Author's Note: Thanks to Karategal for supporting me with the story! The lyrics are from Plumb's song "In My Arms"…I do not own this song or Plumb either.
The twins will have sparkling designations, then as younglings they will choose their own. Once they become soldiers, they will then be known as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Sorry if the names get confusing!
Blaze= Sunstreaker
Chase= Sideswipe
Chapter 2
The next orn, the two sparklings had been designated with their sparkling names.
It was standard procedure and often enough, a common traditional practice amongst Cybertronians. Creators and Caretakers alike were charged to provide a designation for their sparklings. Once that youngling came of age and received their first-alt mode, they were then allowed to choose a designation for themselves. A naming ceremony would be held in their honor.
Once they entered the workforce, they were entitled with a permanent designation and carried it the rest of their adult life.
Starlight held the yellow sparkling in her arms, while the little one filled his tank with some low-grade energon. The red twin continued sleeping, worn out after they learned how to walk only a few joors ago.
She loved the brilliant sunshine yellow of his frame. It reminded her of a miniature, blazing sun. This little one's designation was Blaze.
"Starlight, we have received reports that Decepticon activity has tripled in all of the neighboring sectors. The Autobots have been called out to defend Youth Sector Gamma-12."
Fireflare looked worried from where he stood in the doorway but the mech grinned when one of the younglings ran giggling around his legs before entering the nursery. The little blue mech stared in awe at the tiny figures in the room.
"What are those?"
The little youngling's confusion was understandable, considering that none of them in this Youth Sector had ever seen, let alone heard of a sparkling before. Starlight beamed down at the youngling from where she was sitting.
"These are sparklings…you were once this small too."
His soft, blue optics widened with wonder, trying to comprehend such a thing. After a minute he came closer and made a funny face.
"They are really tiny…"
"Would you like to hold one?"
The youngling backed away from Starlight and the yellow sparkling in stark terror, as if simply touching it with one finger would somehow damage it. The yellow twin finally finished his energon and took curious notice of the newcomer in the room. He released a series of clicks and whirs to get the youngling's attention.
"N-no…I don't wanna' hurt it. I sometimes break things…" the shy youngling admitted and began to draw circles in the floor with the tip of his foot.
"Come on Bluestreak…they are fine. You just have to be gentle. Here, hold him like this."
Starlight instructed the youngling on how to hold the sparkling and before long the little yellow, bundle of wires known as Blaze, was cooing and clicking in the arms of Bluestreak with bright optics. Little hands reached up and touched the youngling's face in curiosity.
"W-what's he doing?"
"He's getting to know you"
Bluestreak wasn't sure what to think of this…but after a while he got used to him.
"I like em'…what's his name?"
"Blaze…and the little red sparkling still in recharge is Chase. They are twin brothers."
The youngling blinked his optics rapidly for a second, and tilted his head in absolute confusion. Fireflare took that opportunity to explain what twins were while Starlight picked up the red twin who had just awoken out of recharge.
The moment the red twin spotted his brother in the arms of the little blue youngling, he kicked his little legs and reached his arms out, expecting his yellow twin to return to him. He clicked and chirped trying to get his brother's attention but Blaze was too preoccupied studying the minibot holding him. When no response was forthcoming, his adorable little face scrunched up and his vents worked overtime, alerting his guardians that he was about to release audio shattering shrieks.
An enticing bottle of low-grade energon was brought into his line of vision and it immediately distracted him. He chirruped and grabbed it with his two little hands and eagerly guzzled it, temporarily forgetting about his yellow twin.
A few breems later and the twins were toddling around, chasing after Bluestreak who giggled madly in delight when they tried to follow him. He allowed the sparklings to catch him and they climbed all over him, accidentally tickling the youngling's sensitive wiring in the process.
Pretty soon, the excitement died down when the twins clicked tiredly, heads drooping as they drifted back into recharge. Starlight picked the two up and settled them back into their padded, recharge berth covered in soft, warm blankets.
Bluestreak was once again confused.
"Why are they tired?"
"Sparklings recharge a lot when they are young. They have to get used to running on energon before they can be a hyper little youngling like you," Fireflare scooped Bluestreak up and tickled him.
Starlight sent a warning glare in their direction, saving Bluestreak from his tickle-induced laughing fits.
"Come on, we need to leave Starlight and the younglings to recharge now," Fireflare took the ornery femme's hint.
Bluestreak pouted and his shoulders sagged.
"Aww…do we have to?"
"We will come back to check on them later, how about that?"
The youngling's optics brightened at the idea and he smiled at the prospect, perking up.
The caretaker and blue youngling left the room, leaving the sparkling twins and Starlight alone.
TFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTF
Loud warning Klaxons broke the peaceful silence, jolting the recharging residents in the Youth Sector, awake. Starlight retrieved the screaming twins from their recharge berths, her spark fluttering fearfully in her chest as she feared the worst.
Something impacted with the asteroid near the facility, sending frightening tremors beneath their feet. Younglings outside shrieked in terror when the power went out, now bathing the rooms and hallways in red, strobe lights.
Starlight hit the com unit on the wall, trying desperately not to panic.
"Fireflare…what's happening?"
"I'm not sure but I'll find out and meet you in the safe room when I know something!"
"Please hurry!"
The twins clicked and chirped fearfully. They could sense something wasn't right through the infant bond they had with their motherly caretaker. She pressed her lip components to the tops of their sparkling helms in a reassuring kiss and then ran to the end of the hall.
Another impact struck the facility head-on, resulting in the collapse of part of the ceiling above Starlight's head. She shouted a warning to a small group of younglings before diving aside, shielding the twins from the debris with her own body. Out of the corner of her optics she saw the younglings run out of harm's way just in time. She on the other hand, was not as fortunate.
A large chunk of the support plating connected with the side of her head, sending her offline into repair-stasis. When the dust cloud cleared, Starlight's lower half was buried beneath asteroid rocks and ceiling rubble. The sparklings crawled out from beneath her protective embrace and nudged her body with their little hands worriedly, buzzing and clicking in distress when she did not respond. The red twin twittered at his brother before toddling off. Blaze frantically clicked and he tried to stop Chase from leaving but tripped and fell with a loud squeak. Tears filled his optics as he sat back on his aft, his knee plating scuffed and throbbing. Before he could release his pent up cries, two near identical hands to his own reached down and lightly touched first the hurt knee and then his face, wiping some of his tears away.
Chase had come back to him when he felt his brother's pain.
They felt something strange, in their sparks. It was as if they had become fully aware of each other. Even though they hadn't mastered true speech yet, they were somehow able to communicate what words could not. Their newly realized spark-bond enabled them to do this.
/You stay/
The yellow twin shook his little head with tears in his optics, silently pleading with him not to leave him.
/No go, stay/
The red twin gently touched his brother's face again and then released a distressed whine when he walked back to their hurt caretaker. He looked down from Starlight and then back up to his brother, trying to make him understand.
/I find help. You stay/
The yellow one understood now…and somehow he knew that his brother knew.
Chase turned to leave again but turned around when he sensed his brother's distress even though Blaze had said nothing.
The red sparkling touched his brother's cheek lightly, hoping to reassure him.
/I come back/
Blaze crooned mournfully, knowing that there was nothing he could do to keep his brother there with him and watched him leave.
The yellow sparkling sat down buzzing and clicking in distress the longer that his twin was gone. He yearned for his brother's close proximity again. It caused his spark to ache the longer they were separated. They had never been apart until now.
Just when the yellow twin was about to pitch a fit and scream at the top of his vocal capacitor, a little blur of blue ran around the corner.
Bluestreak's optics widened when he saw the situation that Starlight was in. Just then, Fireflare slid around the corner holding Chase in his arms. He gasped at the sight that greeted his optics. After setting the sparkling down, he hurriedly shoved the debris off and gently pulled her free. He caressed her cheek with one hand in the hopes of waking her.
"Starlight?"
No response.
The caretaker looked down at the youngling and the two sparklings. When he spoke next, his voice trembled as he struggled to hold back his raging emotions.
"Bluestreak…I need you to take the sparklings to the safe room, do you think you can do that for me?"
"Yes, Fireflare"
Bluestreak obediently walked slowly down the hall with them, disappearing around a corner and out of sight.
The safe room was actually an entire lower level of the complex, built beneath the surface of the asteroid. It served as a bunker in the event of an attack or natural disaster that had sometimes occurred. Fireflare had already been on his way to inform her that there was no Decepticon attack…just another meteor shower that had been long overdue.
Their backup generator kicked on at that moment, brightening the entire complex with light. The warning klaxons and strobe lights were powered down by the tech crew that operated and maintained the facility. They were responsible for raising and lowering the deflector shield in the event of another meteor shower or an electromagnetic storm. The crew had just barely managed to get the thing up in time but not before some damage had been dealt to the station.
Fireflare gingerly scooped up the femme into his arms and ran for all he was worth to the safe house repair bay. The medic, First Aid, was on duty tending to some others who had been wounded by similar cave-ins. It didn't take him long and before they knew it, it was Starlight's turn.
"Let me take a look."
Fireflare fidgeted nervously, hoping to Primus that she was okay. They grew up together, she and him. They had been friends since the day they had met as younglings in Youth Sector Zeta-5 on Cybertron after their creators had been killed in a riot when the planet first split into opposing factions.
He had been working up the courage, to ask Starlight to be his spark-mate. Now he was unsure if he would ever get the chance. His worries were soon put to rest.
"It's nothing serious…minor cranial trauma that sent her into stasis-repair. She'll come out of it in a breem or two."
"Thank you, First Aid."
First Aid turned back around to assist with another injured youngling, kindly administering repairs with ease and skill.
Bluestreak walked in at that moment, carrying one of the twins in his arms while the other followed like a little lost puppy.
"Is she okay?"
Fireflare looked down to see the kids and smiled.
"She is just fine. First Aid says that she'll wake up soon."
"Good…cause the sparklings are getting fussy…" Bluestreak made a sour face, right as one and then both sparklings began to wail again.
Fireflare picked them up, trying to hush them softly when Starlight's optics brightened. She sat up quickly, nearly knocking heads with Fireflare and panicked, looking frantically around the room for the sparklings. The nanosecond she had come online, she realized they were not longer in her arms.
"The sparklings!!"
"Are right here," Fireflare chuckled as he handed them back to her.
She visibly relaxed when they were with her, both of the fussy sparklings no longer shrieking. They both stared intently at the femme before crooning and touching her face gently as if to say, 'we're glad you are okay'. They snuggled against her, basking in the warmth of her spark, the excitement over for the day.
Bluestreak stood on his tippy-toes trying to see what was happening on the top of the large exam table.
"I can't see!"
Fireflare laughed softly and picked him up so that the youngling had a better view of the sleepy twins.
"They are gonna recharge… again?" Bluestreak squeaked with surprise.
"Give it a few more orns and they will be awake for longer periods of time."
"Slag it…" the youngling mumbled dejectedly.
"Language," Fireflare reprimanded in a warning tone, causing the youngling to cringe in his arms.
"Hey Bluestreak…come play with us!"
About three younglings of various ages stood in the doorway of the repair bay and smiled excitedly at him.
Fireflare sighed as he looked back at the sparklings. They grew up so fast.
Pretty soon, the twins would be younglings. At least they already made one friend. Bluestreak seemed to take to the two of them very quickly. Speaking of which…
The blue youngling shook his head 'no', looking shyly back at them.
"Maybe later"
They seemed to accept his answer readily enough and ran off to find some other youngling to join them. Fireflare looked down at the youngling in his arms in confusion.
"Why didn't you go with them?"
Bluestreak was hesitant to reply and kept his attention focused on the softly clicking sparklings as their baby blue optics blinked tiredly up at Starlight.
Fireflare knew that Bluestreak was sometimes a quiet, reserved youngling in his own right…but the caretaker had never seen him actually refuse to play with anyone before now.
Then the caretaker heard it. It was so soft that for a second, his audios had completely missed the sound. He suddenly realized why the youngling had refused to go and play.
Starlight was singing a lullaby.
Your baby blues…so full of wonder
Your curly cues, your contagious smile
As I watch…you start to grow up
All I can do…is hold you tight
Knowing—
The little youngling was enraptured by her voice and before he knew it, he was curling up tiredly against Fireflare as the need to recharge slowly crept up on him.
Clouds will rage and…storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around
But you will be safe, in my arms.
In my arms
The soft, melodious voice of Starlight soothed both sparklings and younglings alike. Before they knew it, they were in deep recharge, their systems revving quietly.
The Alpha-Sigma Youth Sector was bathed in welcomed peace.
TO BE CONTINUED!
A/N: Not sure when I'll have the next chapter up…possibly this weekend. I'm actually kind of scared to continue.
I think I really, really suck at writing fluffy youngling/sparkling stories. I'll just say it now.
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