Author's Note: This Story is directly linked to the two others in this series^^ and it might help a little to read chapter 7 in Senses: Sight^^ I hope you like itXD PLEASE REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I wish I could hug them! I'm still up for pairings suggestions for 'Touch' and 'taste'^^

Rodimus Prime sat silently in the command centre, his bright crimson, orange and yellow frame settled into one of the chairs by the view screens, providing the only illumination in the room. His head drooped slightly, shoulders sinking gratefully as an invisible weight was slowly lifting off them, grateful to be finally here… finally able to release the burden that had rested upon his shoulders. Optimus Prime had left the care of Cybertron in his hands, the care of the Autobots when he was searching for the AllSpark, the weight had rested uneasily upon him. It was hard to fill the void such a charismatic and powerful leader left him to fill, his usual self-confidence nosediving with each passing Orn.

He was a capable leader, willing to lead from the front, trying to balance everything as it tangled about him, Ultra Magnus had aided him at times, but still his insecurities and inability to trust in his own decisions made everything spiral out of control until he came. Magnus meant well… but… When had it been? The first time he had met the other Mech? The brief times that Kup assigned the Mech to guard him were the only times he had felt secure in his position, the only time he had been able to mesh well with his troops. He had confided in the Mech, knowing out of everyone this one could be trusted. He could trust him to not judge him… to give him sound advice and temper his rashness with a calm logic and quiet suggestion. To be the rock and support Rodimus Prime craved in the absence of the great Prime, and he had been given it and more. A friend… a smile and a steadying hand.

And the Mech was here… assigned to him once every few shifts… but there had been a whisper that Red Alert, Prowl and Kup might allow this Mech to take up the post permanently. The moment he had heard the rumours he had felt his Spark stir madly within his chassis, hope blooming that it might be true. He didn't ask. Wouldn't let any know… What would they say?

But he begged Primus that it was true.

True that Streetwise might be back at his side and this time he would be staying there.

"Sir?" Those pale blue optics glanced at him from the doorway, the Mech standing there as requested, even though it was late, Streetwise never seemed to mind the Prime's requests. The presence calmed Rodimus instantly chasing away all the thoughts that had been plaguing him.

"Streetwise, thankyou for coming." He was standing up easily, tall frame stretching ever so slightly, before striding towards the smaller Mech, catching the flicker of those optics across his frame as he moved. Rodimus couldn't help the rush of pleasure to know that his appearance was something Streetwise seemed to find agreeable. "Shall we?"

"Yes, Sir."

And the powerful, sleek frame of the Protectobot straightened and was moving to Rodimus's side, sleek doorwings bouncing slightly with his movements, 'flapping' slightly in happiness. Or at least what Roddy considered to be happiness, the poor Prime was trying to keep his optics off those doorwings that twitched and bounced slightly with that swaying walk of the Protectobot's. How could one Mech be so beautiful? He would like to find out…

Soon enough they were beginning their patrol around the base. Rodimus trying everything he could to hide a smile at being the centre of the Protectobot's attention.

It stank.

The stench was unbearable as if wafted through the corridor and permeated every inch of it, flowing upwards into the air-conditioning systems and just being blown around the rest of the section of the base. The broken bottle lay by Rodimus Prime's door, labelled in Wheeljack's slightly fuzzy writing, spelling out something noone wanted to know about or in some small circles hoped that the Engineer would not have or fabricate.

Hydro-Miaston was a useful chemical for mixing up medical grade Energon. It made a good binding agent in small delicate repairs. It was good for optical sensors that had been slightly ruptured…

But is really stank.

It smelled so bad that Ratchet refused to ever consider using it, even if it had superior medical qualities. The scent of it was like… There was no way to describe that particular scent to anyone… all that could be said was to humans it made them gag and run for the nearest bathroom, for Transformers it did something nastier that they would not speak of to anyone.

And the bottle was dropped right at Rodimus Prime's door.

His quarters would be unliveable. Everything within it would be unrecoverable for at least nine orns. The surrounding unoccupied quarters had suffered the same fate because of the air-conditioning vents that linked several of them to the central cooling unit. Rodimus was stuck…

The big Mech looked green around the seams, his optics shimmering slightly with cleanser fluid as he stood far down the corridor from his quarters, staring towards the door and the contents within. This was not good. With all the spare quarters currently filled by more recently landed teammates and the rest stinking just as badly as his own, he was left with limited option on what to do. He would not commandeer someone else's quarters for the sake of his own privacy and needs. Fingers rubbed between his optics, his shoulders slumping trying to work out what in the Pit he could do about this.

Streetwise.

The thought of the silver and azure mech made him almost groan, his head shaking slightly, trying to push that particular idea away. What would it be like… to spend even more time about the beautiful Mech? To be that close… Have a chance to… he would be intruding… Slag he would be intruding and he just, he didn't know if the other Mech had a 'partner', the thought had been one he couldn't store for long before a strange outrageous sting of jealousy would strike him

He couldn't. He wanted to, but he couldn't…

Rodimus Prime was starting to smell bad too.

With a groan, the Mech was turning away from the corridor, hitting the blast shield lock on his way, sending a few signals to several other Mechs and putting Wheeljack on notice that if the Engineer was within visual distance of him anytime within the next Orn, he would verbally take out his annoyance on the cause of his sudden trouble.

Soon enough he was at the doors of Medbay, having determined here or Perceptor's lab would be the best place to get something to get rid of the faint stink that now clung to his armour. He would not go around smelling like dead rotting flesh and several other disgusting concoctions. The doors of Medbay hissed open, First Aid looking up at him from where he was working on a patient at the back of Medbay, giving the Autobot Commander a smile and a curious look. Before glancing down at the patient hidden by his smaller frame and some of the equipment before hurrying towards the commander.

"Sir, how can I help you?" Head tipping upwards the small Medic barely reached the Prime's chestplate, but that expression was so similar to Streetwise's he was blinking again to try to dispel the affection he suddenly felt.

The smell rose from his chassis in a disgusting wave.

Suddenly First Aid stiffened, sniffing the air, that nose almost as sensitive as Ratchet's and he was suddenly backing up a step, covering his olfactory sensor and then stared at the Prime with a look of 'what happened to you'? "You stink, Sir."

He would have laughed at that, a small smile touched the edge of his lips before fading a little, he really did smell quite bad. "Wheeljack left me a little surprise. Unfortunately that surprise now makes my quarters quite unliveable."

"Hydro-Miaston… I didn't even think we had any of that here…"

"We weren't meant to."

"Wheeljack." First Aid sighed softly, glancing back over his shoulder towards the patient he had clearly been working on. "I'll give you something to get it off your armour… But you'll need a very good scrubbing… maybe the wash racks." A look made him reconsider, Rodimus Prime might be immaculate in his appearance, but he was yet to give into the 'desire' to have Humans wash him. Rodimus was perfectly happy cleaning himself.

"Aid…?"

The voice startled Rodimus, his head snapping upwards at the sound of it as he caught sight of Streetwise propping himself up on the berth behind the equipment. Armour plating missing from half his chassis and across one strong shoulder, the metal glinting slightly revealing fine weld lines across the surface and the silvery cleanness of new replaced parts. Pale blue optics were blinking slightly, hinting the other Mech had been sedated enough to get through the worst of the repairs without injuring him. And the Prime's Spark dropped painfully into his tanks, 'Wise… couldn't be… not…

The battle had been a disaster, Rodimus had almost take a shot from Starscream, but his bodyguard and launched himself forwards taking the hit and deflecting it with a blast of his own weapon. The smaller Mech had fallen against Rodimus with a grin and reassurance that he was 'fine', just a little frazzled before they were up and moving again. The lithe graceful frame easily being able to keep up with the speed-demon of Rodimus, watching his back and giving out Rodimus's battle plan orders swiftly through internal frequencies… The two of them worked together perfectly, their battle computers linked together, sharing the load… Rodimus's battle experience and ingenious knack for coming up with tactics and Streetwise's calm logic and understanding of the bots around him… Streetwise relaying the orders to the correct troops, they had swiftly driven back the enemy from the battlefield.

Rodimus had never known such swift, decisive battle plans before. He was a good commander, brilliant, fast and determined. But with Streetwise tempering him, even Optimus had come out with audible praise before the Autobots. It was like… having someone there reassuring him… a quiet whisper in the back of his processors that gently guided him, suggesting… encouraging, giving him the power to make the decisions that had always made him so hesitant.

But as soon as the battle was over, the private link was severed, leaving him gasping and almost drowning in his own emotions again, without the steady support of the other Mech. After that last battle… he had questioned the other on the extent of his injuries. Being told by a slightly flustered Mech that it wasn't more than a bit of singed armour.

That clearly hadn't been true.

Pale blue optics flickered slightly before the frame was settling back onto the berth, wincing slightly as that arm shifted against his side still tender. The computer automatically adjusting the dosage of sedatives being fed into the fast processing systems the Protectobot had, the light dimmed before he even realised that Rodimus Prime was there, staring as the Mech dropped back out of view. A jolt of raw fear fluttered through him at the thought of just how injured Streetwise clearly was… that he had spent most of the battle like that… and had given Rodimus the most beautiful reassuring smile afterwards. "Streetwise." A lie to his commander that everything was well…

Streetwise was soon offline again, systems powering down quickly as he dropped into a forced recharge to protect some of his vital systems, considering the battering the frame had taken over the past orn.

"He's been here since you dismissed him from his duty post, Sir." First Aid was glancing up at the brightly coloured Mech, optics clearly displeased with the Prime and that jaw set. "He should have been here straight after the battle."

"I… I didn't know…" Rodimus whispered softly, his expression revealing the horror that touched him, what if it had been worse? How could he not have noticed? How blind was he, when the one that mattered most was hurt? "Primus… I didn't know…"

"He'll be fine. Just badly fractured his shoulder joint, needed a completely replacement. He'll be a little stiff…" First Aid was giving Rodimus Prime a critical look as if sizing him up and trying to see if he could trust him with something. And suddenly the Prime wanted the Medic's approval, he didn't know why… but… he felt it was important. "If I find out you didn't check him properly again after battle, I'll talk to Optimus Prime myself about my brother's positing."

The brightly coloured almost socially awkward mech felt his mouth almost drop open at that. The rumours… where true? Streetwise would be taking the permanent posting? His Spark leapt at the knowledge. Streetwise would be with him… But suddenly he felt as if he was missing something important. He was usually perceptive… but the way he was being looked at.

"You really are oblivious, aren't you?" First Aid whispered, shaking his head and gesturing that the smelly Prime could come over to the berth between the equipment, Rodimus's servos instantly reaching out to curl about one of 'Wise's, thumb brushing over the back of it, needing the contact to ensure that the other was indeed well.

The Prime had originally been a very social Bot, rash, excitable and keen to prove himself worthy of the trust put in him, he had enough self-confidence to send Sunstreaker spinning. But with the rebuild he had taken as more trust was placed in him, his personality had shifted, he had withdrawn from friends, colleagues… knowing that if he went to close… if he touched them… 'grounded' himself amongst them… he wouldn't be able to do his duties. He couldn't send friends into battle knowing that it might be him sending them off to die. He would rather do it himself…

There had been plenty of those with crushes on the strikingly handsome Mech, and he had first indulged them before realising just how empty all that flirting, all that meaningless vanity had been. Streetwise had seen right through him, forcing the Prime to acknowledge him and those hands would brush against his lightly at times. Showing that there was someone there… Someone understood him. Grounding him gently.

"I don't know…?"

"He's quite obvious about it, you brightly-coloured overpowered...brick." First Aid was tired of seeing his beloved Brother sending those short glances in the way of the Prime, Streetwise was strangely too shy to approach the Prime, and the Prime clearly desired 'Wise's presence. The two of them fit together so well that everyone had noticed the change and welcomed it, Rodimus Prime was a great second-in-command and made even more so when accompanied by the charming, savvy police Bot.

"You like him."

"What?" Rodimus Prime froze at the sheer abruptness of the statement.

"You like him, just look at you." The little Medic was watching the Prime, who's hands were currently curled around one of Streetwise's, stroking slowly in a fashion that brushed over delicate sensors to reassure the recharging Protectobot that someone was there with him. "Ratchet was right!"

"I'm right about what?" The lime green head suddenly appeared in the doorway to his office, dark blue optics blinking slightly at the three other Mechs with a raised optic ridge. "Aid?"

"I owe you two shifts now…" The little Medic whined softly, his lips parting in a soft sigh, the two of them having become more and more comfortable that they had started showing their 'odd humour' around their patients. "You were right about Prime here."

Rodimus Prime was mortified…

"I told you."

"Alright… I knew Streetwise had it bad… but I wasn't sure about big and 'flamin' here." A thumb gestured towards the mortified, rather smelly Prime.

"What? Streetwise… eh?" The Prime was blinking, still looking horrified that people had bet on his… feelings… but was shocked by the fact that from the way they were speaking… 'Wise might…

"From the expression and the fact that his core temperature just went…"

"I can see that, you know." Aid was grinning at him. Both Medics having scanned the stuttering Prime and were clearly delighted with the results. Whoever said these two together was a bad idea was RIGHT.

"Mmmh… reading my processors again are you…"

"Oh, but you like that." The low purring whisper clearly made Ratchet shiver as something was going on between the two, making Rodimus feel even more awkward, but so curious. What was it like to have someone like that? Someone that knew intimately everything that went on within you, that changed everything that you were for the better?

Ratchet was happier, friendlier and more open around the others, his temper had been cooled by the warm compassion of the other Mech. First Aid had gotten a little more confidence in himself, becoming more outspoken on issues… the pair working perfectly together in whatever emergency they were called to. The humans had been amazed by the silent communication and easy connection… Sparkbonds weren't so common… but when some formed they were like theirs, something truly special. What would it be like to have something like that?

"Mmmh I do."

"RATCHET!" First Aid was suddenly flustered, head ducking and looking away from the other Medic, clearly having received something that was… not for any other.

"That instead of the Duty shifts…"

"You are so…"

"Naughty? Just maybe a little."

"Will you two… stop that…?" Rodimus gritted out, feeling so very embarrassed… His grip on Streetwise's hand had tightened.

"No." The shared reply made the Prime flush slightly.

"Frag it…"

"No thanks." Ratchet smirked, optics flickering with amusement that they had completely knocked the Prime off-balance, maybe they could knock some sense into those processors of his while they were at it. "You know how happy Streetwise is when you request him after duty hours?"

Happy? Even when he made unreasonable demands on Streetwise's time… the other Mech came to him sometimes even early, a brilliant smile on those lips and a arm greeting. "I…"

"How happy he is when he's with you? 'Wise talks about you, actually you're usually all he talks about." It was First Aid that spoke to him, lightly resting a hand against 'Wise's injured shoulder and lightly stroking over it softly. His Brother would not be pleased with him for this. But he wanted to see the pair together. They just… clicked. "He thinks the world of you, even when he was with us and away from you… he still followed every single report he could get his hands on concerning you. It nearly offlined him knowing that you had gotten gravely injured on Solaris Pix, he was ready to commandeer a transport to go to you…"

Wise? Wise… is this true? He was turning to gaze down at the Mech recharging before him, his hand lifting upwards and lightly stroke across the warm cheek, learning the fine plates and elegant lines of that beautiful face, a thumb sweeping across soft lips that parted in unconscious delight at the caress. Do you real care so much about me?

"Either you start acting it. You start doing something for both your sakes or I'll suggest to him he turn his attention to someone…"

"NO! Don't… don't do that." Rodimus was staring at First Aid, knowing the threat was real." His hand stilled against the warm helm of the Protectobot, realising what his hesitation was causing. He had been blind to it… believing that Streetwise could never… "I promise I'll make it up to him. I swear. Just… please…"

"Do you love him?"

First Aid was gazing at Rodimus steadily.

The Prime took a deep breath.

"Yes."

"Then prove it to him, you fragging Lugnut!"

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