Author's note. Sorry for the delay in updating, for a while FF was not sending any emails, such as reviews or Pm's. Seems to be sorted for now.

Enjoy and please review.

Reaching the medbay, Starscream made his presence known by calling the blue seeker. "Thundercracker."

The blue seeker was busy showing Ricochet his new robo-nany and tried to explain the new routine to him. Why his trine mate put so much effort to the sparkling was beyond him, the child was too young to understand anything too complex. But the brat has shown that he was more intelligent than an average sparkling.

He huffed, he supposed Thundercracker creating Sparklings with Ranger wasn't a completely deranged idea if they inherited the best from both Mechs. Still, he was rather dubious about how this would go.

"Won't it be nice being able to read?" the blue Seeker cooed to the chirping Sparkling before looking up at Starscream. "Hmm? Oh, hey Starscream."

"So that's the nanny drone?" the Seeker commented upon, eyeing the brightly purple drone that resembled a sort of arachnid. Of course Shockwave would design something like that. "I'm here to bring...exciting news."

"Oh?" his trine mate said curiously, seeing his leader's grouchy look.

"Yes, it's our glorious leader's desire that you form a family unit with Ranger," Starscream announced, causing the other Seeker to frown.

"I thought we already were, we're going to co-parent," Thundercracker pointed out, what was Starscream on about?

"Megatron wants you to go further," Starscream smirked. "As in...court him until he agrees to producing some more sparklings."

Spike who listened in on their conversation looked startled by the news. Megatron wanted his dad and Thundercracker to get together? That is absurd, guys can't get kids. At least he hoped not, he liked being an only child.

Thundercracker looked equally astonished at Starscream. Did he hear that right? "He wants me to do what? Why?"

"Because he is valuable. We have Shockwave to thank as he found out that Ranger is in fact first generation model," Starscream explained to his trine mate and then pointed at Ricochet. "And so is that brat."

"What? No that can't be right. First generation mechs are a myth," the blue seeker stated, wondering what madness Shockwave have unleashed.

"I wish. Shockwave confirmed it by checking their CNA and as much as I hate it. It wouldn't be a bad idea if you two produced seekerlets. They probably would be a second generation or third."

"First generation? Second? What's that?" Spike wanted to know but he spoke so fast, it just came out as chirps.

Thundercracker stared at his trine leader before looking down at the curiously chirping Sparkling, his processor in a whirl. This was...a lot to take in. And he didn't know which was crazier, first generation bots being real or that he was supposed to court one.

"That's...that's why Ricochet is so special?" he finally managed to say, stroking his beautiful son's head.

"Essentially yes and Megatron wants more, before the Autobots can get their grubby paws on Ranger," Starscream said with contempt.

"Starscream...that's a big ask," Thundercracker said, swallowing heavily.

"It's not my idea, it's Megatrons," Starscream defended hotly. "That oversized canon wants you to at least make the attempt. Primus forbid the old fool decides to spark Ranger himself up."

"Megatron wouldn't do that, would he?" Thundercracker questioned concerned.

"He might, if you would fail. It would just give him an excuse to do it," Starscream predicted, somewhat feeling sorry for the grounder if that would happen.

Thundercracker didn't like the sound of that. When a couple would mate, it would be a sign of love. But being forced into a bond or mate ageist their own will was a horrible fate.

"I just need to impress him?" the blue seeker asked, uncertain. How would he do that?

"I suppose," Starscream grumbled. "Don't ask me how, compliment his brat or something?"

"That's not helpful, " Thundercracker replied, unamused.

Starscream threw his hands up.

"What do you want me to say? You can't take him on a romantic flight or initiate a courtship dance. I don't know what grounded do, probably something stupid like sweets and crystal displays."

"Well...I guess I could try to get to know him better," Thundercracker said a little unsure. Lifting Ricochet up, he asked with a small smile.

"What do you think sweet spark? Do you know what your sire likes?"

"Repairing cars and old movies," was the first thing to come to Spikes mind but this was still weird. The best he could offer was "Fuel."

"Maybe you're right about sweets, Star," Thundercracker laughed.

"Of course I am. Bedsides you will need to bake some, unless you wish to buy some from Swindle," Starscream said confidently.

"I will try to make some myself. Swindle would just overprice them anyways," Thundercracker stated and smiled at Ricochet. Maybe he could make some for him too.

"Wise choice," Starscream committed. He too didn't trust that yellow purple mech with anything. Sweets were hard to come by nowadays as fuel mostly went for fuel and not sweets and it would make sense that someone like Swindle would try to take advantage in the game of it.

"But for that, I will need a few cubes of Energon and we aren't allowed to take more than what we need to fuel," Thundercracker reminded his trine leader. He would need permission to make the sweets.

"If Megatron is serious, he will probably give you permission as long as you don't overdo it," Starscream suggested. "Hmm, we're probably due a raid soon. Especially as we have a new mouth to feed as well as that bar."

"It has raised morale," Thundercracker pointed out before recalling. "Do you think Ranger can get more supplies?"

"No doubt we'll have to assist him with that," sighed the red and white Seeker. "Thank goodness Megatron hasn't worked that one out. Take that sparkling with you and request extra fuel from Megatron."

"I'll do that," the blue Seeker nodded, standing up with his sparkling. "Ricochet, say goodbye to your nanny drone, you'll see them tomorrow. "

Spike who was enjoying the spider's playfulness in trying to teach him hand gestures, giggled and chirped. "Goodbye."

"Go?" Spike asked curiously, at last some words worked!

"We're going to ask for permission to make sweets for your sire," Thundercracker hugged spike in his arms. "Maybe we will get some over and you can get one too."

"Yes! Want!" Spike instantly smiled in excitement. Cybertronian sweets were so unique treats, like nothing he ever tasted before.

"The point is to spoil his sire, not him," Starscream said strict, while, pointing at Spike.

Thundercracker laughed. He knew what this was about. "Would you change your processor if I saved some for you too?"

"Hmph," the other Seeker huffed but he certainly wasn't denying it. "Ranger will probably give some of his sweets to that sparkling anyway."

"Yeh sweets," Spike agreed, he wanted treats from both of them.

"You're probably right," laughed Thundercracker, that would probably work in his favour, giving Ranger a chance to spoil their sparkling. He could show that he could provide for both of them.

"But don't tell anyone, especially Warp," Starscream warned him. "We can't have this getting around."

"I won't," Thundercracker acknowledged. It was a shame but they just didn't have the resources to spare to make Energon goodies for the whole crew. He made his way with Starscream to Megatron's throne room and soon stood in front of his leader.

"So Thundercracker, Starscream has told you?" the grey Mech questioned, giving Starscream a stern look.

"Yes sir and I've a request to make," Thundercracker stated.

"And what would that be?" the Warlord questioned, it was too soon for demands.

"In order to charm Ranger, I believe I will need an advantage and ask to be allowed to create energon sweets as gifts for him," Thundercracker explained carefully. It would be a 50 % chance if their leader did allow this and if he didn't then he would need to find something else to impress Ranger with.

However, Megatron looked very thoughtful of the request as he watched the seeker and his sparkling who stared right back at him. Creating energon sweets was a big ask, that did take quite the energon to make such delicious things.

"How can you be certain he will be delighted with the sweets?" Megatron questioned. It would be a shame to make the energon goodies and they might not be preheated at all.

"I'm certain he would like them, sir. Ricochet mentioned that he likes fuel," the blue seeker replied.

"And you trust the child's option?" Megatron asked. Wondered if the sparkling really knew what his sire liked.

"I do sir and it is a common gift for an intended," Thundercracker explained before adding. "Besides, it's highly likely he'd want to share them with Ricochet, it could be a real bonding experience for us."

"Ranger will probably be pleased at the opportunity to indulge his spawn," Starscream added for good measure.

"Mmm, that is true," Megatron had to acknowledge, Ranger was certainly a doting creator and surely would jump on the chance to present his offspring with energon goodies. "Our fuel is tight though."

"I know sir," Thundercracker agreed. "I know it's a lot to ask but I feel it would be a good approach. He isn't happy with how custody went, I need a way into his good graces. This could show him I can provide for them both, even if it's a rare treat."

"Very well, I will allow it. But the men can't get a word about the sweets, understand?" Megatron ordered. It would be a nightmare if the others found out and would demand to have sweets too.

"Yes, sit. I will inform Ranger to keep quiet too," Thundercracker nodded, feeling pleased that he now had permission to create Energon goodies. The best place to make them might be some abounded room in this ship.

"Good, if that was all. Leave me," their leader ordered and went back to his own work.

Thundercracker bowed and walked slowly out of the room. He then looked at Starscream. "You wouldn't happen yo know any abounded room I can use to make the sweets and store the energon?"

"As it happens, I do," Starscream said to his relief. "There's one I've sometimes used, it's in reasonable condition and fairly private. If anyone asks, I'm conducting some experiments, that won't raise suspicions."

Thundercracker nodded in relief and with Megatron's permission, no one should look too closely at what they were doing. He'd need some suitable containers to store and hide the treats once he'd made them, along the ingredients and equipment.

"Treats?" Spike questioned, he wanted some as soon as possible.

"Once I've made them," Thundercracker said softly, lifting the sparkling up. "But it's a secret, so you can't tell anyone, understand."

"Tch," Starscream scoffed, he'd better keep an optic to make sure the brat didn't blab.

"Shh?" Spike asked and got a little nuzzle from his adoptive creator.

"Yes, shh, good boy," Thundercracker praised while wondering which goodie he should make. Oil truffles would be ideal but probably too costly ingredient wise. Energon jellies could work or Rust Sticks. Edible crystals were also an options, perhaps some of the minerals on Earth could give an exotic flavour.

He would need to look into that. Earth, did have the basic materials, the only issue was they were mainly controlled by humans, which, would mean encountering an Autobot if attacked.

But maybe he could make a deal with a human? It seems to work fine for Ranger with the bots. No, the humans would be too scared to even consider accepting his help for some ingredients like oil to be traded.

"Do you have any tools I can use to get started?" Thundercracker asked Starscream.

"I'm afraid not. You will have to search the ship's storage rooms and hope for the best," Starscream informed him. His tools were made for science not for making goodies.

"I see," Thundercracker said with a small sigh, that made things a bit trickier. He couldn't really go around asking for help in case bots started to ask questions about why he wanted equipment like that.

"Looks like we'll be going exploring sweetspark," he told his sparkling who beamed, that sounded like fun. "You'll help me find something, won't you?"

"Yes, make sweets," Spike exclaimed excitedly, poking around the Nemesis would be an adventure. Maybe he could find some toys to play with or something to tinker with.

"Good luck," Starscream stated sardonically as Thundercracker lifted Spike onto his shoulder so he could attach himself with his little claws.

"Thanks," Thundercracker replied before going off down the corridor.

"Do you think we will find anything good?" The blue seeker asked his sparkling.

"Yes!" Spike chirped. He hoped that they did.

Soon enough, they reached a storage room. Inside, things were just placed in whatever free space was available. nothing seemed to be organized. Looking around, Thundercracker spotted a large bowl, reaching for it. Inside the bowl were a lot of screws of different sizes. He put them inside a box.

"What do you think, Ricochet? This could work to make the batter," Thundercracker looked over it, but it seems to be in good condition.

"Yes," Spike chirped, remembering some of the times his dad would mix up a cake mixture from a box in a bowl similar to this. And once baked, would slather thick frosting on it along with some sprinkles. His mouth watered just thinking about it, surely Thundercracker could make something just as tasty.

"Make sweets!" he declared excitedly, he wanted them more than ever. "Lots."

"I'll do my best," smiled the blue Seeker, now the little one was really excited. "But it's a secret remember."

Spike nodded but started looking around, searching for anything they could use. He pointed at a large box of tools. "Dere."

"Hmm," Thundercracker considered, taking a closer look at the box Ricochet had indicated. "Good mechling, there might be something we can use."

Some were a bit rusted or completely unsuitable but there was a long smooth bar that might be useful for stirring. He took it out and placed it in the bowl, he'd sterilise everything later. He needed to source as many items as possible, he still didn't know what he'd make.

Maybe it would be safe to do something simple at first until he could figure out what kind of sweets Ranger prefers. Some simple Energon sticks should be just fine.

"How about we head back and check that room Starscream told us about," Thundercracker asked while holding the bowl.

Looking around the storage room one last time, to see if he missed anything, but there wasn't anything else he could see worth taking from this room. Perhaps another storage might have something more.

"Okay. See it," Spike agreed. Wondering what kind of room Starscream would do his science stuff.

"Alright, now remember not a word to the others," the blue seeker reminded his sparkling just in case.

"Shh," Spike agreed, those greedy Decepticons would probably want to gobble them all up.

Thundercracker headed straight there, none of the other Cons paid much attention. Ricochet was less of a novelty now although he still received a few friendly smiles, his presence was a boost. Those less impressed by the sparkling kept it to themselves, ignoring the happily chirping sparkling.

Reaching the room, he found to his relief that it's condition was not bad. Since Starscream had been using it semi regularly, it didn't have the same level of dust and disrepair some of the other rooms in this section had. There were suitable workbenches, at least one Bunsen burner, several test tubes, data pads and various other scientific equipment.

"I think this could work," he said with a smile, there was even a wash basin, perfect for dealing with his bowl and stirrer. "Now all we need is some Energon."

"Lots?" Spike asked, never had he made any sweets and was quite unfamiliar with how they are made.

"Yes, lots. We will need a few cubes at least to get started," Thunder cracker confirmed and wondered how he could sneak in that much Energon without anyone noticing him doing so.

"Get some?" Spike asked, curious if they would visit the rec-rom.

"I will need to. But I'm afraid I will have to visit quite often to get the Energon or do it during the time everyone is recharging," The blue seeker stated. Getting the Energon during the night, seemed like his best bet. it was also a lower chance of him getting found out too.

"Join you!" Spike now demanded cheerfully. He wanted to be part of that, it could be fun.

"Afraid not. It will be passed your bedtime, Ricochet," The seeker reminded him. Rules are rules and his sparkling would need his sleep.

"No bed," Spike protested, this sounded like an adventure. "Help."

"Ricochet," Thundercracker said patiently. "You get grumpy when you miss sleep."

"Noooo," the little sparkling denied, he was never grumpy. "Want come. Get energon."

The Seeker almost laughed, what a determined little thing he was. And what a pleading look he was getting.

"Alright, you can join me. If you can stay awake," Thundercracker told him kindly.

"Yes! Stay awake!" Spike smiled happily. He couldn't wait for the afternoon to arrive, then he and the blue seeker could go out and get the energon!

"We will see. If you fall asleep, you will miss a lot," Thundercracker teased, but wondered how long the sparkling could stay awake. But it wouldn't be very healthy, so he would need at least some warm blanket spaced in his sub-space.

"No! Me watch," Spike told him and added. "Learn!"

"You want to learn to make sweets?" Thundercracker asked surprised at the statement. He never thought that Ricochet would be interested in that.

"Yes," Spike confirmed, why wouldn't he? After all, a good baker had to taste test to make sure his creations had turned out good. Thundercracker could be silly sometimes.

"Well, if you can stay awake, you can watch and learn," Thundercracker promised and his sparkling with joy. He really was enthusiastic about this. "But you must promise you'll go straight to sleep afterwards. And I think you'll need an extra nap beforehand."

Spike huffed, he wouldn't be that tired. But his guardian who looking very firm on this point so he had no choice but to give in.

"Okay, me nap," he agreed and he received a smile and a nuzzle.

"Good boy. Now, why don't we practise some of your flying, you can have a nap afterwards," Thundercracker suggested and Spike perked up, he wanted to fly properly.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly, Thundercracker even checked in on Ranger to see how he was doing. The beautiful Mech was still in a pensive mood but he hid it in front of his son who happily told him about flying. Luckily, Ricochet didn't say a word about sweets, showing he could keep a promise. Ranger even offered to make the blue Seeker a drink which made him hopeful that courting could go well.

He just needed to make a positive first impression.

Soon after, he put Ricochet to sleep. Thundercracker then kept a watchful eye on the time. but with Rangers bar open, some of the mech around the ship would be awake a bit longer than usual. However this, also gave an opportunity. While half the crew probably recharged in time, others would be up talking to each other, keeping themselves in a perfect distraction.

"I should get the energon at midnight," Thundercracker told himself awhile looking at the time, he just had to wait a little longer before he could go out and get the energon.

Looking down at Ricochet, sleeping in his bed. He would need to come back and wake him up once he has gotten the Energon.

Suddenly the was a knock on his door. The blue seeker instantly opened the door to see Skywarp standing there.

"Hello Skywarp," Thundercracker asked his trine mate.

"Hello to you too. Want to head over to Rangers? We could hang out like old times," Skywarp asked cheerfully.

"I can't. I just put Ricochet to sleep and I need to prepare his energon for tomorrow," The blue seeker answered. He might as well do that now to pass the time, can't have his sparkling hungry.

"Aww, can't you come out with him asleep?" his Trine mate asked, giving him a hopeful look.

"Sorry Warp, if he woke up, he'd want me," Thundercracker explained as Skywarp looked immensely disappointed. "But I'd be happy to go out with you tomorrow night, I'll arrange some sort of care. Maybe Soundwave would be willing."

A small bribe wouldn't go amiss in that case.

"I guess," the purple Seeker sighed, he'd missed being able to casually go out with his Trine mates and with a bar actually opened, he wanted to relive some of the good times.

"This is the joy of parenting," Thundercracker reminded him. "And Ranger can't do it if you want his bar to be open. Why not ask Starscream?"

"He's not as fun as you," the other Seeker sighed heavily. "Okay but you better come out with me tomorrow."

"I will," promised Thundercracker with a laugh.

"I will hold you to that. I will tell Ranger you said hi," Skywarp said before walking down the hall.

Thundercracker smiled and waved goodbye before looking back at Ricochet. He was sleeping like a rock, which meant it wouldn't be a bad idea if he could sneak over to the rec-room and get that energon.

Looking left and right down the hall. Thundercracker left his room, he would be back soon. The base was quite quiet currently which was good, it would be easier to hear if someone was coming his way.

Rushing over to the Rec-room, the blue seeker was quite thankful to find the room empty and quickly grabbed a few cubes to hide in his sub-space.

It did feel a bit weird doing this, almost like he was stealing. But he had Megatron's permission and he was doing this for a good cause, he'd only take what he needed and no more. Hopefully one cycle, they'd have enough Energon that anyone could make goodies and not worry about rationing. Quickly, he started filling the cubes, placing each one in sub space as he went.

Ricochet might be a bit grumpy at missing out on filling the cubes but really, it wasn't that exciting. Though filling all these cubes did remind him a raid would be very imminent. He would have to work hard to replace these cubes, show Megatron it was not a waste of resources. A new thought hit him, what would the Autobots do next to retrieve Ricochet and Ranger.

They might well try to take prisoners in order to force a trade. Grimly, he thought he'd need to talk about that possibility with Starscream, he needed time to earn Ranger's affection. That way, even if they were retaken by the Autobots, at least they'd return.

With these thoughts in mind, he started heading back to his room.

He hurried down the halls until he reached his room and before ending he looked left and right. But there was no one here.

Inside his room, Thundercracker was relieved to see that Ricochet was still sleeping, perhaps, it was time to wake him from his nap.

"Ricochet, it's time to wake up," the blue seeker gently took off the warm blanket.

"Nooo," Spike mumbled, sleep was so nice! Why would he need to wake up.

"You need to get up if you want to see me bake."

"Bake...? Sweets!" Spike exclaimed as he suddenly remembered what they were planning to do. Uncurling, he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his optics with a yawn.

"Still a little sleepy?" Thundercracker chuckled, lifting him up into his arms. "You won't want to get up tomorrow."

"We get fuel?" Spike questioned, he wanted to go sneaking around the Nemesis.

"I've already done that," Thundercracker told him and as the Sparkling let out a squeal of protest, added. "It was very boring Ricochet, over and done with in no time. I thought you'd find the baking much more exciting."

Spike huffed but he supposed the blue Seeker had a point.

"Okay," he relented. "We go."

"Yes, we will go now. Just let me grab our equipment before we do," Thundercracker smiled and went out grab a bag to put in the bowl and the smooth bar too. This at least made things easier to carry, and hid them from optic view.

"There, all done," The blue seeker said and picked up Spike into his arms.

"Go!" Spike demanded, they have been waiting long enough.

"Going, but you need to stay quiet," Thundercracker told his sparkling as he left his room and headed to Starscream's lab.

"Why?" Spike asked curiously. What did it matter if anyone saw them? Most cons would still just ignore them either way.

"Because everyone is recharging. It would be rude to wake them up."

Spike actually thought it would be rather funny to wake the other Cons up but he supposed this would ruin their baking. So he nodded and said "Okay."

"Good Mechling," Thundercracker complimented. "Think how happy your Sire will be with these treats we're going to make."

This perked the Sparkling right out, he could almost taste them. He remembered the nice sweets the Autobots had given him, he really wanted more of those. The Decepticons never seemed to have any nice treats, that was probably why they were so grumpy all of the time. He let out a little giggling before covering his mouth with his hands.

"What are you giggling at?" Thundercracker questioned, seeing the mischievous look on his son's face. "You're not planning something, are you?"

"No," Spike said, still stifling his giggles. "Want sweets."

"You'll get some, don't worry," Thundercracker reassured as they walked along the dark, quiet corridors. Less lights were on at this time of the night but he could see well enough.

After some time. They both arrived at Stascreams secret room, inside were a few tables with some tubes of different liquid and circuits of different things that either didn't know what they are.

"Here?" Spike asked, looking unsure if this was the right room. Everything looked messy and he never imagined Starscream as a messy person.

"We have arrived," Thundercracker replied equally surprised.

Looking around, he guessed he could just move some of Starscream's equipment to the other two tables, so he at least get one to start his baking. Hopefully, Starscream won't mind this. Thundercracker began to with his plans and moved some of Starscream's stuff.

"Me help," Spike told him, he wanted to be useful too.

"Hmm, okay, you hand me some things," Thundercracker said, placing Ricochet on the table. "Not the ones with chemicals."

He pointed to the ones he wanted the sparkling to avoid. The sparkling looked curiously at the test tubes but thankfully reached for some of the other pieces of equipment. Thundercracker went to work removing anything he didn't want Ricochet touching, while accepting anything the sparkling offered him. Soon enough they had the table cleared and Thundercracker started to search for some cleaning supplies.

"Starscream could do with being a bit more organised in here," he muttered, there was a quite a bit of dust around. He'd had to remind his trine leader to clear up this room, it wasn't a good idea to leave all of these half finished experiments lying around. Megatron certainly wouldn't be happy if one of them blew up or caused similar problems.

Spike nodded his agreement as his guardian found a few cleaning products and started wiping down the table.

"There," Thundercracker declared with a final swipe. "Now we can start the baking."

"Show!" Spike smiled cheerfully and watched excitedly as Thundercracker held his bowl.

"Patience, Ricochet. Remember baking takes time," The seeker reminded and put the Energon on the table and added some into his bowl before adding some crystal sugar into it as well. He then started mixing the whole thing together.

Spike walked closer to get a better look how Thundercracker was mixing the batter and it was pretty much the same, how humans bake their goods. He watched as Thundercracker used a few tiny boxes and filled it with the batter, like muffins.

"Now these need to stay overnight. The Energon sticks should not take too long to make," Thundercracker informed his sparkling as he put them away.

"Try dat," Spike asked, pointing to the bowl with residual batter in it.

"You want some of this?" Thundercracker questioned and Spike nodded eagerly, tasting a bit of leftover cake batter was one of the best parts.

"Okay but not too much," the Seeker warned, offering the bowl to Spike who eagerly swiped a hand in and scooped up some, stuffing it into his mouth.

"Messy sparkling," Thundercracker chuckled as Spike happily sucked on his fingers. "I'll show you have to make the sticks need, the first thing I need to do is crush some copper and iron, that gives it a good taste."

Spike nodded, enjoying the sweet taste of the batter.

Yepp, he definitely wanted now to become a baker now. This was the best feeling ever, the sweet taste of Energon was delicious and he couldn't help but want more. Still licking his fingers, Spike eyed the bowl of batter.

"Ricochet, no. You already got to taste it," Thundercracker told him kindly. He could tell by Ricochet's look, the same look Skywarp gives him when he wants more high grade.

"No!" Spike complained sadly, he wanted more.

"These are for your sire. We can't have you eat the whole batter," Thundercracker tried to reason with his sparkling, and added. "I can't show up empty handed."

Spike looked defeated, that was true. These sweets was for his dad. but looking at the bowl he got an idea. Spike then pointed at it. "You finish. Me clean."

"Clean, hmm?" Thundercracker said in amusement, he had a feeling he knew what Ricochet meant by 'clean'. Well, a little more couldn't hurt as long as it was a little. "Okay, sweetspark, I'll finish this up."

He scraped more of the batter out of the bowl, transferring little bits onto the muffins to use it up. Once there was a lot less batter left, he handed the bowl to the sparkling who started happily scraping it out. Thundercracker smiled at the Sparkling's antics as he started pouring chunks of minerals into a mortar and picked up pestle to begin crushing them.

"Yummy," Spike declared, raking his clawed fingers into the bowl and shoving them into his mouth, sucking happily.

"You'll need a bath later," Thundercracker chuckled as he continued to grind and almost laughed at the disapproving look his adoptive Sire. What was it with him and baths, he was always cleaning him. Being dirty was so much more fun and judging by the look of some of the Cons, they agreed.

"Me clean! No bath," Spike stated, he wasn't that dirty. Sure his fingers were sticky with the batter, but then he only needed to clean his hands and the problem would be solved.

"It' has been, a while, since your last bath. And don't forget you fell to the ground a few times earlier on your flight lesson," Thundercracker reminded his sparkling and continued.

"The ground has a lot of dirt and bacteria that isn't good for you. If you get that into your system, you could become sick or develop glitches. Everyone needs to stay clean to be healthy."

Spike wasn't sure that all that was true, after all, some human science have shown that people exposed to those bacteria had a better immune system. Maybe, seeker just wanted to be cleaner than the others? he wasn't sure.

"Battycons dirty," he argued in his defence and the navy blue Seeker stared at him in surprise.

"Battycons?" he repeated slowly until he suddenly got it. "You mean the Combaticons?"

"Yeh, them," Spike confirmed. "Them really dirty."

"Mmm, you're not wrong," Thundercracker acknowledged. "Grounders do let themselves get dirtier than us but since they travel on the ground, they have a little more protection against it. As fliers, we need to keep ourselves cleaner because too much grime on our plating can affect our flight systems. We need to be able to feel the air currents when we fly."

"They no have baths?" Spike questioned as Thundercracker let a Bunsen burner to melt some ore for the Rust Sticks.

"Oh they do and they have to maintain their systems or they get clogged up," the Seeker assured him. "But yes, they should have a lot more baths, they'd be less smelly too."

"Make rule?" Spike suggested, that maybe if it was a rule, then it would be a fair rule for everyone.

"I don't know about that. Megatron isn't one to care about such things," Thundercracker pointed out as he placed the treats into one of the shelves to harden.

"Should!" Spike protested. Why must he get regular bath and others get away with it? it wasn't fair.

"I agree. But maybe if you really want this. We could ask Starscream to make it happen," Thundercracker advised and took slowly the empty bowl and started cleaning it with water. Luckily this room had a water tap inbuilt, may be why screamer chose the room.

"Ask him!" Spike agreed, he still licked his fingers.

"Yes, I'll ask him," Thundercracker assured him, musing that Starscream wouldn't object to such a rule. He would at times complain about the state of the troops, about how they present a better image. Especially on a planet like Earth where their enemies happily rolled in the dirt with the local organics. Personally, Thundercracker did think overall improved hygiene would do a lot of good but it would only happen if Megatron demanded and enforced it.

It was worth a try at any rate.

He was amused at Ricochet's insistence, he really was developing a personality of his own and a feisty one at that.

"What now?" Spike questioned as his guardian cleaned everything up.

"Now, it's time for you bed," Thundercracker stated and predictably, the sparkling let out a whine. "No bed!"

"Ricochet. We talked about this, and you agreed to watch me bake and then go to bed," Thundercracker reminded their agreement to his son.

"Did. Sleep boring," Spike complained. Why did everyone need to sleep? Why was it so important that event Cybertronians needs to recharge?

"See it like this. Once you close your optics everything passes by and when you open them, a new day has arrived for you to have as much fun as you want," The blue seeker explained gently and picked him up.

"If you go to bed now, you won't have to take a bath today," Thundercracker grabbed a cloth and cleaned Spikes tiny hands with it.

Spike squirmed, especially with the tickling sensation they caused but he pondered the words. It would be nice to skip the bath although no doubt Thundercracker would give him one soon.

"What about sweets?" he questioned, freeing one hand to point at the goodies.

"They need to set but tomorrow, I'll get them organised in a box and we'll arrange to see your Sire and give them to him," Thundercracker promised, thinking Ricochet could have a bath before said meeting. He wanted to demonstrate how well he took care of their shared Sparkling. "And don't worry, there'll be a few for you specially and Starscream."

"Uhh...okay," Spike agreed, privately he was a bit tired.

"Good boy," Thundercracker soothed, smiling at the yawn Ricochet let rip but not commenting. Cradling him against his shoulder, he glanced over the room to make sure everything was in order before leaving. He was rather tired himself, the sooner he got some rest before his shift tomorrow. Ricochet would have a lesson with his nanny drone and then in the afternoon, they could visit Ranger.

The seeker hurried over to his quarters, looking left and right at the same time. He didn't want to be noticed by anyone at this late hour.

He hurried inside his room and started to prepare their beds. Ricochet was easy enough, he just needed to fluff up everything, it seems Ricochets preferred his bed that way. Once finished, he placed the sparkling in his crib.

"Sweet dreams, Ricochet," Thundercracker kissed his cheek as he put the sparkling to bed. It didn't take long before Spike fell asleep.

The blue seeker then went over quietly to his bed and rechanged. Today was quite the day, hopefully, tomorrow will be calmer.

Sparkplug sighed as he prepared for another shift in his bar later that day. He wished he could talk to Optimus or Ironhide, vent about what was happening and listen to their advice. Being cut off wasn't pleasant, hopefully he cold change that soon. Starscream had agreed he could trade for supplies at some point and he had every intention of reminding the Seeker the next time he saw him.

Of course, they'd never allow him to take Spike with him but he could daydream a little. What would they say when they saw how much he'd grown, how he'd developed little flier parts and his vocabulary was coming on so well. Okay, he did rather hope he could witness his friends exclaiming over his precious son, as people had done when Spike had been a real baby then toddler.

He smiled sheepishly, he was getting nostalgic again. Never mind, at least he'd be seeing Spike later, he'd received a quick message telling him so. Starting to get a rough idea of how shifts worked here, he knew the Command Trine had been working together earlier while Spike had a lesson with that odd looking drone. He supposed while he had Spike, Thundercracker could get some time to himself.

Co-parenting with a Seeker, his life really had gotten mad.

"But might as well clean the place," Sparkplug muttered to himself as he looked at the tables.

Grabbing some cleaning stuff, Sparkplug went to work to clean the tables and mop the floor. Ever since he had opened this bar, people just kept coming in, which didn't leave him much time to properly clean the place.

Once finished, he checked his oil machine and it had already finished cleaning the first batch of oil. Smiling at the result he went to work. A few hours later, the first Decepticons walked into the bar.

"We will have the usual," Onslaught waved his hand.

"Coming up," Sparkplug watched as the Combaticon's went over and sat down at a table and started talking.

A lot of the Cons were content to have the same drinks, so he was rapidly learning their orders. He started mixing up two oil drinks, three High grades with added additives and an extra Warper for Vortex who apparently had a sweet tooth. Once down, he loaded them all up onto a tray and came over to their table.

"Here you go," he said, unloading the drinks which were eagerly grabbed.

"Nice," Brawl grinned, snatching his oil drink and taking a swig.

"Wanna join, blue?" Swindle questioned, a hand taking hold of Sparkplug hip. "Room for one more."

"Sorry, I can't just abandon my work," Sparkplug replied and moved away from the con.

"Aww... Come on. Do be a party bumper!" Vortex wined, while enjoying his drink.

"Yeah! Loosen up, Ranger! We don't want you to work to death," Blast off laughed, he was already halfway through his drink. But noticed how his brothers gave him a stare. "What? it wasn't that of a bad joke."

"It was," Swindle told him and looked at Sparkplug who had already retreated to his working area. "See that? You scared him."

"What? No, I didn't," Blast off argued.

Sparkplug watched the brothers argue from the distance, it was sort of interesting to watch how they reacted to each other.

Onslaught grumbled and swatted whoever was closest to him, chastising that they'd ruined the opportunity for some company. Swindle protested it wasn't his fault, Blast Off was the one who made the comment.

It wasn't unusual for him to receive an invitation to share a drink but he always refused..as diplomatically as possible. Thankfully, no one had tried to force the issue so he hadn't complained. To be fair, some Cons appeared to just want a chat, nothing more. He'd offer an ear at times, he just wanted to avoid getting drunk, who knows what would happen then.

One drink can easily turn into several.

"Urgh, how can you stand that, it's so sweet?" Brawl now demanded of Vortex who smirked.

"Not as sweet as you," he sneered before taking a swig.

"Don't even go there. We have been there and it didn't end well," Brawl warned in a complaint.

"You still blame me for that?" Vortex asked and added. "How many times do I need to apologise for that?"

"I will let you know. For now, drop it," Brawl told him irritably. At that moment, they noticed Skywarp walking in with Starscream who looked as grumpy as ever.

"Huh, Screamer is here. That is odd," Blast off said, while he looked at the seeker.

"Skywarp probably convinced him," Brawl guessed.

"Think he'd lighten up with some decent drink available," Swindle drawled, causing his leader to snort.

"You'd need some serious High Grade for that," he said with a touch of contempt.

"Heh, not even a good looking bartender can bring a smile to that sour face," Vortx grinned, taking another gulp of his overly sweet drink. "Probably why no one ever frags him."

They laughed at this as the Seekers made their way to the bar.

"You want a Warper?" Sparkplug asked with a smile to Skywarp who grinned and nodded. Turning to Starscream, he asked. "What will it be?"

"One of those oil drinks, I'm not getting overcharged or rusting out my insides," the Seeker said testily, shooting the Combaticons suspicious looks.

"Coming up," Sparkplug said but as he started to put them together, Starscream suddenly said. "Seeing Thundercracker lately?"

"Can't say that I have. Been too busy working," Sparkplug answered while he grabbed two glasses and started to mix the two drinks.

"Not very cooperative are you?" Starscream asked him while he watched Ranger at work.

"I admit, my work has had me busy here at the bar, but that doesn't mean that I don't plan on visiting Thundercracker and my son," Sparkplug replied back as he finished both orders and handed them over. "One warper and one Oil drink, enjoy."

"Thanks!" Skywarp instantly grabbed his drink eagerly.

"When are you planning to visit?" Starscream questioned as he too grabbed his order and took a sip of it. It still tasted good.

"When are you planning to get me a trade visit with my friends?" Sparkplug asked in return.

"So eager to fling yourself into Autobot arms?" Starscream scoffed in a way that almost came out as a hiss. Huh, he was in some mood today, even by Starscream's standards.

"I can't run this bar if I don't have the ingredients," Sparkplug told him calmly. "And Shockwave hasn't been successful, has he?"

"No," Starscream readily acknowledged with a smirk. "He should stick to what he knows."

Sparkplug shrugged slightly, adding an almost syrupy substance to a container which already contained some of the special flavour cubes Wheeljack had given him, in this case lemon. He was going to experiment a little with some cocktails, see what he could create. Shame he didn't have little umbrellas to go with that, what would the Cons make of those?

"Thundercracker...wishes to make an effort," Starscream now said, looking grumpy again. "Something about...effective parenting of that sparkling."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Skywarp cut in. "TC's a great Sire."

"If he wasn't. Buster wouldn't be in good health." Sparkplug said as he started to play with a new drink, he grabbed some of the lemon cubes.

Why would the trine keep reminding him of that? It was a good thing that the blue seeker was an excellent parent, but each time hearing that. Sparkplug couldn't help but feel jealous, after all, spike was his son and he had raised him well himself.

"I will visit them today after work." Sparkplug answered and looked at both seekers. "But that means the bar closes a bit earlier than usual."

"What?" Skywarp almost spat out his drink at the information and wined. "Why do you have to do that for?"

"Buster has a bedtime schedule. I can't visit him when he is recharging," Sparkplug explained. It was the most logical thing to do, even if it meant his customers wouldn't like it.

"Aww," Skywarp whined but Starscream gave him a sharp dig in the side and surprised Sparkplug by saying. "Deal with it Warp. If they both want to gush over the Sparkling, let them. I don't want a bunch of overcharged idiots stumbling around anyway."

"It won't be every night," Sparkplug reassured the petulant Seeker. "But I don't want to miss out on too much."

"Fine," Skywarp sighed, he clearly wasn't going to win this argument, especially without his trine leader's support. "I'd better have another one then."

"Skywarp," Starscream scolded, he did not want his trine mate embarrassing him by being overcharged on that ridiculous drink.

"Hey, he's still open and it's allowed," the purple and black Seeker shot back as Sparkplug shook the container with his new mixture in.

"You could try this if you like," he offered to cheer the Seekers up. "It's a new drink."

"Another horrendously sweet one?" Starscream asked suspiciously and Sparkplug smiled.

"No, this one should be a bit more tart," he explained. "I'm hopefully to have a few different flavours."

"Hm, wouldn't mind any of those," Starscream said as he watched Skywarp try out this new creation.

"Ahh! What is this drink?" Skywarp questioned. His expression changed into a frown as the sour taste disturbed his glossia. "Why does my sense feel so sensitive?"

"That is quite interesting," Sparkplug didn't know that Cybertronian could actually feel the sour flavour the same way as humans would. "I am guessing you're not a fan of that one."

"Absolutely not. Blah, that one was horrible," Skywarp admitted, He didn't know a drink like this would actually exist.

However, this did capture Starscream's curiosity. He grabbed the drink and looked at it first. It glowed yellow, a strange colour indeed.

"Mm," he considered, his curiosity piqued. He might as well give it a chance. He took a generous sip and was astonished at the almost tingling sensation he received in return. And then the taste hit him...

"Huh," he hummed, rather pleasantly surprised. "This isn't bad."

"Looks like you like sour," Sparkplug grinned, relieved someone liked it. So bots had varying tastes, just like humans.

"It's certainly better than the disgust concoction you make Skywarp," Starscream admitted taking another sip as his trine mate looked at him in horror.

"Seriously, you like that? Urgh, Screamer," Skywarp gagged, sticking out his glossia before taking a quick glug of his Warper.

Sparkplug laughed while an odd thought hit him. Did Thundercracker prefer sweet or sour?

Thinking back to when the blue seeker tried a kiwi fruit cube, he didn't seem to dislike it. Perhaps Thundercracker's taste is a bit closer to sour? maybe he could mix a passion fruit flavoured drink for him, it wouldn't hurt to try and he did have a few of those cubes left.

He needed to see the bots and soon for an update, but to do that he needed the seeker's help to do so. Sparkplug shifted his attention back to Starscream.

"I need a date on the trip," Sparkplug whispered in demand.

"What? You want a trip date with Screamer?" Skywarp asked out loud, why would ranger date screamer? shouldn't he go for TC?

"Shh! a date for the trip to the Ark," Sparkplug cleared out the confusion.

"What, you don't think Screamers good looking?" Skywarp asked in confusion. This caused the nearby Combaticons to roll with laughter at Rangers apparent rejection of their commander.

Starscream growled and elbowed his trine mate in annoyance before giving Sparkplug a shrewd look.

"I'm sure I can arrange something," he said idly. "Away from Megatron and Soundwave prying optics. Hmm, perhaps three cycles from now."

"Why then?" Skywarp questioned before the other Mech could.

"Thundercracker has the cycle off," Starscream answered idly. "We can pretend you are doing something with that sparkling, it'll be less suspicious that way."

"Sounds good," Sparkplug agreed, that did make sense. He was glad to have a set date, it'd be good to see his friends again.

"We will meet at Thundercrackers quarters," Starscream decided, eyeing the Combaticons. They still were laughing.

"Great, I will be there," Sparkplug agreed. He was quite sure that three cycles meant 3 days from now. It still was quite a long way to wait for.

"Will be flying him over again?" Skywarp asked and got confused reactions from Screamer and Ranger. And reminded. "You know, like last time when we flew and he froze up."

"That is a good point. As efficient it was to save time. I rather not freeze up again like that," Sparkplug said, thinking back to it, it felt like his insides were coming ice cubes.

"I assumed as much. You will have ahead start from us and we will later meet up on the way," Starscream stared annoyed. it was a risk to let Ranger drive on his own, but he also knew that the mech wouldn't run away without his offspring.

"I won't dawdle, " Sparkplug assured him, getting a proper drive and stretching his tyres would be wonderful. Just thinking about it was making him angsty. And speaking of drives...

"We still on for that race?" He grinned which instantly made Skywarp perk up.

"Oh yeah, you wanna race Screamer," he laughed out loud. "Can't wait to see that."

"Hah, ridiculous, " Starscream tsked, pausing as he lifted his glass again. "You'll never win."

"Well see," Sparkplug chuckled, Spike needed a chance to get out in the sun again. Speaking of that, he'd need to get organised for visiting, so he began to clear away anything he could.

Starscream watched him as he drank, he seemed to know what Sparkplug was up to.

"Closing up already?"

"Yes, as you already know. I want to spend time with Buster before his bedtime," Sparkplug replied. He moved his ingredients inside his small storage room, for safe keeping.

"Aaaw, do you have to close now?" Onslaught asked, coming over with his empty glass.

"I do, I want to see my kid," Sparkplug explained to the Combaticons.

"Maybe you will be interested in some toys?" Swindle smirked and quickly added. "You know, I think I might have something for the right price."

"Uh huh," Sparkplug said wryly. "I'm sure you do but I don't really have any money to buy."

"But you probably do have things to trade," Swindle pointed out, never one to back down from a potential sale.

"What I have is for my bar," Sparkplug said, still clearing away though pausing to top up Onslaught glass. "Thanks for the offer."

"Don't wanna see what I've got?" Swindle still pressed, surely no creator could pass up the chance to buy new toys for their little scraplet? "You could take a look and decide then."

"You never give up," Starscream scoffed with a roll of his optics.

"I agree with screamer. Don't make the trade, he will overprice you," Skywarp warned. It was hard at times to resist Swindles inventory, but it never was worth it.

"Thanks for the tip. Besides, I rather play with Ranger, the most valuable memories are the time we spent together," Sparkplug spoke out of experience. Of course, these are new memories with spike, but equally valuable to him.

"Well, the toy would still be a good way for you to make the kid happy." Swindle insisted, but got pushed out of the way by his brothers.

"Thanks for the drinks, we will be going now," Onslaught informed Sparkplug as he started to drag Swindle along.

Sparkplug, Skywapr and Starscream could hear Swindles protests and his brother arguing that he would get them disliked or banned from the bar if he messed with Sparkplug.

"Nice one Ranger, you've won over Onslaught," grinned Skywarp, toasting the bar Mech before tossing back his drink. "He'll make sure Swindle doesn't bother you."

"Much," Starscream added. "That Mech won't give up easily, he'll probably try to catch you another time."

"Thanks, I'll handle him if that happens," Sparkplug smiled, starting to clean in earnest.

"You really are excited," Skywarp noted while adding with a smile. "He is a sweet kid though he fusses at his baths."

"Kids," chuckled Sparkplug. "He'll grow out of it, don't worry. I wouldn't mind giving him a bath at some point."

"I'm sure TC would be happy to do that with you, right Screamer?" Skywarp asked his trine leader who nodded.

"Of course. Do you remember the way or do you require assistance?" The seeker asked.

"I remember the way," Sparkplug was once shown to Thundercracker's quarters, the path was easy enough to remember.

"Can we join you?" Skywarp asked curiously, it would be fun to play with the kid again.

"I'm afraid that I require your help Skywarp," Starscream cut in before Sparkplug could answer.

"Really? You need my help?" Skywarp asked quite baffled.

"Oh yes. I have a few errands for you to handle," Starscream confirmed, wonder what kind of goes chase he could send Skywarp on. He needed to keep his purple trine distracted while Thundercracker and Ranger got to know each other.

"Really?" Groaned Skywarp but a harsh glare told him the answer.

"Come along," Starscream ordered, privately thinking Megatron better appreciate this. No one could say he had not greased the wheels of romance.

"Fine, say hi for me," the purple Seeker sighed in a defeated way, amusing Sparkplug.

"I will," he agreed, before hurrying to Thundercracker quarters, engines thrumming in anticipation. Arriving, he knocked and was soon let in.

"Hey, " the Seeker greeted softly. "He's been waiting for you."

"Dad," Spike yelled, igniting his thrusters in excitement and shooting over to his Sire.

"Hello, Kido! How you been?" Sparkplug caught him in a hug.

"Been good," Spike replied happily and hugged his dad tightly.

"That is good to hear, I missed you," Sparkplug said as he walked into the room. It looked cleaner than the last time he was here.

"Me too!" Spike said and looked at Thundercracker, wondering when he would show the surprise gift. But he wouldn't ruin the surprise, he promised Thundercracker.

"Ricochet has been quite excited to meet you again," the seeker smiled. it was cute to watch the two cuddling.

"He wouldn't let me forget."

Sparkplug smiled proudly, Spikes continued and very strong affection for him touched him so much. Despite all that had happened, his son knew who he was and wanted him. It eased so many of his worries.

"I've been excited too, I had to chase bots out of the bar to get here," he teased making the sparkling giggle. "Naughty bots?

"A little naughty," Sparkplug confirmed, cradling his son close. "So, get up to anything fun today?"

"Yes," Spike agreed, giving the Seeker a significant look. "Help TC."

"Clever boy, what with?" Sparkplug asked, wondering what chore Spike had assisted with.

Thundercracker smiled and went over to his desk where a box lied. He picked it up and held it in front of Sparkplug. "With this. I hope they are to your liking."

"Thanks," Sparkplug put Spike down on the bed. Spike watched him curiously and excitedly.

He looked down at the metal box, wondering what Thundercracker and Spike had been up to. He then took the box and sat down at the bed and opened it.

"Are these sweets?" Sparkplug questioned. Looking down he saw sweet shaped energon goodies.

"They are. Do you like it?" the blue seeker asked, he trusted Ricochet's choice and watched Ranger nervously.

"Well, I'll have to try one to see," Sparkplug chuckled, giving Spike a smile as he now knew why his son was so excited.

"Try, try," Spike insisted, once his dad liked it, he'd be able to have some.

"Okay, I'm trying," Sparkplug laughed, kids always wanted a treat, that didn't change with age or species. He popped one in, taking a moment to chew it, he hadn't had a chance to taste anything like this. He experienced a rush of sweetness, almost like caramel if he had to compare. Actually, with a bit of salt or something similar, it could easily have a salted caramel taste.

"Wow, this is amazing," he praised and of course, Spike beamed with pleasure. "Clever boy."

As Spike cuddled into him, chirping with pleasure, Sparkplug looked up at the hovering Seeker.

"They're really good, thank you. This must have taken awhile, I appreciate it."

"Thanks, but it was Ricochets idea," Thundercracker smiled and relaxed, knowing his hard work was a success.

"Really?" Sparkplug asked in surprise and looked at his son who smiled.

"Yes! Me helper!" Spike cheered happily and pointed at one of the sweets. "Me Try?"

"You know me too well, Buster." Sparkplug laughed. looking inside the box, he grabbed a random sweet and handed it over to Spike. "For your hard work."

"Sweets!" Spike grabbed the treat with gear hands and started to eat it.

Sparkplug then looked over at the seeker and wondered if he should offer one to him too. it might be unfair or tempting to have the seeker watch them enjoy the sweets.

"Here, you can have one too," Sparkplug offered.

"Oh," Thundercracker said in surprise, he was sure Ranger would keep them just to share with his son. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Sparkplug said, he couldn't stuff his face while the poor Seeker looked on. "I can't scoff all of these myself, you have one."

"Yes," Spike agreed thickly, mouth full of Energon goodie. "It good."

"Okay, I'll have one," the blue Seeker agreed, Ranger would still have plenty left. The handsome Mech scooted over, lifting Spike onto his lap so there was space for Thundercracker to sit beside them. He was offered the box and he delicately took a treat, popping it into his mouth and savouring the wonderful flavour, they really had turned out well. It actually gave him a warm feeling, sitting here and enjoying sweets with Ranger and Ricochet yet it was odd. He never expected to feel this way.

"Like it?" Sparkplug lightly teased, he could see by the Seeker's expression he did.

"I do. I haven't had a chance to try them," Thundercracker admitted as he enjoyed his time.

"Why not? I thought you said you made these with Buster," Sparkplug asked kindly.

"We did. But I didn't have time," Thundercracker explained, it was tricky to get the sweets to his room without anyone noticing.

"I see. You did a good job," Sparkplug smiled and noticed that spike was getting quite messy. He sub-spaced out a napkin and started to clean Spike's face. The young sparkling got sweet all over his mouth and cheeks.

"Noo!" Spike protested and tried to lick his hand with the remaining traces of the sweets.

"Buster, you can't get all of it, you need cleaning," Sparkplug told his squirming son, the youngster shoving at the napkin while still trying to lick up the stickiness.

"No, no!" Spike argued right back, growling with annoyance.

"He's right, if you don't let him, you'll need a bath," Thundercracker reminded him and the sparkling gave him such a betrayed look that he almost laughed. Ricochet really could be funny about baths.

"Bah," Spike declared grumpily but allowing his dad to finish cleaning him up.

"Speaking of baths, I'd like to do that sometime," Sparkplug now said, rubbing his grumpy Sparkling's back.

"You would? I wouldn't mind the help," Thundercracker said, but wondered how thoroughly Ranger would clean Ricochet.

"No bath!" Spike declared annoyed. He already let them clean him with a cloth with wasn't as bad.

"You can't avoid it forever Buster," Sparkplug told him truthfully, Spike had grown out of this when he became an adult. But it seems his hate of baths has returned. "Or do you want to be known as the smelling kid?"

"No smell," Spike pointed out.

"Not now, but I think it coming. Can you smell that?" Sparkplug asked and made sniff nose as he moved his face closer to Spike who tried to move away. "Ahh, I think you might."

"No, smell nice," Spike argued back, what was it with grownups and their obsession with being squeaky clean all the time? "Bath stupid."

"Baths aren't stupid and you know it mister," Sparkplug told him, he couldn't believe how much fuss his son was making. "Anyway, you can have fun in baths, right?"

"Remember how much fun you had playing with the foam?" Thundercracker cut in, trying to cajole the sparkling into a better frame of mind.

Ricochet offered him a frown before declaring. "You have bath too."

"You want us to clean up?" Sparkplug laughed, Spike seemed to think this would be a punishment for them. "We'll do that if you cooperate."

Thundercracker nodded, it wasn't a problem for him. Ricochet seemed less against baths if he was sharing them with others. He ruefully recalled their first bath where Ricochet happily tried to throw sponges at Megatron, thank goodness the first one hadn't hit his leader in the face. That would have been some row.

"He enjoys throwing things in the bath," he told Sparkplug who looked up at him.

"No surprise there," Sparkplug laughed amused, spike used to do that too when he was younger. How this brought up memories of those old good days. "Are the baths still open?"

"They are always open," Thundercracker informed and wondered. "You have been to the wash rooms, right?"

Now Spike looked at his dad and smirked. He then pointed his finger at his dad and declared. "Gity!"

Sparkplug looked defeated at that statement. "I guess I am guilty. I haven't checked those rooms out yet."

"You haven't?" Thundercracker was surprised at the news. Ranger has been with them a few weeks by now and surely. No, they both needed a bath. "I will show you the way."

"Naughty daddy," Spike couldn't resist gloating. "You be smelly."

"Can't be that bad," Sparkplug defended, a little surprised he'd forgotten so easily. He'd just had so much in, getting used to being a Transformer, running his bar, ect.

"Naughty," Spike giggled as Thundercracker hid a smile, that was a little funny. To be fair, he hadn't instantly realised Ranger was in need of a bath, the Mech obviously didn't get as grimy as some bots did.

"You'll help me clean your Sire up, Ricochet?" He teasingly asked his adoptive son.

"Yes. I help," Spike agreed.

"Good, let go shall me?" the blue seeker asked as he looked at the grounder.

"Yeah, let's go," Sparkplug picked up Spike and followed Thundercracker out of the room.

"We will go down this hall and take a few turns later on," The seeker informed as he led the way towards the wash and bath rooms.

Sparkplug tried to remember the pathway they took, he would need to find this room later on, on his own.

"Here we are," Thundercracker announced as they finally arrived at the right section of the base. He led the way into a humid room filled with steam and gently hissing pipes. Sparkplug knew if he'd still been human, he'd be sweating very quickly.

"There are showers in the next room," Thundercracker told him, indicating an open doorway while flicking on a bit more lighting, the room was usually dimly lit. "But I think it's a bath you're needing."

"Yes," Sparkplug said ruefully.

"Gather some cleaning cloths and cleaner," the Seeker now instructed him. "I'll check out a tub, make sure it's hot enough for us."

Sparkplug nodded, going over to a shelf that contained the necessary articles for cleaning. Honestly, a hot bath was looking more and more attractive, something to unwind and forget his problems in. Meanwhile, Thundercracker checked the condition of the already filled tub, satisfied it was clean for them and had a good temperature. Of course, since Ricochet was with them, it couldn't be too hot but it would still be relaxing once everyone was thoroughly cleaned.

"Is it alright?" Ranger asked him as he approached.

"It is, we can get hop in now," Thundercracker nodded. The water was lukewarm, not too hot nor too cold. But warm enough for them all to enjoy.

"Hear that Buster? We can now get cleaned," Sparkplug smiled and noticed his son stare at the water. he carefully stepped inside. The water hit his frame and it was perfect temperature. Right next to him, Thundercracker also joined them.

Spike held tightly onto his dad. He wasn't sure, but it was something about the water he didn't like or didn't trust. He looked up at his dad and asked. "Fast bath."

"In a hurry are you?" Sparkplug laughed, amused by spikes reaction. "It's not that bad, Buster."

Spike pulled a face, annoyed that he couldn't explain what the problem was. And of course no one was going to take him seriously.

"If you like," Thundercracker offered taking hold of a cloth and bottle of soap. "I can clean your back while you give Ricochet a wash."

As Ranger looked at him in surprise, he added in amusement. "Seekers help each other clean, I sometimes have Skywarp clean me while I take care of Ricochet then I return the favour."

"Oh," Sparkplug said, a little nonplussed but it did make sense. "Uh, yeah, that'd be good thanks."

"Clean now," Spike insisted, tugging at his dad.

"Aright. Just calm down," Sparkplug took a cloth too and rubbed it with some of that shampoo. He then gently started to clean Spike by rubbing his back. It seemed to help a bit to calm him down.

"See, is that nice?" Sparkplug asked. He then moved to clean away some of the dirt off Spike's feet.

"Tickles," Spike giggled. struggling to get his feet free.

"Ah, I see the kraken has gotten your feet," Sparkplug joked joyfully.

"Kraken? What is that?" Thundercracker asked in confusion while watching the two playing around.

"A giant sea monster with a lot of tentacles," Sparkplug chuckled, tickling the soles of Spikes feet. "Here to eat little boys feet."

"No!" Squealed the sparkling with laughter, wings fluttering madly.

"Oh," Thundercracker exclaimed before asking in concern, was that a real thing? "There's none nearby is there?"

"Only me," Sparkplug assured him, hiding a hand in the water, before rising wriggling fingers out, pretending to be a kraken. "Isn't that right sweetspark?"

"Daddy silly," Spike giggled again, feet splashing at the 'monster.'

"I can see," Thundercracker agreed, smiling as he poured some liquid on the other Mechs back and started to carefully scrub.

Sparkplug continued to put some more Shampoo on the cloth and scrubbed spikes head and moved down to his arms and legs. Of course, Spike tried to push away the cloth a few times. But he was almost clean.

"Almost finished, kiddo. I just have your back left," Sparkplug promised spike who looked at him with eager optics. The scrubbing Thundercracker did on his back felt nice, like a massage.

"Perhaps, it would be better if I cleaned his back," Thundercracker suggested from the back.

"How so? I'm capable," the former human replied, wondering why the seeker would offer the help in the first place.

"I'm sure you are. But seeker wings are quite sensitive, You may hurt him accidentally," Thundercracker explained gently. Ranger seemed to be quite a capable sire.

Sparkplug frowned but he did not want to put Spike off being washed by him. So with a heavy sigh, he said. "Look, why don't you show me how to clean Seeker wings? You might not always be available when he needs a clean."

"Fair enough," Thundercracker agreed and moved to take Ricochet onto his lap. This was usually the part where the Sparkling fussed the most, his wings were so delicate that being cleaned felt very intense for him.

"You need to make sure the cloth is well wringed out," the blue Seeker explained as Ranger watched intently. "You can't apply too much pressure and a heavy sodden cloth will make that tricky."

"Okay," Sparkplug acknowledged as Thundercracker wringed out the cloth after squeezing soap onto it. He then started to delicately clean the little wings, making Spike squeal at the sensation.

"You also have to be careful here, at the wires," Thundercracker pointed his finger where the wires from the wings and the back connected. "If the cloth gets stuck there, it can be painful."

"I see. So I need to be mindful of how I clean his wings," Sparkplug said thoughtfully. He also needed to be careful. But never did he think that seeker wings were sensitive.

"Yes, and it helps if you clean in circles. It will feel more comfortable for Ricochet," The seeker advised as he did so himself on Spikes's wings. Surely enough Spike still tried to fight his way out, but he seemed more sleepy by doing that.

"Wow. That seems one easy way to get him to bed," Sparkplug said as he watched Spike doze off.

"It can be," Thundercracker chuckled in agreement. "Sadly, it's not a guarantee."

"That would be too easy," agreed Sparkplug and they grinned in commiseration.

"A massage can help soothe him," Thundercracker continued, aiming for any spots where dirt might hide, causing a bit of squirming although Spike was still sleepy. "Along with a story and a full tank of warm Energon. I'm so glad we have nutritional fuel here."

Sparkplug heard something hidden in the Seeker's voice and thought he recognised it. Gently, he said.

"Always in the back of my mind, is there enough for him. I can do without but he can't."

"We have enough for now. The trade with the Autobot has given us a better quality of fuel and I have stashed some away from Ricochet to enjoy," The seeker replied as he was almost finished cleaning the sparkling. He as been keeping his own stash for awhile just in case.

"Don't you guys get the same quality from your... raids?" Sparkplug asked curiously.

Now, this was interesting. He knew that the Autobots have much better energon. But what about the energon the Decepticons got from humans? Wasn't that the same quality as well?

"I wish it was. But the true fact is that our energon is created in a rush, which, lessens its quality. We try to grab as much energon as we can during the raids and that is the point of the attack on human powerplants," Thundercracker informed him. His voice hitting with concern.

"I see," Sparkplug said slowly, of course the Autobots could take a lot more time and care in producing their fuel. But it didn't come from human power planets for the most part, his understanding was that they took advantage of volcano they'd crashed into, creating thermal energy. He was also aware of them using some solar panels to get Energon.

"It's a shame there isn't a more reliably method," he couldn't help but say. "One that wouldn't put you into conflict with the Autobots all the time."

Thundercracker sighed, it was true that most of the fighting was over fuel rather than actively trying to defeat each other. The Decepticons were fighting to keep themselves fuelled and also to send Energon home to Cybertron. But it was slow going, especially as the Autobots still on Cybertron would raid the supplies sent to Shockwave. This state of affairs could easily drag on for many cycles to come.

"It is but the problem is we don't have enough to spare for setting up our own power planet," he said softly.

"And if you did, the bots would just close it, right?" Sparkplug questioned. He knew the Autobots would try to do that. after all, they didn't trust the Decepticons with energon after all those times when they chose to build those weapons of doom.

"That is right. The Autobots would destroy it," Thundercracker agreed and added. "I think that is why we don't have one."

"I can see the struggle. But if you guys would maybe stop attacking this planet, just maybe the bots would allow once to run," Sparkplug said and watched as the seeker put away the cloth hand held a sleeping Spike.

"He is clean now," Thundercracker said and quickly added. "That is up to Megatron."

"Guess so," Sparkplug agreed, the Decepticon leader probably felt it was worth attacking power plants than risking their own being destroyed. "Here, I'll take him, you probably want to wash up."

"I won't be long," the Seeker promised, gently handing the Sparkling over and beginning his own clean. Sparkplug cradled Spike close, relaxing in the warm water, watching Thundercracker deftly take care of his toilette. He had to admit, he was feeling a lot cleaner, he'd have to keep on top of that. After all, he needed to set a good example for the sleeping Sparkling who was unbelievably cute right now.

He smiled down at his son lovingly, not realising that Thundercracker was surreptitiously watching him. Right now, he looked more beautiful than ever, the love shining out of him made the Seeker take note. He was under orders to make an effort with the neutral but seeing him like this, a part of him realised he wanted to win the other. Ranger and Ricochet truly looked like they belonged together, he couldn't separate them.

Supposed he could win Ranger's heart. Then he could join their ranks and live on the ship together? Would Ranger choose to stay? He hoped so at least. But they both were far from that and today have just got them close enough to be friends.

Thundercracker quickly finished scrubbing himself by using some tools, and then he washed away all that dirty shampoo off him, leaving his paint job shining.

"I'm finished," He replied, looking at Ranger and a sleeping Ricochet. It was the sparkling bedtime. it seemed their time together has come to an end.

"You look good," Sparkplug complimented. It was surprising to see how much of a wonder a bath could do to Cybertronian's paint job.

"Oh, thanks," he said, feeling a little embarrassed. He didn't get a huge number of compliments, since everyone knew each other on the Nemesis, they were too used to each other's presence. "You look pretty good too."

"Being clean makes a difference," Sparkplug said in amusement, admiring his now shiny plating. "Guess we better get this one to bed."

"Yeah," Thundercracker agreed before adding. "We could clean him together regularly if you wish. You could learn and practise how to tend to his wings and thrusters, he'll probably be more willing to bathe with you."

"I'd like that," Sparkplug said with a smile. "Guess we can also help each other out."

Thundercracker nodded, mouth a little dry. "Trine always helps each other."

"I heard something about that. Flyers are close to each other," Sparkplug said as they both walked down the purple dark hall of the Nemesis. Couldn't the con's choose a better colour for their ship? It looked just so depressing.

"It's more than just that. We help each other in need and support one another," Thundercracker explained. It wasn't a surprise for him to know that Ranger didn't know much about flyers. "If one of us is attacked, the others move in to protect."

"So in other words, a trine is close to what a family is?" Sparkplug asked, it sounded like they are very protective of each other.

"In a way, we are. But it goes deeper, it's hard to explain. We do share a bond with each other," the blue seeker informed.

"Oh," Sparkplug said, remembering how fast Thrust's Trine had shown up after he and Ironhide had tangled. And Ramjet's words about attacking one meant attacking all three of them. "So are you like brothers or...more like romantic partners?"

"In a way, a combination of that," Thundercracker said thoughtfully. "Some Trines are romantically involved, we're not, we're more like brothers in that sense. But our bond is deeper than that of normal siblings, it's closer to bond mates. As long as our bond is open, we can feel how the others are doing, although great distance can diminish that."

"Is it similar to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?" Sparkplug questioned, very interested. He'd heard enough in the Autobot base to know that twins had a different bond from regular siblings.

"Yes, that is a good comparison," Thundercracker agreed. "Of course, they were sparked with such a deep bond, when we become Trine, we officially bond. I'll have to tell you a bit about the ceremony sometime."

"Wouldn't hurt to know that, I suppose," Sparkplug said as they reached their quarters. Spike looked so peaceful while he slept, but it wasn't Sparkplug's turn yet to take care of his son. He carefully handed over Spike to the seeker. "I bet he will sleep through the night."

"I think he will," Thundercracker chuckled in amusement. But it was also a relief that Ricochet could sleep without waking up everyone.

"Well, goodnight and see you both in the morning," Sparkplug waved as he headed off to his room for much needed rest.

Author's note. How does Thundercracker's 'courting' progress? Find out next time, until then.