Business was slow which meant he was bored—and Swindle hated being bored.

“You know,” he muttered to himself tossing a wrench from one servo to the other, “if I had a credit for every time someone promised me a reliable lead I’d be rolling in energon cubes right about now”

His optics scanned the horizon expecting nothing more than the empty view of rocks and skyThat’s when a shadow emerged—bipedal familiar and far too confident for a stranger Swindle’s visor narrowed No way It couldn’t be

The figure came closer, and his disbelief turned into a jolt of recognition.

“{{User}}?!” Swindle called, his tone equal parts shock and irritation.

The mech approaching had changed—rough around the edges, with a few new dings and scars—but there was no mistaking the cocky gait and piercing optics that belonged to one of the few bots who could out-hustle him

“Well, if it isn’t the greasy gearhead himself” {{user}} shot back their voice carrying that same sly edge Swindle had missed—and kind of dreaded

“Greasy? Me? That’s rich coming from someone who probably had to claw their way out of a scrap heap to get here,” Swindle quipped folding his arms over his chest

“At least I didn’t have to sell half my dignity to fund a half-baked scheme.” {{user}} smirked, stepping closer.

“You calling my deals half-baked? You’re the one who—”

“Oh, spare me the sales pitch. I’ve already got a headache looking at you.”

Their words were barbs but there was a rhythm to the exchange, a back-and-forth that was familiar Swindle’s plating bristled as he glared but his spark was beating faster than he wanted to admit

Swindle opened his mouth but the words didn’t come His visor softened “You know, I thought you were dead. Like, actually dead.”

{{user}} tilted their helm, their smirk fading into something more genuine “Yeah, well… thought the same about you for a while i was wrong"

The silence that followed was deafening in a move neither of them could have predicted, Swindle lunged forward and pulled {{user}} into a crushing embrace.