The Diego Diaries: Cloudy (dd7 378)
=0=Bubbles, tiny bubbles …
He flew downward to land with a soft thud onto the sandy bottom of the shoreline where they were fooling around in the ocean. When they'd reached the shore, Prowl had watched Orion for his reaction. Most of the areas of water on Cybertron were ringed with small towns that you could visit but most of the good beaches were private. Low and mid castes were forbidden to enter them in the caste apartheid of their world at the time. It was the system that both of them in their current state felt was in full swing even here given their last 'memories'. It was what they'd 'left' when they 'came' here.
Orion had marveled at the beauty of the vast blue ocean before them. It sparkled in the sunlight with thousands of glinting diamond-like points of light. The sunlight was bright and the air heavy with humidity. The sound of waves lapping gently against the shoreline was hypnotic as he stared at the horizon far away. Behind them the crowds had followed, their voices and laughter a soft buzz.
Prowl grinned with pleasure. Orion was entranced as he, Prowl was when he'd walked to the sea and stared at its infinite beauty. The water was warm and it was nice to come here to sit in it or float, something he'd done a lot when they lived here.
Orion liked the ocean. This was a good idea.
Then Orion stepped forward and dived in head first, as graceful as ever as a mech in control of his giant frame. His splash was minimal as he submerged, then rose up to stand in waist deep water. He grinned.
Prowl grinned back.
"Well, Ironhide … what do you think?" Ratchet asked as he glanced at the big mech beside him.
"We have a beach house in Mithril."
The doofus said.
"You have one on the Sea of Mercury, too. Slagger. Jump in and see what a real body of water feels like," Ratchet said as he began to wade in.
Ironhide grinned, then glanced at Orion who was staring at him from the midst of the warm water. Then Ironhide ran forward splashing in to take Orion down. The two disappeared under the water which rose in a wave toward the beach.
Ratchet glanced back to see a number of humans get swept out from the tsunami that came their way. He began to wade toward them but Prowl reached them first. He placed them on the beach front, then reminded others to step back. When he turned back to the sea, Orion and Ironhide had breached like whales as they grappled with each other before plunging back in again.
Ratchet laughed, then continued forward, laid back and began to float. He also began to hum and sing a song he liked by a human named, of all things, Rag and Bone Man. "Don't put the blame on me," he sang as he floated peacefully on the water. "I'm only human. Don't put the BLAAAMMEEE on me!"
Prowl laughed, then walked to the water where he dived in, then came up right away. He grinned at Ratchet, then watched as Ironhide's servo gripped him to drag the big medic under. He barely had time to chuckle before he went down below to Davy Jones locker himself. He sat on the sandy bottom, then looked around.
Ratchet was churning water nearby with his arm around Ironhide's neck. He was smiling and still singing though Prowl couldn't hear him as he tightened his grip around the struggling mech. Even with their hearing capacity, sound was messed up underwater.
Orion was standing nearby watching Prowl with a grin.
Prowl grinned back, then launched himself like a torpedo straight at the big mech. Before he could move in time, Prowl had him by the waist and they were plowing along until they breached. Up they went, then down with a huge splash.
Around and around they wrestled until Orion pinned Prowl to the sandy ocean floor. He grinned as he crouched over Prowl bracing his arms to the floor. They both glanced over to see Ironhide staggering their way dragging Ratchet who still had him by the neck as he carried the red medico on his back.
Ratchet was still singing.
Orion guffawed which gave Prowl an opening. He shoved Orion upward, then rolled him over onto his face. Pressing him down, he straddled Orion and held his arm in a tight grip.
Orion was pinned.
Ironhide staggered to a stop as he gripped Ratchet's arm in his servos. It was a good thing this kind of hold had no negative effects beyond his ego. He stared at Orion, then Prowl, then he pushed up with his powerful legs. It didn't take long for them to breach the surface, rise up to clear the water, then crash back down. When they sank almost immediately, Ratchet was mashed onto the sandy floor with Ironhide pressing backwards to hold him down.
Ratchet was still singing around his laughter.
Prowl and Orion slammed into the water, then struggled together. Orion grabbed Prowl by the arms, then slipped them around his chassis to pin him against his own. It felt good to him to hold the winger, someone who was amazingly handsome and had attracted him from the moment they met. Given his propensity to hold back his fun and 'boyish' side to the circle of friends he trusted, he wasn't given to emotional displays with just anyone. He was a calm mech with a high degree of intuition and knew when to 'hold them and when to fold them' as his friends would say.
When he kicked their afts at poker.
That one.
Now, he felt good holding Prowl as he struggled. He didn't know that for every move Orion had, Prowl had five hundred countermeasures. He was among the top three or four martial artists among their people and even though Orion was as strong as anything he'd ever felt, Prowl was enjoying the moment completely even as he could annihilate the big kid if he wanted.
Prowl was in lurve.
Ratchet lay spreadeagled on the sandy ocean floor with a massive weight pressing him down … Ironhide … while he, Ratchet had a vice clamp on Ironhide's neck. It felt like the usual foreplay between them.
Which could commence if he ever said yes because they had The Note.
Ratchet guffawed loudly, a series of squeaky sounds and many bubbles.
:You giving up, slagger?: Ironhide asked.
:DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE I WILL?: Ratchet replied.
They glanced at Orion and Prowl nearby who appeared to be in some kind of off line conversation.
Ratchet laughed. :Something tells me they aren't swapping recipes:
Ironhide guffawed, a series of squeaky sounds and many bubbles. :How about us? You ready to swap, too? I got a note from my amma:
Both of them laughed loudly, a series of squeaky sounds and many bubbles, then they sat up and stared at Prowl and Orion.
Both of them were grinning as they stared at each other, their faces mere centimeters apart. Then Orion relented, pulling Prowl up to his peds. They grinned at each other as they talked, then they noticed Ratchet and Ironhide standing nearby watching them.
All of them were under deep water.
Orion glanced at Prowl, then the others. As one, they launched themselves at Ratchet and Ironhide.
It was on.
=0=Will Lennox, Niall Graham and John Fulton
They'd driven to the beach after hearing the mechs were there, an uncommon thing at best anymore. Andrew and Lilly Settles were already there laughing and marveling at the grace and strength of such big mechs. Some humans were in the water watching and riding the waves from a distance at the struggles between them as the three men walked to the edge of the 'safe zone' to watch.
"I didn't know they were here," John Fulton said. "Its been a while."
"They came a moment ago and sort of seem to be showing Ironhide and Optimus around, like they'd never been here," Lilly said. "Andrew and I were commenting on it."
John considered that. "I got a call from Frazer. He's not happy. I wish they'd come more often for that alone."
Huge laughter and agreement greeted that revelation.
Prowl and Ratchet erupted in the water staggering toward the shallower water as they struggled. Then Ratchet grabbed Prowl by the helm and dunked him hard. Holding him down, he glanced at the shore to spy Fulton and the group. Smiling brightly, he waved a servo and before he could grab Prowl again, Prowl erupted, grabbed Ratchet and dragged him downward.
A churning pile of water nearby them could only be Optimus and Ironhide to the group. When they burst upward out of the water, it was clear that was so. Prime had Ironhide by the chassis and had leaped upward to clear the water by about ten or twelve feet before falling back to disappear again.
The humans barely made the safety of the low wall that held water back when Autobots played here. It swelled over it anyway and everyone's shoes and pants took a hit.
No one minded.
The video of Prime breaching the water that high holding a nearly three ton Ironhide would be a MASSIVE hit on YouTube when the punters posted it. The entire episode would get billions of views from all over several worlds and the admiration of everyone in the car and truck industry.
Prime Tough™
Body slamming, shoving, elbows to the face, jabs to the giblets and much mouthed swearing ensued before both sides stepped back to eyeball each other for weaknesses.
:Is that all you got, Prowler?: Ratchet said as he glanced at Orion with a grin. :Must make for interesting fragging:
Prowl stared at Ratchet doing two things as he did. He admired the slag out of Ratchet's uninhibited confident potty mouth and he wanted to bury himself in the sand like a hermit crab. He side eyed Orion who was grinning. Interesting, he thought. Apparently the only prude here is me. He gazed at Ratchet with a cool optic. :Oh yeah?:
Guffaws and sand throwing commenced, then ended.
Orion grinned. :Who knew you cannot throw sand underwater?:
Ratchet spread his arms wide and smiled a zillion watt smile. :WHO KNEW!? Where's Wheeljack when you need him?:
:Where's Jarro when we need him?: Prowl countered. All three stared at him. He willed himself not to bury himself in the sand.
Orion who was grinning at Prowl glanced at Ratchet. :Who is Jarro?:
Moments later …
They climbed out of the sea as gushers of water sluiced out of them in all the many places water could. It thundered to the beach as they waited to drain, then Ratchet walked to the small group around Fulton. He knelt. "Hiya, John, youngin's. How's it going?"
"Great, Ratchet. I didn't know you were here or I woulda put on a tuxedo," Fulton countered to a bot he loved like a brother.
Ratchet laughed. "We're parading around. Had a moment so we came here to take a dip."
"I'd join you but I want to live," John replied as he glanced at the other three who walked over to join them. "Hello, Optimus, Prowl. Hello, Ironhide."
Data from Prowl flashed into Ironhide and Orion's processors. They greeted the humans, chatted a while, made plans for the games coming up, then took their leave. Walking up the beach bantering together, Ratchet led the way. Two youngsters, Prowl and Ratchet disappeared from view in seconds.
John Fulton grinned. "Its time like this I wish I were Cybertronian for real."
"You and me. What would be your vehicle format?" Lennox asked as the group began to follow.
The discussion and suggestions would be amusing.
=0=TBC 9-13-2020 (edited)
NOTES:
(From Hell) I got my purse stolen but its a funny story. It was taken from my car at work along with my keys. I reported it and will get the security footage tomorrow. THEN … I put a note on my car that night in my driveway that night (Saturday) because I believed they would come to steal it given that they had my keys and my address. The note said, "Dear Thieves, SMILE! You're on security cameras. I'd run."
My cats startled that evening and hid, meaning something was happening outside. They're my best security alerters. Then today, I got a call from work today that my purse and keys were 'found' by someone in a part of the building I don't enter. I believe that they thought about what they did given I have home security and decided my job also might have security cameras … it does … and snuck my stuff back.
Funny how the world works. I have everything that was in the purse back, a purse that was my late mom's. LIFE IS GOOD SOMETIMES! :D:D
Hug your kids. ;)
The song reference: Rag and Bone Man sounds like a male Adele. I asked my sister if she'd heard of him and that I thought he was a good male version of Adele. She's an Adele FANATIC and said she did. She also said he was better. LOL! 'Human' is a song I just LOVE and Ratchet is singing its chorus. You can find it by googling Rag and Bone Man Human on YouTube. Great video, too. :D:D:D