*Alister's P.O.V*

As I made my way towards Ratchet and Rivet I didn't miss the two having a moment though to not embarrass them I decided to not say anything as it was honestly nice to see the two getting closer however, when I got closer I didn't fail to notice that Ratchet's shirt had scuff marks and what seemed to be a small amount of dried blood along the length of his back which instantly concerned me and made me think "what happened while you were out?" When I was  next to them I could tell something had gone wrong just by the looks on their faces and the fact that there were only three bags of items all together when I would of figured they would have grabbed more as the two hadn't had much time to theirselves in a little while.

With them dealing with meetings with leaders they trusted to try to see if they could send help our way to restore Fastoon to its former glory before the exodus, asking Ms. Apogee to see if she could form a group of advocates for our species as well as just in general having to deal with nosy press and other planetary leaders.

Most of the press and leaders were willing to listen and asked how the lombaxes were back with curiosity and not contempt and as expected wanted a explanation for the cataclysm as well as how they could help with the recovery effort after ratchet had explained tachyon had returned however he had assured them that tachyon had been taken out for good with some help though he didn't say my name as even now I had yet to reveal I was alive.

During some of these meetings however I had been asked to tag along while wearing a hologuise as not to reveal myself for obvious reasons upon both ratchet and rivet's request as they wanted me there as support and just felt more comfortable with me there especially since at these particular meetings they were not allowed to bring clank or kit. The meetings that I tagged along on usually involved a handful of leaders who were not willing to listen worth a shit and straight insulted the two with such contempt that it took everything in me not to reveal myself and put them in their place for insulting my daughter and ratchet despite everything he has done for the galaxy.

They had wanted both ratchet and rivet as well as all the lombaxes that have crossed over here to their rightful home to return to wherever they had hid for over twenty years as they had claimed our presence seemed to only cause problems and wars to break out as it always seemed to do when we were around and though the two had taken the insults it wasn't hard to see the two were at their wits end when dealing with these types of meetings especially ratchet who I had to quite literally keep in place as to prevent him from attacking the leaders by placing my hand on his back in a manner that reminded him of clank as the leaders feared he and Kit could cause camera issues despite neither having that ability in the first place. To me these particular leaders seemed very similar to how the old lombax council was which was closed off and unwelcoming of others besides other lombaxes which didn't sit right with me.

After those meetings we typically went to the nearest shooting range after to let out our anger on targets of various types though the primary version were semi solid projections of targets though we did occasionally go to one with heavily armored walls where we could literally let loose and shoot up to a warmonger into the walls without them breaking. It was the best way to regain control of our emotions as none of us wanted the others to see that we had failed yet again at a peace treaty and agreement with the remaining leaders that we had assumed would be willing to help us just long enough till we had a bit more structure set up and then we'd be out of their hair.

Back in the present moment clank and Kit had made their way to us as well though Kit was the one who had been brave enough to break the tense silence by asking how their trip had gone. As soon as those words were said the two both sighed as their ears drooped and in unison said "not great" before they both took turns going into a rather animated explanation of what had gone down. Rivet had explained how she had been excited about visiting the mall and had actually jumped from aphelion the moment she could and had explained she had ran ahead of ratchet to see what stores were available and explained that she had accidentally ran into someone in her rush.

In her rush she explained she had bumped into a drunken male guest by accident that happened to be leaving and explained that she went to apologize however the male guest in his drunken state wasn't willing to listen and then had the audacity to insult her prosthetic arm and said some rather colorful words about lombaxes as a whole. She then went on to explain that ratchet had ran in front of her and tried to block the guy from getting closer to her when he relized the situation and she had admitted that seeing ratchet in protective mode had scared her a bit as she had said that he had actually growled and had his ears down as his tail lashed about though told me that it hadn't hit her what so ever which was a relief as her legs would of likely bruised under the fur if she had been hit by it.

After that ratchet joined in and had explained that the guy had said something under his breath and he had asked the male to repeat himself however instead of doing that ratchet had explained that the male had shoved him into rivet who had injured her shoulder in the process trying to keep him supported and had called the two "filthy lombaxes" which instantly made me growl though clank had surprisingly been the one to tell me to try calming down so the two could countinue explaining though one look in clank's eyes and even kit's when I glanced towards her both held a look that I had not seen sense the attack a year prior and that was anger. Both their eye lights had grown a shade darker and their antenna for clank and bulbs for Kit blinked in an agitated manner as I saw both their jaw parts clench tightly.

I had done some breathing exercises to calm myself before giving the sign that they could countinue and saw that ratchet seemed hesitant at first which I knew wasn't a good sign especially after I saw rivet very carefully place her hand on ratchet's back for support and though I could tell her touch was as gentle as she could manage ratchet still showed mild discomfort. Despite this he had allowed rivet to keep her hand on his back if she wished knowing that she needed to physically be touching the person of her concerns if they allowed it as a sort of coping mechanism. This of course brought back my initial concern that ratchet was hiding an injury that likely needed looked at by the medics and though I had recommended we go inside so the both of them could be looked at by the medics even if it was to simply get ice on their injuries and surprisingly ratchet and rivet had nodded though they had requested that they finish their explanation first which I didn't really want to agree too though the look on their faces told me that they wanted to get this off their chests before heading in.

Rivet had taken her turn again and had explained that after the initial shove the male had picked ratchet up by the collar of his shirt and had sent him flying into a wall in the opposite direction of where the male was facing which had finally gotten the mall guards and police to hold the males arms and pin him before escorting him out of the mall and to jail as he had broken one of the mall's main rules. Ratchet had explained he had taken the two to a mall that had enacted a protection order that talwyn herself as well as a few other leaders had created to protect lombaxes as well as other uncommon species a few years prior to now which I found to be a relief though it made me wonder how many other places were welcoming of us and had initiated this same order or was it a case of a trial run though that was a thought for later. Ratchet then explained that a male cazar had helped the two out and after a while let the two be which brought them to the few shops they went to and grabbing dinner at a lombax run restaurant that was very popular among several species and then made their way here.

After the two finished explaining it took me a few minutes to wrap my head around everything that was just said and though the anger I previously felt was still there, the more prominent emotion was relief that the two had gotten back here safely and though I had yet to hear the extent of their injuries it did seem the two would be ok they would likely just be a bit sore and need some time to rest up. This was me being optimistic however as ratchet having some blood spotting on the back of his sweater could mean he could have hit an exposed nail or scraped his back up pretty bad and for Rivet, her catching ratchet could have knocked something out of place and she may need a medic skilled in prosthetic robotics to help repair anything she may need repaired.

Clank and Kit had decided to walk besides their partners as they too didn't know the full extent of their partner's  injuries as the two were honoring a agreement the four of them made a while ago to not do a medical scan unless required after a incident between the two when they were in heat.

(AN: adult themes and mild description of animal heat below)

Clank and Kit had informed their friends that they seemed more distracted than normal the day before their heats had started. The two had become a bit more sensitive to each other's individual scent and were following each other around like they were lost kittens and when the two simply held hands or hugged, the two had nuzzled into each other's necks. At first this wouldn't seem out of place considering how close they have gotten except for the fact that when anyone came close to the two they both got protective of each other and growled quietly at the person that got near which got mixed reactions.

Some of the lombaxes knew what was going on and had shown a sign of peace before backing off and continuing on their way and others seemed stunned that they were growled at though they too had decided to keep going as well as not to cause a fight to break out between them and ratchet and rivet. By the next day of this rather strange behavior it had been obvious that ratchet and rivet were in heat as the two had woken up very needy and wanting each other there and now though they managed to have control. That was when I had suggested separating them for the time being unless they were wanting a possible kit before they were properly bonded in the lombax way if they so desired one day which I had informed them that I supported them if they were wanting married eventually as I thought they would be perfect for each other.

The two of course looked to each other seemingly talking to each other silently before they had looked to me and said in unison " separate rooms would probably be best right now." Ratchet after that said "There is still so much to do to get our home together and on top of that it's still dangerous for us as a whole out there. I would love to eventually have a kit of my own however I don't want rivet to feel forced into anything and would prefer knowing my kit was safe before even thinking of bringing one into the galaxy" when I looked to rivet she seemed to have the same sentiment and so that was when they went to separate rooms till their heats ended.

(End warning)

As soon as we arrived at the medical center both ratchet and rivet were both seen pretty quickly and as was required the two were placed in separate rooms while me, clank and Kit waited out in the lobby until we found out the extent of their injuries. We didn't need to fill out any paperwork this time around as both ratchet and rivet's information had already been put in the system and was on file. So now we just had to wait.