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“Frag me,” Sunstreaker groaned as the door slid open to reveal a garage full to the brim with boxes, gardening instruments, and bikes,
“Well that’s our garage,” Junko declared as she dusted off her hands.
“How am I supposed to sleep in there? There’s no room!”
“Figure it out, Sunny. I’m not the one who insisted on visiting my parents in the middle of the country,” Junko grumbled, walking into the garage, “There. One less thing for you to figure out what to do with.”
Junko pulled a red bicycle from the front corner, “I’m heading off to an old friend’s house if my parents ask.”
“Wait you’re leaving me here?” Sunstreaker called after her companion.
“I’m an independent agent out here, Sunstreaker. My friends don’t need your drama!”
“you little- Hey wait, what will your parents think about you leaving your girlfriend to clean out this garage?!” Sunstreaker taunted.
“Can’t hear youuu!!! getting so far awayyyyyy from youuuuu!” Junko yelled back as she slowly got smaller towards the horizon.
“Oh frag off,” Sunstreaker mumbled, turning back to the open garage.
“How am I supposed to clear this out? Everything is gonna get all dirty out here...” she wined.
The back door to the house slid open and then shut.
“Oh hello Mrs. Shiragami!” Sunstreaker beamed down at the old woman, spooking her.
“Oh... hello... Suuun-”
“Streaker. Sunstreaker,” the yellow Autobot grimaced.
“Oh, um Mrs. Shiragami, Junko sort of left me, could you help me clear out this garage?”
“W-why would you need to-” Junko’s mother started.
“Oh haha well it’s supposed to rain tonight and I don’t really like to sleep in the rain and-” Sunstreaker interrupted.
“But you’re a car.” Mrs. Shiragami interrupted back.
“I’m actually a Cybertronian Transformer,” Sunstreaker widened her grimace, “I just take the form of a car for the sake of getting place to place. Anyways, I really need a garage to sleep in for the night so do you mind- or should I ask your husband?”
The older woman mumbled something under her breath that Sunstreaker couldn’t quite catch before returning her gaze to the racer, “Where did Junko run off to?”
“She said she was going to go hang out with a friend... um about my question,” Sunstreaker knelt down the ground to follow the matron of the house as she stepped back inside.
“Listen, Ms... Sunstreaker... I am sure you are probably a lovely... Transformer, but... well... Well we just can’t be moving everything out of the garage for just one night!” the lady cried before slamming the sliding door closed and shuttering the blinds.
“Who said we were only were staying for one night... uh or well I guess... I should probably go find Junko,” Sunstreaker trailed off.
“Now put those stupid scout skills to use,” Sunstreaker grumbled as she tried to recall which way her companion had cycled off. “I think she went that way.”
---
Junko tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to answer the door. Sure it had been a few years since she had even seriously thought about stepping foot in town, let alone actually being in the town’s borders, but this place never changed; surely Ai was still working her shitty morning shift at the town’s only convenience store, which meant she should be home by now.
Junko waited another minute before jabbing the doorbell a few more times in rapid succession. Still no answer from inside the house.
Junko huffed before trying to spy around the building. No lights were on, but it was still bright enough that you wouldn’t need them in Ai’s apartment, even with the blinds closed. No clothes airing on the porch, but Ai had complained several times back when Junko still visited during college holidays about someone stealing her clothes, so maybe she just got sick of the thief. No water bowl outside for the local cat population. Odd. Ai really liked that bowl and the cats. One last doorbell push. Nothing.
Had Ai moved out without telling her? In fairness, Junko hadn’t been updating her old friend about her life either, but Ai never did anything that drastic without emailing Junko.
Maybe she should ask a neighbour?
Maybe just one more minute, in case Ai decided to take an after work nap and was still getting dressed after she heard Junko’s tenth doorbell ring.
“Junko!”
Great. Just what she needed right now.
“Junko! There you are! For such a small town, you were hard to find!” The yellow car beeped at her, before turning back to her humanoid form.
“Hey Sunstreaker. I thought I left you to clean out the garage,” Junko grumbled.
“Funny story about that. Your mom came out told me not to so...”Sunstreaker paused, considering her words, “I had nothing to do, so I tried to find you.”
“Aw, my very own lost puppy,” Junko mumbled.
“Welp, guess Ai’s not home so I’ll be at the convenience store if you need me,” Junko declared as she hopped back onto her bike, “hopefully she’s just working the odd late-shift.”
“Wait Ai! What’s her family name?” Sunstreaker stopped Junko’s bicycle in its tracks by simply moving her hand in the way, “I think I know an Ai.”
“I don’t see why you would know her, Sunny,” Junko tried to manoeuvre around the giant hand blocking her path, “Kuruma, Ai Kuruma.”
“Wait- I do know her! She started at IPEP like 5 months ago! I think Red said she was a police officer. Now where did he say he was stationed...” Sunstreaker, proclaimed.
“She left town and didn’t tell me!?”
“Ooooooooooh cold,” Sunstreaker teased.
“You don’t understand, Sunstreaker; I only agreed to coming back here for her! Now I’m stuck here with my stupid parents for a week without anyone to talk to!” Junko yelled.
“I mean I’m still here.” Sunstreaker mumbled, sensing she made a mistake.
“You’re different! You don’t know what it’s like growing up in this stupid town! You can go anywhere you want, whenever! AURGH!” Junko threw her bike to the ground and started to run in the opposite direction of her yellow companion.
“Wait!-” Junko was already beyond her reach, “Junko, hey wait!”
Despite being large enough that she should have outpaced the woman with ease, Sunstreaker found her out of reach until they passed by the town limits and into the fields. Only when her breath fell short did Junko stop.
“Junko...” Sunstreaker called once more as she manoeuvred down the smaller dirt paths, slowing down as she caught up to her companion.
The human continued to wheeze.
“Junko, I’m sorry. I’m not sure what I’m sorry for, but I’m sorry.”
Junko’s wheezing turned to sniveling.
“Junko?”
“I just want to go home, Sunstreaker,” the weeping lady blurted out.
“Uh, yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll just quick get your bike back before we head in for the night. I’ll just sleep outside, no big deal.”
“I don’t want to go back there,” Junko paused her sniffling to stroke onto her car’s leg, “I want to go Home.”
“Oh um, but don’t you want to hang out with your parents? I mean you said they were «hounding you to come home»,” the transformer asked, stopping to let her human pet her more.
“They can keep hounding me. I didn’t want to come anyways,” Junko continued to rub against the yellow speeder, “besides they probably won’t want me back after this.”
“I thought you humans tended to be close to your progenitors.”
“Well consider me the odd one out,” Junko grumbled, “They haven’t liked me since I was in diapers.”
“Aw... you can’t mean that, they seemed to really-,” Sunstreaker paused to find a softer way to say «hound», “care about your life.”
“They just care about me being normal,” she scowled, “They hated when I moved to the big city to be something. They hated when I became something. They hated when I didn’t find a boyfriend to marry. They hate that I brought back a giant lesbian space car when I told them I had a stupid partner finally.”
Sunstreaker let Junko just stand quietly for a minute.
“you really want to go home tonight?” Sunstreaker whispered.
Junko sniffled, “yeah.”
“OKAY! We’re going home then.” Sunstreaker carefully twirled around to take the smaller figure into her arms, “I’ll drive all night if we have to.”
Junko continued to wipe away tears, “okay.”
“But, -uh- do you want to put your bike back?”
“You can do it, I don’t really want to go back there again.”
“Will do, my dear lady,” Sunstreaker let Junko down, “meet me at the town limits once I put that little thing back. We’ll be out of here before the sun gets too far down.”
"Thanks," Junko sniveled one last time.