"Bro?"
Sunstreaker didn't say anything. He simply remained perfectly still and kept his optics shut, hoping that Sideswipe would take the hint and leave him be.
No such luck. Sideswipe started poking him on the shoulder. "Sunstreaker? You awake?"
"Not if I can help it," Sunstreaker declared in a murmur, his optics still closed. "Now go away."
"Sorry, can't do that," Sideswipe said, his tone irritatingly cheerful. "You did promise me after all."
Sunstreaker frowned and half-opened one of his optics to glare at his twin. "Promise you what?"
Sideswipe's mirth ebbed, and the red mech cocked his head. "You really don't remember, do you?"
Feeling alert once more, Sunstreaker sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose. He searched his memory databanks, and he eventually found what he had been looking for.
"Oh, that's right," he said quietly, realisation catching up with him. "It's today, isn't it?" Indeed, he had told his brother that he would stay in the store just this once, so that Sideswipe could take care of some other sort of… business.
"Yup," Sideswipe said with a nod. He regarded his brother intently, a thoughtful expression settled on his features. "If you don't want to go, it's fine."
"Nah. I said I would, didn't I?" Sunstreaker replied. He got up from his berth and walked to his window so he could look out at the tall, burnished buildings of Iacon, which stretched as far as his optics could see. He even smiled a bit when he noticed the dozens of mechs that walked down the streets with a small colourful band on their forearm, an indication of the celebration that would follow later on.
"Everyone seems excited," he commented.
"Can you blame them? Our home is alive again, Bro," Sideswipe said, now standing at his brother's side. "Can you believe that it's already been a vorn that we've got peace?"
Sunstreaker shook his head absent-mindedly, barely registering Sideswipe's question. Yes, it had been a vorn since the Decepticons were finally defeated and Spike regenerated Vector Sigma to restore Cybertron to its former glory. A vorn during which neither Sunstreaker nor Sideswipe had to think about duty or war, but slowly reclaimed the lives they had had to give up so long ago. Sideswipe returned to his former job as a merchant, while Sunstreaker opened his art studio again on the floor above his brother's store, so that he could start drawing again. And that was precisely what the yellow mech did: take up art projects one after the other and work constantly in the small, bright room without noticing the passing of time.
It was his only solace ever since he returned to Iacon.
"Sunny?"
Sunstreaker faced his brother, flinching as though he had just been woken up from a dream. "What?"
The red mech sighed and shook his head. "You were out of it… again."
"Sorry," Sunstreaker said, wincing inwardly. That had been happening too often, especially as of late. Sunstreaker let his thoughts run away with him, and then Sideswipe had to snap him out of it, a look of concern quite visible in his optics. To his credit, Sideswipe never asked what was it that troubled Sunstreaker, even though he clearly suspected something. In fact, he probably suspected more than he let on, which could explain why he never mentioned him in front of Sunstreaker. Sideswipe must have figured it would be a thorny subject.
"You know…" he said, cutting off Sunstreaker's train of thought, "…You could meet us when the festivities begin. Nightrider won't mind."
"No way. I'm not gonna spoil your date," Sunstreaker replied at once. He playfully nudged Sideswipe with his elbow, a wink accompanying his words. "You just get out and have some fun with your lady-friend."
"But what about you?" Sideswipe asked, not playing along this time. "Ever since we got back, you're either here or in your workshop!"
"Art studio," the yellow mech corrected under his breath and shrugged. "And it's not that I can't find something to occupy myself."
Sideswipe sighed. "I was afraid you were gonna say that." Still, he patted Sunstreaker on the shoulder. "Suit yourself. Just don't stay cooped up inside, okay? Not today of all days."
"I won't," Sunstreaker promised, but a part of him knew that that was a promise he wouldn't be able to keep.
If Sideswipe himself was aware of such a thing, he didn't show it. He simply nodded and looked at the time reading on the computer screen. A gasp of surprise escaped his lips, something that made Sunstreaker arch an optic ridge and check the time also.
"Whoops," he noted, "I guess we're both running late, aren't we?"
Sideswipe didn't answer. He rushed outside the room with a curse and something the yellow mech interpreted as: "I'm dead! She's gonna kill me!", grabbed a small box that would serve as a gift for the femme due to the occasion; then hurried back to tug his brother to a hug.
"Later, Bro!" he said. "Don't scare any customers while you're at the store!"
"If you don't want them scared, hurry up and find an assistant – a cute one preferably," Sunstreaker pointed out with a tease.
"All in good time!" Sideswipe answered. And with that, he headed for the exit, leaving a very amused Sunstreaker behind.
When the door hissed closed, however, Sunstreaker's grin vanished into thin air. Not because he wasn't happy for Sideswipe, far from that. Nightrider was a very attractive and charming femme, whose spontaneous and easy-going personality matched Sideswipe's to a tee. It was only natural that his twin felt so drawn to her and wished to spend as much time with her as possible.
But… it also reminded Sunstreaker of what he didn't have. And, as time passed, the yellow mech felt a void that treacherously gnawed at his spark, numbing his insides. Nothing seemed to matter to him anymore, and he certainly didn't care about celebrating the anniversary of the end of the war. As far as the yellow mech was concerned, it had just been a whole vorn since he last saw a particular silver form; the one that Sunstreaker still tried to catch a glimpse of at every turn and every moment, because of a now meaningless promise.
Sighing ruefully, he decided that he should go to Sideswipe's store and keep an optic on things there. After waxing himself (he still had to keep up appearances, after all), he exited and transformed to his Cybertronian vehicle mode.
Sunstreaker had to admit that he had missed moving about without the use of wheels. Though he loved his Lamborghini Countach mode, the yellow mech had gotten scratched and dented so often during his stay on Earth that it wasn't even funny anymore. And he wasn't even including the battles against the Decepticons.
Besides, there was no denying that his Cybertronian vehicle mode was ten times more gorgeous than his Earthen one. His curves, his aerodynamic shape, his velocity, not to mention his stunning chassis, were enough to have any passing-by femmes – and a few mechs – staring at him with a mixed expression of admiration, jealousy and desire.
Yup, Sunstreaker still had it. No question about it. Except the very mech that Sunstreaker wanted to feast his optics on the beauty of the artist's alternate mode wasn't in Iacon.
In fact, he wasn't on Cybertron at all.
He never realised when he arrived at the store. True, it wasn't far from his and Sideswipe's home, but Sunstreaker was surprised nonetheless. He transformed back to his robot mode and walked to the sealed entrance of a grey building.
"Sunstreaker, enter code: five seven three point two one zero."
The door made a slight clanking sound as it was activated, then opened with a hiss. Sunstreaker stepped inside and sat at the desk with a slight grunt before turning on the computer. The luminescent blue font sprang to life on the screen, showing Sunstreaker all the important news of the day. Since every single one of them had to do with today's celebrations, however, Sunstreaker simply skimmed through them without much thought.
That is, until he caught sight of a holo-vid that talked about Ultra Magnus's visit on Cybertron. That the Earth Commander meant to see Optimus in order to renew the bonds between the two planets wasn't a surprise; all of Iacon was buzzing about it days before. But, when Sunstreaker watched the news-clip with Ultra Magnus stepping out of the space-shuttle, he also saw amid Ultra Magnus's escorts a very familiar silver shape.
Sunstreaker blinked. He stared at the screen incredulously, trying to figure if his optics were simply playing tricks on him or if he really…
"Sunstreaker?"
The yellow mech froze, not daring to believe his audios. He lifted his gaze after what felt like centuries, only to see that the one mech who had been haunting his thoughts and memories in the last vorn was indeed standing on the doorstep.
Bluestreak…
TBC…
