More Than Friendship

Chapter One

by BitterEloquence and Wyntir Rose

Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. Our original characters are our own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. We claim no ownership by writing this work.

Authors' Note: Thanks go out to Okami_Myrhibis for betaing this fic for us.

Additional Note: This takes place in the background of BitterEloquence's Works in Mysterious Ways Hound/Mirage verse. Because Trailbreaker deserves a happy ending too!

Silverbolt liked to think that he was a patient mech, but Slingshot was pushing him to the limits of his patience. The belligerent Harrier didn't follow orders, mouthed off, and insisted on diving into the center of every conflict just to prove that he was a big and as fast as his brothers. This meant that he spent twice as much time in the med-bay as any of his brothers. And it also meant that Silverbolt had to spend twice as much time in confrontations with Slingshot. It seemed that he was always lecturing, ordering, pleading or fighting with the Harrier, and it was beginning to tell on Silverbolt's normally calm demeanor.

"All I'm trying to do is make you see how fragging dangerous it is for you to go jumping into the fray like that. Thundercracker and Skywarp have vorns more experience than us and to try to take them both on at the same time is just plain stupid."

Slingshot snorted derisively and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. It was a look that Silverbolt knew all too well - it meant that the Harrier was digging in for a long argument.

"It worked, didn't it?" Slingshot retorted, looking infuriatingly smug. "And you're just upset that you didn't think of it first. Face it, my plan was brilliant and you're just bitter."

"Right, of course. Because having 'Raid and 'Dive rescue your aft from the Seekers worked so well," Silverbolt snorted, face set in a stubborn mask equal to his brother's.

Slingshot's optics flashed in anger and his mouth thinned to a sharp line. "First off, I had everything under control! I had those two Seekers exactly where I wanted them. Second-"

"There were three Seekers. Or did you forget about Starscream? That's why you can't take foolish risks like that! It endangers all of-"

"Second," Slingshot interrupted loudly, "I did not need to be rescued! And third, I didn't put anyone at risk! And if you'd bothered to look up at the fight instead of down at the ground you'd've seen that!"

With each point the Harrier's voice grew louder and he closed in on the bigger Concorde. In the face of that hot anger, Silverbolt remained cold and grim, never backing down from his brother.

"You did put the gestalt at risk. You do put us all at risk every time you put yourself in danger. If you were to be deactivated what then? How do you think that would affect us? Superion would be gone and we will have lost a brother. You're so set on proving that you're a big mech that you forget about the rest of us. It's like you don't care."

Slingshot almost backed down in the face of inarguable logic, but Silverbolt's last little dig just firmed his resolve. "No! You just don't get it do you? You just can't conceive that someone other than you could come up with a decent plan! You just don't grasp that sometimes we have to take risks to get the job done! And don't you dare pull the Superion card on me! This isn't about him and you know it!"

"I am all for alternate strategies when they don't include you or someone else trying to take on a trine of Seekers on your own! We're a gestalt, Slings; we fly together and work best together. So when you hare off chasing glory or whatever it is you're after, you leave a hole in our formation and make it all that much harder to reach you when you do get in over your head." Silverbolt grimaced then, hands curling into frustrated fists at his side. "Slingshot, I'm not saying this because I want to be cruel or a jerk, I just need you to realize the consequences of your actions."

The Harrier's optics narrowed and he turned away suddenly, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Oh, yeah, right. This is all about the formation. Because it just makes so much damned sense to have a Harrier in the same formation as a bunch of jets and a supersonic transport. Yeah, of course this is just about your little strategies and your plans. It has nothing to do with the fact that you insist on always playing it safe!"

"This is not just about the formation or the gestalt and you know it," the Concorde bit out harshly. "I care about you and so do the others. It ties us into knots when you injure yourself. Primus, Slingshot, you practically spend half your time in med-bay as it is. So how can you even think you rushing into danger is a wise course of action?"

"Right. Fine," Slingshot spat. "So what would you prefer me to do? Maybe I could stay at the back of the formation and stay out of trouble. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"If I fragging thought for one 'click you'd actually do it, I'd say sure. But we both know that even if I did order you to the back of the flock you'd never stay there," Silverbolt shot back.

Slingshot retorted with a rude noise. "Of course I wouldn't! We're not all afraid of our own shadows, 'Bolt! Some of us realize that we need to take some risks! We're not all Optimus's little bitch like you, so lay off!"

Silverbolt's optics flashed with anger and heavy hands closed around Slingshot's shoulders. "You listen to me and you listen real well," he growled. "You got a problem with me, fine, but don't you dare insult Optimus or try to drag his name through the mud! He's put up with a lot from you and deserves your slagging respect if nothing else!" Genuine outrage and a cold sort of disgusted anger weaved its way through Silverbolt's tone as he glared down at his smaller brother.

Slingshot glared up at his brother and tried to pull away. "Fine! I'll respect the Great and Powerful Op! It's you I don't respect! Now let me go!"

Hurt and betrayal flashed across Silverbolt's faceplates as Slingshot's words hit home, and for a moment the Harrier regretted the harsh words. But then the pained look was replaced with the stony mask, and the smaller jet's regret disappeared as if it was never there.

"Next time you pull a stupid stunt like that, you'll be cooling your afterburners in the brig," Silverbolt said in a flat inflectionless voice as he let go of his brother. "Now, get out. You'll be pulling extra patrols with Powerglide for the next deca-cycle so if you had plans, cancel them."

The threat and the punishment hardened Slingshot and all thoughts of apology were pushed out of his mind by his anger. "Fine! Whatever!" he snapped dismissively before storming out of the room.

As Silverbolt watched Slingshot leave, he cycled air through his vents unhappily before turning his attention to his report of the previous day's battle. Once again, he had to explain why he couldn't control his team. Normally he had little trouble immersing himself in his paperwork; living in the same hanger as Air Raid and Fireflight had gifted him with the ability to ignore almost any level of insanity, but today he couldn't focus. Every time he thought he'd phrased things the way he liked, Slingshot's bitter words echoed through his processor, completely derailing his train of thought. Finally, after almost a cycle of trying to concentrate, Silverbolt shoved away from his desk with an annoyed sound and strode to the door. It was obvious he wasn't going to be able to concentrate on his paperwork at the moment. For a 'click, he considered wandering down to the commissary for a cube of energon but his mood was too foul to deal with others.

"Frag it," he muttered as he headed for the hanger's entrance and stalked out into the bright sunlight. Perhaps a walk would help improve his mood and clear his processor.