When given the choice Thundercracker gave most of the Autobots a very wide berth. More so since he was carrying. Prowl had assured him time and time again that no one was going to hurt him or the spark. That the actions of Wheeljack, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, and most of the fliers should be enough to reassure him. But old habits were hard to break. And to trust his old enemies was harder still.
Thundercracker would add Smokescreen to the safe list, but neither Jazz nor Prowl had said anything. He was inclined to believe that that conversation had been left between just the two of them. That Smokescreen was giving his spark time to do the right thing of his own accord.
Knowing that Sunstreaker and Cliffjumper would have shot him out of a belief that he was lying made him even less inclined to believe in general Autobot goodness. He stuck to the rooms he shared with his new bondmates, and only went out to see the bots he knew where safe to be around; namely out to see the aforementioned Ratchet for medical appointments, and to see Wheeljack. Smokescreen came to him when neither bondmate was in the rooms. Sneaky Shadow.
He was surprised when he stopped to think about it, striking up some kind of friendship with the science bot was the last thing he had expected. But Wheeljack was a very good natured bot, and easy to get along with. It certainly didn't hurt that they were putting the finishing touches on the prefabricated parts of the sparkling's frame. The nanites would be allowed to do their magic with the finishing touches. It was a thing of beauty, at least to his optics.
He wondered briefly what colors the chromites would finally settle on when the spark was placed inside. It was something that would take place over the sparkling's first vorn. He hoped it would be a nice mix of Warp and Star's colors. It was hard to tell though, it might be something entirely different. He was certainly not coloured like either of his creators. It had been so long since he had thought of that old pain. He pushed it away. Some other time.
He touched his chestplates. Two more orbital cycles. It seems an eternity and the blink of an optic. He couldn't help but fret and worry with what was to come. He has never spent much time around sparklings before. In truth it had been an age since he had seen a sparkling, and truthfully had never really believed he would ever have one himself. Megatron and Starscream just had to force his hand on another issue, as usual. Not that he could regret the little being that was on the way. Each day it was a bit more real, and a lot more daunting.
The family the little one was coming into certainly didn't help matters. As frightening as the Decepticons were, it had taken everything in him not to go running the cycle after finding out about Shadows. The fact these particular Shadows were Seeker-kin was probably the only thing that had kept him in the Ark. He did worry about the unknown issue that was Prowl, but there was no way Prowl's past could be anything worse than former-Shadow. And he could see some benefits in the long run, if he forced himself to think about it. Smokescreen's overprotective zeal and surveillance on his fellow 'Bots was a boon. A way to calm his processor. And an almost welcome thing on the long walks down to Wheeljack when he had to pass the pit spawned twins in the halls.
Today was no different. The red one had been smiling too broadly, the yellow one scowling too deeply as he had passed by. Knowing Smokescreen was discreetly behind him had kept him near sane until he could make it to Wheeljack's door. The science bot looked up as Thundercracker entered the lab, his cheek's flashing a happy shade of pink. "I wasn't expecting you so early."
"I was getting restless." Thundercracker said, shifting from side to side. It wasn't entirely an untruth. He left out the fact his pace was double what it would have been had certain frontliners not been so close to his quarters when he started off. "I've had a lot on my processor I guess."
Wheeljack nodded conspiratorially, he wasn't a stupid bot and not nearly as clueless as others believed him to be. If Thundercracker wanted to keep certain things to himself he could respect that. He gave a shrug and went back to the datapad he had been working on. "I can imagine, I know I'd be out of my processor. Perhaps a trip outside?"
Thundercracker shrugged, looking faintly uncomfortable with the suggestion. "Again? That's all your few fliers seem to be able to do. Drag me out be the tips of my wings with the blessings of my 'loving' bondmates. No, today I was curious if you got that list of locations. Y-you're still going to help me with that aren't you? "
"Just came in, actually. I'm partial to some of these pre-dug mountain-side graves humans in the past have used. Hard to get to for them, easy for us. Highly unlikely anyone would loot them for tech. And I was tweaking the design on the crypt itself. It should have good security just in case." His headfins flashed in self praise.
Thundercracker nodded, managing to keep the roll out of his optics. His trinemate's frames would keep until the sparkling was safe in its new frame. If Wheeljack wanted to pat himself on the back he was entitled to it...this one time. He just needed something else to concentrate on in the meantime. Building a crypt was far more ideal than the alternative. Putting them beneath the Earth's soil made his tank churn. They needed to be somewhere high. He realized that he would not be able to create anything like the Skycrypts of Vos, but he would do his best to put them as close to the sky as he could. It was where they belonged. And Wheeljack's suggestion sounded reasonable so far. He would have to look at the location himself, but it was the best he'd be presented with.
"Oh, let me see." He looked over Wheeljack's shoulder and tried not to gawk. Humans had carved these things? They were perfect. Far off the ground. Nearly impossible for humans to get to. "You think we can do that?"
"I wouldn't suggest it otherwise." The pleased tone was apparent in Wheeljack's vocalization.
Thundercracker let himself smile. "I know...I know. I wouldn't have lived this long if I hadn't paid some attention to you 'Bots. You don't do anything you don't believe in."
Wheeljack nodded and regarded Thundercracker for a long moment. The mech was nothing at all like he had first expected. For the most part he was quiet, and thoughtful. He had a good processor on his shoulders as far as Wheeljack could tell. He might have even have made a good science-bot. Why would someone of such intelligence waste it on war training? It was a puzzle.
"What did you do before the war?" Wheeljack asked, his curiosity getting the better of him, as it often did. If Ratchet had been there the odds would have been better than half of him being glared at. As it was he didn't exactly like the look that crossed the Seeker's face.
Thundercracker frowned, "I was bonded to Starscream when I was very young-but you mean work, I assume." At Wheeljack's nod he continued. "I worked in the Royal Vosian Archive. It was really more of a hobby than anything. But I found the work soothing and an easy way to pass the time. It also made studying easier. Skywarp had to be dragged down to the archives kicking and screaming for any lessons that were required of him."
Wheeljack blinked at him, this was the last thing on Cybertron that he had expected. "You were a data clerk? Like Optimus? I...I see. And the War Academy?"
"Optimus was a data clerk?" He tried to keep the incredulity out of his vocalizer and failed. Perhaps he needed to spend more time with the Prime. "The things left out of our records... But yes, I was nothing if not a good Vosian. It was expected of all of us." Thundercracker said, looking more than a bit uncomfortable. "It would have been remiss if a member of the future reigning trine shirked his responsibilities. Besides, it was a good way to learn your gifts."
The colors of Wheeljack's headfins cycled through in obvious amazement. "Your gifts? You mean the...the...thunder thing?"
"Do you mean my sonic boom? If so, yes I was sparked with it. As my youngling will be sparked with his gifts. They may take a little while to come in, but they will be there. Primus loves us best, after all. Any Seeker worth his wings will tell you that." Thundercracker smiled in bitter amusement.
"We had always assumed it was an upgrade." Wheeljack said weakly, ignoring the Primus comment entirely. He was not a very religious bot, but he knew a dig when he heard one. The fact Thundercracker had said it so casually, as if he didn't recognize it as an insult but a fact of life made it sting a little more. He had to remind himself the mech was going through a lot and he was generally friendly.
"Hardly. Neither was Skywarp's warping ability. Or Starscream's speed, of frame and processor. You bots really have no clue about Seeker culture, do you?" Thundercracker's hurt expression helped to soften any ill will Wheeljack had scrounged up.
"Very little, honestly." Wheeljack said. "Your people did not precisely come flocking to our side. I would have loved to know more. And Ratch is always wanting to learn more about other frames."
Thundercracker vented, "Well, grounders didn't exactly flock to Vos to learn about us. They only really came when they needed us for their wars. Too many sparklings grew up the way Warp did because of grounder issues. And now... It's a pity. It's been lost like everything else. A dead culture for a lost people."
"Not everything is lost. You have the bitlet. You have your memories that you can share with it. With us, if you'd like. It doesn't have to go away unless you want it to." Wheeljack gave him a hopeful look. He would honestly love to know about the devices of Vos. Ratchet would love to know more about Vosnian frame schematics. Thundercracker just needed to give them a real chance.
Thundercracker nodded, "I do have the bitlet, I suppose...but I have a hard time imagining it mine. It belongs more to Scree and Warp. I'm just how it's getting into the universe."
"You shouldn't say things like that. You're the carrier. It will love you." Wheeljack frowned, trying to find the right words, and watched the younger mech. "I think it will get easier, even if it doesn't seem like it will. You'll never forget, but maybe you can look back fondly when the time comes."
Thundercracker couldn't help the woosh of irritation that rush through his vents. "You sound like Ratchet."
"He's a smart bot." Wheeljack said, his headfins flashing with amusement. "And I'm not just saying that because he lets me share his berth."
"Of course you aren't. And I suppose that is one way to describe him." Thundercracker said, thinking curmudgeon would be more apt. He held his peace on that, at least for the moment.
Wheeljack laughed, this wasn't the worst way the conversation could have turned out. "And how would you describe him?"
"You read processors, don't you? Crotchety. Definitely crotchety. Crotchety, but kind." Thundercracker gave a mild shrug. "Don't tell him I said so...the kind part anyway. I do have some small reputation left to uphold. Even if it is just the reputation of difficult patient driving his physician even more insane."
"Oh, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe already hold that position for life. You need to find new aspirations. But I won't tell him if you try to usurp them." Wheeljack assured the Seeker.
They were too busy bantering to notice the door opening on the other end of the lab. Thundercracker nearly jumped out of his plating when a third voice chimed in.
"Jacky, are you busy?" Skyfire asked, making himself known.
Thundercracker stiffened, staring at the shuttle. To say Skyfire made him uneasy was the understatement of the year. His little blessing so far had been that the shuttle had never offered to take him flying. He was almost deathly afraid the time had come, and how he would deal with it if it were the case.
Wheeljack gave a friendly wave and motioned to Thundercracker. "We're talking sparkling frames. And Vosnian culture. Did you know they're sparked with their power chips instead of upgrading in their adult frames? It's all very fascinating."
"I may have heard something like that once. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were busy." Skyfire muttered, optics on Thundercracker.
"Oh, it's okay Sky. I'm sure Thundercracker is thrilled to see another flier around. Aren't you?" He gave Thundercracker a friendly pat on the shoulder, not seeming to notice how the blue Seeker had frozen up. "Anyway, what's going on?"
"Nothing really, Percy just asked me to drop these off. He knew I was coming down here to work on something later. And you know he can't be bothered to leave his own labs." He said, handing Wheeljack a pile of datapads. "He wanted you to check his calculations." His optics never left Thundercracker, they were disturbingly settled on him. "Thundercracker, doing well I take it? Prowl and Jazz have had a lot of good things to say."
Thundercracker pulled a face. Skyfire was the last mech he wanted to talk to. "I am-well." he said in an emotionless tone. It was a personal sort of dislike. Thundercracker could not forget how the shuttle had tried to steal his trinemate away, and very nearly succeeded. He certainly felt like he could never forgive. Even after so long the blue flier could not forget the starry-eyed look on Starscream's faceplates when he first met the shuttle, Worse still the spark breaking expression the time he had returned without Skyfire. It had nearly shattered Starscream. Perhaps it did, after a fashion. He had never been the same afterwards. He could not help but blame the other flier for Starscream falling into Megatron's berth. Had he not disappeared... Had things been different... He cringed inside. There was no winning either way. If Skyfire had come back Starscream would have left with him. When he didn't...
Skyfire nodded, and searched his faceplates. "Good. How long until the bitlet gets framed?"
Thundercracker shrugged, "Soon enough." His optics flicked to Wheeljack, not even bothering to hide the panic and resentment. "Sorry, Jacky, I have to go." He yelled over a shoulder vent as he rushed out of the room.
Wheeljack watched him go, completely flummoxed. "What just happened here? Did I miss something?"
Skyfire gave him a look of obviously feigned innocence. The shuttle knew exactly why the other flier was in such a state. He had done his best to avoid Thundercracker for this very reason. While he was not exactly proud of certain parts of his past, he would still defend them as appropriate at the time. "I have no idea."
Wheeljack made a mental note to talk to Prowl later. Some things just weren't adding up and the tactician would be better able to handle it.