Title: Puppy Love, Chapter 33
Fandom: Transformers G1 AU
Author: FuziPenguin
Pairing/Characters: Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, First Tier, OCs
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 2
Summary: It's Sideswipe's turn! And he's a bit of a chatter box.
Warnings: Potentially triggery for child abuse.
Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction. No harm was intended in the creation of this work. All rights belong to the original creators.

"Thank you. Sunstreaker, you may return to your seat," Angle said, leaning over to peer down at Sunstreaker. The judge's faceplates were expressionless, but his optics shone with pity.

Sunstreaker mutely nodded, stood, and pushed his way out of the witness stand box. He walked down the steps and across the open space in between the dais and the lawyers' tables. It felt like he traveled miles instead of a few steps, his plating crawling with the stares of dozens of optics.

He resolutely kept his gaze on the floor as he passed First Tier, stride gradually speeding up until he all but flew into the first row. Ratchet and Sideswipe were already standing, fidgeting in place as he approached.

Ignoring Prowl's and Wheeljack's concerned expressions, Sunstreaker practically threw himself into Ratchet's waiting embrace. He wound his arms around his guardian's waist, ducking his faceplates against Ratchet's shoulder. It was only then that Sunstreaker realized how hard he was shaking as his armor rattled against Ratchet's.

"I don't like her," Sunstreaker whispered into the side of Ratchet's neck. Normally he would be horrified to show such weakness in front of anyone other than his brother or Ratchet, but this was different. Data's questions and reveals were just too much. He wanted to crawl into Ratchet's lap and never face the outside world again.

"You did so well, Sunny," Ratchet murmured, stroking the back of Sunstreaker's neck.

Sideswipe sidled up to Sunstreaker, enfolding him from behind. He remained silent, vibrating almost as badly. Silent, soothing pulses of love and calm flowed across the bond; Sunstreaker did his best to focus only on Sideswipe's support and Ratchet's comforting scent.

"That was rough. Are you all right, Sunstreaker?" First Tier asked, leaning over the railing to speak quietly to them.

Before Sunstreaker could reply, Ratchet pulled away. Sunstreaker had to stifle his needy whine at the loss.

"What in the Pit was that?!" Ratchet hissed angrily. "How can that… that…" he threw up his hands, seemingly unable to find a word horrible enough to describe Data. "… how could she just stand there and insinuate that the twins had something to do with their Carrier's passing?! The rumors about parasitic sparklings are nonsense!"

"She's trying to discredit them. The general public doesn't know much about twins," First Tier explained calmly. "She's trying to cast doubt in the jurors' minds about their origins, about their memories. Remember, I told you… these things can get ugly."

"I'm about to get ugly," Ratchet muttered, shooting the other lawyer a glare.

"Keep your temper," First Tier urged. "Losing it isn't going to help."

Ratchet just wordlessly growled and tugged Sunstreaker back into their seats. He noticed that Ratchet didn't say anything to discredit Data's information on the violence and insanity in twins. Was it true? Were they really going to die young because one of them, most likely Sunstreaker, was going to snap and fall into madness? He wanted to ask, but he just couldn't bear to hear the answer.

Instead, Sunstreaker allowed Ratchet to tangle one of his hands between the medic's, the shivering of his yellow plating beginning to slow now that he was back in Ratchet's protective presence. It took a moment for Sunstreaker to realize that Sideswipe wasn't sitting down; he was still standing, looking at Sunstreaker thoughtfully.

"What?" Sunstreaker snapped, shaken. He could feel Sideswipe withdrawing from their bond, when all Sunstreaker wanted was the comfort of his twin.

Sideswipe's optics flared and then narrowed before he turned to look at First Tier. "Am I up next?"

"I had you scheduled to be, but if you need to…"

"No. Now. And ask me the same things you asked Sunny," Sideswipe instructed.

First Tier looked taken back. "Are you sure? That was a gamble on my part. I wanted an honest reaction about your memories; it's why I didn't discuss it with you before hand," First Tier said apologetically to Sunstreaker.

"Oh, I'll be honest," Sideswipe promised, optics sliding off to the side to look at Data.

The femme was looking at them, gaze assessing. She focused in on Sunstreaker, and he lowered his head, optics slitting as he imagined every single way she could die beneath his hands and fangs. She wanted an insane, violent twin? He was more than happy to oblige.

Something must have shown in his gaze, because Data took a step back and sat down in her seat, nervously glancing over her shoulder.

Sunstreaker smirked a little as the images continued to form in his processor. As such, he missed First Tier calling Sideswipe up to the stand.

His brother moved into the witness box and sat on the stool, shooting a shy smile at the jurors. Somehow, Sideswipe managed to look completely at ease.

"Please state your designation for the record."

"My designation is Sideswipe," he replied, doing his best to keep a pleasant smile on his faceplates. He would much rather be snarling and ripping Data's plating from her frame, but he would beat her and TopNotch one way or another.

"And your age?"

"Exact age unknown, but medically confirmed to be a youngling," Sideswipe recited.

First Tier blinked placid optics at him. "You are a twin, correct?"

"Yup!" Sideswipe replied cheerfully. "Spark-split. My other half is Sunstreaker," he said pointing at his brother a little reluctantly. Sunstreaker had had enough attention; Sideswipe could feel his twin hovering on the edge of emotional shutdown. It was worrisome, but Ratchet's touch was grounding Sunstreaker, keeping him focused.

"He's the better looking one, but only by a little," Sideswipe added with a grin. That earned him more than a few chuckles from both the jury and audience.

Good. Let them see that there was more to him and his brother than just their violent past.

"I'm not going to comment on that," FirstTier said, smiling. "Sideswipe, I'm going to start by asking a lot of the same questions I asked your brother. Is that ok?"

"Sure," Sideswipe replied, nodding.

"Very good. Alright, what is the first thing you can remember as a sparkling?"

"Uh, well, it's pretty similar to what Sunny remembered. I remember coldness. Coldness where before it had been warm; space around me when just before I had been encased. And light. A lot of light."

"And do you remember your brother?"

Sideswipe paused, his optics narrowing as thought about it. "I can't ever remember not remembering Sunstreaker… if that makes any sense. Even when our spark separated, I knew he was nearby.

"I was placed in a frame first. And as soon as I could, I opened my optics. I saw brightness, a painful light. I heard sounds that came and went, kinda like when your audios are rebooting after getting hit in the head. I was… excited. I wanted to see more, to hear more…" Sideswipe reported.

"Then I got scared. Because even though the light eventually got less painful, the sounds grew louder and louder, more… harsh. And… it's hard to explain…" Sideswipe hesitated.

This wasn't an act like the smiles and the joking. His memories were much more complete than Sunstreaker's, but it was still hard to translate the experience of a minute-old sparkling into language everyone could understand.

First Tier nodded encouragingly, gesturing with one hand. "Just try as best as you can. Very few mechs have ever heard a firsthand experience of twins emerging."

"Well… even though I wanted to explore everything more, a part of me was…" Sideswipe's optics flickered up to Sunstreaker and then back to the jurors. Along their bond, Sunstreaker pulsed a wordless ball of curiosity.

"The mechs around us were panicked; we weren't supposed to be twins, so there was only one frame. Sunny didn't have one, so he couldn't move forward. He was…" Sideswipe's optics narrowed again, and he looked up as if the answers to how to explain it best were on the ceiling.

"…stuck? I don't even think at that point I realized Sunny was Sunny. It was me… a part of me… that just didn't follow the rest of me. I was worried at first, but then I realized that he was safe; he was still part of Before… part of that warmth and closeness. And even thought I didn't have a name for it at the time, I know that was our Carrier. She kept him until they found a frame for him."

"Do you remember Sunstreaker being placed into the frame?" First Tier asked, frank curiosity on his faceplates. Sideswipe suspected that the lawyer was as honestly interested as everyone else.

"In a way… I kept looking around because amongst the light, there were shapes. Shapes of the mechs that moved and touched me; I don't think my optics were functioning correctly that early. I didn't see Sunny being moved, but I felt him. He was upset that he had been taken away from our Carrier. When he went into the frame, he was cold and scared. I remember that they picked me up and put me next to him and that was the first time I realized that even though he was me, he was also separate, his own mech.

"I was so happy!" Sideswipe said, smiling faintly in remembrance. "I didn't know who he was, or what he was, other than he was mine and we would always be together."

"What about after you two were placed together?" First Tier asked. "Do you remember what happened then?"

"A little bit," Sideswipe admitted. "We were given to our Carrier; I know it was her, because she gave off the same feeling of safety that I remember before emerging. She held us and fed us our first energon. Spoke to us; hers was the only voice that wasn't loud."

At this, Sideswipe felt his expression turn wistful. He hadn't thought about their Carrier in a very long time. Sunstreaker didn't remember her and had always thought Sideswipe had been making up his memories due to wishful thinking. After a while, Sideswipe had stopped talking about it, especially when it was more important just to survive from day to day.

"How long were you with her for?" First Tier asked.

"I don't really know… it felt like forever. But eventually… her warmth started to fade," Sideswipe said, frowning.

"Her voice got smaller and quieter while the other sounds around us grew louder. We were taken away; I could still feel her, but even after we were set down, it was like she was moving farther and farther away."

Sideswipe's orbital ridges furrowed and a fleeting emotion passed along their link – disquiet, vague unease. Sideswipe pulsed back reassurance to his brother.

"I remember Sunny was unhappy because he had finally been warm, and he didn't understand why he wasn't being held any more. I just knew that something was very wrong. It felt like I was being stretched in two directions, between Sunstreaker and her. And then finally… it was like a tension wire had been cut; that pull towards her was just… gone."

Sideswipe's gaze turned downcast, his optics unfocused as he remembered the sharp pain and confusion.

"It hurt. I curled into Sunstreaker, my spark aching for his. He was all that was left."

He looked up, allowing the upset he was feeling to show on his faceplates. "I think I felt her die. I felt our carrier-sparkling bond snap. Now that I think about it, I don't think we were with her for that long. Sunny was still disorientated after being without a frame; it must be why you don't remember as well as I do."

Sideswipe's optics met his brother's, Sunstreaker sending him an urgent demand for the memories. Sideswipe sent them without hesitation, with the suggestion that they relive them together, the next time they spark merged.

"So you believe that there was a bond between you and your Carrier?" First Tier asked gently.

Sideswipe nodded vigorously. "Absolutely. I've been bonded all my life; I know what one feels like."

"Was there any communication along it?"

Optic shutters squinting in thought, Sideswipe finally shook his head. "Not in the typical sense. I could feel her love, her excitement, through the bond. But we didn't communicate directly."

"I see. After you felt your carrier pass away, what happened next?"

"Uh… I'm not really sure. We were exhausted, so we went into recharge. When we woke up, we were alone. I remember being hungry. And Sunny was cold. You were always cold back then," Sideswipe remarked, glancing at his brother. He vowed to ask Ratchet what that had been about; Sunstreaker had always been sluggish and miserable, unable to stay warm even next to Sideswipe.

"If felt like we were alone for a long time. Someone eventually came and gave us some Energon. I think… I think it was our Creator," Sideswipe said hesitantly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he felt… familiar? A little bit like our Carrier. But he didn't stay long; he left right after we ate. He came back a few more times, only staying long enough to feed us. He never really talked to us or held us. He would go into another room, and then we would hear more voices, sometimes yelling. After a few days, he came in and picked us up. He put us in a…a box of some kind. The box was closed, and it was really dark inside.

"We were lifted up and carried. It was a long trip, and I heard a lot of new noises and voices come and go as we traveled.

"Eventually we stopped moving. Our box was set down and then opened. Our Creator lifted us out one by one and showed us to TopNotch. We were put back in the box after a minute and then he and TopNotch started arguing. I don't really know what they said; Sunny and I hadn't eaten in a while so we were crying."

"Do you know where the location was?" First Tier interjected.

Sideswipe slowly shook his head. "No. We were too preoccupied with our empty tanks. But based on the next few memories, I would guess somewhere in 'Notch's training buildings."

"Can you definitely say that it was the defendant that you saw? You mentioned earlier your optics were not working quite right when you first emerged."

Sideswipe glanced over at the mech he had been trying to avoid looking at ever since he walked in. TopNotch was wearing an innocent, wide-opticked expression as he stared back. Fragger.

"Yes. 100% certainty," Sideswipe said, nodding. He felt his lips twitch in an aborted snarl as he looked away from their former owner. "My optics cleared up by our second or third feeding."

"What happened between TopNotch and your creator?"

Sideswipe shrugged, trying to adopt an attitude of nonchalance. But his voice was bitter when he answered; their creator had provided them with shelter and energon, but hadn't attempted to interact with them beyond that. He had made a conscious choice to give them away, and that still stung.

"They finally agreed on a price."