The Diego Diaries: Bond(age) (dd6 371)
-0-Home
"ARE YOU READY TO GO, SLAGGERS!?"
Ratchet stood in the middle of the living room waiting for the chaos and yelling at both ends of the house to subside. Bos, Reflector and Co-D who were sitting on the couch grinned. "This is just like home," Reflector said. They were here for the ceremony and breakfast as members of the family. Their genitors and entire family would be there for the ceremony, then bring them and themselves to the parties later that orn including the dinner.
Ratchet laughed. "IT IS!" He strode toward the big kid end of the apartment and after a moment nine big kids and one smaller one with a dog burst out.
Running for the couch, Sunspot hopped in between Bos and Co-D, then smiled. "THIS IS FUN! WE'RE MISSING SCHOOL THOUGH!"
Ratchet who was walking out grinned at them. "It's going to get funner. You just wait." Heading onward, he entered the corridor of shorty land.
Sunspot who was leaning against Bos who was leaning back himself laughed with delight. "Watch this."
It was silent a moment, then shouting could be heard.
"OW ME! YOU BAD ADA!"
"I'LL 'OW' YOU, SLAGGER! MOVE IT!" Ratchet could be heard to say.
RIOTOUS LAUGHTER AND FEET RUNNING COMMENCED.
Hero hurried out with Prowler and Praxus right behind. They ran into the middle of the room, paused almost in hysterics as they looked around, then ran for the curtains. They ran behind them and stilled. Their peds could be seen, Prowler's nervously hysterical laugh could be heard, then they silenced.
"See?" Sunspot said with an enraptured smile. The others were smiling too brightly to speak but they nodded their helms as they watched with delight.
"IRONHIDE! WHAT THE FRAG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE!? CHANGING YOUR OIL?!"
"SHUT YOUR FLUTTER VALVE, OLD MECH! I AM IRONHIDE! I HAVE TO LOOK GOOD!" he said as he walked into the living room. Surveying the flowers in his garden, he grinned. "Fortunately, I don't have to work to hard to get there." He preened for the benefit of the shorties who laughed and the big kids who nodded in enraptured agreement.
Ratchet snickered as he followed the big lug. "I won't argue about that. Where did the little slaggers go, I wonder?" he asked as he stared at their peds. "I guess we'll never know." He looked at the four big little kids and the nine big bigger kids who were sitting around the room laughing. "We may have to rent out their rooms if we don't find them. I get all their toys though."
The curtain rustled, then Orion stepped out with a concerned expression. "Ada … you not my shes?"
"FRAG YEAH! I GET YOUR TOYS IF YOU DON'T HELP ME FIND THE OTHERS! I can't find them," Ratchet said with a smile.
Orion stared at him, then smiled brilliantly. "I NOT KNOWING! I, ORION, NOT TITCH!"
Huge laughter greeted that as Ironhide picked him up. Handing him to Lumi, he yanked the curtain up. Three little kids screamed and danced. If they would have been human, someone would have needed a mop. Picking them up, parting them out, Ironhide turned to Ratchet who was standing by the door highly amused. "THAT'S HOW YOU HERD PEEWEES!"
Just then the door opened and slammed Ratchet on the helm. "ARE WE LATE!?" Alor asked as the rest of the family's ammas and appas began to fog in.
"For a party or a funeral?" Ratchet asked as he rubbed his helm. "TIME TO GO TO BREAKFAST!"
With that, they began to stream back out and head for the Diner On The Corner and a gabfest before the big show began.
-0-Home, earlier
"HURRY UP! I need my baby fix," Turbine said as he watched Raptor lovingly dry Pudding with a towel. "That cow looks better than you do."
"I'll tell you a number of things, Turbine. This cow is a SLAGGING MIRACLE! I had a complete detailing at The Paint Box yesterday and so did he. You have it good. Check this out," he said as he flexed his brawny chassis. "Prime stuff."
Turbine laughed. "I can't deny you have a good figure, Raptor. It's one of your best features."
"And my winning personality?" he asked with a grin as he gently stuffed Pudding into his hold.
"Let's discuss that over breakfast. Hurry up. I want my babies," Turbine said as he walked to the door. Raptor would follow and they would banter all the way to Ratchet and Ironhide's apartment.
-0-Home
"That's the last of that. This is going to be a great orn, Hardie. Time to go. Turbine is going to hog the babies," Delphi said. "Mech is a glutton for infants."
"And you're not?" Hardie said as he shut down the monitor link up to Cybertron.
"I never said I wasn't." Delphi grinned as they walked out. "This is going to be a fun orn. You ready to dance, twinkle toes?"
"Is the sky blue?" Hardie replied with a grin.
"Occasionally," Delphi said as the elevator closed on both.
-0-Across the hallway
"Either get done with that cow or leave him here," Alor said as he finished the last bit of a composition on his composing computer for new music. He was waiting for Slowpoke to get done fussing.
"That cow comes with. This cow is a PRINCE among cows," Blackjack said as he slipped the cow into his chassis. "This cow is my service animal."
"I thought you said he was your spirit animal yesterday," Alor said as they walked to the door. Scout sat on his father's arm smiling at Blackjack who smiled back.
"He is. He's also my long lost brother, my first boyfriend, my best racing mech, my-" he said as the door closed on both.
-0-Home nearby
"Are you ready, Ratchet?" Docker asked as they finished cleaning up the immaculate apartment. Chan and Corr stood at the door watching as Ratchet fussed with the pillows on the couches.
"I am. Gotta leave a place nice, my old ada used to say. Never know who might just drop in," he said as he joined Docker.
"Your ada was a wise mech, Only One. Cavalier was a great mech and so was Timorous," Docker said. "You must tell your stories about them to the babies. They need to know their own history."
"I will," Appa Ratchet said as he stowed his cat into his chassis, then got Corr's. They would snuggle and purr all orn long. Then he joined the others for the short trek down the hall to their grandchildren.
-0-Home
Kestrel and Tagg left their apartment to go upstairs to the Residence. They were laughing over a joke Tagg had heard and when they stepped off, they were festive in spirit. Rapping on the door, they stepped inside to infant acclaim, then walked to the kitchen were Prime and Prowl were cleaning up. "Good morning, Orion, Prowl. This is going to be a good orn," Tagg said.
"I think so," Optimus said as he hugged both. "I hope you are going to the parties and dinner as well."
"We are," Kestrel said. "We worked out our absences at school. We must be honorable to our programs there. I want to dance with your atar. He's a very good dancer."
Everyone looked at Tagg who grinned. "One of my hidden talents," he said glancing at Kes. "My DEEPLY hidden talents."
Optimus laughed as they gathered up the excited babies fogging into the room. "It is one of mine as well."
"You're going to have to dance. I want everyone to be envious of me. I also don't care what they say on Transformers: Prime. Primes do party," Prowl said. He grinned. "Lennox showed me the video of your night on the town with the boys."
Prime blinked. "He did?"
"He did. We can go over it tonight. I told him there was a deep hole on Pluto where he could visit death's door if he ever showed it to anyone else," Prowl said as he picked up Rambler.
Prime laughed. "Thanks. It would appear you have my back as they say."
"I will always be there," Prowl said.
"Punching and kicking all the way," Tagg said with a chuckle as they walked to the door together.
Prowl glanced back, then grinned. "Shh," he said as they exited the apartment for town.
-0-Home
"I have Prima and his bag, Miler. We should be ready to go," Venture said as he stood by the door, his child and gear stowed.
Miler who was fussing around paused in the living room. "I think we're ready, Venture. I can't wait for the fun. It's so much happier here than anywhere I've ever been." Then he frowned. "Do you think my genitors will come? They were invited."
"They will or they won't, Milie. I, for one, won't be worried whatever they decide. Let's go have fun. It's a party today," Venture said as he opened the door.
Miler smiled. "It will be. Everyone is expected to come. This is so exciting, Ven."
"It is, Milie," he said with a grin as they stepped out to go to the Diner. The door closed quietly behind them.
-0-On the way
Miler and Venture walked up to the Metro One entrance to the group gathering there. A number of family was heading their way as well so they waited. As they did, more came from the metro. The femmes and their bonds/significant others walked up to join them. Maelstrom looked as content as ever as he chatted with Ultra Magnus. Then Lancer and Partition arrived followed by his brothers and genitors. It was a big crowd that hugged, greeted and laughed at/with each other. When Ratchet and Ironhide arrived with most of both families, they began to head their way to the Diner. They had reserved the entire place.
Moving slowly along, more joined up. The twins and Bluestreak were coming holding little infants in colorful garb. Elita and Jetta, Proteus chatting with Hobbes and followed by Madura carrying Rugur in a carrier, Joon, Vinn and Edict laughing about something, Rade-R and Riff, Bron-E and Borealis who had set their own date for a bonding with Optimus officiating, Maddow with his bond and kids, Hauser with his, Hercy, Kup, Lon and Bezel, Devcon, Smokescreen and a subdued Smokey, Flint with Stu and Auntie Lissie, a rapturous Scout and Trooper, Wheeljack with Perceptor carrying Resolve, and still more fogged out of the station heading for the diner. Notably missing would be Zenith and Shadow.
It was mayhem in the restaurant where everyone pushed chairs and tables together and filled booths. Children were parted out and found willing hands to hold them and feed their little gaping pie holes. Halo stood on Ironhide's lap bouncing in place with a giant smile on her face. Her long 'hair' tinkled slightly.
"Little femme can't be special ops," Hercy said as he admired her. "Her sensor array will give her position away."
"Little mechs and femmes aren't going in the army. We're resolved, right?" Ironhide asked as he glanced at Ratchet.
Ratchet shrugged. "If we're still fighting by then, then frag all of us."
Everyone agreed as drinks were passed around. Partition who was sitting at a table with a slightly smirking Lancer glanced nervously around. Lancer leaned in, then grinned at him as they chatted off line. Then Partition nodded, stood up and tapped a glass. Everyone paused to look at him. He looked faint a moment as Drift and Springer arrived and sat in saved seats nearby. "Uh, I think I want to say something. It's important. To me, that is. It's important."
Everyone silenced as they stared at the improbable kid who won the spark of a special ops member of Elita's fabled team. He swallowed hard, then began. "I want to tell you that there isn't a person in this room that I don't love. My family … my genitors and brothers are my heroes. Lancer is my hero and so are all of you. When you came to me, Ratchet, and took me on, I fought you tooth and nail. I was stupid and entitled, a goof off, and someone who didn't have a clue about how things really worked. I had no manners and no feelings for others. But you persisted. You did for me what no one else was willing to do.
"You made me a good mech. My folks … they're the best but all of us were stuck. All the good inside us was trapped. Being with you and around the family, being trusted to do important things like being on the Watch and being a medic has made me a mech. I love everyone here because all of you treated me good even when I didn't deserve it. My brothers came around first, then my genitors. I love all of you for winning your freedom from caste slavery. That's what it was. Poison.
"Now I'm going to bond to the greatest femme that ever lived. I get to be part of a huge family that lives love. I have friends who really care about me and trust me to do my part of the job at hand. My genitors are the best … the greatest. You're my best friend, Atar and Ada … you're the best person I know. My brothers are the greatest and best, too. I hope they find someone who will make them as happy as Lancer does for me. I really am the luckiest mech in this room right now."
He turned to Ratchet and Ironhide. "I love you. I love both of you. I love your family and how you live. I love this place and I will work to defend and serve it and all the people. The People on Cybertron … I will help them, too. All you have to do is ask me and I will come. I will come humbly, gratefully and willingly. For you, Optimus Prime, I will serve the people and die for them if that's the path ahead. Thank you for your belief and kindness to me. I'm sorry in my spark for any discourtesy and bad behavior I ever felt or showed against you. You are The One Who Comes. Thank you for letting me be part of this, this new world and life.
"Thank you, Ratchet and Ironhide for believing in me. I will take care of your daughter the rest of my life. She's like a queen to me. It's an honor to be here living this life with you. I wanted you all to know." He stood a moment, then sat down. Lancer leaned toward him and enveloped him with her arms.
Ratchet grinned. Then he looked at Ironhide with a smug expression. "Voodoo, slagger."
HUGE, HUGE laughter.
-0-TBC 6-1-18 edited 7-7-18