Ironhide and Reflect head out of the medbay, each carrying a sparkling.

"think the humans will lose their minds seeing two new sparklings running around the base?" Reflect ask.

"hopefully not, but I'm not sure how we'll explain them to the government." Ironhide mutters. Reflect nods, shifting the sparkling he holds gently.

"my sparklings are none of the governments business. they will be kept away from the twins until they're atleast Bumblebee's age." Reflect huffs. Ironhide nods, chuckling softly, before going quiet. "Hide?" Reflect asks, looking over confused.

"Barricade is on his way." Ironhide says.

"good. lets just get all the introductions done today." Reflect murmurs, walking into the rec room.

Reflect looks around. Bumblebee, Jazz, Prowl, and Optimus are all sitting in the rec room. not as many Autobots as he'd hoped for, but enough to make this worth it.

"when Barricade gets here, you have to go outside and check for Grimlock, stupid fragger, literally scared the sparklings out." Reflect glares.

"I will go outside and make sure he is not near by before I make you come outside with me. I promise." Ironhide assures.

"and don't let him-" Reflect starts.

"and I won't let him hurt the sparklings, I promise." Ironhide assures. Reflect glares at him.

"asshole." he mutters.

"you love me." Ironhide snorts.

"whatever... whats the plan?" Reflect grumbles, looking over the rec room. Ironhide glances over the room once.

"you go over there and I'll come in with the second sparkling as a surprise." Ironhide murmurs.

"sounds good." Reflect murmurs, walking in. "hey Bumblebee?" Reflect ask.

"yeah?" Bumblebee asks, not bothering to look over. his optics are focused on the tv. Sam had left a movie playing for him.

"can you hold something for me? I just need to grab me a cube, but I can't hold both." Reflect says. Bumblebee nods, still not looking over.

"sure!" Bumblebee smiles. Reflect hands him the sparkling and grabs himself a cube, Bumblebee doesn't even seem to notice its a sparkling.

"thanks, be careful with her, she's fragile." Reflect warns. Bumblebee nods, but doesn't completely comprehend the words Reflect has said.

"sure thing Reflect, I'll be careful." Bumblebee assures.

"Bumblebee," Optimus orders firmly. Bumblebee looks over, confused. "please support the sparklings head." Optimus says hesitantly. Bumblebee looks confused, looking down.

"oh! a sparkling!" Bumblebee grins, hugging the sparkling gently. the sparkling in his arm chirps sleepily. Reflect chuckles softly to himself, sipping a cube.

"don't squish my sparkling." Ironhide warns, walking over. Bumblebee looks up and gasps.

"another sparkling!" Bumblebee grins.

"twins?" Jazz grins, reaching for the sparkling Ironhide is holding. Ironhide passes the little mechling over.

"look at you guys. they're so cute." Bumblebee grins, nuzzling the sparkling he has happily.

"easy with her. she can't see." Ironhide growls in warning.

"her?" Bumblebee grins.

"she's blind?" Prowl asks.

"unfortunately." Reflect mumbles. "he's fine but she's blind." Reflect mumbles. the sparklings chirp quietly. the mechling looks around quietly, reaching up towards Jazz's face happily, attempting to grab hold of the mechs visor. the little femme purrs quietly, cuddling to Bumblebee happily. even blind the little femme seems to have zero cares about what happens as long as someone holds her.

"be gentle with my fucking sparklings if anyone hurts any of them, I'll beat your ass." Reflect growls quietly.

"we won't hurt them. I promise." Jazz assures, cradling the little mech.

"I wouldn't hurt a sparkling ever." Bumblebee murmurs, rubbing the little sparklings cheek. she chirps and cuddles to him happily.

"just be gentle with my sparklings." Reflect growls quietly.

"we are." Jazz assures, passing the sparkling he holds over to Optimus.

"they are very tiny." Optimus murmurs.

"well, anyones tiny when you hold them." Reflect mutters, sipping his cube. Optimus snorts a little.

"yes but these sparklings are especially tiny." Optimus murmurs. "I could hold them both in one arm." Optimus smiles. Reflect chuckles softly.

"wanna hold a sparkling Prowl? they're cute!" Bumblebee grins.

"no." Prowl says, not looking up form his datapad.

"don't be a party pooper-" Jazz starts.

"he said no, drop it." Reflect says firmly. Bumblebee holds the little sparkling back out to Ironhide.

"these are the tiniest sparklings I've ever seen." Bumblebee grins.

"really? they're about your size when we found you." Ironhide shrugs. "the two of them together are bigger than you were." Ironhide snorts.

"the two of them together are bigger than you were." Optimus snorts, smirking at Ironhide. Ironhide snorts, cuddling his daughter gently. there's an almost evil glint in his optics.

"and I still put the fear of Primus into every caretaker on Iacon." Ironhide grins at him. "tiny but mighty." Ironhide smirks. Reflect chuckles, taking the sparkling from Optimus.

Barricade messaged me he's almost here.

Reflect nods a little to himself at the words from his bonded.

"come on little ones. there is someone ready to meet you." Reflect murmurs. Ironhide follows after him. "none of the books said anything about it, I'm surprised they were sparked with armor not just protoforms." Reflect frowns.

"Allsparked sparklings are just protoforms, sparked sparklings have armor. something to do with the t-cog, just ask Ratchet about it later." Ironhide murmurs.

"I will." Reflect murmurs.

"once they scan their first alt they can change their colors and their armor will change." Ironhide murmurs. Reflect nods. they go a little quiet as they walk, before Ironhide looks over at Reflect. "are you sure she has a happy life being blind?" Ironhide ask, looking down at the sparkling in his arm.

"she does. she developes an ability she couldn't have if she could see." Reflect murmurs. "and she's perfectly happy." Reflect smiles. "don't worry about that. I would've made them fix her if she wasn't going to be happy Hide." Reflect murmurs.

"okay as long as she's happy." Ironhide murmurs softly, nuzzling the sparkling gently. she chirps, purring quietly.

"she will be, I promise." Reflect smiles, cuddling the sparkling in his arm.

after a quick check from Ironhide that Grimlock is no where nearby, they step out of the base, both immediately shifting the sparklings to cover and protect them from the heat of the sun. the little femme whines at the change in temperature around her, but Ironhide is quick to cool her down, lowering his own temperature to ensure she stays cool.

the little mechling in Reflects arm chirps loudly, catching Wheeljacks attention as the mech transforms. the inventor grins at them.

"what are you four doing out here?" Wheeljack ask.

"waiting for Barricade. as long as I don't have to take the sparklings to him, I don't mind him meeting them." Reflect says. "though I'd feel better about it if he'd just switch sides." Reflect glares.

"doubtful that thats every going to happen." Wheeljack snorts softly.

"what are you doing out here?" Ironhide ask.

"finishing painting something for the sparkling room. just had to go get some more paint." Wheeljack smiles. "since we weren't expecting two of you." Wheeljack smiles, reaching out to rub the little mechlings head gently. the sparkling grabs at his servo chirping quietly. Wheeljack chuckles softly, pulling his servo free and heading into the base.

"Barricades here." Ironhide murmurs.

"I don't see him." Reflect frowns. Ironhide points to a cloud of dust coming their way. Barricade transforms when he gets close enough and stops in front of them.

"alright, what did you call me out for?" Barricade ask.

"sparklings." Reflect says, shifting the sparkling in his arm. Barricade immediately looks down and snatches the sparkling carefully.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to see the sparkling... wait sparklings?" Barricade asks, confused. Ironhide shifts the femme he cradles gently. "twins." Barricade says, glancing over at the mech.

"yup." Reflect snorts.

"that explains why you were miserable." Barricade says.

"yeah everyone keeps telling me that. be gentle with my sparklings or I will send you to Primus myself." Reflect warns.

"I am being gentle with him. they're so tiny." Barricade murmurs. he looks back over at the sparkling Ironhide holds, but the weapons specialist holds tighter to it.

"she's blind. we're a little wary about letting others hold her. I don't want to scare her." Reflect frowns, glancing over at his daughter. Barricade nods a little.

"Ratchet can fix her though right?" Barricade ask.

"we're not sure." Ironhide mutters.

"we'll find out in a few weeks or so, but its fine either way. she'll have a good life." Reflect assures.

"I'm sure she will." Barricade says.

"I know she will." Reflect nods once.

"do you need anything for them?" Barricade ask.

"I don't think so, they're so tiny we don't really need to double everything, they'll fit into one sparkling berth for a while now." Reflect says. Barricade nods.

"twins usually are small, just wait, in a few weeks, they won't be so small anymore." Barricade snorts.

"don't even." Ironhide growls.

"sorry." Barricade mutters. he looks down at the sparkling in his arm and smiles. the little mechling in his arm watches him carefully, looking unsure, before letting out a loud wail. Reflect immediately snatches him, glaring at Barricade. the Decepticon looks utterly surprised.

"what did you do!?" Reflect snaps.

"nothing!" Barricade says, stepping back. "I didn't do anything but look at him!" Barricade says quickly.

"he didn't do anything Reflect you know that." Ironhide soothes gently. the little femme starts wailing as loud as she can. Reflect growls quietly, reaching over and snatching his daughter. he cuddles them both gently to his chest, glaring daggers at Barricade and Ironhide.

"don't touch my fucking sparklings! either of you!" Reflect growls, storming inside.

"he'll be like that a few days." Ironhide frowns.

"sounds like he needs some recharge." Barricade frowns.

"he does, but he's not willing to get any unless the sparklings are as well. he's afraid to miss something I guess." Ironhide shrugs, following after his bonded.

he trails his angry bonded all the way to their room where he finds Reflect sitting on their berth looking annoyed and cuddling the sparklings.

"you alright?" Ironhide ask.

"he upset my sparkling." Reflect growls.

"things happen Will." Ironhide frowns. Reflect glares at him. "sparklings are just like babies, you know that, sometimes they just cry. he's not hurt. I promise." Ironhide soothes gently.

"he sounded hurt and scared!" Reflect growls. "he made my sparkling cry!" Reflect hisses.

"it was an accident. don't make it seem like he did it on purpose. he didn't mean to do that." Ironhide soothes gently.

"weither he meant to or not, he did." Reflect glares.

"sparklings cry Reflect you of all bots should know that since you spent half your time wailing your head off." Ironhide frowns.

"I had no control over what this body did!" Reflect glares. Ironhide sighs a little shaking his head.

"you cried the first time you met Barricade as a sparkling." Ironhide says. "and you continued to scream and cry until Ratchet got you back." Ironhide adds.

"that was fucking different and you know it." Reflect snaps. "I had no control over my body and I was kidnapped!" Reflect growls. Ironhide frowns a little and sighs.

"alright. alright. I'm not going to start an arguement with you. Barricade didn't mean to make him cry and he's just fine. he's not hurt. he's crying because he didn't like Barricade. just relax, alright? don't panic." Ironhide murmurs gently. "you still haven't seen the sparkling room, would you like to now?" Ironhide ask.

"no." Reflect mumbles. Ironhide sighs a little.

"you're going to have to get over Wheeljack yelling at you at some point and nows the time. our sparklings will be staying in that room Reflect, what are you going to do when they cry? hmm? stand at the doorway and wait for me to get them?" Ironhide ask.

"exactly. you can bring them to me." Reflect mumbles. "and they're not staying in there tonight! they're staying with me! they're my sparklings, I just had them and I'm not leaving them off in a room all alone." Reflect growls. Ironhide sighs again.

"okay, just for a few nights though, alright? I would actually like to curl up with you again, just us." Ironhide murmurs softly, hugging him gently. he's careful of the sparklings. sparklings this small, though durable, would be easily injured. he doesn't want to hurt his sparklings. Reflect cuddles up to Ironhide, holding their sparklings gently.

"don't squish them." Reflect grumbles.

"I won't, just trust me, I'm being careful." Ironhide snorts. he carefully takes their daughter and holds her. she cuddles up to him happily, reaching up to pat his face happily. Ironhide smiles at her gently, cradling her gently in his arm.

"see she's already a really happy little sparkling." Reflect mumbles, leaning his head against him sleepily.

"baby, why don't you lay down and take a nap." Ironhide murmurs.

"are you gonna take my sparklings?" Reflect grumbles.

"I will take one of our sparklings. you can lay down with him since he's already in recharge." Ironhide murmurs, kissing his head. Reflect looks down at the sparkling still in his arm. he's sound asleep, clinging to Reflects armor.

"okay... just be careful with her." Reflect mumbles. he reaches out and rubs his daughters cheek. she chirps happily, nuzzling against his servo.

"I will be. we can't baby her forever if she's going to be blind her whole life." Ironhide murmurs. Reflects head immediately jerks up and he glares at Ironhide.

"she is not even a fucking day old, she is a sparkling Ironhide." Reflect growls.

"shhh. lay down and take a nap." Ironhide murmurs. "I'm gonna take her to get a cube." Ironhide smiles, carrying her out.

"be careful." Reflect mumbles, curling up on the berth.

Ironhide carries the sparkling down the hallway, cradling her gently.

"I know your carrier says you'll have a good life, but I'm worried." Ironhide murmurs, heading for the medbay. the sparkling chirps quietly, sucking happily on her creators servo. "you seem happy, but I'm not sure you will have a happy life." Ironhide sighs, hugging her gently.

he makes his way into the medbay, where Wheeljack and Ratchet are talking quietly.

"Ironhide, hey, is she okay?" Ratchet asks, frowning, getting up.

"she's blind. of course she's not okay. I want you to see if you can fix her sight." Ironhide frowns. Ratchet frowns, taking the sparkling gently.

"well, I can try." Ratchet assures.

"blind?" Wheeljack ask.

"she's completely blind." Ratchet frowns. "have you talked to Reflect about this?" Ratchet ask.

"why?" Ironhide frowns.

"he seemed pretty content when I told him she would be blind." Ratchet frowns.

"well, its not his life now is it? our sparkling should have the opportunity to see just like every other sparkling." Ironhide growls. Ratchet sighs.

"okay, fine, I'll take a look, but even if I can fix her, it won't be for a while Ironhide. she's too small for me to start working on her." Ratchet frowns.

"thats fine." Ironhide says. Ratchet rolls his optics and walks off with the little sparkling.

"hows Reflect doing?" Wheeljack ask.

"he pushed himself too hard today. his body wasn't ready to be away, but his mind is." Ironhide frowns. "he's curled up with the other sparkling. threw a fit that I was going to take both of them." Ironhide adds. Wheeljack chuckles.

"really? I was asleep for like three days. I couldn't even wake myself up long enough to meet Nitro." Wheeljack chuckles.

"he's fighting everything he has." Ironhide mutters, plopping down on one of the nearby berths. "he doesn't want to sleep and miss time with the sparklings. he wants to be awake." Ironhide frowns.

"he's going to hurt himself if he doesn't let himself get some rest." Wheeljack frowns.

"I know that, you know that, he knows that. he doesn't care. he wants to be with his sparklings." Ironhide frowns. "I don't blame him. our sparklings are tiny and one is blind. he's afraid something will happen if he sleeps." Ironhide frowns.

come get the sparkling. he's awake and screaming and I can't rest.

I'm coming baby, hang on.

bring him him a cube. he's starving. I can hear his little tanks rumbling.

alright.

"keep her, I'll be right back. the mechling is screaming. might feed her a cube. if he's hungry so is she." Ironhide grumbles, heading out of the medbay.

he brings the sparkling back in, a cube in his mouth. he's quiet and contented, unlike his sister. she's wailing as loud as she can.

"what did you do?" Ironhide growls.

"nothing. Wheeljack went to get a cube for her from the lab. she's not happy she doesn't have one immediately." Ratchet mutters. the little femme is screaming at the top of her voice box. Ironhide frowns and shifts the cube he's feeding the mechling, into his servo, then scoops up his daughter. she calms, whimpering and cuddling up to him. "y'know, you're really not supposed to seperate twins like that for a while. even if they're both on base. they can sense each other and they can tell when the other is not in the same room." Ratchet frowns.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were younglin's when we found them. they refused to be seperated for years and the other two hate being around one another. figured it was just a 'see as you go' thing with twins." Ironhide shrugs a little.

"not when they're sparklings. sparkling twins are inseparable." Ratchet murmurs.

"I'm back, I've got the cube... oh she got quiet." Wheeljack frowns.

"she missed her brother, but she's probably still hungry." Ironhide mutters, holding her out to Ratchet. the medic takes her immediately, taking the cube from his own bonded. he gently cradles her and leans back against the berth behind him.

"if I can fix it Hide, she's gonna have to wait a few months, but I'd at least like to try it." Ratchet says. Ironhide nods a little, looking over at Wheeljack. he frowns and offers the mechling to the inventor. Wheeljack immediately lights up and carefully takes him.

"trying is all I ask. I just want her to have a good life." Ironhide mutters.

"thats what we all want, trust me. we'll find a way to make it happen." Ratchet assures gently. Ironhide frowns, crossing his arms over his chest. he looks carefully from one sparkling to the other.

"and make sure you look him over too. I don't want to miss that he's deaf or something." Ironhide adds.

"we will Ironhide. I know you're worried, but you have got to relax." Ratchet frowns. Ironhide nods a little, frowning. "if anythings wrong with him, we'll let you know and we'll do what we can to fix them both up and make sure they're healthy." Ratchet adds gently.

"I know." Ironhide grumbles.

"we know they're your first sparklings Ironhide, but you've got to calm down just a little. we'll take care of them." Wheeljack assures. "have a seat okay?" Wheeljack asks. Ironhide frowns, sitting on a berth silently, cuddling his son gently. Ratchet shifts the femme gently, rubbing her cheek gently.

"other than her optics, she's going to be just fine. she's healthy." Ratchet soothes.

"good I'm glad to know that despite being blind she's healthy. I want her to be happy. I want her to have a good life." Ironhide says.

"I know, we will make sure she has a good life, just relax." Ratchet assures. he holds the little femme out to Ironhide, who takes her immediately. the sparkling whines, curling up.

"shhh its alright little one." Ironhide murmurs gently. the femme goes quiet, cuddling up to him. the little mechling, curled up in Wheeljacks arm, kicks the almost empty cube away and lets out the loudest squeal of anger he can. Ironhide turns and takes the little mechling. "you knock that off." Ironhide says firmly. the little mechling doesn't stop his screaming though.

"take them back to Reflect. he needs to get some rest, but they really need to be with him." Ratchet says.

"they're not old enough to be away from him for too long. they don't need to lay with him, just be closer. so stay in the room with them, but take care of them. I don't think Reflect will be up for a while, or I'm hoping he won't at least." Wheeljack murmurs. Ironhide nods a little.

"if he gets up again, let me know, I'm going to slip a sedative into his cube if he won't allow himself to rest. he needs time to recover and he's making himself worse if he doesn't get some rest." Ratchet frowns. Ironhide nods again.

"alright. I'll let you know." Ironhide murmurs. he heads out of the medbay as the sparklings start wailing.

Ironhide heads down the hallway, cuddling the sparklings gently.

"Ironhide? is there a problem? are the sparklings okay?" Optimus asks, looking almost amused.

"they've been away from Reflect for too long. they're getting fussy, remember how Nitro used to act when Ratchet would run off with him and not tell Wheeljack?" Ironhide asks, chuckling.

the young medic would be so excited to show off his sparkling, he'd take him while Wheeljack was asleep and run off with him to show him off. he'd bring him back to the young inventor, Nitro screaming as loud as he could, and the little sparklings carrier would scream at Ratchet until the sparkling calmed down.

Optimus chuckles softly and nods.

"I remember." Optimus murmurs.

"well, I forgot about that. I took them for a look over and now they're getting upset." Ironhide says. Optimus frowns.

"are they alright?" Optimus ask.

"I'm just worried about her being blind." Ironhide sighs softly. Optimus straightens and gently puts a servo on the mechs shoulder.

"she is okay. she will be okay." Optimus assures gently. the sparklings goes quiet for a moment. Ironhide looks up at Optimus.

"you... you've... you've seen it too." Ironhide says. Optimus gives him a small smile. "the Primes told you too." Ironhide murmurs. Optimus shakes his head a little.

"they told me to keep an eye on you because you're worried, you're terrified. they told me to watch you because you're afraid for the sparkling. she's okay Ironhide. she's okay. she has a good life." Optimus assures. "get them back to Reflect." Optimus murmurs, walking off. Ironhide watches him go, before carrying the sparklings off. they're whimpering again by this point.

the sparklings are crying again by the time he reaches his and Reflects room, but they quiet immediately upon entering the room.

"m'babies okay?" Reflect mumbles under his breath.

"yes Will, they're okay. I promise. I just forgot they need to be in close proximity to you for a few days or they get upset." Ironhide soothes softly. he sits down at their desk with the sparklings, who cuddle up to him quietly. "you need to get rest before Ratchet sedates you." Ironhide warns. Reflect mumbles to himself, curling up.

"take care of my sparklings." Reflect mutters.

"I will, now get some rest damn it." Ironhide says firmly. Reflect mumbles and goes quiet. the little mechling falls into recharge, easily, but Ironhide is reluctant to let him go or lay him down. he kisses the little sparklings head and cuddles him, before glancing at the femme. she squeals, giggling, and immediately reaches up for his face. like she knew Ironhide was looking at her. "your abilities... they must be coming through very early..." Ironhide mutters. the sparkling squeals and grabs onto his faceplates gently.

"is Reflect asleep?"

"yes. sort of. a very light recharge, but he's in recharge."

"if he wakes up and refuses to rest again, let me know."

"sure thing Ratchet."

Ironhide looks back down at his sparklings. the femme is happily sucking on one servo and the other is happily grasping onto Ironhides faceplates, staring directly into his optics, almost as though she can see him. almost as thought she's trying to assure him that she's okay.

"you are a very smart little sparkling, my little sweet spark." Ironhide murmurs softly, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. she lays in his servo. the little sparkling is smaller than his forearm. certainly the smallest sparkling he'd held since Bumblebee. he sighs a little and nods to himself. "okay. okay. you'll be happy like this. I'm sure of it." Ironhide murmurs, leaning down to nuzzle the little sparkling.

Ironhide isn't sure how long he sits like that. staring at the little femme, even after she falls asleep, until there's a knock on the door. the knock makes the little femme jump and whine. Ironhide looks up, before getting up from his seat. he lays the little mechling with the sparklings carrier, before heading over to the door.

"Bumblebee?" Ironhide ask, confused as he opens the door.

"hey Ironhide, sorry. Sam got somethings for the sparklings, but he had an accident so I'm bringing it to you." Bumblebee says.

"an accident?" Ironhide ask. Bumblebee nods a little.

"he and Jazz were having fun and he broke his ankle." Bumblebee frowns a little.

"is he alright?" Ironhide ask.

"he's fine." Bumblebee assures. "laying on my berth with one of Ratchets heavy sedatives." Bumblebee snorts. Ironhide chuckles softly.

"good." he mutters. Bumblebee holds out a box, that Ironhide carefully takes with his empty servo. "as long as you keep her calm, you can hold her." Ironhide offers, holding the sparkling out to him gently. Bumblebee perks up excitedly, taking the sparkling gently.

"hello little one." Bumblebee smiles, cuddling the sparkling gently. "little tiny sparkling." Bumblebee murmurs. the femme chirps quietly, purring happily. Ironhide smiles at his daughter and Bumblebee watches him a moment. "don't think I've ever seen you smile like that Ironhide." Bumblebee says softly. the smile drops and he glares at the scout.

"i don't smile." Ironhide growls. Bumblebee chuckles, passing the sparkling back to Ironhide.

"thanks. she and her twin are the light we all need sometimes. its nice to see little bots too innocent to understand the war." Bumblebee murmurs. he turns and heads back down the hallway. Ironhide nods a little and lets the door close.