Thanks again for all the feedback! I'm glad to see people seem interested in the story concept.

Chapter Three: A New Home

The lift gave a soft ding. The doors smoothly slid apart to reveal a short hallway with two doors on either side. Ironhide and Optimus stepped off with the practiced ease of having done so countless times before. The small sparkling following them, however, hesitated and ventured off the lift with the uncertainty of one who had no idea where he was going. Starfall hurried to catch up to Optimus and fell into step beside him. His helm barely came up to Optimus's knee joint. Despite his age, Starfall was uncommonly small.

Optimus smiled down at him behind his battle mask. Ever since they had left the hatchling facility Starfall had become like his second shadow. Optimus didn't know if it was because Starfall had never been outside the facility before or if he was just eager to be close to his new foster-creators, but Starfall had not tried to venture any farther than arm's length from Optimus the entire trip back to his and Ironhide's domicile. Optimus realized with a pleasant thrill that their domicile was now Starfall's residence as well. They had signed all the forms to bring him home; Starfall was now their legal son.

Not for the first time - nor did Optimus suspect the last - Optimus's spark swelled with absolute contentment. Every time he looked at Starfall and thought about the gapping hole in his life the little sparkling had filled Optimus felt almost giddy with joy.

"Our residence is the second door on the right," Optimus said, pointing. Starfall's wings fluttered excitedly as he followed Optimus's gaze. Unable to restrain himself, Optimus reached down and rested his hand on top of Starfall's helm. He was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he finally had a son. It still didn't feel quite real.

Ironhide stepped up to the door and pressed a series of numbers into the electronic keypad. The door's locks disengaged with a heavy clack and door slid aside. Ironhide stepped through without even a backwards glance to Optimus or Starfall. Optimus frowned behind his mask. Ironhide had been extremely quiet since they left the hatchling facility. He knew Ironhide wasn't thrilled with the idea of claiming Starfall - he'd made no secret of that at any point of the adoption process. Optimus had tried several times to reach out to Ironhide across their bond to gauge his sparkmate's feelings, but Ironhide's side of the bond remained determinedly closed. Starfall seemed to sense his new foster-creator's standoffishness towards him and kept his distance from the weapons specialist. Instead, he focused all his attention onto Optimus who was more than happy to return it.

Ironhide had already motioned on the lights by the time Optimus and Starfall followed him into the apartment. Starfall froze just inside the domicile, looking around with startled turquoise-blue optics.

"All this is yours?" he squeaked. His little helm swiveled around and back to take in the entire span of the apartment's main room. Overlarge optics widened even more.

Optimus disengaged the clasps of his battle mask so the metal plates could retract into the sides of his helm. "Yes," he smiled. In the privacy of his home, in the company of his family, he could relax and let his public façade fall. Starfall, however, didn't understand the importance of the gesture and continued to look around him, stunned.

The sparkling took several more hesitant steps into the apartment, obviously unsure of his new surroundings. Optimus and Ironhide had never been ostentatious in anything they did - least of all interior design - but he could imagine what their living space looked like to such a young sparkling who'd only ever known the inside of a government facility. Their main room was at least twice the size of the recreation room Optimus had first spotted Starfall sitting in. Two lounges and a plush chair formed a semi-circle around the tele-consol that took up a majority of the one wall. High-end, but simple furnishings filled the rest of the space. Being Prime did have its perks.

Starfall's optics suddenly widened. "Look at all your windows!" He darted across the living space in a blur of blue and white to the wall of glass that lined the entire far side of the room. Optimus followed at a more sedate pace. Starfall had his face pressed almost flat to the glass by the time Optimus joined him. Optimus cast his sparkmate a quick glance to see if Ironhide was as amused by their son's antics as he was, but Ironhide wasn't watching. He was busying himself in the kitchenette, measuring out a cube of high grade.

"You can see the entire sky!" Starfall trilled. The sparkling leaned back from the glass, his optics still locked on the skyscape beyond. His voice suddenly became melancholic. "There weren't many windows at the facility. The only time I really got to see the sky was when I could talk one of the workers into taking me outside for a few klicks."

Optimus's spark clenched a little inside his chassis. "Would you like to go outside on the balcony?"

Starfall's helm snapped up to look at him. "You have a balcony too?" The question was whispered in awe.

Optimus nodded and went to one of the panes of glass. Pressing a finger against the jamb, the pane swung outward. He stepped out onto the balcony beyond. Starfall followed right behind him The sun was beginning its downward arc in the sky towards the horizon. Dusk was swiftly approaching. The cityscape Optimus had been admiring just that morning was bathed in a wash of red-tinged light as if Primus had upended a pot of molten gold over Cybertron's capitol city. Lights danced in the windows of many of the buildings in preparation for the coming evening. Directly above them, the sky was beginning to turn a rich shade of purple. Several stars had already begun to peek out against the darkening backdrop.

Starfall's reaction to the sight was instantaneous. He gasped in awed delight. His wings fluttered against his back as though yearning to take to the sky. "You get to see this everyday?" he whispered, barely able to tear his optics away from the sunset long enough to look at Optimus.

"Yes," Optimus nodded. "And now so do you." Stooping down beside Starfall, Optimus finally did what he'd been wanting to all day: he gently slipped his hands under his son's arms and lifted the miniature seeker into his arms against his chest. He was at first startled; Starfall barely seemed to weight a thing. He was so light it felt like his protoform was hollow. Optimus briefly wondered if all seekers were this light. It would certainly explain why they were able to slice so quickly through the air. He would have to do more research on his son's model later. For now, though, he was more than content to relish the weight of Starfall perched in the crook of his arm and the press of his tiny body against the side of his chassis and know that Starfall was now irrevocably his. Starfall leaned into Optimus, as though basking in the novelty of family closeness as well. Optimus could feel the gentle thrum of Starfall's spark against his armor. He possessively clutched the sparkling closer.

Together the two watched the setting sun dip ever lower in the sky until the last slip of light disappeared from the horizon and they were swallowed by the night.

"I am so glad you've come to live with us, Star," Optimus murmured after a few klicks of content silence. "You have no idea how happy you being here has made me."

Starfall relaxed against him. His wings fluttered and dipped in the breeze. "I'm glad someone finally wanted me."

The admission was endearing and spark-breaking at the same time. It physically hurt Optimus to think how long Starfall had stayed in the hatchling facility waiting for someone to take him home. With great reluctance Optimus lowered Starfall back to the ground. "Would you like to see your room?"

"I get my own room?" Starfall's optics brightened with excitement. In the darkness they flashed a beautiful turquoise.

"Indeed you do." Optimus motioned Starfall towards the open door they'd come through. In the deepening twilight the glow of lights from inside the apartment shined like a welcome safe haven. Optimus led Starfall back inside.

Ironhide was seated on one of the lounges in the living room watching the tele-consol. The evening news feeds were running highlights of the day. Ironhide cast Optimus and Starfall a quick look as they entered. His optics came to focus on Starfall before he resolutely turned his attention back to the tele-consol and took a sip of high grade from the cube in his hand. Optimus vented a sigh of disappointment. His sparkmate was not taking to their new situation easily. Why was he having so much trouble warming up to Starfall? He knew Ironhide still had a lot of residual bitterness for Starscream from the war. But couldn't he see this little sparkling was nothing like the mech they once fought? As he'd told Ironhide before: Starscream was gone.

He would just have to help his sparkmate realize that. But first thing was first. He still had to show their son around his new home.

"Your room is this way," Optimus said, leading Starfall across the living room towards a hallway leading off it. Starfall scrambled to keep up with the Matrix-bearer's long stride. Despite himself, Optimus couldn't help but think the little seeker's struggles were unbearably cute. He slowed his stride so Starfall could keep up with him. He tried not to think too hard about the way Starfall didn't look back at Ironhide as they left the room, as if he'd already written Ironhide off as never having any interest in him.

"Ironhide and my berthroom is here," Optimus pointed out as they made their way down the hallway. "The wash rack is here." He pointed out another doorway. "And here," he said, stepping up to the last door on the right, "is yours." He keyed open the door. Automatic sensors instantly raised the lights to bath the room in a pleasant glow. A berth stood in the far right corner of the room with a desk, chair and shelving unit on the other side. For lack of any other pressing need, Optimus and Ironhide had converted the room into a guestroom when they first moved into the apartment. As they rarely had any guests that needed a place to stay, the room was mostly unused. Looking around Optimus realized they would need to remodel it to make it more inviting for a sparkling. It was funny how fast things were happening. When he'd woken up that morning he hadn't been expecting to come home with a son.

Starfall looked around the room with his jaw plate hanging half open. "This whole room is mine?"

"Yes it is," Optimus smiled. "We will go out and buy some new furnishings for you tomorrow."

"I've never had my own room," Starfall said, slowly making a circuit around the room. He seemed overwhelmed by the fact that everything he saw was now his. "In the hatchling facility all the sparklings recharged in a big group room." His optics dimmed slightly. "None of the others ever stayed very long after they were old enough to be claimed. They all went home with their new families."

Before Optimus could try to assuage Starfall's melancholy, the sparkling suddenly gasped and his optics flared with excitement. He hurried over to the shelving unit beside the desk. Optimus tried not to compare Starfall's abrupt mood change to his former self's. Starscream's mood swings had been the stuff of legends even amongst the Autobots.

"Can I put my data pads here?" Starfall excitedly chirped, staring up at the shelving unit. Several knickknacks Optimus and Ironhide had picked up over the years - many of them from Earth - were displayed on several of the higher shelves. But otherwise the shelves were empty.

"Of course. This is your room now. You may put whatever you like on them."

Starfall's face broke into a spark-melting smile. He eagerly keyed open the subspace compartment on his hip and withdrew half a dozen, obviously secondhand data pads. He carefully lined them in a row of descending height in the corner of the shelf second from the bottom. The shelf was perfectly level with Starfall's chest. Optimus's spark twinged with some emotion he couldn't properly name. It was a pitifully small collection of items Starfall had to display, especially when they were suppose to represent everything Starfall had to call his own. It didn't help that his son was so openly proud of them.

Optimus slowly moved to the berth and sat on its edge. "You enjoy reading, don't you, Star?"

The white and blue seeker turned to regard Optimus. "Yea. It was the only thing I had to do once all the other sparklings got picked up by their creators. Once they left I didn't have anyone to play with. All the workers and caretakers were too busy getting the new batch ready." Starfall glanced back at his collection of data pads with an almost wistful expression. "I heard there are people who have whole rooms of data pads. Someday I want to have a room like that. It would be nice to have new stories to read instead of the same ones over and over again."

Optimus's spark clenched into a tiny ball in the middle of his chest. "Tomorrow we'll go out and get as many new data pads as you want," he promised in a tight voice. The more he talked to Starfall, the more he wished he'd found out about his existence earlier.

"Really?" Starfall chirped, his expression filling with hope.

"Yes," Optimus nodded. Smiling down at his son, Optimus felt his spark swell a little bit more with love. "It has been an eventful day and getting late. Are you tired?"

Starfall raised and dropped his shoulder plates. His wings fluttered with the movement. "Not really."

"Would you like me to read you something before you recharge?" Optimus offered.

Starfall's face brightened. "Yea!" He turned back to his collection of data pads and selected one. He hurried over to Optimus and thrust the data pad out to him. Optimus took it with a smile. The sparkling's eagerness was endearing. The data pad was the one Starfall had been reading when Optimus spotted him in the hatchling facility.

Optimus helped pull Starfall up onto the berth with him and powered the data pad on. Leaning against the headboard of the berth so he was half reclined, Optimus made himself comfortable on the padded surface. Starfall hesitated only a few nano-klicks before tentatively laying down next to Optimus. Using Optimus's chest plate as a pillow, Starfall curled against Optimus's side. One arm was thrown across Optimus's chest and miniature gray fingers curled around the edge of Optimus's wind shield. It was at that exact moment that Optimus fell completely and hopelessly in love with his new son. He curled one arm around Starfall's back to hold the miniature seeker even closer to him. Starfall's wings fluttered against the underside of his arm. Optimus marveled at how perfectly Starfall seemed to fit against him with his helm perfectly nestled in the crux of his arm and shoulder plates. For so long this was what he'd longed to have - a child to call his own. Perhaps Primus really had heard his prayers and sent Starfall to him.

Slightly overwhelmed by the sudden surge of emotions, Optimus had to clear his intake line before he trusted himself enough to begin reading. Starfall listened intently to the deep rumble of his voice. His spark pulsed slow and heavy against Optimus. When Optimus finally came to end of the chapter some time later Starfall was half-asleep and dead weight against his side. He was fighting to keep his optics online. Optimus powered off the data pad and set it aside on the berthmat. Carefully, he slide out from underneath Starfall and settled the sparkling more comfortably on the berth. Starfall limply curled onto his side in the warm spot Optimus had just vacated. His wings twitched lethargically in the air.

"Time to recharge," Optimus softly whispered. He reached out and gently ran his hand down the side of Starfall's helm and back.

Starfall gave a sleepy murmur. He seemed to relax even more against the berth under Optimus's touch, if it were actually possible. Half dimmed turquoise-blue optics looked up to meet Optimus's. "Can I call you dad now?" he groggily asked. His voice was barely audible and heavily slurred.

The question took Optimus a little by surprise. His spark made a delighted hiccup in his chest. He had to fight to speak around the lump that suddenly formed in the back of his vocal processor. "Star, I would like that very much," he whispered.

As though that was all he'd needed to hear, the light in Starfall's optics dimmed completely and his body sagged into recharge. Vents whirled softly as miniature wings slowly stilled and engines smoothed into a hypnotic purr.

Optimus couldn't bring himself to move for quite some time. All he could do was stare at Starfall and silently marvel at this sparkling who had so unexpectedly come into his life. Even now, after hours of endless paperwork and legalities, it still didn't feel real. He finally had a child to call his own. He finally had what he'd always wanted.

Knowing he couldn't stay there and stare at Starfall all night (no matter how tempting the idea might have been) Optimus reluctantly forced himself to get up from the berth. There was so much he still had to do. Already Optimus was making a mental checklist of what he needed to do over the next few days now that he had a sparkling to care for. As he came to the door and disabled the light sensors, Optimus cast Starfall one last parting look before reluctantly stepping through the doorway and motioning the door close behind him.

Optimus was still riding a euphoric high when he walked into the living room. Ironhide looked away from the tele-consol and gave him a flat look. He had half a cube of high grade in his hand. Optimus didn't know if it was half of his first cube or if Ironhide had gotten up to get a refill while he'd been in the other room with Starfall. Two mechs were now arguing on the tele-consol about the sudden spike in imported energon prices. "Yeh were in there a long time," Ironhide flatly noted.

"I was reading to Star before I laid him down for recharge." Optimus came over the lounge and sat down beside his sparkmate. He couldn't help the smile that split his face. "He's perfect, 'Hide. I still can't get over it. He's everything we've always wanted."

Ironhide's lips flattened into a thin line. "Maybe everything you've always wanted…" he bitterly grumbled.

"'Hide," Optimus wearily sighed. "Starfall is not Starscream. You would know that if you'd only talk to him for a few minutes. He is smart and so desperate to be loved. He is nothing like the mech we once knew."

Ironhide angrily shook his helm. "Ah just can't get over it. That sparkling looks too much like Screamer. Even his name - Star." Ironhide spat the word out as though it left a foul taste in his mouth. "How did he even come through Vector Sigma as a seeker? None of Iacon's hatchling facilities are programmed to produce fliers. It should'a been impossible for him ta come online with wings. Ah'm telling yeh, there's too much of Starscream in that sparkling. Vector Sigma should'a completely scrubbed his spark an' it didn't. It makes my plating crawl ta look at him and know who he used ta be."

"'Hide, you have to give Star a chance. I just spent the last few hours with him and saw nothing in him to make me think negatively about his personality."

Ironhide gave an angry huff and took a sip of high grade if only to distract himself from having to immediately answer his sparkmate.

"Please, 'Hide," Optimus said, leaning closer and spearing him with his most desperate gaze. "Give Star a chance. I know you will come to love him like a son if you do."

Ironhide set his cube of high grade aside on the table in front of the lounge. "How do yeh know that sparkling's not gonna someday become the same murderous glitch he was before? Who knows how much 'a the ol' Starscream is still hidin' in that sparkling? If he's already this much like Starscream, who's ta say he won't become the exact same mech he was before?"

"We won't let that happen," Optimus confidently replied. "If we give him the kind of family and home life I know Star wants himself he will not grow up to be that mech."

Ironhide shook his helm. Doubt sizzled across their bond like a live electrical current.

Optimus frowned. He leaned closer to Ironhide and tenderly took his sparkmate's face in between his hands to make the other mech look at him. He gently kissed Ironhide before looking him deep in the optics. He felt some of the tension in his sparkmate's body dissipate. "Please, 'Hide. Give Star a chance. For me if nothing else."

Ironhide huffed softly. "Alright," he grumbled. "Ah'll give the dang kid a chance."

Optimus smiled warmly. "Thank you. I promise you this will get easier."

Ironhide frowned but did not try to argue. "So how're we gonna tell or friends about this? It's not like people aren't gonna notice that the Prime an' his sparkmate suddenly have a seeker sparkling followin 'em around everywhere."

"I was thinking of formally presenting Star as our son at the anniversary party." The Great War's fifty-sixth anniversary was in several days. It had become an annual event over the years that the Autobot veterans would gather on that day to celebrate and catch up on recent events.

Ironhide frowned. "Some bots from the old team are gonna be even less thrilled than me ta see a little seeker who looks like Starscream runnin' around. Can yeh even imagine how Sunstreaker an' Sideswipe are gonna react when they see him?"

"Bots like Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are just going to have to deal with their old grudges," Optimus replied. "I can only hope that I have gained enough of my soldiers' respect over the vorns that they will accept my decision to adopt Starfall as our son." Optimus leaned back on the lounge, sighing tiredly. "The deal offered to the Decepticons who were sentenced to death was luckily never made public. The identities of those who chose rebirth were never revealed. The general public believes all the Decepticon high-ranking officers were executed after the trials. I know many of our old comrades will have reservations about Starfall simply because he is a seeker, but that doesn't mean he needs to be burdened with the stigma others will put on him if they knew who he was in a former format. If his real identity is kept secret there is no reason the others won't eventually come to accept him for the intelligent sparkling he is."

Ironhide gave a noncommittal grunt, doubt still buzzing like a swarm of angry bees on his side of their bond. He picked up his cube of high grade and took another sip, his attention resolutely focused on the two mechs arguing on the tele-consol.

Optimus decided not to try and push the issue anymore that evening. He knew how stubborn Ironhide could be - especially when he was being asked to change his mind on something he'd already made a decision about. Looking back on the day, the fact that they had actually Starfall recharging in a room down the hall spoke of how much Ironhide was willing to sacrifice for his sparkmate's own happiness. Love for the gruff mech filled Optimus's spark.

Leaning over, Optimus gave Ironhide a light kiss on the side of his cheek. "I must go make a call, love. Do not wait up for me if you want to go to recharge early."

Ironhide grunted around the edge of his cube. The topic of discussion on the tele-consol had moved onto a new legislative bill that had just been brought before the High Council to vote on.

Optimus got up from the lounge and headed towards a second hallway that led away from the living area towards the opposite end of the apartment. A single doorway stood at the end of it. Keying open the door, Optimus stepped through into his personal office. When they'd first moved into the domicile Ironhide had insisted that Optimus take the room to be his private place to deal with any official business of military or government.

Sitting down in front of the large communications monitor, Optimus powered on the computer. He immediately put into the search function Skyfire's name and identification code. Skyfire had a permanent residence there in Iacon, but he was rarely ever to be found in the capitol city. Whether he was in some other city-state for a conference or off-world on one of his scientific expeditions, Optimus had found that it was always just easier to search Skyfire's current location before he tried contacting his last known address, since he was rarely ever there.

Optimus was one of only a few bots to keep in contact with Skyfire since the end of the war. Even after Skyfire officially joined the Autobots, he had remained something of an outsider among them. Being one of the Autobot's only fliers had contributed a little to that, but also Skyfire's natural penchant for solitude and his disposition of being a more private mech. His open dislike of violence had also contributed to him never quite becoming friends with any of the Autobot warriors. The only bots he ever seemed to form any sort of friendship with amongst the crew were Wheeljack and Perceptor. Being all scientists and inventors they had instantly gravitated towards one another. After the war ended and they all returned to Cybertron Skyfire became even more estranged from the Ark's old crew. Optimus made it a point to occasionally contact the scientist to see what he was doing, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Skyfire at an anniversary celebration.

The computer finally came back with the scientist's current contact number. Optimus contracted the sides of his mask back over his face as he hit the dial option. The comm-link screen swam with static for several moments before there was an answering beep from the other side of the line. The screen blinked black for a moment before the image of Skyfire's face suddenly filled it.

"Hello, Skyfire," Optimus said. "Sorry to contact you so late out of the blue like this."

"Optimus," Skyfire smiled, surprised but openly delighted to see the Matrix-bearer. "It's always a pleasure to hear from you no matter what time it is. How are you and Ironhide?"

"Very well. I was contacting you to see if you were planning to come to the anniversary party this vorn."

Skyfire shook his helm. "No, I'm sorry. I'm currently on one of Cybertron's moons at a scientific conference. It's scheduled to go until the end of this deca-cycle, so I won't be able to make it to the celebration."

Optimus had the distinct impression that even if Skyfire weren't busy at a conference he still wouldn't have made any plans to come. He couldn't help the sly smile that spread across his face under his mask.

"If it's not too forward of me, I might suggest that you clear your schedule for the rest of the deca-cycle and come to the celebration."

Skyfire frowned lightly. "Optimus, you know I do not like events like this. I have never felt comfortable talking about the war or reveling in what happened after it. It holds too many painful memories."

"As it does for all of us," Optimus conceded. "But there is going to be someone new there this vorn that I think you are going to want to meet. I am very pleased to say that you're the first bot to know that Ironhide and I have a son."

Skyfire's facial plates froze in surprise before blossoming into honest delight. "Optimus, congratulations!" he smiled. "I heard about Jazz and Prowl's daughter a few orns ago, but I didn't know you and Ironhide were expecting as well. When did you have your newspark?"

Optimus chuckled lightly. "Neither one of us carried; our son is adopted. But he is a very unique sparkling. He was brought online in sector 12's hatchling facility. Against all odds he came online as a flier - a little seeker to be exact. He's the first of his kind of ever come online outside of Vos. The administrator of the facility has no explanation why Vector Sigma would produce such a model type in Iacon. The name the computer gave him when he came online is Starfall."

For a long moment of silence there was absolutely no reaction from the mech on the tele-screen. But as the words seemed to slowly translate in Skyfire's processor a look of almost painful hope twisted the edges of Skyfire's face. "Are- are you serious, Optimus?" Skyfire leaned closer to the camera, his optics locked on Optimus's through the screen. "Do you think it's really-?" Skyfire seemed afraid to actually say his lost lover's name, as if doing so might somehow destroy this tiny shred of hope he'd been given.

"Yes," Optimus smiled. "It seems Starscream has returned. As far as we can tell he remembers nothing of his previous life except certain feelings about his personal identity such as preferring to only be called Star."

"Starscream's back," Skyfire murmured, more to himself than Optimus, as if he were in some sort of daze. "Starscream's finally come back." He seemed to come back to himself. "I will clear my schedule immediately and be on the next transport to Cybertron."

"I'm so happy you've decided to come to the celebration after all," Optimus said. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen Skyfire this happy, but it had definitely been a long time.

Growing serious, Optimus leaned closer to the camera. His voice lost its playful tone. "Skyfire, I know you are very excited to see Starfall, but I feel I should remind you that he is not going to remember you. Ironhide and I have agreed that we are going to raise Star without him knowing who he used to be. I do not want my son burdened with such knowledge. His rebirth must be kept a secret. We can never let Starfall know he was once Starscream."

Skyfire instantly sobered. "Yes. Of course. I understand," he solemnly nodded. "It would be cruel to burden a sparkling with such knowledge. But…" Skyfire struggled for a moment to put his thoughts into words, "Starscream's finally back. There's at least the hope of me knowing him again." Optimus noticed the crackle of static in the corners of Skyfire's optics as if he were having trouble controlling his emotions. "When I went with you to that prison to convince Starscream to give himself to Vector Sigma I never actually thought I'd see him again. I was sure he'd be reformatted and lost to me." Skyfire gave a shaky laugh, his face breaking into a trembling smile. "But he kept his promise to find me again after all."

"I am so happy for you, Skyfire," Optimus said. "I will let you go so you can start making arrangements for your trip. I look forward to introducing Starfall to you at the celebration."

"Not as much as I am looking forward to it," Skyfire said. Optimus did not doubt him for an instant. "Goodbye, Optimus. And… thank you."

"Goodbye, Skyfire," Optimus nodded and cut off the line. Retracting his battle mask, Optimus leaned back in his chair with a content smile. He was so glad to have been able to give Skyfire this glimmer of hope. It would be centuries before Starfall was old enough to even begin thinking about others in a romantic way, but at least the possibility was now there of Skyfire and Star someday finding each other again.

To be continued

Thoughts?