More Than Friendship

Chapter Five

by BitterEloquence and Wyntir Rose

Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. Our original characters are our own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. We claim no ownership by writing this work.

Authors' Note: Thanks go out to Okami_Myrhibis for betaing this fic for us.


Trailbreaker stumbled up the side of Mount Saint Hillary a few hours later, half empty cube of high grade in his hand. He'd lost count of how many he'd had, but the truth was nothing would be enough to wipe that memory from his mind. Seeing Hound stalk into the rec room, seeing him kiss Mirage so openly and so lustfully, and seeing that the Ligier didn't object ... it all sent Trailbreaker's hopes crashing down. In that moment he'd felt his spark shatter again.

"Who'm I kidding?" he asked of the countryside. "It's not like I ever had a chance with him ... Phht! Who'd pick me when they could have Raj anyways ..." He tossed back the remains of his cube and pulled another one out of subspace before collapsing onto a boulder, crossing his arms over his knees, and sighing miserably. "It's just not fair ..."

Silverbolt walked through the darkness in search of Trailbreaker. He'd already heard about Hound's rather flamboyant display of possession earlier and had immediately sought out the dark mech. When he didn't find Trailbreaker in his quarters, he decided to try the mountainside where they sometimes went to get away from everything. And as expected, he found the unsteady mech there.

"Hey...." Silverbolt called out quietly in greeting as he settled down beside his friend.

Trailbreaker looked up at Silverbolt and grunted as the Concorde sat down beside him. Without a word, he offered a cube of high-grade to the Aerialbot. "I guess your day's gone as bad as mine if you're up here too ..."

"Actually, I heard what happened and was worried about you." Silverbolt accepted the high grade and took a big sip from it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Trailbreaker looked at Silverbolt and snorted softly. "There's nothin' t' talk about. I've been makin' a fool of myself for vorns now, mooning over someone who doesn't see me as anything but a friend. ... I must be the laughingstock o' the whole Ark ..."

The jet had suspected as much but Trailbreaker had never actually confirmed his suspicions. Hesitantly, he reached out to wrap a careful arm around his friend. "We can't help who we fall in love with, 'Breaker. But I don't think you've been making a laughingstock of yourself. Frag, no one seems to suspect you're in love with Hound. They're too busy gossiping about how we're supposedly an item." He snorted with an exasperated look.

Trailbreaker leaned into Silverbolt's frame and sighed miserably. "Yeah, even he doesn't realize how I feel about him ... You know, he gave me permission to court you? The one mech I love more'n anything gave me permission to court my best friend. How's that fer a kick in th' diodes ..."

"He what?" A touch of outrage colored Silverbolt's voice as he stared at Trailbreaker aghast. "You're joking right? Or he was joking? Because otherwise I hope you kicked him squarely in the aft!"

"I didn't. And he wasn't. He thought we were an item too. Pit! Everyone thinks we're busy interfacin'!" Trailbreaker ignored Silverbolt's outrage and cuddled up against him, wrapping his arms around the white mech as he sought comfort. "He wants me t' be happy. He wants me t' settle down an' be happy like he an' Raj are ..."

Silverbolt shoved his annoyance aside for now, knowing that it wouldn't help Trailbreaker out at all. Instead, he pulled the other mech close and smoothed his hands over his chassis in slow, soothing caresses. "Shh....I'm sorry, 'Breaker. Primus, I wish I could spare you all this pain."

After a long moment, he spoke up again. "That's not a bad thing, him wanting you to be happy but he still deserves a kick to the aft for being so oblivious and insensitive."

Trailbreaker purred his engine as Silverbolt caressed him so gently. His arms tightened around the Concorde, and for the first time in a long time, he actually felt content. Except for that nagging, dull ache in his chest.

"I don't know why Hound couldn't be more like you. I mean, you're so kind and we get along so well. I mean, who else would be up here comforting me like this." He pulled away to look Silverbolt in the optics and gently brushed his thumb down Silverbolt's cheek. "You're an incredible mech, you know that, 'Bolt?"

A whisper of something akin to unease slithered through him at the almost intimate and decidedly non-platonic way Trailbreaker was acting all of a sudden. Silverbolt's mouth opened and closed silently for a moment before puzzlement flared to life in his optics. "I....I think I need a drink," he muttered and reached for his cube. The flustered jet gulped the contents of the high-grade down in an effort to calm to unsteady flares of emotion and data sparking through his systems.

Trailbreaker was only partially unaware of what he was doing. With his high-grade blurred processor, he was regarding the Concorde in a totally new light and it was becoming hard for him to reconcile those two kinds of Silverbolt in his processor. A part of him was saying he was merely trying to shift his hopeless affection from Hound to the more readily available jet. Despite that doubt, Trailbreaker guiltily admitted to enjoying the presence and closeness of the other mech at his side through all this.

"I think we both need more to drink. Maybe if we drink enough we can forget this day ever happened." He pulled two more cubes out of subspace and handed one to Silverbolt. "We both deserve better than what we've been handed ..."

Silverbolt accepted the cube with a faint smile. "And if not, then we'll just get ridiculously overcharged until we can't see straight and go rolling down the mountain." The jet chuckled and toasted the SUV with his cube before taking another sip. He felt the hitch of high grade kicking his systems into a higher gear and shivered just a bit.

"That sounds like a very good idea." Trailbreaker nodded firmly. "But I think I'm already halfway to ridiculously overcharged. You need to catch up my friend." With that he pulled several more cubes from subspace and placed them on the ground between them.

"Why, Trailbreaker, I do believe you're trying to get me overcharged," he teased and eyed the pile of cubes warily. "Primus, good thing I showed up. Were you planning on drinking all of these?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on going anywhere near my quarters tonight, so I needed something to keep me occupied ..."

"Well, I wasn't planning on going anywhere near your quarters either so I suppose that works out well."

"Yup!" Trailbreaker said, looking at Silverbolt unsteadily. "No point in gettin' overcharged alone! And I was plannin' on drinking until I passed out. And when I woke up if I still felt like slag I was planning on drinking some more. Of course, now that I've got company, I may end up needin' less energon t' feel better. They do say that good company's th' best cure fer misery." He lifted his cube in a toast to Silverbolt. "So he's t' good company." Trailbreaker slurred.

The Concorde eyed him warily for a moment before shaking his head. "Alright, Trailbreaker. I understand your need to get overcharged and I won't stand in the way but I'm not going to allow you to make this a habit, you hear me?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Yes, creator," Trailbreaker deadpanned. Then he looked back over landscape. "Seriously though, I'm not plannin' on doin' this regular-like. I just need a few hours of being an idiot t' get over myself, y'know? I mean, he's happy, an' I'm happy that he's found someone t' make him happy."

"Good, because I wouldn't stand idly by and watch you fall into such a self-destructive habit." Silverbolt whispered, tightening his arms around Trailbreaker to emphasize his point.

Trailbreaker smiled at Silverbolt before finishing off his cube and stretching out on the ground, staring up at the stars. "An' maybe now they won't keep sneakin' around like they're doin' somethin' wrong. Maybe now Raj'll stop actin' like he's ashamed of 'im. ... I think that's what bugged me more'n anythin'. I mean, I can handle not bein' in a relationship. I'd rather have someone t' hold at night, but I mean, I've been alone fer a long time now, so it's not like I'm not used t' it."

He sighed softly then he looked up at Silverbolt as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "You know, we've been friends fer a long time, but I don't think I've ever seen you with anybody. I mean, other than friendly-like. You got yer optics on anyone?"

The jet settled in to listen to the strategist as the rambled on drunkenly and when the SUV asked him about his own love-life, he was startled. "M-Me?" To his horror, Silverbolt actually felt his vocalizer fritz out momentarily. To buy himself time, he took another gulp from his second cube of high grade. "No...there's no one," he finally whispered quietly.

Trailbreaker sat up and looked at his friend, and as he did a moment of pure high-grade inspired clarity hit him. "I know that tone, 'Bolt. I know that tone and I know that look. I've used 'em a million times. They're the look of a mech who's tryin' t' convince himself that somethin' ain't true." He reached out and squeezed Silverbolt's arm gently.

"Trust me, it just eats you up inside if ya don't do somethin' about it. So, whoever he is, just tell him. I mean, the worst he can say is no, right?"

The Concorde shook his head regretfully. "There isn't anyone, really. I don't have time for that sort of thing and there's no way my brothers would approve of me pursuing a ground-pounder. Primus, Slings practically read me the riot act because he thought you and I were together."

Smiling bitterly, Silverbolt just stared down moodily at his cube for a moment before making the decision to join Trailbreaker in his blissful state of overcharge. The large jet tossed his cube back and finished it in a few large gulps and was groping for his third cube before he'd even placed the second one aside.

Trailbreaker sighed in sympathy before moving next to Silverbolt, wrapping one arm around the Concorde and pulling him close. "It fraggin' sucks. That's fer damned sure." Trailbreaker's face darkened as he belatedly caught the insult. "And what's wrong with bein' involved with a truck? It's not like there're a lot of flyers around and we trucks've got a lot t' offer!"

"There's nothing wrong with being with a truck or a car. Slingshot is just an ass." Silverbolt muttered bitterly, taking a sip from his cube. Things were beginning to get nicely fuzzy around the edge and it didn't hurt as much to talk about his tempestuous brother.

He let himself be comforted by Trailbreaker this time and leaned into the SUV's chassis. "He even suggested Blades for frag's sake. I'd rather 'face with a Seeker than that fragger."

Trailbreaker chuckled, sending pleasant vibrations through Silverbolt's chassis as he did. "You and Blades? If you were interested in a Protectobot I can see you an' Hot Spot, but Blades is a handful." He finished his cube and moved to take another before changing his mind and wrapping Silverbolt up in both arms. "I think we both needed this. I think we both need t' stop worrying about what other 'Bots think and just do whatever it is that we wanna do. I think that maybe t'night we need t' do something fer ourselves an' frag what everyone else thinks."

Silverbolt nodded quietly, looking over at Trailbreaker with a strangely intense look in his optics. "You really think that way?" he asked softly, still staring at the older mech.

Trailbreaker nodded and shifted slightly to look at Silverbolt. "Yeah. I mean, maybe the high grade's givin' me more courage than I'd have otherwise, 'cause I'm sure I wouldn't have th' bearings t' say it otherwise. But, yeah. I think that for once in our lives you an' me should be selfish. It's about time we did somethin' just for us."

"Right...you're right. We should," Silverbolt murmured, a distant and thoughtful gleam in his optics now. "Right."

The Concorde seemed to reach an internal decision and he suddenly leaned forward to clumsily press his lips against Trailbreaker's. There was no finesse or any real skill in the awkward mashing of lips. In all honestly, it was pretty bad actually but the high grade made Silverbolt both overcharged and overconfident which did little for his coordination.

The moment Silverbolt's lips pressed against his, Trailbreaker froze. All he could think was that no experienced mech would kiss like that. High grade or no high grade. After a lightning fast calculation, Trailbreaker put two and two together and came to the undeniable conclusion that Silverbolt really was incredibly young.

Not wanting to frighten or discourage the Concorde, Trailbreaker pulled away slowly and looked Silverbolt in the optic. "Maybe, uhm, maybe here and now might not be the best time for this," he whispered. "Maybe we should wait until we're both sober."

Silverbolt knew he was doing something wrong when Trailbreaker froze. Making the worst of it, the jet pulled away when Trailbreaker did and tried his damndest not to meet his optics. Quite a feat when the other mech was trying to do that very thing. The over-sensitive Concorde flinched when the SUV spoke and his foggy mind automatically took it to be a rejection. He leaped to his feet faster than he should have and wavered for a moment before steadying. "I...I should go, excuse me."

Silverbolt didn't wait for a reply; he simply turned and ran back towards the Ark.

"Bolt! Wait! Please!" Trailbreaker protested as Silverbolt ran from him. He knew full well that the Concorde was taking this as a rejection and that there would be no getting him back if he ran. But the SUV's legs betrayed him as he tried to get up. The massive amount of high grade he'd consumed had made his legs totally unresponsive, and he collapsed on his aft as he tried to follow.

"... aw frag..." he whispered. Then anger at himself and the situation welled up inside of him and he slammed a fist into the ground. "…nice job idiot …"

Silverbolt didn't pause or look back even when that resounding crack echoed down the side of the volcano. The upset jet just increased his pace and reached the Aerie's hanger doors at almost a dead run.

Slingshot never looked up as Silverbolt rushed into the main room. As he always seemed to be, he was up late, flicking through the channels on the television. It wasn't that he was waiting up for his brother, he just had nothing better to do than watch the ridiculous shows that passed as human entertainment. At least that's what he told himself.

"Bad date?" he asked with a smirk.

The Concorde froze, cycling air raggedly and noisily through his vents as he turned angry optics on his brother. "Shut up. Just. Shut. Up!" he snarled.

Slingshot looked up at that. It was unlike the Concorde to lose his temper, and he never told his brothers to shut up. Tossing the remote to the side he stood and approached Silverbolt slowly.

"What the frag happened to you?" He hadn't intended the question to come out as hostile, but this change was making him nervous and edgy.

Silverbolt snarled at him when he started towards him. "You! I'm so sick of you being a complete slag head and I don't want to deal with you right now so leave me the frag alone!" Growling, the upset jet turned and started to stalk towards his quarters.

"What the frag?!" Slingshot demanded. "What? You have a lover's spat with your little groundpounder and you take it out on me?! Not my fragging fault that you have no taste!"

"We're not slagging sleeping together!" Silverbolt shouted as he wheeled around to glare at the smaller jet.

Slingshot backed up slightly in the face of Silverbolt's wrath. But then something snapped and he reacted as he always did when faced with a threat he didn't understand. He attacked. "Aw, what? He decided that he really wasn't interested in a sparkling? See I told you that getting involved with a groundpounder was a bad idea! They're all alike. Every last one of them."

Silverbolt's optics went almost white with anger and before his processor could catch up with his reflexes, he'd reacted. Just like a hurt animal, the jet lashed out in the face of his attacker and his large fist smashed right into Slingshot's gloating faceplates. Slingshot fell back, hitting the plating with a loud clang of metal against metal, bending his stabilizers in the process. Realization was on the heels of that knee-jerk reaction and Silverbolt fell back in horror. He'd never raised a hand to any of his brothers no matter how cruel or nasty they might have been. Recrimination and an almost sickened expression flooded Silverbolt's optics as he stared down at the shocked look on Slingshot's face. Without a word, the Concorde grimaced painfully and rushed into his room, slamming the door shut behind him

For a long moment Slingshot just sat on the ground, just staring after Silverbolt in shock. Then, as the door slammed shut he twisted up to his feet and glared after his brother. It didn't take long to figure out that something terrible had happened. The groundpounders were all alike, but having one of them hurt Silverbolt was too much. Without another thought he stalked out of the Aerie in search of the dirt-kisser in question.

It took Slingshot almost three breems to track Trailbreaker down and by the time he found him, he'd managed to whip himself up into a righteous fury.

"You! What the frag did you do!?" he shouted at the SUV as he charged towards him.

Trailbreaker looked up at the shout and tried to focus his optics on the enraged Harrier. He'd stopped drinking as soon as Silverbolt had ran off, but it had been nowhere near long enough for him to get sober and his processor was slow on the uptake.

"What?" he asked in a concerned slur. "What'd I do to who?"

"Who do you think, you stupid dirt-kissing slagger!?" Thoroughly enraged now, Slingshot just lunged for Trailbreaker and punched him. "I told him you couldn't be trusted! None of you ground-pounders can be fragging trusted!"

Totally unprepared for the attack, Trailbreaker went down like a sack of bolts, but the strike was exactly what he needed to sober him up. He pushed Slingshot away to arm's length and sat up, red optic band flashing dangerously in the darkness.

"What the frag are you talking about? I didn't do a blasted thing!"

"You hurt 'Bolt, you fragger!" Slingshot just lunged forward and tried to punch him again with his usual tenacious stubbornness.

Trailbreaker brought one arm up defensively and stood, backing away from the smaller mech. But while his processor was clear, his reflexes were still slowed and he was still wobbly.

"I did no such thing! He kissed me! Not the other way around!"

That just enraged Slingshot more. The Harrier's expression turned ugly and hateful. "I knew it! I knew you'd try and seduce him then just drop him like a stone. I hate you ground-pounders!"

With an outraged sound Slingshot tackled Trailbreaker, instinctively picking up on how unstable the SUV's center of balance was. He was trying to take the larger mech to the ground where their height differences wouldn't matter as much.

"The frag?!" Trailbreaker fell under Slingshot's attack. "I didn't seduce him, frag it!" He grabbed hold of Slingshot's wrists and tried to hold the Harrier still. "I didn't seduce him and I would never drop him!"

"Right, so he just came back home all upset because you didn't hurt him!" Slingshot accused hotly. Since his wrists were pinned, the Harrier just glared at the SUV before kicking at him viciously.

"Ow! Slingshot! Stop that!" Trailbreaker cried as the Harrier's foot connected with his shins. When Slingshot's words sank in, however, the SUV slumped slightly and pushed Slingshot out to arm's length. "He's hurt? Fraggit, I was trying not to hurt him!"

"Well of course he is, you slagger! He fragging punched me! And it's all your fault! Just stay away from him, things were fine before you started to sniff around!" Finding himself unable to reach, punch or kick Trailbreaker now, Slingshot just struggled wildly, trying to break free.

Trailbreaker seemed to collapse inward even more at the accusation. "I didn't mean to hurt him. We were both drunk and I didn't want to take advantage of him. He's too important to me to do that."

Slingshot flinched at Trailbreaker's words as disbelief and disgust shot through him. Silverbolt had assured him that nothing was going on between Trailbreaker and himself but he'd obviously been lying!

"Just stay the frag away from him," the jet snarled, pulling away from Trailbreaker and scrambling to his feet. "You just stay away from him! We don't need you sniffing around and I won't let you hurt 'Bolt again!" Slingshot wasn't sure how it happened but suddenly his gun was in his hand and he was pointing it directly at the strategist.

Trailbreaker looked at the gun then at the Harrier, then he stood and towered over the Aerialbot. With a brightening of his optics, he brought up his forcefield and surrounded Slingshot with it as he drew it and the Aerialbot up to optic level.

"I'm not going to hurt him and you need to calm down. What happens between me and your brother is none of your business. Silverbolt is a big mech and he can make his own decisions."

"Just stay away from him!" Slingshot yelled as he slammed his fists against the forcefield. "You've done enough damage. Groundpounders and jets have nothing in common!"

"This conversation is over, Slingshot. I don't know who hurt you, but don't project that onto me and 'Bolt. I don't want to throw you into the brig because that would just hurt Silverbolt more, but emotions are running high and we both need to take a step back." Trailbreaker looked at Slingshot and started to lower him. "Now, can you calm down? Please?"

"Let me the frag out," Slingshot growled. There was an undertone of petulant resignation in the anger. He had lost this fight and they both knew it.

"Okay, Slingshot. Okay, I'll let you out," Trailbreaker said softly as he put Slingshot back on the ground and released the field. "Just as long as you go check on your brother. Tell him I'm sorry? I meant it when I said I didn't mean to hurt him."

"Yeah go shove it up your tailpipe, dirt-kisser," Slingshot growled before stalking off in the direction of the Aerie.

He arrived at the empty hanger and looked at Silverbolt's door unhappily. After a moment's hesitation he moved to open it, half expecting it to be locked. When the door slid open he entered and crawled into Silverbolt's berth, cuddling up to his brother.

The Concorde had slipped into a light recharge by the time Slingshot crawled into his berth and the unexpected pressure of another mech laying against him shook him out of his recharge.

"Mngh?"

Slingshot just snuggled into his brother before hugging him slightly. "... you okay?" Somehow Slingshot managed to make that simple question full of a dozen different meanings.

"....not really, no." Silverbolt turned over and looked at Slingshot with miserable optics. "I'm sorry I punched you. Are you okay?

Slingshot made a rude noise. "I barely felt it. You caught me off guard is all." He looked at his brother carefully. "You want me to go deal with him? I mean, after all, you do hit like a femme." The tone was light, but the look in Slingshot's optics said that he was deadly serious.

Silverbolt looked away, optics darkening with shame. "No, it's my fault. I'm the one who fragged up."

Slingshot's face clouded and when he spoke his voice was harsh. "You didn't do anything wrong! He's a fragging dirt-kisser! All they do is use and throw away." He hugged his brother again. "But you can always count on flyers. We'll always be here for you." There was a bitterness in his tone, as if remembering an old injury.

"Yes I did, Slings. We were both a little overcharged and I'm the one who kissed him." Cycling air through his vents, Silverbolt wrapped his arms around his brother. "And I know, Slings, and I appreciate it. Really."

There was a long silence before Silverbolt spoke again. "Trailbreaker is not like Sunstreaker. He's not going to use me and toss me away like that fragger did to you."

Slingshot stiffened and grew very, very quiet. That was a taboo subject between them and it was an old pain he didn't want to revisit.

"... I don't like seeing you hurt ... and I don't want to lose you ... especially not to someone who hurts you ...," Slingshot finally muttered, burying his face in his brother's chest.

Silvebolt just tightened his arms around his brother, one hand reaching out to touch those damaged wings. "You're not going to lose me, Slingshot. But one day we're all going to have to grow up. I want you to find someone to make you happy, Slings."

Slingshot shifted, almost like he was burrowing into his brother. "Yeah like I could ever find someone worthy of me."

The large jet snorted and bowed his head over Slingshot's. "More like who can put up with that incredible ego of yours." He tightened his arms around his brother and one hand skimmed over those damaged wings. "You should go see Ratchet and have him look at your wings."

"I'll see Ratch tomorrow."

"You'd better because I'm going to ask Ratchet about it tomorrow and if you don't, I'll drag you down there by the wingtips myself."

"You have to catch me first. Besides, we already covered, you hit like a femme, so that's really not a threat," Slingshot chuckled.

"Fine, I'll sic Ratchet on you," Silverbolt mock-threatened. "For now, let's just recharge? I'm wiped."

"Yeah, yeah. You do that." Slingshot powered down his optics and settled down.

***
Hound had noticed something rather off with Trailbreaker the last few weeks and had decided to spend the night in so he could have a talk with his best friend. He came armed with a couple cubes of very fine mid-grade and a couple of nature video's 'Breaker had not seen before. Mid-way through the second video, Hound turned his attention on the SUV and regarded him with solemn optics.

"So what is going, 'Breaker? You and Silverbolt had a falling out?"

Trailbreaker had only been half watching the videos, his thoughts preoccupied with the events of a few days before. So when Hound asked that rather pointed question, he just looked up at his friend dumbly.

"Uhm, uh ... sorry I was watching the show," Trailbreaker said in a stumble. "Uhm, everything's fine, Hound."

With that, he turned back to the screen, hoping that Hound would drop it. While a part of him did want to talk, a much larger part just wanted to try and forget anything had ever happened.

Hound's optics dimmed unhappily and that expression was mirrored on his faceplates as he looked at his friend.

".....so you're keeping secrets from me now, 'Breaker?" he asked quietly. "You never kept things from me before and it's obvious something is bothering you so why are you shutting me out now?"

Trailbreaker looked at his friend in shock. "I- No, Hound, I didn't mean that, I just ...." He looked down at his hands, seeming to slump in on himself. "I'm not shutting you out I'm just .... things are just complicated and I don't know what to do." This last was said in a miserable whisper. First he lost Silverbolt and now he was pushing Hound away. It was just all too much to bear.

"Oh, 'Breaker...." Hound whispered, pain filling his voice as he moved over to wrap an arm around his friend's shoulders so he could pull him into a hug. "What happened? Just start at the beginning and we'll figure it out. We've always been able to figure things out together."

Trailbreaker leaned into the embrace and sighed miserably. "I was an idiot and I scared Silverbolt off ... I hurt him and now he hates me," he said in a miserable voice.

"You are not an idiot. And I'm sure you didn't scare him off. What happened, 'Breaker?" The Jeep had put up with these bouts of self-deprecation and crippling lack of self-esteem for vorns and knew he had to handle the situation and Trailbreaker carefully. His hand smoothed along the SUV's arm soothingly and Hound did his damnedest to broadcast gentle and supportive emotions.

Trailbreaker never looked up, he just started lacing and unlacing his hands nervously. "We were talking about, uhm, we were up on the mountain talking and we were a bit drunk and ... and he kissed me, and he thinks I rejected him ...," Trailbreaker mumbled. "Slingshot said I hurt Bolt and I don't want to make it worse ..."

Hound's optics flickered in surprise. "I...see....okay. Well what happened? I take it you didn't want him to kiss you and that is why he ran away?"

Trailbreaker looked up at Hound sharply, disbelief written all over his face, then back down at his hands.

"It's not about who I wanted to kiss. We were both drunk and I'm not going to take advantage of him. Especially not when- ... It was the wrong time and the wrong place." He didn't add that it was the wrong mech. Hound didn't want to hear that.

"Ah, okay so I can see where it might be hard to get that across when you are overcharged. He's pretty young too so I can see him taking any hint of rejection and blowing it out of proportion." Hound cycled air through his vents and tightened his arm around Trailbreaker's shoulders.

"His age isn't the problem," Trailbreaker said dully.

"You're going to have to talk to him 'Breaker. You can't just let a thing like this sit and fester." Hound trailed off, optics dimming unhappily. "I know I've questioned your friendship with him sometimes but you and he suit one another. You've been...happier since the two of you became friends and I'd hate to see you loose that friendship. Especially over something that could be resolved with a simple spark to spark."

He squeezed Trailbreaker's hand gently. "You know, he's probably kicking himself too thinking he's ruined your friendship by kissing you. But like you said, you were both overcharged and mechs do things they wouldn't normally do when they're overcharged."

Trailbreaker seemed to slump even further. "Yeah ... high grade gives all kinds of courage ..."

"Yes it does and sometimes it's a good thing. If 'Raj and I hadn't been as overcharged as we'd been, he probably wouldn't have kissed me, you know that? Primus knows, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to kiss him first. And look at what we would have missed out on. Sometimes you just gotta take a crazy risk and hope for the best."

Trailbreaker finished his midgrade and looked into the empty cube. "I'm not brave like you and Mirage. Not when it comes to something like this…."

The tracker pulled out another cube and pressed it into the strategist's hands. "If you can't even have enough confidence in your relationship with him to have a brutally honest conversation then your friendship has more problems then one drunken kiss. Communication is the key to any relationship, 'Breaker." The green mech leaned his helm against the SUV's. "Talk to him, Trailbreaker. You and he both deserve a long and happy friendship. Don't let it end like this."

Trailbreaker let out a small, bitter sound and pulled away from Hound. This conversation was killing him and if he didn't do something to separate himself now, he was going to do something he'd regret.

"You're right. He deserves better. I'll talk to him in the morning and see if we can salvage this ..."

Hound let him pull away but moved to rest his hands on Trailbreaker's shoulders so he could turn the other mech to face him. "No, you both deserve better. Both of you, 'Breaker. Primus, nothing would make me happier than to see you happy and in a sustaining relationship that completes you."

Trailbreaker looked down and started fiddling with the new cube. "... Sometimes, though ... sometimes it's just best to leave things unsaid. Sometimes it's best to just go with how things are ..."

"Is it really? If something is troubling you of that magnitude then you should do something about it. I mean...it was killing me the way Mirage and I had to keep things quiet between us but now that we're out in the open it's like this weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"Yeah, you and Mirage are perfect together," Trailbreaker said. He was unable to keep a slight note of bitterness from his tone.

The scout was understandably puzzled at the note of bitterness in Trailbreaker's voice. "Do you really dislike him that much? Or are you just angry with him for taking me away from you?" Out came that bleak, unhappy question. It had been plaguing him at the back of his processor for a while now.

"I ... No, I don't hate him! He makes you happy and that's so important to me and ..." He trailled off and looked at Hound, vorns of silence struggling with a sudden urge to act.

"He does make me happy, 'Breaker and I'd hate to see you so unhappy at the cost of my own happiness."

"I know you want me to be happy, Hound. I know you want me to settle down, but sometimes ... sometimes you can't have the mech you want."

"What do you mean, 'Breaker? Is there someone else? If that's the case, you need to tell them! 'Breaker, if you're not willing to fight for what you want, if you're not willing to step out onto that branch and take a chance then you're never going to be happy."

Pain warred with a flash of anger then and Trailbreaker glowered at Hound for a moment. "You don't know what you're talking about, Hound."

"Of course I do. You have to at least try," the jeep argued heatedly.

"It's not that easy, Hound. Primus, you're so…so….dense!" Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned in to press a kiss to the his lips against Hound's in a frustrated kiss. It was just about as terrible as the drunken kiss Silverbolt had laid on him a few weeks before.

Hound didn't quite pick up on Trailbreaker's intentions at first when his friend reached out to brush his cheek. "...'Breaker?" the puzzled murmur came mere astroclicks before the SUV pressed his lips against Hound's. Surprise shot through him at the unexpected touch and Hound's processor started to put things together at a lightening fast pace. He wasn't too comfortable with the summation he came up with.

Ah, but there had been a time, a long, long time ago when this would have answered every one of his prayers. But that was the past and with a tinge of regret, Hound gently pulled away from the kiss. "Oh 'Breaker...."

Trailbreaker made a soft, miserable sound as Hound pulled away. Everything played out just like he'd feared. Hound was so obviously not interested, so obviously turned off by the very thought, and Trailbreaker's self doubt quickly came to the conclusion that he's just destroyed his long friendship.

".... I'm so sorry, 'Breaker." Hound whispered miserably when he saw the devastated look on his friend's faceplates.

"I ... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ..." He stood and bolted for the door. "I'm sorry, Hound ..."

"No! 'Breaker don't run!" Horrified, Hound started to chase after him but his spark wasn't in it. "....oh fraggit...what have I done?"