The Good Old Days

[Jetfire]

Characters: Jetfire, @springer
Location: Maccadam's Old Oil House
Content Warnings: TBD
Plot Summary: A pair of old friends meet at a well worn establishment

[Jetfire]

Maccadam's was absolutely packed, which was a phrase Jetfire never thought he'd get to utter ever again, at one point.

He recognized virtually nobody in the crowd tonight, though it seemed like more than a few recognized him. His rank insignia was still proudly displayed, which might've been the tip off. It didn't bother him as much as it did the bar patrons, having to drink in the presence of such a legendary Autobot. That's how Jetfire pictured what they thought of him, at least. He didn't actually know, nor did he want to ask.

If there was one thing, he certainly stood out by standing above most of the crowd.

Jetfire was here for Springer, for a drink specifically. He had no doubt in his mind the veteran Wrecker thought this might've been simply to convince him to come out of retirement, but Jetfire had no plans to follow through with it.

They had a few other things to discuss besides that, though. They'd get through them all in time.

For now, Jetfire simply ordered his usual: an Abraxan Blue Lava Fireball.

[Deleted]

Springer had been surprised, to say the least, when Jetfire asked if he'd like to go for a drink. It was such a normal thing to do. And Springer felt anything but. This wasn't his Cybertron, he thought as he pressed through the streets. Not in the least. He'd heard that the planet had been reborn, and he felt he should have been happy. But this...his spark said that it wasn't quite home. It wasn't what he remembered.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But, as people moved aside for him, and the whispers about his presence spread, it felt pretty bad. Yes, he had become used to the awed looks of his fellow Autobots and the hatred of the Decepticons, but, there was something strange about these...civilians regarding him as they did.

He pushed into Maccadam's, the crowd only thickening. Once inside the bar, he paused, looking around. He was a large mech looking for a larger mech, and it made his task much easier.

He spotted the seeker and began to press through the mess of bots, heading that way. A few called out greetings, mechs he'd never met before, but who recognized him. He gave a small smile, raising his hand in greeting.

When Springer reached his destination, he slid into an empty seat.

"Don't know that I've ever seen a crowd like this," he said by way of greeting.

[Jetfire]

"Didn't think I'd get to see one like it again, ten years ago."

Springer was looking good, healthy at least. He was half surprised the triple changer had come to Cybertron at all, with him leaving to live on Earth after all. It was a pleasant surprise, anyway, even if they couldn't count him among their ranks anymore.

"How've you been, Springer? Much better since the blacklist's been rescinded, I hope."

[Deleted]

It had taken and lot of internal debate before Springer had agreed to meet Jetfire. But, without Verity, there was nothing tying him to Earth. If the war was over, he could just as easily stay on Cybertron...but, he wouldn't feel right until she was found. For the moment, he just wanted to see what the planet looked like post-war.

"Blacklist?" he asked as the bartender brought his drink, "Must have happened when I was out of it. Kup never mentioned anything about it, but," he took a sip and gave a small nod of appreciation. Now that was good stuff, "At that point, we were doing what Wreckers do, so, not a lot of chatting going on. But, yeah, doing better than I was. The lack of Decepticons trying to murder you in horrible ways does that," he said dryly.

He found it easier to talk about his time in a coma if he just sort of...glossed over it. Didn't focus on it too much. Yeah, the Wreckers went through members at an astounding rate. They were infamous for their high casualties. But, after being the leader so long, he'd...stopped expecting it to be him, in a way. He'd known in the back of his processor that it was a possibility, but, when he'd gone through what he'd had and walked away, somehow? It had seemed wise to bow out.

[Jetfire]

"Aye," he returned. "Command had me stripped of my rank and reduced to flying cargo from here to Luna 1. Just happy Bumblebee and his crew managed to sort that mess out."

Truth be told, Jetfire had been a little bit bummed out that the Bee Team had fixed up that problem without him, unlike the good old days when just about every Autobot would throw themselves at a problem until it fixed itself in roughly fifteen to thirty minutes. He still had a lot of respect for Bee, though.

"You know I've heard that does wonders for your physical and mental health; been meaning to give it a try one day, but you know how big of a pain busy schedules are. Just feels good to be flying combat missions again, or more specifically ones where I don't have a cargo barge trailing after me."

[Deleted]

Springer was surprised by that one. He paused, drink halfway raised. His optics, still that bright Autobot blue, glanced up from under raised brow plates. 

"Really? Bumblebee's got a command of his own? Hmph," he downed another long drink, "Kid seems to have a good head on his shoulders, so I'm not surprised he's doing alright."

The wrecker leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. His drink rested in front of him, half gone but set aside for now. Mechs like him and Jetfire didn't do much small talk, wasn't really their style. When they had something to say, they said it. Springer had always appreciated that similarity about Jetfire. He also appreciated the seeker's dry humor. 

Springer chuckled, faceplates pulling in a smile. 

"Yeah? Let me know how it turns out for you. We'll compare notes," he turned his face forward again, smile tapering down, "I'm glad you're back where you wanna be..." he paused for a moment, then, he vented, "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't jump back in, help where I can, that sort of thing," he shrugged one shoulder, "But after what happened...? I don't know. Just wondering if I'll get back up from that sort of thing again, I guess."