Work Text:
Starscream grumbles softly, optics cast wide over the city glittering down below. A filed down claw taps at his chin as he scowls. Another Chosen One Day has come around, and this time Starscream is well and truly alone. No pity friendship to keep him satisfied. Even Rattrap has somewhere else to be, leaving Starscream to stew and simmer in his own self pity.
It's fine, honestly. Starscream doesn't need their pity or their friendship, genuine or otherwise. He's fine. It doesn't matter that Bumblebee has a new body and is therefore no longer Starscream's constant companion. And Windblade is perfectly justified in spending time with Chromia, Elita, and Moonracer. 'Girl time' or whatever they called it. Even Wheeljack has something else to do, no doubt very important and very much not needing his glorious no-longer-leader. Starscream definitely doesn't want to know what they're doing. Nope.
A racous burst of laughter reaches up to Starscream's balcony, and he can't help but grit his denta before heading back inside and slamming the windowed doors shut behind him. The curtains are quickly drawn, blocking out the excitement and joy that seems to touch everyone but him. He drops his helm into his servos, wings trembling. Thundercracker and Skywarp aren't even here, both wrapped up with their 'responsibilities' on Earth. Surely they've been galavanting about together all day, doing Primus knows what while Starscream suffers alone.
Dejected, Starscream makes his way to his recharge slab and practically throws himself into the mound of copper laced pillows he's taken to recharging with. He pulls a larger one into his arms and shoves his faceplate into the soft, exotic fabric. This is definitely not his usual resting position. No, he doesn't lay and wallow every night in the silence of his empty room, thank you very much.
Starscream is just about to force himself into an early recharge (beauty sleep, he tells himself) when he hears a firm knock on his door. If he's already across the room by the time the sound stops ringing in his audials, no he isn't. Just as his servo reaches for the palm scanner, he stops himself. Surely he can't open the door so quickly. Isn't that desperate? As he fights with himself on the matter, a message pings on his HUD.
[I believe I've found myself at your door tonight. May I come in? - Optimus]
Starscream scowls. Of course Optimus signs his messages even though they quite literally come with an integrated signature. What would Optimus even want here? Turning from the door, Starscream drafts a reply.
[[I don't need another pity visit from whoever you've brought with you. Leave.]]
The response comes quickly and makes Starscream falter.
[I'm here alone. What do you mean, 'another'? - Optimus]
The words tumble over in Starscream's processor for a full klick before he lets out a long vent and turns back to the door. He sets his hand against the scanner, waving Optimus in once he confirms that the Prime is, indeed, alone. He keeps his back towards the wall and his optics on the hulking red and blue figure.
Starscream feels oddly exposed as the Prime takes in the room and the aftermath of the absolute tantrum he'd had earlier. A cube lies shattered across the floor, energon staining the smooth metal the longed it's left uncleaned, and the contents of a table he'd been keeping work on were likewise scattered where they'd fallen after Starscream swept his arms across the surface.
Instead of commenting on the destruction, Optimus strides over to the mess and starts to tidy up. Starscream balks as he watches, unable to believe his optics for a fair few moments. When he finally finds his voice, he stalks over, practically squawking.
"What do you think you're doing? Whatever you came here for, I'm certain your motives didn't include sticking your olfactory where it doesn't—"
Starscream cuts off abruptly as Optimus turns to look at him, piercing blue optics seeming to strike the Seeker straight to the spark. Feeling thoroughly chastised from just one look, he slinks away back to his charging slab and returns to his pillow.
The soft sound of glass being swept up and the rythmic shuffling of items being rearranged on his table are all that fills the silence, but it's undeniably more than he had before. Starscream listens and keeps his optics away from the 'action', not wanting to risk catching that gaze again. Despite all their differences, Optimus's glare cuts through him just like Megatron's used to.
"I'm surprised you're here."
Starscream is even more surprised that he spoke up. The shuffling stops for just a moment before resuming.
"I could say the same about you. You're the one who enstated this festival, after all. Shouldn't you be enjoying it?"
A scoff. "Yes, truly, shouldn't I? My little festival that everyone loves. The one thing left from my reign as Cybertron's true monarch."
Bitterly, Starscream hides his face further into the soft pillow, ignoring the light pink stains that line up perfectly to his optics. He switches to internal comms, the effort of speech feeling far to much for him suddenly.
«I meant that surely someone chose you today. You should be with them.»
Optimus huffs softly, finishing his task and moving to Starscream's berthside as he speaks. "Oh, yes. Quite a few. Let's just say that it's clear this holiday wasn't made with thought as to how many people have no one but the Prime on their mind. It is an… uncomfortable number."
Blunted claws dig into the pillow at the confession. Of course, Starscream thinks, Optimus is drowning in adoration on my day while I sit here alone. Pathetic.
«Wonderful. You must have had an eventful day, then. Good for you.»
The padding on his recharge slab dips as Optimus sits, his servo resting gently on Starscream's arm. Starscream barely suppresses a shiver at the weight, warm and heavy and the first time someone has touched him in any capacity for days.
"'Eventful'… is a word for it. Rodimus woke me before the sun was up to ask what he should do for his Chosen One. I won't bore you with the details. I had plans, but… Well, I think an observation you've made regarding me may be the best description for why those plans were delayed. I believe you said I'm so polite I 'would give my Spark to a turbofox if it asked nicely'."
Starscream can't help but snort. Yes, he'd definitely said that at some point, amongst other disparaging comments about Optimus's better traits. He couldn't help himself. Not when Optimus was all that Starscream wasn't. Loyal, determined, brave, beloved by (most of) the people of Cybertron. How could he not be jealous?
"I didn't realize that you would be alone today. If I had realized…"
Starscream peers out from behind his soft wall, frowning at the Prime. "What? You're not implying that you would've spent the day with me, surely. I'm sure you had much better company today from the people who chose you. And you still haven't said why you're here in the first place."
Optimus's optics take on a sorrowful shape, as though Starscream not knowing his him. But Starscream isn't a mind reader, so he started at Optimus until the Prime answers.
"I came to see if you would be my Chosen One today."
Starscream's vents hiss as he pulls in a sharp invent. He practically leaps away from Optimus, the place where his servo had touched practically burning. His pedes hit the floor with a thud, wings flared up aggressively as he grits his denta.
"That's a lie, and it's not even a good one! Optimus Prime, of all bots, choosing Starscream. Who put you up to this? I'll bet ten shanix it was Windblade. It was, wasn't it? God, sure and her 'gal pals' are probably laughing at me right now. Those ravenous scraplets are—"
Starscream cuts off as Optimus fixes him with those optics again. The pistons in his cheeks practically crack with the speed of his intake snapping shut. His wings drop from threat display to trembling submission as the Prime stands. Starscream's processor conjures up a different hulking frame and eyes red as a dying star moving over to him in the darkness of his room. When a large servo lifts towards him, he flinches away, optics shuttering as he braces for an impact…
… that never comes. Instead, a featherlight touch of digits brushes the seam between his helm and faceplate. His servos fly up to cling to Optimus's arm as the other mech gently strokes his digit tips over Starscream's wet cheeks. When had he started crying? The Prime's other arm slips around him, pulling Starscream close and keeping him from falling as his knees threaten to give out.
Starscream's vents hiccup and hitch as he presses his face into Optimus's servo like a wet little creature searching for comfort. He's sobbing freely, now, optical fluid running in small streams down his cheeks. Even his wings tremble, Starscream's will to keep them still gone as he finally lets himself break down.
Carefully, Optimus guides Starscream to sit on the edge on the recharge slab. He kneels down, letting Starscream cling to him as the Seeker cries until his optical reserves are dry. When he's finally reduced to soft whimpers instead of full sobbing, Optimus presses for him to explain what he meant earlier when he called this 'another pity visit'. Through their internal comms, Starscream tells him about the first Chosen One Day. How he was alone until just before the day was officially over. The joy he'd felt when the others arrived, the promise of companionship, and the crushing disappointment when he realized the next day that they really did only mean for it to last the night. Recalling the emotional blow makes his spark hurt, but Optimus rubs soothing circles against his side that seem to lessen the ache.
"I'm sorry to hear that some of my own companions were a part of that. While I do want to believe that they meant well, offering you a single night of friendship is clearly not an appropriate way to celebrate something like this. A selfish way to make themselves feel better about leaving you out of the day's events, perhaps."
"I don't need your pity…" Even Starscream doesn't think he sounds very convincing. Not when his vocalizer quakes and crackles. After a moment he softly asks, "Megatron is the one that your silly orange friend was asking you about, isn't he?"
Optimus pauses the gentle motions of his servos before letting out a soft vent. "Yes. The Lost Light is having a communal get together, but he wanted to plan something more private for Megatron. Supposedly, they've grown quite close. I didn't want to go into detail and upset you. I know that your relationship with Megatron was… complicated."
"'Complicated' is too simple a word. One doesn't have a relationship with Megatron in the same way that a meteor can have no relationship with the ground it strikes." Starscream pulls away just enough to wipe the back of his servo against his faceplate. "You should warn him away. Though I suppose it's too late if his call came at the beginning of the cycle. Your friend will break. Unless he's lucky and saves himself quickly."
With a slow shake of his head, Optimus stands and shifts to sit next to Starscream, keeping a gentle hold of him. "I shared my concerns, but Rodimus assures me that it's genuine. He is many things, but helpless is not one of them."
Starscream shoots a glare at the Prime, a bitter scowl on his derma. "So that's what you think of me? That I'm helpless because I didn't leave him when I had the chance?"
Optimus quickly holds up his servos in surrender. "No, absolutely not. I know that you have your reasons, even if I can't fathom them."
The padding bounces a bit as Starscream suddenly lays back, shuttering his optics as though that will help him avoid the conversation. After several long moments of silence, he speaks again, his voice so low that Optimus has to turn up the sensitivity of his audials.
"I loved him. I really did, at the beginning. I got down on my knees in front of him and pledged my life to him. I put my everything towards him. And, for a time, I thought that maybe something could come of my devotion. That he might see my efforts for what they were. Instead, I wasted myself, gave away my precious attention to someone who hurt me again and again. And now here we stand. He's got another mech under his charms. Someone… chose him. And I'm left to rot by myself while people enjoy my day without me."
Optimus shuffles around so that he can fix his optics on Starscream again. He doesn't speak, letting the Seeker continue.
"That's what this was supposed to be, you know. My day. Chosen One Day. Where people celebrate me. Because how often does a dead Titan wake up and name someone the ruler of Cybertron, right? Never. Not until me. And half of Cybertron just kept hating me and the other half only listened because, as mentioned, a fragging Titan chose me."
Starscream shifts onto his side, mindful of his wings, and Optimus moves to lay with him. He draws Starscream into his arms, servos running gently over his polished plating.
"And now look at me. Breaking things and crying like a Sparkling because everyone hates me again. I didn't even do anything to deserve it this time. I know I've been… abrasive. But what good is trying to be better when no one thinks that you can? Why does he get to be better but I have to stay the villain? It isn't fair."
Optimus stays quiet as Starscream seethes and rages in his arms, content to lay close and cast his shadow over the Seeker's frame. When Starscream's fury finally gives way to a more subdued melacholy, the Prime finally speaks.
"You are not the villain, Starscream. Not in this or any other story. Abrasive, like you said, but you've earned the right to be distrustful of the motives of those who surround you. People who have pitted themselves against you in one way or another throughout your life. I would be more surprised to learn of you giving your full trust to someone."
Starscream huffs and hides his face against the windshield of the mech's chest, glass pane slowly warming from their proximity. "That doesn't sound like much of a pep talk. Where's the comfort?"
The Prime chuckles softly, shifting his grip to pull Starscream closer, their bodies pressing together more intimately.
"You have been chosen, Starscream. I had meant to be here much earlier. I meant it when I said that I had plans. I wanted to take you to see the aurora borealis on Earth. It was supposed to be mesmerizing tonight, strong enough to see far South of its typical placement. I thought you might like the science of it."
Starscream is still processing the confession when he hears the soft pneumatic hiss of Optimus's battlemask retracting. He can't help his curiosity, optics drifting up to take in the handsome sight of Optimus Prime, unmasked and unadulterated. He really is a handsome mech. Starscream purses his lips as he thinks. Despite his ego, a voice that sounds suspiciously like Megatron's tells him that this isn't real. A dream, maybe, of something he doesn't deserve.
As soon as the thought starts to take hold, Optimus shifts and takes one of Starscream's servos. He brings it to his derma, soft and clearly rarely used, pressing a soft kiss to each digit. Starscream feels his spark spinning behind his cockpit, face flushing bright as those derma slip down and he feels the barest flick of Optimus's glossa in the crease of his palm.
The sudden whirring of his cooling fans starting to life covering up the soft hum of Optimus's engine is jarring. He tries to snatch his servo away, to push Optimus off of the berth. The grip on him holds fast, and those blue optics see right through his attempt at ruining something before it can even start. Starscream's derma quivers for a moment before he speaks.
"I'm a coward. I'm a schemer, and I ruin everything the moment I touch it. You won't be any different. Choose someone else."
Optimus sits up, and for a moment Starscream thinks he's going to leave. Instead, he props himself over Starscream, blocking out his view of anything else. The Seeker trembles and shifts himself back onto his back under the bulk of the Prime, all at once aware that he's allowed himself to be too vulnerable. Both emotionally and physically.
"No," comes the simple reply, and Starscream finds himself admiring Optimus's derma as they make the shape of the word.
Tentatively, he lifts himself, intent on just a small kiss. Something to test the waters. Optimus has other plans, pressing down to meet Starscream with something much more passionate. Starscream's optics widen for just a moment before shuttering. He's never been kissed like this before, all at once gentle and full of a decided need for more.
While they kiss, Optimus's servos begin to roam freely. His touch is almost reverent, full of curiosity and intent as he explores the plating. When he parts from the kiss, it's only to let his derma play at the cabling of Starscream's neck, drawing satisfied moans from the Seeker now that his intake is free.
Optimus takes his time, working his way slowly over Starscream's body. He lingers at the turbine fans on his chest, glossa running over each blade and pulling forth sharp vents. Derma and glossa both glide over the glass of Starscream's cockpit canopy, digits pressing and teasing against the seam where it meets his body. Starscream manages to catch one of Optimus's servos, their digits twining together as the Prime delves ever lower.
Starscream's panels are already open when Optimus finishes exploring every seam along the Seeker's abdomen. Nonetheless, he ignores the array for now, prefering instead to trace the lines of Starscream's hips down into the hollow where his legs meet his pelvis. By the time he's satisifed, oral lubricant coats both joints and Starscream's fans are starting to give off steam. Optmius sits up, chuckling as he takes in the way Starscream's intake hangs open as he tries to pull cool air in.
"You're beautiful. You know that, right?"
With a soft grumble, Starscream turns his head away. He should have known Optimus would draw something like this out. Sentimental. It was new. It made him feel awkward. And yet, at the same time it made him feel so warm and wanted. It wasn't a quick frag between meetings or a few shared moments of intimacy. He was being cherished, practically worshipped.
Starscream is just starting to get used to the neglect to his array, charge building and sitting heavy between his legs, when the attention finally comes. His back practically arches up from the berth, wings flicking as Optimus licks a long stripe up the underside of Starscream's spike. When the warm heat of his intake engulfs him, Starscream lets out an appreciative moan. A servo moves to Optimus's head, thumb stroking gently as he enjoys the feeling.
It's been so long. Too long. They've barely done anything, but Starscream feels the incessent buildup of electricity. He can't bring himself to hold back, and somehow he feels sure that Optimus wouldn't want him to hold back either. As he feels Optimus start to bob his helm, he manages a warning.
"Prime, I'm so close… More…"
Optimus hums around him, making Starscream squirm and squeal. When the Prime begins stroking two thick digits against his valve while still giving his spike attention, Starscream is sure he's going to combust. So close, so close, he thinks as the digits press inside to stretch him out, because it's too hard to try and push the words from his vocalizer.
Overload washes over him like a crashing wave as Optimus crooks his digits just right. His blunted nails drag across Optimus's helm as his optics glitch and flicker. He vaguely registers Optimus swallowing around him amidst the pleasure, and a fresh pulse of desire hits him. How much more was Optimus willing to give him?
Starscream isn't left wondering long, shivering when his hips are manhandled up into Optimus's lap. The new position splays his legs wide, giving the Prime the perfect view of Starscream's valve as it clenches around nothing in anticipation. Optimus hums as he looks down at Starscream, smiling softly as he admires the Seeker. Almost absentmindedly, he circles his thumb over Starscream's node, enticing out more squirming and desperate noises.
Starscream was wrong. Optimus isn't being sentimental in drawing out the act of interface, he's being cruel. He presses close, so close that Starscream can feel the heat of his still closed modesty panel against his own exposed valve, so that he can run his free servo over smooth and polished wings. Starscream writhes under the attention, vocalizer crackling with strain. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he's being tortured and tormented, the rebuilding of his charge nearly agonizingly slow under the gentle touches.
Optimus notices Starscream's mounting frustration and hums, moving his hands away before leaning in with all of his crushing weight to press kisses to the edge of Starscream's derma. It's soothing, like a big weighted pillow over his whole torso, and Starscream can't help but cling to Optimus and try to catch him for a proper kiss. When Optimus finally obliges, he wastes no time licking into Starscream's intake and exploring. Every soft little sound and sigh is caught in their kiss, trapped between them like little secrets no one else gets to hear.
Starscream is reluctant to relinquish his hold when Optimus pulls back from their kiss. After a bit of jostling, Optimus seems satisfied to stay pressed close. Unfortunately, this means Starscream only hears the sound of a panel snapping open. He feels the press of a pressurizing spike, firm and weighty against his valve, and can't help a soft moan as he imgines how big it must be. As badly as he wants to see, the press of Optimus against him is far too delicious to lose.
When Optimus finally rocks into him, Starscream's optics shutter and he presses his faceplate into Optimus's neck cabling. With every slow press, he's stretched wide as Optimus's spike fights against Starscream's panicking calipers. He's suddenly not regretting taking a look to mentally prepare himself. But the Prime is oh so patient, groaning in Starscream's audial when he's finally able to bottom out.
They lay together, still and getting used to the feeling of one another. Optimus runs his derma over Starscream's neck cabling, his engine absolutely purring and sending the most tantalizing vibrations through the Seeker's chassis. Starscream lets out a long, soft moan, somewhere between a plea for Optimus to move and a lot of nothing.
Finally, achingly slowly, Optimus rocks his hips and pulls another desperate sound from Starscream's vocalizer. It's so good that it aches. As much as Starscream begs for more, Optimus seems equally resistant to giving it to him. He drags his denta over a sensitive cable just above Starscream's collar faring, and Starscream practically sobs with frustration. His digits dig into seams on Optimus's shoulders, so forceful that he leaves behind small dents, as he tries to move his own hips under the Prime's weight.
Optimus presses his hands against the berth, pushing up off of Starscream and shifting his hips for a better angle. The jostling makes Starscream squirm, his servos falling from their places on Optimus's pauldrons to grip his arms instead. As much as he wishes he could have that weight back on him, having that same weight behind every slow, forge-deep thrust is euphoric. Starscream claws at Optimus's arms as he arches up, doing no damage but trying his best anyway.
Slow and steady, Optimus starts to pick up his pace. Each slow motion lets Starscream feel every little detail of Optimus's spike, from the way he's so thick as to test Starscream's limits at the base to each little ridge and bump that stimulates the deepest sensors in his valve. The grind makes him cry with ecstasy and toss his helm in frustration all at the same time. He wants more. Needs it like he needs a sparkpulse. Finally, he forces words past the moans.
"P-please! Faster, more! I–ah!– n-need more…"
He must sound quite convincing despite the way his voice cracks and his plea is broken by his desperate cries. Optimus's engine rumbles, and Starscream clings to the Prime again as he leans in and presses their helm crests together. So close, Optinus's bright blue optics look straight into Starscream's, like he can see straight down to the former Con's spark.
"Anything you like, Chosen One."
Starscream can't help it; he overloads again just at that. That and Optimus finally using that strength to give him a full thrust, spike nearly pulling all the way out before he slams it back it. Over and over, a steady rythm as he works Starscream through the stars that bloom across his HUD, oddly blue and optic shaped. Starscream feels a glossa against his cheek and realizes with a spare bit of RAM that Optimus is licking optical fluid from his cheeks. It makes him shudder, calipers rippling contentedly around Optimus.
"Is it that good, Starscream? So much that you can't help but cry?" Starscream would answer, but he really only can moan now, the sounds high and desperate. "My poor neglected Chosen One. Left so starved for care and affection that you can't even let me treat you gently."
Starscream claws at Optimus's back and shoulders, whimpering and crying harder with every thrust. Optimus's glossa continues to lap at the fluid before trailing to the seams between his helm and faceplate. The attention only stops so that Optimus can catch his derma again, a hunger and greed to this kiss that the former ones lacked. Starscream feels like Optimus could devour him whole and he'd be able to die satisfied.
Optimus shifts again, slipping one arm down to wrap under Starscream's waist while supporting himself on the other. Starscream absolutely screams as the pace ramps up again, quickly wringing a third overload out of him. He can smell his own burning circuitry as his optics reboot and feel the soft brush of derma against the glass of his optics, the gentle touch making him tremble.
As his optics finish their reboot, Starscream is greeted with the beautiful twist of Optimus's faceplate as his hips stutter. Warmth blooms as he feels his valve stretch to accomodate Optimus's load, already overstuffed as it is. If it weren't for his meticulous upkeep of his baffles (woefully underutilised as they are), he'd surely have a full force. The thought is enough to make Starscream moan desperately.
Optimus is stil for a few moments, his optics searching Starscream's face. The Seeker runs his glossa over his lips to wet them before speaking, his vocalizer protesting after all of the strain.
"Let me in your lap."
"Yes, Chosen One."
Starscream shivers at the title again, relishing every time Optimus deigns to use it. Optimus pulls out of him, slow and agonizing as Starscream feels himself being emptied. He'll care more about the gush of transfluid that follows the uncorking of his valve later. Right now, the only thing that matters is swapping places with Optimus. Once he's perched in the Prime's lap, Optimus leaned back into the mound of pillows so that he's propped up to watch more easily, Starscream can't help the way his wings perk up.
"You've been so good to me, little Prime… Let me show my appreciation."
Optimus lets out a deep rumble from his engine, servos carressing Starscream's legs and up his hips appreciatively. Even with his more commanding position, Starscream feels like Optimus is still in control. It's… honestly exciting. As badly as he wants to be the one giving orders, letting Optimus service him as he pleases is very fulfilling. Suddenly, a bitter thought chills the heat between them.
"How do I know you're not going to leave, too? That this isn't just tonight."
Gently, Optimus slides a servo up Starscream's chassis until he's chipping the Seeker's cheek. Despite himself, Starscream presses into the touch, shuttering his optics and feeling the gentle rumble of the Prime's engine.
"I'll be here when you wake up. And everything I wanted to do with you today, we can do tomorrow. It will be your day. No distractions. Just us."
Starscream hums softly, opening one optic just enough to peek down at Optimus. After a moment, he nods, letting the motion nuzzle into the servo still on his cheek. He braces his servos against Optimus's chest before lifting himself up so that he can sink himself back down into the thick spike waiting for him. The servo on his hip tightens as he takes Optimus to the hilt in one fluid fall. They both let out their own pleased sounds, Starscream's nails scratching at Optimus's abdominal plating as he readjusts to being full again.
Before Starscream can start his own pace, his optics go wide and his intake hangs open with an appreciative moan as Optimus rolls his hips up. The tip of his spike grinds all the way to the back of Starscream's valve, stimulating a cluster of sensors like scratching an itch that he didn't even know he had. Digits hook into the plating around his hips, anchoring him down as Optimus grinds up a second time and drags another desperate moan out of Starscream's vocalizer.
If the tremble of his arms, the only thing holding him up as Optimus starts building his pace again, is anything to go by, Starscream is sure he'll be getting very intimate with Optimus's windshield soon. Wasn't he supposed to be in control in this position? Even as he thinks it, his optics are starting to glitch and his wings bounce with every bang to the back of his valve.
As though he can sense Starscream's arms losing their strength, Optimus lifts a servo from one of Starscream's hips to urge him to lay against him.
"No need to strain yourself, Starscream. I've got you. Just relax, Chosen One."
Starscream shivers, calipers cycling as he lets himself be guided to lay against Optimus's chest. He's quickly got his blunted claws hooked into any seam he can get ahold of, cheek of his faceplate pressed into Optimus's windshield as the Prime continues to pick up his pace. A wet mix of oral and optical fluid soon collect on the glass as Starscream cries and whimpers with pleasure. It's only a matter of time before Starscream overloads again, his optics shutting down and even his vocalizer giving out. The smell of burnt circuitry becomes more pronounced, and Optimus's grip shifts to wrap both arms around Starscream as he gives a final few thrusts before meeting his own finish.
The room is loud, a mix of fans and engines and rough manual venting to try and cool sparking processors. Starscream shifts, shivering as he feels Optimus's spike start to deflate and retract. He cast his optics up to take a peek at Optimus's face and practically feels his spark leap. The Prime's optics are half shuttered, gaze still on Starscream as his derma move with soft words. Even though he can't hear them, Starcream can read the gentle motions.
You're beautiful. I love you. Thank you.
Starscream's faceplate flushes brightly, and he quickly turns his face away. Could he pretend he hadn't understood the confession? Did he even want to pretend? Strong, tender servos gently rub at his back, working slow circles just beneath his wing joints. He melts into the touch, already quite strutless from Optimus's very thorough attention. He starts to feel heavier, a ping on his HUD prompting that he recharge soon.
As if he could see the ping himself, Optimus carefully lifts Starscream up and lays him gently on the berth. He presses a few soft kisses to Starscream's cheeks and helm, making the Seeker chuckle, before pulling a cleaning cloth from his subspace. He begins cleaning Starscream's thighs and array, both gentle and firm as he wipes away their mixed fluids. Once Starscream is cleaned up, he cleans himself before stowing the cloth away again.
After a moment of thought, Starscream shifts and makes space for Optimus beside him. Soon, the two are pressed up to one another, Optimus's arms wrapped around Starscream and one of Starscream's wings draped over Optimus's chest. The rumble of Optimus's engine and their weight on one another lulls them both into recharge.
—
As he comes out of recharge, Starscream feels something he hasn't felt in mega-annum. Safe. Legs tangle together, and a heavy arm holds him close as an engine softly rumbles by his audial. When he cracks the shutter on an optic, red paint meets his vision. It's not a task to recall who's holding him, and Starscream feels something hum to life at the memory of Optimus's confession last night.
If it were anyone else, the way Starscream's frame starts to shudder at the memory would mortify him if it were anyone else laying beside him. Really, it startles him. The soft purr of his turbines mixes with the thrum of Optimus's engine, and Starscream buries his faceplate against the Prime's armor. How long has it been since he'd last felt so comfortable? Had he ever? He hears a soft chuckle, the arm around him shift so that a servo can run gently at his hip.
"You're awake. I trust you had a fulfilling recharge?"
Starscream grumbles softly, but nods just enough to be considered an answer. Reluctantly, he drags himself up, a servo resting on Optimus's chest as he holds himself up with the other arm. In the morning light that filters through the curtains, the evidence of interface is clear as day on both of them. Lurid paint transfers, a bit of light scorching, and scratches on their respective chest glass. Starscream couldn't remember the last time he'd been loved so thoroughly, if one could even call anything he'd had before last night 'love'.
When Optimus leans up to press a soft kiss to his derma, Starscream lets himself melt into it. Optimus didn't lie. He's still here. But, then again, there's still time for him to take it all back. Starscream decides to enjoy this while he still has it.
Just like last night began, Optimus is soft and slow in his attention. He gently drags Starscream back into his lap, servos massaging gently at the junction of his wings. Starscream can't help but reward his efforts with soft, appreciative moans as what little soreness he had there melts away. He vaguely considers asking Optimus to travel a little lower and relieve the soreness between his legs instead, but he lets the thought fizzle out in favor of receiving more adoring kisses.
After several long klicks of letting himself enjoy the affection, Starscream slips a servo up and presses the tips of his digits to Optimus's derma. He gazes into the Prime's optics for several moments before posting a soft question.
"Did you mean any of it?"
Optimus softens, shuttering his optics and kissing Starscream's digit tips. He nods, a smile smile of his derma.
"I meant all of it, Starscream. Every promise and praise. I chose you, and I'll keep choosing you over and over until you finally let yourself believe that it's real. I love you, and neither you nor the daylight can chase those feelings away."
Starscream knows Optimus can see what those words do to him. Fluid wells in the corners of his optics. His faceplate flushes, derma quivering as his ailerons flick and his wings bob. And that purr from his turbines grows so insistent that it nearly makes his plates rattle. Not a single piece of him is left unaffected as he presses close to answer with another kiss, too worried that his words might ruin this moment. He finds the will to softly murmur a command against the Prime's lips.
Prove it.
Fans click on and Starscream finds himself positively crushed as Optimus wraps both arms tight around the Seeker, kisses shifting to ardent passion as his order is heeded without hesitation. If Starscream has anything to say about it, they'll miss their chance to put Optimus's date plans into action for a second cycle in a row. And, honestly, Optimus doesn't mind one bit.