A/N: I've never really agreed with the headcanon that Cybertronians grow like human children or that they start out like infants, so these young ones are like full grown bots. Kinda prefer the thing where sparks are harvested and put into protoforms heh..
Many young seekers stood in a line at the Vosian flight school. It was mandatory for all young seekers to take this short class before being allowed to fly amongst the other citizens of Vos. Today was a big day for the students. They would get to have their first flight. Their first taste of the air. It was an understatement to say that the batch of younglings were buzzing with excitement. And perhaps a bit of nervousness too.
As their instructor walked down the line, looking each seeker in the eyes. Each youngling seemed more focused on the open sky than their instructor, but all eyes were on him when he began to speak.
"Remember everything I taught you," he said as he took a few steps back. "Take things easy and don't crash." Everyone seemed to hold their breath, desperately awaiting the instructor to say the two words they needed to hear. Just those two little words and they could fly for the first time in their ten days of life. "Take off."
Almost as soon as those words left the instructor's mouth, the eager young mechs transformed and took off into the sky. All of them jetted off at top speeds. Some raced each other while others did aerial stunts.
Among the group of young ones was a red and white seeker by the name of Starscream. He, of all the new fliers, seemed most eager to test his abilities in the air. He corkscrewed and dove and raced all challengers. Before long, a purple and black seeker flew up to him, initiating a challenge. Starscream recognized him as Skywarp, a very cheerful and dim seeker with a loud mouth.
"Think you can out speed me," Skywarp snickered loud enough to be heard over the roar of thrusters.
"I know I can," Starscream laughed, readying himself for another race.
"Mind if I join in," another seeker, a Blue and red one, cut in. Starscream knew this blue seeker as Thundercracker. He was rather quiet and that was all he knew, but a challenge was a challenge.
"Bring it on," Starscream laughed, his tone determined. "We'll race back to the flight academy."
Without waiting for further instruction, the other two seekers turned quick. Both were soon followed by Starscream, who had lost the lead. He did not lose faith in his abilities.
Starscream jetted towards the academy at full speed, gaining his lost ground and attempting to pull ahead of the other two. Of course the other two were just as competitive as Starscream and were not going to just let him win. The three seekers gave it their all, zipping through the open air as fast as they could.
When they sped past the academy, the three slowed down and began to converse again.
"I won, losers," Skywarp gloated.
"In your dreams," Starscream scoffed with feigned offense. "You were clearly too busy eating my vapor trails to have won."
"You're the one who's dreamin'," Skywarp laughed.
"We tied," Thundercracker stated. "We're all fast."
"Well, I bet I'm better at stunts than you two could ever hope to be," Starscream said with a huff, hoping for another fun challenge.
"You wish, Screamer," Skywarp teased.
"Shall we have another contest to settle this then," Thundercracker asked with a confident tone.
"You're on," Skywarp and Starscream said in unison, both sounding absolutely determined to show off for one another.
And so, the three young ones preceded to perform aerial tricks for one another. They each tried their hardest to outshine the other two and impress them. Of course, being only a deca-cycle old, they were all novices compared to a truly realized seeker, but their skill was still impressive for their age.
When the three finally landed after being worn down by all the stunts, they stuck by one another. Although they had been competing with each other, they had formed a quick friendship.
"You two are pretty good," Starscream said with a chuckle, nudging Skywarp's side with his elbow joint. "I hope we can spend a lot of time together."
"Me too," Thundercracker said with a rare grin.
"Where you two headin' after this," Skywarp asked, eager to find out if they might get to be close like this all the time.
"I'm heading off to an institute in Iacon," Starscream answered proudly. "I'll be studying in the field of science!"
"Oh," Skywarp said, sounding very disappointed. "I'll be stayin' here in Vos. Got some crummy job here. I wasn't really payin' attention to what it was."
"I'll be staying here too," Thundercracker added. His statement clearly brought a small twinge of joy to the purple seeker, but Skywarp was still bummed about Starscream.
"I see," Starscream murmured, crossing his arms over his chassis. "So you two will be able to fly together all the time and I'll be off in Iacon."
"Hey, don'cha start poutin', Screamer," Skywarp said with a hand placed on one of Starscream's shoulders. "We can meet up after you're done with that institute!"
"That's actually a good idea, Skywarp," Thundercracker praised, placing his own hand on Starscream's other shoulder. "We'll meet up here in a couple Meta-cycles and see how good of a flier you are then!"
Starscream smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me," he giggled. "You two won't beat me. I'll be the best damn flier you have ever seen."
"I'll make you eat those words, Screamer," Skywarp laughed, wearing his trademark grin. "I'll whoop your afts."
"Sure you will, Skywarp," Starscream replied, as they watched the sun set over the horizon at last.
Ten Meta-cycles later, Starscream found himself sitting outside the flight academy where he had taken his first flight. He had just graduated from the Iacon Institute and had remembered a promise he had made when he was just a newborn. He watched with nostalgia as the newest set of younglings were set free to fly for the first time. Seeing how excited they were brought back memories of the two friends he had made way back then.
Starscream wondered how Skywarp and Thundercracker were doing now. He wondered how they had changed during their time apart. He wondered if they even remembered him or if they would even show up.
Before he knew it, nightfall came and his hopes of meeting up with his friends began to fade. He was no longer the bright eyed sparkling he once was and the world was not so wondrous to him. He was an optimist no more. He doubted the other two seekers even remembered him. They were able to stay close and become friends, or even more than that, while Starscream had to leave and became but a faded memory to them. Or so he thought.
Just when he was about to give up, two seekers touched down near the edge of the academy. Starscream stared in awe as they both spotted him. He could easily recognize those color schemes. They were his friends alright.
"Starscream, that you," Skywarp asked with a grin as he trotted over to the red and white seeker.
Starscream stood up, a grin tugging at his lips. "Yeah, it's me," he replied before Skywarp tackled him with a big, clumsy embrace.
"Good to see you again, Starscream," Thundercracker said with his deep, silken voice.
Once Starscream was released from the embrace, he gave both of his friends closer look downs. Much to his surprise, these two had changed a lot physically since they had met. Thundercracker had been upgraded somewhere down the line, made bigger and bulkier than when they were young. He also had a red visor that covered his optics, which made him look very attractive. As for Skywarp, his frame had not changed much, but he now wore a red eye patch like visor over his right optic and his paint job's pattern changed. He still looked like a big goofball at heart though.
Of course Starscream had changed in appearance as well over the Meta-cycles. His frame was a bit thicker than Skywarp's now and he was made a tad taller during an upgrade too. That and his hands and forearms were now painted cyan in color, adding style to his design.
"I thought you two might have forgotten about me," Starscream stated, glancing down at their pedes.
"Pff. How could we ever forget you," Skywarp said, tilting his helm and shifting his weight from one pede to the other. "You're the reason we've been trainin' our afts off all these Meta-cycles."
"You're in for quite a challenge," Thundercracker added with a smirk, his arms crossing over his chassis.
Starscream looked up and donned a confident smirk as well. "More like you two are in for the challenge," he scoffed. "I haven't just been studying all this time."
"So, shall we race then," Thundercracker asked with a grin.
"How about a race from here to Vos," Starscream suggested, motioning to the city in the distance. "But let's make it more interesting than just a race. Last one there buys the other two drinks."
"You're on," Skywarp exclaimed, ready to show Starscream just how good he had gotten since they had last seen each other.
"Alright, on your mark," Thundercracker said as they all got in a line, facing Vos. "Get set... Go!"
As soon as they heard go, they all leaped up and transformed into their sleek atl modes. The three pulled up and gained altitude before really focusing on their little race. Once at a decent altitude, Starscream kicking his thrusters into gear and pulled ahead of the other two. Of course Skywarp would not allow that for long.
"You think you can out speed me, but I have a few new tricks," Skywarp teased above the roar of their thrusters and howling wind.
Before Starscream could reply with a witty comeback, there was a strange sound and Skywarp vanished, reappearing ahead of them. Baffled by what he saw, Starscream unknowingly slowed down. Thundercracker took this as a chance to pass the red seeker. It took Starscream a moment to get his bearings once again. Shaking his surprise from his head, Starscream kicked on his thrusters once again.
"You little cheat," he grumbled as he tailed behind Thundercracker. Each time he tried to get around Thundercracker, the blue seeker stayed in his way, making regaining his lead impossible. "You two are ganging up on me!"
"Hehe, we sure are," Skywarp snickered from the front, doing some barrel rolls to show off.
"Sorry, but it looks like you're going to be buying the drinks," Thundercracker teased.
"We'll see about that," Starscream said with a chuckle, having already hatched a quick plan.
Once they neared the city of Vos, Starscream acted quick. He feigned as if her were going right and waiting for Thundercracker to move to block him before zipping around him the other way. Then, once he was past Thundercracker, he sped past Skywarp, who had been too preoccupied with his tricks to see him coming. In the end, Starscream was the first to pass over the city limits and enter Vosian airspace. He was followed by Skywarp and then Thundercracker.
"I win," Starscream cheered with a sing song tone. "Looks like Thundercracker will be buying the drinks."
"We almost had you," Skywarp chuckled. "You're pretty smart, huh, Screamer?"
"I am," Starscream replied. "So, Thundercracker, where are we going to go for drinks. Never really got to visit bars here in Vos."
"I know a good one. Just follow me," Thundercracker said, peeling off towards the left. The other two soon followed. The three slowed down and enjoying the wind on their wings.
*Hey, TC, how do you like Screamer,* Skywarp asked through a private communication line so Starscream could not hear. *Is he as cool as you remember?*
*He's better than I remember, Warp,* Thundercracker replied.
*Do you think we could maybe-*
*I think we could,* Thundercracker said with a sweet tone. *I think he'd make an excellent third.*
*I'm so ready to court him, TC,* Skywarp snickered. *Been ready since flight school.*
"You are being awful quiet," Starscream said as he followed Thundercracker's lead.
"Sorry, Star. We're just excited to show you the best bar in Vos," Thundercracker replied. "You're gonna love it."