Typical, former Army Ranger Will Lennox thought as he looked the window. First time in over a year I get out of Nevada and the weather's against me.
Heavy drops beat against the window panes, a steady drum of sound that was rather comforting, too. Water streamed down the glass. The mountains had disappeared in the low clouds and Will could only guess where they had been. Just yesterday he had still been able to see them in all their glory.
Crossing the wide living room he walked into the kitchen and then into the adjoining garage, which was large enough to house three vehicles and actually had a second floor, just like the house, which was open. Whoever had built this getaway, he had been a little bit eccentric.
It had been Ron Witwicky's idea for Will to come here. The house belonged to a friend of his, an old school buddy, who had bought it from said eccentric years ago. He hardly ever used it nowadays, so he had offered it to Ron for use. Ron in turn had told Will about it, hinting that it was remote enough and that there was even room for an Autobot.
Ironhide was in his vehicle mode, parked in the garage, waiting silently.
"It's wet," the Autobot remarked wryly.
"It's called rain."
"According to your weather forecast, it'll be like that all week."
Will shrugged and leaned against the dark metal. "It could be worse. It could be hail."
"Do you really believe that hail could so much as dent my armor?" Ironhide rumbled.
"No idea. Could it?"
There was an outraged snarl. "No!"
"Oh well. Then I know we can still go out when it hails," Will teased.
"What's the point in driving through rain and mud?"
"Fun?"
Ironhide was silent for a moment. "Fun," he then repeated evenly. "You call that fun?"
"Actually…"
Another rumble. Will chuckled. He tilted his head back and gazed at the wooden structure above them. The rain was a background noise, a whooshing sound, muffled through the walls and the roof.
"Even if it rains all week," he finally said, "it's better than being stuck in the base."
"We're still stuck," the mech pointed out.
"But not in the middle of the Nevada desert."
"Just in the middle of the Montana mountains."
"Which is a different kind of stuck."
Ironhide snorted. "You humans have funny ways of boredom."
"You're bored?"
"I'm not human."
Will kicked one large tire with his heel. "When did you develop such a strange sense of humor, 'hide?"
"Must be your bad influence."
"I'd say it's Jazz."
"Or that."
Will turned to look at the lazily moving runes on his skin. He rested his palm against the deeply black fender and they flared slightly. Ironhide seemed to shift on his shocks.
"We have time now," Will said softly, almost under his breath. "And there's no one around."
It was always a matter of being alone, safe, undisturbed, and lately, well mostly, it never was one or the other. At the base they were very careful not to be caught, even by accident, in any kind of compromising situation. Not that Will would ever be seen with his pants down. That was a human concept. But for Ironhide to let go the environment had be to secured, had to be remote and still safe. Millennia of fighting and war had honed his instincts and he reacted to even the smallest sound. He couldn't let himself fall, be just Ironhide and not the warrior.
Out here, there was this chance. Out here there was truly no one else.
The tremor passing through the massive Topkick and the accompanying almost sub-sonic rumble had Will's hair stand on end. The runes flared and he saw them rise to the surface, displaying glyphs and Cybertronian writing prominently.
"Your species is insatiable," Ironhide said.
Will laughed a little, both hands on the fender now, feeling the vibrations, almost feeling the runes on his skin.
"Not that you're complaining much," he answered.
"My involvement in this bond between us is equal to yours," came the even reply.
Oh, that sounded so stilted. And like Ironhide was hard pressed not to transform and just initiate the sharing. Lennox smirked. They had tried 'foreplay' before, but it had never been under such secure circumstances, in a place where no one was likely to interrupt, where no alarms could go off.
The rain had picked up strength and was beating against the roof, like very loud, natural static.
"Your involvement is very much appreciated," Will only said, caressing the fender.
Ironhide claimed he felt next to nothing, that it wasn't stimulating, and maybe it wasn't, but it set off something inside the mech that had a similar effect.
Might be the runes, Will mused. Maybe they help along. Cool. Freaky, but cool.
He concentrated on one hand and let his skin change in color and texture, an ability he had been mastering for the past year now. The runes became more pronounced and his hands and lower arms took on the general appearance of the Allspark's surface, just without the deep grooves. It was as if someone had taken an airbrush to Will's skin and body-painted him.
Ironhide made a strange noise that sounded like metal gears grinding, followed by a rattle.
Something echoed through Will, like an answering groan, and he clenched his fingers, feeling smooth, alien metal under his touch. It was softer, almost comparable to skin, as he touched it now. An armor that deflected energy weapon blasts… and it didn't feel like it to Will.
Gazing at the black skin he saw the reflection of bright blue, and he knew his eyes had taken on the color of an Autobot's optics. Will felt the world expand under his touch, felt Ironhide's raw presence as the spark inside the heavily armored mech pulsed brightly, and his own body echoed each pulse with vigor.
There was a connection between them. Weaker, a lot weaker, than a spark bond, but more than just a friendship. It was almost palpable. It was there and it reacted with the other one. He would never be able to touch Ironhide like he would a human woman, or a human man, but that didn't matter. All of him touched the Autobot in a way that was beyond anything a human could experience. It was different from the technopathic bond Sam had with Bumblebee and not at all like the spark bond between Jazz and Barricade.
It was them. It was special. It caressed him and held him and tore him apart and set him on fire and was nothing but brilliance and warmth and light. Will knew he was making noises, he knew the runes were probably flaring as bright as neon signs, but it didn't matter.
This was them.
Only them.
He thought he said Ironhide's name. He imagined he heard his own. He didn't see anything, but he felt it all and it was massive, overpowering but still so much under their control. Nothing about it was rushed. Nothing was desperate. It was deliberate and slow, in a way, and still so strong.
ooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooo
Will came back to reality cradled against Ironhide's chest, feeling every curve and edge and tiny crack in the armor plating. He wasn't naked, which was good. He would have been puzzled if he had been, to tell the truth. It wasn't like he had to take his clothes off to share with Ironhide. His cheek was pressed against the smooth metal, eyes heavy, body so relaxed and sated, it was almost a sin. Runes moved slowly, almost invisibly.
"Will?" he heard the deep voice.
"Hmpf?"
Laughter rumbled through the voice box.
Will only grumbled something uncomplimentary.
ooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooo
The next time Lennox looked outside, the rain had made way for snow. It wasn't thick white flakes, more like a grisly thin shower of not-quite-rain-not-yet-snow. The wind blew it over the ground, bent trees, tore through bushes, and the clouds continued to hang low.
The house was warm and cozy, and Will was watching the display of pure nature with a mug of steaming hot coffee in his hands.
He didn't mind the weather. He didn't mind being alone again, aside from Ironhide, and with no city near-by. It was different than staying on the base, and that was the important part. And if boredom really hit him bad, he could always change into his protoform shape and go out and enjoy the wilderness and changing weather with Ironhide.
He would have to thank Sam's dad for the tip.
ooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooo
The night the storm howled around the house, rattling at the roof, but Will wasn't worried. He sat inside Ironhide's cab, sharing stories, one hand resting against the dash. The runes coalesced there, almost palpable under his skin, and he felt warm and safe. Ironhide's whole body seemed to hum around him, enjoying whatever it was the Allspark part was doing through the touch. He had no words for it, was barely able to express what he felt, but Will felt it, too.
Soul-deep, intense, intimate beyond belief, and just them. He let it happen, wash over them in gentle waves as they talked. It didn't end in sharing, both hovering at the fringes without the pressing need to reach completion.
It was nice.
Wonderful.
It was the first time for them again and again, able to experiment, to find the limits of their compromises, or go beyond.
Little steps.