Kup sat atop the easternmost edge of Metroplex's outer wall, the morning sun bathing him in a warm orange glow. The light stretched out before him, illuminating the jagged, ruined landscape of Cybertron. Seeing one's home planet in such a desperate, desolate state would depress most, but right now it was the most beautiful sight Kup had seen in countless eons. After spending all of eternity in the Dead Universe, just being out under the warm sun again was the best feeling in the world.

In his current serenity, he couldn't help but be taken back to Tsiehshi, but in a good way for once. The crushing darkness, the horrible legions of the undead clawing at his door, the voices relentlessly calling out his name… They'd all finally given way to the breaking dawn, the cleansing light that burned all of his fears away. This time, however, that eternal night would not come back to haunt him.

He was free.

Free… But not alone. There was movement to his right. Kup had to resist the urge to strike. Old habits die hard, after all. This guest was hardly uninvited, though.

Kup glanced over in time to see Rung settling down to sit next to him. He greeted the bespectacled psychiatrist with a small smile.

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore optics? It's nice to finally see you again, Rung."

Rung gave a light chuckle, glad to see his old friend was in good spirits after all he'd been through.

"I'm happy to see you as well, Kup. I never thought I'd get such a chance again."

"Honestly, neither did I."

The two of them sat there in silence for a long while, just watching as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. It wasn't until the bottom of the sphere rose over the tallest of Iacon's crumbling towers that Rung decided to speak up.

"You don't have your cy-gar anymore. Did something happen?"

The question wasn't entirely limited to the cy-gar. He knew what it really was. He knew of the synthesized Ore-8 the device contained, he knew of the debilitating flashbacks and hallucinations it was meant to suppress, and he knew that Kup had never had proper treatment for said mental issues. He wasn't supposed to know any of this, of course. Information like that just had a way of finding him. In this case, it reached him via a certain scientist turned sniper who could contain his guilt no longer.

Kup replied with a grunt, staring straight out into the sunrise.

"Lost it."

He didn't bother elaborating. Honestly, he hadn't gotten the chance to miss the damn thing before he'd been transported to the beginning of the Dead Universe and into the clutches of a stark loneliness the likes of which he'd never experienced before. One tended to forget about hallucinations of apparitions and wraiths when the real thing was swirling around him constantly.

But he wasn't without his scars. After so long in that living nightmare, eons of utter loneliness, centuries under Nova Prime's sick designs… He just had to talk to someone, had to see a friendly face, had to touch someone, to know he could, to be reminded this was all real and wasn't some dream meant to tease him with what he longed for most, to be reminded he was real.

Rung was just the friendly face he needed. Sure, there were mechs he knew better, mechs he'd fought tooth and nail to drag out of the trenches, mechs he'd served with for centuries on end, but they weren't the comforting type. Rung was different. He wasn't a soldier, and he wasn't a medic that was going to scold him about his maintenance regimen. He was a psychiatrist. It was practically his job to be understanding.

Besides, they were around the same age. There was something uniquely valuable in having someone created in the same era as him around to talk to, especially given there were so few as old as he around anymore. He certainly couldn't ever invite anyone young enough for him to call 'kid' up here like this. It would just feel so wrong.

After another long stretch of silence, Kup drew in a big, deep intake of air… and immediately fell flat on his back. A startled gasp escaped Rung as he scrambled up to kneel over the fallen soldier, afraid the old mech may have finally kicked it.

"K-Kup?! Kup, are you alright?!" Rung asked frantically, shaking Kup by the shoulders as he urged him to wake up. The green mech just lay there, completely limp and motionless, his optics offline. Rung began to panic. Oh Primus, what should he do?! A… A medic! He needed to get a medic! He needed to go right now and—

Rung froze dead before he could get up. There was something touching him. More specifically, he felt something suspiciously like a servo caressing his aft. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking down at the supposedly unconscious mech below him. He couldn't help but notice the smirk that had suddenly appeared on Kup's lips. A single blue optic onlined to look up at him.

"Ain't you gonna give an old bot some mouth-to-mouth?" he teased, puckering up his lips. Rung rolled his optics behind his glasses, shaking his helm as he chuckled at Kup's sheer audacity. He couldn't believe this…

"You've got to be joking… Is this why you called me up here?" It wasn't a 'no', mind you. It wasn't a 'yes' either. Not quite yet.

This wasn't the first time the two of them had met up for something like this, though it was the first time in a very long while. If Rung recalled correctly, the last time was when he was reviewing new candidates for the Wreckers. Kup had caught him after his appointments were over and started laying it on just as thick as he was now.

The two of them weren't lovers exactly. They were friends, though perhaps they tended to fool around a bit more than typical friends would. Rung knew better than to get attached beyond that. He knew Kup's tendency to plow headlong into trouble, and he knew that habit didn't typically belong to those who lived long lives. As for Kup, well… He valued the kind of companionship and comfort he could only find in Rung.

Kup ran his free servo up Rung's smooth, porcelain white thigh, guiding it lightly. Rung complied with the movement, and soon found himself sitting in the old Wrecker's lap, straddling his hips. Kup then slid that servo slowly up the petite mech's abdominal plating, drawing a soft gasp out of him. He'd admired Rung's frame for quite a while now. They just didn't make bots like that anymore. Most younger bots would claim there wasn't really any difference in the frames of their elders aside from age, but he knew better. There were little things, details, small touches that he could pick out. Kup was grateful that Rung was just as stubbornly against getting a body upgrade as he had been.

Rung had to cover his mouth with his servo to stifle the little noises Kup was drawing out of him. Even as he felt his faceplates start to heat up, he found himself internally cursing Kup's ironclad memory. He knew all the little spots on his frame that got him hot and bothered. It was making it increasingly hard not to give in.

"C'mon now, Specs…" Kup purred out low and rough, using an old nickname as his servo glided around Rung's hip. "I've been cold and alone for so long… Can't ya help a mech warm up a bit?"

Rung gave a shudder as Kup's engine rumbled beneath him. That had dissolved any shred of resistance he had left. Rung stretched himself over Kup's chestplates, wrapping his arms around the Wrecker's neck and brushing his lips against the corner of his jaw.

"You make it so hard to say no…" Rung breathed out before placing soft kisses down Kup's neck cables. Kup gave a hum of approval, stretching his neck out so his little friend could get every last inch. He pulled Rung's frame close against his own, feeling himself start to heat up already. Now he was the one biting his lip to keep quiet. Kup wasn't the only one that knew some sensitive spots. In fact, he was so distracted by Rung's ministrations that he hadn't noticed the approaching engine roar until it was too late.

"Hey, Kup!"

The two froze dead when they heard the unmistakable sound of a certain Autobot captain calling for his old mentor. Sure enough, they looked up just in time to see Rodimus transform and skid to a stop a short distance away. Kup shot the mech an annoyed scowl.

"Dammit, Lad, can't you see I've got my servos full here?" Kup grumbled grumpily. Rung couldn't help but bury his face against the Wrecker's chestplate in utter embarrassment at the comment, as what Kup currently had his servos literally full of was his rear end. He could have at least let go in front of Rodimus!

Rodimus gave his trademark smirk, snickering at the awkward scene he'd stumbled upon. Oh, he was so not letting them live this down anytime soon! But, he was up here for a reason. May as well get down to business.

"Optimus is looking for you, Oldtimer. Something about a new mission after the trial's over. He wouldn't say much more than that."

Kup vented out a ragged sigh, lifting Rung up off of him and pulling himself up to his peds. "Alright, alright… Best not keep him waiting long."

Before setting off, Kup took one last look back at Rung, watching the petite psychiatrist straighten his glasses and dust himself off, all the while avoiding optic contact with either of them. The old Wrecker couldn't help but smirk. He was so cute when he was embarrassed.

"Hey, Specs! How 'bout we take a rain check on this little... uhh… meeting. Maybe we can catch up more back at your office where we won't be interrupted?" Kup made sure to give Rodimus a look as he emphasized those last few words. Rung gave him an amused chuckle.

"It is soundproofed." He replied, arching an eyebrow suggestively with a bit of a smirk. What? Kup wasn't the only one who could make dirty comments. Kup merely chuckled before transforming and taking off .

Rung turned his attention back to Rodimus, freezing dead before he could say anything. The red hot rod was staring at him, the biggest slag-eating grin plastered across his face.

"Sorry for interrupting your old guy date!" Rodimus shouted, causing Rung's face to heat right back up again. Before the psychiatrist could protest, his captain had transformed and zoomed off after Kup.

Rung was left alone, only a feeling of dread there to keep him company. Between Kup and Rodimus, he doubted the day would end with his dignity intact…