16. The Twins
Allison was feeling somewhat overwhelmed with Ratchet's proclamation and found that she didn't know what to say. It didn't help that the Autobot immediately turned back to his work as if there was nothing remarkable about what he'd just said. It was just normal and not up for questioning. It made the whole thing feel…official, in a way. Or at the very least, it eased any worries that still lingered in her mind about any perceived animosity or resentment of the complications she presented. So instead of responding she looked down, continuing her careful observations as her phone continued its march towards death.
Wheeljack must have sensed her thoughts because he shifted slowly, finally speaking while the panels flashed dimly on his head. "Hey…" he offered gently, tilting his head upwards as if trying to get her attention. She looked up at him and found that his eyes had turned a deeper shade of blue, and it felt like a signifier of warmth. "We could never blame you for what's happened. I would never do that to you, yeah?" She nodded. All this heartfelt conversation was starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable.
Ratchet interjected. "You were operating off of instinct and curiosity when you went looking for this scraphead." He pointed at Wheeljack, and she could have swore the scientist was actually smiling at Ratchet's observation despite what she assumed to be a mild insult. "If it were Wheeljack, he probably would have done the same thing." Allison noted Wheeljack's eyes shifted to him quickly then—the inner ring-like mechanisms that burned whiter with an internal life force flicking towards him and back to her. It looked like a startled action, for how fast it was, but his body language did not change.
Wheeljack shrugged finally. "I'm a scientist. I'm always curious." He was looking at her with the vague suggestion that there was a little secret between them; like this was some silly mischief they engaged in together.
Allison was thinking about what to say, wondering if there was something profound she could offer, but that thought was short-lived when her stomach had other ideas. The guttural growl of her hunger felt far too loud to her own ears, and the sudden heat of embarrassment flashed through her body as she clamped a hand over her torso.
"What was that?! Are you hurt?!" Wheeljack blurted out, his body making an odd chirping noise. It happened at nearly the exact same moment, as if his internal components were reacting to being startled as much as his brain. Allison wanted to shrivel up and die right on the spot because she really didn't want to be having this conversation.
"No… no… I'm hungry." She realized she hadn't eaten since the afternoon before. Getting attacked after work had thrown off her schedule just a little bit, and adrenaline had more or less removed the idea of dinner out of her brain. "It's just my stomach."
Wheeljack's eyes lit up then, and he leaned forward. "I can help with that too!" His wrist shifted again, and in his palm he held a suspicious bag of what was presumably food… somehow still warm. The proverbial clown car's worth of accessories he was starting to pull out of whatever interdimensional pocket he had was starting to get a little bit unbelievable.
Allison blanched, uncertainty filling her. "W-where did you get that?"
"I didn't cook it, if that's what you're worried about," he said, his eyes narrowing, but his voice was only teasingly sarcastic. He seemed to take his reputation in stride it seemed, but it wasn't strictly the possibility that he'd conjured up something dangerous that made Allison hesitate. It was the fact that the origin… and age of the food in question was still a mystery.
"No where did you get that? And how long ago?"
"Oh, maybe an hour or two ago."
"How is it still hot ?"
He raised a finger on his other hand, as if making a point. "Like I said, a subspace doesn't alter or destroy matter." He paused. "Matter can't passively change, either." She thought she understood what he was trying to say, in that matter sort of froze in whatever these pockets were. Almost like a temporary stasis. She hated this quite a bit, but Wheeljack seemed excited to be able to explain this to her, so she couldn't hate it too much. It was obvious he got a lot of enjoyment out of sharing new and exciting pieces of information.
There was a flicker of a memory, of a Wheeljack from decades earlier, very animatedly explaining to her where their home planet was. She remembered his joy, and how it had been infectious. When her little child brain had registered that what he really meant was that he was an alien, she remembered being as excited as he was in explaining it to her. She'd always loved aliens, and while he wasn't a little green man with giant black eyes, she'd still been enraptured by this detail. She hadn't forgotten, but the real impact of that had sort of escaped her a long time ago.
And all things considered, they acted very human somehow. It was easy to forget sometimes they were not of this world.
"Okay, but I still have to ask, how did you get it? You don't have money so you couldn't have paid for it."
"Oh that's easy. I didn't."
Allison absorbed this information, trying to think of what to say. It wasn't like she particularly cared too much, but she was more worried about the possibility of his luck running out eventually. She also didn't like the idea that he felt the need to keep breaking the law for her, though she wondered if archaic human laws technically even applied to them. It wasn't like they paid taxes. "You have to stop stealing, though I don't know why I asked. That's kind of been your thing for a while..." Besides, the poor fool he probably swiped it from while their back was turned didn't deserve to lose their lunch thanks to a kleptomaniacal robot.
Wheeljack looked hurt but there was an air of levity to it. "Are you calling me a thief?"
"Yes. That's exactly what you are." Ratchet blurted, without looking up from what he was doing.
"Look, our survival required a few things I'm not proud of." Wheeljack looked up at Ratchet for a moment, expression indecipherable, before he glanced back down at Allison. "But, it's how you found me, isn't it?" His eyes were surprisingly soft, and Allison wondered why he was expressing such sentiments now. It was almost like he was grateful for her presence, relieved that the tug-of-war of accepting one another existed was over. That was at least something positive to come out of being attacked by Decepticons, because now there was no question of if they would show up and find her.
She paused for a moment, working out what to say when Wheeljack was very clearly expressing appreciation for her. She didn't know how to respond to that, considering everything that had happened, and everything they'd gone through because of it. "Maybe let's avoid stealing if we can… from now on." She still wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for food. It did smell good after all. It smelled normal. Opening the bag and peeking in, it looked unremarkable, and not at all like it had spent a couple hours floating inside some trans-dimensional pocket outside of time and space. "But thank you…" Stealing aside, he'd had the foresight to provide for her and that still mattered.
"I'll let you take care of that…" Wheeljack said dismissively, obviously disinterested in watching her eat, but that was fine by her. Allison didn't really want an audience for what she was about to do to this food, because she was starving. "We've got lots of work to do to get this energon out of you, but we don't have to start on that yet." She nodded at him, trying to focus on the meal in front of her rather than the reminder of the very real problem she still had. Sure, she was safe at the moment, but the threat of discovery from nefarious forces was still going to be a problem any time she wanted to try and do anything normal. Allison didn't like that feeling, and didn't look forward to whatever it was going to take to figure it out. She really was a test subject.
Left with that mildly unsettling thought, it was the first time Allison had the freedom and the peace to really sit and think about her situation. Needless to say, it was quite dire. Despite everything she felt isolated now, and while she didn't doubt that the Autobots had her best interests in mind she still felt fuzzy on where the boundaries lie. The last thing she wanted was to get in anyone's way, and while it was clear she was probably going to be spending a lot more time with Wheeljack she knew that the last thing he needed was a human underfoot.
The implications of that were troubling to say the least. Allison was a grown adult, not some child that needed to be sheltered or babysat. She wasn't stupid though. She was aware of the danger she was likely in, and the reality was nothing on Earth would be capable of protecting her from the threat they were facing. Except of course, for the Autobots. It still wasn't ideal, considering Allison had always valued her independence and, well, peace and quiet.
Thankfully the remaining Autobot occupant in the room left her alone while she ate, and that meant Allison could dwell on things in silence. She still felt a little unsettled about her temporary living arrangements, specifically with being this close to Ratchet. The medic had already been more than clear that he didn't want her occupying his workspace indefinitely. She suspected that it was less about her and more about him just preferring to be left to his work. She also didn't really like the idea of venturing too much further into a crashed alien ship alone, at least not right now. She was definitely curious but she was also smart enough to know the ship likely had a fair amount of danger for someone of her size.
There was also the sticky issue of her disappearance. At some point Allison knew she was going to need to check in with people who would be looking for her, most especially her own father. That didn't factor the possibility that contacting him could put them both at risk. She still didn't know her employment status. Surely at this point the people she worked with were aware of the damage at the repair shop, and with her missing, on top of the FBI agent's questions, she was bound to be suspect number 1.
Allison certainly never thought she'd find herself as a fugitive, running not only from the law, but also from metal alien warmongers who would be far less open to reason if they caught her. It was just a little more excitement than she was bargaining for when she made the decision to find Wheeljack. She battled with her own internal dialogue, wondering if the closure she'd sought out for so long was worth all the peril she now found herself in.
Once she was done eating, Allison grabbed her bag to take stock of her belongings, immediately finding the pill bottles she'd gotten from the hospital the night before. Unwrapping the folded paper beneath the rubber band around them, she set the painkillers aside. They were prescription, so stronger than over-the-counter, and might come in handy in a pinch later. She read the instructions for the antibiotics. Easy enough, take one twice a day with food. Since she'd already eaten, she popped open a bottle and swallowed one dry. She didn't want to bother Ratchet again for water, but knew sooner than later she was going to need to approach that topic with them. Wheeljack had given her some the last time she had been there, so obviously they used water for something?
The next thing she pulled out was her phone charger. Sighing, Allison looked down at the plug and took in how useless it was with no outlet to plug it in to. Tossing it to the side she looked down at her phone, it was hard to picture that at some point Wheeljack had been in possession of it and had somehow been able to mess with it. By all accounts it didn't look any different, so it left her wondering how exactly he'd managed to modify it. Surely they didn't have compatible cables on this ship, not to mention the computer coding internally was completely foreign to them.
But looking down at the seemingly innocuous hello from Wheeljack stacked at the top of her message threads, it was obvious that this was not a roadblock in his way. Her thumb hovered over the entry and she hesitated, deeply invested in testing out his modification to see if it did what he said it did. Allison wondered if it would be intrusive, but she had to make sure it worked. After all, Wheeljack had only contacted her, and the whole point was for her to be able to contact him if there was an emergency.
Decision made, Allison tapped the message thread and paused, thinking of what to say. She chewed on her lip nervously, wondering how stupid this was. Wheeljack had left not even ten minutes prior. But this was all for the sake of testing after all. He would understand that, right? Besides, it would be far more disastrous to find out it didn't work if she were in an emergency situation and actually needed to reach him.
Allison kept her message basic, not wanting to seem too eager. She typed out a very simple just testing this… and hit Send. She didn't even have time to regret or feel anything about her decision, because the ellipses indicating a reply appeared for not even a second before a response arrived.
-of course it works. miss me already?-
That was not the response she expected, and despite the lack of obvious emotional inflection in any text-based communication it was painfully obvious Wheeljack was teasing her. Allison was surprised it even had punctuation.
Allison also had no idea how to answer that question, though she doubted he expected a serious reply. Her cheeks burned and she suddenly felt rather silly, and almost shy. She wasn't sure why she was feeling that way, but maybe it was because Wheeljack was being so unexpectedly…familiar with her.
-you literally just left I haven't had a chance to miss you yet lol-
Oddly enough there was a pause, where Wheeljack didn't immediately respond, until finally the ellipses blipped on her screen for the briefest of seconds.
-i don't understand what you mean by-
Allison waited for him to finish his thought, realizing that because he wasn't technically communicating to her through text like she was, he couldn't express his own mental pauses or hesitation in a way she would immediately understand. His message just stopped. The lack of capitalization was probably because her phone was simply transcribing his thoughts. She also realized he probably didn't understand human texting lingo.
-sorry. It's just human text slang. it means laugh out loud.-
-you're laughing right now?-
-no- She had to resist the insatiable urge to type lol again. -it's an expression, like the situation is funny, or silly, or embarrassing…- Allison realized she was maybe revealing something about herself she wasn't intending to. She wasn't embarrassed, it was more like a verbal habit that was just ingrained in her communication style. -it's not meant to be literal.-
Maybe she did miss him in a way, because her situation felt isolating even though she wasn't truly alone. Hell, if she was being honest with herself, she'd been missing him since she was seven years old. She frowned to herself, letting that thought sink in just as the ping of a responding message came through.
-that makes little sense, but okay.- Thankfully he didn't seem to notice anything amiss. -are you satisfied that it does what i said it would do?-
-yes thank you. I'll stop bothering you.- Allison hadn't meant to sound that self-deprecating, but realized after hitting send he may literally interpret it that way. Communicating with Wheeljack in this manner was going to be more difficult than she thought.
Before she had time to clarify, he'd already responded. -you're not bothering me.-
-I mean I'll let you do what you need to do. I just wanted to make sure it worked, so thank you.-
-you're welcome.-
That was probably the best opening to end the conversation and leave him alone. She found herself smiling about the whole interaction, as it was almost familiar in its mundanity. It was hard grappling with the fact that after all these years, she was in his presence again, interacting, and in a manner that almost felt like they'd known each other for a long time. They didn't of course, and as much as she wanted to tell herself that she understood him, she still knew very little. Despite how often she spoke about him during therapy in abstracts, and as much as she doodled drawings of him from memory in the corner of a classroom, she didn't know him. There was still so much to learn; about each other, she supposed. Though, she didn't deny that it helped that he was being so kind to her, even now. She really did feel safe.
"What are you so happy about?" Ratchet's sudden intrusion into Allison's bubble of isolation—she'd literally forgotten he was still in the room with her—made her jump with a start. Flustered, Allison stood up in the mess of blankets and began looking for a way back down. Without Bumblebee there to help her it was going to be a bit of a challenge.
"Nothing," Allison said, before trying to change the subject. "Could you help me please? I need to get down and it might be too high for me to jump." She needed fresh air and couldn't ignore it any longer. "I could try."
"No." Ratchet could not have responded faster, and Allison made a mental note of how to get his compliance going forward. Not that she would need it, but it was a fun bit of information to have locked away if he was that concerned about her intentionally hurting herself. He walked around the berths with an exasperated look on his face before unenthusiastically sliding a crate from beneath one of the shelves. It was now situated beneath the shelf she was on. Ratchet looked… annoyed, but in a weirdly fond way and his silence spoke volumes.
It was tall enough that she was able to slide off the shelf and onto the box without injury. "I guess I'll have to manage," Allison said unseriously, trying not to smile too much at how easily he was baited. "Thank you!" The absurdity of the idea that these aliens were now forced to try and make their ship somewhat habitable for a human was not lost on her. She was quite literally not suited for this environment, but wasn't entirely beyond reminding them that at least Wheeljack was partially at fault for this. "I'll remind Wheeljack to engineer up some stairs."
"Do that." Ratchet said gruffly, though Allison thought she detected the hint of a smile. "Frankly it'll be nice for him to have a project that won't explode. If you're lucky." Allison didn't want to ask how Wheeljack would manage to make stairs that would explode so she let it go. Ratchet didn't seem too angry with the interruption as he turned back to his duties, which felt like a personal win.
"Maybe I'll just stick with the box, so thanks," she said, which earned her a sideways wave in acknowledgment. Bidding Ratchet farewell she tried to get her bearings and retrace her steps from when she'd walked outside with Bumblebee.
Mercifully Allison didn't run into anyone on the way out so her path was unhindered. Once she made it to the open cargo room the natural light from outside flooded the passage with illumination to the point she had to shield her eyes temporarily. The air was cool and the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze was a nice change from the constant humming of the electronics of the ship that permeated the base. It felt like she could finally relax a bit, until…
There was something else riding on the wind, too. Allison heard the distinct sound of vehicles approaching, though, they were not quite vehicles which could only mean one thing. She hadn't really prepared herself for more socializing just yet, but she was sort of trapped out in the open and it would have looked even dumber to turn around and walk back through the strange vertigo-inducing hologram. At first she fretted that the Decepticons had already found them, but there was no way her luck could be that crappy. Instead she stood still and panicked internally, not sure what to do with herself as the alien engines grew louder.
It was the twins. Allison hadn't really interacted with them yet except for passing acknowledgments and their recent valent rescue. There had been a little too much going on to spare time for introductions, and Bumblebee had seemed… protective of her emotional state as well as her physical safety in the aftermath. When they'd arrived at the old abandoned warehouse, she'd been adamant that she was not in the mood to go into the building where there were several very large bodies standing around. She was feeling just a little bit vulnerable and exposed after running for her life from multiple equally large hazards, so she wasn't keen on additional trauma. Bumblebee had insisted on staying outside with her, seemingly not willing to take his eyes off her, and by that point Allison was done fighting and honestly didn't care. He hadn't been the problem, she was still a little unsure of them and she just needed the space.
Now, Allison couldn't shake the vague sense of feeling just a little bit cornered when the two, nearly identical sports cars came barreling up the hill. They looked incredibly out of place in the middle of the wilderness driving up wild terrain, but somehow maneuvered through the muck with ease. It was obvious they were aware of her presence, because the red one taking up the front came to a sudden, skidding stop several of their large paces away from her. The yellow one was a little slower to react. He obviously knew she was there, he just didn't seem to be in as much of a hurry to acknowledge her.
She'd just wanted to get some fresh air, not have to discuss her presence with two new unfamiliar Autobots, but it seemed she couldn't escape it. They transformed almost in unison, though Allison noted the sequence of shifting parts and armor plates was slightly different between the two of them. That made sense, seeing as they did not share the same exact bodily features despite being identical cars. It was probably never going to get normal watching them change back and forth between the familiar and the alien, but it wasn't as jarring as the first time she saw Wheeljack transform.
No one spoke first, and at least on Allison's part, she was trying to come up with an appropriate way to introduce herself, while also expressing gratitude for saving her life. Not even therapy had prepared her for this type of conversation.
The red one, who she now knew to be Sideswipe, approached her first. His expression was more surprised and curious than his twin. His eyes were unusually wide and bright, and he took a cautious step away from his brother while raising his hand as if in greeting.
"Ba weep gr—OW!" Sideswipe jolted, stumbling sideways as he was elbowed hard by Sunstreaker before Allison could even try to understand what was being said to her. It certainly hadn't been English.
"They don't use that here, dumb aft." Sunstreaker muttered, his eyes narrowing at his brother nursing his side. That all but confirmed Sideswipe was communicating in some bizarre manner to her, but she had no idea what it was. "They understand hello just fine." She wasn't sure if that was meant to be a greeting or not. It sure didn't feel like it was directed at her.
Allison had barely even worked out how to say anything, and she now found herself watching them converse with each other as if what had just occurred was common. It was like gentle sibling bickering, though she wasn't exactly an expert considering she had no siblings of her own. "Oh yeah, I guess humans wouldn't be expected to know that." Sideswipe looked sheepish, a wild concept for a robot, though it was clear as day as he rubbed at the back of his head idly. While Bumblebee had seemed young and boyish for lack of a better term, he still radiated a distinct aura of maturity and a deep sense of responsibility. Sideswipe on the other hand based on first impressions seemed... oblivious. That wasn't the most kind perhaps, but there was an aloofness to him that came from what must have been confidence.
Finally he returned his big glowing eyes back to Allison and smiled widely. It was so… genuine, it almost made her start to blush and she wasn't sure why. "Hello! I hope you're feeling better, Allison. I'm Sideswipe." He pointed at his own chest. They know my name, she thought miserably. She'd been wandering around unsure of their identities and their motivations, while they had at least bothered to learn who she was. He waved then, though the gesture was more tentative than when Bumblebee had met her for the first time. Almost like he wasn't sure he was greeting her correctly, though based on his first attempt that maybe wasn't too far off. It was such an unexpectedly casual action that Allison almost laughed as she offered a wave back.
Sideswipe was looking expectantly at the yellow Autobot next to him, who may as well have been in a different place entirely. He wasn't paying attention, and after a moment of silence it became painfully obvious he was waiting for Sunstreaker to introduce himself. Allison couldn't take it any longer.
"That must mean you're Sunstreaker. Thank you for shooting the robot cat off of me." Allison was going to try not to take it to heart that he couldn't even be bothered to tell her his name himself. She wanted to make the effort at least so that no one could blame her for not trying.
For a moment, it almost looked like it worked. Sunstreaker looked startled, his more narrowly focused eyes widening with a flash of surprise before returning to what seemed to be their typical shape. Allison couldn't tell if that's just how his eyes were or if he was perpetually scowling, the frown on his face more cautious and uncertain than malicious.
"Are you supposed to be out here alone?" It was duly noted that he did not technically greet her, or really respond to her efforts to take the first step. The very pointed inquiry was directed at her when his expression finally hardened again, like a mask solidifying in place. The question almost sounded accusatory, like she was in trouble, and immediately Allison felt annoyed. For whatever reason, he didn't seem to like her very much, and while she should have expected they wouldn't all be as warm to her as Wheeljack was, it still made her feel suddenly wary. He was... big.
Could she blame him? She was an outsider after all, an organic inhabitant of the planet where they had sought refuge. Humanity would likely not be kind to their presence, and they probably knew that. Their entire existence here had been a hard-fought secret that had managed to stay contained… until she'd come into the picture. In a way, she was an intrusion in their little zone of safety, and so far she'd managed to cause a number of problems. Of course not all of them would immediately trust her.
She still didn't need to be disrespected. It was her planet after all. "I don't need permission," Allison said, immediately realizing it sounded more undignified than it did in her head. Suddenly, she was feeling a lot less confident in her offense, because the last thing she needed was to start off on the wrong foot with anyone. "I mean, I was told I was free to go anywhere as long as I don't wander too far." She suspected they obviously knew about the energon, because they would have sensed it on her the prior evening. "I prefer my independence to having a chaperone at all times."
It was near imperceptible but she could almost see Sunstreaker nod. "Sure." She really didn't understand him or what he was thinking, but it also wasn't her job to make him respect her. She'd finally gotten on the same page with Wheeljack now that they were no longer pushing each other's boundaries (or rather, she was no longer pushing his boundaries). The idea that she would now be on someone else's bad side was incredibly unappealing, especially when this just felt different somehow. While Wheeljack had been more guarded, and she now understood it was intentional, Sunstreaker seemed more… confrontational. It was like he was out to start a fight on his own terms before someone pulled him into one. If he disliked her enough to pick a fight with her, she lacked the confidence in her odds in that scenario.
"I didn't really get a chance to say it before, but thank you…" She looked down at her hands, where they were clasped in front of her in marked discomfort. Their massive shadows shrouded her in darkness, making her feel just a little bit dwarfed by their size. When Sideswipe finally shifted her head jerked upwards instinctively.
"For what?" Sideswipe's expression looked sincerely perplexed, as if the heroic rescue of a total stranger was the last thing to come to mind. She remembered what he'd said the first time he saw her in the mall—"You're… her!"—and it made her wonder exactly what they'd known before showing up. Ratchet had been very clear to Bumblebee that he was not supposed to tell anyone else, but had he decided to do it anyway because he thought it was safer? Technically, had he been wrong to do so?
"You helped me, when you didn't know who I was. Did Bumblebee tell you?"
Sunstreaker shrugged. His shoulders were larger than Sideswipe's, and it was the first real physical detail she could focus on. "He didn't tell us anything, we just followed him because we knew he was hiding something. You were just there." He waved his hand dismissively. Allison's mouth suddenly felt dry, and she could feel the antibiotic pill sitting in her throat. She wasn't sure why that suddenly made her uncomfortable. It certainly was an unsympathetic way to describe the evening, maybe deflating even, especially considering how much of a different story she remembered his face telling when he saw her pinned under Ravage…
Sideswipe sighed dramatically, and the way his shoulders moved made the wheels there spin slightly. "What my brother means to say is we're glad you're okay…" He looked sideways at his yellow twin, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. It was hard to tell what meaningful communication was happening between them, because it almost felt like a feeling, rather than any internal verbalization of disagreement. So it seemed, Sideswipe was the more amicable of the two, at least with first impressions.
Looking at them now in the brief pause, Allison could clearly see how they differed in physical terms. They were pretty big, but rather than bulk, they were clearly built for speed as well as strength. They weren't small by any means, and certainly had some mass to them that gave the impression of muscle, but the way their armor panels meshed together seemed more suited to endurance and agility rather than brute force. She was only just noticing it now, but Wheeljack was massive by comparison, like he was contrastingly more suited to just blow through every obstacle in his path.
The two couldn't be any more different, yet there were subtle similarities here and there. Allison recognized them as elements that belonged to their vehicle forms, but located in different areas on their bodies. The variance contributed to their clearly distinct identities, and Allison wondered how much of that was naturally occurring, and how much was personal choice. That was where the resemblances ended, because nothing else about them suggested they were twins. Sideswipe was red and black, with parts of his limbs outfitted with white panels, while Sunstreaker was mostly yellow with similar black accents. Both of their heads were black, though she had come to realize that all Cybertronian faces seemed to be gray in color.
Sunstreaker was nothing if not aggressive looking, and for the first time she noticed that he had panels on either side of his head similar to Wheeljack's, though they obviously must have served a different purpose. For one thing, they didn't blink when Sunstreaker grumbled pleasant words at her, (mostly because he didn't ever seem to say anything pleasant), and these curved upwards like horns. It was as if their actual purpose was to make Sunstreaker appear more dangerous, like a visual display of ferocity. Wheeljack's on the other hand were far less warlike, while being utilitarian in function.
Sideswipe on the other hand certainly was not as threatening looking, at least not from direct visual indicators. The black paneling around his head also had horn-like adornments, but they were far less pronounced and more like prongs angled upwards. Everything was more compact and less obvious. It made it easier to focus on the way his eyes were more friendly and softer than his brother's.
It was like they were on completely opposite sides of a spectrum of temperament. Maybe they literally were in a biomechanical alien sense, because she still didn't know a whole lot about their biology and what it meant to be twins within their species.
These details weren't super relevant when they were both standing above her looking down at her, but at least she could tell them apart.
Finally, as if just becoming aware of himself, Sideswipe dropped down to one knee to crouch in front of her. The action was so quick and hurried it made Allison jump because she wasn't expecting him to fall onto one knee. He seemed to understand what he'd done, and suddenly his face softened to something more calm to succeed his earlier exuberance.
"Bumblebee was hiding something, and to me that may as well be a challenge." He smirked, his overall countenance now more impish. "He thought he was being sneaky, but I wasn't going to let him get away with it so I followed him." He gestured very off-handedly to Sunstreaker behind him, who was staring down at Sideswipe with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Allison wasn't sure what made her think this, but he looked very protective of himself now. "He just tagged along because he's boring and has nothing better to do." This earned him what sounded like a scoff from his brother who finally tore his eyes away to stare off into space, clearly unimpressed. Despite that, his body language became more relaxed, like some of the ice of first impressions had chipped away.
"May I remind you that you and Bumblebee would have matching holes courtesy of Soundwave had I not shown up to save your afts." Sunstreaker's eyes flicked down towards Allison very briefly, and it was so subtle she almost missed it. He was calling attention to the fact that he'd saved her without mentioning it, and she didn't know how to interpret that.
"I could have taken him," Sideswipe sniffed, flaring his armor panels slightly in a very likely display of confidence, almost like a peacock showing off. Allison was becoming a little more familiar with understanding their physical displays of their temperament as well, and it seemed their armor panels were just another means of expressing emotion.
"I mean, keep hanging around me and maybe you'll get your chance," Allison said. It was very much a joke and sort of just slipped out, even though there was an element of truth to it. She had a deep, festering feeling that she was going to encounter a Decepticon again. Maybe even several, and that was a disturbing thought. For his part, Sunstreaker raised an eyebrow. It was slight, but Allison caught it.
Sideswipe laughed, oblivious to his brother's brief slip of approval, and gestured in Allison's direction. "I like her. She's dangerous."
Allison raised her hands, flushing with uncertainty at such a blunt statement of acceptance. "Ah, I wouldn't go that far, I'd rather not be squished like a bug. You might be able to take him. I'll be happy to just watch. Preferably from very far away."
"Probably for the best." Whatever possible admiration Sunstreaker may have secretly had for her moment of bravado was already clearly disappearing. His head was turned to the side, as if his interest in the conversation had evaporated along with it. "You should probably run along now." Oddly enough, Allison wasn't detecting any malice. They hadn't really talked long enough to establish that. If anything, Sunstreaker just seemed quick to avoid extended conversation, which to her felt like maybe he was hiding his real feelings about her. Perhaps even protecting something. She filed that feeling away for later.
Besides, Allison was eager to continue her walk and investigate the area. She noted that Sideswipe suddenly looked uncomfortable, his eyes glancing around with uncertainty. It looked like he wanted to say something, so Allison waited expectantly.
"So uh…" He started, and Allison could almost feel the tension radiating off of Sunstreaker now, while he waited with bated… breath for whatever his brother was about to say. It was like he was anticipating hearing something he was going to disagree with. "Do you… wanna hang out sometime?"
"Uhm— " Allison didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like she was in high school again, waiting for a boy to ask her to prom. This wasn't that, but there was a nervous energy about this Autobot that hadn't been there when Bumblebee had confidently strolled through the Ark with her in tow. Maybe that was the Autobot scout's natural affinity towards social interaction, something these two clearly didn't share. "—You mean like right now?" She winced, realizing that maybe sounded rude.
"N-no, I just meant in general…" Oh, Sideswipe was adorable. He actually looked embarrassed, and Allison thought she detected an odd sheen on his face—was he blushing?! Was that a thing they could do?
"Primus this is awkward." Sunstreaker's eyes rolled up in his head, clearly having every desire to distance himself from the exchange. "Just don't step on her, they die too easily. You won't hear the end of it from Wheeljack." Before Allison could even think of something to say in response to his sudden animosity, he turned to walk into the mountain alone. "Do whatever you want, I need to wash this planet's filth off…"
Sideswipe was frowning, his gaze following his brother's retreat before he sighed, slumping a bit as he crossed his arms across the large red panels on his chest. He seemed disappointed.
"Your brother is kind of an asshole," Allison mumbled, the words falling out of her mouth before she could stop them. She felt a sudden flick of alarm across all her nerve endings as she realized just how rude that sounded, but hell what Sunstreaker said was mean.
"Sorry," Sideswipe muttered. "Don't read too much into it. He's like that with everyone." He brightened a bit, straightening. "I think he likes you though."
Allison found this hard to believe. "What makes you say that?"
"He hasn't blasted you yet."
"Wow. I'm honored." Allison laughed nervously. She knew she should have been more concerned with this statement than she was, but Sideswipe looked far too earnest for her to take it as anything other than a genuine compliment.
Sideswipe made a noise that sounded like a chuckle, before his expression sobered. It was a wild contrast to how giddy and unserious he'd seemed not moments earlier. "Seriously though, please give him a chance. I think he could really use one…" There was something underneath the words that Sideswipe wasn't saying, but Allison thought she understood it well enough. Her prior assumptions that his prickly manner was nothing but projection seemed accurate now more than ever. "He uh… doesn't really trust that easily. Took him forever to trust the Autobots, but I kind of forced him into that one. Just based on experience I guess," He suddenly seemed uncomfortable, a tension apparent in his body that was maybe called up from memories that were typically buried.
"I understand," Allison supplied. She didn't know what else to say, and it seemed neither did the Autobot in front of her. He seemed a bit more wary of her reactions than the others had thus far, and maybe that made sense based on what he said about trust. Now, in this moment, maybe Sideswipe wanted to trust her, but he was waiting for an inevitable rejection, or maybe even worse, for her to rebuke him.
Sideswipe, though he didn't really know her, looked as if he was waiting for permission to spend time with her because she wasn't one of them. "Actually, I think I'd like to hang out now. If you're still interested." Or maybe, she was just someone new and interesting to spend time with. Allison was sort of getting the idea that they were all very lonely, starved of any meaningful contact with someone that wasn't also scared for their life and waiting for death to find them. Maybe that was why they were so eager to help her. She wasn't a threat, capable of socialization, and she was new. She was an anomaly not of their war, and maybe that was an escape. Allison wasn't sure she liked that responsibility, but like it or not, she was as tied to them as they were to her now.
Not to mention, she literally was scared and waiting for death at any moment, but she guessed not in the same way they were. That probably explained why Wheeljack was suddenly acting so present. The fact that she'd nearly been strung up by their mortal enemies was probably a huge motivator for that too. There was also the very obvious fact that she was at an incredible disadvantage, and they were in a unique position to protect her while also solving a problem that technically they had caused. Maybe it was even instinct.
Sideswipe looked in the direction his brother had disappeared off to, like an anticipatory need for permission but there was no one there. He finally turned back to her, his expression a mask of eagerness with eyes that were hopeful.
/
