Acee-- If you feel bad bc of this I will personally come to your house and reassure you myself /j
Art above made by the wonderful birthday person herself, go and shower them with praise. 

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The signal came in unexpectedly. One moment everything's all calm, or as calm as it can be in the autobot base. The next Ratchet's annoying voice filters through, calling him, and Ironhide didn't even try to keep in the groan that left his lipplates.

:What is it, doc'?:

:First of all, don't call me 'doc': Hah, teasing that old fart never got less entertaining, no matter how many times he's done it. :And second, get ready. We've got a signal, an escape pod, already made planetfall.: Wonderful. Just what he needed to hear today. With a sigh Ironhide got up and started the trek to the main room.

:Copy that. Any info?:

:Nothing on what faction, the transmitter most likely got damaged from entering the atmosphere. I'm readying the groundbridge to the location already, come quickly and try not to scare the possible new recruit too much. Or the con, we don't want a rogue running around. The humans are giving us enough trouble as it is...: Well, he couldn't argue with that. He's somewhat warmed up to the idea of working with the organic species. The exceptions like Lennox truly did wonders for advocating on that. But at the end of the day, they were just that, exceptions.

They did not speak for the masses.

Which, as some youngling put it, kinda sucked. They could really use more humans like Lennox around.

"Finally. What, couldn't have taken longer on your little trek here?" Ratchet's annoyed voice snapped him out of him musing. Ironhide snorted and raised his helm to meet the medic.

"Any moment without seeing your faceplates is a time well-spent."

Ratchet only rolled his optics, muttering something about "big, black-painted idiots" as he activated the groundbridge to the location of the pod.

"...Optimus's got a feeling about this."

"Great, like this couldn't get any better... Good or bad?"

"He's not sure. So, just for your information, and for the fact that I wouldn't want to waste more time with your presence by needing to put you back together, just be careful."

"Whoa doc, I didn't know you cared about me that much."

"I take it back, I hope whatever it is over there rips your arm off."

"That's more like it."

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Ironhide approached the capsule carefully. The long, carved track after its landing was a dead giveaway to its position before he even saw it. Whatever was inside, it definitely hadn't had an easy landing.

:I've got optics on the capsule. Looks rough, you may wanna get the medical ready, just in case.:

:Do you know what's inside?:

:Nope, not yet. But don't worry doc, that'll change soon enough.: He disconnected before the inevitable complaints about the nickname could reach his audials.

Stalking forward, Ironhide narrowed his optics as he saw a small hole on the capsule's side. It looked torn, a long gash made probably from something during the landing, that then was opened further.

From the inside.

Momentarily, he tensed, surveilling the landscape. The hole wasn't big, definitely not big enough for any Cybertronian to fit through. It was barely fit for a human, much less anything bigger.

So, it was safe to assume the guest was still inside.

Still, it's location was too low for it to be made by a servo. Maybe a ped? No, too high, with how little space there is inside, the bot wouldn't be able to lift their leg enough.

So, something else, and wasn't that realization just wonderful.

Carefully, he unsubspaced his handy rifles and walked closer, examining the hole more closely. Definitely from the inside, no doubts about that. With how it was made, and the weird shape of its sides, he concluded that after the initial gash was made something widened it by hitting the edges from the inside. It seemed like fists, but they were definitely way too small for any Cybertronian. A Minicon, perhaps? But in that case why would they get inside a standard escape pod?

Something about this whole scenario was fishy. He stood up again, prospecting the terrain again. Pine trees as far as he could see, some big boulders Primus knows from where, some almost as big as him, a pair of optics hiding in the shadows of one of them-

Wait, go back.

Ironhide whipped his helm back, staring.

A pair of optics stared right back. The way they were curled up in the shadows of the rocks, it made it impossible to see anything else other than the two, lightly glowing systems.

As he looked at them, he couldn't help the uncomfortable sense of how unnaturally small they were. He didn't want to think about what that could entail.

Two fairly round optics narrowed slightly, their color a darker sky blue, almost mistaken for purple. His optics narrowed back at that revelation. They weren't like the twins, they were... this hue. It was unnatural. Not like the purple after substance abuse, but not the normal clear blue or white either. It wasn't rims either, he knew how those looked better than anyone.

At the same time, despite their unusualness, he didn't get the feeling their owner meant any malice.

Shaking his helm quickly, he focused on the subject at hand again. The mission, right. He wasn't meant to have a staring contest with the new bot, he was meant to take them either back to base or into custody.

"Okay buddy, I see you." He said in Cybertronian. That got him a reaction, a small tilt of the helm, only visible by the optic's changed position.

"...alright, you're not the talkative type, I get it. But, I think you understand me, yes?" A moment of silence, before a reluctant helm nod answered his question. "Great. See, I'm an autobot, and right now you're an unknown who landed here. So, sorry if you don't want to, but you're gonna come with me bud."

That got another reaction. The optics narrowed significantly and raised in their position, most likely signifying the bot finally standing up. Was it because of his autobot status, or from the fact that they didn't want to come with him? Frag, was Ratchet's concerts viable and it was some dangerous decepticon? He wouldn't live it down if that turned out to be the case.

Just as he was about to worry about that reaction, his focus was diverted by the fact that, despite apparently standing up now, the bot didn't gain any real height. If that was truly how tall they were, and that was counting the rocks they were standing on, they were at most up to his stomach. Without them, they'd probably be somewhere up to his knees-

It struck him, finally. He froze, the processor going into overdrive as it analyzed all the clues.

The small hole in the escape pod. Small, round optics. Small height. Lack of vocal response, but display of understanding language.

It couldn't be-

And then, as if the Primes were pointing and laughing at him in this very moment, the small bot drew back, firstly hissing hostilely at him, a sound that made all the alarm bells ring in his mind because there is no way any grown Cybertronian would hiss at him, maybe it was a minicon-

And then they chirped, a collection of light sounds that sounded more adorable than fearsomely like they most likely hoped to do, and Ironhide knew there was no other option.

That was a sparkling. A small, most likely hurt, hostile and probably terrified sparkling. They couldn't be more than 4 solars, if they were still chirping. Most stopped at around 3, but seeing how the sparkling already displayed a fairly high cognitive understanding of its surroundings, by actively hiding, getting out of the capsule and surveilling him for possible danger, he put them on the older side.

Still, slag. This just got much more complicated.

:Ratchet, get the medical bay ready.: He sent a quick transmission before turning his comms off, ignoring the incoming requests from Ratchet. He couldn't get distracted now.

First, the matter at hand, and he pointedly ignored the notice of the irony of how quickly his priorities changed.

Slowly, he put his gun away, before carefully kneeling on the ground. The sparkling was observing all his moves, letting out a small, questioning chirp. Not hostile. Good.

"Okay, I know we probably didn't get off to the best start, with me threatening to take you and all that, so... I'm sorry for that." The sparkling observed him quietly, but he saw how they tilted their helm gently, optics focused on him, letting out a small, unsure chirp.

"Yeah, stupid of me, right?" He didn't get an answer. "...look, I'm gonna be honest with you. I really don't want to force you to do anything, but this place ain't safe for you. We're in unknown terrain, on an unknown planet, with hostiles from every angle. You'll get hurt sooner or later." He carefully explained, keeping his voice low and calm. The sparkling hummed gently, before taking a small step back and glancing down at their peds? It appeared so, with the movement of their optics, before looking back up at him.

"...what is terr...rr..rrrrain?" They finally asked, and oh Primus, yeah, they were young. They stumbled on the unfamiliar word, clearly trying to correct themselves on the pronunciation. But their question...

"Terrain?" He supplied, and they nodded. "You don't know that word?" The sparkling clearly hesitated, before gently nodding their helm. Alright, this can be helpful, a chance to show them they can trust him. "Terrain, it's a different word for territory, or some specific space, mostly on the ground. Do you know what that means?" The sparkling's optics sparkled a bit and they nodded their helm enthusiastically. Okay, they're afraid to admit they don't know something, but once shown as something they do understand, they open more.

He tried to ignore what the implication of hating showing weakness implied.

"That's great. You seem like a smart sparkling." They sparkling froze, observing him carefully. Unused to compliments, perhaps?

" ...'m not smart. I jus'- just know words. 'm the best at talking." They supplied and Ironhide furrowed his optic ridges.

"Well, you seem to know a lot of words already, and you understood the new one quickly. I think that makes you really smart."

"...you really think so?"

"I know so."

The sparkling surveilled him for a moment, before giving him an unsure helm nod. Small victories, as the humans say.

"...you want to take us?" The sparkling asked after a moment, voice filled with this... weird resignation. It immediately put Ironhide on edge. Not just because of the plural sense.

"I do, but not for anything bad. Like I said, this place is dangerous for those like us." And again, that got him a reaction. Narrowed optics, a small step back.

"...Will you hurt us?"

There it is. The question he anticipated, yet still hoped wouldn't turn up.

"I promise you on my spark, the Allspark and all the Thirteen's wakeful gazes over us that I will not hurt you, or any other person you're with." The sparkling's optics widened a bit at the second part of the sentence, probably just now realizing they accidentally revealed the presence of the other person with them. They narrowed their optics again after, quietly looking at him before suddenly diving behind the rock, followed by the start of rapid whispers that no matter how hard he strained his audials, he could not hear. At least they confirmed his suspicions, there was definitely another sparkling hiding behind that rock. Sibling, most likely. Twin even, by the way the sparklings seemed to wordlessly communicate during his earlier talk with the first one.

No matter what they were, he would take them both, safe and sound back to base.

And survive the coming and endless jokes from Ratchet and the rest of the team.

He got thrown out of his musings once he realized the whispers stopped, instead replaced by gentle sounds of the littlest of peds hitting the rock, moving through the shadows and finally jumping down onto the grass. Ironhide waited with anticipation until finally-

The sparkling resurfaced again, easily recognized by their big, round optics. He could finally see their faceplates, light gray with a yellow helm, all soft and round, with the cutest little head-fins forming on the sides.

Then, they were joined by another. The exact same faceplates and optics, with the helm shape different, no helm-fins and instead a crown-like, roundy chevron on top of their helm, yellow replaced by a darker hue of blue. Their optics held much more amazement than suspicion, instead of their sibling's.

Yep, they were twins alright-

And then, another one joined the other two, and Ironhide almost choked. Another identical optics, another identical faceplates, with a structure on top of their helm which will most likely turn spiky as they grow, but now just as round as the other plates on their body, all soft and blunt edges. Their optics looked a bit wobbly, and the slightly darker tracks leading down their faceplates were clear indicators of previous cries.

All three were tightly grouped together, only their helms exposed from behind the rocks.

He was halfway expecting another one to pop up after, but as the seconds trickled by and none did, he finally relaxed again.

Triplets. Of course it's freaking triplets.

Ironhide took a deep in-vent, relaxing his body, getting rid of all the leftover shock.

"...All right little ones," the nickname slipped by without him even realizing. The sparklings didn't seem to mind, the opposite even, extending their little necks a bit to see him better, "that's all of you?"

A moment of silence, the three exchanged some looks between each other quickly before turning back to him, all bobbing their helms gently in confirmation. Good, that's good.

"Can you please come closer?" The sparklings just watched him. At least there wasn't a negative reaction. "...like I told your sibling, this place isn't safe. I'll take you to my base."

The sparklings, all three of them, tilted their helms gently to the side in the exact same, questioning manner. It was adorable just as much as it was concerning. Distrusting.

"...and w'll b'... saf' 'dere?" The blue sparkling inquired, their words a little slurred but still understandable. Right, the yellow one did say they were the best at talking.

"You will. I promised once and I'll promise again if I need to."

Silence, the sparklings were looking at each other again. Finally, the yellow one stepped out more, showing their frame. All yellow, round and soft-edges, with two small doorwings peeking out from their back, raised high and quivering gently. They were holding something with their right servo, hugging it tightly to their chest. Then, the blue one stepped out with the red one next, helping them walk by their shoulder. Before he could ask why, the answer was clear as soon as they walked out. The calf-plates on their left leg were dented, with multiple long cracks visible, crusted energon staining the wound's edges. It made his spark skip a beat in his chamber, as he watched in silence as the blue one helped the limping red stand between them, the yellow sparkling helping them up by the other shoulder, both squeezing tight to the red one's sides as they all finally turned to Ironhide again.

It took him a moment to get his words in order, but he already knew what to say.

"I know a mech who can help your sibling." That immediately got the three's attention, their doorwings standing straight and their helms whipping to face him. "He's a medic, a good one at that. A little grouchy, but he'll never refuse a sparkling in need."

They all looked at him with clear suspicion, but the hope underneath was still clear as day. It hurt to see that look on such young faceplates.

"...why would h' help us?" The yellow one demanded, doorwings spreading almost flat to their back. Still, the question itself...

"Because you need help."

"...we don' need help. We managed to survive with worse inju...juries." And Primus, wasn't that concerning?

"Well, you don't need to 'survive' anymore. You can get the help you need now."

The sparklings stared back, seeming conflicted. Their doorwings flared, jumping wildly on their backs as they looked back to each other, the yellow one just about to refuse again before- The red one shook their head a bit, nuzzling their helm to him a bit.

"...'t hurts." They whispered, voice wobbly as if they struggled not to cry. It made his spark hurt in this unexplainable way, as he watched the yellow one's optics widen slightly, as they sent a panicked look to the blue one, who looked equally as lost as them.

Finally, they turned to him, lipplates tightly shut and even a little wobbly themselves, cheeks a bit puffed and the mysterious object squeezed tightly to their chest as they nodded their helm violently.

"Oke, oke, take us, take him to th' medic." They said, taking a couple quick steps forward to him, their siblings in perfect synchronization, following them without hesitation closer to him.

So the red one was a "him", which meant the other two were most likely the same. But right now that wasn't important.

Getting his confirmation, Ironhide got up slowly, carefully, as to not startle the sparklings, and just as slowly walked up to them. They all tensed, hunching over each other and their doorwings lowering flat to their backs as they looked up at him. Primus, they were tiny. barely reaching his kneestruts as he towered over the three.

Quickly, but still carefully, he crouched again and extended his arms to the three.

"I'll take him. I'll be careful, I promise." He reassured the three as he saw them quiver before him. They clearly didn't like the idea of handing over their brother, but the way he was limping, further walking would only worsen the situation, and it seemed like they both knew it too. Still, they clearly didn't want to...

"...You can come in too." Confused optic resetting met him back. "...I'll easily pick up all of you. If you don't wanna separate from him, I'll just take you all, if that's what you wanna do."

They still seemed hesitant, but were clearly more inclined to the idea now. Finally, after a moment the yellow one nodded, and again, all three trutted closer, firstly with the yellow and blue helping their brother sit comfortably, before crawling in themselves, again with him in the middle. Protective. He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out for the red to be the youngest. He knew better than most how triplets are with their youngest link, straight from experience.

Gently, he brought all three closer to his chestplates, letting them all move around until they found a comfortable and safe position against his chest before he finally got up. They all tensed slightly, but relaxed soon when they noticed they were safe. The yellow one moved so they were hugging their something tightly to their chest with both arms. The red one rested his help against his chest, letting out a gentle purr as they closed their optics after a moment. The blue one also rested their helm, but remained avid, optics flying wildly all around their surroundings, taking everything in from their newly acquired height. They looked adorable, three little fledgelings safely in his arms.

:Hey, docky? I hope you prepared that medbay like I asked. And send me a groundbridge while yar at it?: He said, completely ignoring Ratchet's angry screams about 'worrying everyone' and 'irresponsibility' filtering through the comm. It was surprisingly easy to do so, with the three gentle presences in his arms.

The red sparkling blinked a bit, letting out a small yawn before looking up at him. He doesn't know what kind of expression he must've had, but it caused a small, huffy laugh to escape his little vocalizer, optics narrowing with mirth as he watched Ironhide's expression.

:...we've just gained some new members to our team.:

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I tried to make it as accurate to your au as possible, but if I made any mistakes, uuuuuuh
Fucking ignore them and accept them as the new reality <3

As always, any questions, ask away.