Chapter 35: Dinner with the Lord

"Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings?

Telling me to give you everything,

Seasons may change, winter to spring,

But I love you until the end of time."

"Ahem."

With a perfectly pitched squeak, Scrap jumped up to her feet and blushed bright red while looking at the mech at the door and even more when she saw who it was. "Lord Megatron!" She swallowed suddenly. "Is… is there anything I can do to help you, my lord?"

The warlord looked at her for a moment before stepping away from the doorway and entering the private quarters of the medics. "Knockout is out on a mission tonight, is he not?"

Scrap nodded politely, looking down at the cupboard she had been knelt next to. "Yes, my lord."

"And you are here alone?"

Trying not to physically react, the human nodded. "Yes."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"I was about to start cooking when you came in."

"Then, perhaps you would allow me to join you."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "What?"

He smirked and held out his right hand, revealing a bottle of wine he had been holding. "If I may?"

She couldn't help it, she laughed, fighting herself to stop as he stared at her in pure confusion. "I… I would be honoured if you would join me for dinner." She wiped her eyes clear of tears. "I'm just… amazed."

"But, the research I conducted indicated that bringing wine is customary."

Stepping over, Scrap look the bottle and looked it over with a nod. "It is, and I do appreciate it."

"Then why did you laugh?"

"Because I didn't imagine you wanting to eat with someone like me."

His optics narrowed on her. "After saving the entirety of my crew from those humans, I have wanted to spend time with you and thank you personally. I just haven't found the right moment before now."

"Well, I haven't even started cooking, yet." She looked back at the wine and an idea filled her head. "How about a carbonara?"

"I do not know what that is."

Already heading for the small kitchen, Scrap sighed. "It's an Italian dish. Pasta with a white wine and cheese sauce with bacon. It's really nice but you only use the egg yolk so we could make meringue for dessert."

"Dessert?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and noted he had stepped closer. "It's a meal after the main one. A sweet after the savoury."

Megatron looked slightly confused as he ran a hand back in his dark grey hair. "You creatures are confusing. Why can't you just have one energy source like us?"

Laughing, Scrap went to the fridge and got what she needed. For a while Megatron stood watching before stepping over and taking the wooden spoon from the pan and began moving the bacon as it cooked, stopping it from burning.

The human smiled. "You're quiet good at that." She commented off handed.

He smiled a little, looking down on the food. "It has a very interesting smell." Silence fell after that before the warlord looked up at her while she worked on the pavlova. "What next?"

~#~

As the femme picked up the pasta bowls, Megatron nodded, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "I am… very impressed."

Scrap smiled at his side and tipped her head to the side a little. "Umm, you have a little sauce on your…"

Quickly he wiped his mouth again. "Better?"

"Umm…" She said then put the plate down and reached quite boldly over to his face, wiping it away with her thumb. "There."

As the human stepped away from the table, Megatron quickly took a long sip of his wine.

"But as I was saying…." She said from the other side of him. "I wasn't really thinking about it. I just… did it."

"I cannot imagine many being willing to do what you did. You could have saved yourself, but instead chose to risk your own life."

"To protect my family and my home." She replied, placing the large white Pavlova on the table and putting two bowls in front of her seat. "I mean, I couldn't just sit around and let them kill you."

Megatron hummed a little. "Scrap, you are indeed a very… interesting creature."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She giggled while dishing out the dessert.

As the plate was placed before him, the warlord looked up at her face, studying her for a moment. "You are very beautiful."

She froze where she was, her gaze turned to him. "What?"

"You are… very beautiful."

She was just stood there, looking down on him as he sat at her table, his eyes set, clear and determined while hers were just wide with shock. Finally she closed her mouth and looked back to her work, dishing herself a slice and taking a seat. "I… I'm honoured you would think that of me."

"I speak the truth." He commented, picking up a fork the dipping in, yet his eyes never left her. "And I find it fascinating. You are human and yet… I see you as beautiful."

"I often think about the similarities between us. We look… so…"

"Similar. And yet, there are differences. Mainly in our cultures." He took a bite and nodded thoughtfully. "It's very interesting to discover that I am attracted to you."

Fighting to hold back a blush, the human swallowed a mouthful of meringue, chewing it slowly to give her time to think. "I… I'm flattered, my lord."

"Perhaps we can explore this closer."

"What?"

"This attraction. I'm interested in what will come of it." He held a hand towards her. "After all, you have been on this ship for over an earth year and yet no one has made any advancement on you."

She looked down at her food, trying not to give away her very advanced relationship with Soundwave.

Megatron appeared to notice the change and frowned. "Of course, I do not include Skyquake in that statement. And you will be glad I'm sure to hear that I have taken steps to ensure he does not come near you again."

"What about Dreadwing?"

Helping himself to a second serving of dessert, Megatron nodded. "I offered him the choice of staying here or leaving with his twin. He said that it was time his brother learnt to live on his own and that he would have to soon enough. I presume he was referring to his new mate."

Scrap blinked. "You knew? I… I didn't think anyone knew."

"I have known Dreadwing for a long time, Scrap. He is a loyal solider, but I noticed at once that he had changed. He's far more… careful now. No less affective, but… more calculating than before. When I questioned him, he told me about his bondmate."

She smiled a little. "I see."

"I never would have imagined it, that Airachnid, of all femmes, would settle down."

Looking at the remains of her food, Scrap smiled softly. "To love another person is to see the face of god."

"Sorry?"

"Remember, the truth that once was spoken, to love another person is to see the face of god. It's a line of a song from a musical called 'Les Misérables.'" Pushing her plate away, she sighed. "It's about a man… a convicted criminal who is released from, jail but then goes on the run. When a kind man shows him pity, he tries to make amends for his mistakes in life by caring for a child of a woman who died because of him. He even risked everything to ensure the man she loves makes it through a war he was in."

Megatron fell still as well. "And… how does it end?"

"He died peacefully having seen the child marry the man she loved."

"That… does not sound like a good ending."

Her emerald eyes turned to him, leaning back on her seat. "It is not a happy show. 'Les Misérables' is French for 'The Miserable Ones'. It's about the troubles and suffering of life, but also about redemption and love. Not just the love between Cosette and Marius, but between Jean Valjean and Cosette, the love of a father and daughter. He loved her so much that he would do anything for her, even give her up."

Lacing his fingers together, Lord Megatron let out a deep breath and leant against the table. "To love someone… and give them up?" He turned to look at her, his dark optics narrow on her, clearly thinking. Just as he opened his mouth again, however, the door to the medical quarters opened and both turned to see a large black cat stalk his way in and sat on the floor, tail wrapping around his legs in the process.

Megatron frowned at the intrusion. "What is he doing here?" He turned to look at the human. "I was under the impression he was not allowed in here."

"He's not. And he should know that." She stood up and walked over to the cat, frowning as she looked at it. "What are you doing in here Ravage?"

Ravage stared at her, his tail flicking the only movement.

Scrap turned quickly to look behind her at the Warlord. "Sorry, my lord, I'll go… deal with him." Touching the back of the jaguar's head, she escorted him out into the med bay and out to the corridor. Unsurprisingly, Soundwave was stood there, looking very irritated and worried, even when his mask was up. The human ran right to his arms. "I'm so sorry, Soundwave. I know, I know we had plans, but… Megatron just… turned up and asked to have dinner with me. I couldn't say no and I didn't have time to tell you."

He gripped her a little tighter and she sighed, pressing her head under his chin. "I have to get back. But, I'll come talk to you later, promise."

"Don't be late."

With a cheeky peck on his face mask, Scrap left her mech and returned to the quarters, looking at Megatron as he sat at the table, looking at her with clear concern. He frowned at her. "You were longer than I expected."

"I walked Ravage down the hall." She lied. "I just wanted to ensure he didn't come back, that's all."

"I see." He sighed, standing up from his chair. "But, I couldn't help but notice, you did not answer my question."

Walking to the table, Scrap shrugged. "I don't understand."

"I was wondering if you would allow us to explore this attraction closer. To look at it in a more permanent and in-depth way."

Pausing as she cleared the table, Scrap coughed and turned away. "Lord Megatron, can… can I speak… honestly?"

"Please do."

With a deep breath, she looked up. "I'm sorry but… I don't feel the same way for you. And… I'm not ready for a relationship."

He frowned at her, stepping over and towering down on her. "Really?"

"I'm too busy with my work. I still have a lot to learn and I can't… I can't afford to let my attention drift to anything else."

Standing before her, Megatron appeared to think about it for a moment before nodding a little and turning away. "I see."

"Please…" she added after a moment. "That doesn't mean we can't still be… friends. Right?" She sighed and waved her hand back at the half cleared table. "I'd really like to do this again. To dine with you I mean."

He turned his back on her quickly. "Considering my…. Considering what has transpired tonight, that may be… inappropriate."

"Why?"

"I just believe it would be."

The human stared at his back before sighing. "If that is what you think."

"It is." His gaze shifted over his shoulder. "I bid you goodnight, Scrap."

~#~

"I don't like it." Soundwave mumbled into her shoulder before pressing his lips to her bare skin, kissing her in a very seductive manor while his hands played with the buttons of her shirt.

Sighing both in frustration and pleasure, Scrap leant against him, her hand reaching up behind her to where he sat. "And you think I do? I don't mind keeping us a secret, but if people start thinking I'm still single and, therefore, free game, we are gonna have a problem."

"If anyone but myself lays a hand on you, I'll kill them."

"My prince charming." She laughed but it transformed into a moan when he began nibbling into her neck. As he started biting and kissing her a little more fiercely, Scrap felt her chest grow tight and warm, speeding up unnaturally.

Next Week: Burning Soul

A/N: Any guesses on that Next week? I know a lot of you have been asking about him. XD

Also, I wanted to ask: If Scrap was a Cybertronian, what do you think she would be? As in alt mode. Just a random question I've been wondering about and wanted an another opinion on.

Anyway, see you all next week.