The Diego Diaries: Ratchet's House (dd8 49)
=0=As they began to flood in
The door was open, both of them, as guests and hangers-on began to arrive. Most came with something but others brought only their good cheer. The usual buffet line was set up generaled into being by Ravel and Docker. Children were dancing about all over the massive apartment running in ones and tens around the adults who were delighted to see them as they found their places amongst the masses.
Sitting on the kitchen table was a massive charcuterie plate, one covered with all manner of 'dippables', food items that could be skewered and dipped into several kinds of fondue and a flowing tower of chocolate. It was huge, prettily arranged and being heavily utilized by those who came in and exclaimed about it.
Ratchet stood beside it directing food placement toward the kitchen and booze toward the stack by the counters where everyone else's hootch was located. He smiled his most dazzling smile as the masses partook of the delightful array of 'fruit', bread items and all manner of this and that he'd gathered up and placed on the flat piece of wood that he had spray painted and delivered sooner to this moment than he was comfortable with. It took that long for the paint and shine to dry.
It was at this moment that the kids, elders and other attachments to Optimus and Prowl burst in happily adding to the chaos. But given the size of the apartment even with the crowd, it wasn't too much to include more. Behind them walking into the apartment backwards, Prowl made his entrance. He was holding up the edge of a large white tray with flowers printed upon it. Moving into the space, Optimus followed holding up the other end.
He grinned at Ratchet, then shook his helm. "Where do you want this?"
Prowl stared at Ratchet with triumph as everyone stopped eating to look at what had been just brought in.
It was a huge white tray with a number of interesting features. The biggest was what looked like a giant cream cheese shaped like a pig. It had ears, a snout, olives for optics and a full body laying down on the plate. Around him were crackers and other edibles supported by artistically arranged vegetables that made things like cartoon suns, planets and a small cherry tomato rocket that was flying between said solar bodies with a smiling image of Optimus Prime impressed onto the face made of some kind of pate.
Huge laughter greeted that even as Prowl frowned at everyone.
Ratchet laughed, then pointed to a corner of the room by the windows and tree. "Put it there and I'll get a table."
Ratchet glanced as Ironhide walked into the wash rack to get the table the kids stood upon and with great care brought it to the window to place it there.
Prowl and Optimus carried their behemoth abomination to the table and set it carefully down. Prowl fussed with several things, then looked at Ratchet's project in triumph. "Well, that's … nice."
Huge abuse flared up and died.
Ratchet smiled at Prowl with deep battle lust and barely contained homicide, then pulled a meter out of subspace. "Can yours do this?" he asked as he pressed a button.
All at once tiny spot lights appeared moving all around as if to catch enemy planes for ground gunners to shoot.
Prowl frowned, then pulled his own meter. "What about this?" He pushed a button and when he did tiny flags of Cybertron, the Empire, the Martian/Cybertronian flag, the flag of the Primes and that of Earth rose up. Then the national anthem of the empire began to play.
Everyone in room stood, then began to sing it.
To be ornery.
To Prowl.
Who looked surprised, then pleased, then smug, then smirky.
It ended as tiny fireworks burst upward about a foot to pop, sparkle, then disappear.
It was silent in the room a moment. Then everyone who was already standing began to applaud madly.
Ratchet snickered as he stared at the mad display. He glanced at Optimus who grinned at him.
He shrugged.
Ratchet glanced at Prowl, then smirked. "Slagger. Who votes for me?"
Everyone in the room glanced at each other, then Appa Ratchet raised his servo.
"Who votes for this patriotic and brilliant display?" Prowl asked with intense smugness and deeply hidden neediness.
Everyone stared at Prowl without raising their servos. It was tense, then Prowl nearly unraveled his mainspring. It was then and only then that nearly everyone raised their servo including the rest of Ratchet's family.
Including Ironhide.
All of Ironhide's family.
Halo who didn't know what was going on but did so because everyone else was doing it.
Like that.
Huge laughter and guff reached Ratchet, then it happened.
"WHAT LOU, SHES!?"
Everyone looked down to see a hot helmed little yellow banded sparkling staring at them with a deeply disapproving frown. It went silent.
"WHAT LOU DOIN' MY ADA!?"
Ratchet snickered. "Go, Spud," he said softly.
Orion put his tiny servos on his baby hips, then glared at all of them. "LOU NOT DOIN' MY ADA! LOU NOT SHES, ME, ORION! LOU BAD ONES! I POW-POW LOU! I DOIN'! ADA MY GOOD ONE! LOU NOT GOOD! ADA!?"
Ratchet looked down at him. "What, imp?"
"I NOT DOIN'! SHES NOT MY SHES! I POW-POW THEM!" he said, then marched forward to Twin Twist and punched his ped. He stared up at Twin, then his servo. Shaking it, he gasped. "Ow."
Ratchet scooped him up, then scanned the tiny servo. "You did an owie."
"I DO! NOT THEM SHES!" he said before bursting into tears.
Moments later …
Orion sat on the lap of Drift who sat next to Springer on the floor near the front window. He was eating stuff off a small plate that had been dunked in the chocolate fountain. He was still a bit miffed but getting a lot better. Walking around in the corridor with Ratchet had taken the edge off and eating chocolate covered things helped.
After a moment of the willies, most of the room was getting food and drinks. The crowd was also occupying several bedrooms and the corridor outside as they relaxed to eat, drink and chat the evening away.
"Is he alright?" Prime asked as he sat on the couch in his usual place with all the elders and top brass.
"He'll be okay. I don't know about Twin's ped, though," Sun said with a chuckle.
Huge amusement greeted that as they were hand delivered plates and drinks given their enormous size. It was easier to get them food than have them join the line. Most of the mechs were happy to accommodate.
That is, all big mechs but Maelstrom. He got not only his plate but Chromia's as well. Apparently, the honeymoon phase was still going great guns at their house.
=0=Earth2
They began to arrive in the hundreds, humans from other habitats. They brought food which was collected on the concourse to be placed on endless tables brought out to organize the banquet and dance that was Christmas on Mars. Other holidays in other months were given parties as well, a nod to the international nature of the population but Christmas was the largest one they held as a total community.
Security from all of the habitats were there directing traffic in the huge environmental entrance of E2. Earth2 had been the sight of the first party between groups and held on to the Christmas/End of the Year celebration that everyone that was anyone attended. There was even a delegation from the Primus Station who were holding their own party and to which the delegation would return after an hour or two.
Will Lennox and his family along with everyone else at the Family Tower, Sciences and the N.E.S.T. HQ where there to party as well. The N.E.S.T. HQ was tied into the Emergency Services Center at Fort Max as a concession to everyone's attendance at this shindig. It was swinging when they entered and walked toward the dinner zone with their offerings.
Bands from Earth were here to provide dance music and all the DJ expertise necessary. A huge dance floor was already busy with happy humans making the best of their time together. A number of individuals had hooked up in the mixed populations and there were weddings among some of them that were the talk of the community.
"Where do you want to sit?" Will asked as he glanced around.
"Look for Judy. She came earlier," Sarah said as she handed off her dish.
They would. It would take some time.
=0=At the Homestead
"Where were you this afternoon? I had a call in," Magnus said as he sipped his beer. He was sitting with Rainmaker and Sun in a couch across from Optimus, Ironhide and Jack.
"I had to go to IntraCom to do something I promised to do earlier," Optimus said. "It is top secret."
"Is that so?" Ironhide asked.
Prime grinned. "It is."
Children ran past, then one skid to a halt. He walked up to Optimus. "OTIS?"
"What, Orion."
"THEM GOOD SHES!?" he asked pointing around the room to nearly everyone there.
Prime grinned, then nodded. "Yes. The shes are good."
He stared at Uncle Otis, then smiled brilliantly. "QUACK!" he said, then ran happily away.
Snickers greeted that.
"I see you haven't lost your touch," Arcee said.
"If you say so," Prime said with a chuckle.
"Speaking of touched," Ironhide said. "Prowl and Ratchet are going to get loaded orn after tomorrow. Are you still going with them?"
Prime sipped his beer, then grinned. "Apparently. Pray for me."
Huge laughter greeted that.
=0=Earth2
"This is so nice," Tina Dane said as she glanced around the room. She was new, the aunt of Toby McFarlane and staying with his family until her visa and position came on line. With her was her husband, Sam who was a systems analyst and expert at making budgets actually work. Unidad hired him out of a search for someone with a track record of making ends meet in a zero sum environment.
"You should have been here when someone provoked a fight, then took it upstairs," Toby said as he sat with his wife. "Will Lennox, here, violated the rules of fight club."
Everyone snickered as Will sat back pleased with himself. "I did an outstanding job of putting Big Jim in a cage. I may put that on my resume."
"Where is he?" Bobby Epps asked as he glanced around.
"I don't know. He hasn't appeared on police blotters since but the night is young," Will said.
Nearby sitting with his comrades and a couple of younger men who liked trouble, James 'Big Jim' Johnson was expounding on the principles that ruled his life with his good friend, Sam Hedges.
The two of them were still part of the team that Owen Harris had assembled to essentially push and provoke the locals to see what different possibilities Optimus Prime was capable of. Given that he was capable of enforcing his sovereignty on his own turf, it had been a quiet few months for both sides.
Tonight, that would change.
=0=In the jailhouse now
They ate their dinners, mounds of delightful food and 'near beer', a concoction that tasted like beer without any of the alcoholic effects of it. The night was quiet as the clock ticked onward. Most of the prisoners were working on their own timelines but some of them were on the clock.
The Wheelus Faction was upcoming and testifying against them would be Crader, who was now bearing the protoform of a mini-con and Larken who was inexplicably the new garbage man for their portion of the prison.
There were other trials coming up, a couple of three of them Primal Hearings but most ordinary criminal tribunals for crimes in the Diaspora, in migrations and on Cybertron in the orn. That was going to take up time and the courts were booking up as their cases came forward.
None of them would require a caste court and all of them would be heard. It would be a raucous new year for the legal community on Cybertron and Mars.
=0=Earth2
He was pretty drunk when she walked past. She was a very pretty girl who was a scientist for something or other here at Earth2. He'd been watching her, liked her a lot and had made his move a while back. She'd spurned him as nicely as she could but he still wandered around making her uncomfortable. Because Johnson had, she'd applied for a job listing at Unidad and had gotten it. Three days after this event, Lisa Kimberly would be moving to Unidad Terra 1.
As she walked by, he rose to follow her as she began to cut across the dance floor. It would not end well.
=0=TBC 12-25-2020 01-05-2021
NOTES
TFSTARFIRE chapter 48 . 21h ago
Merry Christmas to you from Cherry and Family xx
ME: And to you and yours, Cherry. Hug everyone including your little sweetie pie for me. I hope things aren't as awful for you as I have heard about in your country. I am completely incurably optimistic. This won't hold and it will get better. Just hold on and have a lovely Christmas and New Years. Know how much you're loved. X0, Cathy
moosekababs chapter 48 . Dec 24
merry christmas surprise, cathy. thank you for making every day as wonderful as christmas is for regular people. 3
ME: Its my great happiness to write for people and lighten the moment. You readers have no idea how wonderful you are and how much I love all of you. Take care, my darling Moose honey. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. XO, Cathy
leoness chapter 48 . Dec 24
Merry Christmas surprise, arctie. you make my day a little brighter, especially in this fiasco of a year.
ME: What a nutter of a year this was. I'm so glad to know that this helps. You are dear to me, Miss Kitty.
And as I mentioned I planned long ago, I did indeed slip a yokai named Orion with pitch black skin and yellow crest marks into one of my books, in your honor, by the way. (He doesn't talk funny, but he is one heck of a warrior for good!)
ME: I REMEMBER YOU MENTIONING THAT! LOL! THAT IS SO GREAT! What a joy. Thank you for that. Orion thanks you, too. Right, Spud?
"I, ORION LOVE THE SHE! SHE IS MY SHE! GOOD SHE! I GOOD YOU, SHE! YOU GOOD ME!"
And I think that about says it all. Love ya so much, Cathy XO
fancyspinner chapter 2 . Dec 23
I'm so sorry you had to go through that! I'm glad its fixed.
ME: It is. Nothing like getting back on an even keel. :D Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, my darling Fancy. Take care out there, XO, Cathy