A/N: DUDE I DID IT I WROTE IT AND HERE IT IS. Work is still hectic and my life is lowkey a huge mess right now, but I'm doing my best to keep pushing out chapters! Please let me know what you're feeling! Reviews would be so so so appreciated and would definitely make my entire week (pls review I need serotonin lololol)


Chapter Twenty-Six:

Good Intentions


"she licks blood off her fingers and she looks like divine absolution. careful, meleager; this is your sport but she's not playing a game.

do not think you are safe because you love her.

do not think she will not stain her mouth red with your blood too."

—atalanta


Awkward wasn't a good enough word to describe the air hanging around the crowd in the hanger. Even after Optimus' holoform dismissed most of the group, a tenseness still filled the space around them. The only people who remained was his mom, his aunt, Prime, Ratchet, Lennox, who had run in seconds after Optimus began to dismiss people, and his siblings. Plus, of course his Grandpa. Apparently.

"Look how much you've grown." David Bradshaw said softly. Peter had only heard stories about his grandfather over the years, and even then the stories were far and few between. His mom rarely spoke of him, and the only time Aj ever mentioned him was in comparison to when he thought his own father had left him. "Aubs…"

Peter stepped toward his mom nervously. She let out another gasp, "D—Dad?"

David Bradshaw opened his arms slightly and Peter watched for his mom's reaction. She blinked in surprise again, hesitating, but she slowly stepped forward to greet him with a small hug. As if it couldn't get any more awkward in this hanger…

Peter looked over to his aunt and his eyes widened. He had known Aj was angry. The moment she limped into room he could see the anger in her eyes, but this was different. Despite rarely seeing it in person, Peter knew of her temper. He had heard the stories of Aj's rage, but she almost never lost her cool in front of him or his siblings. The angriest Peter had ever seen her was when Tyler had gotten a concussion when she was babysitting them. He probably only remembered that day so well because of how traumatizing it was, but to this day he could still imagine the intimidating fire in her eyes as she stared the perpetrator down.

The way she looked that day though?

The stories of her rage?

They all seemed to pale in comparison to the fire in her eyes right now. Rage was radiating off her in waves. Aj was seething, her hands clasped tightly in fists. The look in her eyes, the way she glared at her father, made Peter think the guy could possibly go up in flames soon.

"H—How is this possible?" His mom stepped back from the hug and put space between the two of them. "I don't understand."

Optimus cleared his throat, glancing at Lennox who nodded once in silent agreement, "Perhaps we should take this elsewhere? Clean up and tend our wounds first and then—"

"No. I wanna hear what he has to say right now." Aj snapped and everyone stared at her in shock. It was sort of an unspoken rule that you don't interrupt Optimus while he spoke. Aj was high up on the list of people who respected every move and decision the Prime made so to hear her blatantly brush him aside was jarring. "Come on, David. How the fuck is this possible? Tell us your excuse!"

Everyone noticed that Aj hadn't called him 'Dad' and were both simultaneously trying to avert their eyes while also hanging onto every awkward word of this argument. David gave her a hard look.

"Language, Aimee."

Aj tensed even further, the look in her eyes grew sharper, and Peter was 95% positive he was about to watch his aunt straight up murder his grandfather in the middle of the hanger with the loose pipe she was using to hold herself up.

"Dad", His mom pulled the attention back to herself, "Tell us what is going on. Please."

There was a pause before David nodded once, "As I'm sure you know… there is a lot going on. A war beyond what the Cybertronians have seen." He glanced at Optimus and Ratchet briefly before looking back to his daughters, his gaze mostly fixed with Peter's mother. Peter wasn't surprised by that. He wouldn't want to look Aj in the eyes right now either. "Your mother was a part of all this. She was a Defender and she—" David took in a sharp, shaky breath. His eyes were sad. "A while after she died, I started having these visions. I thought they were just dreams of her created from grief, but in my dreams she told me more and more about the Defenders and the Knights and our family's role in all of this."

"Our…Our role?" His mom questioned despite Aj's scoff.

"Destiny has called us to do great things but it—it came too soon for you girls." David sighed with a shake of his head, "Your mother was trying to protect you, but she had no idea that… This war came knocking on our front door and in my dreams your mother told me what I had to do to keep you girls safe. To allow you time to grow into who you are. I only had one option." David's words were filled with sorrow and pain. "I needed to protect you two and the only way to do that was to leave."

There was a short beat of silence before Aj spoke up in a soft, disbelieving voice, "Excuse me?"

"Aimee, you were too young to understand at the time and now—"

"Excuse me!?" Aj barked. Her sharp voice echoed in the large, empty hanger. "You think you did this for our benefit? You think you were protecting us!?"

There was rage boiling over each word she said, but Peter could also see her ache. The bitterness and sting painted on her features. Peter understood, better than most, the feeling of being abandoned. His story had a happy ending, but Aj's most definitely did not.

"Of course, I was!" David snapped, disbelief evident in his blue eyes. Blue eyes that were burning just as hot as Aj's right now. "How could you even question that!?"

"How could I not!?"

"You girls meant everything to me and after your mother died—" David found himself choked up briefly. He shook his head once, firmly, "I never wanted to leave you. It killed me to walk away, but I had to. That morning… The morning I left was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Walking out on you girls that day—"

A cold, sharp laugh left Aj's lips. It was followed by another. And another. All equal in the sense that there was no joy, only shock and rage. Aj was shaking now, nearly vibrating, Ratchet took a step toward her, but she held her hand up to stop him. Peter stared at her shaking fingers feeling helpless as his aunt fell apart in front of all of them.

"Aimee…" His mom murmured and drifted toward her sister.

Aj didn't stop her like she had stopped Ratchet. Instead, she turned to her with a forced smile, "Can you believe this? Do you hear the shit he's saying?"

"Aimee Jane Brad—"

Aj whipped around back to David, not letting him finish her name, "You think you left that day?" She laughed again. "You honestly believe that, don't you?" David gave her a confused look, but Peter couldn't turn away from the look of pain on his mother's soft features. Aj turned back to her sister, her smile looking near hysterical now, "You know what, sis? Let's admit it. Let's admit the thing that we've always known but wouldn't ever say out loud!"

"Aimee—" His mom pleaded.

"Let's come to terms with the fucking truth!" Aj snapped and leveled a glare back at her father who seemed dumbfounded by the turn this had taken. She wobbled forward, nearly falling over, but she slapped away Ratchet's concerned hand so she could stand her own ground. Aj pointed at her father accusingly, "You didn't leave that morning, Dad. You left the moment mom died." You could cut the silent tension in the air with a knife. Peter watched his mom lower her head to hide her face. A tear dripped down her cheek and Peter stepped closer to her, slipping his hand into her own. She squeezed his hand tightly and Peter didn't lessen his grip. Aj continued, "The moment she died we lost you too. We never admitted it, even to ourselves, and we tried—we tried to fill that void. To act like things were getting back to our new normal. We hung onto everysmall moment we had with you… Every time you were clear enough to be there with us—mentally and emotionally—we clung to it desperately, but the truth we refused to accept was that you abandoned us."

David's face hardened and he shook his head, "No. I loved you girls I didn't—"

"Mom dying was hard on you, but think of us." Aj's voice broke and she flinched at the fact that it did. "We lost both our parents that day." He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. Aj filled the silence instead, "Yeah, physically you may have left that one morning, but you had been mentally and emotionally gone way before then."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But you've… you've grown strong, Aimee. You and your sister both. What happened, as sorry as I am, it's made you stronger—"

"I was a kid, Dad! I didn't need to be stronger!" Aj snapped, "I needed to feel safe! To feel loved! To feel like I fucking meant something to my father!"

The silence that followed was deafening and Peter could only watch as David pressed his lips into a thin line. His entire body tense as he balled his fists up by his side. Finally, David spoke, "Aimee… It was never my intention—"

"Fuck you and fuck your intentions." Aj spat at him dismissively. She turned as best she could and began to limp away from the group. Ratchet followed her and scooped away the pipe to offer himself as her new crutch. Aj tried to shove him away with biting words, but Ratchet said something back quietly. Aj calmed marginally, just enough to let Ratchet help her limp away.

Peter turned away from the scene. He was no longer any help to Aj. His aunt needed space and time to cool off. Trying to smother her now with questions or even comfort would only worsen her mood. His mother on the other hand was very different. She didn't need space. In fact, she needed the opposite.

Taylor had quickly come up and folded herself into her mother's side, the opposite one of where Peter was. Their mom was quick to wrap her arm tightly around her daughter and Peter squeezed her other hand again. Reminding her that he was still there. Tyler on the other hand slid in front of the group of them. He stood right in front of their mom, back to her, as he glared at a forlorn looking David.

Peter leaned in, his voice soft, "Mom, you alright?"

She lifted her face and nodded at him quickly. She pulled her hand away from his own to hastily wipe away her tears. Her face brightened with a smile that lit her face up but didn't quite reach her eyes. She lifted her hand to cup the side of his face, "I'm ok, baby. I'm ok."

"Whoa, back up." Tyler warned. Peter glanced up to see David had taken a step closer to them with shock on his features. The past conversation seemed to be lost on him as his mind reeled with the surprise of another. "Not another step."

"Aubs?" David questioned, his eyes darting from Tyler to Taylor to Peter.

Aubrey leaned forward to kiss Peter on his cheek then turned to do the same to the top of Taylor's head. She pulled out of their grip and set a hand on Tyler's shoulder. Tyler didn't budge, he stayed tense, until she pulled him into a hug. Peter watched his younger brother relax as he began to hug her back. Once he had been calmed down, she turned to her father again.

"Dad, this is Peter, Tyler, and Taylor." She said. Taylor stepped closer to him and slid her hand into his seeking comfort. Peter gave his sister's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Kids, this is your… your grandfather."


Ratchet's youngling had fallen into shock and despite being a medical professional with millennias of experience, a few decades of which involved human anatomy, he found himself at a loss for what to do. He had helped Aj leave the hanger, her silently stewing in her own rage, and led her down to his medbay where the twins laid in stasis. He told her the facts. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were safe. He was still trying to figure out how a virtual stranger could have broken their bond and how to fix it.

"I have a hunch." Ratchet murmured as his holoform's servos worked on trying to get his youngling out of the mangled metal that was once her knee brace. Getting out of the suit had been easy, but this? Her brace was beyond repair. Wheeljack would have to update the backup for her to use. "There was some errant data I found while working on the twins when they were… when they were first injured. It led me to a dead end and didn't seem to be causing trouble. I assumed it was just excess damage on Sunstreaker's spark casing, but now I think it may have something to do with…"

Ratchet looked up from his servos to see Aj was staring at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's motionless forms with a faraway look in her optics. The anger had melted away leaving her features soft and vulnerable. His youngling looked scared and lost and this hurt worse than seeing her rage.

"Aj." Ratchet said as softly as he could. "They will be alright."

"I know. I know. Just—It's been a long 24 hours."

He tore away the last of her brace and grabbed the human one he had to place around her damaged knee. The human physician still needed to come take a look at her knee before they placed her in a super powered brace.

"Did Sideswipe say anything to you before he went into stasis?" Ratchet questioned. The smallest clue could mean a huge difference in his upcoming task. Aj had already shared with him everything she knew about this Morgan person and Ratchet passed it along to Prime and the others to look into, but perhaps Sideswipe had revealed more of his condition without even knowing it.

Aj nodded, "He told me he loved me."

If Ratchet had been holding anything in his servos at that moment it surely would've snapped in half at the shock of what he had just heard. It wasn't news. Ratchet was aware of how the twins felt, even if they denied it, but to hear that Sideswipe had said…

He cleared his holoform's throat, "Uh…I—I meant more along the lines of 'did he say anything about his current condition?', but I suppose this needs to be discussed as well."

"I kept running it through my head trying to figure out what he meant." Aj snapped her wild blue optics to him. Briefly, he noted that she needed sleep. A lot of it too. "I love you, Ratch." He set his servo on her shoulder, but she continued, "I love OP. I love Jackie and—and I love Blue and Bee and Ironhide, even though he keeps trying to kill me in training, and I love Jazz, even though he must hate me right now for the awfulthings I said to him last night. Hell, I even love Smokes despite—despite the fact that he's dating my niece and I still haven't fully wrapped my head around that because right as I started to try the world fell out from under my feet." Aj stopped her Bluestreak impression to suck in a sharp breath. As much as Ratchet wanted to cut in, he could see she was mentally working through her thoughts aloud. "But… But he also said that—that it was always me."

"Aj…"

"It was always me. It was always me." Aj began to shake her head desperately, "That isn't a super platonic thing you just say to someone you're friends with. That's the kind of thing you say to—to—"

Ratchet let out a breath, "To someone you are in love with."

Aj froze and Ratchet watched as various emotions of disbelief and surprise flashed across her face. He gave up on her knee and sat down in the seat beside her makeshift cot. Ratchet took her small servo in his own. The moment he did her fingers curled around his tightly.

"Perhaps, Sideswipe didn't pick the best of times to say what he did, but… there is no doubt in me that he meant every word." Ratchet tried to find the words that would comfort his youngling. "Sideswipe has nevercome out of his berserker programming without Sunstreaker. Never. Yet, you were able to stop him. Sideswipe always knew—" He stopped himself and reworded his thought, "What you did, albeit dumb and reckless, it was only confirmation for what Sideswipe already believed."

Aj shook her head, "I don't know what to think. I don't know how I feel about that and every time I try to think about it and figure it out… All I can actually think about is—"

"Your father." Ratchet purposely chose the human word.

"No." She snapped. "He lost the right to be called that years ago."

He squeezed her servo again, "Tell me what you're thinking."

"When he first showed up in Austin, I had this sinking feeling. It was like my gut knew, but I refused to accept it—to even consider it." She explained. Her grip tightened at the stress and Ratchet was sure if his holoform had a normal pain level he'd be uncomfortable. "Then today as much as I tried to ignore it I couldn't when he… he called me Ace. That's what he used to call me when I played volleyball. I heard it and it just… it felt like all the air in my lungs had been sucked out."

Tears began to pool in her optics, the skin around them turning red like the top of her nose. Her breaths came in quick, broken gasps. Ratchet quickly stood and set his servo on her back to offer any semblance of comfort that he could and Aj responded by turning and lunging into his side, nearly off the bed itself. Sobs racked her body as he held on tightly to her.

"Why is he here? I hate him. I hate him!"

Ratchet sat on the edge of the bed and held his youngling tightly as she cried into his shoulder. She wasn't the kind to show pain. To show how broken she felt. It almost felt strange holding her tightly while her body shook with sobs. Ratchet was a healer by trade and a healer to his very spark. Yet, here and now, he felt absolutely useless at the fact that he could not take away this pain.

Ratchet could not heal this hurt.

He whispered quiet comforts and prayed for her pain to be lifted.


Aubrey couldn't be around him right now. She wanted to. She saw the look of hurt on her father's face when she whispered an excuse and slipped away. Despite everything that happened, despite the pain he inflicted, she still felt guilt.

Aubrey felt guilty for walking away from him, and if that wasn't ironic she didn't know what was. Her hands wrung together nervously. A part of her craved to go find her sister. To see if they could walk through this together, but she knew all too well that they were at different stages of grieving. Aubrey had come to acceptance many, many years ago. Aimee was still stuck between anger and denial.

And honestly? She kind of wish she were too.

The fact that she had accepted her father's absence so long ago left her feeling empty right now. She didn't know what to do with herself. It would be better if she was angry or sad. Instead, she was just… nothing. Even her oldest children had more of a reaction than her.

Tyler was angry. Her son, who was so much like his aunt in many ways, was built to protect. He saw a potential threat and reacted the only way he knew how. Taylor was worried. Worried about her siblings, worried about her aunt, worried about her. Yet, her intelligent, kind daughter was still able to keep her twin centered. She kept him from lashing out. Taylor had always been the one to balance Tyler out. He relied on her to keep him calm and she relied on him to make her feel safe.

Then there was Peter. Level-headed, planning Peter. He was the one to give Tyler's anger direction and he was the one who gave Taylor strength after her concern drained her dry. They were all handling this so well and Aubrey was so immensely proud of them.

Proud of who they had grown into.

There was a knock on the bedroom door that made her jump. She had gone back to her on base apartment, unsure of where else to go, and now sat on the edge of her bed. The door cracked open and a small frame came rushing in.

"Mama!" Lucas yelled. She couldn't help but smile when he tackled her into a tight hug. Aubrey quickly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her lap. He curled into her, his head on her shoulder, and Aubrey felt peace. "Daddy says you're sad."

"No, sweetheart. I'm not sad." She hummed and turned to press a kiss to his light hair, "I'm just thinking."

Her eyes drifted back to the door where William stood with a soft smile. The love in his eyes only added to the peace she felt in her chest. Aubrey didn't have to say a word. He must have known the look in her eyes, because he crossed the room quickly and sat beside her. Just like she had pulled Lucas into her body, he did the same to her. And for a moment that's how they sat. A mother curled around her son with her husband holding them tightly.

"How are you?" He asked quietly.

Aubrey let her hands rub her son's back as she spoke, "I don't really know. I need to go check on Aimee."

"Ratchet is with her." William replied and this brought comfort to her worries. If anyone could calm the storm in her sister's heart it was the medic. "And she's strong. She'll get through this. I'm sure she's already bugging him about getting her a new brace so she can get around base."

Aubrey bit her lip, "I'm… I'm not so sure."

There was a pause and all of Aubrey's fears took this moment to sink their claws into her brain. William tightened his arm around her, "Tell me."

"I'm ok because I came to terms with this so long ago. I don't know if I healed—that doesn't seem like the right word… but seeing him isn't painful for me." Aubrey tried to explain best she could. Losing her mother had destroyed her entirely. Losing her father, though tragic and painful, hadn't hit quite as hard. "I loved my dad. He was… he was my dad, you know?" She sighed, "But to Aimee… he was her hero."

Aubrey let her mind slip back to memories of them as children. Aimee had always been a daddy's girl. She was the tomboy who played catch in the yard with him. He was the person Aimee would come to first with her accomplishments. Aimee loved her mother the same way she loved anything in life, with her full body, heart, and soul. Love wasn't something her little sister gave out half-heartedly. But their dad was her pillar of strength, he was the person Aimee shaped everything around.

"They're the same." Aubrey said firmly, "The same kind of love, the same kind of stubborn, the same kind of passion and power…" She shook her head. "Him leaving hit her hard." Aubrey was briefly reminded of the fact that she too had left once upon a time and the pit of guilt that never really left her ached. "Aimee is very good at getting back up. She may get knocked down, but my little sister has never stayed down."

William nodded in agreement, "I know. Lord knows I've seen Ironhide knock her down enough."

Aubrey let out a sad chuckle, it faded pathetically on her lips, "I'm just so scared that this is going to be the thing she can't get back up from."

William leaned forward and pressed his lips against the crease of worry between his wife's furrowed eyebrows, "Then we'll be there to help her back up. She's not alone. Not anymore."


'It was always you. It was always you. I love you. I love you.'

The words rattled around my skull, echoing incessantly. Any other day it'd stress me the hell out, yet somehow today this was the lighter topic resting on my shoulders. What did that say about the mountain of shit I had to deal with?

I shifted in my cot and flinched at the pain that shot up my leg. Ratchet had the human doctor come and take a look at it while he worked on the twins. According to Dr. DeGregory, who was starting to become a prominent figure in my life these days, I hadn't fractured anything again, but I did stress out the ligaments. He sentenced me to bedrest with a follow up in two weeks. The look in his eyes when he told me that though showed that he knew it was a slim chance that I actually did rest for a full two weeks. The guy was quick.

Ratchet had forbidden any visitors in the medbay and honestly it was a comfort. I didn't want to deal with anyone right now. Not when my mind was a clusterfuck of issues to work through. Wheeljack had stopped by to help out Ratchet, and he did stop to check on me. The engineer had been quiet though. He worked silently, the first I had ever seen it, and then before he left his holoform squeezed my shoulder and promised to be back soon with a working brace.

God bless, my engineer.

I watched Ratchet work. The placement of my cot on his desk gave me a clear view of both twins. They were still in stasis and it made my heart ache in worry. Ratchet said everything was ok. That he could fix this, and he seemed confident about it, but I wasn't going to feel comforted by this fact until I could see the lilac of their eyes.

'It was always you. It was always you. I love you. I love you.'

My mind drifted back to where it was. I could only distract myself with outside thoughts briefly. As I laid in bed, I tried to convince myself that I had somehow heard him wrong. He couldn't have said what he did. He must have meant it differently than how I heard it. Every excuse in the book bounced around my brain, but something in me couldn't accept a single one. Something in me told me I had heard him correctly. That he had meant what he said.

I wasn't sure what scared me more. The idea of him actually loving me or the fact that I could accept that idea so easily.

A jagged gasp shook me out of my head and my eyes widened at the sight of Ratchet dodging a punch from a recently awoken Sideswipe. Ratchet tried to hold him down, "Sideswipe, you are safe! Calm down!"

"Sides!" I yelled, sitting up in bed.

The red mech stilled and lilac eyes locked onto mine. I breathed a sigh of relief. Now I just needed to see Sunstreaker awake and maybe I could start tackling all those other problems weighing me down. Ratchet glanced over his shoulder, giving me a thankful look, then turned to finish checking up on Sideswipe. The entire time this happened Sideswipe didn't look away from me.

I felt my cheeks grow warm, but I couldn't drag my own gaze away. Never had I felt awkward around either twin, but right now the feeling was starting to bubble up in my chest. Was this how it would be now? Us awkwardly staring at each other from across the room?

I didn't know where else to go from here.

Sideswipe's eyes dimmed and panic hit me hard, but it quickly melted away when the static like sound of a holoform forming beside me filled the air. I glanced over at the fold out seat by my cot to see Sideswipe's blond holoform. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he sat rigidly in his seat.

"Sides…"

"Are you alright?" He asked firmly. His eyes darted down to my knee then traced every injury on my face. I knew I definitely didn't look super great right now. The Las Vegas battle had left me with a number of wounds to tend. Not all of them physical either.

I nodded once, "I'm fine, Sides. Nothing I can't handle. How are you? The bond…"

Sideswipe's hand lifted up to press against his holoform's chest. His eyes drifted away from me to look at the prone form of his brother. He shook his head, his voice soft, "I can't feel him and it's…jarring. I've never not felt him there. I hate it. I feel like I'm just floating with nothing to tie me down to solid ground."

"Ratchet says he can fix it."

"I know." Sideswipe heaved a sigh, "If anyone can it's him."

There was a pause of silence between us that I didn't know how to breach. How does one even start a conversation like this? A part of me didn't want to touch it, but it was like an itch. I couldn't ignore it.

I cleared my throat, "So, are we gonna talk about—you know—the…you—and I? And…"

God had given me the ability to beat men senseless without breaking a sweat and yet I could not form one fucking coherent sentence.

Like, that didn't seem entirely like a fair trade.

"Right." He hung his head. "Aj, I… Thank you." I blinked in surprise, but he continued. "If you hadn't dragged me out of the berserker coding… If I had hurt someone here or—" Words caught in his throat. "All I could see was red. Burning, anger and raw pain and it was all bleeding red but then you were there and—Primus I was terrified I'd have to watch me hurt—" Sideswipe stopped again. "But I stopped. You stoppedme."

He chuckled and lifted his gaze to smile at me. I wasn't quite sure what the look on my face was, but it must have been something because his own smile dropped. Sideswipe raised an eyebrow, "That's not what you were talking about."

"Well, I mean, no?" I struggled again with the words. "I told you that you couldn't hurt me, and I meant that shit, you know? I wasn't surprised. Grateful, well yeah, but…"

Sideswipe continued to stare at me, and I wondered if this was a sign for me to drop this altogether. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his entire body stiffened again like a live wire had been pressed to his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath, shock in his voice, "I told you that I loved you."

My heart sunk in my chest. It wasn't the reaction I expected from myself. Sideswipe suddenly remembering what he did, what he said, not knowing he had before? Did that mean he didn't mean to? That he hadn't meant it? I was surprised at the disappointment I felt.

Disappointed?

"No, no, no." Sideswipe grabbed my hand and held it tight, "I can see it on your face. Don't think like that. I might've forgotten briefly, I blame the trauma for that, but I meant it. Aj, I meant every word."

This time my stomach flipped. Honest to God, I needed my organs to chill the fuck out.

"I do… I do love you. I just didn't mean to say it the way that I did." Sideswipe sighed, his thumb rubbing patterns onto the top of my hand, "It was a heat of the moment thing, I guess. Honestly, I had a real plan for it all. I was gonna take you to the top of that pointy tower in Vegas because according to humans and the internet it's the pinnacle of romance—"

"That's not… actually…" I started to explain that he had the wrong Eiffel tower in mind, but he didn't seemed deterred by me at all.

"I was gonna get down on one knee—"

I sucked in a sharp breath just to immediately choke on my spit. He gave me a look that told me he was briefly questioning my sanity, but I coughed out my words, "You were going to fucking propose?"

He blinked once, "Huh. You know what? That word actually was in a lot of the videos I watched online. I wondered what they were talking about." I made a mental note to ask Taylor if this was a common trait of dealing with aliens. "All the other stuff I looked up just didn't feel right though… like all the things I read about your dating customs were just so slagging slow."

"Slow?"

"Yeah", He nodded quickly, "It told me not to tell you I loved you until I was sure, but then all their examples were talking about months of dating first." Sideswipe lifted his hand to point at me, "Considering humans don't have a millennia to live, I don't understand why it takes so fragging long for them to do anythingin their lives."

"I think that's a common complaint amongst our kind."

Sideswipe blinked once at my words then shook his head, "Right, well, I also liked the proposal videos because they talked about sharing lives and being there for each other forever."

He gave me a soft smile and I tried to wrap my head around his words. I shook my head, "Forever, Sides? Forever is a really long time, even for a Cybertronian." I chuckled and squeezed his hand once, "How sure are you that you wouldn't get tired of me after the first couple hundred years?"

My words had been meant more as a joke, but Sideswipe eyes focused in on me with a sincerity that shook me to my core, "I'm very sure. I spent 20 Earth years without you, and every single second felt wrong, Aj."

I felt my entire body melt at the words. It was so blatant and said with such a 'matter of fact' tone. Never in my life, behind these tall walls I built, had I ever felt soft before but if this is what it felt like I could understand why people craved it so desperately.

What did this mean? I think I knew, but did I really? I didn't think this was an option for me. That I was capable of holding onto that kind of emotion. They deserved someone who could feel with their entire heart. Someone who wasn't so emotionally blocked up. I opened my mouth to say something. To say anything, but no words came to mind. My mind was empty and silent. The first time since the start of these awful past 24 hours.

Sideswipe chuckled, "You don't have to say it back, Aj."

"Sides—" I tried to argue.

"I didn't say that I love you to hear you say it back. I know that… I know that you struggle with some things—that you have to work through this stuff on your own timeline. I get that. Plus, you're still dating Cade."

Oh, shit. Cade.

What did it say about me that my damn boyfriend hadn't come to mind this entire conversation? I wasn't relationship material. I was broken and messy and tragically unprepared for a functional adult relationship.

Sideswipe chuckled at my obvious panic, "I told you because I wanted you to know. Things are… things are starting to get dangerous, Aj." There was fear in his voice. Something foreboding hung in the air between us. "I don't want anything to happen without you knowing."

"Thanks, Sides." I said and it didn't feel like enough.

He grinned, that playful energy radiating off him despite everything, "I'd kiss you now, it seems fitting, but I don't kiss femmes who are in relationships." He chuckled to himself, "Plus, if I did Sunny would knock my block off when he comes to."

I didn't understand why his brother would attempt homicide at that fact, and Sideswipe didn't let me linger on it either. He moved onto another topic and I listened to the soothing sound of his voice. The other troubles could wait a minute.


Peter wasn't sure what to expect when he walked into the Medbay. Sunstreaker was still out cold with Sideswipe sitting by his side. His red arms were leaning onto his brother's yellow chest. He didn't know much about their bond, not like Taylor did, but he knew without it they'd be spinning. Lost. Peter had a feeling that contact was Sideswipe's attempt to keep himself sane.

Ratchet came out of his office and looked to him. Half of him expected the medic to shoo him away. His order of 'no visitors' had not been unclear. Ratchet stepped toward him through and offered him his hand. Peter stepped in without hesitation and the medic carried him to the office. Even though he hadn't stated his purpose here, Peter assumed it was obvious enough.

"Pete?" Aj called out as Ratchet set him on the desk. The medic didn't linger, choosing to leave his office for a moment while they spoke. The mechs would be able to hear every word Peter said anyways, but the space was nice. "What's up, kid?"

Peter walked over and sat down in the chair beside her small cot, "Hey, how do you feel?"

"Well, I had a nuclear meltdown in front of some important people, and looking back I think I'm starting to remember snapping at Optimus Prime which is an absolute sin…"

Peter couldn't help but laugh. Despite the properly titled 'nuclear meltdown' his aunt was still trying to offer him the best comfort she could the only way she knew thought she knew how.

Humor.

"Izzy wanted to come see you, but mom has been holding her back."

"That's good." Aj admitted with a nod. "I'm not… I'm still a little shaky. I don't want her to see me like that." She continued, "How's your mom?"

Peter shrugged, "She's handling it pretty well actually. She talked to him. Mostly small talk, and Tyler was there the entire time standing over her shoulder with a glare." Aj didn't react to the words and Peter sighed. He cleared his throat, "That's actually why I'm here. You need to talk to him, Aj."

"Pete—"

"Even if it's just to find out what he knows about everything going on." Peter said quickly. "We need the information and he'll only talk with the both of you there."

Aj grumbled under her breath something that sounded like a string of ugly curses. She finally sighed, "Fine. But just to find out what the bastard knows."

Peter shifted in his seat, "That's, uh, my next topic."

"Peter—"

He interrupted her again, "I think you should talk to him about more than just that. I think you need to… to give him a real chance to explain. A chance to maybe make up for—"

"No." The word was said with such fire and steel that it surprised him. Aj rarely spoke to him or his siblings with that voice. She rarely ever even raised her voice to them. "I can't, Peter. I can't."

Peter pulled the chair closer and let his elbows rest on the bed beside her, "Can I tell you about what you taught us all those years ago?" She didn't reply. "Please?"

Aj heaved a sigh, her resistance breaking very quickly, "Yeah, Pete."

"You taught Tyler to stand up for what he believed in. That fighting wasn't the answer unless the question was 'Are the people I love at risk?'. You taught Taylor to never be small. To never let the world control who she is or who she should be. But do you know what you taught me?" Peter asked.

"That sarcasm is a great coping method if you aren't clever enough to deal with real emotions?"

Peter ignored her, "You taught me to be kind."

As he expected, she scoffed with a loud laugh, "Kind? Me? Aj 'Punch first, ask questions never' Bradshaw?"

"When I wanted nothing more than to hate my dad forever…" Peter continued and he saw recognition flash on his aunt's bruised face, "You told me to give him a second chance. If it weren't for that…" Thoughts of his late father made his heart ache. "Dad and I got really close. He's everything I aspired to be as a man and now a father. If it weren't for you, I would've never had that relationship with him. Aj, you taught me how to forgive. How to love someone even when they've wronged you. To give second chances even to people who don't deserve them."

Aj's eyes had softened. She lifted a hand to set it on his cheek and smiled, "Kid, I'm so proud of you. You know that, right? You, Tyler, and Taylor. Y'all have come so far and you've done so much." She let her hand slip away as her smile faltered. "I can't let him back in, Pete. What he did—Peter, he is the model of what a shitty dad looks like."

"I don't know, Aj. He did something shitty dads don't do." Peter smirked as he remembered the words that kick started his relationship back with his own father. "He came back."

Aj bit down on her lip and then finally let out a chuckle. She wagged her finger at him, "You know what? You're too smart for your own good, kid."

"I get that from you." Peter replied, placing his hand in hers.


I moved down the hallway quick. After using crutches for so long before, it seemed like I finally got the hang of it. It had only taken forever and a half. Wheeljack hadn't finished my brace yet and something told me that Ratchet wasn't going to let me put it on for at least a few days until I wore him down. Peter walked quickly beside me, hovering in a worried fashion.

"I'm not gonna keel over, Peter. You can chill."

"I'm more afraid of you making a run for it, actually."

I rolled my eyes and kept moving. This was going to suck. This was going to epically suck. The thought of seeing him already started to make my blood boil in my veins. Peter hurried in front of me and led me down another hall to where a conference room was. When we stepped in my eyes shot directly to him. He sat toward the ends of the table next to Optimus Prime's holoform who sat in his usual seat at the head. Aubrey sat beside him, with Lennox on her other side. Beside him was Epps, Cade, and Ironhide. Across from them was Prowl, Sam Witwicky, Simmons, and Jazz. I tried not to let my eyes linger on Jazz whose gaze I could feel on me.

"Aimee." Her father stood. He was no longer in his weird suit but instead wore plain clothes he must have gotten from some soldier on base. Jeans, a t-shirt, and a thin jacket. "I knew you'd be reasonable."

I let out a harsh chuckle, "You don't remember me well then. Reasonable isn't exactly a word used to describe me often."

Ironhide laughed despite the tension in the room, "She's not wrong."

"We need to talk about what has to happen." My father said again firmly. "We need to talk about this war."

Peter sat down warily, and I made my way around the table to my father. He stepped away from the table to face me. His eyes lingered down at my brace and the bastard had the audacity to look concerned.

"You're right we do. But first thing's first." I nodded. Without hesitation, I used the crutches to swing me forward, landed on my good leg, then pushed myself into the air toward him. It caught him off guard and he wasn't able to block as I brought my fist down into his face from my superman punch.

He crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from his now broken nose, I had felt the crunch, and I hit the ground hard as well. Optimus was the first to reach me since he was so close and he pulled me off the ground, supporting my full weight easily.

"That's for letting the Reaper hurt Sunny and Sides, you bastard." I spat at him as he stared up at me from the ground. Optimus pulled me to the table, and I took the seat where my dad had been before. I heard him push up off the ground behind me. "So", I said folding my hands in front of me, "Tell us what the fuck is going on."