The Med Bay was quiet. Most all of the occupants were pleasantly in recharge, the sound of their peaceful intakes a nice, comforting hum in the background as Ratchet diligently worked on his reports. He was nearly finished and was quietly pleased with himself. He hated working on reports, so he was sometimes slow to get to them.

Not tonight, he thought as he put the finishing touches on the last one, then saved his work and shut down his computer. Smiling to himself, he got up and stretched, mentally giving himself a pat on the back as he scanned his optics over the bay on last time before heading to his quarters for some Energon and a little well-deserved recharge.

An anomalous reading on one of the monitors made him pause, and he quietly made his way over to the device to study it more closely. He analyzed the reading through narrowed optics, then reset the machine to ensure the reading was no fluke. After the machine rebooted and came back online, only to display the same result, he turned his attention to the berth's occupant: Breaksteel.

"Well mech, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Breaksteel woke from recharge to find the lights of the Med Bay dim, Ratchet gone, and everyone else in recharge. His light yellow optics scanned lazily across the bay, until an empty berth caught his attention. He blinked, raising his head and narrowing his optics when he remembered who had been occupying the berth before he had fallen into recharge.

Where's Warrior Star? He looked around, quietly puzzled, until a shaft of moonlight from an ajar door caught his optics. He rose to his feet, hopping down lightly from his berth before heading over to the door. He pressed his muzzle against the door, carefully pushing it open until he could poke his head out and look around. The sight before him made his breath catch in his chest.

Warrior Star stood silently on powerful paws, her massive head tilted back as her optics scanned the star-strewn skies. The moonlight played across the thick bronze plates of armor on her back and hindquarters, making them gleam brilliantly in the night. From the way she was standing, she appeared to be aloof and at ease, but Breaksteel had no doubts that she was keenly aware of his presence. Her voice echoing out into the night only confirmed his thinking.

"Stop staring at me, mech. If you have something to say, say it. If you want to enjoy the night, I would ask that you find your own spot. Either spit out what's on your processor or move on." By her words, it was clear that Breaksteel had caught Warrior Star at a bad time, but for some reason, the mech decided to try his luck and stay put. He advanced with quiet steps until he stood on line with the bronze femme, raising his head to stare at the sky as well. He was unsure how long it would take for his presence to elicit a reaction from the huge femme, but he let himself relax, deciding that whatever was coming would be worth being able to stand at her side.

Breaksteel knew the moment that it clicked in her processor that he was going to stay there. Her head lowered and she turned to stare at him, her cobalt blue optics glowing with a dangerous light as she glared at him beneath the moonlight. He could sense the tension rippling through every cable in her frame, then she pivoted slowly on her rear paws, turning to face him and bringing her muzzle and every single jagged silver fang in her jaws within inches of his face. When he still didn't move, she took half a step forward, and he felt her breath on his nose when a low snarl of warning left her chest.

The little voice of reason in his processor was screaming at him to walk away and leave the femme to whatever peace she was searching for. His spark was spinning wildly in his chest, thrilled at how close she was, and terrified of the threat she posed at the same time.

How ridiculously absurd, Breaksteel thought as Warrior Star bared her dentals, her optics darkening as the tension in her frame increased. He was going to be attacked. He was nearly certain of it. But he just didn't care.

She's right there! She's so close! His spark sang happily, and for some reason he could not understand, a slow smile crossed his jaws. Instantly Warrior Star saw it, and it made her even angrier.

"What are you smiling for? You have five seconds to get your aft moving before I break your legs and have Ratchet weld you to a berth, you stupid mech." She snarled, and then Breaksteel moved. He had no idea what made him do it or where the idea came from. He didn't even remember processing what he was about to do. He just…moved.

Turning on fluid paws to face her, he took a step forward, bringing the tip of his muzzle up to her shoulder before he turned his head and ever so gently pressed his face into her neck. The snarl rumbling in her chest morphed into a shocked grunt, and she froze in surprise at his action. He stayed still, taking a deep breath of her scent, then he took another step forward, allowing his jaw to follow the curve of her neck down to her shoulder, and he rested his head there.

They stood there, his head resting on her shoulder and their chest plates touching. He could feel her spark humming in her chest, and his doing flips in his own. Then he spoke finally, and his words surprised even him.

"I'm smiling because of you, Warrior Star. I'm smiling because of you."

A/N: Aaaaaannnnnnddddd chapter. This one has been sitting on my desk, half written, for like two weeks. I've been really busy and really tired, and then I got a new sergeant at work, and we got rid of the shitty old sergeant, and then I spent a week in the field...and then I was in class...and yeah. Muse has just been gone lately. I haven't been writing, like at all. It's weird. Downright weird.

Anyway! This one was fun. I've been wanting to write some more Breaksteel/Warrior Star fluff for a bit. She isn't feeling too fluffy this chapter. Maybe next chapter she'll be...fluffier? lol. And Breaksteel's acting strange, isn't he? Daring little bugger. Oh the woes of the fickle heart...haha

Anyway! To my readers and reviewers, thanks so much! And thanks for my loyal followers as well!

As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.

Until we meet again...

Kani