Daddy-daughter fluff and cuteness :3

A year passed, and Ironhide continued to secretly train Ricochet and Gadget. And to be honest, it was going quite well. Gadget was particularly skilled with Energon prods, while 'Che followed in her father's footsteps and trained with guns. Now aged 4, the kids were ahead of any other sparklings their age.

But they were still kids. And kids get scared.

One dark night, Iacon was engulfed by a storm. A violent one.

The wind rattled against the window by little Ricochet's room. Things crashed around outside, and the rain battered against the glass of the windowpane. 'Che was rudely awoken by the noise. Sleepily, the sparkling peeked out from under her blanket and looked out of the window by her berth. The darkness of the room made it almost impossible to make out the fine details, but the window was still visible. And all little 'Che could see was the shadows smashing at the window. It would be creepy to anyone that young.

Suddenly, something else crashed outside, making Ricochet jump and whimper nervously. Quickly, she pulled away the blanket and ran out of the dark room. Thankfully her dad always left her door ajar so she didn't run into it. Running across the hallway, she slipped into her dad's room, finding him fast asleep despite the racket of the storm.

"Daddy?" Ricochet whispered sweetly, innocently. No response came from the sleeping mech.

The storm crashed again, causing 'Che to flinch in fear. Definitely not going back to her dark, scary room alone, she pulled herself up onto Ironhide's berth and got in next to him. Still 'Hide didn't wake. He was a heavy sleeper.

When the storm crashed yet again, 'Che squeaked and shuffled closer to her dad. One of his arms was outstretched, resting on the blanket. Ricochet wiggled under it so she was under it, like he was holding her. Smiling a little tiredly, she cuddled up against 'Hide's chestplate, nuzzling into the warmth of his frame. As she started to drift back into recharge, Ricochet felt her dad's arm she was under shift and wrap around her. He was still asleep and probably didn't even know he was doing it.

But even in sleep, Ironhide was still protecting his child.

Now feeling safe, little 'Che could finally recharge contently.