Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro
Summary: Plans are made, yet still need to be discussed....

Part Three

Move slowly
Beyond the colors of my eyes
Move slowly
Into the corners of my mind – Kamelot, "Center of the Universe"

Sideswipe had long ago settled himself into a seated position on one of the spare berths close to where Starscream was recharging, legs folded and elbows resting on his knees as he simply watched over the seeker. Sunstreaker had left for their room not long after their conversation with Ratchet as he liked to process new information privately, and Ratchet had likewise left after giving the red twin strict orders to not touch anything and to contact him immediately on the off chance that his patient came out of his drugged slumber sooner than expected.

The Lamborghini snickered briefly. Given how quickly the seeker had gone under, it would take an earthquake, the volcano erupting, and a Decepticon attack to wake Screamer at this point. He shook his head slightly as he let his thoughts wander back to the conversation with Ratchet hours before he took up his post.

The medic had barely finished explaining what little he knew about the importance of trines to a seeker when Sunstreaker was speaking again. "And why are you telling us any of this? Aside from our own curiosity, there's no reason for you to share it."

Ratchet snorted. "There are two reasons, the first of which needs to be prefaced with this: do you two think I'm blind or stupid? You've only been watching that mech as if you're the scientist and he's a completely new species for vorns now," was directed to Sunstreaker. The medic's gaze turned to Sideswipe as he added, "And as for you, I'm surprised your optics don't have a pink cast over them. I think the only mech on base who doesn't know you have a thing for Starscream is Starscream!"

Sunstreaker shot his twin a smirk and Sideswipe could almost feel his faceplate heating up. "I, uh, I don't think that counts as a valid reason..." he mumbled, rubbing at his helm while avoiding optic contact with either of the other mechs. Had he really been that obvious?

The medic shook his head and continued, "The other reason, and the main one, is that in all the time I've known Starscream, there have only been two occasions that he came down from one of his attacks in a span of less than a full solar cycle. Both times there was one common denominator: you two."

Confusion was evident in both the twins' optics. "Aside from the fact that you pretty much just confirmed that all this has been going on for ages," Sunstreaker remarked with forced casualness, "that doesn't make any fragging sense."

"No, it doesn't," Ratchet agreed readily enough. "However, the fact still remains that Starscream dropped almost instantly out of a murderous rage when the pair of you dragged him off of Skywarp, and that he was approaching a state of lucidity in spite of being locked in a fit of depression by the time you brought him to my repair bay today. And that is something that has never happened before now."

The Lamborghinis stared at the medic in surprise, silently whispering to one another over their bond as they debated on just why this was significant. Finally Sideswipe spoke. "What do you think is the reason, Ratchet?"

The red twin vented another sigh and flopped back on the berth, shifting around so that he could still see Starscream. He was still trying to process Ratchet's theory that the seeker's emotional programming center was apparently locking onto him and Sunstreaker as candidates for a trine bond. Neither he nor his twin were exactly flyer-builds, which was the medic's assumption as to why, exactly, 'the stubborn slagger' had continuously rejected earlier offers to attempt the bond amongst the science crew.

Sideswipe shook his head slightly. "You," he addressed the prone figure on the opposite berth, "have got to be the most contrary mech ever created. And I'm including Sunny on that list."

In spite of his words, he was still worried. Ratchet had been right on one thing; Sideswipe had been watching Starscream for a long time. And he could admit to himself, now that he'd had time to piece everything together, that the signs of a problem had been there all along. He had simply been writing it all off as the extreme side of the seeker's personality even as Sunstreaker, in his usual 'us against the world' mindset, was recording it all as a reason to avoid Screamer.

The Lamborghini shook his head again and shuttered his optics. He could talk to Sunny later; right now he just wanted to recharge for a little while before the inevitable argument with his stubborn twin brother.

He was going to help his seeker, no matter what Sunstreaker said.

Sunstreaker was grateful in a way that his brother had opted to stick around the repair bay rather than come back to their room; it gave him both the time and the distance he needed in order to fully process everything that Ratchet had told them, including that insane theory of his. Although, in some way, said theory made a bit of sense to the yellow mech.

"I'm no seeker, so I can't say exactly," Ratchet had mused aloud after Sideswipe's question. "But if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that Starscream's programming had been tracking candidates."

"Candidates for what?" Sunstreaker asked, optics narrowing slightly even as he glanced over at his twin. Sideswipe shrugged minutely back before returning his gaze to the medic.

"Again, I'm only guessing, but I would say potential trine mates."

The twins exchanged another confused look, although Sideswipe was looking thoughtful. "You said earlier that seekers spend their entire lives in trines. How does that work? I mean, Sunny and I shared the same spark, so that's where our bond comes from."

Ratchet nodded. "From what Starscream told me vorns ago, a seeker's first trine consists of himself and his creators; their sparks already share the familial bond and the trine bond forms through that. Secondary trine bonds come about from sharing a small amount of spark energy, in the same manner that brotherhood bonds are formed in mechs that don't share creators."

"So there's an element of trust required," Sunstreaker mused. It certainly sounded that way to him, and it was somewhat surprising to realize that Starscream – a mech known for always having something biting to say about his Decepticon cousin and for preferring his own company – held the twins in high enough regard to consider them his trine even without the bond in place.

"But we're groundrunners," Sideswipe pointed out with a frown. "Wouldn't that be considered a bad thing to a flyer?"

"That's the main reason I think the stubborn slagger's turned down the offer every time I've made it," the medic growled. "However, it doesn't seem like his programming cares about that at this point."

Sideswipe actually looked like he was seriously giving the idea consideration. Sunstreaker wasn't too certain, though, and said as much: "I know that the decision is Screamer's, but he's not the only one who'll be affected by this. I don't know, Ratchet..."

"I'd suggest thinking over it before making a decision," the medic told them, shooting a stern look at Sideswipe. "Both of you."

Thus Sunstreaker's retreat to his and Sideswipe's quarters. It was a lot of information to process, and it was a decision that he couldn't take lightly. The Lamborghini had no doubt that his twin was willing to form the trine bond – to be quite honest, Sideswipe was likely to try and talk the seeker into upgrading it to a full sparkbond – but he was still uncertain.

I hate being the responsible one sometimes, he grumbled mentally, slumping against the wall and rubbing at his optics. One part of him was screaming that it was a very bad idea to form any sort of a bond with an emotionally needy flyer, while a different part was already reaching out to Starscream; that was the part that had prompted him earlier to comfort the confused seeker.

And yet another part of him was nearly as infatuated with Starscream as Sideswipe was, a part that he had kept carefully hidden away.

"Slag it all to the pit," he complained aloud as he shoved himself up from the berth he'd been seated on, heading for the door and turning back towards the repair bay.

The only one left to convince would be Starscream whenever he woke up, and Sunstreaker wasn't about to leave that task to Sideswipe alone.

It had long ago become a habit to do a full system scan whenever he came out of a recharge cycle, and Starscream wasn't surprised to find lingering traces of a sedative in his lines as he began to slowly awaken. From what he could recall clearly, his control had slipped abruptly and thrown him into a depressive state. While it was better than another rage attack, the fact that only a few weeks had gone by between bouts was troubling.

His next few memory files were a bit fuzzy, but he could clearly recall being in the repair bay and telling Ratchet that the sedatives were only a temporary solution. Why could he...?

Oh. Well, that was interesting, in that why the pit is my programming rebelling against me kind of way.

Starscream unshuttered his optics, blinking them slowly as he noted that he was still in the repair bay. He didn't catch any of the usual sounds of Ratchet moving about, which meant either it was still too early for the medic to be in his domain or he had stepped out for a moment. In spite of this, his internal scanners were insisting that there was someone else in the room with him, and a tiny portion of his programming that he had been convinced long ago would be the deactivation of him was trying to make contact with those someones.

The seeker pushed himself up from the berth, fully intending to ignore the twins but remaining hyper-aware of their presence – and of the silent argument they were apparently engaged in. With any luck, they might be so caught up in said argument that he could slip out of the repair bay without them noticing him; he could also use this opportunity to find out exactly how much Ratchet had told them and see if he could talk Wheeljack into testing that sonic disrupter they were still tinkering with on the medic.

Hmm, no, he decided. Jack would never test something on his bondmate.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Sunstreaker's voice cut into his thoughts, killing any plans of slipping away unnoticed.

Starscream remained seated on the berth even as he turned to face the twins. The yellow mech had his arms crossed over his chestplate, scowling slightly in disapproval at the seeker's actions; Sideswipe was sitting on a nearby berth and kicking one leg a bit even as he too frowned. Apparently they'd finished their argument, or they had decided to finish it later. Either way, it was obvious that Starscream was going nowhere without them knowing.

"My guess would be, anywhere but the repair bay," the seeker finally responded after a moment, "but preferably my lab. You know, where you aren't supposed to be?"

"Yep, he's feeling like his usual cheery self again," Sideswipe noted, hopping up off the berth and walking over to stand next to his twin. It was a calculated move, blocking in the seeker in the event he tried to leave before they were finished this discussion.

"Your concern is touching," Starscream remarked dryly. That one section of his programming was still attempting to reach for the twins, and he spared a moment's attention to trying to block off the signal that had no real outlet. When his attention returned to the Lamborghinis, he found them both watching him speculatively. "What?" he snapped, annoyance colouring his tone.

Sunstreaker narrowed his optics. "We need to talk," he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"You can be as fragged off as you want," Sideswipe added, "but at least hear us out."

For a moment Starscream seriously considered telling them to go interface with themselves and leave anyway, but his emotional programming protocols were calm for the moment and he knew in the back of his processor that the reasons for that luxury were standing right in front of him. He cycled his vents in annoyance and slouched back on the berth slightly, crossing his arms in imitation of Sunstreaker's current stance.

"I'm listening."

Author's Note: Yes, yes. I'm evil to leave it off there. I think there's going to be one more section and then an epilogue.

And before anyone asks, yes, I am planning on things to get a little bit spicy for them before this is all finished. I've not yet decided if Sides'll get his way or not.