Jazz and Chromia arrived back at the base having failed at their mission. Or so Jazz thought.
"Hey 'Mia." Jazz said warmly, "I can handle the report to Prime and Prowl; why doncha go catch a break?"
"Are you sure?" She said guiltily, the energon shard weighing heavily in her subspace.
"Yeah." Jazz shrugged, "We've had a long day."
"Okay." Chromia watched the saboteur walk away before darting off to her quarters. She hurriedly shut and locked the door behind her and sat on the edge of her berth.
Shakily, she withdrew the shard from her subspace and held it in her servos, rubbing the smooth glass, and feeling like the worst kind of traitor.
But I'm not a traitor, She argued with herself, It's for a good cause….
Is it though? She thought miserably, Why should he deserve to come back more than Smokescreen?
The answer is, he doesn't, said a new voice in her helm.
What? Chromia set the shard down on her table, glancing around the room, Is someone….speaking? Although she could have sworn she had heard the voice in her helm.
You betcha, The voice laughed and the laugh was so familiar to her.
I must be losing my processor, She groaned and then asked hesitantly, ….Astrosky?
The grey and blue mech seemed to materialize out of nowhere next to her, nearly giving her a spark attack. He was sleek and slim in design, clearly built more for speed than strength, and his optics were a bright sky blue.
"Miss me?" He grinned
"Holy Primus." Chromia whispered, horrified, "I've gone insane."
He chuckled again, "Naw, you haven't. I've just come to talk to your crazy aft for a sec. But first, how ya been?"
Astrosky had always been a bubbly, light hearted sort of mech. He was always cracking jokes, always trying to lighten everyone's grim mood from the war. Right now, however, Chromia could not take his casualness.
"How have I been?! How have I been?" She burst into angry tears and his optics widened, "I've been a wreck, you fragging afthole!" She yelled, "I freaking killed you, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I haven't slept since that day, and now I'm lying to the Autobots. And you think, after all this time and all this crap, you can just pop in real quick and say how ya been?!"
"That may not have been my best choice of words." He said weakly, but Chromia plowed right over him
"And now my dead boyfriend is here." She stopped and wiped her optics quickly, "How are you even here? Are you a ghost? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, love." He hugged her tightly, "Never better, as a matter of fact." He pulled back, still holding her shoulders and gazed at her sternly, "And you did not kill me. It was my own damn fault for falling in those gears so stupidly."
"I left you." There were tears cascading down her faceplates as she sobbed, "I left you to die, Astro."
"Stop it!" He shook her vigorously, "Please! You know why I'm here Chromia? Why I haven't moved on?"
She sniffled, "Why?"
"Because of you." He sighed, "You're my unfinished business. I can't move on, because I can't leave you like this, so I'm just...stuck." He closed his optics, "Why do you feel so guilty? Why can't you just forgive yourself?"
"Because it's my fault."
"It is not!" He groaned, "Please, Chromia, you gotta let me go. What are you doing? Sitting here, debating whether you should bring me or the kid back. I don't wanna come back! I'm happy with my life now."
"Really?" She hugged him closer
"Really." He patted her back and smiled, "But the kid isn't; I talked to him. He's dying to be alive again. He feels like he hasn't fulfilled his 'destiny'."
"Oh, Smokescreen." Chromia laughed sadly.
"You know what you have to do." Astro smiled at her
"Are you sure you're okay?" She said worriedly
"That wasn't the only thing I came to talk to you about. I've been dying to talk about this Ironhide guy." He sprawled across her berth and grinned at her.
"Haha." Chromia said sarcastically, "Corny."
"Seriously, when are you gonna get with this guy?" Astrosky said eagerly, "You guys would be perfect together."
"My ex trying to convince me to get with another mech?" Chromia said teasingly, "Don't see that often."
He rolled his optics, "I've also been your best friend since we were sparklings, so I can say what I want."
Chromia laughed nervously, "Well, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know why you're being a glitch to him." Astrosky said, "I mean, you are a glitch normally, but…."
"Hey!"
He grinned a sharklike grin, "I'm just teasing ya, love. I've missed getting to mess with you."
"I've missed you too, Astro." Chromia said sadly, "It's so weird not getting to talk to you all the time."
"Well, I am a fabulous listener." He said dramatically, and Chromia chuckled, "So, talk to me now. Tell me about this Ironhide guy."
"I don't like him." She said stubbornly
"Sure."
"No, really."
"Well, that is just too bad." Astrosky sighed, "I just happen to know exactly how he feels about you, but…"
"Wait….you do?"
He nodded evilly, "I do."
"Well?" Chromia demanded, "Spit it out already!"
"Ah, ah, ah." He tsked, "Now why would I go spilling the poor mech's secrets to some femme who isn't even interested in him? Hardly seems fair."
Chromia rolled her optics, "Fine. I might like him a little. Just enough to be curious what he thinks about me. That's all."
"Well…." Astrosky ran a servo over his helm, pretending to be in distress, "I don't know...I suppose I may as well tell you. Just to satisfy your curiosity."
Chromia flopped down next to him eagerly and he smirked a little before continuing, "Ah, the passions of love! It's so endearing to see two young, alive bots in the throes of-"
"Could we skip the melodrama please, Astro?" Chromia interrupted, "I'm not a patient femme."
"As I well know, love." He patted her servo, "As I was saying, Ironhide….he thinks you're beautiful, Chromia. He thinks you're the most headstrong, infuriating, perfect femme he's ever met, and you're driving the poor mech crazy. He can't stop thinking about you; your smile, your optics, blah blah blah blah blah." He huffed, annoyed, "Honestly, he's practically in love with you at this point."
Chromia smiled a little, before sighing guiltily, "I can't believe he said all those amazing things about me, but…"
"But?"
"I still don't like him." She said stoutly, "I don't, I tell you."
Astrosky groaned, "Come on! I know you like him too, the same way I know how he feels about you. Why won't you let yourself fall for him?" There was a silence and then he sat up bolt right, "I know why."
"What?"
"I know why you won't let yourself be with him." Astrosky stared at her, "It's because of what happened to me. You don't want to lose him too."
"I don't-" Chromia choked, tears leaking from her optics again, "Oh, Astro…"
"Chromia." He wrapped her in a hug again, "Hush, femme, it's okay. I'm so sorry…"
"For what?" She said distraughtly, her arms wrapped tight around his neck.
"For leaving you."
She hugged him tighter, pressing her faceplates against his familiar, comforting chassis, "It's not your fault. But now things are so different…"
"I know." He sighed, and sat on the edge of the berth with her, transferring her to a side hug, "Chromia...you know how you said I was your ex, earlier?"
"I didn't mean…" Chromia said guiltily
"No, I'm glad you did." His optics danced happily, "I met a femme, Chromia."
"A femme?" Chromia's processor stuttered, "Where? In the Well?"
"Haven't been to the Well yet." He shook his helm, and twanged her nose playfully, "Still got my unfinished business. She had some too, so that was how we met, but when hers was resolved…" He trailed off.
"She moved on?" Chromia guessed.
He nodded unhappily, "I told her to. I didn't want her to be stuck here like me when she has the chance to go to the Well. Still...I miss her. She's a sweet little thing."
"I'm glad you found someone so great, Astro."you found someone so amazing, Astro." Chromia smiled, but her smile faded quickly, "I'm sorry I'm keeping you stuck here"
" 'S alright." He shrugged and grinned, "I'm glad I got a chance to talk to ya. You know….we might be going our separate ways, but you're still my best friend, Chromia."
"Yeah, you're not getting out of that." Chromia punched him playfully on the arm, "I seem to recall you promising we'd be 'best friends forever'."
"I was eight solar cycles old!" He protested, grinning.
"Still counts."
"I need to be going." Astrosky rubbed his neck unhappily, "I was technically only supposed to be here for a few minutes. Before I go, however," He grinned mischievously, "I feel I ought to inform you that we have an eavesdropper." He whispered the last word and inclined his helm towards the door.
"A what?!" Chromia whispered furiously, "Astro! How could you not tell me?"
He shook his helm, tiptoed over to the door, and announced in a loud, stage actor's voice, "Introducing the incredible, the amazing, the un-believ-able, Ironhide!". And with that he yanked the door open and the large silver mech tumbled into the room.