[ti]Ep 1.5[/ti]The Repair Crew (Closed)

[Deleted]

Set week 2, day 6

Zoom-Zoom juggled the crate he'd been clutching in his servos onto his hip. With one hand free, he reached out and pressed the button to open the door to Prime's personal quarters. This was a situation he honestly never thought he'd be in. Entering Prime's room. Twice moreover. And if Zoom-Zoom had ever entertained thoughts about whether he'd want to be inside Prime's room, the answer would have been a definite no, dear Primus.

He deposited the last of the supply crates on the floor of Prime's room. There were already a bunch he'd carried in already from the stores rooms. Inside the crates were an assortment of items, some contained sheets of metal for repairing the broken vent and others had tools and extra material necessary for fixing the hole the minibot put in Prime's ceiling.

The room had been liberally covered with tarps and sheets of plastic to protect what few belongings and furnishings existed inside Prime's room. Zoom-Zoom was actually early, for once in his life and spent a great deal of time getting prepared. He had the vague and hopeful idea that maybe he could start work and get it done before the assistant Prime had assigned for the task came and joined him. The minibot had wilfully decided to ignore the reason for that assignment as he'd gone on his way, quietly collecting up the materials needed for repair.

Now, however, he stood in the middle of Prime's room and stared resentfully up at the ceiling. Zoom-Zoom glared the hole that was located far, far above his head and finally admitted, okay, he was too short to do this alone. Maaaybe he could climb up into the vents and-

No, that's how this started in the first place. What if he just caused more of the ceiling to collapse? Prime would kill him.

Zoom-Zoom's shoulders fell. His doors hung low on his back as he stared up above him in defeat and settled in to wait for Thunder to eventually join him.

This was going to suck.

Big time.

[Deleted]

Thundercloud’s morning had begun with waking up to a dog drooling on his chest, then falling back asleep for another hour or so, then waking up to the very same dog gnawing on his boot as if it were his own personal chew-toy. Then he went out for a flight, did some sweet barrel rolls, and got punched in the face a few times by a pissed off tank who curb stomped his aft for being a cheeky son of a glitch.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Or at least, it had been, until he’d been informed that he was going to have to help Zoom Zoom perform some repair work as part of some sort of team-building bull-slag. He would have tried to talk his way out of it, given some sort of lame excuse about having pre-existing plans, but that would require mental effort he just didn’t want to expend. Lying convincingly was hard, especially when one was as brain-jogged as Thundercloud, and he didn’t want to strain his already aching head by making up a story to get him out of helping the minibot whose name he didn’t remember.

So. Team Building exercises it was, then.

He showed up to the designated spot fashionably late, having took his sweet time strolling through the base on the way there. Rather than announce his arrival with a greeting, or by even acknowledging Zoom Zoom’s presence with something as simple as a nod and a glance, he just leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and peered inside the room, more interested in it than its occupant.

“So. This is the Boss’ room, huh? Shame I’m not seein’ it for the first time under better circumstances.”

Leaving the implications behind his words up to the imagination, Thundercloud finally directed his attention to Zoom Zoom, rubbing absently at his sore jaw as he spoke.

“Alright grease-stain, how’re we doin’ this? Am I supposed to lift you up, or just stand here an’ provide moral support while you try not to break more slag?”

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom had ignored Thunder's first comment. Just like he'd given the other mech's face a cursory glance and then had decided that he really didn't care to know who had punched the big aerial a few times. It had been noted and dismissed, moving on now.

The minibot had also ignored the name Thunder had chosen for him because, for once in his life, he realised that arguing over it would be pointless. And extend this whole little exercise between them. He glanced at the boxes around him, then reached down to pry the closest one open. It contained some sweet looking power tools. It also meant that Zoom-Zoom didn't have to look over at Thunder and could pretend to be deeply engrossed in the contents of the crate.

"I think the idea is that you have the height I'm lacking," the minibot said with a grimace. "But sure, you can stand there and watch while I do absolutely nothing at all until whenever Prime decides he wants his room back. I think it'd be great. Let's do that instead."

[Deleted]

Oooh, the chew-toy was a sarcastic little fragger. That was good, meant he had moxie. He might've been tiny and fragile and annoying and useless, but he was at least good for a smart remark. Thunder liked that in a bot, it gave him something to bounce his own combative personality off of.

Plus, people like Zoom Zoom were just more fun to screw with. The little minibot acted like he was full of piss and vinegar, but something told Thunder he didn't have the bearings to actually back up any of his harsh words in a one on one fight. At least, not unless the right buttons were pushed.

And Thundercloud sure did like pushing buttons. Especially big red ones encased in protective glass that said "Do not press ever under any circumstances, this means you, Thundercloud."

That said, Zoom Zoom's comment served only to make him smirk, his split lip protesting all the while.

"So I'm just a glorified ladder, huh?" He asked, seeming entirely content with the state of affairs.

"Y'know, there's a joke about bein' climbed like a tree somewhere in there, but you ain't my type, so let's just ignore it."

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom allowed the innuendo to fly over his head. He held no interest in any Cybertronian the way Thunder was insinuating. He reached down and plucked a torch from a near by box, then turned around to glance at Thunder.

Maybe it would help if he treated this like a mission. Get into that mindset where the only thing mattered was getting the job done. Perhaps then, he'd be able to handle dealing with Thunder for an extended period of time.

"I'm going to need to have a look up there and see what the actual damage there is," he said, gesturing up at the hole in the ceiling. "Or, I dunno, if you're tall enough, maybe you could take a look. Whichever is easiest for you."

[Deleted]

Thunder glanced between Zoom Zoom and the hole in the ceiling, then back again. He pretended to think for a minute, before slowly turning his head to favor the mini-bot with a not-entirely friendly smile.

He was enjoying himself a little too much.

“Alright, how you wanna do this?” He asked, jerking his thumb towards the ceiling.

“You wanna climb up on my shoulders, or should I just toss you up there like a ragdoll?”

He grinned as he spoke, his tone lighthearted, joking. He almost would have come across as friendly, if it weren’t for the fact he looked a little too happy about the prospect of tossing Zoom Zoom around for shits and giggles.

“Cause I’m good either way, mech. Whichever one you want.”

This was a bald-faced lie, as Thundercloud fully intended to chose the option which was more amusing to him regardless of what Zoom Zoom preferred.

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom levelled a deadpan stare at Thunder. Then he slowly tilted his helm up to the ceiling, the movement extremely exaggerated.

Then he glanced back down at Thunder.

"Right," he said, tone incredibly dry. "You want to throw me up there. I'm certain that the ceiling will quite happily bear my weight. You know. Like it did before. It certainly won't bring more of the ceiling down and create more work for us."

[Deleted]

If Zoom Zoom expected his words to put a damper on Thundercloud's fun, he would be sorely disappointed. The great big jet simply smirked down at him before pushing away from the doorframe and stepping fully into the room.

"What, you mean you don't wanna spend all day doin' menial bullslag with me?"

He rubbed absently at a dent on his chest as he spoke, blunt fingertips wearing away at his already weathered paint. He seemed utterly unconcerned with both the dent and his lack-luster finish, which really wasn't very surprising considering he tended to collect scrapes and scuffs like antiques collected dust.

"I'm hurt." He said flatly, sounding anything but wounded. "You cut me deep, bro. Right here."

He thumped his chest twice with his fist, as if miming a stake being driven through his spark. Then he dropped his arm back to his side, took a moment to appreciate his own sarcasm, and continued.

"Alright, I'm done. I'll stop screwin' with you for now, mech. C'mon and hop up, I'll give you a lift."

[Deleted]

Zoom-Zoom was aware that Thunder was messing around and he waited for the large mech to get bored or bring it to a stop by himself.

"I'm sure you're terribly cut up inside," he agreed wryly. The minibot's optics briefly settled on the dent Thunder was rubbing at, he catalogued it then his attention moved on.

The minibot cocked his head sceptically and gave Thunder a wary look when the aerial finally said he'd give him a lift. Zoom-Zoom was aware, intellectually, that they had to work together if they wanted to get this job done. But he also straight up didn't trust the mech not to mess with him if he took up the offer. It really wouldn't surprise him at all if Thunder just hauled him up in the air only to drop him almost immediately.

Zoom-Zoom scowled to himself then took a cautious towards Thunder. His field was wrapped tight against his frame. Physical contact with another person always made him unhappy. Because being close enough for someone else to touch him meant that being close enough to get stabbed or bashed.

"No funny business," he warned, knowing it was probably a lost cause in Thunder's case. The aerial struck him as the kind of mech who'd do as he saw fit, regardless of the minibot's protests to the contrary.

[Deleted]

Thundercloud snapped a jaunty salute, before bringing a hand to his chest, placing his palm flat over his spark.

“Scout’s honor, Shortstack. No screwin’ around from here on out, cross my spark.” He replied, with mock sincerity.

Once he was done poking fun, he dropped down to one knee, so that he only towered over Zoom Zoom by a few feet rather than a few yards. Then, he he laced his fingers together to create a sling with his hands, which he then held out to Zoom Zoom.

“Alright, step on up. I ain’t got all day.”

He actually did, but like hell he was going to spend more time helping Zoom Zoom than he absolutely had to. Sure, poking fun at the little bot was amusing, but it lost its appeal after a few minutes of consecutive harassment. Unlike Carbine, he didn't like to escalate things to physical violence once verbal jabbing got old. Sure, he liked giving the minibot hell, but he didn't want to actually hurt him.

Tease him? Yes. Hurt his feelings (or his face)? No.

[Deleted]

(OOC: Thunder puppetting with Togg's permission)

And now the moment of truth.

Every instinct Zoom-Zoom possessed, honed by war and as a street rat, insisted that he should walk away right now, in this very second. Nothing good could come of this venture, they insisted.

Another mech might have recognised that the reason he was in this very situation was because he allowed himself to be governed by these responses far too often and that maybe he shouldn't be listening them right about now. But Zoom-Zoom tended to be rather selective when it came to self-reflection.

The minibot's face turned down, he allowed himself a moment to indulge his...overblown paranoia before he forced himself to scuttle forward and into Thunder's reach. Zoom-Zoom stopped for a moment, hesitating before the big mech. It was partly because a) Zoom-Zoom really didn't want to go through this and b) even down on one knee, Thunder was still uncomfortably large. One hand twitched and the torch it was carrying vanished into subspace.

Then, Zoom-Zoom jerkily careened forward, setting his hands on either of Thunder's broad shoulders before placing a foot into the cradle formed by the aerial's fingers in order to be leveraged up.

The minibot's mental litany at this point was an endless stream of:

badbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbadbad

Thankfully, Thunder's word was as good as he'd promised. Through some awkward juggling, undignified shuffling and a few near misses thanks to miscommunication, the minibot was eventually propped up in the air with both feet planted on Thunder's shoulders, helped by the grip the aerial had on his feet.

It was not Zoom-Zoom's ideal situation the slightest.

It did however rectify the whole distance to the ceiling problem he had going on previously. The dark hole he'd ripped in the ceiling loomed ominously overhead. Carefully, he raised his arm and unsubspaced the torch, flicking it on and shining it up into the hole, to illuminate it beyond the light that reached it from the room below.

The vent had been shorn at the bottom, leaving jagged twists of metal around the mouth of the hole. The plaster underneath it that had concealed the vent inside the ceiling had obviously also had a large hole punched in it. But the damage, thankfully, was mainly localised to the immediate area where Zoom-Zoom had fallen in. He could see a few of the brackets that supported the vent and anchored it in place had been knocked loose further along the vent, on either side. Those would need fixing or replacing, the ones in the immediate vicinity of the hole were missing and would definitely need replacement. But so far, the vent seemed to be holding and wasn't in any danger of coming lose...not unless someone was careless enough to throw something up there.

And obviously, the vent itself needed to be repaired. The hole would need to patched over, perhaps with a sheet of metal large enough to cover and seal it. The brackets would need to go in first though, to provide support for the rest of the vent and before additional weight was placed on it. Lastly, the no doubt unsightly repair job would need to be hidden from view and the hole in the ceiling needed to be plastered up.

Or, you know, they could just leave it as is, and let Prime stare up at it every night.

Though that would undoubtedly be cause for a repeat of this unlikely team up.

"Okay," Zoom-Zoom said. He didn't squirm like he wanted but did resubspace the torch. "Let me down and I'll tell you what I think needs to be done."

[Deleted]

While Zoom Zoom hemmed and hawed and stalled with all his might, Thundercloud simply rolled his eyes. He knew he could be an intimidating figure (hell, he actively tried to make himself seem like someone you shouldn't piss off,) but this was just ridiculous. It's not like he had ever actually given the minibot reason to think he would hurt him. Except, you know, all those times he joked about hurting him, and passively watched Carbine physically harass him, and--

You know what, nevermind. Maybe the little tin-can had a few good reasons to be wary of him after all.

Deciding that, hey, maybe he should stop being an ass for 3 minutes so he can leave a better impression on the little bot, Thunder resolved to not mess around with him anymore. Or at least not for the duration of this little repair-job they had been forced into doing. He helped the little mech onto his shoulders, careful to make sure he had a good balance before standing and lifting him up to the ceiling. As Zoom-Zoom examined the ceiling, Thundercloud zoned out, thinking about nothing in particular, as he was wont.

It was actually kind of relaxing, really, staring off into space and not having to think of or deal with anything consequential, but as always his moment of quiet pondering came to an end all too soon. Zoom-Zoom had finished looking at the hole in the ceiling, and now he needed to be let back down so he could get his tools and figure out how to approach fixing the damage.

"You got it, little man." He said, as he reached up to take hold of the mini-bot's middle so he could pluck him from his shoulders and set him on the ground.

[Deleted]

As soon as the minibot had touched the ground and Thunder's hands had relaxed their grip and released him, Zoom-Zoom was off, restoring a reasonable amount of distance between the two mecha. Now safely back on the ground, Zoom-Zoom scuttled over to the boxes he'd brought with him. He was uncomfortable turning his back to Thunder but didn't want to stare up at the mech while they talked.

Talking over his shoulder fitted the minbot just fine.

"I think it'll be relatively easy. I'll need to replace the wall mounts," he said. "I'll need to replace about 6 of them first then fix the hole in the vent." Zoom-Zoom grabbed a drill, then a generous handful of screws from the box next to it. Two boxes over and he had the supports he needed. Into his subspace they all went.

"Once that's done, it'll just be the ceiling that needs filling in."

Zoom-Zoom paused and squinted up at the mess in the ceiling. He thought for a moment, about his own repair skills, then the job at hand.

"It's probably going to look real ugly," he admitted, as an afterthought.

[Deleted]

While Zoom Zoom talked, Thundercloud zoned out completely and instead focused his attention on his bad shoulder. He put a hand on his upper arm, holding onto it just in case the damaged limb decided to pop right out of socket as he rotated the joint and checked its stability - or lackthereof.

It seemed solid enough to him, but then Thundercloud had the bad habit of completely underestimating the severity of his injuries. Not just because he had a hard-won pain tolerance, but because he...wasn't always the brightest bulb in the box, especially when it came to noticing little things like his arm hanging on by only a cable.

It was only when Zoom Zoom turned back around that Thundercloud realized, damn, maybe he should have been paying attention. He caught the last bit of the Minibot's sentence, which was better than not hearing anything at all, and decided to just go off of that and pretend like he had been following his stream of consciousness this entire time instead of spacing out as he was wont.

"Yeah, well, build what you know, right?"

[Deleted]

"Something like that," Zoom-Zoom muttered, not to anyone in particular.

Talking over his shoulder also meant that Zoom-Zoom had not caught the fact that his audience was paying absolutely no attention. He'd been focussed on sorting through the boxes he'd brought along with him and finding which pieces and tools he'd need to carry along with him. He packed the items away into his subspace, no need to try and juggle them when there was already quite the balancing act to get through to be close to the damage.

There was a part of the minibot that deeply resented the way this repair job was being carried out. He was one of the shortest Autobots on base and there he was, trying to fix the ceiling of one of the tallest. With the help of a mech Zoom-Zoom didn't feel comfortable turning his back on. Though, really, that was a description that applied to just about every Bot in the base.

When he finally decided he was set, he clambered atop Thundercloud again, a process that was no less awkward and cumbersome as the first attempt. Immediately, Zoom-Zoom got right to it, wanting this over as soon as possible, unsubspacing some screws and a drill. First, he got Thunder to awkwardly shuffle them over so he could check the integrity of the mounts that were still up there and whether he could leave them as is or if they needed to be refastened or replaced. Most of them held well but he encountered two that were loose.

The sound of the drill soon filled the air as the minibot got to work.