To the guest who wrote, "I ship ProwlxAuri so freaking hard it has a name. Prauri…" I will take that! XD I think someone else wrote Prowuri one time, and I'll take that, too. I love you all, by the way. When I'm feeling down, I remind myself that a bunch of beautiful, awesome people love my story and write wonderful reviews on it, and it always makes me happy again.


Chapter 45

The late afternoon sun glinted on Bee's armor as he rounded the curve in car mode at 199 miles per hour.

Sunny was just ahead on the track, and Sides was just behind.

::You're gonna lose, Bumblebee,:: Sides said over the intercom.

Bee didn't reply but pushed a little harder. He hit 204. Sunny, he calculated, was at 205 and holding firm. Bee pressed to 206.

Then Sunny decreased speed so fast that Bee faltered in surprise as he passed Sunny. Then he realized that Sides was on his other side, blasting forward to meet the finish line six seconds ahead of him.

The twins had tricked him. Sunny had realized that he (Sunny) was going to lose, so he'd distracted Bee in order to give Sides the victory.

All three mechs slowed down and did a couple slow laps to cool off. Then they pulled to the center and transformed.

"Nice racing out there, Bee," Sunny said, unusually congenial. "You almost beat me fairly," he added with a smirk.

Bee chuckled and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "And you almost won."

"And I almost lost," Sides said cockily. "But I didn't. Which is more than can be said for either of you daffodillies."

Sunny and Bee made optics contact for a split-second and then simultaneously tackled Sides, knocking him down on the grass to pound lightly with their fists. Sunny rarely let anyone hit his brother, but if it was Bumblebee, and Sides had just insulted the yellow paint of Bee and Sunny, then nothing was going to keep Sides from a friendly beating.

"Ow-!" Sides yelped over-dramatically. The blows would have hardly even hurt Auri. "Ow! HEY! Sunny! You just detailed my armor, remember?! Don't mess up all your hard work!"

"I didn't do any on your aft," Sunny said.

"OUGH!" Sides yelled as Sunny gave him an actually hard whack.

After about five minutes, the golden bots decided to let Sides up.

"Thanks," he said drily, draping an arm around his brother.

Sunny shoved him off. Sides shoved him back. They fought a little, and then Auri pulled up in car mode.

"Hello," Bee greeted her.

"Hello!" she said. She transformed.

Sides smiled up at her. "Have a seat," he said.

She hesitated then sat down on the grass with them, sitting by Bee.

"Was it a good race?" Auri asked, noting their appearances.

"Yep," Sunny said. "Until Sides spoiled it by winning."

"Hey, you let me win," Sides said.

Sunny rolled his optics. "I was feeling unexpectedly and absurdly brotherly and thought I would rather have my kindred win than have Bee win. Super wrong there."

Auri smiled knowingly at Bee as the twins continued to bicker with each other.

"So, was it close?" Auri asked Bee.

"Very close indeed," Bee said. He glanced at the twins as Sides boxed Sunny's helm. "Shall we leave?"

Auri nodded without hesitation.

They left the twins on the grass and walked up the track. They both knew that the twins were aggravated about various things and took it out on each other mutually at times. And other times they just bickered for entertainment's sake. Sometimes it was hard to tell which was which.

"I'll need an escort for my ball," Auri said without preamble.

"Yeah," Bee said. "That's usually how balls are."

"You… you don't think Prowl… I mean. He… he wouldn't."

Bee looked gently at her. "He and I were actually talking about it earlier today," he said carefully.

"You were?" Auri asked, optics wide. "And… and?"

"He won't ask you. He can't. His spark won't let him."

"I supposed so," Auri said softly, looking downwards.

"And… he was afraid that you would ask him. He doesn't think he could say yes, and it would break his spark if he hurt you by saying no."

Auri nodded her understanding. "I knew that he couldn't say yes and would be sad if he said no."

Bee smiled at her. "You know him pretty well, Auri."

Auri kept her helm down. "Sometimes I don't," she said softly. "I feel very confused sometimes."

"It's part of growing up," Bee said, gently touching her hand but not taking it. "I had confusions on things, too, around my final upgrade time, but, you know, it all sorted itself out over time."

Auri got quiet. She'd suddenly realized that asking Bee about Prowl had let Bee know that Prowl was her first choice. If she asked Bee now –or any time- Bee would know that he was her second choice. Certainly no mech wanted to be second choice; it would be like a slight or insult, telling him that he wasn't her first pick, telling him that he wasn't quite the best, not entirely good enough for her...

"I need to go," she said suddenly, feeling awful. Hurting Bee was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Auri," Bee caught her fingertips with his. "Stay and talk a bit, please?"

"I need to talk to Elita, Bee."

"About your escort for the ball?"

"Uh- Bee, just… I need to go." Tears started to well up in her optics.

Bee stood in front of her. "Aurion-Blaze, stay put for two minutes." He gently lifted her chin and made her look at him. "Okay?"

She sniffled. "'Kay."

"Don't cry. The twins are still in optic range, and if they see you cry, they'll give me the third degree. Okay?"

Auri half-laughed softly at this description. "Okay."

"Chromia let it slip that you were supposed to ask me to be your escort," Bee said gently. "Are you alright with me being your escort?" he asked, searching her optics.

Auri nodded quickly. "Oh, Bee, yes," she assured him earnestly. "I am very much alright you being my escort. I chose you to be my escort. I want you to escort me. I have no doubts about it. I… just… just… D-did you ever have two femme friends you couldn't choose between?"

Bee smiled fondly at her, seeing her predicament now. "Auri, you don't have to choose between Prowl and me," he said gently. "I am and always will be your devoted and adoring brother. I love you dearly but not romantically. No mech can come between our sibling bond, Auri; I'll be here for you no matter what because you're my sister."

"But… but I have a crush on you…" she said, conflict and pain in her expression as Bee's rejection sank in.

"Are you sure that it's a romantic crush?" Bee asked gently.

Auri blinked, trying to avert some tears. "'M not sure. I think so, but everything is confusing these days."

"It's okay. It really is okay."

"You… you don't love me romantically?" she asked in a little voice.

Bee shook his helm gently and chose his words carefully, knowing that rejection stung. "I don't," he said softly. "I did for a little while, but it ebbed away, and the sibling-love replaced it, Auri. Sometimes when a bot is developing sibling-love, he or she misinterprets it as romantic love –or vice versa. Usually time sorts it out. You'll know after a while."

Auri looked down. "Yeah?"

"Definitely. Besides, I think… I think you might have some romantic love for another door-winger, and you feel confused about your crushes because that door-winger is slow about reciprocating, and I am quick about reciprocating."

Auri looked at little discomfited and a little thoughtful.

Bee put an arm around her and gently hugged her to his side, putting his helm against hers. "Think about it, okay?"

"Okay," she said, looking up at him with new understanding in her optics. "Thank-you, Bee."

"You're welcome, my sweet spark."

Auri sighed softly to settle herself.

"You'll be okay," Bee told her gently, giving her another hug. "I'll always love you."

She nodded, reflecting on how she had been even more confused than she'd realized. She had thought that she had crushes on both Bee and Prowl… but Bee had just changed that. Bee had shown her that she didn't need to love him romantically. Sibling love would be enough for them.

She game him as smile.

The twins pulled up a moment later.

"You left us," Sides said before transforming.

"No regrets about that," Bee said, meeting Auri's optics with a smile. She grinned shyly back.

Sunny completed his transformation sequence in time to catch their looks. "Eew, you're acting mushy," he said, looking repulsed.

"Did we miss something?" Sides asked, morbid curiosity reigning in his expression.

Auri's face heated, and Bee put a defensive arm around her.

"We had a deep discussion about sibling love," Bee said firmly. "We are not mushy, and I will thank you to not say that again."

"Touchy!" Sunny was clearly relieved despite his scornful tone.

"Sibling love is good," Sides said. "If you don't have a sibling like Sunny."

Sunny pushed him. "He's confused."

"Clearly both of you are confused," Auri said, teasing.

"Have you decided which of us you are going to have as escort?" Sides asked.

Sunny snorted. "Easy choice. Me, of course. Your red paint looks the dork with her pink."

Auri chuckled. "You two," she said. "Bee's gonna escort me."

"Good choice," Sides said, being serious for the moment.

Sunny nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Personally, I would have said Prowl, but whatever."

Auri's cheeks warmed a little. "You just like picking on Prowl. You know he'd never take a prominent role in a party."

"True," Sunny said. "He should at least dance with you once, though. I mean-" he broke off as Sides slapped his wrist. "Seriously."

"He's going to attend, and that is enough for me," Auri said, a gentle fond note in her tone.

The twins traded glances.

"Don't ever lower your standards, Aurilaze," Sides said almost softly.

"Unless you're with us," Sunny said, diffusing the serious tone that their talk had taken on.

"Ooh!" Sides exclaimed. "There's Tracks. We were supposed to haze him for hitting on Arcee."

Sunny gave Auri swift kiss. "See you later," he said. "We have work to do."

Sides hugged Auri and then transformed to speed after his brother.

Auri sighed. "I'm hungry."

Bee smiled. "Let's go get something to eat then," he said.

"At the pub?"

"If you like."

"I like," Auri said. Bee gave her a snuggle, and then they headed off to the pub.

OoOoOoOoO

After Prowl closed up his office for the evening, he headed to Med-Bay to see if Ratchet had had any success against the slave coding.

When he entered Med-Bay, his optics went to right to Ratchet, who was soberly wiping down a countertop. Ratchet looked over at him and regret showed in his face.

"It's a mess," Ratchet said quietly. "I… It would take weeks to copy down the code that he has in there, and it would take more weeks to write enough code to take it down, and then it would take me and you to tear apart the defenses on the slave code, and even then we couldn't be sure that it would work one-hundred percent. And I don't know if Praxus has enough will-power to let us both in and be still and not fight and fragment us when we start making his whole being hurt."

Prowl hissed softly in frustration.

"I'll talk to Magnus," Ratchet said.

"Thank-you," Prowl said quietly.

Ratchet nodded.

Prowl glanced to the couch where Praxus was lying curled up under a blanket.

"Prax?" Prowl said.

The blanket moved, and Prowl and Starlight both peeked out from under it.

"Are you coming back to quarters with me?"

Praxus sat up and nodded. He picked Starlight up as he rose. He crossed the room and gently gave Starlight to Ratchet after kissing her. Then he moved over to Prowl and looked at him. The angry sadness in the mech-ling's optics caught Prowl's spark, and Prowl felt his pain for a moment, the pain of hopelessness and helplessness.

Prowl reached over and gently touched the lower edge of Praxus's wing, conveying support and care.

"It will be alright, Praxus," he said.

"I'm just broken," Praxus said darkly, flicking his wing away. "All broken and no good for fixing."

"That's not entirely true," Prowl said. "You are broken, but you can be fixed, and you are good."

"I'm not!"

"Shh," Ratchet hushed. "Prowl,"

"Yes?"

"He's still upset from the sync and needs some time to calm down."

"Understood," Prowl said with a nod.

Praxus headed for the door and went out, shoving the door more than necessary.

Prowl shifted his wings, gave Starlight a kiss on her helm, and then headed after Praxus.

The air was cooling for the evening, and it felt good. Prowl had to focus on Praxus, though. The upset mech-ling was already a block ahead of Prowl. Prowl hurried, almost half-jogged, and caught up with him.

Praxus barely glanced sideways at Prowl, but Prowl saw the anger and pain in the purple optics.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Prowl asked. He knew it would come out eventually.

"I HATE IT ALL AND EVERYTHING!" Praxus yelled, whirling to face him. "I CAN'T EVEN LIVE A SEEMINGLY NORMAL LIFE AND I NEVER WILL!"

"What is normal, Praxus? You seem to think that there is a normal, but there is no normal."

"THERE IS SOMETHING BESIDES WHAT I LIVE WITH!" Praxus snarled, fists clenching.

"Functional?" Prowl offered.

"I'LL NEVER REACH THAT!"

"Yes, you will."

"I WILL NOT, AND YOU KNOW IT. I'M FRAGGED, FRAGGED, AND GLITCHING FRAGGED! TO GLITCHING DAMNED PIT!"

"No, you are not,"

"AND ALL YOU EVER DO IS CONTRADICT ME, SO CLEARLY EVERYTHING I SAY IS WRONG!"

Prowl shifted a wing. This wasn't going overly well. Ratchet had warned that Praxus was upset, though, so he shouldn't have been surprised. He needed to rethink his tactics. Telling Praxus that he (Prax) was wrong and would be fine clearly wasn't working. He paused.

"What do you want to do right now, Praxus?"

"Hurt," Praxus said quietly.

"Would that make you feel better?"

Praxus paused. "Maybe."

"Who would you hurt, Praxus?"

"Myself," Praxus spat, sounding as if that were the only logical choice.

Prowl sighed then turned. "Come on," he said, resuming his course for his quarters. Praxus followed him in seething silence.

They got to Prowl's quarters and entered. Praxus ran to the couch, threw himself on it, slammed his fist against his pillow, and then curled up.

Prowl went to his Energon cupboard and got two cubes and his tray of metal spices. He added a few savory and sweet metals to Praxus's cube, along with a good bit of sedative, enough to knock out a half-jet for the whole night. His own cube got the same, minus the sedative.

He picked up the cubes and turned just in time to catch Praxus snapping a little knife back into subspace.

"Praxus…" he started but didn't finish. He set the Energon cubes back on the table, and then he went to the couch and sat down beside Praxus. "Sit up and take the arm armor off," he said.

Praxus looked threatened, but he complied slowly after a moment. Then he gave Prowl a wary look as Prowl took his wrist in one hand and a marker in the other.

Prowl wrote 'Starlight' on Praxus's wrist. And then he wrote 'Auri' a little farther up his arm. 'Chromia' went on Praxus's other wrist, and 'Ratchet' went a little ways up from it.

Then Prowl gave Praxus the marker.

"So, who would you hurt?" Prowl asked.

Praxus looked down.

"You don't have to answer out load," Prowl said gently. "Just know the answer in your spark."

Praxus looked at him for a moment and then looked down at his wrists. He nodded slowly. He knew. It would hurt his family if he hurt himself. He slowly wrote 'Ironhide' between 'Ratchet' and 'Chromia.' He put the armor back on and then looked to Prowl. He felt calmer.

"Are you ready for dinner now?" Prowl asked.

Praxus nodded. "Yes," he said. "Please," he added with a tired half-smile.

Prowl handed him a cube.

"Thank-you."

"You're welcome," Prowl said.

Praxus sipped a bit, and Prowl took a long, hungry drink of his own Energon.

"Did Auri ask Bee to be her escort?" Praxus asked softly after a few minutes.

"She did, eventually," Prowl said, looking at his mostly empty cube. "Bee said that it was late afternoon before she got around to it."

"Are you glad that she asked him and not you?"

Prowl nodded, feeling exhausted. "Parties are too hard for me. If… if… I were… okay with parties, then I would have been sad…" He half-smiled drowsily. "She did want to choose me… though, so… so…" He tried to figure out why he was suddenly so worn-out. He… "Oh…" He dropped into recharge and fell against Praxus's shoulder.

Praxus looked at him curiously. Then he thought of something.

"I think you meant to sedate me, Prowl."

Prowl, of course, didn't answer.

Praxus snuggled against him, taking comfort from having a fellow Praxian in such proximity, and then sipped some more of his Energon cube… Prowl's rightful Energon cube.

After he finished the cube, and he got up slowly and guided Prowl's form to lie on the couch. Then he took Prowl's empty cube along with his own and put the two cubes by the sink for washing later.

Then he had to figure out where to sleep. He would have carried Prowl to Prowl's berth-room, but he wasn't allowed in there for any reason, so he couldn't. He briefly considered pushing Prowl off the couch and sleeping on the couch; it was rightfully his place to sleep, and Prowl was at fault for mixing up the cubes. Doing that wouldn't be nice, though.

He put his blanket over Prowl so Prowl wouldn't get cold, and then he took his spare blanket and crawled under the table. He rolled himself up in his blanket and snuggled against the wall. Then he remotely deactivated the lights.

In a split-second, he remembered that he didn't like sleeping on the floor because it was on the ground and things crawled on the ground and might crawl on him.

He snapped the lights back on, and no crawly things were visible. He stared around at the floor suspiciously. He tried telling himself that there weren't crawly things in Prowl's quarters, but his processor would buy it. He sighed and then crawled out from under the table and climbed on top of it. It was rather small for sleeping on. He would fall off, probably. His legs would hang off at least.

He walked to the couch. He stood and hesitated for a couple moments, and then he scooted Prowl as far into the corner of the couch as he could. Then he curled up in the opposite corner and bundled up under his blanket before turning the lights off again.

He was in recharge in two moments.

OoOoOoOoO

"Prowwwwwuhhhl, wakey,"

Prowl didn't really feel like waking up, but he kept hearing some voice.

"Come on, Prowl. Wakey up." Someone nudged his shoulder. "Wakey… come on."

"Mmf," Prowl objected.

"You're so late, Prowl. It's all past shower time; that's how late you are."

Prowl opened his unwilling optics. The action somehow gave his system permission to give him all the data on his nervous system. He groaned and sat up with a grimace. His whole body felt like it had been stored in a small box.

"Good morning," Praxus said.

"Ouch…" Prowl gingerly rubbed his neck.

"You drank up the sleepies that you meant to give me," Praxus said, plopping down on the couch beside him.

Prowl looked at Praxus and opened his mouth to tell Praxus that 'sleepies' wasn't a word, but then he closed his mouth. He was too drowsy to rebuke anyone, and Praxus sitting there and smiling at him like a happy sparkling. …it was hard to rebuke a happy bot…

"You are feeling better?" Prowl murmured, shifting to sit sideways on the couch and rest his helm against the back.

Praxus nodded. "Lots better. I'm sorry I yelled at you last evening and everything," he added coaxingly.

"…is alright. I understood." He felt like closing his optics for a moment. He let them blink shut and felt his wings lower drowsily.

"Did you really want me to sleep this long?" Praxus asked, sounding almost a little hurt.

"Mm, no, Prax. No… Your system… your system is half jet, so it takes more sedatives than my all-Praxian system. You woulda slept your normal length. Uh… I need… a… mm…" he slumped, his frame staying upright for a moment before he slid face first into the couch cushions.

"You need help, I guess," Praxus said, looking around. He had no way of getting help unless he went outdoors, and he wasn't about to do that alone. He supposed that Prowl would be fine and just needed to sleep it off.

After a few minutes, he got up and laid Prowl in a more comfortable position and then went and got some breakfast Energon from the cabinet.

He took a sip, and then he nearly choked as a firm rapping sounded on the door.

"Prowl?" Elita called from the outside.

Praxus hissed and dropped his cube of Energon.

A larger fist gave the door a heavier pound. "Little Monster!" Ultra Magnus shouted at him though the door. "You open this door immediately."

Praxus bit back a whimper and shrank to the door. A tear trickled down his cheek. He didn't want to die this morning.

He disengaged the lock on the door and gave the door a jerk. Then he bolted and hid under Prowl's desk. They would still probably kill him, but this might delay them for a moment or two. He bumped his helm on something not flat and looked up. There was a stun-gun magnetized under the desk. He stared at it as he heard Magnus and Elita enter the room.

He realized that they were talking.

"… just sleeping," Elita was saying. "No sign of any struggle or injury."

"I am very certain that Prowl does not sleep on his couch. Especially since he is letting that little monster sleep on it."

"Magnus," Elita's tone held some rebuke. "He has a name. Praxus. And he's not a monster."

"Primus have mercy," Ultra growled. "You, too? Who the frag isn't in love with the little gremlin?"

"Scan complete," Elita said indifferently, as if she hadn't heard him. "Prowl has sedatives in his system. I'm going to intercom Ratchet."

Praxus kept still in the silence that followed as Elita intercommed with the medic.

"Well?" Ultra Magnus asked after a moment.

"Ratch didn't give or suggest sedatives," Elita replied. "He did say that Praxus could have needed some, though, and Prowl might have slipped up and switched cubes."

"Prowl doesn't slip up," Magnus sounded dangerously grim.

Praxus felt his system start to heat. Magnus was going to be accusing him in a moment. His fingers tightened the stun-gun, which he'd slipped into his hand during Elita and Magnus's conversation. He wasn't going to let them kill him. He had too much to do to die. He needed to look after Starlight, and go to Auri's party, and polish his armor, and see if Prowl really was falling in love with Auri, and figure out what love meant, and figure out why Ironhide and Chromia interacted with each other the way they did, and go to Praxian club, and finish reading all the rules and regulations, and…

He suddenly realized that Elita had said his name.

"Of course, and it will tell us some nicely concocted lies," Magnus said.

"I do not believe Praxus would lie to me," Elita said calmly.

"Nobody does," Magnus said rather bitterly.

"Praxus," Elita said, calling him.

Praxus felt sick to the tank. "Y-yes, ma'am?" he choked out.

"Do you know why Prowl is sleeping off sedatives?" she asked.

"Y-es-ss-s, m-ma'am."

"Will you please come out and tell me about it?"

"You're asking?" Magnus asked incredulously.

"I never order when I can simply ask," Elita said calmly. "On a side note, I will ask you to tone down the hostile attitude."

Silence.

"Praxus?" Elita was addressing him again. "I know you're an observant and smart mech. I know that you've seen how I treat my fellow bots, and I hope that you understand that I will treat you the same way. I presume that you are hiding because you are scared of me, but, Praxus, unless you have done something seriously wrong, there is no reason for you to fear me." She paused. Then, "And if you fear Magnus, I will let you know that I outrank him, and he must obey me. I will not let him hurt you."

Praxus worked on processing this for several moments.

"Do you think you can come out?" Elita asked. "You can stay on that side of the desk, but I would like to see your face."

Praxus trembled in fear and wished desperately that Prowl would wake up, but Prowl didn't stir.

"Praxus?"

"Y-es-s, m-mm. I… I come out."

"Good! Good, Praxus. Thank-you; I appreciate it."

Praxus let the stun-gun sit on the floor, and he put a hand forward to crawl out. He started move, but something pulled his wing back. He froze. Something had his wing. A tiny whimper of fear came from his throat. He didn't know what kind of creature would live under Prowl's desk, but it scared him. And it would come get him in the dark later.

"It's not coming out, see?" Magnus said.

"'He,'" Elita said with some vigor. "Use a third-person neuter pronoun for Praxus again, and I will punish you."

Praxus felt like crying. He choked back a sob. The thing had his wing tightly, and Magnus was going to hurt him, and Elita was going to do something awful to both of them.

"Praxus, what is wrong?" Elita asked.

Praxus whimpered, unable to think of words.

"Praxus? Can I come over?"

A whine escaped from his vocs, and his system started to pant with heat.

"Praxus, mech-ling, I'm going to come over so I can see you, and I promise I will not hurt you."

"Don't," Magnus said. "It could very well be a trap. You know very well that Prowl keeps weapons under his desk."

"I also know very well that Praxus would not harm me."

"How on earth would you know that?"

"The other day, I picked up an Energon cube that he thought had poison in it, and he snatched away from me and threw it away, telling me that it was poison and warned me that it could kill me."

Silence.

"It was a turbocharged Kremzeek," Elita added. "He'd witnessed other bots die from drinking some. He wasn't about to let me risk the same fate."

More silence.

"Fine," Magnus said after another moment. "But if it does," he broke off, and Praxus had a feeling that Elita was giving him a death-look. "'he,'" Magnus amended. "I will harm i- 'him.'"

There was a pause, and then Praxus heard Elita's pedes come closer and closer. After a few more pedefalls, Praxus dared to look, and his optics met Elita's.

"Hello," she said gently, crouching down. "What's wrong, Praxus?"

Praxus felt more tears well up in his optics. "W-wing s-stuck," he said unsteadily.

"Can I come closer and see?" Elita asked.

Praxus shrank a little, as much as he could with his wing caught. "I scared…" he whimpered.

Elita nodded. "I know. But I will not…" her optics shifted to the stun-gun that lay just inches from his fingertips. "I will not hurt you."

Praxus followed her gaze and looked down at the stun-gun.

"I think," Elita said, drawing his optics back to her. "I think your wingtip might be caught in one of Prowl's magnetized gun holders.

Praxus craned his helm around and peered up at his wingtip. She was right. He shifted and slid his wing carefully, gliding it out of the holder. He sighed with relief when he was free.

"There you go," Elita said.

Praxus scooted out from under the desk just a tiny bit, just enough so that he could sit with his helm up. When he looked back at Elita, he found her sitting down on the floor as well.

"So, what happened, Praxus?" she asked, her hands clasped lightly in her lap, her manner patient but expectant.

Magnus's voice came over, sounding frustrated. "How many times are you going to ask it before you start ordering it?"

Praxus saw a sharp look of displeasure in Elita's optics and on her face. He feared, and then he saw her bite her tongue for a moment.

"Ultra Magnus," she said calmly once the moment had passed. "I will have no words from you until further notice. That is an order. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ultra Magnus said quietly.

Elita looked to Praxus.

"My upsets at Med-Bay," Praxus said quickly. He stopped and shook his helm. "I was upset in Med-Bay," he said. That was what he'd meant to say. "And Prowl took me home. I yelled on the way because of upsets. Then we got home, and Prowl mixed Energons. And then he saw I had my knife for hurting me, so he put the Energons down and talked to me and helped me see that hurting me would hurt my family. And then he gave me Energon and drank Energon, too. And then he went to sleep. I woke him up this morning, and we talked just a little before he sleeped again. He had put sleepies in my Energon. But he'd taken my Energon and drank it not on purpose. I think he was upset about me and my hurting knife and so forgot about the sleepies."

"Thank-you, Praxus," Elita said softly. "Thank-you for telling me what happened. –And for extending me a little trust and cooperating with me."

Praxus edged back under the desk a little. "Chromia calls you her friend," he said, optics wary. "I trust Chromia."

"Appreciate your honesty," Elita said. "I am honored to be Chromia's friend, and it gladdens my spark to hear that you trust her." She gave him a bit of a smile, and then she rose.

Praxus scooted the rest of the way under the desk.

"We have one more things to do here," Elita told Magnus.

"Secure Prowl?" Magnus asked.

"He is fine."

"He is neither secure nor safe from that little monster."

There was a pause.

"I have seen Prowl and Praxus interact more than you have," Elita said. "I can say without a doubt that Prowl is safe."

"I disagree, ma'am. I will not leave these premises until I deem Prowl to be in a safe situation or he is awake and fully conscious."

Another pause happened, and then Praxus heard Elita's voice. "Do you wish to wake him?"

Hesitation. "He and I have not been on the best of terms lately… I fear it would make him irascible if he awoke at my hands."

"Mm. Understood." Pause. Praxus got the feeling that Elita wasn't raring to wake Prowl either.

Praxus knew that he could do the task. He crept out from under the desk and peeped out from behind it. Elita looked his way, and somehow he stayed in place, not shrinking back.

"Can you wake him?" Elita asked gently. "You said that you did so earlier."

"Elita-" Magnus's objection was cut off by a firm look from Elita.

"I can," Praxus said softly.

"I would appreciate it," Elita said.

Praxus avoided looking at Magnus or Elita and crawled cautiously over to the couch, never getting to his pedes.

"Prowl," he said coaxingly, touching Prowl's shoulder. "Wakey… Come on. Elita wants to talk to you, Prowl. And Lord Magnus, too. Wakey, Prowl, wakey up. Please…" he gave Prowl's shoulder a tiny shake.

Prowl's wings shifted.

"Yes! Come on, like that! Wakey, Prowl."

"Mmm." Prowl moved his helm and blinked his optics open in Praxus's direction. "Prax…"

"Hi!"

"Praxus, normal adults do not use the word 'wakey' with other normal adults."

"Who says we're normal adults?" Praxus asked.

"Nobody." Prowl put his helm back down. "But 'normal' came up in our conversation yesterday."

"You said there was no normal," Praxus reminded him.

"So I did…" Prowl's response was muffled by the couch cushion.

"Don't go back to sleep, Prowl. Elita and Lord Magnus have things to say to you."

"Mnh… so drowsy," Prowl muttered. "They can… can fritz their sparkplugs."

Praxus stared at him with absolute horror. "Prowl… they… are in this same room." His wings started shaking.

Prowl rolled over to look around, resulting in a quick fall to the floor.

"Ow-!" he said, wincing as he sat up. His optics met Elita's. "I apologize," he said.

"Apology accepted," Elita said, looking half amused, half concerned. Praxus scrambled away on all fours as she approached and gave Prowl a hand up.

Prowl stood with pedes braced apart to help his drowsy balancing system. "I meant to drug Praxus," he said. "He needed the sleep. I got distracted, though. Mm…" he jerked his helm up as he started to nod.

Magnus approached with a full cube of Energon. "Here, Prowl," he said kindly. "This will dilute the rest of the seds and help you wake up."

"Thank-you…" Prowl murmured, slipping his fingers around Magnus's to hold the cube. Magnus kept one hand on the cube, though, helping Prowl hold it and tip it to his mouth. He also put a steadying hand on the smaller mech's shoulder.

Prowl drank and gulped a good bit of the Energon down.

After a few moments, he seemed to perk up. Then he grimaced. "The meeting," he said. "I have missed it."

"We postponed it," Elita told him, her tone reassuring.

Prowl's optics lowered. "Thank-you," he said quietly.

"You are running ragged, Prowl," Elita said meaningfully.

Prowl looked upset. "I have already taken multiple half days off."

"I think you might need a solid day off," Elita said firmly.

"No-!" Prowl's optics widened in dismay. "Do not, Elita. Please, do not."

Elita paused. "We can talk about it later," she said. "Right now, you need to decide if you are going to stay awake or go back to recharge."

"I am fully awake now," Prowl said as Ultra Magnus gave him some space. "I will stay awake. For what time did you postpone the meeting?"

"Undetermined," Elita said. "When can you be there?"

"In half an hour," Prowl said.

"We will have it in an hour then," Elita stated.

Prowl gave her nod, knowing better than to protest extended time. "Understood. I will be there."

"Good." Elita paused, her optics straying to Magnus. "I have only one other thing that needs to be done here," she said.

"Yes?" Prowl asked.

"I regret that I must punish Ultra Magnus before we leave."

"Leave me out of this," Prowl said, wings flaring. He headed for his berth room and shut the door once he was inside.

Elita looked to Magnus. "Ultra Magnus, I am sorry," she said. "You are one of my best, and your performance and behavior have always been praiseworthy and admirable. It hurts my spark that you allowed yourself to disobey me by using the incorrect pronoun for Praxus. I promised punishment, so punishment I must deliver."

"Understood," Magnus said quietly.

"Please kneel before me," Elita said. She heard Praxus hiss softly from the side of the couch.

Magnus did as she asked and looked up at her.

"A sore mouth will remind you to consider you words before speaking," Elita said quietly.

"Understood." Magnus lifted his chin just a little and braced for the inevitable blow.

Elita struck swiftly and hard, delivering a bruising, stinging slap to her officer's mouth. Just after the slap, she heard Praxus hiss, a hiss of complete terror. Pain wrung her spark even as her fingers burned from the slap.

"We're done here," she said, working not to choke on the sob she was holding back. She hurried from Prowl's quarters, only vaguely aware that Ultra Magnus was following her.

OoOoOoOoO

Optimus Prime was on the phone, patiently listening to an official of some sort on the other end make a complaint about the lack of funding for the human allies' weapons.

"I understand," Prime said for about the sixth or seventh time. The frustrated man kept talking, and Prime kept listening even as his optics strayed to the clock on his office wall. He was losing minutes on his lunch hour.

Elita slipped in and closed the door. Optimus didn't miss that she locked the door.

She met his optics.

'Just a minute,' he mouthed to her, mentally putting together words to end the phone call.

She came around his desk and climbed onto his lap to curl up with her arms around him, making his spark pulse a little faster.

"Yes, I know," Prime said to the man on the phone. "I know practice is difficult with limited ammunition. We-" the man cut him off. Elita's helm rested against his shoulder and neck. "Sir," Prime said. "One of my commanders if here; a situation has- has arisen. I need to go. I will make a note and have my financial team discuss it with the-" Elita was kissing his neck now. "Correct personal. Good bye." He hung up hastily. "Elit-" She stopped him with a kiss. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her.

She broke the kiss for a moment and then reengaged it. He slid a hand down her back to hip and-

"No," she said.

He moved his hand upwards and rested it on her hip. "Just kisses?" he asked.

She rested her helm against his. "I don't know," she said, sounding tired and frustrated. "Just… just comfort me."

Optimus tenderly moved her helm to his shoulder and kissed her neck. "I love you," he whispered in her audio as he gently stroked her back. "I love you, and I will always love you, and I want things to good for you. I am yours to command."

She sighed.

"Your spark is angry," he said softly. "Tell me."

She told him about Prowl not showing for the meeting and about Magnus insisting on accompanying her to Prowl's quarters. She related all that had happened in Prowl's quarters, and how she'd had to punish Magnus.

"This is one of the things that you are most angry about," Optimus sensed.

"He's my best mech," Elita said, sitting up so Optimus could see the hurt in her optics. "I shouldn't have to take disciplinary action with him. I am beyond disappointed with him. I know that he's suffered at the hands of MY, but that does not justify him treating Praxus in such a manner." She rested against him again. "I feel betrayed by him. He never goes against my words."

"What else is upsetting you?" Optimus asked, caressing her side. He felt her fight herself.

"Prowl," she said, and he knew there was something worse than Prowl that she would discuss later. "He's clearly worn out and stressed. I said as much, and he got upset, stating that he'd taken multiple half-days off. I think he isn't recharging well."

"I know he isn't recharging well. Ratchet and I have been discussing it and haven't come up with a solution yet. He's losing at least an hour of recharge each night because Praxus has nightmares and he sits with Praxus until the mech-ling calms down." He felt his spark-mate's body shake with a repressed sob. "Elita," he acknowledged softly.

"He was so scared of me, Optimus," she cried, not holding back any more. Praxus was the one that she was the most upset about. "He was so scared. It was in his optics and face and his poor wings were trembling so much. And I couldn't do anything to sooth or comfort him other than say nice things in gentle tones. And he was still scared."

Optimus cradled her gently as she sobbed and cried on his shoulder.

"And- and he was hiding when I hit Magnus, but I heard him hiss in fear, and I know, I know it didn't help anything for him to know that I could and would make Magnus kneel and then hit Magnus in the face."

Optimus let her mourn and held her tenderly. Slowly, her tears subsided, and then she sat up and looked at him. She met his optics for a moment and then dried her tears and gave a final sniffle.

"There were other things upsetting me," she said, looking composed again. "Those were just the… the final straws, as the humans say."

"They are not trivial issues, though."

She kissed his mouth. "Not trivial at all, but I can handle them." She paused. "I can handle them now anyway." She caressed the line of his jaw. "Thank-you. Thank-you for listening a lot and talking a little."

"You're welcome, Myfemme," he said, meeting her optics. "Anything else you would like to handle?" he asked.

"How much time is left in your lunch hour?" she asked, trailing her optics down his torso to his lap.

He gently caught her chin and made her look at his face. "How much time do you need?" he asked, his optics beginning to twinkle.

She smiled at him, and her optics sparkled in response to his. "Not sure, exactly. We can find out, though, can't we?"

"Of course, Love," he said, his engine starting to purr a little. "You locked the door?" he double-checked.

A gentle smirk teased at her lips. "You saw me lock the door. It's firmly latched. –which won't be said of your armor in two seconds, mech."

OoOoOoOoO

Auri slipped into Soundwave's room in Med-Bay, and he looked up from the data-pad that he was reading.

"You're awake," she said happily, climbing onto his berth and into his lap.

He cradled her in his arms.

"You're rarely awake these days," she reproached, lowering her bottom lip in a tiny pout.

"I explained about the cassettes," Soundwave reminded her gently.

She sighed. Since the cassettes were symbiots, they needed Soundwave in order to stay alive. Their prolonged separation from Soundwave had caused them a great deal of detriment and nearly drained them of their lives. Once reunited with Soundwave, they'd needed to spend almost every minute in his presence if not in direct physical contact with him in order to restore themselves. Most of the time was spent in recharge or half-charge. And, as they were drawing from Soundwave's power and Soundwave was still weak from his injuries, Soundwave was almost continually exhausted.

She looked at the little mechs who were curled up in recharge on the foot of Soundwave's berth. She loved them because they belonged to Soundwave and her, but she also felt aggravated with them for stealing Soundwave's energy and keeping him from being awake enough to spend time with her.

"Well, anyway," she said, determined not to be cross about the cassettes. "My parties are in the planning."

Excellent," Soundwave said, his optics soft as he studied her face. "And you are doing well?"

"I am mostly," she said. "My wings are still feeling irritated sometimes, but not too much now that I know how to tone down the sensors. And my legs ache a little now and then, and so does my back, but not enough to complain about."

"You said parties, plural?" Soundwave said, just realizing it.

"Yes-!" Auri said, grinning. Then she told him about her dinner party and the ball, all the details that she knew. "And you will be there, of course," she said.

"Indeed, my little Auri," Soundwave murmured, thinking about Chromia. Chromia would have to be there since she was one of Auri's guardians.

"And I shall get presents at my dinner because it's a Praxian tradition," Auri said eagerly.

"I have been working on a present for you."

Auri snuggled him. "Even if you didn't have a present for me, having you here would be treat enough."

Soundwave caressed her helm. "I am glad I can be here," he said quietly.

Auri grinned at him and then told him that Bumblebee was going to escort her to her ball.

"That is nice of him," Soundwave said.

"Bee's always nice!" Auri said enthusiastically, her optics twinkling. She then went on to tell her old guardian about racing with Bumblebee on the track the other day, and how he was teaching her tricks and tactics. That subject led to her talking about her races with the twins, and then that topic led to her talking about just the twins and their pursuits and pranks. "Hey-!"

Soundwave opened his optics to find her scowling an adorable scowl.

"I was listening," Soundwave said softly.

"Are you tired now?"

"I am always tired, femmlette," he said, looking away with regret. "This has been a very nice visit and I've enjoyed your stories. I feel a need for recharge now, though."

Auri sighed. "Stupid cassettes," she said. He knew she didn't mean it.

"I know you love them," he said.

She raised an optic-ridge. "Half the time," she said. "They were fun the other day when-"

"Auri…" he said softly.

She pouted. "Okay. Fine. I won't tell you."

Soundwave closed his weary optics. "You can tell me tomorrow, sweet-spark. I love hearing you talk."

"Alright," Auri said, perking up. She kissed his cheek and gave him a long snuggly hug. "Have a good recharge and wake up better," she said, giving his nose a little tap with her finger.

"I will," Soundwave said, straining to speak. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said. She slipped off the berth and left after hugging each sleeping cassette.

OoOoOoOoO

Ironhide looked up from some armor work when Prowl came into his forge.

"Hello," he greeted the Praxian.

"Hello," Prowl replied rather quietly.

Ironhide gave him a careful sideways look. "Are you doing alright?"

"Honestly…" Prowl hesitated. "Honestly, I am stressed and tired."

"Praxus hasn't been easy on you," Ironhide said, running a cloth over a piece of metal work. "You get worn out by company, and Praxus is constantly there."

"I actually think Praxus simply being there is not a problem for me," Prowl said slowly. "It is the fits of upset and the nightmares that do it. He's doing better about the fits, but the nightmares won't go away."

Ironhide nodded his understanding.

"I did not come here to discuss Praxus, though," Prowl said.

"Auri?" Ironhide asked meaningfully.

"Something related," Prowl said.

"You're not doing too good a job at staying uninvolved like you planned,"

Prowl's wings shifted.

"Remember when we talked a while back?" Ironhide reminded him. "You said 'no' to a deeper relationship."

"I said 'no' and then 'maybe later,'" Prowl replied slowly. "This might be 'later.'" He paused and then looked to Ironhide. "I am not falling for her intentionally, Ironhide; it's just… just happening. I keep fighting it, but I keep losing ground. She's darling, and I cannot help but love her."

Ironhide smiled as he checked a seam on his work.

"I did not come to talk about this either, though," Prowl said. "I have some work for you."

"Work?"

Prowl nodded. "I have a pair of pistols that I want repurposed. They inflict pain, stun, and kill. I need the kill function removed."

"I can do that," Ironhide said. His expression stated that he didn't understand why Prowl wanted that, but he would do what Prowl requested.

Prowl took the set of pistols from sub-space and held them as Ironhide bit back a gasp of awe. The guns were special Decepticon issue of the finest workmanship. Ironhide knew that Prowl had them, but he'd only seen them two or three times, and he'd never, never seen Prowl use them. Chromia had a pair of the same make, but hers had gone through a lot of mistreatment before she'd acquired them. Prowl's gleamed and shone, sleek and flawless.

"Prowl…" Ironhide murmured, his optics drinking in the guns. Few of these pistols ever made their ways into Autobot hands, and they were highly sought after. "Are… are you sure?" It would pain his spark to alter these beauties.

"Completely certain," Prowl said gently. "Ironhide… Ironhide, you do not see these guns as I see them. I need them changed."

"But… they are-"

"I know what they are. I know their value. I know how much every Autobot on base wants a perfect original set. And I know what I want."

Ironhide looked at the guns in Prowl's hands with reluctance.

"Why, Prowl?"

"I am the original owner of these guns, Ironhide. The Decepticons issued them to me, and I killed Autobots with them. I killed and killed and killed. When I see these guns, I remember the worst of me and the absolute pain of my spark that drove me to kill. I need them changed to diminish that and redeem them."

Ironhide nodded slowly as he began to see what Prowl was saying.

Prowl looked at the guns. "Countless times, I came close to destroying these two for their crimes. Their beauty and workmanship always stopped me, though. If we can give them new purpose, I will be at peace with them."

Ironhide gently reached out and rubbed Prowl's shoulder. "Do you want to do the work?"

Prowl paused. "If it would be safe, I would," he said, hope in his optics.

Ironhide nodded. "It'll be safe. I'll walk you through and double check everything."

"Thank-you," Prowl said, deep sincerity in tone.

"Do you have time to do it now?"

Prowl nodded. "Elita told me to take the whole day off after our meeting."

Ironhide raised a knowing optic-ridge. "How long did she have to argue with you to make you take it?"

Prowl gave his helm a quick shake. "Not as long as you would expect. I was still drowsy from the sedatives that I put in Praxus's Energon last night."

"I think I need to hear this story."

"It is not that interesting," Prowl said. "Praxus was deeply upset about something last evening, so I put seds in his Energon. And I had my own Energon cube. I picked them both up but ended up putting them down to deal with Praxus. And by the time I was done, I'd forgotten about the seds. I gave him a cube and took a cube."

"And you passed out after drinking it?"

"Right there on the couch," Prowl said. "Prax put a blanket on me and let me be."

Ironhide chuckled softly. "He's a good mech-ling."

Prowl nodded. "He is," he agreed.

Then they got to work on modifying the twin pistols. Prowl laid them both on Ironhide's worktable, and Ironhide stood at his side, almost brushing his wing. Ironhide guided Prowl through each step with patience, and Prowl found that the work wasn't as difficult as he'd anticipated. It did tire him emotionally, though, and he was glad when they finished the first pistol and Ironhide suggested a short break.

He agreed to the break and heaved a soft sigh.

"Would you like some Energon or copper candy?" Ironhide offered.

"I will accept both," Prowl replied, glancing around to find a place to sit. Then his optics caught sight of a beautiful pair of silver filigree bracers. "Oh-!" They were just a bit bigger than Auri's size, and he easily pictured her slipping them over the armor on her forearms.

"You like the pretties?" Ironhide asked, half-teasing as he handed Prowl a small cube of Energon.

Prowl nodded and took the cube before moving over to look at them more closely.

"They wouldn't fit you, Prowl," Ironhide teased.

"I know someone they are going to fit," Prowl said softly, almost reverently. "She will love them."

Ironhide eyed Prowl and took a sip of Energon. He was now realizing how hard Prowl had fallen for Auri. Prowl was done for.

Ironhide waited a few moments, contemplating things, and then he had a question.

"Are you gonna dance with her at her ball?"

Prowl's helm snapped around. "Is everybody going to ask me that?" He seemed a little dismayed.

"Everybody?" Ironhide asked.

"Praxus, Bee, Chromia, the Twins. Elita asked me after the meeting. You just asked me. I can practically foresee Ultra Magnus asking me next, and then Ratchet making a 'little inquiry,' and then Prime subtly hinting that he's wondered about it. Oh, and Flareup, too. She won't be subtle."

A lazy smile touched Ironhide's face and his optics twinkled. "Prowl… you should probably just say 'yes' and do it."

"Well- I- I intend to, but… bots… bots need to… lay off."

Ironhide gave him a fond look. "Prowl, we just care about you and Auri."

"And I care about my privacy and independence."

Ironhide raised an optic-ridge. "You do know that those go away when you get a spark-mate, don't you?"

Prowl's face heated a little. "I- o-of course I do. I will willingly sacrifice my privacy and independence to my spark-mate; do not misunderstand me on that. I- I only meant that I do not like everyone discussing what I will do or what I should do. That is all."

"Got it," Ironhide said with a nod. "I'll… I'll try to respect your privacy and independence. But, don't you hesitate to come to me if you have questions or concerns. You hear me?"

"I hear you, sir," Prowl said, looking up at Ironhide and not hiding the fondness and respect he felt for his former guardian. "Thank-you."

He wasn't expecting a hug from Ironhide, but he got one.