[Closed]

[winged_knight]

WHO: Drift and Wing
WHERE: Near the Badlands (the new/nearer patch?)
WHEN: A short time after this, during January's plot event.
WHAT: Wing returns from his 'walkabout' only to discover Drift is missing. Also, Badlands are Bad. :c
WARNINGS: None yet.



After reading the messages on the Link, Wing had sped home hoping this was some fluke, a mistake, and that Drift was just otherwise occupied. But Drift had said he'd be here when Wing got back; he'd made an appointment with Ambulon, yet he wasn't here in Haven for either of them. His concern had only grown as he'd searched all the places he could think of, only to turn up empty. Which left him with two thoughts...Tarn or the Badlands.

The jet crouches now on the highest point of Vector's tower, one hand clinging to the spire's needle while the magna clamps in each foot keep him steady on his perch. He leans out, flight surfaces shifting fretfully while he scans the surrounding territory, as if he'd see some hint or clue if only he looked hard enough. There's something about the echo of Drift's name in his own voice as it rings out over the crystal bridges and through the gorge itself... It seems like a fruitless endeavor, simply calling his name, but something in it fortifies Wing's hope and determination. His spark pulses anxiously, even moreso as he tries to reach through the old link to his former Great Sword, his last gambit, hoping desperately for some notion of Drift's whereabouts. Please, Drift, where are you..?

Wing puts everything he has into it. At first, nothing. Then the sinking notion that the sword isn't anywhere nearby, not in Haven at least. He almost falters, discouraged, but no, Drift would never give up so easily. It was one of the qualities Wing honestly loved about the mech. So he tries again, one last push... that gets rewarded. Something...off in the distance. Roughly towards the Badlands.

It's all the jet needs, and though he's only been back to Haven a matter of hours, he's gone again, striking out towards one pinpoint of light against a blanket of darkness.

Comments

[winged_knight]

Not to be speciesist, but who wants to wake up next to something with that many legs? Next time? No bugs. (More hugs)

But oh. That wink makes him a little weak and he fumbles through stowing his own swords, spark giving a sudden flutter as he turns and grins.

"At the very least I could do without the drool." Ah. Now there's a classy conversation topic.

And then the uncomfortable side of awkward starts to yawn in front of them and Wing wants to make a desperate grab for that light-hearted cheekiness again. But there's nothing clever on his tongue now, just a raw sort of earnestness.

"I thought of you. Every day. _{Every moment, seemed like...}" Is that creepy?

[sword_redemption]

Drift's just going to give a subtle, slightly worried look at where he'd been laying. Whew. Okay. No drool.

Never mind. All is good.

"I...uh. I wish I could say the same?" But honestly he can't remember much of the last few days.

Drift: ruining romance always.

God I'm sorry if I turn this even further into a bad anime/sitcom. XD

[winged_knight]

As long as said drool is not corrosive, it's all well and good. Complementary, in some cases even.

"Aha." A nervous laugh that's more like air awkwardly trying to escape his systems than good humor. He worries his hands in front of him, "Been, uh, busy I suppose?"

Rigorous activity Ambulon had said right?

As long as we stay away from Magical Girl stuff....

[sword_redemption]

"....I don't know. I don't remember. Like. Anything." He shakes his head. Well, he's back to his usual level of incoherence.

He wanders over to the thing they'd killed, poking its face with one foot. He's not macabre, just trying to change the subject. And there really isn't much else out here.

If it absolutely comes to that I'll wear the skirt. Then you can ask me where I hide my wand.

[winged_knight]

A twitch of concern crosses Wing's face. "Nothing? Not even, how you got here? Ambulon said he saw you a few days ago for treatment...and that you didn't show today for a recheck."

Wing's attention is drawn to the creatures, noting their design, something he's never seen before. "I wonder where they came from."

[sword_redemption]

"I remember waiting for you. In my quarters. And I remember looking, for a few days, for that thing that attacked Megatron. But...I don't remember leaving this time. I would have brought rations, supplies, if I'd planned to be out long."

He frowns, uncomfortable. He hates not knowing, this idea that he's broken, somehow.

[winged_knight]

The notion that Drift had been waiting for him is heartening, but then it feels a little bit selfish in light of the mech's current plight.

"How long do you think?" The only other cases of missing memories had been when mechs had died, but in each of those cases they had awoken in the temples.

"Drift, I..." Wing reaches out a hand, almost in offering, "I'm sorry. That I wasn't here."

[sword_redemption]

Drift doesn't mind: he wants Wing to know, especially after how they parted, that he wanted to make things better, that he waited and waited, checking his comm for messages about 10 times a day, every time he came into range from the badlands.

"I..." he pauses to check his chrono. "Two days." Two days? He's lucky the critters just showed up now.

He smiles, brushing his hand along the back of Wing's. "Don't worry about it. Please." He's tired of the past hurting everything.

[winged_knight]

"Two days..." Not exactly encouraging for multiple reasons. "Seems strange to encounter creatures so close to Haven...?" When last time, with Ashitaka, it took them twice that to meet resistance.

The smile on Drift's face is heartening too. In truth, Wing would give anything to see it there every single day. He returns it with one of his own, almost shyly, all to aware of what he left in Drift's hands. His fingers find the spaces between Drift's, "I thought I left looking for answers. But finally I realized...they were right here all along."

[sword_redemption]

"Maybe they smelled me or something. I don't think I'm two days out." You know, like blood in the water for sharks on Earth.

Drift shrugs. "Sometimes you just need a change to shake things up so you can see what's under all the...gunk." Okay, it's a terrible analogy, but he's going to stick with it.

[winged_knight]

Wing's had enough aggressive underwater critters to last him at least a decade and he's got the bite marks to prove it. So he'll pass on sharks, thanks. "Those...things, from the first invasion. They seemed drawn to things that were living or powered." Let's add sharkticons to that list too.

It is a terrible analogy, but also an accurate one. "That's true. Though it'd be nice if clarity could be achieved in a way other than chasing my fool tail all around Cybertron." He shakes his head, rueful but amused. "I had to come home though, to you."

[sword_redemption]

Drift nods. "So maybe they could just sense me. But that means," he rolls the head under his foot. It's probably a little gruesome, but he's far more inured to battlefields than Wing probably is. "that they're getting hungrier for some reason. We might want to ask the First Forged if this has happened."

He tightens his hand over Wing's. "The world almost never listens to 'it would be nice'."

[winged_knight]

"That stands to reason." Thankfully he only has optics for Drift right now, and not the thing under the mech's foot. He's seen his share of battlefields, mostly post battle, but it's been a very, very long time. "But that doesn't explain how you got out here, or why you were passed out."

It's all very peculiar.

"This is true." A dry chuckle, because it's one of those lessons he might never completely learn. And really, the trip hadn't totally been for naught. "Listen, I realized something else while I was gone. Ah, about the conversation we had last. Some things, that I might have, well, communicated horribly."

He almost cringes; things were going so well, he almost didn't want to bring it up. But if there was a miscommunication, especially one that was his fault, he wanted to clear it up.

[sword_redemption]

Drift would rather stay with the reason than start moseying down that road of things he can't answer. "You're going to make me get looked at by Ambulon again or something, aren't you?"

"Oh. That." Right. He doesn't want to think about that. And suddenly it's time to make sure he's wiped down his blades before putting them away.

[winged_knight]

Wing hadn't thought of that but it's not a bad idea really. Still, he probably doesn't have to suggest it. "You're the one who already had an appointment with him," he grins with a shrug, "Run some diagnostics at least?"

And yeah. Wing figured this would get hard before it got easier. He draws a deep in-vent, then rubs his helm a bit sheepishly. Might as well get right to it. "I think I...may have...inadvertently implied that we'd been 'facing." But dammit, it's that word that's the problem. "What I mean is...there was a connection component to it, but we weren't lovers Drift."

[sword_redemption]

"No. I'm fine. I just...don't know what happened." Sure, that makes sense, right?

Drift looks pointedly away, mouth working. "You don't need to explain anything to me. It's your choice."

[winged_knight]

"I'm glad for that, more than I can say." He still frets a bit, because how he got all the way out here without knowing it is worrisome. "There must be some way we can figure this out."

His puts his hands out again, softly, "I don't want it to be a sore point between us. Please tell me what bothers you. I want to do something about it."

[sword_redemption]

"Honestly," and he hates admitting this much, "maybe we'd think better back at the Haven." It's been days since he ate, after all.

"There's nothing you can do about it; don't worry." His mouth is set. He really doesn't want to talk about Wing being intimate with their First Forged in a way he never could be.

[winged_knight]

"That would probably be wise." Wherever these creatures came from, there might be more.

Wing's hands lower, a disheartened cast falling over his face. "I just...wanted to be sure there weren't anymore misconceptions thanks to my...bungle." But he leaves it at that.

Suddenly he's realizing how tired he actually is. A several hundred kilometer sprint tends to do that. He sighs, "If we're going to head back I should really refuel first." He still has provisions since he'd planned on being gone a whole lot longer. He slips a few travel packets of energon from the storage in his thigh, mutely offering one to Drift.

[sword_redemption]

"Occasionally I say something smart," Drift says, tartly.

"I don't have any misconceptions," he says, quietly. "Don't try to make it what it wasn't, Wing. When you brought it up it was to tell me what you had, this amazing thing, that you gave up. It's still that."

He steps back, moving in a semi circle, like a perimeter, while Wing refuels, staring moodily into the shadows.

[winged_knight]

"More than occasionally," he replies genuinely.

"...it is. I'm sorry. I thought..." he pauses, loosing an unsettled vent of air.

"I was wrong in my thinking, that it would..._{make you happy.}" He still feels foolish, caught up in the zealotry of it, so much so that he missed basic consideration. But mistakes were still things that could be learned from, right? "Terrible timing aside, would you prefer that I hadn't told you?"

Wing's helm bows. He's not even really hungry now, but he knows he should. Running out off fuel mid-flight was a fear almost any flier had. Though he doesn't even really taste it going down.

[sword_redemption]

"Wing. You should do what you want, what makes you happy." He's trying to remember what Rung had told him--that holding on too tightly, trying to force things to happen, wouldn't work. It would just hold them both back.

He catches the discomfort Wing radiates, and he turns to him, optics glimmering. "Wing. Please. I love you. I don't want you to sacrifice anything for me though. You've already done that--too much--for me."

[winged_knight]

"There are a lot of things that make me happy. But most of all, you." His own optics flicker as they meets Drift's, the affirmation a well of warmth and comfort within him. "That's something I don't want to sacrifice."

And maybe that's where he'd gone wrong. Thinking subtraction would somehow help two people come together. "You're right. There's been enough sacrifice all around. I want to create and give and share, not...diminish things."

[sword_redemption]

Drift doesn't know what to say, or think. He just wants Wing happy. But at the same time he wants to be responsible for part of it.

He sighs. "You deserve every happiness you can grasp at, Wing." And Drift? He deserves to suffer for what he's done.

[winged_knight]

And Drift is, undeniably, a big part of it. Wing just needs to find newer and better ways to show it.

"And if I grasp at you? Is that okay?" His helm tilts, demure, while reaching out to put his hands of Drift's chestplate as if he knows the answer. Or hopes so. "I love you. More than I ever have anyone else. I want you happy Drift. I want us to be happy, together."