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Quick note: I'm not really satisfied with how this turned out. I feel like I'm having things happen too fast but I didn't want to hold the story up any longer. I hope you like it anyway.

Murphy's Law stated that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." No better quote could accurately describe your day. First with all the scrap that happened earlier, then with the Decpeticons attacking and you not being able to recharge, getting separated from Brawn (again), getting cornered by Blitzwing, and now getting cornered and confronted by Starscream. Truly this day was the worst day in your entire life! You were tired. You were so very tired. If only you'd been allowed at least an Earth hour of recharge you might have been better prepared for this.

Your engines sputtered and your processor was going into overdrive. Your hand trembled as you attempted to raise your blaster. Starscream batted the weapon out of your grasp, sending it clattering across the dirt. You stared after it, considering making a move to grab it, but you knew the Decepticon SIC would blast you if you even pointed a digit in the direction of your gun. If you had been better rested you would have been able to prevent such a thing from happening. Your moves would've been faster and the grip on your gun would've been tighter, but you were so tired. Exhausted. You hadn't realized how in need of recharge you were until now. You could barely focus on what was happening but you refused to show it. You would never show such weakness in front of your fellow Autobots, so you were damned if you showed how fatigued you were to a Decepticon scumbag!

"You have a lot of nerve, Autobot." Starscream said in a low, threatening voice. It was far more unnerving than his usual shrill tone.

You gave him a strange look. What was he referring to? Nerve? Nerve for what?

"Um... I'm not sure exactly, but it sounds like you're accusing me of something?" You said.

The barrel of his null ray was roughly jabbed against your forehead. You raised your hands in surrender.

"Don't play coy with me, you worthless heap of spare parts!" he screamed. "You know what you did!"

This earned the seeker another strange look from you. What was he shrieking about?

"Okay..." you said. Your confusion with the situation was growing by the moment. "Let's pretend for a klick that I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you mind elaborating?"

Starscream made a noise of frustration but decided to play along.

"You did something to me when you repaired me that day! I don't know what you did, but you will fix it or you will not leave here in one piece! Do I make myself clear, Autobot!?"

"Clear as the Glass Desert of Ulara 12." You quipped. "Seriously though. I've got no clue as to what you're talking about. All I did was repair your injuries like you'd requested. I assume you had Hook do further repairs on you afterward. If you've got some kind of side effects going on you may want to take that up with him."

"Don't get cute with me, imbecile!" He screamed in rage. "It was you that did it! I know it was! I didn't feel this way until you repaired me! It's some sort of Autobot trick! I can't even think straight anymore!"

You started to say, "How's that any different from normal?" but the gun to your head gave you the impression that teasing the Decepticon right now wouldn't be too smart.

Starscream launched into a full on rant then. "I can't refuel! I can't recharge! I can't even scheme properly! I can't concentrate on anything!" he shouted, looking at you as if you were the sole cause of all of his problems. "My processor is filled with nothing but thoughts of... thoughts of... of..."

His ranting trailed off to a nearly inaudible whisper. It was as if a switch had been flipped. He was almost calm now. The scowl on his face morphed into that same bewildered look he'd given you the day you'd met him. His optics had drifted from your face to look at your still raised hands. He stared at them for the longest time while muttering strange things to himself. You were stunned at his sudden mood swing. The other Autobots had been right. Starscream was a complete loon.

Suddenly, Starscream grasped one of your hands by the wrist. You flinched but did not cry out. "What are you doing!" you blurted.

"Be quiet." came the unexpectedly calm command.

And with that Starscream placed your hand against his face. You froze, your processor going blank. What on Cybertron was going on with this guy!? He held your hand in place for a while until he let out a contented sigh. You felt woozy all of a sudden. Strangely, it had nothing to do with the uncomfortably intimate situation you were in. Your battle instincts were screaming at you to fight back. Punch him in the face. Kick his legs out from under him. Spit on him. Anything! But you couldn't act. Your body felt like it had turned to solid stone. Not only that, but you were overheating. The moment your hand made contact with Starscream's face plates, you felt your cooling fans kick in. Now they felt like they were going into over drive. You became faintly aware of various warning messages flashing up in your HUD. Something was wrong. All the excitement of battle plus your lack of rest were taking their toll. Your optics were flickering and you were finding it harder and harder not to go into sleep mode. That was the last thing you needed was to be helpless and at the mercy of the crazy 'Con!

"Now I understand." Starscream murmured. You couldn't tell if he was still talking to himself or to you now. "Your touch. That's what did it."

He pulled your hand away from his face but did not let go. He looked down at you with an expression that had your energon going cold in your fuel lines. It was a dreamy look of... admiration? It didn't look right on Starscream's face. From what you'd seen of the Seeker, he didn't admire anyone but himself. This was weird. This was weird and freaky and you had to get away from him!

You managed to yank your wrist from his grip but you were still trapped. Starscream chuckled, seemingly amused at your discomfort.

"I was going to kill you, you know?" He said, still speaking in that uncharacteristically calm tone. It was beginning to set you on edge. "But now I understand what my trouble was. I've been missing something all this time, and I didn't know what it was until now." That sounded uncomfortably amorous.

"What is wrong with you!" you shouted, terror beginning to creep up your spinal strut.

Starscream chuckled and smiled almost sweetly. "Nothing, now."

"Will you stop talking like that!" you hollered.

Your optics went black for a split second and more warnings were flashing in your vision. One of your fans was malfunctioning and you were overheating badly. There was also a "Low Energy" warning flashing at you. It had been there for a while but now it's yellow coloring had turned red. This was bad. Very bad.

Starscream pulled the gun from your head and backed up slightly. He stared at you for a moment with a blank expression. The next thing you knew, his arm had curled around you and he was pulling you out of your hiding space. You cried out in surprise. The action had finally snapped you out of your scared stiff state and you began slamming your fists against the Seeker's helm.

"Stop that!" he shouted. "Don't make this difficult!"

"Let go of me, you rust-licking son of a retro rat!" was your only response.

So he was going to take you prisoner, then? Not if you could help it! Your engine sputtered dangerously but you gathered enough strength to send your knee into Starscream's gut. He grunted and released you. You jumped away from him only to stumble and fall to your knees as a dizzy spell hit you.

Starscream clutched at his stomach a moment before straightening up and fixing you with a smirk that was far more unnerving that any expression you'd seen on him so far.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" he said in a teasing tone. You wanted to purge your tanks at the sound of it.

Your limbs were shaking violently and you couldn't stand. You could only sit and watch as Starscream moved forward to grab you again. This time you wouldn't be able to fight back. Your vision was fading to black now but just before your optics dimmed completely you saw something small and powerful slamming into the Seekers side.