Sorry for the wait! Love you guys xo
The Shard
…
Aria wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her hand. She sat on a bench in the training room, two ten pound weights on either side of her feet. It was only her third visit so far, but she was already feeling the results—or at least that's what someone told her. The pain was a good thing— allegedly.
The first day she walked on a treadmill and a stair climber until her legs burned, the second day she tried bench pressing, and today, was anything that made her arms and back burn. It was probably a good idea to at least get archery fit.
She put away the weights and went to the women's changing room. She showered and changed into sweatpants and a tee-shirt. Her appointment with the resident doctor was in fifteen minutes.
The doctor's office was on the far side of the base, somewhere she'd only recently seen thanks to her new job. The secret base was three times the size she'd originally thought. The main hangar alone was impressive, but there was a whole second hangar with higher ceilings. The walls in this hangar were made up of at least three floors worth of observation windows.
She waved up to Wheeljack and Optimus as they passed and received nods of acknowledgement as they continued their conversation. Something about upgrading Optimus'… sword? Huh. Who knew?
Continuing on past the second hangar, she entered a hallway lined with doors. The doctor's office was the third door down.
A man greeted her at the reception desk. After filling out a few forms outlining medical history, he led her to the back room. She sat on one of the chairs as he closed the door behind her.
It was funny, a year ago she'd hardly ever gone to the doctor, now she was a regular. Meeting an alien race proved to be more dangerous than even she had anticipated.
At least this was a voluntary visit for once. From what she'd heard, this was half an operation and half a science experiment. Only three Autobots, Lennox, a scientist, and a doctor knew about the Energon shard "experiment". Lennox had been sceptical, but Ironhide and Ratchet ensured it was safe.
The door opened and the doctor and scientist walked in. They both wore lab coats, the only distinguishing feature was that the doctor wore a stethoscope and the scientist wore clear safety glasses.
"Hello, Aria, how are you today?" the doctor asked. She had greying hair in a bun and soft brown eyes.
"I'm good, and you?"
"Better now that my day's about to get more interesting. I'm Dr. Harlow. This is Dr. Martinez," she gestured to the younger woman, "she'll be assisting me and documenting everything."
Dr. Martinez only gave a curt nod while scribbling something down on her clipboard. Aria nodded back, though Dr. Martinez probably didn't notice.
Dr. Harlow sat in the rolling chair at the desk. "Can I get you to sit on the bed and remove your shirt? I have to run a physical to determine the best placement."
Aria did as requested, removing the baggy tee-shirt but didn't touch her bra. She would have specified if Dr. Martinez wasn't staring her down like a lab rat and taking endless notes about who knew what.
The much more human doctor slid her chair in front of Aria and pressed a stethoscope up to her chest. "Take a few deep breaths."
Aria inhaled fully, like at the Kennedy center right before singing her first note. Then exhaled until her ribs couldn't compress any further.
"Perfect," Dr Harlow said, moving the stethoscope around Aria's chest and back with each breath.
She then wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Aria's arm. "Do you have a preference of which breast you'd like the shard inserted?" She asked as the cuff inflated uncomfortably.
Aria had never thought about that. Not like it really mattered. "Whichever you think is best."
"Veronica, could you bring the shard over so we can assess the size?"
Dr. Martinez sprung into action. She dropped the clipboard that was previously glued to her hand and went straight for the cupboard.
After Ironhide had shown her the Energon shard, Ratchet took it back and gave it to the doctor. He said Dr. Harlow had to sanitize it in advance.
Dr. Martinez pulled out the plastic cup. It was full of clear liquid that faintly glowed blue thanks to the shard inside. She held it up to her face closely enough for the light to reflect off her safety glasses.
"Veronica." Dr. Harlow said flatly."The container?"
"I'm sorry." Dr. Martinez snapped out of her trance and brought it over. "I just can't believe I'm seeing a piece of a Cybertronian spark!"
She extended her hand to give the shard to Dr. Harlow when she froze.
Dr. Harlow took the cup with a sideways glance, then held it up to Aria's chest. "It looks like it will fit well here."
Aria didn't respond. Her eyes were on Dr. Martinez who was fumbling with her pen and clipboard.
Did she just say…spark?
She did. A Cybertronian spark. Not a shard of Energon. No, that was stupid. Of course it was a spark. It was the same color as Jetfire's. The same glow, only brighter.
Aria took a slow breath. "Can I see that?"
Dr. Harlow handed her the container. Both her and Dr. Martinez were silent, their eyes on Aria.
Sure enough, there it was. Brilliant blue resting against the cup. A piece of a spark. But who's? Was this from a dead Cybertronian? But how was it so bright then? The cup was warm too, Jetfire's spark had been cold.
"Who's… spark is this?"
This time, both doctors looked at each other. It was Dr. Martinez who spoke.
"It belongs to Ironhide. He had Ratchet perform the operation without our consent or knowledge. When Ratchet did notify me, he told me it was an Energon shard as well. It wasn't until I did multiple tests on it that I confirmed it wasn't just any Energon, it was the specific chemical composition of a spark. Ratchet wouldn't tell me who's spark it was either, but it was easy to tell due to Ironhide's subsequent lethargy. Not to mention the intended recipient is you."
He was just going to take out a piece of his spark and give it to her without saying a word? He couldn't just do that! Who did he think he was?
"I'm going to kill him," she muttered.
Keeping the shard clutched in her hand, she threw her shirt back on and stood abruptly. Both women got out of her way as she marched out of the room and back out to the hangar.
A couple of passersby moved out of her way, creating more distance than usual. She stepped into the large hallway between hangars only to nearly trip on two small Autobots.
"Eh, watch the little guys!"
"Yeah, we can't help our size!"
"Wheelie, brains! Have you seen Ironhide?"
Brains opened his mouth but Wheelie gave him a hardy slap and answered instead. "Haven't seen him lately, s—something up?"
Aria crouched in front of him. "You know."
Wheelie took a step back. "I may have overheard some things—"
"So do you, or don't you?" She leaned closer, eliminating any personal space he had between her and the wall.
He let out a squeal but didn't say anything.
She was about to threaten him when Brains finally spoke up.
"Is this about that whole spark debacle?"
"So you guys do know."
"Yeah, we helped ol' Wheeljack make the bow. Not supposed to tell nobody though."
"So does everybody know then? Everyone but me?"
"We weren't supposed to know either. Wheeljack slipped up and told us. That's it though, the rest of the Autobots don't know, even Optimus," Wheelie said.
"But why wouldn't he tell me? I want to know when I'm putting a piece of someone's sole in my body." She held up the spark shard for them to see.
They both panicked and averted their gaze from the small container. When she wrapped her fingers back around it, they recovered. Wheelie was the first to speak.
"Obviously because you'd freak out and say no."
"I would not!"
"Uh huh."
Brains hummed. "I think it's romantic."
Aria's and Wheelie's heads snapped towards him.
"Why is it romantic?"
"It's really not," Wheelie cut in.
Brains didn't take the hint. "You haven't heard the story?"
Aria shook her head.
Wheelie raised his arm in an attempt to stop Brains, but Aria shushed him.
"When the war first began, two Sparkmates got caught in an Energon raid. The femme was shot in the spark cavity by a Decepticon. Her mech got her out of the building and away from the battle. When he looked at her spark, he saw that a piece was missing and that she didn't have much time left. Not knowing what else to do, he cut out a small sliver of his spark and attached it to hers. Her spark fused together with his, saving her life. It became a custom after that. Sparkmates gave each other a piece of their spark, kinda like how you humans give rings here."
Aria leaned back until she sat on the floor, tilting her head up to the incredibly tall ceiling.
Wheelie relaxed and rolled up to her. "That's probably the other reason he didn't tell you."
"He didn't want me to find out about the implications."
Wheelie gave her a pat. "He's not doing it because of that. He's doing it because it's the only way to give you a weapon strong enough to take out Decepticons."
"He's not?" Came Brains voice from her other side. "Huh."
"I know your still figuring things out when it comes to your relationship with Ironhide, but he just wants you to be safe so do yourself a favor and don't overthink it, Princess."
So she was supposed to take Ironhide's actions at face value? Not like it was anything terribly important. Just a shard of his spark after all.
She let out a heavy sigh and got up.
"He's in the main hangar, just got back a few minutes ago."
"Thanks guys. I'll tell Ironhide he owes you two for saving his life."
Wheelie quickly nodded and pulled Brains down the hall in the opposite direction.
Sure enough, Ironhide was in the main hangar in his alt mode.
That's why he'd rarely visited, he wasn't tired from missions, he was tired because he was missing a chunk of his spark.
A few others were parked around in their alt modes. Bumblebee and Sideswipe had their backs turned, headed towards one of the training rooms.
As she approached Ironhide's alt form, the driver door opened in advance. She climbed in, using the steering wheel to hoist herself up into the seat. The door closed with a soft click.
She sat in silence. There was no greeting, nothing. Just silence. Not the comfortable kind either. The tightness in her chest extended into the air around her.
"I'm sorry, Aria. I should have told you."
He knew then, why she was here.
"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"It would have been a lot less uncomfortable if I heard it from you and not a woman I just met slipping up."
He sighed, his alt form sinking ever so slightly. "If I told you, you would have said no. You would have asked questions that I can't answer.
What questions did he think she would ask?
"You said it yourself, I can't always be there for you. And it's when I'm not there that you're a target. A weapon is the only way to do it. A weapon that you alone can use, so no one else could ever use it against you."
"I understand that, but you're clear about your intensions, so why not tell me what else it could mean so I don't have to find out from someone else."
He was silent for a long time.
"I feared your reaction."
Something in her chest dropped into the pit of her stomach. Her gaze fell to the container in her hand. The spark shard shined back at her.
Ironhide continued, "I didn't want you to reject it. And because of that, I lied."
On one hand, it made total sense where he was coming from. Offering something so precious only for the person to say no because it was too much, too soon. On the other though, lying wasn't the answer.
"Thank you for being honest with me now. It means a lot." She said, bringing her free hand up and rubbing her thumb on the steering wheel.
"I've lost too many of those I care about. I can't risk losing you too. I will protect you at any cost, Aria, even if that means protecting your planet to do so."
It was at times like this that she wished she could see his face. His eyes as he looked back at her.
"Promise you won't lie to me again. Even if you're afraid it will make either of us upset."
"I Promise."
"Good. Now I have one more question."
He hummed.
"If I put your spark shard in my chest, does that make us Sparkmates?"
The entire truck shifted as Ironhide sputtered something in Cybertronian. "No, of course not. Sparkmates are something else entirely."
She relaxed. "All right, just wanted to make sure we're not doing something unintentional."
"Don't forget I am still your boyfriend."
Aria scoffed and opened the door. She slid down to the ground putting most of her weight on her good leg.
"Goodbye, Ironhide!" She shut the door.
Ironhide revved at her as she walked away. She flashed him a smile over her shoulder.
Ahead of her, Wheelie and Brains peeked out of the hallway entrance. The second she made eye contact, they both disappeared in a chorus of clanking metal and curses.
"Hey, Aria."
"'Sup, lil' lady." They said in unison when she found them again.
Aria squatted down. "Hi guys."
Brains scratched the back of his head. "Well how'd it go?"
"Pretty good. He apologized and I forgive him."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." She stood up. "Walk with me?"
They nodded and followed.
"So you're going to do it?" Wheelie asked.
"Yeah. I feel better about everything now."
"I thought you'd be even more weirded out knowing the truth. How did he convince you?"
"He didn't 'convince' me to do anything. It's a piece of his spark after all, and I trust him with my life."
Brains gave Wheelie a little elbow who attempted to wave him off.
Aria ignored whatever mischief or secret bet they placed. Not like Wheelie's teasing was a new thing, and it was nice to see him have a friend to share his antics with.
Dr. Harlow was still in her office, she apologized on behalf of her and Dr. Martinez for the unprofessionalism. It really wasn't their fault anyway.
Aria continued the physical. Ironhide's spark shard was back on the counter, casting a faint light on the surface.
The following day she had the operation in the same office. The only evidence of the spark was a small vertical incision on the side of her left breast beside her sternum.
Once the local anesthetic wore off, a pleasant warmth filled her chest.
…
THank god for reading week. (I should be writing essays nevertheless). Maybe I can get one more chapter out by this weekend, but no promises.