Prompt: Bots behaving badly
Summary/Notes: A continuation of "One Step Forward".

A ping echoed off my comm. I opened a line, and Trailbreaker's voice came over.

::Hi ya, Prowl! I think you're in this cave and I'm just outside. Would ya check?::

I extricated myself from Jazz, who was deeply in recharge at this point, and made my way to the entrance of our cave.

Trailbreaker was standing outside, his force field shielding him from the acid ice that continued to pound at the surface, a big grin on his face. My own smile responded to his. I waved at him, then turned back to retrieve Jazz, grateful for the short range ident beacons Ratchet had implemented when he became CMO; in situations like this, if we could get close enough, we could find other Autobots. My general route had been known, and when I didn't show up with Jazz for extraction, a team would have been sent out to find us.

It took some maneuvering to get Jazz up into my arms, but I managed it, carrying him still wrapped in his blanket toward the narrow slit that was our exit.

Trailbreaker had moved closer, extending his force field over the entrance so that no ice would fall on us. I moved as close to him as possible, and he offered to take Jazz from me. I gratefully accepted, since Jazz and I were of a size, while Trailbreaker is much larger and thus, it was easier for him to carry Jazz.

We made our way slowly across the landscape. I verified that Trailbreaker was carrying a canister of energon on his back, since his force field used a great deal of his fuel to function, but in situations such as this Trailbreaker's unique modification was invaluable. We were able to move in a storm that trapped the Decepticons where ever they had found shelter, and after joors of trekking, made it through the storm. Trailbreaker let the force field fall and led the way to a small transport tucked under an overhang. He keyed open the door and led the way in.

We secured Jazz to a berth, then I assisted Trailbreaker in getting our transport into the air and on its way back to our headquarters.

A flurry of mechs sprang into action when we touched down. Ratchet was right there with a mobile berth to get Jazz to the medbay. I pinged him with an urgent/important ping and was answered with an irritable ::what?:: in response.

I passed along the information about the tracking device, and for once received a ::thanks. I'll check him over thoroughly.:: before the comm line closed firmly and Ratchet returned his full attention to Jazz.

I thanked Trailbreaker, who gave me his easy smile and nodded before moving off to his own duties. I made my way to my office to write up a report on the Decepticon stronghold for the Prime, unsurprised when the Prime himself made his way to my office to get my personal report. He settled himself in the largest seat I had in my office and gazed serenely at me.

I sighed and set aside the pad I used for composing, folding my hands and giving the Prime a look from under my optic ridges.

The Prime looked at me, then asked me an unexpected question. "Are you ever going to move Jazz out of this rut you've fallen into?"

I stared at him, astonished. I had only come to the conclusion that I needed to do something to move Jazz out of his comfortable habits, and here was the Prime, telling me much the same.

He chuckled. "I have known Jazz longer than you have, and I have watched him. He gets comfortable and doesn't like to change things. You've reached a place between you where Jazz is happy and disinclined to move. So it's your turn to do something with this relationship."

I nodded slowly. "I had just reached that conclusion myself."

"Good," he answered, "then I won't have to kick you in the aft. What can I do to help?"

I foundered. I had no answer for him. He chuckled again and proposed a solution.

"I think you both need a couple of duty cycles off, away from the rest of the army but not too far away."

I nodded in agreement, and he continued, "This base is much larger than we actually use, and Hound has found a couple of back rooms that make a good billet but are still within reach if we need you. I'm going to order you to stay there, and Jazz as well, for the next three duty cycles."

I smiled at him. "Thank you, Prime."

"You'll find everything you need there." He transmitted the location of the rooms to me, and stood up to leave. "Good luck, Prowl."

I left my office and checked the rooms. It was two small rooms, and Hound was in there putting the finishing touches on a pair of sleeping mats. There was a small stock of energon, some data pads and a Praxian chair. There were a couple of small lamps to light a small area, but otherwise, the rooms were bare.

Hound came out of the back room where the mats were and asked, "Did I forget anything?"

I replied, "No, Hound, this is wonderful. Thank you for taking the time."

He smiled. "You're welcome, Prowl. Best of luck to you."

"Thank you." I answered, and left with him.

Ratchet escorted Jazz to the rooms, updating me as I went with them. ::I found two more tracking devices on Jazz, but none on Bumblebee and only one on Mirage. Thanks for telling me about them. Right now, the Decepticons are chasing petrorats far away from here. When we get there, I'm to lock you in and disable your comms for medical reasons. I can always transmit a code that will turn them on if we need you. No one will disturb you, because very few mechs know where you are. Use this time wisely, Prowl.::

::I will, Ratchet. Thank you for your help with this.::

::I'm cheering for you, Prowl.::

::You would also like to win the pool.:: I commented.

He only grinned at me, and waved us into the rooms. He sent a code and my comm lines shut down, then Ratchet stepped back and the doors locked.

Jazz looked at me as I looked at him.

"Now what?" Jazz asked me. He knew something was going on, but had no idea what it was. He trusted me, however, and was happy to be with me.

"Now we make ourselves comfortable and try to relax and heal." I answered him, pulling out the chair, a simple triangular cushion that rested against my lower back and allowed my doors to continue their free movement and reaching for a pad. As I had thought, Hound had provided novels, but no work files. I flipped through a couple until I found an old favorite and began to read it.

Jazz looked at me for a long while, then slowly lowered himself to the floor and began to make himself comfortable. Soft music filled the silence, but it was one of my favorite pieces and I relaxed even further as Jazz found a novel to read.

We passed a few joors in companionable silence until Jazz's intakes hitched and I looked up in concern. He gave me his sweet smile and said, "I think I need to recharge, Prowl."

I got up and helped him to his feet, inquiring if he needed fuel before recharge. He shook his head and accepted my help getting back to the sleeping mats. I helped him get comfortable and he dropped into recharge.

I returned to the main room and dowsed the lights, making my way to the other sleeping mat. It was time to implement my plan.

I pushed the other mat close to Jazz's and laid down, parting my armour and pulling Jazz close to me. Even in recharge he responded to my closeness and his armour also parted, allowing our protoforms to touch. He vented deeply and tucked his head between my shoulder and head, snuggling close and draping himself over me partially.

First step accomplished, I allowed myself to slip into a light recharge, holding my beloved close.

When Jazz started to stir, I came out of my recharge and began stroking a hand along his hip, just above his armour plating, teasing along the bit of protoform I could reach with my thumb. Jazz moaned and moved into the touch, clutching at my body. I continued the light touches, becoming aroused myself by the motions of Jazz's body against my own and the throaty moans to which he was giving voice. I shuddered and checked myself, not wishing to push Jazz too far or too fast.

When Jazz flicked on his optics, they were hazy with arousal, and I couldn't resist swooping in and kissing him, pressing slightly to get that taste of him that always made me feel that I had found my spark's home. He eagerly returned my kiss, and I shifted our bodies, sliding on top of him and rolling slightly so he was beneath me.

Jazz seemed to approve of this new position, grinding his body against my own until overheating warnings began to flash across my optics. I dismissed the messages without another thought since I did not care if I overheated at this point, I wanted more.

Reminding myself that Jazz might not want more, I pulled back, sucking cooler air in to replace the overheated air in my body.

Jazz moaned and reached for me, unwilling to lose my touch. I bent down and lightly kissed him. He responded eagerly, opening to my every touch.

I whispered his name. It took him a while to respond, but he finally did, and I asked my question.

"Do you want this?"

He was dazed, and I abruptly sat up. I wanted to seduce him, but I also wanted no regrets, no recriminations afterward. I wanted Jazz's full participation and willing agreement to what we were about to do. He tried to pull me back down, but I resisted.

"Jazz, do you want me?"

He fell back and stared up at me. I could see his processor finally coming to bear on the situation, and the haze of lust cleared from his optics. I waited patiently for his response. When he opened his mouth, I tensed, unsure of his answer.

"Yes. I want you, Prowl."

I dove in, kissing him hard. He lay there, pulling me to him, and let me do as I wished to his body.

I couldn't get enough of his mouth. Jazz kissed as if it were the only thing on his processor, giving me everything through that connection of mouths. I finally tore my lip plates from his, moving my mouth over his neck, using my glossa to delineate the vital lines of his throat. He moaned, tilting his head back and giving me access.

My hands were busy over his chest, smoothing over his protoform and under the edges of his armour. He willing shifted more of his plating, giving me more to explore. My fingers ran over an access panel, and Jazz bucked into the touch. I returned to the spot, gentling my touch, circling that sensitive node for a time before continuing my explorations.

Jazz was panting, his head tossing back and forth as he tried to give voice to his wants. I moved down his body, sliding my hands lower on his torso until I reached the juncture of his legs and I ran both thumbs over the joints below them.

Jazz gave a cry and overloaded, electrical discharges sparking all over his body. He remained rigid for a short time, then collapsed onto the mat, panting.

I smiled to myself, despite my own arousal. Jazz in overload was beautiful and I couldn't wait to see him like that again. I slid up his body and gathered him to me, kissing him as he came down from his overwhelming high.

He slid into recharge, an expected reaction to an overload, and I held him close as I initiated my own recharge, once again a light one.

The second time he came out of recharge, I was still holding him. I did not stroke him, merely held him in a loose embrace, waiting for him to make the next move.

He began to tentatively stroke my chest, wringing moans from me. Emboldened by my response, Jazz pushed at me, and I willing went where he guided, lying down and stretching my doors out so they were comfortable.

Jazz draped himself over me and continued his explorations, finding my sensitive spots and stroking them again and again. When he found my chest access panel, I couldn't still my body's reaction, thrusting up into Jazz at the intense pleasure that sparked from that site.

Jazz pulled back slightly, peering down at himself and finding his access port. After a bit of fumbling, he managed to open it and find the jack/cable and the plug. He tugged on the jack, gasping at the sensation. The cable unspooled and he was able to pull his jack out.

He then explored my access panel, figuring out how to open it. I let him, flares of sensation running through my body from his touch. He finally got it open, and pulled out my jack and accompanying cable. He plugged my cable into his port first, then picked his jack up from where it rested on my chest and plugged into me.

Our processors exchanged handshakes, allowing whatever access we granted. I had known this day was coming and had configured my access protocols to allow Jazz in very deeply, but I only opened the first few layers at this time. I didn't want to overwhelm him.

Jazz took longer, as he had not been expecting this encounter, and when he was done and sent the data packet, I was astonished to see that he'd given me everything. I had complete access to all parts of Jazz that could be reached through his processor.

In response, I gave him everything, too. We fell into an endless loop of pleasure and exploration. I really don't know how many times we overloaded, only that I was completely enthralled with all that was Jazz, and he was delighting in his access to me. Our minds blended together, weaving all that we were with the other's all and coming up with a seamless whole, a perfect picture of togetherness and oneness.

I fell off-line, completely overwhelmed with Jazz's presence within me, and he willing came with. Even in recharge, we were still connected.

Low fuel warnings finally caused me to come out of the haze of pleasure and joy. Our cables were still plugged into each other, and regretfully I disconnected them, giving a slight tug that enabled the cable to respool itself. I missed Jazz's presence deeply, feeling an empty spot not only in my processor, but in my spark. I maneuvered myself out from under Jazz and staggered into the other room, grabbing a cube of energon and swallowing it, needing the energy to continue. I picked up a couple more cubes and returned to the back room.

I coaxed Jazz up and helped him swallow a cube. That gave him enough energy to allow him to hold the next cube himself.

Between us, we partook of seven out of ten cubes left for us by Hound. Jazz was lower on resources than I was, and I was glad we had enough fuel to get us both back up.

I tucked myself next to him, and Jazz gave me a thoughtful look.

"Are you missing something, Prowl?"

"Yes, you." I responded immediately. Jazz smiled, and I couldn't help myself. I smiled in response.

"Yeah, me, too. I've heard…" he trailed off, and I looked at him, worried.

"You've heard?" I prompted.

Jazz seemed to visibly gather himself and his courage. "I've heard that you can touch your spark to another spark, and if you're compatible, you can sparkbond and always have the other person with you, no matter where you are or how far apart you are, always and forever."

I nodded. "Yes, but, Jazz, that's a big step. You can't go back once you're bonded."

"Would you, if you could?" He asked me.

"No. I'm yours and you are mine. I believe this with all that I am."

"Why, Prowl?"

"You said it best, Jazz. Love at first touch. I believe we were meant to be together."

Jazz looked at me solemnly. "It's a big step, but I want to leap and hope it's the right step. What about you, Prowl?"

I nodded, "I know it's the right step."

"Why?" Jazz wanted to know.

I shrugged. "I don't know. It just is."

He smiled at me. "Beyond logic and reason?"

"Yes. It's meant to be, I feel this deep within me."

He didn't say anything further, instead straddling my lap. We had never closed our armour, and now he began to part his protoform, the gleam of his spark shining through.

I matched him, allowing my protoform to part and show my spark. He lowered himself slightly, pushing our chests together. Our sparks reached for each other, tendrils knotting together and empulling/em until our sparks merged and we were one.

That feeling of oneness I had when connected to Jazz via cables was trebled. I was everywhere in Jazz, just as he was everywhere in me. The feeling of wholeness extended to every corner of my spark, filling niches I had never noticed were empty and soothing rough spots within myself. In return, I poured myself into Jazz, filling his empty spots and washing over lack with my own presence. I felt the peace that always stole over me whenever my path was right flow through me and into Jazz, coming back to myself via Jazz, filled with Jazz's certainty. We swirled through each other, bolstered by our mutual feeling of rightness.

We would never be alone again. He was in me, and I was in him, and between us we were perfect and complete. Wrapped in each other, we fell into ourselves, diving deeply to partake of all we could.

When we came out of our post-union haze, Ratchet was bent over us. Energon was being spiked directly into our lines; we both had incredibly low energy readings.

"Well, I never expected this from you, Prowl. Jazz, yes, but not you."

I muttered at him, "It was all part of a well thought-out plan."

Beside me, Jazz laughed. "Yeah, but it got out of hand, Prowl. You didn't factor in enough random elements to account for me."

"Next time I'll know better," I told him, "and I won't make the same mistake."

A spike of fear from Jazz had me instantly soothing him. ::You're not a mistake, never you. Just my plans, love.::

::Sorry, Prowl. I knew what you meant, but I thought maybe I was reading it wrong.::

::Never, my beloved.::

Throughout, Ratchet was scanning us and looking at a device in his hand. He shook his head. "I've never seen this before. Well, not like this, anyway."

"Seen what?" Jazz and I asked in unison.

Slightly startled, Ratchet answered, "Your sparks. It's like one spark in two bodies. I've only ever seen this type of reading on spark twins, but you're not. It's just that now, you're reading like twins. Complete compatibility."

Jazz and I smiled at each other. Ratchet was only confirming what we already knew. We were meant for each other.

"Normally, I'd tell you to take an orn or two off to let the bond settle, but I'm not sure you need that." Ratchet continued. "I'll have to let the Prime know, however, but this bond doesn't need to be general knowledge."

"No, it doesn't." I said, echoed by Jazz's "Nope, nobody but Prime needs to know about this."

We smiled at each other. My life was vastly different than I had expected, but I was in a happier place than I'd ever been before, and I thanked Primus for the gift he'd just blessed me with.

The perfect mech for me, suited to me just as I was perfectly suited to him, together always.

The end?