#27 - Life's Little Games
Cheetor, in his beast form, let out a low growl as he paced in his quarters. The battle was still fresh in his mind and the fur stood rigid on his neck and shoulders.
"Potential mate," he spat. "Terrorsaur? A potential mate for Starfeather? Yeah right!"
He needed to vent some of his anger or he felt like he might just explode. Randomly selecting a target, he pounced at a rock apart of a small collection of his and clawed it. The sound of his claws screeching against the rough surface was dreadful and the cheetah hissed with satisfaction. He swatted the stone away and it clattered across the floor and banged into the wall. He snorted at it and turned away to look at himself in the reflection on his door.
"If that mutant bat thinks that he is better for her than me, then... then Megatron plays with bath toys!" He glared at himself before sighing in exhaustion, neck fur relaxing, and curling up on his bed. He muttered darkly. "I need to get to her before Terrorsaur gets any ideas. She's not safe with the Predacons. Why can't she see that?"
-x-
Megatron had watched the entire attack from his perch on the command chair in the main control room. He had gotten suspicious when he noticed Waspinator and Terrorsaur exit the base. They didn't get so much as ten feet before the Maximals came out of nowhere and overpowered them. He ordered Scorponok to follow them with one of his Cyber bees. What he witnessed was... informative, to say the least.
Now, as the injured were in CR tanks, Megatron sat alone in his personal quarters in his own CR tank/hot tub. His rubber ducky bobbed contentedly in front of him and he watched it fondly, though he thought on other things. The fliers' threat seemed to become more imposing to his position. With their newfound connection, it would be all the easier for them to mount a rebellion.
"I must keep better tabs on them from now on, yes." Now, he genuinely looked to his duck. He patted his ducky on the head and it rocked up and down as if nodding in agreement.
-x-
Terrorsaur exhaled out his nose as he laid on his back on his recharge berth in his quarters. Alone. It had been weeks since Starfeather had agreed to sleep with him, but that wasn't exactly what was at the front of his mind. He was contemplating the fight that had happened that day, all that was said.
And not only do you want to lead the Predacons, but do you also desire no competition for your potential mate; Starfeather?
Potential mate? Did Starscream really mean that? Come on, like he needed that kind of situation on top of everything else Megatron threw at him to chew on. From what he understood and had seen, bond mates did nothing for you except make demands and argue with every decision you tired to make. Not only that, but then there was the responsibility of sparklings. Not that he had anything against kids, he just wasn't sure he wanted children that he had to help raise. Who knew what they would turn out like or end up doing... like he had done.
Terrorsaur shook the thought away and frowned at the dull ceiling before rolling over and glaring at the wall across from him. Starfeather had told him that her parents had been the best she knew of. She could ask or tell her mom anything and she and her dad had gone and done all kinds of things together on weekends. The red mech wished his creators had been like that instead of what they became as he grew to a youngling. That's why he had run away. To find a better life than what his parents could offer.
"No wonder they started fighting so much before I left." Then it clicked. It must have had something to do with Waspinator...
-Flashback-
"Hey, Rosejet?".
"What?" he muttered from where he lay on the top bunk. He growled quietly. He hated that name. It was a femme's name. He wished he was old enough to change it or at least get a new paint job so his creators would change it for him. Then again, his mom might just have him repainted red again
"I heard mom and dad fighting again."
"So what, Bluesprite? They always fight. Go to sleep." Before he could close his optic shutters and ignore anything else his sister said, her pale face was in front of his and her green optics glowered at him in the dark of their bedroom.
"This fight was different," Bluesprite hissed. "They weren't arguing over dad's drinking or mom's rituals and stuff. Dad was talking about getting rid of something, but mom said no and then they started yelling."
"They're probably just talking about those stupid statues and stuff mom keeps all over the place. You know she's superstitious and dad just thinks it's a bunch of frag." Rosejet rolled his optics. The blue Seeker gasped at the curse word.
"Don't say that!" she whispered. "Dad might hear!"
"So what? He says it, why can't I?" the red Seeker reasoned. His sister struggled for an answer, sucking on her upper lip.
"Mmm..."
"Forget it, okay?" He shoved her which sent her into a backwards summersault. The little femme landed with a thunk on her face on the hard, metal floor. Dizzily lifting her head up, she shook away the stars clouding her vision and glared at her brother before a huge grin broke on her face.
"I wanna do that again," she pleaded and Rosejet sighed.
"No, now go to sleep." He was sick of all this. He was sick of his parents and sick of his screw-loose sister and sick of his classmates at school and sick of his whole, slagging life. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he certainly wasn't going to stay in this house another day. He was going to leave tonight.
-End Flashback-
Terrorsaur almost felt bad for leaving just like that, no goodbye of any kind. He pushed away the feeling and shifted a little until he was more comfortable. His mother would have hand-cuffed him to Bluesprite or even herself or something overly drastic and his father would have thrown a fit. He probably did when they found out he was gone the next morning. Bluesprite probably wouldn't stop searching for him until the day she died. He wondered how she was doing. He wondered what would have happened if he stayed. Would he still have ended up joining Megatron's tiny rebellion? Would Waspinator have come? Would he still have ended up meeting Starfeather?
It didn't matter. What was done is done and there was no going back. Eventually, Terrorsaur yielded to his exhausted body's pleas for rest.
-x-
Now that the initial shock was over, Starfeather had time to think. Number one, she had overheard the things said at the confrontation (at least the point where Waspinator said that he and Terrorsaur were brothers) and saw the struggle. There were so many things she had learned about her wingmates that day. Now, she wanted a fuller story. Not only that, but she was going to try what Optimus suggested about her asking if Waspinator and Terrorsaur would come with her to the Maximals. She highly doubted that they would agree, but maybe if she worded it right, they would come around.
Then, she felt a pang of guilt for what she was going to do. After all, who was she to try and change their minds for them? She had joined the Maximals because she had thought it was the best thing for her to do at the time. That wouldn't mean her wingmates would agree with her. One thing she was thankful for, through this whole experience, her secret was still safe.
Over the next few days, no one said much to each other. It was the end of a normal day of monitor duty, patrols and maintenance rounds. The fliers' shifts were done for the day so they said goodnight and went to their rooms... Well, most of them. Terrorsaur had backed Starfeather into the wall beside her door. He had apparently gotten ideas.
"Don't tell me you plan on sleeping by yourself again tonight," he crooned. Starfeather rolled her optics.
"You really don't know when to give up, do you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" He cocked a brow at her.
"Nothing. Now, may I stand on my own, please?"
"But don't you like this?"
"So many questions..." she sighed. "Well, maybe if we could stand and face each other like normal people, I might be more inclined to listen." She then flickered her optics shutters and smiled cheekily.
Not again, he groaned inwardly. He reluctantly backed away and she stepped away from the wall and brushed herself off.
"Thank you," she said. "Okay... fine. I'm too tired to argue."
"Good, I've been getting lonely." Terrorsaur grinned.
"I'm sure you have," Starfeather mumbled flatly as the pterodactyl took her to his side. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep with him or even the way he was going about it, but that she still hadn't gotten back at him for dragging her out of bed two weeks ago. So, she really wanted to prank him and this was the best excuse she had.
As they walked, she decided on one of her many little ideas. She smiled smugly as they went into his room. Poor Terrorsaur had no clue to what he would wake to find in the morning. The lights went off and the pair lay down. Starfeather first tried to get comfortable beside Terrorsaur but he positioned her to lie on his chest. She sighed.
"I let you get away with too much," she murmured teasingly.
"You're the one manipulating me most of the time." He gave a low chuckle. She made a small raspberry noise.
"Whatever. Anyway, I was wondering..."
"What?"
"Well," she started, shifting a little to get settled. "I was wondering when you learned how to use a sword. Did Dinobot teach you before he left or something?"
Terrorsaur shook his head. "No... but we did go to the same class at the training school we went to. He moved on to more advanced classes and I..." He went silent. Starfeather glanced at his frustrated face.
"Did you fail or something?"
"No... I finished the classes I was taking, then dropped out," he answered quietly.
"Oh... Why did you drop out?" she asked gently, trying not to criticize him, not that she would. Whatever his reason, it was in the past and she wasn't there and he was different now.
"I met someone that I thought could offer me a better chance to get what I wanted."
"Megatron?"
"No. I met Megatron years after that. I can't tell you his name."
"Why not?" Starfeather was confused.
"Because..." Terrorsaur wanted to get off the subject. "Why don't you tell me more about your past?" he asked quickly as if to cover up what he had said before. She was a little perplexed, but chose to let him have his privacy. He would tell her when he was ready.
"Okay." She thought for a second. "Well, I've told you almost everything that's interesting already."
"You haven't told me your real name." He put his arms around her.
"Because I don't think I should," she said a bit defensively. "I have a bad feeling about it, like it's important somehow."
"Oh come on, tar feathers," he purred, nuzzling her cheek. "Whatever you say stays in this room."
"Alright... Emily. My name was Emily," she grudgingly admitted. Her name suddenly sounded alien to her. Like the name of a friend that one hadn't thought about it in years.
"Emily..." he tried out the name and gave her a once over, remembering what she used to look like. "Was that a common name?"
"I guess." She shrugged as best she could. A rather short pause and she spoke again. "Did you really mean all that you said to Starscream? About not wanting to be like him anymore?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, I don't want to be like him. Ever since he spat at you like you were a pile of slag, I knew I wanted nothing more to do with him. Especially after the way he treated us." By 'us', the raven knew he was referring to himself and his younger brother, Waspinator. She giggled.
"I still can't get over the fact that you and Waspy are brothers." She smiled affectionately. "It's rather cute really."
"I never would have guessed." The red mech snorted.
"What were your parents like? You never told me about them."
There was a damn good reason why. It was such a simple question, but one that he did not want to answer. He was ashamed of the way they compared to Starfeather's family. Yet, there was so much that she told him and hardly anything he shared with her. Maybe if he told her, he would feel better. She had told him that if you keep things bottled inside, it just makes you miserable all the time. That could be why she was pretty much happy all the time when things were quiet with the Maximals and Megatron was leaving her alone. She told him just about everything.
"Well..." Terrorsaur began, searching for the right words. "I'll start by saying that they were nothing like your parents... My father was a drinker and mom was a hippy and superstitious. I couldn't stand it when she would always fuss over me." He then imitated a feminine voice which sounded dreadful with his own already scratchy tone. "Wash behind your audios, brush your dental plates or they'll rot right out of your head, don't get your feet wet or you'll catch a virus." Starfeather couldn't help but laugh.
"She just cared about you, that's all. My mom told me a lot of the same things too when I was younger."
"At least you were the oldest," he retorted, more humorously than heatedly.
She gently stabbed him with her elbow and remembered something he had said the day of the fight.
"Who is Bluesprite?" She thought she saw him shudder at the name.
"My insane twin sister."
"You have a sister, too? Wait, a twin? Shit, you need to tell me more of this stuff!"
"Multiples run in my family... We should get some recharge before duties start at dawn." He shook his head, though he did feel a little better now that he had told someone. This was her last chance. First, she hummed in agreement, allowing silence for a while.
"Screechy?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever... have you ever thought about, maybe... just as a hypothetical, but..."
"Come on, spit it out kid or risk being tickled to death." He squeezed her a little. He was only joking, she knew. Maybe this would make things easier.
"Well then, under threat of torture... Have you ever, even just once, considered maybe... joining the Maximals?" She tried to look innocent, like it was just a question. She didn't know whether to be relieved or off-set by his reaction. Terrorsaur stared at her like she said something nice about Blackarachnia or Megatron, but shrugged it off.
"Once or twice," he admitted. Starfeather was more hopeful now.
"Really? What about Waspinator?"
"I don't know," he mumbled passively. "Why're you asking?"
"Well... I've been thinking about it a lot lately," she said cautiously. "I was just asking because I... I wanted to know what you think."
"Well, I think I'm happy right here," he rumbled, pulling her closer so that their cheeks brushed. "We don't need those stupid Maximals."
"But it certainly would be nice not to have Megatron looming over our heads all the time." She giggled half-heartedly.
"That I can agree with." He nuzzled his cheek against hers. "You know what else I can agree with, right?"
"A good-night kiss?"
"Maybe."
"Okay." Starfeather smirked back at him before planting her lips on his own and they dimmed their optics on reflex. After a moment, she could feel him gently pleading for permission to access her mouth. She refused him at first, but then figured that a little glossa action would be fun. They took turns for several minutes, all the while growing sleepy. Starfeather finally had enough and slumped down, her head resting above his spark chamber. Her optic shutters drooped as she listened to the calming, rhythmic beat of his spark.
"Goodnight..." she said groggily. Ebony fingers stroked the equally dark feathers on the side of her helm.
"Sleep well, little bird..." Terrorsaur breathed. Starfeather exhaled deeply and all went dark.
-x-
The pair recharged peacefully. The only sounds in the room were the soft whir of air from the ventilation system and snores from the mech. Suddenly, aqua green optics opened and the femme looked down at her bed partner, smiling mischievously. This was going to be fun.
Carefully and slowly, Starfeather reached for her subspace, all the while keeping an eye on Terrorsaur's face. She slithered her hand inside and felt around other objects for what she was looking for. She froze when Terrorsaur sucked in a breath of air and rolled onto his side, taking her with him. He sighed contentedly and then was still again.
Starfeather was now pressed against his body and the wall, her arm wedged behind her back. She swallowed. This was going to be trickier than she first thought. Very gradually, she continued to search for what she wanted. At last, she grasped it and painfully brought it out. It was a black Sharpie marker. Smirking in premature triumph, she took the lid off with her teeth and set about gently tracing a nice, curly mustache on his face. It was so hard to keep from succumbing to a laughing fit, she had to bite down on her lower lip hard, marker cap beneath her tongue, and pinch her nose with her other hand. When he twitched, she would stop for several moments until sure that he wasn't waking up.
She finally finished her work and put the lid back on and put the marker away. She made sure not to look at Terrorsaur's face and snuggled more comfortably against him. She chuckled to herself. Revenge was sweet.
-x-
The raven was awoken by a snort and a loud yawn. Ugh... dawn already? Terrorsaur stretched, allowing her to push herself up. She looked at him and was confused for a second before it all came back to her and she leaned on her elbow.
"Good morning Screechy," she said, her voice practically dripping with smugness. He met her optics.
"Frisky already, are we?" he asked, moving toward her.
"No." She ducked to avoid his hungry lips. "It's just that you got a little something right there." She pointed to a place on her own upper lip. "I'd go and shave it off if I were you, y'know, before the others get up and see you." She was dying, trying to keep her voice level and not laugh. The pterodactyl looked at her strangely, but shook it off and got up, leaving her on the bed. As soon as the door hissed shut, Starfeather broke down. She laughed until tears trickled down her cheeks and her stomach hurt. She coughed a few times, caught her breath, and left the room.
Passing the cleaning halls as she walked through the corridors toward the cafeteria/lounge room, she heard a satisfying screech of horror and Waspinator and Scorponok beside themselves with hysterics.
"This is NOT FUNNY!" she heard Terrorsaur roar.
"If only I could've seen the look on his face..." she murmured to herself then sighed. A couple of mental pictures stuck in her mind and she sniggered all the way to her destination until she had an afterthought. I hope he'll forgive me for this...
