Hi you guys. Uh...well, this is for Artisan Brown's birthday, which is tommorow I think. I was going to wait until then to post it but I finished this yesterday and was too anxious XD And I finished the picture that corresponds with it. Well...I'm not very good at writing mature romance, and not meaning mature like explicit mature, but like a older couple. No wait, that makes Hot Shot and Red Alert sound old...Let's just say the most I've written at romance is between Sari and Bumblebee and then a 10-year old Ty Lee, so I'm used to writing it more innocently where less thought is put into it. But I tried my best, and I think effort is really important. And practice. This is a lot of practice, because I like this pairing. Though I think it is hard to write since Red Alert strikes me as more idependent and I'm not used to writing that romantically. But I think I did alright. Well...I hope you like it Brownie XD All of you review and tell me how I can improve

Red Alert was confused. She really needed to figure out how a mech's processor worked. Oh, of course she knew how the wiring and circuitry was done. She couldn't be a trained medic without such trivial knowledge. It was more of how they actually put things together that bothered her. And why they wouldn't just verbalize their feelings.

She didn't remember much from the attack on the space bridge. She knew that Hot Shot had done something stupid and reckless (as if that wasn't new) and had practically demolished his right stabilizing servo during the fighting, so she had been called in to help. She should've been paying more attention to the action around her instead of the `bot she was working on. But, of course, Hot Shot had been talking and testing her patience. She tried to keep a leveler head during combat.

After that it was fuzzy, but she knew she had been…for lack of better term 'eaten' by one of the `cons. She was glad that she didn't recall all of that. It must've been the grossest thing she had ever gone through. All slimy and gooey. And all over her. Just the thought of it made her shudder. She was later told by Ironhide that the `con had literally spat her out like a torpedo and used her like a bomb. Not exactly the most comforting thing to know. But it definitely explained why she had no memory of it. No doubt the whole affair had knocked her out.

There was one thing she could remember very clearly however. This was the cause of her troubles.

While they were being transported back to Cybertron for proper repairs, Red Alert had been drifting in and out of consciousness. She remembered hearing `bots examining her, checking her vital signs. She must have been pretty hurt for it to come to that. But then there was another voice, saying something completely unexpected.

"Red Alert! Please don't go! I need you!"

She frowned as it replayed in her processor again. Why had he sounded so desperate, like he really meant it? Hot Shot always seemed to joke around on normal occasions, but this was different. His voice was wavering and scared. Like the thought of not having her around anymore was a matter of life and death.

It didn't make sense. This was Hot Shot, for spark's sake. He was the most slaggin' annoying `bot to live. Ever. And to top that, he was a crazy pyromaniac. He didn't care about anybot but himself. Or at least, that was how he portrayed himself to be. Why would he suddenly be so interested in her well-being?

She didn't begin to truly mull over it until now, when they were finally in a stable situation. Everybot on the team was stuck in the same room in the infirmary. Turns out while their space bridge was being attacked almost all the other ones were going down as well. That meant a lot of casualties. And the best medical center was running low on space to fit them all.

Ironhide and Brawn had only suffered minor injuries. They were tough. Probably got thrown around a lot more than the rest of them and it barely scratched their paintjob. Rodimus could've been in a better condition. His selfless bravery had earned him one unhealthy dose of cosmic rust. Red Alert had only heard of its effects, never actually seeing it firsthand. It was kind of frightening. He was like a statue, frozen in a shocked expression. She hoped that they would be able to administer the antidote before it was too late. Rodimus was a good `bot. He didn't deserve that kind of fate.

Hot Shot's only wound was his stabilizing servo that had started the whole mess for Red Alert. The replacement had arrived the orbital cycle prior and she had to install it because of the lack of spare medibots. Now that she thought about it, he had acted funny during the whole process. Every time she looked up to make sure he was alright, he was staring at her. Of course, as soon as he realized she noticed he suddenly would become interested in something in the totally different direction. And he wouldn't talk to her. That was very odd. Almost like he was sick. He always had something annoying to say. Always.

But now that she thought about it…maybe it was connected to the abnormal exclamation she heard him say earlier.

Red Alert could only come to one conclusion, though she didn't want to admit it. Surely mechs didn't act that way when they were…well, what she thought he was, anyways. If Rodimus wasn't a living statue at the moment, she would ask him. He was a good `bot to ask those sorts of questions to without looking too hard into why the question was asked in the first place. And the fact that he was a mech didn't hurt. The only other mechs around were Ironhide and Brawn and they were definitely not the `bots to ask. They weren't exactly the most insightful `bots when it came to issues outside of combat and mech-to-mech bonding.

She was sitting on one of the metal seats in the room, trying to get the thoughts out of her processor. Hot Shot wasn't like that. If any of her time with him had concluded with any fact, it had to be that one.

"Hey, Hothead, wanna play a round?" Brawn asked from the table. He and Ironhide were engaged in some high stakes card game that only boredom could have started. Hot Shot growled at the derogatory nickname.

"Not with you." He barked.

"Fine then. Sorry we asked." Ironhide replied with a roll of his viz scanners.

Red Alert cringed as she saw the young `bot get up from the chair he was sitting in. At first he looked like he was going to confront Ironhide and Brawn, but then he turned and made a beeline. Over to her.

He looked nervous, one of his servos scratching the back of his head like he was in an awkward position. He couldn't look her straight in the viz scanners as he spoke.

"Red Alert…I need to ask you something kinda important…" He began softly.

Uh-uh. This was not happening.

"Yeah…?" She replied hesitantly. She was very afraid of what he was going to say. Did he really have the nerves to admit something like that when two of his peers were in earshot? He was reckless, but she didn't peg him for the type to do this.

"…could you take another look at my stabilizing servo?"

Red Alert blinked. "What?"

"My stabilizing servo. It feels…kinda stiff. Maybe the hydraulics aren't right or something…" He explained. "Could you check it out?"

She couldn't believe it. He worked her up and all he cared about was his stupid stabilizing servo!? She wanted to scream at him, tell him he could take care of his own slagging appendages instead of raising her hopes!

Wait…what was that? Red Alert felt her circuits freeze. This couldn't be happening to her. Could she really be angry because he didn't ask what she thought he was going to? Could she really actually have feelings for him? No. Never. Not in a million stellar cycles. She wouldn't let herself.

"If it's really bothering you, I guess I have no choice. Stretch it out so I can see it." Slaggit. That didn't sound right at all. He didn't seem to notice as he did as she said. She scanned the stabilizing servo, trying not to do anything else embarrassing. As she collected the data, she realized there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. That was odd.

"So…uh…Red Alert…I was wondering…uh…if you remembered…" Hot Shot started, voice barely audible. Red Alert felt her faceplate grow warm. Surely he wasn't talking about…

"There's nothing wrong with your stabilizing servo." She said quickly, cutting him off. Slaggit, why had she done that? Maybe she would have finally gotten a reason for why he had said he needed her.

"Oh…well, then, what about my chestplate! I think I hurt myself there too!" He insisted, "Or my flamethrowers! They weren't nearly as effective as usual when…" As an example, he configured his servos into his said flamethrowers. Red Alert should've known it was going downhill from there.

Hot Shot's viz scanners widened. A jet of flames shot out, and Red Alert barely had time to lean out of the way. She landed on the floor, the fire flying over her. Brawn and Ironhide let out a yelp and dropped the cards. Almost instantly they were over there, holding Hot Shot's servos back. He didn't protest. He looked like he was going to be sick.

Red Alert stood up and brushed herself off. When she did she winced. Checking herself over, she found that she had a small burn on her shoulder. Nothing serious. But when Hot Shot saw it, the Great War might as well have been an understatement.

"Red Alert!" He struggled against the `bots keeping him in custody.

"Nuh uh. You ain't goin' anywhere." Brawn assured him.

"Crazy pyrohead." Ironhide added.

"Let him go, guys. It was an accident." Red Alert intervened. All three of them looked at her in shock. She had never really stuck up for Hot Shot before. Now that she thought about it, she didn't think she had ever even said anything nice to the `bot before. It felt odd herself that she was even taking his side. And yet, there was a nice side to it.

The thing was, Hot Shot didn't just care about himself, and now she knew that. He cared about her too. She didn't know why, but he did. She had never really had a mech feel like that to her. Not in an authentic way. And she kind of liked it.

Ironhide frowned. "You sure?"

"Somebot has to make sure those flamethrowers don't freak out again." She reminded. They hesitantly let go of his servos and went back to their card game, not without keeping a viz scanner on them.

Hot Shot stared at the floor. He wouldn't look at her. Not after what had happened. She understood that.

"I'm sorry, Red Alert! I didn't mean to- I mean, they weren't supposed to go off then! I thought I was in control but I was thinking about something else so I…"

"It's okay, I forgive you." She gave him a genuine smile. He looked up, surprised.

"Y-You do?"

"And I promise not to tell anybot about what I remember as long as you promise not to repeat what I'm about to say," She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I think I need you too."

Hot Shot blushed. Then he smiled back.

This just might work out after all.

So yeah. I think this is like the shortest thing I've ever written. But I like it alright. I hope you liked it too XD