randomplaces | Nexus. Blue's Bar. There and Back Again

The booth is occupied, and its lone occupant is leaning on her fist as she frowns at the datapad she's writing on.

"Where would you like to sit?" Optimus looks down at Random, using both hands to hold his energetically wriggling sparklet. Then he blinks as the bouncer steps forward from his post by the door.

"Hey, Random!" says Keg, grinning a welcome. "Have you come to see Arcee?"

Elita looks at him, then leans out to look down at Random as Optimus does the same.

Keg notices the looks and frowns back up at them, wondering what's wrong.

He's startled out of his gazing by Optimus' question. Darn it, give him the decision. A very Prime thing to do. With Sneaker it's one thing. That mech is to polite to do any--

Random suddenly remembers why he doesn't like being too social: The attention . . . and the kind he can't really control either. Random's face starts heating up with little effort on his part under the gazes, and he wants to bolt or sink into the ground but he doesn't.

"Hey, Keg."

Over a secure comm, //Keg, for future reference . . . When I'm in a group, don't single me out quite like that.//

The young bouncer takes his turn to blush. //Sorry. Uh. Yeah, I'll be over there.//

Optimus looks after him, then concludes that it might be best if he choose the table. Accordingly he points with Silvershot toward a freestanding table between Arcee's booth and the bar. "How about that one?"

"Optimus, don't point with the sparklet." Elita can't help laughing.

"...Whoops."

"Um, sure."

He knew he should have waited. He knew it, but he ignored it. He was acting like a--Man, he didn't even want to think how he was acting, but the time to act like that over a situation like this was vorns ago! Even Prime's humorous behavior can't quite kill the awkwardness that this situation has brought on.

What a lousy time to come to the Nexus!

Blue is there as soon as everyone's seated, asking Optimus if he wants his usual and guessing Elita wants a Cybertron Sunrise before she quirks a brow plate at Random. "And another one for you?"

Optimus nods absently as he frowns at Silvershot and tries to figure out why the little mech's making that irate sounding twittering.

Random has calmed down a bit by this time, resuming a more normal behavior for him, despite being one booth over from the person he came to see originally. ~~No, he's not jumping at every sound!~~

"Yes, please," he answers.

Random absently traces quietly on the tabletop before he notices Optimus' dilemma. "Is he hungry?"

"No... I just fed him. And he hasn't got an air bubble...." The larger mech turns the little one to look into his face, in the process bringing Random back into Silvershot's field of vision.

Excited sparklet! He's waving his fists and kicking his feet inside the folds of the scarf as he looks at the interesting blue guy. Hi hi!

Elita laughs. "He wanted to see Random."

"So I see," says Optimus bemusedly.

At all that, Random assumes a confused 'Who? Me?' expression.

"He hasn't seen someone who looks like you before," explains the little dove grey femme, then turns her head and thanks Blue as the bartender hands her a Cybertron Sunrise.

Blue smiles at her, and then moves to give Random his Sunrise, only to pause as Silvershot notices her as well and goes absolutely still with surprise.

Two pretty blue people... wow.

Random's too busy thinking about the sparklet to notice Blue until 'Shot stops his squirming. Then he gives a small start and starts trying to figure out just what made 'Shot stop.

Optimus is trying to figure out the same thing, watching as the little one watches Random and Blue and noting the intent study that is being made. Silvershot usually isn't that focused unless he's looking at Optimus' face as he drinks.

Then the Autobot Prime lifts his browplates and looks at Blue, who is also quizzically watching the sparklet. "Would you like to hold him?"

Silvershot knows those words. He's arching his back now, asking in his own way.

Blue blinks and looks at Elita, then gives a little shrug and puts her tray down before walking around the table and uncertainly holding out her arms.

"Like this," rumbles Optimus, gently moving them slightly before he lays Silvershot in them.

More blinking as Blue and sparklet study one another.

Only reasons Random could think of was either the color or the general design . . . Color would be more obvious . . . Oop, looks like Optimus made a connection.

Hmm. Interesting how all that works . . .

The bartender quirks a half grin at the earnest little clickings being aimed at her, then gives the bar a quick glance around and nods her thanks to Arcee as she sees that the other femme has gotten up and stepped into her role of backup waitress.

Silvershot squeaks and wriggles, and she looks back down at him, then settles into the chair next to Random. "Hello, yes?"

The tiny mech huffs, then gives her a grin and more little clicks.

Thinking, Random bites into something his hand had absently put to his mouth, and startled, he focuses to much on the revelation that he'd somehow gotten a hold of a Sunrise to do more than start and scoot over when Blue sits down.

Ho, whatsat? Silvershot has heard a crunchy sound... is somebody eating?

Optics searching, he turns his head, then cuts Random another grin when he sees him. Hi!

Feeling optics on him, Random turns to 'Shot and gives him a little wave with his free hand. "Hello."

Little browplates go up, and then he's arching his back again, asking this other new friend to take him.

And Optimus and Elita watch in silence, fascenated by their fosterling's actions.

Uh oh--He takes another bite--He's seen this before. 'Shot did it with Blue not five minutes ago.

Um, help?

"What are you doing?" Blue asks the little one. "You don't want to go to Random, he's a grouch. Look here, at what I have."

She pulls a bit of low grade energon candy from subspace and holds it to Silvershot's mouth, which causes the asking and wriggling to halt as the sparklet looks up at her quizzically.

"I'm not sure he's old enough for that yet," says Elita a little worriedly. "Right now he only drinks low grade from Optimus' tank."

"This is mild stuff," says Blue calmly. "I don't think it will hurt him."

And now Silvershot has tasted, and his optics have gone enormous as his little mouthparts work and analyze the flavor. Wow... just wow.

He relaxes his body with a small sigh of relief. That could have ended horribly.

He watches with interest as Blue attempts to feed the little mech a treat, and smiles a bit at 'Shot's reaction.

Soon after however . . .

Hmmmm. Suuuunriiiiise.

Optimus rumbles softly, then smiles as Silvershot's optics go toward the sound. "Do you want to come back now? Shall I take you, Silvershot?"

The sparklet squeaks, but then flails and starts as a bang comes from the door.

"No," says the deep alto of Blackout, sounding astonishingly patient. "You have to duck lower, Mouse. Yes. Good!"

Blue looks up as the big Decepticon leads the female members of her army over to the bar, then hands Silvershot and candy over to Optimus, her expression going stern. "Excuse me. I've got to make sure no one decides anyone else needs a kiss."

Elita watches her go and then muffles a chuckle behind her hand.

As the new femmes come in, Random pulls himself away from his Sunrise long enough to watch the procession. He shoots a confused look Blue's way at her comment and his confusion increases when he notices Elita chuckling.

And Optimus notices the confusion despite the wary optic he's got fixed on the big Decepticon femme. "Blackout's... aggressively affectionate."

"Combat kissing." Elita shakes her head mirthfully. "Relax, love, she stopped picking on you once she realized you were taken."

Optimus just rumbles and holds the candy for Silvershot to taste.

He stares at Prime, then he looks towards Blackout, and then he scoots back deeper into the booth with his optics switching directions in a way that says, "Okay, I don't want to know."

His Sunrise gets another bite taken out of it ~~as he tries to convince himself that he didn't just hear an Old Western Villian Entering a Bar motif~~.

Elita watches the group at the bar as Hormah hops up on it on her belly to help herself to something behind it, then turns back to Random and nods to his treat. "They're good, aren't they?"

Silvershot is starting to get heavy-lidded. Energy always does that to him. But his little mouth is still taste-tasting away, and Optimus has turned his optics down to watch him with a slightly wondering air.

"Ummhmmm," he nodds, mouth too full to get away with a more polite reply.

Hmm, 'Shot was active just a minute ago . . .

Elita smiles and has a bite of her own, but then frowns slightly as her optics go over toward Arcee's booth. "Hmm, excuse me."

"Hmmm?" Optimus shifts his gaze from sparklet to mate.

"I'll be back, I just want to go check on Arcee."

No, no, curiosity back! If there's a problem Elita will hear about it.

Despite winning over himself, he doesn't take another bite of Sunrise with quite as much vigor.

Optimus watches her go to the bar to get another Cybertron Sunrise for her pink friend, his mouth twitching as she exchanges banter with Hormah under the curious or indifferent gaze of the little femme's teammates. Then his optics drop to Silvershot to see why the sparklet feels so heavy and he blinks. "He's recharging. But he just woke up before we came to the Nexus."

That gets his attention if just a bit. ~~The Sunrise is too good!~~ "Maybe he wore himself out."

"Maybe." Optimus sets the piece of energon down and adjusts the sparklet so that he's wrapped securely and tucked into the crook of his arm. "We should bring him home once Elita's done talking to Arcee."

Then he looks at the other mech as he puts the energon candy into a storage compartment and finally picks up his own cube. "Arcee is the friend you were coming to see, isn't she?"

He nods in acknowledgment of Optimus' plans.

Random stops what he was doing at that for a moment then takes a bite of his Sunrise. There was like no point in lying to a Prime that clearly knew what he'd been uncomfortable about. ~~Darn it!~~ Random nods again and starts drinking the liquid center of the Sunrise.

"Don't let her gruffness discourage you. She needs her friends right now." Optimus sips moodily. "Elita said you met the little silver femme... Kia."

"Hmm. Yes, sir." It wasn't her being the problem, he thought. There he goes into his drink again. "Ummhmm."

"She... crossed the veil," says the larger mech, his deep voice going gruff as he thinks of the little silver femme who for a short time was part of his family. He looks down at the sparklet he's holding, praying that Silvershot can stay long enough to die at a good old age and little guessing that Arcee can't even remember the passing of the little femme that he's mourning.

Edited 2008-12-04 04:40 (UTC)

" . . . I know." He too looks at 'Shot, biting a bit of his Sunrise in thought.

The little one seems to be dreaming about eating; his mouth is moving as he lays with one small fist curled near his face.

Optimus's face shows some of the pain of his thoughts as he watches the little sleeper. But then he starts slightly and blinks as Elita walks under the table and pats him on the leg. "Yike! What?"

She chuckles, then leans her forehead against him. "Is Silvershot asleep?"

"Yes...."

"We should get back. I think our being here is disturbing Arcee."

"Ah." Optimus winces and reaches down for her with his free hand. "Alright."

A small, sad smile appears on his face at the sight before it fades a bit.

Why was life so fragile?

He seems too consumed in his thoughts to be bothered by Elita's sudden entrance and he resumes eating his Sunrise.

The little femme is looking at him as Optimus lifts her to his arm and tucks her next to Silvershot. "It was good meeting you again, Random. Take care."

He's pulled reluctantly out of his thoughts. "You too. See you later."

Optimus too rumbles in farewell, then drains his cube and sets down some American dollar bills before getting to his feet and striding from the bar.

As Random finishes his Sunrise, deciding what exactly to do next, he takes a look around the bar . . .

Nexus. Blue's Bar. There and Back Again

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