Work Text:
Of all the Primus forsaken things this planet could do that pissed him off, snow ranked in the top 3. It wasn’t the snow itself, the micro ice crystals were unique and beautiful. Right up until they formed a horde and attacked in mass. The humans covered the roads in sand and salt which was a travesty against his plating alone, but the crusty funk that gathered in his undercarriage from the half-melted slush was a torture worthy of the pit.
Sunstreaker grumbled as he plowed through the snow drift that had formed across the Autobots off ramp. The snow was coming in sideways now, the slush having long since frozen and clogged up his wheel wells. He slid to stop and transformed as the great cargo bay door opened just enough to admit his mech form. Then closed as soon as he was clear.
The … festive decorations made him snort. There were plenty of trees and greenery on the mountains around the ark so why bring it in? Why cover it in gaudy ribbons and ornaments?
The warmth of the fallen ship made the snow crammed into his internals melt and Sunstreaker left a trail of slush water as he made his way to the bridge. The lights dimmed for the late hour, yet the vibrating rumble of a bass drop worked its way through the floor. A sure sign the ‘Holiday Party’ his asinine brother was instrumental in planning, was still going strong.
He didn’t like the fake babbles and even faker attitudes of good will towards him. He knew what they thought about him, it wasn’t even their holiday! Not that they celebrated their own holidays anymore.
The crew just wanted a reason to party and if going along with the decorations and sappy television shows meant they had high grade and no duty, they were all in. And primus damn it, he was not going to wear one of those…. sweaters.
The bridge door slid open and his dark blue optics found the on-duty officer, Prowl, in the otherwise deserted room. Lights kicked on at his entrance and the cop car looked up from whatever he was reading on the terminal. The door wings twitched as the mech leaned back and Sunstreaker stopped his march, ensuring there was plenty of room between them, and crossed his arms over his chest to glare.
“There is nothing but snow, snow and more snow. Patrol complete.”
Prowl nodded and tapped and few keys on the terminal completely unmoved by the Frontliners half frozen glare. Then spoke neutrally, “Are the roads as bad as the human’s report? Hound and Trailbreaker seemed eager to test out the plows Wheeljack made.”
An embarrassing large clump of slush plopped to the floor under Sunstreaker, who narrowed his optics at the tactician for witnessing the indignity. “The snow banks were taller than me in vehicle form, the roads are iced over and the wind is brutal, that’s just the weather. I’m sure the salt mess I’m covered in is making me rust from the inside out.”
“Ah yes,” Prowl interrupted, “soon you’ll be nothing but yellow paint and anger.” There was a pointed look in his direction that reminded Sunstreaker that out of all the officers, Prowl actually listened to the check in reports. Still he growled “so can I go wash?”
The black and white officer nodded and curtly said “dismissed.” Sunstreaker didn’t reply, he just turned and dripped his way to the door, that opened before he reached it. Beachcomber stumbled in making a buzzing noise before falling against the yellow warrior in his gravity ordained meeting with the floor. Sunstreaker ex-vented heavily as his hands clenched into fists as the dune buggy struggled to find his way face up.
“Sunstreaker, go find an open shower. Beachcomber, front and center.” Prowl’s voice was as cold as the temperature outside and the Lamborghini glared back over his shoulder at the mech.
“I ammm frooont a sir’ter, seeeer.”
The small mech grabbed onto Sunstreakers ankle and he swiftly shook it off with a harsh kick.
Beachcomber whined and pulled his hand back. “I only haaad once, little drink, Siddddes seed it was weak as a seeker. Weren’t.” It took both Prowl and Sunstreaker a moment to decipher the drunkanese. Beachcomber attempted to climb to his unsteady feet and failed. Settling for sitting on his aft with his legs splayed out in front of him.
Prowl rubbed the center part of his chevron and Sunstreaker glared at the smaller mech who wobbled even sitting down.
The warrior ex-vented before turning to face Prowl, “So, what patrol do you need me to do?” Sunstreaker queried. Prowl let a glimmer of frustration cross his face plates before looking up at the yellow mech, but Sunstreaker spoke before Prowl could. “I’m not much for festivities, or drunks, or my drunk brother.”
Prowl nodded, “If you want to cover for Beachcomber it is alright with me, only I wasn’t going to send him out, not in this weather, he was going to do monitor duty.”
Sunstreaker walked up to the bank of monitors as Prowl toggled up the multitudes of surveillance feeds. Then picked up the stack of data pads, “If you need me I’ll be in my quarters, Jazz is due to take over but I’m sure he’s held up by the festivities.” Sunstreaker nodded, knowing that Prowl had already covered for Ratchet so the medic could have some much-needed down time. Not that double shifts bothered Prowl much. A triple might though, only because he would really be doing 4 shifts since he was assigned the day shit tomorrow as well.
The Second in command made it to Beachcomber’s now recharging form, the door whisking open, only to have a red flashing warning and a screaming alarm take over the bulk of Teletrran’s screens j. A moment later the sound abated with the screen returned to the normal sweeps. “Is the snow messing with the security system?” He made a fist and thumped the side of Teletrran as if percussive maintenance would fix the problem.
Prowl came to stand next to Sunstreaker in front of the monitor bank. The warning came back up and the screen showed a blip of… something before the snow covered back up. “You’re sure you still want to take his duty?”
The warrior shrugged, “What, he can’t” Sunstreaker gestured to Beachcomber that had rolled over and resumed recharging, “and the standby would be no soberer. Besides, this party’s all about some slag celebrating togetherness. I won’t be missed, but I can be useful. ”
Prowl looked at him oddly but sent him the data.
~~~~
His headlights showed the snow driving sideways in gossamer ripples across the unbroken surface as the warrior trudged through another snowbank towards the blinking dot in his navigation array. The location of the disturbance was in a little valley with a small river that by all rights would be frozen over. Like most of him. Sunstreaker supposed he looked quite odd partially transformed to keep the small joints in his fingers from icing over, his helm tucked low into his chest to just show his optics and his vehicle headlights on since his infrared was frozen solid.
Sure, Cybertronians could venture out into space without having to be modified. But space was nothing but cold, no freezing water to clog vents and hinder joints, no wind to drive the stuff deep into their internals. So, it wasn’t the cold that bothered him, it was the ice that prevented him from being able to drive and was getting into every transformation seem.
Reaching a checkpoint, Sunstreaker grumbled as he finished his transformation. Regretting it as soon as the wind blew snow into his cheek vents. Looking out at the partially obscured trees that offered little in terms of windbreak, Sunstreaker grit his denta as he started the decent down what Prowl assured him was the road.
It was a gap between the trees that plunged down at a maddening slope grade, with no indication of curb rails on the hairpin turns, just snow and trees. He supposed it was beautiful, the undisturbed powder clinging to every surface, covering it with a blanket, hiding the ugly dirt with a prismatic ice sheen. The road would be fun to drive in the summer, the decent and curves just begged to be raced on and he made a note to check the place out come spring. His feet slid out from under him and Sunstreaker had to grab on to the road side pines to maintain any control, cursing as he scrapped himself on the overgrowth and showering him in more of the horrid snow.
The line was full of static but the curt reply came clear enough. < Then I suppose you’ll only be anger then. One click ahead, watch out for the river, this is the first big freeze so the ice will not be thick enough to support your weight.>
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a blaster shot that went a little wide, hitting the rocks to his right. He dove behind a stand of trees as two more blaster bolts followed. Gun in hand he stepped out the opposite side of the trees looking for the shooter, but saw only the blowing snow.
The words where automatic as he shifted his weight and cursed the crunch of the snow compacting under his foot. Another burst of shots came and he returned fire into the strand of trees they seemed to be emanating from. He darted back to his cover, feet sliding out from under himself so he landed on the flat of his back with a resonating thud.
Sunstreaker rolled as clumps of snow fell from the trees, jostled by his impact. The soft thwomp’s a counter tune to the sizzle of snow against his heated internals. A yellow form was rapidly approaching and Sunstreaker got his feet under himself right before Dragstrip crashed into him. It looked like the younger Mech had tried to do a kick, but the ice tuned it into a full body slam.
He grabbed and rolled, Dragstrip kicking and flailing as Sunstreaker landed a few hits of his own, then releasing the yellow Decepticon. Dragstrip looked shocked for a moment as he failed to stop his motion, arms flailing as he slid down the icy road on his aft.
The deep roar of a diesel motor echoed in the valley and Sunstreaker picked up his rifle, leveling it at Motormaster. The heavy vehicle sunk in the deep snow, sinking past the slush on top to have traction. Transforming easily the semi-truck let loose a barrage into the mountain far above Sunstreaker.
The whole mountain rumbled and Sunstreaker turned just in time so see the avalanche.
The snow rolling him over and dragging him down with a fierce weight.
~~~~~~
Prowls voice faded in and out if his comm. Sunstreaker groaned, cold with snow packed around him. Momentarily making him think his optics shorted before he realized he was buried and the white he saw was his prison. He tried to move, to flex his legs or hands or arms and just received a mess of errors from frozen sensors.
It was static riddled and he could barely decipher the words
Sunstreaker tried to move again and winced at the damage report from his right arm. He was packed full of snow and his spark was uncomfortably cold but he couldn’t be buried that deep. Face down with his feet higher than the rest of him, but already the heat from his frame was melting the snow around him so he could move a little bit.
Shifting, trying to get his legs under him the snow lurched then gave out under him. Freezing water crashed into his hands, the shock of cold secondary to the weight of a tree, or two, pressing into his back, the broad sweep of the branches not letting him move up at all.
There was just a static hiss and pop. Sunstreaker tried to move again, pulling his injured arm closer to his core. It felt like he’d been dragged down the slope, bouncing along with the trees. Minor hurts pinging across his frame. But slowly they faded to muzzy, ice clogged sensor faults. The urge to shut down, to recharge wiggled into his processor and he kicked to try and get his energon flowing.
The snow lurched and dropped as the river swept more of it away. Sunstreaker flailed as the tree forced his helm under as it slowly tilted towards the water. Scrapping along his back as he was dunked under again, vainly searching for the bottom of the river bed to brace himself against.
The weight on his back shifted as the branches caught the current and the river ripped the tree from the snow, freeing him as it plunged him into the frigid waters as well. His feet found the bottom and his hands scrabbled on the sheet of ice confining him to the icy depths. Warnings screamed in his audios as he felt so tired and cold.
The ice exploded around him, the pressure wave jarring him from his imminent shutdown count as a white and black form danced on the ice the dove in with him. The tingle of electro magnets activated and Jazz’s distinct voice called out.
“Reel me in, man.”
Jazz held on to Sunstreaker as the grappling line snapped taunt and they were dragged out and on to the churned snow. Stasis lock warnings flashing as the suns weak rays crested the horizon, showing the beautiful winter wonderland that had just tried its best to kill him.
~~~~~~
The Med bay was warm and dimmed despite it now being well into morning. Sunstreaker lay on some rubberized mats so the water from the wash down could drain off. It wasn’t a proper shower, but with the energon line freezing, then bursting in his left hand and his right arm damaged, there wasn’t much he could do. Admittedly, first aid had very gentle hands and disliked dirt and grime almost as much as he did.
And the heated blankets were a nice touch.
Sunstreaker sighed, Sideswipe was sleeping it off, his brother had tried to sleep it off next to him but got shooed away by Ratchet when he took over from First Aid. He was supposed to recharge as well, hence why the lights were dimmed, but his processor refused to start the shutdown process.
The medbay doors swished open and Prowl walked in. The tactician’s door wings drooped and the was a sour look on his face plates, one that shifted to the usual neutral when he saw Sunstreaker looking at him.
“I’m surprised you’re not in recharge.” Sunstreaker cocked his helm at Prowl before replying. “The statement is mutual, you pulled a triple, now a quad since you just took over for yourself.”
Prowl looked away and vented.
“Optimus took over my duty shift.” There was something in the way he said it, like he hadn’t wanted to have it taken. And if it had been taken, then why was he in medical?
“You were sent for a fit for duty by Optimus?”
The officer turned away with his doorwings snapped high on his back, but after a few moments, the signs of weariness crept back into the shoulders and they sagged back down.
“I’m not self-destructive Sunstreaker, nor am I so overzealous to get caught up and forget about self-care. I just… don’t see the point in taking the time off when there are others who stand to gain more in their off hours then I.”
Prowl turned to him, hand scrubbing his face, were the weariness had spread to his optics.
“Yeah, I’m not a holiday person either. Let alone this one. Here.”
Sunstreaker moved the covers back, showing the oversized berth and the space Sideswipe had slept on.
“Ratchet is in the morning meeting, isn’t he? It’ll be an hour until her returns to do your fit of duty, that you know you’re going to fail.”
Prowl studied the space before ex-venting heavily and sitting down.
“This is against a dozen regulations.”
“Good thing you’ve been relieved of command then.”
With a sigh, Prowl laid down and Sunstreaker placed the heated blanket on the black and white as well as he could without being able to move his fingers. Prowl adjusted it a bit so it covered his doorwings, that were rather chilled when they grazed his side.
There was a long moment once Prowl stopped moving before he spoke again.
“You did good out there Sunstreaker, Bah humbug.”
“Bah humbug to you as well Prowl.”
He felt the tug of recharge and let it claim his systems.