Starscream was sat in the corner, his out of proportion wings hitched high and his helm lowered, sulking and most likely embarrassed after his little episode. He was too old to be crying, sparklings cried for Primus's sake, and he was nearly an adult.
Megatron didn't seem to understand his embarrassment or desire to curl into a ball in the corner of the room, though, and was still trying to coax him into talking again. Starscream ignored the stupid gladiator, growing more and more annoyed as the clicks passed. It didn't help that Megatron had a dumb looking smirk plastered across his face either, it wasn't funny.
But Megatron was finding it all too amusing. Starscream, despite his efforts to seem otherwise, was an endearing sight with his young faceplates scrunched into such a furious expression, scowling at the wall he was facing.
Eventually, Megatron managed to distract Starscream with some of his data pads, most of which the grumpy seeker had scoffed at and muttered about how they were beneath him.
Even though they had already come to an agreement, Megatron was still subtle about walking to the corner of the room to collect his weapons before his training session. Starscream might have promised to behave, but Megatron didn't put it past him to kick up a fuss and try and use his persuasive charms to try and come despite already being told no, several times. Either way, he didn't announce his business as he left the room, and surprisingly Starscream, who had a look in his optics that said he most definitely knew where he was going anyway, merely muttered a quiet goodbye; far more occupied with the data pad he had previously told Megatron was boring.
X
It was yet another bad practice session for Megatron. Sidepunch's death glares from across the arena as he pummelled his opponent with an unnecessary amount of force did nothing to help. Not that he was bothered in the slightest about what Sidepunch might try to do to him, it was the tiny seeker left back in his quarters that concerned him.
If Starscream were to 'escape' again, any of these pit fighters, all considerably larger and stronger than the seeker, could easily take advantage of him. And Sidepunch might even deliberately seek him out as a form of revenge.
He would definitely need to rewire his door panel and have it lock on both sides now. Whether he liked it or not, it looked like Starscream would be staying a while.
He had no idea how he was going to afford to keep fuelling the youngling, nor how he was going to be able to simply stand his presence in his quarters for…how long?
What the frag was wrong with him? He'd let the seeker stay until- until when exactly!? Until his sire was released? Until he found some other moron to dump him off on? Until he was old enough to look after himself in Primus only knew how many vorns?!
Even as the thought it he knew he wouldn't send Starscream off with just anyone though, he didn't know anyone he trusted enough to actually keep the seeker safe, and he wanted him kept safe.
Slag, he could not have a sparkling running around his quarters, or anywhere in the arena really. A youngling wasn't safe around these mechs – a youngling wasn't safe around him.
But he wasn't safe out there, in the streets, either.
"Megatron!" A familiar voice called across the arena and knocked him from his musings. He lowered his weapons as he looked up to see a dark mech approaching.
He heard a sigh from his opponent, barely restraining himself from doing the same as Clench approached. The greedy, selfish owner of the Gladiatorial arena; no one liked him. Including Megatron.
The other gladiators were subtle in getting out of Clench's way and avoiding his gaze as he strode purposefully across the pit, narrowing yellow optics when they focused on Megatron.
"Clench," Megatron said, barely managing to keep his tone respectable.
The fool smirked at him, "How'd ya like to join me for a drink at Maccadams tonight? There's something we have to discuss."
For a moment Megatron's spark thumped. Did Clench know about Starscream?
Frag.
"I am afraid I will have to decline-"
"It's not a request Megatron," Clench interrupted him, still smirking, a nasty glint in his yellow optics, "I'll see you there in a joor." He said before turning around, pausing to glance back over his shoulder, optics darkening, "Won't I?"
Megatron grit his dentas together and gripped his swords tighter, but nodded nonetheless, watching Clench swagger off with a sense of disgust. As if he needed more to worry about.
It turned out he might as well have said, 'it can't get any worse' as he returned to his quarters only to discover it could.
The room was empty.
He wasn't sure which emotion he felt the stronger, blind fury that the little fragger would deliberately disobey him again or spark-stopping fear that the tiny defenceless seeker was loose in the arena…again.
He didn't discard his weapons as he whirled back around into the corridor. Sprinting back towards the other gladiator's quarters.
He caught sight of Sidepunch just as the mech was entering his quarters, and stepping through the threshold. Megatron was quick to leap behind him, optics hurriedly scanning both the other mech and the room for any signs of his seeker.
"Hey!" Sidepunch shouted as soon as he saw him, completely oblivious to Megatron's flustered state and the fact that he wasn't looking anywhere much higher than a couple of feet off the ground, "I've got a bolt to pick with you!"
Megatron ignored him, too busy being both mentally relieved that Starscream hadn't ended up in the mech's clutches and panicked because he had wasted time coming here when the seeker could be anywhere else and in Primus only knew what danger. Without a second glance at the large brown mech advancing on him Megatron rushed out the room again.
"That's right! You better run!"
Megatron scowled to himself, he would have to rectify that little misunderstanding later by tearing the morons other arm off. Right now Starscream was the priority.
The next stop was the med bay. He burst in - shocking both occupants of the room - wincing as a shriek of pain grated his audials caused by Axel accidentally impaling his patient with a particularly gruesome looking medical tool.
The medic was not at all remorseful, "Megatron, what a sur-"
"Where is he!?" Megatron roared, advancing into the room and shouting in the smaller mech's face. Though he was incredibly relieved that the medic didn't have the seeker either –he had been half dreading the scene he might have walked in on if he had- but he didn't have time for this. He had to find Starscream.
Axel tripped over his own pedes as he retreated backwards, shoulders hunched high, servos held up, "Please, Megatron, I don't know-"
"Starscream! The seeker!" Megatron snapped, Axel knew perfectly well who he was talking about, he could see the amusement in the creepy mechs optics.
Axel then smirked, "Oh, lost him, have you?"
Megatron snarled at the perverse tone and backhanded the medic across the face, sending him backwards into the berth containing his half conscious patient. He wished he could just crush the medic and rid the arena of him, but not many gladiatorial fighters had medics and they were privileged with Axel, even if he was an utter deviant.
But he swore to Primus if he ever touched Starscream all bets were off.
He was wasting his time here, and he was running out of places to look, and he was supposed to be meeting Clench at Maccadams Old Oil House.
If Starscream wasn't offline, seriously injured or crying when he finally found him then the seeker was in for it.
"Starscream!" He shouted, in the middle of the corridor, looking down in both directions, having no idea which way to go, "Starscreeeaaam!"
"This what you're looking for?" Came a soft but masculine voice from behind him.
Megatron whirled around on the spot. Optic's widening as he took in the sight before him. There was Steelstrut, in all his orange glory, smiling sheepishly at him and stooping as he held the hand of tiny red, white and blue seeker who was too preoccupied with the rust stick hanging out of his mouth to say anything. He raised his free servo, which clutched a bunch more of them and smiled at him around the treat in his mouth.
All he could do was stare for a moment, before finally coming to his senses, striding forward and wrenching Starscream's servo out of the other gladiators, giving Steelstrut a good shove backwards for good measure as he pushed Starscream behind him. He looked between the both of them, unsure as to who should be dealt with first.
Steelstrut's awkward shuffles backwards decided for him. He snarled, advancing on the other gladiator, feeling some sense of satisfaction as he intimidated the smaller mech into freezing on the spot. Starscream stumbled slightly as he was dragged behind him, his wrist still caught in Megatron's unrelenting grip.
"I told you stay away," he growled in a deep, menacing voice.
Steelstrut stuttered for a moment, wide, anxious optics flickering back to the seeker still too busy happily sucking on his rust sticks to take notice of the unfolding drama. "I - he was alone. I thought I'd pick 'im up before someone – ya know,"
Megatron's scowl merely deepened, his optics shifting to Starscream again as the thought that he might have been hurt in some way entered his processor. He wasn't, and Megatron bent down to snatch the rust sticks from his hand.
"Hey!" Starscream gasping, finally pulling his half finished treat from his mouth. He tried to jump up and claim the other sticks back but Megatron held them up and away.
"Where did you get these?" he growled, already knowing the answer.
As he suspected Starscream's optics flittered to Steelstrut, who had the decency to look away sheepishly. Reluctantly, he turned his scowl back to the youngling.
"Where have you been!" he snapped menacingly.
Starscream merely shrugged and, to Megatron's chagrin, was not at all intimidated, "Around." He said offhandedly.
Megatron clenched the servo that wasn't gripping the seeker's wrist and tried to keep control of his steadily growing temper. "Starscream," he growled in warning.
The seeker looked up at him and had the audacity to give him a mockingly unconcerned look, "What?!"
"Um?"
A small, nervous sounding voice reminded Megatron that they weren't alone. He glanced up at Steelstrut, absently wondering why he hadn't left yet, "What!?"
"He was with me, I found him wandering around outside the arena," Steelstrut supplied, and Starscream pulled a thunderous expression at having been betrayed.
"Sell out…"he muttered under his breath just as Megatron turned back on him, and winced as his wrist was squeezed. He lowered his helm so he didn't have to look at the larger gladiator's furious expression, "Sorry."
Megatron growled, sorry wasn't good enough and he didn't have the time to deal with him. He had ten breems now to sprint down to Maccadams and he still had no idea what to do with the seeker. It was abundantly clear he couldn't leave the menace in his quarters unattended. He simply couldn't trust the seeker not to wander off again, however, he couldn't bring him with him.
Just as he was contemplating the pros and cons of locking the youngling in a supply room until he got back, he noticed the awkwardly shuffling mech who still hadn't left. The one gladiator who had spent time alone with the seeker and hadn't terrified him, something he had not managed at first, the one gladiator that he might be able to trust, despite his obvious lack of intelligence.
"You," he snapped rudely, pointing at the orange gladiator.
Steelstrut jumped, "Me?" he said before he could help himself.
Megatron narrowed his optics at him, "I have business elsewhere." He dragged Starscream forward with him and pushed him towards the mech, "Guard him for me."
Steelstrut's mouth opened and closed several times before he perked up, optics brightening, "Really?" he said excitedly.
Megatron frowned again, though his enthusiasm was concerning. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to be charged to watching a youngling.
Before he could thoroughly threaten the younger gladiator about what would happen to him should Starscream have so much as an accident, he was interrupted by the cause of the problem itself.
"I don't need a babysitter!" his screeching voice burst out. There was a sharp clang indicating that the seeker had stamped his thruster. "I can look after myself."
Megatron's left optic twitched.
"I- I yeah, I'll look after him." Steelstrut said happily, smiling down at the glowering seeker.
Megatron refrained from telling the younger gladiator that it wasn't a request and he'd be watching the youngling regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Five breems until his meeting with Clench.
"I'm a mech, frag it!" Starscream was still complaining, tugging at the wrist Megatron held captive, "And why can't I come?"
"Shut. Up." Megatron hissed menacingly.
Starscream pulled an even sourer expression but, thankfully, was smart enough to shut his mouth. Megatron shuffled around in his subspace for a moment before pulling out a small device. He knelt and pressed it into Starscream's servo.
"Here," he murmured, casting suspicious glances towards Steelstrut as he leant closer to the youngling. Starscream flipped the device over in his servos, looking at it curiously, "It's an external comm. link." Megatron explained.
Starscream scowled at him, "I know what it is!" he snapped, he wasn't stupid after all.
Megatron ignored his tone, he was late. "You will call me if anything happens, anything at all."
Starscream rolled his optics, "Can I have my rust sticks back now?" he said impatiently.
Megatron flicked one at him, sub-spacing the rest and sending Starscream a look that clearly stated he was lucky to be given one back at all. "I will not be gone long," he managed to say in a tone that was both reassuring to Starscream and threatening to Steelstrut as he stood to his full height again.
He sent one last intimidating scowl Steelstrut's way before finally striding off down the corridor.
Steelstrut waited all of three seconds before turning to Starscream, "So… what do ya wanna do?"
Starscream's answering smirk was not at all reassuring.
X
Megatron left his comm. link in his servo, too paranoid to keep it in his subspace lest he miss Starscream trying to give him a call. That Steelstrut was too brightly coloured for him to really be trusted. Perhaps he should have locked the seeker in a supply room anyway.
He scowled at the empty seat next to him. And to think he had been concerned about being late, it was ten breems into their elapsed meeting time and there was still no sign of Clench. He gestured for the bartender to get him a drink, knowing that he probably couldn't afford it, but felt that he was well deserving of it after Starscream's recent performances. He wasn't sure how much more is nerves could take.
His drink was already half finished by the time Clench's arrogant voice boomed across the bar. Several mech's turned towards the source of the disturbance and Megatron's optics darkened another degree.
"Megatron!" Clench called, already sounding half over energized.
"You're late." Was his only reply.
Clench didn't seem the least bit concerned, not even bothering to offer up and excuse, simply leaning over the bar and ordering two drinks, "D'ya wanna drink, it's on me."
Megatron didn't bother to turn him down; he had already bought it anyway. He would just have to be careful, he didn't want to have to stumble back to Starscream over-charged. He might end up inadvertently adopting another youngling from the streets.
"What do you want?" He growled, deciding to get straight to business.
Clench waved his servo at Megatron, "Hang on, hang on!" he said, downing almost half of his drink in one, "There's no rush."
Megatron scowled at his cube. There was a rush; he might have just left his youngling charge in the servos of a complete psychopath in disguise. There was only so long he could watch Clench chug down high grade like he was created to do it, his optics focused on the room behind the other gladiator.
The large vid screen mounted high on the wall just over Clench's shoulder was showing the planet-wide news. It wasn't broadly watched in this city state, mostly because any and all news in Kaon was bad news and no one else, least of all the wealthier, happier city states such as Iacon, watching to know about it.
They were already bored with the daily riots.
But the words 'Vosian Heir' caught Megatron's attention. It was old news. The current seeker sovereign, a stunning femme painted in shining blues and silvers, was appealing for her lost sparkling again. It had been vorns since the kidnapping had taken place, but by the looks of it the lead suspect who had, until recently, been presumed offline, had been arrested, stirring the up the investigation again.
But apparently, even under interrogation, the kidnapper wasn't talking.
There was something vaguely familiar about the way her optics narrowed as she glided away at the end of the appeal. Very Starscream-like; but then again, all seeker's looked the same to him.
"Seekers," Clench scoffed next to him, obviously watching the vid screen too, "They never give up. It's probably dead by now."
Megatron turned away from the vid screen, he couldn't see how the sovereign could ever stop looking for her sparkling. After all, hadn't he just been rushing around the arena like a lunatic looking for his own –if only temporary- sparkling? And he'd only known the irritating glitch a few cycles.
"I want to sign you up for the real fights Megatron."
Megatron blinked, Clench's voice bringing him back to the present. It took him a moment to realize what was being asked of him.
"Kill or be killed?"
Clench nodded, smirking over the rim of his cube, "Matches to the death."
He didn't need to think the offer over. "No." he said firmly.
Clench actually looked surprised, slamming down his cube, "What?! C'mon, it's not like you're going to lose."
"It's killing."
"Well… sorta," Clench said awkwardly, "Listen, c'mon. I need a fighter for these matches, have you any idea how much money is put into these fights?"
"Not interested." He said, pushing his half finished cube away from him and making to get up.
"Think of the credits!" Clench shouted desperately before he could leave.
Megatron paused, "How much credits?"
If he had seen the victorious smirk pulling at Clench's lips he might have changed his mind, "Triple pay."
It was too good an opportunity to pass up. He had to do it. Starscream needed fuel and he had used just about all of his savings. If his pay was tripled he'd have more than enough to keep the seeker and himself fueled.
"These fights are between other gladiatorial arenas?" he asked, just to confirm. He was pretty positive that he wouldn't be able to ruthlessly rip apart the mechs he had spent every cycle since he got out of the mines training with… except maybe Sidepunch.
"Of course," Clench simpered, gesturing for him to sit back down again. "I wouldn't pit you against my own mechs."
Megatron waited a second more before sitting down, his decision finally made. "Fine," he growled, "I'll do it."
X
"This is a bad idea." Steelstrut said for the seventh time since the seeker one third his age had somehow managed to convince him into this.
Starscream shook his tiny helm and pointed up to the paint can he wanted, "No it isn't. You admitted yourself your paint is horrible."
Steelstrut shrunk into himself, wondering how someone so young could make him feel so inadequate so casually, "Yeah but… my creators picked this colour." He said pathetically as he reached up and lifted the paint off the shelf. "And this is stealing."
"I don't like Axel," Starscream explained, as if that somehow justified the action of theft from the med bay.
"But Clench owns the med bay." Steelstrut explained, beginning to prize the lid of the paint tin off.
"Who's Clench?"
"I just told you," Steelstrut muttered impatiently, "the mech that owns this place." He lifted the lid, "Oh… I don't think this colour will suit me."
Starscream clambered up on top of the med bay berth and leaned over to glance inside the paint tin. "Yes it will," he said, already shuffling around, looking for painting implements. Steelstrut swallowed, half hoping someone would walk into the med bay and catch them so he could avoid the paint disaster that was inevitably about to happen all over him.
"Er, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Steelstrut asked the youngling again, anxiously, although he was already fairly sure the seeker didn't.
Starscream nodded his helm absently, still looking around, "We need a spray gun." He said.
Steelstrut took a nervous step backwards, "…Gun?"
"There it is!" Starscream cried triumphantly, jumping down from the berth, causing Steelstrut to wince as he hit the hard floor with a loud thud. He picked himself up and rushed towards a rather… intimidating piece of equipment. "I think this is it," Starscream murmured to himself. "Put the paint in here!" He ordered Steelstrut, patting a large black plastic tub attached to the spray gun.
Steelstrut obediently did as he was told, despite the little voice in the back of his processor that asked him why he was obeying a youngling. Wasn't he supposed to be in charge here?
Starscream then lifted the spray gun, aiming for his chassis, "Hold still!" he snapped, struggling to hold the gun which was about his size, steady.
"I am holding still," Steelstrut argued back, "it's you who's wobbling."
Starscream didn't listen though, his digit pushing down on the trigger. A jet of dark, metallic blue paint burst from the nozzle. But none of it hit Steelstrut. Starscream dropped the gun before he overbalanced with it and glanced up to admire the long blue streak he'd left on the ceiling.
"Oops…"Steelstrut whispered next to him as he too opened his optics to find the room, and not himself, covered in blue paint.
Starscream immediately turned on him, "I told you to hold still!"
A sudden, loud bang echoed from somewhere deep beneath the arena and they both froze, silent and unmoving as they strained their audials for further noises.
Eventually Steelstrut broke out in a nervous whisper, which did nothing to alleviate Starscream's unease, "I think we should leave."
Starscream nodded enthusiastically, wondering how long Megatron had been gone and when he was likely to return. "Will we get in trouble for the ceiling?" he asked as he carelessly dropped the spray gun. It clanged loudly as it hit the floor causing his temporary guardian to wince.
Steelstrut shook his helm, a cheeky grin slipping across his young face, "Not if they don't know it was us." He strode across the med bay and stuck his helm out of the doorway, glancing both ways before gesturing with a servo for the seeker to follow.
Starscream obediently trotted after him, mimicking a security check of his own before stepping out after the taller mech, "Megatron will know," He muttered pessimistically, "he always knows when I'm lying."
Steelstrut paused to look down at him, "Hey, if you don't say anything to him about it, you can't lie."
Starscream's faceplates scrunched up at that. He was sure he had come across a word for doing that. Omission. He decided not to inform Steelstrut that Megatron could tell when he did things like that as well and made a mental note to work on his body language.
"So…"Steelstrut said casually, his arms swinging by his sides as he walked, "What do ya wanna do now?"
Starscream stared at him. He had never met someone so untroubled and carefree in his life before, and despite the fact that he was a prime example of the type of stupidity he couldn't usually tolerate, Starscream was starting to like him.
"Do you have more of those rust sticks?" he asked hopefully, smiling up at his new and, although stupid, admittedly cool friend. Being a gladiator automatically made someone cool after all. "I've never had them before you gave me some."
A hesitant expression crossed Steelstrut's face then, "Er… well, but since Meg's sorta confiscated the others I don't think I should be giving you anymore without asking him first."
Starscream scowled, since when did Megatron get to dictate what he consumed? "You don't need his permission. He's not my sire." He informed the orange mech impatiently.
Steelstrut, miraculously, held his ground, "Yeah but he's looking after ya."
Starscream's scowl deepened even further, "I can look after myself!" He snapped.
Steelstrut snorted loudly, "Yeah right, you're just a sparkling."
"I'm almost a mech!" Starscream shouted, now completely offended. Steelstrut laughed at him, reaching out to place his hideously orange servo atop his helm, Starscream furiously shook him away.
"No you're not!" Steelstrut chuckled, gesturing down at him, "Look at you. I could use you as a foot rest."
Starscream grit his dermas in fury. How dare this utter moron talk down to him like this! He was smarter than most full grown mechs! Why the frag shouldn't he be treated like one.
With a furious growl, trying to imitate the menacing ones Megatron could emit, he drew his thruster back and kicked the young gladiator in the shin.
Steelstrut jumped, his laughter abruptly cutting off as he looked down at the scowling seeker who was in the midst of pulling his leg back in preparation of another kick.
"Hey!" He shouted, leaping back before he received another dent. He pointed at the youngling angrily.
"Stop that, it's naughty!"
Starscream nearly blew a circuit at being addressed in such a patronizing manner; Naughty! Naughty!? He hadn't been called naughty since… he couldn't remember ever being called naughty. His creator had certainly never insulted him by speaking in such a condescending tone to him.
But he never really recalled being verbally reproached by his creator, anyway.
He opened his mouth as was about to shriek the rudest word he knew at the orange mech when he was cut off by someone clearing their intakes behind him before he could say much more than, "FRA-"
He whirled on the spot and shrank into himself as he looked up. Megatron's stern, un-amused faceplates looked back down at him. All anger and indignation he felt towards Steelstrut melted away as he watched Megatron's mouth plates slowly but surely pull down.
He was angry.
"Um-"
"What," Megatron suddenly snapped, optics flying to something over his head before he could offer much more of an explanation, "Is he doing wandering the corridors!?"
It took Starscream a moment to realize Megatron was speaking to Steelstrut. Deciding that meant the larger gladiator wasn't angry with him and he was safe, for now at least, Starscream rushed around Megatron's legs to stand behind them. Perhaps the older mech would think whatever he had witnessed of the seeker's temper tantrum had been Steelstrut fault and he'd get away with it.
He might even be able to coerce Megatron into giving him some of those rust sticks back.
"He was bored," An uncomfortable looking Steelstrut tried to defend himself, rubbing a servo across the back of his neck cables. "I was just showing him around."
The deep growl rumbled through Megatron's frame sent a shudder through Starscream, but he stayed behind the silvery grey mech, trying to picture the murderous look Steelstrut must have been on the receiving end of.
"And what if someone had come by?" Megatron snapped, barely stopping himself from approaching the smaller gladiator and twisting something off his frame. He kept his temper in check however, reluctant to show such violence to the impressionable seeker behind him. "How could you have defended him?"
Both Steelstrut and Starscream were momentarily confused as to why someone would attack them deep beneath the arena in what was considered to be one of the safest, most secure places to live in all of Kaon. The orange gladiator could only gawk wordlessly and he tried to think what could have been the correct reply.
Megatron then whirled on Starscream, "And what on Cybertron were you doing?" he snapped, dark optics pinning him down.
Starscream started playing with his digits and couldn't seem to decide whether to look at Megatron or to the wall next to them.
Unfortunately, Steelstrut, who really couldn't seem to help being a tattletale, answered for him, "He was throwing a tantrum because I said he couldn't have anymore rust sticks."
Megatron didn't bother to turn at look at the other gladiator as he said and merely arched an optical ridge at the flustered looking youngling he was looming over, "Really now" he purred, "and to think I thought only sparklings threw tantrums."
Starscream couldn't prevent the sudden heating of his cheek plates, he looked down to hide his embarrassment and anger.
Megatron turned back to Steelstrut and graced the younger mech with a nod, which was returned gratefully before he rushed off down the corridor, clearly relieved to still have all four of him limbs attached.
Megatron looked down at the sulking seeker next to him, and barely stifled a sigh.
"Come," he murmured, gently nudging the youngling forwards in the direction of his quarters, "It's late."
Starscream pouted up at him, "No it's not." He argued.
Megatron narrowed his optics and pushed the seeker ahead, more firmly this time, "It is for you."
Starscream deliberately slowed his pace, probably to irritate Megatron even more, and it didn't help that the seeker's legs were so short anyway, making his pace considerably slower than Megatron's to start with. The Gladiator was not at all a patient mech.
"You had better move Starscream," He growled at the seeker whom was barely shuffling his thrusters, "Or I'll have no choice but to carry you back."
He reached forward and Starscream leapt ahead of him with a small shriek. To Megatron's surprise it was one of laughter, not fear. He stared after the youngling as he bounced up the corridor, looking over his shoulder at him every few bounds.
It was then that he realized if he did get a move on he was going to lose sight of his charge.
"Starscream!" he called after the seeker as the youngling started to sprint, his short stubby sparkling legs moving surprisingly fast for someone so small.
Of course, as fast as his short stubby sparkling legs could move, they were no match for Megatron's long purposeful strides. He caught up to the seeker easily; the tricky part, he soon discovered, was actually getting hold of him.
Seekers were damnably agile creatures.
After a moment of fumbling around and cursing under his breath as a ridiculously over excited seeker ran between his legs, he finally managed to grab a servo full of youngling.
"It's too early!" Starscream protested loudly as he was lifted off the ground by his gladiator, likely to prevent further escape attempts, and kept captive between a firm arm and broad chest plates.
"I do not care." Megatron rumbled sparklessly, hitching him a little higher as he stooped to enter the access code to his quarters.
"I'm not going to recharge!" Starscream called out again, crossing his arms as effectively as he could with his cockpit wedged between Megatron's armor plating.
"I suppose I'll have to eat all those rust sticks myself then." Megatron said with mock disappointment.
Starscream immediately perked up. He'd almost forgotten about the rust sticks.
"Can I have them back now?" He asked as he was carefully dumped onto his small berth. Scrambling forward and twisting his face into the most innocent pleading expression he could.
Megatron was intelligent enough to know not to be fooled by it. "If you want them back you are going to earn them by behaving."
The complete one-eighty the seeker's expression took was amusing enough to make Megatron smirk.
"Which means you are going to spend the entire recharge cycle in your own berth," he continued on, taking great pleasure in the horrified appearance the seeker wore, "and you you're not going to leave this room unless I say otherwise. Do I make myself clear?"
Starscream glowered at him for a while, considering the up and downs of defying the gladiator.
Eventually he slumped, the scowl slipping from his face to be replaced with a look of sad defeat. He nodded, "Okay." He said quietly.
Megatron drew back, satisfied, "Good." He said pulling something from his subspace and handing it to the seeker.
Starscream looked up to see what it was, and blinked twice in surprise before gasping, smile stretching across his face and optics lighting up. He quickly snatched the rust stick from Megatron's servo and stuck it in his mouth.
"That was for not arguing." Megatron smirked, finding it oddly endearing the way Starscream's wings flicked back and forth in happiness as the seeker smiled around his treat at him.
After an unnecessary amount of time he finally managed to tear his optics away from the youngling, striding the short distance across the room to the control panel. It was an issue he could no longer put off, or delude himself into thinking wasn't necessary. Starscream was staying. For how long; he didn't know, but the youngling only needed to get out once to run into the wrong gladiator in the halls.
"What are you doing?" Starscream's high, suspicious voice called across the room.
Megatron glanced over his shoulder to see the seeker had already consumed his treat and was straining his neck cables to try and see what the gladiator was looking at.
Megatron decided he could wait at least until the morning. He woke before Starscream, unless the seeker was in need of fuel, and he hadn't yet wandered off in the middle of the recharge cycle. With the exception of sneaking into his berth at Primus only knew what time in the night. Starscream was relatively well behaved once he'd settled.
"Get on your berth and I will fetch you a cube." He said, ignoring the youngling's question as he pressed the door panel.
He only caught a glimpse of the seeker awkwardly jumping up onto the berth before the door slid shut behind him. He smirked to himself, perhaps the promise of rust sticks really was enough to get the seeker to behave. He'd definitely have to invest in some more, once Clench had paid him that was.
He was quick to get back to his room after filling two cubes, knowing very little succeeded in entertaining Starscream long enough to keep him put; even with the promise of rewards. He was unashamedly relived when he entered to find the young seeker obediently waiting for his return. He handed the cube over wordlessly, and found himself already used to the way Starscream snatched it greedily, guzzling it as he always did… almost as if he were afraid it was going to be taken away.
Not for the first time he found himself wondering what Starscream's sire had been like, or more importantly, why he had been arrested.
He placed a servo on the top of Starscream's helm, stroking the smooth, delicate young seeker affectionately before flinching back with a mildly stunned expression, clenching and unclenching his servo as if he'd burnt it. The seeker didn't notice; too busy gulping his cube. Megatron barely stopped himself from pulling the cube back and reproaching Starscream before the youngling made himself purge.
He stepped away and returned to his own berth, sipping at his cube and contemplating as he watched Starscream finish his energon and carelessly throw his empty cube to the floor. He sighed into his energon and narrowed his optics at the seeker fidgeting around on the opposite berth.
"Are you going to recharge now?" Starscream asked him, finding a comfortable enough position and flopping down on the berth.
Megatron nodded. It wasn't like he had anything else to do tonight. Attempting to rewire the door lock and electrocute himself every five breems would only keep Starscream up, and probably excite him as well.
"You remember the rules," Megatron reminded the tiny mech as he too settled down for recharge, "you stay in your own berth all night and you can have another rust stick."
Starscream nodded his helm against the berth, staring at Megatron with his oversized red optics as he reached over to deactivate the lights.
After mere moments of the room being doused in darkness a quiet voice rang out, "Do you like me?"
Megatron rolled his optics and shifted in his berth, turning his back on the inquisitive optics glowing at him from the opposite side of the room. "Not when you're supposed to be going to recharge."
He heard Starscream scoff and shuffle around on his berth, "That's not what I meant!"
"I know what you meant," Megatron rumbled, "Now go to recharge."
"Why won't you answer? Is it because you don't like me?"
"At this present moment in time," he growled, barely stopping himself from sitting up and switching the lights back on, "No."
"I knew it." he heard Starscream hiss resentfully.
"Go to recharge or I'm keeping your rust sticks." Megatron snarled into his berth.
The suddenness with which Starscream fell silent was really quite remarkable.
He would defiantly have to get some more of those treats.