Once they had exited, the mech called Skywarp was immediately on him, giving him a hug. Then he pulled back and immediately looked bereft at Starscream's surprised expression.

"Oh Primus, sorry!" he said woefully. "TC said to take this slow and not overwhelm you."

Starscream felt his face soften. "Uh, I was just surprised. I don't think I actually mind." He thought for a moment as he looked at the black seeker's faceplate. Skywarp had a smile of such hope and relief, Starscream felt his spark flutter.

"I mean, I don't mind, I just think I need… to sit down," he said, feeling a rush of lightheadedness.

Thundercracker gently took his arm to steady him. "You have been through a lot today." His vocalizer was deep and rumbling. "Let's go back to our quarters and refuel there before we run into anyone else and risk more overwhelming."

"How far away is that?" Starscream asked, feeling dizzy.

Thundercracker just smiled and glanced at Skywarp. The black seeker winked at him and touched them both on the arm.

Suddenly they were in another room.

Starscream felt his intakes lurch. Despite how disoriented his processor said he should be, he found his frame was very much okay with being in one place at one time, and a completely new place seconds later.

"Uhm," he said with his optics wide.

Skywarp laughed and guided him to a chair, gently setting him down. "Yeah, I'm pretty fragging amazing," he said smirking.

He wanted to ask for elaboration, but he was distracted by the new room. The room was smaller than the throne room, but still comfortable. Starscream wasn't sure why the size of the room mattered, but he'd have to figure that out later. There was a small table that he sat at with three chairs and some other furniture for sitting and relaxing. For some reason, the three chairs felt… good. Comforting.

This seemed to be some kind of common room. There were four other rooms attached to this one. Three of them were clearly berthrooms and one led to a what looked like a washroom of some kind.

Thundercracker sat down in a chair close to Starscream. "I'm sure this is a lot for you," he said with gentle optics. "We were quite upset to hear about your accident and your memory loss."

Starscream nodded carefully. "This is a lot, but I'm also eager to get my footing. I feel more than a little out of my depth here," he said carefully, still not sure how to proceed with these friendly mechs.

"Does it… bother you? The not-knowing?" Skywarp asked, sitting down next to him in a chair.

"Hmm," he said, and gave a nervous laugh. "Yes. It's disturbing." He set his elbow on the table and then leaned his forehead into his servo. "My chronometer says I'm over 4 million years old. That's a long time to have… nothing."

He noticed the small glance between the other two seekers. They then fixed their optics back on him with a look.

"Yes. Yes, it is a long time" Thundercracker said quietly.

Starscream felt himself get frustrated, but it felt muted, somehow. He sighed. "Why does everyone look at me like that?"

"Like what?" Skywarp said.

"Like that," Starscream said, throwing a servo at Skywarp's face. "I don't know what it is or what it means. Everyone's doing it. Except… Megatron, come to think of it." He remembered the silver mech as being intimidating and almost unapproachable. But he didn't give him this look.

"Starscream," Thundercracker said gently. "You were injured. We were just worried about you."

Starscream wanted to be placated, but something still didn't feel right. "I also have this nagging feeling in the back of my processor that I shouldn't be trusting everyone. I asked Megatron who I should trust, and he said I could trust you two? But he didn't include himself in that. Why didn't he include himself? Should I not trust Megatron?"

The two seekers just stared at him for a few moments. Then Skywarp whistled and put his servos up in a kind of surrendered motion. "I'll… go pour some energon," he said standing and walking away. Starscream watched after him, feeling even more desolate.

Thundercracker sighed. "Starscream, you will need to be careful about who you trust from now on. But you can trust Skywarp and myself implicitly. We are trine. Megatron said he will protect you, and the whole base here has declared that they will help you as well. You can trust in these pledges."

Starscream searched Thundercracker's optics. In them, he didn't sense deception, but then again, what did that even look like? He had no frame of reference. There were a lot of other questions rolling in his processor, chiefly being… was he someone important? Why did they all care about his well-being? Or was that how things were around here? And there was something else…

"I understand the lexicon definition of a trine, but can you explain that more to me? You are my trinemates? What does that mean in practice?"

Skywarp looked shocked as he returned to the table with cubes of energon. He turned his optics to Thundercracker who sighed. "It is a terrible thing that you have lost this heritage, but we will happily guide you through it," Thundercrakcer said. "We are seekers, and seekers are drawn together in groups of three, also known as a trine. We function like a family unit. We fly together, we work together, we protect each other."

Starscream frowned slightly. "Did they tell you the… details of my accident?" Were they going to push him out of the trine? He did not think he could protect them anymore as was apparently his duty. Especially during a war.

That look again. This time, Skywarp answered. "Yes, we know about how you can't fight anymore. That's why we're going to protect you."

Starscream felt his helm pang with some pain and he winced.

"Are you alright?!" his trinemates said in unison.

Starscream felt… comforted by that. He nodded weakly. "I'm alright, just… tired."

"Drink this, you will feel better," Skywarp said nudging the cube closer to him.

Starscream grabbed the cube, drinking it. He felt a little better, but he was still exhausted. The taste was familiar, even though it wasn't amazingly palatable. Still, his frame recognized it as fuel, and he saw his gauge go up.

Starscream smiled weakly at Skywarp. "Thank you," he said.

The black seeker looked concerned and put the back of a servo on Starscream's forehead. "You're running really hot," he said looking to Thundercracker. Starscream dimmed his optics and leaned into the servo that felt cool and comforting. Skywarp's optics softened.

"You get him into his berth, I'll comm Hook," Thundercracker said.

Skywarp stood and slowly pulled the unresisting Starscream out of his chair, guiding him to the far berthroom near the washracks. Starscream leaned on his trinemate, who gladly took the weight. They entered the new room, and Starscream assumed it was his own quarters, but nothing seemed familiar. Skywarp gently set him down on the berth and leaned him back.

Thundercracker came in with a coolant pack in his hand. "Hook says to just keep an eye on him. The full effects of the accident might still be running through his systems. This should help," he said, gently applying the cooling pack to Starscream's forehead. Starscream made a small sigh of relief and closed his optics.

He heard them talking about him, but he couldn't quite make out the words. He felt a servo wrap around his and give it a squeeze before the pressure on the berth lessened and he heard them leave.

Suddenly faced the with prospect of being alone, he slowly sat up catching the cooling pack as it slid off his helm. "Wait," he said, his vocalization very weak.

Two pairs of red optics peered at him from the doorway.

"Please… don't leave," he said, kind of hating how pathetic he sounded, but also not sure he could really do anything about it. He was pathetic.

Through slightly hazy vision, he saw Skywarp's faceplate brighten as he turned back into the common room with a squeak of excitement. Thundercracker gave Starscream a soft look and came in to slowly guide him out of the berth. "You have no idea how happy you just made him." Starscream was confused until he was back out in the common room, and Skywarp was adjusting the couch. By pushing some hidden button, the three-seater couch expanded into a large, round berth. It was at least three-times the size of Starscream's original berth.

"We haven't used this in centuries," Skywarp said, smiling. He bounded into his own berthroom and came out holding a multitude of blankets and pillows.

"I hope at least it's more comfortable than something that hasn't been used in centuries," Thundercracker teased as Skywarp made up the berth.

"Hey! This is a state-of-the-art expanding berth. From Cybertron. Super high-end; stole it from some noble's penthouse. It's probably one of the last ones in existence."

"There might be a reason for that," Thundercracker said in Starscream's audio. Despite his exhaustion, Starscream snorted. Thundercracker's optics glittered and he slowly helped Starscream into the middle of the berth. Once the seeker had settled, laying his helm down against the pillows, Skywarp and Thundercracker crawled in on either side of him. Thundercracker then gently reapplied the cooling pack to Starscream's forehead, and the seeker melted in relief.

"Why haven't we slept here in centuries?" he asked. But his optics were already closed and he was in recharge almost instantly.

Thundercracker frowned sadly and met Skywarp's optics over the sleeping frame of their trineleader. Or… was he still the trineleader? They were really in unknown territory now.

Skywarp was leaning over Starscream, caressing the side of his helm while watching him recharge. "I've missed him so much," Skywarp said softly.

Thundercracker was going to ask what he meant, because to anyone else, it would seem like they had actually just lost Starscream, not gotten him back. But then Thundercracker felt Starscream shift and push closer into the touch of Skywarp, and he knew what he meant.

"He's just… so adorable like this," Skywarp said. "I never thought I'd see him like this again."

Thundercracker sighed. "We will do our best to do right by him this time."

Skywarp nodded and laid down his helm next to Starscream and closed his optics for recharge.

Thundercracker turned so that he wings were flared out behind him, and faced the sleeping form of Starscream as well, seeing him recharge peacefully and in full trust of his trinemates. This was a silver lining here, and he hoped they could grasp it.

But the thought that Starscream would never again be able to fly with them into battle still left a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.

Skywarp woke in the middle of the night, surprised that the sleeping form facing him was not the pale face of Thundercracker, but the darker one of Starscream. He pulled back in fear for a moment, expecting to be yelled at, scratched, harassed, berated-

But then he remembered.

Starscream seemed to rouse a little at Skywarp's movement, and blearily opened one optic and looked at his trinemate. "Sky…warp?" he said sleepily.

"Hey there, Star," the black seeker said quietly, smiling and laying his helm down again. His nose was practically touching Starscream's and he could feel the light warm breath of his intakes.

"…'Star'?" Starscream repeated, with a small smile.

"Is it okay to call you that?" Skywarp asked, bringing up a servo to stroke the side of Starscream's helm. When the red and white seeker didn't object, Skywarp smiled bigger. "We sometimes called you 'Screamer too, but you never liked that nickname."

"…because of my voice?" he said, bringing a servo up to his throat. "No one else sounds like me," he observed thoughtfully.

Your speaking voice was part of it, Skywarp thought wryly. "We just like to shorten names I guess. I get called 'Warp,' and Thundercracker is also 'TC.'"

Starscream smiled softly. "I'm fine with whatever you'd like to call me," he said.

Skywarp felt a small fluttering in his spark and felt magnetically pulled to the seeker in front of him. It had been a long, long time since Starscream had allowed himself to be so vulnerable in front of his trinemates, and even longer since they were this close in a berth. Skywarp knew he was more of a physical mech and touching and proximity were the ways he showed affection. And he definitely was feeling affectionate.

He stopped petting Starscream's helm and looked at him. "Are you… happy? With us? I know to you we just met, but… have we made a good impression?"

Starscream furrowed his brow a little. "When I woke up, I wasn't sure I had anyone that cared about me. I thought Hook did, but I realize now he's just a medic. And Megatron and Soundwave were… distant. I was afraid of what my life was going to be like. But then I learned I had you two," Starscream said, pushing his forehead into Skywarp's while closing his optics. "And well, I don't know why you care for me so much, but I'm happy you do."

Skywarp felt like his spark was going to burst in his chest.

Starscream noticed his words were affecting Skywarp, but his optics showed doubt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he started, clearly misinterpreting Skywarp's reaction.

Skywarp pushed forward his lips to Starscream's in a kiss.

Starscream froze and his optics widened slightly. Skywarp drank in Starscream, and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the pretty seeker beside him. He had always been so attracted to the colorful seeker, and he had been so happy when he had agreed to trine with him and Thundercracker. It had honestly been one of the best days of his life.

It had been clear that Starscream had some demons, but they had loved him anyway. They were a great trine, and nothing could stand in their way. They quickly rose through the Decepticon ranks together and felt unstoppable. But slowly, they began to fight more. It was easy to blame Starscream for the change in their dynamic since he changed the most. He became paranoid, ambitious, arrogant, and honestly mean. But Skywarp and Thundercracker had also pulled back from the bristling trineleader, offering no support or affection, and practically built their own relationship together away from him.

They had participated in much of the cruelty their second-in-command had endured throughout the years though Starscream often made it easy for them to get over any guilt they might have had by being a glitch.

Still, Skywarp had always hoped they could bridge things, fix things. He still wanted Starscream in his life after all this time. Being an emotionally broken trine was hard on all three of them.

He kissed Starscream deeper, wanting him and wanting to show him how much he still loved him. He opened his optics to see Starscream's blushing faceplate and half lidded optics, but his optics looked… unsure.

Starscream had never been indecisive before.

In a rare show of restraint, Skywarp pulled out of the kiss. He moved lips up to Starscream's forehead as he cycled his vents to cool himself down. Starscream said nothing, but his vents also cycled loudly.

"I'm… stupid," Skywarp said into Starscream's forehead. "I should have waited until you were sure you wanted this."

Starscream still was not moving, and still holding his intakes. "I'm… not entirely convinced I don't want this either."

Skywarp smiled and pulled back to look down at his trinemate. "Even so, it's too soon. You need more… time. More information. Thundercracker told me to wait, and I should have listened."

Starscream finally exvented, relaxing in his hold. "You two are the best thing that has happened to me since I woke up. I don't want to disappoint you."

Skywarp squeezed Starscream's frame then untangled from the embrace. "The truth is, Star, that's the nature of relationships. We will disappoint each other at some point."

Starscream smiled despite the nature of his statement. "So, you're the wise one of our trine."

Skywarp snorted. "I promise you I'm not. I probably just used up my entire lifetime's worth of brilliance with that line." In fact, he was pretty sure he was misquoting the old Starscream saying something hateful.

"But I'm really trying to impress you so that's probably why I sound so great."

Starscream's embarrassed smile was adorable but he tried to hide it by nuzzling into Skywarp's chassis. "I look forward to getting to know you better," he said. "Oh, wise one."

Skywarp chuckled and curled around his trinemate, thinking that he was going to get so much slag if Star ever called him that in front of anyone else. But he also didn't really care.

At the edge of the berth, facing away from them was TC, who smiled softly in the darkness.