Burned (Transformers Prime)

Chapter Nine | Distraction

"Are you down to be a distraction, baby?
But don't distract me, let me ask you, baby
Do you, do you, do you do you wanna be
A distraction, baby?"

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Dana pressed a little harder on Ratchet's gas pedal, the medic making a sound of protest as she manually caused him to speed up, carefully climbing from 50 miles per hour to 80.

"I thought this was a relaxing drive!" He protested over her laughter.

"It's not like you're really doing anything." She pointed out, carefully adjusting his wheel every so often to stay on the right side of the road. "Besides, I'm wearing my seatbelt, and in a sentient car. You'll save me if something goes wrong."

"You're putting a lot of faith in an old mech." He grumbled, noticing her let off the gas and take her hands away from his wheel, a silent indicator that it was his turn to take control.

Dana sat back in the driver's seat, a hand out of his window and playing with the air current as it blew through her fingers. Ratchet began slowing down to a leisurely fifty miles per hour, despite the fact Nevada law allotted people to go 70 mph on a divided county road.

He tilted his mirror to look at his charge, noticing her eyes were closed and a relaxed smile on her face. For once she looked peaceful, not nearly as energized as she usually was when looking for trouble. The wind was blowing her hair back and tickling parts of his interior, but it was subtle and nothing to worry about.

"Are you going to change the color any time soon?" He broke the silence. Her hand went to the blue streak in her hair, and she pulled it down so she could look at it.

"I was thinking orange, like you, but it would clash with my scrubs." She gestured to her red colored uniform. "I was going to keep it this shade of blue . . . But I think the shade of your optics is really pretty. I've been hunting for a similar color."

The medic was both surprised and flattered. "Uh . . . Thanks." He had no idea what else to say to that. "How long have you been looking?"

"When I've been off work and not at base for about, oh, a week?" She shrugged. "There are some sites online that let you mix colors and they send you your own custom shade, but it's a little on the spendy side; and I'm trying to save as much as I can for college."

"So you can be a travel nurse."

"Yup." She confirmed, shifting and stretching her legs a little, careful not to press on his pedals. "I'm graduating in five months; I've already heard from a few schools that I've been accepted, and I know of two that have given me a scholarship."

He paused for a moment to slow down at a stop sign, checking all three other ways before continuing. "Do you . . . Know where you want to go?"

"I'm still deciding." She admitted. "While I'm excited for school, I'm not excited about the transition to adulthood. I still kind of want to be a kid, you know? Not have too many responsibilities."

"Yeah, I know." Ratchet scoffed. "Don't worry, you'll forever be a child in my optics."

"Even after I get old and wrinkly?" She teased.