Fic: A road less traveled
Title: A road less traveled
Rating/Warnings: PG for mild sexual references, mech/human
Pairing: Ironhide/William Lennox
Summary: Had things stayed as they were, there was no reason it ever would have happened. Looking back, it was inevitable that things happened as they did. The strange vortex that sucked them in and dumped them on an alien world together was the catalyst for it all.
(I've been watching your world from afar,
I've been trying to be where you are...
... you just can't see,
You turn every head but you don't see me.)
Had things stayed as they were, there was no reason it ever would have happened. Looking back, it was inevitable that things happened as they did. The strange vortex that sucked them in and dumped them on an alien world together was the catalyst for it all.
Ironhide had an instant to regret snatching Will up, when he realized they were being dragged in. He would have all eternity to regret not letting go.
"It's my fault-"
"-Please, not this again."
"It is. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't be stuck here now, Lennox."
"Stop it, just stop it, would you? Let it go, quit beating yourself up over it."
Easier said than done, and Ironhide retreats into silence, save for the disgruntled rumble of his engine.
"I can hear that you know."
"... What?"
"You're grumbling."
"No, I'm not."
"Your engine is."
A huff of air and Lennox smirks-
"Big grouch."
-reaching out to give the dash in front of him a pat.
"I can think of worse people to be stuck with."
His engine quiets, a small hum fills his cab, and Ironhide finds it a little easier to stop blaming himself, and thankful for the Ranger's stubborn refusal to let him wallow in guilt and a bad mood.
(Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first,
Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes
And I know, the waiting is all you can do,
Sometimes... )
A year spent searching for the same energy readings, recorded by his scanners when the vortex had opened. A year spent watching hope begin to fade and resignation set in.
"We're never getting out of here, are we Ironhide?"
"... No, I don't think we are."
Never was a long time, even by Cybertronian standards, and an equally unbearable thought for them both. Save for that one time, it wasn't mentioned again, and they continued searching for a way back home.
A year without home, family, the company of one's own species. A year spent drawing closer to each other.
Lennox shivers, leaning against his leg plating, the booming echo shuddering into silence around them.
"More. I wanna see that again."
Gun kink. It's a mutual love and a deep-seated thrill, and the glittering excitement in Lennox's eyes is all the urging Ironhide needs.
He readies his cannons and fires again, blowing another huge boulder into vapor. The Ranger responds to Ironhide's own deep growl with a feral grin.
(To me, you're strange and you're beautiful,
You'd be so perfect with me...)
A year is a long time to be without the touch of another. Equipped as they were with millions of receptors in a vast sensor net, deprivation was a known hazard to healthy functioning. Humans had the same need for touch, and it wasn't long before Ironhide realized that Lennox was turning to him to fill that need.
The Ranger's friendly bumps and nudges become curious touches over armor and into seams, exploring cables and delicate wires. Ironhide's fingers smooth over Will's skin in unconscious caresses. When the ghost of hope finally fades, it's loss and despair that lead them to more.
Will's world collapses and falls to ruins and Ironhide is there and reaching for him. "You're not alone." He holds the broken, grieving Ranger, plates vibrating with his hum.
The Ranger is there when it's Ironhide's turn to fall into the Pit. Warm hands linger, resting against his plates, and a quiet voice cuts through the darkness, "I'm here."
Nowhere to go when they can't go back, nowhere to turn but to each other. A year begins to stretch towards two, and a line is finally crossed. Unspoken, unplanned, hands grip plating at his touch, organic flesh presses tight to living metal, and Ironhide's systems heat up at the sound of Will's soft groan.
Masters of disguise, blending in perfectly with alien cultures, with the ability to adapt to changing conditions; this was the key that allowed Ironhide to change, and altered the parameters of his relationship with Lennox from guardian and guarded, to partner and bonded. Dedicated sensors and thousands of scans later, the human presence is imprinted deep into memory and core, spark and systems registering and realigning, resonating with the bioelectric field of his partner.
He comes out of the white haze of overload to find Will lying slumped over his unshielded spark, still breathing hard. His own intakes draw in great drafts of air to cool overheated systems.
The sound of a chuckle and Lennox lifts his head, a brow arching up and a lazy satisfied smile curving his mouth. "Well, that was a surprise."
Ironhide's answer is part laugh, part groan, the small movement pressing warm skin against his sensitized spark.
(I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you)
Ironhide could never say for certain how it happened with the Ranger, or how he missed the signs along the way. The way a soothing touch of Ironhide's finger could calm the sudden fits of anger or grief, or the way Will would press close to him in restless sleep and settle with a hand to his plates, lulled by the constant hum of his systems. The flicker of his energy field over shivering skin would draw his partner towards deep blue sparklight shining from dark plates and the feel of the spark pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Whether created by spark energy or the strange radiation of an alien world, or shared loneliness and need, what Lennox tells him is too similar, and his own systems stopped shrilling alarms at him once the Ranger returned.
"Wait, say that again?" The black mech demands, prickles of alarm racing through circuits and processors, scanners riveting on Lennox.
"I said,' the Ranger repeats, his tone both weary and relieved, "I don't know why I feel so jumpy... Every damn time I get more than 20 feet away from home, this happens. It's- a nagging feeling... like something I forgot? Or something's missing... only stronger."
He leans up against black plates with a sigh, and Ironhide curls a hand around to keep him close. "This last time was the worst yet. Like a punch in the gut... It's fading, now that I'm back."
Optics shutter briefly with worry, and then Ironhide rumbles quietly, "We share a bond."
Will drops his head forward to rest against armor, uttering a frustrated sound. "Yeah, right. Could we save the jokes for another time?"
"It's not a joke. I didn't know this could happen."
A fist bangs against plating, and Lennox moves out of reach with a low growl, "I'm not in the mood for riddles, mech," and turns to walk away. A dozen steps, two dozen and Ironhide feels the tug at his core.
The Ranger slows and comes to a stop. "...Partner. It means something more, doesn't it? We're connected somehow. I can feel it."
Will turns on his heel to face him, the flare of panic and almost-anger in his eyes and a tic working the muscle of his jaw. "This is it? This is as far as I can get before I start to go crazy?"
"It won't always feel this way. New bonds take time to settle."
Ironhide's assurance and soothing hum has Will returning to climb up and recline atop the black mech's thigh, leaning back on his elbows and looking up intently. "Okay, I'm listening..."
( And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see)
Bonded and together, two years drifted into three, and then into five. Resigned to living out their lives on an alien world, they were content for the most part until one day the impossible happened and the vortex reappeared. The shock of it brought them to a standstill.
Ironhide waited for a signal from Will, fully prescient that their return would bring problems. Trapped for five years, home, mate--their whole world--had certainly moved on without them. His partner it seemed, realized the same.
A beat of time in human terms but nearly an eternity for the mech, until hands curled around his steering wheel with a firm grip, and Will breathed a soft sigh.
"I've lived without regrets my whole life, Ironhide. I'm not about to start now."
The Topkick rumbled agreement, revved the engine with a loud roar and raced for the vortex.
(I've been trying to be where you are,
And I've been secretly falling apart...)
Five years is a long time to be away from home, family, and mate. Once the joy and relief of having them back was behind her, Sarah was aware that something had changed, of that much Ironhide was certain. She watched them both, puzzled, but unwilling to voice the question. It hung in the air, like the smell of ozone after a plasma blast.
"You should tell her, Will. She already suspects something."
The Ranger grins up at him with a hopeful look. "You don't think your name tattooed on my ass will be enough?"
Ironhide snorts at his partner's standing joke.
"This is important, Lennox."
Will sobers with a small sigh.
"I know, I'll tell her. I just- Not just yet. I was gone for five years. I need time to settle in again."
He knew the moment when she finally pieced it together. Ironhide watched her come out of the house, and waited for the inevitable confrontation, the accusations, the anger. It was only when she spoke that he realized that not only did Sarah know, but she had come to terms with that knowledge as well.
"Thank you, for bringing him home. I don't think he would have made it without you."
The hand on his plate is acceptance, a thank you and an offer of peace, and Ironhide acknowledges it gravely.
"I know I wouldn't have made it without him."
(I'll put a spell on you...
And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see,
And you'll realize that you love me.)
His partner came out to join him late that night, leaning a shoulder against his thigh, looking back at the house.
"We talked, she's okay with everything."
A wry glance at Ironhide.
"Or at least, as okay as it's possible to be with something like this. "
The Ranger shifted to look up at him.
"Sarah is taking Annabelle to a kid's party tomorrow. I thought maybe you and I could go blow the slag out of some targets?"
"We could. I haven't been to the range in a week."
Lennox frowned and looked down, his fingers tracing a small seam. Coming home had been as disturbing as it had been welcome, and Ironhide waited patiently, letting him come to the point in his own time.
Fingers drum a restless beat against plating.
"There's that canyon over to the west. We could go there instead."
Time alone, some privacy, and Ironhide's deep purr rumbled out into the night.
"Sounds like a plan."
The Ranger bumped fist to armor, and let his palm open flat against plating for a moment.
"See you in the morning, mech."
Ironhide hummed and Will smiled, lifting his hand in a casual salute before walking back to the house.
-----------
Strange and Beautiful -- Aqualung
A/N: My thanks to
for inspiring the setting, and many thanks to my two wonderful betas, ladydragon76 and quidamling. My special thanks to quid for tossing this bunny at me, along with the song, and for letting me borrow her Lennox. You brought him to life for me, quid. Thank you. ♥
Rating/Warnings: PG for mild sexual references, mech/human
Pairing: Ironhide/William Lennox
Summary: Had things stayed as they were, there was no reason it ever would have happened. Looking back, it was inevitable that things happened as they did. The strange vortex that sucked them in and dumped them on an alien world together was the catalyst for it all.
(I've been watching your world from afar,
I've been trying to be where you are...
... you just can't see,
You turn every head but you don't see me.)
Had things stayed as they were, there was no reason it ever would have happened. Looking back, it was inevitable that things happened as they did. The strange vortex that sucked them in and dumped them on an alien world together was the catalyst for it all.
Ironhide had an instant to regret snatching Will up, when he realized they were being dragged in. He would have all eternity to regret not letting go.
"It's my fault-"
"-Please, not this again."
"It is. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't be stuck here now, Lennox."
"Stop it, just stop it, would you? Let it go, quit beating yourself up over it."
Easier said than done, and Ironhide retreats into silence, save for the disgruntled rumble of his engine.
"I can hear that you know."
"... What?"
"You're grumbling."
"No, I'm not."
"Your engine is."
A huff of air and Lennox smirks-
"Big grouch."
-reaching out to give the dash in front of him a pat.
"I can think of worse people to be stuck with."
His engine quiets, a small hum fills his cab, and Ironhide finds it a little easier to stop blaming himself, and thankful for the Ranger's stubborn refusal to let him wallow in guilt and a bad mood.
(Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first,
Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes
And I know, the waiting is all you can do,
Sometimes... )
A year spent searching for the same energy readings, recorded by his scanners when the vortex had opened. A year spent watching hope begin to fade and resignation set in.
"We're never getting out of here, are we Ironhide?"
"... No, I don't think we are."
Never was a long time, even by Cybertronian standards, and an equally unbearable thought for them both. Save for that one time, it wasn't mentioned again, and they continued searching for a way back home.
A year without home, family, the company of one's own species. A year spent drawing closer to each other.
Lennox shivers, leaning against his leg plating, the booming echo shuddering into silence around them.
"More. I wanna see that again."
Gun kink. It's a mutual love and a deep-seated thrill, and the glittering excitement in Lennox's eyes is all the urging Ironhide needs.
He readies his cannons and fires again, blowing another huge boulder into vapor. The Ranger responds to Ironhide's own deep growl with a feral grin.
(To me, you're strange and you're beautiful,
You'd be so perfect with me...)
A year is a long time to be without the touch of another. Equipped as they were with millions of receptors in a vast sensor net, deprivation was a known hazard to healthy functioning. Humans had the same need for touch, and it wasn't long before Ironhide realized that Lennox was turning to him to fill that need.
The Ranger's friendly bumps and nudges become curious touches over armor and into seams, exploring cables and delicate wires. Ironhide's fingers smooth over Will's skin in unconscious caresses. When the ghost of hope finally fades, it's loss and despair that lead them to more.
Will's world collapses and falls to ruins and Ironhide is there and reaching for him. "You're not alone." He holds the broken, grieving Ranger, plates vibrating with his hum.
The Ranger is there when it's Ironhide's turn to fall into the Pit. Warm hands linger, resting against his plates, and a quiet voice cuts through the darkness, "I'm here."
Nowhere to go when they can't go back, nowhere to turn but to each other. A year begins to stretch towards two, and a line is finally crossed. Unspoken, unplanned, hands grip plating at his touch, organic flesh presses tight to living metal, and Ironhide's systems heat up at the sound of Will's soft groan.
Masters of disguise, blending in perfectly with alien cultures, with the ability to adapt to changing conditions; this was the key that allowed Ironhide to change, and altered the parameters of his relationship with Lennox from guardian and guarded, to partner and bonded. Dedicated sensors and thousands of scans later, the human presence is imprinted deep into memory and core, spark and systems registering and realigning, resonating with the bioelectric field of his partner.
He comes out of the white haze of overload to find Will lying slumped over his unshielded spark, still breathing hard. His own intakes draw in great drafts of air to cool overheated systems.
The sound of a chuckle and Lennox lifts his head, a brow arching up and a lazy satisfied smile curving his mouth. "Well, that was a surprise."
Ironhide's answer is part laugh, part groan, the small movement pressing warm skin against his sensitized spark.
(I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you)
Ironhide could never say for certain how it happened with the Ranger, or how he missed the signs along the way. The way a soothing touch of Ironhide's finger could calm the sudden fits of anger or grief, or the way Will would press close to him in restless sleep and settle with a hand to his plates, lulled by the constant hum of his systems. The flicker of his energy field over shivering skin would draw his partner towards deep blue sparklight shining from dark plates and the feel of the spark pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Whether created by spark energy or the strange radiation of an alien world, or shared loneliness and need, what Lennox tells him is too similar, and his own systems stopped shrilling alarms at him once the Ranger returned.
"Wait, say that again?" The black mech demands, prickles of alarm racing through circuits and processors, scanners riveting on Lennox.
"I said,' the Ranger repeats, his tone both weary and relieved, "I don't know why I feel so jumpy... Every damn time I get more than 20 feet away from home, this happens. It's- a nagging feeling... like something I forgot? Or something's missing... only stronger."
He leans up against black plates with a sigh, and Ironhide curls a hand around to keep him close. "This last time was the worst yet. Like a punch in the gut... It's fading, now that I'm back."
Optics shutter briefly with worry, and then Ironhide rumbles quietly, "We share a bond."
Will drops his head forward to rest against armor, uttering a frustrated sound. "Yeah, right. Could we save the jokes for another time?"
"It's not a joke. I didn't know this could happen."
A fist bangs against plating, and Lennox moves out of reach with a low growl, "I'm not in the mood for riddles, mech," and turns to walk away. A dozen steps, two dozen and Ironhide feels the tug at his core.
The Ranger slows and comes to a stop. "...Partner. It means something more, doesn't it? We're connected somehow. I can feel it."
Will turns on his heel to face him, the flare of panic and almost-anger in his eyes and a tic working the muscle of his jaw. "This is it? This is as far as I can get before I start to go crazy?"
"It won't always feel this way. New bonds take time to settle."
Ironhide's assurance and soothing hum has Will returning to climb up and recline atop the black mech's thigh, leaning back on his elbows and looking up intently. "Okay, I'm listening..."
( And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see)
Bonded and together, two years drifted into three, and then into five. Resigned to living out their lives on an alien world, they were content for the most part until one day the impossible happened and the vortex reappeared. The shock of it brought them to a standstill.
Ironhide waited for a signal from Will, fully prescient that their return would bring problems. Trapped for five years, home, mate--their whole world--had certainly moved on without them. His partner it seemed, realized the same.
A beat of time in human terms but nearly an eternity for the mech, until hands curled around his steering wheel with a firm grip, and Will breathed a soft sigh.
"I've lived without regrets my whole life, Ironhide. I'm not about to start now."
The Topkick rumbled agreement, revved the engine with a loud roar and raced for the vortex.
(I've been trying to be where you are,
And I've been secretly falling apart...)
Five years is a long time to be away from home, family, and mate. Once the joy and relief of having them back was behind her, Sarah was aware that something had changed, of that much Ironhide was certain. She watched them both, puzzled, but unwilling to voice the question. It hung in the air, like the smell of ozone after a plasma blast.
"You should tell her, Will. She already suspects something."
The Ranger grins up at him with a hopeful look. "You don't think your name tattooed on my ass will be enough?"
Ironhide snorts at his partner's standing joke.
"This is important, Lennox."
Will sobers with a small sigh.
"I know, I'll tell her. I just- Not just yet. I was gone for five years. I need time to settle in again."
He knew the moment when she finally pieced it together. Ironhide watched her come out of the house, and waited for the inevitable confrontation, the accusations, the anger. It was only when she spoke that he realized that not only did Sarah know, but she had come to terms with that knowledge as well.
"Thank you, for bringing him home. I don't think he would have made it without you."
The hand on his plate is acceptance, a thank you and an offer of peace, and Ironhide acknowledges it gravely.
"I know I wouldn't have made it without him."
(I'll put a spell on you...
And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see,
And you'll realize that you love me.)
His partner came out to join him late that night, leaning a shoulder against his thigh, looking back at the house.
"We talked, she's okay with everything."
A wry glance at Ironhide.
"Or at least, as okay as it's possible to be with something like this. "
The Ranger shifted to look up at him.
"Sarah is taking Annabelle to a kid's party tomorrow. I thought maybe you and I could go blow the slag out of some targets?"
"We could. I haven't been to the range in a week."
Lennox frowned and looked down, his fingers tracing a small seam. Coming home had been as disturbing as it had been welcome, and Ironhide waited patiently, letting him come to the point in his own time.
Fingers drum a restless beat against plating.
"There's that canyon over to the west. We could go there instead."
Time alone, some privacy, and Ironhide's deep purr rumbled out into the night.
"Sounds like a plan."
The Ranger bumped fist to armor, and let his palm open flat against plating for a moment.
"See you in the morning, mech."
Ironhide hummed and Will smiled, lifting his hand in a casual salute before walking back to the house.
-----------
Strange and Beautiful -- Aqualung
A/N: My thanks to
for inspiring the setting, and many thanks to my two wonderful betas, ladydragon76 and quidamling. My special thanks to quid for tossing this bunny at me, along with the song, and for letting me borrow her Lennox. You brought him to life for me, quid. Thank you. ♥
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