God dammit. I didn't want to work on this anymore. Why won't this fic just leave me alone?!
oOo
Wheeljack supposed he should have noticed before, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until the Cosmic Rust scare. It was slightly unusual that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were upset that they hadn't been able to help coat the Statue of Liberty with Perceptor's Corrostop. It didn't occur to him at the time that what upset them is that they weren't there to prevent the Stunticons from kidnapping Perceptor. Why should it? Sunstreaker seemed to hate everyone, and while Sidewipe was friendlier, he still wasn't as social as, say, Jazz or Bumblebee.
Things had gotten stranger when the twins had jumped at the chance to be a part of the rescue squad to get Perceptor out of Foxcreek Canyon, where Megatron had unceremoniously dumped the scientist, but even that wasn't very out of the ordinary, as they were frontliners, and there was a chance of battle.
No, what was really extraordinary was their reluctance to leave the infected scientist's side. Sideswipe staying by Perceptor at all times was baffling enough on its own, but for Sunstreaker to risk such an ugly infection... just thinking about it nearly crashed Wheeljack's CPU!
But then, when he thought about it, both twins had always been friendly towards the scientist. He supposed he hadn't noticed it before because Sideswipe was at least civil to everyone (with the obvious exception of the prankster's favourite victims), but how could he have missed Sunstreaker's unexpected softness with the scientist?
It occurred to Wheeljack to ask Perceptor about it, but he decided to wait a bit before doing so, to further investigate the odd but subtle behaviour of the twins. With the help of Red Alert, who suggested the three might be conspiring against Optimus Prime, but of course this was quickly dismissed.
"There," the paranoid Security Director pointed at one of the many screens in the monitor room on the first day. "Every day one of them brings him energon, since that horrible Cosmic Rust epidemic passed."
"Maybe the thought of losing him scared them," Wheeljack suggested, adding mentally, 'but why...?'
That wasn't the only instance, of course. There were many. Small things, that could easily be brushed off as something else for anyone who wasn't paying close attention. Things like retrieving supplies and bringing them back to the Ark for the microscope's experiments, or even making sure that nobody got near Perceptor's lab when he was working on something, going so far as to use pranks to distract any officers who wanted to check in with Perceptor before the scientist was ready. When Brawn insulted Perceptor for the umpteenth time, Sideswipe played a particularly nasty trick on the minibot.
The engineer couldn't help but wonder how long this had been going on. Had the twins known Perceptor before the war? They hadn't attended the Science Academy. So how could they have? As sparklings in Iacon? Through their jobs near Vos?
He felt slightly guilty, but Wheeljack hated not knowing something, and so decided it was time to snoop a bit more. It had been six days of watching the twins interact with the scientist when Wheeljack convinced Red Alert to let him see some of Perceptor's personal files. Even then, Red Alert only agreed to it because he suspected the scientist of having a Decepticon agenda.
"Well," Wheeljack finally said after skimming all the files Red Alert had allowed him to see. "I'm stumped."
"About...?" Red Alert urged him to continue.
"Says here Perce was a Tower Mech before attending the Iacon Science Academy. And while I know for a fact that the twins were sparked in Iacon, they were long gone from the city by the time Perce got to the Academy."
"That's impossible," the SD scowled.
"Huh?"
"Look here - his creators were named Krystalnacht and Shiftchange, but my files on the Towers have no mechs or femmes with either designation."
"It could be a typo," Wheeljack suggested, but Red Alert wasn't done yet:
"Besides, Mirage gave no indication of knowing Perceptor before the war. Given Perceptor's intellect and the nature of Tower life, that's highly unlikely."
The engineer couldn't think of a suitable excuse for that.
"You were right to come to me about this," Red Alert went on. "Perceptor's personal file has some very subtle holes in it that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't looking for them. It doesn't add up at all..."
Wheeljack resolved to at least try to talk to Perceptor, even if it lead him nowhere. At least, as a fellow scientist, he'd be able to get into the lab.
oOo
Perceptor had meant to thank the twins for once again bringing him much-needed fuel - he had, after all, never been too good at social interactions - but was quickly silenced by the door to the lab sliding open and Wheeljack entering the large room.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker exchanged looks before suddenly feigning interest in something on one of the tables. Perceptor did his best to look irritated at their presence.
"How're ya, Perce?" Wheeljack asked jovially, as he was so apt to do. Continuing to feign annoyance, the microscope replied:
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you. Now, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in here? You aren't currently working on anything... right?"
"Actually," the engineer looked a little guilty, "I wanted to talk to you." The sudden tensing in the twins' shoulder joints didn't go unnoticed, and so he quickly added, "Alone."
The Lamborghinis both eyed Perceptor warily. Wheeljack pretended not to notice as Perceptor gave them a quick nod and they left the lab, leaving in their wake a curious Lancia and a nervous-looking microscope.
"What was it that you wanted to ask me?" Perceptor asked, once the twins were gone. "I'll be glad to offer my assistance on any side-project you may be tinkering with."
"Nah, I was hoping to talk more about you. I've worked with you for so long, but I don't know slag about you, and if you ask me, that's not right."
The red mech was standing oddly straight as he replied, "I'm flattered, but there isn't much to know about me. I'm a scientist. I'm afraid that's really it - there never has been anything else."
"Really?" Wheeljack did his best to sound more curious than accusatory. "You've been spending a lot of time with the twins lately."
"No more so than usual. What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything!" the engineer raised his hands. "Just... trying to figure out what's going on..."
"'What's going on'? There really isn't any-" Suddenly, Perceptor stopped, optics brightening as if he was realising something. "Wheeljack... Who did you speak to and what exactly did they tell you?"
"Nobody told me anything," Wheeljack replied slowly, measuredly. This didn't look like it was going to end well. "I'm just trying to figure out if something's happening between you and them."
Perceptor didn't reply, instead going back to his work.
"Perceptor..." the engineer tried again, but before he could get any further the microscope let out a loud yelp as one of the test tubes leaked extremely hot material onto his sensitive fingers.
The door to the lab opened and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were immediately flanking the red scientist. If he had been suspicious before, now Wheeljack knew for sure that something was up between the three. Especially with how unlike Perceptor it was to spill the products he worked with - that leak had to have been deliberate.
"I think you should leave," Sunstreaker glared, harsh optics seemingly trying to drill holes in Wheeljack's chest.
"Now hold on just a minute! I'm a scientist too! I got every right to be working in here!"
"It's okay, Wheeljack," Perceptor said softly. "Just... We can continue this discussion later, alright?"
Completely flabbergasted, the engineer gaped at the trio for a few breems before giving up and leaving.
As soon as he was gone, Sideswipe turned to Perceptor, looking at the burnt hand. "Primus, did you have to spill it on one of your original parts?"
"How else would the explanation have sounded genuine?" the microscope replied, then shuddered a little. "I think it would be best if you two, er, 'lay low' when it comes to your interactions with me, though..."
"No," the golden twin scowled. "Why should we?"
"Wheeljack knows something!" Perceptor sounded distraught. "I don't know how, or even the extent of such knowledge, but he clearly suspects something is happening betwixt the two of you and myself. And if we continue with whatever behaviours he's finding to be suspicious, he may begin to search elsewhere for answers."
"Like what, ask Ratchet about your past or something?" Sideswipe shrugged nonchalantly. "Ratchet thinks exactly what we want him to think, remember? You're a former Tower Mech."
"Yes, but you two are most certainly not!"
"Well, fine, we can pretend to be your lovers," the red twin continued, only for his brother to glare again.
"We're not going to do that," Sunstreaker growled angrily. "You think just because I picked the colour scheme that I would lower my standards for it!"
"He's not an it, Sunny."
"He's not even a he, Sideswipe! And don't call me Sunny!"
Perceptor groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why is this happening? Why now? I was so close to forgetting that my life before the Science Academy even existed..."
"Then we'll just have to try harder," Sideswipe said firmly, ever the optimist. "Don't tell Wheeljack anything until you know for sure what he thinks is happening. And don't freak out, okay? Sunny and I won't let anything happen to you"
"Sunstreaker," the golden mech corrected. "Slagger. Why do I even bother?"
"And suppose, somehow, he does manage to find out," Perceptor said quietly, anxiety creeping into his accented voice. "What then? You two aren't exactly the officers' favourites, and you broke more than a few laws to assist me. And that's not even including all that I did."
The twins exchanged looks, unsure how to reply to that.
"At any rate..." Sideswipe finally started up, his brother finishing:
"...you should at least have Ratchet take a look at that burn."
Perceptor grabbed his burnt hand with his good one, shaking his head defensively. "I can remedy it on my own."
"Why are you so afraid of the Med Bay?"
"I'm not afraid, per se... just... just forget it. I'll repair my hand first chance I get. I promise."
The two Lamborghinis gave Perceptor one last, mournful, "are you sure?" look before leaving the lab. The microscope shuddered one final time before pushing his fears aside and continuing his work. Worrying when he had no proof was absolutely useless.
-TBC-
That seemed like a decent place to end it, don't you think? Seriously, I don't know where I'm going with this one, so this chapter feels more like filler than anything else, really. I think I have some small inkling of an idea over what kind of ending to give the fic, though, thanks to my best friend who is eagerly helping me every step of the way with this.
I am always open to suggestions. Or at the very least constructive criticism.