Steeljaw wakes up to a strange smell. It's strong, but he can't tell if he likes it or not. He blinks open his eyes and is confused at first by his surroundings. Bright walls and colorful fabrics are illuminated by sunlight filtering in through the windows. On the other side, bright blue sky and green foliage.
The sights jog his memory, and he huffs in annoyance.
Oh, right. New dimension. New forms. And no way to know how to get back home.
His gaze shifts to his team-mates, all of whom are fast asleep.
Guess it's just me for now. Might as well look around and get used to things.
Steeljaw yawns as he rises to his paws and stretches, then follows the scent to its source, being careful not to disturb the others. He pokes his head through a doorway and scans the room.
Only a table and chairs.
He walks further into the room and sniffs the air. His ears flick and catch the sound of someone – scratch that – two people moving about.
SANDRA: "Oh my!"
Steeljaw expected the humans to be startled, but he still jumped a little himself, on edge with all that's happened. He looks to the left where Sandra and an unknown man are standing on opposite sides of a long countertop.
The man appears to be around Sandra's age, just a little taller, with fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair, wearing a white dress shirt, brown pants, and brown shoes. He holds a mug in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
SANDRA: "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting any of you to wake up so early!"
Steeljaw scans the humans. There is nothing to suggest negativity, although the man seems a little skeptical, looking at him through narrowed eyes.
SJ: "It's alright."
The man's eyes widened a little.
CARL: "You speak English?"
SJ: "Yes. Why wouldn't I?"
CARL: "Sorry, I meant no offense by it! Excuse my behavior. It's still early."
Steeljaw relaxed. He sympathizes with the man's sentiment regarding working at ungodly hours.
SJ: "No offense taken. I'm just not used to…"
He gestures to himself, indicating his organic body.
SJ: "This."
CARL: "Oh… Oh, right! I forgot you're not from around here! I mean, you're not from this world! I mean, this universe!"
Steeljaw tilted his head. He doesn't remember discussing such things with this human.
Seeing his confusion, Sandra decides it's time to step in.
SANDRA: "Ben and the others came by for dinner last night and filled us in on the situation, and Carl and I – by the way, this is my husband, Carl, Ben's father – agreed to let you all stay here for as long as you need to."
CARL: "Yes, so long as you don't destroy the house."
Steeljaw looked at the humans questioningly.
CARL: "Trouble likes to follow Ben wherever he goes, and sometimes he brings that trouble here."
SANDRA: "Well, he may cause damage, but he at least makes sure to clean up after himself."
CARL: "Occasionally."
Sandra laughs nervously and turns back to her work.
CARL: "So, what's your name?"
SJ: "Hm?"
CARL: "Your name. What are we supposed to call you?"
SJ: "The others didn't tell you?"
The two humans appear uncertain.
SANDRA: "Not that I can recall."
CARL: "I wouldn't be surprised if they did forget."
Carl glances at Steeljaw out of the corner of his eye.
CARL: "We're usually kept out of the loop when it comes to Plumber business."
Steeljaw nodded. Although, he was genuinely surprised that the parents of someone like Ben don't know much about a lot of things.
SANDRA: "You can come in, you know. This is your home, too, albeit temporarily. Sit down and relax! I'm just making breakfast."
Steeljaw hesitates for a moment. He looks over his shoulder at his team-mates. They're all still asleep. Satisfied, he urges himself to move into the kitchen.
SJ: "Steeljaw."
The humans look up, surprise alight in their eyes. Clearly, they weren't expecting to actually get his name.
SJ: "My name is Steeljaw."
SANDRA: "Nice to meet you, Steeljaw! Would you like anything?"
Steeljaw didn't answer immediately. He was catching a whiff of that strong smell from earlier, which led to Carl's mug. He looked inside and saw steaming, dark brown liquid.
CARL: "It's coffee. Do you not have something like that back where you come from?"
Steeljaw cringed from the reminder that he and the others aren't where they're supposed to be, but chooses to focus on answering questions instead of straight up drowning in his own sorrow.
SJ: "Nearly all Cybertronians function off of Energon, and only Energon. Some stick to the same kind, others experiment, and then there are those whose systems are able to maintain a varied diet. I know a select few – myself and my mate included – that can safely consume biofuel."
CARL: "Biofuel?"
SJ: "Being mechanical lifeforms, Cybertronians and Organics don't exactly mix. Most bots can't ingest organic material, and even if they can, more often than not, it'll mess with their systems and make them sick."
CARL: "So how did you and these other few build up a resistance to the point where you could safely consume organic material?"
SANDRA: "Carl, honey, don't you have to be at work soon?"
CARL: "Getting bored of our talk, dear?"
SANDRA: "Look at the clock."
Carl checks the time and his eyes immediately widen.
CARL: "Oh crud, you're right! Sorry to have to cut this short, Steeljaw. Maybe we can continue later?"
Surprised that a human was interested in talking to him, Steeljaw took a good long minute to answer.
SJ: "Sure. I don't mind."
CARL: "Great! I'll see you later, then!"
The man downs his coffee and leaves the paper for his wife. After saying their morning farewell, Carl leaves, and it's just Sandra and Steeljaw.
SANDRA: "So, you mentioned a mate? Like, as in friends? Or do you have a wife?"
Steeljaw never paid much attention to human relationships, but that doesn't mean he's completely in the dark.
SJ: "Ah, yes. About that, relationships among Cybertronians aren't like those of humans. I mean, there are some similarities, but we don't have a husband and wife culture thing, or whatever you want to call it."
Thinking about what Steeljaw just told her, Sandra's movements slowed, and she was paying less attention to the food.
Soon, another scent hits Steeljaw. It's strong, but not as pleasant as the smell of coffee, which wasn't exactly pleasant on his nose, either.
SJ: "What is that smell?"
Sandra jerked to attention.
SANDRA: "Oh!"
Ben's mother quickly removed the burning food from the stove.
SANDRA: "Oh, thank you! Another few seconds and it could've turned bad!"
SJ: "I'm going to assume that isn't supposed to happen."
SANDRA: "No, it's not. I'm sorry, I guess I drifted off into my own little world there for a sec."
I can't believe I'm about to say this…
SJ: "I should be the one apologizing. I distracted you. I know that same sex relationships for humans aren't as common or as socially acceptable as they are for Cybertronians…"
SANDRA: "Oh, no, that's not it at all!"
Steeljaw tilted his head, confused.
SANDRA: "I'm not saying that I'm opposed to your way of life! Or that there is anything wrong with it in any way! As you've said, we are part of two different cultures. I don't believe it would be fair to hold each other to our respective culture's standards. Besides, who am I to judge? My son is a universally-renowned superhero who can change into any alien he wants with just a turn of the dial! My father-in-law runs a galactic enforcement agency. Ben's partner Rook is from another planet in another galaxy. Both Ben's cousin Gwen and her boyfriend Kevin are part alien and have powers of their own. There are a few others. The list keeps going…"
SJ: "I'm good! I can tell you mean no offense! Evidently, you are quite accepting of the galactic community, and many, many other things."
Sandra laughs at the response, but not in a mocking way.
Steeljaw allows a small smile to form.
A light rap on the doorframe alerts the two to someone else's presence.
MR: "Sorry to interrupt. I didn't want to intrude if you were still talking."
SANDRA: "Think nothing of it, dear! Come on in! There's been a slight delay, but breakfast should be done very soon!"
MR: "Thank you."
Moonracer walks into the room and sits down next to where Steeljaw is standing.
SJ: "How are you feeling?"
MR: "I'm doing much better! I really needed that."
SJ: "Glad to hear."
Moonracer chuckles.
SANDRA: "And what is your name, dear?"
Before Moonracer can answer, the three hear footsteps closing in. They look up and spot Bumblebee wandering out of the living room, right hand cradling his head.
Steeljaw smirks.
Time to have some fun!
SJ: "Morning, Lieutenant! Had a bit of a rough sleep, did we?"
The blonde-haired man turned in their direction, and his expression was far from welcoming.
BB: "Shut up, Steeljaw."
The wolf laughs.
SJ: "Not a morning person, huh?"
Bumblebee grumbles and quietly curses as he joins the others in the kitchen.
BB: "Give me a break. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this."
Steeljaw shrugs and rolls his eyes, but he doesn't push the matter further.
A tired Bumblebee is an angry Bumblebee, and an angry Bumblebee is one that nobody wants to deal with, especially not right now.
MR: "Anyway…"
The lone female of the main crew faces Sandra, flashing an apologetic smile.
MR: "My name is Moonracer, and this is Bumblebee. The redhead passed out in the other room is Knockout, and the man he's cuddling with is Starscream."
SS: "I wouldn't exactly say cuddling…"
Surprising the rest of the main crew, Starscream was now up and about, although he appeared just as awake as Bumblebee, which is barely.
Half open eyes, hoarse voice, sluggish movements, and disheveled hair and clothing.
SS: "He's just a little clingy is all."
KO: "You're one to talk, Screamer."
Appearing beside the silver-haired man is Knockout, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Even then, he still looked well-kempt, like even restless sleep can't take away his beauty.
SS: "And what is that supposed to mean?"
BB: "It means you attach yourself to someone easily, so long as you feel like they can protect you."
The rest of the main crew stare at him.
SJ: "Even half asleep, you still manage to think straight."
BB: "Again, I had a lot of practice. Strong Arm and Sideswipe are basically teenagers."
SJ: "Well, I can't say I disagree with that."
SS: "I don't see how this relates to me."
BB: "You want me to spell it out for you?"
KO: "Whoa! Calm down, Bee! No need to get snippy!"
BB: "I am not snippy! I just don't want to deal with things right now!"
KO: "If that's the case, then why are you getting so angry?"
And thus follows a nearly half hour long tirade between Bumblebee, Knockout, and Starscream, with Steeljaw adding his two cents every few jabs, just because he can.
Meanwhile, Moonracer ignores them and favors the breakfast Sandra is preparing. Turns out, she's got a little bit of everything ready to go for them all to try. Moonracer asks Sandra questions while she works. Being the only one of her group who doesn't have firsthand experience with Earth, she's rather clueless about a lot of things, and wishes to curb her ignorance.
When the ladies finish, they turn to the boys, who are still arguing, except for Steeljaw. He recognizes the narrowed eyes, slight frowns, and crossed arms.
Scrap.
Knowing what's about to happen, Steeljaw backs away from the other males and covers his ears.
Not even two seconds later…
SANDRA: "BOYS!"
MR: "GUYS!"
The combined voices of a mother and the single girl of the group is enough to instantly silence the quarreling males. Their eyes are wide and bodies tense.
MR: "You guys promised to behave yourselves while we stay here, remember? I know you all get on each other's nerves, and this whole situation isn't helping matters, but for the love of the stars, can't you at least try not to make a mess of things?"
BB: "Sorry, Moonracer."
KO: "Won't happen again."
SS: "Promise."
Moonracer wasn't convinced. From experience, she knew another verbal altercation would break out, but she also knew that there was very little she could do about it.
SANDRA: "And I thought having one teenage son was bad enough. Seems like you got your hands full, Moonracer."
The younger female laughed and shook her head.
MR: "You have no idea."
While the males were incensed by this, they knew better than to push their luck with Moonracer, or any pissed-off female for that matter. The three silently opted to make the smart decision of keeping their mouths shut.
SANDRA: "Now that things have settled down a bit, how about we find out what your preferred tastes are? Since you're human… Well, most of you are human, but the point still stands. You all need to eat and drink on top of sleep in order to function properly."
Tensions dissolved for the time being, the main crew assists Sandra with carrying produce and utensils to the dining table. Once everything is set, the humans take their seats. Steeljaw, being the largest, has to sit on the ground.
But he chooses the space between Moonracer and Sandra, so it could have been worse.
