Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Thunderclash’s alarm chimed bright and early. Instantly awake, he quickly reached over to silence it. Glancing at his calendar with today’s date highlighted with glittering stars, he smiled. Today the Lost Light would pass through an asteroid belt at the same time as a nearby planet, creating a huge meteor shower in its upper atmosphere. He and Rodimus had been planning to surf those meteors for weeks.

When he rolled over to get up, a sharp pain lanced through his chest. He froze. Not today. Any day but today. Maybe he just moved to quickly after waking up...

Thunderclash sat up slowly, gripping the edge of his recharge slab as the pain increased with his motion. He weakly flopped back down, flung his forearm over his face, and groaned.

Although the personality ticks had stopped his spark from shrinking, he still bore the scars of the plasma blast that had crippled him for most of the war. When the old injury flared up, it brought waves of debilitating pain. Never one to complain, he quietly dealt with the occasional bad day, considering them a small price to pay for his relatively good health. After all, he had survived when so many others weren’t nearly as lucky.

Normally, he would graciously bow out of any obligations, but today was special. According to Rodimus, the celestial event they had been planning for promised some totally epic runs. The thought of missing out on spending an amazing day among the stars with Rodimus hurt worse than his aggravated spark injury.

Although he already knew the best ways to cope with a bad day, he always hoped for a better alternative. Ever the eternal optimist, he called Velocity.

“Hey, Thunders!” The energetic medic chirped, instantly answering his call. He could hear the faint hum of medical equipment in the background.

“L- Lotty.” Static marred Thunderclash’s voice. He reset his vocalizer.

“Aww. I’m sorry, big bot.” Lotty’s tone dropped. “It sounds like a bad scar day.”

“Yeah.” He fought the disappointment in his own voice.

“Symptoms same as usual?” She asked, slipping into what Thunderclash teasingly called ‘professional mode’. “Chest pains, sluggish frame movement, slight systems glitches?”

“Yes, to all points.” Thunderclash muttered. He was all too familiar with the usual answer but doggedly hoped for some new development. “Is there anything I can do to get over it faster?”

“I’m sorry, buddy.” Lotty sighed. Thunderclash could practically see the resignation shining in her golden optics. How many times did they have this same conversation? “You know the treatment as well as I do.”

“Take it easy. No strenuous activities. Drink plenty of fortified energon.”

“Are you trying to steal my job?” Lotty gleefully chided.

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Thunderclash gasped, cheered by their running gag. Even though they made this same joke hundreds of times, they both still found it funny.

“Good! Because I worked hard to get to where I am! Not everyone can survive the medical exam ten times!” Lotty laughed. “Seriously, though... you know what to do. I’m on duty right now, but I can drop off some medical energon at your hab after my shift.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.” Her friendly concern always warmed his spark. “Thanks, doc!”

“No problem. Take care of yourself. Okay?”

“Okay.” Thunderclash sighed and hung up.

Ignoring the searing pain, Thunderclash struggled to sit up. Leaning on the edge of his berth, he stared out the panoramic windows in his habsuite. The bluish glow of the planet filled the room, casting his multicolor armor in a melancholy light. Distant flashes of brilliant gold heralded the first meteors burning through the atmosphere. Soon they would be within range of some truly radical surfing.

Thunderclash vented deeply. He needed to call Rodimus. They had spent so much time planning today’s trip: making up tricks to try, polishing their boards, daydreaming about chasing down a fiery stellar tsunami. He hated not being able to go, but the idea that Rodimus might not go either pained him even more.

Thunderclash made up his mind. Despite desperately wanting to catch some meteors with his luminous speedster, he would insist Rodimus go surfing today without him. With his injury flaring up, he could hardly move, but that didn’t mean Rodimus should miss out on one of his favorite activities. He never wanted to become a burden to the people he cared about.

He braced himself against the impending disappointment and called Rodimus.

“Hey, Thunders! It’s finally Meteor Day! Are you as excited as I am?” Rodimus exclaimed, answering on the very first ring. He must have been waiting for his call.

“I- uh...” Thunderclash winced.

“Speechless, huh? No worries! I got enough words for both of us!” Rodimus laughed. “I can’t wait to get out there! We’ve been talking about this trip forever and it’s finally here! I am so super stoked!! Nothing matches the thrill of carving the perfect curl on a flaming meteor’s tail with the stars shining like diamonds in a velvet sky! I can’t even describe it! I know I kinda just did, but it doesn’t do it justice! You’re gonna love it!! SO MUCH!!”

Thunderclash smiled. Rodimus radiated happiness with the bright intensity of a solar flare. Maybe he could still go with him? Thunderclash eased onto his feet and a stabilizer glitch dropped him to his knees. Nope. Not happening. While it is an exhilarating sport, meteor surfing carried a fairly high level of danger on a good day. With his frame refusing to cooperate, Thunderclash wouldn’t dare put himself, or worse Rodimus, at risk.

“Listen, Roddy,” he started quietly, fighting to keep his tone even. Static frazzled the edges of his words. He shifted into a seated position on the floor.

Rodimus fell silent. “Are you okay?”

“Not really.” Thunderclash muttered. “I- I can’t go surfing today...”

The awkward silence filling the comm link nearly killed him.

“Is- is it because-” Rodimus started tentatively. Thunderclash cringed. He worried that Rodimus would instantly assume that he had done something wrong. Although most people only saw the flashy speedster’s charismatic carefree veneer, it was mainly for show. Rodimus cared incredibly deeply for his entire crew and considered anyone’s unhappiness as some sort of personal failure. He hated letting his people down.

“It’s my spark.” Thunderclash blurted out before Rodimus took some sort of internal responsibility for ruining their plans. Pain shot through his circuits. He rubbed his winged autobrand with the empty hope of soothing his scar. “I’m really sorry. Remember when I told you that some days are just bad scar days? Unfortunately, today happens to be a bad day. I don’t know why, but sometimes, the injury flares up. There’s nothing I can do except rest and recover.”

“Oh! Thank goodness!” Rodimus sighed with relief.

Thunderclash laughed.

“Oops! Primus! That sounded terrible!”

“Relax!” Thunderclash brushed off Rodimus’ faux pas. “I know what you meant.”

"In that case, want me to call Lotty or Ratch?” Rodimus quickly rebounded, enthusiastic concern replacing his insecurities.

“No, no. It’s okay.” Thunderclash chuckled. “I already spoke with Lotty. As much as I truly want to join you, with all the light in my spark, I can’t go out today. Doctor’s orders.”

“But tomorrow, the meteor shower will be over...” Rodimus trailed off.

“I know...” Thunderclash forced a smile, hoping that Rodimus could hear it in his plea. “I want you to catch an epic meteor without me. Please go and have a fantastic time. I have a pretty good view of the meteor shower from my window so maybe I’ll be able to see you. When you get back, I’ll be waiting to hear all about it.”

“But-”

“No buts. You deserve all the best things the universe has to offer. I never want to keep you from the things that you love.”

“The things that I love, huh?” Rodimus’ tone morphed from melancholy dismay to sly cheerfulness.

“Exactly.” Thunderclash smiled, relieved that Rodimus was taking it so well.

“Alright!! I know exactly what to do!” Rodimus grinned. “See you later, Thunders!”

“Okay. Later.” Thunderclash hung up and slumped down to lay on the floor. He stared blankly at the ceiling. While he was happy Rodimus agreed to go without him, he secretly hoped it would be harder to convince him.

Missing out of something he really wanted to share with Rodimus because of unpredictable medical issues frustrated him to no end. Fortunately, he knew his condition was temporary. Leaning on the attitude that helped him endure years of failing health, he reminded himself to focus on the positive. The good always outweighs the bad.

Thunderclash reached up onto his berth and blindly groped around. When his hand brushed against something luxuriously soft, he smiled. He grasped the velvety rainbow tail, yanked the plush dragon off the berth, and hugged it tightly to his chest. He buried his face in the jewel-toned faux fur of the gigantic plushie that Rodimus won for him on their first date. His spark injury sidelined him from meteor surfing today but at least he still had Surfer Boy to keep him company.

Cheered by the promise of Rodimus’ post-surfing visit, Thunderclash turned to gaze out the window. A dreamy lopsided smile spread across his face as he imagined Rodimus out there, darting among the flashes of celestial fire. His fiery reds and golds outshining the blazing meteors. Sparks dancing along his spoiler as he caught a totally righteous meteor, carving flaming slashes through its tail with his custom board.

“Next time.” Thunderclash murmured with a determined smile as the brilliant flash from an epic meteor filled his room with golden light.

Chapter Text

Still laying on the floor, Thunderclash stared out the window. He snuggled his plush dragon to his chest in a vain attempt to ease the pain radiating from his scar. Meteors streaked brilliant shades of gold and amber against the planet’s swirling turquoise atmosphere. He wondered if he’d be able to see Rodimus from this distance.

Thunderclash buried his face in Surfer Boy’s synthetic fur. Some days his old injured flared up. It’s been a fact of his life for so long. He accepted it, dealt with it, and moved on. Although it caused him to miss important events before, nothing else hurt like this one. He hated hearing the initial disappointment in Rodimus’ voice. Almost as much as he hated being confined to his room with only a stuffed animal for company while Rodimus surfed an epic run of meteors all alone.

A flash of vermillion amidst the golden meteors caught his attention. Thunderclash rolled over and narrowed his optics, straining to make out the distant details. Maybe that was Rodimus! His spark spun as a smile slowly drew across his face. He couldn’t wait for Rodimus to come back, streaked with meteor ash and star dust, and tell him all about his adventure. He could practically hear Rodimus’ bright chatter and see his spoiler bouncing with excitement as he regaled him with tales of righteous runs.

BANG!

A loud knock jolted him out of his reverie. Someone kicked his door.

“It’s open!” He yelled, static garbling his voice. He reset his vocalizer again.

BANG! BANG!

“Hold on. I’m coming.” Thunder groaned.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Struggling to his feet, Thunderclash leaned heavily on the wall for support. He tucked Surfer Boy under one arm and gingerly shuffled along, moving slowly to avoid any inconvenient systems glitches. Crossing his small room felt like a thousand-mile journey. Finally reaching his destination, Thunderclash vented deeply, taking a moment to compose himself as his impatient guest kicked the door again.

He activated the switch to open the unlocked door.

“I said, it’s open- AHHHH!” Thunderclash screamed, dropping his plushie. A tall figure draped in a shimmering silver shroud loomed in his doorway. It looked like a ghost from the cartoons with the mystery-solving dog that Riptide loved.

“Surprise!” A familiar voice giggled.

“Rodimus?” Thunderclash tentatively lifted a fold of the fabric to reveal the red speedster’s smiling face.

“Congratulations! You guessed it on the first try!”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Wow! Rude!” Rodimus huffed, shifting a heavy bundle in his arms under the layered cloth. “Are you going to ask me in or interrogate me in the hallway?”

“Sorry!” Thunderclash leaned on half of the door jamb, making space for Rodimus to pass. “Please, come in.”

“Thank you!” Rodimus sashayed into Thunderclash’s habsuite, trailing his dramatic drapery.

“Satisfied?” Thunderclash raised a quizzical brow. He reached down to scoop up Surfer Boy, wincing as the motion send pain flashing through his circuits.

Rodimus hummed in approval as he set a box on the table. He tugged the cloth off his own frame and threw it onto Thunderclash.

“What is this thing?” The big bot fumbled the voluminous silk because his arms were already full of rainbow plush dragon.

“It’s called a blanket!” Rodimus beamed. He snugged it around Thunderclash’s shoulders, taking a moment to playfully ruffle the thick fur on the plushie’s head. “Organics use them to help regulate their temperature, but Drift likes them because they feel so nice. I borrowed his biggest one just for you!”

Thunderclash pulled the soft fabric close. It felt luxuriously smooth against his plating and smelled faintly of soothing lavender polish. He took a step and his actuators malfunctioned. He swayed and Rodimus instantly caught him.

“Easy does it!” Rodimus chirped. Although he kept his tone light, Thunderclash could see the concern shining in his dazzling blue optics. He guided Thunderclash across the room, offering his gentle support.

“I’m really sorry...” Thunderclash mumbled, flopping down heavily on the couch, grateful for Rodimus’ kind assistance.

“What thing beyond your control are you apologizing for now?” Rodimus chided.

“For ruining your day.” Thunderclash sighed, unable to meet Rodimus optics. He pulled the blanket close and slouched down into its cozy embrace.

“I think I’ll be the judge of whether or not my day is ruined.” Rodimus nudged him.

“But... we were supposed to go meteor surfing today. We made such awesome plans and I’m stuck inside on the one day that I really wanted to go out.” Thunderclash gestured out the window towards the flashing fire of meteors tearing through the blue planet’s atmosphere. “You should be out there. Among the stars.”

“Maybe.” Rodimus shrugged, sitting next to him. “But we’ll find more meteors. Honestly, part of the reason I wanted to take you meteor surfing was to show off my mad skills. It’s not as much fun without someone to impress.”

“I already know that you’re amazingly wonderful. You don’t have to impress me.”

“I don’t have to, but I like to!” Rodimus grinned slyly, his cheeks softly blushing. “Which brings us to this afternoon. We planned today to be special and there’s no reason that has to change!” He began to pull items out of the box he brought in earlier. “Since we had to carve a cutback, I had to hustle to pull everything together on such short notice.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Even though we can’t go surfing today, we can still have fun! I’ve got everything we need right here!”

“Is that so?” Thunderclash gingerly leaned forward, genuinely intrigued. Not much time had passed since they spoke, but Rodimus could accomplish an astounding amount of work in an exceedingly short time when properly motivated.

“First, I went to see Drift to borrow the blanket. FYI, if you ever need some everyday luxury items, Drift is your go-to bot. He loves all types of simple things that feel good. I thought wrapping up in a cozy blanket might help you relax.”

“Thank you. It does feel really nice.” Thunderclash cuddled the velvety blanket around himself and hugged his plush dragon. Surrounded by gentle softness with Rodimus at his side, he already felt better than he had all day. As he relaxed, the sharp pain in his chest faded to a dull ache.

“Don’t thank me yet! Drift was only my first stop.” Rodimus rummaged through his box. He pulled out several cubes of energon marked with a distinct red cross. “Next I went to see Lotty and picked up some medical energon for you. She mixed in a bunch of magic minerals to support spark health.”

“How did you know I needed these?” Thunderclash closely guarded his health issues, never wanting to worry anyone.

“I’m just that good!” Rodimus winked.

“You are better than good.” A teasing grin spread across Thunderclash’s face. “You’re Grrrrreat!” He bust out his best imitation of the cartoon breakfast tiger from the cereal commercials. Rodimus loved earth-based animated advertisements.

“And you’re rrrrrrridiculous!” Rodimus laughed, rolling his r’s much more melodiously.

“Takes one to know one!” Thunderclash’s engine purred.

“You got me there!” The speedster shrugged. Continuing to root through his box, Rodimus produced a container of energon goodies. “I had Riptide whip up a batch of your favorite snacks. Mostly blue ones of course!”

“No way!” Thunderclash’s magenta optics lit up. When did Rodimus figure out his favorite color candy?

“Yes way!” Rodimus laughed but then narrowed his optics. “Although... despite the fact he’s your best friend, he didn’t even know you weren’t feeling well.”

“I don’t like to worry anyone.” Thunderclash slouched down a little lower into his borrowed blanket. Just because he had to deal with his chronic health issues didn’t mean everyone else did.

“People care about you. I care about you. It’s okay to let us know when you need help.” Rodimus gently laid a hand on Thunderclash’s arm.

“I- I um...” Thunderclash stammered. When his injury flared up, he usually just spent the day alone, lounging around his habsuite. He never wanted to burden anyone, yet Rodimus readily gave up surfing meteors to keep him company. Thunderclash’s optics watered and his cheeks glowed soft pink. “I- I’m used to dealing with bad spark days by myself.”

“I know.” Rodimus smiled and the entire universe glowed with warmth. “But you don’t have to. I’m here for you.” He dropped his tone and fidgeted. “The other night, you stayed up with me after I had that bad dream about Nyon. I try to keep my nightmares a secret, but... you came over as soon as I called. Even though it was sort of an accident. That made me feel- I don’t know- safe... happy... loved... I was struggling and you helped me feel better. I want you to know what that feels like too.”

“Aww. Thank you. That’s so beautiful...” Thunderclash chewed his lip. He was used to being the one people turned to for help. No one ever offered to take care of him before. His spark ached in a way that had nothing to do with his scar.

“Need a hug?” Rodimus asked.

Unable to form a coherent sentence, Thunderclash nodded.

“Come here, you!” Sparks danced along Rodimus’ spoiler. He wrapped his arms around Thunderclash’s much larger frame.

“I’m so happy that you’re here.” Thunderclash reveled in Rodimus’ contact, curling up in the smaller bot’s embrace. The speedster’s innate fire warmed his aching circuits.

“I’m happy that I’m here too.” Rodimus grinned.

“Thank you.” Thunderclash practically melted in Rodimus’ warmth. He never imagined having someone take care of him could feel so good.

“You’re totally welcome! But I’m not done yet! Since you could use a laugh, allow me to present the pièce de résistance! Last stop was to borrow movies from Swerve!” Rodimus turned over his box and dumped out a collection of ridiculous earth-based monster flicks. “We’re gonna watch these cheese festivals and heckle the scrap out of ‘em!”

“Sweet Solus Prime!” Thunderclash excitedly shuffled through the movies. Rodimus selected a gleefully terrible line up. The Sharktopus trilogy! The Lavalantula duology!! Big Ass Spider!!! “I’m all about laughing at bad monster movies! How did you know?”

“I pay attention to things I see you being ‘all about’!” Rodimus playfully nudged him.

“You’re really something else.” Thunderclash muttered in awe. His optics watered. He rubbed at his face with the back of his hand. Rodimus had gone through so much effort on his behalf.

“Takes one to know one!” Rodimus snickered with a conspiratorial wink.

That charming wink wore away the last of Thunderclash’s resistance and he melted. He squeezed Rodimus tightly and buried his face in the soft, fragrant folds of the silky blanket.

“I really appreciate everything that you’ve done. Most especially all the time you spent. Although, I’m sorry you had to give up a day of meteor surfing.”

“Don’t apologize!” Rodimus nestled in next to Thunderclash, sneaking his way under the blanket. Somehow, before Thunderclash realized it, Rodimus was wrapped up in the blanket together with him. The speedster’s plating radiated cozy warmth.

“After you called this morning, I knew right away what I wanted to do.” He grabbed the snacks, handed Thunderclash a cube of the medical energon and pushed play on their first creature feature. “A very wise, totally adorable bot once told me to never let anything keep me from the things that I love.”

“But then why didn’t you go surfing? I know how much you love it.” Thunderclash snuggled into his silky soft borrowed blanket, leaned on his dragon plush, and sipped his fortified energon. He traced absent-minded patterns on the speedster’s back as he cuddled against his side. His engine purred.

“Because. You know what I really love? More than anything?” A sly grin spread across Rodimus’ face. “YOU!! And if we can’t spend time together surfing meteors like we planned, then we can spend time together laughing at stupid movies. Time together is still time together. That’s all I really want.”

Thunderclash’s cheeks glowed soft pink, matching Rodimus’ own blush.

An onscreen roar caught their attention. Rodimus giggled as the titular Sharktopus flailed onto the scene in stunningly bad CG.

Thunderclash smiled. He settled onto the couch with one last wistful glance at the meteors lighting up the planet’s atmosphere. Distant flashes of gold against a pale blue horizon. Their remote beauty couldn’t compare to the radiant fire nestled next to him.