The Invictus - Chapter XIX
Chapter Nineteen
“Thank you for having me over, Prowl,” High Wire said as they walked up the path to the small house in which Prowl lived.
“You’re welcome,” Prowl replied. He had trouble meeting High Wire’s optics. She was even prettier up close, and smelled very pretty, like the orchid they’d kept for the last five stellar cycles. “I just have to get a few things done before we can work.”
High Wire agreed to this arrangement as they entered. Prowl hung his worn messenger bag on the wall and knelt in front of the heating stove. A small cloud of ash exploded in his faceplates as he opened the door, and he coughed it out of his intakes. “Atchaa!” he cried. “Grandfather let the fire burn down-he must have fallen into recharge before he realized...”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” High Wire offered, lingering back and watching Prowl curiously.
“No thanks-I think I have it,” Prowl dismissed, waving his hand. Within clicks there was a small fire burning again. “There, done.” He stood and stepped into the washroom to clean the ash off his faceplates. “High Wire, could you heat the kettle of low grade please? Just stoke the fire a little and it’ll do the rest.”
High Wire looked awkwardly at the heating range, on which sat a worn kettle. She edged closer and used a spoon from the counter to poke at the glowing embers. The few tiny flames came to life, and she laid the spoon back on the counter, knocking the residual ash off.
Prowl stepped out of the washroom, patting his faceplates dry. “Need to clean the stove out-vents’re backlogged in ash,” he grumbled. “Sorry about that, High Wire.” His gave her a sheepish smile. “Just gotta take care of a few more things and then we’ll be set.”
“Of course,” High Wire agreed. “Making us tea?”
“Not just yet,” Prowl admitted. “I’m just gonna get my grandfather, Positron, squared away for the afternoon-tea, medicine and a light mid afternoon meal.”
“Is this an… everyday thing?” High Wire questioned as she watched Prowl move around the kitchen.
“Yep,” Prowl confirmed, pulling out some pre-sliced energon and cleaving it into more manageable pieces. “Been doing this every day for… oh… five or six stellar cycles now.” He pointed to the heating stove. “Grandfather’s berth shares the wall with the stove since his internal heating mechanisms have been wearing out with his age. I get that fire going if it’s burned low, and then I’ll bring him tea and something to eat; if he wants to get up and walk, I help him do that, too.”
“Sounds…” High Wire groped for the right word.
“Yeah, it’s labor-intensive,” Prowl dismissed, “but I’ve gotten so used to it that I hardly mind it anymore.” He settled the mug of low grade and a simple plate of energon on a tray and easily picked it up. “Would you like to come with me? Won’t take too long.”
“Ahh… Sure,” High Wire agreed slowly.
Prowl smiled and lead her down the hall. “Grandfather, are you awake?” he called into a slightly closed off room.
“It’s open, Grandson,” Positron called back.
Prowl shouldered the door opened and held it slightly for High Wire, who stepped shyly in. She stood stiffly in the doorframe, hand folded in front of her. Prowl moved through the room with a purpose, balancing the tray on one hand as he maneuvered through the area like a breeze. “Hello, Grandfather,” he greeted with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Hello, Grandson,” Positron replied with a smile of his own. “I am well today, thank you.”
“So I don’t need to add your back medicines to your tea today?” Prowl asked, lifting up a packet of powdered medication.
“Not today, Grandson,” Positron denied.
“I’ll leave it here for you,” Prowl said easily, laying the medicine aside. He handed Positron the mug of tea. “There you go, Grandfather-and here is some energon for you.” He balanced the plate on his grandfather’s knee.
“Ahh-thank you, Grandson,” Positron said as he swallowed the tea. “You take such wonderful care of me.” He kissed Prowl’s cheek as he spoke.
“You’re welcome, Grandfather,” Prowl replied with a grin. “I have someone for you to meet.” The dark youngling turned away from Positron slightly to wave High Wire over.
“This is your classmate, Grandson?” Positron asked, sitting up slightly as High Wire joined the two mechs.
Prowl nodded. “Grandfather, this is High Wire,” he said. “High Wire, this is my Grandfather, Positron.”
“H… Hello,” High Wire said softly.
“Hello, dear,” Positron said in reply, dipping his head in a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet one of my grandson’s classmates.”
“And it’s a pleasure to meet Prowl’s grandfather,” she answered, nodding.
Positron smiled and nodded to her before turning to Prowl. “I’ll leave you two to your studies,” he said gently, patting his hand. “Enjoy yourselves.” He kissed the dark youngling’s forehead. “Treat your guest as well as you treat me, Grandson.”
“Like royalty, Grandfather-I understand,” Prowl teased, kissing the elder mech’s cheek as he stood. “I’ll leave the tea for you. Should I close the door?”
“No, just leave it open slightly,” Positron requested. “Thank you, Grandson.”
“You’re welcome, Grandfather,” Prowl replied, politely showing High Wire out of the room and leaving the door cracked.
“Is he going to be okay?” High Wire asked, looking over her shoulder as they stepped back into the main room.
“He’ll be fine,” Prowl assured her. “We can last all day without me, so the two of us being out here won’t bother him at all.”
High Wire nodded slowly as she found her bag and fished out her assignments. “So… where do we sit?” she questioned.
“I kneel on the floors a lot,” Prowl said easily, bringing his bag to the table and kneeling. “You can kneel or you can sit at that desk.” He pointed to a desk in the corner. “You just have to clear off a space for you and your things.”
“Ahh… I’ll kneel,” High Wire replied, kneeling at the head of the table.
Prowl squirmed uncomfortably. “Uhh… Could you sit somewhere else possibly?” he requested awkwardly. “That’s Grandfather’s place, so it’s not exactly for anyone else.”
“Ohh… sure.” The pale pink femme moved to kneel next to him and looked down at her arithmetic. “So how does all this work again?”
Prowl walked her through the process of solving the long list of problems, never giving answers but explain how to achieve them on one’s own. He felt himself growing physically closer to High Wire with every question-as they spoke, one or the other would scoot a little closer… and a little closer… and a little closer to the other. With every little scoot, Prowl’s spark started to race more and more.
“You’re really great, Prowl,” High Wire softly observed after some time.
“Thank you,” Prowl said sincerely, wanting to shout over the racing of his spark. “You’re… really great, too.”
High Wire scooted a little closer to him, her leg pressing slightly into his. She leaned forward a little, smiling slightly and with rather clear intentions.
Prowl leaned forward as well, hesitating slightly. For all her crystal clearness, he didn’t dare risk upsetting her. Not if he wanted to stand a chance, romantically speaking. Despite his hesitation, High Wire moved in at what Prowl at the time dubbed the perfect pace-she closed the gap between their faceplates and brushed her lip against his. The touch sent electricity of the best kind jolting through his sensory relays; he felt his optics widen before shuttering offline and his hand resting on hers. The writing stylus in his other hand slipped out of his grip as easily as if it were greased.
His first kiss.