Work Text:
Title: When Autumn Leaves Fly
Verse: IDW
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff, Crack
Characters: Bob, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe
~*~
The insecticon sat in the cool autumn air, watching his master and the red one as they recharged beneath an old oak, its branches nearly naked against the sky. Leaves still fell, drifting lazily to the ground beneath, some even settling on gleaming armor plates. One bright orange leaf blew past Bob's face grill, swooping and twirling in lazy loops; he stood and chased after it as it danced ahead of him, just out of his reach.
An updraft caught the leaf, sending it spiraling upward suddenly, far above his head and he stood on his rear legs, turning in a slow circle. Large front claws reached in an attempt to catch it before it disappeared from sight. Two more leaves twirled past and he dropped to the ground with a heavy thump, spinning around to give chase. They bounced and rolled across the ground as he followed, several more blowing past on the breeze.
He chuffed, spotting a mound of orange, brown and red piled between several gnarled tree roots, his prey tumbling into it. He barreled in after them and disappeared into the mass with a soft whoomph, throwing hundreds of the multi-coloured leaves up into the air. Snorting, he dropped to the ground in the center of the pile, rolling onto his back and wriggled back and forth, legs kicking wildly in the air. The leaves crunched and crackled beneath him, rustling as they rubbed together or against his plating. He decided he liked the sound and thrashed around more before flopping onto his side and stretching himself out, several leaves stuck to the spikes on his back and side, but he didn't care.
Golden optics flickered, squinting beneath the forecrest of his helm. He was glad his master decided to bring him out here. He didn't get to go on walks often, not outside in the open, so he was going to enjoy as much of this as he could. He liked the smells and the sounds here too. Everyday there was something new to discover, though not all of it was edible.
He huffed, air from his vents sending several of the leaves around his helm scattering in all directions. He snorted again, making an odd sort of hissing noise that could almost be mistaken for laughter. He'd just lay here for a while longer, at least until he caught some interesting scent, or got hungry.
“Bob?”
The insecticon's head jerked upright, a large leaf caught on the end of his antennae.
“C'mon bug, it's time to go!”
Bob chuffed and rolled again, flailing for a moment as he struggled to get out from between the tree roots; his master and the red one were calling him! Bouncing back onto his pedes, he hopped from one pile of leaves to another.
“There he is!” Sideswipe called, spotting the insecticon just moments before Bob came bounding over the crest of a small hill, almost knocking him to the ground when he reared up and planted his big front claws on Sideswipe's chest. “Just what have you been doing, you goofy thing?” the red mech asked, laughing and playfully rubbing the bug's helm.
“Looks like he's been rolling around on the ground to me,” Sunstreaker replied with a shake of his head.
“Oh c'mon, Sunny. You don't know what you're missing until you've jumped into a big pile of leaves.” Bob, made that odd laughing sound again, head tilting into Sideswipe's hand as he continued to rub and scratch his antennae. Sideswipe laughed too, “See? Even Bob agrees with me. Doncha boy? Should we show him?” Sideswipe nodded Bob's head, glancing toward his twin, who was giving him a warning glare. “Yeah, I think so too.”
“Don't you even-Oof!” Sunstreaker grunted as Sideswipe tackled him, both mechs landing in a fairly large pile of leaves and rolling a short distance to the bottom of the hill. “Why you! I'm- Hey!” Sideswipe cackled, grabbing armfuls of leaves and shoved them at Sunstreaker. “Stop it, you glitch!”
Bob sat atop the hill, helm tilted to one side, watching as Sunstreaker retaliated, the two mechs wrestling playfully among the fallen and scattered leaves. He hissed laughter again and stood, bounding after the two and jumping right in the middle of their wrestling match, earning a shout of surprise from both. Yes. This was fun.