Pre-ceived 1

(for Lady Icarus -on deviant if you want to read a really sweet Perceptor story- who said we need more non-slash romance stories for Perceptor) {In Prime Blood Saga time line this should fall between Infernal Fire and Ironbands. It was never intended to be in the original Prime Blood, it was one shot that, um… exploded into buckshot?}

Inferno was so right. No, the mech was more that right- Ahhhh, here it comes! The merge was bright, beautiful, calm, serenity… peace, love…. Heavennnnnn….

I'm never leaving this…. The Perceptor-half cooed melting into the new sensation of joining with his spark mate.

Inferno was right about what, My Spark? The Laroura-side asked joining their One.

Mmmm, we, I are beautiful. There is no way to describe this. No way to document this.

The femme giggles, Did you want to?

No, I only want this. I'm never leaving this. Mmm, perfect peace and harmony. No time, no space, no elements… The most beautiful gift of the whole universe is our… One….

And One ceased to think. It just … was. Basking, melding, singing, crooning….

~~~ Wheeljack went in search of his lab partner. Where could that crazy bot be? He wasn't in the lab, that was worrisome in the first place. Teletran One said he wasn't on a mission. On the off chance the guy actually went to his quarters to actually recharge, Wheeljack check. Nope, wrong again. Okay, the rec-room? Wrong again. Medbay? Strike five. So now, Wheeljack is standing in the middle of the hallway, hands on his hips trying to figure out where a complete science nerd would be at dawn before a planned science mission.

Wheeljack touched his com, "Perceptor, where are you?" No response. "Percy?" Okay this just isn't like his lab mate. "Teletran One, can you locate Perceptor?"

"Perceptor is currently located outside on the roof of the Ark." The computer responds monotoned.

Wheeljack shakes his head, "But he isn't answering his com."

"His communications array has been manually switched off." Continuing the report.

"That's weird. Is he injured?" The worried friend asks.

"No. But I did record several spiked energy readings released from him multiple times over the course of the night."

"Weapons release?"

"No." The computer was short with the answer. That was odd. Why would Teletran One release a bunch of information and then be curt and short?

"Did you recognize the type of energy release?"

"Yes," once again the computer was short.

"Are you going to tell me?" Wheeljack nearly growls.

"It is a personal matter for him." Teletran once again leaves a coded response. Wheeljack grunts in disgust. He heads out towards the door and for the first time Teletran One sounds a bit more sentient, "Wheeljack, wait." The inventor stops, "He's not alone."

"He's not alone?" Wheeljack ponders that sublime comment for a moment. "Femme?"

"Correct." Teletran One replies once more tenderly, "He is just fine, Wheeljack."

With that, Wheeljack heads back to his lab. That lemon yellow femme is going to have some explaining to do about causing Perceptor to release an energy device- The inventor's head snaps up finally putting all the pieces together, "I'm gonna kill him!"

~~~ Back on the roof, the One has had to separate back into Perceptor and Laroura once again. The blue sparks curl back into their respective hosts. The normally red bot, now naked to his black under-armor "skin" lays back into the duff under the evergreen trees. The lemon yellow femme, who has the rarity of also having a lemon yellow under armor, curls her body against him, chest to chest, tucking her head into his neck. Percy pulls the warm and heavy fabric drape over her shoulders, then slips his own arms under and across her shoulders. Yes, dawn maybe breaking, but it is still winter here, and the air is icy. Snow is at least a five feet deep not far from their curled up spot. Their spark bonding had melted the snow away from the tree giving them a patch of dry warm ground to relax on.

We're lucky we didn't light up the conifers. He sends to her.

We're luck Wheeljack hasn't roasted your aft yet. She sniggers back.

Percy actually sounds smug, Ah, he's just jealous. This nerd found a mate before he did.

Laroura laughs out loud. Then adds, He needs a bomb disposal tech.

No, that joke does! He kisses her forehead rather cheekily, and giggles back.

Taking a deep sigh, he clutches her tighter rolling to his side. She snuggles in closer.

"Are you cold?" He asks out loud for the first time.

"No, just very, very content for the first time in a very long time," entwining their lower limbs.

"Me, too." With that, he soothes her back. It isn't long, and the sparkmates slip into recharge while the dawn breaks over their evergreen refuge.

~~ When Perceptor doesn't come back by midmorning, Wheeljack is really getting concerned. They are supposed to leave that evening for the mission. Taking his rifle out of subspace, he checks it, cocks it and storms down the hall way.

Ironhide catches him near the doorway, "Holy Slag, Wheeljack! What has you-"

"I'm gonna roast his rosy red aft!" Wheeljack pushes past the current FIC of the Ark.

Ironhide pings Bumblebee, "I'm headed out with Wheeljack. Hold here." Bee pings him a confirmation tone.

Ironhide says nothing now to Wheeljack, because his first couple attempts only left him feeling like HE would be Wheeljack's next test subject. Wow, Perceptor was in big trouble now. What ever it was.

Around the next corner, he found out very quickly. This was not how he EVER expected to see Perceptor. Wheeljack makes the stomp up the rock formation and pushes a couple heavy snow laden branches aside. The next branch exposes the lovers nest. And the lovers in the process of… um…. Being consumed by that love? The normally deep red aft was now a black sweaty, glossy unarmored aft in Wheeljack' direct line of sight, while lemon yellow hands splayed across the scientist's back kept their intimate body parts connected at the chest.

"I'm going to count to one, and then I want an explanation, Perceptor!" Wheeljack growls.

Perceptor didn't break his intimate chest or lip contact with his mate. Instead he raised his left hand showing a new mark of a yellow band that wrapped around his wrist, across the back of his hand, continuing at base of his ring finger, to finish with four twists up the to the finger tip. Likewise, the left lemon hand bore the same banded mark, but in red with black Cybertronian lettering. And then, the couple moaned in joined ecstasy curling the hands back to their mates.

"Let's go, Wheeljack," Ironhide grunted, clearly uncomfortable seeing the head geek of the Autobots consumed in mating. Wheeljack even more furious seeing the couple marked in the femme's native bonding ritual, warmed his rifle. Ironhide was just swift enough to bump the weapon from under the barrel so when it fired, it went straight up. "Slagit, Wheeljack!" The weapons fire caused the tree's upper branches to released their snow burden. It came down on all four of them. Most heavily on the bond-mech's heated black back.

To this, Perceptor whipped his head around and audibly hissed at Wheeljack, "Run!"

Wheeljack aimed his barrel at the ground, "Talk!"

Perceptor narrowed his gaze furiously, "I'm busy!"

Ironhide grasps Wheeljack hard, but he flinches out of the grasp, "When were going to tell me?"

"Not. NOW!" Perceptor growls like an angry cyber-wolf.

This time Ironhide steps between the two friends and tries to be calm, "Lets wait for them inside." Wheeljack yanks away from him again and this time, storms away.

Ironhide turns back to Perceptor for just a moment, "I thought you told him?"

To which, Perceptor drops his head in shame, "Things, just kind of…. Exploded."

Ironhide can't help but chuckle a little bit at the irony. "Yeah, well you better defuse it before Prime comes back or you all will have Pit to pay." Then he tips his helm respectfully to Laroura and leaves the newly bonded mates together.

Percy drops his forehelm to his mate's shoulder, "Slag."

~~Ironhide returns to the lab and furious Wheeljack. Ironhide comes up behind him and takes the obvious highly explosive compound from his hand. "Sit!" The commander orders. Wheeljack scowls at him. Ironhide pours all his authority into his order, "SIT!"

Wheeljack sits. Ironhide carefully puts the compound down and then leans back against the workbench crossing his arms.

"I don't need a babysitter, Ironhide."

"Wheeljack, when you get distracted, you get dangerous. I have NEVER seen you this distracted. Prime specifically ordered the Ark to be here when he came back. I intend to follow that order. Now, you can calm down here or cool off in the brig. Your choice."

Wheeljack takes a few minutes to breathe. Finally, he mutters, "Why didn't he tell me?"

Ironhide at this point chuckles rubbing his brow. Wheeljack gives him a confused look, "What's so funny?"

Ironhide points to him, "I've been in your shoes. But I wasn't mad."

Wheeljack scoffs, "You had a friend bond-"

Ironhide leans in, "My best friend." He takes a big sigh and smiles again, "I suggest to listen to him. Carefully. Alright?"

"He better have a scrap'n good reason." Wheeljack huffs. Taking a few more deep breaths he looks around the room, "Since you are still here and he isn't, would you mind helping me pack?" Ironhide nods.

They didn't have to wait long when a shadow graces the doorway to the lab. The Acting FIC and the inventor turn to watch the now armor clad scientist carefully lay his burden of a couple blankets, Energon flutes, and trinket box into the yellow arms of a stunningly beautiful femme. Her lovely pink optics smile up to him. Cupping her cheek like it was the rarest element in the whole universe, he leans in and gives her a kiss. A kiss one would give to a butterfly's wing, or a gift of the wind. The lightness and absolute tenderness would have melted even Unicron's spark. She steps back and heads down the hall. Perceptor watches until she turns the corner. Taking a deep sigh, he faces his friend and the issue at hand.

That kiss effected even Wheeljack's anger to his friend. Carefully, Wheeljack asks, "Perceptor…"

Perceptor looks to Ironhide, "Could you give us a moment?"

Ironhide shakes his head, "Not with him," thumbing to Wheeljack, "his temper and that," he thumbs to the explosive. Wheeljack frowns at the CO again.

Perceptor sinks down to the nearby stool. Wheeljack goes over and shuts the lab door. He leans back against it while Perceptor has no idea what to say.

Wheeljack tries again, "I thought you were going to wait until Prime got back."

Perceptor rubs his ungloved black (and yellow marked) palm over his face, "Yeah, well things change." He smirks to Wheeljack, "In a flash."

Wheeljack points a finger at him, "Not funny, mech." Not daring to move from his spot, he leans his torso over continuing to point, "Jeeze Perceptor, you're more controlled, meticulous and organized than that. How could you bond so-"

Perceptor jumps up point a finger in turn to each of the other mechs, "That's just my POINT! I AM a mech!" They look at him confused. He furrows his brow even further frustration. "See!" He flips his arms in the air, "Everyone on this frag'n base- Slag! - this frag'n universe see 'Perceptor the scientist'" Ironhide and Wheeljack pull back in shock of Perceptor cussing and releasing his pent up frustration. A whole new side of him. New bonded-Perceptor untamed?

Perceptor pokes himself in the chest hard, "I know I'm a mech. I always knew that! But you see me as your lab partner." He turns to Ironhide, "You warriors see me as the geek and nerd who can hit with calculated precision. You probably thought I was neutered, right?" He really wants an answer. Ironhide is left gaping like a fish out of water, there's no answer to that. Perceptor fires off once more cocking his head to the side, "By the way, I have desires outside of science. I have wants and needs for femme companionship. Oh yes, I want to interface like any of the rest of you hot sparked mechs. I've been praying so hard for a femme to see ME, not just the genius and the nerd. And then I found one. And the irony of it all, she's a nun to Primus. Now where's the cruelty in all that, I tell you?"

Ironhide sinks to a stool in complete shock. Wheeljack lays his head back against the door in awe, "Oh scrap."

Perceptor sinks back down on the stool and looks down to his black hand marked as a bonded-mech. Her name engraved with gold inside the yellow band with her blessing for their lives. He rubs the yellow ribbon softly with a satisfied smile.

Ironhide shakes his head softly, "Percy, if she's a nun, then you just-"

"She was thrown out because of me." Perceptor whispers.

Wheeljack sinks to the floor, "Percy, what happened? I never knew."

Perceptor rubs his forehelm again, "You can't say anything, alright? She's my mate now. I want her treated as nothing less than my mate, got it?" Both mechs nod. Then the scientist looks to the clock on the wall, "Scrap, we don't have much time. I'm sorry I took too long with Laroura."

Wheeljack smiles, "It's fine. Ironhide and I got the crates loaded. Jetfire called, he's running late. He said the volcano isn't going anywhere. You have time. Now spill it. I want to know about this femme who can turn you into such a…."

Perceptor smirks to the two mechs, "Horny-bot?"

Ironhide chuckles, "I never want to see your naked black aft again, got it?"

Perceptor can't help but laugh at that one, "Yes, sir." Wheeljack throws a roll of cleaning towels at his best friend. Perceptor smacks is aside in mid-flight, "Alright. So Cosmos and I…." {begin flashback}

~~~~ Cosmos tells Perceptor in flight from Earth to planet Lucia, "Are you going to be alright without Wheeljack?"

Perceptor shrugs, "He's sick, it can't be changed. Ratchet will have him back on his peds in nothing flat, but this needs to be dealt with now. I appreciate your help."

Cosmos smirks, "Astrological anomalies are my favorite."

Perceptor sits back and smiles, "Ah, the mysteries of the universe. I know I will never unravel them all in my life time, but it sure is fun seeing how many I can."

Cosmos laughs with him. "Hum, destination a head. Get ready."

Cosmos contacts the planet for clearance and then lands. The green shuttle lands at the space port of Lucia. Perceptor grabs his case and exits allowing Cosmos to transform. The two mechs check in with Spaceport Authority and head off on their way. The hills of the planet will give them their best vantage point to the nebula in question. Away from the city lights. Not far away is an ancient Abby of Primus. Cosmos cops a glance at the marble fortress, "Better keep your distance, Perceptor. Mech's are not welcome."

Perceptor scoffs, "When's the last time anyone saw me as a mech?" Cosmos grunts in agreement. Perceptor scowls at Cosmos, "Oh don't give me that! Wheeljack and I know all about Mira. Silver femme circling a lonely planet near the edge of the Milky Way just waiting for you. Sure you 'just went exploring'? That's why the last time you came back you were so drained -"

Cosmos flushes, "Fine!" He points to the Abby, "You still have to watch yourself." Perceptor only rolls his optics and gets set up. No sooner had he set up, than the rain came in. Cosmos flushes when a ping comes in, "Um, you know, speaking of Mira…."

Perceptor shakes his head laughing, "Go. I'll call you when I'm ready. It may take me longer than I thought with this rain." Cosmos doesn't give it a second thought and tears off the planet. Throwing an atmospheric shield over his equipment, Perceptor heads for a grove of trees that looks pretty dry. To his surprise, a yellow femme in the robe of Primus is also huddled under the trees. She's shivering. He shutters for a moment wondering what to do. She smiles and motions for him to join her, "I'm sure glad Primus make trees if he's going to make cold wet rain."

Perceptor can't help but laugh and join her. She is still shivering. Carefully, he sets up a fire and she inches closer to it, "Thank you. So what brings you out here?"

He smiles, "My name is Perceptor and I was going to examine the nova. I guess I'll have to wait, thanks to Primus' timing." She giggles. "Hey, your robe looks completely soaked. It's not going to do any good. Let me see what I can do."

She shakes her head, "Um, I can't remove it."

Perceptor looks down into her nervous pink optics, "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you. It looks like this storm isn't going anywhere for awhile. Let me see what I have in my subspace." He opens it and digs around. Finally with a grunt of his own delight, he pulls out a blanket. He looks at it tenderly and then to her even more tenderly almost ashamed, "You are sworn to secrecy, got it? If you tell anyone I have this," he narrows his gaze, "Primus help you." He hands her the folded very soft and warn fabric. "I'll turn away."

He turns his back and hears the rustling of fabric and a most tender mew, "Awww.." With another rustle of fabric she tells him, "Okay, I'm decent." He turns to see a lemon yellow face with the silver Sisterhood of Primus circlet band across her forehelm just above her pale pink optics. Her beauty leaves him gaping and at a loss for words. She strokes the edge of his white and red blanket tenderly. He should say blankie. She looks up to him tenderly, "Your sparkling's?" Mutely he shakes his head. Her eyes turn doey, "Yours?" He nods still enraptured by her lovely face. "You kept your sparkling blankie?" Her tone is not in chastisement, only pure sweetness.

He pulls his attention from her face to hang her robe from a tree low enough to dry by high enough not to catch on fire. "Its all I have left of my parents."

"You're an orphan too?" She asks softly.

He turns to her with a tender smile, "I wasn't always." Her spirits lift at his light sparkedness.

With her knees tucked under her chin, the blankie (large in sparkling standards, small in adult) draped over her back, almost meets around her knees, edges curled in her palms holding it as tightly as possible around her warming body. She looks up to him stroking and trying to ring the water out of her holy robe. "Would you tell me, Perceptor?"

He glances to her for a moment, but can feel a warm feeling in his spark beginning to brew he knows is forbidden with her. Turning back to the robe he smiles, "My family loved me very much. In fact, we were trying to run from the war. My father, my mother and several other families in our area. We knew a place that would be safe. Unfortunately, the shuttle, wasn't designed very well. We crashed just outside a monastery half way through the trip. Me and couple other sparkling mechs were the only ones to survive."

"Oh Perceptor, that's horrible." She sighs rubbing her cheek on his soft blankie.

Perceptor turns to her very sweetly, "No, actually it's actually okay. We got an education our parents never could have provided for us."

She looks up to him and gapes, "But you're a scientist?"

He nods, "Yes, I am." She is still very confused. He comes closer and kneels before her, "I don't understand."

She smiles, "I was going to ask you that." He finds her captivating. Fascinating and beautiful. "Isn't science against the teachings of Primus? Aren't we just supposed to accept the world as it is and not challenge it?"

And she's forbidden. Perceptor sighs dropping his head to his palms, disgust of himself.

"See, that's what I mean." She pushes the issue she thinks is his problem.

Perceptor is wrestling with himself for a moment which has her even more confused than before. Covering his face with his palms he audibly groans. "Primus, help me."

And then she does the forbidden, she lays a palm on his helm only to soothe him. She touched a mech. Both of them freeze. Neither one wants to move. They both know she has just been tainted.

"Perceptor…" she whispers.

"My friends call me Percy," he whispers back from behind his palms.

"I…I'm your friend?" continuing the hushed tone.

He parts his fingers slightly letting one optic barley show, "You're the only one who knows about Woobie. Wheeljack knew, but we were sparklings back then."

She smiles back at him sweetly, "Don't tell me you still sleep with Woobie?"

He dares to lift his head and smirk, "No. Not really. It's just all I have of my parents."

She pushes her chin forward on her knees, "It's more than I have."

He joins her posture, placing his knees a hairs breath from hers, "Would you tell me?"

She throws a glance to the marble wall beyond these trees, "That has been my home for as long as I know."

"What about your back ground?" He rests his own chin on his knees.

"Forbidden to know." They both puff out a blast of disgust. She looks back to him, "Were we raised different because I'm a femme and you are a mech?"

Silently he shrugs. Without meaning to, a lone ungloved finger reaches out and trails down the edge of her helm where it meets her soft face plates. Her optics close. "Tell me your name?"

"Laroura." she whispers again.

"Beautiful." He whispers continuing to trace.

"You know this is forbidden," her spark cringes. He pulls his hand away, but she grasps his wrist and instead, presses her cheek into his opening palm. The palm curves and holds her face.

"Tell me your dreams, Laroura. You look like you are aching for so much more."

Her eyes close in his comforting touch. "I think there's more to Primus. I know the book inside and out, but there has to be more than him than the Cybertronian book. The universe is just so vast. I can see it from my window. I want to know everything that is out there. I want to see so much more. But I don't want to sound ungrateful for the things the Sisters have done for me. They raised me and saved my life…."

Perceptor brings his other palm to frame her face and turn it to look at him directly, "Do you want to come with me?"

She closes her eyes to his warm touch and the feelings that are curling in her own spark, "Look, you're the first mech I've ever touched and the first one who has ever talked to me like I'm a real person. I don't know what to think. Besides, I don't know much else."

"Have you taken your vows?" He asks carefully. A single dip of the head says it all. "I think this sect is being a bit harsh. But that's my own opinion. Ours encouraged us to explore the wonders Primus created. They encouraged us to be what Primus designed us to be. He gave us an awesome processor to explore, investigate and search Him out. Was it because the brothers didn't have room for all of us, I don't know. But they did help me get to the university and from there my life became, heh, a universe of experiments and discovery."

She opens her pink optics to look deep into his blue ones, "Your life sounds wonderful. My life hasn't been all bad, I have to admit. I'm healthy and safe." She shrugs.

He pulls back and chuckles lightly, "Well, I am fighting a war beside my friends in between experiments and research."

"War? There's a war going on?" Now she looks frightened. "Have you…?"

He rubs his forehelm, "I have my fair share of physical and emotional battle wounds." This time she leans forward and strokes his cheek, "I'm sorry."

He shrugs, "It's the price we pay for freedom."

"Freedom?"

He tells her about the war and some of his friends' heroic deeds. She can see he is humble to give his praise to the others, but she can see the hints in the story where his accomplishments lie.

"Percy, you are so modest." He blushes. She lays her chin back down on her knees, "Will you show me the nova when the storm clears?"

He lays his own chin back down on his knees, "I would love to show you one of the great mysteries of the universe."

She blushes back. Staring into his blue optics, she asks the deep question. "What's the greatest mystery you want to explore?" His spark is pulsing so hard right now, but he remains silent, biting his tongue. "Percy… was I out of line?" Closing his optics, he rocks his head in a negative response still on the knees. Now she can see the pain going across his face. Her voice and hand reach out so, … too tenderly, "Perceptor…"

"Spark bond! I want to experience a spark bond. I want what -they - have!" He thrusts out, then yanks his head back and swiftly turns aside, rolling to his peds.

Laroura looks to his red back heaving in startled revelation to himself. She breathes his name and it's the last straw for him. Thrusting the branches aside, he heads back out into the rain to check on his equipment. Carefully he examines the power supply to the shield, checks the readings of the actual equipment with the remote and fiddles with whatever he and find to avoid facing the mess he made back in the shelter. Looking to the sky tries to calculate how long the storm will last. But soon he can feel the cold water seeping between his outer and underarmor. It's not comfortable at all. Now what is he going to do? There isn't much choice. Looking back up to the sky, he can see the storm is going to last a couple more hours, at least. Probably would be best if he got some stasis. He could also avoid a conversation if he does. Yeah, that's the answer.

He comes back and softly pushes the branches aside. He feels the drying robe, but it will be awhile for that too. Putting some more wood on the fire, he catches her optics watching him silently. Perceptor gives her a weak smile that he is okay and she returns her own. He takes a deep sigh and settles down next to the brighter hotter fire. His hands reach under a shoulder panel with a grunt, "You may want to turn aside. That was a stupid move on my part. I need to get this dry. It's already beginning to chafe." He waits until she does and then, with a sigh of relief, releases the chest, back and shoulder panels. Carefully, he props them against the smaller rocks to absorb the most heat. The hip panels fit a bit tighter on his proto-form, so he left them. Then he settles back against a large rock now warmed by the fire. A big sigh of relief escapes rolling his head back.

"Percy, are you alright?" She meekly answers.

He closes his optics, "Yeah, I'm fine, Laroura. Don't worry about me. Get some stasis." He's not sure how long he had been resting when he felt a familiar softness against his naked chest. A warm comforting softness from far, far back in his memory. His arm curls around it and hugs it close. The next thing he knew, there was a weight in his lap and a helm tucked against his neck. Soft warm breath soothes the circuits in his neck. Logic told him to push it away, but Reason said it was a dream, Hope said hold onto it, and Fatigue over rode them all. Curling his arms around the weight, he clutched it close and snug, then slipped into recharge stasis blissfully.

For Laroura, it was a sensation she never ever wanted to forget. So this is an embrace? This is what the book meant by being wrapped in the arms of safe protection and being comforted in your times of need. Thank you Primus, if even only for a taste of time.

~~Perceptor awoke to the sound of armor falling over. Snapping up swiftly, he yanked his rifle from his hip and aimed it at the disturbance before his optics even opened. The yellow robed femme eeeped. Perceptor dropped the weapon and himself back to the ground face first, in a whoosh of relief seeing her. Taking a couple minutes to gather his wits, it gave her time to get the robe adjusted properly. "The rain has stopped," she tells him with a shaky voice. He only grunts back. "Percy?" He raises a silent hand to show he's okay. "I'm sorry?"

He just nods. "Some of us have hair triggers. Especially those of us who are not primarily soldiers," he mumbles back.

"Should I ask what you do as a soldier?"

"You really don't want to know. Pit! I don't even want to know." His head rotates up and he catches her pink optics, "I just want to explore right now. Please?"

She gives him a few moments and then her smile lits and the toe of her ped, tips a piece of his armor towards him, "Then I guess you will have to get dressed." He chuckles back to her and she leaves the shelter so he can get dressed in privacy. Never mind the fact she had slept against his bare chest all night. Or was that a dream to them both?

~~ Laroura was examining the equipment carefully with only her optics when the shadow fell across her. She didn't hear him approach. Casting her eyes up from the equipment, she was sure her spark was going to launch from her chest. Now she could see him fully in the sunlight. Last night in the fire light she thought it was a trick of the soft light that made him attractive, but now in the blessed full sunlight, he was even worse. She couldn't tear her gaze away.

A lithe form, with narrow hips, long arms, trim chest, and strong shoulders supporting the scope on his shoulder. Strapped to his long limbed thigh is the rifle he had pulled on her earlier. What did her in was the blue optics trained on her. They weren't looking at his equipment, they were caressing and stoking her face with all the tenderness of the lone digit of last night even from under the hood of her cloak. She felt like she was stuck in one of the tractor beams from one of the towing vessels in town.

Physically they maybe more than two arms lengths apart, but her underarmor tingled like last night all over again. His voice croaked, "What are you doing out here alone, "Sister?" She bites her lip. He doesn't move but tries again, "Laroura?"

Some how she drags her optics from him and to the equipment instead. She points, "So what exactly are you studying from the nova?"

"Sister Laroura, I will not be the cause of your banishment. What is going on?" Perceptor tries once more.

Her toes dig into the wet soil and she watches it do so. This time he does step forward, she sees his hand ghost in front of her chin, reaching to lift it, but at the last moment, before he actually makes contact, thrusts both hands to the small of his back, clasping tightly. "I'm on sabbatical," she finally mumbles. I made some comments and was told to go to the temple to pray. Last week, in town, I had over heard a scientist was going to be coming in from the Autobots to study the nova." Percy slowly lowers himself to one knee to look up into her optics. She does as he begs and gives him a weak smile, "I slipped out of the temple. Surely Primus would want us to pray to him in the beauty of the universe where he lives? And where else than with someone seeking the mysteries of…." Her chin waivers and a tear drops.

Perceptor understands, "You're struggling with your faith?"

She shakes her head, "No, not my faith. The teachings. The order." She huffs, "I'm chafing under the guise of this robe. I'm being greedy, I want more, but I owe them much…" She turns her head away and stomps a trim ped, "Would you just let me explore this nova for a little while with you and then I will head back to the temple to sort this all out? Please don't turn me away right now."

Rolling back to his peds and his full height, he sighs, "Alright, Sister Laroura. Let me show you what I know and what I hope to learn."

The rest of the afternoon he teaches her much of what he knows about novas and his equipment. To his astonishment, for as sheltered as she was, she knew a lot and picked up more even faster. Now he knew he was in trouble. He and Primus were going to have a little talk later about cruelty.

When dusk began to fall, they noticed they hadn't refueled until their tanks rumbled. "I get in trouble for this all the time back at base." She smiles at him teasing himself. Inside one of the cases, he finds his concentrated supplies. He hands her one, "They're battle grade, so not the greatest, but when I'm deep in thought, my taste receptors shut off anyways." She giggles with him shrugging. They both cringe at the taste and laugh together while waiting for the sky to turn dark. And then the real fun begins.

Neither one slept that night. Just a short time into the experiment, she gave up and chucked the cumbersome robe aside and dove into helping him. One glance to her lovely form, and he knew he was doomed if he didn't stay focused on the experiment.

And then dawn came all too soon. His com clicked, "Perceptor, I'll be there within the hour. Ready?"

Perceptor touches his com to reply, "Yeah, Cosmos. I'll be ready." And the com clicks off. The red scientist turns back to packing away his equipment. The lovely yellow femme slips her robe back on and helps him stack the cases. All that was left was to wait.

Standing with the crates between them, he can't help but reach a hand out palm up. He grips the very edge of her chin lightly between his thumb and fore finger. Her hood slips back off her helm tipping her chin up to meet his gaze. Not a word is said.

He leans in now only a mere inches from her, "I should stop."

Her own palms slip up onto either side of his helm bringing them even closer, "So should I." And then they meet. He kissed an angel's lips. She touched a heavenly body. He didn't mean to, but his lips moved and her fire lit. The grip on his helm tightened and pressed them tighter together. Before he knew it, he could taste her mouth warming and molding to his. She moaned and tried to press her body even closer to him, but the cases blocked them, thankfully.

"Sister Laroura! What are you doing?" A voice called from the marble wall.

Perceptor pulled back his head but not his hand, "Oh, no. I'm… I'm soo sorry, I-"

"I'm not." She breathes back. Trailing her knuckle down the side of his face she smiles, "Percy." With that she steps back, and tugs up her hood.

"Laroura, if you need me, I spend most of my time on Earth or Cybertron. The Autobots can always find me."

She smiles back, "And you thought you were a nobody in the ranks." He drops his head in a blush. The can both hear the gates to the Abby opening. A couple of the other Sisters are coming out. Within moments, the marble wall have swallowed up the yellow flit and glimmer of delight in his life. It was going to be a long harsh talk with Primus tonight, he groans.

~~The ride back to Earth was absolutely silent for Percy. Cosmos didn't notice while he yammered on about Mira. It only made Percy ache more for a forbidden femme and the damage he knows he caused her.

~~It was years, feeling like eons, when Blaster came to Perceptor in the lab, "Perceptor, Cosmos called and wanted me to give you a message. He said a nova with your name on it should be arriving shortly. Suggested a location for you to be. I don't understand. He said you should be alone. Do you understand?" He shakes his head. Blaster gives him the coordinates. Perceptor gathers some equipment and heads out to the field Cosmos suggested. Setting up his equipment, he waited searching the sky for signs of a nova.

But it was a meteor that landed mere feet from his location that shocked him. Scrambling over to the pit he looked into the smoldering glowing hole. The "meteor" began unfolding.

A sight he never thought he would ever see again unfolded before his eyes. Soft pink optics and lemon yellow proto-form unfolded in the pit. Gaping he asked the question, "Sister Laroura?"

She reaches into her subspace and pulls out Woobie. Looking at it tenderly for a moment, she holds it out to him, "You left this behind." He just gapes. She blinks at him, "Percy?"

"Wha- what are you doing outside the Abby?"

She looks down to Woobie in her hands, "I'm no longer a Sister."

At this he slides into the pit with her landing on his knees, "Oh Laroura, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. Damn, how could I have been so-"

She presses her finger tips to his lips and smiles broadly, "Percy, it wasn't you."

He takes her palm and kisses it then rubs it, "But I tainted you with my -"

"Percy, have you experienced your greatest mystery yet?" Her voice cracks with worry that he may have found a mate.

Looking up to her beautiful optics, he soothes and then presses the back of her finger tips to his lips. He whispers against them, "I gave up."

She lowers herself to her knees before him and curls the arm with the Woobie around his neck drawing her flush against this chest, "Please, don't give up just yet."

His arms crush her in his embrace, "I want you here, don't get me wrong, but what happened?"

Her body melts into his, burrowing her face in his neck, "I asked too many questions. Some of the Sisters were kind, some were not. Some said I needed to go and explore, I wasn't meant to be a Sister. Some said I was banished, others said I was released." His palms stroke her back keeping her close, "I saw your friend Cosmos and … Is it alright I came?"

He tilts his head to look deep into her optics, "I've missed you so badly. Forgive me," and his mouth claims hers possessively. Clenching the back of his helm with one hand and his sparkling-hood blankie with the other, Laroura looses herself in Perceptor.

The com pings, "Perceptor, we got a pod reading. Are you alright?" It was Wheeljack.

Perceptor doesn't break the heated kiss. "Percy?"

Now he lifts his head and touches the com panting, "Give me a second." He goes back in for another passionate kiss that leaves her limbs slipping from him. She has to pull back panting. He smiles broadly, "I'm fine, Wheeljack. I've got someone I want you to meet. I'll be there shortly."

He hoists Laroura to the crater edge and then launches himself up lithely. Delighted, he lifts her again back into his arms, "Welcome to your new home, Laroura."

~~ To Wheeljack's complete shock, Perceptor comes striding proud as one of the regular mechs into the lab with a dirty, but soft lemon yellow femme in his arms. In her hand, loosely around his neck, is something he hadn't seen in nearly a life time. Wheeljack points, "Is that Woobie?"

Percy smirks to Laroura, "Don't be offended. He's just obtuse." She giggles tiredly against his chest. Rather cocky, Perceptor stops and huffs to his lab mate, "I have a stunningly beautiful femme draped in my arms that obviously adores me and all you can see is a tattered blankie? Wheeljack, you are a dolt!" Perceptor brushes past the scowling white and striped mech, carefully setting her on the bench of the lab.

She hands the blankie to him, "Put that back. You may need it some day," she give him a leading look. Maybe it was a plea. He cocks a curious optic brow at her for more detail, but she doesn't give. Instead she holds a hand out to Wheeljack, "Laroura, you must be Wheeljack. Glad to meet you."

Wheeljack comes over to her absolutely shocked, "And he said nothing about you."

Percy strokes her face, "Because she was a lost hope. A painful memory."

She strokes his cheek back, "And now I am home."

He presses his forehelm to her, "Yes… yes you are."

The room com calls, "Wheeljack, are they back yet?" He only grunts clearly shocked by the scene at the workbench. First Aide groans, "Could you tellll them to come to the med bay? All new arrivals are supposed to have an exam. You know that."

Wheeljack mumbles, "Ah-"

Perceptor smiles but doesn't move his forehead, "Sure. We'll be there in a moment."

Laroura loops her arms about his neck again, "I'm not a damsel…"

He smiles, "But reentry is rather draining. Don't worry, you won't ever have to do that again, I promise. It's also very dangerous. What made you think-"

Her fingers stroke his neck very tenderly, "I had nothing to loose. Either I found you or my Maker. Either way, it would come out alright."

He lifts her back into his arms shaking his head, "Damn you have some faith!"

He turns and heads out the door, while she asks, "Damn?" He chuckles.

~~In the medbay, he sets her on one of the gurneys. First Aide comes to her side smiling with his data pad, "Hello, my name is First Aide and I will be your medic today. So first things first, What is your designation?"

She glances over to Perceptor a bit nervous. He comes back over with a wet towel and begins cleaning off her face, "He's fine. It's Ratchet you have to worry about."

First Aide scoffs, "More like Wheeljack. Now, as I was saying?"

She sighs, "Laroura."

"Function?"

She looks to Perceptor for help. Perceptor smiles and answers, "Lab technician."

First Aide rolls his optics, "Don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out."

Perceptor laughs, "Yeah, but the rocket scientist, didn't."

First Aide pushes Perceptor aside, "You are a bad a Sunstreaker. What has gotten into you?"

Perceptor frowns to First Aide. Laroura slips her hand into Perceptor's, now standing behind her while the medic begins his exams. "You're very low on Energon. When's the last time you refueled?" She shakes her head. "Yeah, reentry can mess up your chronometer. Let me get some more scans, get you set up in our medical files. Then I'll send you to get clean. I want you to rest." He shoots Perceptor a warning look, "ALONE, here, so I monitor you. Alright?" Once again Perceptor fires a horrid look to First Aide for that other crack.

Laroura looks up to Percy a little worried, "Percy?"

He squeezes her hand, "I'll be near by. He's right, you look tired. I'll be just down the hall with Wheeljack. He won't hurt you." She still looks a little worried about all the newness. Perceptor leans in pressing his forehelm to hers again, "I trust him. He's a pacifist, you'll be safe."

Closing her optics in his nearness, she presses back and whispers, "Alright."

He wants so badly to kiss her again, but they aren't alone with First Aide sifting his weight from one ped to another in impatience.

Perceptor pulls back slowly, "I better go. The sooner he's done, the sooner you can get some rest and that will be sooner that we can talk." Silently she nods and lets him slip from her grasp and watches him leave the room.

Should I bring this back to the beginning? I have an idea for a gift of AllSpark Well water that could gift Perceptor and Laroura with Mercy and Autoclave. Pondering bringing Drift in.