XxHeartoftheSeaxX: Thanks. J Haha yeah, she's gonna stay that way. :D
Angi: Thank you J
Little Yellow Camaro14: Thanks so much. J Yeah he is. We should see a little bit of that soft side soon. J
wolf-shadow666: I'm glad I am loved. XD No I won't "hit" you lol, I thought it was pretty hilarious myself. J
Noella50881: Thanks. I hope it lives up to your expectations. J
TheUltimateSacrifice: I'm not going to. J Yes it is a 'Hide/Liss story. Will do. J
MissShelz: I know right? Hopefully Lissa can help him with that one. :p
primesgirl4: Thanks J Here it is. :D
Leader Of Lost Destinies: Thanks, sorry that I confused you. :/ Sam called her to vent about the autobots after he met them. She hasn't actually seen one, but she understands enough about them to not freak out.
Lunar Mist: Haha yeah. J He's not much of a ladies man is he?
A/N: Well, after so many reviews for just one chapter I've decided to keep writing. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. J Enjoy!
Chapter 2 Compassion
Ironhide was awakened the next day by someone banging on his hood. It was Sam, and he did not look happy. "Slag…" 'Hide muttered.
"Yeah you know what you did. You made her cry last night. She told me the whole thing this morning. I don't understand, why can't you be nice to her?" Sam questioned.
Ironhide sighed, this was a great way to start off his day. "I do not know Sam."
Sam slammed his hand on the hood again. "Oh hell no. You are going to apologize to her right now!" With that he stomped into the house to find Lissa.
Apologize? Ironhide has never, ever apologized to anyone before. Why in Primus would he do it now? Still… if he wanted to get to know this human it wouldn't hurt. But that meant he had to say he was sorry. Ironhide groaned, this was going to be harder than he thought.
Sam found Lissa in the guest bedroom with her arms wrapped around her legs, head slumped between her knees. He sighed and looked around the room. She hadn't decorated it yet which surprised him. She used to love changing her room around, always trying new wallpapers and curtains. Sam could leave for a few days and come back to a totally different room. It just occurred to him how different Lissa really was. He didn't even know this Lissa, she was like a stranger to him. Sam's heart ached at the thought, he would give anything to have the real Lissa back.
"Lissa?" He said quietly, coming to sit on the bed with her. "Are you okay?"
Lissa looked up at him and tried to smile. "Of course Sammy why wouldn't I be?"
Sam looked deep into her eyes, he knew she was lying. "You know you can tell me anything. You don't have to keep up the act when I'm around. I know you better than that Liss."
Lissa sighed and dropped the smile, tears welled up in her eyes. "What Ironhide said last night, it really bugged me. I mean, does he have any compassion at all? I've never met a guy who was such a jerk!" She threw a pillow at the wall with a grunt.
"Well he may have just a little. Come on, we'll talk about this later. There's a certain someone who wants to apologize to you." Sam grabbed her arm and led her downstairs. Suddenly, Lissa stopped.
"Wait, do you mean he's going to apologize?" Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
Sam chuckled, "yes Ironhide is."
Lissa nodded and let Sam pull her outside.
Ironhide spent the time they were inside mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. A voice from behind interrupted his thoughts.
"Ironhide, I think there's something you need to say to Lissa?" Sam stated and stood in front of him with Lissa in tow.
The truck seemed to sigh, it's whole frame vibrating gently. Ironhide knew what he had to do. "Can… you come with me to a secluded place for a moment? I would like to say this in my real form."
Lissa looked up, surprised. She'd never seen an autobot in it's bipedal form. It scared her, images of little green men popped into her head. What in the world would Ironhide look like?
Sam nodded and the driver's side door opened. Lissa stayed where she was, a little unsure about it. Ironhide noticed this and the radio crackled to life. "Don't worry, I won't bite." He said.
Lissa shifted her feet. Was she really going to go to a secluded area with an alien that she just met that could squash her like a bug? Of course she was. Lissa climbed in and the door shut behind her. The engine roared to life and they backed out of the driveway.
After a half an hour of driving Ironhide stopped in a little meadow. The whole area was surrounded by thick forest so no one could see them. The truck's door opened again and Lissa got out. "You might want to step back." He rumbled. Lissa scrambled towards the edge of the forest when she heard the sound of hydraulics hissing and metal scraping together. Even when the sounds stopped she refused to look at him. Ironhide rolled his optics. "You can turn around now." He said.
Lissa took a deep breath and slowly faced him. "Oh. My. God."
He was huge, at his full height he was well over twenty feet tall. On his massive shoulders were two photon cannons so big she could probably fit in them. His shiny black metal gleamed in the sunlight, his glowing blue optics stared intently at her, waiting. But Lissa couldn't stop looking at his left eye. Just like his holoform there was a long scar running down the side of his face. "What happened to your eye?" She whispered.
Ironhide shifted his enormous feet. Lissa couldn't believe how human the gesture was. "A decepticon got a hold of me, messed up my face pretty good." He replied.
Tears welled up inside Lissa. She may think this guy is a jerk, but no one deserved that kind of abuse. "I'm sorry." She managed to choke out.
Ironhide become confused, why was she saying she was sorry? It wasn't her fault, not in the least. Plus she has her own injury, why did she feel sorry for him? "It's quite alright. But if I may ask, why in the world are you apologizing? You have your own eye injury do you not?"
Lissa laughed softly. "Yeah but that doesn't mean I can't have compassion for someone else."
Ironhide sat down, a very perturbed look gracing his face. "What is this… compassion you speak of?"
Lissa was shocked, he had no idea what compassion was? That was probably why he was such a jerk to her earlier, he doesn't know hoe to express emotions. Lissa bravely walked up to his massive leg. "I can show you." She murmured. Taking a deep breath she wrapped her arms as best she could around the giant mech's foot. Ironhide's optics widened. This little femme, who has hurt just as much as he has, put her own problems aside to comfort him, him! Not to mention the vicious things he said to her. How could she put all that aside to try to help him? He didn't understand it. "Is… compassion the helping of others?" He asked curiously.
Lissa laughed and let go of his foot. The metal was warm where her body touched his. "Exactly!"
Ironhide have the Cybertronian equivalent of a small smile. He had no idea why he was letting this human break down the barriers he put up so quickly. Perhaps it was because he liked having someone there to comfort him though he'd never admit it. But honestly, he didn't mind at all, not one bit.
"I brought you here to apologize." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I should not have said that to you. I'm sorry."
Lissa grinned, this guy wasn't so bad after all. "Apology accepted 'Hide. I'm sorry for calling you a cranky old bitch."
A small chuckle erupted form Ironhide's vocal processors. "It's quite alright. Well I'm sure Sam is wondering where you are so let's get back."
As Ironhide transformed Lissa's grin got even wider. "That is so cool!" She squealed.
A bellowing laugh shook the truck. "Come on, let's go, I don't have all day Lissie."
Lissa shook her head at the name and got in the driver's seat. "Can I turn on the radio?" She asked.
"Sure, but I pick."
Lissa's eyes scrunched up, there was no way her got to pick. "Uh no, I asked first so I get to pick." She turned the dial to a rock station. Ironhide was amused by her actions but wasn't going to let her win so easily. The song suddenly changed from New Divide to Faint.
"No way! I love that song!" Lissa thrust the dial back to her station. But Ironhide changed it again just a quickly.
The fighting ensued all the way back to Sam's. They were both getting pretty frustrated by the time they actually reached the house. In the end Ironhide won out by turning off the engine on his song when the stopped in the driveway. Lissa smacked the truck's dashboard and groaned in defeat. A hearty laugh soon followed from the radio. "You can be such an ass sometimes." She muttered.
"Yep."
Lissa rolled her eyes and smiled. "Thanks Ironhide that was actually really fun."
"I had fun as well. Thank you for teaching me the definition of compassion."
"Your welcome. Hey, I was just wondering," Lissa twirled a piece of her hair around her finger, "can I see those cannons sometime? I'd really like to clean them."
"You can clean a cannon?" He asked, surprise shown in his deep voice.
Lissa snickered. "Duh, you can't come from Detroit without being a mechanic. It's in your blood."
If trucks could smile 'Hide would be beaming right now. He loved having his cannons cleaned. They were the things he showed off most when he met new people. "Sure Lissa, that would be great."
Lissa laughed and jumped out of the truck. "Fantastic! See you later 'Hide."
"Goodbye Lissa."
Lissa smiled and walked into the house. Ironhide would never admit it but…
He loved her smile.
A/N: Bam chapter two FINISHED! In the next chapter Lissa and Ironhide will get to know each other more. Plus she'll clean his cannons. :p Please leave a review to tell me that you think.
Thanks.
-Court
