Part One: If You Fall
Just as a note, there is semi-described interfacing in this chapter.
Also, this is still the buildup to the main plot, so I apologise for the short chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. They are the property of Hasbro.

‘Home’ was a flat, cool, calm, out of the way. They needed a place that was off the beaten path. The building was in poor condition, but the other requirement for finding a home had been to find somewhere that was under less than good management. The last thing they needed was someone else suspecting them, someone else who had the potential to report them.
The atmosphere was melancholy, lingering remains from the overwhelming darkness that had eaten away at the sparks of those present in the Council Pavilions. It was not as thick, not as impenetrable, as if walking through their sparkplace had cleansed them. Hah, cleansed. As if they would ever be that again, as if they would ever be whole again after what Gravitas was daring to do.

Sideswipe waited until the door was closed firmly, was shut to protect their sanctuary before he wrapped his arms around his twin and sank into him, whimpering softly. He hated being weak, he hated showing such violently tumultuous emotions, but this was so world-shattering, so unspeakably cruel, and he was shaken to his very ember. He felt Sunstreaker’s arms close around him, ever-patient, ever-caring, but only with Sideswipe. Forever with Sideswipe.

The scarlet twin took silent solace in the knowledge that he would be surrounded by a like kind, that he would be in the company of others who were suffering the same injustice that he was. He swore to himself, though, silently, as he stood, encircled in his brother’s arms, that he would never take another bondmate.

Sunstreaker’s lips touched his forehead, gentle and sweet, his optics dimmed slightly. He had always seemed the elder of the two, the more capable, even though Sideswipe was physically stronger. "Shh, Sides," he murmured, voice soft. Nineteen stellar cycles old he was, they both were, and yet they'd seen more than most ever would. "Calm down, all right?"

"Calm down," Sideswipe choked back, burying his face in his brother's shoulder. "How can I calm down? They have us on file, Sunny, they have our names, our home. They know, and they'll… they'll come for us. If we don't go." His voice turned hopeless, hollow, worried.

Sunstreaker shook his helm, his lips parted, but all he responded with was a simple breath formed in the coalescing syllables of his twin's name. So violent was he with everyone else, so unintelligibly mercurial, but with Sideswipe, he was calm, soothing. Only for Sideswipe. Forever for Sideswipe.

The scarlet twin held his brother in check; Sunstreaker was always more volatile without the comforting sheen of Sideswipe's presence. When separated, they were both moodier, both more easily irritated, but Sunstreaker… Sunstreaker would resort to the most heinous of crimes to reach his brother, and Sideswipe could only imagine that there were other twins like them. He was half-surprised that the city wasn't up in flames yet- surely forced bonding would cause riots, protests. Not that anyone would listen, of course. The nobles, the higher-ups, even the emerging retaliation group known as the Autobots… None of them cared. He didn't know what the shadow organization thought -Decepticons-, but he was sure their views were the same. No one understood.

No one would.

He wasn't even sure the Gravitas was considering his own twin- Aris had seemed just as horrified by the news. Sideswipe knew that even Gravitas wasn't cold-sparked enough to torture his own twin in such a way, but he surely didn't want to carry on a relationship with him.

Sideswipe sighed and nuzzled into Sunstreaker, slightly calmed despite his words. The golden twin held him closer and pulled him to the couch, where they sank down together. The shades were drawn to prevent any wayward glances. Neither of them really wanted to see the skyline now, anyway. Why would they bother staring at the beauty of a city that was betraying them?

"Sunny," Sideswipe said quietly, a moment later. His twin hummed in half-thought, half-answer, his voice rumbling. "… You don't… I mean, don't they realise what bonding…?"

"I doubt it," the golden mech responded, his tone hardened, rough. Bonding to someone outside their twin-spark bond would decrease to potency of the one between them, and, in some cases, could be nearly successful in eliminating it completely. "They don't care." He rubbed the back of Sideswipe's helm, and the broader twin shifted his body and lowered himself so his head was resting in Sunstreaker's lap. He curled a hand around the bright knee, his sigh soft, full. Sunstreaker's hand moved to his back, his fingers twirling almost cautiously over the plating. He was thinking, Sideswipe could tell, but a gentle probe at the bond between them revealed nothing. He settled and lay, no longer angry, no longer hopelessly depressed, but numb. Numb to the silent tragedy blooming outside their window, blooming in the streets of the city they'd been raised in, blooming in their sparks and the sparks of other twins who had taken refuge there.

When he dozed, he dreamed of rain.

-

The gentle stirring of a slim leg under his helm had Sideswipe waking slowly, pulling from under the tide of recharge. "Sunny…?" he mumbled, sitting up, rubbing the back of a wrist across his forehead, his gaze bleary and confused. Sunstreaker glanced over, smiled, a true, simple smile, one full of self-satisfaction and pleasure.

"Sides," he returned, then, more softly: "We're going to be okay, Sideswipe." His voice was sure, comforting, as though he knew.

A sardonic laugh answered him, pulled from Sideswipe's lips, and the crimson mech leant back into the couch, shrugging. No sarcastic words came, because he found that he didn't have the audacity to quell the fragile little spark of hope that had risen in his chest.

-

Lights danced over the ceiling of their room; they lay, intertwined, sparks rejoicing at the former closeness. Sideswipe could feel the echo of Sunstreaker's under his hand. Theirs were beating in tandem, fluttering and skipping a pulse to catch up, to regulate their rhythms. Interfacing had been slow and sweet, a desperate grab for more, more touching, more feeling, more closeness. A yearning for the touching of already-intertwined sparks. They tended to be rough, usually. As Sunstreaker put it, "None of that pouffy femme slag." But this time, no.

Sideswipe had spread himself out on the berth after his brother had moved off the couch and murmured that he was going to get a cube. The scarlet twin had nodded and yawned, trailed slowly to their shared berthroom.

Join him Sunstreaker did, a few cycles later, and Sideswipe knew the glint in his optics, recognised it for what it was: pure, unbidden lust. Want. Need. Suddenly he had been at the foot of the berth, and then slowly crawling up Sideswipe, a hand ghosting over the scarlet hip. Sideswipe had admired his brother then, in all his feline grace and beauty.

The press of gentle lips on Sideswipe's had stirred a soft moan from the broader mech, and then Sunstreaker's masterfully crafted lips were all over his body, his chest, his stomach, his hips, thighs, knees, wrists. No part of him went untouched, unworshiped.

Overload had been an agonisingly sweet buildup. They had come in perfect synchrony, their sparks singing for the pleasure of touching, their bodies pressed so closely that for a moment, they seemed the one that they had almost become, rather than two.

Now, their bodies cooled. Sunstreaker had rolled and pulled Sideswipe on top of him, cradling the darker frame to his chest. There were no words spoken for almost half a megacycle; all the words they had were in the gentle rubbing of Sunstreaker's fingers on Sideswipe's lips, the press of darker lips against plating as bright and pure as the sun.

At length, Sunstreaker said, "Get some sleep, Sides. We have a long day tomorrow." His twin glanced up and nodded, ever-compliant after their cherished times together. He drifted, feeling Sunstreaker's frame fitting so perfectly under his, feeling the warmth, the affectionate touches. He refused to think about the next solar cycle, or the day after that. He was here now, with Sunstreaker, and he wouldn't waste that precious time thinking about something that would undoubtedly devastate their lives along with the lives of hundreds of others.

His optics flickered offline.

This time, no dreams came, only the press of silent panic on his spark, the echo of unfair, terrifying words.

"…Due to the constant disrespecting of this law, you will all report to the Council Pavilions once more tomorrow morning, and present your visas. You will be split and sent to either Altihex or Uraya. Once you take another bondmate, you will be permitted to see your twin once more. If you refuse to comply, we will use deadly force. That is all.”