Hello! It's been way longer than I'd meant it to be since I updated, but April was a seriously rough month. I made it through, though, and I kept typing when I could. This really was a fun chapter to write. I hope you all enjoy it! ^-^

Chapter 6

Prowl softly touches the top of the gold box. "It is called a 'bespeak box,'" he says slowly, trying to sort out what order he should explain things. Name is of first importance, of course; that much is easy, and he uses the Praxian term rather than the Cybertronian Standard translation. Praxian is a far prettier language.

"Bespeak…" Auri echoes the Praxian word with a tone of curiosity.

"Bespeak," Prowl repeats gently yet with certainty, putting the correct high Praxian accent on it. The eloquence of the accent makes Auri smile, and her smile puts Prowl's self-doubts away. "It means to ask for in advance, or reserve for a purpose… or to make a solemn request."

"You are indeed solemn," she says gently, studying his expression with adoration.

"It's not a light thing I'll be asking…" he says, his optics intense and tender as they rest on her face. "To love me… that's impressive in itself, but to… live with me and endure my faults and stay with me forever, and meet my trials by my side and fight my battles with me… I…" he falters, overwhelmed at the magnitude of all these things. How can he ask anyone to do that?

"I can do that," Auri says, caressing his hand. "Enduring your faults means I also get to enjoy your attributes. Meeting your trials means I also share your delights. Fighting in your battles means I also triumph in your victories."

"The good things are easy to bear…" Prowl starts to counter gently.

"And the thoughts and memories of the good things make the hard things less difficult," Auri supplies.

Prowl chuckles softly. "One can never be very pessimistic with you around," he says, admiration and contentment in both his tone and his optics.

Auri grins with delight. Prowl can't help but smile. He thinks of kissing her and his optics rest on her face in contemplation but then he returns their attention dutifully to the box in her hands.

"It's an old box, I think," Auri says, tilting it gently. There are at least a few things inside; she feels and hears them shift.

"It is an old box indeed," Prowl confirms. "Passed down over many generations, usually from mother to son."

"This was your mother's?"

Prowl nods. Softly, he guides her to turn the box over, and his hand trembles. The smooth underside of the box has names carved into it, a lineage recorded in glyph. He knows them by spark, but Auri studies them with reverent curiosity. The newest set of names is "Prowl and Zephyr." Prowl puts his finger by the set of names just above them.

"My father and mother…" he says softly. "My father received the box from his mother, and he presented it to my mother on their bespeak day… She was killed before she could pass it on to me herself, but it was kept for me and given to me when I was older." He moves his finger up to the previous set. "My father's mother and father…" He moves his finger up to the next names. "And my grandfather's mother and father." He smiles as he moves his finger up to the next generation. "He was the second son in the family to find a sparkmate, so his brother passed the box to him. So the names above are his brother and sister-by-vow, and then the names above that are their father and mother."

"I really like this name…" Auri says softly, pointing one out.

Prowl smiles with delight tinged with sadness. "Zephyr and I thought about… naming… a sparkling that name one day."

"We should use it, then," Auri says with certainty, but then she hesitates. "Unless that would grieve you…?"

"No. I think it would be a lovely honor," Prowl answers.

"I also really like this name," Auri adds, pointing to Prowl's own name.

"We are not naming any sparklings after me," Prowl says with a hint of a chuckle.

"It's an earthling custom; don't want to try it since we live here?" Auri teases.

"No," he answers firmly, but the hint of a chuckle stays.

"I don't either," she says, just to be sure he knows she's merely teasing about it.

"I know." He kisses her softly and then guides her to turn the box upright again. He doesn't say anything, and Auri waits, watching his studious expression as he processes. He hesitates presently; then he looks to her.

She reassures him with her smile. "So, you have this box," she prompts. "You've courted your femme, you're ready to ask her to bond with you, so you surprise her with this box… then what?"

"I personally get tripped up by my failings," Prowl says, but in a gentle humorous tone.

"Prowl." Auri shakes her helm softly.

"My femme admires the box for a bit."

Auri grins. "I did that part."

"Then… umm…" His hand trembles, and Auri puts hers over it to still it and secure him. He runs air through his system, a quiet unsteady sound. "Then I speak… ask…"

Auri caresses his hand and fingers. Then she tilts her helm and kisses him softly. "What do you say?"

He twines his fingers gently around hers. "To… to bespeak is to ask for in advance, and now I ask ahead, may I forever walk with you, stand by you, stay with you, hold you secure, and call your spark my own?" The intensity and the passionate undertone in his quiet steady voice as he speaks the words makes Auri's spark pulse faster and sends a shiver of energy through her frame.

"Y-yes, you may," she answers just above a whisper of delight.

"And… will you do the same?"

"I will. Oh, Prowl-! I will…!"

Tenderly, he kisses her.

"Is it official now?" she asks eagerly, snuggling him as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her onto his lap to snuggle optimally.

"I… um, partially."

She giggles at that.

"We're not done with the box," he explains, though he sounds a bit distracted, purring in delight at having Auri snuggled up against him and nuzzling his neck.

"I should see what's in it, yeah?"

"Whenever you please," he answers. Nestled against his chest, Auri shifts a little to make room for the box's lid and then opens it up.

"It looks like a craft project or a game," Auri muses, peering at the contents. There is a stack of identical metal pentagons with ornate edges and smooth middles, and beside them, neatly wrapped, is a length of fine copper cording.

Prowl fingers the pentagons with a bit of a smile. "Well, these ones are somewhat like a craft project and game, both."

"What do we do with them?" Auri asks as Prowl lifts them from the box. "How many are there?"

"There are a dozen," Prowl answers. "They interlock and will form a solid, perfect 3D shape. But before we put them together, we'll write on each one. Over the next few weeks, we will think about characteristics and traits that we value and want to hold securely in our relationship, and we'll inscribe them on these to help us remember them."

"I like that."

Prowl gently returns the pentagons to the box, trading them for the copper cord. "I at least didn't forget to tell you the mythological story of how we're all connected in some way or another by copper thread woven by fates."

"I remember," Auri replies, touching the cord.

"We'll braid these cords to picture the interconnectedness of our lives and sparks going forward, and then we'll wear the braids on our arms until we use them in part of our bond ceremony."

"Are you good at braiding?" Auri asks with curiosity.

Prowl wasn't expecting that question, and his wings flick in surprise. "It's not something I've done often, but I put forth enough effort to make a good braid when I do. And… you…?"

Auri laughs contentedly. "I've done many braids for armor ornaments in my life. This copper cord seems a little more slippery and malleable than what I've used before, though."

"No worries. We have all the time we want today."

"Praxus and Starlight are coming here for lunch, so we might want to have things wrapped up by then."

"If it takes us four hours to make a braid…" Prowl starts contemplatively. He pauses, and Auri giggles. "It shouldn't take that long," he says.

Auri sets the box aside, Prowl still holding the copper cord.

"Is it already in pieces to braid?" Auri asks, looking for the loose ends.

"It is," Prowl answers, helping her by separating out the strands. "There are four strands: Your life, my life, your spark, my spark."

Auri sorts out the strands as Prowl holds the ends. "Is there a special braid?" she asks, smoothing out the strands.

"Any braid that pleases you," Prowl answers. "I cut them long enough for a moderately ornate braid, if you wanted to do something a little fancy. My skill level rests at simple, though."

"On braids alone, I think," Auri giggles.

"I'm bad at many things," Prowl replies with a gentle chuckle softening his words.

"But you're good at kissing."

"That I am," Prowl purrs, a growl of delight rising up from his chest as he cups Auri's face to reinforce his words with actions with a kiss on the cheek. She kisses him back, and her lips stray toward his lips, cautiously.

"Are we official enough…?" she asks, not quite kissing his lips.

"Yes." He kisses softly, introducing her to the energy of his lips on hers. She kisses him in return more fully and then pulls back slightly to make sure she wasn't kissing too much. "Yes, we are," Prowl says deeply, his cooling fans running a long sigh of contentment as they engage mutually in another kiss, firm and sweet.

Several kisses later, Auri tugs the nearly forgotten copper strands. "At this rate, it could take us four hours to make a braid."

Prowl chuckles. "I'm sure Praxus would have things to say if we did."

Auri's optics twinkle. "'Eeeew' being one of them."

"Along with 'mushy faces,'" Prowl adds, snuggling her, not minding the thought at all.

"We should get this done, though," Auri decides. She smoothes out the cords again, and Prowl holds the ends secure for her as she begins to braid, twisting the metallic cord neatly with a decorative knot and loop here and there. After a little bit, Prowl gently takes the strands from her and has her hold the end so he can make part of the braid. She shifts on his lap so he can reach the braid with the arm he'd been using to snuggle her, and her wings nudge up against him. Another soft purr rises from his throat and makes her smile. It's so nice to be this close, she thinks.

Moments later, though, Prowl's purr of contentment is replaced by a huff of mild frustration. His fingers are barely cooperating for him. While physical therapy has enabled him to write and type and grasp and open things, braiding is just a step beyond that. He'd not thought of that challenge.

Cycling air through his system, he starts to undo his uneven bit of braid, but Auri stops him.

"Is it bad symbolism to undo the braid?" she asks.

Prowl shakes his helm with a hint of a smile. "No. It's a reminder that when we mess up, we can always try again."

"Okay," Auri says, reassured.

Prowl starts his section of the braid again, more slowly, painstaking now. "I'm worse at this than I thought…"

"We still have a couple hours," Auri says, bringing a hint of a smile back to Prowl's face. The hint flickers as he continues working on the braid, and he sighs as his fingers start to seize up from the effort combined with the stress that is growing in him. "Stop a minute," Auri directs gently, putting her free hand over his. "I have an idea."

He stops and then watches as Auri takes a random bit of string from subspace and ties it to the end of their braid. Then she ties the other end of the string to the handle on the cabinet door.

"It's unorthodox, I'm sure," she says with a smile at Prowl's look of hesitation. "But I'm not going to sit around and watch you struggle."

"No objections," he answers, yielding his hands to hers as she takes them. Gently, she rubs his hands and fingers and softly massages out the tension that has gathered in them. His wings relax as well, and the light is his optics is soft and warm as he watches her.

Once she has worked the problems from his hands, she moves to settle beside him, and, taking up the braid again, she puts the strands in his hands and smoothes them out. Slowly, Prowl takes a strand and puts it in place, and Auri slips her hand in and straightens the strands under it, teasing out an uneven one. She puts the next strand in place, her fingers caressing Prowl's as she crosses her hand over his.

She looks up at him with a smile as he takes up the next strand.

"I like your way," he says, contentment purring in his words.

"I'm glad. I like it, too."

The braid goes slowly yet smoothly as they work together, Auri's fingers and Prowl's fingers caressing and weaving. They take breaks, for even though the task is easier with Auri helping Prowl's hands, tension still builds up in his fingers from the unusual trick he is asking of them. Every break has kisses and cuddles, and Auri rubs Prowl's fingers to chase away the tension. Toward the end of the braiding, on their last break, she kisses his knuckles, and he caresses her cheek in return before running his fingertips softly down her neck, brushing her throat with a soft energy. She watches his studious expression with widening optics and a growing smile, eager and curious to see how far down he'll go. Mischief twinkles in his optics before he goes too far, and he brings his hand up to tap her softly on the nose with a single finger. She giggles at the surprise.

After another kiss, they resume their work and complete the braid. Prowl pinches the ends of the metallic cord to secure the braid's end, and then he severs the braid close to the middle and hands Auri the longer piece of braid.

"How do we wear them?" she asks, looping the braid carefully around after a quick glance at Prowl's helm.

"Like this," he answers. He secures the braid to her shoulder armor with a few little armor clips and then crosses the braid over itself and wraps it around her bicep armor, making an armband of it and then adding another clip to keep it in place, leaving a length of the ends hanging like tassels. She watches with joy in her optics, with a hint of pride directed at the braid, not arrogant pride, but feeling success and accomplishment. It is a beautifully made braid, and knowing how much work they put into makes it that much more meaningful.

She nudges the clip with her fingertip to make sure it's secure, and then she smiles up at her Prowl.

"Your turn," he says, holding out half a dozen armor clips for her to use. He pauses as he realizes that she has looped his piece of braid into something like a wreath. "Um… no…" he says mildly as she grins and settles it on his helm like a crown. "That's… that's not…"

She giggles softly, her optics twinkling at him.

"Not… not… not how it's worn… No… n-no, Aurion-Blaze."

Her optics widen at her full name, and she takes the wreath off Prowl's helm a bit quickly, seeing the disconcerted look on his face. It wouldn't do to trip the circuits in his processor and cause him to glitch out, but that's exactly what she suspects would have happened if she'd left the wreath in place.

He runs air through his system and watches as she undoes the wreath, his optics still showing a hint of alarm. She peeks up at him, and apology fills her expression.

"I didn't realize doing that would disconcert you so badly," she says softly. "I'm sorry, my Prowl."

"It… it's okay," he murmurs. He finds a bit of a smile for her as his processor recovers. "No kisses for you if you make me glitch out, though," he says as she secures the braid properly on his shoulder with the clips. "Unconscious bots can't kiss."

Auri's optics twinkle up at him. "But you didn't glitch out, and you're not unconscious, so…"

"So I guess you're getting kissed."

"As soon as I finish this," she adds, twining the braid gently. Prowl watches and hands her the last clips to secure the braid. "There," she says and smiles up at him with adoration.

He kisses her. "Now we're completely official," he purrs.

The next few hours pass quickly for them as they snuggle and talk, sometimes teasing, sometimes very serious, always happy with each other. A knock on the door surprises them, but they recognize that it's Praxus's knock, and Auri giggles as she realizes that it must be lunchtime already. Prowl's optics twinkle as he moves to rise, but then a small wince crosses his face.

"We shouldn't have sat on the floor long," he realizes aloud, shifting his leg and trying to find a better way to get up. He hisses a second later. Auri stills him with a hand softly on his arm and shifts onto her knees and gets up on one pede before faltering. One wing of her wings gives a tiny flick.

Starlight knocks on the door now. "Pruddle?" she calls.

"Just a moment," Prowl calls back, as he gently gives Auri a boost and supports her as she rises. Then she takes his hands in hers and helps tug him up. "Thank you," he says softly, tilting his face toward hers.

Starlight taps on the door again. "It bend a couple moments."

Auri giggles softly at Prowl's baffled look.

"How long does she think a moment is?" he wonders aloud, going to the door, Auri following with one hand still holding his.

Upon unlocking the door, he opens it, and Starlight giggles up at them. "Yo s'prise lunch gonna get cold," she announces as she scampers in. She wobbles and corrects herself and smiles when she doesn't fall.

"What if we eat it right this moment?" Prowl asks, smiling after her as Praxus passes by with a carryout box.

"Maybe it stay warm fo two more minicks," Starlight teases, putting a hand on Prowl's desk to steady herself.

Prowl shuts the door, and he and Auri follow Praxus to join Starlight at Prowl's desk.

"Look, Auri! We bringed these coz ya like 'em," Starlight calls happily, motioning as Praxus takes a little dish of tin curls from his carryout box.

"That's lovely of you," Auri answers, nabbing one to nibble while Prowl moves a few data-pads off the top of his desk.

Praxus looks at dark inactive screen on Prowl's desk computer and then gives Prowl a small questioning look.

A smile hints at Prowl's optics. "We were sitting on the floor and talking for a while," he explains.

"Up, please!" Starlight says, reaching toward the desk. Auri lifts her up, and she kicks her little legs up so Auri can set her down in a seated position on the desk. "Thank you! Oh-! This pretty," Starlight chirps, noticing the braid on Auri's shoulder.

Auri blushes and murmurs, "Oh, oh, thank you. I think so too," and look at the braid with soft optics. Praxus, who looked over to see what his sister was talking about, gives Auri a look of strong curiosity. He doesn't know of any reason why she should be so bashful over an ornament; she never has been before. When she notice that he's fairly staring at her, the blush grows, but her optics twinkle, and she can help but smile because Prowl, standing beside Praxus, is smiling at her.

Praxus turns his optics to Prowl to check on the situation, and that's when he notices Prowl's matching braid.

"Shenanigans," he says, leaning in a little to scrutinize the braid. He doesn't know what it is, but he has suspicions.

"Ya got one, too, Prol!" Starlight realizes. "Do ev'ybody get one?"

Prowl chuckles softly at this. "No, sweet Star. These are very special braids. Auri and I wove them together as a symbol because Auri and I are going to be sparkmates."

Starlight looks from Prowl's braid to Auri's and doesn't comment.

"Do you know what that means?" Prowl asks, almost hesitantly.

"Umm…" she wriggles her pedes as she thinks. "Ya gonna belong t' her," she decides after a few moments.

Auri grins at that definition, but Prowl realizes in that second that he doesn't know exactly how to explain being a sparkmate.

Starlight's wings shift. "Wait, naw," she says before Prowl can find any words. "Ya already belong t' her. Oh… ya gonna live with her…?"

"Y-yes," Prowl manages.

Starlight looks disappointed, her little wings drooping. "I don't want ya t'live with Auri," she says softly. "I want ya t'stay with us."

"Oh, Starlight," Auri says, suppressing a fond grin of delight. "Prowl will stay with you and Praxus. He's not leaving; I'm going to come live with the three of you."

The little wings perk up, and Starlight's optics brighten. "All the time?" she asks, excited at the prospect.

"Yes," Prowl says with infinite contentment in his tone. "All the time."

"That be so fun!" Starlight squeaks with delight. "All the whole time! Auri!" She kicks her pedes and waves her hands and scrambles up to throw herself at Auri in an excited hug. "When ya live with us, ya can be mine sister!"

Auri laughs, delighted. "That sounds wonderful."

"Pwax!" Starlight squeals. "Auri gonna live with us!"

"I know," Praxus says with a soft smile. He touches the braid on Prowl's shoulder tenderly and doesn't know what to say, so he hugs Prowl and hides his face.

"Hey, the lunch actually gonna get cold now!" Starlight realizes. "We gotta eat it!" Auri settles her back on the desk.

Praxus goes and retrieves a chair for himself, and Auri perches herself on Prowl's lap once his sits. Praxus looks sideways at this new arrangement and then shifts a wing, knowing that he'll have to get used to this sort of thing. They are rather cute and cuddly like that, he thinks after a minute, but he would never willingly admit that to anyone.

"See, see…!" Starlight says in anticipation as Praxus opens up the box. "S'prise! Noodles! Yo favorite!"

"That's a perfect surprise lunch!" Auri tells her with delight. "Thank you!"

Starlight shrugs. "Mirage jus had'em fo ya. We didn't plan it."

"Well, thank you for delivering it," Auri says, optics twinkling.

"And not eating them on the way," Prowl teases gently. Starlight giggles at that, her little wings flicking up.

The noodles, happily, weren't too cold, despite Starlight's concerns. They were, in fact, nicely warm and still almost hot thanks to the insulated carrier Mirage had packed them in. Starlight pleased herself by eating her portion with considerable skill using chopsticks. Prowl had taught her. She was still trying to teach Praxus, but he wasn't good at it and preferred using a fork. He would spend an hour trying paint something, but he wouldn't spend two minutes to pick up noodles properly with chopsticks, silly Praxus. Auri also wasn't good at chopsticks, but she didn't really try; she just kept tricking Prowl into giving her his bites of noodles off his chopsticks. Silly Auri. And silly Prowl, falling for the trick so many times.

"You're gonna choke if you giggle that much while eating, Star," Praxus says and shakes his helm at Prowl and Auri.

"I jus amoosed," Starlight explains.

Praxus shifts his wings. "Well… just wait until you stop giggling before you eat more noodles. Okay?"

"Okay." She grins at him. She makes sure she isn't giggling, and then she handles her little chopsticks neatly. "Ya gonna try 'em sticks again?" she asks.

Praxus sighs and looks at his noodles and fork. Then he smiles drily at her with fondness softening his expression. "Maybe I'll try them later," he says, and she beams encouragingly at him.

"'Em jus takes practice," she says. "Like ya practice paints. Jus keep practicin' sticks more. Today. An' tomorrow, too," she adds firmly.

"Starlight," Prowl says gently. "If he wants to learn he will try. You can encourage him, but don't push him."

"But he needs t' learn!" Starlight objects, wings flicking in defiance. "How he gonna learn if nobody gets'em t'practice?!"

Praxus's optics widen in dismay at this sudden backtalk; Prowl's optics widen, too, but mostly just because he's surprised at the sudden strongness in her tone. Auri watches surreptitiously, interested in how he'll answer.

"Learning how to use chopsticks is not very important, sweet Star," Prowl answers, in no way dismissive; his tone is his usual serious tone, gentled by his care for the youngling. Starlight purses her lips slightly, and Prowl goes on, explaining, "You and I find it fun to use them, but they are not required. I taught you because you wanted to learn. Praxus doesn't really want to learn how to use them, so we encourage him when he tries, and we let him be in peace when he doesn't."

Starlight looks from Prowl to Praxus and then at some of the noodles.

"It's also not your job to make him learn-"

"I'm his sister!" Starlight exclaims, outraged, tiny wings pinning up.

Prowl's optics flicker in surprise, and his wings give a twitch before he controls them.

"You are his sister, indeed," he answers, keeping his focus on Starlight though he sees Praxus's wings lower. "You're his younger sister, though. You can share information and guide and encourage him and help him every way you can, but it's not your job to boss him and tell him what to do."

Starlight frowns, looking confused. "Why? He my brother."

"Because he is your guardian as well as your brother. You need to be respectful of him as a guardian."

"Oh…" She widens her optics, reconsidering things. Her wings dip respectfully and she giggles softly, a little abashed. "I fo'got… Jus 'cus ya mostly mine guardian. I fo'got Prax was, too."

"That is because he is a very, very good brother."

"Yeah!' Starlight beams up at Praxus, but then her expression turns puzzled. "Why ya putted up ya visor on ya face, Praxus?"

Praxus's lips smile, his optics hidden. "The visor helps me see things better sometimes, so maybe it will help me watch how to use chopsticks," he answers, twiddling a set of the sticks in his fingers.

"Oh!" Starlight says, delighted at the prospect of him trying. "Ya gonna practice?!"

"Yeah… 'm gonna practice a little today."

"An ya good at practicing stuffs," Starlight compliments before sticking almost too many noodles in her mouth. "Mmmpf…"

Auri is very still as she looks at Praxus. She and Prowl both know that's not the reason for the visor. She sees a blush burning his cheeks, visible just below the screening device. His jaw tightens. His wings are already stiff.

"Prax," Prowl starts, but Praxus answers quickly and cheerfully.

"Just watch- I'll give it a good try-" He shifts the chopsticks and then manages just enough dexterity to get a small bite.

"Good job," Prowl says quietly. Starlight's mouth is too full for a word, but she smiles up at her brother happily.

"Thanks," Praxus says with a happy tone.

Auri shifts against Prowl softly and looks up, making optic contact. They need to do something to help Praxus, but they need to do it discretely so Starlight won't realize that he's distressed and ask him why he's upset.

::I think he'll deflect again if I try to get him away,:: Prowl tells Auri quietly over their internal intercoms. ::He already did that once.::

::I noticed. So... we need to get Starlight away instead.::

::Yes. I think-::

"Prol?" Starlight queries, looking worried. Prowl drops off the intercom instantly.

"Yes?" he answers.

She hesitates, her shifting wings communicating some serious thought. "Can I talk with ya in private fo a minute?"

"You certainly can," Prowl answers with equal seriousness, though Auri has to bite back a smile; only a sparkling constantly around Ratchet would have ever asked such a question. "Shall we talk right now?" Prowl asks.

"Umm…" Starlight regards her empty noodle dish. "Yeah… but in private."

"We will do just that." Prowl displaces Auri gently and settles her back in his chair with a light kiss of relief. Then he lifts Starlight from his desk and takes her to the storage room.

"It's jus a minute," Starlight calls back to Praxus and Auri before Prowl closes the door.

Prowl seats her gently on a filing cabinet and sits on a spare stool facing her, optic to optic with her. "What's on your processor?" he asks tenderly as he sees her looking almost distressed.

"I…" She wriggles her pedes. "I worry 'bout Prax…" she says with a little catch in her voice. "I know em virus makes problems in his helm sometimes…" the conflicted expression on her face grows. "An I know I can't make him use chopsticks cuz he my guardian… but…" a tiny whimper enter her voice. "I fink… he don't know th' color names. He won't tell me any, cept one. An' how he gonna learn the color names if I can't teach him what I learn?" she cries.

Prowl's optics flicker. "Oh…" he says faintly to himself.

Starlight rubs her optics. "He jus wants t'paint, but-"

"Oh, oh, Starlight-" Prowl gathers her up and cradles her against his chest. "Little One, it's gonna be okay. He does know the colors' names. He knows them very well."

She sniffles, and her wings give a little hitch. "He does?"

"He does. It's just not quite time for you to learn the colors yet."

"Oh…!" she says, and Prowl smiles softly as he feels her little frame relax with relief against him. "Okay," she says, soundly quite content now.

Prowl rubs her back. "If he did not know his colors, and he wanted to learn them, if would be fine for you to teach them to him," he adds softly. "Anything you know -or learn- you can share with him. You just can't be bossy about it and tell him what to learn."

"Oh..."

"Did I explain that better than I did earlier?"

"I fink so," Starlight says in a way that makes Prowl smile.

"Well, if you feel worried about it later, let me know, and I'll try again. Okay?"

"Okay." She tilts her helm and smiles up at him.

He plants a kiss on her helm and takes a small cloth from subspace to dry the few little tears that had trickled down her cheeks. A sigh of relief runs through his system; while Starlight might cry or get upset over something without much warning, the negative emotions are usually cleared up and away almost just as quickly.

"Is there anything else you want to about?" Prowl asks; he truly cares about listening to the sparkling's concerns, but he also wants to buy time for Auri and Praxus.

"That everything right now," Starlight answers contentedly. "I ready for dessert."

Prowl chuckles softly. "Are we having dessert with lunch?"

"That a s'prise," Starlight giggles.

"Oh…" Prowl's wings give a small shift.

"Let's go," Starlight says eagerly, and Prowl cannot think of any excuses to delay. Auri should have gotten Praxus away from the office by now, anyway; she's good at handling him. He gets to his pedes and opens the door.

Then he freezes. Praxus and Auri both are still at his desk, and Praxus has his helm down on the desk, his face buried in his arms as he sobs.

"Pwaaaaax!" Starlight wails in distress. "What wrong?!" She starts to squirm to be put down so she can run to him, but then she realizes that Prowl will get her to Praxus faster as he quickens his stride. She pushes away from Prowl as soon as he sets her pedes on his desk, and then she puts her hands on Praxus's arms and helm, rubbing his armor to let him know that she's there. "What wrong, brother? What wrong?"

"I'm not your brother!" he sobs, and Auri gasps in dismay.

"Yes, ya are," Starlight says, looking at Praxus in amazement at such a preposterous statement.

"I'm not! I not- not even little bit-!"

"Praxus," Auri starts to intercede, but Praxus cuts her off with a howl.

"Nooooo! No!" Praxus puts his visor away to press his hands against his optics.

Starlight looks mildly disconcerted, little wings twitching. "Get yo curey blankie, Prax," she says. "Where yo blankie?"

Praxus sobs something unintelligible and doesn't retrieve his security blanket, so Prowl gently accesses his subspace and gets the blanket for him, putting it across his shoulders, neck, and helm.

"Ya better now," Starlight says, patting his helm through the blanket.

"N-n-no-oh," Praxus whimpers. "N-Never! Never better- n-not your brother."

"Prax-" Her little wings twitch with upset. Then she sighs and relaxes as she realizes something. "Oh, Prax, it okay. Ya still be mine brother even if I got Auri as mine sister. I not trading ya. I always keep ya as mine brother even if I got more brothers or sisters."

"Nooo!" Praxus bawls.

"Starlight has a good point," Prowl starts, but Praxus cuts him off with a half-scream.

"Not true!"

"Is true!" Starlight hollers to be heard.

"You don't know! You not know!" Praxus shrieks, flinching away from Starlight and covering his helm with his arms.

"Prax-" Prowl starts,

"NOT KNOW!" Praxus screams, sobbing. "NO!"

"YA GETTING UPSETTED OVER PRETEND FINGS!" Starlight yells over his sobs. "STOP IT!"

"Star," Prowl starts, and Auri reaches for the sparkling.

Starlight screams a high, sharp piercing scream, startling all three older bots. Auri and Prowl look at her with widened optics, but, more importantly, Praxus jerks his helm up and looks at her with shock and sudden awareness. She stares back at him as if trying to will him to understand that she'll never abandon him. His cooling system kicks on with a little hiccup, and he trembles as he tries to calm and steady himself for Starlight's sake. Prowl puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Starlight sits down but never breaks her gaze from her brother's face. He sniffles.

"I'm sorry," he says softly.

"It okay," she answers gently. "Em virus just telled ya pretend fings. Ya didn't mean it."

New tears well up in Praxus optics. He opens his mouth.

"Prax," Auri says, her voice low and meaningful. "Let's not worry about this right now."

Some of the tears run down Praxus's cheeks. "I- I c-can't bear it anymore."

"We help ya bear fings," Starlight says softly. "Always."

A tiny sob breaks from Praxus' lips. "You won't always."

"Praxus," Prowl says with a stern tone, taking the younger mech by the arm. "Do not say that. Come away for a minute and talk with me."

"No," Praxus replies quietly, not yielding Prowl's pull on his arm. He pushes at Prowl's fingers. "I- I'm n-not your brother, Starlight," he says with quiet resolution that breaks Prowl's spark.

Starlight sighs with patience. "Em virus telled ya pretend fings," she explains gently. "Jus cause I maked Auri my sister… it not mean ya not my brother. Ya still my brother. I jus have a sister now, too. It better. Anyway, ya have two sisters: me an Auri. I'll have a brother an a sister: you an Auri. Okay?"

Praxus shakes his helm. "It… it's not like that. We can adopt other bots and call them brother and sister, but I'm not really your brother. You're not really my sister. We have different parents. Your creators are very different bots than my creators. I... We aren't related at all."

Starlight stares at him, looking almost baffled.

"I'm sorry," he whimpers.

Auri and Prowl struggle to think of what to say, and Starlight looks at her pedes.

"I don't think ya know fings… lots," she says hesitantly and gently, shifting her wings respectfully. "Ya not my sibling. But ya are my brother."

"Uh…" Praxus says. He falters and looks at Prowl, who seems surprised but curious. "Uhh…" Praxus says again, looking back at Starlight. "Would… would you explain… that a little more to me?" he asks.

She beams up at him tenderly. "Uh-huh! Well, 'sibling' the bot what has the same creators as ya. If em a mech sibling, ya call em 'brother.' An em a femme sibling, that a 'sister.' But 'brother' an 'sister' are also bots ya jus love an look after an stay by always. Always! Even though they not ya sibling. That's what ya are, Prax. Ya my brother. But not my silbling."

"Oh-" Praxus chokes out softly as his optics fill with tears of relief and happiness. She puts out her hand to him, and he cradles her in a hug. "I… I thought… I… I didn't know. I didn't know what you knew. I thought… thought you believed we were siblings."

Starlight giggles. "I didn't even know what siblings were 'til Uplink 'splained em in kindergarten."

"Oh." Praxus glances up at Prowl and halfway smiles as he realizes that Uplink was well ahead of them. "I… I'm glad she explained things to you. She's a very smart bot… I wish I knew as many things as she does."

"Ya could come learn fings in kindergarten with me," Starlight offers eagerly. "Even color names!" she adds with a bit of excitement.

"Prax knows the colors' names," Prowl defends. "I told you he did." A tiny bit of sternness tinges his tone before he realizes it. He doesn't like his word being doubted.

Starlight tilts her helm and looks at Prowl with a hint of hesitance. "Well… maybe he don't know all em," she explains, but a telltale movement of her wings reveals that she did doubt.

"I do know them," Praxus confirms softly. "I was just afraid that when you learned them, you would realize that my optics are a difference color than yours, and then you would know that I'm not your br- your sibling."

Starlight shifts and stares at him with wide optics. "Oh…!" she says in wonder. "But, I always knew."

"You…" Praxus falters. "W-what did you think a-about them b-being d-different?"

"They extra pretty like the evening clouds an' stars with the sun down behind the planet-edge," Starlight answers matter-of-factly.

Praxus stares, his mouth falling partially open in amazement. Extra pretty? Like evening clouds? and stars?

"I think Prax's optics are beautiful, too," Auri says after quite a number of moments, once it's become clear that Praxus has –for once- lost the ability to speak.

"He mine beautiful brother," Starlight says, patting his cheek gently. Then she looks at Prowl with an adoring, coaxing smile. "May I learn just a couple colors early?" she asks hopefully.

"You want to know what color Praxus's optics are?" Prowl guesses.

Starlight nods, all eagerness, her own optics brightening; she loves it when Prowl knows exactly what she wants.

"They are purple," Prowl says tenderly, putting a hand on Praxus's helm.

"Purple…" Starlight echoes. She glows with infinite happiness. "Mine favorite color." She snuggles. "Brother, brother. Silly." Then she pauses and puts her helm up suddenly and looks at Auri with wide curiosity. "When ya come t'live with us as mine sister, are ya gonna bring Chromia an Ironhide, too? Where will we put'em at night?"