Things Springer Doesn't Want to Think About

[niyazi-a.livejournal.com]

PG-13
IDW AU
Springer, Trailbreaker, Wing, Drift.
Following On Station and Practiced Hands. For tf_rare_pairing January Challenge.

Springer couldn’t mask, and didn’t want to, the excited smile as the airlock irised open and the dark bulk of Trailbreaker stepped through.  “Great to see you, Trailbreaker.” He wasn’t any good at hiding his emotions, but this time, he didn’t even have to try. It was damn good to see the other mech.

Trailbreaker gave an easy smile back. Springer was one of the few mechs he felt he could let down his guard with, that last, invisible forcefield he tried to keep between him and other mechs.  “Glad to be here.”

“Got a great team,” Springer said, turning, moving to one side so that Trailbreaker could fall into step next to him.  “Real good mix of talents.”  Not that he was bragging, but, yeah, okay, he was bragging.

“I’ve heard.”  A grin over Trailbreaker’s dark face, almost sheepish. “Been keeping up with Wreckers Declassified.”

“That trash?” Springer’s tone was teasing.   Declassified was a running joke and occasional threat of blackmail among the Wreckers, and they looked forward to each issue probably even more eagerly than anyone else. It was easy to feel like a badass after reading someone’s account of you being a badass.  “Ready to be immortalized by Fisitron, then?”

“I doubt that’ll happen,” Trailbreaker said.  For all his size, he seemed to seem smaller as he walked beside Springer. Some sort of effect of the forceshields, Springer supposed.  “I’m not a real Wrecker.  Just a sort of…second string.”

“Frag that.”  Springer turned into a doorway, gesturing with one arm for Trailbreaker to enter the wide, brightly-lit rec room.  He moved to the chiller, stooping to pull out two cubes of high grade. “Not as expendable as the rest of us, that’s all.”

Trailbreaker took the proffered cube.  “So. Uh, is Wing still on the team?”

“Wing.” Something like a line of pain between Springer’s optics.  Wing.  The mech who proved that ‘nice’ could be weaponized.  “Yeah, he’s here.”  A not-so-hidden question in his words.

“That’s good to hear,” Trailbreaker said, taking a long—almost too long—sip of his own cube, giving away nothing. Which was in and of itself unusual.

“Why you want to know?” Maybe Wing owed him money, or something.

“Oh, no reason.”  Trailbreaker fumbled with his cube almost as awkwardly as that deflection. Huh. Must be a reason he had forcefields—left to his own devices Trailbreaker couldn’t deflect anything. “We had, ahem, uh, a thing back on the Hub.”

“A thing.” Oh no. Oh frag no. “What kind of thing?”

“Well. Uh.  A kind of…interfacing kind of thing.” Trailbreaker studied his hands.

“No you didn’t.”  Denial, that first stage of something, right?

The other mech blinked.  “We…what?”

“You didn’t.” Springer took a long sip of his own cube, letting the high grade course through him.  Maybe it would make Trailbreaker seem less crazy. “Because if you did, this Wing thing that was you interfacing with Wing,” why did that sound weird? How fraggin’ strong was this energon, anyway? Not the point.  “Drift would have sliced you into slaw.”

A shrug. “No way. He knew.”

He knew. Which meant only one thing.  Springer threw back his head, laughing, letting the sound ring through his chassis, peal through the air. “Good one, Trailbreaker!  Had me going there for a bit.”

“Good one…what?”  Frag but Trailbreaker was a brilliant actor. How come Springer had never noticed before what a good actor the dark mech was?

“Trailbreaker!” 

Before Springer could explain, a familiar voice from the doorway: Wing, a smile of pure delight on his face.  Trailbreaker pushed to his feet, awkwardly, as Wing burst into the room, fingers curling over Trailbreaker’s windscreen to tug him down into a kiss.  Trailbreaker’s hands curled over the folded flightpanels, one still holding the half-drunk cube, one broad hand splayed over the Great Sword. 

Oh frag. It was true.

“I’d heard you’d arrived,” Wing said, dropping down from tip-toe, his hands still clinging onto the windscreen.  Trailbreaker stood, goofy smile on his face, practically glowing

Springer slugged the rest of his cube.  Maybe it would help.  Nope. Wasn’t helping.  “You’ve got to be fraggin’ kidding me.”

“What?” Trailbreaker said. “I told you. Or…tried to tell you.”

Wing turned, his hip bumping companionably against Trailbreaker’s thigh. “Tell him what? That we’ve interfaced? We have.” He nodded, optics solemn. 

“Figured that out by now,” Springer growled.  “Problem is how to stop your Drift from killing ‘Breaker while he’s here.”  Big problem. Big, three-sworded surly mech problem. 

“You always think I’m a problem, Springer.” Drift’s voice, and he stood, arms folded over his chassis, in the doorway.

“Because you are,” Springer retorted. “But especially as I don’t think you’re just going to stand by and let your little jet go off with someone else.” 

“Let him?” Drift grinned, a rare, cocky smile, his blue optics flirting over the pair of mechs.  “They let me watch.”

Comments

[ravynfyre.livejournal.com]

SPLORF! *cackles with glee* omg, Drift, you sly dog! Can I watch too?????

[renegadewriter8.livejournal.com]

ahahaahhahaha OMG I loved this. Springer is so not going anywhere near them for a looooong time XD LOL I want that magazine and I want to join Drift watching! ^^ Great job!

[dryadic.livejournal.com]

FFFFFFF.

And the award for best closing line goes to....!

[velvet-infinity.livejournal.com]

Poor, poor Springer XD

Tell me that Wing plays matchmaker if you do another one!

[eerian_sadow]

hahahaha! oh Drift, you just had to toss that out there!

i adored Springer's whiplash reaction from "bullshit, you did not!" to "oh god, you did!". i almost felt bad for him. almost. ~_^

[playswithworms.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh dear, poor Springer, getting his processor all broke XD What a great fic to start the morning, thank you!

[jarakrisafis.livejournal.com]

I think Springer needs more high grade. Because clearly Drift couldn't have just said what he just said, could he?

[ultrarodimus.livejournal.com]

XD I can almost *hear* Springer's CPU shorting out. Nice one, Drift!

[ladyofdragons.livejournal.com]

'Chortling with laughter' is pretty much how you can describe my reaction to this. A rather gross, unladylike noise. But oh, SO much fun.

This line especially:
Wing. The mech who proved that ‘nice’ could be weaponized. *DEAD* Pure perfection.

I can't say no to the "unexpected person (unpopular/boring/nerdy/etc) lands the hottest piece of ass" story because it triggers both my underdog obsession AND adds sex to it which is the richest icing ever. *goobles it up*