The Diego Diaries: Weekend(er) (dd7 264)
=0=In the Bosom of Love™
"ADA! WE GOIN' DERE!? I GOING WIF LOU!?"
Ratchet looked down to see two pairs of little blue optics twinkling upward at him.
"ADA! I GOIN' WIF LOU!? I DOIN'!?" Halo smiled a big smile like Orion but it was as small as her little voice.
Ratchet considered the length, depth and duration of the speech therapy both would need going forward, then grinned. "Maybe."
Orion glanced at Halo who smiled at him. He patted her, then looked upward. "Ada … we go doin? Going to do it?"
"What 'it', Spud?" Ratchet asked.
"Doin'." Orion smiled brilliantly.
Halo glanced at him, then looked upward at Ratchet. She smiled brilliantly, too.
Ratchet snickered. "What is 'the doin'?"
Orion considered that, then began to 'drive' and make engine noises. As he walked back and forth, Halo joined him making the same noises.
It was train noises.
Munition train noises.
"IRONHIDE!"
=0=Upstairs
"How do you feel?"
"I feel better, Prowl," Prime said. "I find it disconcerting that its taking this long to stop being stiff and sore."
Prowl glanced at him, then frowned slightly. "You never got the attention you needed at the time of injury. Ratchet fixed a lot of older things when he was in there doing repairs. You've lived your life with your pain receptors muted. No more. I can ask him to give you something for the soreness."
"I will be fine," Prime said as he flexed his arm. "Odd, a lingering pain sensation after all these vorns."
"Well, a new sheriff is in town and you will follow orders. Sir," Prowl said with a slight grin. "What's your schedule today?"
"I have to take the infants to The Sports Center to swim. Correct?" Optimus asked.
"Yes," Prowl replied. "Then you come back and they can play here. If you do what they ask, you can be signed off by First Monday. By the way, Password called and the game is being rescheduled around all of this."
Optimus looked relieved. "I am glad. We will still play at the Iacon Municipal Stadium when it happens?"
Prowl nodded. "You will. By the way, the Autobot City Watch Youth Auxiliary and the C&A Mentorship Program members will be coming along to Cybertron, too." He grinned. "They insisted."
Optimus snickered. "I do hope not to need their services."
"You and me both."
"What do you plan for this morning?" Optimus asked.
"I'm going to help Amma and Appa get acquainted with the colony. We're going to ride the metro here and there. They knew Scout and Trooper. They also love the theater. We're going to go there and lunch with them. If you can, meet us at the Cafe Mystique at the Center. I'm going to take Possibility and the girls. The others are going to be with Ratchet's mob. I left Miracle for you."
Optimus grinned. "Thank you, Stingy."
Prowl laughed. "You can come with us. The girls are getting their first embellishment."
"Take images," Optimus said as they walked out of the kitchen to gather up infants for delivery.
=0=Up there
The door opened as Optimus and Prowl entered followed by several bouncy kids. They ran past the adults toward Sunspot's berth room. An explosion of laughter and chat could be heard when they got there.
Prowl stared at the hallway, then glanced at Ratchet. "Are you ready for the mob or what?"
"I was born ready," Ratchet said. "Ironhide's going to be taking them to The Sports Center after his audials come back on line. Letting Orion steer even in play a fully loaded munitions train is fragged even for me."
Ironhide who was sitting in his chair with a smirk on his face and a lapful of infants glanced at Prowl and Prime. "Hi. I didn't hear you come in. APPARENTLY!"
"You wanna rumble? I don't mind," Ratchet said with a fake smile and battle lust in his optics.
"Not really," Ironhide said with a snicker. "What are you going to be doing?"
"Grocery shopping. With what … 857 children with hollow legs, I think we need to stock up," Ratchet replied. "Besides, you like weird cheese, peppers and slag. No, I'm going to do it myself." He glanced at Prowl. "And you two?"
"I am going to The Sports Center with my hearing impaired brother here," Prime said with a snicker. "Then I am supposed to meet Prowl for lunch at the Performing Arts Center. Apparently Styre and Stealth know your grand genitors, Ironhide."
"What did you say?" Ironhide said as he carefully set infants on the ground. "I do see your lips moving but nothing comes out."
"Frag you, Ironhide," Ratchet said with his biggest and most fake genuine smile. "Sounds brunchy."
"Well, you know ..." Prowl said with a smirk. "Come if you can get bail."
"With that as an invitation, how can I refuse?" Ratchet said giving the same smile to Prowl.
"Try," Prowl said.
Snickers were had as the big kids came out of their room holding the little mechs and Sunspot upside down.
"What's the daily agenda for you, infants?" Ratchet asked.
"We're going with Atar," Santee said. "Ammas and Appa have their clubs today and I think that Uncle Hammer of Primus and Uncle Tennyson are in a pre-bond, so-"
That's as far as he got.
=0=Motoring onward
They broke at the metro station with kids going to Iacon and their titanic relatives, Prowl wandering off to meet up with his elders while Prime and Ironhide noodled off to meet up with their elders at The Sports Center in the Temple District.
Ratchet watched them go, then glanced around. "Frag. Alone again." He grinned. "Good thing I like shopping." As he stood there HIS elders walked out of the building to head for the Vos Senior Center and their thrice decaorn cut throat poker tournament. "Don't you all look like win."
Ravel smiled upward at him as the others gathered around. "We plan to, infant. How is everyone?"
"Everyone is hunky dory," Ratchet said. "They're heading for The Sports Center," Ratchet said. "I'm going grocery shopping. The gaping maws formerly known as children must be fed."
"YOU DO SUCH A GOOD JOB, SONNY! Make sure you get your donuts. The ones with sprinkles that you like," Appa Ratchet said.
Ratchet hugged him. "I will. Remind me to tell you a funny story some time about donuts with sprinkles."
They chatted, then continued onward.
He watched them go, then grinned. The short walk to the Mall of Metroplex and his favorite grocery store was had with gusto. He disappeared into the weekend mob almost immediately.
=0=Up there somewhere else
"I like that one."
Drift nodded as they stared at the 'doll' that had finally arrived to add to Drift's collection of fully articulated figures of famous types of warriors of fiction and reality. He had about fifteen now, all of them genuine masterpieces of art with meticulous costumes and miniature weapons. The figures were created by a private firm that made from specs and ran a small artisan shop in City 2 of Crater District 1. The weapons he had made by Tie and Ravel. They were the pride of his joy. "This one is new and has an interesting history in his genre. Mandalorians are a kick ass warrior culture."
Springer grinned. "I like the helmet. It sort of feels familiar. Armor plated humans. What will they think of next?"
"Beats me," Drift said as he glanced at the model car collection that graced the other wall in their spare room, the office one, not their little kids' room which was almost shrine-like in its state of preservation. "When are you going to add that antique car … the Model T? I like that one a lot. Its so … cute."
Springer grinned. "It's on its way. Maybe we can take some of them out to the desert and run them."
"Sounds like a winner," Drift said as they walked out to leave their apartment. The door closed quietly behind them.
=0=Grocery
He pushed the first of many carts along the first aisle checking everything against an internal running list of what the family liked and what he could concoct. Being a half aft cook, he was working out a few new recipes even as he continued to collect menus and call numbers of restaurants and take out places. It would be an amusing journey down the many groaning aisles of a grocery store that would be awe inspiring even on Cybertron among the high castes during the orn.
=0=The Sports Center
They sat along the edge of the kiddy pool watching the older kids jump off the diving board and the little ones paddle in the shallow end. The cows were chewing cuds or whatever cows did and Spot was watching all of the kids vigilantly. When they were ready to go, Turbine and Delphi would take the kids to a diner nearby to eat while the big boys rode the big slides in the big pool before joining them. At the moment, they were sipping beer, eating snacks and bullshitting.
It was glorious.
=0=At the race track
Jack and Sun along with Steiner, Lissie and half a dozen Immortals were sitting in the stands eating snacks and drinking beer as they waited for the next card of racers to line up. Sitting with them eating and drinking as well, a quiet and slightly wilted Rockwell was in their midst. He was subdued though greatly improved from the night before but still, it was a long road before him if he was to rise from the ashes.
Sun and the others would help him.
"Here they come," Lissie said as she sat beside Rockwell. "These racers are Velocitronians, Rockwell. They live for speed," she said.
All of them would chat him up as they spent the orn together, working out a pathway for him that would help make the change ordeal smoother. It wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last time they would do this for some poor fragger.
=0=At the officer
They walked in to check the schedules, get briefed by Maxi, go through the mail, check the messages, see the ''you-name-its and the 'what-the-frag-is-this-slags' before heading out for a drive into the country.
Springer stood in front of the big monitor checking the map that showed all that transpired the night before. They mapped it every orn to find patterns, to see where security needed shifted and why.
Drift was at Springer's desk sifting through the piles of official slag that he as 'Boss' of the operation would probably have to do himself. "Any further word on the brawl at The Hot Spot? I hate that they have that much trouble there. Nice family, Predo's."
Springer nodded. "I know. We need to sit down with the gang task force and turn the screws. I want them over."
Drift glanced at Springer. "I agree," he said as he looked at a nicely wrapped box that was addressed to him. He began to remove the wrapper when Springer called to him. He set the box down and began to walk to where Springer stood by the monitor.
"Look at this, Drift-" Springer said before a deafening explosion erupted and a force like a shuttle ramming him picked him up and slammed him against the wall. He hit it hard, flattened out, felt a lot of stinging things hit him, then he fell to the floor. His helm rang, his body was burning and he felt himself start to slide into the darkness. Before he did, he raised his helm with effort to see Drift laying on the floor nearby. He tried to call out but he couldn't. Darkness claimed him.
=0=Everywhere
Prime froze his drink to his lips as Ironhide sat up straight in his lounge chair. They glanced at each other, then rose. "Please take the children to the Military Daycare at The Fortress, then come to the Watch Tower in Metrotitan," he said to the elders sitting with them.
With that, Ironhide and Prime ran for the metro station nearby and the ride to Titan.
^..^
Ratchet froze as he walked from the checkout to get another cart. The message came through even as he began to run for the doors and a metro trip to Titan.
^..^
They lounged at the dojo drinking beer, eating snacks and laughing before Hercy sat up straight to listen to something internally. He rose. "We got to get to Titan. There's been an explosion at the Watch Tower."
Sunstreaker stood with the others. "Where?" he asked.
"In Springer's office," Hercy said before he began to sprint to the door.
The others were right behind him.
=0=TBC 4-25-2020 5-8-2020
ESL:
Stingy: (stin-jee) someone who is cheap. Someone who is deliberately cheap and miserly. Someone who hoards or doesn't share is also stingy.