FIC: Lovesong - Chapter 2
Title: Lovesong - Chapter Two
Author: odd_stick
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and such are owned by Hasbro and friends.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Character(s): Ironhide/Ratchet/Wheeljack (Bayverse)
Summary: AU after 2009 movie. The one they thought lost finds his way back to them. It’s been a long and hard journey, and it’s not getting easier.
Warnings (for this chapter): Light snogging
Formatting Notes: Italicized section = flashback; ::text:: = communication over a Bond; “text” = spoken Cybertronian - format used when intermixed with other languages; //text// = comm. link communication.
While on Earth, the Cybertronians will be speaking English, unless noted otherwise, and will only use their spoken native language sometimes. If the reason for this doesn’t come up later in the story, it will be further explained at the end.
A/N: Second chapter of a series in progress that starts with Reunion - Mending. The title is from the song, “Lovesong” by the Cure. (I know it’s two separate words, but the song title uses it as one.)
Chapter One
*****
The energon seeping from the side of Ironhide’s helm worried Wheeljack, and the repetitive reassurances from Ratchet weren’t helping. The two smaller mechs were on either side of the soldier, supporting him as he stumbled down the corridor in the wake of the last Neutral stragglers. Even if they hadn’t been the ones to send the refugees that direction, it wouldn’t have been hard to track the group what with the sparse trail of still glowing energon on the floor leading the way.
Wheeljack nearly lost his footing when he stumbled over a piece of rubble, jarring Ironhide and earning a pained groan from the dark mech. Quick apologies poured from his vocoder as his head fins cast the dim hallway in sharp edges of light and shadow.
“Hush ‘Jack,” Ironhide grunted. “‘S’okay.”
Wheeljack’s tired smile, though hidden behind his blast mask, quickly disappeared when a loud explosion echoed from behind them. The walls and floor trembled as the shockwave shook the very structure of the building that was already falling down around them. All three mechs froze for half a nanoklik before readjusting their holds on one another and resuming their march.
When the voices of the Decepticons reached his audio receptors, Wheeljack’s intakes hitched. The monsters chasing them weren’t warriors, they were murderers. The sociopathic scum had been sent into the Neutral camp to kill those that wouldn’t convert, and now they were giving chase, howling like beasts herding prey. Luckily, Wheeljack and his Trine had found the camp first, though they had barely had enough time to warn the Neutrals when the first wave hit.
Now though, the Neutrals, while mostly injured, were safely in the lead, but all that stood between them and the Decepticons was a single Autobot Trine. Wheeljack tried to ignore the fact that their Trine only had one trained warrior in its group and said warrior was currently injured. His mind raced, searching for a way to save his Bonded and the Neutrals.
Inspiration came in the form of an out of service security terminal, its screen repeatedly flashing an error message. “Ratchet, you go on with Ironhide. I’ve got an idea on how to cause these Decepticons a serious processor ache.”
“What? No!” the medic exclaimed. “We need to stick together. We’re almost outside, and once were in the open we can drive back to base.”
“The more time you spend here arguing, the less time I’ll have to build the bomb. Please, just go on ahead.” Wheeljack ducked out from under Ironhide’s arm and met first one and then the other’s optics. “It has to be a big enough explosion to bury them, and I need you two far enough away so I won’t be worrying about you getting caught in the blast. Don’t worry,” he said as he rested a hand on each chassis before him, “I’ll catch up.”
Silence stretched between them, but their feelings floated freely along the ties of their Bond. “C’mon Ratch’,” Ironhide said as he took a step towards their destination.
The medic barely shifted under the larger mech’s weight, his pedes firmly planted. With his free hand he reached out and pulled Wheeljack close, his sensors and fingers running over armor plating. Ironhide sighed as he gripped the pale arm closest to him and squeezed gently. Their Third smiled at them, a reassuring hum escaping his vocoder. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”
“You better be,” Ratchet growled as he finally averted his optics and rearranged the hold he had on the injured soldier.
As they stepped past the engineer, Ironhide smirked. “See ya in a bit.” Wheeljack tried to ignore the faint glow of energon streaked across the large mech’s denta.
His optics tracked their progress for five paces before he turned and rushed over to the security terminal. Pulling some tools from his subspace with one hand and transforming the other, he began to tear the machine apart. He peeled back the panels, bending them into the shapes he wanted with physical strength, using his portable heating torch to make the tougher sections more malleable. Multi-colored wires were cut, spliced, and stripped bare as he rearranged a relatively harmless piece of equipment into a weapon.
::Hurry:: whispered his Bond mates.
The Decepticons drew closer. Their words would have been intelligible if he had taken the time to listen, but he was too focused on measuring out the volatile elements he’d taken to carrying in his subspace once the War had broken out. H was so deep in his concentration that he didn’t notice the squawks of surprise when he was spotted.
The blaster shot that pierced his thigh quickly had his attention though. A cry of pain escaped his vocoder as his leg collapsed under him, the raucous laughter of the ‘cons echoing off the crumbling walls.
::Are you two outside yet?::
::Yes. Where are you? Hurry::
Wheeljack knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun the Decepticons or the bomb now that his leg was ruined. Well, he thought, Creator always said I’d blow myself up one day. Making a few miniscule changes to the makeshift chaos in his hands, he reached out to his Mates one last time. :: Love you both:: he sent over the Bond before slamming down a mental barrier between himself and his Trine. Then he flipped the switch and threw the bomb into the midst of their enemies.
~*~*~*~*~
Blue optics flickered online as Wheeljack came out of recharge. He studied the unfamiliar ceiling, initial panic calmed by the knowledge that the warm bodies wrapped around him were those of his Bonded. He squeezed the hand that held his while turning his helm enough to nuzzle an exposed throat. Another hand, settled his hip, twitched. The fingers grasped while the ankle on top of his shifted. A deep rumble superseded his continued exploration of the offered neck.
“Morning ‘Jack,” Ironhide drawled. It turned out that it was his hand on the Mustang’s hip, as the fingers curled, gently tugging at seams and edges.
“Wonderful morning,” the engineer greeted as he tilted his helm back to meet the dark mech’s gaze. “Ratchet still in recharge?”
Ironhide didn’t have to stretch far to peer over Wheeljack’s smaller frame. “Like a hatchling,” he managed to say before losing his words to his Bonded’s talented glossa running over the edges of his breast armor plating and grill. Recovering from the pleasant distraction, Ironhide pulled his hand away from the Mustang’s hip and brought it to his helm to rest on a head fin. Thumb stroking along the ridges, the larger mech hummed a low note in pleasure.
Wheeljack shifted slightly and wormed his way into a closer embrace, wrapping his arms as far as he could around Ironhide’s waist while further entangling their legs. “Love you,” he said with a smile into the bulky chassis.
The black mech hugged him close and though he gave no spoken reply, the love and affection he felt for his Trine mates flowed through their Bond loud and clear. Wheeljack’s frame relaxed in the safety of those strong arms and he was sorely tempted to slip back into recharge. Unfortunately, while Optimus Prime had been able to curtail the attention of the Intelligence and Security officers last night, they all knew that the newly arrived Autobot needed to be officially inducted under the watchful gaze of their Earth allies as soon as possible.
The two mechs reluctantly extricated themselves from the tangle of limbs. Ironhide rolled off of the berth, taking a moment to stretch out any kinks that may have formed in his inner workings overnight. He watched with appreciative optics as Wheeljack did the same upon the berth; the smaller mech knew full well how enticing he looked. A wicked grin spread across his face before the blue and white mech rolled over and onto the still recharging form of Ratchet. The medic grunted when the other ‘bot settled his full weight on top of him and his optics shuttered until fully lit and aware.
“Wheeljack?” he asked, voice still laced with leftover static from the night before and a full recharge.
The mech in question dove in to steal a kiss from the confused medic before replying, “Good morning!”
Ratchet groaned and rolled to the side, causing the engineer to lose his balance and tumble back to the berth. “After all this time, I still don’t understand how you can be so cheerful so soon after coming out of recharge,” the chartreuse medic grumbled from behind the arm he had thrown over his face.
“Time to get up Ratch’,” Ironhide said with an unsympathetic smirk on his face. “We need to get ‘Jack checked in and registered so the humans don’t throw a fit.”
An unintelligible snarl was his answer. Wheeljack propped his elbow on the medic’s chassis and rested his chin on his open palm. “I was just thinking that it’s been a very long time since I’ve had my systems checked by someone that knew what they were doing,” he said with a thoughtful air. “I’m definitely behind on my regularly scheduled maintenance exams. You don’t happen to know if there’s a certified doc-bot around here do you?”
The CMO lifted his arm just enough for blue optics to peek out. Frowning at their Third he replied, “As soon as you are done with the natives, you will report to my med bay. No excuses.”
“Thought so,” the blue and white mech said with a small smile. “Want to join Ironhide in escorting me to what passes for an energon dispenser around here and then to wherever I’m supposed to officially check in?”
Ratchet rolled and prodded Wheeljack off of the berth so he could stand as well. The chartreuse mech rolled his shoulders as he vented a deep full body sigh, then grabbed Wheeljack and pulled him into a hug. “Good morning lover,” he said before placing a soft kiss on the closest cheek.
Wheeljack’s engine purred happily. He turned his helm so he could make it a real kiss. “I wouldn’t mind having that check-up now, doc-bot,” the blue and white mech whispered flirtatiously.
A delicious shiver ran up Ratchet’s back strut and he had to momentarily lock down his vocoder to suppress the needy moan that tried to escape. Barely trusting his own voice, he forced himself to decline the offer. “As…inviting as that sounds, we can’t keep Optimus and the others waiting. Ever since we became known to this planet’s public eye, we have had to be very careful about which rules we bend. We are the first alien life that the public has been informed of, and we make them nervous.”
The engineer frowned, but nodded his understanding. “All right,” he said before the frown morphed into a lascivious grin. “But I’ll be looking forward to my exam.”
If Ratchet could have blushed, he would have when the feeling of Ironhide’s mirth and lingering lust spiked over the shared space of their Bond. “Enough, enough,” he growled as he threw his hands up in the air. The medic wanted to play at hedonism and lay in the berth all day with his Mates, but he knew that the sooner they took care of the formalities the more time for themselves they would have later. He clasped Wheeljack’s hand and dragged the laughing mech behind him as he stomped over to Ironhide and grabbed his arm. The warm adoration from his Mates nearly ruined his show of irritation, but it didn’t stop him from dragging the two of them out of the warehouse and into the first rays of sunshine just barely peeking over the horizon.
*****
Chapter 3