A/N: Okay, I was in such a hurry to publish chapter 1 that I totally forgot to leave a quick message. First, I have absolutely NO idea who I'm going to pair Starscream with. It's up in the air between several transformers who would love the job but I pretty much know how this is all going to play out so if there's someone who you guys have in mind and it fits where I'm taking this, I might just listen. Second, I just wanted to extend my thanks to the readers who left reviews. THANKS! Well, here's chapter 2, enjoy! Oh, and I've updated the summary of the story because this will contain some robot lovin'…eventually. But that always makes me wonder, how can there be slash when they're ROBOTS? *shrugs* I don't know, I guess that's just the way it is.

By the way, Hasbro owns these characters, not me.

4 Earth months before…

Victory! It was small, Starscream would admit, but it was a victory nonetheless. The decepticons had managed to obtain more than 300 cubes of energy from the human's power plant before the autobots put a stop to their free for all. True, the amount was lower than the 600 they'd intended but much more than the several dozen or so they would generally get away with.

After Astrotrain finished transporting the energon back to the nemesis, they all piled in the mess hall to each take the portion they were owed and before some was put some in storage with the rest being sent to Cybertron and to Soundwave's care. Megatron received the most out of anyone. Next, as second in command, was Starscream, who would take his share and a little extra because he knew his trine mates would want more than was given to them and so he saw to it that they received their fill as well. He watched as Soundwave did the same for his little minions. Another mech Starscream insured received more than their fair share was Hook. Not that he liked him or anything but he needed him for a certain type of remedy that he didn't provide in the med bay.

After they were finished, each mech returned to either their quarters or the rec. room to rest after a hard fought day. Once Starscream thought the chances of running into anyone were slim, he made his way to Hook's quarters, knowing he would be there to "tend" to the extra energon that had been provided to him. He overrode the code and stepped in.

"What, back for more already?" an exasperated Hook said with a frown as he tried to quickly put away the data pads that were strewn about his desk.

Starscream caught a glimpse of some type of schematic on one of the pads but it didn't interest him. The medic thought of himself as a scientist of sorts but Starscream considered him mediocre at best, though, he did have a certain skill that he had to concede was quite invaluable.

Hook didn't like it when the seeker would enter at free will but it was a perk of being the SIC. "I knew you consumed it more than recommended but I just gave you 5 the other week. No one could possibly use that much." As he spoke, his expression changed from the realization of just how much the seeker had been asking for lately. "You know more than anyone the dangers of overconsumption. It could-"

"It's none of your concern." The red seeker interrupted with a dangerous tone, his ruby red optics narrowing as his blue servos balled into fists at his side. "I'll take whatever you've got prepared and you'd do well to remember that without me, you're little side hobby would be no more." A threat Starscream knew he wouldn't follow up on but he wasn't in the mood for a lecture, not that he was ever in for one.

Hook took note of his disposition and nodded, not wanting a conflict with his "supplier". He disappeared to retrieve what Starscream came for from the hidden panel in his wash rack. It wasn't as nice as the ones that the officer's had but he was lucky to even have one.

Unknown to Hook, Starscream did in fact know where and how to get to them but why take them when Hook would readily give them to Starscream in exchange for supplying the energon needed to make the valuable product.

Hook reappeared and handed him 6 smaller than average cubes which Starscream quickly subspaced away. Hook may not have been known as the greatest medic to grace the decepticon army but he made a high grade that could not be found anywhere else.

After receiving what he came for and Hooks' desired duty schedule that the SIC would ensure was given to keep the "medic" ever generous, he left without another word.

Once back at his quarters, he found his trine mates waiting for him.

"Did you get some?" Skywarp asked, quickly making his way towards him expectantly.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Starscream answered with an unreadable expression causing Thundercraker to chime in who was currently sprawled out on Starscream's berth.

"Come on Screamer, don't hold out on us!" he exclaimed with a pout.

After a few moments of keeping his trine in the dark, a smile formed on Starscream's gunmetal lips and he produced the 6 gleaming cubes to his trine mates.

"Primus, Starscream, that'll last for months!" Skyward exclaimed excitingly as he watched Starscream place them down on the table and he quickly grabbed one of the small cubes.

"Hey Warp, did you bring the …" Starscream's sentence died when he saw one full and two empty energon cubes on the floor beside his berth. "Why can't you be like this all the time?" the amused seeker asked.

Skywarp simply shrugged in response as they gathered on the floor by Starscream's berth. The red and blue seekers watched as Skywarp prepared the drinks, dividing the energon equally between the three cubes and then very carefully, he poured a small amount high grade into each, creating the highly valued concoction.

"To my everlasting aerial dominance, no one will ever match my prowess!" Starscream toasted before adding, "And to the downfall of our mighty leader!" using his usual screechy voice to punctuate the words at the end of the toast. They clanked their glasses while Thundercraker and Skyward simply rolled their optics and began to sip the powerful drink. It wasn't long before all three were giggling like femmes as they recalled the battle earlier.

"I swear!" Skywarp yelled, looking hurt as Starscream and Thundercrakers' laughter grew in volume at his declaration.

"Your s'fragging lyin'!" TC managed to get out between fits. Starscream couldn't utter a word as he rolled on this side, his head landing in TC's lap, laughing so hard, he saw spots of light dance around his vision. Thundercraker simply landed on top of his commander, his own laughter getting to him as well. Skywarp loved to exaggerate his feats. One example was the current claim of an impossible shot he scored on Optimus Prime.

"I DID, I 'IT HIM SHWERE 'N HIS CHESS!" Skywarp yelled loudly with a bit of trouble while pointing to his own chest. This caused the two other seekers to roll on the ground face first, pounding it with their fists as they were overcome with laughter. Soon, Skywarp was starting to giggle. It was contagious.

"Maybe it wuz his shoulder." He admitted as the two others continued their laughter beside him, now nodding in response. Now it was Skywarp's turn to join his trine mates. "I don' think he fel' it though." All three howled with laughter as their wings twitched wildly.

After a few moments, their laughter died down to giggles and Starscream made his way over to Skywarp to nuzzle his cheek with his own. It wasn't a sexual gesture; it was common among seekers to show affection to one another by doing this. It also proved that if Starscream was anything, he was always nice when he drank with his trine.

"Hey 'Warp, did you see what happened to Screamer just before we landed?" Thundercracker asked his swaying mate. Even though all three had consumed about an equal share, Skywarp was much more sensitive to the high grade. And so, he would become inebriated a lot sooner than the other two seekers, always to their amusement. It took a bit more to affect Thundercraker and much more than either of them knew to get Starscream really that "tipsy"as Skywarp put it.

Starscream had returned to his spot beside Thundercraker and glared at him to convey the message "SHUT UP!"

Skywarp's giggling increased at the hint of a funny story. "No, wha?" he asked as he tried wipe away the coolant that had gathered below his optics but only managed to poke one of them. It only made him laugh more.

Thundercracker took a rather large gulp from his cube before starting, "Well, he was flying just below Thrust when Thrust nudged ol' Screamer here with his underside!" he recalled while trying to get away from Starscream who was now trying to physically shut Thundercraker's mouth. Thundercracker managed to get Skywarp in between them as he nearly laughed himself sick.

"I tol' you 'creamer, he likes you!" Skywarp replied while trying not to laugh because Starscream didn't seem to be taking it as friendly banter.

In fact, Starscream didn't find the event even remotely funny which was evident by the scowl that turned Starscream's usually handsome face into what would be described as absolutely evil and it quieted their laughter rather quickly. He'd given up on trying to strangle his trine mate and had returned to his spot, furious at the gossiping seeker.

"What did you tell him?" Thundercracker asked after he had calmed himself, not only because of Starscream's reaction but because of his fear of a tank purge.

Starscream didn't respond to the question at first as he replayed the scene in his memory banks. Why had he done that? He knew Thrust had always not so secretly lusted for him, but he never gave the hint of remotely reciprocating the feelings. What Thrust had done was a blatant display of courtship in his optics and it more than deeply infuriated him. He remembered his threat as he transformed into his bipedal mode below Thrust, who was still in jet mode, and he answered Thundercracker's question.

"I told the son of a glitch that if he ever, ever did that again, I would stuff his own interface cable down his slit throat." Starscream stated in a deadly tone and then turned away to stare at the half empty cube of high grade sitting beside him.

His trine mates were taken back by what they had just witnessed. For one, the tone of his voice that they knew wasn't as irritating as most believed was now unrecognizable nor from his verbal reaction to what was considered an innocent display of affection among seekers. They were startled by the feeling they sensed coming from Starscream's end of their trinebond. It wasn't like a bond between mated pairs, which Thundercracker and Skywarp shared, but seekers did posses very limited telepathic abilities that enabled them to form a special bond with each other, a trinebond. Dirge and Ramjet were a mated pair so they assumed since the leaders of both trines were not, they would be drawn to each other and bond, quite a natural thing for seekers. But given Starscream's unexpected reaction, apparently that wasn't going to happen after all.

As soon as they felt it, Starscream immediately cut off the feed, not comfortable with knowing they caught a glimpse of what he felt but it was too late. They already knew what it was that the red and white seeker tried to hide, pure hatred. There was an awkward moment before Thundercracker ended the silence.

"Well, that'll teach him…I guess." he muttered, unsure of what else to say.

The silence returned again. Starscream sat looking oddly at the half empty cube of high grade beside him while Skywarp drifted in and out of consciousness as the full effects of their drinking hit him. Thundercracker's gaze was fixated on his trine leader. He didn't know if he should try to console him for reasons he didn't know or if he should ignore the whole situation and he instantly regretted bringing up the subject. Why did Starscream react so strongly? Before he could further analyze the bizarre situation, which was very difficult after their activities, Starscream rose to his peds.

"I've been waiting to do this." Starscream stated, his earlier demeanor having returned, much to Thundercracker's surprise, though deep down he knew better.

Before Thundercracker could register what he said given his current state, he watched as Starscream withdrew white paint from his subspace and made his way over to the now fully recharging Skywarp, who had fallen on his side next to the berth. He watched as Starscream wrote something on the front of his purple chassis. He couldn't see what it was he was writing but when Starscream was finished, he moved out of the way of Thundercracker's view to gain access to Skywarp's backside and continued. His front read "I SHOT OPTIMUS PRIME WITH MY BIG GUN" with an arrow pointing to his codpiece.

Thundercracker began laughing hysterically, finally feeling the full effects of their drinking himself. After Starscream finished, they began mocking various crew members, one of their favorite drinking traditions, the moment of awkwardness momentarily forgotten. Thundercracker didn't remember going into recharge that night.

XXX

He woke up the next morning with a processor ache straight from the pit. He found himself cuddled with Skywarp on the floor beside Starscream's empty berth with Skywarp's arm snaked around his waist and face buried in his neck. His wings were sure going to be sore after this, he thought to himself as he began to unfold them from their awkward position. After a few moments of gathering his strength, he unwrapped himself from Skywarp's grasp, waking his bondmate in the process who let out a long groan while covering his optics with his hands as the light in the room assaulted them.

Primus, I'm never drinking that stuff again." Skywarp said dismally as he too felt the pains of their fun from the previous night.

"You say that every time." Thundercracker said, half annoyed, half amused. "Where's Screamer?" he asked, glancing around the empty room from his now seated position.

"I don't know, I don't CARE!" Skywarp replied, rolling on his back as he prepared himself to rise on his peds.

By then, Thundercracker had risen and began looking for their leader. He opened the door to Starscream's private wash racks and found him curled in a ball in the far corner, his back to the seeker. Thundercracker thought of waking him but decided against it and left him there to fully recharge. He wondered how he had ended up in his current position but figured he must have felt sick sometime during the night and he closed the door on his recharging commander. He returned to the living area where he found Skywarp still lying down, rubbing his helm in obvious pain.

"Come on, let's go, we've got second shift today and we're going to be late." Thundercracker said, smiling at the message written on the front of Skywarp. He thought of telling Skywarp about it but he did enjoy a good joke, even if it was on his mate. He's going to be popular around the base today, he thought with a smirk.

Skywarp rose to his peds on his own, completely unaware of anything different and made his way for the door, Thundercracker following close behind. Thundercracker let out a fuel churning laugh when he read the message on his back, "BUT HE DIDN'T FEEL IT".

"What's so funny?" Skywarp asked, annoyed by any sound at the moment.

"Nothing, just something Screamer said last night." He replied, trying to block out the thought of purging.

"Speaking of last night-"

"Let's talk about it later." Thundercracker interrupted, not wanting to get into it at the moment. Right now, he needed some warm energon to calm his churning tanks.

XXX

"So, Soundwave, I've heard you like to kiss aft. Would you kiss mine?" Starscream asked, mocking Megatron. He was their favorite to impersonate and surprisingly, no one could do it better.

"Aaa -affirmative, Lord Mega-…" Thundercracker started before he fell into recharge mid sentence. His head drooped backwards and he chassis began to follow. Starscream caught him and for an instant, the idea of painting on him crossed his processor but the thought died when he remembered the moment of awkwardness that occurred earlier.

He laid Thundercracker beside his mate, watching as they instinctively embraced each other and he couldn't stop the wave of bitterness that washed over him at the sight. He did care for his trine mates greatly, perhaps one could say loved them, but he sometimes found himself jealous of what they shared and this only brought on more feelings which after countless millennia of practice, he could suppress and bury. However, it was becoming more and more difficult lately. He really didn't know why but he figured it was probably due to Thrust and his escalating "attentions". In fact, this wasn't the first time he had an encounter with the black seeker but nothing like today and he hoped he had put a stop to it before it became worse.

After watching his fellow seekers in recharge for a few moments, he lifted himself off the floor, grabbing the half full cube of high grade with the intention of putting it away but as he watched the contents swirl in his blue servo, he remembered the feeling that Thrust's actions had brought out of him. He shuddered as memories from long ago assaulted him and he quickly made his way to his wash racks, needing to be alone. He shut the door behind him and sat in the corner of the room. Flashes of those haunting memories invaded his processor, memories that he didn't want to ever see again and he quickly downed the remaining contents of the cube that he still held, grimacing as its extreme bitterness made contact with his glossa.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. Soon after, his processor flashed the warning sign of possible stasis lock due to the sudden increase of contaminates coursing through his fuel lines, not that he cared. Thank Primus for you Hook, he thought as he felt himself slip away, falling on his side, his wings bending awkwardly at the angle he ended up at. He hugged his own chassis, praying he would not see those painful memories of them, of him again before his overworked systems finally gave way and he slipped into a fitful recharge.

XXX

It was the dream again, he felt himself lost in it, never able to change the outcome. Thank Primus he woke to the sound of laughter and his entrance doors sliding closed before the scene that has plagued his recharge as of late had finished.

He lifted himself up from the floor of his wash rack, the empty cube of high grade dropping from his grasp. His vision was laced with static and he felt himself sway before he leaned against the wall and slid down, his wings scraping painfully against the wall until he was seated on the hard cold floor. He began to cry chassis rattling sobs, coolant flowing freely from his dim ruby optics while hugging his slim legs to himself and burying his face in his knee armor. Soon after, he saw the warning sign of an impending tank purge in the corner of his vision. He leaned over and purged on the floor, watching as the room began to spin, the side of his face lowering into the unprocessed energon and high grade. By the grace of Primus, he fell into a dreamless recharge.

That high grade is some pretty potent stuff. My take on it is that it could be harmful if taken in anything but small amounts and even that's not totally okay either. Now just so you know, this isn't about Starscream being a robot drunk or anything. Sometimes, you just need a place to hide and it's not like he has a lot of those.