Author's Note: This was originally published on AO3, and was written for the Trick or Treat exchange.
Praxus was burning, and Prowl could do nothing.
He had been on the other side of Cybertron when the news hit, not prepared for it at all - he'd thought of it as a possibility, but it seemed incredibly unlikely. The Decepticons had no logical reason to do such a thing; it required an investment of time and resources that was absolutely impractical. The idea that the Decepticons would attack Praxus was ridiculous.
But they'd gone ahead and done it anyway, and Praxus was burning. The Autobots couldn't even spare the resources to help defend the city. There was nothing Prowl could do to save his home; all he could do was sit in his office and watch the video feed from the few bots they had on the ground.
"You need to sleep," Jazz said from behind him, jolting him out of the near-trance he'd slipped into.
"How did you get into my office?" Prowl asked defensively.
"After all this time, you think I don't know the codes to get in here? I'm kind of insulted," Jazz said, moving forwards so Prowl could see him. He ran a hand along one of Prowl's doorwings, and smiled a bit as it twitched. "You really do need to sleep, though."
Prowl sighed, staring down at the datapad displaying the video feed. "I know. It's just that… I should have seen this coming. I should have been able to do something."
"You couldn't have predicted this," Jazz said. "I saw your expectations for what the Decepticons were going to do next. This barely even made the list, it was so out there. Besides, blaming yourself won't help anything."
Prowl turned off the datapad. "Knowing that doesn't help, either," he said softly. "I keep thinking about what I could have done differently. What I could have changed. How I could have saved them."
Slowly, giving him a chance to move away, Jazz leaned in to put a hand on his arm. "You did the best you could," Jazz said softly. "Think about that, instead. Try to get your processor on a new track. And get some sleep." He paused. "Have you eaten?"
Prowl thought for a moment. "No, I don't believe so," he finally said.
Jazz nodded. "How about you come with me to get some energon, then? You're not getting anything done here, and I bet it'll be good for you to get out of here."
"Yes, that sounds like a well-thought-out plan," Prowl said, standing up and carefully flexing most of his cables, letting his plating shift. As everything slid back into position, he stood still for a moment before stepping toward Jazz. "Let's go."
The smaller bot wrapped an arm around him gently. "Sounds good."
