Fire Side Chair

AN: I know, time has gotten away from me.. AGAIN. Honestly, I don't know where the time goes. I'm so busy with volunteer work and then working on my house and yard, things just slip by without me realizing it. I'll try not to let another month go by without an update. But like I said in previous chapters, my muse is more active in fall and winter when there's less chores/repairs that need to be done and I can settle in (with a toasty warm blankie, hot chocolate, and food) and dedicate unlimited hours to crafting a story.

So, here's a little introspective piece.

Hope you like!

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"We ready to go?" Bumblebee asked, putting a cooler in a trailer.

"Just about," Spike said, placing several blankets on top the cooler. "Waiting on Carly."

Said human appeared a moment later, looking harassed. The reason came waltzing behind her, radiating a gremlin's mischief.

"So, what's the big deal?" Sideswipe asked as Carly joined Sparkplug and Spike. "You're spending the weekend pretending you are homeless?"

"We're camping," Spike clarified. "It's great to get away from everything and simply enjoy nature, you know?"

Sideswipe paused a full second before scoffing. "Nope. I prefer technology and comfort."

"It's great to disconnect from the hustle and bustle and enjoy peace and quiet," Carly added, rechecking the camper. "To hike, go fishing, swimming, cook out, have a big bonfire, tell ghost stories."

Sideswipe's face contorted in thought. Those things sounded appealing. He thought the camping experience was scavenging for food, sleeping on the ground, and being bored by staring at trees.

"Sounds… fun," he put in. "Can I come, too?"

Three humans exchanged glances. They knew Sideswipe's reputation. If he became bored, he became a nuisance and they wanted to enjoy the weekend without dealing with a whiny Lamborghini. Then Hound and Prowl appeared, Prowl scowling at Sideswipe.

Sparkplug nodded toward Prowl. "You'd have to run it by Prowl."

Sideswipe turned expectant, sparkling like optics to his favorite nemesis.

"Can I come camping, Prowler?"

Prowl's doorwings flicked in annoyance. Since both were off duty he couldn't reprimand Sideswipe for the insubordination. The internal war was visible on his features as he weighed the pros and cons. In the end, he decided to allow Sideswipe the chance to join them.

Mainly because he knew that Sideswipe would have free run on pranks and tormenting his teammates. Without Prowl running interference, there was going to be a lot of ill feelings and potential court martials when Prowl returned.

"On three conditions," Prowl said sternly, ever bit the SIC.

Sideswipe immediately looped arms around the black and white officer and squeezed him tight.

"Of course I'll charge with you, handsome mech!" Sideswipe crowed, becoming overly affectionate and earning and smack upside the helm. He laughed it off, releasing his victim and waiting for Prowl's terms.

"One, you will not ruin the weekend by complaining," Prowl said adamantly. "Two, you will show proper conduct while away from base. Third, you will respect the humans and their traditions without whining and making inappropriate suggestions."

"Whatever do you mean, Officer Big Tires?" Sideswipe's hand ran down a sensitive seam at the base of Prowl's doorwings, earning a hitched intake and another smack, this one a lot harder.

"I take it back. You're not invited," Prowl said, not wanting to spend the weekend rebuking Sideswipe's behavior. The mech was persistent to a fault.

"Wait! I'll behave! Promise!" Sideswipe blurted, refraining from continuing his taunts. "I want to go camping."

Hound appeared, freshly released from med bay with a healthy warning to stop overtaxing his engine and offroading in deep, bacteria laden mud.

"Sideswipe's joining us? Great! Come on, buddy, it's going to be a fun weekend!" Hound said happily, transforming and waiting patiently for Carly to attach the camper to his hitch.

Sideswipe didn't need telling twice. He transformed and took up position behind Hound, engine throttling high with excitement.

Prowl sighed in resignation and transformed, Bumblebee following suit as the three humans piled into the Beetle.

The drive was barely an hour before Hound pulled off the main road and took several two lane streets until he came to a dirt road. Not wanting to bang up his undercarriage, Sideswipe transformed and walked the path for a mile, where Hound pulled into a large clearing. There were trees as tall at the Autobots creating a nice camouflage for the mechs enjoying down time.

Sideswipe waded through the trees until he found a lake. It was wide, sparkling sapphire, and lapped softly on the smooth stones lining the bank. He sat down, staring out over the water, already entranced.

It was…beautiful. Peaceful.

Maybe the humans were onto something? He'd have to drag Sunshine out here one of these days. Might put his brother in a better mood. Nature typically made Sunstreaker more docile, especially the sun rise and dusk. Sunstreaker was his most creative when the sun was balancing on either horizon.

"Nice out here," Bumblebee said, plopping his much smaller frame next to Sideswipe. He partially reclined, staring across the glassy water. "Earth has some beautiful places."

"Mmm," Sideswipe hummed in agreement. He tracked a raptor in the distance, swooping down and collecting a fish in its deadly talons.

The humans unpacked and while Prowl fussed with the construction of a tent, the strategist baffled by the terminology in the instructions and the sheer collection of pieces that apparently didn't fit together in the configuration he felt was vital to the construction, Hound busied himself with collecting firewood. The brittle trees and limbs snapped easily in his large servo. Within half an hour, he had enough wood to last a month!

"What do we do first?" Spike asked as Prowl continued to scowl at the tent flaps and hold up ill fitting poles.

Construction was not in the strategist's nature.

"Find the manufacturer and blame their destruction on the Decepticons." Prowl deadpanned.

Carly took pity and went to the patrol car, flipping the instructions around and scanning the materials before inserting the first pole into the sleeve. Sparkplug busied himself with making sure the fire pit was clear of debris before setting up the grill they had brought with them.

"Let's scout the perimeter," said Hound, plotting a quick scrutiny of the surroundings.

"Go ahead, scout," Sideswipe said, waving the Jeep off as he emulated Bumblebee in reclining on the beach.

Hound didn't take offense at Sideswipe's tone. Hound never took offense at anything. He was as easy going and gentle natured as they come, hence his love (sometimes maniacal fascination) with wildlife. It broke his spark to see animals injured.

As Hound walked half a mile around the encampment, placing random trackers out of precaution (as in none of the Autobots fancied being caught unaware by free range Decepticons) and returned to camp to find the tent constructed and a small fire spitting in the outdoor hearth.

"Let's go for a swim," Carly suggested.

Spike and Sparkplug agreed, disappearing into the tent to change into swimming trunks while Carly used the camper. Soon, three humans were making a run to the sparkling water, crashing into it with the subtly of nuclear bombs, both males performing 'cannonballs' from the short pier.

"Must be dud balls," Sideswipe quipped as the two humans popped back up, spitting out water.

"Come on, guys," Carly said, wading in waist deep and beckoning the four Autobots.

"I will remain on watch," Prowl said politely, settling himself onto the shore.

"Come on, Prowl," Carly coaxed but the SIC wasn't interested in water play. He stoically remained on the beach.

Prowl's only warning came in the form of Carly cringing before Prowl was lifted bodily from the ground and tossed a couple hundred feet out into the water. The Datsun resurfaced, sputtering and glaring to the red hellion who was responsible for his impromptu bath. The tidal wave from Prowl's less than graceful water landing made the humans laugh and play in the ebb.

"Catch me, Prowl!" Sideswipe yelled, catapulting himself toward the SIC with arms stretched wide.

Prowl's curse was drowned out by Sideswipe's landing. Thankfully the Lamborghini was a terrible jumper and missed Prowl by a few meters, but the subsequent tsunami made the SIC even more irritable. Sideswipe barely surfaced before Prowl was on him, dunking him under and pinching a neck cable.

Sideswipe escaped the Praxian's clutches and gained some distance, backpedaling in chest deep water.

"Come and get me, Prowler," Sideswipe taunted, gaining distance.

"Don't want you," Prowl growled, feeling something tiny and slimy slip under the plating on his thigh.

Sideswipe continued to put distance between himself and his target when suddenly, he disappeared. Ripples signaled his exodus, which was quickly expounded as he resurfaced, sputtering through his vents.

"Be careful right here," Sideswipe said, coughing water from his intakes. "There's a drop off. Slagging sank nearly two hundred feet!"

Sideswipe circled in the water, pedes testing the edges and transmitting the data to his friends.

"There's some stuff down there. Not sure what."

"Let's go exploring," Hound said, ever the adventurer. He joined Sideswipe and together they slipped below the water.

They returned a couple moments later, Hound holding up what was unmistakably the frame of a car.

"It's a dump down there!" Hound reported angrily. He handed the rusted frame to Bumblebee, who had ventured closer. "I'll call the department of forestry for a pick up. Until then, let's make a pile near the road for the clean up crews."

Prowl waded further, finding the sharp cavernous edge and waited while Sideswipe and Hound took turns diving for debris. Bumblebee carried the trash to the roadside, muttering about the gall of some humans and disrespect they had for the beautiful planet. In less than an hour, the designated area was more or less a junk yard, covered in slime and rust.

"You know, some fishy animals could have been calling that stuff home," Sparkplug said, drying off with the other two humans on the bank.

"I'll replace it with something more suitable for the bottom of a lake," Hound said.

He plucked a couple large trees from the ground and began to weave their branches together, forming a heavy basket. He found two fully leafed trees and added them to the intricate aquatic nest he was designing.

Sideswipe picked up a couple dead trees from the other side of the campsite, providing the Jeep with more material to work. Once finished, Hound waded into the lake and disappeared with the giant wooden framework of what he hoped was to be a safe harbor for fish.

Sparkplug pulled food out of the cooler and began dinner while Spike and Carly changed out of their wet clothes. The bots joined them around the campfire, Bumblebee checking the fire to make sure the humans had enough heat to cook and stay warm though the weather had yet to turn chilly.

Hound extracted pale blue energon cubes from the trailer, but Sideswipe waved it away, extracting high potency purple energon from his subspace.

Prowl accepted Hound's offer of blue, eying Sideswipe's illegal contraband. "Dare I even ask how much of that is in your possession?"

"Couple dozen cubes," Sideswipe said, offering the high octane fuel to Prowl, who glared disapproval.

"Couple dozen?" Prowl asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, well I never know when I'll get sent to the brig and while I'm there, might as well get overcharged. Not a lot to do in confinement, so I take advantage of the situation and use the extreme limitations to prevent me from doing something stupid."

"Like calling the Decepticons, charging with bots, or attempting to interface a dryer?" Prowl asked.

"Hey, that Whirlpool loved me!" Sideswipe said, face breaking into a grin. He tended to do crazy things when overcharged. Sadly, he couldn't remember most of it, having to rely on others to recall the tales of his drunken glory.

Sideswipe sipped the fuel, taking the time to enjoy its rich, hearty flavor. Around him sat friends, the humans eating, bots talking, the sounds of nocturnal animals coming alive to make their nightly prowls. Fireflies danced through the air. Frogs or toads croaked by the water's edge. A string of bird calls echoed in the darkness, Hound identifying each bird by its noise and giving a long winded history on the species.

Sitting there in the dark, a soft warm glow of a campfire, good fuel, adequate company, and a soft breeze wafting over the glassy lake, Sideswipe felt at ease. He experienced his first ghost story, then engaged in a heated argument against Prowl about the logistics of a disembodied ghost able to rattle a chain.

The debate became heated during the recollection of a hook man who killed teens who attempted to mate prematurely, which embarrassed Spike and Carly to the point where both excused themselves for the night. Carly went into the trailer and Spike used the tent. Sparkplug opted to sleep under the stars, 'as nature intended it,' he boasted. Though no bots could recall nature providing an inflatable mattress and bedroll for the sleeping phase.

The fire glowed dully. Crickets chirped. Frogs croaked. The Autobot's transformed and rested on their tires for a nice long power down. Sideswipe settled next to Sparkplug, the human getting comfortable after the pump inflated his bed.

"Sparkplug, where is Spike's female creator?" Sideswipe asked suddenly.

A hush fell over the clearing. Even the crickets and frogs were silent, waiting to hear the answer.

"Sideswipe, we've discussed rude questions," Prowl warned, sending a verbal tirade over comms that went unheeded.

But Sparkplug didn't seem phased by the question. He rolled on his side, facing the red Lamborghini 10 feet away.

"Mary and I were high school sweethearts," he began. "Married straight out of high school. Year later, Spike was born. In hindsight, we were too young and naïve to know how to make a relationship work, let alone be parents. She didn't want the responsibility and left before Spike was a year old. He doesn't remember her. Only knows her picture."

"I'm sorry," Sideswipe muttered, hanging low on his tires.

"It's okay. We've never really talked about it. I know you guys have families or those you consider family units, so it's only natural to be curious," Sparkplug put in sagely.

"Want us to find her and bring her back? Prowl can hack the police bands and get her information and we can go get her," Sideswipe offered. Prowl hissed in protest but it was ignored.

Sparkplug offered a chuckle. "Not necessary. If she doesn't want to be a part of our life, she's free to choose that. I'm perfectly happy raising Spike on my own."

"I may not be a creator, but I think you're doing a good job," Sideswipe put in, earning surprise from Sparkplug and his fellow Autobots. "Spike is a good little human."

"Thanks," Sparkplug said, offering a sleepy yawn.

"There were several femmes I fell in love with," Sideswipe admitted, earning a snort from his Autobot friends. "No. Seriously, guys. I fell in love with them. They were each perfect, in their own way. Made my spark skip and CPU feel all warm and fuzzy."

"Sounds like love to me," Hound chuckled. "Course, you've also tried to mount a Cadillac so I'm not entirely convinced."

"Sunny and I worked at a pleasure house," Sideswipe admitted, ignoring Hound's mention of one of Sideswipe's antics. "We had several regular clients. I fell in love with them. They taught me things not available from the general upgrade centers and download facilities. Art, music, history, one was even a designer for some of Cybertron's most elaborate recreational centers."

"So, what happened?" Sparkplug asked.

"Sunny and I are half sparks. We can't bond to anyone. Our sparks are unique, unable to form the proper bonds in a sparkmate ceremony. If we tried, it would kill all parties involved."

"Sorry," Sparkplug muttered.

"It worked out for the best," Sideswipe said cheerily, but everyone could tell it was a front. Despite his assurances, pain lingered in his spirit. "Between me and Sunshine, there's a lot of damage. It seems, I don't know… wrong, I guess… to taint someone else, someone pure and beautiful, with what makes us so unstable and ugly. Don't tell Sunny I said that. He'd slag me!"

There was a light chuckle but it faded into a breeze that rippled the glassy surface of the lake. Sunstreaker would slag anyone who dared call him 'ugly.'

"Maybe that's why Spike's mother left?" Sideswipe put in, causing Prowl to sigh in agitation. Had the patrol car been in robotic form, he would have rolled his eyes and face palmed. "She was messed up, like me and Sunny, and didn't want to taint Spike. She was bad and didn't want to ruin him."

Sparkplug offered a noncommittal noise. "Never really thought of it that way."

"That's why Spike is a nice little human," Sideswipe put in, bolstered by his own insight. "He's being raised by a good creator."

Sparkplug offered a smile in the orange glow of the dying campfire.

"Thanks, Sideswipe."

Sparkplug yawned again and rolled over, presenting his back to the Lamborghini to end the conversation. However the Autobot comms were active.

'That was inappropriate, Sideswipe,' Prowl snapped. He rose on his tires in agitation.

'I was curious," Sideswipe argued.

'It's a painful moment in Sparkplug's history. Something he doesn't need to be reminded of,' Prowl intoned. 'We came out here to relax and forget our troubles, not be reminded of them and dredge up the things that make us sad.'

'Oh, like you know what it's like to be sad!' Sideswipe retorted heatedly. He didn't think his curiosity warranted being scolded.

'I bear my own sorrow, Sideswipe. As do we all, in some degree or another. It is not

polite to remind someone of their pain,' Prowl said in a more subdued tone.

'You do?' Sideswipe asked, rolling closer to his nemesis. 'But, you're always saying there's no logic in emotions. That emotions lead to trouble and warp facts, creating a distorted view that prevents the entirety of reality from being observed.'

Prowl sighed, sagging on his tires. He knew he should have kept his vocalizer shut but now he had opened up a can of chrome crawlers.

'After my upgrade, I began a relationship with a femme,' Prowl admitted, pain and longing evident in his voice. 'She was perfect. In every way. She wanted to bond but I was focused on my career.'

There was a long pause. Finally, Sideswipe spoke.

'And?'

'I chose my career. She was unable to accept my decision and faded. I was placing her memorial crystal in the singing garden when the Decepticons attacked. I barely survived. With war upon us, I was rushed through final training. Inadvertently, the training developed my glitch. My own personal scar of choosing duty above all else.'

Sideswipe rolled closer, sending his EM field pulsing around Prowl's. It was accepted, creating a soothing harmonic. Hound and Bumblebee joined in.

'It may sound mean, but I'm glad you decided to finish training,' Sideswipe said. 'Our tailpipes would be lost without you.' Sideswipe's EM field brushed Prowl's as his voice dropped lower, as if addressing someone on their death bed. 'You may have lost her, but you still have me.'

Prowl somehow managed to roll his optics under his hood. Sideswipe just didn't understand real spark ache and loss.

'It is in the past. That is where it should remain. It can not be changed,' Prowl put in a little more forcefully than he intended.

'You still mourn,' Sideswipe said softly.

'There is no logic in mourning what can not be changed,' Prowl answered without conviction.

'Love has no logic,' Sideswipe snorted. 'Probably why it haunts you so much. You can't fathom the unknown perimeters of love. Can't quantify them. Can't explain them. Can't even voice exactly what you're feeling.'

Prowl made to argue but held his vocalizer. The truth was… he was haunted. Over what might have been. The variables of living a sedate life with a mate as opposed to the cold loneliness of the battlefield.

'You'll be haunted because you loved her in return,' Sideswipe continued. 'Your spark is still searching, hoping to find her again.'

'Nonsense,' Prowl said, though in his spark, he knew it was the truth. There was an indescribable pain there. A pain that had been present since the moment he walked away after declaring his desire of pursing his career. 'Such emotion isn't…logical.'

'Love isn't logical. But its one of the mysteries that keeps the spark beating. Filling it with hope and joy.'

Prowl settled low, nearly scraping his undercarriage on the well tread dirt around the campfire.

Maybe Sideswipe did understand loss and sorrow after all.

And the annoying slagger just caressed Prowl's hind quarter panel with his gullwing.

Oh, it was going to be a LONG night!

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Didn't want to end it with something depressing… and Sides is just a natural joker. ;)

Hope my fans are still around.

Be curious to know what everyone is doing. It's a blistering summer here, so I spend most of my time working the yard or in/on the house. Have three outside walls of my house to repaint and then need to get concrete and bricks to reinforce a couple walls. Now that I have time to get projects done, my back keeps giving me problems. Oh well. Just means I need to slow down. Maybe I can get some more writing done while letting my back heal :D

XOXO

PJ