The Start of Something Interesting...

[lastonepercent]

The day was calm, with no recent Decepticon attacks, and none suspected to be incoming for some time.  The cons were too busy licking their wounds from the last battle, one that the Autobots had decidedly come out ahead on.  The celebrations had gone on long into the night and the recreation room was already a mess.

Thus, it was the perfect chance for a lone Autobot to slip casually outside.

Mirage had no shift currently scheduled, so he was free to spend his time as he pleased.  He certainly made no move to hide his departure, greeting his comrades in the halls on the way out, but the box in his hands remained unopened despite any passing curiosity.  It was quietly shifted into subspace before long, and  the former noble shifted into alt mode just as smoothly when he reached the doors.  Despite the completely inappropriate earthen race car mode, the mech had little trouble self-adjusting before driving off into the forest covering the mountain, for business unknown...

Comments

[cliffjumper]

Grimacing at that, Cliffjumper wasn't sure he agreed. Had they been stuck more or less anywhere else, he would have. Really. He could be patient and he did have some things to occupy his hands with.

At present, hanging over a nothing (or a 'something' that was very far below them) even if the brakes on the elevator were keeping them securely still, Cliffjumper did not feel patient.

"Dunno, could make 'em repair it," Cliffjumper muttered and fingered his blaster, starting to feel frustrated as well as displeased. He shouldn't have asked how long it was until repairs were finished, though Mirage might just have done it at some point anyway.

Right now it felt like his plating was flush with static electricity.

[lastonepercent]

"...True. That sounds like an excellent suggestion, Cliffjumper." Mirage chuckled, appraising optics turning to cast yellow light on plating in the dark.

"Even so, I will give it that half a joor."

Mirage nodded resolutely, helm falling back against the side of the elevator with a muffled clunk.

"After that, you might get to see what elevator-shaft-climbing is like in person.

[cliffjumper]

"They'd probably be really fraggin' offended too." Ducking his helm, Cliffjumper hoped his snort and smirk distracted from the slight flare of his optics. This was a terrible situation, and not just because he felt uncomfortable - and foolish, because he'd never had issues with elevators before, but then, he hadn't been stuck in an unmoving one before either - but because of this.

The talk in the washracks hadn't been particularly relaxed, even if it had been a chance to just talk to the mech... This, though, was simply radically different. No pressure, no direct annoyance or antagonism between them. He was seeing far more of Mirage than he ever had, and Cliffjumper was starting to wish he hadn't, because like slag did he need more reasons to like an impossible crush.

... Not that he was regretting this, however, since even if nothing ever happened, it was kind of nice to get to know Mirage a bit better.

"I can hardly wait," Cliffjumper said sarcastically. Not that he didn't want to be out of here, but climbing an elevator shaft wasn't something he particularly wanted to do.

Then he shifted again and glanced at the floor, because then again, the elevator shaft and being moving might be preferable to this.

[lastonepercent]

"Too bad for them," Mirage said waspishly, turning up his nose with a sniff. "They should have thought of that before they blew the breakers for this whole section of the ship, or whatever they did."

Well, their conversation had still turned into grumbling, but it was grumbling with one another against someone else.

Still much improved.

"But you still have to wait," Mirage sighed unhappily at the idea.

"They've still got some time left to fix it. I'm sure you'll manage it fine, if we must."

[cliffjumper]

"Seriously." With a huff, Cliffjumper slid further down against the wall just to keep himself from standing up and starting to pace again because he probably would.

"If we weren't stuck in a fraggin' elevator I wouldn't mind so much," he said with a growl, dropped his blaster in his lap and crossed his arms over his shoulders.

Half a joor was way too long, and it didn't matter that he knew the elevator wouldn't fall - that didn't really help at all.

[lastonepercent]

Mirage nodded and allowed the conversation to fall silent for several long moments, but the silence was a bit much almost immediately. Conversation was the best way to pass the time, and his own natural curiosity wouldn't allow the chance to pass him by so easily.

"...does it really bother you that much?"

Mirage asked hesitantly, glancing over across the dark toward the twin points of blue light. He was careful to keep the question neutral - they were in a sealed tin can after all, and the resuscitation of their previous attitude toward one another would be quite unfortunate.

[cliffjumper]

In those moments of silence, Cliffjumper had loosened up, started fingering his gun and then slowly started to pick it apart. They had around half a joor, at least, stuck here, and he was pretty sure the stress he'd put on his still-repairing hand wouldn't be too much strain for him not to be able to fake in front of the medics.

Hopefully, anyway.

"Uh---" Freezing over his gun, Cliffjumper grimaced and didn't look up from it. "It ain't claustrophobia, so I suppose it could be worse," Cliffjumper said with a growl, frustrated at himself... but unable not to feel uncomfortable.

At least the floor wasn't see-through or anything like that.

[lastonepercent]

"I'm certainly glad it is not claustrophobia, though I imagine we might have been forced to deal with the fallout much sooner if it were."

Mirage made a wry chuckle, though he didn't stop giving Cliffjumper a searching look.

"I suppose it is the highly unlikely chance that we could fall, as you brought up the breaks earlier?"

[cliffjumper]

"Probably," he tried to sound flippant about it, but feeling Mirage's optics on him didn't really help with that.

Mirage's question didn't either, and there was no way to hide that twitch - even in the gloom of headlights-lit elevator it wouldn't have been impossible to pick up on. Growling, engine rumbling along, Cliffjumper tapped his gun against a knee.

It still took a good few long moments before he said anything.

"... yeah. Off the ground and slag."

[lastonepercent]

Mirage's gold optics bobbed in the dark as he nodded. That explained a few things, and he could sympathize, even if he did not share the phobia.

"There is hardly any shame in that. I'm not Sideswipe, after all - I won't be teasing you about it.

Without concious thought, he reached out, giving the nearest portion of Cliffjumper - a folded knee spur - a consoling pat.

"A much more acceptable worry that 'human cooties' or 'rodent infestations', after all!"

Really. The number of things some of the mechs on Earth had begun to fuss over after arriving...

[cliffjumper]

At the mention of Sideswipe, Cliffjumper snorted - it was, however, a relief that this was Mirage and not Sideswipe. And Red Alert, if he was listening or picked up on it later, wouldn't say anything.

"That's somethin' to be glad for..." Huffing, Cliffjumper couldn't suppress the brightening of his optics at the pat - or the immediate spike in sensitivity of the sensor nodes there, even if the pat was short.

Fragging embarrassing.

"At least even humans are afraid of human cooties!" He was surprised to find himself laughing, but... it was a far better option than anything else.

[lastonepercent]

"I should hope so!"

Mirage chuckled at Cliffjumper's reaction, internally pleased and smug that he had at least temporarily managed to distract the minibot from his fear.

"Yes, and human 'cooties' are for humans, not Cybertronians. Really. The Autobots on this ship should know better than to fling wild rumors and fearmongering around." Mirage waved a hand, optics rolling.

[cliffjumper]

He couldn't help but snicker, ducking his helm.

"Yeah, at least the germs and scrap. But all the fraggin' stuff that can stick to ya ain't pleasant." He didn't have any fear of it, but it was pretty disgusting and after landing on Earth he'd become a far more regular user of the washracks than before.

Usually he just kept to daily maintenace and whatever else, but here? That sometimes left him feeling as if there was slag still sticking to him, especially after having been on a drive, patrol, battle...

It was annoying was what it was, though presumably he'd be more used to it if they'd fought on more planets before this...

[lastonepercent]

"Well no, it isn't fun. I've lost count of the number of times I've gotten rocks or twigs or muck stuck in or between my undercarriage."

His extreme distaste was obvious, given the look on the former noble's face.

"But it isn't worth flailing around in a panic over, either. From what I've heard, the medics have been stuck giving refresher courses on basic xenobiology to several panicked individuals."

[cliffjumper]

"Ugh, yeah." Grimacing, Cliffjumper twitched, and at Mirage's expression he was struck both by the openness of it, and the ease with which they were talking. He shook his helm.

"Muck and bugs and whatever else is in all the slag around here that can get lodged everywhere... hate the fact that any battlefield basically becomes a mud pit, if we ain't fightin' in the streets."

The planet was way too wet and even when it wasn't, like, say, in a desert, the sand then got everywhere instead.

At least that was dry, but it could itch something fierce, especially if it had lodged itself somewhere but good.

"That's true, though," he couldn't help laughing again, some of the earlier tension bleeding out of his shoulders and wheel-wells unnoticed by Cliffjumper, "I ain't got it that bad, no matter how disgustin' it can be. Kinda surprised you ain't been among those, though."

Tilting his helm, Cliffjumper peered up at Mirage, both with some faint underlying incredulity coming from their class differences - nobles always seemed so slagging stuck up and prissy - and just amusement and some respect that Mirage wasn't reacting like that.

[lastonepercent]

Cliffjumper wasn't the only one who was surprised, but Mirage was a bit too pragmatic - and easily swayed thanks to the pain in his helm - to question it much, not even in his own processor.

Trapped in an elevator was the perfect place for a suspension of hostilities, even if it didn't end up lasting past the doors reopening.

"Me?" Mirage asked, hand going to his chest-plates as though wounded.

"Hardly. I take Ratchet at his word about what harmful flora and fauna might be on a planet. "

He sniffed, before giving Cliffjumper a slow nod.

[cliffjumper]

"Thought for sure you'd get upset by the dirt of it, if nothin' else." That was pure teasing, with a smirk. It lacked any annoyance or rancor which he might have lashed out with earlier, of in any other situation if he was actually angry or annoyed with Mirage.

At the moment, there was no actual meanness meant at all.

"So I guess that means you've got somethin' up on Sunstreaker and Tracks," he said with a snort and a glowing roll of his optics.

[lastonepercent]

"More than one 'something' I'm sure."

Mirage sniffed again, only half serious as he hid a smirk. He waved a hand idly around in the air, imperious and languid.

"I am not going to roll around in it, 'no, thank you for the invitation Hound', but I accept the fact that there is little to do to avoid it on a planet covered in, and even named 'dirt'."

[cliffjumper]

Cliffjumper burst out laughing, shaking his helm and leaning back against the wall behind him, surprised at his amusement. But it was nice too, because it diffused some of the tension that was squeezing his pistons and kept his field in tight against his chassis.

"I really don't get how Hound can like it so much, but it's nice that someone does I suppose. And yeah, we shoulda guessed how bad it'd get when we found out the name, shouldn't we?"

This was far better than he could've hoped for - and yet he'd rather it not have happened, but Cliffjumper was too anxiously wound up and amused at the same time to care too much at the moment.

[lastonepercent]

"We probably should have, honestly. And Hound...Is Hound. Not much else to say there." Mirage agreed with a shrug.

"As long as he enjoys it, I suppose I can hardly fault him for enjoying it in the midst of his function."

His voice dropped to a low, dire murmur, optics narrowing.

"So long as he cleans up after himself in the washracks, of course."

[cliffjumper]

He had to smother his chuckle at that, leaning over to hide his faceplate in his arms as they rested on his knees.

"And he's forgotten to do that a few times. I remember Spike crackin' up the first time it happened." There's been a lot of disgusted reaction and some people had slipped and it'd been... a mess.

He'd had to help Bumblebee as one of the victims of the mud, but that hadn't been bad.

[lastonepercent]

"I. Noticed." Mirage growled out, faceplates scrunching up in annoyed remembrance. His engine revved up in a low rumble.

"I don't know how many times he's done it. But the first time I found the washracks in that state had best be the last time, if Hound knows what is good for him. He can dirty himself as he pleases, but I draw the line at having to bathe in his grime."

[cliffjumper]

Mirage's growl just had Cliffjumper laughing into his arms again. He agreed with Mirage, but it was still funny.

"Guess that's why that outside hose was installed," Cliffjumper said, voice partly muffled against his own arms and weaving slightly from residual laughter, "not that it ain't been useful for everyone else, too... At least we can wash off quick before gettin' inside."

It was a boon for when patrol or battle had ended up particularly muddy or grimy, which also made sure as little muck as possible got tracked around inside the Ark.

[lastonepercent]

Mirage's growl melted into a pleased sound, and a surprised smirk flickered across his face

"A hose? Ah, so that's what they did. Good, I was starting to wonder what results Hound and the others would bring."

After all, it wasn't Mirage's fault that a good half dozen other terrified crew-members had been present when he'd laid into poor Hound, and had ended up nodding in the same panicked agreement as the muddy scout. In that case, he could see why Hound - or no one else - had approached him afterward.

His temper had been quite shameful that day.

Perhaps Hoist and Grapple had been swept up into his demands and had added the spigot themselves?

[cliffjumper]

Looking up from his arms after a last few chortles, Cliffjumper tilted his helm. Thinking about it, he had no idea why that hose had been put up, or when. He'd only found out after a particularly miserable patrol when it'd been pointed out to him, before he was even allowed inside.

He'd been really cross before he realised why he was being waved away.

"What, you had somethin' to do with that?"

He could actually see Mirage... or Sunstreaker and maybe Tracks too, be responsible for yelling loudly enough about disgusting muck in the Ark. Mirage might be accepting of the mud when it was outside, it seemed like, but it was quite obvious he didn't like it when it was anywhere else.