Work Text:
Ordinarily, Rung had no problems listening to other bots. It was his job after all. Every patient was a new puzzle, like his own model ships, and they all had different ways the pieces fit together. Sometimes that puzzle was relatively easy to solve, but other times it required more time to figure out. Rung was fine with either. The only thing that mattered to him inside the therapy room was that his patients got the help they needed. But outside those office walls, even Rung had his limits.
His last appointment before lunch had been a particularly complicated case this time. Like always, Rung had remained unfazed by the challenge, and he didn’t mind letting the consultation run a bit into his lunch break when it was clearly needed. What he did mind, however, was getting intercepted in the hallway afterwards by the last bot he’d wanted to see.
The owner and manager of the building housing Rung’s office, Overcharge, was an overbearing landlord at best, and borderline intolerable at worst. But renting in this part of the city was difficult, and since it was where most of Rung’s patients resided, it was currently the only option he had. Even if it meant listening to Overcharge’s endless and self indulgent speeches as his lunch break ticked away one minute after the other.
This time, the landlord was particularly talkative. What could have been a quick chat about some changed maintenance schedules soon turned into general nitpicks about Rung’s office space, and eventually, complaints about other residents in the building that didn’t have anything to do with him at all. The bot barely stopped to take a breath.
Rung held back a sigh as the minutes dragged on, doing his best to refrain from tapping a foot to the ground. He almost wished he had a wrist-chrono to pointedly glance at, but he had not seen one of those since before the war, and wasn’t sure how many even existed outside of museums these days. Normally he might have just tolerated the rant in silence, but this time Rung actually had somewhere to be. And Overcharge just kept talking, leaving no room for him to even try interjecting. He didn’t even seem to be looking for any particular answer to his problems. Rung suspected the bot simply enjoyed hearing himself speak.
As Overcharge continued to rattle off all the renters that had mildly inconvenienced him over the last month, Rung found himself distracted by the smallest of details in the room. The slow swirling of dust in the air, a spot in the ceiling where the paint was beginning to flake off, and the peculiar shadow from the window that seemed to be growing larger by the second. A vaguely familiar shadow.
Wait…
Rung threw himself to the floor just as a large blue shape barreled through the window with a loud crash. Before the ball of armor had even begun to unfold itself, he was fairly sure he knew what it was. Or, rather, who.
“Wow, you really should invest in some better windows.” Whirl tutted as he shook broken glass from his armor seams. “Someone could get hurt if they try to jump through them!”
He did a quick glance around the room and, upon seeing a shocked Overcharge mouthing angrily at him, held up his claws in a placating gesture.
“No need to worry!” He said jovially. “This is just a simple breaking and entering. I come in peace! I think.”
Overcharge stepped forward, face seething.
“How dare you break in here?” He roared, having finally regained control of his tongue. “Not only do you destroy my property, you have also interrupted a most vitally important conversation!”
Whirl glanced over at Rung with a questioning squint. Rung shook his head, hoping his pained expression conveyed exactly how important said conversation had been.
“Well then.” Whirl said, ignoring Overcharge as he continued ranting at him. “In that case, I guess we’ll add kidnapping to the list.”
Before anyone could react, he threw himself forward and grabbed hold of Rung, taking the smaller bot with him as he once again leapt through the broken window. For a few terrifying seconds they were in freefall, but then Whirl transformed in one fluid motion and the two soared forward through the air.
Rung remained in Whirl’s grasp as they descended between the tall buildings, the only thing betraying any worry was his tight grip on the blue plating. He trusted Whirl completely, but that didn’t mean his more daring ideas couldn’t be frightening. Still, a few mildly frightening minutes of air time later the two of them touched down on the busy street below, entirely unscathed.
“Whew!” Whirl huffed as he transformed back into bot mode. “That was one hell of a ride! You alright, Eyebrows?”
“Yes, I’m quite fine.” Rung replied, adjusting his glasses which had been knocked askew during the short flight. “Apologies for being so late for our lunch. As you saw, I got caught up in a… predicament.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Whirl made a dismissive gesture. “I’ve wanted to smash that window for ages anyway. It’s always been extremely dirty and it pissed me off.”
“If you say so…” Rung’s voice trailed off as he scanned the area around them.
They had originally planned to meet at this very intersection as soon as Rung went on his break and then pick out a cafe to have lunch at. Now, however, they were in the middle of the lunch rush, and finding a table anywhere would be virtually impossible. Rung felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Why couldn’t he have been more assertive with Overcharge from the beginning?
Whirl must have noticed his troubled expression, because he quickly began heading further along the street, waving for Rung to follow him.
“No need to worry!” He shouted over his shoulder. “I’ve already got us a table.”
He led them to one of the smaller cafes on the street, weaving through the tables of its outdoor seating area before pointing to one that was surprisingly empty, save for the half-full cube standing atop it.
“See?” Whirl said as he motioned for Rung to sit. “I made a reservation and everything. They even let me keep my cube as I went to get you.”
Rung looked down at the tabletop and found a crudely etched message that looked like it had been made with a low-power laser. ‘Reserved for Whirl of Polyhex with company. Also, please let the cube be, I’ll come back for it later.’ Below the text, an arrow pointed to the half-finished cube. Rung sighed deeply as he sank down onto his chair.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “For almost missing our date.”
Whirl’s single optic focused in on him sharply, and he gave a single, sharp shake of his head.
“No.” He said with determination.
“No?” Rung repeated.
“Yeah, that’s right.” Whirl said. “Nope, nu-uh, negative, nay. Or, to make it simple; no. I won’t accept any sorrys.”
Rung opened his mouth to protest, but Whirl interrupted him.
“Look Eyebrows, I’ve done a lot of things in my life. And some of those things I’m not very proud of. You, if anyone, know that. But-” he held up a claw, “I’ve never said sorry for any of it.”
His optic met Rung’s again.
“So don’t you dare apologize for something so trivial as ‘being late’ again. If you have to say the words, save them for a time when it actually matters.”
His words made Rung’s spark feel a bit lighter, and he gave him a little nod.
“Good!” Whirl said, slapping his claws together. “Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s move on to things that are actually important. I want to hear about your day. Believe it or not, I think I’m growing a bit tired of hearing my own voice. Oh, and don’t leave out any of the juicy details!”
This time, Rung gave him a full smile. This was one of the things he appreciated so much about Whirl. In most other parts of his life, Rung was the one who spent his time listening to others. That was true both within his work and outside of it. But with Whirl, things were different. He always took the time to listen, giving Rung the space to relax and step out of the psychiatrist role so he could fully be himself. Rung wasn’t sure he could put into words how much he appreciated Whirl for that.
As they sat together at the table, time almost seemed to fly by. Whirl ordered fresh cubes for them both which were drained steadily as the two continued to talk about anything and everything. Rung of course didn’t mention anything that would break patient-doctor confidentiality, but there were still plenty of office shenanigans and mishaps that he could share. And all too steadily, his internal chrono crept towards when he would have to leave in order to get back to his office on time.
“Same time next week?” Rung asked once he could not postpone it any longer, reaching out to gather their finished cubes into a neat stack. “I’d love to sample some flavored energon next time.”
“I don’t know.” Whirl said thoughtfully. “I’d have to check if there are any more windows in that building that need remodeling.”
“Alright.” Rung chuckled. “Just make sure Overcharge doesn’t see you scouting. I don’t think he’d be too happy about it.”
Whirl gasped loudly.
“You’re saying he doesn’t appreciate my renovating expertise? The monster!”
He continued shaking his head and grumbling to himself as Rung finished neatening up their table. Once he made a motion to get up from his chair, however, Whirl held out an arm to stop him.
“Hang on for a second, Eyebrows.” He said. “I almost forgot! I have something for you.”
“For me?” Rung asked, surprise mingling with intrigue.
“Unless you happen to have another gorgeous orange psychiatrist that’s also dating me hidden somewhere.” Whirl said as he dug through his subspace, producing a small, neatly wrapped package.
“There we are!” He exclaimed, holding it out towards Rung. “Happy anniversary!”
“Oh! I- thank you!” Rung said as he accepted the gift.
He turned it over in his hands a few times, admiring the wrapping that had obviously been done by Whirl himself.
“But our anniversary isn’t until next year though, is it?”
“Well, duh.” Whirl said. “Of course I know that! This isn’t for our anniversary, it’s mine! Today marks one year since I got out of prison for good.”
“Has it been that long already? Congratulations!” Rung exclaimed.
Then, his expression turned thoughtful.
“But shouldn’t I be the one giving you a gift, then? Or you could get something nice for yourself.”
Whirl shrugged, but he didn’t hesitate to answer.
“A gift should make you happy.” He said. “But I don’t really need anything. Well, except for somewhere to store that fancy old missile launcher I found last week, but that’s beside the point.”
He paused for a moment.
“But seeing you happy? That makes me happy. So you get the gift, we both get the happiness, and the world is in balance until the next disaster decides to impose itself on our merry little planet.”
Rung smiled brightly, feeling his spark warm from Whirl’s words.
“That’s very kind and thoughtful of you. Thank you.” He said, before adding mischievously, “Well, I better not keep you waiting, then. I’m sure you’re as excited to receive your gift as I am about opening mine.”
“Damn right I am!”
Whirl nodded enthusiastically, leaning forward to get the best view as Rung began peeling off the wrapping. Underneath was a homemade box, which he carefully opened the lid of, peering at whatever might be inside. Once he recognized the object, he let out an amazed little gasp.
Inside the box sat the most beautiful wrist-chrono he had ever seen. It was clearly hand made, with an outer surface of burnished copper and the two arms glowing faintly red, showing the time even if its wearer was to stand in total darkness. When Rung carefully picked the chrono up to examine it more closely, the copper glittered where it caught the light.
“Whirl.” He said quietly, his voice trailing off as he was lost in his amazement. “Did you make this?”
“Of course I did!” Whirl said, though he sounded a little less confident than usual. “Do you like it?”
“Oh, Whirl.” Rung said reverently as he strapped the chrono to his wrist. “I love it. More than I could ever put into words.”
“Good.” Whirl said simply, though his body language revealed how pleased he actually was. “Then you can use it next time that tin head Overcharge runs his mouth too long. There’s nothing better than a wrist-chrono for passive aggressive time checking.”
Rung nodded with a small chuckle, both flattered and amazed at how well Whirl knew his thoughts.
“I will definitely do that.” He said as he picked up the box again, closing it carefully before placing it into his subspace. “Thank you so much, Whirl.”
He leaned forward across the table, placing a light kiss on the plating above Whirl’s optic. Whirl slowly leaned into it, reaching out to pull Rung into a hug. They remained like that for some time, and Rung almost wished the moment could last forever. But, alas, he had to go unless he wanted to miss the appointment with his next patient. He was already running late as it was.
“I wish I could stay longer.” He said apologetically, noting Whirl’s longing gaze as they pulled away. “But I fear I’ll miss my next appointment if I don’t head out right now.”
“Not with the fastest helicopter service on the planet you won’t!” Whirl said, already back to his upbeat self. “I can fly us there before you can finish saying ‘Cyclonus needs an oil change’!”
“That would be very kind of you.” Rung said happily. “Just maybe skip out on the dives this time?”
Whirl nodded eagerly, and after they had paid and ventured back out onto the busy street, he was quick to transform into helicopter mode once more. True to his word, he was very careful while flying them back to Rung’s office building (or, careful by Whirl standards at least.) He set his passenger down first, just outside the building’s main entrance, and gave a jolly wave of his rotors before turning around to rejoin the flow of traffic above. Rung waved after him until he had disappeared among the steady stream of other fliers, smiling as the afternoon sun made his new wrist chrono sparkle in orange and gold. He already couldn’t wait for their next date.