There was that awkwardness between them again. Blurr continued to feed Veer as he tried desperately to come up with something to say. This entire situation still felt unreal.

It was just starting to hit him. Right now, he was holding his daughter. She felt so light in his servos. She seemed so delicate and warm against his chassis. Blurr swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Nothing at all like the hollow gray frame he had put to rest.

There was a swarm of different emotions making him feel light headed. It was hard to accept that this was the same sparkling that he had mourned. Not a lifeless husk but now a living breathing bitlet that was safely tucked in his arms.

That didn't mean he didn't lose her once. His spark clenched at that thought. He couldn't forget that, ever.

He felt something brush against the servo he was using to hold the bottle. He looked down to see Veer had put her tiny fist on top of his to bring the bottle closer. She emitted some small happy beeps as the formula flowed easier. The racer leaned back in the chair, gaze focused on their sparkling, before smiling up at Swerve.

"She's a greedy little thing, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it. Primus, if I'm even a second late for her lunch she starts throwing her servos up all dramatic like and becomes a super grump. I kid you not she glares! At me! Like I'm purposely starving her!"

That earned an earnest laugh from Blurr. "She glares? Oh, I can hardly believe that. Look at her face! She's too sweet for that."

Swerve straightened his posture to show he was dead serious. He leaned forward with an optical ridge raised. "Don't believe me? Take away her bottle for a second."

Blurr hesitated for a bit. She seemed so content right now. It felt like such a shame to ruin a precious moment like this, and yet... In the end his curiosity got the better of him. Blurr very carefully removed the nipple from her intake.

The reaction was instantaneous, Veer went from sleepy bitlet, to full on scowling. Blurr bit down on his lower lip in an attempt to keep from laughing at her disgruntled face. Swerve was right; she was glaring up a storm! Oh, he knew exactly where she got that expression from. Blurr looked at the metallurgist before chuckling.

"She's like a mini you," Blurr muttered.

That earned a confused look from Swerve. "A mini me? What do you mean? She looks just like you!"

"Hm, maybe in frame type, but those big doe optics are all you. She looks exactly like you when someone says they prefer the later seasons of Community."

"Hey! In my defense-Things weren't the same when Dan Harmon left! And, she does not! ...Does she?" Swerve asked, leaning closer to get a better look. There was a moment of silence before Swerve swore under his breath. "Frag... You're right."

Blurr smirked, "Told ya so."

Under his visor Swerve's optics crinkled into a smile. He settled back in his chair with a laugh. "Okay yeah, yeah. You got me there. Sorry Veer, you're cursed with my expressive face plate."

Blurr frowned. At this point he was used to the negative self-talk Swerve tended to squeeze in every conversation. That didn't mean he was going to allow it.

He fed the bottle back in their creation's intake before standing up. He walked over next to Swerve and kneeled down.

"Look at her"

Swerve blinked but did as he was told. Blurr stroked her cheek with his digit causing her to smile. Swerve couldn't help but to smile back.

"Now what part of that cute little face is cursed?"

That seemed to startle Swerve. He reeled back as if he'd been smacked. Blurr looked at the minibot right in his visor.

Without thinking Blurr stretched out his field and brushed it against Swerve's. It was a gesture he often did in quiet moments alone with the bartender. The feeling was a warm and reassuring presence that he missed.

"Swerve, don't say things about yourself you wouldn't say about her. You're passionate, driven, and, from what I can see, you're a great carrier."

Swerve chewed the bottom of his lip as he looked away. He let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his helm. His field pulled away from Blurr's.

Right. At that moment Blurr realized he might have overstepped. He didn't know this Swerve like that. Not yet anyway.

"I guess you're right. I didn't really mean anything about it. Just joking around."

His servo twitched. Blurr fought the urge to cup the side of Swerve's adorable face. More than anything he wanted to show Swerve what he saw in him. But he knew their relationship wasn't at that level yet.

Not one to be discouraged, Blurr felt his spark twitch with determination. Yes, they were back to square one. It's going to take a lot of work before Swerve trusts him. But, this was a challenge, and Blurr never backed down from one. He couldn't help the small smirk.

"Then let's joke about other things, like how about the fact I looked more lost holding her than Rodimus does when you tell him verbal instructions. You make it look so natural..."

That did get Swerve to relax a bit. It was a small victory that Blurr would gladly claim.

"In all fairness, I've been holding her since she came shooting out of me like a confetti cannon. It would be bad if I couldn't hold her with some ease."

"Well, maybe you can give me a few pointers? Between you and me, holding her is the most terrifying experience I've ever had. I keep worrying that I might drop her or support her neck cables wrong"

Swerve let out a little laugh. "There's no way this is the most terrifying thing you've ever done. I mean- you roll with the wreckers! I'm sure you've faced the worst the cons could have thrown out."

Blurr shook his helm. "Danger? Racing? That's what I do. Getting shot at is easy, but this? This is hard. She's completely helpless. She has no choice but to rely on us to live-I can't even keep a crystal garden alive! Primus, I once got a tramp stamp decal right above my aft cover. I had to get the thing lasered off. Yet, she's trusting me to take care of her."

Swerve balked, "You had a what?"

"A decal," he laughed. "Right above my aft cover. It was before my career took off. My manager was adamant that I get it removed. Hate to say that he was right. Sometimes I miss the thing, but that would have been the perfect target for cons to aim at."

"Wha…Are you serious? Why are you telling me this?" Swerve asked, his face plate an endearing shade of red.

"Because no one will ever believe you," Blurr quotes while wiggling his optical ridges.

Blurr waited for the realization to hit Swerve. He laughed when his face lit up with understanding.

"Did you just quote Brooklyn Nine Nine? Wait, is that story even real?"

Blurr grinned. "One hundred percent. Seems only fair you get to know something personal after having my sparkling."

That earned him an adorable frazzled look from Swerve. "It wasn't a big deal I mean I'm sure anyone would gladly have your sparkling. Waitno-notthatIdidn'twanttooranything. Please make me stop talking-I'm putting my pede directly in my mouth!" Swerve babbled out.

"Why would I stop you? I missed hearing your voice," Blurr said as it was the simplest thing in the world.

Swerve choked on his own saliva for a second. He proceeded to hit his own chassis with his fist. It took some coughing before he could get air back in his vents.

That did make Blurr feel a little bad, but he enjoyed teasing the bartender. There was something so appealing to see his cheeks bloom with a blush. That didn't mean he aimed to embarrass Swerve.

"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Swerve threw up a thumbs up and nodded as his vents cleared up. "Yep yep, just fine. Perfect, sorry. I uh just was taken off guard. It's hard getting used to you knowing…Well me."

That was an opening he'd been looking for. Blurr readjust Veer's position in his arms before gently nudging his shoulder against Swerve. "About that… I'd like to get to know you more. If that's okay?"

Swerve stiffened at the touch. Blurr watched as the bartender fiddled with his own digits. He gave him time to ponder the question. It took a second before Swerve looked up.

"Before I answer I have my own question about Veer. I just need to make sure we are on the same page. You…want to…." He paused trying to find the right words.

Yes, they've kind of been over this…But, there was this protective side to Swerve that wanted to make sure his creation wasn't going to be tossed to the side like he had been. Swerve breathed in a calming vent.

"Do I want too…?" Blurr continued.

"You know…be the Joel to her Ellie? The Tony Stark to her Peter Parker? Wait, is that a good example- nevermind I'm overly complicating this. What I'm trying to ask is… are you going to be a sire to her? I mean- actively in her life type sire?"

Blurr stroked Veer's cheek with his thumb. It was such a simple yet loving action. Veer responded by nuzzling her face against his chassis. Swerve's spark hiccuped at the tender moment.

Blurr gazed down at their daughter with a soft expression before turning his attention back to Swerve. His optics already told the bartender everything he needed to know. Still, Swerve wanted to hear it. He held his breath.

"I was hoping you'd let me. At the end of the cycle it's your decision who Veer sees, but I want to be there. I want to do everything I can to help support you two."

"Okay," Swerve breathed out. "Then I guess we don't have much of a choice but to get to know each other. Not that I don't want to! It's always been a dream of mine to get to know you. Wow, that sounded creepy. But, yes. Yeah. I would like us to know each other."

"It sounds like a plan," Blurr said

Swerve gave him an uneasy smile, "Maybe let's call it a quest. Sounds cooler."

That took Blurr by surprise. He emitted a chuckle before standing up. He used a free servo to gently squeeze one of the bartender's. "Sounds good to me. By official wrecker decree we are now on the mighty Veer quest."

Swerve grinned at the speedster. He returned the gesture by squeezing Blurr back. "It's going to be the best quest. Promise!"

Right after their official quest declaration Swerve received a commlink text and several calls from different members of the ship. Just about everyone saw Swerve being lifted off the ground to be whisked away to the unknown. Everybody seemed to be worried.

Rodimus had even offered to punch Blurr again. (Again? When did that happen?). Of course Swerve told his friend not to punch the sire of his sparkling! Blurr didn't do anything wrong. In fact, he was the reason they got to Veer so quickly. He tried to get Rodimus to explain what he meant by again. The captain dodged the question like it was a bad case of rust.

Swerve ended up having to write a massive group text to inform everyone on what happened. He explained that Veer had an attack but she's doing okay right now. What he didn't expect was the outpour of bots demanding to see her. Sometimes Swerve forgot just how much of an impact she had on the ship's morale. He promised to swing by the bar to ease everyone's concerns.

Though he doubted he'd be spending much time there. In reality, Swerve felt exhausted. Talking to Blurr had somehow made him feel better and worse all at the same time.

Swerve glanced at the racer who was busy swaying Veer back and forth as he walked around the room. He was delighted to know that the racer was interested in being a sire to Veer. That alone took the weight off of Swerve's shoulders.

Though there was a voice in the back of his helm whispering that he should feel ashamed. The only reason Blurr would ever want to be around him was because of Veer. He totally sparkling-trapped the mech!

Swerve averted his gaze. It felt like a bad plot point in one of those k-dramas. The desperate mech pulls a full blown stalker move by having the main lead's bitlet. He wondered when the main protagonist was going to sweep in and woo Blurr away.

That sounded like he was claiming Blurr. No, that wasn't what he meant at all. Blurr was way too good for him. This was strictly a platonic arrangement for Veer's sake. Swerve rubbed underneath his visor.

"Just received a message from the captain. Rodimus would like for us to swing by the bar to make sure his co-captain is okay."

"Co-captain?"Blurr questioned.

"Oh yeah, you weren't here for that. It's uh- an ongoing joke around the ship. Veer is the unofficial co-captain."

Blurr peered down at Veer. Veer looked up from her nibbling on her own fist. The racer snorted then laughed.

"I'm sure she's wiser than both Megatron and Rodimus combined."

Swerve grinned. "She's been doing great. Nautica loves that Veer always approves of her plans. I swear with her making decisions this ship hasn't run smoother"

"Things do appear to be going well," Blurr admitted.

"Yeah, I'm almost tempted to put a 'blank days since our last life dangering crisis'. Though I'm worried that as soon as I do, something will happen; and with that thought, I'd rather not jinx it… That being said… Do you… want to come with us to the bar?"

"I was planning on it. I'm sure there's a few bots in there that are going to have some questions about her".

Oh, that's right! Swerve felt his cheeks heated. He sort of forgot the Wreckers were there. There was so much going on it kind of slipped his processor.

"Have they ever…been around a sparkling before?" Swerve asked, a tad bit nervous.

"Kup is so old I'm sure that he has. As for the others? ...I'd suggest not letting anyone hold her besides Kup."

"That's fine by me. To be honest I really don't want a lot of strangers having their servo's on her. It makes my carrier coding get all twitchy. " Swerve admitted.

Blurr paused his walking. "Is me holding her making you anxious?"

Swerve felt like he just stepped on a landmine. He threw up his servos and let out a nervous laugh. "No no! I don't mind you holding her. I mean you're her sire. Of course you want to hold her! It's fine. Trust me!"

Blurr didn't appear convinced. He walked over to the minibot and gently passed their daughter over to Swerve. In reality his coding did calm down after having her back in his arms.

After he got the news about Veer's attack his coding had been screaming at him to get her back into his embrace. He just didn't want to be the bot who withheld their sparkling from their sire. Especially when it was their first meeting.

"Swerve, you can be honest with me. If something makes you uncomfortable please tell me. I'll be the first to admit I'm clueless when it comes to sparklings and carrier coding."

Swerve let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Okay, yeah, sorry. I just want to make sure you two get some time together."

Blurr smiled at Swerve before gently stroking Veer's chubby cheek. "We will."

Veer looked up at her sire with her expressive optics. Swerve bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from 'awing' when she reached for her sire's digit. Blurr just met her and it was clear he was quickly becoming her favorite person. That, he thought, she got from him.

Swerve cleared his throat. "I'll comm. Tailgate, see how far away they are with that hoverchair."

It didn't take long for his friends to return with it. They were already right down the hallway. Cyclonus helped transfer him out of the rocker into his floating prison. He sighed tiredly once his aft made contact with the familiar padding. Primus, he was over this injured bot bit.

"Thanks guys, can't wait to roll out on this thing.."

Tailgate gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm, "Ratchet said it wasn't for much longer, right? You got this!"

Swerve didn't feel like he did. He didn't realize how restless his frame got until he couldn't move around. It was almost as bad when he couldn't talk. It was absolute torture.

He gave his friend a strained smile. "Yeah, I guess. Still can't wait to be free. My frame is itching to do some deep bar cleaning."

Tailgate tilted his helm, "But your bar looks fine?"

"To the untrained optics, yes. But to me? Filthy. But in my defense it's hard to clean with a new spark."

"I would offer to watch Veer but after what happened..." Tailgate shrugged.

"As I said before, you guys are still on the babysitting list. Stuff happens," Swerve was quick to remind them.

Tailgate wrapped his arms around the bartender for a hug. Swerve smiled and patted his arm. They were some of his closest friends. Of course he was going to let them spend time with Veer!

"Now, are you guys coming with us to the bar? We better head out before Rodimus gets impatient and sends out a search party or something," said Swerve.

Tailgate's visor brightens. "Yeah! There's no way I'm gonna miss the Wreckers meeting Veer!"

Swerve laughed. "Tailgate, yesterday you didn't even know who the Wreckers were."

"But I do now! And Whirl was a part of them so they must be cool. But like-not too cool since they kicked him out…It's their loss and our gain! Gah-!"

Whirl snuck up behind the white minibot and lifted him up in his arms for a surprise squeeze. Tailgate flailed wildly for a moment before settling in the embrace. Whirl cackled then nestled his face in the crook of Tailgate's neck.

"This is why I like you, tiny legs. You know how to sweet talk a bot. Those losers pale in comparison to you and Cyclonus anyway."

Blurr watched the exchange with a surprised look on his face. Swerve leaned in close so only the speedster could hear what he had to say.

"Those three are practically spark mates," he whispered.

Swerve couldn't blame the racer for eyeing the helicopter like he had grown three helms. It's hard to believe that Whirl of all bots had a soft side. Sometimes he even forgot about it.

Cyclonus grunted. "Rodimus is now messaging me. We should go. Whirl, put Tailgate down."

Whirl threw the sword-mech a pout before Tailgate spoke up. "I don't mind if he carries me Cy! If he doesn't toss me around like last time," he tacked on shooting a look over his shoulder.

Whirl's optic shone with a mischievous glint. "Fine, but I want to know where you hid that confetti cannon!"

Tailgate wiggled in his arms. "Cyclonus would kill me. Sorry but my lips are sealed."

"We'll see about that," Whirl hefted him up further in his arms.

Swerve smiled at the exchange. "Alright, alright, you guys are sweeter than an energon goodie," he then moved his hover chair out of the nursery and into the others followed behind him as they made their way to the bar. They all walked together in comfortable silence till Tailgate spoke up.

"So….You're Blurr" Tailgate asked.

Swerve listened in, curious as to where this conversation was leading. It could go many different places with Tailgate.

"Yep, I'm Blurr" the speedster answered.

"And you are like super famous for racing."

"That's what my wiki says."

"And you are Veer's sire."

"That is also correct."

Tailgate tilted his helm to the side. "How did you end up here?"

That…was actually a good question. Swerve knew vaguely that Blurr wanted to get revenge on Getaway. Who didn't at this point? But, how did he end up joining the Lost Light.

Blurr slowed his pace. He was quiet for a moment. Swerve was worried that maybe Tailgate offended him. He was about to change the topic when Blurr cleared his intake and spoke up.

"Well, once your bar is smashed into a million pieces you tend to lose your desire to set some roots. Thought joining the Lost Light would help me clear my processor and could be a bit of fun. Besides-There was a cute bot that I wanted to meet again," Blurr said, looking directly at Swerve.

Swerve almost lost control of his hoverchair. He looked away feeling his face ablaze. Blurr joined the Lost Light to see him again? Yeah, right…

"Well my audition posters did make the ship out to be more glamorous," Swerve managed to mumble out.

"Those auditions were brilliant," Blurr grinned. "I'll tell you about it later," he promised.

Swerve nodded as his processor spinned. Blurr went to his crewmate auditions? He pulled a prank on the racer?!

It... made some sort of sense. Crosscut had been there, and he was close to Blurr. Maybe the mech invited him to come..?

By the time his helm stopped rattling different possibilities they were on the right deck level for the bar. From the outside Swerve could hear the chattering voices of his patrons. Blue must have got the high grade flowing in his absence. Good, he didn't want to be a bad host to the Wreckers. Drunk Wreckers were fun Wreckers! Right…?

Well, maybe with the exception of Whirl. He tended to get a tad bit destructive when overcharged. He still owed him for a few broken bar stools.. Still! Things should be fine. It wasn't like he was about to introduce his sparkling to them.

Swerve adjusted his hold on Veer before moving the hover chair over to the door. He could feel his spark pounding against his chassis. He was grateful that Blurr was going to be entering first.

Swerve swallowed as the door to the bar swooshed open. Bots cheered as Blurr took a single step in. The fan in him couldn't help but swell with some pride. Blurr was just that awesome after all.

Swerve didn't receive anywhere near that level of excitement when he hovered in. In fact the bar went dead silent as he came into view. He couldn't blame them. They must be a sight for sore optics.

He suddenly felt very self conscious. He glanced down at his busted frame. Primus, he looked like slag….

Swerve was all too aware of the ugly weld mark that sat across his abdomen. He tried covering it by laying his free arm under Veer's bottom in an attempt to make it look like he was just trying to support her frame. He knew it didn't cover up much.

But, at least Veer's plating still sparkled from her earlier buffing. That was one good thing. Yeah, focus on the positive.

The sound of a chair scooting on the floor caught the bartender's attention. Kup, with cygar barely hanging in his mouth, had stood up. He gave both Swerve and Veer a look over before settling his gaze onto his fellow wrecker. Blurr nodded at him. Kup came over in a rush.

"I don't believe my optics. Kid, is that…?" the older wrecker breathed out, taking his cygar out of his mouth.

Blurr stood tall. He put an arm around Swerve's shoulders with a proud smile. "Yep, Kup, I'd like you to meet Swerve and our daughter... Her name is Veer"

The wrecker's face morphed into that of wonder before settling into something soft. "She's just like ya kid…"

"That's what I keep hearing but I see more of Swerve in her," said the speedster.

Veer perked up at the new voice. She turned her frame to get a better look at the older wrecker. Kup let out a startled laugh as Veer tried to get a hold of his cygar. He was quick to jerk his hand away, holding the thing far from the bits reach.

"Woah there, little bit. You are way too young for this stuff," He quickly turned it off and put it in his subspace.

Her face scrunched up as her new 'toy' was taken away. Swerve was fast to remedy this by taking out one of her stuffies. Veer was mesmerized by the blue petrol rabbit that was now in her face. She grabbed ahold of it and babbled excitedly.

"See, just like Swerve," Blurr joked.

Swerve smile and playfully rolled his optics. "Hey, she can't help it. The cygar looks pretty awesome. I mean who wouldn't want to touch wrecker stuff? But that junk isn't good for sparkling so plushies will have to do. Right Veer?"

In all honesty he was a bit jealous of his creation. He would have killed to get that close to Kup's cygar. That thing has seen so many epic battles. Oh, he was fan botting again. Whoops. He needed to reign it in.

"Where did you get that?" Blurr asked, curious about his daughter's clearly favorite toy.

Swerve couldn't help but smile. "Oh, this? Skids made it for Veer as a late sparkling shower gift."

Veer let out a happy, "Bah!"

Kup chuckled, "Bossy little thing. Without a doubt you are Blurr's creation. Come- I got a spot for us to chat over here," the wrecker said, leading them towards a familiar circular booth.

The irony wasn't lost on Swerve as they settled in. He ended up parking his chair right next to the spot Blurr stood at. Around the table were Springer, Rodimus, Impactor, Kup, and Skids. There was no doubt that they were talking about the Getaway incident before they arrived.

Skids' face lit up as he caught sight of Swerve and Veer. He did a little wave at them. Swerve naturally had to wave back at his bestie.

Rodimus grinned, "Co-captain Veer! You're here!"

Veer kicked out her legs and babbled back a nonsense greeting to her fellow co-captain. She then started to drool on the arm of her stuffie. Rodimus hiked up his spoilers and grinned at the infant.

"I'll be right back", Blurr muttered before heading towards the bar.

Swerve watched on, curious as to what the racer was doing. Blurr exchanged a couple of words with Bluestreak. Baby blue nodded before handing off something to the racer. Blurr returned to the group with something in his servos.

"Ratchet said you needed to ice your weld, right?"

Swerve blinked as the racer offered him a makeshift ice pack. Ratchet did mention something like that, didn't he? He was so focused on Veer that it slipped his processor. Really, he had planned to just sleep off the ache radiating from his middle.

"Oh, thank you", Swerve accepted the cloth wrapped in ice.

Blurr settled next to him with a nod, "Do you want me to hold her while you apply the pack?"

Before Swerve had the chance to answer Rodimus spoke up, "Swerve, buddy I'll hold her! Please let me introduce them to her. I'll give you like a hundred Rodimus Stars!"

"I think you are grossly overestimating the worth of those stars… Tell you what. We watch 'What we do in the shadows' next movie night and you can. With the stipulation! The ship stopping planet wide for a snack run" Swerve demanded.

Rodimus jumped out of his seat. "Deal! Gimme Veer!"

Swerve hesitated. Before he had a chance to tell him to be gentle Rodimus had already scooped her up. The bartender almost had a mini spark attack when the captain held her up like simba from the lion king.

"Support her neck cables!" Swerve gasped out.

"It's okay, I got her," Rodimus said, holding her in a way that didn't ease Swerve's worry at all. Veer squealed out loud as her arms flailed about.

"He said support her neck cables!" Blurr demanded as he shot up with a furious glare, interrupting Rodimus' grand speech before it could begin.

Rodimus scowled at the racer before moving Veer into a more comfortable position. "There, see? She's fine. She likes being high up anyway. Right Veer?"

Veer's optics were the size of dinner plates. She appeared to be slightly startled from being at such a high height back to her usual one. She let out a string of beeps.

"Completely loved it," Rodimus said with a nod.

Kup rolled his optics, "Says the bot who was dropped on his helm enough to have permanent processor damage."

"Rude. Anyways- before I was rudely interrupted. Wreckers, welcome our best co-captain, and daughter of the one and only Swerve! Veer! Oh, and I guess Blurr is the sire or something," Rodimus said in his grand speech voice.

Swerve gave them all a little wave. He highly doubted anyone there, with the exception of Skids and Rodimus, knew who he was. He cleared his intake.

"Nice to meet everyone. I'm the owner of the bar- you guys probably figured that out since my name is plastered everywhere, but wow yeah. It's really cool to meet you guys. I mean I listened to the Wreckers: Declassified all throughout the war. Well, until that bullet took out Ironfist. Oh, wait since good old Fist is alive does that mean the broadcast never stopped going here…? That…doesn't matter. Sorry, I talk a lot when I'm nervous."

"So does Blurr", Kup muttered under his breath.

Swerve faked cleaning out his intake. "Um yeah, and as Rodimus was saying. This is my creation Veer. She's a little surprised. That's for sure."

"It's nice to meet ya kid. Blurr has been carving a hole in our floors from pacing around since we heard you were alive. He's told us so much about you," Kup smiled.

"Oh… he has?" Swerve asked, surprised.

"He told us how funny you are," Impactor supplied.

"Oh Swerve is way more than just that. Have I told you guys that this mech once created an entire holo earth with just the power of his imagination? It was so detailed that there were background characters having their own side stories" Rodimus said plopping right next to Kup.

The older Wrecker took the opportunity to get a closer look at Veer. Rodimus grinned as Kup clearly melted as she babbled up at him. It would have been really cute if Swerve wasn't trying to disappear. He wasn't too proud of his incidents with holograms.

Skids, bless his face plate, spoke up. "Swerve helped found a cure for cybercrosis,"

That made him sound way more important than he was. "That's only because Pharma had the fundamentals already laid out in his research. All I did was fill in the gaps-"

Kup whipped up his helm. "You did?"

Swerve put his servos up in a placating gesture. "No, well-yes. Kind of. As I said it was already right there. Don't let them fool you. I didn't do much. It was mostly my servos- See I used to be a metallurgist. I can just tell when something is missing."

Kup's optics dimmed. "I've known plenty of good bots that lost their lives because of that damn disease. Since they aren't around anymore to say it, from one soldier to another- Thank you."

Those words knocked any reply out of Swerve. He gave a polite smile and thumbs up to the older wrecker. Swerve shrinked into himself trying to appear a bit smaller. He felt like a fake.

"Yeah, no problem…"

Swerve glanced at the table booth since he found he couldn't look Kup in the optics. "Um-Anyway…Would you like to hold Veer? She seems very interested in you."

Kup perked up. "Can I? You don't mind these old rusty joints holding her?"

Swerve smiled. "Well, you are practically her grandsire, so why not?"

His face heated, realizing it might have been inappropriate to assume that. Just because those stories he listened to made Kup as the wise sire figure to the wreckers didn't mean he actually was. Really, Swerve had no clue what their dynamic was.

Luckily, Impactor laughed and grinned at Kup. "Hear that old mech? Straight from the mini bot's mouth. Are you gonna hold her sire?"

Kup snorted then shot back. "I'd offline from embarrassment if I was your sire. You have the faceplate of roadkill. But I think I don't mind being called grandcreator by someone this cute."

Rodimus grinned while passing Veer off to Kup. "Does that mean I get to call you grandsire? I am, after all, the hottest mech here."

Kup rolled his optics. "Call me grandsire and see what happens kid."

Swerve relaxed a bit since the attention was off of him. He settled the ice back against his weld marks with a sigh. It did help ease the burning ache that had permeated from there. He smiled watching as Kup settled in the booth with an arm full of curious sparkling. Veer hugged the petrol rabbit closer to her frame before bapping a servo against Kup's chassis.

The scene was cute. Though there was this nagging sense of foreboding settling in his tanks. He fidgeted in place watching his daughter meet the older wrecker.

"Feisty, aren't ya?"

Blurr leaned close to Swerve and murmured quietly. "Are you sure you are okay with this?"

That took him by surprise. He recalled their earlier conversation about bots holding Veer. Blurr was checking in on him. That was probably why he was so..anxious.

Swerve chewed the inside of his mouth. Did he mind? He was the one who offered to let Kup hold their creation. It seemed rude to just..revoke Veer privileges.

Though the scene of Veer gasping for coolant kept playing in the foreground of his processor. He thought coming to the bar, his sanctuary, would calm his nerves. Instead, with all these people, it made him feel worse.

He was stuck between being polite and wanting to retreat. Swerve glanced around at the different faces in the booth. That's when it hit him that no-he didn't feel up to this. He didn't have the energy to fake it.

Blurr must have seen it on his face since he spoke up. "Sorry to cut this short Kup, but it's been a rather eventful day. I promise we'll get together and spend more time with Veer. But for now we are going to split."

A sense of relief washed over Swerve. He was glad Blurr was the one who ended this get together early. He didn't want to leave a bad impression on any of the wreckers.

"I understand kid," Kup smiled down at Veer. "It was nice to meet you little one and your carrier. I hope we can chat again later."

Veer beeped up at him before wiggling around. Kup chuckled then passed her off to Swerve. The bartender felt instant relief as her familiar weight rested in his arms.

"It was rad meeting you guys. I'd stay longer but Veer is a demanding client." he joked.

Rad? Did he really use the word rad? Slag, he was bad at conversation.

Luckily everyone around the table seemed to accept their goodbye. Blurr gave them all a polite nod then led them outside of the bar. Swerve gladly followed.

Blurr ushered him towards his room. The entire time there they walked in comfortable silence. It wasn't until they reached the door that Swerve found the courage to speak up.

"Um-Thanks, by the way. For the escape."

"No need to thank me." he insisted. For a second they both stood there as if unsure what to do. Before that awkward unease could kick back in, Veer let out happy beeps at the both of them. Swerve smiled at their daughter. She always knew how to break the tension.

Blurr took a step forward so he could kiss the top of Veer's forehead. The sparkling blinked before blooming into a full on smile. Blurr grinned and rubbed her cheeks.

"I'll see you later. Comm. me if you need anything"

Swerved nodded. "Yeah sure. We'll call sire right away, right Veer?"

Veer let out a yawn before cuddling close to Swerve. Blurr smiled at the two of them. "I think it's time to put that one to bed. Have a good recharge Swerve."

"You too!" he replied only to realize that Blurr probably wasn't about to sleep like they were.

Once again he managed to say something dumb. He quickly retreated to the inside of his room before the embarrassment could settle in. He'd like to go one cycle without being cringe.

Swerve pushed those thoughts out of his helm. He flipped on one of the lights and walked over to his berth. He had the urge to faceplant into the mattress and hide from the world. If he didn't have a sparkling greatly in need of a nap he might have.

He still might do it after Veer is sound asleep. First, he needed to get her ready for recharge. He started by winding up the music box Nautica had gifted them. A soft melody started to fill the room. Swerve then gathered her favorite baby blanket and tucked her in with it. Veer already had her optics half way closed by the time her helm hit the pillow.

It was only right after placing Veer in the crib that it hit Swerve. There was no way he could call Blurr. He still didn't have the racer's comm number. Only the fake one scribbled on the inside of his palm.