This is a short two-shot based off of real-life events. By that, I mean that the events of both parts are things I actually witnessed. Who hasn't seen a police cruiser and thought of Prowl? Exactly, so these are ficlets spawned by times I've seen police cruisers in real life that I thought could make good stories. All of these events occurred, but sadly in real life the cruisers were actual police cars driven by actual officers, but other than that, all of this happened. These are just my creative views on what could have been occurring.

This first part happened Monday in the parking lot of a local fast-food place where a lot of the local cops like to get their coffee. I happened to be there when they were all making their rounds through the drive thru, and thought this was a nice Prowl/Barricade moment. This is slash, and I suck at romance – you have been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of its characters, or the events of this story – can anyone really own a real-life event?


An overcast sky loomed above on the windy late-summer day. Along a busy, bustling street were a few fast-food restaurants, and in one of their parking lots sat a lone police cruiser. It stayed parked there while other cruisers came and left, their occupants talking jovially while they ordered their daily coffee from their favorite place.

The lone cruiser didn't enter the drive thru like the others, but remained parked in the back of the lot. It was waiting for someone.

He was waiting for someone, and he really hoped that the certain someone would make an appearance.

It wasn't too long until another of the identical police cruisers entered the lot. Instead of moving towards the drive-thru, this one drove to the back of the parking lot and backed into a space so it was next to the first cruiser, completely parallel to it and less than two feet away from it. To any passersby, this would appear to be two cops talking with each other. In a way it was.

These two "cops" just happened to not be on the same side. In fact, they were supposed to be mortal enemies. But sometimes, not even the difference between warring factions can quell the attraction between two soldiers.

The new cruiser settled back on its shocks and its engine rumbled in annoyance. The other spoke to him over a com. link.

"I'm glad you came."

"What, did you think I wouldn't?" the other replied snarkily.

The first sighed. "It's not like you haven't stood me up before. I have a reason to be unsure."

"Yeah, well I'm here. You telling me you'd rather I leave?"

"No, no, I'm happy you're here. I...I missed you, Barricade."

"...Yeah, well I guess I, uh...I missed you too. But not a lot."

"Of course not," the first of the pair, the Autobot, replied, but there was a slight smug tone to his quiet response.

"Shut it, Prowl. Stop sounding so pleased with yourself. It's too Decepticon-y."

"'Decepticon-y?'"

"You and your slagging grammar. I dunno, Decepticon-like? Decepticon-esque? Do these please you?"

"Yes, they please me very much. Thank you for the corrections; they're very kind of you."

"Yeah, yeah. So why're we hanging around a bunch of squishies?"

"There is no place nearby where we could meet in our root modes without drawing attention to ourselves. Many of the local police force come here for their daily sustenance, so two similar police cruisers won't seem out of place."

"Oh, so our meetings are solely for the convenience of the squishies. I see how it is." If it was possible, it seems as if the parked, unmoving police car turned its head away like a pouting child.

"Barricade..." Prowl sighed. It was never easy between them; nothing ever was. There were arguments, constant fights about everything from the wrongness of their relationship to how annoying one of their personality traits were. The pair fought on and off the battlefield, yet they still had these meetings, these hidden, covert meetings where they just talked, and it was...nice. They just spoke, and they playfully bantered without any venom. Well, almost none.

A pair of female ducks waddled down the grass near the two parked Cybertronians-in-disguise. They slowly made their way down the lawn to the lot and slowly made their way across it, stopping idly in front of Prowl to pick at some crumb on the pavement. The tactician watched in silence.

"I don't want us to fight," he murmured to the Decepticon. His Decepticon. Their relationship, it may have been wrong, it may have been immoral and traitorous and unhealthy, but in their own way, it worked.

Barricade remained silent. He knew he shouldn't be with a slagging Autobot – he should be shooting him on sight, not loitering near a bunch of squishies with him! But here he was. Every time they had one of these meetings Barricade insisted that he would never again see the Autobot outside of the battlefield. That he would never look at him differently from other Autoscum, that he would shoot at him just as soon as he would another of his enemies. That it was over.

It was never over, it never could be over. Neither of them could let it be over, because, as unwilling as they were to admit it, they cared for each other. They cared for each other on a deeper level than anyone would have believed. They were Autobot and Decepticon, and yet they had found a way to tolerate each other, to be peaceful, to care for each other, to maybe even eventually love each other.

Love – that would be a long way off. But they would have time, because loathe they both to admit it, neither Prowl nor Barricade would give up these short meetings for the universe.

"I need to go," Barricade finally murmured. "Megatron is expecting me." His voice had calmed as he spoke. Prowl was forgiven, and he was truly regretful to be leaving. All of their meetings were like this: short, uneventful, and they always ended abruptly, but they were better than nothing.

"I'll be seeing you," his companion replied. Barricade began to pull out of the parking lot, and stopped when two creatures wandered into his path.

"What are these...organic things?"

Prowl chuckled. "They're called ducks; they're semi-aquatic avian creatures."

"Right." But Barricade didn't crush them and continue on as one would have expected. Maybe it was to keep his cover or maybe he didn't want to be cleaning off the gore later, but Prowl liked to think that he was waiting because one some level he didn't mind the ducks too much. That maybe one day he wouldn't mind humans so much, either.

He could dream, couldn't he?

Barricade left the lot as soon as the ducks had made their way passed. Prowl remained, watching as one of the creatures pulled a piece of trash from a storm drain and gulped it down.

The ducks continued their waddle through the lot, coming surprisingly close to three humans who were conversing near their vehicles. They were genetically related, if Prowl's scans were correct. One of the ducks approached a girl, and she knelt in front of it, only an arm's reach away, and the pair simply stared at each other.

Prowl wished Barricade could have seen this, seen how two species, so vastly different, could coincide so well. Sure, humans often killed ducks on accident and sometimes purposely hunted them, but this meeting of the species, so simple and unplanned and innocent, was strangely sparkwarming to the tactician.

Humans destroyed their own world, sure, but they had their good moments, too. Like now. If more humans could be like this, maybe Prowl could prove their worth to his...his lover. Maybe he could redeem them in his beloved's optics, and maybe, just maybe by some twist of fate and help from Primus he could sway his secret love to the Autobots and then nothing would need to be hidden.

A few raucous humans left the establishment, talking loudly. One of them stopped and looked at the ducks, talking loudly to it. "Hey, duck. Man, I really want to pick one of 'em up." As he moved toward the duck, it moved away, as anyone could have expected.

The ducks moved farther away as the group of humans left, but soon returned to the trio talking in the lot. So easily forgiven was humankind. Maybe there was hope for the humans yet – and maybe there was hope for Cybertronians as well.

Prowl continued watching idly as the two ducks sat together unassumingly in the parking lot, in the middle of a well-used lane. They were so assured of their safety. The SIC wished his own life was that easy. He wished that he could just be sure that he would be okay no matter his location, and that Barricade was too. Life would have been much easier that way, that was for sure.

With a weary sigh the tactician "started up" his engine and made his way out of the parking lot. Like Barricade, his leader would be expecting him soon. He spared one last glance at the ducks before entering the line of traffic.

Eventually the girl and her group left as well, as did many others. Two ducks remained in the now almost-empty lot. They sat together, pressed against each other, and rested, unaware and uncaring of their watchers or possible danger. They were together, and that was all that mattered.

If Prowl and Barricade could only have that simplistic contentment, then maybe everything would turn out right after all.

Who knew? Ducks can be some of the best role models.


Yes, the ducks were there, and the guy wanting to pick up the duck, and all of the cops. Yes, a cop actually did have to slow down and let the ducks pass him, and two cruisers were off in the corner of the lot, their drivers talking. Other than that, let me just say this: this is the first time I did a self-insert story. ;) You can figure that out for yourself.

I'll have the second part up within a few days. Reviews are loved!