(Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just Anwen, Liam and my other OC's)
(Authors Note: Hello dear readers, fellow writers, fangirls, fanboys, and TF fans of every faction! Thank you all so much for sticking around with me throughout this creative journey so far. I hope you'll like this new chapter as I've enjoyed writing it for all of you. Also, thank you again for the continued support :) Feel free to leave a comment (optional) as I love reading your kind words of inspiration. Until next time, stay safe, stay warm (or cool if you live down under), stay sane, and stay awesome!)
"English/French"
'Mental thoughts'
"Flashbacks"
'Sarcasm' (or emphasis)
{Cybertronian}
::Sparkbonds::
:Speaker talk:
::Comm. Link::
*:Phone calls:*
Chapter 37
Sneaking Kenobi into the Chateau was a fairly easy feat, and while Anwen didn't want to lie about bringing him inside, it was only for the night. As soon as they entered the suite, she placed her coat upon the floor as a sort of makeshift bed for him, to which he immediately curled up on it and fell asleep.
As for his potty breaks, she'd have one of the twins drive her over to the park where she'd walk him until he'd finish his business and she would dispose of his messes in one of the many pet stations conveniently located throughout the grounds. Afterwards, she'd reward him with a couple of training treats, which pleased the little pup greatly.
When evening came, Liam and Anwen decided on ordering takeout as Kenobi wouldn't be able to accompany them inside the bar/restaurant for dinner. No matter. She liked this arrangement much better. At the moment, she and her brother were sitting on the floor eating pizza and drinking hard cider while the little pup happily dined on a bowl of kibbles.
Meanwhile, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe opted to phase out their holoforms for a few hours so as to conserve their energy for tomorrow's long drive. That, and they wanted to give Anwen some personal time with her brother, since they hadn't really done much of that during this entire trip. Of course, both twins also wanted to keep a lookout for that Decepticon Sunstreaker pinged on his radar earlier this morning, but neither Anwen nor Liam were aware of that little detail as of yet. Did they feel guilty about keeping said information from their intended sparkmate? Of course. But the last thing they wanted to do was cause her unnecessary stress on her special day. No. They'd tell her tomorrow once they were clear of the danger. Not that they were currently in any danger, but neither Sunstreaker nor Sideswipe wanted to take any chances.
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Anwen awoke to the tiny whimper of her little fur baby, which was his way of letting her know that he needed to potty. Not wanting to make him wait to go to the park at this ungodly hour of the night, she opted to take him off the Chateau grounds to do his business. While there weren't any security cameras to be seen, she refused to take that risk. Yes, the likelihood of her coming back here to stay was slim due to how busy this place usually was, but she still didn't want to be labeled as a bad guest for violating any of their policies.
With that, she slipped out of the bed and donned her snow boots and coat before placing some training treats and her cellphone in her pockets, to which she then hooked Kenobi's leash to his harness and picked him up to take him outside. Thankfully, years of mastering the art of stealth had made Anwen rather light-footed, despite the heavy boots she was currently wearing. Tucking her pup inside her coat, she stealthily made her way through the Chateau and out the door, to which she headed along the pathway and over towards her mechs in the parking lot. Both were wearing their protective covers and silently recharging in their alternate forms, which brought a fond smile to her face.
As she was about to head out of the parking lot and over to the property line, a familiar voice spoke up behind her:
"Kinda late to be sneaking around," Sunstreaker noted with a slight smirk in his tone.
*sigh* "Oui I know, but Kenobi needs to potty. I didn't want to wake either of you up to drive us to the park, so I figured I'd walk him past the property line and let him do his business there," she quietly answered as they walked through the snow and past some trees before she gently placed her little pup on the ground and held the end of his leash as he trotted over to a nearby tree to piddle on it before moving behind it to squat. Afterwards, he happily scampered back to Anwen and sat at her feet while she presented him with a couple of training treats. "Bon garçon, Kenobi (Good boy, _)! Bon garçon," she praised and lovingly scratched underneath his chin while he wagged his tail and ate his little treats.
Meanwhile, Sunstreaker rolled his eyes while a small smile lined his face. Was he a little jealous that this small, furry creature was getting so much attention from his (and his brother's) chosen mate? Perhaps. But he wasn't one to be petty about such things. Besides, he'd soon have Anwen all to himself (and Sideswipe) once they were back in Diego Garcia. Liam had already offered to care for the little furball when the three of them decided on a date to perform the sparkbond. With that thought in mind, he watched as she gently picked Kenobi up off the snowy ground and tucked him into her coat where it was warm.
Walking back towards the Chateau, the two of them approached his and his brother's alternate forms, to which Sideswipe's voice quietly sounded from beside them:
:Out for a midnight stroll?:
With a smile, Anwen shrugged, "Here and there. Kenobi had to use the bathroom and Sunstreaker didn't want me wandering off the grounds by myself."
:Well, I can't say that I blame him. It's too cold and dark outside for you to be going anywhere alone, even if you're not technically alone.:
Knowing he was referring to her fur baby, she smiled and glanced down at the little puppy, noting that he was snuggled against her chest and falling asleep. "I know." *sigh* "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe?"
:Hm?: "Yes?" They said in unison.
"I know you two need to conserve as much of your energy as possible for tomorrow's trip, but could you both stay with Kenobi and I for a little while…at least until I fall asleep? Please?"
At her request, Sideswipe activated his own holoform and swept her off her feet, causing her to emit a soft squeak of surprise. "I think we can spare an hour or two. Right, Sunny?"
"Indeed," he replied with a faint smirk while they silently made their way back inside and up to their suite.
Upon closing the door, Sideswipe carried Anwen (and Kenobi) over to the bed where he placed her on the edge. Unzipping her coat, she removed her pup from his warm spot before unlacing her snow boots and setting them aside. Afterwards, she removed her coat and placed it next to the bed, to which her little fur baby curled on top of it and fell asleep. With that, she slipped underneath the covers while both twins dismissed their winter clothes (leaving them in boxer shorts and t-shirts) and joined her in the bed.
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"Anwen…Anwen, wake up."
"Mmph...Sunstreaker…quelle heure est-il (what time is it)?"
"That's irrelevant at the moment," he then tenderly cupped her cheek and spoke in a serious tone. "I need you to listen very carefully: Sideswipe and I have detected a Decepticon and have determined that it's within twenty miles of our current location. I'm going to head out and lure it away, but I need you, your K9 companion, and Liam to vacate the premises with Sideswipe. He's currently informing your brother of the situation and will take you all somewhere safe until I say otherwise. Alright?"
Knowing the seriousness of the situation, she nodded and climbed out of bed where she donned a pair of winter socks and her boots before gathering all of her items that were lying out and tossing them into her duffel bag and backpack (double checking that she packed her phone and charger before zipping them up). Afterwards, she gently picked Kenobi off her coat before handing him to Sunstreaker, to which she donned said coat and zipped it halfway up before adorning her backpack and fastening the waist straps above her hips and over her coat. Tightening them securely before grabbing Kenobi's leash and hooking it to his harness, she then gently took him back from the frontliner where she lovingly placed him within her coat and zipped him up to where only his head poked out. If the situation wasn't so serious, her current appearance would actually be quite comical.
Seconds later, Liam appeared in the room alongside Sideswipe, to which he asked, "Es-tu prêt à partir (Are you ready to leave)?"
*sigh* "Oui. Did you pack the groceries and leftovers," she asked while Sunstreaker gathered Kenobi's bowls and stepped into the bathroom to dump out the water before collapsing them in on themselves and clipping them onto her backpack, to which he then grabbed her duffel bag and did a quick scan of the suite to make sure they had everything. Thankfully, they did.
"Ouais (Yep). Now come on, we need to leave," he ushered as they quietly headed out of the suite and checked themselves out of the Chateau. Stepping outside and over to the parking lot, the Bleu siblings noticed that both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had already removed their protective covers and were ready to peel out of the vicinity.
Loading his bags and Anwen's duffel inside Sideswipe's trunk, Liam slipped into the driver's seat while she said her temporary goodbyes to Sunstreaker:
"Please be safe. I don't want you to fight if you don't have to," she stated with glassy eyes as she looked upon the familiar holoform.
Cupping her cheek, he gave her a reassuring look, "I'll be fine, sparklight. While I won't be able to use my Comm. to talk to you, I'll relay messages to you through Sideswipe's end of our bond."
"Merci. Je t'aime, Sunstreaker (I love you, _)."
"And I love you, Anwen." They shared a deep, loving kiss before he gave Kenobi a gentle pat on his head, to which he then dismissed his holoform and drove off.
Upon slipping into the front seat (with her backpack still on), buckling up and closing the door, Anwen asked, "Where are we going?"
Taking off from the Chateau, Sideswipe answered, :I'm taking you to the storage unit. Seeing as how it's indoors and climate controlled, it's the safest place to stay for the time being.:
"I agree," Liam replied as he gently squeezed her shoulder. "We'll be safe there, Lottie."
"I don't doubt our safety, but I am worried about Sunstreaker. What if he gets hurt?"
:Don't worry, sweetspark, Sunny will be alright. Right now, he's likely leading the Con on a merry chase; or at the very least, luring it away from us.:
*sigh* "Oh, I do hope he'll be careful. I know you two have been fighting Decepticons for a long time, but it still worries me."
:I know; but Sunny can take care of himself. He'll be alright.:
"J'espere (I hope so)."
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Upon arriving at the storage building, the Bleu siblings entered their unit and set their bags upon the floor while Sideswipe patrolled the neighborhood as a precaution. After removing her backpack and unzipping her coat, Anwen set Kenobi down and placed her jacket upon the floor so he could use it as a makeshift bed. With a tired yawn, she seated herself beside the sleepy puppy and stared into oblivion.
"Lottie, you should lie down and get some sleep," Liam stated as he laid upon the floor while wearing his coat for additional warmth.
Shaking her curly head, she frowned and emitted a sigh, "I can't. My mechs are out there with a Decepticon lurking about and I'm stuck in here unable to help."
"Mais tu aides (But you are helping). You're taking care of Kenobi and staying hidden, which is exactly what they wanted you to do in the first place."
"I know, but I still wish I could do something else to help them."
"Maybe not stressing about it would be a good start," he suggested with a shrug while she sat cross-legged beside Kenobi as he peacefully slept atop her coat.
Glancing around the storage room, Anwen emitted a sigh, "...If it'll help us avoid Decepticons, we can just head to New York already and forget about bringing this stuff back with us."
"Lottie…are you.." He was suddenly cut off as she held up her hand and gave a somber nod:
"...Oui, I'm sure. The important thing is getting to safety, but we can't do that if we've got to wait to pick up a U-Haul truck and load all this stuff onto it. That, and the truck would only slow us down. Maybe we can come back here another time and bring all this back with us, but for now it's not worth the risk."
Sitting upright, Liam gave his little sister a warm smile, "Alright Lottie, we'll come back some other time and retrieve our parents' things. For now, let's give Sideswipe a call and see what the situation is."
"Droite (Right)," she reached into her backpack and pulled out her cellphone, to which she dialed his contact number:
*:Hey sweetspark, is everything alright? You should get some rest.:*
"I can't sleep knowing you and Sunstreaker are in potential danger. I wanted to ask if you could activate your holoform inside the storage unit for a few minutes. Please?"
*:Sure thing.:* There was silence for a moment before a soft, static sound caught their attention as Sideswipe's holoform appeared out of thin air. "What's going on?"
Standing up, Anwen gave him a hug and softly cried into his chest, "I wanna go home...I don't want to hide and worry that something's going to happen to you or Sunstreaker…"
Stroking her head, the Autobot frontliner glanced over at Liam, to which he stated, "Lottie and I had a talk and we think it's best for all of us to leave now before the Decepticon has a chance to track us down. I know you said Sunstreaker is luring it away, but the sooner we leave Quebec and put some distance between ourselves and the enemy, the better."
"But what about your parents' belongings? The piano?"
She emitted a sigh and shook her head, "Those are just material things and hold nothing but sentimental value to me. But you, Sunstreaker, Liam and Kenobi? You all mean so much more. If we can cut our travel time in half and avoid running into the Con by leaving all these things behind, then it's worth the effort. Plus, the U-Haul would just draw attention and make us a bigger target to follow."
"That it would," he fondly smirked while continuing to lovingly hold her close. "Sunny says that he agrees that we should head out now and come back for these things another time. He's also sorry things turned out this way."
At that, Anwen shrugged, "C'est comme ça (It is what it is). Maybe someday I'll play Papa and Maman's piano again, or decorate a Christmas tree with her ornaments.." She rubbed her eyes and regained her composure, "We should go now while it's still dark and there's less traffic on the roads."
"Agreed. Perhaps you should take Kenobi out for a quick walk before we leave. I'm parked outside the building right now, so we can head outside and load up your bags in my trunk."
With a nod, she gently picked the furry baby off her coat and adorned it (and her backpack) before grabbing the end of his leash and walking him out of the storage unit with Liam and Sideswipe carrying the rest of the bags. After placing her duffel, the groceries, and his rucksack inside the trunk, Liam entered the passenger side and buckled himself in while Anwen finished walking Kenobi. Handing her brother the backpack, she slipped into the driver's seat with the young pup and felt a comforting warmth settle over her frame as the seatbelt glided across her lap and the door closed beside her.
"Wait, the storage room is locked up, correct?"
At that, Liam gave her a reassuring nod, "Ouais (Yep)."
"Oh bon (_ good). I was worried we forgot about that," she sighed as she gently ran her hand over Kenobi's soft fur while he peacefully slept on her lap.
As he rolled onto the street, Sideswipe's voice chimed in through the speakers, :Sunny's about thirty miles east of us and will be heading en route towards New York shortly.:
*sigh* "Je suis content de l'entendre (I'm glad to hear that). Did he say if he lost the Con yet?"
:Somewhat. Apparently he lost sight of it nearly ten minutes ago; however, its signature is about fifteen miles from his current location.:
"Do you think it's tracking him?"
There was silence for a moment before his voice came through again, :I can't say for certain, but I'll keep you both updated on the situation.:
"Merci."
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Pulling into a roadside rest area, Sideswipe did a quick surveillance scan to check for any Decepticon life signatures and found none in their general vicinity. 'Thank Primus,' he mentally told himself as Anwen and Liam exited his alternate form with Kenobi happily bounding around on his leash. The two of them took turns walking/looking after the little pup and using the restroom before returning to the warm interior of the silver Lamborghini.
Opting to switch sides, Liam was now sitting in the driver's seat while Anwen settled into the passenger seat with Kenobi, who was currently taking a drink of water from his travel bowl.
"As-tu faim, Lottie (Are you hungry, _)? We've got some leftover pizza wrapped in foil and some snacks in the trunk. Might as well eat something while we're here. Also, there's some hard cider and a bottle of bourbon for you Sideswipe," he added, to which the rearview mirror tilted in acknowledgment.
:Thanks Liam, but I'll have to activate my holoform and consume it later. For now, I'll be alright.:
"Are you sure," Anwen questioned in a concerned tone.
:I'm sure,: the silver frontliner replied. :Sunny and I can go days without an intake, but I'll be sure to refuel on the next stop.:
"Tu ferais mieux (You better)."
:I will,: there was a smile in his voice, which brought a sense of calm over the young ginger.
(Another Authors Note: Hello again dearest readers! I hope this chapter was to your liking. I apologize for leaving it on a (somewhat) cliffhanger, but I thought I'd throw a little suspense into the mixture. Also, yes, she'll have to pick up some more things for Kenobi when they're back home, but when she did her shopping for him, she only got the bare necessities since they would be traveling. Also, I hope you guys are loving Kenobi because I find his absolutely adorable :D Anyways, until next time, stay awesome!)