Understood
-o-o-o-o-o-
Chapter 39
-o-o-o-o-o-
Cyclonus walked Tailgate into the paint-parlor that the House of Red Curtains contracted with. "Ah!" exclaimed the receptionist behind the counter with a bright smile. "You must be Tailgate," he said looking directly at the smaller of the pair. It was an obvious choice. There was nothing about Cyclonus that said 'get it here' about him.
"I am," said Tailgate, still feeling a little overwhelmed that this was actually happening. He'd just been given a full examination by Tachyon, the house's doctor, and passed the scans easily. His diligence in looking after himself had its merits.
"A full strip and repaint for the House of Red Curtains," he said looking at his monitor screen. And then he looked again at Tailgate, this time a little more studiously. "You're going to look good in red. In fact you'll look absolutely delicious in red."
"I hope so," was the minibot's response.
"Oh you will. Now..." The receptionist handed him a datapad. "Now here's your contract, standard for the House of Red Curtains. But basically it says that everyone gets a full fresh coat of paint every five meta-cycles as per the house contract, but you're welcome to come back more than that if you want. Though you have to pay for it yourself in that case." The receptionist pointed at a spot on the datapad's screen. "Just look it over and sign your glyphs here."
Tailgate began to read.
The receptionist diverted his attention to Cyclonus. "It will take a while to get him done, but it will be oh-so-worth-it. If you'd like to wait for your friend, you may. It will be several cycles. And we do have a few technicians available if there are any services you might be needing. Paint touch up and deep polish. Re-chroming. Hand enameling—take out all those unsightly scratches. Hot wax treatment," he suggested.
"I believe I'm fine for today," Cyclonus huffed.
"Well if you change your mind, let me know, and I'll get you in with the first technician available," he said cheerfully.
"Tailgate, comm' me when you're done and I'll come get you," instructed Cyclonus.
Tailgate smiled up at him. "I will. You'll be the first to see my new look."
"And you'll love it," giggled the receptionist.
Cyclonus grunted a non-committal sound and departed the paint-parlor.
When the contract was signed the receptionist led Tailgate through a corridor
"So that was your patron?" continued the receptionist. "He looks like quite a warrior. Very ferocious I'll bet."
Tailgate looked up from the pad. "He is. At least I think he is. He's killed a lot of Autobots."
"Oh? Doesn't that worry you?"
The minibot grinned happily. "I'm not an Autobot."
"Of course you aren't."
The laughed together.
"So what's he like in the berth? I know it's none of my business, but I'm always curious when I see someone like that with a little thing like you. It's not that uncommon actually."
"He's careful with me. I mean, no more careful than anyone should be or would be."
The mech looked at Tailgate with an expression of curiosity. "He doesn't hurt you? Even when he's... ah... excited?"
"Nope." And then Tailgate giggled. "He always says that I'm his little fragtoy and he's careful not to break me. He says he wants to keep me around."
The receptionist giggled again himself. "That sounds like a good way to put it."
They came to a room at the back that reeked of solvents, and inside, the receptionist had Tailgate sit down. Just moments later another mech came into the room, this one unpainted but with gleaming well-scrubbed metal.
"This is Topset, our stripper," was the introduction. "He'll be removing your old paint and removing any gouges or imperfections in your plating. And then he'll wash you down and send you on to the next station."
Topset nodded again.
"So I'll leave you in his capable hands. And what capable hands they are..." He picked up the paint-stripper's closest hand and cradled it a moment before kissing it fondly. And then he departed. "Enjoy your repainting, Tailgate," he giggled on his way out the door.
Topset was shaking his head. "That mech," he sighed. "Such a flirt." And then he looked down at Tailgate. "Well let's get you into the soaking trough and get this party started."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Newly painted and polished and smelling like a brand-new mech, Tailgate greeted Cyclonus in the lobby of the paint-parlor. "Well what do you think? I'm not sure if red really suits me."
"You'll get used to it," said the receptionist, leaning onto the desk to look at the minibot. "It does look good on you," he praised.
"Hmm. Yes," said Cyclonus flatly. "I've never cared much for red plating, but house rules are house rules. Some mechs go crazy for red plating."
"At least I'm nice and shiny again," smiled Tailgate.
"I do like that," said Cyclonus, at which the minibot beamed. "Now lets get you back to the house."
"Good luck with your new job!" the receptionist called after them as Cyclonus ushered Tailgate out into the street.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Gloss, the manager at the House of Red Curtains, greeted them as they walked in and approved Tailgate's new appearance. "Oh you're such a doll. I do hope you'll present yourself. You'll be popular, and it's been a while since we've had a minibot working here. You do look lovely."
"Thank you, Gloss," Tailgate said as graciously as he could.
"Well let me show you around and introduce you to some of the other residents of the house. And then I'll take you both up to your new accommodations." He turned to Cyclonus. "If you'd care to wait in the lounge in the meantime... Your tab is open at the bar, but I told Bluster to serve you for free today. We're obliged to you for your patronage and for bringing us our newest resident."
Cyclonus nodded. "Thank you."
Gloss turned back to Tailgate. "Well since it's quiet I'll be able to give you a good tour of the place and walk you through the process here. And the first day you present yourself you'll have one of the pages with you to guide you through it."
"That sounds good."
Gloss laughed delightedly. "It is good. We try to keep everything good here at the House of Red Curtains." He led the way into the lounge just beyond the entry lobby. "Now here's where the residents spend most of their time—in the lounge or down on the viewing floor." The room appeared much like a tavern, with a bar at one end to which Cyclonus was now making his way, and a scattering of small tables. Most of the tables were pushed up against a railing, over which one could look down into a lower area. "Now this is the lounge, where our guests come in and have a drink and make a selection. There are no clients or customers here. We only have guests and visitors. They can either choose from the residents down on the viewing floor, or select from the listings at the table." He picked up a datapad from the closest table and showed Tailgate. "These are full of information about the house and who's living here."
"And I'll have an entry in it?" Tailgate asked, seeing that the first page contained a link marked 'Residents Available for your Pleasure.' Choosing the link, it presented a list of names and pictures and links to more information about each resident.
"If you'll be available, yes."
Tailgate looked about. In the lounge there were two mechs with datapads and drinks, both going through the house listings. One would look at the datapad, and then down at the viewing floor, then back to the datapad. On the viewing floor were several red-painted mechs and femmes sitting about casually. A slender-looking mech was making his way up the stairs, and on reaching the top he leaned against the railing. A small mech, standing at the top of the stairs and wearing a red scarf of the house color turned to talk to him.
"As a resident, you are not allowed to approach our visitors, but if you are beckoned over you may. And likewise, guests are not allowed upon the viewing floor unless invited."
"It's so formal here," Tailgate commented.
"It is. We tend to be a bit old-fashioned about things. This was how it was in the Golden Age. But all the better houses in Kaon work the same way."
"I've never been into a house before. Well not until this morning."
"You'll like it here, Tailgate. It's a comfortable life compared to working on the streets."
"I hope so."
Gloss chuckled. "It is. Now come along. I'm going to show you to some of the special rooms here."
He led the way over to the elevator and they went inside. "There are a couple of special rooms here. Usually when you are selected by a client you will be taking him to your room, but if one of the special rooms has been selected, it will show in the contract key, and the contract key will give you access to the specified room."
The elevator came to a halt and Gloss unlocked the door and led him in. "This one's the party suite. Usually it's reserved in advance, and often the guests simply ask us to provide three or four residents for entertainment rather than picking them out. And sometimes we'll have a hostess or a bartender here as well depending on the size of the group."
Tailgate looked around the room. In the center was a set of curved couches ringing a circular convenience table. A small bar sat at one end of the room. There were four alcoves, curtained for semi-privacy by two layers of sheer red curtains, each alcove containing a berth and a stand for drinks.
"So if you get assigned to a party down here, expect to be passed around a bit. But expect to have a good time too."
Gloss led the way into another room, this one occupied only by an oil bath. "There are two oil rooms, and we let the residents use them in the morning hours."
"Oh nice!" exclaimed Tailgate.
"It is. One of my favorite perks of working here."
"You get to use it too?"
"I live here as well," Gloss smiled. "Easier to keep the manager on the premises. And well all get to know each other as friends that way. It's a very nice arrangement."
Tailgate smiled, crouching down to dip his finger into the oilbath. "I think I'll like being here."
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Understood" continues in Chapter 40
-o-o-o-o-o-
-o-o-o-
-o-
If you're enjoying this, or you enjoyed my story "Some Lucky Decepticon," give my story "Queen of Spades" a read.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Transformers and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Hasbro and Takara Tomy. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.
Authors thrive on the responses of their readers. If you want to see more works like what you've read, let the author know.
If you'd like to see how this plot plays out, give this fic a 'Follow.'
If you think this story is worth reading again sometime, give it a 'Favorite."
If you found this story interesting or well-written or worth recommending to a friend, leave a review.
If you want to discuss it, or anything else fanfiction, send me a PM. ^^
Thank you!