This is my début song-fic, and there will be many more as the mood strikes me. The song of choice for this particular fic is P!nk- Please Don't Leave Me.
I do not own Transformers- curse you Hasbro!- neither do I own P!nk or any songs/merchandice related to her. What can I say? I'd rather not get sued, and I try to be pretty thorough in my disclaimers. _
A/N- I apologize in advance for any OOCness, especially for 'Cee, but this fic required her softer side to shine through. But what do y'all think of the pairing? Ironhide and Chromia were winning for a bit, but with a few more votes (and some not-quite-divine author intervention) Arcee and Cliffjumper won it!
And for this fic, they are still on Cybertron. I know that's not very official, but I used a little Author Magic to make it so. So if I get any complaints about them being on Cybertron… well… you were warned!
Alright, my first attempt at a song-fic, I'm open to any flames of comments from y'all. Whether or not this goes well, I'll probably upload more song-fics from time to time, just 'cuz they're fun to write. Well, without further ado, "Don't leave me"! The lyrics are italicized, and regular font is the story.
Arcee gazed at her berthroom ceiling with blank, emotionless optics. She hated fighting with Cliffjumper, especially about stupid, irrelevant slag like this. They had argued about how he always seemed to rush into a fight with Decepticons, and Arcee had said pretty nasty things that normally never would have come from her lip components. And of course, with Cliffjumper being Cliffjumper, he hadn't taken that lying down, and had retaliated in kind, so Arcee kicked him out of her small home. But she hadn't counted on the pain she was feeling in her spark, even though that definitely wasn't the first time they had fought.
I don't know if I can yell any louder
How many times have I've kicked you outta here?
Or said something insulting?
Da da da, da da
I can be so mean when I wanna be
I am capable of really anything
I can cut you into pieces
But my heart is broken
Da da da, da da
*1 joor earlier*
"Slaggit, Arcee, I know what I'm doing! Stop treating me like I'm a delicate sparkling's toy! I'm a grown mech, and a warrior at that! I don't need you criticizing the way I fight!" Cliffjumper was fuming as he roared his frustration at Arcee, which was a very rare occurrence.
Arcee was never one to back down, and she gave as good as she got, thrusting her face dangerously close to Cliffjumper's own. "Well, I'm sorry for being concerned about your safety, Cliffjumper! If you tried using your rusted excuse for a processor, you might remember that I already lost one partner, and I'll make sure as the pit that I won't lose another!"
Cliffjumper's faceplates softened a bit as he processed her words, and realized she did indeed have his own safety at spark. But, that didn't excuse her from treating him like he was some kind of an idiot even if he did have a carefree personality, and he wanted to let her know that without causing her anger to flare back up."'Cee, I know you're still upset over the loss of Tailgate, but there was nothing you could have done. I promise you I won't deactivate quite so easily." He must have said the wrong thing, because in the next klik, Arcee's anger spiraled back out of control.
"Are you trying to say that if Tailgate had been as capable as you then he would still be functioning?! Cliffjumper, just because a mech has common sense doesn't make him weak! And nobot doubts your mechhood, so stop trying to prove yourself all the time!"
That was a sore spot for him, and she knew it. And just like that, any idea Cliffjumper had of safely diffusing the situation vanished along with Arcee's self-control, and he was back to yelling at her.
"Just maybe, Arcee", Cliffjumper snarled at her, spitting her designation out as if it left a foul taste on his glossa," If you had been strong enough, Tailgate would still be alive, and we wouldn't know each other! Life would be so much simpler then"
Arcee's optics widened in shock, and Cliffjumper knew he had said the wrong thing. Stupid vocalizer, always one step ahead of his processors. Arcee lowered her head in pain, energon tears leaking from her optics to land on the floor. Cliffjumper reached out with a servo and placed it on her shoulder, silently trying to comfort her and take back what he said, but it was too late.
She looked up at him with hate filled optics, and just a trace of another, less obvious emotion. Was it… hurt? Arcee slapped his apologetic servo away, and screamed out at him with more rage than she had felt since Airachnid killed Tailgate.
"Get out, Cliffjumper! Just go, and don't come back!" How tired Arcee was of saying those words. Each time she had kicked him out, he had always returned with a heartfelt apology a few cycles later, but this time was different. This time she might have driven him away for good.
*End Flashback*
Please don't leave me
Please don't leave me
I always say how I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back to this
Please, don't leave me
Arcee couldn't remember the last time she and Cliffjumper had argued so explosively. Sure they would trade friendly banter back and forth, but seldom were their words meant to hurt the other.
How did I become so obnoxious? What is it with you that makes me act like this? I've never been this nasty Da da da, da da
Can't you tell that this is all just a contest?
The one that wins will be the one that hits the hardest
But baby I don't mean it
I mean it, I promise
Da da da, da da
How did Cliffjumper get her to react like this? Arcee prided herself on her calmness, especially in any type of confrontation, but when it came to Cliffjumper, she felt like a brand-new sparkling all over again, and it drove her crazy. Cliffjumper had the ability to make her feel like slag, or like the most special femme in the universe, and Arcee didn't like the fact that another had power over her spark like that.
So, she lay staring at the ceiling contemplating on how he could control her as easily as he did. Arcee wanted to know the exact reason that Cliffjumper could make her act like a wild petrohound, or like a tame cyberkitten.
A she pondered, a thought occurred to her. Did she maybe, just maybe, have feelings for Cliffjumper? Of course she cared for him, he was her partner, but did her feelings run deeper than that? Did she… could she… love Cliffjumper?
And if it was love, then why was she so angry with him? Love was supposed to be gentle and compassionate, but she felt fiercely protective and ready to jump on him if it meant keeping him safe from the 'Cons. She was willing to beat him down to keep him out of harm's way, because the mech was an honest-to-Primus trouble magnet. But of course, she wouldn't cause any damage that would be fatal. Or at least that any halfway competent medic would be able to fix.
But, Cliffjumper seemed just as bent on protecting Arcee as she was with him. It became a sort of ritual, each of them trying to keep the other from offlining, even though Arcee was far more careful than Cliffjumper.
She was thinking of her newly discovered feelings, when it finally hit her. She didn't want to be away from him anymore. She needed him by her side, even if only for her own peace of mind. Arcee would fight off Megatron himself if it meant keeping her partner safe, and she needed him to know that. He needed to know how she felt about him.
Please don't leave me
Oh please don't leave me
I always say how I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back to this
Please, don't leave me
I forgot to say out loud how beautiful you really are to me
I cannot be without, you're my perfect little punching bag
And I need you,
I'm sorry Da da da, da da
Arcee had never been very adept at expressing feelings other than anger and peace. Everything in between was difficult for her to vocalize properly, especially love. If only she weren't so hesitant to admit to Cliffjumper how she felt! Then he'd understand why she was so explosive around him sometimes.
And the thing about Cliffjumper that Arcee really admired was that he could take any punishment she could dish out and not lose control. Arcee herself would have offlined any mech that yelled at her like that, with the exception of Cliffjumper himself. It's just that if she didn't let of some steam outside of slagging some Cons every now and then, then she would explode from pent-up emotion, and Cliffjumper was always there to help her before it came to that point. Even Tailgate couldn't always help her with that.
The truth was, Arcee needed Cliffjumper with all her spark. She loved him like she had loved nobot else since her creators offlined. But, it all came back to the fact that she was terrible at expressing emotions like that. That cursed Cliffjumper had no problems with voicing his emotions. Every. Last. One.
For the first time since their argument, Arcee looked up with hope. She would tell Cliffjumper how she really felt, and then maybe he would forgive her. As she swiftly lifted herself from the berth, a small jolt went through her spark making her wince. She swiftly ran an internal diagnostic that showed nothing unusual. Huh. She would have to get a medic, probably Ratchet, to take a look at her. A spark attack was the last thing she needed right now. Spark twinge aside, it was time to find Cliffjumper and set things right again.
Da da da da, da da da da
Da da da, da da P
lease, please don't leave me
Da da da, da da
Baby please don't leave me (Da da da, da da)
No, don't leave me
Please don't leave me no no no
She saw him wandering aimlessly through the throng of mechs and femmes in the Autobot stronghold. Arcee gathered her courage and wits, and slowly approached her partner.
"Cliff? We need to talk. There's something I need to say and-"
"Save it Arcee. Give me time and I'll come around eventually, but right now I don't feel like dealing with your slag this joor."
"But you don't understand, I'm here to apologize, and there's something important I have to say. Just give me a klik and I'll try to fix it."
"I told you, there's nothing you can say to me now, 'Cee. Not this time. Just leave me the pit alone! Better yet, why don't you go find another partner since you're so good at replacing them!" Cliffjumper turned around before he could fully regret his words and apologize profusely to Arcee. Not this time. No, this time, she would apologize to him.
Arcee's optics widened so much it was almost comical except for the shock they held. Cliffjumper had never gone that far before! He had always retaliated somewhat when she got to nagging, but his words were never meant to hurt like these. She actually considered turning around and leaving the fragger to his bitterness before she remembered what it felt like to be without him.
As he turned around, Arcee decided to play her trump card, the thing that would halt him in his tracks and, hopefully, fix everything.
"Cliffjumper. I'm… I'm going to have our sparkling."
You say I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back
It's gonna come right back to this
Please, don't leave me
Please don't leave me, oh no no no
I always say how I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back to this
Please don't leave me
Baby, please, please don't leave me
Cliffjumper's optics widened in a mixture of shock and delight as he turned slowly to face his partner, and now, it seemed, the carrier of his sparkling.
"Are you serious, 'Cee?! Don't mess around with me here; I'm not in the mood for games!"
Arcee glanced down shyly. "It's true, Cliff, I'm expecting. I found out the joor after I kicked you out. I would have told you sooner, but I was scared you would still hate me. But, you don't have to forgive what I did, just don't hate me anymore. Our sparkling deserves to have its creator around."
Cliffjumper smiled at her gently, and hesitantly placed one servo over her chestplates, where the newspark would be hovering around its carrier, and his other servo went to Arcee's abdomen, where the sparkling's protoform would be developing.
"I don't hate you, Arcee. Never did. I was just a little hurt, and needed some time to myself. But, when I went off on my own, I realized one thing: I couldn't be without you for too long, Arcee, and I felt so strongly about you that it surprised the slag outta me, and I struck out at you. You are my spark; the light of my life, and I understand that now. I'll never hurt you like I did again."
Arcee smiled with relief to hear that Cliffjumper didn't hate her, and that maybe, he needed her as much as she needed him. She just needed to hear one more thing from him.
"Cliffjumper?"
"Yes, sweetspark?"
"Can you promise me one more thing? I need to know something."
"Anything for you, Arcee. Ask away."
"Please don't leave me ever again, Cliff, I can't handle it again."
"Of course, Arcee. I'll stay with you for as long as my spark beats. I won't leave you again. Never."
They both looked on, thinking about the future they would have together, one of hope, joy, love and sparklings. And they were finally content.
What'd you guys think? Please take the time to write reviews; compliments are appreciated, critiques even more so! Critique if you will, flame if you must. Thank you for reading.