So finally, after writers block and busyness getting in the way, I have finished this chapter! Woohoo!

As always, thanks to those who have faved, followed and reviewed! Please continue to let me know what you think of the story, and please share your ideas for future chaps!

Disclaimer's on my prof.!

Sorry for any spelling errors, I have a sticky 'B' button that sometimes sets off my typing DX

Enjoy and review!

Mirage sighed, shifting a little on his tires to look wearily at the sleek black and white car beside him.

"Remind me once more how I was persuaded to let you join Cole and I's meeting today?" He asked dryly, earning a chuckle from Jazz.

"C'mon, mech! After talkin' him up t' me for the past two months? I figure its 'bout time I get t' meet the lil' man."

Mirage sighed again.

"Fine. But if Cole is too uncomfortable and doesn't wish for you to accompany us, then you will respect his wishes."

"Don' worry, mech! It'll be fine, kids love th' Jazz-man!"

Mirage wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to laugh at the humorous statement or give his friend a good whack with his passenger-side door. He settled for neither, as he could see Cole coming down the sidewalk. The spy summoned his holoform.

"Cole!" He called out, making the boy give a slight start. "Over here!"

While the teen smiled and made his way over, Jazz's own holoform joined Mirages, standing with crossed arms, leaning casually against the black and white hood of his alt. Mirage could tell the mech was running scans on Cole, since his neural-optic visor could only detect the outlines of shapes.

"Heavy scarrin' tissue over his eyes." Jazz mused solemnly, voice low enough for only Mirage to hear. "He ain' blind naturally like I am."

"No." Mirage agreed, just as quiet. "He isn't."

A frown flickered across Jazz's face for the barest of moment before it was replaced with one of the "masks" Jazz was famous for, and soon Mirage only saw a relaxed smile on his friend's face.

Once Cole was close enough, Mirage took the boy's elbow.

"Good afternoon, Cole."

Cole smiled, and Mirage instantly felt his irritation at Jazz melt away, replaced with warm fondness.

"Hey Mirage. Sorry if I'm a little late, I got a bit turned around on Mulbry Street."

"Its no problem." Mirage steeled his nerves. "Ah, I have a friend, who wanted to join us today."

Cole tensed, becoming a bit more wary.

"A friend?"

Jazz moved forward, purposefully making his approach audible so as to not startle Cole.

"'Ey lil' man!" Jazz greeted, all friendly smiles and jovial intones. "Th' name's Jazz."

Cole perked up, recognizing the name.

"Jazz?" He turned towards Mirage. "He's the one you talk about in lots of your stories, isn't he?"

Mirage chuckled.

"Yes, this is him. He's a good friend, and I've told him about you. Curiosity got the better of him, and he insisted he be allowed to meet you." He leaned down, adding quietly. "If you don't want him to join us today, you can just say so. He will respect your wishes and leave, if he makes you too uncomfortable. I know you usually dislike meeting strangers-"

"Its okay, Mirage." Cole interjected. "If he's a friend of yours, then...Then he can't be too bad, right?"

"Can't argue with logic like that." Jazz stated with a grin, tone chipper. Cole laughed shyly while Mirage sent his friend a dry look before turning his attention back to Cole.

"So, what would you like to do today?" He asked, letting the teen lightly grip the arm of his holoform and guiding him towards his alt.

"Anywhere's okay with me." Cole replied. "Maybe the park? We haven't been there since I met that medic guy, Ratchet, a couple weeks ago..."

The reminder made Mirage wince, but he shook off any discomfort the mention of that uncomfortable day brought.

"Alright. The park it is." He sent Jazz a stern look. "And you had better behave, Jazz, or I swear-"

Jazz held up his hands in surrender.

"Relax, mech! I'll be good, don' worry!"

"Hearing you say that only makes me worry more." Mirage muttered, earning a laugh from Cole.

The park was relatively barren when Jazz, Mirage and Cole arrived. Aside from a small family of four that consisted of a mother and father watching their two young children play on the old playground, no one else was around. It was nice. Peaceful, even.

Once Cole had exited his alt, Mirage changed forms and sat beside his young human companion. They were soon joined by Jazz, who sat on Cole's other side. After a few moments of silence, Cole took it upon himself to start a conversation.

"Jazz, Mirage once told me that you're..." Cole struggled for a moment, seeming unsure whether or not he would offend the 'bot, but he finished all the same, "That you're blind. Like me."

Jazz's expression softened at the boy's hesitance, and he smiled.

"Sure am." He replied, grin widening as Cole's head turned in his general direction. "But I've got a visor t' help me. It lets me make out shapes an' stuff."

Cole looked wistful.

"That sounds great."

Mirage winced, beginning to panic a bit and trying to send Jazz a look that said 'change the subject, you idiot!'. Jazz made a placating gesture to him. He then turned back to Cole.

"It ain' all that, it glitches out sometimes, I've even ran int' a wall a few times, righ' in front of mah boss." He said nonchalantly, making Cole laugh slightly. Jazz shifted so that he sat crosslegged with his forearms resting on his knees. "So, judgin' by th' fact ya know so much 'bout me, I can only assume he's been tellin' ya as much about me as he's told me 'bout you."

Cole's cheeks flushed a dusty red, his pale eyes widening.

"Mirage...Mirage talks about me?"

"Of course I do." Mirage replied. "You are a good friend. I couldn't help but brag a bit," Mirage cleared his vocals embarrassedly, "I, ah...I was a bit overenthusiastic when we first became friends, and couldn't help but talk about you with Jazz."

Cole laughed slightly at the embarrassment that could be heard in Mirage's voice.

"I'm glad I made such a good impression." The boy admitted. "I've never really been someones friend, I was worried I might not be doing so good a job at it..."

Mirage felt his spark twist, and Jazz's expression softened at the teen's admission.

"I'm sure ya've been a real good buddy." Jazz assured. He turned his helm towards Mirage. "Righ', Mirage?"

"He has been. Definitely."

Cole all but glowed under the praise, cheeks flushing a light red. The boy leaned slightly against Mirage's leg plates, and after a moment of surprise, Mirage smiled, doing nothing to dislodge the young human. A knowing smirk twitched at Jazz's lip plates.

"Y'know, Mirage, maybe sometime ya should bring th' kid over to visit the base." The black and white mech commented, grin widening as Mirage jerked slightly, taken aback by the suggestion. Cole, too, seemed a bit alarmed. "C'mon, it'd be great! 'Bee would love th' chance t' meet Cole, an' I'm bettin' even Prowl would like him, considerin' he doesn't cause trouble like th' twins."

Mirage hesitated.

"I don't know, Jazz. I'm worried some of the others, like Bulkhead or Sideswipe, may not be careful where they step. If Cole was hurt..."

"Jus' keep him on yer shoulder. Lots of 'bots with human charges do that!"

Hearing Jazz refer to Cole as his charge, Mirage felt something akin to a pang of longing in his spark. If only he could be Cole's guardian...

Quickly shoving that thought away, Mirage tipped his helm.

"Perhaps. I must ask Optimus first, though."

Mirage looked at Cole. The teen appeared excited, having straightened up slightly, a light in his vacant eyes. The sight made Mirage's expression soften, and he reached down, gently scooping up the teen. Cole jumped, surprised, but he quickly relaxed when he realized what was going on as Mirage placed him on his shoulder. Mirage waited until the boy had a good grip on his plating before moving his servo away and looking back forward.

Jazz simply watched this interaction with a knowing grin.

Cole had officially decided that Jazz was awesome.

After the park, Mirage and Jazz had taken him to get something to eat at a local fast-food chain restaurant, where Jazz had proceeded to share several stories that had Cole both in awe and laughing more than he had in ages.

It was an added plus that Jazz, seeming to understand him concerning his outlook on his blindness, didn't edge around the subject of his disability, but neither did he purposefully bring it up. It was nice talking with someone who didn't treat him like glass - even Mirage, at times, treated him like he would break at the smallest touch, so Cole found the understanding was a nice change.

But eventually, all good things had to end, and Cole felt an overwhelming sense of dread when it came time that he head home. It was with a healthy dose of anxiety that Cole left the restaurant. While he had his cane out, Cole could feel Mirage's holoform carefully holding his arm in a protective manner. It made him feel somewhat better that Mirage worried so much about him.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like for me to take you home?" Mirage asked. Cole smiled slightly as he heard the undertones of worry in his friend's voice.

"I'm sure, Mirage. I'll be fine. We're only a few blocks away from my house, I can walk it." Cole turned his head slightly towards the sound of footsteps on his other side, hoping he was at least close to looking in Jazz's direction. "It was really great to meet you, Jazz." The teen admitted, smiling shyly. "I hope we get to hang out again some time."

Jazz chuckled, making Cole's smile widen. An arm was thrown over the boy's shoulder, making him give a slight start.

"Was good t' meet'cha too, lil' man!" Jazz replied, his voice betraying the fact that the 'bot was smiling. "Don' worry, we'll hang out again some time! The base gets borin' and my breaks get real dull, so this' a nice lil' change, yeah?"

Cole laughed at the blunt admission while Mirage sighed. Cole got the distinct impression that Mirage was likely shaking his head.

Having counted fifty steps from the fast-food restaurant to the west side of the parking lot, Cole sighed, hesitantly shaking off Mirage's hand.

"I can get home from here." He stated.

"Ya sure, lil' man?" Jazz asked. He didn't sound as if he doubted his independence, Cole mused. Instead Jazz simply sounded like he wanted to make sure Cole knew where they were. Cole nodded, turning his head towards Jazz's voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Twenty steps left of here is the main sidewalk that goes up Watersdale street, and I can cross the street at the four way stop that's about fifty steps that way." Cole waved a hand in the general direction he was speaking of. "No need to worry, I've got this." The teen reassured.

"Can't I just drive you home?" Mirage spoke up. "It would be safer-"

"Ah, c'mon Mirage!" Jazz laughed. "Sounds t' me like th' lil' man knows what he's doin'! Believe it 'r not, bein' blind doesn't make someone helpless."

"I never said he was helpless." Mirage retorted. Cole could hear the frown in his friend's voice. "But just because he can handle himself doesn't mean I don't worry. You know as well as I do that accidents can happen. That's one lesson the war taught that I will never forget."

For a moment there was a pause, a solemn, heavy silence that was almost palpable. After a split second of silent debate, Cole reached out with his free hand, feeling around open air until he managed to get a grip on the wrist of Mirage's holoform, garnering the mech's attention. Cole smiled.

"I'm happy there's someone around to worry about me." The teen admitted. "But...Letting that worry get in the way of letting me do independent things? That isn't a good thing to do." Cole shook his head. "If there's one lesson I've learned, its that you can't let something that scares you stop you from doing what needs to be done."

There was another moment of silence, then Mirage sighed.

"Yes. Of course. Just...Be careful."

Cole managed a cheeky grin.

"I always am." Cole turned his head back in Jazz's general direction. "See you around, Jazz."

A chuckle.

"See ya, lil' man."

Cole looked towards Mirage's direction, lightly squeezing the wrist in his grip.

"See you in a few days."

When Cole let go of the wrist, Mirage's holoform lightly squeezed the teen's shoulder.

"Be safe."

As Cole headed home, it took all of his willpower to keep from slumping. 'Be safe'. That was an impossible feat in his house.