Sorry for the delay, I was desperately trying to find a good fic to read across a bunch of fandoms and could not find any that I was looking for. I swear to god if I have to write Harvest Moon fanfiction- I will! Anyways, here you go!

Starscream

…

The bow almost slipped from her fingers. Of all the Cybertronians she could have found, it was Starscream.

He was slumped against the far wall, his red optics dull. Moonlight filtered through the open ceiling. He had crashed. But how long had he been there?

The Energon that flowed through her body urged her closer. It wasn't a willing feeling. No, it was greedier in nature. Like if she came close enough, he would suck it from her body.

The very Decepticon that destroyed her home. The very one she'd let go in Chicago.

Maybe this was her chance to finally end him. The last Decepticon that could rise up from the ashes of Megatron's defeat nearly four years ago.

The bow transformed in her hand, intricate symbols glowing brightly in the darkness. In her other hand was one of her few remaining arrows.

She drew it back and aimed at his spark.

In one fell swoop, she could end the last chance of another war. No one would ever know.

Why had she let him live in the first place? Just because he told her the truth? Because he told her who was really to blame?

He was still guilty. He tried to kill her, he tried to kill Sam and Carly, and he tried to kill—

He was as bad as they got. Ruthless, sadistic, conniving. Willing to out one of his own to save his life.

She had the shot and didn't take it. Now was her second chance.

Yet, once again, she relaxed the bow.

What was the point? He'd be found eventually by the government or military. They could end his misery.

The bow reverted to its smaller form. She sat down at one of the pews.

"I don't know why I can't kill you." Her words echoed off the brick walls. "You, of all Decepticons, deserve to die for everything you've done to us. To me."

She leaned her head back. "Maybe it's because you failed. Sure you destroyed my house, but your mission was a failure. You didn't kill me or…him. All because I shot you with a—" she chuckled to herself. "—primitive weapon. It must have hurt too, because you even remembered my name in Chicago. A name I can't even use anymore. To think—you took away everything I owned, but it's my own kind that stripped me of everything I was. I learned to live without owning more than I can carry. But not being able to use my name, that still stings."

She let out a long breath. "And now I'm talking to a Decepticon. Really goes to show what my life's become. Working as a waitress at some bar for cash, living in an old motel room. Can't talk to anyone about anything. Can't call my parents, can't see my dog. I don't know where any of my old Autobot friends are—or even if they're still alive. I would do anything just to talk to Wheelie again."

She sat in silence for a while. Who knew what time it was, not that it really mattered. Getting up from her spot, she approached Starscream. Now that she looked closer, scorch marks and dents covered the silver metal of his body. Some damage was bad enough to completely obscure his alien tattoos.

She dared not get too close. Though there was a small chance he could have been faking, it was more that it felt he'd take her Energon and reactivate. Like she was a jump starter to a battery.

"What happened to you anyway? Last I saw you in Chicago, you weren't this beat up. Did you find some Autobots to go after…or was it your own so called friends? I was told about your reputation long before I ever had the misfortune of meeting you. How you've always thought you'd be a better leader than Megatron and backstabbed him at every opportunity. Did he do this to you before you got out of the city?

"And this weird signal of yours, who were you even expecting to come? You think a Decepticon would show up to save you? I don't think any of you even like each other. You just all have some shared goal of what—destroying Earth and killing humans? Or was it transporting Cybertron here and enslaving us? Does it change often? Do you even know what you fight for anymore? If you want a home so badly, why couldn't you just learn to live with us like the Autobots did? If it wasn't for your stupid war, none of you would be hunted right now. You really could have lived among us in some way or another. But no, you had to try killing us at every opportunity. And then your plan with Sentinel—that really was the last straw. He made it clear that no Cybertronian could be trusted."

She turned, grabbing her stuff before walking past the rows of pews to the doors. She looked over her shoulder. "I hope you know, you brought this upon yourself."

…

Work was…strange. Maybe it was the newfound energy wearing the spark shard gave her, or it was the knowledge that Starscream was thirty miles away.

"Jules, hello?"

Aria focused back on Tanya. "Rum and coke and a long iced tea."

"Got something on your mind?" Tanya asked, flipping her long curly hair before putting ice in the glasses. Her dark eye makeup glittered.

Aria pulled out the small compact from her pouch and checked her own makeup. "Just stayed up too late last night."

"Don't tell me, you had something to do after work?"

"Ha ha."

"Sorry I'm late," Addison called as she approached them.

"And what's your excuse?" Tanya asked. "You stay up too late too?"

"Please, like 2 a.m. isn't late enough. No, I slept through my afternoon nap alarm." She reached for the dark lipstick Aria was reapplying.

After Addison used it to complete her gothic look, Aria put it back in her pouch and took the drinks to the table.

"You work out a lot?" The guy asked as she placed the rum and coke in front of him.

Aria followed his line of sight to her arm. She'd only been wearing the shard for a day and already her muscles were more defined.

"Sometimes," she said airily.

"Sometimes? You look like you could beat Ethan in an arm wrestle," the other guy spoke up.

"I have been told I'm freakishly strong."

She didn't have to say another word. The guy got up from his chair and gestured for her to sit. Ethan was shaking his head in embarrassment but put his elbow on the table anyway. A few people from the nearest tables looked on. Even Addison stopped to watch.

The man who had gotten up to move the drinks out of the way put his hand on top of their interlocked ones.

"Three…two…one!"

She held their hands in place even as he pushed. He wasn't weak by any means but wasn't terribly strong either. A group of girls beside them started cheering. A few others joined in.

Then Aria dropped his hand on the table. The thud sent everyone around into an applause.

"Hell yeah, Jules!" Addison shouted over the noise.

…

Days turned into weeks, yet whenever Aria wasn't working, she found herself at the Church. Starscream looked even more withered in the sunlight. Coated in a thick layer of dust and debris.

It was almost therapeutic, talking to Starscream about all the things she had never been allowed to say.

She'd even yelled at him once or twice. Laughed at him for being outdone by a girl with a bow and a piece of steel. For being a coward and leaving when things got tough. For failing on his mission to kill her.

Addison nudged Aria. "Look who's here again."

Aria followed her gaze already knowing who she was talking about. "Wasn't he already a regular?"

"Yeah, but now he's always sneaking glances. Who knew arm wrestling was the way to a man's heart."

"It's news to me too," Aria said, turning back to the bar.

Tanya was chatting to a couple of girls, so Addison went around and began mixing drinks. "So are you going to give him a chance?"

Aria instinctually looked over her shoulder only to catch him glancing back at her. She sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I should try to move on."

Addison's jaw dropped. "No!" she gasped before leaning closer. "You're serious."

Aria sat on one of the stools. It was still early so besides a couple of small tables the club was pretty dead still.

"You guys are right, it's been two years. I can't stay hung up on the same guy forever."

Even if she was wearing his spark around her neck.

"See, there you go! It's not like you were married." Addison's intonation blurred the line between a statement and a question.

After all this time she was finally starting to pry. It was understandable, Addison and Tanya had tried when they first met, but it was still too soon and she refused to elaborate beyond telling them she recently broken up. Then after the crying incident on stage, they avoided the topic completely for at least four months.

"No, we were only together for a year and a half, and I only met him a year before that."

"What? That's it? Girl, you must have had it bad."

"It was a short time, but we went through a lot together."

Addison only leaned in more.

"He…had a dangerous job and it ended up affecting us both. I almost lost him. It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced, thinking he was gone. We both made it out in the end, left and never looked back. But as more time passed, it became clear to him that we could never really get away from the danger. He promised me that we'd stay together—but one day I think it became too much for him, and he left."

Addison blinked the shocked expression from her face. "Wait so he left you because he didn't want you to get hurt? No wonder you're hung up on the guy, he—"

"I know, he left because he loved me. But trust me, it doesn't feel as romantic as it sounds. This rum and coke for that guy?"

"Uh, yeah," Addison said after a second.

"What's his name again?"

"Ethan. The other guy is his brother, Matt." Addison slid the other drink into Aria's open hand.

Addison was already on her way to Tanya before Aria could even fully turn from the bar.

Maybe rambling to Starscream was helping in some strange way. It might have been a different story if he could actually hear her, but it was unlikely. She was no expert, but stasis lock seemed a lot like a coma. And Starscream had the added complication of never waking up. The Decepticons clearly weren't interested in finding him and if the Autobots or military did, they'd put him out of his misery once and for all.

It made his distress signal all the more sad. Was it a conscious decision he made, or something automatic? It could have been a Seeker thing. The spark shard around her neck was technically Jetfire's, and he was originally a Decepticon Seeker.

She wiped the thought of Cybertronians from her mind and smiled at the man named Ethan. He was sitting alone, his brother was chatting up another table. He grinned back at her as she approached.

Maybe it was time to move on.

"Oh, what happened to Addison?" he asked, his tone playful. "You're not here for a rematch are you, I don't think I could take the humiliation."

Aria placed the drinks on the table. Sure, he was cute enough. His hazel eyes bordered on green in the evening sunlight shining through the windows. His hair was warm brown and slightly curly. Even his physique was on the thinner side. All in all, almost the complete opposite in appearance to…

"No, I'm not that mean. In fact, I might even be nice enough to let you win."

Her flirty tone must have worked because his eyes lit up. "Well in that case maybe we could have a rematch sometime? Maybe after some food somewhere nice or a movie?"

"Sure, there's a new restaurant I've been wanting to try for a while now. That Italian one on Mainstreet."

"Yeah sure, I think I know the one you're talking about. Just name the time and day."

"I'm off tomorrow. I could meet you there at seven."

"Yeah I'm off work at five, so that works for me."

"Perfect, I guess I'll see you then." Aria went to leave.

"Yeah you too—oh wait should I get your number or something?"

She turned back. "My number? I'm not even sure you know my name yet."

"Two birds one stone I guess." He flushed.

"Juliet. And my phone's usually lost somewhere or dead, so probably no point," she lied.

"Ah well, I guess I won't be late then."

Aria sent him one last smile before heading back to the bar. Addison and Tanya were both eyeing her as she approached.

"He sure looked enthusiastic."

Addison nodded at Tanya's words. "He was so cute when you made him blush. What did you say?"

"I told him I'd let him win if we arm wrestled again sometime."

"Wow you really opened the door for him." Addison put the drinks Tanya made on a tray.

Aria shrugged. "Who knows how long it would take otherwise. He seems like the type who would take forever to gain the courage to ask someone out."

Tanya raised a brow. "Try not to sound so enamored."

"I'm going on a date, not marrying the guy."

"I'm not sure if you're ruthless or badass, Jules," Addison said before leaving with the tray.

"Same thing, really." Aria leaned against the counter observing the mostly empty bar. Her eyes met briefly with Ethan's. His brother was back at the table with him, looking excited.

Was it cruel going on a date with a guy just for the sake of it? Not like it was a rebound or some drunken decision. People went on dates with people they barely knew all the time. Who knew, maybe she would grow to like the guy, that's how it was before…at least if she blatantly ignored all the other factors.

She asked Tanya for a glass of water. It was going to be a long Sunday night.

…

Starscream remained unchanged when she arrived the next day. She threw off her bike gear and sat on the same bench she normally did, halfway between Starscream and the exit.

Her eyes lingered on the metal of his body that reflected the colors of the broken stained glass windows.

"I'm going to try to move on," she said looking into his dull optic eyes. "I can't live like this forever, wallowing in self pity. Everything that happened…it was so long ago now. Like a dream of another life I once lived. Maybe it's because of you I finally feel ready to let go of it all. It's so strange though. You were such a big part of it. You could have killed me—you almost did. And now I feel like you're the only one left that I can talk to, and that's only because I know you can't really hear me."

She leaned her head back against the bench. "Or maybe this is all a mistake." Taking the shard that sat over her chest, she held it up to her face. It glimmered in the light.

"My spark shines for you."

"I should have never put this on. I should have never found you. I'm just listening to the sound of my own voice. I could talk to myself like this in the comfort of my motel room. At this point, I'm not sure why I never did."

She let the shard fall back onto her chest.

"This is all so dumb. Why am I even going on a date with this guy? He's not my type. I don't even know if humans are my type anymore." She sighed. "I wonder what you thought when you found out I was in love with one of your kind? Probably the same as Sentinel and the Preceptor. That humans are disgusting creatures, and we should stay far apart. And I mean, you're not wrong. It's not the Decepticon's fault I'm alone. No, it's my own kind that's the enemy now."