Chapter Text
CHAPTER TWO:
I find myself standing on Rodimus’ shoulder as he gives a speech to the crew. It had been about a week since we took off, and he saw fit for the crew to hear an inspirational “pep talk”.
Looking to the left and out a window, I begin to zone out while staring at the stars. This week has been…interesting, to say the least. On the first day of the voyage, the power went out and caused a panic because everyone thought that we were being ambushed by Decepticons. It turned out to be a mouse that snuck onto the ship back on Earth and had eaten through a few wires. On the third day, Ultra Magnus passed a rule that everyone had to take manners classes, which failed miserably for him. And on the sixth day, Brainstorm summoned fifteen hundred turbofoxes via “Compact Space Bridge” and made the rest of the crew capture them because he was apparently allergic. Like I said, it’s been a VERY interesting week.
I find my attention shifting to the other higher ups standing next to Rodimus. I first look at Ultra Magnus, taking note of his tall and bulky frame. He was definitely an intimidating mech that had an aura of authority. In my opinion, he was a great second in command. Someone you could trust to keep everyone in check.
I then look over at Drift. He was…strange, to say the least. I never can figure him out, honestly. He’s quiet, keeps to himself, and observant, yet he smiles at everyone he passes. It’s like he’s trying to be friendly, but doesn’t really know how to. I’ve also come across him meditating or praying quite often, which surprised me at first. I mean, it’s not that he doesn’t seem like the kind to be religious, but it just took me off guard. I respect it, though. The ship needs a mech like that. I’m sure he’ll be a good third in command once he comes out of his shell.
I finally look back to Rodimus, finding myself amused at the captain’s flamboyant demeanor while finishing up his speech. I’ve always loved it when he starts a speech or an announcement. It’s just something about the way he lights up and puts on his theatrics was kind of cute, to be entirely honest. His fiery red, yellow, and orange paint job symbolized his energetic yet quick to temper personality very well, and his bright blue optics could go from puddle shallow to ocean deep in the blink of an eye. He’s an amazing captain, even though he can be a bit cocky and inconsiderate of those he doesn’t know well.
I didn’t know that I was staring until I noticed Rodimus glance over at me, our gazes meeting for a split second before we both look away almost immediately. That was…weird. Maybe while I was spaced out, my eyes shifted over to him and he just happened to look over. Yeah, that was the reason. It was purely coincidental.
Finally, our beloved captain finishes the speech and dismisses everyone. Once the crew and other two higher ups had left, he sighs.
“Avery, you have no idea how exhausting that is. I can feel my voice box starting to deteriorate.”
I barely manage to hold back a snicker at his words. “Well, maybe don’t constantly have speeches?”
He feigns offense. “Me? Rodimus Prime? Don’t constantly do speeches? I’m sorry, sweetspark, but those sentence fragments don’t go together in a complete sentence. No no, I’ll just have to deal with the pain.”
I sigh, shaking my head and leaning against his shoulder plate. “You’re such a drama king, you know that?”
Rodimus smirks, crossing his arms. “Of course I know. It’s part of my trademark!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just put me down so I can finish decorating my hab-suite.”
“Ok, ok. Fine. No need to get your cables in a knot.” He grabs me off of his shoulder, his entire hand wrapped around my torso. Just as he’s about to put me down onto the ground, he brings me back up to his face.
“Oh, uh, by the way, I was wondering if we could maybe hang out sometime today? Maybe during down time?”
I blink a few times, not expecting the question. Rodimus never asked if I wanted to hangout and vice versa. We always just…hung out. It was just a thing that kind of happened; we never really planned anything out. Teenage impulse, y’know?
“Uhm, sure. Why not?” I shrug, trying to brush the confusion away.
He looks relieved, grinning. “Great! Just meet me at Swerve’s, m’kay?”
I nod, refraining from questioning the spot and just deciding to roll with it. He then set me down, giving me one last smile before walking off to do whatever captain things he usually does around this time.
That was….an interesting interaction.
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I finally set up the last poster in my hab-suite, taking a step back to admire it. My hab-suite looked like your average seventeen year old’s bedroom, with band posters, fake vines, fairy lights, polaroid pictures, car posters and models, book shelves, etc. It was very homey, if I do say so myself.
Well, it wasn’t really my hab-suite. I shared it with Ultra Magnus’ daughter, Whiplash. But, there’s no issues between us. In fact, I enjoy living with her. We had a lot of similarities. We only have one parent, we’re alternative, we both would never date anybody on this crew, and we like all of the same music. We actually became friends because Swerve tried to set me up with her. Did it work? No, but we’re two of a kind!
I look over to Whiplash’s portion of the hab-suite, which had the same aesthetic as mine. You see, the way sharing a room with me works (if you’re a giant robot), is that I get a corner of the room and the other gets the rest. And no, it’s not unfair. It’s just that I don’t need a Cybertronian-sized room.
I then flop onto my bed, sighing and staring up at the ceiling. My mind begins to drift back to the earlier interaction. I mean, it’s not like Rodimus was acting weird, but he kind of was at the same time. When was the last time he ever actually asked if he could hang out? For the last five years it’s just been us somehow ending up doing something together, so why has it suddenly changed now? Or maybe I’m looking too far into this. Maybe he just decided to be polite for once? But that wasn’t like Rodimus at all.
I decide to pull out my laptop and scroll through social media to clear my thoughts. I tried to pull up Instagram, but found myself unable to due to the fact that I was connected to the Lost Light’s Wi-Fi and only able to connect to Cybertron’s network. I roll my eyes and close the laptop, not being in the mood to scroll Cybertron’s social media platforms.
I stand up, walking over to my speaker and turning it on. I hook my laptop up to it and begin to play a random playlist I had made before we took off. And of course “Christmas Kids” by Roar plays. Safe to say this is one of my more…downcast playlists. But, honestly, it’s not unwelcomed. Though, I might want to be in a better mood while me and Rodimus are hanging out.
I change the playlist to a more upbeat and happy playlist, “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars being the first song that plays. I smile when the song comes on. Me and Rodimus listen to this song on repeat all the time and scream it at the top of our lungs, much to everyone else’s dismay.
While singing, I start to clean my portion of the hab-suite to pass the time. “Don’t you want me like I want you, baby? Don’t you need me like I need you now? Sleep tomorrow but tonight go crazy! All you gotta do is just meet me at the” I start to dance to the chorus, forgetting about my thoughts from earlier. I wouldn’t have to think during the hang out, so why think now? Might as well get lost in the music.
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Once it was finally downtime and everyone was recharging, I sat up in my bed. All I had to do was not wake anyone up. But before I can stand up, I look over and see Whiplash on her comm device, drinking away at a can of the Cybertronian equivalent of Red Bull. Scrap, I forgot she never rested.
She looks over and we lock eyes, staring at each other for a moment before she breaks the silence.
“Well you’re up late. Or early. Depends on how you look at it.”
I awkwardly rub the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah. I’d look at it as late.”
She puts her comm device down, resting her chin in her hand. “Whatcha doin’ up at this hour then?”
“Rodimus wanted to hang out in Swerve’s during downtime. Don’t know why, but how could I say no?” I shrug.
Whiplash smirks. “Well that sounds romantic, Avery.”
My jaw drops. “Ew! Whiplash, that’s gross! He’s just my best friend! Nothing more! Besides, don’t you have your own romance to worry about?”
She sighs dreamily. “Oh, him. Avery, I’m telling you, he’s definitely the one.”
I chuckle. “What’s his name? You never told me.”
“Overlo-” she clears her throat, “sorry, got something caught in my throat. His name is uh…Overunder”
I raise an eyebrow. “Over…under? Whiplash, it sounded like you were about to say Overlord. Are you hiding someth—”
She suddenly stands up and picks me up, interrupting my questioning. “Oh! Look at the time! You need to go meet up with your bestie!”
“Whiplash, wait—“
Whiplash opens the door and sets me down outside. “Have fun on your date!” She quickly retreats back into the hab-suite.
“Whiplash! Wait! Why did you almost say Overlord?!” I huff, crossing my arms. “And I’m not going on a date with Rodimus…”
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