Chapter Text
Starscream will never admit he's been hurt.
It was a sign of weakness, of pain, something he could not afford being the Second In Command of the Decepticons. He was sure many wanted his position, would be willing to murder for it. Ha! As if they'd ever be better than him at the position!
But still...he will admit, just to himself, that it hurt when he had to shoot Skyfire, his oldest, closest friend, second only to his own trine, Skywarp and Thundercracker. It hurt even more when he found out the shuttle was alive and had joined with those blasted Autobots, making them enemies.
Even the thought alone made a surge of anger and despair thread through his spark.
That idiot Skyfire! Why did he have to question orders? Why did he have to make Starscream shoot him? Why did he still have to be so...kind soft-sparked?
Starscream mentally shook his helm, focusing instead on the now. Somehow, Skywarp had managed to convince Soundwave in letting the trine go on a patrol despite Starscream needing to go over training with the rest of the fliers.
"He owed me a favor." Was all Skywarp had said with that familiar mischievous glint in his optic. Starscream and Thundercracker had decided not to ask, for this was just something Skywarp always did.
"Is he thinking about his boyfriend again?" Skywarp whispered (quite loudly, Starscream may add) through their trine bond to Thundercracker.
"You shut up, Skywarp!" Starscream snarled, wishing he could hit the insolent seeker over the helm, but alas, they were in jet form and Skywarp could easily dodge him in the sky, and he'd rather not chase his annoying trinemate through the air. "First of all, he wasn't my boyfriend, and second of all, don't use that disgustingly organic term!"
"He's your boyfriendddd-hey!" Skywarp began to sing-song, until Starscream sharply looped behind him and shot a blast at his wings, narrowly missing them by an inch, but still managed to sear the paint there. "Thundercracker! Screamer is being a pain in the aft again!"
"YOU'RE a pain in the aft!"
They both heard Thundercracker let out a tired sigh through their bond, the third trinemate already seeming done with their antics. "Skywarp, I thought this was supposed to be a calming patrol for Starscream to forget about...him."
"I don't need anything! If you're talking about Skyfire, then I've already forgotten about him! He's an autobot now, and he means nothing to me!" Starscream snarled, switching off the bond to speak out loud.
"Star...you know you can tell us about anything, right?" Thundercracker murmured outside the bond as well, though Starscream could still feel the concern radiating from the blue seeker. "If you would just-"
"I said I don't need anything! Not from you, not from Skyfire, nobody! Skyfire means nothing to me, and I'm sure if we asked him, he would say the same for me!"
Silence filled the air after that, Thundercracker not seeming to know what to say, though it immediately got interrupted by Skywarp's excited voice ringing out.
"Why don't we ask him? He's right there!"
The other two seekers startled, and Starscream glanced down, realizing his trinemate was right.
There in the sandy desert floor sat Skyfire, looking exactly how he used to, besides the ugly autobot logo on his chest, and the shuttle looked...lost. Or maybe forlorn...
"You both do realize this could be seen as treason, and Megatron might decide to finally scrap me for this?!" Starscream shrieked as quietly as he could without alerting the shuttle below.
He could practically feel the rolling of Skywarp's optics, exasperation and disbelief coating the purple seeker's field. "Oh please, as if committing treason is something you're worried about."
Thundercracker shot a wave of disapproval towards Skywarp, which the seeker only responded with indifference to, before turning his attention back to Starscream, his field softening.
"Go ahead, Star, we'll patrol nearby and give you two space." Thundercracker murmured softly through the bond, veering off to the side despite Skywarp's protests.
"Aww, come on! I want to see Screamy with his boyfriend!"
"Not now, Skywarp, let's give them privacy."
With a final grumble from Skywarp, the two seekers flew off, leaving Starscream alone.
Starscream glanced down at the shuttle once more, circling slowly above him, and while he'd never admit this to anyone, he felt terrified. What if Skyfire wanted revenge for being shot and decides to kill him before he could get a word out? No...Skyfire wasn't like that. He was always a pacifist. Then what would an angered pacifist do? Maybe Skyfire would break him down verbally, tell Starscream what an awful mech he was and how he never wanted to see him again-
No, Starscream needed to think that only the best possible option would happen, and that's Skyfire deciding to ditch those stupid Autobots and rejoin the Decepticons, if Megatron let him, that is. Starscream couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what would happen to the shuttle if he was ever on the end of the Decepticon leader's wrath, a position he's been in many times before.
No no no! None of this thinking was helping him calm his nerves! He was Starscream, Prince of Vos and Second-In-Command of the Decepticons! He's faced the beatings of Megatron, near-death experiences from Autobots (though Megatron could fit in that role as well), had become the first ever seeker to enter the Academy! He could easily go down there and confront Skyfire, he just had to look down and-
Skyfire was looking up, watching him with wide optics, his mouth parted slightly in shock.
Starscream's thrusters stuttered to a stop for a moment, causing him to almost fall out of the sky, but he quickly straightened himself, transforming out of his jet form and awkwardly land a few feet away from the shuttle, the two staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. The seeker noticed Skyfire had pulled out what seemed to be a dagger from his subspace, before quickly putting it away.
"Starscream..." Skyfire finally murmured, voice soft and almost...relieved.
Starscream's wings flared, and he put his hands on his hips. "Idiot! What if I were here to assassinate you? Or if I just decided to shoot you right now? You'd be entirely helpless!" He snarled angrily, trying to cover up how flustered he felt. Who did the shuttle think he was, talking to Starscream like that?!
Skyfire slowly began to walk towards him, completely ignoring his words, until they stood mere inches from each other. Starscream's wings hitched slightly at how close the other got, wanting to say something, anything that would make him stop feeling so awkward.
"You're actually here..." Skyfire whispered, lifting a servo up to brush against Starscream's face plate, causing the seeker to flinch slightly, but he quickly recovered, letting out a scoff as he crossed his arms and glared at the shuttle.
"What? Did you think this was a dream or something?"
"No, you don't normally show up like this in my dreams." Skyfire hummed, causing Starscream to gape at him. Apparently he doesn't think he's said anything wrong, with that infuriatingly warm smile still on his face plate as he stared down at the seeker.
"You-I-" Starscream sputtered, feeling as if his face plate was about to burn from the heat coming from it. "Have you fallen on your helm too many times?! We're enemies, Skyfire, enemies! And it's all your fault! If you had just followed orders-"
"Star, that leader of yours was going to kill innocent lives!" Skyfire interrupted, not sounding angry, more frustrated than anything, and his soft voice had hardened slightly. "You know me, I can't...I'm not that kind of mech! What happened to the Starscream I knew, who used to love being a scientist and exploring organic planets and just being my friend? Why can't you just come back with me?"
"He died a long time ago! I can't drop everything I've worked hard to achieve just because you want to stay friends, Skyfire!" Starscream shook his helm, turning away. "This was stupid, I never should have talked to you. I suggest you forget you ever saw me, and while you're at it, forget we were ever friends." Starscream powered his engines, ready to fly off, when Skyfire suddenly lunged forward, grabbing his wrist.
"Wait!" Skyfire cried out, startling Starscream into pausing, staring at the shuttle with wide optics. Skyfire stared at him with what could only be described as desperation. "Star...I miss you. I miss you so much, and everything's been so complicated! I'm upset you shot me, I'm upset you decided to join with the Decepticons, but...I don't want to lose you. Ever since I've been freed from the ice, it felt like the planet's been moving too fast for me to follow, and you're the only one I have left...please. I'm not asking you to join the Autobots, just...will you allow us to meet up every once in a while?"
Once more, Starscream found himself gaping at the shuttle, his mind trying to catch up with what Skyfire had just said. He...still wanted to talk with Starscream? Out of his own free will?
"Skyfire-"
"Please, Star, at least consider." Skyfire whispered, taking both of the seeker's servos into his own, holding them gently. "I want us to be friends again, but if you decide not to, I'll fully understand and let you go."
Starscream, much to his own surprise, was actually considering the shuttle's offer. He will admit, besides Thundercracker and Skywarp, he didn't have anyone else he's ever been...close to. Being SIC came with its benefits, but also its hardships, especially with his reputation. The other Decepticons either despised him or didn't respect him, probably both if he was being honest. While there were Soundwave and Shockwave, being third and fourth in command, none of them have ever been close. Soundwave himself was an enigma, only ever seen hanging out with those trouble-making cassettes of his, and Shockwave...well, there was a reason why Megatron left him back up in Cybertron, and it wasn't for being good at his job.
Starscream has missed Skyfire's companionship, has missed Skyfire's ramblings about some organic matter or another. But it also came with the risk of Soundwave finding out and telling Megatron, and the warlord will either beat the seeker to a scrap pile or find some way of harming Skyfire, just to show Starscream that he can.
Still...if he was careful, this might actually work out, and perhaps he could slowly convince Skyfire into joining the Decepticons. Yes! Megatron will surely forgive him for sneaking around behind his back if he thought Starscream had been planning on getting Skyfire on their side from the beginning! It was a perfect plan, one Starscream was sure to work.
"Fine, we'll meet each other here every three days, at this exact time. If you want to schedule something outside of the agreed time, you comm me beforehand, got it?" At Skyfire's quick nod Starscream continued, rubbing his servo against his chin. "I think I can only be out...four hours max, and that's at the most. Any later and Soundwave will get suspicious and notify Megatron. You will not breathe a word of this to any of your Autobot friends, nor will you let this affect you in battle. We may have been friends, but both sides will find it odd if you don't try to hit me at least once."
"I promise I won't say a word, and...I'll do my best to try and attack you during battle, though I'm at the lab most times, and I doubt I could ever manage to get a hit on you, seeing as you were the best flier in all of Cybertron." Skyfire chuckled softly, making Starscream feel the same heat from before spread across his face plate.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, I must return to the Nemesis, you have my comm link, don't you?"
"I never got rid of it."
Starscream nodded, feeling awkward before reaching out and touching Skyfire's shoulder. "Ahem...goodbye and...get yourself a better weapon. That knife was pathetic." Before Skyfire could even open his mouth to reply, Starscream took off into the sky, transforming into his jet mode.
"That idiot...how could he still look at me so warmly despite the fact that I shot him? He's always been too naive and soft-sparked for his own good..." Starscream thought bitterly to himself, then startled as a loud *Vop!* sound came from his right, and Skywarp appeared beside him, spinning himself lazily.
"So? Did you two make out?" Skywarp asked, and Thundercracker quickly swooped in from above, getting into position at Starscream's left.
"I think you mean 'make up', Skywarp."
"No. No I didn't."
"Will you two shut up?" Starscream hissed, feeling his field flush with embarrassment. "Nothing of that sort happened, Skywarp. We've decided to...meet every once in a while. Purely for platonic reasons!" He quickly added as he felt Skywarp's sly amusement through their bond.
"Oooh, going to get the shuttle all alone before taking him to the berth and-" Skywarp began, only to immediately be interrupted by Starscream's indignant shriek.
"You're disgusting!"
"I think it's nice that you two are rekindling your friendship, I've always liked Skyfire." Thundercracker cut in before the trinemates could once more begin an argument. "Besides, you've been working a lot recently, you deserve a break every once in a while to get out of Nemesis and talk to someone."
"Funny how he's okay with going out with Skyfire but when we want to explore earth with him, he calls us brain-dead." Skywarp complained, though he sounded more mischievous than annoyed.
"For the last time, Skywarp, we're Decepticons. We're not going to the zoo in broad daylight!" Starscream growled, tired of hearing his trinemate's whining.
"Just you wait...one day it'll happen." Skywarp muttered, as if placing a dooming curse on the seeker.
Starscream mentally rolled his optics, and from the annoyed pulse from Thundercracker, he was sure the blue seeker was doing the same.
"Let's just get back to the ship before Soundwave decides we've been gone for too long. Last one there has to clean up our habsuite." Thundercracker sighed before speeding off, his thrusters sounding like crackling thunder as he went.
"No fair! We agreed on the count to three rule!" Skywarp cried out, quickly following after the other seeker.
Starscream allowed both to get a good head start before soaring after them, knowing he'd be the winner. He always was.