Aquajet curled closer to his guardian's chassis, stirring from his recharge. Yawning, the sparkling shifted until he was wobbly sitting up, rubbing his optics as he tried to wake up from his slumber. There was a purring like sound to his other side - the one opposite Mindfreak was curled at - and Aquajet instantly realized it as being Forest; Fraxure would never stir so low as to purring, or anything of the sorts. And the sparkling was right about who it was, too; there was a nuzzle from a sharp but gentle beak against his cheek, the offender obviously trying to get him back into recharge without any fuss. Giggling, Aquajet removed his servos from his optics and playfully pushed the bird-like creature away, finding fun in this game, or just really ticklish by the attack.
"Quite it," he said with a large grin, having to squint to look at the smaller bird in the darkness.
Forest was curled up into a ball next to the sparkling, Fraxure most likely hiding under the berth and Summit lying somewhere around the quarters; he was too big to fit on the berth without being at the foot, and he didn't like sleeping there. Again Forest tried to soothe the sparkling into recharge so his master would not wake up; making that same purring-like noise - it sounded like purring with some sort of clicking added along with it - as he nuzzled the sparkling's cheek as he quietly stood up and tried to circle around the sparkling to make some sort of fort, as if it would help any if he did so. This only made the giggling worse, Aquajet obviously thinking of it as some sort of game, or it really bothering him so much, that the touches felt like tickles. He was a weird kid sometimes.
"Go back into recharge," came a raspy voice; Forest instantly stopping his movements and dropped back onto the berth while still wrapped around the sparkling as if some sort of shield, as if Mindfreak were really speaking to him rather than the sparkling.
Aquajet merely moved and peeked over the bird like creature; his Guardian hadn't moved, his helm still resting on his wrists as he had been, optics offlined. Pouting, Aquajet silently and swiftly climbed over Forest, the minicon doing nothing to stop the sparkling in the process. Thumping on his aft slightly, the little mechling turned to his servos and knee joints and simply crawling over the sheets and blankets towards the large mech's helm. Once arrived - he was surprised that Mindfreak didn't wake up, because the sheets were making so much noise when he crawled across them - Aquajet sighed and relaxed his body back on his legs, aft touching heels. He watched the so called sleeping mech for a moment, before curling a servo into a fist and gently knocking on his facial plates, in between the nose and the mouth. After a moment, ruby optics onlined, looking more tired than they should.
"What's the matter little one?" asked the same raspy voice, the large mech shifting so that he could curl an arm around the mechling and pull him closer; Forest making that same noise he had been to the sparkling as he moved quietly to the end of the berth, lying on Mindfreak's peds and presumably drifting back into recharge. "Did you have another nightmare, or can you simply not sleep?" asked Mindfreak as Aquajet relaxed against the large mech's neck; using his chin as a comfortable pillow.
"No," sighed the sparkling. "I was jus'…. Thinkin', is all." There was a moment of silence as Mindfreak gently rubbed the back of the mechling's helm with a single digit, Aquajet nearly falling back into recharge had it been for the fact that he didn't want to do such a thing just yet.
"Thinkin' 'bout what?" Mindfreak finally asked, seeing as how the sparkling was not going back into recharge anytime soon. That, and hopefully talking would bore him enough to send him back into recharge before dawn around about.
The large mech knew that he would regret it in the morning when he was fussy and cranky and all that jazz. And he would hate the sparkling being that way, too. Aquajet shifted, and would have been silent about it if it hadn't been for the sheets that they were sitting on. He knew that his guardian was expecting an answer, and would not be taking "Nothing" as one of them. Making sure his helm was comfortable against the larger mech's chin, the sparkling spoke softly, as if any louder and someone else other than Mindfreak might hear him.
"Wha' wer'…. Wha' wer' yew n' mithter Soun'wave talkin' 'bout earlier when we went t' visit?" asked the sparkling cautiously. "'C-cause, I know yew was talkin' 'bout me n' all, an' ya wouldn' tell me nuthin' 'bout it since we got back hea."
Mindfreak had dreaded this question; wanting not to answer the sparkling even though he had every right to, seeing as how he was looking for a truthful response from him. And, having the sparkling's full trust and not wanting to loose it like everyone else had, Mindfreak felt all obligation to tell him. Gently, the usually quick tempered 'bot with a wrath to die for, Mindfreak picked up Aquajet with a single servo, resting him next to his helm to where the sparkling could see his optics, making sure to cover him up with part of the large blanket so he wouldn't freeze. Thinking that this was one of Mindfreak's ways of trying to put him back into recharge without getting an answer from him, Aquajet opened his mouth to protest with a crinkled nose plate, however Mindfreak quickly silenced him with a simple shush.
"I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that question," said Mindfreak quietly, gently laying a large servo over the sparkling's body; hw could easily fit over the sparkling completely in his servo without worry, however Mindfreak did not feel like suffocating his adopted charge at the moment. "I've told you about the war and all, and how the Decepticons are taking great lengths in order to win this war early, right?" asked Mindfreak slowly. His answer was an eager nod from the sparkling, obviously wanting to hear the story he was about to be told; he was a smart mechling, and liked to learn, after all. "Well, they've just went a further step, you see," said the silver mech slowly, although he knew the sparkling was not at all stupid; why would he be explaining this to him in the first place if he was? "And they're trying to, erm, advance some Cybertronians here and -"
"What'd ya mean by advance?" Aquajet asked curiously, trying to cock his helm with no luck, due to the fact that he was laying on his side to begin with.
"Erm, like," thought aloud Mindfreak, before finding the right words. He put a finger to his lips for a moment, tapping them before seeming to find the right explanation. "You know how I have t' upgrade Fraxure and Forest sometimes, because they outgrow their old processors and forms?" Aquajet nodded. "Well, it's kinda like that, but a whole lot more. Like, if I upgraded Fraxure a whole lot in one day when he didn't need it. You get where I'm going?"
"Uh-huh," Aquajet said nearly mindlessly, so into the story he was being told before he had to go back into recharge.
"Well, that's what they're doin', pretty much," croaked the old mech. "And you see here; Shockwave asked that you be one of the, erm, first test subjects in this, t' make you better and faster and stronger an' all. He said it was because you were strong and all, and because your sire had some sort of strong bloodline that made you a good candidate."
"Well, why can't I, then?" asked the sparkling, shifting onto an elbow so he could finally cock his helm downwards; voice and expression filled with so much childhood innocence that only Mindfreak could adore without having to cover it up. "If ah'm so special, why can't ah' do it, huh?" He sounded like he was whining somewhat, even though he was trying to hide it.
"Because, little one," Mindfreak said in a soft voice, a large servo going around to cup the back of the sparkling's helm, "I've seen these types of things go through before, and a lot of innocent 'bots have gotten terrible hurt or killed because of it. And I don't wanna see you go through it, ya here?"
That was probably half the truth, the other half being that Mindfreak himself couldn't go through with it, nor could he live with himself if anything happened to the small sparkling that he had ended up calling his own. He knew he was too fraggin' old t' have one of his own, mindless that he wasn't as attractive as some out there. Blue optics watched that strange looking face for a moment, as if contemplating. And that was one thing Mindfreak actually liked about Aquajet; the sparkling was the only one, besides his minicons, who didn't do a double take on him or simply stare at the floor all the time, because, as stated earlier, he wasn't the most attractive of mechs. Finally facial plates scrunched up on the young sparkling.
"Bu' yew said tha' I was smart 'nough t' make mah own descions," whined the mechling, however much leaning back into the simple touch that Mindfreak was still giving him that he didn't want to do. "Yew said tha' ah was grown up enough an' -"
"But not enough little one," Mindfreak spoke softly; feeling sadness and anger waver off of the sparkling. The one bad thing about feeling other's emotions, thought Mindfreak, was that you could feel all of what others were feeling at the time like some sort of power rush, even without wanting to.
"Well, when'll I be?" whined the sparkling, now pouting in the darkness of the room as he curled back further into the large servo that held him up. "An' 'ow yew know tha-tha' Soun'wave'll hur' me, anyhow? Yew said yerself tha' he was good at re-buildin' an' not causin' any problems when fixin' somebody up an' all."
"Yes, well," sighed Mindfreak, feeling the need to not give up even though the sparkling had a good point. He had always told the sparkling to respect the strange mech because he had a really good reputation, and was smart when it came to a lot of things. That didn't mean that he trusted him with his sparkling, though. Sighing, Mindfreak said, "I just don't know… How you'd be able handle it, little one."
Instantly Aquajet's expression went soft, seeing his guardian's worry through the dim light. And then, just as instantly, the sparkling pushed himself forward, off of the larger servo he had been using to prop himself up, and scurried on his servos and knee joints until he reached the large mech's face. Pushing up to where he was know kneeling in front of the mechs facial plates, the sparkling wrapped his arms around his guardian's faceplates as best as he could, rubbing his face against the others slightly as he offlined his optics. He was met with a servo that covered him up completely, hiding him from view and protecting him from anything that came into view. Aquajet knew the real words that Mindfreak had spoke just then, knowing the older mech all too well; his Guardian didn't know how he could handle seeing his charge being hurt. Mindfreak had always told him that if it weren't for him, he probably would have given up long ago when he was forced to join the Decepticons, and simply be put offline permanently.
The saddest thing was that Aquajet believed that statement, because he knew that Mindfreak had been speaking the truth.
"Don't worry, little one," came the soft voice of his guardian as he slowly fell back into recharge in the darkness of the silver mech's protection, "I'll always be here for you, weather you see me or not. I promise I'll protect you as best as I can. And if I should fail, well, then you have all the more right to hate me until the day you die."
Like Aquajet ever could.
And I Feel The Faint Morning Light
Filled With Hope 'Cause
You're Here in My Life
Daw, fluff moment. The song is All That You Are by The Goo Goo Dolls.
