December Challenge: "Snuggling For Warmth"
"You indulge me far too much," Perceptor offers shyly as he glances over his shoulder at Rodimus before stooping to examine the point of a faint rose-colored crystal peeping up from under the thin blanket of snow that had fallen over the past few days. "You really did not have to accompany me today." Not that Perceptor doesn't want Rodimus around. Quite the contrary. He just understands that traipsing about parts unknown of their new home watching Perceptor examine the various bits and baubs that catch his attention cannot be all that exciting for the young Prime.
"Well, it wasn't entirely without ulterior motive," Rodimus admits with a crooked grin. "I wanted to get out for a while." And spend time with you, the young Prime doesn't say. Their new relationship seems too fragile, too precious to refer to so casually. Nevertheless, he's enjoying watching Perceptor flit from crystal to crystal like a strange alien butterfly, perfectly at home in the flowerless winter.
"Still," he adds, glancing up at the sky, "let's not stay out too much longer. I don't like that sky." The clouds are piling up overhead: pure white with gray streaks emanating from their centers. Snow blossoms - heralds of a heavy snowstorm.
Perceptor glances back again, the soft warmth in the grin he offers Roddy indicating that he'd heard those unspoken words... and agreed with both sentiments. "Well, we have been rather distracted indoors, of late," he agrees, then glances away before Roddy can see the flush threatening to creep across his cheekplates. The sky. Yes, he should evaluate the sky. Ahem. "Hmmm... Based upon my calculations, I believe that we have at least three hours before the weather should be of any significant concern," he disagrees. "But, if you wish, we can return now?" He can always come back out some other time to try and locate those snow crocus he was hoping to find for the greenhouse, after all. Hopefully they will still be around.
Rodimus feels his own faceplates heat, seeing Perceptor's knowing-and-agreeing smile. It has always been this way with the scientist, his spark like an open file, and as always, Rodimus found he doesn't mind. ...And he flushes even hotter when Perceptor alludes to their indoor activities. ...Right. Concentrate. "Well... let's stay out for two more hours. That should give us plenty of leeway in case the storm gets here quicker than expected."
Not always, really, but some things are easier to guess at when they think so alike about certain topics. Rodimus has always been more astute about Perceptor's thoughts and moods than anyone else, as well. He's always been more willing to simply listen, which really is the first step to winning the scientist's spark.
"Two hours should be more than enough time to complete my survey," he replies, turning a brilliant smile of gratitude up upon Rodimus. "Thank you. Oh!" he exclaims, rising and crossing the distance between them, brushing Roddy's shoulder not-so-accidentally as he passes to examine a growth of dusky grey moss growing upon the trunk of a tree behind Rodimus.
Rodimus stands still for a moment, optics dim, savoring the warmth lingering from that brief, simple touch. "Any time," he murmurs with a smile, and turns his back on the massing clouds to watch Perceptor's childlike delight at details like moss on a tree.
"Hey, Perce. Is it true that moss only grows on the north side of a tree?"
"No, actually," Perceptor replies, pulling out a small dish to obtian a sample of the growth. "Moss requires a specific ratio of light and moisture to flourish, and, while in certain climates, the northern exposure may offer a higher percentage of opportunities for the appropriate ratio to exist, it is not exclusive to the northern exposure." He pauses for a moment, tilting his head as a faint flicker of memory skitters through his processor, of moss growing upon a darkened rock wall. It skips out of reach before he grasps more than that, though, pulling a thin sigh of frustration from him for the briefest moment, which is fortunately drowned out by the rattle of bare branches overhead.
"In southern climes," he finally continues, "moss growths are often found on the southern exposures, and in excessively shaded locales, there may be no rhyme or reason to the directionality of moss growth patterns."
Rodimus nods thoughtfully, unaware of Perceptor's moment of frustration. "Myth with a grain of truth to it," he muses. "Just like a lot of our myths and legends."
He tilts his head up; a single snowflake dances down from the air and kisses his nose. "Heh!" He grins broadly.
Perceptor turns in time to see the snowflake before it melts into a perfect drop right on the tip of Roddy's nose. Grinning, Perceptor subspaces his collected sample and slips over to stand right before Roddy, staring at the glistening drop. With a daring, impish grin, he rises up on tiptoe to lick the drop away as another pair of snowflakes drift down to settle upon their cheeks.
From ice-cold to glowing warm... Rodimus yelps and laughs, catching Perceptor around the waist. The two droplets that melted on their cheeks looked like a human's tears; Rodimus bends to kiss Perceptor's away.
"Love you," he murmurs, while around them, the air sparkles with snowflakes.
Perceptor squeaks in an utterly undignified manner as he is scooped up, hands grasping at Roddy's shoulders to steady himself. "Love you, too," he murmurs shyly, tilting his head up to brush his lips against Roddy's. "Did you know that, statistically speaking, no two snowflakes can share the exact same configuration?" he asks, lips brushing against Roddy's as more tiny crystaline flakes flit across their field of vision and land upon their faces.
"I'd heard that, yeah," Rodimus murmurs, and tilts his head down for a more substantial kiss. "You don't really get the impact of that, though, unless you're standing outside when it's snowing." He kisses Perceptor again, slow and gentle, then lets him stand on his own pedes again. "It really is beautiful out here, isn't it?" He's talking about the snow, of course. Never mind that his optics are riveted on Perceptor's smile.
Snowflakes melting upon their cheeks and lips and noses are quickly forgotten as Perceptor, himself melts into the kisses, letting Rodimus completely absorb every mote of his attention for those moments. "Hmmm?" he murmurs dreamily, dazed optics slowly swimming back into focus as he settles back onto his own pedes. "Oh. Um..." he manages, using Roddy's comment as an excuse to glance away and evaluate their surroundings to hide his embarrassment from Roddy. Sunlight glitters from the facets of hundreds of snowflakes drifting down around them, like tiny diamonds caught in the air. He snuggles close, resting his cheek upon Roddy's shoulder.
Purring, Rodimus tucks his cheek against Perceptor's helm, holding him close and warm. His optics dim as his mind drifts, barely aware of the snow falling gently around them as he revels in this - warmth, safety, his - his own Perceptor in his arms. For a moment, everything is perfect.
All too soon, common sense kicks in. "Uh. Perce? Doesn't the snow seem to be coming down awful fast?"
"Hmm?" Warm, safe, wanted... Perceptor has slipped back into that fuzzy haze of comfortable drifting again, and it takes a moment for Roddy's words to register. "Snow?" he asks, lifting his head to glance around slowly, a frown starting to crease his brow as he registers how thickly the flakes are filling the air. The wind chooses that moment to stir, rattling the bare branches over their heads again with a menacing sound, and whipping up a swirl of snowflakes around their feet.
"Oh. That... seems to be an accurate observation, actually," he replies, frowning harder. "But... it should not be--" his words are interrupted by another, stronger howl of wind that snatches his voice away into a wave of white that seems to surround them from the swiftly darkening sky and envelops them without warning.
Drawing on his Primely wisdom, Rodimus finds the perfect thing to say in this situation. "Uh oh." He clutches Perceptor tight as another gust of knife-cold wind whips around them both, then he's off running in the direction of home, Perceptor's hand clutched tight in his.
They don't get far. The pretty sparkly snowflakes of five minutes ago have morphed into fat blobs of snow that sting their sensors and reduce visibility to zero, and the wind is strong enough to buffet even Autobots off course. After enough times tripping over vegetation and knocking into trees, Rodimus calls a halt. "It's no good!" he shouts over the howl of the wind. "We have to find shelter! We'll never make it back to the lab!"
The world has narrowed down to Roddy's hand in his own and the sting of ice starting to cake sentitive sensors as the howling wind drives snow deep into his joints. He can barely make out Roddy's words when they crash to a halt against a tree hidden in the blustering blizzard. Sparing his voice, Perceptor merely clings close and nods, sensors stretched to their limits as he tries to find something that will serve them as shelter.
"There!" he yells, pointing off into the howling white. "My sensors are detecting a cave thirty meters in that direction!"
"Got it!" Rodimus starts off running again, heedless of the vegetation that tries to impede their progress. Despite that, and the interference of the wind and snow, thirty meters flash by quickly. Almost there...
They enter the cavern, and to be out of the wind is such a relief that Rodimus stumbles to his hands and knees, shaking as his body tries to warm itself. "S-safe," he pants, and looks back over his spoiler at Perceptor. "You... okay?"
Perceptor collapses nearly atop Rodimus as they stumble into the cavern, the wind and snow snarling like a beast around the curve of stone protecting them from the outside. He lands on hands on knees, panting like Rodimus, and nods shakily to answer Rodimus. "I d-don't understand wh-why the w-weather erupted so qu-quickly," he stammers, shivering. He could have sworn that his sensors had indicated that the storm was still quite far off!
"Are y-you all right, Roddy?" he asks, crawling slowly up beside Rodimus to run as detailed a visual check as he was able to in the dim light filtering in from the storm raging outside.
Well, if he's babbling, he can't be too bad off. Rodimus nods wordlessly, and wraps a hand around Perceptor's again, just to make sure he's still there and safe and whole. His energy field reads normal, if a little shrunken to reduce energy and heat loss in the cold. Mine is probably doing the same, Rodimus realizes, feeling how he shakes against the ground.
"Let's get further in," he manages with a minimum of stammering. "And we'll have to share body heat to conserve energy."
"Agreed," Perceptor replies, shifting that hand to curl his fingers around Roddy's. "Further in, and out of the drafts. My sensors indicate that there is an extensive network of caverns deeper in. They should provide adequate shelter, even if the storm worsens further." There's something oddly familiar about the configuration of the caverns, too, but Perceptor can't seem to quite put his finger upon what it is; the moment passes as swiftly as it had arrived.
"That is also a good idea," he continues as he shakes off the odd moment. "I am sorry, Roddy," he offers, climbing stiffly to his feet and trying to draw Rodimus up with him. "I should have listened to your earlier suggestion."
Rodimus lets Perceptor help him up - needs the help, really, but he's trying to be Strong Protective Leader for Perceptor right now. "Primus, I'm glad you and your sensors are here. I'd be a block of ice out there by now if I was on my own." That last comment is directed, ruefully, at the storm.
He slings an arm around Perceptor's shoulders and leads him further into the caves. "It's okay," he assures his lover quietly. "If I was on my game, I would have insisted. Not your fault."
"My sensors should have noted the increase in intensity before it became so dangerous," he insists ruefully as he shifts closer to Roddy, gratefully soaking up the comfort of being close while trying to offer it in return. He shivers as a sliver of ice worms its way deeper into one joint, jamming up against a particularly energized sensor and sending chills all through his systems.
They are, apparently, not the first to have ever discovered this cave, if the debris scattered about the floor around the next bend of the tunnel is anything to go by. Even less light filters this deeply into the cave, casting most of the area into a deep gloom, but there is just enough illumination to make out shards of metal and spent ammunition rounds littering the floor. Perceptor pauses, frowning as he peers around himself, that curious sensation of deja-vu tripping through his processor again. He shakes his head to banish the sensation. "I am not detecting any other spark signatures present," he informs Rodimus.
Rodimus feels that shiver and draws Perceptor closer, heightening his energy output a notch. He'd burn through fuel faster, but Perceptor needs the warmth... "Okay," he nods, performing his own scans - Perceptor's are far superior, of course, but the action makes him feel better. "We'll take that as good news - no hostiles. We'll just wait out the storm, then dig ourselves out and go home. No problem."
"Also, Perce? Do not make me poke you." Rodimus grinned teasingly, knowing he was the last person to ding someone else about taking blame where it wasn't warranted.
Gratefully pressing in against Roddy, Perceptor sighs and absorbs that warmth. "Eh-heh..." He manages to curb the impulse to rub the back of his helm, but just barely. "You should conserve your fuel," he murmurs, stopping for a moment to scan more of the cave complex for a smaller pocket that might hold their combined heat in more efficiently. "There is no certainty that this storm will pass as quickly as it arrived."
"I will be all right," he adds softly. Ahead and to the left, his sensors have found a likely little little nook, big enough for the both of them to curl up against each other, with a very low clearance, so that their heat may be concentrated down low, against each other, rather than lost to the stone above. "I think I have found a good spot. It will be somewhat close..."
Obligingly, Rodimus dials his output back, just a little. "I don't mind that if you don't," he murmured. To be honest, it sounds... kind of romantic. The two of them cuddled up together waiting out the storm, pressed close...
Rodimus realizes he's feeling warmer than the climate allows, for an entirely different reason. He quickly kills that line of thought. "Lead on, Perce," he says, with only a slight static cough.
Perceptor's dimmed energy field catches that very faint flicker of Roddy's against him, and he smiles, but makes no outward comment. It rather sounds quite nice to him, too. He... enjoys the feel of Rodimus against him, of arms around him, holding him close. The simple comfort of intimacy, of trust accepted and trust given. Anything more is quite nice, as well, but, truth be told, Perceptor is a tactile mech, and doesn't actually need much more than someone to snuggle with, and, maybe to listen to him, to feel utterly content. Not that he would turn down anything more, of course... but Rodimus means more to him than merely... that. "I do not mind at all," he replies, reaching out with his free hand to brace himself against the rock hidden in the dim gloom that would smack him in the head if he didn't duck under it.
It isn't until they are past that obstacle that Perceptor realizes that... he'd known it would be there. He stops suddenly, and turns, pulling away from Rodimus for a moment to stare back into the shadows from where they had just come.
Rodimus pauses when Perceptor does, worried at the scientist's sudden tense silence. //Do you sense something?// he asks over commlink, in case some enemy was listening from the shadows.
// I've been here before, // he replies uncertainly. // I think? //
//In this cave...?// Rodimus takes another look around, mapping out the surrounding area. "...oh," he murmurs.
// I think so? // Except that he does not remember having explored any caves... Roddy's soft exclamation makes him pause, though.
"'Oh'?" he asks, turning back toward Rodimus. "What is it?" Rodimus clearly knows something, and, from the timbre of his voice, it isn't likely to be particularly pleasant knowledge. It's that moment that his sensors detect the old, dried energon and lubricant that had seeped into the rock upon which they stood. He kneels, runninf his fingertips over the invisible stains, chemoreceptors picking up traces of nearly every fluid their bodies were capable of producing or utilizing. "Something... violent occurred here," he whispers.
"Yes," Rodimus whispered sadly. "Perceptor..." He hesitated, knowing how much it would hurt to hear, but... Perceptor deserved to know. "This is where Swindle kept you and Silverbolt," he forced himself to say.
Silverbolt. The Aerial's face swims into view, a memory surfacing from the murk of corrupted data. Silverbolt's face, twisted in... in... in pleasure? Or pain? Perceptor isn't quite certain, but he is certain of whose energon-soaked hands are the ones that resolve themselves out of the darkness, the glow of Silverbolt's fuel staining the fingertips and the entire blade of the scapel held with precise skill.
His own hands. Covered in Silverbolt's fluids. "Mine," he breathes. "My hands..." A sensation of sick, gleeful pleasure as the blade sinks into Silverbolt's plating. His sick pleasure.
With a startled cry of horror, Perceptor throws himself, scrabbling away from the stains upon the stone as fast as his trembling limbs will carry him. "I hurt him!" he chokes out as he tumbles into Roddy's legs.
"Umph!" Rodimus tumbles to the floor from the impact, but he's in motion in an instant, never still when one of his friends needs him. He catches Perceptor up in a fierce hug, not letting him go for an instant. There's nothing he can say - so he just holds on.
For a moment, Perceptor feels safe as Roddy gathers him up, those strong arms curling tightly about him, holding the broken memories at bay. Rodimus will protect him, keep him safe. "I hurt him," he whimpers, burying his face against Roddy's shoulder.
"I enjoyed it..." But who will protect Rodimus?
Another choked cry rips from his vocal processor, and he struggles, tearing himself away from Roddy's grasp. Freeing Roddy from him, from that sick enjoyment Perceptor can still feel the memory of lingering in his cache. Before Roddy can catch him up again, he's off, feet and hands tearing against the stone to pull him along. Away. Away from Roddy. To protect him. He stumbles to a halt, huddled against the back of the little nook he had been leading Rodimus to in the first place, quaking as he stares down at his traitorous hands, lit only by the lambent glow of his own optics.
Rodimus spark pulses with hurt at Perceptor's confession, but it is nothing compared to the agony when Perceptor tears himself away. He cries out, reaching after Perceptor as he flees to the shelter nook.
Thank Primus he didn't run out into the storm, is all Rodimus can think as he pulls himself to his feet and approaches. He moves slowly and carefully, allowing Perceptor to hear him approach but not any space to flee from him again. Once he's within arm's reach, he kneels. "Perceptor...?" Then, plantively, "Perce...?"
He wants to throw himself into Roddy's arms, hold on for dear life, and never let go. But he doesn't deserve that. Not him. He doesn't deserve the comfort Rodimus is offering. Rodimus doesn't deserve to be dragged down by him. He should... he should... He doesn't know.
The storm. Maybe-- Rodimus has blocked the way. He cannot slip past, and there is no way that he could manage to fight his way past, even if he could bring himself to strike his lov-
No. He doesn't deserve to think about Rodimus like that any longer. Perceptor huddles in tighter against himself, a soft wail escaping him. "I l-l-liked it..."
Rodimus hesitates, afraid of saying the wrong thing at such a fragile point. He knows, perhaps better than anyone else, the crushing guilt that Perceptor is feeling. Hating yourself, convinced you were cursed by your sin, that you deserved no love or kindness...
"I don't care," Rodimus murmurs, to his own demons as well as to the trembling mech before him. Then, louder, "I don't care! I love you, Perceptor! I love you. This dark side of yours doesn't scare me. I will not let you bear this burden alone and I will never - ever - leave your side."
He reaches out, puts a hand on Perceptor's shoulder. "On my spark," he swears.
Perceptor flinches when Roddy's hand lands upon his shoulder, a quiet sound of fear and loathing rising from him. "You can't promise that," he whimpers. This world... it can tear them away without warning. Rodimus cannot control that, cannot enforce his promise.
Worse, Perceptor cannot allow him to promise that. To bind himself to one so easily twisted into such a sick sadist! "You can't... can't..." Even if he aches to accept the solace Roddy offers.
Rodimus grins crookedly, though he knows Perceptor can't see. "Hey. You know me. Chosen One. Bearer of the Matrix. Worker of miracles. Slayer of dark gods. This Nexus thing is nothing." Encouraged by Perceptor's lack of completely freaking out at the touch, Rodimus scoots a little closer, increasing his engine's output so that Perceptor can hear it purr. "There's nothing I can't do, Perceptor. For your sake I'll shift the very stars." The hand tightens on Perceptor's shoulder in a comforting squeeze.
Matrix Bearer. That reminder only makes Perceptor tremble harder. This is not merely his Prime that Perceptor will taint by association, but the Chosen One, himself. "That's why you cannnot!" he chokes out, but he has nowhere to retreat to. Not without going past - through - Rodimus.
Rodimus. The Chosen One. The Slayer of Unicron. In the darkness, Perceptor's brow creases with confusion. Rodimus withstood Unicron... Would it not be the height of hubris to declare himself worse than the Great Devourer? Or is that merely a pathetic attempt to rationalize surrendering to what he wants, rather than what he should do? He hesitates, uncertain.
Rodimus doesn't move. He doesn't dare. I'm almost through to him... "Perce," he whispers. "I'm not afraid. I love you. Nothing you do, or feel, could make me stop loving you."
I c-could hurt you..." Perceptor mewls, but he doesn't sound convinced, even to himself. He? The pathetic scientist that barely anyone stands? Hurt Rodimus Prime?
Rodimus scoots the last few millimechanometers of distance over to Perceptor, and turns his hold on the scientist's shoulder into an embrace. "Go ahead," he whispers.
He doesn't resist this time, surrendering to Roddy's insistance, leaning weakly against Roddy's warm frame even if he doesn't manage to force himself to completely uncurl from his huddle.
"Why?"
A wealth of questions in that single syllable. Why would he hurt Rodimus, the one he loves? Why would Rodimus allow it? Why does Rodimus love him? Why did Rodimus stay? "'M not like that..." he moans weakly, turning his head to bury his face against Roddy's side.
For now, the storm outside is forgotten. Rodimus tucks Perceptor up close in his lap and holds him securely, scattering kisses over his helm. "I love you," he murmurs, all the answer to Perceptor's questions that he knows how to give.
There's something so very cold constricting around his spark, imprisoning him, hurting him. Like a band of ice, like the ice still ground finely into his joints and his circuits near the seams where that chill wind had penetrated and driven jagged little crystals of snow and sleet into his systems. Only that band around his spark isn't real like the ice under and upon his armor is, even if it hurts worse. It's his own doubts and self-loathing, and fear, congealing into a morass of pain that's threatening to drown him, choke his spark off, swallow him down.
Except that Roddy's words strike a hot hammer-blow against that band, against that pain. Perceptor shivers hard, his arms slowly, hesitantly unwinding from around himself to slide up around Roddy. "I hurt him," he whispers painfully as the physical cold seeps back into his awareness around the edges of his fear. "Don't want to hurt you, too..."
Rodimus can see the pain on Perceptor's face, and knows the expression all too well. With one last kiss, he tucks Perceptor's head down against his shoulder and holds him close, purring for all he's worth. The cold buffets against his spoiler and back, but he doesn't mind that. Perceptor is safe and protected in his arms, and that's all that matters. He can handle a little cold.
"I know," he murmurs, stroking his lover's helm. "I know you don't. That's why I trust you. Can you trust me too?"
Perceptor is torn; he wants to simply melt into Roddy's arms and accept that comfort being so very willingly offered. He wants to trust Roddy so much. And he does... except that his very trust is part of the problem. He trusts Roddy to think first of others, and never of himself, which is admirable enough, but what happens when Roddy does that too much and falls because of it? Especially when it is himself that he no longer trusts; Perceptor doesn't remember ever wanting to hurt Silverbolt, either, but he remembers doing it, and enjoying it. Reveling in it.
He doesn't love Silverbolt, though, and never did. Maybe that can be enough to save them both. If he can trust Rodimus to look after everyone else first, then Perceptor will have to take up that task for him. He finally nods shakily against Roddy's shoulder, hands shaking as he clings tightly. "I trust you. I will take care of you, too," he offers softly. "You will not allow me to hurt you. P-promise me. Promise me, pl-please."
"Ah, Perce..." Rodimus hugs him closer, as if pressure of arms alone could heal his hurting spark. "I promise," he agreed quietly. "I promise."
It was obviously something Perceptor needed to hear, but Rodimus didn't expect to ever have to act on that promise. The idea of Perceptor trying to hurt him, even drug-hazed, was unfathomable - and the drug was no longer an issue. He smiled and leaned back a little, pulling Perceptor on his lap. "And I know you'll take good care of me. You always do," he added with a fond smile.
The words are a salve upon the burn of Perceptor's fear, and he begins to relax against Roddy with a sigh, nodding silently with understanding and acceptance. Rodimus promises, and the young Prime has always been assiduous in honoring his vows as well as almost driven to safeguard everyone around him. He will keep his promise, no matter what.
"Because you forget to do so for yourself," Perceptor murmurs, ignoring the irony of the sentiment. He's still shivering, but from the temperature now, rather than the fear that had been devouring him from the inside, out. He can feel faint trembles from Roddy's frame, as well, though he suspects that Rodimus is trying to hide that fact to keep him from worrying. Even this deep into the cave, the howl of the blizzard is loud and fierce, and swirls of chilled air waft past at regular intervals. "Like now," he adds, daring a thin, shaky smile as he glances up and cycles his engine up a bit to generate more warmth.
"Hey," Rodimus laughed. "Didn't you tell me to save my fuel not ten astroseconds ago?" He shifts, bringing them both as deep into the stone nook as possible and curling up around Perceptor. "It'll warm up nicely in here plenty quickly," he says confidently. "We'll be just fine." He cuddles Perceptor close, as protective as always.
"Eight point six minutes ago, actually," Perceptor replies innocently. "You have more surface area by which to lose heat, and are closer to the exterior." He doesn't resist being snuggled up, though, and shifts himself until he's quite firmly settled across as much of Roddy's form as he can reach.
He feels safe here. Safe, warm enough, and comforted, despite the storm raging beyond their tiny stone haven. The demons... while not completely exorcised, are quelled, at least for the moment, and Roddy's promise sits in his processor like a warm flicker of flame that gently caresses his spark. "I concur," he agrees quietly. He doesn't downshift, though.
He really should insist that Perceptor downshift. Make it an order, even. But after the bitter cold of outside, Perceptor is so wonderfully warm... Rodimus sighs and lays his helm against Perceptor's. I'll make you downshift in a minute, he promises silently, once the nook's all warmed up. That shouldn't take too long... " 'S better," he murmurs. "You warm enough, Perce?" His optics begin to dim.
"Of course," Perceptor replies, nodding against Roddy's shoulder. "You are here." Sentimental, probably, but true, and in more than just a physical sense. If Rodimus were not so obviously drifting off, Perceptor would pull him into a deep kiss, just to demonstrate how warm Roddy has made Perceptor from the spark out. He will not disturb his lover's incipient slumber, however, and settles for shifting only enough to brush his lips against Roddy's cheek, instead. "I have never felt so warm," he whispers softly, "as I have since... since you."
Rodimus is not quite asleep - good thing, too, since he would have hated to miss hearing that. "Want to always," he murmured, tilting his head up, "make you warm." He kissed Perceptor's forehead. "Love you. Don't know how I got so lucky, but I'll try to deserve it."
"Rodimus? 'Do not make me poke you'," Perceptor murmurs fondly, then nuzzles Roddy, nudging his lover's head back down to rest against his shoulder again. "Want you to always, too." He shifts his engine again, this time into a soothing purr, still generating heat, but in a lower, softer tone to lull Roddy to sleep. *And I will try hard to deserve you, as well."
"D'n make m' poke you," Rodimus mumbles automatically against Perceptor's neck, but the purr of Perceptor's engine and the comfort of his warm body are hard to resist. Slowly, slowly, his optics drift off.
"Promises, promises, Roddy," Perceptor whispers, running soothing fingertips over Roddy's helm, his own systems slowly spining down as he settles in to wait out the storm with his love.
"Well, it wasn't entirely without ulterior motive," Rodimus admits with a crooked grin. "I wanted to get out for a while." And spend time with you, the young Prime doesn't say. Their new relationship seems too fragile, too precious to refer to so casually. Nevertheless, he's enjoying watching Perceptor flit from crystal to crystal like a strange alien butterfly, perfectly at home in the flowerless winter.
"Still," he adds, glancing up at the sky, "let's not stay out too much longer. I don't like that sky." The clouds are piling up overhead: pure white with gray streaks emanating from their centers. Snow blossoms - heralds of a heavy snowstorm.
Perceptor glances back again, the soft warmth in the grin he offers Roddy indicating that he'd heard those unspoken words... and agreed with both sentiments. "Well, we have been rather distracted indoors, of late," he agrees, then glances away before Roddy can see the flush threatening to creep across his cheekplates. The sky. Yes, he should evaluate the sky. Ahem. "Hmmm... Based upon my calculations, I believe that we have at least three hours before the weather should be of any significant concern," he disagrees. "But, if you wish, we can return now?" He can always come back out some other time to try and locate those snow crocus he was hoping to find for the greenhouse, after all. Hopefully they will still be around.
Rodimus feels his own faceplates heat, seeing Perceptor's knowing-and-agreeing smile. It has always been this way with the scientist, his spark like an open file, and as always, Rodimus found he doesn't mind. ...And he flushes even hotter when Perceptor alludes to their indoor activities. ...Right. Concentrate. "Well... let's stay out for two more hours. That should give us plenty of leeway in case the storm gets here quicker than expected."
Not always, really, but some things are easier to guess at when they think so alike about certain topics. Rodimus has always been more astute about Perceptor's thoughts and moods than anyone else, as well. He's always been more willing to simply listen, which really is the first step to winning the scientist's spark.
"Two hours should be more than enough time to complete my survey," he replies, turning a brilliant smile of gratitude up upon Rodimus. "Thank you. Oh!" he exclaims, rising and crossing the distance between them, brushing Roddy's shoulder not-so-accidentally as he passes to examine a growth of dusky grey moss growing upon the trunk of a tree behind Rodimus.
Rodimus stands still for a moment, optics dim, savoring the warmth lingering from that brief, simple touch. "Any time," he murmurs with a smile, and turns his back on the massing clouds to watch Perceptor's childlike delight at details like moss on a tree.
"Hey, Perce. Is it true that moss only grows on the north side of a tree?"
"No, actually," Perceptor replies, pulling out a small dish to obtian a sample of the growth. "Moss requires a specific ratio of light and moisture to flourish, and, while in certain climates, the northern exposure may offer a higher percentage of opportunities for the appropriate ratio to exist, it is not exclusive to the northern exposure." He pauses for a moment, tilting his head as a faint flicker of memory skitters through his processor, of moss growing upon a darkened rock wall. It skips out of reach before he grasps more than that, though, pulling a thin sigh of frustration from him for the briefest moment, which is fortunately drowned out by the rattle of bare branches overhead.
"In southern climes," he finally continues, "moss growths are often found on the southern exposures, and in excessively shaded locales, there may be no rhyme or reason to the directionality of moss growth patterns."
Rodimus nods thoughtfully, unaware of Perceptor's moment of frustration. "Myth with a grain of truth to it," he muses. "Just like a lot of our myths and legends."
He tilts his head up; a single snowflake dances down from the air and kisses his nose. "Heh!" He grins broadly.
Perceptor turns in time to see the snowflake before it melts into a perfect drop right on the tip of Roddy's nose. Grinning, Perceptor subspaces his collected sample and slips over to stand right before Roddy, staring at the glistening drop. With a daring, impish grin, he rises up on tiptoe to lick the drop away as another pair of snowflakes drift down to settle upon their cheeks.
From ice-cold to glowing warm... Rodimus yelps and laughs, catching Perceptor around the waist. The two droplets that melted on their cheeks looked like a human's tears; Rodimus bends to kiss Perceptor's away.
"Love you," he murmurs, while around them, the air sparkles with snowflakes.
Perceptor squeaks in an utterly undignified manner as he is scooped up, hands grasping at Roddy's shoulders to steady himself. "Love you, too," he murmurs shyly, tilting his head up to brush his lips against Roddy's. "Did you know that, statistically speaking, no two snowflakes can share the exact same configuration?" he asks, lips brushing against Roddy's as more tiny crystaline flakes flit across their field of vision and land upon their faces.
"I'd heard that, yeah," Rodimus murmurs, and tilts his head down for a more substantial kiss. "You don't really get the impact of that, though, unless you're standing outside when it's snowing." He kisses Perceptor again, slow and gentle, then lets him stand on his own pedes again. "It really is beautiful out here, isn't it?" He's talking about the snow, of course. Never mind that his optics are riveted on Perceptor's smile.
Snowflakes melting upon their cheeks and lips and noses are quickly forgotten as Perceptor, himself melts into the kisses, letting Rodimus completely absorb every mote of his attention for those moments. "Hmmm?" he murmurs dreamily, dazed optics slowly swimming back into focus as he settles back onto his own pedes. "Oh. Um..." he manages, using Roddy's comment as an excuse to glance away and evaluate their surroundings to hide his embarrassment from Roddy. Sunlight glitters from the facets of hundreds of snowflakes drifting down around them, like tiny diamonds caught in the air. He snuggles close, resting his cheek upon Roddy's shoulder.
Purring, Rodimus tucks his cheek against Perceptor's helm, holding him close and warm. His optics dim as his mind drifts, barely aware of the snow falling gently around them as he revels in this - warmth, safety, his - his own Perceptor in his arms. For a moment, everything is perfect.
All too soon, common sense kicks in. "Uh. Perce? Doesn't the snow seem to be coming down awful fast?"
"Hmm?" Warm, safe, wanted... Perceptor has slipped back into that fuzzy haze of comfortable drifting again, and it takes a moment for Roddy's words to register. "Snow?" he asks, lifting his head to glance around slowly, a frown starting to crease his brow as he registers how thickly the flakes are filling the air. The wind chooses that moment to stir, rattling the bare branches over their heads again with a menacing sound, and whipping up a swirl of snowflakes around their feet.
"Oh. That... seems to be an accurate observation, actually," he replies, frowning harder. "But... it should not be--" his words are interrupted by another, stronger howl of wind that snatches his voice away into a wave of white that seems to surround them from the swiftly darkening sky and envelops them without warning.
Drawing on his Primely wisdom, Rodimus finds the perfect thing to say in this situation. "Uh oh." He clutches Perceptor tight as another gust of knife-cold wind whips around them both, then he's off running in the direction of home, Perceptor's hand clutched tight in his.
They don't get far. The pretty sparkly snowflakes of five minutes ago have morphed into fat blobs of snow that sting their sensors and reduce visibility to zero, and the wind is strong enough to buffet even Autobots off course. After enough times tripping over vegetation and knocking into trees, Rodimus calls a halt. "It's no good!" he shouts over the howl of the wind. "We have to find shelter! We'll never make it back to the lab!"
The world has narrowed down to Roddy's hand in his own and the sting of ice starting to cake sentitive sensors as the howling wind drives snow deep into his joints. He can barely make out Roddy's words when they crash to a halt against a tree hidden in the blustering blizzard. Sparing his voice, Perceptor merely clings close and nods, sensors stretched to their limits as he tries to find something that will serve them as shelter.
"There!" he yells, pointing off into the howling white. "My sensors are detecting a cave thirty meters in that direction!"
"Got it!" Rodimus starts off running again, heedless of the vegetation that tries to impede their progress. Despite that, and the interference of the wind and snow, thirty meters flash by quickly. Almost there...
They enter the cavern, and to be out of the wind is such a relief that Rodimus stumbles to his hands and knees, shaking as his body tries to warm itself. "S-safe," he pants, and looks back over his spoiler at Perceptor. "You... okay?"
Perceptor collapses nearly atop Rodimus as they stumble into the cavern, the wind and snow snarling like a beast around the curve of stone protecting them from the outside. He lands on hands on knees, panting like Rodimus, and nods shakily to answer Rodimus. "I d-don't understand wh-why the w-weather erupted so qu-quickly," he stammers, shivering. He could have sworn that his sensors had indicated that the storm was still quite far off!
"Are y-you all right, Roddy?" he asks, crawling slowly up beside Rodimus to run as detailed a visual check as he was able to in the dim light filtering in from the storm raging outside.
Well, if he's babbling, he can't be too bad off. Rodimus nods wordlessly, and wraps a hand around Perceptor's again, just to make sure he's still there and safe and whole. His energy field reads normal, if a little shrunken to reduce energy and heat loss in the cold. Mine is probably doing the same, Rodimus realizes, feeling how he shakes against the ground.
"Let's get further in," he manages with a minimum of stammering. "And we'll have to share body heat to conserve energy."
"Agreed," Perceptor replies, shifting that hand to curl his fingers around Roddy's. "Further in, and out of the drafts. My sensors indicate that there is an extensive network of caverns deeper in. They should provide adequate shelter, even if the storm worsens further." There's something oddly familiar about the configuration of the caverns, too, but Perceptor can't seem to quite put his finger upon what it is; the moment passes as swiftly as it had arrived.
"That is also a good idea," he continues as he shakes off the odd moment. "I am sorry, Roddy," he offers, climbing stiffly to his feet and trying to draw Rodimus up with him. "I should have listened to your earlier suggestion."
Rodimus lets Perceptor help him up - needs the help, really, but he's trying to be Strong Protective Leader for Perceptor right now. "Primus, I'm glad you and your sensors are here. I'd be a block of ice out there by now if I was on my own." That last comment is directed, ruefully, at the storm.
He slings an arm around Perceptor's shoulders and leads him further into the caves. "It's okay," he assures his lover quietly. "If I was on my game, I would have insisted. Not your fault."
"My sensors should have noted the increase in intensity before it became so dangerous," he insists ruefully as he shifts closer to Roddy, gratefully soaking up the comfort of being close while trying to offer it in return. He shivers as a sliver of ice worms its way deeper into one joint, jamming up against a particularly energized sensor and sending chills all through his systems.
They are, apparently, not the first to have ever discovered this cave, if the debris scattered about the floor around the next bend of the tunnel is anything to go by. Even less light filters this deeply into the cave, casting most of the area into a deep gloom, but there is just enough illumination to make out shards of metal and spent ammunition rounds littering the floor. Perceptor pauses, frowning as he peers around himself, that curious sensation of deja-vu tripping through his processor again. He shakes his head to banish the sensation. "I am not detecting any other spark signatures present," he informs Rodimus.
Rodimus feels that shiver and draws Perceptor closer, heightening his energy output a notch. He'd burn through fuel faster, but Perceptor needs the warmth... "Okay," he nods, performing his own scans - Perceptor's are far superior, of course, but the action makes him feel better. "We'll take that as good news - no hostiles. We'll just wait out the storm, then dig ourselves out and go home. No problem."
"Also, Perce? Do not make me poke you." Rodimus grinned teasingly, knowing he was the last person to ding someone else about taking blame where it wasn't warranted.
Gratefully pressing in against Roddy, Perceptor sighs and absorbs that warmth. "Eh-heh..." He manages to curb the impulse to rub the back of his helm, but just barely. "You should conserve your fuel," he murmurs, stopping for a moment to scan more of the cave complex for a smaller pocket that might hold their combined heat in more efficiently. "There is no certainty that this storm will pass as quickly as it arrived."
"I will be all right," he adds softly. Ahead and to the left, his sensors have found a likely little little nook, big enough for the both of them to curl up against each other, with a very low clearance, so that their heat may be concentrated down low, against each other, rather than lost to the stone above. "I think I have found a good spot. It will be somewhat close..."
Obligingly, Rodimus dials his output back, just a little. "I don't mind that if you don't," he murmured. To be honest, it sounds... kind of romantic. The two of them cuddled up together waiting out the storm, pressed close...
Rodimus realizes he's feeling warmer than the climate allows, for an entirely different reason. He quickly kills that line of thought. "Lead on, Perce," he says, with only a slight static cough.
Perceptor's dimmed energy field catches that very faint flicker of Roddy's against him, and he smiles, but makes no outward comment. It rather sounds quite nice to him, too. He... enjoys the feel of Rodimus against him, of arms around him, holding him close. The simple comfort of intimacy, of trust accepted and trust given. Anything more is quite nice, as well, but, truth be told, Perceptor is a tactile mech, and doesn't actually need much more than someone to snuggle with, and, maybe to listen to him, to feel utterly content. Not that he would turn down anything more, of course... but Rodimus means more to him than merely... that. "I do not mind at all," he replies, reaching out with his free hand to brace himself against the rock hidden in the dim gloom that would smack him in the head if he didn't duck under it.
It isn't until they are past that obstacle that Perceptor realizes that... he'd known it would be there. He stops suddenly, and turns, pulling away from Rodimus for a moment to stare back into the shadows from where they had just come.
Rodimus pauses when Perceptor does, worried at the scientist's sudden tense silence. //Do you sense something?// he asks over commlink, in case some enemy was listening from the shadows.
// I've been here before, // he replies uncertainly. // I think? //
//In this cave...?// Rodimus takes another look around, mapping out the surrounding area. "...oh," he murmurs.
// I think so? // Except that he does not remember having explored any caves... Roddy's soft exclamation makes him pause, though.
"'Oh'?" he asks, turning back toward Rodimus. "What is it?" Rodimus clearly knows something, and, from the timbre of his voice, it isn't likely to be particularly pleasant knowledge. It's that moment that his sensors detect the old, dried energon and lubricant that had seeped into the rock upon which they stood. He kneels, runninf his fingertips over the invisible stains, chemoreceptors picking up traces of nearly every fluid their bodies were capable of producing or utilizing. "Something... violent occurred here," he whispers.
"Yes," Rodimus whispered sadly. "Perceptor..." He hesitated, knowing how much it would hurt to hear, but... Perceptor deserved to know. "This is where Swindle kept you and Silverbolt," he forced himself to say.
Silverbolt. The Aerial's face swims into view, a memory surfacing from the murk of corrupted data. Silverbolt's face, twisted in... in... in pleasure? Or pain? Perceptor isn't quite certain, but he is certain of whose energon-soaked hands are the ones that resolve themselves out of the darkness, the glow of Silverbolt's fuel staining the fingertips and the entire blade of the scapel held with precise skill.
His own hands. Covered in Silverbolt's fluids. "Mine," he breathes. "My hands..." A sensation of sick, gleeful pleasure as the blade sinks into Silverbolt's plating. His sick pleasure.
With a startled cry of horror, Perceptor throws himself, scrabbling away from the stains upon the stone as fast as his trembling limbs will carry him. "I hurt him!" he chokes out as he tumbles into Roddy's legs.
"Umph!" Rodimus tumbles to the floor from the impact, but he's in motion in an instant, never still when one of his friends needs him. He catches Perceptor up in a fierce hug, not letting him go for an instant. There's nothing he can say - so he just holds on.
For a moment, Perceptor feels safe as Roddy gathers him up, those strong arms curling tightly about him, holding the broken memories at bay. Rodimus will protect him, keep him safe. "I hurt him," he whimpers, burying his face against Roddy's shoulder.
"I enjoyed it..." But who will protect Rodimus?
Another choked cry rips from his vocal processor, and he struggles, tearing himself away from Roddy's grasp. Freeing Roddy from him, from that sick enjoyment Perceptor can still feel the memory of lingering in his cache. Before Roddy can catch him up again, he's off, feet and hands tearing against the stone to pull him along. Away. Away from Roddy. To protect him. He stumbles to a halt, huddled against the back of the little nook he had been leading Rodimus to in the first place, quaking as he stares down at his traitorous hands, lit only by the lambent glow of his own optics.
Rodimus spark pulses with hurt at Perceptor's confession, but it is nothing compared to the agony when Perceptor tears himself away. He cries out, reaching after Perceptor as he flees to the shelter nook.
Thank Primus he didn't run out into the storm, is all Rodimus can think as he pulls himself to his feet and approaches. He moves slowly and carefully, allowing Perceptor to hear him approach but not any space to flee from him again. Once he's within arm's reach, he kneels. "Perceptor...?" Then, plantively, "Perce...?"
He wants to throw himself into Roddy's arms, hold on for dear life, and never let go. But he doesn't deserve that. Not him. He doesn't deserve the comfort Rodimus is offering. Rodimus doesn't deserve to be dragged down by him. He should... he should... He doesn't know.
The storm. Maybe-- Rodimus has blocked the way. He cannot slip past, and there is no way that he could manage to fight his way past, even if he could bring himself to strike his lov-
No. He doesn't deserve to think about Rodimus like that any longer. Perceptor huddles in tighter against himself, a soft wail escaping him. "I l-l-liked it..."
Rodimus hesitates, afraid of saying the wrong thing at such a fragile point. He knows, perhaps better than anyone else, the crushing guilt that Perceptor is feeling. Hating yourself, convinced you were cursed by your sin, that you deserved no love or kindness...
"I don't care," Rodimus murmurs, to his own demons as well as to the trembling mech before him. Then, louder, "I don't care! I love you, Perceptor! I love you. This dark side of yours doesn't scare me. I will not let you bear this burden alone and I will never - ever - leave your side."
He reaches out, puts a hand on Perceptor's shoulder. "On my spark," he swears.
Perceptor flinches when Roddy's hand lands upon his shoulder, a quiet sound of fear and loathing rising from him. "You can't promise that," he whimpers. This world... it can tear them away without warning. Rodimus cannot control that, cannot enforce his promise.
Worse, Perceptor cannot allow him to promise that. To bind himself to one so easily twisted into such a sick sadist! "You can't... can't..." Even if he aches to accept the solace Roddy offers.
Rodimus grins crookedly, though he knows Perceptor can't see. "Hey. You know me. Chosen One. Bearer of the Matrix. Worker of miracles. Slayer of dark gods. This Nexus thing is nothing." Encouraged by Perceptor's lack of completely freaking out at the touch, Rodimus scoots a little closer, increasing his engine's output so that Perceptor can hear it purr. "There's nothing I can't do, Perceptor. For your sake I'll shift the very stars." The hand tightens on Perceptor's shoulder in a comforting squeeze.
Matrix Bearer. That reminder only makes Perceptor tremble harder. This is not merely his Prime that Perceptor will taint by association, but the Chosen One, himself. "That's why you cannnot!" he chokes out, but he has nowhere to retreat to. Not without going past - through - Rodimus.
Rodimus. The Chosen One. The Slayer of Unicron. In the darkness, Perceptor's brow creases with confusion. Rodimus withstood Unicron... Would it not be the height of hubris to declare himself worse than the Great Devourer? Or is that merely a pathetic attempt to rationalize surrendering to what he wants, rather than what he should do? He hesitates, uncertain.
Rodimus doesn't move. He doesn't dare. I'm almost through to him... "Perce," he whispers. "I'm not afraid. I love you. Nothing you do, or feel, could make me stop loving you."
I c-could hurt you..." Perceptor mewls, but he doesn't sound convinced, even to himself. He? The pathetic scientist that barely anyone stands? Hurt Rodimus Prime?
Rodimus scoots the last few millimechanometers of distance over to Perceptor, and turns his hold on the scientist's shoulder into an embrace. "Go ahead," he whispers.
He doesn't resist this time, surrendering to Roddy's insistance, leaning weakly against Roddy's warm frame even if he doesn't manage to force himself to completely uncurl from his huddle.
"Why?"
A wealth of questions in that single syllable. Why would he hurt Rodimus, the one he loves? Why would Rodimus allow it? Why does Rodimus love him? Why did Rodimus stay? "'M not like that..." he moans weakly, turning his head to bury his face against Roddy's side.
For now, the storm outside is forgotten. Rodimus tucks Perceptor up close in his lap and holds him securely, scattering kisses over his helm. "I love you," he murmurs, all the answer to Perceptor's questions that he knows how to give.
There's something so very cold constricting around his spark, imprisoning him, hurting him. Like a band of ice, like the ice still ground finely into his joints and his circuits near the seams where that chill wind had penetrated and driven jagged little crystals of snow and sleet into his systems. Only that band around his spark isn't real like the ice under and upon his armor is, even if it hurts worse. It's his own doubts and self-loathing, and fear, congealing into a morass of pain that's threatening to drown him, choke his spark off, swallow him down.
Except that Roddy's words strike a hot hammer-blow against that band, against that pain. Perceptor shivers hard, his arms slowly, hesitantly unwinding from around himself to slide up around Roddy. "I hurt him," he whispers painfully as the physical cold seeps back into his awareness around the edges of his fear. "Don't want to hurt you, too..."
Rodimus can see the pain on Perceptor's face, and knows the expression all too well. With one last kiss, he tucks Perceptor's head down against his shoulder and holds him close, purring for all he's worth. The cold buffets against his spoiler and back, but he doesn't mind that. Perceptor is safe and protected in his arms, and that's all that matters. He can handle a little cold.
"I know," he murmurs, stroking his lover's helm. "I know you don't. That's why I trust you. Can you trust me too?"
Perceptor is torn; he wants to simply melt into Roddy's arms and accept that comfort being so very willingly offered. He wants to trust Roddy so much. And he does... except that his very trust is part of the problem. He trusts Roddy to think first of others, and never of himself, which is admirable enough, but what happens when Roddy does that too much and falls because of it? Especially when it is himself that he no longer trusts; Perceptor doesn't remember ever wanting to hurt Silverbolt, either, but he remembers doing it, and enjoying it. Reveling in it.
He doesn't love Silverbolt, though, and never did. Maybe that can be enough to save them both. If he can trust Rodimus to look after everyone else first, then Perceptor will have to take up that task for him. He finally nods shakily against Roddy's shoulder, hands shaking as he clings tightly. "I trust you. I will take care of you, too," he offers softly. "You will not allow me to hurt you. P-promise me. Promise me, pl-please."
"Ah, Perce..." Rodimus hugs him closer, as if pressure of arms alone could heal his hurting spark. "I promise," he agreed quietly. "I promise."
It was obviously something Perceptor needed to hear, but Rodimus didn't expect to ever have to act on that promise. The idea of Perceptor trying to hurt him, even drug-hazed, was unfathomable - and the drug was no longer an issue. He smiled and leaned back a little, pulling Perceptor on his lap. "And I know you'll take good care of me. You always do," he added with a fond smile.
The words are a salve upon the burn of Perceptor's fear, and he begins to relax against Roddy with a sigh, nodding silently with understanding and acceptance. Rodimus promises, and the young Prime has always been assiduous in honoring his vows as well as almost driven to safeguard everyone around him. He will keep his promise, no matter what.
"Because you forget to do so for yourself," Perceptor murmurs, ignoring the irony of the sentiment. He's still shivering, but from the temperature now, rather than the fear that had been devouring him from the inside, out. He can feel faint trembles from Roddy's frame, as well, though he suspects that Rodimus is trying to hide that fact to keep him from worrying. Even this deep into the cave, the howl of the blizzard is loud and fierce, and swirls of chilled air waft past at regular intervals. "Like now," he adds, daring a thin, shaky smile as he glances up and cycles his engine up a bit to generate more warmth.
"Hey," Rodimus laughed. "Didn't you tell me to save my fuel not ten astroseconds ago?" He shifts, bringing them both as deep into the stone nook as possible and curling up around Perceptor. "It'll warm up nicely in here plenty quickly," he says confidently. "We'll be just fine." He cuddles Perceptor close, as protective as always.
"Eight point six minutes ago, actually," Perceptor replies innocently. "You have more surface area by which to lose heat, and are closer to the exterior." He doesn't resist being snuggled up, though, and shifts himself until he's quite firmly settled across as much of Roddy's form as he can reach.
He feels safe here. Safe, warm enough, and comforted, despite the storm raging beyond their tiny stone haven. The demons... while not completely exorcised, are quelled, at least for the moment, and Roddy's promise sits in his processor like a warm flicker of flame that gently caresses his spark. "I concur," he agrees quietly. He doesn't downshift, though.
He really should insist that Perceptor downshift. Make it an order, even. But after the bitter cold of outside, Perceptor is so wonderfully warm... Rodimus sighs and lays his helm against Perceptor's. I'll make you downshift in a minute, he promises silently, once the nook's all warmed up. That shouldn't take too long... " 'S better," he murmurs. "You warm enough, Perce?" His optics begin to dim.
"Of course," Perceptor replies, nodding against Roddy's shoulder. "You are here." Sentimental, probably, but true, and in more than just a physical sense. If Rodimus were not so obviously drifting off, Perceptor would pull him into a deep kiss, just to demonstrate how warm Roddy has made Perceptor from the spark out. He will not disturb his lover's incipient slumber, however, and settles for shifting only enough to brush his lips against Roddy's cheek, instead. "I have never felt so warm," he whispers softly, "as I have since... since you."
Rodimus is not quite asleep - good thing, too, since he would have hated to miss hearing that. "Want to always," he murmured, tilting his head up, "make you warm." He kissed Perceptor's forehead. "Love you. Don't know how I got so lucky, but I'll try to deserve it."
"Rodimus? 'Do not make me poke you'," Perceptor murmurs fondly, then nuzzles Roddy, nudging his lover's head back down to rest against his shoulder again. "Want you to always, too." He shifts his engine again, this time into a soothing purr, still generating heat, but in a lower, softer tone to lull Roddy to sleep. *And I will try hard to deserve you, as well."
"D'n make m' poke you," Rodimus mumbles automatically against Perceptor's neck, but the purr of Perceptor's engine and the comfort of his warm body are hard to resist. Slowly, slowly, his optics drift off.
"Promises, promises, Roddy," Perceptor whispers, running soothing fingertips over Roddy's helm, his own systems slowly spining down as he settles in to wait out the storm with his love.