Optimus x Reader One-Shots (Requests Open)

- Wilderness Explorers -

Warning: None

A/N: None

Plot: Bulkhead and Miko come back from a scouting mission. Bulkhead is estatic as he met his first deer! The kids talk about camping and look to (Y/n) for help as she is more experienced in the wilderness...

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Camping was someone else's forte. Most of the time, I would prefer to stay home and enjoy the warmth my blanket gave me. I read and drank coffee or tea based on how I was feeling. But I forgot. I had lived on Earth my whole life! I had seen what a deer looked like, what a horse would do grazing in the fields, or handled the smallest chipmunks in my hands. 

I could remember what it was like to have a bunny running around my yard and eating whatever was handed to them. The act of caring for a dog that had been there while I grew up. I knew what living on Earth was like. But Earth wasn't home to everyone. 

"Y'know what, we should go camping!" Miko exclaimed from near the bars after having just returned from a scouting mission with Bulkhead. My eyes widen a bit in curiosity. Camping? I can remember when I went camping as a little girl. It wasn't fun due to the heat and bugs.

Bulkhead transformed from his vehicle mode, towering over the small girl. The two went in separate directions, Bulk heading for Bumblebee and Arcee while Miko went up to the human platform with Jack and me. 

"We should totally do it! Bulkhead and I went to the forests nearby, and we got to see a herd of deer! Bulk had said he never seen that before!" I raised a brow while Jack smiled, clearly happy for the giant mech. Don't get me wrong, I was delighted too, but I was more used to it now as I have lived in a cabin my whole life. What was so astonishing about a herd? 

Bulk seemed more excited than I was as he started his little rant and story of their majestic appearance. This even caught Optimus's attention.

"You should have seen it! It was big, not just one but a whole ten or fifteen of them!" He threw his servos into the air, and his optics brightened joyfully. It was endearing seeing him act like a big kid. My parents had loved living in the cabin, and when I was born, they sadly split. So my dad had me stay at the cabin with him. I learned a lot in that silly old cabin. And when my sister joined in to visit, she would have the same expression Bulkhead had. It was enough to arouse a laugh from me. 

Jack and Miko walk over and listen to Bulk, who is having the best time explaining what the deer looks like or how one looks at him.

"They had those big long sticks on their head-what are they called-antlers! Yeah those, and they had a few where they didn't have any-"

"Those are the females bulk. Males are bigger, stalky, and have more of a temper than the females so I am glad you stayed a bit of ways."

Bulk looked at me as I explained. I looked down at my book, enjoying my reading story, when he walked over. His smile is as bright as ever.

"Have you seen them before?" Of course, curiosity got him. But antlers were among the most common things to learn as a boy or girl. Not everyone knew, granted, but it wasn't the biggest thing ever. Miko and Jack seemed more interested in my comment as they woke up and sat beside me, ready to hear what else I had learned about deer.

"Yeah, used to live in the woods with my old pa. He was a real tree lover who spent time tending to plants and teaching me about the worlds wonders. Deer's use to come around to say hello near the back door and I would be able to pet some of them if I had listened to my pa carefully."

The kids' eyes widened, Miko specifically. As a punk rock kid, she seemed to love the idea of being an animal whisperer. Jack seemed more interested in what I learned than the deer's, possibly because he knew a few tricks with them. But Bulk beat them both. His eyes were wide, and his smile was wider than before. Even Optimus was surprised and walked over to listen to me. 

"You lived in a cabin!? Can you sing to the birds? Or can you do that trick with the rope where you make a hoop and capture some animals?" And there started the twenty-question game, although, with Miko, it was the thousand-question game. I should have a timer on me in case this happens. Make a fun little game out of this. 

"You mean a lasso? And yes, I did do that before but not to capture. A moose got stuck in snow and so I was trying to help him get out with my pa. Thankfully the poor moose was able to get out safely." 

"You saw a moose!? Did it attack!? You have to go camping with us and show us some tricks!" She shook me, gripping my shoulders tightly and almost throwing me around excitedly. I laughed a little as Jack reached over to stop her. The thought of having to go back out there, though, was something I disliked. To tell the truth, I loved the cabin, yes, but camping was different. The cabin was secure, and I could escape the bugs when it got terrible outside. A tent wouldn't protect me even from a mosquito. 

"Ah, yeah, that's the thing. I was a kid who loved the outside. But I was also the girl who hated to camp. Mosquitos can be anywhere and I would have to run inside because I disliked bugs. And the security of a cabin was much greater than a tent's." I should have known, though. Miko didn't take no unless for a fair reason. She pouted and raised a brow, looking at me like she didn't understand a lick of what I said.

"Bug spray can help that! And it would teach the bots about Earth more! Jack and I have all our lives to be on this big rock called home, but the bots will have to go home one way or another." She had a point. I looked down and let my book fall into my lap. They had never really seen Earth because they were either running or hiding in this confined space of a base. That explained why Bulkhead was excited; he really was like a kid in this world. Getting to see his Disney World for the first time. 

The kids had guardians who knew little to nothing about the Earth—even my guardian. My gaze shifts to Optimus, who had been silent this whole time. His strict but soft gaze glares into my form. What if I missed out on seeing him happy? That was it. I close my book and get up, turning to face the group. It looks like it's time to dust off the old cabin clothing.

"Well then, now is the perfect time to do so. It's spring, meaning all the animals will be out, and I can show a few off to y'all!" With a loud squeal, Miko jumps up and hugs me tightly. Jack seemed happy with the idea as he would get to use his survival kit. Or, in other words, his fanny pack. Calling my dad to get the cabin ready would be better. Though it might defeat the purpose of camping outdoors. 

Looking up at the other bots, I smile, seeing Optimus most pleased with getting to go out, clearly not having any apprehension about the activity. Optimus had long started to ask me about my kind. My heart fluttered in happiness at the idea of indulging his curiosity a bit more than normal. Finally, a day when I could explain with a visual representation. 

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Word Count: 1,308