#shadecross

Returning to the base after a long day of patrolling, Shadecross smoothly transformed back into her alt-mode. Approaching the medbay, she could see Knockout lounging casually against the doorframe, a playful grin spreading across his face as he watched her enter with her arms loaded with various medical supplies. Despite the exhaustion from her patrol, there was a spark of amusement in her optics as she caught Knockout's gaze, aware that he was always ready with a witty remark.

"Ahh, there she is, my little energon angel," he teased, his tone dripping with affection, earning a side optic from the femmling.

 “...sire I love you, but pleasee don't call me-“ she was quick to put the supplies on his desk “-that's embarrassing, I'm not a little sparkling anymore”

Knockout snickered as he shut the door behind him...

“Yes yes... my apologies my little princess...”

Glancing over the supplies before crossing his arms and tilting his helm to the side, he sized her up with a playful glint in his optics.

“Nuh uh, don't start again- yes, I repainted my alt form purple,” she said with a sassy tone, planting her servos on her hips. She certainly matched her sire's attitude, and the confidence in her stance only highlighted the resemblance. "You know how I feel about… red."

Unable to resist, the mech replied with a mischievous glint in his optics.

“Oh, come now… it’s only fair, my dear. I’m just being toootally honest with you—red looks way better than purple”

He teased again, before reminiscing at the memories of her first steps and all those years ago... He walked back over to her side as he looked up at her.

“I still remember when you were a small little sparkling... taking your first few steps in front of me and Breakdown... such a sweet little thing~”

-FLASHBACK

Half-asleep Knockout groaned as a tap on his and Breakdowns’ living quarters door pulled him from recharge. Reluctantly, he sat up on their berth and looked down at his Conjux who was heavily snoring on the other side of the berth... “...Primus.. he could probably sleep through a bomb...” He mumbled incoherent words before standing up out of the berth, walking to the door, and pressing the button to let it slide open for whoever was outside. Looking down only then did he notice the small red and grey sparkling standing there, her optics filled with tears as she looked up at her sire. “..Oh my.. what’s wrong my sweet little spark?..” His features on his faceplate softened as he saw his sparkling on the verge of tears... Reaching down, Knockout gently scooped her up in his arms, spoke softly, and gave her a gentle pat behind the audial… “shhh… shhh.. it’s alright little one.. it was just a nightmare..” The bigger bot  spoke in a soft tone as he walked back to the berth, most of its space still occupied by his Conjunx. Carefully, he sat down, holding the tiny sparkling close against his chassis. Shadecross turned to her other sire, trying to nudge his shoulder pad, but he was out like a rock. Knockout chuckled, watching her little attempts to wake Breakdown, who remained oblivious. “…I don’t think you’re gonna wake him up, sweetie… he’s too much of a heavy sleeper- mh? Where did you get my energon prod-” Before he could finish, the sparkling reached up and zapped her other sire with the energon prod. The red bot couldn’t help but stifled a concerned laugh as he watched her determined little face, cheeks puffed in concentration. To his surprise, the jolt actually worked; Breakdown’s optics flickered open, and he slowly pushed himself up, clearly irritated by the abrupt awakening in the middle of the night. Yet, as he turned his tired gaze toward them both, his expression softened. His gaze lingered on the tiny sparkling nestled in Knockout’s arms, her little face a mixture of pride and defiance. The irritation faded from his face, replaced by a fond smile as he reached out gently toward her, taking in the sight of his two favourite bots in one frame. “…What happened…?” he murmured with a yawn, reaching up to rub his helm where the little sparkling had shocked him repeatedly. His tired optics squinted as he looked at her, still held securely in Knockout’s arms, her cheeky grin giving away her guilt. “She had another nightmare...” Knockout said simply as he continued to cradle the little sparkling in his arms... he spoke, gently pat her helm before rocking her a bit once again... Shadecross snuggled closer to his chassis , reassured by her sire’s steady breathing “..oh..” Breakdown mumbled and yawned again...as he reached over and scooped her in his arms. “Awwww my little troublemaker... come here...”

-END OF FLASHBACK

“..And every time you woke up.. it was always me or Breakdown that you went to for comfort..”

“I knew you’d bring that up," she sighed, though the hint of a smile betrayed her. "You two acted like I was the sweetest sparkling in the universe. Shadecross put her servos on her hips, looking away.

Knockout chuckled "Oh, but you were. Following us around, looking up with those wide optics… you had us both wrapped around your little digit…You’ll always be my little sweetspark~.. even if you try to deny it”

Crossing her arms with an amused glint, she turned her helm towards her sire "Well, don’t expect me to start wearing red paint after this. Purple still suits me just fine. I like the way I look in it, it blends in the dark for my missions.”

The mech shook his head a bit before crossing his arms again...

“Yes I get that... but purple doesn’t suit you quite as much as red. Red was always your colour sparkshine...”

Pretending to give in as she eyed him with mock reluctance. “Fine, let’s bargain. I’ll do one—just one stripe.”

Knockout’s smirk widened; an optic bridge raised in approval. "Oh, now we’re getting somewhere. Just one?...  only a single stripe of red?..”

"Two. End of the deal.” Shadecross held firm, folding her arms with a defiant look. Rolling his optics, Knockout was unable to resist a final tease. “...Make it three, and we’ve got a deal, young femmling. Three, just like us.”

With a sigh of defeat, she finally nodded. “Fine… three. But don’t get used to it.”

When did you get so sappy?"

“Since the moment you were born~…” He said in a teasing manner, before speaking once more…

He leaned back a bit. “But the real question is… when did you get so sassy?”

Shadecross didn’t miss a beat, giving him a smirk of her own. “Since the moment you held me,” she shot back.

Knockout laughed, shaking his head. “Figures… must’ve rubbed off on you.

..I swear you’re a clone of me with that sassiness...” his smirk softened a bit as he looked down at her.

“..and that’s also when I realized I became a sap… when you were in my arms after you were first brought into this world...”

He chuckled softly, then let out a quiet sigh, his optics lingering on her with a gentle pride. For a moment, he just watched her, the smirk turning into something softer, almost tender.

“But it was all worth it,” he said, his voice low and sincere.