at the memory of such torment and grief on his face as he slept. The way he'd cried something in a soft, poetic language before startling awake.

Poor little guy. She thought, turning off the hairdryer and quickly brushing a comb through her hair. I wonder what happened to give him such bad dreams.

Setting the comb down, Tanya stood up and grabbed her mother's handmade bracelet out of the drawer. Slipping it on her wrist, she smiled fondly at the memories it brought back. She made her way down the stairs, trying to be a quiet as possible just in case Optimus was still asleep.

Tanya crept into the living room, only to see Optimus sitting politely on the edge of the couch, watching the blizzard outside with an apparently mild interest.

"Oh, you're awake." She said, leaning on the arm of the couch.

He turned and smiled a little. "I have been online for a while Miss Willows."

"Please, just call me Tanya. 'Miss' makes me feel like a teacher."

Optimus was obviously utterly confused. "With the knowledge I have collected so far on your species social conduct, it leads me to believe it is considered well-mannered to refer to an unbonded human female by the title of 'Miss'. Is this information wrong?"

Tanya laughed. "No, no. It is polite, but I guess only with formal stuff, and depending on the person. Tanya works fine for me."

Optimus blinked, and Tanya got the impression that the little 'robot' was filing away everything she had just said. Presumably for future reference. He inclined his head courteously with a half-smile, and turned back to the blizzard outside. She sat down next to him, working up the courage to speak.

"Uh...Optimus, can I ask you something?"

Optimus turned his regal head back to her and nodded. Tanya gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened a little at the contact, but made no move to displace her.

"Look, you're not human, and you're without doubt not a robot. So...I don't want to sound rude or anything, but...what are you?" She asked.

To her surprise, a low chuckle escaped him. He shook his head in good humour and raised his head to look her in the eye.

"It never fails to amuse me, that question." He said, amusement flickering in those lovely eyes of his. Seeing her confused expression, he continued. "Every human asks the same thing, always in the same way. Almost word for word."

Tanya didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Regardless, in answer to your question, I am Cybertronian." Optimus said, serious once again.

"Cyber...tronian?" Tanya repeated the word slowly. "Y'know, I passed Geography with flying colours, and I've definitely never heard of that nationality. That means...you're not actually...uh...well..."

"From this planet?" Optimus finished her sentence, the amused glimmer returning to his eyes. "No. My group and I are from Cybertron. We left when war had consumed our home. There were two sides, mine, the Autobots, who seek peace. And the Decepticons, who know nothing of peace, but instead strive for power through the foulest of means."

"They don't sound too nice. Wait...Cybertron? Is that another planet?!"

"Yes. It is located in what you humans know as the Scutum-Centaurus Arm."

Tanya blinked in confusion. Her mind was blank for a few seconds. "Yeah, I don't know the relevance of that. Is it far away?"

"It is very far away, my homeworld is on the complete opposite side of the galaxy. But how could you not know this? Are you humans not taught the structure of your own galaxy as children?"

"No."

Optimus looked a little scandalised. "This I do not understand, and nor do I agree with. Even as sparklings we were taught the basic structure, geography and physical nature of our galaxy, and of others beyond."

Tanya mentally repeated the words in a daze, blinking when she realised her hand was still placed on the little alien's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, so she left it there. She pushed that concern away, and focused on a far more pressing matter.

There was an alien in her sitting room. An 'effing alien telling her about education on his homeworld. She figured she should be more freaked out. Panicking or something dumb and human like that. But she wasn't. Here she was, having a perfectly civil conversation with a being from another world, whom she had just the night before cradled and tended to like a child. And she was just...rolling with it?

Yes, yes she was. Freaking out just sounded like so much unnecessary effort.

"You seem to be handling this rather well."

A voice cut into her thoughts, she glanced back down at Optimus, who was carefully watching her response with wary eyes. She wondered if he'd been around humans who hadn't handled it well. Poor guy.

"I'm not going to go all psycho-bitch on you and do something stupid if that's what you mean." Tanya laughed. "No, I pride myself on having just a touch more sense than the rest of my idiotic species."

Optimus nodded, a grim smile gracing his features like a light mist. "I do not claim to know the heart of every human. But from what I have seen, you are a very young race with many flaws, but you have much potential. I keep faith that one day, your leaders will be able to see past their own hunger for power and instead tend to the people and land they govern."

Tanya snorted. "Ha! Pigs will fly before that happens."

Optimus looked bemused and 'blinked' once. "I...do not understand. The animal you refer to does not have any evolutionary inclination towards flight."

"No, no!" Tanya laughed, patting his shoulder. She found his confusion utterly adorable. "It's a saying. It basically means that because pigs will never fly, then whatever the subject matter is will also never happen."

"Ah." Optimus said, looking thoughtful.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds were the taps of flakes on the glass, and the gentle crackle of the flames in the fireplace. Tanya bit her lip, watching Optimus go back to observing the blizzard outside with the same mild interest as before. She had so many questions for him, but she could see how worn-out he was. His shoulders were slumped, eyes downcast, and he just looked tired overall really. She didn't wish to pressure him, but nor did she wish to be left out of the loop. For all she knew, this polite, sweet being from beyond could really be something not-so-nice.

There it was again. Human paranoia. What a truly awful instinct.

The silence remained unbroken for a while longer, until eventually, Tanya decided to just wing it. They couldn't sit in silence forever. She had questions, and she was definitely entitled to answers.

"This is a bit sudden, but...why were you out in the moor all alone?" She asked, seeing Optimus turn his head back to her, slowly. "You must've come from somewhere. Did you have a ship and it crashed or something?"

Optimus shook his head. He seemed to hesitate, carefully assessing the situation and deciding whether or not he trusted her enough.

"No. We had no ship." He began, voice so quiet Tanya had to listen harder. "We actually had a base. Or the makings of one to be more precise. But now, now there will be nothing."

Tanya said nothing. She didn't want to interrupt.

"I presume you know of the damage in Mission City?" Optimus asked. She nodded vaguely. "That was not caused by an explosion, as was told, but instead was the result of a confrontation between my Autobots, and what remained of the Decepticon forces over the AllSpark. An ancient relic that contained enough power to restart our planet's core, and bring life back to its surface. During the battle, circumstances changed. We sacrificed it to save this planet, and others beyond. "

Tanya felt her heart clench for the second time that day. That was awful. Travelling so far, only to lose something so important. She tightened her grip on Optimus' shoulder, gently stoking her thumb over the fascinating joins and components in comfort. He nodded in thanks.

"Then what happened?" Tanya whispered.

"Then? We had no other choice but to stay here. Leaving was not an option. We do not have the energy for that, nor the equipment. The governments were not overjoyed at the fact, but they relented once Elita and Ironhide lost their temper with them." Optimus chuckled a little, obviously remembering the moment. "After that, life became far easier for us. We simply asked that we may live in peace, and for a while, that humble wish was granted. We were starting to settle on this planet, almost happy. The rest of our friends arrived, and we agreed to have our scientists work with human scientists, par the requests on both sides."

Tanya could hear the edge to his voice.

"Then we were betrayed."

"By who?" Tanya asked, and then the penny dropped. "Oh no, don't tell me..."

Optimus nodded, eyes haunted. "The governments of this world decided they would rather have us killed and studied than let us live without strife. They...they attacked our base. Many of our human friends perished in the initial blasts, and a few of us were badly injured."

"That's barbaric." Tanya spat, half furious, half sad. "I can't believe people can be so sick as to just attack for no reason. I hope they get what they deserve. An eternity in hell."

Optimus smiled slightly at that.

"So, what happened then?" Tanya asked.

"We had no choice but to flee, but we knew we would not be able to hide for long before our spark energy would give us away." Optimus was serious once again, and Tanya could see all the talking was tiring him out. "We activated our last resort measures, mechanisms within us that allow us to compress ourselves into much smaller forms. This helps us evade enemies, as the energy our sparks give off is far less, and harder to track. Human technology has no hope of identifying our individual energon signatures now that they are so small."

Optimus suddenly looked haunted, and Tanya truly dreaded what he was to say next. She resumed her comforting gestures in a vain hope to relieve some of the agony he must have been feeling. He placed his own, much smaller had atop hers. Tanya didn't miss the way he shook slightly.

"Sadly, it also makes us easier to subdue. A few of my people were captured, and it breaks my spark to think of what they may be going through right now. I am scared for them, I am scared for all of us now. For the first time in my life, I honestly do not know what to do."

The ending is crap, I know. But I will probably edit it later if I come up with something better. :(

Don't forget to review!