I decided to break this chapter into two. I couldn't let Bee and the twins have all the fun with the sparklings. There will be one more chapter of Optimus and Ironhide antics after this chapter.

Misadventures in sparkling sitting in the play room round two

Optimus and Ironhide only took a twenty minute nap. They didn't even glance at the bottles Sides brought for them. They were simply more interested in playing and weren't hungry at all. Only this time Bee, Sunny, and Sides sat on the couch and watched the sparklings play.

The three young mechs were still recovering.

Sparkling chatter, trilling, beeping, chirping, whistling, whatever noise a sparkling could make, except for burping and farting, filled the room for nearly an hour. During that time Ironhide must have chewed on each toy at least once before settling on the action figure Sunny used to portray Megatron.

Sunny noticed there were already bite marks on most of the toys, presumably from him, his brother and Bee when they were sparklings. So he didn't see anything wrong with Ironhide chewing on a simple toy. He actually thought it was kind of cute how Ironhide crawled around with the toy in his mouth, grunting and growling while chasing or mostly being chased by Optimus.

It was clear who was the faster of the two on all fours. Optimus often crawled ahead and would turn back, beeping as if to say 'come and get me slow poke' or 'catch me if you can leadaft!' Then he'd giggle and crawl away as soon as Ironhide got close. Yet, no matter how far away Optimus got, Ironhide just kept coming at his own pace, grinning. The mech never gave up.

Both were also excellent climbers and neither was afraid to fall a short distance. The three mechs on the couch were scaled multiple times. Their long legs were a means for the sparklings to slide down or fall, rolling down to the floor only to climb back up giggling and screaming excitedly.

The toy bins, resting on their sides, were now play things for the sparklings to crawl in and out, climb on top, and hop down, tackling one other. It was actually funny when they tried to tackle one another. They were a bit uncoordinated about it, sometimes missing the other one all together and doing a face plant or a belly flop on the floor. Even more funny was how their high pitched growls sounded as they wrestled.

But even though their growls, grunts, and shouts were no where near as intimidating as their mature selves sounded, they were just as loud! At one point, Optimus was sitting on one bin banging a toy on it and shouting loudly while Ironhide was on the other bin doing the same thing. Both would poof out their chests as each one was trying to out do the other in volume.

It was after several very long, loud minutes of this when Ironhide suddenly got real quiet as Optimus continued his bellowing and banging. Something was wrong with Hide's tank. It didn't feel right. It was making funny noises. But not like it was hungry.

OW!

All of a sudden Ironhide let out a loud shriek of sharp pain.

"That doesn't sound right!" Sunny shouted with worry as he hurried to pick up Hide.

Tears flowed fast from Ironhide's soft blue optics as he cried. His one free hand clung on tight to Sunny's armor. The other held onto his favorite toy as tight as he possibly could. His small thick legs kicked in agitation.

The young mech was terrified! He could feel Ironhide trembling in his arms. Even Optimus grew quiet sensing something was wrong. What happened? Everyone was standing and looking carefully at Hide.

"Bee, what do we do?" Sunny asked, his voice wavering.

Bumblebee never saw Sunny scared before. On a good day he'd be making fun of his friend. However, he couldn't do that at the expense of one little sparkling in obvious pain. So, he summoned Ratchet without hesitation. Ratchet could fix everything, they learned that when they were young.

It didn't take long for the CMO to arrive. He had a smirk on his face when he waltzed in wondering what they did to the sparklings now. Only the sounds of a very distressed sparkling were enough to let him know this was very serious. Much more serious than trampled fingers.

"What happened?" he immediately asked, his medical sensors scanning Ironhide to diagnose the problem.

"I don't know. He was sitting there playing fine one minute. And then the next he was crying in pain," Sunny explained.

Before Ratchet could respond Ironhide unexpectedly purged his tank onto an unsuspecting Sunny. As a medic stuff like that never bothered Ratchet. He'd seen far worse things than sparkling puke. His optics and sensors carefully observed the brownish substance ooze into the gaps of Sunny's chest armor and then slide down his stomach plating onto his leg, looking for clues that would cause the discomfort Ironhide was experiencing.

Sides and Bumblebee felt sorry for Hide. They understood how discomforting purging one's tank was. Admittedly theirs usually got upset from drinking too much high grade before racing. Racing tends to shake the tank too much. And a full tank of high grade getting sloshed around was never a good thing.

Pure revulsion was etched into Sunny's face plates. Not just at the sensation of the warm puke on his armor but the fact that he could feel every bit of it slowly slide down his form. He visibly shuddered, his tank lurched, and he gagged. Ah! The stench! It was nearly as bad as Ironhide's exhaust fumes. Even worse, Sunny's processor was having difficulty calculating how many showers it was going to take to get rid of the smell!

Ironhide violently retched again before Sunny could recover quickly enough to aim the sparkling in another direction. At least this time it wasn't digested energon that came out. Whatever it was pinged off Sunny's armor and landed on the floor. Ratchet didn't hesitate to pick it up receiving three disgusted looks.

"Ah, I see," he mused, holding the head of a toy in the palm of his hand for the others to see. "Has he been chewing on any toys?"

Sunny pulled up Ironhide's hand to see the head was indeed missing from the action figure. Ironhide smiled proudly and then giggled. Obviously he was feeling better now much to Sunny's relief. Now if he could only do something about the stench, his tank was still churning.

"You can't let them chew on the smaller toys," Ratchet told them.

"He popped the ball already and hadn't eaten any of the other toys," Sides said. "We didn't see the harm."

"Well now you do," Ratchet smiled, removing the toy from Ironhide's tight little fist.

Ironhide let out a long, hefty sigh, his bottom lip stuck out. He liked chewing on that toy. It tasted good. Plus, it seemed right to chew on Megabum.

"Yuck! It stinks!" Sunny protested. He couldn't take it any longer. "Can I go wash it off?"

"Sure. I'll stay until you get back," the CMO chuckled, taking Ironhide from Sunny. That's just what he and Magnus had hoped for…payback.

"That's fowl!" Sides exclaimed stepping away from his brother and covering his face below the optics with both his hands.

"Might want to borrow some scented oils from Chromia or Elita to help with that smell, Sunny," Bumblebee laughed.

"Nah, I've got my own," Sunny seriously said then walked out.

Ratchet and Bumblebee looked at Sides with somewhat surprised expressions.

"He really does," Sides confirmed.

Optimus suddenly started choking and sobbing. He was feeling a bit neglected and his tank was gurgling loudly. He was really hungry now!

"Oops, someone's hungry," Ratchet smiled.

"How can you tell?" Bumblebee asked, picking up Optimus.

"Experience. Better hurry before he gets too upset. Sides, go get your brother to hurry it up. I don't want him taking all day and giving himself a complete make over just over a little puke on his armor. Wheeljack needs my help in the lab."

Sides handed Bee a bottle before going after his brother. He wasn't sure if Ironhide puking was going to be worth it for his brother to blackmail Hide. Ironhide may have done the puking. But Sunny was on the receiving end of said puke. Still, Sides could use it for himself to get back at either Ironhide or Sunny! Score!

"How's Jack doing?"

"I honestly don't know," Ratchet sighed as silence filled the room. "Wheeljack's not talking much which means he's too focused on his work."

He glanced over to see Optimus, cradled in Bee's arms, chugging down his bottle slowly, optics dimmed, optic covers half shut, pure content on his tiny faceplates. Ratchet was actually surprised he hasn't been summoned more often today. Perhaps more surprising was the concerned look on Sunny's face as he held Ironhide. He never would have guessed that Sunny, the crazier one of the twins, would be a good sparkling sitter. It boggled the processor just thinking about it.

Actually, Ratchet and the others had bets going to see how long the three young mechs would last before they begged to be relieved from sparkling duty. So far, Jazz was winning. He seemed fairly confident that Bumblebee and the twins could handle sparkling duty. Fragger! Jazz always won most of the bets! Ratchet couldn't remember the last bet he won against Jazz.

The bottle suddenly hit the floor, emptied.

(burp!)

"Optimus, you're ruining your reputation," Bumblebee gently chided.

Optimus merely blinked his optic covers innocently up at him and smiled. His tank was feeling much better now. Only something else was now bothering him.

"Nah, Optimus was always good at those," Ratchet commented. "He and Ironhide would have contests after getting over energized on high grade."

"Really? I've never seen Optimus drunk!" Bee exclaimed, moving Optimus in a better position, rubbing his back, trying to calm him down so he'd stop squirming.

"And you never will. For most of you, he has to appear as a strong leader at all times, he's Prime after all. For those few of us who've known him since he was youngling, he can relax and be himself. Of course, he hasn't done that as much since he bonded with Elita. She doesn't like it when he gets drunk."

"I…whoa!"

The lubricant was rather warm and a bit startling when it hit Bumblebee. But he was quick enough to move Optimus away from his body to avoid getting too wet.

"Don't aim him at me!" Ratchet yelped jumping back, narrowly avoiding the stream.

Bumblebee turned.

"Not the toys either!"

Bumblebee turned again, looking at the floor to see if any lubricant got on the toys.

"Oops," Optimus giggled.

"That's a nice ummm…steady stream you got going there Optimus," Sunny commented, making Bumblebee turn his head. Oh frag! "Do you mind, Bee?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you were there," Bumblebee winced re-aiming Optimus again. By then it was too late, he was done lubricating.

Sunny sighed looking down at his once clean armor as lubricant trickled down him. He let out a sharp hiss at his brother who literally fell onto the couch laughing! Oh, this was a good day for Sides! First his brother got puked on and then lubricated on.

Ratchet snickered to himself. This was so great! Finally, Sunny was getting what he deserved after all the pranks he's pulled on them. Prowl, Magnus, and Ratchet were hoping this situation will put an end to the pranks from Sunny. If not, everything was being recorded for blackmailing the mech later. Just a friendly reminder of what he had to endure.

"I'll be back," was all Sunny said as he stormed out.

After he left Bumblebee burst into laughter no longer feeling sorry for his friend. It was funny actually.

"Sides, you get to clean it up off the floor," Bumblebee ordered.

"Why me?" Sides asked.

"Because someone has to!" Bee countered. "And I'm not setting Optimus down on the floor until it's cleaned up. We don't need him crawling through it. Same goes for Hide. I can easily imagine him trying to taste it like he's tried everything else in here."

Yuck! Gross!

"Alright! I get the picture," he said then shuddered. That was a disgusting thought.

Bee then turned to Ratchet, glancing down at his wet, but not as wet as Sunny's, armor. "Ratchet…"

"Give him to me," he said, reaching out with a free arm while Ironhide was held tightly with the other.

"Be back in a minute," Bee said heading into the washroom. Unlike Sunny, Bee didn't care which washroom he used. They were all the same to him.

"And Ironhide says you don't have good aim," Ratchet chuckled to Optimus.

Ironhide beeped at the sound of his name. He'd been quietly chewing his fingers watching everything intently since he ejected the toy from his tank.

"You're a quiet sparkling, nothing like your mature self," he said to Hide. Optic covers blinked lazily up at the elder mech. "I can never get you to shut up!"

"All he does his grunt and make sparkling talk with Optimus," Sides commented while cleaning up the mess. "And chew on things. Oh and get this, Sunny is his favorite! He was actually purring while napping on my brother!"

Ratchet laughed loud and hard! Oh Ironhide was gonna just love that when he gets back to normal! It was going to be so fun! Ratchet actually couldn't wait to tell his closest friend about all of this.

Hopefully Wheeljack was making progress for that to happen. All was for not if…

A sudden muffled explosion sounded. Bumblebee came running out of the washroom with a towel in his hand, still dripping wet from his shower. Sunny happen to be walking back into the play room and stopped in the doorway cocking his head to the side.

"That sounded like it came from Wheeljack's lab!" Sunny exclaimed.

A mere fraction of an astrosecond later the lights flickered out and two sparklings screamed out of fright in the darkness.

HAHA! I love cliffies as much as I love sparklings!