Don't Save Me Ch.16
Summary: Prowl returns only to face the horrors of his past once again
Rating: T/M
Warnings: more angsty prowl
Flashback
: bond :
It was dark in her room. She didn't care about light and Bumblebee didn't seem to mind, so it was fine. Actually it was more than fine just as long as she could lie on Bee while he massaged her doorwings. She couldn't remember the last time someone had touched her like this. The scout's ministrations were turning her into a puddle of purring goo.Bumblebee chuckled as the femme began to purr. They had been in her room for a couple days now. When they returned to base a couple days prior, he had went to the rec room to collect energon while she commed Jazz to tell the silver mech where they would be. Bee had only gotten enough energon to last them through the first night and the morning after. Good thing Jazz had been leaving energon outside the door for them.
He would probably have to talk to Jazz soon Bumblebee mused. He had a feeling Jazz wasn't too happy with this new development in his nonexistent love life and feel the need to lecture him about it. It would probably be over all the risks of being involved with someone like Ashfire. If one focused on the fact that she was an ex-Con, then yeah it wasn't a great idea, but he didn't care. He wanted this, wanted her.
A few more minutes passed before the silence was broken. "What time is it?" the femme murmured.
"Around four," Bee answered. "Why?"
"Hmmmm… Prowl will be back from his trip soon."
Bumblebee froze at the femme's sleepy reply. Prowl was coming back today?
"Shit."Bee cursed as he leaned his head on the wall. If Prowl were to walk in right now… no it would be okay. Prowl was a reasonable mech. He wouldn't hurt him. Even if he was in Ashfire's room…in the dark…on her berth…with her sprawled on top of him…as he touched her doorwings.
Bumblebee groaned again. He was so dead.
The femme arched an optic ridge at him. "What are you upset for? Prowl isn't here yet and even if he has, it's not like we've actually done anything."
"Yeah, but Prowl doesn't know that" Bee replied. "What would we do if he thought I took advantage of you while he was gone?"
Ashfire had to laugh at the absurdity that just spewed from the mech's mouth. "You take advantage of me? Oh no…lil' Bee" she purred as she leaned up to look him in the optics. "I think he'll be more concerned about me taking advantage of you."
"But you're not. I asked…"
"I know" she said. "But how many will see it that way?"
Bumblebee felt his doorwings droop a little. She was right. Most people would assume she was using him.
"Ashfire..." He didn't know what to say and he never found out. The door suddenly opened with a snick to reveal Jazz.
"Prowler and Optimus are on their way to base," he said. "They'll be here in ten minutes."
"Alright, we're coming," The femme mumbled, reluctant to leave her stupor. "Come on lil' Bee, let's go say hi to Prowl."
Optimus and Prowl rolled off the plane into the hangar, followed by a red Ferrari. The trip to Washington had been tiresome, but rewarding. Optimus' spark rejoiced every time a fellow Autobot managed to find them on Earth. Of course, the Prime would have been happy if he wasn't cussed at by the prime minister of Italy about 'runaway and flippant robots'.
Primus give him a break, he had no idea an Autobot made planet fall into Italy. But that was neither here nor there. What mattered was that Dino had been found and he was now joining the Autobots on Earth.
Once all three Autobots were in the hangar, they started their transformation sequences. No one was surprised that Jazz jumped Prowl the moment the Praxian was in bipedal mode. Despite the laughter of the soldiers and the chuckling of the Autobots, Prowl didn't relax until he caught the gaze of his creation.
She flicked her wings in welcome. Prowl felt a flash of annoyance when he noticed how Bumblebee hovered behind the femme.
: Easy love: Jazz crooned. : Bumblebee means no harm. Truthfully, I'm more worried about her doin' somethin' to Bee:
: She won't harm him:
: Are ya sure about that? : Prowl had no answer.
Prowl's thoughts were interrupted by the rumble of Optimus' voice. "Sir?"
"We'll debrief in the morning. Go spend some time with your family."
Prowl felt and saw the way Jazz and Ashfire's frames tensed in surprise from the Prime's statement.
A family? Jazz was his mate and the white femme his creation and yet Prowl had never thought of them as a family, he would have considered himself lucky if Ashfire and Jazz would get along, but now the thought had been placed in his mind.
Yes, a family. Prowl glanced at his mate to his creation and back to his mate. If they could be a family that would be…it would be a blessing from Primus himself. It was going to be an uphill battle getting there, and getting Jazz and Ashfire to accept each other but it would be worth it. He could feel it.
He looked through the viewing glass into the interrogation room. In the room he could see Soundwave prepare for the training session his creation was about to go through. Usually he would be the one in charge of her training, but sadly there were just some things he could not do and hacking his creation was one of them. Today, as part of her training she would feel what it's like to have another mech inside her mind. She would feel what it's like to be hacked.
He shuddered at the thought. Sympathy filled his spark for the young femme being strapped down to the table inside the room. He couldn't bring himself to hack his creation. Everything inside him that made him a creator rebelled against the idea. That's why Soundwave was doing it. He could be trusted to be careful with her. He'd give her a taste of what it was like to be hacked and then leave her mind. He wouldn't leave her damaged.
Well, no permanent damage.
Dread filled his tanks when the last cuff was fastened to his youngling. Soundwave was about to begin. Her head turned to him, for a brief second he could see her fear. She was nervous and seeking his reassurance. He gave it to her gladly, warily, using his doorwings to ease her fears.
Soundwave finished his preparations. He watched as Soundwave stood next to the youngling's head and rumbled a few words to her. He couldn't hear what the telepath said, he didn't need to. Knowing the large mech, he was probably telling her what he would do, how he would do it, and that he would be gentle.
He felt himself tense as Soundwave released a tentacle and brought it close to her head. For a brief moment he locked gazes with the larger mech. He thought he saw something flash across the telepath's features. He thought he saw…regret. Soundwave looked away and plugged into her systems.
She screamed.
Prowl shot up in the berth, jarring Jazz from his slumber. Prowl put his face in his hands as his fans whirred on in his distress, his frame trembling.
"Shh, it's alright, Prowler." Jazz cooed, wrapping his arms around his mate's waist.
"I'm fine Jazz, really. Just…just talk to me for a while." Prowl murmured, pulling his bondmate closer as he leaned back. Prowl laid there losing himself in the calming sea of Jazz's voice as Jazz told him about anything, everything he could think of; the weather, the humans, music, pranks, Ashfire…
"So you did manage to get along," Prowl mused, relief flooding his field and love filling the bond. "Thank you, love." Prowl was beyond pleased that the two got along in his absence. They weren't on friendly terms yet, but they were now closer than they were when they first met.
"Ya don't have to thank me Prowler," Jazz replied. "Try to get some recharge."
With a hum, Prowl slowly powered his systems down, hoping that would be no more nightmares for this night.
It was early the next day when Ashfire found herself walking beside Prowl. Something was wrong. He was too tense, too quiet, his field drawn in. She kept silent, watching her creator for any hint of violence.
When Barricade was furious he would go silent and she had reason to fear her creator's wrath. She still had scars to prove that Barricade was not a mech to be trifled with. She was confident that Prowl wouldn't be as tough with punishment as Barricade was, but it never hurt to be cautious.
Soon they were in front of Prowl's office, she watched with mild confusion as Prowl punched in the code and entered. Wasn't he supposed to meet with Prime? Despite the thought, she followed him in and went to her corner where she found a new box of rubix cubes to fiddle with.
She sat in her chair and reached for the box, however her gaze flickered to Prowl. The older mech was standing in front of his desk, his palms pressed flat against the surface, his wings trembling. The femme's optics narrowed.
Was Prowl in another memory lapse?
He hurried down the corridor, the blare of the alarms echoing throughout the halls. The Autobots had broken through and the base compromised. He had to move quickly, there was no doubt that if the Autobots discovered his sparkling they'd terminate her.
She inched her way to Prowl. The trembling in his doorwings had worsened. His whole body began to shake. A brief moment of concern entered her before she could kill it.
The sparkling chirped at him, clearly confused on what was going on. He shushed her by sending calming pulses to her. They were close to the exit. His doorwings flared, the sensors picking up the fight up ahead. He stopped at the corner, listening to the bang of gunfire and cries of injured mecha. Damn.
This was bad. She had called Prowl's name to no avail. He was unresponsive. Reaching out with her field she stayed several feet away from her creator, unsure of how he would react. She could feel the turmoil and fear in Prowl's field. Despite the contact the tactician stayed unresponsive.
"Prowl," she called, once again trying to gain his attention.
He clutched the sparkling closer to his chest. She squeaked in response and began to wiggle to escape the tightening grip. She started to click in irritation. "Hush, little one," He whispered. "There's danger ahead. I need you to remain silent."
The sparkling looked at him with wide, trusting optics and gave him a quiet beep of acceptance. He took a moment to brace himself before plunging into the chaos around the corner.
"Creator," Ashfire murmured, laying her palm on Prowl's shoulder. Prowl flinched, the touch bringing him back to reality. He turned to his creation, now much older than the version he just saw.
"Ashfire," he whispered. He reached out, quickly pulling the femme against his chest. Even though he knew that the memory was just that a memory, his could feel his spark's need to reassure himself that she was safe. The femme tensed as she was held against her creator. She had thought she'd never be embraced like this again. She could only list a handful of times Barricade had held her with the desperation Prowl was showing.
Prowl continued to quiver as he held his creation. "You're safe," he began to whisper. "You're safe, you're safe." Over and over, the words filled the silence of the office.
Ashfire merged her EM field around Prowl's trying to offer him some comfort. She brought her arms up and loosely held Prowl as he went on with his mantra. Her grip tightened as Prowl gently murmured her name.
Her true name.
She continued to hold the tactician as he kept up the murmuring, doing her best to comfort the mech, ignoring the ache of her spark breaking.
Once upon a time, it was impossible to imagine her creator breaking down. But that was when he was Barricade. The mech in her arms was Prowl. And all she could do was watch and listen and hold onto him until he could regain his composure.
Rating: T/M
Warnings: more angsty prowl
Flashback
: bond :
It was dark in her room. She didn't care about light and Bumblebee didn't seem to mind, so it was fine. Actually it was more than fine just as long as she could lie on Bee while he massaged her doorwings. She couldn't remember the last time someone had touched her like this. The scout's ministrations were turning her into a puddle of purring goo.Bumblebee chuckled as the femme began to purr. They had been in her room for a couple days now. When they returned to base a couple days prior, he had went to the rec room to collect energon while she commed Jazz to tell the silver mech where they would be. Bee had only gotten enough energon to last them through the first night and the morning after. Good thing Jazz had been leaving energon outside the door for them.
He would probably have to talk to Jazz soon Bumblebee mused. He had a feeling Jazz wasn't too happy with this new development in his nonexistent love life and feel the need to lecture him about it. It would probably be over all the risks of being involved with someone like Ashfire. If one focused on the fact that she was an ex-Con, then yeah it wasn't a great idea, but he didn't care. He wanted this, wanted her.
A few more minutes passed before the silence was broken. "What time is it?" the femme murmured.
"Around four," Bee answered. "Why?"
"Hmmmm… Prowl will be back from his trip soon."
Bumblebee froze at the femme's sleepy reply. Prowl was coming back today?
"Shit."Bee cursed as he leaned his head on the wall. If Prowl were to walk in right now… no it would be okay. Prowl was a reasonable mech. He wouldn't hurt him. Even if he was in Ashfire's room…in the dark…on her berth…with her sprawled on top of him…as he touched her doorwings.
Bumblebee groaned again. He was so dead.
The femme arched an optic ridge at him. "What are you upset for? Prowl isn't here yet and even if he has, it's not like we've actually done anything."
"Yeah, but Prowl doesn't know that" Bee replied. "What would we do if he thought I took advantage of you while he was gone?"
Ashfire had to laugh at the absurdity that just spewed from the mech's mouth. "You take advantage of me? Oh no…lil' Bee" she purred as she leaned up to look him in the optics. "I think he'll be more concerned about me taking advantage of you."
"But you're not. I asked…"
"I know" she said. "But how many will see it that way?"
Bumblebee felt his doorwings droop a little. She was right. Most people would assume she was using him.
"Ashfire..." He didn't know what to say and he never found out. The door suddenly opened with a snick to reveal Jazz.
"Prowler and Optimus are on their way to base," he said. "They'll be here in ten minutes."
"Alright, we're coming," The femme mumbled, reluctant to leave her stupor. "Come on lil' Bee, let's go say hi to Prowl."
Optimus and Prowl rolled off the plane into the hangar, followed by a red Ferrari. The trip to Washington had been tiresome, but rewarding. Optimus' spark rejoiced every time a fellow Autobot managed to find them on Earth. Of course, the Prime would have been happy if he wasn't cussed at by the prime minister of Italy about 'runaway and flippant robots'.
Primus give him a break, he had no idea an Autobot made planet fall into Italy. But that was neither here nor there. What mattered was that Dino had been found and he was now joining the Autobots on Earth.
Once all three Autobots were in the hangar, they started their transformation sequences. No one was surprised that Jazz jumped Prowl the moment the Praxian was in bipedal mode. Despite the laughter of the soldiers and the chuckling of the Autobots, Prowl didn't relax until he caught the gaze of his creation.
She flicked her wings in welcome. Prowl felt a flash of annoyance when he noticed how Bumblebee hovered behind the femme.
: Easy love: Jazz crooned. : Bumblebee means no harm. Truthfully, I'm more worried about her doin' somethin' to Bee:
: She won't harm him:
: Are ya sure about that? : Prowl had no answer.
Prowl's thoughts were interrupted by the rumble of Optimus' voice. "Sir?"
"We'll debrief in the morning. Go spend some time with your family."
Prowl felt and saw the way Jazz and Ashfire's frames tensed in surprise from the Prime's statement.
A family? Jazz was his mate and the white femme his creation and yet Prowl had never thought of them as a family, he would have considered himself lucky if Ashfire and Jazz would get along, but now the thought had been placed in his mind.
Yes, a family. Prowl glanced at his mate to his creation and back to his mate. If they could be a family that would be…it would be a blessing from Primus himself. It was going to be an uphill battle getting there, and getting Jazz and Ashfire to accept each other but it would be worth it. He could feel it.
He looked through the viewing glass into the interrogation room. In the room he could see Soundwave prepare for the training session his creation was about to go through. Usually he would be the one in charge of her training, but sadly there were just some things he could not do and hacking his creation was one of them. Today, as part of her training she would feel what it's like to have another mech inside her mind. She would feel what it's like to be hacked.
He shuddered at the thought. Sympathy filled his spark for the young femme being strapped down to the table inside the room. He couldn't bring himself to hack his creation. Everything inside him that made him a creator rebelled against the idea. That's why Soundwave was doing it. He could be trusted to be careful with her. He'd give her a taste of what it was like to be hacked and then leave her mind. He wouldn't leave her damaged.
Well, no permanent damage.
Dread filled his tanks when the last cuff was fastened to his youngling. Soundwave was about to begin. Her head turned to him, for a brief second he could see her fear. She was nervous and seeking his reassurance. He gave it to her gladly, warily, using his doorwings to ease her fears.
Soundwave finished his preparations. He watched as Soundwave stood next to the youngling's head and rumbled a few words to her. He couldn't hear what the telepath said, he didn't need to. Knowing the large mech, he was probably telling her what he would do, how he would do it, and that he would be gentle.
He felt himself tense as Soundwave released a tentacle and brought it close to her head. For a brief moment he locked gazes with the larger mech. He thought he saw something flash across the telepath's features. He thought he saw…regret. Soundwave looked away and plugged into her systems.
She screamed.
Prowl shot up in the berth, jarring Jazz from his slumber. Prowl put his face in his hands as his fans whirred on in his distress, his frame trembling.
"Shh, it's alright, Prowler." Jazz cooed, wrapping his arms around his mate's waist.
"I'm fine Jazz, really. Just…just talk to me for a while." Prowl murmured, pulling his bondmate closer as he leaned back. Prowl laid there losing himself in the calming sea of Jazz's voice as Jazz told him about anything, everything he could think of; the weather, the humans, music, pranks, Ashfire…
"So you did manage to get along," Prowl mused, relief flooding his field and love filling the bond. "Thank you, love." Prowl was beyond pleased that the two got along in his absence. They weren't on friendly terms yet, but they were now closer than they were when they first met.
"Ya don't have to thank me Prowler," Jazz replied. "Try to get some recharge."
With a hum, Prowl slowly powered his systems down, hoping that would be no more nightmares for this night.
It was early the next day when Ashfire found herself walking beside Prowl. Something was wrong. He was too tense, too quiet, his field drawn in. She kept silent, watching her creator for any hint of violence.
When Barricade was furious he would go silent and she had reason to fear her creator's wrath. She still had scars to prove that Barricade was not a mech to be trifled with. She was confident that Prowl wouldn't be as tough with punishment as Barricade was, but it never hurt to be cautious.
Soon they were in front of Prowl's office, she watched with mild confusion as Prowl punched in the code and entered. Wasn't he supposed to meet with Prime? Despite the thought, she followed him in and went to her corner where she found a new box of rubix cubes to fiddle with.
She sat in her chair and reached for the box, however her gaze flickered to Prowl. The older mech was standing in front of his desk, his palms pressed flat against the surface, his wings trembling. The femme's optics narrowed.
Was Prowl in another memory lapse?
He hurried down the corridor, the blare of the alarms echoing throughout the halls. The Autobots had broken through and the base compromised. He had to move quickly, there was no doubt that if the Autobots discovered his sparkling they'd terminate her.
She inched her way to Prowl. The trembling in his doorwings had worsened. His whole body began to shake. A brief moment of concern entered her before she could kill it.
The sparkling chirped at him, clearly confused on what was going on. He shushed her by sending calming pulses to her. They were close to the exit. His doorwings flared, the sensors picking up the fight up ahead. He stopped at the corner, listening to the bang of gunfire and cries of injured mecha. Damn.
This was bad. She had called Prowl's name to no avail. He was unresponsive. Reaching out with her field she stayed several feet away from her creator, unsure of how he would react. She could feel the turmoil and fear in Prowl's field. Despite the contact the tactician stayed unresponsive.
"Prowl," she called, once again trying to gain his attention.
He clutched the sparkling closer to his chest. She squeaked in response and began to wiggle to escape the tightening grip. She started to click in irritation. "Hush, little one," He whispered. "There's danger ahead. I need you to remain silent."
The sparkling looked at him with wide, trusting optics and gave him a quiet beep of acceptance. He took a moment to brace himself before plunging into the chaos around the corner.
"Creator," Ashfire murmured, laying her palm on Prowl's shoulder. Prowl flinched, the touch bringing him back to reality. He turned to his creation, now much older than the version he just saw.
"Ashfire," he whispered. He reached out, quickly pulling the femme against his chest. Even though he knew that the memory was just that a memory, his could feel his spark's need to reassure himself that she was safe. The femme tensed as she was held against her creator. She had thought she'd never be embraced like this again. She could only list a handful of times Barricade had held her with the desperation Prowl was showing.
Prowl continued to quiver as he held his creation. "You're safe," he began to whisper. "You're safe, you're safe." Over and over, the words filled the silence of the office.
Ashfire merged her EM field around Prowl's trying to offer him some comfort. She brought her arms up and loosely held Prowl as he went on with his mantra. Her grip tightened as Prowl gently murmured her name.
Her true name.
She continued to hold the tactician as he kept up the murmuring, doing her best to comfort the mech, ignoring the ache of her spark breaking.
Once upon a time, it was impossible to imagine her creator breaking down. But that was when he was Barricade. The mech in her arms was Prowl. And all she could do was watch and listen and hold onto him until he could regain his composure.