Broken

Summary: We were traveling, running away after some harsh news with no words from the others. Our drive, though, comes across a past memory for me. We arrived at the remains of my childhood town and the house I grew up in. Memories stir feelings as I recall how once I was broken, but now I am repaired. Repaired because of love.

Warning: G (Fluff, no warnings)

The country side drove by as flashes where fields could be seen from green grass to herd of animals to fields plowed and ready. It was silent. I sat against the driver side window, watching as the wheel occasionally turned. The gearshift would shift unexpectedly with a change of speed.

The road reminded me of living in a small town, houses older than me. We used to live in a two-story house with wooden floors and open windows. The smell of a clean breeze after a rain shower would always bring a smile upon my mother’s face.

The huge vehicle rolled to a stop. I looked outside the huge window and smiled sadly. Surprisingly, we had been traveling for some time with no stops. Who knew we would end up here? When the news hit, we all split. I went with him due to my close involvement and relationship. The rest departed in different directions. We didn’t know if any of them had survived or not, the radio remained quiet throughout the whole travel.

“We need to stop. I need some recharge before we can continue,” spoke the deep baritone of the commander. I smiled at the dashboard, patting it with a gentle affection.

“I know this place, Optimus,” I replied softly with a smile on my face. “Drive carefully towards the back where one street remains.”

The red and blue semi gently rolled into the town. Not much remain after a huge storm passed through destroying almost all it. A few buildings remained standing with some people trying to return. The road I told Optimus to take brought me pleasant memories. Majority of the houses saw the blunt of the storm as it ripped through the town pulling up trees, smashing windows, and tearing up roofs. The last road, though, somehow survived the destruction.

“Stop here,” I called out to him, watching as the gearshift moved as he downshifted and finally braked.

“Where are we,” he asked through the speakers.

I didn’t reply. I opened the driver’s door and stepped down before walking around the big rig. I heard the passenger door open as Prime stepped down in his human holoform. We stood before a two-story house. A few of the windows had boards over them. The wooden screen door still stood, but I could see that the main door was broken.

I walked up the broken sidewalk, Prime following behind. I opened the screen door and pushed the wooden door open. Everything stood the same inside. The long wooden stair case met us right at the door. To the left sat a big living room. The wooden floors looked to be in rough shape, but everything felt like the first day my family moved in. I walked through the living room, smiling as memories danced across my thoughts. We had plenty of Christmas mornings on the couch that would take most of the room.

The kitchen stood on the other side. It was small, but the dining room added more space and allowed us to have plenty of family meals. Connected behind the stair case sat a small bathroom. While everything looked rusted as if it hadn’t been in use for many years, all the pieces of porcelain were still attached and unbroken.

Optimus watched me carefully as I walked around him and took the stairs one at a time to the top. On the right side held the master bedroom. Two other bedrooms were to the left. The main bathroom sat in the middle. I could see into the master bedroom. A single white curtain had been left, blowing gently in the breeze. I walked into the room. The cool colors and warm wooden tones always made this my favorite place to visit. Mother always loved having the windows open during spring and early summer. It was cool enough that we didn’t have to run the old air conditioner that was finally added to the place.

Mother used to call the house a fixer-upper, but after many years of trying to do things, she finally conceded and fell in love with what the house had to offer. I stopped before the window, looking out to the small backyard and the forest behind it. Many people figured that this street survived because of the small forest. We knew the truth. Some storms just bounce around and avoided, while others are not so lucky.

“Are you okay?” Optimus walked over to my side and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned my shoulder against his as he pressed a chaste kiss to my head.

I nodded, “This used to be the house I was raised in before a terrible storm destroyed the town.”

“Your family?”

I laughed lightly. Always thinking of others. “They are fine. We moved to another town and started fresh. Mother always wanted to return, but the town didn’t pick up like most people thought.”

“We need some place safe, just in case.”

I agreed, “Park behind the house. There is an old garage that you can park near that will hide you from sight.”

Optimus nodded before walking out of the room. I knew he kept his holoform up just in case someone saw us, but the town had been vacant for quite some time that anyone left would be near the entrance or the new parts that were starting to be established.

I moved to lean against the window frame, watching as the white curtain blew against the breeze. Memories danced across my mind, some that made my heart clenched while others drew a smile. I recall days that I would return from attending the neighboring college and mother would not be within the house. She would be out hanging laundry or on one occasion, recovering at the hospital.

Mother had always prayed each night, hoping for the best. Dad tried his hardest driving long distance for his job leaving mother to care for myself and my two younger siblings. She always told me that she prayed that I would settle down with someone who loved me for who I was. Wouldn’t she be surprised?

A small smile danced across my face as I heard the familiar rumble. I watched as Prime pulled around, placing the big vehicle near the old garage. He stepped out in his human holoform and turned to lean against the front of the vehicle. While my relationship with the commander is something new and different, it is what my mother would approve of. I was safe and with someone who loved me.

Tears pricked at my eyes, and a few ran down my cheek. I smiled and sniffed as I rose my head to look at the ceiling. So much has changed. My skills allowed me to join the military. One wrong placement allowed my job to continue with a secret part of the military where I met the Autobots. My clumsiness caught the attention of a certain human which I learned was only a holoform.

We knew our relationship could never be more and I was fine with that. Even if I was human and he was not, we vowed to stay with each other letting our feelings be shown by the trust we have for each other. He explained to me that on Cybertron, Cybertronians took sparkmates. I knew that was impossible for me, but that didn’t change his feelings.

One day, he surprised me with a single red rose and a small box. Inside sat a beautiful ring with a small blue gem on top. The gem contained metal from his spark chamber. I returned the favor by giving him the very locket that I kept my family’s picture in along with one where I stood next to him in his vehicular mode. I watched that day as he twisted the chain and separated his chest plates to reveal his spark chamber.

It was one day that I would never forget. He used a tool to pull some of metal down, shaping it into a hook. The pain within his optics made the scene mean so much more. He wrapped the chain around the hook and pushed the metal back against his spark chamber. That day, he told me that the locket would forever remain within his spark just as I held a piece of it within that ring. It was the closest we could ever be.

Taking one more look at the room, watching as the white curtain blew against the breeze, I smiled softly. Fate and destiny are two different things, but sometimes they can intertwine with each other. Our life here broke when the storm came through. We hid in the bathroom behind the kitchen, praying that we would survive. My little sister clung to me, crying calling out for daddy. I had to be strong for my family. We were lucky when the storm finally passed.

I took the steps slowly, dragging my hand down the hand rail. The town sat destroyed before us. A few houses had sides completely missing while others had collapsed among themselves. My mother held her hand to her face watching as people walked around, families clinging to each other. It was a storm like no other. Daddy arrived home that night, his semi-truck rolling to a stop. Mother’s face had tears rolling down her face as she ran to him, my baby sister in her arms.

Stepping outside the house, I closed the door behind me. I would never forget the evening the tornado ran through the small town. Almost ninety percent of the town destroyed by a F-4 tornado. Some people didn’t survive, and many lost homes and belongings. Over time, the town would die and disappear, fading into a ghost town.

Optimus walked towards me. His large hands cupped my face, wiping the tears that rolled down my cheek. I smiled at him as I turned in his arms, pressing my back against his chest. I looked up at the two-story house. Paint peeled. Window shutters hung. The roof shingles needed to be replaced. In time, the small house would slowly be eaten away. I couldn’t look at what remained though.

Turning in Prime’s arms, I looked into his bright eyes. I could see the love he felt for me as I knew he could feel the same. Slowly, he stepped back, his hand dragging down to my arm to grasp my hand. He smiled over his shoulder as he slowly walked back to his alt-mode. I looked once more at the two-story, knowing that every memory, every single thing that has happened to me, it might have started out as something broken, but now, I had repaired with a future in sight with someone I love more than anything else.

Prime opened his passenger door and helped me inside. I walked between the captain chairs to sit upon the sleeper bed. Optimus closed the door and soon joined me at my side. I looked up at him still holding that same smile, that same expression of love and repair. Slowly, he raised his hand and cupped the side of my face before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine. Once broken and now repaired, I look forward to what life has in stored. While I know Prime worries about his team, especially after everything that has happened, we know that wherever we go, we will be together.

Optimus broke the kiss to lean his forehead against mine, “The Autobots reached out. Everyone is safe. They survived.”

I shook my head in a light laugh before cupping both hands against his five o-clock shadow pressing my lips and kissing him deeply. Our team, his family, broken apart was now repaired. We were whole.

END