#railspike

“That jerk… That complete and utter half-clocked piston head!” Side Burn stopped to let out a long, loud scream of frustration, and then flopped backward in the grassy field he’d been traipsing through to glare up at the cheerful blue sky decorated with fluffy white clouds, his lower lip stuck out in a pout.

Prowl had gone too far this time. How dare he accuse Side Burn of not taking his position as an Autobot seriously?! Imply disloyalty, even! Just because he got sidetracked occasionally with little red sports cars… It wasn’t like Side Burn wasn’t doing his job! He always pulled through when push came to shove! And he knew how to prioritize! Prowl was just a stiff who didn’t know how to have fun, so liked to wreck it for everyone else! There was nothing wrong with what he was doing!

His thoughts would have continued down this train of thought a bit more… however an actual train suddenly loomed over him, casting a shadow over him and blocking his view of the sky. Railspike, specifically, had stepped into his line-of-sight and was peering down at him curiously. “Now what’s a car like you doing in a field like this?” the old mech mused.

“I’m not slacking off!” Side Burn snapped impatiently. “This is downtime! I’m allowed to go where I please!”

Railspike raised his hands in surrender before slowly lowering himself to crouch on his legs and put himself closer to Side Burn’s level. “Easy there, sport. I’m not sayin’ any of that,” he soothed. “Just saw ya while I was rolling between jobs. Ya sounded revved up over somethin’. Was wondering if there’s anything I can do to help.”

The blue Autobot brother huffed and considered telling the train bot to just go about his day and leave him alone, but Railspike had made the effort to stop what he’d been doing out of genuine concern for Side Burn’s mood. Noting this, his expression eased up slightly and his tone softened as he addressed his fellow Autobot. “You’re sure you don’t have anything better to do?”

“The station can keep their timetable without me,” the train bot reassured, moving to have a seat beside the sulking bot and turning his head to peer down at him with his full attention. “Now, what can ol’ Railspike do for you?”

“Think you could teach my stick-in-the-mud brother how to lay off?” Side Burn suggested bitterly.

“Another fight, huh?” Railspike put together. “The red sports car thing?”

“He said I’m neglecting my duties! Shirking my work!” the blue Autobot exclaimed with exasperation. “Even said that if I’m not taking my job seriously that I should just hand in my badge to Prime! It’s not like the big guy has any issues with my work or how I do it! It’s just Prowl! And T.A.I., I guess— But this is about Prowl!”

“That does sound a bit harsh,” the older mech admitted. “You’re a goof, sure, but—”

“Gee, thanks…”

“But I’ve never questioned your dedication to the cause,” Railspike finished, ignoring Side Burn’s sarcastic remark. “We all got our own ways of givin’ to the Autobot cause. Just ‘cause you don’t do it the way Prowl does it, don’t mean you don’t care.”

“Exactly!” the younger mech exclaimed, pushing himself to sit up and gesture at Rail Spike with energetic agreement. “You get it! The boss mech gets it! So why can’t he?!”

“You’re both young bots with lots of lessons to learn. Give it time,” the train bot soothed, gently motioning for him to cool his jets. “He’ll figure out how to loosen up, you two will compromise, and everything will be smooth.”

“That’ll be the day… Still… I appreciate it, Railspike,” Side Burn thanked, giving him a faint smile. “I’m still kind of frustrated, but it helped to get all that off my plating and hear that I’m not just living in my head, you know?”

Railspike nodded with a knowing grin. “Trust me, I get how it goes. I’ve bore witness to enough arguments between Midnight Express and Rapid Run.”

“They’re just as bad, huh? Yeah, I can see that,” the Autobot brother chuckled.

“Both sides got points, but usually it’s just that they’re too caught up in how they personally do things that they can’t stand the thought of it being done any other way,” the old mech mused. “Takes an open mind to get anywhere when everyone’s got different personality chips.”

Side Burn’s expression turned into one of deep thought upon hearing this take. “An open mind, huh?” he echoed softly, running through his and Prowl’s argument again. …Maybe there was something he could take away in there. Just maybe. He’d have to do some serious thinking about it, though.

“Fuel for thought,” Railspike said, suddenly pushing himself to his feet. “You enjoy your break, little buddy. I’ve gotta head off now.”

“Oh, sure thing, Railspike,” the young bot uttered as he snapped out of his thoughts to watch the bullet train walk away. “Thanks again!”

“Any time,” he called over his shoulder as he strode away.