Currently not taking requests. Sorry!
FANDOM: G1
CHARACTER OR PAIRING: Cliffjumper and Mirage
PROMPT: Mirror
RATING: G
REQUESTED BY: katsuko
The glass crunched beneath his pedes; different volumes, low, high, long, quick. Cliffjumper moved through the field of glitter; on the ground, a sky, cracked into thousands of pieces. The sound of the glass breaking beneath his weight was about the only thing he heard, save for the soft cycling of his vents and the hum of his optics as he scanned the area. He said not a word, moving across the ruins of crystal and culture, until finding himself standing in the remains of what was once a beautiful garden of rare and alien flowers.
There was not much left in the way of what once was. Just shrubbery long since wilted and blown away, and what might have been a pathway through the great conservatory. His blue optics turned to the sky above, twinkling with thousands upon thousands of stars, safe in their blanket of darkness, winking in mockery or pity, he did not know. In a way, Cliffjumper hated those stars; they lived simple lives, without war or pain, and they died none the wiser. Their deaths, however, left behind supernovas, so beautiful, transforming like the folk below into new stars; but down here, down here there was no beauty in death, and perhaps this valley of glass mimicked the world of ignorance above, in an attempt to capture its beauty for itself. It failed, for all the cracks and crevices and shards bleeding through could never match the pure and untouched night above.
Cliffjumper hated them.
"Are you okay?"
The red Autobot ducked his head but did not look back at the figure approaching. Mirage stepped up beside him, smiling wearily. "I almost thought you were a ghost," he chuckled.
"Don't be stupid," Cliffjumper grumbled, "ghosts aren't real." No, truth was, they were, but not the type told in spooky tales or other such media nonsense. Ghosts were pieces of the past that never abandoned you, and this city was a ghost town full of the "spirits."
Mirage nodded idly. "Well," he breathed and swung his hands behind his back. He looked to the skies, where the stars reflected in the blue sky of his optics. "Mind me asking why you're here?"
"I just needed to go for a walk," Cliffjumper answered. Mirage nodded again and for a while, they remained silent. Mirage twitched when his Autobot companion squatted, fingering shards in his servos.
For a minute or two he did not speak, simply studied the glass and the images it projected. "What are you thinking?" Mirage pressed, curiously.
Cliffjumper shook his head. "It's nothing," he grumbled then tossed the glass aside. He stood again, brushing his hands off his hips. Without a word, he moved forward, making his way up a small icy hill. Mirage scampered quickly after him. "You know, I only went to Crystal City once, and I was a sparkling," he admitted, climbing up the mound of glass. "All I remembered was it was shiny, bright and I got angry, because it hurt my optics."
Mirage chuckled. "You get used to the lights over time," he said.
A moment later, the two were at the top of the hill, looking over another plain of destruction. Mirage frowned and had to look away, instead adjusting his sights to the town nearby, which managed to only suffer the edges of the blasts.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to the lights."
Mirage turned back to him. Cliffjumper had his optics firmly locked on the glass covered ground. "Crystal City was too bright for me, maybe. Too crowded, too overpopulated, too fancy and proud for the likes of me," he confessed. Mirage just shrugged, but he wasn't offended. Not like the city was around anymore. "So when," Cliffjumper breathed, folding his arms across his chest, "when we start rebuilding the city, we should at least not use so much slagging crystal."
Mirage widened his optics. He cleared his vocalizer and smirked, "Yeah, but I doubt it'll keep out those snobs."
Cliffjumper snorted. "Well then, we'll put up a big sign in flashing lights," he said and rose his hands, "'no snobs or egotistical glitches.'"
The blue Autobot laughed. He gently jabbed his elbow into Cliffjumper's arm. "So, does that mean I'm not allowed?" he mused.
Cliffjumper pouted. "... Well, I guess we can allow one snob in." He shrugged and offlined his optics as his friend snickered. "Besides, you ain't so bad."
"You know what, Cliffjumper?" Mirage said, optics soft. The red Autobot looked to him before cursing as Mirage rested his arm on his head, leaning against him. "You ain't so bad yourself."
END
