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The wind blew steadily through Dinobot island. It had been a quiet week, Halloween was a few weeks ago, Sari having done her annual Trick or Treating with Bulkhead and Bumblebee, acquiring plenty of candy that Professor Sumdac said would rot her teeth. Though November was here and typically cold by now, it was warm and pleasant and it felt good to be in the sun.
The mech next to him was between missions right now. He had yet to get a new job and took some time to visit his long-distance lover. Prowl wasn’t even sure that the other was still awake, probably elected to catch a stasis nap like his teammates whenever they tagged along on Prowl's “Nature scrap” It was hard to find mechs with good taste.
They had been here most of the day. It wasn’t uncommon for Prowl to disappear for hours on end, so his team was none the wiser about who he was with. Lockdown hadn’t been detected when he brought his ship down for a small vacation. The Dinobots were off doing whatever the Dinobots did in their spare time. And Prowl was enjoying Nature.
Prowl grabs some of the red fallen leaves that litter the floor. He carefully starts to fold a few, sticking the stems through the crunchy leaves of the folded ones.
“What are you doin’ darlin’?” asked Lockdown, Prowl can see his lover move his head to the side to glance at him, his limbs spread out and taking in the warmth of the setting sun, early in the day now that the days were getting shorter.
Prowl holds up a few leaves, long past their green stage, mostly red and oranges, beauty in even in death. He holds up half of the crown and smiles. “Sari taught it to me, it's a flower crown.” He pauses putting it back in his lap so he can continue. “Well, I guess technically it's a Leaf crown.”
To really sell the look of the crown Prowl grabs a few larger leaves and rolls them up, making them into roses to attach to the sides of the crown. “That kid you hang around with she’s real creative ain’t she?” asked Lockdown mesmerized by what Prowls doing.
“She spends a lot of time on the internet and making crafts with Bulkhead,” said Prowl. He goes quiet concentrating on the task in front of him. Lockdowns got a larger head than Sari so it might take a while to fully complete the crown.
They spend most of their “date” in silence. It's one of the things Prowl likes most about Lockdown. There doesn’t need to be constant noise, they know where they stand with one another. There aren’t words that need to be said, though should they want to talk they can. And sometimes they do, about everything and nothing. But today they are quiet, enjoying each other's company before Lockdown gets another job or Prowl gets called away.
Prowl stretches about halfway through, cracking his back struts and working his shoulder ball joints to make sure he’s stretching them out thoroughly like Ratchet wants him to. Prowl glances out to the field, watching as the sky turned from Blue to orange and purple, the sun getting lower and lower, with Dark skies and stars settling above them. Constants when they had been aboard the Orion, traveling from location to location cleaning up space bridges and making repairs.
“You ever miss being up there?” asked Lockdown. He enjoyed the freedom the Death’s Head afforded him by being able to where ever he wanted whenever he wanted. Lockdown moved his head back to stare at the sky, only the brightest of stars shining through the blanket of the sunset.
“Sometimes,” answered Prowl. “I really like it here though, it's so fascinating. The birds sing and how everything works together to help everything. The life cycle of the plant and how it dies every year and then comes back in the spring. A Tulip doesn’t have anything on Crystal Gardens in Praxis.”
“You’ve seen the Garden?” asked Lockdown.
“Yeah, I was homeless in Praxis for a while. Bummed around the Crystal Gardens,” answered Prowl. “They were really neat, when the light from Hadeen reflected off the moon bases at night the Crystals would put on a show of dancing lights. Sari showed me the northern lights once, and it’s something similar to that.”
“We can go next time,” offered Lockdown.
“What to see the Northern Lights?”
“Sure, seems like you’d like that kind of scrap.”
“Yeah, I think the next time you visit we should do that,” said Prowl with a smile. He pauses and puts together another bit of leaves. “Sit up for a minute,” requests Prowl.
Lockdown sits up and lets Prowl measure his head. He sees a concentrated frown on his face before the crown is in his lap once more. With Prowl done with him for now he lays back down on the cool grass.
“There any other cool stuff this Dirt ball does?” asked Lockdown.
“I’ve seen pictures of a phenomenon called ‘light poles’ unfortunately they only occur in very cold environments,” answered Prowl as he grabbed another handful of leaves carefully.
“Colds not really your thing there Prowler,” said Lockdown. “Worry about you with Detroits mild winters. Don’t want to put your tiny engine up against anything too much colder.”
Prowl won't tell Lockdown that Northern Lights can really only be seen very far up north. He is unsure when would be the best time to see them, he might have to research that.
“Sari has often told stories of a place called the Bermuda Triangle. Where ships and airplanes have a tendency to disappear, they don’t know why. Theories about the geographical location think it's a Magnetic dead zone, but there is no concrete evidence as to why there are so many disappearances,” said Prowl.
“You think its superstition?” asked Lockdown.
“Probably,” said Prowl. “Humans are still young they don’t know how most things in the universe work yet.”
“Neither do Cybertronians,” said Lockdown.
“True,” says Prowl with a smile. “There is no end to the beautiful scenery that this planet offers.” The look on Prowl's face means its true, that this place really holds some beauty or maybe he’s just happy that Lockdown’s letting him go on and on about nature that his teammates don’t appreciate as he does.
Lockdown doesn’t appreciate the organic junk as Prowl does either, but he likes the smile Prowl wears when he talks about it.
“Okay one last time, sit up for me,” says Prowl. Leaf crown gently in his servos and Lockdown sits up. Prowl gently places the crown on Lockdown's helm, the dried leaves scratch at his face plate, but he doesn’t care, he was never the type to get attached to his frame like some mechanisms. Prowls got a dumb smile on his face and Lockdown’s pretty sure he’s got one on his own too.
“Fits like a glove Darlin’,” says Lockdown. He leans over and presses a kiss against Prowls lips. Pulling him closer. “Feel like proper royalty.” Lockdown lays back down and drags Prowl down with him, letting Prowl lay out next to him. Prowls helm resting on his shoulder. The smaller mechs frame is warm and toasty against Lockdown's larger frame.
They lay there for hours, laying in a field as the sun finally sets and the Stars come out. “You know what kid? You might be on to something with this Dirt Ball planet,” said Lockdown.