Megatron and Starscream didn't think they could ever figure out the key to their bizarre relationship, but over time they'd thought, why ask why? Why not just let it unfold?

Of course, everyone knew they didn't always get along. In fact, it used to be pretty ugly. As a scientist first joining the Decepticons, Starscream had quickly fought for Megatron's attention but was always snubbed. Megatron was always doing something else, or hanging out with someone he'd known for longer. In fact, back then, Starscream had wondered if Soundwave and Megatron were in some kind of relationship, although this suspicion turned out not to be true.

One thing led to another and Starscream, formerly in his own kind of love, eventually became defiant and he figured that negative attention was better than no attention at all. Every time he watched Megatron rule the Decepticons the way he did, he found it intriguing less and less, and wanted it for himself more and more. It wasn't entirely Megatron's fault—maybe he'd always been this way—but Starscream had become obsessed with power.

This led to Megatron's irritation and more abuse for Starscream. Starscream felt like he got blamed for everything, and that he was oppressed; he hated being humiliated and getting a beating in front of everyone. Someday, he figured, he would rule, and spit in the face of the one who broke his spark. Usually at the end of the day he was angry, or sometimes if he was alone he just broke down and cried. Rarely, though, did he go to into stasis feeling happy.

Everything changed when they had the sparklings. They didn't have them on purpose. Megatron was pretty abusive to Starscream—and, apparently, they had some kind of masochistic 'facing going on. Only when the little twins were conceived did Starscream have to admit this, and he was more terrified than overjoyed when Moonbeam diagnosed him. And when Starscream told Megatron that he was going to have offspring, well, that had just resulted in another beating. Eventually, though, Megatron decided to be involved in his children's lives, rather than ignore them, which he knew meant he had to be gentle with their carrier.

So by now, Megatron had actually turned half of his office into a bedroom for the little twins, because they didn't need to live in Megatron's suite, where Starscream now resided. Starscream finally felt safe with Megatron, knowing how he truly felt. Megatron was not one to express his "feelings"…in fact, he wasn't sure he actually had any.

Not until he met Starscream, that is. The first day they met, he had become fascinated with the young Seeker. Even then Megatron remembered trying to keep his eyes off the perfectly proportioned body, unique color design, flawless wings, glowing red eyes, and smirking face. The jets annoyed Megatron for the most part—they were…different, at the least, sometimes stupid, often tricksters or just plain weird, almost always extremely horny. They had violent tempers and declining health when they didn't fly, but most of all, they were, well, beautiful.

Megatron thought Starscream was great-looking and his personality was, if anything, more snarky and funny. Even back then he had quite a mouth on him, but it wasn't a problem and Megatron never took it personally.

Then again, Megatron had a faction to rule and, later, a war to run. This became his first priority and he willingly set any unfamiliar feelings aside. For the most part, he thought feelings were impractical and stupid. Feelings were something Autobots had, not him, and he felt that getting "in touch" with emotion would be a loss of self-control. Megatron believed that crying never solved anything.

Once Megatron found out that "loyal" would not be a good word to describe Starscream, though, he ended up getting angry at him all the time and taking things out on him, even when the circumstances were out of his control. Whenever Starscream attempted to overthrow him, he threatened him about being disassembled, terminated, choked, melted, or damaged beyond repair. But every time, something stopped him. Of course, he didn't know exactly what, but when Megatron saw that Starscream was hurt, or upset, because of something he had done, he always felt kind of…bad, remorseful even. In the end, he knew when to stop, even if Starscream didn't.

Neither one of them realized what they were truly feeling, in a sad, awful, terrible way—love.

"Do you love me, Megatron?" Starscream asked suddenly, his voice high and shrill like a little girl's, the way it always was when he was feeling threatened or sad.

"Yes, I do," said Megatron, and he meant it.

"When you rescued me from dying, a couple years ago, I still remember that," Starscream told him.

"It's like I said." Megatron sighed. "I could never stay mad at you. I probably shouldn't have saved you, but I did."

"Apparently you gave me some of your own energon?"

"Yes. There was nothing else to do."

"Didn't that hurt?"

"Not really," said Megatron, remembering how he only had to prick his finger with the tip of Starscream's wing, the only sharp enough object he could find. Surely, some earth twig couldn't have pierced his plating.

"Well, if it weren't for that energon transfusion, I wouldn't be alive today," Starscream told him.

"Don't worry about it." Megatron shrugged.

"Are you happy we had sparklings?" Starscream asked.

"Yes," said Megatron. "I didn't really know what to do with them…but I guess they're a good thing for us. Some tiny Decepticons for us to take care of."

"They're not really tiny any more," said Starscream. "They got so much bigger over the course of a year."

"Secretly, though, I don't think they like those scarves your mother knitted for their Creation Day," said Megatron. "No offense."

"None taken," Starscream replied. "Stardust seems to like her bib, though."

Megatron ran his finger up and down Starscream's right wing. "Do you want to battle for power again, Starscream?"

"Get out the handcuffs," said Starscream.