Phone Call From Saxetum

[heliopauseentertainments]

Continuity: IDW1

Rating: General

Relationship: Drift & Rodimus

Characters: Drift & Rodimus

Summary: In which Drift finally gets that phone call from Rodimus he's been waiting for.

A side piece in the universe of Reforged. The other half of the conversation from chapter 42, contains spoilers for chapters 56 and 57.

Crossposting: Tumblr | AO3 | Pillowfort

Fic under cut

Drift had been expecting Rodimus to call, but he hadn’t been sure when exactly that call would come. The trip out to that ruined settlement would cross many timezones. Given how insistent the Forgefire Parliament’s representatives were that he and Ratchet stay behind in Kremex, that had only given Drift—and, by extension, Ratchet—more cause to worry.

Rodimus could be foolish and they were dealing with a foreign culture and unknown government entities. Who could say for sure what was going on, especially way out there in the middle of nowhere?

In an attempt to keep their minds at relative peace, Drift had dragged Ratchet out of their hotel room to spend the day exploring the city. They’d already seen a fair amount of the district around the temple and the nearest market, so it had been time to push further out into less tourist-oriented areas.

It was just his luck that Drift’s phone went off in the middle of his afternoon visit to a small Kremexian café with Ratchet. The café was modest and tucked into a back alley with a quiet atmosphere. There was hardly any room to stand to skirt around the tables and chairs, as Drift pulled the phone out of his subspace and got up. He nearly knocked over his empty cup.

He heard Ratchet mumble a complaint, stabbing his gelled energon treat with a fork. Ratchet hadn’t meant it though, Drift knew. Ratchet was just as concerned about Rodimus as he was though he was terrible at showing it. Their only solace was that Megatron had gone as well. What a strange thing to find comforting.

Not wanting to disturb the café’s quiet atmosphere, Drift excused himself from the table and escaped to a washroom. There he tucked himself into one of the empty oil change stalls for a semblance of privacy. The scabbards on his hips clanked against the walls of the stall.

At least Rodimus hadn’t hung up, he thought, flipping the phone open to answer.

“Rodimus, are you alright? Did you make it to….”

Damn, he’d forgotten what that settlement was called. Something to do with rocks.

Wait.

“Saxetum?”

“Yeah, the ride was so long.” Well, Rodimus sounded alright. He tended to wear his stress pretty openly, so he was either fine or he was unaware of danger. Drift sorely wanted to believe it was the former. “I was bored out of my damn mind the entire time, but this place actually seems pretty cool.”

“Does it?” Drift couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice. A bunch of rocks and abandoned buildings would probably be pretty interesting with the right mindset, but somehow he doubted that Rodimus had it.

“Yeah, dude, I think you’d really like it here. It’s way quiet.”

The quiet did sound appealing to him personally, especially as Drift cranked the phone’s volume down to stop Rodimus’ voice from echoing in the stall so much. The quiet, however, also sounded like something that would bore Rodimus to death. Calm and quiet tended to put his energetic friend on edge.

“Maybe one of these days if we get the chance, you know, maybe we can go racing on the flats out here—“

Drift coughed. As much as he wanted to shoot the breeze, he needed more information about the situation. Something to put himself at ease, something he could share with Ratchet.

“How is Megatron handling it?”

”Oh, he’s fine.” Rodimus said, a smile in his voice. “He’s asleep right now.”

Drift wasn’t sure whether to be worried that Megatron was asleep on the job or relieved that he had determined the situation was safe enough to sleep in for the time being. Regardless, Rodimus continued, not even waiting for Drift to respond.

“They don’t make cots big enough, but I guess he likes sleeping on the ground—“

“He’s always done that,” Drift interrupted.

“What do you mean that’s normal for him?”

“I mean it’s normal for him.” He’d said what he’d meant and he’d meant what he’d said. “What’s not to understand, Rodimus?”

Besides, that wasn’t what mattered right now.

Drift opened his mouth to ask something else but Rodimus apparently wasn’t finished with him.

“How do you even know that, Drift?” There was an unsaid accusation in there that he didn’t particularly care for.

“I just do. You spend a few million years in someone’s army and you learn some of their habits. It’s not strange, Rodimus.” Before he could get too defensive, Drift took a deep breath, letting the cool air carry away excess heat from his frame. “Are you alright out there? Do you know yet what you’re supposed to do on the expedition?”

“Just visiting a temple tomorrow. That’s all I know, but it’s fine. Totally fine, everything’s fine.”

Drift wanted to believe that.