Third Person Perspective

>~<•>~<

Friday was quick to come. Percy and (Y/n) didn't go to base Thursday due to some events. (Y/n) wanted to sleep and Percy went to a friend's house before he had to go home.

Though, it was now Friday and (Y/n) needed someone to watch Percy. There was a PTA meeting today, as well as a complication at work that she had to take care of.

"So uh, could you guys keep an eye on Percy for a few hours?" (Y/n) asked, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. Jack was the first to answer.

"Uh yeah, sure..."

"Where you going?" Miko butted in. (Y/n) sighed, having hoped not to explain. "You already left us yesterday? You couldn't have done it then."

"No. I have a PTA meeting to go to and I have to go to the store. I don't want to bring Percy because those things get ridiculously inappropriate." She replied with a huff.

"What does PTA stand for?" Optimus asks, walking over. (Y/n) figured he'd ask sooner or later and he'd have to take her anyway, like she had explained to him earlier, so at this point she didn't care.

"Parent Teacher Association. It's where the parents and teachers come together to discuss what they can do to better their children's education. However, that's never what actually happens unless there is a voice of reason. Which is usually Joe and myself, but he's out of town so it's just me." She responds, clearly frustrated.

"Since I'm taking you, I could accompany you in this meeting?" Optimus said with a questioning tone. (Y/n) was about to ask how when she remembered his holoform. She thought about it for a second before sighing.

"Sure. Let's just get going before we're late." Optimus nodded and transformed. (Y/n) went and said a quick goodbye to Percy before leaving.

"This is going to be an interesting story." Ratchet mumbled as he watched the two drive away.

"I guess sissy has a boyfriend now."

<~>•<~>

"Ok. So first things first. Be ready to be yelled at." (Y/n) began, using her camera to make sure she looked ok. The parents were crazy about looking nice, despite this being a small town, they had this weird idea that an adult had to look professional. "Second, don't ever make a comment about their kid, don't agree, don't disagree, just ignore it or— o-oh..."

(Y/n) looked over to see a man sitting in the driver's seat. He had dark blue hair, bright blue eyes, a full stubble beard, darker around the mouth, and light freckles around his nose. He was muscular in a fitted red shirt and tight blue jeans with black combat boots. Her eyes went over him confused, but also blushing. Optimus' holoform was definitely nice to look at. To (Y/n) he was an odd mix of hot, adorable, and intimidating. Though, a small part of her mind told her that she likes the robot look more.

"(Y/n)? Are you alright? Your face is red." Optimus asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She nods and swallows something nonexistent that was caught in her throat.

"Uh yeah... U-uh... Also... before we go in..." Her eyes trailed back to him right after she looked away.

"Yes?" Optimus eased, feeling worried for his human charge.

"B-before we go in... there's a chance you might get called my boyfriend..."

"What's a boyfriend?" He asked, worried that that was a bad thing.

"It is a person of the male gender who is with another person. Dating, seeing, whatever you want to call it..." She explained, Optimus blushed, realizing what she meant.

"Oh. Is that a bad thing?" He asked, seeing as she sounded worried.

"Uh... no it's not. At least not entirely. It's just that, these people are convinced that I am Percy's actual mother, which will make people assume that you're the father o-or just someone who is helping me take care of him." She explained, blushing darkly.

"Oh. Alright. Why don't they believe you?"

"Because my parents aren't in the picture to prove it and I don't really care to explain where they are to them." (Y/n) sighed. "So I'm saying sorry ahead of time because they might say some super inappropriate things."

"It's not your fault. But this will definitely be the strangest meeting I've been to."

<~>•<~>

"Hello everyone, welcome to our meeting. Unfortunately non of the teachers can join us today, due to a last minute conference, so an available staff member will stop by in the last ten minutes to write down any suggestions and ideas." Mrs. Applewood announced before scurrying out.

"Well that was pointless. It's not like that's never happened before." Rebecca scoffed with an eye roll. The sound of the door opening once more caught her attention. "Well look who's late—! Oh my."

(Y/n) and Optimus entered the room, all the attention on them— well... Optimus. All the moms in the room were swooning. This beautiful specimen had entered their conference with this pathetic excuse of a teen mom.

(Y/n) ushered Optimus to a seat, her face flushed in embarrassment for being late. He sat down and she sat next to him.

"(Y/n), you never told us you had a boyfriend!" One mom with a "we've totally been friends all this time" tone of voice exclaimed.

"Is he the baby daddy? Or the daddy daddy?" Another asked, eyeing him up.

"You've sinned with a man like this? I'd assume he's older than you too!" A conservative/religious mother scoffed.

"How come he's never come before? He should come to our next meeting!" Rebecca said with a purr in her voice.

"For the last time, Percy is my brother!" (Y/n) exclaimed, sounding upset. Optimus then placed a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder to comfort her.

"If it's alright with all of you, I came to participate in this meeting to help better (Y/n)'s brother's education. My name is Orion Pax, if that information is necessary." Optimus greeted.

"So well spoken~!" Someone cooed.

"Well, he's right, we should probably get to talking about our children's education." Rebecca announced, sending a wink towards Optimus, clearly trying to impress him. (Y/n) rolled her eyes. Optimus, sending her discomfort gently brushed his hand down her arm then held her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Right right right. Did anyone else's child have difficulty on that test from Monday?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, my kid said it was too hard and that he didn't learn that." Erin replied.

"Percy didn't have any trouble on it. He said it was easy because they had been learning it for two weeks and it was in the homework." (Y/n) answered, giving them a confused look.

"Well it looked different to me." Karen replied with a holier than though voice. (Y/n) sighed and shook her head.

"It was exactly the same. The same questions on the homework were on the test." She replied, but she went unheard as they started arguing whose kid was smarting. (Y/n) shook her head and squeezed Optimus' hand, expressing her annoyance and frustration to him.

"Excuse me, but if your children are having problems on tests then we need to find the root of the problem." Optimus said with a stern voice as he gently squeezed (Y/n)'s hand back to acknowledge her frustration. "And clearly it's not the teacher. Maybe your child can't focus in class and you need to discuss it with them, or they need help with their homework and you should offer your guidance."

There were quiet whispers amongst the mothers, sounding unsure if they should raise their voices or not. No one really wanted to argue with Optimus so they decided to change the subject.

"Riley says their talking about the ocean in science. I think maybe we could plan a field trip for the kids to an aquarium." Westly, the only other dad of the group, and husband of Karen, suggested.

"Westly please. There are the less fortunate sitting at this table." Karen said, raising her chin, smirking in (Y/n)'s direction. (Y/n)'s grip on Optimus' hand got uncomfortably tight and she got a little red in the face as she glared daggers into Karen.

"I can pay for a field trip to an aquarium, Karen. I'm not broke." She replied with venom in her voice.

"Well you couldn't afford the last field trip." Karen said pouting her lip, taunting (Y/n). (Y/n) let go of Optimus' hand and stood up and placed her hands on the table. She was angry. "Awe. Is the teen mom finding raising a child too much to handle. That's god's punishment for defying him."

"Listen here, Karen. I am a sister sitting here today to help my brother have a good life. You can't even teach your son how to tie his own shoes. And you're one to be talking about sinning when you're on your second husband." Her voice was laced with venom and her body shook slightly, a tsunami of emotions running through her. "I may have 'defiled' my body as you call it, but I still have a heart to care for my brother, a mind to think through what the best option is for his wellbeing, and a body to hold him and a voice to remind him that he is loved. Your heart is stone, your mind is the size of a pea you can't even solve your own problems with, so you use your body and your voice to try and solve them in a non-beneficial way."

"Why I never—!"

"Tell me, Karen. Who's that guy you were making out with last night around 10pm?" Whilst Karen was stammering for words, (Y/n) took this opportunity to leave. "Thank you for the wonderful idea Westly, make sure you talk to Mrs. Applewood about it. Orion, we're leaving."

Without a word, Optimus stood and walked with (Y/n) out the door. As soon as they were out of the building, (Y/n) started crying and Optimus gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry... I-I'm sorry..." She sobbed, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes.

"No, it's fine. That was very rude of Karen to degrade you like she did." He said, resting his hands on her forearms, gently rubbing them with his thumbs.

"Well at least something was done... I'll talk to Mrs. Applewood Monday." She sniffled before walking off to Optimus' vehicle mode.

"We're going to the mall now, correct?" He asked, entering his driver's seat after helping (Y/n) into the passenger seat.

"Uh yeah... thank you for I guess... hanging out with me today. Y-you didn't have to."

"It's nice to do something besides stressing over this war. If I am needed, Ratchet will notify me. Besides, I enjoy your company." Optimus replied. His comment made (Y/n) blush.

"Thank you, Optimus. I enjoy your company as well..." She replied with a soft smile, a small sniffle following. Optimus moved his hand to her cheek and wiped away her tears.

"If you don't mind me asking. What did you mean when you said she said that you defiled your body?" He asked, his hand trailing back down to her shoulder.

"Well... defiled as in baby making and getting tattoos."

"What's a tattoo?" Optimus asked, curious.

"It's a permanent marking, symbol, or drawing in your skin. I have two. One goes up my side and the other is on the back of my neck." (Y/n) replied before turning and gathering her hair and raising it up to reveal a blue, well drawn butterfly. It almost looked like it was an actual butterfly on her skin, but the style of it made it look the slightest bit unrealistic that said that it wasn't real.

"It looks nice, but why would you put it permanently on your skin?" Optimus asked. "What does it symbolize that it made it necessary for you to tattoo it?"

"Well... I got it after my boyfriend left me. It symbolizes change, into a new chapter of my life. Though I was heartbroken... I decided to take the pain and embrace the change. Instead of hurting myself even more, I decided there could be beauty in this change. I got this tattoo to symbolize that I have accepted the change of a life without him, to look for a new perspective. It was hard, what happened after, but I guess now this tattoo has become more: a symbol of survival. My mother died and I finally got away from my father. It was a difficult change, but I survived and the change, though it hurts, is now better than it was in the beginning." (Y/n) explained, a certain pride in her voice that made Optimus smiled. Her eyes dropped to her lap and a smile grew on her lips. "I like to think that if I didn't get this tattoo, to find the beauty from the pain and accept the change, I wouldn't be here today."

"That is quite inspiring..." Optimus replied with a small smile. He stared at her for a moment. She was beautiful. There was a certain shine in her eyes that held a joy that her smile could never show. He wanted to hear about the other, if it would reveal as much about her as this one had. "What's the other one?"

"It's just some roses. I got it to cover a scar and I guess feel better when I see myself in the mirror..." She replied with a soft laugh. "That isn't as grand as the other one, but it still represents survival and the life inside me that never died."

"If you don't mind me asking... could I hear more about this boyfriend?" He asked, a part of himself deep inside his spark felt jealous.

"Oh... Lucas was my first and only boyfriend. We dated for a few years, three approximately. He was my light in the darkness, my escape from the world. We'd spend almost everyday together. He was kind and humble, the perfect person. He was kind of shy, but always stood up for me when it was necessary. We'd cuddle and watch movies and go out to eat, he always knew what to say and when to say it. He'd let me call him at 3 am crying and he'd stay awake whispering all the reasons he loved me, sometimes he would keep it up till I woke up, but I always got mad at him when he did that. We had a lot of fun together. But... one day he told me he didn't love me anymore. I wasn't angry or anything. I understood. He thanked me for a great 3 years and he left. I never saw him again. I don't have any hard feelings and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss him, but he kept me sane in the worst parts of my life so I will forever be thankful, even if he didn't spend the rest of it with me. But I'd say I've moved on and when I'm ready, I'll look for love elsewhere."

"You've faced so many trying moments in your life. It's no wonder your brother thinks so highly of you." Optimus said in a gentle voice as they got out of the truck to go into the mall. (Y/n) blushed and smiled.

"Please, I think you're even more inspiring than myself. You stay so strong all the time, yet I break so easily." She replied, finding her hand in his once more. "So if you'd ever like to talk, about you for once, I'd love to help and listen."

"I will consider your offer." He replied giving her a gentle smile. "So what are we doing here?"

"I have to get a new dress. My new manager doesn't like mine and is threatening to write me up if I don't get a new one. So that's why we're here today. Oh and I'm also required to wear heels now and I haven't had any of those in a long time so I need to get a pair."

Optimus nodded and they entered the first store. (Y/n) headed toward the dresses with him and pulled out her phone to look at the description of what the dress is supposed to look like.

"So what is a dress?" He asked, (Y/n) motioned to the long pieces of fabric known as dresses.

"It's pretty much a shirt but longer." She replied simply before looking at the black dresses. "I'm looking for a shorter dress, tight fitted with a squared neckline."

Optimus nodded and decided to take a gander himself. All of the dresses looked nice in their own way. He'd take a glance at her and imagine the dress on her. Everything he thought would look nice. He pulled out a couple and showed her. She took one to try while the other wasn't what she had been looking for.

Soon she went into the fitting room. Optimus sat on a chair outside of it and waited. He thought about his feelings on the situation. There was a war going on and he had people he cared about to protect, people who couldn't fight back. A guilt deep inside of him like it was his fault that this world has been cursed with their war. It wasn't fair for humanity. It wasn't fair for the children. It wasn't fair for (Y/n).

"As much as I like this one, it's too long." (Y/n) said, looking at herself in the mirror.

"I think it looks lovely on you." Optimus replied. She looked at him with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Orion, but unfortunately, it's not your choice."

"If it was my choice I would've gone with a red or blue." He joked with a chuckle, making (Y/n)'s smile brighten even more.

"I'll be back out in a minute." She said in a soft voice before disappearing once more into a changing room.

'This is enjoyable...' Optimus thought. He found himself enjoying (Y/n)'s company more than before. And she's smiling. It's a real smile. Not the one she forces to show she's ok. It made him happy to see her so happy. He hadn't felt happy in a long time after the pain of losing his closest friend over something almost entirely political.

But now, there was (Y/n). Things were different. Though, he was worried where their relationship would end up, he was also confused on what their relationship even was. Were they only friends?

"I think this one is perfect. It has the squared neckline, it's fitted, and, bonus, it has sleeves." (Y/n) said, a smile on her face.

"Are you getting it?" He asked.

"Yup. I'll be right back, then we'll go to the shoe store." She replied before leaving once more. This time she came back faster and left the one she wasn't buying in the dressing room. She went to the counter and paid, then they went to the next and final store.

"How high of a heel do you need to get?" Optimus asked, thinking of Starscream's heels for example.

"Nothing too high, I don't want to kill my feet. And he didn't specify so just a heel. Maybe booties would be better for my feet." (Y/n) rambled, walking over with him to the heels and looks. Once again, they stuck to black heels. The shoes were easier to find than the dress and they were out of the store as soon as they were in.

"What is that?" Optimus asked, motioning to a stand set in the middle of the mall that had a giant ice cream cone on it.

"That's an ice cream stand. Would you like to try it?" (Y/n) asked, suddenly feeling a craving for ice cream.

"Sure." So the two went over and got two ice creams. One was one of Optimus' choosing and the other was (Y/n)'s (f/f). They left eating their ice cream. "This is delicious."

(Y/n) giggled and nodded, thinking it was cute. She noticed a little dripping down the side of his face. She wiped it with her thumb then licked it off.

"Careful, it's messy." She said before continuing to walk toward his vehicle form, leaving Optimus a blushing mess.

He quickly caught up and they made their way back to base.

"Don't tell anyone we got ice cream. I don't want anyone getting jealous." (Y/n) said, taking the last bite of her ice cream cone. Optimus nodded, understanding.

A comfortable silence fell between them, both of them were smiling and just watching the road.

"Uh, Optimus. Thank you for spending time with me. You've made my day a thousand times better." (Y/n) said, a fondness in her voice.

"You have as well (Y/n). It was fun."