Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. The "Flufftober 2021" prompt list is by Flufftober2021 of Tumblr. So, for some prompts, I spun a Wheel of Names thing that gave me either my favorite platonic duos or my favorite ships. I was going to try to do Talarious for this prompt, but then the wheel landed on "Clatchet," and I had to do it for the bois.
Featured AU: Bodyguard AU. In which Tachyon fails to attack the Lombaxes, but since Kaden's family is the protector of the Dimensionator, Orvus requests that Kaden's son also acts as his son's protector. Or, Kaden and Orvus ship Clatchet because the bois got along so well when they were first introduced to each other and the dads can tell that their boys are very gay for each other.
Left My Heart with Bite Marks
(Flufftober 2021 Day 20 – "Secret Crush")
"Ratchet, I wish to inquire you about something."
The Lombax hid his worry behind a stoic face. He slowly stepped into the Zoni Prince's study, purpose and confidence meshed into his footsteps. He certainly had neither, but if there was one thing Ratchet wasn't going to mention to the Zoni, it was how absolutely terrified he was of this moment.
Thousands of books lined the bookshelves crowding the insides of the room, a testament to the Zonis' record of Time. Knowledge from over a million species and time periods scattered the shelves, framed by the gentle lighting of the study. It was a small room for something like the Great Clock, but the comfortable reading room had been one of Clank's greatest wishes, so Orvus had it built to the size the robot wanted.
Inside the study, sitting at a desk that was just bigger than Clank's size, the tiny robot fated to inherit the Great Clock set aside the book he had been reading. Green optics, so green that the color had become the Lombax's favorite, settled on the bodyguard.
Ratchet caught the twinge of stress on Clank's face. It was hard to spot, something only gained after a decade of being around the robot. The corner of his smile dipped down to the start of a frown, then lifted to hide Clank's true emotions.
Oh, he was so hosed.
"You… want to talk about… that, don't you, sir?"
Clank's smile slipped completely, and the robot shifted in his plush desk chair. "Erm… yes…"
Awkward silence filled the space between them.
After the pain became too much to bear, Ratchet dropped his professionalism. His shoulders and ears slopped down, and his head dropped to look to the floor. "I'm sorry. What I said during the mission to Kreeli Comet… it was a mistake."
Clank's voice, a little pain leaking into the quiet words, piped up from where the robot sat. "Oh?"
"I haven't been holding a crush for you for several years," Ratchet forced out. It was a terrible lie, but if he wanted to keep protecting Clank and not lose the best friend he had ever made, he had to destroy his feelings before they could get in the way anymore than they already had. "I wasn't thinking straight. The ice and cold was getting to me, and I thought… I… It's nothing, it's unimportant."
Quiet replaced his words.
The prince's chair squeaked, and several telltale clinks echoed against the floor.
Ratchet's eyes closed before Clank reached the space just before him.
"Ratchet… were you… were you under the assumption that you were going to die of hypothermia? That… if you were going to die… you would tell me something you had been holding in for so many years?"
"It's really nothing, sir-"
"Clank. …I forbid you in using proper titles when addressing me."
Pain wrenched in Ratchet's chest, and a breath caught in his throat before he could push it down. "I'm sorry, XJ-0461. But what I said was a mistake. It jeopardizes our working relationship, and…" He stalled, waving his head. "If you want me to leave, then I will leave. I know you don't-"
"I love you too, Ratchet."
The Lombax felt the world come to a standstill, and slowly, he cracked open his eyes.
Clank was at his feet, looking up at him with determined eyes. He only got them when he was looking up to a villain, something to show the evildoer that he had no fear when he most definitely did. His feet were steeled against the floor, and his hands were clenched tight to his sides.
"Ratchet, I know that you were assigned to simply protect my life and nothing more," Clank started. Love mixed with the green of his optics, and it took everything for Ratchet's heart to keep beating. "At first, I was under the same impression. After we started fighting the villains together however, my mind reconsidered our shared relationship."
Ratchet braced himself at Clank's words.
"You are my greatest friend, and I would never give up that friendship." The little robot shuffled on his feet, then shook his head and looked back up at the Lombax. "What I am attempting to say is that I feel the same way!"
"…You actually like me back?"
"Yes. More than anyone else I have ever come across for all of Time." Clank softened his features. "I… I do love you, Ratchet. If I had known that you had felt the same way, that we were both harboring feelings for the other, at a sooner date, I would have done something to make a relationship happen."
A peaceful silence settled over the room. Then, Ratchet got to one knee, bending down to Clank's level. White fangs glittered under the study's lighting as Ratchet tilted his head and gave the Zoni prince a sheepish grin.
"Well," Ratchet began, strength beginning to refill his body language. "If there's anything I've learned from being under the Zoni's employ, it's that the past is the past, and that it's best staying where it is. So…" he held out his hand to Clank, an invitation known to the both of them "-you wanna start making up for lost time?"
Clank's optics shone bright, and the cheerful wonder he always took on whenever he was presented with a beautiful and new opportunity glittered bright on his face.
"Of course, Ratchet," he laughed, and when his hand slipped into the Lombax's, Ratchet swung the little robot onto his back.
Ratchet felt a lightness, something he hadn't felt since he had been infused with Zoni magic several years prior, flood his body. The person on his back, the one he had been entrusted to protect with his life and the new love of it, felt like a second heart. Delicate. Strong. Powerful. Caring. Something he had to cherish with all his being.
"Come on, Clank." Ratchet held up his hand, and their hands intertwined again. "If we're gunna be a couple, then I want to take you on a good first date…"
Song Inspos: "Bite Marks" by Au/Ra and "Wish You Were Sober" by Conan Gray. (Offscreen, you can see Orvus and Kaden chuckling to themselves and saying 'About dang time')
This is kind of crappy, but hhh, a new Clatchet AU! I would expand on this more, but I have a feeling that I'm going to end up forgetting to expand on this. If any Clatchet fans want to make anything for this AU, you're completely fine with doing so (as long as credit is given). Zoni prince Clank with his Lombax Bodyguard Ratchet… H, we'll see if I ever come back to this.
Nonetheless, something fluffy for RaC! I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you all so much for reading and supporting! :D