Butterfly Farm

Chapter Nine: Man on the Moon

Man on the Moon by MNQN
Galaxy by Nine Lashes

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  Sideswipe could tell Sunstreaker was agitated. It didn't take a split-spark twin bond to figure that one out. What he didn't quite know was why. He'd sent a few queries through the bond just to be shut down immediately. It was mentally jarring every time, and eventually he gave up. Sunny wasn't really trying to be an aft about it, but he wasn't letting Sides in, and he couldn't understand why. 

  It wasn't exactly like either were paying attention to the science class. As soon as they saw what the lesson was about they'd downloaded all information on the subject, same as they'd done math. It was no longer necessary or interesting for them to listen to the lecture. 

  So instead, they'd been keeping an optic out for threats. Sideswipe had already gone through the entire room several times and determined there were no cons, no hidden weapons, and no real threats among the humans. The table they'd chosen in the back offered the perfect view of everyone in the room. It also allowed Sideswipe to surreptitiously tear off small peices of paper and throw them at unsuspecting victims whenever the teacher wasn't watching. So far he'd landed 30 of 32 shots, and he'd only missed those two because Ava had noticed and had hissed at him to stop being an idiot. 

  She'd sounded exactly like Sunny when she'd said that. She even glared at him like Sunny. 

  Except instead of being terrifying, she looked completely adorable. Her forehead didn't even reach his shoulders and her hands were a fraction of the size of his. She couldn't have scared a stunticon making that face. And it didn't look quite the same as it had before. Now, she looked more reprimanding than spiteful, and that he could easily handle. He was used to being scolded in one form or another. It only ever encouraged him to keep being annoying.

  He glanced over at Sunstreaker only to find his brother staring intently at their charge. The girl sat sideways in her seat across from Sideswipe, facing the front of the room with her back to Sunny. His twin wasn't paying much attention to the rest of the room. He was frowning at the back of Ava's head like she was a faulty program he couldn't quite decode. 

  Sideswipe cocked an eyebrow and reached out to prod his brother's shoulder. "Hey."

  Sunny's eyes snapped back to his. "What?"

  Ava turned and shushed at them both. "Shut up, dipstick."

  Sideswipe grinned at her and she rolled her eyes, turning back to the front. 

  Sideswipe poked his brother's arm again, choosing to try to speak through the bond this time. 《Hey.》

  《What?》 Sunstreaker growled back, his eyes flashing dangerously at Sides. 

  Sideswipe smirked triumphantly. 《You're staring.》

  Sunstreaker cocked an eyebrow. 《So are you.》

  《Yeah, but not like you are. Is that the reason you shut me out? To block out a few certain systems you've been having trouble with lately?》

  He'd watched Sunny struggle uselessly with his processor the previous cycle, clumsily trying to shut down a few very delicate programs without damaging his HUD. Sides hadn't told him yet, but he'd been almost as effected by his twin's struggle as Sunstreaker obviously was. Thank Primus Sunny wasn't nearly as aware of him as he was of Sunstreaker, or he'd have never heard the end of it after what happened in the other class. As soon as he'd touched the little femme his systems had went into overdrive, and he'd spent the rest of the class simply shutting down programs that kept popping up like wildfires, even after she'd run out. Luckily, Sunny had had the good sense to shut off his holoform and follow the femme to the hall, or she'd have gone completely unprotected for over half a human hour while Sideswipe fought with himself.