Anniversary Party (Part II)
"Hello, Star." Skyfire's optics swam with warmth as he bent towards the tiny seeker. The corners of his smile trembled as if his facial plates were struggling to contain the full magnitude of his joy.
Optimus smiled behind his battle mask. The shuttle was practically besides himself. He doubted he'd ever seen Skyfire so overwrought with emotions. He was always so quiet and composed - the living embodiment of logical calm. It reminded Optimus that his discovery of Starfall's existence didn't effect just him, but others who had known the Decepticon second-in-command in his previous format as well. Not for the first time, Optimus sent a private prayer of thanks to Primus for choosing to go that hatchling facility after all that day. If he hadn't he never would have found Starfall and claimed him as his son, or been able to give Skyfire this opportunity to reunite with his long-lost friend.
"Star, this is Skyfire," Optimus said. "He helped the Autobots during the Great-"
"Your wings are pretty!" Starfall practically shouted. The little seeker sat frozen in his seat, staring at Skyfire as if he were looking into the face of Primus himself. His optics were so wide they took up almost half his face. The other mechs at the table all turned to Starfall, startled, with expressions of varying degrees of amusement.
Skyfire laugh-coughed, thrown off by the sparkling's bluntness. "Well, thank you," he chuckled. If Optimus had had any doubts about Skyfire taking a liking to his reincarnated friend, they were all soundly put to rest by the look the shuttle cast Starfall. Optimus recognized that look of instantaneous, helpless love.
Starfall clambered off his seat and ran around the table to Skyfire. It was almost comical the size difference between Skyfire and Starfall. Skyfire towered over everybody, but standing next to Starfall he looked like a veritable giant. Starfall's helm barely came to the top of Skyfire's thrusters. That didn't dissuade Starfall from running up to him as though he were a longtime acquaintance.
Optimus couldn't help but wonder if maybe that wasn't the case. So much of Starscream remained in Starfall. Was it possible he still somehow, in some unexplainable way, subconsciously remembered Skyfire?
"You're a flier too!" Starfall squealed in excitement. "I didn't know there was anyone else here with wings!" He swung around back towards Optimus. "Dad, he's a flier!" he shouted as if Optimus hadn't known.
"I see that, Star," Optimus smiled.
"Looks like you have the beginnings of your very own fan club, Skyfire," Wheeljack ribbed.
Skyfire didn't reply. His attention was completely focused on Starfall.
"What kind of plane do you change into?" Starfall demanded, staring up at him. "How fast can you fly? Can you go into space?" He began to circle Skyfire, inspecting every inch of his wings. "You even have a thruster pack!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal.
Optimus noticed a number of other Autobots watching from a distance. The general expression he saw amongst them seemed to be curiosity and amusement. No matter what model he was, Starfall was undeniably entertaining. It was possibly the first time Optimus had ever seen Perceptor come so close to overcoming his stoicism and breaking into an actual smile.
Skyfire laughed, deep and loud. He couldn't seem to stop smiling. "One question at a time, Star," he chuckled. Carefully, he dropped to one knee. He still eclipsed the smaller flier with just his shadow. Starfall seemed unfazed by the shuttle's immense size and eagerly came up to him.
"Did you fight with my dad in the war?" Starfall asked. He stared at Skyfire as though he were some kind of living god.
Skyfire tilted his head to the side. His optics held a strange mixture of nostalgia, pride and sadness. "I aided the Autobots, but I did not take part in any actual battles. I was a neutral during the war. That means I did my best not to take sides and fight. I do not believe in violence."
"Would you like to join us, Skyfire?" Optimus said. He motioned to the empty seats at the table. "You'll be able to talk to Star more comfortably."
"Thank you," Skyfire nodded.
"Come sit next to me," Starfall insisted. He reached out and took Skyfire by the hand. He needed both hands just to grab Skyfire's fingers.
The shuttle let the sparkling drag him to his feet. Optimus had to restrain laughter at the sight. Starfall tugged Skyfire towards the chair beside the one he'd been sitting in earlier. Skyfire sat and stared at him in quiet awe as Starfall climbed back onto the seat between himself and Optimus.
"You are an extremely bright sparkling," he noted. He seemed to be still trying to wrap his processor around the fact that Starfall was actually there, in front of him, living and real.
"We were just discussing that before you arrived," Perceptor said. "Optimus was telling us how Star placed high for his age group for the Iacon Academy in district 11."
Skyfire speared Optimus with an incredulous look. "District 11? That is an extremely competitive academy. It's also one of the most expensive. Sparklings of only the highest government officials and wealthiest business-mechs go there."
Optimus smiled behind his mask. "I admit I did use my position as Prime to aid Starfall's admission process a little, but there was no way they could have denied him entrance after his placement scores came back." He proudly glanced at the sparkling sitting between them.
"I'm going to start school in a deca-cycle," Starfall supplied.
"Are you excited?" Skyfire asked.
Starfall nodded enthusiastically.
Skyfire glanced back at Optimus. "Were there any issues with Star's make?"
Optimus became serious. "I spoke to the administrator about that. He seemed surprised that a seeker was looking for admission into his academy. He did not seem particularly enthused with the idea of having to deal with the political fallout Starfall being there will no doubt cause with the creators of other students, but there is nothing he can legally do to deny Starfall entrance. I made sure to remind him of that." There were few things that made Optimus pull rank or use his political power over others. But when his family was in question he was willing to stop at nothing to protect their best interests. There was a reason he'd been chosen as Prime. If Catalyst, the academy's administrator, had tried to deny Starfall's application he would have made sure to remind him why the Matrix of Leadership had chosen him to lead armies into battle. After facing Megatron on the battlefield, Catalyst would pose no challenge to him in the arena of civilian politics.
Skyfire nodded. A hint of doubt remained in his optics, but the worst of his worries seemed - at least momentarily - assuaged. He turned back to Starfall. His expression instantly brightened. "Are you able to fly yet?"
Starfall shook his helm. "No. I can kind of hover, but that's it."
"If you're able to hover then you should be able to activate your thrusters enough to fly. You just need to be shown how to do it. If your father agrees I would be willing to teach you."
Starfall couldn't have looked more excited than if he'd been offered a barrel of energon-candy. "Really?" He whipped around in his seat to Optimus. "Dad, can he? Can he, please? I want to learn how to fly like Skyfire." His wings dipped and stretched against his back as if already yearning to take to the air.
Looking into his son's optics, Optimus wouldn't have been able to deny Starfall even if he'd wanted to. "If Skyfire thinks you're ready, I'll allow it. But you must listen to everything he tells you to do. I do not want you to injure yourself."
"I won't get hurt," Starfall promised. "I'll do whatever Skyfire says." He turned to the shuttle. "When can we start?" He looked ready to go to the roof of the Stellar Gate that very moment.
Skyfire smiled. "Patience, Star. We'll figure out when to have your first flying lesson in due time. Some things are better left unrushed. For now, I want to know everything about you. You're the first seeker I've talked to in a very long time."
"You know other seekers?"
Skyfire's facial plates became strained with the weight of remembered loss. "I did. Before the war my best friend was a seeker. He's gone now, though."
"I'm sorry," Starfall murmured. He hung his helm. He seemed to sense Skyfire's melancholy and felt responsible for causing it.
Skyfire forced the sadness from his face. His tone once again became cheerful. "It's not your fault, Star. All that happened before you came online. What's important now is getting to know you."
Starfall perked. A tentative smile spread across his face to match Skyfire's upbeat mood. "You didn't tell me yet - what kind of plane do you turn into?"
As Optimus listened to the conversation unfold, he smiled happily to himself. His son seemed absolutely enamored with Skyfire. Once again, he was glad to have been able to give Skyfire this opportunity to see his friend again, even if Starfall didn't realize he'd known Skyfire in a previous format. Only time would tell if Starfall and Skyfire would someday renew their old friendship.
"Hey, Ironhide," Hot Rod called as the older mech strode over to the table he and the other Wreckers sat. Ironhide dropped into an empty seat between Kup and Springer.
Ironhide grunted his greetings to the group.
"What crawled up your tailpipe?" Springer asked, half-seriously, half-playfully. "Didn't you hear? The war's over. We won. If anyone should be happy today it's the Prime's Consort."
Some of Ironhide's old friends liked to rib him with his title because they knew he hated it. Ironhide was too miserable to rise to the bait, though. "Ah'll be happier once ah get some high grade in me," he growled. He grabbed one of the unclaimed cubes of glowing purple liquid from the middle of the table.
"Problems in paradise?" Kup asked. Even older than Ironhide, with enough war stories to keep the Dinobots entertained for joors, Kup was as gruff and no-nonsense as Ironhide himself. They'd been instant friends from the moment they were assigned to the same unit what felt like half a lifetime ago before the Great War broke out.
"I guess you could say that," Ironhide mumbled as he took a sip of high grade.
Before Kup, Hot Rod or Springer could inquire, two more mechs came up to the table. Ironhide gave Sideswipe and Sunstreaker each a flat look. The looks on their facial plates told him why they were there without even needing to ask.
Great. He knew it had only been a matter of time before some of the more outspoken mechs of the old crew confronted him about the newest addition to his and Optimus's family unit. No one would dare confront the Prime, so of course they immediately came to him instead to voice their discontent. He just hadn't been expecting them to find him quite so quickly. He'd been hoping to at least get one cube of high grade in him before he had to deal with any of this.
"Sunny. 'Sides," he grunted around the edge of his cube.
"You and Optimus adopted a seeker?" Sunstreaker hissed without any preamble. His betrayed shock was mirrored on his twin's face.
The Wreckers all perked in their seats. They'd obviously missed his and Optimus's entrance. Hot Rod - ever the subtle one - immediately turned in his seat and began scanning the crowd for Optimus and the seeker in question.
Springer turned to Ironhide. "You and Optimus adopted a sparkling?" His tone was more curious than anything else.
"Yes," Ironhide growled. "But ah'm really not in the mood ta talk about it right now."
"A seeker," Sunstreaker spat, accusation dripping off every syllable. He wasn't about to let this go. "A seeker, Ironhide. How could you? Don't you remember anything from the war and what those demons with wings did to our forces?"
Ironhide valiantly checked his temper. "Ah haven't forgot anything. If yeh've got a problem with the kid, take it up with Optimus. He's the one who wanted him, not me."
Sunstreaker looked ready to go into a full rant. He was stopped by Sideswipe - the slightly less impulsive one of the pair - motioning him quiet. He pushed Sunstreaker towards one of the empty seats at the table and took the one beside him. The steely look in his optics told Ironhide Sideswipe was just as disgruntled as his brother, but was just better at keeping his emotions in check. Ironhide knew they weren't about to let the issue drop just yet.
"Where did you get a seeker sparkling from?" Kup asked. "Are you and Optimus trying to make some kind of political tie with Vos?"
Ironhide shook his head. He took another swallow of high grade to steel himself for the conversation everyone else but him seemed determined to have. "Kid came online in district 12. He's a hatchling-spark. The administrator couldn't explain how the line produced such a model. It's a complete mystery."
"That's so odd," Springer murmured.
"And yet you and Optimus decided to adopt him," Sideswipe said. His voice was full of accusation.
Ironhide growled under his intake and took another swallow of high grade. He did not want to be talking about this. All he'd wanted to do was get away from Optimus and relax with his friends for awhile before he had to go back and deal with Starfall again. "Optimus spotted him while we were touring the facility fer a public relations stunt a few orns ago."
"I remember hearing about it on the news feeds," Hot Rod said.
"Optimus saw him an' wanted him. Wouldn't let it drop. The kid had been there fer the last several batches 'cause no other sane couple wanted him. Ah think Optimus felt bad fer him, which made him only want him more. Optimus had been pining fer a sparkling fer so long ah couldn't bring myself ta say no. Yer lucky none of yehs have ta deal with Prime as a sparkmate. 'Cause he'll do anything ta get what he wants once he sets his sights on something."
"Why didn't you and Optimus just have a sparkling of your own?" Sideswipe demanded. "Honestly, after you two came out as a pair and the war ended, half the crew started placing bets on how long it would be before there was a little semi running around."
Ironhide scowled into his cube of high grade. He had no desire to talk about this. What bot wanted to admit he wasn't capable of giving his sparkmate what he wanted most? He'd never wanted to carry a sparkling himself, but after Optimus had been unable to conceive after vorns of trying he'd finally offered to carry himself if that was what needed to be done for them to have a child. But even that had been no good. He had failed his sparkmate yet again. Unable to sire, unable to carry, he was useless. It was one thing to admit that in the privacy of one's home with one's sparkmate, but to tell it to everyone - mechs he'd led into battle and he knew respected him - was almost too much.
"It just wasn't in the cards," he mumbled in an embarrassed whisper.
The others seemed to sense the pain behind Ironhide's words and discretely let the subject drop. Some of the immediate hostility ebbed from Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's side of the table.
Huffing stubbornly, Sunstreaker leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his windshield. "I don't care how long that little seeker had been at that hatchling facility, I still wouldn't have adopted him. Primus, he looks just like Starscream! Just change his paintjob and he could pass for any of those crazy seekers in Megatron's old command trine."
Ironhide almost choked on a sip of high grade. He smoothly covered his surprise with a cough. If only Sunstreaker knew just how close to the truth he'd come with that assessment…
"What's your son's name? You haven't even said," Hot Rod said.
Ironhide shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Starfall," he growled between gritted dentals.
Hot Rod turned in his seat and stared towards something on the other side of the room. The others followed his gaze. Between the shifting crowd of Autobots, Ironhide spotted Optimus and Starfall. They were talking to Jazz, Prowl, Bumblebee and what appeared to be a human female in a mech suit. As they watched, the woman jumped from her mech suit to the ground in front of Starfall. The sparkling jumped back in surprise. There was a moment of talk between Starfall and the woman none of them could hear from the distance, before the woman held a hand out to Starfall as though to shake.
Ironhide leaned forward in his seat. Maybe this would be the moment he could finally prove Starscream still resided in Starfall's mind. During the war, Starscream had been rabidly racist against humans. In raids he would specifically go out of his way to try and kill as many humans as he could. In his previous format, if Starscream had been approached by a human with a hand held out to him in peace, he would have stepped on that person without a second thought. Ironhide wished Bumblebee's friend no harm, but if there was ever a test to see how much of Starscream remained in Starfall, this was it.
The woman remained absolutely still as Starfall cautiously approached her - as if he actually had something to fear from her instead of the other way around. Tentatively, Starfall reached out and clasped the woman around the wrist before immediately retracting his hand again, chortling innocently. He said something that made all the mechs around him burst into laughter and the woman scowl.
Ironhide sat back in his chair with a sigh.
"You've got to admit," Hot Rod said as they turned back to each other, "the kid's cute."
"Very," Springer agreed.
"For a seeker you mean," Sunstreaker nastily corrected.
"No," Hot Rod said. "For any kind of sparkling. He seems like a good enough kid. Just because he's a seeker doesn't mean he's evil. Come on, Sunny. Even you can't truly believe that. No one comes online a bad spark. It's what happens to a bot and what decisions he makes through his life that make him good or bad."
Sunstreaker's optics narrowed bitterly but he did not reply.
Quietly, Ironhide digested Hot Rod's comment. Despite his personal feelings, Hot Rod had a point. It made him remember just how much the young, once hot-headed, impulsive mech had grown since the beginning of the war. In many ways Hot Rod reminded him of Optimus.
"'Hide, I can't help but get the impression you're not thrilled about having a sparkling," Kup carefully spoke up.
Ironhide vented a heavy sigh. Reaching up he massaged the space of metal between his optic ridges. He was starting to get a processor-ache from all this talk. "Ah'm still getting used ta the idea. It's not really having a sparkling around that's an issue; it's what Starfall is that's making this so difficult."
Kup's lips pressed together into a thin line, but he didn't say anything. Ironhide couldn't help but feel the older mech was disappointed in him.
"So you're going to actually raise this seeker as your son?" Sideswipe said. His voice was still tight with disapproval.
"That's Optimus's plan," Ironhide grumbled. He went to take another sip of high grade but was startled to find the cube empty. He must have finished it without even realizing it. He set the cube aside with a huff. There weren't any others on the table to take its place. Why was nothing working in his favor today?
"Optimus has gone completely crazy," Sunstreaker muttered, tossing his helm angrily. "The nano-klick this news gets to Vos, you know the seekers are going to try and find some way to use this kid to get a pede back inside the High Council."
"How could the Vosians possibly use Starfall to gain political power?" Springer scoffed. "He's just a sparkling."
"He's already infiltrated the family of the most important mech of our race," Sunstreaker spat. "Who knows how they'll try to use him as an inside spy against Optimus. For all we know, they might have planted Starfall in that hatchling facility for Optimus to find."
"Your paranoia is starting to make you sound insane," Hot Rod said. His sentiment was mirrored in the faces of the other Wreckers.
"No. Think about it," Sideswipe insisted. "Starfall is for all intents and purposes the Prime's son. Who says they won't try to somehow use that to their advantage."
"If the Vosians want to be part of Cybertronian politics again, all they have to do is send a representative to the High Council," Springer said. "Vos might be an isolated city, but they are still part of Cybertron and entitled to a voice in the Council if they want to exercise that right. There's no reason for them to make up plots of somehow using a sparkling to gain power."
"I still say Optimus is taking too much of a risk doing this," Sunstreaker grumbled. "He must be out of his processor to want a seeker for a sparkling."
"That's my sparkmate yer talking 'bout," Ironhide growled, instinctively rising to his sparkmate's defense. "Optimus might be a lot of things, but crazy ain't one of 'em. He just wanted a sparkling. Like Hot Rod said: Starfall ain't evil. He just is what he is." He was immediately shocked by what came out of his own mouth. Deep down he knew he was transferring his old hatred for Starscream onto Starfall, but to actually speak out in Starfall's defense like that surprised him. Hot Rod must be more like Optimus than he originally gave the muscle car credit for if he could make him reconsider his stance towards Starfall like that. If Optimus ever decided to retire from his role as Prime, maybe he could pass the Matrix of Leadership on to Hot Rod. Because wouldn't that be a sight to see?
"So now you're saying you want this seeker as your son?" Sideswipe demanded.
"No. Ah mean yes. No, ah mean-" Ironhide floundered helplessly for words. His emotions and personal feelings were so conflicted he no longer knew where he stood on Starfall anymore himself. "Bah!" he spat in frustration, throwing his arms into the air. He stood from his chair. "All ah wanted was ta sit fer awhile an' talk with friends. Not be on the receiving end of a full out interrogation." He turned away from the group. "Ah need some fresh air. Ah'll see yeh mechs later." Without waiting for any kind of response, Ironhide briskly strode away towards the nearest door. It was a different doorway than the one he and Optimus had come through, but at the moment Ironhide didn't care. All he wanted was to get away.
The happy murmur of voices and music almost instantly faded when Ironhide stepped through the door into the corridor beyond. The hallway was blessedly empty of any other party-goers. A number of windows lined the corridors. A lounge was placed under every other one down the row. Stalking towards the nearest one, Ironhide fell onto it with a tired sigh. For a moment, he let himself just sit there and drink in the silence.
What was happening, he helplessly wondered. Just a deca-cycle ago he and Optimus had been one of the happiest bonded couples they knew. They rarely ever fought, and when they did it was usually resolved within the joor with no hard feelings between them. Except for the issue of sparklings, they were as happy as any bonded couple had the right to be. But from the moment Optimus brought Starfall home Ironhide had begun to feel like an outsider in his own home. He couldn't go anywhere without Starfall there to remind him that another had taken a place in Optimus's spark besides himself. He hated Starfall. He hated what he represented and who he used to be. He hated him for coming in between him and Optimus, but most of all he hated himself for feeling like that. He was being irrational. He was being paranoid. He was being petty and jealous. He was taking old grudges out on an innocent sparkling who had no way of remembering who he used to be. He was being a complete aft.
But try as Ironhide might he still could not reconcile himself to change. It was just too much to deal with. All he wanted was his old life with Optimus back. He wanted to reclaim the days when it had just been him and Optimus and that had been more than enough for the both of them. He no longer wanted to deal with a reincarnated son whose very presence made Ironhide grit his dentals with distain.
Leaning his head back against back of the lounge, Ironhide shuttered his optics. He missed Optimus. He hated closing off their bond to keep his true feelings secret like he'd been doing all morning. Tentatively, Ironhide opened his side of their bond. Contentment flooded across their bond from his missing sparkmate like a tsunami. Ironhide gasped at the sensation. Optimus was so happy. Like coming into the sunlight after a long time spent onboard a starship the warmth of Optimus's happiness rolled over Ironhide's spark in waves. At first Ironhide did nothing but sit there and drink in the essence of his sparkmate's feelings. It was so comforting, so nice to feel his sparkmate's presence once again it made Ironhide's optics momentarily fuzz with static. For an indeterminate amount of time Ironhide was content to just sit there and vicariously soak in his sparkmate's joy. But the longer he let Optimus's feelings cascade across their bond the more he became aware of a quiet melancholy hiding just there underneath Optimus's bond-pulses of joy.
It was a sad longing - a repressed desire for something the cause of his happiness could not fulfill by itself.
Ironhide instinctively reached out across their bond to sooth his sparkmate's pain. He felt Optimus's jolt of surprise at his sudden presence, but then the immediate spike of warmth as Optimus consciously reached out to him as well. The sadness from Optimus's side of the bond instantly disappeared and was replaced by desperate yearning.
Ironhide groaned in understanding. Optimus wanted Ironhide there with him and Starfall. He wanted them all to be together in one place. Ironhide had no doubt he had hurt Optimus when he'd walked away from him when they'd arrived at the party. The guilt that rose in the back of his intake line was cloying. Reluctantly, he sent a reassuring love-pulse across their bond to Optimus. Ah'm coming, it said.
The answering pulse that coursed across their bond almost made Ironhide gasp it was so intense. I'm waiting, it told him.
Ironhide pulled back and retreated to his side of their bond where Optimus's feelings were just a comforting presence in the back of his spark.
Yeh can do this, he firmly told himself. Yeh can put on a happy face and go out there fer yer sparkmate's sake. After all the slag yeh've put him through ta-day because of the kid yeh owe Optimus that much.
Heaving himself to his pedes, the weapons specialist returned to the party. The celebration was still in full swing. Looking around the room, Ironhide spotted his sparkmate off to the side, sitting at a table with Starfall, Wheeljack, Perceptor and - surprise, surprise - Skyfire. Optimus seemed to have been looking around for him as well. Their optics met across the room. Ironhide saw the warmth that filled Optimus's gaze as he stared at him. He could picture Optimus's smile beaming at him from behind Optimus's battle mask. Ironhide felt his spark sag in his chassis with helpless defeat. He could do this. He would do this because he knew how much it meant to his sparkmate. Ironhide let a weak smile spread across his facial plates as he wove his way through the crowd towards the table.
"I'm so glad you've finally joined us," Optimus said. The warmth in his voice made Ironhide's spark cringe with remembered guilt. He reached out and took Ironhide by the hand to pull him towards the empty seat beside him. "Did you have a nice chat with Kup and the others?"
Ironhide let his sparkmate pull him down into the chair. "Yea," he muttered. Before Optimus could release his hand, Ironhide twisted his wrist and caught Optimus's hand in his own. He twined their fingers together and squeezed his sparkmate's hand in silent apology. The corners of Optimus's optics crinkled with a smile. He returned Ironhide's squeeze. Love pulsed across their bond. "Sorry it took me so long ta get back," Ironhide murmured just loud enough for Optimus to hear.
Optimus squeezed his hand again. "You're here now. That's all that matters."
Ironhide relaxed into his seat, his and Optimus's hand still discretely clasped underneath the table.
On Optimus's other side, Skyfire and Starfall were locked in conversation. Ironhide had no idea what they were talking about but Starfall was an animated chatterbox - his wings dipping and flaring out behind him in coordination with the rise and fall of his voice - while Skyfire seemed more than content to listen. The sparkling was completely focused on Skyfire. He sat on the edge of his seat staring up at Skyfire as if he were to most interesting mech he'd ever met. Skyfire seemed to drink in the little seeker's attention. Ironhide recognized his enraptured expression. It was the same one he saw on his sparkmate's face everyday since they'd brought Starfall home.
Optimus kept up a pleasant conversation with Wheeljack and Perceptor as the two fliers talked. Skyfire and Starfall seemed lost in their own little world as if everything else around them had faded into the background. Ironhide remained mostly a silent presence by Optimus's side - only chiming in whenever social politeness dictated he must. He held his sparkmate's hand tightly in his own, but his mind was a million parsecs away. His conversation with the Wreckers and the Lambo-twins was still fresh in his processor, like a wound that dripped poison and refused to heal.
The rest of the party passed in a slow blur. Ironhide remembered little of it. Over the course of the day, countless friends and former comrades came up to him and Optimus to offer greetings and well-wishes. He and Optimus exchanges pleasantries and shared old stories with all them. Numerous glances - some friendly, some suspicious, others simply curious - were cast towards Starfall, but Optimus never wavered in proudly introducing him to everyone as his and Ironhide's son. By the time Cybertron's sun began its final downwards arc towards the jagged horizon of skyscrapers there was no one who didn't know about the newest addition to the Prime family unit. What everyone actually thought of Starfall and his make, no one was brave enough to voice to Optimus's face, but Ironhide guessed there were more than a few of the old crew who secretly shared Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's views.
It was dark outside by the time the party-goers began to drift away towards home.
Wheeljack and Perceptor had long ago taken leave of the Prime family to circulate the room. Ironhide thought he'd seen Perceptor leave a few joors before. Wheeljack was still there, sharing a cube of high grade with Mirage on the other side of the room.
Skyfire, on the other hand, hadn't strayed out of eyeshot the entire day. He had become Starfall's new best friend. The one time he got up to grab a cube of energon, Starfall had trailed after him like his miniature shadow. Optimus thought it endearing how the two of them had taken to each other while Ironhide found it mildly disturbing. In Starfall's previous format, Starfall and Skyfire had been lovers. Although their interactions were completely innocent, that fact remained a constant presence on the edge of Ironhide's thoughts.
It was only when Ironhide spotted Blur and Bluestreak - two of the Ark's most notorious partiers - beginning to head for the door that Ironhide decided he'd finally had enough for one day.
"It's startin' ta get late," he murmured to Optimus. "We should probably start thinking 'bout headin' home."
"You're right. The party seems to be winding down and Starfall needs to recharge."
Skyfire broke off his conversation with Starfall to look at Optimus. "You're leaving?" he asked. Disappointment flashed through his optics.
Starfall turned to Optimus. "Do we have to, dad? I want to keep talking to Skyfire."
The corners of Optimus's optics crinkled with a smile as he reached out and patted the top of Starfall's head. "It's getting late and you need your recharge. You're too young to stay up all night yet. You should have been in your berth more than three joors ago."
"But I don't wanna leave," Starfall whined. His optics were pleading pools of liquid turquoise. "I'm not tired yet and I wanna keep talking to Skyfire."
Optimus chuckled indulgently. He shot Skyfire a conspiratorial look over the top of Starfall's helm. "If Skyfire wants to he's welcome to come to our domicile and continue his visit there. There's actually some things he, your father, and I have to discuss."
The hidden meaning was clear: they still needed to discuss the ground rules of his and Starfall's future interactions.
Skyfire nodded his understanding.
Oblivious to the adults' silent exchange, Starfall turned back to Skyfire. His facial plates were a storm of excitement. "Come home with us, Skyfire! Please? Then I can show you all the new data pads dad bought me."
Skyfire smiled at him. "I'd love to."
Starfall beamed, his wings flaring out behind his shoulder struts. It was obvious Starfall had a sparkling-crush on the older flier. Ironhide might have almost found it cute if he didn't know about Skyfire and Starscream's previous relationship. Nonetheless, if he had thought Optimus would allow it, he would have let Skyfire take Starfall home with him right then and there. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until Starfall was old enough to have his final upgrade and be legally mature. Then he could wash his servos of the seeker and let Skyfire pick up where he and Starscream had left off several dozen millennia ago.
But that was still many, many vorns away…
To be continued
We'll finally get Skyfire's POV next chapter.
Thoughts?