Disclaimer: I do not own the characters within, nor am I making any money off of this story. All I own are the twisted ideas floating around in my head.

Notes: This was written years ago and I was moving fics around to my lj-comm and realized I'd never posted it here. Whoops!

"Hound?" Mirage's quiet voice cut through the darkness of the scout's quarters. He and his lover were curled up on the berth and Hound had honestly thought Mirage had dropped off into recharge a few breems before. The Ligier was so still and quiet, the Jeep had almost drifted off himself when Mirage breathed his name.

Bringing his optics online, Hound saw the dim glow of Mirage's in the otherwise dark room. One hand smoothed along the mech's lower back soothingly. "Yeah, I'm awake. What's up, 'Raj?"

He didn't know what it was but Hound had the feeling something was bothering Mirage. Without being able to see the mech's faceplates or get much of a feel for his body language, the scout was only left with a vague sense of concern.

When Mirage didn't answer him right away that vague concern turned to outright worry. Shifting his arm out from underneath Mirage's, Hound brought up the lights so he could see his lover better. "What is it? What's wrong, Mirage?"

The Ligier had a pensive look on his face. Like he wanted to say something but didn't quite know how to say it. Hound reached out and stroked his thumb across one of those finely sculpted faceplates. Primus, but he was such a beautiful mech. Not for the first time, Hound had to wonder how a scruffy and rather plain looking mech like himself had managed to attract the gorgeous Towers mech.

When Mirage leaned into that touch, Hound felt his spark flutter in its chamber and tenderness lit his optics. "Talk to me, love. Something is bothering you."

"I just…" the spy finally started to speak but his voice tapered off before he could finish the sentence. "Now that the war looks to be winding down, what are you going to do?"

"What to do you mean?"

"The brass, they're starting to reassign us and I imagine we'll be able to go back to Cybertron once the fighting is over with. Are you…are you going to stay here on Earth?" Mirage usually didn't lack for confidence like this and it worried Hound to see him so uncertain.

"What do you mean? I'll go where I'm sent."

"But you prefer Earth more than Cybertron, right?"

The dawning of an idea was forming in the back of his processor and Hound didn't like it one bit!

"You're not really asking me where I want to live, are you." The scout finally stated carefully. He was rewarded with a faint flash of vulnerability on the Ligier's faceplates. "What about us. That's what you're getting at, isn't it."

Mirage grimaced and looked away. He would have pulled away completely but Hound's arms tightened around him.

"I love Cybertron. It's my home." Mirage admitted quietly. "This planet….I just don't get what you see in it. But I know how much you love it."

"Mirage, no, it's not going to—" Hound tried to interrupt him before he said something truly awful.

"No, let me finish." The Ligier said a trifle sharply. He leaned forward to press his helm against Hound's in apology. "I love Cybertron but I love you more. So if you want to stay on this dusty little planet crawling with organics and ugly topography, then I'm staying. Where you go, I want to go."

The Jeep was floored, shock blatantly apparent in his optics as he stared at his lover silently. He honestly hadn't been expecting Mirage of all mechs to offer to stay here for him. Hound knew how much his lover disliked this world and the fact that Mirage might one day want to leave it hadn't escaped Hound. To be honest, he'd been kind of gearing himself up to accepting that since the war had begun to turn in their favor.

Much like Mirage, Hound had taken stock of his life with and without the Ligier in it and had decided he wasn't willing to give him up.

The Jeep was willing to give up Earth and all of it's wonder and beauty for Mirage. He just couldn't believe Mirage had beat him to the self-sacrificing part!

"….'Raj. I don't care where I live, just so long as I have you." Yes, he knew it was cheesy but Mirage had come to expect a certain level of cheesiness from the Jeep.

"Primus, you are so corny." Mirage snickered, using the human phase since it seemed to fit.

A big smile stretched across Hound's face as he leaned in to kiss Mirage softly. "Yes, but you wouldn't have me any other way, would you?"

The Ligier seemed to consider this for a long moment. Perhaps a bit too long for Hound's personal tastes, thank you very much!

"No, not a thing." The white and blue mech finally admitted with a tender smile. One slim hand rose to cup Hound's much more roughly hewn features. "There's not a thing I would change about you, terrible taste in planets and cheesiness aside."

Hound laughed and gathered him close for a more heated kiss. "Well that's good to know."

He pulled him back down onto the berth, hands gliding over the familiar lines of his lover's chassis.

Much later, as they were settling in to recharge again, Mirage powered up his optics and slanted a mischievous look Hound's way.

"You know, if you don't care where you live, I know a really nice place back on Cybertron."

The Jeep snorted and slung an arm around Mirage's waist to pull him in close. "We'll talk about it in the morning, how about that? One day at a time, remember?"

"Fine, one day at a time. I can handle that." Chuckling softly, he snuggled his cheek into Hound's shoulder armor and finally allowed himself to slip into recharge.