Ratchet sighed and rolled over, which brought him face to face with Sideswipe.
"Oh primus…"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o
After escaping the horde of yammering mechs in the med bay, Ratchet moved swiftly down the corridors looking for two particular troublemakers. He had a mission: Find the twins and talk about his feelings… Which didn't sound so corny in his head when he came up with this plan…
Ratchet had already scoured half the Ark, and hadn't seen so much as a trace of the Lamborghini twins. On top of that no one else had seen or knew where the two hooligans were. The two weren't in the crowd of mechs in the med bay, they weren't on duty, and they weren't in the rec room. Ratchet had to have asked half a dozen bots if they knew of the twin's whereabouts. There was only a hand full of places in the Ark where they could be and Ratchet had already checked half of them. He figured the only places left were either in the training room or in their quarters. If they weren't there then he would have to postpone his search until another time.
"Where are they?" He sighed jadedly.
"Where's who?"
Ratchet jumped and spun around to face Jazz, who had snuck up on him.
"W-what?" Ratchet stammered.
"Where's who?" Jazz happily repeated himself.
"Jazz for once in your life, mind your own business" Ratchet said with a 'humph' and walked away.
"Where's who ain't that hard of a question. The 'who' refers to the twins, who you have been lookin for pretty much all day." Jazz's voice called after Ratchet, which made him stop in his tracks and twitch ever so slightly. Ratchet sighed and turned once again to face the Porsche. Jazz just stood there and smiled back, as if he had never said a word. This was all just a game to him, and hate it as much as he like, Ratchet would have to play along if he wanted to get any information out of Jazz.
"And what about the where, Jazz?" Ratchet forced a smile.
"What about it?" Jazz snickered, but then hurriedly backed away as Ratchets fist clenched and he began to move threateningly towards him. "The where is the location of the twins, which is their quarters, or at least that's where they said they were going."
Ratchets smile slowly changed from a forced lopsided grin to a maniacal smirk.
"Thank you, Jazz." Ratchets voice was calm but still carried a clearly distinguishable evil in it.
"Go get em, Lover boy." Jazz sang before Ratchet had a chance to turn and leave.
As a reply Ratchet gawked in utter disbelief, followed by a rebound of "W-what do you mean lover boy?!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Sideswipe was recharging in his berth? But why?
He looks so peaceful… Ratchet brought his hand to the sleeping mechs cheek and began to stroke it lightly, but then jerked it back when he realized what he was doing. He focused on the sleeping mech beside him, trying to recall the night's events. "Oh primus…" He moaned once again as the memories of the night flooded his CPU. 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oThat lazy lop-sided grin that Jazz was famous for made its way across his features. Ratchet was playing along to his game (even if the medic didn't realize it) and it was vastly amusing to the Porsche.
"Well!?"
"Well what?"
"I am getting tired of your little game Jazz!" The medic snarled in warning.
"Oh… But I'm enjoyin it so much, Ratch…" Jazz replied in a false tone of innocents to mask his amusement.
Ratchet threw his arms forwards, caught the special ops officer by his shoulder and jerked him forwards, which brought his face within about an inch of the medics.
"Well, I am not!" The medic's answer was a low growl.
Ratchet straightened in an attempt to leave but Jazz throw his arms around the medic's neck and pulled him in to an awkward hug, resting his forehead on Ratchets.
"Wha!?… L-let me go, Jazz!"
"If your not gonna play by the rules then I'm gonna have ta change the game, lover boy" Jazz cooed merrily.
Ratchets optics narrowed. 'I might as well play along.'
"And what kind of game do you have in mind, Jazz?"
"A guessin game." Jazz's lop-sided grin was replaced with a wide mischievous smile.
"Hummm… And how will this game work?"
"Guess." Came the Porsche playful reply. "I will ask you a question and you will have to answer it, if ya get it right I will ask another question. If ya get it wrong, I'll remain quite til ya get it right."
"Very well, begin." The medic nodded in agreement.
"Why do ya think I keep callin ya lover boy?"
"Because you're obnoxious?" Ratchet snickered. In all truths, the medic had a good idea why Jazz was calling him 'lover boy' but the medic found it hard to believe he had been broadcasting his feelings in such a way that others around him could pick up on them.
Silence.
Ratchet let out a burst of air from his vents, which was the equivalent to a human sigh.
"Because I am in love with the twins?"
"Very good, next question!" Jazz sang happily.
"Wait just a minute, how could you possibly know I have feelings for the twins? I didn't tell anyone except Wheeljack… And I am not one to broadcast my mind-set." The medic snapped.
"Uh uh… I'm the one askin the questions, Ratchet…" Jazz paused. "Next question and this ones gonna be hard. Why do ya think I know ya love em?"
Ratchet scowled, this game was beginning to get on his nerves. "Because of how the twins and myself have been acting the past few months?"
Silence.
'What's wrong with that answer?! Maybe he wants something more to the point. I mean the behavior thing is fairly obvious…' Ratchets thoughts were beginning to get disorganized and scattered, as he tried to keep his temper in check. 'Think! When could our feelings towards each other have became apparent?'
Ratchets optics widened. "In the rockslide… I heard that the twins were quite depressed, even frantic…over my injures… And Sideswipe was holding on to me, as if I would dissipate if he let go…" As the medic talked his voice became softer until it was a quite hum.
"Bingo." Jazz whispered into his audios. "Last question, what do ya think ya should do now?"
"What I was going to do before you stopped me: Find the twins and tell them how I feel towards them." The medic replied matter-of-factly.
Silence.
"Slag it Jazz, what was wrong with that answer?" Ratchet barked, now completely worn down by Jazz's game.
"What do ya think was wrong with it?" Jazz calmly replied.
"I don't fragging know what was wrong with it!" The medic roared.
Jazz pushed away from Ratchet, breaking the awkward embrace and began to walk away slowly.
"What do you plan to do after you confess your love to the twins?" Jazz called back.
"Wha…What do you mean?" Ratchet voiced helplessly.
Jazz stopped and turned to look at the medic. "When you have told the twins you love them…then what are you planning to do? Do you plan to move in with them? Or will they move in with you? Are you ready for a relationship? Are they?"
Ratchets optics widened yet again. He hadn't really gave the matter that much thought, he had been so focused on telling the twins how he felt that he didn't stop to think how the matter would end up.
"Well I guess we will have to cover that area in our discussion, when I find them."
"Wrong again…" Jazz sighed.
"What?! How was that wrong!!" Ratchet barked nonplused.
"The twins ain't talkers, their doers… Ya' better be ready for immediate action. I doubt ya' will be able to have a long discussion on the matter of how y'feel. The twins ain't gonna sit down with ya' and made a solid plan for th' future. Your gonna have ta' be more impulsive." Jazz finished off with a wave of his hand and began to make his way down the hallway once again.
"And how would you know?" Ratchet was beginning to get defensive.
"Cause I'm just like th twins when it comes ta that area. See ya around, Ratch" The Porsche said as he rounded a corner and disappeared form sight.
"More impulsive?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
How could I do this?! What was I thinking?! I wasn't thinking, that's it! Of course I wasn't thinking!! How can one confuse 'talking' with 'overloading', when they are thinking?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!
"But they were good…" Ratchet whined in an attempt to calm his raging voice-of-reason.
Beside him Sideswipe began to chuckle and his optics slowly flickered on. "Well thank you, we did try our best." He managed in between giggles.
Ratchet had half a mind to twack Sides up side the head and would have too, if it weren't for a clever yellow hand slipping inside a seam and fondling sensitive wires. Ratchet immediately stiffened as a response to the caress and turned his head to get a better look at who was behind him.
'Sunstreaker… Of course its Sunstreaker, who else would it be?' Ratchet mused to himself. On the outside all he could manage was a soft whimper because the caress made coherent worlds damn near impossible."Glad you liked it." Sunstreaker whispered silkily into his adios.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Well you see I really like you two. More then just like, hell I love you guys. And that's what I am here to say. I. Love. You. If you don't share my feelings that's all well and good, but if you do then I think starting a relationship would be a smart move… A smart move?" He frowned.
Ratchet stood just outside the twin's quarters, talking mindlessly to the door that separated him from his goal. He was so close now… So why the sudden hesitation? Was it because of what Jazz had said or was it that his own cowardice had caught up with him?
"A smart move? What am I, a businessman? No, no that's not right! I gotta have more feeling behind it! Ok, again… Ummm... Primus…" he sighed as he rested his head on the door.
"I gotta put more… how does the human saying go? Oh yes-- I gotta put more oomph in it…" He stood up strength again. "What the slag is 'oomph' anyways? Why do humans have such stupid sayings? Do humans even use half the stupid sayings they have made up? Why have so many sayings if you are never going to use them…" He paused and let a sad strangled sigh escape his vents. Yet again his head came to rest on the door in front of him.
"Who am I kidding? I can't do this. Who do I think I am? I can't bag the twins! Look how many others have tried! Look how many others are attracted to the twins! The have the pick of the liter, so what hope do I have in comparison!? Why would they pick me, a grumpy mech that's way past his prime, when they can pick a young good-looking mech?" Ratchet pushed away from the door.
"I should just leave before I embarrass—" Ratchet was cut off as the door to the twins quarters opened with a swoosh.
"Look, I said I was goin'ta get it, so get off my case you-- Ratchet?" The red twin stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the medic standing outside his quarters with a totally lost look on his face. "What are you doing?"
"Oh! Sideswipe I was… I was going to tell you… I… Your busy, I will just go… and come back later…" Ratchet voiced timidly.
"You wanna talk? Well come on in then." Sideswipe cooed as he pulled Ratchet into his room and closed the door behind him. "Wouldn't want anyone listening in on us. Eavesdropping is fun, but not when others do it to you. So what's up?"
Sunstreaker had moved to his brother's side and now both twins looked at the medic expectantly, the look made Ratchet feel inexplicably sick.
"I want to… want to… talk…about…about." Ratchet stuttered helplessly.
"Get on with it." Sunstreaker, who had quickly grown tired with Ratchets display of shyness, snapped irritably.
At that moment Ratchet deiced he couldn't do it, as a wave of anxiety swept over him. 'This is all too overwhelming! I gotta get outta here!'
"Listen, I was just coming to see if every thing was going good with you guys." Ratchet felt like kicking himself. To afraid to confess his own feelings, a new low.
"We are doing fine." Sunstreaker continued meanwhile, apparently not noticing the waves of inquietude and uneasiness that were flowing off the medic.
"Oh… well good. Then I will be off."
"Ok, bye." Sunstreaker raised an optic ridge at the fidgety medic, as said medic turned hurriedly for the door. But just as Ratchet reached for the control pad to open the door a hand snatched up his and drew him backwards.
"W-what?" Stammered a now sickenly terrified medic.
"Sideswipe what the slag are you doing? Trying to pull his fragging arm off?!" Snapped the yellow twin. But there came no answer from the red twin who had ducked his head as a sulking child would.
"Well, let go of him!" The yellow twin snarled, when it was apparent that there wasn't going to be a response from the red twin.
"…no…" At last there was a reply from the red Lamborghini.
"What?!" Sunstreaker growled.
"I said NO!" Sideswipe hollered and his head shot up to face Ratchet, who was wide eyed from shock.
"Sideswipe calm down." Ratchet whispered soothingly.
"No!" Came the sharp reply to Ratchets request.
"Sideswipe, your acting like a sparkling!" Sunstreaker hissed.
"No!"
"Hey, come on now… What's wrong Sides?" Ratchet made sure his tone was concerned and not totally irritated. (For Sideswipes immature behavior was pushing his buttons at this point.)
"What's wrong?! What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! This is ALL wrong!!" Sideswipe roared. "And I for one can't take it anymore… So I'm not going to!" With that Sideswipe grabbed the sides of Ratchets head and pulled him into a rough yet somehow compassionate kiss.
0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Sunstreaker pulled Ratchet into his arms and rolled over, so Ratchet was lying on top of him.
"H-hey… A little warning, if you wouldn't mind."
"Oh, I do mind. Anyways you wanted to talk?" Sunstreaker purred as he nuzzled Ratchets neck.
"I d-did… But I find it hard to concentrate when y-your playing with my neck like that." Ratchet trembled in the face of Sunstreaker's actions on his neck.
"Deal with it. Now, what did you want to say?"
Ratchet opened his mouth but then abruptly shut it. He did have quite a bit to discuss with the twins, but at the moment it just felt wrong. Because it was wrong- it was a crime to ruin the moment with a long unwanted discussion about the future.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
As fast as the kiss had started, it was over and Ratchet found himself craving more.
"Ratchet, I love you! And its not only me, my Brother loves you too! We have loved you for a long time now! And I can't hold it in anymore!" Sideswipe pause. "I know you feel the same way! Sunny and I heard your conversation with Wheeljack. You told him you love us! So there you have it! We all love each other! And so I ask you, please wont you have us?"
Ratchet stared with mixed emotions at the twins. Slowly looking from one to the other.
'Well that certainly made it easier for me. And hey, Jack was right; they did technically make the first move. But back to the present…Sideswipe asked me a question... But how to answer it? I wanna talk about the future. Get a good sense on where the two stand. Now is a good time to bring that up. No, wait… What did Jazz say? "Be more impulsive." easier said then done…' Ratchet sighed and shifted his weight to one side. 'Now or never, as they say.'
And with that he leaned forwards and locked lips with Sideswipe. Both twins were dumfounded by the response Ratchet chose. Both had expected something lame like a request to talk about 'their feelings' or to 'make plans for the future', but the situation had taken a completely unexpected turning. One that the twins liked greatly.
"Listen…"Ratchet said in between the kisses. "I'll do you a favor and skip the parts that I know you don't want to do, like discussing… anything, and go right to the part I know you do want to do… like…like"
"Interfacing?" Sideswipe chuckled in between kisses.
"Yes that." Kiss, "But then after that I wanna talk. You get that?" Ratchet finished.
"Deal." Sideswipe panted.
"Good." And with everything that was going to be said said Ratchet pushed Sideswipe back on to his berth. Sideswipe collapsed onto it with a yelp. Apparently he hadn't noticed that Ratchet was ever so slowly pushing him backwards as they were talking. Ratchet made a gesture for Sunstreaker to join in, and the yellow bot unquestioningly obeyed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Because it was wrong; it was a crime to ruin the moment with a long unwanted discussion about the future. Ratchet quickly decided to, instead on having a conversation, just take charge and lay down the law.
"Listen, this is how its gonna be. One: You guys are going to move into my quarters by the end of the week. Two: I am a clean freak, and by looking at your quarters I can tell you are not, so you try to be cleaner and I'll try to deal with it. And three: No more flirting with Bluestreak."
"Ok, the moving and being clean thing I can do but, came on, flirting with Bluestreak is a habit. No need to be jealous." Sideswipe protested.
"I don't care. No flirting."
"Find, but just for the record- Habits die hard… Especially ours." Sideswipe whined.
Habits die hard, yet another human saying, but for some reason Ratchet didn't seem to regard this one as being stupid or redundant.
In fact he rather liked it.
