DON'T COUNT MISTAKES I LOST TRACK OF THEM

[tilallisoverused]

( He's in trouble. He's Rodimus, the younger of Nova's two candidates for Prime, and he is absolutely in trouble. It's not his fault. He just happened to be somewhere where trouble results, although okay - that part isn't new.

And he knows exactly how he got here in the first place, it's the same as it always is.

Orion frowns at him every time he leaves the Primal Basilica dressed in a cloak - knowing full well that he's going to go to those places that Nova finds unlawful and unruly. Sure, the other Prime in training had attempted to stop him before, to no avail. That makes something twinge in Rodimus because he likes Orion, he really does.

Then again, most people like Orion 'Super Cop, Future Prime' Pax. Because apparently some people like having a career that's pointless once you know you'll carry the Matrix. He guesses that has to do with Orion having spent some of his life from out of Nova's influence - maybe that made you like police work.

Not that Rodimus would know what that's like - Nova snatched him up two days after he was forged, as if he knew exactly where to find him. Must be a 'wisdom of the Matrix' thing. Find your replacements before someone else does and what not. But it boiled down to the fact that he'd never really got to know or experience life outside the basilica walls and for every time Nova told him he shouldn't or couldn't go out - he did.

Which is how he ends up standing over someone he punched into a wall - thanks Galvatron and Cyclonus for teaching him that one - inadvertently starting a bar fight that he is determined to win. Rodimus is pretty sure that as a mysterious cloaked and hooded figure, he definitely looks awesome which negates the trouble.

Mostly. )

Comments

[tilallisoverused]

( Which means he gets a glimpse of Rodimus reclining the best he can, legs stretched out in front of him and arms behind his head. If he's going to have to sit in a cell he's at least going to be comfortable while doing it. )

Didn't take you for one of Tyrest's. ( He's only passingly familiar with the bot and how he went from an engineer to a lawmaker. Nova seemed to tolerate him, which wasn't exactly saying much because those that he didn't tolerate ended up disappearing if they kept it up. ) They're, you know, normally bigger.

( And you, Minimus, are just as small as your name suggests. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus' stern expression turns several degrees colder. ]

So I've been told. [ Multiple times and with what seems to him an unsurprising frequency. He turns back to his paperwork, but can't helping adding. ]

A peace keeper is measured in his effectiveness, not his height.

[tilallisoverused]

( Rodimus doesn't notice, but there might be a snort of amusement at the second sentence. )

I gotta hand it to you, the rest of them probably wouldn't have arrested me.

( He's still sore about that, but he's adopting a brighter outlook on the entire situation. Like how Orion won't rat him out and he can settle the debts and his rank means it won't even show up on his record. If he has a record - he's pretty sure he doesn't.

Damn, it's good to be a Prime. Sort of. )

Has anyone accused you of compensating for something?

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He stills. Of course, it had occurred to him that his brothers-in-arms (reluctant tho some of them might be to share that title with him) might show leniency to a future Prime, but Rodimus' tone, his easy confidence, brings a grave reality to the situation.

He can almost hear Dominus disapproving tone. ]

I have been accused of worse by bots I have the highest regard for and by bots I have put in that cell. [ He carefully puts down the datapad he had been working on and turns to study Rodimus, utterly somber. ]

I don't typically pay much attention to what the latter has to say.

[tilallisoverused]

But I'm the only one you've put in here that's going to be Prime. ( Just going to point that out as he catches and holds the look Minimus is giving him - smile turning that much more irritatingly smug. ) That's got to count for something.

( After all, it's this asshole who's going to be leading their race in a few million years, give or take. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ It's almost terrifying to think that. ]

Your status does not make you above the law. If anything, you should be ashamed. How could you ask your followers to abide the laws that you yourself won't even acknowledge?

[tilallisoverused]

( His smile vanishes as quickly as it came, arms dropping down from behind his head to cross over his chest in a very defensive pose. )

Seriously? It was just a bar fight, it's not like I'm out there committing hate crimes against anyone who's been constructed cold! Or anything that's actually a crime instead of getting into a fight like every other bot who's had too much to drink.

( He hates it when people get anywhere near the idea of responsibility and his part to play in it when it comes to being Prime. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He doesn't really smile, despite his satisfaction at wiping that smug smile off Rodimus' face. It's a hollow, petty victory. ]

And you were arrested like every other bot who makes trouble when he's had too much to drink. The fact that are worse crimes you could have been committing instead doesn't change anything; your actions still have consequences.

[ He turns back to his datapads. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( Rodimus doesn't give up. It's his strongest trait, actually, and one that he's been admonished for by Nova and Galvatron as nearly as much as they've praised him for it. But it also means he's not done with this conversation when he really should be. )

So you think throwing me in jail is supposed to do what? Teach me a lesson? You don't have any right to lecture me.

[thesurpriseinside]

[ He doesn't point out that a holding cell in a peace keeper station is hardly jail. He also doesn't turn to look at Rodimus when he responds. ]

I'm not keeping you here for your benefit. You caused trouble, you're paying the price for that. End of story.

[tilallisoverused]

You can't.

( He knows it's pointless to say it when it's clear that apparently, yes, he can. So instead he just points accusingly at the back of Minimus and thinks about how much he really doesn't like the other bot. )

I can't believe I get stuck with the only officer who actually cares.

( It's the worst luck, and he aims a sullen kick at the wall because of it. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus keeps plugging away at his paperwork, not bothering to look up when he hears Rodimus kick the wall. ]

I'm adding the cost of repairs to your bail if you break anything in that cell.

[ Because yes, he is going to turn this into a lesson about consequences. ]

[tilallisoverused]

Oh come on.

( He throws up his hands dramatically before throwing himself onto the bench in the cell. Where he sits and fumes and is left with no choice but to wait for Orion to come and drag him out. Great, because he definitely wanted to be on the end of his disappointed glare.

Better than Nova, at any rate. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ It's a relief when Rodimus finally settles. If there's one thing Minimus doesn't have time for, it's keeping an eye on an unruly Primling. He gets up a few times from his desk; mainly to assist his deputies in wrangling the more violent drunks. It's the usual bustle and chaos among the stints of paperwork and as Minimus predicted, a long night.

He still stands dutifully when he realizes the big bot standing at the threshold is not one of his deputies, grimly prepared for what he can only assume will be an ordeal. ]

Orion Pax. How can I help you.

aka why i don't play OP

[tilallisoverused]

Minimus Ambus. ( He, at least, looked at the nameplate. ) I'm here to collect Rodimus?

( Rodimus perks up at the voice, looking up from where he might have been doodling something into the bench with the blowtorch in his finger. Finally. )

I would like to apologize for the trouble he's caused. You can expect our full cooperation with whatever you need to settle this matter.

( And that was why he placed the call to Orion. Galvatron would have just threatened and Nova would have-- well he's not sure what Nova would have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty. Orion though? In and out, no mess. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ The professionalism with which Orion handles the situation with shouldn't have been surprising, but after dealing with Rodimus, Minimus still felt a slight surprised jolt. It was also perhaps more respect than he had expected from one of the elite.

Either way, he kept his expression sternly neutral and offered one of the datapads on the desk to Orion. ]

Of course. Here is the full report on the situation that you may refer to as you see fit. I do not believe the owner of the establishment in question will seek compensation for any damages, nor that the damages were extensive. All that is required for Rodimus' release is the amount listed as bail.

[ It's a comparatively small sum, the same for any other drunk who had found themselves in the holding cell for causing too much trouble. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( Orion takes his time looking over the datapad before nodding and handing it and the required amount of Shanix over, optics glancing over Minimus' shoulder to where Rodimus was being held. Really, it was the bigger surprise that someone managed to catch him than the fact he was doing something to land him in police custody in the first place. )

Thank you.

( Yeah, yeah, he just wants to get out already. )

[thesurpriseinside]

[ Minimus takes the datapad and the Shanix, moving to file both of those away in their proper place. ]

I appreciate your cooperation in this, Pax.

[ And then he moves to open Rodimus' cell, standing aside. ] You're free to go.

[tilallisoverused]

Thank you.

( Do you hear that sarcasm, Minimus? He's been waiting to use it on you since the moment he got thrown into the cell. But he steps very purposefully away from the other bot and in line with Orion - who silences whatever Rodimus was going to say with a look that clearly means not now. )

Of course. If there's anything else?

[thesurpriseinside]

[ The sarcasm gets a slight, disapproving frown. ]

No, everything should be taken care of. We will contact you if there are any complications in the matter, but I highly doubt it will be necessary to involve either of you.

[ He'll show them to the door, part of him feeling that this is all ending a bit anticlimactically, but that part is very small and generally not allowed to make important decisions. He resolves to go back to work and put the whole matter behind him. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( Orion makes the final goodbyes and then they're off. And, just as Rodimus surmised, all he gets is a disapproving look from Orion and a small lecture about responsibility and staying out of trouble but there's no mention of letting Nova know.

Which is why two weeks later Rodimus is out again - very specifically avoiding the area he figures Minimus patrols. It's underground gambling this time, and he doesn't go to make money as much as he does the atmosphere. It's different from the Primal Basilica in that there the celebrations are always about remember the 'old ways' that never really went away. Here, at least, it's about the high that comes with winning. That's something he's always been good at, which is why he's got a hefty pile of Shanix in front of him by the time the police arrive.

Or at least one law enforcement officer arrives, and Rodimus finds himself on the ground, staring up into the one face he really honestly hoped never to see again. Mustache and all. )

You've got to be kidding me.

[thesurpriseinside]

[ A few might suggest that breaking up gambling rings in this sector is pointless. They reform almost faster than Magnus can break them up and even before he's all the way in, the ringleaders have already vanished in the chaos.

And he's left staring incredulously back down at Rodimus. ]

What in Primus' name are you doing here.

[tilallisoverused]

If I don't admit to anything can you still arrest me?

( What do you think he's doing here? He's at least not making a move to get away - instead there's just an annoyed expression on his face that veers into cocky when a corner of his mouth twitches upwards. )

[thesurpriseinside]

No, but I can bring you in as a person of interest. Get up.

[ Because they both know Minimus has no qualms picking Rodimus up. ]

[tilallisoverused]

( He does, sulkily pulling his hood almost down to his optics to make sure his distinctive helm is covered. Because this is ridiculous and completely unfair. )

I'd ask if you're serious, but I'm getting the feeling that you don't know how to be anything else.