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Ficlet Name

Golden Opportunity

Summary

Rung wants to encourage his patients, but things have gone a little out of hand.

Pairing

Fort Max/Rung.

Warnings

None. Fluff ensues.

1,937 Words


It had been many cycles since Rung had first introduced the shiny golden star stickers as a means of encouragement. Unlike energon goodies or praise, these stickers were tangible; one could look at them and find solace on how many there were. The concept of progress was more easily grasped when one could literally grasp it, it seemed. For a while, Rung's patients were reinforced in a positive way, and for a while, they were happy. Even Whirl. In fact, once warmed up to the idea, Whirl was one of his patients most proud of his growing sticker collection - that is to say, most proud of his growing psychological progress. But these days, his patients are becoming disappointed in themselves for not acquiring as many stickers as they think they should be. Rung's successful positive reinforcement tactic has been turned around on it's head.

Rung vented a sigh and let his helm clink against the bar table. He wish he could go back to energon treats. He wished those would have worked. He wished he was a better psychiatrist, or there was another on the ship that he could trade ideas with. Being the one and only go-to for mental health on an entire ship full of idiots -well maybe idiots was a little strong- was very hard on him. A lot of the time he felt very overwhelmed. He was the one bot anyone could go to for safe keeping, to vent, to cry on - but he had no mech like that. He mused to himself that as a psychiatrist he shouldn't have to - that he could just explain away his own problems, but it just didn't work like that. Maybe it worked that way for others in the profession, but not him, no.

He considered Fortress Maximus a dear friend - after his drunken incident, he became very close to his patient. Probably closer than was healthy. Nevertheless, he couldn't go to Max for emotional support - it was supposed to be the other way around. Another failure as a psychiatrist to add to his growing pile. While his patients were eagerly working on their pile of gold stars, Rung was overwhelmed by his growing failures. He found himself thinking fondly of Maximus often. Too often. Too fondly.

Fortress Maximus was ideal. He was strong. He could protect Rung and his scrawny, feeble body. Max was patient, quiet, and if Rung dared to admit it to himself, he was handsome. This would all be lovely and perfectly acceptable things to feel about another mech if that mech wasn't Rung's psychiatric patient. Patient/doctor relationships were highly frowned upon, especially in the world of mental health. He would have confessed his feelings long ago if he didn't have those facts looming over him.

Even with the growing oppressive force of disapproval and taboo practices, Rung couldn't help but crave Maximus's company, and his attention. Max was one of the only mechs on the Lost Light to really care about Rung's own health or well-being. He never mispronounced his name deliberately or accidentally, he always noticed if Rung was feeling under the weather that day, and he always noticed if Rung was low on energy.

He heard someone sit beside him at the booth he'd tucked himself away in.

"Hello, Rung."

The psychiatrist lifted his head and gave the best smile he could to his patient and friend, Fortress Maximus. He felt both relieved and dejected that the mech had come to sit beside him. "Hello Max. What can I help you with?"

"Oh, nothing, I was just-...Rung, are you alright?"

The words struck a chord in Rung. His eyes began to well up, and his glasses became foggy. "I-, well I..."

Maximus's optics grew in alarm. Oh, goodie. This is precisely why he couldn't go Max for support. Upsetting his patients was the exact opposite of what Rung was supposed to do. "Oh, Maximus please don't look at me that way - I'm alright, really. It must be the highgrade."

"Rung, that's engex-free energon. You don't drink often, especially not alone hidden in the corner of the bar. It's not the highgrade - or lack thereof. Please, tell me what's on your mind?"

Rung let out a shaky sigh as Maximus gently pulled his hands into his. Maximus's hands felt so warm and gentle encompassing his own. "I'm just- a little overwhelmed, that's all. Once my patients become a little less dangerously eager about little golden stars, I'll be fine again. Please, Maximus, don't worry about me."

"But I will worry about you. Nobody else does." The truth in the words just made his optics spill over. Oh, please not now, and please not in front of a patient. Not in front of Fortress Maximus. He was not having a friggin' emotional collapse in front of Fortress friggin' Maximus!

"Do I have permission to touch you?"

"Excuse me? Maximus you have- you have always had permission to touch me." The psychiatrist removed his glasses and rubbed his optics gently, trying to compose himself.

"I mean, do I have permission to hug you, Rung?"

Rung blinked a few times at his friend and nodded once. That sounded like a nice, platonic interaction that couldn't possibly lead to disaster. Maximus wrapped his enormous arm around Rung and lifted him into his lap, against his chest, and encouraged Rung to lay his head against him with a gentle hand against his helm. Oh, how he was wrong. This could be disastrous. But it just...this felt so nice. Max was so warm, and tender with him. He treated him like precious glass. Like something that truly mattered. Rung's thoughts got the best of him, and he leaned into Maximus's enormous size, and his growing care, and let himself break apart.

Maximus stood slowly, retrieved his friend's glasses from the table, and strode from the bar. Rung could care less where they were going at this point, as long as they didn't pass anyone along the way, which it looked like they wouldn't. It looked like Max was making sure they wouldn't - Rung glanced at the hallway signs here and there and realised the mech was taking him along a route that avoided interaction. They arrived at Maximus's personal "hab suite" -an emptied explosives storage chamber that was lockable from the outside- and Rung was set down on the edge of Max's berth. Max knelt in front of him and held Rung's hands once again.

"Do you wanna talk about it, Rung?"

"N-...no, I don't think I do, Max. Please understand it's not that I don't trust you -or that I don't care about you- I just think it would be detrimental at this point to relive it all."

"I understand Rung. Do you want me to hug you again?" Rung thought long and hard about the offer, and the implications therein. As long as it was platonic, it wasn't as if it could harm their relationship any further - and it might help Maximus out of his shell a little more. He seemed to be more open to physical touch than he has been since Rung was assigned as his mental caretaker.

"If you're comfortable with that Maximus, I think I would really like another hug. If you don't mind."

Max smiled and sat himself onto the berth, leaning himself comfortably against the wall, and brought Rung back into his arms, able to envelope him almost entirely with the width and size of himself -and considering the smallness that was Rung. For a normal mech, Rung was very small. It felt good to hold him this way. It made Max feel in control, and it made him feel needed. It made him feel useful. Helpful. He had no assigned duties, since Rodimus trusted him with nothing at all, and here, on this aptly named ship, he had no purpose. But with Rung in his life, and guiding him to recovery, he at least felt better than he has in ages. Rung made him feel like there was there was hope somewhere in this dark, twisted reality.

It was warm here, in Maximus's space, and so comfortable. He could lie in Max's arms forever. But this was less of a hug, more of a cuddle, he realised, and he needed to stop. For Max's sake. Rung lifted his head and smiled at Maximus, closing his eyes for a moment to blink some tears away. Max returned his smile and lowered his voice to a soft timbre, matching the energy and the atmosphere. "Do I get a gold star for this?"
Rung thankfully saw the humor in it and his smile grew as he laughed. An idea came to Max's head. A preposterous, ludicrous idea. He remembered his friend's words - on the Lost Light, only the most bizarre, abstract and downright foolish ideas work.

Maximus gently cupped Rung's helm, leaned in, and pressed a kiss against his lips. Rung stiffened and vented in sharply. Max drew back, let his hand free and stuttered at the look of shock on Rung's face. Those beautiful glowing blue orbs had widened into planets. Slag.

"You kissed me. Max, you just kissed me."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, it was just an impulse thing-"

"You get a gold star if you kiss me again." Oh this was so wrong. It just slipped out. He never should have said that. This was so wrong. Oh, the hundred, million, trillion things wrong with this-

Lips were on his again, tender and warm.

-The hundred, million, trillion things wrong with this could wait. This felt way too right to be wrong. This felt too right to be halted by the opinions of upper class Towers mechs that judged what one should and shouldn't do as a medical professional. Rung wrapped an entire arm around Maximus's helm and pressed further into the kiss than he ever should have. He was feeding into what was bound to be toxic - but he couldn't pull away. If this is what it felt like to be poisoned, he never wanted the antidote.

As it turned out, neither did Maximus. Max kissed him until he was breathless. Pulling away delicately, Max vented against Rung, and wrapped his arms tighter around his friend. He never, ever wanted this feeling to leave. He never wanted Rung to leave. "Rung, Rung I think I-" Rung put his lips on Max's again to quiet him. "Please, I don't want to face that right now. Please, I don't want to face the implications. This is so, so selfish of me. So wrong of me. I'm your psychiatrist and I- I don't want to realise the toxicity of what we've just got ourselves into. Please, I just want to enjoy this. Please let me be selfish, Maximus. Let me be selfish with you."

Max nodded and pressed an overly warm kiss against Rung's cheekbones. He used his thumb and his lips to wipe away the teary residue on Rung's face, even as more trickled down from his eyes. If this was what it felt like to be wronged by Rung, he never wanted things to be right. "Please be selfish with me."