-Medbay-

Cyclonus carried Tailgate into the Medbay, gently setting him down on a Medberth and glancing at Ratchet.

Ratchet looked up from cleaning his tools and raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you, Cyclonus?" He asked.

"Yes, please check Tailgate's finger. He burned it while making... what were they?" Cyclonus asked, looking down at Tailgate.

"Energon pops!" Tailgate exclaimed, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Ah, so you tried out my recipe? Mm, those were always good. Now let me see this burn of yours..." Ratchet gently took Tailgate's tiny hand in his, examining the burn mark on his finger. "Ouch, that looks like it hurts."

Tailgate puffed out his chest proudly, trying to impress Cyclonus. "It doesn't hurt me at all!" He stated in a stern voice.

"Well let's see if that changes after I put on this tonic..." Ratchet mumbled, holding out Tailgate's burnt finger and slowly pouring the bright green liquid over it.

Cyclonus flinched when Tailgate shrieked in pain, his instincts taking over. He grabbed Tailgate's other hand and held it tightly, calming him down. "Shhh, it'll be over soon..." he mumbled quietly.

Tailgate calmed down and leaned against Cyclonus's arm, sighing in content. "Thanks Cyclonus.."

Soon Ratchet was done and he closed up the bottle, putting it away. "There you go! Now let that dry and be careful with it until it heals. Would you like an energon pop for being a good patient?" He asked, holding up the jar of his famous energon pops.

Tailgate's optics lit up and he nodded vigorously, looking up at Cyclonus. "Can I have one? Please?"

Cyclonus sighed, allowing him to have one. It wasn't good to have sugar like that, but it was only one time. Gosh, he was starting to sound like a worried sire crooning over his sparkling.

Tailgate giggled, taking the energon pop in his hands and sliding back his mouthplate. He popped the treat into his mouth and chewed it delightfully, closing his mouthplate after.

Both Ratchet and Cyclonus stood dumbfounded before him. They had never seen his mouth before, let alone him using it to eat. Ratchet snapped himself out of it and nodded, quickly walking away.

"H-have you always been able to do that?" Cyclonus asked, his normal nasty attitude gone in the blink of an eye.

Tailgate giggled, sliding off the Medberth and landing on the floor. "Of course I have, silly! How else would I eat energon?"

"Well... never mind.. why don't we see you use it? When you get your energon, you immediately leave the room."

"Well, I don't like other bots seeing my mouth." Tailgate mumbled, shuffling his pedes. "I get self conscious about it all the time. I trust you and Ratchet, though. That's why I felt comfortable enough to show it."

Cyclonus gathered himself and sighed, crouching down next to Tailgate. "You don't have to hide it, Tailgate. I don't mind it and neither will anyone else. If someone does mind, they'll have to speak to me first." He scooped up Tailgate in his arms and carried him out of the Medbay.

"You're funny, Cyclonus." Tailgate said, messing with something on Cyclonus's chestplate. "I like you."

"That's surprising..." Cyclonus grunted, taking a right down the hall and continuing to walk. "Not many bots like me. I guess I'm just too creepy for their tastes..."

"You're not creepy! You're just... misunderstood, that's all!" Tailgate said cheerfully, pulling his knees up to his chest. "You're a good bot, you just need to show them how good you are!"

"I suppose you're right.... is this your habsuite?" Cyclonus stopped in front of a door with the number 320 on it.

"Yep, that's mine. Thanks for bringing me here, Cyclonus." Tailgate hopped down, looking up at Cyclonus. "We should hang out more often!"

Cyclonus tilted his head in confusion. No one ever willingly wanted to hang out with him, but now this little minibot was saying that they should hang out more. "If that's what you would like to do."

"Great! I'll see you later, Cyclonus!" Tailgate exclaimed, hugging Cyclonus's legs tightly.

Cyclonus was a bit freaked out by this show of emotion, but he kind of liked it. He hesitantly patted Tailgate on the head and smiled at him. "Okay... you can let go now.."

"Oh, sorry. Bye!" Tailgate let go, waving at Cyclonus before walking into his habsuite.

"Bye." Cyclonus waved back, sighing when the door shut. He went to turn around and came face to face with Whirl.

"Aww, you think he's cute don't you?" Whirl snickered, his one yellow optic gleaming.

Cyclonus's red optics narrowed and he growled, slowly reaching back for his katanas. "You have 3 nanoseconds to run. 3... 2..."

"Gotta blast!" Whirl shouted, taking off down the hallway. His thin, slender frame allowed him to move faster down the hallway, but Cyclonus was much faster.

"1..." Cyclonus grinned, leaping from his position and slamming into Whirl's back. He pinned him down with one pede and put the edge of his katana to his throat threateningly.

Whirl chuckled nervously, holding up his pinchers. "H-hey there Cyclonus... can't we just talk this out?"

"Don't tell a soul about what you just saw, got it?" Cyclonus growled deeply, pressing the edge closer to Whirl's neck.

"Okay, Okay! I promise! Let me up."

Cyclonus stepped off of him and scowled as Whirl got up and brushed himself off. "Don't make me regret sparing your life..."

"You've gotten quicker, haven't you? That was a new record!" Whirl exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Cyclonus.

"Get lost before I dice you into energon cubes." A guttural growl erupted from Cyclonus's throat, which was enough to send Whirl on his merry way again. He sighed, sheathing his katanas. "Tsk... coward.." he mumbled, walking back down the hall towards his habsuite.