Tinman

Third Birthday

Sunday morning...

Ironhide groaned quietly, coming out of his nightly rest stasis in the Lennox's garage. The little building wasn't too roomy for a truck or bot his size, but it kept him warm and dry at night when he went into recharge. As his sensors cleared and charged up he suddenly became aware of a vibrating patch of warmth on his hood.

Sprinkles.

"Why you little piece of..." Ironhide muttered threateningly under his hood.

The tiny ball of patched black and white fur cracked its eyes open and then closed them again.

Slowly, Ironhide rolled out of the garage so as not to wake Sprinkles, "No respect, eh? I'll fix that..."

Once outside in the driveway Ironhide made sure Sprinkles was very relaxed. Suddenly, in a veritable explosion of shifting and rotating parts Ironhide transformed. The loud noise accompanied by the violent movement woke the kitten up pronto. Eyes the size of quarters and tail puffed up like a chimney sweep Sprinkles bailed off of Ironhide's hood/chest and tore around the house like the devil was after him.

With a deep laugh of devious mirth Ironhide stretched out his parts. That was rather effective.

"Ironhide, you big meanie!" Sara yelled at him through the kitchen screen.

The Autobot could hear Will laughing inside the kitchen and smirked.

Sara shot a glare at her husband, "Will, don't you dare encourage him."

Casually, Ironhide flexed his cannons and rolled his thick neck,"Oh, loosen your wing-nuts. I didn't hurt it."

"No, but you scared almost two lives out of that poor kitty." the woman's voice scolded.

He shrugged, "Maybe now it will think twice about using me for a bed."

Before Sara could admonish him further Will spoke up, "Give him a break, Sara. Cats don't belong on vehicles or Autobots anyway."

Ironhide nodded approvingly; glad someone took his side on the matter. "Thank you, Will."

Sara sighed exasperated with the males.

...

It was precisely noon when the Autobot caravan arrived outside the Lennoxes home. Ironhide was baffled by their presence as his friends transformed in the driveway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking up to them.

Optimus Prime stretched lightly, "We were invited by Captain Lennox to attend a celebration commemorating his daughter coming online."

"A birthday party, Optimus." Bumblebee corrected.

Ironhide pulled his crested head back, "I wasn't informed of this."

"I kinda wanted to surprise you, Ironhide." Will admitted, trotting out of the house. "Welcome everyone. Glad you made it." He checked his watch, "And perfect timing too."

"Hey, Captain!" Sam called, walking up to the man with Mikaela by his side and Mojo in his arms. "Good to see you again."

The young man and the soldier shook hands heartily. "How's it going you two?"

"Can't complain I guess." Sam admitted.

Mikaela smiled, holding a bright pink present under her arm, "So where's the birthday girl?"