Harbinger

Chapter 3: Adaptation

"Wanna watch the sunset while we eat?" Jack held out a tray.

Arcee jumped slightly and turned toward him. Her thoughts returned to the present, and she accepted the tray with a smile. "Sounds good. I could use something relaxing right now." She held the tray in her right hand and reached out with the other to take Jack's hand.

They walked across the mess hall to the door and Arcee tried not to think about the information they'd found in the Harbinger's computer. Yet she couldn't stop. It seemed silly to her to be so worried about a planet that was already dead – but on the other hand, there was still hope, no matter how faint, that a way could be found to revive Cybertron. If Unicron really did consume planets and was on course for her former homeworld, there would be nothing left to revive.

Hell, it could already have happened. If the data we found is old enough, it could already be too late. She tried to shake herself out of it. There's nothing we can do about it, so just wait until we have more information. Try to enjoy the sunset, and your time with Jack, and your first meal ever.

Jack let go of Arcee's hand long enough to hold the door open for her, and followed her human-size body outside. They passed between a dozen picnic tables and sat at the outermost one. Arcee placed the tray in front of her and gazed over the wire fence at the wide-open sky, barely beginning to darken as the sun approached the horizon. The desert air was still aside from an occasional, gentle breeze.

"Beautiful." Some of the tension eased out of her body as she stared at the pink-tinted clouds. "This is exactly what I needed."

"Me, too." Jack smiled and slipped his arm around her waist. Without thinking, she leaned over slightly until the side of her head brushed against his. She found herself relaxing a little more. She turned to him and smiled.

He smiled back. After gazing into each other's eyes for a moment, he turned his head to the proper angle and inched closer. She met him halfway and their lips touched.

They parted after a few seconds, smiled, and joined again.

Until two sets of footsteps approached from behind.

Jack sighed and picked up his fork.

"Don't let us interrupt you," June said, a mischievous smile in her voice as she sat at the table to Arcee's right.

"Yeah," Miko added as she took the seat across from June. "Carry on. Like we're not even here."

"Right. Sure." Jack rolled his eyes.

Arcee hesitated, caught off-guard by the sensations and desires that her small, remote-controlled body had given her. Gonna be hard to wait until he's eighteen.

She pulled back a few inches and tried to focus on June.

"We weren't up to anything," she muttered. "Jack's just trying to get my mind off the things we saw on the Harbinger today."

Jack smiled. "She's been wanting to test out some of her Pretender body's functions, so we're starting with food. A nice, quiet dinner with a beautiful sunset. We weren't going to do anything that most teenagers don't already do."

"Except Arcee's an adult."

"Said the woman who got pregnant when she was thirteen." Jack laughed and used his fork to cut off a piece of the enormous burger that covered most of his plate. "Knocked up by a guy who was almost an adult himself."

"Okay, fair point." June chuckled. "You're right. I'm being a bit of a hypocrite."

"All I'm asking is that you trust us." Jack smiled, put his fork down, and turned back to Arcee. "And since you said not to let you interrupt us …"