Disclaimer: Don't own them. If I did, Sideswipe's alt mode would be cooler.
Summary: While his first meeting with Sideswipe was a rather terse exchange of names before an anticlimactic rescue, his second was only slightly less dramatic. The story of Blurr and Sideswipe's first true meeting and their first goodbye.
AN: Another prequel, sheesh I'm worse than George Lucas. But I love playing with these two. Blurr's hidden softer side and Sideswipe's melodrama are just so fun.
I'm with You
He never understood what people meant when they used the word 'trudge' before. He'd always thought it was just another word for walking. Maybe when you're tired and could barely move. That's what he thought it meant to trudge.
Boy was he wrong.
You didn't trudge because you were tired. You didn't even trudge because you were sad. You trudged because you were utterly defeated. Because you had failed so completely and miserably you wouldn't dare to hold your head up high for fear that someone would see your shame.
That's why you trudged.
That's how he felt right now. All he'd wanted was to get away, to feel safe, to be able to walk down the street and not feel the urge to look over his shoulder to see if someone was following him. In retrospect, maybe a warzone wasn't the best place to seek those things.
He'd been desperate though. Home was no longer a safe haven. His brother was a warrior who could be gone for years on end, so Sideswipe couldn't rely on him for protection anymore. It had been time to strike out on his own, to seek his own safety.
And Primus, look at the mess he'd made of it. Here he was alone, hurt, and so far from home he couldn't even pick it out in the stars. He should have never left home. As dangerous as it was, as dangerous as his old lover was, it all paled in comparison to this place.
The trading post was in sight now. Maybe they would have some idea where his teammates were. That'd be nice. He didn't like being alone. That was why he stuck with his lover even after he became abusive.
There were a few mechs eyeing him warily at the entrance. If he were any less miserable he would have laughed. Even in top condition he was no match for any of them. He couldn't harm a roborat and it wouldn't be from a lack of trying.
He continued on toward the back of the building where he might find someone who would be willing to put him up for the night. Not likely in this area, but he could at least hold out hope for the little things, like shelter for the night.
A couple mechs at a table in the bar area—Autobots judging by their insignias—looked at him with concern, but none approached him. They probably wouldn't unless he hit the floor, unable to move under his own power. He wasn't one of their team members and was unfamiliar to them. Neutral trading post or not, his own Autobot insignia wasn't highly visible and they wouldn't take the risk that he might be a 'Con. If he couldn't find any sign of his unit here he might approach them for information, but not a moment sooner.
As he passed some shelves of cleaning supplies he glanced down each aisle between them. His unit commander had decided that if anyone was separated from the others they were to meet up at the nearest neutral trading post by the cleaning supplies. It reminded Sideswipe of his creator's rule about waiting by the statues in the city center back home if he or his brother ever became lost while out in the city.
None of his team mates were there, not that he'd expected them to be. They were supposed to be moving out of this area after that last mission and wouldn't have time to wait around for stragglers. Sideswipe just hoped he could catch up with them before they had a chance to report him MIA. That would just kill Sunny, especially since it had been his idea for Sideswipe to join the military. Catching up with his unit would probably be easier if Sideswipe had the faintest clue about where they were supposed to be going. The briefing about where they were heading after leaving this sector would have taken place sometime after Sideswipe had gotten separated from them.
While he searched the cleaning aisle for any sign of his teammates he didn't notice the mech stepping out in front of him. Thus, he was surprised to find himself falling backward, feeling as though he'd run straight into a wall.
"Whoa." The words were accompanied by a pair of hands catching hold of his shoulders, halting his fall. He was hauled firmly upright and placed back on his feet.
He looked up at the other mech, intending to mutter either thanks or an apology and continue on his way but halted as recognition set in. He wasn't faced with one of his teammates or a friend from the time before the start of his tour. The mech he was staring at he'd only met a few hours ago when he'd been hanging from those wires. A quiet guy, but nice enough to respond to his frantic and kind of embarrassing screams for help. Or maybe he'd just enjoyed the target practice. Either way, Sideswipe really needed a hug right now.
"Umph!" The mech groaned as Sideswipe impacted with him a second time. Luckily he recognized Sideswipe's action for what they were rather than mistaking the hug for an attack. Wrapping his arms around the larger mech's torso he clung to him like he'd clung to the hope he'd be able leave his mistakes behind when he left Cybertron.
"Um, kid? What are you doing?"
Sideswipe ignored the question and simply burrowed his face deeper into the stranger's chestplate. He really needed to hold onto someone or something right now. As it was, his emotions were all over the place and he was frighteningly close to a breakdown.
"Kid, you really need to let go."
Sideswipe shook his head in response. Right now he doubted he could pry his arms off his rescuer without help even if he wanted to. Not that he did want to, because he really didn't want to.
"Hello Blurr. I see you've made a new friend. Who is he?" One of the mechs from the entrance had approached them.
That's right, they'd exchanged names back at the site, just before Blurr shot him down from his precarious spot dangling from that spire.
"I don't know, Scavenger. Why don't you ask him?" Blurr responded in frustration.
"Yeah… He's not a Decepticon, is he?"
"I don't know. We haven't exactly been discussing our allegiances here."
"Well, if you're gonna let him hold onto you like that you might want to make sure he's not trying to kill you."
"… Have you always been this paranoid?"
Sideswipe didn't even bother to squash the giggle that burst forth, despite it sounding somewhat hysterical even to his own audios.
"Well, he's got the psychotic laugh down pat," Scavenger remarked.
"Would you stop that…I think he's shell shocked," Blurr said, trying to pull away long enough to get a look at Sideswipe's face. "Frag. Scavenger, help me get him settled down somewhere."
Shell shocked? Hmm, that would explain why he was so off. Depressed, detached, running on instinct, that sounded about right.
"Come on kid," Scavenger put his hands on Sideswipe's shoulders in an attempt to pry him off. Sideswipe vaguely considered letting go, but found he really liked where he was at.
"Alright," Blurr grunted, wrapping an arm around Sideswipe's torso. "Let's go." Awkwardly, he shuffled them toward the bar area guiding Sideswipe along. As they passed the two Autobots from earlier, their looks of concern had turned to suspicion as they glared at both Blurr and Scavenger. The picture they made probably wasn't a good one, with two older mechs lugging around a much younger, clearly distraught mech.
Blurr led him to the bench on the far wall, managing to get him settled without forcing him to release his hold on him. Scavenger hovered nearby, glaring back at the two suspicious Autobots.
"Okay kid, I'm gonna need you to tell me your name," Blurr told him, giving him an awkward pat on the back.
He could do that. "Sideswipe," he said, voice surprisingly firm.
Blurr pulled back a little, something like recognition flickering through his optics. "Sideswipe?"
"You know him?" Scavenger asked.
"His voice, I recognize his voice," Blurr told him. To Sideswipe he said, "You were the one tangled up in those wires, weren't you?"
So he did remember. Sideswipe nodded the affirmative in answer to Blurr's question.
Browsing the shelves for anything of use or necessity, Blurr found the selection to be lacking. Not that it was unexpected in this area, after all, they received few supplies but had a large clientele. Of course the few supplies they did have were over priced and out dated but with only a few other trading posts in this area, his options were limited.
One of these days he was going to have to stop taking these solo jobs. They were going to be the death of him. At least if he was contracted to a unit he'd have access to regular supplies.
Too bad he never seemed to be able to tell Scavenger no when the older mech asked him for a favor. For the most part Scavenger's favors were pretty easy, like this one. All he'd had to do was lay down cover fire for some Autobots on a mission and help along any stragglers. Simple really, he hadn't even needed the details beyond where to be and when.
Deciding there was nothing worth a second glance in the munitions section, Blurr rounded the endcap— which was advertising industrial strength grime remover that Blurr was pretty sure had been subject to a recall several years ago when it nearly killed Optimus Prime himself with it's toxicity. He didn't rank cleaning supplies high on his priorities anyway.
But apparently someone else did.
A short, oddly familiar blue mech ran straight into him, probably because smaller mech was too busy staring at something down the cleaning aisle.
The blue mech must have been caught off guard, because his own momentum threw him backwards and would have had had him on the floor if Blurr hadn't reacted as quickly as he did. Without thinking, his hands flew out and caught the mech, halting his fall. He lifted the shorter mech up and placed him back on his feet, somewhat surprised at his lightness.
He would have moved on immediately, needing to find Scavenger and form a contingency plan to obtain supplies, but the look on the blue mech's face halted him. He was staring back at him with an odd expression, blank but with a ghost of a grin.
Then, quicker than he'd thought the mech capable, he found himself being pushed back by the impact of the smaller mech as he latched on. For half a second he thought he was being attacked, but quickly recognized the action for what it was.
He was being…hugged.
"Um, kid? What are you doing?"
The mech's only response was to cling to him tighter. Great.
"Kid, you really need to let go."
The blue mech shook his head in refusal.
For a moment Blurr contemplated prying the younger mech off forcefully but decided that that course of action would have the opposite effect than he wanted. Blurr scrambled for a new plan, wanting to detach the blue mech from him before someone he knew spotted them.
"Hello Blurr. I see you've made a new friend. Who is he?" Slagit. Scavenger. His old mentor was never going to let him live this down.
"I don't know, Scavenger. Why don't you ask him?" Blurr bit out.
"Yeah… He's not a Decepticon, is he?" Scavenger asked, eyeing his new pal dubiously.
"I don't know. We haven't exactly been discussing our allegiances here," Blurr snapped. Primus, he hoped the kid wasn't a Decepticon. Being hugged by an Autobot was bad enough, but a Decepticon? If that got out he could kiss his self respect good-bye.
"Well, if you're gonna let him hold onto you like that you might want to make sure he's not trying to kill you," Scavenger advised.
Blurr suppressed a snort. As if this kid could hurt him…unless he had a blade stashed in one of his hands—No, now Scavenger had him doing it. "Have you always been this paranoid?" he demanded of his friend.
The blue mech giggled with an edge of hysteria that set off alarm bells in Blurr's head.
"Well, he's got the psychotic laugh down pat," Scavenger commented, though the way the suspicion in his gaze morphed into concern told him that Scavenger was thinking along the same lines as he was.
"Would you stop that…I think he's shell shocked," Blurr pushed the kid back to get a better look at him. He really didn't like what he saw. "Frag. Scavenger, help me get him settled down somewhere."
"Come on kid," Scavenger placed a firm hand on the kid's arm in an attempt to detach the young mech. After a moment it became obvious that Blurr's new friend was quite happy where he was and had no intention of letting go. Scavenger gave up and looked at Blurr in askance.
Great. On the battlefield Scavenger was an excellent tactician, but when faced with a shell shocked kid he needed Blurr to tell him what to do. "Alright," Blurr grunted, wrapping an arm around the kid. "Let's go." They must have looked ridiculous, shuffling sideways across the trading post.
There were some benches behind the mess area, he could sit the kid on one before the adrenaline wore off and the kid hit the floor. Of course going through the mess area was going to cause some problems, and unfortunately it wasn't going to be maneuvering through the tables that caused the most problems. There were two Autobots seated at a table who looked like they might get up and start something. Belatedly, Blurr realized that he and Scavenger probably looked a little suspicious dragging the kid along.
Luckily a stern glare from Scavenger kept the mechs in their seats long enough for him to settle the kid on a bench.
"Okay kid, I'm gonna need you to tell me your name," Blurr ordered, patting him on the back hoping the kid found it comforting.
"Sideswipe," the young mech replied.
"Sideswipe?" Blurr repeated dumbly. Then it clicked. That blue mech he'd helped out earlier.
"You know him?" Scavenger asked.
"His voice, I recognize his voice." How could he not? Sideswipe had been screaming loud enough that a good portion of the Decepticon army should be able to recognize his voice. "You were the one tangled up in those wires, weren't you?" he asked, even though he did really need Sideswipe's nod of confirmation.
"Wires? When was this?" Scavenger asked, breaking off his staring contest.
"On that slagging mission I just took for you," Blurr reminded.
"What are you complaining about? It was just clean up on your end," Scavenger shrugged, glaring at a suspicious Autobot that was wandering too close.
"And I'm still cleaning up apparently," Blurr tossed back.
"Just get the kid calmed down, ask him which unit he belongs, and send him on his way," Scavenger advised.
"Uh-huh…" That sounded good to him, really good. Just not very likely.
"Kid," Scavenger put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Kid," he gave Sideswipe a gentle shake. "Is he awake?"
"Yeah, just a little out of it," Blurr replied.
Scavenger gave him a probing look. "You can't keep him," Scavenger asserted.
"Why would I want to?" Blurr asked, even as he rubbed comforting circles on Sideswipe's back.
Scavenger's expression spoke volumes.
Blurr sighed. "Just until we figure out where he's supposed to be," he agreed.
Several days later found them no closer to locating Sideswipe's unit. By the time Sideswipe had been calm enough to provide his unit number, the group had already moved out of the area, probably giving Sideswipe up as KIA. The unit's marching orders were labeled as classified beyond even Scavenger's clearance to know, thus ending any possibility of finding them through the official channels, at least for the time being.
Soon enough, Scavenger was called away on a mission ordered Optimus Prime himself. Before he left, Scavenger promised to look into locating Sideswipe's unit, or at least find out if they were still on Sirius. He also agreed to send a message to Sideswipe's brother, assuring him that Sideswipe was alive and well, if a little misplaced by the military at the moment.
After he left, Sideswipe and Blurr continued their search. As their time together lengthened, their attachment to each other grew. So much so that Blurr remained with Sideswipe even after they located Sideswipe's unit. Sideswipe's commander was happy enough for the extra gun, even if not some much for the extra drain on their supplies. This continued for several months, until Scavenger called Blurr with a new mission. The Minicon Wars.
"Why can't I come?" Sideswipe asked for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"It'll be too dangerous. Word is Megatron went in person to oversee the Decepticon forces on Earth. He'll have his best warriors with him. And he doesn't go anywhere without Starscream and Cyclonus," Blurr countered. Starscream's ruthlessness was legend, as was Cyclonus's insanity.
"I'm not a sparkling, Blurr. I'm not completely helpless," Sideswipe argued, sitting back against the wall of their quarters as he watched Blurr take inventory of his weapons.
"I know, but they'll be a completely different class of warrior than you're use to. These guys aren't the type you'll find on a backwater world fighting over some nearly worthless holdings with depleted resources. They're the best of the best, hand picked by Megatron. You're not ready to go one on one with one of them."
Sideswipe couldn't argue with that. He knew his limitations even if he refused to acknowledge them most days. "I have other skills. Name a better hacker anywhere, Blurr. And I'm a damn good computer technician."
"Even if they had need for your skills in that capacity, you'd still be in danger. You're too young to remember the original Minicon Wars. They were brutal. Nobody pulled their punches, Autobot or Decepticon. Everyone is fair game, be they warrior or tech," said Blurr.
"So you expect me to stay here, half a galaxy a way, with no way of knowing whether you're alright or not," said Sideswipe.
"Is that what's bothering you?"Blurr asked. "You know Scavenger would contact you if anything happened to me."
"So I just sit around and wait for that call," Sideswipe huffed.
Blurr put down the gun he had been examining and went to sit by Sideswipe. He placed a comforting arm around Sideswipe's shoulders. "It won't be for too long. I'll send messages when I can."
"I don't like this," Sideswipe sighed.
"I know, but this is my job," Blurr reminded him.
"I never said I liked your job," Sideswipe grumbled.
"You weren't complaining when I got you down from those wires now, were you?" Blurr prodded.
"If that was supposed to be a joke, your tone was off," Sideswipe complained.
"It'll be alright," Blurr tried to reassure him.
"What am I supposed to do without you?" Sideswipe asked.
"Stay safe," Blurr ordered, not a trace of humor in his voice. "Maybe, if I'm not back before your tour is over, you could head back to Cybertron. I'm sure your brother would like to see you."
"Blurr," Sideswipe began to protest.
"I know you had your reasons for leaving, Sideswipe. But Cybertron is one of the safest places for you right now. The Autobot cities are almost untouched by the recent wars."
Sideswipe sighed, letting his head rest on Blurr's shoulder. "I can't go back Blurr, I've told you that."
Blurr didn't answer. Sideswipe had never told him why he'd left Cybertron. He had his suspicions but no way to confirm them.
"Besides, my brother's on assignment on Meda right now. He won't be back on Cybertron for another seven months," Sideswipe continued. "There's no one else worth going back to see."
There had to be an alternative. The thought of leaving Sideswipe on Sirius by himself was unacceptable. "You have some friends in Recosh, right?"
"Some," Sideswipe admitted.
"Then why don't you consider going to stay with them if I'm not back in time?" Blurr recommended. He could tell Sideswipe wasn't happy with the idea. Recosh was still on Cybertron, but it was a good distance from Sideswipe's home region in the border cities.
"Maybe," Sideswipe conceded.
Not a guarantee but more than Sideswipe would normally offer, and the best Blurr could hope for. With any luck Sideswipe would choose to go to Recosh. Blurr had friends there who would look after Sideswipe for him.
"Promise to come back?" Sideswipe asked.
"I'll try," Blurr swore.
AN: Concrit appreciated. Unbeted, so if you spot any errors please point them out to me.