[TF] Walking on Air
Jun. 21st, 2021 04:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dracoqueen22Title: Walking on Air
Universe: Sands of Fate, post-Trial by Fire
Characters: Rodimus/Starscream, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe
Rating: T
Description: Rodimus finally brings Starscream home to meet Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Commission for Cosmoskitty.
Starscream was born with wings for a reason.
It wasn’t so he could tromp across the gritty dunes on his own two feet, but so he could fly, soaring above all the ground-bound mechs, only landing when he had reached his destination. He did not like having to walk. He did not like having to spend the better part of a day dragging his feet through the coarse, irritating sand.
Rodimus did not have wings. Rodimus had tires. Therefore, if Starscream wanted to arrive with his lover, he would have to do so on his feet.
Rodimus was damn lucky Starscream loved him so much.
“We’re almost there!” Rodimus declared with a ridiculous pep in his step, and an even more ridiculous grin on his lips.
His glee would be infectious if it weren’t for the grit in Starscream’s gears. But his excitement was adorable, his eagerness to show Starscream his home and to introduce Starscream to his clan.
“The bonfire will already be going,” Rodimus continued as he adjusted his tarp and his shoulder pack, spoiler twitching up and down with barely restrained enthusiasm. “It’s a good thing we’re going to be late, I guess. We can avoid most of the fuss.”
Starscream arched an orbital ridge. “And whose fault is our tardiness?”
“Yours. For being so sexy.” Rodimus grinned without shame, his optics full of heat, and despite himself, Starscream’s engine purred.
Their shared bath was meant to be an attempt to save time. Somehow, it had delayed them. Probably because Rodimus’ eagerness was so charming, and Starscream couldn’t resist leaving his marks on Rodimus’ intake while he claimed Rodimus’ valve and Rodimus left long furrows in his dorsal plating.
Even now, they stung when the gritty wind assaulted him. It was a good pain.
At the top of the next rise, Rodimus’ home came into view, spread across a cradle of the land and tucked against the base of a rocky mesa. The open space was fully enclosed by a fence cobbled together from scavenged metals and mined ore from the mountain interior and guard stations had been constructed at four main points. The largest gate faced the east, and Starscream and Rodimus by chance.
Torchlights flickered along the length of the fencing while along the interior, strings of electrical lights -- probably solar-powered -- stretched in a web over the open space of the village. More torches highlighted openings in the craggy side of the mesa where the clanlings had carved into the mountain. Canopies and tents made of bright fabrics dotted open ground with mechs visibly milling around, and in the center, a large bonfire was ablaze, smoke rising from it in a lazy curl. Banners flapped on sturdy poles while long tables and benches had been dragged near enough to the bonfire to indicate a celebratory purpose.
“That’s the Common,” Rodimus said as he gestured to the expanse of the open space. “It’s more of a gathering place and everything that’s set up out there can be dismantled in a snap if there’s an emergency or an attack.”
“I gather all of the permanent structures are within the mountain,” Starscream mused aloud.
Rodimus nodded. “Yeah. Lord Megatron is really insistent on keeping everyone safe, and the best way to do that is to keep out of sight. We haven’t forgotten our nomadic roots, though. That’s why everything in the Common is portable.”
It looked… cozy, for lack of a better word. Primitive, Starscream supposed, compared to the vast and glittering towers of the cities. But he doubted there was any wasted space here, and he was certain there was no poverty, no mechs left to rot and waste in a gutter, forgotten and useless.
The solar lights were a merry twinkle against the encroaching dusk, and already, the soft trills of music floated on the air. Starscream caught a few strains carried by the wind.
“Come on.” Rodimus took Starscream’s hand without hesitation. He started down the embankment, a gentle tug urging Starscream to follow. “There’s so much I want to show you.”
Starscream squeezed Rodimus’ hand and let himself be pulled. The embankment descended at a soft decline before it evened out several yards from the double-gate which was already open, though guards stood at the ready, their weapons pointed at the ground.
“I’m back!” Rodimus shouted out to them, free hand cupped around his mouth. “Don’t shoot us.”
The nearest mech snorted, his lips curved with fond amusement. “I know better than that. I’m not about to get on Sunstreaker’s bad side.”
“None of us are,” said the mech across from him, though his gaze lingered on Starscream, calmly assessing with a flicker behind his visor. “Stay awhile this time, yeah?”
Rodimus chuckled. “Maybe.” He tipped two fingers to his forehead and gestured to them. “Catch you later?”
“Sure,” the guards said in unison.
Rodimus and Starscream passed through without incident, though Starscream’s armor crawled under all the curious stares now turning his direction. Rodimus’ grip on his hand was firm and confident, however, as he tugged Starscream away from what seemed to be a main thoroughfare to the caves and toward the flapping banners and massive tent nearest to the bonfire.
They passed mechs of all shapes and sizes -- many of them grounders with tires, but more than a few who had no identifiable alt-modes at all. They recognized Rodimus on sight, calling out greetings but not stopping to chat. Starscream earned himself more than a few curious looks, but the lack of outward hostility comforted him.
Starscream recognized no one, of course, though he did keep an optic out for Wrench. He doubted the surly medic would be out enjoying the festivities, but on the off chance he was, Starscream did not want to miss him.
“If we’re really lucky, we can avoid everyone I don’t want to see, and only find the mechs I want you to meet first,” Rodimus tossed over his shoulder with a smile that wobbled on the edges. His field bled excitement and anxiety in equal measures.
“Since when are either of us that lucky?” Starscream drawled.
Rodimus chuckled. “Good point.” He squeezed Starscream’s fingers and pulled him between two stands offering handmade creations.
Starscream would have liked to linger over them, but Rodimus was a mech on a mission that deposited them on the other side of the merchant stalls. The bonfire came into view, flames licking into the air, the bulk of it visible between mechs as they moved around. Music poured from a band on a nearby stage, with laughter and conversation a dull roar beneath the cheerful tune.
“You okay?”
Starscream cycled his optics and glanced over at Rodimus, reading the worry in his partner’s gaze. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Rodimus held up their joined hands. “You’ve got a pretty strong grip, Star.”
Oh.
He hadn’t realized…
Starscream forced himself to loosen his hold, though he kept their fingers interlaced. “I apologize. It has been some time since I’ve been around so many mechs at once.” The admission tumbled past his lips before he could reel himself in from betraying the weakness.
It was only Rodimus. Surely he could trust his partner with the truth.
“I didn’t even think about that.” Rodimus thumps his free palm against his forehead. “Sorry. We’ll keep to the edges, all right?” He rose on the tips of his feet and scanned the crowd. “I think I see Sunny over by the loom.”
“The what?”
Rodimus tugged him along, and Starscream followed because the alternative -- to pull away and stay concealed in the dim shadows of the merchant stalls -- was not acceptable. He was not a coward, and he would be more than his anxieties.
“Loom,” Rodimus repeated with a flash of a smile. “It’s Tracks’. He always drags it out for mating season so we can ooh and ahh over his latest creation though we’re not allowed to touch it. I’ll show you.”
Starscream wasn’t certain he knew what a ‘loom’ was, but that was a question for later, because Rodimus abruptly drew up short, causing Starscream to knock into his back.
“Slag,” Rodimus hissed, sucking air through his denta. “It’s Springer.”
This designation Starscream did recognize. “Your brother?” He scanned the crowd, though he wasn’t sure he could recognize Springer by Rodimus’ vague description alone. Large and green, Rodimus had said, and right now, Starscream could count three such mechs.
“Yeah. And I don’t wanna deal with him right now.” Rodimus hung a sharp right and dove behind one of the sturdier constructions, a market stall peddling waxes.
Starscream caught a waft of their pleasing aroma, and would have liked to take a second look, but Rodimus was more interested in a hiding spot. He supposed he’d have to come back later.
“So you’d rather hide?” Starscream asked as Rodimus pushed him up against the back of the stall, their frames shadowed from the front though wholly visible to anyone walking along the outer ring of the Common.
Rodimus peered around the edge of the stall, optics narrowed, his armor drawn taut against his understructure. “Not for the whole time. Just, you know, right now.”
Starscream chuckled and rested his hands on Rodimus’ hips, soaking up the semi-private moment. Hiding though they were, it was enough for Starscream to center himself, find his bearings. He could ventilate without dozens of curious stares laying over his armor.
“Is there anyone else you intend to hide from?” Starscream teased as his fingers found Rodimus’ seams, talons tickling the web of cables within the gaps.
Rodimus, predictably, squirmed. “I’m not hiding,” he said as he frowned and tried to bat away Starscream’s hands. He flushed with heat, optics glittering in the dim. “This is strategy.”
“Are we at war?” Starscream asked.
“Might as well be, knowing Springer.” Rodimus snorted and slung his arms over Starscream’s shoulders, tugging him closer, aligning their frames perfectly. They were nearly of a height, and Rodimus took advantage of this by pressing his forehead to Starscream’s. “He’ll want to interrogate you, and I’ve got better things in mind.”
Starscream hummed and swept his palms up Rodimus’ dorsa, slipping them beneath the weight of the backpack. “Oh?”
“I guess I’m not as good about sharing as I thought I was,” Rodimus murmured before his mouth pressed to Starscream’s, glossa flicking out to press wetly at the seam of Starscream’s lips.
Starscream opened for him, touching Rodimus’ glossa with his own before nipping at Rodimus’ bottom lip, the subtle pressure of his fangs causing Rodimus to shiver. He pressed closer, fingers trailing along the top edges of Starscream’s wing, arousal a quiet roll through his field. The last of Starscream’s disquiet vanished in the warm press of Rodimus’ frame.
His port array warmed, a soft craving rising from Starscream’s internals. He was more than topped off, his code in perfect shape, but Rodimus had taken to code-sharing like a Seeker to the sky. They swapped cables more than they fragged with their external systems, and it was a pleasure so consuming as to be intoxicating.
Starscream’s palm swept over Rodimus’ lower-right dorsal quadrant, where a thick plate protected his interfacing panel. He teased the seams with the tip of his talon, and Rodimus breathed a small moan against his lips. His hips hitched against Starscream’s, a quiet scrape, and a gentler rock that threatened to undo Starscream right then and there.
“Ahem.”
Rodimus startled and broke apart from Starscream, whirling toward the politely coughed interruption. Starscream peered over Rodimus’ shoulder at the mech a few strides away from them, lips curved with an amused smirk, red and black armor immaculately polished.
“You never were very good at hiding, hot stuff,” said the mech. “Also, you’re late.”
“I wasn’t hiding,” Rodimus lied, but the sheer joy in his field reassured Starscream this was a friend. “I was looking for you and Sunny.”
One orbital ridge arched. “In Starscream’s mouth?”
Starscream chuckled as Rodimus burned with embarrassment beside him. “You must be Sideswipe,” he said as he curved an arm around Rodimus’ waist from behind, palm pressed to Rodimus’ belly. It was a distinctly possessive motion, he knew, but he couldn’t help himself.
He knew what hold Sideswipe and Sunstreaker still had on Rodimus’ spark.
“Yep. The handsomer and more charming twin at your service,” Sideswipe said with a playful, grandiose bow.
Rodimus snorted. “I notice you’re only saying that because Sunny isn’t around.”
“That is patently untrue.” Sideswipe grinned at them as he straightened, gaze flicking from Starscream’s face, to Starscream’s possessive arm, and back again. “And you are the mysterious Starscream, who we’ve heard so much about, but figured hot stuff here was never going to let us meet.”
“I was getting around to it,” Rodimus muttered.
“In his own time,” Starscream agreed. He offered his free hand around Rodimus’ frame. He liked Sideswipe, despite it all. “Glad to finally meet you. I’ve heard much about you and your brother.”
Sideswipe’s smile was crooked and cocksure. “Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I did it, and I’m proud of it.”
His handshake was confident and firm, the press of his fingers against Starscream’s knuckles a subtle, chronolinguistic squeeze of warning. It lasted only a moment too long for politeness’ sake, but Rodimus didn’t notice, and Starscream lifted his chin where only Rodimus could see.
Message received.
Deadlock had already warned Rodimus that Starscream was not without his defenders. Starscream, apparently, was in for much the same from Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Starscream retrieved his hand. “I was also hoping you might have stories of Rodimus for me. The more embarrassing the better.”
“Hey!” Rodimus said, outraged, his spoiler flicking back to swat Starscream’s cockpit.
Sideswipe laughed. “More than he’d want me to share, but if it makes him go pink in the cheek like that, I’ll be happy to.” His optics glittered in the flickering torchlight. “Come on. Let me take you to Sunny. He’s pouting because I found you first.”
“Found? That implies he was looking,” Rodimus said as he took Starscream’s hand and tugged him along, falling into step behind Sideswipe.
“I was given the dubious honor of doing the legwork,” Sideswipe said as he pushed between a stall and a table, swiping one of the trays laden with familiar treats as he passed. He popped one into his mouth and spoke around his chewing, “His majesty didn’t want to risk getting scuffed.”
“More like he didn’t want to risk meeting you looking anything less than perfect,” Rodimus murmured as he paused long enough to whisper in Starscream’s audial.
Starscream huffed a quiet laugh. Sunstreaker’s vanity was one of the few things he did know about the mech very well.
They returned to the more crowded, central space of the Common, where the members of Rodimus’ clan had been drawn by the music and the bonfire and the tables laden with energon and snacks and treats and coolant. Even more mechs had crowded into the area, and Starscream drew closer to Rodimus. The only benefit to the crowd was that there were fewer mechs to notice the Seeker in their midst.
“What about Lord Megatron?” Rodimus asked.
Sideswipe waved to the other side of the bonfire. “Deep in conversation with Soundwave somewhere over there.” He popped another treat in his mouth. “Rumor has it we might be getting some new mechs tryin’ to flee the cities.”
“This happens often?” Starscream asked.
Sideswipe shrugged. “Often enough.” He skirted around a gaggle of younglings who were bent over a datapad and whispering furiously to each other. “And there he is, our majesty awaiting your arrival.”
Starscream spied Sunstreaker immediately -- for who else could the elegantly lounging mech be, with his golden armor, and a look of haughty disdain on his finely featured face. He and Sideswipe could only be fraternal twins, for the similarity between them began and ended in their swagger. Where Sideswipe was graceful, Sunstreaker was solid. Where Sideswipe’s smiles were easy and lazy, the set of Sunstreaker’s jaw was stern.
He noticed their approach, but didn’t rise from his comfortable sprawl in a chair built to hold three, his arms stretched across the back of it.
Sideswipe plopped down next to him with all the grace of a lumbering bitumen bison, offering the tray of sweets with a begrudging air. “There,” he said. “I found him.”
Sunstreaker ignored the sweets, his gaze laser-focused on Starscream, something challenging in it. Here, in the village, Sunstreaker was a mech the others feared, or at the very least were politely wary. He had a reputation. He was strong, he was violent, and it was known that even their High Protector bent the knee to him.
Starscream was supposed to be intimidated.
He was not, however, a coward.
Sunstreaker might carry sway on part of Rodimus’ spark. He was strong, and he was admittedly, gorgeous. But he was not Starscream, and Starscream had never backed down from a challenge in his entire functioning.
“You must be Sunstreaker,” Starscream said before Rodimus could open his mouth. He planted a smile on his face, kept it sharp on the edges. “I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Sunstreaker lifted his chin, but didn’t offer his hand like Sideswipe had. “It should have been sooner, but I think we both know who to blame for that.”
“Hey!” Rodimus pouted, arms folding across his chassis. “I work at my own pace.”
Sunstreaker made a non-committal noise, his gaze still focused on Starscream. “The stories exaggerate. There’s not much I find threatening about you.”
Starscream twitched, but he knew a challenge when he heard one. “I’m not in the business of casually assaulting my partner’s family.” He grinned, flashing a bit of denta. “It’s funny, for all that I’ve heard about you, I’m suddenly struggling to see the appeal.”
Rodimus went very still beside him, sucking in a harsh ventilation. Sideswipe’s hand paused midway to his open mouth, treat gripped between two fingers. His optics were very wide.
“I could say the same about you,” Sunstreaker said, and only the subtle tightening of his armor suggested he’d been bothered by Starscream’s words.
“You could, but you didn’t.” Starscream tilted his head, his wings flicking behind him. He, after all, could fly, and Sunstreaker didn’t. “Fortunately, I am the one Rodimus chose, so I’m very aware of my allure.”
Rodimus made a noise not unlike a squeak.
Sideswipe’s ventilations hitched, and it took a second for Starscream to realize that his trembling shoulders were the struggling efforts of a mech trying not to laugh. Especially when Sunstreaker tossed him an annoyed look, as if furious Sideswipe was not being of more help.
“Yes. He did,” Sunstreaker said, very slowly, as if choosing his words deliberately. “Which means he can un-choose you.”
“Who said I was gonna do that?” Rodimus demanded.
Sideswipe clicked his glossa against his denta. “Roddy, kiddo, don’t get in the middle of that.” He patted the empty bit of bench next to him. “Come on. Sit down. Have a treat. Made ‘em myself.”
Rodimus huffed and planted his hands on his hips. “I don’t need Sunny defending me. I can do it myself.”
“This isn’t about you,” Starscream said without taking his optics away from Sunstreaker. “This is about Sunstreaker. Isn’t it?” He arched an orbital ridge.
Sunstreaker’s heels dug into the ground beneath him. “If you hurt Rodimus, I will end you,” he said, enunciating each glyph with deliberate weight.
“If you felt that strongly, you should have said so when you had the chance,” Starscream replied, matching Sunstreaker’s tone without difficulty. “I’m not the one capable of hurting him.”
Ah, there it was.
Sunstreaker flinched.
Sideswipe popped a treat into his mouth. “Well,” he said. “Now that introductions are out of the way, and we’ve all said our peace, how about we be friends?”
“Why do I get the feeling I missed something?” Rodimus asked.
Starscream rested his hand on Rodimus’ shoulder and leaned in to press a kiss at the corner of his mouth. “We’re all just realizing our places in your life, that’s all,” he said before he smiled at both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. “I can always use more friends, especially if those friends help me look after Rodimus. He’s something of a handful.”
“I am not!” Rodimus said, indignant, his field going flush with embarrassment and affection in equal measures. He shrugged out of his pack, slinging it to the ground at Sideswipe’s feet. “And I didn’t come here to get picked on.”
Sideswipe grinned around a mouthful of sweet candies. “Didn’t you?”
“No,” Rodimus huffed. He cocked his head, mouth twisting into an adorable frown before he lifted his chin and declared, “I came here to dance.”
Starscream listened, too. He had only been half-paying attention to the music, but it was definitely shifting from the background cheerful tune to something more deliberate. There was an almost sensual sound to it now.
“That’s the Call to Choose,” Sideswipe said as he nudged Sunstreaker with an elbow, and his twin batted at his arm with a snarl.
Rodimus slid his hand down Starscream’s arm, tangling their fingers together. He looked up, his expression earnest but tentative. “Dance with me?”
It felt like he was asking for something a lot more than a dance.
Starscream would have hesitated, were it not for the burn of Sunstreaker’s glare, and the challenge Sunstreaker offered without a word. “Of course,” he said, squeezing Rodimus’ hand. “You’ll have to lead.”
“For once,” Sideswipe said with a quiet chuckle.
Rodimus’ face went pink, but he spun away from his friends and tugged Starscream toward the bonfire where couples and triads had begun to cluster in the open space surrounding it. The music was a continuous ambiance, not quite a song, as though it was summoning those who wished to dance for a specific moment, and giving them time to assemble.
Rodimus pulled Starscream into the center of the crowd, and stood facing him, arranging their frames for the dance. Starscream went pliant, curious, as Rodimus rested his right hand on Starscream’s hip, and placed Starscream’s left hand on Rodimus’ chassis, right over his central seam. Starscream’s right hand was placed on Rodimus’ hip as Rodimus’ cupped his free hand against the side of Starscream’s intake, cradling his jaw. His fingers were a light touch, warm and near-reverent.
“I lead, you follow,” he murmured.
Starscream felt the optics on them, but it was hard to be uneasy with Rodimus looking up at him, gaze bright with pride and adoration. The bump of their frames together, Rodimus’ armor vibrating, as they waited for the music to begin.
“What’s the Call to Choose?” Starscream asked.
“It’s the prelude to the Dance of Favor,” Rodimus answered, his attention briefly wandering to the mechs crowding into the open space, and he pressed closer, until there was no room between them. “Let’s everyone know it’s about to start.”
“And the Dance?”
Rodimus’ spoiler twitched, his fingers stroking Starscream’s intake. “It’s a conversation,” he explained. “It’s me asking you to be mine, and letting everyone know I’m asking, and how you dance is your answer. If you want me to be yours, or if you still want to think about it.”
Starscream pressed his fingers over Rodimus’ central seam, firm enough for Rodimus to register it, but not for it to be taken as an effort to put distance between them. “I don’t know how to respond.”
“Keep your optics on me. Do as I do,” Rodimus said, and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, denta worrying it before he added, “If you walk away, or take the advance of someone else, that’s a refusal. Don’t be surprised if someone tries. You can tell them no.”
The music shifted from the low, haunting call to something a bit faster, something that sang in Starscream’s lines and made his spark thrum. The mechs around them began to move, swaying and turning to the rhythm, laughing and teasing, or holding one another close depending on the partnership. Hands wandered, Starscream noticed, but never too inappropriate for public decency.
Starscream’s hand tightened on Rodimus’ hip, a wave of possessiveness surging through his spark. “Will they be making an advance on you as well?”
Rodimus shrugged, dismissive, disbelieving. “It’s a possibility. That’s kind of the point. But I don’t think you have to worry about that.” His thumb caressed the curve of Starscream’s jaw. “You’re the real prize tonight.”
A low growl rose in Starscream’s engine. “I have no interest in anyone else. How do I make that clear without having to suffer unwanted overtures?” His fingers pressed into the seams at Rodimus’ chassis, as though he could reach into his core, cup his spark, and claim it.
Rodimus’ engine purred beneath his palm. “You could kiss me,” he said, leading Starscream into a careful spin that put them near the heat of the bonfire. “That’s a pretty clear sign.”
Good.
Starscream slid his hand from Rodimus’ hip to curving his arm around Rodimus’ waist, pulling him in tight. He pressed his lips to Rodimus’, their dance pausing, as he laid claim to Rodimus’ mouth. Rodimus moaned into the kiss, cupping the back of Starscream’s head, his arm going around Starscream’s waist, keeping them tightly pressed together.
The music pulsed and rose around them, matching the frantic staccato of Starscream’s spark-beat. He knew Rodimus’ clan must have been looking at them, but he didn’t care if it meant they recognized Rodimus’ claim and vice versa. Starscream hadn’t come here for anyone but Rodimus, and he wanted that to be absolutely clear.
“Wow,” Rodimus said, against his lips, his optics dazed. “Guess you want me, huh?”
Starscream chuckled and pressed their foreheads together. “Of course I do.” He kissed Rodimus again, brief and chaste this time, before he added, “Now dance with me.”
Starscream was sparked with wings for a reason.
But he danced with Rodimus on his own two feet, in the midst of a crowd of strangers, because Rodimus’ joy was a precious gift, and no one was taking Rodimus from him.
Only for Rodimus would he keep his feet on the ground.
* * *
*Bonus*
Exhaustion tugged at every cable, every strut.
Rodimus had swung Starscream through every dance the band had determinedly played. He’d spun Starscream around and around the bonfire, showing him off from every angle, planting kisses as he liked, staking a claim no one could protest.
Only when Starscream gasped for relief did Rodimus pull him to one of the many scattered benches, applying his boundless energy to the retrieval of energon and coolant and treats while Starscream struggled to catch his vents.
Starscream slumped on the bench, exhausted, and did not care if anyone stared while he leaned over against Rodimus, and sipped on his medium grade energon. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were somewhere not nearby, which was a relief, because Starscream wasn’t ready for another verbal spar.
“I’m glad you came,” Rodimus murmured, his hand on Starscream’s thigh, resting there without intent to move upward, or further toward the ticklish joint of his knee.
“As am I, though I suspect I will need a code refresh after what you’ve put me through,” Starscream said.
Rodimus chuckled.
Starscream stared into the noisy crowd, the laughter and conversation still at maximum, the music audible above it all. There was a cluster of mechs on the far side, near where he and Rodimus had left Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. A dozen mechs crowded together, bent over something, and their behavior was unusual enough it caught Starscream’s attention.
“What’s going on?” he asked, tilting his head toward the cluster of mechs.
Rodimus followed his gaze, orbital ridges drawing down. “Dunno. That’s a first.” He stood, stretching his arms over his head, full of boundless energy apparently. “Want to go be nosy?”
“I don’t see where it’s any of our business,” Starscream said, though really, what he meant was that he had no energy to move right now.
“Sit down and rest then. I’ll go see what’s up.” Rodimus chuckled, snuck in to steal a kiss, and wandered off to snoop around the mechs who were now being joined by several others, heads craned to peer at whatever had caught so much attention.
Starscream leaned back on the bench, sipping at his coolant. Rodimus approached the crowd, tapped one of the mechs on the shoulder, exchanged a few words, and then wedged in next to him to get a look for himself. Even from a distance, Starscream saw Rodimus stiffen before he started shoving mechs aside, his spoiler flicking left and right.
Some of the mechs scattered, others protested, their voices raised in confusion and irritation, but Rodimus pushed through them, mouth snapping in words Starscream couldn’t hear. Anger lit along the lines of his armor.
Starscream set his coolant aside and stood, unease curling in his belly. He didn’t know what had Rodimus so upset, but he couldn’t sit idly by while it happened. He was halfway there when Rodimus shouldered his way out of the crowd, cradling something in his arms, holding it protectively against his chassis.
He barked something over his shoulder, glaring sharply, before he beelined for Starscream, worry etched into the lines of his face.
“What is it?” Starscream asked, but Rodimus was then close enough for Starscream to get a better look at what he carried. “Is that one of my drones!?”
“It’s Scuttle,” Rodimus said as he lifted one arm away, and the drone’s ready lights blinked in a slow pattern that suggested Scuttle was low on power or had an error in his code.
Starscream’s mouth dropped. “You brought my drone here?”
“Of course not!” Rodimus snapped as he gently brushed his palm over Scuttle’s chassis, and a few warbling beeps rose from the drone. “He must’ve snuck into my bag.”
Starscream sighed and palmed his face.
Honestly, he wouldn’t put it past Scuttle. The drone was ridiculously attached to Rodimus and was always found underfoot, wherever in the tower Rodimus chose to spend his time. He still had to be bodily shooed from the room whenever Starscream and Rodimus wished to interface.
“I think he’s sick,” Rodimus said.
“Give him here.” Starscream held out his hand, and Rodimus gently deposited Scuttle into his arms, the drone making a mournful noise as his wheels spun in a useless attempt to get back to Rodimus.
Rodimus leaned in, face creased with worry. “I hope he didn’t get hurt.” He glanced over his shoulder. “They were trying to figure out what he was, poking him and stuff.”
“He’s sturdier than you think. I doubt they managed to do any true harm unless they were using actual weapons,” Starscream said absently, his fingers gently moving over Scuttle’s exostructure.
He found the problem immediately and sighed again.
“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s simply full,” Starscream said as he flicked the manual access and spun the cap off Scuttle’s trap.
Sandy grit immediately rained down. A lot of it. Scuttle must’ve worked his way out of Rodimus’ back, and gone apoplectic when he saw all the loose sand.
Rodimus sucked in a vent. “Slag.”
“Yes.” Starscream gave Scuttle a little shake to get out the rest of the grit, and when the drone honked at him, he tossed Scuttle a look. “Don’t you use that language with me. You’re the one who stowed away and over-ate, you glutton.”
Scuttle’s wheels spun -- gears grating over the sand he’d kicked up into his undercarriage. His lights flashed as a series of beeps spilled out of his speaker.
Starscream sighed and spun the cap back into place, flicking the access shut. Scuttle would need an actual cleaning, but at least he wouldn’t be on the verge of overheating anymore.
Rodimus chuckled and reached for Scuttle. “Guess we’re stuck with him.”
“Yes, you are,” Starscream said, tumbling the drone into Rodimus’ hands where Scuttle wanted to be anyway. “He’s yours, remember?”
Rodimus tucked Scuttle close, petting the top of Scuttle’s chassis as though the drone had the same dermal sensors as a mech. “I think he’s the one who chose me though.”
“Semantics.” Starscream huffed, but he had to admit, it was cute how Rodimus doted on the drones.
He didn’t have to treat them as well as he did, but the fact that Rodimus called them by names, spoke to them like they were actual mechs, it made Starscream’s spark flutter.
Scuttle made as contented a sound as a drone could make, a low tonal whistle that trailed off. His lights dimmed, and miracle of miracles, he seemed to be putting himself into hibernation. Which meant he’d probably only emerged from the bag because he’d intended to find Rodimus, but got distracted by the tidying subroutines Starscream built into his code.
“Aw, he’s going to sleep,” said Rodimus.
Starscream didn’t bother to correct him. “You’re stuck carrying him now,” he said. “Guess that means no more dancing for us.”
“You sound very disappointed about that,” Rodimus drawled before he started walking, leaving Starscream to fall in step beside him. “Come on. Might as well start introducing you around then. Maybe we can even find Wrench.”
Oh, slag.
Slight miscalculation on Starscream’s part.
“Sounds fun,” he lied.
Rodimus laughed.
***
Universe: Sands of Fate, post-Trial by Fire
Characters: Rodimus/Starscream, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe
Rating: T
Description: Rodimus finally brings Starscream home to meet Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Commission for Cosmoskitty.
Starscream was born with wings for a reason.
It wasn’t so he could tromp across the gritty dunes on his own two feet, but so he could fly, soaring above all the ground-bound mechs, only landing when he had reached his destination. He did not like having to walk. He did not like having to spend the better part of a day dragging his feet through the coarse, irritating sand.
Rodimus did not have wings. Rodimus had tires. Therefore, if Starscream wanted to arrive with his lover, he would have to do so on his feet.
Rodimus was damn lucky Starscream loved him so much.
“We’re almost there!” Rodimus declared with a ridiculous pep in his step, and an even more ridiculous grin on his lips.
His glee would be infectious if it weren’t for the grit in Starscream’s gears. But his excitement was adorable, his eagerness to show Starscream his home and to introduce Starscream to his clan.
“The bonfire will already be going,” Rodimus continued as he adjusted his tarp and his shoulder pack, spoiler twitching up and down with barely restrained enthusiasm. “It’s a good thing we’re going to be late, I guess. We can avoid most of the fuss.”
Starscream arched an orbital ridge. “And whose fault is our tardiness?”
“Yours. For being so sexy.” Rodimus grinned without shame, his optics full of heat, and despite himself, Starscream’s engine purred.
Their shared bath was meant to be an attempt to save time. Somehow, it had delayed them. Probably because Rodimus’ eagerness was so charming, and Starscream couldn’t resist leaving his marks on Rodimus’ intake while he claimed Rodimus’ valve and Rodimus left long furrows in his dorsal plating.
Even now, they stung when the gritty wind assaulted him. It was a good pain.
At the top of the next rise, Rodimus’ home came into view, spread across a cradle of the land and tucked against the base of a rocky mesa. The open space was fully enclosed by a fence cobbled together from scavenged metals and mined ore from the mountain interior and guard stations had been constructed at four main points. The largest gate faced the east, and Starscream and Rodimus by chance.
Torchlights flickered along the length of the fencing while along the interior, strings of electrical lights -- probably solar-powered -- stretched in a web over the open space of the village. More torches highlighted openings in the craggy side of the mesa where the clanlings had carved into the mountain. Canopies and tents made of bright fabrics dotted open ground with mechs visibly milling around, and in the center, a large bonfire was ablaze, smoke rising from it in a lazy curl. Banners flapped on sturdy poles while long tables and benches had been dragged near enough to the bonfire to indicate a celebratory purpose.
“That’s the Common,” Rodimus said as he gestured to the expanse of the open space. “It’s more of a gathering place and everything that’s set up out there can be dismantled in a snap if there’s an emergency or an attack.”
“I gather all of the permanent structures are within the mountain,” Starscream mused aloud.
Rodimus nodded. “Yeah. Lord Megatron is really insistent on keeping everyone safe, and the best way to do that is to keep out of sight. We haven’t forgotten our nomadic roots, though. That’s why everything in the Common is portable.”
It looked… cozy, for lack of a better word. Primitive, Starscream supposed, compared to the vast and glittering towers of the cities. But he doubted there was any wasted space here, and he was certain there was no poverty, no mechs left to rot and waste in a gutter, forgotten and useless.
The solar lights were a merry twinkle against the encroaching dusk, and already, the soft trills of music floated on the air. Starscream caught a few strains carried by the wind.
“Come on.” Rodimus took Starscream’s hand without hesitation. He started down the embankment, a gentle tug urging Starscream to follow. “There’s so much I want to show you.”
Starscream squeezed Rodimus’ hand and let himself be pulled. The embankment descended at a soft decline before it evened out several yards from the double-gate which was already open, though guards stood at the ready, their weapons pointed at the ground.
“I’m back!” Rodimus shouted out to them, free hand cupped around his mouth. “Don’t shoot us.”
The nearest mech snorted, his lips curved with fond amusement. “I know better than that. I’m not about to get on Sunstreaker’s bad side.”
“None of us are,” said the mech across from him, though his gaze lingered on Starscream, calmly assessing with a flicker behind his visor. “Stay awhile this time, yeah?”
Rodimus chuckled. “Maybe.” He tipped two fingers to his forehead and gestured to them. “Catch you later?”
“Sure,” the guards said in unison.
Rodimus and Starscream passed through without incident, though Starscream’s armor crawled under all the curious stares now turning his direction. Rodimus’ grip on his hand was firm and confident, however, as he tugged Starscream away from what seemed to be a main thoroughfare to the caves and toward the flapping banners and massive tent nearest to the bonfire.
They passed mechs of all shapes and sizes -- many of them grounders with tires, but more than a few who had no identifiable alt-modes at all. They recognized Rodimus on sight, calling out greetings but not stopping to chat. Starscream earned himself more than a few curious looks, but the lack of outward hostility comforted him.
Starscream recognized no one, of course, though he did keep an optic out for Wrench. He doubted the surly medic would be out enjoying the festivities, but on the off chance he was, Starscream did not want to miss him.
“If we’re really lucky, we can avoid everyone I don’t want to see, and only find the mechs I want you to meet first,” Rodimus tossed over his shoulder with a smile that wobbled on the edges. His field bled excitement and anxiety in equal measures.
“Since when are either of us that lucky?” Starscream drawled.
Rodimus chuckled. “Good point.” He squeezed Starscream’s fingers and pulled him between two stands offering handmade creations.
Starscream would have liked to linger over them, but Rodimus was a mech on a mission that deposited them on the other side of the merchant stalls. The bonfire came into view, flames licking into the air, the bulk of it visible between mechs as they moved around. Music poured from a band on a nearby stage, with laughter and conversation a dull roar beneath the cheerful tune.
“You okay?”
Starscream cycled his optics and glanced over at Rodimus, reading the worry in his partner’s gaze. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Rodimus held up their joined hands. “You’ve got a pretty strong grip, Star.”
Oh.
He hadn’t realized…
Starscream forced himself to loosen his hold, though he kept their fingers interlaced. “I apologize. It has been some time since I’ve been around so many mechs at once.” The admission tumbled past his lips before he could reel himself in from betraying the weakness.
It was only Rodimus. Surely he could trust his partner with the truth.
“I didn’t even think about that.” Rodimus thumps his free palm against his forehead. “Sorry. We’ll keep to the edges, all right?” He rose on the tips of his feet and scanned the crowd. “I think I see Sunny over by the loom.”
“The what?”
Rodimus tugged him along, and Starscream followed because the alternative -- to pull away and stay concealed in the dim shadows of the merchant stalls -- was not acceptable. He was not a coward, and he would be more than his anxieties.
“Loom,” Rodimus repeated with a flash of a smile. “It’s Tracks’. He always drags it out for mating season so we can ooh and ahh over his latest creation though we’re not allowed to touch it. I’ll show you.”
Starscream wasn’t certain he knew what a ‘loom’ was, but that was a question for later, because Rodimus abruptly drew up short, causing Starscream to knock into his back.
“Slag,” Rodimus hissed, sucking air through his denta. “It’s Springer.”
This designation Starscream did recognize. “Your brother?” He scanned the crowd, though he wasn’t sure he could recognize Springer by Rodimus’ vague description alone. Large and green, Rodimus had said, and right now, Starscream could count three such mechs.
“Yeah. And I don’t wanna deal with him right now.” Rodimus hung a sharp right and dove behind one of the sturdier constructions, a market stall peddling waxes.
Starscream caught a waft of their pleasing aroma, and would have liked to take a second look, but Rodimus was more interested in a hiding spot. He supposed he’d have to come back later.
“So you’d rather hide?” Starscream asked as Rodimus pushed him up against the back of the stall, their frames shadowed from the front though wholly visible to anyone walking along the outer ring of the Common.
Rodimus peered around the edge of the stall, optics narrowed, his armor drawn taut against his understructure. “Not for the whole time. Just, you know, right now.”
Starscream chuckled and rested his hands on Rodimus’ hips, soaking up the semi-private moment. Hiding though they were, it was enough for Starscream to center himself, find his bearings. He could ventilate without dozens of curious stares laying over his armor.
“Is there anyone else you intend to hide from?” Starscream teased as his fingers found Rodimus’ seams, talons tickling the web of cables within the gaps.
Rodimus, predictably, squirmed. “I’m not hiding,” he said as he frowned and tried to bat away Starscream’s hands. He flushed with heat, optics glittering in the dim. “This is strategy.”
“Are we at war?” Starscream asked.
“Might as well be, knowing Springer.” Rodimus snorted and slung his arms over Starscream’s shoulders, tugging him closer, aligning their frames perfectly. They were nearly of a height, and Rodimus took advantage of this by pressing his forehead to Starscream’s. “He’ll want to interrogate you, and I’ve got better things in mind.”
Starscream hummed and swept his palms up Rodimus’ dorsa, slipping them beneath the weight of the backpack. “Oh?”
“I guess I’m not as good about sharing as I thought I was,” Rodimus murmured before his mouth pressed to Starscream’s, glossa flicking out to press wetly at the seam of Starscream’s lips.
Starscream opened for him, touching Rodimus’ glossa with his own before nipping at Rodimus’ bottom lip, the subtle pressure of his fangs causing Rodimus to shiver. He pressed closer, fingers trailing along the top edges of Starscream’s wing, arousal a quiet roll through his field. The last of Starscream’s disquiet vanished in the warm press of Rodimus’ frame.
His port array warmed, a soft craving rising from Starscream’s internals. He was more than topped off, his code in perfect shape, but Rodimus had taken to code-sharing like a Seeker to the sky. They swapped cables more than they fragged with their external systems, and it was a pleasure so consuming as to be intoxicating.
Starscream’s palm swept over Rodimus’ lower-right dorsal quadrant, where a thick plate protected his interfacing panel. He teased the seams with the tip of his talon, and Rodimus breathed a small moan against his lips. His hips hitched against Starscream’s, a quiet scrape, and a gentler rock that threatened to undo Starscream right then and there.
“Ahem.”
Rodimus startled and broke apart from Starscream, whirling toward the politely coughed interruption. Starscream peered over Rodimus’ shoulder at the mech a few strides away from them, lips curved with an amused smirk, red and black armor immaculately polished.
“You never were very good at hiding, hot stuff,” said the mech. “Also, you’re late.”
“I wasn’t hiding,” Rodimus lied, but the sheer joy in his field reassured Starscream this was a friend. “I was looking for you and Sunny.”
One orbital ridge arched. “In Starscream’s mouth?”
Starscream chuckled as Rodimus burned with embarrassment beside him. “You must be Sideswipe,” he said as he curved an arm around Rodimus’ waist from behind, palm pressed to Rodimus’ belly. It was a distinctly possessive motion, he knew, but he couldn’t help himself.
He knew what hold Sideswipe and Sunstreaker still had on Rodimus’ spark.
“Yep. The handsomer and more charming twin at your service,” Sideswipe said with a playful, grandiose bow.
Rodimus snorted. “I notice you’re only saying that because Sunny isn’t around.”
“That is patently untrue.” Sideswipe grinned at them as he straightened, gaze flicking from Starscream’s face, to Starscream’s possessive arm, and back again. “And you are the mysterious Starscream, who we’ve heard so much about, but figured hot stuff here was never going to let us meet.”
“I was getting around to it,” Rodimus muttered.
“In his own time,” Starscream agreed. He offered his free hand around Rodimus’ frame. He liked Sideswipe, despite it all. “Glad to finally meet you. I’ve heard much about you and your brother.”
Sideswipe’s smile was crooked and cocksure. “Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I did it, and I’m proud of it.”
His handshake was confident and firm, the press of his fingers against Starscream’s knuckles a subtle, chronolinguistic squeeze of warning. It lasted only a moment too long for politeness’ sake, but Rodimus didn’t notice, and Starscream lifted his chin where only Rodimus could see.
Message received.
Deadlock had already warned Rodimus that Starscream was not without his defenders. Starscream, apparently, was in for much the same from Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
Starscream retrieved his hand. “I was also hoping you might have stories of Rodimus for me. The more embarrassing the better.”
“Hey!” Rodimus said, outraged, his spoiler flicking back to swat Starscream’s cockpit.
Sideswipe laughed. “More than he’d want me to share, but if it makes him go pink in the cheek like that, I’ll be happy to.” His optics glittered in the flickering torchlight. “Come on. Let me take you to Sunny. He’s pouting because I found you first.”
“Found? That implies he was looking,” Rodimus said as he took Starscream’s hand and tugged him along, falling into step behind Sideswipe.
“I was given the dubious honor of doing the legwork,” Sideswipe said as he pushed between a stall and a table, swiping one of the trays laden with familiar treats as he passed. He popped one into his mouth and spoke around his chewing, “His majesty didn’t want to risk getting scuffed.”
“More like he didn’t want to risk meeting you looking anything less than perfect,” Rodimus murmured as he paused long enough to whisper in Starscream’s audial.
Starscream huffed a quiet laugh. Sunstreaker’s vanity was one of the few things he did know about the mech very well.
They returned to the more crowded, central space of the Common, where the members of Rodimus’ clan had been drawn by the music and the bonfire and the tables laden with energon and snacks and treats and coolant. Even more mechs had crowded into the area, and Starscream drew closer to Rodimus. The only benefit to the crowd was that there were fewer mechs to notice the Seeker in their midst.
“What about Lord Megatron?” Rodimus asked.
Sideswipe waved to the other side of the bonfire. “Deep in conversation with Soundwave somewhere over there.” He popped another treat in his mouth. “Rumor has it we might be getting some new mechs tryin’ to flee the cities.”
“This happens often?” Starscream asked.
Sideswipe shrugged. “Often enough.” He skirted around a gaggle of younglings who were bent over a datapad and whispering furiously to each other. “And there he is, our majesty awaiting your arrival.”
Starscream spied Sunstreaker immediately -- for who else could the elegantly lounging mech be, with his golden armor, and a look of haughty disdain on his finely featured face. He and Sideswipe could only be fraternal twins, for the similarity between them began and ended in their swagger. Where Sideswipe was graceful, Sunstreaker was solid. Where Sideswipe’s smiles were easy and lazy, the set of Sunstreaker’s jaw was stern.
He noticed their approach, but didn’t rise from his comfortable sprawl in a chair built to hold three, his arms stretched across the back of it.
Sideswipe plopped down next to him with all the grace of a lumbering bitumen bison, offering the tray of sweets with a begrudging air. “There,” he said. “I found him.”
Sunstreaker ignored the sweets, his gaze laser-focused on Starscream, something challenging in it. Here, in the village, Sunstreaker was a mech the others feared, or at the very least were politely wary. He had a reputation. He was strong, he was violent, and it was known that even their High Protector bent the knee to him.
Starscream was supposed to be intimidated.
He was not, however, a coward.
Sunstreaker might carry sway on part of Rodimus’ spark. He was strong, and he was admittedly, gorgeous. But he was not Starscream, and Starscream had never backed down from a challenge in his entire functioning.
“You must be Sunstreaker,” Starscream said before Rodimus could open his mouth. He planted a smile on his face, kept it sharp on the edges. “I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Sunstreaker lifted his chin, but didn’t offer his hand like Sideswipe had. “It should have been sooner, but I think we both know who to blame for that.”
“Hey!” Rodimus pouted, arms folding across his chassis. “I work at my own pace.”
Sunstreaker made a non-committal noise, his gaze still focused on Starscream. “The stories exaggerate. There’s not much I find threatening about you.”
Starscream twitched, but he knew a challenge when he heard one. “I’m not in the business of casually assaulting my partner’s family.” He grinned, flashing a bit of denta. “It’s funny, for all that I’ve heard about you, I’m suddenly struggling to see the appeal.”
Rodimus went very still beside him, sucking in a harsh ventilation. Sideswipe’s hand paused midway to his open mouth, treat gripped between two fingers. His optics were very wide.
“I could say the same about you,” Sunstreaker said, and only the subtle tightening of his armor suggested he’d been bothered by Starscream’s words.
“You could, but you didn’t.” Starscream tilted his head, his wings flicking behind him. He, after all, could fly, and Sunstreaker didn’t. “Fortunately, I am the one Rodimus chose, so I’m very aware of my allure.”
Rodimus made a noise not unlike a squeak.
Sideswipe’s ventilations hitched, and it took a second for Starscream to realize that his trembling shoulders were the struggling efforts of a mech trying not to laugh. Especially when Sunstreaker tossed him an annoyed look, as if furious Sideswipe was not being of more help.
“Yes. He did,” Sunstreaker said, very slowly, as if choosing his words deliberately. “Which means he can un-choose you.”
“Who said I was gonna do that?” Rodimus demanded.
Sideswipe clicked his glossa against his denta. “Roddy, kiddo, don’t get in the middle of that.” He patted the empty bit of bench next to him. “Come on. Sit down. Have a treat. Made ‘em myself.”
Rodimus huffed and planted his hands on his hips. “I don’t need Sunny defending me. I can do it myself.”
“This isn’t about you,” Starscream said without taking his optics away from Sunstreaker. “This is about Sunstreaker. Isn’t it?” He arched an orbital ridge.
Sunstreaker’s heels dug into the ground beneath him. “If you hurt Rodimus, I will end you,” he said, enunciating each glyph with deliberate weight.
“If you felt that strongly, you should have said so when you had the chance,” Starscream replied, matching Sunstreaker’s tone without difficulty. “I’m not the one capable of hurting him.”
Ah, there it was.
Sunstreaker flinched.
Sideswipe popped a treat into his mouth. “Well,” he said. “Now that introductions are out of the way, and we’ve all said our peace, how about we be friends?”
“Why do I get the feeling I missed something?” Rodimus asked.
Starscream rested his hand on Rodimus’ shoulder and leaned in to press a kiss at the corner of his mouth. “We’re all just realizing our places in your life, that’s all,” he said before he smiled at both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. “I can always use more friends, especially if those friends help me look after Rodimus. He’s something of a handful.”
“I am not!” Rodimus said, indignant, his field going flush with embarrassment and affection in equal measures. He shrugged out of his pack, slinging it to the ground at Sideswipe’s feet. “And I didn’t come here to get picked on.”
Sideswipe grinned around a mouthful of sweet candies. “Didn’t you?”
“No,” Rodimus huffed. He cocked his head, mouth twisting into an adorable frown before he lifted his chin and declared, “I came here to dance.”
Starscream listened, too. He had only been half-paying attention to the music, but it was definitely shifting from the background cheerful tune to something more deliberate. There was an almost sensual sound to it now.
“That’s the Call to Choose,” Sideswipe said as he nudged Sunstreaker with an elbow, and his twin batted at his arm with a snarl.
Rodimus slid his hand down Starscream’s arm, tangling their fingers together. He looked up, his expression earnest but tentative. “Dance with me?”
It felt like he was asking for something a lot more than a dance.
Starscream would have hesitated, were it not for the burn of Sunstreaker’s glare, and the challenge Sunstreaker offered without a word. “Of course,” he said, squeezing Rodimus’ hand. “You’ll have to lead.”
“For once,” Sideswipe said with a quiet chuckle.
Rodimus’ face went pink, but he spun away from his friends and tugged Starscream toward the bonfire where couples and triads had begun to cluster in the open space surrounding it. The music was a continuous ambiance, not quite a song, as though it was summoning those who wished to dance for a specific moment, and giving them time to assemble.
Rodimus pulled Starscream into the center of the crowd, and stood facing him, arranging their frames for the dance. Starscream went pliant, curious, as Rodimus rested his right hand on Starscream’s hip, and placed Starscream’s left hand on Rodimus’ chassis, right over his central seam. Starscream’s right hand was placed on Rodimus’ hip as Rodimus’ cupped his free hand against the side of Starscream’s intake, cradling his jaw. His fingers were a light touch, warm and near-reverent.
“I lead, you follow,” he murmured.
Starscream felt the optics on them, but it was hard to be uneasy with Rodimus looking up at him, gaze bright with pride and adoration. The bump of their frames together, Rodimus’ armor vibrating, as they waited for the music to begin.
“What’s the Call to Choose?” Starscream asked.
“It’s the prelude to the Dance of Favor,” Rodimus answered, his attention briefly wandering to the mechs crowding into the open space, and he pressed closer, until there was no room between them. “Let’s everyone know it’s about to start.”
“And the Dance?”
Rodimus’ spoiler twitched, his fingers stroking Starscream’s intake. “It’s a conversation,” he explained. “It’s me asking you to be mine, and letting everyone know I’m asking, and how you dance is your answer. If you want me to be yours, or if you still want to think about it.”
Starscream pressed his fingers over Rodimus’ central seam, firm enough for Rodimus to register it, but not for it to be taken as an effort to put distance between them. “I don’t know how to respond.”
“Keep your optics on me. Do as I do,” Rodimus said, and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, denta worrying it before he added, “If you walk away, or take the advance of someone else, that’s a refusal. Don’t be surprised if someone tries. You can tell them no.”
The music shifted from the low, haunting call to something a bit faster, something that sang in Starscream’s lines and made his spark thrum. The mechs around them began to move, swaying and turning to the rhythm, laughing and teasing, or holding one another close depending on the partnership. Hands wandered, Starscream noticed, but never too inappropriate for public decency.
Starscream’s hand tightened on Rodimus’ hip, a wave of possessiveness surging through his spark. “Will they be making an advance on you as well?”
Rodimus shrugged, dismissive, disbelieving. “It’s a possibility. That’s kind of the point. But I don’t think you have to worry about that.” His thumb caressed the curve of Starscream’s jaw. “You’re the real prize tonight.”
A low growl rose in Starscream’s engine. “I have no interest in anyone else. How do I make that clear without having to suffer unwanted overtures?” His fingers pressed into the seams at Rodimus’ chassis, as though he could reach into his core, cup his spark, and claim it.
Rodimus’ engine purred beneath his palm. “You could kiss me,” he said, leading Starscream into a careful spin that put them near the heat of the bonfire. “That’s a pretty clear sign.”
Good.
Starscream slid his hand from Rodimus’ hip to curving his arm around Rodimus’ waist, pulling him in tight. He pressed his lips to Rodimus’, their dance pausing, as he laid claim to Rodimus’ mouth. Rodimus moaned into the kiss, cupping the back of Starscream’s head, his arm going around Starscream’s waist, keeping them tightly pressed together.
The music pulsed and rose around them, matching the frantic staccato of Starscream’s spark-beat. He knew Rodimus’ clan must have been looking at them, but he didn’t care if it meant they recognized Rodimus’ claim and vice versa. Starscream hadn’t come here for anyone but Rodimus, and he wanted that to be absolutely clear.
“Wow,” Rodimus said, against his lips, his optics dazed. “Guess you want me, huh?”
Starscream chuckled and pressed their foreheads together. “Of course I do.” He kissed Rodimus again, brief and chaste this time, before he added, “Now dance with me.”
Starscream was sparked with wings for a reason.
But he danced with Rodimus on his own two feet, in the midst of a crowd of strangers, because Rodimus’ joy was a precious gift, and no one was taking Rodimus from him.
Only for Rodimus would he keep his feet on the ground.
Exhaustion tugged at every cable, every strut.
Rodimus had swung Starscream through every dance the band had determinedly played. He’d spun Starscream around and around the bonfire, showing him off from every angle, planting kisses as he liked, staking a claim no one could protest.
Only when Starscream gasped for relief did Rodimus pull him to one of the many scattered benches, applying his boundless energy to the retrieval of energon and coolant and treats while Starscream struggled to catch his vents.
Starscream slumped on the bench, exhausted, and did not care if anyone stared while he leaned over against Rodimus, and sipped on his medium grade energon. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were somewhere not nearby, which was a relief, because Starscream wasn’t ready for another verbal spar.
“I’m glad you came,” Rodimus murmured, his hand on Starscream’s thigh, resting there without intent to move upward, or further toward the ticklish joint of his knee.
“As am I, though I suspect I will need a code refresh after what you’ve put me through,” Starscream said.
Rodimus chuckled.
Starscream stared into the noisy crowd, the laughter and conversation still at maximum, the music audible above it all. There was a cluster of mechs on the far side, near where he and Rodimus had left Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. A dozen mechs crowded together, bent over something, and their behavior was unusual enough it caught Starscream’s attention.
“What’s going on?” he asked, tilting his head toward the cluster of mechs.
Rodimus followed his gaze, orbital ridges drawing down. “Dunno. That’s a first.” He stood, stretching his arms over his head, full of boundless energy apparently. “Want to go be nosy?”
“I don’t see where it’s any of our business,” Starscream said, though really, what he meant was that he had no energy to move right now.
“Sit down and rest then. I’ll go see what’s up.” Rodimus chuckled, snuck in to steal a kiss, and wandered off to snoop around the mechs who were now being joined by several others, heads craned to peer at whatever had caught so much attention.
Starscream leaned back on the bench, sipping at his coolant. Rodimus approached the crowd, tapped one of the mechs on the shoulder, exchanged a few words, and then wedged in next to him to get a look for himself. Even from a distance, Starscream saw Rodimus stiffen before he started shoving mechs aside, his spoiler flicking left and right.
Some of the mechs scattered, others protested, their voices raised in confusion and irritation, but Rodimus pushed through them, mouth snapping in words Starscream couldn’t hear. Anger lit along the lines of his armor.
Starscream set his coolant aside and stood, unease curling in his belly. He didn’t know what had Rodimus so upset, but he couldn’t sit idly by while it happened. He was halfway there when Rodimus shouldered his way out of the crowd, cradling something in his arms, holding it protectively against his chassis.
He barked something over his shoulder, glaring sharply, before he beelined for Starscream, worry etched into the lines of his face.
“What is it?” Starscream asked, but Rodimus was then close enough for Starscream to get a better look at what he carried. “Is that one of my drones!?”
“It’s Scuttle,” Rodimus said as he lifted one arm away, and the drone’s ready lights blinked in a slow pattern that suggested Scuttle was low on power or had an error in his code.
Starscream’s mouth dropped. “You brought my drone here?”
“Of course not!” Rodimus snapped as he gently brushed his palm over Scuttle’s chassis, and a few warbling beeps rose from the drone. “He must’ve snuck into my bag.”
Starscream sighed and palmed his face.
Honestly, he wouldn’t put it past Scuttle. The drone was ridiculously attached to Rodimus and was always found underfoot, wherever in the tower Rodimus chose to spend his time. He still had to be bodily shooed from the room whenever Starscream and Rodimus wished to interface.
“I think he’s sick,” Rodimus said.
“Give him here.” Starscream held out his hand, and Rodimus gently deposited Scuttle into his arms, the drone making a mournful noise as his wheels spun in a useless attempt to get back to Rodimus.
Rodimus leaned in, face creased with worry. “I hope he didn’t get hurt.” He glanced over his shoulder. “They were trying to figure out what he was, poking him and stuff.”
“He’s sturdier than you think. I doubt they managed to do any true harm unless they were using actual weapons,” Starscream said absently, his fingers gently moving over Scuttle’s exostructure.
He found the problem immediately and sighed again.
“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s simply full,” Starscream said as he flicked the manual access and spun the cap off Scuttle’s trap.
Sandy grit immediately rained down. A lot of it. Scuttle must’ve worked his way out of Rodimus’ back, and gone apoplectic when he saw all the loose sand.
Rodimus sucked in a vent. “Slag.”
“Yes.” Starscream gave Scuttle a little shake to get out the rest of the grit, and when the drone honked at him, he tossed Scuttle a look. “Don’t you use that language with me. You’re the one who stowed away and over-ate, you glutton.”
Scuttle’s wheels spun -- gears grating over the sand he’d kicked up into his undercarriage. His lights flashed as a series of beeps spilled out of his speaker.
Starscream sighed and spun the cap back into place, flicking the access shut. Scuttle would need an actual cleaning, but at least he wouldn’t be on the verge of overheating anymore.
Rodimus chuckled and reached for Scuttle. “Guess we’re stuck with him.”
“Yes, you are,” Starscream said, tumbling the drone into Rodimus’ hands where Scuttle wanted to be anyway. “He’s yours, remember?”
Rodimus tucked Scuttle close, petting the top of Scuttle’s chassis as though the drone had the same dermal sensors as a mech. “I think he’s the one who chose me though.”
“Semantics.” Starscream huffed, but he had to admit, it was cute how Rodimus doted on the drones.
He didn’t have to treat them as well as he did, but the fact that Rodimus called them by names, spoke to them like they were actual mechs, it made Starscream’s spark flutter.
Scuttle made as contented a sound as a drone could make, a low tonal whistle that trailed off. His lights dimmed, and miracle of miracles, he seemed to be putting himself into hibernation. Which meant he’d probably only emerged from the bag because he’d intended to find Rodimus, but got distracted by the tidying subroutines Starscream built into his code.
“Aw, he’s going to sleep,” said Rodimus.
Starscream didn’t bother to correct him. “You’re stuck carrying him now,” he said. “Guess that means no more dancing for us.”
“You sound very disappointed about that,” Rodimus drawled before he started walking, leaving Starscream to fall in step beside him. “Come on. Might as well start introducing you around then. Maybe we can even find Wrench.”
Oh, slag.
Slight miscalculation on Starscream’s part.
“Sounds fun,” he lied.
Rodimus laughed.
