Title: You and Me...Plus Two?
Chapter: 7/7!
Authors: Spider Wolfeh and Scarlet Bruiser
Rating: G
Series: Transformers (Mostly G1 based)
Characters: Wheeljack, Ratchet
Warnings: I guess OCs would be a warning..and Slash!
Summary: In which a new family is made.
Author's Notes:
And, because you guys are all so awesome, the final chapter of "You and Me...Plus Two?"! Thank you all so much for reading the story and all of the comments have just made it completely and totally worthwhile in the long run.

But this is far from the end. ;3 We're planning on turning this into an entire series of fics and, to start it off, we want to know what you guys want to see. Is there a particular bot or bots you want to see interact with the sparklings? Let us know and we'll deliver!

Comments and critique are love! And we hope you enjoy!

-

Shutting the door to the room off his lab, Wheeljack leaned back against it a bit and let out a quiet sigh. The sparklings had protested sleep like no tomorrow but the inventor had finally gotten them to calm down, chirping and cooing at them until they both finally drifted off.

Optics flickering back online he glanced over to where he knew Ratchet was waiting, as patient as he always was when it came to the inventor, Wheeljack's frame quivering slightly.

Time for that talk it seemed.

"...Ratch' I...I'm sorry 'bout all of this, I really am."

Having been inspecting some random, unfinished products about the lab to occupy his time while Wheeljack put the sparklings to berth, the CMO looked up when he was addressed. His expression was neutral as he let the inventor speak first before he lifted a servo and waved it dismissively.

"I'm not."

Should have expected an answer like that.

"Don't, Ratch'. Don't just play it off like it's nothin'. I messed up, bigger than usual," he murmured, glancing back at the door as his fins dulled to a pale black color. "I shoulda talked to ya' first."

"Yes, you did. And yes, you really, really should have. I'm not going to pretend I'm not mad about the invasion of my spark you must have made when you took a sample from me to make Velocity," he said almost casually, though there was a bite in the undertone. "But... You made two beautiful sparklings, and I'd be lying if I said they hadn't wormed their way deep into my spark already."

Wheeljack had flinched a bit, picking up instantly on the tone his friend was using and it make him want to go hide somewhere. The inventor had a bad habit of not thinking before he acted and, well, this was a perfect example. The second part, though, made him glance up once more.

"Steamer's taken quite a likin' to ya'. I don't think you're gonna be able to get rid of him," he mused, a faint chuckle lingering in the back of his vocal processor, making the CMO's poker faced expression crack into a fond smile at the mention of the smaller sparkling.

"I don't think I want to," came the gentle reply. "You did a great job, Jack." Head fins flashed a bit, just a tiny bit, but there was color there all the same as the inventor perked some, though, at some point, he had begun to wring his servos nervously.

"Thanks...that means a lot Ratch', it really does."

"So... I guess there's still the subject of raising them," Ratchet said thoughtfully, as though he were hinting at something.

"Well, it'll take some gettin' used to but I was already plannin' on readjustin' my schedule to center around them. It'll mean less lab time for awhile but ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do!"

"So you do some adjusting, I'll do some adjusting, and together we won't have to sarafice much," Ratchet shrugged, pushing himself off the lab table he'd been leaning on and taking a few steps towards the inventor. Wheeljack blinked, realizing then what Ratchet had been getting at all along.

"Ratch' ya' don't have to do that! I mean, you're always so busy. I couldn't possibly ask ya' to give up time," he said with a shake of his processor, fins dulling again as he twisted his servos together then shrugged some. "Ya' have your own stuff to do."

"And you have yours. But it takes two parents to raise a sparkling most of the time, and we have two on our servos," he pointed out. "You can't do this alone, and I don't intend to make or let you."

Stubborn CMO was stubborn, and Wheeljack knew better than to argue.

"...Alright, but if push comes to shove, I'm sacrificin' my schedule so ya' don't have to give up yours alright?" The words 'You're more useful to the others anyway' went unspoken, but they were lingering there nonetheless and he knew, however, that if he'd dared to speak them, he'd have had a flying wrench to deal with.

"Of course, there's always the subject of how we want to raise them," he continued nonchalantly. "And the problem of what they're going to ask when they get older."

The inventor blinked.

"What do ya' mean?"

"I imagine they'd ask why their parents weren't at least mated, let alone bonded."

Cue embarrassment here.

His fins flashing brightly, Wheeljack jerked some, optics widening as he stuttered a bit before actually finding his voice.

"Well--ah--I mean, we'll cross that bridge when we get there! It's kinda like the Dynabots in a sense! I mean, we dealt with them right?" he got out, chuckling nervously as he waved a servo some.

"There's a difference with bots created with small minds that required no parenting and bots created at the elementary stages that are going to need to be raised by a pair," Ratchet said flatly. "Besides, it could be a fairly easy issue to deal with if the issue were already solved, right?"

The inventor froze, unable to say anything for a few kliks as he just stared at the CMO.

"Wha--What did ya' say?"

Give it a moment for dramatic effect...

"I was suggesting we preempt the situation by becoming bond mates," Ratchet continued, his voice almost a purr as he took a few more steps to close the space between himself and his partner.

He was dreaming, or something like that. Hallucinating! That was it! That was exactly what was going on!

The inventor let out a weak sort of laugh, a confused sound as he stared at Ratchet like the CMO had grown another processor or something, Wheeljack lifting a servo to rub at his own some.

"I think I musta inhaled somethin' through my vents when I was workin' earlier. I coulda sworn I just heard ya' say that ya' wanted to become bond mates."

"You used toxic substances in the creation of the sparklings?" Ratchet asked, shoulders slumping a bit as his climax was ruined by Wheeljack's inability to play along.

"Not that, ya' silly bot! I was workin' with some C-4 earlier and......" Wheeljack trailed off, noticing the way Ratchet's shoulders sagged, an almost sad looking crossing the CMO's faceplate.

...Oh Primus.

"Ya' weren't--That wasn't--that was real wasn't it?" Blue optics rolled in their sockets as the med bot let a small sigh out through his vents.

"Yes, Jack, that was real."

Falling silent, the inventor seemed to be trying to make sense of everything, optics never leaving Ratchet as he went over it all in his processor, putting the pieces of the scene together slowly.

"...Ya'...really mean that?" he finally said in a small voice, fins flickering faintly.

"Did you really mean it when you said I was the only bot you'd ever want to have a sparkling with?" A question was shot right back at him, shoulders squaring off a bit again as he leaned just a touch closer. One servo boldly lifted to rest on Wheeljack's shoulder, though the touch was hesitant and a bit awkward. Time for love and affection was scarce in war, and Ratchet was feeling a little rusty and lacked confidence. But something told him Wheeljack, when it finally got through his dense processor, would be fine with it.

"..Of course I did, Ratch'," he admitted, clearing his vocal processor as it tried to seize up on him. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." The touch made him shiver slightly, his own servos twitching as if he wanted to lift them but wasn't quite sure if he should or not. There was a softness in his optics now though, a longing sort of look as he shifted closer to the CMO, fins flashing again. "...I never thought ya'd even look my way..in that way I mean."

"And I always thought you weren't interested in a mate," Ratchet frowned slightly for only a nanoklik. His frown faded into a questioning look as the servo on Wheeljack's shoulder lifted to cup the side of his face, and his other servo found its way around to the inventor's back. "So... be my mate?"

It still felt surreal, oh so very surreal, but Wheeljack wasn't going to question it. He had wanted it for too long to question it now.

"Of course I will, Ratch'," he said softly, fins brightening a touch as his optics flickered happily. "I can't think of anythin' I'd want more."

A bright smile lit up the medbot's face, and he leaned in to plant a kiss on the inventor's facemask while resting their foreheads together, an amused look flickering over his faceplate as Wheeljack practically melted, the inventor's servos coming up to rest on the CMO's shoulders for support.

Ratchet's optics dimmed contently.

"What a strange family we'll make..."

"The stranger the better if ya' ask me, Ratch'!" he said happily though his voice was still soft, processor tilting a bit. "It'll make things more interestin'." Ratchet couldn't help but roll his optics again.

"You would say that," came his murmured response.

And then something occurred to him.

"The stranger the better... Velocity seems a bit too... average. What else did you try to accomplish with him?"

"Nothin', at least, nothin' that will play any role right now. Promise!" he chirped in response, obviously hiding something but not about to tell which made the other mech pull back and give him a stern glare.

"Jack..."

Flashing the CMO his version of a grin, the inventor slipped past Ratchet, snagging his servo as he went and tugging him towards the lab tables.

"It's gonna be amazin', Ratch'! Trust me! He's gonna be a bot amongst bots when he gets older!"

"Oh Primus, what did you do?" Ratchet pressed as he followed after his new mate- the thought made his spark jump a tad- glaring at the back of his head in exasperation. Glancing back at the CMO, Wheeljack's fins flashed brightly, optics narrowing in excitement.

"What do ya' know 'bout time travelin', Ratch'?"