CHAPTER 31
Meet The Family

Tony had never thought that Ironhide had been the show-off type. But when the Autobot friends he had not met yet had shown up, Ironhide had embraced the chance to show off his new son. It was hard to believe how many Autobots had actually shown up to the party, but there was definitely plenty of room. Ironhide threw it down by the lake, with lots of lights all around, food, a live band (Tony didn't ask HOW he'd managed that), and as many of Tony and his friends he could gather. To say Tony was overwhelmed would have been the understatement of the year.

Ironhide had a lot of Autobot friends, and Tony hadn't even realized how many Autobots were on Earth at this point. Tony had simply smiled and greeted everyone he'd been introduced to. Annie was off hanging out with a few of their friends off to the side a bit. He figured he'd have to catch up with her as soon as Ironhide was done showing him off like a shiny new cannon. "Now, I get the chance to introduce you to your new family." Ironhide smiled a bit.

"You have more family?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Sure do, you have two Uncles, an Aunt, who has yet to arrive on Earth. And four cousins." Tony's eyes widened, having had no idea how big a family he had "Didn't think I'd gotten over what I went through all alone, did ye?" His holoform gently on his son's shoulders, he smiled "Don't worry, they won't bite. Only been bragging about ye fer two months." He grinned.

Tony felt his body tense up a bit, he'd never been in a family that big before, not even close. Not to mention Ironhide's brothers must have been older, being that they weren't around for the abuse obviously. "Hey Kup! Glad you could make it!" Tony took a deep breath as Ironhide called out "Come here, I'd like you to meet the man of the hour." He noted.

Tony noted the holoform that had started for them calmly. If Ironhide weren't a little intimidating to begin with, Kup was not only the older brother, but the most intimidating person in the world. Adorned in World War II style attire, taller than Ironhide's holoform by several feet, greying hair and mustache. Eyes seemingly stoic. Tony gulped, Kup officially scared him, big time. "Wouldn't miss it and you know it." Kup patted his brother's shoulder, and Tony was stunned to see a smile cross his face "Been waiting to meet your new son for a while now too." He added.

"Hi." Was all Tony could bring himself to say.

Kup however, surprised him by bringing him into a hug. Tony's eyes widened, he glanced at Ironhide who smirked. "Sorry, I'm a hugger when it comes to the youngin's of the family." Kup stated as he released Tony "It's an honor to finally meet you, youngling. Ironhide has told me a lot about you. Even before all this happened." Tony blushed a bit "I suppose the correct term to use is "Happy Birthday"?" He asked.

"Thanks." Tony finally managed to say "I've heard a lot too."

"Yeah, right. Ironhide told me we were supposed to be a surprise. Don't bother with that lie." Kup laughed lightly, Tony chuckled too "Either way, I'm yer eldest Uncle, Kup. Best get used to having me around, because now that the cat's out of the bag, I can come around finally." He put his hands on his hips slightly "I miss being able to give my baby brother a hard time." He grinned.

"Just remember, I'm the one with the cannons, and the experience." Ironhide jested back.

"You guys look nothing alike." Tony noted.

"Different Mothers, our Father was... Demented as you well know. He was known for sparking femmes and leaving them right after." Kup explained, Tony nodded, taking note of the fact that meant they were half-brothers "Of course, he only bonded with Ironhide's Mother." He explained, he shifted a bit "Well then, don't just stand there, come meet the rest of us." He noted.

Ironhide dragged Tony along before he could even protest. In all, he noted that not all of Ironhide's family was on Earth, after all, he only noticed two others hanging around. He was given a quick introduction to each one, the tallest, also green, with a smile on his face, and a friendly disposition introduced himself as his cousin, Hound. Going by the similarities, Tony took him to be Kup's son. The other, his other Uncle, was smaller, a bit more of a metallic silver, his name was Gears and Tony already had the feeling he was less than pleasant to be around.

Tony felt more intimidated than he'd ever felt in his life, all these people. They were now his family, or would be once things were finally settled. He'd always thought it would just be him and Ironhide, a small family, but close knit. But now he realized he was part of a larger one, one already closer than he imagined he'd ever be to any of them. "We would have pitched in to get you something, but unfortunately we weren't sure what you'd like." Kup spoke up, breaking the awkward silence "You'll have to forgive us there." He added.

"That's fine, really. I'm just a little stunned right now." Tony muttered.

"Tony's parents were the only family he ever had." Ironhide explained so that Tony didn't have to "He isn't quite used to having a big family like ours. Which is why I waited to tell him." He explained, he gently put his hands back on Tony's shoulders "Like I told ye, we don't bite. Well... Gears might. But, you get used to him, eventually." Gears grunted at him "Oh come on, you know I love ye, but it IS true." He noted.

Tony chuckled a bit, he looked at all of them, smirking a bit. "Well, I guess it's nice to know I have some others to call family." Tony leaned against Ironhide a bit "I mean Ironhide's great, but try living with him a few days." He teased.

"I did, trust me, I endured that torture." Gears snorted "I can give you tips of survival." He noted.

Tony laughed a bit, Ironhide simply had a rather unamused look on his face. His older brothers always did this, all the time, teasing and poking fun at him. In many ways, they were no different than a human family in that respect. "Oh don't worry, if I become too much, I'll just send you to Gears." The mech's optics widened "Two hours with him and you'll be begging to go home." He noted.

"I can be fun when I want to be!" Gears replied in a huff.

"Sure you can, just like Megatron can show mercy when he wants to." Hound teased.

Tony watched the family begin their conversation, or rather argument. He couldn't help but find it amusing, Gears was defending himself, Ironhide was mocking him, and Kup and Hound both simply watched with amusement. Tony smiled sadly, part of him often wondered what having siblings would have been like. Somehow, watching his new family, he was actually glad he didn't know. "Sooooo... Should I leave you two ladies to compare your bra sizes?" Tony asked.

The mostly mild-mannered Kup practically died laughing at that one. Clearly he'd been on Earth long enough to know exactly what the insult meant. Kup's holoform gave the boy a gentle clap on the back, grinning. "Kid, you're going to get along in this family just fine. Especially with that wit." He grinned a bit, Ironhide and Gears looked unamused on the other hand "Oh come on, it's not like you two don't say worse." He added jestfully.

"I know, I just can't believe I'm PROUD of his smart-aftery for once." Ironhide snorted.

"Just letting you know. If you weren't my younger brothers kid, I'd step on you." Gears replied, though the moment Ironhide's real form had retracted a cannon and placed it against his helm, he gulped "I was just kidding, really. You know, funny? Ha ha?" He asked Ironhide.

Tony could only chuckle at that one, Ironhide had a way of being way overprotective, but to do that, he must have really had a rivalry with Gears. The clearing of a throat grabbed Tony's attention, he carefully spun around to find Annie standing there. "Sorry to interrupt you all. But I was just wondering if I could ask the birthday boy for a dance?" She asked.

Tony shot Ironhide a glance, the mech hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Go on, enjoy your party." He then added "Keep it clean."

Annie had hold of Tony's hand within a few moments, pulling him along, and away from the group. Ironhide ignored Gears for a moment to watch them both, the band had begun to play a slow song. Almost immediately Ironhide felt awkward, watching as Tony and Annie grew close, quietly dancing among several other human couples in Tony's friend group. Ironhide actually found himself smiling as the two kissed, sure it was invasion of privacy, and Ironhide wasn't sure he was ready for it yet. But the fact Tony looked happy made the night worth it, especially considering he could simply get away from the stress of the Jason drama for just one night, one night.

For the first time since that drama had started, Ironhide could honestly say that he had finally had a night of peace and quiet. Even if he only ever took it as the calm before the storm.

...

A/N: Hope I handled this well! Next chapter I finally tackle a chapter I've wanted to for a while and am excited for. I hope you are too! Next up: IRONHIDE VS THE SOCIAL WORKER.