Of This Life and the Next

Chapter 9 : Things Revealed and Withheld Summary

Sam purred as he was dried under what he could only describe as a giant air dryer. He had just finished his ‘bath’ -in reality, it was more of a ‘wipe down’, similar to what newborn human babies went through- and was currently lying on his stomach in bliss as the warm draft fell over his back.

The whole cleaning process had been relaxing and much appreciated.

Well…mostly appreciated…

Sam could have done without Elita opening up his ‘interface panel’ and wiping down his…unmentionable…

A ‘spike’. That’s what the mechs back on Earth called it. Mechs had ‘spikes’ and femmes had ‘valves’.

Hearing the terms for the first time, Sam was able to understand the reasoning for the femme’s term, given what human made valves were used for on Earth, but spike…

Upon hearing the name for the mechs’ genitalia, Sam’s first thought went to felines and how their particular reproductive organs were lined with teeny tiny barbs that caused more pain than pleasure, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Cybertronians were on the same boat. Obviously, he could have just asked Ratchet if that were the case, but the fear of being labeled as stupid if it wasn’t , outweighed his burning curiosity, so he opted to keep his mouth shut and accepted the fact that he would have to take his questions to the grave. It wasn’t until his reincarnation that he was able to see for himself that no, mechs did not have barbed spikes, it was just…it had a pointed tip…not sharp enough that it would hurt a femme, but…it was pointed, and it was now obvious where the name came from, and that was enough to saturate most of Sam’s curiosity.

The only thing mechs didn’t seem to have was a pair of-

“Alright my light. On your back.” Elita cooed as she carefully slid her fingers underneath Sam’s belly.

Sam did the honors and rolled onto his back. He continued to purr as he assumed the ‘spread eagle’ position. The warm air felt just as good on his front as it did on his back, and he smiled when he heard his mother giggle at his antics.

“Orion, you are the most adorable little sparkling I’ve ever seen!” Elita shook her head with a smile as her son cracked an optic open with a soft coo.

‘Cuter than Bumblebee was?’ Sam wondered with a mischievous smirk. He had heard plenty of stories from the mechs on Earth about Bee’s sparklinghood, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing the whole ‘sparkling’ thing right…

Apparently he was because almost everyone on the ship was gushing over him, and none of them seemed to think he was anything but a cute little sparkling that had ‘cheated’ death.

Elita giggled again, “Oh, look at you…you know you’re gorgeous.” She gushed as she gave the mechling a final once over with the dryer. After turning off and putting up the machine, she plucked her son off the table he had been laying on, and held him close, “There…all clean and shiny.”

Sam looked himself over. He hadn’t been dirty to begin with -it was kinda hard to get filthy when one was stuck on a spaceship in the middle of deep space- but it was still nice to have his mother clean in between his creases and other hidden mechanisms…including the more private ones.

‘Personal hygiene is important.’ Sam reasoned as he was carried back to Elita’s berth, ‘And at least it isn’t any weirder than the time mom-number-one brought up the topic of masturbation in front of Mikaela…’ he thought as he looked up at his current mother. He doubts she’d be the type to embarrass him in such a way, much less, in front of whatever partner he ended up with in the future.