red_diode_district | LET'S BREAK THIS THING IN

"---need an opportunity..." The speaker was interrupted as the door was opened, the intruder looking pleased.

"We just got it." Tall and lanky, the speaker didn't seem to have an actual altmode, but this didn't stand out among the group in the room. Only a handful possessed them, and they were all boat alts. "They asked for someone specifically like you." Everybody in the room looked at each other, and then to the one the newcomer had addressed, and a low, excited murmur started up.

Coming around the table to the door, the newcomer laid a mint-green hand against a pink, rounded shoulder.

"Will you be okay?" The question was sincere, but considering the opportunity they had just been given - and the details had already been transmitted - it was, ultimately, more a show of support than a chance for the subject of everyone's excited chatter to back out.

Not that that would happen.

Not now, not with this.

They needed this opportunity.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

ichooseboth

"W-well..."

It was an awkward start, and he shuddered against her chest plating, pleasure along his audials making his vocalizer skip even more than the embarrassment and the lingering shyness.

"I have consistently enjoyed learning more about you... But I was mostly just talking about me pointing out your virtues..."

He peered up from her chest armor, optics bright with the smile slowly regrowing across his faceplates, only to flick his tongue out across the light in the center of her chest, purring.

"Like how witty and amusing you are to talk with. How refreshingly honest you are. How much I adore your company... You don't look half bad either." He chuckled, tone light with his teasing.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

Elita didn't wince; firstly, she had too much control on her own for such a thing. and secondly, the Escort programming wouldn't allow something so "unseemly" in a situation it didn't belong.

But he didn't know anything, truly, and that was both good and terrible. She was as true as she could be to her person and in her reactions and interactions with Optimus, but, depending on what happened... Would that be enough?

She couldn't really see his expression well from her own angle, but she did glance downwards, a teasing smile blooming on her face as he spoke. The jewel grew warm and slightly brighter when he flicked it with his tongue, and Elita's optics briefly flickered.

"Thank you. And I would hope I look better than just 'not half bad'!" Elita said with a laugh, flicking the tip of the finial on the other side of the helm from where her own face was in amused rebuke.

From:

ichooseboth

"Gorgeous, really. Amazing. Spark-stopping." He could really get into this, and peered coyly up from her chest, only half teasing, and pressed lips to what he assumed was a sparklight. His audials twitched, the pleasure-shakes coming from her touches only increasing, and he jerked bodily at the flick. It all made him hard-pressed to keep himself steady as he slid worshipful hands across her frame.

"A paragon of femme design and beauty."

From:

invisiblepinkboat

She could not keep from laughing. Really, she shouldn't laugh. But she was both amused at the impossibly silly and overdone compliments as well as... reluctantly, charmed. She knew she was well constructed, had aesthetic lines and was pleasant to look at.

Having her... "virtues" described in such an overblown way, however teasing, drew out her honest amusement as well and slightly incredulous happiness. She was a fair sight more practical and simple than what might be assumed, but that didn't mean she didn't both accept the compliments, and see the gentle teasing.

Her laughter contained nothing but honest - if, perhaps, some embarrassment, if one was capable of reading the signs - delight and she shook her helm.

"While I wouldn't quite phrase it like that... Creativity is the origin of great accomplishments." With which she meant a fair bit of different things, most of them concrete and not as... mystical as such a statement might seem at first.

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus only smiled wider, humming in happiness against Elita's chest. He wiggled closer, sneaking his helm slowly up her frame, pressing kisses across chest plating and shoulder armor to begin reclaiming her throat.

"No? ...I'm sure I could think of more, Brightspark," he teased, hand rubbing across her chestplates as he leaned close, thumb tracing the crystal. Despite being a general term of endearment, she was bright, literally and mentally.

But it was also too close to what he would actually call her, were she not so bound to him because of his position. It would be...foolish, to expect anything more. To get too attached. Mentally scrambling, he pulled up memory files of the cheesiest pet names he could think of.

"Or we could go with 'Sexy Servos'? Or maybe W-Whiplash Factory?"

He couldn't help it, and broke into snickers against her neck, smoke stacks sputtering as his frame shook with his mirth.

"W-why would anyone...?"

From:

invisiblepinkboat

It was not her place to decide what he'd call her. Not now, not with her current (supposed) position, but despite that this was a job (and one less honest than just the escort position entailed), Elita was still... touched. It didn't make her feel any better about the trust she had to break, not in the least.

She didn't have time, however, to say anything to that before he continued and Primus bless--- She couldn't not laugh, both out of amusement and some incredulousness. It was obviously some of her position and upbringing that had her privately shaking her helm.

"... Not exactly... the sort of creativity I meant," Elita said, still laughing, and raising a hand to follow the nearest smoke stack with a finger or two. "I assume whoever came up with it wanted to describe something they thought worthy of... being noticed."

She snorted, and then collected herself. Couldn't precisely look at him and was just relieved the angle and their closeness made looking at him fully impossible anyway.

"I'm certainly flattered, however, that you would append the first one to me." And she was, no matter how much that - surprisingly so - hurt. Well, nothing for it.

From:

ichooseboth

"N-no...?"

He snickered easily, optics bright as he pulled away from huddling against her neck to stare up into her own. It was hard to resist the urge to duck back down as she continued. 'Brightspark'. He was such a silly fool.

"...Well. I hardly think you need such...ah, 'titles' for your own accomplishments and virtues to be known. More of which I still wish to learn, even if they are not...ahem. 'Virtues of the frame'."

...He was smitten, and it was obvious and he was so screwed.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

He needed to stop talking. It was nearly physically painful to hear those things. She had failed somewhere, to protect herself in this endeavour. The point, yes, had been to make the Prime interested enough to keep her around.

Elita, however, was hardly a spy or sabouteur; she didn't have enough skill or knowledge to be able to lock away what was needed for an assignment like this, especially not after the fact. She hadn't after all, been supposed to have this position for more than a night originally.

She kissed him then, leaning down over him and urging his helm to tip back, one hand curled around the back of it. It was as much to make him stop as to get a moment to rally and think of what to say.

"I am fairly proficient in a few games, if you'd want to either play any you know, or want to learn... Diamond chatra, for example. You seemed quite invested when playing it with... ah, Prowl, wasn't it?" Personally, she liked that game a lot. The three-dimensional hard-light diamond playfield required thinking not just in horizontal, but literally three-dimensional, and a lot of strategy was needed.

From:

ichooseboth

The kiss certainly shut him up. He didn't even have much of a chance to respond in kind before she pulled away, optics wide and dim in dazed surprise.

Maybe she...hadn't noticed his slip? Or at the very least, didn't disapprove of it. He wasn't any less fragged over, but he perked up noticeably at her suggestion, audials only slightly back in mortification.

"..You play Diamond Chatra?" There was no doubt in the exclamation, only excited pleasure, and he leaned forward in transparent eagerness. Half of the eagerness was probably mild desperation to change the subject, but it was still real.

"What is your handicap and field rank?"

From:

invisiblepinkboat

It was still surprising how affected he got by a good kiss; adorable. Which didn't help anything at all. She'd noticed the slip, and she didn't mind. Which was the problem.

With how honest and naïve he was, she was rather sure that when things were taken to their point, someone else on the Concil would have to play intermediary with Optimus. He would probably not want to deal with her again.

"I do, yes," Elita said with a chuckle, and if there was any strain, it was gone in less than an astrosecond. "A 5.0 time-reliant one in favour of anyone with less rank than I, and a 0.2 time-reliant one in favour of me against anyone three ranks above." She had to pause to remember if the ranks used on Paradron were the same as on Cybertron, and then nodded, mostly to herself.

"A 2.5+ one, on the 1-5 scale."

From:

ichooseboth

The Prime began to perk up even further, grinning as she listed her rankings.

"Impressive! I just reached a three myself, though I personally think it is just because I'm constantly going up against Prowl. He won't say, but I'm sure he's at least near 5, which is probably skewing the rankings in my favor. Your handicaps are better than mine."

He had no issues with being humble in his explanation - he hadn't been playing very long at all, only since he became Prime and Prowl offered to teach him.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

"He probably is; ideally no one should learn from someone so far above them, as I was taught..." She tapped a finger against her cheek as she spoke. "Since that will always set you up to expect a lot more time available than you actually have against someone with a similar skill."

Elita laughed then, shaking her helm mostly at herself.

"Sorry. I forgot playing the game is also just for fun. But we started out talking rankings, and it's easy to forget that counting those in. Would you want to compete, or play it outside of tournaments?" Elita asked, curious even if she knew that, logistically and practically, the Prime could never turn to actually doing or playing something in a formal manner.

He had other duties, and there would always be the chance of any given game being ruled in the Prime's favour. But really, she didn't see the reason to consider that here. She just wanted to know what Optimus would want to do, whether he could feasibly do it or not.

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus only chuckled in turn, shaking his head.

"No, I and Prowl both would agree. And I at least have a good deal of fun while playing. Prowl, maybe not so much, but I'm sure the occasional vexation is good for him."

He shrugged, a small, secret smile taking the place of his broader grin.

"While true tournaments are largely out of the question, I have...dabbled in the network circuits before. Under a pseudonym, of course."

From:

invisiblepinkboat

"From what I've seen, some annoyance may indeed be good and a useful exercise for him, yes," Elita said, keeping her expression mostly straight. She was amused, yes, but on a simple evaluating level, it probably was good for the rigid mech.

... Though she had caught him mumbling to himself over a datapad while passing him in a corridor once, so she didn't think he had that large of a problem when it came to rigid thinking... Just a particular way of going about it.

Optimus revelation, however, brought Elita up short briefly, both surprised and pleased. Mostly for him, because the chance to actually practice your hobby and get the satisfaction of competing, whether you were particularly good at it or not? It was its own reward.

"Of course," she laughed, softly, tilting her helm curiously. "Having fun? I assume it's been useful at the least to play against others other than Prowl."

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus chuckled, only able to imagine what effects the annoyance might have on the strategist outside of their games.

"Surprisingly so, actually. The difference between him and the average player is like night and day, and I actually can get surprised when I'm beaten, rather than expecting it. My pseudonym's ranking has only climbed to a 2 at this point, on it's own." He grumbled good-naturedly, eying Elita in speculation.

"...But I do still prefer live games. It's much more interesting to watch, especially against a new player. Would you care for a challenge match some time?"

He grinned in anticipation, wet fingers curling at her warm back, location forgotten. How easily he'd been distracted. Both them, still curled up together in hot oil, the perfect location for passionate 'facing...and they were distracted by gaming.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

"Having to expect losing - or winning either for that matter - tends to make things not just boring, but making you stop doing your best." Elita frowned and then shrugged; it was part of the reason someone vastly better shouldn't seriously teach (and thus have to play against) someone the game without having a second beginner or near beginner.

It tended to mess with your ability to play properly later.

She grinned back at him when he looked at her that way, though, helm tilting and then she straightened up, panles flaring wider.

"I certainly would, whenever you feel like it. It was a while ago I had the chance to play against someone new." She nodded, more than pleased at the prospect, which she'd hoped would have come up since she first got to see Optimus and Prowl play against each other.

She shifted, both partly unconciously and partly very aware of his hands, in his lap as his fingers curled about her back. Elita hadn't really been distracted; she was perfectly capable of - and even somewhat preferred, especially since they hadn't gotten far - shifting track and having a conversation instead of 'facing...

Had she been a real Escort and consort, she might have been more annoyed at the distraction and lack of opportunity to perform her function, but as she wasn't...

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus beamed, oil sloshing as he impulsively hugged her with a laugh.

"I'll keep a spot open for you. Tonight, perhaps? After the meeting with the Voxian Guild Masters?"

He shivered though, at the curl of her hands at his back, and despite his earlier splashing about that was the key to making him recall their location and...previous intentions.

Chuckling dropping lower, he leaned in, optics bright as he rested their helms together; he flexed his fingers at her back in return, teasing just above her aft, and 'politely' waited for her answer.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

Her optics flickered briefly in surprise at the hug, but when he looked back at her, they were at a steady, normal glow again, and she smiled and nodded. Why did he have to be... as he was, besides being an apparently good Prime?

"Certainly! But, ah. You may want to put some alternate date in addition, considering how these things in official matters tend to go..." Elita trailed off, dry, amused cynism colouring her comment... And then she realized a consort might not know such a thing from first hand experience---

"Which is my experience when I've had clients delayed, or even having to leave early, from what I've seen." She shrugged, delicately, and she had definitely noticed the change in tone in his grip, and canted her aft out a bit.

Visually, it would do nothing, seeing as it was at the wrong angle, but with his fingers close to the shift in plates, he'd feel it.

From:

ichooseboth

Her hands at his back - and that aft tilt - made him bold, the shimmering surface of the pool rippling with the depth of his pleased purr. His grin only widened, hands slipping further down to cup said canted aft for leverage, slooowly dragging her up closer through the oil.

"Well. I could schedule you for the whole night. As well as other dates, for fun, if we enjoy the first game. Even Guild Leaders like calling a recess before too late in the evening..."

From:

invisiblepinkboat

It was hard not to laugh when he dragged her up along his thighs, and she squeeze a piece of back kibble as she had better reach now that she was closer. Her other arm she disentangled from his back to drop into the oil, lazily trailing her hand around.

"I'm sure it could be an occasion for something educational and fun both. And really, it takes more than one game usually to find out if you mesh as game partners. I wouldn't mind finding out." She meant it, too, but also meant the possible innuendo.

It was quite... well, not surprising, really, that he hadn't dared yet to go where their first night had taken them.

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus almost let out a entirely too juvenile snicker at their little bit of word play, terribly pleased Elita was playing along - or at least, appeared to be. Ducking his head briefly, he leaned far enough to kiss the shoulder of the arm moving through the water, slowly pressing kisses in a trail up her neck and throat.

He...was learning, trying to pick up new ideas to please her all the time while hopefully not making a fool of himself. At least, he certainly felt more experienced than he had only weeks ago.

"Of course. I look forward to any number of, ah, matches between us in the future."

A silent laugh shook his frame, mouth at the base of her jaw. Anticipation for both the game and...anything else aside, the situation was pleasantly surreal, and he rose up to meet her gaze with humor-bright optics. At least the oil was hot enough to keep his rising internal temperature from being noticed.

From:

invisiblepinkboat

Playing along, most assuredly. She wasn't above simple innuendo, and it seemed to amuse him. It was also good exercise, really. Engine humming faintly as he kissed up her shoulder and neck, a smile curled aboout her lips as he spoke and then... couldn't keeo his expression.

She pressed close just to feel the vibrations of the soundless laughter through his frame, and knew she needed distance. This had already gone too far, but leaving now wouldn't help.

"I have to say, I do too," Elita said with a grin as he looked up at her again. Raising the hand she'd had in the oil to his faceplates, she trailed a wet and shimmering finger over his lips.

From:

ichooseboth

"I'm sure it will be a good match up."

Optics dimming in pleasure, Optimus leaned into that touch, kissing her fingertip. Tilting his helm, he was able to press another kiss to her palm, hands at her back curling into her frame, thumbs stroking her sides.

"But until then..." Laughing softly against her palm, he nipped gently at the seam on her wrist, tongue probing the gap leading to delicate servos. He glanced across at her from his position, mouth covered and optics coy.

"I would also like the oil to it's fullest, if you have no objections...?"

From:

invisiblepinkboat

Curling her finger as he kissed it, briefly trapping the fingertip against and slightly behind his lips, Elita's engine hummed at the hands on her plating and the thumbs stroking her sides.

"Well, I don't see why I would have any objections. We're here, after all. Pity to not take advantage." She held her hand still, angling it back slightly to widen the available gap for his tongue.

"Any thoughts or plans in particular?" Elita asked, a slightly arch look over her faceplates as she shifted and then stretched in his lap. Squeezing the particular bit of kibble on his back he was holding and rubbing the heel of her hand in, her back mounted panels widened and were lowered as much as they could go (which, admittedly, wasn't overly far) into the oil, before they were raised again.

From:

ichooseboth

Optimus' engine purred at her agreement, tongue eagerly flicking along and inside the offered gap. His optics dimmed in pleasure as the sharp static-tang of thinly-insulated circuits and sensors reached his mouth. He kissed her palm again, lingering over the sensitive metal before pulling away enough to speak.

"I can think of a few..."

Grinning, he turned in place, splashing slippery heat up them both by sliding lightly through the pool while holding Elita flush against his frame, her 'wings' catching the oil as they moved closer to the side. Sinking down to his knees at the edge, the oil rose up to their shoulders as he rested Elita up against a curve in the side that looked like it might be able to accommodate her kibble panels.

He leaned in with a pleased rumble, resting his helm against hers and siding hands up her sides.

"...Does this suit you?"