you say your heart ain’t ever been broken

[redshitlord]

Who: Sideswipe & OPEN
When: In the days after this. 12th-15th of June.
Where: Cargo Bay then Aft Observation
What: Sideswipe is basically sulking after getting into an argument with Riptide. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
Warnings: None ATM


This ship... was awful.

Don't get him wrong, it'd been great for a while. He'd honestly been enjoying himself. And then? Suddenly, it was like every bad thing that could happen, happened. All at once. And, unlike being on Earth, there wasn't much of anything he could do about it. He'd run when he'd found out about Riptide and Tarn, panicked over Luke... All he could do was yell at Megatron and the captains.

Low blows, for someone who thought he was capable of handling Decepticons on a regular basis -- someone who had been handling them on a regular basis.

"Not like they let me do it here," he mutters to himself.

His face is buried in his knees. His back pressed to a wall. He's sulking and he knows it. But the cargo bay is empty, it's mostly quiet, and ... for once, the young bot just wants to be alone. Because that way, no one will have any ammunition about how "immature" he's being. What else is he supposed to feel? He'd had no idea he'd been doing anything wrong enough to warrant Riptide of all bots yelling at him. And over some idiot he'd barely met, too...

Maybe that's why it stings so much. Maybe he's jealous, on top of all the other feelings.

I'm disappointed--

He kicks his foot, and it CLANGS hard into a nearby crate.

~

Later, he finds his way back to the observation deck. He's not curled up in a tight little ball anymore, but he's still as sullen as before. Arms folded, shoulders hunched and staring out at space like it's going to help something.

Occasionally letting his head thunk against a metal support.

He wants to help. Just... wants to make things right, but apparently he has to read minds on top of everything. If they'd just said something...

Almost angrily, he jams his headphones on, with the volume cranked up. Ignoring the outside world and how the music can be heard from as far as ten feet away.



((ooc: Action spam or prose is fine! Feel free to interrupt his sulk in either location!))

Comments

[redshitlord]

He shakes his head, looking away while he does. One shoulder shrugs, a bit defiantly.

"You told me to keep away from them," he says. There's a little more bite to it now. "I can listen."

Ironically, Riptide is probably the person he listens the best to. Which just made this whole thing more hurtful.

"... why your fault?"

[knaval]

"Because shouting at you like that wasn't a good idea. It was actually pretty terrible and I knew it was, but I didn't stop."

He edges a little closer, crouching down to look at Sideswipe better.

"And I don't know why."

[redshitlord]

Almost without thinking about it, he's pulling back as Riptide edges nearer. He doesn't want to. Doesn't mean to, but... there it is.

"I told you I didn't ... mean it. I thought we were just screwing around."

He's looking directly ahead of himself, trying his best to stay calm and not start the waterworks again.

"... you just. Made it sound like he was more important. Some guy you just met. Like you didn't care about me anymore."

[knaval]

There's a sharp bang in Riptide's spark when he sees Sideswipe draw back and he stops moving, optical ridges drawing together.

"Of course I care about you, Sideswipe. I didn't mean it like that. I just..." he trails off, not knowing what to say. He doesn't know how he was meant to mean it. Sideswipe had been so good when he'd come back and Riptide's just completely thrown it back in his face.

He rocks back on his haunches, looking away.

[redshitlord]

"You just... you didn't listen, Riptide. I'm the only one from home here, too! But, dude, I'm trying to make this scrap be okay!"

And here come the waterworks. He stops enough to scrub at his face, feeling the plating under his hands get hot and embarrassed. No way, he can't do this in front of Riptide.

He doesn't know what his point was supposed to be, anyway. That he's alone too, but not crying about it like this other Bee is. Except now he is which is stupid and annoying and --

"I was teasing and if either of you just asked, I would've shut up!"

pang** in his spark wtf

[knaval]

This is the worst possible outcome. Riptide's spark contracts so severely at seeeing Sideswipe cry-- crying because of him that it's almost physically painful. He hates how he got so worked up because he's been trying to hide everything else and it just... came out. How he should've just mentioned it to Sideswipe, like he's saying.

He really can't do anything right recently, it seems. Riptide isn't about this, he's not about upsetting people like this. He's really not sure what to do, he wants to reach out to Sideswipe, but the way he'd recoiled...

Riptide finds himself holding a hand out anyway, not even expecting Sideswipe to take it.

IT'S OKAY

[redshitlord]

He had more to say. He really did. More to yell back in Riptide's face for trying to lecture him. But...

Isn't this really what he'd wanted? The other bot to acknowledge him feeling terrible? And... try to do something about it? He looks up at him for a few moments, his vents working, feeling overheated from sheer embarrassment.

Then he's ignoring the hand entirely, opting to go for a sudden hug instead.

[knaval]

Riptide isn't sure how to feel about this. Ideally the situation shouldn't happen at all, but well. If Riptide has learned anything about life, it's that it kinda sucks.

He accepts what's happening - mostly because he made Sideswipe cry, jesus christ - and hugs him back, wrapping both arms around the smaller bot and pulling him in close to his chest.

[redshitlord]

It really does suck. It shouldn't suck this much -- it never has sucked this much. It was fun before, all of this was. And now?

Now it's just kind of awful.

But Riptide isn't. Honestly, he probably forgave the big dumb jerkboat the moment he showed up and said he was worried. Because who ever worried about him? Maybe Grim did. But that was a whopping total of one out of who knew how many. So he's just going to sit here and be clingy all smushed up against Riptide's big dumb boat chest.

"'m sorry," he's muttering, mostly under his breath.

[knaval]

"Why?"

He doesn't understand. The only thing Sideswipe did wrong was call Bee names, which isn't even that bad!

[redshitlord]

"Because... because I worried you, dude!"

He still hasn't peeled his face out from where it's pressed to Riptide's chest. Like if he doesn't look at him in the optics, it's going to be easier to say.

"... You're... really important to me..."

Okay, that was smooth. But with the way his spark is jerking around in his chest, he's not sure if he could manage anything better.

"I care about you and stuff..."

[knaval]

Sighing, Riptide rocks back on his haunches again, pulling Sideswipe into his lap.

"And then I just threw it back in your face, didn't I?"

[redshitlord]

He shrugs a bit, and doesn't let go. Or even so much as loosen his grip. It's true, but he... doesn't want to admit it. Like that would be too sensitive.

"Maybe a little." He tilts his head enough to lean his 'ear' against the bigger bot's chest. Instead of his whole face. "You're here now though, so... that's worth something."

[knaval]

"I guess."

Is it? He's not sure. Maybe the fact Sideswipe stopped recoiling means something. Maybe the fact he's sitting in his lap means something. Riptide isn't sure. He just shifts uncomfortably.

[redshitlord]

"... it is to me, big guy."

Which is true. Completely and honestly. He sucks at lying anyway. All his... "ideas" back on earth sort of proved that much.

He feels that shifting and looks up, suddenly very conscious of where he's sitting.

"Uh. Should I move?"

[knaval]

"No, it's fine."

Why, Sideswipe. What's wrong with where you're sitting?

"Have you... seen Bee at all?"

[redshitlord]

He was going to say more, or at least offer to shift a bit. But the question takes all the wind out of his sails. He shrugs, his arms going around himself. Looking away again.

"No."

Why do you care so much?

[knaval]

"I was just wondering."

JEEZE SIDESWIPE

"I'm... glad you're, uh. Talking to me again."

[redshitlord]

"Yeah, okay."

These sure are some rustled noodle feathers. But... he looks up, finally.

"You're kinda hard to ignore."

[knaval]

"Oh, and here I thought I was getting better with the giant clomping around thing," he says, grinning. "Guess not."

[redshitlord]

"You're too big not to clomp, dude."

There's a grin. And it's impossible not to grin back at him. Tilting his head up a little to look him in the optics while he does it.

[knaval]

"You callin' me fat?"

Sideswipe's heart eyes are met with a glare. A playful one, but a glare nonetheless.

[redshitlord]

"Nah."

The glare doesn't even faze him at this point. Because he's too glad they're playing around. That... things are closer to normal than they had been.

"I like big."

[knaval]

"You should've said that before!"

You know what is happening now? Riptide is going to stand up, carrying Sideswipe bridal style.

[redshitlord]

"Dude why do you think I hit on a combiner? I-- ack!"

Well, that's enough to startle him into throwing his arms around Riptide's neck, and holding on for dear life.

WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING.