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They’d simply wanted to go on a little stroll at the beach, that was it, but of course the near completely unpredictable weather in Mercury’s home city of Treva (and the coastal region in general) just had to come forth and ruin it.
And while the slightly acidic rain on Heleneue-D wasn’t painful, thank Primus, thanks to the usually very mild temperatures of about 10-20˚C it was a bit cold.
Alright, “a bit” was probably… a bit of an understatement. Cybertronians were usually accustomed to things such as the coldness of space and largely unaffected by something like a little rain, emphasis on usually. Because unfortunately Scatters was currently operating his holoform, which was a lot less durable than he was used to.
Another shiver ran through his entire body, effectively snapping him out of his own processor, but at what cost. His clothes were starting to get soaked and clinging to his skin uncomfortably, every cold droplet on his exposed shoulders and arms felt like a needle pinprick and with how cold everything felt he was starting to understand why the humans on Earth hated being out during the rain so much.
Mercury, already a good 10 meters ahead and having been captivated by the scenery thus far, looked back at last. He loved both the sea and the rain, and seeing him all excited made Scatters’ spark swell, so he might have played down the condition his holoform was in for a while. It was slowly getting hard to ignore though.
“Hey, you good?” Mercury asked (again), and made his way back to where the Cybertronian was loosing the battle against his instinct to hug himself in an attempt to preserve warmth.
“Well… it’s starting to get a little chilly.” There might have been no teeth to clatter on his head, but even so it was likely obvious by this point.
“Hmm, I can see that.” He’d reached Scatters and was now laying an arm around his shoulders to pull him in, followed by a wing that wasn’t just hung over him but wrapped around his torso too.
While Mercury wasn’t exactly warm, his wings repelled water quite effectively and the one currently around Scatters worked wonders to insulate the body heat he had left. He couldn’t help but lean into the Necrofriggian further as they started walking back to the exiting steps of the beach. And he could finally savour the view too! Turning his head to take in the view, Scatters got lost in thought…
It was really no wonder Mercury loved being here, even in the rain that dulled the sky into a sickly shade of grey the sea looked stunning. Surprisingly calm, it simply absorbed the downpour, the waves washing away any marks in the sand, those from their footprints too, truly appearing as unbothered and unimpressed as an inanimate force of nature possibly could.
Seeing it like this… now was probably the first time he really understood why the sea was one of the holy three forces in these people’s religion. It could be as unpredictable and untameable in the same way it was reassuring and calming right now. Ironically almost like an anchor in a storm, it soothed and grounded Scatters a bit, effectively distracting him from his still freezing legs and wet clothes for just a moment.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Mercury asked once he noticed his partner’s gaze fixed on the sea.
“Hmm…” Scatters replied, noncommittal, and glanced back at the Necrofriggian. The sea was very pretty, yes, but…
“Not as beautiful as you though.”
“Oh shut up you sap!” There was absolutely zero malice behind Mercury’s words, and the big goofy grin plastered on his face wasn’t too convincing either. Maybe he’d taken Scatters’ remark as a bit of a joke? It really wasn’t, not even a little.
Because yes, he’d just been gushing about the beauty and significance of the ocean in his thoughts, but now that he was looking at his partner it paled in comparison. Mercury was truly the most stunning, breathtaking and amazing person he’d met to date, and not just because of his looks either (though he was quite the sight for sore eyes…).
He was smart, funny (even though Scatters didn’t like to admit that the stupid jokes had any affect on him), so so passionate about this planet, its people, and their history, and still searching for his siblings, full of hope, even though it had been more than 400 [years] at this point…
They might not ever be found, and maybe didn’t even want him to find them -they might be as opposed to his nature as the rest of the Necrofriggians had been- but if that was the case they weren’t worthy of being in his presence anyway. Mercury was as vibrant as the sun, even now as Scatters looked up at him in the pouring rain with only a distant street lamp to shine light on them.
And if no one else could see his true light and love him for who he was then Scatters would do it a thousand times better than them until the end of time Primus damn it!
There was so much raw passion and love in his spark right now, Scatters just had to get it out somehow or his frame over in the hangar would actually explode. So he swiftly untangled himself from Mercury’s wing and ambushed the Necrofriggian with the tightest hug these weak organic muscles could manage.
It was, however, still too tight and too abrupt it seemed, because not only did Mercury yelp (and wheeze) upon being assaulted by two arms around his whole body, he was also fully knocked off-balance and sent them both tumbling into the wet sand below.
After a moment of the two coming to their respective senses -they were completely entangled in one another and absolutely covered in sand- Scatters sat up and spoke first:
“My apologies, I was… well, I was feeling very passionate about loving you for a [second] there and miscalculated my hug.” Mercury just stared at him for a few moments, then broke out laughing and cackling.
“Oh stars, that’s the cheesiest thing ever!” Before his statement could be interpreted as negative, the Necrofriggian quickly pulled Scatters back down into a hug of his own, planting a fat kiss on both his cheeks and forehead in the meantime.
“This is the reason they got you specifically to write those love songs for Rosanna“ Mercury continued speaking as he shoved his face into the crook of Scatters‘ neck. Slag he was cold, it was giving the Cybertronian goosebumps (arguably one of the worst human things, it felt so extremely odd), but he couldn’t care less about a silly bodily response right now. As uncomfortable as it was, he wouldn’t trade being anywhere else for this moment.
“You got your dumb jokes, I have my ‘sappy shit’, we balance each other out“ Scatters said after a moment, he was starting to shiver again from how cold the sand was.
„Mhm, and you love my ‘dumb’ jokes.“ Mercury really thought he was doing something with that remark, didn’t he? Well ok, he kind of was, because Scatters usually acted put off by the puns, but not this time alright!
„You know what? I do, and you love how cheesy I can be.“ That got Mercury to stop with rubbing his face against Scatters altogether.
„You do?“
„Unfortunately yes.“ In response he huffed a laugh against Scatters‘ neck, even colder than just his skin.
“And your sentimentality‘s my favourite kind of cheese.” After saying that and giggling a little Mercury continued:
“Alrighty, you’re shaking like a leaf in the wind again, let’s finally get you inside, yeah?“
“Yes, good idea.”
Both of them got up and wiped off the sand as best they could, to varying degrees of success, after which Mercury once again wrapped an arm and a wing around Scatters. For just a moment longer than necessary the Necrofriggian had Scatters against his side, and, before getting some distance between them again, murmured:
“I love you too by the way, I’m not able to be quite as sentimental or poetic about it as you, but I really really do…”
There was truly not much to say to that, aside from starting an “I love you more” game (again), so instead Scatters just wrapped one of his own arms around Mercury’s midsection, nestled into his side and started silently crying under his visor.
He would’ve said that thanks to the rain it wasn’t particularly obvious, but unfortunately Cybertronian tears were composed of their coolant, which came in various shades of neon colours.
If Mercury noticed he didn’t say anything, but he did pull Scatters in a little closer as they made their way down the sidewalk and towards his home.
———————————————~the future~———————————————
“Hey, I know I just said that I love you like 15 [minutes] ago, but I’d love you even more if you stopped scrubbing my wing ends so hard” Mercury said while scrubbing down Scatters’ back. They’d decided to just bathe together to wash the sand off each other, as well as to get this pesky human body temperature back up to something acceptable. Thank Primus his Cybertronian body couldn’t get sick from this.
“I’m barely even touching the skin! Either you actually let me get the muck off or you do them yourself.” Scatters waved the sponge back at his partner for emphasis while working on the wings. They were a little sensitive and easily irritated around the tips, so one had to tread carefully to not get splashed with water for the 30th time and then have to clean it off the floor too because someone might slip on it when getting out of the tub.
“Ok ok damn, I’m just saying,” Mercury waited a moment before continuing, probably noticing that the hand on his wing was, in fact, getting a little less heavy-handed.
“Aah… that’s better, thanks honey.” The petname made Scatters’ [ears] burn, but he refused to react. Mercury could never know how much he loved it, his pride didn’t allow it.
They shared the peaceful quiet for a while, the only sound being that of splashing water and scrubbing, and at some point rearranged themselves so it was the other way around, with Scatters behind Mercury. Now it was time to clean the connection point between the wings and back, a big area, but thankfully not hard to reach or scrub. As he got started so did the other on his legs, first on top and then the underside.
“‘M glad your skin is feeling normal again, when we first got in it was almost as cold as mine…” Mercury said, or rather mumbled, since he was starting to get drowsy. The pleasantly warm water was to blame for this, because while the Necrofriggian loved it, and warmth in general, it also made him incredibly sleepy.
Scatters, almost done with his partner’s back and wings, only hummed at the statement and wondered silently if he’d fall asleep in the tub or hold out until they were in bed. But they were in luck it appeared, and Scatters wouldn’t have to carry Mercury (this time), because it only took another few [minutes] until he heard another mumbled “‘m done, let’s get outta here” from him.
Getting out of the tub and drying off was straight forward enough, and soon both of them had gotten into bed together. Scatters got completely wrapped up, surrounded by Mercury’s arms as well as his wings and the other’s head in his neck, gently breathing cool air on him. Apparently he still wasn’t “warm enough”, a flimsy excuse from the Necrofriggian to hold him as close as physically possible.
He really was the most touchy person Scatters had ever encountered. It was always either holding hands, cuddling or any other body contact that was currently available. A real keeper, both metaphorically and literally.
And Scatters wouldn’t have him any other way.