Sorry for the long wait. I'll add the fancy schmancy decor to this chapter later XD I'll edit a little later as well. Hope all is well with you all <3 stay safe

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The air became colder and colder as time passed. Mae welcomed the wind as it gently blew her hair away from her face. She was sitting alone on a random street filled with abandoned buildings. It had been several hours since her encounter with Vince, and her anger was finally starting to die down.

Despite aching all over she felt proud for defending herself against the bully. She'd always hated the way others took advantage of her when she was younger. After a traumatic experience from her childhood, she'd gotten a few jobs and managed to save enough money to attend a self defense class for two months. It wasn't much but she knew enough to support herself without the help of someone else.

But Vince was a high school kid. What would happen if a grown man tried to attack her? She already knew the answer. A sigh passed her lips as she rested her swollen face onto the palm of her hand. June had said she would be home and make her some dinner after school, so there was no doubt the woman was worried and looking for her by now.

Maybe not. It was strange for Mae to think of someone actually worrying about her. Sure, June was overbearing and more motherlike than she would like, but she wasn't all too bad. For now, at least.

The wind suddenly stopped. She stretched gently, feeling out her ribs before wincing and looking at the sky. She'd lie and say she was fine. June and Ratchet didn't have to know about what happened. Still, trying to hide her bruised and swollen face would be difficult.

"I ran into a pole?" Mae tested out the lie and cringed at how ridiculous it sounded.

"You ran into a pole?"

Ratchet's voice made her jump. The movement was quick and sudden, sending pain so quickly down her body she yelped. She looked up with wide eyes, immediately spotting his familiar form directly next to his ambulance.

How did I not hear him pull up?

"When did you get here?" she asked dumbly.

His gaze was serious as he bent down to her level. "Just now. Where have you been?" She pulled away when his hands reached for her.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't," he said in a clipped tone, "Mrs. Darby insisted that I search for you, seeing as you've been missing for several hours."

That woman- Mae rolled her eyes. "Well, you can run along and tell her I'm fine. She doesn't have to worry about anything. I'm almost an adult- I can take care of myself."

She went to move, but Ratchet squinted through the darkness at her for a short second before his eyes widened.

"Primus! What happened to your face?"

Her hand moved to her face as she chuckled. "I ran into a pole?"

Ratchet gave her a blank stare. "That sounds absolutely ridiculous."

"Right?" Mae chuckled.

His hands were there again, gently grabbing her face and turning it to one side. She felt the urge to slap them away but kept still knowing he was only doing his job. Or maybe it's the fact that you like how soft his hands are- her face grew red as she came to realize what she was thinking- stop, Mae.

Ratchet continued his examination, paying no attention to her sudden scowl as he gently pressed against the bruise just below her eye.

"I leave you alone for a mere day and you have already injured yourself again. Did you at least keep your ribs from harm?" When she shrugged, he sighed and pulled away. "Stand up. You're coming with me."

"What? No," she scoffed, "I'm staying right here. I don't need you tattling to June about this. I'd rather not stay in my room for the rest of eternity, thank you."

"You think I want to spend any more of my precious time taking care of you? I won't tattle. Just get in the ambulance."

Mae stared at him for a short moment before slowly standing. He stared at her, examining her movements and most likely cursing her in his head. She followed him to the side of the vehicle, staring at the large step before huffing and gently placing a leg up.

After struggling for a few moments she finally managed to force herself into the seat. Ratchet didn't lend any help- probably because he knew she wouldn't accept it. It's funny how much you can learn from somebody in a few weeks.

"So," she finally spoke after he pulled away from the curb, "where are we going?"

Ratchet glanced at her and then back to the road.

"We're going on a drive."

* * *

After about an hour of driving Ratchet decided to park in the middle of nowhere to stargaze. In reality he only wanted to find a secluded spot so she couldn't run away.

They sat in silence as Ratchet examined her new injuries. Mae found herself staring up, feeling calmer than she had all day. The sky was just as bright as the first time they had driven together.

Ratchet disappeared into the back of the ambulance for a few moments before coming back with a zip lock bag full of ice. She decided not to question it and happily applied it to her face.

"Your nose isn't broken but badly bruised, as well as your ribs. Luckily none of your ribs were fractured again. I can only assume this pole made sure not to do too much damage, or was stopped in the process of inflicting it," he said knowingly as he eyed her.

Mae shrugged. "Sometimes poles need to be taught a lesson."

"Mrs. Darby will want to know what happened, but I won't tell her. That's a conflict I would rather not get into. You should take a day to rest-"

"I don't want to," she said.

Ratchet sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Though I do not doubt that you will encounter conflicts like this in the future. So you will be seeing more of me whether you like it or not."

Fine by me. I would rather banter with you over June any day. They sat in a peaceful silence, both staring again at the bright sky. Mae had wanted to be an astronaut when she was a kid. The thought of being in space was so cool to her. That was, until someone explained to her that she wouldn't be able to breathe and would most likely combust the moment she got up there.

Fun.

"Would you mind telling me what happened, if not June?"

She shrugged, understanding his curiosity. She did look like she was nailed with a ton of bricks. "Some jerk tried to gang up on me with his friends and beat me up."

Ratchet's eyes widened. "There was not just one of them?" he asked in shock.

"You expected that to be my answer?"

"Well, that is what I assumed."

She let out a short laugh and smirked. "Well, they did a number on me but I returned the favor so now we're even."

"I cannot imagine that," Ratchet said suddenly.

She turned to him with a small frown on her face. Her jaw ticked as she looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I do not mean to offend you, but you are very small for your age."

There goes our calm conversation.

"So you're saying I'm weak."

"Not at all," Ratchet shook his head, "I've seen many auto- er, people, fight battles I did not expect them to win. Judging someone by their looks is how you lose in the end, isn't it?"

Mae felt less tense as she relaxed back into the seat. "Yeah, I guess so. In all honesty, I'm not the strongest. I just know how to get out of sticky situations."

"You are in dangerous situations often?" he asked. His voice was calm but she saw the hidden curiosity in his eyes. She wanted to laugh, but forced herself not to as she thought about her past.

"More times than I can count," she shrugged. "I guess I'm not the luckiest person. What about you? You see fights often?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you've seen people fight battles you didn't think they could win at first. Did you mean in a general sense, or?"

"Well," he coughed and looked away, "I've not exactly been in the best situations either. I'm a medic for a reason. I've seen some rather gruesome things."

"Oh." That's all she could say. She had never thought about it that way before. Sure, Ratchet never acted like he wanted to help her but she could only imagine what he experienced as a medic. It must have been difficult, watching others get hurt.

After a few moments she continued slowly, "Have you watched anyone die before?"

Maybe her eyes were deceiving her, but she could have sworn she saw him flinch. For a second she almost regretted asking the question. When he spoke, his voice was hard.

"I've watched many people die."

That was it. No backstories or explanations- not that she expected any. Part of her already felt bad for asking the question at all.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't right for me to ask," she said quietly.

Ratchet sighed and started the engine. "It's fine. Questions like that are to be expected in my field of work. Let's get you home."

Mae nodded slowly and turned to look out the window again. Should I have asked that? It was a personal question asked too soon. She barely knew Ratchet, but even he knew enough not to ask her personal questions.

She felt like a hypocrite, hating when people asked about her personal life but then spitting bombs like that.

Maybe he isn't so bad.

The thought caught her off guard, but she brushed it aside. What was there to dislike about him, other than his stubborn personality? He had taken care of her and seemed like he actually cared, despite his I hate taking care of people persona. At least he wasn't some happy-go-lucky idiot. Mae hated people like that.

Sighing, she leaned her face gently against the door and yawned. It was getting pretty late. Hopefully June would be headed to work by now so she wouldn't ask questions-

A sudden noise pierced the air, making Mae jump in surprise. She looked around, confused at where it was coming from before finally spotting it to the right of her. Something was in the sky.

And it was coming right for them.