TransWarped

Chapter 10: Building Bridges, Forming Friendships

"Thanks for letting us come with you, Bulkhead!" Miko cheered as she swiveled in the chair of Bulkhead's interior. She had managed to smuggle her guitar out of the base with her and was using her bruised hand to gingerly pluck the strings.

The Autobot's alt mode was a SWAT truck and unlike any vehicle Raf had been in before. There were two seats in front surrounded by all sorts of camera monitors and controls. The back of his alt mode held two padded bench seats that ran along the sides of the car instead of the standard row that would face the windshield. It was all incredibly roomy.

"Uh, no problem...Miko," Bulkhead said awkwardly. "And you're sure that it's okay for you to come with us?"

"Oh yeah!" Miko replied with a pluck of the D string. She didn't sound convincing at all, but maybe Raf thought that because he knew she was lying.

She continued to chat with Bulkhead, but Raf focused his attention on the teen across from him.

Sari was laying down on the bench opposite Raf. With one leg hanging off the bench and a forearm slung over her forehead, she didn't look to be in a chatty mood. He couldn't really blame her for that.

'I should still say something. Maybe that'll make her feel better...' He wasn't sure what he should say, but he felt compelled to open his mouth and speak. Maybe anything would work?

Honestly, he doubted he could make things more tense and awkward.

"Uh!" He started with a croak. An awkward cough followed as Raf desperately tried not to choke under the pressure of socializing.

Sari, who had been deep in thought, slowly broke away from her internal monologue to focus on him. Her blue eyes burned bright, so much like an Autobot's. The weight of her gaze made his face heat up and his brain malfunctioned.

Rafael embarrassed himself by letting out a pitiful, "Eh, h-hi."

Sari's brows immediately furrowed. But before Raf could internally berate himself, her confused expression changed as the smallest of smiles broke out on her face. "Hi."

"Are you...feeling okay?"

The smile slipped off her face after a few seconds of contemplation. "No."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, that's...right. But you know that Miko isn't angry with you, right?" Raf looked over at Miko enthusiastically chatting with Bulkhead. "We all know it was an accident."

"Doesn't matter. Ultra Magnus doesn't look at it that way. When he tells Optimus about me almost smashing her hand to bits, I'm not sure Optimus will look at it like a harmless accident either."

"Optimus won't react like Ultra Magnus did. You know him, he's patient and wise and isn't so...severe."

Sari just let out a sigh in response and focused her attention on the ceiling. The pair fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. Raf's already flushed face and rapid heartbeat increased out of shame and embarrassment. He managed to make things more awkward and tense in about six sentences.

'Maybe this is the first time she's ever hurt a human? Or maybe the first time she's accidentally hurt anyone?' Raf reasoned.

He knew virtually nothing about her. Raf knew what she looked like, her name, that she was a technorganic, that she had a dad, and he knew she was an ally to the Autobots. That was it. He couldn't and shouldn't assume much.

Rafael dropped his gaze to her hand. What even was a technorganic? It was a special term for a reason. Did that mean that Sari wasn't just a Transformer? Was she closer to a cyborg than an outright human? Her appearance was nowhere near the Uncanny Valley. She looked so normal, like how the Bots looked like regular cars until their armor suddenly shifted and they transformed into giant robots. Still, Raf wondered if Miko had felt any metal beneath Sari's skin while they arm wrestled.