Work Text:
The Yin and Yang.
Hot Shot and Medix.
The duo that never got along.
This is how they never did... and did.
-[]-
"Hot Shot! My bandages!" Medix exclaimed.
"Oops," Hot Shot grimaced. "I used them all up for Halloween decorations. Sorry!"
"You should've asked, Hot Shot," Medix grumbled.
"Aw, I'm so sorry little grumpy kitten," Hot Shot teased. "Should I get a present wrapped with bandages for you?"
"I'll show you a grumpy kitten!" Medix yelled.
Just then, a chirpy Whirl and a tired Hoist walked by. The two found Medix about to burst his bubble. Everyone knows how bad it is when he gets infuriated...
"Medix! We need a bit of help from you," Whirl called out.
"What?! There's more things to do?" Hoist whispered to the femme, who just chuckled in response.
"Don't worry, I got this," she grinned.
Medix gave a long glare at Hot Shot before turning to Whirl. "What do you need help with?"
"The leaves, Medix, the l e a v e s," Whirl dramatically complained. "The wind kept blowing and it's absolutely messing with me and Hoist! Pleaaaaaase help."
"Alright, but keep Hot Shot at bay for me," Medix then stormed off.
Once the young medic left, Whirl went towards Hot Shot, who was left baffled.
"You're not great with not angering Medix for one day, are you?" Whirl sighed with a soft smile on her face.
"Well, duh," Hot Shot groaned. "How am I supposed to not anger him?"
"You can try... asking him for permission," Whirl suggested.
"He's always wandering off to somewhere!" Hot Shot whined. "I can never ask him anything!"
Whirl sighed. "Find a way, Hot Shot, or you'll keep ending up with grumpy Medix."
-[]-
"I ask him this, he ignores me. I tell him that, he pushes me away. I give him this, he complains!" Hot Shot kicks the Cube into the goal.
"What's wrong, Hot Shot?" a young man walked into the court, careful to steer away from the Cube's path.
"Medix is wrong, that's what," Hot Shot huffed.
"He got mad at you again?" Cody sat at the audience area.
"Yep," Hot Shot threw the Cube into the goal with strong force. "I don't understand why he's always so riled up when I do something."
"Chase was like that," Cody chuckled. "He couldn't understand why 'laughing' was a thing. When he finally accepted the existence of being funny, he tried to make so much of puns. It annoyed the whole team."
"Really? How did he come to that conclusion?"
Cody stood up. "He wanted to get close to my dad, understand him and hopefully be more efficient in his work. He noticed how my dad always cheered everyone up in our darkest hours, and he wanted to be like him."
Hot Shot catches the Cube and sighs. "Medix won't bother, really."
"He will, someday," Cody smiled. "He'll think about it soon. And when he does, you can help him out."
"I can?" Hot Shot asked.
"Yep, but..." Cody went over to Hot Shot, motioning for him to bend down, then whispered, "Don't ever let him consult Chase, he's going to offer terrible advices."
Hot Shot chuckled. "Alright then, thanks Cody."
"Anytime," Cody winked. "I'm heading over to Frankie's, you wanna join?"
"Sure! Can I ask Whirl and the others too?" Hot Shot grinned.
"Bring Medix with you, we're having a birthday party," Cody suggested before picking up his comm tablet, which turned into a floating skateboard. "I'll meet you guys at the entrance of the Academy, see ya!"
The young boy then zoomed off on his skateboard, leaving Hot Shot alone.
-[]-
Hot Shot, Medix and Whirl gathered at the entrance. The sun was setting, its rays reached an angle where it almost blinded poor Medix. Hot Shot laughed, which angered his friend. Whirl had to pull Medix away before he could give Hot Shot a hefty slap. When the duo finally calmed down, Cody finally arrived.
"Where are Hoist and Wedge?" the boy jumped down from his skateboard.
"Fixing the rescue pipes," Medix replied. "They wished Celine a happy birthday in advance."
"That's nice of them," Cody smiled. "Shall we get going?"
"Let's go!" Whirl transformed to her police car mode. "Wait... aren't we supposed to use the ground bridge?"
"Doc made this new teleportation device with Boulder," Cody pulled out a circular device. "To activate it, I simply have to program the coordinates of our destination..." He types on the small keypad. "And once I throw it on the ground like a smoke bomb, it'll teleport us there."
"Or we could use the ground bridge - a way safer option," Medix advised.
"Don't worry, Doc and Boulder had already given it as much field tests as possible," Cody chuckled. "Come on, let's hold each other's hands and teleportation should go smoothly."
Cody grasped onto Whirl's servo, then Whirl onto Medix, and finally...
"No! No way!" Both shouted in sync.
"It's only for a while," Cody sighed. "One second and poof, you're done."
"One second is enough for him to spread his idiocy to me," Medix huffed. "Cody, may I switch with you?"
Poor Hot Shot felt his Spark crack. "Am I really that terrible of a friend?"
Medix glanced at Hot Shot, who for a moment looked broken. The slightly teary optics, him staring at the ground and the slouching of his back. Even his Autobot logo seemed to flow darker in colour.
Finally,
"I'll give you a shot, this is your last chance," Medix offered his servo.
Hot Shot lit up, then gripped onto his friend's servo tightly. "Got it!"
A slight smile forced its way to Medix's dermas. Hot Shot giggled.
"Look who's smiling~" Hot Shot teased.
"One more word from you, and I'll change my mind!" Medix warned.
"Okay let's go!" Cody threw the teleportation device to the ground.
-[]-
Under the orange sky at the rooftop of the lab, stood pillars decorated with fairy lights. The birthday girl ran about, chasing her floating toys. Frankie dodged just in time away from them, silently chuckling as she watched the chaos unfold.
Suddenly, all four rescue personnel appeared out of thin air, causing Celine to slam into them. No one was hurt, but Celine sure felt pain when she hit face first on Hot Shot's metal pede. Whirl winced, then offered to help the little girl.
"Watch your step, Hot Shot," Medix grumbled.
"I couldn't see her! The dust when we teleported made things unclear," Hot Shot whined.
"Well, clear your optics," Medix growled before shoving his servo away.
Cody shook his head in disappointment. Hot Shot groaned.
"Why am I the one who always lands into trouble?" the young recruit complained.
"Well, maybe it's because you are meant to embrace your recklessness," a woman approached Hot Shot with Celine in her arms.
"Professor Baranova!" Hot Shot gasped. "You're the one who-"
"Yes," she chuckled, "we don't need to bring that up."
"Right, sorry," Hot Shot apologised.
"You're a good kid, Hot Shot," Professor Baranova put down her daughter, whom raced around the place once again. "It's just that you're a tougher shell to crack."
"Way tougher than Medix?" Hot Shot crossed his arms. "I don't understand what he wants me to do."
"You need to switch up your perspective, just like how Heatwave had to view you differently compared to usual students," she advised. "Everyone has a tough shell to crack."
"Yeah, but Medix is just different," Hot Shot sighed.
"How so?"
"I want to get close to him. I want to understand him so we can actually go through one day without arguing and sabotaging our missions." Hot Shot looked at the distant lights of Griffin Rock. "I want to know him better so we don't end up harming someone."
"I'm very proud of you to have thought that," Professor Baranova smiled. "Your relationship with him is very strained. Take your time with it - connect with him. Observe how that goes."
"Thanks, Professor," Hot Shot nodded. "I'll go up to him and see how it goes."
-[]-
Medix sat in the corner with his knees up to his face. He couldn't understand why he would uncontrollably lash out at Hot Shot. It's not the mistakes he's mad at. It was something else...
"Medix!"
Medix found himself frozen. In fear? In embarrassment? In excitement?
Primus knows.
As Hot Shot took his steps towards the medic, Medix could not help but stay incredibly still. He knew he fucked up. He's done for.
"Sorry for being impatient with you," Hot Shot apologised.
"No no, it's my problem," Medix sighed. "I am sorry too, Hot Shot. Can we 'hit the restart button'?"
"Let me guess: exact phrase from Professor Chase?"
Medix groaned before nodding in admission.
"Of course we can do a lil' restart," Hot Shot grinned. "Come on, CeeCee is waiting!"
The party went on, and everyone had a great time.