Guest: No problem! I try to answer any questions I can for my stories. Glad you like my explanation. :3 And oh most definitely, I loved Age of Extinction!

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CHAPTER 20
A Growing Fondness

Mark and Sideswipe returned to a NEST filled a commotion. The first thing that Mark observed about the situation was there was shouting from a male voice he hadn't heard before. Sideswipe, however, clearly noticed and recognized the voice, given how his optics widened in despair. "Oh Primus. If we're getting new recruits, could it be ANYONE but him?" He groaned, noticing as Mark raised an eyebrow "I hope you enjoyed having free rein kid, because you're never getting away with anything again." He then added, turning to the side "I'll catch you later, shorty."

Mark continued to be confused as he approached the source of the sound. Mark soon found himself in the presence of Hound and a tall, black and white, door-winged mech, who had his hands on his hips, and a serious look on his face. "There you two are." Hound commented as he turned around "Where did you go? You've been gone half the day."

"We went to the arcade and then a movie..." Mark paused looking up at the other mech "You didn't say we were getting a new arrival, who is he?"

The other mech stared down at Mark with curiosity. "Is this your foster son?" He questioned Hound, who nodded his head "Well then, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Prowl, and I am the second-in-command under Optimus Prime." He explained, Mark nodded his head "It's nice to meet you, Markus. I've been hearing from your caretaker about you for the past few hours."

"Good things?" Mark asked, Prowl nodded "It's nice to meet you too." He turned to Hound "So I guess this got you off the hook as leader, huh?"

"Thank Primus." Hound laughed, clearly confirming that "I was not built for leadership."

Mark had to admit, there was a certain relief in knowing that. Given the fact that it meant they would have more time together, and he definitely liked the idea of that. Prowl crossed his arms, and stared at Hound. "You did a good job as far as I could tell though." Prowl explained "Though I remain uncertain of whether bringing a child into the equation was the best idea." It was Mark's turn to cross his arms at that "Don't worry, I won't step in and kick you out. I simply was surprised it was allowed, and under other circumstances, I may have found a different solution."

Mark felt somewhat annoyed by that, yet not at the same time. After all, not everyone had agreed with it at the beginning either. "Well, I probably would've been too stubborn to listen anyway." Mark chuckled, though Prowl looked less-than-amused at Hound's answer "I've come to enjoy this little bitlet's company far too much." He smiled, and winked at Mark "Besides he doesn't cause any trouble."

"He spends time with Sideswipe and you expect me to believe that?" Prowl asked.

"Eh, okay, he doesn't cause much trouble." Mark stuck his tongue out at Hound for that one "Aw, come on, you're still a growing sparkling, of course you cause a little trouble." Mark rolled his eyes, though he agreed, remembering when he nearly got himself burnt to a crisp by Grimlock "Either way the point is, I think you two will get along well enough."

Prowl watched the boy silently, uncertainty in his optics. But though the mech gave off a stern aura, Mark could tell that he wasn't all bad. But he would not be taking Sideswipe's warning lightly. After all, the mech usually knew his way around the higher-ups. "I suppose it won't be much worse than when we had Bumblebee growing up on base. At least this one is already properly toilet trained." Mark felt his face flush with embarrassment "At least, I trust you don't lubricate everywhere."

"Not since I was a baby!"

Hound couldn't help but chuckle, despite the sideways glare his charge shot him. Smirking, Hound simply picked Mark up and deposited him on his shoulder, as if in apology. "He's right, y'know. He may be a tiny thing, but he's about fourteen human years old." He explained to Prowl "He also has a temper that would have rivaled ole Ironhide's sometimes. So I'd refrain from asking questions like that in front of him."

"Duly noted." Prowl replied "Just know that I will be keeping an eye on you." He explained to Mark "If you keep the trouble to a minimum, I don't see any reason we'll have any trouble." He then added "Now if you'll excuse me, I have the data pads you left unfinished to attend to reading." He explained "And more. It seems I have much to catch up on."

Mark watched as Prowl gave a small salute, and left towards the Autobot side of the base. Hound eyed his foster son carefully, and smirked a little. "Prowl's a bit... Unorthodox, and strict." Mark turned towards Hound slowly "But he's a good mech, don't worry, I think you both will get on just fine. Though, maybe take the antics down to a minimum when yer around him." Mark nodded his head slowly, though he didn't promise, knowing that was hard for a kid like him "Are you feeling any better than you were, youngling?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you were feeling off, and what's more is I know you didn't recharge last night." Mark looked away at that, Hound definitely read him too well sometimes "I'm going to be around more now." He explained "If that helps to quell these fears of yours at all?" This time, he got a small shrug "How about that movie night? That'll be fun." Mark smiled a little at that "And now I can definitely join you."

"No work at all? Nothing stopping you?" Mark asked "No late night calls?"

"Just you, me, and whoever else is coming. There hasn't even been a peep from the Decepticons tonight." Hound reassured him "I think that might serve to make ye feel better, am I right?" Mark nodded slowly, smiling "You really worry about me when I'm out there, don't you?" He asked.

"Yeah." Mark replied, his eyes lowering again "More than you'll probably ever know."

Inwardly, Hound made a mental note that they would have to work on those fears more than they had.

...

As it turned out, Hound really, really liked getting to sit down and spend a night with Mark for once. Though he felt a certain tinge of guilt at leaving Prowl to handle the work he left behind, he quietly reminded himself that Prowl liked work. And what was more, he reminded him twice over comm that he had earned some down time with his charge, given all the work that Prowl had been told he had put in. Though Hound could have argued further, the mech decided against it for Mark's sake. The boy needed some time with him, and frankly, he hadn't gotten a lot of it lately.

And so he sat on the Transformer sized chair with Mark at his side while other humans surrounded them. He'd been careful to pick a spot where he wouldn't be in front of anyone so that everyone would be able to equally enjoy the movie. Though frankly, the show, which involved a quest to destroy a ring and a lot of nonsense, didn't grab his attention, he smiled as Mark's eyes seemed to light up and show excitement. He sighed, and leaned back, thankful that the movie had managed to distract him, or perhaps, that some alone time with his guardian did.

"You hated it." Mark noted as the lights came on and the movie finally came to an end "Seriously? How can someone not like Lord of the Rings? It's awesome!" He commented "The magic, the story, the characters. Sometimes I'd just love to live in Middle Earth." He added.

Hound chuckled at the child-like wish, rolling his optics. The boy definitely had quite the imagination sometimes, he had to give him that. "It was an interesting film, but they lost me when the ring turned the human invisible." Hound admitted.

"He's a Hobbit!"

"I thought the characters in the movie were supposed to be speaking English."

It was Mark's turn to give a quiet laugh at Hound, shaking his head slightly. He stood to his feet and walked towards the exit to the rec room with Hound on his heels. "You're not a fantasy guy, obviously." Mark put his hands in his pockets "You know Hound, I'm glad we got to spend most of today together..." He paused a moment, his eyes softening "I mean I get it, you're an Autobot and everything... But I've missed this when you got busy." He admitted.

Hound smiled a bit with a twinkle in his optics. It was certainly a pleasant surprise to hear this from his charge. "I missed it too, Mark. I know you're very understanding about my work and all but..." He paused a moment "It's really hard leaving you with one of the other 'Bots sometimes." Mark smiled a bit "I've become quite fond of yer presence."

When it came to a giant robot, Mark wondered if that was as close to "I love you" as he was ever going to get. He knew that it was early on, and he understood that he had only been on-base a little over a month. Yet he still silently yearned for that feeling of being "loved" by someone again, a yearning he still wasn't sure was fulfilled yet. But he also understood that "love" was a strong word, and while he looked up to and admired Hound, he would be a hypocrite to bring it up to the commando, especially since he wasn't sure it described his own feelings towards him.

"Hound, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, younglin'." Hound replied "What's on yer mind?"

Mark almost asked him the question, keyword: almost. Yet he stopped himself just short enough from the words to avoid that. "You know what, nothing, it's stupid." Mark waved it off a little bit "Stupid question." He shrugged his shoulders "So tomorrow, now that you're a little less busy... Do you think we could do something like this again? You know, maybe just the two of us though?"

Hound looked thoughtful, he knew that Prowl would want him back at work that day. But there was no saying that he couldn't put aside a part of his day to spend a little more time with Mark than he'd been able to as of late. "I'll have to return to my duties as normal most of the day." Hound replied "But we can go out and do something in the early evening. Maybe we can go star gazing again, I know you enjoy that."

Mark nodded his head a bit, grinning and looking up. "As long as you bring the stories. You know how I like listening to your old war stories." Hound grinned a little, nodding himself as his comm beeped "Well, at least he called at bedtime, right?" Mark asked as they stopped in front of his bedroom "You should go, no need to tuck me in or anything tonight."

"Alright, goodnight Mark." Hound nodded his head "Sleep tight, kiddo."

As Mark opened his door, Hound stood there for a long moment, thinking through things in his processor. Was this the night he'd finally be able to say it? He'd struggled with the three words for some time now. He knew he loved Mark like he would any biological child, that was getting clearer with each passing day. But was he sure? Was Mark going to reciprocate if he was sure? He felt his spark tighten and then opened his mouth. "Mark..." The boy stopped and turned to face Hound "... If you can't sleep again, come get me if you need to talk."

Mark nodded his head. "Alright, I will."

Hound frowned as the door slid closed, apparently, tonight was not going to be the night. And in the deep recesses of his processor, that notion bothered him more than he would admit.

...

"You hailed me, Prowl?" Hound asked as he poked his head inside his office "Were the reports not clear enough?"

Prowl turned around, facing the mech quietly. In his hands, he held a data pad, one of many that seemed to be scattered on the desk. The second-in-command sighed, shaking his head. "They were very through." Prowl shook his head and held up a hand "I wanted to discuss what our plans were in handling the situation with the boy after this all blows over and Cyclonus is either dead or in custody."

Hound raised his optic ridges in confusion, placing his hands on his hips. "What do you mean, our plans?" Hound asked as he tilted his head "I don't know what they are yet. But if things go well enough, I was thinkin' adoption was a good next step." He then added "That way we'd no longer have social services snooping around here as often, and Coulton-."

"You're planning to keep him?" Prowl asked "Are you sure that is wise? With the war and all?" He then paused a moment "Especially considering the fact that not all Autobots will be taking what his father did so... Understandingly." He explained, as Hound's optics narrowed "Don't get defensive, Hound, I'm not saying it's a terrible idea. I was simply asking if we've looked into other options."

"Like what? He doesn't have any family to go to!" Hound replied "We're the closest thing to one he's had since his sire passed on."

Prowl shook his head a bit, and stood to his feet. "I understand that. I just thought we should weigh our options, all things considered." He explained politely, his optics turning to look back at Hound "Hound, I want you to understand something."

Here we go... Hound thought to himself.

As if reading the mech's thoughts, Prowl's optics narrowed, and Hound straightened. The second-in-command's doorwings twitched slightly, and he took some steps forward, closing the door behind them in case Mark heard anything. "I don't mind the fact that Mark is going to be with us, possibly permanently." Hound visibly relaxed at that "So long as you answer my next question from an officer's and not a foster father's stanpoint." He began "Are we positive that the boy can be trusted?" Hound's optic ridges raised "Don't take this the wrong way, Hound. I'm only concerned for those on this base..."

"He has my utmost trust." Hound stated firmly "I know I may be biased because I formed a bond with him early on. But he is nothing like the man that sired him, other than, perhaps, the good parts of him that he told me of." Prowl stared at him, a small frown on his face "He is young, and has much to learn. I'm not going to stand here and say he's perfect." He commented, looking him in the optics "But he's never lied to me, or any of us, once. He's very upfront, honest, and trustworthy. And I will defend his allegiance to us in front of Prime himself if I must."

"You'll have to, you know, if he makes planetfall."

"And I am prepared to."

Prowl nodded his head, the look on his face almost unreadable. "Then I trust your judgement, Hound." He told him calmly "I will not overrule your decision to keep him on for as long as he wishes." He explained "You're dismissed for the moment, though I wish to see you in the morning." He explained "I have a few data pads to go through, and may have more questions as well."

"Yes sir."

As Hound stood, and left the room, Prowl sat back at his desk, and sighed. If he was certain of one thing since he arrived on Earth, it was that it was most definitely going to be an interesting time on Earth.

...

A/N: Woo, that chapter gave me a little trouble! Haha I hope that it ended up good enough. :)