ATTENTION: Venomstriker is my girlfriend's OC and used with permission! Also, she's my little raptor, so don't touch. X3 Enjoy!

Of the many rules on the Nemesis put in effect by Megatron, the ones Venomstriker was currently having trouble with obeying were the following:

1) Do not sneak out

2) Do not argue with senior officers

3) Respect those with the bigger guns (meaning Dreadwing, Starscream, and of course, Megatron, the ICs from least important to most important {in her opinion, of course}, respectively)

4) Don't have sexual relations with the opposite faction

Hey, no one said she was perfect.

She poked her helm around a corner, praying for someone she knew. For once, Unicron answered her prayers. "Hey! Hey!"

The Seeker femme guarding the Energon store room turned her helm. Red optics narrowed, but under Venom's insisting, she walked over.

"What do you want?"

"I'm going out."

"Again? I'm not covering for you this time. Find someone else to rope into your plots."

"Come on, Nighty."

She snorted and sighed, pinching between her optics. "I hate you..." She dropped her servo and nodded. "Fine, fine. Just don't get into trouble, will you? I'm tired of mucking out the drone's barracks, and Hurricane is getting tired, too."

"A kiss for luck?" She pouted. She was younger than the Seeker, and liked to press her luck with her. The Seeker's carrier had been good friends with her sire, and they were practically raised side-by-side.

"How about a royal kick in the pants?"

"On the other servo, I think I'm feeling rather lucky."

"Get going before Megatron finishes his final sweep of the area."

"Thanks, Nighty."

"He better be good, Venom, or I'm going to be more furious than a Predacon with its nose in an Insecticon hive!"

She laughed off her friend's words as she ran. She had gotten out of a patrol and her evening chores again for the sixth time in a row. She was on a lucky-streak, and she didn't see it stopping anytime soon.

ooo

She saw him waiting for her, his arms crossed and his legs stretched out as he leaned against a tree. He was very pretty like that, almost too pretty to disturb. But guilt was easily remedied as she plopped down into his lap and kissed his mouth as it quirked into smile.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"How dare you doubt me," she sniffed. "It just took longer than expected to sneak out. Nighty wouldn't take my shifts."

"I would hate to get you into trouble."

"You're not getting me into trouble!" She got up and took his servo, pulling him up. "Come on."

"To The Place?"

"The Place."

The Place was actually just a forest the mech had discovered with a large pond where Insecticons liked to swim and fish in and where Predacons brought their sparklings to play. She had fallen in love with the place because he liked it. He loved it because of the nature there. He liked to lean against the trees and watch the Predacons drink and the Insecticons splash and the Sharkticons swim and play.

The first time she was brought here, he had laid her out under the largest tree and spent hours tracing her transformation seams. She giggled and purred in turns, enjoying his attentions. They were interrupted by a large male Predacon that prowled in and drank out of the pond. No sooner had he arrived, three smaller female Predacons landed and began nuzzling up to him for attention. Both bots stretched out on their bellies to watch the femmes fight over the mech. She would remember the smug look on his face forever.

"What are you thinking about, Princess?"

She jerked. She had been playing with the harp-like instrument he had brought along. She had absently strummed it as she remembered and she smiled down at it. "The Predacons."

"Oh, yes...such beautiful creatures. I admired them very much."

"The femmes were brats."

"The strongest survive, Princess." He kissed her cheek and took the instrument from her. He strummed out a few notes, moving his helm to the "beat". She laughed and shoved his chest, and then he began singing a song about an Insecticon and a Predacon in a fight, ending with the death of the Insecticon and the reason why Predacons had wings. The version he sang was always the original. In the nursery song, the Predacon and Insecticon became friends, but after sparklings learned how Predacons and Insecticons actually treated each other, they were confused until they heard the original song. She, however, always preferred the nursery song.

She laid her helm on his chest and smiled, hugging him tight. "What time is it?"

"We have about two hours."

"Good. Just enough time."

He smirked and set the instrument aside. He laid her down and settled over her, notching his hips between her thighs. The first time they interfaced, Venom had wept and he had soothed her. The pain was unexpected, but afterwards, she nuzzled up to him and had begged to be touched more. He did whatever he asked and Venom never felt pressured around him.

After the first time, they got together almost every other night if their schedules matched up. He had a faction to run. She had chores. He had troops to command. She had to take inventory. Then when they were free, they met up for a few inappropriate touches and a few longing kisses...even if they couldn't stay long. Someday, he had promised, they would be together for a long time. He would end the war and then they would be free to kiss and lay under the stars. No more curfews and no more fear that they would have to face each other in battle. It would be perfect.

They finished just in time. Venom slipped her armor back on and hid her bruises from his insistent kisses to her neck. He rubbed her arm with his digittips and smiled when she shivered.

"I have to go. Mama and Pap are gonna kill me." She dropped back down to her knees and pressed a light kiss to his mouth. "Come back tonight, okay, bunny?" She tapped his nose and smiled.

"Will do, Princess." He smiled and kissed her lightly as he got up.

"Bye-bye, Optimus."

"Goodbye, Venom."

She squealed in delight and shivered at the way he said her name. Then she skipped back to the docked Nemesis, expecting a clean entry. Her friends were even waiting for her on the ramp leading into the belly of the ship, their optics dim and tired and their posture slouched. "Hey, Nighty!"

She perked up and waved a servo under her chin across her neck, shaking her helm lightly. Hurricane was trembling.

"What's going on, guys?"

And that was when he saw Knock Out standing with his arms crossed beside Megatron. Then she knew she was fragged in the aft. She groaned as she walked up the ramp and sighed. "Thanks, Nighty."

"Anytime," she purred. "We mucked out the barracks for you. You're welcome. Now that's left for you are the wash racks."

She shuddered and gagged.

"Shut up, 'Shade!" Knock Out grabbed Venom by her audio and tugged her the rest of the way into the Nemesis. "Care you explain yourself?"

"Oh, sire, please..." She sighed and groaned. "I didn't do anything bad."

"Oh, really? According to Soundwave, this is the seventh night you've snuck out that he knows of. What are you doing, exactly?"

"Uh, racing? I learned it from the best." She rubbed her arm and pulled out of Knock Out's grip. She looked down and positioned her body to make her look like she was guilty. It worked on Breakdown pretty well. He let her do whatever she wanted to a degree. But Knock Out just raised an optic ridge and Megatron sighed loudly. The other two femmes were snickering, chanting "wash racks".

"I'm not impressed. I thought you knew better." Knock Out pointed at Megatron. "He's picking your punishment, but I have no doubt that your peers already know what it is."

"Venomstriker," Megatron growled. His red optics narrowed. "Your friends have already cleaned the barracks. I suggest you start working on the wash racks." He held out a bucket of hot soapy water and a sponge. "It could use a little sprucing up. And I'm sure your giggly peers would like to assist."

"Oh, for the love of-"

ooo

Venom smirked down at the area she was cleaning. Night and Hurricane were growling under their breaths, the paint on their claws already peeling back from scrubbing the stinky barracks. As she worked, she talked about her meet-up with Optimus. Hurricane sighed in a dreamy way, earning a wet sponge to the face. While she fake-gagged on soap, Nightshade smirked down at the tiled floor by the drain. She dipped her sponge back into the bucket and threw it at Venom.

She turned her helm to see her friend and she threw her sponge down and grabbed the bucket. She walked over and poured the contents down on top of her head. Nightshade swept her feet out from under her. Hurricane pointed and laughed until she was drug into the playfight.

"Oooh, a Prime's girl!"

"Not so loud!"

"PRIME GIRL, PRIME GIRL, PRIME GIRL! Legend says you'll walk among the stars everytime you lay with him. Did you? Did you touch the stars?" Nightshade pinched her cheek lightly, purring. Venom kneed her in the gut, laughing.

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

Hurricane clapped her servos and squealed. "Filthy! Filthy femme!"

"What is going on!?" Knock Out gaped at the soapy mess in front of him. "I said clean the wash racks, not yourselves!"

Venom scrabbled to her knees beside Nightshade and she smiled. "But...you said you wanted everything in here squeaky-clean, and may I say that Nightshade has never been cleaner!"

A small smile tugged at Knock Out's lips and he sighed and shook his helm. "Breakdown was right when he said you got my genes...come on. That's enough punishment for one day..."

Venom shot to her pedes and wrapped wet arms around her sire, squeezing him tight. "Thank you!"

"Don't tell Megatron. He'll peel my paint if he finds out that I let you three off easy."

"Oh, you didn't," Hurricane offered. She showed her servos. "See? Not easy at all."

He tutted and took her claws into his own. "You poor dears. Let's get you all buffered and new, and then it's time for you three to sleep."

ooo

Knock Out tucked Venom in that night, a rare treat. She laid her helm down on her pillow and purred loudly while he scolded her lightly, sweeping broken thread and stray fuzz off the blanket.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Venomstriker..." He sighed and shook his helm, chuckling. "Maybe it's because you're a teenager...because you feel that urge to rebel me..." He kissed her helm. "Just don't get into trouble, and don't break anymore rules, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good night." He tapped her nose and got up, shutting her door behind him, not knowing that under the covers, Venom had crossed her claws.