Author's Note- Hello *waves shyly from behind my chair*. I am new to the site and this is my first published fanfiction. Constructive criticism is very welcome but I would ask reviewers to be gentle please as I'm quite fragile.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the story and please review.

Beta- The lovely Kibble Beast.

Disclaimer- I do not own Transformers.

Warnings- Transformer swearing, some violence, perhaps some hints of depression.

Imperfections

'Statement: Starscream coward.'

'There is a difference between cowardice and having a glimmer of common sense-' you lapdog. The second in command of the Decepticon army glowered at the telepath, careful to keep the less than flattering organic term protected in his processor. 'If you can't coax him out, what hope do I have?'

'Reasoning: If normality is restored Lord Megatron may return to his duties. Likelihood of this outcome: 89.51%.'

'You're saying if I go and invite him to beat me into scrap and possible deactivation unprovoked then he might go back to being our mighty fearless leader?' Starscream was incensed and his rage only intensified when the TIC inclined his helm in assent. 'Contrary to what you might think Soundwave,' he hissed dangerously, 'I am not a fool! My survival instincts are still very much intact, thank you.'

'Starscream's survival: not necessary for Decepticon cause. Megatron's survival and leadership: paramount.' Then the telepath leant forward and without changing in his monotone asked deviously, 'Query: would Starscream like Lord Megatron to know about his defiance of the Fall-'

'Shut up!' Starscream shrieked. 'If he had ordered you to scrap your symbiotes, would you have done so?'

Silence followed this outburst for a few kliks, then: 'Query: would Starscream like to retain the respect of the army?'

'Of course.'

'Query: will Starscream attempt to retrieve Lord Megatron?'

'… Fine. But what happened between myself and the Fallen is to never reach his audios, understand? And I do not promise that I will be able to get him out. You and Shockwave could not; I sincerely doubt I will be able to.'

'Affirmative and understood.'

After Soundwave left, Starscream's knees went out from under him and he collapsed backwards onto his berth. Secretly, he believed that it was better to be a living coward than a dead martyr. Not that he would advertise that fact to the army of course, even if they knew it already.

Primus damn it! He didn't want to be deactivated!

He didn't want to attempt to reason with his glitching Commander. What other reason could there be for him to lock himself in his quarters these last three meta-cycles? Only Hook had been allowed in on the first orn and not only had he come out half-scrapped, his gestalt had been heard whispering that the medic had been having nightmares and refusing to open up his side of the link to them. The tyrant's living Decepticon signature was the only sign that Megatron had not rusted over in there.

Ever since they had returned from Egypt the Warlord had locked himself away. The army was beginning to talk.

Sighing, the Seeker reassured himself by repeating his earlier mantra in his processor. If he didn't come out for the others he won't come out for me. He decided to try subtlety before going to Megatron's personal quarters and banging on his door; that action seemed to be courting disaster of one kind or another.

Master? Do you require any assistance? When this comm was met with stubborn silence for five kliks the SIC simply stated, I will check every cycle or so, is that satisfactory My Liege? There was still no answer so Starscream finished, Very well Master.

He was nothing if not persistent (as millennia of him trying to seize power could testify). He would wait.

Patiently, relentlessly.

It took over a decacycle and a destroyed recharge pattern but finally he got an answer.

Master? Do you need-

Energon. It was very curt and devoid of emotion but at least the Commander had acknowledged him.

Yes My Lord- right away.

That was how the Air Commander found himself walking through the Nemesis to his leader's personal quarters, tray of cubes (a mixture of low and high grade) held carefully in his servos, apprehension increasing with each step closer to Megatron. No one knew what state the Decepticon Lord was in, what he was feeling, and that did not bode well for Starscream's visit.

Praying to Primus, Unicron and every other deity he had heard of that he would not be shot through the spark as he entered the room- if he was even granted entry to begin with- Starscream knocked politely on the door and it slid open with a small hiss of welcome.

Or warning.

The quarters were in darkness and Starscream noticed no light penetrated from the corridor outside before the door abruptly closed behind him and the SIC jumped, his spark buzzing unhappily in its chamber. 'My Lord? Where are you?' Nervously, the Air Commander stepped forward a few paces, banged his upper leg armour into a table and winced with a slight growl. 'Master? I have brought you energon…'

'Put it on the table,' was the low order from somewhere deeper inside. Starscream made to obey and then had to resist the urge to bolt from the room as he was forced to surrender the tray, his makeshift shield and only protection. Nervously, the flier hovered in the room, unsure of what to do as Megatron did not deign to dismiss him. He thought he saw malignant slits of red squinting at him but didn't dare approach yet. Deciding to kneel as the safest course of action, he dropped to the ground, wings flat along the length of his back armour in submission.

'Mast-'

'Drop the act!' Megatron suddenly snarled from across the room, 'I'm in no mood for it.'

Standing, Starscream cautiously progressed towards where he thought his Commander was situated, even as his instincts screamed at him to flee. He realised that the Warlord must have closed or offlined his optics as otherwise he would surely see the tell-tale lights in the darkness.

'Now,' the Decepticon Lord almost-whispered, 'what do you want? All of you?'

'My Lord, we simply wished to attend to your health…' The SIC began.

'For a Decepticon my dear Starscream, you've always been a poor liar.'

Freezing where he was, the winged mech inclined his helm in acknowledgement, even though he knew that his leader could not see it. 'We need your leadership Master,' and wasn't that just painful to admit, 'we are floundering without your guidance.'

'I am surrounded by incompetent idiots,' Megatron sighed quietly, 'are you telling me that my army cannot take care of itself for such an insignificant space of time?'

'We…' The Commander's statement was quite damning. 'My Lord, I don't know what you want me to tell you. We were concerned for you…'

'You are all grown mechs, supposedly the elite of my great army; I refuse to coddle you all like sparklings. You know your duties, get on with them.'

'Master, do you have… any orders… at all?' It was sheer foolishness to ask but he had to give Soundwave something.

'No… frag off Starscream.'

'My Lord would you not like me to-' Starscream screeched as he was slammed into a wall by the throat.

'What did I just say?' Megatron growled next to his audio.

'My most gracious-' The Seeker choked as the grip tightened around his vocaliser.

'Drop the act Starscream, I've already told you I am not in the mood!' Brusquely the tyrant threw his second to the ground and stormed back to his pocket of shadow.

Moments later, the lights came on but only dimly, just enough for the Seeker to see silhouettes against the dark. 'Master?' A low growl was his only answer and the second began to edge his way forward. 'My Lord please, what is wrong?' When he wasn't shouted at or attacked, his movements regained some confidence and he continued his approach. 'Let me help you…' Why is it always me that ends up in these situations?

'If I wanted help I would have called for it- and I would certainly have not called on you.'

'And yet you let me in My Lord,' Starscream whispered bravely, 'the others came and you never answered them.' Megatron snarled, an agonised sound, and there was a screech of metal tearing through metal. 'Master? Megatron?'

'Go away Starscream,' the Warlord murmured, 'just leave.'

'…No…' Idiot, idiot.

'No?' It was a dangerous hiss that sent ice through the SIC's energon.

'If I leave, then Soundwave will never leave either of us alone My Lord. Neither of us will ever get another moment's peace.' Primus bless his ability to think fast on his pedes.

An audible clicking noise from the doorway snapped through the silence like an energon whip. 'Fine. Then we both remain here until I wish to leave.'

But that meant… that meant Starscream was grounded until his leader decided to set him free. His wings flicked in distress. 'Master I… I need to fly!'

'Be quiet!' There was a taint in the Decepticon Lord's voice. Something that had never been there before… a weakness.

Unexplainably worried the flier tried to get his leader to talk to him or, at least, to let him out. 'My Liege, what troubles you? I could get Soundwave or Shockwave for you if you desire.'

'I thought I had made it clear that I wanted to be left alone, but obviously none of you respect me enough to honour my wishes.'

Starscream put one pede in front of the other until he could clearly make out Megatron's outline sitting on his throne and dropped to his knees to crawl the last few inches. 'We do respect you, My Lord.'

Megatron laughed deridingly, 'Yes of course you do my dear second, of course you do.'

The Seeker reached out and ran a servo tentatively down his leader's knee and leg armour feeling what seemed to be a newly made gash on the side of his leader's leg. Keeping up his gentle stroking he asked once more, 'Master? Megatron, what is wrong? Whatever it is, between us all we'll fix it for you.'

'It cannot be fixed Starscream.' A large servo came down to rub a wing, 'Do not offer me something you cannot hope to give me. You should have learnt that lesson by now.'

The Air Commander's wing arched up a little into the caresses but Starscream knew he had to be careful what he said now one of his two most treasured appendages was in such a vulnerable position. 'I'm sorry, My Lord.'

'… Not your doing.'

What on Cybertron was going on? Baffled, Starscream closed his optics and stayed quiet. He was always blamed regardless if it was his fault or a twist of fate. Why wasn't Megatron beating him into spare parts to make himself feel better?

'Are you all truly so lost Starscream? Must I really deal with all your little grievances?' The tyrant's engines rumbled in a full-framed sigh.

'No My Lord, we can stay here if that is what you want.' The flier spoke earnestly.

'What about your 'need' to fly?' It didn't quite have the energy behind it to be as snide as it was clearly intended to be.

'It will not bother me straightaway, My Lord. Will you… will you let me out?' Starscream couldn't keep the dread out of his tone.

'Perhaps. Don't push me about it now, just be quiet.'

'Yes Master, we should not have disturbed you in the first place. I'm sorry.'

'Hush now.' Megatron leaned back in his chair, guiding his second's forehelm to rest on his knee plating. The room drifted into a peaceful stillness and the lights faded back out.

Cycles later, Starscream stirred out of his recharge as his systems alerted him to the lack of energon in his tank. He glanced up to see two pools of molten lava watching him. 'My Liege? Would you mind if I had some of your energon?'

'Did you bring high grade?'

'Yes Master.'

'Bring us over a couple of cubes each.' Megatron withdrew his servos and laid them on his armrests.

Starscream stood and hesitated before he felt his leader stand behind him and place a servo on the middle of his back. The tyrant guided him expertly through his quarters, eased his second into a chair at the table and placed a drink in the flier's servos. The Seeker was just beginning to sip his high grade when he heard Megatron slam his empty cube into the table, shattering it. Wincing, Starscream caught the light and brief sound of a glass cube scraping against the tray as his leader picked up another drink. 'Are you- we- going to get overenergised Master?'

'I am-' the Warlord downed and destroyed another cube, '-you may.'

'Thank you My Lord.' Starscream nursed his own high grade as his leader recklessly cleared the small tray, occasionally making sounds of disgust at the taste of low grade.

'Next time you bring me energon Starscream, don't bring me this slag.' Megatron grumbled, obviously not as energised as he had hoped to become.

'Soundwave insis-'

'You are my second, he is my third, overrule him.' The larger Decepticon ordered bluntly, almost patronisingly.

'Yes Sir,' the flier ignored the tone and smirked.

Megatron hissed suddenly and the lighting, still on low, came back on. 'Get this glass out of my servo,' he demanded, thrusting the appendage at Starscream. The Seeker carefully took the larger servo in his own more delicate ones and eased the sharp pieces out of the armour's chinks.

'Is that better Master?'

'No!' The Decepticon Lord tore his arm away viciously, striking the Seeker across the faceplate as he did so, and stormed back across the room. The quarters once again plunged into complete darkness. 'No… it isn't.'

Starscream stood cautiously and followed the larger mech across the room, fanning his wings out behind him to keep them out of the reach of Megatron's claws. 'My Lord? Is this about the Fallen?'

'… I knew you were foolish Starscream but I didn't know you were quite that unwise.' Starscream could feel through the change in air current that his leader was advancing on him. Quickly he reached behind himself and used the edge of the table to guide him to the opposite side, trying panic-stricken to backtrack.

'Forgive me my idiocy My Lord, please.' The table flew out of his light hold and crashed against the wall with a splintering sound and the Seeker cowered.

But no blows came.

There was the sound of Megatron's engine churning and deep and heavy intakes being drawn. Then ominous silence.

After a little while Starscream uncurled from the protective ball he had instinctively gone into and whispered, 'I'm sorry Master.'

'I will not speak of things with you that you don't understand,' the tyrant snapped. Still on the floor, the SIC looked up and scampered over to his leader by following the glow of Megatron's optics. Moments later servos ran across his wings. 'I just want quiet Starscream, can you give me that?'

'Yes My Lord.' The flier let out a shrill cry as he was lifted off the floor and placed at the foot of his leader's throne as Megatron sat down.

A stuttered sigh came from the larger mech and his fists clenched. His engines thrummed menacingly and astroseconds later he stood, ignoring his second at his pedes, and began to destroy the room like a tornado. Starscream could only listen to the carnage and hope that his leader's rage would not be turned on him. 'He failed me! He left me! And now I have to clean up his Primus-damned mess.' Megatron bellowed, punching the wall until the scent of energon permeated the air. 'He allowed the army- my army- to starve! If energy levels had not been so low we would have won. For the first time on this organic infested planet. My future soldiers would not have deactivated so pointlessly. What was he thinking? Did he spend my death in recharge? The blind foolish arrogant lazy slagger!' The Warlord slumped to the ground. 'He left me… three times over! Millennia of loyal service and he left me to rot in the bowels of the fleshlings' planet. Ice and water. Then he dared… he dared to get deactivated on me…'

Starscream stayed still until he was sure the tyrant had stopped then crawled forward to find the downed form of his Commander. Feeling around carefully with his servos, grimacing as his fragile digits and metallic palms were scratched by various broken belongings and furnishings, the Seeker finally found his leader's pede. He caressed it and chirped softly in comfort. Megatron placed his servo on Starscream's helm and closed his optics.

'Master… we… we will help you. This can all be corrected,' he crooned to his leader.

'I'm not an Autobot, Starscream. I am perfectly capable of running my army myself.'

'I know My Liege but there are some inconsequential tasks that you could delegate to us so you might focus on the important matters…'

Megatron listened to his second pander to his ego and was reminded how much he truly did enjoy the Seeker's performances. He gave a small smile.

And then a roar of rage.

Starscream froze and cringed back, shrinking in on himself trembling. His leader gripped his wings and pulled him back. 'M-master?' The Seeker shrieked as sharp claws slashed through his chassis, 'Please My-my Lord what d-did I s-say-!'

'Nothing,' the tyrant whispered and relaxed his hold. 'I told you earlier to leave; why did you not obey me?'

'I-I-' The Seeker stammered incomprehensibly before falling silent. He didn't know the reason himself.

The Warlord sagged backwards to lean against the wall, manoeuvring his Air Commander back to his previous position in front of his pedes.

'My Lord…?'

He saw me after the battle… and didn't recoil from me. Didn't… mock me, even vain as he is. The Decepticon Lord stared up at his ceiling and had a brief argument with himself before internally ordering for his lights to come on at normal strength. The lights came on with blinding intensity after so long in the almost constant pitch darkness and Starscream buried his faceplates in Megatron's pede with a wail of pain, closing his optics tight. The Commander cuffed the back of his flier's helm. 'Knock that off.'

'Yes Sir,' the flier whimpered, slowly raising his helm to look at his leader. Starscream's spark twisted strangely when his leader looked away from him. Megatron's optics were fixed on the ground somewhere off to one side and, despite the fact that Starscream had always wanted to see his leader give him a gesture of servility, it didn't look right now that he had his desire. 'Master…?' Megatron finally looked at him properly, optics half daring the Seeker to say something, half hoping that he wouldn't. Hesitantly, Starscream reached up and ran the pad of a talon down one of the many scars crisscrossing much of his Commander's faceplates, and determinedly ignored the large crack through the middle of the top of Megatron's helm.

The larger mech grabbed his second's wrist and used it to pull the Seeker closer. Viciously, he bit down through the plating on Starscream's inner arm drawing a keen from the flier. Holding the slighter mech firmly still Megatron snarled into the metal beneath his mouth, 'I will not be ridiculed.' Although it sounded more anxious and less authoritative than he would have liked.

Starscream grasped and guided Megatron's free servo with his own to trace the Seeker's own blemishes, some self-inflicted, others not. 'Master, Megatron, why would anyone ridicule you? We are all warriors and each of us has our scars.'

The Commander stared fascinated at the marks on his second's frame, some he had inflicted himself through punishment, and leaned in close to see them clearer. 'You say I will not be laughed at or insulted and yet I have known you to call me such things as "ugly old rust-bucket".'

Starscream quickly diverted the tyrant's imminent rage, 'And you have called me a 'useless worthless failure', My Lord. I cannot speak for you but I can say that my comments are either out of hurt or anger and not meant in seriousness. But I swear I will not make those kind of remarks anymore.'

'Starscream… you can be successful, you can redeem yourself of your past, but I am deformed! Even Hook cannot repair me.'

'Master, you are still our powerful mighty leader just as you have always been. If you think someone is not looking at you respectfully, I'll rip their spark out for you. But I don't believe there will be a single mech in the army that will not be enraged on your behalf. Soundwave would cause a genocide for you and Shockwave would bring you Prime's helm if you desired it. You only have to snap your claws My Lord, nothing has changed.' The Seeker sighed in relief when his arm was released and a servo began to rub his wing in a soothing manner.

'Starscream?'

'Yes My Lord?'

'Those ideas,' Megatron's expression turned malevolent and he brought his faceplates close to his Seeker's, smirking for the first time since Egypt, 'those ideas sound perfect.'

Thanks for reading :-).

Oh just a quick note- I'm writing a fic detailing Megatron and Starscream trying to form a truce and I would love for you to read it when it does go up.

Edited- 25/3/2012