Before the War Part IV
"Sunstorm, get down from there!" Northstar shouted before he darted over to where his son was hanging from one of the flagpoles. "Get down this instant!"
"But Daddy!" he squeaked as he dangled, "Momma said I had to practice my flying!"
"Not in the hallway!" he shouted in panic, terrified of his sparkling falling from so high up; he wasn't that big to begin with.
He chirped sadly before hopping off of the flagpole and landing on the ground. He looked up at him with innocent yellow optics before he was scooped up by Northstar. The large mech clutched his sparkling to his chest, whispering softly about how he had scared him to near termination. He pulled back and scolded him for darting off like he had after he had told him enough times not to. Sunstorm's wings dropped and he chirped softly, nuzzling his father's chest in hopes to redeem himself. Northstar cradled him before heading back to the house where Blackfire was having another check-up for their next sparkling.
Things were looking grim for this carrying as well; the sparkling was even weaker than Sunstorm had been. Blackfire was sick lately, unable to walk properly and was almost on bed rest. He was worried tremendously for his mate and sparkling, almost to the point where he was getting sick. Sunstorm didn't know that anything bad was happening; as far as he knew, the sparkling was making Mommy's fuel tank uneasy and making her feet hurt.
He walked in, meeting the medic at the door. The older flyer looked up at him sadly before shaking his head and leaving. He felt his fuel tank stall before he rushed into the bedroom, fearing the worst. Blackfire was curled up on her side, tears falling down her face at an alarming rate. She looked up at him, her lower lip trembling before she started to sob loudly. Sunstorm, in all his sparkling innocence, thought that someone had hurt his mother and was straining to get to her. He chirped angrily at his father, believing that he was the reason she was crying and berating him for it.
Blackfire looked up before smiling weakly and reaching for her sparkling. He set the little yellow sparkling on the berth, letting him scramble over to her and curl up. He sniffled, mewing sadly up at her before she kissed his helm gently.
"Ssh, Sunstorm, stop crying, love," she whispered gently.
"Momma crying," he sniffed.
"Momma's crying because she's hurting," she replied softly.
"Why Momma hurting?" he demanded, his little wings catching fire.
She smiled sadly, her optics filling with more pain. "Momma…Momma might loose her sparkling," she whispered quietly, cradling her sparkling to her.
Northstar let out a whimper before lying down beside her and hugging her tightly. "Blackfire, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
She hid her face in his chest as she started crying again. "He's so weak, he can't even chirp to let me know what he wants," she sobbed. "I don't want to loose him; he's special, I can feel it!"
He held her close as she sobbed in anguish. He could feel a tiny bit of heat on the glass of his canopy, but not enough to say that there was another spark in his mate's spark chamber. He closed his optics and made a decision to not get emotionally attached to this sparkling as well; that way, when Blackfire lost him, he could comfort her and maintain a level head while she cried. He nodded slightly to himself; yes, that was what he would do.
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Blackfire closed her optics in pain as she felt the sparkling beating against her canopy. She was all alone in the house; Northstar had stepped out to help Sunstorm with his landing. She smiled painfully at the thought of her little mech perfecting his form already. Sure, it had been several thousand years since he first took to the sky, but that was a short time for Transformers. She winced again as he sparkling demanded to be let out and she called down the bond again, begging for Northstar to hurry.
She let out a cry of pain as her sparkling seemed to grow desperate for freedom. "Wait, my sparkling," she whispered as she rested a hand on her swollen cockpit. "Just a little bit longer, I promise; your father will be here soon," she added before crying out again.
"Blackfire!" Northstar shouted as he darted in, protoform in hand and a terrified look in his optics. "Why is he doing this to you?!" he snarled as he placed the protoform down beside her.
"He's excited, Northstar," she replied as she weakly opened her cockpit. "Do not be angry with him."
He growled before quickly rubbing the lubricant on, anxiety evident in his optics and in his stiff frame. He clenched his dental bands together as he reached into her spark chamber and she felt her sparkling's panic rise up in her mind. She tried to soothe him, letting him know that it would be alright, but he was scared. Northstar let out a low snarl of rage before he finally managed to grasp the elusive sparkling and began to pull it out. She could hear his screams of panic loud and clear in her mind and she tried to keep him calm before Northstar pulled the little spark out.
She sat up slowly as Northstar lowered the spark into the opened chest plate of the protoform. It glowed immediately, the faint sounds of shifting heard as the new spark reformatted the body, before it faded away. She felt tears of joy spring to her optics at the sight of the little red sparkling staring up at them. He chirped softly at them, his optics filled with fear and apprehension, reaching for her and whimpering.
"Hush," she cooed as she picked him up and let him snuggle against her chest plate. "It is alright, my little sparkling, no one will hurt you."
He squeaked softly before snuggling closer, a single clawed digit in his mouth to chew on. She stroked his helm gently, glancing over at Northstar. There was vague interest in his optics but he made no movement to address his sparkling. He merely stood up and left the room to collect Sunstorm so he could meet his little brother.
"Dada hates me," the sparkling whimpered.
"No, sweetspark, he doesn't," she reassured him, nuzzling him lovingly.
He chirped sadly before the two mechs came back in, Sunstorm gazing at the newest sparkling in wonder. Northstar sat down beside her, placing the larger sparkling on her lap so he could reach the new sparkling. He gazed up at his younger brother before moving forward and touching his face. The younger gasped in surprise before pulling away, looking up at his older brother in a mixture of fear and curiosity.
"Your hands are hot," he chirped.
Sunstorm smiled and nodded happily before he burst into flames. The new sparkling screeched in terror before trying to burrow into Blackfire's chest. She reeled slightly from the high-pitched scream of her sparkling before gently securing him to her chest. Sunstorm returned to normal, the fire on his body exhausted as he stared up at his terrified younger brother in confusion.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You scared him," she replied gently before stroking her first's helm. "Keep the self-combustion to a minimum for a while, ok sweetie?"
Sunstorm nodded before chirping at his brother. The new sparkling refused to pull his head out from the safety of Blackfire's body, chirping in terror at what had just happened. Northstar snorted slightly, muttering "coward" lowly under his breath, earning a sharp slap to the head from his mate. She glared at him before coaxing the little one out into the open again. He stared fearfully at his family before covering his face with his hands. Blackfire smiled before setting him down on her lap beside his brother. Sunstorm nuzzled him apologetically, earning squeaks from his younger brother at the warmth that penetrated through Sunstorm's armor.
"What's his name, Momma?" Sunstorm asked as he hugged the smaller mech, glancing up at her.
She frowned for a moment before smiling down at her newborn. "Starscream," she stated. "His name is Starscream."
Sunstorm's face lit up dramatically before looking at his brother. "We're gunna be the bestest brothers ever!" he exclaimed.
Starscream smiled weakly, red and grey wings twitching in mixed emotions. "Sure," he squeaked, "whatever you say, brother."
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"Keep your wings flat, Starscream," Blackfire called out as she hovered underneath her newly fledged sparkling.
He nodded, keeping his optics off the ground so that the hereditary fear of heights wouldn't make him crash. He flew easily back and forth across the courtyard, a magnificent flier on only his first try. She smiled proudly before she noticed that he was sinking slightly. She flew up beside him and picked him up, letting him rest against her chest as she headed back for the ground. She landed easily, cradling her sparkling to her as she headed over to the entrance way.
"Was I good, Momma?" Starscream asked.
She smiled before nuzzling him. "Very good, my little sparkling," she cooed.
Starscream had been nervous about flying at first, only natural for one as young as him. Sunstorm, being the ever loving brother that he was, tried to make him feel better about it. It had helped to boost his anticipation for flying, but when he asked Northstar if he was coming to watch, his happiness had been shattered. Northstar had taken a strong dislike to him for some reason, and had told him flat out that he would not be watching him, ever. He had cried after running away, hiding in one of the many storage units in the house so no one could find him. When she had learnt about what Northstar had said, she was infuriated; how could he say that to his sparkling?
"Will Daddy be proud?" he whispered, biting his lip in nervousness.
"Yes," she replied, not really believing what she was saying.
He seemed to catch on and fell silent. She felt the tears slide down her chest plate and comforted him as she headed for their house. When they walked in, Northstar barely glanced up from where he was playing with Sunstorm. Sunstorm on the other hand bounced up immediately and darted over, chirping up at Starscream in excitement.
"What did I tell you? Greatest feeling ever, right?" he chirped before running around her. "Zoom!"
Starscream smiled and nodded. "It was awesome!" he agreed.
"He's a natural," Blackfire praised as she held him up over her head, watching in amusement as he stuck his arms out like he was flying. "I only had to adjust his wings once."
Northstar snorted. "I highly doubt that runt is a natural," he sneered.
"Northstar," she snapped as she felt Starscream go limp and she quickly cuddled him to her chest, "how can you say that?!"
He stood up, sneering down at the whimpering mass in her arms. "Because he is worthless," he replied before turning and walking away.
Starscream sniffled for a moment before bursting into tears, wailing loudly and clinging to her tightly. "Daddy hates me!" he wailed into her chest. "Daddy hates me!"
She cradled him close to her chest, humming gently to calm him down, while holding back her own tears. She walked slowly to the room that the sparklings shared, an unnaturally silent Sunstorm tailing behind her. She walked in and sat down on the ground beside Starscream's crib, assembled only at Northstar's request since he tended to kick in his sleep; the last thing they needed was one of the sparklings crying because they had just gotten drop kicked across the room. Starscream started hiccupping between his sobs of despair, clinging tightly to her chest plate in a state of hopelessness.
She cuddled him as Sunstorm jumped up to hug his brother tightly. Starscream cuddled into Sunstorm, enjoying the warmth that his brother radiated due to his internally burning fire. Sunstorm looked up at her in despair, his confusion at his father's disgust flooding the bond. She nuzzled them both, sniffling and fighting back her tears of rage and pain, trying to keep them from breaking down anymore.
'Are you coming?' Northstar asked in annoyance.
'No, not while my sparklings are crying,' she replied in equal annoyance as both little mechs snuggled against her.
Northstar snorted in disgust before putting up a block so that he didn't feel the pain of his mate and sparklings. She sighed sadly before returning her attention to the sobbing mass of red and grey in her arms. He continued to sob, optical fluid rushing down his face uncontrollable, burying himself into her chest plate.
"I hate Daddy!" he screamed, hugging her tightly. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!"
She held him securely before forcing him to look up at her. "Starscream, don't you ever let me hear you say that again," she scolded. "You do not hate him, do you understand? He's just being an idiot right now. He loves you, even if he doesn't act like it."
He sniffled before clinging to her chest plate, trying to find some form of reassurance. She held him close as Sunstorm held onto Starscream tighter, hiding his face in his brother's shoulders. Well into the night, they cried, holding onto each other while Northstar fumed in their room; he really didn't see what the big problem was.