That night was not a peaceful one. Silent, but not in a good way. The cell was eerily quiet, and neither mech could recharge comfortably – or at all – because of it. It's especially frustrating for Thunderhoof, who desperately wants to sleep his pain away yet can't because the universe just hates him, apparently. The only good thing about this situation is that he isn't alone; Bumblebee is stuck with him.
The Autobot hasn't budged an inch since they settled down hours ago. Thunderhoof could only assume that he's deep in thought, which wouldn't be much of a stretch since the humans that caught them are affiliated with the group from Bumblebee's past.
Not that Thunderhoof will admit it out loud, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit impressed by what these humans accomplished, even at the expense of his pride.
By the stars, if the others saw me now, they'd never let me live this down!
Thunderhoof inadvertently, audibly chuckled at the thought.
"Something funny?" Bumblebee asked.
"Just thinkin' about how the other 'Cons would react," Thunderhoof replied, shifting in place. He grimaced when he rotated his injured hoof a little too much to the side.
"Scrap. Can't heal fast enough."
"Maybe if you stayed put like you were supposed to..." Bumblebee started.
"Then the bitlits would've been buried under a pile of rocks," the Ex-Con interrupted pointedly, drawing his injured hoof closer. "And who knows how long it would've taken yous to find 'em."
"You're underestimating the Rescue Team's abilities."
"Did I mention anything that remotely suggests I underestimate them?"
Bumblebee didn't answer, preoccupied with sulking. Thunderhoof scoffs and rolls his optics, then turns to his injured hoof. On the outside, everything looks fine, but in the space between plating and proto-form and below, things are still healing on a microscopic level. With the amount of stress Thunderhoof has put on it, the hoof has taken longer than estimated to heal.
Deducing that he can't do anything about his hoof until after they escape, Thunderhoof raises his gaze to his chassis. From what he can see, sparse scorch marks and small cracks don't stretch any further than the edges of his armor. The more pliable, vulnerable, sheet plating of his abdomen is, thankfully, unscathed. Thunderhoof vents a sigh of relief and reaches up to place a servo on his chassis. He restrains himself from making any sort of noise when feeling the point of impact, where the cracks are wider, deeper, and burn like the Pit.
"Thunderhoof, stop touching your injury," Bumblebee ordered, finally breaking away from his thousand-yard stare to look at his companion. "You're just going to aggravate it, and even someone like me who has almost no medical training knows that that isn't a good idea."
"I don't need yous policin' my every move," Thunderhoof grumbled, though he did stop rubbing and rested his servo in his lap. "I already have enough to deal with."
"Aside from the past couple weeks, what else is there?"
"Anything and everything involving Steeljaw."
Bumblebee hums. He nods a minute later.
"Fair point. Honestly, I'm surprised you're holding it together this well. You haven't had a violent outburst once."
Thunderhoof barks out a laugh.
"Hah! Yous are actin' like I have a choice!"
Bumblebee tilts his helm.
"What do you mean by that?"
Thunderhoof sneered and turned his full attention onto Bumblebee. The Autobot leaned back, unsettled by the rage fighting to escape the Ex-Con.
"Cause if I did act out – if any one of us Cons steps a little out of line – yous Autobots would see that as a perfect opportunity to toss us into stasis, permanently. I can assure you, none of us want to be in that position ever again!"
"Wait, you think I'll overreact if you lose your temper?" Bumblebee questioned, not believing what he's hearing. "Thunderhoof, I wouldn't do that! Sure, I may have a few years ago..."
"It ain't you who we're worried about!" Thunderhoof snapped. "It's every other Autobot that scares us!"
Bumblebee's optics dilate. He wasn't expecting that to be Thunderhoof's response. He certainly wasn't expecting to pick up on waves of distress and fear, though he wasn't at all surprised that the Ex-Con was trying to hide behind anger and frustration.
"I don't want to admit it, none of us do, but someone had to say somethin' at some point, and no better time than right now, huh?" Thunderhoof huffed, a grim smile pulling at his faceplate as he looked away.
"I...I'm sorry, Thunderhoof, but if you had a problem, why didn't you say anything to me?" Bumblebee asked, slumping back against the wall. "If you reasoned that I would be the only Autobot to hear you out, then why didn't you?"
Thunderhoof didn't answer.
"Does Steeljaw know?"
"Course he does," Thunderhoof scoffs. "It's Steeljaw, for Pit sake."
"Don't you and Phantomjaw always tease him for being an idiot at times?" Bumblebee asked, knowing he's getting somewhat off-topic, but anything to ease Thunderhoof's nerves.
Thankfully, it works. Thunderhoof visibly relaxes, his stiff posture loosening, and laughs.
"Yeah, we do. Don't think anythin' entertains us more than that! Well, 'cept maybe all the trouble Underbite gets into."
The mechs continue the conversation and start many others throughout the night, keeping each other in mostly good spirits.
Sometime around dawn Thunderhoof falls asleep.
Bumblebee follows suit not that much later.
When they are awakened, they do so unhappily.
Firstly, no one likes to be woken up.
Secondly, it's even worse for those in the mechs' position.
"I forgot we're still here," Bumblebee mumbled, cradling his helm in his servos.
"The one time I wish I was in stasis so that I don't have to listen to anyone," Thunderhoof muttered, stretching his arms.
The statement gets a chuckle out of Bumblebee, which is immediately silenced when the viewing window is switched to two-way, where both robots and humans can see each other. The lab is full of life, with more people running around than there were before.
They didn't matter, though.
The only one who does matter, at this point in time, is Jane Doe. She is back, and has once again taken residency in the same chair at the same panel. She looks the same, except for her outfit, which is only different in terms of color.
{Good day, gentlemen. Do you mind if I call you that?}
"Whatever you want," Bumblebee replied dismissively.
{Very well. Before we get started, are both of you going to talk, or is the Autobot your designated speaker?}
Bumblebee looks over at Thunderhoof. The Ex-Con returns the look, then scoffs, rolls his optics, and turns away. Bumblebee vents and shakes his helm. He rises to his pedes and approaches the barrier.
"He doesn't like talking to humans," Bumblebee said.
{Clearly. Will you be making decisions for him as well?}
Behind Bumblebee, Thunderhoof snorts in amusement. He ignores the reaction.
"Why do you ask?"
{My predecessor wasn't known for his hospitality, which is an insincerity that I am willing to rectify. I am merely offering an olive branch in return for your cooperation today.}
Bumblebee tensed at the mention of Silas, but by the Primes if he wasn't curious.
"What do you want?"
It's barely noticeable, but Jane Doe does perk-up a bit at Bumblebee's words.
{Nothing too intrusive, I can assure you! Well, for you, anyway. Your friend? Not so much. You see...}
Jane Doe stops herself from continuing. She is both surprised yet unsurprised that the Autobot immediately placed himself in front of the Decepticon, intending to protect him. Which, in her mind, isn't entirely unreasonable, though still annoying. She rubs her temples and sighs.
{Right, it seems both of us have made a miscalculation. Perhaps you can calm down for a few minutes so that I may explain?}
Bumblebee didn't budge so much as an inch. The only part of his body that did move were his optics, and that's just because they narrowed to glare down at her.
{Enough beating around the bush, I suppose. I'll just get right to it.}
Jane Doe takes a moment to skim the papers in front of her before continuing.
{In exchange for your complete and absolute submission to any and all tests we have planned for you, Autobot, I will employ our finest engineers and mechanics to take care of your friend.}
The following silence is deafening, until Bumblebee's voice takes over.
"Are you insane? Do you really think I will allow any of you anywhere near him?"
{I don't know the basis for your 'relationship' and right now I don't care. I am offering you a promise that we won't harm your companion while he is recuperating. All I ask for in return, as I've stated before, is your cooperation.}
Bumblebee clenched his fists. Thunderhoof knew the Autobot didn't want to submit to the humans, but he also couldn't ignore a fellow Cybertronian in-need.
Scrap. At this rate, he's going to take forever! Might as well make the decision...
A sharp, burning pain pulses from his chassis. Thunderhoof hisses and curls in on himself, hiding the injury from view. When his legs move, his hooves turn inward slightly, just enough to cause discomfort up along his left side.
Bumblebee must have sensed his discomfort, because he answered, in an anxious tone...
"Fine! Fine, just, get someone in here to help him."
The humans were tuned out as Bumblebee knelt beside Thunderhoof and wrapped his arms around the Cervicon's shoulders to steady him.
"Thunderhoof, are you alright?"
"Obviously not since yous decided to let the humans in!" Thunderhoof growled. He suddenly lurched forward, almost landing flat on the floor.
"Blasted Pits, it shouldn't hurt this much!"
"What is going on? You haven't had this reaction before!" Bumblebee exclaimed.
"I...I..."
Thunderhoof stopped trying to talk, focusing intently on circulating his vents. His entire frame felt like it was burning from the inside-out. The rattling of his plating could just barely be heard through his dulled audio receptors. He was hardly able to make out anything through glazed optics.
The only reason Thunderhoof wasn't writhing on the ground was because of Bumblebee, who held onto him the entire time. He may not entirely register the attempts to soothe him now, but Thunderhoof can always ask – and thank – Bumblebee later.
The time came that night.
Thunderhoof doesn't even remember falling into recharge, though after all the stress his body and mind went through, it's understandable. He comes online, still feeling warm, with a major helmache to boot. Other than that, things seem to be back to normal.
"Thunderhoof?"
The Cervicon looked up into clear blue optics. They were full of worry, yet a sparkle of relief was present.
"What happened?" Thunderhoof rasped. He tried to sit up, but Bumblebee wouldn't let him.
"Hey, stay down, rest!" The Autobot quietly chastised, gently guiding Thunderhoof to lean back against his chassis. "No one knows what happened. The humans thought you had a heart, well, spark attack."
"I didn't."
"Yeah, I know you didn't. I'm just saying that's what the humans assumed."
Thunderhoof snorted. Remaining silent, he looked Bumblebee over. While his vision isn't at a hundred percent, he can still see the lack of any damage to the Autobot.
As if reading his processor, Bumblebee said...
"I told them I wouldn't be going anywhere. I wasn't about to leave you behind with a group of strangers in your state."
"And they let you?" Thunderhoof questioned.
Bumblebee vented, looking equal parts confused and sullen.
"This MECH isn't like the one from before, which, personally, is greatly unsettling."
"It's an old frame with a new paint job, is basically what yous are saying," Thunderhoof replied.
Bumblebee chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess that's one way to see it."
The mechs opted for silence for a while.
Bumblebee is sitting, back pressed against the wall, Thunderhoof's front half sprawled over his lap and chassis.
Thunderhoof closes his optics and leans further into the embrace, relishing in the warmth and protection – another thing on a long list of things he will ever admit to publicly – that is being provided.
He listens to a pulsing, beating, healthy spark.
Sounds only meant for one mech to hear escape his vocalizer, muffled by yellow and black plating.
His processor brings up memories of times equally as frustrating, in more pleasant settings, with a mech he never thought he would ever grow so attached to.
"Thunderhoof!"
Rough servos shaking him garnered an indignant snort from the awakened party.
"What?"
"Are you alright? You're starting to heat up again."
"I'm fine. I...I'm just thinking about someone. Nothin' to get your wires in a bunch."
Bumblebee didn't need to ask. He knew who Thunderhoof was thinking about. He decidedly kept his mouth shut and curled around Thunderhoof. The two mechs fell into a deep recharge.