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“C’mon Blurr, it’s fine if I’m a little late to class, isn’t it?” Sari looked up at the blue speedster, putting on her most charming smile and best puppy-dog eyes. She hadn’t pulled out her crying technique yet, since she was less sure its power would work on Blurr.
“Now, I don’t exactly agree with that,” Blurr began. “I’ve come to understand there’s a human saying about being fashionably late but that’s not true, it’s just plain rude if I do say so myself. And another thing, being late to class has certain repercussions as well, such as detention. With all that said, I’m sure Arcee wouldn’t be too pleased with you either. So, no, there’s absolutely no way you are going to be arriving to class late-“
Sari groaned at that answer. “Okay, I get your point.”
She always had someone to walk her to her Cybertronian classes to make sure she actually arrived and didn’t make the decision to go explore instead. Usually it was one of her companions like Bumblebee or Bulkhead that would accompany her, but there were days where duty called. So, that left her substitutes. This time, it was Blurr’s turn. And while he would usually complain about having to do such a simple task such as chaperoning, he could make an exception for the girl who saved his life.
He could be difficult to understand, but Sari was getting the hang of it.
“Great! Now that that’s all settled, we should get a move on.” He was already booking it to the stairs, leaving Sari in the dust.
“Um, hello? I can’t keep up with you!” she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. He zipped back over in less than a second, servos resting on his hips.
“What’s the issue?” he asked. He didn’t look all that pleased. “You could do it just fine before, if I recall correctly, which I do.”
She chuckled. “Before, you were a cube that I could hook up to my backpack. Besides,” she turned to point at the alternative. “The elevator’s right there.” She failed to notice his slight moment of hesitation.
He waved a dismissive servo, turning his back to her and crossing his arms. “There’s really no need for that. I’m much faster than the elevator, all you have to do is really hold on tight, or I could hold you in my servos. Though, I suppose at the speed I’m running at the force would still knock you back, which wouldn’t be too comfortable for you-”
Sari had already flown up and pushed the button, courtesy of her jetpack. “Elevator it is then.”
He glared at her for a few nanokliks, tapping one pede indignantly before he huffed. “Alright, fine!” A few steps and a push of a button later, they were on their way.
And with that, Sari set herself down on Blurr’s shoulder. “See? The elevator isn’t the end of the world.” He gave an irritated grumble of acknowledgement, still tapping his pede against the ground. He didn’t pay too much attention to any words that came after that. In fact, he didn’t pay any attention at all. Her chatter was tuned out and all he could really see was how everything was enclosed… walls around him on each side… with no way out .
His digits dug into his arms, but he bit back the whimper in his throat. Sari was saying something again, but frankly he was too busy fighting off the panic racking his body that he didn’t put in an effort to decipher it.
Were the walls getting closer? Was he imagining that? He wasn’t quite sure but it didn’t matter if they actually were or not, because it certainly felt like they were!
He was back in that corridor already again, cornered by Shockwave, facing his own demise as it crept closer and closer. And he had tried , of course he had, but nothing worked! He hadn’t been fast enough. The only thing he had always been able to rely on got rendered completely useless. The space got smaller and smaller, his time growing shorter, and then-
Blurr snapped, jamming the elevator button to open over and over. “OkayIwannagetoffletmeoffletmeoffpleasecomeonletmeoff- ”
It had not been a quick nor painless death. When the walls closed in on him, he felt his frame begin to crack and bend, his body not able to handle the pressure and growing tighter. He had tasted his own energon bubbling up in his throat and dripping from his mouth with his last dying scream.
The doors of the elevator finally opened up and he bolted out, gasping and whimpering as he sat down, shaking. He quickly looked down at his hands, rotating them, opening and closing them, to confirm that he was no longer stuck in that form. He didn’t even notice Sari running over to him until she was right there. She was calling his name, eyes bright with concern.
“Blurr! It’s okay, you’re safe!” she cried out to no avail. She paused to think and then her jetpack gave her a boost, dropping her in Blurr’s servo. “See? I’m right here, and things are gonna be okay. I’m gonna help you.”
“Sari,” was all he could get out for now. He brought the techno-organic closer to get a better look at her. Yup, this was definitely Sari alright. She was whole, he was holding her, he was whole… he was okay. He was alive.
Sari wasn’t dumb by any means. She could figure things out pretty quickly. With Blurr beginning to come down from his panic attack, she was beginning to put the pieces together. She’d gotten vague details from Blurr about the incident, how Shockwave had trapped him. Judging from the state she had found him in… oh.
Blurr was claustrophobic.
“The elevator!” She smacked her hand into her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. “I didn’t even think about… Blurr, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” She wrapped her arms around one of his digits, squeezing tight. It took him half a nanoklik to realize it was an attempt at a hug. He stared at first, then brought her closer to his chest plate. From what he understood, Sari was still a child in human standards and children made mistakes, more so than most. And, they usually learned from them.
He closed his optics, soaking in the calm.
“No more elevators,” Sari promised and she meant it.
He let himself smile, some of the tension leaving his body. “I’d appreciate that very much, Sari. Thank you.”
Yes, class had definitely started by now and Sari was not there like she should be, like he had said she should be, but he was sure Arcee could make an exception. Just this once.