It's been long since the first chapter, but now I've got a bunch of ideas for more drunk nights, some more innocent, some more... not so innocent.
A bit late to be answering comments, but here goes anyway:
Valora: Thanks a bunch! I aim to please. (Wheeljack at least xD)
smoky: Oh, you're asking for a difficult thing... I can't see him assertive (or pushy) enough to get things started with Dawn. He needs a more dominating partner. In my head, he becomes this really nice and sympathetic guy, more like an incoherent and clingy puppy, when he's drunk. I can't help it. x)
"You did what!?"
Wheeljack placed a finger over his scarred mouth and Dawn immediately held back her anger, seeing Optimus glance curiously at their direction. Lowering her voice, she continued.
"Why on Earth, Cybertron or any other planet would you do something like that?"
"I was curious and the opportunity presented itself."
"You know the Earth saying 'curiosity killed the cat'? It applies to wreckers too."
"Relax", the white, red and green Autobot rolled his optics. "No harm done. The boss is fine."
"If Ratchet finds out, he'll make spare parts out of you."
"Then don't tell him."
Dawn shook her head in exasperation and turned to look back at Optimus. The tall Autobot stood in front of a console, hesitantly pushing one symbol at a time as if he couldn't remember what they were for. Wheeljack smirked.
"You can't say this isn't funny."
"As funny as me soon throwing you out on your aft?"
"Probably, if I actually believed you would do it."
Dawn couldn't prove the wrecker wrong. She didn't like using her powers on any of the bots, not unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Stay then... but I don't want to hear another word from you."
Wheeljack raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, backing up next to a wall, where he settled to watch the show, casually leaning back with arms crossed over his chassis.
Dawn cast one last warning glare at the smirking wrecker, before directing her attention back to the Autobot leader, who right then, wasn't in any condition to be leading anyone.
Not after Wheeljack had switched his regular energon to a high-grade version.
In plain English, Optimus Prime was drunk.
Dawn approached the large mech tentatively. "Optimus..."
The blue optics turned to her with a confused look. Dawn didn't think she had ever seen them like that, all wide and... somehow innocent.
"Are you feeling okay?" she pressed when he didn't say anything.
"...Yes", the answer finally came, not reassuring Dawn at all. "I..."
Optimus glanced quickly down at the console and back to Dawn. "...am working."
"Yes, I can see that..." Dawn heard a snort of stifled laughter. Damn Wheeljack, she would so rat that jackass out to Ratchet!
Optimus hovered a metal finger above the console, clearly contemplating what to push. Dawn took his hand, pulling it gently down.
"You need to rest."
The metal brows furrowed in protest. "I am fine, thank you. I need to..."
Dawn waited patiently for the red and blue mech to decide what it was he thought he should be doing. The glowing optics returned to her, now alarmed.
"There seems to be a malfunction in my memory unit."
"It's fine, you just need rest", Dawn walked the befuddled Autobot leader towards the nearest medberth.
Before she could get him to the medberth, the persistent Autobot got distracted and escaped her grip, heading to the opposite direction. "Yes, I was about to fix the groundbridge."
"N-no, Optimus! The groundbridge is fine. You shouldn't..."
The strong mech grabbed one of Ratchet's tools, immediately crunching the delicate instrument in his large hand. For a moment, both of them stared at it, guilt slowly building on the Prime's face plates.
"Do you think Ratchet would have needed that?"
"Probably yes."
"I... am not functioning properly, am I?"
"No, you're not."
Dawn could practically feel the glee radiating from Wheeljack, but amazingly the wrecker still refrained from laughing out loud.
The Autobot leader put the destroyed piece of equipment down, glancing towards the exit. "Maybe a ride and some fresh air..."
"No!" Dawn didn't want to have to use her powers, but readied them nonetheless in case there would be another escape attempt. The world definitely didn't need drunk semi trucks on the roads.
"I'm going to need you to trust me on this, that's not a good idea right now."
"Dawn..." the Autobot leader looked at her with childlike seriousness. "I do trust you. I have from the start."
The endearingly sincere optics only served to enhance the earnest words, sending an overflow of warmth through Dawn's heart and all the way to her face. She looked away to hide the pleased smile that revealed how much it meant for her to hear Optimus say that. Even if it was the high-grade talking.
While she looked the other way, Optimus wandered off again. Dawn hurried to catch up to the tall mech's strides, cursing in her mind the dutiful nature that not even over-energizing could smother. She had always thought the phrase 'Prime's don't party', was a joke, and not something to be added to the base's safety manual.
"Optimus, did your research reveal anything new?"
Dawn looked ahead of them at the sound of Ratchet's voice, seeing the medic approaching from the hallway. The busy mech could barely be seen from behind the heavy load of cybertronian weaponry he was hauling in his arms. He was about to say something else when his optics widened and an agitated groan left him.
"My precision welder!"
Rushing to unceremoniously ditch the pile of weapons onto Optimus' hands, the irritated medic went to inspect the damage. "How many times have I told Bulkhead he needs to stop vandalizing my equipment if he wants me to fix him the next time he comes back with his gearbox in his..."
A loud clattering of metal raining onto the floor startled both Ratchet and Dawn. The irritation on Ratchet's face melted into surprise, quickly followed by worry as he saw Optimus staring down blankly at the weapons he had just dropped.
"Oh... my apologies, Ratchet."
Dawn saw Ratchet observing his friend and leader with suspicious optics. "Are you feeling all right, Optimus?"
As with Dawn, the red and blue Autobot assured he indeed was, and proceeded to collect the fallen weapons, clonking his head hard on a steel walkway as he got up again.
"Oh, Primus no..." Ratchet muttered so quietly Dawn almost didn't hear him, then turned to her with a stern look. "How did this happen?"
Not 'what happened to him', but straight to the 'how'.
"You've seen him like this before?" Dawn realized.
"Unfortunately yes", Ratchet spoke under his breath, following Optimus' tentative movements as the large mech found a work bench to place the weapons down on. "Over-energizing doesn't suit his systems. Again, how?"
Dawn suffered no compunction as she nodded towards the greatly amused wrecker following the pitiful events.
"Naturally..." the disgruntled medic sighed, rubbing his optic ridges and muttering a long, exasperated litany of which Dawn could only make out a promise to 'remove his bearings with a blunt tool'.
She got the feeling it would be safer for Wheeljack to go get his next checkup from Knock Out.
The ominously narrowing optics and sternly lined mouth revealed Ratchet was about to go give the shamelessly grinning wrecker a piece of his mind. Dawn, however, was more worried about Optimus. She drew Ratchet's attention to the large mech, who was fiddling absentmindedly with one of the guns on the work bench. "Ratchet, we need to stop him first. You know... before he shoots himself in the face or something. I already caught him trying to 'fix' the groundbridge."
"Hmh, that explains", Ratchet glanced at the destroyed piece of equipment, before giving Optimus one of his authoritative, no-backtalk-allowed tones. " Optimus. As the Chief medical officer I'm ordering you to rest and recharge. Don't even think about doing any work around here until I say otherwise."
The blue optics looked hesitantly at Ratchet, a hint of defiance in them that waned quickly under the medic's stern gaze. He placed the gun he was holding back on the bench and lowered his optics like a school boy after a scolding.
"Spoilsport."
Ratchet turned to glare at Wheeljack, and Dawn stood aside as she realized there was no stopping the aggravated medic anymore.
"You...!" Ratchet stormed towards the laid-back wrecker with his scolding finger primed and ready. "Do you have any idea what could happen if the Decepticons launched an attack while Optimus was like this?! We're in the middle of a war here, in case that has somehow slipped from your processor."
"Believe me, it hasn't", Wheeljack's tensing frame responded to the accusation as he stepped forward to meet the medic, more than ready for a good conflict. "I don't need you to tell me about the realities of war."
A sly smirk accompanied a supposedly innocent head tilt as the wrecker continued. "And I don't think I need to tell you about the benefits of letting loose with a little high-grade every now and then."
Dawn couldn't see Ratchet's face, but his whole frame jerked as if having taken a hit.
"From what I've heard, you used to be quite the partier..."
"Dawn...!" Ratchet glanced back with an obvious strain to his voice. "Take care of Optimus, would you. We're taking this conversation outside."
"Yeah, sure..." Dawn nodded, taken aback by the two mechs' brief, but heated exchange. Wheeljack followed Ratchet into the corridor, and judging by the smug grin on his face, the wrecker wasn't done aggravating him.
Silence set after them, and Dawn sighed, turning back to Optimus, who looked as lost as ever. "All right then. You heard the doctor."
"They will be fine."
The deep, calming baritone surprised Dawn, answering her unspoken worry with clarity that wouldn't have revealed the Prime's intoxicated state. Dawn felt comfort, hearing it.
"This isn't the first time", Optimus continued matter-of-factly. "They will argue, then interface. Ratchet has always preferred highly passionate encounters in the berth."
And now the comfort was gone.
"Come along..." she pretended not to have heard anything, leading them again to the medberth.
This time Optimus followed her without fail, and Dawn watched him lie down. Just as she thought there would be no further oddities, the over-energized mech opened his mouth again.
"Could you stay by my side?"
"What?" Dawn blinked, surprised by the unnecessary request. "Of course I won't leave you here alone until you're..."
Optimus shook his head. "I mean here. Beside me."
The red and blue Autobot patted the edge of the medberth he was lying on, leaving Dawn staring at him in bewilderment. It took her a while to fathom that Optimus was serious, to check that they were alone, and to double-check that Optimus really was serious.
"Oh?" she was at a loss for words, severely unaccustomed to such open shows of affection from the normally composed and even reserved Autobot leader. "Well... sure. But why...?"
The question slipped from her before she could contain it, but Optimus didn't appear offended by it. In fact, Dawn realized, she couldn't even see the usual reserve that made him appear stiff to others. He offered her his hand, and Dawn took it hesitantly, scanning their surroundings with her powers to make sure no one was about to walk in. She allowed herself to be guided onto the metal slab, lying down on her side next to the large mech, who turned sideways to make room for her. She propped her head up against her hand, looking at the blue optics resting on her contently.
A faint smile touched the corners of Optimus' mouth as he closed his optics. "My spark rests easiest when you're close."
Love and affection aching in her own heart, Dawn came to the conclusion that the feeling was mutual. Closeness like this was a rare treat, mostly because of Optimus' tireless efforts for their cause. Dawn didn't blame him for it, but she did find herself missing him sometimes, even when they were in the same room.
Dangerously clumsy and embarrassingly outspoken. Now Dawn knew what the Autobot leader was like when drunk. Now she also knew what to do if she ever needed to get straight answers from him.
A knowing smile quirked her lips. No, she didn't want to find out what Ratchet would do to her if she ever replicated Wheeljack's little experiment.
Inching closer to the large, warm frame, Dawn pillowed her head on her arm and locked fingers with Optimus' metal digits, careful, as she hadn't forgotten the fate of Ratchet's tool. But the red and blue mech was already out of it, venting peacefully. Dawn closed her eyes too, thinking that if Ratchet and Wheeljack were entitled to their own time, there would be no reason for her not to enjoy her own little moment of peace and closeness.
