Chapter Text
It was just another normal day in a very normal garage with one ex-military and one alien robot. Everything seems rather mundane that day with Noah busy with his gizmos and Mirage busy looking at Noah with his gizmos. Very normal.
Well, that was until the sound of Noah’s head can be heard banging on the table. The noise reverbed throughout the warehouse which made it sound way more painful than it did. Of course, the sound startled both of its inhabitants including the person responsible for it.
"That's the second time you headbutted the table today, bud. You okay there?" the bot asked in a more concerned tone compared to his earlier incident.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little bit tired today." the other replied while flaying his hands up in the air. He could guess that his friend didn't buy any of his words. The sounds of gears moving got closer to him until he could sense a gust of wind blowing just above his shoulder. This startled Noah as he can be seen shivering in his seat.
"Bro, you don't look so hot." the mech peeked over to see his friend's face. He would describe it to be pale and almost...deflated? Noah’s usually tan skin seemed a little bit more gray today and his chiseled cheeks looks even more chiseled than usual. His lips weren’t usually as plump and rosy as it usually is. Plus, his usually warm, hazel eyes looked cold. Not like the mech would know how it looks on a daily basis or anything.
"Ay, I said I'm fine. Don't worry so much. You'll get wrinkles.", Noah tried swatting the other away. "But I don't.", Mirage pointed out. Noah’s sluggish brain processed what Mirage was saying. Right, he forgot his friend is a robot. Wait, do autobots rust when they get older? Noah can feel his head pounding and finally gave in.
"Shut up or I won't be able to add this new horn you wanted so much." the other said still crouching his back to his companion. "Sweet." the bot said and went silent. He was still curiously watching Noah tinker around his new 'upgrade'. Well, it wasn't a necessary one. Mirage thought it'd be cool to have it. Noah couldn't really say no, so he went ahead and did it anyways. After his friend’s teeny, tiny fingers were done with whatever thing he had to finish up, he stretched his back and stood up.
"And... I'm done. Go down there and change to your alt mode so I can install it for
you." the man stood up from his seat, slightly unbalanced as he had to hold up himself with one hand on the table. Mirage raised his facial plate at this and frowned, "Noah, I'm serious man. I don't think you should force yourself if you're not feeling well. We can just install it tomorrow."
"Huh, funny you're the one saying that. Usually, you're the one to complain...that-" and before Noah could finish his sentence he almost faceplanted himself on the warehouse floor.
Mirage was able to catch him in the nick of time and saved him from having his friend have a broken nose. "Noah?", he called out. No response. Okay, this might be the moment to start panicking. His friend was out cold. Mirage reviewed his friend's vitals the whole morning. His heartbeat was irregular, his temperature has increased, and his blood pressure was low. Yeah, he was definitely sick. Mirage immediately contacted Kris via his walkie-talkie frantically,
"Kris! Kris! Urgent call!!"
"What is it, Knuckles? No real names on the radio, remember.", the boy answered.
"Forget that! Noah passed out and I need you to help me bring him to the hospital.", the bot partially shouted.
"What!? Where are you? Can't you just directly bring him to the hospital now so it's faster?" Kris said with more worry in his voice.
"No, can do little man. I have no clue what goes on in a hospital. I think I’d just do more harm than good." Mirage replied.
"Right. Just bring Noah and drive by my place, so we can bring him to the emergency ward." the boy ordered.
"Roger that, Tails. I'm coming your way." the bot quickly turned into a Porsche and dashed out to Noah's apartment.
Not long after that, a loud beep is heard outside Kris' window. He looked down to see the blue and silver car opening his front passenger door, signaling Kris to get in. Kris did just that and what he would describe bolted to the hospital. He felt not only Noah's life was at stake here but also himself given the way how fast Mirage was driving.
They drove up to the emergency ward with Mirage technically drifting there. Kris came out of the car to explain how his brother passed out and needed urgent help. In no time, the emergency staff went to work and brought Noah, who was laid out in the back seat, to the stretcher.
"Don't worry, man. I'll handle it from here. I'll even call Ma up." Kris said to the autobot. "Update me if there's anything." Mirage softly said. He could imagine how worried Mirage is since it was probably his first time seeing Noah like that. It's not often that he passed out from fatigue, but it happens.
"Gotcha, Knuckles. Check your radio often." Kris fist-pumped Mirage's door before he
ran in to follow his brother. The bot could only stare as the two figures disappeared inside the building. He wished he could accompany Noah, but Optimus would not be happy with him. He slowly drove to the hospital's parking lot, thinking about his friend's state.
The bot was left for hours with only his thoughts to keep him company. Unfortunately, his thoughts were only about his poor boy who was out cold in some hospital bed. Honestly, the only thing Mirage knew about hospitals was from the ones on TV. He wondered if Noah was okay or if he was being subjected to many medical procedures. The bot shivered at that thought. No, no he’s just overreacting.
Maybe he could have just contacted Bee about the whole ordeal of how Noah fell sick. Yeah, Noah said that sharing your feelings with others always works! He was about to turn on his intercom to Bee when he remembered how the scout was teasing him that he was being too much of a softie when he was with Noah. How he let the man do almost everything even if it means sacrificing his life (again). Of course not, I’m just doing what good pals do! Bumblebee’s reply was a quote from a movie saying ‘You can’t handle the truth!’. As Mirage was just about to ponder what on Cybertron does Bee mean by that, he got a call from Kris.
"Tails to Knuckles." the walkie-talkie lit up. Mirage sighed in relief.
"Yes? Over." the bot replied.
"Sonic's awake, still a bit out of it though. He's gonna stay the night and be discharged tomorrow. Hey, Sonic. Do you wanna talk to Knuckles?” the sound of rustling can be heard as Kris is shuffling his walkie-talkie to be closer to Noah. The man just grumbled and let out a raspy ‘Hey’.
“Yo, you good?” Mirage asks. Noah only replied with a hum before the walkie-talkie is handed back to Kris.
"So, what did the doctor say?" Mirage asks again, this time to Kris.
"The doctor said he's dehydrated, hypoglycemic, and anemic. He needs to eat more and get iron supplements to get back in shape." Kris stated.
"Huh, he practically never eats when he's in the warehouse. That could be the reason why." Mirage commented as he thought about the countless times he watched his friend's back fixing whatever electronics handed to him. Why was he watching his back so much?
"What!? Knuckles, why didn't you tell me? Buy him food or something." the boy exclaimed.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know. I thought he'd eaten back home." the other said in guilt. Maybe he should've suspected something whenever he could hear Noah's stomach grumble.
"Well, he doesn't because his excuse is that he's gonna eat at the warehouse." Kris continued. Mirage hummed in thought. So his friend making up excuses to not eat, huh? We'll see about that. Mirage had just the plan. He's gonna call it operation '2 birds, 1 stone'. His main goal is to prevent Noah from starving to death. His other goal… will be planned out further later. He had been working on it per se, but there never was a right moment. He could use this opportunity to put extra care for Noah. Maybe then he could… No, that’s stupid. Noah would never…
Mirage laughed at himself. He probably needed a recharge to clear his mind. Maybe it’s what humans called being sleep deprived. The autobot puts his system into sleep mode, hoping he would get some good news tomorrow.
The next morning, Noah is discharged from the hospital with a packet of iron tablets and a nagging phone call from his mom. What did he expect honestly? He had nobody but himself to blame. Noah’s gaze shifted from the ground to the road ahead of him. Mirage was already parked out by the lobby to pick them up. Luckily enough, no one noticed an empty car driving by. He honked his horn welcoming their arrival. Noah proceeded to take the driver's seat and Kris by the front passenger seat.
"Okay, okay Ma. I'll not forget to eat next time. Yeah, yeah. Te amo, Ma. Okay, bye.", Noah hung up the phone. He groaned and sunk into his seat.
"How's my buddy feeling today?", Mirage asks.
"Never been better," Noah answered sarcastically.
"Dude, real serious though. This eating thing ain't that hard. You shouldn't forget about it." the bot continued.
"And also your iron supplement!" Kris added.
Noah sighed, "Look, the last thing I want to hear right now is 2 people and 1 robot nagging me on how I should not forget to eat.". He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I'm not nagging!" Mirage shouted before a hush came from Noah.
"Not too loud. Just, let's go home." the man puts his hand on the driving wheel, signaling him to start moving.
"Alright, my man. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ‘Raj special class one experience.” the bot says smoothly. Right after he finished that sentence, Noah’s seat feels softer and cozier than normal. He couldn’t tell if his seat is changing or if it was because he’d been sleeping on a hard hospital bed for too long.
“What’s this all about? How come you never made your seats this comfy before?” the man complained.
The mech chuckled, “Hey, this thing takes practice. Okay? Just be happy you’re feeling good inside of me.”
Noah wished he could be angry at the bot right now. He had to say that in front of his little brother. The boy had already heard the autobot say this countless times. One of these days, Kris would suspect him of something.
“It’s what you guys call aftercare, right?” Mirage added.
“No, no. That is NOT how you use that word.” Noah facepalmed.
“Oh, so care to explain how aftercare works?” the bot asks. Noah couldn’t tell if he was serious or trying to rile him up.
“What- No! Kris is here, man.” the man is now flustered.
“Isn’t aftercare something you do after a patient is out of the hospital? Man, I don't know what type of aftercare you’re talking about.” the mech continued. Noah could almost see Mirage shooting up a smug expression on his face.
“Nasty.” Kris simply said. Wait, Kris knows what that means?
The man can feel his cheeks heat up from embarrassment, “Just shut up and drive. Please shut up and drive.”
“No need to say it twice. Your wish is my command.” Mirage beeps and drives safely back to Noah’s apartment.