Hello! XD I loved everybody's responses and reactions to Starlight's appearance so much! The reviews absolutely made my day. Today has been hectic and too busy, so I won't be able to send review replies until Thursday (maybe). I loved every review and feel bad about not replying. But… LIFE. I loved all the reviews and love all of you for them!

And… I was supposed to update last week. :( I'm sorry about that. It was a crazy week with a group presentation that got delayed because one of my group members had a family crisis, and so everything was thrown off. Also, a bunch of assignments were due. And more assignments are due this week, plus I'm a tutor, and everybody else needs me to read their papers. I'm taking a breaking from the sixth paper today to post this update...

To the guest reviewer of chapter 26: YES! XD You're right! You figured it out! You figured out that Prowl didn't like Praxus wearing the visor because Jazz had a visor! It makes me SO happy that you said something about it; I wrote that quite intentionally, and nobody said anything about it. XD Cookies for you! X)

There might be typos… I proofread multiple times, but my own typos get past me at times.

No slash. Bromance maybe if you absolutely must, but no slash.


Chapter 28

Prowl lay prone on his berth and settled down, nestling his cheek against his pillow as he let his wings relax. Most of his body relaxed as well, but the tightness in his back and shoulders stayed. Praxus had stressed him out completely, and it would take a little while to unwind.

Prowl sighed a soft sigh. He hadn't used a harsh tone on Praxus, but Praxus had acted like it, and it troubled him. "You should have asked earlier-" he'd said. Those words weren't harsh, were they? His tone hadn't been harsh, but Praxus had hidden his face and cringed later like he'd been expecting Prowl to hit him. That behavior hadn't surprised Prowl, but it did bother him. It bothered him that Praxus thought a beating was just around the corner every time he spoke.

And it frustrated him that Praxus hadn't responded to his explanation and apology. "Praxus… I… was not chastising you when I said that you should have asked earlier. I only meant that you should not have been reluctant to ask earlier, and I apologize if I came across as harsh and reprimanding." He'd been expecting Praxus mumble a begrudging acknowledgement, but none had come, only a little more withdrawal.

And Prowl wasn't sure why he'd thought that reaching to touch Praxus's wing would have helped anything. It had been a rather illogical and unhelpful action, serving only to make Praxus cringe more and flinch.

And saying "I have a blanket for you" had brought no response of any kind, and that bothered Prowl the most. Had Praxus thought that he was lying? Was that why Praxus hadn't responded? Prowl had no answer.

He'd felt frustrated, and part of him had wanted to dump the blanket on the table and stalk back to his room, but the good part of him had known better. Feelings had teetered, and then kindness had outweighed aggravation. Covering Praxus with the blanket had (hopefully) worked as a metaphor for covering up the hurt he'd unintentionally caused.

Whether or not the metaphor had worked, the blanket had worked, and Praxus hadn't moved once since snuggling into it. Prowl was tiredly glad about that, relieved.

He had a small problem now, though: the only blanket in his quarters was no longer on his berth for him to recharge under. Praxus had it. Praxus had the only blanket.

Prowl wriggled his pedes a little. Praxus wasn't the only Praxian who needed a blanket over him to feel secure, and that was annoying. –particularly when there was only one blanket. He could handle it, though, he told himself, for he was an Enforcer and a soldier.

He shifted once just a tiny bit and thought about a few things, and then he dropped into recharge.

OoOoOoOoO

It was six minutes after midnight. Prowl woke up to screams and scrambled off his berth, his pedes hitting the floor in the dark as his battle programs booted up. Then he remembered that Praxus was his roommate and that Praxus had nightmares. Auri had told him about Praxus having nightmares.

Softly and quickly, Prowl left his berth-room and entered his living-room, adjusting the lights so that the room had just a tiny bit of light for him to see by. Praxus was squirming and writhing as he sobbed and screamed into his pillow.

Prowl hated nightmares, having had more than enough experience with them himself, and he didn't even want to think about them let alone deal with them. Yet… he knew how much a bot outside the nightmare could help.

He hesitated, knowing that he should not walk away and leave Praxus to suffer. Praxus was miserable enough in his quarters as it was.

Prowl sighed. He knew he wouldn't get any recharge if he left Praxus screaming anyways.

He didn't want to get close to Praxus, though; he wanted to be alone and away. And he didn't want a strand of friendship twining itself between them, and he knew that would happen if he spent too much time with Praxus and made physical contact with him.

"Oh, oh, S-S-S-Star-l-l-light-" Praxus sobbed then broke off, keening and whimpering. He sounded so inconsolable and so spark-broken that Prowl almost felt his spark tear.

Prowl bit his lip then went over to him, approaching carefully as he remembered the talon claw-marks that Praxus had left on Ratchet's face. He knew that the talons had guards over them, now, but he had no way of knowing if Praxus would strike out some other way.

"Praxus," Prowl said quietly and as gently as he could with a mech. Praxus didn't hear him, so he stepped a little closer and touched his fingers to Praxus's shoulder. The poor mech was hot to touch, his system extra-heated from sobbing so hard, and he didn't respond. He was caught in recharge, not awake at all.

"Praxus," Prowl said again, kneeling on one knee by the couch and putting a hand just below Praxus's shoulder, "Shhhhh… mech, sh," he soothed, rubbing Praxus's back a little. It was a caring action, but Prowl kept himself detached.

"Shh-shh…" He moved his hand to middle of Praxus's mid-back and rubbed along his spinal ridge, up a little, down a little, up a little more, his fingers working up Praxus's back. Ratchet had done this for him, Prowl, through a great many nightmares, and it had helped immensely.

"You are safe now," Prowl murmured, recalling things Ratchet had said to calm him, "Everyone here will look after you…"

"I will look after you," he murmured. "You're safe… sh-shhhhh…"

He rubbed Praxus's neck, as Ratchet had his, and reflected how everyone had a turn. Someone had to have nurtured Ratchet through Ratchet's nightmares, (Prowl couldn't imagine a medic like Ratchet not having nightmares,) and Ratchet had consoled Prowl through Prowl's nightmares. Now it was Prowl's turn to comfort Praxus through Praxus's nightmares. Praxus would get his turn sometime; eventually, Praxus would have to look after someone through a nightmare. The spiteful bit in Prowl was glad that Praxus would get payback, but the rest of him slapped the spiteful bit away and felt sad about the inevitable play of events. It was a sorrowful thing that so many bots had nightmares.

Prowl sighed. He wished that nobody would have nightmares. –And it didn't have to do with the fact that Praxus's nightmare was interrupting his recharge. He wished that the violence that sparked them was over so they wouldn't happen.

Praxus was calming down; his sobs had subsided, but he was still whimpering a bit.

Prowl stayed with him a while longer, and the whimpers stopped… only shuddering hiccoughs remained.

"Poor, mech-ling…" Prowl murmured, rising. He brushed his fingers across Praxus's shoulder. Prax had cooled down a bit; he was still a little warm, but not as overheated as he had been. That was a good sign.

Prowl trudged back to his own room and dropped onto his berth. 'That was utterly exhausting," he thought, and then he was in recharge.

Morning came with no further disturbances, and Prowl woke up feeling rested. Losing a little over an hour of recharge hadn't hurt much, he mused as he got up.

A peaceful half-hour was devoted the Cybertronian equivalent of Yoga, and then Prowl quietly opened the door into his living-room where someone lay covered by the blanket. Prowl stopped in the doorway. The blanket was tucked securely under the pedes and covered the legs and entirely body, including the wings, which stuck up under the blanket rather absurdly, and the blanket was all the way over the helm. The form was covered completely by the blanket, and it made Prowl's wings uneasy. Prowl's wings didn't like being under blankets whatsoever unless things were really, really bad. Prowl, on the whole, found this behavior a little disconcerting but decided to go on and get his breakfast.

Crossing the room, he opened the store of Energon and took out a cube. Then he glanced at the blanketed form on the couch.

He sat and looked at his Energon cube for a moment, reflecting on the times when he'd not had Energon or Energon this good. Then he glanced at the blanketed form on the couch.

He picked up his Energon cube and tried to take a sip of his Energon, but by now he was completely paranoid by the blanketed form on the couch.

Prowl opened his mouth to address whoever it was then paused. His processor was malfunctioning that morning, he realized; it was refusing to pull memories from last night. The form had a name… it was…

"Praxus," Prowl said it as he finally forced his way through the mental blocks.

Praxus rolled over immediately, blanket and all, and went over the side of the couch, hitting the floor with a solid thud and a gasp.

Prowl's wings twitched up. He'd not been expecting that. Furthermore, he didn't know how to respond to that.

Praxus looked back at him, and it was clear from his manner that he'd been awake for at least a little while.

Prowl considered things he might say.

Praxus sat amidst the rumpled blanket and looked curious, wary, and a little confused. "Good morning?" Praxus said after a minute and a half.

"Good morning," Prowl replied. "I was not altogether certain that you were alright," he explained, picking his words carefully as he studied Praxus.

Praxus pursed his lips then shifted a wing. "I typically cocoon myself in a blanket in the mornings once I wake up," he explained. "It... um, it let's Ratchet know that I'm awake but that he doesn't have to engage me."

"I see," Prowl said. That was helpful to know. He turned his attention back to his Energon cube then took a sip. He focused on ignoring Praxus as the younger mech hesitantly rose and picked up the blanket. Praxus folded the blanket in half short-ways, and then in half long ways, then in half again twice more until he decided it was the right size to drape over the couch's armrest. Praxus glanced sideways at him uncertainly, and then he had a feeling that his unwelcome roommate might be a little hungry.

Prowl returned Praxus's glance and turned it into a look, allowing optic-contact to signal Praxus that he could speak.

Praxus shifted his wings uncertainly then lowered them. Evidently, a mere look wasn't going to do it.

"Questions?" Prowl prompted. "Concerns?" he added after a moment in case Praxus didn't have an actual question.

"I am not welcome here," Praxus stated carefully, "I do not wish to make myself more unwelcome by making a wrong move, but I do not know the nuances of what constitutes a wrong move in your domain. It would help if you would explain how you want mornings to go, for I do not want to tread on your mornings."

Prowl, to be quite honest, had to admit that that was very well-spoken, and he was just a little bit impressed, so he paused, giving the matter more thought than he would have if Praxus hadn't impressed him.

"I wish my mornings to not be impeded yet to not impede others," he said after a moment. "I take breakfast then leave for an hour and a half for battle practice, patrol, or such. Then I return to my quarters briefly before going to the bathhouse, after which I go to my office. You may construct your morning schedule as you chose."

Praxus nodded then mulled things over. "Thank-you," he said as an afterthought. Then he went and sat on the couch, taking up a data-pad.

"Take Energon when you are hungry," Prowl told him, watching to see how he responded. Praxus looked over quickly.

"Yes, sir," he murmured, rising slowly. He approached and got an Energon cube quietly, not meeting Prowl's optics, not wanting to be in his space near the table. Prowl watched him retreat to the couch and curl up to tentatively sip the liquid energy from the cube, which he cradled in two hands.

Prowl finished his Energon then rose and headed for the door. "I will return, as I said, in about an hour and a half," he said, glancing over at Praxus.

Praxus nodded, still cradling his Energon cube.

Praxus watched until the door was shut, and then he counted three minutes. Two seconds after that, he was off the couch and on his knees, reaching under the couch for his hidden box.

He tugged it out gently and opened the lid carefully. Starlight was still sleeping, her little wings rising and falling lightly as her venting system regulated her temperature. Praxus checked her temperature and found it just a little low but perfectly safe. He kept her out for an hour, sitting beside her box as he read about sparklings and sipped his Energon, and then he softly closed the lid and hid her box under the couch again.

Prowl returned a bit later, looking like he'd rolled around in the mud two or three times.

Praxus looked up from his data-pad, saying nothing but watching as Prowl gingerly washed his hands and dried them.

Prowl turned and met Praxus's watching optics. "You need not stare at me," he said, walking over to his desk. Praxus dropped his optics immediately at that rebuke.

"I apologize," Praxus murmured.

Prowl shuffled through a couple data-pads and then put several of them in sub-space. "I will probably not be back until this evening. I generally take lunch in my office or at the pub."

"Understood," Praxus murmured.

"Do you have any questions or concerns I need to address before I head off?" Prowl was standing at the door now.

Praxus shifted. "Just this once," he started, but he faltered when he saw Prowl stiffen. Then he pushed on. "Might I… I… go with you to the bathhouse? I do not want to walk there alone the first time."

"Bumblebee would be happy to see you through the whole Base."

Praxus's wings lowered. "I do not want the whole Base," he said softly, "I am tired and stressed out. I only want a wash then solitude to read and listen to music. That is all I want."

Prowl could understand those wants. He could understand those wants all too well. The last thing he wanted was company in the showers, but he understood where Praxus was and how Praxus felt, and it worked against his own wants.

"Come then," he said, motioning with his hand, "Just this once."

"Thank-you," Praxus said softly, and he knew not to expect a "you're welcome."

The walk to the bathhouse was a silent one, and Prowl's pace was brisk.

They went inside, and Prowl paused to motion to a door with a silhouette of a femme on it. "Do not ever think of opening that door," he said, "Not even for a joke or prank,"

"I will not," Praxus said, his tone serious as he glanced at the door then at Prowl.

"Good," Prowl said, going to the door with a mech silhouetted on it. "Some newcomers think they will be funny, but they only end up in trouble with the femmes, and I am usually the one who has to mediate."

Praxus chuckled softly.

Prowl shot him a stern look.

"Apologies," Praxus said quickly, "I was only thinking –let Ratchet do the mediating."

Prowl actually snorted in amusement. "Wrenches would fly," he said. Then he entered the mechs' side of the bathhouse. "It works just like the shower in Med-Bay," he said. "Soap, there. Towels, there."

"Thank-you."

"Mh-hm."

Prowl went over to one side and turned on the water to let it run while he began stripping his armor. He was nearly always the first bot in the showers in the morning, so the water was nearly always cold in the pipes. It took a little while for the warm water to arrive.

Prowl heard Praxus turn on the water on the other side of the room.

"It will be cold," he warned Praxus, not turning.

"Oh," Praxus said.

"No one has run water through the pipes since last night," Prowl explained.

"I see…" Praxus murmured.

Prowl stepped under the water once it had reached a decent temperature and began to wash. He heard Praxus do the same. They kept their optics off each other; Prowl didn't want Praxus to feel threatened, and Praxus didn't want Prowl to think he was invading personal space.

Prowl reflexively looked over, though, when Praxus gasped sharply, and he found the dark Praxian quickly washing soap from his arms.

Praxus glared at him defensively. "It stings," he growled, hunching his wings.

Prowl nodded then looked away. The cuts… The soap wasn't gentle to raw places.

In eight minutes, Prowl was clean and armored and mostly dry. "I am going now," he said, heading for the door.

"Prowl," Praxus said, hesitating.

Prowl stopped and looked over. Praxus had half his armor on now, up to his waist, his torso showing its countless scars.

"I know it is your duty, but… thank-you."

Prowl nodded.

"May you have a good day," Praxus said.

"Thank-you," Prowl replied, "May you as well." Then he left.

Outside the bathhouse, Prowl sighed a huge sigh of relief. He was done with Praxus for a considerable number of hours. He didn't feel hatred or dislike for Praxus any longer, but it stressed him out entirely too much to be around him. There was too much tension, too much fear.

He sighed again then pushed thoughts of last evening and that morning out of his processor as he headed towards his office. He looked forward to his office and the methodical shuffling of paperwork that he would do. There was an art to handling things in the office that he enjoyed. And Auri would be there. She would be there an hour after he got there, and she would make sure that she got him to smile. The thought of that almost made him smile.

"Good morning, Prowl-Cop," Chromia called, greeting him from across the street.

Prowl bit back the impulse to call her down about using a nick-name. "Good morning," he called back, his tone relatively amiable. He slowed as she crossed the road to walk with him then resumed his pace as she fell in step beside him.

"How'd it go with Prax last night?" she asked.

"It was highly stressful –for both of us, I think-, but I do not believe it went too badly."

"As in, both of you are still alive?" Chromia teased.

"Yes," Prowl said. "And we both got ample amounts of recharge… once I promised Praxus I would not force him to repay me for letting him stay and once he had a blanket."

"Praxians gotta have their blankies."

"I do not need one."

"But you prefer one, Prowls."

"Yes," he admitted. Then he realized something. "Why are you not on your patrol?"

"Oh, the twins said they'd take the last half hour of it so I could breakfast with Auri."

Prowl looked over at her. "Even if it is a minor shift change, you still need to clear it with me."

Chromia rolled her optics. "Prowler… what could pos-"

Prowl suddenly turned and hurried off.

"Prowl?"

"The twins-!" Prowl called back to Chromia, "They hate Praxus-"

Chromia said a couple words she shouldn't have, and then she hurried after Prowl.

OoOoOoOoO

Praxus walked up the street, his optics and wings alert for any threats as he walked quickly but not too quickly. He knew that walking too quickly would draw attention to himself because it would look like he was trying to get away. He wasn't trying to get away, though; he just wanted to get back to quarters as soon as possible.

Then he saw them, and he knew they were Auri's twins. They gleamed in the sunlight, one a stunning golden-yellow and the other a striking silver, and they were coming towards him. They were undoubtedly gorgeous, and they looked like they could be lethal. They had a reputation among the Cons; Praxus knew not every story was true, but he knew all stories had at least a little truth in them. For a couple moments, he felt a little panicky, his inner-workings tightening a bit and his wings tensing. Then he stopped that feeling. These two were Auri's good friends. They wouldn't hurt him. In fact, with Auri as a mutual friend, it was quite possible that they would be his friends as well, like Bumblebee.

As they came closer, he made open optic contact and came to a halt at a comfortable distance. He suddenly felt uncomfortable then, though, at the way they put distance between themselves and made him the point of a triangle as if they were going to block him. He knew this stance. He and his gang had used it in cornering prey before a round of tormenting.

This wasn't going to be friendly.

"Hello," he greeted them.

"Sunny, dude! He talks!" Sideswipe said, sounding a bit amazed.

"That's pretty remarkable," Sunny said, moving a little closer to Praxus to scrutinize him.

"Do most mechs not talk to you?" Praxus asked, raising an optic-ridge. He needed to figure out what the game was so he could beat them at it, so he appeared to fall for their bait.

Sunny snorted then snickered. "He thinks he's a mech," he said to Sides.

Sides shrugged. "Well, in a basic sense, I guess he is. Auri does call him a 'him.'"

Praxus cocked his head. This was a little confusing, in truth.

"True," Sunny concurred. "Hey, check out the details," he directed his brother to the dark purple flames on Praxus's armor. "Pretty intricate."

"Well," Sides said matter-of-factly, "You know how femme-lings are about their pretend friends. They've got to be fancy."

Praxus's optics narrowed almost imperceptivity. He had it now.

"Well, naturally," Praxus said, "Look at yourselves."

"We do that every morning before we step out and dazzle the base with our smexiness," Sunny said, "But, see, we're real."

"And I'm not?" Praxus asked, widening his optics.

"Of course not," Sunny said disdainfully, "You're pretend."

"Slag…" Praxus said, "I thought I was real."

Sunny's lip curled a little. "Nope, you're as pretend as her last pretend friend, Derpicon."

Praxus paused. "Then why can you see me?"

"Because we're awesome-sauce," Sides said matter-of-factly. Sunny gave his brother a slightly dirty look.

"We are Auri's top besties," Sunny said, "So we have her permission to see her pretendies."

"I'm pretty sure you guys have to be pretendies, too," Praxus said, taking a step closer to the twins.

"That's what most of the pretendies say. They want so badly to be real that it's genuinely pathetic. -Like you."

Praxus reached over and ran a small wrench across Sunny's chest armor quickly, stripping paint before it registered fully in the twin's processor what he was doing.

Then it registered, and the golden twin froze in rage.

"Didn't know that could happen if I was a pretendie," Praxus said slowly with feigned amazement.

"You marred my paint," Sunny said, optics darkening.

"That must mean I'm real then, huh?" Praxus challenged.

"Real enough to pound into the pavement," Sunny growled, fists curling.

Sides put a hand on his brother's arm. "We have better things to do. Let's go," he said.

Sunny's optics bored into Praxus's, and for a moment Praxus thought that he was going to get pounded into the pavement, but then Sunny's optics shifted and the twins walked off.

Praxus watched them go. Then he turned swiftly as someone else approached him.

Prowl.

Prowl had a stern face on. Chromia was a few steps behind him.

Praxus glanced towards the direction that the twins had gone. Prowl and Chromia were the reason that they'd left.

"What did they say?" Prowl asked grimly.

Praxus shrugged his wings slightly. "They acted like they thought I was Auri's pretend friend and wasn't actually real," he answered.

A brief scowl crossed Prowl's face. "That was unacceptable behavior on the twins' part," he said, "They will be reprimanded."

"You bet they will," Chromia said, her tone a little hot. "Those fra-"

"I apologize that that happened," Prowl said to Praxus, "Had Chromia checked with me before sharing a shift with the twins, I would have made sure that your path did not cross with theirs."

"Ouch," Chromia said drily, but she knew that she deserved Prowl's rebuke.

"Go on and breakfast with Auri," Prowl told Chromia, "I will need her help in the office before too long. I will see that Praxus gets back to quarters without harassment."

"Thanks," Chromia said. "Sorry, Praxus, I didn't even think about the twins hazing you."

"It's alright, Chromia," Praxus said, meeting her optics, "I was expecting better of them, but a little verbal hazing isn't something I can't handle."

Chromia looked mad. "Imma bust those two," she said, turning to leave.

"Chromia," Prowl's tone was stern, "No. That will not help."

"LIKE HELL!" Chromia yelled at him, "THOSE FRAGGERS HAVE TO LEARN THAT I'M NOT GONNA TOLERATE THEM HAZING MY PRAXUS."

Prowl blinked. "Yelling at me is not necessary," he said gently, keeping his calm.

"Sorry," she ground out quietly.

"I will deal with the twins," Prowl told her. "I know you are stressed about many things and care for Praxus, but I ask you to trust me to handle the law-enforcement and dispensation of justice. I will reprimand the twins fully."

"And shame them by telling Auri?" Chromia asked hopefully.

"That is not my way," Prowl said, shaking his head slightly, "But I will not withhold information if she asks. Go on now."

Chromia looked dissatisfied, but she kissed Praxus's helm then walked off.

Prowl turned his attention to Praxus. "Come," he said, turning to go back to his quarters.

Praxus fell in step behind and to his side, saying nothing. He felt like apologizing for being an inconvenience, but he knew Prowl would say something about it being his duty. (It was Prowl's job to deal with inconveniences, apparently). And he felt mad about the twins. He'd been wanting to be friends with them. Hazing them back, though, wasn't a way to make friends. He'd violated the norm and not taken the hazing. He'd scratched Sunny's paint, and that action was pretty much taboo; Auri had told him how much Sunny was absorbed in his appearances and paint job.

'Way to fail, Praxus,' he thought to himself. 'Nice going.'

He sulked within himself for a little while, and then he ran into Prowl's wing, eliciting a frown from the officer.

"I apologize," Praxus said quickly, "I was thinking, not paying-"

Prowl motioned to the door.

Praxus looked at it. "Thank-you, sir," he said. "Good day."

"Good day," Prowl said neutrally, turning. Then he went on up the street, not looking back until he reached the corner. Praxus had gotten indoors by then, and Prowl sighed. He really hadn't needed that extra layer of stress.

He intercommed the twins as he walked to his office and told them to report to him in his office in five minutes.

::Is this more important than our patrol?:: Sunny asked.

::Yes.:: Prowl replied then cut the channel.

The twins were waiting outside his office when he got there.

"This is about you hazing Praxus," he said, unlocking the door.

"We know we shouldn't have done that," Sides said. "It was our mean streak combining with jealousy," he explained as they followed Prowl in. "Auri talks about him sooooo stinkin' much and has to tell us every cute or funny thing that he says or does. It gets so aggravating –it's like that one femme that we met at university, remember her? –she had a boyfriend, and she wouldn't glitching shut her trap about how adorable and sweet and funny and everything wonderful he was. And I'm pretty sure she only told us because the femmes were sick of her gushing over him like he was the son of Primus."

Prowl repressed a chuckle and hid a smile then sat down at his desk. "I understand your frustration," he said carefully, "Auri tells me a great deal about Praxus as well. However, there is no sense is taking irritation out on Praxus when Auri is to blame for running on."

The twins said nothing but shrugged a little in begrudging slight acknowledgement of Prowl's truth.

"As for hazing him because he is a newcomer," Prowl said, "You know that is wrong, and I've spoken to you multiple times about hazing newcomers. I am beginning to feel that more drastic measures may need to be taken in order to discourage you two from making others feel unwelcome."

The twins tensed just a little.

Prowl picked up a stylus and ran it along the side of a data-pad. "Instead of giving you the usual lecture or a variation of it, I am going to have you two write the lecture. Each of you will have two days to write and give me an essay about why it is wrong to haze newcomers. These essays will be no shorter than six pages-"

Sides gasped softly.

"And they must be properly punctuated and grammatically correct, so I suggest that you have someone proofread."

"Prowl…" Sides whispered, his optics wide with devastation.

"Yes, Sideswipe?"

Sides looked unhappy and miserable. "Nothing…" he murmured.

"What is it?" Prowl prompted, using a gentler tone.

"We barely hazed him two minutes, and it's going to take hours and hours and hours to write that much…"

"Two-minutes' worth of words can be very hurtful, Sideswipe. You need to think about that. Maybe this punishment is overdue, and for that I apologize, but I am giving it to you now in hopes that you will not haze a new bot again. NEST is supposed to be a community, but it will not be a good or strong one if there is fear and hurt among its members. We-" he broke off, pausing. He'd almost gone into his lecture. "Your writing should include something about this," he said. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sides said softly.

Sunny nodded. "Understood," he said quietly.

"Do you have any more questions or concerns?"

Sides shook his head. "No, Prowl," he said, "I don't."

Prowl looked to Sunny.

Sunny remained quiet for a moment then pursued his lips and shook his head.

Prowl hesitated. He knew Sunny was angry about something; he knew the twins well enough. "Sides, dismissed. Go on outside. I will send Sunstreaker out in a few minutes."

Sides seemed a little reluctant, but he didn't argue. He nodded and left.

Prowl looked across his desk at the remaining twin. "Do you wish to discuss something?"

"Not really," Sunny replied tightly.

Prowl shifted a wing. "Do you wish to rant or yell about something?"

Sunny gave him a dry look. "Could I really?" he challenged.

Prowl nodded.

"THESE GLITCHING DECEPTICONS ARE STEALING AURI FROM US!" he yelled, slamming one fist into Prowl's desk. "First we have d-m Soundwave who shows up as her long lost guardian, and then we get glitchin' Praxus-lovey-loo who becomes her instant darling-doll, and now she practically lives in Med-Bay to be with them! It's not right! She's OUR femme-ling. She's OUR Auri. Our baby sister, NOT some cohort of Decepticon outcasts-!"

Sunny continued and vented for a while, Prowl saying nothing to stop him.

"And I don't like it," Sunny finished. He was calmer now.

The office was quiet for a couple moments. Then Prowl spoke.

"I understand those feelings," he said carefully, "And I even feel a few of them to some degree."

Sunny looked at him.

"They are natural and not wrong," Prowl continued. "It is how we deal with them that is right or wrong. A healthy outlet is needed, or else they will cause wrong actions. I know it is hard, though."

Sunny didn't say anything for several moments. He just stood there looking at Prowl then looking away. Then he shifted and looked at Prowl again.

"Thanks, Prowl," he said, and Prowl heard the bit of sincerity that had crept in his tone.

"You are welcome," Prowl replied. "Go on now. I am sure Sides has been worrying."

Sunny gave him an actual smile and then headed out the door.

Prowl sighed once the door was closed. Then he buried himself in work until Auri came.

"Good morning, Commander," she said as she closed the door.

"Good morning, Auri," he replied, optics gentle. "You are ten minutes late. Did something go wrong?"

"I was chewing up the twins," she stated, sitting down at her desk.

Prowl's look sharpened. Had Chromia told?

Auri went on as she logged onto her computer. "They took half of Chromia's patrol for her but didn't have you clear it. I am sure it might not be a problem, but something could happen, and then it would be a problem, and messy to resolve at that. So. I chided them."

Prowl looked down to hide a smile. "I appreciate that, Auri," he said.

Auri giggled softly. "They didn't. They were squirmy."

"As they should be." Prowl, from his stand point, could see the humor in that. The twins had to have been mildly panicking at the thought that she might know or find out about the Praxus-hazing.

"And then I hugged them and told them that I had to go because I was going to be late if I didn't. But, I ended up being late anyway because someone had made a traffic jam with two tanks. Magnus was clearing it out, though."

"Good."

"How did things go with Praxus?"

"He panicked a bit a couple times, but other than that things went smoothly," Prowl answered.

"Good," Auri said. "He was really stressed out about leaving Med-Bay, so…"she trailed off as Prowl pointed meaningfully to his computer.

They needed to be working, not chatting.

"I'll stop talking until lunch," Auri said, taking the cue.

"Oh, will you?" Prowl said, a hint of a teasing smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't bet on it," Auri said mischievously, grinning at his sudden playfulness.

Prowl hid a smile as he turned to his work. He wouldn't have minded losing a bet to her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Praxus slid the box out from under the couch and opened it.

Starlight blinked up at him. "'Lo!"she greeted him eagerly. "Gwee!"

"Hungry?" Praxus gently lifted her from the box.

"Gweeeee!"

"Okay. I'll get you some Energon," Praxus got her things and took her and them over to the table. "Sit," he directed.

"'It," She echoed then watched eagerly as he ran Energon through the down-grader for her. Once it was done, she chirped in anticipation.

"There you go." Praxus gave her the bottle. She hugged it and fell over to drink it on her back as she always did, and Praxus watched.

She purred softly as she chugged down her breakfast, and it was content sound that warmed Praxus's spark. He loved her purring… loved it immensely, almost as much as her cooing.

OoOoOoOoO

It was a planet covered with metallic dust. They hadn't seen one like it before. It scared them. They were killing the outpost. Already the roads were littered with lifeless forms of Cybertronians.

"Scientists…?" Ripper said. He had figured out a word on a stolen data-pad.

"No reads," Thrasher said. Thrasher slapped him hard across the face and jerked the data-pad away. The data-pad was ground under his pede.

Backstab watched. Reads were bad because they were filled with lies that would tear their processors apart.

"What that?" Fang asked him, licking life-Energon from his hand. "-Scientists?"

"Scientists? I not know." Backstab looked at Thrasher, purple optics questioning.

"Bad, of course," Thrasher said, frowning. "Bad… dangerous." He didn't know what a scientist did, but it was bad. All things were bad because they threatened MY. "Come. Time wasting."

They went. They killed a femme who was running to find others who would hurt them, and they shot the old mech who had probably hurt them when they were little. They blew up a lab because dangerous things to make MY sick must have been growing in it. They got to some other evil scientists before the scientists got them.

"House-" Ripper said,

"RAZE IT!" Thrasher led the charge. Houses had to be demolished because they were breeding grounds for tiny terrors that would ultimately increase in size and destroy MY if they had a chance.

They beat the door down and met with gunfire.

"Femme!" Fang screeched. Ripper hissed with terror, but Thrasher ran at her, and the others followed him then. They had to end her before she ended them.

She turned the gun on herself, though.

The MY stopped and stared at her form on the floor.

"Wow!" Ripper thought that was interesting.

"Very wow," Fang agreed.

"Smash everything," Thrasher said, moving on. He'd seen self-enders before, and they were too confusing to think about.

The MY members spread out to wreck the dwelling, moving to different rooms.

Backstab, in the living, began to knock things from shelves. Then he saw a tiny terror curled up on the floor behind the door. He hissed sharply and drew back from it. Then he realized that it wasn't moving. The femme had shot at it, he realized. The femme had wanted it offline. Was it too important for them to touch online?

He crept over to look at it. It looked like most of all the other tiny terrors that he'd neutralized… only, it had wings like he did. He was the only MY in his gang that had wings like that. Some of the members were Flyers and had wings, but not like his. His didn't allow for flight. They just gave him more sensitive sensors.

It was alive, the tiny terror, and he reached out a hand to touch its wing. Then he jumped back. It didn't do anything. He touched it again, and then he picked it up slowly. It was warm… soft in a way.

If it was so important that the femme didn't want MY to have it online, then he wanted to have it. He liked important things. Guns and knives and all weapons were important, but he had lots of those. And so did the other MY members. Nobody had a tiny terror.

He inspected it quickly for its condition and found that the gunfire hadn't touched it but had landed close enough to stun it.

He paused then slipped it into stasis and put it in subspace. Now he had a tiny terror. He grinned in triumph, but then he frowned. It would need to eat. He understood that they drank warm life-Energon from MY, but he didn't want that. He would have to train it to drink something else. Maybe it would take Energon like he did. He would try that.

OoOoOoOoO

Praxus tilted the bottle up so Starlight could finish the last bit of Energon.

"Was that good?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Goo, eeeyum," she said, giving her upmost approval.

"Good," Praxus said. "Very good." He gently wiped her mouth with a soft cloth. "Well, guess what. We have a whole day for ourselves."

Starlight didn't know what this meant, but she looked happy about it, her little wings flicking up as her optics sparkled in anticipation.

"We have to get some rules first, though."

"Oh." Starlight's wings flattened. She knew about rules.

Praxus picked her up and carried her to the door to Prowl's berth-room. "No touch. No look," he told her, indicating the door and the room.

"No uch. No uk," she echoed to the best of her ability.

Praxus took her over to Prowl's desk then. "No touch," he said, indicating the desk.

Starlight squealed with unmitigated joy. "Mine! My-my! Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"No…" Praxus said, "Not yours… what?"

"Myyy!" she cooed, stretching her little hands out lovingly towards the plushie that sat on Prowl's desk.

"Oh, no," Praxus said, "Starlight. No."

Starlight fell quiet with a troubled look. Her plushie had left a long time ago. She knew her brother didn't need a plushie, so this new plushie should be hers. Right?

"Peas?" she coaxed hopefully.

"Not mine," Praxus said sadly, "That is Prowl's plushie."

"'Owl's?"

"Yes. Prowl's plushie. Not Starlight's. No touch. Never."

"No uch," Starlight said softly.

Praxus kissed her helm. "You are my good sparkling," he told her. "Love you."

"Nuhvoo," Starlight told him, but she wanted the plushie.

"One more rule," Praxus said. He pointed to the door. "If that make sound, you run and hide there," he pointed under the couch. "Understood?"

Starlight nodded.

"We will practice," Praxus said, putting her down on the floor. He went to the door and tapped a finger on it. Starlight got to her pedes unsteadily and ran a few steps to the couch before she fell face-down on the floor. Then she crawled as fast as she could and got under the couch.

"Good, good, Starlight!" Praxus praised her. She peeked out, and he went over to kiss her helm. "My good sparkling."

They practiced a couple more times, and then they settled in for some games.

Starlight was still beyond delighted that Praxus had finally figured out how to play-peek-a-boo the right way, so they played that for a while. Then they moved on to drawing pictures on Praxus's data-pad. This was one of Starlight's favorite things. She would draw a picture, and then Praxus would draw a picture. It had taken her a long time to teach him that they had to take turns drawing pictures, but he was good about it now. And he drew very nice pictures.

After a couple hours of that, they had some lunch, and then Praxus set her on the floor to crawl around while he cleaned up the table.

Praxus cleaned the Energon cubes and set them to dry, and then he got a cloth to wipe the table with.

Starlight began to purr and coo.

Praxus turned, curious to see what had made her so happy, and then he yelled with dismay.

"NO! STARLIGHT!"

Starlight was sitting on Prowl's desk, hugging the plushie. She dropped it the instant Praxus yelled, and then she started whimpering and crying, curling up into a protective little ball, her wings shaking.

Praxus felt sick then.

He'd never known how to deal with disobedience properly.

He'd not known that until coming to NEST.

He'd not realized it until now.

Starlight was afraid of a painful slap across the face or wings.

He wanted to die, for he'd given her that fear. It had been abuse.

"Starlight…" he said softly, going over to the desk slowly, "Star…"

She started wailing piteously, and Praxus thought he was going to lose his lunch. She'd always responded this way after the first slap, but he hadn't understood. He understood all too clearly now. He'd abused her by slapping her as he had.

He'd never done it repeatedly. One slap for one disobedience was how it had worked, and it had worked. She'd never disobeyed that exact command again. He knew why now. He had been horrible to her.

"Sparkling, shh-shh…" he picked her up gently and cradled her to his shoulder. "Sh… I promise, I swear, I am never going to slap your face or wings again."

She kept crying and shaking.

Praxus hesitated then felt a little sicker as another thought came to him. She was like him, fearing punishment. She wouldn't feel safe until it was over. He would have to do something, or she would never calm down.

Tears filled his optics, and he wanted to die, but he took Starlight from his shoulder and gave her little rump one tiny swat with his fingertips. "No touch, I said," he told her.

She hiccoughed and sobbed a little as he put her back against his shoulder.

"I sorry, sparkling. I'm so, so sorry…" He took her to the couch and curled up with her as the tears spilled from his optics. He began to sob then and took the pillow to muffle his sobs. His whole form shook, but he kept a gentle hand on Starlight. He couldn't stand himself or his past. He couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't.

He cried for quite a while, and then he began to calm a little and became aware of Starlight's hand petting his hand. He stopped crying and sniffled then peeked out from the pillow. Starlight had stopped crying and was looking troubled.

"Uh-oh?" she asked him.

Praxus wiped his face with the pillow then put it aside. "Yeah," he said, "My life is one big uh-oh."

"Oops," she said. She wasn't sure what he meant, but saying 'oops' was the thing to do when there was an uh-oh.

Praxus laughed softly at that. "Yes, oops," he said. Then he kissed her helm. "I love you so, so much."

"Nuhvoo, coo," she told him.

He dried his optics and looked softly at her. "Okay. Let's do something fun now."

"Fun!" she clapped her hands eagerly. "Ee-Yeah!"

They played 3D games on his data-pad and then experimented with trying some of the coordination games that Praxus had read about for sparklings earlier that morning.

Starlight watched Praxus with a great deal of curiosity then caught on quickly once it clicked in her little processor what they were doing. Then there was a great deal of giggling on her part and gentle laughter on Praxus's.

After a while, though, Starlight needed a nap.

Praxus snuggled her and petted her wings then settled her on the couch and put her little blanket over her.

"Good nap," Praxus told her gently. She pushed the blanket off her helm and looked up at him. "Close those optics," he whispered lovingly, touching her little nose.

She closed them for a moment then opened them again to check on him.

"I'm staying here," he reassured her.

She still hesitated, and then she reached a little hand out to him. He slipped his finger into it.

"Shall I take a nap, too?"

She nodded.

Praxus curled up around her on the couch, making a cozy den for her, and then she dropped off into recharge in a matter of moments. Praxus watched her tenderly and felt that his whole world revolved around her. And then he dropped off into recharge as well.