Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Well, here we are.” The realtor, a too-perky young woman who called herself Brite, stepped into the apartment and gestured to the generously sized main room. “Most of the space is in this room, but many of our previous single clients have enjoyed it.”

Sunstreaker looked around the room critically. Someone had left the sliding door to the balcony open a crack and leaves had blown into the place, but otherwise it seemed okay. “It’s gonna need cleaned before I’d be willing to move in.”

“Huh?” Brite blinked at him, and then followed his gaze to the open door. “Oh no! I’ll get someone on it right away!”

He nodded as she pulled out her phone. “I’m gonna check out the rest of it, while you do that.”

She nodded and punched in a number. “Of course. Just ask if you have questions.”

“Sure.” Sunstreaker turned to the attached kitchen, separated from the main room by a long counter and separated from the hallway by the tiny wall that supported the electrical hookups for a refrigerator. It came with an oven with a stovetop and a dishwasher, but the fridge was nowhere to be seen. Bumblebee would probably know where he could get one cheap, so he didn’t worry about that too much–but he might use the lack to try and negotiate a lower rent. He checked the door on the oven and the dishwasher and made sure all the buttons moved and nobs turned before moving on.

He stepped into the short hallway, a walkway that was almost useless for how quickly it ended. There was enough space on his left for the small laundry room that had drawn him to this apartment, though it didn’t come with the appliances, and then the bedroom and bathroom were both on his right. The bedroom needed better carpet, but that was a war he wasn’t going to fight today.

As he was considering where he might put a bed in the small space, and whether or not he wanted to hang curtains over the bank of windows, he heard a noise that reminded him of the office cat. He moved toward the closet to look inside, and when it proved to be empty, he walked into the bathroom.

And a small brown and white body darted behind the toilet as he turned the light on.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Sunstreaker crouched down on the floor and extended a hand, wishing he had one of the office cat’s treats in his pocket the way he often did these days. “It’s okay, little guy.”

After several long minutes, where he could hear Brite talking in the other room and sounding frustrated with whatever she was being told, he was rewarded by the small creature creeping out from behind the toilet. He smiled at the kitten, who didn’t even look old enough to his eyes to be on its own, as it took a cautious step toward him.

Then it took another and mewed plaintively.

“Well, I don’t know how Cosmos feels about cats, but I won’t leave you here to starve.” He eased himself a bit closer and lowered his hand to the floor. The kitten came closer and sniffed him. Then it mewed again, louder. Sunstreaker chuckled softly and moved his free hand so that he could scoop the animal up.

The kitten mewed again, but started purring almost immediately upon being cradled to his chest.

“Yeah, that’s what I though.” Sunstreaker smiled again. “We’ll swing by the pet store as soon as we leave here, okay? I already know I don’t have anything you’ll need.”

The kitten yowled, though he didn’t know if it was agreement or protest. In the main room, Brite’s conversation cut off and he could hear her footsteps approaching rapidly.

“Is everything all right? I thought I heard…” Brite’s eyes went wide and she stopped in the doorway, staring at Sunstreaker and the kitten. “A cat.”

“Yeah, he was hiding in here. Must have gotten in through that open door.” Sunstreaker scratched gently behind the kitten’s ears. “What are the pet policies for this place?”

“You mean you want it? Even with the cat?”

“Well, I still expect the carpets to get cleaned first. But yeah.” He looked down at his new kitten with a smile. “It feels like maybe it was meant to be.”

“Yeah, okay.” Brite’s too-bubbly personality returned in force. “That’s great! It’s going to be a couple of days before the cleaner can be here, though, so I’ll go draw up the paperwork and we can meet tomorrow to sign it and go over the pet policies? And that way you can get your new friend settled.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sunstreaker nodded. “Thanks, Brite.”

“You’re welcome!” She grinned brightly. “And don’t worry about a thing. Maintenance will be here to fix the sliding door in about twenty minutes, I’ll stay here and wait for them. How’s two tomorrow for paperwork?”

“One’s better. I’ll be on my lunch break then.”

“One it is! You’ll have to tell me his name, though!”

“I don’t know if I’ll know it or not by then.” The kitten yowled again, interrupting the humans. Sunstreaker laughed. “But I’ll let you know. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I need to go get him his dinner.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, Small Fry.” Sunstreaker reached out and rubbed the cat between her ears when she jumped up on the counter next to him. Small Fry purred in response. Then she sat down and watched attentively as he reached for a can of food and opened it. “Hang on, we’re doing something special tonight.”

Small Fry yowled, but she stayed seated while he opened a pouch too, and then dumped both into her dish. She jumped down immediately when he turned away from the counter and followed him into the living room.

“Happy one year together,” he told her, setting her dish down on its place mat. Then he sat down on the couch as she started eating her dinner. The cat didn’t understand anniversaries, of course, but he did and it mattered to him that she got something nice on the anniversary of the day they changed each others' lives.