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Ignis was a curious sparkling, always crawling into places where he shouldn’t be and begging the wrong mechs for attention. The sparkling was also stubborn, thrashing in Rodimus’ arms whenever his carrier picked him up to scold him. Despite everything, the sparkling was a joy to be around, always smiling and happy. Megatron was proud of his creation, even though he couldn’t say Ignis was his.
“You ready to get up?” asked Megatron.
With a loud whine Ignis tried to hide further under his heat blanket.
“That’s a shame, Ignis. I guess you won’t get this treat then.”
The blanket was kicked back and Ignis held his little arms out. Despite not being able to talk yet, Ignis knew the meaning of a few words and treat was one of them. The rest of his knowledge was limited to such words as cari, sire, bed and play.
“Here you go.”
Megatron placed the candy in Ignis’ mouth and the sparkling gave it a few chews before going still.
“Ignis? Ignius! Wake up! Don’t fall asleep with candy in your mouth.”
The sparkling yelped as he was forced to sit up. With Megatron’s servo on his back he was forced to stay awake as he chewed, despite his noises of protest. Once he was done he seemed to be fully awake and crawled to the edge of his cot. He held up his arms and whined until Megatron picked him up.
“You are going to be as demanding as your carrier, aren’t you?”
Ignis just laughed and tried to bite Megatron’s servo.
The next few minutes followed a pattern that Megatron repeated every day, feed Ignis from a bottle, bathe a screaming Ignis, bounce the sparkling until he calmed down and then go to his console in the corner of the room from which he worked.
“Let’s see what dull activities we can get up to today, Ignis. No don’t put that stylus in your mouth!”
Megatron pulled on the stylus as Ignis bit down harder and growled as he’d seen Ravage do. Once the stylus was no longer a choking hazard he quickly lost interest in his sire and crawled off to find his toys.
“One track mind, just like Rodimus,” muttered Megatron and then he turned back to his work.
When Megatron had returned to the Lost Light, under disguise, he had quickly been appointed Chief Security Officer. The NAIL monoformer known as Barrel was quiet, but he had a sharp mind, an eye for detail and a strategic mindset that was useful in emergencies. It was a role that Megatron used to fulfil from his office, but then when Ignis had been born he found it was simple to do from his hab suite and he could send his security team to deal with any physical threats. That way Ignis would always have one of his creators with him, even though no one knew that Barrel was Ignis’ real sire.
The door buzzed and Megatron gave the command for it to open. The mech standing in the doorway was the only source of frustration of late. He braced himself and went to greet the visitor.
“Thunderclash, what brings you here?”
The large mech entered the room without asking, giving Megatron a pat on the shoulder as he went. “Just need to hand over the signed paperwork for your plans to update security, Barrel.”
“There was no need to for you to come all the way over here for that. You could have just sent me the signed documents via a messenger. You’re a busy mech, there’s no reason to trouble yourself.”
Thunderclash scanned the room until he found his target. “But then I wouldn’t be able to see my favourite nephew,” said Thunderclash as he crossed the room to where Ignis was sat on the ground, surrounded by a pile of toys.
The sparkling dropped what he was doing the second he saw Thunderclash, he then lifted his arms and made grabbing motions, demanding to be picked up.
“How are we doing today, Ignis? Uncle Thunderclash brought you some treats,” said Thunderclash as he scooped Ignis up into his arms.
Thunderclash then took out a box and opened it, revealing row upon row of candy. The resulting squeal of joy from Ignis was so loud and high pitched that Megatron had to reset his ringing audials.
“Here you go, little buddy.”
As soon as the box was in his servos, Ignis didn’t even bother picking out the treats individually. Instead he shoved his face into the box, trying to fit as much as he could in his little mouth.
“I don’t think that is wise, Thunderclash. Too many sweets and he’ll be bouncing off the walls,” said Megatron as he approached the two.
He tried to take the box from Ignis, but the sparkling screamed him into submission.
Thunderclash, the fragger, only laughed. “Looks like he has you wrapped around his little finger. Then again, I suppose it’s difficult to be firm with someone else’s sparkling.”
Megatron took the box and sparkling from Thunderclash. “I assure you that I treat Ignis exactly as I would my own. I just have a low tolerance for screaming.”
“So, do you think you’re handling him well? Not feeling a bit overwhelmed?” asked Thunderclash, betraying the true purpose for his visit.
“Everything is going normally from what I’ve been told raising a sparkling is like.”
Thunderclash nodded in approval. “I’m glad to hear of it, but if you do have trouble I am always here if you need assistance. I have a way with sparklings.”
“Thank you, sir. That is… generous of you.”
“Anything for you, Barrel. Also for little Ignis and poor Rodimus. Such a shame about what happened with Ignis’ horrible sire, but I guess it doesn’t matter now that you’re his sire. You’ll wipe away any memory of that genocidal maniac. Keep Ignis on the straight and narrow as he grows, so he doesn’t follow the same path as the one who donated half his CNA.”
Of all the aspects of his old life that had disappeared when he became Barrel, the one thing he wished hadn’t been lost was the arrangement he and Thunderclash had. As Megatron Thunderclash had despised and hated him, but had kept his distance. Thunderclash addressed Barrel with fondness and maybe there was some genuine like for Barrel as a person, but there was also the matter of Thunderclash’s jealousy.
Megatron had laughed and laughed and laughed when he had realised that Thunderclash had an infatuation for Rodimus. Of all the mechs that Thunderclash could have taken an interest in, it had to be the one who hated him that most, but apparently that was what Thunderclash found appealing. Rodimus’ fiery personality, as Thunderclash referred to it, was refreshing in its honesty.
“I’m sure Ignis will grow up fine no matter what. He’s not his sire, he’s a completely different person.”
“Of course,” said Thunderclash hurriedly. “He’s Rodimus’ as well, so I’m sure he’ll grow up a perfectly loyal Autobot.”
“I’m sure of it, sir. Now I’ll have to be getting back to my work. These bots will not monitor themselves.”
“Good idea, I should be getting back to work myself.”
Thunderclash was able to show himself out, leaving Megatron alone with a squirming Ignis.
“That mech is an aft,” said Megatron to his creation. “Next time try to bite him when he hands you candy.”
Ignis lets out a high pitched whine that morphed into a gurgling noise.
“Stop that, I’m going to put you down. Don’t rush me,” scolded Megatron as he bounced the sparkling to silence him.
The second Ignis was released he rushed round the floor, bumping into furniture and clambering over his toys. The rush from the candy was in full swing and Megatron was in for hell.
….
Rodimus hit the panel and the door to the hab suite slid open. “Hey, guys. I’m hom- Fragging Primus, what happened here?”
The floor of the hab suite was coated in toys, trinkets and the berth covers with barely a space of bare floor left. Meanwhile the walls had been decorated with messy handprints from what must have been Ignis’ new finger paints, creating a rainbow of colour. Most worrying of all though neither Megatron nor Ignis was in sight and there was loud splashing coming from the wash rack.
“Mega-” started Rodimus before he realised the door was still open. “Barrel, you in there?”
“Yes! Just give me a moment and I’ll be right out!”
Megatron entered the hab suite, dodging toys and keepsakes, as the door closed behind him. He made his way across the berth room to the wash rack, his progress slow as he tried not to break anything. He was nearing the door when with a loud laugh Ignis escaped from the wash rack, sopping wet.
“Ignis! Get back here!” Megatron burst from through the doorway, covered in bubbles and just as soaked as his creation. “You’re still wet! You’re going to get water everywhere!”
Rodimus bent and caught Ignis by one ped. He lifted the sparkling up until Ignis was at waist height, suspended upside down. Ignis instantly stopped his wriggling and hung there limp.
“Got him,” said Rodimus as he held out Ignis to Megatron.
With a glare Megatron snatched Ignis from Rodimus and held him the right way up. “Don’t hold him like that, you could drop him if he wriggled.”
Rodimus responded with a quick kiss on the cheek. “But he doesn’t wriggle when he’s upside down. I thought you knew that by now.”
“But what if he did?”
“Oh, here we go again. Let’s list off all the things Rodimus shouldn’t do with the sparkling,” yelled Rodimus as he started picking up the mess on the floor. “Rodimus, don’t hold Ignis upside down. Rodimus, don’t let Ignis paint your frame. Rodimus, don’t let Ignis put that in his mouth. Rodimus, don’t put Ignis in a pillowcase and swing him round the room! It’s like you don’t trust me.”
Over by the door Megatron stood stiffly, Ignis trying to escape his arms. “You put our sparkling in a pillow case and swung him round the room?”
Realising what he said Rodimus stopped and put his servos on his hips. “He liked it, you should have heard him laughing.”
“Are you sure that wasn’t screams of terror?”
A turbo fox plush collided with Megatron’s helm.
“I know what my sparkling sounds like when he’s laughing. See! This is exactly what I’m talking about, you don’t trust me with Ignis!”
Megatron carefully picked up the turbo fox plush and gave it to Ignis. “I do trust you, for once I’m not the villain. I’m just paranoid that something will happen to Ignis. Any sparkling of mine is bound to have something horrible happen to them.”
That softened Rodimus’ spark. He went over to Megatron and leant his helm on Megatron’s shoulder. “Stop worrying so much. You’ve grown paranoid in your old age. Next you’ll be going on about how communication lines fry your processor over time.”
“Maybe, but my life has taught me to expect the worst.”
Rodimus tickled Ignis’ abdominal plating, making the sparkling laugh and hide behind the plush toy. “But that was Megatron’s life. Barrel is a just another ordinary mech who no one has anything in particular against.”
“And what about Ignis?” asked Megatron as he stroked the sparkling’s fragile helm. “He’s Megatron’s sparkling, not Barrel’s.”
A loud groan of frustration left Rodimus. “Really? You did this whole thing to fix that little problem. Megatron hates Ignis and everyone hates Megatron, so everyone loves Ignis. There, done. Stop worrying and enjoy life.”
The logical part of Megatron knew that Rodimus was right, but still something in his spark held onto his anxiety. Whatever it was Ignis must have felt it too, because the sparkling was looking up at his sire with a worried expression, his optics large and concerned.
“You’re right, Rodimus,” admitted Megatron at last. “I’m being paranoid and it has taken a toll on both you and Ignis. I shall try to stay positive, for us all.”
Rodimus stood on the tips of his peds to kiss Megatron. “Good and I’ll try and help take your mind off your worries,” Rodimus then paused and looked around the room. “Now let’s not tidy and build a pillow fort instead.”