Here's the first one! :D Enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriage is when the parents of two children get together and decide that their children will marry. This is taken very seriously. A parent will spend years studying the chosen child to insure that their decision is what's best for their child. Very often, a groom would not see his bride until their wedding day, and vice versa. This has been the most successful way of finding a groom/bride in history, as the divorce rate was only 7%.

~*Sunburst & Sideswipe*~

"I don't want this," she whispered as she cradled her helm in her hands. She didn't want this. She didn't want this.

"Milady, if I may, I'm afraid you don't have a choice," the refined voice of her handmaiden replied easily. Sunburst gave Chromia a broken stare through the mirror as the older femme polished the armor on her helm. "Come now, milady. It isn't that bad."

"It's terrible! I'm just out of my youngling frame, Chromia! I don't wanna get bonded yet!" Sunburst gave a single sad chirp before coolant fell from her optics. "I don't want this."

"Now, now, there's no need for tears," Chromia chided. "Everybot has to go through this."

"I'm not everybot!" Sunburst whined through her tears. Chromia scowled.

"That is quite enough!" she snapped. Sunburst jolted a little and met Chromia's angry stare in the mirror. "You will stop this spoiled behavior this klik! Do you want to embarrass your creators? Is that your goal?"

"No," Sunburst mumbled, looking away.

"Then you will go through with this bonding, and you will not complain like a sparkling. You are an adult now. Start acting like one!" Chromia ordered curtly. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't wanna do. It's part of life."

"Yes, Chromia," Sunburst said, now resigned to her fate. Chromia gave a single nod as she turned her focus back to preparing her mistress for the first meeting with her future mate.

"It will work out, mistress. My bonding with Ironhide was an arranged bonding," Chromia said in a reassuring voice. Sunburst wasn't reassured, though. She had never met this mech. She knew his mech creator, as he had come by to observe her to see if she would be a good match for his mech creation. Her intended's mech creator was mech by the name of Ratchet. He was renowned for his expertise in the medical field. In fact, he was known as Cybertron's best medic. His mate, Moonracer, was the second best shot on Cybertron. In all honesty, this was a match that most femmes would kill for. However, it wasn't a love match. Heck, Sunburst had never even seen the mech. Sure, she had seen him fighting in the gladiator rings with his twin brother whenever she managed to sneak out with her best friend, Jazz, but that was hardly the same as a face-to-face meeting.

"There, mistress. All finished." Sunburst looked at her reflection in the mirror. Fresh paint, the finest wax and polish, jewel inserts into her armor on her shoulders, helm, and wrists as all fashionable upper-class femmes had. She definitely fit the picture of the heiress she was. Being the femme creation of a highly renowned comm. broadcaster and the greatest femme saboteur sucked sometimes. She felt like a doll, like a mindless drone, forced to bond a mech she had never met before. It was like a femme youngling's make-believe game gone terribly wrong.

"Chromia… I can't do this," Sunburst breathed, her vents hitching as her systems threatened to overheat in her growing distress. She didn't want a sparkmate yet! Chromia spun the femme around and stared her down.

"You must, milady. Please, don't cause yourself undue stress. Millions of Cybertronians have dealt with an arranged bonding before you, and millions more will deal with it before your spark extinguishes. Do not disgrace your parents by forcing them to back out of a contract like this."

"Chromia, I don't even know him!"

"I didn't know Ironhide!"

"You were allowed to get to know him first, though!"

"You do not have that luxury, young one," Chromia said sadly. Sunburst's optics grew wet, fear filling her spark. There was a knock at the door, and those tears fell.

"Please, don't, Chromia. Don't make me go. Don't let them make me," Sunburst begged in a whisper. Chromia gave her a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, milady, but it is not my place to speak," she informed the younger femme, turning away to answer the door. Sunburst crossed to her window and climbed onto the window seat gloomily. She stared out at the streets of upper Iacon despondently as she hugged her knees to her body, jealous of the bots walking the streets. She wondered how many of them were trapped like she was.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you are not allowed in here!" Chromia snapped as she started to close the door. Sunburst glanced over at the hallway that led to her door. The hall was far enough away that she hadn't been able to hear Chromia's whispered conversation.

"I don't give a slag what you say. My brother's about to bond, and it ain't gonna be to a femme he's never met before, compute?" a deep and irritated voice shot back.

"Hey! Get back here! You stay away from my mistress!" Chromia ordered. Sunburst watched in surprise as a handsome golden mech that she recognized from the gladiator rings strode into the room. Tall with fashionable helm-fins and red-tinted blue optics, he was the picture of power. Those angry optics connected with hers, and she gasped when he started purposefully in her direction. "You stay away from her!" Chromia snapped, but she was ignored by the mech.

"My designation is Sunstreaker. You're bonding to my twin, and I, for one, don't want him bonding to somebot he's never even met before, so I decided to introduce you two so he'll stop moping around," the mech informed Sunburst as he neared her seat. "So let's go." He didn't give her time to stand up or to escape. He simply scooped her up in his arms bridal-style and marched past Chromia.

"Put her down! That's it! I'm comming my mate!" Chromia yelled in irritation. She wished that Solarwind hadn't banned weapons in the housing unit. If she had her plasma cannon, she'd be blowing this mech's helm off, rather than calling her bonded to do it for her.

"That's our cue to bolt," Sunstreaker stated. He dashed forward, startling Sunburst at the sudden speed. He ran out of her room and moved down the hallway. He jumped down the stairs, and the sounds of lesser transformations filled the air. When he landed at the bottom of the stairs, his pedes were balanced on wheels, and he started skating forward instead of running. He dodged maids and servants, slowing only to open the front door before shooting down the street.

"Where are we going?" Sunburst asked, her arms now locked around Sunstreaker's neck.

"The quarters I share with my brother in the upper Iaconian Housing Community. Sideswipe's already there," Sunstreaker stated. "And careful of my paint. Your red paint would clash with my gold," he added as an after-thought.

"You're botnapping me and telling me not to harm your paintjob?" Sunburst asked incredulously.

"Yes." With that, Sunstreaker sped up and proceeded to ignore Sunburst's presence.

Sunburst, however, was fighting back the panic. What was she going to do? Would she need to call her opiluk and Ironhide? She was certain Ironhide would be able to hunt her down in a breem at the most. Then again, maybe comming Jazz would be wiser. Jazz could take down a mech three times his size without even activating his cooling system! Sunburst frowned as she contemplated this. If Sunstreaker was taking her to her intended, did that count as botnapping? After all, she was gonna end up with the same mech anyways.

"This is it," Sunstreaker said suddenly, turning into a housing community. Sunburst cocked her head at the grand entrance. The housing unit was far more high-class than she had expected. Most gladiators had low-scale quarters. Then again, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were the heirs of quite a fortune. Perhaps this was just in their price-range. Would she and Sideswipe live here once they bonded? She sighed and shook her helm. Did it matter? A door to their right hissed open, and a familiar red mech stepped out and approached them. Sunstreaker slowed to a stop and set Sunburst on her pedes.

"Thank you, Sunny," Sideswipe said with an easy grin. Sunstreaker scoffed.

"Don't thank me yet. The Hatchet and the Shotgun haven't found out yet. You're slagged once they do. And don't call me that," Sunstreaker replied as he strode past his twin. Sideswipe grinned at the mention of his creators' nicknames, given to them due to their quick tempers. Then his optics landed on Sunburst, and a frown replaced that smile.

He could see how nervous and scared she was. She was standing on her right foot, and her left foot was crossed in front of it. Her doorwings were drooping so low that they were touching her back. Her left arm rubbed her right upper arm awkwardly as her optics studied the ground carefully. Ruby red paint covered her armor, and carefully placed jewels sparkled tastefully in the sunlight. His optics widened at how perfect she looked, how innocent.

"Hi," he greeted. Then he fought back the urge to punch himself. 'Hi? What the slag kind of betrothed greets his intended with "hi"?' he berated himself. The femme giggled a little at the awkward greeting, causing him to smile, and briefly met his optics before speaking.

"Hello," she replied with an amused smile. She blushed a bright blue and looked away again. Primus, why was she so shy? She was supposed to hate this mech, the mech that was stealing away her freedom.

"I'm Sideswipe," he introduced, stepping forward. He mentally grimaced. 'She's betrothed to you, idiot! Of course she knows your name!'

"Sunburst, but I think you already know this," she responded with a grin. She met his optics again, feeling bolder now that she knew that he felt as awkward as she. Sideswipe moved forward, not quite as awkward now that he knew that she was as hesitant as he.

"Yeah, I guess I do. I'm sorry to make Sunny grab you like that. I just wanted to, you know, see you before we… bonded," Sideswipe said, hesitating and choking on the last word a bit. He hated feeling trapped like this. He frowned when she looked away again. The small light that had been in her optics only astroseconds ago died, and Sideswipe winced and wished he could pull back those words. "Look, I'm–"

"No, it's okay," Sunburst interrupted. She looked at him, and he was horrified to see tears in her optics. Oh, Primus! What should he do? How could he keep her from crying? He hated it when femmes cried! And this was his mate-to-be! "I'm fine," she assured him in a quivering voice as a single tear fell. Sideswipe moved toward her on wheeled pedes and gathered her into his arms. "I'm fine," she repeated. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine." She kept repeating herself as if, by repeating herself, she could make the statement true.

"No, you're not fine," Sideswipe murmured, cuddling her close as she fought back fearful tears. "You're no more ready for this than I am," he diagnosed softly. Her helm, which was nestled against his throat, turned side-to-side in a "no" fashion. He hummed gently as he led her toward his and Sunny's housing compartment.

"I can't disgrace them," she whimpered. "I'm an adult. I can do this."

"I'm barely older than you, femme. I know you're lying because I'm feeling exactly what you are," Sideswipe confided as he sat down on the couch, settling the femme on his lap as he activated the door lock. Sunstreaker, who was painting at an easel in the far corner, connected optics with his twin before rising and moving to the front door. There was no doubt in their mind that Ratchet and Blaster would be coming for Sunburst soon, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had spent the whole last two lunar cycles setting up booby trap after booby trap to hold them off while Sideswipe spoke to his intended. Sunstreaker began activating the traps as Sideswipe comforted his femme.

"I'm scared," Sunburst whispered. "I'm not ready to be a mate or a creator ((wife or mom))" Sideswipe hummed in understanding. He was in no way ready to be a mate or creator ((husband or dad)), either. Still, it was his duty to mate the femme of his creators' choosing and produce an heir or heiress. He vented heavily as he nuzzled his helm against hers.

"It's okay. Everything will work out. I won't hurt you, and I won't let any other mech hurt you," Sideswipe promised. Sunburst hiccupped and cuddled closer to him. He was so warm and comfortable.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine," she whispered as she cried. Sideswipe hummed a gentle melody to her and rocked her back and forth as she worked the emotions out of her system.

"Well, everything's done here. Take her to your room, and let her rest. Primus knows she's gonna need it once our mech creator gets here," Sunstreaker stated. Sideswipe chuckled at his brother who was younger than him by only a few astroseconds. The red twin gently wrapped his left arm around his femme's shoulders and his right arm around her legs, and he lifted her bridal-style as he rose to his feet. He made the trek to his room as smooth as possible. It was located at the end of a hall that branched off from the main greeting room, where he had comforted Sunburst.

"My opiluk–" she started.

"– Will not mind you spending some quality time with your intended mate. We aren't going to do anything, and even if we did, we're kinda betrothed, so we'd only be hurrying things up a bit," Sideswipe said in a soft voice. Sunburst whimpered again, and Sideswipe mentally kicked himself. He needed to work on that brain-mouth-filter thing that seemed to malfunction when he was around her. "So are those jewels always embedded in your armor?" he asked conversationally. Not exactly a good topic, but it was the best he could come up with when his processor was blurry as it seemed to be.

"No. Danni wanted me to add something more optic-catching," Sunburst murmured, her optics dimming.

"You don't really need it," Sideswipe stated with a grin. Sunburst gave him a shy grin, feeling suddenly awkward as he strode into his room. It was a simple room with a single berth, a desk with a chair, and a set of shelves filled with paintings and small metal sculptures that were no doubt created by his golden brother. Sunburst was set on her pedes and hugged from behind to a broad chest.

"Rest. I've got some work to finish, and I'll make sure that you're not disturbed," Sideswipe promised as he gestured to the berth. Sunburst nodded hesitantly, sending the berth an equally hesitant look. Sideswipe gave her an encouraging smile before seating himself at his desk and pulling out a datapad. Sunburst vented heavily before slowly moving toward the berth. "I've purchased our future housing unit," Sideswipe said suddenly. Sunburst jumped, emitting a startled, "Oh, Primus!" Sideswipe snorted at her, but held back most of his laughter.

"Our h-housing unit?" Sunburst asked, her optics growing wide.

"Yeah. Didn't your creators tell you what the mech has to do before bonding?" Sideswipe asked, sounding honestly confused as he turned his chair to face Sunburst. Sunburst shook her helm.

"No. Danni explained what was expected of me, though," Sunburst assured him. Sideswipe chuckled a little.

"Well, before a mech can claim his intended, he has to prove to the femme's mech creator that he can support her. That's why I've been working in the rings so much. I've been saving up for this. I got us a housing unit just by the Sea of Light. I already have the celebratory high-grade there. I figure it will help ease the situation," Sideswipe explained gently. Sunburst nodded. All that made sense.

"And you've completed those tasks just for me?" she questioned, leaning against the berth to gaze at her intended.

"Yes. Your mech creator actually visited our housing unit last solar cycle. He said he liked it. Said you'd like it," Sideswipe replied.

"If my opiluk liked it, then I'm sure I will," Sunburst claimed. Sideswipe grinned.

"Ya know, I don't think being bonded to you will be half as bad as I thought it would be," Sideswipe announced. Sunburst shuttered her optics in surprise.

"Well, I don't think being bonded to you will be half as creepy as I thought it would be," she returned with a small grin. There was a knock at the door.

"You two still decent?" Sunstreaker called through the open door in a snarky voice. Sideswipe rolled his optics.

"Not funny," he replied. Sunstreaker grinned as he stepped into the room.

"The Hatchet's here with the in-law," the golden mech stated. Sideswipe frowned.

"That was barely any time at all," the red twin whined. Sunstreaker shrugged.

"You two have the rest of your lives to get to know each other. You have the bonding ceremony, then you two can get to know each other all you want," Sunstreaker said flippantly. Sunburst frowned while Sideswipe scowled. There wasn't time to reply, though, because at that moment, the front door hissed open, and the furious voice of Ratchet roared, "TWINS! WHAT THE SLAG DID YOU DO WITH SUNBURST!"

"Sunny? Sunny, swee'spark, we need ta talk," Blaster's voice added, though his sounded more amused than angry. Sunburst exchanged a worried glance with Sideswipe before they both straightened and moved out of the room, both resigned to their fate. The second they stepped into the greeting room, a wrench soared across the room and nailed Sideswipe in the helm.

"Ow!" he yelped. Sunburst gasped as he reeled back and landed unceremoniously on his skid plate. She knelt down beside him, examining the new dent as he glared over her helm at Ratchet. "What the slag!"

"Don't you start, youngling! Botnapping a femme? What kind of mech are you?" Ratchet demanded. Sunburst's optics widened at the display of mechly anger, and she dared a glance at her own opiluk. He was holding his hand to his mouth as he shook with silent laughter.

"I'm gonna have a bond with her in a half joor! There's no fault in wanting to meet her before then!" Sideswipe shot back.

"Ratchet, sir, if it's any consolation, I wanted to meet Sideswipe as well," Sunburst broke in, hoping to save what was left of her mech's dignity. She stood and faced Ratchet, widening her optics purposefully as forcing up a few tears. "I'm so scared, Ratchet, sir. I don't wanna bond with somebot I don't know." Ratchet opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when a tear fell. He didn't notice Sideswipe's awed look as he pulled the femme into his arms.

"It's okay, Sunburst. I understand. Sideswipe could've gone about it a better way, though," he stated as he hugged the femme close to himself, a femme that had become his daughter.

"But Chromia wouldn't have let me go unless I was botnapped. She so protective of me," Sunburst said in a soft voice. Ratchet sighed heavily.

"I see your point. However, you two will be sure we are informed next time," Ratchet said with finality.

"Yeah, swee'spark. Le's get ya to the ceremony. Ya danni's alrea'y there," Blaster broke in, his voice laced with amusement. Sunburst sent him a smile before looking back at Sideswipe, who was rising to his pedes. She allowed him to gather her into his arms one more time.

"I'll see you soon," Sideswipe murmured softly.

"Okay. Bye," she replied as they parted. She allowed Blaster to take her hand and tuck it into the crook of his arm.

Sunburst had never really known how difficult bonded life was going to be. She was always tired now, a first for her, even though she'd been bonded for a good orn. She grimaced as she rubbed her chest, right over her spark. Primus, her spark hurt so much. She had debated visiting Ratchet, but with his new pro-bono clinic, she knew he was too busy to be bothered with something so trivial.

That is, until she suddenly lost the ability to move.

Sunburst had been dusting the greeting room when it happened. She was expecting Sunstreaker to come over later with some paintings she had requested him to make for her. The two of them had hit off rather well, despite their completely different personalities and temperaments. Sideswipe said that since he was in love with her, some of that love flowed over his twin bond to Sunstreaker, but not enough for the mech to want to take her for his own. She loved having him over, but worrying about the cleanliness of her housing unit while he was there was something new. She had been in a strange cleaning mood for the last two joors and had decided that it would be best for her to clean the house before Sunstreaker arrived. So she had set to work. Windows were washed, energon cubes were cleaned and condensed, metal couches and chairs were polished, and she was working on dusting off the shelf in their greeting room that held different odds and ends randomly placed in a fashion that, oddly enough, fit the personalities of both the inhabitants of the house.

The pain was quick and unexpected. She cried out when her spark seemed to explode in her chassis. Her knees buckled, and she fell into a heap on the ground. Her cooling systems flicked on, and she screamed when another wave of pain washed over her. Primus, her spark hurt so bad!

/Sweetspark?/ Sideswipe called over their spark bond. He received a pained cry in response. /Sunburst, I've called Ratchet and Sunstreaker. Sunny will be there in a few kliks, and Ratchet won't be more than a breem. I'm on my way./

As if on cue, the front door exploded open. Sunstreaker, unable to wait for the door to hiss open, had simply blown it off its track before dashing past it and into the greeting room. His optics immediately focused on Sunburst, and he knelt by her side.

"Sunny? I need you to tell me what's wrong," he ordered gruffly, though his optics spoke only of his inner worry.

"Spa… spa… spa," she wheezed, trying to tell him that it was her spark. Before she could, her spark pulsed painfully again, and she released another scream of pain.

"Slaggit!" Sunstreaker cursed. "You have to talk to me, Sunburst," he stated.

"SPARK!" she screamed. That was when Ratchet made his appearance. He moved to her side and scanned her with practiced systems.

"Slag! Sunstreaker, get out of the room," Ratchet ordered harshly. "Sunburst, I need you to listen to me very closely. You're having a sparkling." With those words said, Sunstreaker surged to his pedes and fled the room. Sparkling ejection was something no mech without a medical degree wanted to see.

"Right now? I'm—" She broke off with a scream of pain, and she was horrified to find that her chassis was opening without her will.

"It's okay, Sunny. This is supposed to happen. It's all downhill from here. Your sparkling's ready to eject," he stated. Sunburst whimpered. Why hadn't she gone to see him when she had the chance? Being sparked was something a femme liked to know about before she gave birth. She felt a small amount of pressure behind a previously unused sparkling chamber and looked at Ratchet in panic. "Stay calm, Sunburst. I need you to activate your birthing protocols so that your sparkling chamber opens." Sunburst hesitantly searched her processor for the correct coding and was surprised to find it at the forefront of her processor. Sunburst activated them and whimpered at the uncomfortable feeling of the sparkling passing through the chamber walls. A gentle clicking filled the room, followed by a small cry.

"You have a little mechlet, Sunburst," Ratchet announced. Sunburst felt the sparkling chamber close off, and her chest plates closed as she breathed a sigh of relief. Small blue optics focused on her, and she smiled as she took the small mech away from her opiluk-in-law. The mechling clicked at her curiously as she settled him against her chassis.

"I'm here! Is she okay?" Sideswipe asked as he barreled into the room. He froze at the sight before him. Sunburst was laying on the ground with an exhausted expression on her face, Ratchet was sitting back on his haunches, and there was a small sparkling laying atop his fallen mate, clicking and twittering as it looked around with curious optics.

"Sideswipe? Meet your mech creation," Sunburst whispered. Sideswipe stared for a klik longer before he moved to his mate's side. He lifted the sparkling from his femme's arms, gaining a shocked squeak from the child, and held the little mech against his chassis, smiling down at the mechling tenderly.

"I didn't know you were sparked," Sideswipe stated. Sunburst gave a rueful smile.

"Neither did I. He was quite a surprise," she murmured.

"Surprise. Suddenstrike," Sideswipe muttered back to her, smiling down at the clicking mechling. "Do you like that name?"

"Yes. Suddenstrike is perfect," she replied tiredly. Sideswipe smiled down at her with love-filled optics, and she returned the look with equal tenderness.

"My family. My love," he murmured. Sunburst smiled.

"Forever and always."

Kind of a weak ending, but still... i got it out! Hope y'all enjoyed it. Everyone review and wonder who tomorrow's couple will be. :D