1The Simplicity of Gratitude and Complexity of Thanks

by Lily d'Jerusalem

Set to My Garden by Rie Sinclair if you so wish to know my inspiration. Arcee's garden is, of course, the out of the way medical wing which she was left to rot in. It may or may not look like Arkham Asylum. Although the lyrics sound more like Shockwave being all creeper with candy, of-course-I-won't-dig-through-your-brain-circuits. Okay so inspiration it may be but I dunno, Pinocchio from the Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino OST is probably the better soundtrack? Whatever. This basically expounds why ArceexRatchet hasn't worked for me in a while. Coma!Arcee sure but not Conscious!Arcee. Also, what happened to Arcee in the victory parade on Cybertron? She was a hero too! Hmph.

The fervor of celebration had died down. Day to day life had for the most part resumed.

And still things felt weird for Arcee. Something stuck in the back of her mind and wouldn't leave her alone. Not when she was in line at the teaching unit credentials office, not when she was out with Moonracer and Glyph at the Aerobar, not when Ratchet had so kindly and politely escorted her to the Stunticons' Stunt Show. Although that in itself was more awkward than anything. She hadn't known the medicbot before their brief encounter during the war and though she could somewhat sense him looming over her bedside occasionally in her stasis and they'd been teamed up once again on the moon of Earth she didn't really know him too well.

And despite the vanity of such a thought he wasn't the strapping mech he used to be and she'd liked the hopeful young field medic that she had met much more than the awkward old medic he was now. When she had awoken she hadn't known how much time had passed and hadn't known how different he had become. But that was the crux of that matter really; he almost seemed to feel entitled to her friendship and companionship because he had rather... obsessed over her while she was in stasis. She'd have quite liked if he'd just forgotten about her and went on with things. How was she supposed to say no to his offer to escort her to the stunt show when all the other bots murmured about how "lucky" she was to have such a dedicated old mech standing by and making sure she was alright.

Did they forget she'd been the most decorated intelligence officer at the height of the war? Did they think the Omega Supreme codes were just handed out to anyone for safe keeping? No, no they weren't. She'd proven herself one of the most capable agents the Autobots had AND she had vorns of experience corralling and teaching youngbots both of which skills made her the perfect handler for Omega Supreme. But they all forgot that didn't they? She was just the pretty femme who the old medic had patiently pined over and done absolutely nothing until his hand was forced. Yes he was part of the team to help her escape from the Decepticons but he was hardly their leader or even a key player, his EMP generator was what finally unscrambled her circuits but it had been the little femme from Earth who'd done that. Arcee practically had to use his pit forsaken EMP generator on herself in the first place to make sure the damn codes didn't fall into Decepticon servos since he didn't have the crankcase to do it.

But noone remembered those bits. And so she forced a smile and politely escorted the medic when he asked her to. It was somewhat nice to have someone to talk with who remembered things she thought were from only yesterday but she enjoyed the whole of society more. It was all freash and new and a little strange but she loved learning and there was so much to learn after so long asleep. But it was that society which somewhat frustrated her. She was forced into the role of the damsel who had been rescued and was repaying the hero with attention. Except he wasn't the reason she'd been revived. If what the old stories both from Cybertron and from that youngbot's Earth said, it was that the one who actually woke up the in stasis or decommissioned princess who was the hero and entitled to her attention and smiles. Ratchet was not that bot. Another bot had claim to that, though the little femme from Earth also had claim to her thanks for reordering her mind once she was awake again, thanks which Arcee had already given her.

And no matter how hard she tried she couldn't help it, no matter what, the other half of her solutionalways came back into her mind. No matter if she tried to distract herself or pointedly tried to not think of him or tried to let time wash him from her neural circuits he just wouldn't leave her be though she hadn't seen him since their encounter on the moon of Earth.

As Arcee got ready to go into standby for the night she decided to set things right concerning that. She'd get up early to make sure she'd have plenty of time to do it so she couldn't fall back on the excuse of being too busy. And to minimize the number of bots she would run into on the way.

Arcee quietly walked into the detention center. It was very early in the cycle and most if not all the bots would still be in standby. She hoped they'd all be at rest. Then she could slip in and slip out and let noone be the wiser. Luckily it wasn't too hard to find who she was looking for.

She looked at the looming purple mech who'd once been her superior at the intelligence agency at some point. It took a second for him to recognize her but he did and his mood most certainly did not improve from it.

"What do you want little Intelbot?" His voice was more weary than angry. Probably tired of bots taunting him. The Autobots never had been sticklers for letting criminals rot in peace.

She stood silently for a few moments.

"Do you want to berate me? Say I ruined your life? Don't you wish to heap curses upon my very spark for all the horrible things I have done to you and your kind? You will get no apology from me I can assure you of that much, little Intelbot."

She stood silently for a few moments more, her gaze just shy of his feet.

He stood up, expelling air from his vents in annoyance, and strode to the plexi that kept him from being a threat. His claws ran down the barrier, demonstrating that only a thin, transparent sheet kept him from being able to get to her once more.

"Thank you." Arcee's voice was very soft, barely audible. She spoke loud enough for Shockwave to hear and only Shockwave.

"What?" He was truly perplexed at such words.

"Thank you." She repeated, then elaborated. "If it wasn't for you I'd still be tucked away in that forgotten medical wing. I'd still be in stasis. I would still for all intents and purposes be dead without being given the dignity of powering down. Thank you for rescuing me from that."

She didn't put her own servo on the plexi over his much larger one. She didn't move, just kept staring at the floor. Her lip plates quirked into the faintest of smiles at finally having voiced what she had felt all those decacycles. She turned to go.

"I hardly rescued you, you were the easier of two options for the code and I would have torn your neural circuits apart to get it. I am no hero, Intelbot, and I would not pretend to be one in regards to my intentions for you."

The smile on her lip plating grew ever so slightly bigger. "As a fellow spy you must realize how precious the truth is, do you aim for more praise by such use of it? I hardly condone what the Decepticons have done and wish to do but you have done me a great favor, even if you had decommissioned me. I simply came to thank you for that."

She chose to leave at that time. Other bots were starting to reboot and she needed to get to the medical facility for yet another rehabilitation session.

Shockwave's lone red optic watched as she left, her shoulders held back but not in pride. She did not walk with an air have a weight relieved from her shoulders. She truly just seemed happy to have been able to give her thanks.

He could partly understand why she wished to thank him, he'd spent a good number of cycles detained and was looking forward to a trial if only to be sentenced to decommissioning so he wouldn't have to put up with the tedium of having absolutely nothing to occupy his time. But still. She had purposely come out of her way to thank him for almost completely scrambling her circuits. And there was no impetus he could discern that she had been forced into it.

She had come of her own free will to thank him. To thank him and only to thank him and not expect anything in return from him.

He returned to the berth in the corner of his cell.

He liked being thanked. Especially when it was only thanks and not an underhanded way to use him.

Exactly. There might be more if I can ever figure out a good legitimate way for Shockwave to be pardoned/released. I can't think of a good one that won't put him completely on the Decepticons' shitlist (ie he was giving Decepticon intel to the Autobots). Maybe the Autobots lose the paperwork/box of evidence so with nothing but circumstantial evidence to prove him guilty they let him off? Arcee wouldn't testify and we all know Shockwave knows the system well enough to manage making the testimony of the Earth Autobot crew invalid. Or then he could plead he was kidnaped by them and forced to do their bidding? Still not liking that. So consider this done I guess. Until my muse dropkicks a plausible solution into my brain or something.