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Jetfire was hunched over his desk, hands on his cheeks as he stared at his data pad. Probably the most important data pad he’s ever had to handle, as it contained what would be his thesis. To say that this thesis was important was an understatement. He needed to finish this if he wanted to graduate from the academy, and he’s been putting it off for too many stellar cycles at this point. So today, he finally decided to sit his aft down and focus on nothing but his data pad.
Of course, the cycles where Jetfire had plans to focus were the cycles where the universe seemed to have plans of their own. Such is the case where he feels hands crawl over his back as he’s in the middle of typing, the contact making him flinch.
The shuttle yelps, then turns his body towards whoever it was that’s touching him. The initial panic and adrenaline stills when he notices it’s his roommate, leaving behind a pinch of confusion.
“Starscream, what—” Jetfire begins to ask before he’s interrupted.
“Did I scare you?” Starscream asks, his expression shocking Jetfire a bit. Not because the seeker was sad, but because he looked absolutely giddy. Starscream was many things. Giddy was not one of them.
“I...” Jetfire begins to say, still a bit shocked. “I wasn’t scared. Merely surprised, that’s all.”
Starscream then laughs. Not one of his usual laughs, but one filled with absolute joy. “I scared you, Jetfire! I scared you so bad! Admit it!” He pokes a finger in the shuttle’s cheek. This was another thing Starscream wasn’t; clingy. This type of behavior was something that Starscream himself would find immature and unprofessional, while it merely left Jetfire confused. What was going on with his friend?
This was still Starscream, not another seeker poorly imitating him. Jetfire had already dealt with Starscream’s trine pretending to be him when he first got to meet Thundercracker and Skywarp (he still never understood why they decided to prank him as an introduction). Even when Starscream was “made dumber when around his trine”, as the seeker put it, from Jetfire’s perspective, he was still his usual self. Just maybe a bit less egotistical as his two friends kept him tethered to the ground.
That’s when Jetfire remembered; Starscream had told him he was going out to visit his trine. He had only forgotten because of his thesis. Jetfire checks his internal clock and finds that it’s very late into the night.
“How were your friends?” Jetfire asks.
“Oh, the three of us had a grand ol’ time!” Starscream beams, swaying a bit. His usual serious face was stuck in an ever present smile. “It felt like I hadn’t seen TC and Warp in soooooo loooooong! I forgot how much I missed them! So we decided to go out to celebrate!”
“Celebrate what?”
“We went to the old oil house! You know the place.”
Yes, Jetfire knew Maccadam’s. “Celebrate what, Starscream?”
“Oh, you know...” Starscream then giggles again. Still didn’t answer Jetfire’s question, but now that he looked at the seeker again, things were starting to make sense.
“You’re drunk,” Jetfire states. In hindsight, it was very obvious Starscream has had a bit of high grade. He was merely distracted by Starscream acting very much not like Starscream.
A funny noise escapes Starscream’s vocals. “Bshh! I’ve had my usual amount! You know me, Jet! I’m responsible!” He then leans himself on Jetfire.
Okay, maybe it was more than a bit.
Nicknames were another thing Starscream wasn’t known for. From what Jetfire knew about the seeker’s trine, those kinds of things were more up Skywarp’s alley. He wonders a bit if it was her that encouraged Starscream to have a bit more energon.
“If that’s the case, then why are your eyes shining brighter than a pair of headlights?” Jetfire points a finger at the seeker’s face, right under where his bottom lids scrunched up, making it look like even his eyes were smiling.
The thing about the headlights was an exaggeration, of course, but still. It felt like Starscream’s optics had more life to them, the blue in them more vibrant than Jetfire’s own currently.
Normally, Jetfire expects Starscream to try and defend himself where there’s no need for it. Instead, he catches him off guard once again by putting on a more bashful expression and asking, “You’ve been looking at my eyes, huh?” Starscream then flutters his optics, still smiling.
Jetfire pulls his hand away, his face suddenly feeling warmer. That only makes Starscream snort and then burst out laughing. Meanwhile, the shuttle tries to look anywhere except at his roommate.
That’s when he looks at his data pad again, and internally curses.
Any flustered feelings wash away as Jetfire moves Starscream’s arm off of him. “I’m sorry, Starscream, but I’ve been putting off my thesis for way too long. I just need the rest of the cycle to myself for now, please.”
Of course, that isn’t enough to deter the seeker. “Come oooooon, Jet! If you’re mad at me for laughing, then I’m sorry!”
“I’m not mad, Starscream. I just need to focus.”
“Yeah, on me!”
Jetfire sighs. He wasn’t mad at Starscream, not even upset. Just tired. He looks back at Starscream, who was now unashamedly pouting. “I’ll give you as much attention as you want tomorrow, I promise. Right now, this takes priority.” He taps a finger on the data pad. “Go recharge, Starscream. You’ll feel better when you do. Trust me.”
And with that, attention went back to his data pad. Starscream didn’t leave Jetfire’s quarters immediately, nor did Jetfire expect him to. It seems that stubbornness was something even an overcharged Starscream couldn’t stop being. It was almost cute. He then lets out a whine and slumps himself over Jetfire’s awkwardly shaped backside. Definitely wasn’t flattering. Or mature. Or comfortable.
“You’re so selfish, Jetfire, it’s not fair! I desire your attention, and yet you deny me?” Jetfire can basically picture Starscream clutching a fist to his chest, and he thinks it’s adorable. He deletes that thought from his thesis when he realizes he wrote down his thoughts unconsciously.
He then cringes as he feels Starscream grab onto his wing, trying to climb over his shoulder. Jetfire doesn’t yell at him, though. Instead he continues to ignore Starscream.
“Look at you, typing away on that stupid pad,” Starscream mocks, continuing to try and climb over the shuttle. “I bet, ah, you don’t have to turn it in for a few more deca-cycles.
He was right, but also he didn’t need to know that.
Starscream grunts as he finally is able to connect his chin to the shuttle’s shoulder. The seeker’s wings press awkwardly against him. “You don’t need to finish that. You’re too smart for this academy. No, for all of Cybertron. Definitely the second smartest bot on the planet.
‘Let me guess, the smartest is you?’ thinks Jetfire, holding his tongue so that he doesn’t ask it aloud.
“Everyone else on this planet is nothing more than a bucket of bolts. But you...” Starscream squeezes his arm through so that he can touch Jetfire’s face. “You’re amazing, Jet. There’s no one like you, and that’s what I like about you. You make these ano-cycles I’ve had to waste my genius on all the more worth it.”
Okay, now he was starting to sound like the Starscream Jetfire knew. Against better judgement, he focuses his attention back on his friend. And he’s looking right back at him with half lidded optics.
“Starscream...” says Jetfire. “You realize how silly you look right now, right?”
“Maybe I do,” Starscream answers. “Or maybe it’s on purpose, for you don’t realize... it’s a distraction!”
All too quickly, Starscream reaches out an arm and continues to slide along Jetfire’s shoulder. It’s a nanoklik too late that Jetfire realizes what his friend is doing. But instead of what he assumes is the plan to grab the data pad and run off, Starscream undershoots and ends up crashing his helm against the desk. His left wing also smacks Jetfire upside the helm, followed by an accidental kick to the face as the seeker fully detaches himself and manages to be acquainted with the floor.
Jetfire himself ends up falling out of his seat from whiplash. There’s now pain on the right, front, and back side of his helm. Warning notifications pop up in his HUD, but none of them list off any major injuries. Sitting up, his first priority is to check on Starscream.
Before he even looks at him, Jetfire hears a sniffle.
Starscream does not cry.
Starscream is not a crier.
Jetfire walks on his knees around his chair to find the seeker currently curled up in a ball with hands on his helm, trying and failing to hold back a sob.
Starscream is currently crying.
Immediately, Jetfire’s at his side. “Are you alright, Starscream?” he asks. “How badly are you hurt?”
Starscream doesn’t answer. Instead, he simply turns his head. His lip is set in a pout and coolant tears trickle from his optics.
Wearily, Jetfire holds out his arms. He isn’t sure if his roommate wants— oh, nevermind. Starscream was already latched on to him. So the shuttle returns the hug, gently patting the other’s helm.
“Oh, I’m stupid,” Starscream cries. “I’m stupid!”
“No you’re not,” Jetfire reassures. “I told you, you’re drunk.”
“That’s why I’m stupid! I can’t do anything right and... and nobody cares about me!”
Jetfire’s spark aches in empathy. He knows Starscream’s being dramatic, but he didn’t care about that right now. “That’s not true, I care about you. So do Thundercracker and Skywarp.”
Starscream presses his fists against Jetfire’s chest and pushes himself back so they’re making direct eye contact, brows furrowed. “No you don’t! You care more about that stupid data pad than me!”
“I checked on you first, didn’t I?”
For the first time that night, Starscream falls silent.
“Yes, this thesis is important. You’re also right about it not being due for a while. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You’re my friend, Starscream. I’m going to worry about you.”
Jetfire moves his hand to wipe away a tear on the other’s face. “And you’re not stupid. I would still be lost on my first day if you hadn’t shown up and guided me to the right classroom. How am I to be the second smartest bot on Cybertron if you aren’t top of the ranks? After all, it was your own thesis last semester that got the attention of a certain senator. Isn't that right?”
Starscream nods.
“See? No one who has earned a talk with Shockwave could possibly be stupid! You’re smart, Starscream. Always have been. You’re wonderful. And I care about you.” He rubs the seeker’s cheek affectionately. “So much.”
“Do...” Starscream hiccups a sob. “Do you mean that, Jetfire?”
Jetfire nods, giving the smaller jet a reassuring smile. He admired Starscream so much, even when he was being a nuisance. Even when he was overcharged, crying on the floor of their shared room. And especially when Starscream holds on to him by both sides of the helm and leans in for a ki— wait, what?!
He’s already kissing Starscream by the time his processor catches up to what’s happening. Followed up by the question, ‘What’s happening?’
What was happening? Why was Starscream kissing him?
Starscream didn’t actually like him like that, did he? It was just his emotions from being overcharged, right? Maybe Jetfire liked Starscream a bit more than just as a friend, so why did it feel ridiculous that he would return the feelings despite what was happening right now?
Just as quickly as he kissed him, Starscream pulls away with hands still on the other’s helm. He’s smiling again as he says, “I’m going to kiss you now.”
That gets Jetfire to snort. “I think you got some things backwards, Starscream.”
“Oh. I guess I did.” And Starscream giggles again, which makes Jetfire smile, too. The mere thought of the thesis has completely left the shuttle’s mind. All that mattered right now was Starscream.
“How long have you wanted to do that?” Jetfire asks curiously.
“Since I got back and saw you. But if you mean before today then maybe... mmmm, a while!”
“A while?”
“I don’t remember when exactly! I just want you all for myself and to never let you go!” He emphasizes this by lifting his arms high and then wrapping them back around the shuttle, burying his face in his shoulder.
‘Okay, maybe the high grade simply gave him some courage,’ Jetfire surmises in his processor. It gave him a bit of hope that this wasn’t all just a fluke.
Starscream then asks, “Can you praise me some more? I like it when you praise me.”
“What kind of praise?”
“Anything as long as it’s about me.”
“Well,” Jetfire begins. “What isn’t there to say about you? You’re absolutely marvelous, Starscream. A glorious bot with a beautiful processor to boot. Your ways of thinking are unique, never before seen from anyone else I’ve encountered. You’re never afraid to speak your mind either, even when it gets you in trouble. I’ve heard a few sharp tongue seekers before, but you make their words feel dulled out in comparison.
“Every conversation I’ve had with you leaves me wanting more. Whether it’s about science, or politics, or just how our day is or... frag, does it even matter? I simply love talking with you! I love your mind, your words, your company, I...” Jetfire hesitates before simply saying it. “I love you. Yeah... I love you, Starscream.”
It’s silent once more on the seeker’s end. Too quiet, Jetfire realizes after a few kliks. He gently moves Starscream and looks him in the face. The other’s optics were offline. Once he realizes the other has merely fell into recharge, Jetfire relaxes.
Carefully, Jetfire readjusts Starscream so that he has one arm on his back and the other underneath his legs. Then he slowly gets up, trying not to drop the seeker, then walks over to the charging slabs.
Neither of the two slabs were built for big transformers like Jetfire, so he would rest in his own charging station he brought from home. That led Starscream to push both slabs together and sleep on them like one big slab.
He places Starscream gently, placing a light kiss on his helm because he just couldn’t help himself. Even when in recharge, Starscream was still beautiful.
Jetfire thinks about going into recharge as well when he glances to his desk and remembers, ‘Right! My thesis!’
He strides over to his desk and checks on his data pad. Luckily, it didn’t break when Starscream fell. He may love Starscream, but he definitely would’ve been a bit mad if that happened.
Jetfire checks the clock on his desk for the time, finding that it’s a few breems away from midnight. Recharge sounded good right now, but then again, Jetfire felt like he had a bit more energy in him to maybe write just a bit more. It was probably thanks to Starscream’s kiss. Yeah, that’s what he was using as an excuse.
“A bit of writing never hurt anyone,” Jetfire says to himself as he sits back down. He then continues to write, all while trying to get the events of what transpired out of his mind. He's semi successful in that.
Jetfire onlines at his desk. In his field of vision was, what took a few clicks to process, an energon cube.
“Oh good, you’re conscious,” says the unamused voice of his roommate, who had just placed the cube down.
“Good morning, Starscream,” Jetfire greets as he sits up, hearing his joints click. Looking at his tablet, he notices how the entire screen was filled with rows upon rows of the same glyph. He ex-vents. There goes his progress.
“You told me you wouldn’t overwork yourself into the night anymore,” Starscream reprimands, annoyed scowl ever present on his face. “Then you decide to go against me when I’m overcharged! Honestly, Jetfire, you’re a worse workaholic than... anyone!”
Jetfire holds back an unneeded, yet instinctive apology. At least his friend was back to his usual self. Then his processor remembers the kiss they shared, followed by his confession. He definitely needed to talk about that with Starscream. That’s when his optics land on the time.
“Scrap!” Jetfire panics, immediately standing up. Starscream backs off so as not to be hit in the side accidentally. “I’m late for class!” He scrambled to open his desk drawer to quickly get what he needed.
Instead, Starscream places a hand on the drawer and nonchalantly slides it back closed. “No you’re not,” he says matter of factly.
Jetfire was confused. “But today’s my morning class, which started five kliks ago. If I leave now, then—”
“You won’t be leaving. I contacted your professors and told them you were feeling under the weather. They all wish you well.” Starscream smirks, then walks away.
It takes a bit for Jetfire to process the info before exclaiming, “What?!” He turns to face Starscream’s back, who had paused in about the center of their room. “Starscream! I’ve never been late to my classes before, let alone skip any of them!”
“That’s why it’s the perfect excuse,” Starscream hand waves. “You don’t have to do anything for the rest of the cycle.”
Jetfire didn’t understand. Usually he had a clue what his friend was trying to do whenever he planned something, but right now his processor was turning up nothing. So he asks, “But why?”
“Because I believe my roommate should learn the word “self care” in the glossary. And besides...”
Starscream turns around at a sudden speed, marching over to Jetfire and pushing him against his chest. The shuttle stumbles over until he lands his aft on Starscream’s recharge slab. Jetfire’s confused as to what’s happening, even more so when Starscream walks over and grabs him by the shoulders, standing between the shuttle’s legs. When he’s sitting, their line of sight is at equal level.
The seeker then leans in and whispers, “I believe a certain someone made a promise last night that they’d give all their attention to me.”
Jetfire gasps, his optics wide. When Starscream pulls back, he’s got a genuine smile on his face. It makes Jetfire’s spark flutter.
“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that,” Jetfire says playfully. “I did promise, after all. Though maybe you shouldn’t skip yours. That way you would learn that self care is two words, not one.”
Starscream rolls his optics, but his smile doesn’t fade. “How about you use that mouth less for lecturing and more for something else.”
“Oh?” Shy hands place themselves at Starscream’s sides. “Like what?”
Instead of saying what, Starscream leans in and kisses him.