*Diary Entry*

We did it. I gave myself to him under the stars, or rather, I let him invade. He's a little rough in the berth, grabby and forceful. I have no doubt that his brother, Nemesis, would be tender. When he finished with me, he slapped my cheek, hard enough to bruise, and he smiled down at me and told me he was his now, that no one would want me because I reeked of Prime. I nodded and knotted my limbs around him, trying to make him stay. I felt cuddly, and I wanted to be cuddled, but he was not interested. I had just given him my everything, and I got nothing out of it!? How rude!

But then I found out he had a stressful day at work, and I know that I should have been a little more giving, let him pound my aft into shape as well, though I denied. *Insert longing, loving sigh* All well...as long as my lovely baby is well.

And, hey. Maybe there's a lovely baby on the way :)

-Airachnid, maybe pregnant

Later that night...

When we were happy, Airachnid had asked for a cat, and I got her one, a little tabby kitten with watery blue eyes and a pink tongue and white teeth. She was so thankful, and she kissed and nuzzled me, and we decided to call him Miles.

Miles was now seated in my lap. I patted his fur, then opened Clue Three.

Feeling a little homesick, darling?

Well, we can go back,

Back to the place that reminds us so much of home,

And pick up a good book.

Read your favorite parts to feel closer to home.

Did it do the trick?

I nearly sat up so fast that Miles couldn't hop down safely, but he did with a spit and a hiss. He was angry at me for not giving him enough warning, which was fine by me. Miles pooped in my bed when I was in the police department, clearing my name.

The place referenced in the clue was the Hall of Records, just down the road from where we stayed. I tore off down the road, and I knew Jazz had woken up from his nap in his cruiser because lights were on my tail all the way there. When I parked and got out, I smoothed down my shirt and forced my breathing to even out.

"Hey, Jazz," I said, willing myself to be cool.

I wasn't.

Jazz smiled. "Out for some late-night studying?"

I held up the one paper that wasn't the clue, and thank Primus and the AllSpark it was an article I wanted Airachnid to see. "Just wanted to know more about this."

Jazz read the article about the shootings in a nearby town and the possible link between past incidents. "Eh. If you find anything out, let me know. I'm on that case." He looped his thumbs into his belt loops. "Want me to tag along?"

What could it hurt? Jazz and I were friends, and in a few minutes, he would be off-duty and cool, back down to Earth and not up on Cybertron with Prowl and his strict rules. I nodded, and we walked in together.

We sat at a table that I had chosen specifically, drug down my favorite novel Divergent by Veronica Roth, and I flipped it open to my favorite page, when Tris found out her mother was Dauntless.

Clue Four smiled literally up at me: Clue Four ;) was scrawled across the pinkish envelope in blue ink that curled and swirled. I stroked the paper, and snapped my head up when Jazz started speaking.

He was bent over the book version of Monsters and Mysteries of America, and he was reading me a ridiculous quote from it, which made him giggle. "The coworkers that I work with," read Jazz. "Well, I hope he works with his coworkers! I laughed when I should, and I snapped Divergent shut. "Good book?" He was watching me.

"Yes. I will check it out when I am done reading about the shootings." I went to the computers, and I prayed that Laserbeak wasn't among them today. She always made me watch and read dirty things when I wanted answers to clean problems. But she was gone, probably perched on Soundwave's desk while he preened her with his fingers. He was so gentle with her, and I envied that closeness. I ddin't have it with Miles, who demanded food and water and his litter box cleaned. I hoped he hadn't left a present for me thanks to my behavior earlier.

Jazz leaned on my chair behind me, resting his chin on my head. Long ago, I enjoyed it, but now, my skin felt like my blood was actually pins and needles, and I felt squirmy, sick, and itchy all over.

I needed to talk to Nemesis.

I manufactured a yawn, forced my trembling limbs to stretch. "Mm..."

"Sounds like you need to take a nap," Jazz whispered. Fondness covered his words, and I knew I had deceived him. "You had a tough day, chief."

"Mm," I said again, and I logged off. I checked out Divergent, stroked Laserbeak's tail when she wasn't looking, and I hopped into my car.

I couldn't believe how easy this hunt was. Other years, I always needed Airachnid's help, but now...it was so easy. I knew this next one wouldn't be easy. It wasn't.

It's that time of the month.

I crave, you crave, we all crave.

But what should we do?

Pickles and mayo?

Lock ourselves away for the night?

No, instead we will go exploring in the night,

Maybe carve into a few mossy trees.

I did not remember a time when I took Airachnid away during her period. We nearly always remained at home, and I knew that because every time I offered to drive her somewhere, she growled at me, save one time. One time, I got her to see the movie version of Divergent. That was the last happy time.

Miles was waiting for me, as was a nicely piled present, but not stinky. It was purge. He had eaten grass. Again. I grimaced and cleaned it up.

I pinned the clue on the fridge, sat at the island and stared at it as if it would suddenly make sense, and then I picked up my phone and dialed my brother. Nemesis cheerfully chirped that he would be there within fifteen minutes. I thanked him, then crushed my face into my hands and sighed loudly.

Nemesis let himself in, plopped down into a chair, and he laid out a handful of berries. "Yum," he prompted, and he pushed them toward me. They were my favorites, but I felt like doing an imitation of Miles, only this time I wouldn't clean it up. I would let Miles do it for a change.

He shrugged and swept the blueberries back into his palm. He set them in the fridge and instead pulled out a glowing pink bottle of High Grade. "May we?"

I nodded. Why not? I accepted my mug of it, and I curled my fingers around the entire thing, hugging it close. Its warmth crept through the ceramic piece, and it still startled me how warm High Grade was even after it sat in the fridge for months. Nemesis downed his mug three times over, and stared at me expectantly.

"You need me to spend the night?"

I nodded again.

"We'll find Airachnid."

I nodded, again.

He reached over, smiled, and patted my hands. Then he got up, hugged me from behind. "Brush your teeth, will you?"

Nemesis took up residence in the guest room. I was going to sleep on the couch, but I was interrupted (rudely) by a knock on the door.

I opened it and cursed. "Slag."

"Shh," she hissed and she pushed in. She was wearing the littlest dress ever made. Her aft was barely concealed, and in the light she stood in, I saw it was sheer.

"This is not a good time," I whispered, and I pressed a finger to my mouth when she wailed.

"But I walked all this way," she whimpered, and she collapsed into me. Any other time, I would coddle her, but now I was burning with anxiety. "There's a cop in your driveway...you know that?" She sniffled up at me.

"Did he see you?"

"He was sleepin'," she smiled and she went over to the couch, sitting in an un-femme-like way. She had neglected underwear, and a thought came to me.

"Did you leave that red thing in my office?"

"What?"

"I found underwear in my office."

She frowned at me. "You're not making any sense. I didn't go into your office in weeks. You told me not to. Don't you believe me?" Her face crumpled, and I was quick to kiss her tears away. She was immediately better.

"I believe you, I believe you. I love you, you know?"

She pouted and crossed her arms. "You didn't seem excited to see me!"

I heard Nemesis roll over in his berth and I groaned. "My mate is missing! You can't expect me to be pleased to see my mistress."

That snapped her to attention. She smiled. "Airachnid is gone? At last?"

"Shhh!" I pushed my hair back. "Not so loud. Nemesis is upstairs."

"I can't believe it! We can be seen in public together and-"

I shoved a finger against her lips, smudging her lipstick. What, exactly, did she think would happen between us tonight? "Go home."

"What?"

"I need to sleep, so I can find Airachnid."

Her eyes watered. "Don't you love me anymore?"

I'm a nice guy. Did I plan to cheat on Airachnid? No, of course not, and I didn't expect myself to cheat on her with a student of mine, either. I was old, but in human standards, I was a good forty-one. Axa was twenty-two and childish, so innocent. And warm where Airachnid cut me off. Axa was too scared to anger me, as if I'd hurt her. I'm a strong mech, but I don't harm out of anger.

"Of course I do."

She unzipped her dress. "Prove it," she challenged, and the sheer fabric fell to her ankles.

And so I did.

ooo

Morning found us, and I shoveled Axa into her dress and out the door, believing myself to be safe. I had a slept-in look, my hair was a mess, and my breath reeked of sleep (again!), but I didn't look like I had fragged a femme into my couch. I couldn't say the same thing for my couch, and so after I had slipped a tee over my head and stepped into shorts, I padded into the kitchen to get cleaning supplies, and there was Nemesis, his hand wrapped firmly around a mug of coffee.

His eyes were black, hard, and cold. He was regarding me with a look that prompted my flight response to do its job. I had a feeling if he squeezed too hard, I would lose a mug, and I tried to smile and act innocent, but I knew he saw Axa. I knew I was busted. I knew he wouldn't let me off the hook.

"You stupid pile of slag. I believed you. I thought you were innocent." He sipped his coffee, then tossed it back. It burned all the way down. I could feel it, and I could see that he wasn't bothered. When he spoke, his voice had hardened. "What have you done?"

"I didn't kill Airachnid," I blurted.

His eyes narrowed. "I didn't say that you did."

And so I literally and figuratively backed myself into a corner. "I-I mean, I wasn't the cause of her disappearance." He was right over me now, and I was on the floor, curled up. "Frag."

"Yeah, you better be scared. Here I stood, thinking my lovely brother was just that: lovely, and sweet, and too innocent to know what cheating was. But now. For the past three years you have been fragging an eighteen year old?"

"Twenty-two," I mumbled. I lowered my head, and he growled.

"Why?"

"Because Airachnid was snipping me out of her life! I felt alone, and I needed someone to cherish and hold me." I lowered my head so my chin rested on my chest.

"You sound like a sniffling femme, you know that?" He growled and he walked back to the island, splashing High Grade into his mug and downing it in an instant. "I can't believe you..."

My eyes were drawn to the clue, and I froze. I hadn't taken Airachnid to the forest, but I had taken Axa there while she was bleeding. I got up and tucked the clue down, staring at Nemesis.

"Feed Miles, will you?"

He grunted, baring his teeth. "You better be innocent. You better not be the cause of Airachnid's death. If you are, I refuse to recognize you as a brother."

I gulped, and I prayed I could convince Nemesis I was innocent, because Nemesis did awful things to those who did evil and were not related to him. He would scold, ignore, and verbally rebuke if you were related, but if you were not...you took a dirt nap. I didn't want to take that nap.