Together at Last

[Deleted]

Characters: @sunstreaker, @sideswipe
Location: The Twins' Quarters
Content Warnings: TBD
Plot Summary: Finally reunited after three years of uncertainty and separation, the twins take some time to catch up and heal their bond.

[Deleted]

It had only been three years. A mere blink in the lifetime the pair of them had already lived. But, it was enough. Enough to have stained them both to nearly the breaking point. Sunstreaker didn't know how much pain Sideswipe had been in, and suspected his twin was hiding that detail, but Sunstreaker himself had been suffering regular bouts of spark pain in the days leading up to his brother's arrival. It had started as an ache, even before he landed on Earth. Then, it had worsened. A throb to a pang. A pang to a stab. A stab to a convulsion-inducing agony. Fortunately, his brother had arrived before he'd had more than a few f those. He wasn't sure how much longer their sparks could have held out, had they been separated any longer.

There was really only one thing to do for it: stay as close as possible, letting their bond repair itself. Which was why, as soon as Sideswipe was repaired enough, the golden bot had all but packed his twin off to his quarters. He would bring another berth in by the end of the day for his brother to recharge. For now, though, he was busy.

He hadn't broken physical contact with his brother since they left the medbay, some part of him always touching some part of his twin. It wasn't even really conscious, just a side-effect of the need for physical contact. Sunstreaker didn't allow others to touch him, but, at the moment, he wasn't even thinking about the scratches his brother had left on his paint in their brief tussle, far too concerned with Sideswipe's well-being. His spark continued to whisper across the bond, not true words, but impressions.

I missed you...I need you...I love you...I'm happy that you're here...We'll never do that again.

"Are you in any pain, now?" he asked, yet again, worry overriding logic.

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He hadn't complained, not once in the entire time he'd been back on base. He let Ratchet do whatever he had to to make repairs, didn't quip at him or pick at him or tease. And he certainly hadn't said much to Sunstreaker after they'd gotten there. Not aloud anyway. He was almost a shell of his normal self, but that would change as the damage done to his spark from the separation settled down and healed. He was trying to claw his way back out of the black hole he'd fallen into in an attempt to make it back to his brother's side. The cold darkness that had become part of him during the time he'd spent in the gladiatorial rings on Cybertron.

Eons ago, you'd think he'd have recovered from it by now. No. It just waited in his processors for him to get to a point where just fighting wasn't enough, where he couldn't carry on. Then it came forward again and took over every part of his life. That was where he'd gone when the convulsions had started out in space, when the pain in his spark got to the point that he'd come out of combat covered in energon and have no idea who'd attacked him or where he was after the fact.

This planet was strange and new, but all he could think about was that he'd finally found Sunstreaker. They were together again, he'd lived to find him, and their bond was trying to realign properly. But now, away from prying optics, he didn't have to pretend he was alright. He didn't have to smile and say the things everyone expected to hear from him. Sunny knew him, inside and out. They shared a spark, they were part of one another. He knew, and he wouldn't judge. The impressions from his brother, the need and the desperate reach of his own spark to try and make it all seem a bad dream, he felt drained.

Don't want to be alone anymore...Lost...Scared...Where are you?

Over and over, and the damage had been done. He didn't even mind that his brother kept asking the same questions. It helped root him in the present. "Physically? No." He put a hand over his chassis, pressing against the armor there as his spark actually convulsed inside him. "Little unstable though." That was an understatement. The pulses were painful, but he didn't want to worry Sunstreaker.

He vented, actually reminding himself that there was no reason to hold back from his twin. Sunstreaker would understand. "I think...I think I was in spark failure." He reached out and snagged a golden arm to pull it around his frame, tucking in as close as he could. "I was starting to think you had died. I couldn't feel you, and it had been so long..." His optics were actually focused across the room, on the wall. This was Sunny's room, it was unfamiliar to him.

He knew his spark was talking in the way that bonded sparks did, the impressions, the things that he didn't want to say but knew were true.

And it was saying that he was cold, and that his spark hurt even this close. A clear sign that their bond had nearly broken in a major way. If that had happened...well they would both have died in agony.

@sunstreaker

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Sunstreaker pressed himself closer to Sideswipe, frame as tightly aligned with his brother's as it could be, as though he were trying to return them to the oneness they had been before their sparks divided. He needed that closeness, had craved it since their separation. Instability had become their norm without the other and neither of them had fared well.

"You're in pain," he grumbled.

It wasn't a question. They were both the type who would understate things to keep the other from worrying. But he could feel the desperation that still lingered in the other's spark, echoes of what they'd both been asking over the past few years. Sunstreaker understood. He allowed his arm to be pulled around his brother, immediately tightening it around him.

"I know," he whispered, leaning his helm against Sideswipe's and shuttering his optics, "We might have died if you hadn't come when you did. It hurt..." another understatement. Death would have been certain had they been separated for much longer. And the pain, direct agony in his spark, had been agony. But he knew that Sideswipe knew that as well as he did.

His expression twisted as he felt Sideswipe's spark reaching out again, his own responding, trying to sooth him despite its own strain.

"Bond with me," he said quietly, keeping a tight embrace around his twin, "It might help..."

Though, he wasn't sure if either of them were strong enough to do so effectively at this point. Still, it was worth a try.

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"Constantly." He had to admit to it when Sunstreaker said it like that. But the closeness was helping. Being here was helping. "Sorry I took so long. I came as fast as I could." He knew it wasn't his fault, it wasn't either of their faults, but it needed to be said. "I'm here now, Sunshine." His optics dimmed when Sunstreaker braced his helm against his own, intakes idling down and for a few blessed moments feeling no pain from their struggling bond. He hummed softly when the other suggested bonding, silently agreeing that it would be the smart thing to do. Still...

"Is it safe enough here?" He didn't doubt in their ability to protect themselves or each other. He doubted the safety of this base since bonding would leave them both indisposed for at least the next little bit. Longer as their bond reset and settled, barring any complications.

He slid an arm around Sunstreaker's middle and squeezed him firmly, feeling suddenly possessive of the other. It was a good thing, his spark recognized Sunny as his own and wanted to protect him. Twins or not, the other mech still belonged to him in the most basic way possible. They were stressed out and their bond strained, but not broken.

Sideswipe made a rumbling sound and shifted in, though now they were swapping paint with how close and tightly they were held to each other. That was okay, he'd help his brother fix it later. This was as close as their sparks could get to each other without bonding, and it helped and wasn't enough at the same time.

@sunstreaker

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Sunstreaker flicked his optics to his brother's face, too desperate for his nearness to even bother with a customary 'don't call me that'. Right now, not even his brother's ridiculous nicknames could bother him.

"We're safe," he said firmly, "The 'Cons don't know where we are and there's enough 'Bots here to make sure nothing happens."

And few of those would go asking for either twin's attention at the moment. Vorns of experience had taught them to back off when either brother was hurting and had sought the other for comfort. More so when both were. That was a one-way ticket toward a good slagging.

Sunstreaker's engine turned over and began to purr in contented response to his brother's shift, like a cat who was finally having its ears scratched. The possessive sensation slipped through the bond and rebounded, spark whispering to spark. His paint would be damaged after this, but, that was fine. He would fix it later. At the moment, his spark was humming in his chest, demanding that action be taken to repair its broken state. It reached out to its other half, begging to be rejoined.

"Need you, Sides."

It was an unnecessarily verbalization. He knew they could both feel how much their sparks strained to join. They needed each other, for their two halves to unite even for a brief time.

[Deleted]

Safe. Now there was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. Maybe it hadn't been all that long in the grand scheme of things, but to someone that was so used to another, who had always had someone at his side, even the three years it had actually been seemed an eternity. He knew as long as he and Sunstreaker were together safety was assured. They looked out for one another, protected each other, and were the one in all of creation that would never betray one another. Much better, in his opinion, than having some romantic interest. But that, was a discussion for another time. Now was about them, about making things right, about feeling whole again.

It would be much later, their bond much more stable and wedged so that their limbs were tangled, that Sideswipe really started to feel more like himself. He concentrated on the sensation of their bond being renewed, on the relay back and forth of random emotions and general well being. He was actually letting himself idle, tracing patterns along golden armor and generally just admiring his twin's new form. Same as before and different because of adjusting to this planet. It was okay, he would always be the most perfect being in the universe. At least to Sideswipe.

His spark was making a weird purr like sound, rolled close to the front of his chassis as it simply basked in being close to his twin. That was okay. Everything was better now. A stray thought hit him then and he fished around on his person until he found what he was looking for. "Here." He put a very worn square of something, wrapped in an old cleaning cloth, right against his brother's hands. "I know its sentimental of me, but I kept that."

It was one of the first things Sunstreaker had ever painted, back on Cybertron. A relic from before the war, from before the fighting and the pain and the constant risk of one of them being terminated. And he'd determinedly held onto it since the beginning, protecting it against everything he'd been through and despite how many times he'd lost it. He always went back for it. It was one of the things that kept him searching so long. He had to find his artist.

It reminded him of other times, of what the world could be without the war. They'd always just scraped by in life, but they'd always had each other. And he had always done whatever it took to provide for Sunstreaker. Even if that meant finding good paints for the artist his sibling was, or taking risks so that he was certain they'd both have energon to drink. Rough times, but he didn't regret it.

And Primus was he ever feeling nostalgic today! Bah! "Been awhile since I thought about before." He muttered, tone kept low so that he didn't disturb the quiet mood they'd fallen into. "Do you think it'll ever be over?"

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Sunstreaker's engine rumbled in a low purring hum as he laid with his optics shuttered. His spark practically sang in the aftermath of the bonding. His brother's fingers tracing his golden paint were yet another comfort after being separated for so long. Simple touches meant far more than even the initial wrestling embrace they'd shared upon first finding each other.

He rested with one hand clutching his twin's side, as though he might disappear again at any moment. Pressed close to Sideswipe, he felt at ease for the first time in three years. Safe.

He was stirred from his almost sleeplike state only when Sideswipe shifted. Sunstreaker's optics onlined just in time for him to receive a square wrapped in old cloth. Curiously, he pulled the cloth away. Then, he paused. He recognized it, of course. And for the briefest moment, the air filtering through his vents stopped. His optics roamed over it. It was sentimental. But Sunstreaker knew why he'd done it. After a moment, he laid it carefully in his own subspace.

"It will be over," he said confidently, "If I have to pull Megatron's spark out myself," he took his twin's servo in his own, squeezing tightly.

It had to end.

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He wondered if it ever would be over. And if it did end, would they even know how to go back to civilian life? They were frontline fighters, and it had been a long time since he'd been anything but a soldier. He still enjoyed racing, still enjoyed pulling pranks on others and fussing over his brother every chance he got. But in the end he still got startled out of recharge after particularly brutal battles from his processors refusing to let the loop of the day be properly sorted. He was slowly losing the battle to stay himself, as it had happened in the rings. "It would be nice, for a change, if the only thing I had to worry about for awhile was you running out of paint."

Sideswipe knew wishing for things wasn't going to make them happen, and he didn't want to dwell on the dark place he'd gone while they'd been apart. They were together now, that was all that mattered. It was all there was to his life. Sunstreaker ruled his universe. Everyone else was secondary. He wondered sometimes if his twin knew this.

But now was a time for comforting one another and gathering himself back, for enjoying the sensation of their bond functioning without pain and knowing that they'd found each other at last. So he smiled for his brother and gave him another squeeze.

"So...this planet have anything good to offer? I mean so far all I've seen is it has gorgeous altmodes for us, nasty organic things everywhere, and lots of 'cons to pester."

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Sunstreaker scoffed, rolling his optics in faux annoyance, as he usually did when his brother fussed over him. It was a small step toward normalcy after their separation.

"I can get my own damn paint, Sides," he paused, expression lightening, "...When this is over, I'll paint you something good."

He hadn't done commissions in centuries. Hell, he hadn't even sketched in...realistically, about a million years. There had been one time, a short pause in fire, when he'd taken the opportunity to vent his frustrations with the war through art. That was a long time ago. Recently, his servos were more acquainted with Decepticon helms than the tools of art.

But, he knew that Sideswipe liked his art, so he would try to return to it as soon as possible. Nothing was more important than his brother's happiness. For that, he would do anything. Seeing him smile now set him more at ease than he had been in the last three years.

He gave a derisive 'hn' at his brother's question.

"That about sums it up. I haven't been here too long, but it's a nasty mudhole," his faceplates twisted in disgust, "Not too long ago, I had to go in a cave after some energon readings," he shuddered, "There was organic matter in my seams when I came out."

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"I know, but it still makes me happy to see your face when I find some interesting new color for you." He'd been the provider between them a long time before Sunny had started in the rings. Artists didn't make much in the grand scheme of things on Cybertron back in the day. But now things were different. He sighed. "Only if you want to, I'd be content without anything as long as I get to keep you." And he grinned as he said it, absolutely aware of the level of sap that statement possessed.

He shuddered in sympathetic disgust as his brother described the cave he'd gone into. "That sounds nasty. And itchy. How long did it take you to get it all off?" He didn't mind so much getting dirty, especially because he could go back and present himself to Sunstreaker and laugh at the faces made at him for not washing first. Because he'd get it on his brother in a sparkbeat, just to rile him up.

"You'll have to show me around." He was idling and content with the world as it was with them just in their quarters, so a tour would wait.

"So, is Dylan an isolated squishy or have other 'bots taken to organic pets?" And they had to be pets right?

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Sunstreaker grumbled half-heartedly, as though his brother's constant need to provide for him were something of an annoyance. Though, really, he was equal parts glad and embarrassed by his twin's words.

"You're a idiot, you know that, right?" he muttered, averting his optics briefly.

It had been too long since he saw that grin and heard such sappiness. It made his spark thrum pleasantly. If anyone else had said that, he would have been all kinds of uncomfortable. But coming from Sideswipe, it felt right.

His memories of the cave caused him to shudder, his armor rattling slightly.

"I was still finding slag in my plating the next day..." he paused, "I'll show you around the base later. Especially the washracks," he fixed Sideswipe with a look, "So you won't have the excuse of not knowing when you come back with organic slag everywhere."

He knew all too well that, once their bond healed, he would be at the mercy of his brother's love of riling him. There wasn't much he could do about it, but, he tried.

The mention of the organics drew a derisive scoff from the golden twin.

"Unfortunately, no. The whole base is infested with them. And some of the others have adopted them as family."

The idea still disgusted him. Acting like these organics were on the same level as cybernetic organisms.

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"Yep." He didn't let the grin fall from his face at all, aware that this was the happiest he'd been in a long time and letting himself just enjoy it for once. War meant that sometimes they didn't get to do this very often. Just staying together and being what they'd always been meant to be; which was together. He wondered how the war had progressed on this little mudball, and wondered more if they'd be put on separate assignments. Which had happened in the past. Prowl sometimes liked to wait until one of them was out on patrol and sent the other to a different base for a few weeks when they'd pranked him specifically. It didn't stop them from going back to each other, but it wasn't a thing he wanted happening right now. Prowl could be scary when he wanted to.

"Eww...dude that doesn't sound good at all." He flashed his normal mischevious grin when he was told he'd be shown the washracks. "Would I do that to you Sunstreaker?"

His smile fell off his face when the organics were spoken of. Optics dimmed just slightly and he tipped his head in confusion. "Adopted them? They're pets at the best, probably not very well trained ones at that. The slag thought it was a good idea to adopt them like they were stray sparklings or something?"

Which if it had been an actual sparkling wouldn't have been so bad. He liked sparklings. When he could give them back to their creators after wiring them up on energon goodies and had had the chance to spoil them rotten.

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Sunstreaker snorted at his brother's impishness, the 'iris' of his optics rolling in something like incredulity at the question he was presented.

"You know you fragging would, you slagger. And get it all over my plating too."

His brother didn't have his obsession with cleanliness and beauty. Which was something of an annoyance to him. Especially given that his twin's impishness sometimes led to him purposefully pushing on those particular buttons.

The topic of the organics drew another optic roll, this one brought about by derision.

"There are some sparklings around. At least, that's what I heard. But there are humans too. Jetfire's got two following him around. And, apparently, there's even a couple who are part human, part Cybertronian," his lip components curled in distaste.

[Deleted]

He cracked up. He couldn't help himself. Sunstreaker knew him far too well, as it should be. And he was right to assume he'd get any muck and grime all over his twin in a sparkbeat. One because it got on his nerves, and two he actually enjoyed the 'forced' punishment of having to help get it off. He liked fussing and spoiling his twin absolutely rotten. Which, when he thought about it, might have contributed to some of Sunny's less than stellar habits. Oh well, he liked him the way he was.

The mention of sparklings brought his laughter to a stop, though his interest was now perked. "Real sparklings, here? Haven't seen one of those in a long time. Might be fun to spoil one or two of them rotten then give them back."

Then they were back on the topic of humans and Sideswipe actually sat upright and gawked. "Eww...just ew...I barely tolerated having the Dylan squishy inside me, and only because I was already a mess. How the frag did we end up with cross-breeds? That...that's just gross man."