First Aid thought he made a mistake the moment he entered the mess hall. He checked his chronometer, and hoped at this time of day there would be less bots around. Granted, five was still one too many. 'Maybe it was too much to ask for that it'd be empty.' He thought, and glanced at Skyfire. The shuttle's expression was guarded, but in a forced relaxed way. "I can get the energon, and we can go." He whispered.

Skyfire shook his head. "No," his voice was equally quiet, "it's okay." He held himself straight, and they walked over to the dispenser.

Bots glanced at them, and First Aid could hear the whispering, but to his relief most of it seemed to be about the good news regarding Cosmos. He'd be glad if the accusation which followed Skyfire petered out altogether soon. First Aid signed out their rations, and they found a seat near the back of the room, further from the most crowded table.

Skyfire sipped his energon while First Aid allowed the mouth guard to lower as he did the same. The junior medic didn't know the first thing to say, so he just took the precious minutes to enjoy this relative peace. The door opened, and First Aid almost cursed when the mechs who came in were Hoist and Grapple, the former worrying him more than the later. The junior medic didn't tense, so Skyfire wouldn't, but it was hard when the two mechs got their energon.

And then it nosedived into awkward when Hoist and Grapple sat down at their table.

Skyfire glanced at them finally, his voice quiet. "Hello."

Hoist nodded. "How…how are your injuries?" he asked softly.

The shuttle took another sip of energon. "I'm doing much better. First Aid was able to take off the welds."

"That's…good to hear. And how have you been?" Hoist asked. Skyfire hesitated for a moment.

"What about you?" First Aid cut in, sorry for being, but Skyfire's well-being took precent. "How have you been, Hoist? Grapple?"

"Things have been…good." Hoist said, cheerful but cautious. "I hear Cosmos is doing well."

First Aid noticed Skyfire's twitch, and hurried to answer, "Yes, Cosmos is going to make a full recovery."

"Yes, yes, that's good to hear and all, but what about our project, Hoist?" Grapple asked. He waved his servos, a splash of energon dripping to the table. "We don't have much time to make a blueprint for a new addition to the headquarters. There's materials to gather and schematics to refine."

"You take your work quite seriously." Skyfire said, his tone measured.

Grapple stared at him, his jaw dropping. "Why wouldn't I?" he sputtered. "Of course I'm taking it seriously. This is not just a new wing; it's going to be a work of art!"

First Aid stiffened, but he noticed that the shuttle was only nodding. "It's good to love your work," he said. The junior medic held back a gasp when Skyfire smiled just a little, "what are your plans for the wing?"

Grapple's optics narrowed, as if in suspicion, before he took a drink of his energon. "It can't be too tall, Optimus made me swear on that. He says since we'll be gathering the resources from the humans we shouldn't strain them, but what about straining my creativity?"

"Adjusting things won't be too much of a hassle." Hoist said.

The yellow mech huffed, expression growing moody as he drank another sip of energon. "Every architectural achievement is a work of art to be cultivated. 'Adjustments' is not in my vocabulary."

"Maybe it should be then." Hoist said lightly. Grapple huffed, but the other mech just chuckled.

Skyfire's optics flickered between the two of them, before he vented slowly. "What is the new wing going to be used for?"

Grapple smiled, as if pleased someone was taking an interest in his work. "The Ark was never meant to carrying so many bots, and with new arrivals seeming to just appear constantly, it is getting rather crowded. Optimus allowed me to design a new attachment to the ship for extra rooms so mechs can have a bit more space."

"You only think they're constantly appearing because you're so caught up in your work." Hoist said, chuckling.

The yellow mech shook his head. "I can't help it that I find my work more enlightening than the comings and goings of bots I've never seen before."

First Aid was feeling oddly displaced, but not in a bad way. Skyfire was not only adding to the conversation, but he was seeing first hand on what a healthy relationship looked like. Yes, it was a friendship, but that did not devalue it in the slightest. First Aid just hoped Skyfire could at least see how differently Sunstreaker treated him than how these two treated each other.

Sure, it did make the medic wonder why Hoist decided to show up, but he could guess. 'Did he feel ashamed and wanted to see how Skyfire is doing? Grapple doesn't know what's going on, so he probably just did want to get his energon.'

First Aid's musings were interrupted when the door opened again, and this time his spark sank low. Sideswipe came into the room, and his route was not for the dispenser, but their table. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you." Skyfire froze, but the red mech's gaze was only for First Aid. "Can we talk?"

First Aid closed his mouth guard, and tried to sound more secure than he felt. "Yes, of course." He looked up at Skyfire. "I'll be right back."

The shuttle's smile was tense. "And I suppose I'll be here."

The medic nodded, and got out of his seat to follow Sideswipe from the room. They didn't go very far, but it was out of hearing distance as the red mech whirled around. First Aid didn't say anything, and Sideswipe for once seemed uncertain of himself.

Finally, the red mech vented and said, "Look, I might bug my brother and tease him, but that's just what we do, okay? I don't pry into his personal stuff, but sometimes he just can't keep his thoughts wrapped tight and things slip through."

First Aid didn't stiffen, though he almost did. He tried to keep his voice steady. He tried even harder not to hope that Sunstreaker might have tripped up in case this was false. "And what's got you so worried?"

Sideswipe's expression was unusually grim. "It's about Skyfire." First Aid's spark pulsed, hot in his chest. "Look, I didn't know how ask, so I'm just gonna come right out and say it; do you want Skyfire?"

The medic's spark plummeted, and he tried to understand what he'd just heard. "…what?"

Sideswipe glanced around. "The things Sunny lets slip through the bond is him cursing your name, thinking you're gonna steal Skyfire from him. And, well, I have seen the way you look at him, always trying to check in on him and at first I thought Sunny was just paranoid, but now I'm starting to see it too."

First Aid vented slowly. 'You can't see my face.' He thought, but there was a flush of irritation that apparently he couldn't show concern without being accused of something unprofessional. "Skyfire is still my patient. I'm making sure he's recovering."

"For this long?" Sideswipe asked incredulously. "Not even Ratchet does that much."

First Aid's shoulders tensed, but he tried to keep his voice calm. "Yes, Skyfire is an ongoing case."

"Their lab must be a deathtrap then."

The medic hoped he didn't say that to Perceptor. "If you take away anything, please believe that I have no untoward feelings for Skyfire. I'm not," he paused, because he couldn't honestly say he wasn't trying to separate Skyfire and Sunstreaker, "I'm not trying to hurt them. I'm just doing my best to help Skyfire."

Sideswipe narrowed his optics, and First Aid's spark pulsed in his chest. Slowly, the red mech laughed and shook his head. "I knew Sunny just had to be overthinking it. You're too nice to do something that underhanded." He reached out and patted First Aid on the shoulder. "No hard feelings, right?"

First Aid relaxed, even if the guilt gnawed at him. "Not at all." He hesitated. "Are you going to get your rations too?"

Sideswipe shook his head. "Already did, I got patrol duty." He waved at him. "Later."

First Aid almost collapsed when the red mech turned the corner. He placed a servo on his chest, and the spark hummed so loud that his plating was hot. The medic vented, cycling the air to cool himself down. 'It's okay.' He told himself, and carefully made his way back into the mess hall.

The medic stopped, and leaned against the doorway. His visor dimmed, and the unease was replaced with bemusement.

At their table, Grapple had several empty cubes piled on each other, their voices too low for coherent words, but the yellow mech was pointing at the cubes and tracing figures in the air. What made First Aid cautiously hopeful, was how Skyfire looked; the shuttle's guarded expression softened, and his smile was true and honest as he seemed earnestly invested in Grapple's demonstration.

'Please, Skyfire, please see there's so much more than what Sunstreaker told you, made you believe.' First Aid thought. He sincerely, and desperately wished this was a good start for Skyfire's recovery.