Work Text:
Rung had suggested it. It was his idea he’d start this... hobby, if you could call it that? The psychiatrist had said it calmed down if one was prone to stress. Had he even said it was therapeutic.
When he had started this, it was difficult to stay inside the lines and he had no idea what colors he should use and that frustrated had him. It frustrated him that he used only two or four colors at most and stuck to that. He wanted to improve! But over time, as he became more skilled, the end results looked quite nice. He was so proud of himself that he even downloaded some of his work to a bigger data pad and put them on display in his hab suite.
Fortress Maximus was in the Swerve’s sitting at his usual table; out of the way but still well in sight. He enjoyed coloring here. The sounds inspired him, the different colors of the bar and its visitors gave him ideas. Even his drink was a source of inspiration.
The blue mech was immersed in his coloring that he didn’t notice Tailgate sitting down across the table. “Hi, Fort Max”, he greeted happily.
The said mech startled slightly and lifted his gaze from the data pad. “Oh. Hello, Tailgate. I didn’t see you coming”, he smiled back.
“Coloring again? Can I see?” the smaller mech asked, leaning forward to see what Fortress Maximus was working on this time.
“Sure.” With that, the data pad was flipped and pushed towards the blue and white mech, tiny hands grasping it from the edges as if afraid he’d mess it up. The larger mech stared at Tailgate’s hands. They were so small! He barely repressed a squeal. He had a weak spot for anything tiny and cute and the other mech was just those two things.
“This looks amazing!” Tailgate beamed and handed the pad back.
“Thank you. Although, it’s far from finished”, the warden said bashfully and took the pad and continued coloring.
“You should put up an art exhibition”, Tailgate suggested, resting his chin on his palms as he leaned against the table.
“I... I don’t know about that. I’m merely coloring these, the line art is downloaded from the data bank”, Fortress Maximus said, fiddling with the stylus.
“Well, it’s something you should think about. I really like your coloring work”, the smaller mech said and hopped down from his seat, “I gotta go. I’m arranging a movie night with Rewind. I hope you’ll be there tonight?” he added with a glint in his visor.
Fortress Maximus couldn’t form any words as he heard the praise about his works so he nodded instead, a small smile on his lips. Tailgate radiated with glee at that and then he was off.
I really like your coloring work.
Maybe he wouldn’t put up an art exhibition but that made him feel good and gave him motivation to become better, even if it was just coloring a picture. It made him feel happy.