(no subject)
I made a pact with liona_skycat to post my latest chapter early if she'd post part of "Partners" (or maybe it was "Squishy"...I don't really remember) later today. So, I've kept up my part of the bargain, now it's your turn Sergeant Skycat! I'm sorry, that nick name will never die. I don't even remember where I came up with it.
Title: Cybernetics (Chapter 4!)
Author: Me...the speechie.
Rating: PG-13 for one naughty word
Pairings: Ironhide/Ratchet and brief, one-sided Ratchet/OC
Warnings: Weird political humor and vague sexual references
Summary: Ratchet and Ironhide act like total idiots while Prime gets the scoop on Natalie.
PLEASE READ MY A/N AT THE END, I HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. OKAY WELL, IT'S MORE LIKE A "SEMI-IMPORTANT QUESTION" BUT JUST ANSWER IT OKAY?
Chapter 4: Background
A/N: Here it is, another chapter I'm dissatisfied with. It's never a good sign when even the author is annoyed. When the hell is Barricade going to get here?! *sigh*
“Do you have any family you wish to notify of your whereabouts?” The large blue and red robot inquired.
She stared somewhat blankly in response.
The arms around her tightened in a comforting gesture and she leaned closer into the warm body beside her.
Her two new friends had decided to let their leader, a fearsome machine standing twenty-eight feet tall, explain their circumstances and place on Earth. Ratchet had decided that he should be the one to help Natalie walk while Ironhide was allowed to stay in his robotic form. The latter did not seem pleased by this proposition but was either of lower rank or not the one who wore the proverbial pants in their relationship, for he merely grumbled unhappily whilst complying.
With Ratchet’s hologram back on, Natalie was able to notice all the red flags that should have gone off considering his supposed humanity. For one, his hands were pleasantly warm. Everyone knows that doctors have notoriously bad circulation in their extremities, so he couldn’t possibly have been human. Or at least, he couldn’t have been a real doctor. Then there was the lack of a wedding band on his ring finger which (had she not known he was with Ironhide) coupled with his being stationed on a military base would have made very strange the fact that he wasn’t looking at her near visible breasts.
Natalie had been blessed at birth with a large frame. She had large breasts, wide hips, and what the boy’s back home called a “ghetto booty.” The medical officer could remember a time before bee-stung lips were desirable when they and her taller-than-average six feet of height had been the cause of much adolescent teasing. She supposed she had the stereotypical Southern black woman’s body (despite the fact she was from Michigan) and when combined with the grouchy attitude and sarcasm possessed by all military doctors she was quite a formidable opponent.
“Natalie,” Ratchet whispered, breath hot against her neck. It sent a shiver down her spine. When was the last time she’d had sex? Too long ago if the concerned voice of a holographic fifty-year-old was turning her on. His fingertips traced down her arm carefully, “do you want to contact your family?”
She thought about this for a moment. “Yes, but only to tell them that I’m not dead. My father does not need to know that I’m only partially human.”
Optimus Prime nodded, kneeling down in front of her. “First, I would like to ask you some questions for our records. Ratchet and Ironhide have both had a long day working on calibrating your many systems, so they shall return to their quarters and greet you again in the morning.” He informed her.
“Sir, if I may, I’d like to stay with her.” Ratchet protested.
“I’m sure you would.” Ironhide commented snidely.
Natalie felt Ratchet’s grip on her arm tighten. “Excuse me for wishing to be thorough in my work.”
Prime frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” The two responded together then shot one another a glare. Normally the sight of an immense machine and a human staring one another down would have been amusing, especially because the human was winning, but here Natalie felt awkward.
“Clearly something is wrong. I won’t have it interfering with your duties. Go work it out or I shall ask Mikaela to do it for you when she returns with Bumblebee.” Their leader warned.
Both the men sighed, “Yes Sir...” and departed, leaving Natalie alone with the other mech.
“You are intimidated by me.” He noted casually once they were alone.
“Just a little.” She squeaked in return.
“There is no need for you to be. I have no intentions to harm you.”
“You’re very big.” Natalie explained quietly.
“Perhaps I am normal sized and you are just very small.” He smiled warmly.
“Perhaps.” She smiled back and relaxed. “Now, what do you want to ask me?”
He stood to his full height and turned to face what looked like an enormous computer. A few windows were opened and closed on the screen as he answered. “I will read off what information we have on you, and you will tell me if it is correct.”
“Okay.” She nodded, waiting patiently for him to begin.
“Is your full name Natalie Jotrice Crossfire?”
“Yes.”
“Was your birthplace and last place of residence in Springfield, Michigan?”
“Correct.”
“Were you were born on October 31st, 1986 making you twenty-six years old?”
She nodded. “Don’t make any Halloween jokes, I’ve heard them all.”
Optimus ignored the comment and continued. “Have you ever committed an act of sedition, treason or espionage against the U.S. government?”
“What?! Why would you ask me that?!”
“Oh. Sorry. I was attempting to trick you in to answering honestly by first asking a series of questions of no real importance.” He replied. “Did I do it wrong?”
“Yes!”
“I see, then how does one do it correctly?”
“I’m not telling you that!!”
“You are making yourself appear suspicious...”
***
“What is going on?!” Ironhide demanded, following Ratchet as he stalked back to his quarters.
“You assume too much. What makes you think anything is going on?” Ratchet shot back.
“We’ve been together for more than 50% of our time alive so far and you don’t consider yourself to be my mate?!”
Ratchet spun around to face him and ground out. “You. Never. Asked.” He moved to turn and walk away but Ironhide grabbed his arm.
“You should have known!”
“How could I have possibly known?!” Ratchet was shouting now, drawing the stares of the occasional passerby.
“How could you not have known?!”
The two stared at each other in tense silence, unsure of what to say next.
Roughly, Ironhide tugged the other mech closer to him and spoke tersely. “Fine. Ratchet, your aft belongs to me. Anyone so much as looks at you and I will tear them limb from limb for entertaining the thought of you being anything but mine.”
“How brutally territorial of you.” The medic sneered and pulled away. “Much as I appreciate the sentiment, you still haven’t asked and therefore I still do not ’belong’ to you.”
With that he began to walk away once more, leaving Ironhide to stand there feeling hopeless and confused.
“Uh...aren’t you gonna go after him?” Jetfire asked, leaning out the door of his own quarters and into the hall.
“I wouldn’t know what to say if I did.” He said, staring down at the floor dejectedly, uncaring that the other mech had obviously been eavesdropping.
“Ask him if he wants to be yours, you scrap heap.” The younger bot advised, shaking his head.
“Of course he does!...And watch who you’re calling ‘scrap heap’ youngling.” Ironhide growled, marching off in the direction Ratchet had gone in.
He was about to round the corner when the bot he’d been going after crashed into him. Ratchet appeared to have been running. They tumbled to the floor from the inertia and the medic pulled him close. “I thought for sure you’d keep following me! Then you didn’t and I thought-“
“Calm down, calm down. You’re acting like a sparkling for Primus’ sake.” Ironhide mumbled, sitting up with Ratchet still sprawled in his lap, fussing over his scratched paint.
“Are you hurt? You know the armor on your shoulders has yet to heal from the last Decepticon attack, you could have aggravated it when we collided and fell! Here, move, let me check it!...are you laughing at me?”
“No.” Ironhide lied.
“For your sake I hope not.” He murmured, leaning forward to check for damage. As Ratchet pressed against him, the chest plates his spark lay beneath were thrust temptingly against his own. Anger flooded him as he wondered whether other patients were given this kind of treatment. Nobody else had better be getting with fifteen feet of his lover’s spark. With a surge of guilt he realized that said lover was speaking to him.
“...stuff that’s been coming up as of late I’ve been very stressed. I don’t mean to take it out on you. Forgive me?”
Ironhide paused to think about it, though they both knew he had no real choice. “...maybe.”
“Thank you.” Ratchet whispered against his audio receptor. “I did know you wanted to mark me, I was just mad.”
“Can I mark you now?” Ironhide murmured suggestively, trailing his fingers along sensitive inner wiring.
“Only if I can mark you.” The mech gazed up at him with pleading blue optics. “‘Hide?”
“Actually, I was going to let Starscream mark me.” He replied, sarcasm dripping from the words.
Ratchet chuckled and helped his lover to his feet to the sound of (somewhat patronizing) applause from the Autobots that had gathered around to watch without their noticing. The two exchanged a look before Ratchet spat, “Stop it. You all can suck slag for all I care.” as they walked away.
***
“What is your favorite color?”
She sighed heavily. “Blue.”
“Have you ever experimented with illegal drugs?”
“No.”
“Have you ever thought of committing an act of sedition, treason-“
“NO!” She groaned. “Why do you keep asking me that?! It’s because I’m a registered democrat isn’t it?”
Optimus shook his head. “We are part of a secret organization. Your government selected you and only you to experiment on, to convert to our technology. I want to know why they trust you and if we should as well.”
Natalie thought about this. “Perhaps it has less to do with trust and more to do with build. I’m muscular, healthy, knowledgeable in how the human body works...”
“Believe me Crossfire, it is trust.” He commented cryptically. “I don’t think you yet realize what you are.”
She shivered a little at his words, recalling her systems check.
Weapons..........manually disabled
“I see on your record that you once vandalized a car.” Optimus commented, drawing her out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, it was my boyfriend’s.” She replied. “I’m betting you guys take that pretty seriously here.”
“Indeed.”
“Look, I caught him cheating on me with three strippers. At the same time. He deserved it.” Natalie said defensively.
He nodded. “Is that why you carved the words ‘go find another cum bucket’ into the back seat?”
She blushed. “Er, well, yes...”
A/N: If you haven’t noticed yet, I thoroughly enjoy making the older, more conservative bots (like Prime and Ratchet) use dirty phrases. Heh, “cum bucket.” lol
Anyways, here's my question: would you guys rather see more character development or should I just skip to writing the good part (a.k.a. scenes with 'Cade)?
Title: Cybernetics (Chapter 4!)
Author: Me...the speechie.
Rating: PG-13 for one naughty word
Pairings: Ironhide/Ratchet and brief, one-sided Ratchet/OC
Warnings: Weird political humor and vague sexual references
Summary: Ratchet and Ironhide act like total idiots while Prime gets the scoop on Natalie.
PLEASE READ MY A/N AT THE END, I HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. OKAY WELL, IT'S MORE LIKE A "SEMI-IMPORTANT QUESTION" BUT JUST ANSWER IT OKAY?
Chapter 4: Background
A/N: Here it is, another chapter I'm dissatisfied with. It's never a good sign when even the author is annoyed. When the hell is Barricade going to get here?! *sigh*
“Do you have any family you wish to notify of your whereabouts?” The large blue and red robot inquired.
She stared somewhat blankly in response.
The arms around her tightened in a comforting gesture and she leaned closer into the warm body beside her.
Her two new friends had decided to let their leader, a fearsome machine standing twenty-eight feet tall, explain their circumstances and place on Earth. Ratchet had decided that he should be the one to help Natalie walk while Ironhide was allowed to stay in his robotic form. The latter did not seem pleased by this proposition but was either of lower rank or not the one who wore the proverbial pants in their relationship, for he merely grumbled unhappily whilst complying.
With Ratchet’s hologram back on, Natalie was able to notice all the red flags that should have gone off considering his supposed humanity. For one, his hands were pleasantly warm. Everyone knows that doctors have notoriously bad circulation in their extremities, so he couldn’t possibly have been human. Or at least, he couldn’t have been a real doctor. Then there was the lack of a wedding band on his ring finger which (had she not known he was with Ironhide) coupled with his being stationed on a military base would have made very strange the fact that he wasn’t looking at her near visible breasts.
Natalie had been blessed at birth with a large frame. She had large breasts, wide hips, and what the boy’s back home called a “ghetto booty.” The medical officer could remember a time before bee-stung lips were desirable when they and her taller-than-average six feet of height had been the cause of much adolescent teasing. She supposed she had the stereotypical Southern black woman’s body (despite the fact she was from Michigan) and when combined with the grouchy attitude and sarcasm possessed by all military doctors she was quite a formidable opponent.
“Natalie,” Ratchet whispered, breath hot against her neck. It sent a shiver down her spine. When was the last time she’d had sex? Too long ago if the concerned voice of a holographic fifty-year-old was turning her on. His fingertips traced down her arm carefully, “do you want to contact your family?”
She thought about this for a moment. “Yes, but only to tell them that I’m not dead. My father does not need to know that I’m only partially human.”
Optimus Prime nodded, kneeling down in front of her. “First, I would like to ask you some questions for our records. Ratchet and Ironhide have both had a long day working on calibrating your many systems, so they shall return to their quarters and greet you again in the morning.” He informed her.
“Sir, if I may, I’d like to stay with her.” Ratchet protested.
“I’m sure you would.” Ironhide commented snidely.
Natalie felt Ratchet’s grip on her arm tighten. “Excuse me for wishing to be thorough in my work.”
Prime frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” The two responded together then shot one another a glare. Normally the sight of an immense machine and a human staring one another down would have been amusing, especially because the human was winning, but here Natalie felt awkward.
“Clearly something is wrong. I won’t have it interfering with your duties. Go work it out or I shall ask Mikaela to do it for you when she returns with Bumblebee.” Their leader warned.
Both the men sighed, “Yes Sir...” and departed, leaving Natalie alone with the other mech.
“You are intimidated by me.” He noted casually once they were alone.
“Just a little.” She squeaked in return.
“There is no need for you to be. I have no intentions to harm you.”
“You’re very big.” Natalie explained quietly.
“Perhaps I am normal sized and you are just very small.” He smiled warmly.
“Perhaps.” She smiled back and relaxed. “Now, what do you want to ask me?”
He stood to his full height and turned to face what looked like an enormous computer. A few windows were opened and closed on the screen as he answered. “I will read off what information we have on you, and you will tell me if it is correct.”
“Okay.” She nodded, waiting patiently for him to begin.
“Is your full name Natalie Jotrice Crossfire?”
“Yes.”
“Was your birthplace and last place of residence in Springfield, Michigan?”
“Correct.”
“Were you were born on October 31st, 1986 making you twenty-six years old?”
She nodded. “Don’t make any Halloween jokes, I’ve heard them all.”
Optimus ignored the comment and continued. “Have you ever committed an act of sedition, treason or espionage against the U.S. government?”
“What?! Why would you ask me that?!”
“Oh. Sorry. I was attempting to trick you in to answering honestly by first asking a series of questions of no real importance.” He replied. “Did I do it wrong?”
“Yes!”
“I see, then how does one do it correctly?”
“I’m not telling you that!!”
“You are making yourself appear suspicious...”
***
“What is going on?!” Ironhide demanded, following Ratchet as he stalked back to his quarters.
“You assume too much. What makes you think anything is going on?” Ratchet shot back.
“We’ve been together for more than 50% of our time alive so far and you don’t consider yourself to be my mate?!”
Ratchet spun around to face him and ground out. “You. Never. Asked.” He moved to turn and walk away but Ironhide grabbed his arm.
“You should have known!”
“How could I have possibly known?!” Ratchet was shouting now, drawing the stares of the occasional passerby.
“How could you not have known?!”
The two stared at each other in tense silence, unsure of what to say next.
Roughly, Ironhide tugged the other mech closer to him and spoke tersely. “Fine. Ratchet, your aft belongs to me. Anyone so much as looks at you and I will tear them limb from limb for entertaining the thought of you being anything but mine.”
“How brutally territorial of you.” The medic sneered and pulled away. “Much as I appreciate the sentiment, you still haven’t asked and therefore I still do not ’belong’ to you.”
With that he began to walk away once more, leaving Ironhide to stand there feeling hopeless and confused.
“Uh...aren’t you gonna go after him?” Jetfire asked, leaning out the door of his own quarters and into the hall.
“I wouldn’t know what to say if I did.” He said, staring down at the floor dejectedly, uncaring that the other mech had obviously been eavesdropping.
“Ask him if he wants to be yours, you scrap heap.” The younger bot advised, shaking his head.
“Of course he does!...And watch who you’re calling ‘scrap heap’ youngling.” Ironhide growled, marching off in the direction Ratchet had gone in.
He was about to round the corner when the bot he’d been going after crashed into him. Ratchet appeared to have been running. They tumbled to the floor from the inertia and the medic pulled him close. “I thought for sure you’d keep following me! Then you didn’t and I thought-“
“Calm down, calm down. You’re acting like a sparkling for Primus’ sake.” Ironhide mumbled, sitting up with Ratchet still sprawled in his lap, fussing over his scratched paint.
“Are you hurt? You know the armor on your shoulders has yet to heal from the last Decepticon attack, you could have aggravated it when we collided and fell! Here, move, let me check it!...are you laughing at me?”
“No.” Ironhide lied.
“For your sake I hope not.” He murmured, leaning forward to check for damage. As Ratchet pressed against him, the chest plates his spark lay beneath were thrust temptingly against his own. Anger flooded him as he wondered whether other patients were given this kind of treatment. Nobody else had better be getting with fifteen feet of his lover’s spark. With a surge of guilt he realized that said lover was speaking to him.
“...stuff that’s been coming up as of late I’ve been very stressed. I don’t mean to take it out on you. Forgive me?”
Ironhide paused to think about it, though they both knew he had no real choice. “...maybe.”
“Thank you.” Ratchet whispered against his audio receptor. “I did know you wanted to mark me, I was just mad.”
“Can I mark you now?” Ironhide murmured suggestively, trailing his fingers along sensitive inner wiring.
“Only if I can mark you.” The mech gazed up at him with pleading blue optics. “‘Hide?”
“Actually, I was going to let Starscream mark me.” He replied, sarcasm dripping from the words.
Ratchet chuckled and helped his lover to his feet to the sound of (somewhat patronizing) applause from the Autobots that had gathered around to watch without their noticing. The two exchanged a look before Ratchet spat, “Stop it. You all can suck slag for all I care.” as they walked away.
***
“What is your favorite color?”
She sighed heavily. “Blue.”
“Have you ever experimented with illegal drugs?”
“No.”
“Have you ever thought of committing an act of sedition, treason-“
“NO!” She groaned. “Why do you keep asking me that?! It’s because I’m a registered democrat isn’t it?”
Optimus shook his head. “We are part of a secret organization. Your government selected you and only you to experiment on, to convert to our technology. I want to know why they trust you and if we should as well.”
Natalie thought about this. “Perhaps it has less to do with trust and more to do with build. I’m muscular, healthy, knowledgeable in how the human body works...”
“Believe me Crossfire, it is trust.” He commented cryptically. “I don’t think you yet realize what you are.”
She shivered a little at his words, recalling her systems check.
Weapons..........manually disabled
“I see on your record that you once vandalized a car.” Optimus commented, drawing her out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, it was my boyfriend’s.” She replied. “I’m betting you guys take that pretty seriously here.”
“Indeed.”
“Look, I caught him cheating on me with three strippers. At the same time. He deserved it.” Natalie said defensively.
He nodded. “Is that why you carved the words ‘go find another cum bucket’ into the back seat?”
She blushed. “Er, well, yes...”
A/N: If you haven’t noticed yet, I thoroughly enjoy making the older, more conservative bots (like Prime and Ratchet) use dirty phrases. Heh, “cum bucket.” lol
Anyways, here's my question: would you guys rather see more character development or should I just skip to writing the good part (a.k.a. scenes with 'Cade)?