Title: Miles Adrift, Inches Away...: Two Sides

Author: pl2363

Series: Transformers AU/G1

Rating: T+

Warnings: None this round.

Notes: [Eventual] Thundercracker x Skywarp. Each harbors pent up desire for other, but due to never being upfront with one another, they remain apart. Thanks to Mirage Shinkiro for the beta!

Also inspired in part by Anon Decepticon's seeker fics, as posted on her Livejournal.

Title borrowed and edited from the song 'Broken' by the Unkle:

"Strung out with wings of the dawn
Hole in the black soul in the storm

Torn down through the cracks in the dark
We're miles adrift we're inches apart"

Also... Transformers belong to Hasbro, I am just playing with them.

The POV switches between Thundercracker and Skywarp:


Fingering the edge of his cube of energon, Thundercracker stared at its glowing contents. A slow, creeping pain radiated up the back of his neck cables, the sure sign of an impending processor-ache. Thoughts swirled and shifted in his mind, thoughts he felt totally helpless to stop. This war had been raging for so long. Death had become a constantly looming presence, but in time, he had grown used to it or, rather, mostly numb to it. Events from the day before hung over him like an electrical storm, a painful reminder of death's tight grip on their already seemingly tattered existence. It had been a raid gone terribly awry, leaving both his trinemates laid up in medbay. If it hadn't been for his quick action of plucking them off the battlefield, he might have lost them both. The images of Skywarp's left wing completely ripped off and the anguished cries that poured from his vocalizer repeated in loops in his processor, and he wondered if he could go on in the face of losing his mischievous wingmate. Starscream had also been knocked completely offline by one of those disgusting abominations the Autobots were calling 'Dinobots'.

His feelings towards Starscream had been mixed since they first met, though. Starscream was one of the most talented flyers graduating the Academy with him. His intellect was on par with the greatest scientists on Cybertron. Thundercracker did research on him after receiving an invite to join a trine with the flamboyantly painted seeker. He had never been in a class with the infamous flier, and nowhere in the records had it said Starscream was also an overambitious, self-centered glitch. Thundercracker huffed air from his intakes, annoyed by his own half-informed choice to join the trine before getting to know its leader first. He really should have found a classmate to talk to. All that aside, he was diligent hardworking warrior and flier, and once he committed to something, he followed it through. No matter what his personal feelings towards Starscream might be, he would never abandon him.

Skywarp was a whole other matter, however. Younger, inexperienced, and a renowned prankster, Skywarp had been the replacement for a member of the trine that died in a battle early on in the war. Thundercracker still remembered the day he first laid optics on the black and purple flyer, a memory file he often replayed in quiet moments...

- o - O - o -

Every seeker not already bonded into a trine stood in the conference hall. Thundercracker arrived early and leaned against the back wall to quietly observe. His optics traced over each one, sizing them up. An all-grey flyer started cackling loudly at something another one said. He winced at the irritating sound, and for a moment imagined that cackle coupled with Starscream's grating voice. A shiver ran down his back strut at the mere thought. Upon closer look, he saw that the grey seeker wasn't nearly as large as he was, which meant he'd most likely be eliminated. Starscream liked symmetry. Whoever would replace their lost member needed to be similar in size.

After several kliks of watching, not a single one in the group seemed appealing in the least. Irritated, he sighed a gust of air from his intakes.

"Fall in!" Starscream screeched as he walked through the main doors to the conference hall. The seekers all scrambled to line up. Starscream moved to one end of the line they formed and started walking along it, looking each one over. Thundercracker could tell from the wing flicks he made that he was not at all pleased with the selection. A flash of black and purple appeared at the opposite end, catching Thundercracker's attention. He shifted his gaze to the back of seeker that literally appeared out of nowhere.

Glancing back over, his optics met with Starscream's questioning ones. Thundercracker indicated the late arrival with sideways jerk of his head. He watched the trine leader skip down to the very end where the black and purple seeker stood at attention.

"Designation?" asked Starscream.

"Skywarp."

"You're late!" Starscream replied in shout that reverberated in the room.

From behind, Thundercracker watched the late arrival flinch. "I know. Sorry, sir!"

"Did you just teleport here?" asked Starscream, leaning into Skywarp's space.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Thundercracker, come here," Starscream commanded.

Thundercracker pushed himself away from the wall to stand and then proceeded to walk over.

Starscream pointed at the ground beside the black and purple seeker. "Stand here." Thundercracker complied, taking position beside the late arrival. "Hrm... face each other."

They turned toward one another, and Thundercracker got his first good look at Skywarp. The dark shades of black and purple complimented his pale face and piercing crimson optics. From appearances, this seeker also was quite young. Skywarp's optics flashed at Thundercracker as he grinned. That was a mistake.

Starscream pushed between them to face Skywarp. "You think this is a game? That this is a joke of some sort, do you?!"

"N-no, sir!" Skywarp's smile was instantly wiped off his face.

In irritation, Starscream flicked his wings, which hit Thundercracker's arms. He desperately wanted to back up, but knew his commander too well. That would only slag him off more. It really didn't make much sense why Starscream's temper had so suddenly flared, though. All this anger over a late arrival? Thundercracker turned his focus to Starscream, in an attempt to figure out why his trine leader had the sudden shift in mood. The flicks of wings as he started to verbally berate Skywarp were straight back and seemed to purposely be touching Thundercracker. In his experience, when Starscream was actually torqued off his wings would rise up on his back and flick in upward motions, probably in an unconscious effort to seem taller. So what the slag was going on here? Then it dawned on him that Starscream was faking his temper. Testing Skywarp's reactions.

"Being late is not acceptable! You think you are better than the rest of the dregs here? You think you deserve to be in this elite trine?" Starscream finally paused in his screeching to allow Skywarp to answer.

"Yeah." Skywarp smiled broadly at Starscream.

Thundercracker stared in total awe at the amount of brazen confidence and complete lack of fear Skywarp exhibited. Starscream's wings touched Thundercracker again, but not in a quick flitting motion. They were pressing against him.

"And why do you think that, you incompetent fool?" Starscream asked.

"'Cause I am a better flier than anyone else here, and I can teleport," Skywarp replied with absolute certainty in his voice.

Starscream grew unusually quiet. Thundercracker looked down the line of seekers all trying their best to continue looking forward despite the unfolding exchange.

"Everyone is dismissed!" Starscream shouted. "Except you," he said at a normal volume as he pressed an index finger to Skywarp's chest.

The seekers all scattered, leaving the hall is haste. Starscream glanced over his shoulder at Thundercracker, a small wicked smile curling his lips. "I believe we found our new member."

- o - O - o -

"Hey, Thundercracker!"

His memory file abruptly ended at the call of his name. Lifting his vacant gaze from the energon cube, he gave nothing less than a death-glare to the mech who dared interrupt his thoughts. A dark blue cone-headed flyer stood before him, unfazed by the foreboding look directed at him. "What the frag is it, Dirge?"

"We were taking bets on how soon Ol' Screamer is gonna wind up back in medbay. Want in?"

Thundercracker furrowed his brow. "When was he let out?"

"Ah, like two or three breems ago. Megatron had him report to the control room to see him right away. You're not monitoring the comm'line?" Dirge said, looking somewhat confused by Thundercracker's lack of knowledge.

"I was distracted." He had been so lost in thought he forgot to listen in. Starscream might very well get himself slagged by Megatron in short order, seeing as he had been the lead on the mission, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. The processor-ache that been teasing at him now throbbed as it bloomed through his neural circuitry. Thundercracker moved to stand, then picked up his barely consumed energon and subspaced it. Gruffly, he pushed past Dirge to exit the commissary.

"Wait, so you don't want in on the pool?" Dirge yelled after him.

What a bunch of low-life parasites, he thought. "Frag off!" he snapped as he left.

His peds took him down the hallway at a brisk pace towards his shared quarters. All he wanted to do was lie down before the pain in his helm blurred his vision. Back in his room, he flopped onto his berth, lying on his front with his face pressed against its the smooth surface. He stared at the empty berth across from his. Not that he would admit it aloud, but he had grown quite attached to his troublemaker of a wingmate. He hoped Skywarp would be released from medbay soon. His optics dimmed as he quickly slipped into a recharge state, escaping the pain radiating though his head.

- - - + - - -

Systems initialized and Skywarp groaned faintly as sensors relayed pain from various areas throughout his frame. His lit his optics to see the violet-grey ceiling over him. Medbay.

"Up I see." He turned his head towards the voice. Hook stood polishing tools on at a workbench a few meters away.

"And thrilled to be in about 20 different kinds of pain," Skywarp growled.

"You want lovey-dovey-no-pain repairs done? Go see the Autobots." Hook seemed to be in an awfully foul mood.

"Next time I will!" he snapped. Skywarp struggled to sit up, his joints screaming with pain as he did. He dampened all the sensors he could to dull the sharp pain. Swinging his legs off the repair berth, he pushed to stand. "I'm discharged, right?"

"Yep," Hook replied in a curt tone.

Frowning at his caretaker, Skywarp turned and walked stiffly out of medbay. The comm. lines were oddly quiet as he tuned in while slowly making his way to the barracks. A quick check of the time told him why, it was the middle of third shift. Only a bare bones crew were on duty. Eventually he arrived at the door to his shared quarters, and with a quick input of his code, it cycled open. He headed straight for his berth as the door made a hissing sound, closing behind him. In the small half-darkened room, he slid front-first to lie on the berth's comfortable cool surface. He glanced to the side to see his trinemate deep in recharge. He noted that Thundercracker left the light near Skywarp's berth on for his inevitable return. His trinemate was always considerate in ways that still surprised him, even after all this time.

He stared across the space for a long moment at the dimly-lit sight of his roommate. Thundercracker's face was pinched in a painful-looking expression. Bad memory file dump, maybe? Skywarp had those sometimes when he recharged. Despite the look on Thundercracker's face, he still remained as handsome as ever. Regal features of a former Elite class mech that Skywarp couldn't help finding attractive. They had been roommates from the moment he joined the trine, but they had never once interfaced. No matter how much he wished he could see that handsome face twist with the pleasure of overloading, Skywarp knew that Thundercracker was very much out of his league and not someone he could casually hit on.

Growing up, Skywarp had mostly been cared for by his eldest sibling, who often stole energon to feed him and his two other brothers since both his creators were simulation junkies. They plugged into simulated worlds and fried their processors, only stopping long enough to spark merge, usually in front of the small brood they had accidentally created, then hook back up to the simulator. He also acutely remembered that burning feeling in his empty fuel tank from lack of energon. His eldest brother eventually trooped them all to a building in downtown Vos, and that was the last he saw of any of his siblings. His spark had been deemed 'unique' after he was examined, and he was promptly placed into family of fliers, which he never really fit in with. Always an outsider... He didn't want to be pitied in his adult life, so he made sure to have fun whenever possible and never told anyone about his distant past, not even the one mech he had come to trust, Thundercracker.

His thoughts depressed him, though, so he let his optics flick off. Maybe after some more recharge the throbbing pain he was in would finally stop, and if time permitted he could concoct a good prank to pull in order to cheer himself up.

- - - + - - -

In the main control room Thundercracker stood quietly along side Starscream. Somehow his trineleader had avoided getting himself totally slagged the day before regarding their mission that ended in failure.

Starscream never knew when to quit while ahead, however. "We have to make a show of our true power! Why bother running around trying to avoid the Autobots? I don't see—"

"You don't see, because you are as stupid as any Autobot!" snapped Megatron. He stepped into Starscream's space and pushed his fusion cannon against his cockpit. "Now, stop whining and go retrieve the supplies we will need to build the generator. Or would you prefer to push your luck further and question my authority again?" Megatron's fusion cannon made a high-pitched whir as it charged up.

Starscream held out his hands in defense. "No need for that! Of course we'll get your supplies."

"Good, now get out of my control room!" Megatron yelled.

In a huff, Starscream spun on his heels and strutted out of the control room. Thundercracker followed behind internally shaking his head at his commander's behavior. Why did he feel the need to push the boundaries with the one mech that could so easily kill him? Then again, why hadn't Megatron already offlined Starscream?

"Thundercracker, meet me on the lift in two cycles."

"Yes, sir."

Their paths diverged as Thundercracker veered off toward the commissary to grab some energon before their departure. After getting a warm cube of energon, he decided to head back to his quarters for peace and quiet before having to listen to his commander yelling at him for an entire shift.

Voices spilled out into the hallway ahead of him from the security room. He slowed to a stop just before the doorway, listening in.

"Guess what disgusting thing I saw Laserbeak pick up from his last spy mission," Rumble said.

"What?" Thurst asked.

"Look!"

"Ewwwww!"

Thundercracker took a step forward and glanced into the room. On the monitor Rumble and Thurst stared at a pair of Autobots in a half embrace, kissing.

"That is just disgusting. What a bunch of lame-sparked morons they are." Thrust said as he sat back in his seat.

"Why do they do that?" Rumble asked.

"Eh, 'cause they are weaklings. I bet Autobots still bond, too," Thurst replied.

"Bond?"

"Yeah, merging sparks together. It makes a bond. It's sentimental dribble from Golden times, though. True warriors don't need that kind of slag. True warriors take what they want!" Thurst said as he shoved at Rumble playfully.

"Yeah!" agreed the cassetticon.

Thundercracker broke his gaze into the room and continued down the hallway towards the barracks. 'True warriors.' Did he even qualify as one if that was the criteria? After all, he had started to doubt his place in this never-ending war. If it weren't for his loyalty to the trine and desire to protect Skywarp, he actually doubted he would still be here. Megatron only wanted strong, fierce fighters among his ranks. Thundercracker was one of the very best fliers, excellent in combat even. But his drive to fight well had nothing to do with the simplistic thrill of enjoying the act of fighting itself, like it seemed to be for the soldiers surrounding him. He did for the higher calling of protecting what was precious, his trine. He might hate Starscream at moments, but he had sworn his loyalty to him. And he always fought harder when he was in Skywarp's company thanks to his self-appointed position as his protector.

He shook his head at his own train of thoughts and where they led. "Maybe I need my processor examined," he mumbled to himself as he reached his quarters and slipped inside.

- - - + - - -

At the top of the landing that led to the observation deck, Skywarp poured out hundreds of small ball bearings. He stood up and surveyed the area, then pressed one foot over part of the covered area to test its slip factor. Sure enough, even his uniquely shaped turbine ped slid over the rolling surface. "Perfect!" he said to himself as he retreated down the stairs.

His reattached wing remained quite tender and sensitive, rendering him unable to fly. This meant he was stuck on monitor duty until it was finished healing. Although he despised such a normally boring assignment, he smiled knowing he had just made the task a lot more entertaining. In the monitor room, he settled to sit on a stool and grinned wickedly as he prepared to fall his first victim.

:: Ramjet. ::

:: Yeah? ::

:: You off duty? :: he asked, trying his best to hide the snicker in his voice.

:: Yeah, and slaggin' bored. Why? ::

This was almost too easy. :: Well... I was wondering if you wanted to meet up on the observation deck for a little fun, :: he replied, lowering his voice to a more seductive tone.

:: Oh... what kind did you have in mind? :: replied Ramjet, whose voice also lowered.

Skywarp stifled his laughter and focused to reply. :: The kind of fun that involves us both getting off. ::

:: Be right there, :: Ramjet replied eagerly.

Skywarp laughed out loud as he shifted in his seat to stare at the monitor for the landing. The camera was angled from above, showing the floor covered in ball bearings and the darkened staircase just beyond. In no time, he saw the tips of white wings come into view. Ramjet hurriedly bounded up the stairs, not looking at the ground, and promptly slipped and fell on his aft. He tried to stand up, only to continue slipping and falling. Ball bearings rolled everywhere. Skywarp cackled at the comedic sight, wrapping his arms over his torso as his systems hitched thanks to laughing so hard.

Eventually, Ramjet managed to right himself and went back down the stairs out of sight.

:: You fragger! I'm gonna twist your wings into scrap--::

:: As if you could catch me! :: interrupted Skywarp, still laughing.

After tricking Dirge and Blitzwing into also providing a comedic break from his otherwise boring shift, Skywarp left the security room in a light mood. He made his way to the commissary to grab some energon, still snickering every once in a while as he replayed the images of his comrades landing on their afts. Blitzwing's flailing had been the funniest, since he tried to transform and wound up falling down the stairs in his tank mode in the process.

Skywarp filled his container up at the dispenser and spun around, intending to find a table. Instead, he turned face first into a fist. Energon split across the floor as he fell backward, landing on the ground with a loud clang. He stared up at his attacker, Ramjet. "What the frag?" Skywarp snapped.

"You little glitch! I am gonna rip your wings off and make myself a new DESK CHAIR!" the conehead shouted.

Whoops. Ramjet seemed more torqued off than he thought he would be. "Yeesh. Can't take a joke?"

A hand landed on his still repairing wing, and Ramjet wrenched on it hard bending the delicate plating. Skywarp bit back the urge to cry out and kicked Ramjet's legs out from under him. The white jet landed in a pile on the floor, cursing and then lunging back at Skywarp. On the verge of tears from the sheer amount of pain his wing was now in, he opened a warp gate and escaped.

He landed on his berth and howled out in pain in the privacy of his quarters.

"Warp?"

He glanced over at the desk to see Thundercracker staring at him. He only ever cried in pain around his roommate. Unlike everyone else in the ranks, including their trineleader, Thundercracker never made him feel weak for doing so. Coolant pooled on the surface of his optics. "Ramjet bent my injured wing," he said, whining as he spoke.

Thundercracker's expression shifted from concern to looking dubious as he got up from his seat. "I'm sure you didn't provoke him."

Skywarp frowned at the elder. "Even if I did, he didn't have to bend it like that. "

"'Even if you did'..." repeated Thundercracker as he wandered over to his cabinet, rifling through it.

Skywarp sunk his posture, his good mood now completely ruined. He watched as his trinemate crossed over to his berth then made a twirling motion with his hand. "Turn," Thundercracker said firmly.

There was a rare trust he put in no one other than Thundercracker, and he complied, turning his back to him. "What are you gonna do?" Skywarp asked, trying to glance over his shoulder.

"Fix it."

The next thing he knew an intense pain ripped through his processor as the mangled appendage was quickly bent back into shape. He let out a loud cry and cursed. Then he felt a cool, almost numbing sensation replace the throbbing pain as well as the delicate sweep of Thundercracker's fingers over his wingtip. As the pain faded away, his mind almost instantly triggered images of what it might be like to have a little wing-play before tossing Thundercracker down to have his way with him. Oh, to see him writhe in pleasure and-

"Better?" asked the elder flier.

"Yeah." Primus, he was pathetic. Secretly lusting after the one mech he knew he could never have and helpless to stop the desire that pulsed through his entire being every time Thundercracker touched him.

"Slag," cursed his trinemate. "I have to go." Thundercracker circled to face Skywarp and placed a small can of ointment in his hands. "If it starts to hurt again, put that on."

"Oh... okay."

Skywarp looked up and offered Thundercracker a small smile, and he in turn shook his head disapprovingly.

"Not that you'll listen to me, but try and stay out of trouble." The blue jet then made his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Skywarp asked.

Thundercracker paused at the doorway. "Mission with Starscream."

Skywarp's posture sunk again. He would be going, too, if he weren't injured. "Oh."

"It's not a combat mission, just a supply pick-up. See you later." With that, his wingmate slipped out the door.

Skywarp glanced at the container in his hands, knowing this was another in a long line of instances where Thundercracker looked after him in some way. He wondered if he was special to Thundercracker, and he secretly hoped so.

Stretching to lie on his front, he placed the container beside him on the berth. His optics dimmed, and he felt his body's urge to recharge start to take over so it could initiate an auto-repair sequence for the damaged wing. "Come back soon, TC, " he whispered as he slipped offline.

- o - O - o -

His adoptive father nudged him and his step-sibling through the crowds towards the front.

"Can you see?" he asked.

"Yep!" his step-sibling said.

"No, " Skywarp replied as he tried to stand on his toes. He had his first set of upgrades that included wings and all the proper parts for learning how to fly. His adoptive brother was much older than he was, though, and already on his third upgrade and at least two heads taller.

Skywarp was lifted into the air and put on his new father's shoulders. He grabbed hold of his dark colored helm turned his attention towards the staging area.

"Can you see now?" his adoptive father asked.

"Yeah!" Skywarp looked out across the stage. Three separate trines all stood together in formation. The announcer for the aerial event shouted the names of the first group to perform as they took off into the air. This was a yearly event Skywarp had never witnessed before due to his former parents' neglect. Each graduating class from the local flying academy would show off the top fliers in their newly formed trines, and almost everyone in Vos would come out to see them. He watched in total awe as the first two groups went.

When the third and final group took off, he listened intently to the announcer as he called out their names. "Starscream heads up the final group, followed by Thundercracker and Firestorm." Their acrobatics and speed blew the previous one's performances to pieces. The blue jet barrel rolled around the tri-colored one in a long curved motion while the third red jet flew circles around them both.

"Whoooaaa..." Skywarp said, his optics wide as he watched.

"Someday you'll fly like that," his adoptive father said. "They told me that you have a spark like your brother's. One that pulses a little faster. It means you'll have amazing speed and skill, just like them. You just need to practice."

"Really?" Skywarp asked.

"Yep."

Just like them...

The idea he had the potential to be as great a flier was exciting. Imagining crowds of onlookers impressed by his talent instead of his current reality of strangers pitying him because of his birth parents. He wanted to forget about the sensation of an empty fuel tank, leave that part of his life as far behind as possible.

Glancing down, he stared at his step-brother, who looked just like his adoptive father. He would never fit in with them, no matter how much they insisted he was part of their family. Lifting his gaze back up towards the stage he stared at the elegant seekers arranged in their trines after their performances. The tri-colored one waved at the onlookers as his trinemates stood at attention behind him. Skyarp grinned, deciding in that moment nothing would stop him from being just like them.


A/N- This is a three part story, with a follow up also in the works. The next part will be posted soon. I don't like asking for reviews, but it's helpful to get feedback. So if you like it, please tell me why, and if you have helpful things to also say please do. Thank you!!