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It started with his servos shaking. Cliff noticed how Shockwave was having trouble holding his stylus, and in the mornings his servos would shake as he poured his morning energon.
What pissed Cliff off was that Shockwave tried to hide it. Oh he was tired. He had a long day. He simply hasn’t refueled yet. Cliff knew better. He could see through the lies. He had to deal with cadets on a daily basis! He knew a liar when he saw one.
“You’re sick.”
Shockwave looked up from the doohickey he was fiddling with and blinked innocently, “What?”
Cliffjumper stood rigid, fully prepared to wrestle the mech if he didn’t cooperate. “You’re sick,” he said again. “Come to the berth. You need rest.”
True to his infuriatingly stubborn nature, Shockwave looked indifferent and said, “Cliffjumper what are you prattling on about? Can’t you leave me to my work in peace?”
“No! Not when you’re obviously unwell,” Cliff said with a grumble and smacked Shockwaves servos away from his tinkering. “Come to berth. Now.”
He grabbed a hold of Shockwaves shoulders and pulled him down to his level so Cliff could feel the cons plating on his face and chassis. As he feared. It was running white hot.
“Your plating’s about to warp you’re so hot!” Cliff growled. “Berth. NOW,” he said again only this time he forcefully yanked the big con out of his chair.
“Cliffjumper I—“
“NO. Shut it,” Cliff said and wouldn’t let Shockwave get a word in edgewise. He would only try to deny the obvious and Cliff was not having any of that.
It wasn’t hard to get Shockwave into their shared berth. The con laid down with minimal grumbling and allowed Cliffjumper to settle him in. Cliff wrapped him in a thin tarp and propped him up with a pillow.
“I didn’t know you were prone to coddling,” Shockwave said with no small amount of amusement.
Cliff paused, realizing he was tucking Shockwave in, and flushed heavily. “Shut it! I’m doing this not because I want too but because you need it.” Cliffjumpers features softened a bit as he continued, “Look I know we’re new to the whole relationship thing, but you gotta tell me stuff! I’ve seen you shaking and I heard you purge your tanks last night. I stayed quiet cause I figured you just needed some time or some slag. Now it’s worse and I’m taking things into my own servos. You are going to lay here until you feel better. Got it?”
Shockwave blinked at him. For what, Cliffjumper didn’t know, but he sighed with relief when Shockwave gave a grumble of acknowledgment and shifted into the pillows.
“Fine. If playing nursebot makes you feel better than be my guest,” Shockwave said dismissively.
Cliffjumper grinned.
Turned out ‘playing nursebot’ wasn’t that hard. Once Shockwave finally succumbed to his fate he took the worlds’ longest nap which left Cliffjumper to his own devices. He watched a holovid and started to make Shockwave some lunch. He was by no means a chef but he could throw something edible together when the situation called for it.
When he came to check on Shockwave he was surprised to find him awake and infuriated to find he was trying to get out of berth.
“Hey hey hey! Uhh uh no. Back in the berth,” he said feeling like he was trying to talk to a sparkling and pushed the purple mech back under the tarp.
“I have stuff to do Cliff,” Shockwave growled but did nothing as Cliff checked his temperature again.
It was still a little too high but it had gone down somewhat now that Shockwave had rested. Suddenly Cliff felt an optic on him and he glanced up to see Shockwave staring at him intently.
“What? Something on my face?” he joked.
Shockwave regarded him for a moment before lightly touching his servos to Cliff’s cheek plate. It was a soft gesture that, over their time together, had come to mean a lot of things. Cliff always just took it as a con version of ‘I love you’. He’d never voice it though. It was still too early to say the L word.
He smiled and nuzzled the cons large claws as he asked, “What’s this for? I haven’t even done anything romantic yet.”
Shockwave continued his petting and lightly scratched a spot at the base of Cliffs’ neck. It never failed to make his plating rattle.
“How is it that you can be so…you,” Shockwave said with a knowing look.
Cliff batted away the offending servos but his smile didn’t falter. “What do you mean? Taking care of you? Well I may not be certified but I think I make a pretty hot nurse don’t you think?”
Shockwaves optic squinted in an amused look, “That is still to be determined. By the way is something burning?”
Cliff stood suddenly in panic, “Oh Primus!”
He rushed into the kitchen and barely saved the soup from burning. Back in the bedroom he could hear Shockwave laughing. Well even if his pride had taken a hit it was still nice to hear Shockwave feel good enough to make fun of him.
He served the soup and Shockwave was polite enough to only complain a little. Yeah it tasted like overdone slag now but at least they agreed on that it tasted like overdone slag. After they finished, Cliff put everything away and insisted Shockwave get comfy.
“When are you going to let me up?” Shockwave asked like a pouting youngling.
“I told you. I’ll let you up when you're better. Now make enough room for me. I have an idea,” He chirped and jogged into the livingroom.
Their suite was modest but large to accommodate Shockwaves large frame, but most of their furniture was Cliff’s size since he supplied most of the furnishings when they moved in together. It was little effort to drag the holoset into the bedroom and get it fixed up on a small table.
“We,” Cliff said after finally setting the whole thing up, “are gonna watch a movie. I refuse to let you out of the berth but I don’t wanna be bored either.”
He bounced onto the berth next to Shockwave and flashed the stubborn mech a smile.
“Aww don’t make that face,” He laughed and pulled Shockwave down to kiss the side of his helm. “Think of all the time we get to spend together now that you’re berthridden!”
“Oh what joy,” Shockwave mumbled with no enthusiasm whatsoever but wrapped his large arm around his small lovers shoulders.
The weight was nice and warm, and they really never did get to do domestic stuff like this. They were either too busy or Shockwaves decepticon pride wouldn’t allow a darn cuddle. Cliff could certainly get used this.
The movie wasn’t the best but it could hold your interest enough. Cliff had a hard time telling whether it was a comedy or a drama, but at least Shockwave seemed amused at the on screen characters antics. Every now and again he would comment or insult one of the actors and it never failed to make Cliff laugh.
Cliffjumper was fully pressed up against Shockwaves side by the end of the movie. Shockwave had become cybertrons biggest pillow, and Cliff was sure that somewhere Shockwave was enjoying the attention.
“So,” Cliff started and jabbed Shockwave in the side when he replied with a ‘oh no’. “Am I a good nurse?” He asked in a light tone,
Shockwave chuckled, a resounding noise that reverberated through his chest like a calming rumble and said, “I suppose. I’m warm and not dead. That’s two things you’ve done correctly. Although there are certain benefits to having someone cater to your every whim. Perhaps I should play sick more often?”
Cliffjumper quirked an eyebrow, “Hey now don’t take advantage. You’re actually sick. Don’t go pretending just for attention or I’ll never believe you.”
Shockwave smirked—a light head tilt coupled with a glint in his optic—and nuzzled Cliffs helm, “I know, Love. I’m just teasing. I suppose I did need more rest. This movie is becoming dreadfully dull. How about we turn it off and recharge?”
“I guess that’s a good idea. I’m tired from taking care of your sorry aft all day,” Cliff said and turned off the holoscreen.
“And here I thought you enjoyed being my servant. Ah oh well,” Shockwave tried to prod but only managed to sound sleepy.
Cliff chuckled at Shockwaves attempt and simply pulled the tarp over them. He was so comfortable that he didn’t even bother moving from his spot at Shockwaves side. Feeling the whirr of Shockwaves fans and the gentle thrum of his spark under Cliffjumpers cheek was very soothing. He hummed and snuggled into Shockwaves chassis and listened as Shockwaves systems powered down and went into recharge.