Author's Note

Happy fluff!

Cleanliness and Friendliness

The Shadowbolts all smiled as they walked through CPA’s crystalline corridors. Every one of them had a spring in their step as they waved at everyone else, who was just taken aback by their sudden change in behaviour.

“Hi, Frosty! Hi, Ginger!” Lemon Zest waved at a couple of CPA students who just stared at her. She just quickly went to some others. “Ooh! Diwata, is that a new bass? Nice.”

“Why doesn’t Lemon Zest have her headphones on?” One of the students whispered. “She should be jamming out right about now…”

“And why does she seem more upbeat than usual?” said another. “It’s not like her to be this bubbly, especially when she knows a lesson’s about to start.”

“You think that’s weird? I saw Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet doing the same thing earlier,” another student began gossiping. “Neither of them seemed angry or bored out of their wits either. They were just happy to see us. Why, though?”

“You think they’re high?” Another student asked.

“No, I think even Principal Cadence would have figured that out.”

“None of us are on drugs.” Sugarcoat happily replied. “We’re just in a good mood today, that’s all.”

The students just stared dumbfounded. They never saw Sugarcoat smile. Not once.

“Now, who can correctly identify the fourth state of elemental matter?” the teacher asked.

Sunny Flare raised her hand. “Is it Plasma?”

“Yes, Sunny. You are correct.” And he began to write on the blackboard. “Now, what name does plasma commonly go by?” He turned to the class and saw Lemon’s arm shoot straight up. “Yes, Lemon Zest?”

“Lightning, sir!” she said. “It’s created when hydrogen and oxygen molecules are ionized.”

He just stood and stared for a few seconds. “That’s… actually right, Lemon Zest. I just didn’t expect you to know that.”

“Oh, I’ve been studying extra-hard, sir.” Lemon nodded. “That lovely little treatment I had worked wonders on me…”

“Um… well alright then.” The teacher shrugged, continuing the lesson.

Everyone was left dumbfounded. Lemon usually never paid attention in class. She’d have her headset on her head and she’d be rocking out right about now. But she wasn’t… her headset was hanging around her neck, and she was actually answering questions that the teacher had asked.

This was a day no-one else had expected and it had barely even begun.

At lunch, the five Shadowbolts all sat together smiling and talking to one another, slinging compliments back and forth like it was a game of tennis. Not one of them had said anything bad about themselves or their peers and they were drawing a lot of stares from the crowd of students.

“Okay, uh… are you girls sure you’re alright? No one has ever seen you this happy.” A student asked with black spiked hair and sunglasses. “Did you pull a prank on CHS again?”

“Nuh-uh. In fact, you could say we’re not even the same people anymore,” said Indigo innocently.

“No kidding!” Another voice said. “This is like… the exact opposite of you. Since when do you give people hugs? You’re not exactly the huggy, type, per say.”

“Since Wheeljack did that lovely little treatment on us. Speaking of which, Indy, do you want some hugsies?” Lemon asked.

“Sure, Lemon!” Indigo came over and wrapped her arms around Lemon’s body. “I love your hugsies…”

Everyone could only blink and stare in total silence at them.

“Oh, before I forget, Sour, are you planning on doing something special with Smallfoot later today? If not, maybe we could hang out later. I know there’s a new movie playing at the Drive-In Lot.” Sugarcoat asked.

“That’s very sweet of you to offer, but me and Smallfoot have something planned after school today.” Sour Sweet chuckled with her hand over her mouth. “I hope she likes the surprise I have for her…”

One of the students behind them whispered into another student’s ear.

“How much you want to bet her girlfriend is gonna freak out to find this?”

“Ten bucks says she finds it weird,” said another.

“Make that twenty and Smallfoot and Sour fight.” Another student chimed in.

But Sour didn’t listen to the students and returned to the Shadowbolts. “So, do any of you have anything special planned with your guardians?”

“Well I don’t have anything outside of going to the Drive In with the rest of the girls. I bet Hound’s gonna love what they’ve got playing. Its got everything he likes in a movie. Action, excitement, adventure...” Indigo grinned.

“I was actually going to volunteer at the homeless shelter tonight.” Sunny Flare smiled. “I’m sure Outback would appreciate the time I give to help those who can’t help themselves.”

“Okay, now this is really weird…” Fleur De Lis whispered. “Sunny Flare never works at the shelter for anything! She’s always turned off by how dirty the place is…”

“Wheeljack? What did you do to the girls? And how can we sign up for it?” another one spoke silently.

“What about you, Sugarcoat?” Sour asked. “Do you have anything special planned with your guardian?”

“Well, I was planning on fixing his wounds after a bit of a crash, and then later I might take him out to see the movie with Indigo and Hound.” Sugarcoat replied. “I still wonder how I’m going to get a double bladed helicopter into the movie lot though…”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine, Sugarcoat,” grinned Lemon. “You and Highbrow were practically made for each other!”

“Thanks, Lemon,” Sugarcoat grinned. “You always know how to brighten up our day.” And she tousled her hair gently.

“By the way, what do you have planned with Blaster, Lemon?” Indigo asked. “I bet it’s gonna be pretty good, knowing you two.”

“I think I’m gonna take Blaster and his cassettes down to the movie too. I can’t really think of anything we’ve got going right now that’s important…” Lemon scratched her chin.

“I’m sure we’ll all have a great time tonight.” Sour nodded. “After all, we’re better people now. We can have fun whenever we want without any silly schedule or personality conflicts.”

“I know, right? This is awesome!” Indigo said. “We’re like, the best of friends!”

That one line got EVERY other CPA student in the hall deep in discussion with their peers. They knew that things had been weird for them since the start, but now the Shadowbolts had outright announced that they were besties now. It was like their whole world had turned upside down.

“What do you say, girls? A toast to friendship?” Lemon held up her drink.

“I agree!” Sugarcoat raised her drink up.

“Besties!” They all toasted and tapped the rims of their drinks together.

All of them drank from their cups and then set them down on the coffee table.

At gym class, everyone was working hard on CPA’s apparatus. They tried climbing a single rope dangling from the ceiling, beating a team’s best time on the relay course, and tried their hand at some advanced gymnastics moves above a deep pit.

Lemon and Indigo were working as hard as the rest of the group. It was the one and only time when all eyes weren’t on them. Instead, the group’s attention had shifted to Sugarcoat, who was dressed in appropriate gym attire for the first time in her life.

In the past, she would always try to engross herself in books instead of interact with the other students in gym class, as she had been home tutored on physical fitness. But now that she had been cleaned of her cognitive toxins, she was finally working out with the rest of the students.

“Since when did Sugarcoat work out this hard?” One of the students asked himself. “She’s practically dripping with sweat!”

“Yeah. I mean, I thought Indigo and Lemon hugging was the weirdest thing I’ve seen today, but this just takes the cake…” said another bystander.

“C’mon, guys!” Indigo rubbed her hands together. “Let’s keep up the pace! Don’t wanna seem like we’re getting slower!”

“Let’s go!” Lemon started running faster, not even fazed by how hard she was sweating or what strain it put on her body.

Everyone kept on running around the track that had been set up inside the gym, and no one was stopping. The girls were farther ahead than everyone else. Including Sugarcoat of all people!

“She’s pretty fast!” one of the students remarked. “Was Sugarcoat always this good at sports?”

“Man, you’re pretty fast, girl.” Indigo picked up the pace.

“I didn’t know you had that in ya!” Lemon said as Sugarcoat raced ahead of them.

“What can I say? I’ve been working out.” Sugarcoat smirked and darted across the line. “Either that, or maybe you two are falling behind.”

“No way, girl. We’re always up for a race.” Indigo skidded across the line with Lemon close behind her.

“Alright. How about ten more laps, then?” Sugarcoat grinned.

“It’s on, Sugarcoat!” Indigo smirked and lined up at the start of the course again with Lemon and Sugarcoat beside her.

“They’re going to wear each other out if they try to do that!” Sour said.

“Don’t worry… they’ll slow down soon enough.” Sunny said back. “They’re looking pretty tired out from up here.”

Eventually the two of them did become tired out and they started to slow down, large amounts of sweat built up on their foreheads as their breathing got heavier and heavier. Almost slowed down to a crawl, they still finished the race, desperately slamming their hands on the line in perfect sync with each other.

Everyone was shocked, but at the same time very impressed. They gave compliments to the two of them while they just kept on happy faces to the rest of their classmates and friends.

“Man, you three worked extra hard today.” The gym teacher stood over the bodies of Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, and Indigo. He felt each of their heads, which were almost made out of the sweat they had been burning off. “I think you three earned a quick trip to the showers. But take it easy, okay?”

“We will, Cal.” Sugarcoat got up to her feet. Her hair was completely drenched and drooping behind her back.

As Sugarcoat, Indigo, and Lemon all made their way to the showers, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare followed closely behind them, talking about how tight a race it was and how far the three of them went before tiring themselves out.

Eventually, the day’s end came, and each of the Shadowbolts’ guardians stood out by the door.

“So… is anyone else going to the movie later today? It’s Friday, after all.” Hound asked.

Highbrow didn’t look at any of them, he was too focused on the pain coming from his left leg.

“Sorry we couldn’t be here any earlier. There was just a mess we had to clean up back at base first,” said Smallfoot. “Nothing much, really. Optimus just said we had to seal up all the drains.”

“He didn’t say anything else, though. Which is weird…” Blaster scratched his chin. “Optimus isn’t one to skimp on details. He just said everyone should plug up all the bases’ drains and that’s it.”

“Oh, I’m sure everything’s fine.” Sour Sweet came up to Smallfoot and grinned at her. “I mean, it’s nothing you can’t handle, right?”

Smallfoot looked down to her girl and smiled back. “Hey baby. How was school?”

“It was wonderful!” Sour smiled.

Smallfoot paused for a moment and raised a brow. “Really? There was… nothing wrong?”

“Nope! Not a single one.” She beamed.

“No one made any sexual comments at you, no lesbian jokes, innuendos… nothing?”

“If anything, everyone was just staring at us the whole day,” said Indigo. “Don’t know why, though. We’re all perfectly normal people.”

“I’m sure it’s just a phase. They’ll stop sooner or later,” Hound grinned. “And if they don’t, they’ll have me to answer to…”

“We know, Hound, we’ve heard your battle roar every time.” Outback said.

Sugarcoat stared up at Highbrow’s wounds and frowned. “Are you okay? What happened?” She asked.

Highbrow jolted his head up and looked down at Sugarcoat’s warm expression which reflected off his visor.

“Wait… you’re asking me if I’m okay? You never once asked if I was okay.”

“It does look like a pretty bad cut, Highbrow…” Sugarcoat rubbed the back of her hand over the crevasse. “The old me wouldn’t’ve cared much, but this seems pretty bad; even for you. Not many vehicles on this planet have your parts these days…”

Highbrow only winced some more as he tried to move his leg.

“How did you even get hurt?” Sugarcoat asked.

Highbrow’s face drooped. “Um… are you sure you want to know? It’s a little… embarrassing.”

“It won’t be, Highbrow,” she said. “Just tell me.”

“Well…”

Highbrow explained everything about the incident that had occured, and each of the Bolts had equally shared concerns. The only ones who didn’t looked concerned were Hound, Blaster, and Outback who were trying not to snicker.

“So… you flew over a farm… a crazy old guy thought you were a spaceship and tried to shoot you, and the minute you tried to land, you crashed right into a farmhouse?”

“Yeah, not really one of my best moments…” Highbrow rubbed the back of his head. “Still, I’m glad you feel concerned, Sugarcoat. But I must say it’s not like you to show it. You usually just assess the damage, say what’s right for me, and just move on.”

“Well, not this time. Let's find you a place where I can fix you up, then we can go to the movies with Indigo and Lemon.”

“Aw, yeah! We’re gonna have such a great time at the movies!” Indigo fist-pumped. “Are you guys excited?”

“I am!” Blaster said, making a rock and roll sign with his fingers.

“Let’s get going! I’m sure we can find some great spaces!” Lemon climbed up Blaster’s body. “We’ll see you there, Sugarcoat!”

“Alright. See you there, you two!” Sugarcoat waved Lemon and Blaster off as they ran into the distance.

“We’d better get a move on too.” Hound transformed into a car and allowed Indigo to climb into the passenger’s seat. “Hold on, Indy. This is gonna be a sweet ride!”

“See ya, girls!” Indigo buckled herself in and sat back as Hound shot down the road as fast as he could.

“Bye, Indigo!” Sour, Sunny, and Sugarcoat waved Indigo off and grinned back at their guardians.

“So, Sunny, shall we get going?” Outback asked.

“Yes, Outback. We’ve got a lot of people to help out.” Sunny nodded and climbed up onto his shoulders. “Then after that, we can go and get a lovely dinner together. Won’t that be great?”

“I wouldn’t mind a good bite after this.” Outback nodded as he walked off with Sunny riding him. “What do you recommend?”

“Well, I know this great place that just opened up that does the most amazing food. We’ve got to try it out…” the conversation trailed off into the distance as Sunny gently kicked her legs.

“We should go too.” Sugarcoat held Highbrow’s hand. “We don’t want this injury of yours to get any worse. You could end up frying the servos in your legs.”

“And that’d be a nightmare…” Highbrow limped off with Sugarcoat.

Now, there was only Smallfoot and Sour Sweet, who just stared at each other with grins on their faces.

“So, what do you have planned, Sour?” Smallfoot kneeled down to her height. “Anything big?”

“Well, I figured that maybe it’s time we take a walk on the wilder side.” Sour pulled out a leaflet. “I got this discount for a little nature walk through a bio-dome that I think you’ll love! It’s got all the most endangered wildlife and a wide collection of butterflies too! Nothing but the best for my big rig…”

“Al...right?” Smallfoot just blinked at her. “That’s… nice of you, Sour.”

“I know. But you’ve done so much for me, so I figured that maybe it’s time that I do something for you instead.” Sour climbed onto her body as well. “Plus, you do like nature, right?”

“Well, it’s what it says in my character description.” Smallfoot nodded, but then glanced over to Sour Sweet. “But… I just want to ask you something first.”

“What is it?” Sour asked.

“You’re seeming much more peppy than usual. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen you huff or groan or get angry at least once since you came out the doors.” Smallfoot lifted a brow. “What’s happening now?”

“Well… let’s just say that this time, Wheeljack’s experiment wasn’t a total bust after all,” said Sour. “In fact, I’d say it was one of his best yet!”

“Wheeljack?” Smallfoot’s eyes just blinked rapidly. Then she groaned and rubbed her hand down her face. “What’s he done now?”

“Oh, just the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen!” Sour Sweet. “His little sauna managed to make us all super-duper friendly!”

“That… actually doesn’t sound that bad, to be honest.” Smallfoot scratched her chin. “And judging from you and the others, it seems to have worked.”

“Yeah. Now we can enjoy our relationship even more, sweetie.” Sour Sweet tenderly rubbed Smallfoot’s cheeks. “Now, we don’t have to worry about all those little things like bills or arguments or anything like that. We have each other and that’s all we could ever ask for…”

“Alright, Casanova. Don’t get too into it.” Smallfoot smirked.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, honey. I won’t go too far.” Sour just giggled again.

As Smallfoot and Sour Sweet went off into the sinking sun, Toxic Sour Sweet stood on top of Crystal Prep’s flagpole, scowling as they rode off together. The black-ooze teen just snarled and tightened her hands into fists as she leapt into the air, turned into a small ball of black toxin mass and launched herself into the sewers.