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(Y/N) was so tired of mainland life.
No time for herself; no passion; no energy. Life was directed to eternal sadness. She decided to move in with her aunt, who lived in a small little (disastrous) island called Griffin Rock. Soon, (Y/N) found a part-time job at the local preschool, where she acted as traffic guards ensuring children cross the road safely.
Before she was approved to live in the island, the mayor had sent a contract with a term stating "What happens in Griffin Rock, stays in Griffin Rock". Well, I suppose? (Y/N) signed the contract, her mind still pressing a lot of questions.
Once she arrived, holy moly the town looked peaceful. There was not a single trace of hustle-bustle like in the city. She could have unlimited supply of fresh air and happiness. Depression is over, time for peace!
(Y/N)'s aunt greeted her niece warmly, delighted to see that she was already enjoying Griffin Rock. What came next shocked (Y/N) to the core.
"Rescue robots that are sentient?" (Y/N) nearly spat out her tea.
"Yes!" her aunt smiled.
"So that's why you told me 'we'll see' when I kept asking you about that contract thingy," (Y/N) nodded, understanding the situation. "Let's see if these sentient robots are hot enough, I'll consider dating a bot over a man," (Y/N) joked. Her aunt burst out laughing.
"No way you're so desperate to consider dating a bot!" (Y/N)'s aunt slowly calmed down, then said: "(Y/N), don't be too blind in love. I can't guarantee that you won't be fat-shamed here when you get into a relationship. Besides, who needs a boyfriend? Get a dog and be happy!"
On cue, the Beagle in the apartment barked.
"You're right, I'll take care of Munchkins with you," (Y/N) sipped her tea.
"Nono, Munchkins is all mine," her aunt shook her head. "Nooooo way that I am giving her to you. Get your own bitch, this bitch is mine."
(Y/N) gasped dramatically. "Language!"
"You're an adult, you can hear and say cuss words. Grow up."
"I've never heard of a lawyer cussing before," (Y/N) muttered. "Goes against a lot of stereotypes."
"Hey, what stereotypes? I'm a woman with a giant chunk of ass like yours who can advocate in court as well as a white man with the same intelligence as me!" (Y/N)'s aunt boomed loudly. "I can swear all I like!"
As per her dramatic characteristic, (Y/N)'s aunt opened the window and screamed: "LISTEN UP ASSHATS! I HAVE A BITCH WHILE HALF OF THE WORLD IS BITCHLESS."
"You've made your point," (Y/N) giggled. "How about we try not to get a noise complaint?"
Her aunt shut the window. "Come on, have some fun. You younglings still have a long way to go."
Boomer, lmao.
First day on the job. (Y/N) was delightfully surprised with how well-behaved the schoolchildren were. Many held each other's hands as a safety measure, as taught in school. (Y/N) was careful with the job, even if the summer heat was close to killing.
Occasionally, she could hear a firetruck siren echoing across town, but she could never see it. Other times involved a helicopter zooming past in the sky. (Y/N) presumed those two were the rescue bots.
After her first day, she felt safe. Happy.
No one commented on her body. No weirdos like those in the mainland had walked up to her and catcalled her. No one pushed their skinny ideologies onto her.
Everyone minded their own business.
When she got home that day, (Y/N) was exhausted but thrilled. Her aunt made her famous (food) with a recipe passed down from generation to generation. Then, (Y/N) and her aunt spent some time looking into other aspects that (Y/N) could invest her time into. As much happiness the traffic guard job gave her, the money was not catching up its worth. Besides, she did not envision herself to work as a guard forever.
"How about... rescue work? I heard the Burns family is looking for someone to oversee their communications. Their youngest has grown up and went to college," her aunt explained.
"I have to talk?" (Y/N) asked, as if in fear. "I can barely order my own food. I can't talk!"
"Come on, it's good experience either way! It's a good thing to put on your CV too when you decide it's time to change jobs again," her aunt beamed. "I heard the nerdy Graham Burns is hot~!"
"Did we not just went through earlier that he has a girlfriend-?" (Y/N) winced. "I get that you want me to be happily settled with someone, but that's so many years away."
"And almost in your 30s, you're running out of the golden time!" her aunt exclaimed. "You said you wanted someone to love too, right?"
"That doesn't come easy..." (Y/N) sighed. "For now, I think it's wiser to focus on my career first."
Her aunt sighed, then jokingly added: "I only accepted to have you move in for me to watch a real-life romance drama. I guess that chance got thrown out the window, huh?"
(Y/N) chuckled before pinching her aunt's arm. "You're funny, veeeery funny."
"That's battery, I'm suing you."
"Please don't-"
A FEW MONTHS LATER
"Before you start your first day, I'd like you to spend some quality time together with the family," Chief Burns smiled.
"That would be wonderful!" (Y/N) smiled brightly. "Can't work as the middleman without getting to know who you're working with, right?"
"Of course," the chief got up from his chair. "How about spending Saturday together? Cody will be back from college to spend the weekend with us."
"I'm free, that's no problem," (Y/N) replied, getting up from her chair before pushing it in.
"That is settled then."
(Y/N) got home that day, squealing to her aunt about her smooth interview.
"That Saturday could be a test," her aunt spoke. "A test to see if you're compatible with the rest of the team, and to see your skills. The Burns value teamwork and close relationships."
"I got that in mind," (Y/N) placed down her bag.
"They look into your personality, (Y/N)," her aunt advised. "Present your true self and don't feel insecure. This family is a happy bunch. Except for Kade."
(Y/N) nodded, recalling the encounters she had with Kade. A child got stuck in a pothole, so the firebot, Heatwave, and Kade were called. Kade seemed hotheaded, sometimes (Y/N) heard of his comments towards children. But, she took notice when Heatwave would bend down to Kade's level and told him off.
"I'm hoping he won't be a pain in my ass," (Y/N) looked at her aunt. "If someone in there loves to fat-shame, I'm leaving straightaway."
"You know your rights, and I'm super proud of you," her aunt placed her hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder in reassurance. "Go wash up, I've made your favourite for dinner."
SATURDAY
"Don't be shy. Anything you need, let us know," Graham smiled at (Y/N) after Chief Burns formally introduced the human part of the team. The bots were still out dealing with the ongoing construction of an academy, so the family decided to deal with icebreakers through dinner first.
"I can show you around the bunker when we're done," Cody offered.
"Nuh-uh, girlie is mine. It's so difficult to get another female on the team!" Dani protested. "(Y/N), how about we-"
"Actually I was wondering if (Y/N) would like to come on patrol with me while I go through some expectations on what to do as our communications," Chief Burns suggested.
"I can't split myself into three," (Y/N) chuckled. "Unless if Doc Greene has that tech already..."
"If he did, the island would be crawling with clones," Kade shivered, recalling the time when his nightmare fuel was cloned hundred times over. "Not taking another tech malfunction, ever."
"Aww, still afraid?" Dani teased.
"Kids, we talked about this," Chief Burns sighed.
(Y/N) felt so relieved. This family, thankfully, was exactly as her aunt had described: friendly, funny and caring. The children took much of their kindness from their father. They didn't seem to care about how (Y/N) ate, or how she finished an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes in one go.
No comments about her size. No comments about her eating. No comments about her happy dance as she ate.
After dinner, (Y/N) did everything, and maybe more, of what was offered over the dinner table. She toured the bunker with Cody, played arcade with Dani and Kade, went out on patrol with Chief in his old rusty car, and a lot more. Time ran so fast that by the time she went back to the firehouse for the millionth time, it was nearly midnight.
This time, there were four gigantic figures looming in the bunker.
"Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the team..." Chief Burns began the introduction.
The bots seemed friendly, especially Blades. He was beyond ecstatic to have another television buddy after knowing of (Y/N)'s favourite romcom shows. Boulder was excited to show her his new plant friends. Chase maintained his usual demeanour.
"Pleasure to meet you again, (Y/N)," Heatwave's voice cut through (Y/N)'s thoughts. She looked up to the mech who had crouched down on one knee.
She could feel her heart racing. The same rhythm hit her when she first saw Heatwave a couple of weeks ago. There was no way that she already found a sentient robot more attractive than the entire human population.
"Woah, friendly Heatwave?" Kade snorted. "Thought you hated meeting new people."
"Unlike you I know when to lower my pride- wait I'm sorry, I forgot you're just a child, Kadey-Wadey," Heatwave mocked.
"Listen here you unimportant-"
"We can show you the progress of the academy!" Blades suggested. "You get to use the ground bridge for the first time!"
"Ground bridge?" (Y/N) asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"The academy construction is happening on the mainland, and since we have to transport building materials in secret, we do it through the ground bridge," Cody explained. "Let's check it out tomorrow, I'm sure (Y/N) is tired after today."
"Awh," Blades' shoulders sunk.
"It's okay, I can come back tomorrow," (Y/N) grinned. "I have time."
~~~
An emergency required the whole team on deck. Cody took the chance to introduce (Y/N) to the role of being in charge of communications.
A forest fire was what everyone needed to deal with. A bunch of schoolkids were trapped in the forest, and it was unsafe for the teachers to bring out the kids one by one. Kade had already rushed in with Heatwave while Blades and Dani headed to grab more water.
Cody maintained composure throughout the rescue. He calmly assessed the situation and communicated his suggestions to the whole team, and everyone executed their part well. Until something unexpected.
While rushing out of the middle of the forest fire with schoolkids safely in their seats, a bunch of old heavy trees fell on Heatwave, crushing his pedes. (Y/N) stands up, unsure of what to think. The rest of the team clearly had their hands full.
"If only Quickshadow was here..." Cody grunted. "Heatwave, hang on tight. I'm calling for backup."
Cody turned around to find (Y/N) missing, her chair spinning as if indicating that she sped off. A few minutes later, she appeared in Cody's cameras. She had borrowed Kade's old firefighting outfit and already squeezed herself to the middle of the forest where Heatwave was.
"Heatwave! Open your door, I've made a safe pathway for the kids to get out!" (Y/N) shouted.
"Are you sure? The fire is too strong, they and you won't make it!" Heatwave grunted. The trees were crushing his pedes hard. The long roots entangled around him didn't help much either.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," (Y/N) confidently nodded her head.
Heatwave reluctantly opened his door, and that's when (Y/N) activated a fireproof bubble ball she had taken from the bunker's survival box. Carefully, she took the kids with her and had them cooperate with her as she began rolling the bubble ball.
"Nicely done, (Y/N)!" Cody's voice rang through Kade's comm unit when she came to pick up Kade himself and a few more kids. "I'll see if I can get Boulder to free Heatwave. Hang tight!"
The children were surprisingly very cooperative. Soon, all the schoolkids (and Kade) were rescued out of the fire. Now, it was just Heatwave. (Y/N) rolled in the bubble ball back to Heatwave.
"Are you able to move?" (Y/N) asked.
"No, I'm jammed. Get out of here, you're supposed to be stationed at comms!" Heatwave grunted. His pedes were starting to bleed. Even though his blood wasn't red like a human's, (Y/N) winced, knowing how much of a bloody bitch that hurt.
The bubble ball didn't seem big enough to cover Heatwave and the trees that were conveniently squashing on his pedes. (Y/N) ran through every single solution she could think of, but none were practical enough.
"(Y/N)! Get in!" Boulder yelled as he came running from a distance. (Y/N) soon buckled herself into the seat as Graham and Boulder worked together to get Heatwave out of trouble.
Heatwave was airlifted back to the firehouse, where Blades did his best to treat his wounds. Ratchet even ground bridged from Nevada to oversee Heatwave's recovery over a few weeks.
WEEK 1
"(Y/N)," Chief Burns began. Both were seated at the dining table, with the Burns kids standing behind (Y/N). "I regret to inform you that..."
It was worth a shot, I guess.
"... you didn't make it to the communications role. However, you are instead placed in the firefighting department instead, where you'll work with Heatwave and Kade."
WHAT?!
"I'm very honoured," (Y/N) chuckled out of surprise. "But how about comms? Don't we still need someone to take over that?"
"We'll still be actively looking. In the meantime because of your actions, we now realise that we need another firefighter for big scale rescues like the forest fire. Heatwave and Kade alone cannot fight those fires. With you and your intelligence, rescues shouldn't result in Heatwave getting in harm's way," Chief explained.
"Very specific to mention Heatwave," (Y/N) laughed. "Is he that prone to injury?"
"He's the self-sacrificial type," Kade sighed. "I'm lost with him sometimes."
"That's unfortunate," it was now (Y/N)'s turn to sigh.
"Thank you again for your save in the forest fire," Chief Burns smiled. "Your quick thinking and strength is commendable. But be more careful next time, you haven't received proper training and could've hurt yourself."
"I won't do something that rash again, sorry Chief," (Y/N) apologised. "I did get some first aid training a few years ago if that counts."
"We'll get you signed up for the best academy. I know some of my friends that opened their own and I gotta admit: they are pretty good," Kade said.
~~~
"You'll need some exercise to warm up your pedes when you've recovered," Ratchet advised.
(Y/N), who was visiting the firebot at the medical bay, stood right by Heatwave on the medical berth. She had been worried sick, but upon hearing that his pedes can return to normal function she felt relieved.
"You two are a good pair," Blades sighed. "Both are equally rushing into decisions."
"I measured my pros and cons, mind you," (Y/N) retaliated with a smile.
"Cody said you sped off when you saw Heatwave injured. You like him, by any chance?" Blades teased.
"Blades, I thought we were best buddies," (Y/N) sniffed dramatically.
Blades gasped. "So you do like him!"
"No!" (Y/N) groaned. "Blades you can't just-!"
"I've talked to your aunt, you practically drooled when you saw Heatwave!" Blades teased further.
"Blades, that's not nice," Heatwave warned.
"Yes dad, won't do it again," Blades replied sarcastically.
WEEK 5
Heatwave was undergoing an exercise plan drafted by Ratchet before the medic went back to his base. To encourage him, (Y/N) executed her own regular fitness routine to grow her strength right in front of Heatwave. She didn't want him to feel weak doing his routine while the rest of the team could easily speed off to patrols and rescues.
"No offence intended, how do you manage to keep in shape even with the amount of food you get?" Heatwave asked. "I'm sorry if my question offends you. When Blades was watching television on eating competitions I notice the competitors' physical abilities are limited."
"None taken!" (Y/N) smiled. "I personally don't mind people being curious and asking straightforwardly. I have a high metabolism and also with a very good guidance provided, my capabilities are limitless. If I didn't have those, I wouldn't have had the confidence to run to you and get the kids to safety. And by kids, that includes Kade too."
"Have people bullied you about your appearance?" Heatwave asked.
"A lot, yes. The skinny standard is forced to the point that many lost their lives, metaphorically or quite literally," (Y/N) explained. "Not everyone is born to withhold a skinny body shape. There are people who need to be chunkier to survive."
"From what Blades showed me on social media, I'm glad you have a positive attitude." Heatwave, was that a smile?
"Aww, you care!" (Y/N) giggled.
"Mention this to anyone, and you're dead to me," Heatwave warned.
"Wow Heatwave, wow."
WEEK 9
Heatwave was finally fit for going to missions again. A new, nerdy kid who very much reminded the team of Graham had started their probation on the communications role.
"Don't push yourself, Heats. Take it slow," (Y/N) encouraged.
"It's just getting a cat off a tree, nothing I can't handle," Heatwave smiled from the monitor.
"You two need to stop being so cheesy," Kade groaned. "It's making me sick."
"Do I need to explain to dear (Y/N) over here how you and Hayley-"
"ZIP IT!" Kade shouted.
"Woah, did I miss out on some tea?" (Y/N) burst out laughing.
"Hey, be grateful I haven't told anyone about you and Heatwave," Kade grumbled. "'Trying things out' my ass."
"I will trample you in your sleep, Kade," Heatwave growled.
"Boys, no violence," (Y/N) warned. "Be nice."
"Be nice my ass."
"Be nice my ass."