A World Beyond Our Own | TFP AU

05 || Rebound

"Smokescreen!"

Said mud-covered hatchling giggled and kept running despite Ratchet's protests. He knew the medic couldn't move as fast as he could before due to his healing stomach wound and planned on taking full advantage of it.

"You can't clean me if you can't catch me, Ratchet!" He yelled, streaking mud across the camp.

Ratchet growled out of frustration, shaking his head as he slowed to a stop. There was no point in chasing Smokescreen around the entire camp.

"I'm getting too old for this..." He muttered under his breath, glancing over his shoulder. "Did you manage to catch Bumblebee, Taylor?"

Taylor was over near the main den. She looked up at Ratchet and nodded with a grin. "Yeah, I've got him cornered over here! Hurry!" She said with a giggle, holding out her hands and shifting side to side to keep the dirty hatchling trapped.

Bumblebee whined pitifully when he saw Ratchet coming over. He crouched down in an attempt to make himself as small as possible, but the medic simply lifted him by the back of his neck like a kitten.

"Traitor!" He huffed, glaring at Taylor as Ratchet carried him over to a small pool of water.

"Sorry, Bumblebee!" Taylor only continued to giggle.

She watched Ratchet drop Bumblebee into the water and shielded her face from the droplets that splashed up. She couldn't help but wonder why the two hatchlings hated bath time so much. Maybe it was because of Ratchet. The medic could be a little harsh at times.

After the bath, Ratchet plopped Bumblebee on the grass between his paws and held him still while he rasped his tongue across the hatchling's bright yellow scales.

"At least you aren't as feisty as Smokescreen." He mumbled between licks. "I still have to catch him and give him the bath he deserves."

Taylor chuckled and sat down next to the medic, watching intently. The way he cleaned Bumblebee reminded her of a mother cat cleaning her kitten, but she kept that thought to herself. Ratchet probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison. "Hey Ratchet? Um... when can I take a bath? I'm gettin' kinda dirty and gross.. hehe..."

Ratchet let Bumblebee go after telling him not to get dirty again, then glanced at Taylor. "I could give you one right now." He offered, oblivious to the fact that the way humans cleaned themselves was much different from the way dragons cleaned themselves.

Images of Bumblebee splashing around in the pool of water while Ratchet forcibly cleaned the mud from his scales filled Taylor's mind and she shuddered, putting on a nervous smile.

"N-No, that's okay! Humans don't actually... um.. clean like that, y'know?" She tried to explain.

Ratchet gave her a look of confusion, and then it hit him. He glanced away in slight embarrassment, clearing his throat in an attempt to make things less awkward. "My apologies." He eventually said. "I could possibly take you to the lake, if you want."

Taylor perked up when he mentioned a lake. She had always wanted to go swimming in a lake! "Awesome! I'll go grab my bathing suit!" She exclaimed as she pushed herself to her feet.

"What's a... bathing suit?"

"Bathing suits are like clothes, but they can get wet!"

Ratchet tilted his head. That really didn't make sense to him. "You humans are strange..." He said, shaking his head.

*
*
*

"Well, here's the lake." Ratchet said as he pushed through the last bit of undergrowth. A beautiful, glimmering lake came into view, the water gently lapping at the sandy shore under his paws.

Taylor took a peek over his shoulder and her jaw dropped. "Woah! It's beautiful!" She exclaimed, slipping off of Ratchet's back once he had crouched down.

Once she was off of his back, Ratchet decided to head over to a patch of grass and lay down so he could watch her. His eyes followed the silver-haired girl until she reached the edge of the water and he was surprised when she turned around to look at him.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked, one hand on her hip while the other gestured to the water.

Ratchet scoffed. "No. I'm perfectly fine with being dry instead of soaking wet." He folded his paws underneath his chest and curled his tail around himself.

Taylor giggled at him. "You're just like a big ol' cat." She said, sticking her tongue out at him before slowly wading into the water.

It was pretty cold and the ground beneath her feet felt strange, but it was all part of the new experience. Maybe she could get Ratchet to come in some other time since she would probably have to visit the lake often in order to stay clean.

————

Okay, pretend she was able to go back to her house to get a few things (like her bathing suit) but she couldn't stay because she knew about the Autobots and Decepticons. I got lazy and didn't want to write that part in since this chapter takes place a few days after the attack. XD