Chapter Text
Rodimus had no idea where he was going. He was just letting his legs carry him as far away from Skywarp as he could get, clutching his injured hand against his chest piece. A nap was out of the question at this point. Not when he was shaking from the rush of fearthat had clouded his judgement moments before. He hadn’t meant to punch his retainer… He really shouldn’t have… Sure, he was angry, but he had been under control until that flash of fear… The fear of being discovered… Skywarp didn’t know anything, surely… He had just been spouting conjecture in an, albeit successful, attempt to rile Rodimus up.
…But was that all it had been, though…? Did he… actually know…?
“Rodimus?”
The Autobot prince froze as another rush of fear squeezed him in its grasp. He swallowed and sucked in a deep intake, quietly letting it out before he straightened up and turned around to meet the gaze of the Decepticon monarch approaching him with nothing short of befuddlement.
“Are you alone?” Galvatron queried, casting a quick glance around the area as he came to a stop in front of him. There were a few guards down the hall, but otherwise, nobody around for the young mech to try and rope into an excuse.
“Um. Yes,” he answered simply.
The monarch furrowed his optic ridges. “Where is everyone else? What happened to your hand?” he pressed.
At this rate, Galvatron was going to be yelling, Rodimus was sure… Grimacing, he wracked his mind for any sort of excuse or reasoning to prevent such a path from occurring. “Well… See I… I sort of…” he mumbled, before stammering out a few words of pause, his processor not helping him in the slightest. He couldn’t decide whether lying would make the situation worse or better.
Though his attempts were cut short as the crowned mech in front of him heaved a sigh. “Oil bath,” he stated gruffly, placing a hand on the prince’s shoulder and promptly guiding him away, catching Rodimus by surprise. Still, the young mech made no move to resist. The bath did sound nice right about now…
Galvatron asked no more probing questions for the duration of their walk through the halls of Castle Hyperious. He did have to stop them so he could ask one of the staff for directions, but otherwise he and Rodimus exchanged no words until they had reached their destination. After knocking to make sure the room was empty, the crowned mech ushered the prince in and shut the door behind them.
“Undress and get in,” the monarch ordered brusquely as he strode over to the racks Lady Esmeral had introduced to them day one.
Rodimus was in no joking mood, but he found his mouth reflexively blurting one out anyway, despite the fact he had no smile to match. “Not every day a bot tells me to strip for him. Normally they’d try treating me to dinner first.”
“Dinner is later at our hosts’ offering,” Galvatron grunted in response, peering at the shelves lined with incense.
Rodimus blinked and uttered a dumb, “Oh,” before slowly removing his adornments and setting them in a cubby. He watched as the Decepticon king picked up a stick of incense and stared at it and the shelf uncertainly. “You, um… You set the stick with the clean end through a hole in that flat stand there,” the prince instructed tentatively. “And then use the lighter on the other end.”
Galvatron took a bit longer as he scanned the shelf for what Rodimus was talking about, then let out an, “Ah,” as everything clicked in his head, proceeding to follow the instructions.
Meanwhile, Rodimus moved to have a seat in the bath and waited patiently for the king to remove his own adornments and join him. Within the heated oil, the Autobot rubbed gingerly away at his aching knuckles, the shadow-feeling of Skywarp’s nose shifting against them remaining.
With a bit of a splash, Galvatron dropped himself into the bath beside the prince, making the younger mech flinch away from the droplets. A rag clutched in his hand, the king fixed Rodimus with a firm look. “We’re going to perform that bath ritual you told me about, and while we do so, we are going to discuss some things,” he stated with a no-nonsense tone, extending his free hand out, palm up and waiting expectantly. “Hand. You know which one.”
Rodimus stared at him incredulously for half a second before bursting into light giggles, lifting his aching hand to set it in Galvatron’s. “You said that all so seriously~” he laughed, running the sentence over in his head. “Holy scrap! ‘Bath ritual’~ That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard you say!”
The monarch scowled at him with confusion. “You said it was something you did with your family as a bonding experience,” he defended.
“Yeah, but I also said ‘tradition’, not ‘ritual’~” the prince pointed out between his giggles.
“Hmph… Well, at least it improved your mood. I’ll take it.” Galvatron proceeded to lift Rodimus’ hand a little more to examine it. “Now. What did you punch?”
With the sudden shift in topics, the young mech’s laughter calmed, ending with a sigh as his smile disappeared again. “…Skywarp’s face,” he admitted with a remorseful tone.
“Either you don’t know how to throw a punch, or you lashed out in a rage,” the king observed, dipping the rag in the oil and lightly running it over the prince’s hand.
“I know how to punch. I’ve trained with a variety of Castle Iacon’s guards,” Rodimus informed.
“Then what did he do to send you into such a rage?”
This interrogation was already uncomfortable. It felt like it was going to go in the direction where Galvatron was going to chastise him as if he were a newborn. “Look, I don’t need a lecture,” he started warningly. “But I… got kind of furious because he was accusing my dad of being some… some… mastermind warmonger, and that I was a perfect pawn he built up…” He wilted slightly at the summarization. It didn’t exactly cover all the bases, but he didn’t want to have a conversation with the Decepticon about Rodimus being a potential spy.
The crowned mech rolled his optics. “The imagination on that bot is impressive, given just how stupid he is,” Galvatron grunted, lifting the rag to check on the prince’s knuckles. “He accused you of being a spy, yes?”
The Autobot tensed. The way he had asked that in such an uncaring manner just didn’t make sense. Was this a test? A trick to try and get Rodimus to admit as much? How did bots like Punch handle this type of pressure?? “He… did…” the prince admitted slowly, watching the king’s expression and body language carefully.
“Yes… More than likely a parroting of some things that Starscream said,” Galvatron muttered with that same unconcerned tone as he lowered Rodimus’ hand, lifting his gaze to meet the young mech’s. “And so, I will tell you what I told Starscream. We have nothing to hide. The war is over, and I plan on being as transparent with your kingdom as possible.”
“But… not about yourself?” Rodimus pointed out cautiously.
The king’s jaw set as he turned his head a bit to look away, scowling at the oil they sat in. A thick silence hung between them for a few seconds before Galvatron drew an intake in preparation to speak. “…Please understand, my life up until this point has not been a good one. Nor Cyclonus’, nor Scourge’s. It’s not one we want to recall unless circumstances force it,” he offered with a low rumble.
The young Autobot’s expression melted with compassion, his guilt eating away at him stronger than before. Even with the king’s assurances that he didn’t care if Rodimus was here to keep an optic on him, that still didn’t change the fact that Rodimus was supposed to be acting on the grounds that he wasn’t to be trusted until more evidence proved otherwise.
…But he just couldn’t keep it that impersonal… Maybe his mom was right… Maybe he wasn’t actually cut out for this…
“I’m sorry…” he uttered softly, taking hold of Galvatron’s hand under the oil’s surface and giving it a slight squeeze, causing the monarch to lift his gaze to meet the prince’s. “I didn’t mean to be pushy. I completely understand not wanting to recount traumatic experiences.”
“I wish to be as clairvoyant as possible, but it is just too soon. Perhaps after enough time has passed that I can put some distance between myself and the experiences,” King Galvatron compromised, gently pulling his hand free of Rodimus’ grip and dipping the one holding the rag into the oil again. “Now, enough of me. I shall get your back.”
The Autobot compliantly turned around and got comfy against the bath’s rim, letting out another sigh as he relaxed under the pressure Galvatron put into scrubbing his spoiler fins. “I know what I did is probably normal in Decepticon culture, but I really shouldn’t have punched him,” he muttered. “I have to apologize or it’s going to eat at me. Ugh… Actually, I also need to have a sit-down-and-talk session with the both of them… Apparently, Thundercracker knew about what Skywarp was planning, and didn’t bother to tell me.”
“Are you certain you want these two as your retainers?” the Decepticon monarch checked. “There are plenty of others who are less problematic. I do recall you telling me you wanted to be able to get along with your retainers so there would be a level of trust.”
“Well, yeah, but trust isn’t just built off of abandoning people the first sign of trouble,” Rodimus replied pointedly. Forgetting for just a moment that his upper fin was in Galvatron’s grip, he attempted to turn and peer back at him, but quickly stopped with a sharp hiss as his fin was awkwardly pinched from the movement, sending a searing pain shooting across the upper part.
The king’s grip released his fin the very moment the prince let out that tell-tale sign of pain, jerking his hand backward quickly as if he’d received a mild shock. “I apologize,” he offered. “Too tight?”
“No no, you’re fine,” his betrothed assured with a grimace, shifting to get comfortable again while he waited for his fin to stop stinging. “That was my fault, sorry. My spoiler doesn’t take pain as well as the rest of me does. A simple pinch can feel like a stab wound.”
Galvatron’s touch tentatively returned, though much gentler than before. “What caused this? Is it a design flaw? Having such an open weakness seems like a bad idea to leave uncorrected.”
Rodimus bobbed his head from side-to-side. He wasn’t wrong. But it seemed like such a hassle to correct after having dealt with it for as long as he had. “Not a design flaw. An injury,” he revealed. “One that I’ve never told my parents about because that would mean I have to admit I went somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go. But we’re not getting into that now.”
“I’m still of the mind that we should get that fixed,” the king persisted firmly. “You don’t even have to worry about your parents finding out considering where you are.”
“Gears,” Rodimus reminded pointedly. “He’d get suspicious and press the matter. Anyway! Like I was saying, relationships take effort. I’m confident I can get through to them. It’s just going to take a bit for us to synergize.” This time, the Autobot prince turned his head to peer over his shoulder, rather than turning his body. “You, Cyclonus, and Scourge are all synched up cogs now, but wasn’t there a time when you struggled a bit to understand each other? Maybe even argued?”
The Decepticon monarch didn’t respond immediately. Rodimus couldn’t get a proper look at him, but he could only assume that meant that he was seriously contemplating the question. Eventually, he answered, “Not with Cyclonus. We have always had an understanding. A connection, perhaps. Scourge took some getting used to. In the beginning, we did bicker.” There was a slight pause before he finished, “But not nearly to the degree that Red Blade and I did. I never reached any sort of understanding with him.”
An opportunity to learn more about this mysterious fourth team member astonishingly reared its head. Rodimus didn’t think Galvatron would have willingly brought him up. “Why’s that?”
“He’s brash and unruly,” the crowned mech muttered with a disgruntled tone, the swipes he took across Rodimus’ back becoming a little firmer again. “It was almost like it was his job to be contrary at every turn.”
The Autobot hummed in response, losing himself in thought for a moment. There was context he was missing. But what to ask to pull it out into the open? “Contrary in what way? Was it a matter of differing beliefs or was he just trying to make your life difficult?”
There was a low rumble that came from the king, his swipes slowing to a halt. When his grip released from Rodimus’ spoiler, the young mech turned to face him again, blinking as he discovered upon the king’s faceplate a scowl twisted with frustration and regret. His lips quirked now and again as he ran through his inner conflict, his optics trained on the oil they were sat in. Rodimus almost thought he wasn’t going to answer, but eventually, “Differing beliefs, mostly,” he finally grunted, turning his gaze back up to meet the prince’s. “But later, spite joined the mixture.”
“What… did you do?” Rodimus tried cautiously. “What was the spite for?”
Galvatron’s scowl scrunched a little more. “He has a competitive spark. Perhaps it was the fact that he’s never been able to beat me.”
That didn’t sound right to Rodimus. He had never known someone to get that ticked off at a rival over losing repeatedly. Typically, grudges were born from mistreatment or misunderstandings. Then again, maybe that was the difference between Decepticons and Autobots? He’d have to ask Thundercracker.
After an awkward silence hung between them a little too long, the prince said, “I guess it’s my turn to get your back.”
The crowned mech grunted his acknowledgement and handed the cloth over before turning around to get comfortable.
His right hand still tender, Rodimus’ efforts were slow and a little gingerly. The atmosphere that hung around the two royals was awkward once again as the prince wracked his mind for some way to get more information out of this. “What was one of your worst arguments?” he attempted.
“The day he left us,” the Decepticon monarch grunted. “There is a threat we are all concerned with. He disagreed with how I thought to handle it. We battled to settle the matter. He lost. He left.”
“A threat?” the young Autobot echoed with a frown. “Is it something my parents should know about so they can prepare?”
“To avoid unnecessary panic, I’m having Redwing look into it so I can determine whether the threat is genuine or unfounded,” Galvatron informed brusquely, turning his head to peer over his shoulder. “If it is genuine, then yes, I will share with you so you can deliver the news to your parents. But as it stands currently, I have no clear proof.”
The logic made sense, but Rodimus still didn’t like being kept in the dark this much. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, this was probably another thing he couldn’t push Galvatron to share before he was ready, so the prince reluctantly let it drop. Secret after secret… Maybe Red Blade would be a little more open?
“Have you been worrying about that mech from last night?”
The abrupt question caught the Autobot completely off guard, to the point that when the question was so forwardly asked, Rodimus stopped all movements to direct his gaze to the king’s face with shock. “H-Huh?” he got out dumbly.
“The victim you tended,” Galvatron elaborated bluntly. “You’ve been in your head all day. It’s out of concern for him, yes?”
“Your transitions need some work,” the prince muttered as he resumed scrubbing the king’s back. “But yes. I can’t really get my mind off of Drift. That stab wound was fresh. Based on the amount of energon spilled when we arrived, it had only happened mere moments before.”
“If you are implying we could have happened upon the attack and been caught up in it, I assure you, I wouldn’t have let anyone so much as dent you,” the purple mech reassured.
“I’m not implying that, I just…” His mental fatigue was not helping him with these explanations he tried to provide. It took him a minute before he tried again. “I guess I’m just concerned with how he got into that position… What happened? Who hurt him to such an extreme? As far as I know, the only times someone goes to such lengths to inflict pain is for torture or to send a message.”
“Well… you’re not wrong,” Galvatron grunted with a grim tone and a scowl to match. “That is something you’ll have to confirm with him yourself. Lady Esmeral has kindly arranged for his location to be sought out and relayed back to you for your peace of mind.”
The young Autobot’s optic ridges raised at this news. She had? But he hadn’t said anything about it to anyone… So… “You… did that for me?” he softly uttered.
“It upset you. I presume you’d feel better knowing the results of our encounter with him,” the monarch stated matter-of-factly. “I also thought that perhaps you’re feeling a bit out of your element, so Lady Esmeral is also creating a list of various organizations that take volunteer work, if you are interested in assisting directly in some manner.”
And finally Rodimus’ half-clocked brain clicked several pieces into place. This seemingly rigid Decepticon… This transformer that headed a faction that was mostly known for being cold and unhinged… was genuinely considering his feelings and making an effort to help him. Without expecting anything in return. And now that he was thinking about it, Rodimus realized he’d been doing that for a while, despite the Autobot’s obnoxious actions back at Iacon and their disagreement prior to coming to Hyperious. Despite the fact that he clearly didn’t want to actually conjoin with the Autobot prince.
The damp heat that hung in the air around them wasn’t enough to keep the young bot from feeling a faint burning sensation rise up in his cheeks, and with it came a sense of bashfulness. “My lord didn’t have to do all this for me…” he murmured reverently, fixing Galvatron with a touched smile. “I genuinely appreciate it, however. Thank you. Very much.”
The crowned mech didn’t respond at first, twisting to make solid optic contact with the prince. After a couple seconds, his expression softened ever-so-slightly and he opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off as a knock sounded at the door and Leozack’s muffled voice called through the closed slab.
“My king. Are you in?”
“We are,” Galvatron answered, making sure his voice was loud and clear.
“My lord and lady say that dinner is ready and you all may join them as you see fit. I am to escort you when you are ready,” the retainer informed.
“We’ll be out soon,” the king acknowledged before redirecting his attention to Rodimus once more. “Seems we’ll have to cut this short.”
“That’s okay. The time we spent in here did the trick,” Rodimus assured as he climbed out and began moving to put the rag away. “I feel way better. I’ll message Gears to meet us there. He and Thundercracker should be with one of the lord and lady’s kids.”
“I shall make a note that baths are a good tactic to use,” Galvatron stated as he followed the Autobot out of the bath and snagged them some towels, tossing one Rodimus’ way when the young bot had finished putting the used rag in the hamper.
As they dried off, the prince queried curiously, “Do you like them now that you’ve tried them?”
“Baths?”
“Yeah. I remember you were pretty hesitant the first time.”
The purple mech hummed his agreement before answering, “They are not entirely unpleasant. I would not mind one on occasion.”
The Autobot snorted and donned a broad grin. This dork. Primus forfend he admit he enjoyed something soothing and recreational. It was pretty cute, though, Rodimus wouldn’t lie.