TRANSFORMERS: Between

Chapter 4

NEST base, Diego Garcia
5 weeks after Egypt
2009

Matsuri stood up quietly from her bed, rubbing her eyes and then her brow before she fixed her pajama pants and grabbed her jacket, slipping it over her muscle shirt, zipped it up and made her way out of her room and into the dark and quiet hallway. It was just past two in the morning and so everyone should be asleep.

She quietly made her way down the hallways, her ear twitching at every little sound from within the rooms she passed. Snores echoed, and shuffling rang through her ears, which was always a relief to hear. These men and women had become her extended family so to speak, always laughing and joking with her, making her feel like she belonged.

She got to the hanger but paused, glancing at the silent autobots on the far side of the room. She waited, to see if any of them would move but they didn't, they just continued to recharge away. She glanced at them one last time before walking to the human sized door that led to the outside. She tried to unlock and open it as quietly as she could, but the lock still unlocked with a click and the hinges squeaked slightly.

She winced at the noises before stepping outside, but she left the door open, so it didn't make a sound again. She walked forward a few paces and continued until she was twenty feet away from the building. She sat down with one leg outstretched and her other bent at the knee, so she could rest her elbow on it. Matsuri let out a sigh and then lifted her head up, looking up at the stars that twinkled within the vast darkness. Her eyes traced the invisible lines that connected some stars, forming their constellations.

Her ears twitched as the sound of footsteps that was heading to her from the direction of the hanger. She didn't turn around, just continued to watch the stars at the steps came closer and closer.

"Why are you up so late?" the baritone voice of Optimus asked as he stopped behind her.

"Trouble sleeping." She muttered. "Nightmares."

She listened as he came up beside her before sitting down himself. She glanced over and saw that he was in his robotic holoform, sitting cross-legged and he regarded the stars with knowing optics before he turned his attention back to her, urging her to continue silently.

"Some nights it's the past...When I was still in Hoover Dam. I can always see the scientist hooking me up, giving me shocks through my cybertronian arm. I still remember the tubes that were made to let Energon flow into me." She paused, chewing her bottom lip. "Other nights its me dying repeatedly, being stabbed, getting thrown, hearing that fucking laugh as I feel the life bleed out of me. No one was there, though. No you, no Ratchet or Ironhide...no Sam..."

Matsuri had to stop talking, taking a deep breath. She could feel Optimus shifting closer to her, as if willing his closeness to give her comfort. She swallowed, shifted slightly before she continued.

"I'm so into the dream that I forget that it's just that. A dream. I always remember thinking that I deserve it. That it's my punishment for not saving you back in that forest..."

"Matsuri," He rumbled. "That was not you're fault, there was nothing you could have done."

"There was! I had this stupid arm and I should have done- "

"Nothing." Optimus cut in. He hooked his pointer finger under her chin, gently guiding her to face him. His optics bore into her eyes, making her become memorized by them. "I wanted you to keep yourself and Sam safe, Matsuri. You two are my top priority throughout every battle I have been and will be in."

"But-"

"You are important. You're important to every autobot and human here. You are the adopted child of Ironhide and Ratchet, you are a sister to the twins, Sideswipe and Bumblebee, you are an autobot warrior. You are one of the most precious people we have."

Optimus let go of her chin before she slipped his arm around her, bringing her into his side. He set his chin on top of her head, which was laying on his chest.

She listened to the thrumming of his spark, pulsing every now and again. She noted that his plating, even in holoform, was warm and smooth, so unlike what everyone thought. She felt her eyelids droop, but she wanted to stay awake and so she forced herself too. She couldn't keep it up though and soon, her eyes slid shut and sleep consumed her.

She slowly began to wake up and the first thing she noticed that it was rather warm, warmer than she remembered before she fell asleep. She blinked her eyes open and stared upwards until she realized that she was staring at the ceiling.

She slowly sat up and she saw that she was in the bed of Ironhide with a cover over her and a pillow that she was using for her head moments before. She rubbed her eyes, yawning and stretching her arms over her head.

"Morning, sleepy helm." Ironhide spoke softly, as if not to startle her.

"Morning, Pops." She gave his rear window a grin before standing up.

"Go and head back to your room, breakfast will be served soon."

"Yes, Pops." I gave him a mock solute before climbing out and onto the ground before making her way passed him.

"Good Morning, Matsuri." Ratchet greeted.

"Morning carrier." Matsuri waved at the other, not realizing what she had called Ratchet, and went out of the room.

Within the bond, Ironhide could feel Ratchet swell in happiness at the word. This, in turn, made Ironhide swell as well.