Mirage had been gone for three weeks, but today, he was back. he was excited. he rolls quietly into the garage to see his partner, or at least his partners legs. Mirage is confused. there's an ugly beast in Mirages parking spot. the mech growls, closing the large bay door so no one sees him transform.

"Noah, what the fuck is that?" Mirage huffs, glaring across the garage at his partner. Noahs under a car, thats NOT Mirage, working happily. the man jerks, under the car.

"shit you scared me." Noah mutters, his legs shift as he moves under the car. "s'car 'Raj." Noah says. "its a Volkswagen 411." Noah adds. Mirage looks over the ugly old rusty car.

"what the fuck is it doing here?" Mirage glares.

"oh, one of the Joes gave it to me." Noah grins, pushing out from under the car. he pauses immediately, looking worried at the anger Mirage is expressing with his facial plates. "uh... Mirage? you okay?" Noah asks hesitantly.

"okay? okay? no! that piece of shit is stealing MY human!" Mirage snaps. Noah chuckles softly, smiling at him.

"Mirage, hey, I'm not replacing you with this car. I promise." Noah assures gently, smiling.

"its in my spot. its in the garage. why is it here?" Mirage glares. he pauses and his shoulders droop. "did I do something wrong?" Mirage asks. Noah jumps up quickly walking towards him.

"no, Mirage, hey! its not like that I promise." Noah says quickly, holding his hands up towards Mirage. "hey, I'm seriously not gonna replace you with that shitty thing." Noah adds.

"well, why is it here then?" Mirage huffs, pouting. Noah smiles reassuringly, waving the bot down towards him. Mirage pouts at him, but Noah just waves him down again. Mirage is stubbornly pouting at the car.

"come on, come down here." Noah murmurs. Mirage crouches down. he looks annoyed and hurt. Noah cups Mirages cheeks the best he can, resting his forehead against Mirages. "I know its in your spot, I'm gonna move it as soon as I can get it running. I'm not replacing you, its just back up, alright? its easier to get Kris to the hospital with a car and sometimes, you have to go on missions or you have meetings or patrols. its just an emergency back up for when you're not here, promise." Noah murmurs softly. he smiles at the mech again. Mirage is still pouting. "that scrap metal isn't stealing me, as a matter of fact, its got three flat tires and the engine is on my work bench. its not really going anywhere, 'Raj. it wouldn't get far if it did try to steal me. okay?" Noah ask.

"why is it in my spot?" Mirage mumbles.

"they brought it in by tow truck. I wasn't here when they dropped it off. I couldn't tell them to move it." Noah murmurs, smiling at him gently. "as soon as I get it running, I'll move it, I promise. I'm not going to replace you with that thing, its just an emergency back up, alright?" Noah adds. "remember how you were on patrol and Kris had an accident? his body was just weak and he fell down the stairs... we couldn't afford an ambulance and one of the Joes was incredible to stop in and take us to the ER. if you were here I know you would've taken us, but you weren't here. we need this car just in case you're not here." Noah says softly. "okay?" Noah asks.

"okay." Mirage murmurs. Noah smiles.

"okay." Noah smiles, pulling his hands back. "oops." Noah chuckles.

"what?" Mirage pouts.

"sorry man, I guess I should've cleaned my hands up first." Noah snorts, looking at his grease covered hands, then back up to Mirages face. he'd left hands prints and smudges on the mechs cheeks. "I left smudges, hang on." Noah says. he walks off and cleans his hands, then comes back with a towel. Mirage hasn't moved from his spot. Noah smiles at him and carefully cleans the grease off the mechs face. "so, forgive me?" Noah asks, watching him. Mirage stares at him a moment and smiles slightly, snatching the man quickly as he stands to his full height. he cuddles him happily.

"yeah I guess I can forgive you." Mirage says, hugging Noah. Noah chuckles and hugs him as tight as he can.

"I will never replace you, I promise. no one can replace you Mirage. okay?" Noah asks, pulling back to look up at him.

"you better not." Mirage mumbles, hugging tighter. its not tight enough to hurt Noah, just keeps the man snug against his chestplates.

"you're irreplaceable 'Raj, so don't worry about it, okay? some stupid car isn't going to replace you." Noah murmurs. Mirage puts him down and smiles slightly.

"okay. I believe you." Mirage murmurs. he glares slightly, pouting. "but I'm moving that stupid thing, thats my spot." Mirage adds, walking over to the car.

"okay just don't break it, I have enough to fix on it already, okay?" Noah asks. Mirage nods, shoving the car out of his way. Noah chuckles softly. "don't break it, I need that." Noah snorts.

"I'm not breaking it." Mirage mumbles. "I'm moving it. its in my spot." Mirage huffs, pouting.

"okay, okay. take it easy 'Raj. its okay." Noah murmurs gently, smiling at him reassuringly. "I'm not gonna replace you with that thing, okay? I will never replace you, not with anyone or anything. okay? you're irreplaceable 'Raj." Noah assures. Mirage huffs, pouting at the car. he plops onto the ground, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. Noah chuckles softly, walking over to him. "hey, look at me." Noah murmurs.

"why?" Mirage mumbles, looking over at him. Noah smiles at him.

"hey, just take a minute to calm down, alright?" Noah asks softly. Mirage pouts at him and Noah chuckles again softly. "I know, I should've warned you about the car, but I didn't know you were coming home today. I'm sorry, okay?" Noah ask. Mirage pouts a little and picks him up, cuddling him.

"I wanted to surprise you by coming home early." Mirage mumbles. Noah smiles.

"I certainly was surprised." Noah smiles, nuzzling against him. he grabs hold of the mechs face gently and pulls him down until their foreheads touch. "I will never be able to replace you, I just need a car for emergencies, okay? what if you're on a mission and Kris falls down the stairs again? I mean, we got lucky you were there when he fell and broke his wrist, 'Raj. so please, don't think I'm trying to replace you with that scrap. its just a back up. if you hadn't been here I would've had to carry Kris all the way to the hospital on a bus. it would've taken forever. if I can get this crappy car running, then I'll have an emergency option when you're not here." Noah explains gently. Mirage sighs and nods at him.

"right... right. I'm sorry. I just..." Mirage trails.

"got jealous?" Noah teases. Mirage huffs, looking flustered.

"I don't like my mechanic working on other cars." Mirage grumbles.

"your mechanic?" Noah chuckles.

"yes. you are my mechanic." Mirage huffs.

"you didn't say anything when I replaced Bumblebee's windshield." Noah chuckles.

"thats different, Bumblebee is my friend, he was in pain. he needed your help." Mirage huffs.

"you didn't seem to mind when I had to fix Arcee's flat tire." Noah grins. Mirage huffs.

"well, it was kinda my fault, I guess, that those stupid tacks got spilled..." Mirage mumbles.

"and you volunteered me to fix Wheeljacks power steering." Noah says.

"it was awful, he needed it for my sake." Mirage huffs. "the point is, you're mine. you can help my friends, I'm still gonna get jealous but they're my friends. that thing" Mirage huffs, glaring at the project car. "is a lifeless and useless piece of scrap and your hands belong on better things." Mirage grumbles. Noah laughs, shaking his head as Mirage kneels down, gently setting the man on his feet. Noah doesn't step back and Mirage doesn't let him go.

"okay, okay, I'll get Reek to help me work on that thing until it's finished alright? we're gonna try and get it done as fast as possible okay?" Noah snorts.

"okay." Mirage mumbles, pouting at him. Noah smiles leaning forward to kiss his nose, before separating himself from the mech.

"now, transform and let me see how bad you're beat up." Noah orders. Mirage looks away.

"uh... actually..." Mirage trails. Noah raises his eye brow.

"wait, did you let Ratchet fix you?" Noah asks in mock offense.

"I didn't let him do shit. Prime ordered it but I-" Mirage starts.

"wow, and here I thought I was your mechanic." Noah huffs, pouting. its all just teasing, he doesn't mean his words. he loves fixing up Mirage, but he prefers Ratchet fixing him, the mech is literally a Cybertronian medic. he knows what he's doing.

"wait its not like that." Mirage says quickly.

"easy easy. I'm joking. I'm glad you let him fix you up. its less for me to worry about with you. Ratchet knows what he's doing, I'm not a medic 'Raj, I'm a mechanic, I'm not even a mechanic. I-I'm... well I'm not really anything. I'm just an electronic wiz. you're the first vehicle I've worked on, before you the biggest thing I ever fixed was a washing machine and it just had a lose wire." Noah says. "I love being able to help you, but its nice to know you have a real medic to turn to when you have bad injuries." Noah murmurs, smiling up at him.

"I'd rather have you fix me up." Mirage pouts. Noah shakes his head.

"I know, but I'd never forgive myself if i couldn't fix you." Noah murmurs. Mirage frowns, scooping him up and hugging him as carefully as he can.

"I never have to worry about that. you always fix me up." Mirage murmurs. "now c'mon, Kris would kill me if he could hear your stomach growling like this. lets get you something to eat and get you home. its getting late." Mirage says.

"okay..." Noah says as Mirage transforms around him. he lands happily in the drivers seat. "promise me one thing Mirage." Noah says softly.

"for you? anything." Mirage murmurs, engine purring happily. he wraps a seatbelt around Noah snugly.

"don't throw that thing out of the garage. I need it to stay in here until I get it running." Noah sighs.

"ffffffffiiiiiinnnnnneeee." Mirage whines, before speeding out of the garage.