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Galvatron didn't like strangers. He always hated it when someone was in their house he didn't know. His usual response was to growl at them, but his father said that wasn't good to do, and might alert humans to their secret. So he had stopped doing it but he still wanted to.
Currently, the stranger was standing in the front hall, talking to his father. He was wearing a red shirt and had oddly blue hair. They spoke like they knew each other, but Galvatron regarded him with suspicion. He poked his head out from behind the doorway to stare at the suspicious man. He was too far away to be able to tell from smell whether the intruder was human or were. The stranger was holding something in his hand, it looked like a baby carrier but Galvatron couldn't see what was inside.
The adults paused in their talking, and they both looked over to him.
"Is that Galvatron?" The stranger said, and Galvatron shrank away as the attention focused on him. "My, how you've grown. Hello!"
Galvatron scurried away, heading to a part of the room where he wouldn't be able to be seen, but he could still listen in. He heard his father give a sigh.
"I'm sorry about that."
"It's alright. I know he's shy. He'll join us once he's ready."
"Do you want to come through? Your arm must be tired from carrying that thing."
"Yes, thank you. That would be nice."
"Tea or coffee?"
"Coffee, please."
Galvatron listened out as they headed towards the kitchen. He waited before he decided to shift into his wereform, then he carefully crept his way towards them. Once they had moved into the living room he poked his head through and saw his dad and the stranger sitting on the sofa, talking. The two adults were so engrossed in their chat that they didn't notice as Galvatron snuck inside. The baby carrier had been left on the floor, and Galvatron moved closer towards it. He kept sniffing, sensing something was inside.
"Rah!" He jumped back as he saw a baby fox lying in the carrier, bundled up in sheets. It's eyes were closed as it tussled about in its sleep. Galvatron stared at it in surprise.
"Oh? Have you met Rodimus?"
Galvatron pinned his ears back as he looked up at the stranger. The man was still smiling, but Galvatron regarded him with uncertainty.
"Don't worry, let me show you." The stranger came closer, kneeling and carefully picked up the little fox cub from the carrier, holding him in his arms. The fox whined but quickly settled as he was held close. The stranger held him so that Galvatron could see him. His fur was all fuzzy in that way that newborn fur often was, and it was a murky colour, his true colouration hadn't settled in yet.
"He's very new to the world, but I'm sure you'll be friends," the stranger smiled. This time rather than treating him with suspicion, Galvatron tilted his head to the side.
"Galvatron, honestly, don't you remember Optimus?" his father said. "He used to look after you all the time when you were Rodimus's size."
Galvatron huffed at that. He was never that small.
"It's okay if you don't remember me," Optimus said, carefully placing the cub back into the carrier. "I have been away for a long while."
"Yes. It's a shame it didn't work out," Megatron said.
"Yes…" Optimus said forlornly, looking at the carrier. Slowly he moved to sit back on the couch. Megatron looked over to Galvatron as he spoke.
"Optimus and Rodimus might be staying here permanently from now on, once we've built a home for them."
Optimus sighed.
"You don't need to worry, I-"
"Optimus, that was the entire reason to build this place, so we'd have somewhere to go if things went wrong."
"I know, I just… I made so many friends in the city."
"I'm sure we can find a way for you to see your human friends. Now, drink your coffee. It'll go cold otherwise."
The two of them continued talking, but Galvatron's attention remained fixed on the sleeping fox cub. He had never seen a were so small, and there weren't many other children in the village at the moment, so the idea of having someone else nearly his age felt so exciting. Galvatron was going to do whatever it took to protect this kid.
He started marching around the baby carrier, protecting it from any potential intruders. He heard a light chuckle from Optimus, but he ignored it and carried on with his duty.
It was hours later, and when Optimus looked out the window he saw the sun was already setting.
"I must be getting back. It's late. Ratchet offered to let me stay at his place for now."
Megatron nodded. "We'll try and get you your own place as soon as possible."
"That won't be-"
"Yes it will. "You think Ratchet's little shack will be a big enough place for you and a child? You need somewhere proper to live."
"Megatron, I… thank you, old friend. It's appreciated."
Megatron patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm happy to have you here, Optimus."
"Anyway, I must check on Roddy." Optimus as he stood up before he looked around. "Where's Galvatron got to?"
"I don't know. I thought he was in here, but he's often prone to flights of fancy."
"Oh, well," Optimus said, going to pick up the carrier. "It was nice to see you both agai-Ahh!"
Optimus was surprised when he picked up the carrier and found it was heavier than expecting. He could barely lift it off the ground.
"Optimus?"
"There's something in the…" Optimus lifted up the cover of the carrier and was momentarily startled by what he saw. Inside, curled around Rodimus was a sleeping purple wolf cub.
"Galvatron, what are you doing in there?" Megatron said to the sleeping cub. Optimus couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't worry," he smiled. "It's cute. At the very least we should get a picture." Optimus watched them a little longer. For the first time in a while, he was feeling a bit more certain that things were going to work out.