Work Text:
"I thought humans ate popcorn, not used them for decoration?"
Medix raised a brow from his seat. He had been tasked with stringing all this popcorn together for this human holiday, and he didn't really get it. Blades chuckled as he looked over the 'Christmas Party bananza' to-do list. He already brought the ornaments, he just needed Medix to finish (not that he'd rush him, obviously).
"Humans are funny like that. Sometimes food IS decoration. And trust me, it's going to look STUNNING on this tree."
Whirl poked her head from the corner, giant socks still in her hands.
"AND clothes apparently! I thought leaving your clothes around was gross to humans?"
Blades tried not to laugh. Oh these kids were just precious.
"Yes and no. Usually you're right, but these are made specifically to decorate. They're filled with small toys or candy, and these ones especially, are for you guys!"
Blades turned the socks around, showing their names stitched right on them. Boulder had to help, but it was worth it to see little Whirl stomp her feet in absolute excitement.
"No way!!! So cool! Are THESE our secret Santa gifts?"
"Nope! Trust me, 'santa' got something special for you, Whirl. Now go on, hang those up, and go help Wedge with the decorations outside."
Whirl nodded, running off to do as she was told. Hot Shot, who was half assing helping Medix with his task, groaned loudly.
"No fair! Whirl got someone easy to get a gift for! I got HEATWAVE!"
Hoist, who was putting up Christmas stickers on the windows and such, called out from a hallway.
"It's supposed to be a secret, Hot Shot!!"
Hot Shot groaned louder, flopping back into his seat. Blades sighed, walking over and patting his head.
"I'm sure you'll find something nice for Heatwave. He'll love anything you give him."
Hot Shot looked up at Blades, huffing.
"Think you mean YOU, professor. Hoist brought you a rock once and you lost your mind."
"Hey, Pete the pebble is a valuable member of the team. And don't be such a downer, Christmas is all about being merry! It's in the name! Now, help Medix, please, I need to decorate the tree. Whenever it gets h-"
"Everyone move! Tree in coming!"
They turned to look at Heatwave, who was bringing in a big, beautiful pine tree, that Boulder had been growing for this exact moment. Born and grown in its own special pot, it was as eco friendly as it was stunning.
"Heatwave! You got it! Ooh it looks heavy!"
"No it's like a bundle of grapes-GUIDE ME, BLADES."
"Okay okay! Don't yell at me!"
Blades whined, giving Heatwave directions to the very specific spot he had in mind. He finally put it down with an annoyed sigh.
"Finally- Boulder had to go attend to an emergency and left ME halfway through the trip. Couldn't see worth a scrap."
Blades turned to reply, only to cover his mouth to hide his giggle. Heatwave raised a brow.
"What? What's funny?"
"You have a-ah, sorry, you just look funny. You have a branch stuck on your wipers."
Heatwave looked down on himself, before seeing the branch in question. He tried to peel it off, but he was clearly struggling. Blades snorted, putting his hands on his chassis, and totally invading his personal space. Though, Heatwave didn't seem to protest.
"Here, let me help you. You never could get anything if it was stuck there."
Heatwave tried to look down to see just how the hell he did this, but neither seemed to realize that because of this, both of their faces were brought VERY close together. Blades finally got the branch out, holding it up for Heatwave to see. Then their optics met. Blades should peel his hand away. He was getting those dumb feelings again. Feeling like he wanted to be held and looked at with those blue orbs. He should say something to Heatwave, something to show some kind of glimmer of romance or-
"Took you long enough- thought you were gonna stand like this forever, and we both know we got stuff to do."
Heatwave knew he messed up the second he saw Blade's scowl of displeasure. He opened his mouth to try to save himself, but it was too late. Blades shoved the branch into his hand, turning around and holding his nose high in the air.
"You're right. You're waaaay too busy. Go."
Heatwave opened his mouth to say something, but decided to just go. Blades took a deep breath, before just huffing, and walking out of the room. Hot Shot raised a brow, turning to Whirl as she walked in.
"What was THAT all about?"
"Oh right, you don't know. Before you joined, Blades and Heatwave were in a relationship, but they broke it off like, the day before you got here."
Medix nodded.
"Blades tried not to tell everyone, but he rants too loud for us NOT to hear. Apparently Heatwave would prefer more of a relationship with work, rather than Blades. Which I understand, relationships only complicate things."
Whirl grabbed the end of the twine, starting to take over Hot Shot's work.
"Yeah, but it's kinda sad. You should've seen them- trying not to get caught smooching in hallways, Blades fussing with dirt he'd find on Heatwave, Heatwave flicking his rotary buffers to mess with Blades- it was cute. They were happy. Now they can't be alone for too long, or stuff like THAT happens."
Medix nodded, muttering a made up swear as he broke yet another piece of popcorn.
"Once, Hoist said he caught them full on yelling at each other. Apparently they stopped the second they saw him. Too much contrast, I guess."
Hot Shot sat there for a second, before an idea popped into his head. He jumped up onto his pedes, looking at the other two.
"Guys- I know what to get Heatwave!!"
Whirl gasped, cupping her cheeks.
"IS IT A GOLDEN PING PONG BALL?!"
"What? No?"
"It's what I'D want!"
"Well that'd be helpful if I was YOUR secret Santa-ANYWAY, my gift for Heatwave, is gonna be getting them back together, JUST IN TIME FOR TONIGHT'S PARTY!!!"
Hot Shot pumped his fist in the air, proud of himself. Hoist and Wedge walked in, clearly attracted to the commotion.
"What's he yelling about?"
"Hot Shot had an idea."
"Oh. Wow, applause. Must've been difficult."
Hot Shot glared at a grinning Wedge. Little did he know that Heatwave's gift...wasn't going to come easy.
----------------
"Okay, plan 'getting Heatwave and Blades together so Hot Shot is the best secret santa', Is a GO!"
"Lemme guess, you named that plan?"
"Yeah! Good, right?"
Wedge rolled his eyes, peering over the bushes. He had already finished his holiday duties, so he was happy to help this plan into motion, even if it totally bombed. Medix looked at the envelope in his hands, brow raised.
"Remind me what's in this again?"
"Shhhh, we just need to locate the target!"
Wedge wouldn't do it, Hot Shot was supposed to do his chores, so that left Medix in charge of plan A. They looked around for a moment, knowing Blades HAD walked in here a moment ago. Wedge nudged them.
"Found him! Medix, go!"
Medix walked out of the bushes, and over to Blades. He was kneeling in front of a bush, plucking holly from the foliage, all in his new sun hat. Blades greeted him with a smile.
"Medix! What can I help you with?"
"I have a letter for you, if you can take a break for a moment, sir."
"Oh, of course!"
Medix gave it to him, and they all watched as Blades read it over. His face turned into a scowl, then curious, then amused. He laughed, before standing up, carrying his basket of holly on his arm.
"That's VERY sweet of you Medix. Thank you, it's SO nice to see you spread some holiday cheer! Though, you might want to spell check it next time, alright?"
Blades put the letter back into his hands, and patted his helm. When Blades walked away, the other two joined Medix, clearly confused.
"What?! It should've worked!"
"He seemed to think Medix wrote it. You didn't sign it, did you?"
"I...forgot that was a thing."
Medix opened the paper, reading it out loud.
"'I feel like a Christmas tree when you talk to me because you make me light up!' With SO many spelling mistakes- Hot Shot do you need help in class? I'm concerned-"
Wedge stepped in, hands up in the air.
"Your plan was a PICK UP LINE?!"
"IT WAS A GOOD LINE, WEDGE."
Wedge groaned as he smacked his face with his hand. Hopefully the B team would have more luck than THEY just did.
----------------------
"Have a little faith, Hoist! We gotta believe in Hot Shot's plan!"
Hoist shrugged. He was all about getting them back together. One, because they deserved to be happy, and two, because he was in fact, all about romance. Though, Hot Shot seemed to have a really funny version of it. They took a breath, before walking into Heatwave's office. Heatwave looked up from his paperwork, to the two recruits.
"Hoist, Whirl. What can I help you with?"
"Professor Blades said he wanted you to meet him in the teacher's lounge."
Heatwave cocked his head to the side.
"He did? Odd. Why didn't he message me?"
Hoist struggled to come up with something on the fly, so Whirl cut him off, offering a big smile.
"His comm link is broken! But he's a little too busy to come and ask you, so he asked US to come and get you! It sounded kinda urgent."
Heatwave seemed satisfied with that answer, so he simply nodded, getting up from his seat.
"Very well. I'll have Boulder look at communications as well, since you two have more important things to do than play messenger. Thank you."
They carefully followed Heatwave, making sure they didn't get caught. The other half of the team seemed to be doing the same, hiding from Blade's view. Heatwave, for whatever reason, left the door open, letting the gang see and hear what was unfolding. Heatwave walked up to Blades, who was making wreaths out of the fresh holly.
"Is THIS what you needed my help with?"
Blades looked at him, scowling.
"Well, hello to you too. And no, I don't need your help."
"But you just called me."
"No, I really didn't?"
Heatwave sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Blades, if this is some holiday joke, or your way of getting me to take a break, I don't like it."
The team winced as Blades, a little aggressively, threw the holly back into the basket, before turning to look at Heatwave.
"No one's standing in between you and your precious work, Heatwave. Instead of being emotionally constipated, you can just SAY you want an excuse to talk to me, it's not 'weird' or 'unprofessional'"
Heatwave seemed offended by his use of air quotes, huffing something fierce. They never had full on fights, but their arguments were as plentiful as they were petty.
"This, right here, super unprofessional, Blades."
"What's 'unprofessional' is you trying so hard to act like nothing happened! You know how weird it is, when you accidentally bump into me, and you just play it off like I'm a stranger to you?"
Heatwave and Blades both had their hands on their hips, scowling something fierce. Had Blade's hat not been in the way, their foreheads would be touching.
"See this is why I never should have asked you out, because it made THIS. You act like a relationship between us is just gonna fall out of the sky-"
That was when Hot Shot sent the signal. And Chuck did his part- triggering the sprinklers. Blades gasped as his soaked hat stuck to his face. Heatwave acted, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room. He managed to grab an umbrella from his office, and put it over Blades. Blades was whimpering something fierce, and of course, it worried Heatwave.
"Blades? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"My...hat. It's ruined! I just bought it and it looked so nice…."
Blades held onto his poor soaked hat, mourning. Heatwave scrambled for a moment, immediately feeling panic as he expected Blades to start crying.
"Look, I dunno what happened, but I'll get you another hat, okay? I'm sorry."
Blades looked up at him, and as they stood there, sopping wet and confused, Heatwave wanted to say something. Anything. To show that despite it all, Heatwave not only cared about him, but wanted THEM again. Then he ruined it.
"Hey, weren't YOU in charge of sprinkler maintenance anyway?"
He realized what he said as soon as he said it. Blades looked ready to have at it, when he turned to notice the recruits, no longer bothering to hide, and looking in worry. Blades inhaled, before sighing.
"You know what. Since you think I did such an awful job, you can go handle it. I'm going to be 'unprofessional', go into my room, and order a new hat. And I'm taking YOUR umbrella."
Blades swiped the umbrella from his grasp, and promptly walked off. Heatwave's fists clenched, then relaxed. He seemed to just now notice the recruits, and motioned for them to come over. He knelt down to their level, wanting them to listen closely.
"Look, I'm sorry you all had to see that. It's...adult things. I need you all to go find Boulder, tell him that there's a malfunction with the sprinkler systems. Hopefully it didn't ruin too much of the party decorations."
Whirl, ever helpful, piped up.
"I'll replace anything that got damaged, professor Heatwave."
"Thank you, Whirl. Alright, dismissed."
Heatwave went off, not seeming to care how his steps splashed on the water below. Medix was the first to comment, addressing the elephant in the room.
"Okay, I'm going to say what we're all thinking- what exactly was the goal of this plan?"
Hot Shot fumbled with his hands, suddenly not so sure about this idea.
"Well I mean. Everything is romantic in the rain, right?"
Medix opened his mouth to scold him properly. Not just on his poor plan, but the fact that he completely misused the sprinkler system. That was when Chuck fell from the ceiling, and right into Medix's arms, giving Hot Shot a thumbs up. Hot Shot's face hardened in determination.
"I didn't want it to come to this. But plan C it is. If this doesn't work, then we're screwed."
Medix raised a brow, unsure of what to do with a very wet Chuck in his hands.
"WE? This is YOUR gift. But surely you have a backup, right?"
The silence made Medix groan loudly. Hoist patted Hot Shot's shoulder.
"Don't worry, me and you can go half on a Christmas card."
------------------------
The air was as merry and jolly as it could be. For everyone except Hot Shot that is. While most were worried about the tree being straight or the music being perfect, Hot Shot was worried about his gift actually falling through. Secret Santa was going to start any minute, and given how they were on the opposite end of the room, you could tell plan 'getting Heatwave and Blades together so Hot Shot is the best secret santa', hasn't exactly been accomplished. He was currently avoiding them, hoping he somehow wouldn't be noticed missing all night. Whirl was TRYING to help, constantly standing in front of him when Blades turned around.
"Professor! I didn't see you earlier-what are you Uh. Dressed up as?"
"Oh me? I'm a reindeer! Cute right? I got the bells and everything. We thought it'd be fun if all the professors would dress up! I wanted to get you all little elf costumes, but me and Boulder didn't have the time."
Whirl pouted something fierce, clearly jealous.
"W-I wanna dress up! No fair! Can I at least see all your guy's costumes?"
Hot Shot, still pinned behind her and a wall, screamed/whispered.
"W-no, Whirl, I'm trying to AVOID them, remember?!"
"...oops."
Too late. Boulder, who had a BIT too much energon, stumbled over, body wrapped in Christmas lights, with a giant star taped to his head.
"I'm a Christmas tree!!"
Whirl giggled into her hand, clearly liking the more 'fun' Boulder and his jolly spirit.
"How are you charging those lights when they're on you though?"
Boulder looked at his empty cup, before shrugging.
"Ask me again in an hour, maybe I'll remember-OH WAIT. Blades, Blades. I got the perfect outfits for the recruits."
Boulder grabbed a bow from the wall, before planting it on Whirl's head, and standing right next to her. Blades put a hand on his hip, trying to see what Whirl was supposed to be.
"Uhm….?"
"A Christmas present! Get it? Because of the bow and she's under the tree?"
"OH MY GOD OUR PRECIOUS GIFTS?! BOULDER?!"
Blades put his hands over his mouth, starting to tear up something fierce. Blades fanned his face, trying not to cry.
"Oh my god oh my god. Chase! Come over here! I need bows, and a chair for Boulder-oh wow you make those tights look good?"
"Thank you. It was the last one of this size."
Whirl looked up at Chase. A green hat, a green dress, with white and red striped tights. Pair that with peppermint buttons and funny looking shoes...she wasn't sure what to make of him. Chase jingled as he got a hold of Boulder.
"I'm an 'elf'. A supernatural creature of folk tales, typically represented as a small, elusive figure in human form with pointed ears, magical powers, and a capricious nature. Aka, one of Santa's helpers."
Whirl tried not to laugh as he noticed Chase's 'human ears' taped to the sides of his helm.
"I was saying, get him to sit down, and get some bows for the kids, I have an adorable Christmas photo idea! Oh where's Heatwave, he's supposed to help with the-"
"Hey fluffybutt."
Blades turned to look at Heatwave, who was NOT in the Santa outfit he was given just this morning. Instead, he was covered in lines of white paint. Blades looked him up and down, confused.
"Ignoring the part where you admitted to looking at my butt- where's your Santa costume?"
"Recruits wanted me to be a candy cane. And you know I can't say no when Wedge makes that face. And apparently, it was SOMEONE'S idea."
Hot Shot was about to crawl out of the situation, when Heatwave blocked him with his leg. Hot Shot gave a nervous chuckle when he looked up at him, shooting him the finger guns when he stood up.
"If it helps, you look GREAT."
"Uh huh. Just for that, you get the first bow. Make it a pink one."
Hot Shot pouted as a pink bow was planted right on his helm. Blades corralled all the recruits together, planting bows on their heads (with Hoist wanting two, because he wanted 'hair buns'). Blades, camera in his hand, motioned for all of them to huddle up for the picture.
"Okay, Boulder sits right there, recruits, huddle by Boulder, on the floor, you little gifts! Let's see, where should I put Chase...Chase, go to the right by the kids, like you're putting the presents away."
Hot Shot raised his hand, getting Blade's attention.
"Yes, Hot Shot?"
"You should be by Heatwave, so it doesn't look lopsided!"
"Great idea! I'll just set this on a timer…"
Blades put the camera on a stand, before he set the timer. Blades hurried to the scene, with Heatwave standing a pretty fair distance next to him. Hot Shot reached over to grab Heatwave's hand, pulling him a bit closer to the scene.
"Squeeze in, professor!"
Heatwave was clearly trying not to react at the fact that he was pretty much pressed up against Blades now. His head at his bust, nearly poking his optics out with his antlers. Blades looked at him for a moment, before looking at the camera.
"You could try to smile this time, you know."
"Would that make you happy?"
"It would, actually."
"Fine, fine. Don't blame me if this turns into Halloween rather than Christmas."
Blades scoffed in a way that came out as a chuckle, and Hot Shot saw that smile on Heatwave's face. It was honest, if a little lonely. They WANTED to be together. Something was just keeping them from doing so. They just kept walking away-
"Walking...away."
That was it! Walking away! That's what was their problem! He just had to-
"Hot Shot, smile! One, two, three!"
Hot Shot smiled just in time for the flash. Once done, Blades walked over to the camera, and let out a loud 'aw'.
"It's PRECIOUS! Oh a great first picture! Now come on everyone, secret santa time!"
Everyone huddled to the couch area of the room, while Blades perched himself by the three, eager to pass out presents.
"Okay, who wants to go first?"
Hoist raised his hand up high, and Blades immediately searched for his gift. He found a box with his name on it, and handed it to him, bringing out the list. Hoist gave it a light shake in his hands, trying to listen for it. He shrugged, before just tearing open the box, and pulling out its contents. A set of pearl looking earrings.
"Oh these are from the museum- Heatwave?"
Heatwave chuckled, shaking his helm.
"Nope, but I DID help the bot pick them out. I'll give you a hint. He's very...helpful."
He thought about it, before snapping his servos, looking over at Chase.
"It was YOU wasn't it?"
Chase raised his cup of energon up a bit, nodding.
"Heatwave told me about your museum trip, I had to. They are your colors, yes?"
Hoist nodded eagerly as he clipped them to his audials. Whirl dived in to get a closer look, nodding heavily in approval. After Blades got his picture, he handed Whirl her gift. She, as excited as a little present could be, shook the box to listen for it.
"I know exactly what it is, oh my god I know what it is-"
She tore it open, and sure enough, it was a container FULL of golden ping pong balls. She undid the lid, pulled one out, and threw it, watching it as it bounced around the floor, leaving little bits of paint in its wake. Chase leaned a bit to Blades, brow raised.
"How did you-"
"Lots of cheap spray paint. It doesn't dry, but at least she's having fun."
"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?"
"Oh absolutely."
And it was. Drinks were drunk, gifts were open, laughs were shared. Medix stared at his new toy- a bird that seemed to never stop needing a drink of water, before looking up at the tree.
"Odd. There should be another gift there, there's only one for Hot Shot?"
It didn't take a genius to figure out that not only was this gift here to Hot Shot from Heatwave, but that Hot Shot didn't have an actual gift in return. Hot Shot accepted the box, and nearly gasped when he opened it.
"You got me the NEW cube model?!"
Heatwave nodded, fishing out a golden golf ball from his cup of energon.
"You complained that your other one was outdated, and not 'awesome' enough. So, I got you this new model. Just wait till after the party to really break it in though, I want my gift first."
All eyes were on him. Everyone else had SOMETHING (like Blade's new fingerless gloves, or Chase's new '1001 jokes' book), and he had nothing. He really hoped, for his sake, that this would work. He stood up, clearing his intake.
"I TOTALLY got you a gift! It's just. It didn't fit under the tree. It's in the uh...the explosion safety room! Yeah, Hoist helped me with it!"
"I did? Er uh. Yeah. Totally did."
The explosion safety room was more or less a small bunker type area, made in case something went HORRIBLY wrong in the lab above. They all got up to head for said room, when Boulder almost fell over. Had Chase not caught him, he might have face planted.
"I'm going to take Boulder to his room, it seems as though he had a bit too much. You all go, we will catch up later."
Chase walked Boulder back to his room, while the rest went on. Heatwave raised a brow as soon as the bunker was opened.
"It's too big...so you put it in here?"
"Yep! In fact, Blades, you might want to go in there, help him carry it."
Blades clapped his hands a bit, clearly in the Christmas spirit.
"Ooh! Let me guess! Is it those wooden Bohemian lamps we've been looking at?"
Heatwave groaned loudly, smacking his face with his palm.
"I hate that you said that, because I know it's NOT that, and I actually REALLY want one."
Hot Shot chuckled nervously, gesturing them inside. Once they walked in, Hot Shot turned to Hoist.
"You've got a key card that locks this from the outside, yeah?"
"Yeah, in case I need to trap something in there. Why?"
"Hand it over."
"Uh...okay?"
Hoist handed him the key card, just before Heatwave called out from inside.
"Hot Shot, where'd you put it?"
"Keep looking, you'll find it!"
With that, Hot Shot shut the door, and locked it. The reaction was immediate, with all of his teammates looking PANICKED. Wedge smacked Hot Shot on the back of his head.
"YOU LOCKED OUR PROFESSORS INSIDE A BUNKER?!"
Hot Shot held his hands up in defense.
"Listen, I know this looks REALLY bad. Like, possibly even a crime bad-"
"It's LITERALLY against one of the academy rules."
"To lock them inside?"
"Yes. Literally 'no locking Heatwave and Blades in the bunker together'"
"That's. Oddly specific."
"BECAUSE OF BOTS LIKE YOU, HOT SHOT. Okay, imma calm down, Medix, stop reading us the rulebook, and help us open this door."
Medix shrugged.
"It can only be opened with the key card, or a manual override code. Both of which I do not have."
"Hot Shot, give me the card!"
"No! Not until these two make up!"
Wedge was about to grab the card, when Hot Shot panicked, and stuffed it in his mouth. They all looked at him In shock, especially Hoist, who decided now HE was allowed to panic.
"YOU ATE IT?!"
"Hey guys, the door isn't budging. Think you guys accidentally closed it!"
They all looked at each other, unsure what to do, before Whirl walked over to the door.
"So uhm, here's the thing. You guys are stuck there. We uh...don't have the key card, nor the override code. So uh. Get comfy."
"WHAT?!"
Heatwave roared, pounding his fists against the door angrily and violently, making them all jump. It was a scary sound, that seemed to only last for a moment, before Heatwave growled, conceding defeat.
"I don't know HOW you guys messed up THIS badly. But I want it undone, and undone NOW."
"We'll Uh. Work in It, professors! Hang tight!"
They all looked at each other, and shrugged. Try to figure out how to deal with this themselves, and face even MORE of Heatwave's anger, or get Chase so they could ALL be angry together. Either way, Hot Shot's plan wasn't working.
Or so they thought.
From inside, Blades groaned as he sat down on the floor, leaning up against a shelf of supplies.
"Any chance they're getting your gift ready, and that this is just a surprise?"
Heatwave looked up from the door, giving a light shake of his head.
"I REALLY doubt it, Blades. My guess is that he's panicking about the gift. As to why YOU'RE here too, that I don't get."
Blades sighed. Heatwave tried the door a few more times, before Blade's words forced him to stop.
"Do you really wanna get away from me that badly?"
Heatwave looked at him as if he'd gone mad, before scoffing.
"This isn't about you, Blades. This is about us being stuck here, while THEY'RE out there, unattended."
Heatwave tried the door again and again, before Blades stood up, and gently pushed Heatwave away from the door. Heatwave looked confused, but he gave Blades the space he needed.
"Hey guys? I dunno exactly what's going on here. But I know you guys have the keycard. I know you CAN let us out. So why are we here?"
There was silence, before Hot Shot's voice piped up.
"I...didn't know what to get Heatwave. So-"
"So you stuck us in here until you found something?"
Heatwave interjected. He was about to try the door again, before Blades stopped him, grabbing onto his clenched fist.
"So what does locking us in here have to do with the gift, Hot Shot?"
A moment of silence, before Hot Shot continued.
"I thought...I'd give him you. Everyone tells me you guys were a huge thing back then, and I can tell you guys aren't really over each other. I thought, MAKING you guys talk would help but...I'm just gonna get kicked out of the academy now, aren't I?"
Oh Blades wanted to cry. Poor little recruits, trying to only make them happy.
"Oh. Oh sweetspark, no! No, you are NOT going to get kicked out-"
"I dunno, sounds good to me."
"Shut up Heatwave- guys, this is all so sweet of you. And I can tell you all want us to be happy. You guys are why everything happened today, wasn't it? The note? the sprinklers?"
It was Whirl's turn to share some of the blame. He couldn't see her past the door, but he could picture those sad optics, her rubbing her arm in shame.
"We just. Thought you guys would be happier if you got back together. We're sorry."
"You guys...it's so sweet of you. Really, I can't say that enough. But this isn't something you guys need to worry about. This is our responsibility. And Heatwave was right. We're just...unprofessional together. So, we're gonna try better for you guys, but it's over between us. It's our choice. So, please, open the door."
"...okay. Give us a second."
Heatwave saw the sadness in those optics. Blades WANTED this relationship between them still. But he was willing to drop 'them', for the sake of the recruits. But Heatwave didn't want that. Not like he could tell him that now though, any second they'd open the door, they'd part ways, and-
"Uh, okay, we have an actual problem. Hot Shot's oral fluid messed up the card, so it uh...doesn't work. We need the manual override code. You guys uh...wouldn't happen to have that, right?"
Heatwave groaned, smacking his face with his hand.
"Chase changed the code this morning. We change it frequently so it can't get leaked out. Go and get him, he should have the code."
"I'll get him!"
Medix cried out, before dashing down the hallway. Heatwave looked at Blades, who didn't seem to know he was still holding his hand. Heatwave could say it. The universe had 'thrown him a bone' as the humans would say, he HAD to take advantage of it.
"Blades?"
"I won't hear it, we're not kicking Hot Shot out-"
He was cut off as Heatwave pulled him, till their chests met. Blades looked at him, confused as all hell. Heatwave's spark was thumping. He just. Couldn't picture it anymore. Blades was more than just this adorable, over the top dork with antlers on his head and a fake tail taped to his aft. He was caring for those that mattered, he cared for what he felt was NEEDED, not what he personally wanted.
"Maybe we should give us a shot again, Blades."
Blade's optics glimmered in hope, before he scowled something fierce.
"Blades, we can't manage each other. I always tried to put us...me, in front of the mission. I was so excited of the idea of a relationship, I decided to ignore our work and-"
"No! I was making you ashamed of US, Blades. I wasn't putting all of me into it. It was always my image, our work, the recruits. It was never us. Never you. But if these kids can see us and see nothing but misery...maybe we should trust them on this. Blades, I won't make you, you know that. But I want to have this again. I'll put the work into it, I'll talk to you, I'll give less of a damn if we kiss In public."
Blades raised a brow, uncertain. Yet, he pulled himself closer to him, enough for Heatwave to feel his breath brush against his lips.
"Did you miss me, Heatwave?"
"I did. I absolutely did. I hate that I can't hold your hand anymore, I hate that you don't smile how you used to-we're friends, and I'm thankful for that. But that's...not enough. I want everyone to see you and me hand in hand again. I'll make this work. If you can, too."
Blades opened his mouth to reply, only for the loud opening of the door to interrupt him. Chase's face flooded in relief upon seeing them.
"Oh thank Primus-how did you end up there?"
Heatwave looked at the bashful Hot Shot. He SHOULD kick him out for this stunt. But his spark was honestly and truly not into it. He sighed, letting go of Blades to walk out of the room.
"Accidentally had the door closed while me and Blades were in it, and they tried to help. Unfortunately, Hoist will need a new keycard and-"
"Heatwave?"
Heatwave looked at Blades, who took a hold of his hand. He knew that face he was making. He wanted something from him, YEARNED for something from him.
"Yeah?"
"I'm...willing to try. If you're serious."
"I am. And I'll do anything to prove it, I'll-"
He was cut off when, from the ceiling, Chuck hung down, mistletoe taped to his head. Then Blades gave him that smile. The smile that made Heatwave soft for him.
"Then, kiss me. Kiss me to prove you mean what you-"
Heatwave didn't let him finish. He grabbed his chin, wrapped an arm around his frame, and kissed him. He watched as Blade's optics practically had fireworks in them. He could sit here, kiss him forever and-
"I take it I did good, eh professor?"
Hot Shot nudged at his side, grinning as he knew he got away with his very stupid plan. Heatwave pulled away, rolling his optics.
"Yes, Hot Shot, you did good,"
Heatwave wanted to chew him out, but seeing Blades in his arms, cheeks aflame as he tried in vain to cover his smile, Heatwave couldn't be happier.
"You did real good."