Title: Bump
Rating: PG
Summary: They meet a second time

Skydive almost felt the urge to curse, as, yet again, he rounded the corner with his arms laden with books, only to smack into someone and drop everything to the floor. Tired and more than thoroughly embarrassed now, the autodog dropped to his knees, quickly gathering the scattered items while mumbling half-whimpered apologies in response.

"I-i-i'm, uh, I'm j-just really, umm, s-sorry. I-i..."

"Well, well, well... Didn't think I would be seeing you again," the stranger rumbled humorously, sinking to one knee before the shih tzu and helping him to collect his things. "Skydive, right?"

Blushing, Skydive snapped his helm up, fumbling the book he had just recently grabbed. As it hit the ground with a thud, embarrassed tears collected in the corner of his optics and the autodog quickly bowed his helm, servos covering his face. "I-i'm sorry," he choked, wiping hurriedly at his face. "I'm s-so sorry, I-i just-"

"Hey now," the other mech interrupted, gently resting a servo on the younger 'bot's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you to your pedes. Then maybe you'll feel like telling me what's on your processor?" The shih tzu allowed himself to be pulled up, sniffling, as he finally pulled his fingers away from his optics and glanced up at the stranger.

"I...I'm sorry," he mumbled to the serval, "F-for troubling you. A-and making you g-get my books, and, a-and... and f-for forgetting your n-name. Oh, Primus, I a-apologize prof-fusely! E-even t-though you r-remembered m-my name, I c-can't-"

Skydive shuttered his optics quickly as a large finger was pressed to his lip components, silencing the rest of his words. "Listen kid," the kittycon said, "There's no need to apologize. You look like you've got a lot on your mind right now. Let me help you with these books and get you a mug of oil, until you feel better again. Fair enough?"

Slowly, the larger mech pulled his finger away. Blushing again, and trying his hardest not to let his thoughts linger on the tingling he could feel along his lip components, the shih tzu merely nodded; holding his arms out to take some of his belongings back from the kittycon. The serval shook his helm though, pushing Skydive's servos down before slinging an arm around the smaller mech's shoulder plating and leading him forward. "Forget it, pup. Let Onslaught take this load for you."

Unable to do anything else, Skydive dropped his gaze to the floor, whispering, "T-thank you. F-for being so kind."

Onslaught shrugged at the thanks, glancing down at the quiet autodog before looking forward again. "...Did something happen?," he asked, after a few astroseconds of silence. Skydive looked up at him confused. "I was simply wondering. You don't see many cry unless something is weighing on them heavily..."

"O-oh," the blue autodog gasped, recalling the horrifying fact that he had indeed gotten teary-opticed before this stranger. Blushing, he rubbed his arm self-consciously, stumbling as he tried to offer an explanation. "W-well, I, umm... I- it's s-silly really. I-i was j-just having s-some problems w-with my enrolment f-forms, a-and I... I, uh, just, i-it's n-nothing serious r-really."

"Now, don't say that," Onslaught replied, stopping. Still held under the kittycon's servo, Skydive was forced to stop as well, and he felt suddenly very small now as the other mech loomed over him. "Do you have those enrolment forms on you? Maybe I can offer you some assistance in finishing them. You did say you were applying for Iacon Academy, correct?"

Skydive hesitated, but eventually reached into his knapsack, pulling out his forms. He silenced his anxious yip as the green 'bot took them from him, shifting the books in his arms, until he was able to unfold the forms easily, scanning them quickly and reading them over. "Ah...," the serval said, "You need to file your parents' and your own taxes for the last couple years, if you've worked, seeing as you've been made eligible for a scholarship."

Onslaught paused, flipping the papers slowly. Just as the shih tzu began to get more nervous, a grin stretched across the older mech's faceplates. "You're aiming for a Masters in Business Administration and Tactical Strategy?" The kittycon glanced at Skydive. "You aim high, pup."

Blushing, the blue mech bowed his helm, clasping his servos before him self-consciously. Turning his attention back to the forms, Onslaught scanned through them one last time, before folding them up and holding them out for Skydive to take. "You seem to have everything already well taken care of. You'll need to write an essay before their final selection, but they give you a broad spectrum of topics -most of which, judging by your reading list, I'd say you're well and prepared for. And otherwise, you just need to fill out your financial information for the scholarship. Something I'd highly recommend doing. Free money from the government is hard to get. If they're offering it to you, nab it while you can."

"And if there are problems filling out that section," the serval continued, "You can easily by-pass that step, simply by writing a letter and providing legal documentation. That should still allow for you to get your scholarship and complete all necessary procedures for your enrolment."

Skydive took the papers, looking first at them, then up at Onslaught in wonder. "I, u-um... thank you," he breathed, a relieved smile tugging at his own lip components finally. "Just... thank you so much!"

Onslaught gruffed a little, glancing at the side. "No problem, pup. Just trying to be a help," the kittycon replied. "Now, I still owe you a cup of oil. And if you'd like, you can use me as a board to bounce ideas off of for your essay."

The bigger mech turned to walk onwards again, and pausing a moment to put his forms away again, Skydive eagerly followed, feeling much better than he had been kliks before. "Thank you, again, for everything. You've been so very generous, and I would certainly enjoy your company for a little longer," the shih tzu beamed, coming up to the other 'bot's side.

The kittycon said nothing this time, but merely led them forward, his tail twitching gently behind him.

Title: Worth
Rating: PG
Summary: Onslaught muses

It was a quiet orn. Onslaught cracked open his newspaper, sinking into his recliner and sighing as he thumbed through the pages for the latest criminal activity. The usually irate sire felt a strange bout of melancholy as he lifted his helm, watching as Blast Off walked by the living room; heading out the door, dressed up nice, and a book under one arm.

No doubt to go meet his new mechfriend.

"...They're all growing up so fast...," the serval mumbled to himself, a touch of sadness in his tone. Swindle, he recalled, had left home when he was sixteen, claiming disdain for his family and needing his space to plant his entrepreneur roots. Blast Off and Brawl still remained; one leaving often though to meet up with his love interest and likely to move out soon himself, while the other one was bound to stay forever because of how socially and mentally inept he was at independent living. Vortex... well, Vortex needed a constant babysitter, twenty-four seven, or there would be a higher spike in the missing persons percentile but otherwise, the older kittycon held little sway over the lynx's life.

All in all, his sons no longer needed him anymore. He was useless really; obsolete. More likely to be shipped off to the nearest retirement home and left to rot with the other, unnecessary seniors.

Onslaught sank deeper into his chair, scowling as he lifted his paper to his face again. But not even the inky words of civil troubles overseas could erase the nagging thought from the green mech's processor. A haunting question that incessantly demanded, 'Do I mean anything to anyone, anymore?'

Title: Celebration
Rating: PG
Summary: Onslaught is interrupted during shopping

"Onslaught? Onslaught, sir!"

The serval started at the unexpected shout, almost dropping his bag of frozen mini cogs, as he turned to face the exuberant speaker; watching, surprised as Skydive jogged up to the mech, holding a basket to his chestplates. "I-i'm so sorry to bother you," the shih tzu apologized, coming to an abrupt stop before the kittycon, his cheekplates darkening with his blush and his intakes heaving a little with the sudden run. "I j-just hadn't expected to see you here, and well, umm..."

Skydive shook his helm quickly before beaming up at the still-stunned Onslaught, chirping, "I was accepted! My essay, my forms -they were processed and I am now going to be a proud student of Iacon Academy come this fall!"

Immediately, Onslaught smiled back, throwing his bag of frozen goods into his own basket before clapping the smaller mech on his backstruts. "Congratulations, pup," he grinned, oblivious to the meek bout of coughing Skydive gave at the rough touch. "Good job. You've worked hard."

"O-oh... well," the autodog mumbled, glancing down at his pedes as he shifted his basket; the blush on his face deepening, "I-i-i... I really d-didn't do all the work. I m-mean, you, um, you h-helped me a-a lot, and well, I w-wanted to tell you personally and... a-and possibly, i-if you're not too busy, maybe I-i can buy you a c-cup of oil -to repay you, I mean! For all the help you gave me."

The serval opened his mouth, ready to say 'no', when his fuel tanks did a strange, little flip flop. It had been a long time since he'd done anything of worth it felt; longer still since someone had so graciously thanked him and boasted about all the assistance he had offered. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, Onslaught thought, to let the shih tzu treat him to a mug of oil.

At the very least, Skydive was a great conversationalist, and he was not likely to feel bored in the younger mech's presence.

Despite the slightly nagging feeling Onslaught still felt in the back of his helm, he smiled down on the waiting autodog, saying, "A cup sounds good right about now. But how about you let me treat you to it? I've got some good grind at home, and it'll allow us to chat freely in relative privacy, without the additional worry that our groceries might rot the longer they remain unrefrigerated." To make his case in point, the kittycon lifted his basket a little, showing off the mass amount of goods -both perishable and not- that he had so far collected.

Skydive's mouth stayed open slightly, his optics dim behind his frames as he obviously went over the pros and cons of the other mech's suggestion. And with good reason, Onslaught supposed. He was a very big 'bot... and still mostly a stranger, to boot...

Eventually though, before the serval could open his mouth to retract his invite, the blue autodog smiled up at the him, his unease clean from his face and shoulders. "I think that'd be lovely. I-if, if it's not a bother, of course," Skydive quickly added.

Onslaught rumbled a little in mirth, holding his basket securely in one arm before gesturing to the rest of the supermarket with his other servo. "Not at all, Skydive," he assured, "Not at all. I'll let you do the honors..."

Blushing again, the shih tzu took the lead, falling into comfortable conversation with the serval as they continued their shopping.

Title: Joke
Rating: T
Summary: Some things began to take form

The crash in the living room had him throwing his dishrag into the sink. "I SAID NO FIGHTING IN MY HOUSE!," Onslaught roared, turning to the kitchen doorway; torn between standing there and hoping his unruly children would settle down, or storming -huffing and panting- into the living room and exacting punishment on the parties responsible.

"A-ah, oops," came Brawl's muffled voice through the walls, "Sorry daddy!"

Someone else snorted, before Vortex's voice drifted into the kitchen next. "What are you apologizing for, Brawly? Did you make the big boom? ...Hmm, I suppose you did. You make big booms often, dontcha big mech?" The lynx snickered. "Daddy-o could use a 'big boom'. Maybe it'll loosen him up some."

Onslaught curled his fist.

"Huh? What do you mean...?," came the younger serval's question.

You could just hear the smirk in Vortex's vocalizer. "Well, you see, daddy-o's been all alone for so long now, and no one's wanted to touch his sp-"

"VORTEX!," the green mech bellowed, slamming the counter beside him for extra emphasis. He dutifully ignored that the marble crumpled and cratered beneath his fist at the action. "ROOM! NOW!"

There was some grumbling that could be heard from the living room, plus a little of Brawl giggling, before a hissing comment was made by the lynx. "I SAID NOW! OR I'LL VOLUNTEER YOU FOR SPIKE AMPUTATION!"

That got the effect he wanted. With a half-whimpered, half-snarl, Vortex could be heard stomping out of the living room and up to the attic he usually skulked in. Maybe if he was lucky, the uncontrollable brat would stay there for the rest of the evening. Fuming still, Onslaught returned to his dishes, doing his best not to crush them in his servos as he resumed washing.

So maybe he hadn't had a good interface in a long time. Been kinda hard when he was trying to raise four of the most crazy, unruly brats this side of Cybertron. And really, he'd need a slag load of self-service if he wanted to unwind some of the "stress" Vortex alone gave him. All in all, finding a frag -too much work, and hardly worth the effort.

Realizing that he needed to calm down some (as he'd just cracked a plate clean in half while mulling over Vortex's comment in the living room astroseconds before), Onslaught busied himself with less negative thoughts. Strangely enough, those turned out to be his past few discussions with that young autodog he had run into, Skydive. The pup was smart... and polite. Not to mention so very open-minded and eager to learn.

Immediately, the serval's shoulder plating slumped a little and his scrubbing became less violent.

Even his facial expression relaxed some and, unbeknownst to Onslaught, a small smile began to work its way to his lip components.

Title: Happy
Rating: PG
Summary: His brother makes a comment

"See-Dee...?"

Skydive stopped his chopping, turning a little and gazing at the shih tzu that padded into the kitchen behind him. Fireflight was clutching a turbo fox plushie to his chestplates, and his blue optics were large and inquisitive. "Yes, Fireflight?," the older mech asked, turning away from his brother for a moment so he could slide the chopped bolts into a boiling pot of water he had set on the stove. "Is there anything you needed?"

"No...," Fireflight replied, smiling. "I just wanted to ask if you were happy, See-Dee. You seem happy."

Skydive shuttered his optics at the strange comment, bending down a little so he would be more level with his sibling. "Well, I-"

"Is it because of your new friend?"

The blue autodog shuttered his optics again, this time in surprise. He had indeed mentioned Onslaught in passing to Silverbolt, but he'd never made reference to the kittycon in the presence of the others. Where Fireflight might have heard about him, Skydive wasn't sure, but now he was left to answer the sparkling's curiosity. Before he could open his mouth though, the white 'bot was continuing.

"Is your new friend nice? Is that why you like him, See-Dee? I bet he is. I bet he's a really good friend, if he can make you happy," Fireflight chirped. "I think you should be with him more often, See-Dee. Does he make you feel bubbly and ticklish inside too?"

There was too much in those words that Skydive didn't feel like addressing, but the 'too' right at the end of his brother's questions caught his immediate attention. "'Flight... i-is, is there someone you haven't told us about?," he asked, optic ridge cocked uncertainly.

The smaller shih tzu giggled, pressing his blushing cheekplates into his plushie and swaying side to side lightly. "It's a secret," the sparkling teased.

Skydive's look became more concerning. His littlest brother -with a crush? "Fireflight..."

Fireflight giggled again, snapping his helm up and hugging the older mech tightly. "I hope your new friend stays, See-Dee," he whispered into his brother's ear. "He makes you happier... and I like it when you're happy. I want you to be happy always."

The blue autodog tried to turn his helm, to look at the sparkling, but Fireflight merely kissed his cheekplate, before running out of the kitchen, giggling the entire way. Stunned, Skydive stayed half-kneeling on the floor, before he heard the pot begin to hiss and bubble dangerously behind him.

Title: First Day
Rating: T
Summary: It's Skydive's first day at the Academy

Between running around the large building, getting to his classes and trying to find a suitable place to sit that didn't anger or upset anyone... Skydive was beat. Emotionally, mentally, and a little physically. It seemed the majority of his peers and the lecturers in his course were very unhappy people, and they certainly didn't take kindly to the autodog's youth, shyness or even his politeness. So when Skydive saw that he had a two cycle lunch break before his final class of the orn, the shih tzu was practically running for the doors and freedom from this stuffy, dreary building.

Unfortunately, he collided with something just as he was making his get-away.

"Oomph!"

"...pup, we really need to find better ways to meet each other..."

"O-onslaught?!," Skydive gasped, snapping his helm up and looking at the kittycon. The green mech grinned wryly, helping the shih tzu steady himself before releasing him. "What a-are you doing here?"

"I had the day off; was in the area... I figured I'd come and see how your first day was going." Onslaught shrugged. "You look like you were fleeing right about now. One of the teachers coming after you with an axe?"

"...not quite...," Skydive mumbled tiredly at the subtle joke. His shoulders slumped and the autodog grasped his books tighter to his chestplates, glancing over his shoulder plating and at the school. "Things are... not exactly as I would have thought they'd be. Perhaps I have spent too much time envisioning this moment, that my expectations have been a little... unrealistic. Still. This is what I want, and so, I will manage."

He turned back to Onslaught, missing the strange look that passed over the older mech's face. He did see the smile though that tugged at the other's lip components, making the shih tzu blush and become self-conscious about his complaining. "I-i'm sorry, I sh-shouldn't b-be wh-whining, I-"

"Don't worry about it," the serval politely interrupted, waving a servo. "Life can be fairly disappointing all around. It's really a matter of what you do with the hand you get, that decides what becomes of your life and I'm proud to see you sticking through with something that you've got your spark dead-set on -hardship or not."

Skydive had to quickly bow his helm as his blush increased.

Onslaught rested a servo gently on the autodog's backstruts, leading them down the steps and out of the way of a gaggle of students. "Are you on lunch break now? Would you mind if I treated you to something? I feel like a small reprieve would be most beneficial to you right now. Get you back up on your pedes and all that," he said.

The offer surprised the blue mech. But, mulling it over quickly, Skydive couldn't see him doing anything of importance in the next couple cycles, and he really didn't feel like being alone. "I would like that very much," he answered, smiling up at the kittycon.

He never noticed the way Onslaught's optics flared, or the twitch his fingers gave, or the way his cheekplates seemed to tinge just the slightest with energon. But quickly, those signs disappeared, and the older mech was asking him a place that the autodog might like to go to and what his thoughts were on the outlook of his program. Feeling comfortable in the serval's presence, Skydive easily replied to all of the questions asked, the engaging conversation easing the last of the stress from his frame.

Title: Realization
Rating: T
Summary: His feelings are no longer innocent

These days, Onslaught had a hard time keeping his thoughts in order.

The kittycon could only hold one person responsible: Skydive.

Since the moment he had met the autodog, he'd been intrigued by the other's wisdom, propriety and his love for a good, sound strategy. And of course, those blue optics... They were delicate things, behind yellow, circle frames, that held no arrogance or malice in their depths but a calm and collected understanding of everything around them.

It wasn't long before mere interest turned into desire and Onslaught found his recharge cycles plagued by fantasies of that smart mech becoming all debauched and wordless as he was conquered by the serval; thighs spread willingly and beautiful optics dim as the shih tzu begged his 'General' to take him. Enflamed with his lust, was it no wonder that the kittycon was in a funk?

He had to approach Skydive again; had to proposition the younger mech in the correct manner so he would not reject the green 'bot. Onslaught was not like his idiotic son -he did not grab and take, with no care for the consequences afterwards.

But certainly, the serval would not allow Skydive to be claimed by anyone else, until at least he'd had a fair shot at winning the autodog over.