The Diego Diaries: Swayin' (dd6 377)
-0-0400 in the next morning
They decided to head for the barn, the two of them, when Ratchet stood up and began to sing. Prime and Prowl who had staggered out earlier missed that moment, one that would live on in infamy and the internal film archives of many sitting around watching. Ironhide swayed, then applauded as he staggered toward Ratchet. That mech bowed, then climbed onto Ironhide piggy back style for a ride home.
Alor would have taken pictures but he was asleep face down at a table at the moment under which Blackjack had slid some time earlier haven given in to 'just one beer, slag it'. He would remain there until later, come to sentience, then panic over where he had left Scout. Alor would head out, fall down the steps to the Well of AllSparks in his rambling and spend the rest of the night there until Lady Sela found him before morning prayers. As for Scout, that tyke was at his namesake's house having a good sleep. Raptor was sleeping on a couch while Turbine and Delphi staggered home with the intention of finding it. Blackjack who was supposed to stay sober and help everyone had failed at his job and would have a drum head in the morning in the middle of his own living room by his ammas. He roused and seeing no one in his stupor wanted to go to his own berth to sleep it off. He almost made it.
Almost.
Hard Drive noting both his son and grandsons sleeping here and there leaned back in his chair and joined them. Ravel, Tie Down, Appa Ratchet, Chan, Corr, and Docker had retired with the Prime, going when the getting was good, holds filled with infants who were sleeping like babies. Bos, Co-D, Reflector, and their families had taken Sunspot with them along with Spot because it looked like his genitors were going to be trying on the lampshades for some time yet.
Grown children were here and there, some of them still upright while many were part of several card games going on in both huge rooms. Bands were still playing, food and drink still being eaten and dancers still going at it. The humans had left earlier, making their way back to wherever they came from filled with images of hilarity and solemnity, enough for a lifetime (movie).
Staggering to the door with Ratchet whoopee-ti-yi-yoing on his back, Ironhide made his way forward. Fortunately, it wasn't far. Having ricocheting off the big doors to the exit, two tall lamp posts and barely missing being hit jaywalking across the street, they made it to the lobby of their building, crossed the vast empty marble space, then collapsed in an elevator in a stupor. Landing hard, they lay still a moment, then fell into recharge almost instantly. They would spend several joors riding up and down the entire length of the building as the automated system tried to find their floor.
-0-Elsewhere
The pair in question slipped out eventually for a long walk servo-in-servo in the moonlight of the night. It was a new world for both of them, Partition, a youngling mech who had never cared about anything before and Lancer, a nervous youngling femme scientist with no known surviving family joined in a deep form of connection that humans would never know. They were assimilating their new situation when they finally walked home to 'face like bunnies until the sun came up. Then they would go to breakfast with the gang and head for work.
There was no rest for the weary.
Nor for the bleary.
It would be very early in the morning when someone coming home would wait for an elevator and find when it opened two of their more storied neighbors passed out on the floor. A call to the building manager brought him running along with half a dozen of his friends from the all night poker game held periodically at his home among the many building managers of the Martian Housing Management Association.
It would take all of them to drag the two to their door where a slightly disapproving Ravel and a smirking Tie Down were waiting. Opening the door to the apartment, the group managed them into the living room where they lay them on the floor. Ravel stared at them, then the chuckling group. "Thank you, young mechs. My son and Ironhide are good mechs overall. We just had a bonding party and they got too frisky for their own good."
"Don't worry, Ravel," the building manager said. "Do you want them left here?"
"Yes," Ravel said with a hint of tut-tut in his voice. "We will take it from here."
They chatted a moment, got congratulated on the bonding, then the mechs left. Ravel stared at his son, then shook his helm. "He takes after my father. I do like that streak in him, Tie, but sometimes I wonder about him."
Tie laughed as he arranged limbs to be more comfortable. "Don't. He's a good mech. He just lives a bit larger than we're used to. We don't live in the Jumble anymore, Ravie. We can have fun now without going to jail."
"We can," Ravel agreed. He grinned. "That was a great party. Did you know that the Squad is going on the town tonight?"
"You might want to skip an orn to recover," Tie said as they walked to the door and stepped out. The door closed as Cousin stared at them from the top of the kitchen table. Then he jumped down and walked to the pair to sniff them all over. At that point, he did what all cats do. He made himself supremely comfortable.
On Ironhide's face.
-0-Dawn rising
The hoo-hah at various houses didn't reach Ironhide's. He was still sleeping with Cousin's fuzzy butt on his face. Ratchet was sawing logs as well, both oblivious to children and jobs anywhere.
Topside, Prowl slid out of bed, then staggered to the wash rack. Standing under the hot water, then the hot blow dryer, he felt his processor almost reset itself in self defense. Pulling a vial out of the cabinet over the sink, he slipped it and felt blessed relief flow through him. Thank Primus he had asked First Aid for a home remedy kit back in the orn. No one was going to catch Prowl flat footed again if he could help it. He walked out looking fit and refreshed. Pausing by the door, he looked at his dearly beloved.
Optimus was lying where he fell, his body half on and half off the berth. He was three sheets to the wind and would need a vial of relief for his own good. Prowl smirked. "You look cute anyway you are. How do you do that?" he asked softly, then walked out to track down his kids and other relatives that he vaguely remembered from the night before.
-0-Elsewhere
"You up, Magnus?" Arcee asked as she pulled prepared breakfast from the heater oven.
Ultra Magnus walked into the living room looking pretty good for having gotten really loaded the night before. "I'm up. Thanks for the antidote," he said as he sat heavily in a chair at the table. "Prowl's learning."
"First Aid is our fixer. Most of us figure Ada is slag faced and no help so we keep it around," she said as she lay the trays of food before them. A nice cuppa hot stuff, utensils and the morning newspapers would make a raucous night fade into the mists of legend as they sat together eating, reviewing the news and whatever else they could still remember.
-0-Elsewhere
Elita sat on the couch watching Jetta prepare breakfast. Jetta was a good cook, especially breakfast, so she demurred to his greater abilities and interest. "I wonder where Ada and Atar ended up?"
Jetta grinned. "The last I can remember, Ratchet was riding Ironhide out the door toward home."
Elita laughed aloud, then grinned. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time."
"It is." Jetta dished up breakfast, they sat down together and chatted as they ate their breakfast.
-0-Elsewhere
Chromia and Maelstrom walked into the Diner At The Corner with hangovers. Sitting there equally brung down was most of the crew and elder family members such as Drift and Springer. They were waiting for Raptor to come out of the head nearby, having gone in there to splash his face. Hercy followed him to make sure he could make it back. When he did, a message in everyone's internal comm file would be the cure. Ratchet had timed it to go to everyone at about this time in the morning and when he walked back out with a chuckling Hercy, Raptor would be king of the world once more.
So would everyone else there, thank Primus.
-0-Elsewhere
He came to sentience slowly, his flags and service warnings kicking off as he defragged his processor on the long dark climb from the rim of the Pit where he was spinning like a demented toe dancer for some time. Sitting up slowly, Ratchet looked around. Ironhide was sprawled beside him, out like a bird that flew into a window and Cousin was sitting on his face. Ratchet grinned. "Hi, Cousin." Then he fell back to wait out the reboot in peace.
-0-Elsewhere
They lined up to show their tiny hands, then were placed around the table to eat. The Prime kids, the Trine kids and their own were waiting for their food as politely as could be. When they got it, Venture and Miler helped them eat so they could catch the bus to their schools on time. Education waited for no femme or mech.
-0-Elsewhere
Sunspot ate his breakfast with a grin, sliding this and that under the table for Spot. Spot would get his breakfast at the school where food was kept for kids' service animals if they missed a meal at home. However, snacks didn't hurt and Spot was happy to oblige. Bos grinned at him as they discussed the upcoming orn at school. Soon, Reflector and Co-D would burst in and all would go down with their family to catch the proper vehicle to Centurion. It would be fun.
-0-Elsewhere
Turbine and Delphi having slept it off together at Turbine's apartment arrived at The Diner On The Corner having scanned for their bonds. Hard Drive and Raptor pulled chairs for them, then looked around. "Where's Alor and Blackjack?" Raptor asked. "I remember Ratchet and Ironhide leaving. Where's little mech?"
Devcon who was eating breakfast with Smokescreen, Smokey, Moda, and Tress at a table nearby grinned. "'Jack headed out from the party early on. He said something about going home."
"Frag. Where did he go?" Turbine asked with a grin.
"Hard to say. Dial up the locators, Hardie, and tell me where they are," Turbine said.
He did, then grinned. "Alor is at the Temple and Blackjack is in an alley near the Mall of Metroplex."
"Frag," Turbine said rising with Delphi. "We better go get them." They headed out as the others watched them go. They would hold a place for them until they came back with their wayward infants.
-0-Temple of Primus, lower deck
Lady Sela grinned as she stared down at Alor. Kneeling, she shook the big mech's shoulder. Optics fluttered, then Alor looked at her. "Sela? Where? What am I?" Alor asked.
Sela laughed, then helped Alor stand. "You're lost. How was the party last night?"
"I'll have to review the films," Alie said with a grin. "I wonder," he said as he glanced around. "Where's Blackjack?"
They both set out to find him.
-0-Elsewhere
They sat at the table waiting for the oven alarm to signal breakfast. Ironhide was pulling white cat hair out of his mouth as Ratchet grinned at him. "I can't remember a thing."
"Don't worry about it. Something tells me that Ravie has chapter and verse," Ironhide said with a grin.
The oven went off so they served breakfast and had a few laughs eating it. Those would vanish after Ravel and Company got the kids off and came back to el kabong both of them for making a spectacle of themselves with the neighbors.
-0-Elsewhere
Lady Sela, Turbine, Alor, and Delphi stared at the big pile of black armor and cuteness that was laying in the alley holding a trash barrel like it was a favorite stuffed toy. Blackjack was out like a light but that was resolved when Alor rolled him over, poured the antidote down his pie hole and stepped back to watch the magic.
The magic was slow and grumpy as the big mech stood up at last shaking the last shards of drunkenness from his body and mind. He stared at the four in front of him, then Sela. "Lady, what are you doing here?"
"When I saw Alor laying at the bottom of the steps where he fell next to the Well of AllSparks, I decided to be merciful and help him find you. I had no idea you would be passed out in an alley among the garbage cans," Sela said with a big grin.
Blackjack laughed. "You need to get out more. What you just said is my middle name. How about breakfast on me?" he asked with a big smile.
"You're on," Alor said as they walked back to the street. It was a short walk to the Diner and a rousing breakfast among friends and family. It would take a while for everyone to come together and compare notes. They would do so at the conference room in Ops Center during the community-senior Autobot staff meeting.
It would be amusing.
-0-TBC 6-5-18 edited 7-7-18