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“Starscream!” Megatron’s rasping voice roared across the bridge.
Starscream flinched, cringed, schooled his features, and then turned to face his volatile leader, smile fixed in place. “My Lord Megatron?”
Thunking pedefalls carried the large mech across the decking, his red optics glowing out from the shadows of his face. It was difficult to tell what sort of mood he was in, given how he was always, in some shape or form, scowling like he wanted to kill everyone.
Today, he was carrying something. It dripped where it hung from his claws. Starscream took a nervous step back, but it was already too late.
“Here.” Megatron boomed, thrusting what was now obviously a dismembered Vehicon helm forward.
It had been ripped off, not severed by a sword. Something Starscream could tell because a lot of the spinal strut was still attached to it’s brain module. Oil and energon flicked out and splattered Starscream’s armour.
Only centuries of practiced self-restraint stopped him from shrieking in disgust and slapping it away.
Instead, he viewed it with feigned interest, and when Megatron insistently shook it at him, tentatively reached out to take it.
It was still warm. Freshly killed.
“Hmm.” Starscream hummed, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, unsure what his reaction was actually meant to be. “Interesting…?”
Megatron’s scowl gave nothing away.
Was this some sort of new threat display? Normally Megatron just pointed a charged fusion cannon and made empty threats. Now he was watching Starscream intently, his optics wide and focused, like a glitch-tiger waiting to pounce.
Unnerving was an understatement.
“The Vehicon who failed you in the mine yesterday.” Megatron told him, lifting his chin proudly. “You’ll find the rest of its faulty unit dismantled too.”
“…Wonderful.” Starscream replied mechanically. Though it really wasn’t. Vehicons were easy enough to produce, but that didn’t mean Megatron should go about trashing them like sparring drones.
Megatron nodded, apparently satisfied, clasping his great clawed servos behind his back and turning on his heel, stalking back to his favourite brooding spot at the front of the ship, leaving Starscream still awkwardly holding the dismembered helm.
Megatron destroying his own troops was, unfortunately, not unusual behaviour.
But the gifting the remains to Starscream was new.
“Get rid of this!” Starscream demanded, chucking the Vehicon helm at Knock Out whilst the medic’s back was turned.
Knock Out span and yelped, using those damnably quick sports car reflexes of his to duck the projectile before it made impact. Specks of energon and oil flew through the air behind it, which Knock Out was equally fearful of.
It hit the medbay’s bulkhead with a clang, leaving a dent. Knock Out stared at it, before looking at Starscream incredulously, “Who was that?”
“You think I have time to memorise serial numbers!” Starscream snapped.
“What did the poor thing do, Commander?” Knock Out asked sadly, poking the helm with a toe-pede, grimacing.
“It dropped a batch of energon, as near as I can tell.” Starscream folded his arms and leaned against the doorway, full of nervous energy. “Megatron massacred its entire unit for their ‘failure’.”
“Yesterday?” Knock Out arched a brow. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with your injury, would it?”
Starscream scoffed, “If Megatron knew we lost the mine because I’d taken damage, I would be the ‘failure’, wouldn’t I?” He pointed to the helm.
Knock Out’s face performed a series of micro-expressions a mecha with optics slower than a seeker would have missed.
Starscream stared at him. “What?”
Knock Out pursed his lips together, “…It’s possible he does know.”
“Possible?!”
“Well, not possible. He definitely does.” Knock Out drawled. “He came by, during your repairs.”
A rushing sound filled Starscream’s audials as he thought of himself, unconscious, damaged, split open by an Autobot weapon, and Megatron looming over his defenceless, broken frame and seeing him for the weak failure he was.
“…You let him in here?” Starscream hissed.
“I’m flattered you think I have the authority his bar his entry.”
“I’ll be next!” Starscream realised, clutching his helm in a panic.
Knock Out was completely unsympathetic to his very real concerns. “You think he would have spared me the trouble of repairing you if he was just going to offline you anyway.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him!” Starscream cried.
“I think it’s charming.” Knock Out smirked, gently kicking the dismembered helm towards the scrap pile in the corner of his medbay. “It’s been centuries since someone murdered anyone for me.”
Starscream stared blankly.
Knock Out tilted his helm at him, “You don’t agree?”
Starscream remembered most of what had happened. He had ordered the Vehicons to guard the mine’s entrance as he supervised transport of the energon.
He should have known to watch his own back, to not rely on faceless, nameless drones to do it for him. He had cursed his own stupidity as he lay bleeding out in the dirt, the Autobot femme’s blade shoved through the centre of his chest, a slither of light from his spark peaking through the armour from it’s split chamber, while the Vehicons ran about uselessly around him.
He had assumed he’d be taken captive, if not left for dead.
But someone had dragged him back to the Nemesis and tossed him into Knock Out’s medbay. At the time, Starscream had assumed it was one of less hapless of the drones.
Now he was beginning to suspect…
And he could only suspect. He hadn’t been able to make enquiries because someone had inconveniently killed everyone else present on the day.
He went back to the bridge and quietly continued his work, watching Megatron out of the corner of his optic as the large mech stood in front of the bridge’s viewports, staring out, that scowl still on his weathered face.
“Let me see the footage.”
Soundwave turned towards him slowly, the screen that made up his face was dark and featureless. He was obviously going to pretend he didn’t know what Starscream was talking about.
Starscream hardened his expression, seeing it reflected back at him in Soundwave’s visor. “Don’t be obtuse. You know what footage.”
Soundwave continued to stare, hunchbacked, long arms hanging motionlessly.
“Of Megatron!” Starscream snapped. “He brought me back here, didn’t he?”
Soundwave’s helm tipped to the side. His mask remained blank, but Starscream could sense the impending question mark.
“Because I’m ordering you!” Starscream barked, and stamped a pede. “Now play the damned footage before I-“
Soundwave’s screen visor lit up. Security footage of the hallway outside the medbay began to play. Starscream leaned in and squinted, watching a large spiked figure stalk into view, carrying a lithe figure in their arms. Megatron’s back was to the camera as he passed it, so Starscream couldn’t see his leader’s expression.
“I knew it.” He muttered softly. “But why…”
“Don’t be obtuse.” Soundwave played his own words back to him.
Starscream scowled, “Mind your own business!”
Soundwave responded by playing footage of him and Knock Out running through the ship and screaming during that Terrorcon ‘zombie’ incident.
Starscream had enough self preservation to know ambushing Megatron in a random security corridor and trying to interrogate him was a bad idea for any mechanism that wanted to live a long and prosperous life, but his curiosity had finally gotten the better of him.
“Why dismantle the entire unit?”
Megatron halted, mid-step, and turned his ginormous head towards Starscream’s position, lurking in the doorway of one of the store cupboards. There was a tense moment of silence. Starscream fought the urge to fidget.
“The Vehicons,” Megatron finally rasped. “They were defective. Not fit for purpose.”
“And what of me?”
“What of you?” Megatron repeated, a thick brow arched.
Starscream squared his shoulders, “if you’re going to punish me for my failure, just get it over with. Don’t make me wait around for it.”
Megatron’s expression didn’t shift. “I would have deemed your injuries punishment enough, but the blame lies with the drones. They had their orders, and they failed to carry them out.”
“It was an ambush.” Starscream reminded him.
“And what good are soldiers who can’t defend their commander against something so expected?” Megatron bared his denta, fierce. “They will be replaced soon enough. It was time for an upgrade, regardless.”
Starscream nodded stiffly in acknowledgment. It all made sense, he supposed, but for one thing.
He couldn’t get the image from the security camera out of his processor; of Megatron coming to rescue him, carrying him through the ship, cradling him carefully in his arms.
“And so you came to my rescue yourself.” He stated, just to see if Megatron would try to deny it.
The larger mech looked aside and cleared his vocaliser, his expression shifting from smug to… something else.
“Air Commander’s are not as expendable as Vehicons,” He muttered unconvincingly.
Or rather, his Air Commander was not as expendable.
Starscream’s sense of self-importance swelled. It must have shown in how his wings rose into a proud V on his back. Megatron’s optics narrowed.
“I wouldn’t be so pleased with myself if I were you, seeker.” He growled in warning. “That mine contained years of untapped energon. All lost to us now!”
“It’s a wonder you valued retrieving me over reclaiming it then, isn’t it.” Starscream murmured softly, unable to hide his smirk.
Megatron stuck a claw in his face, “What I value is none of your concern.”
Starscream smirk broadened.
Megatron’s puffed himself him, suddenly defensive, “Whatever lies that medic has been spreading, there is little truth to them!”
Now that caught Starscream’s interest. As far as he knew, Megatron had simply brought him in for repairs. Now he was intrigued to know what Knock Out might have omitted. “What lies are these then? That you didn’t bring me in for repairs?”
Megatron’s mouth was pressed into a hard thin line.
“Why Megatron, you weren’t worried for me, were you?” Starscream teased, fluttering his wings. Megatron’s optics darted towards them, lingering on the quivering tips. “That wouldn’t be why you had that poor Vehicon unit destroyed, would it?”
Megatron’s lip curled to reveal jagged denta.
Starscream always felt an inappropriate little thrill when he managed to rile Megatron like this. It was rarely intentional, given how short his commander’s temper was, and often came with a great personal risk. But sometimes -a lot of the time- it was worth it.
And it hadn’t gotten him killed yet.
Knock Out may have been right. Megatron wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of rescuing him if he was just going to dismantle him now. No matter how irritating he was.
“I don’t know how they courted in Kaon,” he began, leaning towards Megatron. “But-“
“They didn't.” Megatron grunted, looking annoyed, his fists clenched at his side.
“Oh,” Starscream’s optics widened. “Then how did they-?“
Megatron’s great big fist flew up and seized Starscream by the shoulder. Starscream stiffened, his wings spiking straight upwards as his spark jumped into his throat. Megatron hauled him in, doubtlessly to pull him apart, to rip his head off like all the other Vehicon failures, all because he had been delusional enough to listen to Knock Out and see only what he’d wanted to see and not the reality which was-
Megatron ramming their mouths together in a kiss.
It took a full two seconds for Starscream to realise it wasn’t an attack, because Megatron was rough and unrelenting, his great servos pawing at Starscream’s daintier frame as his mouth dominated with teeth and tongue and rumbling growls. Starscream whined meekly, clutching at Megatron’s thick forearms, his helm tilted all the way back because Megatron was just so much taller than him.
Then he was released, his mouth tingling and his vents starved for air. He sucked in a sharp breath as Megatron held him at arms length, and flashed him a toothy grin.
“That is what we did.” He announced proudly.
Starscream stared at him, still ensnared in his hold. “I …Crystal arrangements… were more common in Vos.”
“I don’t have crystals.” Megatron snorted, leaning in, “And this isn’t Vos.”
It wasn’t Kaon either, but Starscream didn’t voice that fact. Megatron dragged him in for another kiss, and Starscream thought he could get used to doing things this way; showing, with acts of dedication and violence, and fierce messy kisses.
What was he meant to do with a bunch of crystal arrangements anyway?