THAT NIGHT…

Thundercracker held Gemstone close on the cold repair table. Skywarp was helping Starscream with the little twins tonight, so Thundercracker was able to spend the night with Gemstone. They were all alone in the med bay, and normally they would've interfaced—not only was she his fake girlfriend, they also seemed to be "friends with benefits". For some reason, though, she hadn't initiated anything, and Thundercracker was confused.

"Gemstone, hon?" he asked, squeezing her tight. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she whispered, but her tone of voice disagreed with this statement.

Slag it, I hate it when femmes do this, Thundercracker thought to himself. That was what frustrated him most about femmes—they never told you exactly what they were thinking.

"Mechs aren't any good at guessing," Thundercracker told her. "Talk to me."

"You just want to 'face," Gemstone mumbled.

"Well, usually you do, too," Thundercracker pointed out.

"I'm too tired, okay?" Gemstone turned away from Thundercracker and sighed.

Every mech hears THAT in his lifetime, Thundercracker thought, rolling his eyes. Femmes! Beautiful, yet so dangerous…any mech's weakness.

"I wish you would tell me what's bothering you," said Thundercracker. "You know I don't like playing games."

Gemstone looked angry and growled, "It's that Moonbeam. I wish you would abandon her."

"Why?" asked Thundercracker.

"Are you slaggin' blind?" she demanded. "She is the MEANEST femme I have EVER met! I never get any respect from her! I never get respect from anyone! Never! That's all you want, TC, isn't it? Interface? Is that all mechs want?"

"Um…pretty much, yeah," said Thundercracker, knowing there was no right answer.

"Moonbeam gets tons of respect," Gemstone continued sarcastically. "Why not? After all, she's a pureblood Seeker and a trained medic. She doesn't charge mechs for a cheap sexual thrill. Instead she just picks one and plays with his spark, enjoying it the whole time! How could you possibly love someone like her?"

"Listen, hon, she—" Thundercracker paused. "Wait, are you…are you jealous?"

"Jealous!" Gemstone backhanded Thundercracker onto the repair table. "Of her? What's wrong with you? Do you think I'm not happy with who I am? Of course I'm not jealous! I'm anything but!"

"No need to get violent," said Thundercracker, sitting up again and rubbing his cheek.

"Leave me alone," Gemstone told him, scowling.

"I'm sorry," Thundercracker mumbled.

"Don't worry about it." Gemstone looked down at the floor; her voice wasn't angry any more, just shaky, like she was about to crack.

Thundercracker reached out and gave Gemstone a hug, hoping she wouldn't pull away. Luckily, she didn't.

"Tell me what's on your mind, hon," Thundercracker whispered.

Gemstone lifted up her head, and Thundercracker was kind of horrified to see tears leaking out of her eyes. Oh no. What had he done? It was true that he loved it when femmes fought, and of course he loved it when they 'faced with him, but he DID NOT like it when they cried. It made him feel uncomfortable, and he never knew what to do.

"Oh, TC, I'm not always as confident as I look," Gemstone told him, her voice quavering. "I-I hate to say it, but Moonbeam was right about one thing. One big thing."

"What? What was she right about?"

"She was right that I wasn't a true Decepticon," Gemstone wiped her eyes, trying to stop her tears from flowing down her face.

"Of course you are." Thundercracker was perplexed. "You don't have to be a Seeker! Look at Soundwave, Shockwave, even Megatron! And the twins, they only have Seeker CNA on Starscream's side."

"No, don't you get it?" Gemstone cried, then burst into tears. "It's…it's n-not that I'm not a Seeker. I-I'm not even a purebred Decepticon!"

"What?!" said Thundercracker. "What do you mean?!"

"I mean, I'm only a Decepticon on my father's side," Gemstone sobbed. "I-I'm a car in vehicle mode. I'm a CAR!"

Thundercracker was so shocked, he couldn't think of anything to say, but Gemstone just barreled on.

"The red eyes, the ability to fly in robot mode, I get it all from my father," Gemstone explained tearfully. "That's why my mother abandoned me. She said I was becoming too much like my father. I was left on my own, with nothing to do but become a hooker at way too young an age. Maybe mechs will 'face with me if I charge them, or maybe I can have a fake boyfriend like you, but no mech would ever want me for real. Why would they? I'm just a filthy half-breed hooker, only able to keep herself alive by selling her body to sleazy, intoxicated mechs, nothing but the by-product of rape."

With that, Gemstone fell backwards onto the repair table, crying like she would never stop. Thundercracker, feeling helpless, stroked her back, trying to get her to calm down. When the sobs finally began to subside, he hoisted her up, letting her lean against him.

"Listen, Gemstone," he told her, trying to stay calm. "Being a true Decepticon is not all about what side your parents belong to. It's about what side you belong to."

"What do you mean?" Gemstone sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"I mean that you have a choice," Thundercracker told her, taking her hands in his. "Your life doesn't have to be like this. You can be anyone you want to be."

"It's not that simple." Collapsing into Thundercracker's arms, Gemstone started to cry again.

"Gemstone, look at me," Thundercracker said seriously. When she lifted her head up, staring into his eyes, he let his spark speak for him. "I-I don't see you that way. I see you as a beautiful, intelligent, strong femme who's just had a lot of curveballs thrown her way. Someday you'll find a mech who loves you for who you are. You're one of the best Decepticons I've ever known, and I can't let you go thinking anything otherwise."

"Thank you, TC," Gemstone mumbled. "No one's ever said that to me before. They really haven't."

"We don't have to 'face tonight, hon," Thundercracker told her, gently lifting her head up. "We can do whatever you want."

"What do you mean?" Gemstone stammered.

"I'm going to give you the respect you so deserve," Thundercracker whispered, placing one arm behind her back, the other behind her neck, and closing his eyes. Gemstone, figuring out pretty quickly what was going on, closed her eyes too, draped her arms around Thundercracker's neck, and joined him in the deep, beautiful kiss.

It was happening. This was happening now. Thundercracker's spark was racing, his hands were shaking, a strange but wonderful feeling coursed throughout his whole body as he continued kissing Gemstone right there in the med bay. It was like nothing he felt when they were 'facing, something he had never felt before, and he didn't have any idea what it was, but it was nothing short of amazing.

The nervousness, the shakiness, the worry, it passed as Thundercracker lost himself in the kiss. It was almost like the feeling he got when he was flying, the same exhilaration and pure joy, the feeling of being where he belonged.