A/N: Sick author is siiick. And whiny, and pathetic, and out of the really good ice cream. Beta is sick, too (*cough* the one big disadvantage of a live-in beta). As a result, there might be some few mistakes in here that we overlooked (hopefully not too many) and I am hideously behind on review responses. I am so, so sorry and promise to catch up this weekend when my stupid, sadistic cold is hopefully gone again and I can actually string more than two coherent sentences together without having to count the typos and brain-farts by the dozen.
This time, Ironhide was out of recharge when free-fall struck and this time he got the clear impression that there was absolutely nothing accidental about it, either. He was about to snap back and tell Lennox to get a slagging grip on the bond but something made him pause. Something was different, something deliberate and challenging and smug and he made his way outside just in time to see a silver arrow shoot straight down, see the dawn catch up with it and silver turn the molten gold of sunrise, and then the jet broke off at the last possible second.
The world was noise, the roar of engines and wind and raw fury, and then their Seeker was off again in a dizzying display of death-defying stunts to send Ironhide's bond and processors reeling and it wasn't until he reached out for something to steady himself and felt Ratchet grip his arm that he realised he wasn't alone. Oh, there were people around him, mech and human, because fragging everyone had stopped to stare at the display, but he felt Ratchet through their bond as well and there was an understanding whispering across it that told him beyond any doubt that Ratchet actually knew.
Up, up, cut the engines, feel the world slow and stop and turn as gravity took over and he fell backwards into thin air even as he stayed on his feet and his processors were spinning and he was torn between the desire to shoot the slagger out of the sky and the warring emotions that were half his, half Will's, and something else that he hadn't even noticed before-
- And Ratchet's fingers dug into plating with a strength the medic rarely showed and forced Ironhide's attention back on solid ground.
"Focus." The voice was low, urgent, unyielding, and enough to snap Ironhide's mind back into something that approached coherency again as the medic continued. "I know that ground-pounder programming can't let you appreciate it as it was supposed to be but try to focus, Ironhide. He is doing this for you. Focus, keep your feet on the ground, and learn to appreciate it. If you intend to remain a proper mate to him, you will have to learn to handle this sort of thing."
One second, then two, and Ironhide forced himself to ignore the sound of powerful jet engines and the surges from their bond, and finally he felt his processors clear again to a point where he could actually focus.
The emotions from the bond were still there and it took him until then to realise that it wasn't just the human-turned-Seeker being a pest through a bond, either, but that their medic was in on it, too, and it wasn't strictly feelings of support flowing through their connection. Old enough to shield a bond, his slagging aft.
"What the frag is that pest doing?" His voice came out more unsteady than he had hoped and Ratchet clearly noticed, too, because the pain in the exhaust pipe of a medic had the audacity to smirk at that as he let go of Ironhide's arm and the world spun around him again.
"For someone who claims to like Seekers, I'm surprised you have never witnessed a mating flight before. Granted, he is a bit new to it all and doesn't have the finesse that Starscream or his trine used to possess but even then, it should be blatantly obvious... even to a front-liner."
Will and the Seeker – either or both and Ironhide didn't know and couldn't care the least bit less about it at that point in time – pulled hard on the bond again in a way that the weapon specialist wasn't even sure was actually possible, and it took every bit of self-control and stubbornness he had to keep from being swept away in it all. Energon pumping through lines and systems at a frantic pace, cooling fan fighting desperately to keep overworked systems from overheating as well, and even standing still on the ground, Ironhide felt the effects of the mad acrobatics on his own body, something raw and fierce and dangerous and as likely to croon at his touch as it was to tear him apart, and-
- down, down, and his eyes brightened in a flare of blue as he got the full force of his flying mate's exhilaration in between a roll that almost let them sweep against the waves of the lagoon and the fuel-churning climb that followed-
- and if he ended up purging those fuel tanks, someone was getting their afts kicked from now and well into the Primus-fragged matrix, Pit-spawned mate or not.
Ratchet, in one of his usual stunning displays of sadism, just laughed at him and it wasn't until then that Ironhide realised he had spoken it out loud, or over their bond, or maybe Ratchet was just a slag-aft mindreader like the worthless 'Con that was still in orbit, and frag it all to the Pit but he was too old for that sort of thing.
"You should have thought of that before you decided to pursue a Seeker," Ratchet pointed out with deceptive mildness and a mercilessness that would have made Megatron downright proud.
"Seeker-programming, my aft," Ironhide snorted. "The only reason you're still online is because the Pit's afraid you're going to take over."
Mechs are from Primus, medics are from the Pit? Will suggested over their bond, and the smug feeling from Ratchet told Ironhide beyond any doubt that they were both intended to hear that.
And Seekers are spawn of the Unmaker, Ironhide growled right back. I'll have your fragging aft for this, Lennox.
It clearly wasn't a threat that was worth much without a target-locked pair of cannons to back him up because the human-turned-Seeker just laughed and then the ground dropped away under Ironhide's feet again and he gripped Ratchet's arm hard enough to leave finger-shaped dents in the process.
You'd have to catch me first, old-timer, and you creak so much we'd hear you coming from a mile away. A half-purr, half-smirk carried over through the bond and Will continued before Ironhide had the chance to interrupt. You should ask Ratchet to take a look at that for you. I hear he's good with his fingers and a bit of lubricant.
One endless second of pure shock, then-
Lennox!
He got the responding laughter in stereo, from Seeker and medic both, and then the ground levelled out as the jet roared by overhead, glowing gold as the early morning sunlight caught on wings and tail fins and the already gold-tinted glass of the canopy.
Ratchet obviously picked up on it, too, as Ironhide discovered a moment later when the medic took a step closer and lowered his voice to a darker, silkier murmur that brought entirely too many memories back.
"Attractive, is he not? There is something about having a Seeker fly for you that defies any attempt to capture it in words. It's different for a ground-pounder, of course, since we can't appreciate the flight-skills involved in the same way as another Seeker could but still, the connection remains."
"You're out of your fragging mind," Ironhide said hoarsely. "Both of you. A suicidal pile of scrap metal and a medic that got his processors scrambled so much, he'd make Sideswipe look sane. Normal mechs don't enjoy being dropped in free-fall."
"Then you should learn to ground yourself and appreciate it for what it is," Ratchet murmured right back and he fragging well knew the effect that voice had on Ironhide as entirely too graphic memories wandered to the forefront of his processors and the responding smirk over their bond told him that the medic had noticed, too. "He is a Seeker, Ironhide. He is displaying his skills and suitability as a mate in order to woo you."
"I thought he'd already claimed me for a mate."
"There are different levels of 'mate', and you have yet to interface," Ratchet pointed out in that same low voice. "This is the proper way to woo a mate. Traditions are important to Seekers and you can't deny that William clearly enjoys this, too."
Ironhide snorted at that. True, he couldn't deny it because the bond left absolutely no doubt that the human and the Seeker were in it together, but that didn't mean a thing in that particular case. "That's not saying much. He wasn't even sane as a human, Ratchet. If his assault on Blackout wasn't a hint, you should take a look at the NEST mission reports. He's got more lives than Starscream."
The ground lurched below his feet again but less violently than before and this time he could keep himself from getting pulled along for the flight. He could still feel it but the dominant feeling was solid ground and the knowledge that he was watching and feeling the Seeker at work and not up there in the air himself. Talking had been the right kind of distraction and the flicker of smugness from Ratchet told him the other knew it, too.
Pit-spawned pest of a medic, he grumbled, mostly as a matter of principle.
Imbecilic front-liner, said medic offered right back – mostly on principle, too – and the smugness faded again as he continued. He will need those lives, Ironhide. Those lives and whatever luck he can possibly claim for this.
There wasn't much Ironhide could say to that so instead he focused completely on the jet again and felt the strange kind of stereo impressions again as he watched their Seeker throw itself into air acrobatics that defied every law of physics and felt the accompanying emotions through their bond without any kind of delay.
It was an attractive display, he couldn't deny that. Impossible to drag his optics away from, if he had to be completely honest with himself, and that was proven when he heard heavy footsteps behind him and reluctantly turned his head to realise that Optimus Prime was standing next to them and that not a single one of his sensors had alerted him.
Spawn of the fragging Unmaker, every single one of the flying pests, and their Prime's patient and very clear amusement didn't help on it, either.
"I would ask in whose honour the mating flight is but I suppose it's fairly obvious, everything considered."
A snort from Ratchet, half heard and half felt, and it was a new and very unnerving feeling to have his attention torn between so many places and not be able to do a thing about it. "Will's first flight and Ironhide's first experience with it. I'd forgotten how few of the higher processor functions remain after the Seeker's influence makes itself known."
And Ironhide would have objected to that but considering that thirty-plus feet of Optimus Prime had been able to sneak up on him, it would have been somewhat of a pointless objection.
"Ground-bound mechs never possessed the programming to see those flights the way they were intended to," their Prime said quietly. "Mating flights were meant for Seekers. It is little wonder that those bound by gravity find themselves swept up in the... emotions of it all."
Another snort from Ratchet at that. "I think 'lunacy' is the term you're looking for. I know Seeker programming, Prime, and there is nothing rational left in their pretty little heads once they start on a flight like this. The only things that matter are their mate and the sky."
"And yet you let him." There was no hint of accusation in their Prime's voice but it was still a statement that demanded an explanation for their current situation and Ironhide couldn't argue with that nagging need to know in the least.
The sound barrier broke somewhere above them as Will headed straight up again and long moments passed before the medic broke the silence that followed.
"It has to be done properly, Optimus," Ratchet said quietly. "He is a Seeker. This is how it has to be."
"It will bind him to our faction," their Prime commented just as quietly. "Is he aware of that?"
Ratchet glared at him in return. "Would I have let him if he wasn't? He is my patient, Optimus. That is all you should ever need to know to answer that question."
A small, regal nod was offered in silent apology at that. "I had no doubts, old friend. Nonetheless, I had to ask."
Something flowed through the bond with the medic before it was abruptly cut off again – understanding-weariness-regret – but Ironhide didn't need that to see the way Ratchet ran a hand across his face place for what it was. He had been about to go off in one of his famous fits of temper and had been stopped by reason late enough that getting it all back under control wasn't as easy as it sounded.
"Programming. I am aware. I keep forgetting how much of it is actually there. Thank you for reminding me. To answer your question, then yes. Lennox is quite aware of what he is doing. It's harder to see due to their inexperience but the human influence does show in their flight. Less than I might have liked, perhaps, but his control was surrendered willingly."
Ironhide had the very distinct and very annoying feeling of missing half the conversation, and he forced a little more of his attention away from the Seeker. A brief scan around him revealed that the humans that had stopped to watch were out of hearing range – even if their Seeker hadn't done a painfully thorough job of keeping up a near-deafening engine-roar around them almost constantly – and Ironhide's optics narrowed at the two mechs nearby.
"Did both of you scramble your processors or is it just the standard reaction to long-term Seeker-exposure?"
There was a long, shocked pause and then the clear feeling of laugher over the bond and even aeons of practice couldn't keep the slight amusement from showing in Ratchet's features. "I suppose it would explain Megatron."
Ironhide snorted and turned his full attention back to Will as the sound of jet engines approached again. Now that he was mostly able to tell his own reality from the one superimposed on it by the Seeker through their bond, he could appreciate a bit more what he saw. He had seen Seekers in combat before but that had been just that - combat and on the enemy side. There hadn't exactly been time to do anything but focus on hitting the fraggers and the few times when watching had been an option, it had still been combat and obviously a long way from what the pests were capable of when they really wanted to show off. Being in friendly territory didn't hurt, either.
Another surge of vertigo as the alien jet broke off in a wing-straining turn less than a second before he would have ploughed into the ground, and then a surge of raw lust and desire to claim that was no less intense than the near-crash had been. No less intense and even more capable of affecting him as he felt Energon flow faster and his own systems heat up in response, and he couldn't quite shield the accompanying rush of memories of his hands gripping those wings and a deadly claw hooked around a main Energon line.
If he's trying to test my patience... Ironhide sent darkly and felt more than saw Ratchet's answering smirk.
Of course he is. He's a Seeker. Ironhide's confusion - and no small amount of dawning annoyance - must have shown clearly because Ratchet focused on the jet again and continued out loud. "Mating flights serve a dual purpose. It displays their abilities in the air and thus their suitability as a mate and protector of the future family, but it also displays the abilities they may pass on to their offspring. Not all Seekers are born equal. Most of them could have trained relentlessly for their entire existence and never approached Starscream's level of skills. The programming, personalities, and abilities of the mated pair has quite a lot of influence on the gifts their sparklings will be be created with. While mechs relied on the Allspark for creation and a suitable diversity in skills, Seekers relied on themselves."
"Like the method of reproduction used by humans of this world," Optimus summarised.
"To a degree," Ratchet agreed. "They do have some control of which traits carry over. Not perfect, of course, or we would have been overrun by Starscreams by now, but some. Like... genetically modified organic creatures, to a degree. I doubt anyone but the Seekers themselves know how much control they have or if it varies from Seeker to Seeker. I certainly never found out."
"And if one mated with a ground-bound mech?"
Ratchet was silent. "No Seeker would choose to create a non-Seeker body for the sparkling they carry. The sparkling would need Seeker programming and Seeker instincts. By far the most of that sparkling's programming would come from the Seeker part of the union with only minor parts carrying over from the non-Seeker creator." He gave Ironhide a pointed look and got a huff in return before he continued. "It might result in an unusually trigger-happy Seeker or one that was more heavily armoured than the average of the breed. Some degree of speed and agility might be sacrificed in that case for something close to a ground-bound mech's class of armour in a concession to the non-Seeker mate."
The mental image of a miniature Seeker with his own style of cannons appeared in Ironhide's processors and it was every bit as bizarre as he would have imagined. The bird-brains might have issues but Ironhide was willing to admit that maybe a perfectly balanced mix of Seeker and ground-bound mech wasn't the best idea around.
Twin feelings of amusement through his bonds told him that both medic and Seeker had picked up on those images, too, and he pointedly turned his attention back to the air display and ignored their medic.
Ratchet just made an amused sound.
"Further proof that both human and Seeker are in control, Optimus. No true Seeker would have tolerated that level of distraction from its audience, and much less its mates and the one it has honoured with a flight like that. The only talking we should be doing should be praise of him."
"A valid point," their Prime agreed dryly. "They do have somewhat of an ego."
More words followed but they faded from Ironhide's attention as the full force of the Seeker's interest was turned on him. Not quite Cybertronian like Ratchet was, not quite human like the bond had felt when Lennox had held complete control but something that was a mix of everything, Cybertronian and human and something else that Ironhide assumed was that Seeker-influence rearing its ugly head.
It's not that bad, Will disagreed with a flare of amusement and underscored it with a dizzying roll above their heads. We've sort of learned to get along and compromise.
So you're the one hitting on me now? Ironhide asked dryly.
A smirk was the only response he got. A smirk, followed by vivid images of control and dominance and five tons of deadly Seeker pinning him to the ground to have their way with him, demanded submission and glyphs carved into armour as marks of passion and pleasure and possession, and an all-consuming wave of lust-
- and as sudden as it had begun, it stopped again, cut off abruptly as their Seeker turned in mid-air to do some sort of twisted almost-somersault, transformed and landed to the sound of crushed tarmac and a tremor of the ground that was felt by everyone in the immediate area.
Blue optics burned brightly in heat and arousal and something else-
- and then Will smirked and turned his attention to Ratchet with nothing more than a smug feeling before the shielding of their bond fell heavily into place.
And the medic was in on it, too, Ironhide realised a moment later, because the Primus-damned Pit-spawn was slagging well smirking.
"Now that you have stretched your wings for the morning, do you think you can focus enough not to pulverise the training dummy I had Jolt and Mikaela make for you?" Ratchet asked with the sort of mildness that was never good news, and Ironhide could see as Will's posture changed and relaxed and he gave off the closest thing to 'utterly harmless' that any Seeker was capable of.
"I should be," he agreed with the same sort of uncharacteristic, deceptive mildness, and Ironhide simply stared as the pieces fell into place. "I think I worked off the worst of my energy. We should get going, though, I don't want to keep my team waiting. Besides, I promised Sarah she could be there, too, and Sam talked 'Bee into letting him tag along."
Ratchet nodded, all professional pride and courtesy, and Ironhide could have sworn he heard something like choked laughter from their Prime at that but the medic spoke again before Ironhide had time to say anything. "I agree. You have made good progress and being around other humans for the day will be good for you."
"I had a good instructor," Will said with all the modesty that was so very unnatural for a Seeker. "After you, sir?"
Before Ironhide had the chance to take as much as a step towards them, both Seeker and medic had transformed and left in a small cloud of dust that Ironhide was sure was very deliberate and for a moment he simply stared and wondered if he should take up pursuit or simply shoot the fraggers... and then he felt Will's shields lower again and got the clear impression that the slagger was smirking.
I will have your aft for this, Lennox, Ironhide promised with a soundless growl and heard Will laugh in return.
You already promised that once. You should make good on that or I'll think you're getting impotent. Old age catching up with you, 'Hide?
A challenge if he had ever heard one and he felt his systems heat up slightly again at the prospect. It was clearly the human in charge, he could tell that much by now, and if that was how he wanted to play...
Ironhide offered a dark purr in return, let it find its way back through the bond, and he felt the exact moment when the human shuddered slightly and the heat from the bond kicked up a notch.
I always keep my word. Enjoy your playtime, Will. I'll be watching.
And with a final flare of dark, heady pleasure, he brought the shields back into place as abruptly as Lennox had done. Optics burned brighter, a smirk twisting his face plates, and then he turned to their Prime and nodded slightly.
"I'll keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't do anything stupid."
Optimus Prime's nod was all the permission Ironhide needed to transform and take off in the same direction as the Seeker and medic had gone. He had looked amused enough that Ironhide figured he'd probably guessed what was going on, but that thought was gone again a moment later as he turned his attention back to their wayward little human-turned-Cybertronian.
The human was strength and stubbornness and more than worthy of his name, and he would do everything in his power to keep Ironhide on his toes, that much was clear already. The Seeker, on the other hand, would have caved and submitted.
All in all, Ironhide decided, he much preferred the challenge.