The world that Alexis woke to was a horrible, distorted place. For as real as it seemed with her eyes closed, opening them only dispelled the extremely warm place she had believed herself to be. Alexis could have sworn that she felt a hand wrapped snugly around her body that she curled easily into, heard the sound of Starscream's voice as he whispered to her.
Sitting up straight and finding herself on the coach and very much alone affected Alexis to the extreme. The dream seemed so real. However, that was how her dreams could get. And this time it was a rather good one. She could remember the details so clearly.
A chime sounded off, a sound that she always considered whimsical and pleasing for a door bell, but now it caused her to flinch.
"Go away," Alexis yelled, knowing it could have been anyone did little for the tone of her voice. She wanted to be left alone and by God, she had earned it.
The chime rang again. Alexis sprang up, grabbed one of the couch pillows and threw it at the door. A satisfying thump sounded off before it fell helplessly on the wood floor.
"Leave me alone," she said, her tone was even more severe than previous despite the loss of volume. Alexis grabbed the other pillow and clasped it to her firmly. Turning around, she closed her eyes tightly but with determination. If she could only see Starscream in her dreams, then she would go there. And whoever was at her door would leave eventually.
"What is the meaning of this?"
She knew that voice. Flipping over, she fell gracelessly off the sofa. Alexis believed it was him even more when Starscream had the audacity to laugh. That stopped soon enough. His laughter shattered when she got up and threw her arms around him and held tight.
It was him. It wasn't a dream. He was real.
Inside her, something unfamiliar sprang up, a desperation that became frantic. Alexis was left both scared and excited by the need.
She kissed Starscream with a strength behind the action that pushed him back and down on the floor. Alexis saw the flash of surprise in his eyes and then saw nothing else for some time. Just felt. Felt him against her, hands straying as she touched his arms. Their bodies came closer, mouths only parting when it was necessary. Time dissolved. When she felt his hand make its way under her shirt, caressing the naked flesh of her back, she came to her senses.
Alexis had been told to never do anything with a boy that she wouldn't feel comfortable doing in front of her own father. But with them wrapped around each other and one of her legs trapped between his, the other pressing against Starscream's outer thigh, the two so close that to breathe in deep was to be filled with his dominating scent, Alexis knew that she had probably crossed that line. Guilt came over her own impulsiveness, bringing with it a shame from her actions.
Yes, they only kissed. But never did a kiss do what it was doing to her now. An unfamiliar sensation pulsed in her body. Her breaths were quick and irregular, a thrill following that wound up through her and down.
Starscream was looking at her with a devilish grin building. His hand withdrew from her back when he moved the hair out of Alexis' face. A finger brought under her chin, he lifted her face. She expected him to speak. Instead, he unwound himself and pulled her flush against his firm chest, arms wrapping around her.
Silence grew. And despite the regret from her forward behavior, a smile grew on her face until she found herself grinning. Alexis was so incredibly elated just to be near Starscream. And to think that not even fifteen minutes earlier she was all ready to settle for a dream version.
That thought made Alexis laugh, the mirthfulness shattered the silence. She felt Starscream shift behind her. They both sat up. Scooting back, her hand met his face, caressing his cheek.
"You are real."
"I most assuredly am that, Alexandra." He caught her hand in his, drawing it toward his mouth, lips brushing against the top. Turning it around, he placed more kisses on her palm. "And if you need any further proof..." He leaned forward, hot breath trailing across her cheek.
"Not the kind I think you are offering," she said frankly. Emboldened by his own directness and even completely fascinated by who was in front of her, she found a strange form of courage tug inside of her as it directed what she said. "That is why we should probably leave my house. Being alone with you, I..." Her words weakened as his gaze intensified. His fingers caressed her wrist, a light feathery touch that made her gasp.
If his pride didn't show so evidently on his face from her reaction, things would have gone just a little differently. Instead, Alexis stood up and looked down. Starscream remained smug even as she hovered in a position of power from above.
"Besides, Starscream," she breathed his name out, astonishing herself at the seductive air it held. Ruby eyes darkened, the lust behind them frightening and empowering Alexis. "It's not you, I want."
That got Starscream off the floor. He directed Alexis toward the wall. The Seeker caged her against it with his body.
"Explain this," he rasped, his voice low and strained. The way he looked at her made some of her coyness vanish as sensitivity spread upon her continence. Despite the seriousness behind his demand, it was obviously not a desperate one. He leaned forward and before she could explain his lips found her own. He took his time, slowly, laboriously caressing her with his mouth. Alexis' eyes shut tight. Starscream pulled her closer.
She was holding his hand. Alexis never really thought about such contact before, but she was intensely aware now. Alexis expected Starscream to back away from such a public show of affection. Instead, it seemed to make his shoulders stand up straighter as he turned the contact into an ostentatious display of possession.
Alexis found she didn't mind. Walking through the base, they wound their way through. The two were on their way to his new center of command, and neither was in a hurry.
Starscream brought himself closer to her side, his voice low and only for Alexis. "I understand." The intimacy of his inflection of words caressed her flesh.
"What?"
His mouth curved upwards, accentuating the tip of his slightly pointed nose. The attraction she held for him fluttered within.
"What you were intimating earlier. I know what you meant."
"Do you?" But Alexis knew he understood by the baffled look he had that held a hint of awe.
He suddenly shimmered away. The pressure from his hand faded as she was left standing there alone, but not for long. Before she could even begin to feel the separation, Alexis was picked up and brought up close to the real Starscream.
"I do." He didn't grin nor hold it over her and gloat. Starscream just stared at her transfixed. "You want the real me. As you should, I am quite a memorable experience."
Starscream saying that so openly and changing it to denote more than she meant, had her mouth falling open as she flushed a deep scarlet. Alexis' head lowered when she found herself unable to look at him. In the daylight, sitting there on his palm, she noticed his changes.
There were delicate incisions that wound and curved along the matte metal on his arms. Alexis' head lifting and shifting, she saw it was all over him, a Cybertronian form of tattoos. Pushing herself a little back so she could get a better view, she saw that wasn't all that had changed. His frame wasn't as bulky as she remembered, but more refined, lines of subdued red snaked across it.
"You've changed."
"For the better," he said. "Now that there is no necessity to be covert, I have reverted some to my original form."
Looking up into his face, she saw his facial features had changed a little as well, the jagged edges were not so severe. However, the air of power and deadliness remained.
"Thundercracker and Skywarp... they are not F-22's?" she asked of him with her eyes wandering still. The magnetic pull Alexis always felt when she was around Starscream commanded her attention.
"They are not. Both are Cybertronian jets at the moment. Neither as powerful as I, but there is art in their construction. Their level of potential destructiveness is only surpassed by my own." He started walking. "Tell me, little one, what do you think of them? Do they impress you as I do?"
"Who ever said you impressed me?"
"You do every time I am in your presence."
"You know you shouldn't always be so sure of yourself," Alexis told him.
"I have never been in the position to doubt myself. Doubt is a weakness that I shall never be burdened with."
"To admit one doesn't know can be attractive as well," she said. They came to an abrupt halt. Starscream's other hand came behind her, stopping her from falling off. He repositioned Alexis.
"Do you?" he inquired, the two words more than just a simple question.
"Nobody knows everything, Starscream, only God."
"Do not redirect my question."
Alexis chuckled even when she knew he was curiously serious. "It depends on the circumstance. I mean being uncertain nowadays can mean the difference between life and death so..."
He interrupted, "So, after all your useless ramblings you prefer confidence. You desire someone possessing power and the knowledge of what to do with it."
They started to move forward again, his confidence regained by his own words.
"I find you attractive." Alexis smiled playfully. "Even if sometimes your... power can be a little overbearing.
What she said caused Starscream to chuckle. He leaned down with a glint in his optics. "My innocent one, you have no idea just how overbearing my power can be. However, you will know soon enough as I..."
She must have had some look on her face, for extreme disappointment was on his. He curtailed the words that were in all probabilities going to be something bluntly suggestive. Surprisingly, Alexis saw understanding in him as well.
"We have time," he relented. "But understand this: I am desperate to know you completely in mind as well as body. There will be no more walls between us. I know you are not naive about what your attachment to me ultimately bestows. I will have you, and you will be mine," he purred as his vocals lowered. Already present heat grew behind his vocalization. "I will not relent in my pursuit of you until this objective is obtained."
He stopped. Head lifting up, he stared. Alexis shifted around. She noticed right away that Thundercracker was coming toward them. The blue Seeker had to stop and start a couple of times, having rather a time as he tried to make his way through the humans walking below.
"What is it?" Starscream asked his wingmate with exasperation.
Thundercracker looked down at Alexis and then back up at Starscream. "You wanted to be informed when Prime's data packet was received."
"I did. Alexandra, you will attend me."
She smiled at Starscream's choice of words but nodded her head.
"The data is of a sensitive nature," Thundercracker stated, blocking Starscream's path. "The flesh creature has no need to see its contents."
Alexis felt the tension build between them.
"Are you questioning me?"
"No, Starscream. I am questioning your choice of confidants. Having her pleasure you is one thing, allowing the human to..." When Starscream took a decisive step forward, Thundercracker stopped speaking, his head lowering.
Even being held out of the way, Alexis heard the conversation clearly.
"You forget yourself, Thundercracker. If you were anyone other than my wingmate, I would rip out your vocals and rid you of your spark for speaking with such impertinence."
"My lord," Thundercracker began. He took on a more formal tone and bowed slightly forward. "I meant no offense. Perhaps I was in error in regards to the value you place on this... this human."
"You were."
The blue Seeker looked up, now firm in his resolve. He straightened, his words coming out with determination. "Still, I must impress upon you the delicacy of the information provided. And it would be beyond the human's discernment anyway."
"All the more reason..." Starscream didn't finish. The two Seekers looked at each other, a wordless conversation continuing.
Starscream put Alexis down. Her eyes drifting up to Thundercracker. She expected a form of boastful victory. However, he only remained stoic, moving off to give them privacy.
"This won't take long," Starscream told her. He joined his wingmate.
A shiver ran up her spine when both jumped in the air and transformed, deftly cutting through the sky. Soon enough, the only evidence that the two Seekers had even been there were the two wisps of smoke that hung defiantly in the air above, until they too disappeared.