Chapter 19

On the Beach

"I think…" Auri murmurs, resting her helm against Prowl's glossy chest armor, "I think this must be what Chromia calls 'kiss-drunken." She smiles some more as Prowl's soft chuckle pleases her audios over the song of the ocean.

"It is," Prowl answers, shifting a pillow for better support. They're sitting on a large blanket on the sand, and they've been there for a little while. They have shifted. The pillows have shifted. He traces his fingers lightly along her frame and then nuzzles her again. "At least, speaking for myself, I am what Chromia call kiss-drunken."

"I guess perhaps we should take a break," Auri teases, optics twinkling as she caresses his armor. She's slipped her fingers under a few pieces now but hasn't removed any yet. She's not about to take a break. "We wouldn't want to get so kiss-drunk that we can't stand up, you know."

"Oh… well…" Prowl tilts a lovely wing, redirecting the sea breeze a little. His expression is mischief itself. "Given that we're already sitting," he says with a sweet smirk, "And that our… vague plans don't exactly include standing, I think we're safe to continue." He punctuates this with a soft kiss on her neck. "Unless you want to try… umm…" He can't figure out where to go with that. He gives her another kiss while he tries to think of a good phrase.

"Broadening our horizons?" Auri offers, grinning softly at him.

This makes him chuckle. He nods, optics resting on her face with peaceful joy. No matter how often he falters for words, she never minds, and she always comes up with just the right ones or ones that amuse him.

"Hmmm." Shifting from his embrace but staying on their blanket, Auri sits back and surveys him with relaxed contemplation, taking in the details of him that she'd been too shy study openly before. He is lovely. Lovely and all hers with the sunlight glinting on his armor. Smiling at her, he shifts to recline, propping himself up on one arm and a pillow and sprawling gracefully for her viewing pleasure, and studies her gently in return.

"Well…" she says after a moment, optics twinkling. She walks her fingers toward his hips. "I think I… want to explore… over… here." She draws the words playfully and then presses her fingers lightly against his thigh. True, she's curious about what lies a little north of where her finger is, but they'll get there in time, she knows, and she doesn't think they need to rush.

"Venture forth," Prowl invites, chuckling a little, smiling as he tilts a welcoming wing. It's clear that he's not entirely sure what she intends to do, but he likes the way she's leaned over him slightly. So she leans a little more, and then she scoots closer.

She's peeked during physical therapy, but now she can touch the delightful cords and powerful workings that so intricately make up his leg. She runs her fingers over the silky polished armor, picking up his energy and warmth and sending a gentle wave of energy back. It feels so good. She's thought about it before, caressing his thighs, but she's never tried it before. She enjoys the feel of his energy under his armor for a few moments, and then she slips her fingers under the front panel of the armor, finds the latches in a moment, and pops it off with satisfaction. Then she peeks over to see his reaction and grins at the look on his face, wide optics, lips parted slightly.

"That… you figured that out quickly," he chuckles, both surprised and pleased. She loves how his optics flick from his leg to her face and then back again with self-consciousness warming his cheeks.

"Oh, I might have spied on you a little during physical therapy," she explains, blushing herself at this admission but still grinning.

"Well, that's not fair," Prowl pretends to complain, making a small pouty motion with his wings, but Auri sees in his twinkling optics that he's perfectly content with the situation. She knew he would be. He shifts his leg slightly so she can reach and get the rest of his thigh armor off. "Not fair at all," he reinforces with a smile, reaching over to tickle her leg.

Giggling, Auri makes an innocent face. "But, Prowl, you already know what to do with a femme, so I needed a little advantage." She tilts a wing. "No?"

Prowl opens his mouth but is somewhat at a loss for words. "Um…"

Auri gives him another grin, prompting him to chuckle softly at her antics.

"I…" His wings shift in a small abashed motion, and he nudges at a wrinkle in the blanket with one finger as his chuckle fades away.

Gently, Auri shifts to rest her helm on his leg, making a pillow of it with her face turned toward his, meeting his optics, ready to listen. He looks a little distracted and pleased with this contact, but he's distracted for only a moment. He pauses, looking for words.

"I haven't really done anything with a femme in a verra long time," he says softly after some hesitation. "An… well… I feel worry… that I may be clumsy, or awkward or… I… I might try something that Zephyr liked an then you find it unpleasant, or…" He falters, apology clouding his expression. He hesitates again and then shifts a wing to let her know that that's all he can say for the time being.

Auri thinks this over as she puts her hand over his fingers. She feels the tension and stress building in his hand, so she starts to rub it gently, chasing away the tight centers of energy. He is her Prowl, and she's not going to let anything trouble him if she can help it.

"It's normal to worry about some things," she says after some consideration.

"You're not worried," Prowl observes softly with a tiny sigh. His optics go to her wings, her perfectly happy and easy wings, and his wings relax slightly, following her lead. "Not worried at all, I suspect," he adds, studying her expression now.

"Not worried at all, my Prowl." She smiles at him. "I trust you perfectly. I fully expect there may be some awkward moments," she adds with a bit of a grin and a tiny wing shrug, "but I also expect that we will laugh them off and move back to do things we know we're good at instead. Or something. After working with you for over two years, I'm pretty confident in our ability to communicate and deal with things together, you know."

Prowl nods, his expression introspective. "That is true."

"Also, if all else fails, we can just stick with kissing," Auri teases, giving him a playful smirk.

Prowl chuckles. "That we are good at."

"Uh-huh!" Auri picks her helm up then and gives his leg a quick kiss. Her optics dart quickly to his face to catch his reaction, once again a surprised and pleased one. Then she rests her helm on his leg again and continues to gently massage his hand. "Still worried?"

"Of course," he answers with a bit of a smile. "But less so now."

"Good," she smiles at him. "Back to the canoodling and such then?" she asks, grinning at how he smiles at her word choice. She'd picked it on purpose for that reason. And she'd added the "and such" in case he wasn't feeling quite ready to put his skills to test yet.

He nods. "And such," he echoes, gratefulness in his optics. He lifts her hand and kisses it, silently promising more reciprocation on his part shortly.

She nods in return and then explores a little more, going gently with eagerness and care. There are both legs with ticklish places to discover and scars to softly trace. He's not ready for his pede armor to be removed, though, and a hesitant black and white wing shifts when she moves up and brushes her fingers over his codpiece. He's not opposed, she can tell, but he's not certain, so she goes on to rub her hand over his belly armor, slow and easy.

She wants to get the belly armor off, and Prowl gives his okay for her to do so, but after a minute of trying, she still hasn't figured out how. She's manages to tickle him a bit, but not to get the armor even a little loose.

Planting her hands on her hips in mock annoyance, she shakes her helm as he chuckles gently at her efforts.

"Can't cheat now, hm?" he teases softly, optics twinkling.

Still seated, she makes a playful bow. "My good sir, you have me at a distinct disadvantage," she says in a mock-genteel tone, making his wings shake with more laughter.

"Or we could both be at a disadvantage," Prowl says, optics twinkling as he reaches to run a thumb tenderly across her belly. "Possibly."

"Could we?" She leans into him a little, prompting and encouraging his touch. "Let's see."

Prowl shifts into a seated position and scoots closer, his wings shifting in a familiar motion, a motion that makes Auri smile, for it tells her that he means business now. She savors the gentle touches of his fingertips as he explores her belly armor, the little studious shifts his wings make as he tries to figure it out, and the gentle set of his lips. He ends up tickling her, too, as she did him, not on purpose but simply in the course of attempting to figure out just how to get the armor off. He tries a little harder, and she ends up in giggles.

"Hm," he says presently, resting his hands and shifting his wings in a small baffle twitching motion. Auri chuckles as she stifles her giggles.

"See now why I needed to peek in medbay?" she asks, optics twinkling. "These things aren't as simple as you'd think."

"No, indeed." Prowl looks her over and then gently pulls her to sit on his lap, his chest and sparkpulse a delight against the sensitive panels of her wings.

His hands go to her belly armor again, and she realizes that he hasn't given up trying, but is trying a little harder.

"Ahh, a different angle," she says with a grin.

"Yes." In a short period of time, one of his fingers comes very close to attaining his goal but then misses. Auri smiles, feeling a certain little anticipation growing. Prowl pauses, sensing that in her, and then he repeats the motion more slowly. "Hmm…?"

"Are you making this into a game of hotter-colder now?"

"That might speed things up… though, we do have all day," he murmurs, his fingers making a leisurely motion.

"And all night."

"We'll need to sleep at some point," he points out, nuzzling her helm.

"We can take naps," Auri says in a practical tone, still teasing, though. Prowl almost has this piece of armor figured out.

He pressed his cheek against her helm, distracting her. "Guess what," he whispers in a conspiratorial tone.

"What?"

He pulls her belly armor away. "Victory."

"Sweet success," she says with contentment and praise. He's the one exploring now, and she relaxes against him, savoring it. He knows how to touch, and she thinks it's perfect, both the ocean breeze and his fingertips caressing her. The little kisses he gives her helm now and then are perfect, too. They spend some time like this, quiet and gentle under the sun, and Auri can tell that her mech is entirely relaxed and settled now, the worries gone for the time being. He's getting more confident, too; that she suspects from the way he kisses her neck, and then she's sure of it when he nips the edge of her wing lightly with his teeth. How she smiles then, and her sparkpulse speeds up. Her frame warms, too, fired by anticipation.

Prowl's lips touch her wing again, but he pauses.

"Is this okay?" he asks, murmuring the words against her wing, tickling its sensors.

"Yes," she answers, halfway closing her optics in delight. "Oh, more than okay," she adds as she leans into him.

He kisses her wing again and then brings his caressing fingers from her belly around to her back and up to brush against her wing-connectors, the new touch eliciting a small, involuntary shiver of delight in her wings.

"And this… this is okay?" he asks, stroking gently.

"Yes," she says with absolutely certainty and eagerness.

He moves his hands again and helps her rise up a little so he can press a kiss near the base of her left wing. "And this?"

"Yes, Prowl," she purrs, leaning into the next kiss. "And yes and yes… trust, sweet spark."

"Sweet spark," Prowl murmurs, dispensing with any further questions as he moves on to fully pleasure her wings.

Once he has overloaded her system with delight and she has settled against him in satisfied and drowsy bliss, he adjusts the pillows so they can lie down and rest together, shifting her gently so they will both be comfortable.

"That was… so good," Auri murmurs, turning heavily so she can rest her cheek against his chest.

Prowl nods, feeling content and satisfied himself, glad that he'd been able to please her so well. Then he says "yes," softly, seeing that her optics have fluttered closed.

"Mmm… nap…?" she asks.

"Nap," he confirms, smiling because she's almost half-asleep already.

She naps, and he watches for a little while, musing a bit before he dozes off as well. He sleeps more lightly and awakes when she stirs a little. He's awake when she shifts and blinks her optics open and smiles at him, hazy and happy. He smiles back.

She stretches a little, the motion easy and luxurious, and she lengthens it to her wings, shifting to see the subtle difference in how they feel now that they've been teased to ecstasy. She smiles at her wings, and then she smiles at Prowl again.

"Still worried…?" she asks, optics twinkling as she snuggles up after finishing her stretch.

Prowl chuckles softly as he realizes that she's referencing their earlier conversation. "Much less worried," he says, and she smiles at the new confidence she hears in his tone.

"I knew you'd be fine," she says with contentment, rubbing a hand gently on his armor.

"My optimist," he purrs to her, making her smile some more.

They lie there for a little while more, sharing thoughts with each other and keeping mostly still but caressing softly now and then, always keeping contact even when motionless.

Presently, Auri moves her hand to Prowl's belly. "Oh, hey, I didn't get a second chance at this armor," she says with a bit of a chuckle.

"I distracted you, didn't I?" Prowl says, optics twinkling.

"Yes, you did." Auri halfway bites back a grin. "I think I want to try your method."

Prowl nods agreeably and sits up, help her sit up as well, his hands gentle and caressing. She rubs against him contentedly as she moves behind him, cuddling against his back and wings as she tries to figure out how to get his belly armor loose. She tries and tries, tickling him more than before as she pries at his side armor in hopes of it having some connection with his belly armor. Prowl's frame and wings are shaky a little with quiet laughter by the time Auri halfway gives up and just leans against him with her arms around him.

"Is there a secret?" she asks, resting her helm between his shoulders and sniffing at the good scent of his polish.

"Yes."

She nuzzled his neck. "Tell me?"

"Hmm…" He shifts a wing, teasing her.

She turns her helm and eyes the wing. Her spark pulses faster at the thought that crosses her processor. She slides a hand away from his belly and moves it to cup against the curve of his right wing connector. She senses the energy in his system surge, and she dips her helm to cautiously draw the tip of her tongue across the base of his wing. She tastes sweet polish as well as electricity as a tremor runs through his wings; then she rests her helm between his shoulders again, feeling amazed and a little dazed.

Gently, Prowl takes her other hand and before the motions register in her processor, he's shown her the trick to getting his belly armor off. Her hand is on his bare belly now, feeling the muscles, sensing the scars.

"I… I didn't follow that," she murmurs, smiling because that means she'll get to try again.

"No worries," Prowl answers, purring because he's thinking the same thing.

"None…" She tastes his wing again, a little less cautiously this time. Polish, metal, electricity, sweetness-

"Actually… one," Prowl says, and Auri picks up the small frown in his tone.

"What is it?" she asks, leaning against him.

"There." He points toward the horizon of the beach, and Auri looks.

She squints. Far off, on the sand, by the water, something tall and blue. Someone. Soundwave, she is pretty sure. Soundwave, standing on the beach outside of the base's shielding.

That's unusual.

Also, a little funny.

"My old guardian has a terrible sense of timing," Auri says with a rueful chuckle.

"Yes…" Prowl says drily.

Auri moves over to Prowl's side, her sense of romantic passion ebbing as her devoted loyalty stands firm. This is her Prowl, and she'll stand by him in everything whether Soundwave approves or not. She looks to his face, and a veiled expression has replaced the blissful one. He shifts, and she links her arm in his, placing her other hand on his arm as well.

He opens his mouth, but no words come out. He closes his mouth again, shifting a wing in a motion of tolerance. His words have fled, but Auri's not surprised at that. While Soundwave saved Prowl's life last year for her sake, it had also been to serve his own desire to return to the Cons, and Soundwave and Prowl had had a bad history long before that.

Auri gives him a soft little kiss on the cheek.

"Shall we go see what he has to say?" she asks. "Maybe it's something good. Anyway, it's something he doesn't want the other Cons to hear, else he would have sent a message, you know."

Prowl considers this and then nods, accepting her reasoning fully. She beams as she sees a little hopefulness filter through his expression. He's hardly optimistic, she can tell, but she's delighted that he's showing a little hopefulness. It's been such a wonderful day, a perfect day, and having good news from Soundwave would be extra icing on an already wonderfully iced cake.

Eager to see what Soundwave has to say, Auri hurries to put her missing armor pieces back on, Prowl puts his own pieces into subspace and puts his everyday armor pieces on instead.

Auri's optics twinkle when she peeks over and sees this.

"You're a little bit mismatched there," she says, grinning, tapping her knuckles lightly against the heavier, sturdier armor.

He chuckles softly, realizing she's never seen him in anything mismatched. "I prioritize safety over appearances," he says.

"That's prudent," Auri says, holding back a smile as she nods soberly. "Especially when you have such delightful thighs as you do."

Prowl looks over at this, and she chuckles as he smiles in realization that she's teasing him again. He shakes a finger lightly at her.

"Oh, just wait until we get to yours, my spark," he says, grinning at how she blushes and reflexively rubs her hands over her own thighs.

"I look forward to it."

She gets to her pedes and checks that she's re-latched her armor correctly. As distracting as her Prowl is, she's impressed that she managed it. Then she gives Prowl a hand up, concern filling her spark as she sees him wince at getting to his pedes. "Were we down on the ground too long?" she asks.

He shakes his helm slightly, shifting his wings to steady and focus himself. "Not quite," he says. He pauses. "Well, if you'd asked Ratchet…"

"Aww…" Auri says softly. They had been on the ground too long.

Prowl stops her regret with a soft kiss to the forehead. "Shh," he says. "It was entirely worth it, and I would do it again in a spark pulse."

She looks up at him and loves the peaceful look his expression and the love in his optics. "Okay," she says. "Let's do it again, but on our bed next time."

He touches her nose with the tip of his finger. "Perfect idea." He glances sideways at the distance figure with note of resignation. "Business before pleasure, though, mm?"

Auri kisses his cheek. "That's my Prowl."