For those of you waiting on Mad World: Hopefully I will have the next chapter up by tomorrow (7/5). However, I am trying to work around the comic audition, which the deadline got pushed back from the 2nd to the 8th. I may have to postpone the chapter until the 11th. Sorry about that.
My brain demanded that I write a fic that contained: a very tired Blurr, sleeping with the Dinobots, and awkward snuggles. So here we are. I've always preferred the Dinobot's alt modes to their robot forms, and they always seemed to favor them more in the show.
This was inspired by Ironical Jester's ficlet "Hex". Go check it out. It's pretty cute.
As this is a one-shot I'd like to thank in advance everyone that reads, reviews, and favorites!
When Blurr was finally released from med-bay, the base was almost completely deserted. It was late into the off-cycle, with only a skeleton crew manning the bridge and security stations. Everyone else had long since retired, exhausted after a long and grueling battle with the Decepticons that had stretched on for several orns. No one had escaped the battlefield unscathed.
The courier limped out into the empty hallway, the thick temporary plating spot welded onto his leg making more refined movement impossible. He had been taken out near the end of the battle after running over a land mine, and the blast had thrown him several hundred feet through the air. Luckily he hadn't sustained any life-threatening injuries, but his right leg had been shredded in the explosion. It would be a few days before it could be fully repaired, and the thought of being hobbled that long was already making him slightly anxious.
Not right now, though. Right now he just wanted to go back to his quarters and pass out on his berth. Dashing across the battlefield with orders and supplies had been extraordinarily exhausting, even for him, and the thought of recharge was intoxicating. A few million years of rest should do it.
Wait.
Frag.
Blurr let out a groan, and if was slightly melodramatic then the circumstances were just that dire. His quarters were on the other side of the compound, in pretty much the furthest location from the medbay possible without living on Charr. Ordinarily he could cover that distance in less that a breem with one arm tied behind his back.
Ordinarily he didn't have a piece of slag welded to his foot, turning his usually aerodynamic form into a clunky junkheap as streamlined as Astrotrain's aft.
The mech glared down at said foot, flexing it slightly to judge its range of motion. If it was even the slightest bit cooperative he might be able to manage an awkward jog back to his quarters. It would probably make a hilarious spectacle for whoever was on security duty, but at this point he really didn't give a frag. The plating, however, refused to yield, and instead rewarded him with a bolt of pain through not yet healed wounds.
He groaned again, one hand rubbing at tired optics. Sleeping in the med-bay was out of the question; all available berths were already filled with mechs that needed much more than a good night's rest. He supposed that he could just limp to the nearest rec room and sleep there. It wasn't like there was anyone awake to mess with him while he was in recharge, and it was certainly a better option than doing the Shuffle of Shame all the way across the compound. It was still going to be a pain getting to the rec room, though. Perhaps he could just find a nice spot in the hallway to curl up in.
"Blurr?"
The courier yelped in surprise, whirling around and nearly toppling over as the patch job threw off of his balance.
"Swoop! Hello-sorry-I-didn't-hear-you," he said in his usual rush, tired processor struggling to figure out how he had missed a Dinobot sneaking up behind him. The medic-in-training chirped softly, tilting his head in a way that was very reminiscent of an organic bird. His colorful plating was scratched and dented, and there were splashes of Energon that may not have been his own decorating his frame.
"What you Blurr doing in hallway?" he asked. He squinted at the smaller Autobot's injured leg. "Foot still hurting?"
"What? Oh-no-no-no-no. It's-fine-see?" Blurr wiggled the offending limb, his reassuring smile more like a grimace as the wounds protested the motion. Swoop made an unconvinced noise but didn't press the matter further.
"If Blurr not need medic, why you here and not asleep? It late." The Dinobot yawned in a demonstration of his own exhaustion, and Blurr remembered that Swoop had been helping in the med-bay after aiding in the battle with his brothers. "Where Blurr's room anyway?"
"Oh-just-you-know-just-a-quick-dash-away," he replied quickly and with as much nonchalance he could muster. "I-was-just-about-to-head-on-over-to-it-because-you're-completely-right-it's-really-really-late-and-I'm-tired-so-"
"You Blurr need somewhere to sleep?"
It took an embarrassingly long time for Blurr's scrambled processor to collect itself after the interruption, and for a moment all he could do was move his mouth silently as he tried to comprehend what had been said. The Dinobot shrugged.
"Leg hurt, so you Blurr can't make quick dash," he said matter of factly. Blurr gaped at him for a moment longer.
"I...that's-okay-I'm-fine-I'll-just-sleep-in-the-rec-room-it's-not-that-big-of-a-deal-you-don't-have-to..." He trailed off as the larger Autobot began walking away. "Where-are-you-going?"
The Dinobot didn't respond verbally, instead only making a weird sort of chirping noise and gesturing for Blurr to follow. The courier watched him move away, carefully weighing his admittedly limited options before shrugging and following Swoop. After all, it had to had to be better than sleeping in the hall.
The heavy plating and damage to his limb made walking a slow and painful process, and long before they reached their destination he was gritting his denta together in frustration. For someone who was accustomed to moving at speeds most mechs only dreamed of this was a humiliating experience, not even factoring in the discomfort of physically walking. He was so busy glaring at the floor that he didn't notice when his guide has stopped moving. It was only when he heard a soft chuckle that he looked up and realized that he had walked right past Swoop and the door he was standing next to.
"You Blurr recharge here tonight," he said, and palmed the keypad. He entered the room as soon as the door opened, and Blurr followed after him.
And immediately froze as he glimpsed the four behemoths already taking up much of the floor.
In hindsight it should have been obvious that Swoop was taking him to the Dinobot's own quarters. Even as he stood there Swoop transformed into his alt mode before flying over to a convenient perch halfway up the wall, shifting around to get comfortable and settling down with an audible sigh. After several seconds one of his optics opened and he stared at Blurr.
"What you waiting for? Sleep anywhere."
It wasn't that Blurr was afraid of the Dinobots. Well, not completely. Anyone with a processor knew to be wary around the primitive-minded power houses. They were notoriously short tempered, argumentative, and arrogant, and they completely disobeyed orders with frightening regularity. The room itself was a testament to their uncontrollable nature; deep furrows gouged into the orange walls, scorch marks on the floor, and even an impressive dent in the ceiling. Blurr made it a point to avoid confrontations with any bot, but especially the ones that could bite him in half with the slightest provocation.
Swoop was arguably the most easy going of the five, and the one Blurr encountered the most often. Snarl and Sludge were antisocial and dim, respectively, which made any sort of socialization or communication nearly impossible. Slag was an unholy nightmare of violence and bad attitude, and Blurr wasn't ashamed to admit that he was one of the many Autobots who avoided the volatile Triceratops. The only one worse than him was...
The scrape of metal on metal jolted Blurr out of his momentary lapse in attention, and he found himself staring into the icy blue optics of the Dinobot leader. A low growl came from the T-rex's frame, and Blurr tried to ignore his self-preservation's demand that he start running right now. Hobbled as he was, he wouldn't make it two steps before the Dinobot grabbed him.
"What you doing in Dinobot's room?" Oh Primus those were some sharp teeth. The courier cleared his vocalizer nervously.
"Well-I-was-just...I-mean, nothing-really-in-fact-I-can-go-you-obviously-don't-want-to-be-disturbed-and-I'm-sorry-that-I-bothered-you-I'll-just-show-myself-out-no-need-to-get-up." He took a hesitant step backwards, hiding a wince when the motion jarred his injured leg. Grimlock didn't move.
"Him Blurr hurt in battle," Swoop quipped from his perch. The T-rex's tail twitched but otherwise gave no indication that he had heard his subordinate. "Him Blurr can't run, so room too far away. Me Swoop say Blurr can sleep with Dinobots tonight."
Grimlock finally ceased staring at the small Autobot to glare at Swoop. "Why Swoop say Autobot can stay with mighty Dinobots? Me Grimlock leader! Me Grimlock say who can stay in room!"
Swoop appeared unfazed. "Me Swoop just being nice," he said blandly before closing his optics and settling back down to recharge.
Blurr flinched as Grimlock's attention returned to him. "Him Swoop say you hurt." It wasn't really a question, but Blurr chose to see it as one.
"Uh-yeah-but-it's-not-that-bad-I-just-can't-run-that's-all-really." The Autobot went utter still as the massive T-rex head moved closer, inspecting the temporary plating covering his right leg. Apparently satisfied that Blurr was indeed telling the truth, he settled back down in his spot on the floor.
"Me Grimlock say you can stay with Dinobots. Just for tonight," he rumbled, closing his optics and laying his head back down.
Blurr stood in shocked silence for some time, just watching the Dinobots in case they suddenly changed their mind about their hospitality. When the only thing that greeting his paranoia was the sound of gentle ventilations he limped over to the nearby wall and sank down somewhat painfully. His leg was killing him, and there was a steady ache building in his processor from the trials of the cycle. True, he would have preferred to recharge on an actual berth rather than the floor, but at least he wouldn't be subjected to the whims of random bots while unconscious. Assuming the Dinobots didn't eat him, that is.
Now if only he could actually fall asleep.
The Autobot frowned and shifted in place. He was mentally and physically exhausted, and yet he just could not drop off. Every little ache and ding in his plating seemed extra bothersome. The additional plating on his leg made laying on his side uncomfortable, and laying back against the wall wasn't cutting it. It looked like he was going to be in for a long off-cycle, whatever remained of it.
"Autobot!"
The little shriek that escaped his vocalizer was something Blurr was going to deny for a long time to come. Jerking upright he looked over at Grimlock, who was staring at him with what only could be irritation.
"You Blurr too twitchy. Making too much noise!" The Dinobot leader growled. Blurr winced, ducking his head in an unconscious attempt to appear smaller.
"I'm-sorry," he mumbled. "I-just-can't-get-comfortable-even-though-I'm-really-tired-and-I'd-like-to-sleep-and-the-last-thing-I-want-to-do-is-keep-you-awake." He realized that he'd been rambling again and abruptly closed his mouth plates. "Sorry."
With his apologies made he lay back down and shut his optics. His leg still hurt and the hard floor hadn't gotten any cozier, but he was determined not to move again until he had fallen asleep. Now that he was here he was determined not to get thrown out for fidgeting. He could hear the Dinobot leader shifting around across the room, and through the floor felt the T-rex stand up, probably to change sleeping spots.
Blurr didn't expect to hear an extremely heavy foot come down near him, nor feel a blunt metal nose nudge him away from the wall. The courier sat up in a hurry, just as the large body of the Dinobot leader curled up around him. Flabbergasted, he stared at Grimlock. Grimlock huffed at him.
"You Blurr too twitchy. This way me Grimlock can bite you if you make noise," he grumbled, before closing his optics.
Well. That was reassuring. Still, the warm flank behind him was a vast improvement over the hard floor, and he hesitantly leaned back against it. When Grimlock didn't stir he snuggled down a little, getting comfortable inside the circle formed by the T-rex.
The room was silent except for the soft woosh of vents working and the occasional grunt or growl. Swoop made a soft tittering sound in his sleep, and Snarl shifted into a new position. He could feel the hum of Grimlock's systems through his back, an almost hypnotizing vibration that soothed his aching processor. His leg still hurt, but now that he wasn't putting any weight on it it had settled into a manageable ache. One by one various programs shut down as he began to slip into recharge, a last coherent thought quirking his lips into a smile.
This was the weirdest damn sleepover he'd ever attended.