Defining a Close Friend

Once Sky Lynx has been gone for a little while, Arcee paces restlessly, then finally heads straight for Prowl's office. Time to just let this happen...

Arcee will likely catch Prowl in the hallway as he is heading back toward his office. His face is placid as usual, not betraying much of anything in the way of emotion.

"Prowl," Arcee calls down the hallway, "I really think we need to talk." Inwardly, she frowns to herself -- now he's all calm. He was practically shaking with rage when she saw him last; what a difference a day makes!

Prowl nods without turning around, turning toward the door to his office and making his way inside. "Yes, of course." He replies evenly. "Come in."

Arcee enters the office, and takes a seat in her usual place. She gazes across the desk at him to see if there's any trace of that anger re-emerging, because she doesn't think for a moment that it's simply gone without a trace. "Look, I think this matter is not yet resolved," she says, getting right to the point.

Right to the point, good! Prowl likes right to the point. There doesn't appear to be any of the rage that had surfaced the prior solar cycle. At least not yet. He sighs. "And which 'matter' are you referring to?" He asks, though he probably already knows the answer.

"The one from last night," Arcee says, folding her arms across her chestplate in a protective gesture. Despite her slight defensiveness, however, she's keeping a civil tone and not throwing gobs of emotion into this recipe for trouble.

That's a good thing. Prowl doesn't handle emotions very well. Not his own, and not other people's either. There's a long, awkward silence, as he doesn't say anything for a while. Finally, "So you want to resolve it, then."

"Absolutely, because I think there's a number of things about the situation that weren't taken into account, and I think that as someone who really has an excellent grip on procedure, you'll be able to agree that sometimes there's important details about the first impression of a scene that can bias the entire investigation, and make the conclusion come out...well, entirely /wrong/." Arcee's feeling fairly good about this tack, because while she isn't very similar /to/ Prowl, she feels like she can understand his methods a bit better than most. She's suddenly feeling very relieved that she cried for practically the entire day, and got it all out of her before deciding to do this.

Prowl listens, nodding, his face still an expressionless stone wall. "Mhm. Yes. That is often quite true." he agrees, nodding. What he's really thinking remains quite the mystery for right now. "So why don't you go ahead and tell me exactly what happened, from start to finish? Answer the question I asked you, that you refused to answer before?"

"Alright, which would you like me to do first?" Arcee asks.

Prowl shrugs. "It doesn't matter."

"Alright, well I was in the Rust Narrows all day, and I got back to the hostel late. I didn't notice anything unusual until the power cut off," Arcee explains, hoping to herself that the 'it doesn't matter' isn't short for 'it doesn't matter what you explain at this point, your career is finished'. "I was tired and didn't feel like dealing with it -- and typically, those sorts of problems are fixed on the late shift anyhow -- so I went straight to my recharge berth. I didn't see Starscream, didn't even realize he was hiding in the room until he jumped out and pinned me to the berth. And to my recollection, that's exactly the time you arrived. Now if you would please remind me of what I refused to answer for you, I'll provide you with an answer."

"The question I asked was why didn't you resist him? You aren't a helpless fembot, Arcee. You have combat training. I -know- you know how to fight back in circumstances like those, I've seen you excel at it. So why didn't you? There are hundreds of ways to escape a chokehold, or however it was he had grabbed you. Did you not even try any of them?"

"I'm going to be perfectly honest, because I really don't feel like I have anything left to lose at this point," Arcee says. "And...it might not even be something I can make you comprehend, but I'll try my best." She pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts, then explains, "It isn't that I'm having some sort of clandestine relationship with him. I think he's completely repulsive, the way he treats others. But he has a way of making just the right offers at just the right time...he could tell when he met me, he could tell right then and there what I wouldn't be able to resist. Prowl, I'm...kind of lonely. And I don't just mean it in a superficial way such as looking for a date, this is serious. I mean that I really /need/ someone to bond with and relate to on a personal level. And this place is just so big and impersonal, it's been a hard transition for me, without feeling genuine contact with anyone. He offered...personal intimacy. But it very obviously came with a price. And by the time I found out what that price actually was, it was already too late."

Prowl again listens to Arcee's explanation. He sighs, shaking his head. "See, this was the reason why I didn't want you to be around him any more. He is far too manipulative on a level that is beyond your skills and experience. As you said, he knows how to find others' emotional weaknesses. Which is also why I would have preferred that you didn't leave the Decagon in the first place."

"Well, provided I still have a place here by the end of this conversation, I'm not returning to Praxus," Arcee says. "Also, even though my latest project takes me only as far as Nyon, I'm not even going out /there/ without Sky Lynx, who's going to help me see that through."

There's a pause as he considers the 'lonely' bit. He arches an optic ridge at her. Why would she be lonely? "You...don't find the companionship here, with the other officers sufficient?"

"Not really, no," Arcee admits to Prowl sadly. "Which is not to say the officers aren't a great bunch, because they /are/. Captain Springer, Lt. Cmdr. Sky Lynx, Acuity...everyone is very professional and I've learned so much. It has been a very positive experience. But I don't really have any close friends here. Blast Off was the closest friend I had at one time, and look what I had to do to him. Rung was also a close friend, and...well, not anymore. So I've really had no one. I enjoy talking to you," she admits with a smile. "But...you've a very busy mech, and I don't like to take up a lot of your time."

"Good, you will remain here where it's safer and where you can be watched over." Prowl replies with a nod. There's yet another awkward silence. This seems to be happening quite a bit between them recently.

"...and what is the definition of 'close friend' to you?" Because apparently thinking well of someone and enjoying their company isn't quite there?

"I'm not sure it's a concept that can be fit into a simple definition box," Arcee admits, trying not to feel too irritated about being 'watched over'. Damn that Starscream, she should be able to go anywhere she wants to go without being locked up or supervised!

"Close friends are ones who I can count on to be there...not just at work, but anytime, and to be able to discuss anything without...without feeling like I'm imposing on them. I know that's not a very good definition, but I'm trying. I guess my point is that I have a very serious side, and I'm willing to be that person when duty calls. But I can't ignore the fact that my spark also has an emotional component. Emotional /needs/. The need for companionship. If I try to live like I have no need for it, then this is what ends up happening...disaster."

Prowl looks pensive, considering her words for a moment. He looks out a window briefly, then turns back toward her. "I see. Your logic is sound. You don't have to feel that you are imposing on me. It's part of my job to ensure that each and everyone one of my troops is in the best possible state they can be, both physically -and- psychologically."

Arcee seems to perk up with some slight hope. Perhaps Sky Lynx was right, this /wasn't/ going to end badly, provided she had some patience in the process itself. But...she still wonders, is that anger still there? (Maybe he's saving that for Starscream,) she thinks hopefully. "Then...you wouldn't mind very much if I demanded a little bit more of your time once in a while?" she asks.

"'Demanded' might be stretching it a bit." Prowl smirks slightly. "But if you need the time, then of course." he nods.

Arcee chuckles. "I'm not as high-maintenance as a racer," she promises. "Well, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Thank you for hearing me out."

Prowl turns back to his workstation, averting his optics. "Again, don't thank me. It's my job to make sure that my own troops are functioning at the highest possible level."

Arcee heads out. For now, Prowl's emotional cards are hidden to her and she doesn't really know what's going on inside that processor of his. One thing she does know is that she managed to explain things, things didn't turn into a big argument, AND she's apparently keeping her job. Things turned out much better than expected, so Arcee's going to head back to a recharge berth and sleep on that. Will he let her talk to him, though? Spend time with him? That remains to be seen. (One step at a time,) she thinks as she heads back down the hallway.