I just wanted to get away . . . Wanted to be alone . . . So I sat at the cafe . . . The Quaint Cafe . . . Jimmy never said no. Even when Akane or one of the others was absent. I sighed, cradling my head in my hands. I hated all of this so much. Everything was just . . . Miserable. I let out a low sigh, staring up as the light began fading from the sky.

~General Narration: Orion~

    He sat alone, staring out the window of the condo. He roughed a hand through his short black hair. Why wouldn’t the words come to him? Why wouldn’t inspiration strike as it had before? He wanted to send that letter soon. He had to. The sooner he got it out, the sooner he could meet with her . . . and that could end up changing absolutely everything about how the world was now . . .

    At least, it would change how the world was for him . . . He could imagine her as he closed his stark blue eyes . . . The auburn waves, a gorgeous shade to him . . . A deep red, seemingly stuck somewhere between a chocolate brown and a vivid, perfectly ripe strawberry red . . . Her eyes glittered like emeralds freshly mined from the Earth and yet absolutely perfect in themselves . . .

    He could hear her laugh echo around him like silk . . . He could see her smile spread across those lips . . . a subtle shade of pink spreading as they lifted at the corners, creasing her skin ever-so-slightly . . .

    He breathed slowly, the vision taunting him . . . He opened his eyes reluctantly, still seeing nothing but the city below him. No magic words. No wondrous location. He let out a small sigh, staring at the lights that lit up ground below and left a small imprint on the horizon. The same lights that drowned out the stars every night. He wanted to go somewhere that he could see them . . .

    Surely the ranch would have a good view . . . He smiled. The ranch. Becky’s ranch. The one Orion had visited not too long ago. He taught the girls a whistle that made their horse-like dog, Grief, bound over at a moment’s notice. He’d learned it while training his own dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog, that had showed up at his door as a pup. Well, outside the door of the building. He’d tried to find it’s owner, but to no avail.

    Harley currently laid at the other end of the room, eyes open, but otherwise looking like he could’ve been asleep. Now, Harley was fully grown and incredibly strong. Orion always made sure that Harley had someone around when he was gone, having him walked, fed and cared for in general. The dog had his own room for fetch if the weather didn’t permit him going outside. It had been an office, but since he lived alone, Orion had simply moved his things out to the living room.

    Most of the time, indoor ‘fetch’ involved bouncing a tennis ball past Harley from the floor to the wall, and seeing if the large dog could jump and intercept before the ball’s path led it back to Orion. He smiled at the thought . . . Harley was a good dog . . . Very loyal . . .

    Before he knew it, a large, furry head was under his hand. Harley was sitting at Orion’s side, tennis ball in his mouth, glancing up at his owner expectantly. Orion smiled a little more.

Orion: “All right, Boy, all right.”

    Harley’s tail swished against the carpet at the words, his ears perking slightly. Orion sighed, crouching down to the dog’s level.

Orion: “I don’t suppose you know where I can meet with Jasmine, huh?”

    The dog’s eyes softened in what Orion would’ve sworn was apology if he didn’t want to be looked at as a lunatic. He sighed, taking the ball from Harley’s mouth and striding into the small, empty room. Harley crouched, haunches raised, tail wagging in anticipation. Orion laughed softly.

Orion: “You’re a good boy. And very lucky. You don’t have to worry about this sort of thing.”

    He bounced the ball on the laminate floor at an angle so that it rebounded off the wall and into an arc. Harley jumped expertly, snatching the ball mid-air, pressing it between his jaws in satisfaction a few times before returning it to his human, dropping it at his feet. They continued the ritual for nearly an hour until Harley was worn out and the tennis ball had a few more frayed ends under the layers of saliva.

    The large dog laid on the floor, staring up at Orion, satisfied, an expression mimicking a smile spread across his furry face. Orion just shook his head with a smile. Harley got better and better at jumping and catching. It was only a few times the ball had made it past the Bernese back to his hands. The man crouched near his dog again, running a hand through the soft fur.

Orion: “Good boy, Harley. Rest up.”

    He stood back up and left the room, heading up a few steps, turning and going up the second half of the staircase to the upper level, heading into his bedroom. It held a view as stunning as the living room, looking down on the city. Some of the lights were beginning to dim. Not as many cars were on the streets. He sighed, sitting down on the bed. He was exhausted, but his mind was restless.

    Where, in all of the world could he possibly choose to meet her? He stared at the roads, wishing the answer would somehow show up on one of those paved streets. It had to be somewhere . . . He wished he knew where she lived so he could choose something near to encourage her arrival . . .

    He wished he’d done his homework. He’d visited Sara how many times now to deliver those letters? And not a single time had he asked her advice on where Jasmine would be likely to go. Or somewhere she went often. He sighed, pondering all the possibilities in his mind. There were so many places . . .

    He shook his head, wishing the motion would somehow clear it. He just wanted . . . something . . . it was illogical to wish some kind of sign would appear and show him what he wanted to know, and yet he found himself hoping for it.

    He stared at the moving lights on the streets below, entranced, spacing out as his mind blanked. It was . . . hypnotizing . . .

    Before he knew it, he felt the world spin, the lights moving impossibly fast in front of him. He was speeding across the highways without moving his legs, unable to pinpoint anything crossing his vision. Everything was a blur of lights and darkness, and he swore that he felt something gripping his wrist firmly.

    The speed began to slow, and he swore he glimpsed Sara’s studio, dark at this time of night, but the building was still familiar . . . When he came to a stop, he stood in front of a barely lit, apparently empty cafe.

    The Quaint Cafe.

He stepped inside, but without opening the door. When he tried, his hand went through the handle, and he stumbled inside. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to ignore it and walked straight toward the door leading to the staircase, his mission clear as if he were being led. While he went through doors quietly, he went up the staircase without falling through.

When he reached the top, he saw a man in an apron sitting at a table with a woman.

He was sitting with Jasmine. Orion felt a small tug as he phased through the second door, walking onto the rooftop. He glanced between the pair, his spark sinking a little. What were they . . . ? Did she have a relationship no one knew about . . . ? No . . . he hoped not, anyway . . . He was a barista . . . of course he’d be here if he was closing the cafe . . .

Jimmy: “You need to go home, Jazz. It’s not right for you to sleep up here.”

Jasmine: “I don’t want to go ‘home’, Jimmy. It’s empty and lonely and horrid to be there some nights. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

    The man, Jimmy as Orion now knew him, sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jimmy: “Don’t Akane and all the other guards live on the property?”

    Jasmine nodded slowly.

Jasmine: “They can’t replace having a real family . . . I want him . . . Whoever gave me this . . .”

    She held out her hand, exposing the ring to Jimmy, a platinum band that glittered with the adorned stones. In the center, larger than the other gems was a diamond, as was customary. On one side was an emerald set beside a ruby, on the other side of the clear stone was a sapphire, a jade stone next to it.

    Orion neared them, knowing full well they were oblivious to his presence.

Jasmine: “I want him back . . . Because I’m fairly sure the one who gave me this thing may also be . .  the one who’s . . . you know . . .”

    Jimmy nodded, already knowing full well her reluctance to mention the man sending the letters when she’d explained the lack of today’s letter. Orion meanwhile was examining the ring as well as he could . . . It rang across his head and chest like a gong . . .

    Jasmine sighed, pulling her hand back, covering the ring, sliding her fingers over it slowly. Feeling each gem bit by bit . . . It was the first time she’d worn it in years . . . She just . . . wanted it’s comfort.

    Orion swore he felt a tug on his sleeve again, and looked down, the fabric of his shirt obviously being separated from his arm. In front of him stood two small children. He knew them instantly. He knew where he was. The UP. The way he’d connected with his spark mate when she’d left for Cybertron, gone for over a year . . . before they had even been spark mates . . . Before they’d conceived and lost their twins, Jade and Blaze.

    He didn’t know if this information would last when he left the UP, but he would cling to whatever he could. He smiled down at his children, and while they’d been straight-faced before, Blaze broke into a grin, and a small smile crept across Jade’s face. They embraced their father tightly and he nuzzled them carefully.

    He glanced back up at Jasmine. He thought about their first mental communication . . . She was the only one he’d been able to reach that way . . . It was a two-way thing with them . . . A path through the UP.

    He decided to try his luck this time. Orion hoped nothing had changed . . . He took a deep breath, taking a child in each arm, holding them close to his body.

Orion: ‘Jasmine . . .’

    Her head jerking up was the only indication he’d had that it had worked. He couldn’t help but smile.

Orion: ‘Jasmine look at me . . .’

    He could hear her breathing grow deeper as she closed her eyes.

Jimmy: “Jazz . . . ? You okay?”

    Jimmy reached for her arm, but she jerked away.

Jazz: “Can I be alone for a minute, Jimmy . . . ? I’m okay, I think I’m starting to get a migraine, though.”

    The young man nodded.

Jimmy: “Of course, Jazz. I’ll go get some Excedrin.”

    He got up, going to the staircase, returning downstairs, disappearing.

Orion: ‘I know you hear, me Jasmine . . . Please look at me . . .’

    She took a noticeably deep breath, opening her eyes slowly and turning her head at a snail’s pace, seeing the translucent form of Orion, with their children, Jade in the crook of his right arm, Blaze in his left, each aged about seven years by human standards.

    Her breath caught in her throat, and she stared at them, eyes watering.

Jasmine: “It’s an illusion . . .”

    She whispered, not sure if they would even hear her. Certainly they wouldn’t. They weren’t real . . . They couldn’t be . . . It was illogical, impossible . . . But she was half-robot and used invisible strings that made practically made her a puppeteer over anyone she pleased . . . So who was she to say . . . ?

Orion: ‘It’s not an illusion, Jasmine. I love you . . . I love our children . . . I will find you . . . I promise . . .’

    She closed her eyes, a few tears rolling down her cheeks, lips pressed together tightly.

Jasmine: “D-Don’t lie to me . . . If you love me so much you would’ve found me a long time ago . . .”

    Orion frowned, taking a deep breath.

Orion: ‘Come here, Jasmine . . . please . . .’

    She shook her head, a few more tears falling down.

Jasmine: “No. It’s a lie . . .”

    The children frowned at their mother’s reluctance.

Blaze: 'Mom . . .'

Jade: 'Please . . .'

    She opened her eyes again, looking at each of their faces in turn. She paused a moment before standing, walking the three steps to the trio, looking in Orion’s eyes intently, his blue meeting her green. She stood there for a moment, just staring at him, breathing, trying to determine what all this was . . .

    He glanced down at her lips, and without thinking, she cupped his face in her hands, pressing her mouth to his.

    And she didn’t phase through him. She felt his kiss return hers, his cheeks under the touch of her fingers and palms. It was real. It was really real. And then he was gone, yanked from her at lightspeed.

    She opened her eyes slowly, staring at the empty space in front of her, that bittersweet emotion coming crashing over her like a tidal wave.

    Orion opened his eyes only to see the dark of his bedroom, Harley panting at his side, wet nosed pressed to Orion’s temple. He sat up slowly, looking back down at the streets below. The ring . . . The image of the ring stayed with him . . . and the feeling of lips pressed against his . . . In a way that had never felt so right . . .

    He stood, leaving his room and walking back down the stairs, scrambling to his desk, digging out a blue inked pen and sheet of paper, trying to write down the words before he lost them. Quaint Cafe, Quaint Cafe . . .

    Dear Jasmine,

    My sincerest apologies for the late letter, but I had a bit of writer’s block, if you will. Anyway, if would do me the pleasure, I would like to meet you next Sunday at the Quaint Cafe. I believe it’s located near Sara’s studio, if I recall correctly . . . I hope you’ll find it in your heart to give me a chance. I know it’s requiring a leap of faith on your part, but I would like very much to see if you can pinpoint me blindly. If you can, it would make my day, if not my year. I wish to be given a genuine chance, Jasmine.

    I’d rather not you choose to come or not based on who I am. I know I’m leaving myself open as suspicious, and if possible, I’d like to meet with you alone. Another suspicious move, I know, but I’d rather not have your behaviour influenced by others. If you’d like, bring them with, I would just rather not be scared someone’s going to shoot me when I offer to buy you something, or anything along those lines.

    Please, if nothing else, bring your smile. It’s quite possibly the most beautiful thing about you, if not your eyes, but they light up so much more when you’re happy. Please, Jasmine, be happy to see me. Maybe not immediately, but if I don’t completely repulse you, try to be happy for me? I promise I’ll let you be if you request it. Just please, let me see you Sunday before you do so.

    He looked it over, and smiling, slipped it into an envelope, scrawling Jasmine’s name across the back. He would take it Sara first thing tomorrow morning.