Chapter Text
A sleepy cottage sat halfway up the mountain, snug and cozy. The cool mountain breeze pulled on his spark as he climbed up the rest of the road. It was spring so there was no ice, making it easy on him and his tires. Scalpel groaned as he spotted his older brother.
Lifeline sat, smug, very smug, just like a fat cat. He waved. “Took you long enough.”
“You got wings.”
“Yea yea.” Lifeline ran down the steps and hugged his little brother, Scalpel was swung around and set down. “I heard carrier made moonshine.”
“Oh look sire planted new crystals,” he pointed towards the purples and yellows. “So cute.”
“Shhh!” Wing hissed, appearing out of nowhere, he was worse than sire! Somehow they never noticed the white mech on the side of a very green mountain?
Scalpel jumped, Lifeline stuck his tongue out. “What?” The brothers asked in unison, staring up at their uncle.
Wing pressed his index finger to his lips. “Shhh.” Then jammed his thumb at the front window. With soft pedsteps they looked in, spotting something that should be in a snow globe. It was sire and carrier, the two of them were slow dancing, their frames were slowing down. It was so gentle, so quiet between the two of them. Carrier rested his helm on sire’s shoulder, or tried to, sire was always shorter.
The two were talking, reminiscing about little things. They could make out muffled speech patterns.
“We should really get to cooking, they’ll be here soon.”
“Why? Besides, nothing you bake could be sweeter than you.”
Carrier snorted, his cheeks turning rosy. “Stop it.”
“You know it’s true.” Sire purred and kissed carrier’s powered covered servo, he pause to lick it off his lips, only smudging it.
“Here.” Carrier licked a digit and started to clean off sire’s lips.
“Oh you know there’s a better way.” He wiggled his optic ridges.
“Oh, that’s right!” Carrier snapped his digits, grabbed sire’s face, and licked his lips, and his nose, for helm, curled back and licked his chin. “There, I think I got it?”
“Ratty.” Sire pouted. “I know where that tongue has been.”
“Yea, we both know where this tongue has been.” Carrier leaned forward and kissed him, sire’s helm fins sank a little. “I really should get back to baking, they’ll be here soon.”
Sire vented. “B-but-”
“No buts.”
“But they’re already here.” Sire pointed at them.
“What!” Carrier glared at them. “How long?”
“Wing’s been here for 10 minutes, Lifeline 5, and Scalpel about 3?”
Carrier groaned. “Fine, come in, stop watching us like we’re zoo animals.”
“With what we do? Might as well-”
“Drift!”
“It’s true!” Drift hummed as Ratchet left for the kitchen, turning on his heel to open the front door. “Darn wanted more smooches.” He pouted, only for his pout to fall away as Wing, Lifeline and Scalpel hugged him.
“You’re gross.” Wing teased.
“What? I can’t lovingly kiss my bonded?”
“Oh no, I mean wash your face after he did a full lap on it?”
“That’s not the only lap this face as seen~!”
“Sire!”
“Drift!”
The three of them let go of sire, all gagging at the idea.
“Drift stop grossing them out!” Ratchet called.
“Fine, fine, can’t be old and gross around my family?”
“You’re always old and gross, that’s why when we go on park walks we take a long way around. Don’t want anyone to see you.”
“What? Think someone is going to steal me away?”
“Yes!”
The bickering continued and Scalpel rolled his optics, Lifeline nudged his side the two of them hugged carrier then they left their creators to the verbal play fighting. Wing snuck off to the seller, looking for carrier’s homemade energex. That left them to cause havoc!
“I found it!”
“What?”
Lifeline yanked out a dusty book. “Your baby pictures.”
“NO!”
“YES!”
Scalpel ran, Lifeline hot on his tail.
“Oh here’s you in the bath! And there’s you on a swing! And you playing in the mud! I remember that sire tried for hours to get all the mud off and carrier just threw you in a tub.”
“Noooo!”
“And there’s you in your cute little jammies.”
Scalpel ducked behind his carrier. “Lifeline stop!”
“But you’re so cute!” Lifeline grinned and pinched his cheek. “So widdle!”
“Ugh!”
“Ah, you two are horrible, if you both want to be embarrassed, just ask, okay?” Sire snagged the book from Lifeline. “Lifeline ate crayons, and a lot of them. He hated bathtime to so much that I had to act like a giant fish to keep him in the bath. And don’t even get me started on your sleepwalking days.”
“I never slept walked before in my whole-”
“You would stand in my doorway, optics off, for a whole hour! A whole hour! Then you walked all the way to Wing’s hab and did the same thing, and stole all of his copper peaches.”
Carrier chuckled and shook his helm. “If you three are going to do this, then you’re going to help me.” He huffed and pushed a plate towards Lifeline, the bowl into Scalpel’s servos. “I’m gonna wash up. Remember 350 for 30 minutes.” Ratchet waved, leaving them to the kitchen.
They washed their servos, knowing that if they didn’t carrier would lose it.
The evening ended as it always did, on the floor, dozing as they all chatted about.
“So how’s uncle Roddy doing?”
“Better, Emberflare keeps an eye on him, it’s good that they have each other after Thunders passed. They go fishing a lot, I went one time, hardly any words, just fishing.” Sire shrugged. “I guess that helps?”
“Yea, I try to stop by uncle Roddy’s every now and then. He’s holding up pretty well, quiet. Don’t drink anymore.”
“That’s good.” Scalpel shrugged, he grew up with Emberflare, sometimes they would hang out and cause someone a helmache. “I think Emms is okay, after that rough patch with his sire, it’s good to see them getting along. Again I don’t understand the fishing thing? Like whole days are just them fishing without a word shared?”
“I know, it’s weird.” Lifeline shrugged. “I get it, we all bicker in this family, but hours upon hours of just fishing? I wonder what they think about?”
“Probably nothing?” Wing added, swirling some nightmare fuel carrier brewed. “Sometimes that’s the best way to bond? I know no one here can shut up for 5 minutes.”
“Yea.” They all nodded and shrugged, agreeing that there wasn’t a quiet moment when they were together.
Scalpel sat up, he stared at his creators, Ratchet and Drift were snug in their loveseat, watching their little family between quick kisses and horribly cheesy conversation. It was too sweet, horribly sweet. Lifeline said that when they finally got together, no one on the Lost Light could separate them. He watched as Lifeline and Wing teased each other, a sleepy smile on his face.
It always happened at his creator’s cottage, they always fell asleep on the floor. It was always the best sleep Scalpel had ever gotten
Ratchet rested his helm against Drift’s, Scalpel snored, Lifeline’s wings twitched, and Wing was drooling. “Is this what we wanted?”
“To have to watch our step? Yes.” He purred and kissed Ratchet’s cheek.
“You’re terrible.” Ratchet hummed. “Think we’ll get the blankets out?”
“Yea. I’ll get them, go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”
Ratchet huffed and pulled himself up, his trust and knees creaking. “Getting too old for this.”
“We’ve always been ‘too old for this.”
“Yea, we are. Don’t suppose we’ll ever leave the honeymoon phase?”
“Hardly. Think of it Ratty, we’ve been bonded for 50 thousand years, and for 50 thousand years I wake up to the kindest mech in the universe.” Drift tucked in their sons, then flung a blanket at Wing. “Sadly I don’t think we’ll go out of this either.”
“At least we don’t have to carry them anymore.” Ratchet took Drift’s servo and they walked down the hall and towards their own berthroom.
“Ugh, thinking about that makes everything hurt.” Drift pulled him into the berth and they curled around each other. Drift’s servo stroked his helm. “If you could change any other thing about what happened, how we got here, what would you change?”
Ratchet hummed in thought, rubbing Drift’s helm fin. “Not much, maybe more kinky fragging?” He winked.
“And you say I’m the dirty one.”
They laughed, curling up and slowly falling into recharge. Scalpel snored just like his sire.