Author's Notes- Hello all. This is an optional two-shot sequal to 'Was She Worth It?' and is set a couple of years later.
Bold- Comm link.
Pairings- Knock Out and Starscream. Knock Out and Breakdown. Megatron and Starscream.
Warnings- Rated M. Slash, violent imagery and Transformer swearing.
Disclaimer- I do not own Transformers or its characters.
Recognisable lines are from TFPrime episodes.
Contains spoilers for the episodes 'Deux ex Machina', 'Partners' and 'Crossfire'. Touches very faintly on the four relic episodes.
Units of Time: Astrosecond- 1 second, Klik- 1 minute, Cycle- 1 hour, Orn- 1 day, Decacycle- 1 week, Meta-cycle- 1 month, Solar cycle- 1 year, Vorn- 1 million years.
Unbetaed.
All mistakes are my own.
Hope you all enjoy it.
You Are Enough
It was a beautiful night for a drive but Knock Out barely noticed as he hurried, following Starscream's signature on his scanners, and sighing loudly through his vents. It wasn't uncommon these orns for both of them to cover for the other if one was to suddenly vanish from the Nemesis but the Seeker had been gone for cycles without answering his comm and his absence was beginning to be noticed.
Megatron was beginning to get impatient.
At least the roads were straight and blissfully empty, stretching for miles upon miles and allowing him to push himself as hard as he wanted to.
Eventually something appeared on the horizon, at first a shimmering black-green line in the moonlight, but as the medic approached it revealed itself to be a small woodland area overshadowed by a fairly sizeable mountain.
It was certainly a change from the monotony of the road that preceded it.
Pausing, the ruby red mech snarled when he realised that Starscream had settled himself near the top and, as a non-flier, it was going to be a Primus blessed miracle for the CMO to get up there.
Transforming into his normal form, Knock Out pushed through the trees towards the hard rocky surface that was no doubt going to leave scores in his paintwork when he inevitably had to climb it.
Rage building in his systems at the thought, the medic's servos balled into to fists and he beat the branches away from him with unnecessary force, cursing the flier for putting him through this a second time.
At that thought he froze, engines roaring as he worked to suppress his anger, and a burst of hot air blew from his vents. It wasn't Starscream's fault, not really.
It was Megatron's, Arachnid's, Dreadwing's…
Redirecting his anger at them he tore through the rest of the organic plant life and, when he finally reached the foot of the mountain, he punched the smooth surface that formed at least the base of the light brown hill, ignoring the rain of gravel the action produced as his faceplates twisted in a sneer.
Walking around it, the CMO smiled in relief when he noticed a very small partially concealed road leading up directly towards Starscream's apparent location. It was nearly vertical but it posed little challenge to him and within moments he was halfway to the Seeker.
Well Starscream they always said you were a fool.
The Seeker sat looking out at Earth's night sky from the cave he'd settled into, optic fluid dripped down his faceplates and a spark-deep loneliness seemed to suffocate each struggling vent of air. Confusion sent his processor in pointless circles in an attempt to figure out just why he had allowed himself to be so manipulated and why his bondmate had suddenly reverted back to the way he was before.
It wasn't supposed to be like this! The flier's claws dug deeply into the dirt beneath him as the SIC fought back sobs.
When Megatron began courting him, in the traditional Seeker manner no less, Starscream had decided to give the tyrant a chance to earn his loyalty once more. Time passed and the Warlord appeared to stay committed and refrained from raising his servo against the flier so Starscream gradually relaxed his guard after eons of constantly being on the defensive, feeling more secure than he had done for vorns in his Commander's company.
Idiot, idiot, idiot!
In doing so, Starscream had broken the first rule of being a Decepticon: Trust no one but yourself.
True, the Seeker had broken that one anyway as he also trusted Knock Out… but the red mech had never actually betrayed him. Been a little disrespectful and pushed his boundaries a bit, yes, but was unfailingly loyal.
Thinking of the CMO, the reason he returned to the Nemesis in the first place before this whole mess, drew a small sigh from the flier easily lost on the breeze. The red mech had never been the same since the deactivation of his intended bondmate and Starscream almost longed for the sarcasm and not quite flirting that he and Knock Out had engaged in since Megatron's… accident.
The automobile was a pretty little mech really even if said alt mode was somewhat strange.
Stars blinked at the Seeker as if they were co-conspirators in his impure thoughts, silently promising to keep his secret.
After all that Megatron had done was having a little fantasy about the equally depressed CMO such an evil thing? Frankly defiling Breakdown's memory was of more concern…
Sighing quietly and frame shuddering, the SIC kept the link between the tyrant and himself firmly blocked when the older mech began to claw at it, knowing it was only the distance between them protecting him.
It had been one of the worst orns of his life when he found out the true strength of Megatron's influence in their bond and the more Starscream thought about it the more he believed it couldn't be natural, that the Warlord must have done something to corrupt it somehow.
It couldn't be possible could it? For someone to use their link to their bonded like a leash? To be able to use it to paralyse…?
He spent more time in the med-bay now than ever before…
The CMO had carefully helped him more than once off the unforgiving ice-cold floor of the Command Deck down to Knock Out's domain, nursing him diligently until he was fully functional once again. In return, Starscream made sure the others left him alone and left gifts in his berthroom when someone foolishly made a derogatory comment about his lost partner or damaged his cherished finish.
He giggled briefly at himself. By Seeker standards his actions were that of one mech courting another...
A small smile lit up his face and he dashed away the fluid lingering on his metal when he heard familiar engines approaching; he had known Knock Out would have been clever enough to find the crude road Starscream had made for him.
The well-known sounds of a transformation reached his audios and he patted the ground beside him in invitation, a puff of dust blooming briefly into the air as he did so.
Quietly, Knock Out dropped gracefully into the indicated area, but Starscream could almost hear the CMO's tanks churning.
They sat in companionable silence for a few kliks before the red mech breathed, 'you've been gone too long…'
'I know,' the Seeker fanned his wings out to feel the air against them, inwardly smirking as Knock Out's optics followed the movement.
'He… is your bondmate; you need him even when you loathe him.' The CMO couldn't meet Starscream's gaze and so stared out at the road over the tops of the trees.
The flier flopped backwards hard to lie flat out on the dusty ground, tanks rolling in hurt and stress, and closed his optics. Knock Out tentatively copied the movement in a gentler fashion wondering about the damage the Seeker might just have done to his wings and gasped when servos reached out to pull him closer, his back to Starscream.
'I know,' the flier whispered again, 'but… you'll be by my side won't you?'
'Of course,' the CMO's optics half-shuttered, 'I could never forgive Megatron for what he did.'
The Seeker nodded, ignoring the insects running along the ground and making sure not to point them out to his companion, 'how could I expect you to when I can't? And I'm supposed to love the pile of slag.' Starscream's growl echoed around the cave.
Knock Out bit his lower lip component, though this had become familiar territory, he was unsure how to respond. Normally, when their conversation took a turn like this he needed to sedate the Seeker because his frame was severely damaged and Starscream was ranting in agony and rage; and while they spent a lot of time together, some topics were barely touched upon.
Megatron, Breakdown, Arachnid, bonding…
They talked about the war and the distant past primarily, before their respective partners. When Knock Out thought about it perhaps that was all that was needed. They both knew the other hurt deeply, why tear wounds open further?
Megatron and Starscream's relationship was nothing like his partnership with his assistant had been… They had occasionally harmed each other while they sparred but never on purpose and they had certainly never tried to deactivate one another.
In fact there were times where they would kill someone for simply upsetting the other and bring back a body part as a trophy and a gift.
The way the two Commanders had always treated each other was dangerous for them and anyone foolish enough to get caught in the crossfire but even the medic could admit that Megatron seemed to have changed for a while, glad to have his 'little Seeker' back.
Then there were several lost battles, the fiasco with the relics, blazing rows with Starscream about how they would raise their sparklings and all manner of other things, and eventually it was as if nothing had ever changed at all.
'I think, maybe before we met, he loved you at least once,' the medic offered but the flier didn't reply.
They lay there for a while, Knock Out lightly resting his servos on Starscream's arms as they became lost in their own thoughts; the only sounds the quiet hums of their engines, the wind in the trees and the odd birdcall.
The Seeker stirred suddenly, half a cycle later, and his engines rumbled for a moment in a sound reminiscent of a snigger.
'When I first met you,' the Air Commander chuckled, almost cackling, as if there had never been a pause in conversation. 'I didn't know whether I wanted to beat you or frag you… You were so different.'
He drew his digit mock threateningly towards Knock Out's finish and the automobile squirmed backwards, pushing their frames together. As soon as they connected, the Seeker's servo relaxed and came to rest on the CMO's lower abdomen as Starscream buried his faceplates in the red mech's neck and breathed his scent in deeply.
The medic shivered but couldn't bring himself to pull away from the embrace. If Megatron saw this we'd both be scrap. 'You mean 'one of those'?' Knock Out half-smirked for a moment despite himself.
'You reminded me of me,' Starscream hummed thoughtfully. It was why when he had punished the medic that once he hadn't done the smaller mech any real harm, though if the medic's assistant was still around Starscream knew he'd disagree; but Knock Out was far stronger than to have been permanently damaged by one bad orn.
Their banter was too much like his and Megatron's used to be when Starscream was younger and punishments had never really been punishments at all, just games or a bit of embarrassment.
The CMO could feel Starscream's breath on his neck and the amusement in the Seeker's tone and an unwilling smile grew on his faceplates, gasping softly when he felt a kiss pressed to his metal. 'Starscream…'
The Seeker rolled Knock Out on top of him, kissing him deeply as soon as the smaller mech's lip components were in reach. As they broke apart, Starscream onlined his optics to see fluid dripping down the medic's faceplates, 'you're… you're not him…'
'I can still be yours,' the flier's servo caressed the rose-coloured metal, stroking away the CMO's tears.
'What about Megatron? Your bond…' Knock Out pushed into the touch, seeking comfort once more.
'Bonds can be overwritten,' a cruel grin passed over the Seeker's faceplates before his gaze turned hopeful.
In answer the medic leaned down to capture Starscream's mouth. It could kill him…
Wrapping his arms tightly around the medic's back, the Seeker laughed into Knock Out's kiss, good! I hope he suffers!
A cold giggle came over the comm link from the medic. If he couldn't have Arachnid, Megatron would more than suffice.
And if he couldn't have Breakdown… Starscream was enough.
Besides his beloved partner wouldn't have wanted him to be alone for eternity would he?
Though it was certainly going to be an interesting reunion when the three met in the Well.
Exploring each other's frames, the red mech smirked at his advantage. He'd pieced Starscream back together so many times he knew the flier's frame by spark, though searching for particularly sensitive areas was quite enjoyable nevertheless.
As he found a transformation seam near the Seeker's left wing, Knock Out grinned smugly as he swallowed a scream Starscream couldn't suppress, and then gasped as his frame was turned and the Air Commander loomed over him.
'Are you sure?' The CMO murmured as the Seeker lunged towards his neck.
'Deadly,' Starscream hissed, biting and nipping at the vulnerable metal.
Sighing, Knock Out allowed his chest plates to part and his spark chamber to open.
Staring down at the bright burning spark beneath him, the Air Commander smirked and his optics swirled in desire but he paused and caught Knock Out's gaze, waiting.
When the red mech nodded slowly, Starscream bared his own spark and lowered it towards the medic's, the two balls of energy reaching out towards one another and in moments they consumed each other, merging into one life force.
Both mech's optics screwed shut as both their lifetimes flew by, the bond beginning to take effect, and Starscream met it step for step in letting go of his link to Megatron and hoping it would be enough to free him of the older mech's influence.
Starscream slowed it down when they reached his time at the science academy, showing off his achievements to his new mate, and the medic did the same when they reached his solar cycles at the medical academy.
Their lip components met as they rushed nauseatingly fast towards the beginning of the war.
Breakdown, Knock Out whispered.
Megatron, Starscream answered just as quietly.
The Seeker allowed the medic as much time as he wanted to travel through his memories of his lost assistant but sped through his youth with the tyrant. There had been a brief time where they had been happy together but, unlike Knock Out, the flier had no wish to see it again.
The Air Commander cackled at the stunts the CMO and the former Wrecker had perpetrated together, both harmless pranks and mutilating torture.
Knock Out shuddered at the pleasant burning sensation and chuckled over the link as they shared their kills with each other, providing both critique and commentary.
Clutching tightly to each other, they rode out each memory, good and bad, some savoured some sped over, until their spark bond was complete. Staying within each other, both content for the first time in solar cycles, Knock Out shared Starscream's glee when they both felt a flicker of agony from the tyrant as his link to the Seeker was washed away by the new bond.
'You… you've scratched my paint,' Knock Out whispered, optics dully seeing the Air Commander's claws dipped into his arms, but there was no energy behind it.
'I'll buff you later,' the flier sighed, a lazy smile on his face, 'repaint you, wax you… wash you.' Gently he withdrew his spark to lie beside Knock Out and pull him into the crook of his arm as their spark chambers and chest plates righted themselves.
The medic smiled, caressing Starscream's wings with his digits, each of their most sensitive appendages touching as they relaxed together. They lay that way for a cycle, resting and recovering their strength, before the medic caught Starscream's gaze, optics swirling and lit up in challenge. 'Catch me if you can outmode.' Leaping out of the flier's grasp, Knock Out's engines roared as he transformed and sped off, covering the Air Commander in the dirt flying off his tyres.
Spluttering, Starscream stood and made for the edge of the cliff, flipping into his jet mode and leaping into the air to give chase.
The next chapter will be the aftermath at the Nemesis.
Hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading. Please review- I'd love to hear what you think.