Chapter Text
Guardians, one of Earth’s greatest technological advances ever conceived. Built from a combination of man-made and precious metals, their exteriors are near impenetrable aided with the help of an incredibly rare metal making up the interior.
Discovered only in the coldest regions of the planet, scientists sought to understand its formation process only for them to find that its unique composition meant that it was impossible for it to have ever been formed on Earth. Furthermore, tests concluded the material dated back millions of years, lying dormant in a frozen tomb ever since, but when thawed it did not retain a solid form like they previously predicted.
Instead, it was semi-liquid. Comparable to mercury as it was the only known metal to have a liquid property at room temperature, yet it was firmer with a more congealed attribute.
In their quest to unravel the secrets of the foreign substance, scientists learned early on that this alien metal had the peculiar ability to breathe life into inorganic machinery.
Fascinated, they constructed an average robot of six feet with the strange metal acting as the internal body structure similar to that of a skeleton and musculature in a human. They then gave it an outer shell comprised of strong, man-made metals and to their surprise it began to move of its own accord. This led to further testing with astounding findings. Not only was the robot alive... it was also sentient. It had even possessed its own version of a heart that they would later define as a spark. Even stranger, despite having programmed the initial processor, it acted of its own will by performing actions that either went against or were absent from its prior coding.
Fear took root only to be abated when they realized the new life-form had no intentions to harm anyone unless provoked just as humans did. This presented a rare opportunity in their eyes to teach it to love and protect humanity.
With this analysis they learned how to further program future designs and eventually created the first batch of Earth’s newest protectors. These beings would later be dubbed Transformers, what with their ability to assume Earth vehicle forms along with their towering robot forms in order to blend in and fool looming threats from within and beyond the planet.
However, once revealed to the public, their creation was met with profound backlash. Civilians belittled and berated the beings, sneering wherever the metal giants patrolled. Despite every hardship, the new lifeforms ignored the people’s disapproval, assured by their creators that they were indeed worthy and loved. It would only be a matter of time before everyone else recognized their potential as they had. This confidence was all that was needed to help smother the initial protests of the citizens and encouraged them to prove the jeering crowds wrong.
Before long, their efforts proved fruitful, being regarded in a good light when they dutifully fulfilled tasks that indeed saved many from day-to-day criminal activity. Yet there was still discourse among a small percentage of the population, but in due time they too would come to realize the value of the Transformers.
One such historical instance was the immediate, impending threat of alien conquest of a differing species that resembled monstrous hybridizations of spiders and praying mantises. Thanks to battle prowess, free will, and towering heights the metal giants proved victorious and were later deemed as valiant heroes with the title guardian bestowed upon them by the masses.
Hundreds of years would come to pass, with new batches of upgraded guardians being constructed when enough materials were harvested from the icy regions. Now in a more technologically advanced society, Earth has many guardians scattered about the continents that coexisted with humans as their own species of living beings.
With an agreement to uphold peace and the law, they worked together with various human protectors with the promise of never turning their backs on humanity so long as they were not attacked maliciously by government officials. The humans complied easily knowing that future alien conquest attempts would be made that could possibly wipe out their existence in the blink of an eye without the guardians’ aid.
As the guardians became more socially structured, the first batch made it their mission to teach the newer batches and show them the ropes. Topics such as combat, fuel consumption, their physiology, their sparks, their creation, their purpose that was given to them, diplomacy between the humans, and how to handle humans were all taught for them to have a better understanding just as their creators had done for them. Once the information was retained to an acceptable degree, the first batch assigned newcomers to slowly growing teams that span cities and countries alike, that way they could have the planet sufficiently protected to the best of their abilities. However, before a new guardian could leave for their destination they were told of The Pull.
The Pull being a rare, once in a lifetime event in a guardian’s long life where a tugging or pulling sensation originates from their spark and carries them to a specific human that’s intended to be their mate for life. The closer they are to this human, the stronger the sensation. Once their optics have laid on the intended, the bond starts and is up to the guardian to deepen and further cement the bond until both are tied together with the human eventually gaining the guardian’s lifespan.
Many have questioned this, displaying confusion over why they’d feel this way for humans instead of ones of their own race, but the oldest guardians reiterated that once upon a time there were no others to mate with and this was an adaptive trait to rectify that.
But there was more to it.
Contrary to this, the elders fully believed the truth of The Pull originated from the first ever Transformer falling for a human and initiating a lifelong bond with said human. This highly experimental decision eventually guaranteed the success of their species’ genetics being passed on as the human was able to birth a fully functional guardian. It was quite an enigma as to why the genetic makeup was not hybridized, but when tested extensively it seemed that the components of the offspring’s DNA were completely dominated and rewritten; coding for a fully metal structure instead of a combination of flesh and metal.
Despite this incredible finding, the offspring did in fact retain a couple of human characteristics. The offspring shared the human’s eye color and height. And yet regardless of the diminutive size the offspring’s hide was just as strong as any other guardian’s outer plating.
Although these offspring are rare and few in number they are treasured by society and have led to further technological developments. Therefore, that specific coding of the first Transformer was laboriously integrated into future models that way every guardian developed would feel a pull to a specific human that was a perfect match for them.
Blitzwing remembered this information well despite the hundreds of years of his existence. Being created in the third batch of guardians, one would think he’d already experienced the pull, but it was of no avail. He was mateless like many of his brethren but ironically not alone. During the third batch designs, one group of scientists experimented with the notion of building a guardian with an additional form. It was somewhat successful as he’d been gifted the ability to transform into three different modes instead of just two, making him the first triple changer.
However, it wasn’t without consequence.
His sanity suffered, his psyche splitting into three distinct personalities with three different faces, and as a side effect, they’re able to influence his transformations mid-combat in a fraction of a second much to his annoyance. Even with this setback, he’s learned to live with it and become an unpredictable yet reliable guardian among his peers due to his combined strength, calculative mind, and confusing outbursts. And although he’s convinced this issue is the sole reason as to why he hasn’t found his intended yet, it no longer disheartens him as much as it used to since he’d given up on the notion of experiencing the pull all together.
Perhaps he was simply too complicated for a human to bond with and would forever be the exclusive guardian without a destined sparkmate. Oh well, at least he could take pride in the fact that he wielded impressive battle prowess and was ranked within the top ten most formidable guardians.
Currently he was patrolling a new route through the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana as a jet. Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, and even his own team leader Megatron expressed the urgent need for an expansion of patrols from all fliers due to several others being transferred overseas. That and they were the most efficient in covering ground at faster intervals than their fastest land-based vehicular brethren. Of course, Blitzwing had no problem with this and immediately jumped at the chance to travel south, itching to see new sights.
He wasn’t disappointed... or at least two parts of him weren’t.
So far, he’d been dazzled by the large river on his entry into the state and various buildings that were similar yet different to prior states and cities he patrolled. Now he was just on the lookout for any signs of criminal activity but with the night progressing, he debated with his more ill-tempered self just how active it’d be. On the plus side, the city was bathed in colorful night lights that gave it a gorgeous, ethereal glow.
He tilted towards the left to make a broad turn when he felt a weak tug in his spark. He jolted, transforming mid-flight into his standard guardian mode, kept aloft with the aid of his stabilizing rockets. He waited for several minutes for the sensation to repeat itself only to flinch back when it did. After getting over the initial shock, it dawned on him.
He had an intended. He actually had an intended! His intended was here! You were somewhere in this city and trackable!
He transformed into a jet once again with the new goal of acquiring the location of his human. He followed the tug in his spark, altering his course haphazardly when the pull would either diminish or strengthen. Eventually he managed to follow a somewhat steady trail with the pull increasing in both intensity and frequency the longer he pursued.
He was getting closer, his spark aching with how strong the pull was becoming.
Blitzwing flew below near the large river, halting before transforming into his original form and landing softly on the cemented ground to avoid causing too much of a commotion to the sleeping residents. He scanned the area with surprising calm even though internally he was a rapidly increasing, anxious mess. Even at this point he couldn’t locate the source of his spark’s pull. Frustrated, his head swiveled with a mechanical whir to his easily provoked persona.
“Zis is taking forever! How can a puny human hide under my radar for so long!” he growled.
Another whir and mechanical clicking revealed a black face with red jack-o-lantern features. “It’s like playing hide and seek... but on hard mode!” he cackled.
The stoic, blue face returned with a deep sigh, “Patience, I need to be patient, or I risk losing ze trail.”
He took a tentative step to the right and walked, smirking when his spark pulsated strongly. “Besides, I have a feeling it von’t be much longer.”
No longer flying, Blitzwing continued his pursuit on pede, each step leading him closer and closer to his human. His journey ultimately led him to the river, whose name was escaping his processor, on the outskirts of the city. He then halted, there at the edge of the riverbank where the concrete sloped into the water was a lone human just sitting there.
His spark clenched tightly for a moment before finally calming into the familiar low hum it originally was once again. He’d done it, he’d finally found you, his intended, after only a few hundred years of crushing defeat. There were a myriad of emotions running through him, relief and joy being the main two before morphing into dread and anxiousness with the prospect of having to explain everything to you with the possibility of denial or rejection.
Now within close proximity he could hear sharp inhalations and soft sniffles, noises indicative of a human in distress. Curious but unsure of how to approach, he settled for mimicking you.
Cautiously he stepped closer until he was at the slope of the riverbank and sat down beside you with only a few feet of distance between you both. He peered over to see you staring at him with glistening, wide eyes and mouth agape in silent awe.
Blitzwing studied you, noting you were of the female of your species, a rarity among his kind but plentiful in yours.
Trying to remain calm he offered a small but concerned greeting, “Hello, are jou alvright?”
The silence seemed to stretch on until you stuttered, “I-I’m fine...” you then hastily wiped at your eyes now that you had company while subsequently trying to steer the conversation away from your obvious discomfort. “Y-you’re a guardian, right?”
Knowing it was inevitable he felt the switch coming as his face clicked and whirled to his more random persona.
“Oh, so jou’ve heard of me?” he teased, feeling more at ease as this personality briefly took over.
You blinked at him, looked away then back at him with astonishment. You could've sworn his face was blue just a second ago. Instead, there was a black face with red features resembling that of a pumpkin carving grinning widely at you.
“N-no, sorry I don’t know you necessarily, but I do know what guardians look like...” you then bit at your lip before stammering, “I-I’m sorry, did your face just change?”
“Vat of it? Going to scream now? I’ll remember zat ze next time jou need my help pitiful human!” he growled out, this new face red and irate.
You jumped, a hand flying to your chest with a soft gasp. The shock was momentary, however, as your lips curved into a dumbstruck smile.
“That’s so cool. How many other faces do you have?” you asked suddenly, your curiosity shamelessly on full display.
With a mechanical whir his face changed back to the stoic blue of his main persona. “Just zese.” he sighed.
Your continued gawking made him feel somewhat nervous about his appearance until you breathed out, “Wow, sorry I’m just so amazed. I’ve only seen guardians in passing when they’re going after some kind of criminal or alien invader.” You then paled, eyes darting around frantically. “Is that why you’re here? Is there some kind of dangerous fiend prowling around?”
At your apprehension he tensed, wanting to alleviate your fears quickly.
“Ah, no, zere is no reason to be alarmed.” he apologized, a servo held up in a consoling manner. “My patrol has been very mundane, and my atmospheric radar hasn’t detected any alien activity. As for zis city? Zere is nozing troubling going on eizer. All jou humans appear to be behaving for now.”
It was only when you visibly relaxed did he resume. “In truth, I’m actually here for anozer reason. Tell me, vat do jou know of guardians?” he asked inquisitively.
You averted your gaze from him and hummed with a finger curled on your lips, “I know that the first guardians were made over four hundred years ago and that all of you are brave heroes who’re here to protect us.”
He watched as your brows furrowed in deep concentration, intrigued that you were willing to put more thought into your answer.
“As for why, I’m not so sure. A lot of people say it’s because you view us humans as lesser beings that are in constant need of protection, but I never really bought into that.” you admitted slowly, shifting your eyes back to his.
“I’ve seen how guardians fight on the news and you guys always make sure we’re okay and handle us with the utmost care I’ve ever seen.”
Blitzwing felt his spark pulse a tad bit harder than normal at your praise.
“If you really thought that, then there’d be no reason for guardians to be as gentle as you are with us. That’s what I believe anyway.” you finished with a shrug.
“Whose been spouting such nonsense?! I svear jou humans are getting dumber vith each spawning if zat’s vat’s being passed down!” he rebuked harshly.
Quickly, he swapped personalities again if only to prevent from frightening you with his absurd remarks.
“Interesting—” he tilted his helm. “—jour knowledge of us is on par vith most humans and yet jour inferences show jou have a better grasp on intelligence zan ze majority of jour kind.”
You balked, hands waving back and forth as you refuted his words. “N-No, really, I’m not crazy smart or anything, I just observe a lot.”
Ridiculous. He would not allow you to insult your intellect so easily.
“Don’t downplay jourself, observation is a trait most commonly associated vith resourcefulness. Vezer jou know it or not, jour assessment of us is indeed correct. Ve do not zink lowly of humans unless zey are vile, scum who seek to harm a member of zeir own kin. In fact, ve hold jou humans in high regard.”
He then smirked. “Care to know vy zat is?”
There was that mechanical whirring noise of his faces swapping again as you were met with beaming red features.
“Oooh, let’s make it a game! Take a guess, take a guess! But if jou get it vrong I get to tickle jou.” he laughed excitedly.
Despite his humorous threat it was his laughter that was infectious enough to elicit a small but mild-mannered huff from you. Not wanting to be at the mercy of a forty-foot giant’s tickle session, you wracked your brain for a reasonable answer.
After a few minutes of silent deliberation, you hummed, “I know of an old folk tale my family passed down for generations about the first ever created guardian falling in love with a human... does it have something to do with that?”
The black and red face giggled with delight, “Vat a clever human my intended is!”
With a puzzled look you tilted your head, “Intended?” you questioned him softly.
With a quick change he was back to being the stoic but polite face you’ve been conversing with the most.
“Forgive me, sometimes my ozer personalities can't help but say zings vithout... proper forezought. Neverzeless, jou are indeed my intended and I vill explain if jou vould hear me out.” he finished hesitantly, unsure of how well you’d take the information he was about to divulge.
Confused but ever curious you acquiesced, “Okay.”
“Just as jou mentioned, ze first of our species did in fact fall in love vith a human and it's zis first instance zat formed ze basis of our courtship rituals for future guardians. He devoted his entire life to her, never vonce betraying her or her trust and vice versa. To put it simply, ve mate for life.”
Your eyes lit up with fascination, sending another pulse to his spark as he recounted his teachings.
“Zere is only vone human zat a guardian vill bond vith and love for ze rest of zeir lives. Ze vay ve find zat human is ven a pull in our spark leads us to zem. It’s because of zis zat ve refer to ze human as our intended...” he paused, placing a servo over his spark chamber as he locked gazes with you. “Tonight, I felt zat pull and have been led here to jou.”
Your eyes widened in utter disbelief. “Me? You’re intended? Really, why? There’s nothing even remotely interesting about me.” Self-doubt crawled into your thoughts as you bit your hand in a nervous fit.
There was absolutely no way in hell the universe was gracious enough for your fate to be intertwined eternally with the guardian in front of you... right?
Blitzwing frowned at your destructive behavior and moved a servo towards you. He extended his digit and pushed down on the appendage you were gnawing at. With your hand no longer between your teeth, wide eyes flitted up towards him. Once your attention was on him, he gently rubbed the same digit along your abused skin.
“I can’t offer jou an explanation as to vy my spark picked jou aside from zat it knows jou’re a perfect match for me. But I vill spend years, if I have to, getting to know jou and strengzening our bond until jou are comfortable enough vith me to become my sparkmate.”
There’s no way, it had to be a trick... it had to be.
You gave him such a discouraged look that it tugged painfully at his spark. “Are you sure it’s only one human that you’re destined to be with? What if there’s someone more worthy than me in the next two or even fifty years?” your voice strained with raw insecurity.
He shook his head, his digit moving up to lightly caress your cheek. “I assure jou zat is impossible. In my entire lifetime zere never vas nor vill zere ever be anozer. Now zat I’ve felt Ze Pull and have been led to jou, it vill never happen again. I vill not seek out anozer, even if jou die because my spark is bound to only jou. However, if jou are still uncertain, I vill gladly call upon my fellow guardians to help assuage jour vorries.”
You closed your eyes then reopened them slowly as you pondered over his words.
He was right, if he was lying you could just ask any other guardian. Hell, you wouldn’t even have to go through him, every city had a direct line to contact the military division overseeing the guardians’ calls and could easily patch you over to the oldest bunch of guardians in existence. There was no reason for the elders to lie about such a topic and yet deep down you also felt there was no reason for this guardian to be lying to you either.
“Jou are forever mine as I am forever jours.” he added with a tiny smile.
You offered him your own warm smile in return. The sincerity in his voice and explanations finally worming their way into your head, clearing away the doubt inflicted from years of prior social encounters.
“Now zen,” he pulled his servo away and you found yourself missing the contact dreadfully. “I vould advise zat jou consider coming to terms zat jou are my intended so zat I can initiate ze next step in our bond.”
At your hesitation his face swapped to the zealous black and red face, “Pleeeeease, I promise I don’t bite... much!” he cackled.
“Jou raving malfunction, jou’re going to scare her off vith jour lunatic remarks!” he growled, rebuking himself.
The sudden swapping of faces and small arguments with himself were very amusing and had you grinning from ear to ear. There was a certain charm about how he expressed himself with the three different personalities that you didn’t quite understand just yet.
But you wanted to.
“Believe me,” you chuckled, “it’d take a lot more than your random quirkiness to scare me off.”
At your admission, his face whirled back to blue. “I take it jou are accepting of ze information I’ve told jou? I von’t lie I expected jou to have more of a crisis over zis since humans normally like to choose zeir own mates.”
A heavy sigh escaped your lips. “Honestly, I’ve been through too much in my life to even want to deal with people anymore.”
You directed your gaze to the quiet river before pulling your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms around them in a self-soothing manner.
“Besides—” you smiled before shifting your eyes back to him. “—having someone tell me that I’d be with them and only them forever seems like a better deal to me than trying to love someone only to be betrayed in the end.”
Blitzwing’s single good optic widened slightly, his spark pulsating again. Was this how the others felt when faced with praise after they met with their intended? He’d have to remember to ask Bumblebee and Arcee the next time he saw them or maybe even Soundwave since he ran into him more often.
“Zen—” He laid a servo next to you on the ground, “—vould jou allow me ze honor of courting jou?”
You didn’t even hear his question as you were distracted by the large hand lying beside you. Unclear about what exactly he wanted you to do you peered up at him only for his patience to dwindle at the worst time. His face swiveled with a whir until the rustic red of his hotheaded persona surfaced.
“Vat are jou vaiting for?! Get on already puny human!” he growled out.
Startled, you slowly rose to your feet and stepped into his open servo.
“Sorry.” you apologized meekly.
As his hand ascended you crumpled into his palm, clutching the large opposable digit tightly with eyes screwed shut as you whimpered helplessly.
Your obvious unease had his face switching quickly. “Are jou alvright?” he asked with concern.
You shook her head vehemently, “I-I’m deathly afraid of heights!”
That was all that needed to be said for his hotheaded self to swiftly reappear.
“Are jou saying jou don’t trust me to hold onto jou?!”
Your hold on him tightened, “It’s not that! I’ve fallen from really high up places that landed me in the hospital before and ever since I’ve feared any height over five feet!” you whimpered again, body trembling like a leaf.
Blitzwing huffed but curled his digits inwards to provide more of a barrier around you in the hopes of calming you down.
“I’d have to be a complete moron to not know how to handle my future mate.” He grumbled before pulling you close to his chassis.
For a moment the only sounds that could be heard were the panicked whimpers escaping your mouth and the clicking whir of the guardian’s faces swapping.
“Apologies for scaring jou, it vas not my intention.” He used his index digit to carefully rub the top of your head to help relax you. “I merely vanted to see jou up close—”
The sudden stopping of his words had you curious enough to become distracted from the fact that you were thirty feet off the ground as you slowly lifted your head up, peering up at him quizzically.
“Ah, pardon my rudeness but I never did catch jour designation—er I believe jou humans refer to it as jour name.” he quickly amended.
“Oh.” you became more relaxed, lessening the vice grip you had on his large digit in favor of sitting more upright in his palm as you offered up your name.
The corners of his metal lips tugged up in a smile. “A pretty name, for a pretty femme.”
You blushed, a tiny but bashful smile gracing your lips. “Y-you think so?” you stammered, not used to anyone else but your parents telling you that. “I mean most people say I look the exact opposite—” you gasped as you were lifted higher until you were level with an angered face.
“And jou let zem get to jou so easily?!”
With a frown, you cast your gaze down from him, “If you grow up hearing it every day from everyone then yes.” you trailed off.
His snarl softened at your now sullen form, mentally cursing himself for upsetting his human yet again. He’d only meant to get you to realize that anyone who said such things were slagging idiots, that you were undoubtedly pretty in his optics. Instead, he’d gone and made you feel as though he were annoyed with your behavior.
Once more, he switched faces, not wanting you to misunderstand. “Vat I meant is zat zey are blind to disregard how lovely jou are.” he said, running a digit through a lock of your hair.
Your mood instantly brightened, a smile adorning your lips as heat warmed your cheeks.
Another pulse assaulted his spark, but this time it also warmed his spark chamber. It was a pleasant feeling that left him craving more if it meant he could witness that beautiful smile of yours.
He suddenly got an intense urge to switch faces.
“And super cute! Can jou turn ozer colors? Oh! I know, turn purple next!”
A burst of mirthful laughter suddenly overcame you, “I can’t turn colors like that, no human can.” you chuckled with a shake of your head.
“The most we can do is turn pale when we feel sick or red when flustered or angry. But now I’m wondering, did you want me to turn purple because it’s your favorite color?” you asked.
“Bingo!” he laughed ecstatically.
You snickered at his antics. “Well unfortunately I don’t have any clothes in that color but maybe later on I can get a purple shirt.”
His sharp grin widened at your words before swapping faces with a whir.
“A most considerate offer zat I look forward to seeing fulfilled of course. Now, vere do jou live. As I recall, jou humans need plenty of time to recharge and I’ve kept jou up long enough.”
As you tensed up, he chuckled, “Fear not, I only vish to get jou home safely before resuming my patrol.”
You winced, closing your eyes. “...What if I don’t have a home to go to?” you announced sheepishly.
Perplexed by your answer, Blitzwing’s optic shuttered a few times.
“Correct me if I’m vrong but, don’t jou humans live in tiny geometric dvellings made of vood, bricks, or metal?”
When you reopened your eyes to stare up at him, he noticed how the light seemed to fade from them, turning your once vibrant orbs dull and lifeless.
“Well normally yes, but I don’t have one or at least... not anymore.” You trailed off, becoming somber once more just like when he’d first found you and suddenly it clicked.
“And zat is ze reason for jour distress earlier.” he stated softly.
You sighed with a choked whisper. “Yeah...”
He watched as you drew into yourself, legs coming up and arms wrapping around them as you buried your head against your knees. He loathed that you felt this way and thought of a way to remedy the situation to where you wouldn’t feel so distraught.
“Perhaps... jou vould feel better if jou told me vat happened?”
At this you peeked up from the safety of your knees. “A-are you sure I wouldn’t be bothering you?” you asked, glassy eyes filled with a sliver of hope that he felt as if his spark chamber were being crushed.
He desperately wanted your despair gone. Now.
With the opposite servo he gave your head a gentle, reassuring stroke. “My dear intended, jou could never bozer me, not ven it’s my job to make sure jou are vell cared for.”
Your heart fluttered at the small act of affection and flashed him a weak smile. “If you’re sure.”
You took a deep breath, held it, then released it slowly. “I’m not sure how much you know about humans, but we usually live with our parents until we’re old enough to be on our own but I’m what you’d call abnormal.”
“Even though I’m twenty-two, I still live with my mom and dad, or I used to until about a week ago when they were killed in a car accident.” You paused as a shudder ran down your frame. “I-I wasn’t with them when it happened, I was out visiting a friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in a while when I got the call from the police.”
“Apparently, a drunk driver swerved onto the sidewalk going eighty miles an hour and rammed right into my parents who were just out for a stroll.” you seethed, the memory of the driver that night causing your ire to bubble up to the surface once more. “They were killed on impact and bled out before anyone could even think about calling an ambulance.”
“And the driver?” you scoffed. “Dead as well. He crashed into a brick building and crushed his skull. If there’s anything good about that night, it’s the fact that he didn’t get to live.”
You rubbed at your watering eyes with a sniffle.
“I know that sounds horrible but for fuck’s sake he took my family away from me, the only family I ever had just... gone!” you shouted with frustration, your hands clutching the sides of your head as you spiraled out of control.
“And the house?! Hah! I can’t keep it since I don’t make enough to afford all the bills! Tonight is literally my last night there before becoming homeless.” you ended softly before tears cascaded down your face, dripping onto the metal palm below.
With your anger depleted, the sadness finally washed over you in the form of choked sobs that wracked your shuddering form. Screwing your eyes shut you let it all out. The only other person who was there for you was the very friend you were with that night, but she had to leave the very next day and couldn’t help you through the rest of it as things only got tougher. It was why you had visited her in the first place. She didn’t go to college in Baton Rouge, instead she went in the northern state of Michigan and had been in town to visit friends and family. This was the first instance after everything else that someone was there to listen and per the guardian’s suggestion you let out all the frustrations of the past week.
There was a deep frown marring Blitzwing’s face plate as he listened to you mourn your losses. He couldn’t say he knew how it felt to lose someone so dear to him but when he imagined any of his fellow guardians offlining, he got the sense that he’d be just as upset as you. They may not all get along with each other sometimes but when it came down to it every guardian had each other’s back struts. Therefore, he moved the servo used to stroke your head down and gently nudged a digit along your tear-stained cheek. The way you instantly leaned into his touch and gripped onto his digit made his spark ache with the need to comfort you.
“I apologize in advance zat I vas not here to stop ze tragedy from befalling jou. If only I could’ve been assigned here before—”
“No!” you interjected fiercely. “Don’t you dare apologize for something you had no control over!”
You ran your fingers through your hair as you inhaled deeply then exhaled, calming yourself before you could lash out at him any further.
“Sorry, I’m just sick and tired of everyone acting like you guardians should be able to stop every damn problem from happening before it even happens .” you shook your head. “It’s just not possible. Yeah, I’m upset and pissed off at what happened, but I’m not about to blame you or any other guardian for this.”
With a pause you wiped your drying eyes and sniffed before continuing, “There are only so many guardians and you guys are scattered all over the planet not just on one continent. So, if anything, the only thing you should be responsible for is stopping aliens from trying to annihilate us all.” you explained, rubbing your comparatively small hand against the comforting digit on your cheek.
Blitzwing managed to stifle the gasp that wanted to escape his intake at the sudden reciprocation of affection, his spark growing warm with the knowledge that you touched him of your own accord.
“You’re protectors, not psychics...” you reminded him softly.
He hummed with an eventual sigh, “Perhaps jou are vright, however, as my intended it pains me to know I could not help ven jou needed it most.”
“Honestly, I think you were just in time.” At the tilt of his helm you chuckled, “Tonight was me being at my absolute lowest and I’m grateful that you were here for me, to let me vent because I feel better than I have in the past week. I was so alone dealing with everything leading up to this—” you smiled warmly at him, “and then you showed up.”
“Now I’m not alone... I now have you, someone who's willing to dedicate themselves to me and only me no matter what or how long it takes for me to warm up to you.”
With a smile of his own he brushed the backs of his digits along your head with a gentleness that amazed you.
“Zen, I shall take jour vord and count zis as an acceptable start to caring for jou.”
Your damp eyes fluttered closed, relishing the affection only for them to snap open when you realized something. “You said you were assigned here, right?”
“Zat is correct.” he answered, smile still in place.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you maybe help me find a more affordable place to live in tomorrow?” you asked sheepishly, wringing your hands together.
With a familiar mechanical whir, his face swapped over to the black and red excitable personality that you hadn’t seen in a while.
“Oh, I have a better idea! Vould jou like to live vith me? Come on say yes, say yes!” he pleaded loudly.
“I thought guardians were always on the move?” you asked with a snicker, not able to stave off the grin that always appeared when the quirky personality made an appearance.
Just as quickly as the face appeared it vanished as the more composed of the three took over.
“Ve do but even ve need time to recharge. To accomplish zis, zere are many bases across ze vorld built for us to use and if I remember correctly, zis country has two facilities in each state. Ze closest vone here is actually in jour city.”
To be honest the offer sounded better than being homeless but there were a few concerns.
“Would I really be welcome there? You know with all the military officials and everything? I can’t exactly imagine them being okay with a regular human staying on government soil.”
You watched with fascination as the hotheaded persona whirled into place.
“If zey know vat’s good for zem zey’ll remember zat ze only time ve ever bring humans back to our bases is ven ve find our intended! If zey give jou any problems just tell me, and I’ll set zem straight!”
Even though this personality intimidated you a bit you couldn’t help but feel touched that he was promising you protection, even if it was gruff. It made a warm smile stretch across your face while you rubbed his metallic finger in an appreciative gesture.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Aside from the initial question the only other issue would be trying to purchase a few things to make staying there more comfortable.
Curling your hand, you brought it to your chin for a moment of contemplation. You didn’t know what recharging entailed but you were almost certain it wouldn’t be comfortable by human standards. That and from what you’ve heard, the military were used to the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangements ever seen. Hell, you were doubtful they slept on anything more than a thin, flimsy mattress.
“I wonder if I could convince them to let me move a nice bed in if I saved up enough?” you asked aloud.
“Zere is no need for jou to be concerned vith zat.” he stated calmly.
The sudden change in his voice caught you off guard enough to startle you. You didn’t even hear him switching! Damn, either you were just too distracted by your inner musings, or you were getting used to the feature enough that it was starting to fade into the background.
Perhaps it was a bit of both, but you were certain about one thing. You did need to worry about it because you didn’t have anything to sleep on if you accepted his offer and who knew how long it would take for you to save enough to get it.
With a saddened expression you gazed down at the metal hand you were perched on.
“But I do... It’s not like I can just get one tomorrow. I’m literally sleeping on the floor with only a pillow and thin blanket right now.” you responded exasperatedly.
“Jou misunderstand, essential items humans require to function normally vill all be provided to jou by me, and ze military personnel stationed zere. Jou don’t have to vorry about acquiring anyzing jourself.”
Baffled, you tilted your head. “But how?”
Blitzwing leaned in close with a growing smirk, “Between us, ve guardians have an agreement vith jour government stipulating zat zey vill provide anyzing our intended mates need if ve promise not to cause too much mischief in ze cities.”
Just that tiny bit of info had your bafflement morphing into relief already, but he wasn’t finished just yet. “So, if jou’d like jou could have jour own room or secure a space in mine all for jourself. If jou require clothes or furnishings to feel more at home, zen consider it done.”
With a low hum you envisioned a scenario of what life could be if you didn’t have to fret too much about struggling just to survive and found with relative ease that you’d already mentally accepted his hospitable offer of sheltering you the moment he declared you his destined one.
Therefore, how could you turn him down?
He observed you silently while you were deliberating, never realizing his vents had stilled, but when you beamed up at him with the most radiant smile he’d seen from you yet, a warmth flooded his spark, spreading rapidly throughout his entire circuitry.
“Okay, you drive a hard bargain. I think I’d like to live with you.”
A whir and a click later, a wide, sharp grin greeted you with unbridled delight. “Zen jou better be ready, because no vone knows how to have as much fun as I do! Oh, especially vith singing and dancing. Do jou like to sing and dance?” Without even giving you a chance to answer he continued, “Jou’re in luck! I’ll teach jou, and in no time, jou’ll be an expert like me.” he added with an exhilarated laugh.
Suddenly, the clicks and whirs were at it again and the blue of his most dominant personality reappeared with a small but adoring smile. He then placed a digit under your chin and lifted it ever so gently.
“If jou need anyzing tell me and I'll make sure jou get it.” he said with finality.
With a bemused chortle you raked your fingers through your strands.
“Now I wish I’d thought about keeping a few of my things that way I’m not starting over from scratch.”
He retracted the servo on your face in favor of cupping his chin guard, concentrating on his own musings.
A few seconds later he hummed, “Jou said jou haven’t left jour home yet, is zere anyzing left zat belongs to jou?”
All you could do was slowly shake your head. “Just some work clothes, some sleepwear, a few everyday outfits, my holowatch... and my hairbrush. It... It belonged to my grandma, then my mother, and then me. Everything else was sold off so that I could find a new place to stay.”
“Zen I vill take jou zere to gazer vatever jou have before heading to ze base.”
“Thanks— err... oh geez this is so embarrassing... I’ve been talking to you this entire time, and not once did I even think to ask for your name.” you groaned, hiding your face in the palms of your hands while mentally chiding yourself.
For fuck’s sake he even asked your name earlier—you could’ve done the same then and there! The humiliation was crushing. Surely your parents were rolling in their graves at the severe lack of southern hospitality on your part even though you knew you possessed it.
He chuckled, fond of how such a trivial issue seemed to matter so much that it rendered you self-conscious. “My designation is Blitzving.”
With a hurried swap his ever-grinning face was back. “But I’ll also answer to sveetspark.” he added cheerily.
The name had you taken aback but you recovered instantly with how cool it sounded when you repeated it mentally. The nickname or rather term of endearment, however, caught you completely off guard. That wasn’t to say that you disliked it, but baby steps as they say.
“That’s probably the most adorable term of endearment I’ve ever heard but I think I’ll just call you by your name, Blitzwing.” you finally tested the name vocally, happy that he seemed to like it if the growing smile was anything to go by.
A loud squeal of pure delight emitted from his synthesizer before it was abruptly interrupted by his previous persona grinning.
“As jou vish." he whispered, adding your name a second later. He then brought you closer to his face. “Now, zere is vone more zing I need to clarify before ve leave. Do jou accept my courtship? By agreeing jou’re recognizing zat I vill only have optics for jou vith ze intention of eventually asking jou to become my sparkmate. Likevise, I expect ze same loyalty from jou.”
You tentatively raised a small hand and stretched it out to connect with his faceplate. While your human skin met his metal plating you assented softly but firmly leaving no room for misinterpretation.
“I accept, wholeheartedly.”
He gave you a smile, bigger than you’ve seen on this persona, before gently leaning down and gingerly resting his helm against your forehead, pleased with how your warm skin felt against his cooler metal. In what felt like hours but, in reality, only a couple of minutes he finally pulled away and scanned the area.
“So, how far avay is jour creators’ home?” he asked as he lowered you to his chassis.
You hummed with uncertainty, “Not far, maybe a ten-minute walk from here.”
“Zen, vould jou be alvright vith me taking jou back like zis? It vould be much quicker.”
You froze, an icy chill running deep in your veins.
You’d completely forgotten that you were being held in the tall guardian's hand and thus were several feet off the ground. You repeatedly begged yourself not to look down, that you were fine as long as you. Didn't. Look. Down! And yet despite all the warnings you couldn’t prevent the inevitable. With an audible gulp, you peered down only to blanch at how high up you really were. Instinctively you scrambled around until your back pressed firmly against his chest plating as panic overwhelmed you. Your breathing became erratic while your form trembled violently.
“I-I... no, p-please put me down. I-I don’t want to be up here a-anymore! I’ll walk, I want to walk, please!” you implored, every bit of rational thought gone as panic fully ensnared you.
“Jou vere fine vith it just a few cycles ago, vat changed?!” He growled, demanding to know what he did to make your mood fluctuate negatively so quickly.
“I-I know, I know, I’m sorry! It-It’s just— I-I-I shouldn’t have looked down!” you explained frantically.
Suddenly there was another servo placed across your front, barricading you securely with careful restraint to his chassis.
“Better now?” he grumbled softer, using the opposable digit surrounding you to stroke the top of your head once.
Your panic faltered.
While you were aware that you high up and were still able to see the ground, the fact that you were encased in a physical barrier that wouldn’t allow you to plummet to your death permitted your fear to recede.
“Actually yes... thank you.” your breathing slowly decreased from the intense inhalation and exhalation of only moments ago into a stuttering but more manageable mess. “This helps a lot more than you’ll ever know.” you admitted, closing your eyes and continuing to deescalate from the frightful experience the only way you knew how.
For once, his easily angered self was stunned into quiet. He certainly hadn’t expected you to react so positively to his quick thinking, much less thank him for it. If he were to be honest, he could’ve heeded your hectic pleas but a small selfish desire to keep you in his servos for just a bit longer convinced him to think of another way to hopefully help you.
And it worked.
As he watched you calm down, he silently vowed to help you get over your anxiety of heights, not just so he could hold you whenever he wanted but so that you would genuinely and willingly enjoy being held by him. As is to reaffirm this vow he swept his opposable digit over the top of your head a second time only to tense up when you subconsciously leaned into the touch. Never mind the pulse it sent to his spark; he could feel his face plates heating up at your unforeseen action. Never had he been so thankful that the experimentation from long ago left him with a red face that could mask his now flustered state. And yet, he wanted you to repeat the action over and over until his entire frame heated up from the affection.
Several minutes passed by as you regained control of your breathing, the panic finally subsiding into exhaustion.
“Okay... I think—” you took a shuddering breath, “I think I can guide you back if you hold me like this.” you said eventually.
You heard the mechanical whir accompanied by a calm voice. “A suitable compromise.”
With that he began taking even steps so as not to send you back into a panic.
It didn’t take long to reach your house at all. True to your words, however unsure, it was only a short distance away made even shorter with how lengthy his pedesteps were compared to yours. Once at the destination, he delicately set you down and waited while you collected whatever possessions remained. All in all, it took only a cycle and a half for you to return to him with a bag on your back along with a pillow and blanket in each hand.
He kneeled with a deep frown. “I hate to ruin jour night furzer, but I have to ask, how do jou feel about flying?”
You gaped at that and shook your head hastily.
“I-I don’t think I can. I’m already scared of being off the ground, but I think I’d actually die if I got on a plane. Just thinking about being on board one only to crash and kill me is enough nightmare fuel to make me never want to get on one. There’s just no way.”
“Vat about a jet?” he asked curiously.
His face switched instantly. “Or better yet a tank jet?” he laughed hysterically.
You groaned, unease seeping into your bones. “Are you sure we can’t just walk?”
Another quick swap revealed an apologetic, blue frown.
“Unfortunately, ze base is on ze opposite side of ze city near ze outskirts. It vould take all night to get zere even if I carried jou. Ze fastest route involves me turning into my jet mode and flying jou zere.” he countered.
At your reluctance he added with a tiny smile. “It’d only take a cycle.”
Your brows furrowed, “And how long is a cycle?”
“Approximately vone and a half earth minutes.”
Ultimately you relented with a perturbed groan, “Ok, but please promise me that I won’t have to be in the air much longer than that.”
“I promise.” He assured, stretching out his servo to you.
Now with a better understanding of what the gesture meant you sat down on the open appendage, clutching the items you held tightly to your chest and screwed your eyes shut. Suddenly you heard mechanical whirs of various gears shifting before you felt yourself sitting on something other than a metal hand. Daring a glance, you found yourself inside the cockpit of a jet. Lost in a moment of awe, you failed to see the straps that moved of their own accord. It was only when a steady force pulled you flush against the seat did you look down and notice the safety harness strapped snugly across your chest and pelvic regions, holding you in place.
“Zere, all snug as a bug in a rug!” he cackled before taking off at top speed.
Although you were strapped in good and knew he wouldn’t let harm come to you, the trepidation coursing through every fiber of your being as he soared through the air at an immense height was inexorable. It also didn’t help that sometimes he’d randomly jerk this way and that way until righting himself. The times it happened were few in between but when they did, he made sure to apologize for it, especially if you cried out.
The nightmare didn't last long though, just as Blitzwing calculated, the overall trip to the base was achieved in less than two minutes, with him wasting no time descending to the concrete below and transforming back into root mode. Carefully, he opened his cockpit and held a servo out for you to step onto. There was timidity as you cautiously climbed into his stable hold, but it dissipated as he moved you to his chestplate and barricaded you protectively against him.
“Velcome to jour new home.”
Nervous eyes widened as you took in your new surroundings. The base itself was grandeur in scale but otherwise bland architecturally with a predictably, monotonous gray color theme. Military equipment both dated and upgraded throughout the centuries littered the grounds in a chaotic yet organized fashion with many personnel inspecting and applying maintenance to them. All in all, it was a captivating sight to behold to an ordinary citizen such as yourself.
While you gawked, Blitzwing sauntered towards the giant facility where four guards were stationed guarding the entrance. Despite his assurance, you were skeptical that they’d just let a civilian waltz right in with a guardian but in the end, you were left flabbergasted when they commended or nodded at him with large grins before swiping a palm across various holographic security measures.
As he strolled right in with you, he chuckled, “Told jou.”
You couldn’t help the blinding grin that stretched across your face as you craned your neck upwards to his smirking self. For the eighth time that night Blitzwing felt his spark pulse and warm intensely as you showered him with positive attention. It was an addictive feeling and he wanted more. For the first time since he’d given up on finding you, he was actually looking forward to the next time he was scheduled a day off his routine patrolling duties.
This was the beginning of both your new lives with each other and both of you were eager to get started.