Wow, I didn't think this would be quite as popular as it has been. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorited and followed so far; it's things like that that keep me writing.
Warnings: Nongraphic sticky interfacing, sparkmerging, Seeker fluff
Pairings: Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker
Still ain't mine. Unfortunately.
I love reviews. ^_^
Ratchet just stared at Thundercracker. His disbelief was plain on his faceplates, as was something else...was that speculation? Thundercracker wasn't sure. He simply met the Autobot medic's gaze, his hands open at his sides.
It was Ratchet who looked away first. "Only until he's online and stable, and you're getting locked in isolation five, in the back corner." He paused. "It has a large window with a clear view of the sky." He looked back down at Skywarp and began the tedious work of sealing the many stress fractures the impact had caused in the teleporter's frame.
"I thank you. Skywarp may not." the blue flier stated, putting his hands behind his back and standing at a respectful distance as he watched Ratchet repair his trinemate.
Starscream tried very hard not to look as bored as he felt during the post-battle debriefing. He knew that a loss tended to make Megatron even more violent and erratic than usual, and Starscream was preoccupied with thoughts and worries regarding his trinemates as it was. He forced himself to pay attention /again/.
"Objective: incomplete." Soundwave droned. "Nemesis reserves: insufficient. Reduction in rations: necessary."
Megatron scowled at his TIC and swung his helm around to stare at Starscream. "Well? What's /your/ answer to our losses and lack of fuel? Surely /you/ have something to say!" The note in his raspy voice was dangerous, and Starscream recognized it for what it was. That still didn't stop his vocalizer from engaging before his processor caught up; it never did.
"Of /course/ I've something to say. This faction is /dying/ due to your overwhelming incompetence as a leader! Your obsession with Optimus Prime will be the death of us all!"
Onslaught winced behind his facemask and visor; did the Air Commander never learn?
Megatron turned on his second in command, optics blazing as if aflame. "And /you/ think that /you/ could do better? Without their precious Prime, the Autobots would fall apart! You can't even keep your own trine from getting captured; your leadership skills are as ridiculous as your voice! If I hear so much as another /sound/ from you, you'll wish it had been /you/ who'd been captured." The threat implicit in that dark growl was enough to make even Starscream think twice. He opened his mouth on reflex and then shut it just as quickly, scowling at his commander before turning on one heel-thruster and stalking off the command bridge.
How was he going to get Skywarp and Thundercracker back where they belonged? The trine bond was strained at this distance, but Starscream could still feel them. He tried to comm Thundercracker but got no response. Starscream frowned at that; the Autobots were apparently jamming their communications. It was standard protocol, but still, he didn't like not being able to speak to them. He could already start to feel that odd prickling feeling in his sensornet that meant that his trine was too far away from him.
Starscream had never reacted well to being apart from his trinemates. They at least still had each other, and he supposed that that was all well and good for /them/; he was stuck on the Nemesis. He pursed his lips and started thinking. Megatron wouldn't want the command trine out of commission for /too/ long; they /were/ the superior fliers onboard, and the Slagmaker certainly didn't want Autobot scientists having too long to study Skywarp's unique teleportation ability. It was unlikely that they'd be able to duplicate it, but they may figure out, as Starscream had, how to nullify it. That would put them at a significant tactical disadvantage.
Starscream's spark reached out toward his mates almost unconsciously, and he found that Skywarp was still unconscious, but Thundercracker seemed relatively content. He sent back an emotion indicating care/concern/love/trying and allowed himself a small smile. There was nothing that he could do for them immediately, and he chafed against that restriction. Starscream hated feeling powerless. He distracted himself with one of his most cherished memories- his trine-flight. They'd all been so young then, even Thundercracker who was their elder by at least ten vorn, and the war had yet to tear Cybertron apart. Vos was still its own nation, and life was so much simpler...
"Today's the day, Screamer." Skywarp said happily, earning himself a sidelong glare from his trinemate-to-be at the hated nickname.
"You don't call me Screamer and I won't call you Warpy." Starscream said, though he was smiling.
"And neither of you are to call me /any/ silly names." Thundercracker added, straight-faced. It was hard to tell when the quiet Seeker was joking, though he /had/ opened up more than a bit thanks to Skywarp's irreverent nature.
"Don't worry, TeeCee." both Starscream and Skywarp said in unison, and all three of them broke into quiet laughter. They were excited and nervous, anticipatory and overjoyed. This was the cycle they'd planned for, and they were to affirm their bond and join together in front of most of Vos in a traditional trine-flight.
Not many bothered these days, but Starscream as the Winglord decided that he should set an example for his people. Skywarp had quickly agreed, but Thundercracker, being decidedly more privacy-oriented than the other two, had needed a bit of prodding. He'd finally agreed, though, and the date had been set. Starscream and Thundercracker had already been taught the forms and glyphs that were to be used; Skywarp, being of much lower caste, had required remedial training.
Neither Starscream nor Thundercracker cared about Skywarp's caste, and soon it would be a non-issue; once they trined, Thundercracker and Skywarp would be considered to be one rank below Starscream himself.
There was a crowd of Seekers poised to observe the flight, which was to be held in the skies directly over Vos. It would be a display of courtship, grace, and speed.
All too soon it was time for them to take to the skies, and the three Seekers stood in the middle of the city itself on a landing-pad, offering the first words that would begin the ceremony. It was both challenge and affirmation. By custom, it would be Starscream who spoke. They stood in the traditional triangular formation: Starscream at the apex, as designated lead, with Skywarp to his left, Thundercracker to his right. That was the only thing that might change during this flight; they would test themselves to decide who would be Second-in-flight and who would be Third.
Starscream spoke, and his words were amplified so that the city could hear him through the vidscreens that dotted the spires of Vos.
"I have made my choice." he stated simply, and sent the two the glyph for possession/want/claiming.
"Prove your claim." Thundercracker replied, swiftly echoed by Skywarp. All three Seekers' sparks spun quickly, the sync beginning even now. Starscream touched both fliers' wings gently, in blessing for a good, fair flight, and stepped back. That was the signal for them to take off, and take off they did.
There was a reason why Starscream had chosen these two particular Seekers, and it wasn't, as some said, that their coloring didn't clash with his. It was their skill in the air, their particular aerial dance, and their strengths that seemed to complement his own so well that had drawn him first to Skywarp, then to Thundercracker.
They took off in opposite directions, though their flightpath took them closer together as they soared high above the crysmetal spires. Their contrails wove an intricate pattern that was nearly a helix and Starscream leapt into the sky, in root-form as was traditional.
After all, one couldn't capture one's mates without arms to hold them.
His sensornet was attuned to the area as well as the two fliers who taunted him gently from between the rainbows. Starscream glanced around and caught a glimpse of Skywarp, so it was he whom he chased first. He poured on the speed, sending pulses through his EM field that could be interpreted as either desire or a need to conquer; in this flight, they were really one and the same.
Skywarp responded with a wave of playful lust; he was looking /forward/ to being claimed in front of the city. Starscream smirked and sent him a private comm: /Exhibitionist./
/You know it, Scree./ he replied smartly, and the chase was on. Through the towers they ducked and weaved, the light glinting off their plating. It made Starscream almost glow silvery, streaks of red and blue mingling with the blurred colors from his speed. Like the tail of a shooting star. Skywarp looked blacker than space, than night itself, edged with twilight purple that sparkled just like the crysmetal spire he whirled and danced around.
Skywarp had faith in his erratic patterns, but he neglected to recall something important: Starscream knew those patterns almost as well as he knew his own. Just as he swooped below the smaller tricolored Seeker to initiate a warp jump, he was surrounded by slim, strong arms, hot lips at his audial.
"Mine." Starscream said for all to hear, and it was then that Skywarp had to choose. To fight, or to accept Starscream's claim? The dark Seeker tensed for a moment, his frame literally poised for flight or flight, and Starscream bit down on Skywarp's neck rather hard, purring through his vents in tones that were as old as their kind.
Skywarp's resolve crumbled and he moaned aloud, frame arching into Starscream's as he responded with a trill of his own, this indicating willing submission, a desire to /belong/ to a whole that would be greater than himself.
"I choose you freely, Skywarp of the Spire, and will protect you under my wings and within my spark until the end of our days." Starscream said, and his frame echoed the sentiment, hands holding tightly to Skywarp as they flew in tandem.
"I choose you freely, Winglord Starscream, and will follow you with all that I am, my spark bound to yours, beside you and with you until the end of our days." Skywarp responded, his vocalizer stumbling a bit over the unfamiliar Old Vos words.
Starscream grinned, a genuine grin that lit his face from the inside out. It wasn't a side many saw of the young Winglord of Vos, and the audience below them nearly sighed, some recalling their own trine flights, others wishing that they'd had the bearings to do it themselves.
"Come, let us catch our third." Star offered Skywarp his hand, and the black and violet Seeker bowed over it in midair. They both took off in search of the elder Seeker, working together to capture him, to bring him into their binary and make of it a trine.
It didn't take long for them to find Thundercracker his coloring didn't blend well with the surroundings, and he was a bit larger and more heavily armored than most Seekers. Still, he flew almost insanely fast considering the weight of his plating, and it took them both to block him into a corner. The larger Seeker gave them both a look that told them he wasn't going to give in as easily as Skywarp had, and Thundercracker began to gather power for a minor blast of sonics that would unbalance the two Seekers just long enough for him to get away and prolong the chase.
He hadn't counted on Skywarp's speed, though, and as he released the blast, Skywarp grabbed Starscream and they disappeared, reappearing behind the blue Seeker just in time for each of them to grab one arm, twin grins on their faces.
"You belong to us now." Starscream said, and Thundercracker growled in mock-rejection, his EM field demanding that they prove it, that they earn his favor before making such audacious claims.
This could be done with a fight, or they could seduce him. Either way was traditional, it merely depended on the ones involved and their personal tastes. It wasn't like they'd never interfaced before, but Starscream wasn't altogether certain that Thundercracker would appreciate being 'faced senseless in front of the greater majority of Vos. Still, he /had/ agreed to this, knowing what could happen...
Starscream and Skywarp shared a glance for a split nanoklik before sliding in close, their lips working in tandem over Thundercracker's wings. The larger Seeker stifled a groan; this was /definitely/ unfair, so he decided to fight back.
Instead of using his sonics to damage, he sent vibrations through his frame, which carried into the plating of the two fliers who were pressed close to him. Starscream actually cried out; Skywarp merely laughed delightedly and nipped at the edge of the wing he was worshipping. That caused Thundercracker to briefly lose control of the sonic energy, and it stopped, allowing Starscream time enough to recover and begin staking his claim rather more thoroughly than before.
They rose higher and higher into the sky, making sure to gain enough altitude so that when they joined bodies as well as sparks, they'd have plenty of time to finish before coming close to the ground. Starscream ended up in the center, Thundercracker having given in to his prospective trinemates' caresses, and to those on the ground they were almost nothing more than small specks in the sky, sailing on a warm air current that would keep them aloft for some time indeed.
Their touches were heated and precise, designed to inflame both frame and spark; Skywarp wrapped his legs around Starscream's waist even as Thundercracker slid into him from behind, his low voice murmuring words of acceptance and lust. As they joined together, Starscream spoke, albeit in a very shaky voice.
"Thundercracker, my Second, Skywarp, my Third my life is yours as well as yours is my own. I will take of you freely and give of myself until that day when we are called to the Well."
"I will be your Second and guard your Third; my spark is yours as well as yours is my own. I will take of you freely and give of myself until that day when we are called to the Well." Thundercracker whispered, nipping at Starscream's audial.
"I will be your Third and support you both; my spark is yours as well as yours is my own. I will take of you freely and give of myself until that day when we are called to the Well." Skywarp said, his voice strong despite the tremors that wracked his form.
"Be one with me." Starscream breathed, and as they fell, entwined, their cockpit glass shifted to reveal their sparks, the bond beginning to form even now.
Starscream shook his head. The memory had helped him to feel closer to his trinemates, and he hoped that they had caught it and drawn some comfort from it as well. He picked up a datapad and began to outline a retrieval plan, just in case Skywarp really was too injured to warp them both out soon enough.
Ratchet wheeled Skywarp into the promised isolation room, which was well lit by the window as well as the lights that seemed to be omnipresent in medical facilities.
"Do you require anything?" the medic asked Thundercracker.
"No. You have been kinder than required." the Seeker admitted, sitting down on the berth that took up the far left wall.
"There's a call button on the wall there. I will bring you energon at the beginning of offcycle; if Skywarp regains consciousness before then, please let me know." Ratchet gave Thundercracker a Look. "And if he gives me any trouble, to the brig you go. I /don't/ have to do this, you know."
Thundercracker frowned sourly. "Yes, yes, I know. We will be on our best behavior."
"You better be." Ratchet said, though he had a thoughtful look on his face as he locked the door.
