Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro
Warnings: AU and WAFF.
Notes: This is both a companion piece to "Reflections" and my offering for Father's Day (which, like Mother's Day, I've mentally renamed to Father-Creator's Day). I figured that it was time for Ratchet to get a little screentime with the bitlets. Firewire and Windsong are the creations of my twisted imagination.
The sound of chirping drew him from recharge, optics coming online instantly as he pushed himself up. Next to him, his mate murmured sleepily and started to stir, obviously intending to go see what had awakened the sparklings.
"I've got it," Ratchet said softly, running one hand over the expanse of his seeker's wing in a motion meant to sooth the other mech. Starscream's optics onlined briefly to offer a grateful look before flicking back off again. The medic smiled slightly; since the winglets had come online his mate had been tending to their every need without a thought to his own well-being. It was only by bodily dragging him to their berth that Ratchet had gotten the stubborn mech to recharge in the first place, and he was going to see to it that Starscream rested for at least a full joor.
Stroking his mate's wing one final time, the medbot stood and crossed the room to the partially-open door leading into the sparklings' recharge berths. Almost as he'd suspected, Firewire was chirring in sleepy irritation, bright blue optics peering from his grey face at the very-much online Windsong, who was chirping cheerfully and threw her arms up in greeting when her ruby optics caught sight of her code-writer.
"What are you doing online at this time of the night cycle, you little menace?" Ratchet asked quietly, picking the femme up and tucking her close to his chassis. Windsong immediately commenced clicking at him, obviously quite happy to have her creator's undivided attention. Firewire snorted and flopped back onto his cooling blanket, optics shutting off and engines quieting as he dropped back into recharge.
Ratchet couldn't help the snort that escaped him. There were many times that the twins seemed to be their own little beings, but at the moment his son was reminding him of Starscream when the seeker didn't wish to be drawn from his rest. The fact that the only real differences between the winglet and his bearer were a set of brilliant azure optics and a complete lack of blue in his frame only reinforced that the mechling was practically Starscream in miniature. With any luck he would turn out to share more of the seeker's personality as well – a somewhat quiet youngling would be a blessing from Primus on board this ship.
And then there was Windsong, who was still chattering away at her code-writer as he slipped out the side door into the main section of their quarters so as not to disturb Starscream. The femmelette also shared the seeker frame of her bearer and twin, but her colouration more closely mimicked Ratchet's with the exception of two narrow blue stripes on each of her wings. She was also the 'talker' out of the twins, always chirping and chirring joyfully about anything and everything, most often about her brother's attempts to escape from Starscream's supervision.
Primus help them all once the twins were fully mobile and able to use their thrusters; they'd never be able to keep the pair of them on the ground.
Listening as his daughter continued chirring at him, the medic retrieved a cube of sparkling-grade energon and offered it to Windsong; as he'd expected, the femme squealed in delight and accepted the offering, slowly draining the cube as her optics locked onto Ratchet's face. Soon enough, her optics flickered slightly and finally shut off, faint chirps still slipping from her vocalizer.
The ambulance smiled warmly and dropped a soft kiss to the winglet's helm, carrying her back into the twins' room and settling her into her berth. He checked the cooling blankets, tucking Firewire's back around him gently, then headed back to his own berth. Slipping back in next to his mate, he pressed a kiss to Starscream's neck and earned a sleepy murmur in response as he wrapped his arms around the seeker once more.
"The winglets okay?" Starscream asked, vocalizer soft and muzzy from recharge.
Ratchet hummed an affirmative. "Song was hungry, woke up Wire. I got them settled in."
His seeker purred softly in response and nestled back against him before dropping offline again. Ratchet smiled to himself and tightened his hold, slipping into recharge once more and wondering what he'd done to deserve such a wonderful family.