Transformers Prime: Through Bad and Through Worse

Chapter Twenty Seven

That morning wasn't a pleasant one.

"Alright, everybot up! C'mon! Research starts early, so we can get more done!" Samuel's voice rang through speakers in the assigned berthrooms, waking every bot almost immediately. Ratchet shot up, breath catching for a moment as he was startled, but Optimus tried to jump to his peds, but slipped on the blankets and came tumbling off the berth, landing on his back and shoulders with his legs in the air.

"Uunngghkk..." The Prime groaned, a servo resting on his helm where he banged it. "Oww..."

Ratchet let out an exhausted sigh. "This had better be some fragging good research..." He checked his neural clock, groaning when he saw it was only 4:30 in the morning. "Aw, frag them all!"

After laying there with his legs in the air for a few moments, silently praying that it was just a dream, Optimus got to his peds and picked up his chestplate armor, half-sparkedly clipping it on and tossing Ratchet's to him.

"We better go." He said with a small shrug.

"Why did we agree to this?" Ratchet grumbled, clipping his armor back on. "This is fragging ridiculous."

Optimus led the way out of their berthroom and down the hall, into the main hangar, where Samuel and a bunch of his soldiers and workers awaited them. Cliff, Arcee and Bee where the first ones out, and Bulkhead hadn't yet emerged.

"Still think this is a good idea, Prime?" Arcee growled, glaring daggers at him. "I haven't woken up this early in..... EVER!"

"Ahem..." Samuel cleared his throat, earning the attention of everyone in the room. He stared at Optimus with a firm gaze. "Research starts now. How about you and the orange and white one first?"

Ratchet inhaled deeply at the words Samuel used to acknowledge him, glaring down at the human with fury written in his optics. "I still have a name..." Optimus rested a servo on his shoulder.

"Samuel, I humbly request that you respect my Autobots, and speak to them like beings, not machines." He said softly, defending his mate. Samuel gave a tiny nod.

"Very well. Now, if you two would step this way..." The human gestured to a huge lab table. "We can begin."

"Ratchet," Optimus whispered to his mate, pulling him close. "Please don't fight or argue..."

Ratchet scoffed. "That depends on how I'm treated." He followed Optimus over.

The research went by painfully slow, and was rather agitating on the bots' part, humans poking and prodding, asking numerous questions and demanding they do this and do that, and by the time they were finished, it was two thirty in the afternoon. Ratchet had grown stubborn and short with them after a few hours, and now was just plain vicious, snapping at them consistently and complaining, ignoring Optimus's pleading looks.

The bots were on the tired side when it was all finished, and ended up traveling back to their berthrooms, all except Cliffjumper, who went out for a drive after getting a lecture on road rules and proper driving. He quietly listened without complaint before leaving.

Ratchet was already snuggled into warm blankets and half asleep by the time Optimus came in and got in beside him, clumsily plumping down on the berth and yawning.

"I want to thank you for putting up with it, even when you... became agitated with it." Optimus said softly in his mate's audio receptor, resting one arm around the medic.

He grumbled. "Only for you, Prime Almighty." But when he felt his mate's warm frame against his, a smile came to his lips, and his agitation slowly began to fade away, affection heating in his spark. "Mm.... your so warm..."