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Joyriding with the autobots is nothing new, you've done it plenty of times with Jazz. The mech sweeping you off your feet and into his passenger seat as he politely asks you to show him around the local towns and maybe (possibly, pretty please with dusted energon on top) to see the city.
Hell, even Optimus of all bots had given you a ride, though that was mainly because a rain shower had seemingly sprung up out of nowhere and the big bot felt worried - you were one of few mechanics that Ratchet trusted enough to help with repairs. You being sick would be just like Optimus politely asking Ratchet to swing a wrench at his faceplates full-force.
Almost every autobot was fine with humans using them as temporary transport - all except Ironhide. Will Lennox and his wife (and baby) were the only ones Ironhide tolerated sitting in his interior, which is why the current situation was... just a little more than confusing. The radio crackling lowly as oldies (probably from the 50's) slowly fill the cabin. He still hadn't said a word after pulling up beside you and popping his passenger door open.
"... I have a question." his gruff voice finally sounds from the radio, the dashes and dials all glowing a soft blue at the cadence of his tone. "What is a 'birthday'? Captain Lennox mentioned it was yours yesterday, but he didn't stop to explain further." You blink once, twice before giving a sigh that's more tired affection than exasperation. "It's... the day I was born. Yknow - given life?" The radio goes back to playing its tunes when Ironhide pulls to a stop, unclicking the seatbelt for you and opening the door.
Mildly confused and just a tad worried, you're quick to exit his cab as the big bot transforms and begins to stretch - his plating clicking into place faster than your eyes can register, it's almost fascinating how even the smallest bits of his 'kibble' move so quickly, even while he raises his arms above his helm. He huffs, steam rising from what Ratchet calls his olfactory sensors (but you and everyone else at N.E.S.T. just calls them noses).
"I have not celebrated someone's creation day in a very, very long time. The words alone, it... it brings back memories - the reason we're fighting this war. What - who - we're fighting for." He turns to look at you, and there's an emotion in that bright, blue optic of his - an emotion you've never seen from him. Longing. Yearning. A kind of homesick that settles deep, the kind where you know you'll never truly be home ever again. The look he gives is the softest thing you've ever seen.
"I wanted to show you one of my favorite spots - one Ratchet and I discovered on a patrol. There isn't much I can give you - even less that I can't shoot a decepticon in the face with my cannons for you. The slaggers really know how to have the worst timing." That last sentence draws a chuckle from you, and from the way his expression shifts from bravado to content tells you that he got his intended results. "I'm mech enough to say I don't know anything about these earth plants, but... they remind me of you."
You finally glance out at the field beside you - and it's enough to take your breath away. A sea of daisy's, hydrangea, yarrow, and even a stray tulip all growing wild. It was obvious this was someone's garden - their haven - long since abandoned and left to thrive as it pleased. It was beautiful - but nothing could compare to the private smile on Ironhide's face, the smile he gave when he truly believed no one could see it. The ground shakes as he shifts his weight from ped to ped before standing just close enough for you to lean back against his closest leg.
"Hound - now that mech know's everything there is to know about flowers. I think the first thing he did upon hitting your worlds atmosphere was immediately start downloading every bit of knowledge he could find. Told me the meaning to some of these - gratitude, innocence. We had something like that back on cybertron - gifts that could convey a message in just one glance. Guess Optimus wasn't wrong when he said we all weren't too far off in being similar."
It's comforting - to hear him talk about the other bots. Ironhide is a private mech, and to not only ride in his alt-mode but have him show you a spot he considers pretty, to talk about an old comrade... if things continued, you'd probably beat out Lennox as his favorite human. You smile and simply watch as he reminisces about cybertron and all the things that were, the things he wished had been. You listen to him for what seems like hours as the sun sinks in the sky and stars start to pepper the vast darkness slowly crawling forth.
Everything is quiet as you climb back in his cabin - the radio clicked off and windows down as he drives at a leisurely pace, seemingly taking his time to enjoy your company (a sentiment that is very much returned). But what the old mech doesn't need to know is you also know a bit about flower language. That you love him too, you'll never tell. He doesn't either - it's in the way he said 'happy birthday'.