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The hangar on the Nemesis was dark and quiet, save for the sounds of metal lightly scraping against metal and pede steps just outside the doors to the main hallways.
Up in the corner of the hangar, where anyone with a non-flying alt mode wouldn't be able to reach, sat almost a nest-like area between 3 walls with an alcove opening. It used to be a storage area where leftover crates would sit until a lower-rank would come by to clean it, until three seekers became five and they needed a bigger place to “perch”, as Rumble rudely called it.
Empty energon containers in a small pile in the corner, bits of scrap metal scattered, and pieces of dust that had yet to be cleaned out by Starscream and Thundercracker. Bench’s with fiber pillows and blankets thrown over them, and in the center, laid Sunstorm, the youngest seeker.
“Stop moving.” Starscream growled, pressing on Sunstorms back between his wing joints, holding the younger seeker down as Starscream's claws plucked dirt from the seams. Sunstorm shivered as Starscream dragged a claw down his wing joint, collecting a sizable amount of debris.
“You're being rough, Screamer.” Thundercracker said up from the corn, watching as Sunstorm squirmed beneath Starscream. His wings twitched as the red one scraped a chunk of what could be metal out, throwing it to the side
“I’m not being rough, I'm being thorough.” he hissed back, flicking another clump of something gray onto the floor beside them.
“Ow! Starscream!” Sunstorm tried to look back, only to be pushed down again. Starscream rolled his optics, shifting himself to get a better angle, dragging out a small rock from his hip joint.
“Stop behaving like a sparkling, I’m almost done.” He growled. Skywarp snorted. Starscream glared at him over his shoulder, his wings twitching before turning back to Sunstorm.
He removed his claws from the seams and reached over, grabbing the cloth and dipping it into the small amount of oil they had stolen. Sunstorm sighed as the cloth was run over his joints, his optics closing slightly as the cool liquid seeped into the soft mesh under his armor.
Starscream finished, admiring his work, moving Sunstorms wing joint to listen for anything that popped or creaked before patting his upper thigh.
“Next?” He asked, turning to the three others. Thundercracker and Skywarp both turned to face Slipstream, her brow furrowing when she noticed.
“Why me next?” She huffed, starting to uncurl herself from the corner she sat in. Slipstream barely had time to protest before her wrist was grabbed and tugged onto the floor. She grunted as she hit the ground, sighing as Starscream began his cleaning between her arm seams.
“Because, we're going from youngest to oldest this time, and you're the second youngest.” Thundercracker helped Sunstorm back up, the smaller one grunting.
“Its unbelievable how filthy you all get after three orbital-cylcles. I should shorten it to two, pit, it should be one with all this grime.” Starcream sneered, plucking out dirt and hardened mud. Slipstream hissed when he scratched her mesh, looking back and showing her teeth.
Starscream paid her no mind, flicking the bits away before digging back in. When he was done, he did the same as he did before, gently letting the oil soak into Slipstream's wing joints, checking to make sure they moved correctly.
“Your turn, Screamer.” Skywarp teased. His wings twitched in annoyance.
“You know, if you were this nice when cleaning out our joints, we’d let you clean us more often." Slipstream hummed, getting up onto her forearms to look back at him. Starscream picked the dirt from his claws, letting it fall to the ground.
“Dont lie to him, Slip, we would never do that,” Skywarp smirked, replacing her spot on the floor. He wiggled his body, smiling when Sunstorm giggled. “Besides, we do too much to stay prim and clean.”
“We? When was the last time you went out on a mission that wasn't recon and involved you touching the ground?” Thundercracker asked, shifting as Slipstream backed down next to him.
Skywarp smiled, resting his helm on his arms, shrugging slightly.
“I meant the- Ow!’ He jumped as Starscream began cleaning. “I meant the royal we, we as in, we wouldn't do that anyway.” He hissed again, his knee jerking as Starscream pulled out a branch from his back plating. Skywarp hissed, bearing his fangs. Starscream smacked his back with the stick before throwing it aside, causing the purple seeker to yelp.
“You are filthy, more than filthy, how do you hget this filthy, your barley on the ground?” Starscream hissed back before fishing out more dirt and grime. Skywarp opened his mouth to answer, before hissing again and closing it.
The hangar went quiet again with only metal on metal scraping again. Slipstream crawled towards the entrance and rested her helm down to watch the hangars main part,Sunstorm joining her after a few moments.
“Anyone? Thundercracker asked, popping his wrist joint. Slipstream shook her head, letting her arm hang down.
“Just a vehicon coming back from patrol.” She hummed, smiling faintly when Sunstorm copied her position. Strascream hummed, moving down to Skywarps pedes. He laughed at the sensation, his foot jerking slightly before stilling. Starscream's brow furrowed, checking everything before reaching for the cloth again. Skywarp twitched when he felt the cold.
Skywarp jumped up as Starscream's servo left, smiling.
“Clean enough?”
“Decent enough.” Starscream responded, watching Thundercracker slide into place. Skywarp took his place besides the younger two seekers, watching the hangar as weapons passed.
“So, who's going to clean you up?” Thundercracker asked, looking up at starscream. He shrugged, pressing Thundercracker back down.
“I’m sure Skywarp is itching to dig his claws into me.” Starscream mumbled, finally finding a rock between TC’s back. Thundercracker chuckled before lying his helm back down. Starscream's servos moved over his wings, over the small seams, checking for anything. This what he needed to do, to let his seekers out with grime in their joints and wings was a thought that kept him up at night. He looked over at the other three, who were all watching the hangar, talking quietly about nothing and everything. His wings twitched before he focused back down.
Finally, Thundercracker felt the cool oil soak into his joints, before being urged to get up.
“There, all done, everyone's clean.” Stascream sighed, standing up to stretch. Skywarp smiled, quickly getting up.
“Great, our turn, Screamer, on the floor.” he smiled. Stascream watched Slipstream and Sunstorm get up too, and Thundercracker grab the little thing of oil. He sighed, hiding his smile before laying down.