Side of Deception
AN: THANK YOU TO MY AWESOME PATRONS: ALEXLUKE, GIRAFFECHAN, and RAP BEAR! You're constant support and feedback is greatly appreciated!
AN2: Didn't have time for a long one today, so I found a little ditty to tide us over until next time when I can do a longer chapter. Too tired and achy right now and in desperate need of sleep.
Since last chapter bummed out my readers and made them sad, here's a little something to lighten your spirits again. :D
As always, reviews are LOVED and hoarded like the twins and high grade! ;)
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Sideswipe wove through the corridor singing his spark out. Hi words were garbled and he lost his tune, but that didn't stop him from singing.
The noise attracted the attention of a certain Praxian. Wanting to finish his reports in peace and quiet, Prowl opened the door to his office and in staggered Sideswipe, landing face first on the black and white bumper.
Sideswipe gazed blearily up into the face of his favorite target that didn't inhabit the medbay.
Prowls nasal ridges curled, detecting the fumes of high grade.
Honestly! Sideswipe was a front line warrior!
Why did he insist on getting sloppy drunk on a regular basis?
Half the time he couldn't remember anything and other times, he woke up with assorted berth partners. Prowl sighed in resignation. Well, if Sideswipe had to be a sot, at least he wasn't a violent one. He saved his anger and violence for the battlefield.
In the rec room, with his brothers in arms, he became a gullible idiot that liked to cuddle.
Sideswipe's optics sparkled brighter than normal. He shuttered them several times, taking a moment to process who he was holding. When it clicked, his face cracked into a happy, boyish grin.
"Pwowl."
"Yes, Sideswipe. To what do I owe the pleasure of this disruption?" Prowl asked in exasperation.
The normally stolid and taciturn mech had matured socially since the arrival of the twins. If his creators could see him now, they'd be shocked to see their expressionless offspring displaying a wide range of emotions. Annoyance, frustration, and anger chief among them.
"Sorry... didn't mean to be here ossifer," Sideswipe blurted, swaying a little as Prowl stood him up on his pedes.
"Party in the rec room?" Prowl surmised.
"Yous know how pretty yours door swings are?" Sideswipe asked. His engine hiccupped.
"You inform me on a regular basis," Prowl deadpanned. "Strangely enough, you never mention such a thing to either Bluestreak or Smokescreen."
"They're not in uniform," Sideswipe giggled. Just as quickly as his amusement bubbled, his face turned gray. "You shouldn't work all the time. You needs to socialize."
"I schedule my socialization every morning," Prowl said, now feeling defensive. "I have reports to finish. Work to do. Things lazy bots like yourself can't be bothered to deal with, least of all in a sufficient and efficient manner."
Sideswipe's overly bright optics offset the saddened look.
"You're always alone."
"I prefer it," Prowl said, voice lacking total conviction.
He did enjoy some time with his teammates. However, he didn't understand the constant need for companionship that plagued so many of the Autobot forces. Prowl was happy to simply curl up with a datapad or write a report. He never felt the need to get drunk off his aft, nor sit and talk about human gossip while loud music blared in his audios.
Prowl rolled his optics heavenward. Many times Sideswipe, in a drunken state, had mentioned it wasn't right for Prowl to spend so much time alone. The Praxian wished the resident drunk would find a better target to pester.
And was also the inevitable, Sideswipe threw his arms around Prowl, hugging him in a loose, sloppy way, his head resting on Prowl's shoulder.
"You're not alone, Prowler," Sideswipe muttered, his engine hiccupping again.
"I understand that, Sideswipe," Prowl said, giving in to the drunken affection.
He patted Sideswipe on the back, glad he was missing his jet pack.
Sideswipe had to fire himself into the bulkhead a half dozen times before it occurred to him to remove his flight capabilities before ingesting high grade. There was still a helm print on the Deck Four.
"Not alone," Sideswipe repeated, optics drooping. "Stop hiding from your family."
"I'm not hiding," Prowl corrected, trying to wrest Sideswipe's grip from his shoulders. "I have a lot of work to do. Duties to perform. I can't be a drunken slacker like some."
Sideswipe drew back, his goofily crooked face twisted in a partial smile.
"You loves us. You knows it."
"Whatever," Prowl sighed, glad to be loosed from his Lamborghini anchor.
Sideswipe had a habit of invading personal space. Usually it was curling up at a mech's side, hugging them, or in extreme cases, face planting on top of a sleeping mech in his quarters.
Such occasions, Sideswipe would wake up, and before he opened his optics, play a little game in which he'd guess who'd he crashed with the night before.
Even Prowl had woken to Sideswipe sleeping beside him, his engine coughing out high grade fumes that made Prowl dizzy and nauseous. He would never understand the warriors need to self medicate in such a manner.
"I have reports to finish, so if you don't mind…" Prowl said, motioning toward the door.
"K," Sideswipe said, sidestepping Prowl and stretching out like a cat on top his desk, knocking the datapads to the floor.
"Sideswipe!" Prowl growled, retrieving his work and finding everything safe from a sleepy Lamborghini. "Go find somewhere else to charge!"
Sideswipe's optics were already shuttering in slumber. His engine gave a low rumble of contentment.
Prowl gusted air through his vents in agitation. Sideswipe wasn't going to move. Prowl lacked the ability to move the heavy front liner off his desk. It appeared as if his work day was done whether he liked it or not.
Defeated by a sleeping Lamborghini on his desk, he placed the datapads in a drawer, not bothering locking it because Sideswipe had picked the lock so many times, it was pointless to continue
Prowl was at the door when the base suddenly erupted into chaos. Sirens went off. Lights flashed, the comms immediately flooded with panic and sit reps.
Sideswipe bolted upright on the desk, all signs of lethargy gone.
"Cons attacking Harris Power plant," Red Alert informed the Autobots on every frequency. "Humans reporting injury and one casualty."
Prime barked out orders over the comm., gathering mechs to follow him to the power plant.
Sideswipe was passing Prowl when the tactician's hand caught his arm. Prowl's brow creased noticing Sideswipe's normal optics and stable balance. He showed no signs of apparent overcharge, save for the lingering fumes.
Which could easily be explained by energon spilled on his person.
"You're too intoxicated to go," Prowl said, gauging Sidewipe's reaction.
Sideswipe grinned in his mischievously annoying way.
"I'm fine, but you better get your chassis in gear. We have a mission to run, Cons to beat up, and a REAL party to engage in when we get back." Sideswipe offered a wink and had the audacity to slap the SIC on the aft with his palm. "Now come on! I have work to do before we party!"
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Yes, Sides perfected his acting ability. He knows Prowl won't listen most of the time so he has to find alternative ways to get the slagger to relax. ;)
Hopefully next chapter will be longer!
OXOX
