log > how are these two so darn cute?

[electrowhipit]

It had been an admittedly strange situation they had all been in - shopping mall, zombies, black outs - it was like a horror film gone wrong.

No one had any explanation for their sudden appearance in the mall, nor did anyone have an explanation for their sudden disappearance from the mall. Just as no one had an explanation for the blue Chevrolet Volt currently parked outside of B.A.B.E.L. headquarters.

For his own part, Jolt was doing what Autobots did best (aside from kicking Decepticon skidplate), and that was hiding in plain sight. Asphalt and sunshine, he decided, were preferable to zombie-laden carpet and the near-darkness of a mall without power. He just didn't like having to wait while Naomi was inside - no doubt trying to explain where the frag she'd been all this time. Jolt'd had a similar problem relaying his whereabouts to - of all mechs - Ratchet. (No doubt the medic thought he was glitched for insisting he'd been fighting off zombies all this time.) But, after much instance, and pleading for Optimus' permission, Jolt was allowed to stay with Naomi for the time being.

The Autobot sighed inwardly. He was still waiting, and he still hated it.

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[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

Had it not been for Naomi's track record of being (almost) entirely truthful, it might have taken hours to convince her supervisor that she hadn't been kidnapped (not exactly, anyway), she'd just been spirited away to a mall to fight off a zombie horde. Tanizaki, Fujiko, and the chief had all been frantic over her disappearance-- the latter two because losing a Level Six esper was a tremendous blow and they were both fond of her, and the latter because he still maintained hope that he'd have a bride soon enough. She was now eighteen, after all, a fine marriageable age, and she'd once been so eager to please.

And right now, she was just as eager to end the conversation after the fifth round of explanations. The director had accepted her story, with some sleepy mention about how it took forever to get zombie gunk out of clothes, and now the esper was making her way outside with Tanizaki hot on her heels.

"I really am fine, Supervisor, so--"

"I refuse to believe it, Naomi! Surely you fell victim to some dirty-handed rogue, who's just waiting to get his hands on you again! As your supervisor and the one responsible for you, I won't leave your side for even a minute, in order to protect you!"

Out of six years of respect drilled into her, Naomi held her tongue, lengthening her strides and peering into the parking lot for a glimpse of the blue she'd become so familiar with. At the moment, there was only one male whose company she was willing to seek out, and it certainly wasn't the one still ranting loudly behind her.

[electrowhipit]

Upon spotting Naomi approaching, the Volt perked - though only a little - rising ever slight on its chassis. The man stalking behind her, however, almost elicited another kind of response. Biting back the urge to let his engine rev in surprise and annoyance, Jolt could only guess by the look on Naomi's face that this was her infamous Supervisor - and from the snatches of conversation he was catching as they came closer, Jolt hated him already.

However, Jolt was no Ironhide, and couldn't rely on intimidation alone (that Topkick could be scary when he wanted to be), so he elected for sitting there and looking perfectly innocent until just the right moment---

As soon as Naomi cleared it, the passenger-side door off the Volt swung open, slamming violently into the man hot on Naomi's heels. Jolt would be lying if he said the sound of impact was not satisfying at all.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

She recognized the Volt mere seconds before the door flew open, and the man behind her was suddenly no longer on his feet, but flat on his back. Eyes still wide in surprise, Naomi gave in to her instincts, scrutinizing him for any critical injuries. Other than having the wind knocked out of him, however, Tanizaki seemed to be just fine, and she took the opportunity to inch around to the other side of the car.

"Thank you," she whispered, giving the mirror a fond pat. "Ah, Supervisor? Didn't the chief say you had a meeting with Minamoto-san and the others, regarding your teams? I don't think he'll be too pleased if you miss it, and I'd hate if you did that for my sake. I'll be just fine out here."

Tanizaki was staring suspiciously at the car, as if he couldn't quite chalk up that hit to mere coincidence. But really, it wasn't as though the car could think and act on its own! The innocence on Naomi's face only confirmed it-- although she was inwardly relieved that he didn't appear to remember how Tim Toy had made the same phenomenon occur through Hypno. After another long minute, he mumbled something and shuffled inside, most likely to soothe his injured pride.

Only when she was positive he was gone (and had removed the small camera he'd clipped to her sweater), Naomi finally relaxed with a tired sigh.

"... I'm sorry about that. It took longer than I thought."

[electrowhipit]

Once the coast was clear, there was a satisfied chuckle coupled with the soft purr of the Chevy's hybrid engine. "Don't be," the voice came from the car itself. Though, after a brief moment of thought, Jolt decided it would be a little strange if someone were to walk by and see Naomi chatting it up with a car.

The driver's side window rolled down, as it did so there was a brief shifting of light and suddenly there was a young man seated in the car, leaning an elbow out the window. American, by the looks of him, though surprisingly fluent in his Japanese. "That made the wait almost worth it," he remarked, flashing Naomi a grin. "How'd it go?"

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

"They were really understanding!" Naomi could never be grateful enough for having had the luck to be taken into B.A.B.E.L. at a time when others had been afraid of her growing abilities, and she was beaming now at the memory. "I think Doctor Sakaki still thinks there might be something wrong with my head, but the Director understood-- ah, and I also got the chance to tell her about you, and she says you're welcome to stay with us as long as you'd like. She'll tell the proper people, but otherwise, there won't be too many who know."

She fidgeted, leaning down to meet his gaze. "If that's all right with you, I mean. This might be an inconvenience for you, so if it is, please let me know."

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

Something was... off. Concrete wasn't supposed to be this soft, it was dark, and hadn't she just been watching Jolt sleep? Yet, none of the above was what she could remember, and she found herself curled up when she finally opened both eyes.

Fighting back a yawn and failing, Naomi gave her head a shake and looked down at the blanket she'd been lying on. Just how-- when had he-- how had her gotten her inside?

"I was more tired than I thought," she mumbled wearily, yawning again and shifting to check out the dashboard and see which one of them was the later riser.

[electrowhipit]

For his own part, Jolt was still out like a proverbial light. Recharging like this was all well and good, but it might behoove him to find somewhere to properly plug in eventually. (Such were the pitfalls of an electric altmode and living on a planet sadly devoid of Energon.)

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

Still bleary-eyed, the young esper nevertheless managed to arrive at the conclusion that her friend was still dead to the world after only ten minutes of deliberation. It was hardly surprising; Jolt had done a lot today-- or was that barely yesterday, the sky was looking rather dark when she looked out the window-- and that little trick of his to add substance to his hologram was no doubt a draining one. He really was trying his best to remain inconspicuous, and she appreciated it. She'd have to make sure she found a good source of energy for him.

"Thanks for staying," she whispered, balancing herself enough around the front seat to plant a light kiss on the steering wheel before she resettled herself in the backseat with the blanket. If anything, working with him was bound to be an experience, and if it proved useful to those watching, there was a chance they'd be able to interact with more of Jolt's friends. Just this one Autobot, however, was more than enough.

[electrowhipit]

The movement in his backseat stirred him - he wasn't what you would call a heavy sleeper - but a quick scan confirmed that is was still just him and Naomi, so he was content to remain half-awake for the time being.

"Hey," he said, albeit a little drowsily. If he had been aware of the girl's little display of affection, he didn't comment on it. "Sleep okay?"

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

"Very well, but..." Here Naomi hesitated, embarrassed to admit that she hadn't slept that heavily for months. She had incredible power on her own, but Level 7s were still infinitely stronger, and the last time she'd had to stop a moving object, it had been a plane-- that alone had required Kaoru's help, and they'd still had trouble with it. She had a lot to work on.

"I'm sorry for waking you," she added, busying herself with folding the blanket up. "How are you feeling, Jolt-san?"

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

It had been nearly a week since Jolt had arrived, and Naomi was just slightly afraid of how easily he'd settled in, as if the electricity-wielding Autobot had always been a part of her life, as if the Volt had always been stationed nearby.

Was it really a good idea to get this attached to him? He couldn't stay forever-- he had a war and a side that needed him.

It was too beautiful a day to remain unsettled, though, and the esper perked up as she lugged a bucket of soapy water towards the parking lot.

Bathtime was imminent.

[electrowhipit]

Being dirty was nothing new to Jolt. After all, Earth had a lot of dirt. He'd crash-landed in dirt when he'd arrived on the planet, and after all that time in Egypt, he had sand in places he didn't even know he had.

And the blue Volt was indeed quite dirty, but he was far too busy sunning himself to really care- or take notice of the approaching girl and her pucket of water.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

"Jolt-san!" Naomi made her presence known just as soon as she caught sight of him, not being too loud or overenthusiastic in her greeting, but still quite chipper. She got a better grip on the bucket handle as its contents sloshed ominously, before setting it down by her feet.

"You're filthy," she informed him matter-of-factly. "So I'm here to remedy that."

[electrowhipit]

The car perked at her arrival, as it always did. The bucket of water, however, gave him pause. "Wait. You're gonna wash me?" he blurted, almost too loud. Almost forgetting himself.

But he reigned his vocals in at the last second, keeping his volume manageable.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

The girl tilted her head, not really understanding why he sounded so surprised. If a car was dirty, you washed it. If a giant robot disguised as a car was dirty, you washed it. The principle wasn't hard to grasp.

"You won't be able to do it for yourself without getting some stares," she reminded him. "I don't mind doing this for you, and I promise it won't take long, so it'll be easier for both of us if you cooperate."

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

More time had passed since her first encounter with Decepticons and, subsequently, the humans and Autobots of NEST. Since then, NEST and B.A.B.E.L. had worked together when certain situations arose, and the espers continued to do their missions as usual.

And then the mission that had nearly cost Naomi her life. She'd survived, of course, but at the cost of losing the man she'd tried so hard to save. Every night after she'd regained consciousness, save for the first one spent with Jolt, she'd had vivid nightmares and woken up in a panic, forced to relive every minute of the mission.

Physically, she was doing better-- she was still a little weak on her feet, but she'd been freed from the bandages and her injuries were mostly healed. But coming to grips with the Normal's death hadn't been easy. She wasn't even sure if she had done that yet. All Naomi knew was that she didn't want to cry anymore. So she'd taken to flying, after every mission, after every college class. She still faithfully kept Jolt clean, and did her best to keep up a cheerful front in his presence, but today was another day that she'd gone away from B.A.B.E.L.

Reminiscent of the first day girl and car had been together here, Naomi found herself once again at the riverbank. Save for the cars driving on the bridge overhead, it was peaceful. Quiet. No fretting from her supervisor, no questions about her health or well-being, it was just a place for her to think.

And if her thoughts would just stop straying to the same thing, it would have been a lot nicer.

[electrowhipit]

Jolt was no expert when it came to human emotion, but he knew Naomi, and he knew that her front was just that- a front. Minamoto had been right- she didn't want to risk upsetting anyone, and the more she tried to keep up appearances, the more it pained him. She was distant with everyone, not just him, and while he supposed he couldn't blame her, it hurt. He'd watched Sideswipe cleave unwitting Decepticons clean in two before, and he found himself wondering dimly if this was what it felt like.

Usually when she was like this, he didn't want to announce his presence (he'd followed her more often than not), but today he'd had enough. Naomi needed to get away, if only for a little bit, and he was going to see to it that she got a proper vacation.

The blue Volt nudged up behind her, engine purring softly. "Hey."

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

The girl jumped, body instinctively tensing in preparation-- and then slowly relaxing when she saw who it was who'd followed her. For a moment, she just gazed at him, letting the familiar sight of the Volt bring her back to the present.

"Hey," she echoed just as softly. "Is something wrong?"

[electrowhipit]

He ignored the question easily enough- what was wrong was obvious, but it wasn't an answer Naomi needed to hear, and asking it of Naomi in return would only earn him that fake smile. "I've been thinking," he said instead. "It's been way too long since we went for a drive."

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

"Eh?" The surprise was all too visible on her face, and it only grew when Naomi realized that Jolt was right. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been out on the road with him-- either due to the demands of the missions, or her own--

But she couldn't do that to him. The longer she stayed with him, the closer her control came to slipping, and she didn't want Jolt to be the one to have to deal with her. Not when she was like that. Even she would have been annoyed with herself by now.

She turned her gaze back to the river, finding it easier to look at than the car waiting patiently for her response. "Maybe later," she murmured.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

Somehow, Naomi made it through the night with only faintly painful recollections (and not any that she made mention of). Her time with Jolt had helped tremendously with the restoration of her usual good humor and bright smile, despite her occasional lapse. And then came the time to return home.

There was no end to The Children's joy at seeing their older friend seemingly back to normal-- and no end to Tanizaki's wailing that his precious subordinate had been abducted by the lovingly christened "devil car", complete with demands that the rule-breaker never go near her again until Naomi had very neatly settled that argument by having him psychokinetically bond with the closest wall.

When that silenced him for only five seconds before he began to babble about how he'd cried into a body pillow of her during her absence, his very frazzled and highly annoyed charge decided that enough was enough.

Hence why she was now settled outside with a guide to all of the bars in Tokyo.

[electrowhipit]

Jolt eased up to the curb, making sure that Tanizaki wasn't lurking somewhere to jump out and start screaming at him before coming to a stop in front of his friend.

"What's that?" He inquired, which perhaps was the wrong question. He knew what it was. Why she was looking at it was another matter entirely.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

Naomi lifted her eyes from her choice of reading material, smiling so serenely that it could only mean trouble. "It's a list of all of the bars in the area," she replied sweetly. "I think the only way to keep Supervisor Tanizaki away from me and alive is to find him someone else who's much better than I am. Bars just so happen to be the best places to search." Possibly because the candidates were liquored up enough to be more receptive to matchmaking attempts, but she wasn't bringing that up.

[electrowhipit]

The car laughed- he couldn't help it! "That is... brilliant. Do you want some help?" Of course, he'd totally go along as moral support. And also because he just really wanted a proverbial hand in this plan.

[kittykinesis.livejournal.com]

She rose quietly, walking over to the car and leaning down to address him with a very serious expression.

"Jolt-san," she said solemnly, "I would be honored if you helped me out with this." After all the verbal abuse he'd gotten from Tanizaki, Jolt had just as much right to participate as she did. Not to mention that it was always more fun as a pair.