Chapter 7: Avoiding

Two weeks later…

Ever since they realized they were intended to be bondmates, Optimus and Starscream had done the best job……of avoiding each other.

Starscream had bolted himself in his room. The only times he came out was for Rachet to do a daily scan, to make sure everything was in working order, to continue repairing his vocalizer, and for food. The few times Starscream came from his room, Optimus made sure that he was never alone in the same room with him.

Both were terrified of the idea of becoming bondmates.

Everyone, but Rachet, thought that the reason the Seeker was avoiding everyone was because he was still dealing with being a Decepticon against his will. It was somewhat true.

One day, Optimus, a few minutes before Starscream would come in for his daily check up, went to the medical area.

"Hey," he greeted Rachet as he walked in.

The old mech looked over his shoulder at Optimus and grunted his hello, then turned his optics back to what he was working on.

"So," Optimus began, "How's…Starscream doing?"

Rachet answered, "Better every day. In a few weeks, it'll be like none of those things ever happened to him. And Sentinel was generous enough to send down more parts to finish the repairs."

"Or Ultra Magnus told him to."

"That too."

"So, I can un-ground Starscream?"

"Yep, and in another few days, you should be able to comm. Jazz."

"That's good."

"Why didn't you ask him yourself?"

Optimus was caught off guard by that question. "What?"

"Why didn't you ask him yourself?"

"Well…um…uhh…"

"Optimus, the first week it was funny. Now, it's just a little sparklingish."

"What are you talking about?" Optimus asked, crossing his arms over his chest and a stern look on his features.

"Let me see," Rachet began, "I'm talking about the way you've been acting around Starscream. You're avoiding him like the plague (as the humans say.) When you're not avoiding him, you're making sure you're never alone with him. And now, you don't even have the spark to ask him how his repairs are going."

Optimus' stern look was replaced with one of unease and he kept shifting in his position. Rachet put down what he was doing and looked Optimus directly in the optics and said, "Talk to him. Did you ever stop to think about how he's feeling about this? After all, he's the one who feels like he's just woken up from a millennia of nightmares. And now ontop of that, he's just figured out that his intended bondmate is his best friend from his sparkling years and has been his enemy for the past few Earth years."

Optimus, ontop of feeling uneasy, now felt guilty.

Rachet was right.

Starscream really did have the worse end of this, it being shoved in his face while he was still trying to deal with his first problem. What kind of friend was he, if he didn't at least help Starscream with his problems? And they could help each other with this whole bondmate thing.

Optimus looked Rachet in the optics and said, "I'll talk to him."

Rachet smiled slyly and answered, "Good. Here's your chance."

Optimus raised an optic ridge then he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Starscream, whom was just as surprised to see the Autobot leader as he was to see the Seeker. Oceanic optics stared into pure silver ones.

He hated how lost he could become in those silver orbs, just like when they were sparklings. They were just so…deep…filled with mystery…knowledge…and…loneliness.

He gave Starscream a small smile and said, "Hey Star….How've you been?"

Starscream gave a half smile and a shrug.

Rachet coughed and said, "I'll do your daily scan in about thirty cycles Starscream."

The Seeker nodded, then the medic left the two alone. Starscream sat down on the nearest berth and continued to stare at Optimus. The mech wondered what the Seeker was thinking.

He sat down beside Starscream, then broke the uncomfortable silence, "Rachet told me that your repairs are almost done."

Starscream nodded then typed into his pad. He handed it to Optimus; it read, "I feel more and more like my old self every day."

"That's good." he answered, handing the device back.

Starscream sighed silently, then typed something else in and handed it back to the Autobot leader.

"Optimus, not to seem rude or anything, but I really just want to be alone for awhile. Okay?"

Optimus stared at those words for a long moment. Then he looked back at Starscream and said, "I understand. But…if you need someone to talk to…myself and the rest of the team are ready to listen to you."

Starscream smiled a little, then typed in "Thank you."

After Optimus read it, he handed the device and left. The mech wished that he could do more. But he knew that if he pried, it would only push Starscream further away. The Seeker would eventually talk to him, but only when he was ready to do so.

He hoped it would be soon. Because the thought of Starscream never talking to him again made his spark wrench. Did that mean he didn't mind the idea of him becoming his bondmate? Probably, probably not. But he did hope that he and Starscream could make this work.

He really did.


Another cliff for you. Damn, this chapter is short! Hope you people out there enjoy this chapter. Next one will be up soon. See ya!