SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…
Starscream flinched a little on the repair table as he felt Moonbeam's small hand roam around under his chestplate. All night long for a few nights he could swear his spark felt…different, a sparkbeat he was almost frighteningly unfamiliar with. And, of course, he'd felt the need to complain about it.
All too willingly, Skywarp had dragged him once again to the med bay. Thundercracker had flat-out refused to be in the same room with Skywarp, but Skywarp himself was there, one hand over Starscream's for comfort, while Moonbeam finished her doctoring.
"Well, it's just as I thought," Moonbeam said, sounding uncharacteristically sweet as she shut Starscream's chestplate closed again. "That's the sparklings you've been feeling in there."
Starscream felt too shocked to say anything, but Skywarp blurted out, "Really?"
"Yes, really," said Moonbeam, her voice soft, almost gentle.
"Hey, um…sparklings, it's me, your Uncle Skywarp!" said Skywarp, pressing his cheek to Starscream's chest; he sounded excited, almost giddy.
"They can't hear you just yet, sugar daddy." Moonbeam laughed and nuzzled Skywarp's wing.
"So how are you feeling?" Skywarp asked his brother. Lately, he'd seemed fascinated with this whole thing, almost like he'd never seen a sparkling before.
"Pretty good, I guess." Starscream shrugged.
And it was true. Starscream had been feeling a little bit better. Sure, his head and wings hurt more than ever, it still wasn't comfortable to sleep, and he still had some pretty freaky mood swings, but things weren't quite as bad as before. Starscream was able to keep fuel down, at least, and he had been feeling a lot more energetic, plus excited about the twins. It would only be bad if they were as annoying as Rumble and Frenzy, or if they both looked like Megatron.
"If you're feeling better, it means the sparklings are bonding with you already," Moonbeam explained. "For the first few months you aren't really used to another spark, another being, inside of your own, but once that small glimmer of life starts to grow into a sparkling, it forms a closer bond with you than anyone else ever could."
Skywarp squeezed Starscream's hand again and gave Moonbeam a little smooch. "Oh, kissy-wissy, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."
"I should hope so, I heard my teacher say it when I took that sparkling class back in med school," Moonbeam told him, giggling.
Starscream let out a rather artificial laugh and cleared his throat nervously. "Um…Moonbeam? Can I ask you something?"
"What?" she said, turning away from Skywarp for a moment.
"Is it…is it really going to hurt when you have to yank them out of me?" Starscream rubbed his chestplate, trying to feel the sparklings again.
"I'm not going to yank them out of you, moron," she sassed. "My job is to help you deliver. And yes, of course it hurts. Not that I would know personally, but when the time came for my other patients to deliver, they didn't seem too happy during the process. Lots of bleeding, tears, and screaming, if I remember correctly."
"Oh, stop it, Moonbeam," Skywarp joked. "Starscream scares easy."
"I know," Moonbeam giggled, snuggling into Skywarp's chestplate as he wrapped his arms around her.
While Skywarp and Moonbeam were kissing and hugging, Starscream just tried to sit quiet and listen to his spark, knowing that there was not just one spark, or even two, but three inside of him now.
MEANWHILE…
Thundercracker was sitting all alone in his room, sulking on his bed. On the outside, he appeared to be brooding and angered, and he was, but on the inside that wasn't the only emotion he had to deal with.
Of course, he was jealous of Skywarp, who got to have Moonbeam all to his own, even though Thundercracker honestly believed that Moonbeam was better off as his mate. There was a reason, though, why she wasn't—Skywarp found her first. And as much as he wanted to spike Moonbeam and spike her good, Thundercracker's primary loyalty to the Trine did not permit him to do so.
What did that mean, though? Right now Thundercracker hated Skywarp. Just looking at the purple jet made Thundercracker almost insane with jealousy and rage…but a small part of him, a part of him he was trying desperately to suppress, wanted his brother back.
Overwhelmed by misery, Thundercracker got up off of the bed and made his way over to a little box they kept in the corner with the words "Command Trine" scribbled on the side in Skywarp's messy handwriting. As Thundercracker sat down, took off the lid, and started going through the contents, he could feel his eyes beginning to burn with tears.
In that box were a lot of tangible memories that Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker had saved up over the years. Favorite toys from when they were sparklings; Starscream's old science projects; prizes and keepsakes; basically everything they had collected over the years and had been too nostalgic or lazy to just throw out.
Thundercracker dug around a little and picked out one of their yearbooks from Seeker School. It dated back a few million years now, but sometimes it felt like yesterday. Turning through the pages, Thundercracker looked at their photos—that was the year they'd won the "Best Friends" award. There were old photos of Starscream posing with the Science Club (his favorite extracurricular activity), and there was one photo of the three of them each wearing medals around their necks, from when they'd all three competed in a school-organized dogfight and destroyed the other team.
As he pulled the yearbook closer to get a better look at the pictures, Thundercracker was shocked to discover that an old tape cassette had fallen out from between the yearbook's pages.
"Oh, dear Primus," Thundercracker whispered, his voice shaking as he picked up the little tape. "It's All My Sparklings."
…
Thundercracker ran out of his room, the tape in hand, and almost smacked into Starscream, who was emerging from the med bay, Skywarp and Moonbeam following close behind him.
"Woah, watch it, buddy," said Starscream. "What's the hurry?"
"Look what I found!" Thundercracker shoved the tape at Starscream. "I found All My Sparklings!"
"You mean the…the play?" Starscream gently took the tape from Thundercracker's hands and held it in his own. "Wow, I thought we'd lost this old thing! Hey, Skywarp!"
"No, don't!" Thundercracker yelped, but it was too late.
"What's going on?" Skywarp asked, walking over to them, holding Moonbeam's hand.
"Thundercracker found the tape of that little skit we starred in," Starscream said excitedly. "All My Sparklings, remember?"
"Oh, wow!" Skywarp looked happy. "We have got to watch that thing."
"What's All My Sparklings?" Moonbeam questioned.
"Back in Seeker School, my brothers and I were in this comedy skit called All My Sparklings," Skywarp explained. "Thundercracker and I were the parents, and Starscream was our whiny, angsty teenage daughter. In the next scene where he gets dumped, I take on another role as his ex-boyfriend."
"That sounds hilarious, sugar daddy," said Moonbeam. "Let's watch."
So when the four Seekers got to the main monitor room, Skywarp put the tape in the TV and they all sat down to watch the million-year-old little tape.
The first scene took place in a living room, where Skywarp and Thundercracker were sitting on the floor in front of a fake TV, pretending to watch it. They did so for a few seconds, and then Starscream came in.
To the audience's amusement, Starscream was dressed like a young femme; for the sake of theater, he was even wearing a little makeup, and he had temporarily been given the same approximate color scheme as Autobot Arcee.
"Hold it right there, young lady!" Thundercracker hollered from the other side of the stage. "Before you go out, you remove some of that makeup and wash off that gallon of perfume!"
"But all the other femmes at school wear makeup!" Starscream whined. "You're just a pair of old farts!"
"That's no way to talk to your parents!" said Skywarp. "No leaving the house for a month!"
"I hate this family!" Starscream cried, putting his hands over his face and pretending to burst into tears. "I wish I was never born!"
With that, Starscream ran off the stage, sobbing hysterically (or pretending to). The curtains shut and the tape cut off, then started again a little later. Thundercracker was standing alone on the stage.
"After poor femme Starscream's punishment was over," he was saying, "she went out to see her boyfriend again. Unfortunately, there was a little turbulence."
Thundercracker left the stage, then, and Skywarp and Starscream entered.
"I have something important to say to you, sweetheart," Skywarp said, putting one hand on Starscream's shoulder.
"Yes, I will marry you!" Starscream squealed.
"No, no," said Skywarp, shaking his head. "It's just…I think we should maybe go our separate ways."
"You're breaking up with me?" Starscream shrieked dramatically, putting one hand over his mouth in fake surprise. "I can't believe it! Oh, you jerk!"
"Wait, baby, don't go!" said Skywarp.
"I never want to see you again!" Starscream sobbed, bolting off the stage. Skywarp left too; then Thundercracker came back.
"Starscream was upset because her boyfriend left her," said Thundercracker. "However, he was happy to be relieved of her whining. The end."
"And that was All My Sparklings!" Skywarp and Starscream chimed, darting onto the stage again, all three of them bowed, and the tape ended.
Thundercracker was laughing his head off, and Skywarp was snuggling Moonbeam. Before, the breakup scene had always made Starscream laugh, too…but as he watched Skywarp and Moonbeam cuddling on the other side of the couch, he couldn't help but feel that someday, somehow, Skywarp would end up in the exact same situation as Femme Starscream.