Chapter 13

Prowl and Auri keep to lighter topics as they walk the rest of the way to Prowl's quarters, though they still lag behind their Starlight. The little femme gets herself mostly transformed once she reaches the door, but not quite entirely, and she sits down so she won't fall over while trying to get everything in the right place.

"Do you need some help?" Prowl asks with a sympathetic chuckle as he kneels to give her a hand.

"I do…" she says with tiny grunt, wagging one wing. "I not gotten this all figured out."

"It will come in time," Prowl assures her, his fingers gently shifting her little frame. "There you go… I think," he says after a few moments. "Does everything feel correct now?"

Starlight gives her frame a wriggle. Prowl helps her to her pedes, and she dances around a little. "Yes! Thank you." She bounces.

Prowl tries to get up, and he feels the pain in his knees that he felt earlier when he knelt to put the patches on Sunstreaker. Auri moves in and gives him her hands, helping him up.

"Are ya legs hurting ya again…?" Starlight asks softly, no longer bouncing, her little wings drooping in sympathy.

"My knees ache when I kneel," Prowl says, touching her helm. "I forgot about it."

"I wish they didnint," she says sadly.

"They'll be better in a while," Prowl reassures her, though he's not overly certain himself. Sometimes the aches and pains seem like they'll be endless, just like the war. He gives her a smile and then opens the door.

Starlight starts in and then dashes forward with delight. "Prax!" Her brother is sitting on the couch, and she goes to scramble onto his lap to hug him. For a little bot like herself, not being with him the whole afternoon suddenly feels like she hasn't seen him the entire day. He cuddles her and purrs over her, happy to see her, happy that she's happy. His hand armor has been newly painted and freshly polished, but she doesn't notice; she is just glad to be with her brother and bask in the glow of his purple optics.

"Did you have fun working in the pub?" Praxus asks, cuddling her.

"Yes, I did!" she beams. "So much fun! Arcee said I was a good little waitress, an Moonracer said I could be her new favorite. Ultra Magnus came, too, an maybe everybody, it seemed like...! An Auri came an helped me so much!" She looks around to see where Auri is, ready to include her in the conversation, but Auri is over at the counter where Prowl is looking in the cupboards, and neither are paying attention to the wingers on the couch.

"Sideswipe organized these," Prowl is murmuring. "And Praxus… hasn't helped matters."

Auri chuckles softly at that, peeking over his shoulder at the mishmash of spices and dishes and a couple towels.

Prowl pulls the towels out with a look of baffled disbelief. "Why are these…?" He shifts his wings. "These should be in the linen closet," he says with a shake of his helm.

Trading a kiss for the towels, Auri takes them from him. "I'll put them away for you."

"Thank you." His optics glow with fondness.

"Shall I get napkins and a tablecloth while I'm at?" she offers as she heads away.

"Wait… How is that resting like I'd planned for you?" Prowl teases lightly, but the shift of his wings tells her that he has no objection to her assistance.

"I won't lift a finger when it comes time for the cleanup," she answers back with a playful shrug of her shoulders, optics twinkling.

Prowl's chuckle is soft but audible, and he nods his helm. "Very well."

Still smiling to herself, Auri heads into the hallway to the closet. This is going to be her home so soon, so very soon, and the thought makes her feel like dancing. The day of the ceremony is very close but it still feels a little far away yet. A couple weekends, a number of workdays. Oh, but she'll keep busy, and the minutes will slip away. She tucks the towels on top of some other towels of similar size and then picks up a tablecloth from an odd place and finds a stack of napkins behind a box of soap. Glancing over the rest of the closet's contents, she suspects Prowl will want to give it a proper organizing as well. It's tidy enough, but the order of things isn't quite what she would expect for Prowl, nor is it what she would do. He wouldn't put the pillow cases on top of the towels, but rather beside the sheets. And it would make more sense to store the napkins in the cupboard in the mini-kitchen, rather than out here in the hallway.

She shuts the door contemplatively and makes her way back to Prowl.

"Did-?" they both start to ask each other at the same time. They both laugh then, too, and Prowl motions for Auri to go ahead.

"Did you find the spices and things you were looking for?" Auri asks.

"I did. Not where I would have expected them, but I found them." He brushes a fingertip against the stack of napkins, and it crosses her thumb softly as well, on purpose, putting a little thrill through her system as his touches did. "Did you find everything okay?"

"I did," she answers, smiling as she adds, "Not where I would have expected them, but…" she trails off as he chuckles. It's good to hear his chuckle.

"We'll have to set some time aside to organize everything properly, together –the two of us as well as Praxus," Prowl says as Auri sets the napkins and the tablecloth on the counter.

"That sounds like a good idea." Auri smiles contentedly. "That way we can agree on where things should be."

Prowl nods as he starts dispensing a little energon into a cube. He wants everything to be just right for their little family. Auri climbs up to sit on the counter beside her stack of table linen, perching contentedly and taking a rest while Prowl prepares their dinner.

"This place is perfect," she says, surveying the view.

"Not quite," Prowl says, giving her a bit of a smile, his optics twinkling.

"How so?" Auri asks, optics widening with wonder and curiosity.

"You don't live here yet," he answers, sprinkling spices into a cube, the flecks twinkling as they fall into the liquid.

Auri giggles, delighted. "I'll get that fixed for you very soon," she says, her wings shifting happily.

"Promise?" Prowl teases, leaning up to give her an intent look.

She swipes his nose softly with a finger. "I promise," she says, her spark warm happy. "Very soon."

"Perfect." Prowl gives a nod, and Auri sighs in contentment. It won't be actually perfect, of course, she knows; they have their own flaws. But it will be as close to perfect as possible.

OoOoO

The next couple days go quickly and slowly at different times, being filled with office work for Prowl and Auri both. As the weekend rolls in, though, they head over to the beach with Praxus and Starlight and a great big blanket so they can relax as they watch the sunset.

Prowl and Auri have spread out the blanket and settled down, and Praxus is investigating the wet sand with Starlight, the latter interested in finding seashells.

Auri smiles at the sight of them and then at Prowl as a sigh cycles through his system. She is sitting beside him, leaning against his shoulder comfortably, their senses relaxed to the world but alert to each other, their respective spark-pulses, the energy of their frames, the gentle pulls of the strengthening bond they share. They'd already had a bond, of course, the firm and supportive bond of close friends, but it's deepening now, twining farther into their sparks and their senses now that they are truly going to be sparkmates.

"Starlight's party is this upcoming week, and then our bonding ceremony is the following one," Auri purrs with complete contentment as she contemplates the future, something she's doing almost constantly, looking forward with all eagerness.

"And our house-welcoming party was in the past week," Prowl says with a small chuckle.

Auri grins up at him, optics twinkling as she sees the point he is making. "We've been quite at the center of social life," she reflects. She loves the excitement and the energy of being around the other bots, but she loves these quiet times as well, her enjoyment of them increased by Prowl's attention to her. "Hmm… what even shall we plan for in three weeks?" she teases, pretending to muse over the options.

"You will be the only one I'm socializing with that week," Prowl purrs, nuzzling her. "You'll be my guest of honor, and I shall feed you with the sweetest treats and mix you the tastiest energons."

"Hmmm…" She pretends to muse, pretending to be intrigued. Of course, she is interested, but this is a game. "Tell me more," she says, smiling. "I'll have to decide if I'll attend or not."

"Oh, I think you will." Prowl brushes his fingers close enough to her wing connectors in such a way that she has no doubt. "I'll have some quiet music playing in the background and some candles lit to add to the low lighting in the room…" Prowl's voice soft and enticing. "And the plushest pillows and the silkiest blankets and sheets on the bed. We'll snuggle, and I'll have a data-pad of poems to read to you, softly, in Praxian… or maybe I'll be able to remember some that I've memorized… or maybe I'll let you read… We'll take turns."

Auri nods contentedly, pleased with everything so far.

"After some reading, then… some kissing," Prowl says, drawing a tender finger across her lips. "And then… some more reading."

Auri chuckles softly. "You're teasing," she says, optics twinkling. That's not the direction she'd expect a bit of kissing to go.

"Tantalizing," Prowl whispers with a little purr in his undertone that makes her spark pulse faster, her frame warming, her cheeks blushing.

"Hey, this is family time," Praxus calls playfully, waving at them from the edge of the wet sand. He and Starlight are coming back with seashells cupped in their hands. "Not couple time."

"It will be family time as soon as you get to the blanket," Auri teases back, giving Prowl's jaw a caress.

"Run, Starlight!" Praxus says, laughing, hurrying a tiny bit. Starlight giggles and scampers forward for a couple steps, but she knows it's just a joke, and she doesn't want to trip and fall and drop her seashells, so Prowl and Auri have another minute or so to nuzzle and whisper.

"We got here," Starlight says once she reaches the blanket. She sets the shells down on one corner and then carefully kicks the sand out of her pedes away from the blanket, and Praxus scoops her up and gives her a gentle shake, making her giggle. "I not a spice jar," she gurgles in mirth.

"You're the sweetest spice," Praxus said. "Nom-nom-nom." He nuzzles her belly and then plops her gently onto the blanket.

"Oh, silly brother, my favorite silly brother," Starlight says, optics twinkling as she starts to sort through her shells.

Praxus kicks the sand from his own pedes and then plops down on the blanket himself. "I'm on the kissy blankie now," he teases, leaning over to nuzzle Auri playfully.

"So you are!" Auri laughs. She plants a kiss on his cheek. "There!"

"Oh, no," he chuckles. "Take that back and give it to Prowl instead." He kisses her cheek back, but she refuses to accept this "returned" kiss and gives him another.

"Oh fine, okay," he says, scooting over. "I'll give it to him myself."

Prowl tilts a tolerant wing and lets Praxus deliver the kiss.

"And that's enough before any humans come and think we're a little strange," Praxus says, settling down though still grinning.

"They already think we are a little strange," Prowl says with a slight tilt of a wing.

"Alright then, extra strange," Praxus revises. Then he lies down, sprawling a bit and props his helm on Prowl's knee. His system makes a soft sigh as he relaxes and settles down. "It was a good week. Mostly," he reflects.

"An busy," Starlight adds, inspecting a sand dollar in the glow of the late evening sand.

"It was indeed," Auri agrees. "Good –mostly- and busy, too."

"An then my party is tomorrow?" Starlight asks, frowning slightly because she isn't quite sure. There are a lot of days to keep track of.

"Day after tomorrow," Prowl says gently, his optics tender as he remembers what it was like being so little and trying process so much.

"An then ya come to stay wi us!" Starlight says eagerly to Auri. She remembers this part of the plan certainly, thought not quite accurately in regards to when. "Always!"

"The week after that is when I come to stay always," Auri answers with a happy smile.

"Always, always, an then em sparklings gonna come life wi us, too," Starlight adds contentedly, more to herself than to the adults.

Auri's optics twinkle at the thought.

"They'll wait until we're all settled in a bit," Praxus tells Starlight. At least he thinks this is the plan; he's not exactly sure, but it makes sense to him. Though, he has to reflect, things don't always go according to plan.