Title: Home is where your spark is

Author: Fianna9

Rating: G

World: G1 AU

Warnings: none

A/N: for the Prowl/Jazz virtual reality challenge. The first half is a bit more of real world than I initially wanted but the story ran away with me like normal. Aspects of the VR world were inspired/created from silberstreif's idea for a Virtual Reality for Cybertron.

Summary: Home doesn't have to be a physical location

Jazz braced himself as he slowly walked into his lover's apartment. He'd met Prowl during his first of three tours in Praxus, and the enforcer had accepted his quirks and always welcomed him back into his home when Jazz made his way back here.

He loved the time he got to spend in Praxus with Prowl, but Blaster had just scoped out a gig at Cy-Rave one of the hot new clubs in Crystal City and had even managed a VR contract as well. Their band was just starting to make it big in the music scene, and it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down. Unfortunately, he'd have to leave Prowl behind again.

As the door closed behind him a familiar voice and frame greeted him as Prowl walked out of the kitchen, "Hello, Jazz."

Well, Prowl had said he would be home tonight, but Jazz had expected to wait up for him since he was always working. There'd been a few nights where he'd given up and gone into VR to wait for Prowl's return. The enforcer was always properly apologetic when it happened and made certain to make up for the inconvenience.

"Hey, Prowler," he walked across the room and gave Prowl a kiss. "I've got something I need to tell you."

"As do I," Prowl answered after returning the kiss. "May I speak first?"

"Sure mech," Jazz settled on the couch next to him and focused on what Prowl was about to say. He could read the tension in the mech.

"Jazz, I have only known you for many vorn, and you seem to be happy spending your free time with me. I find that I enjoy your company and the energy that you bring into my life, and I miss that closeness when you are away touring. Traditionally, this is the moment when I should ask you to bond so that we can make a permanent life together here in Praxus."

Jazz sat quietly while he listened to a speech he'd been hoping for and dreading at the same time. Here he was ready to tell Prowl he was going to be leaving for a 15 vorn tour in a few decaorn, and the mech he loved was asking him to bond? How could he pass up what was right in front of him? But how could he back out on the band now?

Prowl ignored Jazz's silence and continued to speak. "Jazz, I know you well enough to realize that at this moment you are considering an offer to stop your tours. I know if you do you will become restless and eventually grow to resent the end of your dream. I cannot abandon my duties and responsibilities here in Praxus to simply follow you around the planet as part of your security. Unfortunately, our careers and goals are not currently compatible with a life focused on this world."

Only his familiarity with his lover let him catch the slight hesitation before Prowl continued, "Since we cannot currently be together in frame, perhaps we can be satisfied being together in our recharge? I have done to calculations, and we should be able to afford to create a VF private domicile we can share when you are on tour. With our combined incomes the fees for linking to your current touring hub will not be too extravagant for our budget if allocated correctly."

Jazz smiled and reached over to hug Prowl tightly. "That sounds like a great idea, Prowler. Shouldn't we log in and get started?"

"I agree," Prowl smiled softly and pulled Jazz towards the ARC unit they'd shared for so many nights. After a kiss, they both logged in and met at the café down the street. Jazz pulled up his account and joined Prowl in a merry debate over the layout of their new virtual home.

"Are you going to be online with us tonight or hang out in private mode?" Bumblebee asked as he, Jazz and Brawn left the Rec Room for the evening. "Perceptor and Wheeljack are sharing a turn so you know it's going to be Eureka or Dr. Who on the main server tonight. Perceptor has been arguing for Dr. Who, but Smokescreen says Hound already claimed Taggart if Eureka wins."

Jazz laughed imagining the chaos the scientists would cheerfully be making knowing they wouldn't get in too much trouble since it was expected to occur. After all, how much fun would a normal Eureka be? "I might have to drop in later to see the fun, especially if Wheeljack gets to be Fargo again. We'll see how things work out."

"Have fun tonight and don't do anything Ratchet wouldn't do," The scout called cheerfully as Jazz headed into his quarters. After a quick sweep of the room to make certain everything was in order he quickly settle into his ARC. Cuing in his private code, he relaxed and waited patiently for link-up to complete. It had been expensive shifting their home from the Praxus hub to Iacon when Prowl transferred, but they'd never regretted the cost even though it would have been cheaper to just start over there. After a thought, he switched from his current Avatar back to the silver one he'd used when he was still performing. He missed being able to curl up so snugly in Prowl's lap, and it was pleasant reminder of the good times before the war.

Grinning, Jazz stepped through the silver front door into their living room, running a quick inspection as he checked his log. There was a message from Prowl indicating that the chiming crystals on the table would require a larger pot within the next three orn, and Jazz followed the link to the available options in the market. After scanning the list, Jazz tagged one of Sunstreaker's creations as his preferred option. It was pricey compared to the standard pieces but would look great beside the crystal garden door.

Prowl often allowed Bluestreak and Smokescreen to use their home as a refuge when they need it, and Jazz had helped pay for copies of some of their things so they could put some of those pieces of Praxus in their own virtual homes. Bluestreak liked to come walk through the gardens remembering happier times. The crystals had been an expensive purchase at the time, but they were some of the last examples from Praxus outside a few odd displays secured in some museum worlds. Last visit Jazz had switched to a turbofox and chased Blue's petrorabbit around the crystals for a half the night. The best part was when Prowl joined them after the chase as a cyber-dog, and they'd all flopped down in the middle of the blue crystals to take a nap. The image capture of it was hanging in his practice room, and Jazz had slipped Bluestreak a copy of his own.

While he waited for Prowl, Jazz started scanning through the rest of the market looking for other new pieces that would fit. There was an entire section full of plant options for gardens and decoration that had just been released in the new patch. Looking through what was now available Jazz sent a message to Prowl asking if they should invest in another garden. He didn't want to tamper with the crystals they had now, but some of the new plants looked pretty cool, especially the ones from Nebulan. It'd be easy to add a small door next to the kitchen and create a series of gardens they could look at through a window. That'd mean they'd need a window, so he started switched over to scanning through available windows, looking for something classy but not too boring.

The door chimed behind him as Prowl finished logging in and walked into the living room. "Hey, Prowler, how's the new moonbase going?" he purred as he stared at his mate, enjoying the view as he stalked towards him. Prowl had replicated his avatar from his current frame and towered over his smaller mate, but the white metallic-feathered wings were a delightful new touch he was itching to play with, "I love the wings, Prowler."

Prowl shifted his grip to Jazz's hips and lifted him up, holding Jazz tightly against his chest as he pressed his head into Jazz's neck, venting gently as he retraced the familiar lines of the frame he missed so much, "Better if you were here with me as well, but I should be able to return to Earth in approximately seven orn barring any accidents or unexpected Decepticon attacks."

"I'm looking forward to it," Planting a kiss on Prowl's chestplate, Jazz grinned before glancing at the connection door and asking, "You want to stay in tonight or go play with the scientists?"

Trying to think while Jazz's hands were causing such wonderful sensations in his wings, Prowl gave up and murmured into Jazz's neck as he headed for their berthroom, "I think Deputy Ironhide will do well enough helping to keep order so Director Stark can make a very late appearance this episode."

As the door closed behind them, Jazz whispered, "Sounds like a plan, love."