Chapter 15

More Party

"Why, Prax, what's wrong?" Auri asks me, her wings coming to attention as I approach. No more flirting at Prowl with her wings now. She can tell I'm worried.

"Sunstreaker," I say, and one of Prowl's wings tilts to attention as well. He knows how much trouble the golden mech can be when he wants to be. "He's acting weird," I explain. "Friendly, I mean –which is weird for him, you know. He- he touched my arm without any reason or need for him to do that, and he never does that, never ever."

Prowl hands the plate of cake to Auri, brushing his lips to double check for crumbs. Cake crumbs aren't professional. Both his wings are attentive now, brisk bright wings. "That is odd of him. Where is he?"

"Over there." I point. Sunstreaker hasn't moved. "He said Ratchet bumped his painkillers up a little and took off more edge than expected, but- but I'm still worried. What if he's lying, or… what if he's having a reaction or something. He touched my face, too-!" His fingers had been as gentle as Prowl's, as gentle as Auri's, and I would have liked it if it hasn't been so unusual for Sunstreaker.

"I'll go check on him," Prowl tells me in a reassuring tone, and it's the most calming sentence he could have uttered. He leaves, skirting the party so he can move quickly instead of politely weaving through the gathered bots. I'm inclined to follow him, but I decide I should look around for Starlight instead and see how she's doing. I'm sure she's okay, but I still want to look for her.

OoO

Having thanked Elita and talked to her for a little while, Starlight moved on to visit with more of the bots. She had to see everybody and admire their decorated armor and make sure they knew where the snacks and energons were. This wasn't their usual party venue, and she had to be a good hostess, plus she loved all the bots and wanted to see their beautiful armor and ornaments that they didn't usually wear. Everyone had such pretty things, but they didn't wear them very often, so now was a rare chance for her to see all the pretty things.

She was used to chatting with grownups, and they were all on the lookout around their pedes, so she wasn't very worried about getting stepped on as she moved around and mingled with the big bots. She socialized happily for some time, but then she began to think would surely get an ache in her neck if she kept having to look up at everybody. That wouldn't be comfortable. Ratchet could make that feel better, but she wanted him to be able to have a nice time at the party instead of fixing her neck. She would have to find someone to carry her around, she decided. She looked around for her brother to see if he would carry her. Of course he would, she knew; he was such a good brother like that, and he was her first choice. The trick would be to find him.

The place was a forest of big legs, so she made her way to edge of the party. It would be almost impossible to find anybody in that forest, but she could climb onto a wall and look out and –

She stopped short, wings shifting defensively at the sight of a golden mech. The golden mech.

She had to admit that he looked very gorgeous, but it still made her a bit mad to see him here, sitting on the wall at the edge of her party. However, she realized a moment later with a tide of meekness flowing into her spark, she had specified that her party was for everybody. That technically did include the meanie.

She sighed.

She had a new problem now.

She had to greet all her guests, nicely. Including this one. Her honor as a Praxian demanded it.

She sighed heavily.

She didn't want to.

But she knew it was the right thing to do, and Prowl always wanted her to do that right thing. He did the right things himself, as much as much as possible, and even when he didn't want to. So did Auri. And Uplink. She wasn't quite sure her brother always did, but it was usually an accident when he didn't.

Anyway…

She rubbed her pede on the pavement a little.

Ratchet always said to do the unpleasant things first and get them out of the way. And that's what he did, too. And he always did the right thing, too.

She sighed again and then shifted her wings to what she hoped resembled a polite and courteous tilt as she stood up straight and pushed the pout from her lips. She had a duty to do, and she'd do it.

She began to approach cautiously, checking over her shoulder make sure there were plenty of other adults near. If the Evil Sunshine tried anything, she'd scream so loudly that everybody at the party would hear, and then they'd come rescue her from him. He wasn't going to get away with any meanie business at this party at all, no sir, no ma'am.

She cycled air through her system so it would be nice and cool, and the mech glanced over at her.

"Ahslag," he said, blinking at her. "I was trying to avoid you, y'know." He picked himself up off the wall and started away.

Starlight felt quite confused there, her mouth open with unspoken polite words as she watched him depart. What? How-? Why…?

"I hope you enjoy the party," she called, forcing the words out quite courteously even though she was so very flustered and bewildered.

The golden mech paused and then stopped, looking back with a face just about as baffled as her own. He made a very nice bow, the lights playing on his glossy armor and twinkling in the jewels he wore. "Thank you," he said, also with a note of confusion in his tone. "Joyful upgrade…" He added and then moved away.

Starlight rubbed her helm. So weird. That had been so weird. But he hadn't bothered her, so she hadn't needed to scream for help. And she'd done her service as hostess. That was the thing that mattered, whether the situation had been weird or not.

But it had been weird.

So weird.

Sunstreaker was thinking the same thing regarding the encounter as he looked for another place to perch and draw. His processor felt slightly muddled, but it had become fairly clear to him that Starlight had been approaching him on purpose. Once she'd called that well-wish, it was obvious now…

Sunstreaker stared at the glowing, sparkling, light-filled party before him. Ratchet's drugs might have taken more edge off than he'd intended, but he was pretty sure he hadn't hallucinated. Pretty sure…

He looked back over his shoulder. The little femme was still at the edge of the party, but she was moving in, approaching Blurr, looking polite and proper, smiling up at him as she made courteous motion with her wings.

"Sunnnnstreaker…?" Prowl's voice called gently, his tone caring. This made three out of the eight Praxians on base addressing him. Were all the Praxians going to seek him out this evening?

Sunny chuckled at the thought as he turned a smile toward Prowl. "Hi, mech."

Prowl's beautifully polished wings tilted in that way that said something was rather unexpected, the light playing on them and showing hand-painted flames as they moved. Praxus was getting good. He really was. The mechling had the spark of an artist and the skill was catching up to him.

Prowl glanced over his shoulder instinctively, and Sunny chuckled at the motion. Of course Prowl would have to check over his shoulder if someone looked past his face.

"Wings," Sunny told the Praxian, smiling. "Praxus did a good job on your wings."

"Ah." Prowl looked enlightened now. "Yes, he did." He shifted a wing slightly in a different way now, pausing. "He… mentioned that you seemed a little off."

Sunny laughed at that. True Praxus. That mechling. "Oh, no surprise," he chuckled. "He was a little worried, I guess. I told him about Ratchet overdoing the stuff slightly, but… the Praxling is caring bot. Sent you for a wellness check then, did he?"

"Not specifically," Prowl said, thinking it over. "But he came and told me, and I knew that he wanted someone to check on you."

"Good lil Praxling," Sunny said with a knowing nod. "So check my wellness, Prowl. Do I sit?"

"You can sit," Prowl said, looking like he'd rather Sunny sit, so Sunny moved over toward the continuation of the low wall. He felt the movement of the earth or something, and things weren't entirely stable for a moment, but Prowl steadied him and guided him, settling his frame.

The wall was hard and cool where he sat, and Prowl's armor was smooth and warm with energy where he leaned against the sturdy mech. He closed his optics lightly, resting his helm on Prowl's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of closeness that he rarely felt. Never felt? It had been a very long time since he'd felt any sort of closeness with Prowl, at least. And he kept others at a distance, too. But close didn't feel bad right now. Prowl's sweet near wing was an echo of energy in the air close to his helm, its myriad of sensors close enough for him to sense them and the aliveness, the alertness of Prowl. And he could smell the scent of Prowl's polish; it was a familiar smell because he'd made it. Small batches of artesian polish… Not everybody was interested in it, thinking it a little extravagant, but Prowl liked it. Prowl was enough like him. Prowl appreciated nice things. Praxus did, too, but Praxus didn't understand like Prowl did. Praxus liked that polish, too, though.

Prowls fingers weren't wholly steady, for they rarely were, but they were gentle as they touched Sunny's jaw and tilted his helm a little. They were cooler than expected, but not unpleasantly so. They were cool in the warm night, and the tiny tingle of a scanner brushed at his senses. Scanners usually felt so intrusive, but this one didn't feel that way now… probably the extra painkillers had dulled his senses, Sunny realized.

He realized something else then with sudden clarity, and it made him laugh softly.

"Drugs," he said, still smiling from his laugh. "I never did drugs, Prowl… never… I was too responsible and had to look after things, but… this… Prowl, I think I'm high."

"Yes, you are slightly." Prowl's tone was gentle but also dry.

"How did that happen, Prowl? I only took what Ratchet gave me, that is… whatever it was he gave me for the pain. I was in pain, I must have been, but I don't feel any pain now. Just… I can feel the universe- the beauty of the universe that is. Just the beauty. Of course there is ugliness and pain and… y'know, every horrible thing still must exist somewhere, but I only feel the beauty right now, the whole glorious glowing vastness of the stars all dancing with heat, being born and dying over eons too expansive for us to comprehend, and… nobody notices it out there among the nebulas and dust and asteroids and... Does anyone look at the stars, Prowl?"

"A lot of us look at the stars," Prowl answered.

"But really, really, Prowl? Truly, looking out deep, and appreciating everything that they are?"

"Probably not so much."

"That is the pain of being an artist, Prowl… So much beauty, and you try to catch it to show the others, but they don't… they don't comprehend it, they… look and say, 'ah, nice,' but they don't meditate on it and rest there and find… anything. The meaning … nobody can grasp it in just a glance, but all they do it glance because… I don't know why. They just glance and think they've got it, Prowl, but they don't. You were in art class. You know. Praxus sort of knows. He almost knows and has the potential to know; he has the elements to know, and those elements are going to come together like a sun being born, faster, of course, but… they'll get there and ignite with radiant brilliance for all to see it time. That's Praxus, radiant brilliance slowly coming together, building."

After a while, Sunny found Ratchet's optics staring directly into his own, and he realized that he'd been talking for a long time. He needed something to drink, he thought, maybe.

"Your optics hold the vastness of centuries," he had to say, staring deep into the old medic's optics. Ratchet blinked. "I can't draw that…" Sunny shook his helm gently. "I can draw so much, paint so much, capture so much, but some things still lie beyond my reach, Ratchet. Maybe in time… but you'll always be farther ahead in experience, but… I'll try. I must. I think I must. We're all too short-sighted to see everything that you are, Ratchet."

"Well," said Ratchet mildly. He was a mix of amused and baffled. Sunny smiled at him. "Did you have anything other than regular energon after I gave you the painkillers?" Ratchet asked.

"I can remember a thousand things, but not that," Sunny answered gently.

"Okay… can you try to remember?"

Sunny shut his optics softly. Leaning against Prowl was so comfortable.

"Sunstreaker?" Prowl prompted gently.

"I'm trying to remember," Sunny whispered. Everything was afloat, and existence was ethereal, Prowl's voice was beautiful, an echo of good memories. "I think there was a half-empty cube beside some of my paintings…" Paintings of music and eternity. "I don't remember what it was. Maybe I drank it, maybe it wasn't straight-up."

Ratchet sighed. "Good job," he said drily.

Sunny smiled, pleased with the praise. "Thank you." He sensed the soft shake of a quiet chuckle from Prowl, and he opened his optics gently to look up at Prowl, hoping to catch a smile from him to treasure like droplet of liquid in a desert. He got distracted, though, and he smiled himself instead at Starlight in Praxus's arms and the way Praxus's cradled her. "She's come back," he said.

Starlight looked doubtfully at him and then shifted her optics to Prowl. "I just asking if it were time to steal some noodles an go to the clubhouse," she told the older Praxian. "I asked Prax, but he weren't sure."

Of course Prax wasn't sure. It wasn't possible for him to be sure because it wasn't an actual tradition. They'd simply done it at Auri's upgrade party out of the need to flee the social scene for a period of time.

"Oh," said Prowl, the word low and soft in his throat. Sunny felt it almost as much as he heard it, a gentle purr.

"Is it?" Starlight asked, looking a little shy but also hopeful.

"I…" Prowl hesitated, trying to figure some things out. "I need to get Sunstreaker taken care of, and then we can do that."

"Oh, Prowl, I am fine," Sunny told him gently. Prowl's frame purred with a little amusement.

"You are so relaxed that you cannot sit up unassisted," Prowl replied. "Ratchet is going to help you, though."

"Oh, okay." Sunny would have preferred to stay with Prowl, but he wasn't going to argue. Ratchet was a good mech and the best of medics. Ratchet sat beside him and put an arm around him. The old medic's energy was different from Prowl's, of course, but it was still nice, and Sunny willingly leaned against him instead of Prowl, resting his helm against the taller mech.

"We're going to take you to med-bay," Ratchet told him.

"It's nice here, though." Sunny didn't want to leave all the twinkling lights and beautiful bots and the music dancing through the air. "It's…" He couldn't think of what he wanted to express in words, but he saw it in colors and hues and the temperature of the air, the soft brush of breeze, and the way Chromia and Elita smiled at each other when they tapped their energon cubes together in a mini toast.

"Did he get de-dated?" Starlight asked doubtfully as Praxus and Prowl took her away. She peeked over Praxus's shoulder for a moment at him.

"He…" Prowl paused, trying to think of how to explain it simply for her.

"Sort of," Praxus told her. "He sort of got sedated, but not exactly. A little more like drugged, but not on purpose."

"Oh, okay," Starlight said. That would explain why he'd been so weird. "So now we stealing the noodles an going to the clubhouse?"

"Yes," Prowl said with a bit of a smile.

"Yay!" Starlight wriggled in delight. "That the next best part!" she declared, and Prowl chuckled in agreement as Praxus grinned. "An we gotta find Auri to help us," she added with certainty. "We gotta have Auri always."