Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Lockdown."

His name came through his com. Simple, to the point, yet confusing all the same. Lockdown rarely gave his real frequency to anyone, and the curt speaking of his name didn't give much in the way of recognition. Before he could tap into his com again to get some real identification, the voice spoke again.

"Please. Please, I--need help," the voice choked. With more words added on it became obvious not only the voice was strained but the source of it.

"Prowl? Slag, kid, you've got a lot better options on that planet of yours. A lot closer, too. I'm too busy." Lockdown answered finally. Sure, he missed the gold-and-black mech back on the primitive planet of Earth, but in the end he was too far and too occupied to give a helping servo. Not to say he even would for his occasional fling, since he wasn't that kind of mech.

"Can't... Can't get in contact. Please, I--please ." It was unlike Prowl to beg. Lockdown knew that. His voice was weak and forced and... Oh, frag it. Lockdown sat himself in his pilot seat and changed the direction of his ship.

"I'm on my way. You better not be dead when I get there, you hear me? If you are, I'm killin' ya." Lockdown warned. That earned a hardly-there chuckle from the other. Prowl's strained vents could hardly be heard over the com. "Don't say anythin' unless you need to ta stay awake. Keep your locator on and I'll find you. See you soon, Prowler."

Just a quick drop off. He'd make sure Prowl was back with his buddies and peachy before going back to finish his job. After all he had a generous time allowance this time around and even if it cut a dent into his plans it wouldn't be particularly devastating… Lockdown knew he had it bad if he was making excuses about this. But hey, Prowl wasn’t just some pleasure bot and Lockdown knew that. 

He just refused to admit the fact that he respected Prowl as more than just a fling and maybe even felt some empathy after being around him... And if anyone even suggested he did, pointed anything out, he’d stick his hook where the sun didn’t shine.

Upon arriving and tracing Prowl’s signature, Lockdown noticed the ninjabot wasn’t where he usually was. Lock couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of the city the Earth factions of the ‘Bots and ‘Cons lived in, but he remembered it well enough to see that Prowl was far from home based on his location on the map.

“Now, what are you doin’ all by yourself so far from home?” Lockdown muttered as he pulled his ship into orbit. With a few keystrokes his ship’s camouflage initiated and so did his spark signature’s. The closer he got to the ground, the sooner he realized why Prowl might like it so much.

The area was flush with vegetation as far as the eye could see. Why Prowl would want out of this place, why he could reach Lockdown and not his own teammates, was all beyond Lockdown’s imagination. All he knew was that he had to keep his ship a good distance above the tree’s canopies to avoid the aft-kicking Prowl would give him if he saw even one leaf burned by Lock’s ship’s propulsion. Lockdown leaped out of his ship and used some old tricks to find his way to the ground safely.

A look around didn’t reveal Prowl, or whatever remained of him at this point. It had been a few megacycles since their little call so there was no telling what happened to him in the meantime. Lockdown engaged a little device to scan around for Prowl’s spark signature. He trampled foliage with his large, calm steps and scared any animal around with the placid purr of his engine.

“Now, where are ya, kid?” Lockdown muttered. It felt like he had been walking in circles when he finally saw Prowl’s signature grow impossibly close on the scanner. Lockdown put the device away and broke through the trees into the area Prowl laid in. His first words should have been a greeting, a question on his health, so on and so forth… But no. Instead of that, it was--

“What the frag happened to you? You look like you got kicked out of a ship and fell into some acid wastes.” Lockdown carefully walked over to Prowl. The ninjabot had instinctively raised a shuriken when he heard Lockdown’s approach but now it and his servo laid limply by his side. There were plenty of broken sticks and fallen leaves covering the forest floor and jabbed into pieces of Prowl here and there. Specifically one branch that seemed to be going right through some important parts…

“Not far… From the truth…” Prowl had to take deep vents in between words. Still, despite his limited everything, he managed to form a smile. Lockdown couldn’t help but notice that pretty smile was interrupted by glowing energon that dripped out of the corners of his intake. “You came.”

“‘Course I came. That’s the kinda mech I am.” Lockdown walked over to Prowl and looked him over. “Primus, Prowl. You look close to death.”

“... I am.” Prowl’s smile fell. He drew another shaking vent. “My energon regulator… Leaking. Diagnostics aren’t… very optimistic.”

“Come on, come on. None of that.” Lockdown knelt next to Prowl and looked him over. Though he wasn’t a medbot, Lockdown had enough experience fixing himself up and affixing mods that he could probably fix a lot of issues… But there was no way Prowl’s group would be okay with this. “... Alright. I’m gonna hoist ya up. I know it’s gonna hurt, but you gotta trust me.”

“Not… Farther than I can throw you,” Prowl muttered. Still, it was an agreement--not that he could protest if he wanted to. He really was close to offlining for good and needed Lockdown’s help to avoid that fate.

Lockdown didn’t like how limp Prowl felt as the bounty hunter carefully scooped him up. Considering he still had his hook on, Lockdown had to hold most of his weight with his one arm that ended in a servo. “We’re gonna get you patched up and get you home. You ain’t leaving that easy.”

Prowl didn’t respond this time. Even with his limited range of motion he managed to curl against Lockdown and relax.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Come on, now. Stay awake for me, Prowl.” Lockdown called his ship so it would hover above them. When Lockdown looked up, he could see the breaks in the trees… Did Prowl really fall through the canopies? But how? Ah, whatever--Lockdown was too focused on getting him on board to care.

Thankfully Prowl wasn’t as close to death as Lockdown thought. Still, he was way too close for comfort. The ship was on a course to Detroit as Lockdown ever-so-carefully operated on Prowl. He removed most foreign objects and patched his energon regulator so it wouldn’t leak any more.

“How’d you get into such a sorry state, kid?” Lockdown asked as he paused to grab more tools. His optic loupe pulled away from his optic so he could see his array with more uniformity. By the time Prowl answered, Lockdown was back to working on him.

“Lugnut,” he said bluntly. Lockdown almost thought that would be the most he’d get when Prowl continued. “I don’t quite… Remember how, but he dropped me… Messed with signatures and-and frequencies.”

“... You’re tellin’ me that if I wasn’t so close you’d be dead in the water?” Lockdown paused his work. Prowl smiled a bit. 

“And I’m lucky… You were, aren’t I?” His exhaustion couldn’t be more clear. Lockdown vented but found himself chuckling after.

“Didn’t think the Cons were smart enough to get frequency and signature blockers… Ah, frag. Swindle has that tech now.” Lockdown clicked his glossa. “Take that back. Didn’t think they’d get it so fast. ”

“He does?” With his head flat against Lockdown’s workbench/berth, Prowl couldn’t see the mess that was his insides. Lockdown was pretty grateful for that. He was surprised Prowl wasn’t making an effort more, all doped up for the surgery but not enough to sleep, but maybe that was too much to ask.

“I would know. I helped ‘em fix it up so he could sell it.” Lockdown pretended like he couldn’t see the sharp frown Prowl got. “Oh, so you can hardly speak, but you can still be pissed at me, huh? At least I know you’re still with me.” 

“Slagger,” Prowl muttered. Lockdown laughed. They fell into a somewhat silence as Lockdown worked. Prowl couldn’t find it in him to continue and Lockdown wasn’t going to force him to. By the time Lockdown decided he did all he could do, they had long since landed in Detroit.

“Can you contact your team now?” Lockdown asked as he wiped up all the spilled energon. If he hadn’t made sure Prowl had more and fixed his regulator, it’d be more worrying than annoying. Prowl was silent.

“... No,” he said almost angrily.

“Frag. Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” Lockdown made sure Prowl was all closed up before picking him up again. Prowl hardly turned his head to look at him, asking what exactly he meant by that. “Gonna make a house call.”

“You can’t.”

“I have to. I’m no medbot, but you got one on your team… Assuming he hasn’t keeled over.” Lockdown double assured that his ship was secure before climbing out. “Where do I go?”

“I… Can’t…”

“Kid. If I wanted to attack you and your buddies at home, I woulda done it before.” Lockdown looked down at Prowl. “I need an address.”

And with that, Prowl gave it to him.

Back at base, things were still confusing. It was hard enough finding the other members of team Prime in the same city with scanners and frequencies on the fritz. But even after all this time Prowl hadn’t returned.

“Are you sure the park was clear?” Optimus Prime asked again. He had been pacing in a tight loop to practically pound in his worry about Prowl’s seeming disappearance. Since he vanished after Lugnut hoisted him up with the intent to fight him mid-air for the Decepticon’s advantage, there really was no telling where the Cyberninja could even be.

“ Yes, I’m sure. You saw Prowl get towed off by bootlicker-supreme, who knows where he is now?” Bumblebee let out a heavy vent. “Sari said she’ll be looking with her dad’s machines too.”

“Y’don’t think… He’s at the Decepticon base, do you?” Bulkhead whispered anxiously, as if staying quiet would stop it from being true.

“If that were the case, we’d get a ransom call by now.” Ratchet huffed from his spot on the security cameras. He flicked through them and news channels for any report of where Prowl might be. Usually news cameras followed the Bots like magnets. “Or at least bragging.”

“That’s assuming their technology works, too,” Optimus noted. A frown was seemingly etched into his face with how long it had been there. “We’ll have to run more searches across the city. If that doesn’t work, the forest, and then--”

A loud banging noise interrupted Optimus’ plan. The four paused and looked in the direction of it.

“Prowl!” Bulkhead called out in glee. Before anyone could stop him, he ran over to the bay door and opened it with the idea that he’d see his friend standing there. Well… sort of.

Lockdown didn’t even flinch when the Autobots armed themselves upon seeing him standing at the door.

“What did you do to him, you--” Ratchet’s spark was already erupting in a rage that would shock Unicron off his pedes.

“ Stop, ” Prowl said as loudly as he could. That certainly caused some hesitation. “He… He helped me.”

“He what?! ” Ratchet roared. “I don’t know what you did to him to make him think that you’d ever be more than a--”

“Cons got him bad. I did what I could but he needs more expertise.” Lockdown eyed Ratchet once he interrupted the latter. The stink eye he got in return almost made him laugh. “You can yell at me or you can repair him. To make a long story short, he won’t make it much longer as he is.”

“Stand down,” Optimus intervened when a momentary silence hit. He got incredulous looks by his subordinates but kept with his decision. “... Thank you for bringing him back to us. We’ve been worried.”

Lockdown grunted in return. He slowly moved a single pede forward to test the waters. Ratchet armed himself again but Optimus made himself a physical barrier between the two to avoid any trouble. In reality the Prime was tense too--just better at hiding it. Even if Lockdown wasn’t a Decepticon, he worked for them and functioned as an enemy all the same. Having him in base… It wasn’t pleasant for anyone involved. He just needed to make sure Prowl was safe.

“The med bay is this way.” Optimus swept a servo. Lockdown continued inside with the instruction. He didn’t bother looking around or acting like anything but what he was--confident. With the Autobots close behind, he brought Prowl to what functioned as a medical bay and set Prowl on the medical berth.

“Hurt him… I hurt you,” Prowl lamely threatened while raising a single digit in the general direction of his teammates.

“C’mon now, I can fend for myself. Save that energy,” Lockdown muttered to Prowl. With the request Prowl let his servo fall back to the berth. Lockdown looked to Ratchet. “Temporary truce won’t kill ya. Most of the work I did was to make sure he didn’t offline on the way here…”

Despite the glares he was getting from Ratchet and Bumblebee, Lockdown went over some of the repairs he made on Prowl that would only hold over temporarily. Ratchet was more pissed to find out he’d do the same thing in a worst case scenario.

“... Everybody out,” Ratchet finally ordered. Lockdown didn’t move, which means the others didn’t either. “Did I stutter? Out!”

“Not until he leaves first!” Bumblebee said boldly. Lockdown feigned surprise. 

“Why, little old me?” He set his servo to his chassis before letting it fall to his side again. Despite his joke and motion to leave the room, he felt something tugging at his servo. When Lockdown looked he could see it was Prowl’s servo holding onto him as best he could. Without realizing it, Lockdown’s expression softened and he held the servo in return. The quick shift in demeanor and expectations surprised the other four in the room.

“Stay,” Prowl said, both like a command and a plea.

“You got it, kid,” Lockdown replied without hesitation. Optimus looked at the other two members of his team and nodded. He was the first to make his way out but the last to leave the room. He sent a look at Ratchet that spoke just as much as words-- ’I’ll be nearby. Call if you need help. ’ He was disregarded with a wave of a servo from Ratchet, but it quietly calmed the old mech’s sensors. When Ratchet finally started working, he found himself distracted by Lockdown’s mere presence. If Prowl hadn’t stopped him, by Primus, Ratchet would have torn that bot to shreds...

But that wasn’t his choice now. The last thing you wanted to do with a dying or close-to-it mech was make them uncomfortable or upset. Ratchet knew Prowl well enough that if he easily complied with repairs then they both understood something was terribly wrong. Ratchet didn't even want to imagine what his error reports were telling him.

At the end of it all, Prowl was finally safe and sound. His nanobots would have to do their own work before he was fully ready to get out of the medical berth.

"Well? How's he faring?" Lockdown asked when he saw Ratchet starting to put everything away. Ratchet gave the bounty hunter a dark look. 

"What's your aim here, Lockdown? Think you can get us from the inside out by hurtin' Prowl? Well lemme tell ya, that's not happening. The second Prowl's up again, you'll regret hurting him in the first place!" 

Lockdown shook his helm. "This wasn't me. The only reason I'm on Earth at all is because he sent me an SOS. Apparently it was easier to call up than to get into contact with your team. As soon as he's good, I'm out." 

"Yeah, as if!" Ratchet pulled out his EMP generator. Lockdown took a step back. 

"I ain't leaving. I'm staying right here until Prowl's better." Lockdown planted his pedes. Normally, he'd stare Ratchet down, but knowing what that generator did made him focus on it instead. 

" Why, damn it?! What do you want from him?" Ratchet demanded. 

"Nothing," Lockdown responded curtly, reaching his hook up to scratch at his helm. "And you’re just gonna have to deal with that. I told you. Temporary truce… I got a job to be gettin’ back to anyway. When’s he gonna be fixed up so I can head out?”

“... There’s no telling.” Ratchet watched the way his hook moved. Despite not trusting Lockdown to keep that weapon to himself, Ratchet slowly lowered his own arm. “It could be a few megacycles, it could be lunar cycles… Let’s hope 'a few days' is the most of it. He’s got a lot of healing to be doing.”

“... Slag,” Lockdown muttered. “A’ight.”

“Not fittin’ your schedule?” Ratchet asked sarcastically. Lockdown shook his helm.

“It doesn’t,” Lockdown admitted. “Customer’s just gonna have to wait.”

Before Ratchet could call what he thought was a bluff, Optimus slid into the room. “How’s he doing, Ratchet?”

“Better than before, that’s for sure. If those punctures were any closer to his sparkchamber, he wouldn’t be online.” Ratchet lowered his weapon and looked at Prowl. Prowl would hate the amount of buffing and touch-ups he’d have to do once he was able, but it was a small price to pay for survival.

Optimus let out a relieved vent and smiled. “That’s good to hear. What kind of injuries did he have?”

“His regulator was leaking something awful when I found him. Had to flush his catalytic converter a couple times and replace some wiring. I had the parts on ship so it wasn’t an issue but they'll probably have to be reinforced just to be certain.” Lockdown gestured some to Prowl, answering before Ratchet could. “I had less than a megacycle to work so most of it was patching that regulator and his fuel lines so he wouldn’t bleed out. Not to mention the--”

“Wait wait, where’d you patch up fuel lines?” Ratchet opened Prowl’s chassis again. “Show me.”

“What, are you my sensei or somethin’, trying to check my work? I fixed them just fine.” Lockdown raised an optical ridge. “You think I get these mods attached with glue? I know what I'm doing.”

“Just show me, you overgrown sack of spare parts!” Ratchet huffed. Lockdown shook his helm and leaned over Prowl again to gesture to other areas using the blunt of his hook. Optimus watched in his continued silence, continuing to lose his place in the conversation over and over when the two continued to get tied up in medical talk and jabs at the other.

“... Fine, fine. But if those patches burst, I’m coming for your aft,” Ratchet warned. 

Lockdown chuckled. “Get a stepstool first, old-timer, you won’t be able to get it at your height.”

“Why, you--!” Ratchet raised a fist. Optimus rushed forward to press the medbot’s servo down again.

“ Ratchet. Prowl wants Lockdown to be here. Please, just play nice for a little longer.” Optimus urged with a hushed tone. When he spotted Lockdown’s smirk, Optimus hardened his look. “And you. We’re letting you be here because we trust Prowl. But don’t think we’ll hesitate to punish you if you even think of pulling something.”

“Yeah, yeah. The most I’ll be doing is taking my arm off so Prowl can keep holdin’ onto it.” Lockdown gestured to his captive servo in Prowl’s. “I’m not stupid enough try something.”

“I wouldn’t go far as to say that,” Ratchet grumbled. “I’m not leaving you alone with ‘im. Hell, with anybody!”

"I'm not gonna rip out my own patchwork." Lockdown leered. “What exactly do you think I’m gonna do to him?” 

“Is that a trick question?” Ratchet growled.

“Stop!” Optimus interrupted again with the same intention as before . Thankfully both bots seemed to listen yet again. “Both of you. Ratchet, I know your past with Lockdown is ten times worse as ours… But right now, we need to keep calm. Prowl will explain why he wants Lockdown here when he’s better. Okay?”

“... Fine.” Ratchet looked away. 

"And Lockdown--" Optimus started. 

"I get it, I get it. Yeesh, acting like you think I wanna be here." Lockdown shook his helm. "If he didn't ask I wouldn't even be in this galaxy."

Optimus looked between the two with a frown. "He wouldn't appreciate waking up to yelling and insults."

"... Ah, you're right." Ratchet rubbed the back of his helm. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna like it." 

Lockdown opened his mouth to make a smart comment. But before he did, he glanced down at Prowl… he shut his mouth again. "Yep," he said simply. 

"... Thank you. Since we don't know when Prowl is going to heal, there's nothing left to do but wait."

Chapter Text

And wait they did. Days passed and Prowl was never awake for too long, if at all. The Autobots hesitantly let Lockdown in on their Energon supply, which he promised to repay once he had his servo back and Prowl was well enough for him to leave the base. With the servo that Prowl seemed to hold onto with a death grip no matter what, he couldn't even leave the room if he wanted... But, true to his word, Lockdown did actually remove his left forearm just to walk around or sit nearby, to the other Bots' discomfort. 

If it had been any other mech, Ratchet might think Lockdown's questions about Prowl's condition considerate and sparkwarming. But since it was Lockdown after all, it became irritating very quickly. A simple question about Prowl from Lock resulted in questions about his loyalties and intentions from Ratchet. Accidental optic contact resulted in hollering and hooting until someone pulled Ratchet away... It was almost surprising that with all the fighting, Ratchet was the only one engaging. Early on Lockdown stopped playing around and instead stood there and took it with a flat expression. 

Internally, Lockdown would love nothing more than to knock that medbot into next year, but that would only benefit anyone short term. Sure, he'd get some quiet, but if Prowl needed any medical help he'd be without it. Not to mention Prowl would never forgive him for hurting one of his teammates. So instead Lockdown did what he was good at--staying out of things as much as he could... Well, he was pretty good at it. In this scenario it was the only option that would be good long term. He could take his anger out on something else later.

Around the fifth day is when he decided. Yet again he removed the servo from his arm using his hook. He stepped out of the medbay, checked around, then stepped outside. With his skills he was practically silent and it was late enough that the bots would likely be in stasis already, so he was sure he'd be alone. He checked around himself multiple times before engaging the encrypted call.

"It's me," Lockdown said as both a greeting and introduction. "Looks like I won't be able to complete that contract after all." 

His customer guffawed. "You what?" 

"'Said I'll have to cut it off. Something came up and I can't focus on your contract right now." Lockdown, while normally experienced in everything business, felt completely unsure about this conversation. Raking his processor brought up no memories of when he might have turned a client away after accepting a job. "I'll pick it up later with a discount."

"Do you know how much I'm paying you?! You can't just--" The customer started again. Lockdown vented sharply. 

"Yeah, I know how much you're paying me. I don't care. This is more important," Lockdown said impatiently. Fuck, he would have loved the credits that would come with this job. He had a couple items in mind when he accepted it to begin with…

"More impor--I thought that you would never quit a job!" 

"I don't. Now, quit whining or you'll be my next target, understand?" And with that, Lockdown ended the call. He let out a heavy vent. "Primus, what am I doin?... I'm glitched. I gotta be."

The mech took one last look around before returning inside. He slowly sat himself down next to the medical berth and watched Prowl rest. Tiny spots of light lit up here and there as Prowl's system continued to heal itself... How much longer was a mystery to everyone, alongside the question of why he was taking so long to heal as compared to normal. Even that level of physical trauma should have been mostly done away with by now.

But right now? Now, the question on Ratchet's mind was what in the world was so important to the bounty hunter that he'd quit a job and lose out on his ever-so-important payment. He was careful to be out of sight and hearing range when he heard Lockdown step out (he was quiet, sure, but he certainly wasn't Cyberninja levels of it). It couldn't have been Prowl. It just couldn't be. Prowl was too good about everything to ever associate with a mech like Lockdown... Even after that one day, Prowl wouldn't have developed such a strong relationship and trust for one of the most dangerous mechs out there. 

Right?

Considering he couldn't ask Prowl, the questions stewed in Ratchet's processor for half the night. If he hadn't offlined from pure exhaustion, he may have stayed up even longer.

Lockdown didn't ask questions when, the following day, Ratchet didn't yell at him immediately. It surprised the rest of the team but they quickly hid their puzzled looks when Ratchet looked their way to avoid triggering it. Lockdown couldn't help but wonder just what changed the old mech's processor. 

He'd never look a gift gun in the muzzle, but it was a good question anyway.

Chapter Text

When Prowl came online again, he was greeted with aching pain and several warning messages that reminded him just how injured he was. Sometimes the mech forgot how powerful Earth's gravity was--when Lugnut threw him into that forest, he didn't even have a chance to use his turbo boosters to lessen the fall. The next thing he knew he was bleeding like it was going out of style and unable to call out for help. His team, his friends, no one was there for him whether they liked it or not... Except for Lockdown. 

Lockdown, who most thought to be unreliable due to his business model and general lack of morality. Sure, that was generally true, but Prowl knew him a little more than most customers or enemies. Maybe that's why his instinct was to call up for his… Hm. What was he to Prowl? It's not like they were conjunx. 'Friends' was pushing it a bit, too.

Prowl stayed where he was on the medical berth as he let his thoughts gather like melted snow into a pool. Considering the sparse memories he had while in and out of consciousness as well as the fact that he was home at all, Lockdown must've come to Earth to help him after all. If only Prowl got to say goodbye before he left…

Since his optics were offline still it seemed as if the ninjabot was still offline too. That's probably what helped hide his surprise when he heard Lockdown's quiet mutterings. He only ever muttered when he had some serious issues coming up with or foolproofing a plan, Prowl discovered, and the fact that he was standing near at all was shocking. 

"He's been asleep too long. We gotta boot him up, make sure he can still do it," Lockdown said finally. To who? Prowl could hear the signs of the other being Ratchet. Well, that couldn't be good. “He’s been in stasis for too long.”

"Yeah, just might. I don't think he's ever been off this long." Ratchet's voice was surprisingly calm for being in the same airspace as Lockdown. 

"If he's not awake by tomorrow we gotta do it." Lockdown shifted his weight. "At least he'd let go of my servo when we do." 

Prowl grabbed Lockdown's servo? 

… Lockdown let Prowl hold his servo for an extended period?

When Prowl let his optics flicker on, the accompanying lighting of his visor got both mechs' attention. 

"Prowl!" Ratchet's optics widened. 

"Kid, you're up!" Lockdown gently squeezed Prowl's servo. Ah. He really was still holding Lockdown's servo, then. 

"... Yes…" Prowl slowly moved to sit up but Ratchet gently pushed him back to the medical berth. Prowl didn't move to sit again. His vocal box felt a lot better and now that he didn't need to preserve energy he had no issue speaking clearly. "Why are you not attempting to murder each other?" 

"Temporary truce," Lockdown answered. 

"Prime made me promise," Ratchet answered. 

Prowl rubbed his thumb over Lockdown's knuckle joints as if confirming it really was him. It was a different servo than last time, but if anything that confirmed his identity. "I see. How long..?" 

"Too long," Lockdown shook his helm. "Almost thought you weren't gonna wake up yourself." 

"Can't rid of me that easily." Prowl managed to form a smile. He could see both Ratchet and Lockdown relax with it. "And the others?" 

"Patrols. They'll be back soon, don't worry," Ratchet responded. "How are you feeling?" 

Prowl's free servo slowly moved to feel his chassis as he pondered the question. "Like I fell out of the sky." 

Lockdown snorted. "D'you remember what happened?" 

"Yes. Lugnut was using a cable in an attempt to restrain me but failed except for at a point around my leg. When he flew off to escape, I was forcefully dragged along. I can't imagine why he would go so far but when he did get rid of me, he made sure to throw me at the ground for additional damage. It was… effective, to say in the least. But I suppose you two would understand that.

"As for why I've been offline for so long… I'm unsure. I've certainly healed with less time on similar levels of injury. I know I was awake for intervals but I can't quite remember what happened then." Prowl stared up at the ceiling. "I hate having to lay here." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Whine when you're well enough to walk around." Ratchet chuckled. Suddenly, his head snapped up as a warning beep came from the control panel in the other room. "Slag, I'll get it." 

Lockdown and Prowl watched Ratchet run into the other room. Prowl turned his attention to Lockdown. "You stayed." 

"Yeah, well… you asked me to. And forced me, like usual." Lockdown raised their servos for emphasis and turned his attention back to Prowl. 

"You saved my life."

"If you keep reminding me I'll have to charge for it," Lockdown joked. However, Prowl's expression didn't change from serious. He slowly rose and let go of Lockdown's servo to tug the mech down instead. "What're you--" 

"Thank you," Prowl whispered. Lockdown stopped his consideration of pulling back when Prowl pressed their forehelms together. Lockdown smiled and gently placed his servo on Prowl's back to support him.

"Don't mention it," he murmured in return. “You really should be restin’. Your pals expect me to leave as soon as you’re good to go.”

“Have they been giving you grief?” Prowl pulled back with a frown. Lockdown chuckled.

“I’m not a sparklin’, Prowl. I got it handled. Can’t really blame any of ‘em, especially your medbot.”

“Ratchet.”

“Right, right. I forgot how loud medbots get…” Lockdown shook his helm.

“... You’re leaving when I get better?” Prowl finally let that prior statement register.

“Well… Yeah. Told your team I would.” Lockdown confirmed. “You know I keep my word.”

The look on Prowl’s expression made Lockdown wish he was nothing but a liar.

“Hey, hey, none of that. You know how it is.” Lockdown gently placed his servo on Prowl’s faceplate, watching as the other leaned into the touch. “I can stick around the galaxy for a little longer since I don’t have a job right now but I can’t say just how long. Pit, maybe we could visit that place you crash landed in. Seemed like a place you’d like.”

“Why, because I almost died there?” Prowl raised an optical ridge.

“No, it's 'cause it--oh come on, don’t sass me while you’re lookin’ all cute like that.”

“Oh? I thought you liked me this way,” Prowl challenged. Lockdown just laughed.

“You’re good enough to sass, you’re good enough to sit up by yourself.” Lockdown finally pulled away. Despite his joke, Prowl really did feel well enough to sit up by himself so he did as much. "It's good to see you bounced back from those injuries. You gave all of us a scare."

"I'm theatrical at the worst of times." Prowl felt over his plating on different parts of himself. The uneven metal where dents and scratches lay made him frown. "I have a lot to buff out, don't I?" 

"Want help with it?" Lockdown offered. "Can even help with the paintin'." 

"Oh, please. If you went behind me with a paintbrush there'd be something foul written back there!" Prowl smacked Lockdown's arm, which made the latter laugh. Prowl smiled despite himself. "Lean down for a moment, would you?" 

"Huh? What is it?" Lockdown's laughter faded, unlike his smile, and he leaned down like Prowl asked. 

"The temptation to uppercut you is strong, but that's not my intention." No, instead Prowl took Lockdown's face and pulled him down just a little bit more. 

Ratchet’s assurance that the warning was in fact a false alarm died in his throat. His optics were wide with shock at the sight in front of him. Prowl, holding Lockdown’s faceplate. Lockdown’s servo laid on Prowl’s hip, just a little too far down and back for it to be anything but as intimate as the kiss the two shared. Ratchet almost felt himself reboot then and there. And once he got his vents working again...

“What in the name of Primus are you doing ?!” Ratchet roared. Prowl snapped back and away from Lockdown with a look of shock that showed just how Ratchet caught him red-servoed. Lockdown rose to full height again with nothing more than annoyance on his expression.

“THAT’S IT! I’m done having you around here!” Ratchet raised his EMP Generator. Lockdown’s optics widened and he prepared to dodge but he didn’t have to--instead, Prowl was the one who tackled him out of the way of the high-powered blast. Dread filled Ratchet’s spark when for a long moment, Prowl didn’t get up. That fear faded when Prowl rose to show he wasn't actually hit by the pulse, but he still let out a shuddering groan that showed just how much his last action hurt. The concern he might hit Prowl made Ratchet lower the weapon yet again. Lockdown sat up and helped Prowl up as well, opening his mouth to ask if he was okay and assure Prowl that he could take care of himself when Ratchet started speaking again.

“You of all bots, Prowl, I never thought you’d betray us with him .” Ratchet shook his helm. “I can’t believe it.”

“Y’know what? That’s it.” Lockdown rose to his pedes and set Prowl on the medical berth (his size made the movement easy, and Prowl was too unwell to protest it). Ratchet took a step back. “That’s it. I ain’t care what you say about me, but you better shut your intake about Prowl. Do you know just how many fraggin’ boundaries he placed on me for me to even see him? He made me make a deal that I wouldn’t hurt any of you no matter what. I haven’t even yelled at ya this whole time to make him happy when he woke up!

“How dare you say he’s a traitor? I oughta rip your helm off your shoulders for that!” Lockdown roared. Whether a trick of the light or Ratchet's processor playing tricks on him, it wasn't telling, but the bounty hunter's hook seemed to glimmer as a grim reminder of its usage. 

“Lock--” Prowl weakly protested. “Don’t.”

“I’m not gonna bother playing nice if it means lettin’ you get hurt.” Lockdown stalked towards Ratchet; if he heard Prowl, he ignored him. Ratchet’s com flicked on to call for backup but he remembered too late that wasn’t an option. He threw a punch at Lockdown but the latter dodged. Lockdown grabbed Ratchet by the throat and pinned him to a wall. Ratchet’s optics widened with fear as he clawed at the servo around his neck--the memories that came up, he couldn’t--

“Lockdown, stop !” Prowl shouted as well as he could. Lockdown’s red optics seemed to glare into the depths of Ratchet’s spark… But this time, he listened. He let go of Ratchet and stalked right back to Prowl before any real damage could be done. “What were you thinking?!”

“I ain’t letting him talk about you that way. If it takes losin’ my cool for it...” Behind Lockdown, Prowl could see Ratchet venting heavily. Prowl forced himself to stand, despite obviously not being capable of it, and smacked Lockdown’s servo away when he tried to help. Lock watched as Prowl made his way over to Ratchet.

“Ratchet… Ratchet, are you okay?” Prowl asked softly. Ratchet gave him a look that wasn’t anger or disappointment, but it was distant. It was like Ratchet couldn’t recognize him.

“How could you?” Ratchet asked. Prowl’s shoulders drooped and his expression turned pained.

“You’re talking as if I intended to hurt you… I didn’t want anyone to find out like this.”

“Were you gonna tell us at all?” Ratchet accused. Prowl let out a shaking vent.

“Ratchet… I--” But before he could finish, it happened. Prowl’s legs buckled beneath him and he collapsed, though Ratchet moved fast enough to catch him. Prowl's optics shut off behind his visor and he went offline then and there. His venting and engine slowed so quickly that Ratchet almost thought…

"Kid, not now!" Ratchet urged. He gently shook Prowl but got no response. Ratchet could tell he was alive still, just… passed out.

Only passed out, nothing worse.

Ratchet let out a relieved vent. His internal warnings were going crazy but ultimately ignored. "Must've overexerted himself…" 

"And whose fault is that?" Lockdown growled from where he stood. Ratchet gave him a nasty look, though to an extent, he knew the implication was right.

"Primus knows why a bot like him would ever go by a mech like you." Ratchet lifted Prowl and set him on the medical berth with half a processor to tie him to it. It'd probably make things earlier the next time he woke up. 

"Like you'd listen if I told ya." Lockdown watched Prowl's face, as if it would change in stasis.

"Give me a single reason why I should trust you." Ratchet glared.

"I could've killed you a couple cycles ago." Lockdown crossed his arms. "I could've killed all of you over the past few days if I wanted to. Like I said, Prowl made me promise not to." 

"What in exchange for, huh?" Ratchet held onto the hope that Prowl was only doing this to protect them. He was annoyingly selfless enough to try, right? 

"Nothin'."

"No, really. What for?" 

"I said nothin'. Repair your audials." Lockdown tapped a digit on his other arm as if reminding the other that he was annoyed. "He asked me not to. So I'm not gonna. Technically the conditions were 'don't intentionally hurt them' or something like that, but close enough in my book." 

Ratchet couldn't find it in him to say anything else. After all, he couldn't find any reason pointing to Lockdown lying. He wouldn't gain anything by lying at this point--he obviously wasn't trying to win the team's affection and good will, nor did he try to steal or destroy anything. The only time he left the medical bay was to break the contract however many nights ago. 

"I'm… Checking on the cameras," the medbot finally said, albeit slowly. Whether it was an olive branch or a white flag, Ratchet wasn’t sure himself. His pride wanted to say the former but internally he figured that wasn’t the truth. He watched Lockdown as best as he could as he left the room, and once out of sight he could feel his vents unwind in relief. Lockdown hadn't intentionally hurt him this time but Ratchet knew he would never forgive him for earlier sins. Besides, what was stopping him from next time other than Prowl’s words?

Lockdown sighed and ran a servo over his helm. "Pit. Why'd I ever make that dumb promise?"

"Because you're better than that," Prowl answered. Lockdown would be lying if he said he didn't jump at least a little. When he looked back at Prowl, he saw no signs of him actually being awake… Did he just imagine--? "I've told you that." 

"... How are you doin' that?" Lock asked carefully. A smile formed on Prowl's face. 

"Cyberninja techniques have always been useful. Adding on to my own skills to avoid trouble, it makes the perfect excuse." A single optic flicked on behind his visor. Lockdown got the realization that Prowl feigned falling into stasis just to immediately de-escalate. The mech chuckled lowly and was sure to keep his voice down. 

"Smart move. Look. Sorry about… Ya know. I don't like losin' my temper." Lockdown leaned on the medical berth. Prowl moved and took that servo once again. 

"I’ll need to find a more permanent way to keep things calm, since I can’t stasis my way out of everything... You'll have to get along with them eventually," he gently reminded. Lock grunted. 

"Do I really have t--" 

"Lockdown," Prowl said with a stricter tone and accompanying frown.

" Fine, fine. Ugh. Actin' like I want any of this." Lockdown looked away.

"... Please. I know it will take time, but… I can't be forced to pick between you and them." Prowl vented. It was an internal battle he had many times over and only hardly let Lockdown in on… Lockdown glanced back at him for a long moment. 

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll-I'll try harder. Just heal up." Lockdown took his servo away from Prowl's just so he could gently cup Prowl's face instead. "You look like slag." 

"Shut up," Prowl said lovingly. Still, he knew Lockdown was right and shifted before truly falling into stasis to hopefully complete his healing. Lockdown slowly brought his servo back. 

"What am I doin'?" He asked no one. He hadn't put so much effort into something he was going to get paid for in… Had he ever? He wished someone could tell him what was so fragging special about Prowl that Lock went against his eons old habits and 'rules'. Why he wanted to make Prowl happy and wanted to avoid disappointing him.

Damn it. Being around this group only brought more questions instead of answers. Lockdown hated being without answers. 

Chapter Text

If Prowl could ever find the confidence to say them, he had plenty of reasons for loving Lockdown the way he did. Despite everything--logic, reason, and probably standards too. 

At first it was the sense of excitement Prowl hadn't felt since he was young and not yet a Cyberninja. Prowl liked the feeling of control more than he liked to admit and more than his training preferred. It was the offer to join Lockdown on his journeys across the universe, only doing what he wanted and building up such a reputation that he only needed to make himself known to get anything. It was the way Prowl could kick Lockdown's aft despite the bounty hunter's expanded experience. 

Maybe it was the taboo, too. Normally Prowl wouldn't ever consider an enemy as a partner, but Lockdown… He wasn't really an enemy. He was an adversary at times, sure, but in the end he didn't really want to fight Team Prime for the pure sake of them existing like a Decepticon. Neutrals were always seen in a negative light but Prowl couldn't see why (he mused the idea of being one before becoming a Cyberninja). Prowl never needed to sneak out of base but doing just that to see Lockdown for portions of the night was like a rush in of itself, not even counting what happened once they met.

And… it was the way Lockdown cared without intending to. Prowl knew that Lockdown had more to him than his reputation would allow him to let on. The mystery of it attracted Prowl but once he took off those first layers of (metaphorical) armor he discovered someone much different. Lockdown really did feel empathy, when he allowed himself to. Prowl would never be okay with the mods but in the end he had to accept them as a part of Lockdown, and whether or not it was an equal exchange, Lockdown accepted Prowl's team. His family. 

If Lockdown hadn't held Prowl's faceplate so often, hadn't held onto him to keep him for just a little longer before Prowl had to leave again, hadn't begrudgingly listened to Prowl's whims despite obviously not wanting to… Then maybe he would have succeeded at keeping distance or trying to convince Prowl that they should only be superficial. Because, in the end, they both wanted something more than any sorry excuse for relationships they've had in the past. They even dealt with the distance and the secrecy for it.

Neither would call it a need , necessarily, but their reserved thoughts wished it was. When could they call their relationship that? When would Prowl stop hiding it, when would Lockdown accept it as love?

Prowl's stasis was rudely interrupted by Ratchet rebooting him. Prowl jolted awake with a gasp. 

"What is--" Prowl's head whipped around. A servo flew to his face when he didn't feel his normal protection and stayed there to hide it just in case. "Where is my visor?" 

"Off. Lockdown's in the other room." Ratchet's voice was gruffer than usual. Prowl huffed and sat up when he felt his left arm restrained. He struggled with it for a moment before finding it wasn't moving. 

"What's going on?" He asked warily as he slowly laid back.

"I'm not waitin' for you to write it in a poem or find a way to say it through metaphors. I want the reason why you're dating that sorry excuse for a mech." Now that Prowl looked, Ratchet's arms were crossed tightly to his chest and he had a look like a BOTINT specialist during interrogations. 

"... Ratchet, is this really the best way to ask?" Prowl's face revealed how annoyed he was before his tone could. He hated that Ratchet had the nerve to hold his visor captive. "You know I like wearing my visor at all--" 

"You know I hate that mech," Ratchet growled back. Prowl shut his mouth for a long moment. 

"... As I said before, you're acting as if I'm doing this to cross you. That isn't the case." 

"Then what is the case, huh? If you want to go after some strong mech why not go after that Jazz bot? You like him, right?" 

"It isn't that simple." Prowl vented. "It… Did start a while ago, when we temporarily teamed up to chase down the Starscream duplicates. Not the relationship but the… Feeling aspect of it, I suppose."

The reminder of how Ratchet blamed himself for giving Prowl too much power a while ago wormed itself into his processor, but he kept it quiet. "Keep going." 

But Prowl didn't. He stared up at the ceiling for a longer moment. "You have to swear to not tell anyone this until I tell them first. Not even Prime." 

Ratchet's optics narrowed. "Did you do somethin'?" 

"Ratchet, I'm not asking this as a prisoner." Prowl turned and looked at the medbot. They even made optic contact, which is something Prowl tended to avoid when his visor was missing. "I'm asking you this because I trust you. Because I know if you do agree then no one else will hear about it until I share it myself. I never wanted to choose between him and the team and I still intend on avoiding that choice."

"... Kid, I--" Ratchet let his arms fall. "I don't know what to say." 

"Promise," Prowl said softly. "Or don't. If you decline, we may be stuck in turmoil for… I can't say how long. I can't say it's anyone's fault but my own." 

Ratchet was quiet for so long, Prowl started to lose hope. He was so confident in Ratchet that he--"Okay." 

"Okay?" 

"I swear I won't tell anyone, on my spark," Ratchet agreed. "Now are you gonna tell me what the slag is happening?"

Prowl smiled. Ratchet realized that, when Prowl smiled, he used his optics to do it, too. Just that sight made him feel a little better as compared to how bad he felt about taking the mech's visor hostage at all. It even brought Ratchet back to the first time he had to repair Prowl's optic and found out why he wanted to hide them so earnestly. 

"As I said, it began a while ago. First that, the events that made me remember what I stood for, and then later when he returned," Prowl began. 

"Wait wait, hold on. When he came back? When was this?" Ratchet interrupted.

"A few times over several different periods. He brought materials down, since other suppliers were too scared to," Prowl explained. At least he had been told that. 

"And how did you know this?" Ratchet crossed his arms again. 

"He told me." 

"I thought you were giving answers and not questions." The medbot huffed. 

"What else can I say? He called and told me." Prowl chuckled some at his reaction. "He had my frequency and contacted me. I had only intended to check the area out before calling for backup but he had no intentions of fighting. In fact, he only wanted to talk. I doubted his intentions and told him again that I had no intention of leaving this team. When he told me he wasn’t here for that, he drew in my interest… We got to talking. Too much, perhaps, because I found that I had no reason to report his location by the time I left.”

“That’s slag and you know it.” 

“Maybe so. Ratchet, you wanted to hear this so badly--would it hurt to hold all of your comments until the end?”

“I’d die where I’m standing.”

Prowl laughed.

“As I was saying… He let me know when he came by, for how long, and we developed a sort of friendship. I convinced him to try out the righteous side of life by assisting me in benefitting Detroit and admiring nature. When he did it despite there being no benefit to him, I finally decided that he truly wasn’t here to cause harm.”

Ratchet vented. “Kid, you gotta be more careful than that. As far as you know this is a long con--it’s not the first one in history.”

Prowl shifted on the berth and rested his servos on his midsection. “I doubt it.”

“And why's that?”

“If Lockdown had wanted to hurt or take advantage of  me, he’s had more opportunities to do so than I can describe. Moments where my back was turned and attention taken by something else. Moments where I fell in stasis in his ship--”

“ What?! ”

“--do you mind? And he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to come down to Earth to help me. He rather dislikes this planet, you know, and he’s only come down for work or for me.” Prowl seemed almost happy about that fact. Of course he was--cocky ran in his fuel lines and everybot liked feeling special. Ratchet’s experience and cynicism wanted him to point out that in the end that doesn’t mean much, but… Then he thought back to the call he overheard. Well, eavesdropped on. Lockdown had no reason to cancel that job and had no reason to come to Earth unless it was to help Prowl. No matter how hard Ratchet looked at it, no matter how much he needed Lockdown to be the villain… Logically, he wasn’t. Not in this case.

“What do you even see in him?” Ratchet finally asked. Prowl thought for a long moment.

“What no one else does,” Prowl answered cryptically. “He is capable of more than what people assume of him.”

“That could be said already for all those tricks of his!”

Prowl spread his servos. “That way, too, but I meant more on the path of empathy and morality.”

Ratchet huffed. “Yeah, r-- hey! When’d you get out of those cuffs?!”

“Around the second or third time you interrupted me. If you were more focused on me than your own thoughts you may have noticed when it occurred.” Now Prowl was being cocky on purpose. 

Ratchet groaned. He looked at the doorway of the room. "... You really want this, don't you?" He asked begrudgingly. Prowl smiled. 

"Yes. I do. This wasn't my optimal situation for the others to meet him outside of the battlefield, but it was perhaps the one I needed. I can't say I had a concrete plan on how to make it happen." Prowl followed Ratchet's line of sight to the doorway. "... I'm not asking you to forgive him for the sake of it. That would be unreasonable and cruel. But… The War was a long time ago. Bots change."

All Ratchet could think was no it wasn't, no they don't, but… Maybe at some point he did have to start being hopeful again. Primus knows he never would have come to this conclusion by himself, but Ratchet had faith in Prowl. Even when he was brash and rude from inexperience, the small time they spent on the same team showed substantial growth. Prowl did benefit from having a team to rely on and support him and he enjoyed helping the others. 

Before Prowl could prompt Ratchet for a response, his visor was rudely shoved back onto his faceplate. Prowl made a noise of displeasure before taking it off again. "Really?" 

"You're welcome," Ratchet said. Prowl shook his helm but smiled regardless. 

"I checked and you might be right, seems like the fuel lines I used were a little old." Suddenly Lockdown entered the medbay again with a data pad in servo. He looked up at Prowl. "... Is your visor broken or something? Need help getting it back on?" 

"I'm not a sparkling," Prowl reminded before affixing his visor properly. 

Oh, so Ratchet had to fight Prowl to get his visor off, but Lockdown can walk in and see Prowl's optics without a reaction? Ugh. Maybe Ratchet really would be irritated with Lockdown forever…

"What were you saying when you walked in?" Ratchet pushed past his emotions to prompt the question. The reason he got Lockdown out of the medical bay for so long was to look into the materials he used to Prowl--it was one of Ratchet's running theories as to why Prowl's system was taking so much time to heal. 

"Right, right. I was sayin' you might be right on what you said earlier. Some of the materials I used are so old, I don't think I've seen any bot younger than maybe 30,000? Or so years with it in their system." Lockdown offered a snippet of the fuel lines he used for Prowl to Ratchet. After the latter analyzed it, he hummed in agreement. 

"Looks like we found the culprit for your extended stay. Lockdown's ancient aft used materials your body had never been introduced to and it had to adjust for the introduction," Ratchet decided. 

"I'm younger than you," Lockdown reminded. "Ah, whatever. Sorry, Prowl. Guess I wasn't thinking about it like that--it was the only kind I had that would work with your structure. Hell, if it wasn't a different material, it would have been perfect!" 

"I see. So it isn't an injury, only…" Prowl looked to Ratchet for the word. 

"Think about it like an organic. Since it ain't used to it, your body needs to decide whether or not it wants to accept this piece. Like an implant of sorts. Normally it wouldn't matter so much--your boyfriend right there is a perfect example of it--but anything that deals with Energon distribution is pret-ty sensitive." Ratchet set the sample down. Prowl ahh ed. 

"Does that mean I can stand up?" Prowl asked. 

"I don't know, does it?" Ratchet asked right back. Prowl gave him a flat look. "I mean can you stand up without falling into stasis on me again?" 

"Ah." And with that, Prowl tested it out. Both Ratchet and Lockdown stood nearby in case he needed help. Since he could stand earlier, he had more ease, but he still stumbled a bit on his pedes before finally leveling out. "Agh. How irritating… I'll need to train in order to get my systems back to normal." 

"Nothing too extreme," Ratchet warned. 

"He's a Cyberninja. What do you think he's gonna do, knit?" Lockdown raised an optical ridge. Ratchet glared. 

"I said nothing extreme, hot rod, Prowl can stick to his 'meditation' and 'observance of nature' and whatever." Ratchet looked Prowl up and down. "You're in no condition to fight either." 

"Oh, what a pity. Has there been any attacks since my injury?" Prowl asked. He was focused on his standing as he found more strength in himself. As soon as he could return to his room, he had a list of exercises he wanted to do in order to balance himself out again. 

"Heh, look at you, already plannin' a list of exercises to balance yourself out again or something." Lockdown chuckled. 

"Am not," Prowl shot back. Ratchet groaned. 

"I don't want to see what comes at the end of your stupid quips, I already had to deal with Prowl and Bumblebee… But uh, surprisingly there hasn't been any. You would think they'd take advantage of us while our communications and locators are down." 

Prowl glanced at Lockdown before looking back to Ratchet. "Lock could find them." 

"I could?" Lockdown looked just as surprised as Ratchet with Prowl's comment. 

"I don't see why not. You weren't in range and most of your technology isn't affected--" Prowl started before Lockdown loudly 'cleared his throat'. "Ah. Sorry, I know. You know what I mean." 

Lockdown exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. " Technically speakin', I might be able to," he said slowly. 

"We think they aren't attacking because they're using the confusion to do things that need to be done in public. In the city and such." Ratchet crossed his arms. "If we can locate their operation and the blocker, then we might be able to take 'em down. The Cons and the blocker, I mean." 

"I can't mess with this. I'm neutral." Lockdown reminded. Ratchet gave him a side eye, having half a processor to remind him that it'd help his… partner, boyf--whatever those two idiots are.

"Then we'll pay you." Prowl stretched his arms up. 

"With what?" Ratchet gave Prowl a wary look. 

"No offense, but you don't got much to offer." Lockdown shrugged. Prowl gestured for him to lean over and, once he did, whispered something in his audial. Lockdown considered for a long moment. 

"My gear's on my ship, I'll need to get it to work," he finally said. An agreement. Prowl pulled away with a proud smile. Ratchet looked between the two. 

"Just what did you offer him?" Ratchet asked accusingly.

"Nothing worth worrying about." Prowl grinned. Ratchet narrowed his optics at Lockdown. 

"You put your fragging servos on him, I'll take them off." Ratchet growled. Lockdown laughed. 

"You think so lowly of the both of us!" Lockdown put a servo to his chest. "I'm hurt, Ratch." 

"Don't fragging call me that!" 

"Do you two mind?" Prowl huffed. Ratchet and Lockdown both fell quiet. "Good. Lockdown, let's go."

While Lockdown made his way to the door, Ratchet sputtered. "You're not going anywhere until I clear you!" 

"What if I promised not to fight anyone?" Prowl walked backwards towards the doorway. 

" Prowl! " 

"... I'll let you know if I'm in any pain!" Prowl turned and left the medbay with increased speed, Lockdown right behind him with an enabling grin. 

"OUR COMS AREN'T WORKING, YOU--!" Ratchet ran after them but in the end let them go. He groaned loudly enough for it to echo in the base. Technically Prowl was probably well enough to go but Ratchet's last analysis was done while he was in stasis and he'd have preferred another before Prowl ran off. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Lockdown once he left Earth again, he couldn't stay forever. 

Correction. He better not stay forever. 

Chapter Text

"I can't believe that worked," Prowl said, driving alongside Lockdown. 

"What, transforming? Your T-Cog looked fine to me." Lockdown had no issue hitting the gas with Prowl normally but he restrained this time to assure Prowl didn't push himself. "'Bout the only thing that did." 

"That, too, I suppose. I meant leaving base without Ratchet's explicit permission."

"Eh, he didn't stop ya. Close enough to permission as ya need." Lockdown took some tight turns that Prowl had no issue copying before finally arriving at his ship. Easily camouflaged, again as a building that Prowl could recognize after a few sights of it, the Death’s Head was like an old friend. The two transformed to finish the walk on board. Prowl let his digits run along the metal wall of the entrance.

“Hello, Mort,” Prowl greeted the ship fondly as he climbed on. Lockdown watched to make sure Prowl was on before shutting the door.

“Still not 'er name,” Lockdown reminded as he continued inside. "' Morton .' Tch. Talking to her like you're both organic." 

“You rely on her enough to give her a real name and not a title." Prowl huffed. Lockdown rolled his optics. 

"I'm never gonna win this conversation, am I?" Lock grumbled as he went into his equipment room. While Prowl didn't enter, like he never did, he did stand in the doorway to watch his partner. 

"Never." A smile formed on his face. It had been a while since the two had met up. Prowl missed Lockdown and that included his nasty-ass parts room. "Do you really have the equipment to resolve this issue?" 

"Is that even a question? 'Course I do. Woulda appreciated not being put on the spot back there, but I can still back it up." Lockdown walked along shelves and stepped over less fortunate parts. Prowl made sure to avoid focusing too hard on any individual piece. “Just because I helped Swindle make it marketable instead’a making it myself doesn’t mean I don’t know how to counteract it.”

"You still helped him make it." Prowl rested his optics and rested his helm in the doorway. “You should have the will to fix this mess as an extent of that.”

"How was I s'posed to know he'd sell it right to Megatron? Unless you're sayin' all that because you're jealous of him again." Lockdown had a grin that Prowl couldn’t see. It was absolutely bait and Prowl caught it. 

The ninjabot tensed up and scoffed at the comment. "As if I have any reason to be jealous of that mech." 

"I dunno, you talk about him a lot..." Lockdown lifted a piece of something and squinted at it before setting it down again. Prowl huffed. 

"No I don't! Ugh, don't even make me think of him… I can't believe you even-- ugh. "

Lockdown laughed and came out with a box containing seemingly random items. "Not everyone's a smokin' hot ninjabot. I'm just messing with you anyway… I gotta do a couple things before I can work on your mess, aight?”

“You’re a glitchhead.” Prowl shook his helm, letting himself calm down as he reminded himself that there wasn’t anything to get angry over. Lockdown’s presence certainly heightened Prowl’s emotions. “Okay. What have you got in that box?”

“Parts to finish somethin’ I was working on before you called me a few days ago and some stuff for your buddies’ present issue.” Lockdown walked to his ‘work room’ with Prowl close behind. When Lockdown set the box down and started taking components out of it, Prowl scanned them for some sort of recognition without much success. “What I’m gonna be doing here is some pretty advanced stuff so it needs equally advanced gear. I already have the plans for something to counteract Swindle’s tech which makes slag a lot easier.”

“And that?” Prowl pointed at some round item. The only thing he could compare it to would be a vambrace, but it obviously couldn’t be that. It was too small and flimsy looking as compared to true armor. 

“That?” Lockdown looked up from where he had already started working on his hook arm. “Ah, that’s just a cup holder. Been meanin’ to get it out of storage for a while.” 

Prowl deadpanned and let his servo fall. “Somehow you are one of the most feared mechs out there…”

Lockdown laughed. “And somehow you like me. Y’ain’t winning any prizes by being here, darling… Go ahead and sit, this might take a spell.”

“Is something wrong with your arm?” Prowl nudged some pieces aside and lifted himself to sit on the table. 

“Nah. I’m upgradin’ it. Figured I used it so much I might as well make it more helpful…” Lock clicked his glossa as he squinted at what he was doing. Prowl would normally try to figure out just what that was , but almost all of the work Lockdown did was a mystery to him. Even his Cyberninja training--with its specification on anatomy and teachings on how to repair oneself and others--couldn’t help him. It was just a mystery Prowl accepted. Instead of asking more questions about the mod upgrading process, Prowl continued to watch in silence. 

For the two of them silence was hardly ever an issue, both being used to and occasionally preferring it. Like he always did when they were together, Prowl couldn’t help but wish they could be here longer . Maybe not in this exact situation--though Prowl would accept it if he had to--but together in a mostly stress-free situation. The sound of Lockdown’s intentful working, deep venting, and the lull of his ship around them was enough to make Prowl feel a similar peace as if he were meditating back in the Cyberninja dojo on Cybertron… As if he were home. He was so caught up in the tranquil moment that he flinched when Lockdown made a successful “ ha !”

“Are you finished?” Prowl looked over at his partner with interest. 

“Yep. Woulda been done already but somebody had to go and die in the forest.” Lockdown finished up what he was doing, though he was sure to send a wink at Prowl to show that he really was joking, and set his tools down.

“Right. How dare I?” Prowl said sarcastically but smiled anyway. “So, what’s this upgrade?”

“It ain’t that impressive. This time it isn’t a weapon at all. Buuut…” Lockdown raised his hook arm a little. Prowl watched with interest when suddenly, the hook retracted and a servo was in its place. One that was surprisingly more matched in color and design to Lockdown’s frame in opposition to every other part of him.

“Oh! That’s a pleasant surprise. With how attached to that mod you are it’s a good idea. It seems you’re always adding to it.” Prowl smiled, genuinely praising Lockdown. The other mech flexed his digits to assure he could.

“Thanks. Lemme tell ya, haven’t used this servo in eons, I almost thought the circuitry wouldn’t match up to anything anymore. Good to have it back again.” He formed a fist and released. "Bit of a weird feelin', though." 

“Oh? I hadn’t thought you to be one to reuse simpler mods… Wait let me guess this one.” Prowl held up his servo and turned it over in his processor. “Poison cavities? Electric shock barbs? Some sort of cutting device? Am I close?”

“Actually, it doesn’t do nothin’. It really is just a servo. Less versatile than any other servo, sure, but it works.” Lockdown smiled and let his servo return to his side. He took Prowl's faceplate in his other to run his thumb over Prowl's cheek before letting that fall to his side as well. “Nice ideas, though, you’re really gettin’ creative with ‘em. I figured I needed a normal servo for once. Might as well put this one to use.”

“Why would you have a servo without some sort of useful benefit?” Prowl’s expression turned to confusion. “Was it part of a different modification?”

“You think I was forged lookin’ like a patchwork job?” Lockdown spread his uneven servos. “C’mon, I know you’re smart enough to figure this out yourself.”

“... Is.. That one of your original components?” Prowl’s expression shifted to surprise. “You kept it all this time?”

“Sure did. Kinda tossed in a bin somewhere in the back but I still have ‘em. Like seein’ a ghost when I found this thing again, lemme tell ya, but it came in handy.” Lockdown returned to his spot at the table. “It’s easier to work this way, takes less time than changin’ arms.”

“I suppose so." While Prowl knew more about Lockdown than upon their first meetings, seeing one of his original components still brought up questions of what he didn't know. Prowl knew he was the one that did most of the talking if the past was ever brought up--unless Lockdown had a very good job, in which he didn't shut up about it--and Prowl was okay with that. It was a silent agreement, one of many between the two. He just wished he had the confidence in the security of their relationship to ask questions directly. Who were you before the war? What took you away from the Autobots? And so on. 

However, with recent events, Prowl didn't want to push Lockdown too much. Staying in an Autobot base for so long and, assumedly, keeping from any jobs put more stress on Lock than the mech wanted to show. Even staying on Earth made him a little antsy. Prowl would have to find a way to show his thanks later on, after this situation was over but before Lockdown left the planet again. So, until he could think of that thanks, Prowl planned on continuing his role of the silent observer over Lockdown’s work. 

It was almost poetic how the other's digits worked with what materials he had. Prowl could always appreciate poetry in motion.

… Truth be told, answers would be lovely on either side of things, though Prowl likely had most of the initiative to find them. The only issues being that there were too many questions and that the answers cut deep into something that Lockdown didn’t want to bring to light again. That was probably inevitable but Lock was hoping that one of them would die before they had to be shared. He made it this long without sharing it with anyone and everyone that knew him back then was dead, either by Lock’s servo or by the way of life. He was sure of it.

Those thoughts weren’t really going through Lockdown’s processor, though, as they plagued Prowl. At the moment he was focused on the anti-jamming device. Really, he put most of the effort into building the device he sold to Swindle but Swindle didn’t really have the processor power to duplicate it. Of course he sold it once to the highest bidder--or maybe he was the one that proposed the sale in the first place, who knows with that bot? Regardless it wouldn’t be hard to disable and disassemble his own work. Prowl didn’t need to know that, though, since basically the only reason Lockdown was helping at all was because it was Prowl that was affected and because of the spare parts Prowl promised him as payment.

Lock would see if he could ease a little more payment out of it all but that’d have to wait a little longer. He was silently patting himself on the back for giving every piece of tech he sold a failsafe that only Lock himself knew about for situations like this. The amount of times he disabled a device that someone tried to use on him was straight comical. Lockdown was smarter than most people wanted to believe. 

At least Prowl knew that. He knew that and he wasn’t scared of it because he somehow had a stronger grip on Lockdown’s so-called “ethics” than any bot in the universe. That's part of why Lock liked him so much. 

“Here we are.” Lockdown set down a device that was relatively patchwork but still solid enough to be held in a servo and stay together. Without extra plating for a finished look it seemed like a half box or technology. Prowl focused his optics on it and looked over all of the odd details. Lockdown explained it before Prowl could ask, since he knew the bot would. “Most of the work here is gonna be finding that jammer, which is what this thin’ is for. Once I get my servos on it, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal to disable it. I doubt Swindle put any extra protection on it and your Cons aren’t smart enough to do it themselves. I’ll find it like agreed.”

“Good. The pieces I promised you are back at base, so when we return there I’ll--” Prowl started before being cut off.

“‘We’? Nah, there ain’t a we this time.” Lockdown set the device down and continued despite Prowl's already defiant and disbelieving expression. “You’re still recovering from those injuries. I ain’t letting you battle ‘Cons in your state. I’ll find the blocker, tell you where it is, then you can relay it to your team all snuggled up in your berth.”

“That’s not fair,” Prowl protested. “If anything it’d be better if I came with you. I know these Decepticons better than you do and if you get caught assisting us then they’ll come after you, too.”

“Then I won’t get caught.” Lockdown patted Prowl’s helm, earning a glare in return.

"I'm no longer injured. You had no protests when I came here with you." 

"You weren't fightin' me on your way here, now were you? It isn't worth the risk. You know I love having some optic candy with me while I work but this ain't the time." Lockdown watched Prowl's upset expression before letting out a vent. He took Prowl's face in his servos. " Listen. I don't wanna see you hurt again. This ain't a game, it's your life." 

"... I know." Prowl finally relented and let his protesting cease. He basked in the contact while he could. "You'll be careful?" 

"Even more so than usual--just for you. If I come back with a scratch, you can kick my aft yourself. Free of charge." Lockdown smiled when he got a laugh out of Prowl. "There's my happy bot!" 

"You're a dork wrapped in a businessmech's armor," Prowl said lovingly. Lockdown chuckled and leaned in to kiss him, letting the kiss last longer than it probably should have. 

"I'll get you back to base safe 'n' sound and get to work after. Alright?" Lockdown said once he pulled back from the kiss. Despite its extended length, Prowl had a look that said he wanted it to last longer. 

"Alright," he whispered in return. He held his own servo over Lockdown's for a long, quiet moment before moving it away. Permission for Lockdown to stand up straight again, which he took as an opportunity to pick Prowl up and set him back on his pedes. “Ever the romantic.”

“Aren’t I always?” Lock winked. “Say bye to the Death’s Head, since you like doin’ that so much.”

“Farewell, Morton. He had better treat you well in my absence,” Prowl called to the otherwise empty ship with an extra jab at his partner for good will.

“Tch! ‘Treat ‘er well’ . You keep forgettin’ she’s my ship!” Lockdown shook his helm.

“The several dusty compartments full of nothing but junk beg to differ.” Prowl walked ahead to go for the exit. Lockdown sputtered.

“They’re collections! Better than havin’ a fragging tree in my hab suite like you!” Lockdown followed behind, unable to see the smile Prowl had on his face. Prowl wondered if that comment was based on Prowl’s recounting of his Earthen home or if Lockdown saw it himself while Prowl was recovering. “Oh, I see, it’s ‘cause you take the liberty of messin’ up my things when you’re bored.”

“It’s called cleaning, you heathen, and I don’t touch your collection rooms.” Prowl opened the door himself to step out. 

“... Oh. Guess it really was my junk rooms you’re talkin’ about,” Lockdown muttered. Prowl laughed and transformed once he touched ground. Lockdown locked up the Death’s Head, reassured the cloaking device, and transformed next to Prowl. “Let’s head back to your base. Like I said, I’ll drop you off then head out to work. Know your way home from here?”

“Of course.” Prowl started off in the direction of the Autobot base with Lockdown behind him.

“Your GPS ain’t down?”

“Just because I was forged a city bot doesn’t mean I need locators to find my way about,” Prowl shot, revving just to show his annoyance. Lockdown chuckled.

“Riiight, right. You don’t move like a city bot, guess I forgot… Heads up, on our tails.” Lockdown’s tone went from joking to intense in less than a second. On the empty road, Prowl whipped around but gave enough berth for Lockdown to do the same. Their headlights blared at whatever was behind them. But instead of an enemy as expected, they were delighted to see Autobots… At least Prowl was. Prowl drove forward and detransformed to meet Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead, who did the same in return.

“Prowl, you’re looking well!” Optimus smiled once the two approached each other.

“Yeah! A lot better than before!” Bulkhead added happily. Bumblebee, however, was occupied with shielding his optics from Lockdown’s headlights.

“Tell your pimp to shut his lights off already, jeez,” Bumblebee grumbled. Sure, he couldn’t see Prowl’s sharp frown at his comment, but he could feel it. At least Prowl was well enough to be sassy again. 

“How ‘bout I clock your lights off, minibot?” Lockdown detransformed to stand beside Prowl. To say the three Autobot’s moods soured almost immediately was an understatement. Even if Lockdown hadn’t made a threat towards one of their members, being reminded that he was there and even worse the fact that he was with Prowl was close to a declaration of war.

“Lockdown. They can’t discern your jokes.” Prowl set a servo on his hip. Lockdown smoothly held up his servo and hook defensively as if he really were apologetic about what he had said--which he most definitely was not.

“Whoops.”

Optimus cleared his throat, setting a servo on Bee’s shoulder to prevent him from stomping forward and assumedly attacking Lockdown for both comments. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Where are you two headed?”

“I was gonna drop ‘im off at base then head out to handle this blocker,” Lockdown answered straightforwardly. After all, that was the truth, and as much as Lockdown liked seeing the Prime squirm he had no reason to cause any issue at the moment. Surprise was evident on the other bot’s faces at his response but Bee was the first to recover.

“Yeah, right! You’re just saying that so you can take it from them and use it yourself!” Bumblebee accused. “Probably against us!”

“I got a job, I’m gonna do it. Ain’t nothing about it,” Lockdown said. It was truthful again, of course, but if anything that was more surprising.

“Uhh, when did this happen?” Bulkhead spoke up and looked between his teammates as if he were the only one who didn’t know.

“ How did this happen may be the better question.” And by following Optimus’ gaze, Bulkhead and Bumblebee also turned their attention to Prowl. The looks weren’t accusatory, necessarily, but it felt like so all the same.

“It happened because I asked him to. Lockdown has the technology and skills to accomplish what we currently can not,” Prowl answered matter-of-factly. While Optimus still struggled to read the Ninjabot, it wasn’t hard to see his body language tensing up and to hear his words be spoken in a sharp tone. He was getting defensive to protect himself from criticism. Even though Optimus disagreed with the… Current situation, he knew that would only hurt Prowl more to show it. Optimus let out a vent and instead, turned his attention to Lockdown.

“Thank you.”

A moment of silence passed, only interrupted by distant city sounds.

“What?” Lockdown squinted at the Prime. Optimus could feel the others giving him similarly confused looks 

“I said thank you. For helping Prowl and for helping us against the Decepticons,” Optimus continued. Lockdown fell quiet for a second as if registering the words yet again.

“Don’t thank me for nothin’. This isn’t out of the goodness of my spark, it’s a job.” Lockdown crossed his arms. Optimus gave a small smile, as much as he could to try and extend an olive branch without giving Lockdown all the power in the conversation. Somehow, it was easier than dealing with Sentinel.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for it. In the end you’ll be helping us and we appreciate it.”

“Yeah. And--if it weren’t for you, Prowl wouldn’t be here still,” Bulkhead added.

“... Don’t look at me, I don’t have anything to say.” Bumblebee crossed his arms. At the interactions, Prowl’s expression softened once again. Lockdown’s didn’t change at all.

“Don’t mention it,” was all he said. Optimus accepted that as a ‘you’re welcome’ of his own… At least he thought so. Lockdown was hard to read, maybe because one would doubt every signal he gave out and wonder if he was giving false signals on purpose. It wasn’t difficult to see how he and Prowl were at least somewhat similar--they were always an enigma by themselves, but now they were being cryptic together. What a nightmare.

“If you were heading back to base, you can come with us. We were on our way over.” Optimus changed his attention to focus on Prowl. He was a little confused when Prowl turned to look at Lockdown instead of giving an answer. Lockdown nodded once before Prowl looked back to Optimus.

“Sure. Truth be told I’m still a little tired, since I left the medbay early,” Prowl admitted. Upon seeing a look of concern on his leader’s face made him quickly reprise. “As in before finishing resting. I’m no longer injured.”

Optimus’ expression relaxed. “Ah, I see… Come on, then. Good luck, Lockdown.” 

“I’ll see you soon.” Lockdown patted Prowl’s back before the latter could walk to stand beside his team. Prowl only gave a smile before Lockdown transformed and drove off.

“Man, he’s freaky,” Bumblebee grumbled. “Just stood there in silence before leaving.”

“Can’t you let a moment be peaceful for a single nanoclick?” Prowl’s irritation came through his voice even faster than usual. Bee blinked and looked over, knowing that that level of annoyance came only after a few jabs instead of one comment--it wasn’t even directed at Prowl!

“What? What’d I say?”

“... Bumblebee, I think there’s things happening here that you’re not picking up on,” Optimus said politely. Prowl shook his helm and transformed, causing the others to follow suit in order to drive home.

“Whaddya mean, boss bot?” Bee asked as they drove.

“He means you need to have your processor checked when we return home. Obviously, it still isn’t in working order.” Prowl huffed. 

“Aw, it’s so good to have you back,” Bulkhead said happily. Despite his general annoyance, Prowl felt as if he agreed. 

Now the matter of how things would progress with time wasn’t as clear cut… They had yet to talk about Lockdown in depth (even the conversation with Ratchet could hardly be defined as such) but regardless of that, a weight had been lifted. Even if Prowl noticed it before, he felt like a path in his mind had been cleared now that the others knew about Lockdown. Knew that he was here, that he cared about Prowl to some extent, and so on. 

Getting his team and Lockdown to like each other? It sounded like a war in the making. But for once, it was a war Prowl wouldn’t mind fighting.

Chapter Text

Prowl listened in silence as the others discussed what they had seen that night while patrolling. Still no sign of any Decepticon and likewise the device that was causing so much havoc, but since they were patrolling together for safety it lowered the amount of ground they could cover. Annoyingly it made sense. In the end Prowl had nothing of importance to contribute and his processor was still elsewhere… primarily on how he could find a way to help Lockdown despite being told to stay back. 

He knew Lockdown would be easier to find than the Cons, mostly due to Prowl understanding his patterns as an individual, but that didn't make it a simple case. To begin with, Lockdown was good at hiding when he wanted to be. If Lockdown caught Prowl when the former didn't need help, Prowl would be in some trouble. He was so occupied in his thoughts when he transformed to enter the base that he was shocked when Ratchet grabbed him and pulled him to optic level. 

"Ratchet, what are--" Prowl could barely start before he realized it was a losing battle. He had a plan on how to deal with Ratchet due to how he left earlier but it completely escaped his processor until it was too late. "I'm sor--" 

"Oh, no, you're not doin' that. I swear, it's like dealing with sparklings! You're getting a full check and there's nothin' you can do about it." Ratchet practically growled. Prowl could only nod and pretend like he didn't see the puzzled look his friends were giving him as Ratchet pulled Prowl to the medbay by his arm. 

"Come on, Ratchet, maybe calm down just a bit," Optimus tried to reason without any result. All he could do was give Prowl a pitying look before the bot was yanked into the medbay. 

"I swear, you're starting to act like him and he's hardly even been around a good few days…" Ratchet shoved Prowl towards the medical berth, though Prowl caught himself and hopped onto it without further struggle. 

"I'm sorry." Prowl watched as Ratchet hooked him up here and there, using a lot less care than usual. It wasn't like it hurt but it was certainly unpleasant, sensations Ratchet would normally spare him from if he weren't so riled up. Not that Prowl blamed him for it--he just kept his mouth shut afterwards. Ratchet worked silently, though with a couple huffs or grunts now and again as he read the signals given to him. 

"Looks like your vents may need a few more megacycles to get back to full function… Other than that, and your glitched processor, you're good to go." Ratchet said almost begrudgingly.

"Thank you, Ratchet," Prowl said honestly. 

"Stick it up your tailpipe," Ratchet said with equaling sincerity. "I'm still mad at you for runnin' off before I could do a last check. While we're without coms, too!" 

"I understand the concern. Thank you," Prowl said again. Ratchet gave him a side look. 

"What for this time?" 

"For being worried about my safety and general wellbeing." Of course Prowl was being honest. "And… You have yet to break our promise. That is more than I could have asked of you." 

"Don't get all sappy on me now." Ratchet huffed. Prowl chuckled. 

"I'm not. It's genuine. You are perhaps one of the most honorable mechs I know." 

"You're just saying that because you're young. Get a few more solar cycles on you and you'll see why you're so wrong." Ratchet shook his helm, unhooking Prowl from the machines he was attached to by extension. Prowl’s expression changed to confusion instead of his prior confidence. Before he could continue, Optimus walked into the medbay.

“Hey, how’s he doing?” Optimus asked, coming near the medical berth. Prowl slid his legs over the side and stood up as soon as he was freed.

“Passed his health check. He’s fine to go,” Ratchet confirmed. Optimus’ expression broke into a relieved smile.

“That’s great! We were worried for you.” Optimus turned his attention to the ninjabot, who was suddenly laser focused on a long scratch in his paint. “How’re you feeling, Prowl?”

“I’m feeling… as if I have a lot of touch-ups to do,” he answered decidedly. Considering he was focusing on cosmetics instead of his health, Optimus laughed, knowing the bot was as well as Ratchet said.

“I’ll take that as a ‘fine .’ Want any help with painting or buffing?” He asked despite knowing the answer.

“No, my methods are too specific.” Prowl finally looked up at the Prime. The offer was appreciated, now more than ever, but Prowl really didn’t like anyone doing his touch-ups if it wasn’t from the servo of a ninja… though he might just punch Jazz for trying, too. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be returning to my room.”

“Not at all. Just good seeing you up and about again.” Optimus stepped aside so Prowl could leave for his own room. Ratchet watched as he went. After they were both satisfied the ninjabot was out of hearing range, they turned to each other. 

"Alright, you got a question, I can see it in your optic." Ratchet crossed his arms. "What is it?" 

"Did something happen while we were gone?" Optimus finally asked. Ratchet eyed him. 

"Not in particular. Prowl got up and left before I could get a final scan on him, but that's about it," he finally answered after a period of thought. 

"We crossed his path when he and Lockdown were heading back here…" Optimus' expression softened and his voice lowered. "Ratchet, you know you can tell me if something did happen." 

"What, did you think I had spark failure while you were gone? I said nothing happened." Ratchet crossed his arms. The yet unsettled feeling that had yet to leave him since Lockdown attacked him rose again and threatened to spill out of his intake as a confession. He knew saying the slightest thing would be a chain reaction that he'd quickly lose control over. 

Ratchet was a lot of things, sure, but he wasn't a mech that liked to break promises. 

Optimus vented. The reaction and answer was expected but still a little disappointing, since it didn't take much to see how jittery Ratchet was as opposed to usual. Ratchet could blabber if he really wanted to but if he was holding back this much, it must have been for good reason. Or Optimus was over-thinking. 

"If you say so… I should take this time to thank you for being so tolerant all this time. I understand how Lockdown's presence might…" 

"Do I look like a Sparkling? I can handle myself, Optimus. Believe me, if Prowl wasn't the center of all this mess then I wouldn't be so diplomatic." He scoffed. Maybe it was a bit of a front but it wasn't the first one he ever put up. 

Optimus vented. "I know. I know, Ratchet. But just once can you take a compliment I give you?" 

"Over my cold and sparkless body." 

Despite himself, Optimus offered a weak laugh. "I figured you'd say that." 

"What about you, Prime? Y'Look like you're losing steam." Ratchet changed the topic to point out his noticing of Optimus' own state. 

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like it, too. This whole situation has definitely been straining our already strained resources." Optimus looked out of the medbay's open door. "The others are getting tired, too. I hate to say it but having outside help will--"

"Don't finish that sentence." 

"Sorry, Ratchet. But… For the time being, Lockdown is on our side." Optimus rubbed his chin. "I can't say I'm happy about it either but we need the help." 

"I'd rather get on my knees and beg for that windbag of a Prime to help us." Ratchet huffed. It took Optimus a moment to realize he meant Sentinel Prime. 

"For better or worse, we couldn't contact him if we wanted to… I wouldn't put it past Sentinel to contact a bounty hunter himself instead of doing the leg work, though." Optimus shook his helm. "Probably for worse pay." 

"Ha! I'd believe it!" Ratchet barked out a laugh, getting Optimus to laugh alongside him. 

"No, no. I doubt he'd do something so… Illegal. Even he can realize that it would be a bad idea." 

"Yeah? Then what's Prowl's excuse?" Ratchet chuckled. But that did make Optimus pause for a bit. 

"... I think I know what." Optimus' words made Ratchet pause. "Don't tell anyone--especially not Prowl--but I think they're together. " Optimus' voice was hardly above a whisper to assure Ratchet was the only one who heard. Ratchet was quiet for a bit. 

Frag . He wasn't thinking that because of anything Ratchet said, right? The Prime was pretty good at reading people and it wasn't like the two were very subtle at the base. Pit, holding servos for days without protest? Lockdown wouldn't do that for a customer or a random mech he fought one time. He wouldn't travel across the universe and quit a job for someone he didn't care about. It was glaringly obvious now that Ratchet thought about it. The only thing that stopped him from connecting dots before seeing their kiss was denial. 

"Eh," the medbot finally said in response to Optimus.  

"'Eh'? Don't you have any thoughts on it?" Optimus was taken aback by the response or lack thereof. 

"Who cares what I think? Prowl's a big bot, he can be stupid in his free time if he wants to." Ratchet turned and feigned making himself busy to avoid optic contact. Optimus watched him for a bit. 

"Oookay then. I was expecting a stronger reaction… I'm going to go plan the next patrol path." Optimus moved for the doorway but paused before he stepped out. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

"When have I ever kept my intake shut about what I thought, Optimus?" Ratchet looked over his shoulder. Optimus clicked his glossa. 

"I suppose so. Call me if you need me." And with that the Prime left, not pointing out just how much Ratchet hid from him. Especially when it came to his past and (relatively) specifically Lockdown. He glanced in Prowl's room as he passed but heard no spare movement. He wasn't training like he did after major injuries so he was probably still dealing with cosmetics. 

Entering the main room showed Bumblebee and Bulkhead in the middle of a video game… Well, Bee was and Bulkhead was also watching. Optimus smiled some as he watched from afar--Bee jolting to and fro to match the actions he was making on his controller, Bulkhead gasping or adding some comment based on what was happening on screen. With Prowl back, their team felt normal again. Optimus sat down in front of their surveillance monitors to mark out new roads to patrol on. 

"Hey, Bossbot. Do you want any help with that?" Bulkhead asked. Optimus jumped a bit and looked up, having missed the other coming over to Optimus' station at all. How long had he been working? 

"Oh, no. No, I'm fine. Thank you, Bulkhead." Optimus smiled. Bulkhead gave a smile in return but obviously had something else he wanted to say. "Something on your processor?" 

"Oh! Uh… I just wanted to know how Prowl was doing. Bee's trying not to say anything but he was reaaally freaked out earlier. I was too." Bulkhead tapped his digits together anxiously. 

"We all were. There's nothing to worry about now, Prowl's good to go." 

"Really?" Bulkhead perked up. "That's great! I know it hasn't been that long but it'll be great to have him on patrols again! Heh, even having him be awake is great!" 

"I know what you mean. We'll be able to cover more ground this way." Optimus couldn't help but smile like Bulkhead was. "Why don't you go back to your game?" 

"Oh, you got it, Bossbot!" Bulkhead saluted with his left servo before happily trotting over to plop next to Bumblebee again. Optimus watched the two again, though with how tired he was their words hardly met his audials. Optimus vented quietly and went back to his work. Maybe if he sent the other four out he could stay back and get all the rest he'd been missing to compensate for Ratchet and Prowl's absence on missions…

Back in Prowl's room, the Ninjabot was busy buffing and waxing and other things living vehicles likely do to avoid looking as if they fell through the sky. To get to his standard of aesthetic required intense, repetitive methods that often had to be redone just to assure their perfection. While he didn't rely on looks alone, he did treasure them… As much as his Cyberninja training would allow, anyway. As they say about old habits. 

His com flickered on. "Hey. Make it back alright?" 

A smile formed on Prowl's face. Normally interruptions to his routine would be irritating but Lockdown was different. He was always different than Prowl’s usual. "Of course I did… Any luck so far?" 

"Eh, workin' on it. It'd be a lot easier to go around this dusty place with a pretty bot keepin' me company." 

"You're the one who told me I couldn't," Prowl reminded. Lockdown chuckled. 

"And that's still holdin' up. But talking is close enough… Get to any ninja balancing exercises?" 

"What is really happening? You aren't one for idle chatter when you aren't forced into it." Prowl glanced up at the sky visible through the roof of the building. Even the branches of the tree rooted in Prowl's room couldn't shield it entirely, though the illusion of protection was still appealing. 

"Why do you gotta call me out like that, darling? Can't a guy just talk to his partner?" 

"Lockdown." 

"Damn, coming after me like that… You’re right. Looks like Swindle or one of the ‘Cons messed with the device after all. It’s taking more effort to find than I was expectin’. In all honesty, I’m bored out of my processor. It's like driving around in a maze of concrete."  

"Ah, yes. I understand your struggle. Detroit appears to be monotonous and without meaning." Prowl set his materials aside to look himself over, to verify the completion of his work. Thankfully, no hook scratches to worry about this time despite his closeness to Lockdown as of late. 

"I hear that voice. You'll wanna give me a tour while I'm sticking around, huh?" Lockdown chuckled. 

"If you'd allow me. While I can't let you race around the streets--" 

"'Cause you'd be ashamed to lose on your own turf, I get it," Lockdown interrupted with the joke. 

"--you wish. It's the law I uphold. I was going to say you may understand my feelings about Earth if I show you it with my guidance." After saying it, Prowl realized just how much he wanted that. Both to be with Lockdown and to have him understand. “I… Would really appreciate it if you could make time for it. I understand if it isn't possible.”

“I’ll try, darling… Hm. Looks like I finally got something. Talk to you later.” 

"Stay safe," Prowl said quietly. 

"Just for you." The com ended, simple as that. Prowl set to closing the containers around him and returning them to their appropriate storage spots… his servos lingered on the shelf. 

Just how pissed would Lockdown be to see Prowl soon?