Beauty in my Nightmares
Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. My original characters are my own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. I claim no ownership by writing this work.
Ironhide sat halfway up the side of Mount St Hillary, leaning back against a large boulder and staring up at the stars as they began to appear in the night's sky. It had become something almost like a ritual with him. Every night before he went back to his room for his nightly recharge and defragmention, he came up here and stared up at the sky until a particular star came into view. Sometimes it took mere moments to see it, other times it took hours. And on other nights it never appeared at all. Tonight he'd be lucky. The sky was clear and there would be nothing between him and his star.
"It's a beautiful night for star gazing."
Ironhide sat up suddenly, instinctively reaching for his gun.
"Whoah there, Hoss. It's just me," Smokescreen said with a grin, hands up in surrender.
"Heh, sorry, Smokey. I didn't hear ya come up," Ironhide replied, leaning back on his boulder and returning to his vigil.
"Yeah, I can be like a doormouse when I want to be." The Datsun pulled out two cubes of energon and offered one to Ironhide. "I didn't see you in the commissary tonight after your shift. You want one?"
The big red mech barely looked at the cube, but she did hold out his hand. "Yeah, sure, why not. I was gonna go in after, but since ya brung it, I might as well take ya up on it."
"Yup, may as well." Smokescreen sat next to Ironhide and followed the Vanette's gaze up at the sky, leaning back as far as his doorwings would comfortably allow. "It really is a perfect night for it."
"Yup." Ironhide's one syllable answer was more a grunt than a word. He didn't mind the company, especially since Smokescreen wasn't one to prattle on like Bluestreak, and his silence wasn't oppressive like Prowl. He know that he could sit up here without needing to anticipate judgement and without needing to justify and explain.
They sat like that in silence for a long time until all the stars were out and a small mercury coloured dot appeared near the edge of Orion's Belt. As they watched it began to crawl across the sky as only a planet could. To a human eye it would be invisible. Even with a telescope it would seem to be the most uninteresting piece of debris. But to Ironhide, Smokescreen, and the other Cybertronians stranded on Earth, it was home.
After several more minutes of companionable silence Smokescreen sat up. "You're up here a lot, aren't you 'Hide. Every night by my count."It was more a statement than a question and Ironhide merely noded in response. There was no point in denying a fact.
"Seems ever since you all last went back to Cybertron," Smokescreen added.
Ironhide nodded again, but this time he shifted a little, slightly uncomfortable at the delicately prodding questions.
The Datsun turned to look at the other mech carefully, his optics lighting with a calculating glimmer that was more Prowl than Bluestreak, a glimmer that was all Staff Shrink.
"You know, even if you don't come out here, even if you don't find the star your after, she's still up there. Probably at the top of a tower looking for this little dot in the sky."
Ironhide was silent for a beat, before sitting up and looking intently at Smokescreen.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I know that. And I know what yer gonna ask next, Smokey. If I know that she's out there an' safe, why do I keep on havin' the need t' come up here no matter the time or weather. Why'm I up here every single night."
"The question had occurred to me," Smokescreen conceded.
Ironhide fell back into silence, gathering his thoughts, and Smokescreen gave him the time he needed. Jut when it seemed that he'd said all that he would, the red mech finally continued."I have t' come up here, Smokescreen. If I don't at least make the effort, then she comes t' me in my dreams. She comes t' me an' reminds me that she ain't as tough or as immortal as I'd like t' believe she is. An' all the good dreams I should be havin' about her become nightmares and I get t' see what kind of horror can be brought down on a body."
"Ah." Smokescreen looked away from Ironhide, the one note answer speaking volumes.
"But if I come up here, an' I say good night to her, wherever she is, then my dreams are-" Ironhide cut himself off with a noise that sounded almost like he was clearing his throat. "Well, let's just say they ain't somethin' a gentlemech discusses."Smokescreen chuckled. "Well then I won't put you in an awkward position by asking for details." He reached over and patted Ironhide's hand companionably before standing and stretching his doors luxuriously. "I'll leave you and Chromia to your good nights, 'Hide.""'Night, Smokey." Ironhide replied with a nod before laying back against his boulder, returning to his vigil over that far away, mercury coloured star in the heavens.