Starting the week with some Art
Title: The Art of Deception. (14/??)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of violence, minor implications of sex, drugs, self flagellation. Eventual slash.
Characters: Prowl, Jazz, Smokescreen.
Setting: G1 AU. Borrows shamelessly from IDW and DW elements as necessary.
Summary: He had been unwanted but he willed himself to survive and old tricks are hard to leave behind.
Notes: This is an AU bunny that I had been keeping under the bunny pile, I don't think it'll be nearly as long as Paint Streaks and Sparkless, but you know how these bunnies tend to be. Several concepts seen through the duration of this fic are inspired by or belong to snugsbunny and used with permission.
Many thanks to mmouse15 for kindly beta reading this for me and wicked3659 for her input. Hopefully we're going back on steady schedule again.
Prowl had returned to the Academy's living accommodations without incident, Iacon was by far a much safer city where one could walk at night through an empty alley without having to look back now and again to make sure no undesirables followed. It wasn't a crime-free city by any means, but it was much safer than Kaon by an incredible margin and thus, Prowl knew nobody would be paying him particular or unwanted attention. Even so, he never lowered his guard, his wing panels always held high and ready to pick up any sensory data from possible unexpected company.
He contemplated his catch of the evening, the data book he had appropriated at the end of his class with the mechling. He obviously could not show off his new acquisition nor display it proudly in his own rack at his quarters, so it would have to stay hidden in the depths of his sub space pocket at the very least until he graduated and had the chance to settle down somewhere long after everyone had forgotten about his time tutoring the sparklet. He could always fabricate a believable story for why he possessed the book if anyone ever recognized it, but for now, he'd just forget about its existence. To many it would seem the book was hardly a worthy bounty, despite the fine and expensive materials used to construct the pad, but for an avid reader such as Prowl, the rarity of the book was worth more than a card full of currency.
As Prowl made his way through the halls of the living arrangements, he stopped in his tracks when he found an unusual accessory decorating the wall next to his door. "Jazz?"
Jazz, who was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed and his sight seemingly glued to his feet; looked up and his face brightened immediately. "Hi, how was th'tutoring?"
"It was good. Quite productive." Prowl raised an optic brow and came to a stop just a couple of steps away from Jazz. He was sure he had seen the mech's expression being unusually serious and somewhat troubled. "You're back early from your party. I didn't think you would be back until a few more hours."
"Yeah, it kind of ended earlier than we expected." Jazz shrugged and tried to keep up his smile. He could have fooled others, but Prowl could tell something was not quite right with that statement. Prowl made a soft sound and opened the door, gesturing Jazz to go in.
"Going to tell me what happened?" Prowl asked once the door closed behind them.
"What makes ya think somethin' happened?" Jazz asked with all the innocence he could muster in a normally disarming grin.
Prowl, though, didn't buy it and crossed his arms, casually canting his head. "Do you really want me to explain why I can tell you're omitting to tell me something?"
Jazz's grin faded and he let out a long, tired sigh. "Party was okay fer a while, then it just kind of ended abruptly when a mech didn't get that no means no."
Prowl's wing panels tensed minutely and he crossed the distance to his friend, sensing whatever happened definitely involved Jazz first hand. "What happened exactly?" He touched Jazz's arm gently and the visored mechling smiled a little in gratitude for the caring hidden in the simple gesture.
"We were all jus' havin' fun for a while, then there was too much high grade involved for m'taste." Jazz shrugged a little and went to sit down on the small couch, venting another sigh. "Mechs got a little too cozy an' liberal with th'flirting and it was okay and in good fun."
"Then someone decided to take it into a more serious direction?
Jazz nodded, bringing a hand to his face to rub at it, feeling the events of the evening beginning to catch up to him. "Mech wanted t'find some dark place we could go to, but I told him I wasn't interested, tryin' to keep it friendly, y'know? He thought I was playin' hard to get, and I had to get serious and tell him I really didn't want to 'face him."
Prowl picked a cube and filled it on the dispenser attached to the wall, coming back and offering it to his friend, his wings were tense and was scanning Jazz for any structural damage or any signs of having gone through a fight and being hurt. "Did he try to hurt you?"
"He did try t'drag me out." Jazz accepted the cube gratefully.
"Did you hide the body when you were through with him?" Prowl asked in a tone that suggested while he was joking and trying to bring some lighter mood into the conversation, he was also being deadly serious.
Jazz did manage to smile, though. "I didn't get to that part. I only kicked his head into the wall...that kind of ended th'party 'cause they had t'take him to th'medics to make sure I didn't break anythin' vital for his continued function."
Prowl couldn't help himself and reached to cup one of Jazz's hands with his own. "I'm sure your friends do not hold it against you."
"I know they don't, he wasn't even a guest of my friend. Mech was a neighbor's spawn that invited himself in." Jazz nodded and sipped the energon as silence fell upon them, neither knowing what to say next.
Finally, Prowl broke the quiet that settled between them. "You came here to distract yourself, didn't you?" Jazz nodded, giving Prowl a sheepish little smile. Prowl couldn't help but feel the urge to do anything within his power to brighten Jazz's mood. In the back of his processor he knew he would have to find out the mech's name and although he never doubted Jazz would be capable of handling himself with such kind of mechs, Prowl wanted to make it clear for the scum that Jazz was not to be tampered with. He was fiercely protective of the few things he truly cared about and Jazz ranked quite high in that list.
"I didn't want t'go to bed just like that after this. I know I'd get no rest." Jazz finished the cube and set it down on the small table next to the couch. "I can go if yer tired, though. I'm sure th'sparklet was a hard strut to chew on."
When Jazz made a move to stand up, Prowl gripped his hand gently and shook his head. "It's quite all right. I'm not tired and I always have time for you, Jazz." He smiled a little to the other black and white mechlet. "I wouldn't be able to get some rest myself knowing I let you go when you're not feeling well yourself."
"Glad t'know yer own sleep plays such a heavy hand in my wellbeing." Jazz grinned and teased weakly.
"You shouldn't feel bad, though. That mech was asking for it." Prowl stood and tugged Jazz's hand, gesturing for his friend to stand up and follow him.
"I know I shouldn't, but it kinda ruins the mood, ya know? Ya tryin' to have a good time, some perfectly innocent fun an' some brute has t'come and step on that." Jazz huffed.
"I'm afraid some times that's the price to pay when you're an attractive mech." Prowl led Jazz to the berth, sitting down on it while he dug under the platform for one of the games he and Jazz usually played together.
Jazz smiled, a little happier this time. "Flatterer."
Prowl raised an optic brow while he opened the box and pulled out the game pieces. "Flatterer? How so?"
The visored mechling nodded, crossing his arms. "Callin' me attractive jus' now."
"I fail to see how stating a fact counts as flattery." Prowl canted his head. "I don't say it to make you feel better or just to throw a compliment to you. You are an attractive mech, I know you have a few admirers."
Jazz's smile dropped a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess."
Prowl reached a finger and tipped Jazz's face up. "Did I say something wrong?"
"What? No! Not at all." Jazz shook his head vigorously. "Jus' thought I had maybe offended ya sayin' that you were flatterin' me."
"Ah. No, you did not offend me, it's just that I have no need for flattery when honesty works much better." Prowl smiled at his friend and gestured to the board. "Your pick."
"I'm goin' red this time."
Prowl turned the board around so the red pieces faced Jazz. "For the record, Jazz, I do think you're an attractive mech. But only one part of the whole package, and I'm quite fond of the mech behind the good looking face plates."
Jazz grinned at Prowl's roundabout way to say things. "Ya can jus' say ya like my charmin' personality, Prowler."
Prowl snickered. "Now where the fun would be if I just outright say that?"
"Oh, so ya do like my charmin' personality."
"I never said such a thing."
"I think ya did just now."
"My memory must be faulty because I cannot remember saying such a thing at all."
"S'ok! Mine's workin' just fine."
"I'm sure it is."
The friendly bantering they shared eased them both, quickly leaving the unpleasant experience behind for the night as they engaged in a couple of games. By the time they finished the last game it was past the dorm's curfew and Jazz was going to sneak back into his room.
"Are you sure you will be all right?" Prowl asked while he saw Jazz to the door.
"Yeah, not th'first time I accidentally stayed past curfew." Jazz assured him with a bright smile. "Thanks for tonight, Prowl. I really needed this."
"Don't mention it." Prowl smiled back.
"See ya after class, then. Don't forget the shakes are on ya."
"I won't. Rest well, Jazz."
It was only when they parted that they released their fingers were intertwined when they walked to Prowl's door. Jazz's smile widened a little, and so did Prowl's as he watched his...more than just a friend now go back to his own room. When Jazz was out of sight, Prowl closed the door and went to his berth, laying down and tapping his fingers to his abdominal plates while he contemplated the future.
The next day, classes went as they normally did. Prowl conversed with the student whose brother he had tutored and was pleased to know the mechling's parents were happy with his work, and that apparently nobody had noticed the missing book file so far.
As Prowl gathered his pads when his class with Smokescreen was over, that the Praxian teacher approached him. Prowl couldn't help but feel something was going to happen and that he wasn't going to like it.
"Prowl," Smokescreen looked down at him with the most serious expression the mechlet had seen on his face plates. "We need to have a serious talk."
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of violence, minor implications of sex, drugs, self flagellation. Eventual slash.
Characters: Prowl, Jazz, Smokescreen.
Setting: G1 AU. Borrows shamelessly from IDW and DW elements as necessary.
Summary: He had been unwanted but he willed himself to survive and old tricks are hard to leave behind.
Notes: This is an AU bunny that I had been keeping under the bunny pile, I don't think it'll be nearly as long as Paint Streaks and Sparkless, but you know how these bunnies tend to be. Several concepts seen through the duration of this fic are inspired by or belong to snugsbunny and used with permission.
Many thanks to mmouse15 for kindly beta reading this for me and wicked3659 for her input. Hopefully we're going back on steady schedule again.
Prowl had returned to the Academy's living accommodations without incident, Iacon was by far a much safer city where one could walk at night through an empty alley without having to look back now and again to make sure no undesirables followed. It wasn't a crime-free city by any means, but it was much safer than Kaon by an incredible margin and thus, Prowl knew nobody would be paying him particular or unwanted attention. Even so, he never lowered his guard, his wing panels always held high and ready to pick up any sensory data from possible unexpected company.
He contemplated his catch of the evening, the data book he had appropriated at the end of his class with the mechling. He obviously could not show off his new acquisition nor display it proudly in his own rack at his quarters, so it would have to stay hidden in the depths of his sub space pocket at the very least until he graduated and had the chance to settle down somewhere long after everyone had forgotten about his time tutoring the sparklet. He could always fabricate a believable story for why he possessed the book if anyone ever recognized it, but for now, he'd just forget about its existence. To many it would seem the book was hardly a worthy bounty, despite the fine and expensive materials used to construct the pad, but for an avid reader such as Prowl, the rarity of the book was worth more than a card full of currency.
As Prowl made his way through the halls of the living arrangements, he stopped in his tracks when he found an unusual accessory decorating the wall next to his door. "Jazz?"
Jazz, who was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed and his sight seemingly glued to his feet; looked up and his face brightened immediately. "Hi, how was th'tutoring?"
"It was good. Quite productive." Prowl raised an optic brow and came to a stop just a couple of steps away from Jazz. He was sure he had seen the mech's expression being unusually serious and somewhat troubled. "You're back early from your party. I didn't think you would be back until a few more hours."
"Yeah, it kind of ended earlier than we expected." Jazz shrugged and tried to keep up his smile. He could have fooled others, but Prowl could tell something was not quite right with that statement. Prowl made a soft sound and opened the door, gesturing Jazz to go in.
"Going to tell me what happened?" Prowl asked once the door closed behind them.
"What makes ya think somethin' happened?" Jazz asked with all the innocence he could muster in a normally disarming grin.
Prowl, though, didn't buy it and crossed his arms, casually canting his head. "Do you really want me to explain why I can tell you're omitting to tell me something?"
Jazz's grin faded and he let out a long, tired sigh. "Party was okay fer a while, then it just kind of ended abruptly when a mech didn't get that no means no."
Prowl's wing panels tensed minutely and he crossed the distance to his friend, sensing whatever happened definitely involved Jazz first hand. "What happened exactly?" He touched Jazz's arm gently and the visored mechling smiled a little in gratitude for the caring hidden in the simple gesture.
"We were all jus' havin' fun for a while, then there was too much high grade involved for m'taste." Jazz shrugged a little and went to sit down on the small couch, venting another sigh. "Mechs got a little too cozy an' liberal with th'flirting and it was okay and in good fun."
"Then someone decided to take it into a more serious direction?
Jazz nodded, bringing a hand to his face to rub at it, feeling the events of the evening beginning to catch up to him. "Mech wanted t'find some dark place we could go to, but I told him I wasn't interested, tryin' to keep it friendly, y'know? He thought I was playin' hard to get, and I had to get serious and tell him I really didn't want to 'face him."
Prowl picked a cube and filled it on the dispenser attached to the wall, coming back and offering it to his friend, his wings were tense and was scanning Jazz for any structural damage or any signs of having gone through a fight and being hurt. "Did he try to hurt you?"
"He did try t'drag me out." Jazz accepted the cube gratefully.
"Did you hide the body when you were through with him?" Prowl asked in a tone that suggested while he was joking and trying to bring some lighter mood into the conversation, he was also being deadly serious.
Jazz did manage to smile, though. "I didn't get to that part. I only kicked his head into the wall...that kind of ended th'party 'cause they had t'take him to th'medics to make sure I didn't break anythin' vital for his continued function."
Prowl couldn't help himself and reached to cup one of Jazz's hands with his own. "I'm sure your friends do not hold it against you."
"I know they don't, he wasn't even a guest of my friend. Mech was a neighbor's spawn that invited himself in." Jazz nodded and sipped the energon as silence fell upon them, neither knowing what to say next.
Finally, Prowl broke the quiet that settled between them. "You came here to distract yourself, didn't you?" Jazz nodded, giving Prowl a sheepish little smile. Prowl couldn't help but feel the urge to do anything within his power to brighten Jazz's mood. In the back of his processor he knew he would have to find out the mech's name and although he never doubted Jazz would be capable of handling himself with such kind of mechs, Prowl wanted to make it clear for the scum that Jazz was not to be tampered with. He was fiercely protective of the few things he truly cared about and Jazz ranked quite high in that list.
"I didn't want t'go to bed just like that after this. I know I'd get no rest." Jazz finished the cube and set it down on the small table next to the couch. "I can go if yer tired, though. I'm sure th'sparklet was a hard strut to chew on."
When Jazz made a move to stand up, Prowl gripped his hand gently and shook his head. "It's quite all right. I'm not tired and I always have time for you, Jazz." He smiled a little to the other black and white mechlet. "I wouldn't be able to get some rest myself knowing I let you go when you're not feeling well yourself."
"Glad t'know yer own sleep plays such a heavy hand in my wellbeing." Jazz grinned and teased weakly.
"You shouldn't feel bad, though. That mech was asking for it." Prowl stood and tugged Jazz's hand, gesturing for his friend to stand up and follow him.
"I know I shouldn't, but it kinda ruins the mood, ya know? Ya tryin' to have a good time, some perfectly innocent fun an' some brute has t'come and step on that." Jazz huffed.
"I'm afraid some times that's the price to pay when you're an attractive mech." Prowl led Jazz to the berth, sitting down on it while he dug under the platform for one of the games he and Jazz usually played together.
Jazz smiled, a little happier this time. "Flatterer."
Prowl raised an optic brow while he opened the box and pulled out the game pieces. "Flatterer? How so?"
The visored mechling nodded, crossing his arms. "Callin' me attractive jus' now."
"I fail to see how stating a fact counts as flattery." Prowl canted his head. "I don't say it to make you feel better or just to throw a compliment to you. You are an attractive mech, I know you have a few admirers."
Jazz's smile dropped a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess."
Prowl reached a finger and tipped Jazz's face up. "Did I say something wrong?"
"What? No! Not at all." Jazz shook his head vigorously. "Jus' thought I had maybe offended ya sayin' that you were flatterin' me."
"Ah. No, you did not offend me, it's just that I have no need for flattery when honesty works much better." Prowl smiled at his friend and gestured to the board. "Your pick."
"I'm goin' red this time."
Prowl turned the board around so the red pieces faced Jazz. "For the record, Jazz, I do think you're an attractive mech. But only one part of the whole package, and I'm quite fond of the mech behind the good looking face plates."
Jazz grinned at Prowl's roundabout way to say things. "Ya can jus' say ya like my charmin' personality, Prowler."
Prowl snickered. "Now where the fun would be if I just outright say that?"
"Oh, so ya do like my charmin' personality."
"I never said such a thing."
"I think ya did just now."
"My memory must be faulty because I cannot remember saying such a thing at all."
"S'ok! Mine's workin' just fine."
"I'm sure it is."
The friendly bantering they shared eased them both, quickly leaving the unpleasant experience behind for the night as they engaged in a couple of games. By the time they finished the last game it was past the dorm's curfew and Jazz was going to sneak back into his room.
"Are you sure you will be all right?" Prowl asked while he saw Jazz to the door.
"Yeah, not th'first time I accidentally stayed past curfew." Jazz assured him with a bright smile. "Thanks for tonight, Prowl. I really needed this."
"Don't mention it." Prowl smiled back.
"See ya after class, then. Don't forget the shakes are on ya."
"I won't. Rest well, Jazz."
It was only when they parted that they released their fingers were intertwined when they walked to Prowl's door. Jazz's smile widened a little, and so did Prowl's as he watched his...more than just a friend now go back to his own room. When Jazz was out of sight, Prowl closed the door and went to his berth, laying down and tapping his fingers to his abdominal plates while he contemplated the future.
The next day, classes went as they normally did. Prowl conversed with the student whose brother he had tutored and was pleased to know the mechling's parents were happy with his work, and that apparently nobody had noticed the missing book file so far.
As Prowl gathered his pads when his class with Smokescreen was over, that the Praxian teacher approached him. Prowl couldn't help but feel something was going to happen and that he wasn't going to like it.
"Prowl," Smokescreen looked down at him with the most serious expression the mechlet had seen on his face plates. "We need to have a serious talk."