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wizardwisenmore · 6 years ago

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First Aid Gives Rodimus Hell

@alyonian a fic based on those posts about thunderclash asking first aid to write fanfiction for him

i put the final touches on this at like 4am so it might be a bit wonky, will look at it with a more awake mind later

The purple datapad that goes with First Aid everywhere is, supposedly, a personal journal for keeping track of schedules and random ideas to look at later. Which, in fact, isn’t completely incorrect but those schedules happen to be for in-person or online meetings with his clients and those little ideas he writes are for said clients. Well, now, “client” sounds a bit risque but what he’s doing is perfectly legitimate in First Aid’s opinion. He ignores the several helpful reminders from Ambulon that he writes literal porn sometimes, some of it far raunchier than one would initially think the medibot capable of. Hey, all that built up tension daydreaming about the Wreckers had to go somewhere right? So, whenever Ambulon does feel like reminding him, First Aid just in turn reminds of that nice, new, adjustable, and expensive berth he was able to buy him because of his “smutty money” which tends to shut him up pretty fast. First Aid is a bit loathe to admit how bad his far more, ahem, specialized stories are even to Ambulon. He supposes his willingness to write these kinds of stories is what got him his four regulars as well as his latest request from an anonymous individual that- Okay, no, First Aid knows exactly who it is. It’s so painfully obvious but he just doesn’t have the heart to tell Thunderclash that he knows it’s him. That big, soft-hearted lug is just so hopeless when it comes to hiding his identity, just, Primus, First Aid is having a field day with this one. The names of the main characters alone are enough to practically shout that his latest client is none other than the Greatest Autobot of All Time.

The content that’s been requested is more of a surprise than the fact that Thunderclash of all bots is commissioning a personalized story (fantasy) from him. He’s requested a story with two bots the heroic Lightningclash and the charming, beautiful, charismatic, kind, (the list goes on) Radius who find themselves (gasp) stuck on a planet alone together with no immediate way of contacting their ship. Lightningclash and Radius are then put through several perilous situations in which they save each other thus becoming closer and better people through their shared experiences (First Aid had rolled his optics at the cheesiness of it all but this is Thunderclash after all and he’s paying very well so, who cares?). While these initial interactions started out innocent enough, Thunderclash had become a bit bolder and requested a particularly saucy scene that takes place in a cave full of bioluminescent plants. First Aid doesn’t know if he should be ashamed or proud that he only hesitated for a split second before agreeing to write self-insert smut for Thunderclash with Rodimus or “Radius” as he’s being called in this specific rendition. He only hopes he can manage to write it without making it too obvious he knows and still be able to look Rodimus in the eye.

Ambulon shakes his head as First Aid taps the send button that makes a characteristic “woosh” sound as Thunderclash’ smut gets sent away to be consumed by the poor pining bot. He tries not to let it weigh too heavily on his mind as he goes about his work and even almost forgets about it entirely until Ambulon speaks up.

“Hey, First Aid?” Ambulon says over his shoulder while studying a datapad.

“Yeah?” First Aid looks over to him, medkit in hand.

“It’s a good thing that account of yours is anonymous,” Ambulon pulls a pained smirk and flips his datapad over to reveal the screen to First Aid, “because you just sent your smut to the entirety of the Lost Light.”

First Aid is definitely proud to say he didn’t faint then and there.

Thunderclash is just relaxing in his habsuite when a message pings in on his hud and he see that the story he requested from “NotaPrime” has been completed and opens it with no small amount of excitement. Another glance at the message has him frowning though. It seems that for some reason the message was sent to all of the Lost Light for whatever reason. Thunderclash worries for a moment that something might be up but puts it off for the time being in favor of his commissioned piece. A part of him cringes as he begins to read, the part of him that tells him that indulging in his fantasies this way is unhealthy and even creepy. If he was honest with himself he knows that this is just because he knows he could never be with someone like Rodimus, especially not when it seems as though he’s done something to upset the mech. All of that is forgotten, however, when he lands upon the scene where Lightningclash and Radius take shelter in a cave and things heat up.

His immediate reaction is damage control. He’s automatically sending Thunderclash an apology while rushing to call in a favor with Perceptor to delete the story from everyone’s accounts. The questions that surely will come with it he can handle, exposing himself to Perceptor is a small price to pay to maintain some semblance of dignity in the eyes of the rest of the crew. Anyone who reads it will know just who the smut is about. At this point it’s just a matter of beating the clock, a thought that urges him on, running through the halls ignoring anyone who tries to wave him down. Thankfully most people just get out of his way. Ah, the perks of being a medical officer. As he turns one corner just before the labs he spots Nautica looking over a datapad, giggling. He’s just about to put it off as paranoia until-

“Pfft, Lightningclash? Really?” Nautica chuckles as she consumes the little surprise gift that popped up in her messages.

First Aid doesn’t think he’s run this fast since before the war was over. Ragged and panicky, he makes it to the lab door just as a message pings in from Thunderclash’s anonymous account. It’s enough to make First Aid freeze in confusion and complete astonishment. The message reads:

“Oh! Yes, I saw that! But no worries! I was a little confused and concerned at first but you’re explanation clears that right up. I don’t mind other people seeing my commission. I’m sure nothing bad will come of it. Thank you for clearing that up and for the story. What I’ve read so far is wonderful!

-sent from Thorguy”

First Aid feels a crawling beneath his plates as if his circuits were doing a low-level defrag as he just stares at the door panel to the lab. Did he think he’d feel regret? Did he really think that flamboyant , energetic Thunderclash would feel shame? Apparently First Aid didn’t know him at all. Well, he did commission blatant and explicit porn so, perhaps First Aid underestimated the durability of his pride. These thoughts flicker through his processor until one very key factor filters through the calming thoughts. Thunderclash doesn’t know First Aid knows it’s him or how he knows it’s him. Thunderclash thinks he’s secure. Thunderclash thinks no one will know who the story is about.

“That idiot,” First Aid rests his helm against the lab door.

The door panel slides open to reveal a very confused Brainstorm with various pieces of tech bundled in his arms making First Aid jump back, startling him out of his dark reverie. Tension bounces between the two mechs both trying to decide what to say.

“Uh, I was picking up some spare parts from Percy,” Brainstorm jostles the odd bits and ends as an indication of what he’s referring to.

“Right, yeah, sure,” First Aid backs up to let him pass, “I just, uh, was hoping to ask Perceptor for a favor.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure something’s wrong with my spam filter. I’ve tried everything but I just can’t set it up properly.”

“Oh, right, mundane stuff. Yeah, more his thing.”

They fumble a little as Brainstorm makes his leave and First Aid walks into Perceptor’s lab, exventing heavily after all the stress begins to ebb away. When he takes a look around the lab the dimness and slight mess strikes First Aid as a little unusual for the normally tidy scientist. When he spots Perceptor he can’t help but feel a little concerned at how tired he looks with his shoulders sagging as he leans back up against a counter and his fully exposed optics shuttering lazily every so often. First Aid makes his way to Perceptor’s side startling the bedraggled microscope and begins to do an impromptu preliminary check up.

“Ah, First Aid, wh- what can I help you with?” Perceptor manages to say after getting over his initial shock.

“First, you can tell me what you were doing that taxed your systems this much,” First Aid remarks, shaking his head at the results of his scan.

“Brainstorm and I pulled an all-nighter and I neglected to refuel,” Perceptor looks away in shame.

“You know that’s not good for you but even if you did that that still wouldn’t have been enough to make you this tired.”

“Yes, well, it was a long night.”

“It certainly must have been.”

Perceptor doesn’t say anything while keeping his optics anywhere but towards First Aid only succeeding in making the beginnings of serious worry bubble up in the medibot.

“Perceptor, be honest with me,” First Aid levels himself so that he’s face-to-face with Perceptor, “What’s going on with you and Brainstorm?”

The effect of that statement is instant and Perceptor struggles to find his voice in an awkward cluster of broken syllables. Eventually he gives up and exvents.

“I probably should have gone to see you about it earlier. I noticed that it wore me out quite a bit before but didn’t feel it was anything to worry about. This particular bout was especially tiring though. I try to reassure Brainstorm but it’s gotten to a point where I think I can’t just blow it off as nothing anymore,” Perceptor seems to have gathered himself more, managing to explain himself more thoroughly and honestly.

“Wait, so you mean…”

“Brainstorm and I have initiated an intimate and sexual relationship. Our sessions together leave me lethargic and I often have to recharge for a longer period in order to make up for it.”

“Oh!” First Aid brightens and begins a more thorough check of his systems, paying close attention to the power systems linked up with his interfacing array.

“Is everything alright?”

“Everything seems to check out. I don’t understand why you would be experiencing such heavy energy withdrawal.”

“Then why…?”

“Uh, this may seem a bit intrusive…”

“No, it’s alright.”

“How are your sessions normally? Is there anything you can think of that may relate to this?”

“Well,” Perceptor retracts into himself again, “Brainstorm is rather energetic. He never seems to get tired.”

“So you try to keep up with him,” First Aid sighs and shakes his head, “You shouldn’t push yourself like that. That or you should allow yourself more breaks. If you don’t tell him you’re wearing down he won’t be able to take that into consideration.”

Perceptor holds his face in his hands and nods.

“If you want Rung-”

“No,” Perceptor looks up, “I can take care of this. Thank you, I had wondered after all and you provided an answer. I should have realized…”

“Well, I can understand with a good partner it can be easy to get carried away,” First Aid relishes the bashful side of Perceptor he’s seeing now, “You should get some rest now to make up for you latest ‘session’ though.”

After a brief episode of mortification, Perceptor returns the light levels of his lab to normal and buts is monocle back on. He looks for all the world that he hadn’t just been absolutely ravished by his lab partner just minutes ago. The weight of his exhaustion still lingers but he looks more like his professional self.

“So,” Perceptor clears his intake, “did you need something.”

Everything he’d meant to talk to Perceptor about suddenly rushes back to First Aid making him feel a bit dizzy. All that had transpired just pours out of First Aid and Perceptor patiently listens to him then pulls out a datapad before First Aid is finished. At the end of the panicked explanation, First Aid watches Perceptor as he hums thoughtfully over the screen revealing the activity history of the accounts of the Lost Light Crew. First Aid begins to fidget as more and more time passes with Perceptor just analyzing the datapad.

“I have good news and I have bad news,” Perceptor finally tears his attention from the pad.

“Bad news first.”

“It seems as though that not only have many of the crew members opened the email but have actually taken the time to read it.”

First Aid slumps at this new information, “And the good news?”

“It seems as though Rodimus has yet to open the message.”

“Thank goodness for his lack of work ethic but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t found out about it.”

“Doesn’t mean he has either.”

In another part of the ship Drift sees a strange message appear on his hud and he opens it to find fanfiction that is very thinly disguised Thunderclash and Rodimus slash fic. As he reads it he has to take several breaks to laugh for a good minute and when he reaches the scene with the cave he chokes on air which causes Ratchet to find him in the middle of a coughing fit.

“Drift, are you alright?” Ratchet comes over, concern written on his face.

Drift nods and when his coughing finally dies down he says, “Yeah, just got to point in this story that really caught me off guard.”

“What story?” Ratchet looks at the datapad Drift is holding.

“It looks like someone has written a piece with our captain and Thunderclash having an adventure together,” Drift turns the datapad so Ratchet can see it better.

“Who would want to read something like that?” Ratchet looks over the story some more, “Rodimus doesn’t even like the guy.”

“I don’t know,” Drift shakes his helm, “but whoever wrote this is one kinky bastard.”

First Aid rests his helm against a desk, slumped over in a chair thinking about how he can handle this situation. His break down of it essentially comes down to Thunderclash not knowing he’s the author, the story is obviously about him and Rodimus but it can’t be immediately traced back to Thunderclash, and so long as Rodimus remains oblivious things shouldn’t get out of hand.

“First Aid,” Perceptor leans against the desk he’s sulking on, “I take it that it would be an issue for Rodimus to find out and not Thunderclash is because Thunderclash is your commissioner.”

“Yup.”

“I would have never suspected him having feelings for Rodimus if it weren’t for this slip up. However, with this realization and further reflection I can recall several occasions that are now painfully obvious as acts of endearment on Thunderclash’s part.”

“Right? If you have the time you should actually read the story. All his little requests and the details he leans on make it all the more obvious just how hopeless he is,” First Aid leans back to stare blankly at the ceiling.

“Then perhaps this is a blessing in disguise,” Perceptor puts his chin in his hand and First Aid looks at him as though he installed a second head, “I know that sounds a little ridiculous but think about it. Thunderclash clearly wants to express his feelings to Rodimus but Rodimus has put up not-so-subtle barriers that prevent that from happening. If manipulated in the right way it could ease the situation and make it possible for Thunderclash to overcome those barriers and/or encourage Rodimus to tear them down all together.”

“You want me to hook up Thunderclash and Rodimus with smutty fanfiction.”

“Don’t you?” Perceptor leaves First Aid alone to contemplate that after stating that he feels the need to have that conversation with Brainstorm sooner rather than later.

First Aid winds up going back to the medbay to an annoyed Ratchet and inquisitive Ambulon who are both very interested in what he was up to. He waves them off claiming he’s had a very long morning and will tell them about it later. Ratchet huffs, clearly agitated but lets it drop, however, Ambulon doesn’t let go so easily and is only satisfied when First Aid pulls him aside to explain it had been too late by the time he and Perceptor got to assessing the damage.

“The entire crew has read it?!” Ambulon stumbles a bit in his surprise and nearly drops his tools.

“Most of the crew has read it,” First Aid clarifies, exasperated, “Rodimus, thankfully isn’t really in the habit of checking his messages.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“I am very grateful for it. Can you imagine what he’d do if he found out?”

“When he finds out.”

“Right… yeah…”

They continue working like they aren’t waiting for the inevitable shitstorm that’s brewing on the horizon. First AId rests in a state of emotional lapse now having his panic forcibly ripped from him in the wake of Thunderclash’s response and Perceptor’s view on the matter at hand. He mulls in the space between screaming endlessly into the void and the vast hollowness that can only come from making a mistake as bad as the sheer hell that First Aid has unleashed. Humming along to the panicked rhythm that begins to rise within him almost has Ratchet coming over to ask him if he’s alright. Through his new bout of nerves the start of a plan forms which eases some of his distress and what Perceptor said inspires him to take advantage of this disaster. He could get Rodimus to at least acknowledge his unfair distaste for Thunderclash, maybe even convince him it is unfair. Then a devious thought crosses his mind that brings him out of his self-sentenced personal hell by realizing how much chaos he could actually cause. Forget pride and reputation for that has been all but lost, while he has a stylus in his hand he can write the world into a frenzy and make all good-hearted souls wheep. He will bring about a reckoning that will lead the crew into madness and he will delight in the absurdity of it all instead of letting it sweep him away. This is probably not what Perceptor had in mind but any semblance of a calm and rational take on this has already been thrown out of the airlock. He has the power, he shall see that big goofball get his mech even if it gets him kicked off this ship.

“Aid?” Ambulon turns to him, a sudden thought striking him, “Did Megatron read it?”

“...slag.”

Megatron had just gone through his normal morning routine when the surprise message popped up, the contents of which surprised and appalled him. Anyone willing to go into that much detail on Rodimus’s spike or “Radius’s”rather is a depraved individual the likes of which he has only known during the war among certain circles of the Decepticons. He had powered through mostly due to immense boredom and sheer morbid curiosity. The reasoning for sending it to the entire crew puzzled him for if it was meant to be a prank it wasn’t very well executed for anyone who knew Rodimus for even a day would know he doesn’t check his messages. So, that means it had to have been a mistake and this thing about a “commission” detailed at the beginning would mean that not only was it a mistake but a very severe one. Megatron finds himself pitying whoever the writer was. In his opinion the story is solid if a little off in the dialogue and the plot is engaging making it one of the better things he’s read on this ship in the past few years. He just can’t fathom why anyone would want such a story enough to pay for it unless…

“Oh dear.”

“What is it?” Ultra Magnus who had been going over the daily reports turns to Megatron.

“I think that Thunderclash might be enamored with our captain,” Megatron muses.

“What? What makes you say that?” Ultra Magnus lowers his his servos from his work putting his full attention on Megatron.

“Have you received that strange message with a story attached to it? I think it was probably commissioned by Thunderclash.”

“It… that would make sense,” Ultra Magnus looks off in thought, “That poor mech.”

“Indeed.”

It doesn’t take too long for the entire ship to become all abuzz with the fanfiction which means everyone in Swerve’s is talking about it. Tailgate is chatting excitedly with Swerve and Rewind who nod along to his rapid-fire analysis of the story. Nautica seems to be just as enthused by the epic of Lightningclash and Radius while also having recruited Brainstorm to hold Nightbeat back from telling Rodimus what’s going on and explaining the entire mishap. First Aid is pretty sure he also knows that he wrote it but has been kind enough not to tell anyone. It also seems as though everyone has silently agreed not to tell Thunderclash that they know the story is about him and those few that suspect him as the mysterious commissioner have neglected to say anything as well. First Aid couldn’t have dreamed of a better reaction than this. He mentally gives himself a pat on the back as he looks around the bar and Ambulon rolls his optics, undoubtedly noticing his fellow medibot’s smugness. First Aid ignores him in favor of watching a happy Thunderclash excitedly going over a particularly dramatic scene where Lightningclash is being tended to by a distraught Radius with a particularly patient Perceptor who looks equally endeared and distressed.

“This line here ‘With Thunderclash’s helm in his servos and those dimly glowing red optics looking softly and lovingly up at him, Radius knew that no one else would go further or fight harder for him than his Lightningclash.’ Don’t you think that it just so wonderfully expresses the building undefined something between Lightningclash and Radius?” Thunderclash reads from a datapad and emits a dreamy sigh.

Perceptor takes a moment to steady himself before calmly turning to Thunderclash, “It is a solidly written line that clearly portrays Radius’s revelation. I think it’s the definite turning point in their relationship.”

First Aid stifles maniacal laughter as he watches Perceptor flub through a very detailed in-depth reading of the story and swears he can see Perceptor’s life force slowly leave his body. Ambulon gives him a look that lets him know that he’s enjoying this far too much but he can’t find it within himself to care. He’s sure that sooner rather than later he’ll have to face the consequences for his actions so he’s deciding to enjoy what he can while he can. The clincher to his ever-elevating mood is a little ping that notifies him of a very enthusiastic message from Thorguy A.K.A Thunderclash A.K.A Lightningclash. He excuses himself and heads back to his habsuite because, right now, he has a story to write and this time he has explicit permission to share it with the crew so all the better really.

Okay, so, Ratchet knows now but that’s something that’s been coming for a while now because of the glimpses he’s caught on Aid’s infamous purple datapad. First Aid thinks he takes it rather well seeing as how he faces minimum yelling but, unfortunately, Ratchet does wind up outing him to the others. This only succeeds in causing a hoard of the unexpected fans to pester him about the next story and for Thunderclash to confess that he had been the one to commission the first two stories. The lack of surprise from his peers is palpable making him retreat to a table in Perceptor’s lab to contemplate his apparent lack of subtlety. First Aid notes how Ratchet isn’t disappointed by the lack of backlash and notes how he didn’t include Rodimus in this suedo-intervention, not to mention the yelling devolved into critique of his latest story, the sequel to the first one everyone’s started calling “Cave Escapades.” This exposure has brought on a new problem, though. Everyone seems to have gotten very invested in the story of Lightningclash and Radius so they’ve all really started to get on his case about the update. First Aid had hoped to make this a more gradual thing but that clearly wasn’t going to happen now. Poor Thunderclash is too mortified to ask and pay for a third story which is Aid’s only defense in the face of his crew’s inquiries so, Nautica, Nightbeat, surprisingly Whirl, and a few others all pitch in for the next one.

Ambulon is rather unsympathetic when he retells what happened and all but straight up tells him he deserves the sudden pressure.First Aid stares at a blank datapad for a solid three hours before eventually giving up and heading to Swerve’s in hopes that giving his mind a break will clear his sudden and severe writer’s block. In his latest story, Lightningclash and Radius managed to get back in contact with their ship allowing them to reunite with their crew to then go to the next galaxy over to a good planet for refueling and resupplying. They were also checking a lead that might help them find the missing ally ship that had gone dark just months ago. Now he just didn’t know where to take the story. Lightningclash’s and Radius’s interactions had all been filled with the new question “what are we?” creating a lot of tension between them that is just fit to burst but how should it be done? First Aid just doesn’t know what he should do. Thankfully, before he can get too deep into his funk a very happy Drift plops down in the booth right across from him pulling him away from his thoughts.

“So, you’re the one that wrote the best thing I’ve read in the past thousand years,” Drift chuckles as he doctors his drink slowly.

“I’m glad you like it,” First Aid huffs, “It may be awhile before you get the next part though. I just can’t seem to get myself to write.”

“Well then,” Drift gives him a smirk that can only mean he has something mischievous in mind, “would you take a request then?”

First Aid mulls over it for a moment then remembering how many people are waiting for his story decides to throw caution to the wind yet again, “Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“Well, you know, I think it’s about time that rodimus found out about these stories. So, I was thinking that it would be great that if when he reads them he got to a point where Rodimus reveals that he’s the next in line to declare the Primacy. I mean you haven’t built up a lot of lore for your stories but it’s clear it isn’t the same as our culture exactly. So, my idea is because he has to take on the Primacy he has all these responsibilities including not being able to take on anyone as his conjunx without like a ton of pomp and circumstance.”

“You mean like a really over-the-top mushy scene where Radius essentially goes ‘I love you Lightningclash but we can’t be together because I’m meant to take on the Primacy’ in the most sappy way possible,” First Aid mimics his parody Rodimus and begins to feel like he could work with this.

“Yes, that and Lightningclash as the respectable bot he is goes ‘I understand, Radius, your responsibilities come first but, I beg of you, let me be by your side always.’ just hamming it up all the way.”

“This,” First Aid leans against his interwoven servos with a wicked glint in his optics, “could work very well.”

When the message pings in Drift quickly gets up from meditating and rushes to Rodimus’s habsuite, datapad in hand looking all the world like the cybercat that got the energon. Rodimus is still in recharge after the indulgent night he had at Swerve’s and isn’t very happy when Drift roughly wakes him up to show him the datapad. Rodimus blinks slowly a few times at the datapad, not really seeing what’s on it.

“Drift, I know you’re trying to show me something but my processor hasn’t caught up with my body yet,” Rodimus lets out a yawn, “wanna just tell me what’s so important?”

“Somebody wrote a story about you!” Drift exclaims all to pleased with the situation.

Rodimus wakes up much more at that and begins to read over the stories while Drift watches in delighted anticipation. The faces the captain makes are extremely varied and rapid in their transitions. Drift bursts out laughing at a particularly disgusted expression Rodimus makes when he probably reaches the cave scene that he admirably pushes through to read the rest of it. Then he gets to the third chapter and groans once he gets to the big confession.

“What the hell is this?” Rodimus asks, his words muffled by the servos covering his face.

“It’s clearly other you with other Thunderclash having the time of your lives,” Drift teases and Rodimus gives him a look.

“This is the worst thing I’ve read, ever,” Rodimus grumbles, “You really woke me up for this? It’s not even worth the data storage.”

“Well I think it’s fun,” Drift says earning another look of disgust from his amica.

“This can’t continue like this.”

“Well what do you want to do about it then?”

“I don’t know!” Rodimus throws his servos in the air exasperated, “I wish this story just didn’t exist! That would be much better.”

“If you’re really so upset with it, why not just change it?” Drift offers calming Rodimus down somewhat.

“What do you mean?”

“This story was commissioned right? Well what if you commissioned this author to write the story how you want it to go?”

“It’s not worth the shanix,” Rodimus waves off the idea easily and slides off his berth to get ready for the day.

“I’ll pay for it then,” Drift shrugs when Rodimus shoots him a surprised look, “I think it would be fun.”

“How many people have read this again?”

The result is almost instant when First Aid sends off the next part of what is slowly becoming a series. Messages filter back with praise and statements of varying degrees of incredulousness. Now, as much as he’s enjoying all of this, he would have backed off had Thunderclash asked him to and even hesitated somewhat but the short message from the bot that started it all clears away his worry. Thunderclash sent him a very short but clear show of approval of his latest and most melodramatic installment. Ambulon groans once he gets to the big confession as Ratchet bends over steadying himself on a medical berth, immobilized by laughter. Seeing as how not much more work was going to get done he decides to go see how everyone is reacting to the story in person. He’s rewarded with a Nautica who’s absolutely glued to her datapad, an attentive Perceptor who gives a few good suggestions, and Tailgate along with Rewind listening to Chromedome give an excellent dramatic reading that Rewind is undoubtedly recording. The icing on the cake is when he stumbles on to the bridge to find a distraught Rodimus.

“Who the hell wrote this?!” Rodimus gestures widely to the datapad in his servo as though it just insulted him.

“I don’t know, Rodimus,” Megatron sighs, “but clearly it’s just in good fun. They don’t seem like they mean to slander you.”

“What do you mean? It’s clearly slander! They’ve paired me up with Thunderclash!” Rodimus shouts, fuming at the lack of sympathy.

“An excellent member of Autobot society,” Ultra Magnus adds helpfully without looking up from his work.

“They make me the damsel in distress!”

“Sometimes they make Thunderclash the damsel,” Megatron points out making Rodimus scoff.

“They make us frag in a cave!”

“I admit that might have been a bit much but they do an excellent job of portraying proper consent and communication between partners,” Ultra Magnus concedes.

Rodimus growls in frustration before storming off of the bridge undoubtedly to take it out on First Aid if unknowingly so. Sure enough, a little while later a message appears on his hud to his not-so-anonymous-anymore account from Rodimus describing just how much he hates the story. However, Aid is surprised to find that Rodimus, instead of demanding an end to the series, is paying for his own continuation of the story “to set the record straight” and First Aid obliges him. Of course, he doesn’t it’ll have the effect Rodimus desires but that’s mostly just because he knows he’s gonna spin it in another direction. Ah, the beauty of interpretation. Rodimus want him to write a continuation where Lightningclash messes up terribly so that Radius becomes enraged with him, so much so that he stops talking to Lightningclash with no hint of possibly letting up. First Aid decides he’ll humor Rodimus for now and leave Lightningclash and Radius’s issue unsolved at the end which just so happens to create a cliffhanger. First Aid leans back in his chair and looks at his handy work, satisfied with it, and sends it off before heading off to his berth to recharge. His intention is to feed Rodimus’s need for there to be conflict between the two characters to then have said characters to resolve it in the next chapter which will undoubtedly frustrate his captain but maybe also give him a hint. Besides, how was Lightningclash supposed to know that one of the reasons Radius left Cybertron to explore the stars was to escape the heavy weight of responsibility that the Primacy put on him? With a sigh and aching servos, First Aid drifts into recharge.

When First Aid heads to the medbay he can’t help but feel as though something’s off. He doesn’t have too much time to ponder it since Ambulon all but drags him into the medbay and locks the door behind them. Okay, that wasn’t a good sign. Ratchet’s giving him a look that tells him he’s definitely messed up.

“What did you do?!” Ambulon hisses regaining Aid’s attention.

“What? I don’t know. What’s happened?” First Aid is definitely starting to panic now.

“Your fans are in an uproar over the latest chapter of that terrible fanfiction of yours,” Ratchet informs him busying himself with prepping the medbay as though he was expecting a lot of injured bots to come flooding in at any moment.

“What? How bad?”

“Bad enough that Whirl started a bar fight with Cyclonus of all people over whether or not Lightningclash and Radius are going to ever get together. They’ve both been put into the brig and thankfully didn’t injure each other too badly but this is getting ridiculous.”

“I’ll say,” First Aid nods weakly, “That old romantic really let it get away from him. I bet he was defending Lightningclash’s and Radius’s durability all the way.”

“Yes, it’s all very sweet,” Ratchet gralfs, “What you need to do now is sit down and write so we can fix this mess before it gets any worse. I’ll even pay for it if I have to.”

“That won’t be necessary. This one’s on the house,” First Aid snags a datapad and begins writing like faster than he ever has before.

Apparently the impending doom via complete crew meltdown is a very good motivator seeing as he’s able to pump out a complete chapter in a record time of three hours. First Aid collapses on a berth completely drained from the frantic writing and hopes that it will clear everything up. Within those three hours, Nautica and Perceptor (for some reason) were brought in beaten up and ragged. Ratchet is still patching up the last of Perceptor’s abrasions when First Aid sends out the chapter making both patients leap for their datapads. Blissful calm settles over the medbay as the mechs devour the the story. Watching Ratchet read the story just as avidly as the rest of them, First Aid feels a little cheated for being guilted into making the latest chapter for free but he’ll get that old bastard back for it. He might even add in a weary old medic called “Hatchet” that’s hopelessly helm over pedes for a certain swordsmech called… He’ll think of a good name later.

“Yes!” Nautica cries out in glee and falls back on to the berth she’s taken residency on startling First Aid out of his half-awake state.

“I’m guessing that means you find the latest chapter acceptable?” First Aid says while still lying down.

“Very! Oh, just how Lightningclash takes Radius into his arms and pushes away any doubts that he sees him as a capable and beautiful mech. Radius struggling with himself as to whether to give in and abandon his responsibilities or remain the next prime but the Lightningclash insists he should be true to himself and not abandon his destiny! It’s perfect!”

“I quite agree,” Perceptor gives him a weary but emphatic nod.

“Good maybe this’ll settle things.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Ratchet scoffs, “You’ve just given them all another taste and still no resolution. At this rate you’ll be at this for a while.”

“That’s true,” Ambulon puts a servo on First Aid’s shoulder, “If you want this to end you have to conclude the story.”

“I can’t just yet,” First Aid puts a servo over Ambulon’s, “This is supposed to mediate Thunderclash’s inevitable confession to Rodimus.”

“That’s what all of this is about?!” Ratchet gapes at his downed colleague.

“I think that’s wonderful! Do you need any help?” Nautica leaps up energy fully restored.

“Perceptor, tell me you at least don’t approve of this,” Ratchet turns to the person that has become his only hope.

“Do you really want First Aid to stop?” Perceptor retorts making Ratchet fumble searching for the right words to defend himself but comes up empty.

First Aid turns to Nautica, “You know, a co-writer would actually help a lot. I don’t think I can write as fast as I need to on my own.”

“This is going to be great!” Nautica hops up and bounces with excitement.

Rodimus is fuming on the bridge now, very upset that his piece of the story had been subverted by the next chapter and has made his displeasure very well known to everyone in earshot. Thunderclash looks at him sadly, guilt weighing heavily in his spark as he looks at the damage his personal indulgence has caused. If the story has managed to do anything so far, it’s made Rodimus dislike him even more even without knowing he’s the one that commissioned the story. He makes a decision then and there that he’s going to do something to fix this mess that he’s made and hopefully get Rodimus to dislike him less.

Later on after workshopping the rest of the story, Nautica and First Aid decide having the outline all flushed out at least deserves a drink. First Aid is greeted at Swerve’s with praise and distress at how he almost severed such a beautiful, blossoming relationship. It’s clear now more than ever that he’s in it for the long haul. At the very least it seems this has alleviated some of the prevalent boredom that had been plaguing the ship. For a moment First Aid worries about what’s to come after all of this. This is, in all honesty, fun. Everyone is following the story with an intensity he didn’t know they possessed and that feeling is is so addictive that he almost doesn’t want it to end but he knows it has to. A blatant reminder of it all needing to come to a close is Thunderclash looking very sullen heading his way. He can feel Nautica tense up beside him when she spots their source material. First Aid tries and fails to steady himself knowing he can’t avoid this interaction while fearing what is to come of it. The large bot settles carefully in the seat across from them and folds his servos on the table. Nobody moves. Nobody speaks.

“Hey Thunderclash!” Swerve breaks the tension, “Can I get you anything?”

“Uh, just mid-grade please,” whatever cool Thunderclash had is broken and the nervousness he’d been concealing earlier breaks through.

“You got it!”

After Swerve leaves to get Thunderclash’s drink he can’t seem to meet First Aid’s or Nautica’s optics.

“What do you need, ‘Clash?” First Aid tries to ease the situation.

“I, uh,” Thunderclash clears his intake, “I’d to um… Okay, so, Rodimus is clearly unhappy about this story. He seemed especially unhappy when the next piece after that fiasco was released. He seemed happier when our parodies were fighting. I had no idea that he disliked me that much.”

First Aid feels his spark ache a little at that last statement knowing all too well what Rodimus might have had to say about it.

“So, what do you need me to do?”

“I feel that this may not be the last issue that he forces our other selves to face. I think -indirectly- Rodimus showed something he’s very self-conscious of. It’s likely he will do so again.”

“You mean you think Rodimus was projecting his insecurities of technically never being a true prime on to Radius and he might do more requests that reveal things like that,” Nautica jumps in excitedly.

“Uh, that’s a bit harsher than I would put it but yes.”

“So,” First Aid puts a hand on Nautica’s shoulder to get her to sit back down again, “What do you want to do about that?”

“I’d like all of Lightningclash’s words to be my own from now on. I want to reassure Rodimus myself.”

First Aid’s spark grows warm at that. He just cannot handle how in love this poor mech is with “flaming ego,” Rodimus Prime out of everyone he could have given his spark to. Boy, if that didn’t just make him want to redouble his efforts.

“Radius!” the faint murmurs of conversation suddenly die down as Riptide shouts out in the middle of the bar while clasping Drift’s servo with a datapad in his other servo, “Please don’t misunderstand my formality as being a joke or in spite. I could never see you as anything other than a mech that deserves the world, the universe!”

“Just because you know I’m supposed to be prime now doesn’t mean you should treat me like some bauble on display,” Drift gives his best Rodimus impression but First Aid silently admits that his word choice probably wasn’t the most Rodimus-like, “I’m still Radius! I’m still the bot you called a friend! I’m still the bot that got overcharged and lost his credits to you on Hedonia! I’m still me!”

“I know you are!”

“Then why are you putting up this air of formality? Why are you treating me like a thing and not a person?”

“I can’t be with you, Radius,” Riptide recites in a hushed voice that has the audience of their impromptu performance gasping, “No matter how much I long to be with you, your position is too high for me to reach. I must steel my spark in the face of it. I must respect our traditions but I wish to remain useful to you. In order to do so I’ve had to put a barrier between myself and you. I am sorry. Please, don’t push me away.”

Drift A.K.A “Radius” looks down at Riptide A.K.A “Lightningclash” with a surprisingly convincing sad look in his optics.

“Then be my friend, Lightningclash,” “Radius” says, “because my spark won’t survive losing you.”

With the close, Riptide and Drift bow to the roaring crowd among which is even an amused Megatron. Rodimus sits in stunned silence as Drift wanders back to their booth where Ratchet is also dying of laughter. Rodimus looks at his amica in complete and utter betrayal but doesn’t even manage to dent Drift’s smugness. Out of everything First Aid had thought would come of his writing, miniature theater was not one of them. Across from him, Thunderclash looks over at Rodimus with longing, love, and hurt shining in perfect crimson. A message pings on First Aid’s hud and he knows he has work to do.

“I can’t believe you actually did that!” Rodimus shouts as he walks down the hall with Drift and Ratchet who are both laughing at his distress.

“What? Of course I did,” Drift nudges him gently, “I knew your reaction would be priceless.”

“I think he did a terrific job imitating you,” Ratchet adds making Rodimus scoff.

“See,” Drift loops his arm with Ratchet’s, “It’s all in good fun.”

“For everyone except me,” Rodimus grumbles.

“Details,” Ratchet shrugs.

“Well hopefully this time what I do will stick.”

“Hopefully,” Drift says wistfully obvious in his insincerity.

Nautica turns out to be First Aid’s saving grace as they continue writing the Epic of Lightningclash and Radius. They take turns typing what the other one says making the process much faster and before the day is out they have a chapter ready for editing. Thunderclash sits in and helps with word choice but for the most part just politely listens in quietly. First Aid is grateful to have him there as well because he really does help with dialogue, even making Radius sound more, well, Rodimus-y. God, this mech. The way he talks about Rodimus’s little quirks and the phrases he likes to use alone almost makes First Aid feel like he’s the one falling in love with Rodimus.

“You know, I always forget about his tendency to use Earth slang,” First Aid admits after sending off the chapter to Perceptor who had volunteered to edit the thing.

“His love for Earth and its people is incredibly endearing,” Thunderclash admits and looks into the distance, a sweet smile plastered on his face, “I’d never seen him so devoted to studying a culture before. He really has become a kind of expert on it.”

“How long have you had your eye on Rodimus?” Nautica bumps her elbow gently against Thunderclash.

“I-uh,” Thunderclash stutters and looks away, flustered.

“Don’t worry,” First Aid puts a servo on Thunderclash’s, “we’ll get him for you.”

Thunderclash smiles brightly but it quickly dims with sadness, “At this point, my hope is that I can at least salvage whatever happened for him to… detest me.”

“That’s not your fault!” Nautica slams her servos on the table startling both of them, “That’s just Rodimus being a jerk.”

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true, Nautica,” Thunderclash puts up a consoling servo.

“I’m starting to think you’re right, Thunderclash. Something else is going on with him. Something he hasn’t let anyone see before,” First Aid hums and puts his helm in his servo contemplating their latest piece.

This new figure that Rodimus himself introduced into the story has been especially telling. This figure that can be none other than Optimus Prime’s doppelganger. So, Pinnamus Prime (so subtle) comes aboard the ship and pretty much takes control of everything to which the crew complies with completely because who would argue with a Prime? Lightningclash makes the mistake of agreeing with some of the current Prime’s criticisms causing tension to build yet again. When the pressure comes to a head, Radius gives a very deep confession that are the actual words of Rodimus. First Aid thinks that Rodimus didn’t realize how intense his offered bit of dialogue is, a confession of all the faults and missteps he knows are there that he feels are all people see when they look at him. He also talks about the sacrifices he’s made and the good he’s done but Pinnamus (Optimus) is just a walking reminder of what he’ll never be, Lightningclash (Thunderclash) is an example of what he could have become. It all struck First Aid a bit hard, making him realize that, perhaps, they have been a bit harsh on their captain. While childish at times and certainly impulsive, he cares about his crew and he is working on being better. Looking back on all they’ve been through, First Aid has to admit that Rodimus has actually been a rather good captain making quick decisions and being as fair as he can be. He hasn’t been a captain that would fit in during wartime but they’re not at war anymore. Oh, Primus, Rodimus had given up just as much as everyone else and then some to keep people safe, to keep the Autobots from falling. The fact that he can still smile, have fun, and then remind people they can still smile, that they still have hope is absolutely remarkable. Thunderclash is definitely starting to get to him.

The open ending they leave goes over about as well as First Aid expected which is to say not very well at all. They couldn’t think of any other way they could have done it. Thunderclash responded to Rodimus’s confession in his own words through Lightningclash then the chapter ends with him waiting for his response. The cliffhanger has everyone theorizing and arguing how it’s all going to end, the anticipation thick in the air. First Aid wades through the chaos dodging questions or giving ambiguous answers until he literally bumps into Rodimus. Before he can get too deep into his flurry of apologies a datapad is shoved into his servos. When he looks up at Rodimus he’s stunned to see his captain so serious, not angry, just serious. Without a single word, Rodimus leaves. After a moment of ogling the empty space Rodimus left behind, First Aid looks down at the proffered datapad and what he sees makes his optics flash in excitement. This would be the perfect end.

“I think this has gone on long enough,” Megatron says startling Drift who had been sharpening his swords.

“I’m sorry?”

“This entire back and forth with Rodimus and Thunderclash,” Megatron clarifies, “It needs to end.”

“I suppose we can’t tolerate too many more bar fights over something so trivial,” Drift concedes, “What do you have in mind.”

“I think Rodimus and Thunderclash need to confront each other on this matter.”

Drift looks up at ex-warlord skeptically and returns to sharpening his swords for a minute considering if what Megatron is suggesting is really a good idea. After dithering on it he turns back to the larger mech.

“Confront how?”

“I was quite inspired by your little performance the other day,” Megatron can’t hide his amusement when Drift coughs awkwardly, “I think they should read it together.”

“Oh yeah? How do you expect to get them to do that?” Drift raises an eye ridge.

“Everyone knows First Aid is the one that’s been writing this story and from what I can tell he seems quite eager to see this through. I’m sure I could convince him to help out.”

“Okay, what does that have to do with me?” Drift leans back looking up at Megatron.

“Your his amica, he spends time with you normally,” Megatron gestures nonchalantly, “Just make it so he’s in Swerve’s tomorrow evening.”

Drift looks him over for a moment but seemingly having made a decision just gives him a nod and goes back to his swords. Satisfied by this, Megatron leaves him be.

A very confused Thunderclash speeds along as he’s dragged down the hall to greet an equally baffled Nautica who gets the datapad First Aid had been given shoved into her servos. He then deposits Thunderclash into a chair, actually lifting the mech and seating him, surprising the poor mech with his hidden strength before sitting down to start writing. Nautica scans the datapad in record time and joins First Aid, newly invigorated. Thunderclash looks on with concern as they whisper over their datapad.

“Is everything alright?” Thunderclash breaks through the ominus haze.

First Aid and Nautica look back at him, smiling with wicked glints in theri optics.

“Perfect,” Nautica answers, her voice heavy with incredible, almost sadistic joy.

“How would you respond to something like, ‘Do I matter to you?’ from Rodimus?” First Aid asks, avoiding Thunderclash’s question.

“I’d tell him he means everything to me,” Thunderclash answers bashfully, “that… I’ll always be here for him.”

“Excellent, thank you,” with that First Aid goes back to writing with Nautica.

They continue like that for the remainder of the day, only asking Thunderclash seemingly random questions while not letting him read anything they’re writing. The pattern is eventually broken when the door panel slides open to reveal Megatron. For a moment they all just openly stare at each other until Megatron let’s himself in.

“I have a request,” Megatron breaks the silence and Nautica unabashedly gapes at him.

“Yeah?” First Aid’s voice breaks a little as he addresses the ex-warlord.

“This time when you release the story, only release it to Rodimus and Thunderclash at first,” Megatron says and sits down.

“Why?” Nautica crosses her arms, skeptical of Megatron’s plan.

“I think another reading of your story in Swerve’s is just what the crew needs,” Megatron says offhandedly, “except this time I think it should be done by your muses.”

“What?!” Thunderclash leaps up, “No, I can’t… Rodimus would surely… How would you even convince him to do that?”

“I don’t need to,” Megatron shrugs, “Drift will have him there tomorrow in the afternoon. The rest would have to be up to you.”

“Still-”

“I like that idea,” First Aid interrupts Thunderclash before he can go on a tirade.

“So do I,” Nautica smirks and pats Thunderclash on the shoulder, “It’s okay. You’re going to be great.”

Thunderclash looks helplessly around at the bots that seem very menacing now that plans for his grand performance were made.

Time flashes by and before he knew it, Thunderclash is being dragged once again by First Aid into Swerve’s where Rodimus sits drinking with Drift looking rather glum. Thunderclash’s spark aches as he sees his- as he sees Rodimus look so out of sorts because of him. In his moment of distraction he hadn’t First Aid bring him to the center of the bar and put a datpad in his servo. Looking back up from the datapad his tank drops as he sees Nautica quietly talking to Rodimus who nods at whatever she says to him and comes over to Thunderclash, arms crossed and body tensed while not meeting Thunderclash’s optics. Thunderclash’s intake goes dry and he can’t seem to just say something, anything. Then First Aid swoops in and gives Rodimus a datapad that he takes and scowls at it after reading the first few lines.

“Really?” Rodimus sighs, “This is what we’re doing?”

“So it would seem,” Thunderclash nods weakly.

“Might as well get this over with,” Rodimus rolls his optics, “I know Drift won’t let me back down from this.”

“You really don’t have to-”

“Save it,” Rodimus bites out, then turns his attention to the datapad, “Lightningclash, I don’t believe you, I can’t believe you. What you’re saying… I don’t believe you.”

Thunderclash looks down for his lines and with more feeling than Rodimus’s deadpan recites, “How can I show you that I’m telling the truth? That I mean every word I say.”

“Nothing.”

“Why? Why are you so determined to believe that no one thinks you’re worthy? You’re going to make an excellent prime. You’re already a wonderful captain.”

“You keep saying that but you know it isn’t true!”

“It is true, all of it.”

“Then why does everyone else think I’m a failure? Why did Pinnamus Prime take command? Why did he shove his greatest enemy on me to watch like some glorified patrol officer? And I can’t even do that right! I made friends with him, hey, maybe even proved he’s not completely evil! That was a surprise for me too.”

“Prime sees too much of himself in you. So much so that he forgets that you are your own person and not a perfect reflection. Whatever he perceives as failure in you is nothing more than him projecting his own fears on you. I think he feels as though he has failed as a prime and doesn’t want you to be the same.”

Rodimus hesitates for a long moment, the quiet palpable as all the attendees looks on in awe at their performance.

“Even if that was true,” Rodimus takes a deep intake, “I’m still not as good as you.”

Thunderclash looks at Rodimus, his spark aching, wanting nothing more than to take him into his arms and push the rest of the universe away, the universe that let Rodimus believe this about himself.

“No,” Thunderclash decides to ditch the script, “You’re better. I could never do what you’ve done here on the Lost Light. You’ve given people that didn’t quite fit a home, a place where they can be themselves. I was able to lead people in the war, I’m a good soldier, a law-abiding citizen. When the war was over, that was it. I didn’t know what to do so I just did whatever came my way. I didn’t fit anymore. You know exactly what to do. Your amica found you a ship, you found the next big adventure. Along the way you’ve done so much good, helped so many people and shown them they don’t have to be soldiers anymore. That’s why I’m here, because of you. On this ship, piece by piece, I’ve been able to figure out who I am again.”

“You… really mean that,” Rodimus looks up at Thunderclash with wide optics.

“Of course I do, I love you,” Thunderclash drop the datapad and takes Rodimus’s servos in his own the other datapad having been already forgotten during Thunderclash’s speech, “I’ll follow you so long as you’ll lead me. I’ll go anywhere so long as you’ll have me. I’ll do anything to show you I really mean it when I say ‘I love you.’ Please, at least believe me when I say I don’t think you’re a failure.”

Rodimus doesn’t say anything, he just looks up at Thundeclash in complete disbelief, unable to process what just happened. Just when Thunderclash thinks he’s messed everything up and begins to pull away, he’s suddenly pulled down. He exclaims in surprise then Rodimus is kissing him and nothing else matters. He holds Rodimus close and sighs at the feeling of soft lip plates against his own, feeling dizzy from his surprise and amazement. He didn’t think it would happen but here Rodimus is: kissing him with servos on his helm and humming with content. A rumble erupts from his engines suddenly and embarrassingly making him pull away to look down at Rodimus apologetically due to his involuntary show of excitement. Rodimus just laughs and Thunderclash finally registers the deafening cheers that surround them. First Aid is giving him a thumbs up and Nautica looks on with a dreamy look in her optics.

“Thunderclash,” Rodimus pulls his focus from the crowd, “same.”

Now it’s Thunderclash’s turn to laugh as he pulls Rodimus in for hug, his Rodimus, his captain, his love.

First Aid looks on as Rodimus whispers something to Thunderclash that makes his optics go wide before pulling him along out of Swerve’s followed by whoops and wolf whistles. He shakes his helm and laughs, pleased by how much better it all went down than he was hoping. Ambulon bumps into his side affectionately catching his attention.

“Shame your big finally wasn’t actually read,” Ambulon teases.

“That was way better than anything I could have written and it was from the spark so all the better,” First Aid shrugs and sips his drink that he finally got from Swerve.

“Seems like they aren’t wasting anymore time.”

“No,” First Aid laughs, “They certainly aren’t. I don’t think we’ll see our captain anytime soon.”

Ambulon turns First Aid’s helm to look at him and leans up to press a chaste kiss to his lip plates before moving away only slightly.

“You know,” Ambulon says quietly, “I think you deserve a reward for getting those two idiots together.”

“Oh yeah?” First Aid plays along, “And what do you have in mind for my reward?”

“That new berth you bought for me still hasn’t been properly broken-in yet,” Ambulon says in a low tone and rubs a thumb along First Aid’s faceplate.

“We better take care of that,” First Aid leans in for another kiss.

“We better,” Ambulon agrees once they break apart.

#rodiclash #thunderrod #first aid #fanfiction #maccadam #tf #alyonian #rodimus #thunderclash

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spockandawe · 6 years ago

Note

Brainstorm and - I can't believe no one's asked - Soundwave?

HECK YEAH! I’m splitting this in two, because I know I’m going to be wordy, so first, Brainstorm!

First impression: I won’t lie, I’m a sucker for an eccentric scientist type. His early mtmte lines made him stand out in the flood of characters I was processing, and by the time he was saying ‘I’m too smart to die!’, I was in love

Impression now: OH MAN. I love him. I love him so much. I love the eccentric, brilliant scientist thing, and Iove how that’s just... who he is naturally. But then I adore how the story put so much focus on his internal world and emotions, which was the case, just done through less direct ways than him plainly communicating it. He broke! The rules of time!! Because he was in love!!!! And then the reason it all went to hell was that he felt so bad for his best friend and everyone else who was lost/lost loved ones in the war and decided to save everyone. And he wanted to save everyone as an MTO, where by derailing the war, he’d probably... not exist. And he’s such a natural goof, but in his trial, when he gets all serious and explains himself, when he’s processing how hurt Nautica is, everything that goes on in that issue, it breaks my goddamn heart. He’s got such fascinating depths, and the only reason I’ve written so little for him is because I get disproportionately nervous about doing justice to all the layers that go into who he is.

Favorite moment: Oh, this is hard. This is really hard. He’s a star in virtually every scene he’s in. A shout-out goes to the moment he’s staring down a gun barrel at baby megatron trying to psych himself up to personally killing someone. But I think... it does have to be the trial scene. He’s just made his big play that he’s worked towards for so long, it all fell apart, the trial may be about to yank his home out from under him. He jokes around, constantly, it’s what he does, but he’s so subdued here even when he does try to crack a joke. He’s serious without tempering it with silliness, he’s... low-energy isn’t exactly right. But he feels so tired. And he’s dealing with having failed to change the past, and having potentially poisoned his future. Chromedome is speaking on his behalf, but he’s seeing Nautica, one of his other best friends, deeply hurt and angry because of how he lied and what he did. The time travel stakes are nominally done, but the emotional stakes are so intense, and it’s maybe the most open look we get at his vulnerabilities. Issue 40 is amazing on all counts, but god. That trial.

Idea for a story: I’d really, really like to write a 10k-ish shippy thing starring Brainstorm and Nautica. It’s another situation where I know exactly what the dynamic would feel like, but I don’t know what the story is about. I really loved the dynamic Nautica had with him in canon, and I adore that she had her five-way marriage ceremony. I do wish each of those relationships had gotten more focus, and Brainstorm is one of my favorite faves, so I really wish I could have seen more of that. And post-canon, three of nautica’s five partners are... dead. I mean, nightbeat lives on in my heart and in any fic I write, because NO, but he does kind of poof. She lost her emotions about Skids, and forgot Rung, but not Nightbeat. And things are a bit strained with Velocity for a while, despite the emotion-selling, where I can see it feeling fragile for a bit. It would be interesting seeing someone as flippant as Brainstorm being there for her while she’s dealing with some serious, heavy emotions. I love that Nautica married all those people, but I’d kill for more fic exploring exactly the flavor of love between her and each of those partners.

Unpopular opinion: I’m... not very invested in simpatico :X And mainly, that’s a function of me being very invested in Brainstorm and not very invested in Perceptor, but I’ve gotten some nice recent insights into how his backstory informs his presence and inner world, so I’m beginning to catch that emotional hook. But the situation has been that when I look at perceptor in canon, he’s... fine? But Brainstorm deserves the world, and I’ve had a hard time seeing about how Perceptor will fill all of Brainstorm’s emotional needs in the way he needs.

Favorite relationship: Well, given what I said above, the easy answer is Nautica, but it’s a REAL tight race between her and Chromedome. I don’t know if I can choose XD I’ve talked before about how Brainstorm is hungry for approval and attention, and Nautica just... really sincerely enjoys being around him. And he’s smart enough to keep up with her and works on exciting advanced sciencey things that interest her. They click so well for being a pair where each just makes the other so happy. And I’m predisposed to think that two engineers together is the perfect ideal :P But Brainstorm and Chromedome, oh man. They’re pretty different personalities, but they’re so close and supportive even at each other’s lowest points, and the way they don’t ditch each other is really heartwarming, I think. Chromedome speaks on Brainstorm’s behalf at his trial, after he poisoned everyone, tried to kill the co-captain, and rewrite the whole past, and could have easily had a drift-type situation happen to him. And Brainstorm comes to Chromedome when Rewind is dead, trying to persuade him not to forget Rewind, which is something he’s done for multiple other husbands already, and he hasn’t ditched Chromedome or stopped trying even though he didn’t succeed those other times. It’s like... Nautica and Brainstorm is a high-energy foreground ‘I just like you so much’ situation, and Chromedome and Brainstorm is a low-energy, super-stable background ‘of course I’m sticking with you’, and I couldn’t choose one over the other

Favorite headcanon: Is ADHD Brainstorm a headcanon? I feel like that’s practically text and shouldn’t really count :P This is a tough one! He feels so complete to me on the page that I’ve never really felt the need to fill in details in my head. How about... in an intimate situation, he’s generally not going to be volunteering information about any serious, not-happy feelings. He’s going to be hella avoidant about that. But he does really want someone to realize that these feelings exist, corner him, and make him talk about it.

#spock replies #brainstorm #transformers #ask memes/#Anonymous

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decepti-geek · 6 years ago

Text

My dumbass Strictly Come Dancing AU masterpost

So Strictly finally featured a dance to Power of Love a while back! which meant that like a fool, I ran away and started earnestly working on a silly idea I’d been sitting on, and this is the result. Heavy on the cygate, with Rodimus and Minimus as accidental breakout stars, a LOT of Postmodern Jukebox music, and a veeeery haphazard work-in-progress playlist.

The point of this is basically to make people who watch the show giggle a bit, I guess, but also! If anyone has any idea of who would judge/host (cause I got nothin’), or even ideas for extra couples, PLEASE drop by my inbox, and ditto a thousand times over if anyone can think of new song/dance style pairings for any of the couples!!! I wanna Talk about this AU okay, it’s silly and fluffy and it’s been giving me joy for months and hopefully it’ll be fun for people who read it too.

Under a cut cause this got L O N G.

A couple of notes: I’m definitely moving musicals week to much earlier in the competition, since musicals are like, a good 25% of my overall music taste, which doesn’t translate well to only having four or so couples left at that point. And a note about who the minibots get paired with - I know actual Strictly tends to match for height, but I feel like in Cybertronian society that could be taken in… a variety of bad ways, not least perpetuating the idea of former disposables or similar only being allowed to dance with other disposables. So I figure with this one, the system’s a little different (also i just want my OTPs to dance together okay).

This is also, admittedly, more drama-filled than actual Strictly appears to the casual viewer, BUT I know the tabloids make much of the show even if I’m not a habitual tabloid reader.

(And I know I have a lot of charlestons in here, shush, it’s my favourite dance).

So! Thus far, the professional dancers/celebs I have outlined are:

Brainstorm - who, honestly, is basically Kevin. He’s willing to push things a bit further than the others with choreography and concepts, and sometimes he does push things a bit too far and they come out kinda weird to the judges (think the charleston to Cantina Band), but still adored by the popular vote. It makes for an interesting combination when he’s matched with serious, dedicated Jack-of-all-limelights Perceptor, who I see as being a bit like a reverse Brian Cox?? He started out well-known in the academic sector, then made it big as, idk, an actor (in the Mads Mikkelsen vein) and maybe a bit of modelling, and now he’s wound up here (I just realised that a lot of my celebs are more famous than the majority on Strictly tend to be, OH WELL).

They clash a LOT in initial rehearsals, but somewhere along the line Perceptor comes round enough to see that no, he did not get paired with the frivolous pro who doesn’t care about winning - Brainstorm just has a unique way of showing his love for his craft.

Also, you know how every year there's like, one lady pro who sprints over and full on leaps at her partner when he's revealed? Yeah, that's Brainstorm.

I’d like to think they make it to the semi-finals. And I desperately want to say that they have a dance to She Blinded Me With Science (cha cha cha maybe?). Kinda also want to steal Kevin's Doctor Who tango idea that he did this year. I think you could squeeze a quickstep out of End Of The World As We Know It, and then they've got two PMJ songs: a charleston to Final Countdown, and a foxtrot to I Believe In A Thing Called Love. ALSO HALLOWEEN JIVE TO TIME WARP I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

Tarn - who is here mostly so I can have him dance the paso doble to Phantom of the Opera with Pharma. These two are both suuuuper committed to the competitive aspect, enough that they’re willing to put aside their initial, rather drastic ideological differences, although the bickering does eventually eat away at their partnership. They get eliminated about midway through (though they do make it to the equivalent of Blackpool), and subsequently have a brief fling followed by a dramatic split that the tabloids eat up every last morsel of.

Other songs I can see them dancing to include a quickstep or American Smooth to Intermission by Scissor Sisters, a charleston to Crazy In Love (same arrangement as Kevin and Louise’s just, y’know, maybe not Harley/Joker themed), and maaaaybe their rumba is PMJ’s version of Toxic, with possibly a tango to Killer by the Hoosiers.

There’s added tension, too, in that - since I’m trying to look at the ‘celebrity’ aspect in the broader way Cybertronians might, as well - Pharma’s own main professional rival is competing this year alongside him.

Said rival being partnered with Drift, who’s been on the team of pro dancers long enough that he’s undergone something of a shift. It used to be that he got the younger, more… shall we say, visually appealing celebrity dancers, and he’d happily choreograph routines that oozed as much danger and/or sex appeal as the producers called for - to the ire of more than one watching conjunx endura. While he might once or twice have encouraged that to go further behind the scenes in his early days, he’s matured the longer he’s been in the business. Following a bit of a new-age spiritual journey between two seasons of the show, Drift has since come to be regarded as a friendly, experienced face for the not-quite-so-young, nervously inexperienced celebs, though the audience hasn’t exactly been quick to forget his past.

The decision to partner him with Ratchet (physician to the rich and powerful; philanthropist; unflappable, no-nonsense, complete and utter grump) is therefore met with some confusion. This was a calculated move on the part of the show’s producers, though - in the early days of Drift’s run with the series, he botched a lift and came down from it with a pretty impressive sprain. Sparing no expense for their most prized dancer at the time, the best of the best was called in to sort him out.

There was a disagreement in the treatment room, concerning the morality of Drift seducing his latest celebrity partner away from her conjunx, and the resulting shouting match passed into legend among the production crew, even if it was somehow prevented from being leaked to the public. The higher-ups are now capitalising on this, as the whole thing is sure to explode in some sort of direction, and they want the ratings boost that will result once it does.

Except… it never explodes. See, that confrontation with Ratchet was the first half of what led Drift to revise his behaviour. He'd started his dancing career young, with a string of agents, managers, what have you at the beginning encouraging him to believe that there's no such thing as bad publicity, and it didn't matter who he hurt along the way. The fact that someone famed for his straightforwardness and his principles - in a famously cutthroat environment - was now calling him up on that behaviour was enough to make Drift begin to question it. Throw in meeting Wing on a hiking holiday a few years down the line, after a shaky year of competitions and an unexpected early elimination from the show, and he's ready to really start bettering himself.

It showed, obviously, but never so much before now, where Drift is actively trying to prove that he took Ratchet’s words on board. Ratchet is… a little freaked out by the intensity of his conviction to do so, but they work through it and develop one of the strongest working relationships of any on the show.

It takes until after the show to become anything more than a working relationship, because they're both rather shy in their own ways, but when it finally does no one's really surprised anymore.

They definitely dance the jive to Bad Case of Loving You, and I'm entertaining the idea of a Halloween salsa to Jump In The Line from Beetlejuice mostly for the staging potential of the moving furniture, especially the rocking chair and all the jokes to be had from that. :D

And after LL 25… they’ve gotta dance to Easter Parade by Emmy the Great, it’s just perfect for them. I think it’d work best as a waltz, with some editing.

There’s also Skids, whose star rapidly rose and then stayed at the top, upon entering the competitive dancing scene. He was a quick study and he's also a decent teacher, so he gets matched with star comedian Swerve, who has veeeery little confidence in his ability. Although it’s not something he entirely gets over, at least enough to get them both more than halfway, it IS something he sticks at after leaving the competition, and he stays in touch with Skids as well.

Nobody’s ever really sure if their regular meetups post-series are dance lessons or ‘dance lessons.’ (Mostly because Skids is very, very skilled at flying under the radar).

And I d e s p e r a t e l y want to steal Kellie Bright’s dance to Oom Pah Pah for these two, cause a Viennese waltz set in a tavern is perfect for Swerve.

Lug is one half of the inevitable married pro couple, and I weirdly like the idea of her being matched with Windblade? Not really got any ideas for them on the song front, other than maaaaaybe a charleston to Nowadays from Chicago? but I think they’d make it a good way into the proceedings - they seem like they’d get along well, and Windblade’s got a natural grace to her.

Lug’s wife and partner in crime dance is Anode, who has a similarly capable celebrity student, in celebrated scientist and author Nautica. Unfortunately, these two don’t quite get off on the best foot, and a lot of initial promise becomes a flash in the pan that quickly falls apart. Their routines and skill are still pretty memorable (barring the one bad week that ruined things), even if they don’t make it as far.

They charleston to Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines because cmon. Nautica’s an engineer and Anode is a literal biplane.

Perhaps surprisingly, I’m chucking Whirl in here as a professional, too - a new hire for this year, viewed by the producers as a bit of a risk - paired up with renowned psychologist and amnesiac deity Rung. The idea I’m running with is that for Whirl, the dancing is basically an outlet post-empurata. It lets him exhaust himself physically and mentally, as long as he completely throws himself into it (and boy does he ever)... so that he can blunt the edge of the hurt he’s still got bottled up. And before he found this outlet, he had a chequered past to say the least, which the media capitalises on immediately, plunging the new guy into the spotlight. The new guy adamantly refuses to be a sob story, or the subject of inspiration porn, and smashes more than one camera to illustrate this point, so all the attention ends up veering towards the negative as a result.

Rung, though - Rung can see, more than anything, that Whirl still needs help, no matter how adamant he might be that he’s found his own balance. Rung’s in this to learn and have fun - and for his faults, Whirl is a decent teacher - but he can never ignore when he sees someone hurting. At first, the most he does is quietly stand up to any stray reporters who come hassling (with the patented I’m-not-mad-I’m-just-disappointed approach), but they do eventually develop a firm friendship, once Whirl realises he’s actually got someone on his side for once.

Rung himself is in a Bad position to do anything more, given that even the three weeks of initial training was time enough to develop something of a bond; so instead, he quietly slips Whirl the number of a younger associate: someone who, he assures Whirl, is coming from a place of experience - not all professional, but personal, too. It takes a while, because well, it’s Whirl, but there comes a point where he approaches Rung looking a little awkward, and thanks him - Krok’s been a great help.

As for the actual competition, Rung’s forgettability and Whirl’s new reputation work against them and they leave fairly early; but every subsequent week sees Rung in the audience to watch Whirl in the group numbers. They take absolutely aaaaaaaages after that to get their shit together, but by the time the next year rolls around, Rung’s position as audience support is official and constant, thanks to his ‘dating one of the pros’ status.

So far, I’ve only got two songs for them: a charleston to Caravan Palace’s cover of Black Betty, and a Viennese waltz to the Waltz of the Hours from Coppelia.

There’s also Jazz, who’s something of a legend even among the pros, mostly for his seeming ability to match up to even the very greatest of pressures. It’s something that’s seen him through to multiple finals over the years, and this year should be no exception…

… Were it not for the slight snag in that Mirage, a Towers noble, is our That One Celebrity; who the public perceive to have had just a bit too much prior dance experience for the competition to be entirely fair. And he’s Jazz’s partner.

I see Mirage being picked on particularly because the Towers upbringing probably does involve some kind of formal dance training. So these two are really, really good, but that unfortunately means they’re just a bit too good for what’s supposed to be a half-amateur contest. A low public vote and a bad dance-off sees them eliminated just shy of the semi-final.

I really can’t explain why, but I’m fixated on the idea of their charleston being a Halloween one, to Remains of the Day from Corpse Bride, and they could have maybe a quickstep (??) to Oh My My by Summer Kennedy (thanks Clara!). They also have the dubious honour of being the only couple I've found a samba song for: another PMJ one, which is Such Great Heights. (I Dislike sambas in general cause they seem so tricky and clunky most of the time, but if anyone can pull one off it’s these two).

And then, Primus love him, there’s Soundwave, who is possibly more experienced, talented and capable than any other pro in the competition, past or present (though Jazz, despite being his usual partner, would dispute that).

Which, of course, means he gets signed up to coach the complete and utter duds. Shockwave was never really going to get far in this, being a former Senator of questionable popularity, and, as Whirl would put it, the token empurata victim. That's all before the fact that he's just… really crap at dancing. Soundwave does his best, but he doesn't exactly have much to work with, and they're eliminated second week. As poor Soundwave has sadly become a bit accustomed to over the years.

In a similar boat for the first time this year is Knock Out - which, at least at first, he is none too pleased about. The guy he gets matched with is technically an athlete - but endurance and strength have never exactly been the mainstream focus of Cybertronian sport, even if they're what Breakdown has in spades.

He also has plenty of enthusiasm and a very earnest desire to try, that Knock Out can't help but be charmed by, even if it's not enough to get them more than about four weeks in. I think it'd be really sweet if these two had an American Smooth to Wouldn't It Be Lovely from My Fair Lady.

Someone who's had a mostly-friendly rivalry with Knock Out while they've both been on the show is Rodimus, who's in that same flashy, pretty vein along with Drift (his professional partner, incidentally), but who's been willing basically from the get-go to take on whoever he needs to season by season.

In short, he's a bit of a wild card, and this year he's been handed the younger (and less famous) of the Ambus brothers. The problem in this particular case is Minimus’ chronic, painful stage fright. Dominus, in his misguided wisdom, thought trial by fire would be good for him, and laid on the peer pressure until Mims agreed, but he is very much a fish out of water at first, and it shows.

The thing is, though - most of his mistakes are a result of nerves, rather than lack of talent. The judges do comment on his natural poise during the traditional ballroom numbers, and for all that Roddy acts dumb, he's shrewd enough to work gradually on bringing Minimus out of his shell, often taking advantage of Mims’ intense focus during rehearsals.

Because he might be shaky on the performance front, but Minimus Ambus has never been known for shoddiness in his work, and doesn’t plan to start now. And Roddy uses that to his advantage - he’ll sneak in extra moves mid-week, while they’re running through a routine, and Minimus will be stood there at the end of it, having just managed something he was obviously capable of, but never would’ve imagined he could be.

A few weeks in, and he’s thriving.

Dance-wise, I'd say definitely a jive to Don’t Stop Me Now, and I like the idea of them having Rebel Rebel for their paso. I want them to make it to the final just so Rodimus can choreograph a showdance to Dare (because try as I might, I just Cannot make it fit one of the usual dance styles. Roddy’s probably had it saved up as the song he WILL showdance to in his first final). I'm thinking as well, an American Smooth to Grace Kelly by Mika cause it honestly fits them really nicely, AND Lost Coastlines could work as a quickstep song I reckon, so let's give it to the first and second in command of the LL! Idk if I Do Adore by Mindy Gledhill has quite the right tempo for a foxtrot, but I think even if it needs a bit of tweaking it’d be really nice. And another potentially really random one, but: charleston to You Give A Little Love from Bugsy Malone (for musicals week?).

Also, they totally cha cha (or maybe salsa?) to Does Your Mother Know, specifically the Christine Baranski version (and they do the Leg Thing from the scene in the movie, you know the one).

As coincidence would have it, Minimus’ own brother-in-law is also a celebrity contestant this year! Rewind has gone from Ambus arm candy to acclaimed filmmaker/journalist in his own right, and for his stint on Strictly he's been paired up with Chromedome. This guy has managed to get himself the nickname ‘Unlucky’, on account that he's fallen in love and subsequently into relationships with not one but three of his previous celebrity partners. There was never any cheating or anything otherwise untoward involved, but things always seemed to end within a year, leaving Chromedome heartbroken and never really up to his best in the show following each breakup. This should have been one such year - after Pivot - except that his new partner is so very sharp and exuberant and just plain magnetic that poor Domey finds himself drawn in regardless.

And I say poor Domey, because as mentioned above, Dominus Ambus is alive and kicking, not to mention in the audience every weekend.

Things get even more complicated when Rewind realises he’s also kinda interested in his new partner - possibly responding to Chromedome’s own feelings, no matter how hard he tries to hide them. They attract more than their fair share of judgemental social media comments, both as a result of things the tabloids dig up and from people speculating that they have a little too much chemistry on the dancefloor. Eyes are also, obviously, on Dominus each week, and he seems oddly impassive about the whole thing - but then, he always has been very guarded about his private affairs. It’s generally assumed that things will come to a head between him and Rewind soon enough, though.

Songs include a salsa to Faster by Matt Nathanson and - is it too on the nose for them to waltz to Memory during musicals week? I also want their charleston to be the PMJ cover of Chasing Pavements.

And this is soooooooooo cheesy, but I really want their rumba to be Unfaithful by Rihanna. THAT one gets a load of media attention, and it's the week following that they bow out instead of allowing the usual elimination process to go ahead.

The twist comes a couple of weeks later, after the media storm has died down; it gets stirred right back up again the moment a photo surfaces of Rewind and Dominus leaving a screening of Rewind’s latest hit… each of them holding one of Chromedome’s hands.

Some say that the reason Chromedome’s partners tended to leave him (until now) has something to do with his continued association/professional partnership with Prowl: a very old flame, but more importantly, a one-mech embodiment of the Strictly Curse.

This guy is a mess, and he gets everywhere: as well as Chromedome, it’s rumoured he was involved with Jazz at one point, and then there’s the assorted flings with his celebrity partners, including the two-year period where he made his way through both members of the same band who signed up for the show in succession... as well as the other four who didn’t.

He’s scary good technically though, and more than a little merciless, so no matter his reputation he usually manages to push his partners quite far into the competition. This year’s offering is scientist Tarantulas, who’s another bit of token representation, for the beastformers this time (my imaginary Cybertronian broadcasting network is apparently not the most progressive).

There’s no polite way to put this: I imagine they’re at each other almost immediately. Both very sharp, and driven, and inventive, and what begins as a glorious meeting of minds in initial training, ends in a quest for the nearest store cupboard. It’s not the most stable of arrangements - sure, Tarantulas is utterly smitten with Prowl’s vision and determination, but Prowl often struggles reining him in and getting him to knuckle down, and tends to resort to leaning a bit too heavily on the personal side of their relationship to get what he wants. As with Ratchet and Drift, everyone’s on tenterhooks waiting for things to blow up, but somehow they actually reach the final. How long they’ll last beyond that is anyone’s guess.

These guys have quite a few songs already. Paso to Poison by Alice Cooper (for Halloween week no less, it begins with Prowl trussed up on a giant fake web, and Tarantulas descending from the ceiling in fine accordance with Strictly tradition), jive to Jailhouse Rock, and their rumba is the PMJ cover of Blank Space, it's a Prowl song, fight me.

Also I'd like to think they could manage, like, a foxtrot to Viva La Vida but don't quote me on that. I also like the idea of a tango to Control by Halsey? And they don't have a musicals song yet so now I wanna chuck in a waltz to Sibella from Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder since that's my current obsession.

Elsewhere we have one of the younger dancers, who's been actively mentored by Prowl and has a not-so-friendly rivalry with Rodimus… Getaway!!! (Professional partner: Skids).

He actually goes out in the first week, bless him, through no fault of his own, as for some reason the producers saw fit to match him with Thunderclash. Predictably, this was an unmitigated disaster, and for the PR team it's even more of a problem, as one of the biggest names of this season has been kicked off before the show’s had a chance to begin - apparently, the routine was so bad that even Thunderclash’s fame wasn't enough to save him. For Getaway, it means that he's now hanging around at a bit of a loose end, since he still has to be there for the group numbers. Which gives him plenty of time to cause problems for…

Last but by no conceivable means least, Tailgate! When he joins the professional troupe he seems quite naive and childish, to the point that he’s not exactly taken seriously at first (for anyone who watches the show, think how AJ and his partners get a lot of high school/teen romance themed dances despite him being in his 20s).

THEN in this current series, who should come along but an unlikely celebrity entrant who Tailgate just so happens to be a MASSIVE fan of. Cyclonus is a singer of a… somewhat acquired taste, who’s been talked into this by his agent and is frankly dreading the latin dancing but can manage a tolerable waltz from the get-go. Being the aforementioned huge fan, Tailgate sweet-talks and pulls a few strings behind the scenes to get paired up with someone other than his usual ‘youngest celeb in the competition’.

As is the format of the show, Cyclonus doesn’t find out who his partner is until the ‘introduction’ episode; he’d been hoping for someone experienced and dependable, like Soundwave, so when he finds out the result he has misgivings to say the least. Tailgate by contrast is over the moon (that his scheme worked), and it definitely shows. That nets Cyclonus a bit of negative attention right out of the gate - he’s here looking all stoic and uptight and serious while Tailgate’s practically bouncing with joy, and words like ‘ungrateful’ and ‘stuck up’ get floated around social media a lot. (Although his painfully awkward expressions do become a bit of an ongoing meme).

(The expressions thing is also a problem during performances cause like, the whole serious, intense semi-glare works perfectly for a tango or a paso, but that shit will not fly in a waltz or a cha cha, and boy do the judges let him know it).

Tailgate, for his part, is a little surprised to discover how very reticent Cyclonus is, even in rehearsals. He’s dedicated enough to learning the routines, and quite adept at the performance aspect mostly thanks to his already strong connection to music, but trying to get even a word of small talk out of him is like trying to get blood from a stone. Tailgate takes it in his stride though, and chatters enough for two people to compensate.

It doesn’t take him long to suss out that Cyclonus isn’t entirely happy to be here, and he responds to that in a similar way, scheduling in little things to do together in their breaks and taking care at first not to push Cyclonus too far outside his comfort zone choreography-wise. He also, slightly misguidedly, tries to encourage the idea of them hanging out with his own professional partner… said partner, unfortunately, being Whirl, who manages to get right up Cyclonus’ nose.

(Those two have more success hitting it off when Cyclonus walks outside on a break, only to witness Whirl tearing the latest loitering photographer a new one. From there, it’s a weird kind of forged-in-strife bond, as they realise they’re about the only two people in these studios who actively flee media attention when it appears).

(Cyclonus has found some kind of storeroom that he uses as a bolt-hole in the event of said unwanted attention; Whirl absolutely sniffs said bolt-hole out, and proceeds to mercilessly bug him on his breaks).

Obviously, Cyclonus can’t fail to be touched by Tailgate’s efforts, and his easy kindness - though again, obviously, he’d never admit it. And thus begins the saga of the judges’ glowing comments, week by week, on Cyclonus’ performance skills (despite the face) and the evident chemistry they have while they’re dancing… only for Cyclonus to clam right the fuck up the moment the music stops. The way he acts during the rehearsal segments says a lot, though, even if he barely speaks during them.

Basically, they’re the couple where my mum would be watching them shrewdly each week, nodding and going “He’s head over heels, look.” and we, her dense af family, would reply “You what???”

So this whole thing continues to (very) slowly gather momentum for several weeks until.... Enter Getaway!! Who is salty that not only was he eliminated so very quickly, but also that literally all of the press attention went to Thunderclash, leaving him hanging around completely uselessly until next year. He decides to worm his way back into the limelight by stirring up some Drama, and sets his sights on poor Tailgate as his target.

What he doesn’t expect, however (and neither does Cyclonus really) is that his meddling almost pushes Cyclonus to quit the competition altogether - not feeling like he deserves or has anything to offer to Tailgate, but also unwilling to stay and watch all this bullshit unfold, especially now that the media’s caught wind of it. Unfortunately, Cyclonus’ misgivings get into the rumour mill somehow, and by the time Tailgate hears about them, his partner has apparently already handed in his notice. He then drops Getaway like a hot potato and goes running off to quit himself (because really, these two are both disasters), and it’s up to Whirl to drag Cyclonus out of the storeroom where he’s been brooding and get these two to actually talk, goddammit!

Aaaaaaand once that’s sorted, they’re still terribly awkward about pretty much everything. But! They’re getting there!!! By the time they reach the semi-final they’re the centre of plenty of gossip, though there’s no proof of anything yet as Whirl is being fucking militant about keeping non-show cameras away from their studio. It’s in the week following that someone finally gets a photo of them: on a break, sat outside, Cyclonus kissing Tailgate’s hands.

Dances! Cha cha to Power Of Love, obviously, since that's what kicked this whole thing off. (Am I a terrible person if they jive to Only The Good Die Young?) Then there's a charleston to Boyfriend by Lou Bega, a salsa to I Want You Back, and a rumba to the PMJ version of Jolene, all choreographed post-Getaway.

And I am VERY excited because I've realised they could waltz to Love Like You. They'd also have a Viennese waltz to No One Else from Great Comet in musicals week, and I like the idea of a tango to Devil’s Backbone, and a paso to Coat of Arms by Jonathan Thulin. And possibly an Argentine tango to La Llrona, if it was arranged the way it is in Coco (“Alas, Llrona in sky blue”, I have to, guys. I have to) .

ALSO I'm going to cheat and say that Power Of Love is just one of their regular week dances, since it isn't just from a movie, as I also want a foxtrot to Beauty and the Beast because a) it’s perfect for them and b) mandatory A Day Or Forever reference.

They make it to the final, and showdance to Shrike by Hozier. AND because I am the creator of this au and My Word Is God, I’m hereby declaring that they end up as the winners. So there. :p

And congrats to anyone who actually made it this far!!!! As I said above, please send me ideas for songs, judges, anything, really! :D

#mtmte #lost light #Cygate #rodimags #dratchet #simpatico #tarnma #whrung #KOBD #taraprowl #christ theres a lot of ships in this arent there #That Dumbass Strictly AU

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nihilismbot · 7 years ago

Note

Whirlaid or simpatico for the ship meme??

WhirlAid

who hogs the duvet: The covers might get caught on any of Whirl’s kibble. He probably steals them accidentally.who texts/rings to check how their day is going: Whirl because he’s bored and wants to know if First Aid’s shift is over yet.who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts: Whirl. First Aid will normally get weapons for Whirl. Whirl will get “Here’s a thing I found!” for First Aidwho gets up first in the morning: First Aid. Unless Whirl couldn’t sleep that nightwho suggests new things in bed: Both are just as likely.who cries at movies: Whirl is more likely to cry from laughing too hard.who gives unprompted massages: First Aid. Whirl would if he could :(who fusses over the other when they’re sick: Whirl, just to be annoying. if Whirl is sick, First Aid will handle it professionally. If First Aid is sick, Whirl will use it as an excuse to not do any real work and just constantly fuss over his bfwho gets jealous easiest: Whirl, sort of? He doesn’t think he deserves nice things so he just assumes First Aid is going to leave him.who has the most embarrassing taste in music: Whirl is not at all embarrassed that his music goes from Death Grips to Lazy Town with no warning.who collects something unusual: First Aid collects Autobot emblems with bullet holes through the right eye. And autobot emblems in general...who takes the longest to get ready: Whirl because he doesn’t wanna gooooo -whines-who is the most tidy and organised: Whirl. He just throws away clutter. First Aid isn’t messy, but he keeps things so he’s less tidy than Whirl’s minimalist style would like,who gets most excited about the holidays: Holidays typically come with a spike in injuries. Whirl is the more excited one.who is the big spoon/little spoon: If they’re spooning, First Aid has to be the big spoon. Whirl can’t because his canopy would get in the way.who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports: Whirl. Sometimes it’s better to just let him winwho starts the most arguments: Whirl “I know you’re just going to leave me so why should I bother being anything other than repellent?” Whirlstonwho suggests that they buy a pet: Do medical droids count as pets?what couple traditions they have: Every year, First Aid demands five shannix from Whirl. “HA! Didn’t break up with you for ANOTHER year! Guess my feelings are genuine! Pay up >:)”what tv shows they watch together: Great British Bake-Offwhat other couple they hang out with: Cyclonus and Tailgate, and Brainstorm and Perceptor.how they spend time together as a couple: Discussing the Wreckers, going to the shooting range, making clocks.who made the first move: Whirl flirted as a joke. First Aid made the first serious move.who brings flowers home: Whirl might, but no guarantees.who is the best cook: Whirl makes food that’s too spicy for normal bot consumption. First Aid isn’t amazing, but his cooking can be eaten.

Simpatico

who hogs the duvet: Brainstorm. Like with Whirl, the blankets get caught on his kibble. He doesn’t mean to steal.who texts/rings to check how their day is going: Brainstorm! Perceptor has to specifically request quiet time when he needs to focus. Brainstorm just really loves Percy and wants to know that he’s okay!!!who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts: Brainstorm. He’s the most creative one period. “It’s a targeting monocle that also relieves tension headaches!” “...I didn’t know how much I needed this until this very moment. :,)”who gets up first in the morning: Perceptor. Brainstorm has some kinda Rube Goldberg machine to wake him up.who suggests new things in bed: Brainstorm, he’s more experimental -wonk-who cries at movies: Brainstorm when a character dies while their lover was unable to stop it :’)who gives unprompted massages: Perceptor. Brainstorm is respectful of Perceptor’s personal space... Well, respectful enough to not provide unannounced intimate touches.who fusses over the other when they’re sick: Brainstorm. If he doesn’t, Perceptor absolutely will keep working and making it worse.who gets jealous easiest: Perceptor, but neither really gets jealous. Brainstorm knows he’s an amazing catch so there’s no way Perceptor would leave him. Perceptor knows Brainstorm is an amazing catch so...maybe someone else might be interested?who has the most embarrassing taste in music: The day Brainstorm is embarrassed about his BeeGee records is the day we realize he was replaced with an evil clone.who collects something unusual: Probably Brainstorm. Collects illegal explosives or something.who takes the longest to get ready: Perceptor. He wants to look respectable. Brainstorm wants to get whatever it is over with.who is the most tidy and organised: Perceptor. Everything is put away when he’s done with it. Brainstorm is more... Organized chaos.who gets most excited about the holidays: Brainstorm. He’s just excitable.who is the big spoon/little spoon: They switch, but most Perceptor is the big spoon.who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports: Brainstorm. More with sports because they’re evenly matched. Brainstorm is far better than Perceptor at video games.who starts the most arguments: Perceptor. He gets mad at Brainstorm for hiding things behind jokes :(who suggests that they buy a pet: Brainstorm. And no, he can’t have one, and he knows why.what couple traditions they have: Brainstorm takes Perceptor on a romantic date their first anniversary. It’s a big affair and very showy because he’s just so happy that they’re finally together. After that, they do more quiet things, lavish displays of affection aren’t Perceptor’s thing.what tv shows they watch together: Mythbusterswhat other couple they hang out with: Chromedome and Rewind, Nautica and Velocity, Whirl and First Aid.how they spend time together as a couple: SCIENCE!who made the first move: Brainstorm. About fifty of them.who brings flowers home: Brainstorm. Maybe Perceptor forgot how much Stormy loves him.who is the best cook: Brainstorm would put random things in a pot then insist, “try this, it’s awful!” But, Perceptor would constantly be distracted with things he found more interesting than cooking and would either forget to spice food or forget that he already spiced food. Ban them both from the kitchen.

#transformers #perceptor #brainstorm #simpatico #whirl #first aid tf #whirlaid #headcanons #reyns456

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orangewritesstuff · 7 years ago

Note

Hello friend from the other side of the screen! Could I have hc of Drift, Rodimus, Brainstorm and maybe Skids who confess their feeling for their human crush, and the human were very suprised. (If they sat on a chair they would have fallen of or if they drank something they would spit it out kinda level of suprised) The human tells the that they do love the bot, but they never been in a relationship so they simply never thought anyone would have been interested in them.

Well, hello there! That is a very cute prompt you’ve got here!

I hope it’s ok that I made drabbles (OR FREAKING ONE-SHOTS) out of it, I dunno how this happened :/ As always, sorry for the grammar. And, um, I’m not sure about Brainstorm’s part, it was hard for me somehow. But, enough of self-roasting. Enjoy, love!

Drift

Drift has been preparing for this moment for a long time. He liked you for a while now. You were sweet, kind, intelligent and a good friend to him, always willing to try yoga and meditations with him. How could he not fall for you? It was almost impossible! So, with some preparations, he was ready to make a confession.

The ship stopped on a small planet. There was not much on it, very short trees and a lot of grassy hills. But, what was the best thing on it, there was an atmosphere, that was suitable for humans. Drift took you on a walk. He already knew that the sunset on this planet will begin in a few hours, and it will be as beautiful as it was on Earth.

He was calm, actually. Pretty calm for a bot, who was going to confess his feelings to his s/o. You too were relaxed: Drift often offered you to walk with him, the conversation went smoothly and quietly, as always. There was nothing suspicious about the whole situation.

When sunset started, you two sat on a hill and stopped talking for a moment to enjoy the view. However, Drift decided that it was the time.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve brought you here for a reason, you know.”

“Oh? What reason?”

“I wanted to confess. To be… honest with you.” You didn’t even saw what was coming. “Y/N, I like you. Very much, to be honest. I think that it’s not even just sympathy. I think I fell in love with you.”

You swore to God and Primus, your jaw just literally dropped. Or it feels like it. Then, you almost choked on air, being a blushing mess already.

“F-fell in love? With me? Are you serious?”

“Well, I pretty sure I am… You don’t need to worry, I don’t want to force you into a relationship or anything like that! I just… thought it would be better if you at least knew” Oh, Drift. Sweet Drift. Of course, you liked him too. He was fun and calm at the same time, intelligent and gentle… He was everything you wanted to in a partner! And even more, to be honest.

“N-no, no, it’s okay! I-it’s fine” Oh, you’ve never stuttered so much in your life. “I like you too. Or, um, I’ve fallen for you too… It’s just… No one ever liked me. Or, if someone did, they never told me. I’ve never been in a relationship and I… I’ve never thought someone might like me that way”

Drift was clearly surprised for a moment, but then he smiled gently and chuckled. “It’s okay. I understand. It’s must’ve been so unexpected for you. But, um, I hope I didn’t scare you? We can take things slow if you want to.”

You still was blushing and a little bit astonished, but you smiled at him shyly. “Yeah… That would be great.”

“Maybe dinner at Visage then?” (it’s, like, Mirage’s version of swerve’s. I’m sorry, swerve, it’s just too noisy in your place)

“Sounds good to me”

Rodimus

Rodimus wasn’t as careless and as arrogant as everyone thought. He too could’ve been confused or scared to talk to someone he likes. Well, not exactly scared, of course! If he was, he would never talk to you, and he talked to you very often. He just was scared wasn’t sure how to confess to you. He even asked some bots on the ship… Their answers always have been the same: “Just do something romantic and then go for it!” But nothing seems to be romantic enough. You deserved something amazing, just as amazing as you were. But he couldn’t find the right thing to do!

So, now he felt like a fool, standing in front of your door with a bouquet of your favorite flowers (don’t ask how he found out which one is it and where he found it in space) ready to ask you on a date. But, of course, confession first.

He knocked on the door, once again thinking that he, probably, should’ve used his holoform. Well, it was too late now, your doors already opened. You stood there in casual clothes. When you saw who was at the door, you were thankful that you were not in your pj’s.

“Um, Rod! What brought you here? I-I thought you had work today?” Then you noticed bouquet. “Is that… f/f?”

“Yeah, well. I heard you liked them, so I get some. Do you like them?” He gave you the flowers.

“O-of course! They are beautiful.” You smiled shyly, inhaling the scent of flowers. “Um… Is there a reason, or..?”

“Yes. Well, sort of. It’s in honor of our first date”

Flowers fell off your hands. You stared in shock at Rodimus. “D-date?”

“You know. You are pretty, I’m pretty handsome. We were made for each other! …and also I like you, so”

“You like me?!”

“Is that a problem?”

“No! No, of course not! It’s not a problem, I like you, too, but... This is the first time someone asked me on a date.”

He looked surprised for a moment, but then he smirked happily and... smugly. “Don’t worry then. I’ll make sure this isn’t the last time.”

Brainstorm

Brainstorm wasn’t exactly the shy type. A little absent-minded because of his scientific nature, but never shy. Then why he is, on one hand, wanted to tell you about his growing feelings, on the other always found excuses not to do this? Maybe, he was just afraid of losing you on this crazy ship. Maybe, he thought that you, a human, wouldn’t want to date a giant scientist robot. But then he thought that this was just utterly stupid. He deserved some happiness, and, after some observation, he figured out that chance of you liking him too was high enough.

So, he waited for a right moment. You were alone, looking on stars. He came to you with a joke to lighten the mood. Jokes led to a light conversation, conversation to a comfortable silence. He smirked to himself, looking at you. You were talking about something you’ve read recently, sparks in your eyes. You two were very similar, talking about your favorite things with such passion.

“So, what do you think about it, Brainstorm?”

“I think that I like you”

Your heart skipped a beat. Did you mishear? He couldn’t possibly say that he...

“I mean, you are very smart. And you are the only person on this ship who can appreciate my genius...”

Maybe you did mishear after all...

“I could not help but fall in love.”

You didn’t. Oh my god, you didn’t. Brainstorm just confessed to you.

“So, what about you?”

“I... I-I... Oh, Primus, I think I’m going to fall.” Your knees were so weak, you really are going to fall.

“Wha- Oh no-no-no!” He quickly caught you, not letting you fall. You stared at him with wide eyes. “Well, I guess you have fallen for me too”

You gave out a nervous laugh. “Y-you’re a jerk.”

“I don’t think so.” He smiled.

“But you are right. I did fall for you. I just... I’ve never thought that you like me too! Heck, I’ve never thought anyone could like me!”

“Well, I do. Now, how about dinner at Swerve’s?”

Skids

It was hard to live without memories, really. Skids hated it. But there was always a bright side, and his bright side was his friends. Swerve, Brainstorm, Nautica, Rung and you, of course. Making new memories with all of them, with you - it was the best thing in his new life.

And you, oh you. You were amazing. Fun and sweet, intelligent and understanding. It’s like you were everything he could wish for in a dear friend. Well, “friend”. He thought that he forgot how to like someone, heck, how to love someone, and then you came into his life.

But Skids never told you. It was hard for him and he didn’t know why. Everyone else already knew, and this was the worse. Even Rung told him to confess because he was “too nervous” about it. But this was the deal! He was too nervous to tell you!

Maybe, the fact that Skids drank some high-grade for courage, was not a good thing. He wasn’t drunk, it would have been not very pleasant, but still, he felt just a tiny bit woozy.

And the fact that you just came into Swerve’s wasn’t great at all. Or was it? After all, he was drinking for courage, and this courage he needed to tell you about his feelings.

“Hey, guys. Swerve, Skids.” You smiled. “Can somebody give me a boost?” Skids chuckled and lifted you up on a counter.

“Whatcha doin’ here, eh?”

“Just wanted to hang out with you”

“Sounds good to me.”

You two talked for a while, joked for a while... He didn’t even notice that Swerve silently left you two with a smirk on his face. You were smiling at him, you were laughing with him, you were here with him. You were telling some story when he looked at you with dizzily happy eyes.

“I love you.”

“What?” You stopped talking, looking at him with confusion in your eyes.

“I love you.” He stated, smiling like a fool.

“Skids, if this is a joke, it’s not funny...”

“This isn’t. I really love you.”

You blushed. He was so... happy? Almost like a child, with this little, but genuine smile. So he was serious. Oh my god, he was serious.

“You do...”

“Yep. I do. Is it ok?”

“Yes! Oh my god, yes, of course! But I’ve never... I don’t even know... It’s all so sudden...”

“I guess, since I can’t remember anything, we’re in the same boat here.”

“I... I guess we are...”

“Do you feel the same?” He still had this stupidly sweet smile.

“I do.”

“You can’t even imagine how happy I am to hear it.”

#orange imagines #my grammar suck #i love these boys #transformers headcanons #transformers #maccadam #mtmte #mtmte headcanons #mtmte imagines #rodimus prime #drift #skids #brainstorm

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designationpinknoise · 7 years ago

Note

Can I please get Drift,Rodimus,Brainstorm,Megatron and whirl. with an organic SO who has eye powers like in Kagerou daze?

Okay! I love the Kagerou daze series! my fav character is Ene, hope you don’t mind them being female? I’m used to writing for girls.●◆●◆●◆●◆●◆●◆●◆

Drift: stealing eyes/mind-reading.

Drift was very curious about his girlfriend, even before asking her out. from her love for exploring, to her upbeat attitude and smile was addictive, And nothing ever seemed to bring (Y/n) down!

Or so Drift thought, as he wandered passed Ten who seemed with someone, the swordsmech thought nothing of it, until he saw (Y/n) leaning against the wall, eyes glowing red as Ten continued chatting with her.

“I never seen them live, are they any good?”

“Ten…”

“Really? I might consider it, ever hear of Trocadero?”

“Ten?”

“Oh yeah, they’re awesome!”

Drift hummed and continued on his way to Swerve’s then stopped glowing red eyes?! he immediately back tracked; and froze, when he saw his girlfriend’s eyes glowing like two red rubies! instead of their normal (y/e) color! She noticed Drift staring and blinked her eyes went back to normal color.

She looked horror-stricken and took off running with Drift in hot pursuit which is pretty dumb of her; considering her boyfriend can turn into a sports car. he caught up to her, and drove to his hab-suite for answers... needless to say Drift was disturbed when he learned about the Medusa ritual, he avoids (Y/n) for a little bit.

then comes back because he missed her. and realized if the other person hadn’t sacrificed themselves, then Y/n wouldn’t be with him and he would be alone.

…That and, now that Drift knows she can read minds. he can tease her, with all naughty thoughts he wants.~ and no one would-be the wiser.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Rodimus: concealing eyes

Rodimus was stumped with his human, one minute she standing in front of him staring having a staring contest.Next thing he knew she disappears! well to his optics anyways,

his thermals scanner could see her along with some weird bubble thing.was she using some sort of cloaking field generator?

He shook his helm no, humans don’t have that sort of tech! He pouted and slowly reached over and tapped the “bubble” like it’s soapy counterpart; it popped and he could see (y/n) clearly along with her glowing red eyes, instead of the usual (Y/c).

“now, I’m no expert on humans. but, I know they don’t have red eyes…or turn invisible”

“I’m a ghost.”

“Yeah, and I’m the princess of Canada.”

“I’m serious! sort of…if only I hadn’t jumped.”

Rodimus was still skeptical as his girlfriend explained her story, her family was abusive and ignored as she was the result of her fathers cheating and one day Y/n had enough.

she just wanted to go away to disappear. so, she went to the highest place in town and jumped.

But, she wasn’t alone an old man. a complete stranger followed after her, he saved her that day. but, at the cost his own life…

“Then I woke up on bench in park nearby. I didn’t go home that night or the next” (y/n) frowned as Rodimus stared at her with a frown “So, you really think you’re a ghost?” Y/n went to yell at him.

only for a pair surprisingly warm metal lips suddenly pull her into a heated kiss before pulling away “you taste and feel pretty alive to me.” The (y/hc) face turned bright red, matching her eyes before disappearing again

Rodimus snickered and made mental note to ask if her little trick can make bots invisible too?■▲■▲■▲■▲■▲■▲■▲

Brainstorm x mute reader: Deceiving eyes

Brainstorm thought he was going crazy! he swore up and down that he saw Magnus’s and Nautica’s Holo-avatar walk passed him in the last half hour but, he just got of the comm with Nautica.

The femme swore she was with Magnus at Swerve’s, and they weren’t using their avatars! So,then who the hell was?…it was probably the twentieth time he’d seen them pass when he finally got a look at these phantoms.

Brainstorm then noticed the difference in details..The hair, was (y/c) the clothing was same, but had (y/fc) hoodie tied around their waist and their eyes were glowing red!

His first thought was a Decepticon snuck aboard! But, the more he kept looking, the more familiar this mystery person was to him.

“Y/n?” the Nautica double froze as Brainstorm curiously approached them “That is you isn’t it?” the scientist asked curiosity rousing inside him. the girl shook her head “I know it’s you, there’s only one organic on this ship.” He stated she would’ve got him but, if it weren’t for the red eyes and hair!, Now how she got her hands on an avatar projector Brainstorm would like to know!

The illusion disappeared as he scanned her body only for the blue and white mech found no projection tech on (Y/n)! Brainstorm blinked as she grinned turned into Whirl’s avatar. stuck her tongue out at him and ran with Brainstorm running hot on her heels.

When he finally caught up to (Y/n) it took Brainstorm a few seconds, to realize his girlfriend was feeling lonely and wanted his attention. Maybe after a little loving he’ll ask about her abilities later. ⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒⇔⇒

Whirl: Immortality eyes

Whirl was actually happy for once why? because (Y/n) The cute A.I. chick living in that earth crummy earth computer, finally accepted to be his girlfriend! He even had Perceptor work on this hovering orb projector so she wasn’t just stuck in the computer anymore!

She can form a holo-avatar and roam around the ship when she wants, though there was a downside; she couldn’t form her legs, they sort of faded into shiny shimmery pixels past her.

…uh what did Ratchet call it? Timbits!…no, Tibia that’s it! so she just sort of floated around instead walking.

Not that it bothered Whirl though the others were a little weirded out by it.sometimes for shits and giggles she’d hover up behind them, Her red eyes glowed gleefully. just to see how long it would take before they realized the digitized girl was behind them.

The copter bot and his girlfriend had a good laugh hearing Rodimus scream like a little femmeling as he shouted.

“where did you come from?!” and in an instant Whirl stopped laughing and paused that was good question…

Where did (Y/n) come from? sure, he heard that earth had AIs. but, not as advanced or “alive” as his girlfriend, there was always something he couldn’t shake off about her. So, one night he asked.

that’s how he learned about the Medusa legend, her and her classmates murder the lost of her body and waking up in this one. “So, you’re like me?” his claw gestured to his body his yellow optic dimmed as she thought it over.

“I suppose…”

“Do you ever miss it?”

“My body or earth?”

“Both…I guess.”

“Earth? I’m gonna have to say no, humans are douchebags! And My memory is a little fuzzy. but. I recall having some sort of terminal illness. caused me to blackout a lot. So, not like I had all the time in the world.”

(Y/n) said with a shrug

That was first time in a longtime,that Whirl felt something other then anger

Empathy.

…♪…♪…♪…♪…♪…♪…♪…♪…♪

Megatron: Petrify eyes the half Medusa girl.

Megatron was stunned when he walked into the medbay and saw the stowaway Skids had found in the vents. The woman looked up at him equally surprised

“(Y/n)That’s not possib-I… How are you still?” his optics scanned her face from the odd scale like patterns on her cheeks, Red eyes and long hair . First-aid looked between them “You know her?”

The ex-warlord nodded he explained that the two of you met on earth, when she was just child no older then 13 that was over 50 years ago! Rodimus jumped in on this; staring her directly in the eyes as the human looked up at him fearful.

“she definitely looks good for a sixty year old granny! are you sur-…”

“Yes! I am sure she…Rodimus?”

“_”

“Rodimus stop playing around!”

Megatron grabbed his shoulder and the flame colored bot, fell to the floor stiff like a statue still in his leaning position First-aid quickly scanned him.

Megatron looked on concerned when suddenly! Rodimus jumped to his feet confused and horrified before looking at the woman.

“m-monster.” and ran out of the medbay “she put him in stasis!"First-aid said showing Megatron the results; the two bots looks at the woman berth staring forlornly at the direction Rodimus ran to.

her hair wiggled in agitation before glancing at them, then averted her eyes as both mechs cautiously approached her, as Megatron spoke up.

"Why did you do that to Rodimus?”

“I didn’t mean to! he called me names and he got to close! …and.”“You were scared, hmm. How did you do it? you have no weaponry or tech that would’ve.”

“I just looked at him! my…eyes they’re special like my mothers and grandmother…I’m not a monster!”

The following weeks were rough, Rung and Magnus had come to see the so called “Monster.” only to deem her non-threatening; all she did was put Rodimus is stasis, it’s not like she did it on purpose!

Besides that ability could come in handy with their more rowdy crewmates. though, that went over like a lead balloon with Megatron.

who was obviously fond of the little Medusa, she had explained her heritage and ancestors curse to the ex-warlord, It definitely explained why she hadn’t age much is 50 years “How old are you by the way?” he asked while the sat in his Hab-suite reading.

“196, I age one year every ten years.”

“Well that’s good to know.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because now I can court you without "robbing the cradle” as you earthlings say.“

Y/n eyes widened a looked Megatron straight in the eye accidentally freezing him "Nath ah amaig!” she heard Rodimus scream and saw him frozen mid-step holding a data pad “oops.”

#Maccadam #Megatron #Rodimus #Drift #Brainstorm #Whirl #Kagerou daze #transformers #mtmte/lostlight

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scraplette · 7 years ago

Note

How about Rung/Skids for the meme - 5, 8, 19, and 22? (If someone else grabs that pairing before me, then maybe Nightbeat/Brainstorm?)

Youcan have both because I adore these pairings and you’re lovely!

OMG I had so much fun with these!

Rung/Skids

Howdid they flirt with one another before they began a relationship? Rungis actually REALLY good at flirting. Bots look at this little nebbishnon-combatant and think that he’s not all that experienced withromance. Even Skids was guilty of such thoughts. Rung soon changedhis mind. Rung knows exactly what to say and when to say it, he knowswhen to rest a kind hand against Skids’ arm and when to turn thatsimple touch into a gentle caress. Primus help you if, at some point,he decides to slip his glasses off. Skids loves it.

Skids,who’s equally skilled at flirting, delights in the fast paced backand fourth. Rung may not be physically imposing but his sharp mindmore than makes up for it. Skids can easily get lost in conversationwith the smaller bot, talking about anything and everything, whilstslowing inching to close the physical distance between them.

Sometimes,Skids will hit Rung with a cheesy line and a over-the-top grinbecause the startled laugh from Rung is too adorable.

Whatwould they consider the most romantic thing that happened betweenthem? Rungcomes home after a particularity rough day. Normally, he’s excellentat compartmentalising his own emotions, storing them away for lateranalysis when he has the energy for it. But today picked and proddedat all his sensitive spots, leaving him raw and sensitive.

Skidspicks up on it straight away. “Hey, Eyebrows. What’s-”

“Myname is Rung!”

Heregrets it the instant he snaps at Skids and he’s horrified by hisoutburst. He’s apologising to Skids, over and over, terrified thathe’s ruined one of the best things to ever happen to him, but Skidsgently shushes him, takes his hand, and leads them to their bed.

Theyclimb into bed, cuddling close, and Rung relaxes enough to talk abouthis day and all the emotions it dragged up. Eventually, after lots ofcuddling, Skids lowers Rung to the bed. He’s a little confused butall is made clear when Skids softly whispers his name before kissinghim. It goes on like that, Skids saying his name then kissing a partof his body. His helm, his jaw, his spark casing, his inner thigh.

Theydon’t interface, Rung is too exhausted for it, but it’s probably themost intimate act he’s ever experienced with another person. As forSkids, when Rung finally opened up and talked about his fears andinsecurities, it was the first time he realised how much Rung trustshim. Oh sure, they were dating, but Rung was always distant in a wayhe couldn’t quite explain.

Whatwould they do if the other person was hurt? Rungwould go into full on Fret Mode. If it’s a minor injury he’ll fussover Skids until the other bot lets him see to his injury, if only tokeep Rung from getting too wound up. If it’s something more serious,something that might require Ratchet’s medic skills, he’ll quietlytake himself out of the way and let the medic work. When he getsoverly upset he goes very quiet and tries to find a place to be alonewith his thoughts. However, he won’t go far, and the other members ofthe Amica Squad do their best to seek him out and keep him company.

Althoughhe won’t admit it, Skids reacts very similarly to Rung although notnearly as calmly. He doesn’t like being idle when someone he caresabout is in pain and needs him, even if that means tearing an arm offthe person stupid enough to hurt Eyebrows. Nautica swoops in to keephim grounded.

Howdoes either member of your OTP know they want to have sex/make love? They’rereally good at reading each others moods and body language.

Skidsis more likely to express his need via touch and whispered words. Ifthey’re in bed together he likes to pull Rung close and hold him,stroking his hand up and down Rung’s spine until he’s given a sign totake it further.

Asfor Rung, sometimes all has to do is raise his eyebrow a certain way,next thing you know Skids has the smaller bot slung over his shoulderand is making straight for the bed.

Nightbeat/Brainstorm

Howdid they flirt with one another before they began a relationship? Ohgawd. Flirting requires a certain amount of subtly that neither ofthese two possess.

Nightbeat,after getting some advice from the only couple he knows(Chromedomeand Rewind) rushes into it head on. He watches Brainstorm like ahawk, noting down every detail, no matter how insignificant it mightseem at the time. He’s in the middle of a stake out when Chromedomefinally steps in and tells him “This isn’t what we meant by‘getting to know him'”

Fromthen on he tries the more traditional approach of buying Brainstorma drink. He’s still terrible at flirting but it doesn’t look as ifBrainstorm notices(probably because he’s just as bad)

Consideringhis doomed romance with Quark, Brainstorm is actually a littleshocked at his attraction for Nightbeat. He’s even more surprisedwith how little his knows about Nightbeat. The detective was goodfriends with Quark, how can he know next to nothing about him? So, heflirts with giant, inappropriate weaponry. It’s all he knows. He’sstunned when it has no effect.

Whatwould they consider the most romantic thing that happened betweenthem? Oddlyenough, it doesn’t involve mystery solving or science. It was theirfirst dance together. Nightbeat doesn’t dance. His distaste for it islegendary. But seeing Brainstorm on the dance floor made his sparkache in a way that he didn’t understand.

Afterthe party ends, and everyone has retired to their rooms for the nightshift, Nightbeat and Brainstorm sneak into the empty hall. It didn’ttake much convincing to get Brainstorm to come, but he’s wonderingwhat Nightbeat is up to when the other both suddenly shoves anupturned palm towards him.

“Dancewith me!”

Brainstorm,a little stunned but very much charmed by Nightbeat’s offer, laughsand takes the Night beat’s hand without comment. Their first dance isclumsy, and a little awkward since there’s no music to time theirsteps to, but it’s also perfect.

Whatwould they do if the other person was hurt? Nightbeattries to work out what happened, often running off to solve a mysterythat doesn’t necessarily need solving. Some think he’s being cruel,leaving Brainstorm while he’s hurt, but Brainstorm knows it’sNightbeat’s way of working through his feelings.

Brainstorm,when worried and anxious, has been known to dismantle and rebuildlittle pieces of tech. Like Nightbeat, he’s trying to distracthimself while he untangles his feelings. Natica, kind soul that sheis, actually built him a device he could that to over and over.

Howdoes either member of your OTP know they want to have sex/make love?

Brainstorm:I’ve just finished building a certain something…

Nightbeat:Is it the thing you’ve been working on? The one with all thedifferent settings?

Brainstorm:That’s the one. Want to take it for a test run?

#Lost Light #decepticonsensual #MTMTE #Skids #Rung #Nightbeat #Brainstorm

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roseymoseyberry · 7 years ago

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Pining (one-shot)

God bless @semianonymity for commissioning me to write this ot4 with as much pining as I could squeeze in. Which when you have four robots involved, there’s a lot of pining to be had, haha. But I love all of these bots so, so, SO much, and I’m so happy that I had to opportunity to actually do something with them all!

Hopefully y’all enjoy this pile of bots who all need to learn how to fucking talk to each other but I still love them so much, haha.

Title: Pining

Series: MTMTE

Ship: Swerve/Whirl/Tailgate/Cyclonus, and all the combinations therein

Rating/warnings: PG or maybe PG-13 for brief mentions of interface in conversations and robot swearing, a bit of casual joking about suicide, mentions of violence but nothing onscreen that’s actually dangerous. Otherwise it’s just fluff and pining and pining and fluff and crushes aplenty.

Summary:

“If I’ve learned anything, good lookin’, it’s that nothing brings mecha together better than fighting together. Except maybe fighting each other. Either way we come out winners.”

Whirl drags Swerve into a scheme to get Tailgate and Cyclonus together, but impossible crushes make everything more complicated.

“Ok, but they’re a couple of complete idiots, right?”

Swerve looked up from the drink he was mixing to flash a confused smile at Whirl, already chuckling even though he wasn’t sure what about.

“Who?” he asked, quickly scanning the room to look for troublemakers. Skids, Brainstorm, and Nautica debating up a storm in one booth, Ratchet and Rung having quiet conversation in another, Chromedome and Rewind gathering a crowd as they were no doubt showing off Rewind’s ability to recognize transformation sounds and gleaning some shanix from overcharged crewmembers who doubted them—

Whirl’s claw closed on the sides of Swerve’s helm and turned it towards the corner.

“Those disgusting love birds.”

“Oh,” Swerve managed before a genuine huff of his vents escaped.

Tailgate had taken the two drinks that Swerve had moments before made for him and already placed them on the table between him and Cyclonus. Both drinks had curly straws poking out of them, and given the way that Tailgate was gesturing at Cyclonus, visor flashing with playful glee, he was no doubt trying to get Cyclonus to use his. The frown that Cyclonus was giving him was quickly softening before Swerve’s very visor.

It was sweet enough that Swerve felt his spark pulse a little faster. Tailgate’s mischief was always cute enough to make him smile, and Cyclonus’s soft side made his spark ache a bit–

“Yeah, they’re something alright,” Swerve managed, returning his gaze to Whirl as he shrugged and went back to finishing the drink in his servos. “It was funny when everyone but Ultra Magnus was betting on when they’d finally clinch it, but at this point nobody is making money because no one in their right mind would have thought they could put it off this long.”

“I had the last betting slot,” Whirl confirmed, claws clacking as they settled on the bar. His optic was still squarely focused on the couple. “They all called me an idiot, but I knew what I was doing. I knew these chucklefrags would take forever. But this?” Whirl flung his arm out dramatically, helm turned to stare Swerve right in the visor, sounding completely serious as he spoke. “Someday soon I’m gonna just slam my misshapen head into this bar until I offline myself just to escape this ‘will they won’t they’ hell.”

Swerve found himself caught between laughing and hoping desperately that no one else in the bar noticed them as he leaned closer to speak quietly.

“Not if I beat you to it,” he joked. As soon as it was out though, Swerve regretted it. After the Swearth incident, comments like that simply didn’t work the way it did when other mecha made them, and just garnered him uncomfortable pitying comments.

But Whirl actually snickered as he replied, “You already had your chance at offing yourself, so be a pal and give somebody else a chance, would ya?”

Rung wouldn’t have approved, called it bad coping, and it was, for sure. But Swerve felt his spark ease at the pitiless honesty of Whirl’s humor.

“Not if you’re gonna do it here in the bar.”

“What if I hire somebody ahead of time to clean up afterwards? You don’t have to even be here, just drop the keys in my capable claws and it will all be over before you know it.”

“No!” Swerve laughed, picking up a towel to smack Whirl on the shoulder with. “How would I get by without one of my best customers?”

“Wooooow, you mean it? Because last I heard, me strolling in here has a one in five chance of violent chaos, which doesn’t a ‘best’ customer make.”

“One in eleven,” Swerve corrected as he finished the drink. “Which means you spend just enough on engex to make up for the times you wreck the place.”

“Wreckers are what we are, even exes.” Before Swerve had even realized what was happening, the drink was plucked out of his servos by Whirl’s claw. It was already well within the copter’s grip and Whirl’s intake clicked open.

“H-hey! That’s not yours!”

“I thought I was your best customer!” Whirl jeered, snickering when Swerve reached out towards him and batting his servos away. While Swerve had proportionally large servos given his minibot frame, there were few bots who could give Whirl’s pinchers a run for their money.

“One of them! And now I’m changing my mind!” Swerve caught his lip between his dentae as Whirl’s optic was trained right on him and his claw tipped the drink until a splash of the liquid dribbled into his funnel-like intake where it jutted out from his neck.

Swerve slumped a bit, exasperated and irritated, but not truly mad.

Whirl’s helm tilted to one side, optic cycling as if he was thinking deeply on the drink.

“Hmm. Yeah, no, you’re right. This drink isn’t mine,” Whirl agreed, casual as could be as he placed the glass back on the bar.

Swerve shook his helm with a bemused ex-vent as he pushed the drink back towards Whirl and reached for a new glass. “Well, it’s yours now, buddy. And don’t think I’m not adding it to your tab.”

“But I don’t even like it!” Whirl whined, clacking his pinchers at the offending glass.

“You told me yourself that you can’t even taste them,” Swerve reminded him as he went about mixing the same drink again for its rightful customer.

“True, but I can still tell how strong a drink is, and that? That’s a drink better suited for cute little minibots like you.”

Swerve’s visor flashed as his face heated, and his servos paused in their movement. Unfortunately, that moment was when he was pouring the sweet additive, and that second was all it took to take the drink from sweet to sickening. Swerve jerked to his senses and cursed as he took in the damage.

Yeah, no. The drink was a goner.

Whirl’s optic was bright with mischief.

“Well, well, look who’s easy to fluster. I’m so going to take advantage of that.”

Swerve frowned as he tried to decide what to do with his mess, if just so he could ignore the way he was definitely hot to the touch now. It was unsalvageable taste-wise. But Primus, he did not want to start the drink again.

He peeked over at the drink that Whirl had stolen. Other than the first gulp of it, it was untouched.

Nodding, Swerve grabbed a mid-tier engex to fill up the disaster drink and swapped it for original drink. All it took was a decorative jelly treat thrown in to sink to the bottom to have the drink topped off again.

“Whoa, hold on! That’s mine!”

“You didn’t even like it and you can’t taste anyway, so where’s the harm,” Swerve replied, trying for chiding but he couldn’t help grinning at the way Whirl huffed indignantly. “Sorry, but you’ll just have to live with your mistakes.”

“Only because you won’t let me use your bar for my dark purposes,” Whirl quipped.

It really was a near thing as Swerve burst out laughing, clutching the drink to his chassis so it wouldn’t spill.

“Frag, Whirl, you’re awful!” he managed between wheezing in-vents and Whirl cackled in response.

“You’re the one laughing at my joke, sicko!”

Swerve had planned on delivering the drink himself, but he was nearly bent in half as Whirl continued with his rambling complaints, so he finally just settled it on the service drone and sent it on its way.

“Just be a good customer and drink your drink,” Swerve said as he opened his vents to air out the heat of his frame now that he could blame it on the laughing.

“I don’t want your frag up.”

“It’s at least twice as strong as the other one.”

Whirl’s optic brightened and the drink was clutched between his pincers instantly.

“Why didn’t you say so, cutie? Love your frag ups. They’re the best.”

Swerve’s spark clenched tight in his chest and it was all he could do to keep his cooling fans from turning on. “You know, I think I like it better when you’re joking about fragged up we are. At least then I know you’re being honest, you know?”

“I’m always honest,” Whirl insisted as he poured the drink into his intake funnel. “Be it about how fragged up we all are or loving your adorable mistakes, I’m always one hundred percent, and don’t you forget it.”

Once the whole glass had been emptied, Whirl imitated a lip-smacking sound and “ahh” before slamming the glass on the counter. “And that’s why you’re gonna believe me when I tell you that we’re going to get those fragwits together. Because that?” His arm gestured back at the table where Tailgate and Cyclonus sat, and even Swerve had to groan as he watched Cyclonus make a face, trying to drink through the straw before finally shaking his head and Tailgate was giggling loud enough for the whole bar to hear as he nodded insistently and swatted at Cyclonus’s servos when he tried to remove the straw. They were both so cute it was unbearable, and between that and Whirl’s comments, Swerve was pretty sure his spark had swelled enough to choke him. “They are not allowed to do that and not be dating. It’s like a terrible Schrödinger’s trap, because they’re so disgustingly cute that you can’t decide if want them to smooch each other or you, you know? I don’t even have a mouth and it’s driving me mad!”

Swerve had his servos braced on the bar surface and leaned in close before he could even think twice, whispering fervently, “Yes. I thought it was just me, but that’s exactly it, right? You want them together because they’d be so good together, but also like, then they’d be off the market so you can finally stop going down ‘what if’ paths in your head.”

“I could finally recharge at night not thinking about how to trick them into thinking I’m worth joining for a tumble in my berth,” Whirl agreed, his optic twisting into his own facsimile of a smirk. “Can move on to tricking them both into it, am I right?”

Swerve’s face felt like it was on fire, his servos twisting together as he felt his grin wobble.

“I mean, I can’t really say you’re wrong–”

Whirl’s pincer was surprisingly gentle when it settled on Swerve’s shoulder, giving his tire a supportive squeeze.

“Then let’s get those idiots together.”

Overwhelming excitement kept Swerve up that night, and he blamed it completely and totally on the fact that he had been invited to help in a romantic scheme. Hell, he had been dragged into it really! Whirl insisted that he needed his help, and that thought alone made Swerve feel light as a feather.

Alright, maybe he should have been a little concerned that it was a plan concocted by Whirl. And truthfully, he had been at first when Whirl had pushed out of his seat abruptly and told Swerve that he’d be by his habsuite after the bar closed for further details, his helm turning this way and that, as if watching out for anyone eavesdropping on them. At first Swerve had thought it sort of paranoid, but the way that Rewind had ever so slightly followed Whirl’s departure from the bar, and then ever so casually went up to the bar to ask what the two had been laughing so much about, made it clear that no. It wasn’t paranoid.

Secrets were hard to keep on the Lost Light.

By the time that Swerve had shut down for the night and was heading back to his room, anxiety was starting to get the better of him. What if it was all just a prank? A joke at his expense? Everyone on the ship knew his love for situational shenanigans so it would have been far too easy to take advantage of that to mess with him.

But Whirl had been there waiting for him.

And once the door was shut they had, for lack of a better word, conspired together.

Whirl immediately started explaining to Swerve that Brainstorm had been working on a secret project that had actually managed to get even Ultra Magnus’s approval. For the time being it was just a simple enough battle simulation arena, though Brainstorm already had add-ons in mind to make it more exciting.

As Whirl described it though, Swerve quickly laughed and interrupted, saying, "You mean paintball? Brainstorm is making a paintball arena?”

Whirl’s optic brightened.

“Oh, he finished it.”

It was for ‘stress relief’ and working through ‘trauma’ – both rung true to Swerve, but he let Whirl have his quotation marks – but really, it was the perfect solution to their problem.

“If I’ve learned anything, good lookin’, it’s that nothing brings mecha together better than fighting together. Except maybe fighting each other. Either way we come out winners.”

Swerve was doing his absolute best to ignore every petname that Whirl had decided to start dropping. It was better to ignore Whirl’s long-running gags and wait until he grew bored of them himself.

But they had ended up sitting next to each other on Swerve’s berth since there wasn’t really any other furniture to sit on except the other empty berth in the room and Whirl had chosen to sit next to Swerve on his instead, and Swerve had no idea how to even begin to question it. And at that point they were at ease, and Whirl had even fallen back against the berth so his claws were waving around above him, and it was all very–

Well. It was hard to ignore how nice it was.

The plan was simple enough. Swerve and Whirl would challenge Cyclonus and Tailgate to a match, and in doing so force the two to communicate and work together to win. Once they started talking and collaborating and had the rush of battle success pumping through their sparks, it was just a hop and a skip for them to finally divulge their feelings to each other and “hump like turborabbits” as Whirl had insisted on putting it.

Swerve had worried about all the pitfalls therein, but Whirl had been adamant.

Whirl was certain they would take up the challenge.

“Cyclonus might not be interested, but Tailgate? He’s a feisty one. He’ll absolutely get into the competitive spirit. And we both know that for all his huffing, Cyclonus will give in. Hell, I don’t mind badgering him if he needs the extra push. It’d be my pleasure.”

Whirl was certain that they would work together.

“Look, Cyclonus may be good and Tailgate unexperienced, but it would kill Tailgate if he had to let that lug take all the glory. That little guy is gonna throw himself into it, and Cyclonus is gonna have to figure out how to work with him or else trip over him constantly and lose it. Plus, he’s going up against yours truly. He’s gonna need help.”

And Whirl was certain that Swerve was important.

"Look, I get it, I get it. You have the slagging worst aim of anyone on this ship. But I have that side of things handled. You’re there because I need your big mouth along with mine to really rile them up. Plus let’s be honest here, Cyclonus is so fragging weak against helpless minibots. You’ll handicap him with your adorable face and complete lack of ability to hit anything smaller than a wall. And if things turn sideways, it’ll only go well for you if he decides to go for a different cute minibot, you feel me, beautiful?”

“But–”

“Besides, who the frag else is crazy enough to team up with me?”

It was a ridiculous idea, but it was so fun and Swerve’s spark felt full enough to burst.

And if Swerve and Whirl just ended up ranting and raving about the two bots well into the night, well. At least they couldn’t judge each other for their shared crushes.

This was totally going to work.

This wasn’t going to work.

Oh, sure, they had agreed to the match. Swerve had made the first move by telling Tailgate about how he had found out about the new paintball arena that would be opening soon, and how Whirl had dragged him into a two-mech team, so they were looking for a pair to battle.

Tailgate had easily agreed, practically bouncing in his seat as he talked about how much fun it would be, and that he and Cyclonus could definitely take them on! The other minibot had nearly made a dash to find Cyclonus and tell him right then and there, but he stopped half a step away and spun on his heel, his visor bright but the light band narrowed as he focused on Swerve.

“Whirl, huh? I did notice you two getting along reeeeeally well last night, and Rewind told me that Whirl left your habsuite this morning. Was that just paintball plotting or–?”

Swerve had turned red hot as he stammered out that it was just a friendly affair, no no not that type of affair, just hanging out!

Tailgate’s giggles were heavenly as he patted Swerve’s servo and assured him that they would be cute, even if Whirl was a handful.

“Or, well, maybe even because he is, right? He’s intimidating, but it’s always exciting with Whirl around. I’ve always kind of wanted to spend more time with him, you know? You should invite me next time you have a ‘friendly’ hangout.”

When Swerve had later told Whirl that, the copter had made a dismissive snorting noise, but Swerve was pretty sure it was meant to hide how flustered the information made him. A light touch to Whirl’s hip, disguised as a friendly gesture when Swerve turned the tables to tease Whirl, revealed how warm he had become to the touch.

Swerve purposely avoided mentioning that Tailgate had taken ahold of his servos while insisting that the battle would be so much fun, that he had to go tell Cyclonus but that later they should hang out, maybe go to the shooting range to practice together since neither of them were great shots, and Swerve had felt like he was walking on cloud nine for a good hour afterwards.

And oh, sure, Cyclonus had agreed to the match after approaching Swerve during a shared break, his face stern as he asked Swerve if he had been bullied into it by Whirl. His concern had Swerve choked up, and his large servo on Swerve’s shoulder was so nice, simultaneously calming and exciting. And when Swerve had assured him that no, he wasn’t being forced, that he was actually as excited about it as Whirl was, the corner of Cyclonus’s lips had curled as he nodded, relieved.

And within the hour Cyclonus had tracked Whirl down and the two had had one of their glaring matches as he told the copter that he accepted his challenge. Thankfully Rewind had been there and was eager to share the video with Swerve and Tailgate over their evening energon.

Swerve didn’t really get warrior types. He didn’t get the glaring, the snippy back and forth, the unspoken challenges. But Whirl’s optic had been bright and the right shade of excited, and Cyclonus’s lips curled into an almost eager smirk when he had turned and stalked away.

It was with the flutter in his spark that Swerve realized what a terrible mess he had found himself in.

Sure, the scheme was on track.

But now two impossible crushes had become three impossible crushes.

And spending that evening at the shooting range with Tailgate and quickly joined by Cyclonus and Whirl who insisted on helping their respective teammates, and then the opposing teammates when they were sure the other was teaching them wrong, surrounded by Tailgate’s bubbly laughs and Cyclonus’s calming touches and Whirl’s boundless energy—

How could this plan possibly work when Swerve was already feeling crushed by the pressure of his pounding spark and the knowledge that it was soon going to break under it all? All he wanted to do was hide away in his habsuite until the whole thing had passed.

But the day came, and Whirl was knocking on his door bright and early, his optic twisted into a half-moon smile as he said they should get in one last practice session before the game.

And it was hard to say no when Swerve had come to love the solid touch of claws on his shoulders.

“Look, it’s pretty simple. You aim the gun, you hit the other team, it leaves a big splotch of paint, and afterwards I use my scanner here to tally which of you got hit the most and thus loses,” Brainstorm explained quickly, practically bouncing on his pedes. Somehow Whirl had managed to convince the scientist that their challenge should be the test run of the battle simulation, so it was no wonder the scientist was so excited to get started. “Best of three rounds wins. Any questions? Great!”

And he was off like a shot, leaving the four bots to face each other. Whirl’s engines were purring with glee and Tailgate’s visor was blindingly bright. Even Cyclonus couldn’t keep his face completely neutral.

And despite himself, Swerve grinned too. He was filled to bursting with nervous energy, and honestly couldn’t really separate out the bad from the good anymore, so he just leaned into the excitement of the others.

“Better hold on to your afts,” Whirl said as he hefted his gun up onto his shoulder. It had been customized to fit his pincers, and was large to hold a large number of the paint pellets inside. When he cocked his hip, the belt around it wobbled, filled with more paint pellets should he need to reload. The same belt was on the rest of them, though for Swerve it was magnetized since he did not have the sort of waistline necessary to keep a belt from falling to his pedes.

As they had practiced, Swerve hefted his gun too, resting it on his opposite shoulder so that they mirrored each other.

“Because we’re about to hand them to you,” Swerve continued, and alright. It was so, so dumb and goofy. He had known it was goofy when they came up with it together, but Swerve hadn’t fully realized how dumb it was. But it seemed to be just the right kind as Tailgate made a ‘pfft’ sound and tugged at Cyclonus’s servo.

“Oh yeah?! Well, you better watch out, because we’re the ones who are gonna get your afts!”

Swerve watched as Cyclonus’s optics slowly offlined, completely aware of how Tailgate’s words sounded and just waiting for—

Whirl cackled. “Naughty, naughty,” he teased before reaching down and hooking his arm around Swerve, lifting him without preamble. Swerve yelped as Whirl turned on his pede, waving his servo as he headed towards their starting point. “If you want ‘em, you’re gonna have to come and get them!”

And off Whirl ran with Swerve under his arm, ignoring the way that Swerve was protesting as he wiggled in his grip. “Come on, Whirl, put me down!”

“But I like carrying you,” Whirl replied, his voice still just on the side of too loud, utterly revved up and filled with boundless energy. “You’re the perfect size! And frag, this is gonna be so good, babe, it’s gonna be awesome!”

“Whiiiirl,” Swerve whined with another wiggle. “You can’t do this whole fight with me under your arm!”

“That sounds an awful lot like a challenge,” Whirl teased, but he did finally stop and put Swerve down so he had his own pedes under him again. “But we have more important challenges right now. You ready to force their servos together in loving courtship?”

“Yeah, of course,” Swerve replied distractedly as he shifted his gun between his servos, getting a good grip on it.

Whirl’s optic was suddenly in his face, so close that the little prongs beneath his optic were practically touching each side of his face.

“You don’t really sound ready to me.”

Swerve swallowed down a moment of panic before forcing his lips into a wide smile.

“Are you kidding? Of course I am! I’ve been dying to see those two together for ages! I’m so ready!”

The optic band narrowed at Swerve.

“You sure?”

“Yeah!”

Whirl didn’t look completely convinced, but moved away. And not a moment too soon, considering how Swerve’s frame had started to heat up and his spark race in his chest. Swerve would have thought that lacking a mouth or even face plate would make being so close face-to-face less intimate feeling, but oh, Primus, he had been so wrong.

The quiet question of how best to kiss Whirl was soundly shoved deep, deep down and ignored.

“Alright.” Whirl straightened completely, dropping his gun from where it was rest on his shoulder so that he now held it with both of his claws. “Then let’s get this party started!”

The two had already plotted their action plan. Divide and conquer came first, with Whirl aiming for Cyclonus and leaving Tailgate for Swerve to handle. Whirl was confident he could take Cyclonus on and beat him, and that sure, Swerve had terrible aim, but he had more experience with a gun than Tailgate did. They could one-two blast them out of the water, which would lead them towards working together more closely.

Closely being the operative word.

So once the buzzer went off signaling the start of the match, Swerve moved from one shelter to the next, glancing around walls and over short barriers as he went. Whirl wasn’t nearly so subtle, instead just hurtling over and around obstacles as he crowed Cyclonus’s name.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

A warning shot was all it took for Whirl to tuck and roll behind a wall, and he was gone. Swerve tried to jog ahead and see where he went, but it was impossible as he turned his helm this way and that, trying to find him. The only suggestion of his location was the echoing of more shots, but they were way off to Swerve’s left, and they were sporadic, almost too similar to the gun fights that Swerve had overheard during the war.

There was no doubt that Cyclonus had already zeroed in on him and they were engaged in a battle as true to war style as one could get when the bullets were made of paint. Trying to circle each other and surprise one another, the whole thing. Whirl was surely enjoying himself, and maybe Cyclonus was as well, considering the eager look that had been on his face and was now permanently etched into Swerve’s mind from the recording of Whirl’s challenge.

That line of thought was gone in an instant though when a paintball whizzed past Swerve’s face. He stumbled back, but he was too slow to find cover as a second shot went too far behind, but the third hit him square in the visor. Swerve’s vision was just a splatter of bright green with bits and pieces visible around the sides.

Swerve cursed as he finally made a run for it, lifting his free servo to his face so that he could try to wiggle his visor free. It had been ages since he had removed the piece though, even for just regular maintenance because who really followed maintenance for visors? But now he was regretting it as he bumped into the corner of a wall, yelping as he did. There was no way he could manage anything while running, so he felt his way around the structure and flopped onto his aft with his back against the wall. Swerve tried to wipe the paint away, but to no avail – it had dried almost instantly, no doubt to keep participants from cheating by trying to hide any hits they took.

“Swerve?! Are you ok?”

Swerve stiffened at Tailgate’s voice. Of course it had been the other minibot that had shot him – there was no way that Cyclonus would have missed the first two shots, and he wouldn’t have aimed for Swerve’s visor.

After a moment chewing on his bottom lip while wiggling his visor, trying hard to get it to move but proving unsuccessful, Swerve finally replied, “I’m fine! Just can’t see through my visor now!”

“Where are you? I can help!”

Whirl was gonna kill him for not taking the fight seriously, but Swerve really was having difficulties with his visor, and surely Tailgate would be able to help as a fellow mech with a visor. Maybe together they could wiggle it free. Swerve wasn’t especially excited to walk around without it, but maybe he could clean it real quick between matches.

His spark clenched tight because fraggit, he was letting Whirl down!

But still, he reached his servo back towards the corner of the wall and waved past it, and shouted, “Over here! Can you see me?”

“Where—oh! Yeah, hold on!”

Swerve sighed in relief as Tailgate jogged past the periphery of his vision, aka the only part of his vision he had now, and knelt down beside him. “I really got you good, huh?” Tailgate said, sounding pleased with himself as he moved in close, though Swerve couldn’t actually see him at the moment. “Do you have optics under there?”

“Yeah, I do. But the latches are sticking.”

“Hold on, I’ll see what I can do.”

Without preamble, Tailgate straddled Swerve’s lap and his digits went to work gently pulling and pushing and wiggling Swerve’s visor, no doubt getting a feel for the latches and where they were stuck. And thank Primus that Tailgate was focused, because Swerve’s attention was shattered as he fought against squirming under his friend’s close attention and closer frame. It was a blessing that he couldn’t see in front of him, because seeing Tailgate right now when they were sitting like this—

“Ok, ok, hold on, I got it–”

With a slow but steady pull, Swerve felt the metal pieces finally slide against each other, and it only took one last tug to pull the visor free.

Swerve winced and offlined his optics immediately because Primus, it was bright! He had forgotten in his flustered state to change his optic settings. It took digging through his processor, but the old settings were still there and took only a second to implement.

Blinking his optics online revealed Tailgate, visor in one servo and his gun in the other. The gun was even aimed at Swerve, ready to take advantage of Swerve in his moment of weakness—

But instead the other minibot was just sort of staring at him, transfixed.

Swerve’s spark squirmed, unable to handle any of the implications of this situation – his friend straddling him and staring at his bare face, so distracted that he forgot his prank—

So instead he just picked up his own gun and shot Tailgate point-blank in the middle of his chest, getting at least three or four hits in while the other minibot yelped and startled out of his distraction. Tailgate tumbled over backwards on Swerve’s legs, complaining between snickers – “Hey, I was helping you!” “You had your gun aimed at me too!” “And you stole my idea!” – while Swerve reached out to try to take his visor back.

The two of them ended up in a rolling sprawl of wrestling limbs and occasionally trying to fire off shots at each other, more of the paint getting on their frames from rolling onto freshly burst paintballs than any that actually hit each other.

And despite himself, Swerve laughed along with Tailgate, his face hurting from how widely he smiled.

“I cannot believe how useless you are.”

“He hit my visor! I couldn’t see!” Swerve protested as he scrubbed his visor with the cleaning solution Brainstorm had given him after Whirl had insisted he wouldn’t continue the matches until his teammate have his vision normal again. The protectiveness of the action had warmed Swerve’s spark, but once the solution was in his servo, Whirl had turned on him.

Thankfully it wasn’t anger he held so much as exasperation.

“So you told him where you were so you could play wrestle with him?”

“So he could help me get the visor off,” Swerve corrected. He squinted as he looked at the visor, focusing on the task instead of the whirlwind of his spark. “And I took the chance to shoot him. He’s the one who tackled me, and – and how could I resist?”

Whirl hummed, his pincers scratching under his helm.

“A fair point. He may be cute, but he’s also full of mischief and he knows how to use his cuteness to his advantage.”

“I don’t actually think he does know that–”

“That’s what he wants you to think!” Whirl started to pace. “Clearly you aren’t up to the task, so I’ll have to take him on this time around.”

“Hey!” Swerve scrambled to his pedes, lips pursed as he said, “Like you did any better! You and Cyclonus tied, so I was the one who managed to pull out a victory, even if just barely.”

“Which is why you’re gonna take Cyclonus on this time instead.” Whirl spun on his pedes and gestured at Swerve. “Cyc and I are too similar, and same goes for you and Tailgate. So obviously we have to mix it up!”

Swerve’s mouth dropped open.

“But—Cyclonus will wipe the floor with me!”

“But he won’t,” Whirl cooed, bending at his hips and stroking his pincer along Swerve’s cheek. “He’s got the biggest soft spot for cute minibots. So while he takes it easy on you, I’ll swoop in on Tailgate and cinch the next match.”

“But what if he doesn’t take it easy on me?”

Whirl’s helm cocked to one side.

“Well, we’re supposed to lose this one anyway. Just have to make it look like it was close so they give it their all in the third one, you know?”

Swerve could feel the pout on his face before he could stop it.

“You mean that you’re purposely setting me up to lose.”

“But in the most polite and gentlemechly way possible,” Whirl quipped, his optic lens a crescent of a grin.

“Are you fragging kidding me?” Swerve grumbled as he peeked around a corner. Once the match had begun, Whirl had once against sprinted across the arena, leaping over cover instead of bothering to use it, leaving Swerve to jog from corner to corner, peeking out each time. Somebody had to try to play paintball the way it was supposed to be played.

Within minutes, Swerve heard yelping and cursing up ahead, and he quickened his pace to see if Whirl needed backup. Maybe Cyclonus had gotten to Whirl before the copter could get to Tailgate, catching him off guard in his pursuit, and Whirl could actually use his back up—

The cursing had shifted into howling laughter that was undeniably Tailgate’s and with one look, Swerve spotted the minibot pinned to the ground between Whirl’s spindly legs, servos raised to cover his face while Whirl pelted him with paintball after paintball.

“Stop, that’s not fair! Come on, get off–”

“You started it by jumping me, you little rascal. You think I would be as easy as Swerve, huh?”

Tailgate just laughed more and one of his kicks finally landed at the apex where one of Whirl’s legs met his torso. The copter grunted – “That’s just low!” – and it was distraction enough that Tailgate got another kick in, and once Whirl scooted away, the minibot raised his gun to fire off several shots right at Whirl’s optic.

Alright, so maybe Whirl had a point about Tailgate being more devious than Swerve gave him credit for.

Swerve just ex-vented in exasperation as he watched Whirl, blind and cackling, grab at Tailgate to drag him back into a tumbling sort of wrestling with paintballs flying everywhere.

“I’ll admit that somebody has a weak spot for minibots,” Swerve muttered under his ventilation.

“I think that goes without saying.”

Swerve’s whole frame straightened and his armor clamped tight as he whirled around to find Cyclonus standing beside him, watching with a disinterested expression that didn’t match the brightness of his optics. A quiet, nearly inaudible ex-vent escaped Cyclonus, and it sounded amused as he tilted his face towards Swerve.

Swerve glanced at Cyclonus’s face, down at the warrior’s gun just hanging in his grip at his side, and then back up at his face.

“You’re, uh. You’re not gonna, you know–”

“Not if you don’t make me.”

“Am I the only one who knows how to actually play paintball?” Swerve asked, but it was hypothetical – the answer is apparently a glaring YES – and Cyclonus took it as such. Swerve lifted his gun to rest against his shoulder. “So then what’re we doing here? Sitting back and enjoying the show?”

There was clanking and clamoring on the other side of the wall, and giggling aplenty, but Swerve found he preferred watching Cyclonus’s schooled face, catching the way his optics shimmered and the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Unless you had another idea?”

Cyclonus gave him a questioning look and Swerve shrugged.

“I mean, don’t you want to, I dunno, help your partner out there?”

Cyclonus’s optics moved again, his height allowing him to see just over the wall, and Tailgate and Whirl really had to be distracting one another if neither had noticed Cyclonus peering at them over the wall.

“I could ask you the same.”

“Well, sure, but Whirl’s having fun. I don’t want to break that up.”

“Then we’re likeminded.” And alright, there was no denying that that – the curl of both corners of Cyclonus’s lips as he gazed down at Swerve – was a smile. “They appear to be enjoying themselves, and the whole point in this exercise in enjoyment, is it not?”

Swerve was pretty sure his spark was going to burst out of his chest if it didn’t suffocate him first.

“Y-yeah, of course. But you should be having fun too, you know?”

“I am,” Cyclonus stated simply. His optics flashed with something almost dangerous looking as he continued, “Unless you would prefer to do something more similar to that?” with a slight tilt of him helm towards the chaos on the other side of the wall.

“I’m pretty sure that would offline me for good,” Swerve replied with an awkward laugh. If the warrior’s strength didn’t get the deed done, Swerve’s straining spark would probably burn itself out from having Cyclonus that close.

“I can be careful.” Cyclonus, with all the grace in the universe, settled himself to sit on the floor against the wall. He reached a servo out towards Swerve in invitation. “But in truth I would prefer to simply talk.”

“Sure! I mean, we all know how much talking I do all the time anyway, so I can definitely handle–”

Cyclonus’s optics flared and quicker than Swerve could follow, his servo snapped up to grab Swerve and yank him towards the warrior, leaving the minibot to fall into his lap while the wall behind him burst into pieces as Whirl slammed through it. Swerve couldn’t see much as he scrambled, face burning as Cyclonus held him protectively, so all he heard was, “Welp, I sure hope that wasn’t you, Itty Bitty,” Tailgate’s squeal of laughter, and then Whirl sprinting off towards the sound.

Cyclonus’s arms were solid around him, servos large and cool against Swerve’s quickly overheating frame, and if this was how Swerve died, it would be worth it.

“I cannot believe you.”

Swerve awkwardly held Whirl’s helm in one spot while so, so carefully rubbing the damp cloth against the copter’s optic to remove the paint splattering it. “Stop complaining so I can get this off, would you?”

“I can sit still and complain at the same time, so no,” Whirl insisted. “We’re gonna talk about the fact that you and Cyclonus didn’t even try! Cyclonus I get, but come on! He gave you every opening and you didn’t even think to fire one ball at him? Instead you two just sat there gossiping like a couple of seekers!”

Swerve’s face heated, but he didn’t feel any real regret. Once he had gotten himself out of Cyclonus’s lap, it had been nice to just sit and chat, and to every once in a while comment on how ridiculous Whirl and Tailgate were.

“He suggested it so how could I say no?”

Whirl harrumphed.

“Of course he did. Cute guy like you – why wouldn’t he want to take the chance to chat you up?”

“Th-that’s not what it was,” Swerve insisted, biting down on his lip as he tried to focus on how he was finally getting enough layers of paint off that he could see the glow of Whirl’s optic light up the bright pink paint from behind. “He’s in love with Tailgate, not me.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s blind.”

“Do you ever stop joking?” Another couple of wipes revealed Whirl’s optic directly, bright and wholly focused on Swerve’s face. The minibot swallowed around the sudden anxiety that gripped him and refocused on his task, leaning in close so he could see the streaks still clinging to the glass.

“I’m not right now.”

“Yes you are.”

The light of Whirl’s optic narrowed.

“If you think I won’t physically fight you about this, then you have somehow misread who I am. I willpunch your face to prove how cute it is.”

“Whirl–”

“I’m serious–”

“No, I am!” Swerve said louder than he had intended, his voice somehow making it out crystal clear even though his intake felt tight and choked. He removed his servo from Whirl’s optic, his digits squeezing the rag too tightly because oh no, it was all getting to be too much, he could feel everything starting to overflow. If he could just cut this all off before it went further, then they could finish up this final match and Swerve would be free to make a run for it before making an idiot of himself. “I’m serious that you need to stop joking about that, ok? I’m already dealing with a lot of emotions right now and I don’t need pity compliments or–”

“Pity? That’s what you think—primus, you’re a moron.”

Humiliation burned in Swerve’s chest as he tried to step away. “Or jokes or whatever, it’s fine, I just don’t–”

Swerve interrupted himself with a squeak when Whirl’s pincer grasped him by the chin, not allowing him to look away when the copter leaned his optic in close.

“Look, let’s make something clear, Swerve. I don’t do pity. Gave that scrap up a long, long time ago. When I say something, it’s either the truth or it’s a lie that’s funny to me. And sure, sometimes it’s funny to me because I’m a mean mech. But this?” Whirl leaned that much closer and Swerve couldn’t keep his engine from whining with some emotion he couldn’t name. “I’m not gonna be mean about this because I get it. Mecha don’t get more unlovable than me, so I get it. Feelings like this hurt, but they’re gonna choose each other and we’re gonna survive that, and we’ll be their friends or whatever, and someday some other mech will be smart enough to choose you, because you, Swerve, are cute.”

Swerve’s spark ached and he could feel the corners of his optics burn behind his visor.

“You’re not unlovable,” he whispered, and Whirl faked a snorting noise.

“Now who’s pitying who?” Before Swerve could answer though, Whirl let go of his chin and started to sit back on his pedes to give the minibot space. “Look, just splash some paint back on my optic. I’ll say nobody gets near my optic and the game is over and we’ll get outta here–”

Something broke inside Swerve.

One of his servos reached out to grab the side of Whirl’s helm while the other pressed down on his cockpit, angling it down so that Swerve could lean in close again. Earlier thoughts flooded his processor and yes, there was no way that Swerve could reach the bottom lip of Whirl’s optic casing without the prongs stabbing into Swerve’s cheeks. But the prongs were easy to reach—

Swerve’s lips pressed a hurried kiss against the inner edge of one prong, the other pressed along his cheek.

Whirl was still talking, but his voice quieted further and further, distracted as he finally trailed off.

His optic was blindingly bright.

“Are—are you kissing me?”

Swerve jerked back upright.

“Uh. Maybe?” Swerve managed before sucking his bottom lip between his dentae. His processor was roiling with regret as Whirl stared at him, shell-shocked and confused.

“Why?”

With a painful clench of his spark, Swerve took another step back before forcing a laugh from his vocalizer, ignoring how hollow it sounded. “You know, that’s a great question, and I’ll get back to you with an answer later, but right now I should – I’m just gonna go, I think.”

Whirl’s optic cycled, watching him closely as the copter shifted, ready to stand up, but Swerve was faster. The minibot looked away and while he didn’t run, his steps were quick and his strides as long as his short legs allowed. It was only when he heard Whirl calling after him – “Whoa, whoa, Swerve, hold on!” – that Swerve picked up the pace.

The overhead speaker clicked on and Brainstorm’s voice echoed across the stadium room, “IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT OVER THERE?”

Panic whipped up around the regret and shame that had Swerve in a vice-like grip as he heard Cyclonus and Tailgate shouting questions of concern. No, no, no, Swerve was not prepared to face any of them, needed to just slip away and hide forever—

Cyclonus slid to a stop from behind a barrier in front of Swerve, optics brightening upon seeing him, though the lines of his face were sharp with concern. His mouth opened to ask a question – maybe he asked it, because Swerve would swear that the rushing pulse of energon through his frame was messing with his audials, so maybe he hadn’t even registered the sound – and Swerve just tried to move around him.

“—Swerve, wait.”

Swerve hesitated and then Cyclonus’s servo grasped him by the shoulder, solid on his tire, and Swerve felt the cleanser that had flooded over from his optics slip past his visor to streak down his cheek.

And then everything seemed to happen at once.

Tailgate must have been practically at Cyclonus’s heels because he was on Swerve in seconds, wiping the cleanser away while watching Swerve’s face intently, “Hey, hey, are you—what’s wrong? Shh, it’s ok, you’re ok, come here,” and Swerve was too weak to resist the other minibot’s arms wrapping around him in a hug.

“Oh good, you caught him! I gotta talk to Swerve–”

“What did you do?” Cyclonus growled, his frame stomping away from Swerve’s side towards where he had heard Whirl.

“Oh frag you. I didn’t do anything. Or at least I don’t think I did – hey, hey!”

“WHOA, NO ACTUAL FIGHTING IS ALLOWED IN THERE. MAGNUS WILL KILL ME.”

Swerve jolted, trying to push against Tailgate so he could turn around, stammering, “W-wait! Whirl didn’t do anything, really!”

He was embarrassed by how shaky his voice sounded, even to himself. Even if they couldn’t see his optics, there was no doubt that they all knew by voice alone that Swerve was crying, overwhelmed by a deluge of emotions he no longer had control over.

Whirl and Cyclonus had gone still, the warrior’s servo still tightly hooked into some plating by Whirl’s neck, clearly in the middle of intimidating the copter. Both though were watching Swerve closely though.

Swerve wanted to just melt into the floor right then and there.

Tailgate reached down to grab one of his servos and squeezed it.

“Swerve?”

Swerve bent his helm, staring at the ground as he bit his bottom lip.

“We were trying to get you two together,” he admittedly dejectedly, not daring to look up even when Tailgate’s systems hiccupped. “Y-you – you guys deserve each other, and should be together, and—and Whirl and I made the plan together, and I thought I could handle it, but then I developed a crush on him too, so with all three of you it’s all been a lot to handle, and–”

“A what?” Whirl asked, completely disbelieving.

Beside him, Cyclonus asked, confused, “Too?”

Swerve shuddered and felt another wave of crying threatening to spill over.

But then Tailgate’s servo tightened around Swerve’s and tugged him towards him again, though Swerve refused to look up from the floor.

“I like you too, Swerve.”

The minibot’s helm snapped up, his visor flaring as he gapped at Tailgate, stammering, “What?”

“I like you,” Tailgate repeated as his visor flickered anxiously, his voice aiming for confidence but ending up somewhere around false bravado. The thought that Tailgate was admitting it now to take some pressure off Swerve came and went and Swerve’s spark swelled at the idea. “I have for a while now. That’s actually why I haven’t told Cyclonus that I uh, well.” The other minibot’s trailed off as he glanced over at Cyclonus, and Swerve might have in any other circumstance snickered about how shocked the warrior looked. As it was, he felt almost numb from shock himself, and he wondered if Cyclonus wasn’t in a similar situation. “I didn’t know if that would be ok with you, so I thought it would be better if I didn’t tell you either of you how I felt, and just – I dunno, ignore it I guess?”

Cyclonus’s expression softened. “You thought I would not be happy for you two?” he asked with more vulnerability than Swerve thought possible from Cyclonus.

“No, that’s not – I don’t like just Swerve.”

“He likes you too, idiot,” Whirl muttered, elbowing Cyclonus, and the warrior didn’t even frown at him, in fact nearly looked thankful for the clarification.

This time it was Swerve’s turn to squeeze Tailgate’s servo, and with that boost, Tailgate looked at Cyclonus, his voice wavering a bit as he admitted, “I love you, Cyclonus. A-and I like Swerve. And I didn’t know if that would ruin our friendships or possible relationship or–”

“You thought I’d demand monogamy?” Tailgate nodded and Cyclonus finally took a step away from Whirl and towards the minibots, and then another. Swerve tried to step away as Cyclonus knelt by Tailgate, but Tailgate’s servo held solid as the warrior cradled Tailgate’s helm and leaned in. “I have lived far too long to assume sparks are so limited in their capacity for affection.”

Tailgate’s visor flashed happily. “Soooooo, then do you…?”

“I do.”

Swerve’s spark ached with joy to see Cyclonus press a chaste kiss to the top of Tailgate’s helm. It nearly went into spasms when Cyclonus then glanced at him and his lips curled into a small smirk.

“Besides, it would seem we have similar tastes.”

Tailgate giggled and Swerve felt like he was overheating as he asked, “Wait, really?”

“I fragging told you,” Whirl commented, closer than before but still distanced from the three. “He loves a cute minibot.”

“Not just minibots,” Cyclonus scoffed.

“Who else then?”

Cyclonus ex-vented heavily as he gave Whirl a look. The copter’s optic rebooted once, and then twice, and then glowed wide and bright as he pointed at himself with one of his claws. When Cyclonus didn’t protest, Whirl said, “Wait, really?”

“It’s complicated, but yes.”

“You are super intriguing,” Tailgate agreed, glancing from Cyclonus to Swerve and finally to Whirl. “I mean, I’m interested too, so, you know. I guess we all really do have similar tastes, huh?”

Whirl was, for one of the first times that Swerve had ever seen him, completely motionless.

And something in that moment – Tailgate’s servo intertwined with his own while Cyclonus looked, of all things, abashed by his own admissions of his emotions, and Whirl looked completely and utterly starstruck by the very concept that the three mecha before him were genuinely interested in him – had Swerve’s face splitting into a genuine grin.

“It’s your turn now,” Swerve said, his spark giving a little nervous palpitation as he reached his free servo out towards Whirl. The copter looked at him, optic glowing with something all too akin to nervousness.

But, slowly, the light curled into that giddy crescent that Swerve had come to love.

“We should get the four of us somewhere a little more private if you wanna know what I want to do to the three of you.”

Swerve grinned and grabbed Whirl by the pincer as the four of them made a hasty retreat to Brainstorm’s whining discontent.

“DO ANY OF YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY FRAGGING PAINTBALL?!”

#fanfiction #maccadam #tfidw #this fic could also be titled: swerve is a useless lesbian #they all are honestly

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