You Gave Up On Love

Lyrics Transcribed on: 9 September 2004

Date Written: 12 November 2004

Date Revised: 3 December 2004

Author’s Note: *looks at dates, winces* Ouch. Not good. Drat. Oh, well. Not having a decent internet connection will do that to you. On the other hand . . . THIS SERIES EARNED BEST ROMANCE!!! THANK YOU ALL!!! And a special “Thank you” to Miss Special, whose grace and patience allows me to write this. So I don’t own her, Inferno, Beast Wars, the band Boston (the city can be bought on eBay, I think . . . ;P) or the lyrics to the song.

You say love is all you need

So the story goes

So it began. Inferno turned and looked at the mirror, seeing Miss Special sitting there, reading a book. This time he wanted to just watch her. He wanted to try to see who she really was, instead of just running to her with a problem. The Predacon didn’t want to have to depend upon her. He wanted to be strong for her as well, so that if she needed him, he’d be there to help her. He didn’t want to have to be the weak one in the relationship. He wanted to be her equal, and he knew that if he didn’t start picking up his feet, there wouldn’t be equality between them.

There’s not changin’ what you believe

But you’re the one who knows

So who was she, this Miss Special? She was an author, and a good one at that. She was someone who always added an edge to any conversation. She listened when she had to, but she enjoyed action more than she enjoyed sitting around on her hind end. She enjoyed writing, drawing, living, being someone who people could trust.

But was that who she really was?

There was something else, too.

You gave up on love

You gave up so easily

Something didn’t fit in with who she was, Inferno noticed. She didn’t like allowing people too close to her. She didn’t like telling people how she really felt when it was relating to a painful issue. She was a strong person, and she liked being strong, but she never really liked the fact that strength sometimes wavered from time to time.

Inferno knew this about strength. It didn’t like being a continual flow. It rose and ebbed, much like the sea tide.

Guess you’re not so tough

You gave up on everything love could be

But can she understand this? Does she know that everyone else knows this about their own strength? Why else would Sinead and Dinobot have been the first to see that their weaknesses and strengths complimented each other’s in a way that made each stronger than they had been before? Why else would Sapphire and Rattrap have been brought together? He was a perpetual fountain of comments and words, exhibiting a chronic case of verbal diarrhea, while she was quiet and could say things when they needed to be said the most. Why else would Starath and Megatron have been together, other than to dull his temper and for him to bring out the smiling warrior in the girl? Why else would Hacker and Depth Charge have been given to each other, if not to give each of them someone who they could simply be with and be satisfied?

But . . . why had he and Miss Special been brought together?

Saw the way so long ago

Guess it was beyond us

It was not a logical thing to think, the ant knew, but it had to be brought up. It had to be addressed soon, or it would never be answered. It would take a while to sort it all out, but sometimes it worked like that.

So he had been given the chance to become human and stay with a girl. But not any girl . . . and even then, she wasn’t a girl. She was a woman, an adult in her culture. A woman that was held in high esteem by her peers around the world. A woman who had a kind heart, but was afraid at times, it seemed, to show that kindness if she wasn’t sure of who was around her.

You won’t say but you still know

You just broke your promise

She was someone who had a deep understanding of herself, and wasn’t into all the fluff things of life, unless she found them to be special. She was one who had an imagination for stories and for pictures. She was one who had a love for life, who didn’t like being crossed. If someone wanted to lead, fine. She would follow. She would listen to them if their plans were good, but if a flaw made itself known, she’d mention it to forestall any possible disasters.

You gave up on love

You gave up so easily

But she was also someone who had captured his affection, something he never knew had existed within him. He had been a simple-minded drone, unable to comprehend the world around him. Sometimes, though, it was still like that. Things didn’t seem logical within his mind, and so he was confused. She helped him sort out his mind, and helped him find out how things worked in the world.

And for that, he realized, he felt that he wanted to do something back for her. Something that would make a difference.

Guess you’re not so tough

You gave up on everything love could be

He walked into the room, satisfied with his thoughts and his new understanding of the situation, and stood behind Miss Special, resting his hands upon her shoulders and letting his optics meet her eyes unwaveringly. “Good evening. How is the book?”

Hey, you run to me but it’s just no enough

Hey, you couldn’t see that you had to be

You had to be in love

“It’s horrible. Required reading for school. It’s crap.”

“Oh. Shall I burn it for you?”

Miss Special laughed, shaking her head and smiling up at Inferno. “No. But thank you.”

Inferno smiled, and nodded. “Is there something you need done?”

You gave up on love

You gave up on everything

The author looked up at the Predacon. “No, not really . . . why?”

“I thought that you might need help with it. What is the title?”

“Uh . . . ‘All the Pretty Horses’.”

You gave up on love

You gave up on everything

“Oh. Never heard of it. Forgive me. I do not know what is to be done.”

“Don’t worry about it, ’Ferno. It’s worthless, anyway.” She put the book down after marking the page. She sighed. “You look different. Your optics. You didn’t come here so I could help you sort stuff out, did you?”

Inferno looked for a place to sit, where he wouldn’t break something while doing so. Shrugging, he sat upon the floor, looking back up at Miss Special. “No. Things are logical. I am content.”

You gave up on love

You gave up on love, hey

“Content?” Miss Special asked, smiling a little shyly. “How so?”

You gave up on everything love could be

Inferno looked at his hands, then back up at the wonderfully intelligent, thoughtful, and amazing young woman before him. “Because I can be with you.”