Thanks
Ironhide fingered the connections on his forearms where his cannons would normally be faithfully mounted, ready to fire at the slightest flexing of his hand. The connectors were empty now, his guns currently being "inspected" by the human government's paranoid scientists. They had sworn to him and Optimus that the weapons would be returned in pristine condition. The research they were conducting on the guns was not supposed to be for their own weapons development, but on advancing power cells to reduce energy consumption. The large black mech gazed forlornly at his now bare arms, already missing the familiar weight that the cannons provided. He recalled only one other time where his trusty weapons had been taken. Jazz and Bumblebee had thought he was blowing too many holes in the academy's walls and had 'confiscated' them. The guns had shown up a couple of orns later, polished and clean, at the door to his quarters. Ratchet had laughed at him, telling him that it was 'about time someone took him down a notch or three' and had left, the sound of his chuckles echoing down the hallways.
The sharp jolt of a magnetic pulse to his shoulder brought Ironhide back from his memories and caused him to jump in his seat. He heard an amused snort from one side and a quiet giggle from the other before he managed to look around. Jazz and Bumblebee looked at him, amusement written all over their faces.
"There you are." Bumblebee said.
"We've been trying to get your attention for nearly a breem." replied Jazz.
Ironhide glowered at them both, hands still absently tapping the cannon attachment points.
"Well, you've got it. Now what do you want?"
"Geez, 'Hide. Always so gruff." Jazz stated.
"Yeah, we just wanted to see how you were holding up." Bumblebee added.
"Ratchet told us that the humans wanted to test your cannons. He asked us to keep you company until he got here."
Ironhide grunted. Ratchet had seemed rather distant as of late. The Topkick knew it was because, next to Prime, there was no one else more qualified to act as a diplomatic liaison for the Autobots. Ironhide was not the mech to handle 'delicate' situations since he preferred to blast away whatever annoyed him. But it still made him feel a bit left out.
"Did he? That's nice." Ironhide, grumbled.
"Aw, quit bein' like that, 'Hide."
"Yeah. We hate seeing you upset."
"And the Doc will have our heads if we don't at least -try- to get you out of this funk." said the Solstice.
The black mech grumbled and tried to ignore the two young bots.
"You know, I remember last time your cannons came up missing." Bumblebee started.
"That's because you two hellions pilfered them…"
"You were fit to be tied then, 'Hide. Thought you were gunna clean both our clocks for a while there." Jazz added.
"I was."
"We never did apologize for that, Jazz."
Bumblebee laid a hand on Ironhide's arm, near where he was fiddling with the weapons connections. The weapons specialist flinched and hissed, causing the young mech to quickly withdraw his hand.
"Did I hurt you? Move your hand…" Bumblebee asked, worriedly. Jazz, too, reacted to his movements, leaning forward over Ironhide's shoulder to see what was ailing the older bot.
"It's fine, Bee. Just leave it alone." Ironhide said, trying to swat the Camaro away.
Bumblebee ignored him, grabbing the larger mech's hand and lifting it away. The yellow mech's free hand gently glided over the attachments and cables, looking for any damage that might be present. Jazz watched his partner as each of the touches caused a tremble through the black mech's frame. He had also worried that the cannons removal might have caused the large Autobot problems but as the tremors progressed, he realized that they certainly weren't caused by pain. Realization dawned on Jazz around the same time it occurred to Bumblebee. The two younger mechs locked gazes for a mere moment before they looked at their former instructor.
Ironhide squirmed a bit under their gazes. He had -tried- to tell them to leave the attachments be but they were as stubborn as he was when they wanted to be. It couldn't be denied that the worried touch he received from Bumblebee had set his tactile sensors alight. Now, the pair seemed to realize that same thing.
"Just…leave them alone." he said, voice embarrassed, and tried to rise from his seat.
Two pairs of hands, one on his shoulders, the other on his chest, pushed him back down. As soon as he was seated again, the hands wandered down to his forearms, lightly fingering the bare connections. Ironhide tensed, trying to process what had just happened, trying to regain control of the situation. His mental status, however, took a nosedive as fingers started gently delving beyond the exterior connectors, heat and magnetics firing low level pulses into his frame. The large burly mech had to bite back a cry at the simultaneous sensations shot through him. The sound came out as a groan, choked back as another pulse teased his circuitry. He'd never figured that an accidental touch would set these two off to this level nor that it'd affect him as much as it did. A sense of wrongness overcame the stimulations as his mind caught back up with who he was with and where he was.
"I…no-" he started and tried to stand again. Jazz's clawed hands pushed him back down by the shoulders.
"Easy big guy." Jazz all but purred as he draped himself down over Ironhide's shoulders. "Bee's right. We never did apologize for that. We also never thanked you for other things."
"Other things?" Ironhide inquired, trying valiantly to restrain the shivers that coated his frame.
The Solstice nodded, "Yup. So, we wanna say 'Sorry' and 'Thanks' all at the same time."
Bumblebee nodded his agreement while Jazz's fingers tapped at Ironhide's chest armor. The black Autobot's mind was awhirl with their meanings, part telling him that Ratchet would -kill- him while the other part reminded him that the good doctor wasn't here. There was still another piece that told him, with intensity, that the pair of mechs had very agile hands. Another groan escaped as Bumblebee started manipulating his solar fields to pinpoint spots on the older mech's armor.
"Why?" Ironhide's voice managed to grind out, taking advantage of a lull in the pair's onslaught.
Jazz gave him a wry smile while Bumblebee just looked at him curiously.
"Because you need it." the Solstice answered, running clawed tips inside shoulder joints, making the large mech squirm, "And we want it."
Ironhide's intakes hitched at the reply and his movements ceased.
"You taught us how to touch one another once, you let me learn how to touch you without taking anything back in return. So now, we want to teach you." Jazz said, voice quiet and low, sending chills down both Ironhide and Bumblebee's frames.
"Bee, get up here." he said, using the same infliction in his voice.
The yellow mech watched his partner as he was motioned forward, optics alight with curiosity. He stopped once his knees contacted Ironhide's.
"Sit down, Bee." Jazz ordered and the mech responded immediately, straddling the older mech's thighs, optics still locked on to his partner, hands resting lightly on Ironhide's forearms. Jazz turned his head slightly, watching Ironhide's reactions, noting the higher temperature and increased shaking that ran up and down his frame. The mech's optics were dark, his head tilted back on Jazz's shoulder.
"You remember that, don't you? That day in the supply closet where you taught him to touch me?"
Ironhide only gave a small nod, not trusting his own voice at this point. The white mech gave his own partner a look, seeing the desire that flickered there, and sent a brief message of his intentions. The reply was instantaneous.
Jazz smirked, crossing his arms across the black chest, "Good. Cause now, you get to learn how to touch him."
The older mech's optics lit quickly, gaze darting from face to face, systems speeding up on their own. Jazz slid his hands down Ironhide's shoulders and forearms, grasping them just above the wrists. The yellow mech relinquished his hold on the sensitized metal, placing his hands on the tops of Ironhide's thighs instead. Ironhide's hands trembled as Jazz lifted them, the resistance far less than either mech had anticipated, and guided them towards the waiting 'bot currently atop his lap. He could feel the eager trembles emitted from the youngest of the three as the hands inched closer and closer to his form.
Bumblebee whimpered as soon as metal touched metal, hands grasping firmly at the big mech's legs. Jazz guided the weapons specialist's hands, only allowing feather light touches and taps to his partner's frame. Ironhide watched the hands in rapt fascination as they were moved, unresistingly, across the yellow armor. His temporary partner hissed and arched into the touch as the fingers paused at a spot just under his chest. Jazz maneuvered Ironhide's hands to where the palms were flat against the metal before sending a magnetic pulse through to both mechs. Both cried out in unison as the jolt shot through their components. The Solstice gave a quiet whimper in Ironhide's audio, the sound betraying the sense that he had complete control over himself. White hands left the arms they were controlling, dragging clawed tips up the forearm before moving down his chest. The freed limbs continued their wanderings, hitching as their owner moaned at the scratching touch. The hands began to spasm as a shot of warmth entered them, clinching on the legs they'd been caressing just prior to the onslaught. Bumblebee gave a keening whine, reaching for a white arm that was still moving around on Ironhide's chest. Jazz gave one arm to his partner, allowing their hands to entwine and pulling the yellow mech closer to him. Ironhide quickly found himself pinned between the two mechs, his hands now on Bumblebee's waist, as the two mechs touched each other while still touching him.
The familiar growl that permeated the air then sent chills down Ironhide's frame. Jazz and Bumblebee ceased nuzzling each other and their hands slowed so that they could gaze at the new arrival. Ratchet stalked up to the trio, clapping one hand down on Jazz's shoulder.
"Mine." he grated.
Jazz gave the medic a knowing look and slowly, achingly slowly, pulled himself off of Ironhide's back, making sure to drag his claws up the mech's frame as he did so. The groan that escaped his "captive" had the medic glancing down at his own partner, a possessive but not quite angry expression on his face. Ironhide was oblivious to the medics look as the sensations that Jazz had sent through him caused him to bury his face in Bumblebee's shoulder and his grip on the young bot to tighten. Bumblebee whimpered again as Jazz moved, positioning himself behind the young mech, letting his hands wander in familiar patterns on his back. Ratchet stood stock still, gaze locked onto Jazz's optics. The white mech held his gaze, face showing no remorse, nor shame. It seemed, to Ratchet at least, to be…inviting. Even Bumblebee's gaze seemed wanton as he leaned his head back against Jazz, resting his hands back on Ironhide's bare forearms.
It was obvious that Ratchet hadn't missed the gasp of his partner as the neglected metal was touched once again. A tiny sound, part grunt, part whimper, left the medic before he could fathom stopping it. He gave the other pair another glance, only hazily noting that Bumblebee had his face buried in Jazz's neck and that the smaller mech was withering at the sensations. He turned and looked at Ironhide, seeing the trembling frame and the now stilled hands. His head was hung low as he cast Ratchet a sidelong look. The SUV felt himself shudder with that look, feeling his resolve melting rather rapidly. He tentatively reached a hand out and lightly touched the shaking shoulder, gaining a quiet moan from the black mech. Hands tightened on Bumblebee's knees, causing the mech to give a muffled cry into Jazz's neck. Ratchet moved then, taking up Jazz's former position behind the large mech and grasped the offending hands, pulling them up and away. Jazz gave the medic a quick smirk before letting his own hands fondle and probe at the yellow mech's frame, eliciting harsher cries and causing the mech to writher. Ratchet tuned out the others, focusing on the tiny sounds that his own mate was making as his hands were guided again. The medic was causing him to touch himself in every place known to be sensitive, and Ratchet knew them all. In no time, he had the burly mech practically panting, form trembling enough to rattle his armor.
The Solstice gave an ululating keening sound, briefly drawing both the older mech's attention. He'd sunk down to a half-sitting position on the floor, partially taking Bumblebee with him. The yellow bot's legs latched firmly around Ironhide's thighs, using them to maintain some sense of balance, while he continued to nuzzle his partner, briefly touching their foreheads together. The increased pressure on his legs, the seemingly spastic movements of his partner's hands over his frame and the dark, low growl that Ratchet sent into his audios had Ironhide squirming, hands reaching up to get a hold on any portion of the medic that he could. His head lulled back against the green mech's grill guard, barely registering the sounds emitted by the other pair as they teased their own uplink.
Ironhide could feel the first signs of imminent overload, the warnings flashing across his vision. He looked at his partner, unable to see past the rather guarded expression that the medic wore. Ratchet could be an enigma when he chose to be, Ironhide had always had a hard time judging the more hidden looks that the other mech would sometimes give. He could feel, however, the jerking twitches of his fingers as his hands grasped at the Topkick's shoulder plating, and it spoke to him more than if Ratchet had used his vocalizer. A black hand shot up, grasping the medic around the neck and pulling his head down, firmly pressing foreheads together. There would be no teasing between them, both too far gone to even consider the taunting utilized by the younger pair as a viable option. Ratchet gave a gasping shudder as the connection was made, hands grasping at armor in an almost painful way. The area was filled with the rasping sounds of four sets of overworked intakes, the temperature several degrees higher than ambient, and broken by the varying degrees of moans and cries emitted from those present. Warnings flashed, systems flooded and cooling systems fought the shutdown waiting just moments away. Ratchet gave a deep, throaty moan, optics locked with his partner's, as the black mech's processor sent out pulse after pulse of excess energies through him. The medic's chassis sagged on the larger mech's frame, releasing a sputtering groan of his own as relays channeled the energies to his own processors, sending him over just a few moments after his partner.
It took at least a breem before either of the elder mech's made any attempts to move, each looking at the other placidly. Eventually, a quiet chuckle broke through the haze, causing them to glance at the other two mechs. Jazz sat on the floor having, at some point, pulled Bumblebee completely off of Ironhide. The younger mech now curled languidly in his partner's lap, contently looking at the other pair. The white mech had his arms wrapped loosely around the Camaro's waist, his chin resting against Bumblebee's shoulder.
Ratchet tried to glare at the 2IC but the look lacked it's normal malevolence.
"This is the last time I let you two baby-sit him."
Bumblebee chuckled and Ironhide gave a quiet snort of amusement, immediately drawing Ratchet's attention back.
"And you…" he started, eyeing the weapons specialist with a mix of content and annoyance. His Companion simply looked right back, gaze listless and complacent, and Ratchet's rant fell away.
"You…are hopeless." he said, giving a mournful sigh and a slight shake of his head.
Jazz gave them both amused looks before nuzzling the yellow mech that currently resided in his lap. Bumblebee snuggled further into the Soltice's chest.
"Oh, thanks, 'Hide." Bumblebee said, sleepily as if he'd just remembered the reason this escapade started.
Ratchet looked at him, curiously. He just gave a quick glance that said 'I'll tell you later.' Ironhide also made sure to make a mental note to have his cannons checked out by human scientists more often if the end result got him some 'quality time' with his overly-possessive medic. He gave the slightly dozing pair on the floor a look, knowing he should thank them for this later.