The kids had stayed later than usual since tomorrow was a Saturday. It was rather cold outside, as it was the middle of winter, and by six it was already dark out. Ratchet was on his computer, per usual, Arcee and Bumblebee were talking over something, Bulkhead and Smokescreen were doing who knew what, and Optimus was off somewhere. Raf and Miko were playing a video game.

"Anyone seen Jack?" Miko asked, finally realizing that he was missing as she was defeated yet again by Raf.

"He said he was going up to the roof," Arcee replied.

"Why would he go there?" Miko asked. "It's cold outside!"

"Beats me." Arcee shrugged.

Miko shrugged back, and Raf started up another game by himself "to practice" while Miko used the elevator leading to the roof to go find Jack.

She tapped her foot impatiently as she rose higher and higher, until she stopped and the doors finally slid open. She stepped out, looking around a bit. It was dark, and it took her a minute to adjust. She could see her breath a little, and took her phone out to use as a light as she walked, not wanting to fall off the base.

"Jack? Jack!"

"What?"

Miko followed the sound of Jack's voice, until she saw a figure laying down on the ground, hands resting behind his head.

"What're you doing? It's freezing out here! You're not even wearing a Jacket!" Miko said, accidentally shining the light from her phone into Jack's eyes. He cringed, and she quickly turned her phone off, mumbling a "sorry" as she did so.

"I'm looking at the stars."

"Since when did you like astronomy and whatever?" she asked, looming over him. He paid her no attention as he shifted his head a little to keep looking, since her head was getting in the way.

"It's just...something I like to do whenever I feel a little down or stressed. And the base is far from any city light, and it's a clear view of the sky."

"Why do you like doing it? Like, what if you're stressed during the day?" Miko replied.

"Nothing else works," he replied. "And my dad used to take me out into the middle of nowhere to stargaze whenever I was...out of it. It always made me feel better for some reason."

Miko nodded silently, looking up at the sky, trying to see if she could see any constellations, before realizing Jack was doing this probably because he wanted to be alone.

"Did you want me to leave?"

"No, I kinda like your company," he replied, not taking his eyes off the starry night sky. She smiled a bit, before laying down on the ground next to him, resting her hands on her stomach as she looked up, the stars standing out against the midnight blue sky. She forgot about the cold as the two were silent for a few minutes, before Miko frowned again.

"Jack...if you don't mind me asking...what's up?"

"Well, Betelgeuse is, and Sirius, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor...and the North Star...and a few planets," he replied in a joking manner.

"Jack," Miko said, sitting up and turning to look at him. Jack only sighed.

"Today is just my dad's birthday. And...I just miss him a little. That's all," he replied. Miko smiled sadly, nodding a bit as she lied back down on the ground and looked up at the sky again, finding herself starting to get lost in the stars as a lot of her thoughts escaped her mind. A small smile crept onto her face, but she soon realized the cold ground was starting to seep into her bones. Jack was feeling the same thing, having been there for so long, and slowly got up.

"I'll be back," he said, stepping around her and heading back into the base. Miko only nodded, continuing to stare up at the sky, thoughts drifting off to random things, like the Autobots, her guardian Bulkhead, Wheeljack, her host parents, school, and then, Jack.

Despite the cold her face became hot at the thought of Jackson Darby. She didn't know why, but ever since she'd seen him talking in an alleyway with a giant robot, she'd taken an interest in him, and it wasn't just because he was talking to a robot.

Then she realized he was in a few of her classes when she thought she hadn't seen him before. It was rather weird.

And when he had followed her when she ran through the bridge and had "some concern" for her safety?

Or when he helped her with her History homework when Raf wasn't around?

Or when he watched her play her guitar when no one else was interested?

Or when he complimented her on her drawings?

Or when he offered to take her for a ride on Arcee (which she had declined)?

Or when she found out Ding Dong had died and he was there to comfort her?

Her face became even hotter. He seemed to always be there for her even if she didn't notice, or she didn't care.

But he can't like me...he likes Sierra.

She yawned a little, starting to feel a little sleepy as she was thinking over all this, and then jumped when a blanket was suddenly over her. She was completely lost in thought, she hadn't realized Jack had returned.

"You okay?"

"Yeah...I was just...thinking."

He nodded, she could see his silhouette move in the dark. He lay down next to her again, wrapping himself in his own blanket and staring up at the sky again. All was quiet as the stars twinkled above them, the silence between them was somewhat pleasant.

After a while, Jack heard the faint sound of teeth chattering and turned to look at the girl next to him, realizing she was shaking a bit.

"Miko?"

She didn't respond, and he soon realized she had fallen asleep and the cold was starting to get to her. He smiled a bit, giving her his other blanket. She reached for it in her sleep and wrapped it around her, and he decided to not wake her up, intentionally, at least.

He gently placed an arm under her legs and a hand on her back, lifting her up and walking over to the lift again. He glanced up at the sky one more time and smiled a bit before heading inside, Miko's head resting on his shoulder.

~~~

I love this pairing okay? :D

I needed a little cheering up since I'm starting school tomorrow.

I've also been listening to One Republic's Counting Stars recently and although the lyrics don't match the oneshot, I liked the idea of the two stargazing.

Hope you enjoyed this one, thanks for reading. :)

-BP