Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The bright Texas sun beamed down on the city of Paris, turning the cool morning into a scorching afternoon. Soon it would become an unbearable heat strong enough to melt away even the strongest of metals. A normal person would call it a heatwave, but a Texan would call it chilling.

It was almost peaceful, in a way. There was just something about the silence the heat brought that made everything slow.

“Dad. You’ve skipped breakfast. Again.” Tessa Yeager frowned as she set down the tray of food on her father’s work bench. Her summer had just officially started, and it was starting to look like she’d be spending her time taking care of her father. She could practically feel her youth slipping away from her at the thought of it.

Silence met her in response, the sound of metal on metal echoing throughout the barn. Of course. He was too engrossed in his work to pay her any mind. It’s not like Tessa cared anyway. Moments like these gave her the time she needed to ‘study.’ Though— she hesitated to leave her father’s side. When was the last time he took a break?

“Dad.” One of her delicate hands landed upon his shoulder, startling him from his work induced trance. “You should eat.”

“Not right now sweetie.” Cade Yeager sighed as he pushed up his welding helmet. “I’m almost done with this thing—“

“That’s what you said two hours ago.”

Her father opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sudden sound of his phone ringing. Lucas. He must’ve found something good. He grabbed the phone without a second thought, mouthing an apologetic ‘sorry’ to Tessa before she left the barn. Cade answered the call and held the phone to his ear, listening intently to whatever Lucas was trying to tell him. For being as incompetent as he was, Lucas was pretty good at finding repairable items. Maybe taking him on as an assistant wasn’t a bad idea after all.

“Anyways— you need to come see this. It’s like a playground, but for losers like you,” Lucas let out a wheezy laugh before being hung up on by Cade. A playground? Such a term was almost laughable. He hadn’t been able to get his hands on anything in ages, aside from his neighbors dropping off their broken shit. It was a tough industry he found himself in, so to hear that there was something waiting for him was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

The drive to town was one that filled Cade with anticipation. It almost felt too good to be true, in a way. Could this be the thing to turn his life around? He hoped so. Scholarships and financial aid were only going to get Tessa so far before she faced debt. He didn’t want her to experience the same thing he’s been struggling with his entire life.

He wound up getting to town before Lucas, but only by a few minutes. Putting on his cap, he stepped out of his truck and sauntered over to his assistant’s vehicle. Loud (and awful) music met his ears, only to be shut off by the wannabe surfer.

“The surf report no good at South Padre?” Lucas all but chuckled at the taunt, rolling his eyes as he led his boss to the building.

“The waves are flat and I’ve got no gas,” he shoved his hands into his pockets, not sparing Cade a second glance as they walk. “You know that, man.” He came off as annoyed, and he had every right to be. After all— how many times had he been paid since he picked up this damned ‘job’? Lucas could practically count his paychecks on one hand.

The taller of the two threw his hands in the air with a frustrated sigh. “Dude. Rude.”

Lucas opened the door for Cade, shooting him a glare as he walked by. They quickly introduced themselves to the owner of the building before allowing their eyes to wander. Cade could hear Lucas chatting it up with the owner behind him, but he tuned them out. He was on a mission. He didn’t have time for simple conversation. The sound of their voices turned into white noise as soon as he laid his eyes upon an old semi truck that was hidden away in the far corner of the room. It was in rough condition, bullet holes decorating the hood and the driver’s side door, but Cade Yeager thought it to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He almost hesitated to get closer to it, secretly afraid that his mind was playing tricks on him.

Before he knew it, he was throwing open the door, dodging the junk that fell from it and dusting off the steering wheel. Dust hit him in the face immediately, causing him to cough. He hadn’t this anxious since high school. Would the parts be good enough? What if he couldn’t do anything with them—

His thinking came to a screeching halt when he noticed the truck didn’t have an ignition. Nor did it have the Peterbilt logo in the center of the steering wheel. It was missing. Quickly, he covered it back up with a rag and hopped out of the truck, slamming the door shut before walking over to Lucas and the owner.

“How much for the truck?” He could sense his future riding on this purchase. God— he could practically taste the success!

“Are you going to pay me for this one?” Lucas interjected, waving a hand in front of Cade’s face only to be ignored. “Please tell me I’m getting paid…” he groaned and hung his head, listening to the other two men discuss the price.

“You got cash on you right?”

Lucas nodded.

“Good. I’ll be right back. I need to make a quick call.” Cade pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushing past the doors and heading towards his car as he dialed a number that he hadn’t thought of in what felt like years. He paced back and forth, holding the phone to his ear and he praying for the other end to pick up. It was an awful feeling, really. Especially since this call had the potential to change everything for him and Tessa.

He heard a click and the sound of static. The sound allowed him to release a breath that he quite literally didn’t realize he was holding.

“What do you want.” The sound of your voice echoed in his ear, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you in the area?” Cade forced himself to swallow, his eyes watching the sight of the truck being loaded up.

“Why?” Your tone came off as annoyed and curious. You knew he was up to something, and you didn’t like the anticipation that he was building. It was suspicious. And you didn’t fuck with suspicious.

“I bought something. A truck.” He got into his own truck and started it, getting ready to lead the tow truck back to his house. “I know you’re gonna want to see it, so get your ass out here.” The other end of the line went silent. Had you hung up? He checked his phone. No. You were thinking. “The guest room is ready,” he paused to put the truck in drive, “I’ll have Tessa make your favorite.”

More silence. Did it seriously take you that long to think?

“I’d better not regret this, Yeager.” And like that, you hung up.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

You’ve known Cade Yeager since your freshman year of high school. Your cd player had broken and people told you to hand it over to him, convincing you that he’d be better than any repair shop. Foolishly, you believed them and gave him your player. The damn thing is currently sitting in his barn, on a shelf for everyone to see. Sure you didn’t your music privileges back, but you gained a lifelong friend. Upon thinking about it, you couldn’t really remember how you and Cade actually came to be friends, let alone more than that. There was just something about it that confused you. Especially since you and him were on polar opposite sides of the social ladder. Your family was well off and important to the community, while the name Yeager was treated as if it were a curse.

Despite that— you and Cade were close until you left for college. After that things get a little bit hazy. Blah blah Tessa was born, blah blah you became the most famous private investigator in the Midwest, and so on and so forth. The story practically writes itself.

As you stared at his contact on your phone, you couldn’t help but be drawn to the memories that you shared with him. He was a good man, and he tried to be the best father he could. He didn’t deserve the situation he was in, but you weren’t going to waste your time telling him something he already knew. You got into your car with a sigh, slapping on a pair of sunglasses before heading out on the road. Lucky for him you were in the area, so you got to spend less time in a car you didn’t trust.

Call it paranoia, but you found it hard to trust anything after what happened in Chicago.

The sound of the radio greeted you, and the road called out to you. It begged you to be on your way, a request that you wasted no time fulfilling. The sight of the Texan fields passed by you in a flash, sending you back to your youth. Had you had the time to reminisce, you would have, but you were on a mission. Cade was up to something, and you were desperate to cover his ass. You had a gut wrenching feeling that whatever it was wouldn’t work out in the end, but you couldn’t be sure just yet.

Unfortunately, Cade had quite the history with the law. And by the looks of it, more trouble was heading his way if he was stealing power from his neighbors. You slowed your car as you turned into his driveway, observing his setup. You’d definitely have to slip him some money tonight after dinner.

Dust trailed behind you as you crept your way up the Yeager driveway. You could see the silhouette of his not so fancy new truck in the distance. The closer you got the more of an eyesore it appeared to be. God what led him to making this decision.

From the looks of things, they had just barely beat you there. You saw three people. Cade, Tessa, and… Lucas. You shuddered at the mere sight of him. You’d never understand why Cade chose to hire such a greedy bum as his assistant.

“A truck?” Tessa threw out her arms in disbelief, watching as they unloaded the beat to shit semi. “Dad please tell me that you didn’t spend our money on… this.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and scoffed, shaking her head. It was then that she noticed you leaning against the hood of your car. “Oh thank God you’re here! Please, go talk some sense into him.” Her hand grabbed your arm as she begged you, shaking you gently. You couldn’t help but flash her a smile.

“Don’t worry kid, I’ll knock him around for you.” The blonde nodded at your words before taking a step back. You crossed your arms and watched the two men fiddle with their new purchase. “So how much did you spend on this piece of shit?” Cade visibly startled at the sound of your voice, his head shooting up so he could see you.

“Oh he didn’t spend anything,” Lucas chimed in, sounding pissy as ever. “He used my money to get this thing. One fifty.” Ugh. The sound of his voice was enough to make your eye twitch.

“Consider it an advancement on your regular paycheck.”

“Why am I here, Cade.” You hadn’t moved from your spot, your arms still crossed. It was an intimidating sight, really. There was just something about the way you carried yourself.

“I’ll get to that,” he groaned as he guided the truck into the barn, “Just give me a sec.” The truck creaked and wobbled as it moved. Such a piece of junk it was. Hopefully it had some decent parts that he could use.

“You got any idea what this engine runs for?” You inspected the truck as you walked over to it. Cade sent Tessa inside to change her outfit. Something about her shorts shrinking by the second. Once she was gone, you were left with Cade and Lucas.

“I thought she looked hot,” Lucas shrugged. Both you and Cade shot him a glare, causing him to tense. He raised his hands in defense, taking a step back from the two of you.

After a few more moments of tense silence, Lucas wandered over to a recliner in the corner of the barn, kicking his feet up and relaxing. He was waiting for one of Cade’s many inventions to deliver him a beer, and he was in the middle of encouraging it when Tessa walked in. She looked unimpressed, but don’t all teenagers? You figured it was in reference to the truck, or maybe to how hunched over Cade was at his desk. Such a position was far from good for his posture, not like he cared. You chose to take a step back so you wouldn’t get dragged into their talk, wandering over to where the truck was propped up on the far side of the barn.

“Dad, you can’t just keep bringing in junk in an attempt to make cooler junk.” She picked up something on the table, inspecting it closely with a look of pure confusion. Though, her voice faded away the nearer you got to the truck. You felt as if you were drawn to it, like something was beckoning you to come closer. The sound of Lucas’ cheering brought you back to reality. It seems he got his beer.

Upon further inspection you noticed that the holes that decorated the front of the truck couldn’t have been caused by a regular gun. This thing was attacked by something high tech. But why? What was the driver doing to be hunted by someone wielding a weapon that caused such damage? You traced your fingers over one of the holes, leaning in to get a better look. Despite the massive damage done to the exterior of the vehicle, the engine and everything seemed to be untouched. How odd.

“This is a temple of technology,” Cade threw his arms out wide, gesturing to the mess that was the barn, “you’re practically standing in a holy place.” You looked over your shoulder and past him, observing the vehicle that pulled into his driveway.

“Hey, you’ve got a visitor.” You hopped down from your spot, slowly walking over to where Tessa was standing. Both of you watched in silence as Cade went over to the woman to argue as she placed a beautiful little white paper on the screen door of the house that read ‘EVICTION NOTICE.’ You could practically feel the fear that washed over Tessa, and it made you feel horrible. You had known that things were bad out here, but you had no idea that it was this bad. It took about five minutes for the ‘trespassers’ to take their leave, and before you knew it, Cade was back inside the barn comforting Tessa. He looked stressed. Hell— the look in his eyes gave away all of his fear. He was exhausted, but he wouldn’t stop working.

In fact, once he finished his pep talk, Tessa went back inside and he went right back to work. At some point Lucas had left, but it was all just a blur to you. Hesitation filled your body as you tried to step over to Cade’s table, your questions dying on your tongue before you could even ask them.

“So what’s the deal with the truck?” You finally asked, breaking the silence. With a huff, you pulled yourself back and up onto one of his taller tables. You let your legs dangle while you waited for him to answer you. The sound of his tools clinking against metal was all that could be heard, making the tension between you two grow. The sun had slowly begun to set now, creating an orangey veil that replaced the blue sky. “Cade if you need any money, I’d be happy to lend you some—“

“Don’t. You know I can’t take that. I already owe you so much.” He groaned as he set down his tools, leaning back in his chair and throwing an arm over his eyes. Eventually he turned around, his gaze not quite meeting your own. “Plus I’ve got a few things I can sell on EBay, which should get me enough to make at least a couple of payments.” You haven’t seen him this stressed since Emily was pregnant with Tessa. They had called her their happy little accident, something that you never let them forget.

“Fine. Just know that the offer still stands.” You hopped down, sticking your hands out to keep your balance. Your eyes wandered past the barn doors, lingering on the lights that illuminated the farmhouse. The sight of it made your heart clench. “Anyways, we should head inside. I’m hungry and you’re tired.” He huffed at your words. “We’ll talk more about why I’m here tomorrow, got it?”

The sound of crickets met your ears as soon as you stepped outside of the barn, a sound that you didn’t miss when you moved. You joined Tessa inside the house for a delicious dinner that she made herself, blessing your tastebuds before you retired to your room.

Even as you lay in bed, your mind raced. You were kept awake by your curiosity surrounding Cade’s latest purchase. Thinking about the history behind its wounds nearly gave you chills. Just what had caused them? And how had the engine not been damaged? Honestly it was quite impressive. Whoever did the shooting must’ve had a horrible aim. Your eyes popped open as you continued to think, your thoughts driving you to head back out to the barn and investigate the thing for yourself.

So there you stood, your eyes wide as you observed your latest fascination. The sound of crickets chirping made for excellent background noise while you worked. While it had been ages since you last worked on a vehicle, you still knew your way around one.It was essential knowledge for people of your field, which made you thankful that your father was a car nerd.

You started your work by washing up the exterior, bit by bit. You were careful not to snag the rag you were using on any of the holes. Those would get buffed out later, if possible. Once you were done giving it a wash, you moved on to tending to its interior. You washed up the seats, cleaned the windshield and windows, and even fixed up the radio. Though, there was something off about the steering wheel that caught your attention. The label on the front of the truck said Peterbilt, so why didn’t the wheel have the same logo? Actually— was there even a key to this thing? Where was the ignition?

As you pulled yourself out of the trance you found yourself in, you noticed that Cade was standing inside the doorway to the barn. His arms were crossed and his shoulder rested against the door frame. Words failed you as you stared at him, your eyes wide. Tense silence filled the barn, surrounding your very being as you waited for him to say something— anything. What gave him the right to stay so quiet? It was his fault you were here, and yet he still hadn’t explained it to you.

Slowly, you left the interior of the truck, closing the door gently behind you despite your suspicions. “Why in the hell did you bring this thing back to your house?!” A pregnant pause filled the air, being followed by the sound of you walking. Your steps seemed to echo within the empty barn, only adding to the growing tension between the two of you. “Are you stupid? What if it just up and transformed right here and now? What would you do? Accept your fate?” You threw your hands in the air, frustrated. “Cade! You could turn this in and get paid for it! Is that your plan? To get this piece of shit online so you can turn it over?”

“No. It’s not.” He had finally moved from his spot against the barn’s entrance. His eyes were fixated on the truck behind you, as if he too was entranced by the mysterious aura that surrounded it. “It’s offline. That much I know. I just…” he sighed, “I need the parts from it.” You couldn’t hide your surprise, nor could you suppress your anger.

“You’d be able to keep the house with that money—“ you groaned, shaking your head at the mere thought of his idiocy. “And you want to keep this thing just because you need the parts?” Your head was spinning. If that was all he wanted, then why had he called you here? To mock you? “You’re so caught up in this stupid fantasy that you’re willing to pass up on the opportunity to keep your house. You’d rather put you and your daughter in danger just because you need the parts?” Fists clenched at your sides, but you couldn’t stay mad at him. Yeah, what he wanted out of life was stupid, but if he said he needed the parts, then he needed the damn parts. You sighed and crossed your arms. “Well then. I guess we should get to work on getting those parts, no?”

“We?” Now it was his turn to stare at you.

“Well why else did you call me here?” You had grabbed a pair of jumper cables, holding them taut between your hands. “Do you have a spare battery? I think we ought to see if this thing is really offline before we work on it.”

“I… yeah.” He followed after you, grabbing the battery and setting it up as you got the cords straightened out. “Why the sudden change of heart? I thought this was dangerous?” The dim lighting in the barn highlighted his features, allowing you to see the concern that reflected in his eyes.

“I’m a witness to something illegal, so I’m stuck with you now.” You shrugged, climbing up the scaffolding so you could connect the wires to the engine of the truck. Once everything was set up, you turned to Cade, silently praying that nothing would happen.

Hesitantly, you connected each of the two cords to their respective spots, jumping at the sparks that flew into the air. Your heart was racing in your chest, your eyes wide. The radio system within the truck spurred to life, its message echoing throughout the barn.

“Calling… all… Autobots…”

“It’s alive!” Cade shouted, rushing up to join you. He was ecstatic, and his eyes were as wide as yours as he stared at the thing before you. “Y/n this thing is alive!” He was practically jumping for joy, all while you were fearing for your life. You shied away, creeping back down the scaffolding so you could see the truck from the ground.

And then it happened, something so fast that you could barely process what was going on. A missile shot out of the engine, right towards the house. Moments later, Tessa rushed out of the house and into the barn, shouting about the missive that had found itself in the family room. She was still in her pajamas, and she looked like rough. She was just as scared, and as confused, as you and Cade.

Your friend opened his mouth to say something, his back turned to the truck as he smiled. Though, the truck quickly took on a new form before he could even speak. A scream left Tessa, and you ran to get in front of her as your new guest awakened. Cade jumped and ran away from the being, nearly stumbling backwards in an attempt to avoid its swinging weapon.

“Woah woah woah!” He shouted, throwing his hands in the air in defense. The bot pointed its gun right at him, its blue optics staring him down.

“I’ll kill you!” It shouted, its voice shaking you to your core. “I’ll kill you! Stay back!” The power behind his voice was enough to make you feel genuine fear. Cade, however, was enamored by the creature, he looked back at you, wonder shining in his eyes.

“Don’t move,” he assured, his eyes moving from you to Tessa, who clung to your arm in fear. “He’s not going to hurt us.” The bot stumbled around a bit, trying to get some good footing, but to no avail. He was too injured to stand, and fell to his knees, sputtering and wheezing loudly.

“Weapons system damaged…”

“Dad, I’m calling 911…!” Tessa peeked out from over your shoulder, now staring at her father.

“No you’re not!” He shot her a look before quickly turning his gaze back to the transformer before you. “A missile hit your engine, and we,” he gestured to you, “took it out. You’re hurt really badly, and I’m just trying to help you.” He paused, cautiously taking a step towards him. The bot stiffened, causing Cade to halt his movements. “You’re in my home— my barn. My name is Cade Yeager, I’m an engineer— an inventor. Over there is my friend Y/n L/n. She’s a private investigator.”

You lowered your arms, allowing them to fall to the side as you looked up at him. Words failed to come to you, nausea washing over your very being as you stared. The bot moved his gaze from Cade to you, processing the information he had been given.

“Cade… Y/n… I am in your debt.” He had sat up straight now, using his fist to keep him upright. “My name is Optimus Prime.” You looked over at Tessa, who was awestruck.

“Sweetie, why don’t you go back inside the house. I’m sure your dad will sort everything out with you in the morning,” you raised a shaky hand to her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I’ll protect him.” Tessa searched your eyes desperately before giving in and heading back towards the house. Once she was out of your sight, you turned around to meet the blue gaze of the bot known as Optimus.

Panic seemed to hit him out of nowhere as he began to pace. “My Autobots… They’re in danger…” He wheezed, stumbling and falling to his knees once again. A part of his helm landed on the ground before you, a green, liquid-like substance spurting out from his new wound. The impact shook the barn and floor, making you stick out your arms so you could keep steady. “I need to go. I need to go now…”

Cade gestured for you to get closer, and you shot him a glare in response. “Hurry up! He needs our help!” The two of you now stood side by side in front of Optimus, observing him in tense silence.

“What happened to you?” You asked, sensing that he didn’t like being ogled by you.

“There was an ambush. A trap. Set by humans.” He said the last word with such disdain that it made you cringe. “I managed to escape and take on this form.”

“But if you’re on our side, why would humans want to hurt you?” Cade had handed you a rag and a bucket of soapy water, forcing you into getting closer to the Autobot. Reluctantly, you began to scrub, gently washing the metal plates that covered the wires that made up his being. He hadn’t answered your question, staying silent as both you and Cade began your work on him. Everything was going well until someone kicked the barn doors open, only to scream in surprise.

Lucas.

“What the fuck is that thing?!” The man pointed, dropping whatever was in his hands as he stared. “Oh my god I’m calling the police— no— the CIA…” You rushed over to where he was and shushed him, grabbing his phone out of his hand.

“Lucas if you so much as tell another person what you saw, I will find you and make you regret it.” Your voice left you in a hushed, threatening whisper. You grabbed his shirt and held him there.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Cade asked, pushing up his protective goggles to get a better look. It was about four in the morning now, and the dark sky was beginning to look lighter. Soon the sun would be up, and you would have more problems on your hands. Optimus stiffened once again at the sight of the surfer, silent and stoic as ever.

“Tessa called me, said I needed to come over and stop your crazy ass.” He looked back at the bot, leaning to the side to look over you. “You know there’s a number you call for these things. You should contact the government. Or someone, really. I’m sure they’d all pay you to hand it over.” You grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to the side, threatening him into silence. However, when he turned around, he ran face first into one of Cade’s many inventions. A large red mark appeared in the middle of his forehead, quickly swelling. He groaned in pain and held his head, rushing out of the barn. You heard him mention something about going to the doctor, watching as he stumbled towards the barn doors. What a wuss. He was completely fine.

Before you knew it, he was out of your sight, and his car was gone. You turned your gaze back to Cade, who had resumed his work on Optimus.

“He’s going to tell someone.” You grabbed your wet rag and walked back over to them. “You know that, right? He’s going to call that damn number for the reward money.” You began to scrub roughly, clearly frustrated. Cade wasn’t going to listen to you, and you knew that. You just weren’t ready to be right.

The sun had crested over the treetops, replacing the moon as it illuminated all it touched. The Texas heat would soon join it, but for now you could still enjoy the chilled air and the morning dew. Almost two hours had passed since Lucas had made an unexpected appearance, and you were beginning to grow exhausted. Cade had already retired to the house, leaving you alone with the alien. He seemed to notice your exhaustion, but never once commented on it. In fact, he hadn’t spoken much since you had begun to fix him up.

“Alright. I think you’re about as clean as I can get you.” The sound of your own voice made you cringe. You sounded so incredibly weary that you couldn’t even recognize your voice. “I can’t really work on your engine or anything, so I guess I’ll have to leave that to Cade.” You looked up at him, your eyes heavy.

“We call it a spark. It holds all our memories as well as keeps us alive.” He spoke for the first time in hours. The sound made you jump slightly, but you adjusted.

“Yeah? Well we call it a soul. A heart, if you will.” You set your rag to the side and yawned. It was tempting to just leave him out here by himself so you could go lay down in a real bed, but you knew you couldn’t do that. With heavy feet, you wandered off in the direction of the recliners in the corner of the barn. Sleeping there wasn’t ideal by any means, but it was still better than nothing. You relaxed into the seat and began to doze off. Before you knew it, sleep had encompassed you, and you were out like a light. The hours passed by as you slept, the sun now shining over the area of Paris Texas with an ominous aura about it.

Hours later, you awoke to the sound of shouting and screaming, as well as the feeling of the barrel of a gun being pressed against your temple.

Optimus was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Text

The feeling of a gun being pressed against you was something you hadn’t felt in quite a long time. You felt alive, a feeling that you’ve always sought out. However, the screams of both Cade and Tessa reached your ears, pulling you from your nostalgic memories. Now you mind was racing, urging you to act quickly.

You eyed your captor warily, immediately plotting your escape. In one swift movement, you had stolen the pistol out of his hand and kicked him to the ground, pointing the weapon at him. “You know, I didn’t expect you to go down so fast,” you scoffed and kicked him sharply in the ribs, rendering him unconscious. You added an extra kick for good measure before looking outside the barn doors.

Outside the barn there were several vehicles, as well as men dressed in black. Each of them were armed with tactical weapons, ones that you would only see out on the battlefield. They were clearly on a mission. You had your suspicions, but you decided to keep it to yourself for now. The men were too focused on your friends to notice that you had broken free. Slowly, you raised the gun in the air, taking your aim at the man who appeared to be in charge. He was standing next to the man that had Tessa pinned to the ground, his gaze focused on Cade. Now you had to wait.

“Where is it?!” He shouted— more like screamed— at Cade. He was using Tessa as leverage against him, his gun aimed at her. You could hear her sobbing loudly into the ground. She was begging for her father to save her, over and over again. The sound enraged you, and your finger found itself resting upon the trigger of your new weapon.

“I don’t know! He was in the barn but now he’s not there! I don’t know where he is!” Cade shouted in response, “Now let her go! Take me!” He was desperate, and it showed. The man in charge muttered a command to kill Tessa, and she screamed in fear. Now was your time.

By no means were you in a position to have a standoff with these men. There were more of them than there were you, plus they were all armed with guns you didn’t even know the name of. They were out to kill, and you were out to protect.

You drew in a deep breath before finally pulling the trigger, shooting the leader in the shoulder and knocking him back. “You let that girl go!” You called out, refusing to back down. “Let all of them go! That thing you’re looking for isn’t here, so give it u—“ You were mid speech when someone kicked you to the ground, holding you in place with their foot. Their weight crushed you, and you winced at the pain it brought. All you could do was watch in horror as the leader of the group ordered again for the man above Tessa to shoot her. She screamed and cried, and all you could do was watch.

“Tessa no—!” Cade shouted. His face was slammed into the ground, cutting him off as he fought to save his daughter. The shot you were waiting for never came, seeing as the barn was blown to pieces before anyone could react. Optimus’ voice rang out as shots were fired, urging you and your friends to get to safety. His aim was astounding. Even amidst all the chaos, he never hit one of the ones he was fighting to protect. You fought off your enemies, running towards Tessa and Cade as fast as you could.

But it wasn’t fast enough.

One of the men had managed to shoot you in the calf, causing you to fall forward and into the dirt. You let out a scream, struggling to rise back to your feet. Time seemed to slow, your vision blurry from the blood loss. You watched as some race car pulled up out of nowhere, snatching up Tessa and the others before you could even blink. Thankfully, Cade rushed towards you, scooping you up in his arms and making a run for it. You were almost to the car when something fired at the farmhouse, sending pieces of it every which way. Cade carefully set you down on the same seat as Lucas before rushing forward and hopping into the passenger’s seat of the car.

Flames burned brightly behind you, destroying everything in its wake. It hurt you to watch the scene. To think that you had so many memories there, and it wasn’t even your house. Your gaze drifted to Cade. You couldn’t imagine how he felt right now.

“Let’s go!” Cade shouted, slapping the dash of the vehicle. The mystery driver stepped on the gas, quickly heading off the property. Tessa leaned forward and placed her hand on the shoulder of the driver. Oh. So they knew each other.

“Who are they, baby?” The driver asked, briefly looking over his shoulder so he could see Tessa. He sounded panicked, just like the rest of you. Not like you cared though. You just didn’t want to die sitting next to Lucas Flannery.

“I don’t know! They want the truck!” Her voice shook, and her grip on his shoulder tightened.

Everything felt hazy, like the world around you was spinning. Your leg throbbed in pain, blood gushing out steadily onto the seat of the car. The sight seemed to gross Lucas out, since he had scooted away from you and cringed whenever you groaned. “Don’t look at me like that,” you spat, “You’re the asshat that got us in this mess. Hold yourself accountable.” It was all you could really manage, and it got your point across.

“Who are you and who are you calling baby?” Cade looked at Tessa and then back at the driver. His priorities were astounding.

“Cade! We don’t have time for this!” You shouted through clenched teeth. Your gaze moved from your friend to the driver, who looked no older than twenty. “I don’t care who you are, just get us out of here!” The longer you were stuck in the vehicle, the more you felt you were going to faint. With shaking hands, you tore your shirt, using the piece of fabric to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but it was something.

Tessa gave you a worried glance before turning back to the driver. “His name is Shane and he drives, Dad—“

“Lookout!” Lucas shouted, his body turned to look out the back window. “You’ve got one following you!”

“Lucas. If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to beat your ass.” You leaned your head back and groaned softly. “I’m going to beat you so damn hard that your ancestors will feel it!” He was right though. That car was gaining on you, and you had to lose them fast. Your gaze turned to the window beside you, watching as the cornfields flew past you. “The cornfields…” you sat upright suddenly, gripping Cade’s seat tightly. The movement startled him, and he turned to face you with wide eyes. “The cornfields! You can lose them if you go through those cornfields!” The vehicle swerved wildly as Shane tried to ditch them. He leaned over and said something to Cade, only to be yelled at. The three talked amongst themselves as they tried to figure out a plan of action.

“Focus on the road! Stop talking!” You scolded the two, giving Cade a rather nasty glare.

Tense silence filled the air around you, only to be broken by none other than Lucas Flannery himself. “This might just be my fault.”

“You think?!” Both you and Cade said in harmony, refusing to look at him.

“They told me they were gonna send a check! How was I supposed to know they were going to bring a kill squad?” He threw his hands in the air, as if he were frustrated with you. He had no right to be, but you’d tell him that later. Arguing with him right now was more than pointless.

The car pulled into a small alleyway. Just when had you gotten to town? Shane leaned back for a better view. “I think we’ve lost them,” he whispered. Lucas opened his mouth to congratulate him, but was stopped by the sight of one of your pursuers.

“No we didn’t!” He panicked and Shane kicked it into gear, heading out with no real sense of direction. Tessa urged him to go inside the factory, an abandoned building that hadn’t been touched in decades. The pursuit sent you up the stairs and onto the fifth floor. You were beginning to feel carsick when Lucas looked over at you and said, “I don’t think we’re gonna get this money.” The sight of three vehicles gaining on you made your stomach churn.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” You retorted, your hand flying out to hold onto the handle beside the door. There was an opening at the end of the floor, with a little ramp leading outside. Shane wasn’t going to send you flying out of the building, was he? You could feel the car shake along with the building, which made you feel like there was more than just the government chasing after you. Maybe it was what had fired the missiles at the house. Shane turned around and asked Tessa to do something, the opening growing closer by the second.

Then, you were in the air, the vehicle quickly landing on the corresponding ramp on the ground. The impact of the landing caused you to let out a shout, your eyes squeezing shut in pain. The vehicle screeched as it pulled off to the side, and you noticed that the windshield had been busted to shit. The people around you quickly ditched the vehicle, running towards Optimus, who had been following after you. Cade snatched you up once again, holding you close as he moved. That’s when you saw it. A transformer no bigger than Optimus stood at the top of the building, its weapon aimed at your group. The weapon left nothing but ashes and flames in its wake, destroying the green grass that you had once stood on. You immediately reached out to Cade as he began to run, clutching his arm as he dragged you. Shane and Tessa were right next to you, running as fast as they could away from the fire.

“Wait— my leg is stuck! Cade!” He stuck out his arm, trying to move but to no avail. You froze, looking over your shoulder briefly, causing you to stumble forward. “Cade! Please!” He begged helplessly, fighting with himself so he could get his leg unstuck and join the rest of you. This situation was really a test of your morals, and it showed. Though, you felt bad. Instinctively, fought to go over and help him, only to be held tighter by Cade, who was backing away from the scene as a whole. You let out a soft groan, turning your head away from the younger man. “Don’t leave me! Please! Cade! Y/n!” Oh god you felt horrible.

“Lucas look out!” Tessa screamed, covering her mouth in horror as the man turned into an ashen statue before her very eyes.

Shane grabbed her arm and led her back to where Optimus was as quickly as he could. You were beginning to fade in and out of consciousness now, and you clung to Cade for support. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of your leg. God he was so worried about you, and did the best he could to stop the bleeding while you were out. When you came to, you awkwardly rested your head on his shoulder. It was meant as silent signal that you were fine, but you could tell that it only made him worry more. You noticed Shane eyeing the two of you before turning to Tessa.

The four of you sat in silence as Optimus led you to safety, the feeling of grief filling the air. It hung over the old truck like a cloud, and was slowly becoming unbearable to you. You felt like the sounds of Tessa’s far from quiet sobs were the only thing that reminded you that you were alive. That and the pain you felt in your leg.

“I can’t believe we just left him…” she cried softly, her voice filled with disbelief.

“Tessa…” Shane whispered, pulling her close to him and cradling her in his arms. You could tell the sight made Cade sick, but he didn’t do anything about it. Instead, he turned to you, gesturing for you to show him your leg. He didn’t want to see it, you knew that, but you showed him anyways. Naturally, cringed at the sight. It didn’t look too bad, all things considered. The bullet had left a trail in its wake, despite it missing your leg and planting itself into the ground. You really lucked out with that one.

“You’ll have to make sure you get that cleaned up later,” his voice was soft, caring, almost. “It’d suck if we had to give you an amputation so soon.” He frowned at the half hearted joke, setting your leg to the side gently. He felt that the whole ordeal was his fault, and now your lives were on the line.

The duration of the ride bothered both you and Cade. As the only adults present, you were worried about the safety of Tessa and Shane. Now that the four of you were on the from the government, you didn’t know how you were supposed to continue protecting them. What would you do when they caught up to you? The vehicle you sat in pulled over and transformed suddenly, leaving the four of you standing in front of a long abandoned gas station. By the looks of it, you were miles away from town, but that wouldn’t last long. You’d be out and hitting the road soon.

He bowed down to your level, his head hung as he spoke. “I give you my condolences for the loss of your friend. Stay here while I make sure that we weren’t followed.” He rose to his feet and took a few steps back, looking down at your group. “We’re all targets now.” He said as he shifted back into his truck form. The first thing Cade got his hands on was a first aid kit, handing it to you before heading inside the station to join Shane and Tessa. Holding your new kit, you walked over to Optimus. He was getting ready to leave, and he would have left sooner if not for his radiator acting up.

“Hey there chief.” You spoke nonchalantly, listening as his engine revved in response to you. “I’m going with you. It’d look suspicious if people saw a truck like you driving around without anyone in it, and we can’t really afford to lose track of you right now.” He didn’t respond. You took that as your cue to crawl into the passenger’s seat of his alt mode. The seats inside were worn, just like the exterior. They weren’t soft either, and sitting on them for a long time led to your ass being sore, but you had to work with what you had. It wasn’t all bad though, so it didn’t matter too much.

Once he had set out, you opened up the kit and started your work on your injury. You were at an awkward angle, with your leg propped up against the console and turned to the side, but it worked. “I hope you don’t mind me doing this.” You spoke out after some time. Your pants leg was pulled up to your knee, the hydrogen peroxide that was in the kit now flowing down your calf and onto his seat. It had scabbed up for the most part, but the wound itself needed to be treated. If you weren’t able to properly disinfect it now, then you would have to amputate later to avoid it getting in the way later down the line.

“I don’t.” His voice came through the radio. The sound startled you slightly, but you got over it. Actually, it made you want to ask if he could play you a song or something to break the silence. You were tired of silence.

“Even if blood stains your seats?”

“It can be washed.” His response made you smile, despite the pain you found yourself to be in.

You delicately unwrapped the piece of your shirt that you had used to stop the blood and gagged at the sight of your wound. The thought of it made you shudder. You’ve always been pretty squeamish when it came to things like this. One of your shaky hands reached out and grabbed the gauze, unraveling it slowly. The sound reminded you of the countless times you had patched yourself up after taking a job. It’d been so long since you’d found yourself in a position like this.

Now and then the sputter of Optimus’ engine would throw you off, but other than that you worked in total silence. The whole reason you had gone with him in the first place was so that you could get away from the others. You needed a bit of time to think over your situation. Alone.

Blood had stained the nonexistent plushness of the seat beneath you, changing its color entirely. You felt rather bad about it, but trusted that it would wash out later like he said. Your hands worked swiftly to bandage up your leg. Though, in order to get this far in your procedure, you had to take a few painkillers.

Ignoring the fact that taking that many of the small pills could have killed you, you had downed a handful of them at the start of your ride with him. The effects of the medication threw you into a hallucinatory state, somewhere in the middle of high and sober.

A heavy sigh left your lips as you finished tying up the gauze. “Have you seen anything yet?” Your words came out slightly slurred, making you sound as if you had just woken up. It was no big deal, though. You were sober enough to defend yourself, and that was all that really mattered.

“I have not.” There was a pause in between his words, as if he was struggling to formulate a sentence. “We’re heading back to the others soon.” You leaned back and nodded as he spoke. “How is your wound?”

“It’s as good as it’s gonna get for now,” you chuckled ruefully. “I think it’s gonna leave a pretty cool scar.” You tilted your head back and closed your eyes. Your exhaustion was just now beginning to catch up to you. “Can your kind scar?” There was a certain innocence that you had asked with that made Optimus pause to think. You were just as curious about him as he was about you, it seemed.

“It depends on the severity of the wound,” was all he said. It made sense when you thought about it. If there was a deep gash or something then that would probably leave a lasting mark in their metal, just like it would for flesh. That was one of the many similarities you shared with the Autobot, and you found it interesting.

More silence eventually filled the air, leaving you alone with your thoughts once again. Your mind raced as you fought the urge to sleep. Cade had called you over, but why? The mystery of it all was beginning to annoy you, and the more you thought about it, the more you slowly began to understand. Bit by bit you began to recall, suddenly coming piecing together the ‘why’. It all made sense now, and it frustrated you that you hadn’t caught on sooner.

“You know,” you inhaled sharply, breaking the silence between the two of you. “I was hired by the government once.” You allowed yourself to lean back and relax into the seat, propping your feet up onto the dashboard. “To do a mission. They wanted me to follow one of you guys and turn you in. And you know what I said? ‘I hunt people, not bots.’ …but… when they told me how much I’d be making off of it, I was forced to accept. Like most people, I’m a wage slave.” Whether Optimus was listening to you or not, you didn’t care. Your rambling was soon to end, especially with how tired you were beginning to feel. “I searched for what felt like ages, and when nothing turned up, I gave up.”

About two years ago, you were hired by the U.S. government to track down an unamed Autobot. All you had to go off of was a picture of its alt mode, which made things difficult. ‘An Autobot?’ You had asked, ‘But I thought they were the good guys?’ But according to them, they were the enemy, and who were you to question the government? Your memory all but failed you as you readjusted your gauze. You had spent ages chasing after the thing, only to turn up empty handed each time your clients checked in on you. It was beginning to drive you mad. Things fell through when your superiors joined forces with the Decepticons. You had cancelled the contract as soon as you could and stuck to your own terms. But even though the mission had fallen through, you were still told to keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your area. At some point you had called Cade to update him on the situation, something that you had begun to refer to as ‘the incident,’ and told him that you wanted nothing more than to lay your eyes on one. Just to feel complete. Just so you could feel better about yourself. He must have been praying that you wouldn’t turn him in when he called.

Now you had gotten what you longed for, you felt much more useless than before.

With a shaky sigh, you continued on with your story. ”I felt like I lost all sense of purpose after that mission. It bugged me so much that it was all I could think about. Finding one of your kind had become a goal for me, and now that I’ve actually reached it I don’t know how I should feel. Accomplished? Probably not. There’s nothing about this that could make a person feel accomplished,” your fingers glided over the features of the door beside you. “You shouldn’t be so trusting,” you mumbled, “I’m no better than the humans that are after you now. I’m a government lackey.” The hesitation in your voice gave away more than you were willing to say. The way you caressed his door spoke volumes. You were telling him this because you felt bad. You hadn’t even caught one of his allies, yet you still felt bad. Seeing you like this gave Optimus hope. Not all humans were bad. He could see that now.

He finally spoke up, startling you out of your dazed state. “If you want me to be wary, then I shall be so.”

“Thanks…”

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

You woke up with a serious headache, opening your eyes to see Cade hovering over you. He had set you up on top of the counter of the station so you could lay down. Tessa and Shane sat asleep on two chairs in the corner, the sounds of their snoring filling the room. Your eyes slowly met Cade’s. He looked relieved to see you awake. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve said that he was lonely.It saddened you to no end.

“Optimus dropped you off before heading out again,” he leaned down and helped you sit up. You were quickly reminded of the searing pain in your leg. “I managed to get the bullet out while you were asleep, and I did my best to stitch you up,” his eyes fluttered to your leg and he frowned. “But I can only do so much as an inventor.”

“It’ll be fine,” you winced as you moved. Not even a bottle of wine could soothe this pain. “You did more than I could’ve.” You sighed, hiding your face in your hands. The weight of the situation at hand suddenly came crashing down on you, and you felt your eyes beginning to water. Everything felt so surreal, and you didn’t know how to handle it. Your eyes met Cade’s after a few moments of silence. You didn’t know what you could say to him. In fact, your words failed you entirely as you sat there. What were you to do?

Cade didn’t say anything more and simply hopped up onto the counter beside you. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close to him. He hesitated to do anything further, choosing to just keep you next to him. He wouldn’t tell you this any time soon, but it hurt him to see you in such a state. You had always been the stronger one of the two, and now here you were, staining his shirt with your tears.

You didn’t realize that you had fallen asleep until Cade was shaking you awake, his figure outlined by the morning sun. He was speaking, but you couldn’t register his words. It was all white noise to you until he pulled you off the counter and into his arms, once again. “We’ll make some crutches for you soon, I promise,” he whispered, leading you outside to where Optimus was waiting for you. “Grab whatever you think can be used as supplies! Clothes, anything! Oh, and that computer we found last night!” He called out to Tessa and Shane, who seemed less than impressed with him. It made you wonder what had gone down while you were out last night.

Once everything was packed up, you set out again. Cade spent the whole time screwing around with a drone that he had grabbed while he was running to grab you. He was cooking up a plan, and you didn’t like that.

After an hour or two of driving, Optimus pulled over at some hole in the wall gas station. Cade quickly hopped out to pilot the drone, and you decided to join him. “They were going to kill her,” he said under his breath.

“They still are.” Your hand rested on his shoulder as you watched the drone fly about. “They’re after all of us.” Your eyes followed the drone. He was leading it in the direction of a small ATM in an attempt to get your group some funds. The video on the old computer screen showed everything from the sight of the drone, giving you a closer look at what he was trying to achieve. He managed to slide his card into the slot, but was denies access to it. Damn it. If they’ve blocked his then they’ve blocked yours.

“I knew it,” he sighed, hanging his head in defeat. That didn’t stop him though, because in no less than two minutes he was back to piloting the drone. He had replaced his card with a note that bore a message to your pursuers. All it read was ‘I’m watching u.’ The sight of it made you smirk. By doing this he was going to reveal your location, giving way to a game of cat and mouse. You just didn’t know if you were equipped to go on the run without Optimus. Actually, you had no clue where you’d be if it weren’t for him.

You, Cade, Tessa, and Shane waited for your ferreters to come to you. The spot you were at overlooked the whole gas station, giving you a vantage point. It would be easier to spot them this way. Cade leaned against you in anticipation and you offered him a shoulder squeeze. You knew how he felt. You’d felt that way many times before now, and you’d feel it many times afterward. Such conditions simply came with your profession. It was in the job description somewhere.

“There they are,” Tessa pointed as cops with blaring sirens and flashing lights surrounded the station in no time. Officers detained people and rudely interrogated them. All they had to do was turn around and look closely and they’d have you, but that was too easy. You rather liked the chase.

“Alright let’s get going. We don’t have time to waste you guys, come on,” you whisper shouted as you helped Cade to his feet, gesturing for the kids to hop inside the truck. You looked into the eyes of your friend and sighed warily. He looked tired and old. No man in his late forties should have such a dull look in his eye, and yet here you stood, looking at him. It was hard to believe that any of what you were experiencing was real, but you didn’t have time to play pretend. You grabbed Cade by the hand and led him back to the truck quickly. He put on his seatbelt and then you were back out on the road again.

Thankfully, Optimus was generous enough to turn on the radio this time, making for a slightly less boring drive. The only downside was that the station was a country music station. Country music wasn’t all bad, but you could only take so much before you felt like you were going insane.

You rested your arm out of the window, observing the desert nothingness fly by you. The sights of mesas and plateaus were something that you hadn’t seen in quite a long time. It’d been a while since you’d been this far out west.

“What are we going to do when we stop?” Shane leaned forward to look at you, purposely ignoring Cade. Being pulled from your thoughts, all you could really offer him was an awkward smile.

“I’m not sure. I guess it just depends on whether or not Optimus finds what he’s looking for.” Your answer seemed to satisfy Shane, seeing as he returned his focus back to Tessa. Oh Tessa. The blonde had done her best to ignore both you and her father, only talking to you if it was totally necessary. You could understand why she was upset with Cade, but not you. It didn’t really matter though. She’d come around eventually.

“Calling all Autobots,” Optimus’ voice rang out into the carriage of the truck. You wondered if he was able to get his message through this far out into the middle of nowhere. The message repeated itself as you passed another semi truck on the road. Just then you felt the vehicle shift, and the carriage got bigger, almost nicer looking. You leaned out the window and gasped at the sight. Optimus was now a vibrant red and blue semi truck, and the sputtering sound his engine made had ceased entirely.

Shane let out a cheer. “That was awesome! Wasn’t that awesome?!” You chuckled, and Cade rolled his eyes. Soon, the country music station returned to your ears, in much better quality than before. The new AC system hit you in the face, and you heard Tessa let out a relived sigh. However, Cade was still unimpressed. He was acting like a moody teen, taking away all of your fun.

You nudged his leg with your own, giving him a questioning look. But he looked past you, squinting at something that was in the distance. You quickly followed his gaze, your eyes landing on the sight of a helicopter circling in the sky. Was that one of your pursuers? If it was then Optimus didn’t seem too worried about it. You then saw a large bot on top of one of the mesas, shooting into the air in… celebration? Wait. Were these Optimus’ Autobots??

“Cade…” you turned to look at him, your eyes wide. “I think we’ve just found what we’ve been looking for.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he sighed, squinting as he watched beings move. “We don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into. I know I don’t have to tell you, but I still want you to keep your guard up.” You nodded understandingly and looked over at Shane and Tessa. They were too enamored with one another to pay any mind to the situation at hand, so you didn’t bother ruining that for them.

Optimus continued to drive forward, veering off of the paved road without hesitance. The further he drove into the open nothingness, the more anticipation he felt. He was glad to know that his Autobots were still online, and he was anxious to see them again. He pulled over in a clearing that was surrounded by mesas before sending his doors open and politely kicking you out. He then transformed, standing at his full height once again as his Autobots began gathering around them.

You counted them as they appeared. The more you saw, the smaller you felt.

“Humans have asked us to play by their rules,” Optimus rolled his shoulders back, his gaze scanning over the group before him. While the group was small, it was enough for him. “Well, the rules have just changed.”

One of the larger bots spat, holding what looked to be a cigar between his metal lips. “Humans. What a bunch of backstabbin’ weasels.” He looked like a soldier, and was decked out in weapons and ammo. It was honestly kind of impressive. You couldn’t help but wonder what his alt mode looked like. Was he a tank?

“You must find your inner compass, Hound,” this bot was blue, and smaller than the one he called Hound. He recited a haiku to his fellow Autobot calmly. The longer you stood there watching them, the more anxious you got. Cade’s gaze met yours, and he took a hold of your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. You froze entirely. You pushed aside your surprise and looked back up at the bots around you.

“Cut the shit before I drop one of these down your throat,” Hound leaned in towards the smaller one, holding a grenade in his hand. In no time, the other one pressed a blade to Hound’s wiry throat. He uttered a threat as he held him there, his head trapped underneath his metal arm. “Please pull it. Please do,” Hound challenged sarcastically before pushing away his temporary captor. He took a second to adjust his joints before looking over at Optimus.

“Welp, raise your hand if you’re thoroughly disenchanted with our little Earth vacation,” a green bot with an accent walked over to your group, wasting no time pulling out one of his guns and shoving the barrel into your faces. Tessa gasped and got behind you and Shane. “So, who’s the stowaways?” You raised your hands up in defense, looking at the bot with a glare.

“What’s with the gun?” You and Cade said at the same time, which would have been funny under different circumstances, but you didn’t find it appropriate to chuckle when you might die at any given moment.

“Stop it. All of you.” Optimus finally stepped forward, and the gun that was in your face retreated. You let out a loud sigh of relief and looked back up at Optimus. “They’ve risked their lived for mine. We owe them.” He looked around at the group, counting the members before speaking up once again. “Has there been any sign of the others?”

“Nope.”

“We’re all that’s left.”

“They’ve been picking us off one by one. We’re the pathetic, dirty foursome.” Hound took a step forward, his metal hands resting on what looked like his belt. “And you make five.”

“So what do we do?” Shane threw out his arms in frustration, and all of the bots turned to look at you. “Is there an Autobot witness protection program??”

Cade shot him a quick glare. “Hey, lucky charms, you’re more than welcome to leave if you want.” He threw out his arm, gesturing to the vast desert that surrounded them. Shane took a bold step forward, looking down at the older man.

“Thanks, Superdad. But I’m not hiding with you or your friend over there.” His response earned a scoff from Cade. “I’m hiding out with that big guy over there.” He pointed up at Hound, who let out a loud chuckle at the sight. You didn’t blame him, though. He did appear to be the most battle ready one of them there.

“Sensei, since your fate was unknown, Bumblebee took up command,” the blue bot paused, looking back at the yellow bot that was Bumblebee. “Despite his complete lack of anything remotely close to a warrior’s discipline.”

Bee stepped forward, flexing his temporary position. Could he not speak?

“He is like a child.”

“This… child is going to… kick your ass.” It turned out that he couldn’t actually speak. He filtered through different radio stations to be able to say what he wanted to. It intrigued you.

“He brings us shame,” the blue one continued, clearly setting the other bot up. He simply put his hands together as if he were praying, ignoring the sight behind him. “Am I the lone warrior who sees this puppy dog eyes act?” Bumblebee attempted to swing at him, only to miss repeatedly. They were fighting like siblings.

“Cage fight,” Hound whistled.

“Yes, that’s right,” the green one smirked. “I’ve been waiting for them to take each other out so I could take charge.” He placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his chassis with pride. “Just me reporting to me.”

The day faded away into dusk slowly, lessening the harshness of the heat. Cade had just finished showing the bots the footage that he had found on the drone he stole, just now joining you by the campfire that you had started earlier. Tessa lay asleep next to Shane, and while they weren’t right next to each other, they still held hands in their sleep. The sight warmed your heart. It was good to know that they had each other if no one else. Cade held his face in his hands, no doubt thinking of what happened the day before. You wished you could offer him some comfort, but you feared overstepping. You had to keep reminding yourself that this wasn’t the same Cade Yeager that you had once been so close to. This was a different man, and you accepted that. After all, you too were a different person than before. It’s just what happens when time passes by.

After a few more minutes of sitting next to you, your friend got up and lay down on the earthy floor. He used one of the shitty blankets you had found earlier to cover himself up, his feet sticking out at the bottom. You were glad to know that he was making an effort to sleep. With each passing second, you could feel yourself getting more and more tired, yet you forced yourself to stay awake. Someone needed to keep watch, and if it wasn’t you, then who would it be?

You rose to your feet with a yawn, stretching your arms over your head. Your eyes scanned the area, looking for a spot you could rest comfortably in without disturbing any of the Autobots. You couldn’t help but notice that Optimus was still awake. Did his kind even sleep? You’d have to ask him.

Slowly, you walked over to where he was sitting, joining him in silence. You made sure to keep some distance between the two of you so you could look at him without hurting your neck. No words were exchanged between the two of you for quite some time, giving you both some time to simply enjoy the night’s silence. You both had things you wanted to say to one another, but you both steered clear of speaking. The night was much to fascinating to disturb. That’s what you thought, anyways.

Chapter Text

Crickets chirped in the distance, filling the chilly night air with their song. The Texas heat was still as strong as ever, despite the moon replacing the sun. It made for a suitable replacement, however. Just like the stars and the clouds, the moon perfectly portrayed the beauty of the mesas. The soft sound of snoring almost rivaled the melodious song of the crickets, one interrupting the other periodically. The sounds of the night put you at ease in Optimus’ presence, allowing you to finally let loose.

“Did you know about what your government was doing to my Autobots?” His deep voice disturbing the beautiful silence. It didn’t take you long to figure out what he was referring to, and you frowned.

“I did not,” your voice sounded so much weaker compared to his. You couldn’t even bring yourself to look at him. The footage that Cade had showed Optimus earlier contained a video of an Autobot being slain by members of the United States military. It was clearly still weighing on his mind, and it made you feel guilty, despite his end not being your fault. “They just wanted me to bring him back to them.” You swallowed back your guilt, bringing your knees to your chest slowly.

“I see,” he averted his gaze upwards, investigating the stars overhead. “I made a vow to myself that I would never purposefully kill a human,” he began, shifting slightly, “But when I find out who’s been giving those orders, he’s going to die.” The weight of his words gave you goosebumps. You could tell he was serious, and you didn’t blame him. If it were you, you would have already been on the hunt. But Optimus was different. He was a planner, and liked to have a set course of action ion place before rushing into battle. You admired that, even though you had yet to see it in action.

“Why are you telling me this?” You asked slowly, confused.

“To get it off my chassis.” He responded, equally as slow.

“I see…” you paused. Why’d you have to go and make things awkward? “Do you think that breaking your vow is the way to go?”

“It is the only way to avenge my comrades.”

“Oh.”

Optimus looked downward, taking in the sight of you next to him. It was no later than ten pm, but given all you had endured the past couple of days, he would have thought that you would have been resting by now. “Why are you still awake?”

“I had to keep watch.”

“I’m keeping watch tonight, so rest.”

“We’ll just keep watch together then.”

Another interlude of silence filled the space between you. The crickets roared to life once again, competing with one another to be heard. You had forgotten just how beautiful nature was when left to itself. It gave you chills to think about it. A world untouched until your kind grew— evolved— and tore it all away. Something similar must have happened to Optimus to send him down here, no doubt.

“So where do you come from?” You looked upwards at the stars, observing in content silence. They shined and flickered, one much more different than the next. Just like planets, and galaxies, and whatever was past that. No two of anything were the same, not even things that were manufactured. They were all so different. So alive. So, so beautiful.

“I hail from a planet called Cybertron,” his gaze followed your own. He wondered what it was about the stars that made you look so… at peace. He had never really taken the time to admire them like you were doing now, but now that the opportunity had presented itself, he could stare up at them quietly. With his optics, it felt like he could see each and every one of them in great detail. Could you do the same?

“You know,” you broke the silence, your eyes trained on the sky. “When I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to go to space.” You looked down at last, your head hung between your shoulders. “I’m not sure what it was about it, but I really wanted to go. I wanted to see stars and otherworldly things. I wanted to amount to something. Anything, really. It was a dream that I was foolishly holding on to.” Slowly, you raised your head, the tears filling your eyes making everything blurry. “Have you ever been close to one? A star, I mean. Are they as beautiful up close as they are down here?” You cleared your throat and wiped away your tears.

“I have indeed,” Optimus thought carefully about his words. You seemed so passionate about something that seemed so trivial to him. And he didn’t have it in his spark to take it away from you. “They are the most beautiful thing in existence. They are warm, and bright,” he paused to give you time to process his words.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“What do you call your emotions?” Your question resonated with him in a way that he hadn’t expected. “I know that you have emotions, otherwise you wouldn’t feel a need to go after the man that’s been targeting your Autobots. Do you even verbally express your emotions?” At last you had turned to look at him. His optics were still trained on the stars above, as if he were basking in their beauty. You couldn’t help but smile. All sentient beings have a childlike wonder within them, and it felt like you were getting to experience Optimus’ with him.

However, he glossed over your question with a question of his own. “What about the stars do you find to be so alluring?” The smile you bore only grew, and you couldn’t understand why.

“I’m not sure,” you shrugged, “I guess it’s their vast difference from one another. They’re like people, in a way. They’re all different, and even if they burn with the same intensity, they’ll never produce the same amount of heat as the next.” A sigh passed through your lips at the thought. Oh what you would give to simply be able to see one up close. To leave behind your job, the government, everything. The beauty of space was something that never ceased to amaze you. “I have another question.”

“What may it be?”

“Do you feel the same way about Earth as I do about space?”

He paused, seeming to freeze entirely. Your question had caught him a little off guard, and he looked down at you to make sure he had heard you right. He hadn’t really thought about it before, nor did he ever really expect to stop and think about the encapsulating beauty of the planet he found himself on. Earth. The more he thought about it the more he could recall being in awe of the planet in his early days on it. But the humans took away his appreciation for this world. Because of their foolishness, he hadn’t thought of the charm that this earth had. It never really occurred to him that you admired your planet so, especially since he had never felt that way about his own.

To your dismay, he gave you no answer. You could tell by the expression on his face that he was conflicted. Maybe you should try your hand at a different question? As you thought, your eyes wandered over to where the others were sleeping, the other Autobots were in the distance, in stasis, as you had heard them call it. The sight of Tessa and Shane warmed your heart once again, making you think back on your younger days. Oh how things had changed.

“Do you have one such as they?” Optimus asked. He must’ve noticed you staring at the young couple, but it still caught you off guard. You cleared your throat and chuckled awkwardly.

“I do not,” you breathed out. He was trying to keep the conversation between the two of you flowing, despite not being very good at conversing, and it was turning out to be rather awkward for you. “I’ve messed around in the past, but I’ve never actually committed to settling down,” you simply shrugged. It felt weird to be saying these things out loud, but it was, in fact, the truth. You hadn’t really found the time to pick up a relationship since you had become a private investigator. Sure business was slow, but you were still dealing with the law, which meant that you would’ve had to have kept secrets from the one you were supposed to love unconditionally. You didn’t really feel like wasting your time creating a story every time you got done with a job. “There was one though…” you whispered to yourself, but Optimus managed to catch it.

“A special one, I assume?” He tilted his head, and the sound of metal creaking reached your ears. Poor guy was in desperate need of WD-40. Maybe Cade would be able to look at that tomorrow. Cade… you looked over to watch him sleep, your gaze softening as you did.

“Yeah. Real special.” You sighed and hung your head. The thought of it all was weighing heavily on your heart, and it nearly drove you insane. “What about you? Did you ever have ‘one such as they’?” You heard him sigh, and he shifted slightly as he thought.

“I did. Many years ago.” The tone of his voice made you smile sadly. “She was my universe for what felt like an eternity, up until war broke out on Cybertron,” he closed his optics, reminiscing about the times that they had shared together. While he hadn’t forgotten about her, it had been far too long since he had just thought of the joy she had brought him. You nodded understandingly, unsure of what exactly you could say to console him.

His sadness didn’t last long, however, as he had opened his optics and resumed staring at the stars. “I carry her memory with me everywhere I go,” he paused, looking for the right words, “I think she’d like things here.” She must have been special to him for him to be so saddened by the memory of her. After a minute of his reminiscing, you decided to change the subject.

“So how are you liking your new form?”

“You ask a lot of questions.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. He was right, though. You hadn’t really stopped talking since you sat down next to him.

“I’m just trying to keep the conversation going so I don’t fall asleep and leave you by yourself,” you retort, sighing softly. You couldn’t help but feel comfort in the silence that filled the air, despite how boring the small talk seemed. There was just something about the idea of making peace with one of the beings that the country was so afraid of. They weren’t all bad, and you admired how close they seemed. Their little group reminded you of your family back home. They reminded you of all of your aunts and uncles and cousins and grandmothers and grandfathers and anyone else you had seen at your family gatherings. Your eyes were welling up at the thought of them. Suddenly you were twelve all over again, alone and scared. You missed them. You missed them so much that it was starting to weigh on your heart. Normally you wouldn’t be this homesick, but it was the way that you didn’t know if you’d be able to see them again that began to break your heart. Would they get to bury you when you died? Or were you going to die with no one around to see? You didn’t want that to happen. You didn’t even want to die. But with the government now on your asses, you weren’t sure how much longer you had left.

At least Cade had Tessa, and Tessa had Shane. You had no one. It hurt you to think about it, but it was true. You could befriend these Autobots and maybe even die for them, but you’d still die alone. Your mother would be forced to bury her child, without ever knowing what happened to her. The thought was eating you alive.

You brought your arm up to wipe away the tears that streamed down your cheeks. You felt as if you had cried more in the past two days than you had in your entire life.

“Hey Optimus?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we’ll make it out of this alive?” You sounded so fragile, as if you were seconds away from shattering.

For the first time since he was created, Optimus felt sympathy for a human. Not the shallow, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ type of sympathy, but real, spark wrenching sympathy. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so overcome with emotion. Was this what it meant to be a human? To be so enveloped in emotion? The bot couldn’t even bring himself to speak to you. After all, what could he say? He didn’t know how things were going to end. He didn’t even want to think about it. For so long he had narrowly avoided death, and now that he found it creeping closer by the second, he couldn’t help but feel a little sick. A growing pain made itself known within his chassis. A human would call it heartache. A Cybertronian would call it agony. Your soft sobs met his receptors, and the pain only grew. All he could do was hang his head in shame. How many deaths was he responsible for? Optimus hadn’t really thought about it before, but he was sure the count was in the thousands.

He wished there were a way that he could console you without lying. He wanted to tell you that everyone would indeed make it out alive and go on to live peacefully. But he just didn’t know. He didn’t know if even he would survive whatever was coming. He’d be lucky if he did, though, just as he had been all those times before. Optimus slowly shook his head, forcing himself to cease his thinking.

“You should get some rest, y/n.” His rumbling voice was quiet, almost as if he was ashamed to answer you like this.

“Yeah… I guess so…” you mumbled, but you didn’t move. You weren’t ready to head over and sleep, not with everything that was on your mind. All you could do was sniffle as you brought your knees to your chest. Optimus didn’t say any more and just chose to keep silent.

He noticed Bee stirring from his spot over in the distance, and wondered if the other Autobots had heard your conversation. His gaze turned to Cade and the others. They were definitely resting, so he didn’t have to worry about that in the morning. He wondered if the others would ask him questions.

‘When did you get so soft?’

‘Why are you caring for humans all of a sudden?’

‘Do you really think that this will cost us our lives?’

He could practically hear their voices as he sat there. So many questions, yet such little time. Time. Optimus always felt like he was running short on time, and he was beginning to regret it. There wasn’t much he could do with his life, but he wished he could’ve picked a different path. Things would have been so much better if the war never began. Maybe he would have been happier. Maybe he’d still have her—

“I plan on surveying the area tomorrow,” you said as you rose to your feet. The sound of your hoarse voice brought him back to reality. He couldn’t even look at you. “Sorry for getting all sappy and shit. Usually I wouldn’t be like this but—“ you cleared your throat and looked away.

Slowly, you walked over to where he was sitting. You reached out and placed a hand on one of the metal plates on his leg. The action caught his attention, and he turned his helm to look down at you. Oh how small you looked. So fragile and filled with emotions that he could never hope to comprehend. Your eyes met his optics, and you stayed like that for a moment before you looked up at the sky.

“You ought to get some rest too, you know,” you did your best to offer him a smile, but it only appeared broken. “I don’t think things would end well if you weren’t properly rested.” Your voice was soft, and your face red from crying. You weren’t a pretty crier by any means, but that didn’t stop Optimus from being in awe of your very existence. As you walked away, his cooling fans kicked on, stopping him from overheating. They made a soft whirring sound that echoed into the night.

Pointless conversation had never meant so much to him before. He had never really cared for talking just to talk, but now that you had gone to lay down beside Cade, he was growing to miss it.

For the first time since his creation, Optimus felt alone. Not even the night could console his confused mind, lest he be saved from the pain he was in. He continued to keep watch, listening to the crickets that sung around him. The longer he sat, the more he felt in tune with the planet. It was beautiful, and quiet. What was this feeling called? He vaguely remembered Mikayla mentioning the feeling known as “sonder.”

— Sonder. Noun. The feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles.

That didn’t sound right to him. He continued to think, wanting nothing more than to put a word to this feeling.

— Acquiesce. Verb. To accept something reluctantly, but without protest.

Seconds faded into minutes, and minutes into hours. All that time spent thinking was a waste, for this feeling was much to complex to put into a simple word. Even as dawn stared him in the face, he had no answer. He cursed the complexity of human existence. Over and over he cursed it, expecting it to make him feel slightly better. He was confused and heavy with emotions that he had never faced before. The sun was starting to rise now. Soon the others would come to and tear him from his loneliness. His gaze landed on your sleeping form once more. You looked so at peace now that you weren’t being plagued by your own thoughts.

The stars vanished with the new light. Birds had begun chirping, despite there not being any trees around for them to take refuge in. All beings nocturnal had settled in, leaving behind the world to the creatures of the day.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

“Alright, I think we ought to go out and look for resources,” you placed your hands on your hips as you spoke. Cade was off planning with Optimus, which left you in charge of Tessa and Shane. To your surprise, Tessa had moved past giving you the silent treatment. She was even willing to help. “We can send either Hound or Drift out to make sure that we’re still safe here while we take either Crosshairs of Bumblebee out with us,” you paused and looked back at the group of Autobots. “You two don’t necessarily have to come with me, we can split up and get things done that way.”

Shane stepped up. “I’ll see if Hound is up to survey the area.”

That left you with Tessa. “Would you like to go with him so you’re not stuck with me?” You asked, giving her a teasing smile before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Listen kid, as long as you stay safe, I don’t mind you going with Shane. I know I’m not your parent, but I know that you’d much rather listen to me than your father.” You noticed Tessa looking past your shoulder, no doubt to see if Shane had left yet. The look in her eyes was sweet— almost pure. She gave you a big smile before running over to where Shane and Hound were. So that left you with going out and scavenging. You could’ve done it alone, but you knew that both Cade and Optimus would rather you not go out alone.

Thankfully, Bumblebee had already made his way towards you, seemingly bored. He stopped right in front of you and waited patiently for you to say something.

“Are you good to go for a ride?” You asked him with a smile. He clicked through different stations to give you your answer, transforming into his alt mode quickly. You walked over and opened the driver’s door before getting situated. Once you had buckled up, you patted the dash awkwardly, letting him know you were ready. “My goal is to bring back something edible for the group. Of we’re going to be here for a few days, we might as well be able to eat properly, right?” Bee chirped, as if agreeing with you. “My thoughts exactly.”

As you drove on, you noticed that there really wasn’t a whole lot around the camp. Your search was beginning to feel like a bust when you spotted a little hole in the wall shack off in the distance. Carefully, you directed Bee towards the building. You couldn’t help but squirm in anticipation. The chances that there were rations in there were slim, but that didn’t stop you from getting hopeful. Bee pulled up next to it and popped open his door for you.

“Thanks Bee,” you smiled and patted the hood of his alt mode.

“No problem… sweetheart!” The channels spoke for him, and you chuckled. For not being able to speak, he was very lively with his communication.

The building was small, its door hanging off the hinges into the open. Hesitantly, you took a step towards it, suddenly feeling apprehensive about your decision. You took a deep breath and set foot into the shack, coughing at the dust that filled your lungs. There were shelves lining the walls, as well as various boxes scattered around the room. It actually felt a little too good to be true.

You reached out and grabbed one of the cans from the shelves. Its label had been torn from it, leaving nothing behind but the expiration date. You thought it was a little weird, but grabbed it anyways. In fact, you chose to grab a handful of the cans, scooping them up into your arms and balancing them carefully. You slowly walked over to where your ride was parked, his passenger’s door opened for you. How considerate of him.

You quickly set down the cans and moved to get seated. “Let’s get going. I don’t like the feel of this place,” you spoke, grabbing the seatbelt and holding onto it tightly.

While you and Bumblebee were making a quick escape, Cade and Optimus were talking over plans. More like Cade was talking and Optimus was doing his best to listen. He found it slightly frustrating. Cade had it in his mind that everything would be fine once he got his hands on the men that tried to harm his daughter. But he was so far from the truth.

“I don’t think you’re thinking rationally, Cade. You must account for all possibilities,” he shook his helm, looking down at the man. “You must think about what you will do in the worst outcome. If you or y/n were to die, what would happen?” He was met with silence. “You cannot act recklessly in times like these.”

“I’m not going to die,” Cade grumbled stubbornly as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked around the temporary camp, his heart dropping as he looked for Tessa. “Where’s my little girl?” He sounded sort of frantic, almost manic as he looked at Optimus for an answer.

“She and her mate went out with Hound.”

“What about y/n? Is she safe?”

Right as he finished speaking, Bumblebee came into sight. He pulled over, his tired screeching dramatically, as if to make your sudden appearance seem much cooler. You stepped out of the vehicle with the cans you collected and carried them towards the campfire. You payed neither Cade nor Optimus any mind and begun fishing for a pocket knife so you could open one of the little suckers. Its contents were a mystery, which set you on the edge. However, as you popped open one of the cans, you let out a shout of victory. Cade smiled at the sight.

You turned to face them, grinning from ear to ear as you spoke. “They’re beans!” A laugh escaped you, followed by a relieved sigh. You had been so worried that picking up these cans would be a waste. Bee chirped in amusement, but you ignored him. The sun was beginning to set. Had you really been gone that long? Hound pulled up and dropped off Shane and Tessa before transforming and heading over to Optimus. The couple made their way to you slowly.

“What’s in the cans?” Shane asked as he picked one up, inspecting it closely.

“Dinner.” You tossed Tessa one before grabbing one and sauntering over to Cade. “Eat up,” you shoved the can into his hands, not really giving him much of a choice. He gave you begrudging look before he walked over to the fire. The four of you ate your dinner in silence before splitting up once again. This time, Shane and Tessa were getting ready for bed, while Cade was inspecting Drift’s joints. You didn’t know why he even bothered. He didn’t even have any tools on him to actually fix anything.

Soon, it was just you and Optimus, awake alone once more. You were beginning to find peace in his presence, despite everything that he stood for. It was something that you had never really expected of yourself, and you were sure that he felt the same. The night started off slow, which idle chit chat here and there, as well as the occasional joke of yours. It seemed that you did most of the talking, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he found your life to be rather interesting for a human. You seemed to have done it all and then some, and he admired your dedication.

“So how much longer do you think we’ll be able to stay here?” You asked. Tonight you sat a little closer to him, your knees brought up to your chest as you stared up at him.

“There is no telling,” he paused, as if to think, and then said, “I don’t know how long it will take them to find us. And I don’t like waiting here.” Stern as always.

“I’d say we have two more days at most. That’d put us at four days in one spot before we’re on the move again,” you sighed. “I just don’t want to rush things, you know? If Tessa or Shane wind up hurt because we didn’t plan things out, I’d never forgive myself.”

“You’re a much better at rational thinking than Cade,” Optimus spoke, staring out at the horizon. “All he wants to do is get his revenge. I sympathize with him, but he needs to understand that there are more than human lives at stake here.” You paused at the compliment.

“You really think so?”

“I do. You have the potential to be a good leader. Cade has the potential to be a good warrior.” He sounded genuine. “You are two different beings trying to take on two different positions. You’re also very strong. Another good quality of a leader.” A smile made its way to your lips as he spoke. You couldn’t help but giggle.

“Why thank you.”

His cooling fans kicked on almost immediately, and he found himself unable to form words.

“Hello..?”

“You’re welcome.”

Chapter Text

“Cade what the hell are you even saying?” You groaned, throwing your arms to the side as you followed him. Cade was ignoring you, naturally. He seemed hellbent on following through with his plan. “You’re talking about fighting the fucking government! Are you insane? Listen to me Cade!” You reached out and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop walking. He glared at you, and you remembered. Cade was a person that was fueled by nothing more than his own hatred for the world. He didn’t care if he died, so long as he got his revenge.

He smacked your hand away and scoffed. “I don’t have time for this.”

“And I don’t have time for you. You’re not going anywhere until we figure out how to leave the state without getting caught. Do you hear me?” You knew he was desperate to get back at the people that had hurt Tessa, but now wasn’t the time. You had bigger issues to deal with at the moment, and he knew it. He was just blindsided by his emotions, and you couldn’t blame him for that.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” he huffed almost childishly. “I’m the one in charge and if I say we’re leaving, then we’re packing up and fucking leaving. How hard is it to understand that?” He was packing stuff up into a duffel bag that he had grabbed while out scouting with Bumblebee. You grabbed his arm and pulled him back, wincing at the pain that shot through your leg.

“Neither of us are in charge! I swear to Christ, it’s life or death for us and you’re worried about being in charge! How typical of you. Yeah, I get it, you’re the man or whatever. But you’re not a very smart one if you can’t recognize that having us leave now will result in us getting caught and killed. Unless you want to end up like Lucas, I’d suggest shutting your mouth.” You raised your voice, your breath heavy as you stared him down. “The only one of us that has the right to give orders is Optimus, and he will be the only one I listen to until you learn how to think with your fucking head over your heart.” You released his arm forcefully, taking a step back so he could soak in your words.

You waited for him to say something, but he just sat there, stunned. With a sigh, you turned and left, eying Tessa and Shane as you walked past. You were sure that the entire camp had heard your argument, and you were beginning to feel embarrassed. Would you take back what you said? Absolutely not. You just wished that the argument would have stayed between you and Cade.

Arguing didn’t help how tense things were anyways, and you knew that. But Cade was just so stubborn. He wanted to barge right in to KSI headquarters and demand that he get his life back. You wished he’d understand. You wanted him to see things from your point of view. What would Tessa do without a father? She’d be all alone, and he wasn’t thinking about that. He just wasn’t thinking. He wanted to get back at them for shooting you, killing Lucas, and almost killing Tessa. You couldn’t blame him, but you needed him to be rational. It seemed that he had lost his sense of rationality since you had discovered Optimus.

You found yourself wandering towards the edge of the camp where the large mesas stood. You climbed up just far enough to see off into the distance. Hound and Drift were out patrolling and would be returning soon, so you figured you’d keep watch to cool off. Optimus noticed this and joined you. He sat down, now putting you at his eye level.

“He just doesn’t get it,” you complained, groaning in frustration. “He’s willing to risk the safety that we barely have for the sake of being able to say that he made it that far past the system. I get where he’s coming from, really, but he’s an idiot.” You turned to look at him, hoping he’d understand. “He’s going to get us all killed, I swear!”

“I fear you may be right. He hasn’t considered the consequences,” Optimus seemed to frown, still staring out into the horizon.

“Do you have any plan for our next course of action? For dealing with KSI, I mean.” A part of you just wanted to know if he was on the same page as you. The last thing you wanted to hear was him agreeing with Cade. “Are we…” you trailed off, “are we even going to go with you?”

“According to Cade the company is headquartered in Chicago. I believe that’s where they’ve been taking the bodies of the Autobots they get ahold of,” he paused. He seemed apprehensive about going to Chicago. The city was still dealing with the damage that had been done the last time he was there, and, to him, making an appearance there was a sure way to lose his life. “There’s no way for us to get in without a battle.”

“Well what if you had the help of us? Cade and I,” you turned your body to face him, pausing to gauge his reaction. “Cade, as frustrating as he is, can do all the tech stuff to infiltrate the building. And I can be the one to actually enter. You know how settings like that are— all I have to do is dress a little professional and a little sexy and then I look like an intern. There’s not a whole lot I’ll be able to do besides attempting to clear Cade and Tessa’s names. The rest would pretty much be up to you.” Optimus seemed to take your words into consideration, toying with the idea in his processor.

“There is no guarantee that you won’t get caught,” he said after a brief pause.

“I’m not worried about that. In fact, I bet they’re expecting a little guest appearance from at least one of us if not all,” you leaned forward, staring into his optics. “If you can get us there, we’ll get you in.” You and Cade had done similar things when you were younger, mainly out of boredom. You used to play a game that he called ‘break in or bust?’ So yeah, you both knew how to infiltrate without getting caught. Optimus didn’t need to know that though.

“I will talk to the others tonight,” he looked out into the distance. Hound and Drift were now in sight, getting close and closer by the second. “You should talk to Cade.”

“… I know,” you couldn’t help but frown. “He and I have argued before, it’s no big deal.” You hung your head, guilt tugging at your heart. That’s how it always was. The two of you would argue, and then things would be back to normal within an hour. You turned your head to look back at the camp, searching for Cade with your eyes. Things had always worked themselves out before, but now that you were grown, you didn’t know. You just didn’t know anymore.

Optimus didn’t respond, allowing silence to fill the air between you. You figured you’d apologize later and move on so you could discuss the plan with him, but you didn’t know if it would be that easy. For some reason, Cade had grown to be very difficult as he got older. You knew all too well that people were meant to change with time, but he hadn’t really changed for the better. Life had hardened him and turned him into a stubborn (and slightly bitter) man.

Dusk rolled around and you found yourself sitting with Crosshairs. He was explaining his weapons to you in great detail, though you didn’t know why. Maybe it was because you were the only one that would listen. You had noticed that everyone tended to cut Crosshairs short on his ramblings. It was all nonsense anyways, but you quite enjoyed hearing it. Talking with him seemed to help you take your mind off of the matters at hand.

You noticed that Cade and Optimus were discussing something away from the camp and frowned. The green bot set down one of his guns and looked at you, snickering.

“What?” You turned to face him.

“So you’re friends with the boss man now?” He spoke with his thick accent. Listening to him speak always made you wonder how he ended up with that voice. Was he created with it? Maybe he just liked the sound. Who knew.

“I wouldn’t say that,” you sighed, “we’re more like coworkers… I guess?”

“Oh you know Prime, he tends to steer clear of close relationships with humans,” he had picked up his gun and started wiping it down again. He had nothing better to do, after all. “But you and him seemed to have clicked. Why do ya think that is?” He smirked as he spoke, his tone arrogant. To put it bluntly, he was a pompous ass whose only redeeming quality was his humor.

“Beats me,” you shrugged it off.

“Well come to think of it, Optimus and Bee had the same buddy a couple of years ago, but I never got to meet ‘em,” he was mainly speaking to himself now, and you found yourself taking interest in his story. “I had one myself, but that’s not for your ears.”

You turned to look at him, a curious brow raised. “I didn’t know you were capable of caring for anyone other than yourself.”

“Oh can it, will ya?” He scoffed. “I wound up stuck with her by coincidence. It’s no big deal,” his cooling fans kicked on, the soft whirr making you want to giggle.

“Yeah yeah, your secret is safe with me,” you joked halfheartedly. The bot shot you a glare before changing the subject, looking over at Cade and Optimus. He gestured his gun at them with a confused expression.

“Whaddya think they’re talking about? It looks serious.” He was right, unfortunately. The conversation they were having looked to be incredibly heated, seeing as how frustrated Cade looked.

Optimus sighed and brought his fingers to the bridge of his enstril as Cade continued to speak.

“I’m not going to be sending her in there as fucking bait!” Cade huffed, throwing his arms into the air. “She won’t even make it to where she’s going without getting pulled to the side by some guy that wants to get in her pants! I’m not doing it! And you shouldn’t be allowing it either! It’s dangerous!” The bot wanted to laugh at hearing him say that it was dangerous. He could be so hypocritical at times.

“To my understanding, she’s as grown as you are. I believe she can do what she deems necessary for the job,” he leaned down to look at the man, his blue optics illuminating the area around him. His voice was stern. He really wasn’t in the mood for pointless arguing. “She was the one who suggested it to me, so I’d advise taking things up with her over me.”

It was then that Cade turned to look at you. Your eyes met briefly before you broke contact.

He groaned and sat down, defeated. “Her going in there is just as risky as me doing it. The odds of bad things happening are the same, but I’d rather it be me than her, you know? I just…” he paused, looking down at his hands, “I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself if both she and Tessa got hurt. Being out here where we’re all vulnerable makes me so anxious. I feel like I have to make sure everyone is safe, and I can’t do that. I couldn’t even do that at my own damned house,” a sigh escaped him. Optimus looked away, pondering his words.

“I understand the need to keep those you love safe,” he turned back to Cade. “However, you can’t keep them safe all the time. I have learned that if they can handle themselves, then you must let them do so.” The man looked up at him, a frown on his lips. “Tessa has Shane, and you have y/n,” he paused awkwardly upon seeing the man’s face change. “You are both strong individuals. If you are the one getting her access to the building, then she should have no problem doing the rest.” Optimus leaned back and rolled his shoulders. “I truly believe that you have nothing to worry about as long as she’s around.”

“I guess you’re right…” he mumbled, still frowning. “I just can’t imagine what I’d do if someone else’s blood was on my hands. Especially hers.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if she’s told you or not, but she and I go way back. She’s been one of my best friends for years, and she’s practically an aunt to Tessa. We’ve been stuck with each other since we were just dumb kids. I know she’s a P.I and all, but it’s hard for me to think of her as anything other than how I know her. Like when she shot that one guy at the house? I didn’t know what to think,” Cade sighed and looked up at the sky. “I really do forget that she isn’t the same loser from high school, but I guess that’s just because I haven’t seen her in so long.”

Prior to discovering Optimus, you and Cade hadn’t seen each other in person in almost a decade. The two of you had called and such, but neither of you had made the move to meet up in person. Because of this, Cade found your occupation hard to believe. You had told him about some of the things you had done and all, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around it. He chose to blame it on the fact that you weren’t anywhere near this outgoing when you were younger. In reality, however, it was because he had fallen for the version of you that you left behind. It pained him, in a way. You weren’t the same, but neither was he.

Or maybe he was just a shitty person.

The cold night air washed over him as he settled in for the night. His conversation with Optimus had long since ended, and he couldn’t help but feel a little empty inside. Tessa still wouldn’t talk to him, Shane kept giving him dirty looks, and now he was arguing with you. There really was no winning.

Optimus chose to stay up to keep watch once again, stoically sitting to the side and observing the night sky. If he were being honest, he was hoping that you’d join him and make things less boring. He quite enjoyed your company.

“Well hello there,” you smiled, looking up into his optics. You gestured for him to help you up, to which he obliged. He extended his servo to you. Once you climbed up, he cradled you with his other servo as he lifted you into the air and set you down onto his shoulder. You made sure you were comfortable before diving right into conversation. “Do you know anything about the human girl Crosshairs was friends with?”

He cracked a soft smile, thinking about your words. “I know only what he has told us. From what I can remember, she found him in her junkyard and things sort of went from there. Did he tell you about her?”

“He only told me that the story wasn’t for my ears,” you shrugged and leaned forward, looking into Optimus’s optics. “I thought the implications were rather… scandalous. Don’t you agree?”

“That’s not for me to say,” he eyed you, still smiling. For being so serious all the time, you didn’t think he was capable of smiling. You chuckled and leaned back, resting your body against the side of his helm.

“I can’t believe you get this view every day,” you whispered. “I’m kind of jealous.” You teasingly nudged him, closing your eyes with a smile. “I did the math, by the way. From here to Chicago would be roughly a thirteen and a half hour drive. There are measures we can take to avoid main roadways, but there’s no guarantee that we won’t get stopped by our pursuers.”

“We should leave in the morning then,” he paused to take a breath. “Which means that you should get some rest.”

“You first. I can’t think of a single time since we’ve been here that you’ve rested properly,” you held on tightly and leaned over to look at him. “You must be exhausted. There’s no way that you aren’t.” You raised a brow and stared at him.

He had no words, choosing to simply lift you from his shoulder and hold you at eye level. “Someone needs to keep watch over the camp.” His gaze hardened stubbornly, and you smiled.

“If you could put me down, that’d be great,” you said sarcastically, gently running your hand along one of his digits. His cooling fans kicked on and he visibly tensed. Optimus quickly set you down before leaning forward to look at you. You took that as the perfect opportunity to pat one of his faceplates gently. The whirring of his fans continued on, making you chuckle softly. “Get some rest, please. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and it’ll do neither of us any good if we’re exhausted the whole way.”

“I…” he trailed off, letting out a heavy sigh. “You’re right. Goodnight, y/n.” He spoke with such sincerity that it made your heart swell. Feeling satisfied, you took a step back, still smiling. Optimus took that as his sign to do the same, now standing up. The two of you then went your separate ways, heading to opposite ends of the camp.

Hound let out a low whistle, causing Optimus to freeze. He hadn’t realized that the others were awake, but as he looked around, he saw that everyone was, in fact, awake. He cursed himself internally, giving Hound a sharp look before sitting down.

“I wasn’t aware that you had a type Optimus,” he teased, crossing his arms with a chuckle. Bumblebee chimed in, playing some cheesy romance song that only added to his leader’s embarrassment.

“It’s not like that,” he defended, shaking his helm.

“Whatever you say, boss.”

“Go back to stasis, Hound,” he scowled slightly, his fans still running.

“Sir yes sir.”

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

The morning came quicker than you expected, and you felt as if sleep had eluded you. The sun met your gaze happily, bringing an unbearable heat with its presence. Cade was sitting next to you, packing up in silence.

“Who are you planning on riding with?” You asked, scooting over to help him out. He sighed and continued on.

“I’m not sure. It just depends on who feels like carrying people,” he folded the flimsy blanket he had been sleeping with and then stood up. He helped you up with a grunt, giving you a nod before walking over to Tessa and Shane. You looked down at your own blanket, frowning before picking it up and folding it over your arm.

You made sure the fire was out before you joined the others. It felt like a breath of fresh air to see Tessa talking to Cade. The sight brought a smile to your lips as you stood there. Shane glanced at you and returned your smile.

“The plan is to divide and conquer,” Cade explained, fixing his ball cap with a sigh. “You two,” he pointed at the young couple, “you’re in charge of stealing food and the essentials. Nothing else, got it?” They nodded and he directed his gaze to you. “KSI headquarters is like a fortress. I’m gonna find a way into their top-secret military wing,” he explained, directing his gaze to the Autobots.

“You’ll have to find something to blackmail both the company and government,” you sighed, following after him and looking up at the bots. Cade turned back to you, his determination a burning flame in his heart.

“We’re gonna get our freedom back,” he nodded, looking back at Optimus, who had already transformed into his alt mode. You headed towards him, but stopped when Cade grabbed your arm. He had a serious look in his eyes, mixed with worry. “Stay safe, got it?” You nodded and he let you go. He sighed and left for Bumblebee.

“Autobots, roll out,” Optimus called out as the others began leaving the camp behind, yet he stayed behind, waiting patiently for you. You smiled and walked towards him. Your hand rested on the handle of the passenger’s side door, and you hesitated to open it. With a deep breath, you opened it and climbed into the truck. He set out after the other bots, taking his time on the road.

It seemed that you were left alone with him quite frequently. Not that you minded, of course.

“Does your radio work?” You leaned forward, running your fingers over it as you spoke. Curiously, you turned one of the knobs, attempting to tune in to some random local station. The background noise would have done you good, but nothing was coming through. There wasn’t even static.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot let you do that. If I tune in to any stations, I risk us being caught.” His response made you frown, and you leaned back with a huff. “However, I don’t mind talking to you.”

Your eyes focused on the road ahead as you thought. What was there to talk about that you hadn’t already? “Crosshairs told me that you and Bumblebee had a human acquaintance a few years ago… were they the one that fought with you in Chicago?” You paused, contemplating your next words. “Also can I prop my feet up on your dash? I want to make sure my leg won’t cramp.”

“Make yourself comfortable,” there was an audible sigh that left the speakers. Your question for him was a hard one. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer you, it’s just that thinking of him was tough. “That’s true. His name was Sam— Samuel. Sam Witwicky. We fought together on many occasions. He will always be my friend.”

“Sam…” It clicked. “Witwicky?” You suddenly sat upright, your eyes wide. “Oh my god! He hired me ages ago! I can’t remember why though. Oh hold on let me think…” you sat back once again, tapping your fingers on the interior of the door as you thought. “Hmm… maybe he didn’t. But I do recognize that name. Oh! His parents! I remember now!”

Static came through on the radio, signaling to you that Optimus was listening. He was rather intrigued by the concept of you and Sam meeting at some point. Maybe the world was as small as the humans suggested.

“I was hired by his parents to find him and bring him back to them. I can’t really remember why he hadn’t been back in so long, but I came back empty handed. Actually…” you stopped, trailing off nervously. You weren’t sure if he’d like to hear the next part, but chose to keep on. “When I came back, they were also missing. Out of curiosity, I conducted my own investigation to find the people that had hired me, but I found nothing. They had just disappeared, without a trace. It took me a while, but I did find out what happened to them. They had been hunted down by an unknown Decepticon, and… well… I’m sure you can guess what happened.”

“I see. He had always known that by associating with us he’d be in danger.” He sounded hurt, in a way, but he also sounded as if he had experienced this too many times. “I’m afraid that it was something he couldn’t avoid.”

“I’m sorry… I’m sure you did everything you could to keep him safe.”

“There’s not much you can do about it now, so please don’t trouble yourself with it. I always knew that it would happen,” he paused, allowing silence to fill the air between you. After a moment or two, he spoke up again. “Would you mind telling me about how you and Cade met? I’ve been rather curious since we’ve arrived at that camp.” Him changing the topic wasn’t something that surprised you. The topic he picked, however, was. Your mind raced. What in the world could be so interesting about your relationship with Cade?

“Oh… uhh… sure.” You chuckled awkwardly as you thought. “Oh I don’t even know where to start with this one…” your finger tapped your chin as you spoke, your brows furrowed. “Okay, so, to provide some context, my family has always been sort of well off. I grew up in a nice house and ran with a nice crowd. I wasn’t exactly popular, but a lot of people knew me, you know? Anyways, my freshman year of high school I had a cd player that I brought with me almost everywhere. I wound up dropping it and breaking it one day, and one of my friends told me to go find this guy. According to them, he could fix damn near anything, so if I brought it to him, it’d be fixed up in no time.

“Against my better judgement, I sought him out and gave him the player. I remember when I found him he looked rough, like he had just gotten done wrestling someone outside. I didn’t think anything of it and asked him a few questions. The usual— ‘what grade are you in?’ ‘what’s your schedule?’ ‘what’s your name?’ God he was so cheesy. And smart. He was smart enough to understand what I was saying. I remember being swept up off of my feet right then and there— anyways— he wound up inviting me back to his place so I could give him some company while he worked. I was under the impression that he didn’t have very many friends, so I said yes and met up with him after school. He sat my cd player on one of his stupid shelves and just talked to me the whole time. We then grew to be pretty close and wound up getting in sooo much trouble together. For a while we had a friends with benefits sort of deal, but it never went past that. Especially when he met Emily. He wasn’t even at graduation because of Tessa’s birth. After that things sort of get fuzzy, but that’s the gist of it.”

You felt your face heat up with embarrassment as you spoke to him. To finally say out loud that you and Cade were something at some point made you feel kind of self-conscious. But what could you say? You had been a dumb kid, nothing more. With a deep breath, you smiled, patting the seat gently. You still weren’t sure if he could feel things like that, but you chose to think so as you caressed the worn leather.

“Thats quite the story,” his voice seemed lighter, and you pictured him smiling as he spoke to you. “Your friendship with him is admirable. I commend you for staying by his side for so long.” Optimus had actually been caught off guard by your mention of being more than friends, but he couldn’t place just what it was that had caught him by surprise. He processed your words carefully, doing his best to imagine the scene as you described it.

“Yeah, I’m a little impressed too,” you giggled. Your shifted your body and looked out the window. The world whizzed by, a world that you may not get to revisit. A sigh left your lips as you continued to subconsciously caress the seat. “Can I ask you a… weird question?”

“Of course.”

You hesitated to speak, cringing at the words that were about to leave you. “Can…” you sighed, “can you feel it when I do something like this?” You leaned forward and tapped the dashboard with your hand. “Or do you just not feel anything while you’re in your alt mode?”

“I feel everything from you touching the dashboard to you simply shifting in place.”

You nodded and looked back out the window. This drive was going to be long and overly uneventful. The thought alone bored you, but there was no getting out of it. This time, you found peace in the silence that enveloped you, leaning against the window and closing your eyes. It was calming really. You knew that you were safe as long as you were with him, so you really didn’t have anything to worry about.

An hour or so had passed when you noticed Optimus slowing down. Immediately you sat up, leaning forward to get a better look despite not knowing what you were looking for. You were still in the middle of nowhere, with fields on either side of you. There wasn’t any sign of civilization in any direction, which only added to your confusion.

“Is everything okay? Why are we slowing down?” You looked at the radio as if he could see you talking to him. “You don’t need gas, do you?”

“No, I don’t require that. We’re being followed.” You could tell he was calculating his next course of action carefully. Followed? You whipped your head around and looked behind the truck. There wasn’t anything on the road as far as you could see. A glimmer from above caught your attention, causing you to frown. They were following you by aircraft. Of course.

“What do we do?” You asked, another question hitting you. “Wait— if we’re being followed, then why in the world are you slowing down?” You slid down in your seat, anxiously looking at the side mirror. He gave you no response, instead choosing to suddenly increase his speed. Prior to this, he had been going about sixty miles per hour, but he had now kicked it up to one hundred. You had no idea that semi trucks could go that fast. Your hands clutched the handle above you, your body pressed against the seat in an attempt to not go flying forward. “Jesus! A little bit of a warning next time please!” You shouted, your heart pounding in your chest.

“My apologies. I took a few turns that are not on our route. I believe we lost them,” he slowed to a halt on a dirt road hidden beneath the shade provided by the trees.

“Well I’d hope so! God you scared the life out of me!” You brought your hand to your heart and clutched it, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Y/n.”

“What is it?” You questioned, slightly frustrated with him.

“I feel as if we’ve strayed a little too far from our path.”

You felt your eye twitch as you sat there. Great. “Oh. Cool,” you said simply before bringing your leg back and kicking the dashboard gently, “Is there any way we can contact Cade and Bee?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not getting any signal at this moment.”

“Do you even have a map in here?”

“I do not. I have had no need for one.”

Your teeth clamped down on your tongue to prevent you from screaming outright. “Oh I’m gonna get you one, that’s for sure.”