(Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just Anwen, Liam and any other OC's I've blended into the mixture.)
(Authors Note: Salutations, my dearest readers/fellow writers, fangirls, fanboys and TF fans of every genera! Okay, so I know it's been a minute since I last uploaded a new chapter for this fic and I apologize for that, but if you're fans of my other works, then you'll see that I've been rather distracted with my TMNT FF's and my Treasure Planet FF. That, and life in general has been keeping my busy. I took a little time off writing my TF FF's because I didn't want to burn myself out. Thankfully, I'm getting back in the groove, although updates are still gonna be slow as I've mentioned that life has been keeping me busy. Regardless, thank you all so, so much for your patience and understanding, as well as your continued support. Enjoy this latest chapter and feel free to leave a review (no hate please :)). Also, remember to stay hydrated out there as this heat wave has been a bitch. Stay safe, stay cool, stay awesome!)
"English/French"
'Mental thoughts'
"Flashbacks"
'Sarcasm' (or emphasis)
{Cybertronian}
::Sparkbonds::
:Speaker talk:
::Comm. Link::
*:Phone calls:*
Notes (English/Common/French, ect.)
{Cybertronian Notes}
Chapter 54
-0730-
Upon finishing her breakfast, brushing her teeth, and donning some cherry red lipstick, Anwen exited the chow hall with Kenobi and rolled over to the main hangar where upon entering, she spotted her brother and Maggie casually conversing with each other. Of course, upon seeing her, they smiled and waved her over.
"Bonjour, Lottie! How're you this morning?"
"Bien (Fine). I'm just a little tired from last night's events."
"Oh reEeally," Maggie asked with a knowing look. "Were said events V-Day related?"
"Oui et non (Yes and no). I'll tell you more later...preferably after work," she answered with a smile while simultaneously sending her sparkmates a wave of love through their shared bond, which they immediately reciprocated tenfold. "So, speaking of V-Day, how was yours?"
"Well...you tell me," a cheeky smile lined the Aussie's face as she then presented her left hand, which clearly displayed her dazzling engagement ring upon her finger.
"Oh. Mon. Dieu! Oh mon Dieu! Oh mon Dieu," Anwen happily shrieked and immediately hugged both of them, to which they shared a laugh and reciprocated her crushing hug.
"I take it you're happy," Liam asked with a shit-eating grin lining his face.
"Oui," she happily started to cry as he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I just wish Maman and Papa were here to celebrate with us."
"Moi aussi, petite soeur (So do I, little sister)," he rubbed her back in a soothing gesture while fondly thinking of their parents and what their reaction would have been like.
Giving a nod, she then looked back at them and curiously asked, "So, who else knows?"
"Just Bee and Bluestreak; but they helped Liam gather the materials he needed to make his proposal message," Maggie answered with a smile.
"I imagine it was difficult for them to keep it a secret, considering how much they like to talk."
"You have no idea," the Major smirked as the three of them (plus Kenobi) casually walked down the hanger, towards the office where the girls worked.
"We still haven't told my family yet, but we're actually planning to do that after work. Knowing my Mum, she'll probably ask if we've set a date yet...which we haven't," Maggie added with a smile while giving Liam's hand a loving squeeze.
XXXXX
::So, Liam and Maggie are engaged?! When did that happen?::
::Yesterday,:: Anwen answered her silver skater as she talked with him and her golden artist through their shared bond. ::They're going to tell Maggie's folks later after work, but they told me to go ahead and tell you two so you wouldn't be left out when you return.::
::Whenever that may be,:: Sunstreaker added with an irate huff in his tone. ::We just arrived three hours ago, and I'm already itching to leave.::
::You're just pissy because we're stuck in a garage and have to use our holoforms among the humans.::
::Wait, you're in a garage,:: Anwen asked with a bit of concern, to which they sent her a wave of reassurance through the bond.
::It was Ironhide's idea that us Autobots keep a low profile until the action happens. We're a bit too flashy for stealth, as you may know,:: Sideswipe added with a smirk in his tone, to which she too couldn't help but smile:
::I don't mind your flashiness.::
::Oh, we know,:: he purred in that wonderfully sexy, velvet tone of his, which caused a delightful shiver to roll down her spine.
::Please…just promise me that you'll both stay safe while you're there.::
::We'll do our best, sparklight.::
::I know you will, but I still wanted to hear you say it. I love you both so much.::
::And we love you, Ani.::
XXXXX
-Later-
Upon clocking out for work, Anwen and Kenobi headed over to the pool so she could indulge in another swim. With Liam and Maggie currently busy contacting her family to announce their engagement, she wanted to give them some time alone before meeting up with them for dinner.
Rolling into the women's shower/locker room, she grabbed her swimsuit and towel off the hooks and proceeded to remove her rollerblades, helmet, lanyard, sunglasses and work clothes before placing them inside her locker with her backpack.
Afterwards, she adorned her swimsuit and flip flops, grabbed her towel, and led Kenobi out to the pool, where he instinctively laid down atop the lounging chair where she placed her things. Once situated, Anwen slipped into the pool and began a round of backstrokes while noting the other people partaking in some recreational swimming. There were eight in total (including the lifeguard): six men and two women.
As she swam, Anwen noticed one of the men was staring at her, but she ignored him and continued with her workout. Diving underwater, she torpedoed herself across the width of the pool a couple of times before resurfacing and noticing that the same man was still staring at her, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
Seeing her acknowledging his presence by glancing his way, the man swam over and approached her: "Hey there, gorgeous. I haven't seen you around before."
Although she didn't feel comfortable in his presence or want to partake in conversation at this time, Anwen didn't want to seem like a complete snob, so she begrudgingly acknowledged him with a neutral glance and a polite (almost nonexistent) smile, even though she wanted to be left alone to continue her workout in peace, uninterrupted. She hoped her silence would deter him and he'd take the hint that she wanted to be left alone.
"I'm sure you hear this a lot, but you're really beautiful. Like, goddess beautiful."
Task failed.
"I know this is random and sudden, but if you're down, I'd like to take you out sometime."
Side-eyeing the man, Anwen held up her left hand which bore the silver and gold ring upon her slender finger.
"Oh, you're married?"
"Yes," she simply answered and nodded in confirmation, to which he then asked:
"Is your husband stationed here?"
She gave another nod, hoping that would finally dissuade him from pursuing her.
"Is it an open marriage? Cause I'd still like to take you out sometime if you'd be up to it."
'Da fuck?!' "Excuse me?! Who the hell asks something like that?! How dare you! Please do not talk to me again," she firmly replied, causing the other pool occupants to stare in their direction. Following her response, the man backed away before hoisting himself out of the water and sitting on the edge of the pool.
Emitting a huff and mentally shaking her head of that offending nonsense, Anwen no longer felt motivated to finish her workout. Instead, she stepped out of the pool and rinsed herself off before drying and slipping on her flip flops. Grabbing Kenobi's leash, she then casually led him into the shower/locker room where she removed her flip flops and slid them underneath the bench to dry overnight before opening her locker and adorning her socks, rollerblades, helmet, lanyard and sunglasses.
Afterwards, she packed her work clothes inside her backpack and donned said pack over her shoulders before wrapping her towel around her torso and leading Kenobi out of the vicinity. Unfortunately, when she exited, the same guy was now standing outside the men's locker room (which was across from the women's) as if he was waiting for her to exit. Keeping her cool, Anwen ignored him and vacated the building with her pup trotting alongside her. Like her, he too was on high alert and kept pace with her as she rolled over to the security gate, to which the guard scanned their I.D. cards before raising the bar and allowing them passage.
Rolling off the base premises, Anwen and Kenobi began their twenty minute trek to the apartment building. Of course, neither minded as they enjoyed the exercise; however, she'd have to take the route a bit slower for her pup's sake, since he wasn't quite as fast as she was.
XXXXX
Nearly halfway to her destination, Anwen stopped to give Kenobi a drink of water from his travel bottle while she momentarily slipped off her backpack and removed her cellphone from its designated pocket, along with the bluetooth earpiece that she rarely used. Popping the small device into her ear, she wirelessly connected it to her phone and dialed Ratchet's number before placing said phone back in her bag and slinging it across her shoulders once more.
*:Well now, I was wondering when I'd hear from you. How've you been, young one?:*
A smile appeared across the young ginger's face upon hearing the CMO's voice. "Je vais bien (I'm okay)." Placing Kenobi's bottle back in the mesh pocket of her backpack, she looked back down the road from whence she came and noticed a jeep slowly nearing her position. Upon noticing the driver, her face paled. "Oh mon Dieu, c'est lui (Oh my God, it's him).."
*:Who,:* Ratchet calmly asked while his parental coding was demanding that he protect his youngling.
"Ce gars de la piscine. Je pense qu'il me traque (This guy from the pool. I think he's stalking me)."
*:Okay, I've got your location and am heading out to pick you up. Is there someplace you can hunker down until I arrive?:*
Glancing around, she spotted the petrol station down the adjacent street, to which she mentally sighed in relief, "Oui."
*:Okay. Now, just keep calm and stay on the line. I'll be there as fast as I can.:*
"Merci." With that, Anwen and Kenobi made their way over to the petrol station and entered the shop where a middle-aged Korean woman greeted them:
"Hi, how's it going?"
"..Um, not good," she calmly admitted in a calm voice while staying on the line with Ratchet. "I'm being stalked and I need to lay low for a few minutes until my ride shows up."
Hearing this and understanding her situation, the woman gently ushered her and her pup behind the counter, "Okay, you just sit down beside me."
"Merci," she nodded and held her pup in her lap while the woman remained vigilant.
*:I'm about two blocks from your location,:* the Autobot CMO assured as he was enroute to the petrol station. While Ratchet was calm, Anwen could tell he was concerned for her safety as well as irate that someone would deliberately stalk her.
Just then, the shop door opened and a man walked in, to which the cashier spoke up: "Hello there. How are you today?"
He didn't answer her question, but asked, "Did you see a young ginger woman enter the shop? She was wearing rollerblades and a beach towel around her waist, and she had a dog with her."
At his question, Anwen froze while Kenobi remained silent; however, the cashier feigned ignorance and shook her head, while maintaining eye contact with the man, "No, sorry. I didn't see anyone enter; however, I did see someone roll past the shop a minute ago, but I didn't get a good look at them."
"Do you know which way they went?"
"Yes. They were heading in the direction of the grocery store."
"Thanks," he then rushed out of the shop and back to his jeep, to which he pulled out of the parking lot and sped off.
Once he was out of sight, the woman looked down at Anwen and kindly smiled, "He's gone now."
*sigh* "Merci for helping me."
"Of course." She then glanced over to see a green Humvee pull into the parking lot before the driver stepped out and entered the vicinity. "Hello, how are you?"
"I'm alright, miss..," he glanced at her name tag, "..Kwan..I'm actually here to pick up someone."
Popping her head over the counter, Anwen smiled upon seeing the Autobot CMO. "Ratchet!" She then stood up with Kenobi in tow and hugged him, to which he did the same before looking back at the Korean woman:
"Thank you for looking out for her, Miss Kwan."
"It was no trouble. I'm happy that I was able to help and I'm glad she's safe."
"Same here," he agreed with a nod while simultaneously sending a PM to Prowl and informing him of the situation. If this man was foolish enough to try and stalk Anwen, then he's more than capable of doing the same to other women on base.
Unacceptable!
(Another Authors Note: Hello again dearest readers and fellow writers! I hope you've all enjoyed this latest chapter, despite the uncomfortable/scary situation Anwen went through. Stay safe and stay vigilant. Keep it classy. Make good choices and stay awesome!)