prompt 6 response
Title: Restoration
Universe: G1
Rating: PG
Content Advisory: mentions of illness, mild emotional trauma
Pairing: Kup/Arcee
Prompt: 6. Scenario: recovering from an illness.
Notes: written for the Sept. 15, 2012 round at tf_speedwriting. apparently i’m breaking out all my rare/non-standard pairing feels this week.
Arcee settled onto the edge of the berth, carefully holding the bowl of Cosmos’ energon “soup” and a spoon. The minibot had made the blend specially, adding extra minerals that Kup’s body was short on as he recovered from the effects of the infection he’d endured.
The old mech looked so peaceful as he lay on the berth--face relaxed and body not wracked by the shudders that had plagued him for the last week--that she hated to wake him. But he needed to fuel and he needed to replenish his mineral stores. And she needed to make sure he took the energon for her own peace of mind.
He had come far too close to death’s door this time.
Arcee inhaled, pulling in a draught of cooling air in an effort to calm herself as he processor began racing toward thoughts of what could have been, if Ratchet and First Aid were less competent medics. She shivered as she failed to escape the reality that she had very nearly lost him and ruthlessly suppressed a sob of pent up emotion. It wouldn’t do either of them any good for her to get worked up now, not when he was alive and well on his way to being whole again.
“Lass,” Kup’s voice was rough and the hand that reached out to grasp hers was unexpected. “What’s wrong?”
Arcee squeezed his hand, too conscious of how brittle the plating under hers felt, and tried to smile for him. “Nothing. It’s okay now.”
“Don’t go giving me one of those comforting lies.” He sat up, tugging gently until she folded up against his chest plates. Arcee held Cosmos’ soup close, unwilling to spill a single precious drop, and let Kup hold her. “Something is wrong. Tell me.”
“You almost died,” she whispered.
“Ah, lass.” The older mech laid on hand on her head in the same comforting gesture he had used for as long as she could remember. “It’s all right. Let it all out.”
She trembled, plating rattling together softly and soup sloshing gently in it’s bowl, but gave no other sign of her emotional turmoil. Arcee let herself take comfort in Kup’s presence, in the hand on her head and the spark she could feel pulsing strongly under his plating.
“There now,” Kup said softly. “You knew a few spores couldn’t keep me down.”
She didn’t remark his bravado, knowing it was his way of saying that he had been just as scared as she. Because everyone had thought those spores would finally be the end of the tough old warrior, as they broke down his internals and cannibalized them for the minerals they required for reproduction. If he had been any other mech, any less stubborn mech, Kup would not be here to comfort her now.
But he was, and that gave her the strength to sit up after a few minutes. She pressed a kiss to his lip components, something she had been desperate to do since he began his rapid decline but had been forbidden due to the high risk of infection. He returned the kiss and it lingered, reconnecting them and soothing their pain and fear.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she admonished when they broke apart. “I’m lost without you.”
“You’re stronger than you know, lass.” Kup smiled and kissed her again. Then he looked down at the bowl in her hand. “What’s that?”
“Energon soup,” Arcee replied with a small smile. “Cosmos’ special recipe. Ratchet swears by it, apparently. He said it was ‘good for what ails you’. From the way Spike laughed, I think that’s a human saying.”
“Cosmos cooks, huh? Never would’a thought.” He took the bowl from her and raised it, with only a slight trembling in his hand, to his mouth. He took a cautious sip, then grinned and took another. “I haven’t had an energon blend this good since the last time I was on leave in Yuss. There was a minibot there who...”
Universe: G1
Rating: PG
Content Advisory: mentions of illness, mild emotional trauma
Pairing: Kup/Arcee
Prompt: 6. Scenario: recovering from an illness.
Notes: written for the Sept. 15, 2012 round at tf_speedwriting. apparently i’m breaking out all my rare/non-standard pairing feels this week.
Arcee settled onto the edge of the berth, carefully holding the bowl of Cosmos’ energon “soup” and a spoon. The minibot had made the blend specially, adding extra minerals that Kup’s body was short on as he recovered from the effects of the infection he’d endured.
The old mech looked so peaceful as he lay on the berth--face relaxed and body not wracked by the shudders that had plagued him for the last week--that she hated to wake him. But he needed to fuel and he needed to replenish his mineral stores. And she needed to make sure he took the energon for her own peace of mind.
He had come far too close to death’s door this time.
Arcee inhaled, pulling in a draught of cooling air in an effort to calm herself as he processor began racing toward thoughts of what could have been, if Ratchet and First Aid were less competent medics. She shivered as she failed to escape the reality that she had very nearly lost him and ruthlessly suppressed a sob of pent up emotion. It wouldn’t do either of them any good for her to get worked up now, not when he was alive and well on his way to being whole again.
“Lass,” Kup’s voice was rough and the hand that reached out to grasp hers was unexpected. “What’s wrong?”
Arcee squeezed his hand, too conscious of how brittle the plating under hers felt, and tried to smile for him. “Nothing. It’s okay now.”
“Don’t go giving me one of those comforting lies.” He sat up, tugging gently until she folded up against his chest plates. Arcee held Cosmos’ soup close, unwilling to spill a single precious drop, and let Kup hold her. “Something is wrong. Tell me.”
“You almost died,” she whispered.
“Ah, lass.” The older mech laid on hand on her head in the same comforting gesture he had used for as long as she could remember. “It’s all right. Let it all out.”
She trembled, plating rattling together softly and soup sloshing gently in it’s bowl, but gave no other sign of her emotional turmoil. Arcee let herself take comfort in Kup’s presence, in the hand on her head and the spark she could feel pulsing strongly under his plating.
“There now,” Kup said softly. “You knew a few spores couldn’t keep me down.”
She didn’t remark his bravado, knowing it was his way of saying that he had been just as scared as she. Because everyone had thought those spores would finally be the end of the tough old warrior, as they broke down his internals and cannibalized them for the minerals they required for reproduction. If he had been any other mech, any less stubborn mech, Kup would not be here to comfort her now.
But he was, and that gave her the strength to sit up after a few minutes. She pressed a kiss to his lip components, something she had been desperate to do since he began his rapid decline but had been forbidden due to the high risk of infection. He returned the kiss and it lingered, reconnecting them and soothing their pain and fear.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she admonished when they broke apart. “I’m lost without you.”
“You’re stronger than you know, lass.” Kup smiled and kissed her again. Then he looked down at the bowl in her hand. “What’s that?”
“Energon soup,” Arcee replied with a small smile. “Cosmos’ special recipe. Ratchet swears by it, apparently. He said it was ‘good for what ails you’. From the way Spike laughed, I think that’s a human saying.”
“Cosmos cooks, huh? Never would’a thought.” He took the bowl from her and raised it, with only a slight trembling in his hand, to his mouth. He took a cautious sip, then grinned and took another. “I haven’t had an energon blend this good since the last time I was on leave in Yuss. There was a minibot there who...”