The humans' recent conversations about Cybertronian anatomy and relationships continue to progress… be forewarned. Adult themes ahead (nothing graphic).

The humans, for once, were partaking in a moment of calm, each engrossed in their individual interests. Raf was coding, Jack and Tess were reading, Miko was working on a sketch of Bulkhead turning an Eradicon into a lobbing ball. The base was quiet. And then it wasn't.

"Do Cybertronians have sex?"

The conversation seemed to happen out of nowhere, and Jack stammered unintelligible things while covering Raf's ears. "Jeez, Tess! Give us a heads up next time! Where did that even come from?"

Raf pushed the taller boy away from him, muttering, "I'm fourteen years old, I've learned about sex!"

Theresa marked her page and closed the newest addition to her Stephen King collection with a crisp 'thunk', setting it on the side table next to the couch. "He's a smart kid, Jack. He probably knows more about it than you do," she joked. sharing a saucy look with Miko. The girls laughed at his expense as he turned redder than a tomato.

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, he pressed, "It just seems like a really invasive question!"

The blonde rolled her eyes, pushing her hair out of her face. "Don't you ever get tired of being so prim and proper all the time?"

He gave her a flat look, and she clasped her hands together, trying to approach the topic from a different angle. "Look, I'm just a scholarly young woman with a thirst for knowledge. It's a simple anatomy question."

"A thirst for something," Miko cackled, earning her a swat on the arm.

Ratchet, who had been nearby, had apparently overhead the conversation, and surprised them all by answering, "We don't procreate the way humans do. New Cybertronian life came from the Well of All Sparks before it went dark." He said it without much inflection, as though answering a question about the weather.

Tess, pleased at having her foot in the door, corrected him, "I didn't ask about babies, I asked about sex. Humans don't just have sex to reproduce, you know…"

He made a strange, strangled sound, apparently taken aback. She couldn't decide if he was trying to come up with a response, or trying not to upend his tanks, but either way, the face he was making while trying to sort out his thoughts was hilarious.

"Yeah, we have an equivalent."

The voice that responded was not Ratchet's, but Wheeljack's. The teens turned to the seasoned wrecker, caught off guard by his sudden nearness.

"Really?" Miko chimed in.

"Cool it, Wheeljack," Arcee advised, shaking her helm as she opted out of this conversation.

"It's not like they're a bunch of sparklings. They're old enough to know about plug and play," he replied dismissively, brushing her off.

Every human in attendance, including Tess, turned pink at the term. Wheeljack laughed at their sudden shift in demeanor.

"That's the end of this conversation!" Ratchet finally piped up from his side of the room, glaring daggers at the uncouth mech.

The eldest girl was quick to recover. "Oh, I get it now. Ratchet's cranky all the time cuz he hasn't had any action in a while."

The medic then did something that shocked every single one of them into silence, including the battle hardened wrecker and the human girl with the mouth of a sailor.

"Ohhh and I suppose you know allll about that? You in your infinite wisdom, which you've gathered over the course of your infinitesimal lifespan! Please, share with us your wealth of knowledge and experience!"

Tess was dumbstruck, eyes wide as she stared across the room at the white and orange bot, who was shooting her one of the sassiest looks she had ever seen.

"What? Nothing to say? I've taken recharge for longer periods of time than you've been alive, human. Remember that the next time you want to make a smart remark about my 'lack of action', as you put it."

He then went on about his business, and the base was once again quiet.