AN: I'm so glad that everybody liked the scene with Optimus and Jazz. I was practically laughing just typing it, so I'm happy people reacted to it well. And on a related side note: Wow! Over 200 reviews! That is incredible. Thank you so much to everybody who made this fic what it is. For reading, and reviewing, inspiring me, giving me encouragement. All of you are incredible.
A very specific and very heartfelt thank you goes out to flamingmarsh, Hot Rod's Girl, pl2363, Mirage Shinkiro, DitzyMusicLover, wolves-fire77, Elita One, Ameri, cmdrtekk, OrianPrime92, Gimme-Chan, Deepseadolphin11, PrancingTiger86, TammyCat, Brimtayne, and Independent.C. for your lovely comments. They always amuse me and encourage me, So thanks! ^_^
Now the bad news is that this was half written on my last day in Ohio, a quarter written in an airport and the last quarter last night (I'm home now) when I was extremely jetlagged from the time zone changes so it might not make too much sense. The good news is that it is a pretty big chapter. Either way, enjoy!
Making Sense of the Illogical
Chapter Seventeen
Klick- Second
Breem - 8.3 Earth minutes
Cycle-One Earth Hour
Joor – One Earth Day
Orn - About Two Earth Weeks
Vorn - About 83 Earth years
Prowl onlined his optics reluctantly, feeling a heaviness on them that he couldn't explain right off.
Shifting slightly over onto his side to relieve the pressure on his door wings (though for the life of him he couldn't remember the last time that he had voluntarily lain on his back in recharge) he took stock of his surroundings.
Concentrating and focusing his sight Prowl was met with the image of the medical bay's slightly scorched metallic ceiling.
Which means….Prowl continued the train of thought, and sure enough, when he looked to the side he was met with the sight of the rest of the med-bay.
Running a quick systems check just to be sure that he was operating with normal parameters Prowl felt mild relief when the only discrepancy was that his internal chronometers were off five cycles (which he found out after logging onto the base's public database).
Though that was puzzling as well. There were only a few things that could throw his chronometers off, and the most likely culprit would be a complete systems shutdown.
But why would they….
Prowl halted his thoughts and accessed his databanks, examining the last entries that had been logged.
Wheeljack…the Special Ops. armory and…
Prowl sat up quickly, though he regretted the action when he felt various wires pull at different parts of his body.
Jazz!
He had been talking about Jazz with Wheeljack and the engineer had said that…that…
Prowl felt his logic circuits heat up slightly and his audios vaguely registered an alarm going off in the distance, but he ignored it all to concentrate on finishing his examination of his last few bits of memory data.
Wheeljack. Special Ops. Talking to the engineer about Jazz and…
Again his logic circuits gave out a painful surge but he ignored it, focused on staying online so he could get through his memory files.
….Talking to Wheeljack about Jazz, and Wheeljack had replied and said that….that Jazz liked him…
Prowl's spark sped up and his systems went into overdrive, setting off several more alarms in the med-bay, though again Prowl ignored the noise in favor of his thoughts.
Jazz.
Prowl frowned, letting his thoughts wander down various avenues.
Was there… could there be a chance that Wheeljack was deceiving him in some way? But no, he had known the engineer for vorns and he knew that Wheeljack wasn't given to lying to mechs about things. The engineer was about as forthright as they came.
So if Wheeljack wasn't lying…then could he have heard the engineer wrong? Could his hopes and fantasies about Jazz have now translated to him getting faulty information? Into hearing and imagining things that weren't (almost certainly couldn't) be true?
That was always a possibility, even if his systems check had told him that his audio receptors were functioning at a hundred percent.
So if he had heard wrong….but then what if he hadn't?
Prowl felt his systems speed up again. If he hadn't heard Wheeljack wrong….
Then…could it be that Jazz really did have feelings for him?
Prowl's spark fluttered uncontrollably and orns of repressed emotions flooded his body.
If there was a chance that Jazz liked him…
An internal alarm went off in his head, informing him that his systems were now running at too hot a temperature to keep functioning but Prowl ignored it (as he had ignored all the other alarms) in favor of thinking about Jazz.
If Jazz liked him….
Prowl's thoughts were turning lethargic, and the tactician was forced to lie back down on the berth due to a sudden inability to keep himself upright.
If Jazz liked him…
All he could concentrate on was that thought. Nothing else in the universe was registering with him in that moment but that simple truth.
Jazz liked him….
Jazz liked him?
Jazz liked him!
And Prowl remembered no more after that.
-TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORME RS_TRANSFORMERS -
"….owl…"
"…rowl…"
"Prowl!"
Registering the noise, Prowl's audio systems alerted him to the fact that someone was calling his name. Loudly and persistently.
"Prowl!"
Very loudly and persistently.
Prowl turned the gain down on his audio receptors and un-shuttered his optics, though he immediately regretted the action because of the bright light that was flooding down on him.
His caller must have seen him wince because the lights were immediately dimmed enough so that he could see without having to squint.
Activating his optics again he looked to where the light controls were operated and sure enough, Ratchet was making his way back across the med-bay to his berth.
"Sorry about that Prowl, we were doing some internal checks on your processor."
Ratchet leaned forward and grabbed by Prowl the upper arm and levered the tactician until he was in a sitting position.
"My internal processor?" Prowl inquired after he was sitting upright.
Ratchet brought out a medical scanner and ran it over Prowl, remembering a similar scene with the SIC not so long ago.
Focusing back on his scanner, Ratchet answered Prowl's question. "Your logic circuits overheated enough to melt some of the wires in your CPU. We had to go in and replace them before they degraded and short circuited something."
Prowl made a noncommittal noise and activated his own self diagnostics to make sure that the replacement wires had integrated with his other systems properly.
After his systems check gave him the all clear Prowl sat back and let Ratchet finish what he was doing, content for the moment to be silent.
Sub-spacing his scanner, Ratchet nodded at the tactician. "It's a good thing that you have such a resilient CPU. As it is, you'll have coolant hooked up into your systems for at least the next four cycles just so that we can be sure that there's no extra damage to your systems anywhere else in that overworked body of yours.
Prowl nodded his understanding, not trusting himself to speak, to voice any of the questions that he wanted to ask.
Ratchet nodded again and after checking that all the wires that he was hooked up to were secured he started to make his way back to his office.
"I'll call Optimus and Wheeljack down to see you; you've had them a bit worried with your crash yesterday."
Prowl didn't want to but he couldn't stop himself from asking. "Jazz…"
Ratchet turned to face him and the look on his face was almost pitying. "Jazz left a message with me for you earlier in the cycle. He wishes you a fast recovery and a good orn, but he won't be down to see you while you're in the med-bay."
Prowl just stared back at Ratchet like he had been hit in the spark. He should have expected it he supposed after having avoided the saboteur so persistently for so long but hadn't Wheeljack said that Jazz liked him? So why wouldn't Jazz come visit him? It would be (had been) the first impulse for Prowl when Jazz had been hurt so why wasn't the saboteur here now?
Prowl had no control over the next question that slipped out of his vocalizer while he was engrossed in his thought. "But I thought…didn't Wheeljack say that…that…"
Prowl's internal temperatures skyrocketed again, forcing the machines attached to his systems to pump more coolant into his systems to keep them from shutting down from the strain.
"But I thought that Jazz liked me!" Prowl finally managed to get out, hating that he sounded more like a sparkling and not at all like a ranking officer in the Prime's army and the second-in-command that he was supposed to be.
Ratchet bowed his head and muttered under his vocals about stupid engineers before looking Prowl in the optics.
"Wheeljack shouldn't have told you that. It was thoughtless of him."
Prowl clenched his fingers and blocked out the voices that had sprang to life in is head at Ratchet's words.
"So…Wheeljack was lying to me?" Prowl whispered, sure that he could feel his spark physically breaking into pieces in his spark chamber.
"No!" Ratchet immediately intervened on his friend's behalf, causing Prowl to sit up straighter. "Wheeljack was telling the truth when he said that Jazz likes you. You just…Jazz needs to tell you this himself."
Prowl looked down at his clenched fists. "So then why hasn't he?" Prowl questioned aloud, causing Ratchet to huff in an amused way.
"Probably for the same reason that you haven't told him about the way you feel." Ratchet answered the tactician's query.
Prowl looked at Ratchet curiously, urging the CMO to continue.
"Don't you see?" Ratchet asked, before shaking his head at prowl's confused hopelessness. "He's afraid of what your response will be. He fears rejection."
Ratchet's words made Prowl pause. Jazz was afraid that he would reject him? But he liked the saboteur, couldn't imagine his life without the third-in-command in it!
There was no way that fearless confident Jazz could be afraid of his reaction to his feelings was there? Could it really be that simple? That Jazz was scared of the same things that he was, that they both were after the same thing?
Ratchet placed a hand on Prowl's shoulder, recalling the tactician's attention to the room.
"I'll call Wheeljack and Optimus and you can discuss this with them okay?" Ratchet told Prowl in an uncharacteristically mellow voice, before retreating to his office.
-TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORME RS_TRANSFORMERS -
By the time that both Optimus and Wheeljack and managed to arrive in the med-bay (it took seven point six two breems-prowl had impatiently watched every click count down on his chronometers) prowl had thought up multiple questions to ask the two.
How did they know that he liked Jazz? How did they know that Jazz liked him? Why wasn't Jazz here in the med-bay if he did like him? What should he do now? Should he tell Jazz how he feels or wait for the saboteur to tell him? Who else knew? Did the whole base know? (that thought made Prowl shudder slightly) or just a few select bots? How long had Jazz liked him? What about Trailbreaker? What about the army? Would they still be able to keep their ranks? Would Optimus allow this relationship to continue? What about…
All these questions and more ran in a loop in his head, repeating themselves over and over until Prowl was sure that there were wires in his CPU that must have been accidently crossed despite both his and Ratchet's scans coming up clean.
In fact, Prowl was so intent on trying to arrange his thoughts into some sort of comprehensible order that it took Wheeljack calling his name and waving a hand in front of his optics to finally get his attention to focus outside of his CPU again.
Prowl focused his optics and got a quick look at Wheeljack's obsidian hand only inches from his faceplate before they were pulled back, but not before Prowl got to inspect the minute scars that crisscrossed the engineer's hands with a slightly interest.
"Yes Wheeljack?" Prowl asked the engineer since he seemed so intent on getting his attention.
Wheeljack grinned at the tactician and rapped Prowl gently against his helm.
"You look very focused there Prowl. What is going on in that processor of yours?" Wheeljack teased his superior officer.
Prowl sent his mind searching through the categories that his processor had sorted his substantial list of questions into.
"Jazz." Prowl breathed out, for once not fighting the urge to keep all of his doubts, hopes, and fears inside his emotional sub-processors.
Optimus made a noise in his vocalizer, but chose not to say anything out loud; instead he just stood on the side, waiting for Prowl to give voice to his thoughts.
"What about Jazz?" Wheeljack asked confused, apparently not seeing the same things that Prowl was seeing when it came to the saboteur.
"He…I…well…" Prowl began, trying as hard as he could to get out his thoughts as rationally as possible.
"You said that Jazz had feelings for me right?" Prowl turned back to look at Wheeljack sharply after a moment of contemplation.
Wheeljack nodded slowly.
"How do you know?" Prowl questioned.
Wheeljack gave Prowl a questioning look. "Know what?"
Prowl stared at the engineer (a supposed genius) and felt an uncharacteristic urge to shake him.
"Know that he likes me! What about Trailbreaker? And why wouldn't he just tell me? Ratchet says that it's because Jazz is scared of rejection, but why would Jazz be scared? I love him! And why isn't Jazz here? I thought you said that he liked me?"
Optimus and Wheeljack exchanged weary looks over the top of Prowl's head, trying to figure out how to allay Prowl's concerns.
"Prowl…" Optimus said softly. "Let me start by saying that Jazz had been attempting to win your affections for a long while now. And there probably isn't a bot in the army that hasn't seen the affection that he holds for you and you for him."
"You say you love him?" Wheeljack interjected.
Prowl took a moment to consider Wheeljack's question. True he had mostly been babbling when he had asked the question and he would be the first to admit he was having a hard time pinning down his feeling for Jazz. He knew he had some attachment to the saboteur, and he knew that they were strong emotions, but love? Could it be possible? Could he really feel that strongly for Jazz?
Random images of Jazz sprang unbidden to life behind his optics and Prowl let out another sigh.
"Yes." Prowl let out softly. "I love him."
There was a moment of silence and then Wheeljack asked another question. "And have you told him that you love him?" Wheeljack asked, knowing full well that Prowl had done no such thing.
This time Prowl visibly frowned. "No! But he…Jazz hasn't either." Prowl trailed off softly his unspoken question apparent. Optimus frowned trying to find a response that would keep Prowl calm.
"You and Jazz have many things to discuss." Optimus said comfortingly trying to take control of the conversation again. "But not until the start of the next orn I'm afraid."
Prowl tilted his head to the side. "Why? Doesn't he want to see me? Where is he?"
"He got an emergency call from some of his operatives in the early cycles of the joor and departed to take care of it. He sends his regards and well wishes, and said to tell you that he'll see you soon."
Prowl wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved that he wouldn't have to face up to what he had spent some much time already trying to avoid in one way or another. This delay would mean that he would have time to prepare for his next meeting with Jazz. And enough time to make himself doubt what he felt for the saboteur as well.
"Aww, cheer up Prowl." Wheeljack said brightly, audio receptors blinking different colors. "All this does is give you time to make sure that have you have everything planned out for when Jazz finally returns, and we'll help you prepare for when he does." the engineered offered on both his and Optimus' behalves.
"And make sure that we don't lose our bets in the process." Optimus muttered under his breath in Wheeljack's direction.
Wheeljack inclined his head slightly, letting Optimus know that he had heard him before turning his full attention back to Prowl and listing different ideas.
-TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORMERS_TRANSFORME RS_TRANSFORMERS-
-Bonus Scene 6-
Jazz checked his chronometer and cursed. Setting the last explosive charge in place Jazz ran as quickly as he dared back to the rendezvous point, hoping to Primus that the information that he had was correct and that he wouldn't encounter any Decepticons on the way back down the hallway.
Arriving safely, Jazz made sure his mechs were in position and then sent them the all clear signal before pressing the detonation mechanism for the charges that he had set.
Jazz took in the gentle melody of the explosions that rocked the base and felt the heat as fires consumed the building and repeated the countdown in his processor.
Only seven joors, twenty breems and two klicks until he could see Prowl again.
Hearing footsteps approaching his position, Jazz started back to the shuttle already knowing that this was going to be a very, very long orn.
-*Reposted on November 16, 2013*-