Lesson in Living Interlude
By Starath
Author's Note: Hooray! I'm not dead! Only part of the way dead. I'm a few weeks out from finishing student teaching and graduating from college. Again. I have not forgotten this story! The fact that I had to write this is proof. I own nothing but the characters, who are still very much around, I can assure you.
"Hey Boss, are you done yet?" whined Frenzy.
The reply from the other side of the bathroom door came back gruff: "I'll be done in a minute!"
Frenzy performed a squirming dance. "You said that twelve astroseconds ago! Duuude! I can't hold it much longer!" He drew out the last word like it had a million letters in it.
From his position in front of the couch, Rumble giggled. Casey threw a wad of tissues at him.
"Don't laugh. This was you yesterday."
"Which is why I gotta laugh now!" the teenaged Cassetticon brushed the tissues off his shoulder. "Did you use these? Eeeeew!"
"No, I didn't use them." Casey rolled her eyes and picked them off the floor before her cat could pounce on the unsuspecting tissues. She coughed and sneezed into them. "Now they're used." She added them to the plastic bag on the floor and ripped open a fresh box. Her cold had been ruthless. She had emptied the last box in three days.
Over on the windowsill, Soundwave found it hard to ignore the uncomfortable, somewhat pained emotional frequencies coming off of Frenzy's person. Whatever Megatron was doing in the bathroom had him frustrated, but Frenzy's situation had escalated into an emergency ten minutes ago. He left the windowsill and scared the pigeons he'd been watching outside.
"Commander, time is imperative." Soundwave said, knocking on the bathroom door.
Megatron growled and jerked the door open. "Very well! What is it—"
Frenzy flew by and slammed the door shut so fast Megatron found himself nose-to-nose with Soundwave. The Communications Officer respectfully stepped aside, his expression apologetic behind his dark sunglasses. Immediately, the sound of rushing liquid made the silence awkward.
Megatron coughed. "Oh."
Soundwave returned to his windowsill. Rumble paid more attention to the Darkwing Duck cartoon on TV. Casey snuggled into her blanket covered in teddy bears. Mr. Bear was tucked in next to her. She sniffled and eyed Megatron.
"What were you doing in there? Nothing's changed."
He sat in his chair— by now it was most definitely "his", anyway— and frowned. "I was attempting to… adjust something."
"Like what?"
He ran his fingers through his hair. Casey had noted this particular habit, though she figured it was because Megatron wasn't used to having hair in the first place. He attempted to pull it back, tuck it to the side, fluff it up out of—
"Oh!" Casey sat up. "You can't keep your hair out of your eyes."
"Affirmative." He grumbled.
She giggled and a thought crossed her mind. The Decepticons had been around long enough for Megatron's hair to grow out? Weird. She counted back. Had it been three, four weeks? Maybe five? It felt like several years at this point.
"Howcome?" asked Rumble. He'd seen this episode before anyway. "Starscream's hair is longer than yours and he deals with it fine."
Starscream's used to being high maintenance, thought Casey, though she didn't dare say so aloud even if the Air Commander wasn't present. "His hair is different, and was longer to begin with. It lends to being… um, styled. Megatron's doesn't. When he got here he had it so short it stood up by itself."
"Oh." Rumble stared at the top of Megatron's head thoughtfully. "What's hair made of, Star?"
"Dead… uh, stuff."
"Gross!"
Casey shrugged. "Not really. It helps humans keep warm." She grinned; Megatron was fidgeting under Rumble's curious gaze. She hadn't really noticed it before, but Megatron looked scruffy and… adorable. Adorable? Casey swiftly kicked the word out of her mind. Handsome, maybe, but adora… NOPE, she wasn't going to use that word either. Not appealing in the slightest. He was the Decepticon leader. De-cep-ti-con LEAD-ER, not one of her grumpy-looking teddy bears. Wait, what was she talking about?
"You need a haircut." Casey blurted.
"A what?" Megatron asked.
"It's kinda self-explanatory, don't you think?" Sure, she had no idea where the notion came from, but why not roll with it?
Megatron's black eyebrows came together in a knot of aggravation. "Indulge me."
"Uhhhh…." Casey had to think. What on Earth, or Cybertron for that matter, could she compare a haircut to? "It's like…."
"Getting armor trimmed down." Rumble snapped his fingers. "Yeah. It doesn't hurt. It's just for when things don't fit quite right."
The comparison must have made sense because Megatron's aggravated expression gave way to understanding. Casey wondered how Rumble knew that and made a mental note to ask later. She adjusted Mr. Bear so the teddy bear wouldn't fall off the couch when she moved. She stood up and dealt with another coughing fit. She filled another tissue with unpleasantly colored goo and hid it in the plastic bag at her feet.
"Right. So let's get you a haircut."
"Are ya sure you're up for that, Star?" asked Rumble.
"Oh sure. I know just where to go. Let me change clothes really quick."
Frenzy came out of the bathroom in time to see his makeshift father go out the front door.
"C'mon Bro, hurry up! Megatron's getting a haircut!" called Rumble, waving at him.
"A what?" He fumbled with his shoes in the closet.
"And don't forget to wash your hands!" added Casey from her bedroom.
"Aww maaaan!" He stumbled back into the bathroom, tripping over his shoelaces.
Casey stopped at the door of a tiny barbershop. The front window had "Tom's Barbershop" written in chipped red and blue paint. Beyond the glass, everything inside the shop was yellowed and creased with time. The most up-to-date feature of the shop was the blinking "open" sign in the window. It sat next to an old telephone with a turn-dial and curly cord. Tom the barber, a portly man with a bushy moustache, set his newspaper aside and waved to Casey. She told the Decepticons to wait while she went in to chat. Rumble and Frenzy didn't mind, already occupied with their noses pressed to the window. Soundwave stood guard near the door and a creaking striped barber's pole. Only Megatron seemed agitated, although from experience Soundwave knew that agitation covered nervousness. Finally Casey held the screen door open.
"He's got time, Uncle Mike, come on in!" After he stepped past her, she turned to Tom over her shoulder. "Do you have space for the other three?"
"Oh sure! I'd love the company! Walker, is that you I see in that cowboy hat?"
Casey wasn't surprised that Tom knew Soundwave already. Soundwave herded the twins inside and took his cowboy hat off. He perched it atop a mounted deer's antlers.
"It is. Good to see you."
The Decepticons took a good look at this "Tom" guy. Casey had talked nonstop about him since they'd left the apartment complex. He didn't look like much, but Casey said he'd kept his business running for the last forty years. The small shop felt cramped but somehow homey. Soundwave took a seat in the corner, out of the way. The twins set upon exploring everything. The biggest—and most interesting—feature of the place was the big glass box up against the far wall. You had to squeeze past it to get in the shop, it was so big. Later Rumble and Frenzy asked a hundred questions about the contents of the glass case: A crocodile's head, giant amethyst crystal, dinosaur tooth, ammonite shell, railroad nail, quartz crystals, and several animal skulls, just to name a few. A mounted jackalope's body hung next to a display of men's hairbrushes. Casey's favorite features of the shop were the newspaper articles tacked onto the walls. The biggest page declared the end of World War II and that America had won freedom for all.
Tom had a little difficulty navigating around the barber's chair as Megatron waited to be seated.
"Hmm, a big fellow, aren't you? Pardon me." Tom edged aside Megatron and bumped into his leather-clad shoulder. "Hoo boy, that you are. Michael, is that right? I hear you're Casey's uncle, here for a visit. Good to have you come by my shop, son. Have a seat."
Megatron grimaced and started to protest. Casey coughed politely and used her fingers to pull up her lips in a "Smile!" gesture, and shook her finger at him; the signal for "Be nice or else."
Megatron sank into the peculiar-looking chair and set his heavy boots on the bottom ring. Tom pulled a barber's cover out of nowhere and flapped it once with an expert crack! Megatron examined the playing cards that formed a pattern on the cover. He stiffened when he felt the collar button together.
"There you are! Now, tell me what you want, son, and I'll get right to it!" Tom turned the chair to face a large mirror Megatron hadn't noticed when they came in.
Megatron struggled for words. First of all, this being called "son" was preposterous. He was most likely older than most things on the planet Earth, let alone this odd little human who made his business cutting dead matter off of people's heads. Secondly, everything in this cramped space… it didn't fit the age of everything outside the shop's front door. Megatron had a strange feeling in his stomach, the kind he had when looking at old holofilms of Cybertron. Time obviously didn't stop here, but it seemed… sluggish. As if the dust and sunlight created a vacuum where time couldn't lead its normal pace.
"Well?" Tom prompted.
The front screen door creaked open. "It's not like our Leader to lose his words." Starscream said. He leaned on the doorframe, smirking.
Frenzy's head popped up on the other side of the glass case. "Hey, Screamer!"
"Hi Maverick." Casey smiled while making her finger-shaking signal at him out of Megatron's sight.
"Another one?" Tom chuckled. "I haven't this much company for quite awhile! It's good to be among friends, I always say. Made your mind up yet, son?"
Megatron glared at the Air Commander, his ire automatically rising to Starscream's taunting grin. Confronted by the single most annoying entity he knew (aside from Optimus Prime) and a situation he had no experience with, his temper simmered just below boiling point. He managed to grind out, "I am thinking."
"Hmmm…. Don't bother wasting the effort, Leader, I can think for you. If I may," Starscream added, wilting under Megatron's venomous glare. "Clearly you are too distracted by other things right now."
Megatron blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "If you must. Just know I trust you about as far as I can throw you."
"Which is quite far, if memory serves me." Starscream laughed a little, circled behind Megatron and gave directions to Tom. "It used to be extremely short. Spiked. Off the back of his neck and out from around the ears. Like a helmet…" he trailed off and giggled to himself. "You needn't do anything fancy; it will take care of itself once it's short enough. He dislikes having his vision or other senses obstructed in any way. Does that sound good, Leader?" Starscream patted Megatron's shoulder.
"It… does." Megatron's eyebrows momentarily became lost under his hair. "How did you…?"
"Please." Starscream sat next to Casey and leaned forward, his chin nestled by two fingers. "You don't think I look this good by accident, do you? I pay attention to more than you give me credit for."
Megatron grunted and rolled his eyes.
Tom looked between both men, clearly confused, until he looked to Casey in askance. She shrugged.
One thing was for sure: Tom liked to talk. He talked about the weather, the economy, deer hunting, what a jackalope was (Rumble had asked), how long he'd been in the business, what it was like to cut hair, among many other things. The constant snip snip snip of his scissors never stopped, much like the conversation. He asked about Casey and school, how long it would be until she graduated, and her future plans. She admitted she didn't have any. Eventually Tom started to ask questions about Uncle Mike and all his friends. Megatron stayed silent, grateful for once that Starscream was a skilled liar.
"You're almost done, son. Though you could loosen up a bit. You're acting like you've never had a haircut before." Tom chuckled under his bushy moustache.
Megatron forced a smile. "It's…. been a while."
"I could tell! Phew!" Tom slipped his scissors into a nearby cup and retrieved the blowdryer. He chased away the stray silver hairs and handed Megatron a small mirror. "There! How'd ya like it?"
Normally Megatron would ignore his reflection. But he took the time to look, and liked what he saw. "Very well done."
"Good!" Tom popped the snap-button collar of the barber's cover and whisked it away without leaving anything behind. "Can't say I've ever seen that hair color before, though. Did it used to be black, and you dyed it?"
Megatron stood and grinned at his reflection in the large mirror. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Casey blush. "I'm afraid not. This was a gift given to me."
Casey caught his gaze in the mirror and hid her face in both hands. Starscream watched the subtle exchange between Casey and Megatron. He giggled.
"Don't ever lose it, then. Gifts are special." Tom pulled out an old spiral-bound notebook and used a worn-out pencil. "Let's see, that'll be twelve dollars and…"
Casey stopped digging in her wallet when Soundwave strode forward and gave Tom a twenty-dollar bill.
"Keep the change." Soundwave said, plucking his cowboy hat off the deer's antlers.
"Walker, I appreciate it, but this is a bit much…"
Soundwave called to the twins. They followed him out and Soundwave cast a rare smile over his shoulder.
Megatron offered his hand for a shake. "Consider it a reward for a job well done."
"Oh, well. If you insist…" Tom took his hand and shook it warmly. "I'm glad to have met you. Take care of Casey. She works hard. You must be proud of such a fine young woman."
Casey blushed again and bolted out the door with a hurried "Bye!"
Starscream caught the screen door before it could slam shut, still giggling.
Megatron watched his Decepticons and their human ally who helped them. She had given them so much… and he was just beginning to see it now.
"I am proud of her."
He gave his final goodbyes and caught up with everyone down the sidewalk. Like the time in that dusty shop, his mind lingered on the past. He had said that statement so easily, but did he mean it?
"Did you mean what you said, Leader?" Somehow Starscream had fallen in line with him without notice. "About having pride in her?"
Megatron ran his fingers through his hair— now short, clean, and lighter than it had felt an hour before. He watched Frenzy chase Casey around a tree. She held him at bay with a long stick until Rumble snuck up behind her and stole it. Frenzy went in for his hug and found himself trapped in a headlock.
"Say uncle!" Casey demanded.
"Neveeeeeer!" cried Frenzy, laughing at the same time.
Megatron smiled. "She holds her own against five Decepticons and has the strength to face life's challenges in addition to that. Is that not worth some pride?"
Starscream tsked. "If I did not know better, I would say you were becoming fond of her."
"And what if I am, Starscream?"
"What will you do when you must leave this world and go back to our own?"
It was not as if he hadn't thought of that. But to hear it voiced by someone else… Megatron's heart briefly ached.
"By then, I hope to have actually shown it."
Interlude's End.