Sometimes she would look at him in that carefully precise manner of hers, and in that moment, Thundercracker was sure Alexis knew exactly who he was. Trying to pass himself off as a human was entirely more complicated than the Seeker ever imagined.

For one, he could not be in the form at all times, which meant he had to create a subroutine that not only monitored what was going on when he was not there, but was capable of reacting and responding, and adapting to whatever circumstances arose.

Thundercracker did a lot of research. Soaking in the phrases and the way that the humans spoke, watching visual data to know how they moved and interacted, even more information that he felt was pertinent.

Of course, everything he learned went straight to the pit the moment Alexis found him. For nothing could have prepared him for the unfathomable wonder and fascination when TC found himself on her level. Smells were different; touches were more pliable, glances and looks more readable. But with the benefits came complications as well. The unfamiliarity ready to expose him at any moment as he tried to maintain the human Timothy and what he was supposed to represent.

He never really believed Alexis would truly accept him. Yes, there had been clear mistrust when they first came together, but now after weeks of traveling together, the gap had faded into the background while opening a level of intimacy.

TC never expected to obtain her friendship.

That was never part of the plan or even the reason he had to be with her. But now with experiencing it and seeing the trust she offered as she expected nothing in return, even as he knew nothing would break it, nothing except himself. For as much as he wanted to believe it sometimes, he was not the human male nor the Timothy that Alexis put her trust in.

Being together, day in day out and then weeks, he quickly learned things about the human. He spent as much time with her as he could. The loathing of taking on such a form easily bypassed and forgotten as time went on.

He remembered the first time she opened up to him. Remembered her hand in his and the two of them on a soft mattress, her knee near his leg, her voice a murmur as she told him, or that is Timothy, of what had happened to her on the Decepticon base.

Much was omitted, but it had been the start of a change between the two of them. The beginning of something that was progressing and growing into more than Thundercracker had ever imagined.

He started to see humans differently. His outlook on the world and its inhabits shifting minutely until one day the revelation came to Thundercracker that they were nothing like the propaganda that Megatron had forced them to believe. And that was when not only did his curiosity grow, but a seed of dissent as well. Of course, he would have been a fool to believe everything his master said. And yet, somehow, learning and finding out for himself how things truly were made his discovery more relevant.

TC's thoughts of discontent from their purpose on the planet were forgotten though. The awareness of his change of outlook on the inhabitants not something he was entirely aware of, even if his actions sometimes spoke otherwise.

But his interest shifted into other realms. And when he bypassed recharging time so that he could be with her and put off duties he always did early so he could see her, he fathomed that perhaps he had become too efficient and accountable, especially when time was suddenly something he needed more of.

It was freeing to relearn what spontaneity was. To rid himself of schedules as he suddenly did things as he needed, not because it was on the list of things to do.

Monotony murdered, a part of him reawakened.

Thundercracker could have killed the humans that threatened Alexis and him that day, and had left the option open, but in the end him being beat and pummeled led to something he would come to appreciate: the acquiring of one motorcycle.

He felt that a little when they made their escape. Alexis helping him off the thing and leading him into a motel room before ushering him into a shower, it would be some time before that thought came back into his processor as other more worthy ones took their place.

The water was cold. His bruises and cuts stung, but that faded when his gaze drifted. Alexis' shirt clung and dipped to her body with the left shoulder exposed. Water trickled down through her hair and flowed softly on the flesh of her neck. His blood that had gotten on her, seeped under the liquid, spreading out on her shirt before fading away, small discolored blotches left behind. He was enthralled. His heart accelerated as she brushed across his flesh while cleaning off the evidence of violence. A warmth ignited as she rounded the cloth over his bruised knuckles. Alexis stepped closer as he caught her scent and felt her knee against his outer leg, felt her body leaning against him as something strange and new occurred.

At first, Thundercracker was little aware of what it meant. However, when she reached in and tugged at his shirt, fingers brushing over the naked flesh of his stomach while a little huff of air blew hot against his shoulder, the tension deepened further. The subtle pleasure spiking into desire, he experienced human arousal for the first time.

Stunned and overwhelmed, his body continually changed as it adapted to the stimulation of the girl. But he didn't really know how humans came together. And while, already in his processor he had worked out more than a few ways to appreciate her small body as a Cybertronian, the thought of giving into the needs of the human male body made him uneasy.

Getting rid of the human, he had to stay in the shower for some time before he got his body back under control. Yet now knowing what it could do, and how it could react and betray his deepest thoughts, he questioned how the average male dealt with such things.

They stayed near the motel for three days, for that was how long it took his body to heal well enough for travel. Alexis looked after him, sleeping on a neighboring sleeping bag. She acted like nothing happened in the shower, although he would catch her looking at him sometimes with a sense of confusion that faded away after they left the vicinity of the motel.

And that was when he became truly aware of the benefit of having only one motorcycle. Getting fragged by the humans had been worth it to have her so close to him and all the time. It didn't matter if he operated the vehicle or Alexis, either way the inevitably of their bodies touching was at an all-time high.

"Your eye looks much better today." Alexis smiled at him. A granola bar brought up; she took a large bite before washing it down with a gulp of water.

They were both resting under a tree and leaning against it while they consumed their food. Thundercracker found he would never get tired looking at her, even now with her hair unkempt from riding the bike so long and her clothes disheveled with a line of dirt under her left eye.

"Perhaps you should ration your food a little more. We may not reach another town today," he cautioned.

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. Wrapping the rest of the bar into its wrapper, she pocketed it. Standing, she stretched, shoulders pulled back with her chest rising high.

"How much longer today?" she inquired.

"A couple more hours and we can find a place to settle for the night."

She smiled wide. Ever since they had obtained the motorcycle, Alexis' mood lifted drastically. Her hope was now so clear that had he truly been Timothy, sharing along with her problems and the worries of the world; he would have surely felt the importance of obtaining such a mode of transport.

"Timothy?"

He stood, picking up Alexis' water bottle he handed it to her. Their fingers brushed; his pseudo life organ jumped into gear.

She went on, "You really think we will be back in Wisconsin before the week is over?"

"If we keep to the schedule."

The smile erupted into a grin. Her spontaneity came into play as suddenly and without any warning, she moved forward before grabbing him into a quick hug.

"Then I will see my brother in no time!" She walked away, settling onto the bike where she adjusted her jacket and put away her things. TC came up behind Alexis, grateful that she could not see that prominent frown on his face. Thundercracker was learning that human emotions were not so easy to hide, but he would become the master of them yet.

"Alexis?"

"Huh?" She looked over her shoulder, the excitement still dancing in her eyes.

"The next town we look for helmets and protective eye-wear."

She nodded her head and readily agreed. "OK."

"You better sleep with me tonight. It looks like it's about to rain."

An unaccustomed nervous feeling tingled along TC's spine. His eyes fell on the girl before him as she finished adjusting the spikes of the tent.

They had slept near each other before: in motel rooms and in the middle of forests, abandoned homes and even a trailer home. But never had he shared the tent with her. He had always stayed outside while watching and guarding. He had no need for human comforts or protocols, but apparently sleeping outside in the rain was something a human didn't do.

Alexis was becoming comfortable with him, or perhaps just accustomed. Either way, she was not as embarrassed about sharing such a small space with him. There was a time when Timothy even sleeping three feet away would have made her uncomfortable.

She went inside first, leaving the flap open as an invitation. Just why was he hesitating? Perhaps because it was her tent and her sleeping arrangement, her portable dwelling. She was the one to come upon it when they had gathered food in a grocery store. But it was the first time she offered to share it. Although when they first found it, she had been ready to give it to him.

Thundercracker waited for the human to fall asleep before he entered. Five minutes later it was raining, a downpour of wetness that cascaded and pummeled against the small enclosure. Lying on the sleeping bag that she had laid out for him, he stared down at the dark form beside him. Small bursts of lightning revealed Alexis as he watched her sleep tranquilly even while the world raged outside in fits of stormy weather.

Thundercracker could have just reached out, and he would have touched her face, could have moved a foot and would have touched her leg.

He didn't.

Wind picked up while the rain pushed through the opening of the tent. Thundercracker had been so focused on entering; he forgot to close the flap. He zipped it shut and returned to where he had been. TC remained where he was until the storm died and the night faded, the darkness pushing back as light took its place, a stillness all around before nature sounded off.

As Alexis woke and her eyes found his that newness and innocence of what the day may offer him came into focus. Thundercracker was beset by deep melancholy. For as tangible as it all felt, it was all only an illusion, one that was becoming too real.