THE NEXT MORNING…

Tomato woke up to the sounds of the other Decepticons talking. At first, he was confused, because yesterday morning, he had woken up on the Elite Guard ship…but then he remembered that he was back home.

Rubbing his optics sleepily, Tomato picked up his tablet from his bedside to read his newspaper app. He didn't really feel like getting out of bed, because he was half in-stasis anyway. Just as he turned on his data pad, the first thing he saw was the document he had written the night before—his confession to loving Blueberry.

Unfortunately, Tomato didn't completely know that he was in love with Blueberry, because he hadn't really ever fallen in love before. All he knew was that he liked the way her gentle touch and kiss had felt, and that he wanted to see her again soon.

And…wait a minute! He could see her again soon! She had asked him to come see her tomorrow night! Suddenly, Tomato was filled with uncontrollable energy. He bounded out of bed and ran all the way to the main monitor room, where Megatron was watching his favorite movie, Decepticon Horror Show. Shockwave was with him, watching the movie, and Blackarachnia was sitting on the floor, filing her nails. Lugnut was struggling to scrub Blueberry's raw energon out of the couch, but it was dry by now and had stained the material.

"Oh, that's just great," Blackarachnia said, looking up from her nails for a minute to give Tomato a scornful look. "I'd forgotten the little brat came back last night."

"Whatever!" Tomato jumped on the couch and accidentally landed on Lugnut's servos, which were still working hard at their task. "Ouch!"

"Hey!" Lugnut yelled angrily. "Get off of me, you puny red pest!"

"Did I tell you to stop your cleaning?" Megatron asked Lugnut coldly. "You're not leaving that spot until that couch looks like new."

"Yes, my liege!" thundered Lugnut, and kept cleaning while Tomato moved out of the way.

Decepticon Horror Show was a long movie, and it lasted for several megacycles. It was by definition a scary movie, but Megatron didn't get scared of anything, and Tomato wasn't paying attention. Of course he was thinking of his "date" with Blueberry that night. All solar cycle he looked outside the window, waiting for the sky to get dark…waiting…waiting…it was almost like time had stopped!

Finally, though, the Decepticons started to head off to bed. Tomato went to bed, too, pretending to be tired, but of course that was the last thing he was. For a few more megacycles, he waited for Megatron to go to bed; it took a while, but finally he heard the old mech crawl into his bed and fall asleep.

Tomato felt a twinge of nervousness inside him as he got out of bed, his spark pounding. It was now or never. Should he bring Blueberry a gift? Oh no! What kind of gift would she want? It would be rude to not bring a gift, but what if she didn't want the gift he brought her? And what was there to give her, anyway?

After a long internal debate, Tomato decided on a barrel of Decepticon oil, since she had remarked last solar cycle that she really liked oil. Sure, this oil made the Autobots' oil taste like water, but this kind of oil was the only kind the Decepticons had.

The night was dark and quiet as Tomato grabbed the oil out of the refrigerator and snuck out through the main entrance. Since he didn't know where the Elite Guard ship was or how to get there, he turned on his built-in GPS and paid careful attention to where the instructions led him.

Usually, the Elite Guard ship would have its invisible cloaking device on, but little did everyone else know, Blueberry had disabled it as soon as they had gone to sleep. Tomato knew—or at least hoped—that she remembered him and was waiting. He kept on walking until finally, he approached the ship. His nerves were off the radar, and he felt like his CPU was spinning wildly.

"Decepticons are not cowards, Decepticons are not cowards," Tomato kept on repeating to himself as he approached the ship. So! They really didn't put their cloaking device on!

Tomato couldn't knock on the door, for fear of waking all the Autobots up. Instead he went by the window and looked in, hoping Blueberry would see him as he waved frantically. Luckily, he caught her eye, and she walked outside.

"Nice to see you again, Tomato," she said in a friendly voice. "Wow, is that oil for me?"

"Just—just be careful, Blueberry," Tomato warned her. "It's Decepticon oil, which means it's stronger than Autobot oil."

"Don't worry." Blueberry smiled. Tomato noticed that (unlike him) she seemed to be perfectly at ease—not nervous or shy at all. Sometimes she was a little intimidating, even.

"So anyway, where do you want to go tonight?" asked Tomato. "We can't stay on the Nemesis, because you know Megatron hates Autobots."

"Not my ship, either," Blueberry added. "My father is an Elite Guard trooper, and he would shoot you if he saw you with me."

Tomato felt worried, thinking of Blueberry's father shooting him. Quickly he pushed this thought out of his CPU and tried to think of something to say. Unfortunately, Lust-Induced Processor Freeze had taken him victim again, and while she was watching him, he couldn't think of a thing to say. Finally, he blurted out, "Why don't we just take a walk or something?"

"Good idea!" Blueberry told him, and they started to walk. Tomato was wondering if she would like to hold hands, but he didn't want to risk it, because she might not want to after all. Just enjoy the walk…you're supposed to be happy with her, not a nervous wreck.

It was true. Tomato decided his internal monologue was right, and that he should just be himself and have a good time with Blueberry. After all, he had been looking forward to seeing her.

As the walk went on, Blueberry asked, "So, what do Decepticons like to do for fun?"

"Well, um, we like to watch TV, and drink dark energon, and kill Autobots…"

WHAT THE HECK? Blueberry IS an Autobot! Now she probably thinks you want to kill her!

Blueberry stared at Tomato for a little, and then laughed (he felt relieved). "Oh, yes, I know just what you mean…we Autobots love killing Decepticons."

"Oh, um, what do you know?" Tomato mumbled. Now, he was thinking he wasn't very "smooth with the ladies", but how was he supposed to know what would make her fall in love with him, and what would make her think he didn't have a CPU?

"Have you ever watched Autobot Makeover Madness?" asked Blueberry. "Or do you not get the Autobot channels?"

"Yes, we get them," Tomato replied. "Megatron hates them, though. Blitzwing is the only one who likes to watch Autobot Makeover Madness, but he's usually watching his favorite show, Dance Your Aft Off."

"Hmm…I've never heard of that show," Blueberry commented.

"Probably because it's on one of the Decepticon channels, the Dancing Channel," Tomato explained.

"What do the others watch?"

"Starscream is always watching the Seeker channel, especially Wind Beneath My Wings, his favorite show," Tomato told her. "Shockwave always watches crime shows and he and Starscream are always fighting over the remote. Blackarachnia likes to watch her favorite show, Cybertron's Got Talent, and Megatron is always watching scary movies, usually those involving the gruesome deaths of Autobots. Lugnut just watches whatever Megatron wants to watch."

"Hmm…have you ever watched Scientific Discoveries?" asked Blueberry. "It's on one of the Autobot channels, and it's my favorite show. In every episode, they always talk about a certain scientific discovery that has helped all Cybertronians, like special weaponry or a cure for some kind of disease. Sometimes I'll even take notes because it helps me with school."

"You seem pretty smart," Tomato told her, impressed. "I might watch that show sometime, too."

"Maybe someday we could watch it together, then," Blueberry whispered. "I might forget to take notes, though."

Tomato felt his spark starting to pound again. Now he found himself feeling sort of…fluttery. Blueberry was easy to talk to when they discussed everyday topics, he had discovered, but not whenever she said or did anything flirty.

As they walked along, Tomato tried to talk to her more about subjects that wouldn't make them uncomfortable. School seemed to always be safe, so he asked her what it was like to go to University of Crystal City.

"It's pretty nice," she replied, giving him a sweet smile. "I study during my break or at home, and I'm doing really well, I think. We get to do experiments, too, but my lap partner is so scared of science that I have to do it all myself…not that I mind. It's fun."

"What's he scared of?" asked Tomato.

"Oh, I don't know." Blueberry laughed. "I guess he thinks one of our projects will explode on him and he'll get mutated or something."

Blueberry's laugh was so beautiful, just like the rest of her…The two of them just walked along in silence, Tomato wanting to say something, but not knowing what. Every single time he said something, he felt like he sounded somewhat like a goon. Why couldn't he be more like Starscream, who had no trouble talking to femmes and getting them into bed with him? Tomato decided that next time he saw Blueberry, if there was a next time, he should swipe some of Starscream's Super Seeker Miracle Cream, which claimed to make the wearer irresistible.

Finally, when they had walked a while, Tomato said, "Well, I guess I'd better be getting you home now, Blueberry."

"We're closer to the Nemesis than we are to my ship," Blueberry reminded him. "We should go to the Nemesis first and drop you off, then I'll go back to my ship after you've snuck back in. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great." Tomato smiled.

So they approached the Nemesis, and Blueberry and Tomato met at the entrance. Blueberry thanked Tomato for their night together.

"Oh, no, thank you," Tomato told her. "Now have a safe walk home, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, and gave him a hug.

TO BE CONTINUED…