capitalh | as long as you're mine

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as long as you're mine

Who: Orion Pax and Arcee
Where: Ratchet's ship because it sucks less than the Rod Pod.
When: WHEN THE MUSIC HAPPENS.
What: Orion and Arcee try to dicuss their possibly doomed romance and end up serenading each other instead.
Warnings: It...yeah.

Orion hasn't exactly been forthcoming with his thoughts since the moment they had, but he hasn't been avoiding Arcee by any stretch of the imagination either. In fact, he's been coming around to check on her quite frequently, even if not much happens besides him asking her how she is progressing and maybe offering a shy smile before coming up with something he needs to go do.

He's happy, he thinks, but he isn't sure. If he forget for a moment that everything may be ending for him sometime soon, he can even think of it in terms of being one of the few good things that has happened to him here. Something that gives him hope beyond the pain that Megatron has caused him.

This time, he's doing what he usually does, which is slipping in at some point in the day to say hello. There's nothing expected happening...yet, anyway.

"Good to see you...Commander Arcee," he starts out, immediately questioning his own words.

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"I wish that shocked me," Ratchet snaps, before he raises a hand and pinches the bridge of his nose carefully.

"At any rate," he continues, eyeing them balefully. "The Commander still needs her rest. And would to better to not be handled in the meantime."

"Ratchet," Arcee says in a warning tone laced with exasperation. Embarrassed and totally startled by the whole turn events as she is, she directs a pointed look at Ratchet, crossing her arms over her chest almost self-consciously. But as much as she kind of wants to crawl into a hole and go offline for the next thousand years or so, there's no ignoring the sheer bizarreness of the situation -- and the fact that she has no idea what caused it.

"I'm fine. But -- " Arcee glances at Orion quickly, cycling air through her vents. The tide of emotion brought on by the song is still rising high in her spark even though the music's faded. "I mean it, Ratchet, we have no idea what just happened. Seriously, when have you ever known me to sing?"

Orion has no idea what Ratchet is even implying with that statement, but he is quick to look at Arcee as if for some confirmation that she is just as confused as he is, and then looks back to Ratchet urgently.

"I did not...I did not intend for any of that to happen. There was sourceless music, and we..." He pauses, looking really embarassed. "I think our code should be scanned for maleware."

He is quiet for only a moment after that before he looks back to Arcee as if he has remembered something worrying.

"I do not mean that I...that I did not..." He pauses his vocalizer. "I was...I was not lying, Arcee, I just..."

Somebody stop this kid before he hurts himself.

"Fantastic," Ratchet says, sounding annoyed, but he touches Orion's arm lightly to quiet him, his optics calculating now.

"Look, if you two really want me to do a scan, I will, but I've checked you both recently and no red flags came up. Have you had any issues on Earth before with random infections like that?" His optics slide to Arcee, his expression a little sardonic. "I don't suppose you think 'indiscretion' could be one of the symptoms."

"It's okay, Orion," Arcee starts to say, her tone oddly gentle, but then she directs another pointed look at Ratchet, her optics flashing slightly. Seriously, Ratchet, the last thing she needs right now. If he wants to berate her about this some more, fine -- but not in front of Orion.

"That's enough, Ratchet. This is definitely a first. But if there's one thing I've learned about Earth, it's that weird stuff happens here. A lot. I wouldn't put it past it for this to be some strange Earth phenomenon we know nothing about."

Orion is super uncomfortable about whatever is occurring between Ratchet and Arcee here, but there are too many things competing for his attention for him to really zero in on it. Instead he just looks stressed out and confused, placing a hand to his helm as he tries to think over that suggestion.

"It is true...Earth citizens have historically possessed a great number of various abilities, including a not insignificant minority with an inclination towards sorcery." He pauses for a moment, venting. "I...I have done a fair amount of reading, since my arrival."

Edited 2014-07-24 04:34 (UTC)

"You, do research?" Ratchet says, looking up at Orion as he hooks in and starts checking his coding, one corner of his mouth tugging up. "Paint me shocked."

He does a cursory scan, finds nothing, then does a more thorough one. It doesn't take long before he's finished and drawing back again, shaking his head.

"Nothing out of the ordinary from last time. You seem fine. ...well, your code seems fine, anyway."

"Give me a scan, too. Just for good measure." Arcee doesn't look very comforted by the clean bill of health Ratchet's given to Orion, honestly -- if anything, it just leaves them with more questions.

"If it's not us, it has to be something. I mean -- there was music, Ratchet. Or at least -- " She glances back at Orion, her optics softening slightly, and she cycles air through her vents slowly. "We heard music. And the singing -- I mean, it was like I was talking, but it wasn't exactly what I meant to say."

Orion finds himself fallen silent during Ratchet's work, quite embarassed and also contemplative. He nods in distant agreement to Arcee's words, but ultimately just finds himself staring at her awkwardly.

When he realizes he is doing this, he looks at the ground, and his plating feels hot around his spark. Blushu.

Ratchet eyes the embarrassed look on Orion's face, then snorts quietly, shaking his head as he scans Arcee as well.

"You both seem fine, and I didn't hear anything. I don't know what else to tell you."

"You didn't hear anything, huh?" Arcee says, half-muttered, because she doesn't really believe that. But she doesn't say anything more when she glances sidelong at Orion, not wanting him to feel more self-conscious than he already must be. Hell, she's self-conscious.

"In that case, I think it definitely warrants investigating," Arcee says, straightening up once Ratchet finishes scanning her. "...Once we can afford to, at least. Just -- keep an eye out for any more...singing, okay? If any other -- weird stuff happens to you, either of you, I want to hear about it."

"I will...let you know," Orion says awkwardly, and then straightens up like he has somewhere to be. (He doesn't.) "Thank you, Ratchet." He falls silent for another moment and then just goes towards the door.

"I will come back later."

Then he leaves to go burry his head in the sand somewhere.

"Orion--"

Ratchet sighs as the door whisks shut behind him and slumps a little, rubbing a hand roughly over his face. He straightens after a moment, his optics flicking to Arcee.

"...you're sure you feel all right otherwise?"

"Unless you count total mortification as a medical condition, then yeah, I'm fine," Arcee says, half-muttering -- mostly to herself, though, and she vents out a slow sigh, looking at Ratchet. With Orion out of the room, now she's the one feeling awkward.

"Look, Ratchet, I wasn't -- I didn't mean for that to happen, I swear. It just...did." Even to herself, it sounds like a lame excuse -- even if it is the truth.

Ratchet's face hardens as he watches her fumble, his lips pressing into a thin line.

"That seems to be the theme, yeah," he says, watching her for a moment before he jerks his head at the door.

"If you're quite finished, I'd like to get out of here for a little while." And go after Orion, but he's not particularly interested in telling Arcee that just now.

Arcee can tell when someone's trying to dismiss her -- she's got years of practice -- but the last thing she wants is to end another conversation on that note.

"What I meant was -- I meant to handle this better." If she looks frustrated, it's because she is. Her spark is still warm with lingering affection and fondness for Orion, still moved by the sheer intimacy of it, but -- that hadn't been her intention. "I didn't want things to...escalate, or whatever you call it. I wasn't going to let it."

But the more she talks, the more she realizes she's just...making excuses. Even if they're true, they're just excuses. And they don't make her sound any better for it, either. Arcee shakes her head, pressing a hand to her forehelm. Primus, this isn't how she'd envisioned things happening.

"Never mind. Just -- yeah. You can go."

Ratchet shakes his helm in frustration and takes two steps towards the door before he pauses, turning back to Arcee. His face is closed and hard, but his optics are almost uncertain.

"Were you interested before?" Ratchet asks, knowing he doesn't have much of a right to demand answers like that from her and not caring. "Will you still be, once he gets the Matrix back? Because he is getting the Matrix back, Arcee--that's not optional, not really."

It's weird -- Arcee would have expected those questions from Ratchet to incense her, to make her want to tell him off, but instead they bring a odd sense of relief. Arcee stiffens for a moment but then her face softens and she sighs again, her shoulders slackening.

"I've always known he'd get the Matrix back, Ratchet. That was never a question. The things about Orion that I -- " She hesitates a moment, resetting her vocalizer with a soft click. "The things about him that I value, that I respect -- those are all things I value about Optimus, too. That doesn't change. I never even let myself think about it before, Ratchet, and that's the honest truth -- but I don't think the Matrix changes anything. ...For me, anyway."

All the same, she doesn't expect that things will continue once Orion gets the Matrix back. She doesn't expect Optimus will be interested -- not enough for him to make it a priority, anyway. The war's always come first, after all.

Ratchet watches her hard for a moment, before... he almost seems to soften, his shoulders relaxing, his face easing a little. He nods after a moment.

"I see," is all he says, though, but he doesn't sound angry anymore. Just tired and a little sad. "Well. I'll see you around."

It's hard for Arcee to tell what Ratchet's thinking now, with a face like that -- nearly impossible, even. And she wants to probe, wants to push him back and demand something clearer and plainer and easier to swallow, but...that's not her place, either. And at any rate, that moment's passed already.

"Yeah," she says heavily, waving him off and turning away from the door. "I'll see you around."

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