I now have a part-time job! I'm so happy to have work (income!) again! And then when I go back to college, I'll have my other job through the college, so I'll have two part-time jobs on top of full-time school.
Welcome to the longest chapter I've ever written for this story! It's got 8,400+ words! And it's got Decepticons, and fluff, and angst, fluff and violence. And more fluff!
Chapter 12
Close Calls and Scrapes
Rumble woke Frenzy up by poking him in the side.
"Ug! What?!" Frenzy objected.
"You're on my arm and a leg, and it's not comfortable."
"Serves you right for insisting that you sleep on Soundwave's chair when it's my turn." Frenzy said.
Rumble pushed him off and flexed his limbs.
Ravage came over and jumped up on the desk, looking down at the twins. His optics were serious, as were Lazerbeak's when the flyer came and perched beside the feline.
"The door is locked." Ravage told the twins, "We can't get out."
Frenzy blinked in disbelief. Rumble frowned. "That's… that's…"
"Why would they lock us up?!" Frenzy suddenly said, looking insulted.
"Well, you must admit that you two make pests of yourselves." Ravage pointed out, flicking his tail. "Without Soundwave around to temper you two, I think it only makes sense that you two are locked up."
"We weren't going to go out anyway." Frenzy said. "And we have plenty of Energon stores."
"Yeah." Rumble agreed. "So there. We don't care if they locked the door or not."
Ravage and Lazerbeak met each others' optics for a couple seconds.
"What about the feeling that something's not right?" Ravage reminded the twins.
"We can work on it from here, can't we? We've got all Soundwave's tech." Rumble said.
"And I'm sure we can get out if we really need to. Remember the ceiling?"
Ravage nodded and Lazerbeak dipped his head once. The two of them had come up with that earlier on, but they'd also decided to work things so the twins think it was their own idea. The twins always worked better if they thought something was their own idea. It was settled now, and they had a lot of work to do. The feline and avian felt a sense of relief, though, that they had so much work; it would keep the twins occupied.
Twins always needed to be occupied, Con or Bot.
OoOoOoOoO
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were waiting outside the brig when Flareup got out.
She had mixed feelings about seeing them again. They were some of her best friends, but they'd convinced her to help them with some shenanigan, and it had landed her in the brig even though they'd said she wouldn't get caught.
Well, she should have known that Prowl was too sharp for her to slip anything past him. And Auri didn't help. Flareup had Auri as a little sister. Since Chromia was Flareup's mentor and Auri was Chromia's ward, is was only natural that the young femmes had become like sisters. Auri adored Flareup, and Flareup cared for her greatly. But, sometimes Auri's connection with Prowl made things difficult.
"We're sorry…?" Sunny offered something of an apology. Sides gave her a coaxing smile.
Flareup paused. "Alright." She said, hiding her smile, "I'll forgive you. But you'll have to be exceedingly convincing if you want me to help out next time you pull something, and it has to be several weeks from now. I'm not falling for anything any time soon."
"It's a deal." Sides said.
"Now," Sunny said, "To the pub. I hate brig Energon; I need some good stuff to clear it out."
"And we need news." Sides added, "We were locked four days; you know we have to have missed something."
Flareup nodded, and the three of them headed towards the pub.
The walk to the brig was a nice one, but they were eager to get inside once they got to the door.
"Hey, Tracks." Flareup greeted, catching sight of the deep blue mech behind the counter.
"Hello," he replied as Flareup sat at the counter, "I'd begun to think you weren't coming back." He said with an almost flirtatious quirk of his lip, "Was there something wrong with the last Energon I served you?"
"We were in the brig and you know it." Sunny said, sitting down beside Flareup. Sides sat by his twin. They'd been in separate cells, and he'd not like that.
Tracks looked smug and took their orders.
"Hey, Tracks," Flareup said as he mixed the Energon, "What did we miss out on?"
Tracks glanced up. "Plenty," He said, feeling pleased about getting to break some news. He was going to go on, but Sides jumped up.
"Offspring of Unicron!" Sides half-shouted, his optics wide as he stared at his data-pad. "They- we- We have Soundwave!"
"What?!" Sunny grabbed the data-pad and looked at it. His optics widened, and then he passed it to Flareup so she could see. Tracks felt quite cheated. He passed out their Energon and headed off to wipe clean tables.
"Tracks, is this for real?" Flareup asked before he could get too far.
"It certainly is." He said. He didn't feel quite so cheated now. "The Cons attacked Soundwave two days ago, and the Aerialbots chased them off. Elita took a ground team in and snatched him up. He's quite half-dead, but the medics are looking after him and say he'll live."
"Of all the things…" Sides marveled.
Sunny frowned. "And we didn't offline him because…?"
"Because he might have been defecting or he might have had valuable information. Really, anyone who the Cons shoot at, we want to question."
"Makes sense." Flareup said before taking a drink.
Tracks paused to give his next words a little more affect. "What doesn't make sense is Auri hanging around Med-Bay all the time now." He said, and he was quite pleased with himself as he watched their reactions.
Flareup spewed her Energon back into it cube. She and Sides both looked shocked, but she looked a little mad as well and Sides looked slightly stupefied. Sunny just looked riled and mystified.
"Let's go see what this is about." He said, getting off his stool, his tone grim. His Energon wasn't half gone. Neither was Sides' Energon, but he followed his twin.
Flareup gulped down a little more Energon then set her cube down. "We'll be back for those." She told Tracks then went after the twins.
They drove to Med-Bay, Sunny in the lead. He kept under the speed limit, but Sides could feel his twin's anger. Sunny remembered quite clearly the day that Auri had wrecked on the mountain. Two Seekers had attacked him, Sides, and Bee, and Soundwave had tried to take Auri, wounded as she was. It enraged him that she was staying around such a mech. He knew she was a sympathetic little thing, but hanging by her would-be kidnapper was taking it too far. It had to be stopped.
They transformed at Med-Bay door, and Sides put a hand on Sunny's arm. "Keep cool, okay?" he said.
Sunny's optics narrowed, but he nodded. "Okay."
They went into the reception area and then entered the main Med-Bay room. First Aid looked up and looked slightly uneasy when he saw the twins, Sunny in particular.
"Hello," First Aid greeted, "I'm guessing you're here to see Auri?"
"Yep," Flareup said cheerfully before Sunny could say anything, giving him a smile. "Tracks said she'd probably be here. Is she?"
First Aid nodded. "I'll get her for you. Just… wait here."
Sunny crossed his arms but did as requested. Flareup stepped close to Sides to whisper something to him about his twin.
Auri came scampering in a few moments later. "You bad bots!" she greeted with delight, managing to hug both Flareup and Sides at once. "Naughty miscreants!" Prowl had taught her that word.
"Miss us?" Sides asked, grinning as he hugged her back.
"Course I did!" She let go of them and went to hug Sunny, but something about him stopped her. She looked up at him. "What's wrong, Sunny?" she asked, looking concerned.
He uncrossed his arms, and his hands went to his hips. "Word is Soundwave is Med-Bay's chief occupant and you are keeping him near constant company." There was no mistaking the disapproval in his tone.
She stepped back. "Course I am." She replied in a small voice, not quite hesitating, "You know why?"
"No. But I'd like to." Came the stern reply.
Auri paused. "Because he used to be my guardian." She said softly. The twins blinked. Flareup stared.
Flareup tried to say something, but she couldn't. Auri's disclosure was too shocking for words.
"Um…" Sides shifted one of his pedes, "Are you sure?"
Auri nodded, looking up at them. They were her most trusted friends after Prowl and Bee. And they were standing there with doubt and restraint in their optics. She felt like a wall had gone up between them. "Wh…" she wasn't sure what her question was. She was afraid, though. A couple of the other bots had already called her a Con-symp, a Decepticon sympathizer, and there had been something less than friendly in their tones. Were her friends going to turn on her like that? Reject her? The thought made her spark ache. "Do you hate me now?" she asked in a little voice.
Flareup gasped. "No! Auri, no." She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the younger femme and held her close. "You couldn't ever do anything to make me hate you. I was only stunned by the news. I never thought of Soundwave as the guardian type. I love you just as much as always. 'M sorry… I didn't mean to frighten you by saying nothing. I was only so shocked. Don't ever think I'll reject you." She held Auri so she could look her in the optics. "You hear?"
Auri nodded then hugged her. "I hear." She said, and Flareup hugged gently, giving the twins a reproachful look over Auri's shoulder.
"Same goes for us." Sides said gently, coming close and putting a hand on Auri's shoulder. "All of it."
Auri stepped back from Flareup and looked at him, finding deep sincerity in his optics. As their optics met, he saw how vulnerable she was, and it made his spark ache. He hugged her close and held her. "I'm sorry we freaked out on you." He said softly.
"It's okay." She answered, resting her head against him. "I'm just glad you're not upset at me."
He cuddled her and looked over at his twin. His twin was raging inwardly. Auri didn't deserve a monster like Soundwave showing up as her guardian. Auri needed love and nurture, not a Decepticon. Auri shouldn't have to suffer that.
Auri looked over at Sunny, questions in her optics.
"I second what Sides and Flareup said." He said quietly, "I need to go now, though. But I'll come back and see you later, alright?"
Auri nodded.
He took a few steps toward the door then stopped and went back to Auri and gave her a hug. Then he left quickly.
"He's really mad about Soundwave, isn't he?" Auri asked Sides.
Sides nodded. "I'm afraid so. He's mad for you, though. Not at you."
Auri shook her head, looking puzzled. "He doesn't need to be."
Flareup and Sides met each others' optics. If only that was true. It wouldn't be, though. Auri would need a lot of defending once word got out that Soundwave had been her guardian. She would need support and comfort and bots who would listen to her and who would hold her when she needed to cry. They would be those bots for her, though. They would help look after her. And they knew others would, too.
OoOoOoOoO
It was the second day without Auri in his office, and by lunchtime Prowl found himself missing her a great deal. He missed lunches with her, the Praxian dialect lessons, especially. She worked so hard to pronounce words correctly, and it was endearing to see her grin happily once she finally got a word right. He missed those sweet little triumphs.
He fingered his Energon cube and told himself to get over it. He made himself pull up a puzzle on his computer, and he studied it while he sipped his Energon.
He finished both his Energon and the puzzle, and then eyed the clock. Time had dragged and was dragging. He still had time left on his lunch break. If only…
His wings flicked up in surprise as Auri came in. A wish come true immediately! Delight welled up in his spark and it was hard to hide away the smile that came with it.
Auri grinned when she saw the happy sparkle in his optics.
Then she made her face serious. "Ratchet sent me to spy on you, so I hope you are not working." She said; her tone was firm, but her optics were lightly teasing.
"I was working on a puzzle." Prowl said, "Does that count?" he asked. He knew it didn't.
"Mm…" she came over to his side of the desk and looked at the puzzle. He watched her face as she played through different things she could. "Well, I suppose I won't report you this time." She said, optics twinkling at her pretend severity.
"I am very much obliged." Prowl said earnestly, widening his optics in relief.
This made Auri laugh outright. "Oh, Prowl!" she said, clearly delighted, "You are very good at play-acting when you want to be."
Prowl didn't entirely repress the smile that came at her praise. "Thank-you," he said.
She smiled happily and then went back to the other side of his desk. "Ratchet really just wanted me out from under his pedes for a little while and said lunch break was as good a time as any. And he said you might like some company."
Prowl suddenly remember that he'd told himself 'no.' Then he had mixed feelings about Ratchet sending Auri to visit him, and he had no idea which one to express. "Well." He said.
"I guess you have already finished lunch." Auri said, looking over at the empty cube on his desk.
Prowl nodded. "I have. Have you?"
"Well… not exactly. But I'm not hungry." She said. Prowl gave her a slight frown of concern, and then she explained with a smile. "I had a late breakfast, snacks with Sides and Flareup, Jolt sneaked me some copper-candy, and Mirage brought me a delightfully fluffy alloy-pretzel when he stopped by."
"Ah. I see now." He said, pushing away negative thoughts about Mirage.
"It was delicious pretzel," Auri said happily,
"Would you like to go to the beach for forty minutes?"
"I would love that!" Auri was quickly diverted from the topic of the pretzel, and Prowl was content.
Prowl put his computer into sleep mode and set the telephone answering-machine to the 'I am away right now; press one for…' message. A couple moments later, he was stepping out into the sunshine after Auri and locking the door to his office.
"Isn't it a pretty day?" Auri asked, spreading her hands out. The sunlight fell on them and sparkled on the armoring, glinting and making it glow and shimmer.
"Very pretty." Prowl said. Then he mentally slapped himself.
Auri skipped a little and then started to talk about the twins and Flareup as they walked. Prowl listened attentively, knowing that she needed to be listened to.
When they got to the beach, Auri motioned to a slight mound of sand. "That's all that's left of the sandcastle Chromia and I made yesterday." She said, "But it was a nice one."
"I am sure."
"She was helpful, though." Auri said matter-of-factly, giving the staid mech a bit of an impudent smile as they walked along the seashore.
"Oh, now." Prowl protested lightly, "I design the things for you, and I bring you buckets of wet sand, and I find the stones and seashells and bits of driftwood that you order. Is that not helpful?"
Auri giggled with delight but decided to continue her playful rebuke. "You never lift a finger to actually build them, though. Not once have you packed a bit of sand on a castle."
"I found that nice plank of driftwood for the moat bridge that you wanted, though." Prowl said, feeling just a little silly.
"But you refuse to bring me seaweed when I ask for it." Auri said sternly.
"I don't like seaweed, though." He widened his optics in an expression of innocence.
"That is not a valid excuse for disobedience, Prowl."
Prowl felt his spark laughing with delight, and then he wanted to hug her and tell her what a silly adorable femme she was.
"Prowl-?" She asked suddenly, her tone eager, "Can we go to the far side of the island?" she sounded almost excited.
He halted and thought about that. They never went to the far side of the island because it was farthest away from the city. It was guarded, but it was more vulnerable to attack. He never went there with Auri because he'd deemed it not safe enough for her. He shook his head.
"But, Prowl," Auri said eagerly, "The only reason we never went was because of Soundwave. We only didn't go because he could kidnap me more easily there, but now we know."
Prowl paused. That was true…
"Please?" she coaxed, putting her darling fingertips on his arm, "Please? I've been wanting to see what it looked like for a while now. Could we just go just briefly?"
Prowl nodded. "Alright." He conceded, and he was well rewarded by her grin of delight as she skipped a little. They walked up from the beach to the beach road, which ran along the edge of the beach. Then they transformed and drove. Actually, they raced. It wasn't a serious race, but it was a little bit of a race.
Auri slowed, though, once they came to unknown territory. Then she stopped and transformed, looking around with wonder. Prowl transformed as well and glanced around slowly. He'd seen it all before, but he knew Auri would find something wonderful to show him. Auri was clearly delighted. There were differences in the sand and in the slope of the shore, and there were more rocks, and, and, and…!
Prowl listened to her exclamations of delighted discovery with a great deal of contentment.
"Even more rocks up ahead! Oh, Prowl! Does it turn completely to rock by the end of the island?!"
"There is a stretch ahead that is completely rock." Prowl answered then he picked up his pace as Auri ran ahead.
"Oh, this is so cool!" Auri went over to the edge of the rocks. "Prowl! Are there tide pools down there?"
Prowl paused. "I do not actually know," He said, peering down.
"Ooooo! I think there are-!" she sat on the edge then began to climb down. "I've never seen tide pools before," She climbed carefully, scanning each handhold and foothold she saw before putting weight on it. She'd not climbed rocks very much, but she knew the dangers of not going carefully.
She was half way down when Prowl's order came from above.
"Auri. Stop. Climb up now."
Auri paused and looked up. All she could see was the tip of his wing.
"We just got here, Prowl." She said, "And we have fifteen more minutes. We don't have to look for tide pools if you don't want to." She didn't want him to make her leave just because he didn't want to climb rocks to find tide pools.
"This is not about tide pools. Climb up now. We are going." There was a sharpness to his tone, an edge that she only heard when he was giving orders in a tense situation. It scared her a little and moved her to action. She climbed up hurriedly, and she gasped at the top when he reached down and grabbed her arm, dragging her up quickly.
"Go back to the city." He ordered as he steadied her. "Fast."
"Awwww, now." Someone called reproachfully.
Auri gave a little scream of terror when she saw the purple and black Seeker. She ducked behind Prowl.
"Go." Prowl ordered her, but she stayed.
"That's not very nice, spoiling a little femme's outing." The Seeker said.
Auri gasped as another Seeker, a blue one, came hurrying on foot from farther off. He stopped when he got to the purple Seeker.
"Skywarp," he didn't sound pleased, "We said I would do the talking."
"Auri, get back to the city." Prowl growled to her quietly. "You go right now."
"No. Not leaving you alone."
"I apologize if we startled you," the blue Seeker said, sounding honest, addressing Prowl and holding up a truce-sign. "We come with peaceful intentions and just want to ask a couple questions."
"If you merely had questions, why did you not contact us via a tele-communicator, Thundercracker?" Prowl challenged, optics narrowing.
"Ours is rather… public, and these questions are confidential." Thundercracker replied.
Prowl paused. Then he glanced at Auri, who was peeking at the Seekers now. "Auri, go tell Elita we have some communications that need handling."
"No. You intercom her." Auri said, planting her pedes.
Prowl fought to control the unspeakable rage that threatened to fill him, and he won. "If you will wait a minute," he said calmly to the Seekers, "A security team will be here to assist you with getting your questions answered."
"Thank-you." Thundercracker replied with a slight nod.
Prowl stood there, braced, body and wings taunt, hands ready to pull weapons in a split-second. Auri looked at the Seekers watchfully. They were two of the Seekers who'd attacked her welcome party when she'd first arrived on earth. And that purple one had tried to grab her.
"Cute little shadow you have, Prowl," Skywarp said conversationally, and Auri ducked behind Prowl again. "W-"
Thundercracker pulled the purple Con's wing. "Don't." he ordered.
A number of uncomfortable seconds followed, and then three Aerialbots showed up.
"Peaceful intentions, is it?" Silverbolt asked, the Aerialbots' leader asked, nodding to the truce-sign.
"Yes." Thundercracker said, "We just have a couple confidential questions about Soundwave."
Prowl lead Auri away, his fingers locked tightly around her upper arm. She made a quiet sound of discomfort, but he made no response to it.
"You're hurting me," she whimpered when she stumbled onto the road. Prowl let go.
"Transform and follow." He ordered, and Auri thought he was going to kill her. She'd never heard that degree of cold contained rage in his tone before, and the icy fury in his optics sent chills through her whole being.
She felt tears welling up in her optics, but she willed them away and made herself transform. Prowl had transformed by the time she was in car-mode, and then he pulled forwards. She followed. She didn't even notice when they passed several Bots going the other way, Chromia among them.
OoOoOoOoO
"Confidential questions for whom?" Silverbolt asked Thundercracker. "And confidential from whom?" The three Aerialbots were facing the two Cons, both parties keeping a respectful distance. Fireflight and Slingshot stood to either side of Silverbolt. Several other bots in vehicle mode pulled up and parked on the road.
"The questions are for," Thundercracker paused, "Your medic. And we do not wish the other Decepticons to find out that we were here or that we asked."
"You're the ones who attacked Soundwave." Fireflight said shrewdly, having been studying the two during the exchange of words.
"Yes." Thundercracker replied, "You Bots interrupted our assassination."
"Oho!" Slingshot triumphed, "You're coming to ask if he's quite dead!"
"Is he?" Skywarp asked.
"We've not been told." Slingshot replied loftily, "In fact, most of the base doesn't even know that we picked him up." He lied glibly.
Skywarp chuckled. "And I thought we Cons were bad about sharing news."
"Well,"
"Slingshot," Silverbolt said, "That's enough. Thundercracker, I've intercommed our medic, and he said Soundwave held on for a short period of time but did not survive due to a virus. He has the medical report and readings available if you like."
A gleeful grin spread across Skywarp's face, and he swore happily.
"That would be most appreciated." Thundercracker said, looking relieved.
Silverbolt paused to intercom then he nodded. "He'll be out here in a few minutes."
"Wish our medic was that obliging!" Skywarp told Thundercracker, quite delighted at their victory and too carefree to mind the Autobots' presence.
"We could always defect." Thundercracker joked.
Skywarp hooted. "That'll be the day. I wouldn't join these pathetic excuses for Cybertronians if you paid me to."
"Every Decepticon has his price, I believe." Slingshot said.
"Like Autobots can't be bought off?" Skywarp sneered, "I'll have you know that Bots have their prices as well."
They traded insults for a little bit, and then Ratchet came driving up.
"Hey-hey!" Skywarp cheered when he recognized the emergency vehicle, "I'm glad now that I didn't kill you last time we met."
Ratchet transformed and didn't reply to that. He stood and looked at Thundercracker for a couple moments, and then he motioned him over.
"We meet halfway." He told the Con.
Thundercracker nodded, and he walked forward to meet Ratchet. He halted as Ratchet neared, and he held out his hand for the data-chip.
"Why so obliging?" Thundercracker asked.
Ratchet met his optics. "I know it's a treat-or-trick deal with you mechs. You would harass and hector us if we didn't hand over the intel, or maybe you would cause trouble. We don't need that. And it doesn't hurt us to tell you that one of your own is dead." The medic halfway smiled then. "In fact, it's a little gratifying. He was one of your best."
Thundercracker fought back a guilty look. "Just hand it over." He said curtly.
Ratchet dropped the chip into his hand.
He took it and plugged it into a spare data-pad, accessed the content and looked at it.
"Well?!" Skywarp called impatiently.
"It's just what we want." Thundercracker called back, turning his head towards his trine-member. Then he looked back to Ratchet.
"Any more questions?" the medic asked.
Thundercracker shook his head. "No." He said. "Thank-you." He turned, and he actually turned his back towards the Autobots as he walked back to Skywarp. He had what they needed. It was time to go. He hated his past decisions. He glanced back and saw Ratchet walking back to the Aerialbots. Now wasn't the time. The time would come one day, though. For now, he would just go back to the Nemesis with Skywarp and do his duties as a Con.
Skywarp took the data-pad and exulted over the victory of his virus, and then Thundercracker took it back and put it away. "Let's go." He said, and then they flew off.
Once the Cons were well out of sight, Silverbolt gave Ratchet a curious look. Ratchet smiled. "It's not the first time I've faked someone's death." He said.
OoOoOoOoO
Auri was fairly shaking with fear by the time they reached the edge of the city. Had she been in bipedal mode, her wings would have been trembling dreadfully. Never, ever, ever in her whole two years on earth had she seen Prowl so mad. There had been one time that had come close, and the twins had ended up in Med-Bay after suffering his wrath. He wouldn't hit her, would he? She didn't know, and that scared her. Bots did bad things they wouldn't usually do when they got that mad.
She trusted Prowl with her whole spark, but now she was terrified of him. She wanted to curl up and die.
Prowl stopped and transformed, and Auri transformed as he went to the office door. He opened the door, and she went in, hurrying so it wouldn't be obvious how badly her wings were shaking. Once she was standing indoors, though, nothing could hide how much she was trembling. And she couldn't look at Prowl. She was afraid she would die if his optics caught hers.
She stood, waiting for his rage to crash down on her, and tears filled her optics, blinding her. Some ran down her cheeks, but she couldn't get her hands to move to wipe them away.
Then she heard someone say softly, "Oh, no, don't cry," the tone was gentle with regret, "Don't cry, Auri." She realized that it was Prowl's voice as Prowl put an arm around her. His hand was gentle on her back. Then there was another hand on the back of her shoulder. Both hands. And one of them had bruised her arm.
"Why did you act like that?" she reproached through her tears.
"I nearly lost my temper," Prowl said regretfully, "I've calmed down now, though. I calmed down on the drive here. I never, never should have spoken to you in the tone that I did back there. That was wrong of me, and I apologize." He paused, "I need to talk to you once… you've calmed down as well."
She sniffled. "Okay." She said softly. "And you won't hurt me?"
"I would never hurt you intentionally." He promised.
"You bruised my arm." She reproached. The hand on her shoulder moved, and gentle fingers touched her arm below where it was bruised.
"I am so sorry, Aurion." He paused then let go of her to take a small container from subspace. "Here," he said gently, "This rubs on, and it eases the pain of a bruise."
Auri sniffled again and smudged the tears from her optics then loosened her arm armoring and bared her upper arm.
Prowl was going to hold out the container so she could put her fingers is the salve, but then he realized that she thought he was going to apply it. He paused. Then slowly he ran two fingertips across the top of the salve, getting a bit on them. Then he moved so he was standing at a comfortable angle to Auri and carefully touched the salve to her bare arm. She flinched a tiny bit but didn't say anything.
Gently, and cautiously, Prowl smoothed the salve over the bruise, his fingers just brushing Auri's arm.
"There," he softly when he was done.
Auri put the armor back in place. "Thank-you," she said, sounding a little shy, "It feels better now."
Prowl put the lid back on the salve and put it back in subspace.
Auri ventured to meet his optics. "I think I'm calm now." She said, "We can talk…"
Prowl looked a little stalled for words, but he nodded.
Pause.
"Auri…" he paused again, "I'm… I'm sorry, but this is a reprimand." He said reluctantly.
She nodded her understanding.
"I told you to go back to the city four times, and you outright disobeyed my orders." He wasn't using his usual reprimanding tone, but a gentle stern tone. "With Cons present. I ordered you to go back so you would be safe, and so I could do my duty without having to worry about your well-being. Had those Cons come with other intentions, we both could have been injured, killed, or worse. When I give an order, Auri, it is for a reason, and it is for your good. You needed to go back. Had there been an attack, I would have protected you, and I would not have been able to engage and fight the Cons well; that would have made both of us vulnerable. You said you weren't going to leave me alone, but trust me, I would sooner fight alone than I have you in danger. Do not ever disobey me like that again. Is that clear?"
Auri nodded. "Yes, Commander." She said softly. She found that she wasn't as shaken at his rebuke as she'd thought she would be. That's not to say that it didn't hurt. It did hurt. It made her spark ache quite a bit. But… perhaps it was because she had been so terrified earlier that it didn't seem so bad.
"I also owe you an apology." Prowl said, sounding humble.
She looked at him curiously. "You already apologized for speaking harshly, hurting my arm, and reprimanding me. What else is there?"
"I must apologize for letting… for... nnn…" he sighed. He paused to figure out what to say. "I like it when you are happy, and you really wanted to go to the far side of the island… no… This is not coming out right." He frowned. He couldn't figure what he was trying to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but the wording wouldn't come out. "I… nevermind the details. I should not have let you coax me into taking you to the far side of the island. I jeopardized your well-being because I wanted to please you, and I should not have done that. I apologize for letting you into that situation."
"Apology accepted." Auri said gently. "I shouldn't have coaxed."
Prowl nodded.
"You don't have to agree with me so quickly," Auri found herself giggling then, and it felt good. The tension scattered away on her laughter.
Prowl's tension seemed to leave a little, too; a hint of a smile touched the corner of him mouth, and his optics softened just a tiny bit.
Then Auri looked down. "I guess lunch hour is over." She said reluctantly.
"You could stay and work a little while." Prowl offered, hoping she would accept.
"I… I do not know. I want to stay, but I also want to go back to Soundwave."
Prowl's spark wanted him to coax her to stay. The events of the lunch hour had made it clear to him, though, that he had to step away and not let his spark get into his head. He waited while she debated within herself.
Then both wingers looked over quickly when the door banged open.
"Hey…" Chromia greeted, suddenly looking nonchalant. Prowl was on alert instantly but didn't show it.
"Hello," He replied welcomingly, but his battle systems booted up, particularly the ones specializing in evasive maneuvers. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah…" Chromia's optics sifted over to Auri. "It can wait, though. I wouldn't want to interrupt you two."
"Oh, I was just about to leave." Auri said. Prowl's spark sank. "I'll see you later, Prowl." Auri told him, going over and giving him a light hug.
Prowl saw how Chromia's optics glittered dangerously once Auri's back was turned. There were three quick ways to get out of the building. Chromia would be blocking one, the front door. The back door would take a moment to get open, and she would get him before he got it open. The other way out was the big window at the other end of the room.
Auri was giving Chromia a hug now and telling her that she would see her later, too.
Chromia and Prowl watched Auri leave. The door closed. The instant it clicked shut, Chromia whirled toward Prowl.
"Wait-!" Prowl held his hands up and slowly took a step backward, "She's still within hearing range. Wait twenty seconds."
Those were some of the longest seconds Prowl had experienced.
Three.
Two.
One.
Chromia charged Prowl, and Prowl sprinted towards the window. Chromia tore after him.
Coming to the window, Prowl judged the distance and leapt, throwing himself sideways into the window, shattering it. The glass flew. Prowl transformed as he fell, and he landed in car mode. The second he had two wheels on the ground, he bolted down the street, siren screaming to warn everybody to get out of the way.
Brig. He had to get to the brig. That was the tried and true solution, the only way a mech could save himself from Chromia. Ratchet had done it. Sideswipe had done it. Others had done it. Now he was doing it. He'd be embarrassed about it later, but now he was too concerned about saving himself from Chromia.
He didn't even know what Chromia was coming after him for. She was coming, though. Stop signs and speed limits didn't mean a thing to her when she was in pursuit. Prowl swerved around a corner and blasted down another street.
"PROWL! GO LEFT!" Magnus yelled as Prowl shot past him. Magnus growled softly when he realized that Prowl hadn't heard him. He should have intercommed, he realized, but now it was too late. The intersection Prowl was heading for was laid out like a capital "T"; it came to an end with the options of a left turn and a right turn, no straight ahead. Prowl had to be heading for the brig, so he would be taking the right turn, but there was roadwork being done there. He wouldn't get through. And Chromia would get him. Magnus grimaced and ran after them.
Prowl careened around the corner and saw the orange warning signs. THAT was what Magnus had been yelling about. Prowl swerved and jumped the curb and crashed through the massive glass windows of one of the humans' buildings, bursting into the lobby in a shower of glass. He made for the double doors with squealing tires. The three people in the lobby had all been at the front desk, and now they were behind the front desk. Prowl smashed through the doors as Chromia entered the lobby.
Magnus dove out of the way.
Prowl swerved into an alley, smashed a dumpster, scattering trash, and careened back onto a more major road again.
He was wrecking the place, he realized. He wasn't going to back it to the brig without more damage, either. And then what? What would happen once he was safely behind bars? Chromia would rant at him and yell and curse. Her fury would not decrease, though. She would rage like an imprisoned wild thing.
He needed to wear her out, tire her to the point that she would be more inclined to talk than to hit.
He swerved and set a course for the beach road. He considered the racetrack, but that was too confined. The beach road would give them miles and miles of open space, and no shortcuts. Plus, there wasn't much out there that they could damage, other than themselves or each other.
Suddenly, Prowl realized what Chromia was after him for. She had been one of the bots in the ground team that had responded to the Seekers. She had seen him escorting Auri away. That wasn't good.
Prowl made it to the beach road and really took off once he hit the straighter stretch of road, getting a head start he would need.
Chromia came moments later.
After several hard and fast miles, Prowl had had a little while to think, and he decided that he'd try intercomming Chromia.
::Chromia,::
He winced at the string of curse words that came back at him.
::I know you are angry, and I understand.:: he told her.
::'Angry' don't even begin to describe it, you-:: Chromia shot back at him, calling him some unpleasant things.
::It was a mistake that I will not make again.:: Prowl said earnestly.
Chromia's answer wasn't nice, and Prowl could feel her fury and malevolence over the comm..
Prowl tried several different ways of reasoning with her and several different tactics to get her to calm down, but none of them worked. In fact, he could almost say he felt her getting even more enraged.
Slowly, then, Prowl realized that it wasn't just him that Chromia was enraged at. It was 'everything.' A whole slew of things had happened that would upset her, and he had just been the crowning one, the 'last straw,' as humans put it. She needed to get her rage out of her system, and Prowl had inadvertently made himself the target.
She wouldn't settle down until she'd hit someone. If he got away, she would just stew until a new target appeared. There were few who understood Chromia; he would never understand her fully, but he understood her better than most.
Prowl slowed. He would take the blows so she could cool off.
Chromia pulled up beside him and rammed him off the road, sending him rolling into the seaside grasses. He saw her transform, and he transformed as she came charging towards him. He braced for impact, and she slammed him into the ground.
The beating that followed not a nice one. She slammed her fists into him repeatedly for a while, striking where they would hurt the most -the door-wings, the mid-back, the sides, the shoulder jointing- repeatedly. Then, once her knuckles were sore, she got up and kicked him again and again.
Prowl kept his mouth shut, his jaws tightly clenched, and his head down, tucked against the earth. Some of the blows made him flinch, but he held still for most of them. When Chromia started kicking, though, he gasped in pain when her foot struck his already bruised side. He arched his back in discomfort as she left bruises on his legs and backside.
Then he howled as her foot slammed into his back, right at his sensitive door-wing connectors. "Chromia-!" he cried. The next blow didn't come. Then his tightly shut optics relaxed, and his body went limp. The pain faded.
Prowl found himself waking up a few minutes later and realized that he'd blacked out. He heard a femme crying nearby, sobbing with remorse. The pain from Chromia's beating began to awaken as the rest of his system came online, and he bit back a groan. There were more important things than him. He had to find out who was crying and why and comfort her. There was enough sadness in the world that they didn't need a femme crying.
He onlined his optics and turned his head, and he was surprised to find that Chromia was the only femme in sight. Prowl felt almost confused. Chromia didn't cry… he'd never seen her cry, or heard of her crying. Elita had cried a couple times in her life, but Chromia…? Prowl studied her. She was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms hugging her legs, and her face hidden. And she was crying quite bitterly.
Prowl moved to get up then felt dizzy at the pain his sudden movement had brought on. He calmed his mind then moved slowly, cautiously sitting up. He flinched, but he moved over to Chromia, creeping over. Then he sat to her side, facing her; her back was to the west, and his was to the east, that sort of facing.
Carefully, Prowl reached out and touched her arm. She flinched, and the sobs came a little harder.
Prowl scooted a little closer. "Chromia, it's alright," now his hand was on her hand, and his other hand was on her shoulder, gently rubbing. "Sh-shhh…" he hushed gently, "I don't hold it against you, Chromia. I don't."
"Well- I- do-" she choked out between sobs.
Prowl scooted just a little bit closer, his side was almost touching her leg now, and he put his arm around hers a little. "Why do you hold against yourself?" he asked gently, "I was the one who made you mad. I endangered Auri by agreeing to take her to the far end of the island; it is only just that I should be punished for endangering her."
"Not- so-" Chromia choked out, "N-not –s-so b-add-l-ly." She sobbed.
"I knew you were mad about other things," Prowl told her gently, "I knew I would be suffering for them, but I chose to let you take me down. I could have run back and gotten to safety, but I didn't."
Chromia just cried more.
Prowl sighed. "When Auri gets upset, she needs someone to listen. When you get upset, you need someone to hit. There are not a lot who understand that, Chromia, but I do."
This only seemed to upset Chromia more, so Prowl decided that he should keep his mouth shut until further notice.
He hesitated, and then he snuggled Chromia, putting his arms around her gently and holding her. He wondered minutely if he'd lost his mind. Or if Chromia had lost hers. He didn't embrace other bots… well, except Auri if she really needed it. And Chromia for sure didn't let any mech but Ironhide touch her. Unless she was dancing with one of the twins, and those were only the politest of touches. No snuggles. No cuddles. And here they were: him snuggling Chromia.
"I wanna be dead." Chromia sobbed after a while.
"No," Prowl told her gently, "Don't say that. We would all be devastated if we didn't have you. Auri loves you, as does Ironhide. You're Elita's best friend and best warrior. Prime values you greatly and cares much for you. Ratchet cares deeply about you, despite how he acts. Bee and I would miss you horribly if you were gone. Things would be turned upside down if we didn't have, so don't talk like that."
"'M- horrible. I- h-hate me."
"You have faults, as do all of us, but you're not horrible. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone loses their temper. I lost my temper to a small degree this afternoon."
"Stop trying to make me feel better-!" she choked out, "Don't deserve it-"
"You don't deserve to be miserable, though." Prowl argued gently. "You have so much love and care and feeling. Your only fault is caring so much that you overreact to protect and defend."
"If- only-!" she'd stopped crying now.
"It's true." Prowl said firmly, and he believed it.
"No, it's NOT!"
"I think if you trace everything far back enough, it is."
"Go away."
"No." Prowl told her. "I'm staying."
She seemed to resist for a moment, but then she broke down and started to cry again. "Oh, Prowl…"
He hugged her a little more.
"I am horrible." She cried.
"Why?" Prowl decided that might work better than trying to reason against her.
"Of all the mechs on the base, after Ironhide, I trust you the most, And I like you the best."
This was surprising news, but pleasant.
"And what did I do to you? I thrashed you like Con underling. All that. And you took it. You- you-! You always take whatever gets thrown your way. You always handle it. You always do what you know has to be done. You tough it out when it's rough, no weakness in you."
Prowl shifted his optics. He and Chromia were still the only ones around, but he didn't see the mech Chromia was describing. Then again, Chromia hadn't seen herself as what he'd described.
"I don't think I'm all that." he contradicted gently,
"No, you don't. Because you are not prideful. I have been cocky my whole xxxx life."
Prowl rubbed the femme's arm gently. "Once Ironhide told me more about you, and I got to know you a tiny bit better, I saw the cockiness as a way to hide your true feelings. I think you care a lot, Chromia, and are afraid of it."
"M-maybe…"
"Well… I'm afraid of my feelings. I do not see why you couldn't be afraid of yours."
"Ohhhhhh… Prowl." She groaned. Then she sighed. "I've made such a mess."
"As I recall, it was a black and white patrol car who smashed through several windows and a set of doors, not a sky blue drag racer."
Chromia halfway laughed a dry remorseful laugh then lifted her head to look at him. "He wouldn't have done so if I'd not been chasing him."
"That's debatable." Prowl stated with a straight face, "Who knows? He may have been repressing the urge to smash those windows for a while and never had a proper reason."
Chromia wrinkled her face and then started to laugh as tears filled her optics again. She hid her face. "You…" she paused to sniffle, "You silly." She chuckled softly then sighed, and Prowl could tell that he'd gotten her to start feeling a little better.
They sat together in silence for a little while, and then Chromia put her head up again and looked thoughtfully at Prowl.
"Thank-you." She said softly.
Prowl nodded, his optics sincere.
She looked down. "And, I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Prowl told her, rubbing her arm gently. "It's behind us now. All forgiven."
"I don't deserve-"
"No." Prowl said firmly.
Chromia was quiet then. A few minutes passed, and everything calmed. Then Chromia shifted. "Ironhide told me to lay off you and Auri –as a… well, he told me not to push you two together. He said… you still need time to heal from the past, and that someday you might be ready to love. I feel I need to apologize for the 'pushing' I've done in the past." She paused. "You… um… Prowl… I really hate mechs. Except Ironhide. And Prime's okay. Magnus… eh. Ratchet… meh. And Bee's still a mech-ling in my mind. But you… you're… Prowl, you are a good mech. You're acceptable… no, you're more than acceptable. You're worthy. Praiseworthy."
Prowl found himself blinking a little as he processed all this.
"And I like you." Chromia added.
Prowl was completely at a loss for words then. And somehow Chromia had melted his spark, too.
"Don't glitch out on me, Prowl." Chromia coaxed, "I know I've been awful and contradictory, but don't glitch out."
Prowl gave her a bit of a smile then. "I wasn't going to. I… just… was looking for… some words… I can't think of any."
"You could say, 'What on earth, femme? You beat me like Con and then say you like me? Your head's glitching messed up.'"
"That wouldn't be very nice." Prowl said, "And I do not think your head messed up. Anymore more than mine is." He added deliberately. He knew she thought his head wasn't all there all the time.
"Umm…."
Prowl chuckled softly at her.
She smiled then and shifted to hug him. She hugged carefully, mindful of how bruised his back was, and then she sat back. She paused. "We should probably go back before Magnus decides I'm hiding your body."
Prowl half chuckled and half winced at that. "We should." He wasn't sure why he smiled when he said that, but he did.
Chromia got up and gently helped Prowl to his feet. Then they slowly walked together towards the beach road. Prowl felt closer to Chromia now, as if he knew her better. He also felt a sense of wonder, now knowing what she thought of him. It almost didn't seem real.
He looked over at her curiously. "I'm… acceptable… worthy… and… you like me?" he asked uncertainly.
Chromia nodded. "Yep." She said gently. She looked over and let Prowl see the softness that was in her optics.
Prowl considered this. She thought all that of him. And she liked him. She, the femme he feared and admired. Suddenly, he felt happy. He almost felt like flitting his wings for joy; Chromia thought well of him far beyond his imagination and she liked him. Why, it was worth the beating just to learn that! The bruises wouldn't last long, but he would remember her words of praise for a long time, perhaps forever.
Good fluffs! Dear Chromia, now Prowl's quite happy.
Okay, everybody, next chapter... someone's going to be opening his red optics. ;)