Cold Spark - Chapter 7
Title: Cold Spark (Chapter 7 of ?)
Verse: G1 with references to WFC
Rating: PG
Other Characters: Ratchet, Hound, Wheeljack, mention of Optimus and Megatron
Warnings: statement of RatchetxWheeljack
Summary/Notes: Ratchet is still trying to figure out what happened and Jazz receives his own "relationship counseling"
(I do not own Transformers.)
Ratchet stared at his monitor. He didn't see the characters on the screen as he was lost in his own thoughts. He had been looking at the scans he had taken of Prowl and Jazz. He could clearly see the differences between the scans taken before and after the horrible argument which had taken place. He didn't understand what they meant. He had never seen anything like this before. Ratchet was an experienced medic and he had seen many things. It was interesting when he encountered something he hadn't seen before but this bothered him because he had no solution. He didn't have a theory to work from. He slammed a servo on the desk and shut off the monitor. He leaned back in his chair and shook his helm. Perhaps a break was in order. He stood up and left his office. He went to the rec room and picked up a cube of energon. He considered returning to his office but decided to linger instead. He spoke to some of the other mech which were there and then noticed that Hound was watching television at the far end of the rec room. Ratchet wasn't close friends with Hound but he certainly did admire how the scout had adapted to their new home. Hound seemed to fit right in and took everything in stride. Ratchet hadn't even noticed that he had made his way over to where Hound was sitting. Ratchet watched the television while taking a drink from his cube. The medic was not surprised that Hound was watching a nature program. Ratchet only paid partial attention to it. He didn't notice at first when Hound addressed him.
"Hmmm?" Ratchet asked turning his full attention to the scout.
"Ratchet, isn't this planet amazing? There is so much life here. Look at this," Hound said, gesturing to the television screen. "There are places in the ocean that receive no sunlight and still, life finds a way. These sea creatures depend on vents which heat the surrounding water. We could learn so much if we just paid attention to our surroundings. Instead, we have to fight this endless war with the Decepticons and miss so much in the process."
Ratchet nodded and watched the program for a bit. It was interesting and it was nice for a change to relax a bit and just let his processor wander. The process of life had been so much simpler on Cybertron. Every one of them had emerged from the Well of Sparks. The caste system had determined their role in society from the day of emergence. It hadn't been right, Ratchet reflected. Change had been needed but while Optimus had been convinced that change could be brought about peacefully, Megatron had decided that war was the only way to bring about change.
Ratchet sighed, finished his cube, excused himself, and wandered back to his office. Perhaps the break would help him have a fresh perspective on the problem with Prowl and Jazz. He had the scans indicating that something was wrong but he could not isolate a cause. Ratchet was tempted to simply tell Prowl and Jazz that they had acquired some type of virus and they would have to wait for it to resolve itself. After all, that seemed to be how human medics handled this type of situation when they were faced with something they could not explain.
***
Jazz came out of recharge feeling better than he had in a long time. He remained still for a while thinking about the previous evening. Jazz had savored every bit of the Praxian high grade that Prowl had left for him. Afterwards he had leaned back on his recharge mat and relaxed. The high grade settled nicely in his tank. He had tasted Praxian high grade before the destruction of Praxus and had enjoyed it immensely. Prowl had a small supply of it in his quarters. The only occasion he was aware of Prowl having any of it was after they had bonded. Prowl had carefully poured each of them a cube and they savored the refined taste together before joining their sparks again. Jazz knew that this had been a message from Prowl. The tactician wanted Jazz back. Jazz smiled for a moment and then frowned as he wondered how many computations Prowl had run before thinking up this idea. Then the frown turned into a snarl as Jazz realized he was thinking irrationally again. He just couldn't help it. He could not understand why his processor kept twisting everything about Prowl. Jazz really wanted to go to Prowl and properly thank him for the gift but he was suddenly afraid that if he did he would say something he would regret and undo whatever progress had been made up to that point.
Jazz wearily made his way through the base avoiding detection until he was standing at the door to the rec room. He went inside and got his energon. He glanced around the room and noticed Wheeljack sitting by himself. Jazz approached and asked to sit. Wheeljack seemed more than happy to have some company. Jazz sat and slowly sipped his energon. Wheeljack watched for a bit and was distressed at how the normally jovial mech had changed so much. Finally, the engineer probed, "Has Ratchet figured anything out yet?"
The question surprised Jazz a bit. He was expecting Wheeljack to ask about Prowl. "Nah," Jazz answered. Then Jazz paused and said, "Jack, I wish he did. I'm so slaggin' frustrated by all of this." Before Jazz realized it, he had told the engineer about the energon Prowl had left for him and how he struggled with what to do next. Finally, he said, "I want to make things right between Prowl and me but I'm afraid I'll get annoyed at Prowl and mess it up."
Wheeljack sat silently for a bit. His fins lit up and he smiled, "You know, Jazz, there are a number of things that annoy me about Ratchet but I set them aside."
Jazz shrugged and replied, "Ratchet annoys everyone, Jack. Ya have to let it roll off."
"That's not what I meant, Jazz," Wheeljack said looking at the saboteur with a steady gaze. "The one thing that bothers me the most about Ratchet is how he refuses to bond."
Jazz began to grow impatient with the engineer. "Ratchet hates sparkbonds. Everyone knows that."
Wheeljack sighed. "Jazz, I think whatever this problem is that you and Prowl are having is slowing down your processor. Ratchet won't bond with me. I've learned though to deal with it because Ratchet has proved to be the most faithful mech I've ever encountered."
Jazz could only stare at Wheeljack. Eventually he found his vocalizer again. "Ya mean… ya and Ratchet… are… a couple?"
Wheeljack smiled. "We have been for a long time. Since before the war began. Jazz, my advice to you is to take this slow. As much as you want to demonstrate how you feel, you are quite volatile right now. Start by telling Prowl that you appreciate the gift. Knowing Prowl, it will be enough. For now."
Verse: G1 with references to WFC
Rating: PG
Other Characters: Ratchet, Hound, Wheeljack, mention of Optimus and Megatron
Warnings: statement of RatchetxWheeljack
Summary/Notes: Ratchet is still trying to figure out what happened and Jazz receives his own "relationship counseling"
(I do not own Transformers.)
Ratchet stared at his monitor. He didn't see the characters on the screen as he was lost in his own thoughts. He had been looking at the scans he had taken of Prowl and Jazz. He could clearly see the differences between the scans taken before and after the horrible argument which had taken place. He didn't understand what they meant. He had never seen anything like this before. Ratchet was an experienced medic and he had seen many things. It was interesting when he encountered something he hadn't seen before but this bothered him because he had no solution. He didn't have a theory to work from. He slammed a servo on the desk and shut off the monitor. He leaned back in his chair and shook his helm. Perhaps a break was in order. He stood up and left his office. He went to the rec room and picked up a cube of energon. He considered returning to his office but decided to linger instead. He spoke to some of the other mech which were there and then noticed that Hound was watching television at the far end of the rec room. Ratchet wasn't close friends with Hound but he certainly did admire how the scout had adapted to their new home. Hound seemed to fit right in and took everything in stride. Ratchet hadn't even noticed that he had made his way over to where Hound was sitting. Ratchet watched the television while taking a drink from his cube. The medic was not surprised that Hound was watching a nature program. Ratchet only paid partial attention to it. He didn't notice at first when Hound addressed him.
"Hmmm?" Ratchet asked turning his full attention to the scout.
"Ratchet, isn't this planet amazing? There is so much life here. Look at this," Hound said, gesturing to the television screen. "There are places in the ocean that receive no sunlight and still, life finds a way. These sea creatures depend on vents which heat the surrounding water. We could learn so much if we just paid attention to our surroundings. Instead, we have to fight this endless war with the Decepticons and miss so much in the process."
Ratchet nodded and watched the program for a bit. It was interesting and it was nice for a change to relax a bit and just let his processor wander. The process of life had been so much simpler on Cybertron. Every one of them had emerged from the Well of Sparks. The caste system had determined their role in society from the day of emergence. It hadn't been right, Ratchet reflected. Change had been needed but while Optimus had been convinced that change could be brought about peacefully, Megatron had decided that war was the only way to bring about change.
Ratchet sighed, finished his cube, excused himself, and wandered back to his office. Perhaps the break would help him have a fresh perspective on the problem with Prowl and Jazz. He had the scans indicating that something was wrong but he could not isolate a cause. Ratchet was tempted to simply tell Prowl and Jazz that they had acquired some type of virus and they would have to wait for it to resolve itself. After all, that seemed to be how human medics handled this type of situation when they were faced with something they could not explain.
***
Jazz came out of recharge feeling better than he had in a long time. He remained still for a while thinking about the previous evening. Jazz had savored every bit of the Praxian high grade that Prowl had left for him. Afterwards he had leaned back on his recharge mat and relaxed. The high grade settled nicely in his tank. He had tasted Praxian high grade before the destruction of Praxus and had enjoyed it immensely. Prowl had a small supply of it in his quarters. The only occasion he was aware of Prowl having any of it was after they had bonded. Prowl had carefully poured each of them a cube and they savored the refined taste together before joining their sparks again. Jazz knew that this had been a message from Prowl. The tactician wanted Jazz back. Jazz smiled for a moment and then frowned as he wondered how many computations Prowl had run before thinking up this idea. Then the frown turned into a snarl as Jazz realized he was thinking irrationally again. He just couldn't help it. He could not understand why his processor kept twisting everything about Prowl. Jazz really wanted to go to Prowl and properly thank him for the gift but he was suddenly afraid that if he did he would say something he would regret and undo whatever progress had been made up to that point.
Jazz wearily made his way through the base avoiding detection until he was standing at the door to the rec room. He went inside and got his energon. He glanced around the room and noticed Wheeljack sitting by himself. Jazz approached and asked to sit. Wheeljack seemed more than happy to have some company. Jazz sat and slowly sipped his energon. Wheeljack watched for a bit and was distressed at how the normally jovial mech had changed so much. Finally, the engineer probed, "Has Ratchet figured anything out yet?"
The question surprised Jazz a bit. He was expecting Wheeljack to ask about Prowl. "Nah," Jazz answered. Then Jazz paused and said, "Jack, I wish he did. I'm so slaggin' frustrated by all of this." Before Jazz realized it, he had told the engineer about the energon Prowl had left for him and how he struggled with what to do next. Finally, he said, "I want to make things right between Prowl and me but I'm afraid I'll get annoyed at Prowl and mess it up."
Wheeljack sat silently for a bit. His fins lit up and he smiled, "You know, Jazz, there are a number of things that annoy me about Ratchet but I set them aside."
Jazz shrugged and replied, "Ratchet annoys everyone, Jack. Ya have to let it roll off."
"That's not what I meant, Jazz," Wheeljack said looking at the saboteur with a steady gaze. "The one thing that bothers me the most about Ratchet is how he refuses to bond."
Jazz began to grow impatient with the engineer. "Ratchet hates sparkbonds. Everyone knows that."
Wheeljack sighed. "Jazz, I think whatever this problem is that you and Prowl are having is slowing down your processor. Ratchet won't bond with me. I've learned though to deal with it because Ratchet has proved to be the most faithful mech I've ever encountered."
Jazz could only stare at Wheeljack. Eventually he found his vocalizer again. "Ya mean… ya and Ratchet… are… a couple?"
Wheeljack smiled. "We have been for a long time. Since before the war began. Jazz, my advice to you is to take this slow. As much as you want to demonstrate how you feel, you are quite volatile right now. Start by telling Prowl that you appreciate the gift. Knowing Prowl, it will be enough. For now."