1. Guardians (A TFP Fanfiction Story)

Chapter 25

It was night again. The other kids, who had only watched me stay with Ratchet for a little while before getting bored, had all gone home hours ago. Their guardians and Optimus had all tried convincing me to go back to my own bed, but I had kindly refused. I wanted to stay with my guardian. I was going to be there when he woke up. Defeated, the guardians one by one went to their own rooms to recharge, while Optimus remained behind a while longer. He had talked to me for a little while, asking about MECH and what had happened. I only gave him slight details. Giving up, the leader bid me goodnight politely and left to his own berth, leaving me and Ratchet alone once again.

I was still lying on his chest chassis, gazing at his faceplate. He remained still for hours. I somehow managed to stay awake, though I was fighting sleep most of the time. I sighed as the memories of the previous night filled my head.

"I wish none of this had ever happened," I mumbled sleepily, resting my head on my arms.

I heard a slight sigh just as my eyes had begun to close and looked up hopefully. Ratchet's optics were opening slowly, looking around confusedly. When they found me on his chest chassis, he sputtered in surprise, and a light blue rushed into his faceplate. Was he... blushing?

"Ratchet?" I said hopefully, raising my head.

He blinked at me, still shocked, before relaxing slightly. "Taylor," he vented in relief.

If I could have hugged his chest chassis I would have, but instead I sat up quickly, my face shining. "You're awake!"

The corners of his derma twitched up slightly, his optics gentle. "And you're unharmed?"

I nodded furiously, still excited that he was up. "I'm fine!"

He chuckled lightly at my enthusiasm, making me flush with embarrassment. "That's good."

My face fell slightly, and I stood up and walked to the edge of his chest chassis, sliding down and landing between his helm and shoulder plate. "I'm really sorry I did this to you..."

He groaned, rolling his optics. "How many times do I have to tell you that it was not your fault?" he huffed.

I sniffed, feeling tears again. "You really think so?"

"I know so," he retorted, before closing his derma with embarrassment. 

I giggled, wiping my eyes and refusing to start sobbing. "Okay.. so you're not going to.. abandon me?"

He raised an optic ridge. "No. Why would I?"

"Well, everyone else but my mom did.."

He rolled his optics, scoffing. "Puh-lease. Do not think for one second that I am like those humans. I don't see why they would do such a thing to a frightened girl."

Smiling, I sat down next to him. "That's exactly what my mom said."

He glanced over, before laying his helm straight and looking up at the ceiling. "I hope you don't mind, but.. is it alright if I ask what she was like?"

I brought my knees to my chest and hugged them, staring up at nothing in particular. "She was... fun. She was never one to judge other people harshly, unless they did something really bad. She was fun to be around, playful, silly, sarcastic. Everything I'm not," I chuckled. "She was really compassionate and caring... she gave up on a lot of things just to protect and be with me."

Ratchet smiled a little, closing his optics. "She sounds very.. pleasant."

"Yeah," I answered with a sigh. "After the.. incident... she was always around me, making sure I was okay. She got really mad at the people that would call me names.. she gave my boyfriend a good beat down, so I heard. My old friends were afraid to go near her, too, she was so scary. She lost a lot of friends because of me... but she didn't care. As long as I was happy, she was happy."

He hummed a little in response. "She did a lot for you," he inferred.

I wiped my eyes again. "Yeah, she did. I have dreams about her, you know. It's sad, but.. nice at the same time, you know?"

"Mmhmm," he muttered, optics still closed.

"Hey," I began nervously. "Um.. once you're feeling better and all.. do you think, I don't know, maybe we could go for a drive, or something? You don't have to, it's just a thing I thought would be nice.. it's okay if you don't want to."

He opened his optics, tilting his helm over to me. "I would like that, actually."

I felt heat rise to my cheeks. "You... you would?"

He nodded, closing his optics again. "Maybe after I pick you up from school sometime.."

I smiled happily, nodding. "That would be great! Except, you do the driving, I hate to drive."

"I would have drove anyway," he retorted quietly. "I didn't expect you to dislike driving, though."

I cocked my head in confusion. "Really? Why?"

"Human teens seem to enjoy it. I know Miko is excited about it."

"Yeah, I don't. I don't really know why.."

"That's alright, I was going to drive whether you had wanted to or not."

I laughed slightly, before covering my mouth in a yawn. "Hey, are you sleepy at all?"

He sighed, nodding. "A bit, yes. I did lose a lot of Energon." His faceplate scrunched up a bit. "That's the second time in a week."

I nodded, looking around for a place to sleep. I could sleep against his shoulder pad again, but I didn't really want to. "Yeah.. I hope you feel better soon."

"So do I," he grumbled. "I have other matters to attend to, you know."

I giggled tiredly, turning to him. "Hey, do you mind if I sleep on you're chest? It's more comfortable.."

He sputtered again, optics opening in surprise. "Why don't you go back to your own berth?!"

"I don't know if I can get down," I replied sleepily. "Besides, I want to stay with you.." Was it weird to ask that now?

He sighed, closing his optics again. "Fine, just.. be careful."

I gave him a warm smile, climbing up onto his chest chassis slowly. "Thanks.." I mumbled as I lay down on my stomach. I felt him stiffen, but he eventually relaxed again.

"Are you cold?" he asked a few minutes later. 

I realized dazedly that I was shivering. "Yeah... a little bit," I mumbled, only half awake.

"Here." I felt something warm rest on my back, covering almost my whole body, and realized that it was his servo. The smooth metal was soothing, and I sighed contentedly.

"Thanks.." I muttered again as I drifted off into sleep.

I was out before I saw my guardian smiling down at me, his optics gentle and caring.

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Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy, I'm back to staying up late on my laptop again....