These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

XX. Welcome to Paradise Part II

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With a tired, but content sigh, Catherine fell back onto her bed, making sure to avoid her bag. Teletraan proceeded to crawl up and lay on her stomach much like a cat would, purring happily when she stroked him. She was happy, too, smiling like a silly girl as she stared at the ceiling. She had every reason to. For the past three hours she’d been having a blast with her “team”.

“Oh, Teletraan! It’s was soooooo awesome! I don’t even remember having so much fun with people before!” she laughed aloud, disrupting the little drone as her stomach moved. He chirped curiously, and she chuckled. “Sorry. It’s just kind of a big deal for me. I wish you could have joined in, but I don’t think we can play off the shard as how you came to life.”

The drone whirred, accepting the answer, and curled back up, content once more. Catherine smiled and continued to pet him, her mind wandering back into the memories again. Her first impression of the guys had been right, and then they went and added onto it, making it even better.

Figueroa and David were the perfect comedy act, and she was pretty sure they didn’t even realize it. Anytime the Mexican man would speak even a single word of Spanish, the blonde-haired soldier would immediately shout for him to speak in English, pulling them into some kind of argument that ended up with everyone laughing and with the two of them somehow not trying to beat the crap out of one another. They would laugh, too, after a bit of pouting. Despite their “bitterness” she could tell they were good friends along with everyone else. They did have those “tender” moments, of course. “Tender” meaning roughhousing or trying to look better than the other, that is.

The others were tamer than those two, but they all had their own quirks. Epps was like she remembered him. He’d played his “cool” card most of the three hours, but his annoyance would show every once in a while when the guys got a “one-up” on him. Prideful, she figured, but then again, some of the guys in the group were pretty annoying. Of course, she just thought it was funny since it wasn’t happening to her. Granted, she’d learned that Epps had his own baby girls at home—about three of them, to be exact, so she could understand why maybe his patience was pretty thin. After all, Lennox was already whipped and being worn down by just two. She meant to ask more about his family, but they were distracted too much, and then he would be off trying to do some playful smack talk or showing off his "swagger".

Anthony, just as she suspected, was a huge flirt, and not just to her. No woman was safe from his flashy smile, but, luckily for them, she received the brunt of it being the only female usually within range. She didn’t remember him being so forward back at the S-Seven base, but she figured it was because she had been preoccupied by other things. She didn’t mind it so much—she thought it was kind of nice to get such attention. That is, until became tiresome. She had played it cool, brushing him off casually, but it was Lennox’s comments and glares that finally put the Italian down. She was pretty sure he’d be back at it soon enough, but she would survive. Besides—they were a professional military group, and, she was sixteen, so it would be well, weird if he actually meant to try anything. Granted, he didn’t know, but still. She was pretty sure he was just fooling around, anyways.

Well, Jazz. You’re going to be a little busy as my big guardian-bro, she hummed, and held a laugh behind her smile as she imagined the white mech standing over her protectively.

Thankfully there was more to Anthony than just flirting, and in that way he was kind of like Alexander. Both men were really more so the quiet type, preferring to watc rather than speaking. When they did, though, whatever came out was generally insightful, helpful, or funny. The Russian-man was especially like that, and she thought he was a very sweet guy. He was also very respectful towards their Commander and to her, although she didn’t think she deserved it yet. Maybe it was because she was a woman, but whatever the case, he treated her like a gentleman would. She had been warned, though, that he could be a mean fighter in training. That she would love to see, but it was apparently going to have to wait until tomorrow.