X
Starscream jerked himself out of recharge, cycling air rapidly through his intakes. At first he felt a jolt of fear as he recognized the quarters around him weren't his own. There was a moment of terror as his nightmare caught up with him and he wasn't sure what was real and what his own imagination had conjured up.
A loud grunt from somewhere to his left made him jump again but he felt a burst of relief as he spotted the gladiator's large frame through the dim lighting on the large berth in the opposite side of the relatively small room.
Nothing was going to happen to him with Megatron around.
He was safe.
But he couldn't go back to sleep. It wasn't yet morning and he had already woken Megatron up twice so far. The older mech hadn't been pleased either time.
He lay in silence, curled into as uncomfortable a position as he could manage, refusing to allow himself to fall back into recharge. He would have to wait till morning came.
His processor easily slipped back to memories and worries though.
Would he ever see his creator again?
He hadn't been… the best sire ever, that was a given, but he was still his creator, and there had been times when they had been happy, even without his carrier there. He loved him once.
Lubricant gathered in his optics and he hurriedly wiped it away, turning over and pushing his face into the berth. He stretched himself out; one of his thrusters fell off and ended up dangling over the edge of the berth.
He huffed in annoyance; he had told Megatron it wasn't big enough for him.
He glanced up at the snoozing gladiator again. Megatron had his back to him, cycling air evenly as he lay still on the berth. The berth which Starscream could see was more than big enough for two.
They could share, couldn't they?
And anyway, he refused, refused to sleep on such a small berth. There wasn't enough room for him to move about, it was raised too high up from the ground and he didn't like being on this side of the room.
Quietly -because he had coughed earlier and it had woken the very light sleeping Megatron up- he rolled off of the stupidly small berth and onto the floor, tip toeing on his newly repaired thrusters towards the larger berth.
He lifted himself up slowly, careful not to brush against Megatron, and laid down on the berth; and sighed.
Much better.
Not only because of the abundance of room by his thrusters but because of the comforting warmth Megatron's engines were giving off. He pushed back into it and sighed again at the sensation of hot cycled air warming his wings.
Earlier nightmare forgotten, he drifted back into recharge again.
X
He needed a cage.
That was Megatron's first thought when he roused from recharge to find a tiny red, white and blue seeker curled into a ball against his abdomen.
Did the seeker not think? He could have rolled over in his sleep and crushed his delicate little sparkling frame without even waking up. He would have found the mangled remains that were once Starscream upon waking. He growled, debating with himself on whether to flick the seeker away from him and off the berth, or allow him to continue to recharge.
He was only a sparkling after all, and they needed their sleep.
But then again so did he and the tiny menace had seen fit to wake him up several times throughout the night.
He sat up and the recharging seeker jumped at the movement, quickly sitting up and blinking his optics online tiredly as he raised his servos to rub at them.
"Why aren't you in your berth?" Megatron growled at him immediately.
Starscream looked around blearily, still not entirely awake yet, "Huh?"
"What are you doing in my berth?" Megatron asked again, waiting with a stern expression for the seeker to explain himself.
The youngling finally seemed to catch on, "Oh, um, it's too small."
Megatron snorted, "No it isn't." he said looking between the small berth and the even smaller seeker, "There is more than enough room for you."
Starscream crossed his arms over his cockpit defiantly, "It is!" he argued, "There's not enough room to move around-"
"You're not supposed to be moving around," Megatron growled, getting up off the berth, in desperate need of some energon, "You're supposed to be recharging on it."
"Still don't like it."
Megatron rubbed a servo across his face, "Stay here," he muttered groggily, "I'm going to get some energon."
Starscream sat up on his knees, "Can I-"
"No!" Megatron barked back into the room as the stepped into the corridor, allowing the automatic door to slide shut behind him.
He was about to continue on his way down the hallway when a sudden thought came to mind. He stopped and turned around, leaning against the wall, watching the door patiently. For a while nothing happened, and Megatron was beginning to doubt himself, when the door hissed open.
Starscream poked his helm out and yelped in shock to see him standing there.
"I want to come-"
"Get back in there!" Megatron barked at him, stepping forward threateningly. He had never seen a seeker run backwards as quickly as Starscream as he scrambled away from him, back into the room. Megatron pressed the door panel again, closing it.
He would need to rewire it, set it to lock from both the outside and the inside.
Wait.
No he wouldn't, because the seeker wasn't staying. He would send him on his way after he had collected his energon.
Decision made.
Starscream was sitting quietly on the smaller berth when he turned to his quarters a few minutes later, swinging his thrusters back and forth childishly; expression miserable.
Megatron decided to ignore him.
He lifted up his cube and took a long, refreshing gulp of it. Out of the corner of his optic he could see the longing look on the seeker's face.
"What?"
Starscream put on that innocent look again, wings low and optics big, "Can I have some?" he asked quietly.
Megatron stared, how could he-
"I gave you an entire cube last night." He stated, flummoxed at the amount of fuel this seeker seemed to consume. He was a fifth of his size and yet seemed to devour twice as much fuel as him. "How much do need to consume?"
Starscream gave him an incredulous look as if he should already know who much a sparkling, or youngling or whatever Starscream claimed he was, needed to consume. "Two cubes." He said.
"A cycle!" Megatron exclaimed before he could help himself. Starscream would definitely need to go; it was too expensive to keep him fueled.
Starscream nodded, "I'll need more as I mature," he stated informatively.
Megatron stared. The council had always been complaining that fliers, or more specifically, seekers, were too uneconomic, they used it as an excuse for the strict laws on them.
Without thinking he handed the half full energon cube down to Starscream's level, letting tiny blue servos snatch it away greedily.
Between guzzling the fuel down, Starscream managed to continue talking.
"Are you going to train again today?" he asked curiously.
Megatron scowled as he crossed the room and selected a data-pad at random. Hoping that if he pretended he was doing something important the seeker would be quiet. "...Yes," he grunted after a while.
"This morning?"
"No, this afternoon."
"… Can I come and watch?"
"No."
Starscream finished off the energon and put the empty cube on the berth. He scrambled down from it, because it was too high for him, and wandered over to the gladiator's side. Megatron sat down in a large chair by his desk, angling his frame away from the seeker every time Starscream tried to peak at what he was reading.
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
Starscream jumped on the spot, straining his neck cables at he tried to see over the giant mech's shoulder.
"What are reading?" he asked again, "I like reading."
Megatron merely grunted this time, now actually getting drawn into ancient Cybertronian poetry. He had a lot of belief in the power of the written word, not that he would ever let anyone know of course. He turned in his chair again as he heard Starscream run around to his over side.
"My creator used to take me to the library, because he couldn't be bothered to get me the data pad's I wanted. He used to let me stay there all cycle until it closed and then he'd come to pick me up again." Starscream told him. He decided to leave out the part about how sometimes his creator wouldn't come to pick him up. He managed to find his way home anyway though, so it was alright.
Megatron didn't reply at all this time.
Starscream decided to step up his game.
He clambered up onto Megatron's berth and ran along the length of it. The larger mech either didn't notice or didn't mind as he continued to study his data pad. He climbed from the berth up onto the desk and sat on the edge of it, now almost level with the gladiator.
"You don't talk much," he informed Megatron.
Megatron looked up to see the small seeker appear in front of him, he decided not to ask him how he'd gotten up onto the desk. "I believe you more than make up for it," he answered evenly, turning his attention back to the poetry.
"Are you shy?" came the youngling's questioning voice again.
"No." he replied, "I simply believe speaking when I have nothing of importance to say is unnecessary."
Starscream blinked, "I like talking."
Megatron rolled his optics, "I assumed you did."
There was silence for a moment too long and he looked back up again; not at all surprised that the seekerling was still there, watching him with silent curiosity. "Don't you have something to do?"
Starscream shook his helm.
But of course, he wouldn't have anything to do; Megatron still hadn't quite gotten around to kicking him out.
"I'm bored," the seeker muttered quietly.
"And I am busy," Megatron replied rather disinterestedly, looking away from the seeker. And that was his first mistake.
Starscream took Megatron's dismissal much in the same way as he did his creator's. He was clearly bothering the gladiator and that was a sure sign he needed to go off and entertain himself; assuming that Megatron's rule of 'do not leave the quarters without me' was only at night, then surely he'd be allowed to explore the rest arena in the middle of the cycle. He'd never seen one before after all.
Once he'd clambered down from the desk, Megatron still had his back to him, so it was fairly easy just to slip through the sliding door silently and unnoticed.
He happily trotted down the long, maze like underground set of hallways, until he came to a set of stairs. Assuming that these would lead up to the arena -like the set of steps near Megatron's quarters led out into the streets- this was where he needed to be. And the sounds of grunting and the clashing of armour on armour emitting from the top of the steps was just too promising.
Like a sparkling on his creation day, Starscream sprinted up the stairs, barely able to contain his excitement, mouth falling open in awe as the space around him opened up and brighter artificial lighting illuminated his face plates.
The arena was a massive circle, with a huge domed ceiling, large bright lights attached to it and rows upon rows of spectator seats leading up into it.
But the arena itself wasn't what caught his attention.
Gladiators. Most of them bigger than Megatron, but most of them uglier, burlier than and nowhere near as graceful as he was.
They threw themselves around, sparring with each other but not at all caring of damaging one another. Starscream watched in amazement as one gladiator, by far the largest and bulkiest, punched a slighter green mech's optic out so that it was literally hanging from its socket by a wire.
"Medic!" the green gladiator cried out, stumbling back, servos held out in front of him in submission.
The mech who had hit him laughed, cruelly, sadistically. Starscream had thought it was mildly funny, it was comical way the green mech had fallen flat on his aft when he'd been hit, but the sight of the optic hanging and the pain in his voice, that wasn't funny. It only seemed to make the larger gladiator laugh harder.
There was a noise behind Starscream and he jumped, just then releasing who had been called to the arena.
He moved out of the entrance, getting out of the way for when the creepy red mech entered the arena to tend to one of his patients –or victims. It was a mistake.
He moved out of the shadows and into the bright lights of the arena, revealing himself. He was too focused on the approaching medic to notice the sudden silence in the arena.
"Holy frag," a deep, amused voice called out behind him, "Is that a seeker?"
Starscream span on his heel to see a large group of gladiators all staring at him with different expressions on their faces. Some looked surprised, a few were glaring at him, but what worried him the most was the gladiator nearest to him, the large, rusty looking brown mech who had punched his comrade's optic out, who was smirking at him.
He backtracked quickly, heading towards the stairs.
"Oh, hello again."
And quickly ran forwards into the arena again at the sight of the approaching medic. He had two choices, perverted medic or psychopathic gladiator.
But they chose for him.
"Back off Axel!" the gladiator barked, moving forward and kicking out at the red medic, "Your patients over there!"
The medic –Axel?- looked between the gladiator and Starscream, before smirking to himself and bowing low, slinking backwards, his helm still lowered. The large brown mech then moved towards Starscream again, starting to corner him between the other gladiators and the stands.
One of the gladiators, an unfortunate orange color with a young face, called out in their direction, "Hey Sidepunch!" he shouted at the brown mech, "Pick on a mech your own size."
The gladiator laughed again, so did a few others, "I ain't picking on him!" he called back, earning a glare from the orange mech.
The mech continued to grin at him as he reached out and took Starscream's servo. The grip wasn't crushing so he stopped himself from struggling against him, he didn't want to anger him and end up losing an optic like the other mech had. The gladiators behind them were still watching, but none of them were doing anything.
"These pleasure drones are getting younger and younger," the brown mech muttered in disappointment, but a dirty smile crossed his face. "An expensive one though," he continued, and had the nerve to spin Starscream around, presumably to look at his wings, Starscream allowed it, tensing up in fear.
"Nice aft on him to," he commented and before Starscream could even blush in outrage, mortification or any other of the many emotions that crossed his processor at that moment, a hard and heavy servo slapped him across his backside.
He yelped, leaping away, servo coming down to clamp onto his stinging aft as he stared at the gladiator in horror, blushing as most of the others watching behind laughed.
"So who paid for ya?" the gladiator asked.
Starscream could only stare. Confused, scared, embarrassed.
"Oi!" the brown mech shouted, advancing towards him, "You deaf? Who ya with?"
"Meh-Megatron," Starscream managed to stutter, stepping back as fast as his thrusters could carry him, moving against the side of the ring.
The gladiator chuckled, "Wouldn't a taken him for a mech who'd let something as pretty as you out of his quarters."
Starscream bit back apprehension, Megatron hadn't let him out of his quarters. He could have told this mech that, but frankly he didn't want to speak to him at all. Maybe he should just say he was going back to Megatron quarters now, maybe he'd let him go. He should be able to find his way back.
He stepped backwards quickly, not taking his optics off the gladiator.
"I- I'm going back- I wasn't allowed-"
"I'll pay double." the gladiator said, "and I can promise ya, I can show you a far better time than Megs can."
Starscream doubted that. He'd only known this mech for a few klicks, but he knew he'd be far happier back with Megatron; even if he did ignore him in favour of reading.
He shook his helm, it was the only thing he could do.
The mech laughed again, but he wasn't at all amused, "I wasn't asking," he growled, moving forward quicker than Starscream would have expected and capturing his arm, "Ya' get paid all the same." he muttered in his audial as he pulled Starscream close.
Starscream pushed against him as his senses were flooded with the unknown gladiator. He stank of stale high grade and rust. His servos were grimy, oil made his paint sticky and he held him too tightly. Starscream could feel his armour denting under his colossal servos.
He opened his mouth to cry out when there was a sudden clang, and the crushing grip left Starscream as he heard the brown gladiator roar in fury and pain.
And he was gone.
Like he'd never been there.
Starscream blinked, and there in front of him was Megatron, who holding something that looked suspiciously like the larger brown mech's arm.
He didn't think about it though, nor did he look around in fear for the mech that had grabbed him, and had smelled bad, and had hit his aft, instead he rushed at Megatron, confident that his gladiator could and would protect him from everyone else in the arena now that he was here. His servos curled in to the gaps in his gladiator's thick armoured thigh and clung on.
Megatron threw down the dirty brown mech's arm, making sure to dent it again, and swiftly bent to lift the small seeker up off the ground. Starscream's small arms wound their way around his neck and clung on, his face burying in his shoulder plates, his short legs lifted, but weren't long enough to properly wrap around the larger mech's mid section, so Megatron supported him with a servo under his aft.
Starscream didn't look up at the arena as he was carried out of it. He heard voices, some sounded angry, calling and shouting as they left, but Megatron didn't seem bothered, so Starscream was determined not to be either.
The brisk walk back to Megatron's quarters wasn't long, so it wasn't too awkward, and Starscream didn't have time to dwell on how much trouble he'd be in. Whenever something went wrong it was his fault; that was what his creator had always told him anyway.
Once they entered in the calm sanctuary of the small quarters, Megatron began the task of trying to extract the seeker from his frame. For something so small and supposedly weak it was quite a challenge.
Eventually he managed to uncurl Starscream's fingers and place him on the berth. He needed to check him for injuries, make sure that slagger Sidepunch hadn't done anything before he had arrived. If he had, Megatron would need to go back to the arena and punch his helm in.
He tactfully ignored the miserable expression on the seeker's face as gave him a quick once over.
"You are fine," he said after a while, stating it more than actually asking Starscream if he was okay.
Starscream nodded his helm, confused more than scared now.
"He said he was going to pay me?" Starscream told Megatron, "Why?"
"It's nothing to do with you." Megatron answered sternly.
Starscream scowled, it clearly was. If there were credits to be had, he wanted it. He was about to voice this out loud when Megatron stopped him, leaning low to look him strictly in the optic.
"You do not leave this room without me until I deem it safe to otherwise." he ordered the small seeker.
"Or what?" Starscream snapped defiantly.
Megatron leaned back, watching him carefully, "then the consequences of disobeying me will be punishment enough."
"You're not my sire; I don't have to listen to your rules."
Megatron smirked at him sadly; it was more of a quirk of his lips, "I am not giving you rules to follow, I am merely offering you my protection. It is your choice whether you take it or not, though I suggest you do. Unless of course, you'd rather I take you back outside and leave you with that mech from earlier."
Starscream grew cold at the thought, and shook his helm.
"Then I suggest you be quiet and do as you're told."
Starscream folded his arms over his cockpit crossly. Young face twisting into a scowl.
Megatron sighed, picking up the data pad he had been reading earlier and then tossing it down in frustration, unable to continue reading now. Starscream trotted forward to pick it up, flicking it on before Megatron could reach out and snatch it off him.
"Poetry?" Starscream said out loud as he danced away from Megatron keeping the data pad out of his reach this time. "Can I read it?" he asked.
Megatron blinked down at him. It was written in ancient Cybertronian, not at all a data pad for younglings.
"Can you?" he asked incredulously.
Starscream nodded his helm enthusiastically, and skipped back to the beginning of the pad, "I like reading."
Megatron still didn't believe him though, he could already tell the seeker was clever, but no youngling was that clever.
"Read it out loud to me," he grunted at the seeker, seating himself down on the chair by his desk and Starscream laid on his front of the floor in front of him, thrusters lifting into the air playfully.
Starscream cleared his throat and started to read from the prologue, "Now as of old the Gods give mechs all good things, excepting only those that are baneful and injurious and useless. These, now as of old, are not gifts of the gods; mechs stumble into them themselves because of their own blindness and folly."
Megatron stared.
He really could read it.
Starscream paused in his reading, his thrusters stilling the air as he looked up at Megatron, "Do you want me to stop?"
Megatron shook his helm, "No, no… skip the prologue." He said, and Starscream happily scrolled through the data pad and began reading again.
And Megatron sat and listened, for how long he wasn't sure. The youngling's attention was unwavering as he read and not a single word threw him, his pronunciation was flawless, his pace was good. He read it how it was supposed to be read.
The cycle moved by quickly as he had Starscream read extract after extract of his data pads, all different genres of poetry and even novels, in many different long unused renditions of Cybertronian. Not one of them challenged the seeker in the slightest.
"When I look on you a moment, then I speak no more," Starscream read aloud from the data pad Megatron held for him, curled up on his gladiator's lap, helm resting on his chest as he continued tiredly, "But my glossa falls silent, and at once a delicate flame courses in my spark, and with my optics I see nothing, and my audials hum-"
He cut himself off with a loud yawn, and then Megatron checked the time.
Frag.
He had wasted the entire cycle away listening to Starscream. It was too late to turn the seeker out now. He lowered the data pad and looked at the younglings face, and wasn't surprised to see he was already falling into recharge, his inquisitive optics offline and his usually excited face peaceful. Megatron offlined the data pad and placed it on the desk and carefully stood, keeping one arm around Starscream shoulders and supporting his helm with his chest, he slipped his other servo under the seeker's thighs.
Starscream didn't stir and Megatron gently placed him on the small berth. He could stay one more night.
One more night wouldn't hurt.
X
He didn't have to open his optics to know who was poking him this time.
"Go back to recharge Starscream," he grunted into his berth, groaning at the irritating jabbing sensation occurring to his hip. "Starscream," he growled, lifting his helm up a few inches to scowl at the youngling.
Starscream was sat on the edge of his berth, that same miserable expression on his face again; one servo was clutching his lower cockpit.
"What?!" he hissed impatiently.
"I'm starving!" Starscream cried out dramatically, "You didn't fuel me."
Megatron bit down on his own glossa, fighting back the urge to snap at the little pest that it wasn't his responsibility to look after him and fuel him, let alone remember to do so, and at the very least a 'please' or 'thank you' every once and a while would be appreciated.
But Starscream continued to poke at him and pull sad faces, and Megatron knew he wasn't getting any recharge until the seeker had gotten his way.
He was definitely going tomorrow. First thing in the morning, he was out of here.
Once had had dragged himself down to the nearest energon dispenser, brought yet another cube with his rapidly dwindling credits, and taken said cube back to the seeker, Starscream was happily bouncing on his berth, awaiting his return.
"Down!" he barked at the seeker, holding the cube away until he was obeyed.
Starscream pulled a face but jumped down nonetheless, holding up his servos expectantly until the cube was placed in them. Megatron stepped around him and laid back down on his berth, wincing at the groan in his abused frame as he did so. He should have been training today, not been messing around with seeker younglings.
He glanced up when he felt movement next to him, and caught Starscream climbing up onto his berth… again.
"What?" asked Starscream innocently.
Megatron glared at him, lifting a servo to brush him away, "You know what. Down."
Starscream sent him an angry pout and parked himself down on the edge of the berth anyway, his expression clearly stating that he wasn't moving.
As tempting as it was simply to kick the seeker off the end of his berth and be done with it, if he damaged him he wouldn't have the spark to throw him out tomorrow. No, if he planned to get rid of Starscream in the morning the seeker had to be in prime condition. The idea that something could happen to him because of what he had done would play on his processor, whether he liked it or not.
He sat up and Starscream dived forward, tiny digits hooking around the edges of the berth and griping for dear life. Megatron paid the youngling's efforts to remain on the berth no mind and simply plucked the seeker up and carried him wriggling and whining back to the smaller berth, where he dumped him.
And he glared down at the seeker until the youngling relented.
Eventually Starscream gave a low whine and rolled over onto his front, covering his helm with his arms and pushing his face into the berth. He threw one of his thrusters over the edge of the berth as if to prove to Megatron that it really was too small for him.
Megatron ignored him and trudged back to his berth.
He glowered at Starscream's form on the berth for a few moments longer, suspicious, before laying back down and offlining his optics.
On the smaller berth Starscream peeked out from beneath his arm, glaring at the gladiator hogging the larger berth.
Megatron might have won this battle, but the war was far from over.
X
Megatron barely restrained himself from accidently on purpose rolling over and crushing the seeker clutching his servo on his berth next to him.
He had known this would happen.
He really did need a cage to put the youngling in.
He was about to flick the seeker's wing to wake him up, when Starscream started to twitch. He paused in his movements to watch.
Starscream wings drooped and started to flutter, slowly at first but then in rapid, fitful bursts, his thrusters started to scrape up and down the berth and his helm turned from side to side, his mouth moving silently until light whimpers started to emit from him, gradually progressing to cries.
Megatron, having no idea what to do, lowered a servo and touched Starscream's wing.
Suddenly the seeker's optics shot open and he sat bolt upright on the berth, nearly head butting Megatron in the olfactory sensor.
Starscream panted rapidly, looking around frantically until his gaze met with Megatron's, and he saw the decidedly wet look to the seeker's bright, wide optics.
He had had a nightmare.
Starscream lowered his helm and subtly wiped away at his optics.
Megatron decided not to shout at him for getting in the berth with him this time.
"Are you hungry?" he asked automatically.
Starscream's face instantly lit up and he nodded enthusiastically.
"Alright then," he grumbled, deftly climbing over the top of the seeker to get out of the berth. He looked back at the patently waiting youngling before he stepped out of the room. He still didn't understand it; how could something so small need so much energon? And where did it all go?!
He looked back at his door warily as he headed up the corridor, but was fairly confident that yesterdays scare with Sidepunch was enough to keep the seeker inside his quarters for once. He rounded a corner and then instantly turned back again after catching a flash of orange armor.
"Hey! Hey! Megs!"
He growled, frag it he'd been caught.
He turned halfway to scowl in the approaching gladiator's direction. Steelstrut, a young but rowdy gladiator, came bounding towards him, only slightly wary of the dark look Megatron was sending him, "Er, I mean, Megatron, sir," he corrected himself, still taking small steps towards him.
Megatron grunted and then shoved past him to the energon dispenser, the sooner he got back to his quarters the sooner he could be sure Starscream hadn't disobeyed him again and wandered off. He really did need to get a lock on the inside of the door.
No, Starscream was going today. He needed to stop thinking of the seeker as if he was staying.
"So," Steelstrut was still talking to him, following after him as he entered credits into the dispenser, "I was just wondering, ya know that little seeker from yesterday?"
Megatron's optics instantly darkened and he turned on Steelstrut, looming over him menacingly. He was quite disappointed, he had almost liked the younger mech; he hadn't thought he'd be just like every other sparkless fiend in this slag hole of an arena.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Steelstrut yelped, holding his servos out in front of him defensively, "I don't- I'm not- I didn't mean it like that! I was just worried about him is all."
Megatron stepped back and picked up his full cube, "It is none of your concern," he growled as he started his way back towards his quarters.
To his annoyance, Steelstrut continued to follow him.
Megatron sighed, there was once a time where no one, not even that mindless brute Sidepunch, would even so much as look in his direction. He had been new in the arena, but ever since his very first match he'd been well feared. Now, since Starscream's arrival, he just seemed to be getting more and more approachable.
First the fragging seeker, and now Steelstrut.
"Well, I wasn't actually all that concerned to be honest," Steelstrut admitted, bouncing up to his side, "It was more curiosity."
Megatron ignored him and walked faster.
"See, I've never seen a seeker before. Not with my own optics anyway," Steelstrut droned on, oblivious to Megatron's increasingly tense frame, "they're rare aren't they? So I was wondering, where the frag'd you get one?"
"Found him." Megatron grunted.
Steelstrut's optics widened in surprise, "What just like that? There just happened to be a seeker lying about Kaon that no one else had staked claim on?"
Megatron huffed, he was almost back at his quarters, and then he could shut the annoying orange pest out. "I do not own him," he grumbled under his breath.
Steelstrut looked confused then, "Why'd do ya have him?"
Megatron didn't answer; he'd made it to his quarters.
"Can I see him?" Steelstrut asked again, trying to look over his shoulder as Megatron punched the code into his quarters.
The door slid back and Starscream's pleasantly smiling face was what greeted him. His optics slid from Megatron to where Steelstrut was standing and he frowned. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing up at the orange gladiator.
Megatron shoved Steelstrut out of view, ignoring the crash and small 'ow!' as the other mech tripped and smacked into the bulkhead outside. "No one," Megatron grunted as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.
He bent to hand the still frowning seeker the cube, which was taken absently as Starscream still stared at the closed door. "Didn't look like no one."
"Drink your cube." Megatron ordered, checking his internal chronometer. It was mid morning, by his own judgment he should be escorting the seeker out his door this very instant.
He glanced back at the youngling, who was sat on his berth, guzzling down his energon cube as his thrusters dangling over the edge of the berth swayed back and forth happily. Starscream caught him watching and lowered the half consumed cube to smile at him, "Thank you." He chirped.
Megatron visibly flinched, surprised, "What?"
"Thank you for the cube." Starscream repeated, gaze turning curious as he lifted the energon to his lips again, this time watching Megatron over the rim. Once he'd finished, he wiped the back of his servo across his mouth.
Unfortunately, before Megatron could start to work out how he was going to tell Starscream he had to go back to his creators or wherever he'd come from, the little seeker's mouth started going again.
"Can I come and watch you train today?"
"No."
Starscream's pleasant mood vanished instantly, "Why?!" he whined, jumping down from the berth to scowl up at him.
"Because I said so," Megatron growled.
The little brat had the audacity to stamp his tiny thruster, "That's not a reason!"
Megatron growled again, his temper already frayed; lack of recharge, pestering gladiators and now a spoilt little seeker who wasn't used to being told 'no'.
"I don't have to justify my orders to a sparkling," Megatron hissed, turning away from him.
That, more than anything, seemed to rile the seeker up, "I'm not a sparkling!" he shrieked, and Megatron winced at the audial shattering noise. He hadn't thought it possible for vocalizers to reach such a pitch. "And why do I need to listen to you?"
Megatron's optics twitched at the snide tone. He didn't appreciate being spoken down to by anyone, especially a sparkling one fifth his size. "If you had an inclining of intelligence or respect you'd be able to decipher for yourself why you should be listening to me." He snapped, optics flaring as he glared down at the seeker.
Starscream clearly hadn't heard the menacing edge to Megatron's tone, because he threw his arms down in frustration. "You're not my sire!" he shrieked obnoxiously, pulling a face, "You can't tell me what to do!"
"Precisely!" Megatron thundered, finally having enough, "You're not my responsibility! I don't have to let you stay here, Starscream, I don't have to refuel you. So why don't you go back to where you came from if you don't like it here!"
Starscream remained where he was, staring up at him with wide, shocked optics. The shouting had started too suddenly for him to have understood he had gone too far.
"Well!" Megatron shouted cruelly when he hadn't moved, "What are you waiting for? Get out!"
Starscream continued to stare, spark thumping in his chest as he fought back the panic rising in his frame. Was Megatron really kicking him out? Before he could stop himself lubricant started to form in his optics, he tried to look away but he knew looking down would only cause the tears to fall faster.
Megatron was still glaring at him, and Starscream couldn't help it when he finally sniffed, fighting back a sob.
Now look what he had done. Megatron hated him. He'd have to go back into the streets and starve to death, or get kidnapped, or raped, or attacked, or offlined or worse, the authorities might find him.
Seeing the tears leaking down the seeker's face Megatron's expression softened, he watched the seeker dismally, realization finally setting in, "You don't have anywhere to go do you?"
Starscream sobbed, shaking his helm, "rah-ran away." he managed to gasp out.
There was a deep sigh as the large gladiator moved back to sit on the berth, his helm held in his servos. He looked up, expression considerate as he gestured with a finger for Starscream to come close.
Starscream, still slightly shaken from the shouting and confused by the lack of violence to follow, didn't move. His creator had done this before, had pretended to be calm, had pretended to want to hug him, it was only when he was harshly pulling on Starscream's wings had the little seeker realized his true intentions.
"Come," Megatron called to him softly, servo extended out to him, "I am not sparkless enough to send a homeless sparkling out into the streets."
Starscream blinked. Did that mean-?
He studied the gladiator's face intensely, though he was frowning, as usual, his optics were calm and soft. Starscream decided to take a chance simply because this mech, who was admittedly twice the size and probably ten times as strong as his creator, had hurt him yet.
As soon as he was within arm's reach, Megatron didn't suddenly grab at him like his creator did. And Starscream waited a moment longer before moving even closer. Megatron didn't touch him, didn't try to touch him and Starscream allowed himself to calm down. He wasn't going to hurt him.
He took the servo extended towards him with one of his own smaller blue ones, small enough to curl around just one of Megatron's digits.
The gladiator gestured to the berth next to him and Starscream nodded, moving around to sit himself down next to Megatron, still grasping his finger tightly.
"Where are your creators?" The larger mech's deep voice asked.
Starscream shrugged.
"You don't know?" Megatron asked.
Starscream squeezed his finger tighter, he could lie to his sire, had done numerous occasions, but he wasn't sure if he could to Megatron, "No." he whispered, staring at the opposite wall miserably, "My sire was arrested."
"Why?"
Starscream shrugged again, and thankfully, this time Megatron didn't question it.
"But where is your carrier? I heard seekers were very over protective of their sparklings."
Starscream didn't even bother reminding the gladiator that he wasn't a sparkling anymore; he had never heard that.
"Gone." He muttered, because he truly didn't know where.
Megatron sighed heavily, and the loud noise caused the seeker to squeeze his finger again.
"You can't stay here, Starscream," the gladiator said solemnly, and Starscream's bottom lip wobbled, because he didn't know why not. "It's no place for a spark- youngling."
"Is it because I didn't listen?" Starscream gasped, grabbing Megatron's servo with his other hand now, "I promise I'll listen. I'm sorry I didn't!"
"I'll take you to a Care Centre," Megatron said, looking away from the seeker's distressed face before it broke his resolve, "They'll look after you until your sire is released."
Starscream shook his helm. Megatron didn't understand, the Care Centres were the very place he had been avoiding by coming here in the first place, and even if his sire was ever released, he would never be allowed to live with him again.
"Please," Starscream begged, climbing to his knees and shuffling closer to the larger mech, his servo still grasped between his, "Please don't send me there, I'll be good."
Tears had started to leak from his optics again and this time Megatron couldn't look away.
A few more nights couldn't hurt, could they?
X