CHAPTER 44
"You definitely got me here."
Wing had just pulled apart from Drift to let out a cry of ecstasy; the kind of cry that the orange bot loved to hear so much. His lover fell down on the berth, by his side. He let out an amused laugh while Drift's digits running over his chassis.
"Dai Atlas has his own way to do things"
"I wonder how it had been for you" Drift wondered.
Wing rolled on the berth, leaning over him with a smile.
"…I think you had it better than I"
"Seriously? I'm not buying it. You must say it out of kindness."
"Oh, definitely not…"
Wing caressed his face.
"I was more anxious than you were…especially when I've been introduced to Dai Atlas. If Gasket hadn't been by my side, I think I would have got a spark attack…I convulsed so much, my spark beat so fast…You…you remained calm, no matter what."
A hint of sadness could be read in his tone. Drift sat up, then came closer to him.
"Dai Atlas didn't want to accept you at first, right?" The orange bot calmly asked.
"No…I killed. As each of us did."
Just like Drift…
Yes. Wing had talked about it. But Drift hadn't dared ask more.
He stared at his lover.
"…Do you want to talk about it?"
Wing slightly tensed up. Drift regretted his question. He thought that Wing would refuse. He thought that Wing would leave the room, slamming the door behind him. That's a touchy topic to him. That's obvious…
He spoke up again.
"…Everyone committed things that they weren't proud of. I wasn't proud not to have convinced him to fight more."
"…What do you mean?"
"…He got the Rust Fever. He was at the finale stage."
Drift caught sight of Wing's servo trembling when he mentioned "him".
"…I wish I could have told him that Cybertron wasn't dead yet. That there was still something worthy to be fought for. But…it wasn't enough. More time passed, more—"
His voice went low.
"…More he fell into unconsciousness. I…I chose to ease his sufferings. However, it still remained a murder."
He could feel bitterness in his tone. The feeling of failure…
He felt guilty because he'd failed to convince him to live a bit longer…
But…What could Wing have possibly done more?
"Dai Atlas said that I was just…idealistic. And he still thinks I am, anyway. Only Gasket…had been the only one to believe in me…"
"…Just like you believed in me…"
His smile appeared again. A sad yet warming smile. Wing reached out to put a digit on his lips. That's a soft and tender touch.
"Because you deserved it…"
"But I couldn't have managed without you."
"You already had potential. You just needed to work on it."
Drift leaned on his elbows to kiss Wing.
"Well…Now what you said about Dai Atlas get me reassured…if he behaved the same with you, with Axe…"
"You have nothing to be afraid of" Wing completed.
He nuzzled him, then buried his face into Drift's chassis.
"…I'm glad to be with you"
"Me too"
They'd enjoyed a moment while Jetstorm and Slipstream had been away, probably having some fun with Outrigger.
Drift half-heartedly thought that he should tell them about Wing and he, sooner or later…
"WOW!"
"Outrigger! It's too fast! IT'S TOO FAST!" Slipstream cried out.
Outrigger didn't pay much attention to his warnings. He kept going faster. They drove past other ships, stars, celestial bodies from outside. As soon as they caught sight of them, they just vanished. Jetstorm and Slipstream were standing by his side, trying to control trajectory as much as they could. Yet Outrigger didn't care much. Even if they were scared of an accident, a collision or a crash, Outrigger knew piloting. All these years he'd spent, learning to pilot a ship along with Axe and Wing, had been very useful. Of course, he'd scared them to death. How many times Axe or Wing had taken the driving away from him? Axe had even called him a "public enemy" more than once. Outrigger smiled at the thought.
These had been the rarest times where he had been able to go outside.
After the beginning of the conflict, Dai Atlas had forbidden him to drive a ship.
Outrigger took another turn to dodge a passer-by ship. Jetstorm nearly fell down. He stood up again, open-mouthed. Outrigger started laughing.
"So? Wasn't it great?"
"Huh…"
They could catch sight of the other pilot shouting at them, inside his own ship. Outrigger kept laughing like a crazy boy. Nevertheless, as soon as he noticed Slipstream's face turning green, he decided to slow it down. It gave them time to enjoy the sight of the space.
"This one is Aquatron" Outrigger showed them a blue planet. "It had been colonized by Cybertronians during the Golden Age. That's a giant ocean. All its inhabitants adopted an alt-mode to adapt themselves to their environment."
"Really?" Slipstream answered.
"Like fish-mode, dolphin-mode, shark-mode…"
"A dolphin?" Jetstorm repeated, confused.
He didn't understand what he was talking about. Outrigger smiled and pressed a button to make a hologram appear. He researched for the word and displayed the picture of a dolphin. Both Minicons were impressed.
"…That's beautiful…" Slipstream commented.
Outrigger smiled. They caught sight of another planet, way farther than them.
"This one is Dread. To the contrary of Aquatron, it's not safe to go there. Axe said it was full of slave traders and aliens. We can even collect Death crystals."
"Death crystals?"
"I didn't even know about their existences"
Jetstorm took a seat, silently watching the stars around them.
"It looks so good…"
"We'll visit them if you wish" Outrigger smiled.
Both Minicons stared back at him.
"I really want to explore all of them…all of these planets. Outrigger, Jetstorm and Slipstream. Three adventurers and their ship. And Beak, of course"
Beak flied around them while letting out cries of happiness. Slipstream chuckled. Jetstorm didn't seem thrilled by the idea. Outrigger turned back to them.
"Even if I know…you don't wish to leave Drift, right?"
"We owe everything to him."
Yes…
No one could get more loyal to the orange bot…
Outrigger thought that Drift shouldn't act so aloof and distant toward them. The young bot thought that he was too strict toward them and that he should behave better. Maybe he could get nicer, more warming…that's the reason why he didn't talk to him much.
However, nothing could cut their bond. Nothing. Outrigger went fond of Jetstorm and Slipstream but they would follow Drift forever.
"We should get back home, right?" Jetstorm offered.
"The others will get worried…"
Yes…they left for the day…
He was sure that Wing and Axe had already left to search them…
It would be a nightmare at their return…
Outrigger activated the autopilot system, to lead them back to Crystal Cities…
"…Thanks"
He paused.
"…It had been a great day. A great trip."
"Thanks for making us discover" Slipstream replied, a happy smile.
Outrigger looked up.
The Moon of Athena was shining above them. It looked so closely…yet so far…
In the Real Crystal City' streets, Outrigger led Jetstorm and Slipstream through the crowd. Night had already fell down at the surface. It will be dinner time soon.
Around them, shop stores already closed down, even if the street was still full of people.
"Shouldn't you blindfold us?" Slipstream asked.
"Why should I? You're part of the team now"
After all, blindfolding wasn't useful anymore.
It's time that they knew the exact way to go back to the base.
Passer-by left stores. Some others were going to bumper cars, letting out screams of happiness.
"Hey? Do you want a cube of energon?"
They hadn't taken any cube since their leaving. Jetstorm and Slipstream accepted with a smile.
"Don't move"
They would get scolded hard anyway. They shouldn't have their reserves low. Minicons remained behind while Outrigger walked away.
Outrigger headed for the shopkeeper. He paid three cubes of energon. Cubes in his arms, he walked faster even if they had no reason to urge.
When he joined back the place where he'd left them, Jetstorm and Slipstream were missing.