Some Lucky Decepticon

by Miratete

G1: Gears refuses to take a mate even though his time has come and several carriers have presented themselves. And now he's managed to offend most of the Autobots. So when he changes his mind, a vengeful Prowl steps in with a solution that will keep most everyone's pride and honor intact... Gears and two kidnapped Decepticons exempted.

10. Aftermath

Some Lucky Decepticon

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Chapter 10: Aftermath

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It had been a rough few days for Gears and his two mates.

After Hoist had confirmed pregnancy in both of the Stunticons—Gears' surging spark having all too easily proved strong enough to kindle new lives in both of them—the three endured a lot of shuffling, a lot of examining, a lot of questioning, and a lot of lecturing, as well as a lot of teasing. Worse yet was the humiliating call to Megatron in which the Decepticon leader threatened, belittled, insulted, and finally excommunicated the two Stunticons in the most painful ways he could muster at the moment. The terrified Breakdown shook so hard that half of his restraining bolts vibrated loose before he fainted. Dead End tried to be strong but ended up begging both factions to kill him well before the call ended. And just as it seemed Megatron was wrapping up his tyrannical dressing down, an angry Motormaster was brought into the conversation, who quickly became so enraged he began trashing the communications console in front of him as well as the hapless Reflector unit that had foolishly tried to stop him.

As soon as the call ended, Breakdown was rushed back to the medbay where Hoist and Ratchet examined him again to see if the newspark he carried had survived the episode. To everyone's surprise it had and even measured stronger than before. An excited Gears placed his hands upon his second mate's abdomen and declared loudly: "Tungsten! This one will be named Tungsten!"

But now at last they'd been left in peace in their new accommodations—a room that had first been a storage bay, then quarters for Skyfire, and now a place for Gears' family-to-be. Dead End and Breakdown had immediately retreated to the berth to relax, venting deeply and huddling together in the respite from the bustle and trauma of the day. Their plating still stung where some unknown but enthusiastic Autobot had sanded off their Decepticon insignia.

Gears stood in the room's center, looking across at his two exhausted mates, feeling far more sorry for them than for himself for once. While the rest of his faction considered them a couple of fatalistic, paranoid freaks, he saw them now as two lost and needy Cybertronians—two lost and needy Cybertronians that were carrying his children. He'd stood beside them through the roughness, watchful that the other Autobots were polite and treated them with some modicum of respect. He'd held onto their frames through Megatron's and Motormaster's punishing rants. In fact he'd tried to still Breakdown when he'd begun to vibrate but had been shaken right off.

And for once now Gears was actually quiet and had nothing to say or even anything to complain about. Instead he went and sat in his favorite chair to think.

After a while the two Decepticons decided they should look about their new home. They'd been uncuffed but the restraining bolts remained. Ratchet had informed them that their weapons and transformation cogs would be returned to them once the sparklings were independent, and that they would be allowed to return to their own faction if they desired. At least that was the theory, that the Stunticons would be sent home eventually, leaving their children behind with their sire. In compensation energon and medical equipment was to be given to them. Again, that was the theory. Everyone assumed the two Stunticons, being Decepticons, would happily walk away from their offspring without a fuss or a care. It had been part of the call to Megatron, though Megatron had sworn to Primus, Unicron, and Santa Claus that he'd not allow them to return.

Gears watched his two mates open drawers and look through the cupboards and study their accommodations. He fought the urge to smile when he thought about the newsparks inside of them, the tiny new lives beginning to assemble protoframes around themselves. He'd actually done it—actually fathered new mechs. Something he'd sworn to himself never to do, at least while the war was still on. And yet somehow it felt right, even though the new lives had been created within members of the opposite faction. It was all so wrong and so right at the same time.

A knock came on the door, which immediately slid open. Brawn came in with a crate of belongings in his hands. The two Stunticons stared without saying anything. Neither was keen on his presence and the news that Brawn would be living with them had not been received with any pleasure. But Brawn had opted to return to his roommate, even volunteering to help look after the sparklings.

Gears was happy to have his one friend back, and the two of them took the crate and went into one of the two sub-rooms of the suite, the one that would become the warrior's personal bedroom. The other sub-room had been designated a nursery. Gears, Dead End, and Breakdown would sleep in the main room, Skyfire having left his large berth for the three to share. Apparently the scientist had all but officially moved in with the Aerialbot leader prior to this shuffle and did all his recharging in Silverbolt's bed. The need for a place for Gears' family had just made his move official.

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The news went out the next morning, the twins gleefully posting their message and both Ratchet and Hoist confirming that it wasn't some cruel joke but actually an amazing coincidence.

Both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were surging, and "given recent occurrences" they would be all too happy to spark-up any carrier wishing to conceive. No courting or flirting or even the traditional gifts and favors would be required, though gifts and favors would be nice. A would-be carrier simply had to make a date with either or both of the pair. However they made it quite clear that their generosity extended only to the siring of newsparks, and they would not be available for fatherly duties.

Bluestreak was first in line, and he immediately booked both twins for a long breeding session, which they very willingly agreed to. Other carriers, even some who'd not even considered carrying before, suddenly were signing up for the available time slots. Within two days, Hoist confirmed four newsparks. Within a week, eleven were in the works, if one included those of Blitzwing and Bonecrusher. The "rescue attempt" to reclaim the two captive Stunticons seemed to have gone suspiciously awry. In fact the rescue party hadn't gotten anywhere close to the Stunticons. In retrospect, the fact that two of the four Decepticon carriers on the rescue team had been captured in the twins' quarters, and that the other two were found simply waiting in the volcanic neck of Mt. Saint Hilary, raised a few questions regarding base security and loyalty issues. Megatron had insisted twice in his tirade that no rescue party would be sent.

But one willing carrier, on seeing the message, had not immediately pinged the frontliners to start negotiating a time he could meet with them.

Brawn looked over at Gears, snuggled with his two mates on the couch watching morning television. ::Did you just get that message?::

::Which message?:: And a moment later. ::Oh.:: Gears turned to look over at Brawn where the warrior was working at the table, studiously cleaning his pistol, Brawn already looking back at him. ::I suppose you'll be visiting them. Might as well.::

::Depends.::

::Depends on what?::

::If there's any surplus energy left in your spark.::

::My spark? I thought you weren't going to.::

::I like the twins well enough, but I'd rather have you. Though that's a moot point if your surge cycle has completed itself.::

::What about the pact?::

::I think it ended with your sparking of the two Stunticons.::

::I see.::

::Well?::

Gears paused for a moment. ::The ache is gone, but it seems to still be running strong and hot.::

::I really do want to carry. Want to give me a reason not to visit the twins?::

Gears looked over at the other minibot. ::There is easily space in the nursery for another sparkling. And I think I'm still viable. I mean my spark's still swollen but nothing like it was before.::

::Want to find out?::

::If... if you'd be willing to test the validity of the pact.::

Brawn put his work away. ::The pact be damned. Let's give it a go.:: He went into his private room.

Gears looked up at his two mates, the pair completely absorbed in the talk show they were watching. Apparently Megatron had forbidden his underlings from watching Earth entertainment though most everyone did on the sly. Now, under what would amount to a long term house arrest, they were all too happy to sit back and watch what Earth's media had to offer and not worry about being caught. "I'll be back in a bit," he told the two.

"All right," said Breakdown, leaning down to give him a kiss on the top of his helm. His nerves had calmed immensely since being relocated to the habitation suite. Since waking that morning he'd actually seemed content if not even happy. And now the paranoia seemed to have been replaced by affection for the sire of the newspark inside him. The permanent scowl on his faceplate had miraculously transmogrified into a soft smile.

"Be back before bedtime," said Dead End, grinning suggestively and rubbing the minibot's thigh.

"What? You trying for a second bitlet? Can you even carry two?" Gears had been surprised to find that the dark red Stunticon had become quite attached to him even after the automatic breeding protocols had shut down.

"I just might, and Hoist said I would be able to," Dead End flirted. His mask had been removed once again and stored in a drawer, which pleased Gears. He liked Dead End's looks, but now also the other Autobots would see how attractive his first mate was, what with his well cared-for plating and handsome faceplate. Breakdown wasn't bad to look at either now that he was smiling. And in some Cybertronian cities a red faceplate had been considered the height of beauty..

On entering Brawn's room, Gears found himself caught up in the strong arms of his fellow minibot and a forehead pressed to his. "I do hope there's some of your spark left for me," Brawn said.

"Really? You really mean it?"

"You know that I was hoping you'd spark me when you first began surging."

"And I was a jerk and wouldn't."

"Yeah, but I forgive you."

"I... I didn't want to because... well, nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'? Because why?" he asked, leading Gears toward the berth.

"Because..." Gears sighed. "I never told you this... but I had a bondmate once."

"Oh?" Brawn was intrigued.

"Long ago, of course. A femme. A minibot femme." He sat on Brawn's berth and folded his hands together.

"Really?! They're so rare."

"Yes. Somehow I'd found one and somehow we fell in love." He sighed deeply. "She was so good to me. So patient. So understanding. She put up with my personality, which I know is no easy task." Gears lay back on the berth, wringing his dark grey hands together over his chest. "I loved her so much. And over the two and a half octads we were together, we had nine sparklings."

"Nine!?" Brawn choked. "You had nine sparklings with her?! That's really something."

"I've always been a frequent surger, and my spark is larger than average, even for a regular-sized mech. She conceived each time I surged. And... I sired seven other sparklings for friends as well."

Brawn looked flabbergasted. "I had no idea you were so... fertile, if that's the right word for it."

Gears sighed again. "Taillight gave me nine sparklings, but on the tenth time, something went wrong. One morning... I woke up, and... and she was dead." Tears filled his optics

"Gears!" Brawn climbed onto the berth beside him and took his hand.

"I lost both her and the sparkling. Just like that. The medic explained it to me, but I didn't understand. And then I lost the rest of our children to the war. Three had died already in the conflict by that point. Then the other six followed. Some in battle. Some were just caught in the crossfire. Of the other seven, I know at least two of them have been killed in the conflict. The rest..." Gears' quavering voice trailed off, and suddenly he broke down into tears. "I vowed... I vowed I'd never bring another newspark into such a horrible world. I'd given life to sixteen children, and of all sixteen I don't know if any are still alive."

"Oh Gears..." Brawn put his arm around the minibot.

"It hurt so much." He took a deep breath. "The last two times I surged, I made it through. And then this time... being stuck here on Earth. Being stuck here with the others. I couldn't control it. And then Prowl locked me in with Dead End and Breakdown. It was... it was humiliating and I fought it but I couldn't help myself this time. Something about being away from Cybertron."

Brawn pulled him close. "I'm so sorry. I never realized... You never told me... No wonder you turned us all down."

"No one here knows. I wasn't with this unit at that time."

"You could have told me."

Gears sighed. "I could have."

"Look, if you don't want to, you don't have to try to spark me. I understand now."

Gears looked up at Brawn. "I've sparked those two Decepticons out there. It's not like they were my first choice. I just couldn't help myself and they couldn't stop themselves either."

"And you don't have to try with me either. I'm sorry if I've been kinda pushy."

Gears looked Brawn in the optics. "You've been my best friend here. Heck, I'd much rather spark you over them. I'd much rather spark you over that pretty Praxian."

"You mean it?"

Gears took Brawn's hand. "If you want to carry, I'll help." He brought Brawn's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Besides, I'd hate to leave you at the mercy of the twins."

Brawn chuckled. "Jealous?"

"Of course I'm not jealous! I've heard they just don't really like minibots. They tease me all the time. And besides, Sideswipe seems to have a thing for scratching my paint whenever he passes me in the halls or on the road. And did I tell you about that one time I got stuck on a shuttle next to Sunstreaker and he..."

Brawn brought the rant to an abrupt halt with a hard kiss shoved against Gears' lips. "Spark me, Gears, and I won't have a reason to go to them."

Gears smiled so broadly it seemed as if his faceplate would crack with the effort.

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The End

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Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story, give it a favorite or send me a PM.

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Author Notes:

Skyfire/Silverbolt – I think these two make a sweet couple and there have been a number of fics pairing them (none of mine though). They're both big, white, and gentle. I can just see the shuttle taking a liking to the Aerialbot leader and that liking becoming something more rather quickly.

Primus, Unicron, and Santa Claus – See Chapter 1.

Gears' Backstory – My thought was to give Gears some reason as to why he didn't want to spark anyone other than the "he's a grouch" option. And maybe this was a bit maudlin and a bit unexpected, but it seemed to work. The fact that he's outlived all his children is a painful one—in the natural order of things we aren't supposed to outlive our children. But now he's going to try again, even if it was not his original intent, and that has given him some hope. If he proves successful with Brawn, that will change things even further.

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If you liked this story, consider reading:

Sunset Dreams – Skyfire and Swoop are an unlikely couple, but it works. And it does for Sideswipe, Snarl, and Sunstreaker as well. It's really a story about Wheeljack cleverly disguised as a romance between a scientist shuttle and a Dinobot.

Grapple's Choice – An early form of Autobot combiner team is rescued from an icy tomb and Grapple finds a new calling and purpose when he replaces one of their lost members.

Closer than Ever Before – Soundwave and Ravage have a bit of backstory together—a short, bittersweet tale told in five vignettes.

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Transformers and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Hasbro and Takara Tomy. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.

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