The Game of Love [Prequel]

Knockout sort of just stared at Breakdown for a moment, his mouth hanging open before he clamped it shut. He fought back tears and bit his dermas, taking in a shaky breath before replying. "Y-You really want me as your sparkmate...?"

Breakdown smiled brighter and nodded, gently taking Knockout's delicate hands in his and squeezing them. "There's no one else I'd rather have as my lifelong partner." He said, trying not to get emotional but failing miserably. "I-I... I love you so much, Knocky..." he sniffed, tears welling up in his optics.

Knockout couldn't help but chuckle, tears of his own rolling down his cheeks. "Oh you big softie... come here....." he mumbled, pulling Breakdown into a hug and rubbing his back. "I love you too and I know I'll never find another bot like you... I would be honored to become sparkmates with you."

Breakdown couldn't find any words at the moment, his spark pounding in his chassis. He held Knockout close for a moment before sitting back, wiping tears from his optics. "I promise that as your sparkmate, I'll always be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on and I won't let any harm come to you."

"And I promise that as your sparkmate, I will be loyal and I will never abandon you, even when times are hard. I also promise that I will take care of you if you fall ill or get hurt." Knockout replied, a smile on his face. He reached up with one hand and stroked Breakdown's jaw, rubbing it for a moment before pulling the mech's head closer to his. He closed his optics and kissed Breakdown on the lips, one hand caressing the navy blue mech's cheek.

Breakdown blushed slightly and kissed Knockout back, nuzzling his helm gently. After a few moments, he pulled away and pressed his forehead against Knockout's. "Shall we go back to the apartment?" He asked softly, still holding Knockout's hands gently.

Knockout nodded, a slight blush on his face as he glanced away for a moment. He let out a sudden squeak of surprise when Breakdown picked him up bridal style and pretty much carried him back to the apartment, gripping onto the mech's arm until he was sure he wasn't going to fall. He sighed, resting his head against Breakdown's warm chassis and folding his hands in his lap.

———

"You ready?"

Breakdown gulped nervously, but nodded as he laid on his side on the berth. Knockout had told him how to bond their sparks together and frankly, he was kind of scared that something would go wrong. He had heard before that if two sparks weren't meant to be bonded together, they would snuff themselves out and essentially kill both bots involved. He didn't want that to happen, but Knockout kept reassuring him that their sparks were very compatible.

"Don't worry, sweetspark. It'll feel wonderful, I promise." Knockout smiled, scooting closer to Breakdown and giving him a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

"Alright.." Breakdown took a deep breath and shoved his fear aside, looking Knockout in the optics. He loved him so much and he was willing to do anything for him, this was just the step that would bring them even closer. He glanced down at his chassis, feeling his spark pulsing beneath the navy blue plating.

Knockout kept a smile on his face as he looked down at his own chassis, his spark pounding like crazy within it. He reached down and carefully opened his chest compartment, revealing the pulsing ball of energy that was his spark.

Breakdown stared at it in wonder for a moment before returning his attention to the task at hand. He nervously chewed on the inside of his cheek as he opened his chest compartment, revealing his spark. He felt so vulnerable like this, but he knew Knockout wouldn't do anything bad to him. He could already feel his spark pulling towards Knockout's, but he was too scared to make the first move.

"Your Spark is beautiful, love..." Knockout murmured, gazing at Breakdown's spark for a moment. "Just like you."

Breakdown chuckled slightly and blushed, looking down at his own spark. "T-Thanks..." he mumbled, looking up at Knockout expectantly. "Now what?"

Knockout looked up at Breakdown, practically beaming with happiness. "I'm going to take a little strand of your spark and intertwine it with a strand of mine, that way the bond fully forms and our sparks will be connected." He answered. "After it's done, you'll be able to feel my emotions and I'll be able to feel yours. We'll also be able to talk through the bond, but that takes time to get used to."

"Wow, just merging two little strands does all that?"

"Mhm. Now stay still, I don't want to mess up anything..."

Breakdown held his breath as Knockout reached for his spark, his fingers brushing against it and carefully pulling out a little strand of energy. He resisted the urge to squirm and watched silently as Knockout then got a strand of his own spark and started twisting it.

Once the two strands were twisted around each other, Knockout waited a minute for them to fuse. Once they did fuse, they slowly broke off at the middle and part of his spark went into Breakdown's and part of Breakdown's spark went into his. He watched the little orb of color swirl around in his own spark and grinned, looking up at Breakdown. "There we go. How do you feel?"

To be honest, Breakdown didn't know how he felt. He could literally feel every emotion Knockout was feeling: happiness, love, and everything in between. It felt so.... strange. But it also felt amazing! "I feel... wonderful." He replied, smiling softly at Knockout.

Knockout then closed his chest compartment and decided to test their bond strength. He sent an overwhelming amount of love through the bond, seeing how Breakdown would react.

Breakdown was in the middle of closing his chest compartment when the rush of love hit him like a wave. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "Woah... did you do that?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, what did it feel like?"

"I... can't really explain it. It just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It felt amazing."

"Try it on me."

Breakdown hesitated before nodded, sending love back through the bond. He watched Knockout for a moment, snickering when the red medic blushed and smiled brightly. "I guess it worked, huh?"

Knockout nodded and scooted closer to Breakdown, melting into his warmth and sighing. "Yeah.... I'm so happy we did this.." he mumbled, nuzzling his newly found mate's chassis.

"Me too, Knocky..." Breakdown sighed softly and held Knockout close, curling protectively around him and closing his optics.

And thus, a new chapter of their lives began.

As sparkmates.