1. The Beach by Lisa
Bluestreak jumped as Sunstreaker abruptly pulled his legs
from the console upon which they had been leaning and let them crash to the
ground with a thud. Usually when
Sunstreaker started banging things around, it meant he was in a bad mood, which
meant Bluestreak wanted to be far, far away. Not that Sunny ever took it out on him, that is, Bluestreak
just didn't like to be around anyone who was in a bad mood.
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Especially Sunstreaker.
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But this time, Sunstreaker just sat up and announced,
"That's it. We're going to the beach."
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The room was silent. And when a silent room contained
Bluestreak and Sideswipe, the fact that it was silent was really significant.
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"The beach?" said Bluestreak, confounded.
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"Yes, the beach, let's go."
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"You know there's, um, sand and stuff at the beach, right?"
said Bluestreak cautiously, not wishing to insult Sunstreaker but also not
wishing for the brothers to drive four hours to the Oregon coast only to find
that Sunstreaker had not thought of the abrasive qualities of sand and salt
water.
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Sideswipe had already abandoned the Robb Report he had been
cutting Ferrari pictures out of, stood, stretched, and had fallen in behind his
brother as he headed for the door.
If Sunstreaker wanted to go somewhere on their day off, he wasn't about
to argue. He wasn't exactly sure what had brought on ol' Sunny's sudden urge to
go to the beach, since Sunny usually didn't have much to say about how they
spent their free time (until after whatever had passed for Sideswipe's idea of
entertainment had landed them both on cleanup detail), but he was not about to
pass up a road trip. Besides, for
once he wouldn't have to drag Sunstreaker kicking and screaming along with him.
like "pissing and moaning" but they ended up having fun in the end anyway.
propose an outing was a mystery to him, but he wasn't about to question this
unexpected turn of events.
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He decided it was wise to hide his extreme enthusiasm for
the road trip lest his brother abruptly change his mind, which he very well
might. Just to be mean, Sideswipe thought.
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Bluestreak hadn't moved as he watched the brothers headed
for the door. He was disappointed
at being left behind, since it was his day off too and without the Lambos
around it was bound to be somewhat boring, but he understood that no one
usually was invited with the brothers when they went on an outing.
togetherness-time, or something. Then again, usually Prowl ended up catching
the brothers doing something bad, and then they were punished, and Bluestreak
was happy to not be punished.
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However, nothing was normal about this day, so it seemed.
Sunstreaker was standing at the door, tapping his foot impatiently, "Well?"
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"Well-.what?" Bluestreak had already half-returned his
attention to the video game he had been playing, thinking that he'd spend the
rest of the morning trying to reach level 14, not that it would be a problem
for him with his superior reflexes and targeting skills, but he really had
nothing else to do, and even Hound was away from the Ark today, picking up some
geologic samples from Nevada for Perceptor. He fully expected to have a long and dull day, punctuated
at the end by the brothers' return, most likely very late at night and in very
big trouble, which was always somewhat amusing, since he never got into trouble
himself and secretly liked to hear all about the brother's escapades.
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"Well, aren't you coming?"
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"With you?" Bluesreak said, surprised, and immediately felt
stupid. He never knew what to say
to Sunstreaker, so he didn't say much to him, which made him think that the
only reason Sunny let him hang out with them was because he didn't talk as much
as usual, the thought of which made him talk less, and so it went.
as if it were a new and complicated hobby he was learning.
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"Of course with us, didn't you hear me say we were going to
the beach?"
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"Well yeah, but I thought you guys were going-"
desperately wanted to join the brothers on their outing, but if he stood up to
go with them only to find that he had misconstrued Sunstreaker and wasn't actually
invited, he was sure he'd literally die of embarrassment.
fit in, and he still hardly dared to believe that the Lamborghini brothers, the
most socially difficult of all the Autobots, even put up with him, let alone
wanted him around. To his
surprise, they had been nothing but accepting to him, and even seemed to watch
out for him sometimes, like last week in med bay when the twins hung out with
Bluestreak until his repairs had been finished. They didn't have to, but they
had stayed with him because they knew he was nervous, and tried to make him
feel better. They seemed to care
somewhat how Bluestreak felt, even if it was only because they relied on him in
battle, or so Bluestreak assumed.
Still, he was happy to have other "bots to hang out with on his time
off. Bluestreak's nervous nature
made him believe that this state of affairs could end at any time, with any
false move, so while he enjoyed the brothers' company, he never felt quite at
ease. Doing the wrong thing seemed
to be his specialty, and he didn't wish to jeopardize the first real
friendships he felt he'd made here on Earth.
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Sideswipe saved the moment by jumping back into the room,
grabbing Bluestreak by the shoulders and propelling him out the door. "Yeah,
the beach, Blue, where the "sand and stuff' is."
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"Oh okay, cool, I guess I'll like that-I mean, that'd be
great, I'd love to hang out with you guys, I never get to go with you but I
always wanted to, so yeah," he said, brightening, "let's go to the beach!"
Bluestreak wanted to ask Sunstreaker why he suddenly wanted to go to the beach,
but Sideswipe seemed determined not to ask to many questions so he wisely shut
up.
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Although it was impossible to tell from his blithe
expression, Sideswipe was equally perplexed. This was a new experience all the way around.
Sunstreaker had suggested an outing,
He knew not to ask too many questions though, since recent tensions among
the Autobot ranks about Sunstreaker's snarly behavior had made Sunstreaker a
little self conscious about his attitude, and pointing out to him that the
beach suggestion itself, not to mention extending the invitation to Bluestreak,
was out of character might be just enough to make him self-conscious about it,
which would outwardly manifest itself as annoyance, which would most likely
result in the excursion being cancelled due to surliness.
usually got Sunstreaker into, he really wanted his brother to lighten up a bit
and have more fun around the Ark. Maybe even make some friends, although he
never seemed to need or want any friends other than Sideswipe.
though, and though Sideswipe pretended not to notice, Sunstreaker had never
unleashed his cranky nature on ol' Blue. That could be because the gunner took
good care of them during battle, and could always be counted on to back them
up, something that the brothers valued highly and felt was a rare quality (not
because of ill will or malice but simply because of the inherent fallability of
living beings, including Autobots), but it could also be that Sunny felt a kind
of kinship with anyone else who was slightly socially awkward. Although,
Sideswipe noted, Bluestreak just tended to run people off with his babbling,
rather than by throwing things at them as Sunstreaker did when he got annoyed.
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So, he said nothing, but couldn't resist clapping his
brother on the shoulder as they headed out of the room, earning himself a dirty
look from Sunstreaker, who then cast a worried glance over his gloss.
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"Hey Prowl, we're going to the beach!" Bluestreak informed
his superior, who was at the energon station, taking a few sips of energon and
reading a datapad. Prowl stopped
reading, cup halfway to his lips, and simply started at the odd procession as
the three headed for the door.
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******
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The morning was still dewy and cool because of the
relatively early hour, but the sun was shining and the sky was the deep morning
blue that meant a perfect day was ahead. Once on the road, Bluestreak felt a
little more at ease. They cruised
along at a comfortable speed (yet one of which the local police would certainly
not approve), and Bluestreak enjoyed listening to the brothers' banter.
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"Sunny, what are we doing at the beach? Gonna check out the
emmollient qualities of sand and sun on the ol' gloss?"
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"Ha ha. You're funny, Sides."
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"No really, I just don't see you as the bikini gazing type.
Or the beachcombing type. You know something we don't?"
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"No." said Sunstreaker flatly. They rode alone in silence
for a minute. Sideswipe hoping that he hadn't goaded Sunny into silence.
"I just think it will be-fun."
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"OK great! I like fun!" put in Bluestreak, feeling the
slight tension in the air and reflexively wanting to defuse it somehow.
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Sunstreaker snorted, but without derision.
pointed out.
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"I guess I do," laughed Blue sheepishly. "I guess because
things are so good here, I feel like I should take advantage of it, in case it
gets bad, again, or something-." he stopped, feeling stupid again.
the anxiety he felt when he considered how everything had already been taken
away from him once, and someday it might happen again.
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After a short silence, Sunstreaker spoke. "I know what you
mean." he paused, seemed about to continue, but instead accelerated after
Sideswipe, brushing by him with just a few centimeters to spare.
road with your ugly red tailpipe."
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After that, Bluestreak fell silent for a while, feeling
awkward about bringing up the bad times. He wanted this, his first outing with
the brothers, to be a good time, and not to ruin it with his patented
Bluestreak Prattle. However, he was to find that it was tough to keep a low
profile around the brothers, who noticed everything.
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"Hey Blue, you're not saying much," chided Sideswipe after
just a few minutes.
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"Yeah, for once," put in Sunstreaker, but without any
malice. In fact, to Bluestreak's
surprise, he realized he was being ribbed by Sunstreaker, the "bot whom many
claimed had no sense of humor and little to say to anyone but his brother.
sped up to follow Sunstreaker's acceleration, but naturally without following
too close. One always was wise to keep adequate following distance between
oneself and the yellow Autobot, regardless of how good of a mood he appeared to
be in.
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***
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The Oregon coast is lined with particularly unique and
interesting beaches, California beaches are very nice, but in a uniformly
vast-line-of-sand way, chocked with sunbathers and beach volleyball
players. The Oregon beaches have
the sand and surf, but also have interesting rock formations and cliffs, small
sea creatures in tide pools, and such.
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What was even more interesting about this Oregon beach were
the three Cybertronian forms standing on a sand dune surveying it.
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The three Autobots stood in the beach sand, facing the
ocean, Bluestreak and Sideswipe trying their best not to look at Sunstreaker
expectantly, and failing. Sideswipe was sure that Sunny had some reason for
being at the beach, but damned if he couldn't even begin to guess what it was.
Particularly now that they were there, and the beach seemed pretty darn normal
to him. Sunstreaker usually didn't
do anything without being darn sure there was something in it for him, and
Sideswipe really couldn't blame him. Not just because Sunny was his brother,
but because Sideswipe was particularly privy to the chain of events that had
made Sunny who he was and, he mused, had most likely made Sideswipe who he was
too. Sideswipe often wondered
(though he'd never tell a soul) whether it was Sunny's more sensitive nature
that had made their formative years and the following wartorn millenia bother
him so much that he had become withdrawn and moody. By now he had been like
that for so long that Sideswipe had long accepted that that was his brother's
personality, and he left it at that.
Usually he could predict his brother's moods and cope with his mercurial
temperament by constantly monitoring hgis brother's state of mind and staying
one jump ahead, but this outing had him completely flummoxed. He opened his
mouth to say something to Sunstreaker, who was gazing over the ocean, one hand
casually shading his optics, but found that he just couldn't come up with
anything to say.
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Bluestreak, looking anxious, stood to the other side and
slightly behind Sunstreaker. Well, he looked anxious, but also enormously
pleased and excited. The beach really was beautiful, and it was a lovely day,
with a very pleasant breeze blowing in from the ocean. Before he could stop
himself, he blurted, "So what do we do now, Sunny? Wow, this beach is great!
I've never seen a beach with such cool rocks and stuff. There aren't any people
here either which is kind of nice, I mean I would love to meet some new people
but it seems even better that we are here at the beach just by ourselves huh?"
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Sunny simply nodded. "Let's go check it out," he said
simply, glancing at Sideswipe as if seeking consensus. Sideswipe, still
speechless, shrugged and nodded.
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The three Autobots strolled down the beach in companionable,
if somewhat bemused, silence. The
waves crashed, the breeze blew, and seagulls soared and screeched
overhead. Finally, Sunstreaker
gave Sideswipe a wry smile and shrugged, almost as if embarrassed. "Well, I
guess this is it," he said. Sideswipe began to reply without knowing what to
say, sensing his brother was uncomfortable lest his suggested outing turn out
to be a bust. Before he could
formulate a response, Bluestreak jumped in with characteristic enthusiasm.
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"It's great, Sunny!" he enthused, energetically taking in
all the sights, and not even realizing that he had picked up on Sideswipe's habit
of calling Sunstreaker "Sunny." "Look, the water is low, we can probably go
check out that big rock thing over there-" and he was off, slogging through the
shallow water, sights focused on the collection of rocks that sat several
hundred feet offshore. Sunstreaker, to Sideswipe's almost total system collapse,
shrugged and waded off after Bluestreak.
Sideswipe considered reminding him that the salt water wouldn't do much
for his glassy-perfect paint job, but he also knew that Sunstreaker of all
Autobots knew exactly what he was in for after wading in the ocean, and decided
to keep his mouth shut.
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And keep his mouth shut he did, for the rest of the day, at
least about his ongoing amazement towards his brother. The three Autobots
roughhoused in the surf, played catch with an old tire that had washed up on
the beach (Sunstreaker snickering with slightly malicious glee when Bluestreak
missed the catch and ended up with the tire slung around the barrel of one of
his launchers), built a bizarrely pointless giant sand castle (more like a sand
pile, really) and watched the sun set over the ocean as they slumped, tired but
relaxed, with their backs against a sand dune.
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"Not bad for a day off, eh?" commented Sideswipe, rousing
himself from a his relaxed lethargy.
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"Yeah, this was a great idea, Sunny," said Bluestreak, who
was still idly pushing sand into little piles with his hands.
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Sunstreaker paused, and even looked a bit taken aback, then
just nodded, a small, satisfied smile playing over his features, a smile he
didn't even seem aware of.
Sideswipe was almost shocked to feel a sharp, bittersweet pang of
something ... wistfulness, loss, regret? ... when he realized that that smile was
the first sign of non-calculated emotion he'd seen from his brother in aeons,
it seemed. Not that Sunstreaker was manipulative, just that he was so guarded
that Sideswipe knew he thought carefully ... quickly, but carefully ... before
displaying any emotion at all. It
had been unimagineable ages for the both of them since their lives had been
carefree and simple. He barely
admitted it to himself, but he had wondered just how deep his brother's
emotional wounds were ... and whether he'd ever be able to recover from the
millenia of war, pain, and death that had defined their lives for so long.
obligation to protect and defend their friends, lives, and the values that made
them Autobots, and neither brother had ever deviated from that fundamental
mission. But they had paid for it many times over ... and Sunstreaker more than
any Autobot should ever have to endure, something that Sideswipe, and no one
else, knew. So that smile hurt Sideswipe ... not because he was sorry to see it,
but because it reminded him of how very much he wanted to see it, and had missed
it these many years.
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They drove home in the fading dusk, not talking much. They
didn't seem to need to. When they arrived at the Ark they bid each other
goodnight, Bluestreak heading to the common room for a late night movie, and
the brothers retreating to their quarters by some unspoken agreement.
recharging berths, exchanging a low "goodnight," Sideswipe stole a glance at his brother as Sunstreaker fell
asleep, eyes closed, head tipped
to one side as his recharge cycle began, and that small smile creasing the
corner of his mouth, making something in Sideswipe grieve for those lost years.