skidsyamnesia

Indie Skids RP Blog I play him as a bit of a jerk so... be ready for that.

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[skidsyamnesia]

verdigrisprowl

«Sure.»

And Prowl waited, listening quietly—he’d heard that voice before, he was sure, who was he?—no, her, that was one of the Camiens. The purple one. Wasn’t it? What’s her name, Marina or something. Of course Skids had gravitated toward her, she was very bright. Most of Skids’s social circles had been very bright. (How many of those circles did Skids remember?)

«All right.» A ping to ask for permission to access Skids’s holomatter projector; once he received access, he appeared. It wasn’t his latest frame, and if Skids had glimpsed Prowl from a distance during or after Shockwave’s Regenesis near-apocalypse, it wouldn’t be the one he’d seen then; but it was clearly, recognizably Prowl, and looked exactly as stern and serious as Skids had probably been told Prowl would look.

He’d seen Skids plenty of times during the year Prowl had spent a reluctant passenger on the Lost Light. Had sought out chances to cross paths with him, to watch him from afar, to see if he was doing alright. But in all that time Prowl had never approached him and never spoke to him. What was Prowl supposed to say to him now, the first time they’d met since before Skids had forgotten who Prowl was entirely?

“… Hello.” When in doubt, go with the standard greeting scripts. Hello, how are you, nice weather. Hope it gets somewhere more meaningful.

Skids crossed his arms, looking the other mech over. “Hm.” He hummed, “You look... different than what I was expecting.” He thought Prowl would look... what? Bigger? Cooler? The voice didn’t really match the frame in Skids’s mind. If Prowl had been hoping that Skids would have even the slightest memory of his former boss’s appearance, even the tiniest flicker of recollection, he was in for some disappointment. 

“It’s good to finally meet you.” He held out a servo. “Is that holo setup you have there tangible? Can we shake?”

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[skidsyamnesia]

verdigrisprowl

«I am, yes. But you have a holomatter avatar projector, don’t you? You don’t need to come all the way back to Cybertron; I can feed you the data from projector via comm and you can patch it into yours, and I can project the avatar where you are instead of where I am. I’ve done it with others’ projectors before.»

«That would be way easier, yeah.» Skids agreed. «As long as your’e sure it’s safe.» Before he gave Prowl any time to reply, there was a shuffling sound as he stood up. «Hey, can you hold on a sec?»

There was a slight sound of walking, a door opening, and some traces of a light and pleasant interaction with a feminine voice. He was returning the spare parts to her and told her it had been a good puzzle, but not nearly challenging enough. A genuine happiness in the air, it was a small glimpse into his new life. 

A few moments later he was down the hall and back in his hab suite. «Okay, you’ve got my full attention. Let’s do it.»

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[verdigrisprowl]

skidsyamnesia

verdigrisprowl

«Do you usually get all of your information on strangers from the people who say they hate them? Because I would consider those biased sources of information. No, I do not blame you for the fact that Tyrest had a hole in his head that prevented your tool from working properly on him. That would be stupid. And I don’t know why within the past couple of years everyone I’ve met has been given the impression that I’m in the habit of throwing furniture at the slightest provocation, but that’s false too.»

Skids remained quiet for a while. He didn’t object to Prowl’s defense. After all, the much was right. The theoretician needed to keep an open mind.

«"I think I should meet you,“» He said finally, his tone even. «"In person.“»

The shuffling began again as he went back to his task. Assembling and de assembling until he could do it blindfolded. His mind was always hungry. “«I know it’s probably impossible. And it may not mean much to you, but to me it feels like we have a history and yet we’ve never formally met. I mean, I’m not in the habit of chasing down my own past anymore, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.»”

It felt like Prowl’s spark froze in its casing.

But when he spoke, his voice was as even as Skids’s. «I’m afraid that is impossible. Not by my own choice. My movements are limited and my ability to receive guests even more so.» There were some people that he would risk parading before Starscream’s watchful optics in order to see them in person; Skids was one of those who were too important to risk.

But oh, if he could— The thought of meeting Skids in person meant more to Prowl than Skids could imagine. As much as Skids was undoubtedly weighted by the knowledge of a history he couldn’t remember, Prowl had to bear the burden of knowing that history, and being the only one to know that history. The Skids that Prowl knew was dead, and Prowl had to listen to something that looked and sounded just like him fumble through playing the role of Skids. Being the only one to remember something that everything else had forgotten was… was…

Never mind what it was. Who cares what it was? Lock it up, Prowl. «I do not want you to get the impression that I’m apathetic to your proposal. I would absolutely agree to such a meeting, if it were my choice. But, it’s not my choice.

«However—I do have a holomatter avatar projector. Along with the various alien avatars, I’ve had it programmed with an avatar of my real body. While it’s not quite in person, I have found it serves as a reasonable substitute. If you’re amenable to such a meeting and have a reasonably secure location where we can speak, I can meet you there in my avatar.»

[skidsyamnesia]

verdigrisprowl

It felt like Prowl’s spark froze in its casing.

But when he spoke, his voice was as even as Skids’s. «I’m afraid that is impossible. Not by my own choice. My movements are limited and my ability to receive guests even more so.» There were some people that he would risk parading before Starscream’s watchful optics in order to see them in person; Skids was one of those who were too important to risk.

But oh, if he could— The thought of meeting Skids in person meant more to Prowl than Skids could imagine. As much as Skids was undoubtedly weighted by the knowledge of a history he couldn’t remember, Prowl had to bear the burden of knowing that history, and being the only one to know that history. The Skids that Prowl knew was dead, and Prowl had to listen to something that looked and sounded just like him fumble through playing the role of Skids. Being the only one to remember something that everything else had forgotten was… was…

Never mind what it was. Who cares what it was? Lock it up, Prowl. «I do not want you to get the impression that I’m apathetic to your proposal. I would absolutely agree to such a meeting, if it were my choice. But, it’s not my choice.

«However—I do have a holomatter avatar projector. Along with the various alien avatars, I’ve had it programmed with an avatar of my real body. While it’s not quite in person, I have found it serves as a reasonable substitute. If you’re amenable to such a meeting and have a reasonably secure location where we can speak, I can meet you there in my avatar.»

There was a slight ‘hm’ coming from the back of the mech’s throat. Impressive setup Prowl had there, Skids thought. So he really does think of everything. 

«It’s not ideal, but I’d be willing to go for it. You’d have to project it pretty damn far. I’m out in space somewhere at the moment. Where are you? Cybertron?»

There was a pause as he tapped his lip in thought with a single digit. «If so, it’s still doable. First Aid a few others went back to Cybertron at some point I think.»

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[skidsyamnesia]

«"Questions? Not really. Maybe"» He sounded slightly distracted. He was busying himself with disassembling and reassembling some large piece of machinery Nautica leant him from the engine room. It was easy as usual, but he just needed to keep his mind occupied. 

«"Getaway told me most of everything that happened. I know it was a while ago, but I guess I should apologize for failing the mission.“» It felt strange to say. Failure wasn’t something he was used to. He almost didn’t believe Getaway’s story at times, but maybe this talk with Prowl would confirm everything was real, at least.

[verdigrisprowl]

A pause. And then a huff that almost sounded amused. Really? An apology for failing a mission he didn’t remember, to a boss he didn’t know? Almost like most of Skids’s memories weren’t missing at all.

He’d always been a good actor.

«Getaway submitted his report. It wasn’t your fault. We didn’t know Tyrest’s brain module was physically damaged, and we didn’t know how nudge guns would react to damaged modules. The mission was not achievable from the outset. You evaded capture and got out with your life, that’s what matters.»

[skidsyamnesia]

The shuffling of parts went silent and it was clear that Skids had stopped what he was doing. «"That’s an awfully forgiving attitude for a guy that so many people say they hate. Hm… yeah, I don’t buy it. I know we don’t know each other that well - or at least not anymore - but you can tell me what you’re really thinking. I mean you probably had to deal with the fallout, right? Did you flip a table? I’ve heard you flip tables.“»

[verdigrisprowl]

«Do you usually get all of your information on strangers from the people who say they hate them? Because I would consider those biased sources of information. No, I do not blame you for the fact that Tyrest had a hole in his head that prevented your tool from working properly on him. That would be stupid. And I don’t know why within the past couple of years everyone I’ve met has been given the impression that I’m in the habit of throwing furniture at the slightest provocation, but that’s false too.»

[skidsyamnesia]

Skids remained quiet for a while. He didn't object to Prowl's defense. After all, the much was right. The theoretician needed to keep an open mind.

«"I think I should meet you,"» He said finally, his tone even. «"In person."»

The shuffling began again as he went back to his task. Assembling and de assembling until he could do it blindfolded. His mind was always hungry. "«I know it's probably impossible. And it may not mean much to you, but to me it feels like we have a history and yet we've never formally met. I mean, I'm not in the habit of chasing down my own past anymore, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately.»"

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[skidsyamnesia]

«"Questions? Not really. Maybe"» He sounded slightly distracted. He was busying himself with disassembling and reassembling some large piece of machinery Nautica leant him from the engine room. It was easy as usual, but he just needed to keep his mind occupied. 

«"Getaway told me most of everything that happened. I know it was a while ago, but I guess I should apologize for failing the mission.“» It felt strange to say. Failure wasn’t something he was used to. He almost didn’t believe Getaway’s story at times, but maybe this talk with Prowl would confirm everything was real, at least.

[verdigrisprowl]

A pause. And then a huff that almost sounded amused. Really? An apology for failing a mission he didn’t remember, to a boss he didn’t know? Almost like most of Skids’s memories weren’t missing at all.

He’d always been a good actor.

«Getaway submitted his report. It wasn’t your fault. We didn’t know Tyrest’s brain module was physically damaged, and we didn’t know how nudge guns would react to damaged modules. The mission was not achievable from the outset. You evaded capture and got out with your life, that’s what matters.»

[skidsyamnesia]

The shuffling of parts went silent and it was clear that Skids had stopped what he was doing. «"That's an awfully forgiving attitude for a guy that so many people say they hate. Hm... yeah, I don't buy it. I know we don't know each other that well - or at least not anymore - but you can tell me what you're really thinking. I mean you probably had to deal with the fallout, right? Did you flip a table? I've heard you flip tables."»

[verdigrisprowl]

«"Hey, it's me. I know this is out of nowhere, but you were just on my mind."» There was a thoughtful pause. «"We have some catching up to do."»

A moment of dumbfounded silence.

Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Skids barely knew who Prowl was beyond what he must have heard by word of mouth. And Prowl was on Skids’s mind? Really? Why?

He tried not to read too much into it. He sat up straighter (not that Skids could see) and set down his datapad. «We certainly do. I expect you have questions.»

[skidsyamnesia]

«"Questions? Not really. Maybe"» He sounded slightly distracted. He was busying himself with disassembling and reassembling some large piece of machinery Nautica leant him from the engine room. It was easy as usual, but he just needed to keep his mind occupied. 

«"Getaway told me most of everything that happened. I know it was a while ago, but I guess I should apologize for failing the mission."» It felt strange to say. Failure wasn’t something he was used to. He almost didn’t believe Getaway’s story at times, but maybe this talk with Prowl would confirm everything was real, at least.

[skidsyamnesia]

// um yeah so I’m bad at approaching people I guess. So if anyone wants to rp or plot or anything please send an ask. I’m hungry for rp!

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

my-shovel-your-face:

    “Maybe it is, or maybe its always been this vile, and we were just too young and naive to know of it till now.” Crosscut glanced down at the empty glasses on the table, a nice a table, he’d tried to keep his home somewhat humble but compared to his old one it must look rather flashy. “I’d try and help you more, I know of a lot of things but, i’m still kept in the dark compared to my follow council members.”

   He must be exhausted if he actually WANTED to charge, Skids had a nasty habit of staying up for what seemed like days at a time back when they lived together, then again he wasn’t sure just how long the other mech had been on the run like this. The uninvited guest plopped down onto the couch before Crosscut could really get a word in about the charge slab, looking ready to rest, moving him from that spot would most likely not be happening.

    “I have a meeting to get to in the morning, once I leave you’re welcome to use the port in my room to charge.”  The senator stood, picking up the cups and making his way to the sink. “Just…Try not to make a mess while I’m gone, yes? I am expecting company tomorrow night and i’d rather not spend the afternoon cleaning when I get back.”

      He’d barely noticed the religious symbol on the bot’s face till he pointed it out with his spiritually laced words, he hadn’t known Skids to be particularly into such things before, but knowing him it may just be another phase. The writer gave a small nod and chuckled under his breath. “Goodnight.”

That morning Crosscut would awake to an empty apartment. True to his word, Skids had only stayed as long as absolutely necessary and not a moment later. Face-to-face goodbyes weren’t always easy anyway.

The home was a bit disorderly, the mark of Skids’ sleepwalking habit which his former classmate was surely all too familiar with. However, it wasn’t nearly as messy or destroyed as usual, so the blue mech was probably pretty low on energy. On the table in the living room, a datapad could be found with a short written note:

“ Thank you. It was good seeing again. I hope that this isn’t the last time. “

They were pretty ordinary words, although with circumstances being what they were the last line did seem to carry a bit more weight than a general pleasantry.

 There, resting on the center of the screen was a tiny, barely noticeable chip.

“ PS: Buy yourself some more cups. “

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

my-shovel-your-face:

  Now it was his turn to listen, the other mech’s voice taking on a much more dark and serious tone then he’d been accustom to hearing from him. He knew very well of Skid’s talents, hell who didn’t? The guy took, passed and dropped more classes, majors and extra curricular activities then should be possible! It’s odd that through all that the thought of that talent getting him into trouble had never crossed his mind. Suppose he was too distracted by all the insane events occurring in his home at the time, he’d simply thought Skids disappeared because he’d grown board and moved on to something else.

      “Oh…I see.” He wasn’t sure what was the right thing to say in sort of situation, he’d always know of the corruptions that went on with their government, but he’d never known just how deep that hole goes until rather recently. Things had really begun to sour, and the hope of turning this whole mess around through peaceful tactics was looking farther and farther from reachable with each day of his career on the council.  

    It was honestly shocking that Skids came here of all places, he obviously knew of his position, wasn’t he afraid he’d turn him in to save his job? Or simply kick him out, or anything like that really? He actually trusted him, which was something most of his companions had failed to continue to do once he’d become a senator.

      “But why? We’re in Iacon, I mean I could see that sort of thing if we were in Petrex, but its the last major city with a true functionists society.” This was true, things weren’t ‘officially’ run that way in most of Cybertron anymore, but even so the separation of classes was enough to keep those who tried from moving up to different position if they chose to or not.  Things were far from fixed with their government but he wouldn’t have guessed they’d set out to kill those with unique abilities no reason.

“Things are changing, Cross,” Skids replied, crossing his arms as he kept his gaze out the window. “And they’re changing all over, and for the worse.” He ex-vented, optics dimming some. “And probably right under everyone’s noses.”

“I’m tired though. If you don’t have plans tomorrow, we can talk more about it. My energon and charge levels are low. If you don’t have a spare recharge port it’s fine. I’ll just power down and conserve what I’ve got.”  He walked over to couch and slumped into it, giant pedes bonking the senator some as he stretched. “I need to set an alarm to remove that chip for you anyway.” 

He dimmed his optics some, beginning to doze and mutter his thoughts. “You’re in the senate now, so maybe there is hope for us.” A digit lazily tapped the matrix symbol etched on his cheek. “Primus was listening. Prayers do get answered.”

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

my-shovel-your-face:

 THAT was comforting to hear, suppose that was Skids way of inviting himself to spend the night here. Still, suppose he’d rather that then to watch as the tracking device was pulled out of Primus knows where.  Crosscut exvented, picking up his own glass and practically gulping down it’s content, honestly thankful for the change in topic.

    “That’s right, I was offered a chance at the position shortly after graduating, apparently they found my reports and papers to be insightful.” He made a face, it wasn’t often he was asked things like this, and when he was it was by someone of higher status or press, and he felt it better to keep his mouth shut on the matter. But, this was Skids, he was almost like a friend and in an odd way he did find himself trusting of the other mech (even if he had given him PLENTY of reasons not to.)  “Well… Sort of? I’m often ignored or my input dismissed, at first I believed this was simply due to my age and lack of experience but, lately I’ve gotten the feeling that I was chosen for the job BECAUSE I don’t speak out with strength. Does that makes sense?”

     He shook his head, downing the rest of the drink before setting the glass on the table in front of them. Alright, he’d spilled his guts to his former academy roommate, it was time to return the favor and get some answers. “What about you? Why are police after you?”

Skids listened, and this time he gave his full attention. Gold optics were set on the senator and his expression softened some. Any past skepticism vanished as Crosscut explained himself. It sounded like he wasn’t having a very easy time of it so far, but Skids was still a little happy for him that something worthwhile had come from all that hard work and studying. 

“ ‘Don’t speak out with strength’? You?” He quipped with a smile as he finished his drink. The smirk vanished entirely when the subject was steered back in Skids’ direction. He ex-vented, having hoped to keep things light for a little while longer.

“They’re not after me.” He replied, but then thought better of it. “Well, they are and they aren’t. I know it seems like I dropped out or I transferred to another school before graduation. That’s not exactly what happened. The truth is, school wasn’t safe anymore. I’m sure you noticed my weird ability to pick up on new skills without trying. I can be good at any subject that someone else is good at, only ten times better. What’s an ordinary hatchback doing with that kind of ability? There’s no answer for that. Turns out, there’s a few others like me, but the Funtionists frown on that. IT doesn’t fit in with their philosophy, so they’re trying to quietly get rid of us. We thought we had a safe haven with Shock-... with someone who took us in,” He continued, deciding to leave names out of it. “but out base was found out. We had to scatter.”

Skids stood. “Now you know.” He walked over to a window and peered through the digitally projected blinds. “Half the city is in on their game, all good and bribed. Including the police force. Some of them, anyway.”

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

my-shovel-your-face:

   Crosscut continued quietly muttering as he was lead over to the couch, Skids and his antics could be very VERY annoying, but if one thing about the theoretician could be said was that his cool, level headedness could make even the most absurd of situations seem like…well, not a big deal.   The senator sat, giving a small sigh as his former roommate trucked over to raid his kitchen, giving him a bit of time to think while he half listened to the explanation.

    This wasn’t so bad, no one really visited him (well, no one but LC) so it was unlikely anyone would stop by, it was late so he was sure he hadn’t been seen coming in. Besides, if Skids was anything he was thorough, the likelihood of him leading the cops straight here from a mistake was about as likely as the blue and red mech asking ‘please’ before taking or using any of his things.

   Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, maybe Skids had turned over a new leaf? He’s been studying in that academy for much longer than most, its been years since he’s heard from him. He’s bound to have matured some by now, right?

  Or maybe not.

   “…Wa-wait, what?!” The writer was snapped back into reality as the sloppy pieces to Skid’s puzzle came together in his mind. “You, I…You planted a tracking device on me?! For all that time, I…Where is it? Get it off of me this instant!”

“Yeah, it was my final project like I said." He replied cooly while he stared at his glass, knowing Crosscut was freaking out with out even looking at him. “Kinda forgot about it, sorry.” He took another sip.

“Sure, I can remove it. Are you squeamish? If that’s the case I’ll wait ‘till you’re in recharge. Anyway.” He set his glass down and casually changed the subject.

“So, ‘Senator’, huh? That’s what I’ve been hearing.  Your name never gets dropped in the news though. It’s all Proteus this and Proteus that. Have you been doing okay with those kinds of people?”

Skids was genuinely interested to do some catching up with the bot, despite there being a slight edge in his tone. He saw his old friend as kind of a softie, and wondered if the other politicians had eaten him alive yet. Above all though, he hoped that Crosscut hadn’t joined their ranks because he wanted to be just like them. He was really into theater, which could be viewed as high-class or snobbish. Skids felt a bit justified in questioning the mech’s career path.

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

my-shovel-your-face:

   He did hush up, but narrowed his optics in annoyance as the blue and red mech stopped to listen a moment before shoving his way into the apartment he was CERTAINLY not invited into, shutting the door behind him.

    “What are you doing here?” His voice was a whisper but still had a snappy tone in it, arms folded, a large ped tapping as he awaited answers to the many questions he had.

     “How do you even know where I live anyway? Where those police? Are you hiding out in here from the law?! When did you become a criminal?!”  The senator’s tone suddenly changed from anger to worry, then panic, all in a short few moments. He didn’t take notice to the ‘guest’s’ question, but if Skids was still the same guy he was back in the academy his input didn’t matter anyhow. “Oh Primus, there’s a criminal in my house, I’m going to get arrested for harboring you here! It’ll get out to the press, i’ll lose my position, I’ll lose my income, I’ll go to court, I’ll go to jail…I can’t go to prison, Skids! I can’t!” As dramatic as always in times of crises.

Skids blinked as Crosscut began to carry on all too dramatically. At first, he wanted to explain that he wasn’t a criminal (not technically - he’d done nothing wrong) and to tell Crosscut that he wouldn’t get in any trouble. Probably. But Skids could barely get a word in as the playwright went on and on. Letting out another vent, Skids began to laugh. The mech hadn’t changed. That was good. Politics had not made him hard yet.

“It’s alright Cross, relax.” Skids placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and ushered him to the couch. “No one is going to prison.” Once he was satisfied that the senator would not have another outburst, (but knowing Crosscut, it was still likely) the blue mech swiveled on his heels and headed into the nearby kitchen and talked over his shoulder. Skids didn’t even think to approach the home gingerly as a new guest should. They had been roommates for so long during school he had a natural and rather undeserved sense of familiarity. 

“Okay, so how did I find you? It’s simple.” He opened the cabinet. Six cups. He smiled and shook his head and continued to pour the two of them a drink. “Do you remember that time in school when I studied metallurgy and criminal justice at the same time? Well, they were showing us techniques on how to track a suspect with a GPS chip, and in metallurgy they were showing us how to access hard-to-reach areas under thick plating without operating - you know, to remove rust growths and such. I figured I’d combine two assignments into one to save time. Long story short,” He set the two drinks down on the table in front of Crosscut and leaned in, giving his midsection a little boop-tap to imply that something was under there. 

“I passed my classes of course but I kind of forgot all about it until today.” He took a sip of energon casually.

[my-shovel-your-face]

"Cross, you need to hide me. Let me in!" There was a pause, "Oh, excuse me, *Senator* Cross. Congratulations, by the way. Now about that hiding spot?"

    Who could that possibly be at this hour? The senator sighed and made his way over to the door, it wasn’t until he was int he process of opening it that he recognized the voice, and by then it was much too late. 

               “I, what? Skids, what are you doing here? Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

[skidsyamnesia]

“Do you KNOW what time it is?!” 

“Exactly. So keep your voice down for Primus’ sake. You’re gonna wake up the whole block.” Skids frowned as if Crosscut was the one totally in the wrong here.

“Look, I don’t have a lot of time to linger in doorways. I need..” A sound cut him off and the jittery trainee theoretician jumped at the unmistakable blaring of police sirens somewhere off in the distance. “Okay, enough chat.” He grabbed his old academy roommate and forcefully shoved him back through the entrance with haste. 

He shut the door behind them and turned, his back pressed to the door. “I’ll explain.” He gave a weary ex-vent and slumped a bit. “But first, I could really use some energon. You can part with just a bit, right 6-cups?” There was a half smile on his lips, but he seemed distracted. His thoughts were elsewhere.

[bommitchie]

[skidsyamnesia]

Smiling, Skids. Smiling, not your manic drug face.

“Nothing wrong with being excited when someone actually gets one of your theories. It’s a rare and beautiful thing. Besides you’re not one to talk with that mischievous smirk of yours, LC.”

[horns-and-heels]

Ahh you mean my innocent little kitty smile? Because I don’t understand your theories but: I can look at you like this!! 

[skidsyamnesia]

“Heh, now there’s a smile. Do you have whole repertoire of different kinds of smiles, then?”

[skidsyamnesia]

⇝ || Quietly kisses his cheek.

He had actually been dozing for some time now, but was quietly pondering the universe with dimmed optics as he often did just before or after recharge. 

“Hey, good morning.” He tilted his helm, one optic still not fully operational. 

[vietalis-archive-blog]

⇝ || Reviver smiled tenderly. Propping herself up on an elbow, her servo reached over to stroke the mech’s features. “Sorry,” was said in low tones. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

[skidsyamnesia]

“It’s alright.” He smiled, willing the second optic on. “I wasn’t completely down. Not really. More like, in that familiar place between between dreams and reality. You’re only in it when the lines are blurred. You don’t acknowledge who you are or where you are, you’re just.. in it. You know what I mean?” He was rambling now. Recharge always did this. Skids would wake with strange, philosophical ideas. Then moments later, when more alert, they would simply vanish.

[skidsyamnesia]

⇝ || Quietly kisses his cheek.

He had actually been dozing for some time now, but was quietly pondering the universe with dimmed optics as he often did just before or after recharge. 

“Hey, good morning.” He tilted his helm, one optic still not fully operational.