A/N: Just a beforehand warning, yes Smokescreen acts immature here, he's based on Prime Smokescreen. :P

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CHAPTER 22
Meetings and Nerves

Jeff sat in silence as Prowl and Bluestreak spoke to each other, not wanting to interject. To say the least it had been a long conversation so far, and Jeff hadn't had a chance to talk as of yet. It wasn't until Prowl stared over at his shoulder and smirked a bit that Jeff was even tuned in to the fact they were talking about him. "Yes, well, Jeff is quite talented when it comes to his abilities." Jeff's head shot towards Prowl, who smirked "Bluestreak was just asking me why I took you on as an apprentice." He noted.

"He's a glutton for punishment." Jeff shrugged innocently, though it was an obvious joke.

Bluestreak laughed a little at that, and stared at the young boy with a grin. "You got that right, Prowl was always big on helping people. Usually did get him punished at times, though not in a bad way as far as I saw." Bluestreak replied honestly "But it wasn't normally kids, so I'm kinda surprised." He stared at Jeff calmly "Then again, Prowl told me you showed more talent than his last apprentice." He noted.

"I try." Jeff replied "But I'm still not even close to being on Prowl's level. He's a genius with stuff." Jeff rested his legs against the mech's shoulder plate "Then again, he does have like, centuries over me."

"Talkin' the kid to death already, Blue?"

Jeff barely had time to register the new voice as Prowl's older brother, Smokescreen entered the room. Though he had already heard he was Prowl and Bluestreak's older brother, he'd have thought he was younger. He carried himself like a mech in his early twenties in human terms, a cocky, yet kind grin on his face, and a nod at Prowl. "It's been a while, bro." He noted as Prowl set Jeff down and pulled him into a hug "Hey, hey, watch the paint job, Prowl." He commented "It's new." He commented.

"Get over it." Prowl snorted, releasing the mech "It's good to see you Smokescreen."

Smokescreen smiled, nodding his head at the younger mech, and patting his helm. "It's great to see you too, little bro." Smokescreen turned to Jeff at that point "Hey, so you're the shortstack who's been wreaking havoc on the New Chicago base." He then added with a grin "Up top, from what Prowl's told me, you're my type of kid." He held a palm out, which Jeff hesitantly smacked "So, you been giving my little brother a run for his money?" He asked, wrapping an arm around Prowl's neck.

Jeff almost wanted to laugh at the fact that Smokescreen was the oldest, but already acted like he was the youngest. It seemed that Prowl was well aware of his thoughts, as he shook his head in warning, and Jeff slowly bit back his reply. "Not as bad of one as I give my guardians, but we have our moments too." Jeff chuckled "It's nice to meet you, Smokescreen." He added.

"Likewise." Smokescreen commented with a two fingered salute "Listen, Prowler, we were thinking we could give the kid the grand tour. Get to know him a little better if you know what I mean." A subtle wink of the optic didn't go totally unnoticed by Jeff "You know, since you can't watch the kid twenty-four seven, and I bet he's curious to see the base." He added.

Jeff froze up completely at that, uncertain of how to react. He barely knew either one of the Autobots and though they were Prowl's brothers, he wasn't totally sure that he could trust them. "That sounds like fun." Prowl spoke up for him, patting Jeff on the back lightly with a finger "They were telling me they'd want me to oversee some new strategies, so that'll be the perfect time." He added "Just don't break him, alright, I only got one really close human friend to call my own." He added.

Jeff could feel a slight sweat drop as Prowl said that, not liking the sound of "don't break him". He could only hope that it wasn't a serious comment, but rather a figure of speech. Yet as Smokescreen gave a lopsided grin and a nervous chuckle, Jeff had a feeling it wasn't.

...

"So, you and my younger bro are getting pretty tight, huh?"

Jeff couldn't believe that Prowl's brother talked in terms like that. It had been like that since the start of their tour and already Jeff was wondering how he was the eldest. Smokescreen wasn't mature at all, falling nearly behind the immature, naive, but extremely kind Bluestreak. Needless to say, it was all Jeff could do not to shout "HOW ARE YOU RELATED!?", though the looks made it fairly obvious. "Yeah, I guess we are." Jeff finally spoke, staring up at the dark blue mech "He's pretty cool and all, hard to see why he doesn't have more, y'know..." He paused "Friends." He noted.

"Prowl's just never been the social type." Bluestreak piped in "Ever since I met him after my adoptive creators helped me find my bio family, he's always been the quiet type." He shook his head "In fact, I think you're the first "friend" Prowl's ever bothered to introduce us to that we didn't already know." He shrugged his shoulders.

Jeff felt his face grow red in response to that, feeling a little embarrassed to be apparently that important to Prowl. Chewing his lip, he stared down at the floor, putting his hands into his jacket pockets. "Well, I'm not really anything special, so I don't see why." Jeff shrugged, his eyes lingering up to them "In fact most 'bots on the other base think I've been trouble since I arrived." He added.

"And Prowl doesn't?" Smokescreen gave a slight whistle "You must mean something to him kid, because that doesn't sound like my brother at all." He put his hands on his pockets "Prowl's a good sparked mech and all, but most of the time, he can't put up with those types of people." He noted.

Jeff had already known that, and almost wanted to say "duh" as he said it. Jeff had seen Prowl with most other people when a rule was broken, he'd even been that way with him a few times. But he did have to admit, there seemed to be a slight amount of unusual patience when it came to his, oftentimes small, and attention seeking stunts. "He's lost his cool a few times, but I don't think he's that bad." Jeff replied "He's actually been a really great guy to have around, you're lucky to have him as your brother." He commented.

"Are we now?" Smokescreen questioned, with a knowing smirk.

Jeff shrugged his shoulders and stared between them. "Well, yeah. I mean, Prowl seems like the right type of "stiff" you'd want to be related to." Jeff commented honestly "He's just got something about him. Plus I mean the dude knows so much stuff, and..." He stopped himself, realizing what he was saying "Well, you're his brothers, you know all of this." He explained.

Bluestreak stared at Smokescreen, whom nodded his head slowly. Though he knew that Smokescreen was trying to figure out how Jeff felt about Prowl, he didn't expect it to be so easy. "Yeah, well." Bluestreak snuck up behind Jeff, and scooped him onto his shoulder "Prowl can be a pretty cool brother despite his quirks. He's practically a "dad" to me since both of mine passed on." He admitted "He's good at that role, too." He noted.

Jeff stared at Bluestreak as if the mech had grown a second head. If he was trying to insinuate what Jeff thought he was, then he might as well have. Jeff knew Prowl was a lot of things, and probably wanted to be a lot of things, but he doubted a "father" was among them. "Yeah, he'd make a good dad I bet. I guess it's just a shame he can't have sparklings." He replied.

Smokescreen shrugged, his blue optics moving towards Jeff slowly. "There are other ways to have children, if I'm not mistaken." He added "It's just a matter of the right timing." Jeff stared away at that "I mean, heck, he's done a pretty good job of being a mentor to you. That has to count for something, doesn't it?" The boy only nodded, to which Smokescreen sighed "Say Blue, what do you say we show the kid the simulation room?"

Bluestreak's doorwings twitched a bit, having been seconds from just plain asking him what they both wanted to. Yet he caught his older brother's optics, and knew that it was time to stop pestering the young man on his relationship with Prowl. "Oh, yeah! The simulation room!" Bluestreak piped up "You're gonna love that, kid! Do you like video games?" Jeff stared up and nodded his head a bit "This is like being in one HUGE one. Usually, Smokey and I go in there and play capture the flag with the simulation drones." He grins.

"And usually Bluestreak loses miserably."

Bluestreak frowned a bit, and leaned his head over quietly. "Come on, Jeff, you can be on my team. We'll take down this cocky aft without batting an optic ridge." Jeff's mouth curved into a grin "What do you say, you in?"

Jeff shifted a bit, his mind still on what Bluestreak and Smokescreen had been implying before. Why would they even do so? Prowl wouldn't want to be responsible for a walking trouble magnet like him, that much he was pretty sure of. He shook the entire thought off, it wasn't even worth thinking about, not when he knew it would never happen. "Yeah, sure!" Jeff perked up "Sounds like fun."

But on the inside, Jeff couldn't help but feel even more nervous now.