Dear Brother (TFP/RID & Reader)

Chapter 17

(Y/n) freezes in her spot when a man from her past is staring at her with shock.

He looks just like the last time she saw him. All of a sudden, a pile of memories come crashing into her head.

It all makes sense now.

"So," She takes a sharp breath, "he is the reason why you refused to talk to us?"

Arcee quickly turns her head to steal a glance at him. She looks at her again. "No, I'm not—"

"Him?"

"You don't get to judge me for my decisions," Arcee says, almost hissing. "Listen—"

Soon, the man rises from the sofa and makes his way to them. To their surprise, he puts his hand on the door to keep it open for them.

"It's fine, Arcee." The male said. "Let them in."

"But—"

(Y/n), despite looking quite anxious, enters through the door, her eyes quickly scanning the relatively small living space for a moment. From the corner of her eye, she sees Bumblebee walking in as well, settling himself next to her and leaving a bit of space between them.

They are sitting on the only couch in the room that has seen better days. An awkward silence fills the room, creating uncomfortable tension between the four of them. No one dares to make even a single peep for a few minutes, until (Y/n) clears her throat and fixes her posture.

"As I said," She begins before rummaging into her bag, "I need your help in bringing Starscream to jail through legal means."

A sigh is heard from Arcee as the first response to her statement. The blue-haired woman leans back against the couch where she sits, tapping her finger on top of her knee in a quite fast tempo.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get away from him?" She asks then, almost sounding like a challenge.

(Y/n) purses her lips together, pulling out a yellow map and placing it on top of the table.

"I have everything in this folder." She continues, looking quite determined. "Everything but a testimony."

Arcee's eyes drift to look at the folder for a moment, not looking quite convinced. However, when she looks back at her, it is as if her mind's made up.

"No." She shakes her head, getting up from her seat and turns around to leave.

"You want to find your brother, don't you?"

The sudden question from Knockout who had been silent this whole time makes Arcee stop on her tracks. (Y/n) inhales deeply when he speaks, pondering whether she can have this conversation with him.

"Yes." She finally replied. "And also to make sure Starscream won't be around anymore."

Knockout glances at Arcee, and they gaze at each other for a moment. (Y/n) can also feel the tension in the air between them, and it isn't exactly comfortable.

"Knockout, no—"

"I will help you out." He turns to (Y/n), looking very determined. "I will testify for you and hand you another proof that can help you bring him to jail for good."

"Wait, Knockout, why—"

"On one condition." Knockout cuts her off, his eyes straight on hers. "Leave Arcee out of this. I don't know her, and she doesn't know me."

(Y/n) has never seen the guy this protective. All she remembers is Starscream's underling who would catch inobedient children and bring them to him to be punished. All she remembers is his sick, cruel eyes as he watched the punishments unfolded.

Yet, that look she hated so much in his eyes is no longer there, (Y/n) feels like she can't recognize this man anymore.

"Deal." She nods, immediately pulling out a recorder.

"No." Arcee hisses at Knockout. "What are you doing? They'll arrest you t—"

"I don't care." He replies firmly. "As long as you're safe, then I don't care."

It is at that moment when (Y/n) realizes that Arcee is rubbing her belly.

Could it be that—?

They exchanged a few more words with one another that (Y/n) can't quite catch. Finally, Knockout gets up and disappears into a room.

"Can we do it somewhere else?" Knockout gestures at the recorder in (Y/n)'s hand once he reappears back in the living room.

She nods. "Of course. We can do it in my office."

(Y/n) turns to Bumblebee, and he nods. She gathers her things and walks out of the door with the two men.

—

After trying to convince him that she can handle this by herself, (Y/n) thanks Bumblebee for the ride and enters the office with Knockout. No words are exchanged as they step into a meeting room in her office, it is quite awkward. (Y/n) sets two chairs facing each other and sits on one of them. Knowing that the other one is intended for him, Knockout sits down as well.

"I'll be recording the whole conversation." She announces the first thing. "Will that be alright?"

He nods, and she pulls out the recorder from her bag once again, putting it on her lap.

"Whenever you're ready."

Knockout tells her everything; how the shelter worked, why Starscream gathered so many kids and forced them to work for him, the dirty business that occurred between them and other parties. Then, to her surprise, he slips a hand to the pocket of his pants and pulls out what seems to be a phone. She inspects it for a moment when he gives it to her. It looks quite old and worn-out, (Y/n) wonders what's in it and how long he'd been keeping it with him.

"What is this?" She asks. taking the device from him.

"Evidence. A whole lot of them."

She looks at him, searching for his eyes. Her gut is telling her that he isn't lying, yet she isn't really sure if she's ready to see what this phone contains.

"They're in the gallery folder." Knockout instructs her.

She nods in response, inhaling deeply before browsing through the gallery folder just as he instructs her to. As minutes pass by, silence ensues, with (Y/n) being really focused on it right now. Soon, a gasp is heard from her, and her eyes are widening in shock.

"Oh my God." She mutters. "This could definitely be—"

"And about your brother..."

(Y/n) stops immediately to look at Knockout, the change in his expression as he says that worries her a little. She sets the phone down on her lap, folding her hands on top of it.

"Yes?"

Is she really ready for it?

"There's something you should know."