A/N: Hopeless sap. :)

Court

The three mechs snuggled together on the berth. The Praxian rested comfortably between the two larger warframes, who each had an arm over his back, under his doorwings.

"You know," Bluestreak mumbled sleepily, "you really should ask Prowl if you can court me. I'm sure he'll say yes. I mean, he knows I love you guys, and he really doesn't like turning me down, and you know, he doesn't really hate you. You guys prank him, but you're nice to him all the rest of the time, and-"

"Hush, Blue," Sunstreaker ordered, smiling softly, an expression reserved only for these two mechs. "We're... going to ask him soon."

"Heh. Yeah. It's just that your caretaker can be one scary mech when he sets his processor to it. I mean, really scary. Like, 'run and hide in the 'Con base' scary."

Bluestreak snickered, pale blue optics brightening slightly. "He's not that bad."

"Then you apparently haven't seen him while he's fighting 'Cons," Sideswipe shot back with a shudder. "I do not want that turned on me."

The gray Praxian laughed again, then relaxed and offlined his optics. "Well, scary or not, you need to ask him. I want t' be properly courted..."

Over his helm, the Twins exchanged a worried, thoughtful glance.

. . .oOo.

Jazz wasn't surprised to see Sideswipe and Sunstreaker heading in his direction. And after his conversation with Prowl a couple orns before, he was not surprised to see the rather solemn expressions on their faces.

"S'up, Twins?" he asked jovially, leaning back as they sat down across from him. The Rec Room this time of orn wasn't very crowded. Only Mirage and Hound sat in a dark corner, waiting for their third to join them after shift.

"Well..."

"We want to court Bluestreak," Sunstreaker announced, frowning.

Jazz smiled. "Well, wha'cha tellin' me for? S'much of a creator Ah played fer the li'l boy Blue, Ah ain't th' one ya've gotta ask."

Sideswipe shuddered. "Yeah, but Prowl's scary. Ouch! Sunny, what was that for?"

Sunstreaker gave an expression that was somewhere between a smirk and a frown as he lowered his hand. "For being an idiot. We want to know the best way to go about asking him."

"'Cause he's scary?" Jazz grinned when Sunstreaker said nothing. "Welp," the saboteur said, leaning back. "Ah've only got one piece a' advice fer ya. Jus' state wha'cha want clearly an' wit'out messin' 'round 'bout it. That's al'ays th' best way t' go wit' Prowler."

"Well, that wasn't much help," Sideswipe groused as he stood. His brother followed, standing silently. "Alright... Well, we'll see you later, Jazz. We're off to see about a mech."

The silver saboteur grinned. "Ah wish ya luck!"

"Well, that's encouraging," the yellow half of the Twins muttered as they walked toward the exit. They left to the sound of Jazz snickering.

. . .oOo.

The knock that came at his door did not surprise Prowl. His bondmate had warned him of the Twin's imminent arrival.

"Enter," he called, pinging the door open. It swooshed into its socket to reveal two rather nervous looking Twins. "Sideswipe. Sunstreaker. Can I help you?"

"Uh... Yeah... See, there's something we wanna ask you," Sideswipe said, slowly edging into the office.

Prowl raised an optic ridge and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Sit. And tell."

The Twins moved forward and sat immediately. Had he not known what they were here for, it would have alarmed him; unless on the battlefield, the Twins never instantly did exactly as asked. There was always some form of dwaddling around, of insubordination, of troublemaking. Prowl had to hide his smirk.

"You came to tell...?" he prompted after a moment of silence, and steepled his fingers over the desk.

"Well... see..." Sideswipe started.

"We want to properly court Bluestreak," Sunstreaker blurted, then gritted his dentae.

Prowl was quiet for a long moment, regarding the Twins with a level, examining gaze.

"'Cause, see, we've been seeing him for a while, and we... love him... and he want's to be properly courted, and to do that we have to have your permission – well, at least in Praxian culture, and we have done some research-"

"Yes."

"-and we really- What?"

"You may court my adoptive creation."

There was a long moment of silence as the Twins stared with wide optics, their normal purple-blue color faded in shock. Prowl gazed back, face serene, though the faintest hint of mischief flickered in his optics.

"Really?" Sideswipe finally managed to gasp.

"Yes. You may. Though I must issue a warning; the fact that you came to me does indicate a certain level of commitment, but if you break his spark... not even the mightiest of warriors would be able to protect you from me." His voice was positively icy by the time he finished speaking. Glaring, golden optics stared deeply into the Twins.

The frontliners twitched, captivated by the threatening glare. "Yes, sir, Prowl, sir," Sideswipe managed, and Sunstreaker nodded frantically in agreement.

Prowl, satisfied, leaned back slightly in his seat, threatening glare gone, satisfied almost-smirk in its place. "Very well, then. You have my permission to court Bluestreak. I expect it will be done properly. If you have any questions regarding traditional gifts, I will be happy to answer them, especially considering some such objects will be all but impossible to get out here."

"We will!" Sideswipe exclaimed, optics bright.

"Good. Now, unless you have questions right this instant, I have work to do and you have a first courting gift to give to Bluestreak."

With matching grins, the Twins rushed from the room, leaving Prowl smiling benignly behind them.

. . .oOo.

"Oh, Primus... He said yes, then?" the gunner asked, optics wide, as he turned the crystal formation over in his hands. It was a beautiful mix of red and gold, the exact shades of the Twins' plating, with the thinnest veins of purple-blue running through it. It was carved into the traditional "frozen spark" shape; a three-dimensional "star," rounded spikes sticking out in all directions, and every facet sparkled in the light.

Unlike most traditional "spark crystal" gifts, the Twins had made this one themselves.

"He did. We've actually been working on this for a while. I grew the crystal, and Sunny carved it."

"Primus," Bluestreak whispered again.

The Twins watched him happily, but after a few long minutes of silence, they started shifting nervously.

"Um... Blue. There's kinda something you need to do..."

"Oh! Right! I accept your court!"

With wide grins, the Twins rushed forward and enveloped the gunner, their intended, in a warm hug.

. . .oOo.

Bluestreak stared at the shelf in his quarters. Once, it had held nothing but a few old datapads and two holo-pictures, one of him with Prowl, the other with himself, Prowl, and Jazz.

Now, after four vorns, it was full of crystals, paintings, armor ornaments, and all other manner of traditional courting gifts. The Twins had taken him seriously when he said he wanted a formal courting, and he had loved every minute of it. It was, in his own way, a tribute to Praxus.

There had been a few non-traditional gifts as well, but those were gifts that he knew had been specialized for him alone, like the sniper's rifle, better than any he had ever had before, made lovingly by the Twins, who were, along with Wheeljack, Jazz, and perhaps Prowl, the two closest to being the base's weapons specialists.

And now, the court was drawing to a close. They would bond. Tonight. There would be a party, but it would just be a party. There would be nothing special about it to signify that it was the Twins' and Bluestreak's bonding ceremony, but they didn't want to make a fuss about it. As much as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker liked being the center of attention... well, this was something private. Sideswipe joked that Sunstreaker didn't want to lose his "bad mech" reputation by admitting he loved a mech enough to bond with him, but all three knew it was because this was something they wanted to do for themselves, between themselves. They didn't want the whole base involved until after the fact.

At any rate, Prowl had told them that Praxian bonding ceremonies were much more low-profile than the same ceremonies in other city-states. The courting was the big thing; after that, the bonding was simple.

And tonight was the night. Primus, he was nervous! But so, so excited.

"Hey, Blue," a warm voice said, interrupting his thoughts, and he jumped. Heavily armored arms wrapped around him and a rumbling chassis pressed up between his doorwings. "Ready for tonight?"

"Of course! I have been for vorns now, to tell the truth, but the courting has been fun, and-"

"Hush," Sideswipe murmured, chuckling. "It has been. Now, let's get to the party. Cliffjumper's already annoying Sunny, and I'd hate to have to put off our bonding because he was in the brig."

"Agreed. Though we have waited long enough..."

Sideswipe snorted. "Right. Get your aft into gear, Blue," he said with a smile.

. . .oOo.

The next morning, Bluestreak once again woke surrounded by warmth, just as he always did. But this time, something was different...

~Mornin' Blue.~

His spark was surrounded with warmth, too. Red and gold. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Their affection and caring and love.

~Morning. Love you guys.~

~Love you, too, Blue,~ they responded together, and, happily, the three of them simply basked in the warmth that was the bond.