"Psst! Hey, 'Raj!"

Mirage stopped, looking back to the door that had been closed a moment ago. "Sideswipe?"

"Shh! Come here!" A dark hand reached out to take his hand and tug him inside.

Mirage giggled. "Much as I like a closet rendezvous, I have a feeling that's not what's going on here."

Sideswipe winked. "I'd happily ravage you, lover. Anytime, anywhere. But right now I need a favor." He held up a thin flute of almost golden liquid. It was a shade or two darker than Sunstreaker's paint scheme. "Will you try this out? It's a new blend for the Halloween party. I'm trying to get the color right."

Mirage took the flute. His natural suspicion towards any unidentified liquid had long since been mitigated in Sideswipe's case. His lover was a genius with energon, and the results were always impressive.

"Your brother tired of being your test subject?" he asked, a touch of humor in his voice.

"Sunny's… busy." Sideswipe chuckled. "I pouted and everything, but he said what he was doing was more important than 'another stupid concoction which will never get the color right anyway'." Dark fingers made air quotes in front of Sideswipe's stern impression of his brother.

"More important? This is delicious, by the way. The shade is nice, too." Mirage sipped at the flute again. "What's he doing?"

"Well! It's a real doozy." Sideswipe took Mirage's free hand again, and pulled him down to sit on his lap. "Promise you won't tell him I told?"

"I'm good at secrets, love." Also, now he was extremely curious.

Sideswipe grinned. "Sunny's chasing aft."

"No." Mirage grinned widely. "You're joking."

"Not joking." Sideswipe crossed his spark. "He is seriously chasing aft."

"Finally found the courage somewhere, then?" Mirage downed the rest of the new blend and put the empty flute aside, so he could put both hands around Sideswipe's neck. "Or is it a new mech he's chasing?"

"No, same one. I don't know what got into him, but he suddenly decided that this Halloween was it."

"Well, that's nothing but good news," Mirage purred. "Maybe we won't have him hovering over us anymore."

"Some privacy would be nice," Sideswipe agreed, nuzzling Mirage's cheek. "Hey, do you know what this room has?"

Mirage looked around. The storage closet was fairly bare, just a few crates and empty shelves concealing Sideswipe's semi-illegal still. "It looks plain to me. What does it have?"

Sideswipe licked up Mirage's helm vent and grinned. "Some privacy."

That tone went straight to Mirage's core, making his array heat up in interest. "That it does," he agreed, his own tone husky. "But first, I think, a celebration is in order." He stood and poured another two flutes full of the new energon blend, handing one to his lover. "A toast to Sunstreaker. May he succeed in his endeavors."

"May he get fragged by the end of the month," Sideswipe agreed, grinning. He downed the flute in one go and stepped up against Mirage's frame, hands teasing around to Mirage's back and pulling him in. "And may the privacy of this room convince this insanely sexy, beautiful mech whom I love to celebrate further with me."

Mirage downed his own flute and smiled. He let his hands trace Sideswipe's broad shoulders, until they were resting at the back of his neck. "I think the gods of private storage closets have heard you. It must be the correct grammar use." He stretched up and let his mouth caress Sideswipe's teasingly. "Now, how do we continue this celebration?"

Sideswipe's engine revved, and suddenly Mirage was pressed back against the wall. "Oh, I have some ideas."

Sideswipe was tall, strong, dominant, and it was enough to make Mirage melt. His panel clicked aside as his fans clicked on. "That was what I was hoping for."

Sideswipe grinned. With one hand, he reached out to lock the door.