[TF] Uncharted Territory 06/28
Aug. 1st, 2019 06:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22Title: Uncharted Territory
Universe: Transformers AR, Flights of Fancy AU
Characters: Blurr/Starscream, Original Human Character(s), Sari Sumdac, Miko Nakadai, Ratchet, Megatron, Rodimus, Red Alert, Others
Rated: M
Enticements: Sexual Content, Harpy/Human Sexual Content
Summary: There were a lot of things Blurr knew with great certainty: his path, his future, his happiness. Then Starscream swooped into his life and turned everything upside down in the best possible way.
Uncharted Territory
Chapter Six
Erotic dreams were nothing new to Blurr. He was a healthy man with a healthy libido, and currently single, he had a healthy collection of fantasies to draw from.
Until he met Starscream, said fantasies were relatively mundane. Faceless lovers or familiar ones. Echoed encounters, or those reimagined of ways they could have gone. Kinks he wanted to try, or things which intrigued him, but he wasn't sure he'd actually enjoy in theory. The usual, basically.
Never had the erotic dreams started with flight.
He'd dreamed of flying. Most humans had at some point. Whether by their own power or in some machine or by transforming into a creature capable of it.
Until Starscream, Blurr had only ever dreamed of flying on his own accord. Now he dreamed of flying with Starscream. But this.
This was the first time flying with Starscream had turned into something far more heated, far more messy, and far more erotic.
The details were blurred, as they always seemed to be, but certain things stood out in sharp definition. Like the ticklish brush of Starscream's feathers against his skin. The strength of Starscream's grip on his thighs, strong enough to hold, but light enough not to harm. The damp heat of Starscream's exhales, the hot rasp of his tongue as it traced circles on the insides of Blurr's thigh. His own moans, muffled by his knuckles, the scratchy-soft of a familiar blanket beneath his ass.
They were in his dorm, or maybe they weren't. Blurr wasn't sure, just like in most dreams, how they got from one point to another. One moment they were flying, Starscream holding him face to face, their lips tangling in soft and sweet kisses. The next they were on a bed and those kisses had gone lower, ticklish and hot, savoring as they explored Blurr's thighs, and his hipbones and nuzzled over his straining erection.
Starscream chuckled, that deep rolling sound which always seemed to reverberate up Blurr's spine, and he kissed the tip of Blurr's dick. He made some comment, but the words were lost to the dream, as if Blurr's subconscious couldn't guess what Starscream might say. And then the harpy was kissing him, his tongue long and rough, but hot and tasting of berries, because Starscream always smelled of berries.
Blurr threaded his fingers in Starscream's feathers, as soft and fine as hair, and deepened the kiss. He felt the sting of Starscream's teeth over his lips, the pressure of Starscream's body over his, hot and heavy though each feather was a sensual slide over his bare skin.
There wasn't a single moment where his dream-self hesitated. It didn't feel wrong in the slightest.
He felt as much a part of it as he felt the active participant. As though he was both watching himself make love to Starscream, and also experiencing it at the same time.
It was weird, and it was erotic, and it was strange, and it was wonderful, and he ached, deep in the pit of his belly, for the pleasure cresting through him in slow and steady waves, to be real.
The kiss deepened, intensified, and tension coiled inside of Blurr. He bucked up against Starscream, grinding the head of his dick against Starscream's belly. There was a purring rumble in Starscream's chest, but his hands were so gentle, so careful, as they tugged Blurr against him, the push and pull that was quite clearly sex, for all that there was no penetration.
Need clawed inside of Blurr, both the participant and the observer. His breathing quickened. Arousal coiled into a tight knot, and he wanted. Release came like a burst of heat, soaking him through and through, suffusing his body in unrelenting warmth.
And then he woke.
Slowly. Eyes blinking open, the world a smear of bright lights and the dull hum of flickering fluorescent and the click-click of fingers on a keyboard. His back ached. In front of him was a smear of blue and red. Something warm and soft draped over his back and shoulders, tickling the nape of his neck.
His pants felt tight but luckily, not damp. He just had a little problem he hoped would go away on his own, or he'd have to take care of in the bathroom.
Or.
Blurr blinked and the smear of color turned into Starscream sitting beside him, one arm draped over the back of Blurr's chair so that he had a feathery blanket. The harpy was reading from a book balanced on the table in front of him. The library table.
Oh. Right. He'd been in the library.
Primus, this was embarrassing.
Blurr swallowed thickly and hoped Starscream couldn't smell the arousal on him. Bad enough his dream had been rather vivid, he didn't want to talk about who had the starring role.
Blurr fought back a yawn and hoped his sleepiness would conceal the heat staining his cheeks. “Starscream?”
The harpy looked up from his book with a small smile. “There are better places to sleep, you know. Like your bed. I know it’s pretty comfortable.”
“I’m not sleeping here on purpose.” Blurr sat up, albeit reluctantly. Starscream’s wing was quite warm, and all Blurr wanted to do was snuggle into it. “I’m supposed to be researching, but it’s so damn boring.” He rubbed his eyes, trying to rub out the sleep. “I don’t think I got very far.”
“There’s a drool spot on your book,” Starscream pointed out with a laugh.
Damn it.
He was right.
Blurr sighed and marked his place before closing the textbook. He’d only managed a few notes for the paper, which was thankfully only five pages. But it was still five pages more than he wanted to write.
“Can I bribe you to write this for me?” Blurr asked, only half-kidding.
Starscream snorted. “I think if you turn in an assignment worthy of a high grade, they might get suspicious.”
“Hey!”
Starscream chuckled and marked his place in his own book. “I’ll revise it for you, if you want. But I won’t write it for you.”
Blurr harrumphed. “You’re no help.” He slumped in his chair and fought back another jaw-cracking yawn. Damn. What time was it?
He glanced at his watch and nearly levitated out of his chair. He knew the library was open pretty much twenty-four hours, but it was past midnight!
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Blurr asked as he started gathering his supplies and shoving them into his bag. “And why are you here, for that matter? I thought you were going to be at the aerie tonight?”
Starscream closed his book and set it aside, watching Blurr pack up his stuff without offering to help. “Perceptor needed some materials. I volunteered to pick them up for him.” He tilted his head. “And I didn’t wake you up because you looked like you needed the sleep.”
"This paper has been kicking my ass," Blurr admitted. He stuffed several papers into his bag without looking at them, and then shoved his research book on top. "Primus, I need a drink."
Plastic crinkled as Starscream offered him a water bottle.
Blurr chuckled, albeit it was raspy from sleep. "Not that kind of drink, though I appreciate the offer." He rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to need something a little harder." He paused and squinted. "Do harpies have alcohol?"
Starscream folded his arms and arched a feathery eyebrow. "Just how backward do you think we are? Of course we do."
Embarrassment flooded Blurr's cheeks. "Well, then you know what I meant," he mumbled, and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Are you going to stay here or...?"
Starscream stood, carefully tucking his books under an arm. "It's too late for me to fly back. And I don't believe I'm as capable of sleeping on these tables as you are." He softened the comment with a quiet laugh. "I don't want to impose if you have other plans though."
"You're never an imposition." Blurr pushed the chairs back in and swept crumbs from his earlier snack to the floor. "Besides, it's too late to go out. I'm just going to swing by the convenience store, but I'll give you my ID if you want to meet me at the dorm."
"Convenience store," Starscream repeated, and cocked his head. "I don't think I've visited it yet."
Blurr chuckled and headed out of the library, Starscream following in his wake, both of them careful to keep their voices down. Blurr wasn't the only one who'd fallen asleep. He could see other students bundled up in random corners with books or laptops, some of them perhaps exiled by roommates having overnight visitors.
"It's not really a place worth visiting. It's just a small store that has a little bit of everything and is very over-priced." Blurr's stomach grumbled noisily. Two gobbled granola bars and a chugged Red Bull did not a dinner make.
“Everything is worth visiting,” Starscream said.
Blurr managed a quiet laugh. “I suppose from your point of view, it is.” He headed left out of the library, straight for the outer edge of the campus grounds, where the local 7-11 was located catty-corner to the freshmen dorms.
It was an old gas station, probably one of the first built in Kaon, and newer structures rose up around it, bright and shiny in comparison. Weeds sprung up through cracks in the pavement, and the neon lights flickered no matter how often they changed the bulb. There were newer stations further up the road, but the 7-11 persisted, perhaps because it was so popular with the college students.
Blurr crossed the road, Starscream on his heels, the bag bumping against his lower back. A pair of cicadas buzzed overhead and as he stepped around a decrepit phone booth, he got a good look at the current clientele.
"Frag it," Blurr muttered. He stopped mid-stride, glaring at the dark green pick-up truck parked outside the store. He knew that truck, down to the rust stains around the wheel well and the faded bumper stickers.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Starscream peered over his shoulder, looming behind Blurr like a giant, feathery guard of some kind.
"It's nothing," Blurr said, maybe too hasty to be believed, but he couldn't come up with a decent enough lie. "I just changed my mind is all. We don't need to go in there."
He turned and nearly collided with a feathery wall. Starscream had stopped to intercept him, and the look on his face was pensive, feathery eyebrows drawn, worry in the ruffle of his feathers.
"Why not?" Starscream asked, glancing between Blurr and the 7-11, though he lacked the proper context.
Blurr pressed his lips together, gaze dropping. He ignored the growling in his stomach. "Because I have plenty of stuff at home. No need to waste money here. Let's just go." He tried to side-step Starscream, avoid the long reach of those long arms.
"But--"
"Blurr!"
He sighed. Too late.
Blurr adjusted the strap on his shoulder and slowly turned back around, easily tracking the shout back to its owner, the store's cheerful door chiming as it swung back shut, releasing Josiah Ketch back into the world. A broad smile greeted Blurr, set in a face speckled with freckles, below bright blue eyes. Josiah was what the newspapers would call classically handsome, and Blurr knew he could be very charming when the situation called for it.
"I haven't seen you in ages," Josiah said. He tossed his purchases through the open window of the truck and jogged over. "What are you doing out so late?"
"Studying," Blurr replied, his tone carefully neutral.
"Oh, that's right. It's your senior year, isn't it?" Josiah's grin never lost it's wattage, not even as he folded his arms, glanced up at Starscream dismissively, before focusing on Blurr again. "Figured out what you're going to do afterward yet?"
Blurr plastered a fake smile on his face. "Move out of Kaon as soon as possible probably."
Someone unfamiliar with Ketch would have missed the flicker of anger buried in the cast of disappointment on his face. Blurr didn't. He'd become far too skilled at reading Josiah's expressions before he managed to boot the man out of his life.
Starscream made a sound beside Blurr, a cross between a growl and a hum. "You're leaving Kaon?" he asked.
Damn it. This was not a conversation Blurr was going to have right here, past midnight, on the cigarette butt and gum-sticky pavement outside a 7-11, with his ex-boyfriend who better qualified as a stalker on his good days.
Blurr sighed and scrubbed his face. “I haven’t decided yet,” he answered. “I don’t currently have any post-graduation plans.”
“It’s less than a year, Blurr,” Josiah said with a frown, concern radiating from him, and Blurr probably would have fallen for it, months upon months ago. “You’re running out of time.”
“I’m not stupid. I know that,” Blurr snapped, his hand tightening around the strap of his bookbag.
Josiah sighed, like he was someone’s elderly aunt who couldn’t believe their sibling’s children were so worthless. “There’s ample opportunity out there. You know, my uncle still has that position open.”
Blurr’s jaw ached, and he realized too late that it was because he was clenching his teeth. “Then he should hire someone for it already.”
“He’s holding it for you,” Josiah insisted, and there it was, the frustrated edge of his voice Blurr had learned to recognize meant a lecture was forthcoming.
Anger boiled inside of him. “And I already told you I don’t want it,” Blurr ground out, his heart thudding madly inside his chest. It felt like last year all over again, shouting matches outside his dorm or the locker room, strangers staring and whispering, Blurr arguing in a battle he knew he was doomed to lose.
Josiah’s face started to redden, the tips of his ears darkening. “Why are you being so difficult about this?” he asked, tone carefully soft, cultivated with concern. “I’m trying to help you. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do.”
“And I don’t want your help!” Blurr snapped. He was shaking, he realized, much too late. He’d retreated a step, nearly colliding with Starscream behind him, and the humiliation of that only made the situation worse. “I never asked for your help. It’s always come with a price.”
Josiah shook his head. “Now, that’s not true.”
“It is and you know it!” Blurr hissed.
“Dae--”
Blurr snarled before he could stop himself, suddenly years younger and years stupider, and aching from another month gone by without his mother returning his calls. “Don’t call me that. You lost that right.”
“Blurr,” Josiah corrected, still with that soft, patient smile, that used to make their friends believe Blurr was the irrational one. Because wasn’t that how these things went?
Blurr was the weird, out of towner, exiled from his own home. Josiah was the local, established, son of a man who’s great-great-great-grandfather had helped build the town, or something of equal grandness. Josiah had never wanted for anything, didn’t even attend the university because he hadn’t needed to, and he’d fallen in love at first sight with Blurr.
Or at least, that’s the story as he told it.
“You know, I’m only offering because I care about you,” Josiah said, with that patented patience, that perfect wheedle.
He took a step forward.
A feathery wall appeared between them, cutting off Blurr’s view of his ex-lover, bright red and blue bristling with emotion.
“I think it’s pretty clear by now that whatever you’re offering, he doesn’t want,” Starscream said, an edge of a growl in his voice. “Perhaps you are someone who needs to learn how to graciously heed a rejection.”
“Who are you to interfere?” Josiah demanded. “This is none of your business.”
“I’m his friend and right now, it doesn’t look like you are much of one.” Starscream’s tone was carefully even, but Blurr had been around him long enough to hear the underlying threat in it. “Though if I’ve overstepped, he will let me know.”
“You haven’t overstepped,” Blurr murmured, only loud enough for Starscream to hear. He drew in a slow, steadying breath and rested a hand on Starscream’s back, pushing his gratitude through the light touch. “Just go home, Josiah. Move on. We aren’t anything anymore.”
Gravel crunched again, and Starscream tensed.
“Will you just talk to me?” Josiah asked, and his voice wavered just enough that for a moment, Blurr was tempted.
Starscream, however, outright growled. “It sounds to me like he doesn’t want to. So why don’t you just go home, human?”
Josiah, unexpectedly brave, held his ground. “Blurr?”
He didn’t look. He refused to look. He wouldn’t let himself look.
“No, Josiah,” he answered. “Go home.”
Josiah growled in frustration, and Blurr didn’t have to see him to know he was raking his hand through his hair. “Fine. But you know where to find me when you change your mind.”
He stomped away, the crunch of his boots on the pavement absurdly loud in the late night air. Blurr winced as he heard the loud rumble of the old truck’s engine coming to life, and the screech of tires as Josiah backed out and whipped the vehicle out of the parking lot.
Blurr didn’t breathe until he was sure Josiah was gone, and then his knees turned to jelly. He didn’t know if he would have stumbled or not, because Starscream turned around and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his concern a thousand times more genuine than Josiah’s.
“I’m fine,” Blurr lied. He would be. Eventually.
He hadn’t seen Josiah since they officially broke up. Since Josiah didn’t attend the university, and Blurr didn’t go into the town proper, their paths didn’t cross. Coach had banned him from attending Blurr’s practice or meets, and she had enough pull to ensure he couldn’t wheedle his way out of the bans.
“He’s just unpleasant,” Blurr said.
“He’s a jerk,” Starscream said with a snort. He glared in the direction of Josiah’s taillights. “I should have hit him.”
Blurr sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. “It’s better that you didn’t.” He rubbed his clammy palms down his jeans. “Thanks, by the way. I mean, I could’ve handled him, but I think you were a pretty good deterrent.”
The last thing he needed was either the campus security or the local police showing up at the 7-11 because two gay men were having a domestic in the parking lot. That was the kind of publicity Blurr didn’t need.
“Primus, I need a drink,” Blurr muttered.
He looked up, past Starscream, to see if anyone was paying them any attention. There was a cluster of what looked to be college students hovering near the DVD rental machine, a cloud of cigarette smoke around their heads. They weren’t paying him a bit of attention. One woman was at the pump, dark circles under her eyes, wearing a rumpled restaurant uniform.
No one cared. Small favor.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Starscream asked, worry radiating from every twitching feather, and the darker glow of his eyes.
"Nothing a little whiskey won't cure," Blurr replied, planting a smile on his face. He tilted his head toward the store. "Come on. Let's get what we came here for."
Starscream looked like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind at the last minute. Instead he nodded and let Blurr lead the way.
Usually, Blurr would take his time browsing. He'd let Starscream flitter around and examine anything he wanted, while asking numerous questions, and Blurr would walk out with a bag of the most bizarre assortment of items.
This time, he headed straight for the beer and wine case in the back, picking out a selection with little fanfare, leaning toward the fruitier concoctions for Starscream to try. He tumbled a half-dozen bottles into the paper carrying tray and then beelined it toward the tiny selection of liquors they were allowed to stock. Two bottles of Jameson were tucked under his arm.
Starscream must have sensed his mood. He didn't linger. He followed behind Blurr, eyes curious and contemplative, but he didn't stop to ask questions.
Blurr grabbed a few things, tumbling them into Starscream's hands to hold. A pack of double-stuffed oreos, some pretzels, a bag of trail mix he knew Starscream liked, and he impulsively grabbed a shareable bag of peanut M&Ms as they passed the display.
Blurr tumbled the entirety of his items onto the counter, and the bored kid behind the counter gave him a look with raised eyebrows.
"Don't even ask," Blurr said as he pulled out his ID and his credit card.
"I get it, man. I get it." The cashier held up his hands and dutifully started to ring up Blurr's purchases, stuffing them into bags.
A feathery hand reached over Blurr's shoulder, adding a pack of Pixie Stix to the stack, and Blurr had to stifle a quiet chuckle. Starscream loved those things, and Blurr thought they were disgusting. Rathi, apparently, had been the one to introduce them to Starscream.
The cashier held them up with a question, and when Blurr nodded, stuffed them into his bag. To his credit, he didn't even blink at the large, humanoid bird hovering by Blurr's right shoulder. Working the night shift at a 7-11, he'd probably seen weirder.
Blurr paid and gathered up his bags, Starscream grabbing the heavier one before he could, and they left, the cashier calling out, "Good luck, dude!" as the door chimed them out.
"You're not going to drink all of this, are you?" Starscream peered into the bag, frowning with disapproval.
"Some of it's for you."
Starscream wrinkled his nose. "That's still a lot."
Blurr's heart warmed at his concern. "I know. Don't worry. I'm not going to drink it all. Some of it’s for a later day."
Starscream still looked doubtful, but he didn't say anything else. Which was a relief, because Blurr didn't feel like justifying his very, very rare instances of over-indulgence.
They made it back to his dorm without incident. It was unfortunate because at any other time, Blurr would have enjoyed the late night walk. It was a clear night, without a cloud in the sky, and the moon was bright and full. The air had the crispiness of autumn to it, and normally, it would have brought him peace.
There was too much turmoil churning his belly right now for that to work.
He dumped his bookbag in his desk chair, dropped the bags on the floor in front of his wardrobe, and started yanking blankets and pillows off the bed to form a large nest on the ground, in front of his TV. He tossed his remotes into it, though he probably wouldn't bother watching TV, and kicked off his shoes in the general direction of his door.
Comfort achieved, Blurr tugged off his hoodie, shoved it into his closet, and then dove into the nest, wriggling around until he found the perfect mix of cover and not-cover.
Starscream watched him silently, his winter coat seeming even fluffier. "Is this a human custom I am unfamiliar with?"
"I dunno. Don't harpies have bad days?" Blurr asked. He patted the open space next to him and ripped open the bag of Oreos. "Come on. Join me."
"Harpies have bad days," Starscream said. He cocked his head at Blurr before he lowered himself down, joining Blurr on the blanket nest.
He handed over the plastic bag and Blurr dug through it, setting aside one of the bottles of whiskey and a hard apple cider for himself. For Starscream, he pulled out a pina colada wine cooler and popped off the top.
"Here. Try this. Tell me what you think," he said.
Starscream took the bottle and gave it a ginger sniff. "Interesting," he murmured before he tipped the bottle back and took a long sip. He swallowed and licked his lips.
"Well?"
"It's not entirely unpleasant." Starscream hummed and took another drink. "It is bubbly. Our mead is not like this. It is more like syrup, heavy and thick."
"Oh, I've had mead before. It's good stuff." Blurr shoved an Oreo into his mouth, leaned back against a tower of pillows, and twisted open the whiskey. He grabbed the bag of trail mix and Pixie Stix, handing both to Starscream. "For you."
"Thank you." Starscream's crest feathers fluttered, his lips curving into a pleased smile. "Will you be all right?"
Blurr leaned back and crunched on another cookie. "It was just an unpleasant surprise is all. I’ll get over it." He shrugged and hoped Starscream dropped it.
The harpy gave him a long look, but didn't push. Instead, he got more comfortable in the nest and ripped open the bag of trail mix, immediately rooting out the dried dates first. He was particularly fond of those.
"All right." Blurr kicked back and took a shot of his whiskey. It burned all the way down, and set up a nice warmth in his stomach. "You've now met two of my past partners. I think it's about time you return the favor."
Starscream's expression dimmed. "I'm not sure you would be interested."
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked."
"Harpies can be very different, Blurr." Starscream paused and amended, "Well, at least in my birth aerie. Kaon has taken on some more human leanings, I've noticed." He took a long sip of his wine cooler.
Blurr nodded slowly. He grabbed the pretzels, tearing them open. "Can you talk about it? I mean, I don't want to open any old wounds or anything, but I mean, I'm curious."
Starscream offered him a crooked smile. "I have my own Josiah, so to speak. But I've also had other lovers who are far more memorable."
"Do share." Blurr grinned around a mouthful of pretzels.
Starscream chuckled quietly. "I will say that things were much different back in Vos. Smols, like myself, were not allowed to... flitter about as we pleased. Unsurprisingly, I often ignored those little rules."
"No. You?" Blurr laughed as well and capped the whiskey, reaching for his cider instead.
"I know. Hard to believe, isn't it?" Starscream's smile softened a bit. "I had my fair share of playmates who were smols like myself, but none of them remarkable. There was, however, a harpy named Deathsaurus. He was part of a visiting entertainment troupe, and he was exactly the kind of harpy my parents warned me about."
Blurr hummed thoughtfully. "A bad boy, hm?"
"Depends on what you mean by 'bad'." Starscream contemplated his bottle before he took another drink. "Deathsaurus was strong and charming, but what would really horrify my parents was the fact he's a raptor."
"A raptor?"
Starscream took in a deep breath, his forehead furrowing. "Raptors are harpies, but they're a more... primitive race, I suppose. Some view them as lesser because of it. But they're stronger, faster, and larger than us, their feathered kin."
Blurr's eyebrows crawled up toward his hairline. "Wow. And he was a good... lover?"
"Very much so." Starscream's smirk was practically a preen, but it softened with memory. "I was disappointed when he left."
"You didn't try to go with him?"
"I didn't want to." Starscream's shoulders lifted in a shrug. His gaze wandered, his mouth buried behind the curve of the bottle. "Traveling endlessly did not match my personal goals. I saw him twice after, and each time was a gift, but it was never anything more."
The look of fondness on Starscream's face was apparent. Blurr knew that emotion all too well. Regret was always born of complicated situations.
Blurr nodded slowly. "That's the way life goes, I guess. Anyone else?" He tipped his bottle back, draining the cider quickly, before he reached for the whiskey for a couple more shots.
"A few," Starscream hedged. He toyed with his bottle, and tipped more of the trail mix into his mouth, crunching the nut mixture.
"All back in Vos?" Blurr asked, and was that an edge of jealousy in his voice. He hoped not. He burned it away with a shot of whiskey.
Starscream shook his head. "Most of them, yes. But there are a few here in Kaon."
"Oh?" Blurr hoped he sounded casual enough.
Starscream chuckled. "I don't know if I've drank enough of these to be that revealing yet." He wiggled the bottle, sloshing the liquid around.
"Then finish it. I'll get you another." Blurr dug around in the plastic bag and pulled out a strawberry ale he thought Starscream might like. He popped the cap and handed it over, just as Starscream finished the wine cooler.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Starscream asked.
"Trying to see if you even can." Blurr saluted him with the whiskey bottle, took another swig, and pulled out a handful of double-stuffed Oreos.
Starscream laughed, and something in his amusement unknotted the tension Josiah had left in Blurr's belly. "I definitely can though whether or not your alcohol is capable of it, I don't know. We can certainly find out."
"Tell me something else then, if you're going to be coy about your ex-boyfriends," Blurr said as the alcohol settled hot and languid in his belly. He sank a bit further in his nest of blankets.
Starscream’s tongue flicked across his lips. “All right.” His gaze went distant again, as though he was thinking very hard. “It is not uncommon in Vos for matings to be pre-arranged. I didn’t like one of my suitors, so I purposefully made a complete mess of our first meeting, hoping he’d withdraw his bid.”
Blurr’s lips twitched. He could well imagine Starscream turning off the charm in order to scare someone away. “Did it work?”
“No.” Starscream’s tone was flat. Pained. He stared hard at the wall as he tipped the bottle back and drained half of it at once. “As it turned out, he liked a challenge. I ended up his for the next mating season.”
Amusement drained out of Blurr. “Is that--”
“When I left?” Starscream’s gaze flicked to his, a sense of commiseration in the glance. “Yes.”
Blurr sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. He dared inch closer to Starscream, until their hips touched and the warmth of their bodies came together.
“Your Josiah?”
Starscream tipped his head back and drank the rest of his strawberry ale. “Mm.” He smacked his lips, looked at the bottle, and set it aside. He lifted his arm and draped it over Blurr, much like he had in the library.
He probably should have protested. He didn’t want to. Starscream’s warmth felt good. He smelled sweet and comforting. Right now, they both kind of needed it.
“Then I’m glad you came here instead,” Blurr murmured. He capped the whiskey and flipped the flap on the Oreos shut.
Starscream’s hand rested on Blurr’s shoulder, as if in a protective curve. “I am, too.”
They fell asleep like that, in the middle of a nest of blankets, alcohol, and unhealthy treats, on Blurr’s dormroom floor.
It was one of the best nights of sleep he’d ever had.
*
Universe: Transformers AR, Flights of Fancy AU
Characters: Blurr/Starscream, Original Human Character(s), Sari Sumdac, Miko Nakadai, Ratchet, Megatron, Rodimus, Red Alert, Others
Rated: M
Enticements: Sexual Content, Harpy/Human Sexual Content
Summary: There were a lot of things Blurr knew with great certainty: his path, his future, his happiness. Then Starscream swooped into his life and turned everything upside down in the best possible way.
Chapter Six
Erotic dreams were nothing new to Blurr. He was a healthy man with a healthy libido, and currently single, he had a healthy collection of fantasies to draw from.
Until he met Starscream, said fantasies were relatively mundane. Faceless lovers or familiar ones. Echoed encounters, or those reimagined of ways they could have gone. Kinks he wanted to try, or things which intrigued him, but he wasn't sure he'd actually enjoy in theory. The usual, basically.
Never had the erotic dreams started with flight.
He'd dreamed of flying. Most humans had at some point. Whether by their own power or in some machine or by transforming into a creature capable of it.
Until Starscream, Blurr had only ever dreamed of flying on his own accord. Now he dreamed of flying with Starscream. But this.
This was the first time flying with Starscream had turned into something far more heated, far more messy, and far more erotic.
The details were blurred, as they always seemed to be, but certain things stood out in sharp definition. Like the ticklish brush of Starscream's feathers against his skin. The strength of Starscream's grip on his thighs, strong enough to hold, but light enough not to harm. The damp heat of Starscream's exhales, the hot rasp of his tongue as it traced circles on the insides of Blurr's thigh. His own moans, muffled by his knuckles, the scratchy-soft of a familiar blanket beneath his ass.
They were in his dorm, or maybe they weren't. Blurr wasn't sure, just like in most dreams, how they got from one point to another. One moment they were flying, Starscream holding him face to face, their lips tangling in soft and sweet kisses. The next they were on a bed and those kisses had gone lower, ticklish and hot, savoring as they explored Blurr's thighs, and his hipbones and nuzzled over his straining erection.
Starscream chuckled, that deep rolling sound which always seemed to reverberate up Blurr's spine, and he kissed the tip of Blurr's dick. He made some comment, but the words were lost to the dream, as if Blurr's subconscious couldn't guess what Starscream might say. And then the harpy was kissing him, his tongue long and rough, but hot and tasting of berries, because Starscream always smelled of berries.
Blurr threaded his fingers in Starscream's feathers, as soft and fine as hair, and deepened the kiss. He felt the sting of Starscream's teeth over his lips, the pressure of Starscream's body over his, hot and heavy though each feather was a sensual slide over his bare skin.
There wasn't a single moment where his dream-self hesitated. It didn't feel wrong in the slightest.
He felt as much a part of it as he felt the active participant. As though he was both watching himself make love to Starscream, and also experiencing it at the same time.
It was weird, and it was erotic, and it was strange, and it was wonderful, and he ached, deep in the pit of his belly, for the pleasure cresting through him in slow and steady waves, to be real.
The kiss deepened, intensified, and tension coiled inside of Blurr. He bucked up against Starscream, grinding the head of his dick against Starscream's belly. There was a purring rumble in Starscream's chest, but his hands were so gentle, so careful, as they tugged Blurr against him, the push and pull that was quite clearly sex, for all that there was no penetration.
Need clawed inside of Blurr, both the participant and the observer. His breathing quickened. Arousal coiled into a tight knot, and he wanted. Release came like a burst of heat, soaking him through and through, suffusing his body in unrelenting warmth.
And then he woke.
Slowly. Eyes blinking open, the world a smear of bright lights and the dull hum of flickering fluorescent and the click-click of fingers on a keyboard. His back ached. In front of him was a smear of blue and red. Something warm and soft draped over his back and shoulders, tickling the nape of his neck.
His pants felt tight but luckily, not damp. He just had a little problem he hoped would go away on his own, or he'd have to take care of in the bathroom.
Or.
Blurr blinked and the smear of color turned into Starscream sitting beside him, one arm draped over the back of Blurr's chair so that he had a feathery blanket. The harpy was reading from a book balanced on the table in front of him. The library table.
Oh. Right. He'd been in the library.
Primus, this was embarrassing.
Blurr swallowed thickly and hoped Starscream couldn't smell the arousal on him. Bad enough his dream had been rather vivid, he didn't want to talk about who had the starring role.
Blurr fought back a yawn and hoped his sleepiness would conceal the heat staining his cheeks. “Starscream?”
The harpy looked up from his book with a small smile. “There are better places to sleep, you know. Like your bed. I know it’s pretty comfortable.”
“I’m not sleeping here on purpose.” Blurr sat up, albeit reluctantly. Starscream’s wing was quite warm, and all Blurr wanted to do was snuggle into it. “I’m supposed to be researching, but it’s so damn boring.” He rubbed his eyes, trying to rub out the sleep. “I don’t think I got very far.”
“There’s a drool spot on your book,” Starscream pointed out with a laugh.
Damn it.
He was right.
Blurr sighed and marked his place before closing the textbook. He’d only managed a few notes for the paper, which was thankfully only five pages. But it was still five pages more than he wanted to write.
“Can I bribe you to write this for me?” Blurr asked, only half-kidding.
Starscream snorted. “I think if you turn in an assignment worthy of a high grade, they might get suspicious.”
“Hey!”
Starscream chuckled and marked his place in his own book. “I’ll revise it for you, if you want. But I won’t write it for you.”
Blurr harrumphed. “You’re no help.” He slumped in his chair and fought back another jaw-cracking yawn. Damn. What time was it?
He glanced at his watch and nearly levitated out of his chair. He knew the library was open pretty much twenty-four hours, but it was past midnight!
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Blurr asked as he started gathering his supplies and shoving them into his bag. “And why are you here, for that matter? I thought you were going to be at the aerie tonight?”
Starscream closed his book and set it aside, watching Blurr pack up his stuff without offering to help. “Perceptor needed some materials. I volunteered to pick them up for him.” He tilted his head. “And I didn’t wake you up because you looked like you needed the sleep.”
"This paper has been kicking my ass," Blurr admitted. He stuffed several papers into his bag without looking at them, and then shoved his research book on top. "Primus, I need a drink."
Plastic crinkled as Starscream offered him a water bottle.
Blurr chuckled, albeit it was raspy from sleep. "Not that kind of drink, though I appreciate the offer." He rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to need something a little harder." He paused and squinted. "Do harpies have alcohol?"
Starscream folded his arms and arched a feathery eyebrow. "Just how backward do you think we are? Of course we do."
Embarrassment flooded Blurr's cheeks. "Well, then you know what I meant," he mumbled, and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Are you going to stay here or...?"
Starscream stood, carefully tucking his books under an arm. "It's too late for me to fly back. And I don't believe I'm as capable of sleeping on these tables as you are." He softened the comment with a quiet laugh. "I don't want to impose if you have other plans though."
"You're never an imposition." Blurr pushed the chairs back in and swept crumbs from his earlier snack to the floor. "Besides, it's too late to go out. I'm just going to swing by the convenience store, but I'll give you my ID if you want to meet me at the dorm."
"Convenience store," Starscream repeated, and cocked his head. "I don't think I've visited it yet."
Blurr chuckled and headed out of the library, Starscream following in his wake, both of them careful to keep their voices down. Blurr wasn't the only one who'd fallen asleep. He could see other students bundled up in random corners with books or laptops, some of them perhaps exiled by roommates having overnight visitors.
"It's not really a place worth visiting. It's just a small store that has a little bit of everything and is very over-priced." Blurr's stomach grumbled noisily. Two gobbled granola bars and a chugged Red Bull did not a dinner make.
“Everything is worth visiting,” Starscream said.
Blurr managed a quiet laugh. “I suppose from your point of view, it is.” He headed left out of the library, straight for the outer edge of the campus grounds, where the local 7-11 was located catty-corner to the freshmen dorms.
It was an old gas station, probably one of the first built in Kaon, and newer structures rose up around it, bright and shiny in comparison. Weeds sprung up through cracks in the pavement, and the neon lights flickered no matter how often they changed the bulb. There were newer stations further up the road, but the 7-11 persisted, perhaps because it was so popular with the college students.
Blurr crossed the road, Starscream on his heels, the bag bumping against his lower back. A pair of cicadas buzzed overhead and as he stepped around a decrepit phone booth, he got a good look at the current clientele.
"Frag it," Blurr muttered. He stopped mid-stride, glaring at the dark green pick-up truck parked outside the store. He knew that truck, down to the rust stains around the wheel well and the faded bumper stickers.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Starscream peered over his shoulder, looming behind Blurr like a giant, feathery guard of some kind.
"It's nothing," Blurr said, maybe too hasty to be believed, but he couldn't come up with a decent enough lie. "I just changed my mind is all. We don't need to go in there."
He turned and nearly collided with a feathery wall. Starscream had stopped to intercept him, and the look on his face was pensive, feathery eyebrows drawn, worry in the ruffle of his feathers.
"Why not?" Starscream asked, glancing between Blurr and the 7-11, though he lacked the proper context.
Blurr pressed his lips together, gaze dropping. He ignored the growling in his stomach. "Because I have plenty of stuff at home. No need to waste money here. Let's just go." He tried to side-step Starscream, avoid the long reach of those long arms.
"But--"
"Blurr!"
He sighed. Too late.
Blurr adjusted the strap on his shoulder and slowly turned back around, easily tracking the shout back to its owner, the store's cheerful door chiming as it swung back shut, releasing Josiah Ketch back into the world. A broad smile greeted Blurr, set in a face speckled with freckles, below bright blue eyes. Josiah was what the newspapers would call classically handsome, and Blurr knew he could be very charming when the situation called for it.
"I haven't seen you in ages," Josiah said. He tossed his purchases through the open window of the truck and jogged over. "What are you doing out so late?"
"Studying," Blurr replied, his tone carefully neutral.
"Oh, that's right. It's your senior year, isn't it?" Josiah's grin never lost it's wattage, not even as he folded his arms, glanced up at Starscream dismissively, before focusing on Blurr again. "Figured out what you're going to do afterward yet?"
Blurr plastered a fake smile on his face. "Move out of Kaon as soon as possible probably."
Someone unfamiliar with Ketch would have missed the flicker of anger buried in the cast of disappointment on his face. Blurr didn't. He'd become far too skilled at reading Josiah's expressions before he managed to boot the man out of his life.
Starscream made a sound beside Blurr, a cross between a growl and a hum. "You're leaving Kaon?" he asked.
Damn it. This was not a conversation Blurr was going to have right here, past midnight, on the cigarette butt and gum-sticky pavement outside a 7-11, with his ex-boyfriend who better qualified as a stalker on his good days.
Blurr sighed and scrubbed his face. “I haven’t decided yet,” he answered. “I don’t currently have any post-graduation plans.”
“It’s less than a year, Blurr,” Josiah said with a frown, concern radiating from him, and Blurr probably would have fallen for it, months upon months ago. “You’re running out of time.”
“I’m not stupid. I know that,” Blurr snapped, his hand tightening around the strap of his bookbag.
Josiah sighed, like he was someone’s elderly aunt who couldn’t believe their sibling’s children were so worthless. “There’s ample opportunity out there. You know, my uncle still has that position open.”
Blurr’s jaw ached, and he realized too late that it was because he was clenching his teeth. “Then he should hire someone for it already.”
“He’s holding it for you,” Josiah insisted, and there it was, the frustrated edge of his voice Blurr had learned to recognize meant a lecture was forthcoming.
Anger boiled inside of him. “And I already told you I don’t want it,” Blurr ground out, his heart thudding madly inside his chest. It felt like last year all over again, shouting matches outside his dorm or the locker room, strangers staring and whispering, Blurr arguing in a battle he knew he was doomed to lose.
Josiah’s face started to redden, the tips of his ears darkening. “Why are you being so difficult about this?” he asked, tone carefully soft, cultivated with concern. “I’m trying to help you. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do.”
“And I don’t want your help!” Blurr snapped. He was shaking, he realized, much too late. He’d retreated a step, nearly colliding with Starscream behind him, and the humiliation of that only made the situation worse. “I never asked for your help. It’s always come with a price.”
Josiah shook his head. “Now, that’s not true.”
“It is and you know it!” Blurr hissed.
“Dae--”
Blurr snarled before he could stop himself, suddenly years younger and years stupider, and aching from another month gone by without his mother returning his calls. “Don’t call me that. You lost that right.”
“Blurr,” Josiah corrected, still with that soft, patient smile, that used to make their friends believe Blurr was the irrational one. Because wasn’t that how these things went?
Blurr was the weird, out of towner, exiled from his own home. Josiah was the local, established, son of a man who’s great-great-great-grandfather had helped build the town, or something of equal grandness. Josiah had never wanted for anything, didn’t even attend the university because he hadn’t needed to, and he’d fallen in love at first sight with Blurr.
Or at least, that’s the story as he told it.
“You know, I’m only offering because I care about you,” Josiah said, with that patented patience, that perfect wheedle.
He took a step forward.
A feathery wall appeared between them, cutting off Blurr’s view of his ex-lover, bright red and blue bristling with emotion.
“I think it’s pretty clear by now that whatever you’re offering, he doesn’t want,” Starscream said, an edge of a growl in his voice. “Perhaps you are someone who needs to learn how to graciously heed a rejection.”
“Who are you to interfere?” Josiah demanded. “This is none of your business.”
“I’m his friend and right now, it doesn’t look like you are much of one.” Starscream’s tone was carefully even, but Blurr had been around him long enough to hear the underlying threat in it. “Though if I’ve overstepped, he will let me know.”
“You haven’t overstepped,” Blurr murmured, only loud enough for Starscream to hear. He drew in a slow, steadying breath and rested a hand on Starscream’s back, pushing his gratitude through the light touch. “Just go home, Josiah. Move on. We aren’t anything anymore.”
Gravel crunched again, and Starscream tensed.
“Will you just talk to me?” Josiah asked, and his voice wavered just enough that for a moment, Blurr was tempted.
Starscream, however, outright growled. “It sounds to me like he doesn’t want to. So why don’t you just go home, human?”
Josiah, unexpectedly brave, held his ground. “Blurr?”
He didn’t look. He refused to look. He wouldn’t let himself look.
“No, Josiah,” he answered. “Go home.”
Josiah growled in frustration, and Blurr didn’t have to see him to know he was raking his hand through his hair. “Fine. But you know where to find me when you change your mind.”
He stomped away, the crunch of his boots on the pavement absurdly loud in the late night air. Blurr winced as he heard the loud rumble of the old truck’s engine coming to life, and the screech of tires as Josiah backed out and whipped the vehicle out of the parking lot.
Blurr didn’t breathe until he was sure Josiah was gone, and then his knees turned to jelly. He didn’t know if he would have stumbled or not, because Starscream turned around and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his concern a thousand times more genuine than Josiah’s.
“I’m fine,” Blurr lied. He would be. Eventually.
He hadn’t seen Josiah since they officially broke up. Since Josiah didn’t attend the university, and Blurr didn’t go into the town proper, their paths didn’t cross. Coach had banned him from attending Blurr’s practice or meets, and she had enough pull to ensure he couldn’t wheedle his way out of the bans.
“He’s just unpleasant,” Blurr said.
“He’s a jerk,” Starscream said with a snort. He glared in the direction of Josiah’s taillights. “I should have hit him.”
Blurr sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. “It’s better that you didn’t.” He rubbed his clammy palms down his jeans. “Thanks, by the way. I mean, I could’ve handled him, but I think you were a pretty good deterrent.”
The last thing he needed was either the campus security or the local police showing up at the 7-11 because two gay men were having a domestic in the parking lot. That was the kind of publicity Blurr didn’t need.
“Primus, I need a drink,” Blurr muttered.
He looked up, past Starscream, to see if anyone was paying them any attention. There was a cluster of what looked to be college students hovering near the DVD rental machine, a cloud of cigarette smoke around their heads. They weren’t paying him a bit of attention. One woman was at the pump, dark circles under her eyes, wearing a rumpled restaurant uniform.
No one cared. Small favor.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Starscream asked, worry radiating from every twitching feather, and the darker glow of his eyes.
"Nothing a little whiskey won't cure," Blurr replied, planting a smile on his face. He tilted his head toward the store. "Come on. Let's get what we came here for."
Starscream looked like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind at the last minute. Instead he nodded and let Blurr lead the way.
Usually, Blurr would take his time browsing. He'd let Starscream flitter around and examine anything he wanted, while asking numerous questions, and Blurr would walk out with a bag of the most bizarre assortment of items.
This time, he headed straight for the beer and wine case in the back, picking out a selection with little fanfare, leaning toward the fruitier concoctions for Starscream to try. He tumbled a half-dozen bottles into the paper carrying tray and then beelined it toward the tiny selection of liquors they were allowed to stock. Two bottles of Jameson were tucked under his arm.
Starscream must have sensed his mood. He didn't linger. He followed behind Blurr, eyes curious and contemplative, but he didn't stop to ask questions.
Blurr grabbed a few things, tumbling them into Starscream's hands to hold. A pack of double-stuffed oreos, some pretzels, a bag of trail mix he knew Starscream liked, and he impulsively grabbed a shareable bag of peanut M&Ms as they passed the display.
Blurr tumbled the entirety of his items onto the counter, and the bored kid behind the counter gave him a look with raised eyebrows.
"Don't even ask," Blurr said as he pulled out his ID and his credit card.
"I get it, man. I get it." The cashier held up his hands and dutifully started to ring up Blurr's purchases, stuffing them into bags.
A feathery hand reached over Blurr's shoulder, adding a pack of Pixie Stix to the stack, and Blurr had to stifle a quiet chuckle. Starscream loved those things, and Blurr thought they were disgusting. Rathi, apparently, had been the one to introduce them to Starscream.
The cashier held them up with a question, and when Blurr nodded, stuffed them into his bag. To his credit, he didn't even blink at the large, humanoid bird hovering by Blurr's right shoulder. Working the night shift at a 7-11, he'd probably seen weirder.
Blurr paid and gathered up his bags, Starscream grabbing the heavier one before he could, and they left, the cashier calling out, "Good luck, dude!" as the door chimed them out.
"You're not going to drink all of this, are you?" Starscream peered into the bag, frowning with disapproval.
"Some of it's for you."
Starscream wrinkled his nose. "That's still a lot."
Blurr's heart warmed at his concern. "I know. Don't worry. I'm not going to drink it all. Some of it’s for a later day."
Starscream still looked doubtful, but he didn't say anything else. Which was a relief, because Blurr didn't feel like justifying his very, very rare instances of over-indulgence.
They made it back to his dorm without incident. It was unfortunate because at any other time, Blurr would have enjoyed the late night walk. It was a clear night, without a cloud in the sky, and the moon was bright and full. The air had the crispiness of autumn to it, and normally, it would have brought him peace.
There was too much turmoil churning his belly right now for that to work.
He dumped his bookbag in his desk chair, dropped the bags on the floor in front of his wardrobe, and started yanking blankets and pillows off the bed to form a large nest on the ground, in front of his TV. He tossed his remotes into it, though he probably wouldn't bother watching TV, and kicked off his shoes in the general direction of his door.
Comfort achieved, Blurr tugged off his hoodie, shoved it into his closet, and then dove into the nest, wriggling around until he found the perfect mix of cover and not-cover.
Starscream watched him silently, his winter coat seeming even fluffier. "Is this a human custom I am unfamiliar with?"
"I dunno. Don't harpies have bad days?" Blurr asked. He patted the open space next to him and ripped open the bag of Oreos. "Come on. Join me."
"Harpies have bad days," Starscream said. He cocked his head at Blurr before he lowered himself down, joining Blurr on the blanket nest.
He handed over the plastic bag and Blurr dug through it, setting aside one of the bottles of whiskey and a hard apple cider for himself. For Starscream, he pulled out a pina colada wine cooler and popped off the top.
"Here. Try this. Tell me what you think," he said.
Starscream took the bottle and gave it a ginger sniff. "Interesting," he murmured before he tipped the bottle back and took a long sip. He swallowed and licked his lips.
"Well?"
"It's not entirely unpleasant." Starscream hummed and took another drink. "It is bubbly. Our mead is not like this. It is more like syrup, heavy and thick."
"Oh, I've had mead before. It's good stuff." Blurr shoved an Oreo into his mouth, leaned back against a tower of pillows, and twisted open the whiskey. He grabbed the bag of trail mix and Pixie Stix, handing both to Starscream. "For you."
"Thank you." Starscream's crest feathers fluttered, his lips curving into a pleased smile. "Will you be all right?"
Blurr leaned back and crunched on another cookie. "It was just an unpleasant surprise is all. I’ll get over it." He shrugged and hoped Starscream dropped it.
The harpy gave him a long look, but didn't push. Instead, he got more comfortable in the nest and ripped open the bag of trail mix, immediately rooting out the dried dates first. He was particularly fond of those.
"All right." Blurr kicked back and took a shot of his whiskey. It burned all the way down, and set up a nice warmth in his stomach. "You've now met two of my past partners. I think it's about time you return the favor."
Starscream's expression dimmed. "I'm not sure you would be interested."
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked."
"Harpies can be very different, Blurr." Starscream paused and amended, "Well, at least in my birth aerie. Kaon has taken on some more human leanings, I've noticed." He took a long sip of his wine cooler.
Blurr nodded slowly. He grabbed the pretzels, tearing them open. "Can you talk about it? I mean, I don't want to open any old wounds or anything, but I mean, I'm curious."
Starscream offered him a crooked smile. "I have my own Josiah, so to speak. But I've also had other lovers who are far more memorable."
"Do share." Blurr grinned around a mouthful of pretzels.
Starscream chuckled quietly. "I will say that things were much different back in Vos. Smols, like myself, were not allowed to... flitter about as we pleased. Unsurprisingly, I often ignored those little rules."
"No. You?" Blurr laughed as well and capped the whiskey, reaching for his cider instead.
"I know. Hard to believe, isn't it?" Starscream's smile softened a bit. "I had my fair share of playmates who were smols like myself, but none of them remarkable. There was, however, a harpy named Deathsaurus. He was part of a visiting entertainment troupe, and he was exactly the kind of harpy my parents warned me about."
Blurr hummed thoughtfully. "A bad boy, hm?"
"Depends on what you mean by 'bad'." Starscream contemplated his bottle before he took another drink. "Deathsaurus was strong and charming, but what would really horrify my parents was the fact he's a raptor."
"A raptor?"
Starscream took in a deep breath, his forehead furrowing. "Raptors are harpies, but they're a more... primitive race, I suppose. Some view them as lesser because of it. But they're stronger, faster, and larger than us, their feathered kin."
Blurr's eyebrows crawled up toward his hairline. "Wow. And he was a good... lover?"
"Very much so." Starscream's smirk was practically a preen, but it softened with memory. "I was disappointed when he left."
"You didn't try to go with him?"
"I didn't want to." Starscream's shoulders lifted in a shrug. His gaze wandered, his mouth buried behind the curve of the bottle. "Traveling endlessly did not match my personal goals. I saw him twice after, and each time was a gift, but it was never anything more."
The look of fondness on Starscream's face was apparent. Blurr knew that emotion all too well. Regret was always born of complicated situations.
Blurr nodded slowly. "That's the way life goes, I guess. Anyone else?" He tipped his bottle back, draining the cider quickly, before he reached for the whiskey for a couple more shots.
"A few," Starscream hedged. He toyed with his bottle, and tipped more of the trail mix into his mouth, crunching the nut mixture.
"All back in Vos?" Blurr asked, and was that an edge of jealousy in his voice. He hoped not. He burned it away with a shot of whiskey.
Starscream shook his head. "Most of them, yes. But there are a few here in Kaon."
"Oh?" Blurr hoped he sounded casual enough.
Starscream chuckled. "I don't know if I've drank enough of these to be that revealing yet." He wiggled the bottle, sloshing the liquid around.
"Then finish it. I'll get you another." Blurr dug around in the plastic bag and pulled out a strawberry ale he thought Starscream might like. He popped the cap and handed it over, just as Starscream finished the wine cooler.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Starscream asked.
"Trying to see if you even can." Blurr saluted him with the whiskey bottle, took another swig, and pulled out a handful of double-stuffed Oreos.
Starscream laughed, and something in his amusement unknotted the tension Josiah had left in Blurr's belly. "I definitely can though whether or not your alcohol is capable of it, I don't know. We can certainly find out."
"Tell me something else then, if you're going to be coy about your ex-boyfriends," Blurr said as the alcohol settled hot and languid in his belly. He sank a bit further in his nest of blankets.
Starscream’s tongue flicked across his lips. “All right.” His gaze went distant again, as though he was thinking very hard. “It is not uncommon in Vos for matings to be pre-arranged. I didn’t like one of my suitors, so I purposefully made a complete mess of our first meeting, hoping he’d withdraw his bid.”
Blurr’s lips twitched. He could well imagine Starscream turning off the charm in order to scare someone away. “Did it work?”
“No.” Starscream’s tone was flat. Pained. He stared hard at the wall as he tipped the bottle back and drained half of it at once. “As it turned out, he liked a challenge. I ended up his for the next mating season.”
Amusement drained out of Blurr. “Is that--”
“When I left?” Starscream’s gaze flicked to his, a sense of commiseration in the glance. “Yes.”
Blurr sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. He dared inch closer to Starscream, until their hips touched and the warmth of their bodies came together.
“Your Josiah?”
Starscream tipped his head back and drank the rest of his strawberry ale. “Mm.” He smacked his lips, looked at the bottle, and set it aside. He lifted his arm and draped it over Blurr, much like he had in the library.
He probably should have protested. He didn’t want to. Starscream’s warmth felt good. He smelled sweet and comforting. Right now, they both kind of needed it.
“Then I’m glad you came here instead,” Blurr murmured. He capped the whiskey and flipped the flap on the Oreos shut.
Starscream’s hand rested on Blurr’s shoulder, as if in a protective curve. “I am, too.”
They fell asleep like that, in the middle of a nest of blankets, alcohol, and unhealthy treats, on Blurr’s dormroom floor.
It was one of the best nights of sleep he’d ever had.
