Hellos! Hugs! I still have the cough, and now I have a sunburn, too. I spent hours at a car show, and the weather was cool enough that I didn't even think about the sun until it was too late. I had a delightful time, though! I loved it. And I got to sit in a gorgeous 1957 Chevy Bel Air! (HUGE treat!) XD

Well, here we go… Chromia and Ironhide back together again. I mildly disturbed myself by what I wrote, so… uh… PG13 for violence, language, and some sensuality. And then we'll have some nice Prowl and Auri fluff. And Magnus. Magnus doesn't get enough attention. Chapter ends in a cliffie…

Also! This story has made it to 100 reviews! You guys are awesome! Congratulations to icesong180 for turning in the 100th review! X)


Chapter 8

Confrontations

Ironhide pulled up to his quarters and halted, engine idling for a couple minutes. He transformed and stood there, trying to mentally prepare himself. He didn't know what exactly he was going to be getting into, though, and it was hard to prepare when everything was a variable. Elita hadn't told him how much Chromia knew.

He only knew that Chromia had been miserable last night; he didn't know if Elita had told her what he'd said or how he'd acted. Chromia might be miserable-unhappy and need comforting, or she could be nasty-unhappy and need calming. If Elita had told Chromia what he'd said and done, he could get his tail kicked. She might be calm, though, cool and reasonable. Or she could have worked herself into a rage now and be ready to slam her fists into him. She might have a stinging lecture for him or an irate rant, or she might be crying softly. Or Elita might not have told her, knowing that it would upset her.

He didn't like going into a situation without knowing what the other bot had for him.

But, he was a battle-mech, and he did not shirk when he had a job to do. He braced keyed in the door-code, opening the door to a quiet room. He entered and closed the door behind himself as he looked over towards where Chromia was standing by the table.

"'Mia," he said, and the next moment she was there wrapping her arms around him, hiding her face against his chest.

"I missed you-" she whispered brokenly, holding him tightly as he gently put his arms around her, "I missed you- so- much-" she added, pressing her body against his, wrapping a leg around his. "Don't leave me again," she coaxed, still whispering, "Just don't-"

"I won't," he whispered back, his lips close to her neck. He could do this; Chromia was just unhappy. He could comfort her. He kissed her neck, and she purred in pleasure as he nibbled gently. He kissed her more, massaging her back and sides.

He purred, tugging her closer and kissing her more. His hands slid over her body, but guilt stabbed him in his spark. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve anything pleasant, anything delightful, not after what he'd done.

She rubbed against him as she stood on tiptoes, "Love you," she whispered, nuzzling him, and he realized that he'd stopped responding to her. He hesitated, not sure whether to speak or to go on.

Chromia felt his hesitate, and she wondered. She looked up, saw the guilt in his optics, and remembered what Elita had said yesterday, as well as what she'd told herself yesterday. Ironhide wasn't getting away treating Elita like he had.

"I forgot." She growled softly as her fists curled. "I forgot that you treated Elita like scum."

Ironhide opened his mouth to speak, but Chromia struck then, gashing the metal of his jaw with a left cross.

"HOW dared you?!" Chromia demanded, "D- it mech! She has done so much good to all of us and so much good for you. Never has she ever given us reason to doubt her, and the second that you get some d- glitching idea in your xxxxed head, you turn around say 'glitch you' to her?" She slammed a fist upwards into his ribs, "Where the d-ed hell did you ever get the idea that you could do that? Did the decency component drop out of your processor? I'm just shocked 'n' disgusted with you. Of all the fragging mechs on this whole base, you would do that? I would expect it of anybody before you with few exceptions. Just- just- d- you!" her fist slammed into his shoulder, "And glitch you, too! You don't even care. Just wh-"

"Hey." Ironhide's tone was one of quiet warning, and his optics were suddenly stern.

"What?" Chromia snarled,

"You can rant at me all day long for the way I treated Elita, and I deserve it." He said quietly, "And you have the right to be mad at me for not being there when you needed me. But I'm not about to let you say that I don't care. I care immensely. There aren't even words for how much."

"Try 'glitch you' on for size, those words might work." She spat.

"No." Ironhide said softly, his jaw tightening. He felt slightly sick. Elita must have told her everything. "I mean it." he pleaded, "Don't say that."

She slammed a right cross into his face, and Energon trickled from his lip. "Don't you order me."

"'M sorry,"

"Yeah?" enraged scorn tinged her tone.

"Yes." He said quietly, his optics intense. "It's been a long time since I've said or done anything that I've regretted as much as I regret my words and actions towards Elita. And they weren't deliberate. They were instinctive reactions, not sensible actions."

"I'm gonna listen to you for three minutes, mech." Chromia said, her fists still curled, her chin jutting a little, "And if I don't like what you have to say," she moved a hand and raised a pointer finger in his face, "You are not gonna to like what I will have to say. That clear in your processor?"

Ironhide nodded.

"Go." Chromia said.

Ironhide sighed as he looked down. Three minutes wasn't a long time.

"Chromia," he said quietly, "Everything would have been fine if any other Con had been the one on that beach, but it was Soundwave. Soundwave. Do you know what he is to me? He tried to persuade Auri to go with him when she first arrived on earth, and he tried kidnapping her twice –once when she was badly hurt and once when she was emotionally vulnerable. He is a threat to her. He. Is. A. threat. To. My. Family. That includes you. And Flareup. And Prowl. And Bumblebee. The hurt and damage he could have done to her and to us if he had gotten a hold on her would have been unthinkable, 'Mia. Unthinkable. My instinct was to eliminate so severe a threat to my family, the ones I love, the ones I would die for. If I had to disobey orders and cross officers to eliminate that threat, I was of the mindset to do so. I fought Elita simply because she was there, not because she was Elita. If Prime had been in her place, I would have fought Prime. I probably would have struck him." He paused.

"Ninety seconds," Chromia said quietly,

Ironhide bit his lip then winced and pressed two fingers against the side of his mouth where Chromia's fist had damaged it.

"Chromia… Chromia, I did not mean to hurt Elita." He hung his head and searched for words. "I…" he trailed off then sighed. "Last night was miserable." He said softly, "All I could think of was how I had hurt her and how I wasn't there for you when you needed me. Elita told me that she would look after you, and that was the only, only thing that kept me from going insane with grief. I desperately wish that I could undo what I did and unsay what I said, but I can't; no one can. I apologized to Elita this morning, and she forgave before I was finished. I have yet to forgive myself, though. I hate what I've done, how I've acted, what I've said. And I don't blame you one byte for wanting to thrash me. I don't. I fully deserve it."

"You sure do." Chromia said in a quiet, unreadable tone, "Get down on fours."

Ironhide felt his insides lurch. Decepticons did this their inferiors, made them get down on all fours and then beat them. He'd not thought it imaginable that Chromia would do that to him, but if that was what it took, he would submit to it, as sick as the thought of it made him. He got down on his knees and then put his hands on the floor, bracing them well apart, readying for the inevitable blows.

He heard Chromia come close, and he bit his lip. He knew how hard she could kick. He knew. He stiffened as she lifted her foot.

Then…

She was gently pushing him to sit, her arms encircling him as she sat beside him, crumpling against him. "I would never thrash you, Ironhide," she whispered softly, apologetically, regret in her tone. "Never. I just had to know for certain that… that you meant it and weren't just talking."

Ironhide nodded slowly, realizing what she was saying. She'd had to check his sincerity; she'd never intended to give him a Con beating. He felt her body shudder as she started to cry silently. Gently, he pulled her around onto his lap and cradled her in his arms, letting her cry on him. "'Mia, my Chromia," he whispered, "It's alright. I understand." He gave her gentle kisses as he caressed her, and slowly her tears subsided.

"I didn't sleep well last night." She said softly, still resting her head on him.

"That makes two of us," Ironhide said, his tone gentle and understanding.

"But you didn't read Elita's and Magnus's reports."

"Oh, Chromia." Ironhide said softly,

"I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake Elita, so I accessed the reports and read them. Elita's report was truthful but gentle. Magnus's didn't spare you, though. Mags stated exactly what he saw and heard without any word to soften it. You know how he writes, almost as cold as Prowl."

Ironhide nodded, and Chromia went on. "When Elita told me about Soundwave, she told me that you'd cursed at her, but she hadn't told me how or where or under which circumstances. When I read Magnus's account of it, it made me so upset, so mad; I felt almost like you'd stabbed me in the back. It hurt. I felt like breaking the data-pad and hurling it across the room, but I didn't. I just turned it off and curled up and cried because you weren't there."

"I am sorry, my Chromia," he whispered.

"It's alright now." She said softly, looking up, meeting his optics. She moved to kiss him but then hesitated. "I… I'm sorry I hit you so hard." She said, sounding almost a little embarrassed.

"I deserved it, 'Mia; it's alright."

She kissed him carefully and then pulled out her standard issue first aid kit. "Don't move." She said, and, still sitting in his lap, she gently cleaned the wound and carefully rubbed a topical pain-killer over the bruised areas.

Ironhide watched her as she took care of him, and he loved it. He found himself feeling much better, far better than he'd expected to feel for several days. He opened his mouth quickly and lightly caught her finger between his teeth when it brushed his lip. She gave him a disapproving smile when he ran his tongue over the digit. He knew it felt good; fingers were quiet sensitive to stimulation, and the tongue was a good stimulator, highly charged with energy as it was.

"Didn't they feed you in the brig?" she said with half a smile.

"Nn-nn." Ironhide flirted at her with his optics.

She gave him a reluctant smile. "I don't really feel like playing now," she said, and he let her finger go. "I feel so tired."

He nodded. "I understand." He said. Then he sighed. "I know."

"Confronting you was emotionally draining on top of an emotionally and physically draining night." She said softly.

"I know it was, and I am sorry," Ironhide took her chin in his fingers and looked her in the optics. "I won't put you in that position like that again." he promised, winning a smile from her.

She beckoned, and he kissed her.

"Now," he said after the kiss, "We both need breakfast."

Chromia nodded. "And we need to go see Auri once we have ourselves together better."

"Elita said she would take care of her, but yes, we do need to go see her."

"Poor sparkling…"

Ironhide helped Chromia put away her first aid things, and then they got up, and he got Energon cubes while Chromia went and sat on the couch. They didn't say much while they ate breakfast, but they cuddled, Chromia taking comfort from Ironhide until she fell asleep. Ironhide finished his Energon slowly and then gently took Chromia to their berth-room and laid her down on the berth so she could recharge better.

He paused, standing by the berth. He wasn't ready to go out and face the Med-Bay bots and Auri, not in the sleep deprived state that he was in. The battle mech in him resisted the thought of sleeping while there were things that needed to be done, but he listened to his inner medic and his spark. He lay down beside his femme, cuddled her, and gave himself up to some much-needed recharge.

OoOoOoOoO

Prowl found Auri unusually silent as they walked to the lounge, and it troubled him a little. On the rare occasions that the two of them walked together, she generally talked to him or got him to talk to her. This time there was silence. She was thinking, he realized, immersed in thoughts too painful or troubling to voice yet. It made his spark ache when he realized this. He'd not wanted her to ever feel pain as he had, but now she was having a little taste of it.

He reached over and touched her shoulder, causing her to look up at him questioningly.

"I am sorry," he said softly, "That things… things… are… are… uh," he gave up when a bit of a smile touched her lips.

"Thank-you." She said, and her words were soft, as were her optics. She understood that it was hard for him to express feelings, and it meant a great deal that he'd tried to. "Things are a bit overwhelmingly stressful," She said softly, "But I think we'll be alright."

Prowl looked for some suitable words but ended up just nodding.

"You are a good friend, Prowl." Auri told him, and it made his spark ache a little more because everyone he befriended got hurt by the Cons. It was already starting to happen to her with Soundwave's arrival. He felt miserable for it.

They walked up the driveway to the lounge, and Auri entered first.

"Good morning, Magnus," she greeted softly, and Prowl wondered how a mech could take so, so, so long with breakfast as to still be there.

"Good morning, Auri," Magnus said from his couch, an unusual amount of care and concern in his tone, "How are you today?" he asked softly,

"I…" she faltered, "I… need a hug." She whimpered.

Magnus motioned her over instinctively, and she ran to him, fairly hurling herself into his lap.

"It's stressful, too stressful!" she cried softly as he lifted her cautiously and cradled her in his arms.

"I… I'm sure it is…" Magnus faltered, not sure what to say. He didn't see himself as guardian material. True, he had a great deal of affection for the little femme, her antics generally amused him, and he always liked it when she had to stop by his office to deliver or pick up a data-pad, but he had no idea how to deal with her in a crisis. She treated him like an uncle, and he liked that. He could do uncle. This crying and sniffling stuff was for guardians to handle, though, and it was quite over his head. He felt rather helpless.

He looked over to Prowl; he knew Prowl had figured how to deal with Auri in a crisis, but Prowl was heading over to the Energon storage room, his back towards Magnus.

"It will be alright," Magnus told Auri gently, hoping deeply that he wouldn't be made a liar. 'Uh…?' he thought, 'What does she need? What does she need to hear? Um… comfort… comforting words… What would be comforting? Comfort allays fear… What does she fear? Oh. Magnus, you have a slow processor. Abandonment is what she fears.' He gave Auri a snuggle. "Your family and friends are here for you, Auri." He assured her. She seemed to calm down a little at that, and it encouraged him. "We'll look after you and listen when you need to talk." He added, "Whatever you need, we will always be here for you."

He glanced over towards the Energon storage room, and Prowl was standing just outside the door, mixing something into a cube of Energon to flavor it. Prowl's optics met Magnus's for just a moment and then he looked back down at the cube. In that moment, though, Magnus got the impression that his words to Auri had pleased Prowl. It, oddly enough, warmed his spark. He remembered a time months ago when Prowl had been in Med-Bay, and he, Magnus had been filling in for Prowl. Auri had been contrary, and he hadn't been able to handle her. He'd stumbled around a bit (figuratively) and then called Prowl for help. He hadn't done well with Prowl's advice, and Prowl had slipped out of Med-Bay to set him and Auri straight. Magnus had seen it as a personal failure on his part, and it had hung over him from time to time, particularly when he was around both Prowl and Auri. He felt like he'd redeemed himself now, overcome that failing.

"B-but Ironhide and Chromia haven't been-n here with me," Auri's soft and broken words gave Magnus a new feeling of unease. His victory of saying the right thing had just opened the door to more difficult challenges for him. 'Congratulations, Commander, you succeeded level one, now proceed to level five,' he thought grimly to himself.

"Why haven't they?" Auri asked softly, "Are they too upset with me? I didn't even know he was Soundwave, I didn't. They don't still want me…?"

Magnus heard Prowl take a sharp intake of air.

"Auri, no." Prowl said, coming over quickly, "Do not think that. They are not upset with you, and they will always want you."

"Then, why… why haven't they been here?"

"Auri," Magnus said gently, "Ironhide has been in the brig since yesterday, and that is why he couldn't be with you." He hesitated. Then he shifted her on his lap and made her look at him, "Listen. Ironhide got pretty upset when he saw Soundwave because he knew Soundwave had tried to take you away from him in the past. He got so upset that he crossed Elita and talked back to her pretty badly, and that's why I had to brig him. That is how much he cares for, Auri. Don't ever think he doesn't want you. He will break rules to protect you; he will cross commanders to keep you safe."

"Oh…" Auri said softly, looking down as she thought about this. "And… and Chromia?"

Magnus glanced over at Prowl to see if Prowl knew anything on Chromia, but Prowl shook his head.

"I don't know why Chromia hasn't come to see you," Magnus said, "But I am sure, dead certain, that it is not because she doesn't want you or because she's upset with you. She might have stayed away because she didn't want to cause a scene. She could have easily gotten upset like Ironhide had, as volatile as she is. Remember last week?"

Auri nodded. An overconfident and careless Jeep driver on Base had lightly sideswiped Auri on the road, and Chromia had been ready to total the driver's vehicle with him in it. There had been some yelling. Prowl had had to raise his voice at Chromia, and he was usually the last bot to raise his voice.

"Okay?" Magnus asked, hoping that had done the trick.

Auri nodded. "Uh-huh." Then she looked over and saw Prowl standing near with a full Energon cube in his hands. "Is that mine?"

"It is," he said, handing it to her.

"Thank-you." She said before taking a drink. Then she smiled as she swallowed. "This is really good." She told Prowl, her tone almost admiring.

"I am glad you like it." Prowl said.

There was a little bot of silence while Auri drank some of her Energon. Prowl decided that he might as well sit down and took a seat on the couch Magnus and Auri were on.

"Did you flavor your Energon?" Auri asked Prowl after a few drinks, and it bothered him a little for some unknown reason.

"I did not." Prowl said. Then he realized why it bothered him that she'd asked; she was bringing up his Energon because Ratchet had. He took out his partially full Energon cube. "I generally just take it plain."

"Maybe you would like it better if you flavored it."

Prowl raised an optic-ridge at her. "I like my Energon just fine, Auri."

"Ratchet seemed to think there was some problem." She pointed out then took a sip as she made an eloquent motion with her hand.

Prowl nodded his head once as if he was taking up a challenge. "Ratchet requested I get you breakfast simply because you needed to be looked out for."

"I am not a sparkling, Prowl; I do not need help getting breakfast."

"You had a traumatic day yesterday and you got shot up with antivirus this morning; Ratchet was concerned for your well-being, not your breakfast-getting capabilities." Prowl tilted his Energon cube a little and then drank some.

Magnus watched the two door-wingers with a sense of amazement. There was nothing in their tones or manners that indicated that they were having an argument. There were no contrary tones or displeased flicking of wings; they were simply stating their differences of opinion in the same way two bots would talk about the weather or the functions of a rifle.

"I could have had breakfast in Med-Bay." Auri said with a calculating tone.

"Ratchet would have been distracted by your presence." Prowl replied.

Auri paused as if being quizzed. "He is a field doctor." She said after a second, "He does work while gunfire is exploding around him. It takes a lot more than a little femme in the other room to distract him from a patient."

"That is partially true. I now add that he had more than one reason for sending you out of Med-Bay."

"Oh?" Auri inquired,

"He wanted you to have a change of scenery, some sunshine, and a little exercise; all of which work for your benefit."

"He could have sent me out to the courtyard."

Magnus held up a hand, "Just… a question…?" he said, having felt puzzled for long enough.

"Yes?" Prowl said. Auri took a drink.

"Are… are you arguing? And why?"

Auri smiled up at him.

"We are practicing arguing," Prowl explained, "It is to practice debating and reasoning skills, and it also works as a distraction."

"Ah-h." Magnus said, feeling suddenly enlightened, "I see now." He smiled back down at Auri. "Go on."

The door-wingers continued their debate, and Auri lost it just before Prowl finished the last bit of his Energon. Auri's wings flicked as she looked down. "I never do win." She said quietly.

"You have not had enough practice to 'win' yet." Prowl said, fingering his empty cube. "You argued well, though."

"But I never win." Auri protested, looking frustrated, "I never, ever win."

"Auri," Prowl almost sounded reproachful, "It is very illogical for you to think that you could beat me." He said, "I had months and months of debate training and practice at the University. It was very intensive, and it was very competitive. We had competitions among ourselves, and we had competitions against other classes and against other schools. It was a weapon that I had to hone to precision. You do not expect to beat Chromia in battle practice, do you?"

"She lets me win sometimes. And so does Ironhide."

"They let you win. Do you see it as a victory if the other side pulls back and lets you win? I could let you win, but I believe that would be doing you a disservice."

Auri looked frustrated. She huffed cool air through her system. "Prowl…" she stopped. Prowl watched her expressions shift as she thought. She paused. "Ironhide and Chromia don't merely let me win. They plan a weakness ahead of time, and I have to find that weakness. I have to work to find it. You are teaching me how to argue, Prowl, but you are not giving me any opportunity to learn how to tear apart my opponent's argument."

Prowl looked mildly surprised. He paused. He paused a little longer then gave her an acquiescing nod. "Nicely done." he said, his tone betraying a slightly impressed tone, "You took my example question, drew from it, and used its context against me. And you have persuaded me."

Auri looked quite happy about this, smiling a genuinely cheerful smile for the first time since yesterday.

"But you have not finished your Energon, and it is almost time to return." Prowl pointed out before she could say anything.

Auri looked down at her Energon then and took a long drink. Magnus watched Prowl study his empty Energon cube. So, Prowl was teaching her arguing skills as well as Praxian dialect? Prowl who did not get involved was possibly starting to get involved. Auri was learning a great deal from Prowl; that was obvious. Magnus wondered, though, what Prowl was learning from Auri.

Auri tilted the cube completely up as she finished it. Some of the flavoring metal powders had settled, and they stayed caught on the side of the cube as the last of the Energon drained away. Auri brought cube down and stuck two fingers in, swiping the side to get the metals. Prowl shook his head at her, but she didn't see, being too focused on her food. She licked her fingers delicately then wiped her mouth with her thumb.

"Done." She said, holding the cube out for Prowl to take.

"Indeed." Prowl took the cube with a rather unreadable look.

"You never stuck your fingers in your Energon cube and licked them?" Auri asked him as she settled against Magnus. Magnus watched Prowl.

"Not since I was a sparkling." Prowl said, heading over to the Energon storage room.

Auri sighed. "I think you grew up too fast, Prowl." She said softly.

Magnus saw Prowl flinch then freeze. After several long seconds, Prowl shifted his wings with effort and made his pedes take him forward, but he couldn't answer. He put the empty cubes in the recycle can and then came back to the couch.

"Ratchet intercommed and said that we could come back now and that the antivirus is working." He said, motioning for Auri to get up.

"Oh, good!" Auri said. She gave Magnus a hug. "Bye, Magnus. Thank-you." She kissed his cheek and then got up.

"Take care." Magnus told her gently. He nodded to Prowl, and Prowl gave him a brief nod back.

Prowl walked Auri back to Med-Bay, and she hurried to Soundwave's room once they were indoors. Prowl followed more slowly. He didn't want to see Soundwave.

"Elita-! Good morning," he heard Auri greet the femme commander in Soundwave's room.

Then there was Elita's voice, more gentle than ever, answering, "Good morning, Auri."

"Elita, why hasn't Chromia come to see me?"

Prowl winced at the vulnerability in Auri's tone and decided to just stand outside the door. He'd seen enough suffering in his life. He didn't want to see the troubled look that would be on Auri's face, dimming her optics.

"Aw, Auri." Elita's voice was soft, "I should have told you. Chromia came yesterday while you were asleep. She had to go before you woke up, but she did come."

"Okay." Auri sounded a little comforted.

"She couldn't come in because seeing Soundwave made her feel sick, so I do not believe she'll be able to visit you while you're with Soundwave, but she could visit you in another room."

"Alright." Auri sounded much comforted now. "Oh, where's Prowl? I have to check something with him before he leaves…" Auri stuck her head out of the room. "Prowl?"

"Yes," he said,

"Um… I…" she hesitated and looked worried, "I mean… Um, uh… about work…"

"I am not expecting you to come to work today." Prowl told her gently. "I originally came here to tell you that."

She looked relieved. "Thank-you."

Prowl nodded. "I must go now."

"Alright." She said reluctantly. She ventured to give him a hug, and she was touched by how kindly he hugged her back. His embrace was snugger than it had ever been before, and it was more lingering, as if he would hold her for a while if she needed him to.

Prowl made himself let go and step back, reminding himself that he could not get emotionally attached to anybody. 'Isn't it too late, though?' a grim little voice in his head asked, and it scared him. "Good bye." he said, turning towards the door.

"Bye, Prowl, see you later."

He nodded as he headed for the door, and he was glad that there was going to be extra work for him at the office. He needed everything possible to keep his processor occupied.

He did Auri's tasks at the office as well as his own. He didn't have time to think, and he needed to not think, so that was a relief. He felt himself feeling mildly sick towards lunch time, though. He would have to stop working for lunch… Or, he could work through lunch. He would work through lunch. Auri wasn't there to know. Auri wasn't there.

He worked up to the lunch hour and then got an Energon cube from his office stash, taking it back to his desk. He drank a little as he worked, monitoring the security cameras outside his office as well, keeping an optic out for anyone who might be coming to check on him.

Magnus appeared on the monitor about fifteen minutes into the lunch hour. Prowl quickly saved his work, offlined the data-pad, and put it away in a drawer before pulling up a partially solved game of 3D Cyber-Sudoku on his computer. He quickly reviewed his earlier work on the puzzle and began working on it again.

Magnus knocked on the door, and Prowl called for him to come in, quite without hesitation. When Magnus entered, Prowl watched carefully without seeming to, and he saw Magnus dart a swift, surreptitious calculating look at the data-pads on Prowl's desk and the glow of the computer screen.

"Hello," Magnus greeted,

"Hello. Is something new going on?" Prowl asked, tilting his Energon cube meaningfully.

"Not that I know of." Magnus said, "I had an early lunch and thought I would stop by to see if you needed a hand with anything around here."

"Ah." Prowl said, "Well, no, not at present, and I cannot think of anything that I will need help with later. I got Smokescreen to take Auri's patrols, and we have a lull in the liaison harassment –we always do this time of year. Things are in good shape here, I believe. Thank-you for offering your help, though."

"Alright. You are welcome." Magnus said, but he hesitated, his optics straying towards Prowl's computer.

Prowl turned the screen so Magnus could see it. "3D Cyber-Sudoku." Prowl said, "And you are not going to help me with it."

"I play it myself sometimes." Magnus said almost conversationally, "Which level are you on?"

Prowl's conscience suddenly caught up to him and stabbed him hard. His optics went to the screen as he realized how blatantly he was lying to Magnus. "Twenty-six." He said.

"Mm." Magnus sounded rather like he'd gotten lightly punched in the midriff, "No, I certainly won't be helping you. I have been stuck on level nineteen for a while now."

Prowl nodded politely; words couldn't come.

"Well, let me know if anything comes up that you would like me to take care of." Magnus said, turning to go.

"I shall." Prowl said quietly, and Magnus headed for the door. Prowl bit his lip, something he rarely did. Magnus left, and Prowl put his head on his desk in defeat.

'You don't lie, Prowl. It's not right.' His conscience reproached him.

'I know, I know.' He thought back miserably, 'I almost never lie, and I never lie to my fellow Bots. What's gotten into me?' he asked himself.

'I just want everything to be alright. Normal.

Normal? What on earth is "normal" anymore? Normal no longer exists… if it ever existed.

Fine. There is no normal. Routine, then. I want things routine as they were before Soundwave showed up. I want Auri here, and our lunchtime Praxian dialect lessons.

Oh, I liked teaching her Praxian dialect, did I?

Yeah… I did. I really, really did. It was… It was fun.

Well, there is my problem. Everything I like goes away. I'm almost surprised that this job hasn't gone away, but I guess there enough times that I hate it that it doesn't quite make the list of things that make me happy.

OH….! WHY…?!

Back to the first why. Why did I lie to Magnus?

I didn't want to get taken to task for working when I had a break. I've had that happen more than once… even though he's not my commanding officer. I knew he was concerned about me, and I didn't want him to be because he isn't usually. I pretended that I was doing what I should so he would think things were fine and go away. I just want things to be fine again.

Oh, Prowl.

I'm going to feel guilty all day.

Scratch that. I'm going to feel guilty until I forget, and that won't be until days after I've confessed my falsehood to him and apologized.

Ngh.

Prowl put his head up. He didn't want to tell Magnus that he'd lied to him. He put his head back down. 'Prowlllllllllllllllll!' he yelled at himself mentally.

The door swung open, and Prowl snapped his head up guiltily. Ironhide raised an optic-ridge at him.

Prowl made his wings stay still, but they were inclined to flick up. Ironhide had clearly gotten punched several times and not lightly. His paint and finished had been repaired, but the dents were still evident.

"What are you doing here?" Prowl asked, keeping his tone formal.

"Secondarily, I'm checking up on you." Ironhide said quietly, "Looks like you needed it."

"I did not." Prowl said, but not resentfully. "This is my lunch hour." he added, "I believe I can put my head on my desk if I like."

"And what accounted for the guilty jump when I came in?" Ironhide's tone was so subdued that it made Prowl sad.

"I lied to Ultra Magnus, and I had my head down because I was berating myself for it." He admitted. "You have not turned in your reports from yesterday." He added.

"That was my primary reason for coming in."

"Ah." That explained why Ironhide had said 'secondarily' earlier. "You have them for me, then?"

Ironhide nodded reluctantly. He took the data-pad from subspace and looked down at it. "Auri didn't proofread these, so…" he trailed off and sighed heavily. "They won't be outstanding."

Prowl nodded understandingly.

The reports were going to be not outstanding in more than one way, and Ironhide knew it. He held onto the data-pad that held his reports, looking down at it. It was the content, not the grammar, that pained him.

Prowl didn't push him; he could tell that his former guardian was having a hard time living with himself at the moment. Ironhide shifted, and his fingers tightened on the data-pad; Prowl wondered that the data-pad didn't crumple.

"Ironhide," Prowl said suddenly, "Do you want to read them over again? –before you turn them in?"

Ironhide hesitated.

"I need to go speak with Magnus for a few minutes. You could stay here and watch office for me while I am gone, and you could turn them in when I get back." He offered.

Ironhide nodded. "Alright. We can do that."

"Very well." Prowl said, rising. "Do not touch my 3D Cyber-Sudoku game." He added needlessly as he came around the desk.

"I won't." Ironhide said, and Prowl knew Ironhide really wasn't feeling like himself. Any other time, Ironhide would have had some mock-bossy or teasing comeback for such a command. Prowl's order to not touch his game had been bait for Ironhide to play with, to lighten the mood, and Ironhide didn't have the spark to take it. That saddened Prowl further; he didn't want his friend and old guardian to be that glum.

Prowl paused by Ironhide and rested a sympathetic hand on the other mech's arm for a moment. Then he left to go face Magnus.

Ironhide stood in the silence of Prowl's office, alone, telling himself that he needed to get it together. Really. Prowl didn't put a comforting hand on anybody unless they were absolutely pitiful. And he didn't want to be absolutely pitiful. He had recharged for an hour with Chromia, and then he'd spent the next three hours in agony as he'd written his reports. He felt like he could use a little comfort, but not from Prowl.

He appreciated Prowl's unusual kindness, though. It was very unusual of Prowl and very kind of Prowl to give him a few minutes alone. He needed those minutes. He went and sat down on an extra chair and fingered the edge on the data-pad. The paint was a little cracked in a couple places. He'd gripped it too hard, he realized. He rubbed a finger over it. It would probably be fixed when he got it back. So many, many things needed to be fixed. So many things.

The door opened, and Ironhide looked up. His optics didn't find a monochromatic door-winger, though, and the pure-breed blue optics that his optics met weren't Prowl's.

"Prime." Ironhide said, and he felt that his day had just gotten infinitely worse.