The attention is slowly moving to Skywarp with Starscream visiting his trinemate in the medical bay.
Snick. Click, click, click.
Starscream turns his head and looks at Thundercracker over his shoulder at the sound and feeling of the cuffs now restraining his hands on his back, beneath his wings.
"Too tight?" Thundercracker asks, feeling the disgruntled gaze fixed on him as he secures the cuffs around Starscreams wrists, checking their fit by pulling slightly on them.
"No." Starscream answers, voice slightly shaken and he moves his wings to compensate for the imbalance caused by Thundercracker's pull. It rattles him to be this vulnerable and his unhappiness is clear in the twitching of his wings.
But there is a purpose with it all.
The prospect of seeing Skywarp is enough for him to suffer a bit, and after their confrontation and following consolation, Starscream know that he can trust Thundercracker to take care of him and protect him whenever he himself is unable to defend himself.
"Are you ready?" Thundercracker asks, drawing Starscream back to the here and now, his hands gently caressing the twitching wings.
"Yes." He is as ready as he is able to be. Still, the feeling of being unable to defend himself is irking him and is only soothed a bit when Thundercracker leans against him, head tilting and resting on his shoulder to look at him closely from behind, optics studying him closely, the field a blanket of reassurance and fierce protection.
"No one is going to hurt you as long as I'm here. I might reside with them, but I am no autobot Starscream. I have no qualms about putting them in their place if they step over the line." Thundercracker rumbles, his wings moving to embrace Starscream, showing the empty spots on his blue wings in a sort of reassurance and reinforcing his statement.
The words gain a small smile in reply and Starscream leans into the strengthening feeling of Thundercracker's field covering him completely like an invisible shield.
"I'm ready. I need to see Skywarp." His voice is steady and he finds enough reassurance in Thundercracker's presence to stop his wings from twitching too much, and then with a wry smile adds "even if it would be nice to stay here with you like this. And free of the cuffs of course. Those I really would like to be without. I wouldn't be able to touch you otherwise."
"I guess you are ready for this if you are regaining some of your wit." Thundercracker adds wryly, pecking a kiss to a cheek before withdrawing his head from Starscreams shoulder and carefully leading the tricolored seeker towards the exit of his office. The maze of destruction still lingering inside the office threatens to collapse Starscream several times and only the continued strong and steady grip around his waist keeps him from falling.
"If it wasn't for the need to know that Sky is okay, I wouldn't leave your quarters at all Thundercracker. Don't mistake my nervous tics with wit. There is so many of these autobots who wants to see me dead. I have killed many a friend of theirs during this war, and they have killed mine. Skywarp is so precious to me that I'm going to risk this to be by his side when he hopefully wakes up. I don't want the first thing he sees to be an autobot sigil." Starscream confesses honestly, leaning heavily on the blue seeker as they step through the door and out into the corridor.
Glancing up and down corridor, Starscream sags a bit when there is no one else but them there and easily falls into step with Thundercracker when the blue seeker leads them down the long walkway and deeper into the heart of the autobot base.
Thundercracker can feel Starscream tense at the first sight of one of the autobots. And of all of them, it has to be Ironhide they meet.
His wings rise and flares in response to Starscreams uneasiness towards the weapons specialist and unconsciously shields Starscream's back completely as they pass the autobot. If Ironhide should get any ideas he would be hitting Thundercracker as well, and the prospect is sure to discourage him from doing anything.
They might fight together on the battlefield, but Thundercracker knows about Ironhide's aversion towards anything related to seekers and he isn't going to hesitate in retaliating.
The next one they meet is Hound. The tracker just looks on curiously as the pair pass him, Thundercracker nodding in greeting and giving a small smile.
Then the next moment they are at the medical bay and Ratchet's domain.
"Ready?" he asks the tricolored seeker before he keys the door to open, giving Starscream a moment to prepare for what he is going to see.
He hasn't told the seeker much about Skywarps state, and Ratchets report only contained the fact that the repair finally seems to integrate and no further weld tears are to be expected.
He is going to be able to repair Skywarps outer frame in a few days. Until then the black and purple seeker is going to remain in his disgruntled ruined state. It is going to be a shock for Starscream to see the extent of the outer damage and know that the internal damage had been the worst.
It still pains Thundercracker that it is him who has done all that damage to the seeker and the fact that Starscream didn't turn to yell at him, when he told about Skywarps state, doesn't ease him the least. He still expects Starscream to turn on him when he sees the full extent.
"Yes." Starscream nods, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly to calm his nerves.
The door swooshes open with a series of blips and Ratchet looks up from his workbench as they walk in.
"Be there in a moment." He tells them, before turning towards the bench again and sorting through something before he grabs a datapad and tabs on it for a while.
Starscreams gaze takes in the large room, optics scanning for any presence of his trinemate but not finding any. His worry grows and seems to flow into his fields, since Thundercracker hugs him a bit closer at the waist before he lowers his head and points towards a door among several others lining the wall to their left.
"He is fine. Don't worry Starscream. He is just still laid up in the ICU since there is no point in moving him before he is awake and well enough to be disconnected from the several monitors following his vitals. He is in no danger, just recovering." Thundercracker explains his voice low and soothing.
"He is right." Ratchet confirms, causing Starscream to jolt in surprise. His worry overshadowing everything so much that he didn't notice when the medic had moved.
"Come." Thundercracker smiles when Ratchet gestures for them to follow him to the room housing Skywarp.
"He is still in stasis lock?" Starscream tentatively asks as he stares through the window in the door and at the prone frame of his trinemate. The sight of Skywarp laid out open and vulnerable on the berth is almost unbearable.
The countless welds indicating where the medics have worked on the seeker is standing out like crisscrossing beacons along Skywarps sleek frame telling the tale of a seeker coming as close to death as possible without passing over.
And here he has been fooling around with Thundercracker while his trinemate fought and still fights for his life.
A small trembling starts in his wingtips and moves along his wings, down his frame, to his legs and without his hands to balance him, he collapses to the floor like a rag doll, Thundercracker not reacting fast enough to prevent the fall.
"Starscream?" The blue seeker gently asks, fearing that the reaction he has feared ever since he told Starscream about Skywarp is finally coming.
But Starscream surprises him, turning what Thundercracker expected would be an explosive reaction into self-hate.
"I'm an awful trinemate and leader, aren't I?" he asks in a tiny voice, despair flowing into his field and feeling almost suffocating to the blue seeker with their fields overlapping as they are.
"No, Starscream. No. You are the perfect trinemate and I am sure you have been a good leader for your trine. Don't doubt yourself. What happened to Skywarp isn't your fault, it is mine. I didn't need to release my sonic weapon, but I did, and it caused great damage. For that I am sorry. I'm not meant to damage any of those I have vowed to protect and you as my once students fall under that category." Thundercracker replies adamantly to Starscreams outburst of despair.
"Do you want to sit by him for a bit?" Ratchet asks, keeping himself in the background to not disturb their interaction too much. The way Thundercracker reaches out to sooth Starscreams apparent emotional pain is making him curious and is answering some questions of his own.
"You would really allow me to do that?" Starscream asks incredulous as he stares at the medic with wide optics shining with repressed tears now finally given free in his shock.
"He is your trinemate Starscream. I wouldn't keep you separated more than necessary, and now that he is past the most critical phase in his recovering there is no longer any point. Just be careful and not touch any of the monitors." Ratchet explains, a small smile creeping into his lips at the sight of Starscream this taken by surprise.
This Starscream is one he hasn't seen before. They are all used to the sneering disdainful decepticon Air commander, not this youthful seeker currently in front of him. Thundercracker truly knows how to twist the seeker towards a more reasonable direction.
He can't honestly see this Starscream return to the decepticons.
Now is only to be seen if Thundercracker is able to work his magic on Skywarp as well.
"Yes. I would very much like to sit by him." Starscream finally answers the question, allowing Thundercracker to help him to stand again and support him through the door and to the little chair placed discreetly at the head of the berth.
The room is still stuffed with machinery, but not nearly as many as when Thundercracker first was there, why there is room for the little chair.
Without a word Thundercracker leaves the room, the door remaining open, but both Ratchet and the blue seeker retreating further into the medical bay, leaving Starscream some peace and alone time with his trinemate.
At first he just stares, unable to believe the extent of damage visible on Skywarps frame. Up close it all looks even worse and he silently thanks Primus for sparing his trinemate. Then as the minutes tick by he gathers enough courage to reach a shaking hand to caress a cheek and follow the jawline.
There is no reaction, and if not for the feeling of the warm plating Skywarp could just as well be dead.
A tortured sob escapes him and tear after tear begins to flow from his optics. His hand travels down to Skywarps prone hand and grabs it fiercely, as if it is the only lifeline keeping him alive.
"Come back to me Sky. Please be okay." He begs, almost crushing the hand in his grip.
"How is he?" Ratchet asks when they have left Starscream alone in the ICU.
"Moving on. Just like myself." Thundercracker smiles, but a glance towards the ICU slowly erases it and his guilt is easily detectable in his field.
"No guilt Thundercracker. You know the rule. You don't carry the world on your shoulder. You are not infallible. Mistakes happen and we deal with what we have. Starscream clearly doesn't blame you so don't blame yourself." Ratchet orders sternly.
"I know Rachïar. But I can't stop being who I am. I hurt him. Hurt them both. I have a hard time forgiving myself for it and I'm waiting for the moment where Starscream turns his back on me in anger for what I did. I would be better off if he would just get it done and over with. Anger I can deal with, this waiting is driving me to the edge." The blue serkhar replies, wings drooping sadly on his back.
"Thundercracker, sometimes you are dense. Did it ever occur to you that Starscream might love you enough to forgive your mistakes? Seeing you interact, it is clear to me that you both harbor feelings for each other. He might not be all lovey dovey towards you, but he is drawing a lot of strength from you and has changed a lot over the last few days, in fact ever since you captured him. Such change doesn't come out of nowhere, or without reason." Ratchet adds, exasperated.
"I just see him as potential trine. Nothing more. Any more is too soon. And I still have to work with Skywarp when he wakes up." Thundercracker protests, but without any true conviction.
"Too soon? You interfaced with him. Don't think I can't see the signs. Right now he is too distracted by worry to feel or realize it himself, but he is limping and stiff, you holding him around his waist kept him from realizing how obvious it is. This is not just trine interest Thundercracker. You are looking for someone to fill the empty hollow Solarstorm's death left in your spark." Ratchet points out in a hushed voice.
"You don't approve." Thundercracker's wings, if possible, droops even more at that.
"On the contrary I do approve." The medic corrects his statement. At the perking of the blue wings, Ratchet meets Thundercracker's wide optics with a genuine smile.
"You need to move on. It has been months and I know that the merges with the Aerialbots has helped you through the worst from your trinemates deaths, but it is clear to me that it isn't enough. Your spark obviously need and longs for that deeper connection. Something Silverbolt and his gestalt brothers are unable to provide you." He then adds with a sigh.
"So if Starscream is the one you desire I'm going to accept and encourage you to go for it. The Starscream currently sitting inside that ICU isn't the one I imagined you together with, and seeing you together it is obvious that you have already chosen, whether he is aware of it or not is another matter, and something I leave for you to explain. It is going to be a heavy burden on his shoulders to carry your secrets, but I have faith that if the love is true, he will keep them." Ratchet completes his little encouraging speech with a glance towards the ICU and the seeker who has clearly captured his ancient friend's spark without knowing it.
"And here I expected a lecture of how completely reckless and stupid I am. By the way, I was careful when we interfaced, just so you don't need to give me the speech of that irresponsibility." Thundercracker adds offhandedly, his own gaze going towards the ICU. He can just discern a tip of one of Starscream's wings through the open door.
"Oh, I know that you don't need it. But he does if you are to go through with this. He needs to know everything to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Or, I could try and design something similar to your termination protocols and have him try that. I don't want it to be as drastic as the procedure Solarstorm and Novastar asked for when they realized that you weren't going to transfer like the rest of us." Ratchets words are careful, and the speed with which Thundercracker turns on him, wings flared and his sonics rumbling is warning enough to not go deeper into the sensitive topic the removal of the gestation chamber is for the serkhar.
"Cybertron might be dead, Vector Sigma just as well. There is no other way for us to create other than the old way. I will not let you take that chance away from Starscream! Is he even able to reform the barrier if you implement termination protocols?" Thundercracker growls, his optics narrowing to thin slits, while his sonics offlines and the barely discernible rattling in the whole room silences.
"It should be possible." Ratchet answers, unfazed by the strong reaction, but wisely not digging deeper into it, even if it would be the easiest way to deal with the matter.
At the time they simply didn't have the knowledge and time to develop the protocols to fit into the new frame types. Now, however Ratchet is a lot more experienced on the new frame types and has time to look into the time consuming process of fitting ancient coding into the newer.
"Then, do it." Thundercracker sighs, wings twitching unhappily, while his spark sings at the prospect of being able to truly be with his future mate.
From inside the ICU, Starscream stares at the exchange between the medic and Thundercracker, frowning at the complex emotions he is able to read in the blue seeker's wings.
Something is clearly distressing Thundercracker.
"I know you miss our trinemate, but Sky, he is truly amazing." He speaks to his unresponsive trinemate as he studies Thundercracker a bit further, his voice dreamy and wistful.
"So strong."
"So passionate."
"So dominant."
"I guess I won't be the trineleader if we trine, but I guess I'm actually okay with that as strangely as it sounds." He sighs, his spark swelling within its chamber.
He smiles stupidly as he recalls his overload a few hours earlier and how Thundercracker had thrust shallowly into him, prolonging it until the blue seeker overloaded within his valve, almost sending him into another overload when the scalding hot transfluids filled him to the brim.
But that hadn't been all. After that Thundercracker had order him on his knees and he had been presented with the spike against his lips, dripping with their shared fluids. Silver and purple drops had lined the blue spike and as he began to lick them off of it, he had come across the biolights littering the whole surface of the spike.
It had fascinated him so much that the cleaning of the spike had turned into a throughout exploration, much to Thundercracker's delight if the growing moans and groans had been any indication.
The blue seeker had overloaded not much later, splashing silvery transfluids into Starscreams mouth, along his cheeks and dripping in rivulets from the black lips.
"So beautiful." Thundercracker had whispered, taking in the sight of his face sullied in the seeker's own fluids, the spike depressurizing and retracting just as Starscream recovered from the surprise at being drenched in transfluids.
Lost in the memory, Starscream isn't aware of the small spike of consciousness momentarily flashing on the monitor monitoring Skywarps processor activity.