Just smooch already!
Another, slightly less short Prowlbulk story BC this ship gives me brainrot
Under the cut again cuz I said so
Why did he keep painting dandelions?
For the past few days, whenever Bulkhead decided to pick up a paintbrush he ended up painting dandelions. It didn't matter what he intended to paint that day it was just. More. Dandelions.
Of course the others asked about it, he didn't blame them. "I just want to try different styles and it's easier to paint something simple" is what he had told them, and it wasn't entirely wrong per se, it just wasn't the entire truth.
As much as he wanted to deny it, his prossecor had latched onto dandelions, because his spark had latched onto a bot particularly fond of them.
In the wake of this new theme, Prowl had taken more of an interest in Bulkhead's hobby. Passing by from time to time to see what new ways he'd find to paint the humble flowers.
"This one is rather interesting" stood in front of one of the newer paintings. It was of a gray scale street, with the only color being the bright green and yellow of a dandelion patch in a crack in the sidewalk.
Bulkhead looked away from the canvas he was sitting with, "thanks! I wanten to try making a painting where the dandelions take priority in an environment where they'd get overlooked".
And that they did. The background had buildings, and people, and all these other things that would take your attention. Yet the only thing you could really focus on was the little bit of color the dandelions provided.
"Well I'd say you've done an excellent job at that, is there a particular place you used as the background?"
"No, it's just a mix of random buildings and things you see outside. Most streets look kind kinda the same" Bulkhead chuckled a bit at the last part, it was true, the big city looked way too similar most places.
"Yes, that is why I look for little things like this, it makes things seem more lively", Prowl was still looking at the painting, enamoured by the attention to detail.
He must've stood there for a while because Bulkhead eventually sked if he wanted to take it. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah! It's not like I'm gonna run out of dandelion painting anytime soon. And... you seem to really like that one"
Prowl could've sworn he was Bulkhead blush a little, but decided not to bother him anymore so he took the painting and went to his room.
Sitting in his room with the painting propped up against the tree, he couldn't help but feel something tugging at his spark. He had expressed how he didn't like the distain people had towards dandelions. That he really liked them. And now it was the only thing Bulkhead would paint.
Did this mean something?
"No. We are just. Friends. He must've simply started to notice them more after what I said", as much as the thought stung, it's what he kept telling himself. Still, he could appreciate the paintings.
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"There's totally something going on between them" Bumblebee whispered to Sari as they played games together.
"I don't know, I mean it's pretty common to paint flowers and nature stuff" she wasn't sure what he meant, but had a feeling she knew.
"Sure, but didn't Prowl have a rant about dandelions right before this whole ordeal started?" he, paused the game and leaned back "it can't be a coincidence, right?"
"OK? I don't know, maybe it just gave him the idea" that's the only reason she could think of. At least as far as plausible reasons go. She could of course come up with other reasons, but none of them made sense. "They're good friends, and sometimes friends give each other ideas" she wanted to leave it there and return to the game, she was so close to finally beating Bumblebee. He shrugged and the two went right back to their game.
Unbeknownst to them their little discussion had been heard by someone who they'd rather keep it away from. Prowl sat up on the cranes near the scieling, contemplating what they had said. Once again, the word 'friends' made his spark clench for some reason. It's not that he didn't like Bulkhead, quite the opposite actually. He really liked Bulkhead.
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A few more days passed, and while Bulkhead had started getting over his weird dandelion phase, he didn't seem to keen on painting anything else. Frankly, he seemed distracted.
And it wasn't just him
Prowl was acting more reclusive, everyone found that odd since he had just been getting more open with his teammates a while ago.
Most of all, the two seemed to avoid each other. To the point where Optimus was starting to get worried.
It wasn't like him to try and get involved in someone else's personal matters, but he also had to make sure his team was doing alright. He figured Bulkhead would be easier to talk to, he walked towards Bulkhead's room and as he was about to knock the door opened, surprising them both.
"Uh, hey bossbot. Did something happen?" Bulkhead had a sneaking suspicion about what it was.
"Well I was just wondering if you and Prowl have gotten into a fight. I don't mean to pry, but you've been avoiding each other."
"Well... about that. I just got a call from him asking to meet up. I was about to head out now."
"Oh, well in that case I wish you luck", he stepped aside and Bilkhead set off towards the spot Prowl asked him to come to.
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Prowl was incredibly nervous as he waited, and no amount of trying to meditate remedied it. He knew that he could potentially ruin his newly blooming friendship, but he felt like his spark would eat itself up is he kept his feelings to himself any longer.
After what felt like an eternity of pacing around and contemplating he finally heard Bulkhead approach in the distance. Prowl quickly composed himself, and hoped the other wouldn't hear his spark pounding in his chestplate.
And so they were facing each other for the first time in a while. The place Prowl had chosen was a somewhat remote clearing. Just close enough to the city to not take too long to drive back home, but far enough away for privacy. The evening breeze rustled in the trees ever so slightly.
"So, uh. What did you want to talk about?" Bulkhead asked awkwardly, he couldn't help but notice how good the ninja bot looked with the soft moonlight reflecting off his plating.
"For starters, I'd like to say just how much our friendship means to me. I could trust you to keep the dinobots a secret, even though Prime would be mad at you for it. And even if I couldn't help you the way I wanted you still gave it your all and tried". Prowl's voice was unwavering but as much as he tried he was getting more and more flustered. "I would hate to ruin anything between us, but I...", he swallowed even though his mouth was dry, "Recently when you only painted dandelions, you did so after i spoke about them... and I feel quite similarly about you". He was just about burning up at this point, face completely taken over by a deep blish and hus engine cearly audible. He looked up to see that the other wasn't fairing much better, now standing a lot closer and looking bewildered.
"Uhm, h-how so?" Bulkhead was almost afraid to ask, but in his spark there was only excitement. If this meant what he thought it meant he could just about pass out on the spot.
The angle of Prowl's visor softened, he took a deep breath. "People tend to misunderstand you, and disregard your good qualities. After spending more time together I've realised just how... amazing you are. Your endless knowledge on spacebridges, how gentle you can bes despite your strength, and even if the others don't understand your art I've come to apreciate it". He was so caught up that he didn't notice how the other was starting to tear up. "Bulkhead? I- I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" his spark froze, the last thing he wanted was to hurt the bot he loved. Withouth thinking, he cupped Bulkhead's face in his hands.
Bulkhead took hold of Prowl's wast, lifting him up into a kiss. "Noone has ever said anything like that to me", he smiled. Prowl smiled too, more than Bulkhead had ever seen him do. "I thought you were avoiding me because I upset you. But to hear you say all that, it's more than I could ever ask for. I admire you a lot and... I love you too".
They stayed there for a minute looking into each other's optics, then they leaned in and kissed again. And again. They both lost track of how long they had been sitting there exchanging kisses and words of adoration. "Does this mean we're more than friends now?" Bulkhead asked sheepishly, Prowl looked at him for a moment, then chuckled "if it doesn't mean that then I don't know what it means". They looked around in the darknes, realising how late it was "we should head home", "yeah... do we tell the other's about this?". Prowl took a moment to think "no, not yet. I do not want o deal with all the questions we will get right now".
"Yeah, especially Bumblebee... I'm sure it'll be fine, let's get going".
That night they both went to sleep excited about what their newly formed relationship would bring. But one thing was certain: neither of them had any regrets about it.
