For a moment, Sideswipe didn't know what the slag just happened. Femmes never rejected the twins. And the prospect of the human female doing such a thing, despite the doubts he had regarding her, really wasn't what he had expected to happen.
But replaying their exchange, he suddenly recognized the disgust in her tone, the tense manner in her body language and the spark of rising aggravation.
Slamming his fist back down on the table, it gave underneath the weight and added another lump to the already marred surface.
"Slag that!" he said to himself. Shoving the chair out of his way, the Autobot made his way to the door. Sliding open, his brother stood on the other side, waiting for him. There was something in his smile that stopped Sideswipe short, emotions permeated their bond and grew.
Humor, satisfaction and triumph.
Realization hit him like a blaster shot, tumbling through his disorderly thoughts and straightening them out into a discernible line of cohesion.
"You really thought she would accept?" Sunstreaker started to chuckle, no longer blocking the truth of what he had done and the circumstance leading up to it. "Her kind expects commitment, a pact. A permanence. We don't seek such things. We don't need it."
"You planned this," Sideswipe spat out. Once more, his brother twisted and controlled his actions, forcing him to do things to get the outcome he wanted. He should have been used to it. He should have expected it. Sunstreaker got a perverse delight in manipulating and coercing others to do his will without them knowing it, and more so when his twin was involved.
"Of course, I planned this. You really think I would allow my own brother to taint himself with a mere human? She is not for us and most certainly not for you."
Sideswipe acted before the thought came through, his fist colliding with the easily targeted space between his twin's optics. Sunstreaker managed to divert most of the blow, pushing Sideswipe back and away. Wiping small drops of Energon off on the back of his palm, he smiled wide.
Sunstreaker spoke with an arrogance that shook through the thinning air. "You hid things from me." He caught his brother's optics and shrugged. "I hid things from you. See what good that does? No good at all. And this, brother, is what you get for such reckless, thoughtless actions."
With those words of arrogant drivel, Sideswipe pushed past his brother and walked away.
He was going to have Alexis without his brother's consent. Firstly, he decided to give Alexis space, knowing that with time, she would come to the truth of her powerful feelings for him. She wanted him; he knew that. And denying that would do no good. She would come to him, as all females did.
Or so he thought.
But as days turned into weeks, turned into almost a month, he started to lose his belief in his presumptions. She didn't avoid him, but Alexis also didn't go out of her way to be near him. Even telling her that he was mistaken and that only he would have her, did not ease the tension that always drifted up her spinal cord when he entered the room. And while that action was not appreciated, it was at least a reaction to him. But even time took that away until she was able to handle him better.
He didn't like being handled. Slag that, he did like being handled. And the whole point what that he wanted to be handled by her and often, but now, yes now, thanks to his brother, thanks to his own carelessness, he no longer knew if he had a chance.
"I want your sister," Sideswipe told Josh several days later. The human had been drawing a diagram of the neighboring star system on a large paper pad. The Autobot could have just printed it out, but the male seemed to believe sketching it helped him understand the area better.
Josh stopped what he was doing and tightly gripped his writing apparatus. Amanda, who had been sitting close, excused herself and walked out of the humans' work room. There were other humans nearby, but they wouldn't have dared to listen in, but if they did, made no matter to the Autobot.
"And I need you to tell me what I need to do to get her to respond to me again," Sides requested easily, and as soon as he had, he wondered why he had taken so long to go this route for his answers. Josh was usually affable and loved to talk. He was the one who had spoken so much of his sister in the first place, stirring things inside the Autobot's processor that could not longer remain dormant.
Josh's eyes widened and his tan flesh turned a strange orangish pink. "Again?" the male gulped and twitched in his skin, his voice awkward and his body language revealing. Sideswipe hardly noticed, it wouldn't have suited his purpose.
He went on, "We have engaged in some intimate behavior together, so I know she is not averse to me. But I said some unfortunate things, and now she pretends that she no longer wants me. I know this is not true. She still responds to me when I am near, her body betrays what her resolve tries to hide." Sideswipe crossed his arms over his finely polished chassis and frowned down at the male with agitation. "Is she teasing me? Does she want me to pursue her more willfully? Or..." He didn't understand human females, which was his problem, he was sure of it.
"My sister is not a tease," Josh cut in. "If things are over between you two, then leave it at that and leave her be."
"I won't." The Autobot huffed in disdain at that recommendation. "Why do you act as if her desire for me is something to be ashamed of? I want her. She wants me. I've seen you humans. You want. You have. You need something, you get it. Frag the consequences. Frag restraint and frag whatever gets in your way. You humans are selfish, vain, self-serving individuals with values only when they suite what you need to hear. You and your sister try to act differently, but I have seen the lust in her eyes, and I understand the predatory salacious nature of her needs."
Silence stretched between the two. Josh's body stance became rigid and straight; his fingers curled over, his breathing shifting as his life organ sped up its tempo.
"My sister deserves better," Josh finally spoke up. His words were calm, but his hooded eyes spoke otherwise. "She deserved to be loved for who she is and wanted for more than... other things, things that don't mean anything if true feelings aren't involved. Our values and moral compass may seem fake to you, but for us, it is the truth and way of life, one you obviously aren't suited for, which means you aren't suited for her either. You should leave her be, for both your sakes," Josh finished. The speech drew lines of wariness along the corner of the human's mouth.
"No," Sides responded, this time not holding back his petulance. "I want her and I will have her."
Josh frowned, his sharp eyes traveling back up to the Autobot's. "Who's the self-seeking individual now? Does what Alexis want, what is good for her, not matter to you?"
Sideswipe didn't answer, for in truth, he didn't know.
Josh let out another breath and some of the color returned to his flesh. "Talking about my sister like this is awkward and, honestly, makes me uncomfortable. And you forget that you have talked to me about your past, and I use this word loosely, relationships. You really think I want my sister to become someone you talk about when you are bored and want to boast? I appreciate that you have come to speak to me about the matter, but let's end the conversation here before I forget how much bigger you are, and that you could step on me if you so chose."
Josh picked up his pencil that had rolled off onto the floor and then ripped out the page from the tablet and rolled it up. He had walked all of three steps before he turned back around.
The male spoke softly but firmly, "Stay away from Alexis. She doesn't know what she wants right now, but I won't allow you to ruin her while she is trying to figure it out." This time the human allowed the outrage and offense to shine through his tightly rounded words. Satisfied with what he said, Josh left.
Three more days had passed since Sideswipe's conversation with the brother. It seemed with the way he was going at it that he was soon to estrange both the brother and sister. But neither knew anything about him, neither truly understood.
He couldn't just stop something because someone else told him to. He couldn't stop thinking about someone because of the consequences that may or may not happen. His brother's interference had only worsened things. Josh's words of warning had only made him confront and think about how he really felt about Alexis. But thinking about her even more than he already was only made things more difficult.
Nobody knew what they were talking about, and nobody would decide for him. He would speak to Alexis. He would make her see things the way he saw things. Commitment was overrated and relationships were for those that were too weak to stand on their own. But unknowingly, everyone he ever encountered was always overshadowed by the strength of the bond he shared with his brother, a bond that held no comparison to anything or anyone else and could never be replaced.
Yes, he despised his brother sometimes, even could hate him. But he was the other half to his spark, his life-source and his strength. They were nothing without each other and everything when together.
But why then, did he still seek others? Why did he still want and crave? Because his brother couldn't give him everything he wanted, and now what he wanted was the human female.
She was just an impulse he had to see through and complete. Even his brother understood that despite the firm disapproval, and ultimately, couldn't deny the instinct of want he held that had to be concluded.
But speaking to Alexis was proving difficult. For one, she wasn't even on board the ship. Bluestreak and his brother had taken a group of humans to a nearby planet for their first exploration. The project would be one that lasted all day and probably resume for a couple more. Just teaching them how to do simple soil and environmental tests would take hours, showing them how to use the equipment provided not as long since the humans had already been running holo-simulations. Some humans proved more adept than others, some equipment more readily understood by a few but not others. They finally found that dividing the tools up to those that showed an aptitude for each piece, helped them to move forward.
Sideswipe didn't know the group was leaving the ship that day, but remembered when he found his brother gone and his quarters empty.
On the deck of the empty bridge, Sides stared at the monitors and listened into the humans and Autobot's communication chatter that proved far from stimulating. One of the humans had the innate ability of repeating the same questions over and over. Another was having a strange bout of hiccups, another breathed through the purifying mask as if their last breath was to be the next.
Sideswipe still remained where he was. Remotely tweaking the drones sent along with the team, he finally got the malfunctioning video relays to work. But even watching the group perform their duties did little for his dulled processor.
The planet they were on, a desolate dry orb of dead organic plants and stifling atmosphere, was far from compatible with what the humans needed for survival. But it was adequate enough for them to learn how to examine and survey.
Three hours later was when the unexpected happened. At first, when his video relays went dead and static took the place of the voices, he thought it another malfunction. He didn't worry until he felt his brother's surprise and then his twin go offline. By the time the monitors flickered back on, he found only Bluestreak remained. Everyone else was gone.