Challenge ficlet
Title: The Dark of the Night
Week: 4
Prompt: "Friens till the bitter end."
Verse: G1 WFC/Exodus
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1019
Warnings: Spoilers for the Exodus novel.
Summary: War took much from him but also gave him two of his best soldiers and closest friends.
Notes: For the Prowl x Jazz Anniversary challenge @ prowlxjazz. Happy Anniversary to all in the pxj community, here's to many more to come.
Not beta read.
Stars carpeted the darkness of the endless expanse of the universe. It wasn’t a sight that was unfamiliar to him considering that all that could be seen from Cybertron’s was the vast space dotted with the light of stars in the distance. Watching the stars filled him with melancholy.
It was not the view but rather the reasons he was currently watching the stars moving through the glass of his private chambers what filled him with melancholy. A couple of cycles had gone by since they left Cybertron following the wisdom the Matrix of leadership foretold that for the war ravaged planet to heal they needed to depart.
Leaving behind the only home they’d ever known was one of the hardest if not the hardest thing they had done in their lives. Leaving behind Ultra Magnus and his mentor Alpha Trion made this whole experience all that much harder for him.
Without Alpha Trion he felt lost but he knew the wisdom of his words rang true -he needed to grow up and stop relying on the mech he was certain was one of the Thirteen to make his decisions and find confidence.
“Hey, OP!” Jazz’s voice outside the door of his chambers alerted him that his oldest friend was doing his sitting duty, making sure he was resting and taking care of himself while they engaged in this seemingly directionless trip.
“Come in, Jazz, the lock is off.” Optimus didn’t bother to look away from the window.
“You know…” Prowl’s voice was half unexpected, as Optimus had not heard his footsteps when coming into the room. But even so, it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see Prowl and Jazz hanging together more often than not. A few members of the crew joked about the pair having become his ‘watchdogs’, doing everything for him while he gathered himself back together.
“Yes, Prowl?” Optimus prompted without tearing his glance away from the sight he’d been beholding almost since they left Cybertron.
“Staring at the stars in this deep state of melancholy you are currently sporting isn’t going to do any good for you or these troops in the long run. The crew will need you to step up to the task and give it direction soon.” Prowl held his arms behind his back, giving a glance around as if he was inspecting the quarters’ upkeep but in all reality just averting his gaze away from Optimus out of respect for his silent mourning.
“He’s right, OP.” Jazz leaned against one of the pieces of utilitarian furnishing in the room. “Ya gonna have t’get yourself back to speed, mech. It ain’t that we want t’rush ya or anythin’ but the crew needs you more than ever an’ being holed up here since we left isn’t givin’ them the greatest sense of comfort.”
“We will do what we can to handle the minutiae of running the crew and keep them busy while you find your own sense of direction, however they would feel much more reassured if you came out of your quarters once in a while to let them know you have no descended into despair just yet.” Prowl looked at Optimus for a moment before he went back to his aimless scrutiny of his surroundings. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can afford, but we can only hold this ship together for you for so long.”
“I know this and I thank you both for the efforts you’ve put forward to run things for me,” Optimus spoke softly but firmly. “I know I have holed myself here in search of direction and I’ve not given the crew a chance to see I’m as convinced now as I was before of what we’re doing. I will remedy the situation of my absence shortly.”
“S’fine OP. We’ll just come up with some story ‘bout you needin’ to commute with the matrix of leadership or somethin’. Y’know the crew loves those stories ‘bout the Matrix.”
Optimus smiled behind his mask. Despite the joke behind Jazz’s words there was actually some truth in them. For all the melancholy he felt as he watched the stars, reminiscing and missing the friends and mentor left behind, the Matrix had continued to speak to him to show him and re-assure him he was destined for this, and this was the action he had to take for the good of his Autobots and all the future of Cybertron as a whole.
“We brought a ration for you, do not forget to refuel,” Prowl said as he set down a small cube of energon on a table nearby. “Come on, Jazz. We have much to do still.”
“Aye! Catch ya later, Optimus!” Jazz waved as he followed Prowl out of the room.
Once he was left alone in the silence of his darkened room, the mech once called Orion Pax, the librarian Megatron once called a brother; took a moment to reflect on what the war took from him and everyone else but also how said war brought him to mechs he wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Jazz was his oldest friend and stuck with him through thick and thin and now Prowl who along with Jazz took over the role of directing this makeshift army and crew to support him, had demonstrated more than duty towards him in his actions. Of all mechs that had joined him, of all the mechs that lost all they had and all they were before the war, both were now two of his closest friends and he knew through their common goal were striking a deep friendship of their own.
They had proven to be a force to be reckoned and despite their personalities and different skill sets, they proved capable of complementing each other to get the best out of each one and put that together for the benefit of their Prime and crew.
He didn’t know with certainty what the future held for them, for his crew and their home planet, but he knew that no matter what, those friends would be there with him till the bitter end.
Week: 4
Prompt: "Friens till the bitter end."
Verse: G1 WFC/Exodus
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1019
Warnings: Spoilers for the Exodus novel.
Summary: War took much from him but also gave him two of his best soldiers and closest friends.
Notes: For the Prowl x Jazz Anniversary challenge @ prowlxjazz. Happy Anniversary to all in the pxj community, here's to many more to come.
Not beta read.
Stars carpeted the darkness of the endless expanse of the universe. It wasn’t a sight that was unfamiliar to him considering that all that could be seen from Cybertron’s was the vast space dotted with the light of stars in the distance. Watching the stars filled him with melancholy.
It was not the view but rather the reasons he was currently watching the stars moving through the glass of his private chambers what filled him with melancholy. A couple of cycles had gone by since they left Cybertron following the wisdom the Matrix of leadership foretold that for the war ravaged planet to heal they needed to depart.
Leaving behind the only home they’d ever known was one of the hardest if not the hardest thing they had done in their lives. Leaving behind Ultra Magnus and his mentor Alpha Trion made this whole experience all that much harder for him.
Without Alpha Trion he felt lost but he knew the wisdom of his words rang true -he needed to grow up and stop relying on the mech he was certain was one of the Thirteen to make his decisions and find confidence.
“Hey, OP!” Jazz’s voice outside the door of his chambers alerted him that his oldest friend was doing his sitting duty, making sure he was resting and taking care of himself while they engaged in this seemingly directionless trip.
“Come in, Jazz, the lock is off.” Optimus didn’t bother to look away from the window.
“You know…” Prowl’s voice was half unexpected, as Optimus had not heard his footsteps when coming into the room. But even so, it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see Prowl and Jazz hanging together more often than not. A few members of the crew joked about the pair having become his ‘watchdogs’, doing everything for him while he gathered himself back together.
“Yes, Prowl?” Optimus prompted without tearing his glance away from the sight he’d been beholding almost since they left Cybertron.
“Staring at the stars in this deep state of melancholy you are currently sporting isn’t going to do any good for you or these troops in the long run. The crew will need you to step up to the task and give it direction soon.” Prowl held his arms behind his back, giving a glance around as if he was inspecting the quarters’ upkeep but in all reality just averting his gaze away from Optimus out of respect for his silent mourning.
“He’s right, OP.” Jazz leaned against one of the pieces of utilitarian furnishing in the room. “Ya gonna have t’get yourself back to speed, mech. It ain’t that we want t’rush ya or anythin’ but the crew needs you more than ever an’ being holed up here since we left isn’t givin’ them the greatest sense of comfort.”
“We will do what we can to handle the minutiae of running the crew and keep them busy while you find your own sense of direction, however they would feel much more reassured if you came out of your quarters once in a while to let them know you have no descended into despair just yet.” Prowl looked at Optimus for a moment before he went back to his aimless scrutiny of his surroundings. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can afford, but we can only hold this ship together for you for so long.”
“I know this and I thank you both for the efforts you’ve put forward to run things for me,” Optimus spoke softly but firmly. “I know I have holed myself here in search of direction and I’ve not given the crew a chance to see I’m as convinced now as I was before of what we’re doing. I will remedy the situation of my absence shortly.”
“S’fine OP. We’ll just come up with some story ‘bout you needin’ to commute with the matrix of leadership or somethin’. Y’know the crew loves those stories ‘bout the Matrix.”
Optimus smiled behind his mask. Despite the joke behind Jazz’s words there was actually some truth in them. For all the melancholy he felt as he watched the stars, reminiscing and missing the friends and mentor left behind, the Matrix had continued to speak to him to show him and re-assure him he was destined for this, and this was the action he had to take for the good of his Autobots and all the future of Cybertron as a whole.
“We brought a ration for you, do not forget to refuel,” Prowl said as he set down a small cube of energon on a table nearby. “Come on, Jazz. We have much to do still.”
“Aye! Catch ya later, Optimus!” Jazz waved as he followed Prowl out of the room.
Once he was left alone in the silence of his darkened room, the mech once called Orion Pax, the librarian Megatron once called a brother; took a moment to reflect on what the war took from him and everyone else but also how said war brought him to mechs he wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Jazz was his oldest friend and stuck with him through thick and thin and now Prowl who along with Jazz took over the role of directing this makeshift army and crew to support him, had demonstrated more than duty towards him in his actions. Of all mechs that had joined him, of all the mechs that lost all they had and all they were before the war, both were now two of his closest friends and he knew through their common goal were striking a deep friendship of their own.
They had proven to be a force to be reckoned and despite their personalities and different skill sets, they proved capable of complementing each other to get the best out of each one and put that together for the benefit of their Prime and crew.
He didn’t know with certainty what the future held for them, for his crew and their home planet, but he knew that no matter what, those friends would be there with him till the bitter end.