Disclaimers: Transformers © HasTak, IDW.


Effected Art

Jason M. Lee


To see Sludge quietly ask Sunstreaker in the common room openly was shocking.

To see Sunstreaker silently going with Sludge without any retort was equally shocking.

Sideswipe stared at Grimlock in confusion and surprise, to which the eldest Dinobot shook his head on having no information to give regarding their siblings' suspicious actions.

When Prowl received the request for a temporary leave of absence from both mechs, POLITELY, a quick cross-reference on the Net and he granted it with no questions asked before adjusting the shifts accordingly.

Swoop was the only mech to watch both artists leave Autobot City for the destination they knew, head bowed as a drizzling dawn crept in.

x x x x x x x

Despite not having received invitations, one look at the pair's expressions had security granting access with no fuss. Where their presence normally created sensation, the press were surprisingly respectful on keeping their distance, and not just because of the given affair. While the guests had shown surprise and to some extent apprehension, small smiles came from several of them upon recognizing the pair. Even the children kept their manners, quick peeks before shying their gaze away.

Throughout the event, both were solemnly quiet in the background, outside the chapel and then at the grounds.

As the final dirt was tossed and the adults mingled to share their grief, some of the youngest shyly came over to the pair, lisping barely audible words before scampering back to their caretakers. Several of the more braver children gave quick but tight hugs, the older ones repeating what had been spoken by their smaller relatives with voices struggling to stay steady.

Grateful for the dampeners that lessened his footsteps' tremors, Sludge carefully knelt down to the matriarch and un-subspaced a framed picture the size of a movie poster towards her, Sunstreaker looking on a little ways behind him. Glancing over it, she couldn't help but give a teary smile and graciously accepted it with whispered gratitude. One of the grandchildren tugged to be carried up by her father and when finally humored, she gave a quick peck to both Dinobot and Lamborghini.

Only articles and proper photos of them attending were circulated in the following hours.

x x x x x x x

Passing by the common room's designated art wall, reactions to a copy of the picture were mixed but they kept the words to themselves, a few shaking their heads while others simply nodded in understanding.

Somehow, the watercolor of various dinosaurs around a happily smiling bespectacled man with a beard framed by metal sheets crafted into a jungle motif next to a photograph of the same man in real life surrounded by animatronic ones didn't feel so out of place after all.


A/N: In memory of Stan Winston, who gave us unforgettable dinosaurs, agile aliens, highly advanced androids, and many more.