Chapter Text
I do not understand what that shuttle meant, though there is an underlying emotion that tells me I should be upset. I have been turning his words over in my processor for the past three solar cycles. I am losing focus on my projects; that is how bad this has become.
This is pathetic. I play the memory over again. And again. And again. And finally, it clicks.
He was being passive aggressive. Now that I know what he was doing, unfortunately, I am still left to ponder over what he was being passive aggressive about.
This is not my strong suit. I do not know emotions as well as cold, hard facts. I would rather he tell me to his face what he meant than to wonder about this any longer.
…
“Where is he?” Perceptor drones, standing solidly in the doorway to Starscream’s and his partner’s lab.
“Excuse me?” The seeker narrows his optics, not at all please that his concentration has just been interrupted.
“Your lab partner. The shuttle. Where is he?” Starscream’s plating flares at the audacity of the stranger to come barging in, demanding-!
“He has said something to me the other day that has unnerved me. I must speak with him in order to resolve this quietly.” Perceptor explains, cutting off the flier’s huffing and puffing.
“Well, I don’t know where he is right now, but even if I did, I wouldn’t tell such a pompous-!” Starscream hisses.
“Goodbye.” Perceptor, in the middle of Starscream’s rant, simply turns and walks away. He never could stand that prissy bird for longer than he had to. He was actually rather surprised the seeker hadn’t been fired yet. Then again, he probably would have stolen that lab back and defended it with his function if he had to anyway, knowing him.
Perceptor tries a few other coworkers, though hardly any of them know who he’s talking about. Those that do rarely ever actually speak to the mech in the first place; only knowing him by his sheer size alone for not being a war frame.
His final destination leads him to “The Darkened Hallway.” He’s heard of the stories of this hallway by superstitious mecha in passing.
Rumors spoke of the lab at the end being used for torture and the like. Others say that mecha have gone missing, simply by stepping pede into that treacherous, shadowy hall.
The blackness seems to consume the light in an eerie manner, any items within the hall itself disappearing without a trace. Only what appears to be a floating door that leads into the infamous lab at the end itself is the only light that penetrates the void.
Of course, Perceptor doesn’t believe in any of that. He sighs in annoyance, taking a step into the dark. As expected, the LED lights overhelm flick on. Perceptor scoffs. What fools to believe such frivolity. They shouldn’t even be scientists, if it were up to him.
…
Shockwave allows the chatter to wash over him, the sound of his conjunx’s voice music to his audials. Their visitor was alright. He was a gentle mech, calm and aiming to please, but also holding on to his own beliefs with a vice grip unless it had to do with science. Only then was he willing to bend.
Mostly, it was Blurr’s acceptance of the mech that caused Shockwave’s appreciation for him.
Shockwave holds a certain level of respect for all that crosses his path. Blurr is on the highest level that you can be, and somehow, only after these last three solar cycles, this shuttle has managed to worm his way directly under the level Blurr was on. The only thing holding him back was his own conjunx {indubitably}.
How pitiful that this mech chose someone like Starscream to conjunx himself with.
Shockwave stands up straight when the door to his lab flies open.
“Ah. There you are.” A bored, monotone voice seems to echo through the room. Expecting to be talked at, as others are wont to do, Shockwave turns to find the mech not even looking at him. Anger flashes through him as he notices the mech angrily looking in Blurr’s direction.
Half a nanoclick later, he lets out a vent he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when even Blurr was not the subject of this newcomer’s ire. Shockwave wasn’t even aware that Skyfire could cause trouble of any kind. Perhaps it was another mecha complaining about Starscream. That seemed like the most-likely theory.
But no. The universe just loved to prove Shockwave wrong.
“What did you mean?” The mech’s optics narrow threateningly, stomping up to be pede to pede with the mech nearly three times his size. Skyfire opens and closes his intake, trying to understand what was being asked of him.
“Excuse me?” He settles on.
“When you wished me luck with Brainstorm. Tell me what you truly meant; do not hide behind double meanings. It is unbecoming.” The smaller barks. Skyfire’s faceplates seem to lose all color.
“Oh… Look, I’m sorry I spoke to you that way. I was upset, and frankly, I had the intention of apologizing- Believe me! I simply forgot. It happens to the best of us!” The shuttle chuckles nervously, trying to shrink into himself to make himself appear smaller; a trait Starscream had a tendency to have. Now Shockwave was wondering who it came from first considering their history…
“That does not concern me. Considering you have already said it, obviously you believe it to be true. Answer the question.” He orders. In an instant, Skyfire’s attitude changes.
Gone with the sweet, consoling mecha, and in with an angry, wings flared shuttle.
“You know what? You want an answer?! Fine! This is exactly what I’m talking about! You act like you’re so much better than everyone else! Just because you think you’re smarter, doesn’t make you smart! You can be pretty stupid, you know that? People have feelings, you know?! And you can’t make others not have them just because you don’t! So excuse me for understanding innuendos better than you because you don’t care to listen long enough to learn! At least my conjunx listens to me! Unlike you, ignoring Brainstorm so much that I hardly ever see him in that lab with you! That’s what I meant! Understand now?!” Skyfire growls deep in his chassis. As soon as he’s finished, he realizes what he’s just said.
He immediately attempts to back down, his wings pressing tight against his back. He reaches out toward Perceptor, but jerks it back like it’d been slapped when the open-intaked mech glances down at it.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing Skyfire can say that would fix this; it was all true. He just hated the fact that he couldn’t have been more gentle about it.
Perceptor’s intake shuts with a click, his faceplates returning to their permanently-bored persona. He lifts his chin and sniffs.
“Thank you. That is all.” Perceptor scoffs, turning on his heel and marching back out of the lab. A starry-opticked Blurr slowly spins in his chair to gawk at Skyfire.
The shuttle does his best to curl up into the tiniest ball imaginable to pretend he doesn’t exist. Though, he does know that’s never ever going to be physically possible until Starscream finishes his miniaturizer machine.
“I’ve been spending way too much time with Starscream, haven’t I…?” The flier whines. Blurr roars with laughter. Shockwave’s respect-meter has just shot straight up to the top.