[Flights of Fancy] Topsy-Turvy 03
Feb. 19th, 2018 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22Title: Topsy-Turvy
Universe: Flights of Fancy
Characters: Megatron/Rodimus, Soundwave, Shockwave/Orion Pax, Drift/Perceptor, Starscream, Ensemble
Rating: M
Enticements: Harpyformers AU, Sexual Content, Romance, Unrequited Love, Angst, Fluff, Slow burn
Summary: If asked, Liege Megatron of the Kaon Aerie would say his life was perfect. With a content, growing flock to manage, he had nothing to worry about. Loneliness was part of a Liege’s life, he’d decided. Until the bright-spirited Hot Rod comes along, determined to be the exception to the rule.
In the end, Megatron found himself making the rounds of his aerie, from the ground floor to the top level, and all the ones in between.
He visited the training arena first. The new swordmasters, under Drift’s careful guidance, were coming along nicely. Drift tried goading Megatron into picking up a blade, but Megatron had demurred per the usual. He knew how to use a sword, along with many other weapons as a matter of course, he simply preferred not to do so. He didn’t need a physical weapon to defend himself. His size, speed, and talons were more than enough.
The research center was next. They were a series of small rooms connected by open doorways and a main set of actual double doors rather than curtains for the safety of everyone in the aerie. Here, Megatron learned that Perceptor had stumbled across a promising new herb that might be useful in curing the early summer whooping cough which often afflicted the fledgelings and those weak of constitution – whether by prior illness or age.
Megatron praised Perceptor for the discovery, and slipped past Brainstorm’s laboratory before he could be accosted by the smol scientist with another request for access to the humans’ explosive technology.
Midmorning, the Gatherers returned with baskets full of cherries, apricots, and pine nuts. Megatron tagged that particular duty as one to suggest to Soundwave for Hot Rod. Such a task would suit the energetic smol, and it helped that it would keep him from the aerie for half the day, and out of temptation’s reach.
Megatron spent lunch in the pantry, going over their stock with Orion, who had everything organized efficiently and down to the last nut. Some of today’s gathering would go into stores for winter, when certain things were harder to come by. He grazed as they chatted, and Orion reminded him again of their appointment this evening.
Honestly, it was as if they thought Megatron incapable of remembering his schedule. The fact that Soundwave kept him on task did not count!
Post-lunch, Megatron escaped the aerie for a flight. Yesterday, it had been dull and dreary, damp with a lingering rainstorm which sent most of his flock indoors, away from the threat of wet feathers. Today, the sky was crisp and bright and blue, with not a cloud in sight.
The higher he climbed, the more he could see. Mountains on the horizon, tall jagged peaks that separated Kaon from Polyhex. The towers of Kaon University opposite, square and stunted. If he flew closer, he could follow the roads away from the school, over the mountains, to the human city Kolkular which boasted a population larger than any one aerie on the entire planet.
It was what they called a metropolis. Megatron had only seen it from a distance. It was almost as large as Metroplex, the human metropolis nearest to Megatron’s home aerie.
Far to the south, miles and miles of grassland swayed pale and green in the wind, until they blended with the sky. And to the north, a heat mirage where the land turned jagged, rocky on its way to the Tarn province, though heaps of forest grew in between, lush and full of growth, both new and old.
From the moment Megatron had arrived here, weary and haggard, with Orion and Soundwave and his Speaker’s siblings suffering from the same, he’d had a feeling Kaon would make a good home. He’d worried, at first, about the humans. But they’d managed to co-exist peacefully with the science-minded humans. The truce had held for over a decade, so that Megatron’s only worry became outside humans.
It helped that Kaon University was and had always been isolated from human settlements. The nearest one was a day away, by harpy flight, though shorter by human contraption.
Kaon was a good home.
Megatron turned back toward his aerie, his spirits lifted, not that they’d been low to start, but a good flight helped to clear his head. He landed on one of the many perches built into the roof of the aerie, which was as much empty branch as it was leaf-heavy, with thicker branches woven together in a tight lattice to keep out the rain. Here and there he caught the glint of solar panels, which powered the few electrical devices they kept.
Megatron descended, though with less nimbleness than a smol might, his weight dislodging leaves and sending them raining down, only to be caught in the netting hung just below the roof. There was always work to be done, including what was no doubt a pile of documents on his work-desk, courtesy of Orion.
He would start on those first.
Megatron took the long way down. Rather than glide through the central atrium, he opted for the slower walk down the central slope. It made him more accessible as a leader, he found, and he preferred that to those who kept themselves elevated and apart from their people.
Like the aerie and flock he’d left behind, for example. Nova Prime had rarely deigned to interact with the common folk, and certainly would have never stooped to walking anywhere if he could help it. No, if Nova had somewhere to be, he either flew himself or was carried in a sling of the finest silk. Megatron would be surprised if dirt had ever graced the Prime’s tarsal talons.
Megatron passed by the Cradle on his way down and Megatron could not resist the urge to peek in at the little ones. They would be up from their nap by now and either eagerly gorging on a snack, or running rampant on their caretakers, or even both.
Looking in turned out to be a mistake.
Most of the hatchlings were under Shockwave’s supervision as he parked them around a large bowl and assisted them with shoveling a rice-fruit paste into their mouth. Megatron counted two missing: Skydive and Sunspot. He found them all too quickly, in Hot Rod’s lap, where he also held a book and was reading to them.
Megatron could neither hear him or see the title, so he didn’t know what captivated them, but it surprised him to see Hot Rod so still and focused. Patient even. Sunstorm had a hand shoved in his mouth, sucking on his fist. Skydive eagerly leaned forward, his eyes big and round and interested.
It was an adorable sight. Megatron’s core pinged again. He would not have that. He would never have that. No matter how much he wished.
And then Hot Rod looked up, as though he sensed he were being watched. His eyes met Megatron’s, and his face pinked around his nose.
An unholy throb of heat raced through Megatron’s body. His veins all but sang with it. Try as he might, as often as he ignored Hot Rod’s overtures, the fact remained he was attracted to the smol. And his instincts knew it.
Megatron spun around and told himself it wasn’t a retreat. He wasn’t afraid, even as Hot Rod’s eyes burned at the back of his mind. Blue, so blue, like the clear sky he’d just soared through.
He went to his office. He closed the curtain that served as his door and was a signal to his flock he wasn’t up to guests. He sat at his desk, where sure enough a stack of items waited for his attention.
His core pounded. Heat soared through his veins.
Megatron poured himself a cup of water, swallowed it over a lump in his throat, and stared at the stack of documents. His thoughts were wild, pinging from one fantasy to a next. He let himself dream until the count of ten. And then he slowly, ever so slowly, closed his fist around the fantasy.
Crunch. It crumpled like paper, balled up and tossed into the wastebin.
He got back to work, and devoted himself to it, until the shadows of the sun on his wall shifted, and it was time for supper. Evening meals were as communal as possible in his flock. Megatron encouraged the sense of community and family. They were a small flock. The more they relied upon one another, the stronger they would be as a whole.
Megatron rose from his chair, groaning as his limbs and back protested the hours spent hunched over the desk. He pulled himself into a languid stretch, heard his joints popping and crackling. He wasn’t old, not in comparison to some in his flock, but he still felt the weight of the years on his shoulders.
Perhaps he really should take Drift up on his offer to take part in the daily lessons. The martial arts and physicality required would help keep Megatron in shape. It would also ensure he kept those particular skills sharp and practiced, lest he forget.
Megatron rolled his head to ease the cramp in his neck and pulled back the curtain to his office, stepping into the busy late afternoon of his aerie. The wonderful smell of dinner was already clinging to the air – someone had made poppyseed bread – and it caused his mouth to water. Right now, their culinary genius was Whirl, and he deserved the title.
He climbed up the ramp toward the second level, where the huge common room was located directly next to the food preparation area. Conveniently, food storage was a level directly below, and Perceptor had devised a lift system to connect the two levels, making it easier for food stuffs to be delivered between the two areas.
His flock trickled into the common room, already half-occupied by the early arrivals, many of whom volunteered to set the table and fill the water pitchers. Megatron paused just inside the doorway, surveying the gathered, pride blooming in his core. He might never have a mate and fledge to call his own, but he would always have this.
It would have to be enough.
Someone politely coughed behind him and Megatron stepped aside, aware that he was blocking the doorway. “My apologies.”
“Lost in thought, my liege?”
Megatron looked down to see Hot Rod beaming up at him, one hand pressed to Sunspot’s back as the hatchling clung to his chest. One hand gripped Hot Rod’s feathers, the other was firmly shoved in the little bit’s mouth, spittle soaking his fingers.
“Something to that effect,” he replied and stroked a gentle knuckle over Sunspot’s crest. The hatchling gurgled around his fist and grinned.
He’d spotted Sunstorm already in the common room, helping to fill the pitchers. Hot Rod must have volunteered to bring Sunspot to him. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Shockwave, in fact, was juggling both Heatwave and Chase as he was in conversation with Mirage, who carried Boulder.
Communal hatchling care. It was just as important to Megatron as everything else he insisted upon. No parent should go without the assistance they needed.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a moment to spare then, would you?” Hot Rod asked, something painfully earnest in his tone.
Megatron met Hot Rod’s gaze. “Right now?”
Hot Rod shook his head, feathers fluttering around his face. “No, I mean. After dinner. I thought maybe you’d like to go for a flight?” The hope in his expression squeezed Megatron’s core.
Megatron often joined his flock on flights, individual or otherwise. Many of his flock liked to talk about things during the privacy of a flight, coming to him with their concerns or their wishes. To turn Hot Rod down would be unusual, though he suspected there was an ulterior motive to the request.
“I’ve already stretched my wings today,” Megatron hedged, careful to keep his tone gentle and not the soul of rejection.
Judging by the way the smile faded from Hot Rod’s face, he failed. Disappointment darkened his eyes. Even his head feathers drooped. “Oh.”
Adaptus save him.
Megatron sighed softly. “I have a matter that needs my attention this evening, but afterward, I suppose another flight wouldn’t be out of order. There is something to be said for a night under the stars.”
There was no denying the delight that lit over Hot Rod’s face. “Meet you up top then?”
Megatron nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Hot Rod’s grin got larger, sweeter, and it was all Megatron could do to keep himself from pulling the beautiful smol into his arms. With Sunspot clinging to his front, he looked like the perfect mate.
“Hot Rod!”
Sunstorm’s call split the air between them, and Megatron heaved a sigh of relief as Hot Rod dipped his head to take his leave, moving over to where Sunstorm beckoned. Joy showed itself in the eager lift and twitch of Hot Rod’s feathers. In the smile on his face and the light in his eyes, and the curious look Sunstorm shot Megatron’s direction.
Megatron ground his teeth and cursed himself for being so weak. He had no business building Hot Rod’s hopes.
On the other hand, a private conversation with Hot Rod, away from the hustle and bustle of the aerie, might be what he needed to set the smol straight. To get him to understand that his hopes were for naught. It would hurt, to shatter Hot Rod’s core, but it was for the best. Sometimes, an early pain, however harsh, saved much ache in the future.
It was the only course of action Megatron had left.
He sighed and set off to join his flock for dinner.
~
Shockwave and Orion accosted him once the meal was done.
“I believe someone is in need of grooming,” Orion said with a large grin as he hooked an elbow through Megatron’s.
Shockwave appeared on Megatron’s opposite side, claiming his other arm. “And we did say we had something we wanted to talk to you about.”
Megatron chuckled as they all but bumrushed him down the ramp and toward the bathing springs. “I am at your mercy. Since you insist. Far be it from me to resist.”
“You never stood a chance,” Orion teased, his voice full of warmth and affection, the smile on his face infectious.
Megatron could never remember a time Orion had looked so happy and free back in Crystal City. He’d always appeared as though he were trapped in a cage back then, sitting on a perch and staring out at a world he couldn’t touch. Megatron never once asked Orion if he regretted leaving before he could ascend the Primacy. He’d never needed to ask. The answer was written in Orion’s joy.
Luck was with them. When they arrived at the bathing springs, they found it deserted. That probably wouldn’t last for long, but at least it meant they were allowed their choice of pools. Orion and Shockwave led him to a larger, shallower one in the back where they would have some privacy. Whatever they wanted to talk about was serious. Odd since they hadn’t opted for a flight instead.
Megatron sank into the warm water with a little sigh. The lingering twinges from the hours he’d spent hunched at his desk started to fade. Orion joined him with a little splash, the water lapping at the rock outcropping that kept it contained. It took Shockwave a little longer, as he had to find a safe place to set his prosthetic so the water wouldn’t ruin it.
“I’m guessing your scapulae need work,” Orion said as he waded toward Megatron, twirling one finger. “Turn around.”
“You know me all too well.”
“Since fledgeling-hood after all,” Orion teased as Megatron turned, offering his back to Orion as he did to few others.
Megatron had always been slow to trust, but Orion was right. He’d known the younger harpy nearly their entire life. Megatron had always known he’d serve on the Prime’s honor guard, and when he came of age, he was assigned to the young heir. Since his genitors had served under Nova Prime, Megatron had been an approved playmate for the primeling.
“Sometime, you’ll have to tell me embarrassing stories about my mate when he was a fledge,” Shockwave said as he eased slowly into the springs. He plucked at the pale feathers of his damaged arm, frowning over ingrown leavings.
“He’ll do no such thing!” Orion retorted, and though Megatron could not see his face, he imagined Orion had colored. He’d been a mostly quiet fledge, but because of that, his mischief often went unnoticed.
“Perhaps if I offer a suitable bribe?” Shockwave teased.
Orion snorted. “Megatron cannot be bribed. He actually has principles.”
By Adaptus, they were far too adorable together. Times like this, guilt ate at Megatron, for the secrets he held in his core, and the envy he’d always harbored toward Shockwave. The scientist hadn’t stolen anything that wasn’t his to romance away in the first place.
It was Megatron’s fault for letting his own cowardice and indecision lose him the opportunity to confess his feelings.
Shockwave chuckled. “Every harpy has his weaknesses.”
Just then, Orion’s talon dug into the softer down between Megatron’s wings. Ratchet was right in this, at least. Megatron had needed someone to groom him. He purred in delight as the itchy spot received attention.
Orion chuckled. “Oh. You are weak to this then,” he said as he dug his claws deeper, right down to the flesh, getting at a spot that had been bothering Megatron for days. “I'd better be careful else I'll be accused of having our liege under my thumb.”
“He's a stronger mind than that I'm sure, love,” Shockwave from where he stood behind Orion, delicately grooming his mate's scapulae as well.
“I don't know,” Megatron said as his head leaned forward and his shoulders flexed. “At this point, I'm tempted to have him name a need if only so that he doesn't stop.”
Shockwave laughed.
Orion’s talon dug inward, finally scraping loose a feather leaving that hadn’t worked itself free. “The truth, my liege, is that you need a mate of your own,” he said as he flicked the leaving away and went back to work.
Megatron tried not to tense. Orion knew him too well not to recognize it immediately. Was that the topic they intended to address right now? “I have a flock to look after, Orion. That doesn’t leave much time for a mate.”
“Not even, perhaps, one who is very bright, beautiful, and eager to share your nest?” Shockwave proposed, nothing but innocence in his tone, but he could be just as devious as his mate.
Megatron sighed. He palmed his face. “Has he recruited you then?”
“Not at all. Merely an observation.” Shockwave’s tone was far too cheery and too innocent to be believed. “Many of us have watched you dance around each other.”
“And we wonder why you do not take that which is so freely offered.” Orion’s hands rested on his shoulders. He leaned against Megatron from behind, peering from the side to look up at him. His eyes were a deeper, darker blue than Hot Rod’s, but just as captivating. “You wish happiness for all in your flock. Why not seek it for yourself?”
Megatron patted Orion’s right hand and gently spun to face his dear friend, ignoring the squeeze of his core as Orion drew back closer to Shockwave.
“I am happy,” Megatron replied. It wasn’t even a lie.
He was happy. He was free of the constraints of Crystal City. Soundwave and his siblings were safe. Megatron’s flock was one of refugees and outcasts, all free to pursue their own dreams and romantic interests without the laws of their respective birth flocks.
Megatron’s flock was small, but loyal and stable. They had good relations with the humans. Their aerie was comfortable and secure. They were in close proximity to bathing springs, fresh water and a stable source of food.
Megatron had no reason to be discontent.
He had friends and family-by-choice. He needed nothing else. He did not need a mate to be happy, no matter what his instincts raged.
“And while Hot Rod is very pleasant to look at, I do not think we are suited to one another,” Megatron added with a smile.
“It doesn’t have to be Hot Rod,” Orion replied with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I just want you to be as happy as I am.”
Megatron chuckled. Orion’s core had always been three sizes too large. It was one of the reasons he’d been so beloved in their flock. His sire had never understood that. Had, even, considered it a weakness, one no leader should ever carry. How Orion managed to be so caring and considerate with Nova and Sentinel as his parents, Megatron never understood.
“I am,” Megatron replied. “And I will be. Fret not, my friend.” He grabbed the bucket, poured water down his back, and then clambered free of the bathing pool. “Now, did you two not wish to speak with me about something? Surely it wasn’t just to inquire about my romantic intentions toward Hot Rod.”
Orion chuckled. “No. That was a benefit.”
He and Shockwave exchanged glances before they stepped free of the bathing pool as well. Feathers flicked and twitched, freeing themselves of the weight of the warm water. Megatron had to admit, Ratchet was right. He felt all the better for having his scapulae cleaned.
“We actually had good news we wanted to share,” Shockwave said as he shook the last of the water from his full wing.
“Very good news,” Orion echoed and drifted further into Shockwave’s embrace, his good arm coming up around Orion’s shoulder.
The mated couple shared another warm smile and glance.
Megatron tilted his head. Good news? They were already mated. This could only mean…
His gaze drifted over Orion. Who held a hand over his abdomen. Who was glowing with pride, who had declined Megatron’s offers to go flying all this week, and had been consuming an awful lot of peaches as of late, especially for someone who proclaimed to hate them.
The two mates shared a warm glance between them. It was times like these, Megatron could not even bring himself to hurt or feel sorry for himself.
Orion was happy. And more than anything that was all Megatron could want. While he wished things could be different, that he wasn't broken and he'd had the courage to confess, he was glad Orion could be happy.
Shockwave was a good harpy. He was kind and intelligent and thoughtful and he treated Orion with kindness and respect. Megatron couldn't ask for anything more.
“It was a little unexpected, but not unwanted,” Orion murmured as they pressed their noses together. But then his cheeks pinked, and he broke away, meeting Megatron's gaze instead. “We wanted to tell you first, before we told everyone else.”
“Orion's carrying,” Shockwave blurted. He all but vibrated with happiness, his green eyes shining with pride. “We're going to have a little one soon.”
It was as he suspected. But best to pretend he hadn’t already guessed, to feign surprise. “Wait. You-- You're carrying?” Megatron said.
Orion nodded and stroked his free hand over his abdomen, where eventually, his belly would swell with an egg. “Yes. Ratchet confirmed it this morning.”
That fragging--
He had known and told Megatron to seek out Orion and Shockwave anyway. Ratchet certainly hadn't done so to be cruel as he wasn’t aware of the affection hiding in Megatron’s core, but still.
They would have words.
“Congratulations!” Megatron said, and it was not hard to say. He was happy for them.
He took each of their hands, pressing them together. “I mean that, congratulations. I am happy to hear it.” He surprised himself with how little he had to fake his joy.
“Thank you.” Orion's face turned pink, and he gave his mate a shy look. “We also hoped to ask that you'd be their godsire, if anything should happen.”
Megatron could not be more shocked. “I am honored,” he said. “But surely you would prefer a mated couple to raise your bitlet?”
Shockwave shook his head. “We trust that should anything happen to us, you would give our fledgeling the greatest of care.”
“Besides,” Orion said with a smile. “You have Soundwave never far from your side, and we both trust that he can step in whenever you need help.”
“Well, that is true.” Megatron’s grin wobbled. He hoped neither of them noticed. “I will gladly do so. But know that nothing will happen to you two. I will make sure of it.”
“I know you will.” Orion’s tone was warm. He squeezed Megatron’s hand. “I have never been safer than when I had you to guard me.” He paused and his face pinked further. “I mean--”
Shockwave chuckled. “It’s all right, love. I know what you meant.” He leaned in, nuzzling Orion’s cheek. “Old habits die hard.”
“That may be true. But it was another life. I was a different harpy then. I don’t want you to think I miss it,” Orion replied.
“You’re allowed to miss it, love.” Shockwave stroked the back of his hand against Orion’s cheek. “It is and will always be a part of you. I know you’re happy with me. That is what matters.”
Megatron chewed on the inside of his cheek. They always did this. And while it could be, at times, adorable, it was also awkward. Especially when it felt like his core was trying to thud right out of his chest, and his entire body seemed to be shaking.
He was happy for them. He was.
He just didn’t think he could stand here and watch them be so happy together. Not at this moment.
Megatron coughed into his hand. “Congratulations,” he repeated, again, and hoped it didn’t sound like a lie. “It looks like you’re both entering that stage where I won’t see either of you out of the nest for a couple of weeks. So I’ll make sure to have Soundwave assign someone to assist you with your duties.”
They both had the grace to blush. And though they put a distance between them, Megatron was rather certain it didn’t count as one. He had the feeling that if he had not been present, they would already be halfway to rutting.
Adaptus spare him from the newly-gravid.
“Thank you, my liege.” Shockwave dipped his head. “It is appreciated.”
“Anything for my favorite mated couple,” Megatron said.
It didn’t even feel like a lie.
Megatron excused himself not long after, his core troubled. Both Shockwave and Orion had expressed a desire to soak a while longer, though he doubted soaking was what they had in mind.
He doubted they would miss him. At this stage they would only have eyes for each other. Lucky that no one else had entered the springs to shatter the moment, and hopefully, no one would interrupt their ‘soaking.’
Megatron stepped out of the bathing caverns, a wash of cooler air whisking away the sticky heat from the hot springs. He breathed deeply, forcing calm where he did not feel it.
His spine prickled.
Megatron half-turned as Soundwave melted out of the shadows, alone save for Buzzsaw hanging from his right shoulder, yellow eyes peering out from Soundwave’s collar. No wonder no one had entered, not with Soundwave lingering in the shadows.
Had Soundwave known?
Of course he had. This was Soundwave after all. There was nothing that happened in Megatron’s aerie without Soundwave discovering it.
“I’m fine,” Megatron said before Soundwave could ask. He was one of the few privy to the truth. Not because Megatron had told him, but because Soundwave was both perceptive and observant.
“Lie,” Soundwave said.
Megatron sighed. “By that I mean, I will be fine.” He started toward the woven steps that would take them back to the first level of the aerie. Soundwave fell into step behind him, barely audible. “It is inevitable, is it not? It is the natural order of things. You fall in love. You mate. You have fledglings.”
He folded his hands behind his back as he started to ascend.
“I always knew it would happen, perhaps not this quickly, but it was inevitable,” Megatron continued, aware that he was babbling but seemingly incapable of stopping. “In the end, I don’t know why I care since it does not matter. He was never mine. I never had hope of anything.”
Somehow, it hurt all the more to say it aloud. A truth he’d always known. He’d ruthlessly ripped free the smallest tendrils of hope, yet one had somehow managed to take root anyway.
Foolish sentiment.
“You grieve.”
Megatron snorted. “For what?”
“The chance not taken.”
“Mmm.”
Perhaps Soundwave was right. He usually was. Though Megatron suspected even if he had taken the chance, it would have amounted to the same. For the very reason he never took the chance in the first place.
On the ground floor, Megatron turned toward his Speaker. Soundwave looked at him, inscrutable as always behind the mask. Buzzsaw, too, was silent. But then, of all Soundwave’s siblings, Buzzsaw spoke the least.
“Orion and Shockwave will both need secondary assistance for the next couple of months. Will you find them someone available?”
Soundwave dipped his head. “Plan already in motion.”
Megatron’s lips curved in a smile. “I knew there was a reason I made you my second.”
“Other than trust?”
“Other than.” Megatron lowered his hands and tilted his head back, looking up, beyond the multiple levels of the aerie, to the lattice of branches and the sky beyond it. “As for me, I believe I shall go for a flight. Clear my head, so to speak.”
“Company desired?”
Megatron shook his head. “No. Not this time. The gesture is appreciated, however.”
“Always.”
“Though you could do me a favor.”
Soundwave tipped his head, a silent allowance for Megatron to continue.
“Go back and guard for them?” Megatron smiled, half-amusement, half-grief. “Something tells me they’re going to forget they didn’t arrange for one, and I’d hate for someone to walk in on them.”
Soundwave chuckled. He dipped his head. “It will be done.”
“Thank you.”
He could always rely on Soundwave. Things would be so much easier if it had been Soundwave who had stolen Megatron’s core, and vice versa. But alas, such was not meant to be.
Soundwave stepped back, giving Megatron room to lift himself into the air, powerful pulls of his wings lifting him higher and higher. The exertion felt good, for all that it strained his muscles. He rose through the center atrium of his aerie, passing few harpies as he did so.
This time of the evening, most were in their nests with their respective mates or whomever they chose to share their nestberth with. Megatron himself could usually be found hunched at his workdesk, reviewing any number of notes. Sometimes in the company of Soundwave. Sometimes Perceptor or Drift or Maximus or Orion swung by for a chat.
More often than not, he was alone. Such was the life of a liege. Part of his flock, but often apart from it.
Megatron passed the highest level and crested the canopy, slipping through one of the many gaps in the branches trimmed for this purpose. Up above, the air was slightly warmer, and carried a suffocating humidity. The sky, usually a blanket of stars, only allowed pinpricks of light in between swaths of clouds. The moon barely peeked through.
In the distance, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Another storm was on its way. Hopefully this time, Starscream would be too occupied with Shockwave’s work to go gallivanting off to the University and worrying everyone.
Somehow, Megatron suspected corralling the newly arrived smol would be much more difficult than some of the others he’d assimilated into his flock. Starscream was both stubborn and curious – an often infuriating combination.
Oh, well. Starscream wouldn’t be the first unusual harpy to join Megatron’s flock. And he wouldn’t be the last either. Megatron made it a point to gather those others had ousted. He prided himself on offering a home to the outcasts, the outliers, the unusual.
Megatron rose a little higher, catching a stronger air current, and let himself glide. He turned toward the storm on the horizon. It hovered over Polyhex, and beyond that, Crystal City. Megatron’s former Aerie.
He did not miss it.
Or perhaps that was a lie. There were parts of Crystal City he missed. His carrier and sire for one. Megatron had not told Impactor and Terminus he was leaving. There hadn’t been time. With Rumble and Frenzy under threat, and Orion urging them to leave, Megatron had simply gone.
He wondered if they worried. Many times he had started a letter to them, only to take the coward’s way out in the end. He had reams of parchment covered in ink stains and smears and strikethroughs. How did one apologize for abandoning his parents? How could he even begin to explain himself?
“My liege!”
Megatron startled and whipped around, searching for the origin of the call. A brightly colored smol launched himself from the top of the aerie and was now making a beeline for Megatron.
Oh. Hot Rod. He’d forgotten.
Megatron hovered in mid-air, allowing the smol to catch up to him. “I apologize, Hot Rod,” he said. “There was a matter that needed my attention and I--”
“It’s all right. You’re Liege after all,” Hot Rod rushed to say. “I know other things are more important sometimes. Are you free now or…?”
There was yearning in Hot Rod’s face. His eyes were big and bright, his expression hopeful. There was something about him that made it impossible for Megatron to deny him.
It was a familiar look.
“If you still wish to join me, you may,” Megatron said. “Though I doubt I have anything to offer in the way of conversation this evening.” He did not have the core to entertain right now. Or offer strength to another.
Hot Rod chirped at him. “Time spent with you is enough.”
Megatron’s core squeezed. He forced himself to look away from the pretty smol and set his gaze back on the horizon. “If you insist.” He pushed toward Tarn, though careful to keep his pace one Hot Rod could follow.
Silence fell between them, for once not awkward. Megatron allowed himself the chance to watch Hot Rod as the smol spun and flittered around him, far more energetic than Megatron had to spare.
Hot Rod truly was beautiful. Starlight glittered over his feathers. His expression was one of satisfaction, as was the small smile curving his lips. He hummed softly, barely audible to Megatron over the currents rushing past his ears. But he did have a pleasant voice.
He deserved to be happy.
“How long have you been in my flock, Hot Rod?” Megatron asked. He already knew the answer. He knew when every harpy had arrived at his aerie.
Hot Rod startled and blinked up at him. “Oh. Um. Going on two years now, my liege.”
Two years. Two mating seasons. And someone as beautiful as he, as eager to have a mate, was still unclaimed.
“You are happy here?” Megatron asked.
Hot Rod chuckled softly. “Yes, my liege. Kaon is… very different from my birth flock. But it is a good different. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
The air grew colder as they drew closer to the border, and the storm growing over Tarn. Megatron felt the chill of it, the damp. He turned them back toward Kaon, and Hot Rod moved smoothly with him.
“I am glad to hear it.” Megatron did not ask where Hot Rod was from. It was none of his business.
Soundwave, he was sure, knew. But unless Hot Rod wished to tell him, Megatron let the smol keep his secret as he allowed every harpy who joined his flock.
Sunstorm, for example, who had arrived in Kaon, heavy with egg, bleeding and nearly broken. He would not speak why, but saying he’d come from Vos had been enough. Megatron had seen the mating mark on Sunstorm’s neck – still raw as though recently refreshed-- and yet, Sunstorm’s mate had not come with him. He suspected it was because Sunstorm’s bara mate was dead. Perhaps by Sunstorm’s own hand.
The very sight of him had saddened Megatron to his core. He’d offered Sunstorm a home before the smol could even ask for it. The anger had set in later, fury that someone could harm another in such a way, especially a gravid smol who deserved to be pampered and cared for.
Hot Rod, however, was not from Vos. Of this Megatron was certain. He did not carry the weight of a smol frantically escaping an unkind fate. Not to mention, Hot Rod was so vividly colored, surely Sunstorm or Starscream would’ve recognized him.
“I wish for all of my flock to be happy,” Megatron continued, because it was true. What sort of a liege would he be if he was not invested in the happiness of his flock? “Do you not feel you would be happier with a mate?”
Hot Rod gave him another startled look. “It’s the proper order of things,” he said, though his voice was full of caution. “Or so I’m told. But--”
“Trailbreaker is seeking a mate,” Megatron said before Hot Rod could make yet another overture he would have to deny. “And has been for quite some time. He finds you attractive. Perhaps you might consider having a word with him?”
Hot Rod whipped in front of him and stalled, wings working furiously to keep him airborne. “Are you trying to... to redirect me to someone else?”
“It is a suggestion, nothing more.” Megatron reared back, keeping a careful distance between them. “I look to the happiness of my flock, Hot Rod. And I feel you and Trailbreaker would make a good match.”
Hot Rod stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking. He swallowed, visibly enough Megatron could see his throat bob.
“You are cruel, my liege,” he said at length, and his tone was tight. Hurt. “And worse that I’m not the only one you insult with that suggestion.”
Megatron narrowed his eyes. “I have told you time and again that I am not interested.”
“Yes. You have. And I’m the idiot who keeps trying anyway.” Hot Rod’s feathers fluffed, his words devolving into a hiss. “But at least being a fool is my choice. I don’t need you picking a mate for me.”
“That was not my intention.”
“It damn well was!” Hot Rod vibrated with a growing anger, but the hurt remained present, like a raw wound that Megatron knew all too well. “Spare me your pity. I don’t need it.”
He dropped suddenly, and Megatron’s core squeezed tight. He watched as Hot Rod tucked his wings in tight and spun downward. He caught his freefall with a skilled twist, and Megatron couldn’t help but marvel as the smol sped back toward Kaon, faster than Megatron knew him capable.
They were not far from home. Megatron could easily catch him, clear up matters, but he suspected it would only worsen things.
He sighed.
That hadn’t gone very well at all. But it needed to be done. Perhaps this would finally give Hot Rod the closure he needed.
Megatron gnawed on his bottom lip and set course toward home, albeit at a much slower pace. He was in no hurry to return to the cold emptiness of his nest.
Hot Rod’s hurt look continued to linger at the back of his mind.
***
a/n: ahhh, these two. it's going to get a lot more confusing before it gets clearer. :)
as always, feedback is welcome and appreciated
Universe: Flights of Fancy
Characters: Megatron/Rodimus, Soundwave, Shockwave/Orion Pax, Drift/Perceptor, Starscream, Ensemble
Rating: M
Enticements: Harpyformers AU, Sexual Content, Romance, Unrequited Love, Angst, Fluff, Slow burn
Summary: If asked, Liege Megatron of the Kaon Aerie would say his life was perfect. With a content, growing flock to manage, he had nothing to worry about. Loneliness was part of a Liege’s life, he’d decided. Until the bright-spirited Hot Rod comes along, determined to be the exception to the rule.
Chapter Three
In the end, Megatron found himself making the rounds of his aerie, from the ground floor to the top level, and all the ones in between.
He visited the training arena first. The new swordmasters, under Drift’s careful guidance, were coming along nicely. Drift tried goading Megatron into picking up a blade, but Megatron had demurred per the usual. He knew how to use a sword, along with many other weapons as a matter of course, he simply preferred not to do so. He didn’t need a physical weapon to defend himself. His size, speed, and talons were more than enough.
The research center was next. They were a series of small rooms connected by open doorways and a main set of actual double doors rather than curtains for the safety of everyone in the aerie. Here, Megatron learned that Perceptor had stumbled across a promising new herb that might be useful in curing the early summer whooping cough which often afflicted the fledgelings and those weak of constitution – whether by prior illness or age.
Megatron praised Perceptor for the discovery, and slipped past Brainstorm’s laboratory before he could be accosted by the smol scientist with another request for access to the humans’ explosive technology.
Midmorning, the Gatherers returned with baskets full of cherries, apricots, and pine nuts. Megatron tagged that particular duty as one to suggest to Soundwave for Hot Rod. Such a task would suit the energetic smol, and it helped that it would keep him from the aerie for half the day, and out of temptation’s reach.
Megatron spent lunch in the pantry, going over their stock with Orion, who had everything organized efficiently and down to the last nut. Some of today’s gathering would go into stores for winter, when certain things were harder to come by. He grazed as they chatted, and Orion reminded him again of their appointment this evening.
Honestly, it was as if they thought Megatron incapable of remembering his schedule. The fact that Soundwave kept him on task did not count!
Post-lunch, Megatron escaped the aerie for a flight. Yesterday, it had been dull and dreary, damp with a lingering rainstorm which sent most of his flock indoors, away from the threat of wet feathers. Today, the sky was crisp and bright and blue, with not a cloud in sight.
The higher he climbed, the more he could see. Mountains on the horizon, tall jagged peaks that separated Kaon from Polyhex. The towers of Kaon University opposite, square and stunted. If he flew closer, he could follow the roads away from the school, over the mountains, to the human city Kolkular which boasted a population larger than any one aerie on the entire planet.
It was what they called a metropolis. Megatron had only seen it from a distance. It was almost as large as Metroplex, the human metropolis nearest to Megatron’s home aerie.
Far to the south, miles and miles of grassland swayed pale and green in the wind, until they blended with the sky. And to the north, a heat mirage where the land turned jagged, rocky on its way to the Tarn province, though heaps of forest grew in between, lush and full of growth, both new and old.
From the moment Megatron had arrived here, weary and haggard, with Orion and Soundwave and his Speaker’s siblings suffering from the same, he’d had a feeling Kaon would make a good home. He’d worried, at first, about the humans. But they’d managed to co-exist peacefully with the science-minded humans. The truce had held for over a decade, so that Megatron’s only worry became outside humans.
It helped that Kaon University was and had always been isolated from human settlements. The nearest one was a day away, by harpy flight, though shorter by human contraption.
Kaon was a good home.
Megatron turned back toward his aerie, his spirits lifted, not that they’d been low to start, but a good flight helped to clear his head. He landed on one of the many perches built into the roof of the aerie, which was as much empty branch as it was leaf-heavy, with thicker branches woven together in a tight lattice to keep out the rain. Here and there he caught the glint of solar panels, which powered the few electrical devices they kept.
Megatron descended, though with less nimbleness than a smol might, his weight dislodging leaves and sending them raining down, only to be caught in the netting hung just below the roof. There was always work to be done, including what was no doubt a pile of documents on his work-desk, courtesy of Orion.
He would start on those first.
Megatron took the long way down. Rather than glide through the central atrium, he opted for the slower walk down the central slope. It made him more accessible as a leader, he found, and he preferred that to those who kept themselves elevated and apart from their people.
Like the aerie and flock he’d left behind, for example. Nova Prime had rarely deigned to interact with the common folk, and certainly would have never stooped to walking anywhere if he could help it. No, if Nova had somewhere to be, he either flew himself or was carried in a sling of the finest silk. Megatron would be surprised if dirt had ever graced the Prime’s tarsal talons.
Megatron passed by the Cradle on his way down and Megatron could not resist the urge to peek in at the little ones. They would be up from their nap by now and either eagerly gorging on a snack, or running rampant on their caretakers, or even both.
Looking in turned out to be a mistake.
Most of the hatchlings were under Shockwave’s supervision as he parked them around a large bowl and assisted them with shoveling a rice-fruit paste into their mouth. Megatron counted two missing: Skydive and Sunspot. He found them all too quickly, in Hot Rod’s lap, where he also held a book and was reading to them.
Megatron could neither hear him or see the title, so he didn’t know what captivated them, but it surprised him to see Hot Rod so still and focused. Patient even. Sunstorm had a hand shoved in his mouth, sucking on his fist. Skydive eagerly leaned forward, his eyes big and round and interested.
It was an adorable sight. Megatron’s core pinged again. He would not have that. He would never have that. No matter how much he wished.
And then Hot Rod looked up, as though he sensed he were being watched. His eyes met Megatron’s, and his face pinked around his nose.
An unholy throb of heat raced through Megatron’s body. His veins all but sang with it. Try as he might, as often as he ignored Hot Rod’s overtures, the fact remained he was attracted to the smol. And his instincts knew it.
Megatron spun around and told himself it wasn’t a retreat. He wasn’t afraid, even as Hot Rod’s eyes burned at the back of his mind. Blue, so blue, like the clear sky he’d just soared through.
He went to his office. He closed the curtain that served as his door and was a signal to his flock he wasn’t up to guests. He sat at his desk, where sure enough a stack of items waited for his attention.
His core pounded. Heat soared through his veins.
Megatron poured himself a cup of water, swallowed it over a lump in his throat, and stared at the stack of documents. His thoughts were wild, pinging from one fantasy to a next. He let himself dream until the count of ten. And then he slowly, ever so slowly, closed his fist around the fantasy.
Crunch. It crumpled like paper, balled up and tossed into the wastebin.
He got back to work, and devoted himself to it, until the shadows of the sun on his wall shifted, and it was time for supper. Evening meals were as communal as possible in his flock. Megatron encouraged the sense of community and family. They were a small flock. The more they relied upon one another, the stronger they would be as a whole.
Megatron rose from his chair, groaning as his limbs and back protested the hours spent hunched over the desk. He pulled himself into a languid stretch, heard his joints popping and crackling. He wasn’t old, not in comparison to some in his flock, but he still felt the weight of the years on his shoulders.
Perhaps he really should take Drift up on his offer to take part in the daily lessons. The martial arts and physicality required would help keep Megatron in shape. It would also ensure he kept those particular skills sharp and practiced, lest he forget.
Megatron rolled his head to ease the cramp in his neck and pulled back the curtain to his office, stepping into the busy late afternoon of his aerie. The wonderful smell of dinner was already clinging to the air – someone had made poppyseed bread – and it caused his mouth to water. Right now, their culinary genius was Whirl, and he deserved the title.
He climbed up the ramp toward the second level, where the huge common room was located directly next to the food preparation area. Conveniently, food storage was a level directly below, and Perceptor had devised a lift system to connect the two levels, making it easier for food stuffs to be delivered between the two areas.
His flock trickled into the common room, already half-occupied by the early arrivals, many of whom volunteered to set the table and fill the water pitchers. Megatron paused just inside the doorway, surveying the gathered, pride blooming in his core. He might never have a mate and fledge to call his own, but he would always have this.
It would have to be enough.
Someone politely coughed behind him and Megatron stepped aside, aware that he was blocking the doorway. “My apologies.”
“Lost in thought, my liege?”
Megatron looked down to see Hot Rod beaming up at him, one hand pressed to Sunspot’s back as the hatchling clung to his chest. One hand gripped Hot Rod’s feathers, the other was firmly shoved in the little bit’s mouth, spittle soaking his fingers.
“Something to that effect,” he replied and stroked a gentle knuckle over Sunspot’s crest. The hatchling gurgled around his fist and grinned.
He’d spotted Sunstorm already in the common room, helping to fill the pitchers. Hot Rod must have volunteered to bring Sunspot to him. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Shockwave, in fact, was juggling both Heatwave and Chase as he was in conversation with Mirage, who carried Boulder.
Communal hatchling care. It was just as important to Megatron as everything else he insisted upon. No parent should go without the assistance they needed.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a moment to spare then, would you?” Hot Rod asked, something painfully earnest in his tone.
Megatron met Hot Rod’s gaze. “Right now?”
Hot Rod shook his head, feathers fluttering around his face. “No, I mean. After dinner. I thought maybe you’d like to go for a flight?” The hope in his expression squeezed Megatron’s core.
Megatron often joined his flock on flights, individual or otherwise. Many of his flock liked to talk about things during the privacy of a flight, coming to him with their concerns or their wishes. To turn Hot Rod down would be unusual, though he suspected there was an ulterior motive to the request.
“I’ve already stretched my wings today,” Megatron hedged, careful to keep his tone gentle and not the soul of rejection.
Judging by the way the smile faded from Hot Rod’s face, he failed. Disappointment darkened his eyes. Even his head feathers drooped. “Oh.”
Adaptus save him.
Megatron sighed softly. “I have a matter that needs my attention this evening, but afterward, I suppose another flight wouldn’t be out of order. There is something to be said for a night under the stars.”
There was no denying the delight that lit over Hot Rod’s face. “Meet you up top then?”
Megatron nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Hot Rod’s grin got larger, sweeter, and it was all Megatron could do to keep himself from pulling the beautiful smol into his arms. With Sunspot clinging to his front, he looked like the perfect mate.
“Hot Rod!”
Sunstorm’s call split the air between them, and Megatron heaved a sigh of relief as Hot Rod dipped his head to take his leave, moving over to where Sunstorm beckoned. Joy showed itself in the eager lift and twitch of Hot Rod’s feathers. In the smile on his face and the light in his eyes, and the curious look Sunstorm shot Megatron’s direction.
Megatron ground his teeth and cursed himself for being so weak. He had no business building Hot Rod’s hopes.
On the other hand, a private conversation with Hot Rod, away from the hustle and bustle of the aerie, might be what he needed to set the smol straight. To get him to understand that his hopes were for naught. It would hurt, to shatter Hot Rod’s core, but it was for the best. Sometimes, an early pain, however harsh, saved much ache in the future.
It was the only course of action Megatron had left.
He sighed and set off to join his flock for dinner.
Shockwave and Orion accosted him once the meal was done.
“I believe someone is in need of grooming,” Orion said with a large grin as he hooked an elbow through Megatron’s.
Shockwave appeared on Megatron’s opposite side, claiming his other arm. “And we did say we had something we wanted to talk to you about.”
Megatron chuckled as they all but bumrushed him down the ramp and toward the bathing springs. “I am at your mercy. Since you insist. Far be it from me to resist.”
“You never stood a chance,” Orion teased, his voice full of warmth and affection, the smile on his face infectious.
Megatron could never remember a time Orion had looked so happy and free back in Crystal City. He’d always appeared as though he were trapped in a cage back then, sitting on a perch and staring out at a world he couldn’t touch. Megatron never once asked Orion if he regretted leaving before he could ascend the Primacy. He’d never needed to ask. The answer was written in Orion’s joy.
Luck was with them. When they arrived at the bathing springs, they found it deserted. That probably wouldn’t last for long, but at least it meant they were allowed their choice of pools. Orion and Shockwave led him to a larger, shallower one in the back where they would have some privacy. Whatever they wanted to talk about was serious. Odd since they hadn’t opted for a flight instead.
Megatron sank into the warm water with a little sigh. The lingering twinges from the hours he’d spent hunched at his desk started to fade. Orion joined him with a little splash, the water lapping at the rock outcropping that kept it contained. It took Shockwave a little longer, as he had to find a safe place to set his prosthetic so the water wouldn’t ruin it.
“I’m guessing your scapulae need work,” Orion said as he waded toward Megatron, twirling one finger. “Turn around.”
“You know me all too well.”
“Since fledgeling-hood after all,” Orion teased as Megatron turned, offering his back to Orion as he did to few others.
Megatron had always been slow to trust, but Orion was right. He’d known the younger harpy nearly their entire life. Megatron had always known he’d serve on the Prime’s honor guard, and when he came of age, he was assigned to the young heir. Since his genitors had served under Nova Prime, Megatron had been an approved playmate for the primeling.
“Sometime, you’ll have to tell me embarrassing stories about my mate when he was a fledge,” Shockwave said as he eased slowly into the springs. He plucked at the pale feathers of his damaged arm, frowning over ingrown leavings.
“He’ll do no such thing!” Orion retorted, and though Megatron could not see his face, he imagined Orion had colored. He’d been a mostly quiet fledge, but because of that, his mischief often went unnoticed.
“Perhaps if I offer a suitable bribe?” Shockwave teased.
Orion snorted. “Megatron cannot be bribed. He actually has principles.”
By Adaptus, they were far too adorable together. Times like this, guilt ate at Megatron, for the secrets he held in his core, and the envy he’d always harbored toward Shockwave. The scientist hadn’t stolen anything that wasn’t his to romance away in the first place.
It was Megatron’s fault for letting his own cowardice and indecision lose him the opportunity to confess his feelings.
Shockwave chuckled. “Every harpy has his weaknesses.”
Just then, Orion’s talon dug into the softer down between Megatron’s wings. Ratchet was right in this, at least. Megatron had needed someone to groom him. He purred in delight as the itchy spot received attention.
Orion chuckled. “Oh. You are weak to this then,” he said as he dug his claws deeper, right down to the flesh, getting at a spot that had been bothering Megatron for days. “I'd better be careful else I'll be accused of having our liege under my thumb.”
“He's a stronger mind than that I'm sure, love,” Shockwave from where he stood behind Orion, delicately grooming his mate's scapulae as well.
“I don't know,” Megatron said as his head leaned forward and his shoulders flexed. “At this point, I'm tempted to have him name a need if only so that he doesn't stop.”
Shockwave laughed.
Orion’s talon dug inward, finally scraping loose a feather leaving that hadn’t worked itself free. “The truth, my liege, is that you need a mate of your own,” he said as he flicked the leaving away and went back to work.
Megatron tried not to tense. Orion knew him too well not to recognize it immediately. Was that the topic they intended to address right now? “I have a flock to look after, Orion. That doesn’t leave much time for a mate.”
“Not even, perhaps, one who is very bright, beautiful, and eager to share your nest?” Shockwave proposed, nothing but innocence in his tone, but he could be just as devious as his mate.
Megatron sighed. He palmed his face. “Has he recruited you then?”
“Not at all. Merely an observation.” Shockwave’s tone was far too cheery and too innocent to be believed. “Many of us have watched you dance around each other.”
“And we wonder why you do not take that which is so freely offered.” Orion’s hands rested on his shoulders. He leaned against Megatron from behind, peering from the side to look up at him. His eyes were a deeper, darker blue than Hot Rod’s, but just as captivating. “You wish happiness for all in your flock. Why not seek it for yourself?”
Megatron patted Orion’s right hand and gently spun to face his dear friend, ignoring the squeeze of his core as Orion drew back closer to Shockwave.
“I am happy,” Megatron replied. It wasn’t even a lie.
He was happy. He was free of the constraints of Crystal City. Soundwave and his siblings were safe. Megatron’s flock was one of refugees and outcasts, all free to pursue their own dreams and romantic interests without the laws of their respective birth flocks.
Megatron’s flock was small, but loyal and stable. They had good relations with the humans. Their aerie was comfortable and secure. They were in close proximity to bathing springs, fresh water and a stable source of food.
Megatron had no reason to be discontent.
He had friends and family-by-choice. He needed nothing else. He did not need a mate to be happy, no matter what his instincts raged.
“And while Hot Rod is very pleasant to look at, I do not think we are suited to one another,” Megatron added with a smile.
“It doesn’t have to be Hot Rod,” Orion replied with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I just want you to be as happy as I am.”
Megatron chuckled. Orion’s core had always been three sizes too large. It was one of the reasons he’d been so beloved in their flock. His sire had never understood that. Had, even, considered it a weakness, one no leader should ever carry. How Orion managed to be so caring and considerate with Nova and Sentinel as his parents, Megatron never understood.
“I am,” Megatron replied. “And I will be. Fret not, my friend.” He grabbed the bucket, poured water down his back, and then clambered free of the bathing pool. “Now, did you two not wish to speak with me about something? Surely it wasn’t just to inquire about my romantic intentions toward Hot Rod.”
Orion chuckled. “No. That was a benefit.”
He and Shockwave exchanged glances before they stepped free of the bathing pool as well. Feathers flicked and twitched, freeing themselves of the weight of the warm water. Megatron had to admit, Ratchet was right. He felt all the better for having his scapulae cleaned.
“We actually had good news we wanted to share,” Shockwave said as he shook the last of the water from his full wing.
“Very good news,” Orion echoed and drifted further into Shockwave’s embrace, his good arm coming up around Orion’s shoulder.
The mated couple shared another warm smile and glance.
Megatron tilted his head. Good news? They were already mated. This could only mean…
His gaze drifted over Orion. Who held a hand over his abdomen. Who was glowing with pride, who had declined Megatron’s offers to go flying all this week, and had been consuming an awful lot of peaches as of late, especially for someone who proclaimed to hate them.
The two mates shared a warm glance between them. It was times like these, Megatron could not even bring himself to hurt or feel sorry for himself.
Orion was happy. And more than anything that was all Megatron could want. While he wished things could be different, that he wasn't broken and he'd had the courage to confess, he was glad Orion could be happy.
Shockwave was a good harpy. He was kind and intelligent and thoughtful and he treated Orion with kindness and respect. Megatron couldn't ask for anything more.
“It was a little unexpected, but not unwanted,” Orion murmured as they pressed their noses together. But then his cheeks pinked, and he broke away, meeting Megatron's gaze instead. “We wanted to tell you first, before we told everyone else.”
“Orion's carrying,” Shockwave blurted. He all but vibrated with happiness, his green eyes shining with pride. “We're going to have a little one soon.”
It was as he suspected. But best to pretend he hadn’t already guessed, to feign surprise. “Wait. You-- You're carrying?” Megatron said.
Orion nodded and stroked his free hand over his abdomen, where eventually, his belly would swell with an egg. “Yes. Ratchet confirmed it this morning.”
That fragging--
He had known and told Megatron to seek out Orion and Shockwave anyway. Ratchet certainly hadn't done so to be cruel as he wasn’t aware of the affection hiding in Megatron’s core, but still.
They would have words.
“Congratulations!” Megatron said, and it was not hard to say. He was happy for them.
He took each of their hands, pressing them together. “I mean that, congratulations. I am happy to hear it.” He surprised himself with how little he had to fake his joy.
“Thank you.” Orion's face turned pink, and he gave his mate a shy look. “We also hoped to ask that you'd be their godsire, if anything should happen.”
Megatron could not be more shocked. “I am honored,” he said. “But surely you would prefer a mated couple to raise your bitlet?”
Shockwave shook his head. “We trust that should anything happen to us, you would give our fledgeling the greatest of care.”
“Besides,” Orion said with a smile. “You have Soundwave never far from your side, and we both trust that he can step in whenever you need help.”
“Well, that is true.” Megatron’s grin wobbled. He hoped neither of them noticed. “I will gladly do so. But know that nothing will happen to you two. I will make sure of it.”
“I know you will.” Orion’s tone was warm. He squeezed Megatron’s hand. “I have never been safer than when I had you to guard me.” He paused and his face pinked further. “I mean--”
Shockwave chuckled. “It’s all right, love. I know what you meant.” He leaned in, nuzzling Orion’s cheek. “Old habits die hard.”
“That may be true. But it was another life. I was a different harpy then. I don’t want you to think I miss it,” Orion replied.
“You’re allowed to miss it, love.” Shockwave stroked the back of his hand against Orion’s cheek. “It is and will always be a part of you. I know you’re happy with me. That is what matters.”
Megatron chewed on the inside of his cheek. They always did this. And while it could be, at times, adorable, it was also awkward. Especially when it felt like his core was trying to thud right out of his chest, and his entire body seemed to be shaking.
He was happy for them. He was.
He just didn’t think he could stand here and watch them be so happy together. Not at this moment.
Megatron coughed into his hand. “Congratulations,” he repeated, again, and hoped it didn’t sound like a lie. “It looks like you’re both entering that stage where I won’t see either of you out of the nest for a couple of weeks. So I’ll make sure to have Soundwave assign someone to assist you with your duties.”
They both had the grace to blush. And though they put a distance between them, Megatron was rather certain it didn’t count as one. He had the feeling that if he had not been present, they would already be halfway to rutting.
Adaptus spare him from the newly-gravid.
“Thank you, my liege.” Shockwave dipped his head. “It is appreciated.”
“Anything for my favorite mated couple,” Megatron said.
It didn’t even feel like a lie.
Megatron excused himself not long after, his core troubled. Both Shockwave and Orion had expressed a desire to soak a while longer, though he doubted soaking was what they had in mind.
He doubted they would miss him. At this stage they would only have eyes for each other. Lucky that no one else had entered the springs to shatter the moment, and hopefully, no one would interrupt their ‘soaking.’
Megatron stepped out of the bathing caverns, a wash of cooler air whisking away the sticky heat from the hot springs. He breathed deeply, forcing calm where he did not feel it.
His spine prickled.
Megatron half-turned as Soundwave melted out of the shadows, alone save for Buzzsaw hanging from his right shoulder, yellow eyes peering out from Soundwave’s collar. No wonder no one had entered, not with Soundwave lingering in the shadows.
Had Soundwave known?
Of course he had. This was Soundwave after all. There was nothing that happened in Megatron’s aerie without Soundwave discovering it.
“I’m fine,” Megatron said before Soundwave could ask. He was one of the few privy to the truth. Not because Megatron had told him, but because Soundwave was both perceptive and observant.
“Lie,” Soundwave said.
Megatron sighed. “By that I mean, I will be fine.” He started toward the woven steps that would take them back to the first level of the aerie. Soundwave fell into step behind him, barely audible. “It is inevitable, is it not? It is the natural order of things. You fall in love. You mate. You have fledglings.”
He folded his hands behind his back as he started to ascend.
“I always knew it would happen, perhaps not this quickly, but it was inevitable,” Megatron continued, aware that he was babbling but seemingly incapable of stopping. “In the end, I don’t know why I care since it does not matter. He was never mine. I never had hope of anything.”
Somehow, it hurt all the more to say it aloud. A truth he’d always known. He’d ruthlessly ripped free the smallest tendrils of hope, yet one had somehow managed to take root anyway.
Foolish sentiment.
“You grieve.”
Megatron snorted. “For what?”
“The chance not taken.”
“Mmm.”
Perhaps Soundwave was right. He usually was. Though Megatron suspected even if he had taken the chance, it would have amounted to the same. For the very reason he never took the chance in the first place.
On the ground floor, Megatron turned toward his Speaker. Soundwave looked at him, inscrutable as always behind the mask. Buzzsaw, too, was silent. But then, of all Soundwave’s siblings, Buzzsaw spoke the least.
“Orion and Shockwave will both need secondary assistance for the next couple of months. Will you find them someone available?”
Soundwave dipped his head. “Plan already in motion.”
Megatron’s lips curved in a smile. “I knew there was a reason I made you my second.”
“Other than trust?”
“Other than.” Megatron lowered his hands and tilted his head back, looking up, beyond the multiple levels of the aerie, to the lattice of branches and the sky beyond it. “As for me, I believe I shall go for a flight. Clear my head, so to speak.”
“Company desired?”
Megatron shook his head. “No. Not this time. The gesture is appreciated, however.”
“Always.”
“Though you could do me a favor.”
Soundwave tipped his head, a silent allowance for Megatron to continue.
“Go back and guard for them?” Megatron smiled, half-amusement, half-grief. “Something tells me they’re going to forget they didn’t arrange for one, and I’d hate for someone to walk in on them.”
Soundwave chuckled. He dipped his head. “It will be done.”
“Thank you.”
He could always rely on Soundwave. Things would be so much easier if it had been Soundwave who had stolen Megatron’s core, and vice versa. But alas, such was not meant to be.
Soundwave stepped back, giving Megatron room to lift himself into the air, powerful pulls of his wings lifting him higher and higher. The exertion felt good, for all that it strained his muscles. He rose through the center atrium of his aerie, passing few harpies as he did so.
This time of the evening, most were in their nests with their respective mates or whomever they chose to share their nestberth with. Megatron himself could usually be found hunched at his workdesk, reviewing any number of notes. Sometimes in the company of Soundwave. Sometimes Perceptor or Drift or Maximus or Orion swung by for a chat.
More often than not, he was alone. Such was the life of a liege. Part of his flock, but often apart from it.
Megatron passed the highest level and crested the canopy, slipping through one of the many gaps in the branches trimmed for this purpose. Up above, the air was slightly warmer, and carried a suffocating humidity. The sky, usually a blanket of stars, only allowed pinpricks of light in between swaths of clouds. The moon barely peeked through.
In the distance, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Another storm was on its way. Hopefully this time, Starscream would be too occupied with Shockwave’s work to go gallivanting off to the University and worrying everyone.
Somehow, Megatron suspected corralling the newly arrived smol would be much more difficult than some of the others he’d assimilated into his flock. Starscream was both stubborn and curious – an often infuriating combination.
Oh, well. Starscream wouldn’t be the first unusual harpy to join Megatron’s flock. And he wouldn’t be the last either. Megatron made it a point to gather those others had ousted. He prided himself on offering a home to the outcasts, the outliers, the unusual.
Megatron rose a little higher, catching a stronger air current, and let himself glide. He turned toward the storm on the horizon. It hovered over Polyhex, and beyond that, Crystal City. Megatron’s former Aerie.
He did not miss it.
Or perhaps that was a lie. There were parts of Crystal City he missed. His carrier and sire for one. Megatron had not told Impactor and Terminus he was leaving. There hadn’t been time. With Rumble and Frenzy under threat, and Orion urging them to leave, Megatron had simply gone.
He wondered if they worried. Many times he had started a letter to them, only to take the coward’s way out in the end. He had reams of parchment covered in ink stains and smears and strikethroughs. How did one apologize for abandoning his parents? How could he even begin to explain himself?
“My liege!”
Megatron startled and whipped around, searching for the origin of the call. A brightly colored smol launched himself from the top of the aerie and was now making a beeline for Megatron.
Oh. Hot Rod. He’d forgotten.
Megatron hovered in mid-air, allowing the smol to catch up to him. “I apologize, Hot Rod,” he said. “There was a matter that needed my attention and I--”
“It’s all right. You’re Liege after all,” Hot Rod rushed to say. “I know other things are more important sometimes. Are you free now or…?”
There was yearning in Hot Rod’s face. His eyes were big and bright, his expression hopeful. There was something about him that made it impossible for Megatron to deny him.
It was a familiar look.
“If you still wish to join me, you may,” Megatron said. “Though I doubt I have anything to offer in the way of conversation this evening.” He did not have the core to entertain right now. Or offer strength to another.
Hot Rod chirped at him. “Time spent with you is enough.”
Megatron’s core squeezed. He forced himself to look away from the pretty smol and set his gaze back on the horizon. “If you insist.” He pushed toward Tarn, though careful to keep his pace one Hot Rod could follow.
Silence fell between them, for once not awkward. Megatron allowed himself the chance to watch Hot Rod as the smol spun and flittered around him, far more energetic than Megatron had to spare.
Hot Rod truly was beautiful. Starlight glittered over his feathers. His expression was one of satisfaction, as was the small smile curving his lips. He hummed softly, barely audible to Megatron over the currents rushing past his ears. But he did have a pleasant voice.
He deserved to be happy.
“How long have you been in my flock, Hot Rod?” Megatron asked. He already knew the answer. He knew when every harpy had arrived at his aerie.
Hot Rod startled and blinked up at him. “Oh. Um. Going on two years now, my liege.”
Two years. Two mating seasons. And someone as beautiful as he, as eager to have a mate, was still unclaimed.
“You are happy here?” Megatron asked.
Hot Rod chuckled softly. “Yes, my liege. Kaon is… very different from my birth flock. But it is a good different. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
The air grew colder as they drew closer to the border, and the storm growing over Tarn. Megatron felt the chill of it, the damp. He turned them back toward Kaon, and Hot Rod moved smoothly with him.
“I am glad to hear it.” Megatron did not ask where Hot Rod was from. It was none of his business.
Soundwave, he was sure, knew. But unless Hot Rod wished to tell him, Megatron let the smol keep his secret as he allowed every harpy who joined his flock.
Sunstorm, for example, who had arrived in Kaon, heavy with egg, bleeding and nearly broken. He would not speak why, but saying he’d come from Vos had been enough. Megatron had seen the mating mark on Sunstorm’s neck – still raw as though recently refreshed-- and yet, Sunstorm’s mate had not come with him. He suspected it was because Sunstorm’s bara mate was dead. Perhaps by Sunstorm’s own hand.
The very sight of him had saddened Megatron to his core. He’d offered Sunstorm a home before the smol could even ask for it. The anger had set in later, fury that someone could harm another in such a way, especially a gravid smol who deserved to be pampered and cared for.
Hot Rod, however, was not from Vos. Of this Megatron was certain. He did not carry the weight of a smol frantically escaping an unkind fate. Not to mention, Hot Rod was so vividly colored, surely Sunstorm or Starscream would’ve recognized him.
“I wish for all of my flock to be happy,” Megatron continued, because it was true. What sort of a liege would he be if he was not invested in the happiness of his flock? “Do you not feel you would be happier with a mate?”
Hot Rod gave him another startled look. “It’s the proper order of things,” he said, though his voice was full of caution. “Or so I’m told. But--”
“Trailbreaker is seeking a mate,” Megatron said before Hot Rod could make yet another overture he would have to deny. “And has been for quite some time. He finds you attractive. Perhaps you might consider having a word with him?”
Hot Rod whipped in front of him and stalled, wings working furiously to keep him airborne. “Are you trying to... to redirect me to someone else?”
“It is a suggestion, nothing more.” Megatron reared back, keeping a careful distance between them. “I look to the happiness of my flock, Hot Rod. And I feel you and Trailbreaker would make a good match.”
Hot Rod stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking. He swallowed, visibly enough Megatron could see his throat bob.
“You are cruel, my liege,” he said at length, and his tone was tight. Hurt. “And worse that I’m not the only one you insult with that suggestion.”
Megatron narrowed his eyes. “I have told you time and again that I am not interested.”
“Yes. You have. And I’m the idiot who keeps trying anyway.” Hot Rod’s feathers fluffed, his words devolving into a hiss. “But at least being a fool is my choice. I don’t need you picking a mate for me.”
“That was not my intention.”
“It damn well was!” Hot Rod vibrated with a growing anger, but the hurt remained present, like a raw wound that Megatron knew all too well. “Spare me your pity. I don’t need it.”
He dropped suddenly, and Megatron’s core squeezed tight. He watched as Hot Rod tucked his wings in tight and spun downward. He caught his freefall with a skilled twist, and Megatron couldn’t help but marvel as the smol sped back toward Kaon, faster than Megatron knew him capable.
They were not far from home. Megatron could easily catch him, clear up matters, but he suspected it would only worsen things.
He sighed.
That hadn’t gone very well at all. But it needed to be done. Perhaps this would finally give Hot Rod the closure he needed.
Megatron gnawed on his bottom lip and set course toward home, albeit at a much slower pace. He was in no hurry to return to the cold emptiness of his nest.
Hot Rod’s hurt look continued to linger at the back of his mind.
a/n: ahhh, these two. it's going to get a lot more confusing before it gets clearer. :)
as always, feedback is welcome and appreciated
