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Miko always thought that Wheeljack was cool. And he was. But she also knew after their battle with Hardshell that a) he was her friend and b) he was not immune to getting wrecked. So when he showed up to the rendezvous covered in scratches, scorch marks, and a promptly discarded tracker, of course Miko proudly declared the Cons had nothing on him, but she also wanted him to sit down and make sure he was okay, dangit!
“C’mon man, Bulk and I can get you some medical supplies if you just hang tight!”
“On Earth?” Wheeljack scoffed. His expression tightened just a hair, like the scoff grated against an injury.
“Would you at least sit still for a minute?” Miko exclaimed. “Let us compare notes about what happened to you?!”
Wheeljack rolled his shoulder as if he were working out a stiff wire rather than a fried one. “I’m a Wrecker, kid. I don’t need to be coddled.”
“Uh, yeah! So am I!” Miko exclaimed, hands on her hips. “But that means your problems are my problems!”
“You’re wasting your time,” Bulk sighed. “Jackie doesn’t take it easy unless you mean goofing off doing barrel rolls in the Jackhammer.”
“You know me so well,” Wheeljack replied with a grin.
Miko thought about this. After hours sitting with nothing but the meager snacks in Bulk's trunk and everyone's expressions as they fled base to think about...
She gestured up to Bulkhead. “Then let’s get moving! Crank up my playlist on the way, would ya?”
Bulkhead and Wheeljack exchanged a faintly smiling glance. Miko hopped in Bulk’s passenger seat.
“Can you hear?” Bulkhead called to Wheeljack, rolling down his window so the rock mix could break out into the open.
“Loud and clear! Miko’s got style, I’ll tell ya that much.”
Miko grinned, though her skin still crawled at the sight of new scrapes when Wheeljack transformed. They raced to make the next hit against the Cons, jamming.
When the grassy road grew even enough, Wheeljack drove up parallel to Bulk’s side, never slowing down. Miko assumed he was just getting closer to the guitar solo.
“Hey, thanks for the watch, little Wrecker,” he called over the blasting music. The effect was almost as if he was talking in a softer voice. “And trust me. A few hours of dealing with Starscream’s temper tantrum ain’t nothing.” He had an audible smile under his hood. “Not with a team like this.”
Miko couldn’t help but split out in a grin. With Bulkhead’s permission, she cranked the radio louder, and off they sped till the Con mine was in sight.