Work Text:
“Well.” It was almost comical, the way Skyfire stiffened at the sound of his voice before turning so very slowly to look at him. “I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that I had to chase you across half the galaxy, but I wasn’t expecting to find you clear out here.”
“Starscream…?” Skyfire’s voice sounded stricken, shaken and more broken than he had been even after… Well, after. “They said you were dead.”
“True, unfortunately.” He reached out and passed a hand through a nearby rock. The sensor in Skyfire’s hand blatted angrily at the action. “Hm. That’s new.”
“If you’re dead, then how are you here? Have I finally gone mad?”
Starscream laughed, only a little bitterly. “If you’re mad, I am too. No, apparently, the Matrix doesn’t want my spark. I’ve been cursed to wander for eternity, like some horror monster.”
“Oh, Star!” There were tears welling up in Skyfire’s optics, and he stretched out his hands toward him. Starscream reached back, even though he knew they would both be disappointed when his hands passed through the larger mech’s. Instead, Starscream’s hands rested softly against Skyfire’s and he looked up into the other mech’s equally startled optics. “I don’t think this is supposed to happen.”
“No, it’s not.” Starscream frowned, thinking. Nothing but the Matrix had really stopped him before, and even then it hadn’t let him touch. He couldn’t exactly feel, still, but this was something and it was new. “What is in these rocks?”
“That is what I was analyzing.” Skyfire didn’t move his hands as he inclined his head toward his briefly forgotten scanner. “You could stay with me while I work, and we could find out together.”
Starscream could hear the unspoken “You could stop wandering” in Sky’s words. And he could, at least for a while. For as long as Skyfire would have him.
“All right.” Starscream nodded. “For now, at least. The Decepticons aren’t exactly welcoming these days, anyway.”
There were still tears in Skyfire’s eyes, but he smiled at the agreement.