(Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just Anwen, Liam and the other OC's I've added to the story thus far :) )
(Authors Note: Bonjour dearest readers, fellow writers, fangirls, fanboys, and Transformer fans of every size, shape, color, and gender! Once again, I am delighted to be presenting another chapter to all of you. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far, and I hope this new chapter will also be to your liking :) Now, one thing I'd like to point out before you scroll down and read this chapter: I based the femmes (Elita-1, Chromia, and Moonracer) off of their original G1 series appearance and color schemes, so please don't hate. I just prefer those looks because that was my first introduction to them as a kid. I also mentioned in a previous AN that I wasn't going by the movie scripts, so if the femmes in my story aren't what you're used to, please don't discriminate. However, unlike the original G1 versions, I will make them quite a bit shorter than their mech counterparts, but not to the height that they were in the movie (Let's be honest: they did them dirty in that film.) Anyways, thank you all for your continued support and your kind words of inspiration. Until the next posting, stay safe, stay sane, and stay awesome! Happy Reading! :))
"English/French"
'Mental thoughts'
"Flashbacks"
'Sarcasm' (or emphasis)
{Cybertronian}
::Sparkbonds::
:Speaker talk:
::Comm. Link::
*:Phone calls:*
Chapter 33
Nearly half an hour later, Anwen began mixing the second layer of her Nanaimo bars while Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stood nearby and observed with interest. Sure, they could easily look up a recipe, but they preferred learning from her. As she displayed her culinary skills, they casually passed the time by answering her questions pertaining to their newest Autobot comrades:
"So, what's Moonracer like? Is she a medic too?"
"She was ol' Ratchet's assistant back on Cybertron," Sideswipe replied with a soft smile as he swirled his whiskey in his mug before taking a sip. "Now, as for what she's like: let's just say that she has a very nurturing and Carrier-like aura about her."
"Tu veux dire qu'elle est maternelle (You mean she's motherly)?"
"Mhmm," Sunstreaker gave a nod as he casually leaned against the sink. "She has a tendency to act like a...'Mother Chicken', is that the right human phrase?"
"Close enough," she snickered while whisking the custard mixture in the bowl. "Regardless, I'm looking forward to meeting her."
"Well, I know she'll adore you," Sideswipe added with a wink, which brought a soft dusting of pink to her cheeks.
"That's reassuring." She then carefully poured the custard mixture over the first layer of her Nanaimo bars before smoothing it over with the spatula, "So tell me a bit about Chromia. What's she like?"
"She's a hardaft (hardass) like Ironhide, but like him, she too has a good spark underneath that rough persona of hers. Just don't ask who's the better sharp-shooter between the two of them," Sunstreaker advised before taking a sip of his drink.
"Why not," she questioned as she gently placed the (now) two layered dish of Nanaimo bars back inside the fridge.
"Cause they're very competitive against one another," Sides answered as he washed out his empty mug. "They hate losing to one another, yet they love the challenge."
"Most couples are like that though," Anwen retorted with a smile as she poured herself a mug of apple cider.
"True, but most couples aren't seasoned warriors with a knack for firearms. When they compete, it's brutal and often results in a stalemate, which eventually leads to a rematch, and so on and so forth."
"Ah, je vois (_, I see)." As she began washing off the dirty utensils, she then asked, "What's Elita like?"
"She's a just leader and well respected among us Autobots," Sunstreaker replied as he rinsed off the cleaned dishes while Sideswipe dried them off. "From what we know, she and Optimus have been together long before he became a Prime."
"Vraiment (Really)?"
"Indeed; but that's a story best left for them to tell you."
"I'll have to remember to ask them sometime." The three of them then spent the next several minutes washing dishes before Anwen drained the sink(s) and placed the clean utensils away while leaving out the ones she'll need for the third Nanaimo bars layer. Afterwards, she removed her apron and asked, "Would you both mind if I change my outfit real quick? I don't want to meet the femmes while wearing my lounging clothes."
"Not at all, sweetspark. Sunny and I will wait out here while you dress...unless of course, you want us to help you pick out a new outfit," he shamelessly winked, to which she shrugged and gave him a smile:
"I think I have an idea on what I'm going to wear, but you're both welcome to hang out in my room rather than wait out here."
"Thanks, Ani."
"Bien sûr (Of course)," she then led them into the bedroom where they casually seated themselves on the edge of her bed while she rummaged through her dresser drawer and pulled out a black bra before stepping into her small walk-in closet to change.
Seeing as how he hadn't actually been inside her room before, Sideswipe took a moment to analyze his new surroundings. Rather than paintings, wall hangings, or pictures, the wall behind the bed proudly displayed a 3'5' Canadian flag at its center, while the wall across from it contained a pair of abstract paintings that were similar to the ones in the living room. There was also a large rectangular-shaped mirror in the center of the wall, and underneath it sat a large, wooden dresser with an elegant maple wood jewelry box/organizer atop its left corner. On the left side of the bed was a large window that was partially covered by a pair of brick red curtains, while on the right was a plain wooden nightstand with a small reading lamp.
The bed itself was large in size and very comfortable to the touch. A large, patchwork quilt was draped over the underlying sheets, and upon closer inspection, he realized that it was handmade with various colorful fabrics ranging from vibrant hues, to soft pastels. Two pillows sat at the head of the bed with a well-loved stuffed animal in between them. A 'moose' is what the plushy resembled. Picking it up, Sideswipe curiously inspected it while his brother gave him a slight nudge as Anwen stepped out of the closet wearing her constellations skater dress and a black cardigan.
"You look beautiful, Ani."
A smile graced her lips as she gazed upon the two frontliners, "Merci. However, I'm not quite finished with my ensemble as I still need to style my hair." Slipping into the bathroom, she gently brushed her long, curly tresses before pulling them up into a high ponytail, to which she limped back into the bedroom and adorned her walking crutch. "I'll have to thank Ratchet again for making this for me. It's made walking much easier; however, I miss wearing my rollerblades."
"Don't worry, you'll be able to wear them once your fracture heals," Sunstreaker assured as she opened her jewelry box/organizer and pulled out a familiar pearl necklace and matching earrings.
*sigh* "I know, but I feel like they're part of what makes me...well, me...I've been skating since I was a three years old, and to go on without doing so seems unnatural."
"I know what you mean," Sideswipe replied as he watched her adorn her pearls. "Walking around in this holoform without wheels on my peds is strange and foreign to me."
Looking into the mirror above her dresser, she fondly glanced over at the two frontliners as a blush appeared across her speckled cheeks, "Well, regardless of whichever form you're in, you both look dashing in my opinion."
"Careful, sparklight, you're just adding fuel to our egos," Sunstreaker replied with a handsome smirk.
"Oh no, we don't need that," she winked while applying a few drops of rose oil behind her ears.
XXXXX
After slipping on her black flats and grabbing her lanyard/keys, Anwen headed out of her apartment with the twins by her side. She was currently sitting in Sideswipe's passenger seat as he drove over to the base with Sunstreaker following along behind him.
:You nervous, sweetspark?:
"Why do you ask?"
:Cause your heart rate has increased slightly since we left the apartment, and you're trembling.:
She bit her lower lip and gave a small nod, "I admit that I am a little nervous. I mean, these are Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet's sparkmates we're going to see. I want their first impression of me to be good. I don't want them to see me as someone who's immature, or weak, or helpless."
:My spark, you are none of those things. You're one of the most strong-willed, charismatic, and tenacious individuals Sunny and I have ever had the privilege and pleasure of knowing...And we hope you'll never change. We love you just the way you are, and we know the femmes will too.:
At his sincerity, a smile graced her freckled cheeks, "Merci, Sideswipe."
:Anytime, Ani.:
XXXXX
Upon arriving at the base, the three of them headed over to the Med Bay where Ratchet and Moonracer were located. Of course, as a courtesy, the twins had messaged them in advance and informed them that Anwen wished to meet the femmes.
Stopping outside of the entrance, Sideswipe allowed her to exit his alternate form before he and his brother shifted into their bipedal forms. Kneeling down and placing a servo upon her shoulder, his optics took on a softer glow as he looked upon the young, redheaded woman, "You okay, sweetspark?"
She smiled and gave him a curt nod as she gently placed her hand atop his forearm, "Oui, I'm fine. Merci for the inquiry."
"Of course." He then opened the Med Bay doors and stepped aside for her and Sunstreaker to enter before following suit.
Upon stepping into the Autobot medical ward, Anwen immediately noticed the familiar figure of Ratchet standing next to his desk, to which she gave him a warm smile before her gaze shifted to a smaller figure beside him. Standing beside the CMO was a 3.6576 meter (12 foot) tall Autobot with mint green armor (with white and chrome undertones), pale blue optics, and delicate facial features. Like most Cybertronian femmes, she had a smaller waist and wider hips, as well as a well-proportioned chassis.
With a warm smile, the femme asked, "Is this the young human you were telling me about earlier, Ratchet?" Her voice was soft like a summer rain: so gentle and sweet. Anwen was left speechless with how uncanny her voice was to that of her late Mother's, to which she had to stop herself from getting all teary-eyed.
With a nod, the CMO answered, "She is. Moon, I'd like to introduce you to Anwen Bleu."
At that, the young ginger approached and gave a polite curtsy (or at least as best as she could while wearing the walking crutch). "Bonjour, Madame Moonracer. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine, little one. Ratchet informed me of your kind and polite disposition, but he failed to mention how utterly adorable you are in person. Forgive me for being so blunt, but I must say that you are aesthetically fascinating and beautiful."
A blush appeared across her freckled cheeks as she bashfully smiled up at the femme, "..Merci, Madame Moonracer."
At that, she emitted a soft laugh, which to Ratchet, sounded like the chiming of little bells. "There's no need to be so formal. Please, feel free to call me Moon."
"Only if you call me Anwen, or Bleu, or whatever suits your preference."
"Deal," she knelt down and reached out her servo for her to shake, to which she graciously did so. "My goodness, I had no idea you humans were so soft."
That comment got Sunstreaker to crack a smile, "I still find organics to be rather revolting, but Anwen is my only exception."
The young ginger glanced over at him and asked, "Vous trouvez mon frère révoltant (You find my brother revolting)?"
At the look she gave him, he knew she was joking, to which he rolled his optics and played along with her. "Oh, he is the worst by far."
His reply caused her to purse her lips and narrow her eyes in mock irritation; however, she was trying to resist the urge to laugh. 'Dammit, Sunstreaker.'
"Speaking of Liam," Ratchet chimed in. "How's his arm been lately?"
She made a 'so,so' gesture with her hand, "Eh, he's still in some pain, but he says it's nothing he can't handle."
"Well, I'll need him to stop by tomorrow morning so I can place a cast on it. In the meantime, would you mind if I did a quick examination of your injury?"
"Pas du tout (Not at all)."
While Ratchet led Anwen over to one of the human exam tables, Moonracer glanced over at the frontliners and spoke to them through the Comm. ::She's quite a fascinating human. I look forward to visiting with her more. I also understand that she's your chosen sparkmate, correct?::
Both twins gave a nod, for they knew she could be trusted with such private information. Plus, they figured that she could sense their developing bond, what with her vorns of being a medic and the fact that she's had firsthand experience with a sparkbond. Of course, the likelihood of her learning this information from Ratchet was also a possibility; although, they suspected it was the first guess as the CMO was not so casual with his patient's private information.
::That is correct,:: Sideswipe answered. ::Anwen is our missing light and our spark incarnate. We still can't explain how it happened, but Sunny and I were drawn to her and have pledged our unwavering love and devotion to her.::
::She may not have been what we were expecting, but she's everything we could have hoped for,:: Sunstreaker added. ::I admit that I first wanted nothing to do with her, but then I realized there's still much we don't understand about sparks, and that I shouldn't have been so quick to judge her based on her appearance.::
With a smile, she replied, ::I'm proud of you two for finding her.::
::Thanks, Moon.::
::Of course.::
XXXXX
After her examination, Anwen said her temporary goodbyes to Ratchet and Moonracer before she and the twins made their way over towards the recreational center where Chromia and Elita-1 were said to be currently located. While she knew that she had nothing to fear, she still felt a bit nervous upon entering the lounge.
As soon as she stepped into the large room, her golden amber eyes immediately honed in on the familiar faces of Optimus, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Lennox, and Epps, before focusing on two new faces. The first was an azure blue, black and chrome colored femme with broad shoulders, dark blue optics, and a stern (yet oddly gentle) look to her face. Upon standing, Anwen noted that she had to be roughly 4.2672 meters (14 feet) tall, which was only a little taller than Moonracer, but not by too much.
The second femme was rose pink in color (with white and silver undertones) and had a rather unique-looking helm that almost resembled an ornate crown. Her sapphire blue optics had a gentle glow, while her lip plates had a delicate curve to them. Standing at 4.572 meters (15 feet), she had a graceful aura about her that was both regal, yet commanding (much like her mate). Upon approaching the young woman, she knelt down and gave her a warm smile, "Greetings, young human; my name is Elita-1, leader of the Fembots. And this here is my infiltrator, Chromia," she gestured to the second femme, who glanced down at her with a neutral expression.
With a polite curtsy and a bow of her head, Anwen spoke, "C'est un honneur de vous rencontrer tous les deux (It's an honor to meet you both)."
"The honor is ours, little one. Might I ask: what is your designation?"
She glanced up at the rosy femme with a smile, "My name is Anwen Bleu, but you're welcome to call me whatever suits your preference."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Her voice was firm and wise-sounding, yet beautiful and kind. It actually reminded Anwen of Lady Galadriel from Lord of the Rings. A small smile appeared across her lips at the thought of the Autobots cosplaying as characters from those movies.
'That would be awesome,' she thought to herself before Chromia finally spoke:
"So, you're the ginger squishy my sparkmate told me about." Her voice was stern, yet kind, and had a slight Brooklyn accent to it.
At her remark, Anwen gave a curt nod, "Que je suis (That I am). Although, he's the only one who refers to me as such."
"Well, regardless, I heard yer a tough little femme and are a natural shot with a rifle. Mind demonstrating your skills for me sometime?"
"Sure. Just name the date and time and I can adjust my schedule accordingly."
"Excellent. It'll be interesting to see your skills for myself since the mechs here all speak so highly of you, and I'm not just talkin' about your ranged accuracy."
"Oh, she could demonstrate her musical skills for you two right now," Epps stated. "She plays the piano so beautifully."
A blush appeared along Anwen's freckled cheeks at his compliment, "Merci; but honestly, you give me too much credit."
"I would have to agree with Robert," Optimus spoke up and glanced down at the young ginger with a kind expression lining his regal face, "You do, in fact, play beautifully. Many of my fellow Autobots and our human comrades have thoroughly enjoyed listening to your performances. You shouldn't doubt yourself, but rather embrace your gift and share it with those you care about."
"Tu as raison (You're right). Merci, Optimus Prime."
"You're welcome, Miss Bleu."
With that little confidence boost, Anwen stepped over to the piano and removed her walking crutch while the twins sat with their fellow Autobots. Upon seating herself on the bench, she began playing scales as a means to warm up. Once finished, she glanced into the overhead mirror and gave the twins an admiring look before her fingers danced across the keys as she began to play Pachelbel-Canon in D while a smile lined her angelic face.
Meanwhile, everyone in the vicinity sat and listened in amazement as she graced them with such beautiful music. As she played, Jazz opened a Comm. to Ratchet, Moonracer, and all the other Autobots who weren't present, so they too could enjoy her stunning performance.
(Another Authors Note: Bonjour again my dearest readers! I hope this chapter was to your liking. I apologize if it wasn't Halloween/Samhain themed, but I don't usually do holiday themed chapters/stories. The only exception is my short story titled A Very Filly Christmas, which is just a cute holiday special for my G1 Transformers FF, Three Makes Family. Regardless on whether or not it was 'spooktacular', I think the last few chapters covered her love for the holiday fairly well :) And yes, she does return home and finish crafting the Nanaimo bars when all is said and done (for curiosity sake) LOL. That aside, I hope you guys enjoyed what little there was of the femmes. Yes, I plan to add them into future chapters and give them more context, but this was just to introduce them and give you a glimpse of what they look like. As I said, I based them off their G1 versions because that was my first introduction to them. Regardless, thank you all so much for the continued support and I will return again with another chapter in the future. Stay awesome and Happy Halloween/Samhain!)
(P.S. Updates will be slow throughout the month of November as I will be helping to take care of my baby niece and assist my sister and brother-in-law with packing for their upcoming move in December. So if I don't post another chapter for a few weeks or so, it's not because I forgot about you guys or this story, it's just that the baby's needs must come first.)