Chapter Text
The lab was big. That was the first thing Prowl had thought when his uncle carried him to work that day. Large tanks lined the walls, some with unusual fish and others empty. His uncles mate stood nearby speaking to another mech with horns and unusual helm extensions.
He tilted his helm curiously and had the urge to touch but was startled by being placed on his own pedes and told he could explore.
The first thing he did was run over to the odd mech who heard him coming and turned with a warm smile. He said something but Prowl didn’t understand the words and reached out to touch.
The mech laughed softly and leant down so his small gray servos could make contact with the soft surface of the helm extensions. He chirped thoughtfully as he inspected the objects before slowly pulling away.
His uncle drew the mechs attention as they began to speak to each other leaving Prowl to find something else for himself.
The gray sparkling moved further into the lab, stepping cautiously around the mercury on the floor that was around some of the tanks before eventually choosing to jump in the puddles. The splash and subsequent mess it made had Prowl’s wings twitching merrily as he hopped around.
This continued for a while as he hopped his way around the many tanks until he saw a red ball bouncing in one of the smaller one. He stopped bouncing to watch the ball fly up and then back down, disappearing behind the tank wall.
Curiosity getting the better of him had Prowl moving closer to the tank but found the wall wasn’t clear like the rest so he couldn’t see inside. He reached up for the lip of the tank but found it a bit high.
Prowl contemplated the edge and jumped. His small servos grasped the side of the tank and he made a small click of triumph as he struggled to pull himself up, pedes scratching against the side of the tank as he did.
Finally his effort paid off and he was able to rest his arms on the edge of the tank as he looked around. The ball was just floating now and the mercury was difficult to see through from above.
He wilted at the lack of motion as the ripples in the tank from the earlier movement inside died down. Prowl was about ready to get down, curiosity having faded for the now still ball when a small servo grabbed his and tugged him over the side of the tank.
Mercury invaded his vents and had him choking even after his helm breached the surface. He coughed and exhaled mercury from his vents causing his optics to tear up at the sharp pain in his throat from the sting of the fluid going where it shouldn’t.
A soft chirp sounded in front of him along with a small squeeze to his waist from small arms wrapped around him.
Opening his optics he found himself staring into pools of onyx with white irises in the center. It was another sparkling, possibly his age. Short helm extensions adorned the others helm with stubby horns. A pretty shade of blue also adorned the mechs helm crest and made him startle.
Prowl had never seen a sparkling with color before and couldn’t help but reach out to stroke the area on the mechs helm. He then noticed that his gray servo was no longer gray but white.
The other sparkling purred at the pet to the helm and pressed their face close, nuzzling Prowl’s forehelm and nose with his own which made the unknown sparklings frame light up in a kaleidoscope of color.
Large servos were suddenly pulling Prowl out of the tank away from the other sparkling and left him with a sudden panic from being separated. He struggled as he finally noticed his uncle holding him.
“Down!” Prowl called out, one of the few words he knew at his current age.
His uncle obliged and gently placed him on the floor. Prowl could hear the other sparkling chirping and clicking in the tank followed by a sudden splash.
A small tunnel like slide was set up off to the side that went up and dipped down into the tank. Prowl found himself running to it only for the other sparkling to come launching through the tunnel and rolling down the slide side, directly into him.
He flew back slightly from the impact but wrapped his little legs around the other to keep him close as the other resumed nuzzling his face. It made him giddy and warm inside and he laughed while marveling as the others frame lit up in a multitude of colors again.
Later he had been told that the other sparklings name was Jazz and that the other mech his uncle had been speaking to was his carrier. He’d quickly discovered that Jazz and his carrier weren’t normal, they were fish mechs or poly’s as his uncle called them. Jazz didn’t have pedes like him and had a short tadpole-like tail instead so Prowl had chosen to carry him around when he wanted to go someplace.
It was a bit cumbersome as the smaller’s tail dragged along the floor but Jazz didn’t seem to mind. Prowl did though and found a sitting area with some cushions on top. Gently he placed his new friend down to fetch one of the large pillows and drug it off the side of the couch. Once done he picked up Jazz again and sat fell into the overly large pillow and commenced to hug the still damp frame to him.
Jazz liked to cuddle and was very good at hugs. Even his little tail was wrapped around Prowl’s side as they pressed their noses together.
—
“I hadn’t expected that,” Ratchet finally said once the sparklings had ensconced themselves in the sitting area. Prowl’s red accents gleaming against his whites in contrast to the blues on Jazz’s dark protoform. Then there was the glow of colors that would light up throughout Jazz’s frame when they made helm contact which was worthy of further investigation.
“It was unexpected but not unwelcome,” the older Poly replied, smiling softly at his clingy pup.
Wheeljack’s helm fins flashed merrily, “I’ve never seen Prowl laugh like that before.”
Ratchet nodded in agreement, “He’s always been a quiet sparkling. Im going to have to explain this to his creators though.”
The poly chuckled, “They are Sparkmates, I don’t think it should be too much of an explanation.”
Ratchet sighed, “They’re going to want to meet him.” Poly’s were not all that well known for being civilized as most mechs believed them to be monsters that lured mechs to their deaths in the seas beyond.
“And they shall,” the mer said evenly as he gazed at the now recharging sparklings, “They love each other, whether they realize it yet or not, it’s clear that they are more than infatuated even at such a young age.”
“What about your mate? You said he didn’t like our kind,” Wheeljack commented softly.
“He will get over it.” He stared a bit longer before turning back to the two groundmechs, “We should finish up while they’re recharging.”
Ratchet huffed before walking back to the table they were at moments before they’d heard Prowl fall into the tank. His spark had nearly frozen up when he’d heard the splash and choked vents. The last thing he’d expected was to pull his nephew from the water to find his frame had flushed with color. When Jazz had followed suit rolling down the sparkling slide also now with color he couldn’t be more surprised.
A ground mech and a Poly, what were the odds?