Precipitous

Part 2-Demanding

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.

0130. Optimus Prime walked into the rec room, not expecting to find anyone there. But one table was occupied by a single Autobot. Rodimus, head resting on his folded arms, in recharge. An unusual sight, considering. Curious, the Autobot leader thought. He knew he shouldn't interrupt the other's rest, but Rodimus' presence in the rec room, alone, at such an hour warranted a disruption.

He reached out, put a hand on the other Autobot's shoulder, shook him gently awake. Rodimus looked up, surprised to see his leader. Fellow Prime, he corrected himself.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" Optimus asked.

"Avoiding a sight that will plague me the rest of my life," Hot Rod muttered.

"Springer and Ironhide are. . .taking advantage of your quarters?" Optimus asked.

"Unfortunately," Hot Rod said.

"And you have no place else to go?" Optimus asked. "I'm sure Arcee would welcome your company. . ."

Hot Rod shot Optimus a glare, felt guilty, then remembered he was now his equal, kept on glaring.

"Or not," Optimus said. "If you do not mind my prying, why are you reluctant to consider her?"

"I do mind the prying," Hot Rod said, standing.

"I'm sorry," Optimus said. "The next time you need a place to bunk, feel free to use my quarters. I'm not there most of the time anyway, so someone might as well use them. Or you know, you could request your own quarters. It is your right."

"Thanks," Hot Rod said.

"You can go there now, if you like. I'm taking over the second half of the watch for Jazz. Something about needing to set things straight with Prowl. . ."

-----

So much for Springer and Ironhide using the weapon master's quarters, Hot Rod thought as he left Optimus' quarters. He'd taken him up on the offer mainly because he had no desire to be caught out in the open by Arcee in the middle of the night and also because he was tired. Come to think of it, Optimus was probably due some rest now too considering he'd taken over the night watch, but probably not, knowing how stubborn that mech could be.

His thoughts cycled back to Arcee as he made his way to ops. Once, he would've been happy to take her up on her advances, but not now, not when everything had changed. He knew he was going to have to talk to her about it, hopefully later rather than sooner. Hot Rod wanted to put off that conversation as long as possible.

-----

The base was quiet with the exception of the normal human and Autobot activities. Except it was calmer than usual because of the absence of Skids and Mudflap, Graham reflected as he walked into the NEST command center. A few of his American counterparts were deep in conversation, and as one of their commanding officers, he couldn't help but overhear what they were saying, and they didn't bother dropping their voices.

As the conversation dragged on as he was waiting for Epps and Lennox to show up for their transmission to talk with Morshower, Graham grew more annoyed, finally deciding to say something.

"For your information, Rodimus is indeed a Prime, Optimus' equal. He is young and inexperienced, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt and our respect. If I hear you talking in such a manner again regarding any NEST personnel, human or Autobot, there will be consequences," Graham said.

He earned himself a glare and a reserved sigh, but it was the right thing to do. Some NEST personnel still hadn't managed to wrap their head around the fact there was indeed another Prime in their midst. The ones who had a problem with Rodimus kept comparing him to Optimus. Of course, there really was no comparison because Optimus was Optimus and Rodimus was well, Rodimus. Graham had a close working relationship with Optimus because he was part of the chain of command but he'd managed to develop a real friendship with Rodimus.

Even Rodimus admitted on more than one occasion there was no one else like Optimus. It was a hell of a standard to have to live up to, and so far, Rodimus hadn't broken under the pressure. Bent, swayed and rebelled but he hadn't broken.

The soldier looked at his watch, sighed, resisted the urge to roll his eyes when he heard footsteps pounding up behind him.

"We've been waiting for you, sir," Graham said as he watched Lennox pass by with a nod, then climbed the scaffolding up to the communications platform.

-----

From the Autobot perspective, quiet could be bad for many reasons. It could mean someone was plotting something, usually the enemy, but quiet meant down time and too much downtime lead to pranks and other disruptive behavior. Or other bad conduct Prowl reflected, flinching when he heard voices rising from the direction of Optimus' office next door to his own.

He thought about stepping in to see what he could do to deflect the argument, but the second in command knew there probably wasn't much he could do to stave it off. Instead, he decided to let his leader and work it out on his own.

Inside Optimus' office, he was staring down his fellow Prime, arms folded, refusing to back down.

"Don't lecture me about the duty of a Prime," Hot Rod said. "It's all I've heard since we landed on this mud ball."

"Arcee is interested in you," Optimus said. "Do you know how many mechs would be happy to trade you places? And it is the opportunity to help realize the future of our people.

"I'm not ready to be anyone's creator," Hot Rod said. "And if you're so hell-bent on helping bring about a new generation, why don't you interface with Arcee?"

"You should at least give her interest serious consideration," Optimus said.

The retort he received in Cybertronian over his private frequency made the Autobot leader flinch, just a millimeter. He watched Rodimus walk out of his office, shook his head in frustration before turning his attention back to his reports.

-----

Prowl and Jazz sat next door in Prowl's office, enjoying each other's company and the high grade Jazz had brought along.

"That was a quite a row," Prowl said, taking a sip of energon.

"It's been what, two weeks since the last one, so they were due," Jazz said.

"If you say so," Prowl said. "By the way, it's your turn to go knock some sense into our intrepid leader."

"Thanks for reminding me," Jazz said, standing up. He walked out of Prowl's office, rounded the corner into Prime's.

"I'd apologize if I were you," Jazz said.

Optimus didn't miss a beat, didn't look up, kept reading reports.

"I didn't mean to set Rodimus off," Optimus said. "If he's already seeing someone. . ."

"Are you kidding?" Jazz said. "He's been so busy he's barely had time to recharge."

"I did find him recharging in the rec room last night," Optimus said. "He did take me up on the offer of using my quarters when I'm not there. Ironhide hasn't exactly followed through on using his quarters for. . ."

"Extracurricular activities with Springer," Jazz said. "Why doesn't he just request his own quarters?"

Optimus looked up. "Because Rodimus is as stubborn as they come."

"That's an understatement," Jazz said. "But you know what might help?

Jazz had to keep himself from smiling. At least he had his leader's full attention now.

"If you have any suggestions that might make life easier for both Rodimus and I, I would be very happy to hear them," Optimus said.

"Give him his old job back," Jazz said. "He was one of the best unit commanders we had on Cybertron."

"He is a Prime. If anything happens to me, it will be up to. . ."

"Yeah, I know," Jazz said. "Spare me this lecture again. He's young, and if you'd actually pay attention, you'd know he is fully aware of his position now and all of the responsibilities that go with it. I'm just suggesting you back off and let him do his job. How long's it been since he's seen any action? No, don't answer, because I can tell you how long--three months. Get him back on the mission roster and I can guarantee you he'll be a lot easier to deal with."

"But he still has much to learn," Optimus said.

"So did you," Jazz said. "And Ultra Magnus and the council rode you hard, so there's no reason to do the same to Hot Rod. He'll only rebel under the pressure. And since when is it OK to keep him away from combat when you're always in the thick of it? Seems to me you're hastening along that day when Rodi might have to take over."

-----

Jazz found Hot Rod fuming in his quarters. It took a little persuading, but he finally managed to get the young Autobot outside, onto the beach, where they could talk.

"You're getting your old job back," Jazz said.

"What?" Hot Rod asked, incredulous.

"Unit commander," Jazz said. "Optimus didn't say no, so I'd count on it if I were you. I'll be putting you into the combat rotation as soon as you're ready, if you want."

Hot Rod looked at Jazz as if he'd suddenly grown another head.

"What happened to the whole 'protecting the legacy of the Primes' thing? Preserving the tradition of leadership?" Hot Rod said.

"I gave Prime the idea it might make you a little easier to live with," Jazz said. "Don't go proving me wrong. And I hear he's offered you the use of his quarters because of Springer and Ironhide. Although I'm surprised you two aren't sharing a berth by now."

"Jazz. . ."

"Just hear me out," Jazz said. "I know you're attracted to him."

"Attracted to that. . .pompous, overbearing, stubborn mech?" Hot Rod said.

"You're right about the stubborn part," Jazz said. "He can be overbearing at times but pompous?"

"Well, maybe not pompous but by the Allspark, he is stubborn," Hot Rod said.

"Must be one of the qualities to be Prime," Jazz said. "Seems you two share that trait."

"Unfortunately," Hot Rod said.

"And about that whole Arcee thing. . ."

"Not talking about it," Hot Rod said.

"That's fine with me," Jazz said. "But you're gonna have to deal with it eventually."

Hot Rod didn't answer. Instead, he was looking out at the ocean.

Jazz resigned himself to the silence. At least he'd gotten Hot Rod to listen, which was more than Prime could say. Hot Rod was a young, attractive, desirable mech. Jazz could see why Arcee would want him as a mate. Hot Rod was also a Prime, and to Jazz, it made perfect sense, as Primes, for Hot Rod and Optimus to be together. Just didn't look like they saw it that way yet. Maybe Hot Rod did, but he was in denial that he could have what he wanted and Optimus just hadn't noticed the sparks flying when he was with Hot Rod. The idea of those two bonding made more sense than Hot Rod and Arcee. The union of two Primes would probably produce another Prime, if that was how the whole Prime thing worked.

He pushed it from his mind, deciding to instead enjoy a little time away from his duties. They'd be back in the thick of it before they knew it.

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