Dirty Little Secrets 1

Bloodstains

A Transformers Prime Fanfiction

:Warning: Violence and sexual themes

Jack frowned at the square of white terrycloth thoughtfully as he reached under the sink for another to dry his hands. The supplies Fowler provided them with were certainly not extravagant but they were not cheap enough to draw blood. Nevertheless the red stains were undeniably just that. The young man tossed the dirty cloth in the laundry hamper and strode out of the bathroom.

He made a beeline for the human's living area and took the stairs three at a time. Raf was working away at his laptop and Miko was curled up in a tight ball on the couch. The raven haired youth walked over to the younger boy and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. A small hand came up and briefly griped Jack's before returning absently to the keyboard.

"Hey Raf? Did you hurt yourself today? Enough to bleed?"

The brown eyed boy glanced up at Jack and blinked in surprise.

"No, why?"

"Are you sure?"

Rafael extended his hands and examined them carefully. There were a few old scratches but otherwise they were fine. The boy then proceeded to give himself a quick onceover. Like most small boys minor leaks were of no consequence to Raf and soon forgotten, therefore he had to check to answer Jack honestly.

"Yep, no blood."

The discussion over, the boy returned to his project.

Jack strolled over to the couch and casually rested his elbows on the back. The girl was curled up with her back to him, her pink fringed odango bobbing slightly as she shifted this way or that. Jack felt a sense of peace well up in him as he stared down at her. She looked so innocent and much younger than fifteen when asleep. He mused over the life she must have led; the sheltered only daughter of a middle-class Tokyo couple, her attempts at rebellion just barely making it into uncomfortable territory, a girl who had never known want or danger until she met the Autobots. A phrase he had once heard his mother use to describe the innocent ran through his mind. He gently ran the tips of his fingers over her hair reveling in the connection he shared with the girl, so different from himself.

"You are precious sister," the young man murmured happily, his original purpose forgotten.

The slim Asian muttered something in her sleep and rolled over on her back, turning her face to the youth above her. A hiss of surprise escaped Jack. The girl had both hands clenched tightly at her chin and red seeped down her fingers from where her teeth dug into them. Half healed gouges indicated this had been going on for a while and her normally immaculate fingernails were gnawed to stubs. A soft whimper broke Jack out of his shock.

"Miko," he called out softly giving her shoulder a shake. "Hey, wake up. You're having a bad dream."

He felt the muscles under his hand stiffen suddenly and her eyes snapped open so wide he could see their whites. The girl seemed to focus on something behind him and she started trembling. Her mouth opened and a strange high pitched scream erupted. Jack jerked his hand back in shock.

"Miko!" Bulkhead hollered as he came pounding over from across the silo. "Jack! What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! I just woke her up because she was in the middle of a bad dream."

Meanwhile the girl had rolled onto the floor and was crouching against the couch arm, breathing heavily. Bulkhead leaned as far over the railing as he could and extended his servos out to her.

"Miko," he called out gently. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" she gasped out shaking her head violently. "I'm just fine."

Jack frowned at the obvious lie but ignored it in favor of moving forward to comfort the girl. He crouched down beside her and gave a warm smile.

"Hey, everything's fine now," he stated firmly. "It was just a dream."

To his shock the girl spun on him with fury in her face. She seemed to struggle with something for a moment, and then clearly choked back a harsh retort. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she took a few ragged breaths. When she looked up at him again her usual carefree grin was back in place.

"Yeah! Just a dream. Sorry I freaked out. Hey Bulk! Let's hit the road. I'm getting cramped in here."

"Fine by me!" the giant called back cheerfully as he transformed.

"Miko! Wait!" Jack called out grabbing her hand. "You're bleeding. We need to get some iodine on that."

The girl snatched her hand out of his and for a second the happy-go-lucky smile was gone, replaced by a look of fear. She cradled her wrist where he had touched her in her other hand and glared at him. Then the smile was back like a mask slipping on and she was laughing.

"I'll be fine Jack. It's just a habit I have. See ya!"

With that she leapt off the rail into Bulkhead's waiting hands. The youth stared after her in bewilderment. Had it been merely as she said the after effects of a bad dream? But the damage he had seen on her hands and fingers looked several days old. Stress could cause reactions like that in people he knew. But what would stress Miko of all people? He didn't realize he had spoken the question until Raf answered him.

"Maybe her grades? I've heard that if a transfer student lets their GPA drop to far they can be sent home," the smaller boy suggested.

"Maybe," Jack agreed. "Miko would go nuts if she had to give up the bots."

"Do you think I should offer to tutor her?" Raf asked shyly.

"That's a great idea. We can both offer to help. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I don't know. This just feels like something more to me."

O

O

"Hey Miko, are you okay?" the voice spoke hesitantly out of the dashboard of the SUV.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the girl snarled slamming her shoulders back against the seat.

For a moment the Autobot was stunned speechless by the venom in her voice. Was he being over protective? He didn't want to be a bother by bugging the humans about something he didn't understand.

"But you're leaking from your hands," he persisted anyway.

The girl let out a grunt of exasperation and reached under the seat for the first aid kit. She roughly swabbed at the damaged skin with alcohol towelets then tightly wrapped Band-Aids around them.

"There!" she snapped holding out her bandaged hands for examination. "Happy now nanny-bot?"

"I guess," Bulk replied awkwardly.

"Music!" Miko demanded, "track nine."

The green Autobot gladly activated his speakers and a shriek of rending metal filled his cab. Miko leaned back into the seat and gripped the padding tightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Louder," she ordered.

Bulkhead obediently raised the volume.

"Louder," again.

"Uh, Miko I don't think that's such a good idea. Ratchet and June were pretty insistent that it would damage your ears."

"Louder!" she hissed.

"Okay," Bulkhead conceded.

He kept monitoring the girl as they drove along. As usual her heart rate rose with the tempo but then it began to fall. Bulkhead wondered about that. Hadn't Doc Ratch said it should keep going up? But soon she was relaxing into his seats; smiling as her head began to bob along with the beat. When the track ended she began to chat easily with him and the SUV soon forgot his worries.

O

O

"Is this true? Do I hear that you have actually located the little sundal?"

"Ya Bos! The Amerika got it stashed away in some little town smack in the middle of the continent."

A short man leaned over his companion at the computer and a feral grin spread across his face. Long, platinum blond hair framed a darkly tanned visage that would have been handsome if not for the predatory look that seemed to consume it. Black eyes glinted as he read the file.

"You know," he said thoughtfully. "I've never been to Nevada. I think I will handle this one personally. Time is running short."

"What are you going to do?"

"Have the cage ready. This one has always been a handful but it would be such a waste to kill her."

The man in the chair nodded and sent out the appropriate orders. While his boss let his eyes wander over the image on the computer screen.

"So you thought you could escape my precious little Angrek Bulan. I am coming for you."