#mothbutt

"What happened to him?" Cyclonus snapped to Megatron, who had made his way to his suite and was lingering in their doorway.

"When we found you both, he already looked like this," Megatron replied honestly and cast his gaze to the giant quivering form of Tailgate. He was still clinging to the corner and hanging high above their heads.

"I'm a freak, a freak, a freak," Tailgate was chanting in a shaking tone. His wings flapped back and forth frantically

Cyclonus watched as the same particles rained down from Tailgate, breaking off into the air. "Tailgate, calm down. I'm sure this can be fixed."

"N-no! Velocity already said she's stumped! I'm STUCK LIKE THIS!" Tailgate's shrill cry hurt to hear. "Just...just a hairy and disgusting looking organic THING."

Cyclonus narrowed his optics as he listened and glanced back to Megatron. "...I'll handle this."

The co-captain silently stroked his chin and casted his gaze from Cyclonus to Tailgate several times. Eventually he relented with a single nod and left the room, closing the door behind him.

When Cyclonus was certain they were alone again, he turned back to Tailgate and approached him. "It's alright," he said as calmly as possible and held his arms up to Tailgate. "Please, come down. I...I don't want to see you so upset. Come here."

Tailgate slowly turned around and gazed down at Cyclonus, wide eyes and puffed up antenna. Shakily, he scampered down the wall and dropped down into Cyclonus' arms, digging the hooked tips of his limbs into the cracks of his frame.  "C-cylonus," Tailgate's frail voice hiccupped. "I'm so scared...I'm so ugly. A-and I...."

"Shhh." Cyclonus carried Tailgate to his berth and sat down, stroking the large fluffy and soft head. "I don't think it looks so bad," he murmured softly. He frowned as he felt how Tailgate quivered in his arms; how the large abdomen rattled against his chest.

"Everyone's gonna--hic--laugh at me..."

"Nonsense," Cyclonus assured him with another stroke to his head, carefully rolling the tips of Tailgate's antenna in his fingers. "I'll stay by you, if you wish."

"Really?" Tailgate asked, voice laced with disbelief.

Cyclonus nodded and caressed his wings, intrigued with how strange the texture felt. "Appearances...They are only skin deep, as it's said. What truly matters in the spark," he whispered.

"Speaking of..." Tailgate weakly broke the contact and crawled onto the berth beside him. He then reverted back to his bipedal form and shifted to Cyclonus' backside. With a sad hum, Tailgate's smaller hands traced along the grates along his armor. "This looks so painful...You saved me again, Cyclonus..."

The vanguard sighed deeply. "Not as painful as the thought of losing you..."

"Really?" Tailgate's voice was so soft and quivering. "I...I...Remember? I was asking you about something...About being conjuxes. The ceremony behind it?"

"I do," Cyclonus murmured and slowly rotated to face Tailgate. He reached out and brushed the tips of his claws against the mini-bot's face. "Did you want...to ask Getaway? Do you care about him, Tailgate? Does he occupy your thoughts the way you occupy mine?"

"I..." Tailgate's antenna and wings wilted as he glanced down. "No...I'm sorry how I acted when I was hanging around him. How I tried to force you to be more social...Getaway told me things. Like...how I embarrassed you, Cyclonus. D-do I embarrass you?"

"No," Cyclonus quickly replied and pulled Tailgate closer in an embrace. "Never. I...want to you ask something," he added suddenly and leaned closer. Without waiting for a reply, he smiled and whispered in Primal Vernacular, "Tailgate, would you agree to becoming my Conjux Endura?"

Tailgate froze, feeling thankful for all of Cyclonus' lessons in the olden tongue but also feeling an anxious clench from his spark. "E-even looking like this?! Cyclonus...you...you..." He buried his face against Cyclonus' chest and sniffled again. "Even...like this?"