AN: More Flash Fics :D


Recreation
Prompt: Freedom
Characters: Ratchet, Tailgate
Universe: MTMTE
Word Count: 307


The piece of scrap metal jettisoned through the air, gradually losing speed the farther it flew. Ratchet kept his optics on the scrap metal until it was just like any other tiny speck gently drifting through space. A huff of air escaped his vents, and he turned his head to glance behind him.

He almost smiled when he saw Tailgate struggling to keep the small parts in the open container from floating away like the piece he had sent spiraling away from the Lost Light. The mini-bot caught a few pieces of the scrap metal and stuffed them back into the box; he bent over to use his body to block the pieces from floating away again and turned to offer the scrap of metal he still held in his hand.

Ratchet's smile instantly turned into a frown, but he took the offered scrap and gently tossed it in front of him. It drifted for a moment before he swung the curved pipe. He didn't hear a sound as the two metal objects connected; he only felt a faint vibration travel up through the pipe to his hand. He watched the second piece of scrap metal join the first, and the weight on his spark seemed to gradually lift as he took another piece from Tailgate, the mini-bot's optic band gently glowing.

Ratchet ignored the ping from Ultra Magnus, watching the unsalvageable sparkplug drift into the surrounding abyss. He had no patients to attend to at the moment, unless Ultra Magnus was pinging him for that reason; in that case, the idiots could suffer a little bit for not heeding his warnings about consuming too much of Swerve's engex at once.

The medic swung his pipe and sent another sparkplug flying, a small smile making its way to his face as he actually began to enjoy himself.


Mom
Prompt: Mother
Characters: June Darby, Jack Darby
Universe: Prime
Word Count: 439


June couldn't remember a time when she wasn't referred to as "mom." Sixteen years had passed since Jack first arrived in her life. Nothing had been scarier than holding him the first time, a little screaming bundle with a matted swath of black hair. Long days of work and long nights of scarce sleep had made her question whether she could handle being a single mom.

Then came the day that Jack said his first word: "Mama!"

June pushed herself to be the best mom she could be. In-between shifts at the hospital, she would come home and do everything she could as a mom: pick him back up when he fell off his bike, stay up late to finish his science fair project, push him to be everything he could be.

She thought she had endured the worst parts of being a mom; but no one had ever been around to warn her of the hardest part of motherhood. Now she could only hold the railing in a vice grip as she watched her son slowly walk towards the Ground Bridge. She forced a smile on her face when he turned back and gave her and the others on the platform a thumbs-up. She could almost hear him making fun of her for worrying so much.

June's heart dropped when he placed the helmet on his head and stepped through the portal. She stood there, staring at the empty space he had stood, and tried not to melt into the blubbering mess she wanted to become. Her baby was growing up; his first real trip away from home was to a distant alien planet.

A part of her just wanted to rewind the clock—to go back to simpler times when Jack would play nurse to his toys with her stethoscope. What would she do when he finally left her? When she pushed him, like the good mom she was, to pursue his own life and become whatever he wanted to be? What would she do when her main priority wasn't "mom" anymore, but June Darby again?

A hand landed on her shoulder, and June glanced away from Ground Bridge. Agent Fowler nodded and gently pulled her to the computers that Miko and Raf crowded around, waiting for an update from the Autobots. June took a deep breath and pushed aside her rising emotions to stand beside him.

Her role as a mom was far from over; Jack still needed her support, no matter where life took him.


How to Train Your Dinobot
Prompt: Illustrate
Characters: Sunstreaker, Dinobots
Universe: G1
Word Count: 898


Sunstreaker didn't ask for this.

None of the Autobots really asked for this. That was why it was him currently having a glaring contest with the giant, metal, Earth-based lizard, terror of the Dinobots. Sunstreaker snorted at Grimlock's ferocious snapping jaw; he crossed his arms over his chest and took a moment to glare at each Dinobot crowded behind their leader. "Are you finished yet?"

Sunstreaker stilled himself against the gust of air that emitted from the Dinobot, but he continued to scowl as Grimlock transformed. Sunstreaker was used to towering over the majority of the Autobot, having a frame built for the front lines, but Grimlock stood a good two heads above him. He fought the sudden urge to straighten his spine to appear taller and instead deepened his scowl. "Finally decided to talk like a big mech?"

"Me Grimlock big mech!" Sunstreaker huffed a sarcastic laugh. His annoyance for the whole situation increased ten-fold when Grimlock jabbed a finger into his chest, leaving a smudge of grease behind. "Me Grimlock bigger than you."

Sunstreaker scowled more at the grease smudge than the Dinobot. "I'm not talking about actual size, you lugnut. I'm talking about…forget it! I don't have to do this."

Sunstreaker turned on his heel and stomped out of the cavern, twitching at the loud laughs that followed him. He was halfway down the hall, at the point where the rock the Ark was embedded in shifted to the orange walls of the ship, when a squawk came behind him. He continued to stomp away until a shrill voice called out, "Sunstreaker!"

The golden front-liner hesitated long enough for the large Dinobot to catch up with him. He flinched to avoid a grease-stained hand, and Swoop withdrew to a respectable distance. "You Sunstreaker can't give up!"

Sunstreaker twitched. "I shouldn't even be down here! It was Sideswipe who was assigned to you idiots."

Swoop didn't react to the insult, and Sunstreaker twitched again as the smallest Dinobot instead looked down and began to twiddle his fingers. "But you Sunstreaker better. Me Swoop thought you be able to convince Grimlock. "

Swoop sighed, and Sunstreaker glared. Swoop shook his head and stepped around the front-liner to retreat back into the Dinobots' den. "Me Swoop thought wrong. Sorry."

The Dinobot had only taken a few tiny steps when Sunstreaker continued his path to the elevator with a growl. "I'll be right back."

Sunstreaker took a short trip up the elevator, scowled at his brother lounging in their room, and was back in Dinobot territory before any of the Dinobots had a chance to disappear. He scowled at Sludge rolling around a pile of dust and made enough noise putting a foldable chair in the middle of the cavern to gain all of their attention. Sunstreaker ignored them and pulled out the data-pad he had grabbed, swiping his finger across the screen. He nodded and detached the stylus from the data-pad.

Swoop was the first to shuffle up to the mech, sitting beside Sunstreaker on the floor and leaning over to see what the front-liner was doing. Sludge waddled over next, using his alt-mode's long neck to his advantage to watch Sunstreaker's sweeping strokes across the screen. Next was Snarl, who happened to catch a glimpse of the data-pad's screen as he huffed past. Slag was just angry that no one invited him to the little get together and stomped over to glare at them.

Grimlock was the last to join the party, stubbornly keeping his distance until Sunstreaker finally finished. Both mechs glared at each other from across the room, Grimlock's growls slowly increasing in volume, until Sunstreaker twirled the data-pad around. "This is the story of the stubborn, stinky petro-rabbit who wouldn't clean himself."

Grimlock huffed, and Sludge was the only Dinobot to be openly impressed by the quick—yet somehow extremely detailed—portrait of a copper and silver rabbit. Sunstreaker maintained eye contact with Grimlock even as he used his finger to swipe the screen. A new image appeared of the petro-rabbit jumping in a pile mud. "This petro-rabbit had a habit of jumping in puddles."

Sunstreaker pieced the story together as he went, watching Grimlock's reaction the entire time. He heard Sludge gasp when the petro-rabbit's foot began to rust because it neglected to take care of itself; he tried not to snort along with Slag when the petro-rabbit had to choose between splashing in more mud puddles and losing a foot. Sunstreaker openly smirked when halfway through the story, Grimlock glanced down at his own foot, which was caked in mud, organic detritus, and what appeared to be a miniscule spot of rust.

There was silence as Sunstreaker ended the story. "And the petro-rabbit died from a rust infection because it refused to clean itself. The end."

The Dinobots stared as Sunstreaker clicked the data-pad off. Even Swoop appeared slightly disturbed by the abrupt ending, but that was none of Sunstreaker's concern. He shoved Sludge's head away, ignoring the Dinobot's whine, and stood up. "That's it; story's done. Move."

Sunstreaker left the Dinobots in an abnormal silence. Once he was in the elevator, he pulled out the data-pad again and began to save the drawings he had made to a new file. He would keep the little…story in case he needed to illustrate the importance of a clean frame to the Dinobots again.