Starscream now occupied one of the unused guest rooms of Knock Out's apartment. At first, he had been shocked by the sheer size of it. The room was certainly larger than his officer quarters on the Nemesis!
For now it stood empty, save for a few pieces of furniture since he didn't have many belongings, but the medic had assured him that that was fine. After all, he would be staying here for a very long time, so he would have plenty of time to acquire them.
The seeker sighed contently the moment his frame made contact with the plush berth. He couldn't remember the last time he'd rested on something so.. soft, comforting almost.
Turning over to lay on his back, his red optics looked up at the ceiling. Now that he finally had time to himself he began to think. Mainly about the future. What would happen once he was healed? He doubted Knock Out would kick him out the moment he was cleared by Ratchet, but he didn't want to impose himself on the crimson mech either.
He would have to find a job. He had been a scientist before the war, perhaps he could be one again? But would they accept him, a decepticon? Starscream highly doubted that, not without persuasion at least. He may have been pardoned by Ultra Magnus himself, but in the eyes of many he was still a threat. He snorted at that.
And after that?
Starscream didn't see himself settling down, he was more of a loner. He doubted he'd ever be able to love anyone but himself. But... it would be nice to have someone there, someone who cared. Memories of his trine flashed through his mind and he forcefully shoved them away. Skywarp, Thundercracker.. He didn't want to think about them, it hurt too much.
But having a conjux?
Venting a sigh, he reached out to the nightstand beside his berth and flicked off the light, his room immediately falling into darkness. However this kind of dark brought him a sense of relief, content and something closely resembling happiness. It wasn't like in the mines where the dark was stifling and brought fear and hopelessness.
He would think more tomorrow, when his mind would be clearer and not addled by exhaustion.
"Riiiiise and shiiine, Screamer."
The obnoxious sing song voice of the decepticon medic snapped Starscream out of his slumber and the seeker groaned, silently cursing the red mech. When he booted up his visual feed, he nearly fell off the berth.
Knock Out, with his ever present arrogant smirk, was leaning almost casually against the doorway to Starscream's berthroom.
"Knock Out!" The seeker screeched indignantly, his wings shooting up to stand high and tense. "Have you no sense of privacy?! How long have you been there?" His red optics narrowed into a glare. The medic only raised an optic ridge. If anything, he looked more amused than alarmed or ashamed.
"Long enough, now if you don't mind, I'd suggest you take an oil bath and polish your armor, primus knows you need a good buffing, and come to the living room. I'll give you a list of exercises and a few things so you won't get bored, before I leave for work."
And with that infuriating, slag eating grin etched on his faceplate, the red medic turned on his heel and sauntered off, humming some cheerful tune the seeker didn't recognize.
For a moment, Starscream entertained the idea of flinging something at Knock Out's retreating back (preferably something heavy), but decided against it. Rising heavily to his pedes, he stretched, his back and joints giving satisfying pops before he headed for the wash rack.
Despite the fact that his apartment was.. huge, for a lack of a better word, the red medic had only one wash rack installed. It's size defined made up for it though.
Starscream couldn't resist the urge to roll his optics at the vast variety of wax, paint and cleaning solvents filling the few shelves in the room along with a fully stocked polishing kit, complete with a buffer. But then again, what could he expect from a vain son of a glitch like Knock Out?
The warm solvent felt unbelievably good against his ravaged and filthy frame and soon enough, the silver mech was completely relaxed, the tension slowly leaving his frame. When he exited the wash rack, he felt refreshed, felt more invigorated than he had in vorns!
Starscream found the medic in the living room. The crimson mech was already sipping his morning fuel as flipped through the channels on the tele console. The silver mech couldn't help but stare.
In all the millennia that they'd known each other, Starscream had never seen Knock Out so peaceful. The evil smirk that usually adorned his face was gone, replaced by a relaxed expression and slight boredom as he found nothing interesting and just settled on the news.
As if feeling that he was being watched, the medic looked up, chuckling in amusement as the seeker quickly diverted his gaze elsewhere. "Fuel's on the counter." He said, taking another sip as he turned back to the screen.
Starscream grimaced as he took a sip from said cube. Due to the fact that he was still recovering from the injuries he'd sustained in the cave in, he had to drink medical grade energon. The additional nutrients that were mixed with the energon gave the fuel a rather disgusting taste.
Venting a sigh, Knock Out gulped down the remaining contents of his cube and stood up to set it on the counter. Turning to the silver mech, he waited to make sure that he was listening to him before starting.
" So, as you already know, you will be staying here until you've properly healed and had a chance to integrate yourself into our society. I'm here to help you with both of those things. For now you will have to remain indoors, you are not yet strong enough to go out. It will take a few Earth weeks before I can allow to take a short walk around the place. As soon as you're healed, you will receive all the documents necessary, find a job and eventually move out to your own place." He shrugged. "That's the current plan. Here's the list of exercises you'll need to do every day.."The medic reached into his sub space and after fishing a little brought out a datapad that he then handed to the silver mech.
The seeker took the datapad and nodded. This sounded reasonable enough though he wasn't happy about being holed up in an apartment for so long. Seekers needed air and space. Being in a confined space for a long time made them anxious.
"Oh, and one more thing.."
Starscream looked up. Knock Out was already standing at the doorway, there was a mischievous smirk on his faceplate. "I wouldn't recommend getting to know the neighbors."
The seeker's optic ridges furrowed, as he sent the red mech an inquisitive look. Knock Out chuckled. "One word: Smokescreen."
Laughing at Starscream's horrified expression, the red medic left, the door smoothly sliding shut behind him.