A/N: A ficclet inspired by a landscape thing I scribbled into my sketchbook, where the two figures looked oddly blocky and like they had wings; everything else went from there. :)

My internet was down for most of today, so I decide to finish this; not my best choice, as I've been running on five hours or less of sleep a day for a week, and I'm feeling a little delirious right now. Not sure where I was going with this fic, but playing mind games with Sandy had something to do with it. XD

As mentioned above, I'm not feeling my best, so if you spot anything wrong - spelling or grammatical errors, abuse of punctuation, things that don't make sense or could be phrased better, etc. - please tell me. It's very much appreciated. :)

Anyhoo, enjoy! :D

Haven

Sandstorm paused for what seemed like the thousandth time on his uphill trek to pull the leaves, branches and assorted plant life out of his joints. Using a considerable amount of self-control to suppress the annoyance in his voice, he called to the 'Bot who was now caught in a mess of bushes several yards ahead of him, "And you're sure you know where we're going?"

"Positive." was Fireflight's reply. He had managed to get one foot free and, with a few tugs, regained the other. He paused to look at his surroundings, nodded to himself, then continued his climb uphill. Groaning inwardly, Sandstorm sped up his pace until he was side-by-side with the red jet. "I don't get why we couldn't just fly there... " he muttered, brushing stray branches off of his shoulders. Fireflight hastily bit back a giggle, knowing that it would do nothing to improve his lover's mood; judging from the glare he was now receiving, though, he hadn't been successful.

"Well, it's kind of harder to find from the air - for me, at least, since I found it wandering through the woods; and besides, it would ruin the surprise."

"'Surprise'?" Sandstorm asked, and received another giggle in reply.

"Come on, we're almost there!" the jet chirped, and sprinted ahead, barreling through a wall of thorn-ridden bushes. He followed Fireflight, wondering what the frag the Aerialbot was plotting...and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.

Fireflight had walked out to the end of a large stone ledge that protruded from the side of the hill they had been climbing. Long, low swooping branches and thick bushes lined the sides of the ledge, seemingly trying to pull it back into the earth and forming a canopy over the part closest to the hillside. He took several steps forward and stood next to the jet, looking over the edge of the cliff. There was a drop of about 35 to 40 feet, straight into a sea of evergreen forest that stretched for as far as his optics could see.

Feeling a light tug on his hand, Sandstorm turned to his right - westward - and felt his jaw drop (which was thankfully hidden by his battle mask.)

In front of him now was one of the most brilliant sunsets he had ever seen. Gold melded with orange and crimson, blending and bleeding into the violet and navy of the night sky. There was such intensity, such fluidity, he felt as if he had been thrust into the painting Fireflight had done for him and now occupied a place of honor in his quarters.

"Nice, isn't it?"

He glanced at the younger 'Bot. The jet was swaying slightly, in time with the gentle breeze caressing the ledge they stood upon; he had a far-off look as he faced the horizon - yellow, red, and orange playing off his soft blue optics and grey face plates; a contented smile ghosted over his lips.

The triplecharger watched him and noticed the change from his usual demeanor. As soon as they had reached the cliff, Fireflight's naive and awkward aura had melted away; it was like a weight had been taken off of him, like he was really at peace.

Fireflight settled onto the edge of the cliff and let his legs dangle off; Sandstorm followed suit. Without even realizing it, he snaked his left arm around the jet and began tracing odd little patterns on the top of his leg. Fireflight, in turn, moved closer and curled up against the Wrecker's side, letting loose a contented sigh.

"You found this wandering in the forest?" Sandstorm questioned. Fireflight's voice was soft and serene as he replied, "Yeah. Remember that battle last month? Where I got separated from the others?" Sandstorm nodded, his face brushing against the top of 'Flight's helmet. "I was pretty bad shape - low on energy, navigational systems all messed up. I was sure I was gonna crash somewhere in the forest and no one was ever gonna find me.

"Well, I did crash, about a quarter mile from here. Panicked a lot, too, when I found out my com systems were fragged. I wandered around in circles for a bit, trying to contact the others through our bond, but I was so low on energy that I couldn't concentrate. At about sunset, I managed to get up that hill, - don't ask me how, or why, I think I was delirious - but I got up the hill and found this."

Fireflight sat up and swept his arm out in front of him, indicating the scene before them. "I must have been up here for almost half an hour just taking it all in. I don't remember much about afterwards. I know I made it back down the hill and started heading that way," he pointed vaguely behind them, "eastward, I think. I might have been trying to walk back to the Ark or something, I don't know, but that was when my wingmates found me." " He settled back against Sandstorm's side again. "As soon as Ratchet let me out of the med bay, I painted the sunset just like I remembered it. It was pure luck that I found it again, and I've been back here six times since then, usually whenever it looks like the others need a break from me." The Aerialbot buried his face into Sandstorm's neck. "I love it up here," he breathed. "I've wanted to show you this for a while."

Sandstorm merely nodded, blinking in a dazed way while trying to process everything Fireflight had said. It was clear he had never brought any of the other Aerialbots here, and this place obviously meant a lot to him; here, he didn't have to worry about getting distracted while on duty. He didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing. He didn't have to worry about being ignored, or screwing up and making things harder for his wingmates. Here, he was free to daydream, to paint, to be himself - the young, talented, sweet, sincere mech everyone seemed to overlook.

This was Fireflight's haven, his escape, the one place where he could feel free...and he had willingly let Sandstorm in.

Like many times before, the Wrecker could feel two trains of thought take form in his processor. The first was loud and panicky, berating him relentlessly for getting involved with the Arielbot; this was a war, it said, the only ones he could afford to be close to were his own team, and even then it was better to keep his distance. He'd made far too many enemies - if they were to find out about 'Flight's connections to him, how easy would it be to take advantage of him, to hurt him...?

The other thought was softer, kinder, and in its own way, stronger than the first. It brought sweet memories of going out flying for hours on end, of sitting in the common room telling stories, of sneaking away into Fireflight's quarters, of holding the Aerialbot close and wishing they would never have to be apart...

He couldn't afford to take chances - getting any closer to Fireflight would put him in Primus-knew how much danger and could get him killed, something the triplecharger was not going to risk. But just up and leaving him - even for his own good - wasn't an option. He would be the cause of the Aerialbot's pain, and...Sandstorm wasn't sure he could do it. After all the time they'd spent together, after all the mornings the Wrecker had onlined to the sight of Fireflight's smile, after realizing that the only time he didn't feel on edge was when he was with the other mech, Sandstorm was sure he wouldn't be able to hurt 'Flight like that, unless there was no other way.

In the end, as he had done many times before, Sandstorm chose to ignore these thoughts. All he wanted right now was to feel his lover in his arms and see the crimson light of the sunset dance over his pale face plates. Sandstorm carefully retracted his battle mask, tilted the Aerialbot's chin upwards to face him, and grazed his lips over the smaller 'Bot's. As Fireflight leaned up into the kiss, Sandstorm couldn't help but think: the war be damned, as long as he had Fireflight's love, all the "what if's" in the universe didn't mean a thing, and anyone who dared to lay a hand on the jet would wish they had never been sparked. Those were the Wrecker's last coherent thoughts until well into the night.