red_diode_district | Everybody learns from *somebody*

Everybody learns from somebody

Passing the doors into the library, Megatron was pleased he had gotten the schedule correct as he saw who was sitting at the desk. If it had been completely necessary due to his own schedule, he'd have come here when he could. But since he didn't have to...

Ignoring the faint itch interfacing hadn't properly gotten rid off, Megatron approached the librarian at a lazy, casual walk. It was a pity he hadn't seen any signs at all that the surprisingly fine-lined truck-alted mech had the inclination he was looking for. Things would have been a lot easier (and, really, pleasing) if he had.

As it was, since there was no one left in the current arena circuit that he trusted with what he had to hand over, perhaps he would have to avail himself of one of the clubs. It made an irritable twitch slither down the treads on his shoulders, the thought that he'd have to do that.

It was ages since he'd had to go to an open venue like that to simply get his needs properly taken care of.

And he really would have preferred the librarian. Orion Pax - it hadn't taken anything to find out the designation when to found the schedule - was witty, somehow diplomatically argumentative and didn't give in if he knew he was right or wanted to stand for his opinion, actually had some smarts to go with said use of words and Megatron wanted to know more.

More, and more personally (most of the earlier he'd simply learned over the few times he'd been in the library when the mech was, but hadn't actually approached him). So this time, he decided to actually use the librarian's assistance in what he was looking for... and perhaps get something more out of it.

"Excuse me?"

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"Which isn't any of your business. I'm not breaking any rules, you see," Turmoil rumbled with a sharp smirk edging his optics and field both, especially when Orion jerked, completely misinterpreting it.

No, there was nothing going "on" tonight, but on the other hand he wasn't quite flouting any rules or policies, as he wasn't being quite "extreme" enough to warrant being tossed out.

Just kept an optic on.

And Turmoil rather relished that, pushing the allowed boundaries.

::Orion...:: He wasn't going to sigh, and he wasn't going to grin either. Megatron was somewhat sure of at least part of Orion's flabbergasted outrage.

::He isn't going to ask we interface in public, or anything of the sort; not tonight. Just specify a publically suitable apology and the worst that will happen would probably be kissing.::

Well, probably. There was a few other things that would be allowed as well, but Megatron had his own ways of influencing a decision - even if that might put Turmoil's awareness squarely on him

Hah. Let him come, if so.

He could see some of the logic in it.

But logic did little to assuage his sudden flare of possessiveness, field going prickly and jagged and probably giving Turmoil all sorts of wrong conclusions.

::And? How is that- How will that help anything?::

He was reaching now; stalling. Even if the comm-conversation only took a sparkbeat.

Turmoil was definitely smirking now, even with his visor and mask, and leaned forward, apparently pretty certain he had Orion cowed. Megatron just snorted faintly even as he himself concentrated on Orion... though on a far less obvious level.

::Binominal transfer. If it works, that would give the sub a non-detectable way to confirm or deny your worries, Orion.:: Since that was the reason for this whole incident, and the only way he could see that Orion might get an answer that would be actionable upon.

Because Turmoil would hardly say anything, and his submissive wouldn't - especially not with his dominant right there.

::Bino-oh. Oh.::

Orion had to avoid making a face at the idea of transferring data with a stranger like that - but it was a really good idea. If the sub cooperated...it would be perfect.

If.

And, of course, there was the little fact that he would be kissing Megatron in the process. The possessive heat curled in his frame and field, but- But Megatron was willing and offering, and it might be the best way to get out of this mess of his own making while actually helping that sub.

Scrap it all to the pit.

The smirk rankled, and it was only with a supreme force of will that Orion tampered down his field, as though in surrender.

::You better be right about this.:: Orion sighed, crossing his arms in prickly resignation.

"...very well. I apologize for my presumptuousness." You overbuilt coglicker.

"For the slight to you submissive, I- offer my own to apologize in my stead, in a... Publicly acceptable manner."

Ah, what he wanted to do was to walk up to Orion and kneel against him, but that wouldn't at the moment fit in, so instead Megatron pushed out his field in a pulse against Orion's as it retreated.

Turmoil on his hand flared his field wider in smug superiority, his submissive twitching briefly and then freezing.

Megatron frowned slightly, feeling heavy intent in Turmoil's 'swelling', and straightened up, arms crossed over his chestplates and met the mech's visor with a deliberate, nearly vicious glare.

There was an infinitesimal pause and then Turmoil huffed a chuckle, but he only reluctantly looked away from Megatron to focus on Orion.

"... Accepted," but by the faint sneer and the way he tilted his helm was anything to go by, he was only accepting because it was in public, "and the apology towards my submissive is accepted as well. Since the offense was verbal..." Turmoil chuckled as if that had been clever and then gestured to the white and red mech in his lap.

"Stand." The snap was nearly a whipcrack, and the sub got off in a well-practiced slide.

Megatron eyed him and shook his helm slowly and then walked up to the mech, reaching out a hand to brush his fingers against Orion's as he passed and then stopped in front of the smaller mech.

Eyeing him, Megatron snorted faintly and then tilted his chin up.

Thankful for that little field pulse, Orion nonetheless had to again suppress his own. He wanted to envelop Megatron's own and shove back at Turmoil's, battering the other mech's down through sheer will.

Orion simply nodded stiffly at Turmoil's 'acceptance'. He wasn't a violent mech, but this situation was making him reconsider.

The touch of fingers prompted a brush in return, with a close-band comm flickering open with only a wordless glyph of caution-affection transmitting. He watched on tensely.

Not privy to Orion's little crisis of possessiveness, Megatron was more focused on the mech in front of him, and the one beyond that. Turmoil's stare was heavy and intent in a way that made him wish for the arena.

Either way, it was clear the submissive was thoroughly unwanting of what was going on, but wasn't about to use a safeword.

Of course, if Orion was correct, the sub wouldn't expect such a thing to be followed, or dare to utter it in public as well, well-trained to not force his dominant into polite observation of the rules.

If Orion was correct.

Was was obvious when he bent down at met hot - overheated, almost - slow lips with his own mouth, was that the mech was high. Despite the slowness of his response, his chassis seemed to vibrate underneath Megatron's hands and he was putting out excess heat as if he was burning energy in a race, not standing still.

It took nearly a klik before the mech seemed to pick up on the short, simple message transmitted through the careful slide of lips and tongue. He caught the mech's - Drift' hands twitching where they hung, trembling faintly, against his sides and it didn't took much to imagne what Drift had wanted to do.

But answering the question with his hands would've been revealing.

At least it seemed Turmoil wasn't inclined to put a stop to things, even when one klik crawled into another.

Hopefully Orion wouldn't explode in the meantime.

He wouldn't explode...and wasn't inclined to, not unless Turmoil tried it in Drift's place. Even Orion wouldn't be able to contain himself, in that case.

He couldn't blame the poor sub for this, when he obviously didn't want to be there. But Orion's plating was still near-vibrating with tension. Turmoil was getting far too much enjoyment out of it, and that made him want to snatch Megatron away more than anything the white mech was doing with Megatron's lips.

But he privately doubted he would be able to resist reclaiming them when this farce was over with.

The entire situation made him uncomfortable. But he waited, trusting Megatron's plan.

It wasn't ideal - not even tolerable, really, but Megatron got what... well, what Orion had wanted, which was unfortunate. That Turmoil was supplying his sub with drugs was questionable enough, but not necessarily something to sound the alarm for.

What Drift had told him in the intimate shorthand binominal transfer was, however...

Drawing back and straightening up, Megatron didn't bother to so much as glance at Turmoil as he walked back to Orion, opening up a private frequency... to one of the bodyguards which luckily were working tonight, which Ragna had told him early on in their acquaintance was involved in law enforcement and could get things rolling if there were... issues that weren't exactly crimes like a barfight or anything.

For Orion, he gave his partner and dominant a considering look and then knelt down right there in front of him when he got close enough.

Resetting his optics in surprise and glancing between the fidgeting white mech and the one suddenly at his feet, Orion curled eager fingers over the top of Megatron's helm. Field almost immediately smoothing out some at the contact, Orion didn't drop his guard entirely. Turmoil was at Megatron's back now, after all.

::...Are you alright?::

Another hand curled around Megatron's shoulder, unconsciously possessive.

::Did...he say anything?::

He would have laughed at the concern if it wasn't so endearing. Instead he let his engine rumble under Orion's touch and tilted his helm a shade, just enough for Orion to see the small grin.

::He did. You were right.:: there was a faint sigh over the comm., just a brush of static, as Megatron admitted it.

::I've contacted someone who'll do something about it, they'll probably pick him up outside. Both of us will probably be questioned to very what happened.::

Not right now, though, which was at least something.

::Really? He told you everything?::

Another fluctuation of Orion's field at the news, before he smothered all reaction other than a small, pleased rumble; soft enough only Megatron, practically against his frame, could probably hear it.

Orion spared a glance toward the unfortunate white mech, already being ushered back into Turmoil's smug embrace.

Fingers curled affectionately around Megatron's heavy helm, lips twitching upward.

::Not everything,:: Megatron corrected, giving a faint twitch of his helm, which was as much a helmshake as it let him feel the pressure of Orion's hand on his helm better, ::but certainly enough to inciminate him.::

At that, Megatron smirked slightly again, a sharp, dangerous slash of teeth in the twilight of the club.

It was more than he'd hoped to find, but at least Drift had been willing to admit to all of that when presented with a secure way of telling some of what was going on. That was good enough for Megatron - and law enforcement.

::That's all that matters, really.::

Relieved, Orion bent down, cupping Megatron's helm gently in both hands even as he matched Megatron's smirk with his own.

::Good job.::

He kissed Megatron's brow before pulling back, gesturing him upward.

::Only you could salvage my fumbling so smoothly.:: He grinned.

The praise was met with a chuckle over the comm. and an answering glyph simply broadcasting his pleasure, which briefly took on a bolded note when Orion's lips brushed against his helm.

::Well, I do have more experience than you do,:: Megatron chuckled dryly as he got back on his feet with all the trained grace one could think came from many a spill in the arena and learning to make it look effortless to get up again, for proper drama.

Really, it was both that and learning to get up on his feet from a kneel in a pleasing way. It was second nature now, but that had been trained into him - he'd been rather sourly reluctant about being pleasing in that way.

"So what now?" Megatron murmured into Orion's audial, leaned over to let his lips nearly brush against the finial as he spoke.

Orion's engine chuffed in pleasure, Megatron's reactions obviously welcome. The smooth rise up to his feet was noted, Orion's optics following the motion with obvious appreciation.

"Now? We can leave, if you like. The mood has been somewhat ruined by the poor company, I'm afraid." Orion slipped an arm around the larger mech's waist, leaning into the contact.

::Though I would rather like to witness that mech's arrest...:: He admitted privately, without much reluctance.

"I suppose that's just as well," Megatron said with a shrug, raising his right hand to trail fingertips down the finial on the other side. It wouldn't do to let it go without some attention, right?

::I wouldn't mind it either, but he might not be leaving soon, and there aren't any particularly good places to observe outside the club without being seen.:: It wasn't so much for him as for Orion he wouldn't want them seen.

If Turmoil saw him - and in fact, had he done this all alone, he'd have made sure the idiot saw him - he could handle himself if the mech ever decided to try something. Orion..? Well, not yet, really.

Orion jerked slightly at the unexpected contact to his audial, huffing out a pleased laugh.

"Unless you had anything else you wanted to show me here...?"

He sobered with a quick glance back at the unfortunate couple; already largely forgotten, Turmoil had quickly returned to his not-so-subtle torment of his sub. Orion had to smoother a growl.

::Will they only make a move on him outside the club? It's not fair that the white mech needs to continue enduring that.::

"No. We can always come back later," Megatron shook his helm and tweaked the tip of the audial before he straightened and let his offending hand fall to Orion's shoulder instead, fingers twitching the wheel but not using enough force to make it spin.

::Drift. If you wanted to know. His name is Drift. And yes, mostly to ensure he can't use the crowd against the officers, or Drift - it'll be easier to separate Drift from him safely outside.::

The club wasn't over-crowded with people and furniture, but it wasn't extremely spacious either, so even with a lack of a thick crowd there was still limited amount of space available.

::Ah. Well...::

Orion engine revved at the contact, stumbling slightly as they walked.

"Megatron!" He laughed, shaking his head. Giving the larger mech a playful shove with his shoulder, he spun his wheel under Megatron's hand.

::And you're right. I suppose that makes sense. It would be better for everyone in the long run, even Drift, if they can catch him cleanly and easily.::

"Your place or mine, then?" He asked, steering them toward the door.

Megatron didn't try to defend himself, merely smirked when Orion shoved him and let his fingers slide and catch against the wheel when it was spun, even pushing down slightly against it.

::Exactly. Minimising any further damage.::

He hummed briefly at the question, almost opening his mouth and engaging his vocaliser on 'mine' without checking - and then paused. Eyeing Orion as they left the club and stepped out into the alley next to the street, Megatron considered what had happened so far...

"Whichever you choose," Megatron said, engine humming quietly and a slight squeeze to the wheel under his hand.

Even if Orion had settled enough for their little confrontation with Turmoil to ask instead of simply saying, Megatron decided it might fit better to deflect the decision to Orion.

Orion stared for a moment. He hadn't actively thought about sliding out of the protective stance or dominant mindset, but his field had already started to contain itself automatically...mostly. It had definitely flickered strongly when they passed nearest to where Turmoil had lingered.

So he was surprised by the little flare of pleasure Megatron's deferral prompted in him, enough to prompt a brief purr. Even if he was always genuinely concerned with Megatron's opinions.

"...Hmm. Your place is closer from here, I believe. I'm fine with heading that way."

He gave Megatron's frame a tighter squeeze in return, wheel wiggling under the gladiator's large hand.

There was a brief, and very knowing, smile on Megatron's faceplate for a moment, before he nodded and turned them the right way, once again making the wheel move by pushing at it.

At least it was a nice night for walking, and since they were going back to the arena's barracks, it was close enough to actually walk. At least that meant he didn't need to let go, which he didn't feel like doing.

When the arena was rising up in front of them, Megatron chuckled.

"So, did you simply walk me home, like a needlessly polite gentlemech, or did you want to come inside for a while?"

If walking allowed him to continue having his wheel played with, Orion was all for it. Tire continually twitching under the gladiator's hands, he reached around Megatron's broad frame to reciprocate, playing with one of the many wheels supporting his treads. Some of the smaller ones, made to catch the treads on various angles, had some springy shocks that could be readily reached and teased from their position.

"Well..."

Orion drawled, grinning as he sidled up closer against Megatron's frame.

"Perhaps I was hoping to manage both?"

Orion playing with the wheels in his threads had his engine humming as they walked, and Orion's response...

Megatron laughed and reached up from the wheel to tweak the audial finial with a grin.

"No need to hope, Orion. I'm all too pleased to accommodate you."

Very much all too pleased that Orion felt up to that tonight, despite the way the evening had ended in the club, so he steered them towards the arena building with the intent on getting them into the backstage areas and the gladiators' barracks.

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Did you need me to write Drift or anything? :>

Nah, I think I can do a basic thing.

kk :>

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