#smashhhhh

That night the normally bustling streets were eerily quiet, save for the distant hum of passing vehicles. In his vehicle mode, Crosshairs remained stationed behind an abandoned pile of metal junk, blending  seamlessly into the urban decay. He remained vigilant as he monitored the warehouse Y/N had previously disappeared into. All his sensors were heightened, ready to snatch her out of there should the situation took a turn for the worse.

There are too many… many unknowns. There are too many ways this could go sideways.

Besides, Crosshairs wasn’t known for his patience, pfff as if. He preferred his work to be quick-in, out, job done, anddd gone. So why the frag had it been,what? Ten minutes now??

His vents hitched, irritation creeping in as his comm crackled to life.

"You’re takin’ your sweet time in there, squishy," he muttered through the radio, tone sharp, like he was scolding her. "Hope you’re not lost. ‘Cause I ain’t got the patience to come dig you outta that maze."

The words came with a buzzing sound through Y/N’s earpiece. Inside, the warehouse was big and almost endless, resembling a maze where one could easily get lost. Fortunately, it seemed there was no one else inside of it. A few meters away Crosshairs continued to maintain close tabs on the whole situation, checking in on her every few nano-clicks. Right now,  Y/N was an unknown variable lost in an old Decepticon-infested warehouse-like maze.

"Careful now. I’d rather not have to swoop in and save your skin... Not that I’d mind the heroics, of course, you know me”

The massive warehouse stretched endlessly into shadowed corridors and towering steel boxes, one of which contained exactly what they were searching for: a piece of Cybertronian tech that would provide the Autobots an advantage against the Decepticons still roaming the Earth. Thus, for this mission, both Crosshairs and a human ally, whom the Autobots had come to rely on, were perfect for the task. However, it would only take one wrong turn, just one for her to get lost in there for hours.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I suppose it won’t be that far… You sure you don’t wanna come and hold my hand too?" The crackle of the radio carried her amused tone, a thin attempt to ease her overwhelming tension, though it did little to soften the weight of the situation…

Crosshairs scoffed, his engine roaring from behind the pile he was hiding. " Oh. please. If I held your hand, you’d surely never wanna let go." A few nano-kliks passed and his ego made him resist to make another call. No, no way, especially not when she’d just been teasing him.

Despite his words, he was keeping far closer tabs on her than he would care to admit. He told himself it was just strategy,just ensuring the mission ran smoothly. After all, if she got herself killed, he’d have to waste time looking for a new partner.  And worse of all? He’d have to sit through one of Optimus' long, exhausting and utterly boring monologues about duty, teamwork and yada yada.

Primus forbid.

He was better off alone, depending and checking on others was a waste of his precious time.

Not because he gave a damn about some squishy human.

Definitely not.

Something cut off his train of thought, a faint creak echoed through Y/N’s earpiece, sharp and sudden against the stillness of the warehouse. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Crosshairs caught it immediately. Wasn’t she supposed to be alone in there-It was supposed to be an abandoned old base. The air quickly became heavy and uneasy.

"You still there?" Crosshairs asked casually, masking his concern.

There was a beat of silence before her voice crackled back through the comm. "…Still here. Thought I heard something, but it’s just an old vent."

"You better be hearing things," he muttered lowly, his voice laced with annoyance. Crosshairs meant it as a joke, but the thought irritated him more than it should. "I’m not babysitting you through this entire thing, squishy. Keep your head straight, find that tech and immediately get out of there,.. I’ll have your back."

He wasn’t used to this, THIS caring, he quickly reminded himself. It was just because of the mission. She was useful. That was all. Right? Yeah, that was it, nothing more mh hm. After all of this, he would return to the quiet of his small hideout unbothered, back to his usual routine: no one to care for. No distractions.

“Hey- squishy you’ve been painfully quiet for more than five minutes now, the frag you’re doing-“ What Was she up to? Why wasn't she responding? Did she get herself stuck again?

Before he could speak again, he was interrupted, her voice crackled through, almost muffled with excitement. "I can’t believe it-!ah- I’ve found it!”

She was barely keeping her excitement. The tech. They'd been searching for it so long, and now it was finally in her hands. In her adrenaline rush however, Y/N failed to notice a step and almost bumped into a piece of rusted metal debris, her foot slipping as she tumbled forward unceremoniously. Fortunately, she caught herself at the last second, a muffled thud echoing through the comms as she quickly straightened herself, cursing under her breath. “dammit...”

Crosshairs couldn't help but snort. "You call that sneaky? Even Bumblebee's clunky servos are quieter."

It’s not that he despised humans, he was fine with them. They were strange, they amused him. Useful? sometimes. Annoying? mostly. But Y/N…? She was a pain in his aft in the worst and somehow, best way.

Primus help him, he was starting to care.

But he’d be damned if he ever admitted it.

Suddenly, a sharp ping from his radar pulled him out of his spiralling thoughts. His focus snapped back to the mission  “Get behind something, now.” Without hesitation he shifted back to his alt mode, making his way inside the warehouse.

“Quietly! Sneak. Quietly!” His words were followed by Y/N who barely had time to react before pressing herself against the cold, rusted metal of a crate, her breath hitching. The warehouse air felt heavier now, thick with dust and tension. Through the narrow gaps between the stacked cargo, she could just make out the silhouettes moving in the dim light—a tall, menacing, unmistakably Decepticon.

It was getting too close. Way too close.

Each step it took reverberated through the warehouse, the heavy clang of metal against concrete sending an eerie chill down Y/N’s spine.  If they so much as glanced in the wrong direction, it was over

His servos tightened in anticipation, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, but he hesitated as he glanced toward Y/N’s hiding spot. Primus be damned, he questioned why he felt such a heavy sense of responsibility for her. If he acted too recklessly, they could both find themselves in peril. “Stay put, sweetheart. I’ve got this,” he assured her, trying to keep his voice steady.

“This is exactly why I can’t stand bringing squishies along on dangerous missions,” Crosshairs’s focus never wavering from the task at hand. “Fraggin’ Cons…”

The plan had been simple—stun the enemy, get the hell out. But his thoughts were too tangled up in frustration to process the next step fast enough. Then--CRACK.

Gunfire.

From behind him.

Weapon in hand,she had the audacity to smirk. "What was taking you so long?" she bickered in a hushed whisper, tilting her head with faux impatience.

His helm tilted slightly, optics narrowing as he gave her an unimpressed look before scoffing. "Almost as good as myself." The words were laced with sarcasm, but there was the faintest hint of approval underneath.

Silence followed.

Crosshairs exhaled through his vents, his servos still tensed for another ambush. When nothing came, he finally turned to Y/N, his optics sweeping over her, assessing for any injuries. Satisfied that she was in one piece, he extended a hand, his tone losing its usual sharp edge.

"You all right there, lil’ partner? You’d better be, ‘cause I ain't dragging your sorry aft to your human hospital-"

"Yeah, yeah, stop washing yourself in your ego," Y/N cut in, rolling her eyes as she accepted his digit, using it to pull herself up.

Crosshairs grumbled something incoherent under his breath, but the way his optics flickered with relief was unmistakable. He barely gave her time to catch her breath before his usual bravado shattered, his vents cycling sharply.

Then, like a snapped cable, his entire demeanour flipped…

"Fraggin’ hell!!, you tryna give me a spark attack out here??" He vented sharply, though the relief in his optics was unmistakable. “Let’s get outta here,…cmon.. jump in”

He couldn’t even wait for a response; he had already transformed back into his sleek green vehicle mode, his front door popping open in invitation.

"Aww, I bet you’d miss me if I didn’t."

Crosshairs let out a low grumble as she teased him while he allowed her to slide into the Corvette’s sleek, leather seat. The engine roared beneath the hood, primed to bolt away from that place

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, kid."