My Spring Break starts tomorrow, so I decided to celebrate a little early by posting a chapter with some partying going on. It's a bit of a different kind of party than what Sideswipe was doing in the previous chapter, but I'm sure Sunstreaker and Bluestreak don't mind. As a matter of fact, I'm quite sure they enjoy themselves. =P Things do get intimate, but hopefully it's still within a T-rating range.
Shout out to 1bloodtempest for reading this… forever ago. Quite a bit of things were tweaked since then, but you were a dear for reading nonetheless. Second shout out to FunkyFish1991. Been thinking of you lately, girl. Hope you're doing okay!
Animelover1993- lol~ Bluestreak deserves a lot of love. He's such a sweet mech! I couldn't resist bringing him back. (Since you love Blue so much, you may love this chapter a lot =P ) As for the twins- I do know them, sort of. They're all in my head, right? All the characters in WE, I literally know them from creation until death. It's wonderful to hear that that kind of intimacy comes out in the writing~
TransformersLover95- Haha, I'm glad that my stories are a good way for you to get through school. Writing the chapters is a good way to avoid actual work for me. =P
1bloodtempest- Yep, Sideswipe has almost zero tolerance for high-grade right now. I figured since it was his first time, he wouldn't automatically be a boozer. It takes time and repeated parties to get up the right tolerance! XD Haha, yeah, Sunny talked almost as much as Blue did. He had a lot to say! XD Blue isn't exactly related to Prowl in this series; Bluestreak is from Crystal City and his siblings are Teal, Azure, Lapis Lazuli, Aquamarine, and Ultramarine. Prowl is from Simfur. ^_^; lol~ I am happy to have given you a reason to grin at your laptop. Hopefully this chapter here gives you a reason to grin as well. =P
Faecat- There might never be enough, but at least I always more people will always come back for more! XD Glad you like that Blue/Sunny pairing, since I plan on going a few places with it. As for Sideswipe… yep, that is definitely the beginning of a very interesting trend for him. XD
Ladyofthedrgns- If there was such thing as a Keg Stand on Cybertron, I am pretty sure that Sideswipe would be doing that at every party he ended up at. XD As for Blue and Sunny, I am pretty sure there is going to be more than just sparks flying between them in this chapter. =P
Femme4prime- The twins may very well stay in the frames they have now.. or not. It's a personal choice, I suppose. Sunny is around 16/17 feet tall, and Sideswipe is actually 19 feet tall in their current frames, which is roughly within the average range for minibot/mech frames. ^_^ Hopefully Blue really will be the perfect "first" for Sunstreaker. =P
SEZwho94- Can't get rid of Bluestreak for that long! He's too sweet of a bot. ^_^
Marsh Queen- Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm glad that you enjoyed Sideswipe's antics. He's such a hoot to write for at this age. XD Glad you like the whole Sunny/Bluestreak thing. There will definitely be more where that came from in the future. =P
Mr Awesome- Haha, yeah, I think Wildride is definitely to blame for some of Sideswipe's drunkenness. XD As for Blue and Sunstreaker being a couple, I can say that there will be sparks between them. However, since this is a fic about the twins' lives that stretches over many years, I can't say what will become of Sunny and Blue later on.
SailorMoon20114486- Kids grow up so fast, don't they? You blink and *bang* they're adults getting wasted at parties. XD
Daklog73- I knew someone readers would get a kick out of Sideswipe being a wild drunk. XD The twins are the ultimate celebrities on Cybertron (and a bit like sideshow freaks), so they gather paparazzi wherever they go. They're basically second only to the Prime. XD It's little privacy, sure, but they're used to it. =P
Lecidre- Oh, my friend, you are quite right that Sunny is now able to do several things he wasn't able to do before. I definitely think he wants to do a few things with Blue. *giggles* As for Flash, you're right that Cybertronians aren't like humans and interfacing isn't like sex. Cybertronians don't have any biological relations to create incest taboos like here are on Earth, and familial connections are more of a fluid social construction rather than a rigid structure, so two bots can go from being friends, to lovers, to brothers and back again all within the span of a lifetime. The only major taboo on Cybertron concerns creations becoming intimate with their creators. ^_^; I was actually wondering if anyone was going to mention anything about the Flashdance/Sunny thing, so I'm really glad you asked. I intentionally put that scene in there to weird people out at the same time as show the flexible nature of Cybertronian society. =P
XxBlackEaglexX- I'm happy to hear that Sideswipe could entertain you so much. He's such a little imp to write for- even I don't know what he's going to get up to until I write it. XD It's quite a challenge to develop the twins personalities from their beginnings to who they become, so it's always amazing to hear that readers are liking their development. =) There's much more to come, so hopefully you'll continue to enjoy the twins' antics.
LittleDragonOfTruth- I'm happy to hear that you've been enjoying that fic thus far. ^_^ I'm not a big fan of sparkling/youngling fics either, so it was a huge leap for me to try writing this. I'm just happy that there are so many readers out there like you willing to give a fic like this a chance. ^_^ Hopefully you continue to enjoy this into the future. =)
Read, Review, and Enjoy~!
Chapter 17
Flicker sat comfortably at a specialized table for bots his size. He liked dancing, but in places like pleasure houses where the chances of stepping on someone were high, he preferred to stay out of the way. Since Blaze was a bigger bot too, he stayed out of the way as well. They shared their large table comfortably, drinking their high-grade and watching as the party slowly started to wind down as dawn started to sneak up on them. It was no surprise that the party had lasted so long. The twins deserved nothing less than a raucous send off before the morning came and their apprenticeships started.
Sideswipe, unfortunately, had not been able to enjoy the whole party to the fullest. As it ended up, he'd drank too much. No one was really surprised. He was the kind of bot who seemed like he would drink too much on his first round with high-grade. It didn't help matters that every time he'd turned around, someone was shoving a cube into his hands. Now his unconscious frame was laying on the table next to Flicker and Blaze's table.
Blaze kept an optic on Sideswipe's frame, though there wasn't much of a need. Both of Sideswipe's creators were with him. Blindside was sober, sitting in a chair while he shook his head and sighed over the fact that Sideswipe was turning out to be just like Wildride. Wildride was over-energized and sitting astride Sideswipe's chest, a marker in hand as he doodled over Sideswipe's faceplate. Whenever a stumbling bot found their way over, Wildride would hand over his marker and let them sign their designation on his unconscious victim's frame.
"You ever wonder what life would be like if we were normal?" Blaze suddenly asked, glancing at Flicker.
Flicker grunted, finishing off his energon cube. "Life would be boring."
"True." With an inclination of his head, Blaze finished off his own cube.
Flicker suddenly sat up a little straighter, peering across the pleasure house to the stairs leading up to the next floor. A flash of golden plating had caught his attention. Generally speaking, Cybertronians weren't that dependant on their optics, but performers learned to be proficient with their sense of sight; Flicker recognized that flash of golden plating. His mouthplates curled up as watched Sunstreaker sneak up a staircase with someone right behind him. Leaning over, Flicker nudged Blaze.
"Take a look," murmured the bright yellow bot, pointing in the right direction.
"That's our little Sunny," Blaze drawled, squinting in the right direction. "And isn't that a… Primus, isn't that a Security Response officer?"
"Yep, that is definitely an officer," Flicker revved. "Crystal City by the looks of him."
Wildride and Blindside both looked up, their attentions drawn to the conversation. They turned in time to see Sunstreaker be tugged down a step by the mech with him. Both young bots were laughing. The officer whispered something to Sunstreaker. Sunstreaker covered his mouthplates and chuckled, and then leaned down to rub his forehead affectionately to the officer's.
"Oh, that's Blue," Blindside exclaimed happily.
Sideswipe flickered back to consciousness momentarily. "I'm not blue, I'm red!"
Wildride rolled his optics and smacked his creation's head back down on the table. "No, you're dumb. Go back to recharging."
Instantly, Sideswipe was unconscious again.
Staidly ignoring his mate and creation, Blindside appealed to Blaze and Flicker, "You remember the twins' little friend from the Youth Sector, don't you?"
"That little thing that talked a lot?" Flicker wondered.
"Yep," Blindside nodded, his smile growing wider. "I called him from Crystal City so he could be here. I knew Sunny and Sides were really close to him; it didn't seem right to have a reformatting party without inviting him."
"You're always so thoughtful," Blaze intoned. "He looks like he turned out real well, a Security Response officer and all. You don't get much better than that."
"Good for Sunny, bagging himself a Security Response officer," Wildride said proudly.
Sunstreaker stopped dead just before he disappeared, as if sensing the many sets optics on him. His head jerked around, immediately zeroing in on his family. Even at the distance he was at, it was obvious his optics had narrowed dangerously on them. All four stuntbots grinned broadly and offered the young bot double thumbs up. Sunstreaker rolled his optics and yanked his friend up the stairs, out of sight.
"That was embarrassing," Sunstreaker groaned as they made it to the top of the stairs.
"They're just happy for you," Bluestreak replied teasingly, tickling his fingers down the smaller bot's plating. "I'm happy for you, too."
The golden mech murmured quietly, content to enjoy the pleasant touches. "I'm pretty happy for me too right now… except for my family cheering me on downstairs. It doesn't get much worse than that."
"Be glad we have their approval," Bluestreak offered optimistically. "Imagine how much more embarrassing it would be if they came up here and busted down the door."
Sunstreaker crossed his optics and groaned. That sounded exactly like something they would do.
"How about we just forget about them? We should enjoy the moment," Bluestreak said, pressing a little closer. Warm air breathed out his vents, caressing down Sunstreaker's plating. The golden mech squirmed, liking the wonderful feelings running through him. He was more than happy to forget about everything else except the mech he was with.
"Do you know what to do?" Bluestreak murmured, nuzzling Sunstreaker's fins.
"I think so… I know the basics, I guess." Even if he had never interfaced like this before, he knew what was supposed to happen. Bots could slip their fingers beneath each other's plating to touch neural wires directly. Magnetic touches also felt really good when applied the right way, but that took a little bit of skill. It was all about making each other feel good. The crescendo would come when their minds connected, creating a feedback of pleasure between them, sending them both to an overload.
"Don't worry, I know what to do," Bluestreak assured. He placed his hands on either side of Sunstreaker's chassis and introduced a gentle swell of magnetism. It tickled all throughout Sunstreaker's frame. He groaned and squirmed, wriggled and snorted a ticklish laugh.
"Where'd you learn that from?" Sunstreaker wondered, feeling delighted and lightheaded. He was glad that Bluestreak was bigger than him, able to hold him up. It felt like his knees had turned to jelly; he never expected magnetic pulses to feel so good.
"Other officers," Bluestreak replied honestly. "My precinct is really open. You can have a different interfacing partner every night if you wanted. We get tested for viruses regularly, too, so you never have to worry about catching anything." He used another gentle magnetic pulse, eliciting a similar pleasured reaction from Sunstreaker.
"That feels really good," groaned the golden bot. "I'm clean, too. I don't have any viruses."
"I know. You wouldn't have been reformatted if you were infected," Bluestreak assured. "I'll make this good for you, I promise."
Sunstreaker giggled, trailing his fingers up and down Bluestreak's frame. "You're already making it pretty good."
"I am?" Bluestreak chirped excitedly.
"Uh-huh," Sunstreaker breathed, nodding vigorously.
They leaned into each other and twittered like they were still a pair of younglings.
Sunstreaker cleared his vents unsteadily, leaning up to brush his forehead to Bluestreak's. "Maybe we should get a room first."
"Oh yeah, a room would be good. Yeah… a room would be really good." Bluestreak rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly.
They managed to part from each other sheepishly, peering around the richly painted hallway. To their mild embarrassment, they were not alone. Two pleasure bots were standing at the far end of the hall, giggling quietly as they watched. Another pleasure bot's head was poking out of a nearby doorway, his large optics glittering impishly. All of the pleasure bots at Spinning Wheels knew Sunny well; they knew how much his reformatting meant to him, and they weren't above teasing him a little.
"Having fun, Sunny?" one of the pleasure bots asked cheekily.
"Um… yes?" Sunstreaker replied, revving in embarrassment.
One of the pleasure bots looked Bluestreak up and down with an appraising optic, and then offered an approving nod to Sunstreaker. "He looks like a good catch."
"Crystalline bots are known for being kind lovers," said another pleasure. "He'll be a good first for you."
Bluestreak revved a little. "I'll do my best."
A door at the far end of the hall clicked open, admitting Eros, one of the owners of the pleasure house. Another bot came out after him, a client. They touched hands, exchanging credits. As they bid each other affectionate goodbyes, Eros finally noticed Sunstreaker and Bluestreak. Upon seeing Sunstreaker, Eros smiled warmly and beckoned him over. Once close enough, Eros offered some very affectionate congratulations on Sunstreaker's reformatting, and happily exclaimed over how gorgeous he was- looking just like a retro-classic pleasure bot! He hadn't seen a frame that lovely in a very long time. If Sunstreaker ever had the urge to become a pleasure bot, Spinning Wheels would always be open to him.
It was a kind offer, but Sunstreaker didn't think he had the right temperament.
"Thank you, I'm glad you like it, Eros," Sunstreaker replied, flustered. He glanced at Bluestreak, who grinned in return.
Eros saw the exchange, clapping his hands together. "Ah, I see what you two are about. Looking for a room, are you?"
"Um, yeah, I guess…" Sunstreaker twittered, squeezing Bluestreak's hand tightly.
Eros nodded merrily. "Well, since you're such a special bot, I'll unlock Elysia's room for you. She's downstairs working the floor, so she'll never know the difference." He stepped across the hall and unlocked the appropriate door, offering a sweeping gesture into the room. "Have fun, you two!"
Giggling incessantly, the pair of young bots trotted into the room and let the door snap closed behind them. As it turned out, Elysia's room was a trip into a lair of pure decadence. The walls were painted in rich reds and golds, jewels dripping from every available surface. A sparkling chandelier hung from the ceiling. Warm, golden light filled the room, glowing off every surface, and casting glittering rainbows off every crystal ornament. Even the berth was a rich confection of sensuality with its soft polymer covering made of deep, deep red.
Sunstreaker walked several steps into the room and turned in a circle, dazzled by what he saw. While he had been to Spinning Wheels many times, and he was good friends with all of the pleasure bots that worked here, this was the first time he had ever been in one of their private rooms. He was definitely not disappointed by what he saw. As he turned in a full circle to take in the splendour of Elysia's room, rainbows of glittering red glinted off the rubies that hung from his fins. "This place is so amazing!"
Bluestreak stayed near the door, peering around with similar curious delight. "Gorgeous."
"It really is, isn't it?" Sunstreaker sighed.
Bluestreak's gaze lingered on Sunstreaker's faceplate, a smile curling his mouthplates. "Who says I was talking about the room?"
"Oh." Sunstreaker looked at his feet, his spark fluttering. He was nervous, excited, and flattered all at the same time.
"Um, before we do anything, I just gotta say something," Bluestreaker murmured, unable to take his optics off his company. Cast in golden light and speckled with glinting ruby red, Sunstreaker looked like an avatar. Too beautiful to be real.
Sunstreaker canted his head. "What is it?"
"It's just… I've wanted to do this with you for a really long time," Bluestreak confessed. "I've liked you for a really long time." He then shook his head. "I liked your brother, too- he was so funny and strange. But you… you were always so mature. It was like you already had seen and done more than most bots get to do in a lifetime. I really liked that about you- how smart you were, and how talented…"
Sunstreaker placed a gentle hand over the blue-grey mech's mouthplates to stop him from rambling. "I think you're pretty awesome, too, Blue."
That seemed to be exactly what he wanted to hear, because Bluestreak suddenly reached out and scooped Sunstreaker up. His frame was certainly stronger than it looked. In a few long strides, Bluestreak was able to deposit Sunstreaker on the berth. As he was set down, Sunstreaker scrambled to sit up, tugging Bluestreak down with him.
"So, um, what do we do now?" Sunstreaker twittered.
"We touch; we make each other feel good," Bluestreak replied, a dopey grin decorating his faceplate.
The golden bot revved. "I don't even know where to start."
"I'll show you," Bluestreak replied, turning so as to gently guide Sunstreaker down to the berth. He was careful only to rest a little bit of his weight on the smaller mech, leaving most of it lying on the berth. Their plating chinked together. It was so quiet in the room, they could hear their own hydraulics sighing as they moved, their coolant fans humming. Bluestreak traced his hands over Sunstreaker's frame, marvelling at every detail. He couldn't imagine anyone being more beautiful.
Sunstreaker mimicked the touches, finding out what felt the best on Blue and where. Feeling someone else's fingers beneath his plating was a bit weird, but it felt so good. When Bluestreak's fingers brushed over a neural wire, a sensitive circuit, it felt like… it was really hard to describe. It felt good, he knew that much. His frame was still so new to him, some of the touches surprised him. A scroll on the corner of his vision informed him that his internal temperature was rising; he could feel his innards beginning to warm. His spark wouldn't stop fluttering.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" Bluestreak murmured, gently brushing the golden mech with soft magnetic pulses. A groan was his reply.
Sunstreaker's optics glittered, sparkling with red dots of reflected light from his dangling jewellery. His dextrous fingers reached out and slipped beneath his partner's plating; a tentative magnetic pulse was used. It was almost too weak to feel, seeing as Sunstreaker had never used magnetic pulses before. It took a second pulse to get it right. Bluestreak felt the magnetic wave straight through to his spark. His mouthplates dropped open on a moan, his frame arching. Emboldened, Sunstreaker tried it again with similar satisfying results.
"Wow, you're a quick learner," Blue breathed, writhing. His hands tightened on Sunstreaker, dragging him close. Their foreheads brushed. The light from their optics reflected on each other's faceplates.
"You're a good teacher," Sunstreaker replied, shuddering as he discovered that the crevice where his fins met his head was sensitive, especially when a certain someone was blowing warm air there. His fingers danced along Bluestreak's frame, doing everything that came to his mind. He wanted to make Blue feel as good as he did, because Bluestreak was making him feel really, really good.
A muted click sounded from between them, nearly lost in the chinking of metal, shifting frames and humming fans. Sunstreaker's fingers fumbled across the exposed cable, holding it up for inspection. It was an average cable, a couple shades darker than Bluestreak's paintjob.
"So now we interface?" wondered the mech, hearing how breathless he sounded.
"If you want to," Bluestreak replied, sounded just as swept away in the moment. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We can keep doing this, if you want to. Just touching and stuff-."
A panel on the front of Sunstreaker's chest popped open, just below the space where his neck met his shoulder. Before Blue could get in another word, Sunstreaker inserted the officer's cable. In another flash, the golden mech took his own cable and popped it into Blue's port.
"I said I wanted to do this, Blue. I want to do it with you," laughed the golden mech, bending forward to rub his forehead to the other mech's.
There was nothing particularly different about interfacing for pleasure as there was for interfacing for any other kind of purpose. The process was exactly the same; bots connected through their cables and ports, theirs minds would synchronize, and then came the falling sensation as the barriers of the mind opened up and two minds would collide in a strange, out-of-body kind of way. Both Sunstreaker and Bluestreak had plenty of experience with regular interfacing, so they didn't sway or try to catch themselves as newbies might.
Once their minds and frames were settled, Sunstreaker shifted, trying to recall what they had done together last time that had felt good. Blue immediately caught on to Sunstreaker's thoughts, giggling.
"I remember what it was," he said. He pressed forward through their connection; it wasn't like he was sending a memory or anything like that. It was much more like his mind itself was pushing forward. It was a ticklish physical sensation at the same time that it was a warm mental sensation as thoughts were pushed out of the way to make room for him. Sunstreaker closed his optics as he felt Bluestreak reaching out. He could feel a warm touch to his mind; thoughts directly touching thoughts. It was better than a physical touch. He felt it deeper.
"Wow," he breathed, cycling his air unsteadily. "Let me try." Carefully, he reached out with his own mind. He passed through the ethereal barrier between his mind and the secondary mind connected to his. All around him there was new data, new thoughts, new files, new memories. Thinking about pleasure, he impressed the sensation into Bluestreak. He was nervous, so he didn't press that hard. The sensation that was created was more like a tickle, making Bluestreak wriggle and laugh.
"You can come in a little deeper if you want," Bluestreak invited, wrapping his arms around Sunstreaker and drawing him close. "You won't hurt me if you press harder."
Emboldened by the invitation, Sunstreaker impressed himself deeper into Bluestreak's mind. A low noise came from Bluestreak's parted mouthplates. A ghost of the sensation looped back to Sunstreaker through the connection, causing him to shudder. He felt wonderfully good. Pleasuring someone else brought pleasure right back to him. He pressed forward again, touching as much as he could.
Bluestreak made a noise again, a cross between a laugh and a moan. "Now you're catching on," he said, returning his partner's enthusiasm. Both his mind and hands reached for Sunstreaker, tickling and touching him everywhere.
They ended up both laughing, wiggling against each other. Their plating chinked. Slates of metal got caught on each other. The longer their minds melded with each other, the more their movements synced. Their laughter faded into other noises. Gasps. Groans. The whirring of their fans got a little louder as their frames heated up. Their energon rushed through their energon lines, making them dizzy and lightheaded even as they turned liquid and pliant, moving against each other like the tides of an ocean against the shore.
In the background, there was a third mind lurking.
Sunstreaker was nothing if he was not a part of Sideswipe.
Perhaps it was Sunstreaker's present activity that snapped Sideswipe out of his stupor.
Or perhaps it was Flashdance shoving a marker up his olfactory sensor in revenge for the paint brush Sideswipe had once shoved up his so long ago.
Whatever the reason for him regaining consciousness, he came to so suddenly that the world exploded into colour and sound. He groaned, hands shooting to the sides of his head. Flashdance had no chance to scramble away before he was caught. As soon as Sideswipe's optics focused, his gaze met with his brother's, and then Flashdance subtly leaned away.
"I, um- I can explain," said the dancer.
Sideswipe wasn't interested in explanations. He sat up, letting the marker in olfactory sensor fall out. He stared at Flashdance for an astrosecond, and then promptly purged all over the other mech's front. With a howl, Flashdance shot back. Their table overbalanced, sending them both to the floor. The sudden movement upset Sideswipe's tanks again, causing him to purge once more… this time right all over the side of Flashdance's head. The second spray of energon caused the dancer to shriek, flailing his arms as he felt the lukewarm oozing liquid start to seep between his plating. The movement and noise was too much for Sideswipe, who was now discovering the horrible condition of being caught between being over-energized and being hungover.
In an attempt to escape his throbbing headache, he curled up into a little ball on the floor.
Above him came unrepentant laughter as his family doubled over and laughed at his pain.
Flashdance continue to swear over the energon congealing all over him. Several tired pleasure bots came over and guided him to a backroom where they could help clean him off. With Flashdance gone, the laughter died. Sidedswipe dared to crack his optics open. For the first time, he noticed that music was no longer playing and the flashing lights were gone, replaced by the low-key golden lights hanging from the ceiling. The only noises were murmured snoring from unconscious bots and russelling sounds as drones and pleasure bots cleaned up their home.
Wildride crouched by Sideswipe's side and hauled the poor bot into a chair. The older bot was not gentle in treating his creation; Sideswipe could feel the energon inside his tanks sloshing around. He gurgled, gagging. Thankfully, he didn't purge again. Once the world stopped spinning and his tanks settled down again, he leaned to the side and wrapped his arms around Blindside, taking comfort in the one adult around him who was not taking delight in his over-indulgence in high-grade.
"Is the party over?" he mumbled into the star-spangling metal of Blindside's middle.
"Awwww, sweetspark, you poor little thing." A gentle hand came down, stroking Sideswipe's head. A very weak magnetic pulse flared, further soothing Sideswipe. "You missed a lot of the party."
Sideswipe groaned, hugging himself tighter to Blindside. "Where's Sunny?"
"He's upstairs having fun with Blue," Wildride replied, plopping into his own chair. He was over-energized, but he still had a good sense of balance as he tilted his chair back on two legs and rocked back and forth.
"Blue?" Sideswipe wondered wearily.
"You know, Blue- your friend from the Youth Sector?" Wildride drawled, as if Sideswipe were suddenly stupid.
"He's a Security Response officer now," Blaze intoned.
Sideswipe thought hard, then groaned when it became apparent that thinking hurt. Blue did sound familiar, though. A vague blue-green smudge of a memory came to mind. Mostly, all he could concentrate on was the fact that his head hurt, the lights were too bright, and normal talking was too loud. With a pained sigh, he lifted his legs and let them lay across Thrillride's lap. "This is the last time I ever drink high-grade," he vowed solemnly.
"Right," Wildride drawled. "We'll see how long that lasts."
"Never, never, never," Sideswipe chanted.
A slight tapping came from nearby, several gazes snapping up to see a slim pleasure bot standing next to a table. He was knocking on the tabletop in place of knocking on a door for politeness.
"Sideswipe's online?" wondered the minibot.
Sideswipe waved his arm weakly.
"Oh, you poor little thing," cooed the bot. With light footsteps, he came over and crouched down, offering a tray laden with a cube of clear liquid and small chips of chalky white stuff. "Here, this should help with the hangover."
Sideswipe stared at the offered gifts. "What are they?"
The pleasure bot held up the white chips. "This is chalk. It'll absorb the high-grade in your tanks. Don't eat too much of it because it's not good for you. As soon as you feel better, you drink this," the cube of clear liquid was held up. "It's hydrochloric acid. It'll dissolve the chalk you ate so that it doesn't clog up your systems. It'll take away a lot of the excess energy in your system so you won't be so sick."
Blindside took one of the chunks of chalk and held it to Sideswipe's mouthplates. While Sideswipe was reduced to eating out of his creator's hand, Blindside decided to scold him gently. "Keep in mind that this isn't a permanent solution. You don't go eating chalk every time you drink high-grade. You get a freebie this time because it was your first time drinking, but next time you're just going to have to suffer."
The scolding was unnecessary. Sideswipe was sure he would never drink high-grade again. As he grinded the chalk into powder, he discovered that it was disconcerting to have something solid in between his mouthplates. He'd only ever had liquids and crumbs of energon goodies that he could swallow whole. The extra effort of grinding things down didn't seem worth it. Especially chalk. Chalk was gross. It was dry and immediately started to clog everything up with chalk dust. The stuff that made it down to his tanks settled heavily, already starting to soak up the high-grade in big gobs of goop.
It was a short time before Flashdance returned to them. His plating was freshly cleaned and shined, though his expression was a mottled mix of irritation and pouting. He was immediately set upon by the other stuntbots, teasing him relentlessly. Sideswipe would have loved to have joined in, but he didn't dare open his mouthplates. It felt as if one wrong move would have him purging again, and with the chalk in his tanks now, he did not want to see what it looked like when it came up.
Casting his optics around, the young mech noticed that most of the party-goers were already gone. A few stragglers remained, some conscious and some not. Debris littered the floor- broken cubes and scattered confetti. The whole room stank of spilt high-grade. Sideswipe felt a bit of chagrin burn through him, wishing he'd been conscious a little longer to enjoy more of his own party.
Out of curiosity, he reached out to Sunstreaker to see how he and Blue were doing. All he got was a wonderful sense of… contentment?
"Damn him," Sideswipe pouted, wishing the chalk would work faster so he could feel better and be able to complain properly over the unfairness of the world.
From the staircase on the far side of the room came two sets of clattering footsteps. Giggling came close on the heels of the steps. All optics were on the stairs as Sunstreaker and Bluestreak appeared. They were absorbed in each other, their optics bright and their mouthplates stretched wide with ridiculous grins. It was not until they stumbled to the bottom and turned into the room that they realized the party was over. They coughed, straightening up in an attempt to make themselves look presentable. Their attempts failed the moment their optics wandered to each other, causing them to break down into fits of giggles again.
Sideswipe watched the scene with a pout, reaching out to Sunstreaker. He got a small nudge back, but the golden bot was currently too distracted to offer much attention elsewhere.
Blaze raised a hand and waved the pair over. That's all it took to get them to start giggling again, but they made their way over nonetheless.
"Did you two have fun?" Thrillride asked brightly.
"Lots of fun," Bluestreak replied happily. "Sunstreaker caught on to the whole thing really quickly."
"Blue's a great teacher," Sunstreaker mumbled, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I knew you two would have a great time," Blindside gushed.
"I think Sunny deserves applause," Wildride teased in a singsong voice. As expected, merry applause rose up from the stuntbots. They were ridiculously happy for their little Sunny. He was pretty now, gaining a little confidence, and having a bit of fun. What more could they ask for? The only one who didn't clap was Sideswipe. Sunstreaker noticed, arching an optic ridge at his brother.
"Too over-energized to clap?" he wondered tauntingly.
"I'll clap later when I'm sure it won't make me purge," Sideswipe slurred. He shifted in his seat, quite sure the chalk had done its job by now. He grasped the cube of hydrochloric acid and drank it fast. It was vile. The worst tasting thing he had ever drank. The acid reacted with the chalk dust caught in the cracks of his mouthplates, foaming and fizzing. The rest of the acid foamed and fizzed the rest of the way down, burning straight to his tanks. He bent forward and gagged, but all that came up was flecks of foam and a fizzing noise.
Sunstreaker stared in horror. "Should he be foaming at the mouthplates?"
"It's just a little bit of chalk and hydrochloric acid. He'll feel better in a moment," Blindside assure, rubbing Sideswipe's back. He didn't even grimace when Sideswipe started drooling all down his legs, slowly oozing the reacted concoction out of his system. Blindside, as any other troupe member, was all too familiar with the old chalk'n'acid trick.
The aerials sidled up to either side of Bluestreak, their short stature requiring them to lean far back to be able to look him up and down.
"So…" Skyfly drawled slyly. "Staying long in the capitol?"
Bluestreak shifted on his feet, offering a hapless half-smile. "I'd like to, I really would…"
Clouddrift canted his head. "So what's stopping you?"
Blue look helplessly to Sunstreaker, but there was no help to be found there. He was curious was Blue couldn't stay either. With a sigh, he admitted, "I wasn't really able to get that much time off. Only a couple of orns… basically long enough to get here, enjoy the party, and get back to work. I'd love to stay if I could, but I can't."
Sunstreaker deflated. "I understand," he sighed. "It's not like I'd be here long anyways…" He checked his chronometer. "Elita One is going to be here to pick me up in a few joors." He blinked in surprise. "Slag, I didn't think it was that late! I'm not even going to be able to recharge before she gets here! I won't even be able to polish myself!"
"Don't worry, you'll look good no matter what," Bluestreak murmured bashfully, his fingers lacing with Sunstreaker's. Sunstreaker's panicked tirade cut off as he stared at his linked fingers, and then he twittered.
"Blue loves Sunny," Skyfly teased.
"Sunny loves Blue," Clouddrift sang.
"Suck exhaust, you two," Sunny pouted, bending down to shoo them away. They took to the air laughing, blowing coloured smoke around while they cackled.
"They only tease you because they love you," Blindside said.
"Is it wrong that I wish they loved me a little less?" Sunstreaker whined.
"You'll feel differently in the morning. The important part is that we're very happy that you found Blue and had a good time with him." His too-happy smile broadcasted his hopes that he might have played the merry little matchmaker for his creation. First loves were always special loves. If Sunny could find that in Blue, well, that would be perfect. They made such a cute couple!
Blue rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, it's getting late… or early… um, you know what I mean. The only flight I could book back to Crystal City was an early one, so I should get to the transport terminal before my flight leaves without me."
"I'll walk you outside," Sunstreaker chirped.
Wildride hauled Sideswipe up. "Take your brother with you. He needs fresh air." Sideswipe's head lulled up, still drooling a little bit.
Sunstreaker wrinkled his olfactory sensor. "Do I have to?"
"Just take him," his creator insisted, shoving him into Sunstreaker's arms. "After you see Blue off, you two can head on home. Don't worry about the mess. We'll stay to help clean it up."
"Pit yeah, no clean-up duty," Sideswipe slurred into Sunstreaker's audio.
With many merry goodbyes bid to Blue from the troupe, the trio of young bots made their way out of Spinning Wheels. In the front yard, they discovered several more fallen bodies, unconscious where they laid. Because of his programming, Blue had to scan each one to make sure they were all right and didn't need medical assistance. As it turned out, they were all just over-energized, not that anyone was expecting any less.
"When you bots party, you party," said the officer with a shake of his head.
"It's part of our charm," Sunstreaker shrugged, though the gesture was difficult with Sideswipe leaning heavily on him.
They made it to the edge of the transport way, standing there awkwardly. One way would take Blue to the terminal where he'd be taken back to Crystal City. The other direction was the local transit that would take the twins home.
"You know, Blue, you're not so bad when you don't talk so much," Sideswipe intoned.
Bluestreak blinked, than laughed. "You're not so bad when you're not doing stupid stuff," he replied.
It was Sideswipe's turn to laugh. He offered his hand to his old friend, grasping it tight. "Have a good one in Crystal City."
"I will. Good luck with your training here- you'll be a great performer."
With a half-smile and a bit of a groan, Sideswipe straightened to his feet. He didn't say anything as he lumbered off for the transit stop, but it was implied that he was giving his brother and Blue a few last moments alone.
Sunstreaker scuffed his feet on the ground. "So, um…"
"Yeah…" Bluestreak rubbed the back of his neck.
"Thank for tonight," Sunstreaker abruptly said.
"You're welcome," Bluestreak immediately replied.
Their gazes wandered around the vicinity, wondering how to make their parting a little less awkward.
"If you're ever in Crystal City…"
"I'll look you up," Sunstreaker finished.
Bluestreak grinned. "Good."
"So… you better get going," Sunstreaker said reluctantly.
"Yeah, I guess so." Bluestreak glanced behind him at the road, then back at Sunstreaker. He leaned down and rubbed his forehead affectionately to the golden bot's. When they parted, they were both smiling. "There, now I can go." With that, he transformed and zipped out onto the transport way.
With a dreamy sigh, Sunstreaker turned on his heel and wandered over to the bench where Sideswipe sat. Before he even got there, the transit craft came, so they both boarded and headed straight for the back. It was such a late/early hour that the whole craft was empty except for the pilot. That was a small blessing. Neither twin was up for much fanfare at the moment. They wanted to get home and get some recharge before dawn came and their new lives began. They leaned back in their seats, both wearing vague grins about their mouthplates.
"Some night, huh?" Sunstreaker sighed.
Sideswipe laughed. "Yeah, some night."