I finally have this entire story planned out! For the first time ever I actually know how I want it to end XD Anyway, have you all figured out who that mystery sparkling was at the end of chapter 21? If not, don't feel bad! You'll find out eventually!
The twins still don't know that Aquafire's sparked, how will they react?
Lots of things going on in this chapter and Prowl is a little OOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, it belongs to HasTak. I claim only Aquafire, her trine, Skyblitz, Wildfire, Lightning Bolt and the unnamed sparklings.
Remember to review everyone! Reviews make me update faster and they make my day that much brighter~
Aquafire did her best to avoid the twins over the following weeks, going so far as to use Jazz and Bolt to spy on them and tell her when it was safe enough for her to go to the rec room for some energon. Of course, the twins started catching on and started hiding in unchecked areas so they could try and catch her when she went by. Their attempts, thankfully, were always foiled by Prowl, Jazz and even Ratchet whenever he took it upon himself to escort her.
"You cannot avoid them forever," Smokescreen rumbled at the end of one of their sessions.
"I know," She whispered. "Every time I think I'm ready though, I get scared and start doubting myself."
"Why do you doubt yourself?" The Praxian was used to having Aquafire in his office even after their sessions ended, as they sometimes needed longer to talk about certain things.
"I don't know," She shook her head.
"Is it that you are afraid of how they will react?" He continued on. "Are you afraid that they will reject you?"
"Yes," She whispered.
"They are legitimate fears," He sighed. "But you should not let it cloud your judgment, Aquafire. Knowing them, they will be more upset over the fact that you hid it for so long instead of just telling them straightaway. I want you to only think of the positive outcomes, alright? Can you do that for me?"
"Y-yes," She nodded softly.
"I have a task for you," He leaned back in his chair. "Within the next orn, I want you to at least talk with the twins. You don't have to tell them about the sparklings if you're not ready to."
"That's asking too much," She looked away.
"Is it?" He arched an optic ridge at her. "Aquafire, how can I help if you keep taking steps back? I want you to see them, you'll feel better for it once you've done so." The Praxian stood then and moved towards the door. "Our time is up for today. I will see you again in a week for our next session unless something comes up and you need to talk to me earlier." The Seeker got up and thanked him, slipping out the door without another word.
Aquafire made a bee-line for her quarters and practically dove inside before locking it with a heavy sigh. She immediately stiffened when someone knocked on the door a few times and let out a growl.
"Aquafire, please, let us in," Sunstreaker whispered gruffly from the other side.
"We're really worried about you," Sideswipe whined softly.
"Go away!" She called out, backing away from the door. "Please, go away!" She heard their muttered protests before everything fell silent.
"Just... comm. us when you want to talk." Aquafire cycled air through her vents harshly upon realizing she'd been holding her breath. She heard the twins leaving and collapsed on her berth. She buried her faceplates in her servos and sucked in a shuddering breath before letting it out.
"Primus help me," She whispered. The Seeker curled up and stared at the wall blankly. She could feel the sparklings thrumming next to her own, happy as could be, completely oblivious to their Carrier's pain. She wished she could be as carefree as the sparklings she was carrying, it would make things so much easier on her. But, it was just not meant to be.
Aquafire forced all the negative thoughts back and focused only on the memories she had of Bolt as he was growing up and of her own Creators when she was still a youngling. Eventually, the memories lulled her into recharge. She only roused herself when she felt Bolt slipping into the berth and snuggling up against her. After they got comfortable, they both fell into recharge.
Bolt was used to his mother taking late day naps now, though at first he'd been alarmed by her lack of energy. Ratchet had quickly assured him that it was normal for carrying bots to be tired, something about her spark having to split its energy between itself and the two sparklings. The youngster had been amused when he walked in on Prowl napping at his desk one day and had quickly saved the image to his memory banks.
Since then, he'd made a point of joining his mother whenever she took a nap, stating that he wanted to be there for her in case she had a bad dream flux or something.
The lock clicked and the door cycled open quietly before Ratchet poked his helm inside. He spotted Aquafire and Bolt and let out a sigh as he stepped back outside. No point in waking them just to do a quick scan of the femme.
"How is she?" Prowl walked up, speaking in a hushed tone.
"Asleep for now," He grunted. "Why aren't you resting?"
"I actually just woke up," He twitched his doorwings. "I wanted to speak with Aquafire but seeing as she is resting, I will return at a later time." Ratchet nodded and watched as the Praxian walked away. The medic sighed to himself and headed back to the med bay. He would need to confront Aquafire soon about telling Optimus the news so he wouldn't come asking questions when he noticed both she and Prowl were being removed from the active duty roster.
-X-X-X-
"I can't do it anymore, Prowl," Aquafire looked at the tactician. "I just can't. But I'm just too scared to confront them."
"You don't have to tell them," He reminded her. The femme nodded and vented a heavy sigh. "It might make you feel better if you would simply talk with them."
"Smokescreen told me the same thing," She muttered.
"Must I make it an order?" Aquafire grumbled at this. She and Prowl were in his and Jazz's quarters, relaxing, talking and just comforting one another. They'd taken a nap together earlier, though it wasn't the first time they'd done so. Jazz actually had pictures of them cuddled up together, helms pressed close as they slept. Ratchet had told them it was a Carrier thing, though he hadn't bothered to explain it any further than that much to their annoyance.
"I should get going," Aquafire sighed as she stood and stretched. She nodded to the Praxian as she left and quickly darted back to her room, hoping that the twins weren't around to see her.
"Mama, how long are you going to avoid them?" Bolt inquired, frowning a little when his mother returned to their quarters. "It's been nearly a month now."
"I know," She sighed, defeated. "I know. I'm just... I don't know what to tell them."
"Tell them the truth," The youngster shrugged. "You always told me that lying makes things worse so why don't you just tell the truth?" Aquafire lowered her wings and looked down.
"I will... just... not yet," She murmured. Bolt hugged his mother and kissed her cheek.
"I'll be back by tomorrow morning," He smiled as he left. Aquafire flicked her wings and watched him before she sat on the berth and subspaced an old holocube. With a soft smile, she viewed the pictures and memories it held.
What she wouldn't give to have it all again.
-X-X-X-
Aquafire finally found enough courage to face the twins and called them to her quarters nervously. They arrived shortly after and were quick to embrace her.
"Primus femme, stop worrying us like that," Sunstreaker whispered into her audio.
"Did we do something wrong?" Sideswipe asked, not releasing his hold on her waist. "Did... we move too fast for you? Are you not ready for a relationship?"
"You did nothing wrong," She whispered, sitting rigid between them. "I needed time to think, sort things out." Sunstreaker ran his digits along the leading edge of her wing, making her shudder. "There are some things going on right now that are bringing up painful memories for me and I've been seeking help from Smokescreen for it. I don't want you to worry though, alright?"
"We'll still worry," Sunstreaker snorted. "You agreed to be involved with us, I believe that we are allowed to worry over you." Aquafire said nothing as she leaned into their comforting touches. The twins remained with her for what seemed like joors, comforting her as they tried to renew their relationship.
"Just let us stay here with you tonight," Sideswipe whispered. "Please?" Aquafire hesitated before she nodded. The twins shifted and got comfortable with the Seeker. She shifted her wings and let them hold her close. The trio fell into recharge together and for the first time in a while, Aquafire was at peace.
Aquafire was a little panicked when she later awoke to find the twins in her berth but she quickly settled down and relaxed. She watched over them as they rested and stroked their helms softly, admiring just how handsome they both were.
They had their quirks, yes, but Aquafire didn't mind any of them, though she was still terrified of Sunstreaker's darker half. She truly wanted to tell them about the sparklings but she was scared that they would hate her, tell her they didn't want her or the sparklings. Worse still, they might even accuse her of cheating on them with Starscream, though it was unlikely as she'd already explained the entire ordeal to them and they hadn't been together officially during her cycle.
She placed a gentle kiss on each of their helms and settled down, intent on recharging some more.
Sideswipe apparently had other ideas.
The red frontliner came online and trailed his finger tips over her wing, lips closing over the tip and actually sucking on it. Aquafire gasped softly and keened at the feeling, frame trembling as he continued.
"Good morning, beautiful," Sideswipe purred, nipping along the leading edge and fondling the aileron. Aquafire fought to keep silent but a mewl was forced from her as Sideswipe continued his ministrations. The Seeker was vaguely aware of movement on her other side and only just registered the touches before Sunstreaker joined in with his brother. The femme squirmed and writhed, trying to get them to stop but at the same time continue the delightful treatment. The twins soon stopped and wrapped their arms around her, each bestowing a kiss on her cheek as they grinned.
"Leave if you're going to bother me," She grumbled tiredly. "I just want to rest."
"We'll behave," Sideswipe chirped though his grin told a different story.
"Seriously, leave," She grumbled. "Come back later, I just want to sleep right now." The twins cast her concerned looks then. She hesitantly kissed them both and murmured that she would be fine before they finally got up and left. Aquafire sighed and stretched out on the berth, almost instantly falling back into recharge.
-X-X-X-
The trio spent more and more time together as the days went by, slowly building up their relationship while Aquafire built up the confidence she needed in order to confront the twins.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were passing by the officers quarters when they caught the sound of femme voices. Curious, they moved towards the door and listened in.
"So what's it like?" They heard Elita's voice.
"Nothing like you would expect." Huh? That was Aquafire! But.. what were they talking about?
"That may be because of your past experience," They heard the familiar sound of wings shifting downwards.
"I suppose so," Aquafire whispered. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Of course. You know, Optimus and I have been talking about having our own sparklings for quite some time."
"Seriously?" The twins rolled their optics and walked off. Ugh, femme talk. They really did not need the image of their two commanders going at it in their heads.
The two frontliners caught up with their femme later on in the day and quickly lavished attention on her. They liked to think of her as theirs and she didn't seem to mind being called such when they were together.
"You alright?" Sideswipe murmured, pressing kisses along her wing. "You seem tired."
"That's because I am," She sighed.
"You're always tired," Sunstreaker grumbled against her throat. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," She whispered. The twins growled, knowing she wasn't telling the truth, but let it go as they curled up with her.
Aquafire felt extremely uneasy as she tried to relax in their embrace. She knew it was only a matter of time before they caught on and she was found out. She could only hope that she would be able to tell them before they found out on their own.
-X-X-X-
A few days later, the twins were passing by the med bay when they caught part of a conversation.
"-sparklings belong to the twins!"
"You don't have to keep telling me that! I know!"
"Then tell them for Primus' sake!" The twins looked at each other and took off. That had been Ratchet and Aquafire... but what had been said couldn't be right. Aquafire wasn't sparked. She'd have told them if she were... wouldn't she?
They kept the information to themselves the entire day and when they finally got the femme alone in her quarters, they brought it up.
"Hey, we heard a pretty interesting conversation today," Sideswipe commented, keeping his voice low and steady as he spoke.
"It couldn't have been that interesting," She murmured back.
"Oh, but it was," Sunstreaker rumbled. "Something about sparklings." The two didn't miss how Aquafire stiffened between them.
"We heard it while passing the med bay this morning," Sideswipe continued, his servo coming up to rest on the sensitive glass of her cockpit. They could feel her trembling, vocalizer letting out tiny little whimpers of fear.
"We heard you and Ratchet," Sunstreaker growled, optics darkened angrily. "You've been keeping it a secret from us, haven't you?" The Seeker tried to bolt off the berth but the twins held her down firmly. "Why did you hide it?" He snarled. Aquafire remained stubbornly silent, still trying to get away from them and protect her sparklings.
"Aquafire, why?" Sideswipe demanded harshly, holding her tight. "Why would you hide such a thing from us? They're ours... right?" Aquafire stilled then, optics wide with panic and fright.
"One of them is," She finally whispered. "The other... is possibly Starscream's..." She waited for them to explode and start yelling but instead they stared at her, obviously trying to figure out how that could happen. Aquafire quietly explained to them how it was possible for her to be sparked with two different sparklings and they made soft sounds of understanding.
"I can't believe you hid this from us," Sunstreaker muttered, still a little sore from finding out so abruptly.
"I didn't want to tell you because I wasn't ready," She buried her faceplates against Sunstreaker's throat. "I'm so scared that I'll do something wrong and lose them. I was scared you both would hate me." The twins already knew about her last experience with being sparked and were intent on taking revenge for what Shockwave had done. He had no right terminating that sparkling.
"You don't have to do this alone though," Sideswipe let out a pathetic whine as he nuzzled her. "We're here for you."
"I don't want to force either of you into parenthood though," She whimpered softly.
"You're not forcing us," Sunstreaker told her firmly. "We want to be here for you, we want to help raise the sparklings, regardless of who the Sire is." The golden frontliner grabbed her chin and turned her faceplates up so he could kiss her lips. Aquafire whimpered softly and kissed back, wings fluttering as Sideswipe stroked the sensitive appendages.
"Will you two stay with me when I go see Ratchet in the morning?" She whispered once they'd all settled down.
"Of course," Sideswipe kissed her cheek softly.
"We'll be there for you," Sunstreaker whispered, tightening his arms around her. Aquafire nodded and offlined her optics, hoping to get some rest.
The twins watched over her intently, emotions flowing freely over their twin bond. They were over the initial anger and shock of finding out about the sparklings and were now worried about how the entire ordeal was affecting the femme. They silently vowed to stay by her side the entire time, no matter what.