Chapter Text
There was something about Curran that made Volt slow down.
Not stop. Not retreat. Just… soften around the edges.
Curran could match him word for word some nights, stumbling and blushing and spitting fire when Volt teased too hard but never actually pulling away. He always came back, always crackled with the same desperate hunger in his grin.
And Volt?
He let him win.
More than once.
“Think you’re clever, don’t you?” Curran had barked once after landing a comeback that left even Volt speechless for a second.
“No,” Volt had murmured, smile slow, almost fond. “I think you’re clever.”
That had shut Curran up for nearly a full minute. He’d looked away with his whole face red, mumbling something about fixing his output stabilisers just to cover the moment.
It was easy with Curran.
Easier than it should’ve been.
Because behind all the bravado, all the too-loud jokes and dramatic pouting, Curran wore his heart right there— soldered to his sleeve, blinking red like a warning light. He was fragile. Honest. Infuriating.
And Volt was helpless against it.
They had a rhythm.
Eddie didn’t get it. Not really. He hovered like a fault detector every time Curran bounced into the room, like he was waiting for him to self-combust again.
But Volt?
He liked it when Curran buzzed too loud.
He liked watching him light up.
He liked the way Curran’s face tilted into his space when he thought he was winning the banter, liked how he'd lean on the bar with his brace sparking faintly under his shirt, trying to look suave, like he wasn’t one bad flirt away from a total short.
Sometimes, Volt let Curran lead.
Just to see how high he could go.
And tonight, he was glowing.
“Upgraded the central converter. Manually bypassed the failsafe so I can handle up to one-twenty without bursting. Probably.”
Curran said it like a boast, but his eyes flicked to Volt’s mouth, then away. Then back.
“You did that yourself?”
“Yeah. Took all night. But now I can— y’know. Handle you.”
“Oh, can you now?”
“Shut up.”
Volt chuckled. But the words stuck with him.
Handle you.
They ended up alone.
Not by accident. Curran had ushered him into the back room with the clumsy confidence of someone desperate to prove himself. His shirt was half-unbuttoned already, vitals panel visible, readings stable.
Just barely.
“I want to show you something,” Curran said breathlessly, dragging his brace down past his shoulder. “There’s a node here. I re-routed it. You can touch it.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m ready.”
And Volt believed him.
Because that’s what Curran wanted. To be trusted. To be taken at face value, not managed or doubted as Eddie so often did.
So Volt reached out, fingers brushing over the exposed copper coil embedded just beneath his clavicle.
Curran shivered.
“More.”
Volt did.
He leaned in, letting his hand skim the circuit line down his chest. Curran bucked into the touch, biting his lip hard enough to leave a mark. The brace hissed under his breath, releasing heat.
“You feel that?” Curran gasped.
“I do.”
“Told you I could handle it.”
Volt smiled.
“You’re unbelievable.”
Curran surged forward then, pressing their bodies together, mouth close— so close— and Volt kissed him. Light at first. Then deeper. Until sparks jumped between their teeth.
The vitals panel blinked.
[NEURAL CASCADE: ACTIVE]
[CORE TEMP: 42.1°C]
[MAIN FUSE: STRAIN DETECTED]
And Volt pulled back just enough to say—
“You’re shaking, live wire... I don't—”
“I—I can take it, Volt—please, don’t stop—I can take it—!”
His hands gripped Volt’s arms like grounding rods. His eyes were glazed.
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[NEURAL SURGE: CRITICAL]
Then it happened.
His whole body arched, stiff as wire.
A wet, electrical pop burst from his neck. Curran gasped— and didn’t stop. His mouth hung open, foam bubbling at the corners. His limbs seized, every muscle pulled tight.
Volt stepped back, horrified.
“Curran?!”
Sparks flew from the base of his brace. His legs kicked. His screen flashed red-red-red—
“No, no, no—fuck—Curran—!”
Volt reached out.
And stopped.
Because even a touch might finish it.
Curran’s fingers twitched toward him anyway—reaching. Asking. Needing.
But Volt couldn’t touch him. Not now.
Not when his system was in total collapse.
“EDDIE—!”
Eddie ran in less than thirty seconds later.
He didn’t yell. Didn’t ask.
Just saw the readings and dove in.
Hands working fast— prying open the panel on the back of Curran's neck, jacking in a stabiliser spike, rerouting the energy to a drain pack pulled from his belt.
“He’s overvolted. You let him reroute without a thermal failsafe?”
“He said he could handle it—I—I didn’t know—”
“You believed him?!”
“I trust him!”
“He’s not a fucking transformer, Volt—he’s barely holding himself together on a good day—”
Curran twitched again. Choked.
His body went slack.
He didn’t die.
Not that night.
But he didn’t wake up quickly either.
Hours passed before he stirred— eyes flickering open, dazed, his voice barely audible.
“Did I… was I good enough?”
Volt broke.
Dropped to his knees beside the bed.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” he whispered. “Ever.”
Curran blinked slowly.
“But I wanted you to be able to touch me.”
Volt reached out— paused.
His hand hovered over Curran’s, inches away.
“Not if it hurts you.”
Curran didn’t respond. He just turned his face, quietly crying.