Title: Puppy Love, Chapter 43
Fandom: Transformers G1 AU
Author: FuziPenguin
Pairing/Characters: Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Prowl, Wheeljack
Rating: PG13 (this chapter)
Word Count: 3215
Summary: The Twins react to Prowl's news
Warnings: Schmoop, angst, language
Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction. No harm was intended in the creation of this work. All rights belong to the original creators.

If Ratchet hadn't been looking directly at Prowl, he would have missed the tiny flinch of his optics at Sideswipe's words. Ratchet's jaw dropped in shock. How had this information been kept from him? From the twins?!

"We have. Just yesterday and he agreed to testify," Prowl returned after a long pause. "I did not think it best for any of you three to interact with him. At least not in this setting."

"Holy slag," Wheeljack said faintly. "Ya got that right. Ratch'll probably deck him."

"Does he… does he want to meet us?" Sunstreaker hesitantly asked.

Ratchet immediately turned in his seat and reached for Sunstreaker's hand, squeezing it reassurningly. The golden twin looked torn between excitement and anger and Ratchet's spark whirled unhappily. If their creator still lived, would that negate Ratchet's adoption of them? Would their creator want them back? Would the twins want to be with him rather than Ratchet?

"Well, I don't want to meet him," Sideswipe announced, flopping back in his chair and petulantly crossing his arms over his chest.

Well, that answered Ratchet's last question, at least.

"But…"

"He sold us, Sunny," Sideswipe snapped, glaring at his brother.

Before Sunstreaker could reply, Wheeljack's name was called from the front of the room. Wheeljack jerked, his head whipping around and Ratchet looked up to see First Tier gazing at their seats a little impatiently.

"Oh, well… I guess I better go," Wheeljack said slowly, looking hesitantly at Ratchet.

He nodded at him encouragingly. "Go on, Jackie. You don't have as much to tell; it'll probably quick."

As soon as Wheeljack stepped into the aisle, Sideswipe jumped up and began maneuvering his way down to the aisle as well.

"Where are you going?" Ratchet hissed, catching hold of Sideswipe's arm. The red twin paused, gazing down at Ratchet.

"I gotta take a walk," he replied brusquely and slipped Ratchet's grip.

Moments later, Sunstreaker fidgeted and half rose from his seat. Ratchet looked over at him and sighed. "You too?"

"Yeah," he said softly, watching his twin reach the doors of the courtroom and slip through them. "We have to talk. We'll be all right; we won't leave the building. You should stay, though," he rushed to stay when Ratchet shifted.

Ratchet considered his ward for a long moment and then sighed. "All right. You know where I'll be."

Sunstreaker's face registered surprise and then relief. Ratchet supposed Sunstreaker thought he would have insisted on accompanying them both. But it was a huge thing to learn the mech who had sold you as a sparkling was still alive and nearby. The twins needed to discuss it, and Ratchet wasn't going to stand in the way of that. Even if the thought of them choosing their creator would break Ratchet's spark.

Darting forward, Sunstreaker placed a light kiss on Ratchet's cheek. "Thanks," he whispered. And even lower, barely audible, "love you."

"Love you too, Sunny," Ratchet replied with a warm smile. He patted Sunstreaker on the back as he followed his brother out of the room. As soon as his ward had left, Ratchet looked at Prowl, orbital ridge raised.

"So when were you going to tell me?"

Sunstreaker found him at the end of the hall, pacing in front of wall decorated with plaques. Sideswipe hadn't bothered to even glance at them; he just needed to move as he sorted out his thoughts. His processor was whirling with them.

"I'm surprised Ratchet's not with you," Sideswipe remarked, his arms crossed over his chest. Sunstreaker approached him slowly, optics narrowed. As if he should be wary. Sideswipe internally scoffed at that. By this point, he well knew the downsides of not being on the best of behavior.

"He seemed ok with both of us going. I told him we wouldn't leave the building," Sunstreaker replied. "Sides… do you really not want to meet him?"

Sideswipe hunched in on himself, pacing even faster. Their creator. Ugh. "He didn't just give us away, Sunny. He sold us. Like we really were just dogs. Why would you want to meet him? We have Ratchet."

Kind, warm, blunt Ratchet. Who had taken them in with barely a blink of an optic. Both of them. And put up with them and their quirks this whole time.

"I don't…" Sunstreaker sighed wearily. "I don't want to leave Ratchet. It's not like I want to run into the guy's arms or anything. But he knew our Carrier. Maybe… maybe he still has something of hers."

Sideswipe's steps slowed, and he tilted his head to consider his twin. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted. "But I'm still not convinced that would be worth it. I just… I don't think I can ever forgive him for what he did to us."

"I'm not asking you to. But I don't want to see him by myself either," Sunstreaker said lowly, ducking his head. "And I just want to ask about her. You have some memories of her, but I have nothing."

Sideswipe immediately dropped his arms and took two large steps over to his brother, sliding arms around his waist. Sunstreaker immediately embraced him back, pressing close.

"I would never let you go by yourself to see him. Me or Ratchet goes with you. Actually, I'd rather all three of us go, if you really want to meet the guy," Sideswipe murmured. He didn't get Sunstreaker's insistence on this, but Pit if Sideswipe would let his twin go alone.

"I do. Wheeljack's right, though. I think Ratchet will try and hit him," Sunstreaker murmured back.

And wasn't that a thought? As the days passed, Sideswipe realized that Ratchet could be quite fierce, especially when something concerned the two of them. They could take care of themselves in a fight, but it was a nice change to hold back and let someone else fight their battles for them too.

"We'll rein him in. Pit, you might have to hold me back."

Sunstreaker sighed. "What if he hates us?"

"I don't really care if he hates us. If he does, it's only because of what we are, not who we are. He doesn't know us. He never wanted to," Sideswipe retorted. His spark practically writhed in anger at the reminder of the person who had been supposed to care for them in the absence of their carrier.

Inspiration stuck.

He withdrew from his twin despite Sunstreaker's mumbled protest. Grabbing Sunstreaker's hand, Sideswipe started walking back down the hall, tugging Sunstreaker along behind him.

"Where are we going?" Sunstreaker asked, bemused.

"I'm going to show you," Sideswipe promised, trying the first door he came to. It led to a small room similar to the juror deliberation chambers.

"What? Show me what? What are you doing?"

Sideswipe entered the room, pulling his brother in after him. Then he shut the door and engaged the look on it. When he turned back around, Sunstreaker was looking at him as if Sideswipe was crazy. Which, perhaps he was, to be even suggesting doing this here, where they could be stumbled upon.

"Open up," Sideswipe instructed, gesturing towards Sunstreaker's chest. "Let's merge."

"What?! Here? Now?" Sunstreaker demanded as Sideswipe stepped forward. His chest armor was already beginning to split, his spark beating faster in anticipation. And quite a bit of excitement as well. It was kind of thrilling to be doing this essentially in public.

"Yeah. Just a shallow merge. So I can show you my memories of her," Sideswipe explained, reaching for his twin.

"I don't…" Sunstreaker trailed off as Sideswipe's spark casing became visible, lighting up his thoracic cavity with soft, blue light. "We don't even know her name."

He backed away and Sideswipe had a moment's fear that Sunstreaker was rejecting him, but he realized that his brother was merely propping himself up against the nearest wall. Which was smart as even shallow merges could leave them a little wobbly. Sunstreaker opened his arms and Sideswipe fell into them, Sunstreaker's plating shifting aside to reveal his own spark.

Their protective crystal shields rubbed against one another, causing a shiver to travel down Sideswipe's spinal strut. He'd love nothing more than to let their bare sparks fully merge, but that took more time and energy than they had right now. As it was, as soon as Sideswipe's spark recognized the close proximity to its other half, it pulsed excitedly, seeming to draw all the normal charge in his lines to his chest.

Sideswipe sagged forward as the rest of his body became distant. Only his spark, and Sunstreaker's by extension, mattered in his moment. He luxuriated in the feel of his twin so close, their casings growing hot as their sparks firmly pressed up against them.

A moment later, their sparks surged forward, separated by only their thin crystal shells. Sideswipe couldn't help the moan that spilled from his lips as the merge solidified. It was a sound of both relief and disappointment; it always felt good to feel his twin, but the connection was thin and dulled like this.

Show me, Sunstreaker demanded wordlessly, reaching into Sideswipe. He didn't get far; the depth of Sideswpe's memory files were too large for Sunstreaker to rummage through without guidance, at least during a shallow merge.

It was easy enough to pull up Sideswipe's early memories as they had been reviewed only a short time ago. He bundled copies of them together into a tight, hard ball and passed them on to his brother. He felt Sunstreaker accept them and then still as he experienced them for himself.

Sideswipe waited patiently, leeching off some of Sunstreaker's more recent memories in return. He gripped his twin tighter as he experienced Sunstreaker's lingering maelstrom of emotions produced by his turn on the stand. Each strand of fear and hopeless resignation made Sideswipe hate Data all the more.

She was warm, Sunstreaker commented softly, bringing Sideswipe up out of his anger at the defense lawyer. So warm.

Sideswipe felt a sense of awe from his brother and pulsed agreement at Sunstreaker. She was, Sideswipe replied, shivering a little in remembrance of that warmth fading.

Her voice… it was so pretty… Distantly, Sideswipe felt Sunstreaker pull them tighter against one another. You don't remember her face?

Sideswipe felt Sunstreaker concentrating intently and reviewed his own memories to try and find an answer to the question. I… no, I don't. I think… maybe… maybe her optics were blue?

He grabbed a screenshot of himself looking up at a blurry shape and showed it to his brother. It was accompanied by the same feeling of warmth and safety he had associated with their Carrier so he assumed the glint of blue had been hers.

Sunstreaker pondered the memories again and Sideswipe felt his brother's mounting frustration as the seconds ticked by.

We don't know anything about her! Her spark carried ours and we don't even really know the color of her optics! Sunstreaker exclaimed, projecting both anger and sadness.

Then we'll ask him, Sideswipe replied immediately. We'll make him tell us her name, her optic color, Pit, all her colors. If he won't talk to us, Prowl will find out. It may take longer, but if he can track down our Creator, surely he can get information on her.

Sunstreaker calmed slightly at that. You're right. Prowl's been good to us so far. But I still want to talk to him.

A low, simmering rage brushed against Sideswipe's awareness and Sunstreaker continued on. We were hers. And he just threw us away. How could you love someone and not want to keep part of them? Weren't we the biggest part of her?!

And also the part that may have killed her, Sideswipe said gently, recalling Data's information about twins.

Their merges often went this way – it allowed them to experience each other's perspective and emotions, ones they may not have really considered. Only now was Sunstreaker really feeling anger that their Creator had sold them. Only now was Sideswipe considering that their presence may have been too painful for their Creator to bear.

Sunstreaker subsided somewhat. Yeah. But… he sold us. He didn't give us up for adoption. He made credits off us.

Now at least we'll get to hear why, Sideswipe offered. I don't care what Prowl says. We're not leaving the courtroom when Creator testifies. No way. They'll have to drag me out.

Sideswipe felt a surge of fear from his twin. Let's not test that, ok? Seeing you tangle with the bailiffs once today was more than enough.

Right, right, sorry. If it comes to that, I'll leave, Sideswipe promised, soothingly pulsing waves of reassurance at his twin.

After a long moment, Sunstreaker gently nudged Sideswipe's hip. We should get back. Ratchet'll worry and it'll be Prowl's turn soon.

Sideswipe whined and burrowed closer against Sunstreaker's chest. Wheeljack's a talker; I bet he can go on forever. Just another minute?

Sunstreaker heaved a sigh but Sideswipe felt the wave of relieved acquiescence. Hah. Sunstreaker didn't want to break apart either.

Another minute turned into five and after that, Sideswipe just floated a bit. He hadn't realized just how much anxiety he'd built up over the day. The act of sharing each others' fears and worries lessened their impact. It was like taking a mild pain block for a moderately bad injury. Time would ultimately be the final healer, but relief from the immediate pain certainly helped things along. Their thin spark bond was much like that signal blocker.

Sunstreaker laughed in the back of Sideswipe's head. Such a philosopher, he gently teased.

Shut up, Sideswipe replied groggily. He tried to shove closer but their chest armor rubbed against one another unpleasantly and Sideswipe reluctantly eased back, mourning that cloud of contentment he had been lost in.

I don't want to go back. Let's just stay here. Whatever happens, happens, Sideswipe said flippantly after a moment. Not like we can do much about it anymore.

Sunstreaker sighed, Sideswipe's body shifting with the movement. Do you really want to? I could do either.

Sideswipe thought about it for nearly a minute, weighing the pros and cons. Then he forced himself to start pulling back.

No. I wanna see TopNotch's face when he's convicted, Sideswipe admitted, wincing as their sparks' fields finally disengaged completely. Feeling cold, Sideswipe firmly triggered his plating closed. But he still stubbornly rested against his twin, chest to chest.

"What if he's not?" Sunstreaker asked, voice rough around the edges. Sunstreaker's arms slipped down, hands settling on Sideswipe's hips.

"Then we'll have to smile for Ratchet and tell him it's going to be ok," Sideswipe answered, his own fingers gently kneading Sunstreaker's lower back.

Primus. If TopNotch was pronounced not guilty… he didn't know what Ratchet would do. Probably something loud. Pit, Sideswipe didn't know what he would do. Guess they would worry about that at the time of the verdict.

"I'm a little surprised Ratchet hasn't hunted us down by now," Sideswipe commented, finally taking a step back. He couldn't completely separate himself from his twin yet, though. As they turned towards the room's exit back into the hallway, their hands automatically entwined. They pressed close together, shoulders brushing with every step.

"I told him we needed some time," Sunstreaker explained. He glanced over at Sideswipe with a wry grin. "Besides… not like we could get into much trouble inside a courthouse, right?"

Sideswipe glared a little. So he always seemed to attract trouble – he didn't do it on purpose!

"Yeah. Really surprised he hasn't shown up yet," Sideswipe muttered to himself, edging out into the hall. Sunstreaker followed him, pausing long enough to shut the door behind them. Sideswipe took a step in the direction of their courtroom and then halted, staring at two mechs coming towards them from the corridor leading to the security checkpoint.

"What? What are you… oh," Sunstreaker trailed off when he saw what Sideswipe was looking at.

"Damn. He is huge," Sideswipe said faintly, openly gawking at the red and blue mech with Enforcer emblems on his shoulders.

"Taller than Ironhide," Sunstreaker observed.

Sideswipe nodded in agreement. "By several feet. Pit, he could probably lift Ironhide up and throw him."

He pictured it in his mind and then snorted in amusement, causing Sunstreaker to stare at him askance. Sideswipe shrugged. It had been a funny image!

The Enforcer was escorting another mech, one that seemed to be a minibot in comparison. Of course, take him away from the Enforcer and he was actually probably closer to Ratchet's height. The mech's paint job was a garish yellow and purple combination and the closer the four of them got to each other, the more Sideswipe felt as if the other mech was familiar. Maybe he had seen him at the rings?

It was quickly becoming apparent that all four of them were heading for the same door. The big enforcer paused and genteelly gestured at the courtroom, indicating for them to proceed first. The other unknown mech came to a surprised halt, looking first up at his escort and then over at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

A crimson-opticked gaze met Sideswipe's and he felt as if someone had just come up to him and punched him straight through his armor and into his spark.

As Sideswipe jerked to a stop, he heard Sunstreaker ask him what was wrong, but he could barely hear his brother through the static filling his audials. He couldn't even look at Sunstreaker, Instead, all Sideswipe could see was the slim stasis cuffs encircling the other mech's wrists. That and the slant of his optics that matched his and Sunstreaker's.

"Sides? Sides, what it is it?" Sunstreaker asked, clasping Sideswipe's elbow.

Sideswipe vigorously shook his head and grabbed Sunstreaker's hand again. Steadfastly ignoring the yellow and purple mech's curious gaze, he pulled his brother after him, entering the courtroom much less stealthily than he had left it.

He didn't care that half the courtroom turned and stared at him. By now, he was starting to get used to it and his only thought was to get to Ratchet.

"Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker hissed in protest as Sideswipe hurried them down the aisle to the front section. By this time, Prowl and Ratchet had noted their entrance and Ratchet was already half-way out of his chair, optics wide in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Ratchet demanded quietly, one hand outstretched to receive them as Sideswipe stumbled past Prowl. Ratchet's lap looked awfully tempting at the moment, but one of them barely fit, much less both of them. So he plopped himself down next to Ratchet, still holding on to Sunstreaker's hand.

"Sunstreaker? What happened?" Ratchet asked as Sideswipe wordlessly burrowed into Ratchet's side.

"I have no idea," Sunstreaker replied, frustration making him snappish. "We met two mechs on the way in – one of them was an Enforcer, but I've never seen either of them bef…"

Sideswipe felt it when the realization hit Sunstreaker, his brother unable to block off the fierce spike of anxiety and fear.

"Oh. Oh, Primus… Sideswipe, was that…?" Sunstreaker whispered, pressing close.

"Yeah." Sideswipe cleared his intake and reset his vocalizer but the tightness in his throat didn't seem to want to go away. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was our creator."