Chapter Text
"Optimus, I have checked it three times already!"
Megatron had already unceremoniously hurled their duffel bags and travel cases into the back, pushing a particularly large, soft-sided suitcase against the far wall to serve as a makeshift pillow. He crawled in and made himself laying down like an offshore killer–whale.
Optimus stood by the driveway, his servos planted firmly on his hips.
"Did you ensure the back door is fully locked? The security grid? What about the thermal lamp in the washroom? And the head generator, Megatron, did you switch off the head generator?"
"YES!" Megatron bellowed from inside the trailer. "Everything is off! The house is completely dormant! Now close the door shut!"
Optimus cycled a deep, patient vent. He crouched down to where Hot Rod was bouncing on his pedes, vibrating with excitement. Optimus pulled the small red and gold sparkling into a reassuring hug.
"Now listen to me, little one," Optimus murmured softly. "It is going to be a long drive to Tarn. So I need you to promise me you will not cause trouble for your sire back there. Do you understand?"
"I promise, Carrier!" Hot Rod chirped brightly.
Optimus gave him one last nudge before lifting him up and setting him inside the trailer. Megatron had already settled into his nest of luggage, fully reclined and looking dead to the world, though he had left one small side window cranked open for the sparkling to see the outside.
Optimus offered a final nod, closed the heavy trailer doors, and secured the latch.
With a mechanical whir and a heavy clunk, the Prime transformed into his vehicle mode, smoothly hitched the trailer to his rear chassis, and began to roll out of the driveway.
Inside the trailer, as the slow-moving truck rolled down their residential street, they passed by Ultra Magnus's meticulously manicured front yard. Hot Rod immediately scrambled over a pile of blankets and jammed his faceplates against the open window.
"ARCEE!" Hot Rod shrieked at the top of his vocalizer.
A moment later, a pink helm poked out from a second-story window.
"I'M GOING TO TARN!" Hot Rod yelled over the low rumble of Optimus's engine.
"GOOD LUCK, HOT ROD! COME BACK SOON!" Arcee waved towards him before the trailer rolled past her line of sight.
The lumbering pace of the truck had caught the attention of a few other neighborhood sparklings. A small group of them began jogging along the pavement, trying to keep up with the massive wheels of the trailer as if it were a game they play. Hot Rod didn't know a single one of their names, but he enthusiastically waved his arms out the window anyway.
The kids cheered and waved back until Optimus finally accelerated, turning onto the busy main road and leaving their neighborhood behind.