Finding Home

Chapter 20

By Voodoo Queen

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Author's Note: Hello, Dear Readers! How are you all doing today? Well, I hope. I'm back with another chapter for you. I can't believe we're 20 chapters in already! It's crazy! This chapter is the calm before the beginning of the storm, just to let you know. Also, I have a serious question for you all. That is, how romancey do you like your romance? Do you like fluff and cuddles? Are you a smut hound? Do you like a liberal sprinkling of both (my personal fave)? I'm asking because I'm trying to work ahead for you guys because I don't want to let this story stagnate and I don't want to offend anyone's delicate sensibilities, if ya know what I mean *wink, wink*. Anyway, thank you so much to those who've added this story to their follows and favorites. Special thanks to reviewers: The Whispering Sage, Guest, MysticFire101, velociraptor4659, KayleeChiara, AshelyOfChaos, Bearloveforever, Autobot-Bre-Lightblast, Maria B, adelphe24, Knightnerd, Stranno Roza, sakurawriter. I love reading your feedback and I'm always open to suggestions and ideas. Till next time!

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, just my own original characters and plot.

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"Well," Sideswipe asked with a flourish, "What do you think?"

Amy looked back and forth between the mechs, confused. "It's a boat."

"Way to point out the obvious, Squishie." Sunstreaker snorted in amusement.

Amy had found herself on the far side of the island at a small marina. There were three docks each with moorings for five boats each side. With such a small population on the island, totaling about 1700 military personnel (herself included), and about 1500 civilian contractors, there probably weren't many boaters. Those that could afford the luxury were probably on the high end of the government pay scale judging by how large and nice these boats were. As it was, there were only about ten of them currently moored that she could see. She still had no idea why they'd come here but she was getting a very strange feeling about the whole situation.

"Yes, it's a boat," Sides confirmed. "But, it's not just any boat. Come on. Take a look at this."

Amy followed slowly as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker set off down the pier in the direction of the closest boat. When the two stopped walking she came to a halt in between them. At first, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking at. Then, she caught sight of the name scrawled across the boat's hull. "Oh, my God," she snorted in laughter. "The 'Lamberdinghy'. Are you serious? That is hysterical!"

"Yeah," Sideswipe grinned mischievously. "Sunny and I were wandering around one day and we stumbled across it. It's like a sign or something."

"A sign?" Amy shook her head, not understanding. She looked over to see if maybe Sunstreaker would clarify but he seemed to be busy studying the way the hawser running from the ship was tied off around the cleat on the pier.

As if he felt her eyes on him, Sunstreaker turned to the woman and asked, "So, how does this sailing thing work, Squishie? We just untie it, turn it on and go?"

"Wait..." The reality of the situation suddenly seemed to dawn on Amy. "Who's boat is this?"

Sunny shrugged. "How should we know?"

"You're trying to steal a boat?" Amy shook her head, backing away from the pair. "Do you even know how to drive a boat?"

"We're not stealing the boat, Ames." Sides insisted. "We're just borrowing it for a couple hours and you're a sailor so...we thought this would be right up your alley. You know, something you'd enjoy doing. Get back out the water and all that."

"First of all," Amy held up one finger, "Borrowing something without asking is the same thing as stealing it. Secondly," she held up another finger, "I'm an Operations Specialist, not a Boatswains Mate. I've never been at the helm of a ship in my life. I'm not taking somebody's boat."

"Don't worry about it, Squishie." Sunstreaker tapped the side of his head. "We'll take care of it. We can google the instructions."

"Yeah," Sides agreed. "It's fine, Ames. No worries. We got this."

"I think you're missing my point, guys." Amy crossed her arms over her chest, barely noticing that the tugging had settled in the twins' presence, caught up in the moment as she was. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you can get into for stealing a boat?"

"What's the worst that can happen?" Sideswipe chuckled. "Prowl will get his tailpipe all twisted and toss us in the brig for a couple days and Prime will give us another stern talking to. Par for the course."

"We'd be out before the week is up," Sunny confirmed smugly. "We're too valuable out on the field for them to keep us locked up too long."

"Which is all well and good for you two." Amy explained, "You report to Prime who seems like a pretty understanding guy. The United States Navy isn't so forgiving if you get caught breaking the law. Vehicle theft is a felony and pretty much a one way ticket to Captain's Mast, having your rank stripped, losing your security clearance, being dishonorably discharged from service, and then sent back to wherever you came from. That's before criminal and civil law even kicks in and takes effect."

The brothers looked at one another. They'd clearly not considered the fact that Amy was indeed a human, a member of the human military despite the fact that she was under Jazz's supervision, and subject to the regulations and whims of an entirely different chain of command. Of course, they knew she was human. They certainly hadn't forgotten that little fact. That's what made this whole situation so slagging complicated. If she was their same species, things would have been so much easier. Still, they had some kind of connection. A serious one if their sparks were to be trusted. It took them only a moment to decide that the risk outweighed the benefit. If they were somehow caught...

No. They wouldn't risk having her taken away from them over a silly boat ride.

"New plan, Squishie," Sunstreaker suddenly announced. "There's a lighthouse not far from here. Are there any laws against watching the sunset?"

"No," Amy felt relief flood through her. She smiled up at the mech. "Thank you."

The yellow twin held the woman's gaze for a long moment, his face nearly unreadable except for the slight upward twitch at the corner of his mouth. He quietly rumbled, "You're welcome." Then, to his brother, "Come on, Sides. Let's get out of here."

The silver mech vented in disappointment and gave the 'Lamberdinghy' one last, longing glance before nodding. "Yeah, alright." To Amy he assured, "The last thing we want to do is get you into any trouble, Ames."

"I appreciate that." Amy thanked him. "I really do."

The silver mech smiled down at her then, with a nod, both he and his twin transformed into their alt modes. Sides popped his door open in invitation. "Your chariot awaits."

Awkwardly and having no other choice, Amy climbed inside. She'd never get used to this, she thought. She was careful not to touch anything unnecessarily. After her first ride with Sunstreaker she was still a bit traumatized over the whole riding in an alien robot thing. Though Sides had not yet voiced any complaint, the very idea of literally being inside of the mech weirded her out. So, she sat stiffly behind the steering wheel with her hands clasped tightly together on her lap. The mech had certainly noticed. His laughter filled the car's interior as he pulled out and followed his twin down the road, the vibrations feeling as though they went straight through her to lodge in the pit of her stomach. She shivered.

"Loosen up, Ames." By the tone of his voice, it wasn't hard to imagine the teasing grin that would have been on his face had he been in robot form. "It's alright. You can relax, you know. I don't bite, but...Sunny might if you really wanted him to."

Amy felt the blood rush to her face. That had sounded like a pretty blatant sexual innuendo which, she told herself, was completely crazy. She laughed, albeit nervously. "Sorry," she apologized and tried to change the subject. "It's just...this isn't weird for you?"

Curious, the mech asked, "What's that?"

"This," Amy gestured around herself. "Rearranging yourself into a car and driving around with people inside of you."

"I hadn't really thought too much about it," Sideswipe admitted. "Transformation is a natural attribute of our species. Like...camouflage, I guess. We just do it. We don't really think about it. And," he added with a hint of flirtatious teasing in his voice, "The only person who's ever been inside of either of us is you."

Amy didn't think it was possible for her to blush any harder than she already had been but Sideswipe had just proven her wrong. The words sounded incredibly intimate when he'd said them. Amy's mouth had suddenly gone dry but she managed to squeak out, "Oh, I-I see."

The mech chuckled in amusement and the rest of the short trip was carried out in a comfortable silence with nothing but the growl of the car's high performance engine and the rumble of the road beneath low-profile tires. In no time at all, It seemed like Sideswipe was announcing their arrival and opening his door for her once more so that she could climb out. Amy did so without hesitation to find Sunstreaker already standing there in his natural form, hands on hips, staring up at the lighthouse.

"So," he asked as she approached. "What do you think?"

Amy came to a halt next to the mech. Sideswipe came to stand on her other side, also studying the structure. Normally, being sandwiched in between two such large beings would have made her incredibly nervous but, for whatever reason, at that moment she probably felt safer than she ever had in her entire life. She tried not to dissect the feeling too much. Instead, she craned her head back to look at the structure, as well.

It wasn't meant to be pretty, that's for sure. It was more utilitarian than anything, nothing like the quaint, picturesque lighthouses that dotted the Virginia coast where she'd been previously stationed onboard her last command. The Diego Garcia Harbor Control Tower Lighthouse was essentially just an automated 250 Watt halogen lamp affixed atop an enormous stainless steel tower to keep ships from smashing into the atoll. As a sailor, she could appreciate the function. As a woman, who had to remind herself that this was not some kind of bizarre date, it didn't exactly scream romance in any way, shape, or form, Still, it was the thought that counted and it was certainly preferable to potential criminal charges and a dishonorable military discharge on her record for felony vehicular theft.

A pleased smile graced Amy's lips, "It's perfect."

It wasn't long after that Amy had found herself perched upon a small outcropping of smooth rocks that ran the length of a shoal that extended out beyond the lighthouse to a teeny tiny island she was certain was only visible during times of low tide. It was a great spot to sit and watch the sun slip down all the way beneath the surface of the crashing waves. Sideswipe was stretched out to her right, lazing in the sand with a glowing purplish cube of what he called 'high grade' within arms reach. He'd explained to her that it was sort of like energon, just with more "kick". Sunstreaker was to her left. He'd whipped a large canvas tarp out from somewhere to sit on, refusing to get any of the sand anywhere but on his feet and that was only due to the necessity of having to actually walk through it. He was sipping his own cube of the purple concoction and currently seemed to be studying the colors painted across the sky with a critical eye.

Amy took a drink of the bottle of water she'd been given...also something Sunstreaker had been storing somewhere within himself for some reason only he and God knew. It was perfectly chilled, something she'd been curious about but not enough to question the mech. He'd offered her the bottle after she'd had to politely decline the bottle of wine Sideswipe had procured for her from somewhere on base. She hasn't asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, honestly. She'd had to explain to the both of them that she was still considered "too young" to drink alcohol...at least for another seven and a half months...and that she could get in trouble for underage drinking in the military just as easily as she could for stealing a boat. She'd seen many junior crewman sent to Mast for just that reason and didn't want to be counted among them. They'd found the entire idea completely ridiculous, especially Sunstreaker.

"So, let me get this straight," Sunny had pressed, "Your government will let you drive a vehicle, essentially a two-ton death machine, when you're sixteen."

"Right," Amy laughed at the look of consternation on the mech's face.

"When you turn eighteen, they treat you legally as an adult, let you participate in the electoral process, and will allow you to volunteer yourself to be sent out into the middle of a slagging war zone if you want. But," the mech continued, "They don't trust you enough to let you go out and get overcharged with your friends without making a glitch of yourself until you're twenty-one?"

Amy raised a brow at the term 'overcharged' but nodded in agreement all the same. "Yep. That's about the gist of it."

"I'm sorry, Squishie," Sunny vented, taking a deep drink from his cube. "You live on an aft backwards planet."

Sides chuckled, "You can say that again, bro."

Amy shook her head, snorting in amusement. "You know what's sad? I really can't even disagree with you. It certainly feels like that sometimes."

"Hey, Ames," Sideswipe asked curiously, "When is your birthday, exactly?"

"It's in April," she informed. "On the 28th."

Sideswipe grinned, "I'll mark it on my calendar. We'll save the wine."

Amy laughed, "I'll be looking forward to it. What about you guys," she asked. "Do you celebrate birthdays back on Cybertron?"

"Not really," the silver twin admitted with a shrug. "We're a pretty long lived species in general. At least we were before this slagging war broke out. I guess no one really saw any point in it."

"Oh. I guess that's understandable. So," Amy sipped at her water, "How old are you guys?"

"Old enough to drink a cube of high grade without the authorities glitching out on us," Sunny joked earning a giggle from the femme.

"We're not that old." Sideswipe clarified, "Only twenty-four vorns. Comparatively speaking, we're not all that much older than you are."

"Young adults," Sunstreaker confirmed, taking another sip from his cube.

"Ah, gotcha." Amy nodded. Still curious she asked, "How long is a vorn in my time?"

Sunny thought for a moment and then answered, "It's about eighty-three Earth years."

"Okay, so that's..." She took a sip of water as she quickly did the calculations in her head. When the math came back, she sputtered, nearly choking on her beverage.

Immediately concerned, Sides sat up and began patting her on the back. "Whoa, Ames...you alright?"

Amy nodded in the affirmative in between gulps of air. Once she'd recovered sufficiently enough to speak she gasped, "Jesus Christ! You're almost two-thousand years old?!"

"Primus, Squishie," Sunny had sat up, tense and concerned. Seeing that the woman was alright, he sank back to lean against the rocks. "When you put it that way..."

"It's not that big of a deal, Ames. You have to think comparative, like I said." Sideswipe grinned, "You want to talk old? Now Ironhide...that's an ornery old bucket of bolts. He's old even to us."

The woman shook her head in wonder. "How- how old is he?"

Sunstreaker gestured to the sky which was now dotted by the glow of distant suns and smirked, "Let's just say that there's probably stars burning up there that are younger than he is and leave it at that."

Sides asked, "You haven't met Bumblebee yet, have you?"

"The scout?" Amy shook her head. "No."

"That scrapper is still a youngling." He informed, "If the war hadn't happened and our whole planet hadn't gone straight to the Pit, he'd probably still be at home living with his creators."

"Oh, my God..." Dumbfounded Amy sat back and contemplated that bit of info. She wondered if Advisor Galloway had any idea that the beings he talked to as if they were naive, unruly children were actually thousands of years his senior with more experience under their belts than he could ever fathom. "That's insane."

"It doesn't bother you, does it?" Sideswipe cautiously asked. "Us being so...old?"

"What? No," Amy insisted. "It's just...I can't even imagine being alive that long." Her forehead furrowed in thought. "I'm not sure I'd want to be, honestly."

Curiosity piqued, Sunstreaker asked, "Why's that?"

Amy shrugged, "I don't know. I've been alive for over twenty years and it really hasn't been all that great so far..."

"Ames..." Sideswipe shot his brother a concerned glance. "Why? What makes you say that?"

Amy's eyes widened. She hadn't meant to say anything like that. She didn't want pity or anyone feeling sorry for her. "It's nothing," she denied. "Don't pay any attention to me. I'm sorry for being a downer. Please," she nearly begged, "This has been a really nice evening. Let's not ruin it."

Sides had long suspected that his Ames was dragging around as much baggage as he and Sunny were and he communicated to his brother as much via comm when it looked like the other mech was going to press the issue. Sunny didn't look too happy about dropping the subject. Neither did Sideswipe, for that matter. It was instinct to want to care for your mate...a thought that nearly caused his processor to grind to a halt for a moment. It was the first time he'd seriously thought of her as such. It was a sobering realization. He filed the train of thought away to discuss with Sunny later.

"Yeah," Sideswipe reluctantly agreed. "Sure, Ames."

"Thank you," she quietly whispered.

The three lapsed into a peaceful silence punctuated only by the intermittent calls of local seabirds flying overhead. Night truly had fallen by this time. The only light in their vicinity came from the stars and the moon reflecting off the water. Every so often the beam from the lighthouse would wash over them, illuminating the landscape for a moment before plunging it into cool darkness once again as it moved on. Amy again found herself entranced at the way the soft, blue glow from the mechs' optics gently highlighted their faces in the dark. With a sigh, she pulled her gaze away looked out over the crashing waves. She loved the water and couldn't imagine her life without it.

Inquisitively she asked, "Are there oceans where you're from?"

"Mhmm," Sunstreaker quietly replied. "The aren't quite like this though."

"Will you tell me about them?" She asked softly, looking up at the mech in time to see him nod his head.

"Yeah, Squishie," he agreed. "Whatever you want."

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"I really wish you could see yourself." Sideswipe chuckled, a low, amused sound which caused his brother to growl.

Sunny glowered at his twin, "Not a word, cogsucker."

His brother's irritation only made Sides laugh harder. "Don't worry, Sunshine. Like I said, your secret is safe with me."

"Don't call me that," Sunstreaker warned half-heartedly. He shook his head, "I can't believe this slag..."

"Twice in a row?" Sideswipe grinned at his brother, "I'd definitely take it as a compliment, bro."

The yellow mech hummed noncommittally, keeping his face carefully neutral and his gaze fixed out over the water. At some point over the course of him describing what the oceans on Cybertron were like -vast expanses of liquidized metal versus the salt water on here on Earth- and Sideswipe recounting a time the two of them had blown every credit they had to their names to take a trip to the coast of Valvolux just to see the Mithril Sea, the femme had begun to droop in exhaustion. Thinking to prevent her from dozing off where she sat and tumbling from her rocky perch, he'd offered her a spot on his tarp.

As they'd continued chatting, the breeze blowing in off the ocean picked up significantly bringing with it a slight chill in the otherwise tropical locale. Despite the long sleeves she wore, Amy had shivered slightly. Without any real planning or coordination, he and Sides had moved closer together, sitting shoulder to shoulder with each other and sandwiching the woman between them, creating an effective wind block for the small femme. The heat that radiated from their frames must have warmed her seeing as she stopped her shivering and seemed to relax. Eventually, she'd drifted off and, much as she had when they'd all shared the movie night, curled herself into Sunstreaker's frame.

The mech had tried to ignore how neatly she seemed to fit into the slight concave depression of his waist. The task had become much more difficult when, in her sleep, she'd slung one of her arms around him as far as it would go and nestled herself comfortably beneath his arm. Not knowing what else to do, he'd wrapped his hand about her shoulders, holding her securely against his frame, with his thumb gently caressing up and down her clothed arm in a soothing motion. He could feel her slight breaths feathering over his abdominal plating and did his best to block out the feedback from his sensor grid telling him that it felt good. Though his spark was more than pleased by this development, his processor was still having a difficult time reconciling the situation. It was far from normal and though his vehement opposition had waned, he still had many reservations.

"Thank you for doing this, Sunstreaker...for giving this a chance." Sideswipe's softly spoken gratitude broke through his brother's introspection. The use of the mech's full, creator-given name letting him know just how sincere he was. He regarded his twin with bright optics, "I really mean it."

"I know you do," Sunny rumbled in reply.

Sideswipe nodded and looked down at the sleeping woman and smiled. "Think she had as much trouble sleeping the other night as we did recharging?"

"Primus," Sunstreaker frowned, "I hope not."

"She looks so small next to you like that..." the silver mech observed.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics, "Well, she's a human so..."

Sides snorted and reached to push her hair back behind her ear. "Have you given any thought as to how we could maybe...you know?"

"No," Sunny gave his brother a sharp look. Then curiously, "Have you?"

"I mean, yeah," Sideswipe admitted. "We can only play off this whole 'friends' thing for so long, you know? Eventually, we're going to have to figure out how to move things along. Not just for our sake but for her's, too."

"And?" Sunny asked with a raised brow.

"I don't know," Sideswipe shrugged. "She's...fragile." He carefully lifted her hand from where it lay looped around his brother's waist and held it carefully in his own, his lips curling slightly hearing the mech's subconscious growl of protest. "I don't want us to hurt her."

Sunstreaker nodded. That was one thing he could agree on.

"So," Sideswipe shot his brother a cheeky grin. "What do you want to do with her?"

Sunstreaker shot his brother a warning glare.

"I meant," the mech chuckled, "For the night."

Sunny vented, "We could wake her up and drop her back off at the barracks..."

Sides raised a brow, "Or?"

"Or," Sunstreaker continued, "We could keep her and maybe get a decent recharge tonight."

"Plan B it is, then. Here..." Sideswipe gave a satisfied sigh and pushed himself up onto his wheels, reaching to take the woman from his brother while the other mech gathered the tarp and their empty high grade cubes. He gazed down upon the femme in his arms with a tender expression. "Looks like you're coming home with us tonight, sweet spark." To his brother he added, "She's completely out of it. I don't think she'll care much where she sleeps anyway."

Sunstreaker tucked the last of their stuff away into subspace and jerked his head in the direction of the road. "Let's get out of here. I'm exhausted, myself."

Sideswipe tucked the woman in close to his chest and took off after his twin. "Right behind you, bro."

End of Chapter 20