Haunting The Nemesis

Breaking Down

Summary: Danny has a heart-to-heart with Breakdown... (Or I guess in this case it's a core-to-spark)

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Danny had found himself ambling around the halls of the Nemesis, yet again faced with absolutely nothing to do. The deep hum of the ship resounded around him. He eventually walked past the medbay, and glancing up at the large door, he suddenly remembered Knockout mentioning that Breakdown was in there, having been put strictly on bed rest after a fight with the Autobots left him injured.

Danny smiled to himself and walked up to the door. Instantly, it opened for him after reading his biosignature. Thank you Soundwave. The hum of the medbay was distinctly different than the ship's thrum in the halls. Danny shivered as he stepped inside, the doors closing with a quiet hiss behind him.

He looked up, eyes immediately landing on the large blue Decepticon laying on a medical berth in the corner of the room, his shoulder plate cracked and his arm propped awkwardly at his side with some sort of metal sling that had been welded to him. Knockout had done his best to fix the injuries – Danny knew Knockout would do nothing less for his partner, but Danny also knew that the healing would take time. For now, Breakdown was immobilized and clearly not happy about it.

Danny hesitated to step closer, looking over Breakdown's stiff form. The quiet confidence that the big mech normally had in his field was replaced with bitterness and failure. Danny bit his lip, then walked closer, his soft footsteps quiet enough that Breakdown hadn't noticed him yet.

"Hey," Danny spoke up, trying to grab the mech's attention. "You look like you've had better days." He chuckled, hoping the joke would help ease the tension.

With a start, Breakdown's yellow optics flickered online and snapped to Danny, who was standing on the ground not too far from him; they seemed to glow a dimmer yellow than normal. After realizing it was Danny who was talking to him his plating visibly relaxed. "You could say that," he grumbled, though it lacked the usual strength behind it. "What do you want, human?" Breakdown sat up fully, now sitting on the edge of the medical berth.

"Just checking on you. Figured you could use some company." Danny tossed his hand to the side.

Breakdown grunted, shifting slightly on the berth. The movement made him wince. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Good thing I'm not here to babysit," Danny replied easily. "I'm just here to bug you."

Breakdown let out a small, huffing chuckle despite himself. "That right?"

Danny smiled and walked over next to one of Breakdown's pedes, holding his arms up in the universal help me up motion. Breakdown sighed and reached down for Danny to step onto his open servo, grunting in pain as he sat himself back up and placed Danny on the berth next to him.

"Yup." Danny leaned back on his hands, swinging his legs back and forth as they hung off the edge of the berth. " So, Knockout left you hanging, huh?"

"He's busy. I'll live." Breakdown sighed, silence eventually settling between them. Eventually, the big mech sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"... I hate this," Breakdown muttered. "Being stuck here. Useless."

Danny glanced at him, sensing the frustration in his field. "You're not useless."

"I can't fight. I can't move. I'm just... waiting." Breakdown's optics flickered again, narrowing.

Danny spoke up, " You know, I get it. Being strong... feeling like you have to protect everyone... it's a lot of pressure."

Breakdown didn't respond right away, his optics focused on the wall ahead of him. Finally, he muttered, "I'm the one who protects Knockout. Always have. But when I'm like this..." He gestured to his injured body, "...I can't do slag."

"That's not true," Danny added, meeting Breakdown's optics. "You're not nothing just because you're hurt. You're still you. And you're still strong. You just... need a little time to heal."

"If I can't break things or protect Knockout, I'm not good for anything. That's all I have going for me, kid." Breakdown sighed.

Danny frowned at that and crossed his arms. "You're more than that. Knockout knows it. I know it." He paused, then added, "Strength isn't just about smashing things. It's about knowing when to let others help you, and to know when you need to take a break too."

Breakdown turned to look at Danny as he raised an optic ridge. "And what would a kid like you know about that?"

Danny smiled, but it was tinged with a hint of sadness. "More than you'd think. I've spent so much time trying to protect everyone around me... sometimes I forget I'm allowed to lean on people too."

Breakdown huffed again, but there was less resistance in it now. Silence stretched on for another long time and Danny waited. "I've never been good at sitting still."

Danny smiled. "No kidding. But you've got to, or else Knockout's going to blow a fuse."

"Primus, I know." Breakdown chuckled, and for a moment, the tension in his field eased. Then his tone shifted, more serious again. "You don't have to stay, you know. I can handle this on my own."

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. But I want to stay. Besides, we don't get to hang out much unless we end up being working in the medbay together with Knockout and Starscream." He paused, then added with a small smirk, "And I've seen the way Knockout fusses over you. Figured you might need someone around who doesn't try to worry over you every five minutes."

Breakdown let out a real laugh this time, deep and booming despite his injury. "Yeah, he's a lot sometimes. But he means well." He said with a smile.

Danny grinned. "I know. You guys are good together."

Breakdown's optic softened, and he gave a small nod. "Yeah. We are."

Danny pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms above his head. "Look – how about, when you're feeling up to it and Knockout's not too busy, we go to one of those drive-in theatres he likes, just to hang out."

Breakdown smiled down at Danny and tilted his head to the side. "Sure, kid."

Danny laughed and looked down at the ground below him. "And don't worry. You'll be back up and kicking aft in no time," he said as he hopped down from the berth, using a bit of his flight to prevent breaking his legs. Breakdown raised a servo like he was about to try and catch Danny, but when he noticed Danny was fine he laid it back down next to him. Danny smiled at the mech's care. "But for now, just rest, alright?"

Breakdown gave a half-hearted shrug. "Yeah. Fine."

Danny walked over to the other side of the medbay and grabbed one of the datapads left there, he picked it up and walked back over to Breakdown, the mech's optics following him the whole way. Danny sat cross-legged on the floor and started reading through. Working in comfortable silence as Breakdown rested his injuries. After a moment more Danny spoke up, tilting his head upward to look at the mech towering above him on the berth. "You know, Breakdown?"

The big mech raised his optic ridge, waiting.

"You're not helpless. You're still the toughest mech I know."

Breakdown's expression softened and he gave a small nod, appreciation in his gaze. "Thanks, kid."

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Notes

Beta read by Arvensia

There are a couple more of these shorter chapters the 800-1200 word ones which I will be posting both on Fridays and Tuesdays! The chapters after that are all more like mini one-shots with a plot each so they have around 2500-4500 words each so we will go back to posting Fridays for the rest of the chapters!

Love you all and hope you have a great week!