C.M.D: Another update to kick off the new year! Not a very long one... but, eh, you can't force what doesn't wanna exist in writing, and all that. Still, writing about these two dorks (and everyone else) makes me tremendously giddy~
Sky-Byte awoke, sensors thrumming in muted agony and a cascading ring tone echoing in his helm. Groggy though he was, he recognized the ceiling panels of the Megastar above him and was content to lay there, lulled into a strange calm by his mild pain... At least until he remembered exactly why he was injured. Mouth contorted downwards, his very fins sinking in place even in bipedal mode, the Predacon recalled the last horrible meeting he'd had with Side Burn and that loathsome Ultra Magnus.
"Aggravating, assumptive aft," the shark mumbled moodily. His words lacked much bite. Of course, he hated the warrior barging in on his private conversation with his young crush, but not even his freshly-welded wounds could detract from the real damage: the knowledge that Side Burn clearly was a lot more interested in Prime's powerful brother, and now Sky-Byte had aided in that foundling seed, by setting up an ill-timed situation for the blue Autobot to be rescued from.
"I never had a chance," Sky-Byte wallowed weakly to himself, throwing an arm over his adjusting optics, "I waited too long and now he-"
"Now who has what, boss?," Dark Scream interrupted, slender claws lifting the other Predacon's arm.
"D-da-dark S-scream!," the shark yelped, lurching upright in his panic. The smaller beast-former avoided getting hit by the sudden motion, yellow optics following his superior's moves with rapt attention as he faced the cerulean mech. "I-i-i-i- W-well, that i-is to sa-say- Th-there was-"
"Calm down, lieutenant," Dark Scream said in an odd, coo-like manner, laying his servos on a thicker forearm, "If you move around too much, you may open your wounds. Allow me to check that they're still holding."
That caused Sky-Byte to pause in his rambling, sitting ram-rod straight as cerulean digits gently grazed across his frame.
"D-dark Scream, that is-," he began uncomfortably.
Dark Scream pressed closer, nudging between the larger Predacon's legs to assess the plating on his abdomen. "Slapper said Ultra Magnus caught you unaware," the squirrel said, his fingers softly dipping between plating seams occasionally, before quickly returning to trailing along fresh welds, "You weren't trying to recruit him again, were you? 'Cause even Scourge tried copying that plan of ours and it backfired on him too. Ultra Magnus is too much like his goodie-goodie brother to join us."
The larger Predacon huffed in ire, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be unnerved at his companion's thorough touching, by the mention of his adversary's name. "I wouldn't be so foolish to attempt the same plan twice. And that Magnus can smelt in the darkest bowels of this planet," he growled lowly, fist clenching the edge of the makeshift medical berth. "Being a Predacon is too great an honor for the likes of him; he's not even worthy to lick the algae off of my fins!"
"Oh, does that mean you were trying to catch that blue, loud-mouthed speedster?," Dark Scream inquired curiously, his face thrusting up into the other beast-former's space.
Sky-Byte leaned back at the other's closeness, once more aware of how few inches remained between him and the squirrel. "I-i-i... Y-yes?," he replied distractedly, trying not to fidget as cerulean servos slide up his chestplates.
Dark Scream hummed at the response, fingers tapping gently along the bottom rim of his companion's lilac chest gem in excited patterns. "That lil' punk is such easy prey. He'd have been yours if it wasn't for that fickle-sparked Magnus. I bet he's riding that blowhard's spike; he probably squeals like a rusted nut too when Magnus is abusing him," the smaller Predacon cackled, optics narrowed in malicious glee at his own assumptions.
"You should let me go after him while the others distract Ultra Magnus. I'll snatch him up right quick and when Magnus comes running for his favourite spike-pillow, you pounce and destroy them both!," Dark Scream suggested eagerly, optics brightening at his own cruel scheme. "We'll finally put the Autobots and the Decepticons in their place! It's perfect! What do you think, Sky-Byte?"
The shark remained silent for a lengthy klik, gruffly standing up and pushing the exuberant Predacon back a few pedesteps. "Just leave it alone," he mumbled under his intakes, to his companion's sudden disappointment.
"B-but-," Dark Scream pouted sullenly, wings drooping behind his back.
Sky-Byte barely glanced at the smaller Predacon as he marched past, fangs bared under curled lip components. "I said NO," he emphasized with growing irritability. "I need to... reconfigure my plans..."
And then the shark was stomping out of the makeshift medbay unevenly, leaving an unhappy squirrel behind.
xxXxXxx
Side Burn hit the ground with a muted hiss, his plating switching from a vibrant red to his more iconic blues.
"Better," a deep vocalizer intoned a couple feet away from him.
Glancing up, Side Burn couldn't help but to grin at the outstretched servo held in wait for him; grabbing the white appendage and allowing himself to be yanked back up on his pedes. "You really think so?," he cheekily asked, referring to the other mech's comment.
Ultra Magnus waited until the younger Autobot was fully stabilized before releasing the other's servo- an action that Side Burn tried not to pout at and didn't quite succeed in covering up.
"An improvement doesn't negate the long learning curve ahead of you," Ultra Magnus replied bluntly, golden optics looking over the blue mech critically, "...Still, you have done decently with your training thus far. You cooperate well."
Side Burn felt a small chuckle escape his vocalizer as he stood taller, an inexplicable sensation of joy resonating from his spark at the warrior's compliment. "Well, I, uh, I want to be the best! I don't want to be the one to drag everyone else down and all that."
Ultra Magnus nodded approvingly at the statement. "As you should feel," he said.
The younger Autobot stamped down the little trill he wanted to make, following the white mech's pedesteps as he headed to the other side of the quarry they were using as training grounds. "So," Side Burn drawled, optics tracking the rag that Ultra Magnus picked up to wipe the dust off his white plating, "It's sorta fun and all, training in random caves and in mining pits but, uh, maybe we can have the next session back at base?"
Ultra Magnus met his companion's hopeful expression with a terse one of his own. "I see no reason to do that," he returned flatly.
"Well, I-i, er," Side Burn stuttered, thrown by the taller Autobot's gruffness. His shoulders slumped a bit as a seed of disappointment slipped into his spark. "It's cleaner there, more private and... W-well, listen, I don't want to sound like a broken record but you gotta try and get along with Optimus some more. It'd be better if we all fought Megatron and his goons on the same page. And I m-mean, I don't always like Prowl either, or X-Brawn, but they're my brothers. I care for them; I don't want to see them hurt. Don't you feel that way too, about Optimus?"
The white mech merely crossed his arms over his chestplates, the scowl deepening on his face. "I will not be in that mech's presence any longer than I need be, Side Burn."
"Not even for me?," Side Burn tried to joke, leaning toward the warrior with his trademark grin.
"...Side Burn," Ultra Magnus began after a lengthy moment; to the dodge viper's surprise, the grumpy mech's sour look fading to one of resigned patience. "I am agreeable to this acquaintanceship between us. You have potential; I am content with assisting you reach it. But aside from yourself, I have no care to socialize with the remaining Autobots on this planet. Not even Optimus."
"And playing cute is not going to avail me to your reasoning," the older Autobot added.
Cheekplates burning at the 'cute' remark, Side Burn snapped his fingers and gestured at the warrior awkwardly; chuckling to cover the erratic whirling of his spark. "Cool to know I'm your bestie," he jested in cringeful response. Even Side Burn was embarrassed that those words had come out of his mouth, but he maintained the grin as Ultra Magnus shook his helm- with a soft snort of mirth no less!
Starstruck that he'd made The Ultra Magnus laugh, Side Burn's smile grew tenfold; unable to shutter its brightness when the white Autobot returned to his usual stoicism.
"I will comm you the details of your next training session at the appropriate time," the warrior informed, slipping the remaining few items of their sparring into his subspace.
"Yeah, totally," the dodge viper agreed, still riding the euphoric high of the last klik. "Looking forward to tussling with you again, Magnus!"
Ultra Magnus shot the blue mech a curious glance but before Side Burn could remark on it, his commlink began to beep incessantly. "What is it?," he grumbled a bit as he opened the line, turning away from his taller companion.
T-AI's voice greeted him from the other end. "Side Burn, do not forget you're on escort duty! Koji gets let out of school in ten minutes."
"Jeez, I didn't forget that, T-AI," Side Burn lied, feeling a little flutter of guilt echo from his fuel tanks. He had forgotten. "I'll be right outside those school gates when Koji's class ends. There's no need to nag."
"I'm just trying to be helpful," the program said, cutting the line abruptly after.
Venting heavily, the dodge viper turned back to his friend- only to find that Ultra Magnus had already disappeared from sight. Primus, could he move quickly and silently, Side Burn thought in awe. Tucking away any minimal sadness he felt at Ultra Magnus' sudden departure, the young Autobot transformed and hurried back to Metro City, wondering when he'd next see the guarded warrior.
C.M.D: Side Burn and his big mouth are super fuuuuuuun~
Be kind; give me your mind~ REVIEW, please?