Okay, I need to say thank you so much to every who followed and added the story to their favourites! And a massive thank you lot everyone who reviewed! I smile so much when I'm reading them .

Here's the next chapter (it's a long one)!

Prowl onlined his optics the next morning and jerked in surprise.

Jazz was recharging next to him on the couch, visor dark. Because the couch was slightly small compared to their frames, they were both huddled close. Surprisingly enough, the Decepticon was clutching at Prowl's chassis in his recharge.

The tactician had frozen, staring in shock. When had that even happened? An internal alarm went off, reminding him that he had reports to finish. Awkwardly, he shifted to get out from underneath Jazz's lithe body. He didn't know why he felt such reluctance to wake the Decepticon, but he decided to put it down to simply not wanting the smaller mech to follow him around everywhere. He couldn't help but be surprised that Jazz hadn't killed him during the night - promise or not.

Jazz remained offline; he didn't even notice when Prowl slipped out of the room. After a while, he began to slowly reboot, and shifted slightly. He blinked his optics in surprise when he realised no one was next to him. He had long ago installed a program to make sure he could online quickly and efficiently with little to no confusion or haziness that onlining after recharge usually brought, but he was still confused as he looked around.

Jazz realised abruptly that it was Prowl he was missing, and scowled behind his visor. He had missed the chance to see Prowl's face when he onlined.

Stretching like a cat, Jazz cast a look around the disgustingly organised room. Humming softly, he prowled around and casually picked up datapads and other utilitarian objects and placing them in various places around the room, knowing that it would irritate Prowl. He had observed the tactician intently enough to notice simple things, like the fact that he relied on order and discipline to feel in control. It was other things the saboteur couldn't figure out; more complicated things. Like why the Autobot wasn't afraid of him when everyone else was. It bothered him, to some degree. That was why he was so fixated on cracking him.

After Jazz had mixed up enough of Prowl's quarters to successfully give the Autobot a processor ache, he casually headed out the door. There was no one in the corridor to see him slip out of Prowl's room, thankfully, but he remained silent as he crept down the corridors of the base. It seemed that he had woken up right in the middle of a work shift, so no one seemed to be around to see him. Even if there had been bots around, Jazz was so good at his job that even in the busiest places he was adept at hiding himself in plain sight.

He made his way to Prowl's office with no problem - he had been going there every day for a week to resume watching the tactician.

Jazz strolled in cheerfully, grinning at Prowl. "Mornin'!"

Prowl stared from his desk as Jazz practically skipped over and draped himself over the spare chair. "Jazz." He greeted evenly. "I was hoping you would have returned to Kaon."

"But then Ah wouldn't be able ta see you everyday." Came the perfectly innocent reply.

That statement was ignored as Prowl continued. "You are staying?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You might as well defect."

Jazz laughed easily. "No thank you. Ah'm quite happy as a sadistic, evil killer with no empathy."

Prowl raised an optic ridge. "Are you telling me that is what you are?"

"Yup."

"I do not think that's true."

"Think what you like." Jazz's visor glinted threateningly. "Ah've killed lots o' your comrades. Lots o' mine, too."

"I have no doubt of that."

"Then why aren't ya scared?" Jazz looked honestly confused and a little frustrated.

"You have not yet given me a reason to be." Prowl said smoothly, looking back down to his datapad.

Sitting more stiffly now than he had been, Jazz asked "Should I?"

"I would rather you didn't." Prowl answered dryly. "Now I need you to leave. I have called Bluestreak to my office."

"Why?"

"Because I must discuss with him last night and how he blatantly went against my orders." Said Prowl stiffly, glaring at the saboteur as he drummed his fingers on the desk.

Jazz couldn't hold back a grin. "So he went with the twins?"

"Yes." Prowl growled darkly. "Despite me expressly telling him not to. Do you know Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?"

"As it happens, Ah do." Jazz grinned sneakily. As Prowl tensed, Jazz seemed to read his mind. "They ain't Decepticon spies. Ah knew them back in Kaon."

Prowl glanced up in mild surprise. "Is that so? I didn't know you were from Kaon."

Jazz snorted. "That's 'cause Ah'm not. Ah moved around plenty."

Prowl raised an optic ridge again, but before he could enquire further into Jazz's life, there was a knock on his door. He turned to tell Jazz to get out, only to find that the Decepticon was already gone. He stared at the empty chair for a moment, slightly unnerved by how quickly the saboteur had disappeared. The knock came again, forcing Prowl to pull his wits together. "Yes, come in."

The door slid open and Bluestreak shuffled in sheepishly. "Hello Prowl, sir."

"Sit down, Bluestreak." Prowl gestured to the chair in front of his desk - the one Jazz had been draped over. He wiped his face of emotion and watched as Bluestreak sat down.

The younger Praxian twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Um.. About last night, sir.. I had a bit too much high grade, and I most certainly never meant to come across as rebellious, I just didn't realise what I was doing. And I know you warned me about the twins, but I was overcharged and they were actually very kind and-"

"Bluestreak."

"They didn't do anything I didn't want them to do-"

"Bluestr-"

"-and they were very gentle lovers and I-"

"Bluestreak!"

In the silence that followed, a smooth laugh trickled to Prowl's audios.

Bluestreak blinked and looked around the room. "D-did you hear that?"

"I've heard enough." Prowl said stiffly, "More than enough, in fact."

Face flushed, Bluestreak smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Prowl had to resist the urge to glare around the room. "No matter. You still disobeyed orders."

"Yes, sir. I'm aware." Bluestreak said nervously. "But I would like to say that I was overcharged."

With a sigh, Prowl glanced down at his clasped hands. "Very well. This is your first offence... Could you at least give me your word that you will not disrespect my orders in such a way again?"

"Yes, of course." Bluestreak nodded quickly. "I promise."

Prowl nodded. "Good."

"Um.. How was last night for you?"

"It was fine." He said with a frown.

Bluestreak nodded slowly, grinning.

It was clear from Prowl's nonplussed expression that he had no idea what was happening.

"So... Rumble. I've never seen him around the base before."

Confused for a moment, Prowl blinked before he remembered the alias Jazz had used. "Ah. Yes. He.. keeps to himself."

It was Bluestreak's turn to blink in confusion. "It.. it didn't look like he was keeping to himself, sir."

Prowl scowled. "I am perfectly aware of what it looked like, Bluestreak."

"Oh, good. Because it really looked as if you were going to interface with him. I mean, it would have been okay if you did, because I did say that you had to be more social, I just didn't expect you to find someone so quickly-"

"Bluestreak." Prowl spread his fingers across his face. "Stop talking. We did not interface."

Bluestreak flushed. "Oh. Sorry. It's just- it looked like you were going to-"

"Yes, I know." Prowl grumbled.

"Oh. Well, I'd like to meet him. He seemed nice. Are you going to see him again?"

"I very much doubt he will leave me alone." Prowl muttered.

Another deep, smooth chuckle could be heard faintly. Bluestreak frowned and glanced around. "I definitely heard something."

Prowl's battle computer told him that there was an 87.98% chance of Jazz being hidden in the vent above his desk, so that was where he shot a glare. "I heard nothing. Have you had your audios checked recently?"

"No.."

"Perhaps you should."

Bluestreak nodded. "Right. Yeah."

"Perhaps you should do it now."

"Oh. Okay." Bluestreak stood up and walked to the door, before glancing back and smiling. "So.. We're good?"

"Yes." came the tired reply. "We are good."

Bluestreak nodded and slipped out the door. The moment he was gone, Prowl looked around. "Jazz?"

"Miss me?"

Prowl jumped and stared up in surprise. The Decepticon had been balancing on one of the metal beams holding the ceiling steady. "Jazz! If Bluestreak had looked up-"

"He wouldn't have seen me." Jazz waved a hand airily, before jumping to the ground gracefully.

"You'll have to get back up there in a moment." Prowl muttered, glancing down at his report. He couldn't help but feel irritated that he had been wrong about where Jazz was hiding. The saboteur seemed to just keep surprising him.

"Why?" Jazz pouted.

"Because, I have a meeting with someone. You know, if you became an Autobot, you would not have to hide around the base."

Jazz snorted. "'Course Ah would. The Autobots wouldn't ever trust meh."

"Are you sure about that?"

Jazz narrowed his optics behind his visor. "Yeah, Ah am. You don't trust me, do ya?"

"That is because I met you properly for the first time yesterday. During that meeting, you informed me that you wanted to interface with me and then kill me."

"Yeah. Ah remember that."

"That is a little outside the social norm."

"Says you." Snorted Jazz.

"I believe I have good reason to be wary of you. You could easily be here simply to spy and send information back to the Decepticons." Prowl said defensively.

"Ya wound meh, Prowlie." Jazz snickered. "Ah'm not here for the Decepticons, Ah'm here for myself."

"Prowl?" Someone called outside the door.

Glancing up at the sound of his name, Prowl motioned to Jazz. "Spectrum is here. Hide."

Jazz shot a scowl towards the door. "Why?"

"Hide."

Jazz huffed, "Fine. Ah don't like him."

"What? You don't know him." Prowl turned back to Jazz, only to find he was gone. He looked up and saw the saboteur reclined on the metal beam holding up the ceiling. The metal beams had been a precaution built into every building at the start of the war - they held up the buildings under attacks so that the roofs didn't collapse.

Jazz glanced down at him and shot him a grin. "You should answer the door."

Prowl cut his battle computer off as it struggled to figure out how Jazz had gotten up there so quickly. "Come in."

The door slid open to admit Spectrum, who nodded respectfully at Prowl. "Good orn."

Prowl cleared his vocaliser and gestured to the chair. "Sit down, please." Spectrum slid into the chair and waited for Prowl to continue. "Have you your report finished on the rescue mission? I have not yet received it."

"Almost. Some details are still a bit confused, however."

"Such as?" Prowl raised an optic ridge.

"Well, such as the identity of the Decepticon who assisted you in Kaon."

"That is irrelevant."

Spectrum frowned. "Irrelevant? Actually, I believe it is quite important."

Scowling internally as Jazz's deep chuckle reached his audios, Prowl forced himself to keep his face carefully blank. "Well, perhaps one day we will find out."

Spectrum had tensed. "Was that a laugh?"

"No. I have not had energon this morning, I believe it was my tanks."

With a frown, Spectrum shook his head. "Prowl, I'm a Special Ops mech. I know what I heard."

Prowl nodded. "It was my tanks." He repeated, internally contemplating beating Jazz with a datapad when the saboteur came down from the ceiling.

"...I see." Spectrum narrowed his optics. "Well anyway, certain parts of the report require the identify of the Decepticon in order to be fully accurate."

Prowl pinched his nasal ridge. "Yes, I understand that."

"Do you know the identity?"

"No." He almost winced at the lie, but managed to force it out with no expression.

His lie must have been quite believable, as Spectrum sighed and nodded with no further argument. "Okay. Well.. In that case, my report will be on your desk next shift."

"Good." Prowl murmured, marking something down on a datapad. "That will be all."

Spectrum stood up, but hesitated before leaving. "I don't suppose you'd want to come for energon with me? Because you missed your morning cube?"

The answer would have been no anyway, but considering Jazz was hanging from the ceiling and needed to be controlled, it made Prowl even more adamant to stay. "I have a lot of work to do, Spectrum."

"Another time, then." After a look of brief disappointment, Spectrum pursed his lips and nodded.

"Maybe." Prowl said as the Special Ops mech left the room.

The minute the door closed behind him, Jazz dropped from the ceiling and landed directly behind Prowl's chair. "Ah didn' like him."

"Perhaps you should return to the Decepticons."

"Nah, Ah ain't goin' back."

"And why not?"

Jazz rolled his optics behind his visor. "Haven't we already been through this? The Decepticons don't have you."

Prowl snorted, the first show of humour Jazz had properly seen from him. "That is true."

Grinning, Jazz stepped around the chair and pulled himself up to sit on Prowl's desk. "Maybe Ah'll go back eventually."

"I should really put you in the brig." Prowl said with a thoughtful frown.

Jazz laughed. "Ya say that as if ya think you could catch me."

Prowl raised an optic ridge, but didn't rise to the challenge. "I wouldn't be fulfilling my duties as an Autobot if I were to let you run rampant around the base where sensitive information is kept."

Jazz stretched languorously on top of the desk. "Hmm.. As temptin' as all o' that sounds, you're gonna have to take my word that Ah won't."

"I should report you to my superiors."

Jazz snickered. "Should ya? How're ya gonna explain to them why ya didn't report meh yesterday? Or how ya let meh sleep on your couch with ya last night?"

"I do not know." The tactician admitted, leaning back in his chair and frowning.

Jazz grinned. "You're smart. Ah'm sure ya'll figure it out."

Prowl sighed and rubbed his helm. His battle computer was working so hard to figure out how he could explain the situation to Optimus that it was causing a sharp pain in his processor "I'm sure I will."

A small frown turned the corners of Jazz's mouth down. "Your head botherin' ya?"

"No, I am fine." Prowl said stiffly.

"Whatever." The yawned reply was punctuated by Jazz leaning back and lying across the entire surface of Prowl's desk, crushing at least four datapads.

"Will you please get off my desk?" Prowl asked irritably, lifting his hand away from his face.

Jazz twisted in a way that displayed his attractive frame perfectly. "Why, am Ah distractin' ya?"

"You are in the way of my reports."

With a grin, Jazz swung his legs off the desk, narrowly missing Prowl's thighs. "Do ya want meh to go?"

"Yes." Prowl said shortly.

Jazz pouted, pulling a hurt expression. "If ya insist, cutie."

The black and white bot huffed and looked up to scowl severely at Jazz, only to see that the Decepticon had disappeared again.

...

"Ah got ya energon!" The peaceful silence of Prowl's office was broken as the door slid open to admit Jazz.

The saboteur skipped over to the desk and set it down right in front of Prowl, who frowned mistrustfully at it. "Did you put anything in it?"

The laugh that issued from Jazz's mouth was sincere and cheerful, as if he would never dream of doing such a thing. "Prowler, why on Cybertron would Ah do that?"

After a long moment of regarding the energon suspiciously, Prowl picked the cube up and took a sip of it. It tasted perfectly normal. "Hm. Thank you."

Jazz grinned and hopped up on Prowl's desk, "No problem!"

There was a brief moment where it looked like Prowl was going to glitch as Jazz's aft pushed several important datapads to the floor. Thankfully, the moment passed and the tactician knelt swiftly to pick the datapads off the floor. "I implore you to stop knocking my reports to the floor. Elita One asked me yesterday why so many of my datapads had cracked screens."

Jazz giggled unashamedly. "Ah know, Ah was listenin' in behind ya. Ya blamed the twins."

"Rather unprofessional of me, but they have been causing a bit of a stir lately with their pranks and shenanigans, so I thought that the excuse was quite plausible." Prowl glanced up for a moment, and blinked when he saw that Jazz was gaping at him. "What?"

"Did you just use the word 'shenanigans' in a serious sentence?"

"Yes." Prowl frowned, looking slightly put-out. "I fail to see the problem."

The only response was a light snort as Jazz lay back on the desk, purposely taking up all the space he could so that Prowl would find it just that much harder to work. "It's gettin' late."

It was such an obvious statement that Prowl didn't even deign to reply. He simply continued working on his report.

"Prowler?"

"Prowl."

"Wha'?"

"My name is Prowl."

Jazz scowled at the correction. "Ah prefer Prowler. An' yo' name ain't the point. Ah'm tired, an' Ah want to go to berth."

"I am not stopping you."

An annoyed huff of air escaped Jazz's vents as he sat up. "Ah need ya to come with me. Ah ain't goin' on my own."

If Jazz had been anyone else, Prowl would have argued. He would have used his superior, logical processor to engage in a battle of wits that he would surely win. He would have remained stubborn, and pointblank refused to leave.

The problem was that Jazz was just as stubborn as he was. Jazz simply defied logic - there was no way he would have been won over by any logical argument from Prowl.

"Very well." Prowl stood, knowing when he was defeated. "I sincerely hope that you will allow me to sleep in my own berth tonight."

Jazz snickered as he hopped off the desk and stalked towards the door. "Hey mech, Ah ain't stoppin' ya." He paused before opening the door and turned around to face Prowl. "Race ya back to your room."

"That is immature."

"Ah am immature. That's why Ah'm so fun. So, ya game?"

There was a brief hesitation as Prowl thought for a moment, before nodding once. "Very well. But you know that you must-"

The tactician had practically drilled the words into him, and Jazz found himself unconsciously rolling his optics behind his visor. "Stay outta sight and not be seen by anyone in case mah identity is discovered, yeah yeah."

Prowl nodded once, before glancing back to his reports. He looked almost wistful. A small noise drew his attention back to Jazz, only to find that the saboteur had disappeared. "That is becoming irritating." Prowl muttered as he exited his office.

The work shift had ended a while ago, so the only mechs he encountered in the hallways were mechs who were on their way to or from the rec. room with their friends. Most didn't acknowledge him, so Prowl returned the favour. Prowl knew long before he reached his quarters that Jazz had gotten there first. If the Decepticon hadn't been certain he would win the 'race', he wouldn't have challenged Prowl.

Naturally, when Prowl reached his quarters and entered, the Decepticon saboteur was sprawled out on his berth. "'Bout time. Ah thought you'd gotten lost."

"You cheated." Prowl stated, making his way over to the berth. He didn't sit or lie down; he simply stood and watched as Jazz stretched.

"Only a li'l bit. It ain't fun if ya don't cheat." A sharp smile was shot in Prowl's direction. "Ah'm tired. Ah'm gonna recharge."

"Very well. Have a good recharge." Bowing his head, Prowl made to move away.

Jazz's hand shot out and caught Prowl's arm. "Whoa! Where're ya goin'?"

As Prowl gestured to the couch, he didn't remove his gaze from Jazz. "I will be taking the couch again."

"Sleep here." Jazz moved to make room on the berth.

"You are sleeping there."

"So?"

Despite the fact that Jazz had stubbornly slept next to him every night so far (no matter where he slept), Prowl was still reluctant to leave himself so vulnerable to a Decepticon. His battle computer was practically screaming at him not to be so stupid.

But Autobots trusted others, right? That was what separated the two factions. Well, that among other things. Prowl had no doubt that Optimus would allow benefit of the doubt.

"Very well." He said at last, manoeuvring onto the berth in a way that ensured he was on the opposite side of it to Jazz.

The moment Prowl had settled Jazz moved closer, carefully invading the other's personal space. The bigger mech frowned and inched away to try and put some distance between them. Jazz simply edged closer.

Prowl eventually gave up on trying to avoid Jazz, and they ended up falling into recharge with Prowl half-hanging off the edge of the berth and the exceptionally persistent Decepticon snuggled into his back.