Chapter 5

Author's Note: So, last chapter... Hope you guys have liked the run. There is a follow on story in the works, Jazz-centred this time, and that should be making an appearence some time.
Thank you for reading!

--

Prowl lay back on the medical berth, getting himself settled before Ratchet set about putting Prowl into stasis and hooking the SIC up to machines that would take over some of his vital functions whilst Perceptor rewired some of the connections in his head. Ratchet would keep an eye on Prowl's stats whilst Percetor worked and First Aid helped hold Prowl in place. That left Perceptor two free hands with another to angle Prowl's head to where it needed to be.

Jazz retreated to the far side of the room but couldn't bring himself to leave, even with Ratchet glaring threats at him. He kept himself quiet, watching the operation with worried optics. Prowl had suddenly come to mean more to him in just a few short joors. Jazz valued everyone here but Prowl loved him and had just overloaded him more times than the saboteur could remember. It had been the one of the best interfacing sessions of his life and he didn't want to give Prowl up.

Jazz wasn't concerned that something would go wrong in the operation. Perceptor and Ratchet were the best. No what troubled him was that Prowl would go back to being exactly who he had been before; a mech that would never have spoken a word of his attraction to Jazz and certainly wouldn't be demonstrative. The saboteur wasn't sure if he could cope with having all that love and affection he'd been shown abruptly being taken away. Slag it all, he was lonely.

The feeling had been creeping up on him from the moment the rec room doors had slid open. Prowl had been elated and barely kept from running down the corridors. Jazz glad for him and let it show, even if it was to hide the feeling he was losing Prowl with every step he took.

Whilst Perceptor had explained the problem and solution, Jazz could barely bring himself to listen. He didn't begrudge Prowl being fixed, not for a single instant. It was what Prowl wanted and Jazz was pretty fragging sure he'd give anything to see Prowl happy, but why did that mean Jazz had to lose out? Jazz was certain enough that it would mean him losing out because the saboteur knew Prowl well enough to have already thought up all the excuses the SIC could ever consider. Two ranking officers shouldn't be together, it was too dangerous, it would impair their judgement, they would become a liability. Any reason that would endanger any of their fellow members of the Autobots was a good enough reason not to be together, yet nothing would satisfy Jazz truly, but what he wanted and what he was pretty sure he was going to get wouldn't be the same.

"Well!" Perceptor suddenly announced, clapping his hands together and making Jazz jump.

Ratchet peered over his shoulder to study the open helm of Prowl and nodded. First Aid stood on tip toes at the other side of Prowl to peek a look, but didn't move from holding him. They all turned to the monitors for a moment to see whether the SIC would continue to hold steady.

"Ya all done?" Jazz asked quietly.

"Yes I am," Perceptor smiled. "It was quite a challenge, in some parts, to repair the circuits. Prowl's CPU has been using other routes to make the needed connections and persuading him to return to the proper ones was somewhat of a thrill, I'll admit."

Ratchet grunted, pushing Perceptor out the way,

"Now, if you don't mind, Prowl still needs the rest of head fixing. Aid, lift him up a bit."

The younger medic complied, hauling Prowl into nearly a sitting position, so Ratchet could reattach the helm that Prowl had been wearing earlier. He'd also had time to make a new red chevron as Prowl was still sporting only half, jagged edge still sharp. Jazz watched Perceptor tidy up his tools before leaving and then diverted his attention back to the medics. First Aid was lowering Prowl back down to the berth, Ratchet already done with the easy attachment of his helm. The CMO handed First Aid the new chevron to attach, knowing the younger medic would want to do more than just hold Prowl, even though he'd never complain. Fixing something so simple wasn't exactly a taxing procedure but it was better than nothing.

Jazz leant back against the wall as he found a little bit of tension easing from his frame. He hadn't realised just quite how worried he was whilst Prowl was being operated on, but now it was really over, he could relax and pretend that nothing had changed. That would be what Prowl would want and the saboteur would do his best to give the mech he wanted more than life anything he asked for. Sadness welled up briefly before Jazz quashed it ruthlessly. He had lost out prior to this, and would again, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

First Aid stepped to one side once he was done and Ratchet began the sequence to bring Prowl back into consciousness, all the while watching the monitors closely. Everything was completely normal. Perfect even. The three mechs in the room watched Prowl twitch a little before stirring.

"Prowl," Ratchet gained the tactician's attention as soon as his optics flickered into life.

"Ratchet," Prowl replied calmly.

"How are you feeling? Any psychopathic tendencies?"

Prowl sat up, noting his doorwings felt a little stiff and flexing them,

"None and, by that statement, I presume something happened to me."

Ratchet and First Aid shared a suspicious glance. Memory loss wasn't expected.

"You don't remember."

Prowl seem to consider this before answering,

"The last event I recall is attending a meeting about the latest Decepticon attacks."

Jazz missed the rest of the conversation as his world dissolved into white noise. Prowl didn't remember the time they had spent together, what they had shared, including Prowl's admission of love for Jazz. The saboteur made as if to escape the medical bay but his movement attracted Prowl's attention.

"Jazz," his voice sounded surprised and pleased and Jazz remembered that, whilst he may not be able to recall confessing to Jazz, he still loved him and they were still friends.

"Hey Prowl," Jazz replied, forcing a smile onto his face as he walked over to the berth.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came t'see how ma friend's doin'. Ya know I always check on mechs stuck in med bay," Jazz leant a hip against the bed.

"Except you haven't been stuck in here," Ratchet muttered.

Prowl frowned at him as Jazz shot the CMO a 'shut up!' look. Jazz was smiling pleasantly though, when Prowl turned back to him and Prowl gave him a small smile back. Jazz fought not grin. Prowl's smile had a whole new meaning now.

"I take it I'm free to go Ratchet?"

Ratchet shrugged,

"You seem fine, but anything happens, get your aft right back in here."

Prowl nodded, slid off the berth and turned to Jazz,

"Would you like to join me for some energon?"

"Sure."

The two black and white's left together, talking amicably. Ratchet watched them go with narrowed optics. Something was off with Prowl. The medic wasn't sure whether he believed the SIC when he said he couldn't remember, but it wasn't like Prowl to lie. He wondered what Jazz was going to do now and just how he was going to deal with the rumours about the pair of them running riot around the Ark.

When the pair had gone far enough from the med bay not to be overheard, Prowl conversationally said,

"I gather I have missed quite a bit."

Jazz twitched,

"Yeah, couple o' battles 'n some other things."

"Would you care to fill me in about them?" Prowl asked politely.

"Sure," Jazz nodded, externally calm whilst internally he was hurried reviewing everything they'd done together to make sure he didn't trip himself up. "How 'bout we get that energon t' go with it?"

Prowl agreed, commenting he felt like he had been a long time without refuelling. Jazz just headed in the direction of the rec room rather than point out it wasn't a matter of time that had left Prowl feeling low on energy, rather the activities he had been engaged in not that long ago. Activities that left a ghost of heat and sensation running through him when they re-enacted themselves vividly through the saboteur's CPU.

Jazz realised, when they entered the rec room, that this probably wasn't the wisest idea he'd had. Every single pair of optics immediately turned to them and silence descended on the room. Nobody seemed to know where to start and Jazz grasped the opportunity.

"Heya fellas! Prowl's all fixed up now," he gestured to said mech. "Unfortunately seems he's got a complete CPU blank 'bout the past few days."

Jazz deliberately met Hound and Mirage's optics with a sharp look. Both of them hurriedly nodded and then subtly motioned towards the twins who were whispering together in one corner. The Porsche briefly screwed his face plates up as he thought of how to deal with the troublemakers, vaguely aware of Ironhide asking Prowl how he felt. He trusted the older red mech not to say anything but the twins were looking decidedly suspicious now.

"Prowl, wanna grab those cubes?" Jazz asked. "I need a quick word with Sides."

"Of course," Prowl nodded amicably, thanked Ironhide for his concern and headed over to the dispensers.

Jazz hurriedly over to the twins and leant in between them, fixing both of them with unyielding look.

"I hear one word from either of ya," Jazz hissed in a low voice. "'N every single one of ya contraband items will suddenly be gone, straight into Optimus' possession."

The twins glared back but Jazz wasn't done yet.

"Ya'll also never be able t' pull off another prank 'cause Red Alert will always have prior information on ya 'n ya'll find ya days filled with maintenance work."

"You can't stop us," Sunstreaker bit out.

"Sunny," Jazz replied calmly. "I'm not head of Special Ops for ma charmin' personality. I can 'n will make ya life misery if Prowl hears one word of this, from anyone."

Sideswipe protested,

"We can't stop the others talking!"

Jazz grinned,

"Ya've got plenty of talents, use 'em."

With that Jazz stood up and made his way back over to Prowl who stood waiting, a cube in each hand. He handed Jazz his own cube before saying,

"Perhaps we should talk somewhere quieter. It seems many mechs will want to talk to me now I am out of med bay."

Jazz nodded,

"Sounds like a good idea."

The pair left together and as soon as the doors had shut everyone in the room started talking, half of them wanting to know what Jazz had said to the twins. The twins hurriedly explained Jazz's threat and then twisted it slightly so the punishment included everyone. Nobody called them on it, though there was a heated discussion as to how long Prowl could be kept in the dark and whether Jazz would tell him.

The mech himself was currently worrying over exactly the same thing. He knew he was only slowing the inevitable of Prowl discovering what he had done over the past few days and was pretty sure Prowl would appreciate Jazz being the one to tell him, but just how could he? How do you drop such a line into the conservation; 'Yeah 'n then after the battle ya interfaced ma CPU out in the middle of the rec room'. Just didn't quite sound right.

Jazz barely noticed the journey back to the officer's quarters, nor the fact that he had automatically entered the code for his own rooms, rather than them going into Prowl's. He supposed personal quarters were a better setting for what was going to be a highly personal conversation, than offices.

Prowl seated himself behind Jazz's desk, optics running over the mess of datapads scattered on its surface as Jazz plonked himself down on the edge of his berth, since there were no other chairs in the room. The visored mech downed his energon to buy himself a little time. Prowl sipped at his, waiting for Jazz to fill him in and discovered that Jazz was quite apt at telling stories. His hands gestured expansively and his voice rose and fell with real feeling.

He told Prowl what Prowl had told him, the pseudopsychopathy details, and Prowl had reacted with some level of shock but also with understanding, claiming that it made logical sense for such a level of damage to translate itself in such a way in him. Jazz had smiled at that, shaking his head,

"Trust ya t' say that… so I caught Swindle, knocked 'im out cold 'n Trailbreaker took 'im away so Perceptor 'n Wheeljack could fix the lights when the others were winnin' over the 'Cons. Ratchet had me check on ya in med bay 'n that's it really, 'fore ya got fixed 'n all." Jazz finished abruptly.

"That was the first time I saw you?" Prowl confirmed.

Jazz nodded and the SIC continued,

"And I was normally with you?"

Jazz hesitated for a moment,

"Well ya got a bit emotional on me."

Prowl looked a bit distracted and Jazz could guess why. He was worried he had let something slip about his feelings when he wasn't himself, but wasn't sure how to check without giving himself away. Jazz should reassure him but then Prowl would know that he knew.

"Jazz," Prowl started slowly and the saboteur tried to hide his anxiety. "There seems to be a time discrepancy in your story."

"What?"

"Between the end of the battle and my returning to full health, you're saying that I was only repaired. Nothing else happened?" Prowl regarded Jazz in a puzzled manner.

When Jazz didn't answer straight away, only looking away with a guilty expression, Prowl stood up,

"Please tell me the truth. I know I must have done some things that I will not enjoy hearing about."

"Well I don't know about ya not enjoyin' it," Jazz muttered. "Ya certainly did at the time."

"I could have done little else."

Jazz shoot a truly confused look at Prowl when he said that to find him smiling slightly. Prowl walked across the room and laid a hand on Jazz's shoulder. The smaller mech stared up at him as he tried to process Prowl's words and actions. The soft smile on Prowl's face was very telling, but Jazz couldn't think of what and Prowl seemed to understand.

"I want to thank you for trying to save my feelings. That means a lot to me, especially since it would mean you losing out in order to achieve it."

Prowl's hand cupped the side of Jazz's face gently as Jazz still stared at him in confusion. The Porsche seemed to gather himself somewhat, enough to ask,

"Ya remember…?"

Prowl nodded and Jazz shot to his feet, pushing Prowl away in the process, spluttering and waving his hands,

"All this time, when I was coverin' for ya…"

He wasn't angry, just bewildered as to why Prowl would go through all the deception. Now he was the one on the emotional rollercoaster; being with Prowl, effectively losing him, worrying he'd get embarrassed, finding out it was all a fabrication.

"Jazz please understand…" Prowl held out his hands.

"Ya lied!" Jazz exclaimed, poking his finger into Prowl's chest.

"Yes," Prowl slowly took hold of Jazz again. "I felt it would be better if others thought I couldn't recall anything about my outbursts. I lost their respect then and that is dangerous. If they don't respect me then how can I expect them to follow my orders?"

"Ah Prowl they didn't stop respectin' ya. Just made 'em think ya were a normal mech like the rest of us," Jazz lent back from the slightly taller mech, beginning to understand. "And anyways ya got any idea what that did t'me when I thought ya couldn't remember what we'd done?"

"For that I am truly sorry," Prowl leaned in closer as his voice dropped. "Truly sorry. How can I make it up to you Jazz?"

Jazz felt his pump speed up at the low, sensuous tone and fought back a moan.

"There must be something I can do for you," Prowl continued, a smile beginning to appear. "Or should that be something I can do to you?"

"Prowl…" Jazz breathed.

"Are you making me guess?" Prowl was centimetres from Jazz's audio. "I suppose that's fair."

The Porsche vibrated when the tactician nuzzled one of his stubby horns, teasing him and drawing out memories of what Prowl had done to them before. Jazz let his fingers slid down the white sides they held to clasp the black hips and pull them close to his. His thumbs teased the red arrow in the centre and Prowl's grip on him tightened.

"Is that your answer then?" Prowl murmured but he didn't give the saboteur a chance to reply before they were hitting the berth.

Jazz lay under Prowl, clinging to him as Prowl leant over him, wings flaring, making him seem more imposing and dominating. Jazz nearly melted through the berth at the sight, memories flaring of before and what an assertive Prowl meant for him. Prowl's engine rumbled into life as he stared down at Jazz, loud enough to convey his own arousal and his optics glowed brightly with restrained lust and love. The Porsche made a sound between a gasp and a moan as a small, pleasant shudder ran through his frame.

Prowl dipped his head and kissed Jazz, taking his time to map out every inch of Jazz's mouth. Slowly he pulled away, reluctant to leave, but needing to taste the rest of the smaller mech beneath him. When they had interfaced before, it had been a desperate, almost rushed, affair, so bad had been the need in Prowl. Now, back in control, Prowl wanted to touch all of Jazz, to find all those sweet spots the other black and white mech had. Some part of him wanted to make Jazz feel so good, he would never leave him, because now Prowl had him, he wasn't intending on letting Jazz go anywhere.

Prowl's mouth explored, and his glossa lapped at the joint between bumper and midsection. One hand was trailing along Jazz's thigh, stopping at the back of his knee joint to torment that area, reducing Jazz to a writhing, purring Porsche against the recharge berth. Prowl's hand continued its path down, stopping at Jazz's spoiler and wheel located on his heel, stroking it and tracing its edges.

Jazz didn't know if he was coming or going. Prowl had proved he was good at this before, but now, now it was like he was determined to find all of Jazz's hot spots and drive him to distraction. It was all the saboteur could do stroke what he could reach of Prowl. More often than not he couldn't think straight enough to work out which way was up, let alone how to get Prowl back up to where he could reach him.

As it turned out Prowl wanted to be back up where Jazz could touch him, finding the Porsche's neck to be highly sensitive. Prowl hummed against a cable, the vibration sending Jazz careening towards the edge, nearly over it, but not quite there yet. Jazz's own mouth was busy nibbling and lapping on Prowl's chevron, suckling on the tips, memories of its once damaged state making him be gentle, before he kissed his way to an audio in between pleas for more of Prowl's touch, begging to be pushed into overload.

"Jazz," Prowl whispered as he brushed his lips along Jazz's right audio. "I want you so badly."

The passion burning within Jazz took hold and before Prowl could stop him, he had Datsun on his back. The sleek black and white form of Jazz was writhing above him, fingers tracing seams, fondling cables, nipping and licking at armour and Prowl couldn't help arching his back, hands pressing the saboteur closer. He could only surrender to the passion, allowing hands to caress him, tugging at seams, desperate to reach every spot on his body that could arouse him. Fingers dipped in between armour grasping feverishly at cables and wires, tugging on them.

Prowl held in the moan as Jazz began to nip at his throat, a glossa flicking out to lick the sensitive panels. Lips dragged over his neck and Prowl arched into the contact, head thrown back as Jazz licked and nibbled his way across Prowl's neck, moving down towards his shoulders and onto his chest. Jazz's glossa danced across the glass of a headlight and Prowl cried in pleasure, one hand pressing to the back of Jazz's helm, as the mech teased him.

Prowl's free hand moved down along Jazz's back, fingers running along his roof, tracing the racing stripes until they stopped at Porsche's black aft, which he cupped before he squeezed, making Jazz arched back into his hand. From there Prowl traced the seam where the back of a speaker panel joined his hip, earning a pleasured groan from his lover.

Frames shuddered, tremors growing in intensity as their excitement rose and the intense energy ploughed through Prowl's body, setting every circuit ablaze as the overload hovered over him. Hands caressed his lover at a frantic pace, driving Jazz closer and closer into that overload until the saboteur couldn't hold back anymore, crying out his pleasure so loud Prowl was sure anybot nearby would hear him. The tactician watched the beautiful scene of Jazz throwing back his head as his overload to raced through him before it triggered his own, making him cry out his love's name before Jazz all but collapsed on top of him.

As they recovered, Prowl rained kisses across Jazz's face, telling him how much he loved him and thanking him for forgiving him for his deception. Jazz smiled down at him, fingers stroking Prowl's face softly, before slumping down to lie beside him, arms entwined.

"Wore me out," Jazz felt his recharge program began to start up. "Makin' me worry then blowin' ma CPU like that."

Prowl kissed the side of his helm,

"Recharge then. I'm not going anywhere."

Jazz was asleep the next instant and Prowl felt the weariness from the last few days over take him. Reporting to Optimus and catching up with his work could wait after a decent recharge. After all he wouldn't want to make mistakes and being tired drastically increased those odds. With that decided, Prowl took one last look at the sleeping Jazz and then let himself drift into a deep recharge.

--

Jazz slowly booted up his systems, pulling himself out of recharge and several things occurred to him as he did so. One: He was lying partly on his side, mostly on his front, which was odd because he generally recharged on his back. Two: The berth seemed a lot smaller than he remembered as his arm was hanging over the edge. Three: He felt a lot warmer and heavier than normal. Jazz discovered the fourth one when he onlined his optics: There was an black and white arm around his waist.

With a grin splitting his face plates Jazz settled back down on the bed to listen to Prowl recharge. The soft flutterings of air from Prowl's outtakes drifted over the back of Jazz's neck and Prowl was pressed up tight against Jazz's back. One of his legs was between Jazz's and his face was snuggled into the crook of Jazz's neck.

Jazz hummed in contentment.

"What are you thinking about?" Prowl's voice asked softly.

"Just thinkin' this is a fraggin' good way t' wake up," Jazz replied, still smiling.

"Mmm," Prowl murmured. "Every morning."

His lips brushed over the sensitive wires in Jazz's neck, making the saboteur shiver, before he turned slightly in Prowl's arms to see him properly. Prowl smiled down at him in a lazy way. Jazz pulled him down to kiss him and say good morning properly. If it was morning. He hadn't even bothered to check what time it was and had absolutely no intention of doing so for as long as possible.

Apparently Prowl didn't either because when he broke the kiss he simply swept his gaze over the saboteur in a proprietary way and Jazz felt heat rise in his circuits. He knew that look. Prowl had used that look a lot last night when Jazz had lain under him, screaming out his pleasure. For somebot who spent ninety percent of his time working so seriously, the SIC was exceptionally good at interfacing.

Prowl watched Jazz squirm a little before grinning at something that had clearly just occurred to him. Still unsure just who or what he should be thanking for having Jazz here in his arms like this, Prowl was more than content enough to simply gaze.

"Ya gonna do somethin' or just stare at me all day?"

"I was quite satisfied just watching you actually," Prowl smiled. "I'm still trying to get my head around you being here."

Jazz gently stroked the side of Prowl's face,

"Better believe it babe."

"I believe I just might start to," Prowl chuckled before his face turned serious. "Jazz, thank you."

"For what?" Jazz tipped his head to one side slightly. "For bein' 'ere or just bein' so slaggin' sexy ya can't resist me any longer 'n have t' touch me again?"

Prowl smiled, then a small chuckle escaped, followed by a proper, unadulterated laugh. He tipped his head back and his whole body shook. Jazz grinned, happy to wait until Prowl calmed down.

"You…" Prowl started, trying to still his giggles. "You are so incorrigible."

"Yup that's me," Jazz agreed. "Now are ya gonna kiss me or do I have t' do this all maself?"

Prowl laughed softly, before doing what he was bid.