wildernesstales | TF: Handsome Stranger

Rating: PG-13
Series: G1
Pairings: Hound/Mirage (eventually), Ratchet/Wheeljack
Summary: Hound sees a mech he likes and sparks years of longing. Little does he realise that the mech that holds his affections feels the same way.
Warnings: Fluff? A little bit of angst.
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I’ve forgotten…
Authors Notes: This is for the February challenge from houndxmirage. The challenge was Mardi Gras/Carnival and Valentines Day. I kinda used all the prompts in two stories. This is the second story.
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

The prompts for Valentine's Day:
Love and affection
Sex and passion
Roses are red...
A romantic mishap
Candy
Be my Valentine

After the carnival at the Towers, Hound hadn’t had a chance to go back anywhere near it. He kept thinking about the mech he’d danced with. And the mech he’d nearly done so much more with. It wasn’t in his nature to be jealous, but he couldn’t help but think that Magnus was a very lucky mech.

War broke out a few months later, scattering mechs in Iacon to nearby cities and towns. Hound fled with his friends, not built for war. Yet they had to try. The Autobots started standing up to the Decepticons, fighting back when they tried to raid their towns. Hound felt that he had to join them; he couldn’t stand by and watch the planet he loved being torn apart. Trained as a scout, he was sent to different locations around Cybertron, doing what he could to help. He mostly managed to forget about Mirage, knowing that the affection he had for the noble was probably not returned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first day Hound had transferred to the Autobot base in Iacon, he’d been shocked to see Mirage walking along next to Jazz. He’d heard that the Towers had fallen, but he’d been on the other side of the planet, scouting for a new base for the Autobots in that area. Mirage looked almost the same as he remembered, a little scuffed, but that was to be expected. The Autobots didn’t place as much value on appearance as the nobles of the Golden Age had, so it was really no surprise that Mirage wasn’t as pristine as Hound had remembered him.

A few discreet inquiries told him exactly what had happened, and that Mirage was an aloof, cold-sparked glitch. And those were some of the nicer comments he’d heard. Such a difference from the warm, vibrant mech Hound remembered. He was determined to find out why Mirage had changed so much. Some of it he could understand though; watching your home being destroyed had to hurt. And the nobles had vehemently denied wanting anything to do with the war when it started.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first time Hound approached Mirage was in the base common room; where the mechs gathered for their energon rations and some company. Hound sat down next to Mirage and introduced himself, confident that the mech wouldn’t remember him. Mirage didn’t, but he did turn his nose up at Hound’s attempt to be friendly and asked him to leave. And not in a polite way. It was such a shock to actually see the difference in Mirage that Hound acquiesced to his wishes and left, completely forgetting his energon ration.

But Hound kept trying, right up until they left Cybertron on an energon hunt. Each time, Mirage rebuffed him, not wanting the company. Yet Hound persevered. He’d known what Mirage had been like, how friendly and open he’d been. He wanted to know that mech again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Earth was different. Even with the Decepticons, things were more relaxed. They had plenty of energon now, courtesy of the human governments. They had a chance to relax, forget the war for a moment. And they did. Jazz and Blaster had discovered human music and proceeded to put on impromptu parties in the newly designated rec room.

Even Mirage seemed more relaxed.

Hound thought he might try to approach him again. They’d gotten on remarkably well, his efforts on Cybertron hadn’t been forgotten obviously, and Mirage seemed less cold towards him. Yet another impromptu party was in full swing and the newly synthesised high-grade seemed to be a big hit. From what Hound could see, Bluestreak was already passed out in one corner of the rec room. Grabbing himself a cube of high-grade (and one for Mirage), he made his way over to where the noble was sitting.
“Looks like you could use one of these.” He said, offering one of the cubes to Mirage as he sat down. Mirage looked up, surprised before taking the cube.
“Thanks.” He wrapped his hands around the cube and looked out at the mechs dancing to the music. Hound followed his gaze.
“Why don’t you join them?” He asked.
“Dance to that?” Mirage sounded scandalised.
“Granted it isn’t what you were used to in the Towers, but it’s not bad.” Hound quite liked the music actually.
“And how would you know what I was used to?” Mirage asked loftily, taking a sip of his high-grade.
“I’m not as uncouth as you think I am Mirage.” Hound sighed. It was an argument they’d had since they first met – Mirage viewed him as nothing more than an uncouth commoner who couldn’t hope to understand a Towers-born noble.
“So you’ve spent time in the Towers?” Mirage asked, genuinely curious now.
“I have.” Hound didn’t want to say too much, not sure how Mirage would react if he found out what had happened all those years ago.
“So you know that we don’t dance to this sort of… music.” Mirage gestured with his free hand at the rec room in general.
“I know.” Hound smiled. “But I also know that some of the human music has beats very reminiscent of the stuff I used to hear on Cybertron.”
“Oh?” Intrigued, Mirage leant forward.
“Let me see if I can get Blaster to play some.” He stood up, quickly crossing to where Blaster was acting as DJ and whispered in his audio, getting a thumbs up from the communications officer. He returned to his seat at Mirage’s table.
“Done.” All they had to do now was wait.

The rousing beat made Mirage look up in surprise. Hound was right, it was similar to some of the music they had back on Cybertron. This tune in particular reminded him of parade dancing, the thrum of the music and he almost wanted to sway his hips in time with the beat.
“I see what you mean.” He murmured.
“I’d ask you to dance, but I’m really not a dancer.” Hound could see that Mirage wanted to dance. At least, he hoped that was the reason behind the slight shift in Mirage’s position.
“I haven’t danced since I joined the Autobots.” Mirage murmured a little morosely.
“You should. I think you’re… I mean, I imagine you’d be a great dancer.” Hound cursed himself for his slipup, hoping that Mirage hadn’t noticed.

Mirage had noticed, and coupled with the familiarity of a mech handing him high-grade and telling him he looked like he needed it, he was trying to work out whether he was imagining things or not. He liked Hound, one of the only mechs seemingly able to look past the noble exterior and see the mech he was. Not like mechs like Cliffjumper who thought that just because he was a noble he thought he was better than everyone else. Mirage had seen his home destroyed like others in the Autobots, and he’d joined up to stop it happening to others. Despite his creators telling him that the war was not for nobles.
Yet there was something about Hound that attracted him; the simple honesty and love he had for everything, this new planet included.

“Mirage?” Startled, Mirage pulled himself out of his thoughts to meet Hound’s concerned face.
“Sorry. I was lost in thought.” He offered the scout a small smile, relieved when Hound returned it.
“Thought I’d said something wrong there for a moment.” Hound paused, seemingly trying to decide whether to continue. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you Mirage, you must know that by now?”
“I do.” It was obvious now he thought about it. The way Hound would always seek him out in preference to everyone else.
“But I’m happy to just stay friends, really…” Hound quickly added, not wanting Mirage to think that that was the only reason he’d befriended him. “I wanted to be your friend before I realised how I felt about you.” All right, so maybe that was a little bit of a lie. He’d known how he’d felt about Mirage since that masquerade ball back on Cybertron. The time spent with the former noble had only deepened his feelings. Now he’d readily admit to being in love with the noble.
“I understand.” Mirage thought about it. He liked Hound and the mech obviously liked him. What was there to lose?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once they realised they were going to be staying on Earth, preparations were made to extend into the volcano the Ark had crashed into to provide more adequate living quarters. Spike, Sparkplug and Carly helped by introducing them to various earth customs and festivals. Hound was quite pleased to realise that the humans celebrated festivals in much the same way they had back on Cybertron, with dancing and carnivals and feasting. But there was one holiday that caught his attention. Valentines Day. He was fascinated with the way this day was celebrated around the world by different cultures. And it was, Spike assured him, the best way to let someone know how you felt about them.

That set his plans in motion. He questioned Spike and Carly on the traditional gifts given, and was told a variety of bewildering answers; from chocolate to candy to flowers to rings and stuffed toy animals.
“Okay okay, woah…” He held up his hands. “You give quite a range.” He commented. Spike nodded.
“And most of it by us guys.” He winced as Carly slapped his arm.
“Who are you going to ask to be your Valentine then Hound?” Hound looked at them. He’d need their help to implement some of his plans.
“You have to promise to keep it a secret.” He told them. He didn’t want Mirage to find out ahead of time. And he still wasn’t exactly sure how the former noble felt about him.
“We won’t breathe a word.” Carly promised.
“Mirage.” Spike grinned as he spoke.
“That’s awesome. I mean, he’s really nice and…” He trailed off as both Carly and Hound stared at him.
“What? He’s got a nice frame and he’s a race car, come on, what’s not to like?”
“You… are unbelievable.” Carly smiled as she shook her head. Spike just shrugged.
“So, will you help me?” Hound asked.
“We’ll help you.” Carly answered for both of them. “Whatever we can do to help you, we will.”
“All right… my plan is…” He bent down closer to both of them, outlining his plans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If Mirage was surprised when the box of energon goodies appeared in his quarters, he didn’t let it show. The attached note gave no clue as to who the gift-giver was. Shrugging, Mirage opened the box, selecting a treat at random and popping it in his mouth. The look of surprise on his face when he realised they were Towers treats would have been priceless had anyone been able to see.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, so you can send him a poem?” Carly offered.
“Roses are red, violets are blue…” He stopped when Carly groaned. “What?”
“That’s so clichéd Spike!”
“The roses sound good though…” Hound murmured thoughtfully.

It was with some trepidation that Hound approached Mirage later that day, a large bouquet of roses held delicately in his hands.
“Mirage?”
“Hound?” The noble turned, looking surprised. “What have you got there?”
“They’re roses… for you.” Hound held out the flowers.
“For me?”
“Willyoubemyvalentine?” Hound rushed the words out nervously.
“What?” Mirage tilted his head. He couldn’t make sense of what Hound had just said. Hound heaved air through his vents and tried again.
“Will you be my valentine?” A quick check of his memory banks retrieved the information the humans had told them about this holiday.
“I will.” He replied, smiling softly. “It was you who left me the energon goodies, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. I thought you might appreciate them.”
“I did, thank you.” His smile widened. “And thank you for the flowers, but you really didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”
“I wanted to. And it’s not trouble if I’m doing it for you.” Inwardly he winced – Carly was right, there was just something about roses that made everything clichéd. Mirage leant up, one hand resting on Hound’s chest plating for support as he pressed a gentle kiss to the scouts lips.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure…” Hound replied softly, fingertips touching his lips as Mirage sauntered away. Encouraged and determined, he decided it was time to set up the next part of his plan.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been a fairly normal shift for Mirage – monitor duty followed by patrol, and he was looking forward to spending a little time with Hound. Since the mech had openly declared his affections (with flowers no less!), Mirage found himself growing closer to the scout. They spent every off shift together and were beginning to approach the stage of their relationship that had them both a little jittery – interfacing. It wasn’t as if either of them hadn’t done it before, but it was always more intimidating with a mech you really cared about. And Mirage really cared about Hound. The last time he’d thought he’d cared this much, the mech had all but rejected him at first. Before coming to his senses. But that had been before the war.

As he keyed in the code to his door, he was surprised to see the lighting already on, albeit low. Rose petals covered the berth and Hound was standing holding two cubes of high-grade.
“Welcome back Mirage.” He smiled warmly, holding out a cube for Mirage to take. Mirage took it, dumbfounded. It had been many years since anyone had been anywhere near romantic to him.
“Hound…” He didn’t think his room had looked more beautiful. Taking the high-grade, he took a small sip, pressing close to Hound. “Is this all for me?” He asked coyly.
“All for you. For us.” Hound nodded.
“Thank you.” Mirage leant against Hound, relishing the warmth of the other’s systems as they sipped at their high-grade.
“Of course, I don’t mean for us to stand all night.” Hound murmured, taking the high-grade away from Mirage and putting both cubes down on a table. He turned back and pulled Mirage close to kiss him. The kiss deepened and Mirage found himself stepping backwards to the berth, not entirely sure which one of them had made the first move.

Hound picked Mirage up and laid him on the berth almost reverently. Propping himself up over the former noble, Hound dipped down again for another, more passionate kiss before letting his hands roam across Mirage’s frame. Mirage arched up, writhing on the berth as each touch enflamed his sensor grid, sending pleasure soaring through his circuits. And then… pain. He gasped out loud, prompting Hound to stop what he was doing.
“Mirage?”
“Itches…” Mirage managed, twisting so he could sit up and scrabbling at his plating. Rose petals fluttered down from within armor seams and Hound looked horrified.
“I… I had no idea.” He stuttered. “We should get you to Ratchet.” It was a measure of how irritating Mirage was finding the rose petals that he just nodded, letting Hound help him off the berth and out the corridor down towards the medbay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ratchet was less than pleased to be called out of his office to deal with Mirage. He shook his head as Hound explained what had happened, helping Mirage to lay down on a berth and injecting a cooling gel into a primary line.
“That should help with the itching while I remove the organic matter.” He told Mirage.
“I’m sorry Mirage, I had no idea…” Hound kept apologising, much as he had the whole way to the medbay. Mirage waved the apology off with his hand, shuttering his optics.
“Hound, the best thing you can do is clean off that berth while I get rid of the petals.” Ratchet turned to face the scout.
“All right… I really am sorry though. I had no idea they would cause so much irritation.” Ratchet shook his head, a small smile on his face.
“Go on. I’ll send Mirage back just as soon as I’ve finished with him.”
“Thank you Ratchet.” Hound lingered at Mirage’s berthside for a few moments longer before disappearing off.

“Guess he really doesn’t know how sensitive Towers builds can be?” Ratchet murmured, unlatching a piece of Mirage’s plating.
“He was just trying to be nice.” Mirage defended Hound, shifting slightly to allow Ratchet better access. The medic got to work with a pair of tweezers. “I’ve never had anyone be so nice to me since before the war…” He mused aloud.
“Oh?” Ratchet was pleased that Mirage was relaxed enough in his company to talk freely. Of course, the doctor-patient confidentiality probably had something to do with it.
“It was the last masquerade ball before the war really started…” Mirage was caught up in his memories. “I’d just had an argument with Ma… with someone I held in high affection. And this mech I didn’t recognise came up and offered me some high-grade, saying I looked like I needed it. We danced for hours. And then we…we kissed.” Mirage paused, shifting again to look Ratchet in the optics.
“Ratchet, I’ve never felt anything so right in all my life. Was it like that for you and Wheeljack?” Ratchet didn’t answer for a few moments, contemplating.
“I suppose it was. Every touch just seemed so right.” He shrugged. It was a well-known fact that he and Wheeljack had gotten on like a house on fire from the first day they met. It had been only natural to take it a step further.
“When Hound kisses me, it’s like that. He reminds me of the mech at the ball in so many ways.” Mirage sighed, not registering Ratchet’s look of surprise.
“But Hound couldn’t have been there, surely?”
“No. He was a commoner and wouldn’t have been allowed unless he’d had an invitation. Besides, I’m sure I would have recognised him.” Ratchet pulled out another rose petal, thinking to himself. He remembered Wheeljack telling him about his life before the war. And especially the daring mech who’d sneaked into the masquerade ball in the Towers.
“Are you sure it wasn’t him?” He asked carefully.
“I said I…”
“Think about it Mirage. Hound has a holographic projector. And I know he’s had that since before the war.” Ratchet let his words sink in, concentrating on removing the last few rose petals from Mirage’s internals.
“I… could it really be?” Mirage asked wonderingly.
“You’ll have to ask him.” Ratchet told him, making a mental note to talk to Wheeljack to satisfy his own curiosity.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hound?”
“Mirage, oh thank Primus you’re all right.” As soon as Mirage stepped inside his quarters, Hound swept him up in a tight hug.
“I’m fine Hound.” Mirage relaxed in the embrace, letting Hound move them across to the now-clean berth.
“I didn’t realise how much of an effect the petals would have on your internal systems, I’m so sorry.”
“Hound, please. Stop apologising.”
“Sorry.” Hound seemed to wilt a little.
“Hound?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course Mirage, anything.”
“Did you ever attend a masquerade ball in the Towers?”
“I… how would I be able to attend one Mirage? Commoners rarely got invites.”
“Oh…” Now it was Mirage’s turn to seem downhearted.
“Mirage?”
“Yes?”
“I snuck in.” Hound admitted in a quiet voice. “I’d watched the procession and I saw you dance and I needed to see you again. Wanted to see you again.”
“You snuck in?” Hound nodded.
“A friend helped me alter my holographic projector so I could use it to disguise myself.”
“Wheeljack.”
“Yes. I snuck in. And I saw you. I saw you with Magnus and you looked so sad.”
“It was you.” Hound nodded again, turning to face Mirage and cupping his cheek.
“I was so disappointed when Magnus interrupted us.” Hound admitted. Mirage nodded, remembering the night; the jealousy that had prompted Magnus to interrupt them and finally take advantage of Mirage in just the way he wanted.
“We’ve got no one to interrupt us now.” Mirage said softly, bringing his own hand up to cover Hound’s.
“True…” Hound leant closer, covering Mirage’s lips with his own.