Warrior Star's spark was racing. Her processor was frozen in shock, but a little voice way in the back was howling with fury, demanding that she snap out of it and sink her fangs into the mech and taste his Energon.

How DARE he touch us in such an intimate fashion! The voice roared, but there was another voice, this one closer and quieter…but stronger.

He's so warm… The softer voice marveled, and Warrior Star was inclined to agree. She could feel Breaksteel's powerful spark pulsing in his chest, and she realized that he was afraid. He was both relaxed and tense at the same time, and she sensed that he was expecting her to attack him. She was also aware that her spark was humming in a fashion that made her twitch an ear curiously. She could feel her tension beginning to fade, and as she relaxed, so did Breaksteel. Then for some reason she didn't understand, Warrior Star took a step forward, lowering her head until her jaw rested on Breaksteel's storm gray armor.

Warrior Star found, to her surprise, that her spark was beginning to react to the close proximity with Breaksteel's. She heard it when his spark changed pace to match hers, and they both hummed pleasantly as they pulsed in time with one another.

A…a sparkmatch? It can't be… The bronze femme thought in astonishment, then she blinked when that same little quiet voice deep in her processor spoke again, seeming to put the emotions that she was feeling into words.

We found him…we found him…

I'm alive? How in Primus's name am I still alive? Breaksteel wondered as Warrior Star stood stock still, seemingly so shocked by his boldness that she couldn't even think straight. His spark was still racing, both frantic with fear and overwhelmed with joy.

She hasn't attacked us! A joyful little voice in his processor celebrated, marveling at the femme's raw power, the warmth of her frame…everything about her. Then she moved, and Breaksteel tensed, absolutely certain that she was going to kill him. What happened next left him breathless with awe, and tingling with ecstatic joy.

Warrior Star's bronze chest plates pressed against his as she took a hesitant step forward and lowered her massive helm until her jaw rested on the trembling armor plates of his shoulder. Then she just stood there, leaning into him quietly as he heard her spark hum warmly deep in her chest. Breaksteel heard it when her spark called to his, and he felt his own spark slow down until its rhythm matched hers. He knew what it meant, and it left him wobbly at the knees.

A sparkmatch? The storm gray mech thought, completely bewildered and yet overwhelmed with happiness in the same moment.

We found her! We finally found her, after all the years of war and pain! The voice in his processor proclaimed, leaving the mech trembling as his processor whirled with emotion. Then his focus redirected when a deep sigh left Warrior Star's chest, and she raised her head as she stepped back. Her cobalt blue optics were troubled when they met his light yellow ones, and he felt his spark drop instantly. Fear coiled in his spark like a poisonous serpent, and words were tumbling from his jaws a mere second later.

"Warrior Star, please…hear me out. I've spent years roaming the stars, searching for my peace…yearning for the chance to have a family of my own, away from the war I've always known. I never imagined…that I'd find a sparkmate, that I'd have a sparkmatch. You…you are the answers to all my pleas to Primus over all these years. Please, please, give me a chance to prove myself worthy…because a refusal…might just kill us both." Breaksteel spoke in a rush, terrified that she would just slam him into the unyielding concrete and storm away…but she didn't. She just stood there, staring at him through optics filled with wisdom, and troubled by experiences he may never understand. Through his words, she watched him, her gaze as dark as the sky above them, but strangely soft and understanding. She waited for him to stop speaking, studied him for a moment, and then she spoke.

"I understand that you have been through a lot in your years, Breaksteel…but so have I. I haven't just searched for the peace you seek, I've fought for it. I was the catalyst that started the war, this same war that the Autobots and Decepticons are still fighting to this day. I lost a part of myself to that war, the same part that was spawned by it…but it was still part of me. I never imagined I'd live long enough to see the end of the war, or to have a family and cubs of my own…but until this war is done, my mission is not over. I started this war, and I'm going to end it. I will not stop fighting until it is done. And I won't risk bonding with a mech until I'm sure that I won't die and leave him behind. I know that feeling, all too well…I will not inflict it on another. Give me time, mech. Give me time…and perhaps if the fates are kind…maybe we will both get the chance to enjoy peace. And maybe, just maybe…I will be able to answer the question that you didn't ask, but that your spark did." With that, Warrior Star stared at him a moment longer, then turned to walk away. But Breaksteel found that he couldn't just watch her walk away.

Bounding forward, Breaksteel landed at her side and turned quickly before she could react. He pressed his cheek to hers, then stepped back swiftly, still slightly afraid of some sort of reprisal from the bronze femme. He raised his light yellow optics to hers, his gaze filled with sorrow, but understanding as well. He froze in surprise when she stepped towards him and touched her nose to his, then lowered her head to press her face into his neck. Warrior Star stepped back, studying him briefly, and then she was gone, launching herself away from him and into the night. Breaksteel turned to look but she was already gone, swallowed up by the night as a sudden storm covered the moon and plunged the area into darkness.

Breaksteel stood there, barely processing it when the rain began to fall, pounding down on his armor like a million tiny fists. All he could think about was her words, and all he could hear was the sad keening of his spark, calling for hers even though she was miles away. But somewhere deep inside his spark, he felt it…a tiny flame of hope burning brightly, despite the darkness surrounding him. And that one little flame was enough to make him shove his sorrow back and focus on the future, and the hope that it now held.

A/N: AND ANOTHER CHAPTER! YAY FOR RANDOM MUSE! lol

Thanks to Repenned for your kind review! Trust me, I was THRILLED when that old dirtbag of a sergeant we had got reassigned. That and our new sergeant is awesome! He's been here like a month and I love the guy already.

So. Lots of emotion and randomness and random emotion and...did I mention emotion? Typical Warrior Star, not wanting to jump into things until her current mission (ending the Autobot/Decepticon war and putting Steelbite down) is finished. Poor Breaksteel. I wanna hug him.

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

Until we meet again...

Kani