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"We're not staying here, Sides," the yellow twin muttered as his red twin curled up beside him. Sideswipe's optics were slightly dim, though they seemed to focus on what the other was saying.
"They don't seem so bad," he muttered. He felt a hand on his helm, tugging his audio horn a bit.
"It didn't before, either."  Sideswipe gave a tired smile, his form curling up against the yellow. Sunstreaker gave the other a small shove, moving him away. "You're so clingy." Sideswipe whined his gears in protest and proceeded to cling to his brother. The yellow mech gave a small huff, his optics scanning around. The larger mech was gone, and so was the medic. He shifted a little, hearing his brother's annoyed groan as he, too, rose from his position.
"Wanna look around at least," Sunstreaker asked. Sideswipe let loose a small sigh and then nodded, prepared to explore. He was ready to learn something new about this place, whether they stayed or not. Sunstreaker slid from the berth, his servo held out for his brother as the other hopped down as well. The twins moved out of the medbay and gave a wary glance around the area. Sideswipe began to lead the way, his blue optics scanning every door and every corner. This place must have been a rather huge base. Poking his helm around the corner, Sideswipe gave a wide grin to his brother. He waved his arm, motioning for the other to follow him.

"What do you see," the yellow mech asked, peeking around the corner as well. What Sideswipe had seen was obviously something that peaked his interest as well. Sunstreaker was staring at an empty office with a huge chair and a high desk.  Sunstreaker was about to regard his brother when said mech ran forward towards the office. The red mech was already grabbing onto the edge of the chair, hoisting himself up onto the top as he looked along the desk. "Ooh, what's this," Sideswipe murmured, grabbing a datapad. "Hey, what's this do?!" Tapping the datapad, the smaller mech began to laugh at the files contained on the screen.
"What're you doing, Sides," Sunstreaker asked, moving to climb beside his brother.
"Look, Sunny! It's some kinda picture-thinger."
"Who's that pretty looking femme?"
"I dunno. Who's this giant bot?"
"I dunno."

"Sh, wait," Sunstreaker muttered, covering his brother's mouth. Voices and steps were drawing near. The two glanced at each other with fearful glances as they scrambled off the desk. Sideswipe threw the datapad, letting it slide off the desk and crashing onto the ground.
"Slag it, Sides," Sunny hissed. Sideswipe hid beneath the desk, holding his brother beside him as he stared around.
"M-maybe he'll think it fell."
"Maybe." The steps got louder and the two became silent, huddling against each other as they stared, wide-eyed, at the floor. The pedes stopped and the larger mech knelt down to grasp the datapad.
"Hm," the voice hummed. It was humble, melodic, and deep. The mech's blue optics roamed around, his helm tipping as his optics swept the floor. His optics passed the two twins swiftly and then he shrugged.
"Must have dropped it," he mused, moving to his chair and sitting down.  The two mechs huddled backwards together, their optics staring wide-eyed at the other's seat. Each hand was covering the other's mouth, so they didn't make a single sound. They could hear the tapping upon the table and suddenly, without warning, the voice spoke up again.
"You two can come out now," the voice murmured, sounding slightly amused. The red twin glanced out from under the desk, blue optics staring up at the other.
"You knew we were there?" The other mech glanced down, and his face became apparent. A mask over his lip components, blue optics, a deep blue helm with two horns, red and blue armor-- this mech was tall and held an air of authority about him. Sunstreaker crawled out from beneath the desk beside his brother and stared up.

"My name is Optimus Prime," the larger mech said as he moved from his seat and knelt down. He grasped the datapad from the desk and held it out to the twins.
"Did you two do this?" Sideswipe stared at the datapad and then looked at his brother. Sunstreaker gave him a hard glare and then looked up at the bigger bot.
"I did it," Sideswipe muttered, "It was an accident. I was only curious." The Leader of the Autobots nodded and slid the broken datapad onto the desk. He held out his hand, waiting for the two mechs to grab his. The other two glanced at each other, but it was Sideswipe who shied away from the larger mech. He slowly slid behind his yellow twin, his blue optics staring at the other. Sunstreaker gave Optimus a hard glare.
"We're not interested in staying. We were just leaving."
"…Leaving? Do you have somewhere to go," Optimus asked, worry obvious in his tone. Sunstreaker shook his head slowly, his frown settling on his faceplates.

"Our parental units are dead," Sunstreaker informed, "All I have is Sides. But we don't want any part of this war."  Optimus' optics softened as he stared at the two.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I'm sorry this war took what mattered most--"
"Sides matters most." The red mech glanced at his brother and nodded.
"Sunny is all that matters."
"All you two have is each other then, I assume?" The twins nodded and the leader gently lifted them both, placing them upon the desk. He bent down a bit, patting them both upon the helm gently.
"I know you may not want to be part of the war, and I know you may hate us all, but I ask that you please stay here. We'll take good care of you."

The twins both puffed out their cheeks, though it was Sunstreaker who finally took a step forward. He held out his small hand, looking at the other with a threatening gaze.
"I'm Sunstreaker. This is my twin, Sideswipe. We may not be part of the war, but if we're allowed to stay here, it'd be better than living in the wastelands of Cybertron." Sideswipe gave a meek nod, holding out his hand. Large servos grasped both of theirs, tightening slightly to confirm their comfort and to reassure they would be safe.
"It's nice to meet you both," Optimus said softly, nodding his helm, "And there's no need to really join the war if you do not wish. We will protect you for as long as we live, though. I assure you of this. I won't let anybot harm you." Sunstreaker seemed frozen, as did his twin. Both glanced at each other.

Mom.
Dad.

"Boys?"
"Optimi," Sunstreaker said, staring at the other. Suddenly, his arms crossed and his brother did the same thing. "We won't need you to sacrifice yourselves for us!"
"That's happened once," Sideswipe said, sounding miserable, "We won't let that happen again."
"We'll help ourselves this time, Optimi."
"…..O-Optimi?"
"Yeah. That's my name for you. Just accept it," Sunstreaker said with a grin. Sideswipe nodded.
"He's right, boss bot. Once he nicknames you, it's over!" Optimus smiled beneath his battle mask as he watched the two mechs trot out of his office, arm in arm.

"…Maybe Primus does have plans for you both."