bluh bluh bluh
My eyes hurt.
Giving up on getting his back any better, Optimus opens a comline to Sari. "I was wondering if you could loan me Cyclonus for a bit. I need help polishing."
"You need help. . . polishing?" Sari asks, disbelieving. "Primus, I'm glad you didn't ask the hotel for help."
He's not really sure why that is, so he just ignores it. "Will he come and help, though? I really can't reach my back."
"Yeah, I'll be coming with, and so will Buster."
Optimus sighs, "You could call Thrust by his actual name, you know."
"No, I can't."
And she severs the call before he can reply. It is always frustrating when she does that.
Optimus notices the box of interfacing toys underneath his berth and flushes, shoving it as far back against the wall as possible. No need to advertise that he's been experimenting with them all.
He cleans up everything nervously, not that there's much to clean, and waits for Sari and the others to show up.
He's unsurprised to see the door just open for Cyclonus; the jetbot is holding Thrust in his arms, and Sari is on his shoulder. She slips off the mech easily, and tsks at Optimus, "You were being naughty. You were polishing while talking to Ultra."
Optimus gives her a blank look. "Naughty? I was only trying to give myself a polish. I even turned the call off before polishing my sparkplates."
She walks over to him, and runs a finger along his leg. "Because looking like a seeker polished you is completely innocent. Right." She snaps her fingers, and Cyclonus reluctantly puts Thrust on the ground and walks over to the berth. "Do you know how to do seeker polishing?"
Cyclonus nods and picks up a polishing cloth. He adjusts Thrust so he's nearby, and pushes a second polishing cloth into the bikebot's servos. "I will teach you."
Optimus isn't sure he wants a stranger bot polishing him this way, but he doesn't protest. For now.
He lets Cyclonus push him so his back is exposed as he lies down, and they get to work. Sari walks on the berth so he can look at her, and she pats him on the head, "We're going to be spending extra time here. You don't mind, do you?"
He shakes his head, "I'd actually feel a bit silly being all polished like this if we're just going to be in the ship."
Sari pets his helmet. "You're really shiny right now. I like it. I can use you as a mirror."
Optimus shakes his head. "You're being ridiculous. I'm not that shiny."
She moves a little bit, clearly checking her reflection, "Sure seems like that to me." He stretches a bit. "I'm glad you're willing to go to such lengths to look nice for Ultra."
He gives her a confused look, shifting a bit so Thrust and Cyclonus can get to another part of his back unconsciously, "I thought you didn't like Ultra."
She scoffs, "He's a dirty old man, but this shows you really do love him. Love him enough to care about your appearance."
"He likes it when I'm well-polished. I see no reason not to indulge that every now and then." And it felt nice to have bots who were not Starscream helping him.
Sari us poking him right between the optics. "You want to be pretty for him. That's okay."
He blushes faintly. "It is nice to look nice sometimes."
She smiles at him. "It is."
Optimus glances back over his shoulder. "Get your servo off my aft, Cyclonus. I don't need help polishing that."
The jetbot stares at him for a long moment, and then returns to what he was doing. Optimus sighs. "Sari," he begins to complain, and she walks over and punches Cyclonus's ped.
"Focus on his back. I know this is what a seeker would do, but keep your servos off aft and sparkplates. Headfins too."
Cyclonus gives her a blank look, but does as directed, while Thrust gives her a nervous look, but continues to work on Optimus. "Why are we polishing him like seekers?" the latest addition to the group enquires.
She snorts, "Because, Radical, he was using a seeker technique to polish himself in front of Ultra. We aren't letting him remain unfinished."
Thrust looks confused, but he continues to polish the way Cyclonus showed him to. "Do you interact with seekers frequently?"
"All the fragging time. We all take turns sparklingsitting for them. You'll end up doing it too, if you don't run off screaming first."
The cyclebot seems to shrink in on himself, "I'll try my best, Pri-Sari."
She reaches over and pats the bot on the head. "If you don't do well, you won't be stopped from going home. You aren't obligated to stay, no matter how much Cyclonus will pout if you leave."
"I won't disappoint you," he insists, and Sari flicks his helmet.
"I don't care if you get scared of the seekers. Lots of bots do. Just remember to keep your servos off their wings unless they invite you to touch them, and for the love of fuck, don't let them start singing."
Thrust gives her a confused look, "Singing?"
Optimus and Sari shudder. The priestess says, "They can't sing, but for some reason they keep trying."
Optimus sighs. "I think that's because of Scatterstar, really. He sang them that lullaby all the time when he was with them."
"Fragging Scatterstar," Sari curses. "Little bot was crazy in the head. They kidnap him, and he goes and falls in love with Skywarp."
Optimus gets moved by Cyclonus, more of his frame getting worked on, and Thruster just sits there helplessly. "I... I don't know who that is."
Sari and Optimus exchange a look, and she sighs, "I'll explain later. If you decide not to return to your planet, you'll learn as you go. Don't worry about it."
"I will try my best," Thrust promises, setting the polishing cloth down. "I think we are finished."
Across from him, Cyclonus shrugs and drops his cloth, pulling Thrust into his arms. Optimus stands and stretches, watching the cyclebot adjust himself into a more comfortable position. He wonders what the bot will end up doing after they return to Cybertron. Optimus can't imagine anyone would be happy living purely as some kind of ... pet bot.
Perhaps Cyclonus. But even he was starting to show signs of other interests.
Looking around, he shrugs. "What am I supposed to do today?"
Sari frowns, "I'm not really sure. I was planning on having these two have maintenance done, but you already had that. You can come with us, and we can check with the staff. Have you fueled up?"
"I haven't had a chance yet," Optimus admits, and his tanks send up a low fuel notification in response. So very useful, those warnings.
Sari snaps her fingers at Cyclonus. "Go get energon for us. His dispenser is just over there."
The jetbot walks over, and comes back with three cubes, handing one to Thrust and Optimus while keeping one to himself. The bot then reaches into his sub-space and hands Sari something Optimus can't recognize only for it to get pushed away. Thrust taps his fingers together. "Did you want me to go get you something else to eat?"
She shakes her head, "I'm going to be ordering something from here, I want to know what else they have. Maybe some sort of eggs? I could kill for a pancake."
Optimus has a recipe for breakfast foods in his files, and he sends it attached to a message to the hotel kitchen. If they've stocked up on supplies, they should be able to cobble something together for Sari. "I was never that impressed with organic food."
"That's because Prowl made you eat shitty vegetarian food. Don't get me wrong, vegetarian stuff can be great, but Prowl gave you salads from a fast-food chain. That's the epitome of gross."
Thrust looks confused, but they ignore him. Optimus drinks his energon. "I really wouldn't know. You liked the place."
"And I ate burgers there. Not salads. There's a pretty large difference in that. Bulkhead was happy with it."
Finishing his energon, Optimus only offers her a shrug. "I sent a request down for you. Do you want to wait until they bring it up, or go to the restaurant downstairs?"
Sari bites her lip, thinking hard. "Man, I've had to go to enough formal dinner parties. I don't want to have to sit there with the chef hovering, and pretend it tastes amazing if it actually tastes like dog food."
"You said they had ice cream. They don't do too badly, do they?"
She sighs, "They did okay on the other stuff. But they are no New Axis. They seemed pretty amazed I could eat frozen things, and had been apologizing the entire time about it."
"Energon is nearly impossible to freeze, and inedible when it is made that way," Optimus explains. "They likely assumed human food was the same."
Sari arches an eyebrow at him. "Really? Well, we'll see about that. First energon popsicle I make I'm feeding to you."
He gives her a confused look. "I don't know how well that will work, Sari."
She smiles, "It's a brand new project to work on. I'll be sure to talk to my company back on earth about it. Rust and Cyclonus can be the testers." She pauses. "And any non-carrying seekers and Bee, of course."
"I hope you succeed." Optimus gives her a quick hug, careful not to ruin his polish. The door chimes, and a waiterbot brings a service table full of ... things. Most of them appear edible, at least when compared to the various foods he'd seen Sari consume over the stellar cycles.
She pokes at what might be pancakes, if a pancake was significantly more egg than anything else. She gives the waiterbot a small smile, "Thank you. I'll be sure to tell the chef what I think when I finish."
The waiterbot gives her a strained smile, "Thank you, ... Priestess. Would you like me to st-"
She waves him off. "No, that's fine. Thank you." The bot gives her another strained smile and takes off. She rolls her eyes, and prods the food. "Most of these dickbots think I'm your whore, Optimus."
"And most of my classmates assumed I was using my spark to pass my classes," Optimus gets himself another cube of energon to drink. "As much as I would like to teach them a ... lesson about etiquette and organic appreciation, we're not going to be on this planet anywhere near long enough for it to be effective."
Saro sighs, "Sadly." She takes a bite of the not-really-a-pancake. "I'm kind of amazed they thought of silverware, though. They even got me plates! How did they do that? Yesterday everything was in cubes."
"They might have picked it up from the files I sent with recipes. There were a variety of images included to help illustrate what they should be looking for." He sighs, "Along with a list of the chemical composition of foods that you could not eat, or I know you strongly dislike. I hope they read that one."
She shrugs, taking a bite out of each dish, "They seem to have. It all tastes pretty okay, and the AllSpark isn't screaming at me about something that will kill me."
He pokes the cube of a liquid off to the side. "Can you drink this?"
She sips it, and makes a face. "It is pretty disgusting, actually. Get me a bottle of water, Cyclonus."
The jetbot retrieves a bottle of water obediently, handing it to her. She drinks it and sighs, "Much better. Gotta love good old H2O."
The food is really quite fascinating. Most of it is done up in Autobot-sized portions, and there's no way Sari could eat it all, even if she were starving.
She picks and chooses through them, and Thrust looks at it curiously. "Could I try it, Pr-Sari?"
She laughs softly, "I don't think you could eat any, but you're welcome to if that's what you want."
Picking up a tiny piece of some kind of fruit, Thrust holds it in front of his optics and studies it, before cautiously sticking out his glossa to lick it. His optics narrow. "It is ... strange." The fruit is crushed between his denta, and the bot chews, and Optimus can't help his smile when the bot's expression shifts to one of utter disgust.
Sari snickers, "Not very good, huh?" Thrust nods, but swallows what he tried, anyway. Sari reaches into her own sub-space, making a face as she does so. "I'm going to give you something that a friend of mine made me, and I'm told is the best thing any bot has ever tasted. You're going to have to share with Optimus and Cyclonus, though."
Optimus perks up. Was she going to give them the energon candy Oil Slick had made for her? He certainly hopes so.
She displays a single piece of candy and tears it into three pieces, offering one to each of the bots. Optimus takes his and feels utterly shameful and indulgent when it melts on his glossa. He offlines his optics to enjoy it better, and isn't surprised to hear Thrust make absolutely filthy noises as he enjoys his.
He's licking and nibbling his fingers, trying to get it all, and when he onlines his optics, Thrust is staring at Sari's slightly pink fingers intently.
Cyclonus drops to his knees and takes Sari's hand, curling his glossa around her fingers to get the candy residue off. She makes a face and smacks his antennae. "Gross. Don't lick my hand. Now I'm going to have to wash your germs off."
She pulls out a napkin and cleans off her hands, making Thrust and Optimus whine unhappily. Thrust looks at the napkin and then at her, "Priestess..."
She gives the bot a dirty look, "No, Rad," she pauses when Thrust flinches, then continues, "you may not eat the napkin. I don't care how delicious you think that stuff is, you'll get sick."
"Of course, Priestess," he murmurs, ducking his head down. "I'm sorry."
Sari smacks his shoulder. "Don't be like that. I'm just not cleaning up any more puke. It was bad enough when Cyclonus ate a napkin. And several sheets of paper."
The cyclebot blushes faintly. "I wouldn't do that, Priestess."
She sighs, "And stop calling me that. You seem pretty insistent on living with me, so you are going to have to get used to calling me by my name."
Thrust starts to whisper his acceptance only to get spoken over by Optimus, "Sari, I don't think that's very fair when you can't get his name right."
"Oh, I'm getting his name right, aren't I, Rad?" she asks, saccharine sweet, and the bot flinches again.
"I," he ducks his head again, "yes."
Optimus frowns at them both, "Is he just agreeing because he thinks you're going to curse New Axis?"
Thrust shakes his head, and Sari reaches over to pat the cyclebot's head, "He lied about his name. Didn't you, Thrust?"
The mech shivers unhappily, and whispers softly, "I like that name better."
"I don't like it when bots lie to me, Thrust," Sari says patiently, "because the AllSpark informs me that they're lying." The bot looks utterly miserable now, and she pets his fairings. "I'm glad the only thing you were lying about was your name."
The bot whimpers, "I wouldn't lie to you about something important, Priestess."
She sighs. "And your name isn't important?"
He flinches again, but stops shivering when she smiles kindly at him, "I don't like being called Rad, Priestess."
"Hey," she grins, "at least you're not named Overload or Hotspark. Those were some unfortunate bots."
Thrust blinks. "There are bots named Overload and Hotspark?"
Sari nods, "There are, or so the AllSpark tells me. I feel rather sorry for them, really."
The cyclebot gives her a sad look. "So you aren't mad at me, Priestess?"
"Not much. Just don't go lying to me again." She pauses, "Unless it's a good lie. Like, for surprise birthday parties. Feel free to lie about that kind of stuff."
Thrust just gives her a confused look.
Optimus pats the cyclebot on the shoulder, "That's a human thing, Don't worry about it."
Thrust puts his servos in his lap, and stares at the floor while murmuring softly, "Yes, Priestess. Yes, sir."
"You don't have to be so formal. Seriously, we're not the Spanish Inquisition." Sari pats one of his tires. "You'll do fine. Just be yourself, as stupid and cliché as that sounds."
Thrust flinches, "Y-yes, Priestess."
She sighs, and gestures at Cyclonus, who picks up the cyclebot and cuddles him. She looks at the mech, and shakes her head, "Want to tell me why you're reverting into the terrified little bot that was hiding at the back of the crowd on the beach? You were doing so well once you came with us."
"I was trained to be a consort, Priestess," he says quietly, keeping his optics averted. "It was unacceptable of me to lie to you the way I did. I will accept whatever punishment you wish to have me undergo."
She sighs softly, stepping away from the food, "I'm not going to punish you for wanting not to be called Rad, Thrust. If I was really angry about that, do you think you'd even get to know about the candy I gave you?"
He glances up at her, and then up at Cyclonus. "You're serious?"
"She is," Optimus says kindly. "Sari is a good person, Thrust. She won't take advantage of you like that, and she doesn't delight in hurting anyone."
Thrust curls up in Cyclonus's arms, looking like he's about to say something when Sari puts up a hand to keep him quiet and fingers to her temple. "Yes, Percy? ... I'm in Optimus's room. No, don't come here, I'll come to get you and we can all head to maintenance. ... Then shove them out. I don't care if they want to meet Optimus. They'll only try to invalidate the courting, and you know it. ... Yeah, okay. I'll tell him. Bye, Percy." She turns to Cyclonus. "Percy will be a bit indisposed for coding, but we'll get to it later today."
Cyclonus only shrugs, before returning to playing with Thrust's tires, spinning them idly. It looks as if Thrust is having a very hard time not rubbing his sparkplates against the jetbot. Optimus feels sorry for the little cyclebot.
Sari slips off the berth, "And I think you need to test out energon, Optimus. Cyclonus, Thrust, and Percy are going to do maintenance while you test energon today. If you get overcharged, you can just stay in the room." She pauses. "Or by the crystals. You liked the crystals."
"I do like the crystals," Optimus agrees. "I do hope you manage to get some of the red ones, to go with all the blue."
Sari gives him a long, careful look. "Yeah. We'll see."
Optimus looks at the floor, murmuring sadly, "I just think Ultra would like them."
Sari sighs, "Stop looking like a kicked puppy, I know Ultra will like the red ones." She pauses, glaring at nothing, before continuing, "I'm not getting anything too large, and I think you'll like growing them."
He straightens up, smiling. "I would like to learn how to grow crystals. I could keep them in my spare rooms."
"Yeah, of course you could." She grabs his servo and drags him out the door, leading him to a private tasting room. Optimus notes the comfortable couch - likely designed so he can curl up and offline if he drinks too much energon and gets drowsy. Or overcharged.
Sari puts him there, and then goes to talk to one of the staffbots. He's not really sure what to do, and Cyclonus sits next to him, Thrust still wriggling in the jetbot's arms. He watches as Sari talks with the staff for a little bit before saying, "I'm glad you're more interested in things, Cyclonus. Perceptor is doing a wonderful job, isn't he?"
Cyclonus nods once, before he bends forward and licks the corner of Thrust's mouth. The smaller bot's optics widen, and Cyclonus pulls back to study him. "There was energon on you."
"... oh," Thrust says weakly, and looks over at Optimus. "What do you mean interested in things?"
Ignoring how Cylonus returns to playing with the cyclebot's wheels, he responds, "Cyclonus wasn't really paying attention to anything, so Perceptor is fixing his code."
The cyclebot is biting his lip now, flushed with heat as curious fingers play with his tire treads. "That's ... I'm glad he is being repaired."
Optimus nods in agreement. "We have been hoping that he'll be functioning at self-sustaining levels soon. He still has to be reminded to drink energon."
Thrust whines softly as Cyclonus moves from his wheels to his fairings, running fingers along them. The cyclebot manages to gasp out, "Wi-will he be leaving the Pr-Priestess when he's fixed?"
Optimus lets out a soft bark of laughter, "The infamous Cyclonus of Team Chaar? No."
Sari comes back and pulls Cyclonus up. "They have the chemical soak ready for you guys. Go and get your circuits nice and shiny. I'm gonna go out and do some shopping or something. You are going to test energon, Optimus."
He reaches down, and gives her a hug. "You have fun, Sari."
She hugs back. "I will." She pushes him away, "Now, you go try the various energons, and tell them your favorites."
Optimus settles down for a long taste-testing session, and a pretty femme carries in a tray of small cubes. "These are the first batch you will be testing, sir." She sits beside him and offers him the first cube, and her fingers brush against his altogether too much. "We will begin with a very simple energon. It has no additives, and has only gone through two refining processes."
He drinks it, and smiles. "It is much simpler than what I've been getting." She starts to take it away, but he pulls out of her reach. "I never said I didn't like it."
The cube ends up placed beside him on the couch. "I'd like to keep it nearby, just in case any of the additives or mixes don't sit well with me." She nods and offers him the next cube.
"This energon has no additives again, but has gone through extensive refinement and purification. It is a very carefully aged energon, which has been infused with solar energy."
He vaguely wonders if they left it in the sun or dropped a crystal in it to get the infusion, but doesn't ask. He takes it from her servo, slightly irritated as she brushes her fingers against his again. Sipping on it, he shrugs, "Sort of plain." Not even in the way he likes, even.
She takes the cube from him, still brushing against him way too much. "This one has a single additive of crushed Cora Crystals, and has been refined three times."
She reaches over, and he scoots away, "I think you should put the Cubes on the table, rather than handing them to me. In fact, could you sit across from me on the other side?"
The golden femme carbot gives him a disappointed look, but she does as she is asked and sits across from him. "You should try the energon. It is very rich."
Optimus sips at it and puts it down almost immediately. "I think I prefer Cora crystals when they are not mixed into my energon."
She sighs almost imperceptibly, and he tries not to glare at her as he sips the plain energon he kept. The energon had made his spark pulse, and he's certain she was hoping he'd have kissed her or something like that. That wasn't going to happen ever. He isn't a slutbot that kisses just anyone; especially not a bot that's trying to drug him.
She pushes over another cube. "This one is refined four times, and has a light additive of iron filings."
The texture of this energon feels rather pleasant against his glossa. It is smooth, from the refinement, but the crunch of the filings keeps it from feeling too rich and decadent. It's nice. "I like this one."
"If you enjoy that blend, you should try this one next. It's refined a bit less, and has a mix of different crystals crushed into it."
He gives it a suspicious look, "If it has more of the Cora Crystals, I don't want to try it."
The femme blinks at him, then clearly tries to hide a scowl before bringing a different cube to the front. "This is the same, only without the Cora Crystals."
Despite her words, Optimus sips at the energon cautiously, taking a bit more when his spark doesn't immediately throb with want. The energon is nearly purple from all the added crystals. He feels strange drinking purple energon.
He licks his lips curiously, and lets the crystals crunch under his denta. "I like the crystals much more when they're like this." He pushes it back. "But I'm not so certain about the color of the energon."
"The crystals add the color. It would be possible to leach the color out, but it would require several more additives that alter the flavor." She offers him the next cube, along with a rust stick. "This is a specialty from Laona-3. You stir it with the rust stick and let the stick dissolve just prior to drinking it. It gives the energon a very sweet flavor."
He does as directed, sipping on it. He shrugs. "Not really that great. It is sweet, but I prefered the one with iron filings much more. I think a crunch is nice if I'm going to have more exotic flavors."
She makes note of it. "We'll make sure the next batch has some texture to it for you. Have you considered tasting some of our energon sweets as well? We have several that have a very sharp bite and strong crunch to them."
The texture helps, certainly, but Optimus doesn't really feel like indulging in candy today. Even if some of the energon he is testing has the flavor and richness of a candy.
He shakes his head, and she continues. "We'll bring you some out in your next batch." She pushes over another cube, ignoring his confused look, "This one has gone through six refinings, and a single additive of one crystal."
Still wary of her, he sips it slowly. It tastes pleasant, and warms his circuits. He drains the small sampling cube before realizing his spark is ... pulsing again. Optimus sets the cube down. "What kind of crystal was in this?"
She smiles at him, clearly flirting and making him frown at her, "Pink Cora Crystal. You said you didn't like how the blue changed the color."
He gives her a flat look, "I think that if I'm going to keep testing, I want a different bot giving me the energon. You are trying to break my courting, and I don't appreciate it."
She stands up, horribly offended. "If you insist on another bot, I will get one for you." She leaves in a huff, and Optimus sips at his plain energon. He was going to get education programs implemented as quickly as possible on all Autobot allied planets.
He pokes at one of the cubes next to him, drinking the last of the one with iron filings, and pushing the other cubes around. He's started to make designs on the table with the condensation on the table when another bot finally shows up. The mech sits across from him, and is holding a new tray. "We apologize for Wingstar's behavior. None of these have red or pink Cora Crystals."
"I appreciate that." Optimus's spark is still trying to settle down. He's going to need to self-service again soon. "Do you have any with rust filings?"
He nods and offers a cube to Optimus. "This is a special cultured rust that we make in our own facility here at the resort."
He sips it, and his processor goes slightly fuzzy. "Is this high-grade?"
The mech shakes his head, "No, sir. It is several times refined, however. Would you prefer less refinement in your next cube?"
"Yes, please," he blinks several times, trying to realign the room. "Something with minerals this time?" He's given a cube and he sips at it slowly. "This is nice."
"It's very good for helping with internal repairs. The mineral blend has been formulated to heal minor injuries and aches."
He drinks it all, and he can feel his self-repair pick up the minerals for later use. Humming happily, he looks at the mech. "And what do you have next?"
The cube is slid across the table. "I'm not certain how much you'd like this one, you said before you didn't really like the purple, but you do seem to have a preference for the healing blends. This has a light sprinkling of metal minerals and pieces of crystal."
Despite the color, he takes the cube and drinks it - first one sip, and then draining the cube when the taste registers. It's smooth and flavorful, and the crystal bits crunch between his denta. "This one is very nice. I wouldn't mind having this occasionally, while we stay here."
The mech smiles, "I will be certain to inform the chefs, sir." The bot puts another cube in front of him, "This one has been refined twice, and has been enriched with solar energy before being aged with several types of crystals."
All the energon is starting to get to his processor, and his still-hot spark is more excited than he'd like. They work through the rest of the tray - most don't please him, and by the end, he's barely capable of telling them apart. "I," he sets the last cube down, "I think I should lay down." He wants to talk to Ultra. Snuggle up on Ultra's lap and rub his sparkplates against him shamelessly.
The mech stands up, "I will escort you to your room, then." He's pulled up, and is held arm in arm with the mech. "We were informed to not allow you to offline in this room, and I am certain your berth would be much more comfortable than the couch."
Optimus rests his head on the bot's shoulder, letting himself get lead out of the room, "My berth is too large. I feel so tiny in it, and I have no one to talk to." He nuzzles against the mech, "You're very warm."
"We can send someone up for you to ... talk to," the bot says gently, helping him into his room and up onto his berth, carefully extracting himself from Optimus's grasp. "Let me get one for you. Would you prefer talking to any specific model-type?"
Optimus gives him a confused look, "What does the model of a bot have to do with talking? I would like one that doesn't get all stupid about Sari."
The mech nods, murmuring, "Yes, sir," and slipping out the door.
Optimus moves so he's facing the console, and reaches for it. It is just a little too far, even when he's almost reaching off the edge of the berth. He is about to get up when the door opens, and a bot walks in. The mech has paint over his sparkplates, and is buffed to a soft shine. The bot freezes at the sight of him hanging precariously off the side of the berth, "... Optimus Prime? ... you asked for me?"
The floor is hard when he crashes down onto it, but he rights himself quickly enough. He's not entirely sure how he got down here, but now that he is, the console is within reach. "Yes. I wanted to talk. Because I'm lonely." He stares at the console, trying to remember Ultra's frequency.
Optimus nods, "I was going to call Ultra," he looks at the console, poking at it, "but I can talk to you," he flips through the past frequencies, and stares at the two numbers on the list, "I guess."
The bot gives him an uncertain look. "Would you like help calling him?" He approaches the console and rests a servo on Optimus's shoulder, leaning forward to study the screen. "Is this his frequency?"
Optimus looks at it, "... I think so?"
The mech gently puts him on the berth, "They're both the same numbers, and it says you called just this morning. Did you talk to him then?"
Optimus beams, "I did. I was polishing myself as he watched." The mech nods, and starts to hit the buttons to call, only to stop when Optimus asks, "Why don't you have an Autobot symbol?"
The mech freezes, then straightens up, "I am the only bot that knew the specific authors you requested last solar cycle, and you said you wanted a bot to talk to. If you would prefer an Autobot rather than a neutral, I could go get one for y-"
Optimus waves him into silence, "Neutrals are better to talk to about this stuff. They don't try to invalidate my courting."
Studying him, the bot presses the frequency in. "There. If it's not him, we can always hang up." His servo rubs Optimus's shoulder gently, and the truckbot's optics dim. It's such a nice touch.
Ultra answers almost immediately, smile turning to a confused frown, "... Optimus? Why do you have a terrified prostitute on your berth?"
Optimus gives his beloved a confused look. "What?"
"Oh," Ultra turns his attention to the other bot, "you are a prostitute, aren't you? I know I shouldn't just assume, but your paint is very artificial. Those are not paint marks you were onlined with."
The bot swallows nervously and nods, "Yes. Optimus requested my presence."
Ultra leans on the console, looking fairly interested. "Did he really?"
Optimus frowns. "I just wanted someone to talk with."
Ultra's face falls a little bit. "I see."
The protitutebot sits on the floor, servos on knees, "Should I leave?"
"You can stay," Optimus says, and promptly forgets about him when the light sparkles on Ultra's armor. His intended must have polished himself up pretty, hoping Optimus would call him. "You're so pretty today," he murmurs, and one of his servos comes up to rub at his hot, aching sparkplates. He wants to open them so bad. "I miss you."
Ultra straightens up, catching more light over his armor, "I missed you, too. I can never see you enough."
Optimus runs a finger along his headfin, "Did you polish yourself just for me?"
"It wasn't only for you, beloved," Ultra smiles, leaning towards the camera. "Does it please you?"
He wants to lick Ultra's shiny bits. "I want to lick you," he purrs, tracing his sparkplate seams with his fingertips. This is a bad idea, but he can't remember why. "Oh, Primus," he moans, arching up, displaying his chest for his intended. "I wish you were here. I want your servo on my spark so bad."
Ultra leans forward, and opens his mouth to say something, only to get interrupted by the slamming of the door. Sari strides in, Perceptor, Cyclonus, and Thrust trailing after. She points an accusing finger at Ultra, "What the hell is this?"
The prostitute bot drops, prostrate on the floor, "I'm sorry, Priestess! I was told to come here! I didn't want t-"
Sari puts a hand on the mech's back, "Hey, calm down. I was asking Ultra, not you. Stop freaking out."
"I never intended to-"
"Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you. Even if you were here and intended to 'face the slag out of Optimus, you aren't the bot that would get punished. It's your job." She turns a dark look at Optimus, who blinks and drops his servos away from his chest. "I repeat: what the slag are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Ultra," Optimus says, and he frowns when his speech is slightly slurred. He should have a medicbot look at that.
She gives him a dirty look, "You're drunk."
He snorts, "Don't be silly, Sari. Bots can't get drunk."
She rolls her eyes, "Overcharged then." She turns back to Ultra. "You fucking know better. If he calls you when he's like this, do you know what to do?" Ultra starts to open his mouth only for Sari to talk over him, "You tell him you're sorry, and he needs to talk to me. Or you tell him how much he's going to regret this in the morning. Don't you fucking encourage him."
"I'm sorry," Ultra murmurs, although he doesn't sound very sincere to Optimus. His spark is still so slagging hot. A warm, wet glossa would feel amazing against it; he's sure of it.
Sari punches him, hard. "I fucking know what you're thinking. AllSpark won't stop freaking out about this." She makes a frustrated sound, "You are hanging up now, Ultra."
His intended freezes. "I wanted to ask you about the crystals, actually, Sari."
She rubs her temples, "Yes, I will get your fragging red Cora Crystals. I am getting several of each color. Don't bother me about them, and hang up."
Pressing his fingers against the screen, Ultra smiles at Optimus, "Recharge well, Optimus." He disconnects the call before Optimus can turn a scowl on Sari.
"You're mean."
She gives him a dirty look, "You're overcharged. I never should have left you alone." She sighs, "In fact..." She looks at Cyclonus, before shaking her head, "No. I'll let you be alone for now, but I'm disabling your calling console and making sure that no one but me can get into the room."
Optimus sticks his glossa out at her briefly, like a petulant sparkling. "You should disable that femme's console. She kept trying to get me to drink Cora crystals to make my spark all hot."
Sari covers her face with her hand. "I already know that. Fragging bots."
The prostitute bot is shivering at her feet, and Thrust steps forward, a servo on her arm and whispering softly, "Priestess Sari? I think we should let him," he gestures at the prostrate bot, "know that you aren't angry at him."
She sighs, "Cyclonus, pick him up." She slaps the console, and it flashes brightly, "We're going to Percy's room, you'll be able to call me, Optimus," she taps her temple, "But only me." She steps out, slapping the door as she goes, and the mechs follow, Cyclonus holding both Thrust and the scared bot.
Optimus stares at the door for a long time, and then gives the console a sad look. He finds a comfortable position on the berth and lays down, getting his static glove from subspace. Overload is going to feel fantastic, and he's going to imagine Ultra above him, licking his spark. He shudders with pleasure.
The processor ache he has the next morning is one of the worst ones Optimus has ever experienced. He wants to remove his circuitboards to make the burning and throbbing stop.
He gropes into his subspace, and drinks the processor ache cure. It isn't as good as the one the ship provides, but it is workable. He holds the top of his head, and keeps his optics offline until the pain goes from acid in his circuits to just a dull prodding. Sitting up, he rubs his head, only to yank his servo away. ... why is he wearing the static glove, and why are his sparkplates open?
Memory files drift back into existence slowly, and Optimus grows increasingly horrified. He'd had a prostitute in his room, and he'd nearly self-serviced in front of both the other bot and Ultra. And then he'd overloaded himself five times with the glove, screaming Ultra's name at a volume that made him sincerely hope that his room was soundproof.
He shoves the glove back in his subspace, and shuts his plates. Curling up on the berth, he winces, suddenly realizing why that femme kept trying to shove red and pink Cora Crystals down him. He'd realized she wanted to 'face him, but did she really have to try it in such an underhanded way?
It'll take a bit of doing, but he's going to avoid her if he sees her again. He winces. Ultra's opinion of him must be so low now. He'd called him up with a prostitute hovering in the background. Primus, he needs to call up and apologize.
He walks over to the console, but it beeps at him irritably when he tries to key in Ultra's frequency; it even goes as far as shocking his servo when he tries again. Sucking on his fingers, he glares at it. He's considering kicking it until he remembers that Sari had locked the thing from him calling anyone but her. He winces, and sits back on the berth, not really sure what to do.
The service desk down in the lobby ought to have a console he can use to contact his intended and apologize for acting so terribly. Optimus decides against it. He doesn't want to embarrass them both any further in public. He gives himself a quick polish and sips half a cube of normal energon.
He taps his fingers against his leg before walking over to the console, and tapping in Sari's frequency. The console routes it to her room automatically, and he gives it a confused look; he didn't know that they could do that. He shrugs, letting it go, nonsentient technology always acts funny around her, anyway.
She picks up after a little bit, blinking at him sleepily, "Optimus? Why are you awake? It is," she glances at the time, and jumps in surprise, "Almost time to check out. Shit! Thanks for waking me up."
"Could you unlock my console? I want to call Ultra Magnus and apologize for my behavior." He ducks his head down. " And I want to apologize to you as well. I don't react well to being so overcharged. And I was not expecting the effect the Cora Crystals had when ingested."
She moves out of the camera's view, and her voice is muffled, "You don't have to apologize to him, he should be apologizing to you. He was blatantly encouraging you to continue, when he should have been saying it is a bad idea."
Optimus flushes, glad she can't see it. "It wasn't his responsibility to monitor my actions. I'm sure he would have told me to stop if I started to ... open up."
Sari's head pops up on the corner of the screen, "Yeah, like I believe that. He'd have probably told poor Firestarter to use you." She vanishes again.
He taps his fingers together. "He wouldn't. He knows how important this is to me."
She snorts. "He knows, but he's a dirty old bot. I'm not sure how you'll do when you start living together."
Optimus bites his lip. "I imagine it will be more difficult when we start sharing a berth." He also knew that most couples began interfacing at that point, even if they were attempting a full formal courtship. Since he wanted to be successful, he had no intention of giving in to any desires he might have.
She comes back on screen, fully dressed, "AllSpark is worried about that. Ultra is way too interested in seeing your spark. You're going to have to remind him how much you want a successful courting. He'll be getting pretty blessed femme twins and you'll get a single fully crystal mech if you go through with it, remember?"
He smiles at the thought, "I'd really like that."
Family was important to him. He felt a twinge of jealousy every time he saw another bot caring for a sparkling. He would do whatever it took to get a family for Ultra and himself.
"Make sure he knows that. And don't seeker-polish yourself again until after the bonding."
He sighs unhappily, "We've been courting for stellar cycles, Sari. How much longer will it be?"
She closes her eyes, "Pretty soon. You're doing really well, but you need to be patient."
"I will try," he promises, before looking around his room. "I should tidy up before we check out."
She gives him a look, "We're paying ridiculous amounts to stay here, and you want to clean for them?"
He looks at the floor, "It isn't polite to le-"
She cuts him off, "Polite nothing. They called me a whore, and kept trying to get you to break the courtship. Leaving them a dirty room is fine. I'm going to head over and get you now, do you need me to bring you anything?"
"There was a type of energon I enjoyed last night. I can't remember what it was, though." He rubs his head, embarrassed. "If you could ask for a cube of that before we leave, I'd be very thankful."
She nods, "No problem. I'll get it and head on over."
She disconnects the call, and he's left sitting doing nothing again. He wonders if he should work on something from his harddrive, but he's fairly certain that if Sari caught him, she'd find some way of erasing it. Instead, he settles down on the berth, and reads more of the datapads he got on the first night here.
When Sari arrives, she shoves a cube at him, "Mineral and crystal blend. I tasted it, and it's just as gross as the rest of your stuff. Even worse with the bits of rock in there."
He drinks a little, crunching down happily on the crystals, "They're delicious, Sari."
She rolls her optics, "Whatever." She climbs up him, and she helps her to his shoulder, "We're getting Cyclonus and Thrust, then pulling Percy away from Firestarter."
"We'll need some luck with that, I think," Optimus says, and he finishes his cube before walking out with her. "Perceptor seems to be exploring an entirely new side of himself while we are out."
Sari snorts, "Yeah, his slutbot side. But he's enjoying it, so it's cool."
Optimus tilts his head, "AllSpark doesn't mind?"
She snorts, "Why the hell would it mind? It likes bots to use their sparks. The reason it freaks out so much about you is because you're a virgin, and it wants you to stay that way until you bond with Ultra the very first time you interface." She grabs him by the helmet and points to a bot that's cleaning up unobtrusively. "Stop. I need to go talk to Grapple there. He's hurting."
He walks over to the bot, helping Sari down. She looks the bot in the optics and places a servo on his leg. The blue paint on the back of her servos glows brightly, and Grapple stares down at her. "I know it hurts, but it will get better. You really shouldn't be working, not after having lost your bonded."
The mech flinches, and whispers, "There is nothing else I can do."
She tugs Grapple down, and hugs him around the neck. "You're allowed to request time off, you know. You need time to heal."
"I don't want to think about it," he whispers, sounding utterly wrecked. "I don't have anyone else. I can't be alone like that. At least there are other bots here."
Sari looks at him for a klik, before offering, "You can come with us if you want."
He gives her a sparkbroken look. "You don't even know me."
She touches him gently between the optics. "Grapple, you were sparkbonded for," she pauses, optics glowing, "over six-hundred vorns to Hoist," her optics stop glowing, "and you miss him. I don't know you personally, but I'm," she sighs, slightly disgusted at herself, "the AllSpark High Priestess. And every bot is sacred to me. You are hurting because the bot you loved enough to share emotions with is gone. I can help."
"I can't just leave," he protests, but it sounds like he wants to be persuaded otherwise.
"If your boss is callous enough to ignore a broken bond, well, we've got ourselves a secret weapon." She points at Optimus, "Second in command of the Autobots right there. He'll ask for you, if your manager doesn't just give you the time off."
Grapple bites his lower lip, "I only just started working for this solar cycle, I can't just-"
She puts a servo to his lips, "You're making excuses for something you know doesn't matter. You can come with us, and we will bring you back here later. When you are better."
Ducking his head, he nods his agreement. "I don't want to have to explain this to my manager. He expects me to be remodeling part of this resort."
She rubs his shoulder. "I'll have Optimus explain for you."
Optimus takes the mech's servo in his own, and pulls him and Sari up. "Let's go to him first, shall we?"
Grapple nods, leading them to a room a little bit away, and knocking on it. There's a gruff, "Come on in," from the room, and the mech hides behind Optimus as he walks in.
The manager looks up from his desk and immediately stands, "Optimus Prime, sir. I wasn't expecting you. Can I help you?"
Optimus carefully urges Grapple forward. "This bot has recently lost his bonded. Sari and I would like to take him away for a while, to help him recover from his loss."
The manager blinks in surprise, "... Hoist is gone, Grapple? Why didn't you say anything?" The bot stands up, and walks over, rubbing Grapple on the back. "Did he finally succumb to it?" Grapple nods unhappily, and the manager winces. "I'm so sorry, of course you can take time off."
"Succumb?" Optimus says quietly to Sari, not wanting to be overheard.
Sari shakes her head sadly. "He had some kind of disease. It had been eating away at him for a while now. They'd known he'd had it since before they bonded, but it can't be spread."
The manager and Grapple talk for a little bit longer before they leave the room. Optimus rests his servo on the other bot's back as they walk. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The bot shakes his head, "Not right now. Maybe later?"
Optimus gives him a wane smile. "You don't have to at all. You're going to be recovering, and can take all the time you need."
"Thank you," Grapple says quietly, and Optimus notices the way he keeps rubbing his chest every klik or so.
Optimus shares a look with Sari, and she slips over onto Grapple's shoulder. "You don't mind if I hitch a ride on you, do you?"
The mech smiles, "No, not at all... Priestess."
She pats him gently on the helmet, "You can call me Sari, that is my name."
http://girloz14.livejournal.com/161789.html
Giving up on getting his back any better, Optimus opens a comline to Sari. "I was wondering if you could loan me Cyclonus for a bit. I need help polishing."
"You need help. . . polishing?" Sari asks, disbelieving. "Primus, I'm glad you didn't ask the hotel for help."
He's not really sure why that is, so he just ignores it. "Will he come and help, though? I really can't reach my back."
"Yeah, I'll be coming with, and so will Buster."
Optimus sighs, "You could call Thrust by his actual name, you know."
"No, I can't."
And she severs the call before he can reply. It is always frustrating when she does that.
Optimus notices the box of interfacing toys underneath his berth and flushes, shoving it as far back against the wall as possible. No need to advertise that he's been experimenting with them all.
He cleans up everything nervously, not that there's much to clean, and waits for Sari and the others to show up.
He's unsurprised to see the door just open for Cyclonus; the jetbot is holding Thrust in his arms, and Sari is on his shoulder. She slips off the mech easily, and tsks at Optimus, "You were being naughty. You were polishing while talking to Ultra."
Optimus gives her a blank look. "Naughty? I was only trying to give myself a polish. I even turned the call off before polishing my sparkplates."
She walks over to him, and runs a finger along his leg. "Because looking like a seeker polished you is completely innocent. Right." She snaps her fingers, and Cyclonus reluctantly puts Thrust on the ground and walks over to the berth. "Do you know how to do seeker polishing?"
Cyclonus nods and picks up a polishing cloth. He adjusts Thrust so he's nearby, and pushes a second polishing cloth into the bikebot's servos. "I will teach you."
Optimus isn't sure he wants a stranger bot polishing him this way, but he doesn't protest. For now.
He lets Cyclonus push him so his back is exposed as he lies down, and they get to work. Sari walks on the berth so he can look at her, and she pats him on the head, "We're going to be spending extra time here. You don't mind, do you?"
He shakes his head, "I'd actually feel a bit silly being all polished like this if we're just going to be in the ship."
Sari pets his helmet. "You're really shiny right now. I like it. I can use you as a mirror."
Optimus shakes his head. "You're being ridiculous. I'm not that shiny."
She moves a little bit, clearly checking her reflection, "Sure seems like that to me." He stretches a bit. "I'm glad you're willing to go to such lengths to look nice for Ultra."
He gives her a confused look, shifting a bit so Thrust and Cyclonus can get to another part of his back unconsciously, "I thought you didn't like Ultra."
She scoffs, "He's a dirty old man, but this shows you really do love him. Love him enough to care about your appearance."
"He likes it when I'm well-polished. I see no reason not to indulge that every now and then." And it felt nice to have bots who were not Starscream helping him.
Sari us poking him right between the optics. "You want to be pretty for him. That's okay."
He blushes faintly. "It is nice to look nice sometimes."
She smiles at him. "It is."
Optimus glances back over his shoulder. "Get your servo off my aft, Cyclonus. I don't need help polishing that."
The jetbot stares at him for a long moment, and then returns to what he was doing. Optimus sighs. "Sari," he begins to complain, and she walks over and punches Cyclonus's ped.
"Focus on his back. I know this is what a seeker would do, but keep your servos off aft and sparkplates. Headfins too."
Cyclonus gives her a blank look, but does as directed, while Thrust gives her a nervous look, but continues to work on Optimus. "Why are we polishing him like seekers?" the latest addition to the group enquires.
She snorts, "Because, Radical, he was using a seeker technique to polish himself in front of Ultra. We aren't letting him remain unfinished."
Thrust looks confused, but he continues to polish the way Cyclonus showed him to. "Do you interact with seekers frequently?"
"All the fragging time. We all take turns sparklingsitting for them. You'll end up doing it too, if you don't run off screaming first."
The cyclebot seems to shrink in on himself, "I'll try my best, Pri-Sari."
She reaches over and pats the bot on the head. "If you don't do well, you won't be stopped from going home. You aren't obligated to stay, no matter how much Cyclonus will pout if you leave."
"I won't disappoint you," he insists, and Sari flicks his helmet.
"I don't care if you get scared of the seekers. Lots of bots do. Just remember to keep your servos off their wings unless they invite you to touch them, and for the love of fuck, don't let them start singing."
Thrust gives her a confused look, "Singing?"
Optimus and Sari shudder. The priestess says, "They can't sing, but for some reason they keep trying."
Optimus sighs. "I think that's because of Scatterstar, really. He sang them that lullaby all the time when he was with them."
"Fragging Scatterstar," Sari curses. "Little bot was crazy in the head. They kidnap him, and he goes and falls in love with Skywarp."
Optimus gets moved by Cyclonus, more of his frame getting worked on, and Thruster just sits there helplessly. "I... I don't know who that is."
Sari and Optimus exchange a look, and she sighs, "I'll explain later. If you decide not to return to your planet, you'll learn as you go. Don't worry about it."
"I will try my best," Thrust promises, setting the polishing cloth down. "I think we are finished."
Across from him, Cyclonus shrugs and drops his cloth, pulling Thrust into his arms. Optimus stands and stretches, watching the cyclebot adjust himself into a more comfortable position. He wonders what the bot will end up doing after they return to Cybertron. Optimus can't imagine anyone would be happy living purely as some kind of ... pet bot.
Perhaps Cyclonus. But even he was starting to show signs of other interests.
Looking around, he shrugs. "What am I supposed to do today?"
Sari frowns, "I'm not really sure. I was planning on having these two have maintenance done, but you already had that. You can come with us, and we can check with the staff. Have you fueled up?"
"I haven't had a chance yet," Optimus admits, and his tanks send up a low fuel notification in response. So very useful, those warnings.
Sari snaps her fingers at Cyclonus. "Go get energon for us. His dispenser is just over there."
The jetbot walks over, and comes back with three cubes, handing one to Thrust and Optimus while keeping one to himself. The bot then reaches into his sub-space and hands Sari something Optimus can't recognize only for it to get pushed away. Thrust taps his fingers together. "Did you want me to go get you something else to eat?"
She shakes her head, "I'm going to be ordering something from here, I want to know what else they have. Maybe some sort of eggs? I could kill for a pancake."
Optimus has a recipe for breakfast foods in his files, and he sends it attached to a message to the hotel kitchen. If they've stocked up on supplies, they should be able to cobble something together for Sari. "I was never that impressed with organic food."
"That's because Prowl made you eat shitty vegetarian food. Don't get me wrong, vegetarian stuff can be great, but Prowl gave you salads from a fast-food chain. That's the epitome of gross."
Thrust looks confused, but they ignore him. Optimus drinks his energon. "I really wouldn't know. You liked the place."
"And I ate burgers there. Not salads. There's a pretty large difference in that. Bulkhead was happy with it."
Finishing his energon, Optimus only offers her a shrug. "I sent a request down for you. Do you want to wait until they bring it up, or go to the restaurant downstairs?"
Sari bites her lip, thinking hard. "Man, I've had to go to enough formal dinner parties. I don't want to have to sit there with the chef hovering, and pretend it tastes amazing if it actually tastes like dog food."
"You said they had ice cream. They don't do too badly, do they?"
She sighs, "They did okay on the other stuff. But they are no New Axis. They seemed pretty amazed I could eat frozen things, and had been apologizing the entire time about it."
"Energon is nearly impossible to freeze, and inedible when it is made that way," Optimus explains. "They likely assumed human food was the same."
Sari arches an eyebrow at him. "Really? Well, we'll see about that. First energon popsicle I make I'm feeding to you."
He gives her a confused look. "I don't know how well that will work, Sari."
She smiles, "It's a brand new project to work on. I'll be sure to talk to my company back on earth about it. Rust and Cyclonus can be the testers." She pauses. "And any non-carrying seekers and Bee, of course."
"I hope you succeed." Optimus gives her a quick hug, careful not to ruin his polish. The door chimes, and a waiterbot brings a service table full of ... things. Most of them appear edible, at least when compared to the various foods he'd seen Sari consume over the stellar cycles.
She pokes at what might be pancakes, if a pancake was significantly more egg than anything else. She gives the waiterbot a small smile, "Thank you. I'll be sure to tell the chef what I think when I finish."
The waiterbot gives her a strained smile, "Thank you, ... Priestess. Would you like me to st-"
She waves him off. "No, that's fine. Thank you." The bot gives her another strained smile and takes off. She rolls her eyes, and prods the food. "Most of these dickbots think I'm your whore, Optimus."
"And most of my classmates assumed I was using my spark to pass my classes," Optimus gets himself another cube of energon to drink. "As much as I would like to teach them a ... lesson about etiquette and organic appreciation, we're not going to be on this planet anywhere near long enough for it to be effective."
Saro sighs, "Sadly." She takes a bite of the not-really-a-pancake. "I'm kind of amazed they thought of silverware, though. They even got me plates! How did they do that? Yesterday everything was in cubes."
"They might have picked it up from the files I sent with recipes. There were a variety of images included to help illustrate what they should be looking for." He sighs, "Along with a list of the chemical composition of foods that you could not eat, or I know you strongly dislike. I hope they read that one."
She shrugs, taking a bite out of each dish, "They seem to have. It all tastes pretty okay, and the AllSpark isn't screaming at me about something that will kill me."
He pokes the cube of a liquid off to the side. "Can you drink this?"
She sips it, and makes a face. "It is pretty disgusting, actually. Get me a bottle of water, Cyclonus."
The jetbot retrieves a bottle of water obediently, handing it to her. She drinks it and sighs, "Much better. Gotta love good old H2O."
The food is really quite fascinating. Most of it is done up in Autobot-sized portions, and there's no way Sari could eat it all, even if she were starving.
She picks and chooses through them, and Thrust looks at it curiously. "Could I try it, Pr-Sari?"
She laughs softly, "I don't think you could eat any, but you're welcome to if that's what you want."
Picking up a tiny piece of some kind of fruit, Thrust holds it in front of his optics and studies it, before cautiously sticking out his glossa to lick it. His optics narrow. "It is ... strange." The fruit is crushed between his denta, and the bot chews, and Optimus can't help his smile when the bot's expression shifts to one of utter disgust.
Sari snickers, "Not very good, huh?" Thrust nods, but swallows what he tried, anyway. Sari reaches into her own sub-space, making a face as she does so. "I'm going to give you something that a friend of mine made me, and I'm told is the best thing any bot has ever tasted. You're going to have to share with Optimus and Cyclonus, though."
Optimus perks up. Was she going to give them the energon candy Oil Slick had made for her? He certainly hopes so.
She displays a single piece of candy and tears it into three pieces, offering one to each of the bots. Optimus takes his and feels utterly shameful and indulgent when it melts on his glossa. He offlines his optics to enjoy it better, and isn't surprised to hear Thrust make absolutely filthy noises as he enjoys his.
He's licking and nibbling his fingers, trying to get it all, and when he onlines his optics, Thrust is staring at Sari's slightly pink fingers intently.
Cyclonus drops to his knees and takes Sari's hand, curling his glossa around her fingers to get the candy residue off. She makes a face and smacks his antennae. "Gross. Don't lick my hand. Now I'm going to have to wash your germs off."
She pulls out a napkin and cleans off her hands, making Thrust and Optimus whine unhappily. Thrust looks at the napkin and then at her, "Priestess..."
She gives the bot a dirty look, "No, Rad," she pauses when Thrust flinches, then continues, "you may not eat the napkin. I don't care how delicious you think that stuff is, you'll get sick."
"Of course, Priestess," he murmurs, ducking his head down. "I'm sorry."
Sari smacks his shoulder. "Don't be like that. I'm just not cleaning up any more puke. It was bad enough when Cyclonus ate a napkin. And several sheets of paper."
The cyclebot blushes faintly. "I wouldn't do that, Priestess."
She sighs, "And stop calling me that. You seem pretty insistent on living with me, so you are going to have to get used to calling me by my name."
Thrust starts to whisper his acceptance only to get spoken over by Optimus, "Sari, I don't think that's very fair when you can't get his name right."
"Oh, I'm getting his name right, aren't I, Rad?" she asks, saccharine sweet, and the bot flinches again.
"I," he ducks his head again, "yes."
Optimus frowns at them both, "Is he just agreeing because he thinks you're going to curse New Axis?"
Thrust shakes his head, and Sari reaches over to pat the cyclebot's head, "He lied about his name. Didn't you, Thrust?"
The mech shivers unhappily, and whispers softly, "I like that name better."
"I don't like it when bots lie to me, Thrust," Sari says patiently, "because the AllSpark informs me that they're lying." The bot looks utterly miserable now, and she pets his fairings. "I'm glad the only thing you were lying about was your name."
The bot whimpers, "I wouldn't lie to you about something important, Priestess."
She sighs. "And your name isn't important?"
He flinches again, but stops shivering when she smiles kindly at him, "I don't like being called Rad, Priestess."
"Hey," she grins, "at least you're not named Overload or Hotspark. Those were some unfortunate bots."
Thrust blinks. "There are bots named Overload and Hotspark?"
Sari nods, "There are, or so the AllSpark tells me. I feel rather sorry for them, really."
The cyclebot gives her a sad look. "So you aren't mad at me, Priestess?"
"Not much. Just don't go lying to me again." She pauses, "Unless it's a good lie. Like, for surprise birthday parties. Feel free to lie about that kind of stuff."
Thrust just gives her a confused look.
Optimus pats the cyclebot on the shoulder, "That's a human thing, Don't worry about it."
Thrust puts his servos in his lap, and stares at the floor while murmuring softly, "Yes, Priestess. Yes, sir."
"You don't have to be so formal. Seriously, we're not the Spanish Inquisition." Sari pats one of his tires. "You'll do fine. Just be yourself, as stupid and cliché as that sounds."
Thrust flinches, "Y-yes, Priestess."
She sighs, and gestures at Cyclonus, who picks up the cyclebot and cuddles him. She looks at the mech, and shakes her head, "Want to tell me why you're reverting into the terrified little bot that was hiding at the back of the crowd on the beach? You were doing so well once you came with us."
"I was trained to be a consort, Priestess," he says quietly, keeping his optics averted. "It was unacceptable of me to lie to you the way I did. I will accept whatever punishment you wish to have me undergo."
She sighs softly, stepping away from the food, "I'm not going to punish you for wanting not to be called Rad, Thrust. If I was really angry about that, do you think you'd even get to know about the candy I gave you?"
He glances up at her, and then up at Cyclonus. "You're serious?"
"She is," Optimus says kindly. "Sari is a good person, Thrust. She won't take advantage of you like that, and she doesn't delight in hurting anyone."
Thrust curls up in Cyclonus's arms, looking like he's about to say something when Sari puts up a hand to keep him quiet and fingers to her temple. "Yes, Percy? ... I'm in Optimus's room. No, don't come here, I'll come to get you and we can all head to maintenance. ... Then shove them out. I don't care if they want to meet Optimus. They'll only try to invalidate the courting, and you know it. ... Yeah, okay. I'll tell him. Bye, Percy." She turns to Cyclonus. "Percy will be a bit indisposed for coding, but we'll get to it later today."
Cyclonus only shrugs, before returning to playing with Thrust's tires, spinning them idly. It looks as if Thrust is having a very hard time not rubbing his sparkplates against the jetbot. Optimus feels sorry for the little cyclebot.
Sari slips off the berth, "And I think you need to test out energon, Optimus. Cyclonus, Thrust, and Percy are going to do maintenance while you test energon today. If you get overcharged, you can just stay in the room." She pauses. "Or by the crystals. You liked the crystals."
"I do like the crystals," Optimus agrees. "I do hope you manage to get some of the red ones, to go with all the blue."
Sari gives him a long, careful look. "Yeah. We'll see."
Optimus looks at the floor, murmuring sadly, "I just think Ultra would like them."
Sari sighs, "Stop looking like a kicked puppy, I know Ultra will like the red ones." She pauses, glaring at nothing, before continuing, "I'm not getting anything too large, and I think you'll like growing them."
He straightens up, smiling. "I would like to learn how to grow crystals. I could keep them in my spare rooms."
"Yeah, of course you could." She grabs his servo and drags him out the door, leading him to a private tasting room. Optimus notes the comfortable couch - likely designed so he can curl up and offline if he drinks too much energon and gets drowsy. Or overcharged.
Sari puts him there, and then goes to talk to one of the staffbots. He's not really sure what to do, and Cyclonus sits next to him, Thrust still wriggling in the jetbot's arms. He watches as Sari talks with the staff for a little bit before saying, "I'm glad you're more interested in things, Cyclonus. Perceptor is doing a wonderful job, isn't he?"
Cyclonus nods once, before he bends forward and licks the corner of Thrust's mouth. The smaller bot's optics widen, and Cyclonus pulls back to study him. "There was energon on you."
"... oh," Thrust says weakly, and looks over at Optimus. "What do you mean interested in things?"
Ignoring how Cylonus returns to playing with the cyclebot's wheels, he responds, "Cyclonus wasn't really paying attention to anything, so Perceptor is fixing his code."
The cyclebot is biting his lip now, flushed with heat as curious fingers play with his tire treads. "That's ... I'm glad he is being repaired."
Optimus nods in agreement. "We have been hoping that he'll be functioning at self-sustaining levels soon. He still has to be reminded to drink energon."
Thrust whines softly as Cyclonus moves from his wheels to his fairings, running fingers along them. The cyclebot manages to gasp out, "Wi-will he be leaving the Pr-Priestess when he's fixed?"
Optimus lets out a soft bark of laughter, "The infamous Cyclonus of Team Chaar? No."
Sari comes back and pulls Cyclonus up. "They have the chemical soak ready for you guys. Go and get your circuits nice and shiny. I'm gonna go out and do some shopping or something. You are going to test energon, Optimus."
He reaches down, and gives her a hug. "You have fun, Sari."
She hugs back. "I will." She pushes him away, "Now, you go try the various energons, and tell them your favorites."
Optimus settles down for a long taste-testing session, and a pretty femme carries in a tray of small cubes. "These are the first batch you will be testing, sir." She sits beside him and offers him the first cube, and her fingers brush against his altogether too much. "We will begin with a very simple energon. It has no additives, and has only gone through two refining processes."
He drinks it, and smiles. "It is much simpler than what I've been getting." She starts to take it away, but he pulls out of her reach. "I never said I didn't like it."
The cube ends up placed beside him on the couch. "I'd like to keep it nearby, just in case any of the additives or mixes don't sit well with me." She nods and offers him the next cube.
"This energon has no additives again, but has gone through extensive refinement and purification. It is a very carefully aged energon, which has been infused with solar energy."
He vaguely wonders if they left it in the sun or dropped a crystal in it to get the infusion, but doesn't ask. He takes it from her servo, slightly irritated as she brushes her fingers against his again. Sipping on it, he shrugs, "Sort of plain." Not even in the way he likes, even.
She takes the cube from him, still brushing against him way too much. "This one has a single additive of crushed Cora Crystals, and has been refined three times."
She reaches over, and he scoots away, "I think you should put the Cubes on the table, rather than handing them to me. In fact, could you sit across from me on the other side?"
The golden femme carbot gives him a disappointed look, but she does as she is asked and sits across from him. "You should try the energon. It is very rich."
Optimus sips at it and puts it down almost immediately. "I think I prefer Cora crystals when they are not mixed into my energon."
She sighs almost imperceptibly, and he tries not to glare at her as he sips the plain energon he kept. The energon had made his spark pulse, and he's certain she was hoping he'd have kissed her or something like that. That wasn't going to happen ever. He isn't a slutbot that kisses just anyone; especially not a bot that's trying to drug him.
She pushes over another cube. "This one is refined four times, and has a light additive of iron filings."
The texture of this energon feels rather pleasant against his glossa. It is smooth, from the refinement, but the crunch of the filings keeps it from feeling too rich and decadent. It's nice. "I like this one."
"If you enjoy that blend, you should try this one next. It's refined a bit less, and has a mix of different crystals crushed into it."
He gives it a suspicious look, "If it has more of the Cora Crystals, I don't want to try it."
The femme blinks at him, then clearly tries to hide a scowl before bringing a different cube to the front. "This is the same, only without the Cora Crystals."
Despite her words, Optimus sips at the energon cautiously, taking a bit more when his spark doesn't immediately throb with want. The energon is nearly purple from all the added crystals. He feels strange drinking purple energon.
He licks his lips curiously, and lets the crystals crunch under his denta. "I like the crystals much more when they're like this." He pushes it back. "But I'm not so certain about the color of the energon."
"The crystals add the color. It would be possible to leach the color out, but it would require several more additives that alter the flavor." She offers him the next cube, along with a rust stick. "This is a specialty from Laona-3. You stir it with the rust stick and let the stick dissolve just prior to drinking it. It gives the energon a very sweet flavor."
He does as directed, sipping on it. He shrugs. "Not really that great. It is sweet, but I prefered the one with iron filings much more. I think a crunch is nice if I'm going to have more exotic flavors."
She makes note of it. "We'll make sure the next batch has some texture to it for you. Have you considered tasting some of our energon sweets as well? We have several that have a very sharp bite and strong crunch to them."
The texture helps, certainly, but Optimus doesn't really feel like indulging in candy today. Even if some of the energon he is testing has the flavor and richness of a candy.
He shakes his head, and she continues. "We'll bring you some out in your next batch." She pushes over another cube, ignoring his confused look, "This one has gone through six refinings, and a single additive of one crystal."
Still wary of her, he sips it slowly. It tastes pleasant, and warms his circuits. He drains the small sampling cube before realizing his spark is ... pulsing again. Optimus sets the cube down. "What kind of crystal was in this?"
She smiles at him, clearly flirting and making him frown at her, "Pink Cora Crystal. You said you didn't like how the blue changed the color."
He gives her a flat look, "I think that if I'm going to keep testing, I want a different bot giving me the energon. You are trying to break my courting, and I don't appreciate it."
She stands up, horribly offended. "If you insist on another bot, I will get one for you." She leaves in a huff, and Optimus sips at his plain energon. He was going to get education programs implemented as quickly as possible on all Autobot allied planets.
He pokes at one of the cubes next to him, drinking the last of the one with iron filings, and pushing the other cubes around. He's started to make designs on the table with the condensation on the table when another bot finally shows up. The mech sits across from him, and is holding a new tray. "We apologize for Wingstar's behavior. None of these have red or pink Cora Crystals."
"I appreciate that." Optimus's spark is still trying to settle down. He's going to need to self-service again soon. "Do you have any with rust filings?"
He nods and offers a cube to Optimus. "This is a special cultured rust that we make in our own facility here at the resort."
He sips it, and his processor goes slightly fuzzy. "Is this high-grade?"
The mech shakes his head, "No, sir. It is several times refined, however. Would you prefer less refinement in your next cube?"
"Yes, please," he blinks several times, trying to realign the room. "Something with minerals this time?" He's given a cube and he sips at it slowly. "This is nice."
"It's very good for helping with internal repairs. The mineral blend has been formulated to heal minor injuries and aches."
He drinks it all, and he can feel his self-repair pick up the minerals for later use. Humming happily, he looks at the mech. "And what do you have next?"
The cube is slid across the table. "I'm not certain how much you'd like this one, you said before you didn't really like the purple, but you do seem to have a preference for the healing blends. This has a light sprinkling of metal minerals and pieces of crystal."
Despite the color, he takes the cube and drinks it - first one sip, and then draining the cube when the taste registers. It's smooth and flavorful, and the crystal bits crunch between his denta. "This one is very nice. I wouldn't mind having this occasionally, while we stay here."
The mech smiles, "I will be certain to inform the chefs, sir." The bot puts another cube in front of him, "This one has been refined twice, and has been enriched with solar energy before being aged with several types of crystals."
All the energon is starting to get to his processor, and his still-hot spark is more excited than he'd like. They work through the rest of the tray - most don't please him, and by the end, he's barely capable of telling them apart. "I," he sets the last cube down, "I think I should lay down." He wants to talk to Ultra. Snuggle up on Ultra's lap and rub his sparkplates against him shamelessly.
The mech stands up, "I will escort you to your room, then." He's pulled up, and is held arm in arm with the mech. "We were informed to not allow you to offline in this room, and I am certain your berth would be much more comfortable than the couch."
Optimus rests his head on the bot's shoulder, letting himself get lead out of the room, "My berth is too large. I feel so tiny in it, and I have no one to talk to." He nuzzles against the mech, "You're very warm."
"We can send someone up for you to ... talk to," the bot says gently, helping him into his room and up onto his berth, carefully extracting himself from Optimus's grasp. "Let me get one for you. Would you prefer talking to any specific model-type?"
Optimus gives him a confused look, "What does the model of a bot have to do with talking? I would like one that doesn't get all stupid about Sari."
The mech nods, murmuring, "Yes, sir," and slipping out the door.
Optimus moves so he's facing the console, and reaches for it. It is just a little too far, even when he's almost reaching off the edge of the berth. He is about to get up when the door opens, and a bot walks in. The mech has paint over his sparkplates, and is buffed to a soft shine. The bot freezes at the sight of him hanging precariously off the side of the berth, "... Optimus Prime? ... you asked for me?"
The floor is hard when he crashes down onto it, but he rights himself quickly enough. He's not entirely sure how he got down here, but now that he is, the console is within reach. "Yes. I wanted to talk. Because I'm lonely." He stares at the console, trying to remember Ultra's frequency.
Optimus nods, "I was going to call Ultra," he looks at the console, poking at it, "but I can talk to you," he flips through the past frequencies, and stares at the two numbers on the list, "I guess."
The bot gives him an uncertain look. "Would you like help calling him?" He approaches the console and rests a servo on Optimus's shoulder, leaning forward to study the screen. "Is this his frequency?"
Optimus looks at it, "... I think so?"
The mech gently puts him on the berth, "They're both the same numbers, and it says you called just this morning. Did you talk to him then?"
Optimus beams, "I did. I was polishing myself as he watched." The mech nods, and starts to hit the buttons to call, only to stop when Optimus asks, "Why don't you have an Autobot symbol?"
The mech freezes, then straightens up, "I am the only bot that knew the specific authors you requested last solar cycle, and you said you wanted a bot to talk to. If you would prefer an Autobot rather than a neutral, I could go get one for y-"
Optimus waves him into silence, "Neutrals are better to talk to about this stuff. They don't try to invalidate my courting."
Studying him, the bot presses the frequency in. "There. If it's not him, we can always hang up." His servo rubs Optimus's shoulder gently, and the truckbot's optics dim. It's such a nice touch.
Ultra answers almost immediately, smile turning to a confused frown, "... Optimus? Why do you have a terrified prostitute on your berth?"
Optimus gives his beloved a confused look. "What?"
"Oh," Ultra turns his attention to the other bot, "you are a prostitute, aren't you? I know I shouldn't just assume, but your paint is very artificial. Those are not paint marks you were onlined with."
The bot swallows nervously and nods, "Yes. Optimus requested my presence."
Ultra leans on the console, looking fairly interested. "Did he really?"
Optimus frowns. "I just wanted someone to talk with."
Ultra's face falls a little bit. "I see."
The protitutebot sits on the floor, servos on knees, "Should I leave?"
"You can stay," Optimus says, and promptly forgets about him when the light sparkles on Ultra's armor. His intended must have polished himself up pretty, hoping Optimus would call him. "You're so pretty today," he murmurs, and one of his servos comes up to rub at his hot, aching sparkplates. He wants to open them so bad. "I miss you."
Ultra straightens up, catching more light over his armor, "I missed you, too. I can never see you enough."
Optimus runs a finger along his headfin, "Did you polish yourself just for me?"
"It wasn't only for you, beloved," Ultra smiles, leaning towards the camera. "Does it please you?"
He wants to lick Ultra's shiny bits. "I want to lick you," he purrs, tracing his sparkplate seams with his fingertips. This is a bad idea, but he can't remember why. "Oh, Primus," he moans, arching up, displaying his chest for his intended. "I wish you were here. I want your servo on my spark so bad."
Ultra leans forward, and opens his mouth to say something, only to get interrupted by the slamming of the door. Sari strides in, Perceptor, Cyclonus, and Thrust trailing after. She points an accusing finger at Ultra, "What the hell is this?"
The prostitute bot drops, prostrate on the floor, "I'm sorry, Priestess! I was told to come here! I didn't want t-"
Sari puts a hand on the mech's back, "Hey, calm down. I was asking Ultra, not you. Stop freaking out."
"I never intended to-"
"Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you. Even if you were here and intended to 'face the slag out of Optimus, you aren't the bot that would get punished. It's your job." She turns a dark look at Optimus, who blinks and drops his servos away from his chest. "I repeat: what the slag are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Ultra," Optimus says, and he frowns when his speech is slightly slurred. He should have a medicbot look at that.
She gives him a dirty look, "You're drunk."
He snorts, "Don't be silly, Sari. Bots can't get drunk."
She rolls her eyes, "Overcharged then." She turns back to Ultra. "You fucking know better. If he calls you when he's like this, do you know what to do?" Ultra starts to open his mouth only for Sari to talk over him, "You tell him you're sorry, and he needs to talk to me. Or you tell him how much he's going to regret this in the morning. Don't you fucking encourage him."
"I'm sorry," Ultra murmurs, although he doesn't sound very sincere to Optimus. His spark is still so slagging hot. A warm, wet glossa would feel amazing against it; he's sure of it.
Sari punches him, hard. "I fucking know what you're thinking. AllSpark won't stop freaking out about this." She makes a frustrated sound, "You are hanging up now, Ultra."
His intended freezes. "I wanted to ask you about the crystals, actually, Sari."
She rubs her temples, "Yes, I will get your fragging red Cora Crystals. I am getting several of each color. Don't bother me about them, and hang up."
Pressing his fingers against the screen, Ultra smiles at Optimus, "Recharge well, Optimus." He disconnects the call before Optimus can turn a scowl on Sari.
"You're mean."
She gives him a dirty look, "You're overcharged. I never should have left you alone." She sighs, "In fact..." She looks at Cyclonus, before shaking her head, "No. I'll let you be alone for now, but I'm disabling your calling console and making sure that no one but me can get into the room."
Optimus sticks his glossa out at her briefly, like a petulant sparkling. "You should disable that femme's console. She kept trying to get me to drink Cora crystals to make my spark all hot."
Sari covers her face with her hand. "I already know that. Fragging bots."
The prostitute bot is shivering at her feet, and Thrust steps forward, a servo on her arm and whispering softly, "Priestess Sari? I think we should let him," he gestures at the prostrate bot, "know that you aren't angry at him."
She sighs, "Cyclonus, pick him up." She slaps the console, and it flashes brightly, "We're going to Percy's room, you'll be able to call me, Optimus," she taps her temple, "But only me." She steps out, slapping the door as she goes, and the mechs follow, Cyclonus holding both Thrust and the scared bot.
Optimus stares at the door for a long time, and then gives the console a sad look. He finds a comfortable position on the berth and lays down, getting his static glove from subspace. Overload is going to feel fantastic, and he's going to imagine Ultra above him, licking his spark. He shudders with pleasure.
The processor ache he has the next morning is one of the worst ones Optimus has ever experienced. He wants to remove his circuitboards to make the burning and throbbing stop.
He gropes into his subspace, and drinks the processor ache cure. It isn't as good as the one the ship provides, but it is workable. He holds the top of his head, and keeps his optics offline until the pain goes from acid in his circuits to just a dull prodding. Sitting up, he rubs his head, only to yank his servo away. ... why is he wearing the static glove, and why are his sparkplates open?
Memory files drift back into existence slowly, and Optimus grows increasingly horrified. He'd had a prostitute in his room, and he'd nearly self-serviced in front of both the other bot and Ultra. And then he'd overloaded himself five times with the glove, screaming Ultra's name at a volume that made him sincerely hope that his room was soundproof.
He shoves the glove back in his subspace, and shuts his plates. Curling up on the berth, he winces, suddenly realizing why that femme kept trying to shove red and pink Cora Crystals down him. He'd realized she wanted to 'face him, but did she really have to try it in such an underhanded way?
It'll take a bit of doing, but he's going to avoid her if he sees her again. He winces. Ultra's opinion of him must be so low now. He'd called him up with a prostitute hovering in the background. Primus, he needs to call up and apologize.
He walks over to the console, but it beeps at him irritably when he tries to key in Ultra's frequency; it even goes as far as shocking his servo when he tries again. Sucking on his fingers, he glares at it. He's considering kicking it until he remembers that Sari had locked the thing from him calling anyone but her. He winces, and sits back on the berth, not really sure what to do.
The service desk down in the lobby ought to have a console he can use to contact his intended and apologize for acting so terribly. Optimus decides against it. He doesn't want to embarrass them both any further in public. He gives himself a quick polish and sips half a cube of normal energon.
He taps his fingers against his leg before walking over to the console, and tapping in Sari's frequency. The console routes it to her room automatically, and he gives it a confused look; he didn't know that they could do that. He shrugs, letting it go, nonsentient technology always acts funny around her, anyway.
She picks up after a little bit, blinking at him sleepily, "Optimus? Why are you awake? It is," she glances at the time, and jumps in surprise, "Almost time to check out. Shit! Thanks for waking me up."
"Could you unlock my console? I want to call Ultra Magnus and apologize for my behavior." He ducks his head down. " And I want to apologize to you as well. I don't react well to being so overcharged. And I was not expecting the effect the Cora Crystals had when ingested."
She moves out of the camera's view, and her voice is muffled, "You don't have to apologize to him, he should be apologizing to you. He was blatantly encouraging you to continue, when he should have been saying it is a bad idea."
Optimus flushes, glad she can't see it. "It wasn't his responsibility to monitor my actions. I'm sure he would have told me to stop if I started to ... open up."
Sari's head pops up on the corner of the screen, "Yeah, like I believe that. He'd have probably told poor Firestarter to use you." She vanishes again.
He taps his fingers together. "He wouldn't. He knows how important this is to me."
She snorts. "He knows, but he's a dirty old bot. I'm not sure how you'll do when you start living together."
Optimus bites his lip. "I imagine it will be more difficult when we start sharing a berth." He also knew that most couples began interfacing at that point, even if they were attempting a full formal courtship. Since he wanted to be successful, he had no intention of giving in to any desires he might have.
She comes back on screen, fully dressed, "AllSpark is worried about that. Ultra is way too interested in seeing your spark. You're going to have to remind him how much you want a successful courting. He'll be getting pretty blessed femme twins and you'll get a single fully crystal mech if you go through with it, remember?"
He smiles at the thought, "I'd really like that."
Family was important to him. He felt a twinge of jealousy every time he saw another bot caring for a sparkling. He would do whatever it took to get a family for Ultra and himself.
"Make sure he knows that. And don't seeker-polish yourself again until after the bonding."
He sighs unhappily, "We've been courting for stellar cycles, Sari. How much longer will it be?"
She closes her eyes, "Pretty soon. You're doing really well, but you need to be patient."
"I will try," he promises, before looking around his room. "I should tidy up before we check out."
She gives him a look, "We're paying ridiculous amounts to stay here, and you want to clean for them?"
He looks at the floor, "It isn't polite to le-"
She cuts him off, "Polite nothing. They called me a whore, and kept trying to get you to break the courtship. Leaving them a dirty room is fine. I'm going to head over and get you now, do you need me to bring you anything?"
"There was a type of energon I enjoyed last night. I can't remember what it was, though." He rubs his head, embarrassed. "If you could ask for a cube of that before we leave, I'd be very thankful."
She nods, "No problem. I'll get it and head on over."
She disconnects the call, and he's left sitting doing nothing again. He wonders if he should work on something from his harddrive, but he's fairly certain that if Sari caught him, she'd find some way of erasing it. Instead, he settles down on the berth, and reads more of the datapads he got on the first night here.
When Sari arrives, she shoves a cube at him, "Mineral and crystal blend. I tasted it, and it's just as gross as the rest of your stuff. Even worse with the bits of rock in there."
He drinks a little, crunching down happily on the crystals, "They're delicious, Sari."
She rolls her optics, "Whatever." She climbs up him, and she helps her to his shoulder, "We're getting Cyclonus and Thrust, then pulling Percy away from Firestarter."
"We'll need some luck with that, I think," Optimus says, and he finishes his cube before walking out with her. "Perceptor seems to be exploring an entirely new side of himself while we are out."
Sari snorts, "Yeah, his slutbot side. But he's enjoying it, so it's cool."
Optimus tilts his head, "AllSpark doesn't mind?"
She snorts, "Why the hell would it mind? It likes bots to use their sparks. The reason it freaks out so much about you is because you're a virgin, and it wants you to stay that way until you bond with Ultra the very first time you interface." She grabs him by the helmet and points to a bot that's cleaning up unobtrusively. "Stop. I need to go talk to Grapple there. He's hurting."
He walks over to the bot, helping Sari down. She looks the bot in the optics and places a servo on his leg. The blue paint on the back of her servos glows brightly, and Grapple stares down at her. "I know it hurts, but it will get better. You really shouldn't be working, not after having lost your bonded."
The mech flinches, and whispers, "There is nothing else I can do."
She tugs Grapple down, and hugs him around the neck. "You're allowed to request time off, you know. You need time to heal."
"I don't want to think about it," he whispers, sounding utterly wrecked. "I don't have anyone else. I can't be alone like that. At least there are other bots here."
Sari looks at him for a klik, before offering, "You can come with us if you want."
He gives her a sparkbroken look. "You don't even know me."
She touches him gently between the optics. "Grapple, you were sparkbonded for," she pauses, optics glowing, "over six-hundred vorns to Hoist," her optics stop glowing, "and you miss him. I don't know you personally, but I'm," she sighs, slightly disgusted at herself, "the AllSpark High Priestess. And every bot is sacred to me. You are hurting because the bot you loved enough to share emotions with is gone. I can help."
"I can't just leave," he protests, but it sounds like he wants to be persuaded otherwise.
"If your boss is callous enough to ignore a broken bond, well, we've got ourselves a secret weapon." She points at Optimus, "Second in command of the Autobots right there. He'll ask for you, if your manager doesn't just give you the time off."
Grapple bites his lower lip, "I only just started working for this solar cycle, I can't just-"
She puts a servo to his lips, "You're making excuses for something you know doesn't matter. You can come with us, and we will bring you back here later. When you are better."
Ducking his head, he nods his agreement. "I don't want to have to explain this to my manager. He expects me to be remodeling part of this resort."
She rubs his shoulder. "I'll have Optimus explain for you."
Optimus takes the mech's servo in his own, and pulls him and Sari up. "Let's go to him first, shall we?"
Grapple nods, leading them to a room a little bit away, and knocking on it. There's a gruff, "Come on in," from the room, and the mech hides behind Optimus as he walks in.
The manager looks up from his desk and immediately stands, "Optimus Prime, sir. I wasn't expecting you. Can I help you?"
Optimus carefully urges Grapple forward. "This bot has recently lost his bonded. Sari and I would like to take him away for a while, to help him recover from his loss."
The manager blinks in surprise, "... Hoist is gone, Grapple? Why didn't you say anything?" The bot stands up, and walks over, rubbing Grapple on the back. "Did he finally succumb to it?" Grapple nods unhappily, and the manager winces. "I'm so sorry, of course you can take time off."
"Succumb?" Optimus says quietly to Sari, not wanting to be overheard.
Sari shakes her head sadly. "He had some kind of disease. It had been eating away at him for a while now. They'd known he'd had it since before they bonded, but it can't be spread."
The manager and Grapple talk for a little bit longer before they leave the room. Optimus rests his servo on the other bot's back as they walk. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The bot shakes his head, "Not right now. Maybe later?"
Optimus gives him a wane smile. "You don't have to at all. You're going to be recovering, and can take all the time you need."
"Thank you," Grapple says quietly, and Optimus notices the way he keeps rubbing his chest every klik or so.
Optimus shares a look with Sari, and she slips over onto Grapple's shoulder. "You don't mind if I hitch a ride on you, do you?"
The mech smiles, "No, not at all... Priestess."
She pats him gently on the helmet, "You can call me Sari, that is my name."
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