Ep 2- "Mallrats" (Closed.)

[Deleted]

“Mhm.” Nell replied though really, she wasn't fully sure if there were a pair for adults. If there were? She wouldn't stop Bluestreak from considering scanning some for himself, even if she thought they were really just a kid thing.

As for figure of speeches, she really need to give him and the other Autobots a list of them. At least the ones most likely coming from her. At least this particular mech didn't hold it against her or anything, and she smiled a bit as they talked about decals and how the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. She gave him a slight nod, and she even gave him a small smile. “I probably would ask if there was any booze that I could drink without dyin' if I was able to visit your hometown while it was thrivin'.” She mentioned with a laugh, knowing full well that would be a no go given how she knew that would be like consuming battery acid. “But you're right, every place has the little things that you don't get. It's the same in different countries, not just towns.” She explained with a shrug.

“Some countries you can't wear shorts, your shoulders need to be covered, for women their hair needs to be covered,” Nell explained, “tipping is also one of those things that change depending on where you're at. Here in the U.S.,and several countries, you tip the waiter or waitresses right? In others the tip is automatically included in the bill, and in some? They don't expect a tip.” She didn't expect to talk to him about all of those cultural differences, but they were things he could take or leave. Who knew if they'd ever come in handy for him.

He had a point, where if you have friends about – every place was a bit more like home. It made things helpful when she was missing her father and brother. Of course, if she had no friends in the area – she did well enough to make new friends. Hell, she could say she had found friends with several of the Autobots.

Now when it came to missing her remark about him looking like Captain America, she didn't really catch his response back outside of his blatant confusion. She would ask what he was confused about – when they weren't in a cramp place that others could hear them. Instead, she was making a beeline for those band shirts she was thinking of getting. Plus there was a sale, she couldn't help herself when there was a good sale like this one. She was eyeing a Red Hot Chili Peppers tank, her own was getting old and ragged – so getting a new one sounded like a good idea. Nell seen him from the corner of her eye, making his way around the other side of the clearance table and she smiled a little. Chances were high he'd get the idea of why she called him 'Captain America' in a place like this.

“Damn, theres a lot of good shirts on sale...” She remarked as she found her size. “Just look around, you're bound to get ideas. I just know I'm going to be buying some new shirts already.” She held up the two she had already picked up. “Almost feel like I had motives to come in here during a sale.” She really didn't have any motives, but damn it was good timing! “But where would you want to go after this? Or did you just want to talk more when we get back to wandering the mall?” She asked, speaking loud enough so he could hear her over the blaring music.

[Bluestreak]

"Well, let me know if you need anything," the young woman offered, even as she started folding up the mess of shirts that had been picked over on the table.

"Okay," Bluestreak replied. "Thank you, ma'am."

Did he need anything? He couldn't actually wear any of these clothes and really he was just in looking for ideas to- well, steal seemed like such a terrible word. Was it stealing if he didn't buy anything, but scanned it for later use? Probably, but really, it wasn't like he could actually wear a shirt any time soon - well, maybe he could? The avatar was able to interact with things, so wearing a shirt was possible, but uh, there was always that moment where he'd forget and mess it all up and his shirt might randomly drop off in the middle of the mall. He was pretty sure that there was no way that if that happened he'd be able to cover it up.

Luckily Nell was right nearby and he could take his pondering off all of those thoughts and back onto her conversation.

"Haha, naw, probably not. I don't think there's much you could drink. Could probably strip the paint on your car with it, but I don't think it would be good for you to drink it," he agreed with a scuff of his cowboy boot on the tile floor. He reached carefully down and plucked a shirt off the table to unfold it and hold it up for a moment. He rather liked the logo on it, but didn't care for the kelly green color. Not his style really.

"Really?" he asked her, lifting a brow. "All those rules over clothes? Wow, not even when it's hot out? No shorts? That seems like an unfair thing to ask. I know that you folks don't deal with heat like we do. Like you don't have internal regulators that come on automatically, right?"

Making sure to refold the shirt before he put it back, he eyed her before his attention was caught by a tiny vinyl figurine of a robot. Immediately, he picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Some sort of cat? A big cat? What did they call them? Lions! That was it, it looked like a lion. Or maybe a puma. Whatever it was, he liked it, but he was puzzled for a brief moment as he turned it over in his hands. "I know about tipping," he said cheerfully. "It's weird, we tip back home too, for good services. I never thought about it, lots of cultures do."

"What's this?" he asked her, holding out the little vinyl figure on his palm. "There's a lot of them in here, aren't there. All different sizes and shapes? I like this one."

He grinned. "I know, it's a robot. There's a lot of robots here. I think that's neat. I bet Ca-"

Bluestreak caught himself. "Right, supposed to be looking at shirts," he admitted with a shake of his head. His hair ruffled a bit and settled back perfectly as he still held the tiny robot lion out to her. "I got distracted by robots. You guys sure do have a lot of them... uh, what do you think I should wear? I'm trusting you here, I don't know what's appropriate for me."

"Hmm, dunno," the mech laughed. "I love wandering. I learn a lot just by wandering. I really do need to find some clothes though. Wait, what are you buying here? Now I'm totally curious, is there a difference between what you'd wear versus what I would wear?"

[Deleted]

“No wonder some of you talked about getting shit faced.” She joked, her eyes glancing at a logo he was looking at on a shirt. “They have that in a different color...” She mentioned as she pointed to a black one nearby.

When he replied to her rules about clothing, she nodded her head slightly. “Loose and light clothing is allowed but, it's just differences in culture, even if it's scorching hot, people followed those rules – granted you had visitors who don't really follow said rules.” She commented as she looked for her size in a particular shirt. She noticed him looking at a little vinyl figurine from the corner of her eye, but she was just letting him check things out on his own. She smiled a little bit when he mentioned that they tipped on his own planet too, funny how vastly different worlds did things similarly.

As for the vinyl figure, she couldn't help but laugh when it was pointed out it was a little robot. “They're toys, can collectors items.” She mentioned lightly before shaking her head when he cut himself off. “Really, just about everything in here will be fine for you.” she told him when he admitted he didn't know what would work. “Band shirts will be fine, and some of the shirts I'm gettin' for myself are unisex.” she remarked as she gestured to a shirt she had draped over her arm, which a second one was added because she found her size.

“I mean, I'm sure you've already found some music you liked and there are TV shows you probably watched too.” She pointed out before she laughed a little more at him. “Almost done here, thankfully – and well. I'm sure you already know that you shouldn't slap on a dress, high heels, and pantyhose.” She remarked. “I mean there are plenty of guys who do but...you get the 'what the hell' looks by plenty.” She told him.

“When we're done here, we'll go into some of the other stores – this is just one of those places where people are bound to see something shirt wise.” Sure there were other things sold here, but Nell really only went for the t-shirts here. She liked the selection and when there was a sale going on? Yeah, she liked the prices too. “Maybe American Outfitters would be good for you, you always seemed like you'd be at home on some beach like a regular ol' surfbum.” She smiled slightly, knowing that he wished he could do some surfing in the future.

“Could always stop somewhere like Mens Wearhouse too, always good for you to have some more dress up ideas in the back of your head.” She remarked, because while it was one of those random things, it would be good for him to at least have an idea about!

Nell grabbed a couple of tank tops, and she glanced up at him for a moment before jerking her head towards the counter. “I'm going to pay for these here in a second, do you see anything for yourself...?" She asked, figuring he can at least scan some of the images. “They have a website too." That would also be a good thing for him to think about too - clothing websites that he can browse in his free time.

[Bluestreak]

"Loose and light," he echoed, eyeing the stuff around them. "Most of this seems uh, not too light, it's mostly dark colors in here."

Slowly he turned the tiny robot over in his fingers. "I like the animals," he said suddenly. "Back home, we wiped most of them out, and they're few and far between now. They kinda became collectors items for the rich, I guess."

He inclined his head and looked at Nell. "It's weird for me here, seeing a lot of dogs and cats and oh man, one day I was parked and there was this lady who went by with a ferret on a leash. It was like a spring, hahaha, up and down and bouncing all over the places."

A frown, and the man gently put the toy down, settling it among the rest. He looked a bit as if he was wanting to say something else and then he quickly put on a cheerful grin once more. "Band shirts sound awesome," he agreed, stepping his way carefully around the sales table. "Music? Oh yeah, I like - well, I like a lot of country music. It's got a nice sound to it. Like- not modern country as much as some of the older stuff. It has a lot of meaning in it, and I can usually catch the lyrics after a try or two. A lot of the rock songs I've listened to sound like someone is beating a tin can and yelling into it at the same time, whooch."

Bluestreak lifted one of the shirts and looked at it again. Slowly he unfolded it and held it up to himself, the gesture fairly natural, as if he was eyeing it to see if it would fit across his shoulders. It had a graphic of the Catbus from Totoro on it. "Hahah, I like this one. It's a cat that turns into a bus. Neato!"

Meanwhile he was cheerfully scanning it with his eyes, downloading the pattern down to a loose thread near the size tag. Hmm, all right, one down that he liked. Was this stealing? Probably, but there wasn't much he could do about it. When he first came here though he hadn't felt bad about it at all. His current avatar's clothes were just things he had liked...

He glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist. Well, maybe not that. That was something else. He'd had it for a long time but it was long gone, buried along with a lot of memories at his apartment back on Cybertron.

Nell's voice cut through those places.

"Pantyhose?" he echoed. "I mean I like pretty dresses, but I can never figure out how you walk in those heels."

There was a Starscream joke in there, wasn't there. Probably.

"Yeah," he laughed. "But if I wore a dress, I'd want it to be some lovely shade of blue."

"To match your eyes," the counter clerk replied with a laugh.

Bluestreak grinned. "Yes ma'am," he said, lifting up a finger to touch his brow in a little salute to her. The clerk chortled and folded a shirt behind them. Bluestreak carefully started to refold the shirt he was holding. He did an atrocious job. Picking it back up, he tried again, this time to some semblance of satisfaction.

"Sorry, was funny, couldn't help it," the clerk told him.

"Oh no, it was perfect," the blonde man reassured her. "It was great. Don't be sorry, it's fine." He offered up a laugh even as he turned back to Nell. "American Outfitters? Ohh, sure, let's go there."

He turned and followed after Nell, picking his way through the aisle until he got to her side. "I like that top," he told her. "It'll look nice on you. Well, I think so, sorry, I know I haven't figured out the swing of these things, I just like the color. I mean it's the right paint job with your hair, make sense?"

"Aw, I found a few things!" he said cheerfully, looking around them at the shirts. "I wish I knew more bands. I guess I'll have to expand my musical interests and listen better. I'll check out all the clothing websites too when we get back, gives me something to do on downtime, but - oh, what's the Mens Wearhouse? Sounds interesting too, is there a women's one too, do you shop there?"

[Deleted]

There was a brief smirk on her lips, and Nell gave him a slight shake of her head. “Not so much color, more fabric weight.” She mentioned, and this was coming from a gal who knew jack shit about fashion. Of course, she at least knew about the weight of clothes – so that was something really.

A bit more of a smile when he mentioned something about animals. Sad that many were wiped out, and that they became living collectors items. “Shame that.” She mentioned lightly and she watched him for a moment or two as he talked. “Yeah, I've seen people with goats on leashes too. Kid you not, I was in a Lowes and this lady had a goat.” Nell remarked with a laugh.

“Surprised they even let it in the store, but it was still somethin' to see and all.” She joked, before she caught that frown he wore for a brief moment. She was ready to ask him if everything was okay, and then he slapped on the cheerful grin once more, like everything was right in the world.

Some people, were just like that, and she wasn't going to push him because as much as she already considered him a friend? She was still new to the Autobots. She wasn't going to call him out on him not letting her in on what was going on. For now, it was just a bit of a 'this is what humans wear' lesson for him, and if he wanted to? He can share what he learned with the others, so that knowledge could be shared – and no one would think it was a GREAT idea to wear a hot pink bathing suit in the middle of a blizzard.

“Not bad stuff, I always liked Punk and Rock personally, but some country isn't half bad. I need to bring some music over one of these days – show you what bands I like.” She mentioned before letting out a laugh about the Catbus from Totoro. “Hey, I remember that movie...Shit, it's been years.” It really had been, she last seen it when she was around eight or so years old when a babysitter had it for her own kids.

As for women's clothes, or men dressing in said women's clothes. The woman let out a snort of a laugh. “Hell if I know, I can't walk in heels to save my life.” If only she knew it was a slight Starscream joke – and if only she knew who Starscream was exactly – because then she'd of made a 'Norman Bates' joke in response.

One day it'll happen.

The banter that soon followed was gold, and she couldn't help the louder laugh that left her as she got to paying for her clothes. She shook her head a bit when he called her hair color a paint job.

“Guess you can say that, and I like that it's gonna be cooler for the warm weather around here.” She remarked before taking the plastic bag from the clerk. “Hear it gets hot around here and all, at least it's a dry heat...” She commented to the clerk with a smile before turning to Bluestreak.

“Yeah, no – womens clothes are..Everywhere.” Nell remarked. “From what I hear about...M – he seems to be the time to drool over Men's wear house. See him being a real suit guy.” She was talking about Mirage, but – she wasn't sure to call him outside of 'M' considering, but either way? She heard he was a touch snobby and fancy pants, so he likely could live in suits all the time as a human.

A quick thanks to the clerk, and she was leading Bluestreak out of the store again.

“I heard Rota's taken to the classic look, so someplace like Modcloth would fit her tastes – A wife of a friend of mine, she talked me into ordering a dress for a military ball thing we had to do. It's nice, but damn I don't have things to wear it too often.” She laughed a bit. “I mean, it just sounds like you guys all have your own tastes really – you could probably tell them about this adventure in the mall, give them ideas and crap like that...”

[Bluestreak]

"A goat?" the mech said, as he lifted up his hand to scratch at his head. His blue eyes looked confused as he followed her out towards the store. He waved politely to the clerk on their way out. "Uh, I know I'm not from around here or anything but why would you take a goat into a home improvement store? Unless goats like to pick out their own counter tops - I mean I don't blame them if that's the case. Some of the stuff they put in some of these kitchens is a bit suspect."

Bluestreak sniffed slightly. He loved HGTV and would flip to the channel given half a chance. There was something soothing about someone picking out wall colors to compliment their kitchen. He genuinely would have loved it if the Autobots got to do something like that for each of their rooms instead of the drab ones of concrete and metal in the silo.

That was one thing he found himself enamored with on Earth; well, one of the things. All the colors they used in their buildings.

"Eh, I like some rock and roll but some of it's just too uh, kinda jarring for me," the mech admitted as he scuffed along after her. "I'd love the music though. I mean, I'll listen to anything and who knows maybe I'll like your music! I mean, not that your music is bad or anything, uh, I just meant that I might like your taste in music, I mean I like- oh well, you know what I mean. Hopefully. Maybe."

Once they were outside in the main body of the mall he eyed her again. His long strides easily carried him over the polished floor tiles. "M? Who-- oh, right Mirage, right? Yah, he's uh, a bit of a formal guy. Doesn't bother me, really, he totally does his job but I know a lot of folks just think he's a bit stuck on himself. I dunno, he looks pretty elegant, but he's a Tower sort, they just- they're like that. I don't think they're bad mech- er, people. I think though that they tend to have a totally different outlook than us worker sorts on life."

He lifted his eyes to the ceiling and looked out of the panes of glass. The blue sky overhead was bright and clear.

"I guess I could see that," he murmured. "About Rota, I mean. Like she'd like a lot of things like that, the really pretty ones. I've only seen her a few times in passing - like in the halls and such, but we've not talked much." He brought his hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "Work, I guess, keeps me busy. That and, uh... just kinda been out and about lately. Lots of things on my mind."

He shrugged and smiled. "Oh, yeah, no, we have our own tastes. Trust me, a lot of them watch shows that I don't care for, and I also get sort of grumbled at if I watch home repair stuff in the main rec-areas. Dunno why, it's stuff that can be translated over to the base. Well, not the garden bits. Ever see those firepits with glass? Those are pretty darn amazing."

A chuckle. "Sorry, got off subject there. But yeah, we're all different, same as you. Well, actually, you're all just- well, I can't describe it to you, I just- I don't know how to say it without it sounding weird, I think."

"It's one of the things that I find so fascinating," Bluestreak admitted. "You're all so different. I mean, I meet you and then I go and talk to Carly..."

He trailed off for a moment, obviously lost in some thought at that.

[Deleted]

Nell let out a laugh. “I think it's cause the employees, and store management just...Don't mind animals in the store as long as they're contained or on a leash. It's neat to see really.” She remarked with a shrug of her shoulder.

They were shifting back to music, and Nell smiled slightly as he mentioned about rock and roll being overall a little jarring for him. “Hey, it depends. I'll have to share some of my faves.” She mentioned before laughing a bit more as she shook her head again. “Yeah I get you, taste in music really..Can be all over the place. “ She explained. “I mean one person can like classical music, and that same person can like somethin like Metallica.” She remarked. “They have some good music, but – little too loud for my tastes too, and I like a lot of Punk Rock which can get a bit..Loud too.” She mentioned with a shrug of her shoulders.

As for the other Autobots, she smiled a bit and nodded slightly. “From what little I know of him, if he was you know..the squishy sort? I'd of decked him the moment I met him with a smile on my face.” Nell pointed out in a matter of fact tone. “But then again it might because I hear a lot of the same 'stuck on himself' things as you mentioned about him.” A glance towards him. “And I definitely get the different view from us working folk – I grew up in shitholes, Bluestreak. I am far from the good schools and neighborhoods type so people like M just..Yeah, chap my hide a bit from time to time.” She remarked.

“Rota doesn't..have the stuck up feel to her. She's got the 'I'm from money' feel but not...stuck up feel you know? Polite. She gave me a hand a couple times, like you would, asked me a lot of questions, trying to figure things out and learn really from what I gather.” She remarked. “Bit..I dunno, sad? Like she's trying to forget stuff but..You guys seen a lot, and had a lot of time to see all of it too – so...It makes sense but...I dunno. Seen that look of lost in other people before, I dunno if you know what I'm talkin' about or not.” Nell mentioned to him before shrugging again.

“Think she's trying to keep herself busy too, she mentioned she was getting back into sorts one time but I dunno. Maybe you should talk to her one of these days? Take her out and about Nevada like some of the others do if someone already hasn't? Could be good way to unwind if you ask me.” IF they were able to do it, but she wasn't sure about it – it wasn't like she was at base twenty four hours, seven days a week.

A bit onto the topic to Bluestreaks love of HGTV, and she laughed a bit at the firepits mentioned. “Oh they're neat, wouldn't mind having one in my yard, if I were to you know..Ever have a yard. I'd probably ask you to do some of the remodeling, can see you and Eric getting' along with that. He's a damn architect and all – I'm pretty sure I told you about that.”

Laughing a bit, she reached over to lightly punch him in the arm. “You know, it's fine – you get off tract and a bit 'oooh shiny!' with your train of thoughts, and it sometimes drives me nuts. But you're a good guy, Bluestreak, good friend too.” A firm nod of her head as she glanced over to him when he uttered the name 'Carly'.

“Have you talked to her lately? I know you like talkin' to her, or emailin' her at the very least.”

[Bluestreak]

The young man beside her reached up his hand to rub it at the back of his neck. It was a very human gesture, shy and awkward as he cleared his throat. It sounded a bit like a rattling lifter on his alt-mode's engine. He stared at the gleaming tile underfoot and watched the scuffed toes of his cowboy boots for a few strides. The T-shirt he was wearing stretched nicely over his well-built shoulders. A couple of women walking by gave him an appreciative look, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Yeah. We email mostly, but the other day we got to talk on the phone, well, her phone, my comm. Which is nice because I don't see Fowler letting us join the military's cell phone plan anytime soon. I thought about getting one of those pay by the card ones, but hey, that takes money and I'm a little bit short on that end right now. Both here and there, funny thing, left my cred-stick back home and all that."

He stretched back again and glanced around the mall. His gaze dropped to the shopping bag she was carrying from Hot Topic; the black plastic shining in the overhead lights. Around them, people wandered, there was the general din of the small groups of people chatting to each other. A couple of teenagers sauntered by them, dressed in ragged jeans and faded logo splashed T-shirts. One of them hit the top of the short stairs and took a long leap off of it, his friend hooted and did the same.

"Talked to her the other day actually and uh-- that's why I wanted to come here today. To the mall. I need to find some different clothes for myself, which sounds awfully strange but it's one of the things I really noticed about everyone here. You change clothes all the time, and at first it struck me as really strange, then I realized, no clothes get dirty, got it. Then I realized something amazing, and I still can't get over it."

Bluestreak looked down at Nell with a bit of wonder. "You change clothes depending on the time of day and where you're going and how you're gonna get there and where you're going to get up for breakfast in the morning. You change them to go places, you change them when you're around different people..."

"So, yeah. We were talking about getting together next week sometime and I just- I didn't know if I should wear this or something else, because I know I'm always in this setup and I just figured I should uh, change. Clean up, I guess."

"Not like totally buff myself out to the nines like M. does or anything," he hurriedly explained. "Just sort of at least run through the wash a bit and knock the road grime off a bit, and yeah, you did tell me about Eric, I'd love to meet him sometime. I like meeting folks, it's fun, and..."

"I think you've spent more time with Rota then I have," he admitted after a moment. "I guess it's weird, I've not been really looking around base too much. She seems nice though, from what I've seen and heard of her and- yeah. There's a lot of us like that."

He shook his head as they walked along. "The lost thing. Lots of us miss home. Well, home before the war really hit full force, I guess."