CHAPTER 5
New Tactics

It was the third week that Jeff found himself exploring the Autobot base. Sideswipe and Arcee had the morning off, but were spending it doing more "intimate" things that the boy was thankful were not elaborated on. Taking a deep breath, he looked over the walls and scenery of the base. It looked like a stereotypical alien spaceship in his mind, lots of grey with glowing panels and screens every couple of feet. By the time he had rounded look-alike corridor number five, it became clear that Jeff was bored out of his mind.

Taking in the silence of one of the what he suspected to be storage rooms, Jeff looked both ways before pulling a book from his back pocket. It was old and worn, an old copy of "Of Mice and Men" to be exact, but in the long nights in the wreckage, it had been the boy's best friend. He'd settled down to finish the last chapters yet again, with the tragic ending nearly a page away when a sound entered his ears. "That a good one?"

Jeff nearly jumped out of his skin at the baritone voice of Optimus Prime. He'd only ever met the mech for a brief moment, and he now felt the full intimidation of his immense size, but also felt the kind optics that bore down on him. Even with Jeff, who normally might have snarked back, Optimus commanded a certain respect that seemed universal, and thus he bit back his retort. "It was one of my dad's favorites." Jeff replied "I always carry it with me, you know, as an escape." He explained, he paused a moment "You find out anything about that wasp-thing, yet?" He asked.

Optimus shook his head, he looked uncertain for a moment, and then spoke. "We can find no Cybertronian origin for this "Waspinator", or anything as organic as Sideswipe described." He leaned against the door frame "It does give me concern to think that he may have origins beyond our own planet." He turned towards Jeff, who seemed to shift uncomfortably "Do not worry, we will find out what he is after." He added.

"Don't we already know? He tried to snatch me after all." Jeff questioned.

"I fear this Decepticon's actions go far beyond the simple abduction of a teenage boy." Optimus admitted, his optics filled with concern "If it were simply that, I would have put you in the protection of one of our human allies. Rather than in that of your guardians." He explained "Whatever this Decepticon may want, it could potentially put more than just yourself in danger." He noted.

"I just wish I could be home." Jeff muttered "Even a piece of rubble is better than being around two robots that... Really don't want me around." He shrugged "Not that anyone ever does." He sighed a bit, standing to his feet "Why did you stick me with them anyway, Prime? Wouldn't it have been just as easy to put me with one of your five-star generals or whatever you guys have?" He then added "I'm not a child, I don't need a "family unit" to function." He added.

"Really?" Optimus questioned "And who nursed your wounds last week when you, as I understand, could barely stand?"

Jeff silently recalled how Sideswipe had brought him into the apartment, how he and Arcee had helped him that night. He'd remembered Arcee wiping some of the remaining blood off, scolding him for not walking away from a fight he obviously couldn't win. It made him grimace more than anything, his eyes moved up towards Optimus. "That's different, they did it because they had to. Not because they wanted to." Jeff muttered "Families are supposed to want to." He added.

"Like how they want to be your friend? Despite how hard you try to push them away." Jeff turned away silently "If you ask me, Jeffrey, if you gave them half a chance, you might find there are other reasons I gave you to them." He turned his eyes, staring at him in confusion "Are you not tired of feeling the loneliness I see in your eyes every time I pass you in the halls?" He questioned.

Jeff was silent, mauling over Optimus's words in his mind. It was not an easy reply to make, after all, Jeff had been "lonely" as Optimus had put it, for a very long time. "I'll think about actually cutting them some slack." Jeff replied "But I can't promise they're going to like me regardless. I didn't exactly go through all those foster homes for nothing." He replied honestly.

"Give it a try. It could not hurt."

As Jeff left the room, he looked back at Optimus with a small smirk. It was the first time someone had talked to Jeff calmly, and tried to approach him in a new way: kindness, advice. And strangely, it was because of that, for the first time, he wondered if a new approach may not be so bad.

...

Jeff had always had a hard time acting like a normal kid his age. Life made him more guarded than most of them would have to be in a lifetime, as much as it did suck. His first try was going to be with Sideswipe, that much he knew, if only because he felt like he understood him more. Arcee was certainly friendlier, but as much as he sometimes hated it, Sideswipe did have the most in common with him. He poked his head into the doorway of Sideswipe's small office, he sighed quietly, knocking on the door.

Sideswipe's office wasn't much of an office by Autobot standards, but by human standards it was giant. The mech stood in the middle of it, at a table that seemed to be filled with tactical strategies, being that was his function, a tactician. "Jeff, what are you doing here?" Sideswipe questioned, turning toward him.

"Should ask you the same thing, thought it was your day off."

Sideswipe shrugged his shoulders slightly, turning to look at Jeff. "Eh, I still like to sneak out on Arcee sometimes. Coming up with new strategies is just fun." Sideswipe explained, shrugging again "But that doesn't answer my question, kid." He added "What are you here for? Need something?" He then added "I'm still sort of knee-deep in strategies right now." He explained.

Jeff chewed his lip a little bit, stepping into the office a little. "I don't know, I guess some... Weird part of me was curious about what exactly you do as a... Tactician, right?" Sideswipe looked at him speculatively, but nodded his head slowly "So, what exactly do you do?" He questioned.

"It's a bit complicated for a teenager to understand."

"I'm a smart kid, try me."

Sideswipe almost wanted to tell the boy to leave him be, but after a moment, he scooped him up. After all, this was one of the few times that Jeff had been civil and kind with them, and it couldn't hurt to spend a little time with him. "It's not all that exciting, small fry." He noted, setting him down on the table, which seemed to be a 3D representation of Chicago "These days, I mostly run simulations on what we'd do if the city were ever under attack." He added.

"I thought you were fighting a war?" Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"Technically, yeah. But in all reality the war is at a sorta stalemate at the moment." Sideswipe explained, smirking a bit "If you want to see some of the battle plans from that I can get my files out at a later date. Admittedly, they are a little more exciting." He continued "This is, however, the easiest way to see the whole city in one sweep." He pointed towards a large building "See, there's us, and it just spreads from there." He added.

Sitting cross-legged on the table, Jeff scanned through the city scape. Admittedly, it wasn't all too exciting, but deciding to try the new tactics that Optimus had suggested, he shifted silently. Looking over at Sideswipe, who seemed engrossed in his chatter, taking a deep breath. "You know, it's actually kinda cool." Jeff replied "You're like an eagle eye in the sky." He shook his head "Is that how you find Waspinator that day?" He asked.

"Yep." Sideswipe nodded "Even saw a human signature in the area, though I suspected it to be a worker." Sideswipe turned to Jeff silently "But now you're in my systems. Just in case I ever need to keep an eye on you, but I'm not in the home." Jeff stared up at him, surprise in his eyes "What? I've told you before that I won't anything happen to you, haven't I?" He asked.

Jeff leaned forward a bit, his eyes continued to fill with confusion. "I just didn't think it meant that much to you. I mean I'm just another job to you." Jeff shrugged "Right?" He asked.

Sideswipe looked thoughtful at that, searching through his next words carefully. He stared down at his charge and shook his head. "You may be a pain in the aft, and we may not get along all that well." Sideswipe began "But you're still a living, breathing, being. You're much more than a job, a job is something I can fail at. Failing to protect a life?" He shuddered "It's something I dread, trust me." He added.

"You have a real sense of honor, don't you?" Jeff questioned.

Sideswipe nodded his head. "That's how my adoptive father, Ironhide, raised me to be." Sideswipe looked down at the floor a moment "I like to believe that I'm doing him proud in the Well of Allsparks. Keeping on his beliefs and all." He shook his head slowly "Including the belief that no matter how big a pain in the aft someone is, you should always give them a chance." he stared at him "If he hadn't felt that way, after all, I would have a very different present." He explained.

Jeff felt his lips curve into a smile, taking in Sideswipe's words for the first time. Looking at the landscape again, he looked thoughtful, then turned to look at Sideswipe again. "Hey Sideswipe?" The mech nodded "Do you think you can teach me how to work this thing?" He questioned.

Sideswipe grinned, and turned to the landscape. "Get comfortable, we'll be here a while." He admitted.

For the first time, both Jeff and Sideswipe could feel the small beginnings of a connection.

...

A/N: Still going to build Jeff's relationships with these two slowly. But I figured if I just made it chapter after chapter of arguing, Jeff would make for a very unlikable lead. So here's the start of the developing relationships. :) Rest assured, the bickering, sass, and snakiness is far from over though. LOL