Chapter 4
Early Morning

Some glitch-helm was trying to wake Sunstreaker up. He knew it was a glitch-helm because it wasn't his brother, and only his brother or a glitch-helm would ever try to wake him up at this cursedly early hour.

"C'mon, ya," the glitch-helm said, shaking Sunstreaker's shoulder. "It's important."

Sunstreaker slapped the hand away and then did a bit of swearing when the hand came back and poked him lightly in the neck. The hand evaded another slap and then tickled one of Sunstreaker's audio fins. He sat up on the couch, completely awake and furious now, and speared the glitch-helm with a glare.

It was Jazz. Jazz was the glitch-helm, leaning over the back of the couch in Prowl and Jazz's dorm. Aisde from the early hour, this was normal. After several consecutive nights of sleepovers, Prowl and Jazz had invited Sunstreaker and Sides to just live in their dorm, and they'd accepted (Sides readily, Sunstreaker begrudgingly).

"Ya like the thought of bein' dead?" Sunstreaker demanded. It was an idle threat, of course. Sunstreaker considered Jazz a friend, an actual friend, and Sunstreaker could count on one hand the number of actual friends he had.

Jazz looked unconcerned by the threat, preoccupied by something as well as very sleepy. "Nah," he said, giving a small shrug. "I was just wonderin'…"

"Actual frag, the glitchin' sun ain't even startin' to come the slag up yet," Sunstreaker growled angrily. "Rustin' get to the point."

Some curiosity and amusement played across Jazz's face with a touch of speculation, making him look slightly more awake and a little quizzical.

Sunstreaker growled, annoyed and impatient. He had seen this expression on Jazz's face a few times before at random times in the past three weeks that he'd known Jazz, but he hadn't questioned it. He was really annoyed at how early it was, though, and dropped into what he thought could be a conversational trap. "What?" he demanded. "Why that look?"

Jazz shook his helm and smiled, perhaps a little ruefully. "I jus know Ironhide would have something t'say about yo vocabulary fo sure if he heard all that, but I don't know what exactly," he said.

What-?

But Jazz went on before Sunstreaker's morning-drowsy processor could grasp the subject. "Anyway," Jazz was saying, "Th' thing is, Prowl an Sides goin' off wi these new friends of theirs every single morning… I dunno. Ya think everything is cool wi them?"

Sunstreaker looked over at the closed curtains. He hadn't been exaggerating about the sun not being up. But Sides and Prowl had been leaving around this time every morning since they'd moved in to go meet up with their new friends, this little Enforcer student squad. Sides talked practically nonstop about his new friends and the tutoring center and courses of study and "Rail Gauge said…" and "Ingot said…" and "Nimbus said…" and "Red-Lead that" and "Barricade this" and on and on. If Sides hadn't been talkative about it, then Sunstreaker would have worried. But Sides had just chattered freely about everything and everyone.

"Probably cool," Sunstreaker said, shifting his optics back to Jazz and raising one drowsy optic-ridge. "Can I go back t'sleep now?"

"What if those bots like a cult or gang or… something, though?" Jazz asked. "Or… our brothers are bein' hazed or haveta… I dunno… do initiation stuff? Bots are weird sometimes."

Sunstreaker snorted slightly. He did think some squads of Enforcers bore similarities to gangs and/or cults, but he doubted Sides would see any appeal to being in a gang or a cult. Although… He paused. Those two types of organizations drew in vulnerable people and offered a sense of belonging. And he knew Sides was vulnerable and probably wanted a sense of belonging. Also, hazing could happen anywhere.

He frowned and looked up at Jazz. "Would Prowl go for that kinda thing?"

"Nah, not on purpose," Jazz said with a tiny shrug. He looked like he needed to go back to sleep but was too worried. "But they might be subtle enough that he wouldn't pick up on 'em at first. Or maybe it's nothing that serious, but… I jus wanna make sure my brother's okay."

Sunstreaker understood that. He'd do anything to make sure Sides was okay if he thought there was even a slight chance of his brother being not okay. But he hadn't picked up any red flags about Sides' new friends, and he hadn't been worried at all. It was hard to be worried when you were told everything with complete openness. It was also hard to be worried when you were this drowsy.

Sunstreaker rubbed his helm. "Can't we talk about this when it's actual daytime?"

"I'm worried presently," Jazz said, emphasizing his words with his hands.

"Ugh." Sunstreaker lay back down. "Why?" He pulled his blanket back over himself, all the way up over his helm. "They've been hangin' out for like two weeks now."

"It's been longer than that," Jazz contradicted, reaching over the back of the couch and tugging at the blanket. "I jus never woke up early enough to worry about them bein' gone. But I did this morning, an' now-"

"Glitchit." Sunstreaker had just realized something. He wasn't going back to sleep. Jazz wasn't going to let him go back to sleep. Jazz, while being protective over Prowl like an older sibling, also possessed that particular younger sibling trait that made him very, very persistent about getting whatever he wanted. Sides had that trait. Sometimes Sunstreaker was driven to compromise or just giving up. Now, he just gave up. He let go of the blanket, and Jazz pulled it entirely off him, wadding it up with a sleepy defiant look.

"Well," Sunstreaker said, moving to sit. "Let's go find'em then."

…

The sky showed hints of approaching dawn as Sunstreaker and Jazz headed down a path that Jazz was pretty sure led to the obstacle course where Prowl and Sides met with their friends.

"Glitch-fraggin early," Sunstreaker grumbled.

"So ya said," Jazz replied in a murmur, a hint of amusement in his tone. He was definitely happier now that they were on the hunt for Prowl and Sides, though not less sleepy. "Maybe it's a cult after all, one of those sun-worshippin' ones, an' that's why they out befo' dawn. Gotta be out there to greet the big ol ball of fire when it comes up."

Sunstreaker gave Jazz a sour look. He knew Jazz well enough now that he was certain the silver mech was joking, but he was not in the mood for jokes.

"Really?" It was too early for this. Any of it. All of it.

"Mech," Jazz said, shaking his helm. "Nao. I'm j-"

"I meant 'really?' about the joking," Sunstreaker clarified, extra annoyed now. "Too glitchin' early for it."

"Ahhh," Jazz said. "See, I'll disagree with ya there. While it is way too awful early, an' only mad bots like our brothers would think it's a good time to be awake, the trick is t' pretend that it ain't so bad. Least until ya catch up wi' the actual mornin' bots, an' then ya can grumble all ya want."

"That really don't make sense," Sunstreaker muttered.

"Also," Jazz added, "Talkin' helps me stay awake, an if I shut up, I might also nod off an' face-plant right on th' path."

"Unicron," was Sunstreaker's brief and grim answer to that. But Jazz kept on talking, just like Sides, filling the silence with little to no encouragement from Sunstreaker, and Sunstreaker accepted it.

Briefly, he was slightly grateful that Sides now had Prowl to chatter to first thing in the morning (and he had Jazz to listen to late into the night). Prowl and Sides were morning bots, and Sunstreaker and Jazz were late night bots, and that worked out nicely. He didn't usually have to be talked to this early in the morning. But that slight gratefulness was eclipsed by the annoying fact that Jazz had somehow ended up awake this early this morning and felt compelled to go check on their errant brothers. And also the irritating fact that Prowl was opening stealing Sides' adoration and loyalty. Sunstreaker wasn't used to sharing his brother, and he didn't like it.

"Are we lost?" he asked presently, interrupting Jazz as he realized that the sky was a lot brighter than it had been when they'd first set out.

"Nah," Jazz said, not offended by the interruption. "Almost there."

Sunstreaker gave him a skeptical look and then headed off the path and up a small hill to his right, picking his way through ornamental boulders to reach a vantage point to look out from.

"Umm, what…?" Jazz asked, scurrying after him. "I don't think this is the best idea, goin' off th'path…"

"Huh," Sunstreaker said, peeking over the top of the hill and then getting down to lie on his belly and crawl the rest of the way so he could look out without being too easily noticed.

Jazz, after the slightest of pauses, followed suit.

"Ta-da," he said when he saw their view. "Obstacle course. Not lost."

"No, not lost," Sunstreaker acknowledged, but they weren't overly close, so he pulled a set of binoculars from subspace. Then he glanced over and saw that Jazz had done the same thing. Jazz's were, of course, much nicer and probably hadn't been stolen. They'd probably been a gift from Ironhide or Streamline or any number of the fabulous adults that populated Jazz's stories. It was irritating this early in the day. Also… "Why do you have binoculars?"

Jazz smiled a soft happy smile, the one that tended to make a small knot of jealousy twist up in Sunstreaker's spark. "We were always playin' adventurer or explorer as younglings," he explained. "So we put binoculars on our wish-lists, an'-"

Of course they got the stuff on their wish-lists. Sunstreaker tuned him out, peering through his binoculars and adjusting the focus.

"Well," Jazz said. "There's Rail Gauge an' Red-Lead, I think."

"Yeah," Sunstreaker confirmed, watching the tall blue mech and the small red and orange mech approach and greet each other.

"Oh, that's gotta be Barricade an' Nimbus, right?"

Sunstreaker zoomed out and found the two coming along another path, heading toward Rail Gauge and Red-Lead.

"They flirtin?" Jazz asked, sounding amused.

"Probably," Sunstreaker said, watching them. "Sides said they 'had chemistry' an' usually seemed to be flirtin' a bit."

"Why ya soundin annoyed?" Jazz asked, chuckling. "See something ya like?"

Sunstreaker rolled his optics. "No. I just think it'd be an interestin' challenge to draw her with that iridescent armor, but couples can be kinda … eh… tedious, sometimes."

"Ahhh," Jazz said. Then, "Oooh!" with obvious interest mixed with disappointment. "Why that looker gotta be a tall bot?"

Sunstreaker located StayBar coming up another path. The teal-green accents in her jet-black armor did match her optics, and it was a nice effect, but Sunstreaker wouldn't have called her or anybody else a "looker"; he just thought it was kinda rude.

"What's wrong with her bein' tall?" he asked. She was super nice and caring, according to Sides. Too many tall bots were overbearing and self-important, so it was always a relief to meet one who wasn't.

"Tall bots only think I'm funny when I flirt with'em," Jazz said with a sigh.

"Ah," Sunstreaker said unsympathetically, watching as StayBar joined Barricade and Nimbus on their path.

"Prowl an' Sides!" Jazz said happily, this time with a sigh of relief.

Sunstreaker zoomed out and found that their brothers had joined Rail Gauge and Red-Lead while he'd been watching Nimbus, Barricade, and StayBar. He zoomed in again and studied Sides' body language and facial expressions. Sides was happy and at ease, glad to see the other bots, grinning up at Rail Gauge as he said something one moment and then a few moments later, teasing Red-Lead and making the quiet mech smile. Every movement was relaxed and natural, and Sunstreaker would know if it weren't. He knew Sides better than anyone, including Prowl, despite Prowl's efforts. He knew when Sides was happy.

Then StayBar came into view, putting her hand lightly on Sides' helm. Sunstreaker stiffened. How dare she touch him. She had no right. But Sides looked up at her happily, beaming that good morning smile of his, and her hand moved to his shoulder, fingers giving his back a rub as he leaned sideways into her for a moment. Sunstreaker fought down his fury and tried to remind himself that not every tall bot wanted to take advantage of them. It was hard. It got easier when Sides had moved on and was bumping fists with Barricade and then slapping hands with Nimbus.

"Who are we spying on?" The femme's voice nearly atop them made both Jazz and Sunstreaker jump and almost drop their binoculars. Sunstreaker spun onto his back, ready to kick and fight, but then he paused, recognizing the femme. Not because he'd ever seen her before, but because Sides had described her cream armor with broad copper trim, her medium height, and the way she bore herself with certainty, sense, and authority but could also have a twinkle in her optics. It was Ingot.

She had a twinkle in her optics now, fed by amusement. "Lost your vocs?"

"Uh- we're watchin our brothers," Jazz managed to say, shifting to sit up. "Um…" Sunstreaker glanced sideways and saw a hint of a blush warming Jazz's cheeks.

Ingot looked beyond them and saw the small group of bots on the field. "Ah," she said in a tone of discovery. Then she looked at them with a pleased smile. "You're Jazz and Sunstreaker." She pointed to each of them as she said their names.

"And you're Ingot," Sunstreaker growled. He was still slightly shaky with fury at how StayBar had been putting her hand on Sides like he was up for grabs, and now he was further incensed with the sudden realization that Sides had probably told these new bots everything about him, just as he'd told Sunstreaker everything about them. Only Sides hadn't said anything about all the touching.

"I am indeed Ingot." She was smiling a bit, optics twinkling, completely ignoring his mood. "Pleased to meet you both. You want to come down and meet the rest of us?"

Sunstreaker didn't answer, thinking Jazz was going to answer. This whole glitching thing had been Jazz's plan after all. But the younger mech seemed oddly at a loss for words.

"Yeah?" Sunstreaker prompted Jazz, looking at him questioningly. He hated everything right now, but didn't Jazz want to meet everyone?

"Um, sure," Jazz said, sounding weirdly meek. He put his binoculars away, and Ingot held out a hand to help him up.

"We've heard all about you two," Ingot said, helping Jazz to his pedes. Sunstreaker picked himself up unaided. He wouldn't have accepted assistance if she'd offered. And Sides had probably told her that, Sunstreaker realized with another stab of annoyance. And maybe a little jealousy. He wasn't sure. He wasn't examining his emotions too closely, just feeling them enough that he could tell they were mostly negative.

He huffed quietly and started down the hill after Jazz and Ingot toward the path they'd veered from earlier.

"Yeah," Ingot was saying in answer to something Jazz had said. Sunstreaker had missed whatever it was. "But this way isn't much longer and we'll have the added element of showing up suddenly and surprising your brothers."

"Then I definitely want t'go this way," Jazz said, chuckling with anticipation. "I love a good surprise."

"Prowl doesn't, though," Ingot pointed out with a smirk. "But it'll be good for him. He needs to get more used to surprises if he's going to be an Enforcer."

"Hey! Ironhide's said that before," Jazz laughed.

"Yeah? And what's he said to you?" Ingot teased.

"That I should have just a lil consideration for my brother's preferences an not jump out at him from around corners," Jazz answered cheerfully, drawing a chuckle from the femme. "An that it's my own fault I got punched."

"Oh, so we can thank you for Prowl's very sharp reflexes, eh?"

Sunstreaker, trailing behind, squinted at Ingot. It was still way too early in the morning for him, and he was going to be extra annoyed if she was flirting with Jazz. Or maybe she was just being friendly. It was really hard to tell sometimes, and he generally disliked it. She'd better just stick to flirting with Jazz. Jazz liked that sort of thing. Sunstreaker did not. If she tried to start on Sunstreaker, he'd give her the same flat look he gave every would-be flirter that made a move in his direction. And nobody, absolutely nobody should touch him. If they tried-

He caught his thoughts and willed himself to calm down. He recognized that he was furious over the other bots touching Sides. They weren't touching Sides inappropriately, so he didn't need to be furious. But a part of him was still paranoid about it, still obsessed over the danger of other bots. Fear had been embedded in him long ago, but he needed to control it. He would control it.

'Shut up!' he thought to his processor, and then he forced his attention to Jazz and Ingot, walking a little ahead of him. 'Everything is fine.'

Jazz and Ingot were talking back forth, questions and answers, laughter.

As Sunstreaker listened in, however, another frown settled over his expression. Jazz was really just asking a bunch of questions about the little group that Sunstreaker knew all the answers to. When Sunstreaker said that Sides told him everything, he really wasn't exaggerating very much. He frowned a little more as Jazz asked another question that he knew the answer to. Did Jazz not know any of this? Or was he just testing Ingot to see if she was providing the same information that Prowl…

Sunstreaker's mouth formed a silent "oh" as a thought occurred to him. Prowl didn't talk nearly as much as Sides or Jazz. Prowl didn't chatter on about everything endlessly. Really, Prowl talked only just a little more than Sunstreaker did. Prowl was probably too good to talk to many bots besides his brother. But now Sunstreaker was realizing that Prowl probably hadn't told Jazz every last detail about his new group of friends the way Sides had told Sunstreaker. Maybe Prowl had barely told Jazz anything at all.

That's what Sunstreaker would have done, told the bare minimum. It was fine for him and Sides, but it was really, really annoying that Prowl had done it. Sides had always just accepted it in Sunstreaker, but apparently Jazz needed to investigate.

So annoying. Not Jazz, but Prowl. Prowl was so…

Sunstreaker shook his helm. Anyway. No wonder Jazz had worried. Prowl had made him worry by not telling him anything about these other bots. A tiny spiteful smile touched one side of Sunstreaker's mouth as he found something to be pleased about. Sides could be annoying with all his talk, but it meant that Sunstreaker wasn't in the dark about anything in his life. So there was an upside to have a talkative brother. And Jazz just had uptight glitch Prowl for his brother. Not that Jazz even seemed to mind. Jazz rarely seemed to mind anything, though, Sunstreaker thought.

And Jazz appeared to be truly happy talking to this Ingot femme. Talking, teasing, questioning, quipping. Flirting? Either way, this was an upside to having a talkative friend. The friend could do all of the talking, and he didn't have to do any. As much as he disliked doing the talking, he almost always made Sides keep quiet and let him do the talking. So it was kind of a relief to have Jazz do the talking here.

And Jazz really was his friend. They had interesting discussions, shared food and ideas, and Sunstreaker hadn't gotten the sense that Jazz was playing him. He also hadn't yet felt the urge to stab Jazz with a tiny knife, even mildly. That was a feeling he often got around other bots, so this was impressive. He got the feeling around Prowl. Usually when Prowl was being too good or too smart or explaining something to Sides or talking about Ironhide and Streamline, which he did really quite often for someone who didn't talk much. He probably had a really nice set of binoculars, too, frag him.

Ahead, Ingot and Jazz paused in their tracks, Ingot laughing, Jazz grinning.

"What?" Ingot asked, sounding amused. "Why's that?"

"It'll get the most reaction outta Prowl," Jazz said with certainty, beaming up at her.

Sunstreaker saw her tilt her helm in consideration and wondered what Jazz had suggested.

"He'll panic fo like three seconds, an then he'll probably think I'm funny," Jazz said, obviously thinking it was a great sell.

"Mmm." Ingot started to continue onwards, though more slowly. "Then I don't think so."

"Don't ya like giving ya siblings a bit of a panic now an then?" Jazz asked.

"It's not really my style." She gave her helm a brief shake. "I prefer to be supportive."

"Bet ya arms would feel quite supportive around me," Jazz said. Teased?

'What the frag?' Sunstreaker thought as Ingot chuckled.

"You could try that out as a pickup line," she said, and Sunstreaker could tell she was grinning. Her optics were probably twinkling in amusement, too. Unicron. Primus.

"I could use it in what universe?" Jazz asked with exaggerated incredulously, chuckling back. "Ya jus wanna see me get laughed at. Ain't fair."

"It might be a sympathetic laugh," Ingot offered, giving him a tap on the shoulder.

Jazz tilted his helm to look sideways up at her. "Jokin' aside…" he said and then hesitated.

Ingot made a slight palm-up motion with the hand closer to Jazz, and her tone was sincere and no longer teasing when she answered. "I don't know StayBar well enough to know her preferences, to know if you'd have a chance. I could probably test the energon a little for you, though; like, after this, I could ask if she might think you could be cute."

Jazz beamed up at her, giving Sunstreaker a profile view of radiant delight. "That would be fantastic!"

'What the actual…?' Sunstreaker thought. Jazz … Ingot had known Jazz all of a few minutes, and now she was volunteering to be his wingbot? How the slag did Jazz do that? Sunstreaker didn't want a wingbot or date or anything, but the fact that Jazz was like that, just won friendship and support so easily, was mindboggling.

Also, that amount of trust was absurd.

But Ingot seemed perfectly genuine.

"Now, what about carryin' me into Prowl's view?" Jazz asked eagerly, obviously optimistic.

Sunstreaker stopped in his tracks with additional disbelief for just a moment. That's what Jazz had asked her earlier? Was he glitched?

Ingot appeared to be thinking it over. "That's still going to be a 'no,'" she said. "We do nudge Prowl out of his comfort zone a bit, but we don't want to push him too hard or far or cause undue stress. From a sibling's point of view, I understand the appeal of the prank, but as a new friend and team-member, I don't think it is kind or appropriate to do something that would make him panic, even for only three seconds."

Jazz sighed. "Aww…" Then, a few steps later, he added, "I guess you've got a point. An I respect ya standing ya ground on it."

"Thank you," Ingot said, giving him a smile. "And I'm sure he'll be plenty startled to see you as it is."

Sunstreaker silently agreed. Jazz and he never got up this early, let alone left the dorm this early. And Prowl had very little chill when it came to unexpected things, unlike Jazz. It was, Sunstreaker thought, a wonder that both of them had been adopted by the same guardians, so different were the two. He didn't think he was being a hypocrite, thinking about Jazz and Prowl that way when he himself and Sides had drastically different personalities. He and Sides were twins, actually related, not adopted. Nobody would have adopted the pair of them, he knew. Nobody had.

A lull in the conversation drew Sunstreaker's attention ahead. Ingot had apparently led them around some back way, and the other bots were hidden from view by a small building, somewhat like a shed or tiny clubhouse. He could hear the other bots just around the corner, talking and laughing. Sides was laughing, happy and carefree; he was probably teasing someone who was safe to tease.

Ingot paused and looked back at Sunstreaker, her expression contemplative. Then she motioned with her helm. "You gonna come up alongside us now?" she asked.

Sunstreaker shrugged to signify that it didn't matter, but he moved up to join her and Jazz, placing himself on Jazz's other side.

He heard some playful cheering and teasing shouts as the three of them went around the side of the shed, tiny clubhouse, whatever building. Morning bots, ugh.

The volume increased as they came into view of the other bots, and there was obviously some competition going on. Applause rattled the air, and a couple of the bots whooped.

Rail Gauge was the center of attention, sort of, and Sunstreaker had severe mixed feelings when he saw that Sides was perched semi-precariously atop the big blue mech's right shoulder. The feelings were more severe and less mixed, really. Rail Gauge had one hand one Sides' leg, supporting and steadying him, gripping firmly.

Also, Prowl appeared to trying to climb up Rail Gauge. He was scaling the big mech's left side, one small pede was finding purchase in the big mech's knee plating, and the other was somewhere behind the big mech. Rail Gauge was holding his free arm out, and Prowl had an elbow crooked around it while he tried to figure out where on Rail Gauge's chest armor he could find a handhold.

If this was a race between Prowl and Sides, then Sides had clearly won, and that pleased Sunstreaker.

"Cozy up with that back leg!" Nimbus encouraged, bouncing. "No personal space, Prowl!"

"Yeah, get in there!" Ingot called. Her voice was new to that morning's gathering, and Prowl glanced over.

"Jazz!" he yelped, wings flicking in shock. Instantly, he jumped down off Rail Gauge, exclaiming something entirely unintelligible that was possibly a question.

"Nothin'," Jazz answered easily, chuckling.

Prowl stopped his rush toward Jazz and looked at him, taking in the grin and twinkling optics. Then he seemed to realize that all the bots were looking at him. His wings shifted in a manner Sunstreaker thought was something like prim.

"Nothing is wrong?" Prowl queried, his Cy-Stan perfect and free of any accent whatsoever. He sounded polished enough to be a news announcer.

"Nothin's wrong," Jazz confirmed, tone reassuring. "We jus thought we'd come see what ya'll are up to."

Prowl looked a little nonplussed but not offended. "I did tell you what we do, but I imagine you would be welcome to observe for yourself," he said, glancing toward Rail Gauge for confirmation.

Rail Gauge pointed at Ingot, and Prowl redirected his questioning gaze.

"So, ya callin' the shots today, an ya showin up last?" Jazz asked her, teasing.

"Last but not late," she quipped, pretending to swipe a fist at him. He dodged lightly, grinning.

"Can-"

"May," Prowl corrected in an undertone.

"- we observe?" Jazz finished asking.

"As long as you behave yourselves," Ingot said easily. "And don't distract Prowl too much."

"Oh, that's on Prowl," Jazz said, chuckling as he made a shrugging motion with his hands. "He's fully capable of ignoring me totally for up to three hours."

The other bots had come closer during this exchange, and Sunstreaker had wanted to move away, but he'd stayed put, keeping his face impassive. And he was trying to not get mad about Rail Gauge, even though Rail Gauge now had two hands on his brother. Sides was sitting on Rail Gauge's shoulders now, legs on either side of the big mech's helm, red pedes contrasting sharply against the dark blue chest armor they rested on. Rail Gauge had a hand on each of Sides' legs, securing him. Sunstreaker could sense that his brother had tensed up on his and Jazz's unexpected arrival, but his outward appearance remained nonchalant, hands resting lightly on Rail Gauge's helm.

Prowl was making introductions now, which Sunstreaker didn't see the point of. Sides had described everybody exactly and in vivid detail, and they were such a diverse lot anyway, that there was no mistaking who was who. And certainly Sides would have also told the group all about Sunstreaker and Jazz.

"Do you want to join us or just watch?" Ingot asked once everybody had said hello.

"Oh! Umm…" Jazz absolutely hadn't expected this and needed a moment. Sunstreaker was starting to suspect that Jazz hadn't given any thought to what would happen upon their arrival; both Sides and Jazz showed a tendency to not think very far ahead. Unlike Sunstreaker, or Prowl. But then Prowl tended to overthink, and that was annoying.

Anyway, Sunstreaker thought joining in was a terrible idea.

"I do actually have some homework to attend to, so I shall leave you to your exertions and focus on my academics." He could fake perfectly unaccented Cy-Stan just as well as Prowl could. But apparently it didn't surprise Prowl; nothing showed on the Praxian's face. Sides looked a little confused, possibly somewhat hurt, though, and Sunstreaker wished he hadn't code-switched quite so hard. Well, too late now.

"Alright," Ingot said, "Watchya say, Jazz?"

"Umm…" Jazz shifted on his pedes. "Maybe I'll give it a try if I don't hafta commit to th'whole thing. Like, I'm usually still sleepin at this hour, ya know?"

"I know," Ingot chuckled. She gave his shoulder a light tap. "You're in. We'll let you take it easy."

"Awesome!" Jazz bounced.

"Don't forget t'check on the ritual sacrifice aspect," Sunstreaker tried to tease, but it didn't sound quite right as the words came out. Awkward, forced. He was stuck now. "It might be you, ya know."

"Wait- what?" Nimbus asked, startled but also laughing. So at least she recognized an attempt at humor, but Sunstreaker wished he'd kept his mouth shut. Or not left the dorm at all.

Jazz looked sheepish. "Oh, it's jus… I made a joke earlier. Said I didn't know if y'all were doin some pre-dawn sun-cult stuff…"

"Oh, slag, he's onto us!" Barricade pretended to look alarmed and glanced around quickly.

"Too late to bind Prowl to the altar then, I guess," StayBar sighed.

"Wow," Nimbus said, her tone incredulous. "You're gonna give it up just because two small bots showed up at a bad time?" She tossed her hands dramatically.

StayBar chuckled. "You're right, you're right. We should go ahead. Make it a double or triple sacrifice. We could probably take them."

"Right, enough of that," Ingot said firmly. "Not everyone appreciates dark humor."

From his small frown and shifting wings, it was clear that Prowl was the one who didn't appreciate the dark humor. Possibly he was the only one, and Ingot was babying him.

"Okay, it is kinda early for jokes," Jazz conceded amicably. "You could definitely take me, though," he added, giving StayBar a cheerful grin.

'Unicron,' Sunstreaker thought.

"Right." Ingot barely hid a smirk. "Let's move on to business. Circle up."

Sunstreaker moved away with relief as the other bots moved around to make something of a circle.

::They're not a cult. Or a gang or… whatever.:: The message came from Sides, and Sunstreaker glanced over at his brother. He was climbing off Rail Gauge's shoulders, and the big mech interrupted his downward progress with a hug before gently setting him on his pedes.

::I know.:: Sunstreaker kept his expression neutral as he fished around the edge of his data-pad for its power button without looking. ::Jazz was just worried. Prowl don't talk constantly like you, so Jazz didn't know everything was okay.::

He glanced down and then, with annoyance, turned his data-pad around and pressed the button.

::Everything is okay.:: Sides seemed to feel a need to convince him.

::I know.:: Sunstreaker fiddled with his stylus and tapped at the screen. He doubted that he'd actually make any progress on his studies here.

::I can feel your bad mood, Sunny.:: Sides was standing in a circle with the other bots now, appearing attentive as Ingot addressed the group. They were unevenly spaced, with Rail Gauge standing closer to Sides. No, Sunstreaker was definitely not going to make any progress on his studies.

::Jazz jus woke me up all early, okay? I'll cheer up once the sun fraggin gets above the buildins.::

Sunstreaker wondered if Prowl ever lied to Jazz. He probably didn't. There was probably no need for it.

::Well, okay.::

Hypothetically, if Prowl ever did actually lie to Jazz, did Jazz usually pretend to believe him?

Sunstreaker shook his helm slightly and pulled up a page of sketches that he'd been working on yesterday. He knew Jazz well enough at this point that know that Jazz wouldn't pretend to believe a lie. Jazz liked to face things and work them out. It was fairly admirable. But it was also inconvenient for anybody who just wanted to stuff things away instead of dealing with them.

Sunstreaker accessed the camera on his data-pad and made the window small enough that he could watch everybody while continuing to work on his data-pad. He started continuing his sketches. He wasn't going to get any studying done, so he might as well make some progress on his art.

He couldn't hear everything the other bots said, but what he did hear was boring. They were going over some class materials and playing some kind of question and answer game. It was like a whole study group session, bots doing quizzes and contemplations and whatever. They really got up before dawn for this.

And they really liked saying things like "good answer!" and "nice work!" and "that's a great observation!" to each other. They said things like "nice try" and "ummm, no" and "I don't think so" to Jazz, who was answering for amusement's sake. Sunstreaker would have shut Jazz's nonsense down, but the other bots didn't seem to mind.

They were easy-going enough, Sunstreaker decided.

And they seemed to like Sides. Accept him, think well of him. He was getting a lot of questions correct and making good answers, too. Lots of praise for Sides. Sunstreaker personally didn't like it when people heaped praise and flattery on him, but Sides basked in it with delight and was quite pleased with himself. He was doing well, and Sunstreaker was happy for him.

Prowl wasn't doing so well, which was rather surprising, particularly for a bot who always had all the answers all the rest of the time. Ingot had called him out twice now for not being attentive, and he'd also asked for a simple question to be repeated, looking slightly guilty at having obviously not been listening to it the first time around.

When they moved to some light sparring exercises, Sunstreaker sketched more slowly, his optics shifting to watch the small section of screen that showed his camera view a bit more often. Ingot had paired Sides with Red-Lead, who seemed to be one of the quietest members of the group. Sunstreaker didn't quite trust him; it was always harder to read the quiet ones. Also, Sunstreaker was a quiet one himself, and he knew what went on inside his processor.

But Sides and Red-Lead seemed to be on good terms. Red-Lead was about an even match as far as size went, but he had finer reflexes and better training. Probably many years of training in a fancy studio with a well-paid instructor. While Sides could fight any average bot his size in the street and come out on top through sheer persistence, Red-Lead moved like he could do the same in a fraction of the time and look also like he was doing a choreographed dance.

Red-Lead didn't beat Sides up, though. Sunstreaker casually zoomed in to better watch as Red-Lead offered pointers to Sides and guided him to adjust his form. It also looked like Red-Lead was patiently explaining how and why his methods worked better than Sides'. Sunstreaker wouldn't have admitted it to anybody, but he was a bit impressed. Sides always learned better if he knew the how and why of things. It slowed a lesson down considerably, having to explain everything thusly, but it stayed with Sides better. Anybody who took the effort and the time to teach Sides was probably okay.

A sharp yelp of dismay from Nimbus drew his optics reflexively from his screen to the group. Prowl was sprawled out entirely on the ground at her pedes. Prowl. Sunstreaker returned his optics to his screen and zoomed out his camera to keep watch.

Nimbus, obviously a bit upset, reached out a hand to Prowl as he moved to pick himself up. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. Sunstreaker thought his cheeks looked a bit warm. Everybody had paused and was watching. Sides was looking concerned.

"I thought you were going to dodge that," Nimbus reproached. "You didn't see it coming?" So she'd wiped Prowl out on accident.

Prowl's wings shifted. "Um, I didn't. It's okay, though. I'm alright. It was a good move." He smiled. "Let's try it again, an I'll be on the look-o't."

Nimbus didn't look totally convinced, but she glanced at Ingot, and Ingot sent them all back to their sparing practice.

Sides glanced toward Sunstreaker briefly before shifting his attention back to Red-Lead, but Sunstreaker was still just watching through the camera on his data-pad, still just looking like he was minding his own business while watching everyone who interacted with Sides. Everybody was behaving okay, though. Yes, they touched Sides way more than Sunstreaker liked, but no, they hadn't touched him in any wrong ways. Sides was way more comfortable with touch than Sunstreaker, anyway, so it wasn't bothering Sides.

Sunstreaker made his camera view a little smaller so he could focus more on his sketching. He could probably turn the camera off, but he didn't really want to. He preferred being able to peek at the others without them knowing. Even if it wasn't very frequently.

The sun had crept up at some point, and he started to relax as he sketched, still listening to the sounds of the other bots, but not listening as closely as before. Their laughter and banter and conversation blended in with the muted sounds of armor hitting padded guards and the occasional clang of armor on armor, Ingot's firmer tone threading through it all as she gave critique and directions as well as praise. She was straightforward and no-nonsense, and Sunstreaker liked that about her. It also didn't hurt his mood that she kept telling Prowl to focus, pay attention, mind his own business. It was a welcome change from all the professors who thought he was just the most perfect scholar on the planet.

Sunstreaker caught himself and silently told himself to not be a codpiece about it. Prowl annoyed him every single day, but it was entirely without meaning to or trying to. Prowl had no ill-intent. He was simply a very polite and nice, privileged little overachiever. Those were always inherently irritating, and there was no helping it.

He flinched slightly at a loud crash of armor and glanced toward the other bots. Prowl had gotten wiped out again. Nimbus was upset again, plus a little exasperated. Ingot made calming motions and then checked to see if Prowl was injured. Prowl shook his helm, no.

Sunstreaker refocused on his sketching, but he got only a few lines in before he saw that Prowl had left the other bots and was heading toward him.

No, not toward him. Toward the building.

Sunstreaker glanced up from his data-pad as Prowl drew closer. The Praxian's pace was a swift walk, and his expression was a failed attempt at hiding upset. He sat down hard beside the building a good space away from Sunstreaker, pulled his knees up, and hid his face in his arms, with his arms propped across his knees. His wings trembled.

Sunstreaker kept looking at him, maybe not quite staring. Had Prowl lied to Ingot about being okay? Sunstreaker dismissed that thought. Prowl and Jazz always whipped out some salve or cream at any twinge or sprain, even minor ones that Sunstreaker and Sides were used to just ignoring because they didn't have fancy first aid kits supplied to them by doting guardians or whatever.

Prowl snuffled.

Was he crying?

Now Sunstreaker did stare. The shaking of Prowl's frame was subtle, but it was there. Possibly, he was crying.

Unease crept up into Sunstreaker's spark, followed by a hint of horror and outrage. He hated seeing other bots cry; it tore at him, and… and… now he was going to –against his will– feel bad for Prowl if Prowl was crying, probably over nothing. Probably Prowl was just being an overdramatic sparkling for dumb reasons.

Also, what the frag was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? Was Prowl going to calm down in a minute, or was he going to keep crying until somebody comforted him? Sunstreaker didn't know what to do. Since moving in with Jazz and Prowl, Sunstreaker had been careful to behave neutrally toward Prowl, but he could barely stand Prowl for the overachieving pet that he was. Now, with Prowl crying here...

Sunstreaker looked away from Prowl and saw his way out. He opened a comm. to Jazz.

::Prowl might be crying::

He watched as Jazz signaled a pause/stand-down to Rail Gauge, and the big mech stood down. Jazz looked over in Sunstreaker and Prowl's direction, hesitated, and then jogged over to Ingot, who was saying something to Sides and Red-Lead. Jazz said something, and Ingot's helm snapped around instantly, her optics wide as they swept over to Prowl. Muttering something, she started quickly toward the building, but Sides called "Swear jar!" after her, and she turned with an aggravated motion that made Sides suppress a flinch.

It was subtle, but Sunstreaker saw the flinch. Evidently, Ingot had seen it as well, for she made a soothing motion with her hands. She said something softly as she moved back to touch Sides' shoulder and then tap something on the data-pad that he held out for her. Then she turned and headed quickly toward the building once again, her stride determined.

She slowed as she neared, so she wasn't charging in on Prowl.

"Hey," she called gently.

Prowl's wings hitched, and his cooling system made an audible little hiccup. He was so obviously miserable than Sunstreaker wanted to scoot around to the other side of the building so he wouldn't be witness. Instead, all he could do was fix his optics to his screen and pretend to hear nothing.

Ingot crouched down in front of Prowl.

"Hi…" She sounded a little awkward as well as apologetic. "Am I not breaking my 'make Prowl cry' streak today."

"I'm n-not quite crying yet," Prowl said with effort.

Ingot shifted a little. Definitely awkward. "I'm not sure why you're almost crying," she said gently, "But I am sorry. Can you… help me understand what's going on?"

Sunstreaker inadvertently turned to stare at her for a second. Had she never heard of rubbing someone on the shoulder and gently lying to them and saying stuff like "it's okay, everything's gonna be alright"?

A tiny choked sound came from Prowl, and Sunstreaker wondered if it would have been better to attempt to comfort Prowl himself, as unappealing as that sounded.

Ingot shifted to sit on the ground, still in front of Prowl. She waited a couple excruciating moments and then said, sincerely and hopefully, "What if I tell you my point view instead? And then we can go from there."

Prowl nodded. It was surprising, but then Sunstreaker decided it shouldn't be surprising. Prowl always tried to be agreeable.

"Okay," Ingot said, "I saw you doing pretty well but not as well as usual because you were really distracted and unfocused. I went easy on you because I figured you were just having an off day. But then it started being a problem because you were so unfocused that it was putting you in danger of getting hurt. Nimbus is the smallest, but she can definitely hurt someone. I didn't want you getting hurt, so I pulled you out and sent you over here so you could figure out what you wanted to do with your processing capacity."

Prowl didn't make a sound, but he was probably just listening. He always listened when people talked to him. Sunstreaker always did, too, but he never got any credit for it because he looked around too much.

Prowl hadn't said anything yet in answer to Ingot, so she added, explaining gently, "I thought giving you some space would help. But here you close to tears. So... it didn't."

"No," Prowl agreed softly, somehow with a tiny shaky laugh.

"So…?" Ingot prompted, seemingly encouraged a bit by the tiny laugh.

"I was completely failing to pay attention, and I… I got sent to timeout… as punishment," Prowl explained his point of view in a quiet tone of sheepish admission.

"Sweet sla- I mean…"

Prowl halfway laughed again, less shaky this time. "Swear jar," he said, sounding like he was feeling just a little better, not because Ingot was having to pay a swear jar, but because he understand now, that Ingot hadn't sent him to timeout like a sparkling.

"Sides is really making bank today," Ingot said drily. She shook her helm. "Well, I wasn't- that is, I didn't mean to seem like I was sending you into timeout. I was giving you space to sort yourself out. Can you see that in hindsight?"

Prowl nodded. "I can. I can see it now. The… the two, um, taking space and getting a timeout can be kinda similar at our house, so… it was easy to confuse them." Prowl shrugged his wings slightly. "It's okay. I'm not upset now."

"I'm glad," Ingot said. She reached out and rubbed Prowl's shoulder. "So… now we have to figure out what we're doing next time. Before Sides starts up a 'made Prowl cry' jar."

That made Prowl chuckle. "I don't think it would really earn that much," he said.

"No, it wouldn't," Ingot agreed.

"Mmm."

They were silent for a few moments, probably thinking things over.

"Would you…" Prowl started slowly, "Would you agree that most of the time the problem is that I… I react like I'm getting punished, when punishment isn't your intent?"

Ingot didn't answer right away, and Sunstreaker fought down the urge to peek over to see what her expression was.

"I'm not sure what the problem is," she said finally, though she sounded like she was still thinking it over. "But since you've suggested that, that seems to be the best guess. So let's work off that."

"Okay," Prowl said, tone contemplative.

Another small silence followed. The other bots were doing things, but the immediate area was quiet.

"So," Ingot said after a few moments. "Let's say, next time I have to … correct or redirect you or whatever, I preface my words with a callback to this conversation and reassure you that I'm not intending to punish you, but to help you. How does that sound?"

Prowl paused to mull it over, and then he nodded. "I think that probably work much better."

"Awesome!"

"Or you could hold up a large sign with that message," Prowl offered, teasing now.

Ingot chuckled. "A massive holo-projection could work as well," she added, making Prowl laugh.

"As long as you don't have jets write it in the sky, okay," he said.

"Ha!" Ingot was clearly amused by that. "I am not rich enough to hire even one jet, so don't worry about that."

"Sounds good." Prowl's tone held a smile.

"Alright." Ingot paused. "Are you doing okay now?"

"Yes." Prowl was certain.

"Good. Do you want some more time or… oh, do you want/need to talk some more… or to someone else?"

"Mmm… I'll take a few minutes to actually get my processor together, and then I'll rejoin the activities," Prowl decided.

"Okay." Ingot rose and then reached over to rub Prowl's helm. "Have good thoughts."

"Thank you." There was a smile in Prowl's tone.

Sunstreaker, still pretending to be totally focused on his sketches, got the sense that Ingot looked over at him for a moment before walking away and back to the other bots. Then he heard Prowl sigh, shift, and then be still and quiet for a little while. Was it too soon to feel relieved that the Prowl and Ingot situation was over? Sunstreaker wondered briefly and then decided that he could let himself feel relieved once Prowl left the immediate vicinity and rejoined the other bots. For all he knew, Prowl could overthink something else and get upset again.

No, that wasn't probably wasn't true. Prowl would probably get it together just fine. Sunstreaker just didn't feel mentally or emotionally generous toward Prowl.

He didn't want to think about it.

He didn't want to think about Prowl at all, really.

He especially did not want to think about how well Prowl and Sides got along, how they were basically best friends now, how Sides was always talking about "Prowl this," "Prowl that," "Prowl said," "me an- I mean, Prowl and I," and the slight lingual changes that Sides had been making that were starting to make his speech more similar to Prowl's. And the five boxes of differently flavored rust bunnies that Prowl had brought home after Sides had declared rust bunnies to be his favorite snack.

He sensed Prowl's movement as Prowl rose and left. He kept his optics on his data-pad and willed his annoyance away. He was fine.

He would have glitched if he'd known what Prowl was going to do next week.

I know my updates aren't very frequent anymore, but reviews are always welcome! And I do have plans in place for next chapter. :)