SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…
"Guess what?" Skyfire said as he walked into base with Starscream. "Elita-1 and Optimus are inviting you to Elita-1's sparkling shower."
"You give the sparkling a shower?" Starscream asked. "I thought it wasn't supposed to be born for another five months or so. How would it even stand up? You're supposed to give it a bath, and let me tell you, they don't like that either."
"No, no," said Skyfire, laughing. "It's a party for when a carrier is supposed to have a sparkling soon. We're going to 'shower' Elita-1 with gifts, for her and Optimus's new sparkling. And who could pass up the chance to buy little sparkling toys and accessories?"
"Um…I don't know," said Starscream. "My twins got presents on their Creation Day, but nobody ever threw me a sparkling shower. Rude, you might say."
"Not if your friends don't know what one is," Skyfire pointed out. "You didn't, so nobody else did, either, probably. Besides, Decepticons don't seem to be the type to go around having sparkling showers."
"Why are they inviting me?" Starscream asked.
"You have sparklings," said Skyfire, "and you're a friend of mine."
Starscream smiled and squeezed Skyfire's hand; he could have sworn he saw a blush in the shuttle's cheeks, but neither of them let go for a second either.
"So, um, anyway…" Starscream cleared his throat and snatched his hand away from Skyfire's. "We could ask Skywarp to come too. Believe me, he loves sparklings. Right now, he already has one, and he told me he wants to have another one when she gets to be a little older. In fact, he told me he was jealous that I got to carry sparklings, and that the pain of childbirth is what induces the carrier's love. I told him he was crazy because, y'know, where did he come up with that? I told him I would rather do a nosedive into a pile of rocks than have to give birth again."
"Well, I've never had a sparkling, but it is a really great experience to watch one being born," said Skyfire. "Arcee's was born a couple weeks ago. Ratchet ended up having to induce labor, but the sparkling ended up fine, and I got to hold him."
"And you cried," said Starscream.
"Yes," said Skyfire.
By then they had entered the kitchen, where everyone was having breakfast. Skywarp, good father that he was, held Stardust in his lap while she drank her bottle. Stars was teething again, insisting on biting Megatron's fingers, while Megs crawled around on the table, playing with the fusion cannon.
"Megs, get out of there, that's dangerous," said Starscream, pulling the sparkling away before he could crawl down the barrel of his sire's gun. "Please, Megatron, could you try to pay better attention to them?"
"Good mommy," said Megatron, not looking up from his newspaper app, which earned him a kick in the shin.
"I say go ahead and eat his fingers, Stars," said Starscream angrily.
"Indeed," said Skyfire. "It's good. It's a sign he's developing motor skills. This is about the time when he should be spending a little bit more time on the ground, since he's spent about a year getting around by instinctive flight."
"Well, he mostly crawls on us," said Megatron. "And he likes to bite me."
"And all three are so cute," said Gemstone, reaching over and stroking Stardust's helmet with one finger. "I'm so happy we have them."
Starscream picked up both sparklings, cuddling them in his arms, hoping nobody saw the tender smile on his face. What with everyone's hectic lives, and his duties as a parent, Seeker, scientist, and warrior, it was sometimes hard for Starscream to focus entirely on one thing. When he gave his full attention to his twins, though, he could feel the bond he had with them, and if he stood completely still he could almost feel their sparks beating again. Okay, maybe Skywarp had a little bit of a point. The carrier bond was a sacred thing. No matter what, Starscream would never forget the day they were born.
Only a few minutes later, Starscream had fallen back onto the repair table in relief, Twin Two was here, and it was over.
"Oh, wow," Skywarp whispered.
"What? What happened?" Starscream frantically put his knees down and tried to sit up, but fell backwards onto the bed. "Is something wrong with him?"
"No," said Skywarp. Moonbeam handed him the sparkling, and he set it in Starscream's arms, tears in his eyes. "He looks just like you."
Starscream stared down at the impossibly tiny sparkling, a shocked expression on his face. Twin Number Two did look exactly like his carrier, from his wings to his black helmet to his bright blue forearms. He was crying, a lot, his little blue hands balled into fists. His wingspan was probably only a foot or two long, and he was even smaller than Rumble or Frenzy.
"Oh, he's so beautiful, Starscream," Gemstone whispered.
"Couldn't I hold the first one too?" Starscream asked.
Megatron handed over the other sparkling, who was no less perfect, and Starscream held both of them, one in each hand. The look of wonder and amazement on his face didn't go away—he couldn't believe they were actually here.
Skywarp got to hold Stars, and Starscream let Thundercracker and Gemstone hold Megs. Thundercracker held Megs in his palm (using the one arm he had left), and Gemstone kissed his little helmet. Then both of the sparklings were handed back to their carrier. By now, they had drifted into peaceful stasis.
When he got them back, Starscream put both Megs and Stars in one hand and held them close, so they could feel his spark beating again and know that he was still there—and always would be. For the past eleven months, they had felt and been comforted by his sparkbeat every day, and it was where they felt safest. The bond hadn't broken at all. Stars reached out both his tiny blue arms and latched onto Starscream's thumb, his wings twitching a little in his sleep.
Starscream kissed both little helmets, trying to stop tears burning in his eyes, but he couldn't. As far as Starscream was concerned, little Stars would never let go of his finger.
"They're sweet, aren't they, Starscream?" Skyfire whispered knowingly.
"Um, yeah, they are." Starscream reddened and cleared his throat again. "Well, anyway, what do you guys say to going to a sparkling shower?"
"What's that?" they all said at once.
"Well," said Starscream, "it's when a carrier's about to have a sparkling, and…they throw a party for it. I guess."
Skyfire explained it a little better. "Optimus Prime's girlfriend, Elita-1, will be having a sparkling in about five months. So Chromia and Arcee—also new mothers—have decided to 'shower' her with sparkling gifts, like bibs and toys and bottles and stuff. You can also play games, like 'Baby Hot Potato' or 'Diaper the doll while blind-folded'."
"That is so cute! Of course we'll come!" Skywarp cried. "WON'T we?"
"Um, sure," said Thundercracker. "We can all go, and we can bring the sparklings."
"If only we'd known about sparkling showers earlier," said Skywarp. "We could've given one to Starscream, and one to Gemstone."
"It's okay." Gemstone smiled. "You know a healthy sparkling was all I wanted."
AT THE SPARKLING SHOWER…
Most, but not all, of the Autobots came to the sparkling shower. Some of the mechs decided they would be "busy", but most attended the shower, and all of the femmes did. Skywarp had readily accepted, and Thundercracker went because of Gemstone, and Megatron didn't want to go but Starscream had forced him to.
They held it in the main monitor room. Both Chromia and Arcee were giggling like nitwits as they placed pink-and-blue-themed decorations all over the room, such as pink-and-blue streamers, pink-and-blue balloons, pink-and-blue energon cubes, pink-and-blue napkins and tablecloths and chairs…and so on. It was so convenient, too, that Chromia was blue and Arcee was pink. There was also a centerpiece, a basket with a little doll and a rattle. Elita-1 was sitting in the hostess chair, holding Arcee's new sparkling. Everything was very, very cute.
Of course, the Decepticon guests were not used to cute things, and especially not sparkling showers, which were the epitome of cuteness. Megatron looked a little pained, like he was hoping there would be hatred or suffering somewhere; Starscream was holding Megs, while Stars happily hitched a ride on his carrier's helmet. Thundercracker and Gemstone were holding hands, and Skywarp was carrying Stardust.
"All right, you made it!" Arcee giggled, running up to her Decepticon guests. "Oh, and you brought your sparklings! How cute!"
"Can I hold one? Please?" asked Chromia, right behind her.
Skywarp clutched his Stardust a little protectively, but Starscream let Chromia and Arcee hold one twin each.
"Oh, they're so adorable," said Chromia, who was cuddling Megs. "I can't wait until I can hold my own sparkling in my arms instead of in my spark chamber."
"I've never held a Seekerling before," added Arcee, who got to hold Stars. "Does he fly?"
"Of course," said Starscream. "It was something he didn't need to be taught."
"Well, they are all adorable," said Chromia, handing Megs back. "You wouldn't believe how happy we Autobots are that we got all these sparklings. We've got Prowl's, and mine, and Elita's, and Arcee's…"
"I love my sparkling," said Arcee. "I'm letting Elita hold him."
"She looks happy, doesn't she?" said Gemstone.
"Yes," said Arcee. "By the way, I don't think I've met you. What's your name?"
"I'm Gemstone," said Gemstone, sticking out her hand. "I joined the Decepticons about a year and a half ago. Nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too!" said Arcee. "It must be great to have another femme to talk to."
"More than you know," Gemstone replied.
"Well, anyway," said Chromia, "it's time to start the baby shower."
"Yay!" said Arcee.
"All right," said Chromia, walking to the center of the room. "First, everyone is going to present their gift, and our lovely hostess will open them. Who wants to go first?"
"Um, we will," said Starscream. "On behalf of your new sparkling, Megatron and I present to you…scarves. You know, to keep the sparkling warm."
Starscream handed out the black and blue scarves his mother had knitted, trying not to feel too guilty. It was for the best, anyway, right? Stars and Megs clearly didn't like them, and Elita-1 needed a gift, so…everything worked out.
"Thank you," said Elita, taking the scarves.
"I got you some diapers," said Thundercracker, taking out his gift. "I thought you might want something, um, practical."
"Diapers?" said Elita. "Um…thank you kindly."
"I got you this nice little stuffed android creature!" said Skywarp happily. It was a gigantic stuffed android, white with pink polka-dots. There was a big smile on its face and hands for cuddling.
"Oh, so you do still have that thing," said Thundercracker.
"This is a new one," said Skywarp, blushing a little as he looked at the stuffed android. "Surely you know that I wouldn't give a used gift!"
"Only, the real reason is that you don't want to part with your huggy android." Starscream smirked.
"Well, it helps me sleep at night," Skywarp admitted. Thundercracker just shook his head…but it seemed that the mother-to-be in question liked the gift just fine.
"This is the most adorable thing!" said Elita, squeezing Skywarp's gift. "I know the newborn sparkling will just love it!"
"Except when she throws up all over it," said Starscream.
"I don't understand it," Thundercracker grouched. "I give her something perfectly useful for her sparkling, and Skywarp gives her his useless huggy android thing, but she likes it better?"
"TC, baby, femmes hate useful gifts," Gemstone whispered. Gemstone's gift was the same one she had given to the little twins on their Creation Day, some bath toys. After Elita had opened everyone's gifts, it was time for the fun part…games.
"Our friend Elita has suggested that we play 'Baby Hot Potato'," said Chromia. "The rules are simple. All we have to do is toss a baby doll around in a circle while we play a lullaby. Whoever is holding the doll when the music stops is out. We keep doing this until one 'bot is left, then whoever it is gets a prize."
"So, basically, we make complete fools out of ourselves?" said Megatron.
"Shut up, Megabutt," said Gemstone.
"We get to play a lullaby?" said Skywarp. "Hey, Soundwave, get over here, I know the perfect song!"
Skywarp couldn't play in the game, because he had to hold Stardust and protect her ("I can't just lay her down on the floor, can I?!") but everyone else played (except for Arcee, who agreed with Skywarp and cradled her own sparkling in her arms). It was good for the little twins to be on the floor, because it helped them practice crawling and walking.
Obviously, the song Skywarp chose was "Que Sera, Sera", his sparkling Stardust's favorite lullaby, and Soundwave was instructed to start and stop it every so often. Megatron got out on purpose because he didn't want to be holding a doll, but everyone else kept playing until the last person was Jazz—fitting because he was a sire himself. Prowl, the carrier, hadn't come because the first month of carrying wore him out, but Jazz went to the party because he thought parties were fun.
"Good job, Jazz!" said Chromia, walking up to him and giving him a little box of blue-and-pink dyed energon goodies. Then, with a rather amused smirk on her face, she announced, "Oh, and we can't forget the booby prize, can we?"
Arcee and Elita giggled.
…
"This diaper is VERY humiliating," Megatron said as Starscream finished tying it onto him with a safety pin, trying (and failing) to contain his laughter as he did so.
"So, the rules are that you have to wear the diaper until the end of the party," Chromia told him, smiling.
"My, my, Megatron," said Starscream between fits of hysteria. "You can pull off any look, can't you?"
"Like to keep in style, huh?" Gemstone added.
"Well," said Elita, walking over to them, "it's quite fitting for our next game."
"Feed the Sparklings," said Arcee.
As it turned out, "Feed the Sparklings" turned out to be a very…interesting game. First, the guests split up into teams of two. One was the parent, one was the sparkling. Then the "parent" fed the "sparkling" some sparkling fuel with a spoon. Megatron, being the one who was diapered, was the sparkling, while Starscream fed him. Most of the couples teamed up, although others had come single—Chromia had come, but her mate, Ironhide, obviously had not, so she fed Jazz. Meanwhile, Arcee's mate hadn't come either, so she fed Skywarp.
When the party was over, everyone was allowed to socialize (even though Megatron still wasn't allowed to take his diaper off). Most of the focus was on the hostess, of course, but Starscream got some time to socialize with Skyfire.
"The little twins really enjoyed their time in Science Club, I think," said Starscream. "Wouldn't it be great if they grew up to be scientists, just like us?"
"Yes, it would," said Skyfire. "That's why I started this program. There is no better asset than intelligence."
Starscream looked up into Skyfire's bright blue eyes, remembering what they had done, and how it had felt so good. It was so confusing sometimes. 'Facing with Megatron felt great, but doing the deed with Skyfire wasn't so bad either.
There were two different relationships here—Starscream and Megatron, their unique relationship that they had held since before the little twins were born, and Starscream and Skyfire, being two scientists and old friends. Starscream was happy that they'd made up, but he couldn't help but wonder if he did want courtship, but he didn't want to leave Megatron either, not truly. The truth was that he couldn't have both.
All he could do was give Skyfire a hug, tell him he had a good time at the sparkling shower, and let him know that his sparklings would be coming next week for more Science Club.
