AN: Holy crap, this turned out a lot longer than I had originally planned. But here's another chapter to celebrate my school year almost being over! Kind of a bit more filler than anything else, but once more developing Barry! They grow up so fast T^T.

Reviews: Thanks to all who reviewed! (Iwanita, MissShelz, shadow-dog18, Snow Kyubbi, supergirlprime, Ryen Selenity Caliburn, shadonic25, sheekblack, MissMary)

Chapter 54
Jealousy

Miles hadn't even been awake for five minutes, and already he was certain that today would be the day that he met his untimely demise.

Miles was a normal, healthy teenage male. Well, mostly normal, given the fact that he was one of four playing host to a strange energy, still had the nanobots inside of him, and now had a bond with a Cybertronian. And healthy teenage males had wet dreams, the problem Miles was currently facing. Waking up to a bit of a mess didn't bother him; it was nothing to be ashamed of.

Waking up to a bit of mess and then remembering it was the first wet dream he had had since the bond with Barricade was created, well that did bother him. Just a bit.

He had absolutely no idea what to do. He hoped that it hadn't leaked through while he slept, but somehow Miles knew he probably wouldn't be so lucky. But if Barricade didn't say anything, should he? What could he say? 'Oh, sorry for turning you on last night, Barry. How was your morning Energon?'

Miles slumped back on his bed, half wondering if he could just hide away all day, claim to be sick. Or insane. There was no one he could talk to. Sure, he could ask Ratchet the chances of Barricade feeling it, but so far the leading authority on Barricade and his reactions was Miles himself, even with Groundhog on base. This only made the teen feel worse, as Barricade's recent developments were even leaving him baffled. Sure, it was all well and good that the ex-con was realizing he could really care about someone, and somethings, but that made it harder to guess on reactions.

Miles laid there fretting for a few more minutes, before a whine and scratching at the door drew his attention to Mason. The Mastiff was giving clear indications of needing to use the bathroom, and Miles groaned before getting up. He knew he couldn't let Mason suffer with him, and that the likelihood that he wouldn't be dragged out of the room at some point was slim to none. Miles just took a moment to thank Primus that Sam had slept elsewhere the night before, because if Barricade decided to make a scene it could get potentially awkward.

By the time Miles got to the rec-room, an hour had passed since he had woken up.

Deciding to spend some quality time with his favorite dog meant he could have a convenient excuse for skipping breakfast, and avoiding Barricade for that much longer. He'd been cautious, but he'd gotten nothing from the other side of the bond. It was completely closed off. The longer he spent avoiding Barricade, and practically everyone else on base because of that, the more likely someone was to turn up looking for him. And that someone would most likely be a somemech named Barricade.

Miles was pretty sure he was doomed no matter what, and so he had begrudgingly dropped off Mason with Red Alert. The Security Director had taken a surprising shine to the large canine, especially after hearing how a dog could guard and protect those it cared about. Mason didn't seem to mind the attention from the Autobot, and so Miles had left it as it was. Certain mechs, like Ironhide and Sunstreaker, though Ironhide was getting better, would sooner step on the dog then pet him.

The teen had barely walked in the room before the small sense of calmness he had gathered evaporated completely. Seeing Barricade standing there with arms folded across his chassis and his normal irritated look on his face did nothing to hint at Miles' worries, and that just made it worse. He walked over and stood beside Sam, trying to look casual as he took the side farthest from Barricade. Doing so wouldn't seem odd, would it? Miles didn't have long to ponder his newest question before Will was addressing them.

"Alright, boys," Will started, before correcting himself. "And mechs. Today is actually get work done day."

A chorus of minor complaints started up, but Will just let that run its course before continuing.

"Blurr, you'll be doing patrol around the perimeter around and up to ten miles outside of the base. Skyfire, you can do whatever, but for the love of Primus do not make Ratchet kill you and blame me for giving you free time!" Will ordered, letting Skyfire off the hook as the mech was still recuperating from the virus.

Skyfire was already almost completely better, though he was still suffering after effects. He had been banned from the internet, Ratchet not wanting to take any chances, and mainly could only use his holoform. He couldn't plug into anything, either. The shock he had given Miles had been his Spark attempting to protect his body, something Sam had already had explained to him when Barricade's Spark had shocked Bumblebee. The shock Skyfire used, however, had taken away any last defense his systems had against the virus, and so he had collapsed soon after. Wheeljack was currently attempting to try to decontaminate whatever Skyfire had found.

Will continued, "Bumblebee, Barricade, Sam, and Miles: you guys will work on repainting the buildings damaged in the fight. We've put that off for long enough. All the mechs are required to go in for a checkup with Ratchet at some point today, which brings me to Sideswipe. You're doing rounds with Ratchet until the end of the day. Sunstreaker, Skids, and Mudflap: you're babysitting Orion. Jazz and Epps, you're with Prowl on datapad duty. Ironhide, you'll come with me to get the new parts sent in for Wheeljack to make better weapons for us organics. Everyone else already has their assignments."

Skids and Mudflap babysitting Orion was not the best idea, but Sunstreaker would be there to keep them in line. The yellow frontliner had no problem beating them into submission, nor did Sideswipe. The twins minor were constantly in fear of the twins major, and were usually kept separated for just that reason. Unless it was Sparkling sitting, of course.

"I'd rather not get that white paint on me," Barricade commented, indicating his black frame. "It sticks out just a little bit. I can babysit Skyfire."

"I do not require babysitting," Skyfire protested immediately, "And you'd provide no interest for me anyway. A scientist requires stimulation."

"You could study mine and the fleshling's bond more." Barricade drawled, using it as if it was a tasty morsel for Skyfire. The Scientist was fascinated with their bond, and had constantly been after them to find out more.

But Miles started to panic at the mention of the bond, trying to think of something quick to get them off the topic.

"We could even-"

"I'll go on patrol with Blurr!" Miles blurted, getting a strange look from Sam. After his first meeting with Blurr, the teen hadn't exactly taken to him, and outside of being on polite friendly terms, the two rarely talked.

Blurr looked at Miles for a moment, and then shrugged. "That-would-be-fine-with-me."

"Then Miles can go with Blurr," Will said, fine with it if Blurr was.

"I like you a lot better when you're not shaking the shit out of me," Miles commented, looking out of Blurr's window.

The mech didn't take offence, instead he laughed.

"Yes, well, I didn't yet know how fragile your kind was at the time. As much as I disliked being stopped by Barricade at the time, I appreciate it now. Ratch would have killed me if I'd managed to give you a concussion." Blurr said, rounding the building that kept the Dinobots, narrowly managing to avoid Swoop trying to grab him.

Miles grinned, but then blinked. "Hey, you didn't talk super-fast!"

"I do not talk fast all the time," Blurr replied with amusement, "I found organics have a harder time understanding me than Cybertronians do, and will slow down accordingly speech wise."

"Oh," Miles realized that made sense. With the rate a Cybertronian could talk, a fast talking one was even worse for the organics. Sam had related it to being in school and there Spanish teacher playing those foreign tapes, even though they should have known what was said the speaker talked so fast that most of it was lost, and their teacher would have to repeat it several times.

The teen suddenly felt a little bad, realizing he would have known that if he bothered to spend any time with Blurr. Sure, he hadn't appreciated the shaking that much, but he had known that new landed Cybertronians could be a bit difficult to get on with. It wasn't like he was avoiding the mech either, if Blurr was in the room then Blurr was in the room. But Blurr was rarely there, as the fastest he was sent out the most often to get things or to deliver things. Miles couldn't recall a single time they'd actually had a conversation just the two of them.

"How do you like Earth?" Miles asked, attempting to remedy at least a bit of that.

Blurr didn't find the question odd or out of the blue, or if he did he just didn't care. He actually took a moment to think about it.

"You organics are much like us, but very different at the same time. It can be quite confusing," Blurr admitted, "But otherwise I enjoy it very much. A nice atmosphere, fairly pleasant weather, good scenery. The only thing I don't happen to like is the Decepticons here."

Ah, there was that too. Blurr had always been one of the more vocal about being unsettled with Decepticons on base, though over time he had quieted down along with the others. Miles, on the other hand, had basically been the one to start the Decepticon trend, though he wasn't nearly as close to Soundwave, the cassetticons, and Groundhog as he was Barricade.

Blurr seemed to sense the teen's unease, "I've come to realize that the ones on our base are not at all that bad. The ones off are still fair game, however, and them I will not hesitate against."

"I think I feel bad for any 'con who runs up against you," Miles replied, looking at the wheel in front of him instead of out the window. Everything was going by a bit too fast for his liking. "Is there a particular reason you hate them so much? I mean, I know the war and all…"

"I was initially a neutral. My entire home town was, up until the Decepticons attacked it. They killed my family, and my Sparkmate." Blurr said bitterly.

"Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"You did not; it is not exactly a secret."

"Still…" Miles trailed off, and they rode in silence for a bit. But his curiosity got the better of him. "What were they like?"

"Okay, what the frag happened between you and Miles?" Bumblebee asked, joining Barricade at the table the ex-con had claimed. Sam sat beside him.

As soon as they could break for lunch, Barricade was gone and cleaning any paint off himself he could find. Since Miles would not be with him to 'babysit' Skyfire, Barricade had been forced to stick with painting.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Barricade played innocent, leaving his faceplates blank.

Sam snorted, "You're the Big Bad Wolf, and Miles is little Red Riding Hood trying to get to grandma's house safely. He doesn't even like Blurr that much, and he practically jumped at the chance to do patrol with him. Otherwise he would have been stuck with you or Skyfire, possibly me and Bumblebee, and I know he doesn't have a problem with Bee, Sky, or me, so it has to be you."

"He had what you organics refer to as a 'wet dream' last night," Barricade said, "It's rather amusing to see him bluster around like an idiot, even more amusing to feel it whenever he lets the bond slip."

"You're fucking with him!" Sam accused, and Barricade just gave the teen an amused look. Sam had to refrain from slamming his head on the table, because Miles would never get anywhere with anyone if he worried about if Barricade could feel it.

"Did you feel it?" Bumblebee asked curiously, and Sam looked at his Guardian in horror.

"I'd rather not discuss that," Barricade sounded fairly disgruntled.

"Okay, okay! I'm going to sit at a safe table!" Sam cried, getting up quickly and hurrying over to join Prowl, Jazz, Epps, and Fig.

Bumblebee watched his Charge leave with amusement, before turning his optics back to Barricade. "I see your new favorite past time is screwing with organics. Should I be worried it might move on to our own kind?"

Barricade just chuckled, and drank his Energon cube. Bumblebee followed suit, the two sitting quietly for a few minutes. Until Bumblebee spoke up again.

"But… did you feel it?" Bumblebee asked again, really wanting to know.

All Bumblebee got was a smirk in response, Barricade getting up and leaving the cafeteria to go back to painting. The Scout pouted for a minute, he couldn't tell if that was a yes, or if everyone and mech was free game for Barricade now. The ex-con had a new found confidence, where he had previously stayed within an inner social circle. Minus the sarcastic and cutting comments he had dished out to everyone before.

By the time night rolled around, Barricade still hadn't seen Miles and he was annoyed. The ex-con was just beginning to think that the teen might be overreacting, and that his reference to bond emotions but otherwise not touching the topic probably hadn't helped. But he mostly blamed it on the teen overreacting, because humans had weird taboos when it came to that stuff. How Mikaela could go around in a bikini and it was fine, but if someone happened in when she was just in bra and panties it wasn't still stumped him.

He followed the silent link of the bond to the teen, finding him on the other half of the base and getting even more annoyed. The two sides mingled, of course, but when it came down to it certain mechs and certain humans were on one side, and all the rest were on the other. Graham, Maggie, Glen, Trailbreaker, Blurr, and several others were all on the opposite half. A joking rivalry had been started up, each side referring to the other as background fuzz. Barricade knew that Miles couldn't care less about opposite sides, even joking ones, but the teen had rarely ventured to the other half of base on his own. Usually there was a group of people coming to either side or meeting in the middle.

And when he finally found the teen, he was outside on a picnic table. Maggie had claimed his right side, holding on to his arm, and thoroughly managing to embarrass Miles while at the same time making him feel good about himself. Blurr's holoform sat on the teen's left, grinning and irritating Barricade even more. The mech's disdain for Decepticons didn't exactly make him easy to get on with, and Barricade tended to avoid him. Glen, Graham, and a few other organics that Barricade didn't care to know sat at the table with them, teasing Miles and laughing. Trailbreaker was using his holoform to cook on a grill, Blaster helping him.

Knowing that Miles wasn't freaking out anymore and just hadn't bothered to go see Barricade made the ex-con even more irritated, bordering a anger that he'd probably regret, and an emotion he couldn't quite place down as jealousy. And then Miles was laughing at something Blurr mock whispered to him, detaching himself from Maggie and standing as he patted the mech's holoform on the shoulder.

That was when Barricade walked over to him, picked Miles up, and without further ado placed the teen over his shoulder and walked back the way he came.

"Barry!" Miles cried, "What the hell? Put me down!"

Miles didn't really help this, of course. The teen struggled about as effectively as a fish caught in a net, even going as far as hitting Barricade's back with his fists. Everyone and mech else just watched in surprise silence, even those who didn't personally know the two knowing about the two. So only one person bothered to cut the ex-con off, everyone and mech else smart enough to realize that whatever was going on was probably better taken care of elsewhere.

"He doesn't want to go, 'con." Blurr sneered, stepping in the way. "Even I can tell that he isn't enjoying you right now."

He was challenging Barricade; forwardly enough that even Miles got what the Autobot was doing. He was calling Barricade stupider than he had been when he had arrived on Earth and shaken the teen up. Miles really regretted bringing up Blurr's previous Neutral status, the memory probably stirring the mech on, and Miles could feel Barricade tense up and hear him growl, the bond closed but Miles could just imagine the bubbling anger.

Barricade had too little of everything else and too much anger, Miles could remember feeling it through the bond. A defense mechanism, but one that hurt Barricade in the long run when he came to a place that he no longer needed it. If he got angry first, then there wasn't room for fear, betrayal, pain, confusion, or other such things. That was good in a war, but here where fighting wasn't the way the Cybertronians, on base at least, had to live anymore, it wasn't.

And Blurr was challenging Barricade. To what exactly, Miles didn't know. A physical fight or a verbal fight, either one would have been bad. Blurr hated Decepticons, and even though he was getting better with the ones on base, he was still bad with them. Barricade had anger problems, and wouldn't deal with a pompous Autobot for long. Miles knew he had to diffuse the situation quickly, but the bond was blocked, and it was hard to say anything to Blurr when he wasn't even facing the mech.

"Can you?" Barricade asked, a warning lacing those two words.

"I know your processor isn't that up to par, but I thought even you would be able to tell. Guess I was wrong."

Miles forcefully opened Barricade's side of the bond, the anger he felt staggering and he almost hesitated, before picturing exactly what he wanted and wrapping his emotions around the anger. Almost like a hug, more intimate than a physical one could ever be, but still almost not enough, Barricade's anger flaring briefly before it tapered off and the ex-con allowed Miles to make him relax. Then he closed off the bond.

"Guess so," Barricade said pleasantly enough, surprising Blurr.

Barricade walked past Blurr, leaving the Autobot speechless, and Miles still hanging over his shoulder. The teen was more happy that a fight hadn't started, half afraid that since their real bodies weren't near each other it would have been with holoforms. He waited until they got what he thought was a suitable distance before voicing a complaint.

"Could you put me down now?" Miles whined, "I'm hanging like a limp noodle here!"

"You've been avoiding me," Barricade replied, in a voice that made Miles wish the bond was still open so he'd know the emotions behind it.

"No," Miles lied, Barricade snorting. "Maybe. Just a little."

"I am your Guardian," Barricade said, something he rarely if ever brought up. Now he was lording it over the teen, using it as an excuse as to why he needed to know Miles location. "I need to know where you are."

"Sorry, Bumblebee, I'll make sure to tell you next time. Need to know when I use the bathroom too?" Miles asked flippantly, but it wasn't as effective when he was still hanging over Barricade's shoulder.

Barricade growled, "You've been freaking out over your wet dream and avoiding me because of it. What if something had happened?"

"I was with the fastest 'bot on base and the alarm would have sounded before then!" Miles retorted, "Honestly, what is with you and worrying lately?"

"You were worried about my reaction over the wet dream," Barricade snapped back.

"That's different!" Miles grit his teeth, trying to wiggle out of Barricade's grasp. "I'd be pretty freaked if I got turned on because of something you were doing; I didn't know how you'd feel. You seem to think I'm out to kill myself for some reason lately! I swear you're bipolar!"

Barricade finally set the teen down, growling more. Miles scowled back, and before Barricade could say anything else he cut the ex-con off.

"And use your big words! You have emotions besides anger, say what they are! You're a big mech, so be honest about them!" Miles demanded, exasperated that with the bond closed Barricade could just hide behind the anger he had built up as a shield.

"Besides anger? Fine!" Barricade snarled, moving closer to the teen. Miles refused to back off, intent on not having a repeat of Wheeljack's lab. And then he exploded, "My enemies are now my friends, and the ones who were supposed to have my back before are now my enemies, so when I want to seriously damage one of those 'friends' like that glitchhead back there I can't! You freak out over some stupid thing, avoided me, and then replaced me with others! I've gradually come to realize that Primus has stuck me with someone I've come to need, but this someone has a thousand and one ways to die on their own, while some of my old faction will be gunning to kill them! So, please, tell me how I'm supposed to feel, because I don't know how to deal with this! Fighting and killing I have down, not touchy and feely slag like this!"

Miles was silent for a moment as he tried to decide what to tackle first, and if Barricade had been a human he would have been breathing heavily from his outburst.

"Just because I'm avoiding you and hanging out with others does not mean they're replacing you, stupid." Miles said gently, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't any good at touchy feely stuff when it mattered, either, so he guessed they were even. "I guess I did it because I was insecure, it's not like I have any idea how to deal with this either. I don't want to lose it though, and I think that may be why I was so worried. I don't want this to be something that ends with one of us hating each other, as silly as the idea seems now. And just ignore Blurr, everymech else will pitch in to keep him off you, I think. I know his reason for why, but it doesn't give him the right to pick fights. Nor does it mean you can pick fights. We really need to stop getting on the topic of my death, too. It's creepy to think about, and you said yourself, we don't know how all this stuff is going to affect me. I might be the next Clark Kent."

A snort. "You'll be the superman who flies into his own bedroom door."

"You said you wouldn't bring that up anymore!" Miles groaned, but couldn't bring himself to be anything near to angry or annoyed. Just happy that Barricade had calmed down again.

"If I don't remind you of your faults you'll never learn from them."

Miles grumbled halfheartedly, finally turning to walk back to his side of base. Barricade followed, and the two walked in a relieved but still loaded kind of silence. And this time it had been Miles' fault with everything that had happened. While he couldn't exactly be blamed for what he did in his sleep, how he acted after was his fault. After a bit Miles eyed Barricade warily.

"So it didn't bother you?" Miles asked, and then clarified "The wet dream, I mean."

"I'm not going to say no to a free overload," Barricade replied, and Miles couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Don't put it like that; it makes it sound even worse!" Miles cried.

"Should I say thank you?" Barricade asked innocently, "It would only be polite, after all. Tha-"

Miles gaped at Barricade, before covering his ears and walking ahead quickly. "Lalala, I can't hear you! Lalala!"

Barricade smirked and kept up with the teen. Miles was even more embarrassed than he had been that morning, almost enough to make him wish they were still fighting. Almost.