Wow I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting. Here is an update on this story. I hope you enjoy. Starting to see a softer side of Ratchet, and a look into his past a little.

Chapter 6

Boyfriend Issues

When Ratchet and Harley arrived back in Oregon, she immediately ran into the house and started making tacos. Ratchet sat outside the house and started smelling aromas the house was emitting. Sometimes he wish he could at least try some of the human foods. They seemed more interesting than just drinking energon every day. Once that thought had left his processor an idea sparked.

As the day went on a truck that was similar to Optimus pulled up blocking his way of ever getting out of the driveway. An older human hopped out of the truck and looked at him for a second. They had seen each other the day, though he was still getting used to him being at the place Ratchet didn't make a sound. "Harley! Honey! Are you in there!?" he called out.

"Yes dad!" She yelled back.

The man walked into the house and Ratchet enhanced his audio receptors so he could hear what was going on inside. "How was your weekend? Did the camping trip go well?"

"Oh yes, had a lot of fun. We hope to be doing it again soon, so I may be in and out here and there." She replied.

"What about your boyfriend?" he asked. Ratchet felt his spark just sink…he knew that they were completely different species but there was a tiny bit of hope that maybe things would workout. His idea of trying to experiment on Autobots to allow their holoforms be able to taste human foods was going out the window.

"Michael? All he does he play on his games all day. I hardly ever see him anymore." Harley responded.

"He's in the living room right now." Her father replied.

"I know, and that's the sad thing." She responded.

Ratchet didn't know how to react…he guessed he never really knew she had a boyfriend and never asked. It was his fault that he didn't ask…already starting to have feeling for the human female and she is taken. Of course it's better for her because she can reproduce and put more humans on the planet…though they already had too many as it was.

The night progressed and Harley came back outside to where Ratchet was parked. "Hey." She spoke shyly.

"What do you need?" he huffed.

Harley walked over to him and rubbed the driver's side door and just sighed, "I needed to get out of the house…needed someone to talk to."

"Don't you have your boyfriend to do that with?" he asked.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I didn't realize you were listening to our conversation. I can't talk to him anymore. All he does is play his video games…doesn't have a job. Basically a dead beat…but he comes from a wealthy family."

"And that's what keeping you with him?" Ratchet asked. In a second Ratchet transformed and picked up the human female and entered the woods in the back.

"Where are we going? We should be back there!" She exclaimed. Ratchet looked down at her and continued on his way deeper in the woods. Ratchet didn't say a word as he walked. Harley just went along with the awkward silence until they stopped. "Okay, why are we here? In this area?" she asked.

"Harley…how long have you been with this male?" Ratchet questioned.

"On and off a bit over the course of many years." She didn't say the particular years because from what she got from Ratchet was that he didn't really like her boyfriend.

"Okay…and why haven't you moved on to someone who would be so much better to you?" he asked.

"Because I love him and when you truly love someone you work out your problems and that is what's wrong with society today. There are so many relationships that don't last because people do not work out their differences." Harley replied.

Ratchet stood there letting her words sink in. Humans and Autobots weren't so different as he once thought. He took in a deep breath and responded, "I know that in your culture it is natural to only have one mate. We Autobots aren't that much different from you. I once had a female on the planet Cybertron. But she was taken from me by the Decepticons."

Harley didn't know what to say. She had never heard Ratchet ever talk like this. She looked up at him to find him looking down at her. "She was perfect for me. Sure we had our arguments, but who couple doesn't? But one thing was for sure, we didn't ignore one another."

Harley kept quiet. She saw where Ratchet was going with this and of course he was biased because he already hated the guy. She loved him and he could not see that even though he had his many flaws that this was her life. She chose him and he chose her. "I can't leave him Ratchet."

Ratchet eyed her for a moment then responded. "Do you want to be ignored for the rest of your life or have someone who pays attention to you every day and tells you how beautiful and how wonderful you are."

Harley crossed her arms and said nothing. He was her guardian not her father, not her boyfriend. Just a guardian that Optimus Prime set her up with. She was really starting to question why he picked him for her. "Ratchet, you are just my guardian, nothing more and nothing less."

"And as your guardian I am to look after you, even as you make mistakes. You are still so young." Ratchet responded. But not like his normal self. This was as if he cared for her now instead of treating her like a pest. He started heading back to her house in the silence. All these questions on why he did this kept going through her head. It didn't make since. This wasn't like him at all.

"Ratchet…"

"Yes Harley?" he responded.

"Why did you have this talk with me tonight? Why is it that you are suddenly caring about me so much? This is not like you at all." She spoke softly.

"I am your guardian and as your guardian I want to make sure you aren't hurt." Ratchet simply replied.

"So you have no feelings for me whatsoever? You're not…jealous at all?"

Ratchet suddenly stopped and looked at her with a look of shock. "Why would you think that?"

"Because usually when someone starts having talks like this, the other party has feelings for the other and they care about them too much to see them get hurt." Harley replied.

Ratchet for the first time did not know what to say. Sure he was starting to care for the human female…maybe he was too soft on her and let her find out. He didn't know what to say or do. When he didn't answer Harley simply replied, "Yeah I thought so. Humans and Autobots could never happen, could they Ratchet."

"Uh…no directly impossible." Ratchet replied calmly.

When they reached back to her house he sat her down on the ground and he spoke one last time for the night. "Just head the words I spoke earlier. You are my charge and I am your guardian, and I do not want to see you get hurt."

Harley looked at him and simply turned away and walked inside the house. Ratchet transformed in an instant just as her father came outside to look around. He saw Ratchet parked in the back and arched his eyebrow. "Where was she the entire time?" he asked himself.

Harley went into the living room where her boyfriend Matthew was playing a video game and spoke, "Matt…can we talk?"

"Sure honey." He simply replied.

"Can we talk without the game in the background?" She responded a little irritated.

He paused the game and turned to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why can't you go a day without playing your games? Can you get a job like everyone else around here?"

"Excuse me?" he responded.

"You heard me. I'm tired of you just laying around and doing nothing." She growled.

"I have my money saved up. I'm fine to live off of." He retorted.

"Really? So you're going to live off of mine and dad's money until it's time to live off of yours?"

"I don't have time for this."

"Really!? Because it seems like you have enough time to play games whenever you want!" She yelled.

He got up in an instant and Harley stood up her guard and growled, "If you hit me you better hit me hard."

While all this was going on inside Ratchet heard the entire thing. He activated his holoform and went barging into the house. Harley turned her head to see someone she had never seen before and then her boyfriend smacked her across the face.

"It's not very nice to hit a woman." Ratchet growled.

"She should have known her place. Who are you!?" Matt asked.

"Your worst nightmare." He replied with a hint of red in his eyes. Harley quickly stood up and grabbed a hold of Matt's collar and balled her hand into a fist and punched him in the face knocking him back into the T.V. and breaking it.

"Nice timing."

Ratchet looked at the young boy who was out cold in the mess of the T.V. "Well Matt, I say we are broken up and you are to leave as soon as possible." She muttered to herself as she got a glass of cold water and was just about to spill it on him.

"You can't do that!" Ratchet yelled.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because you'd kill the boy." Ratchet spoke. He couldn't believe what he said. He would have loved the boy dead, but it was against what he fought for. He walked over and picked up the boy and took him outside. "Now you can water him down."

With that Harley poured ice cold water all over Matt. This woke him up with a start and a scream. Harley couldn't help but laugh when this happened. It was the happiest moment of the night. She was free from the jerk.

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