Transformers ( Bayverse ) - I Bleed When I Fall Down

31 - Stranger Things

    Within days, Fay was back at work, a bit sore but otherwise doing fine. Optimus kept a close eye on her, observing as much as he could from a distance; the way she smiled, the tone of her voice when she talked. She was making her way to recovery, though from what he understood, the anniversary wasn’t far from now, which meant she could go into a total tailspin at any time. That concerned him.

    What concerned him more was the sight of a man wearing a hoodie, large black sunglasses with a scraggly beard that covered just his chin. Optimus’s spark stopped as he watched the suspicious character stride over to Fay’s lane with only a few items. The store was nearly empty at this time of day. It was getting dark out and Optimus didn’t trust it. He paused in his activities, watching, waiting for any sign of danger.

    Fay started scanning his items, the silence a bit tense, so she decided to just say, “Well you look delightfully shady tonight, don’t you?”

    The stranger smiled, laughing lightly, and when he spoke, his voice was that characteristically sounding ‘Queen’ or ‘Fairy’ tone. “Yeah, I think I gave this lady a heart attack when I came in by the entrance.”

    Fay laughed as she scanned the alcohol, the ID requirement code popping up immediately. “Can I see your ID please?” She asked. Something about this man just put her in a good mood. Optimus still kept an eye on them cautiously.

    “Oh, I suppose,” the man said melodramatically, pulling out his wallet. “Though I’m probably old enough to be your father.”

    Fay held back from raising a brow as she checked the license. He would be fifty years old this year. “You’re older than my father, actually,” she told him as she punched in the numbers.

    “Oh, well thanks for that,” he said sarcastically.

    Fay just laughed again. “I didn’t think you were, honestly. I thought you were much younger.” It was true, with what little she could see of him, she thought he’d been around twenty-five or something.

    “Oh, well just keep laying it on, Honey,” he told her as she finished scanning his things. She smiled, laughing softly as she scanned his store advantage card, and told him his total, store coupons kicking out of the Catalina machine.

    “Your total comes to $29.81,” she told him, and he slid his card in the pinpad, Fay hitting the correct buttons as he did, the machine continuing to print coupons. His receipt printed quickly and, smiling genuinely, she ripped it off, circling his savings and the survey. “You saved $10.20 today, survey at the bottom.” She ripped off the coupons that were printing. Four so far.

    As she did, another one kicked out. “Oh my gosh, this thing just loves you, doesn’t it?” She laughed as she ripped off the fifth.

    “Well that’s going to be reflected in my survey, how much this thing loves me,” he replied cheerily. His voice and demeanor most definitely didn’t match his attire.

    She snickered. “Well that’s good.” Satisfied the printer had stopped, she handed him his coupons. “Have a nice day, Sir,” she called as he walked out.

    “You too, Farrah,” he called back. Fay shrugged as she locked the terminal, brushing it off. It’s not like her name tag was there for no reason. Optimus watched the strange man go, and had a sneaking suspicion. When the man in the hoodie made it outside, Optimus’s larger form examined him, confirming his suspicions.

    “IronHide . . .” He mumbled, displeased. The weapon specialist would be receiving a talking to later.

    Within an hour, Fay was busy with another customer who was quite cautious about what she bought, constantly watching the price rise. She slowly added a few items she wasn’t sure would make it on there. Yet they did. She was able to get everything she came for. When it came time to pay, Fay understood why. She had a food voucher. An emergency food program that was a last resort type of thing. It covered $25 of food.