Can't Run Away Forever

[illdriveyoushoot]

She takes the bus now, more often than not.

She'd sold her old bike, dragged her dad off for a 'new start'; pretty much vanished off the grid for a while. Mikaela had done as much as she'd been allowed to do, to get away and keep from being found.

Keep from being found by her friends, at least.

A part of her - the bitter part - is sometimes upset that they never did. That they never tried, never suspected. But then again, the way she had broken up with Sam, real and so very angry...

That same bitter part, while upset, isn't surprised she'd been so easily forgotten.

And then Chicago had happened, freedom had come with a price for everyone, and...

Well. Being left alone was more understandable, after that.

So now Mikaela takes the bus, to and from her little backwoods, podunk gas station/convenience store/one-car garage quick-e-mart, the best she can get on just a highschool degree in this economy, expunged record or not. She does register and occasional garage work, and she has a good shot at making manager in the spring. Her dad has his own place, finally, moving in with a woman with little patience and no tolerance for his crap.

She's too good for him, and Mikaela is happy for them.

But being on her own leaves her with too much time to think, and despite no lack of offers, hints, and the same old innuendos, she's had no one since Sam. She's lonely, and alone in a world where no one remembers or cares who she is or what she's given up.

In short, it sucks, and playing at 'normal' isn't at all what it's cracked up to be.

Comments

[illdriveyoushoot]

"No offence Optimus, but it's kinda hard to forget."

She peers up at him for a moment, returning the expression with wry lips of her own.

"I'm perfectly aware that Decepticons or your mystery not-Sector Seven people could come exploding through here at any time." She gestures toward the blanked out garage doors idly.

"I haven't exactly forgotten Mission City and Egypt that quickly."

She can't hide the shiver at the memory entirely, but she forces it back down with a heavy sigh, giving the nearest intact part of Optimus' armor a pat.

"But I'm helping you anyway. Okay?"

[oneshallstand]

"Mmm."

That's an 'okay' in Primespeak, if the accompanying nod wasn't enough. He'd almost prefer Sector Seven, in that they weren't trying to outright kill his people.

Almost prefer. Given the choice, he'd take none of the above.

"I will do my best to not draw attention," he concludes, reaching up with a finger to - lightly - rub her back. Yes, he caught that shiver. No, he won't bring it up. He's concerned, but to push any further would be insulting.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Hm. Good." Her grin turns a little watery at the delicately attempted comfort, and she reaches around to rest a palm on a giant joint. It's always been so amazing how gentle they can be.

"...At least you're looking the part of a nondescript hunk of junk right now. Blue and red flames aren't exactly subtle," she teased with a wink, determined to break the mood. She was not going to cry in front of him again.

[oneshallstand]

That sure is a flat expression. "Your soldiers wear uniforms," he points out, thinking specifically of the colors that Lennox and Epps wore so proudly. "Ours are simply a different sort."

Though she is right; wearing such colors now would be suicide, which is why he's temporarily covered himself with dust and peeling paint.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Yeah, well, solders also have camouflage. A look you're pulling off pretty good right now, by the way," she says approvingly, giving the dingy exterior a pat as she makes her way back up to the blast wound. Giving him a grin she replaces her gloves and grips a penlight between her teeth, Mikaela starts working her in as far as she can reach to get at that leak.

"After all, you don't want to wear your 'dress blues' in the middle of a stealth mission, or whatever, right?"

It echos a bit weirdly, but keeping up the chatter should be a good distraction.

[oneshallstand]

Have another look, Mikaela. You remember who you're talking to, right? And then she's starting to move inside as he's shifting a bit, trying to keep aware of her as she disappears and he can't consciously move things out of the way as much-

"I would not be wearing this form at all," he points out. But he does understand the point she's making, or thinks he does. "Nonetheless-nhn."

Some part of her stepped on something sensitive again, and he has to repress a wince.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"-Sorry."

Mikaela winces in turn, not able to see nearly as much as she'd like, even with the light.

She doesn't like hurting him accidentally, for both his sake and her own. She's not unaware that one wrong flinch or twitch from him could easily sever something of hers. She tries not to think if it like that, but the thought is there, in the back of her mind.

But she reaches the leak readily enough, line split right down the middle and impaled on one of Optimus' own shattered internals.

"...ouch. That looks uncomfortable," she murmurs. Freeing it is quick enough, but aiding the repair work she can already see forming on the line takes a bit more finesse than she easily has in the confined space.

Electrical tape it is. Crimping the line on either side of the tear, Mikaela starts winding it around the line.

"It's called 'deep cover', Optimus. Something you should do if you're being specifically hunted somehow. Even I know that much."

[oneshallstand]

It's a definitely disturbing feeling; a crawling that's far from pleasant, but the knowledge that she's helping does wonders. So Optimus forces himself to the edge of tension and relaxation, holding himself still and simply holding back from what normally would involve a copious amount of shaking and writhing and trying to get the feeling out.

It's also becoming more and more obvious that if she did want to hurt him, she's could do so easily. Fatally. Trust wars with that tension, and his fingers curl in to low fists. Her banter is, at least, a distraction from that.

"As am I...as shown by my lack of such colors."

[illdriveyoushoot]

Oblivious to the external tension, Mikaela winds the tape rather quickly, pleased at how the line she's pinched back into shape between two fingers is retaining it's proper shape under it's honestly inadequate 'bandage'.

Ratchet would probably be using some sort of sealant polymer or adhesive mesh more easily absorbed by Optimus' systems, but they were gonna have to make do.

"Exactly. So I'm glad you are. Even if you're not looking like your usual, fabulously flame-deco'd self."

She grins despite her position, carefully snipping off the tape.

"Just try to resist changing back until we figure out what's going on, okay?"

[oneshallstand]

There's a short 'hnh' that could be a note of humor, but with Optimus, it's only ever so clear. Especially now, when he's hyperaware of the crawling in him. An audial twitches at the sound of scissors, though- perhaps?

No, he won't ask. She may think he's trying to hurry her.

"How bad...?" he asks instead, focusing optics towards the ceiling and trying to divert his attention there.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Hmm. The line was split right down the middle. Your self repair was trying to close it up, but the angle wasn't good for it."

Biting her lip, Mikaela undoes the crimps holding the flow of Optimus' fluid back from the line. It swells, and a few beads of fluid escape the edge of the tape, but it otherwise seems to be flowing correctly.

She breaths out a sigh of relief.

"...Phew. Got it back into shape and wrapped up, and it looks like it'll be enough to hold it until you've rested enough to repair."

She adds another tight loop of tape around the leak as she speaks, before nodding in satisfaction and wiggling backwards.

"Coming out."

[oneshallstand]

There's another strange sensation, and his vents stutter at the renewed flow; only steel self-control keeps him in place, but there's no denying his own sound of relief when she mentions her progress. His optics shutter at the knowledge that there's only a few more moments of the odd feelings, and by the time she comes all the way out, he's noticeably sagged.

"...you will forgive me," he quietly drawls, "if I am in no hurry for you to do that again."

[illdriveyoushoot]

Mikaela squirms out with a gasp, resting against his plating as she wipes sweat from her brow with the back of a wrist. Her gloves are covered in his vital fluid, but she's managed to avoid getting on her skin.

"It's okay, I get you. Really." She waves a hand, giving him a weak smile. "I wouldn't really enjoy your torso up in my chest cavity myself."

Ignoring size difference, she really doesn't want to think about how the pain might translate over.

"How does it feel now, though? Fluid pressure holding steady?"

[oneshallstand]

He doesn't quite catch her smile or wave, with his optics dimmed to nothing; still, he may not need to. Optimus makes another sound that could be an attempt at that earlier 'hnh', but it falls flat as he puts his mind to the system scan.

"...the levels have improved. Time will tell, at this point," he allows, sounding...tired. And he is.

Her ability to hurt him if she chose to do so hasn't changed, but without her so much in him, it's far less present- and far easier for his trust of her to rise above that.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"That's a relief."

She grins at that, wide and honest. Climbing down to his more-or-less level thigh, she starts wiping down her gloves and tools, prepping for the next spot.

Because there were, unfortunately, still plenty of wounds left to choose from.

"Now just tell me there aren't any others as bad as that one."

[oneshallstand]

And that is an understatement.

Optimus' optics flicker back towards the ceiling as he considers her words, and then the readouts. Finally he can admit, "That seems to be the worst. There are other leaks, but none near so serious."

Indeed, with the renewed flow of energon, he can feel his self-repair activating again and tapping in to his energy reserves. Which are running low, all told; recharge is imminent, but he pushes it back for nwo.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Point me to the next-worst, then? If you can tolerate another."

She frowns, noting his exhaustion. Even the vibrations of his frame, carrying up through her feet feel sluggish. Mikaela silently adjusts her mental note about how much pain he may have actually been in while she leaned inside his metal organs.

"I'd rather get as many of those fixed at once as I can, to keep your fluids where they belong."

[oneshallstand]

There's the immature urge to put it off to another time, but it only lasts a moment. "My right shoulder," he says after a few more moments of thought. "There may be some shrapnel in the lines." Which doesn't quite make a leak, but still makes a distinct problem.

The more they can do now, the more beneficial rest will be, he tells himself.

Riiight he was already half way down

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Alright. Getting to that one shouldn't be nearly as, er. Invasive. As the last one." Only working in his helm or near his spark could get any worse, really.

She nods up at him, turning to climb up again- before pausing in place.

"You...wanna try laying down the rest of the way for this one? It should make it easier on your shoulder if you're not leaning in it like that?"

She wouldn't have to climb around on his half-inclined chest, either. But more importantly, it would help him get a little more rest.

keh

[oneshallstand]

"Hmn." He can do that. It- doesn't seem as though he'll need to get up, quickly, at this point; with a soft puff of his vents, he starts easing himself down all the way, wincing briefly when the motion jolts his shoulder but the promise of relief and rest more than make up for it.

In short order, he's flat upon the floor as he can be in the somewhat awkward location.

"Is this better?"

Re: keh

[illdriveyoushoot]

Balancing on him as he reclined was easier than it probably should have been- and a little more fun as well. She didn't hop down until he stopped shifting, though.

"Yeah, this should be perfect," she says circling around him to examine the shoulder in question.

"If you can extend your arm out a little more, I should be able to get to that leak really easily."

It would put his arm practically through the doorway, but it would (mostly) fit.

[oneshallstand]

It probably was a sign of how tired Optimus was getting that he didn't even think about that; instead he simply obeyed, bending his elbow as necessary to keep from pressing too much against the wall or door.

It also gave him something to brace against. It wouldn't be the most comfortable of repairs, but few ever were in the first place. And maybe the weariness would override some of that, anyway.

[illdriveyoushoot]

"Exactly, thanks."

Mikaela noticed his lack of objection or grumbling, but she wasn't going to risk ruining it by pointing it out. Instead she simply got right back to work, peering inside the largest armor gap Optimus' position created in his shoulder armor.

"Oh yeah, I think I see the source already. Easier to get at - but it looks like some joint-fluid supply lines and smaller energon lines got severed entirely?"

Mikaela winced, easily able to trace the path the large-caliber shell had taken through his shoulder.

"What the hell did they shoot you with...?" Mikaela hissed quietly, biting her lip until it stung. "Gonna have to jury-rig replacement parts for these lines."

Luckily, the garage had no shortage of spare parts.

[oneshallstand]

It went without saying that Optimus was only so aware of the scope of the damage; he had readouts, yes, but only a medic could fully interpret them, or someone with a direct visual. As it was, it only confirmed what they both already knew;

"I think I will be staying here for some time."

At least he'll have decent company?

[illdriveyoushoot]

That he would.

"Looks like it."

She didn't even have it in her to be sarcastic. The scope of the repairs needed... It was hitting her hard and it was all she could do to keep her wince hidden when she was facing him.

Sorting through the shop's supplies, Mikaela was able to pick out a selection of tubing of the right gauge, and small pipe clamps to attach them to what was left of Optimus' own fluid lines. A lot of their parts just didn't have even similar replacements among human supplies, so Optimus would be stuck repairing many smaller bits automatically. But the ones that did, like tubes and simple knobs or bolts, or things that could be replicated by bending metal into simple shapes...

That she could do. And he needed fluids to get to the right places if he was going to self-repair at all.

Returning to his open shoulder, she gave him a light tap. "Right. Heading in."

Back to work.