Title: Bleak Christmas
Characters: Inferno, Red Alert
Content: Nothing really to warn for. Inferno is musing upon the past and comparing it to the present.
A/N: I was re-reading flarn-fanfic's series, Immolation, and wishing there was more. Then I re-read the prompts for the collaboration challenge, and this one, Dreaming of a White Christmas from Cybertron, kind of popped out at me.
So this is the story I came up with, inspired by Flarn's story, which is so amazing but really dark (heed the warnings!) for the December challenge on redxinferno. Inspiration, not collaboration, but nevertheless, for the challenge.
Inferno was back on Cybertron...
Inferno finished talking to Grapple and Huffer about the fire suppression system in the new apartment buildings in the central part of Iacon. The war was finally over, the Decepticons and Autobots having realized that their war had annihilated their population and between both armies, there were barely enough beings to repopulate their world. Megatron had been forced to parlay by Soundwave, who had reached the end of his patience when one of his symbiotes was killed.
With Megatron finally talking to Optimus Prime, the realities of their war a terrible third at the table, a treaty had been reached that was mutually disagreeable enough that all participants agreed to it. With the war out of the way, the rebuilding of Cybertron had begun in earnest. Shockwave had the worst adjustment of any Cybertronian, after millennia with only himself, a few femmes, and an army of drones, his domain was now bustling with life.
The first thing they had done was move Cybertron to a yellow star and start generating energy from the solar radiation. Once the planet was in a stable orbit, the clearing of debris and the building of structures had begun. Many Cybertronians had come from Earth to lend their specialized knowledge to the rebuilding effort.
Inferno, as an expert on fire fighting, was designing fire suppression systems for the housing that Grapple, Huffer and the Constructicons were building. Housing was the first priority, followed by functional government buildings and supply depots. They had learned much from their time on Earth, and now Cybertron rotated as it circled its new star, meaning there was daylight on all parts of the planet sometime during the rotational cycle, instead of one side always being in the light and the other, always in the dark.
Inferno made his way to the small apartment he shared with Red Alert, who had his own specialty in high demand. He and Soundwave and Blaster all worked together, integrating security with communications. They worked with Cosmos, who took into orbit the satellites necessary and placed them in geo-synchronous orbit.
Inferno entered the apartment, turning on the lights as he did. Red Alert wasn't back yet, but he rarely made it back to their apartment before Inferno did, and Inferno was used to it. He pulled a cube of energon from the dispenser, then went out onto the small balcony and looked up.
Having a sun allowed them to have starlight, and Inferno leaned against the building and watched the lights become stronger as the sunlight was blocked by the planet. They didn't twinkle as they did on Earth, because Cybertron didn't have an atmosphere like Earth's.
Inferno was momentarily overwhelmed by an aching desire to be back on Earth. Yes, they'd been at war, there had been horrific injuries inflicted upon each other, but Earth was alive and growing and healthy in a way Cybertron was not and wouldn't be for a very long time. Earth had seasons, constant change, an amazing diversity of life and thought and energy, and Inferno missed that energy suddenly and profoundly.
Inferno gazed up at the stars, and wondered when Earth had become home, and Cybertron the alien planet. Right now, it was winter on Earth, and the ground would be covered in snow, the air crisp and cold, and Inferno wanted to be there.
A touch on the back of his hand and he looked down at Red Alert, who was looking up at him worriedly. He looped his arm around Red and pulled him close, the sudden sharp ache soothed by having Red Alert in his arms, nestling close to his spark and reflecting warmth back to him. Here was home, where ever Red Alert was, and Inferno would content himself with having something meaningful in his life, someone that loved him despite his imperfections, and whom he loved.
Red Alert urged him back inside, and Inferno went willingly, shutting the door on the dark and cold and immersing himself in the light and the warmth with his partner.
The End.