Veiled Intent

Chapter 3: Habitual

Starscream came online in the earliest of hours; merely 5 human hours of recharge. He hadn't needed that much time, in fact he slept in. He turned his head to the side. He was on his back in the middle of the berth and the Cruiser was resting at his side, head on his own arm.

The seeker sighed, and shifted out of the recharging Autobot's grasp. Prowl's optics came online as he realized what he had been doing. "The floor…" Starscream ordered as he sat up legs over the edge of the berth. He raised a servo to rub at his helm, his processor was swimming.

Prowl said nothing in his haze; as he slid down off the berth onto the floor he realized the seeker was having difficulty. Prowl leaned up slightly off his legs and puts a servo on Starscream's knee.

The seeker snapped up and smacked the hand away with force. Prowl didn't flinch and Starscream leaned to his face and pointed an angry digit to the mech. "Don't touch me…" he uttered. Prowl nodded and sat back on the ground. Starscream was always a terrible morning bot.

"Yes Starscream." He said looking down to the floor his chest sinking down so he could curl up beside the edge of the bed, as he had always done with Starscream's chair.

"Foolish Autobot…" Starscream stood and stretched and moved to the wash rack, thinking the warm water would soothe his aching processor. It was hard; being the one doing all the thinking around here. Starscream checked his side arm for his chronometer. Megatron would still be in recharge he could get some things done before he needed to report. He shifted leaning against the door to the wash rack waiting for the water to heat up.

Prowl watched him quietly from the floor wondering what the seeker was considering. He sighed quietly his vents releasing pent up air, and suddenly they clicked and started to filter the air he was in taking. He closed his eyes feeling his systems do their morning checks. His optics went offline as his internal system check began and his heads up internal processor display began to show the read out.

Starscream turned watching the Autobot's primary system reboot, he hadn't done that in what seemed ages. The autobots must have begun doing the reboots every solar cycle. He mused; it was a good idea and would consider doing the reboot once alone in his lab.

The seeker stepped into the wash rack and sighed as the hot water fell over his joints and panels, he groaned slightly and closed his optics just standing under the wash of water. His hands trailed over most of his body to remove any other chemical compounds that may have made their way against his body.

Prowl's optics light up and he felt instantly better for the reboot. He looked to the wash rack but couldn't see the seeker, knowing he was inside. He sighed Starscream was selfish but he was also a narcissist, and a perfectionist. His quarters were immaculate any mess was left in his lab; when Prowl had been captive there; being clean, there was no need. However, here in Starscream's private quarters he'd been brought; told to stay clean and to continue to behave. To prowl that was easy, do anything and everything asked and be the better for it. All the while his strength would grow and he could formulate a plan for escape.

The seeker exited the wash racks and looked down at the berth. He walked around it straightening it and putting it just as it had been before he had brought Prowl into the room. Prowl continued to lay on the ground cold feelings washing over him. "Sit on the berth…" Starscream ordered.

Prowl slid up onto his elbows and pushed himself up standing he turned and sat down on the berth slowly. Starscream walked back around the berth and knelt down at the cruiser's feet, lifting the leg up with one hand. "Does it still hurt?" Prowl blinked and looked down "Well?!" Starscream was loosing patients.

"Yes…a bit…" Prowl admitted quietly.

"What kind of pain is it?" Starscream looked down bending the knee joint slightly. His optics and digits trailed over the connection pin.

"Aching …and stinging …like when you accidently touch a plasma fence…the feeling after." He said very quietly.

"Ah…" Starscream knew well the shock a plasma fence could give one the radiation of the electronic shock would wake through your body for Joors. He nodded and pushed Prowl by his shoulder to lie on the made berth. "Stay off it…I will bring you energon and something for the pain in a few earth hours…."

"Yes Starscream." Prowl said laying his head back weakly.

"Good." Starscream stood and looked down at the bot laying there before him. Prowl was mostly on his side but tilted so his torso plate was down. The seeker reached out and ran the backs of his digits down the Cruiser's back-strut quietly. "I will return soon…behave." He warned.

"Yes Starscream." Prowl responded slowly not moving, as the seeker made for his lab.

Starscream would return as he said giving the Autbot a cube of Energon watching him drink it down and taking the bottle back. No trust. He also had a syringe and injected a blue substance into the Cruiser's main energon line in his left leg. The pain began to subside. "Thank you." Prowl said quietly.

"I won't be back for a while so just stay put." The Seeker turned and put some things away and opened a drawer. He reached inside and pulled out a few data-pads. "Some books….If you would like to read." He said he didn't want the autobot going crazy on him. "They are science journals mostly but it's something." The seeker turned not knowing if he would be back tonight. The doors in the outer room hissed and clicked as the seeker left.

Prowl took the small pads in his hand, they were the most basic of data-pads, he couldn't magically disassemble one and try to escape with it, or use it to send out any messages. It was just a basic technology reader. He sighed and settled back on the smooth berth, and began to read. "Chemistry?" He groaned he'd been terrible at it. "Great… 'Better living through science'…" He reminded himself of something Wheeljack had said once. He sighed and leaned back looking at the other two books, stellar cartography, and Applied Physics engines. He grabbed up the Stellar Cartography journal and began to read, maps sounded more fun anyhow.

Starscream did return tired and drained from his day. He found prowl in recharge on the berth clutching the Stellar Cartography book and removed it slowly from his servo. Starscream turned it over he was almost finished, and he nodded, he would find more 'general' reading for the mech while he would be forced to sit in here.

Prowl rolled and opened his optics. "Go back to sleep." Starscream pat his arm and set the data-pads down on the small side table on Prowl's 'side' of the bed. Prowl nodded drowsily. "yes..Star..scream." The cruiser rolled over, to face the center of the berth, the chain over his neck making a quiet deep metal sound as it moved with him. Starscream pulled up some slack setting it on the edge of the berth and then turned making his way around to the other side.

The seeker sat and laid back on the warm berth, he turned his head slightly, as he pillowed both arms behind his head leaning at an angle. Prowl was very drowsy, and slid closer to the radiating warmth of the seeker. Starscream watched him quietly, he didn't know what he was doing, and he was half in and half out of recharge. He didn't flinch as the Autobot crawled against him and put his head against his torso.

Starscream was slow in his actions as his arm came down around the Autobot pulling him closer to his body. Shifting only a bit to move the chain aside away from where he wished to place his arm on the Cruiser's back-strut. Prowl opened his optics and looked up at the seeker who smirked and reached up petting the back of the cruiser's head. "Go back to sleep." He repeated. Prowl nodded and pressed himself against the seeker. "Good bot." The seeker sighed and closed his optics tightly. If any of the other decepticons had seen them like this Starscream would never have lived it down. He didn't care shifting down slightly he lay with the Autobot both warm for the first time in a long time. For the next few days this would be their ritual, they would be apart during the day; Starscream bringing him more books. At night they would be together, recharging close to one another but never actually speaking about it.