Wheeljack's only response at first is a grunt from where he's curled up in a ball in a far corner. It's apparent he's been crying- bawling, really- from the redness of his face and puffiness of his eyes. Once Perceptor had entered and Wheeljack knew it was only his mate, he found his voice.
"I hate her sometimes," he grumped sadly, tiredly. "She and Wheelie had it so good, Percy, and we went through hell, and she has the ball bearings to say that to me? I know you care about the kid, but slag, Percy, that wasn't fair. I did everything in my power to keep you safe, and I still couldn't do it. How dare she point that out, when she did nothing to help us!"
Perceptor crosses to his mate, dropping down to kneel beside him so that he can wrap himself around the battered engineer. "She did not mean it, 'Jack," he offers softly. "It was her way of trying to cope by attempting levity. She does not understand..." Perceptor sighs sadly, shoving everything down deep to concentrate on soothing Wheeljack. "And you promised that you would not blame yourself." He holds Wheeljack tightly, needing the contact himself, as much as he needs to comfort his mate. "You mustn't blame yourself, 'Jack. Please. We would not have escaped without you."
Wheeljack lets out a sob and hugs Perceptor close. After all this time, through all the merry shades of hell and torture, he hasn't cried once. He's about due for a good cry.
"You can cry too, if you need too," Wheeljack murmurs, sitting down and pulling Perceptor down next to him. It was far more comfortable than crouching. "We're alone back here, and you probably need a good cry as much as I do."
"I told you... It is my turn to be strong for you. Remember?" Perceptor murmurs in reply, gathering Wheeljack as close as physically possible. Finally being able to help his mate, to do something constructive, makes it easy to ignore his own fears and frailties. He feels useful and strong again, which goes a long way towards patching his battered confidence.
He will need to lean upon Wheeljack's strength again all too soon. For now, however, it feels good to be able to let Wheeljack lean on him. He brushes his lips against his mate's forehead, and borrows Wheeljack's trick of rubbing gently along his mate's back to comfort him.
Comments 12
"I hate her sometimes," he grumped sadly, tiredly. "She and Wheelie had it so good, Percy, and we went through hell, and she has the ball bearings to say that to me? I know you care about the kid, but slag, Percy, that wasn't fair. I did everything in my power to keep you safe, and I still couldn't do it. How dare she point that out, when she did nothing to help us!"
Reply
Reply
"You can cry too, if you need too," Wheeljack murmurs, sitting down and pulling Perceptor down next to him. It was far more comfortable than crouching. "We're alone back here, and you probably need a good cry as much as I do."
Reply
He will need to lean upon Wheeljack's strength again all too soon. For now, however, it feels good to be able to let Wheeljack lean on him. He brushes his lips against his mate's forehead, and borrows Wheeljack's trick of rubbing gently along his mate's back to comfort him.
Reply
Leave a comment