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He hadn’t been lying when he’d said the datapad was old -- the Wrecker was was impressed that the thing even powered up properly given how long it had sat in that compartment collecting dust. Wheeljack fidgeted a bit more in what could only be awkward embarrassment as Ratchet stared at the pad in incredulous disbelief. “It’s old, alright?” he muttered defensively, and couldn’t figure out why he was feeling defensive when he ought to have cared less.
When the medic held the datapad out to him, it took all of his self-control not to snatch it away and shove it somewhere where it wouldn’t be tripped over again. His mood tanked even further Ratchet’s skeptical words. Of course he would not believe that a Wrecker like Wheeljack couldn’t possibly have solved such complex equations! Disappointment burned in his spark, as he’d hoped that Ratchet, at least, was different from the rest… and then a hot flash of annoyance at himself for even caring, because he’d never cared much about others knowing or not knowing that he was smarter than he let on. Ratchet was apparently a special case in that Wheeljack cared what he thought. He cared a lot what he thought.
His spiral into another sour mood was thrown for a loop, however, when Ratchet did the unexpected: he actually asked about Wheeljack’s past. “What?” he said, stupidly. He was usually quite content to let people think what they thought and stew in the confines of their own preconceptions about him. Not many bots knew what he’d done prior to the War and prior to becoming a Wrecker and usually that was how he preferred it, because it made things less complicated and gave him an edge over other bots who were content to think he as just a dumb brute. Ratchet was apparently an exception. Ratchet was becoming the single biggest exception to every little unspoken rule Wheeljack had, and the more time he spent around him, the more Wheeljack found he didn’t mind too much. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the medic hadn’t meant to be belittling or anything, but had just honestly been curious. He found that he actually wanted to tell him.
Wheeljack let out a long sigh, and looked away. “... I was an engineer. I studied at Polyhex U, got good grades, won a bunch’a scholarships, got some of my papers published a few times.” He gave a bit of a shrug, as if bots regularly had gotten 4.0 averages and had their work published while still in school. If Ratchet were to look at the journal header on that particular article, he’d find it was one of the more prestigious journals, which was another rather astounding achievement, not that Wheeljack would point it out. He preferred to downplay his accomplishments not out of a sense of humility but out of… what? Embarrassment? Awkwardness? He wasn’t sure. “What’s the big deal, Doc? Never seen-” He leaned over to take a glance at the pad, “-Advanced astrophysics before?”
Thinking about his university days in Polyhex made his spark ache for times long past. Those were the days when he had been young and stupid, his optimism and desire to change the world for the better still intact. “‘Course I know what they are. I wrote ‘em. There’s more of that on there, ‘cause that’s my master backup of all my finished work. Some of the articles on there are probably the only copies left since the data grid went down.”
Honestly Ratchet wasn't even sure why Wheeljack seemed so touchy about the subject when the datapad had been brought to light. It wasn't as if he had actively gone and searched through his stuff for it. Just simply looked where he had been directed for the puzzle cubes and out it went. Maybe it was something from his past that he didn't want to talk about, but he didn't see the need to get testy over the whole matter. Sitting beside the Wrecker, Ratchet gave him a look as the mood darkened in the ship a little.
Ratchet sighed, glancing back to the old datapad in his hand. While he hadn't looked through it, he could tell that something didn't add up. If Wheeljack had this sort of knowledge, then just what the heck was he doing as a Wrecker? With this processor power, he could've easily been a scientist! The medic eventually found himself asking about the younger mech's past, and after a rather unnecessary awkward silence (in Ratchet's head anyway), Wheeljack finally spoke up. Turned away, he spoke of where he studied, and his achievements during his time at Polyhex U.
As Wheeljack continued to speak, specifically about the published papers, Ratchet spotted the journals section of the datapad, optics widening a little at his findings. He wasn't lying at all, not that he hadn't believed him to begin with. Only allowing himself to read a small snippet of the article, he returned to the advances astrophysics equations that he'd spotted earlier. "No, Wheeljack. It's not that. I know what they are. I guess I'm just surprised. Surprised, but very impressed. I never expected that out of you, and I don't mean that in a bad way."
He set the datapad down beside him for a moment, looking directly into the Wrecker's blue optics. "Don't squander your accomplishments, Wheeljack. You should be proud. I don't know what made you go from your studies to becoming a Wrecker, and I'm not going to ask you, but that's not something you should just shrug off either." He glanced down for a moment, picking the datapad back up and handing it back to Wheeljack. "I won't look through any more of it if you don't want me to, but I wouldn't mind reading those papers of yours one day.. just for fun."
What a day this had turned out to be. It'd started just fine, and suddenly Ratchet found himself stuck in the mysterious backstory belonging to Wheeljack. Never in his dreams would he have imagined him as a scientist, but he wouldn't argue against it either. Still.. he felt a bit awkward that he had stumbled across part of the Wrecker's past without necessarily meaning to. Perhaps he could share some of his own in return.
"Maybe I should tell you more about me since I learned more about you? I admit.. Delphi wasn't exactly the easiest medical facility to get into. It's a ways out, and it took a lot of studying and a lot of hard work to even get accepted there, never mind the scholarship just to even get there. By that time, there was no one there I even knew, so I admit even I felt somewhat out of sorts at first. Of course.. that changed when Pharma took notice. He was just my teacher then, but even then he became one of my closest friends." Ratchet chuckled softly to himself, looking down towards the floor with a half-smile.
"I'm fine now, however. I'm back with people I know, and forged new friendships along the way. Friendships.. like ours."
Well, Wheeljack couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised by Ratchet’s answer, now, could he? “No one ever does expect it from a brawler like me,” he shrugged, “Which is how I like it. Let ‘em think what they want.” It was better this way, he reasoned. No high ups harassing him to pump out new ideas, and it made it easier to get the edge on people who underestimated him. He did feel guilt, though, at just how quick he was to get growly over such a relatively trivial thing as an ancient datapad full of equations… and how quick he’d jumped to conclusions himself about Ratchet when he should’ve known better.
He forced the tension out of his shoulders. Ratchet didn’t deserve to be growled at just because he’d tripped over that stupid datapad by accident.
“Was a long time ago, anyways. That bot that wrote those-” he gestured with a nod to the pad, “-he ain’t around anymore. Hasn’t been for a while. I’m probably rusty at all of that anyways.” The Wrecker took a good, long look at the pad, and considered it hard. “... Take it, if you want. Maybe you’ll find somethin’ interestin’ in there. S’been a while since anyone’s seen ‘em, though, so heads up.”
Wheeljack was surprised when Ratchet shared a bit of his own history, as if the medic felt as if he had to reciprocate and level the playing field. It had to have been lonely out at Delphi, especially when he’d not known anyone out there, though the Wrecker was glad that Pharma had been there for Ratchet to help him through what must have been a tough time in his studies.
“I’m glad I’ve been added t’your list of people y’know, Doc,” Wheeljack teased with a gentle smile, a certain fondness entering his spark at the thought. “An’ I’m glad we managed to forge somethin’, at least.“
No matter how many times Wheeljack told him that he didn't care how others thought of him, there was a nagging feeling in Ratchet's spark that just made him refuse to believe such a claim. It was simply unthinkable to the medic to disregard another's feelings about someone in such a way. Certainly he did care about how others felt about him deep down, right?
"Because of the war.. I assume?" The war on Cybertron had changed many, some for the best but most for the worst. Ratchet had managed to fall right in between those lines, but the loss of so many, including their own home, was just a bit much for him to bare. He never let it show of course, but in the end it only added to how tired he was of this whole thing. Blinking, he gently pulled the datapad back towards himself, giving Wheeljack a firm nod. "I'll read over it when I have the time. Thank you, but.. if you ever wanted to remove some of that rust.. perhaps we could do something together? That is completely up to you however."
Maybe it had been a matter of leveling the playing field between the two of them, however Ratchet also felt a bit obligated to give the younger mech a little more of his own history. A solemn look crossed his face as he thought back on those times; back when Pharma was around to guide him through his studies.
"Never would have seen it coming, actually.. but I won't refute that. I guess it's exactly as they say. Opposites attract." He chuckled softly, subspacing Wheeljack's old datapad before giving the injured mech more attention. "It's good to know that despite everything, we still managed to become friends. Once you're healed up and on your way.. maybe we could do this again sometime? N-not the 'almost dying and being hurt' part, of course. I simply mean.. getting together like this and just.. talk."
Catching his wording a bit too late, the flustered mech glanced aside for a brief moment, looking in the direction of the hatchway for seemingly no reason. He just needed to get his attention on something else until he could gather his bearings. Once he'd relaxed enough, he allowed himself to look back to Wheeljack.
"So, uh.. do you.. want to show me what movies you have on your datapad? I'm.. curious to see what all you have."
Ratchet had certainly hit the nail on the head, so to speak. It wasn’t often that Wheeljack ever even talked about the impact the War had had on him personally, or even revealed any details about his past before becoming a Wrecker, but the medic… well. He had a habit of coaxing those details out of him, even if he didn’t even mean to. Besides, no bot had gone through the War and come out unscathed; Wheeljack’s silence in response to Ratchet’s question was enough confirmation on the matter.
His mood certainly was lightened, though, at the offer of having help in ‘removing the rust’. “I dunno, s’been awhile since I’ve done that kinda stuff, Sunshine.” He said, rubbing at the back of his neck (and willing his spark to stop doing the fluttery hopeful thing it was doing right now), before his expression softened. “... Guess it would be nice t’stretch my brain a bit. Specially with someone who probably knows what they’re doin’ an’ can keep up with me.”
Time would tell if Ratchet would, of course, but the doc was clever enough to have gotten through med school, and his mind was sharper than most of Wheeljack’s old classmates by far. Plus, he’d built a ground bridge out of nothing and made it work, which hadn’t failed to impress the Wrecker.
“Y’know, I think I’d like that,” Wheeljack said then, laughing a little at the other’s quickness to specify that it was just talking he was interested in, and not a full blown repetition of this whole debacle. “I mean, I make no promises, but I’m gonna at least try t’make sure I’m not dyin’ next time we meet. Talkin’ is… nice. This is nice. M’glad it turned out this way, too.”
It shouldn’t have surprised him that Ratchet might want to look at his movie collection, given that he hadn’t pegged the medic as a movie type, but perhaps the Doc was just curious. The Wrecker scooped up his own ancient datapad from where it had been abandoned and passed it over. His digital file library was certainly extensive, and had a rather large number of (illegally, and obviously so) downloaded human movies. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Pacific Rim’ weren’t the only sci-fi flicks he had; Wheeljack seemed to have quite the fondness for them, for there were many more.
“We never did finish Pacific Rim, did we?” He asked absently as he gave his list a quick glance. “I also have a buncha TV shows I’ve been meanin’ t’watch. Mostly sci-fi, humans in space an’ stuff, but there’re a few comedy ones kickin’ ‘round in there. I can send you some, if y’want.”
War effected everyone in different ways, and Ratchet was no exception. He rarely recharged through a single night without coming back online at least two or three times, he panicked over their supplies, and he always worried about one's well being even if they were leaving the base for just a few kliks to get some 'fresh air'.
"I think I would like that, too.. the both of us working on something together, even if it's just something simple. It would be nice to work with someone with your sort of mindset. Don't worry.. I don't plan on abusing that mind of yours. Even if I do require your assistance for something, I'll be sure to do something for you in return." It was only fair, right?
It had been strange though. The more they just talked, the more Ratchet realized that Wheeljack wasn't all that bad at all. He'd already begun to give the medic that impression ever since he had apologized for his actions the other day, but that impression had grown substantially. He'd finally had another he could talk to and they actually understood the way he felt about things. It was a comfort Ratchet didn't want to be rid of.
"I only wish that we had done this sooner. I know we can't change how things turned out, but I'm happy that it happened later than never. You know.. I'd only really had Optimus to talk to in this sort of way before.. after we left Cybertron that is. I'm glad to have you around, too, even if it didn't seem that way before." The medic's expression softened, just taking in the bonding moment they were having. The more time that past, the more they were getting to know each other. Ratchet leaned back as he sat on the berth, looking towards the ceiling for a brief moment before returning his attention to Wheeljack. "I suppose it's a safe assumption that you and Bulkhead talk like this sometimes, too?"
Gently taking the datapad, he looked through Wheeljack's collection as the mech spoke. Scrap, they had forgotten about Pacific Rim, hadn't they? Maybe they could finish watching it, but the medic was curious as to what all else he had. Easily he spotted the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as the Pacific Rim, but there was quite the collection of movies and television shows on this thing as well. Just where was he even meant to begin?! Ratchet looked through a few titles, but just wasn't sure what it was he had wanted to watch. It had been tempting to say he'd do what Wheeljack wanted, but then he remembered the Wrecker's words from before. There were two mechs on this ship, and Wheeljack had wanted Ratchet to do what he had wanted to do, too.
"How about.. we finish Pacific Rim first and then look through the list some more. I mean.. I think I might feel strange to leave it unfinished." He looked to the younger mech sheepishly, a hand behind his helm. Maybe this movie thing was starting to rub off on him. "I think we'll have to rewind the movie a little in order to get back to where you left off. I remember you falling asleep on me before we could finish."
And not once was he ever going to tell him just how peaceful and relaxed he had looked while sleeping.
He wasn’t sure what surprised him more -- that Ratchet had felt comfortable sharing such personal and private details of his life and asking about more of them in kind, or that he was going to answer Ratchet’s question in full, uncensored honesty without a shred of hesitation. Wheeljack made a bit of a face; it looked like a cross between a wince and a shrug. “Eeeh, sometimes?” Worried that Ratchet might get discouraged by his grimace, he added, “We used to,” He admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck once more. “But it’s kinda been awhile since Bulk and I had a spark-to-spark. Guess since I got here on Earth, we haven’t had much of a chance.”
It had been a long time since he and Bulkhead had talked like he was talking with Ratchet now. He wouldn’t deny that there was definitely a sense of catharsis involved, though. “... Kinda nice, bein’ able t’talk like this t’someone."
It gave him a rather intense feeling of satisfaction in seeing Ratchet’s face when the medic laid optics upon his extensive (and illicit) collection of movies and shows. Wheeljack hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he’d had a bunch. Admittedly, being faced with the entirety of his collection could be an overwhelming prospect, and it didn’t surprise him when Ratchet chose to finish the movie they’d both conked out in the middle of.
“Finishin’ the rock-em-sock-em robot movie sounds good, Doc,” Wheeljack grinned cheekily, going ahead and queueing up the movie. “Though I dunno ‘bout this thing about fallin’ asleep on you. Lies and slander, probably, tryin’ to tarnish my good n’ honorable reputation. I would never do somethin’ like that!” He winked. It didn’t take long for him to figure out which part he’d fallen asleep at, and they settled in to watch.
It was’t much of a surprise to wake up the next morning the same way he had the previous: sitting on his berth, leaning just as much on Ratchet as Ratchet did on him. The datapad lay across their laps, paused on the credits of the last movie they’d watched together. Unlike the previous morning, however, Wheeljack was the one to awaken first. After a few moments of simply enjoying the simplicity and intimicy of the closeness they shared now, he carefully extricated himself from the slumbering medic, taking incredibly care not to jostle him too much. The Wrecker carefully levered himself up onto his feet.
Four days of rest had clearly done him some good. His injured hip only gave a preemptive twinge, which was a step up from the sharp spikes of agony up and down his leg from before. He was quite careful in putting his weight on it at first, not wanting to faceplant onto the floor again (or wake Ratchet up with the ensuing racket), but after the first few steps it became apparent that the repairs had finally integrated with his systems.
Wheeljack confidently meandered over to his stash of energon cubes, and noticed how late in the morning it was. They’d stayed up pretty late last night, hadn’t they? It wasn’t unusual for Wheeljack to ‘sleep in’, of course, but the Wrecker figured Ratchet had made it a habit to rise bright and early before the sun. With a pair of energon cubes in hand, he returned to the berth. It would be a pity to have to wake the other Autobot up now, especially when Ratchet looked so peaceful sleeping.
Gently, he placed a hand on Ratchet’s shoulder. “Hey,” he called softly, his expression unusually soft. “Rise and shine, Sunshine, I got some energon for you.”
At the Wrecker's words, Ratchet couldn't help but roll his optics, a soft smile plastered on his face plate. He didn't know if he enjoying the fact that he was getting used to all of Wheeljack's teasing after the past few days, but he had certainly enjoyed the conversation nevertheless. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. And for the record, I don't plan on telling anyone about it. It will be our secret. Besides.. you have that reputation of yours to keep."
Once the movie had been booted up, the medic kept his optics focused on the datapad. He barely remembered the scene they had started on, and his processor had already gone to thinking about how Wheeljack had dozed off on him right around this point. Part of him had wondered if it would happen again tonight, but he didn't count on it by any means. Now that he was feeling a little bit better, he'd probably just tell the medic when he needed some rest, to which Ratchet would promptly move off the berth.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was Wheeljack dozing off on his shoulder once more a few movies in. Ratchet looked to him at first in surprise, but then smiled soon afterwards. Who was he to interfere with the younger mech's sleep, especially when it was much needed after the incident. Pausing the movie in the middle of the credits, Ratchet leaned his helm against Wheeljack's closing his optics. "Rest well," he whispered, then fell into recharge himself.
It'd been a surprise he slept soundly through the night, but an even bigger surprise that he didn't feel Wheeljack get up. As he had been leaning against the Wrecker, he'd unknowingly found himself lying down on the berth as the previously stated Wrecker went on his mini-adventure to the other side of the ship. Ratchet shifted a little, automatically pulling his arms close and using them as a makeshift pillow.
For the elder mech to be sleeping in like this was completely unnatural, and was only becoming a bad habit with this semi-vacation aboard the Jackhammer. There were no emergencies to immediately rush towards, no projects to work on, no equipment he'd needed to fix due to some spontaneous accident. It was recharge he'd long since needed all the same, but his 'schedule' would have forced him awake many Earth hours ago.
As Wheeljack touched his shoulder in order to wake Ratchet, he tensed for a single moment, but relaxed as soon as he heard the Wrecker's voice, optics tiredly opening. "Wheeljack..?" It took awhile for everything to come into focus, but once he realized the Wrecker was standing, his optics widened.
"Wheeljack, I thought I told you not t-!"
Standing.. but not falling, and he had energon cubes in hand. He'd gotten up on his own, made his way to the other side of the ship, and returned with energon! And he didn't seem to be in that much pain either. "You.. did this all by yourself?" Pushing himself into a seated position, he stretched lightly before reaching for one of the cubes of energon. "Thank you. I guess your recovery is finally starting to show it's progress. I would recommend taking it easy a little longer, but not to the degree you have been. Getting some exercise would do you some good now that you can stand. Maybe.. we could go outside after fueling up? I mean.. you have been cooped up in here for the last few days now."
It was as he made to take his first sip that it dawned on him that if Wheeljack was mostly recovered, he wasn't going to need him to stay for very much longer. That's when a terrifying thought had come to his processor:
He didn't want to leave. He was actually enjoying it here.
At Ratchet’s obvious shock at seeing his patient up and mobile with a significant lack of faceplanting, Wheeljack couldn’t help but preen. “You say it like you’re shocked, Doc,” He teased, giving the medic a bit of a cheeky grin and shaking the offered cube a little. “‘Sides, I’ve got you t’thank. Your tender nursin’ and bedside manner did just as much as me bein’ on my aft for the past four days.” Course, that didn’t mean he was back to 100% -- he still felt the spectre of the agony, the memory lurking like smog over a metropolis, a reminder that the potential still remained, but it was a vast improvement over his previous inability to walk on his own.
Going outside was actually an exciting prospect, and the Wrecker almost jumped on it, but then- He hesitated. As if they operated on the same frequency, Wheeljack had nearly the exact same thought as Ratchet: now that he was healed up and mobile, there was no reason for the medic to hang around longer.
Four days ago, he’d balked at the idea of having another person invading his space, but now that he’d grown used to Ratchet… well, he was reluctant to admit it, but he didn’t want Ratchet to leave, either. But Wheeljack also knew that Ratchet had others he had to tend to, and he’d monopolized the medic’s time more than enough lately. “... I might take a walk ‘round The Jackhammer, but- don’cha got other patients to think about?”
Shocked? That had been quite the understatement in terms of how Ratchet felt about seeing Wheeljack standing on his own, knowing that he had walked a good distance on his own and returned without his aid. "Why wouldn't I be? You needed my help just getting back to the berth yesterday, but that's not to say that I'm not happy with your progress. I'm quite pleased, and I'm happy for your recovery." The medic took the energon that had been handed to him, holding it with a soft smile as Wheeljack thanked him. It left a nice feeling swirling around in his spark to be appreciated for his work, even if he was just doing his best to help someone in need, whether they wanted it or not.
"You're more than welcome. I know that it hasn't exactly been an easy path to recovery, but you managed to endure it and here you are almost fitting fit."
...Almost fighting fit, as in.. almost completely healed. Ratchet smile faded a little as the words left his vocalizer, sipping at his energon. It seemed even Wheeljack had been catching on a little, but certainly he didn't share the same feelings of wanting to stay, did he? After all, Wheeljack had been the one so against the idea of the elder medic staying to begin with, even if he eventually caved and their friendship only grew as a result.
The Wrecker had wanted to go for a walk around the Jackhammer outside, which had seemed like a wonderful idea, but it was his next question that completely caught Ratchet off guard. Of course there were other patients he could tend to, however there hadn't been any injuries or emergencies that he had been informed of during his stay. If that had been the case, he would have rushed back immediately.
Grimacing, Ratchet sat the finished cube of energon down beside him. "I.." Primus, how was he even supposed to tell Wheeljack he'd wanted to stay? He knew full well that he couldn't! The younger mech was right, and he needed to get going back to the base soon. If Wheeljack could handle himself now, Ratchet didn't have to stay on the Jackhammer. That had been the deal to begin with. Once Wheeljack could take care of himself, he would go back to the base and return on an as needed basis.
"Can I.. contact you via datapad sometime..?" Why was this coming so hard?! Why did it even upset him this much that he was going to have to go back to the base?
The moment the words left his mouth, Wheeljack wished he could take them back. He didn’t want Ratchet to leave. The realization hit him gradually, like the slow rise of the sun, and then all at once, blinding and all encompassing, that first flash of morning light. Somehow, he’d gotten used to having the other mech around, and the idea of Ratchet now having to leave seemed as joltingly distasteful as the idea of Ratchet staying had been.
It would be better if Ratchet left, he tried to reason with himself. The other bot had duties and obligations to Team Prime, and he had other patients to attend to. Wheeljack had done his time as his medical inmate and no longer needed to be watched and cared for ‘round the clock.Absence would also make the spark cool, so to speak: time apart would give him enough time to get this ridiculous crush under control. He was fairly certain he could get it under control.
(Even at such an early stage of head-over-heels infatuation, Wheeljack knew, on some level, that he was completely and utterly scrapped. It was easier to try and delude himself a little while longer, though, because the alternative meant having to reconcile some things he’d much rather not have to reconcile.)
“Well, d-duh…!” He choked out, practically tripping over himself in order to reach for his datapad and give Ratchet his datapad codes -- as well as ping him with his personal comm. frequency. “I wouldn’t mind, uh. Chattin’. Y’know, every so often.”
Wheeljack especially felt guilty then, ‘cause if he hadn’t blurted out what essentially boiled ‘I’m fine now, get out’ like a total aft, Ratchet wouldn’t look so put out. “I mean, I ain’t- I don’t mean t’rush ya or anything!” It wasn’t often that Wheeljack ever babbled nervously, but he was now, and maybe that should have been an indicator to him just how deep in the hole he’d gotten himself in. “I’m just- you’re probably needed back at base an’ all, and y’don’t have time t’keep babysittin’ someone like me.”
It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything else.
Ratchet could think of every single reason under the sun why he needed to go back to the base, and here he was, still wanting to do just the opposite. There wasn't any time to waste on feeling this way. He was a medic. He had a job to do, and bots to take care of.. especially being the only medic at the base. Maybe later down the road more would come, but for now he was the only doctor anyone could rely on. Who knew what had happened with Pharma, and he hadn't run into anyone else that he'd studied with or any younger generations of medics. There was the energon shortage that required him to find some sort of workaround.
He couldn't stay here on this ship, with a mech he enjoyed spending time with and wasting any further time watching all these movies. Work before pleasure, and being the only medic meant there really wasn't time for the latter. Wheeljack had just simply been the scapegoat, and babysitting him to make sure he healed properly was the best and only chance he would get to such frivolity.
Blue optics looked up to Wheeljack's in wonder as he practically tripped over himself to give him his numbers, both for datapad and for his own personal frequency. With a bit more grace, Ratchet pulled out his own datapad, sharing his own digits with the Wrecker. This way they could talk whenever they wanted, whenever time allowed. At this, the medic smiled, even if it was a sad one.
And now Wheeljack was worried he'd rushed him a bit..
"Wheeljack.. that's not it. The fact is that.. you're one hundred percent correct. I really should get back to the base, and I promised that I would go back after you healed up enough to take care of yourself. I'm not one to typically go against my own word like that.." Slipping his own datapad back into his subspace, he fought against every urge to tell the Wrecker that he'd wanted to stay. He couldn't do it.. Besides, what were the odds of Wheeljack saying that he would want him to stay, too?
"I want to thank you for.. your hospitality. For the energon and the movies. It's been a very long time since I've had this much entertainment, let alone this much recharge. It's not that often I recharge straight through the night.. let alone five nights." Ratchet looked to Wheeljack, a sincere smile crossing his faceplates. He truly was going to miss this feeling, and he only wished that he could have more time for this.
“Well, I’m glad y’got some benefit outta this. Dinner and a movie? With me? A bargain. I mean, s’the least I could do considerin’ you saved my aft and all,” He teased gently, though there was a tinge of… regret? Wistfulness?
The Wrecker gave himself a bit of a shake. The best way to deal with this sort of thing was to treat it like a mesh bandage - better to just yank it off quickly instead of dwelling on it. This was exactly the reason why he tried not to get too close to anyone. It was less complicated when it came time to saying good bye, and he didn’t have to deal with any of this ridiculous not wanting to say good bye.
Besides, it wasn’t like Ratchet would really want to hang around with him for an extended length of time again.
(That did not stop him from wishing he could see more of that sincere smile.)
When it was time, Wheeljack followed the other mech out to say his ‘proper’ goodbyes. There was no denying it was a long, drawn-out process, and if the Wrecker was being honest with himself, he’d admit that he was drawing it out on purpose. “Y’know… anytime you need me, let me know,” Wheeljack said, casually, leaning up against The Jackhammer. “I got nothin’ better to do when I’m not blowin’ mines.”
’Like a mesh bandage. Do it, Jackie.’ With a long breath in, Wheeljack forced himself to slowly meander back up the landing ramp. He glanced over his shoulder one final time at the medic. “See you ‘round… Ratchet.”
He disappeared into the ship.
Shoutbox
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altria : please dont be dead?
Jun 14, 2023 22:40:34 GMT
Partia: Is this still alive?
Dec 17, 2022 6:02:02 GMT
Partia: Is this still alive?
Dec 17, 2022 6:01:34 GMT