Title: Allowances

Rating: K+

Continuity: G1?

Characters: Jazz, Prowl, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Prompt: 6. High-Grade

"Hunt th' Still?" Jazz asked as he approached his bondmate. Prowl was crouched at the end of a hallway, peering around the corner and down the hall.

The Praxian glanced up at the saboteur, then turned back down the hall. "You know I do not like the fact that you named it as such."

"What? 'S what yer doin'. Huntin' th' Still."

Prowl just gave him a disdainful glance and turned back to watching the hall.

"Y'know," Jazz said after a moment, "You could jus' watch through th' security cameras."

"They have been disabled."

"Oh."

Another silence, and Jazz peeked around the corner as well, leaning over his bondmate to do so.

"Y'know... Ya could jus' ask me t' find it."

"Would you do so?"

Jazz gave an unrepentant grin. "Ah'd find it. Dunno if Ah'd tell ya."

"Hence the watching on my own."

"Or you could jus' leave 'em be. Th' army profits off their moonlightin', ya know."

Prowl vented and stood, but said nothing as he turned and walked with long strides down the hall. Jazz followed, snickering.

. . .oOo.

"What did we do this time?" Sideswipe moaned as he entered Prowl's office and took one of the two chairs in front of the large, imposing desk.

Prowl simply stared, waiting until Sunstreaker sat as well. For a long time, silence stretched between the three of them. Then, Prowl spoke.

"I understand you have set up yet another high-grade still."

Sideswipe, as a professional liar and pranker, didn't react other than raising an optic ridge. "So what if I have?"

"I have also been led to understand that the Autobots, as a whole, profit from a small amount of high-grade."

Again, silence stretched between them.

"Um... Prowl? What are you saying?" Sideswipe finally said, blinking rapidly.

"I am saying," the tactician said with a sparkle in his golden optics, "that there is an unused storage closet in the lower decks. No one ever goes there save for routine patrols, and there is a registered energy leak in said room that no one has ever been able to fix, mainly because no one has time."

It took the barest fraction of a klik for Sideswipe to get what Prowl was hinting. His optics widened. "Are you serious?"

"I was not aware I possessed a sense of humor. I am always serious, Sideswipe."

That little sparkle was back, and Sideswipe was beginning to think that he liked this particular expression on the tactician.

"Thank you, Prowl," he said, grinning.

"For what? I merely informed you that Storage Bay B-13 is currently not in use."

Sideswipe exchanged a gleeful glance with his brother, then grinned at his commander. "Well... Um... I guess we'll see you around, Prowl?"

"Indeed you will. Have a good orn, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker."

And as the Twins left, Prowl allowed himself a little smirk.