The bright UV lights from the screen before him were beginning to strain his optics while his digits repeatedly glided over the inaudible holographic keyboard.
The only source of sound was the infuriatingly loud ticking of the clock on the wall, each stroke of the second hand was slowly driving the red mech insane.
Heatwave couldn't fathom why he needed it, his internal clock worked just fine. However, Kade had brought his girlfriend, Hayley, over a few weeks ago and the lively pre-k teacher had insisted on helping to decorate the classrooms.
Initially, Heatwave saw no harm in letting the blonde decorate a few rooms. "Knock yourself out." He shrugged, not thinking much of it.
But Hayley took his words to heart and the following day, she appeared with a startling amount of boxes filled to the brim with colorful decorations and school supplies.
Heatwave glanced from the boxes to Kade, the latter only shrugged and assisted his girlfriend in bringing the rest of the boxes that were still on the other side of the ground bridge.
"Some items are traditionally essential in a classroom." Hayley had explained when Heatwave questioned the need for a clock and some of the other 'impractical' items she had brought. He decided not to question her further and left her to decorate the assigned rooms to her heart's content.
Hayley came over about twice a week to work on the classrooms and Heatwave noticed how active Kade would be when she was around.
He was used to seeing Kade lounging about while he dealt with most of the preparations and found it amusing to see him tagging along behind Hayley—helping her in what he could.
Hayley got a little carried away and needless to say, Heatwave's office didn't escape her creative mind. He didn't seem to mind much though. His desk was neat and the color schemes were to his liking. It looked like any other office from the pictures Cody had once shown him long ago.
Aside from helping with decorations, the blonde also offered to help the bots with their teacher training a few days before Quickshadow was injured. Heatwave figured they could use a few expert pointers and accepted.
Their training wouldn't begin for another few months or so and at the moment, he was working on the seemingly endless forms sent by Optimus but was quickly losing focus yet again.
His servo slid down his agitated faceplates and a sigh escaped his dermas. He glared at the papers before him once more before discarding them on the table with little thought. His chair screeched as it slid backwards, allowing him to stand up.
He tore out the door and halfway down the corridor with one thought—or rather, one urge—resonating within his processor.
He needed to punch something.
The supposed 'nap' he had the previous day turned into a full night's rest yet Heatwave felt like he barely slept a wink.
Punching his sparring dummy helped ease his processor almost as much as Yoga did, but he didn't—couldn't—do yoga because no matter what he did, arctic blue optics kept flashing in his processor.
He didn't know what to make of his last encounter with Quickshadow but it was evident she was trying to avoid him, and the mere thought of that stung, however, he couldn't bring himself to be mad because he had done the same thing after the awkward 'date' the others had set them on.
'She doesn't like you like that, give her some space.'A loud ringing voice came from the back of his processor. It kept talking and Heatwave would've listened but the sight of the training arena up ahead was enough for him to tune out the whispers.
His frame hastily stopped at the entrance that led to the gym and he didn't hesitate to go inside.
He was met with an empty room, reminding him that all the training equipment had been dismantled placed in storage until they determined which rooms would be used for physical training.
Growling a few curses under his breath, he dragged his peds back the way he came. His servos clenched into fists, his mind wandered to the firehouse and his old punching stance came to mind.
'But Quickshadow's there.'he reminded himself, outwardly sighing.
He figured the small voice in his processor was right. He needed to give her space. She didn't like him like that—
Turning the corner, he felt his optic ridge rise at the tall blue mech that was striding down the hall adjacent to him.
"..HighTide?"
"Red" The seabot caught sight of his shorter figure and merely nodded in acknowledgment before he took a rather long sip from the cube of high grade he held in his large servo.
"What are you doing here?" Heatwave's tone was unintentionally cold but he was too worked up over his own dilemmas to notice.
Unfazed with the edge in the firebot's tone, HighTide gulped down another swig before answering. "..M'squito gave me the rest of the day off." he swirled the glowing liquid around in his cube. "Figured a little deep-sea divin' wouldn't hurt." his shoulder pads raised into a half shrug.
Heatwave nodded and was fixing to bid him goodbye so he could settle within the dim confines of his office when HighTide's strong accent spoke again.
"You seem troubled."
He froze in the doorway and a long silence fell over the two cybertronians before Heatwave turned back and released a sigh, begrudgingly dipping his helm to affirm HighTide's suspicion.
"...The paperwork Optimus sent is draining me." he lied.
The seabot eyed him for a second longer before lifting an optic ridge. "..No, it's somethin' else."
Truthfully, HighTide was one of the last bots—second only to Blurr—Heatwave wanted to share his problems with, but he was too drained to try to put his walls up.
"..Is it—" HighTide continued. "—about the Lass?" he asked. Heatwave immediately knew he was referring to Quickshadow and met his optics with a perplexed look.
HighTide let out a few deep chuckles, nearly choking on his drink.
"Don't tell me you still haven't meched up and asked her out." Another wave of laughter tumbled out the blue mech's dermas at the sight of Heatwave's flustered faceplates.
HighTide's demeanor went back to stoic within seconds and this time, he met Heatwave's gaze with sincerity. "Look Red. I know we don't exactly see optic to optic.." he paused, trying to word his thoughts. "But..there's a lot of fish 'n the ocean..I suggest you ask her out before she moves on."
Heatwave clenched and unclenched his jaw.'How can she move on if she doesn't feel the same to begin with?'his thoughts echoed.
HighTide apparently wasn't finished startling Heatwave because he took one glance at his turning faceplates and let out a short sigh. "..You'll never know how she feels 'till you ask, Red." he twirled the now empty cube in his servos.
Heatwave only nodded, still not meeting the taller mech in the optics.
"..Why come here on your day off?" he found himself suddenly asking in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"Came lookin' for Servo, haven't seen him much after I was stationed in Faxian." came the seabot's response.
"He's back at the firehouse, Cody's been watching him since the team was reassigned." Heatwave answered, leaning against the door frame.
"Speakin' of which- where's Blip—err..Cody?" The seabot quickly corrected himself.
"Probably still in school..he won't get back till 4." Heatwave checked his internal clock to make sure his intel was right.
HighTide nodded. "Well..I'm off to fetch Servo." he turned to leave but spared Heatwave a glance. "Mind what I told you, Red." His gruff voice echoed from down the hall as he turned the corner.
Heatwave watched the swirling green portal fade into thin air. He was yet again surrounded by the newly painted walls he had seen not too long ago.
The bunker was silent with no indications of life. He thought of going off to find Quickshadow—that was half of the reason he was here in the first place—but decided to quench his need to let out some steam.
He wandered further into the bunker, deep in thought. A faint clashing sound could be heard in the distance and he absentmindedly began making his way towards it.
It wasn't long until he registered the door that led into the training area in front of him.
It slid open and he felt his frame stiffen ever so slightly when he caught sight of Quickshadow in his peripherals.
His optics stayed trained on her tense figure, unable to gaze in another direction.
Before her stood a tall wooden dummy—his wooden dummy.
Heatwave silently watched as the old trunk took punch after punch, absorbing each blow along with a tiny fragment of its attacker's fury.
Quickshadow kept proper footing and a healthy posture despite the clear frustration she was feeling and Heatwave couldn't help but add that to the ever-growing list of things he admired about her.
Heatwave knew her instincts would kick in at any second and sense his presence. The last thing he wanted was to be caught staring, so, begrudgingly, he tore his optics from her poised stance and cleared his voicebox.
"Ehem."
The loud clashes of metal colliding with wood suddenly ceased, the punching dummy wobbled until it stopped and stood idly still, as if it hadn't just received a flurry of attacks.
Amber collided with Sapphire—the latter held the faintest hint of surprise at the mech's sudden appearance.
"Heatwave.." She acknowledged his presence, masking the slight surprise he had given her with her usual mask of indifference.
His gaze was unreadable but his optics gave away a hint of hesitation.
Neither uttered a word, one because he simply didn't know what to say while the other simply didn't want the occurrences of the prior day to repeat.
His vision trailed to his wooden dummy then back at her.
Quickshadow's mind raced to come up with an escape plan. She followed his gaze behind her and realized he was looking at his sparring dummy—the dummy she had been utilizing without permission.
"..Sorry I didn't ask..I needed to hit something." She apologized and began to make her way off the elevated platform, aiming to briskly walk past the mech and out the door.
"...That's alright..I was just taken by surprise...you uh..fight really well with one arm." He felt his ego diminish just slightly at the confession but he needed something to make her stop before she walked off again.
Quickshadow froze in her tracks and made the mistake of looking back.
Her jaw hung slightly ajar for a split second as her optics locked with Heatwave's. A small glint of surprise shone in her optics and his spark fluttered at how vivid her gaze was. He recalled the dull, half-lidded hues she bore a few days ago and was glad her glowing pools of sapphire had returned.
Red warning flags were popping up left and right in Quickshadow's vision but she didn't have the will to oblige. Her engine turned.'What am I doing?'Her expression was calm and collected but internally, she felt like she was in a life or death situation.
The logical side of her helm was reciting every reason she should walk out the door and forget she'd seen him, but her instincts told her to stay and they had never proven to be futile in the past so she obliged and merely shifted in place.
Had she listened to her consciousness and kept her optics straight ahead towards the exit—perhaps she would've been halfway to her chambers and have avoided adding gasoline to the already uncontrollable flames of feelings she held for the mech. But she thought back to her countless restless nights where she'd gaze at the ceiling of her room while her processor went back and forth over what to do about her feelings.
She was tired of running from reality. It was getting her nowhere.
'Turn around and walk out the door'her processor kept screaming but she tuned out its constant reprimanding and met the bot's gaze with a faint smile.
"Thank you." Her voice came out barely above a whisper, breaking him out of his stupor.
Heatwave could only nod, not trusting himself enough to talk.
"..I'd appreciate a sparring partner, if your offer still stands."
Heatwave's optics shot open, he had been caught off guard yet again but he immediately nodded. "Sure." He replied more eagerly than he would've liked to.
"We're long overdue for aproperrematch, aren't we?" She said matter of factly, her optics held a playful twinkle Heatwave hadn't seen in a while.
A smile made its way to Heatwave's faceplates and it soon turned into a smirk. "Ready when you are." He lifted his arms in a defensive form as his peds shifted into a proper stance.
Quickshadow mimicked him and both began cautiously circling the other, waiting for the other to throw the first punch.
Heatwave made a mental note to avoid landing a hit to her injured arm. He felt her calculating gaze as she tried to find any areas of weakness.
Quickshadow thought back to their most recent sparring match, when her insomnia had led her to blacking out in the Training Center's training arena.
Heatwave's skills had improved a lot since their first match and she could only assume he had improved more.
Heatwave threw the first punch, his fist aimed for her right shoulder pad but Quickshadow swiftly evaded his clenched servo and managed to land a firm blow to his chassis, sending him a few feet back.
Her optics widened slightly as she caught sight of his fist aiming towards her lower jaw.
She was instantly overcome by deja vu and a foul memory she kept confined in the darkest depths of her mind resurfaced.
A dark-gray mech with crimson rims and foggy optics glared daggers at her. His fist flew towards her chin.
She felt her pent up rage begin to bubble. Her reflexes kicked in and her 'good' arm swung up to deflect his attack.
Her optics narrowed dangerously as she prepared a flurry of mercilessly attacks towards her attacker but she was thrust back into reality by a gruff voice.
"You okay?"
She shook her helm and blinked a few times.
Heatwave slightly lowered his fists, his optics trying to read her blank gaze.
Quickshadow was taken aback by the concern in his voice and nodded a couple seconds later.
"..I'm fine." She met his optics with sincerity and lifted her servos defensively.
'Heatwave isn't Umbra'she reminded herself before lunging at the red mech.
The room began to tremble due to their forceful hits. Both knew they had to dial down the strength in their attacks. They ran the risk of bringing the building down.
Quickshadow aimed a right hook towards the mech's abdomen but was quickly blocked. She narrowly dodged an uppercut and couldn't help the smile that spread on her dermas.
"You've improved tremendously."
It was a simple compliment but the fact that she said it was enough to distract Heatwave.
Quickshadow decided to not hold back so much and prepared to deliver a low roundhouse kick, confident Heatwave would evade it and would give her enough time to tackle him instead.
Heatwave reacted too late, he immediately felt the absence of the floor beneath his peds and he reacted with panic, grabbing the closest thing to him which happened to be Quickshadow.
A sharp gasp left her lip components as her frame pressed up against the mech's chassis and her peds left the ground.
The room quivered at the impact of their fall. If anyone would've been home, they would have thought the tremor had been caused by an earthquake.
Both Cybertronians held their helms for a split second before their optics caught sight of the other.
Heatwave went completely blue at their proximity and he could faintly make out the slight blush that had begun to stain her faceplates as well.
Quickshadow completely froze. Her frame was slightly propped up by her arms on either side of Heatwave's helm and her legs were tangled with his.
Their sparks pounded in their chambers as their optics collided for what seemed liked the hundredth time that day.
Time froze. His glowing flames began to engulf Quickshadow in their warm light.
Meanwhile, Heatwave was already lost within the depths of the glowing pools of sapphire staring back at him.
An unknown force began inching their helms together and before they knew it, both were lost in a soft, blissful kiss.
Quickshadow slowly brought her servo up to cup his cheek, taking in the taste of his dermas.
Heatwave didn't move a muscle and instead focused on the feel of her dermas on his.
The seconds stretched out like eons until Quickshadow finally caught a grip on herself and immediately pulled away.
Her optics went wide, realization dawning at what she had done.
A look of pure disbelief overtook her faceplates as she gazed down at Heatwave. She clambered to her peds and slowly backed away from the mech.
A completely new expression that Heatwave had never seen on her masked her usually stern look.
Her optics had dilated and and she appeared to be biting the insides of her cheeks.
"..I-I'm sorry..." she whispered. And the last thing Heatwave saw was the heartbreak in her optics.
Heatwave couldn't move to stop her. By the time he had regained enough sense to process what had just happened, she was already gone.
His processor began reprimanding him once again but he paid it no mind. The fact she had returned the kiss with as much eagerness ignited a new determination within him.
HighTide's advice rang in his helm. "You'll never know till you ask."
He promptly got up and ran out the same door Quickshadow had fled through.
He wasn't giving up on her that easily.
After all, he had a reputation of stubbornness to uphold.
