Title: I Think It's Going to Rain Today 2/?
Author: akisawana
Genre: Drama/Family, with guest appearances by Romance, Angst, Crack, and Oh God, Didn't I Swear I'd Never Do This?
Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. Transformers? Not mine. First fic to have Aerialbots in human bodies living across the hallway from Seekers? Nope.
Warnings: It has been suggested that I warn you not to read this during class. Skywarp's breast obsession. Slash. (Yes, he's got boobs. Still two guys, still slash.)
Notes: Beta'd by the ever-wonderful Mr. Bear, who is never afraid to drive the eighteen-wheeler of logic through the plot holes, and who wrote most of the Seeker's back-story. Too bad that doesn't show up for another ten chapters or so.
Summary: Pontiac's a rough town. You know how scared you are of Detroit? We're that scared of Pontiac. The Aerialbots seem to have missed the memo.
The fliers promised free music, and Thundercracker's co-workers kept talking about how fun it would be to go to something in Pontiac called "Arts, Beats, and Eats." Skywarp heard "food," and was game. And of course, the Aerialbots would try anything once. Starscream didn't want to come, muttering about tests to grade, but that was a bonus as far as everyone was concerned. Everyone else climbed into Air Raid's station wagon. (They called it Sherman, after the tank.) The festival was downtown and outside, with roads blocked off and booths set up right in the street. They were confused by the system of buying tickets with money for strange and inconsistent exchanges and then using the tickets to buy refreshments until Thundercracker figured out that it was just a way to charge three dollars for a bottle of soda.
They started out as one group, but the Seekers peeled off early to head towards the smaller stages. Human, Thundercracker could no longer download the fleshling music he had grown fond of and had to buy the CDs, which were much harder to hide. But he could also enjoy a live show, something he hadn't done in longer than he cared to remember. Skywarp tagged along with him, not actually that interested in the music, but it made Thundercracker happy when so few things did. The pair wandered between the smaller stages all afternoon, occasionally heading over to the food booths to try some new human cuisine. Skywarp discovered Polish food, and kept heading back to the greasy goodness, but Thundercracker stuck with his less disgusting sushi. At least he could see what was in his meal. They ran into Air Raid and Slingshot once, who had lost their brothers over by the art but figured they wouldn't leave without them. Skywarp tried to interest them in his pierogis, with no success, and the Aerialbot brothers wandered away shortly after in their quest to find the best beer there.
It grew dark, and the people running the place started packing up. Skywarp picked up one last serving of greasy glee, and they headed for the car, figuring the Aerialbots had to show up there eventually. The car was near halfway across the city; they took what they thought was a shortcut through an alley between a church and a bar. It was a blind alley, though, and at the far end were three people, a man standing with his pants unzipped, and another man twisting a blonde woman's arm around and forcing her to her knees. One of the men said something they couldn't hear, but they heard the woman's response clear enough. "I'd really rather not," she said, voice carrying to them clear as a bell. "It looks diseased." Skywarp choked on his food, and Thundercracker pounded him on the back.
"Madre de Dios," Skywarp said. "That's Fireflight!"
The men turned to look at them. "I think you better be moving along now," the one holding Fireflight said. "There's nothing here for you to see." The other man smirked. Fireflight just looked vaguely embarrassed, and offered them a sheepish half-smile.
"We should rescue him," Skywarp said, too low for anyone but Thundercracker to hear. "If we do, he has to let us play with his boobies."
"Is that all you think about?" Thundercracker asked. Skywarp's breast obsession had been entertaining at first, but the novelty had worn off for him early on, and now he half-suspected that Skywarp only kept talking about them to annoy him and Starscream.
"Boobies are awesome!" Skywarp declared, grinning. The strangers went back to…whatever it was they were doing.
"First off, he's a highly trained warrior and perfectly capable of taking care of himself," Thundercracker said. "And second, there's no way that tits are as great as you think they are."
"And how do you know?" Skywarp asked. "Have you been playing with them without me?" Thundercracker's reply was cut short by a crack, almost like a human gun, and a sharp cry of pain. Skywarp looked at Thundercracker and raised an eyebrow.
"Fine," Thundercracker grumbled. "He can't take care of himself. Go play hero."
Skywarp grinned and sauntered up to the men. "Share the fun?" he asked, and punched one of them in the nose. The other dropped Fireflight's arm and leapt at Skywarp, yelling incoherently. Fireflight didn't get up but leaned forwards instead, cradling his left arm in his right. Thundercracker looked at Skywarp. The humans weren't armed, and Skywarp certainly seemed to be enjoying himself. Thundercracker knelt in front of Fireflight. It wasn't difficult to find his most severe injury; his left forearm was rapidly swelling and the fingers of his right hand were wrapped around it so tightly they were turning white.
Fireflight looked up at him, bottom lip caught between his teeth and beginning to bleed. He looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die of humiliation. Thundercracker knew that look well; Skywarp had put it on damn near every Decepticon's face save Megatron at one point or another. He reached out and grasped him by the shoulders. "Let's get out of here," he said, pulling the other to his feet. Thundercracker kept an arm around Fireflight's shoulders and led him to a bus stop half a block down and across the street. He sank down in it, under the streetlight. "Let me see your arm," Thundercracker said, prying his fingers from it. He squeezed lightly from elbow to wrist. Fireflight gasped, but only once. Thundercracker could feel the broken edges of the bone, but didn't know what to do for it. If anything could be done for it. Human bodies couldn't get parts replaced, after all. He sat next to Fireflight, wondering what to do. Fireflight shivered against his arm; he was only wearing a thin tee shirt, and didn't have the thick insulating muscles that the Seekers had. Thundercracker took off his flannel over shirt and wrapped it around Fireflight.
"Thank you," Fireflight said, a little shyly. Thundercracker smiled at him and put his arms around Fireflight to help keep him warm. He'd never broken a strut, no, bone as a human, but he had as a robot, and based on the minor bruises he'd had in the past eight months, Thundercracker couldn't imagine how much a broken bone would hurt. And Fireflight was enduring it silently, not crying, but not demanding everyone notice how brave he was being or simply falling unconscious. Thundercracker was fairly sure he himself would be begging for his creator.
Skywarp came out of the alley then, grinning like a lunatic around a scraped knuckle. "How you doing, kid?" he asked Fireflight, noting their positions with amusement.
"There's something wrong with his arm," Thundercracker answered for him. "The bone's snapped in half."
"And you didn't take him to the chop shop because, TC?"
"Humans don't have repair bays. Or at least not ones I've seen."
"We could fill books with what you haven't seen." Skywarp rolled his eyes. "They're called hospitals, o observant one, and there's a big one a few blocks south. Really, what would you do without me?"
"Have a quiet, peaceful life," Thundercracker grumbled, getting up and offering his hand to Fireflight.
"A boring one," Skywarp laughed. "Kiddo, your brothers got a number?"
Fireflight shook his head, eyes sliding away from them. "We can't afford cell phones." How long had it taken him to pick up on poverty being shameful, Thundercracker wondered.
Skywarp, who had been on both ends, just grinned. "I'll just go find them then. Meet you at the emergency room." He caught Fireflight's eye and grinned again. "TV promises you hot nurses. Find me one?" he teased.
"I'll try," Fireflight said quietly. Skywarp took off north, where most of the people were, and Thundercracker turned Fireflight south, arm around his waist in case he needed support. True to Skywarp's word, the biggest human building Thundercracker had seen yet said Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital in letters easily read from where he was. Fireflight made it about halfway before he had to lean against Thundercracker, but he faded fast after that. The Seeker practically had to carry him the last hundred feet to the doors under the big red-and-white "Emergency" sign.
Inside, the security guard directed them to a row of hard plastic chairs. A male nurse came out from behind a curtain and took Fireflight's elbow. Fireflight hissed in pain, but the nurse either didn't notice or didn't care. He led Fireflight back behind the curtain, and Thundercracker followed. The nurse stopped and glared at him. "You can't come back here," he said. "Wait there."
"Why not?" Thundercracker asked calmly.
"Hospital rules." Thundercracker took a step towards them, unwilling to let this stranger take Fireflight out of his sight. "Sir, sit down," he ordered. "You can see her after I'm done with the paperwork." Thundercracker weighed his options, and decided that while his wingmates might not mind him causing a scene, Fireflight probably would. He sat in the chair and waited. Fireflight was in there for no more than fifteen minutes, but he looked rather upset when he came out. Thundercracker stood as soon as he saw him and caught him as he stumbled. The nurse looked disapprovingly at them but led them to a room with another curtain in place of one of the walls, two more uncomfortable chairs, and a bed that was higher than normal. "A nurse will be by shortly," he said, and left them alone. Fireflight looked at the bed. It was clear he was supposed to sit on it, but it was just as clear that he couldn't climb up by himself.
"Turn around," Thundercracker told him. He did, and Thundercracker hoisted him up easily to sit on the bed. The seeker pulled one of the chairs over and sat in it while Fireflight arranged himself cross-legged, broken arm cradled in his lap. "What did he want in there?"
"Just my name and stuff." Fireflight tugged Thundercracker's shirt a little closer around him; the hospital was cold.
"You were in there for awhile."
Fireflight shrugged. "He thought you broke my arm. He was very insistent on that point."
"I wonder why," Thundercracker said, looking around the room for anything interesting. The room was very beige. "What did those men want, anyways?"
"He wanted me to put his…thing in his mouth. Why would he want that?"
"Because it feels good." Thundercracker smirked. It wasn't easy to get Skywarp to do it for him, but by Primus it was worth it.
"Like sex?" Fireflight whispered.
Thundercracker laughed."Yes, like sex."
Fireflight abruptly looked away. The kid was as nervous as a petro-rabbit around him, even after five weeks of not trying to kill him. Not that Thundercracker blamed him, exactly; Thundercracker had shot him not a few times over the past twenty-odd years. Still, he wasn't a bad kid, and they were stuck together for the foreseeable future. He scooted a little closer, close enough to rest his elbows on the bed. "You've tried it?" he asked, mostly to make conversation. The Aerialbot didn't say anything, but his silence spoke volumes. "You should," Thundercracker said. "It's just about the only thing these fleshbags are good for."
"Chocolate," Fireflight told his lap.
"Chocolate is good," Thundercracker agreed. "Sex is better."
Fireflight couldn't really agree or disagree, so he didn't say anything. Another nurse, this one female, came in then, saving the silence from dragging on too long. "We're going to take you to get X-rays now, hun. Follow me?" Fireflight slid off the bed, and they followed the nurse through the crowded hallways to a room with "Danger! Radiation" on the door. "You'll have to wait out here, hun," the nurse told Thundercracker. There was one of the ubiquitous plastic chairs outside it. Thundercracker wandered off to find a vending machine instead.
When Fireflight's X-rays were done, the nurse sent them back to their cubicle, promising to meet them with Tylenol for Fireflight. They found a woman waiting for them in one of the chairs, dressed more business-like than the nurses in their scrubs. "You're not a nurse," Thundercracker said.
"No, I'm Sharon" the woman said, smiling. "Can I talk to you alone," she looked down at a clipboard to check Fireflight's human name, "Raven?"
"Why can't he stay?" Fireflight asked innocently."Let's have a little bit of girl talk," Sharon said, still smiling, though it didn't reach her eyes.
"I can wait right outside," Thundercracker said. He didn't want to leave Fireflight alone when he was injured, but he figured the Aerialbot would shout if he needed him. He took up position right outside the curtain and leaned against the edge of the wall separating their cubicle from the one next to it. His weak human ears could hear their voices, but not what they were saying. Five minutes later, he heard Fireflight cry out in alarm and pain. "Hey!" He came around the curtain to see the woman squeezing his broken arm and shaking it. "Stop it," he ordered, pulling Fireflight away from her and behind him.
He'd noticed over the past weeks that the Aerialbots were always touching each other, and he kept one hand wrapped around Fireflight's to reassure him as he stood between him and the crazy woman. "Let go of her, sir," the not-nurse said.
"You're hurting her," Thundercracker read her name off her ID badge, "Mrs. Praknaski." He tried to remain calm, but it was hard. They were supposed to be helping Fireflight, not hurting him more. He couldn't stop his voice from dropping half an octave. "Stop it," he said again.
"Let go of her, sir, or I will call security. You're not welcome here," the Praknaski woman said.
"I think that's her decision."
"I don't think Rachel is capable of making the right decisions," she said. "Not with her abuser in the room."
"Abuser?" Thundercracker and Fireflight said at the same time. "He didn't hurt me," Fireflight said. "He wouldn't hurt me." It surprised Thundercracker to realize that that was true, at least for now.
"We're concerned," Praknaski said slowly, as if to a stupid youngling, "because of your anxiety, and the clear finger marks on your arm."
Fireflight came out from behind Thundercracker, but he didn't let go of his hand. "I've never been in an emergency room before," he admitted.
"And the marks?" In answer, Thundercracker raised Fireflight's arm, carefully stabilizing his elbow, and wrapped his fingers lightly around his wrist. Thundercracker's fingers were far too long and a bit too wide to line up with the bruises. He looked pointedly at the woman, and imagined wrapping his fingers around her fat neck and squeezing.
Slowly.
Whatever the woman was going to say was cut off by the timely arrival of the nurse, alerted by the noise. "Thank you, Sharon," the nurse said to the evil woman, who looked rather like Megatron whenever Starscream crowed about being right. "But I think we'll be alright now."
The Praknaski woman left with bad grace, muttering something under her breath that was probably offensive. Thundercracker led Fireflight back to the bed and hoisted him up again before sitting back down in the chair to stay out of the nurse's way. The nurse put some sort of clamp hooked up to a beeping machine on Fireflight's finger and gave him the promised painkillers. "The doctor will look at your X-ray's as soon as he can, hun," she said. "Can I get you anything?"
"Do you have any blankets?" Fireflight asked.
"Of course, hun," the nurse said. "I'll bring you one right away." Fireflight took the pillow from the head of the bed and laid it across the foot. When the nurse brought the blanket back, he lay down on his side, his head now near Thundercracker, and pulled the blanket awkwardly around himself. Thundercracker reached over and straightened it.
"What was that woman's malfunction?" he asked.
"I don't know," Fireflight said. "She seemed to think that there was something wrong with you. She kept saying that you shouldn't treat me like 'that.' But she never explained what she meant. She was very insistent that I let her find somewhere safe for me to stay. I told her there wasn't anywhere safer than with you." He stopped speaking abruptly, as if he hadn't wanted to say the last out loud.
Thundercracker noticed that, the same way he had noticed Fireflight looking at him the past month when he thought he wasn't looking and the way the other Aerialbots conspired to throw them together as much as possible, whether it be on the same team during a game or next to each other when watching TV. And he had also noticed that this was the most words in a row he'd ever heard out of Fireflight. "Of course there isn't," Thundercracker said, putting a hand on the other's shoulder. "Nothing bad is going to happen as long as I'm around." He'd also noticed over the past month that Fireflight was significantly less obnoxious than Starscream. And could put up with Skywarp seemingly forever. And saw things that no-one else saw, amazing things.
Fireflight smiled at him. "That's not a very good Decepticon thing to say."
"I'm not a very good Decepticon." Thundercracker smiled back at him. "Is the Tylenol helping at all?"
"Not really," Firefight pulled a bag of M&Ms out of his pocked and tore it open. "Want some?" Fireflight nodded and held out his hand. Thundercracker poured a few out for him, and a few more for himself. "So how's the job hunt going?" he asked just to make conversation.
"Not well," Fireflight groaned.
"Did you try any place that wasn't a store?" Skywarp only worked at Best Buy so they could abuse his discount, Thundercracker at Staples because they were the first place to hire him, and by the time Starscream and Skywarp were settled enough for him to look for another job, they had made him a manager. But the Aerialbots worked entry-level retail jobs, except for Slingshot who did fast food.
"I'm not qualified to do anything else." One of the first things Starscream had done was set up elaborate paper trails for himself and his wingmates, giving himself two degrees that were legitimate as far as the University of Florida was concerned, Thundercracker a degree in music theory from the Pratt Institute and Skywarp a tour of duty in the Air Force. Optimus Prime, Fireflight explained, had arranged for the Autobots to take the human's tests. The Autobots had thought general equivalency degrees would be just as good as high school diplomas. They hadn't reckoned on sections about Earth history, or on some Autobots not being able to pass it, or on there being a waiting period for retakes. "Most places don't hire people without it," he said softly, "and only Skydive and Silverbolt really passed. Air Raid did too, but it was just luck." He pulled away from Thundercracker as he spoke.
Thundercracker tugged him back and gently rested a hand on Fireflight's forehead to keep him from moving away again. Seekers had a sensor vent there, and stroking it was often the easiest way to make them hold still. Aerialbots, or at least Aerialbots in human flesh, seemed to work the same way. He watched Fireflight's eyes go wide, and then drift half-closed. Primus. The kid had a crush on him. "Your brother's very lucky," he said, changing the subject. "Lucky that Skywarp didn't feed him his own elbows last week." He smiled at the memory. "It's not often someone manages to trip him up like that."
"Air Raid's always liked football," Fireflight said after a moment.
"That does not surprise me in the least," Thundercracker said. "So does Ramjet."
"What does that mean?" Fireflight demanded, indignant on his brother's behalf.
Chuckling, Thundercracker patted Fireflight's shoulder with his other hand, leaning in close. "Nothing. Your brother is nothing like Ramjet." He cocked his head, as if considering something. "Do you think we could trade the Coneheads for you?"
Fireflight pretended to consider this as well. "I don't think so. Ratchet hates fixing jets."
"They are clumsy," Thundercracker agreed. "Perhaps we should just give them to you. For target practice. You need it."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, you can't shoot me, can you?" He smirked at Fireflight. "Or am I just that awesome in the air?" Fireflight smiled back at him, but his face grew sad. He didn't have to say anything for Thundercracker to know he was missing flight. Thundercracker sighed. "Tylenol still not helping at all?" Fireflight shook his head. "Didn't think so…your brothers ought to be here for you soon."
"I'm fine with you," Fireflight said. Thundercracker gave him the lie. Fliers did not like being apart from their wingmates. (Where was Skywarp anyways?) Combiners did not like being apart from their brothers; the dents in the wall were still there from Hook's last hissy fit, as far as he knew. There was no way in the Pit Fireflight was fine, injured and alone. But his quiet calm was impressive. Thundercracker was used to distracting his wingmates when they were injured, not this strange surreal almost normality, and it was a little unsettling. He didn't quite know what to do, and settled for stroking Fireflight's hair.
The nurse came in, followed by a man with in a white coat who introduced himself as Dr. Bennett. Fireflight sat up, and Thundercracker tried to fade to the background. The doctor didn't even look at Fireflight, instead showing the X-rays to Thundercracker and spouting medical jargon that neither of them understood. Thundercracker nodded at what seemed like the right places, wondering what the doctor's problem was and why he was ignoring Fireflight. From the pictures, it looked like there were two parallel bones that had been snapped cleanly in half. "A good, clean break," the doctor said, the first thing that was actually understandable. "We'll put a cast on it and it will heal up just fine."
Another nurse, this one male, wheeled in a cart with what looked remarkably like a human-sized interrogation device. The doctor took Fireflight's arm, not the least bit gently, and clamped the ring at the top around his wrist so his arm hung straight down. "This might hurt a bit," one of the nurses said. "Do you want to hold her hand?" Thundercracker looked at Fireflight, who just shrugged. He stepped around to the right side of the bed and picked up Fireflight's hand. The doctor grasped the broken bones through the skin and forced them in line. Fireflight paled and squeezed Thundercracker's hand so hard the Seeker had to suck his breath in hard to keep from crying out. The male nurse clamped Fireflight's elbow in place, and they started wrapping his arm in wet bandages. After a few layers, they released the arm from the clamps, held his elbow at a sharp right angle, and wrapped more bandages from halfway to his shoulder all the way past his wrist. When the cast was an inch or so thick, they stopped, and the doctor smoothed the end of the bandage. Their nurse took a small pillow from the bottom of the cart and set it on the rolling table, then pulled it next to the bed so the male nurse could drop Fireflight's arm on it. She was too professional to glare at him as she adjusted the height of the table to be more comfortable.
"Give it a half-hour to set, and you'll be on your way," the doctor said. "We'll get your paperwork ready in the meantime." He left, and the male nurse followed, taking the cart with him. The other nurse stayed long enough to ask Fireflight if he needed anything, and followed them when he said he didn't.
"Going to give me my hand back?" Thundercracker asked, and then smirked when he jumped and let go hastily. Instead of returning to his chair, he hopped up on the bed behind Fireflight. Fireflight tensed visibly, which only made Thundercracker smirk more. He wrapped an arm around Fireflight's hip and used that hand to balance himself as he leaned over to examine the new cast. Fireflight nearly stopped breathing. Thundercracker decided he liked this new sport; it was almost as much fun as terrifying ground-pounders. He sat back, but didn't move his hand. "Why so nervous?" he asked in the false innocent voice he had picked up from Skywarp.
"I don't like this place," Fireflight said.
"We'll leave in half an hour and go find your brothers."
"And Skywarp."
That pleased Thundercracker, for some reason he couldn't quite identify. "And Skywarp."
"Speak of the devil, and he appears!" Skywarp announced, coming around the corner with the other Aerialbots in tow. Thundercracker patted Fireflight's leg one last time, just for fun, and slid off the bed, which was rapidly surrounded by Fireflight's brothers. The Seekers watched as Silverbolt examined the cast and Skydive sat on the bed behind his brother, much as Thundercracker had. Air Raid threw himself across the foot of the bed and declared himself drunk. Fireflight agreed with him, giggling a little, and let him take his free hand. Slingshot took Thundercracker's chair, and laid his head down on the pillow, slurring something about size not mattering, clearly even more intoxicated than Air Raid.
"It's like a Stunticon fleet multiplied by a flock of Seekers," Thundercracker murmured to Skywarp.
"What did you expect? They're draped all over each other most of the time anyways. Did you ask him?"
"Ask him about what?"
"Boobies," Skywarp prompted.
"Somehow the subject never came up," he replied wryly. "Besides, we don't want to play with them."
"Why not?"
"They're not very big," Thundercracker half-lied. In truth, while he had no problems leading Fireflight on to watch him squirm, abusing the kid's crush like that just didn't sit right with him.
Skywarp gave him a knowing look. He knew Thundercracker was lying, and that whatever it was Thundercracker would tell him sooner or later. His wingmate couldn't keep a secret from him to save his life.
An hour later, the Seekers had colonized the Aerialbots' kitchen and were watching Skydive fuss over Fireflight while Silverbolt attempted to peel his other brothers off of the injured one and put them to bed."They're like a bunch of sparklings," Skywarp marveled once Silverbolt had the inebriated ones in their bedroom at least, helping himself to coffee. "How did they ever beat us?"
"They are sparklings," Thundercracker pointed out. "And I blame you."
"Me? What did I do?"
"You were sparked," Thundercracker said. Silverbolt came out of the back bedroom. He looked tired and worried, not that either Seeker took much notice. Silverbolt almost always looked tired and worried.
"I hate to ask, but can one of you do me a favor?"
"What?" Thundercracker asked.
"Do either of you have tomorrow afternoon off? None of us do; I don't want to leave him alone one-handed."
"I'll stay with him," Thundercracker said, kicking Skywarp's ankle.
"Thank you," Silverbolt said, and went to join Skydive in the fussing.
Skywarp slid Thundercracker a look that could only be defined as trickster. "Someone's got an early morning," Thundercracker announced, not that anyone was really listening, and hauled his wingmate out before Skywarp could say anything terrible.
Across the hall, Skywarp looked at him. He didn't say anything, just looked.
"What?"
"I didn't say anything," Skywarp said with wide-eyed innocence. "I was just thinking it's a shame I work late tomorrow and you'll be stuck alone with him all afternoon."
Thundercracker didn't dignify that with a response.
Wow. That was not supposed to be half that long…Anyways. You only wish I made this stuff up. To be continued and all that jazz. I promise things will be explained at some point; shooting for the end of the next chapter but seeing as it was supposed to be the end of this chapter, don't hold your breath. Please read and review. Silence only encourages me, praise more, but what really gets me going is concrit. Where can I improve?