rekindleme | how could the world have turned so ugly

Entry tags:

how could the world have turned so ugly

Who: Ironhide + Chromia
Where: The apartments.
When: October 19th
Summary: It's way past time for them to talk. And Chromia's been alone in this place for way too long. Ironhide is trying his best to fix both those problems.
Warnings: sad robots

[Talk to her, Ratchet said.]

[He trusts his friend. He trusts him more than almost anyone, short of Prime. So... he's probably right. And he hasn't seen a whisper out of the blue bot since they failed to find Nautica together. He can only reason she's been alone. And that can't be healthy. Not by any stretch of his limited imagination. This is for her own good, if nothing else.]

[So here he is. At her doorstep again. The same place he was when they started this whole mess together.]

[The day she'd kissed him.]

[The only difference is the pack of cubes in his grip. A peace offering. Just in case. His lips press together, firmly. And then he lifts a hand, knocking solidly. Stubbornly.]

Chromia. C'mon. Lemme in.

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[Talk to him, Ratchet said.

She'd tried, the day Nautica had disappeared from Chromia's notice. But it wasn't the right time, and she knew it. Even if she'd wanted to get it out in the open as fast as she could. To avoid dwelling on it. But Nautica's absence had left Chromia worse for the wear, locking herself in their room (yes, it's still 'their' until further notice).

But she hears that knock, Energon in her systems going cold.

It's just like that day.

She hesitates a moment, before slowly opening the door. Don't mind the...scorch marks on the walls.]

Hey.

[His optics flick over the room as she opens the door. Briefly. Noting those scorch marks. And then they return to her, softening around the edges.]

Hey.

[He tries for a smile. And offers up the cubes.]

I thought you could use these. An'... maybe a handshake or two. Or somethin'.

[It's difficult to keep the concern out of his voice. He doesn't manage to do it very well.]

[It's something she notices, and is slightly embarrassed for. Which is saying a lot, coming from her, who was usually too proud to even let that emotion manifest itself. Her eyes drift away a moment, arm holding onto the other...

Until she sees that offered cube. Reaching slightly up to take it.]

Hands are full, you know.

[But she widens the door for him, voice a bit softer.]

How about a sit down?

I...

[His free hand rubs at the back of his neck, suddenly at a loss for words. Or anything else reasonably mature to say. He's relieved when she takes the cubes from him, visibly.]

[Okay. One thing done right.]

[He hesitates for a moment, before nodding to her, and stepping inside.]

Sure. If you wanna... I got nowhere to go.

[She makes room for him, as he's not exactly the smallest of bots, holding the cube close to her as she does so. Like if she didn't keep her hands on it, it'd disappear.

Little gestures like this were a bit rare for her now.]

Make yourself at home. There's...definitely room.

[Is she...trying casual conversation? That's a first.]

[He's not quite sure how to answer that. Despite realizing she's trying to make everything seem normal -- if he agrees, is he calling attention to Nautica being gone?]

[So he just nods, and plunks himself down in the nearest chair, elbows on his knees.]

Haven't seen you around much... [Understatement of the year.] Figured I'd come make sure you were feelin' okay.

[The thought of her being ill from lack of contact is... upsetting. More than it has any right to be.]

[She knows she's been avoidant the past few weeks. It's definitely taken a toll on her physically and emotionally too. Her movement is far more sluggish as she walks, sliding down the wall as her wheels pull her to a stop. As if she doesn't have the will to put any more effort into it.]

I'm here, that's all that matters to this city.

[She swirls her cube a bit, avoiding eye contact.]

And so are you.

... Chromia.

[The movements are hard to miss. He'd have to be a lot more thick-headed than he is to not see it. He just doesn't really know what to do about it.]

[Talk to her.]

[He looks down at his hands. At the floor. There's a long silence before the big bot heaves himself up, and drops down beside her. Well within touching distance, but restraining himself, for now.]

Yeah. So I am.

[Talk to him.

It was easier said than done, honestly. She wasn't good at talking to start with, but with Ironhide? She...she always wanted to say the right thing. Always wanted him to have a good image of her.

She wasn't doing a good job of that right now, obviously, but she didn't know what to say.]

At least there's something good still here.

... I could say the same thing about you, y'know?

[He lets it slip out before he really thinks about it. And it hangs in the air. Something heavy.]

[He doesn't look at her. He looks at the ground, as if dreading her response.]

I could say a lotta things. About you. None of 'em are bad.

[The silence is heavier than she could have ever thought possible. As if she doesn't expect him to say any of that at all. She'd figured Ironhide had been avoiding her for all but Nautica's disappearance. But to hear that...

It gets her attention. Finally.

And things blurt out of her too.]

I really liked that kiss.

[Well, might as well be blunt about it.]

I thought I was too forward, though. I thought--

[How does she word this...]

Huh--?

[He really did not expect that. He knows she's blunt -- she's about as blunt as he is. But that admittance...]

[He can only stare at her, while she flounders along through the rest of it. While it makes something in his spark clench up. She's lost her best friend. Her anchor to home and... and he'd left her. He'd gotten scared and left her.]

[Alone.]

[How dare he.]

[It's probably stupid. It's the same foolish, rash decision that made them both avoid each other to begin with. But when she pauses, fumbling for words, one heavy hand covers hers. Squeezes.]

[And he leans in, returning the kiss she'd liked, back before everything went to hell.]

[It all happened so fast, all before she could think of a reason to justify what happened. That hand on hers tightens, feeling more reassuring than alarming.

And lips soon pressed against hers, the same ones from that trip to the aquarium. The only ones she'd allow to touch her own.

Her eyes snap shut, leaning into it with more vigor than their last attempt. She admitted she liked it, after all. What was the sense in hiding it?

Now...nothing was really stopping her.]

[She isn't pulling away. She isn't recoiling, or lashing out -- things he'd honestly expected her to do, in the face of this "talk". He half expected this to turn out like that day in the Aquarium.]

[But it isn't.]

[She's leaning into it. He's winding an arm around her shoulders to draw her in closer. To feel that contact. To press into the kiss in return and reassure and feel her.]

[He's sorry he didn't do this sooner. He's sorry he left her. He...]

[... cares about her.]

[And for the first time since Nautica left, she felt something like companionship. As if the cold dread of the lack of contact slowly ebbed out of her.

With Nautica gone, she felt lost...alone. Or she did...

Now. Now she's got Ironhide, and those arms throw themselves around his neck, desperate for any kind of contact he'll give her.

She doesn't want to be alone anymore.]

[If his mouth wasn't so busy, he'd have apologized -- for making her wait so long, being so thick-headed about everything. But not for this. And not for the aquarium.]

[He's an outsider among his own kind, these days. Missing too much, too outdated. Clinging too firmly to what he thought was right...]

[... in a sense, it makes him as alone as she is.]

[Those arms slide around his shoulders, and he stops hesitating. He pulls her in closer, right up against his chest, his own hands setting on her waist. It's a long moment before he can bring himself to break the kiss, pulling back only long enough to mutter:]

Sorry. Sorry I uh... I didn't say anythin'...

Edited 2014-10-30 06:21 (UTC)

[The kiss was too short in her opinion. It was a momentary break from reality, and while that can't be the healthiest thing to cling to, it's all she has at the moment. Her fingers grip tightly to any armor she can, keeping that contact close.

But he pulls away, her eyes slowy opening as she looks at him, for once...content.

Happy, if you want to stretch it.]

I think we're both guilty of that, big guy.

[Something in his expression softens dramatically as he looks at her. There is sympathy and warmth and fondness in those optics. His hands curl along the sides of her face, framing it. Wanting to take her in as she is now.]

[Someone like her deserves to look that way more often.]

... yeah. Go us, huh?

[He hasn't pulled away from her any more than necessary to talk, his engine still warm where she leans against him.]

Are we... are we okay now?

[She was so used to being so tough. Being unshakable. And she still was, in some aspects. But here, she seems to pour into his hands, relishing in just being touched. Maybe it was the lack of contact making her hungry for it in this place, but she liked to think that Ironhide had a little more to do with it than just that.

A soft laugh escapes her.]

We're not very good at this, are we.

[But she adjusts herself against him, feeling a bit tired and a little drunk on feeling again.]

Yeah...we're more than okay.

[He sees someone almost identical to himself, in her. To him, she is tough, unshakeable. This incident, this and losing Nautica, won't change his opinion. He's as stubborn as they come. It would take a lot do dampen his view of her.]

[Something he doesn't see happening any time soon.]

Nope. Good thing we got bots like Ratchet around... he told me to do this.

[His hands absently run along her back, adjusting so that he can rest his head on hers.]

Good. I like bein' more than okay.

[Ahaha well funny story about that--that's going to be saved for much, much later. Right now all she wants to think about is the possibility of having something solid here, before it's potentially taken away.

But what he says gets a laugh out of her.]

He told me the same thing. Guess we both owe it to him.

[Something solid... it has a really good ring to it. He'd agree, if they'd been speaking out loud. As it is now, he just holds her a little tighter -- not doubting for a second she could break away if she wanted to.]

[That makes him snort, and peer down at her.]

You actually asked him for advice? About us?

[Because he totally did.]

[Thankfully, it doesn't even cross her mind. The contact practically warms her, after a period of no contact at all, becoming a hermit inside her own room.

She gives a soft chuckle in return.]

No. He figured it out. I guess someone gave him the heads up.

[It might be a literal warming. Either that or he's just that glad to see her. Glad that things are okay. His hands splay wider over her back.]

Wasn't me. He told me he talked to you first.

[Not that he sounds at all upset by the prospect. Not after all this turned out right.]

[Her head tilts up at that touch, just kind of enjoying all of the contact. Really, how could she be upset after all this? Despite the flops, despite the awkwardness...

At least one thing turned out right.]

I think he's just one of those bots who knows. Everything.

[At least one thing turned out right...]

[How true that is. Surrounded by bots who aren't what they should be, others who are estranged, more who've been through things he hasn't experienced. Bots he feels like he's failed...]

[But he hasn't failed her.]

[His head is still pressed against hers, and when she tilts it up, he's all but murmuring into her lips again.]

Yeah. He's a good bot... like someone else I know.

[Its impossible to hide a smile on her own as she feels his brush against.]

Optimus Prime, yeah. I heard he's pretty great.

[She knows that's not what he meant, but its probably more accurate.]

[He can't help the little rumble of laughter in his chest.]

[And then he only pauses a moment to speak --]

Now you're just tryin' to get on my good side.

[-- before he leans in to kiss her again.]

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