A/N: I warn everyone right now, I don't do straightforward romance because I know from painful experience that love is never that simple.

Disclaimer: Nightraider – mine. Transformers – TakaraTomy and Hasbro. I think that's pretty straightforward though!

Italics denote telepathy/thoughts.

Presents: Part 5

...Oooooh fraaaaaag...

Ow. Ow. And again, ow.

...Ok, Bruticus, buddy, kindly get the fragging hell offa my head already...

Alright, alright, calm down man, calm down...

Right.

Reboot...complete. Date...December 21st.

Ok, missing three days. No idea where they've gone, and lookin' behind the fridge for 'em ain't gonna work here.

So what happened?
Where am I?
And who's aft is THAT?

Oooooh baby. Little to the left, little to the-

Now I know I've offlined and gone to the Matrix. Hubba.

Don't think Primus'll mind if I just check out a coupla the goods on the way through...

C'mon baby, come ta Rumble, let me lay hands upon the wonderment!

...Ok, that's pretty solid.

And attached to a femme. A hot femme.
Seeker, red and black, kinda on the svelte side...
Who's looking kinda...pissed?
Wait a nanosec...

Nightraider?

Oh FRAGGING-

'OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWW I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!'

'YOU LITTLE SLAGGING BLUE DEGENERATE SPAWN OF UNICRON!'

Soundwave raised an optic-ridge at the verbal explosion from the operating bay, and smiled under his face-mask as he felt Rumble's spark and telepathic abilities both return rather abruptly to full capacity.

Scrapper barely raised his optics from his welding as the irate femme jet stamped out of the theatre. A fully repaired Rumble was hanging by his ankles in Nightraider's grasp, wearing his most apologetic/flirtatious grin.

'It was an honest mistake, 'Raider, c'mon!'

Nightraider hoisted the blue Cassette up to her optic level and glared electro-daggers at him. 'Grabbing my aft and giggling like a newly upgraded mech in a Kaon pleasuredome is NOT what I'd call an honest mistake!'

'I thought I was in t'Matrix!'

'And even if you were, you think that I'd ever let you near me like that, even in your wildest dreams?'

Rumble's expression shifted to deadpan. 'Harsh babe, very harsh.'

He glanced past the red and black jet and spotted his creator reclining on a repair berth. The grin reappeared instantly.

'Hey, boss!'

Soundwave nodded at his errant creation. 'Rumble.'

The tape-deck 'Con directed his query at the femme surgeon. 'Creation: fully repaired?'

Nightraider glared back at Soundwave, her irritation currently overwhelming her claustrophobia. 'All repairs complete and may Primus have mercy on him, because if he ever tries to grope me again, his hands will get welded to his own aft.'

'Instructions: understood.'

'Awww, boss!'

A well-aimed glare from his creator made the blue Cassette mute his complaints. But it didn't stop him making one last comment as Nightraider hoisted him up and carried him towards the side ward.

'Hey, it's an easy mistake t' make. C'mon, you're tellin' me that aft wasn't created by Primus?'

CLANG

Rumble rubbed his head from where the femme jet's free hand had smacked it. 'You just can't take a compliment, can ya?'

An evil little thought appeared in his processor, one that he and Frenzy had giggled over for a lot longer than fifteen astroseconds, and he voiced it.

Loudly.

'Bet you'd like it if Soundwave said it.'

The resounding smack which echoed through the Nemesis was later confirmed to be clearly audible up to the bridge.

'...Ok, little to the right...back a little...hey hey hey, can't see the TV!'

Long Haul fought down a tirade of insults as he followed Frenzy's instructions and shifted the oversized Scots Pine across the ward. Fragging Scrapper and his ideas, all this fuss and mess and letting the CASSETTES have their way about something, all just to see if their stick-up-the-aft Communications officer and a permanently fragged-off femme jet really did want to spark each other off for some ridiculous human holiday...

'Yo, Truck Boy, down in front!'

And having Skywarp egging them all on wasn't helping his generally crappy mood.

The haulage truck straightened up and shot the purple F-15 a glare that could strip paint.

'You know, Primus wasted a marvellous aft when he installed a vocaliser in your mouth.'

Skywarp paused, looked confused, and then shrugged.

'Whatever. And you're tippin' the bucket.'

Long Haul glanced down at the soil spilling over his feet and let rip with a few of his favoured profanities.

Ravage carefully placed a paw on each of Ratbat's audios and glared. Less of the language if you please. Impressionable younglings in the room.

The little bat giggled and looked round at his sister. Is Long Haul right? Can you beat a mech into oblivion with the soggy remains of his right arm?

Laserbeak groaned as she burrowed her head into Buzzsaw's shoulder. The golden condor sighed and gently patted his sister's back with a wing.

You'll find out when you're older, shrimp. And don't tell Soundwave you know what that means.

He thought for a few seconds longer.

More to the point, how do you know what that means?

Ratbat gave his older brother what could only be described as a look of derision. I asked Rumble and Frenzy. Were they lying to me?

Ravage rolled his optics. For once, no.

Oh, okay!

With that little piece of information clarified, all was well in the world of Ratbat.

Most of the conversation went straight over Frenzy's head as he studied the tree with a critical optic.

'Ok, hold it there, and turn it left...little more, little more...perfecto, leave it!'

His duty done, Long Haul growled and dumped a box full of tree decorations at the foot of the red Cassette's berth. 'Yours. Deal with.'

With that, he stomped out.

Skywarp grinned as he started digging into the box, tinsel and baubles soaring over his wings. 'Didja get any of those edible energon decorations?'

The haulage truck's words echoed back through the door. 'No such things exist, and even if they did, I'm not stupid.'

'Is that a maybe?'

A shiny red bauble clocked the F-15 in the face, courtesy of Frenzy. 'I'd call that a 'no, and get your big purple aft decoratin' already.''

'Remind me again why I can't just kill you?'

Ravage flexed his claws and smirked up at the jet. Plausible deniability. And Nightraider would probably kill you first should you even consider trying it.

Skywarp sighed and dug through the box for the fairy lights. 'So I'm guessing Cassette-bowling's a no-no?'

A set of footsteps tapped against the tiles shortly before Nightraider appeared in the doorway, with Rumble still hanging upside down and complaining loudly.

'I said I was sorry already!'

'I've shot mechs for implying less than that!'

'And yet, you don't deny it.'

Silence prevailed for a few seconds.

'Oh yeah, I win.'

'You win nothing. Now get in there and shut up.'

Frenzy barely had time to look round from watching Skywarp untangle the fairy lights before his fully repaired twin was plopped unceremoniously next to him, still grinning widely.

'So it's a warm welcome back t'the funny farm then.'

Ravage offered his brother a nod. Indeed. It has been...quieter without you. Unnervingly so.

'Yeah yeah, I love you too, Rav.'

The blue Cassette offered a wave to his younger siblings. 'Whassup?'

Laserbeak cawed. Very little. You did miss some quite interesting movies however.

'Awww man.'

Buzzsaw glanced round. We still have most of Die Hard and all of Lethal Weapon to work through. And ditto; it is good to have you back, brother.

Ratbat chirruped from his position next to Ravage. I missed you too! It's nearly rations time and Skywarp's going to decorate our tree for us!

Rumble tucked his hands behind his head and leaned back against the head of the berth. 'Hey, dinner and a show. Sweet.'

As Skywarp parked his aft on the floor and started testing the strings of light bulbs, Rumble gazed off to his left and frowned as he saw his twin sitting on the edge of the berth, facing away from the rest of the room and twisting the damaged remains of his fingers together.

He shuffled down the berth and settled next to his brother, leaning against the red Cassette's side while he studied his face.

Up close, he could see the minute tremors shaking Frenzy's frame.

'...Y'look like y'lost a wrestlin' match with Omega Supreme.'

The red Cassette risked a quick glance at his twin before he returned to studying his hands. He could already feel the static starting to choke his vocaliser, not to mention the fluid building up in his optical lubrication ducts.

He kept his voice to a murmur. 'Yeah...and I'm still better lookin' than you.'

Rumble moved closer, shielding both his and Frenzy's faces from view.

'Guess they ain't got round t' cleanin' your optics, huh?'

'Nah...still kinda blocked from all the dust.'

Blue fingers sought out and held their black counterparts tight.

'Yeah. Hate it when that happens. Slags up your vocaliser too; now that's a real bitch.'

The red Cassette didn't answer. He simply bit his lip hard enough to draw energon.

Rumble squeezed his fingers and leant his head against his twin's, pulling him closer as he saw the pale grey face draw into a pained grimace.

Two trails of optical fluid began to slide down Frenzy's face from under his visor.

Aw, bro...

The self-proclaimed Cobalt Cassette pulled his red brother into a tight hug, not caring if anyone saw him. In his arms, he could feel Frenzy trembling as he silently sobbed out all of his fear into his twin's shoulder.

'Zee. Hey. I'm back, bud, and better'n ever. Y'don't get rid o'me that easy, huh?

...No. 'Cos if you went, I'd be right behind ya.

Yeah, well...that's not gonna be happenin' for a long time yet, huh?

Despite his tears, Frenzy let out a weak giggle. Not til we get the boss laid, at least.

Truer words were rarely ever thought, bro. And y'know somethin'?

What?

The static build-up in his own vocaliser finally became too much for Rumble as he buried his face against his twin's neck.

You ain't kiddin' 'bout the dust in here...makes y'wonder what the Structies're doin' half the time...

Behind them, Nightraider cast a quick glance at the twins before she left, her optics softening as a smile appeared on her face-plates.

Soundwave shut his optics and sent a gentle pulse of reassurance through the bonds with his creations as he felt Rumble and Frenzy's lingering distress.

It would pass soon enough, and then normal service would resume as soon as Frenzy was fully repaired. Until then, he was content to let his Cassettes rest and recuperate as needed.

The rather sharp tug on his spark pulled him out of his thoughts as Nightraider sat down at the diagnostic computer next to his berth.

'All Cassettes: healthy?'

The red and black jet shot a quick glance at him. 'All of them are out of danger, if that's what you mean. I still need to refit Ratbat's wings and Laserbeak's primary weapons systems, but after that it's mainly joint replacement on Frenzy and Ravage, and cosmetic repairs on all of them.'

'Repair: duration?'

Nightraider exchanged a quick glance with Scrapper as he and Hook fitted the plastic tape-deck partition into Soundwave's chest.

'Another three orns, at most. As long as all their main systems are fixed then I'm happy to leave the rest to you and the Constructicons. It depends how long I have until Dreadnought and Shockwave need me back on duty.'

'Duty: cannot be ignored.'

The Communications officer mentally clamped down on the feeling of jealousy. Shockwave was of no real interest to him, but he knew of Dreadnought by reputation – a battle cruiser by alt-mode and a former engineering specialist at the Iacon Science Academy, he had become talented in weapons creation and deployment, and had personally fitted out the delivery systems on the Nemesis before her ill-fated departure. The last he had heard, the engineer had been working with the cold-sparked Military Operations commander on some form of super-Transformer, but beyond that, the details were obscure.

That was not what concerned him. What did concern him however, was that the battle cruiser had a tendency to become highly protective of those he deemed to be 'his', and tended to make those feelings known to others with a short sharp blow to a critical area. Close proximity to the femme jet over the years would no doubt make her fall into said category.

'Your duties on Cybertron: urgent?'

Nightraider's hands twitched as her spark jumped. 'Not hugely; I've got a few experiments running but Dreadnought's keeping an optic on them. Most of the time, I'm just repairing the troops and keeping the Cobalt Sentries updated.'

The navy mech nodded silently.

He made a swift study of his frame – his missing leg and arm were both reattached, and bar some minor internal wiring in his tape-deck, his repairs were complete. Nothing would come of asking her to stay until his maintenance was complete.

Perhaps it was time to be somewhat more...bold in his advances.

'Recommendation: remain on the Nemesis until repairs to Cassettes are complete. Opportunity: to experience Christmas and to see the Earth.'

...Or maybe not.

Across the bay, the mostly-repaired Thundercracker rolled his optics. Next to the blue and black jet, Bonecrusher and Scavenger shared a long-suffering look as they overheard the Communication officer's proposal.

Looking down from his current job of fixing mistletoe onto a support beam, Long Haul raised an optic-ridge at Mixmaster as the chemist scrubbed down his work bench. 'That's the best he could come up with?'

'Not-not-not like he can just say 'frag it, I want to plug you six ways from Cybertron', can he?'

'...I would've been happy to go to the Matrix without ever hearing that sentence.'

'Tough-tough-tough slag.'

The femme jet looked down at her hands, excitement and disappointment making her holding tanks lurch. Not exactly the proposal she was looking for, but still...it was better than nothing.

'Well...if I clear it with Shockwave and Megatron, then I could be persuaded-'

Unfortunately for Soundwave, the remains of Nightraider's reply were lost forever as the doors to the repair bay were kicked open, and a familiar screech filled the room.

'Femme! Skywarp! Front and centre now!'

Clearly, Starscream was not in one of his better moods.

The assembled mechs could almost see the black and red jet raising her verbal and mental shields. Nightraider glowered as she pushed herself away from the computer and stomped towards the Air Commander.

'One; I've still got two Cassettes to repair, so this better be good. Which leads me onto two; what exactly have I done to deserve you getting inflicted on me?'

Starscream tried and failed to tower over her as he raked his optics over her frame. 'You should be glad that I'm liberating you from such menial tasks. And you are a Seeker first, medic second; you are under my command and I will not tolerate insubordination!'

'You really know how to charm a femme, 'Screamer. Over 40,000 vorns and I still can't say I've actually missed you.'

The F-15's glare transformed into a smirk in a spark-beat. 'Ah, but can you say that about fighting the pull of a planet's gravitational field, or feeling the wind under your flanks as you soar above the groundpounders?'

Nightraider's intakes stuttered as she fixed on the silver jet's last words. 'The wind?'

Crimson optics met amber. Starscream's voice lowered to a purr as he closed the gap between himself and Nightraider, lightly brushing his knuckles against her face-plates.

'The wind.'

Soundwave unconsciously clenched his jaw at the spectacle before him. He could sense the femme jet's CPU whirling as she processed Starscream's words, her glare softening immediately and becoming almost...aroused.

He was aware from long association that the Seekers, out of all the Decepticon air forces, tended to get insanely twitchy when they were grounded. After any longer than three days, most of them would be holding back intense claustrophobia and paranoid tendencies to rival those of Breakdown unless they were allowed to 'stretch their wings', as the humans put it.

It would certainly account for the femme jet's mood swings over the past few days, but as for her sudden attitude adjustment to the Air Commander...

The Communications officer also noted that for two jets who seemingly despised each other 99 percent of the time, they were standing just a little too close together for his liking. Some space between them would be better.

Say...at least two light-years.

Ideally with Starscream situated in the middle of a burning supernova.

And heavily sedated.

With a vow of chastity on his part.

And his interfacing leads removed.

Preferably with something sharp.

Or rusty.

Perhaps both.

That seemed perfectly reasonable.

Ignoring everything except the promise of open skies and the wind caressing her wings, Nightraider's smirk almost mirrored Starscream's.

'...We've got permission to leave?'

'We can be in the skies in two Earth minutes if Skywarp would get his lazy aft out of the playgroup and report as I ordered!'

Nightraider glanced at the side ward doorway, did a double take and groaned.

'...Yeah, ah, Starscream?'

She nodded at a point just past the Air Commander's right shoulder.

Starscream glanced behind him, then pinched the bridge of his nasal unit and shook his head.

The purple F-15 was standing in the doorway, a sheepish grin on his face-plates, and his arms clamped to his sides as strings of twinkling multicoloured fairy lights twisted around his wings, head and thrusters. At his side, Rumble was holding the cord for the lights, his frame shaking with repressed sniggers.

'Um...little help?'

TBC