Author: gatekat and starshield on LJ
Pairing: Jazz(Sirenis)/Prowl
Rating:
Codes: Slash
Summary:
Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the inspirations page ( gatekat-fics .livejournal .com/290 .html ) We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read.
Notes: klik = 1 minute; breem = 8.3 minutes; joor = 1.2 hours; orn = day/32 joor; metacycle = 6 (5.9285) years; vorn = 83 years/14 metacycles
~text~ bond/hardline talk
::text:: comm chatter
All or Nothing 15: Sanctified
The boldly colored femme strode down the hall of the palace, lost in thought. It was a good orn. Her brother was home again from Protihex, the mech he was courting with him to visit once more. Jazz had almost seemed to become a permanent fixture, present wherever Prowl was, and the realization resulted in a slight frown.
Even courting pairs tended to take some time away from each other, but as far she could recall the pair had not been in different cities since the revelation that Sirenis was really Lord Jazz of Protihex just over seven vorns ago. And Prowl had been almost...fidgety around her when she had greeted him that morning, a term vary rarely used to describe her normally composed brother.
The frown grew deeper, and with it Impact's growing feelings of worry.
She found her steps wondering towards her youngest brother's suite. Not that she planned to confront him, but maybe she could catch one of them for a friendly chat.
"Impact, would you join me for a warmed energon?" Prowl's deep, even voice nearly startled her.
It wasn't really a request either. She knew that tone and posture too well. He had something to say and he was as always quite willing to drag someone by the doorwing to do so.
Since she preferred to be the one doing the dragging when the situation warranted it and already curious, she nodded. "Of course, little brother."
Meant with the utmost affection, Impact knew the endearment tended to annoy Prowl, part of the reason she still used it. And as much as he might want to deny it on some occasions, he was her little brother and she was never going to let him forget it. "Where?"
"My sitting room," he motioned her towards his suite and went silent, nearly undetectable, until she was seated, high grade in hand, across from a very nervous looking Jazz who was halfway through a cube already.
Prowl in stealth mode and a nervous Jazz already well on his way to being slightly overcharged? Impact accepted the drink, noting it all with a practiced optic and analyzing it calmly. Her processor immediately came up with half a dozen reasons as to why she was sitting here, but she held her peace.
She knew her brother, and Prowl would speak when he was ready and not before. There was no point in straining herself before then. Besides, if she was here, he was almost ready.
She watched as Prowl sat next to Jazz and drew him close. It wasn't an unusual move. The pair were amazingly tactile, even in public. It wasn't something Prowl had been like with any of the others. It made her smile softly to see them lean into each other, taking strength from the other.
"I need your word, as a medic, not to tell anyone," Prowl began.
The smile froze with the rest of her. For Prowl to ask for that sent fear to her spark like a shot. Her word, as a medic, was sacred. Held in confidence beyond a right to know and something he had never asked of her before, even under the worst of circumstance. "Little brother...what have you done?"
Jazz stiffened but Prowl relaxed, understanding that it had been granted with the asking of the question. Jazz relaxed a nanoklik later.
"Jazz and I are bonded," Prowl said simply, evenly. "We did not plan it, but neither can we regret it."
Impact vented deeply, setting the high grade down on the nearest available surface. She wanted, needed, a clear processor. While this certainly explained a lot, it also generated many questions. Questions she wanted and was going to get answers to.
"Bonded?" She repeated, seeking confirmation in case by some insubstantial twist of fate she had misheard him.
"Bonded," Prowl nodded, his helm and his wings moving together. "We have avoided telling until I was reasonably sure Jazz had proven himself to you. Unplanned, unexpected, but very much still desired."
"The bits I'm having trouble believing here, little brother, are the bits 'unplanned' and 'unexpected'." Impact ground out, doing an admirable job of holding her temper at the moment. "What in Pit were you thinking?"
"We weren't," Prowl said patiently. "We were merged. I remember thinking I always wanted him, and that Jazz agreed. The overload knocked us both off line for a bit. When we were both fully booted again we could hear each other without speaking."
"Without speaking...Prowl." She moaned, the idea making her processor ache since it should have been impossible from a medical standpoint. But then again, this was Prowl, her logical brother who seemed able to defy all logic without trying.
"And you?" She looked at Jazz, wary and suspicious. "What part did you play in all of this?"
"I said yes." Jazz answered, probably not as bothered as he should have been by the look in her optics. He had already survived the fire once when his brothers found out, already had Prowl's promise that they would not be parted. Prowl had been by him then, and he stood by his mate now.
"Unplanned, unintentional but very much desired," Prowl repeated.
The femme looked long and hard at her brother. "You have desired things you have regretted in the past."
"Yes," he acknowledged mistakes and ignorance alike without shame. "There is no breaking this bond, Impact. You have expressed approval of Jazz before. We are telling you now for your support. I do not expect out creators to agree to our ceremony as quickly as we would like. However, your voice in support of it has a 87.0043% probability of reducing the time they are demanding we court significantly."
"While you're crunching numbers you might as well calculate the odds they'll mount your head and your wings on the wall and let Springer use Jazz for target practice, with or without my support."
Almost indifferent defiance greeted the first half from Prowl, exactly as she was used to, but the moment Jazz was threatened he was on his feet and grabbing for her, his optics overly bright white with the kind of defensive rage that didn't exist in the palace.
Startled, Impact moved enough that his first attempt fell short, only to find herself pinned by the larger frame of her brother, and for the first time ever the medic was afraid of him. Voice shaking she looked into those enraged optics. "Prowl?"
"Never threaten him," Prowl growled at her, his voice clipped and rich with defensive rage. "I will break any mech who tries. Understood?"
For a moment Jazz was frozen, the pure rage he could feel from his mate stunning him. Then action.
~Love.~ A gentle nudge at first, followed by a harder shove. ~She didn't mean it any more than the comment about them turning you into a wall hangin'. Let her up.~
It was enough to make Prowl let out a trembling x-vent and let his sister up as he flushed the emotional charge from his systems by force of specialized protocols designed to protect his delicately balanced advanced logic circuits.
Even after she was released Impact waited until Jazz had welcomed Prowl back with open arms before daring to move, retaking her own seat with lowered wings and body language that was clearly non-threatening to the point of submission. When she spoke again the tone was even, quiet. "So what do you intend to do?"
Prowl was still for a bit longer, welcoming Jazz's efforts to calm him and his own shock at his overreaction before looking at her again. "To keep the fact we are bonded as quiet as possible until the ceremony and to hurry our creators into accepting we are ready to bond without telling them it's a moot debate."
"You don't ask for much, do you little brother?" Impact asked softly. She settled back in her seat, considering.
"We've hidden it well so far," Prowl reminded her. "We're just asking for your voice to support us that he's good for me, good to me."
"How long?" She asked, trying to mark a point where their interactions changed and failed utterly.
"Over seven vorns," Prowl murmured, ducking his head and tucking his wings out of the way, out of her reach.
Relief and shame chased each other across her feature quickly. "Does anyone else know?"
"Jazz's brothers Sideswipe and Sunstreaker," Prowl answered. "They caught us, but I guess I measured up because once the dust settled, they decided to help us."
A soft chuckle escaped Jazz as he leaned into Prowl. "That was a fun time. Took a bit to convince them you weren't hurting me."
"Hurting you?" Impact repeated, surprised and defensive for Prowl's sake, "And what kind of 'help'?"
"Jazz is their brother," Prowl pointed out with a fond smile for what had gotten them caught by the twins. "And I have a less than savory reputation with them." He hummed, forcefully squishing those desires as mentioning them made them rouse deep in his interfacing protocols. "Mostly it came in the form of pointers on how to avoid getting caught. They're also putting in a good word about me and us now and then, just as we're asking you to."
Understanding dawned on several levels. "Your little visit to First Aid was their idea too, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Jazz nodded, snuggled against Prowl's side and tucked into an embrace.
"Given the unplanned and generally subconscious nature of our bonding, it seemed unwise to trust that a sparkling might not happen the same way," Prowl expanded the simple answer. "We decided that I was the less likely to raise suspicions with questions or planning ahead."
"Wise. Though if you wanted to move up the date of the ceremony that would have done it." She mused, relaxing in her seat enough to curl into a more comfortable position. "How hard and fast do you want to push moving this up?"
"I would be very pleased at another forty one vorns, the goal is ninety seven vorns," Prowl answered. "Once the shock wore off we agreed that we wanted this to appear as natural and unpressured as possible, within reason. Even before the bond we both though the hundred and fifty some vorns our creators wanted was excessive."
"They worry for, and you two, full frame or not, are young." Impact optics flashed teasingly. "Prowl is still the sparkling of the family, no matter how old he acts."
Jazz allowed himself a laugh at his bonded's expense, pushing just how much he loved and adored his mate over the bond.
"Forty one might be difficult, though I know everyone has warmed up to Jazz a great deal in the past seven vorns. Ninety seven vorns seems plausible, but I'm sure you already know that," Impact concluded.
"Of course," Prowl gave her a sly smile, one of his rare displays of the wicked sense of humor that resided in his spark. "We have your support?"
She sighed, taking her time to weigh everything carefully. The sight before her was so perfect though. Plus Prowl had changed since he had been with Jazz, changes for the better. He was happy, happy in a way that she couldn't remember him ever being.
The dents in her plating also confirmed just how much he cared for the mech in his arms. Finally she nodded. "Two conditions. First, I want some proof. Second, I want to talk to Jazz's brothers."
"What proof do you want?" Prowl asked evenly, even though he was expecting to hear what he didn't want to. He didn't want to allow another to touch Jazz's spark, but for her support he would manage, somehow.
She held up a hand. "Hear me out- proof that he plans to continue being good to you. That this isn't an act." She had been fooled once. She was not going to let that happen again to someone she loved when she was in a position to prevent it.
"By any means you want," Jazz said firmly even as he sent reassurances to Prowl. A data merge was nothing like interfacing. Prowl might not know the difference, not first person, but Jazz did and he knew that as a medic Impact did as well.
Prowl nodded, his grip tightening on Jazz before he relented reluctantly.
"Merge. Data only." She assured her brother gently. "And at your convenience." She would not force him to do it now. They were supposed to spend a considerable time in Praxus. So long as it before they left she would be content.
~Your timing,~ Prowl murmured. ~I doubt I will ever be ready to witness that.~
Jazz pressed closer to his mate. ~Sooner the better then. And it is not what you think, love. My spark is in no danger from her, nor is our bond.~
A soft x-vent waved over Jazz's helm horns. ~I know, but it's still your spark.~ He shivered, tendrils of possessive jealously winding upwards in his processor. ~What needs to happen or not, I do like it.~
~I can see if she will be content with a data transfer. Sideswipe was.~ Jazz offered quietly.
~Having been on the receiving end of that, I'll cope with a data merge,~ Prowl shivered at the unpleasant memories - not of the digging, but of the processor ache that lasted most of the following orn.
Jazz dismissed the pain, considering it minor compared to the distress the merge might cause Prowl and giving his bonded one last chance to refuse before accepted Impact's terms and asked to see if she was willing to do it now.
~Merge,~ Prowl said firmly. ~I can reclaim your spark later. I can't sooth the pain.~
Impact waited as Jazz pulled free from a reluctant Prowl, pausing only long enough to give the mech a gentle kiss. "Now." He said, facing her.
The femme nodded her head, all business as she stood to face him. "If you are sure."
"Yes," Prowl murmured softly, leaving it no secret who was the reluctant party.
It was quick work to arrange things so that the two of them could merge, Impact facing her new patient, and she hoped her new brother. The healer in her took over. "Jazz of Protihex, do you enter into with a full understanding of what you are doing and a willingness to see it through?"
"I understand fully and I will see anything through for Prowl," Jazz said firmly, far more than the simple 'yes' she's eventually wrangled out of Prowl all those vorns ago. Jazz unlocked his chest plates, keenly aware of Prowl's conflicting desires to be there, protect him and be far enough away so the pain distracted him from what was about to happen.
"Know that what is learned here will be kept in confidence, released only with permission, and that it is done for the best interest of those involved." Impact continued, ever professional as her own chest plates opened.
Their sparks touched, first with the little zaps of coronal tendrils, then the edge of the coronal mass itself.
Jazz was distantly aware of Prowl unfocused distress, that this was some kind of trigger that had nothing to do with being possessive ... or even afraid for Jazz.
~Bad memories,~ Impact supplied, hoping to sooth them both without going any further than her oaths allowed. With that she focused, checking the connection between them before going in search of what she wanted, what she needed, to know. The sooner she got her answers the sooner everyone would be happy.
She hoped. Hoped with all of her spark that the level of commitment she saw on the surface extended to the spark. That the commitment was to keep her brother happy, warmed, and loved until they returned to the Well. That she was not wrong again in wanting to trust the mech who was now open to her, offering her the answers she sought of his own free will.
Absolute adoration of Prowl, acceptance of everything Prowl, even the disturbing parts, were the predominant things she encountered. They infused Jazz's entire spark. His willingness to do anything to make Prowl happy, even things he didn't particularly want to.
Clean and clear was also the joy Jazz felt that Prowl not just felt the same, but did the same. The compromises they had made, both on their own and as a couple. How lucky Jazz felt at having Prowl, at how good it was.
Drifting in the background was awe at some of the plans Prowl had detailed for him if both their families disowned them for what had happened. Good plans, solid ones for escaping any efforts to separate them. Plans going so far as to reach the outer colonies and working for their credits if need be. Details at what their skills and specs would be good at in the civilian world, how they could expect to survive.
She'd never realized that Prowl understood how to survive in the working class so well.
Startled, but satisfied and content with what she found, Impact withdrew. She maintained a solid grip on Jazz's arms as their sparks parted and hid away.
Once she was sure he was steady Impact reached up, drawing Jazz down and placing a gentle kiss on the mech forehelm, hugged him in greeting, and released him back to his bonded.
Freed, approved, and accepted, Jazz returned to Prowl's side, stopping just short of touching the Praxian. He reached out to the mech across the bond, strong and bright between them. There was barely had time to register the relief across the bond before Prowl half stood to pull him down, into his lap in a tight embrace, gratitude and intense relief overwhelming everything else.
~I think that's a yes.~ Jazz commented, melting into his bonded embrace and seriously contemplating not getting up any time soon.
~It is,~ Prowl was shaking, stroking Jazz's plating and all but oblivious to the femme watching them.
Jazz's wrapped Prowl in a tight hug and sent love across the bond, the sense of I'm here and yours strongest. While he was aware of Impact slipping away, he didn't allow it to distract him from comforting his bonded.
He was, however, keenly aware when Prowl realized she was absent, because the attention shifted to a decidedly more amorous intent. He purred at the attention, letting his bonded do as the mech pleased, his only demand as he pressed lips to his bonded's, the kiss deep and passionate. It didn't take much to pick how just how completely Prowl intended to claim him, and Jazz purred even more deeply in anticipation.
~Berth, beloved, and I am yours.~ Jazz whispered, surrendering and welcoming. ~Forever.~