The Diego Diaries: Fam 1 (529) edited
-0-At the Pit Stop
They sat down after everyone made space, Springer between Orion and Sunspot, Drift between Ironhide and Hero. The infants became silent, staring up at the two mechs with solemn expressions. Ratchet with a grin logged off a call he had made, then looked at the children. "These two are your family, infants. Springer," he said nodding to the slightly overwhelmed green and yellow mech, "is your older brother. Drift," he said nodding at the smirking white bot, "is your brother-in-law."
The infants listened to Ratchet, then looked at the two for a moment. "Ada? This one is my brother? Like Orion and Praxus and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and Sunspot and Prowler?" Hero asked sincerely.
Ratchet who was slightly boggled by her recitation nodded. "Yep."
Hero looked at him, then smiled. She held up her French fry. "Do you want to have some?"
Springer looked at her, then Ironhide who nodded. He bent down to take a bite, then sat back. "Thank you."
"You are welcome. Do you know my brothers?" she asked.
Springer looked around, then shook his helm. "No."
Hero nodded, then pointed. "That is my brother, Orion," she said as they all turned to Orion who was trying to poke a fry up his nose structure. Springer grinned as Sunspot pulled Orion's arm away. The tiny bot smiled. "POT!"
Hero grinned. "Orion is very funny."
"I can see that," Drift said with a chuckle.
"That is Praxus. That is Sunspot and our dog, Spot. That is Prowler. He's a baby," Hero said as they looked at the infant. "Do you want to hold him?"
Springer looked at her, then the baby. "I don't think-"
"You sure didn't," Ratchet said standing. He picked Prowler up and handed him to Springer. After a moment, the infant was in place and Springer was stuck. Drift smirked. "You look real natural that way."
A gimlet optic impaled the white bot immediately. Then Springer looked at Prowler who smiled up at him. "He's really cute."
"He is," Ratchet said as several bots came through the door and walked toward their table. "Well, as I live and breathe. Its the twins and Bluestreak."
Everyone turned, the infants squeed and chairs were pulled up to the already overcrowded table. Pulling a smaller table up, they redistributed the entire group, then settled. Hero who was sitting in Sunstreaker's lap smiled up at him. "Sunstreaker?"
"What?" he asked glancing down with a grin.
"Springer … that one?" she said pointing at the Wrecker chief, "is our brother. Just like you and Sideswipe."
For a moment it was silent, then the twins glanced sharply at Springer who paused the sandwich in his servo halfway to his mouth. "WHAT!?" -both.
Several seconds of WTF's and OMG/OP's* and WT-WT's* later …
Everyone sat smirking at Springer, then all optics turned to Ratchet. He sat back with a look of self congratulation on his own face. "Don't look at me. Take it up with *DEAR OLD DAD*!" he said with a chuckle.
All optics turned to Ironhide. He swallowed, then shrugged slightly. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
Raucous laughter greeted that, then died down as the fam eyeballed the new configuration. "Who is the oldest now?" Sideswipe asked glancing at Sunstreaker who was older than him by half a breem.
After a moment of self revelation among the major players, the sibling pecking order was re-established. Sunstreaker held pride of place followed by Sideswipe. Springer who was a mere half an orn younger was followed by Drift who was four orns younger. The top tier younglings were thus re-arrayed for the benefit of all.
Ratchet glanced at Ironhide. "What good looking younglings we have, Ironhide. I may have to wear sunglasses to handle the beauty coming off them."
Ironhide grinned. "Yes. They do favor my side of the family don't they."
That got slagged to the Pit and back, then orders arrived for the twins and Bluestreak who sat grinning at the idea of explaining all of this to Prowl.
The whiner.
"Does this mean if you and Prowl get slag faced Springer will give you a pass?" Blue asked innocently.
Ratchet snorted. "It won't look too good in the Autobot City Daily News to have your old ada and his sparring partner arrested for drunken brawling."
"It livens up the bond though," Ironhide said with a grin. "Nothing like an old reprobate in the family to keep things hopping."
"That's your job," Ratchet said smirking at Ironhide. "I'm the drunken brawler. You're the reprobate."
"Is that how it goes?" Ironhide asked with a grin as he took Prowler from Springer. "You're going to have to get used to the younglings. I expect you to step in and babysit once in a while."
"What?" Springer asked with surprise.
"Bonding with the family requires babysitting," Sideswipe said with a smirk as his plate arrived. "Get used to it."
"The fine print of adoption, I see," Drift replied. "I can see you thought this out really well," he said glancing at Springer who grinned in spite of himself.
"You do realize that this means you and I can't get loaded on Christmas Surprise and frag like turbo bunnies." Drift glanced at Ratchet. "I am assuming that you expect attendance on the requisite holidays."
"You are so right," Ratchet said with a grin. "No one gets out of this family alive."
That got the love it deserved as they sat chatting, joking and eating. Infants were passed around to the old and new members of the family as they celebrated Ironhide's great gall and Ratchet's overwhelming sense of the absurd.
-0-Later that same afternoon in Ops Center, Autobot City, Mars
He walked in pausing by the comm station to shoot the shit with Smokescreen, then continued to the table to sit with Prowl. Glancing up, Prowl nodded. "You look inordinately happy today, progeny."
Bluestreak grinned. "It has been a good orn. I have some news for you that you might want to consider."
Prowl sat back with a wary expression. "Why do I fear hearing this?"
"You shouldn't. Probably," Bluestreak said. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Ratchet and Ironhide adopted Springer."
Prowl looked at Bluestreak but all he could see was the rip roaring brawl that he had with Springer over the retrieval of Kup from a dangerous world that defied reality and possibility. He hadn't wanted to. Springer with the artfully placed fist disabused him of his notions. It had been horrendous and the bot he remembered there had died in the flames of their resurrection here. Now, Prowl would have not only okayed the mission, he would have joined it. "Those two fraggers. They are not only ahead, they are pulling away."
Bluestreak grinned.
-0-Drift and Springer, later
They walked to the apartment after lunch, a pleasant interlude in a hectic orn. The inquest had required security, a number of mechs were arrested the night before and required transport to the courts for trials before the magistrate. Some of them were borderline criminals, others were wild aft younglings who needed a slagging. There was a domestic dispute between three siblings and their bonds who had never gotten along EVER and were bringing their arguments here. A few drunks, a belligerent mini-con and several lost individuals who couldn't find their towers again until the street signs were explained on a datapad rounded out the haul.
They entered their building, rode up and got off on their floor. A short walk to the apartment and all was good in their world. Putting his guns down on the chair where he usually tossed them, Springer watched as Drift slipped his swords onto the racks where he kept them. He turned, then paused. "What do you think about adoption now?" he asked with a smirk.
"Truthfully?" Springer asked.
Drift nodded, then stared at Springer with a grin. "Yes."
"I think it rules," Springer said with a chuckle.
Drift nodded, then turned to walk to the wash rack. "I agree," he said disappearing into the berth room. Springer would join him later but the endless list of messages on the monitor required attention.
-0-Ambling along the street
"Well, that went very well," Ratchet said with a grin as he held the leash to several of the infants, all of whom wanted to go six different ways at the same time. It was like walking marbles, each rolling here and there on their own.
"Good thing. Don't want discord among the sparklings," Ironhide said with a grin.
"You know … I always liked Springer. He's a nice addition," Ratchet said with a grin. "Thanks, Ironhide."
"You're welcome," Ironhide said with his own grin.
They continued onward heading for the Childrens Park at Metroplex.
"Ironhide?"
"What?"
"Who is next?"
Ironhide nearly tripped over his peds
-0-Nearby
They lay on their berth taking a nap against the evening to come. Although Springer didn't have to walk a beat, he liked to make the rounds of the colony at night most of the decaorn. Drift was his partner there too. It was quiet and dark.
"Springer?"
"What?"
"You can't recharge either?"
"No. You?"
Drift grinned slightly. "Nope."
Pause.
"What do you really think about being adopted, Springer?"
Pause. "I think its a hoot. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. I forgot about all the extra stuff."
"Like brothers? You have a sister too," Drift replied.
Springer grinned. "I know. She's pretty sweet."
"What about your family? You never told me," Drift asked.
"I figured you knew from the bond," Springer said.
Pause.
"I don't know what happened. I was an only youngling. The family worked hard. I joined the Autobots on a lark with Roddy and never looked back. When the bombs fell I assumed everyone was dead. The old neighborhood was reduced to rubble and even looking around I couldn't find anything left."
"Iacon got slammed pretty hard," Drift agreed.
Pause.
"What about you, Drift?"
"I don't know either," Drift replied. "I got dumped in a youth center too, like the twins. Happened a lot in Kaon. I got arrested a lot as well. I guess my family either couldn't keep me or gave up. I doubt that they lived through the Fall."
Pause.
"They tried but the system was against them. I don't know more than that."
Springer nodded. "I'm sorry for that."
"I am too. But its like the rest of us. It's a rare mech or femme that has family like Ratchet and Ironhide. Maybe with the migrations that will change but it won't be fast," Drift said. He turned his helm to look at Springer through the dimness of their shuttered berth room. "I like the new family."
Springer grinned, then looked at Drift. "I do too. They expect us for Thanksgiving dinner. Do you know what that is?"
Drift paused a moment running the data, then nodded. "A holiday from Earth that Prime put in the calendar to honor the humans. We have to go to dinner, watch football and fight with our new siblings."
"Sounds like my kind of party," Springer said with a chuckle.
Drift grinned. "Me too."
They chatted quietly for a while before drifting off together.
-0-On the way to RTR Tools
"ADA!"
"What, Orion?"
"WHY WE GO SHE? I GO THERE! I DOING!"
"You played at the park for a long time. You played on all the toys. Now its time to visit the grandgenitors. Cookies, shortie," Ratchet said watching the aft end of the little bot sashaying ahead of both Ratchet and Ironhide.
"COOKIE!?" Orion asked glancing over his shoulder with a enormous grin.
"Yep," Ratchet replied.
HO-HO! PAX! COOKIE!" Orion said with a deep chuckle. "COOKIE GOOD. ME GIVE COOKIE TO SHE AND SHE AND SHE AND …" He came to a stop, then looked at everyone. Holding up his digits, he began to count them off. "Pax. Ho-Ho. Po-Po. POT!" He tapped them out silently, then looked up. "ADA!"
"What?" Ratchet asked with a grin.
"ALL SHE GET ONE!?"
"Yep."
"Good." Orion turned and began to walk heading toward the Business Plaza with everyone else. "All she get one. I get one. She gets one. Other she gets one. She and She get one. Ho-Ho?"
"What, Orion?" Hero asked pausing to let Orion catch up.
"You get cookie!" he said excitedly.
Hero smiled then took his servo after a momentary fumble of their hands. "I get one too. Isn't that nice, Orion? I bet Other Ada and Atar will let you help us get one."
"OTHER ADA GOOD! I LIKE OTHER ADA! I LIKE OTHER ATAR! I LIKE ..." He paused again. "ADA?"
"What?" Ratchet asked as Ironhide grinned from audial to audial.
"WHO SHE?"
"Appa."
Orion looked at him, then turned taking Hero's servo again. He took Praxus's servo too. "COME YOU ME! WE GO SHE! OTHER ADA … OTHER ATAR COME THERE! APPA TOO! COOKIES THERE!"
They ambled along chatting together, their babble intensely amusing to all around them. When they got to the plaza the infants led the way to RTR Tools. Entering the shop, squees were had along with kisses and hugs. They entered, then walked back to where Appa Ratchet sat with his books, pillows and blankets.
"OTHER APPA!" Orion said as he grabbed Appa Ratchet around the leg. He got a back scrub and a kiss, then the others did as well. They all at last stood grinning at him.
"Aren't you the most handsome family," Appa Ratchet said.
"OTHER APPA! WE COME COOKIES. YOU COOKIES?" Orion asked sweetly.
"Cookies? Are there cookies out there?" he asked knowing full well that there were. "Do you know where they are?"
Orion grinned. "I GET COOKIES! YOU OTHER APPA! YOU HERE! I GO YOU. SHE HELP ME," he said as he took Hero's servo. The two headed back to the office and storefront from the lounge in the work room.
"You better go, Ada," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "Primus knows what they will find and bring back."
Ravel turned and hurried after them. Appa Ratchet watched them go, then looked at Ratchet and Ironhide. "I hear there is another great grandson."
"There is. You will meet them at Thanksgiving Dinner in two orns," Ratchet said. "I'm cooking. Some of it anyway."
"Oh Primus," Ironhide said shaking his helm.
Ratchet slapped him on the back of his head. "Hush, Ironhide or I will go adopt more mechs."
"Don't do that on my account," Ironhide said as he pulled up a chair to sit. He shifted Prowler to his great grandfather who took him with a smile.
"This is one fine infant," Appa Ratchet said glancing up as everyone and the cookie basket came back to them. "Now when can we expect the next one?"
Ratchet the Younger howled. Ironhide the Only just grinned.
-0-TBC November 26, 2013
Translations: Fam = family. WTF = uh, sort of self explanatory. :D
OMG/P! =Oh my god or oh Primus which ever floats your boat as they say. We are nothing if not ecumenical. WT-WT = Cybertronian stuttering … What the! What the!
NOTES: In the complex world of Transformers there is masses of info on nearly everything but the family and personal life of the bots. A few are parents … Six Shot has a canon son and there is a femme who is canon aunt of a mech. All the rest is fanon or conjecture. There are city-states that hate each other, Tarn v Vos and other smaller things including the Circle and Knights. But the rest is left up to the writer to supply. Since this is about a civilization and culture reviving itself with the whole spectrum of behavior, stuff, food, entertainment and the like, I have to make it up or find what little things there are to build on.
I am going to be filling in some holes and putting out my own ideas and opinions of what constitutes family and regional life on Cybertron. In the world of poverty and unbalanced power in which the greatest number lived I am going to pose different things that could have helped them survive and get along. Between now and Christmas Surprise I will add this info. :D