Here we go...
The beaker hit the wall with a loud crash, leaving a trail of greenish yellow sludge following in its wake. The mechs in the room paid it no attention. They had a much bigger yellow smear to deal with.
"Sunstreaker! You must get in control of yourself right now!" Ratchet snarled, as he pinned the golden mech to the berth.
"Let me see her!" Sunstreaker had by-passed rationale. He was deep in his programming. There were shouts for sedatives and for Sideswipe. It might take both to calm the mech.
"Carina is in the showers, Sunstreaker. She is being well taken care of by Moonracer. A femme. There is no threat to you." Wheeljack was trying to rationalize with the mech, unknowing that Sunstreaker had surpassed all rational processing.
The other mechs could tell Sunstreaker that there was no threat to the femme or to his claim on her, but his mind would not let him rest until he could see it with his own optics.
Sideswipe had left the Medbay for only a few breems, to retrieve energon and ask Prowl to commute their time in the brig for a few days. Now, he was running back to the Medbay to try to rein in his brother.
It was Sideswipe's own fault that Sunstreaker was even experiencing this programming. He had allowed his own feelings for the feisty femme to slip through the bond to his twin. Sideswipe had the ability to rationalize a little bit better than his brother, when it came to matters of the spark.
The gladiator inside of Sunstreaker was the ruling personality inside of him. Sideswipe knew that there was a softer side to his brother. Inside the stone cold gladiator was a loving and supportive mech. Unfortunately, life in the gladiatorial ring was not a glamorous and yielding lifestyle. It was harsh and brutal.
Sideswipe knew that there was a need to break through the gladiator, but right now, they just needed to calm down the melee warrior.
Sideswipe allowed his feet to run to where his twin was struggling against his medic. It was easy to allow his body to take him to the other half of his soul. It was innate. It was instinctive. It was just like they had been doing since they were sparked.
"Sunny! Bro! Chill!" He announced as he burst into the 'bay. Over their bond, he sent a feeling of tranquility and of inner peace. Sunstreaker turned reddish optics towards his twin, focusing solely on the feelings coming from the bond.
"Where is she?" He roared at his twin. "Where?" Ratchet and 'Jack were both holding one shoulder of the melee warrior, attempting to hold him at bay. Luckily, Ratchet had the forethought to disengage his weapons programming.
"Sunny. She's with Moonie. Warming her frame in the washracks. There's no need to freak. She's safe. You're safe. Disengage your programming. You are stronger than this. Don't let your emotions rule you." Sideswipe's optics cut into his brother's. Blue met reddish brown. Many things were said, but nothing was uttered.
There was no need to have words between the two of them anymore. Swipe stepped forward and placed one hand over his brother's spark chamber. Sunstreaker's optics offlined as he tried to get in control of his emotions. Sideswipe did what he could, sending waves of surrender and love to his brother. Sideswipe had always been pivotal in calming the demons within Sunstreaker, but it seemed that this time; he had caused the demons to awaken.
A sense of calm came over Sunstreaker and he allowed himself to go limp in the embrace of the mechs around him. Ratchet and Wheeljack kept hold of the mech until they were certain that he was not going to try to attack again. Ratchet gently loosened his grasp, guiding the yellow mech back to his berth, where Sunstreaker sat upon the berth like a defeated mech. His entire posture screamed that he had just fought Unicron and the Fallen. And survived. But, he didn't want to. His back was against the wall, legs drawn up to his chassis and his helm in his hands.
"What's going on in here?" Moonracer's lithe form was in the doorway, one hip gently resting on the frame. In her hands was a chart, but she seemed less than concerned. The femme behind her, however, was eyeing the chart like it held the answers to life.
"Moonracer! Give me that damn chart!" Carina growled, making another swipe for the data-pad. However, her joints were still weak from being frozen and then thawed. She felt weak as a rusted bolt, but she needed to know what Moonracer had written down.
"Carina! You don't need this chart. There's nothing in it that you need to know. Stop being irrational and go lay down on your berth. It's the third door on the right. I turned the heater on before we left, so it's ready for you. Go recharge." Moonracer's only movement had been to bring the chart closer to her middle, protectively.
Ratchet's optics were honed in on his mate's. They hadn't been bonded for almost five hundred years for nothing. They could read each other like an unlocked data-pad. She needed to tell him something. Something about Carina. Interesting.
Sunstreaker's helm came bobbed up marginally. His optics onlined slowly, as his helm rose from his hands. Hearing Carina's voice had reignited some of the fire in his optics, and Sideswipe immediately felt the rush of desire and protectiveness through their bond.
Sideswipe moved to his brother's side and sat down next to him, throwing his arm around Sunstreaker's shoulders. To Carina, it looked like the two brothers were relaxing and supporting each other. In reality, Sideswipe was anchoring his brother to the berth, as well as sending him calm emotions.
Ratchet strode forward, getting so close to Moonracer that their chassis nearly touched. Whatever bonding issues they were having would have to be put aside for the sake of their patients, but Ratchet was not making any apologies to his mate.
Ratchet smoothly slipped one arm around his mate and the other around Carina, gently ushering both the femmes out of the room. The door swished shut behind the medic, leaving the twins to themselves on the berth.
Wheeljack bounced nervously on his feet. His fins were dark, but his entire body screamed his discomfort with the situation. He stared at the door for almost a breem before glancing towards the twins. Two sets of optics were glaring at him blantantly.
"I guess…I'll just be…going. Then. Okay."
"Carina. You should have told us."
Ratchet and Moonracer were towering above her berth, casting her in shadow. Carina felt like a sparkling again. Here they were, her sire and her femme creator, both intent on punishing her and letting her know that they were disappointed in her.
"I…didn't want to worry anybody. It's my own problem. No one else's. Therefore, you both should just turn around and walk out of here." Moonracer and Ratchet exchanged a dark look. They were both moving their helms a little bit, making them look like tiny bobble headed dolls. Carina nearly giggled aloud. Bonded pairs looked so funny when they were communicating over their bond.
Ratchet sighed loudly, signaling the end of the conversation. Moonracer placed one small hand on his forearm, before gently slipping out of the room. Ratchet watched her leave, and the softness to his optics made Carina look twice at the medic. Like most of them, there were more layers to him than met the optic.
"Carina. I must impress upon you the severity of your lie of omission." Ratchet's soft blue optics hardened quickly to a deeper, darker blue.
"I must impress upon you that your scans were insufficient to pick it up in the first place." Carina smirked, settling back against the wall, arms folded snugly around one knee. Her posture belied the sense of shame and guilt she was feeling. She should have told them, but weakness wasn't usually tolerated in war. Not even among the Autobots.
"I am usually somewhat dependent upon my patients telling me if they are in pain. You, however, have inspired me to delve deeper into any little femmes I may come into contact with." Ratchet stopped talking, taking in her devil-may-care posture. "If you're in pain, why didn't you come to me? Why not Moonracer? We can help you. We can fix you."
Carina thought about it for a moment. Ratchet and Moonracer had proven themselves to be decent 'Bots with decent sparks. Maybe it was time to come to terms with her problem.
"I'm…afraid." At Ratchet's upturned optic ridge, she bristled. "Yes, Ratchet. Even I have feelings. Fear is one of them."
"Why are you afraid?" Ratchet's gaze was sharp, his optics busy searching hers.
"Because," She stopped, thinking about what she wanted to say to the medic. "Because…I don't want to be tossed away. I'm not suffering through that again."
Ratchet continued to stare at the young femme before him. It occurred to him that none of them had even bothered to learn of her past. All they knew was that she had shown up on the latest transport ship. Before that…nobody knew.
"I don't know where you came from before, or what you've been through, but there's no reason to worry. We'll never abandon you. You'll always have place among the Autobots. So long as you pledge allegiance to our cause and to the Prime of Cybertron, you'll be safe with us."
Ratchet's optics were bright and his posture had straightened marginally. He seemed to have swollen in his armor, making him seem more like a proud warrior than a medic. Although, Carina reasoned, he had probably seen his fair share of battles, seeing that his best friends were Ironhide and Optimus Prime.
Before she could think of a reply to Ratchet's pledge, the door slid open once more, presenting Moonracer. She beckoned Ratchet with a twitch of her finger. Ratchet followed his mate dutifully, leaving Carina to her thoughts.
Sunstreaker vented. His shift in the command center was almost over. He had less than half a breem left sitting in front of this vid screen. In half a breem, he could be in the washracks, having Sideswipe help get this slag out from under his armor.
Apparently, being in the medbay for three orns was not enough punishment for Prowl. As soon as he had been released, Prowl had sent him an updated schedule of his punishment. It consisted of shifts in the medbay, shifts in the command center and shifts in the outdoor firing range. Hence, all the slag under his armor.
After this shift, though, he was out from under Prowl's tyranny. Until the next time that Sideswipe manages to talk him into another prank.
"Sunstreaker. Your shift is up." Ultra Magnus' regal voice echoed slightly in the large room, from his chair in the center of the room.
Sunstreaker nodded his head, standing and gathering his meager belongings before heading straight for the washrack. Lucky for him, Sideswipe was already there, picking slag out of his own armor.
Sunstreaker, who had training in finding anomalies, could pull shifts in the command center, but Sideswipe had been stuck doing a double shift in the field.
"It's about time you got here." Sideswipe had presented his back to him before he had even set foot into the washrack. A long, thin branch had wedged itself near its spinal relay. Sunstreaker grimaced, knowing that it was causing his twin a fair amount of pain and suffering.
He stalked forward until he was under the shower head. The solvent immediately started foaming and catching in the grime that had accumulated on his frame. He sighed as it began dissolving what it could.
Sunstreaker grabbed the branch, readying himself and his brother to pull the offending branch out. He braced himself on his brother's shoulder, steadying his grip.
"Seriously?"
Sunstreaker turned to look at the intruder. Sideswipe yowled. The branch snapped off halfway.
"Oh, slag!" Sunstreaker exclaimed, realizing what he had done. Immediately, he was on his knees, examining the branch that was still stuck in his brother's spinal relay.
"What the hell did you do, you pit spawn?" Carina's voice came from just above him as she too hit her knees beside the red mech. Her slender green digits joined Sunstreaker's bulky golden ones, framing Sideswipe's wound.
"I turned when someone interrupted us so rudely." Sunstreaker growled, surveying the mess he had made of his brother's back.
"Oh. Like slag. It's not like I walked on you two interfacing or anything. Stop being so dramatic and help Sideswipe." Carina snarled right back, her small digits digging into the gap beside Sideswipe's relays. "I think he needs to go see Ratchet."
"We're not going to go see Ratchet." Sideswipe nearly moaned, digging his fingers into the wall in front of him. "We're not. Going. To see. Ratchet."
"Maybe we should, 'Swipe."
"Maybe we should, Sideswipe."
Both Sunstreaker and Carina looked at one another sharply.
"No! Just somebody yank it out. It's not that deep." Sideswipe braced himself, one large foot making purchase on the floor behind him, the other braced in front of him.
"I can do it." Carina said, looking over at Sunstreaker. He looked back up at her.
'Wow. He's really handsome. And really close to me.' Carina thought. She immediately recoiled, feeling like her personal space was being invaded.
"Fine. Try not to dig into to his relays." Sunstreaker said, moving to stand. He took his brother into his arms, pulling him into an awkward side hug.
Carina wedged her fingers into Sideswipe's back, knowing that she had one shot at this. With solvent pouring down her frame, she concentrated. Once she had made sufficient purchase on the branch, she scooted herself onto her aft. Once seated, she braced both her feet on the wall and pushed with all her might.
With a sickening slurping noise, the branch came free, along with a large quantity of energon. Carina, a victim of physics, ended up flat on her back on the floor of the shower.
"I didn't think I'd ever get you on your back, femme." Sideswipe's handsome baritone landed on her audios like a soft balm. She had to admit, she liked that mech a lot.
She sat up, allowing her legs to stay sprawled in front of her. The floor beneath her was disgusting. It was grimy, nasty and altogether making her feel femininely grossed out. She lifted one hand off the floor, only to see a trail of slime drip to the floor.
The two mechs standing above her were absolutely no help. She had expected Sunstreaker to be an aft, but she had expected Sideswipe to be somewhat chivalrous and at least help her off the floor. Instead, she was glaring at both mechs as they enjoyed their uproarious laughter at her expense.
With a huff, she struggled off the floor, slipping onto her front as she went. When her clean front hit the disgusting mess that the mechs called the floor, the twins broke into more peals of laughter.
When she made it to her feet, there was no way she was going to face those bastards. With a huff, she swelled in her armor and stalked towards the exit, dripping slime all the way. She only made it about two thirds of the way before a pair of hand seized her arms.
The pair of hands were mismatched, one red and one gold. The smile on the red mech's face was handsome and broad, but the smirk on the gold mech's face took her breath away.
Sunstreaker must have been the most handsome mech she had ever laid eyes on, but he had the personality of a mechano-puppy that had been hit one too many times. Sideswipe, on the other hand, had a great personality but was boyishly handsome. Together, they must have been unstoppable with the femmes.
"C'mon, 'Rina. Let's get you cleaned up. You can't get out of here and let that slag dry on yourself. It'll crust over and take off your pretty paint." At the suspicious look Carina was giving Sideswipe, he shrugged. "I'll be a perfect gentlemech. I can't speak for my twin, however."
When Carina looked to Sunstreaker, he merely rolled his optics and departed from the group, heading back to the stall that they had occupied previously. He grabbed a scrub brush and began to scrub under his armor with vigor, dismissing both Carina and Sideswipe without words.
Sideswipe, on the other hand, gently guided Carina back to the shower stall and ducked her under the solvent. Sunstreaker moved back and turned on the spigot directly beside the one they were using. This let more than enough solvent to cover the trio.
Carina knew that she should play maidenly. She should slap his hands away and go to the stall next to theirs. She should dutifully wash her own plating and not become more attached to these two than she already was.
However, when she felt caring hands caress her plating, she couldn't help but sink into their embrace. At some point, Sunstreaker had joined in the fun, and all three of them were cleaning each other.
Of course, she had helped other 'Bots clean their plating and she had also been tended to. It was simply what was done. However, there had never been hands this gentle. There had never been touches this light. When the washing was done, she was lovingly toweled dry.
There was no need for words. They were all silent. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were silent also. There was no tell-tale head bobbing. There was only silence.
There was no telling why she stayed. There was no telling why they both tended to her. Sideswipe, sure. Sunstreaker? That was unexpected. Ever since they had engaged Alpha and Submissive programming, things had been very awkward between them. They had been almost friendly. Civil, even. It was starting to weird her out.
While their gentle hands rubbed her frame clean of any stray droplets of solvent, she couldn't help but be lulled into a recharge-like state. She should have been ready to interface. She should have been producing so much lubricant that it would have been leaking down her thigh. And yet…She was tired. She wanted to curl up and sleep.
She was nearly limp, locking her joints to keep from hitting the grimy floor again. Both of the mechs were being gentlemechs. They stayed far away from any lingering touches, using only what was needed to dry her, and nothing more.
Suddnely she realized. She trusted these mechs. That was the only reason she was on the verge of recharge. She shouldn't trust them. Sunstreaker was a gladiator. Tales of his slaughter reached far and wide. Sideswipe was a greedy feminizer. He was only after money and femmes. But, she couldn't help it.
Maybe it was because of her past. Maybe she was finally ready to open back up and trust again. Without trust and love, she had become a cynical shell of the femme she used to be. Maybe these mechs could help her. If she even wanted to be helped. She hadn't been able to figure that out yet.
Carina's optics began to dim, signaling that her recharge programs were taking over, regardless if she wanted them to or not. Gentle hands grasped her behind her knees, swinging her into a golden embrace.
"C'mon. Let's take her to bed." The red mech said as he started down the hallway, leading the way.
"Bet you'd never thought that you'd say that without the femme having an open port, huh?" Sunstreaker teased as he cuddled the green femme to his chest, uncaring that their color schemes clashed horribly.
"I had hoped, that one day we may have been able to bring a femme to our berth for nothing more than comfort. Maybe we've finally gotten a chance at happiness." Sideswipe answered honestly, letting his emotions rule him for once.
"I don't know if I can do this." Sunstreaker said, his faceplate dark as he gazed at the femme in his arms.
"I know. I'll try to help." Sideswipe said, resting one hand on his brother's arm. "We'll make it through this. Hopefully, in the end, we'll have a little femme sandwiched between us. Hopefully we'll have her port open by that time."
"Is that all you think about?" Sunstreaker asked as they stood outside their room.
"No. Sometimes I think about how long it's been since we cleaned our room." Sideswipe said as the door opened to show the utter chaos within the room.
"Maybe we should clean before she wakes up."
"It might be too late." Carina's soft, sleepy voice wafted up from under Sunstreaker's chin. "The good news is that I'm too tired to care."
I must say. I'm very confused. I have so many story alerts and favs, but so few reviews. I'd like more. I don't understand. Please? All I request are a few more reviews. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you didn't. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you want. Tell me you hate me. Tell me you like cookies. Just review.