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Market Commodity	By : Scienceteacher Category: Transformers > G1 > Round Robins Views: 11586 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Do not own the Transformers, am not making anything from this story.

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**Mentors part 4**

**Written by StSE, Universe G1**

**Note: This chapter was initially chapter 5 of this miniplot series. But due to the timing, I changed things up. I’ll get back to what happens with Speed and Shado a bit later…. LOL..

Scream lazily stretched as he yawned. Retracting his wings, he turned on his side and looked over at the bed against the other wall. A happy smile crossed his gray face plate, for he had his own security bot. His very own partner! True, they’d had a minor disagreement over the TV being left on. But after Scream had agreed to turn the volume off and Jag agreed to let him leave the visual on – the disagreement was easily resolved.

The red Seeker clone reached to his nightstand, picking up the marker. With a cock-eyed grin, he rolled onto his belly. Taking the top off his marker he wrote: ‘Yesterday I got the best partner’, in little itsy-bitsy letters on the wall. He signed his name under it. He always signed his name under what he wrote on his walls. Sometimes he wrote it ‘Scream’ and sometimes ‘Screamer’. Once, after he’d followed Sharon around on one of her visits to Decepticon headquarters and he’d actually gotten to SEE the mech he’d been cloned from – he’d signed his name as ‘Star Scream’. But later on, he’d worried that the real Seeker would one day see it and become enraged that he was trying to be him. So he’d crossed out the ‘Star’ part of it. With a happy sigh, Scream put the marker back in its place and set his chin on his hands, staring out at the starry sky. It’d be dawn in an hour, and he did like watching the sun as it burst over the horizon.

“Why do you do that?” Jag’s voice asked.

Startled, Scream looked over at him. Those brilliant sapphire optics glowed in the darkness of the room. “Um, do what?” he asked with a shrug.

“Write on the walls,” the security bot stated. The whine of his hydraulics could be barely heard, as he shifted his own door wings slightly to center so that he could roll onto his side. He propped his head up on his hand and gave Scream an expectant look.

“Long story, you might not want to know,” Scream replied with a shrug. It wasn’t that it bothered him horribly to talk about his past; he just didn’t feel the need to dump it onto his new partner.

“Give me an abbreviated version.” The steady look in those optics said in no uncertain terms, that the Prowl clone would not be satisfied until he did so.

Scream sat up, pressing his wings against the wall, he pulled up his knees. He curled his arms around them and set his chin on them. The old position he’d once sat in for sometimes weeks on end without moving. Well, before they’d put the tacks in him that is. A haunted look filled his red optics as he locked them with Jag’s with an unblinking intensity. And then he began his tale. For thirty minutes he gave Jag the ‘abbreviated’ version. Not leaving much of the horror out of it.. Not leaving much for the imagination.. And finally, when he was done, he buried his face in his arms and began to rock slightly. It always bothered him a bit to reminisce like this. But usually fifteen minutes of his rocking would straighten his meta back out.. Calm him down again..

Jag had begun to grind his dental plates together about five minutes into the ‘abbreviated’ version. In ten minutes, the calm clone had begun to clench and unclench his fingers. By twenty minutes, he felt quiet rage begin to fill him. And by the time Scream was done – Jag’s weapon systems and battle processor were at full activation. Everything the clone had said, was so terrible… So horrific… That Jag’s legal database told him that if it had happened to a human, the perpetrator would most likely get at minimum - life in prison.

But like him, Scream was just a clone. He had no legal rights. He was just an object that his owner had done with as she pleased. Why the red Seeker preferred to keep these horrible memories and not have them erased – Jag didn’t understand. But when the Seeker’s wings drooped and he buried his face in his arms and began to slightly rock himself, Jag felt that he had to do something. His police programs told him how to act towards human victims in domestic violence cases. So he went with those protocols.

Scream rocked himself, willing the tears not to come. He was safe.. He was loved.. He’d never feel that pain again.. But then arms surrounded him. Not Sharon’s arms or TC’s – but the arms of his new partner. He looked up in surprise. The stoic clone had quietly come and stood in front of his bed. And without a word, he’d surrounded him with his arms and set his chin on top of Scream’s head. “Shhhhhhhh, police are here. You’re safe now,” his voice softly whispered.

Trembling in disbelief at his partner’s show of compassion, Scream uncurled himself and lunged into those strong arms. He buried his helm into the police clone’s hood, feeling the comforting sensation of Jag’s fingers stroking the edges of his sensitive wings. “Thanks Jag,” he murmured.

“Just doing my job. You ok now?” Jag asked as he continued to rub the trembling Seeker’s wings. Trying to sooth him as his victim relation program told him to do.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just hard – remembering it,” Scream replied as he gave his partner a squeeze and pulled away a bit so that they could look in each other’s faces.

Jag had a thoughtful look in his blue optics. “Why don’t you have those memories erased?” he asked him in all seriousness.

Scream shrugged, he’d thought about it. But the history professor’s constant remarks about the importance of history – had taught him to accept his past. “Because when we forget our past – we are forever forced to repeat it,” he answered.

The security bot seemed to mull over this idea. It did make some sense, for every single protocol in his security/police/defense programs were based on lessons learned the hard way. So in a strange way, what Scream said indeed made sense. His optics filled with a strange glow. The glow of true respect for his quirky partner.. The Seeker had truly been through hell and back, and lived to teach others. To help others.. “You’re a hell of a clone Scream. A hell of a clone,” Jag said. He offered his hand to the Seeker. “I’m proud to be your partner.” He smiled as Scream mirrored him. Their hands clasped in silent agreement to always be partners.

Now that many of his questions pertaining to his partner’s somewhat quirky and illogical behaviors had been answered to his satisfaction, Jag had another mystery to solve. He walked over to his nightstand and picked up the ‘present’ that Jester had given him. Turning around, he tossed it to Scream. “Now, could you explain this?” he demanded.

Agilely, Scream caught it. He glanced from vibrator to Jag and back to vibrator. It wasn’t one of his toys. So it had to be one of Sharon’s. But Jag didn’t seem the type to go rummaging through her infamous toy chest and grab a vibrator. He was too proper and uptight for that. “It’s a vibrator. Where’d you get it?”

Jag sighed in exacerbation as his data banks deciphered what a ‘vibrator’ was. Yes, it had been a gag gift. He should’ve known! “Jester gave it to me as a ‘make up’ gift.”

“Well, they feel damned good on the port sensory nets,” Scream chuckled as he threw it back to him. “You outta consider trying it.”

Setting it back on his nightstand, Jag snorted. He did not need some interface toys. He was not some simple pleasure clone who thought of nothing else but overloading! He had a job to do! “I’ve got my rounds. Don’t have time for that kind of distraction.”

The red Seeker snickered even louder. “I’m supposed to be teaching you how to enjoy self-interface you know. Sharon doesn’t interface with us all. So a clone’s gotta learn how to enjoy himself,” he said with a wink.

“I’ve got to do my security rounds, it’s almost daylight,” Jag said as he headed towards the door. But suddenly, the swift and agile Seeker was between him and his objective. He tried to get around him, but the damned clone merely extended out his broad wings, blocking his escape from what he considered an uncomfortable situation. With a disgusted sigh, he realized he would have to negotiate his way out of this one. “I do need to do my rounds…”

“And I need to teach you how to self-interface,” Scream replied with a devilish smile on his face. He was going to enjoy getting this uptight clone to enjoy. Frankly, he wasn’t even concerned if he himself self-interfaced – just that Jag did.

“Ok, I do agree that Sharon gave you those duties but…” Jag really – REALLY – didn’t want to do this self-interfacing thing. Granted his master had told him he’d have to. But that didn’t mean he had to at this very moment!

“Geese Jag, just relax about it. We all like to overload. It’s not a crime to enjoy yourself!” Scream’s grin was getting bigger. At least Jag was admitting that he’d basically been ordered to learn – and Scream to teach. For a protocol-bound clone like Jag, being ordered to would make it easier for him to deal with it. And he was getting excited just thinking about the morning’s ‘lesson’!

Jag tried to duck around the eager Seeker. He knew he’d have to face this ‘lesson’ sometime, he just wanted to delay it as long as possible. “I need to do my morning rounds,” he stated.

“You need to have your lesson.”

The police clone sighed. Scream was determined, and he had been ordered to do this. Grinding his dental plates together, he knew he had to face it. “Ok, just let me do my rounds first.”

“Be back in ten minutes,” Scream ordered as he retracted his wings, enabling the flustered security clone access to the door…

----

He was leaned back against him. The gentle swell of the Seeker’s canopy fit perfectly between his two door wings. It was as if, they were meant to fit together in this way. Scream’s finger’s caressed his door wings, calming the turmoil within the uptight police clone as he rimmed his own open ports with his fingertips.

“Relax Jag, just think about the enjoyment. Not the fact that it’s against your programming. Push past that… Seek the overload..” Scream whispered in his audio. His kissed his helm, but made no true advance to the police clone. All his pleasure would be derived from the police clone losing himself to the pleasure he was teaching him to have.

“It’s hard Scream. My interface nets want to – but my core programs..” Jag gasped as he fought the internal struggle. But those wonderful sparks of pleasure sensations drifted in from his door wings… Those gentle and understanding hands gliding along them, helping him learn to lose control….

“Shhhh, don’t think – FEEL!” Scream ordered softly. He moved his lips to the back of the clone’s neck, nibbling on the thin alloy there.. Knowing the sensations that he was sending ricocheting throughout Jag’s networks..

Jag arched into him as those nips sent cataclysmic waves rolling through him. “AHHHHHHHH,” he said as he trembled. The Seeker’s knowledgeable touches and nips now caused his interface nets to become fully activated. His open port began to ache with want.

Scream turned the vibrator on a low setting, and put it in Jag’s hand. “Just slide it in your aft port,” he whispered.

Jag shuddered as he slid it slowly in. It felt incredible! His hands began to shake as his internal sensors went wild because of the vibration. His whole chassis began to shake. The vibrator would’ve slipped out, but then a hand wound around his waist. Snaking between his outstretched legs, firmly placing itself over his filled port, not allowing the shaft of pure ecstasy to slip from him as he lost control…

Slowly, the alarms went off one-by-one in his meta. Jag activated his optics, realizing that he was still lying against the chassis of a Seeker clone. But his ports were now empty. His partner having removed the vibrator while he was deactivated.. “See Jag, its fun to loose control. And I’ll keep alert while you’re knocked out. So don’t worry,” Scream’s voice assured him.

Jag relaxed, not feeling guilty about becoming deactivated – and thus, not alert to possible danger. As long as one of them was alert… Well, he might be able to handle this self-interfacing thing. Scream seemed to understand that. Just as Jag now understood why Scream was so irrationally quirky.. “Thank you Scream,” he said.

“Told you that you’d like it! Told you!” Scream exclaimed with a big slag-eating grin on his face. He slid out from behind his partner, and patted him on a door wing. “Think tomorrow you’ll let me watch you over load – while I self-interface too?” he asked with a grin.

“Just wait until I reboot before you shut down – and it’s a deal,” Jag replied with a nod. He was beginning to accept this whole self-interface and clone-to-clone interface thing, since obviously he really didn’t have a choice in the matter. But as long as one of them kept their guard up, he didn’t feel like he was shirking his duties when he overloaded.

“Ah, forever alert.. Love ya!” Scream chuckled, but he slapped Jag’s outstretched hand with his – they had a deal.

----

Wandering downstairs, Sharon smiled as she passed Scream’s door and heard the new clone’s moans and Scream’s whispered encouragement. It seemed that Scream was indeed taking his ‘mentoring’ position in stride. Yes, it would be far easier on her if the clones received much of the one-on-one attention they seemed to crave – from each other.

As she started down the stairs, the fragrance of her favorite holiday coffee mixed with cooking pancakes assailed her senses. Obviously, TC was down in the kitchen doing his standard early morning routine. And since Jester was also up and about, he was probably ‘assisting’. She was wondering how that little lesson was going just as her foot touched the hardwood floor on her home’s lower level.

A huge clang of pans and clone armor hitting the tiled floor resounded throughout the house. Muffled exclamations filled the air soon after. Sharon couldn’t help but chuckle as she entered the breakfast room and the chaotic scene unfolded before her. Apparently, TC had left Jester ‘in charge’ of pouring her coffee while he flipped the pancakes. Jester had stepped back a little too far as he had started towards the living room, his back hitting one of the Seeker’s broad wings, and who was just then flipping the pancake in the air. The two of them had landed in a heap in the middle of the kitchen. Now they were covered in half-cooked pancakes mixed with coffee. TC was not pleased in the least and was telling Jester all about it.

“I do recall that it took a certain blue clone almost a month before he quit having ‘accidents’ in the kitchen. Don’t you?” Sharon chuckled as she offered her hand to the red ground clone with the embarrassment in his blue optics. He smiled up at her as a look of relief flowed over his coffee-coated features. He had actually managed to amuse her with the accident! She was laughing AT him – not mad at him!

TC picked himself up off the floor. Glancing from Sharon to Jester and back, he realized that she was right. He HAD made a mess of the kitchen that first month! It was wrong for him to expect his charge to be perfect his first time. “My bad,” he said with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Jester’s look of shame at his goof-up changed to his normally happy look at TC’s ‘apology’.

“Well, you sit here and I’ll clean you up a bit,” Sharon told Jester as she patted one of the chairs at the breakfast table. Jester plopped his tailpipes down on the chair and looked up at the woman with a smile on his face. His meta logging in the important fact that she didn’t get mad when he made a mess of HIMSELF! He’d have to do more of these types of things, it made her laugh. And Jester liked it when she laughed.

“I’ll finish in here then,” TC announced. He merely swiped a towel over his face and torso, and started a new round of pancakes and coffee. As they cooked, he began to clean up the kitchen floor. “Later, we’ll give each other a good cleanup – ok?” he said to Jester.

“Made a mess of yourself again?” Scream noted as he walked in with Jag right on his thrusters. Then he noticed Jester was also a mess. A big slag-eating grin covered his face. “Now you’re teaching him the fine-art of cooking on your own armor?!? Cool!”

“Scream, shut up,” Sharon ordered as she took a wet towel to Jester’s helm. She didn’t even have to turn around to know the shit-eating grin that the red Seeker must have on his face.

“Well, we’ll get the paper then,” Scream decided. He nodded for Jag to follow him.

“Driveway’s a bit icy for him to be driving on,” Sharon informed the pair. Jester fidgeted under her fingers as she started to work on his coffee covered face plate. But the gleam in his blue optics told her that he was enjoying every minute of the attention.

Scream and Jag glanced at each other. But then Scream’s face lit up. “Well, guess you get to practice riding on my top line then brother!” he declared as he slapped his partner on his shoulder armor. They both took off towards the garage.

---

“They ride with me in the sedan. Its front wheel drive,” Sharon explained to a slightly downcast TC. He’d raced out to the garage and jumped into his Porsche, ready to take ‘his’ woman to the mall. The two ground clones could just follow them, or so he had thought. But Sharon had stomped those plans into the slush. Informing him in no uncertain terms that the Porsche couldn’t even be PULLED out of the garage if there was even the slightest bit of ice on the roads!

He sulked as he got out of the Porsche and watched her get into the driver’s seat of her older sedan. “I love to watch you fly in front of me TC. You and Scream make a good looking team,” she said with a wink.

This caused the two Seekers to swell up in pride. They both liked it when she watched them! It was even better when she rode her rice burner. Then they could wing her on either side. It almost felt like she was flying with them! “Ok Sharon, we’ll lead the way,” Scream exclaimed as he lifted his chin and shot TC a look.

TC’s face brightened a bit and he followed Scream out. They circled the property on the wing as they waited for Sharon to pull out.

Sharon nodded for Jag to climb in the front seat. Getting her seatbelt on, and the car started, she then curled her fingers around his hand. She kind’ve felt sorry for the reserved clone, he was always the one getting picked on.

“Sharon, both hands on the wheel, in the 9 and 3 positions,” Jag informed her as he peeled her fingers off his hand.

She glanced at him, a wry smile on her face.

On the other hand, Jester started snickering from behind them. “I think Sharon knows how to drive Jag.” His grin got bigger as he waited for Sharon to agree with him.

“Sometimes even experienced drivers forget proper technique. And you need to buckle your seat belt,” Jag dryly informed him.

Sharon couldn’t help it, she began to chuckle as Jester sputtered in the back seat. “He is right on both counts. Get your seat belt on Jester.” Briefly, she met Jag’s optics, noticing that he was sitting up a little taller at her re-affirmation of his advice. It was going to be interesting with him. He was quite the stickler for following laws to the tee. But she couldn’t get mad at him for his ‘side seat driving’. It wasn’t like he’d be yelling at her. Just calmly reciting police recommendations… But most people, and clones, would consider him kind’ve a ‘prick’. He was going to have a hard time, until Scream and the others taught him to chill out a bit.

“Hey Sharon, you got a quarter or two?” Jester asked from the backseat. He’d been studying the chapter on coin tricks in that magic trick book and wanted desperately to practice.

“In my purse. Would you hand it to him Jag?” Sharon replied as she backed out of the garage.

Once he got hold of the purse, the red ground clone sorted through it a bit in search of what he was looking for. With a triumphant ‘Ah-ha’ he found the change all the way at the bottom. He pulled out several quarters.

“It would be considerate if you’d replace all her materials,” Jag told him with a slight frown as Jester tried to hand him the purse back, with half its contents still spread in the backseat.

“Oh ya, my bad,” Jester stammered as he quickly shoved the makeup and other various nick-knacks back in it and handed it up to him. “Hey Sharon, can I do some of these coin tricks on you?” His voice held a hopeful ring to it.

“No I’m busy honey, but you can practice on Jag,” Sharon said as she glanced back at him in the rearview mirror. She heard Jag’s resigned sigh, as he became the unwilling victim of Jester’s attentions…

----

“Wow! This place is COOL!!!” Jester exclaimed as he stared around the mall with his optics as wide as they could go. He was holding Scream’s hand, so that the curious clone wouldn’t wander off in his wonderment. They passed by a kiosk that was selling a bunch of different Santa hats, fake reindeer antler hats and Red-nosed reindeer noses. Jester slammed on the breaks, even forcing Scream to stop. “Can I look at these?!? PLEASE!?!”

TC snorted in disgust as the entire group stopped. He wanted to head straight to that neat jewelry store before they went shopping everywhere else. He didn’t want to stop and look at some stupid holiday crap. But Sharon shot him a glance, and he just ground his dental plates together and didn’t utter a word.

Extracting his hand from Scream’s, Jester grabbed one of the elf hats and stuck it on top of his helm. “So how do I look?!” he asked with a big grin as he danced around the group.

“Stupid,” TC said.

“Funny,” Scream said. He grinned at TC, knowing that THAT was exactly what Jester wanted to hear.

Jag nodded to his partner, knowing exactly what Scream was trying to do. He pasted a grin across his features. “Hysterical!” he exclaimed.

Jester beamed as he glanced from one-to-the-other. Then his optics landed on Sharon. He wanted her to like it too!

Sharon gave him an appraising look. The poor clone was going to forever try to make people, and clones, laugh. So she decided to give him the reaction that he wanted. She began to giggle.

Jester’s grin got even bigger. Turning, he grabbed one of the red-nosed reindeer noses and stuck it on. Then he danced around his group again.

TC groaned as he shook his head. His partner was smart – but goofier than hell! The rest of them broke out into laughter - Along with some passers-by…

That was enough for Jester, throwing his shoulder plates back, he proudly started walking towards wherever TC had originally been leading them. He’d found some cool stuff to wear! And he hoped even more shoppers would laugh! But he was stopped by Jag’s quick grab onto his jet pack and dragged back to the kiosk.

“You need to pay for those items or I have to arrest you for shop lifting,” Jag dryly informed him. He smiled at the merchant as he held his ‘brother clone’ with a tight grip.

“You are such a freagin’ prick, you know that?” Jester whispered to him as Sharon grinned at them both while she paid for the items.

Jag met his optics, not phased in the least by the insult. He didn’t care if Jester liked him, just that he obeyed the law. “And you would test even God’s infinite patience,” he informed the red ground clone.

After she was done paying, Sharon once again took TC’s hand and led the way. Scream grabbed Jester’s hand, having been ‘assigned’ by Sharon to keep up with the trouble maker. Jag silently brought up the rear. As they walked by the Santa display, all the young children who were waiting to sit on his lap spotted the group of droids. Many of them broke away from their parents and ran up to them. Completely fascinated by the cool clones – especially the one with the elf hat and reindeer nose! The group stopped.

The children surrounded Jester, who eagerly knelt down and jabbered with them. He then asked for a coin from a parent, and started doing his slight-of-hand coin tricks on the kids. Scream and TC also returned the kid’s attentions. But Jag just stood there, his face devoid of emotion. He answered their questions about cops, but that was about it. Many parents snapped pictures of their children as the different clones lifted them onto their hips and posed. Even Jag posed for a few. But the star was most definitely Jester! And he ate up the attention like it was candy.

“Do you rent him out for birthday parties?” one mother asked Sharon.

Sharon shrugged. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that, but he is learning simple magic tricks and likes to clown around.”

The woman smiled. “Well, if he’d put a clown face on and entertain my daughter’s friends with tricks – I’d love to rent him for a couple of hours. Her birthday’s in three weeks, here’s my number if you decide to rent him.”

She placed a card in Sharon’s hand, and took a few more cell-phone pics of her daughter sitting on Jester’s shoulders. The young girl appeared to be around six years old and completely enthralled with the comedic clone.

Jag walked up to Sharon, having heard the conversation. “Perhaps it would be a good career for Jester? He does like to act like a clown,” he dryly noted.

Sharon looked down at the card, then up at the happy clone dancing around with some children. Yes, he just LOVED to make people laugh and be the center of attention. Perhaps being a rented ‘party clown clone’ – would be his cup of tea? She slid the card into her coat pocket, fully intending to call the woman back. She’d just have to help Jester develop some type of ‘clown routine’. She smiled at Jag. “You know, that’s a wonderful idea Jag. Perhaps we shall help him develop a routine?”

Finally, they managed to drag the other three clones away from the excited children. Sharon’s pocket now filled with over a dozen phone numbers of parents who wanted to discuss ‘renting’ Jester the party clone. She glanced over at the red ground clone, who was being dragged forward by Scream while he continued to wave happily at the children he had met. “Hey Jester? How would you like a job where you paint your face in colors – and entertain children with magic tricks,” she asked.

That caught his attention. Suddenly, HE was the one dragging Scream as he raced forward so that he could walk right behind her. “Really!?! I could do that?! But, um, what’s a ‘job’?” he asked.

“That’s where you get paid money to do stuff. Then you can buy whatever you want with your money,” TC explained.

Scream smirked as he reached over, pulled the reindeer nose a bit away from Jester’s face plate, then let it smack back into him as he let go of it. “Like more of this silly crap,” he snickered.

“Oh wow! Really?! People will pay me to do what I like to do?!?” The red ground clone was starting to hum loudly in his excitement. He could paint his face, make people laugh – then get money and buy whatever he wanted?!? Oh, how cool could life get!! “YES – I WANNA DO IT!!”

Sharon let loose of TC’s hand for just a second so that she could hug the joyful Jester. “Well, we’ll have to get you some stuff and help you practice and develop a routine first – but I’ve already got tons of parents that want you to entertain their kids at their parties.”

She gave Scream some cash and sent him and the two new clones over to Spencer’s, with specific instructions to Scream that he was in charge and had to ‘teach’ them how to budget their purchases. She also gave him a general list of what to point Jester at for his ‘future career’. There was no doubt in her mind that the intelligent Seeker could more than handle the responsibility she’d handed him. Now alone, she and TC headed for the jewelry store.

“This is a nice piece. Platinum setting with a two carat diamond center gem framed by six .3 carat gems,” the salesmen said as he gently pulled out the ring and slid it onto the woman’s finger. He’d seen the middle aged woman before. On the news to be exact.. She was a professor or something, and had a lot to do with these clones. Guess it made sense that she had a blue winged clone hanging all over her like a puppy dog. Strange as hell for the clone to be asking about different diamond rings and the reasonably attractive middle-aged woman to be trying them on – but heck, gays could get married now – so why not clones?!? He really didn’t care about if it was moral to marry a walking dildo, he just wanted the commission off this sale. And from the looks of it – this was going to be a heck of a sale! Would be a wonderful ‘Christmas eve’ bonus for him!

TC’s optics brightened as the ring seemed to fit just perfectly on her left ring finger. Like it was meant to be there! He’d been lusting after that particular ring for weeks. But had just been a little afraid to ask her.. He wasn’t a man. Had no legal way to even marry her.. And the ring was very pricey as well. But Sam had said she was rich now! So they could afford it. And she’d actually said she’d wear it! In his meta this meant she’d promised to never ever even consider interfacing with a human man again. That’s all he wanted.. Just that… “So, do you like it? Huh?” he asked, eagerness filling his every action.

Sharon looked from eager clone – to eager salesman. The price tag was very high. But TC had heard Sam’s words. He KNEW they could easily afford it. But Sharon couldn’t help it. The tightwad in her just MADE her dicker… “Well, I do like it. However, I’ve seen something similar at a lower price at another store. Perhaps we should go there and compare?” she mused with a knowing glance at the hovering salesman.

It only took her fifteen minutes of ‘dickering’ before the purchase was made. She now had the ring that TC had picked out, plus a man’s plain platinum band and 3 men’s plain gold bands – all for the original listed price that had been on the women’s ring. True, she’d spent more in just that transaction than she’d ever even spent on a car – but her accounts were very full, so it didn’t even make much of a dent in the balance. She sighed as they left the store. Would she ever get used to NOT watching every cent? “Tuck these away in your cockpit for safekeeping ok?” she told TC as she handed him the bag.

“So, are we going to go to the gardens now?!? Like I saw on that commercial?!? Please, can we?!?” TC asked as he slid the precious items in the security of his cockpit. He’d seen this commercial of the botanical gardens, where a guy got down on his knee and asked the chic to marry him. It was so cool and romantic that he wanted to do the same thing. Though he’d have to get Scream to help him with the proper wording, for it wasn’t exactly marriage they would be agreeing to. And Scream was so much better in thinking things up. He wrote poetry and stuff. So TC knew he’d come up with the perfect thing to say.

Sharon squeezed his hand. “They are closed until the day after Christmas. Then we’ll all go. And remember this little ‘ceremony’ is going to include the whole family, ok?” she told him.

He grinned. She’d kind’ve explained a bit why they’d bought the gold rings too, but told him that they’d all discuss it later. But he was still her number one. That’s why he got a platinum ring! Beaming in total happiness, he squeezed her hand back as they strolled through the crowded mall towards the food court. There he’d sip some Dr. Pepper while she ate dinner – and wait for the rest of the family to finish shopping and join them….

----

Note: This story's gotten a bit long. Time for a second book. It continues all these miniplots in sequence. http://anime.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600046395 Hope you enjoy it as much as you've enjoyed this one!

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