Weekly Request Response, Bluestreak/Red Alert
Title: A Little Unwell
Universe: G1AU
Rating: T
Characters: Red Alert, Bluestreak, Ratchet, Jazz, Prowl
Content Advisory: mentions of verbal and emotional abuse, aftermath of abuse, mental health issues, chronic physical health issues, hurt/comfort
Prompt: Red Alert/Bluestreak - Distress
Notes: this is wildly AU even by my standards, lol! There are bits and pieces of extra story and details in my head, so i doubt this will be the last we see from this 'verse. The piece is doing double duty, as a TF Rare Pairing Weekly Request fill and as a fill for hurt/comfort bingo (filling my wild card space for the prompt "abuse".)
Bluestreak stopped outside the security room door when he heard the first noise. He thought it sounded like someone crying, but he wasn't quite sure. The sniper turned to face the door and raised his hands to knock when the noise was repeated.
The silver and grey mech frowned at the muffled sob. There was no reason that anyone should be in Red Alert's security room crying.
Quickly, Bluestreak turned his attention to the lock panel and put in the override code he'd gotten from Jazz--the one he wasn't technically cleared to have, but sometimes they had to break into Prowl's office to help him through a panic attack or reboot him after his tactical suite went down. The door slid open quietly, and the sniper stepped into the room.
"W-w-who's there?" The electricity crackling over Red Alert's sensory fins cast bright blue light into the otherwise dark room. Not even the security chief's monitors were active. Something was very wrong with Red. "Inferno, i-i-if th-that's y-y-you!"
"It's me, Red. Just Bluestreak." Blue sidestepped, moving out of the hall light and letting it shine across his frame so that the other mech could see him.
"B-bluestreak? Wh-wh-what do you want?"
"I heard someone crying." The silver mech moved to Red's side. "What happened?"
"N-n-n-nothing." The electrical output across his helm fins increased.
"Red, this isn't nothing. YOur monitors aren't even on." Bluestreak kept his voice gentle. "Who's supposed to be on shift? You were off an hour ago."
"I-i-i-inferno." Red's stutter grew more pronounced and he curled into a ball at the sound. "B-b-b-bu-but he s-said th-th-that he was s-s-sick of b-being the only o-other b-bot on s-s-security. H-he l-l-left."
The sniper sensed that there was more to the story, but he decided it was best to let it go for now. There were more important things at stake. "Okay. I'm going to get on the comm with Prowl and get someone in here to replace you and then we'll get out of here, okay?"
"O-o-okay."
"Okay." He gave the red and white mech a small smile and the opened up a comm line to the second in command. "Prowl, we have a problem in the security office."
"Tell Inferno that his duty shift ends in nine Earth hours, just like every other mech's."
"Prowl, Inferno is the problem. He's not at his post and he and Red have had some kind of fight. I found Red stuck in a processor loop with all the lights and monitors off."
"What?!" Prowl sounded both shocked and angry. "How long has he been AWOL?"
"Red says about an hour." Bluestreak reached out and put a hand on Red Alert's shoulder. The security officer flinched at the contacct, but didn't shake the silver mech off.
"He has a great deal of explaining to do. Jazz is on his way to the office. Once he arrives, take Red Alert to Ratchet. I'm reassigning Brawn to cover your shift, since that has the potential to take some time."
"No problem, Prowl. I'll take care of him." The silver mech turned his attention back to the other mech. "Red, Jazz is on his way to take over. Prowl wants us to go to Ratchet, so that we can get your processor re-stabilized."
"N-n-not a glitch." The security mech curled in on himself further.
"No, you're not a glitch." Blue scooted closer to the other mech and pulled him against his chest. The electrical charge jumped from red's fins to his chest and stung, but the sniper didn't flinch; the security director needed his strength right now. Red's intakes hitched, and he reached a hand out and dug his fingers into the gap between the sniper's chest plates and his neck. "We just have to get the energy output stabilized before it does any damage."
"O-okay."
Bluestreak held the mech close, rocking slightly. Almost unconsciously, he began humming an old Praxian lullabye as he comforted the distraught mech.
After a few minutes--only two according to his internal chronometer, but it felt longer--Jazz stepped into the room. "I'm here to relieve you, Red. You can head on over to see Ratchet."
"Th-th-thank you, Jazz." Red Alert didn't meet the black and white's gaze, focusing on trying to struggle to his feet.
Bluestreak stood more gracefully and pulled the red and white mech up with him. "Thanks for getting here so fast. Want me to keep you up to date?"
"Nah. I'll keep an eye on the monitors. If you see Bee, though, tell him I have a job for him." Jazz shooed them toward the door. "Now get going. Ratchet's waiting for you."
The silver mech nodded and started to lead the security director to the door. Red stopped and turned his head slightly toward the saboteur.
"J-jazz, the m-m-m-monitors--"
"It's okay, Red. I can fix 'em almost as well as I can break 'em. I'll call Jack if I need help." The black and whiet mechsmiled. "Now, go get better."
Red Alert nodded and curled back into Blue's chest. The Praxian started moving toward the hall again, and his charge followed him without any further resistance.
Their walk to medbay was quiet and undisturbed. Prowl had to have cleared the hallways; there was no other way they would have passed by the Rec Room without seeing someone. The lack of confrontation seemed to help Red enough that his sensory fins were no longer sparking.
"The back room is open," Ratchet said as soon as they stepped into the medbay.
Red Alert flinched at the medic's voice. "P-p-p-please d-d-don't rep-program me!"
"What?" Ratchet looked at the security officer in shock. "What even gave you that idea? I would never re-program you!"
Bluestreak pulled the red and white mech closer and put a comforting hand on Red's head. He could feel the static tingles on his palm that signaled another buildup of energy across the frightened mech's sensory network and had to suppress a wave of anger at Inferno. Just what had the other mech said to Red Alert? "Shh, Red. It's all right. No one is reprogramming you. Ratchet is going to help you stabilize your processor, remember?"
"B-b-b-but Inferno s-said--"
"Inferno says a lot of things. That doesn't make him right." Blue rubbed the other mech's head soothingly. "Ratchet is going to help you."
"P-p-p-promise?"
"I promise."
"Ok-k-kay." Red dug his fingers into the gap between Bluestreak's chest plates and his neck again, holding onto the metal tightly.
The sniper felt his spark break a little. The security director must have been terrified that he was going to die in here.
"How long has his vocalizer been stuttering?" Ratchet asked after Red had calmed back down.
"Since I found him," the silver mech replied. "Might have been longer, but I'm not sure we could get an accurate time right now."
"No, probably not." The medic sighed. "Take him into the back room so he can have some privacy. I'll be in once he's settled."
"Okay." Bluestreak gave Ratchet a relieved smile and started carefully guiding Red Alert toward the private room in the back of the medbay. "Come on, Red. It'll be nice and quiet in the back. We can even turn off the lights if you want."
"P-p-please? It h-h-hurts my o-optics."
"No problem. Whatever it takes to help you get better."
The security officer fell silent at the snipers words, though he didn't release his grip on the other mech's plating. Blue didn't mind. He would rather that Red used him as a security blanket all night than be caught in another of those processor loops.
"Teletraan," he said as they stepped into the isolation room, "Please turn off the lights and mute the speakers and alarms in this isolation room. Do not turn them back on until Red Alert gives vocal authorization."
"Acknowledged," Teletraan said. Then the lights dimmed slowly and the background noise from the normally active speakers faded away.
"Better?" Blue asked.
"Y-yes. Th-thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, the berth is about twelve paces ahead. We're going to walk over to it and then you need to lay down so that Ratchet can work, okay?"
"O-okay." There was a crackle of static and a brief flash of blue light at the red and white mech's words. "D-d-don't l-l-leave m-me?"
"I won't." The promise fell easy from the silver mech's vocalizer. He had all the time they needed since Prowl had taken him off duty. "I'll be right here the whole time."
"O-okay."
Bluestreak rubbed Red Alert's head again, then started them forward. He could still see the berth through the light of the open door, but he wasn't sure his charge was paying any attention at all to its location. The security officer made an unhappy sound when his thigh touched the metal.
"Time to lay down, Red."
"D-d-don't let R-r-ratchet r-reprogram me!" The red and white mech's grip tightened on his chest plates.
"I won't. I'll keep you safe." The sniper reached up and wrapped his hand around the other mech's wrist. "I'll be right beside you while he works. Everything is going to be fine."
"P-p-promise?"
"I promise."
Slowly, Red Alert let go of Bluestreak's chest plates. Blue loosened his grip on the other mech's wrist so that Red could pull away from him, and the security mech grabbed his hand and held on tightly. The silver mech squeezed back reassuringly. Then, sill with the same slow movements, Red Alert hitched up one leg and slid himself awkwardly onto the berth.
He was still clutching Bluestreak's hand as he laid back. "W-w-why d-does he say s-s-such h-h-hurtful th-things to m-me?"
"I don't know." The sniper used his free hand to lift Red's dangling leg up onto the berth. "But he won't say them again, if I have anything to do with it."
"W-wish he w-was m-more l-like y-you," the security officer said. His grip on the silver mech's hand loosened as he relaxed into the contouring gel on the berth. "W-wish h-he w-was st-still n-nice."
"I wish he was too, Red." Blue moved closer and laid Red's hand on his abdomen. Then he bent and pressed a kiss to the other mech's forehead. "You ready for Ratchet?"
"Y-you're st-staying?"
"I'm staying."
"Th-th-then y-y-yes." Red's optics were wide with fear still, but he was clearly trusting the sniper to take care of him.
Bluestreak swore to himself that he would do everything he could to be worthy of that trust. "Teletraan, please tell Ratchet we're ready for him."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I've never seen Red wound so tight or had so much trouble getting his feedback loops ironed out. What happened?"
Bluestreak looked away from the recharging mech on the medical berth and over to Ratchet. "He and Inferno had some kind of fight. I don't know all the details, but he convinced Red that he's some kind of glitch and that you were going to reprogram him. I think he thought I was bringing him to die."
"I would never!" The medic kept his voice pitched at an angry hiss, but Red still stirred slightly. "When I get my hands on him, Inferno will wish he was the one being reprogrammed!"
"You'll have to stand in line," the sniper said with a dark smile. "I'm pretty sure Jazz and Prowl already have plans for him."
"They would." Ratchet smirked. "I suppose we can trust them to punish Inferno appropriately."
"Yeah." The silver mech returned his attention to Red Alert. "How long before he's finished his recharge and defrag?"
"About another five hours. Why don't you go get some recharge of your own? I'll stay with him."
Blue shook his head. "I promised him I'd stay."
"He's probably not even going to remember all that," the medic told him. "It'll be fine."
"No, I promised." Bluestreak looked back at the older mech with a frown. "It doesn't matter if he remembers. I do, and I won't break my promise to him. He trusted me not to let you kill him, and I won't violate that trust."
"All right." Ratchet sighed. "You want me to bring in one of the emergency cots then?"
"I'll be fine. I had a cycle before all this happened."
"Suit yourself. I'll be in my office if anything changes."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Inferno!" Red Alert bolted upright on the berth, sending his thermal regulating blanket fluttering to the floor. He blinked and looked around him in confusion. His gaze settled on Bluestreak, who's optics were lighting the room dimly. "Where am I?"
"Medbay. You had a really bad episode last night."
"Again?" The security director looked down at his hands. "Maybe Inferno's right and Ratchet should just reformat and reprogram me."
"No!" Bluestreak put all the force he could behind the single word without shouting. "We are not killing you because he thinks you're too much work. Inferno is an idiot, who isn't even trying to understand what you go through every day."
"How could he? He's normal." Red didn't look up.
"So is Jazz, but that hasn't kept him from understanding, and having a really strong relationship with Prowl, has it?" The silver mech stood up and crossed the room to the security director's side. "He doesn't have to experience what you or Prowl or I go through to understand it. He just needs to understand that it's there and learn how to help us when it's more than we can cope with on our own."
"You?" Red Alert looked up in shock.
"Sure. My nightmares aren't just memory purges. They're feedback loops caused by the same kind of processor deterioration you and Prowl are suffering. Our specialty upgrades are a mixed blessing, as the humans would say."
"It wasn't as bad before we came to Earth," the other mech said. "He just hasn't be able to cope with my... glitch outs since."
"That's because he was just coping before instead of being a good partner and helping you." The sniper didn't add that he wasn't sure just how much coping Inferno had been doing. Red's partner seemed more focused on bringing him down than anything else.
"He used to," the red and white mech whispered. "A long time ago."
"I know. I had a partner like that a long time ago, too."
"How... how do you make it without him?"
"I have friends who support me and look out for me. They've made a lot of difference." Blue reached down and took Red's hand. "You have those too, you know. Prowl and Jazz and I, we all were looking out for you last night."
"You brought me here." Realization creeped across the security director's face. "I thought I dreamed that. But you brought me to Ratchet, and Jazz took over my security room."
"And Prowl went out to find Inferno, busted him for dereliction of duty and threw him in the brig. After Sunstreaker punched him in the mouth for abandoning you." The sniper squeezed the red and white mech's hand. "You have friends, Red. You can do this."
"Someday you won't want to help me anymore."
"Not going to happen." Blue used their joined hands to tug the other mech against his chest and hugged him tightly. "I'm your friend and that's what friends do."
"But why?" Red alert seemed truly confused. "I'm glitched."
"You're not glitched, Red. I keep telling you that." The sniper squeezed the security director again. "We just run differently than everyone else. And I'm your friend because I like you. You're smart and witty, and no matter what anyone says you always have the Autobots best interests in mind."
"I've never been able to rely on anyone but Inferno," Red Alert confessed. "How do I know I can rely on you?"
"I think you already know," Bluestreak replied. "You trusted me enough to rely on me to keep Ratchet from reformatting you last night."
"I... I did, didn't I?" The security director looked up at him and gave the sniper a hesitant smile.
Universe: G1AU
Rating: T
Characters: Red Alert, Bluestreak, Ratchet, Jazz, Prowl
Content Advisory: mentions of verbal and emotional abuse, aftermath of abuse, mental health issues, chronic physical health issues, hurt/comfort
Prompt: Red Alert/Bluestreak - Distress
Notes: this is wildly AU even by my standards, lol! There are bits and pieces of extra story and details in my head, so i doubt this will be the last we see from this 'verse. The piece is doing double duty, as a TF Rare Pairing Weekly Request fill and as a fill for hurt/comfort bingo (filling my wild card space for the prompt "abuse".)
Bluestreak stopped outside the security room door when he heard the first noise. He thought it sounded like someone crying, but he wasn't quite sure. The sniper turned to face the door and raised his hands to knock when the noise was repeated.
The silver and grey mech frowned at the muffled sob. There was no reason that anyone should be in Red Alert's security room crying.
Quickly, Bluestreak turned his attention to the lock panel and put in the override code he'd gotten from Jazz--the one he wasn't technically cleared to have, but sometimes they had to break into Prowl's office to help him through a panic attack or reboot him after his tactical suite went down. The door slid open quietly, and the sniper stepped into the room.
"W-w-who's there?" The electricity crackling over Red Alert's sensory fins cast bright blue light into the otherwise dark room. Not even the security chief's monitors were active. Something was very wrong with Red. "Inferno, i-i-if th-that's y-y-you!"
"It's me, Red. Just Bluestreak." Blue sidestepped, moving out of the hall light and letting it shine across his frame so that the other mech could see him.
"B-bluestreak? Wh-wh-what do you want?"
"I heard someone crying." The silver mech moved to Red's side. "What happened?"
"N-n-n-nothing." The electrical output across his helm fins increased.
"Red, this isn't nothing. YOur monitors aren't even on." Bluestreak kept his voice gentle. "Who's supposed to be on shift? You were off an hour ago."
"I-i-i-inferno." Red's stutter grew more pronounced and he curled into a ball at the sound. "B-b-b-bu-but he s-said th-th-that he was s-s-sick of b-being the only o-other b-bot on s-s-security. H-he l-l-left."
The sniper sensed that there was more to the story, but he decided it was best to let it go for now. There were more important things at stake. "Okay. I'm going to get on the comm with Prowl and get someone in here to replace you and then we'll get out of here, okay?"
"O-o-okay."
"Okay." He gave the red and white mech a small smile and the opened up a comm line to the second in command. "Prowl, we have a problem in the security office."
"Tell Inferno that his duty shift ends in nine Earth hours, just like every other mech's."
"Prowl, Inferno is the problem. He's not at his post and he and Red have had some kind of fight. I found Red stuck in a processor loop with all the lights and monitors off."
"What?!" Prowl sounded both shocked and angry. "How long has he been AWOL?"
"Red says about an hour." Bluestreak reached out and put a hand on Red Alert's shoulder. The security officer flinched at the contacct, but didn't shake the silver mech off.
"He has a great deal of explaining to do. Jazz is on his way to the office. Once he arrives, take Red Alert to Ratchet. I'm reassigning Brawn to cover your shift, since that has the potential to take some time."
"No problem, Prowl. I'll take care of him." The silver mech turned his attention back to the other mech. "Red, Jazz is on his way to take over. Prowl wants us to go to Ratchet, so that we can get your processor re-stabilized."
"N-n-not a glitch." The security mech curled in on himself further.
"No, you're not a glitch." Blue scooted closer to the other mech and pulled him against his chest. The electrical charge jumped from red's fins to his chest and stung, but the sniper didn't flinch; the security director needed his strength right now. Red's intakes hitched, and he reached a hand out and dug his fingers into the gap between the sniper's chest plates and his neck. "We just have to get the energy output stabilized before it does any damage."
"O-okay."
Bluestreak held the mech close, rocking slightly. Almost unconsciously, he began humming an old Praxian lullabye as he comforted the distraught mech.
After a few minutes--only two according to his internal chronometer, but it felt longer--Jazz stepped into the room. "I'm here to relieve you, Red. You can head on over to see Ratchet."
"Th-th-thank you, Jazz." Red Alert didn't meet the black and white's gaze, focusing on trying to struggle to his feet.
Bluestreak stood more gracefully and pulled the red and white mech up with him. "Thanks for getting here so fast. Want me to keep you up to date?"
"Nah. I'll keep an eye on the monitors. If you see Bee, though, tell him I have a job for him." Jazz shooed them toward the door. "Now get going. Ratchet's waiting for you."
The silver mech nodded and started to lead the security director to the door. Red stopped and turned his head slightly toward the saboteur.
"J-jazz, the m-m-m-monitors--"
"It's okay, Red. I can fix 'em almost as well as I can break 'em. I'll call Jack if I need help." The black and whiet mechsmiled. "Now, go get better."
Red Alert nodded and curled back into Blue's chest. The Praxian started moving toward the hall again, and his charge followed him without any further resistance.
Their walk to medbay was quiet and undisturbed. Prowl had to have cleared the hallways; there was no other way they would have passed by the Rec Room without seeing someone. The lack of confrontation seemed to help Red enough that his sensory fins were no longer sparking.
"The back room is open," Ratchet said as soon as they stepped into the medbay.
Red Alert flinched at the medic's voice. "P-p-p-please d-d-don't rep-program me!"
"What?" Ratchet looked at the security officer in shock. "What even gave you that idea? I would never re-program you!"
Bluestreak pulled the red and white mech closer and put a comforting hand on Red's head. He could feel the static tingles on his palm that signaled another buildup of energy across the frightened mech's sensory network and had to suppress a wave of anger at Inferno. Just what had the other mech said to Red Alert? "Shh, Red. It's all right. No one is reprogramming you. Ratchet is going to help you stabilize your processor, remember?"
"B-b-b-but Inferno s-said--"
"Inferno says a lot of things. That doesn't make him right." Blue rubbed the other mech's head soothingly. "Ratchet is going to help you."
"P-p-p-promise?"
"I promise."
"Ok-k-kay." Red dug his fingers into the gap between Bluestreak's chest plates and his neck again, holding onto the metal tightly.
The sniper felt his spark break a little. The security director must have been terrified that he was going to die in here.
"How long has his vocalizer been stuttering?" Ratchet asked after Red had calmed back down.
"Since I found him," the silver mech replied. "Might have been longer, but I'm not sure we could get an accurate time right now."
"No, probably not." The medic sighed. "Take him into the back room so he can have some privacy. I'll be in once he's settled."
"Okay." Bluestreak gave Ratchet a relieved smile and started carefully guiding Red Alert toward the private room in the back of the medbay. "Come on, Red. It'll be nice and quiet in the back. We can even turn off the lights if you want."
"P-p-please? It h-h-hurts my o-optics."
"No problem. Whatever it takes to help you get better."
The security officer fell silent at the snipers words, though he didn't release his grip on the other mech's plating. Blue didn't mind. He would rather that Red used him as a security blanket all night than be caught in another of those processor loops.
"Teletraan," he said as they stepped into the isolation room, "Please turn off the lights and mute the speakers and alarms in this isolation room. Do not turn them back on until Red Alert gives vocal authorization."
"Acknowledged," Teletraan said. Then the lights dimmed slowly and the background noise from the normally active speakers faded away.
"Better?" Blue asked.
"Y-yes. Th-thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, the berth is about twelve paces ahead. We're going to walk over to it and then you need to lay down so that Ratchet can work, okay?"
"O-okay." There was a crackle of static and a brief flash of blue light at the red and white mech's words. "D-d-don't l-l-leave m-me?"
"I won't." The promise fell easy from the silver mech's vocalizer. He had all the time they needed since Prowl had taken him off duty. "I'll be right here the whole time."
"O-okay."
Bluestreak rubbed Red Alert's head again, then started them forward. He could still see the berth through the light of the open door, but he wasn't sure his charge was paying any attention at all to its location. The security officer made an unhappy sound when his thigh touched the metal.
"Time to lay down, Red."
"D-d-don't let R-r-ratchet r-reprogram me!" The red and white mech's grip tightened on his chest plates.
"I won't. I'll keep you safe." The sniper reached up and wrapped his hand around the other mech's wrist. "I'll be right beside you while he works. Everything is going to be fine."
"P-p-promise?"
"I promise."
Slowly, Red Alert let go of Bluestreak's chest plates. Blue loosened his grip on the other mech's wrist so that Red could pull away from him, and the security mech grabbed his hand and held on tightly. The silver mech squeezed back reassuringly. Then, sill with the same slow movements, Red Alert hitched up one leg and slid himself awkwardly onto the berth.
He was still clutching Bluestreak's hand as he laid back. "W-w-why d-does he say s-s-such h-h-hurtful th-things to m-me?"
"I don't know." The sniper used his free hand to lift Red's dangling leg up onto the berth. "But he won't say them again, if I have anything to do with it."
"W-wish he w-was m-more l-like y-you," the security officer said. His grip on the silver mech's hand loosened as he relaxed into the contouring gel on the berth. "W-wish h-he w-was st-still n-nice."
"I wish he was too, Red." Blue moved closer and laid Red's hand on his abdomen. Then he bent and pressed a kiss to the other mech's forehead. "You ready for Ratchet?"
"Y-you're st-staying?"
"I'm staying."
"Th-th-then y-y-yes." Red's optics were wide with fear still, but he was clearly trusting the sniper to take care of him.
Bluestreak swore to himself that he would do everything he could to be worthy of that trust. "Teletraan, please tell Ratchet we're ready for him."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I've never seen Red wound so tight or had so much trouble getting his feedback loops ironed out. What happened?"
Bluestreak looked away from the recharging mech on the medical berth and over to Ratchet. "He and Inferno had some kind of fight. I don't know all the details, but he convinced Red that he's some kind of glitch and that you were going to reprogram him. I think he thought I was bringing him to die."
"I would never!" The medic kept his voice pitched at an angry hiss, but Red still stirred slightly. "When I get my hands on him, Inferno will wish he was the one being reprogrammed!"
"You'll have to stand in line," the sniper said with a dark smile. "I'm pretty sure Jazz and Prowl already have plans for him."
"They would." Ratchet smirked. "I suppose we can trust them to punish Inferno appropriately."
"Yeah." The silver mech returned his attention to Red Alert. "How long before he's finished his recharge and defrag?"
"About another five hours. Why don't you go get some recharge of your own? I'll stay with him."
Blue shook his head. "I promised him I'd stay."
"He's probably not even going to remember all that," the medic told him. "It'll be fine."
"No, I promised." Bluestreak looked back at the older mech with a frown. "It doesn't matter if he remembers. I do, and I won't break my promise to him. He trusted me not to let you kill him, and I won't violate that trust."
"All right." Ratchet sighed. "You want me to bring in one of the emergency cots then?"
"I'll be fine. I had a cycle before all this happened."
"Suit yourself. I'll be in my office if anything changes."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Inferno!" Red Alert bolted upright on the berth, sending his thermal regulating blanket fluttering to the floor. He blinked and looked around him in confusion. His gaze settled on Bluestreak, who's optics were lighting the room dimly. "Where am I?"
"Medbay. You had a really bad episode last night."
"Again?" The security director looked down at his hands. "Maybe Inferno's right and Ratchet should just reformat and reprogram me."
"No!" Bluestreak put all the force he could behind the single word without shouting. "We are not killing you because he thinks you're too much work. Inferno is an idiot, who isn't even trying to understand what you go through every day."
"How could he? He's normal." Red didn't look up.
"So is Jazz, but that hasn't kept him from understanding, and having a really strong relationship with Prowl, has it?" The silver mech stood up and crossed the room to the security director's side. "He doesn't have to experience what you or Prowl or I go through to understand it. He just needs to understand that it's there and learn how to help us when it's more than we can cope with on our own."
"You?" Red Alert looked up in shock.
"Sure. My nightmares aren't just memory purges. They're feedback loops caused by the same kind of processor deterioration you and Prowl are suffering. Our specialty upgrades are a mixed blessing, as the humans would say."
"It wasn't as bad before we came to Earth," the other mech said. "He just hasn't be able to cope with my... glitch outs since."
"That's because he was just coping before instead of being a good partner and helping you." The sniper didn't add that he wasn't sure just how much coping Inferno had been doing. Red's partner seemed more focused on bringing him down than anything else.
"He used to," the red and white mech whispered. "A long time ago."
"I know. I had a partner like that a long time ago, too."
"How... how do you make it without him?"
"I have friends who support me and look out for me. They've made a lot of difference." Blue reached down and took Red's hand. "You have those too, you know. Prowl and Jazz and I, we all were looking out for you last night."
"You brought me here." Realization creeped across the security director's face. "I thought I dreamed that. But you brought me to Ratchet, and Jazz took over my security room."
"And Prowl went out to find Inferno, busted him for dereliction of duty and threw him in the brig. After Sunstreaker punched him in the mouth for abandoning you." The sniper squeezed the red and white mech's hand. "You have friends, Red. You can do this."
"Someday you won't want to help me anymore."
"Not going to happen." Blue used their joined hands to tug the other mech against his chest and hugged him tightly. "I'm your friend and that's what friends do."
"But why?" Red alert seemed truly confused. "I'm glitched."
"You're not glitched, Red. I keep telling you that." The sniper squeezed the security director again. "We just run differently than everyone else. And I'm your friend because I like you. You're smart and witty, and no matter what anyone says you always have the Autobots best interests in mind."
"I've never been able to rely on anyone but Inferno," Red Alert confessed. "How do I know I can rely on you?"
"I think you already know," Bluestreak replied. "You trusted me enough to rely on me to keep Ratchet from reformatting you last night."
"I... I did, didn't I?" The security director looked up at him and gave the sniper a hesitant smile.