Starcrossed

by Gatekat

G1 AU, Jazz/Prowl, Jazz/Vortex Jazz is the second creation of a Noble House that's fallen on hard times. He's promised as the subordinate mate to a wealthy commoner in exchange for a great deal of credits. It's only when he meets his future mate that things get bad.

28. Meeting the Younglings

Starcrossed 28: Meeting the Younglings
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"I've seen you calmer prepping to raid gunrunners," Prowl commented with a mixture of amusement and concern as the public transport came in for a landing in Polyhex. "They don't know you're coming. You can entertain yourself during the day while I'm with them and they'll never know you backed out."

Radiance startled slightly when Prowl spoke, having been staring out the window at the city, completely lost in his thoughts. "I'm already all the way out here, might as well," he said, trying to sound casual. He stood and stretched as soon as they were stopped, not completely able to hide the nervous tilt to his doorwings. "And I've met them before."

"And they like you as well," Prowl smiled slightly, settling in line behind Radiance to leave the transport, leaving the dark mech no doubt as to how excited Prowl was to see his creations for the first time since their youngling upgrades. "They're always in a good mood, too. The zoo is a popular way to spend the orn."

"How would they know they like me when they haven't seen me since they were less than a vorn?" Radiance asked as soon as they had stepped out. "And it was less than a joor, even."

"They remembered you well enough to ask to see you, repeatedly," Prowl shrugged his doorwings as they worked their way to the street, their heavy and distinctively marked Enforcer frames making way for them more than either demanded movement. "I don't talk about you that often."

"I'm flattered," Radiance teased before transforming and revving his engines playfully. Prowl chuckled and joined him on the road, taking the lead in the drive he was familiar with. As it always was since Prowl had earned his Enforcer markings, traffic reacted to make their movements easy. They didn't look like local Enforcers, but the markings were almost universally similar but for city emblams and mecha reacted accordingly. It was still new enough to still be moderately novel for Prowl, but Radiance didn't pay it any mind.

He followed Prowl through the city to the nobles' quarter, then off the road to the servants' entrance located around the back, avoiding the roads that the nobles and their family would use completely, transformed, and lingered several steps back. Prowl headed right to the visible entrance, which opened almost immediately, and two streaks, one red and one yellow, ran out, heading straight for his open arms.

It was warming, and adorable, and triggered more of Radiance's creator coding along with a stronger desire to claim Prowl as a mate. Prowl's interactions as he held and nuzzled the pair, then leaned back to check their new frames, were just as sweet as watching him when they were so much younger.

Eventually, Sideswipe pointed to the dark Praxian hovering in the distance and grinned.

Radiance grinned back. "So you remember me," he said.

Sideswipe nodded and squirmed out of Prowl's arms, running over, holding out his arms and spinning, showing off the upgrades. "Do you like it?"

Radiance knelt down to be closer to the sparkling's height. "I do, but it's going to make it hard for you to be sneaky with bright colors like that," he said seriously. "You'll stand out too much in the dark."

"I don't mind," Sideswipe said, cocking his head up at the visored mech, then looked at Prowl and pointed at Radiance. "Is he your mate yet?"

Radiance almost choked.

"Not yet," Prowl chuckled and stood to walk over, Sunstreaker watching carefully from his sire's side. "It is unsuited to have a third before you've been with your mate at least a century."

"Then I can't wait for a century to be over," Sideswipe announced cheerfully, and then in a flip that reminded Radiance painfully of Jazz, turned serious again. "How is Saxo?" he asked, very politely, sounding like it was a question asked out of habit rather than actual interest.

"He's doing well," Prowl responded in much the same way, a rote answer for a rote question. "Who wants to go to the zoo today?"

"Yes!" Sideswipe said, jumping, while Sunstreaker brightened. "The Lords' creations went last metacycle and they won't stop talking about it!" He looked at Radiance. "You're coming, right? Can I ride with you?"

"'Course," Radiance grinned, before looking at Prowl. "If it's all right with Pantera."

"Of course," Prowl chuckled and stepped away from Sunstreaker to transform, opening his door for Sunstreaker to climb in.

Radiance followed suit, letting Sideswipe bound in, and kicked his engines on with a bit more rev than really necessary, and felt the answering flare of excitement from the youngling.

"How fast can you go?" Sideswipe asked.

"Very fast," Radiance answered.

"You should beat creator there," came the conspiratorial whisper.

"We will both be obeying the posted limits," Radiance said. "Which you should always do, for your own safety and for those around you." He felt the droop. "Hey, I'll tell you a secret, though."

Sideswipe perked. "Okay!"

"Your creator loves to race, and sometimes he's even faster than me."

Sideswipe grinned. "That's awesome."

Radiance smiled through his field, and once his passenger had settled down, sent a comm over to Prowl. ::Sunstreaker's still pretty shy, huh? I see that hasn't changed much.::

::No, they are still very similar to the vorn-olds you knew,:: Prowl's warm affection was clear over the comm as they headed out. ::Sideswipe is the social one.::

Radiance chuckled, keeping track of the red youngling's excited chatter at the same time. ::Yes, I see that too.:: He paused for a moment, hesitating, then, ::'Saxo?':: Prowl didn't talk about his visits or the younglings very often, and never when Jazz was around, and the very proper designation use had caught Radiance off guard.

::They stopped referring to him as a creator at five vorns. I'm half surprised it took that long,:: Prowl admitted. ::I expect they'll stop asking or mentioning him completely before you can court us.::

::That's... too bad, but unsurprising,:: Radiance sighed. His engines rumbled in a growl that he quickly throttled back before Sideswipe could notice. ::If I could get my hands on Sideswipe's spark sire-:: he began, then cut himself off, unsure if that was a welcome topic of conversation.

::Get in line, not that there will be anything left when Saxo's through with him,:: Prowl said grimly. ::Mech's a monster.::

::So I've noticed,:: Radiance said, and debated whether to push for more information for a few moments, before deciding now was not the time. Vorns of careful questions had gotten him nowhere closer to that answer, he could wait vorns more until they were ready to tell him, centuries if he had to. He edged up closer to Prowl in their lane, enough for the other Enforcer to feel his field, and all the warm affection he felt for them. Prowl replied with a mixture of affection, warmth and thanks.

"That is too close," Sideswipe said.

Radiance chuckled and eased back. "If I were a civilian. I've been trained how to drive very well. But you're right, even I should still drive safely whenever possible."

Sideswipe nodded his satisfaction, and Radiance drove in silence the rest of the way, listening to the youngling talk nonstop about everything he could think of. It was clear to Radiance that both Prowl and Sideswipe knew the way to the zoo well, and it wasn't really a surprise. With forty-five visits, the selection of destinations that were good for such young mecha was limited.

They pulled up to the sidewalk and allowed the new younglings out, then transformed and Radiance got to watch Sideswipe all but assault Prowl for attention before the adult expertly distracted him with the promise of creatures once they paid the fee to enter.

"You're very good at that," Radiance purred, standing close enough that he thought only Prowl could hear him. "I hope I'll get a chance to watch you raise another sparkling, some orn."

::Quite possibly ours,:: Prowl smiled back, his own purr deep and field playful and serious.

::If everything goes my way, yes,:: Radiance answered with a grin, and then was startled by the voice that came from near his knees.

"You're going to have another sparkling?" Sunstreaker looked up, uncertain and a little hurt.

"Not anytime soon," Prowl said firmly. "Saxo has to be ready to raise a sparkling before we try again."

"Saxo hates sparklings," Sunstreaker muttered, mood darkening just at the mention of his carrier. Radiance gave Prowl a startled look.

"I know," Prowl said as he knelt to hug the yellow youngling, not hiding one bit of how sad and hurt the truth left him. "But mecha can change, and I hope, eventually, I can change that about him too. Now enough talk of bad things," he forced himself to brighten. "Let's get in line so we can see the exhibits, and you can even sketch some this time, since Radiance can entertain your brother."

Sunstreaker brightened considerably at the prospect and the pair behaved, unnaturally well in Radiance's opinion, in line with Prowl.

::It comes with having a strong and caring disciplinarian always on hand to monitor them,:: Prowl answered the look as they paid admission and entered what amounted to another world in the form of force field cages that separated the creatures dangerous to each other but otherwise allowed the animals to roam freely in large expanses. Once logged into the zoo's datanet, their HUDs brought up names and data on each item, animal or plant, mecha, bio-mecha, transtech or organic, that they focused on.

They had barely half a klik to stand and look around, Radiance automatically looking around for the layout of the new location and tracking routes and obstacles, before Sideswipe was tugging at his hand.

"This way!" the red youngling said, pulling ineffectually at the adult frame. "Come on! The new things are this way! Steeler said they're really cool!"

"Lord Steeler," Prowl corrected his creation.

"Right right yeah, but this way!"

Radiance smiled and gave in to the pulling, following along after Sideswipe, who led the rest of them through crowds that only parted because of the Enforcer markings that the adults wore. Radiance caught more than a few dark looks shot their way from the fringes, something he wasn't used to. In Praxus, Enforcers were respected, but here, it seemed, that was not the case.

"There!" Sideswipe said, drawing his attention back, pointing towards an exhibit that had a large gathering around it. The exhibit pulled up as a Chaar spider, a dangerous creature capable of killing their kind, listed as extremely hazardous. Sideswipe squirmed his way through the onlooking crowd, getting up right next to the force field, looking into the cavernous enclosure.

Radiance found himself very grateful for the force field when he saw the bulk of the creature moving near the dark rock walls, designed to resemble the habitat it had been captured from.

"What does it eat?" Sideswipe asked.

Radiance skimmed over the data he had pulled up so the youngling wouldn't have to. "Energy leeches are their primary source of fuel," he answered. "Though it is capable of consuming most living things." He felt Prowl come up next to him, having worked his way through the surrounding mecha at a more polite speed.

Sunstreaker went to stand next to his brother, then just slightly in front of him in a protective stance. "Which means it will eat us too."

"Yes, but it can't get through the field," Radiance tried to reassure the yellow youngling, rapping at the barrier in demonstration.

Sunstreaker frowned at him. "Just because it never has, doesn't mean it never will."

Radiance tilted his head. "By that logic, everything in this zoo could escape all at once, but the chances of that happening are almost nothing."

"A probability of 0.00000001641% given the publicly available information," Prowl supplied smoothly. "Lower, given that backup and security systems are required to have at least one level not in the public database."

"How can you know that?" someone next to them asked with an unpleasant sub-harmonic.

"Which part, Sidecross?" Prowl asked blandly, looking at the indistinct mid-sized grounder and pulling up all available data on him.

The mech jerked as if burned. "How..."

"Public information," Prowl regarded him calmly. "An ID ping links to a designation and other basic information that anyone can access. Which part of my calculation do you question?"

Radiance shifted to keep his doorwings trained on the younglings while he faced the mech, disturbed by a teek of his unfriendly field and the sudden amount of attention they had from all around. While to most Prowl wouldn't come across as anything but stiffly formal, Radiance knew him well enough to recognize the tension and activation of stage one combat protocols.

Everything was broken by a youngling's growl as small yellow and red frames came to their creator's side and glared up at the much larger mech. They got that far before Prowl firmly shifted them back and took a partial step forward, displaying for all that these were his creations and he was not going to let them be damaged in a potential confrontation. He also blatantly marked himself as the dominant protector of the pair despite Radiance being better in a brawl.

"It's all right," Radiance said as soothingly as he could, and simultaneously ran one hand along the top edge of Prowl's doorwing and reached down to rub the back of Sunstreaker's neck. "They're just talking, that's all. It's easy to forget that not everyone has the same interests. And I'm sure this nice mech is just curious about standard security backup protocols."

The warning was noted by several in the crowd, and Prowl's tension relaxed slightly. Sunstreaker's engine continued to growl softly, but the younglings complied with their creator's wish to stay back. Radiance had no doubt, even without a word between them, that Prowl expected him to take the younglings to safety should this turn ugly.

"How do you know about hidden security being required?" Sidecross asked almost lamely.

Prowl let him have the out gracefully. "Enforcer," he tapped the Praxian insignia on his chest plate. "It is my duty to know the laws. While the number of security features required to be kept from public access records vary by jurisdiction, the single level is an Imperial law, and thus applies to all collections with potentially dangerous creatures. Praxus requires four. I did not determine what Polyhex requires for my calculation and thus used the Imperial minimum."

"Right, well, yeah, that makes sense," the mech said, looking extremely uncomfortable with all the attention all of a sudden.

"I think so too," Radiance said smoothly, flashing a grin at him. "And while I know I find obscure legal protocols fascinating, we did have to pay to get in here, and I'd hate to waste that fee. If you'd like, we could meet up for drinks later, to discuss publicly accessible protocol further?"

"Or not," Sunstreaker muttered quietly.

"I ... okay, whatever," Sidecross muttered and tried to quietly slip from the scene.

Prowl flared a warmth to Radiance before he turned to kneel in front of his creations. "While I appreciate that you're so eager to help defend me, I don't want either of you in danger."

"He felt mean," Sideswipe said, frowning and worried. "He shouldn't be mean to you when you didn't do anything."

Radiance huffed to himself in silent agreement, carefully watching the mecha around them as Prowl soothed his creations. He was seeing surprise, confusion, and still some lingering, open hostility, but nothing that posed a threat, until a working frame shifted forward. Radiance flared his wings high in warning and the mech growled, then spat on the ground next to Prowl.

"Enforcers are all self-righteous, noble-serving whores," he rumbled.

Before Prowl could react, Radiance had sidestepped around him and was grabbing the mech by the collar and hauling him away from his lover and the younglings, pinging the zoo security staff. "I think you've had too much high grade," he said cheerfully. "Maybe best if you go settle down a bit."

"Going to put me in jail for it?" the mech hissed.

"We're Praxian Enforcers," Prowl pointed out in that calm, cool way that he reflexively fell into when dealing with riled mecha as he stood. He kept his creations close to him, his doorwings flared wide to keep track of everyone, but otherwise he was calm and centered and presented a completely professional air that Radiance approved of deeply. "This is not our jurisdiction, nor is what you did anything to even be reported. Anger is not a crime."

Radiance felt the startled surprise from all around them as security arrived.

"He just needs a quiet place to sit for a while," he said, in response to the questioning looks. "Everyone's a bit excitable this orn, it seems like."

"But he just said..." the mech said, glancing at Prowl.

"That he wouldn't report you, which is not what I'm doing," Radiance said. "I'm here to enjoy an orn as a civilian, and verbal harassment is not something I feel like putting up with."

"'S against policy to harass other guests.," the security mech said, gesturing with his head. "Got a place you can sit for a while if you don't want to leave. Last warning, though."

"Yeah all right," the mech muttered, and gave Prowl another dirty look before he was escorted away.

Radiance watched for a moment, then shook his head and let his doorwings relax back down as he turned towards Prowl. ::Primus, that was almost a mess.::

::Yes, they've been getting worse every vorn,:: Prowl agreed sadly. "Why don't we check out the flutterbots?"

"Boring," Sideswipe declared, while Sunstreaker perked at the idea.

"How about we all go see the flutterbots, and then when you get too bored, we'll go look at whatever else you want while Sunstreaker draws them?" Radiance suggested, then smiled warmly at the yellow brother. "If you do want to draw them, that is."

"He does, even if he won't admit it," Sideswipe teased his brother as he grabbed the yellow youngling's hand and tugged him towards the Flutterbot Pavilion dome with its warm air and winding paths on two levels with thick growths of crystal and mecha plants.

"Thank you," Prowl said softly as they walked behind the younglings.

Radiance dared to reach out and run his fingers up along Prowl's arm. "You're welcome, though it's no trouble," he said. "Sideswipe is a joy. They both are, but I think he actually likes me," he chuckled.

"They both do," Prowl smiled at him briefly before focusing on the youngling. A quiet whistle made them stop and come back, keeping up their rate of movement without getting more than a couple paces ahead of Prowl. "Sideswipe is just much quicker to show it. Sometimes I think Sunstreaker has a more difficult time governing his emotions."

Radiance regarded the younglings. "He is very reactive," he agreed. "I imagine it will become easier as he grows. Certainly so if his carrier is any indication," he added with a fond smile at Prowl.

"I hope so," Prowl admitted to his worries. "He has the processors to be exceptional, if he can learn self control. I just worry that my influence isn't enough."

"Enough to counter... his spark sire?" Radiance asked, carefully. This was another area the pair was restrictive about when it came to information. "Or Saxo's influence?"

"Both, honestly, but mostly the first," Prowl's tone softened considerably at the thought of his mate. "Saxo isn't exactly what you call calm, and..." a small shudder passed down Prowl's frame, drawing both younglings to him for soft reassurances. ::And the trauma of having Saxo turn on them. I'm just a worried creator who can't have much influence on his creation.::

Radiance offered as much support as he could through his field. ::I'm sorry,:: he said softly as he watched Prowl interacting with his creations, his own spark throbbing almost painfully with just how much he wished he could fix this for all three of them, and the knowledge that he couldn't. ::I know how much they mean to you.::

::Thank you,:: Prowl brushed affection back and once the twins were settled and running again he stood and brushed his doorwing against his lover's. "If they don't want a place where they are now, maybe they'll return when they're mechlings." His tone was distinctly wistful, the sound of a mech that knew just how unlikely things were go to his way, but still willing to hope that he'd beat the odds. "I'm glad I can visit as often as I do and they still like me."

"What's not to like? They adore you," Radiance said, and grinned, lowering his voice into a purr. "They aren't alone, of course."

Prowl's doorwings shivered faintly as his interface systems heated. ::Keep that up and you aren't going to get any rest tonight.:: He absently scanned a credit stick for two flutterbot fuel cups and picked up the faint pink, sickly sweet smelling liquid. "Who wants to feed them?"

"Me!" the twins said in unison, even Sideswipe looking excited about what he had previously deemed a boring venture.

Radiance chuckled and shimmered his field playfully along Prowl's as they sat down to watch the younglings dash off to feed the flutterbots. ::You were expecting to rest tonight?:: he teased.

::I was not going to presume,:: Prowl chuckled and leaned into him, his field playful and hungry. ::Not on our first night alone together.::

Radiance hummed with pleasant surprise that Prowl had taken his flirting seriously, something he'd been privately hoping for. ::Neither was I,:: he admitted softly. ::I will admit...I wasn't sure you'd be open to the idea.::

While Prowl's sensors and optics were on his creations, he was warm and content to be enveloped in Radiance's field and offered the same. ::I like you. I will never pretend that there is a question between you and Saxo if I had to choose, but I do like you, and I do want a triad when he's ready. Saxo and I talked this over before I invited you and again before we left. He's not thrilled about it, but I believe him when he says he's okay with it in these circumstances. It would be different in Praxus, or if it happened often, but we all know it won't.::

Radiance nodded, and quietly longed for when the pair would be open to being officially courted, and after that... a successful courting, if he pulled it off, if they were still interested, if he was still interested, and he would be able to join in their spark bond.

But that was centuries in the future, and only one outcome of many. Radiance tucked those thoughts away and settled his hand on the back of Prowl's neck, rubbing the cabling there. ::All teasing aside... I just think you might need some comfort after seeing them.::

::I do tend to mope these nights,:: Prowl admitted, soft sounds escaping him at the comforting, relaxing and lightly pleasurable touch. ::I admit, it will be nice just to be held by someone I care about, who cares for me, and likes them. As much as I love Saxo, it hurts to leave them every time.::

::And you haven't had anyone to miss them with you for a long time,:: Radiance murmured. ::I think this will be good for you.::

::Yes,:: Prowl agreed, watching as Sunstreaker was more than content to be still and watch as the brilliantly colored, reflective and lighted little mecha-animals fluttered around him and settled for the special energon in his cup. Sideswipe, predictably, was starting to fidget. ::He'll be most grateful if you go rescue him from his brother's contemplative mood.::

Radiance chuckled, leaned over to steal a quick, almost daring kiss, and stood. "Hey Sideswipe," he called, catching the red youngling's attention. "The schedule says they're feeding the Chaar spider soon, wanna go watch with me?"

"Yeah!" Sideswipe leapt to his pedes, grinning madly, and ran over to Radiance, though neither adult missed the attempt at a subtle check with Prowl that it was really okay.

"Go on," Prowl smiled. "I trust him to take good care of you."

SxSxSxSxSxSxSxSx S===================S SxSxSxSxSxSxSxS

After they had dropped Sideswipe and Sunstreaker off at the estate, since they weren't allowed to spend the night away from the premises, Radiance and Prowl headed to the nearby hotel that Prowl stayed at for his visits. The drive over was quiet, with few words exchanged between them, neither of them in much mood to talk.

Watching Prowl hug his creations before leaving, even with the repeated promises that they would be back in the morning, had been harder than Radiance had expected. His lover cared for his creations a great deal, and it was visibly difficult for him to leave them, even for one night. Radiance didn't want to imagine him saying goodbye for the vorn, even if he knew he was going to witness that in less than two orns.

They got up to their room, modest, comfortable, generically decorated in an attempt to feel welcoming and homey, and Radiance was almost surprised to find just one berth. Despite their earlier flirting, he hadn't been sure if Prowl would actually want company. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped behind him, running his hands down Prowl's backstrut, calling up the lowest setting of the mag systems, just enough to help him massage the plating.

Prowl groaned in welcome and pressed into the touch, his field loosening slightly and licking along Radiance's in a mixture of thanks and apology.

Radiance pressed his mouth to the side of Prowl's neck, kissing softly. "Why sorry?" he murmured, carefully working his hands down.

"We spent half the orn working each other up, and I'm not sure I have it in me to be much of a lover tonight," Prowl murmured with a shiver. His frame wanted to respond, but his spark and processors were too heavy to find interest in that kind of pleasure. Reflex garnered enough that he could fake it, that he could be slick or hard as desired, but he respected what he was trying to build with Radiance too much for that lie.

Radiance nodded in acceptance and understanding, and said as much with his field, unconcerned by the choice and with no judgment or ill feeling towards Prowl. He kept massaging, focusing on trying to relieve the massive amount of tension he could feel in the frame rather than trying to arouse. "May I still hold you?" he asked, voice quiet.

"I'd like that," Prowl let his optics flicker off and leaned slightly into Radiance's presence, willing to submit, to be guided, to simply not have to be the strong one for a few joors. "It's ... nice ... to have you here."

Radiance hummed and took Prowl's weight back onto himself, working his thumbs into the small dips between joints, pressing them on taut cabling. "Nice not to have to be the one holding everything together," he guessed carefully. "Saxo relies heavily on you. And in this one thing, you can't turn to him."

"No, I can't," Prowl shuddered. How long had it been since he'd had another to lean on? Not since his carrier deactivated. It seemed like lifetimes ago. Very long lifetimes ago. To have that again ... a low, soft moan of want escaped him, motivating him to find the berth and snuggle against Radiance in much the way he had with his carrier when duties were too much for him. His field fluctuated wildly as his processor began to lay down connections of Radiance being support.

Radiance's field, in turn, stayed calm, soothing, accepting, arms wrapped around his lover, stroking the back of his helm and running fingers along his spine. "Have you ever allowed yourself to grieve for them?" he asked after a long silence.

Something twitched in Prowl's field. Something between confusion, pain and self-hate that made no sense at all.

"Allowed myself...?" Prowl pressed close as pain, very old pain, lanced up from his spark and he tried to bury it with moderate success. "I took the three orns that is recommended for my type."

Radiance's gaze flickered in surprise and sudden worry. "Your 'type'...?" he echoed, and pushed himself up, meeting Prowl's optics and pressing palm to cheek. "Pantera...you gave away your creation, you don't recover from that in three orns!"

"It should. It worked for the other three," Prowl murmured, refusing to meet Radiance's visor as it sank in just how much he'd given away by speaking to someone other than Jazz about his past like this. "It mostly worked for my creators, my first mate. I shouldn't have even wanted to visit the first time. I'm coded to care for my charges and let them go when it's time."

Radiance didn't answer for a long, awful moment, the hand shifting up to stroke Prowl's helm as he regarded his lover. "Three," he murmured, almost to himself, then, "That almost sounds like..." He trailed off, catching a glimpsing flash through Prowl's field, a plea not to push down that road. "Something was different this time," he said, switching tracks. "It made you want to visit, it means you need to take more than three orns to grieve."

"I know their designations. I met them," Prowl sighed, pressing into the contact but refusing to look at his lover. "I thought ... I thought for most of two vorns that I'd raise them. I knew it was going to be difficult. Saxo's so young, and already traumatized, but he loved them, or he thought he did, before they emerged. I really thought that I'd finally get to raise my creation. I know better, and I still do this to myself every vorn."

"They love your visits, I could tell that much in a sparkbeat," Radiance said quietly, trying not to think about what it meant that Prowl hadn't known the designations of three creations. "You're still bringing them joy by being part of their lives. And there is no shame, no sin, in visiting them, loving them. But you're in pain and you're not letting yourself feel it."

Prowl was still for a long, thoughtful time as he worked his way through that.

"I'm not sure how to," he finally decided, his voice low and uncertain. "I had work to do, always, and Saxo to keep me sane enough to function. I wasn't created to grieve for long."

"No matter what your processors was created for, sparks still need to grieve," Radiance said, moving his hand down to Prowl's chest for a brief moment. "And I think it's affecting your efficiency. I learned more about what you are in one sentence than I have in a half century, and..." He hesitated, his own flicker of grief coming through. "I don't think that was intentional."

"What did you learn?" Prowl tried not to tense, but he knew he did. He knew he'd slipped but more than once already, but it felt so impossibly good to not be the strong one. It had been so long since he'd had someone to lean on, someone to support him.

"There are only two classes for which it is accepted and expected that they give their creations away at the whim of others," Radiance said, slowly, gently, rubbing his thumb along Prowl's forehelm. "Slaves and servants. You're not a slave, you wouldn't be able to function in society like you do. And even among servants, not every type is, is bred," he said, hesitating for a moment on the glyph that was considered offensive when used in reference to a commoner. "For a long time I thought you were sparked, or maybe even a pre-prog, but you aren't. You're kindled, and still very specifically coded and designed." His voice dipped low. "You were made for one purpose, coded and designed, a living work of art...you could rule this planet if you wanted it, but you don't have that kind of ambition. You exist to serve on such a level that it actually brings you pleasure. You have slave coding, or a slave was your spark sire." He met Prowl's optics. "How am I doing?"

Prowl could only tremble as genuine terror bubbled up. He knew he'd said more than he meant, but he never thought he'd said that much. This mech could trace him knowing what he did. Could uncover his real designation, and thus Jazz's. They'd have to run again, take the twins and risk Jazz's reactions to them. His frame was nearly paralyzed as all his resources were directed to working out how to get the four of them out of this alive.

Radiance's optics spiraled wide when he realized his words had just engaged combat protocols. "Whoa, whoa, hey!" he said quickly, immediately just as tense as Prowl was. "No, shh, that's all I can figure out, and I won't go looking for more, I swear to you. Not until you're ready to tell me, and even if that never happens. Please, please, shh, calm," he soothed, pushing honesty and affection into his field, touching their helms together. "I swear to you, Pantera, I want to help you."

"Delete it." Prowl managed to say, his vents wide and fans whirling as he struggled against protocols carefully crafted to preserve his Lord's existence while on the run from an oligarch and minor noble House. Another part of him flared warnings that his emotions were dangerous if they allowed such an action, but Prowl wanted Radiance, wanted a triad so badly. The mech had earned his trust, earned Jazz's trust. For the first time in his long existence Prowl fought his coding solely for himself and his desires. "Delete that knowledge. Before we triad, we intend to show you everything."

Radiance's vents stalled out before he shook himself and scrambled to sort through the conversation, separating out what he knew had to go and what he needed to keep. He could teek, and feel through their frames, that Prowl was already calming just at the promise given through their fields. In mere nanokliks Radiance pressed fingers to Prowl's dataport, his own cable already in hand, almost frantic in his need to remember what Prowl needed from him. "Please, I can't delete everything, I have to remember some of it, just let me know if this is all right, and you can change anything you want to."

Prowl's port spiraled open, the tension drained from him at the acceptance. Though it was the first time they'd hardlined, it went smoothly, Radiance intentionally lowering his firewalls more quickly than he normally would and Prowl a steady, calm but powerful presence on the other side. The moment he was able Prowl swept in, scanned the files and pronounced it good with a grateful brush of his field and mind. Even in this moment where things could have gone so horribly wrong, Prowl's natural curiosity showed. He didn't poke at what he wasn't given, but as he watched their short conversation unfold he was utterly fascinated by the way Radiance could take such tiny bits of information and extrapolate so far beyond them.

With a gentle kiss, Prowl withdrew from Radiance's processors and unhooked them so Radiance could go into the hard reboot required to properly set the edits.

Radiance's visor went dark, the frame sagged with the sound of systems forced into a sudden shutdown, and for almost a dozen nanokliks everything was still and absolutely silent before the clicks and whirrs of mechanics broke the moment.

Joints locked, the visor switched on, and Radiance had a moment of startled, unpleasant disorientation before the markers he'd left for himself linked back in, helping create a welcome sense of continuity. He lifted his head and looked down at Prowl. "I'm..." he said, then frowned and cocked his head. He'd learned something, something too close to the truth, or maybe even the truth itself, and chosen to delete it. "I distressed you," he murmured, and touched their helms together. "I'm sorry. I know I didn't mean to."

"I know as well," Prowl kissed him gently. "I said too much, and you did what you do best and worked out far too much from a small slip. It was nothing we do not intend to tell you before we triad, but not yet." He let out a soft x-vent. "It's too dangerous now."

Radiance nodded and settled back down with his arms wrapped tightly around his lover, carefully reviewing the pieces he'd kept, not in an attempt to discover what he'd deleted, but to realize why those had been left.

Strongest of all the segments that remained were his own emotions, deep concern for Prowl, a clawing need to support him and help him. As he carefully filtered through that in the background, something in Prowl's last words suddenly caught up to him. "You...think there is a chance we will triad," he said, and tried not to feel too embarrassingly giddy about that.

Prowl slid his arms around Radiance in an easy embrace. "I want to, Saxo likes you well enough to let you in, you seem to want to," he smiled gently and relaxed, content in the embrace and this gift of not having to be the strong one for a little while. "It's just too early. I really do need the time to be utterly sure Saxo's settled and isn't just humoring me by agreeing to see you. After all I've done to be with him, I won't rush this and risk pushing him away or make him feel like he's not enough." Prowl paused. "He's not Praxian, though I'm fairly sure you already knew that. The cosmetic work was to make moving here easier."

"I did know. I'm just thrilled you don't think I'll botch the courting," Radiance admitted with a soft laugh. "My last one did not end successfully."

"I should be sorry to hear that, but since it means you're single, I find it difficult to be." Prowl snuggled his Praxian-shaped pillow. "I'm not going to hold your talent at connecting things against you. Not after what you just did for me."

Radiance nuzzled him. "Since I suspect you might not still be here if I hadn't..." He pressed a soft, easy kiss against Prowl's mouth. "I'm not giving you up so easily. Not when you need me, not when I can help you." Another kiss, tender, soothing. "I know you haven't grieved properly, I know you're not even sure how. I want you to try."

Prowl returned the kisses, then nuzzled against Radiance's neck as he processed and then reprocessed the request, the risks, the consequences and potential benefits. The old losses didn't bother him. They were triggered so rarely. But if he could no longer be off balance after visiting the twins... "How do I try to grieve?"

"You already are, dear one," Radiance murmured. "In your spark. It's deep, but there's a wound there. Something you need to feel for more than three orns. Let's start simple," he said, arms tight around his lover. "Remember the first time you saw them and held them."

Prowl hummed, not entirely sure of the point of it, but willing to go along. He opened the file that was the twins' separation. It wasn't any higher resolution than a normal memory, but it contained everything he saw and felt in those terrifying, exciting, messy and stressful joors in the small hotel room in Iacon. The hardline, guiding Jazz through the motions that were familiar to him but not the first time carrier or the two very excitable sparklings that wanted out. It scrolled by, the choices he made, guiding all three of them, forcing Sunstreaker to still while Sideswipe emerged. The moment when they accepted their fuel and Prowl knew that Jazz would be all right.

As much as he loved the twins, it was nothing compared to the love he felt for his mate and his processors willing remained on that tangent. It was so much more real to him than the small lives he'd help bring into the world.

Radiance waited quietly, watching Prowl's expression, then lifted his hand and tapped against his helm. "Stop thinking about Saxo," he said. "I know how you teek when you're doing that. Just Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, the first time they recharged against you, playing with them, watching them grow armor...watching them almost be killed by their creator."

Prowl huffed but refocused. They were good memories, warm memories, but only one was at any higher resolution than orn to orn existence.

The evening he realized that Sunstreaker had inherited much of his processor structure and power. It brought a soft purr to his engine and smile to his face. Every other moment like that was similarly highlighted, whether it was in higher resolution or not, and he felt pride in traveling down that line of memories. He really was Sunstreaker's creator, and he had no doubt of it.

Those memories ended, and he reluctantly reviewed that moment of pure terror when his fledgling creator protocols, never meant to be possessive but learning to, were faced with his mate advanced on his creations. By rights, by everything in the culture that had created him, Prowl should have stood back and quietly cleaned up the mess. It was Lord Jazz's right to destroy the half-breeds.

Yet Prowl didn't even think. There was no hesitation. He launched himself at his mate, his Lord, and slammed him into the far wall. He fought the furious mech to a standstill, hacked him, hurt him.

A sound of uncomprehending fear-grief-disbelief in his actions was absorbed by Radiance's neck cables while Prowl's plating rattled against him. Combat grade claws, installed by Mucit but now worn publicly as an Enforcer, scraped against armor designed to take abuse, and Radiance didn't even flinch.

"You love them," Radiance murmured. "You should have had a life with them, caring for them, watching them become who they will be. They should have known love, never fear, never hate. Tell me, did you have any say in their youngling upgrades?"

"No," Prowl trembled, his voice unsteady and his field still reeking of those terrifying movements as he worked to pack it all away again. "Didn't even know if they had them until I contacted Amberwave for this visit."

"No, don't push that fear away," Radiance said. "You need to feel that. If you didn't even know they had their upgrades, what else don't you know? What else are you missing? What else could happen to them, with you so far away?"

"Anything," Prowl admitted, fighting his basic reflex to package disruptive reactions away. "Anything could happen. Anything."

"And you will have to live with that," Radiance kept their helms together. "Accept that fact, don't ignore it. Losing a creation, having them torn from you, sending them away of your own free will...that should hurt. It does hurt, I can see it in every line of your frame when you say goodbye to them, even for just one night."

Prowl was still, pitting that statement against experience, coding and training. He wanted to say that it shouldn't hurt him. That normal to Radiance didn't mean it was normal for a seneschal. He didn't dare, though, because that would be giving Radiance too much and begin the ugly process of memory editing again.

"Pantera..." Radiance murmured, frowning at the lack of everything he'd been feeling in Prowl's field not even a groon ago. He sighed and pressed against him. "Guess this isn't the kind of thing you can force yourself to do, or you're too good at ignoring it. I'm worried about you. I'm staying the night when we get back to Praxus, even if Saxo isn't there."

"I've ignored it my entire existence," Prowl sighed, his field wrapping around Radiance with thanks and reassurance. "Grieving for a few orns and moving on is normal to me. It's simply how I've always done it. I know you mean well. It's not going to be so simple to implement. It might help Saxo a lot though. His emotional protocols are far more normal."

"Saxo already has someone to support him when he needs it," Radiance said with a fond smile. He trace Prowl's helm, slow and thoughtful. "I think... you've been through as much as he has, haven't you. I picked it up on him right away, but you..." He hummed. "I mean it when I say I want to be here for you."

"Thank you," Prowl leaned into the touch, his optics slowly powering down and his field warm, even a bit giddy. "Haven't had anyone to lean on since my carrier deactivated himself."

Radiance's field flickered in startled surprise at how easily Prowl could remember something like that. "Deactivated himself," he said softly. "I...think I shouldn't ask. I don't want to draw anything you don't want me to." He sighed. "Feels too good to hold you."

"It's nothing special," Prowl murmured, already half in recharge and very happy to be held rather than be the one holding. Nothing in his field or frame betrayed that he was speaking of one of the most painful events in his memory. "His carrier went insane while he watched. When he realized he was too, he drove a vibro blade through his spark rather than deteriorate to the point of uselessness. Same choice I'll make if it starts to happen. I have to be useful. Need to be functional."

Radiance nuzzled him, stroking and petting. "Saxo and I will make sure of that," he promised. "We'll make sure you're around for a long time."

"I want to be," Prowl whispered before slipping into a peaceful recharge.

SxSxSxSxSxSxSxSx S===================S SxSxSxSxSxSxSxS

Radiance began to boot with the distinct pleasure of a warm, affectionate frame against his back and light hands questioning if he was interested in more direct pleasure. He hummed and pressed back with his hips, covering the wandering fingers with his own, enjoying the last of a slow boot with another field twined with his own. He'd gotten so used to recharging alone, it was still a pleasant surprise to rouse to this.

"You started up in a good mood," he said, feeling the contented rumbling of the engines behind him.

"Reflex," Prowl chuckled, low and soft, while leaving no doubt he could have ignored it if he wished to. "You know Saxo's appetite for pleasure." He kissed the back of Radiance's neck.

"Oh, that I do," Radiance said, grinning. He reached back, seeking out Prowl's waist and hip for light, teasing touches. "Though I was rather hoping I was the inspiration."

"You are for not ignoring it," Prowl purred, his field teasing and playful along with his hands as he pressed into the touch. "Tell me what turns you on. What thought of me do you hold when you jack off?"

Radiance shivered and gasped softly, used to hearing Prowl's more erotic questions directed at Jazz, not him, and it made his engines run just a little hotter. "Your posture," he murmured, pointless to deny the many, many nights spent alone spilling into his own fingers with thoughts of Prowl and Jazz in his processors. "Watching your carriage go from that steady, commanding presence you have, to being completely sprawled out and strutless in ecstasy."

Prowl's engines revved and his fingers slipped into Radiance's hip joint, teasing with feather-light touches as his field spoke of eagerness. "Am I over you or under you, lover? Buried deep inside you, or with my legs spread and your fluids seeping out of me?"

Radiance grinned. "It depends on if I'm jacking off or riding a toy," he said, laughing softly. "But you said jacking off, so..." He purred deeply, pushing his aft against Prowl's pelvis. "Spread out, filled with my spike."

"You do know how much I enjoy that," Prowl rumbled with a nuzzle, his valve cover sliding open as his fingers found and traced Radiance's spike cover. "How much I get off on my lover's enjoyment. How I enjoy playing out a fantasy or two before we're spent. You'd like to play out a fantasy with me?"

"Watching you become undone with as little touch as possible, sweet one," Radiance purred, enjoying the faint scent of lubricant as his cover drew away beneath the light touch, letting the tip of his spike slip out. He lifted himself up, turning so he was facing Prowl, and moved halfway over him, forcing him more onto his back. "It's slow," he grinned. "Torturous."

"It will end in a hard reboot if done right," Prowl shivered in anticipation as he smoothly surrendered full control to the other mech. "Even if we have to keep this round a bit short." His slid his hands up Radiance's sides to caress his bumper and he willingly spread his legs, offering his valve and spike housing along with the rest of his frame. "I am yours to command."

Radiance hummed. "We'll have to work up to the kind of time I'm going to take with you some orn, anyway..." He shifted and settled himself between Prowl's open thighs, spike nudging up against plating, not even half extended. He leaned forward and placed his hands on Prowl's chest, fingers splayed out, and clicked on a light magnetic tug. "If you're very good, if you relax like I want you to..." He moved his hands down, exploring the familiar chassis. "Maybe I will let you overload twice before we need to leave." He looked up, met Prowl's optics. "But only if you can relax."

Prowl groaned and shivered in pleasure, his armor relaxing as he submitted completely, willingly, to his lover. "I look forward to it," he gasped out, optics dimming as his field unfurled with soft, pleasured delight at the promise. "It's been so long since a lover took their time with me."

Radiance smiled and hummed. "I've seen Saxo take his time with you. Not as much as he will in another few centuries when he's older, and after we've taught him." His hands came to settle on Prowl's waist, stroking lightly, teasing with his fingers. "Not as much as another lover has?"

"My first mate," Prowl moaned, his frame open and compliant under Radiance's touch. "He could draw this out for almost two orns by the end. He taught me patience."

"Two orns," Radiance purred deeply, moving down along Prowl's thighs, then traced down around his valve, not touching. "That's quite an accomplishment, we'll have to work towards that together." He quirked his wrists, tilting his palms inward, using the magnets to pull at the platelets without touching them.

Prowl's hips rolled into the almost-touch with a gasp as his helm fell back. "Yes! Yes, I want that. Want to push my limits again. I've missed his attentions."

Radiance pushed and pulled his hands, slowly rotating them, getting close enough to almost touch but never close enough, shifting the platelets between the two tugging fields as Prowl gasped and shifted into the touch and out to heighten the pleasure. "Is this Sunstreaker's sire, or further back?" he asked, hoping to keep his lover's processors occupied and distracted while playing with him.

"Much, much further back," Prowl answered readily, his vents wide and fans humming. "I was only a century into my adult upgrades when I worked up the courage to flirt with him. It feels like lifetimes ago."

"First love," Radiance said, smiling, enjoying the view of the glistening, twitching valve that he was being offered as Prowl tried to push his hips into contact. "Did he tie you down? Tease you?" His voice dipped, enjoying the topic that seemed unlinked to any trauma or the reason the pair were in hiding. "Make love to you?"

"No, insistently, always. He insisted I control myself," Prowl shivered, his temperature rising as much from memories as Radiance's treatments. "He taught me what to hope for, what a mate could be at its best."

Radiance shifted, moving his hands out of the way to slowly, carefully extend his spike, letting it brush up against the opening. "I bet he played with your doorwings," he said, leaning forward and bracing himself on one arm, while palming the other along the bottom edge, squeezing and letting the magnets pull at wires deeper than he could touch. "Was he beautiful?"

"Yes." Prowl moaned shamelessly as he pressed into the touches, his optics dim as he sank fully into the sensations. "I thought so. Not like Saxo is though, not like you. He was already an old mech when I was created. Mentor, lover, mate. He was everything to me while we were together."

It was honestly surprising after feeling so many different kinds of loss in Prowl's field that Radiance knew this wasn't a loss the mech was still grieving. There was nothing but warmth and fondness there. Memories of the good times rather than pain that they ended and the connection had been severed.

"Tell me about him?" Radiance asked, shifting his weight and switching hands, leaned far over Prowl and focused on what he was doing with his fingertips around the other Praxian's plating. "What he was like?"

Prowl smiled, warm and content in the memories. "No looking him up, okay?"

The memory of what happened when he knew too much too quickly had Radiance nodded in agreement without hesitation and Prowl kissed him gently.

"Susurrus was a chef, a good one. He often worked closely with my carrier to plan large events. That's how I first met him when I was a sparkling. I loved how creative he could be, taking such simple materials and envisioning so many fantastic creations. That was before my upgrades, but I was still a smart mech. He had a gift that I'd never comprehend. I could only enjoy. It was his very first lesson, and he was so terribly patient with my first encounter with something that would always be beyond me."

"Creativity, where you are a being of logic," Radiance hummed, settling down on top of Prowl and pressing his mouth against his neck, kissing and sucking. "What was he teaching you to do?"

"Accept that I couldn't do everything," Prowl chuckled with a bemused look. "It was not an easy lesson for me, one I still occasionally forget. I've become very skilled at unconsciously avoiding what I'm not good at and never will be."

Radiance grinned. "That's better than the other way around. By the dozenth time I've caught the same mech gun-running, I'm always tempted to sit him down and advise a lifestyle change." He moved his way up to Prowl's jaw, nibbling just beneath. "And after your upgrades?" he purred.

"Mmm, he knew I was interested ever since my mechling upgrades," Prowl chuckled with a self-deprecating tint to his field. "I didn't work up the courage to really do anything about it for almost three centuries. He was not encouraging me, and neither was anyone else. I learned much later that no one thought it was a good idea for me to become involved with a mech who only had a handful of centuries left, if that much. He taught me so much about loyalty, caring, self-control, pleasure, acceptance, business, the reality of the outside and letting go in the three and a half centuries we had. I wouldn't have avoided the connection even if I'd understood the pain that would come in the last few vorns as he shut down, unable to perform his function anymore. By then I'd witnessed several deactivations, but his ... Susurrus had been happy with his existence without clinging to it. He said that he was one of the blessed ones because he had been allowed to continue until his spark was ready to return to Primus. His end was calm, and as much as it hurt me, I knew he'd been ready to go."

Radiance had kept up his attentions while listening, but near the end, he stopped and nuzzled his face against Prowl's neck, smiling, before lifting his head and drawing his lover into a deep kiss. "I'm glad you had such a teacher," he murmured, then pushed up and flashed Prowl a grin. "Tell me what you enjoyed most about him in berth," he purred, running his hands down the front of Prowl's frame.

Prowl moaned and arched into the touch, taking a moment to organize his thoughts from so long ago. "He treated me as an equal. I was neither conquest nor a way to gain favors to him. My creator was of very high status within our social network. Few who knew who I was did not see me as either well above or well below them."

Radiance kept any conclusions or ideas drawn from that statement carefully to himself and cut the automatic reference searches that such a veiled statement caused in his processors, focusing instead on the beautiful, seductive curve of Prowl's hip and the chevron right above his spike cover, tracing both in turn. "He taught you pleasure, and control," he murmured. "Did he teach you to love power games, or did that come naturally? Or with another?"

"Our power games went no further than you are now," Prowl moaned softly, his optics flickering briefly as he sank into simply enjoying the pleasure for a moment. "Mostly it came naturally. A side affect of my position in society and a rigorously logical processor set."

"It formed you into a tantalizing lover," Radiance purred, then settled down and played with the doorwings for a while, enjoying the warm teek of Prowl's field, the way he was gasping, before his hands lowered back down the frame to pull at the platelets as he slipped his spike inside, slow and smooth. Once fully seated, he made himself comfortable, and held there, watching Prowl's face. "I'm glad I get to reap the benefits of his tutelage," he said, caressing his lover's hips.

"So am I," Prowl struggled to remain still, panting and optics bright as his gaze shifted between where their frames joined to Radiance's visored face. "Out of practice at this. Forgot how good it feels." He reached up to caress a black cheek plate before ghosting a finger over where visor met the metal. "May I see your optics?"

Radiance smiled and cocked his head before switching his primary visual feed over from his visor before lifting it with a thought, revealing same-colored optics. "One of these vorns, I'll succeed in convincing either you or Saxo to get a visor," he said, his hands ghosting over Prowl's pelvis, completely content to stay where he was, no movement in his own hips.

"Probably Saxo," Prowl chuckled, drawing his lover down for a kiss as his frame relaxed, the only effort was his valve lining rubbing along the spike inside it to keep their charge steady. "I like to let others see my face."

"You do have a lovely face, and beautiful optics," Radiance agreed, pulled Prowl's aft into his lap as he settled over him. "What do you think of mine?" he purred deeply, meeting Prowl's optics with his own.

Prowl smiled and brushed Radiance's cheek with his thumb. "Your optics are a noble's," he purred, a statement that mad no effort to hide that Prowl found that a turn-on as he drew the black face plates down for another kiss.

Radiance couldn't stop his grin against Prowl's mouth. "Lucky me," he hummed, and then pushed himself back up, moving into a sit, with a complete view of Prowl's body spread out before him, focusing on his hips. "Try to stay still," he instructed, and held his hands over Prowl's pelvis, then clicked the magnets back on, onlined another custom set in his spike, and rubbed slowly, catching the sensors and lining of Prowl's valve walls between the fields. His gaze stayed on Prowl's face, watching his optics go bright in shock and the intense concentration it took Prowl to moan and nothing more.

"Primus, Radiance!" Prowl gasped as a shudder rippled along his frame. "How?"

Radiance chuckled. "Trickery, beautiful one," he answered, moving his hand in slow circles, the rest of his frame still. "No...moving..." he murmured as Prowl twitched, concentrating on playing the magnets off each other and the metals in between them.

Prowl's vents went wide open as he moaned almost soundlessly, his optics flickering as he attempted to process the pleasure that had almost no corresponding charge. It was new, and part of him that had been abandoned with his adult upgrades reveled in it. This was pleasure. He didn't need to think about it. He didn't even need to understand it since the demand on him was stillness, not reciprocation. It was a bliss he'd long ago given up on enjoying again.

Radiance smiled and enjoyed his view and the small twitches that he could see going through the frame despite Prowl's best effort. "I think, we will take this very, very slow, until you can't stand it. Don't worry if you can't make it very long, I'll understand," he purred.

Pride, stubbornness and a level of self-knowledge Prowl had spent a long lifetime developing all kicked in at once and he growled in response to the challenge. Optics flashing he grinned up at his lover with a slightly insane grin. "You have no idea what you've just begun."

"Mhmm," Radiance hummed, almost indulgently, although he knew perfectly well the will he was going up against here. "We'll just see. We have to leave in half a joor if we want to be on time."

Prowl rippled his valve around his lover, silently asking if he was allowed to play without moving too. "Which might mean we'll have to stop and pick up when the day is over."

"And wouldn't that be unfortunate," Radiance grinned, making no indication that Prowl needed to stop. He brought his other hand forward and rubbed them next to each other, teasing and slow. "I'm not sure I want to spend the day like that, I'll just have to try my hardest."

He moved quietly for a while, enjoying Prowl's gasps and the way he could feel the hips wanting to lift off the berth, admiring the self restraint it was taking his lover to keep still. "Imagine tying Saxo up, doing this to him while you talk to him, giving him no say in the matter."

"He'd either never last, or glitch and not move until I hardlined that it was okay," Prowl moaned, only mildly disturbed by the facts. It wasn't as if Radiance knew what they'd been through, and it was a reasonable idea to normal mecha. "Hopefully the first."

"We'll have to try and see," Radiance shivered. "I bet he'd enjoy it. Probably last longer if you don't talk to him, though." He moved one hand up to caress over Prowl's spike cover, tracing magnetized fingers around the edges. It snapped open with a deep moan from Prowl as his spike extended into the field in rush.

"Know he would," Prowl gasped, flexing his valve in a ripple along Radiance's spike, rubbing it in tiny motions. When Radiance moved to trace his chevron Prowl keened and bucked, startled as much as blissed out by the sudden effect of strong electromagnets so close to his processors.

Radiance's engines revved at the sight of movement, thrilled to have been able to cause it, then curled his fingers around the extended spike without touching and started to stroke as he rubbed over Prowl's valve, his own spike starting to ache with the effort of not moving. "Damn, mech," he gasped.

"Can't wait until we have orns to play this out properly," Prowl's moan shivered, his optics bright as it finally sank in that as worked up as he felt, his charge was barely above normal. He focused more effort on working every part of his valve mechanics to stimulate the spike inside him while the magnetic field moving along his spike drew an undulating, moaning keen from his vocalizer. "Looking forward to my turn to tease you," he panted.

"As payback?" Radiance asked, voice starting to strain with the same frustrating buildup of sensation with no accompanying charge in his system. "Think I'd enjoy that. Valve's tight, lover, something you want?" he purred teasingly.

"To see how much I remember of how to take my time," Prowl moaned, his optics flickering. "Want you to move, to flood me with your pleasures."

Radiance gave a soft, moaning gasp, and let one finger ghost up and down Prowl's spike as he twitched his hips, just slightly. "Relaxed yet?" he asked, heat surging through him at the sight of Prowl's sprawled frame, the sound of his pants, the sultry, hungry look on those normally stern faceplates.

"Very," Prowl relaxed every cable and tensor in his fame, allowing him to go limp under his lover. "It feels good."

"Good," Radiance purred. "That's all I ask." Slowly, very, very slowly, he started to rock his hips, no more than a barely perceptible twitch at first, as light as he could stand it, despite the straining need evidenced by his fans.

It seemed to take an eternity before he allowed himself to pull any real visible length of his spike out to watch disappearing again, and by then he was shaking almost as badly as Prowl was. His fingers relaxed around his lover's spike, stroking in time with the gradual, torturous pace he was trying to hold. Charge started to flicker and grow, Radiance groaned, and in one, sudden thrust, couldn't hold that speed and his frame bucked forward as he drove into his lover.

It was the signal a nearly delirious Prowl was waiting for. He reached up to grab Radiance's shoulders as his hips rotated and knees came up, curling his legs along his lover's. "Yes," Prowl hissed, shivering with the waves of pleasure rolling through him. He pulled Radiance down for a heated kiss and bucked his hips up, demanding, while his valve tightened and rippled, trying to pull the spike in deeper.

Radiance only too happily complied, panting against Prowl's mouth, cradling his lover's helm, using all of his strength to hold out as long as he could. "Lover, lover," he moaned. "Let go, give in, let me hold you while you rock."

With a moan Prowl stopped resisting, shifted fractionally for the next thrust and shuddered with the rush of pleasure that crackled through him. With one more tiny shift Radiance's next thrust exploded sensation through him and Prowl's frame tightened. He keened and his helm fell back, his optics flickering and features tight with bliss that overrode even his ability to think, and he didn't hear Radiance's shout above him, or feel the next hard drive of his lover's spike, but the transfluid that flooded him and the releasing charge that jumped from frame to frame pushed a second, whiting-out overload.

When he finished booting, Prowl was first aware of the frame above his, the arm curled around his head, the fingers running over his helm. "That was very good," Radiance murmured, pleasure and pride clear in his field and in the soft kiss he pressed against Prowl's mouth.

Prowl tried to return it, uncoordinated though he was, and hummed something to the affirmative. He could be quite content to remain just like this for quite a while if he didn't have an obligation that required cleaning up and moving, relaxed and contented under the stroking magnetized hands that were roaming over his frame, rubbing and soothing.

All too soon, Radiance nuzzled him. "We need to leave soon. And we should probably wash first if you don't want to cause a scandal."

"True, even if they're all sure we're already doing this," Prowl murmured, claiming a last lingering kiss before he was ready to move. Cleaning up went fast with two mecha skilled at removing evidence of a quick frag and before long they were on their way to pick up the younglings, excited for the day and to spend that time with each other.