Title: Electric Blue

Characters: Ratchet, Wheeljack, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker
Prompt: High-grade. Written for the Oct 11 twins_x_ratch challenge.
Notes: Italics indicate a flashback.

Ratchet walked into his office, his optics going to the credenza next to his desk. Yes, there is was. A container full of swirling electric blue energon, with a gorgeously etched crystal cube beside it, ready for the energon. Ratchet moved around his desk, sliding into his chair and lifted the flagon carefully, bringing it up to his olfactory sensors. The smell of ozone and energy filtered through his processor, his systems cycling up for the excess energy his processor was expecting.

Ratchet picked up the exquisite cube and poured a measure of high grade into the glass before putting the flagon back and leaning back in his chair for the first sweet sip.

The taste exploded in his mouth, energy coursing through his body as he allowed the liquid to flow down to his tank. Ratchet sank a little deeper into his chair, savouring the smell and the taste and the sense of ease the flowed over his body along with the boost of extra energy.

Ratchet continued to sip at the energon as he thought about the conversation that had occurred out in medbay as they were cleaning up.

"Thinking about that high grade, Ratchet?" Wheeljack teased as he scrubbed dried energon off a berth. They cleaned as they went, but this had been Sunstreaker's berth, where Ratchet had worked frantically to keep the frontliner alive and not bleeding out from having both legs torn off by Thundercracker and Skywarp. The only thing that had stopped the two Seekers from tearing Sunstreaker in half was Sideswipe, who'd used his jet pack to get above them, then dropped down, his momentum almost ripping one wing off Skywarp. Thundercracker had dropped Sunstreaker to save Skywarp, and Sideswipe had caught his brother before firing up the jet pack and heading straight to Ratchet. Ratchet had worked frantically, sealing off the main energon lines from Sunstreaker's trunk, but the tension and torque he'd been subjected to had caused microtears along many of his lines, and he'd continued to lose energon at an alarming rate. Ratchet had shut everything else out, focusing on saving Sunstreaker. He would never admit this to anyone, but the twins held a special place in his spark. They were wild when not in battle, but focused and disciplined in the midst of mayhem on the battlefield, and for some reason, Ratchet always found himself watching for them and worrying about them. He continued clamping the biggest tears while First Aid rigged an energon drip to help replace the energon Sunstreaker was losing.

Fortunately, Optimus had gained the upper hand over Megatron and the retreat had been called, which allowed Ratchet to load Sunstreaker into Prime's trailer and work on him as Optimus towed them back to the Ark. Other injuries had come back as they could, Ironhide carrying some, Inferno carrying others, everyone helping the wounded back.

At the Ark, Ratchet had started prepping Sunstreaker for surgery in the hallway as he was transferred to a berth and taking to medbay. Hoist had taken charge of the triage, sending the less wounded to Wheeljack and Perceptor, while the more injured were taken to First Aid and after triage, to Hoist. Grapple had stepped forward and helped comfort those still waiting.

The medical team had worked quickly and quietly, but Ratchet had started hoping his mysterious benefactor was not amoung the injured and his by-now expected container of high grade would be waiting for him at the end of the day. He hadn't expected that Wheeljack would pick up on his hope, but he should have known that somehow, he was being obvious. He and 'Jack had been friends for far too long to hide much from each other.

"Pipe down, 'Jack, and get that berth clean." Ratchet said, focusing on cleaning his tools and slotting them back in their proper spots.

"Yeah, yeah, Ratch, I'm cleaning. I just hope you don't get too energized off that high grade." Wheeljack bent back to his task.

"High grade? What's that?" the voice came from the medbay doors, and everyone looked over to see Sparkplug Witwicky enter the medbay.

"Hey, Sparkplug! I'm almost done here, gimme a couple of minutes and we can go work on your solar panels." Wheeljack tossed over his shoulder, renewing his attack on the dried energon.

"Take your time, 'Jack, and do the job properly so you don't have to redo it." Sparkplug said genially. He climbed the ladder installed for just that purpose, clambering up onto the counter that ran around most of the medbay and making himself comfortable on a box of parts. "So, Ratchet, what's this high grade stuff?"

Ratchet enjoyed sharing bits and pieces of Cybertronian lift, answered readily. "It's a more concentrated form of energon, Sparkplug. It kind of gives a rush if you're not used to it, but it really helps the systems get charged up."

"Sounds like booze," Sparkplug said, "or drugs."

Ratchet's optics flickered as he looked up Sparkplug's references. He answered, "No, neither of those. It's more like concentrated food, like the honey your long distance runners like to use. It's energy that doesn't need a lot of processing from our systems, so it gets the energy out quicker."

"Still gives you a rush, though." Wheeljack observed.

Ratchet shrugged, "Only because I'm pretty depleted by now, 'Jack."

Wheeljack did a final swipe over the berth and cleaned up his supplies before scooping Sparkplug up and heading out. "You tell yourself that, Ratch. Me, I think it IS more like alcohol to you."

Ratchet thought about what 'Jack meant. He was addicted to this particular ritual, but it was more that someone had been leaving him this high grade since they'd awoken from their long stasis, and Ratchet enjoyed the feeling that someone cared about him enough to leave him this excellent high grade. Not only leave it for him, but leave a special cube to drink it from, and somehow sneak it into his office so it was waiting for him. Someone cared enough to…Ratchet shook his helm, dislodging that thought from his processors. He wasn't lonely, he had plenty of friends and compatriots, plenty of mechs who cared about him as more that the head medic of the Autobot army. He didn't miss sharing a berthroom with someone, waking up cuddled with someone, interfacing…

Ratchet put the cube down and buried his face in his hands. He did miss that companionship. He missed being in a relationship. He missed having someone in his life that cared about him, that thought about him, that he could care about and lavish his own attention and love upon.

Rolling his head, Ratchet checked the monitors. Sunstreaker was the only patient left and he was in a private room, Sideswipe by his side, holding his hand. He envied the twins their constant closeness. Spark split twins were rare, but Ratchet had seen enough of them to know that they were always there for the other, and he wished for that closeness in his own life.

Sideswipe looked up at the camera lens with that uncanny ability he had, and Ratchet jerked his optics away from the screen and poured himself some more. Yes, Wheeljack was right. He did use the excess energy from the high grade like a human used alcohol – to get his processor so energized that it was muddled, so he didn't have to think about how lonely he was, about what he was missing in his life. He took another swig, intent on finishing the flagon tonight rather than speading it out over several Earth rotations.

A black hand covered his as he reached for the flagon and he turned to look at Sideswipe.

"I think you've had enough, Ratchet." Sideswipe said quietly.

Ratchet shook his head, "Not enough, I still remember."

Sideswipe grinned, "I have better ways of letting you forget. C'mon, Ratch, let's get you to your berth. Sunny's fine, he's just recharging."

Ratchet allowed himself to be drawn to his feet, following the red twin out of his office, which automatically locked behind him, and out of the medbay to his berthroom right down the hall. He sent the code to his door as they approached and the door slid open just as they reached it. He turned to thank Sideswipe but was pushed back into the room as the frontliner crowded him in.

The door slid shut behind Sideswipe, but the lights didn't come on since Ratchet hadn't sent the command. The only illumination was from their optics as they gazed at each other.

"We've waited too long." Sideswipe said. He sounded grim.

"What?" Ratchet had no idea what Sideswipe was talking about.

"Me 'n Sunny. We waited too long." Sideswipe said, as if that explained everything.

"Waited too long for what?" Ratchet was feeling as if he'd consumed all the high grade instead of a quarter of it. He couldn't grasp what Sideswipe was saying.

Sideswipe answered him by pulling him close and kissing him. The flare of energy Ratchet felt from the point of contact was astonishing. He responded by reaching up and pulling Sideswipe's helm closer, increasing the friction between their lip plates. Had he thought about it, his own reaction would have stunned him and terrified him.

"Ratchet?" Sideswipe asked, pulling back slightly.

"Never thought…you, the high grade?" Ratchet asked, his hands moving over Sideswipe's head and shoulders frantically.

"Yeah, we wanted to take care of you somehow." Sideswipe scooped Ratchet up and held him.

Ratchet broke. He wanted someone to take care of him, he'd envied the twins, and they were the ones who'd figured out how to give him something that was just for him. He'd never dared hope that they would be interested in him, so he'd never let himself lose control, never let himself look, never let himself stray outside the boundaries the twins seemed to have around themselves. Now he was being invited inside that boundary, and all his hopes seemed to explode out of the packet he'd compressed them into and he couldn't control himself, shaking as his world rearranged itself around these new facts.

Sideswipe held him close through the emotional storm, until Ratchet was exhausted. He then steered Ratchet over to the berth and coaxed him into lying down, then curled around him and held him as Ratchet drifted into recharge.

The door opened and Sunstreaker stalked in, making his way to the berth and curling up around Ratchet on the other side from Sideswipe. Ratchet should have been startled, but somehow, this seemed so right, so much what he needed, that any protest died before being spoken. The warmth of the two mechs lulled him into recharge.

Ratchet's internal alarm went off, warning him that it was time to pull himself out of recharge. He allowed his systems to slowly boot up, basking in the unaccustomed warmth and feeling of well-being. Obviously, he hadn't grievously overcharged last night, but why wasn't he cold? He usually was as his systems worked to dispel the excess charge and his self-repair worked overtime, but today he was warm and drowsy and feeling better than he had in ages.

Part of the warmth on his abdomen shifted and Ratchet's optics flared as he booted them up, hard.

Sunstreaker was nose-to-nose with him, and grinned as Ratchet focused and saw him.

"Good morning, Ratch." Sunstreaker placed a quick kiss on his lip plates, then rolled over and off the berth.

"Good morning, Ratchet." Sideswipe turned Ratchet's head and placed his own kiss on his lips, then sat up.

Ratchet immediately missed the warmth of their bodies and shivered.

Sunstreaker came back to the berth with a cube of regular energon as Sideswipe coaxed Ratchet into sitting up. Sunstreaker handed him the cube and sat down next to him.

To buy time, Ratchet slowly drank the cube. When he was done, Sunstreaker held out a hand and Ratchet handed him the cube. Sunstreaker collapsed the cube and tucked it into his subspace.

Ratchet drew in a deep draught of air. "Now what?"

Sideswipe answered for him. "Now, you go to your shift, we go to ours, and we talk tonight, when nobot's overcharged and we can figure out if we want the same things."

Ratchet nodded. "OK."

Sideswipe stood and waited. Sunstreaker put his hand up and tilted Ratchet's face toward him, examining him in minute detail before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on Ratchet's lips. He pulled back afterward and the twins left in a flurry as Ratchet sat there, stunned at the depth of feeling he'd gotten from Sunstreaker.

He had no idea what was going to happen, but he was looking toward the future with a lot more optimism that he'd had the previous day.