Ticklish?
Summary: After witnessing Sam and Mikaela play-fighting, the Twins decide to try out one of the demonstrated techniques on a certain unsuspecting Seeker.
Rating: T (for mild cussing.)
Continuity: Movieverse.
Disclaimer: Transformers and all associated canon characters belong to Dreamworks/Paramount and Hasbro, not me.
Ticklish?
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had just risen from recharge and were fuelling themselves ready to go out for a leisure-drive when they heard Mikaela Banes scream.
Both were immediately on alert, for they had been told that a loud, high pitched cry such as that they had just heard, often signified the sound of a human in distress. As the sound repeated itself, the two headed out of the medbay, wondering why the human girl was crying out.
All the mechs on-base loved Mikaela, because she was willing to wash any of them in alt, and she didn't skimp on the warm water. When Mikaela was finished giving any Autobot a wash and wax, they were gleaming and shiny with the high-quality wax Mikaela preferred, something that particularly pleased the appearance-conscious Sunstreaker. Even Optimus Prime had said that Mikaela had given him the best polish he'd been given in vorns. Mikaela had laughed thrown back her plait of dark-brown hair and stated "I love a challenge."
As the Twins headed for the rec-room, where the sound was coming from, they couldn't help wonder who was upsetting her, for on the Autobot Base at least, she had no enemies.
They saw a wall of backs presented to them as they came in, the attention of the mechs on something in front of them. The mood seemed humorous, not at all menacing or tense. The pair looked at each other, wordlessly confirming their plan of action to each other, and both pushed a smaller mech aside so they could see what was going on.
The smaller mechs in question - Cliffjumper and Hound respectively
- protested loudly, but the Twins ignored them. Instead they looked on in dumbfounded silence as they saw Mikaela pinned to the ground by her lover, Sam Witwicky. As he used his legs and one hand to pin her to the floor, his other moved alternately from her armpit to her waist, the fingers flickering against her skin, an action that caused her to cry out again and writhe beneath him.
"What's going on?" Sideswipe whispered into the audio to his right, which happened to be Bluestreak's, as Cliffjumper elbowed himself into a space between two others and Mirage crouched to let Hound climb on his back so he could see.
"Sam and 'Mikaela are play-fighting. It seems that the move known as 'tickling' seems to be particularly effective," the blue mech stated.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were familiar with play-fighting, a style of combat that was more fun than serious hence the name. Twins and bonded couples often participated in it, and so did close friends. They knew then that no harm was likely to be coming to Mikaela, but that still left one pertinent question.
"If it's in play, why does she cry so loudly and shrilly, as if she's in distress?" He looked again at Mikaela's tearful face. "Why is she both screaming and laughing?"
"I believe the action of "tickling" makes her laugh uncontrollably, even as she screams to be released." The big blue mech looked confused. "I do not know why."
Sam and Mikaela now seemed aware of their audience, and sat up, blushing furiously, or at least Sam was. Mikaela's face was also red but she still seemed amused.
"Sam, what is 'tickling'?" Sideswipe asked.
Sam flushed even redder, if that were possible.
"Um - well - it's hard to explain, it's a- um- stimulating motion that makes people laugh, but they find it stimulating in like the wrong way, so they try to get away from it?"
"I do not understand," Sideswipe said.
"Well, I do this," Sam said, running wiggling fingertips down one of Sideswipe's feet. It seemed Cybertronians had some things in common, for the mech jerked his foot away from the teasing fingers and looked at Sam.
"Touch too light to be pleasurable, but heavy enough to register on the sensors?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Sam said.
"I can see how it could be annoying," Sunstreaker said.
"Annoying? If someone knows your most ticklish places, it's bloody torture!" Mikaela chimed in, wiping the tears from her face. "Yes, it makes you laugh, but it torments you, especially if he won't stop!" As they both smirked, she glared at them.
"You ought to try it sometime before laughing about it. It may make us laugh, but it's really no laughing manner if you're on the receiving end, as harmless as it is!"
"Harmless?" echoed Sideswipe.,
"It does no physical harm but believe me, it's torturous! Now if you don't mind, I need to rest, my side hurts!" With that she walked out from the rec-room, not looking back. Sam followed, also not looking back, so neither saw the sneaky smiles that spread over the Twin's faces.
"Hey, Sunny, we haven't done any jet-judo recently, have we?" Sideswipe asked slowly.
"No, brother, we haven't, we'll have to rectify that soon before our skills get rusty," Sunstreaker replied.
"Would you join me in a little scientific experiment, brother?" Sideswipe asked. "Regarding whether Seekers are ticklish?"
"I'd love to, Sides, lets go," Sunstreaker snickered.
The two left the rec-room in fits of giggles, to make their plans in private.
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Starscream peered out of his hangar at the Decepticon Base to see that the weather had improved from the unsettled, squally conditions of the preceding week, and was in fact beautiful flying weather, with unbroken sunshine ensuring thermals over rocks and so little wind that there would be no resistance if he had to fly into the direction the wind came from.
He decided that while the weather held, he would take full advantage of it, and he stepped out and drew the almost-still air through his vents in anticipation. He considered inviting his wing brothers, but had just spent the best part of three days stuck in the Base with then with the weather so unpredictable that stillness could signify either a storm, of fine weather. Weather forecasting was such an inexact science that Cybertronians, although more advanced than humans in many things, were not much further ahead in this area, and so Starscream could not accurately predict if flying in it would be just exhilarating, or just dangerous.
No, he decided, the rest of his Trine could find out the weather themselves, and could join him or not as they wished, but while he had it, he would enjoy the solitude for a time.
Not really bothering to mute the sound of his thrusters any, Starscream rapidly took off, heading off into the brilliant blue sky.
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The Twins were familiar with Starscream's favourite routes, and all of them were visible from the Lookout. They had hoped the fine weather might tempt the Seeker into flight, and once they spotted him they folded down into alt and headed for a position close enough to his expected return flight path where they could hide and wait to jump him.
It worked exactly as planned, Starscream flying low as he executed some lazy barrel rolls and wing-over-wing manoeuvres, having slowed to enjoy his aerobatic antics. Perhaps he should have been more alert to the threat, but as he revelled in his flight, he let his guard down, so the first he knew of the presence of the Twins was when they yelled as they sprang up towards him and out of hiding, and a moment later they landed on him, one on each wing.
Starscream's first reaction was to screech, but he had worked out a plan of action for this and pulled up, trying to execute a tight loop-the-loop in the hope of throwing them off, but they hung tight and alternated pushing and pulling on his wings, destabilising him. Not wishing to crash, he pulled out of the manoeuvre and came down on his belly, luckily not too hard. Strangely enough, he noted, the Twins aided with this, it seemed they wanted him undamaged for whatever plans they had for him.
The first thing they did was to flip him onto his back, the most vulnerable position for a Seeker to be in, and he immediately felt vulnerable and threatened. He struggled against his captors futilely, and felt even more threatened as one sat on his legs and the other pulled his arms over his head and restrained them with one hand.
"What-what are you doing?" he whined. "What are you going to do to me?"
"We just need your help, Starscream, for a little experiment in sensation," Sideswipe said. "You're all for sensation, right? I've heard it said that Seekers place a great deal of belief in the power and importance of touch."
"Y-yes, but not so much in painful touch," Starscream said, struggling vainly against his captors.
"Oh, I don't think Sam or Mikaela do, either, so it shouldn't be painful. Thing is, Sam does it to Mikaela without a qualm," Sunstreaker said.
"Mikaela? Isn't that the squishy boy's mate?" Horror flashed in his optics and he struggled even more. "Things that mates do to mates? You're going to force me?"
"Starscream! Forced interface one of our greatest taboos, we're not going to do that!" Sideswipe exclaimed in disgust. "Do you really think we'd stoop that low? No, we want to see if Seekers react to a certain action that Sam did to Mikaela that she described as "torturous" to us."
"Torturous? That sort of thing is usually painful," Starscream whined in fright, quietly comming his wingbrothers. Perhaps they could rescue him before the Twins went too far.
"We doubt it, but we're going to try it anyway," Sunstreaker told him. "No more time-wasting, Screamer! Are you ticklish?" the yellow mech asked, moving the fingers of one hand in the motion Sam had shown him and bringing them to bear on the Seeker's shiny hide. "Let's find out, shall we?"
As Starscream writhed and began living up to the unflattering nickname, Sideswipe wriggled his fingers to loosen them, and then joined in.
This extra stimulation of the Seeker's sensor-loaded hide served to made Starscream's cries louder and longer.
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Decepticon Base.
Starscream's wing brothers were jerked out of their thoughts as they received a com from Starscream.
Help! They're going to hurt me, they want to do something described as 'torturous'! Save me, TC, 'Warp! A set of co-ordinates followed.
The two Seekers were on their feet immediately, and a few seconds later were airborne, heading for the co-ordinates given. When they first heard the shrieking, they increased their speed.
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It was Sideswipe who heard the approaching planes.
"C'mon Sunny, experiment's over, I think we've answered the question and yes, he's ticklish. Now his brothers are on their way, so let's split." The two released their captive, moved to the road, took to their alts and roared off at a speed well in excess of the limit.
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Thundercracker and Skywarp saw Starscream lying on the ground looking dazed and a bit scuffed, but otherwise unhurt, and dropped down beside him, clicking and cooing, stroking his face and shoulders in concern. Skywarp glared at the Twin's retreating afts.
"Do you want me to go after them?" he growled. Starscream thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"No, not this time, Warp, as it happened, 'torturous' doesn't always mean 'painful'" he said. Skywarp's brow furrowed in confusion.
"How come?" he asked. "How does that work?"
A sly grin spread over Starscream's faceplates as he looked at his youngest wingbrother.
"Like this!" he said, suddenly springing at Skywarp and bringing his hands to his wing brother's waist plating. "Allow me to demonstrate!"
Once again, Seeker shrieking split the air.