Author's Notes: My apologies if Mirage and Hound are OOC here. I hope you'll enjoy this fic.

I do not own Transformers.

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Mirage frowned and cursed quietly, clutching his midsection with his free left hand as his right held on to his rifle. A small groan escaped him as he stopped trudging through the thick layer of snow and leaned against a tree trunk for support, careful not to dislodge any more of the frozen precipitation that weighed its branches. Pink energon slowly seeped through the cracks in his blue armour between his fingers as he rested, dripping down onto the soft, white ground below.

He didn't understand how Hound could stand it, let alone enjoy the winter season and try to coax him out of their shared quarters to spend time outdoors. The snow was cold, and it was the main reason he had been spotted and attacked in the first place. If it hadn't started to snow four days ago, the ground that day would still be dry, and he would not have left any obvious tracks during his mission. His holo-projector could only cover so much distance, and the process of snowing itself already gave him away, what with the falling snowflakes showing his useless invisible form.

The spy had taken some hits and was forced to retreat to a dense forest a good distance away from the battlefield. Jazz and Hound had received his distress signal and called in reinforcements while he transmitted the data he had retrieved from the Decepticons back to the Ark in a more remote area. Then, wretched snow had fallen from the tree he was using to take cover and alerted the Seekers to his presence.

His communication systems had been taken offline and he had suffered several more shots before the Aerialbots had been able to engage them someplace else. By then, he was already good and lost. Ironically, the snow chose that moment to hide his tracks, falling at an even heavier rate and camouflaging his surroundings. Without a working GPS, he was unable to find his way out of the dense forest he had taken refuge in.

Forcing himself upright, Mirage carried on. He tried hard to remember the way he came from, but amidst all the gunfire, lasers, explosions and falling snow, it was difficult to tell how many times he had turned and changed directions. Taking his chances, the spy had picked a random direction and started towards it, hoping that a straight route through the forest, instead of wandering around in circles, would bring him to its edge quickly, where one of the Aerialbots might spot him. He had been walking, with his right leg limping slightly, for several hours now, with no sign of the trees giving way to even a clearing.

The forest was eerily silent. Only the sound of Mirage's exhausted footsteps crunching on the snow and his damaged systems working at maximum to sustain him could be heard. There were no calls from birds, no shifting of bushes from some animal taking shelter or any other sound. The spy focused intently on his current task, to keep taking a step forward, to keep moving closer and closer to the edge of the dense area of vegetation where he could be found. Mirage tried to ignore the worry that his idea could work the other way round, that he could be moving deeper into the forest. After all, he had been at it for hours with no end in sight, and he was really starting to get tired of all the snow and its whiteness and the same slagging sight of snow-covered trees everywh –

A cold breeze swept by him as Mirage stepped out of the shade from the massive trees and out into the open. The sigh of relief that was about to escape his lips turned into an awed gasp as his optics widened at the sight before him.

Snow had blanketed the valley before him in a layer of white. Undisturbed by even a single footprint, the snow-covered slopes and floor were smooth and looked soft, almost fragile. The steep slopes of the valley were bare of trees, their rough textures, ridges and contours masked by the frozen precipitation that now lay on their surfaces. A small river coursed across the floor, its waters unstoppable by the winter cold as it flowed gently, travelling though the snow-covered valley.

There was a fresh scent to the air and the entire surrounding was quiet, but more to the extent that made it peaceful and calm. Everything was still and there was no movement. It was as if time had been frozen to preserve the beauty of the landscape that greeted him, like a reward for his hard efforts. For some reason, the pain from his injuries and all previous grievances regarding the snow vanished.

The sight was breathtaking.

Without warning, Mirage's knees gave way and he pitched forward. The sudden feeling of weightlessness was halted by strong arms that shot out from behind him and wrapped themselves firmly around his waist, supporting him as he was lowered down into a kneeling position. His rifle lay on the ground next to him where it had been dropped and embedded into the thick layer of snow.

Hound chuckled gently as he hugged the spy close. "I know I said the sight would sweep you off your feet, but I didn't really mean it literally."

Mirage turned his head slightly to glance at him. "How did you find me?"

"The energon trail you left behind wasn't that hard to follow. And besides," he grinned, "I am a tracker."

Snorting, the spy lifted his hand to touch his lover's cheek as his neck was nuzzled.

"Come on, we'd better get you back before Ratchet blows a gasket. Skyfire's not too far from here."

Careful not to aggravate his wounds any further, Hound gently lifted him up, but Mirage seemed to be pretty content with remaining in their position. They sank back down.

"On second thought, maybe I could just radio him to come pick us up…"

Mirage smiled as his optics shut off and leaned into Hound's embrace.

Author's Notes 2: They're not bonded. Yet.

Merry Christmas to all!

Reviews and/or criticisms (preferably constructive ones) are welcome. Thank you.

Refracted Imagination, logging out.