"I don't get it." Will mutters, looking Ironhides holoform over. "it looks the same." Will frowns.

"yeah, but I'm not." Ironhide smirks.

"but you look the same." Will frowns.

"but I'm different, I promise." Ironhide snorts.

"I thought you said the holoform got an update?" Will ask.

"yes, I did." Ironhide assures gently. "its updated." he grins. Will frowns, walking around the holoform once more.

"I don't see anything new." Will says.

"maybe you're not looking right." Ironhide murmurs.

"well... I see your shoes are on the right feet this time, thats an update." Will teases. if he teases enough Ironhide might just tell him whats new and let him get back to his movie, and subsequently, a nap. Ironhide looks immediately annoyed.

"that happened once, five years ago, after a major holoform projection update. remember? solidification? holoforms were finally solidified, and at least it was just my shoes! Primes head appeared on his body backwards for weeks and Jazz was deaf in his holoform." Ironhide glares.

"oh my god, look at that." Will smirks, walking over to look his face over. Ironhide huffs.

"you're not gonna distract me." Ironhide mutters.

"is it really...?" Will grins, leaning in closer.

"what?" Ironhide grumbles. Ironhide leans back some, but Will just steps forward and leans in more.

"are you... oh my god you are! you're pouting! aww thats a cute look for you! look at you, awwww lil cutie!" Will grins, grabbing his face in his hand. Ironhide glares at him.

"you better be joking." Ironhide growls.

"awww, I didn't know you could pout. you're fragging adorable! awww look at your little pouty face." Will grins, squishing his lovers face gently. Ironhide heaves a sigh and Will immediately pauses, looking surprised for a moment. "what the..." Will trails, pulling his hand back just slightly, looking confused. he looks at his hand, searching for an explanation of what he'd just felt, before looking back at Ironhides face.

"hmm?" Ironhide ask, eyebrow raised.

"did... did you...?" Will trails, looking more confused.

"did I what?" Ironhide grumbles.

"did you just... I felt you..." Will mumbles, putting his hand back in front of the holoforms mouth. Ironhide pulls back just slightly, but the feeling is still there now that he's looking for it. "did you...? a-are you...? you... breathing?" Will asks, shocked. Ironhide smirks.

"surprise." Ironhide murmurs softly. he chuckles and smiles. "Ratchet and Wheeljack found a way to make our holoforms more human than before. we have to breathe, we have to eat, we bleed, we feel so much more than we did with the others, we have to do all the mundane stupid tasks humans do, oh and," Ironhide grins. he grabs Wills hand gently and pulls it down to his chest. he stares at the hand on Ironhides chest a moment, feeling it rise and fall with every breath the holoform took. he wasn't mimicking breathing, he was actually breathing. Will looks confused a moment.

"you're really breathing." Will murmurs. Ironhide nods.

"and...?" Ironhide ask, grinning. Will goes quiet focusing on the feeling under his hand. it takes him a moment to get past the feeling of his hand going up and down with the breathing, before he feels it.

"a-are... you... you have a heartbeat. do you have a heartbeat? Ironhide is that a heartbeat?" Will murmurs, finally looking up from his hand to stare into the holoforms eyes. Ironhide nods a little, smiling.

"directly connected to my spark. translated into a real humans heartbeat, and I have fingerprints." Ironhide smirks, turning his hands over to Will could see the new markings on his fingers and palms. Will glances down, but his eyes go back to Ironhides chest.

"wow...." Will murmurs. he doesn't move his hand though, he wants to feel the beat beneath his hand. he looks up after a moment. "and you're... warm. not inhumanly like normal... but like fleshy warm. really... humanly..." Will murmurs. he rubs his hand over Ironhides shirt gently, feeling the skin move ever so slightly underneath the shirt. it had certainly never done that before. Ironhide chuckles softly, pulling the hand off his chest gently. Will finally raises his gaze from Ironhides chest and reaches up to rub the holoforms cheek gently. the scar on his face is smooth, but not inhuman, like the scar had been there for many many years but had healed. he can see the mans cheek move ever so slightly when he rubs his finger across it. Ironhide lets his human study him, standing as still as he can. he doesn't even move when Will reaches his other hand up to rub at the scar going through his right eye brow and across his eye.
"wow." Will murmurs softly. Ironhide chuckles softly.

"like it? Ratchet and Wheeljack did a good job on this update." Ironhide murmurs. Will stares. that had been an understatement. Ratchet and Wheeljack had done a damn good job studying how soft, but sturdy human skin was. the holoform had semi felt human before, mostly because Will had grown used to the plastic feel of the skin and the heater/AC regulated body temp and the pulseless feeling, but this seemed real, all too real. incredibly real. almost like having a human in his arms instead of a holoform, though he supposed that was probably the point.

"this is... incredible, you're so.... lifelike and human..." Will murmurs, poking his cheek gently. it caves slightly under the pressure of his finger. Ironhide chuckles softly, reaching a hand up to cup the hand on his face gently and briefly. Will copies the action, still awestruck. Ironhide really hadn't expected a reaction like this from the man.

"well with Prime having that Cade man, and Bee having Sam, and Jazz having Epps, and us, Ratchet decided it was time holoforms blended more, to make our human partners happier." Ironhide explains. "though, I made sure he added that heart thing, you always seem to be disappointed not to hear one." Ironhide snorts. Will hugs him, dropping his head to the holoforms chest. a real unique heart beat. one only a single being on this planet could ever have.

"yeah well, its a little unnerving to lay your head on someones chest and not hear one. don't get me wrong, I got used to it after a while, but still." Will frowns. he reaches back up and grabs Ironhides chin gently, tilting his head enough to see Ironhides face, but not pulling his head from Ironhides chest. he wants to hear his partners heartbeat for the first time and treasure it. Ironhide smirks down at him, leaning into his hand a little. he's not sure what his partner is doing, but whatever it is, is making him happy so he'll allow it. "and your cute little stubble feels real and not like its just painted on." Will grumbles, face in his chest. he rubs his thumb gently across Ironihdes jawline and across the stubble. he's gentle, careful. the last time Ironhide had gotten an update to the holoform, it had been very sensitive and a lot of things had hurt. Ironhide snorts, rolling his eyes, so the sensitivity doesn't seem to be an issue this time, but Will doesn't want to press his luck. he'll be gentle, just in case.

"thats because it is real, and while still connected, our holoforms no longer reflect damage from our true forms, vise versa. so if you accidentally stab me with your pocket knife again, I won't leak energon all over the yard and garage, I will however bleed." Ironhide frowns. Will hugs him tighter, almost nervously. it had been an accident, Ironhide had come out of no where.

"it was an accident! you snuck up on me while I was tired!" Will glares. Ironhide smirks at him, hugging him carefully, running his fingers gently through the smallers hair.

"take it easy. I'm teasing." Ironhide chuckles softly. its quiet for a few moments, just enjoying the others company.

"wow Hide, when you said update... I never thought you meant like this... its.. its incredible. its amazing. you're more human than ever before." Will murmurs.

"Ratchet and Wheeljack put a lot of time into these. we can taste now, like actually taste, human food tasted so bland before. we could sort of taste human foods before but now we really can." Ironhide says.

"so thats why you didn't like to eat with it. I never realized..." Will trails looking guilty.

"yup. don't worry about it Will, I didn't want you to worry, thats why I didn't tell you." Ironhide assures, kissing his head.

"yeah but I was always trying to get you to try things... like cotton candy at the fair and things... I'm sorry." Will mumbles.

"don't worry about it." Ironhide murmurs. he smiles. "not only can we taste, but we can also feel things better, yes we could feel before too, but now, I can feel it all. its unusual, can you feel your clothes rubbing against your body?"' Ironhide ask. Will nods against his chest.

"yeah, you learn to tune it out." Will murmurs, cuddling closer. "what else can you feel?" Will asks curiously. Ironhide gives a small smile.

"I can feel your hair sticking up and brushing against my chin." Ironhide mutters, smoothing the hair gently with one hand. "while I could feel the general presence of your arms and hands, I can now feel your individual hands and fingers on my back." Ironhide murmurs softly, running his hand gently up Wills back. Will smiles a little and copies the gentle movement, now that he knows the bigger man can feel it better. "my sensors in the holoform are stronger now, I can feel better, its the best I think we'll get to being human." Ironhide murmurs softly. Will snuggles in closer, it makes Ironhide smile. he never realized how much he couldn't feel until he could feel it all. he was eternally grateful to Ratchet and Wheeljack, even if he'd never tell them.

"thats incredible. this is incredible." Will murmurs softly. he's forgotten what it's like to curl up with another person, not just the almost lifeless holoform he'd grown used to. he enjoyed the holoform and he loves his partners true form more than anything, but he really enjoyed this new holoform. the warmth, comfort, and heartbeat of his lovers new upgrade was making him sleepy. he'd do anything to curl up with him for a nice long nap.

"s'not all it can do." Ironhide murmurs, leaning down to bury his face in the mans neck. "I can feel everything better. Wheeljack and Ratchet looked into human anatomy, put some real thought into apparently. " he smirks. Will chuckles softly.

"oh yeah, you test that yourself?" Will grins, pulling back to look up at him. Ironhide smirks and winks, making Will roll his eyes and drop his head back onto the bigger mans chest.

"no but I'm determined to test it with you." Ironhide smirks. Will chuckles a little, hugging tighter.

"thats something we can determine with great detail later. for now, you interrupted my movie." WIll murmurs. Ironhide looks over at the pause screen, but doesn't recognize the movie. he glances around quickly, looking for a case.

"Shawshank Redemption? Will, you can wait to finish your movie, can you not?" Ironhide huffs.

"no. you could've waited to tell me about this update, I just started this movie." Will pouts. the bigger man huffs again, walking over to lay on the couch, grumbling. Will grins and happily curls up with him. he tucks himself against the biggers chest, intertwining his fingers with those on the arm around his waist. Ironhide grumbles about it, but he does enjoy it, even as Will sits up to grab his blanket and pull it over them, then lay back down. he enjoys being able to actaully feel the human pressed against him. from the mans fingers intertwined with his to the individual hairs on the smallers legs, that are also intertwined with his own.

"as soon as your dumb movie is over, I'm gonna fuck you." he glares. Will nods snuggling back against his chest.

"thats fine, as long as you wait until the movies over. I haven't seen it since I was a kid." Will shrugs. Ironhide grumbles, tightening the arm around his waist. it was nice to feel the heartbeat of the other through his back. it makes him grin and cuddle back against him as Ironhide presses play on the movie.

the door to the house opens quietly, scans had shown the two were asleep, so they're trying to enter quietly, so as not to wake Will. waking Ironhide was inevitable, but waking Will could at least be avoided if they were quiet enough.

"Optimus should we be in here if they're asleep?" Cade mumbles, looking over at the holoform. Optimus smiles a little at him.

"it will be fine. we are supposed to 'grill out' with them today, Sam and Bumblebee are on their way now. you know as well as I, Cade, that if we do not wake one of them, those two will have no issues waking both." Optimus frowns. Cade nods a little at the holoforms words. Optimus looks over at the couch and closes the door, a little harder than normal. Ironhide immediately jerks up, growling and reaching for the gun thats undoubtedly hidden between the cushions on the couch.

"make one move and I'll blow your head off." Ironhide growls, head snapping up. he pauses, withdrawing his hand from the gun, but looking confused none the less. "Prime? Yeager?" Ironhide ask.

"Ironhide." Optimus chuckles.

"what are you guys doing here?" Ironhide mumbles.

"the cook out." Cade mutters. Ironhide groans quietly, dropping his head back onto the couch briefly.

"fuck. I forgot." Ironhide mutters, moving to get up.

"don't worry about it, just stay here, I'll start it up. I know where the stuff is." Cade mutters, walking past them. Ironhide shifts a little, laying back down with Will.

"his eye appears to be healing nicely." Optimus says, holoform crouching beside the couch to look at Will. Ironhide grunts, glaring at the mention of Wills black eye.

many people didn't know it, but he was pretty docile, as long as he had Will near by. once the two had bonded due to Allspark energy, he'd evened out a little. he was pretty harmless unless you touched one of his precious canons, or his precious bonded. Cade had witnessed first hand the incident that had cause Wills black eye.

Will had been walking through the base, chatting happily with Ironhides holoform, when Ironhides attention had been called in a different direction. a soldier, carrying heavy equipment had stumbled and nearly fallen. the holoform had been quick to move and catch the items, and soldier, before he could face plant and hurt himself. Will had immediately turned to help, but another soldier, some rookie who Cade had never met, wasn't paying attention. he slammed right into Will, the weapon he'd been holding had caused Wills black eye, and had almost taken it out. Will had immediately yelped, stepping back, holding his face with blood seeping through his fingers. Cade still remembers the anger on the holoforms face when he glanced at Wills bleeding face. he'd just been checking Will was alright when he realized what had happened. Cade had run for help immediately as Ironhide grabbed the rookie and punched him hard in the face. the only reason he'd not killed the kid was because Will had grabbed his arm, pulling on it as hard as he could and screaming as loud as he could "Hide! it was an accident! let him go! let him live it was just an accident! don't hurt him!" Ironhide had backed off almost immediately. Will had required four stitches around his eye. in the end, after Ratchet put stitches in his face, Will had laughed it off, waving his hand as the soldier tried to apologize, before apologizing for Ironhides actions and stating "sorry about Ironhide, don't worry about him. he's just a little over protective. don't worry, I wouldn've let him hurt you over an accident."

Cade shakes his head a little, heading outside. Ironhide was an aggressive hot head, but he was very protective and loyal to Will, loyal to Optimus. honestly, Ironhide was just loyal in general. the mech hadn't been fond of Cade in the beginning, but had become just as loyal to him as Optimus once the Prime had explained what Cade had done.

"damn rookie got fraggin' lucky. almost took his eye out." Ironhide growls. the Prime shakes his head a little. "and don't argue Prime, you hear Ratchet. half an inch over or just a centimeter deeper, he could've lost his sight, or worse, his eye." Ironhide glares.

"yesh I know. I remember. will Ratchet be taking his stitches out soon?" Optimus ask.

"he's got them for another week." Ironhide says. Will shifts.

"who the fuck are you talking to?" Will mutters, sitting up.

"hello Will." Optimus greets. Will looks over, squinting, confused.

"oh.. hey Prime." he murmurs, waving. he stretches and gets up slowly, Ironhides arm slipping gently from his waist under the blanket. "what are you doin' here?" Will mumbles.

"the cook out." Ironhide murmurs.

"cook out...?" Will mumbles, looking confused. "oh yeah." Will mutters, getting up off the couch. Ironhide immediately gets up with him. Will snatches the blanket, mumbling something, and heading up the stairs.

"is this a bad time?" Optimus snorts.

"no, he's just been a sleep for a few hours. he'll be grumpy until he wakes up." Ironhide frowns heading for the kitchen. is sensors are going off as he hears a car pull up. a brief check, proves its just Bumblebee and Sam, so he doesn't bother.

Will wonders down the stairs, still half asleep.

"hey Will." Sam waves, walking in.

"yeah." Will mutters, heading for the kitchen. Sam looks at Optimus confused.

"we accidentally woke him up." Optimus frowns a little. Sam nods a little.

"yeah, I take it Will hasn't been sleeping too well at night." Sam says.

"why do you say that?" Optimus ask.

"well, when I stay up till the freaking butt crack of dawn studying, Bee stays up with me playing video games." Sam says, looking over at the blond. Bumblebee frowns a little.

"and lately, around 1 or 2 AM, Will has been joining me. he stays on long after I log off. when I checked to see when he logged off the other night, he logged off at 7 AM, only so he and Ironhide could head to the base." Bumblebee frowns. Ironhide wonders out of the kitchen, grill stuff in hands, heading for the back door.

"Ironhide." Optimus frowns. the holoform stops and turns. he'd undoubtedly heard the three talking and had been attempting to make a quick escape. he frowns, facing the Prime. "Will hasn't been sleeping?" Optimus asks.

"he's working somethings out." Ironhide assures, heading for the door again.

"Ironhide." Optimus says firmly. Ironhide huffs a sigh, looking annoyed, he turns back to Optimus. "you haven't told Ratchet about this have you? you know things like this are important-" Optimus starts.

"Prime, all do respect, frag off. I know whats going on with my charge. you don't. I know for a face you don't tell Ratchet when you go a day or two without recharging properly." Ironhide glares.

"a day or two? Ironhide he's been doing this for a few weeks." Sam says worriedly.

"weeks?" Optimus asks shocked.

"Will has issues he is working through." Ironhide warns. he growls quietly and turns away from them. "you'd do wise to leave him alone." Ironhide snaps, before walking out of the house.

Will slowly finds his way back out of the kitchen, rubbing his face. he pauses, looking at the three. they stare back at him.

"you guys okay?" Will mumbles. his voice sounds exhausted and, despite the black eye and stitches, Wills eyes look just as exhausted. Bumblebee can't help himself. he runs over and hugs Will as tightly as he can. he's shorter than Will, but not by much, enough for Will to pull his face away some as the blond hair gets in his face and up under his chin. "easy Bee. m'not as stout as I usually am. just got up." Will mumbles, but hugs him gently.

"are you alright? we can leave. its no problem to reschedule Will you know that. we can do this another day!" Bumblebee says, hugging him tightly. Will looks confused, letting the younger man hold him. he's fighting the urge to melt into the smallers body temperature. its warm and nice, but not like Ironhides hold.

"whats going on?" Will mumbles.

"I noticed you haven't been sleeping well... you've been playing games with me until early in the morning... are you aright?" Bumblebee ask. Will goes quiet a moment, before nodding.

"yeah, yeah Bee, m'okay. m'just not sleeping so well... m'okay." Will assures gently, hugging the smaller back carefully.

"maybe we should reschedule, Optimus said you were asleep when he came in." Sam says quickly.

"if we had known you hadn't been sleeping well, we wouldn't have woken you." Optimus frowns.

"guys, I'm fine, I promise I'm just-" Will starts.

"no. no. I'll let Cade know that we must head back to the base." Optimus frowns, heading outside.

"yeah c'mon Bee. lets go. we'll get pizza and watch movies at my house." Sam says. Bumblebee nods letting go and walk over to Sam. he grabs the teens hand and pulls him out the door. Will stands looking confused. Optimus and Cade never walk back into the house, but Ironhide does, eventually. he comes back in 20 minutes later, looking confused.

"where'd everyone go?" he asks.

"Bee and Sam had a melt down that Optimus and Cade woke me up, so they all left." Will mumbles. "after waking me up of course." he frowns.

"don't pout like that. curl back up with me and you'll go right back to sleep." Ironhide assures gently. "are you hungry?" Ironhide ask. Will shakes his head. "that was a stupid question. if I listened to that answer you'd starve. scans show you're starving." Ironhide says. "I know you don't feel well because you haven't been sleeping very well. but I will make something to eat. we will eat together, then we will go up to the bed room." Ironhide says firmly.

"for sex?" Will murmurs, giving a tired grin. Ironhide shoots him a warning look.

"for sleep." Ironhide says firmly. Will pouts. "Will you haven't slept properly in over a week. you will be getting sleep." Ironhide frowns. Will groans quietly.

"than can we at least sleep on the couch...?" Will asks.

"will sleeping on the couch make you feel better? will it make you sleep better?" Ironhide ask. Will shrugs a little.

"I don't know." he admits.

"then we can try it yes." Ironhide says, heading into the kitchen. since its just the two of them and he's more worried about Will sleeping than eating, he makes them sandwiches. tired or not, Will turns and watches the holoform eat, excited that he can taste the food. Ironhide raises an eye brow, before looking over at Will.

"so you can taste better?" he murmurs, leaning against Ironhides side, with a small smile.

"yes." Ironhide mutters. thats all he gives Will though. if he tells Will anymore, like if he does or does not enjoy the taste of the sandwich, the man will latch on to that as an excuse not to sleep.

"aww c'mon Hide-" Will tries.

"no Will. you're worse than a sparkling. you will eat and then lay down." Ironhide says firmly. Will huffs quietly, but does as the bigger says. he finishes his food and flops over onto his side. "stay here I'll go get the blanket again." Ironhide mutters, heading upstairs.

when he comes back, Will was still curled up on its side on the couch.

"you sure we can't just-" Will tries.

"no. we're laying down." Ironhide warns. Will sighs quietly.

"fine, but only if you're gonna lay here and cuddle me." Will grumbles.

"I will, I promise, but you best behave." Ironhide warns. Will huffs, but cuddles up to the bigger man when he lays on the couch, covering them both with the blanket. Will rolls over, burying his face into Ironhides chest, slipping his hands up under the mans shirt, just to feel the humanly warm underneath it.

"you sure you don't wanna just-" Will tries.

"hush." Ironhide warns, kissing his head.

"what happened to being determined to test what you can taste and feel with me?" Will mumbles, face distorted from being pressed into his lovers chest.

"Will, you're so tired, I don't believe you're body would physically be able to hold an erection. stop attempting to avoid sleep by trying to lure me into sex." Ironhide warns. Will sighs softly, cuddling up to him.

"okay fine." he mumbles.

"I know you're afraid Will, but its okay." Ironhide assures gently.

"yeah says the one who doesn't have to see what I see when I close my eyes." Will snaps. Ironhide grunts.

"I'm older than you, I've seen worse." Ironhide murmurs. Will huffs. he knows Ironhide is right, he's seen worse, lived worse, but it doesn't stop the nightmares from affecting him. "would you finally like to talk about what this is all about?" Ironhide ask.

"no." Will mumbles. Ironhide shrugs a little.

"okay, I'll keep asking. you might eventually tell me." Ironhide murmurs gently. he runs a hand under Wills shirt and up his side gently. Will snuggles closer to him and sighs softly. "you've been acting weird since you came into contact with that Allspark shard at the N.E.S.T. base." Ironhide murmurs. Will shutters, nails digging into Ironhides holoforms skin. unlike the previous plastic feel, the skin gives and indents. Wills nails don't cut the skin open, they're too blunt, but they do hurt. Ironhide shifts a little at the unusual feeling, before gently rubbing his hand up and down the smallers back.

"I can't help it. touching that shard literally gave me nightmares." Will mumbles. curling up more. Ironhide frowns a little.

"you can tell me what you saw." Ironhide murmurs. Will shakes his head. Ironhide knows if he keeps dragging this on, Will would break and tell him. "it had to be pretty bad. did it show you part of Cybertronian past? or perhaps it unfortunately showed you part of Sams life. it could've been Optimus'-" Ironhide starts.

"I saw you die. I keep repeatedly seeing you die..." Will mutters quietly. Ironhides words catch in his throat immediately. the room going silent as he processes what he's just heard. its quiet for a few minutes for he wraps his arms as tight as he can around Will, forcing the mans face into his chest.

"don't you ever worry about that Will." Ironhide murmurs quietly. "I'm not dying anytime soon." he assures.

"I can't help it I see it everytime I close my eyes." Will mumbles.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Ironhide assures. he sits up and scoops his lover up carefully, getting up off the couch with little struggle. Will looks confused, hugging his neck tightly.

"where are we going?" he mumbles.

"outside to my alt mode. we're gonna just sleep in there tonight okay? I think it'll make you feel better." Ironhide murmurs gently. Will stays quiet, listening to the new, unfamiliar sounds of the holoform. his breathing is still even and calm, but his heart beat has picked up ever so slightly, like he's worried about the words Will had said. more like worried about the worry Will feels over the words he'd said.

the two curl up in his backseat. Wills grip on his holoform doesn't lessen, even when Ironhide shifts and pushes the man between his seat and the holoform, wrapping a seat belt around the mans waist as the fear becomes evident. how had he not realized Will was so afraid of losing him that he was losing sleep? he'd noticed the nightmares, of course, but these new updates on his holoform had taken a week to install, so he hadn't been able to use it all week. he figures thats why the nightmares got so bad.

"m'not going anywhere Will. I promise you." Ironhide murmurs, squeezing him gently with the seat belt. "now we will stay here like this until you are rested." Ironhide murmurs. Will nods and curls up. he's literally surrounded by his lover he can make it through a nap, quiet possibly more.