Sunstorm Bluestreak 4
This is an alternate universe of lily-vendrem and xobit-prime's Greek-verse, co-written with Xobit. However, it IS NOT in the actual Greek-verse, or at least it's not in that continuity. It is also STICKY.
“I-I… yeah…” He wanted to say something, yell perhaps? Bluestreak wasn’t sure, his entire chassis tinkled with heat but he was no longer burning up. In fact he was tired, felt melted and mellow. His hands were resting on Sunstorm’s armor and he idly picked at a seam. “’Need ta go lie down… al’most in ‘charge now…”
He wanted to stay with Bluestreak! He didn't offer, sure it would be rejected, or lead to things too fast. "Is there a spare room, or can I borrow one of your brothers' berths for the night?" Sunstorm asked, content to stay where he was, but ready to move when needed. He had got a lot from Bluestreak... not as much as he would have with a Vossian mate, but... Sunstorm still thought Bluestreak was worth it. So cute, so gorgeous.
“Y-you…” Bluestreak gulped and pushed weakly to get the Seeker off him. Sunstorm responded willingly enough and even helped him to his peds. Shakily shutting off the water and getting a towel, the grey Helixian refused to look at his… his suitor. “You can use one of my brother’s berths, if they come back at all they won’t mind sharing one. I’m… we’ll t-talk more tomorrow, I guess…” He fled, there was no other way to put it. He fled to his room and forced himself to stop fretting and go into recharge. Luckily the sated state of his chassis helped with that.
Sunstorm, of course, let Bluestreak go. He then took advantage of being in the shower, rinsing off before leaving the bath room. Remembering which door was Bluestreak's, the Seeker went to one of the other doors, and managed to find recharge despite his own arousal. He was up before Bluestreak the next morning, or else the grounder was avoiding him. It didn't matter too much... It was odd to wake up and have nothing to do. Normally he walked in the garden before fueling... He looked up as the door opened.
Prowl would have preferred not to disturbed… whatever was going on between his younger brother and the Seeker priest. He had to get a few data pads though; this little family crisis wasn’t enough to stop orns of hard diplomatic work, no matter that he would have liked to be there for his brother. To his surprise, the door to Bluestreak’s quarters was still closed and Sunstorm was sitting in the common room looking rather at a loss. “Ah… how did… things go?”
"I can mostly touch him now!" Sunstorm answer, smiling. "He is so beautiful..." Abruptly remembering Bluestreak's 'offer' directly proceeding said touching, and the way the Helixian brothers had acted, Sunstorm added, "As I see it, he's still virgin. And we didn't bond... we do have ceremonies for that!" His smile grew brighter for a moment, and he nodded at Bluestreak's door. "I haven't checked in on him yet... I don't want to intrude."
Deciding that he needed to sit down, and trying very hard to hide his flush, Prowl found a chair. “I’m sure you have…” Answering with something he thought might be appropriate, voice faint, he wondered at the way Sunstorm focused on the ‘virgin’ part. “I… I don’t know what to do about this, I am not very experienced and I can’t instruct him.”
"Ah... instruct him in what? The... well, the only real problems I've noticed are cultural differences. ...And my underestimating how sensitive your type of wings are... Oh, yes! Do you know why he thinks I won't flirt with him?" Sunstorm tried to restrain himself. He didn't want to take up too much of Prowl's time, after all, or push boundaries that he didn't see.
“I can’t be his Gritor, I am… as inexperienced as he is.” Prowl had to fight not to flush, there was no shame in being a virgin but it wasn’t something you talked about… not unless you were about to bond and was asking someone to be your Gritor at least. “And… um, well… Helixian courting is pretty much done with our door-wings? That’s what we call flirting… I realize that Seeker don’t quite use the term the same way.” Helplessly bobbing his own doorwings, Prowl looked nervously at the Seeker priest.
"I still don't know what flirting has to do with finding one's mate..." Sunstorm muttered, mostly to himself. Gritor was... Right, Prowl had said it was a teacher. "Ah, as for the... inexperience... I am fully capable of teaching him. Or he is perfectly free to find a different teacher, if he wants, any priest would be willing. I could even invite a bonded priest, but I am of the impression that Bluestreak would not want a four-way session? ... I am not worried about his skill or knowledge, he is adorable as he is!"
“Flirting… it’s…if you like someone you express it by moving your door wings in certain patterns. If you more than just like you can be very ‘suggestive’ with them, l-like this.” Prowl turned a little so that Sunstorm had a better view of his back and gently dropped his door wings in a low flare before fluttering them and then brining them back up to half frame his helmet from behind. “In essence I just invited you to touch them along the bottom edge… which is more or less an invitation to interface.” This time Prowl couldn’t fight his heat flush, very uncomfortable with showing this to someone not a potential bond mate. “And I meant… that I can’t help him on a more relationship like plain, I have never had one…”
"But what does that have to do with finding your mate?" Sunstorm asked, replaying the motions in his processor. He wanted to recognize them if, or when, Bluestreak made such an invitation. "As for the relationship..." Sunstorm fluttered his wings uncertainly again. "We are talking. Spending time together. That is quite enough for knowing me less than a day, I would say! ...I could ask around, see if there is any one with a foreign mate who would be willing to talk to him...?"
“We don’t have the ‘help’ you seem to have… finding mates is a much more random event.” Prowl shrugged and turned back to face the golden Seeker again. “’Flirting’ is the only thing that Bluestreak knows in relation to finding a mate… he is likely disappointed that that ‘stage’ has been skipped. He has no choice any longer, he doesn’t need to intrigue or entice you. I don’t think bringing more strangers into this will help…”
Sunstorm looked at Prowl in complete confusion. "But... then... how do you know you have truly found your mate?" Helixians did not make sense! "And... if he doesn't flirt, how will I know he wants me?" Or, for that matter, how would anyone else know that Bluestreak wanted them? That particular comment could wait, though... Sunstorm thought Prowl might spontaneously combust if it were brought up.
“Love...?” Prowl’s door wings bobbed lightly, amusement and confusion on his faceplates. It would be nice to have the certainty that the Seekers seemed to have, but at least they had a choice in the matter. “It’s a much longer and more unsure process then yours, that is for certain, but that’s why Blue’s so very upset, he is used to having a choice and now he has well, death or bond. Currently he doesn’t… and he will never have the opportunity to ‘flirt’ as he has been taught to. That’s the problem, more than likely.” Prowl felt a little evil, but he had to be honest.
Love... But one did not have to love one's mate... most did, most definitely, but friendship and respect seemed a much firmer base to build a family on. Of course, if the definition of friendship didn't include even the possibility of interfacing... "I... find the idea of... of chosing? a mate... I am sorry, but I find that... disturbing. I... would always fear that I missed the gods' will!" He... should tell Bluestreak, and soon, that he was free enough to seek pleasure from others as well... or would that hurt? "That does not change the fact that I am getting a processor ache from all of this!"
“I am sorry… as I said, I have as little experience with such things as Bluestr-“ The door to his younger brother’s room opened and the gray Datsun half stumbled out. “I will leave you alone, just here to get a few pads.” He dropped his door wings a little when Bluestreak sent him a panicky glance but held firm. This was between his brother and the priest!
Bluestreak wasn’t sure he wanted to face Sunstorm in the morning. Recharge had only helped him realize how much of a glitch he had been, not resolved anything about his… supposed mate to be.
He did not hesitate now in approaching Bluestreak and taking his hand. "Hello, pretty one. Did you recharge well? Would you like to look around Vos more today? I know a place we could fuel." Sunstorm was honestly trying not to push too hard... He had no idea what Bluestreak expected from him! "Um... you could tell me about how it differs from Helix, if you want?" And maybe then he could get a better grasp on where the pretty grey mech was coming from with his expectations. Yes, that might work...
Stifling the urge to pull his hand from Sunstorm’s grip, Bluestreak couldn’t help or prevent that his door wings drooped. It hadn’t been a nightmare; it really had all been true, bad and… good? He wasn’t sure if the pleasuring had been a good thing. But despite it all… his words and his anger, the golden Seeker was trying. Should he not be doing the same? “Um… fuel sounds g-good?”
Pulling Bluestreak towards the door, Sunstorm stopped before they left the apartment. "Ah... would it be asking too much for us to continue to hold hands outside?" He wasn't blind to Bluestreak's disappointment, but there wasn't really much he could do about it... "I mean... I remember how uncomfortable contact made you..." Sunstorm's hand tightened against Bluestreak's unconsciously.
“I-I… don’t know?” He really didn’t, and he really didn’t want to hurt the Seeker either. Bluestreak whimpered a little when the clawed hand of the larger mech tightened on his, it was pretty obvious that Sunstorm would prefer keeping him close, keeping them in contact. He did remember what contact had let to last dark cycle! Abruptly yanking his hand out of the other's grip, he shook his helmet… “I can’t! N-not yet…”
He was back to shaking as he resisted the urge to cuddle and sooth his resonant. "It's okay. That's why I asked. I'll... try to remember." Sunstorm knew he couldn't promise to keep his hands off Bluestreak, touching was too instinctive to him, too much his first reaction. "Fuel first. Then... hum, wherever you want, I guess. It really is interesting to walk everywhere... everything looks so different to me." He did leave the apartment then, pleased that at least Bluestreak was coming with him.
Getting himself worked up like that, so foolish and rude! Sunstorm hadn’t been trying to do anything but hold his hand. Bluestreak huffed and hiked his drooping door wings up to an acceptable rigid stance before following his… his Intended, he supposed.
“So… um, where are you taking me to refuel? And I don’t really know anything about Vos, that’s why I ended up… um… yeah? So, you can just show me things you like, I guess?” If nothing else, they would probably then see if they were even a little compatible in personality.
"It's an outside establishment, on the edge of a park. My brother used to take me there... The energon is, well, not the best I've had, but the people around make for good watching. Mostly actors, I think there's a temple to Argentron around there..." There had, if he remembered right, been a lot of improvisation going on. Very fun... And hopefully not too embarrassing for Bluestreak! Sunstorm stopped a moment later. "Um... I'm afraid I'm not sure how to get back outside..."
“You have a brother?” Safe subject! Or at least Bluestreak assumed it was a safe subject. “Does Vos produce many plays and holos? I don’t think I have ever seen a Vossian holo movie… what are they about?” Rambling was something he could do, and besides how bad could it be to talk about plays and holos and brothers for a bit?
Whoa, words! Without any pausing... Sunstorm grinned, following Bluestreak out of the building. "Yes, I'm the youngest of my family. My oldest brother is set to inherit what estate we have, and the next oldest is getting into trading, business, stuff like that. He's really interested in these negotiations... I think he's already planning to visit Helix if he can!" Sunstorm was happy to talk about his family, but... Bluestreak had asked other questions. "Our holos are... very dramatic. Half the time they're about families behaving badly. Or historical wars. ...Or dramas in the wars..."
“Really? Two brothers? What are your Creators like, do you see them often, and do you see your brothers often?” Bluestreak was pretty happy with talking, as long as he was having a conversation he was reasonably safe… right? “Dramatic? What is that supposed to mean… like a lot of explosions and stuff like that? Why haven’t I seen any in Helix? Or don’t you export those? Wait, wait! You didn’t have much of any export before did you? Um… only with Kaon and Simfur right?”
"Yes... Acid Storm is the oldest, he's green, and then Hailstorm, he's blue. They'll be so jealous of me, neither of them has found their mate yet." Sunstorm laughed, taking the lead again as they reached the street. "I see them fairly often, I can't wait for you to meet them! My Creators... well, of course I like them. They like to learn new things, Hail's gonna be busy telling them all about Helix if he's allowed to go. I won't let them pry into your life too much..." Sunstorm laughed again, reaching back to pull Bluestreak over for a hug, only remembering not to do that at the last moment. "Um... dramatic. Like, family betrayal, and unexpected sparklings, and secret mates... all types of insane stuff. Sometimes there's explosions, too. And yeah, we didn't have much export... Hail' would be happy to tell you all about that!"
“What do your Creators do? I would… like to meet them all? I’m sure they are all nice?” Swallowing a little nervously Bluestreak tried not to sound all too questioning about the last statements and failed utterly. It was just that he didn’t think they would be very happy with him as Sunstorm’s mate, or at least Intended. “I could always try and help H-Hailstorm with the um… customs we have? And um stuff…?”
Once again, Sunstorm had to look around a fair bit to make sure he was going in the correct direction. "Ah... they own a factory. Making- er. Toys... Oh dear. We'll have to tell Hail' to bring other things to trade! He would love it if you would tell him about your customs, otherwise... Well, I'm sure you can imagine how your culture would react to a clueless Seeker!" Oh, that would so not have gone well... But Hailstorm had time to learn, and maybe he could teach Bluestreak a little too, and pass on what he learned to Sunstorm...
“Why? Helixian sparklings use toys just like any other sparklings. Oh, I would just love to see how they make them! Is it stuffed toys or remote controlled ones? I had this stuffed mesh creature that I called Perrdux, he belonged to Prowl once upon a time.” Bluestreak couldn’t see why it would be a problem for Hailstorm to sell toys, maybe they were all designed for fliers? There weren’t that many fliers in Helix, that was true. Hum… maybe it was very large toys?
Sunstorm stopped walking, processing Bluestreak's words for a moment before dissolving into helpless laughter. He had been trying not to embarrass Bluestreak... Laughter still not abating, Sunstorm pulled one of the 'toys' out of his subspace. He wasn't sure the Helixian would work out what it was... Sunstorm thought he could explain, if only he could stop giggling! It really wasn't fair to Bluestreak to make a scene like this...
Bluestreak wasn’t sure what he should feel about the laughter and settled for pouting even as he took the cylindrical thing that was half waved in his direction. Turning it over in his hands he held it up to examine it from every angle and poked at the buttons on the flat end. He nearly dropped the thing when it started vibrating. “What is this?”
"One... One of the toys...!" Sunstorm answered, and really, he was trying to calm down! Bluestreak just looked too cute all confused... Reclaiming the vibrator before it could fall, or be thrown, Sunstorm cycled his vents hard and managed to control the laughter enough that only a few giggles made it out. "Is not... is not for sparklings, pretty one...!" Though the toys could help in the making of said sparklings... Sunstorm giggled.
It was a little irritating that Sunstorm kept laughing, well giggling anyway. “If it’s not for sparklings then what is it for?” Despite his attempts at to keep his door wings still they twitched stiffly. Bluestreak reached out to examine the toy again, but Sunstorm fended him off. “Well! You could just tell me, I have no idea what a fully upgraded mech would do with toys anyway!”
That very nearly set Sunstorm to giggling again, but the annoyed twitch helped him stave the amusement off. "Oh, Bluestreak... I want to hug you right now!" He didn't, taking a moment longer to make sure he could speak just a little quieter. "It's an interface toy, pretty one. This particular toy goes in a valve. And that is why Hail' should not bring the toys to Helix..." Not until he could sell them without drawing negative attention... That would be for the blue Seeker to judge!
Bluestreak’s optics flickered offline for a click and then he pulled away from the golden Seeker. “A-are you serious? H-how can you be w-waving it around like that then?!” And to just go handing it over to an unsuspecting mech, Vector Sigma! He had been holding that… that thing!
He leaned forward, but stopped before it became a full step towards Bluestreak. Poor innocent mech... "Everyone who looks at me can already guess that I have some. And I know you try not to look, but I also know you've seen what we consider appropriate public behavior. A priest waving around a vibrator barely rates a glance. ...While laughing like a demented thing, that IS worth a look. I... apologize." Sunstorm's wings drooped, he didn't mean to make Bluestreak uncomfortable... "Um... energon?"
Maddeningly enough, the drooping of the Seeker’s wings were enough like the drooping of door wings that Bluestreak immediately felt guilty for ‘blowing up’. “Um… energon, right! Could you… could you put that… thing away?”
Sunstorm complied, slipping his toy back into his subspace and looking around a little. "I do think you'll enjoy the park... Most people there are quite flamboyant, but less touchy than average." It had confused him the first time Acidstorm had taken him there... Pretty sure he had the direction right, Sunstorm began walking.
“Flamboyant? And why less touchy?” Bluestreak knew he sounded very ‘short’, almost clipped as he tried to get back to comfortable chatter. He couldn’t believe that Sunstorm’s family unit lived by selling… interface toys. He hadn’t even known you could get such things…
"Flamboyant, half of them are actors. Um... you'll see! Touchy... They are far less likely to be groping or 'facing, I meant." Apparently he couldn't be oblique. He would just have to run the risk of embarrassing Bluestreak... "Why they're that way, I'm not sure. Maybe they're too busy acting? I really do think you'll enjoy watching." And hopefully none of the improvisational actors would try to include them in a scene. It could be fun, but... Sunstorm wasn't sure Bluestreak would enjoy it, he was so tense...
“Ah, acting? As in rehearsing?” That had to be safe to watch… presumably they wouldn’t be curious about him and his door wings if he was with another Seeker and they were busy. Bluestreak was rather sure he couldn’t handle anyone else pawing at his chassis. No, Sunstorm was bad enough.
"Improvising. It's less distant than a formal play, and a lot of fun to watch. We're almost there, you'll see." Sunstorm reached back, hand brushing against Bluestreak's armor before he remembered, again, that he wasn't welcome to touch. Not in public... barely in private! Sunstorm's wings drooped, but he pulled his hand away, glancing up to get his bearings before turning down another street. Yes, almost there.
Jumping at the touch, Bluestreak managed to clamp down on the ‘don’t touch me’ that was his second reaction. Sunstorm was tying, he couldn’t help being what he was… he couldn’t help that what he ‘was’ was the problem. The young Helixian shuddered briefly… he had really liked what Sunstorm had done to him, he just couldn’t get past the whole sharing thing. “So actors aren’t like the rest of you, or is it something with the act of acting that makes them less prone to… displays?”
Displays. That was a good word for it, as good as any... or better, since it seemed less likely to embarrass Bluestreak even more. "I don't know. I think they're tied more to Argentron, that may have something to do with it. I'm sure that it's not that they're tired out... Here we are!" The park was really only a little ways from his family's home, though Sunstorm didn't remember coming here until he was just beginning to mature. All that meant was that Acidstorm hadn't found it before then... The energon shop was on the edge of the park, which already had a fair number of people in it.
“You make no sense…” Bluestreak blinked at the open park… very open with an odd sort of layout that made big open slashes of ground free for… Oh, landing space of course. “Um… so the theater district and studios are near here? We haven’t gone to see anything yet, actually I think I know why now.” Frowning a little, Bluestreak remembered that Prowl had told him Seekers were very explicit, and that they could see a play when he had acclimated to the citystate.
"I tend to think that you make no sense..." Sunstorm answered. He had certainly thought that ofter enough in the last orn! "Hum... yes, the theaters are more over there," he pointed, "and the studios are down that way, further from the city center. What flavor energon?" Oh! Maybe Bluestreak would like to sit some place and watch Sunstorm fly...! He would love to show off for his mate... on second thought, that, like so very much, would have to wait. Dammit all...
“Hum? Oh, ugh… do they have deep red? And um, tube candy?” Bluestreak had been looking thoughtfully in the direction Sunstorm had been pointing and it took him a moment to realize what the Seeker wanted. “I like most stuff, and I feel like candy… is that okay?”
"Of course it is!" And now he wanted to kiss Bluestreak... Sunstorm couldn't hold back a soft sigh, this was going to be a long cycle. It didn't take long to buy the energon, red for Bluestreak and violet for Sunstorm, and the Seeker splurged a little, buying himself some candy as well. "Now to find a place to sit... And if anyone tries to include you in a scene, just say you prefer to watch." Sunstorm managed to smile again, waiting for Bluestreak to chose seats.
“…” Bluestreak strangled the surge of fear at the idea of being accosted and pointed wordlessly to an out of the way seating arrangement. It was sort of in a niche, which was all to the good, that meant no one could creep up on him. “Oh, they did have tube candy!” Belatedly realizing this Bluestreak smiled brilliantly, relived that something at least, finally, went his way.
Well, if one wanted to stay out of the scenes, such a niche was a good idea. Sunstorm knew better than to tell Bluestreak what such little compartments were generally for... it would only make him needlessly uncomfortable! "Yes, they did. And I thought it looked good... So! You were going to tell me about Helix, no? Or was I telling you more about my brothers...?"
“Um… you were telling me about your family? And… I don’t know, what do you want to know about Helix?” Bluestreak was looking between his cube and the candy tubes a little forlornly. He really should start with proper fuel but…
"Oh, go on, indulge yourself!" Sunstorm could tell well enough what Bluestreak wanted to do... And he wanted to see Bluestreak happy again! As long as the red cube got drunk at some point, the yellow Seeker wasn't too worried. "Hum... I'm actually not sure what else to say about my family... I really should visit them again soon, but that can wait a little... You said Helix is by the ocean? What is that like?"
“The ocean?” Bluestreak flickered his optics in surprise, and guiltily took a tube. “It’s very wet? And big… and we can see some of the Praxus islands from the coast on a really bright, clear light cycle.” Sticking the tube in his mouth he thought his answer over for a moment before nodding, that was pretty much that. Leaning back and tipping his head back he bit into the candy top, the thing was filled with a very dark, sticky, green energon, and he hummed happily as he tried to suck the filling out.
As soon as Bluestreak picked up the treat, Sunstorm realized he had made a mistake. Zephyrus' winds, the Helixian was alluring in almost everything he did... Sunstorm badly needed to overload later... mm, with Bluestreak watching, or helping... "I've, er... heard that it's kind of like the sky, only on the ground? Well, and wet. Not that the sky can't be wet...!" Energon, energon was good, and Sunstorm tried not to watch Bluestreak too intently around the violet cube.
“You could say that…” Bluestreak stopped sucking on his tube, instead taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. “There are cycles where the light and the fog make it seem like there is nothing but sky forever… one big gray mass of it.” Shrugging a little he took another bite and poked his cube curiously.
“You can get down to the water some places, but we don’t have much in the way of beaches… because of those cliffs I told you about? They are really tall and sheer, Prowl told me, and I was taught about it in history class, that Helix had more land mass long ago but then there was a big earth shaking and some of it broke off…”
Bitting... that helped. It at least broke Sunstorm's fantasies rather harshly! He could look away from Bluestreak now... "That sounds... lovely. I'd love to visit with you in the future... Some of the land just broke off? Wow... that's kind of frightening!" The thought of the winds that such cliffs would have... Hailstorm would love to play in them. Sunstorm would leave him to it, not the best of fliers. He served Zephyrus with passion, others could storm-dance.
“Naw… it was so long in the past, and I guess I’m used to it?” Bluestreak shrugged and took the cube, determined not to be lured by another piece of candy till he had some real fuel in his tank. No need to get himself sick on top of everything else. “Visit with me? I guess that could be arranged… though I really don’t know what the family will say about you. I think you’ll need to learn not to touch everyone and talk properly with your wings first… Overdrive is kind of not a very happy mech if the rules are not followed to the letter.” The family head would be less then stellar with this whole thing, Bluestreak was sure about that. He had been nagging Prowl about getting a mate for vorns now, as long as he could remember in fact.
Sunstorm considered for a moment if he really wanted the candy once his energon was gone. The deciding factor was that Bluestreak wouldn't realize how suggestive it could be. "That would include not touching you...? And what's wrong with my wings?" For that matter, who was Overdrive, but they could get to that... at least Bluestreak was talking about a future with him. That was very good! Sunstorm nibbled on the treat, fluttering his wings and wondering what he was doing 'wrong' with them while waiting for Bluestreak's answers.
“Not touching me in public and limiting your touching when with the family, yes.” Bluestreak took another sip of his energon before focusing on the golden wings. “There’s nothing wrong with them really, you just don’t talk right with them… or rather you talk Seeker, not door-wing?”
"That still doesn't make sense to me..." Sunstorm grumbled quietly. He flicked his wings in a slightly more complicated manner when he realized Bluestreak was looking at them... "You'll have to teach me, then? I don't mind the idea of us sharing something that only a few here will understand, either!" His smile was genuine, just before he started licking the filling out of his treat.
Bluestreak couldn’t help grinning, it was like being a sparkling again and attempting to make a secret language! “Only if you’ll teach me Seeker? Then we can talk that when we are in Helix, this will be fun!” He abandoned his, still more than half full, cube in favor of another tube candy. Nipping the top off, he tilted his head at Sunstorm, wondering if he could do that with his glossa… not likely. Oh well, the current tube had powdery crystal in it anyway, sort of sharp and spicy? He didn’t know the flavor… “What is this?” holding the candy out to Sunstorm, he asked, head tilting the other way and optics wide.
"Of course I will!" Sunstorm agreed enthusiastically. He would have to do that anyway, but it would be even more fun like this! "And use it in Helix, yes." Finishing off his treat in a couple of quick bites, Sunstorm looked at the one Bluestreak offered, resisting the urge to kiss the innocent faceplates. "Er... What do you mean, what is it?" He took a taste, humming a little and trying not to get the powder everywhere. Bluestreak wouldn't lick it off, after all.
“I don’t know the flavor, what is it, pure crystal or some sort of mix? It’s good!” He couldn’t help but giggle as Sunstorm tried to prevent dusting himself with the powder. It was a little odd, the tubes were more brittle then he was used to… almost as if they were meant to break and spill their content. Naw, just another wax blend, Vos was so different!
Handing the tube back and checking himself for spills, Sunstorm answered, "Oh, um... I think it's a mix? I'm not really sure... I don't make the stuff, just consume it. Do you like it?" The Seeker debated taking another tube for himself, but there were only a couple left... and he kind of wanted to watch Bluestreak eat them. No one could blame him for that, surely! Sunstorm was pretty sure it was a bad idea, but he still didn't reach for a tube.
“Yes, I like it! Is a little difficult eating it neatly with the brittle wax, but it tastes great.” Taking a bite and smiling was a mistake though, the powder just puffed and landed everywhere. Bluestreak quickly shoved the rest of the treat into his mouth and licked his fingers to swipe up spilled powder. So silly! But he liked it, it was almost like being a youngling again… surreal in a way?
"I am not sure eating it neatly is the point..." Sunstorm answered, more than a little distracted. After only a moment, though, he made himself look away from Bluestreak. He didn't want to spoil the mood. Not again... "Enjoying it is the most important part. But you really ought to have more from you cube, Blue'..." Maybe that would give Sunstorm time to, hum... cool down.
“Yeah, I should… don’t want to get sick, mm, can we go see the park after?” Taking his cube Bluestreak, used his other hand to try and locate the last of the powder on his face, licking it off his fingers. He didn’t pay much attention to Sunstorm or the way the other’s wings kept moving. “I wonder just what Overdrive will say about this… he’s very picky about traditions and I’m still very young and neither Prowl or Smokescreen has mates yet… but Lyru will be happy, at least if he thinks I’m happy… I’m not really sure about that yet.”
"Of course we can," Sunstorm agreed. He would love to show Bluestreak through the temple's garden, all the beauty there... and some of the nooks... And there his thoughts went again. It didn't help to watch Bluestreak suck his fingers...! "At least... you are not unhappy? ... Wait, why would it matter... you're supposed to mate in age order? But what if- oh yeah. It's a lot more complicated for you..." Flirting and love and... and not knowing, that fear of missing one's true fate... How could one miss fate? Sunstorm's processor jumped on the distraction.
“We~ell… Not necessarily in age order but… well, okay yes then, in age order.” Bluestreak shrugged and his door wings made a graceful dip and flare before he managed to freeze them again. It was probably a silly tradition, it was very old and mostly it wasn’t all that upheld but Overdrive was… yeah. “Why is it more complicated for us? And no… right now at least I’m not too unhappy.” Even if he wasn’t too happy with having to admit that!
The movement had Sunstorm reaching for the door wings before realizing there was a table between him and Bluestreak. He knew that was a good thing, no matter what he felt right now... "You do your flirting and falling in love before mating, or even knowing that you will mate. It... sounds like so much uncertainty. Especially if you can't even touch in public... Why age order?" Not that there was anything Sunstorm could do about that. Frankly, he couldn't quite imagine Prowl mated at all... "And what happens if an elder brother simply... doesn't mate? What about the younger then?"
“The insecurity is part of life… I think this certainty of yours, ours?, is what scares me the most, makes me the most unhappy?” Bluestreak looked away from the golden Seeker, unable to find a way to soften his words. “He can join the ranks of the Helixian monks, that way he frees up his younger siblings to do what they want, it’s not that big… wasn’t that big a deal for Prowl or Smokescreen or me yet, with me and Smokes’ being so young.”
"The idea of leaving something so important to... chance... That frightens me. I don't mind uncertainty, but... about mating?" Sunstorm shook his head a little. Sure, there was always the chance that love wouldn't follow... "So, what, that's the choice? Hope to mate while you're young, or join the monks to clear the wa- wait. Aren't the monks celibate?" Sunstorm couldn't help the horror the idea left him in. The whole thing was insane!
“Some of them are?” Bluestreak flickered his optics at the golden Seeker, wondering at the horror on his faceplates. “It depends really, and it’s not really done that often anymore… neither do I think Prowl or Smokescreen will do it. I mean they can’t help that you have a… well, yeah?”
"Mate or be celibate? Ai! Those should not be the only two choices!" He was all for leaving others to their culture. And if someone, for whatever incomprehensible reason, wanted to be... celibate... well, that was their choice! But... but... "I certainly hope they don't feel as though they... must. I hope they don't at all, but... well, that is their choice." Blindly, Sunstorm reached for one of the remaining treats. He needed something to take his processor off... yeah. Celibate...
“They are not all celibate! Only the most dedicated are… and if one finds that he is not happy as a monk he can stop being one. Unless of course he has entered into the first ranks, it’s a very big decision to take!” Bluestreak took a swallow of his cube just to keep from saying something nasty about Seekers and their libidos. He wasn’t sure why he got angry, aside from being reminded again that Sunstorm was… what he was. “And I highly doubt that Prowl or Smokescreen intend to become monks and I am very sure that neither will want to be first ranks!”
"Oh. Well... good... um..." Sunstorm deflated, head dropping against the table. "I'm sorry... I admire their dedication, really! Just... yeah. Anyone higher than a novitiate of Zephyrus would find celibacy... quite literally impossible! And... I still shouldn't have said any of that." Sunstorm spoke into the table, hand loosely resting on the energon tube he had found.
“Well… I could say a lot of very unflattering things about you and the other priests, and I would be as wrong as you are…” Bluestreak hesitated a little, the reached out and tapped Sunstorm’s helmet lightly. “We both have a lot to learn, both of us… I just can’t throw away everything I have leaned over one dark cycle, Sunstorm, I don’t know if I can ever learn to love you…”
Sunstorm wasn't completely sure what Bluestreak might say. He might even be interested in finding out... "I- I know... I'm sorry for pushing..." Turning his head, the Seeker was able to see Bluestreak, at least. "I am... not sure if it helps, but... I don't ask for love. Love, romantic love like others have... It is not in our dreams. We often love our mates, but... well, I doubt my Creators are more than good friends. That's probably part of why only merging is reserved for mates..." And Bluestreak was still not touching him after that tap!
Bluestreak pulled back, hugging himself as his door wings drooped dejectedly despite his best efforts to keep them rigid. “No, that doesn’t help a whole lot! I’m… I have been raised to hope for love? And now, now I just have to be satisfied with you? A mate that will only be my mate of name… Oh, I know that part of it is because you’re a priest, but that doesn’t help at all!”
"I... could love you. I think I already adore you..." The thought were offered uncertainly, and Sunstorm had to look away from Bluestreak to keep from embracing him. "I would prefer love to friendship... or rather, love with friendship. I am... not sure what you mean by only a mate of name?" Sunstorm had an idea, but he would rather be sure that he was addressing the correct issue. He almost wished he could stop being a priest, did wish he could give Bluestreak more of what the Helixian wanted... It was not possible, not for Sunstorm. He was not sparked like that. His brothers could have...
The words only served to make Bluestreak press his door wings further against his back as well as shake his helmet in denial. He didn’t want nice words and half lies. True, he could be wrong and Sunstorm could be telling him the truth… “I already told you… Helixians keep to one mate, very rarely two; you don’t even keep your touch to mates! I can’t… I can’t just… I’m not sure how to accept that, I know I have to but I don’t know how…”
"I wish I could, for you. I can't, I'm sorry! And I... I simply do not see why even basic touch is so... it is just... The urge to comfort another, or to receive... I am sure you have felt that, Bluestreak...!" Sunstorm was sure that they both wanted to touch now, the not really gentle cuddling... Sunstorm was also angry enough about circumstances to wish that the more 'traditional' kidnapping would have lead to favorable outcome and so been possible in this case! "I'm not... going to let you die. I thought about in last night, I probably should have said so earlier..."
“Oh, what a relief!” Bluestreak couldn’t help his bitingly sarcastic tone or the brief angry flare of his door wings before they drooped again. He really should be nicer… it wasn’t Sunstorm's fault they were so different. “I’m sorry… I just can’t give you whatever it is you want! I just want it over with so I don’t have to worry and… and… be in pain.” Because he kept hurting, his spark hurt! And he really couldn’t give Sunstorm love, or even friendship as things stood now.
Sunstorm wrapped his arms around himself, very much miserable. Even with a foreign mate... this was supposed to be a happy time! Getting to know each other in all ways... "Do you... feel any affection for me at all? Or... or even the chance?" Sunstorm was pretty sure that Bluestreak felt just as bad as he did... Perversely enough, that provided some comfort. "Please... anything at all..."
“I…” Bluestreak faltered, it wasn’t in his nature to hurt people, no matter that he had been a little badly behaved glitch for the past two cycles. Sunstorm’s tone was so… pleading? As if the mech was just on the verge of giving up. He wanted to make the other happy, to at least be able to tell him something encouraging. But the Helixian was determined not to lie. “Maybe there is a chance… I don’t know and I can’t promise. Right now I… I resent you, and all that you stand for. I know you don’t understand this very well, but you have robbed me of so much! I know it’s not your fault, but I can’t change that you’re the only real focus for, well, those feelings.”
"I know I have. I don't understand 'what', beyond knowing, understanding, that I have... taken dreams from you... I do not need to understand the dreams..." Bluestreak was not the only one to lose his dreams, of course. Love, as the Helixian spoke of it, had not factored in to Sunstorm's dreams, but so much else had... It did not matter! Resonance was a Seeker thing, and so the Seekers had to do their best to ease things. "A chance is enough! We... we can start planning the... bonding ceremony..." He sounded as though he were speaking of a funeral. Sunstorm was not sure he could force himself to go through with it, it was so close to being totally wrong... His only hope was that things changed for the better before the time came. "I'm sorry..." Even though he had done nothing wrong...
Bluestreak flinched at the tone Sunstorm used when talking about their ‘bonding ceremony’. This was not at all what he had thought it would be! There was no romance, no shy flirting, no nothing! Just we have to, within the vorn or we both die. ‘Vector Sigma, how is this fair? Zep… Zephyrus, why?’ Even as the words, the prayers went though his processor he knew they wouldn’t be answered. For whatever reason the Gods had decided he deserved this, that Sunstorm deserved this… “I guess… now, um… would you show me the park first?”
"Park. Yeah. ...Yeah." Sunstorm forced his wings up, pouting really wouldn't achieve much. The rest of the cycle went well enough, though nothing could disguise their tenseness. The next was more of the same, and he finally told his family that he had news.
“I-I… yeah…” He wanted to say something, yell perhaps? Bluestreak wasn’t sure, his entire chassis tinkled with heat but he was no longer burning up. In fact he was tired, felt melted and mellow. His hands were resting on Sunstorm’s armor and he idly picked at a seam. “’Need ta go lie down… al’most in ‘charge now…”
He wanted to stay with Bluestreak! He didn't offer, sure it would be rejected, or lead to things too fast. "Is there a spare room, or can I borrow one of your brothers' berths for the night?" Sunstorm asked, content to stay where he was, but ready to move when needed. He had got a lot from Bluestreak... not as much as he would have with a Vossian mate, but... Sunstorm still thought Bluestreak was worth it. So cute, so gorgeous.
“Y-you…” Bluestreak gulped and pushed weakly to get the Seeker off him. Sunstorm responded willingly enough and even helped him to his peds. Shakily shutting off the water and getting a towel, the grey Helixian refused to look at his… his suitor. “You can use one of my brother’s berths, if they come back at all they won’t mind sharing one. I’m… we’ll t-talk more tomorrow, I guess…” He fled, there was no other way to put it. He fled to his room and forced himself to stop fretting and go into recharge. Luckily the sated state of his chassis helped with that.
Sunstorm, of course, let Bluestreak go. He then took advantage of being in the shower, rinsing off before leaving the bath room. Remembering which door was Bluestreak's, the Seeker went to one of the other doors, and managed to find recharge despite his own arousal. He was up before Bluestreak the next morning, or else the grounder was avoiding him. It didn't matter too much... It was odd to wake up and have nothing to do. Normally he walked in the garden before fueling... He looked up as the door opened.
Prowl would have preferred not to disturbed… whatever was going on between his younger brother and the Seeker priest. He had to get a few data pads though; this little family crisis wasn’t enough to stop orns of hard diplomatic work, no matter that he would have liked to be there for his brother. To his surprise, the door to Bluestreak’s quarters was still closed and Sunstorm was sitting in the common room looking rather at a loss. “Ah… how did… things go?”
"I can mostly touch him now!" Sunstorm answer, smiling. "He is so beautiful..." Abruptly remembering Bluestreak's 'offer' directly proceeding said touching, and the way the Helixian brothers had acted, Sunstorm added, "As I see it, he's still virgin. And we didn't bond... we do have ceremonies for that!" His smile grew brighter for a moment, and he nodded at Bluestreak's door. "I haven't checked in on him yet... I don't want to intrude."
Deciding that he needed to sit down, and trying very hard to hide his flush, Prowl found a chair. “I’m sure you have…” Answering with something he thought might be appropriate, voice faint, he wondered at the way Sunstorm focused on the ‘virgin’ part. “I… I don’t know what to do about this, I am not very experienced and I can’t instruct him.”
"Ah... instruct him in what? The... well, the only real problems I've noticed are cultural differences. ...And my underestimating how sensitive your type of wings are... Oh, yes! Do you know why he thinks I won't flirt with him?" Sunstorm tried to restrain himself. He didn't want to take up too much of Prowl's time, after all, or push boundaries that he didn't see.
“I can’t be his Gritor, I am… as inexperienced as he is.” Prowl had to fight not to flush, there was no shame in being a virgin but it wasn’t something you talked about… not unless you were about to bond and was asking someone to be your Gritor at least. “And… um, well… Helixian courting is pretty much done with our door-wings? That’s what we call flirting… I realize that Seeker don’t quite use the term the same way.” Helplessly bobbing his own doorwings, Prowl looked nervously at the Seeker priest.
"I still don't know what flirting has to do with finding one's mate..." Sunstorm muttered, mostly to himself. Gritor was... Right, Prowl had said it was a teacher. "Ah, as for the... inexperience... I am fully capable of teaching him. Or he is perfectly free to find a different teacher, if he wants, any priest would be willing. I could even invite a bonded priest, but I am of the impression that Bluestreak would not want a four-way session? ... I am not worried about his skill or knowledge, he is adorable as he is!"
“Flirting… it’s…if you like someone you express it by moving your door wings in certain patterns. If you more than just like you can be very ‘suggestive’ with them, l-like this.” Prowl turned a little so that Sunstorm had a better view of his back and gently dropped his door wings in a low flare before fluttering them and then brining them back up to half frame his helmet from behind. “In essence I just invited you to touch them along the bottom edge… which is more or less an invitation to interface.” This time Prowl couldn’t fight his heat flush, very uncomfortable with showing this to someone not a potential bond mate. “And I meant… that I can’t help him on a more relationship like plain, I have never had one…”
"But what does that have to do with finding your mate?" Sunstorm asked, replaying the motions in his processor. He wanted to recognize them if, or when, Bluestreak made such an invitation. "As for the relationship..." Sunstorm fluttered his wings uncertainly again. "We are talking. Spending time together. That is quite enough for knowing me less than a day, I would say! ...I could ask around, see if there is any one with a foreign mate who would be willing to talk to him...?"
“We don’t have the ‘help’ you seem to have… finding mates is a much more random event.” Prowl shrugged and turned back to face the golden Seeker again. “’Flirting’ is the only thing that Bluestreak knows in relation to finding a mate… he is likely disappointed that that ‘stage’ has been skipped. He has no choice any longer, he doesn’t need to intrigue or entice you. I don’t think bringing more strangers into this will help…”
Sunstorm looked at Prowl in complete confusion. "But... then... how do you know you have truly found your mate?" Helixians did not make sense! "And... if he doesn't flirt, how will I know he wants me?" Or, for that matter, how would anyone else know that Bluestreak wanted them? That particular comment could wait, though... Sunstorm thought Prowl might spontaneously combust if it were brought up.
“Love...?” Prowl’s door wings bobbed lightly, amusement and confusion on his faceplates. It would be nice to have the certainty that the Seekers seemed to have, but at least they had a choice in the matter. “It’s a much longer and more unsure process then yours, that is for certain, but that’s why Blue’s so very upset, he is used to having a choice and now he has well, death or bond. Currently he doesn’t… and he will never have the opportunity to ‘flirt’ as he has been taught to. That’s the problem, more than likely.” Prowl felt a little evil, but he had to be honest.
Love... But one did not have to love one's mate... most did, most definitely, but friendship and respect seemed a much firmer base to build a family on. Of course, if the definition of friendship didn't include even the possibility of interfacing... "I... find the idea of... of chosing? a mate... I am sorry, but I find that... disturbing. I... would always fear that I missed the gods' will!" He... should tell Bluestreak, and soon, that he was free enough to seek pleasure from others as well... or would that hurt? "That does not change the fact that I am getting a processor ache from all of this!"
“I am sorry… as I said, I have as little experience with such things as Bluestr-“ The door to his younger brother’s room opened and the gray Datsun half stumbled out. “I will leave you alone, just here to get a few pads.” He dropped his door wings a little when Bluestreak sent him a panicky glance but held firm. This was between his brother and the priest!
Bluestreak wasn’t sure he wanted to face Sunstorm in the morning. Recharge had only helped him realize how much of a glitch he had been, not resolved anything about his… supposed mate to be.
He did not hesitate now in approaching Bluestreak and taking his hand. "Hello, pretty one. Did you recharge well? Would you like to look around Vos more today? I know a place we could fuel." Sunstorm was honestly trying not to push too hard... He had no idea what Bluestreak expected from him! "Um... you could tell me about how it differs from Helix, if you want?" And maybe then he could get a better grasp on where the pretty grey mech was coming from with his expectations. Yes, that might work...
Stifling the urge to pull his hand from Sunstorm’s grip, Bluestreak couldn’t help or prevent that his door wings drooped. It hadn’t been a nightmare; it really had all been true, bad and… good? He wasn’t sure if the pleasuring had been a good thing. But despite it all… his words and his anger, the golden Seeker was trying. Should he not be doing the same? “Um… fuel sounds g-good?”
Pulling Bluestreak towards the door, Sunstorm stopped before they left the apartment. "Ah... would it be asking too much for us to continue to hold hands outside?" He wasn't blind to Bluestreak's disappointment, but there wasn't really much he could do about it... "I mean... I remember how uncomfortable contact made you..." Sunstorm's hand tightened against Bluestreak's unconsciously.
“I-I… don’t know?” He really didn’t, and he really didn’t want to hurt the Seeker either. Bluestreak whimpered a little when the clawed hand of the larger mech tightened on his, it was pretty obvious that Sunstorm would prefer keeping him close, keeping them in contact. He did remember what contact had let to last dark cycle! Abruptly yanking his hand out of the other's grip, he shook his helmet… “I can’t! N-not yet…”
He was back to shaking as he resisted the urge to cuddle and sooth his resonant. "It's okay. That's why I asked. I'll... try to remember." Sunstorm knew he couldn't promise to keep his hands off Bluestreak, touching was too instinctive to him, too much his first reaction. "Fuel first. Then... hum, wherever you want, I guess. It really is interesting to walk everywhere... everything looks so different to me." He did leave the apartment then, pleased that at least Bluestreak was coming with him.
Getting himself worked up like that, so foolish and rude! Sunstorm hadn’t been trying to do anything but hold his hand. Bluestreak huffed and hiked his drooping door wings up to an acceptable rigid stance before following his… his Intended, he supposed.
“So… um, where are you taking me to refuel? And I don’t really know anything about Vos, that’s why I ended up… um… yeah? So, you can just show me things you like, I guess?” If nothing else, they would probably then see if they were even a little compatible in personality.
"It's an outside establishment, on the edge of a park. My brother used to take me there... The energon is, well, not the best I've had, but the people around make for good watching. Mostly actors, I think there's a temple to Argentron around there..." There had, if he remembered right, been a lot of improvisation going on. Very fun... And hopefully not too embarrassing for Bluestreak! Sunstorm stopped a moment later. "Um... I'm afraid I'm not sure how to get back outside..."
“You have a brother?” Safe subject! Or at least Bluestreak assumed it was a safe subject. “Does Vos produce many plays and holos? I don’t think I have ever seen a Vossian holo movie… what are they about?” Rambling was something he could do, and besides how bad could it be to talk about plays and holos and brothers for a bit?
Whoa, words! Without any pausing... Sunstorm grinned, following Bluestreak out of the building. "Yes, I'm the youngest of my family. My oldest brother is set to inherit what estate we have, and the next oldest is getting into trading, business, stuff like that. He's really interested in these negotiations... I think he's already planning to visit Helix if he can!" Sunstorm was happy to talk about his family, but... Bluestreak had asked other questions. "Our holos are... very dramatic. Half the time they're about families behaving badly. Or historical wars. ...Or dramas in the wars..."
“Really? Two brothers? What are your Creators like, do you see them often, and do you see your brothers often?” Bluestreak was pretty happy with talking, as long as he was having a conversation he was reasonably safe… right? “Dramatic? What is that supposed to mean… like a lot of explosions and stuff like that? Why haven’t I seen any in Helix? Or don’t you export those? Wait, wait! You didn’t have much of any export before did you? Um… only with Kaon and Simfur right?”
"Yes... Acid Storm is the oldest, he's green, and then Hailstorm, he's blue. They'll be so jealous of me, neither of them has found their mate yet." Sunstorm laughed, taking the lead again as they reached the street. "I see them fairly often, I can't wait for you to meet them! My Creators... well, of course I like them. They like to learn new things, Hail's gonna be busy telling them all about Helix if he's allowed to go. I won't let them pry into your life too much..." Sunstorm laughed again, reaching back to pull Bluestreak over for a hug, only remembering not to do that at the last moment. "Um... dramatic. Like, family betrayal, and unexpected sparklings, and secret mates... all types of insane stuff. Sometimes there's explosions, too. And yeah, we didn't have much export... Hail' would be happy to tell you all about that!"
“What do your Creators do? I would… like to meet them all? I’m sure they are all nice?” Swallowing a little nervously Bluestreak tried not to sound all too questioning about the last statements and failed utterly. It was just that he didn’t think they would be very happy with him as Sunstorm’s mate, or at least Intended. “I could always try and help H-Hailstorm with the um… customs we have? And um stuff…?”
Once again, Sunstorm had to look around a fair bit to make sure he was going in the correct direction. "Ah... they own a factory. Making- er. Toys... Oh dear. We'll have to tell Hail' to bring other things to trade! He would love it if you would tell him about your customs, otherwise... Well, I'm sure you can imagine how your culture would react to a clueless Seeker!" Oh, that would so not have gone well... But Hailstorm had time to learn, and maybe he could teach Bluestreak a little too, and pass on what he learned to Sunstorm...
“Why? Helixian sparklings use toys just like any other sparklings. Oh, I would just love to see how they make them! Is it stuffed toys or remote controlled ones? I had this stuffed mesh creature that I called Perrdux, he belonged to Prowl once upon a time.” Bluestreak couldn’t see why it would be a problem for Hailstorm to sell toys, maybe they were all designed for fliers? There weren’t that many fliers in Helix, that was true. Hum… maybe it was very large toys?
Sunstorm stopped walking, processing Bluestreak's words for a moment before dissolving into helpless laughter. He had been trying not to embarrass Bluestreak... Laughter still not abating, Sunstorm pulled one of the 'toys' out of his subspace. He wasn't sure the Helixian would work out what it was... Sunstorm thought he could explain, if only he could stop giggling! It really wasn't fair to Bluestreak to make a scene like this...
Bluestreak wasn’t sure what he should feel about the laughter and settled for pouting even as he took the cylindrical thing that was half waved in his direction. Turning it over in his hands he held it up to examine it from every angle and poked at the buttons on the flat end. He nearly dropped the thing when it started vibrating. “What is this?”
"One... One of the toys...!" Sunstorm answered, and really, he was trying to calm down! Bluestreak just looked too cute all confused... Reclaiming the vibrator before it could fall, or be thrown, Sunstorm cycled his vents hard and managed to control the laughter enough that only a few giggles made it out. "Is not... is not for sparklings, pretty one...!" Though the toys could help in the making of said sparklings... Sunstorm giggled.
It was a little irritating that Sunstorm kept laughing, well giggling anyway. “If it’s not for sparklings then what is it for?” Despite his attempts at to keep his door wings still they twitched stiffly. Bluestreak reached out to examine the toy again, but Sunstorm fended him off. “Well! You could just tell me, I have no idea what a fully upgraded mech would do with toys anyway!”
That very nearly set Sunstorm to giggling again, but the annoyed twitch helped him stave the amusement off. "Oh, Bluestreak... I want to hug you right now!" He didn't, taking a moment longer to make sure he could speak just a little quieter. "It's an interface toy, pretty one. This particular toy goes in a valve. And that is why Hail' should not bring the toys to Helix..." Not until he could sell them without drawing negative attention... That would be for the blue Seeker to judge!
Bluestreak’s optics flickered offline for a click and then he pulled away from the golden Seeker. “A-are you serious? H-how can you be w-waving it around like that then?!” And to just go handing it over to an unsuspecting mech, Vector Sigma! He had been holding that… that thing!
He leaned forward, but stopped before it became a full step towards Bluestreak. Poor innocent mech... "Everyone who looks at me can already guess that I have some. And I know you try not to look, but I also know you've seen what we consider appropriate public behavior. A priest waving around a vibrator barely rates a glance. ...While laughing like a demented thing, that IS worth a look. I... apologize." Sunstorm's wings drooped, he didn't mean to make Bluestreak uncomfortable... "Um... energon?"
Maddeningly enough, the drooping of the Seeker’s wings were enough like the drooping of door wings that Bluestreak immediately felt guilty for ‘blowing up’. “Um… energon, right! Could you… could you put that… thing away?”
Sunstorm complied, slipping his toy back into his subspace and looking around a little. "I do think you'll enjoy the park... Most people there are quite flamboyant, but less touchy than average." It had confused him the first time Acidstorm had taken him there... Pretty sure he had the direction right, Sunstorm began walking.
“Flamboyant? And why less touchy?” Bluestreak knew he sounded very ‘short’, almost clipped as he tried to get back to comfortable chatter. He couldn’t believe that Sunstorm’s family unit lived by selling… interface toys. He hadn’t even known you could get such things…
"Flamboyant, half of them are actors. Um... you'll see! Touchy... They are far less likely to be groping or 'facing, I meant." Apparently he couldn't be oblique. He would just have to run the risk of embarrassing Bluestreak... "Why they're that way, I'm not sure. Maybe they're too busy acting? I really do think you'll enjoy watching." And hopefully none of the improvisational actors would try to include them in a scene. It could be fun, but... Sunstorm wasn't sure Bluestreak would enjoy it, he was so tense...
“Ah, acting? As in rehearsing?” That had to be safe to watch… presumably they wouldn’t be curious about him and his door wings if he was with another Seeker and they were busy. Bluestreak was rather sure he couldn’t handle anyone else pawing at his chassis. No, Sunstorm was bad enough.
"Improvising. It's less distant than a formal play, and a lot of fun to watch. We're almost there, you'll see." Sunstorm reached back, hand brushing against Bluestreak's armor before he remembered, again, that he wasn't welcome to touch. Not in public... barely in private! Sunstorm's wings drooped, but he pulled his hand away, glancing up to get his bearings before turning down another street. Yes, almost there.
Jumping at the touch, Bluestreak managed to clamp down on the ‘don’t touch me’ that was his second reaction. Sunstorm was tying, he couldn’t help being what he was… he couldn’t help that what he ‘was’ was the problem. The young Helixian shuddered briefly… he had really liked what Sunstorm had done to him, he just couldn’t get past the whole sharing thing. “So actors aren’t like the rest of you, or is it something with the act of acting that makes them less prone to… displays?”
Displays. That was a good word for it, as good as any... or better, since it seemed less likely to embarrass Bluestreak even more. "I don't know. I think they're tied more to Argentron, that may have something to do with it. I'm sure that it's not that they're tired out... Here we are!" The park was really only a little ways from his family's home, though Sunstorm didn't remember coming here until he was just beginning to mature. All that meant was that Acidstorm hadn't found it before then... The energon shop was on the edge of the park, which already had a fair number of people in it.
“You make no sense…” Bluestreak blinked at the open park… very open with an odd sort of layout that made big open slashes of ground free for… Oh, landing space of course. “Um… so the theater district and studios are near here? We haven’t gone to see anything yet, actually I think I know why now.” Frowning a little, Bluestreak remembered that Prowl had told him Seekers were very explicit, and that they could see a play when he had acclimated to the citystate.
"I tend to think that you make no sense..." Sunstorm answered. He had certainly thought that ofter enough in the last orn! "Hum... yes, the theaters are more over there," he pointed, "and the studios are down that way, further from the city center. What flavor energon?" Oh! Maybe Bluestreak would like to sit some place and watch Sunstorm fly...! He would love to show off for his mate... on second thought, that, like so very much, would have to wait. Dammit all...
“Hum? Oh, ugh… do they have deep red? And um, tube candy?” Bluestreak had been looking thoughtfully in the direction Sunstorm had been pointing and it took him a moment to realize what the Seeker wanted. “I like most stuff, and I feel like candy… is that okay?”
"Of course it is!" And now he wanted to kiss Bluestreak... Sunstorm couldn't hold back a soft sigh, this was going to be a long cycle. It didn't take long to buy the energon, red for Bluestreak and violet for Sunstorm, and the Seeker splurged a little, buying himself some candy as well. "Now to find a place to sit... And if anyone tries to include you in a scene, just say you prefer to watch." Sunstorm managed to smile again, waiting for Bluestreak to chose seats.
“…” Bluestreak strangled the surge of fear at the idea of being accosted and pointed wordlessly to an out of the way seating arrangement. It was sort of in a niche, which was all to the good, that meant no one could creep up on him. “Oh, they did have tube candy!” Belatedly realizing this Bluestreak smiled brilliantly, relived that something at least, finally, went his way.
Well, if one wanted to stay out of the scenes, such a niche was a good idea. Sunstorm knew better than to tell Bluestreak what such little compartments were generally for... it would only make him needlessly uncomfortable! "Yes, they did. And I thought it looked good... So! You were going to tell me about Helix, no? Or was I telling you more about my brothers...?"
“Um… you were telling me about your family? And… I don’t know, what do you want to know about Helix?” Bluestreak was looking between his cube and the candy tubes a little forlornly. He really should start with proper fuel but…
"Oh, go on, indulge yourself!" Sunstorm could tell well enough what Bluestreak wanted to do... And he wanted to see Bluestreak happy again! As long as the red cube got drunk at some point, the yellow Seeker wasn't too worried. "Hum... I'm actually not sure what else to say about my family... I really should visit them again soon, but that can wait a little... You said Helix is by the ocean? What is that like?"
“The ocean?” Bluestreak flickered his optics in surprise, and guiltily took a tube. “It’s very wet? And big… and we can see some of the Praxus islands from the coast on a really bright, clear light cycle.” Sticking the tube in his mouth he thought his answer over for a moment before nodding, that was pretty much that. Leaning back and tipping his head back he bit into the candy top, the thing was filled with a very dark, sticky, green energon, and he hummed happily as he tried to suck the filling out.
As soon as Bluestreak picked up the treat, Sunstorm realized he had made a mistake. Zephyrus' winds, the Helixian was alluring in almost everything he did... Sunstorm badly needed to overload later... mm, with Bluestreak watching, or helping... "I've, er... heard that it's kind of like the sky, only on the ground? Well, and wet. Not that the sky can't be wet...!" Energon, energon was good, and Sunstorm tried not to watch Bluestreak too intently around the violet cube.
“You could say that…” Bluestreak stopped sucking on his tube, instead taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. “There are cycles where the light and the fog make it seem like there is nothing but sky forever… one big gray mass of it.” Shrugging a little he took another bite and poked his cube curiously.
“You can get down to the water some places, but we don’t have much in the way of beaches… because of those cliffs I told you about? They are really tall and sheer, Prowl told me, and I was taught about it in history class, that Helix had more land mass long ago but then there was a big earth shaking and some of it broke off…”
Bitting... that helped. It at least broke Sunstorm's fantasies rather harshly! He could look away from Bluestreak now... "That sounds... lovely. I'd love to visit with you in the future... Some of the land just broke off? Wow... that's kind of frightening!" The thought of the winds that such cliffs would have... Hailstorm would love to play in them. Sunstorm would leave him to it, not the best of fliers. He served Zephyrus with passion, others could storm-dance.
“Naw… it was so long in the past, and I guess I’m used to it?” Bluestreak shrugged and took the cube, determined not to be lured by another piece of candy till he had some real fuel in his tank. No need to get himself sick on top of everything else. “Visit with me? I guess that could be arranged… though I really don’t know what the family will say about you. I think you’ll need to learn not to touch everyone and talk properly with your wings first… Overdrive is kind of not a very happy mech if the rules are not followed to the letter.” The family head would be less then stellar with this whole thing, Bluestreak was sure about that. He had been nagging Prowl about getting a mate for vorns now, as long as he could remember in fact.
Sunstorm considered for a moment if he really wanted the candy once his energon was gone. The deciding factor was that Bluestreak wouldn't realize how suggestive it could be. "That would include not touching you...? And what's wrong with my wings?" For that matter, who was Overdrive, but they could get to that... at least Bluestreak was talking about a future with him. That was very good! Sunstorm nibbled on the treat, fluttering his wings and wondering what he was doing 'wrong' with them while waiting for Bluestreak's answers.
“Not touching me in public and limiting your touching when with the family, yes.” Bluestreak took another sip of his energon before focusing on the golden wings. “There’s nothing wrong with them really, you just don’t talk right with them… or rather you talk Seeker, not door-wing?”
"That still doesn't make sense to me..." Sunstorm grumbled quietly. He flicked his wings in a slightly more complicated manner when he realized Bluestreak was looking at them... "You'll have to teach me, then? I don't mind the idea of us sharing something that only a few here will understand, either!" His smile was genuine, just before he started licking the filling out of his treat.
Bluestreak couldn’t help grinning, it was like being a sparkling again and attempting to make a secret language! “Only if you’ll teach me Seeker? Then we can talk that when we are in Helix, this will be fun!” He abandoned his, still more than half full, cube in favor of another tube candy. Nipping the top off, he tilted his head at Sunstorm, wondering if he could do that with his glossa… not likely. Oh well, the current tube had powdery crystal in it anyway, sort of sharp and spicy? He didn’t know the flavor… “What is this?” holding the candy out to Sunstorm, he asked, head tilting the other way and optics wide.
"Of course I will!" Sunstorm agreed enthusiastically. He would have to do that anyway, but it would be even more fun like this! "And use it in Helix, yes." Finishing off his treat in a couple of quick bites, Sunstorm looked at the one Bluestreak offered, resisting the urge to kiss the innocent faceplates. "Er... What do you mean, what is it?" He took a taste, humming a little and trying not to get the powder everywhere. Bluestreak wouldn't lick it off, after all.
“I don’t know the flavor, what is it, pure crystal or some sort of mix? It’s good!” He couldn’t help but giggle as Sunstorm tried to prevent dusting himself with the powder. It was a little odd, the tubes were more brittle then he was used to… almost as if they were meant to break and spill their content. Naw, just another wax blend, Vos was so different!
Handing the tube back and checking himself for spills, Sunstorm answered, "Oh, um... I think it's a mix? I'm not really sure... I don't make the stuff, just consume it. Do you like it?" The Seeker debated taking another tube for himself, but there were only a couple left... and he kind of wanted to watch Bluestreak eat them. No one could blame him for that, surely! Sunstorm was pretty sure it was a bad idea, but he still didn't reach for a tube.
“Yes, I like it! Is a little difficult eating it neatly with the brittle wax, but it tastes great.” Taking a bite and smiling was a mistake though, the powder just puffed and landed everywhere. Bluestreak quickly shoved the rest of the treat into his mouth and licked his fingers to swipe up spilled powder. So silly! But he liked it, it was almost like being a youngling again… surreal in a way?
"I am not sure eating it neatly is the point..." Sunstorm answered, more than a little distracted. After only a moment, though, he made himself look away from Bluestreak. He didn't want to spoil the mood. Not again... "Enjoying it is the most important part. But you really ought to have more from you cube, Blue'..." Maybe that would give Sunstorm time to, hum... cool down.
“Yeah, I should… don’t want to get sick, mm, can we go see the park after?” Taking his cube Bluestreak, used his other hand to try and locate the last of the powder on his face, licking it off his fingers. He didn’t pay much attention to Sunstorm or the way the other’s wings kept moving. “I wonder just what Overdrive will say about this… he’s very picky about traditions and I’m still very young and neither Prowl or Smokescreen has mates yet… but Lyru will be happy, at least if he thinks I’m happy… I’m not really sure about that yet.”
"Of course we can," Sunstorm agreed. He would love to show Bluestreak through the temple's garden, all the beauty there... and some of the nooks... And there his thoughts went again. It didn't help to watch Bluestreak suck his fingers...! "At least... you are not unhappy? ... Wait, why would it matter... you're supposed to mate in age order? But what if- oh yeah. It's a lot more complicated for you..." Flirting and love and... and not knowing, that fear of missing one's true fate... How could one miss fate? Sunstorm's processor jumped on the distraction.
“We~ell… Not necessarily in age order but… well, okay yes then, in age order.” Bluestreak shrugged and his door wings made a graceful dip and flare before he managed to freeze them again. It was probably a silly tradition, it was very old and mostly it wasn’t all that upheld but Overdrive was… yeah. “Why is it more complicated for us? And no… right now at least I’m not too unhappy.” Even if he wasn’t too happy with having to admit that!
The movement had Sunstorm reaching for the door wings before realizing there was a table between him and Bluestreak. He knew that was a good thing, no matter what he felt right now... "You do your flirting and falling in love before mating, or even knowing that you will mate. It... sounds like so much uncertainty. Especially if you can't even touch in public... Why age order?" Not that there was anything Sunstorm could do about that. Frankly, he couldn't quite imagine Prowl mated at all... "And what happens if an elder brother simply... doesn't mate? What about the younger then?"
“The insecurity is part of life… I think this certainty of yours, ours?, is what scares me the most, makes me the most unhappy?” Bluestreak looked away from the golden Seeker, unable to find a way to soften his words. “He can join the ranks of the Helixian monks, that way he frees up his younger siblings to do what they want, it’s not that big… wasn’t that big a deal for Prowl or Smokescreen or me yet, with me and Smokes’ being so young.”
"The idea of leaving something so important to... chance... That frightens me. I don't mind uncertainty, but... about mating?" Sunstorm shook his head a little. Sure, there was always the chance that love wouldn't follow... "So, what, that's the choice? Hope to mate while you're young, or join the monks to clear the wa- wait. Aren't the monks celibate?" Sunstorm couldn't help the horror the idea left him in. The whole thing was insane!
“Some of them are?” Bluestreak flickered his optics at the golden Seeker, wondering at the horror on his faceplates. “It depends really, and it’s not really done that often anymore… neither do I think Prowl or Smokescreen will do it. I mean they can’t help that you have a… well, yeah?”
"Mate or be celibate? Ai! Those should not be the only two choices!" He was all for leaving others to their culture. And if someone, for whatever incomprehensible reason, wanted to be... celibate... well, that was their choice! But... but... "I certainly hope they don't feel as though they... must. I hope they don't at all, but... well, that is their choice." Blindly, Sunstorm reached for one of the remaining treats. He needed something to take his processor off... yeah. Celibate...
“They are not all celibate! Only the most dedicated are… and if one finds that he is not happy as a monk he can stop being one. Unless of course he has entered into the first ranks, it’s a very big decision to take!” Bluestreak took a swallow of his cube just to keep from saying something nasty about Seekers and their libidos. He wasn’t sure why he got angry, aside from being reminded again that Sunstorm was… what he was. “And I highly doubt that Prowl or Smokescreen intend to become monks and I am very sure that neither will want to be first ranks!”
"Oh. Well... good... um..." Sunstorm deflated, head dropping against the table. "I'm sorry... I admire their dedication, really! Just... yeah. Anyone higher than a novitiate of Zephyrus would find celibacy... quite literally impossible! And... I still shouldn't have said any of that." Sunstorm spoke into the table, hand loosely resting on the energon tube he had found.
“Well… I could say a lot of very unflattering things about you and the other priests, and I would be as wrong as you are…” Bluestreak hesitated a little, the reached out and tapped Sunstorm’s helmet lightly. “We both have a lot to learn, both of us… I just can’t throw away everything I have leaned over one dark cycle, Sunstorm, I don’t know if I can ever learn to love you…”
Sunstorm wasn't completely sure what Bluestreak might say. He might even be interested in finding out... "I- I know... I'm sorry for pushing..." Turning his head, the Seeker was able to see Bluestreak, at least. "I am... not sure if it helps, but... I don't ask for love. Love, romantic love like others have... It is not in our dreams. We often love our mates, but... well, I doubt my Creators are more than good friends. That's probably part of why only merging is reserved for mates..." And Bluestreak was still not touching him after that tap!
Bluestreak pulled back, hugging himself as his door wings drooped dejectedly despite his best efforts to keep them rigid. “No, that doesn’t help a whole lot! I’m… I have been raised to hope for love? And now, now I just have to be satisfied with you? A mate that will only be my mate of name… Oh, I know that part of it is because you’re a priest, but that doesn’t help at all!”
"I... could love you. I think I already adore you..." The thought were offered uncertainly, and Sunstorm had to look away from Bluestreak to keep from embracing him. "I would prefer love to friendship... or rather, love with friendship. I am... not sure what you mean by only a mate of name?" Sunstorm had an idea, but he would rather be sure that he was addressing the correct issue. He almost wished he could stop being a priest, did wish he could give Bluestreak more of what the Helixian wanted... It was not possible, not for Sunstorm. He was not sparked like that. His brothers could have...
The words only served to make Bluestreak press his door wings further against his back as well as shake his helmet in denial. He didn’t want nice words and half lies. True, he could be wrong and Sunstorm could be telling him the truth… “I already told you… Helixians keep to one mate, very rarely two; you don’t even keep your touch to mates! I can’t… I can’t just… I’m not sure how to accept that, I know I have to but I don’t know how…”
"I wish I could, for you. I can't, I'm sorry! And I... I simply do not see why even basic touch is so... it is just... The urge to comfort another, or to receive... I am sure you have felt that, Bluestreak...!" Sunstorm was sure that they both wanted to touch now, the not really gentle cuddling... Sunstorm was also angry enough about circumstances to wish that the more 'traditional' kidnapping would have lead to favorable outcome and so been possible in this case! "I'm not... going to let you die. I thought about in last night, I probably should have said so earlier..."
“Oh, what a relief!” Bluestreak couldn’t help his bitingly sarcastic tone or the brief angry flare of his door wings before they drooped again. He really should be nicer… it wasn’t Sunstorm's fault they were so different. “I’m sorry… I just can’t give you whatever it is you want! I just want it over with so I don’t have to worry and… and… be in pain.” Because he kept hurting, his spark hurt! And he really couldn’t give Sunstorm love, or even friendship as things stood now.
Sunstorm wrapped his arms around himself, very much miserable. Even with a foreign mate... this was supposed to be a happy time! Getting to know each other in all ways... "Do you... feel any affection for me at all? Or... or even the chance?" Sunstorm was pretty sure that Bluestreak felt just as bad as he did... Perversely enough, that provided some comfort. "Please... anything at all..."
“I…” Bluestreak faltered, it wasn’t in his nature to hurt people, no matter that he had been a little badly behaved glitch for the past two cycles. Sunstorm’s tone was so… pleading? As if the mech was just on the verge of giving up. He wanted to make the other happy, to at least be able to tell him something encouraging. But the Helixian was determined not to lie. “Maybe there is a chance… I don’t know and I can’t promise. Right now I… I resent you, and all that you stand for. I know you don’t understand this very well, but you have robbed me of so much! I know it’s not your fault, but I can’t change that you’re the only real focus for, well, those feelings.”
"I know I have. I don't understand 'what', beyond knowing, understanding, that I have... taken dreams from you... I do not need to understand the dreams..." Bluestreak was not the only one to lose his dreams, of course. Love, as the Helixian spoke of it, had not factored in to Sunstorm's dreams, but so much else had... It did not matter! Resonance was a Seeker thing, and so the Seekers had to do their best to ease things. "A chance is enough! We... we can start planning the... bonding ceremony..." He sounded as though he were speaking of a funeral. Sunstorm was not sure he could force himself to go through with it, it was so close to being totally wrong... His only hope was that things changed for the better before the time came. "I'm sorry..." Even though he had done nothing wrong...
Bluestreak flinched at the tone Sunstorm used when talking about their ‘bonding ceremony’. This was not at all what he had thought it would be! There was no romance, no shy flirting, no nothing! Just we have to, within the vorn or we both die. ‘Vector Sigma, how is this fair? Zep… Zephyrus, why?’ Even as the words, the prayers went though his processor he knew they wouldn’t be answered. For whatever reason the Gods had decided he deserved this, that Sunstorm deserved this… “I guess… now, um… would you show me the park first?”
"Park. Yeah. ...Yeah." Sunstorm forced his wings up, pouting really wouldn't achieve much. The rest of the cycle went well enough, though nothing could disguise their tenseness. The next was more of the same, and he finally told his family that he had news.