AN: Ravage and Barricade share one interest, and that's Miles. It only makes sense that the majority of their discussions would revolve around him. And if they start to bond over that, well... all the better, then. I just get a big kick out of the start of Barricade's and Ravage's friendship being solely focused on Miles. Other things will endear them to each other, but at the beginning it's all human based... at least on Ravage's end. Barricade holds a lot of respect for Ravage, but given how bitchy she was at first he'll be damned if he says it any time soon.

As a small warning, there is implied/referenced homophobia for a wee bit of this. Ravage ignores the only boundary Miles set and opens some mail from his mother and finds she disapproves of his sexuality. I should have put this warning in the previous chapter given that's when I had the Miles "reveal", but just be aware that it could pop up again here and there. It may also end in the murder of whoever dares to insult Miles, but who knows.

:Ravage.:

Ravage paused in opening some of Miles' mail, annoyed that Barricade would think that he had the right to just bother her like this. Barricade had supposedly followed Miles to work, which meant she should have been able to enjoy her time alone. She was only willing to play nice for as long as Barricade didn't piss her off.

:Miles was injured,: Barricade continued, undeterred by her lack of response.

Frag. That meant she had to respond, :Why didn't you start with that? How bad is it?:

:A small canine bit him,: Barricade ignored her obvious irritation. :He says it is not bad, but there was blood.:

:Show me,: Ravage demanded.

Barricade promptly sent over a small file that held a few images of Miles' hand and the canine in question. The image quality was poor, and Ravage largely didn't know what she was looking at, but it really didn't seem that bad.

:He has been bit before,: Ravage recalled. :I believe he'll know how to make sure he does not acquire an infection from it.:

:I have not bothered to learn much about human ailments,: Barricade admitted after a long moment. :I have been around many sick humans, but a lot of their illnesses have similar symptoms.:

:Perhaps we should acquire a healer…: Ravage mused.

:Does Miles have any Halloween decorations?:

Ravage cracked an optic open to look at Barricade's child holoform from over Miles' snoozing form. Since she hadn't yelled at him for contacting her as he had earlier in the day, he now seemed to be under the impression that they could just talk like this. Since it was about Miles, she would allow it. For now.

:The only ones I saw were those trash bags for the leaves that look like carved pumpkins,: Ravage told him. And then she remembered something else, :Oh, and some sort of trick bowl that has a hand sticking out of it that moves. I assume he'll put the candy inside of it.:

:Should we decorate for him?: Barricade wondered.

That was an interesting question. Ravage was somewhat curious about human customs, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to participate in them. Halloween appeared to be a minor holiday that was more geared towards children, so she had no idea if Miles held any real interest in it. The lack of decorations would point to a lack of interest, but it also could point to Miles' lack of interest in decorating in itself. He had furniture, but nothing like sentimental knick knacks or photos.

Ravage would know—she had looked through every inch of this place and his garage. There was nothing she would have missed.

:It would be interesting to try to carve a pumpkin,: Ravage said finally. She shifted some and rested her head on Miles' chest. She enjoyed the up and down motion as he breathed, :Those we could steal easily enough, but what will you do if your holoform gets caught?:

:It's easy enough to fake a human bank account or hack an ATM.:

:Then we should get him a bigger couch while we're at it. One I can better stretch out on while he sits there,: Ravage shut her optic again. :And a bigger bed, so he stops complaining that you take up too much room. Oh, and some tools for my leg. He did his best, but the wires are pinched something awful and they're starting to drive me insane.:

:Make a list,: Barricade suggested dryly. :Walmart does online orders and I can have stuff put right in my trunk.:

:Barricade,: Ravage pinged the mech.

Barricade responded immediately, :Yes?:

:I would like your help with the mail.:

She didn't bother to ask, but Barricade's holoform appeared in the living room a few seconds later anyway. Ravage used her tail to push over an envelope while she took her time opening another one. Barricade picked up the envelope and carefully opened it, taking out the handwritten letter inside so he could read it. After a moment, he put it flat on the coffee table with a noise of disgust, and Ravage leaned over to see why.

:What a beautiful letter from his mother,: Barricade derided. :A plea to change his ways and get with a nice female of his kind. Evidently she is a moron with no understanding of how human sexuality works.:

:Evidently,: Ravage agreed. :I suppose this is why Miles did not want us opening mail from Nevada.:

The betrayed look Barricade shot her was delicious. He hadn't known about that particular boundary, and Ravage had purposefully not mentioned it. She had technically listened to Miles by getting Barricade to do her dirty work. It was really Barricade's own fault for not being smart enough to realize something was going on when she asked for his assistance with mail.

And the information contained within had been important, if only because it helped them to understand Miles better. Ravage was no therapist, but it wasn't hard to guess that Miles' belief that he would be left behind so easily could stem from parents that wouldn't accept him.

Ravage began to happily shred the letter into thousands of unreadable pieces, :Do you think Miles would be upset if she died?:

:I refuse to be involved in this anymore.:

Barricade was such a party pooper.

Later that day, Miles came home to a table with several pumpkins and other assorted goods on it. He stared at all the bags for a long moment before his gaze went to Ravage, who was lying on the new couch, and then to Barricade's adult holoform, who was examining some plastic skeleton decoration.

"I don't want to know," Miles decided. "If you stole this, return it. If you somehow have money—well, I still don't want to know the details, but… that's better than stealing."

:Should we ask his views on killing?: Barricade sent Ravage. The amusement he was feeling at the mere thought of it followed shortly after, just in case she had somehow lost enough processing power to think he had been serious.

Ravage pretended to think for a moment before responding, :Perhaps after he sees his nice new bed and is feeling more thankful towards us.:

"I have money," Barricade assured Miles. "Now, to the important stuff: we would like to carve pumpkins."