A/N: Sorry this took so long to write. It turned out much too dark too quickly for my liking, so I had to split it up into upcoming chapters.

Synopsis: A larger peek into Starscream's home life, along with a light tale about the stupid things you do when you are younger. We get a little more background about Skywarp's father-creator and Thundercracker's mother-creator and you can begin to see where they get some of their personality quirks from.

Please Rate and Review! I've got upcoming chapters in the works, but as I said. I don't want to get too dark too quickly.

Chapter 4 – The Cycle Starts

"There's grease all over the front steps again!" The titanium door crashed shut. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your brat in line?!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot to-" A loud crash echoed through the small apartment.

"Maybe you two need a little reminder, hmm?"

There was another crash and a yelp of pain from his mother-creator. Starscream cringed; he could have sworn he cleaned up all of the grease as he grabbed all of his data pads and crawled under his recharge berth. He had scrubbed the stoop for over a cycle after Thundercracker and Skywarp had left, making sure the grease was completely gone, but he obviously missed a spot, and his lack of attention was going to hurt again tonight and not just for him…

--

She watched from her window as the red sparkling scrubbed the titanium stoop vigorously. From this distance she couldn't see anything on it, but she could see the tears on the youngling's face. It was late, very late for a sparkling to be outside in the dark.

The youngling stood up and wiped his optics with the back of his hand. He picked up the bucket and headed for the front door, knocking repeatedly before anyone answered.

The blue femme's optics narrowed as a mech came to the door and stomped down the steps, judging the work on the sparkling. He threw his hands up in the air and shoved the red youngling away from the door, pointing at the steps and yelling at the sparkling before storming back inside and slamming the door shut. The youngling sat down heavily with the bucket sloshing the grungy wash around him and held his head in his hands.

She should do something, she thought. But maybe the youngling hadn't done a decent job cleaning up the steps. She knew the sparklings had been playing with the grease guns again today; maybe the actions were justified. But something inside her spark told her otherwise.

The blue femme sighed and went to check on her own youngling. Thundercracker needed to be in recharge soon, no matter if the flier patrol was about to make another pass.

--

"Yeah! A sleep over!" The black mech was eagerly bouncing on the balls of his feet. "You two come over and we stay up all night eating energon candy and watching scary movies!"

Thundercracker leveled his gaze at Skywarp. It sounded like it could be fun, but, this was Skywarp we were talking about, and he did come up with some very daft ideas. "So what do we have to do?"

Those were the words Skywarp wanted to hear and he let out a large 'whoop!' excitedly. "All you two have to do is get permission from your creator's to come over and spend all night at my house." He looked back and forth between his two friends. "But my father-creator said you have to have permission first."

The blue mech grinned. "I'll go ask now." All three were on the stoop for his house and Thundercracker jumped up and went inside to ask.

Skywarp turned to look curiously at a very nervous Starscream. "Aren't you going to go ask?"

The red youngling looked across the street to his house then back at his friend. "I don't know if this is a good idea…"

"Oh come on, 'Screamer!" Skywarp put his hands on his hips. "This will be the best fun you've ever had! Go ask!"

Starscream looked back over to his house for a few moments before nodding. "I'll go ask."

The black mech grinned and grabbed his arm. "I'll come with you! I've never been inside your house!"

"NO!" Purple optics went wide and Starscream quickly shook the startled Skywarp's hand off of him. "I mean." He squeaked as he tried to calm his voice. "Uhm… You go with TC and make sure his mother-creator says yes." He looked back across the street trying to convince the black mech into staying here. "I'm sure my creator will say its okay."

Skywarp tilted his head to one side, puzzling over Starscream's actions. "Uh, okay."

"Good." The red mech looked, relieved? "Good." He said again before trotting down the stairs towards his house. When he reached the other side of the street, Starscream stopped and looked back across to Skywarp, who just stared at him strangely. He could do this. It was just for one night.

He gathered his courage and walked up the steps, knocking on his front door and waiting for someone to answer.

Skywarp stared at Starscream from Thundercracker's house. Why did he have to knock on his door? He didn't have to; he just ran inside. And TC didn't have to either. The door opened a crack and Starscream squeezed inside. It was too much for the black mech to handle; curiosity and Skywarp had a dangerous relationship, and he hopped down the stairs to go peek into Starscream's house.

Thundercracker and his mother-creator came outside just then and the black mech stopped, his curiosity could wait a moment as he found out if TC could come over. "So can you sleep over at my house?"

The blue femme smiled as Thundercracker nodded his head. "Yep!"

Skywarp let out another 'whoop!' and grabbed the blue mech's arm. "Let's go see if 'Screamer can too!"

"Wait!" The blue femme stopped the two before they left the stoop; her smile had disappeared. "I think you two should wait for Starscream to come back out on his own."

Thundercracker looked up at his mother-creator oddly. "Why?"

She looked at the closed door across the street and pursed his lips. "I think you should just wait." She looked at the two sparklings. "It's rude to just enter, or teleport, into someone's home without being invited."

"Oh." Skywarp gave a sheepish grin.

--

"Please?" The red youngling pleaded with the sad red femme. "It's just for one night and I'll do all my chores before. Just please, can I go?"

"I don't think this is a good idea…" She looked into his purple optics.

He looked crestfallen and turned to go back outside to tell the others he couldn't. She hated doing this. It was just for one night. All she just had to do was keep him from getting too upset that Starscream was gone. "Wait, Starscream."

The red youngling looked back at her sadly. "You can go, but you need to get all your chores done first before he comes home. He'll need to think you're in recharge early."

Purple optics widened hopefully. "Really?"

The red femme managed a small smile. "Yes, really. Now go tell your friends that you can go, but after your chores."

"Okay!" He nearly bolted out the door and she sighed. He was already missing out on so many things that young sparklings do. She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered; she would need to distract him so he wouldn't find out that Starscream was gone tonight.

--

The older black and silver mech had his feet up on the table and was reading a holopad that had two curvy femmes on the cover, when Skywarp and his two sparkling friends burst through the front door. He nearly fell over as he jumped to his feet and stashed the holopad. "Hey! Don't you guys know how to knock!"

The young black mech stopped and stared at his father-creator. "Why would I need to knock?"

The older mech laughed and patted his youngling on the head. "Crazy sparkling glitch-mouse."

The red and blue mechs optics widened and they started to giggle. Skywarp glowered at his father-creator. "I'm not a glitch-mouse."

"Yeah, you keep believing that, 'Warp." The older mech limped over to the table and picked up a handful of holodisks. He turned and grinned evilly at the younglings. "Do I have a surprise for you three." He held out the disks for them to look at. "I brought home as many of the 'classics' I could find. This should keep you three scared of the dark for weeks."

"Pfft! We're not sparklings who'd cower in fear of the dark!" Skywarp crossed his little arms across his chest defiantly.

The older back mech just shook his head and limped into the other room to get another cup of energon. "Everyone has permission, right?"

"Yes." All three answered in unison.

"Okay." He limped back into the room, sipping from the cup. "I got some energon goodies for later and the grease guns are already filled, no wars in the house." He looked at all three before his optics stopped on Skywarp. "And no touching the high-grade, 'Warp. There is plenty of other stuff for you three."

The young black mech nodded and ran to get the grease guns, leaving his friends there with his father-creator who was easing down in the chair and putting his feet up on the table.

Starscream walked over to the much larger and older black mech. "Why don't you go see a medic for your limp?"

Worldly green optics looked at the curious red sparkling with a chuckle. "I don't want to."

"But a medic can easily fix that limp."

"It's an old war wound and I don't mind it. Helps me remember all the wingmates I lost in the war."

Thundercracker had been watching the mech intently; his gaze on the massive black and silver wings of the old flier.

The black mech grinned at the rapt blue youngling. "I hear you want to be a flier, TC."

He nodded quickly before making optic contact. "More than anything in the world."

"There is nothing in the world better than being a flier. The feel of the wind on your wings, playing on the up and downward drafts, the rush of coolant coursing through your body and breaking the sound barrier." He chuckled. "Nothing better than that."

"I can already break the sound barrier!" Large purple optics widened as a mischievous grin spread across Thundercracker's face.

"I heard about that. You're mother-creator gave you her ability." He mused faraway. "Ah, back in the war, she was a beautiful streak of blue across the sky. One of the best of the corps, what I would have given to-" He looked down at the two younglings and cleared his throat. "Never mind that. Are all three of you going to be fliers?"

"No. Nerdy Starscream is going to be a scientist." Skywarp bounded in from the other room carrying the guns.

The older mech chuckled. "You can still be a flier and a scientist." He looked at the red youngling. "I've heard that the Iacon Institute needs fliers to explore the galaxy."

Skywarp was thrusting the guns in his friends' hands; Starscream looked at the older mech carefully, considering his words. The black and silver flier nodded to the red youngling. "Just think about it."

Starscream nodded as Skywarp dragged him outside.

--

"Your father-creator said don't touch it, 'Warp." Thundercracker eyed the black youngling warily.

"He won't know. Just try some, it can't be that bad!" The black mech held out the cup of high-grade to the blue mech. Starscream was already staring into the cup that Skywarp had thrust at him. "Just try it!"

"I won't until you do." The red mech looked up at the black youngling, only to be met with a grin.

"Okay, on a count of three, we all drink the whole cup."

"Are you insane?" Thundercracker's optics popped out. "We'll get sick if we do that."

"Pfft. My father-creator drinks it all the time and he doesn't get sick." Skywarp smirked maliciously as he taunted his friends.

"I don't know about this-"

"Just try it! Okay?" He held his cup out, trying to toast with the other two sparklings. "Friends 'til the bitter end!"

Starscream and Thundercracker exchanged wary glances. Starscream shrugged and toasted Skywarp. "Friends 'til the bitter end."

"Come on, TC!"

The blue mech sighed and held his cup out. "Friends 'til the bitter end."

With all optics looking back and forth between each other, Skywarp counted down. "Three, two…one. Drink!"

The high-grade went down: Skywarp tried not to make a face as the liquid burned his throat, Starscream coughed and spluttered, and Thundercracker spit the energon out on the floor in disgust. "Ugh! That was awful!"

Skywarp's optics watered and he coughed. "At least we know what it tastes like."

Starscream spluttered again. "I'm never ever drinking that again!"

"Great idea, 'Warp." Thundercracker rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. "Why do I let you talk me into all of your stupid ideas?"

"Because we're friends and that's what friends do!" The goofy black mech giggled and hiccupped.

"Uh-oh." Starscream blinked rapidly as his equilibrium sensors started to fail.

Thundercracker sighed. "Great, just great. You're both drunk! Now what do we do?"

The black mech gave a lopsided grin and held up a holodisk. "Now we watch movies!"

--

"No! Don't open the door! He's right behind it!"

"Eww!"

It was dark in the front room of Skywarp's house with the only light coming from the movie on the vid screen with the three mechs huddled together as they watched "The Blade". Every so often one would flinch or shut their optics, as the scenes from the movie grew more intense.

Starscream was still swaying a bit from the high-grade and was leaning on Thundercracker. The blue mech didn't mind, but he warned his friend that there would be consequences if he emptied his fuel tank on him.

Skywarp, on the other hand, was so wrapped up in the movie that he didn't show any symptoms from the drink.

This was the second movie of the night, "Pitraiser" being the first one they had watched. When it had ended, the trio had turned on a few lights to get some more energon candy to snack on, and Thundercracker and Starscream wanted Skywarp to leave them on, but just because being so close to the screen hurt their optics, of course.

The malicious black mech called them glitch-mice and shut off all the lights after he put in the next movie, giggling at his friends being scared of the dark. But now… now he was huddled up with Thundercracker and Starscream as if the darkness was closing in around them.

As one of the characters shut inside a dim and grungy room went to look through a peep-hole in the door, all three younglings started to yell at the vid screen. "Don't do it! Don't do it!"

"Ahhh! You idiot! You're going to get-" BANG! "-shot." A photon rifle had been positioned behind the peep-hole and it fired when the mech looked through; all three cringed as the mech's CPU and neural net blew out the back of his head.

Skywarp started to giggle manically. "You two glitch-mice jumped! Haha! You two are scared!"

Starscream shoved the black mech roughly. "You jumped too, you sparkling!"

With the movie forgotten, the three tussled on the floor in the darkness, each calling the other names, but no one heard the soft swishing sound of a teleport, until a pair of black hands reached out of the darkness and grabbed Skywarp from behind. The youngling's optics went wide in horror and his screech could have rivaled Starscream's. The other two sparklings screamed as well, crawling across the floor to get away from the black hands that lifted Skywarp up off the floor.

There was an evil laugh and then the darkness was split open by the older black mech's running lights. "Gotcha!"

Poor Thundercracker's optics rolled back as he passed out cold and Starscream emptied his fuel tank all over the floor. But Skywarp, much to his father-creator's surprise, lubricated himself.

--

The blue femme watched from her window again as the Cybertronian skies grew dark; the sparkling had been left outside tonight, and he sat curled up against one of the walls that framed the steps. He was shivering and every so often he would get up and knock on the front door. He wrapped his arms around him and sat back down on the steps, looking very lost and lonely.

This wasn't right and she had to do something. The blue femme pulled out a cube of low-grade energon and poured it into a cup before heading for the door and calling up the stairs. "Thundercracker! I'll be right back. You should get ready for recharge!"

A tired sounding youngling answered her back. "But the next patrol is going to be here."

"If you get ready now, I'll let you see the next patrol!"

"Okay."

The femme slipped out the door and headed across the street; the red youngling had balled himself up on the steps, his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms across the top of his knees with his head bowed over his arms.

It made her spark ache to see the child like this. "Starscream?"

The red mech's head snapped up quickly, his purple optics wide in surprise. "…hello."

She smiled at him as she came up the steps and held out the cup of energon. "You looked a little thirsty."

Starscream looked at the blue femme in confusion and then at the offered cup as if it would reach out and bite him. "Go on, it's okay."

He took the cup and looked up at her as if asking for her permission. "Go on."

His optics never left her face as he drank. She was right; he was thirsty.

There was the sound of heavy footsteps coming to the door and she turned around as the door swung open to face an angry gray mech. "What the slag do you think you're doing?"

She smiled calmly at him. "Starscream and my sparkling are friends and I thought I'd bring him something to drink since it looked like no one was home-"

"We don't need your frakkin' handouts!" The mech grabbed Starscream's arm and knocked the cup away from him before dragging the poor youngling inside. "Mind your own slaggin' business!"

The door slammed and she could hear the angry mech yelling at the youngling inside the apartment. The blue femme picked up the cup and walked back to her home.

Now she knew she had to do something. She called one of the fliers in her squadron who was now working as a counselor in the private sector and reported what she had seen. Her wingmate said she would send someone out to investigate in the morning, but that didn't appease the worry the blue femme felt.