Chapter Text
When Arcee first arrived at the mines, she wasn’t sure how to act around the other miners. Don’t get her wrong! She really liked them and thought many of them were her friends now, but the beginning was rough.
Arcee arrived later in the section change in miners than everyone else. She originally came from a lower level and was promoted up. Everyone seemed to already know somebody here.
It was alright! Arcee eventually made some friends. She just couldn’t predict that a special bot would be closing in on her.
~
“Arcee, can you carry some of these datapads for the meeting?” Elita-1 said as the door slid open. Elita commed Arcee before their joint meeting with the scouts. It’s later in the cycle. Between Prowl’s constant flow of information and Optimus’ commands, there was barely enough time for Elita and Arcee to touch base on the meeting. At least, they already finished most of the work cycles before, and would send messages in-between.
That’s why Elita’s processors stopped for a nanoklik when she looked up to Arcee. Elita was very observant of those she worked with, but the subtleness could not stop the shine of the bot in front of her.
Arcee’s usual pink frame and silver decals were buffed and shined. It was… different from their times in the mines.
“Yes, of course! On the way to the meeting room, I also wanted to go over some last minute deets with you. You won’t believe what B-127 found on his latest scout mission…” Arcee leaned over the desk to pick up the data pads.
Elita-1’s processor stuttered as she looked up at her.
~
“Are you, Arcee?” A pink bot leaned over Arcee’s bench near the punching bag. She was typing on a datapad with barely a glance up at Arcee.
Arcee had condensation on her metal from practicing her boxing skills. She heard from the others in the sector how much heavy lifting the job required. She didn’t want to fall behind for scrap!
Arcee had noticed the pretty bot in the corner of her optics while she was hitting the bag, but she hadn’t once looked up from her datapad until now.
“Yes,” Arcee sat up a little straighter.
“Okay, well I’m Elita-1. I will be taking the lead for your first shift, so I thought I would make sure you’re up to speed on how we handle things here.” Elita-1 stopped typing as she looked Arcee up and down.
Arcee’s optics widened. She had never seen such a deep blue before. She reached out her servo, “Nice to meet you!”
Elita-1 hesitated before taking the servo, “Same. Welcome to the sector. Let’s hope you don’t die on your first shift.”
Arcee giggled before retracting her servo. Funny and cute. “Not planning on it! I’m sure you wouldn’t allow me, anyways.”
“You can bet.” Elita-1 turned to the punching bag. “Our sector has been one of the most successful in exceeding the cycle’s quota.” She threw a punch at the bag. It swayed heavily on its chain.
Arcee gawked. She could barely get the bag to jolt.
“There are a bunch of jokers on the team, but we streamline through the cycle as much as we can,” huffed Elita-1 as she continued to throw punch after punch on the bag. She reached out and completely stopped the bag from its trajectory.
“You’ll get used to it, but you can reach out to me if it ever gets too much.” Elita-1 looked over her shoulderpad to Arcee.
Arcee nodded dumbly. So strong!
“Alright, well we can continue talking at the mess hall.” Elita-1 motioned to her as she picked up her datapad.
Arcee got up and followed the bot. She decided then and there that there was nothing she wouldn’t do to continue being on Elita’s good side.
~
Elita-1 and Arcee commed each other over the notes for the meeting. They walked in relative silence so as to not potentially leak any information.
Elita couldn’t help but keep glancing at the bot next to her. Her armor definitely changed since getting a cog, but this felt different. It seemed to shine in the setting helios. Cool it. Be professional. You’re not supposed to gawk at coworkers.
“Do you have any plans for the rest of the cycle, Commander?” Arcee asked out loud.
Elita-1 damn near stopped in her tracks, but she continued like nothing occurred. “Not really. Why?”
“Oh, just wondering if you would like to grab dinner after.” Arcee didn’t meet Elita’s questioning gaze.
“Sure. I could grab some fuel.” Elita hummed.
Arcee smiled, “Great! I know a spot then.”
Elita-1 trusted Arcee’s judgement. Ever since the mines, Arcee seemed to gravitate towards her. It was like Arcee was watching her. I was her superior then and now. Maybe it’s just admiration?
Either way, they needed to focus on the meeting ahead as they neared the door.
“All yours, Commander!”
“Let’s go.”