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radioactiverats · 3 days ago

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I can't stop thinking about jealous cadet... grr...

ANON YOUR MIND….

Mentor Starscream x seeker!reader (17/?)

I am bending more timelines to make this work :,) Bumblebee introduces you to Hashtag and Twitch - only for you to realize that they're unexpectedly close with Starscream.

---

:: Hey

Bumblebee. Probably some weird Terran meme. You ignore it in favour of reading the report on your datapad.

:: Hey. I know u r there

Starscream's sitting not two meters from you at his desk, grumbling over spelling mistakes in reports submitted to him. You carefully school your expression as you compose a response, not wanting to draw suspicion.

:: What?

:: Are u free?

:: ...Depends

:: Wanna introduce you to my friends

:: Come

:: [Coordinates]

Well. It wasn't like you were busy. You could probably sneak away for a few hours.

"Training," You call to Starscream, who grunts noncommittally without looking up from his datapad. You feel a twinge of guilt. He trusted you so implicitly he wasn't even questioning you - but you were genuinely curious about these friends of Bumblebee's, and even though you felt guilty admitting it, you trusted him. An Autobot.

Two Autobots, if you counted Ratchet.

Still, it meant this would be a low-stakes encounter. The most dangerous thing you would have to face was probably Starscream's wrath if he found out you were sneaking around - and fraternizing with the enemy, no less.

The coordinates Bumblebee sent you lead to a quaint, rural looking area. You spot the yellow flare of his plating as soon as you approach - and he's accompanied by two smaller figures, their frames unfamiliar. You're actually surprised to realize that his friends are Cybertronian - you'd been expecting Terrans.

Descending, you transform.

"Cool!" A voice calls.

"You didn't tell us you were friends with a jet," Another voice interjects.

"Is that... Wait. A Decepticon?"

"Calm down," Bumblebee scolds. "They're cool." He waves at you.

"Hey."

"Long time no see," You say. He was a sight for sore eyes - looking reasonably well, aside from a few scrapes to his paint.

"You didn't reply to my memes," He says accusingly.

"I don't even understand your memes."

"This won't do. I'll show you memes!" The taller of the two bots steps forward proudly. "I'm Hashtag. Pro at all things internet!"

"...internet?" Primus, you feel old. The bot was clearly younger than you were.

Bumblebee groans. "Come on. You're not that much older than I am. Do the Decepticons come from the dark ages, or something?"

You scowl. "The... Terran network?"

"Close enough," Hashtag shrugs.

"Your landing was cool," Pipes another voice. A flash of red zips around you. Your optics widen. A flight frame?

"This is Twitch," Bumblebee says. "These two are part of a Terran family I visit regularly."

Cybertronians, part of a Terran family? Your surprise must show on your face, because thankfully, they just laugh. "It's a long story," Hashtag says.

They're quite obviously younger than you and Bumblebee are, but as you listen to their exuberant chatter, you find yourself relaxing. It's... fun being around them, and before you know it, it's dusk.

"Scrap," You curse. "I was meant to be back ages ago."

"I'm sure it's fine," Bumblebee begins to say, but is abruptly cut off by the roar of a very familiar set of engines above you.

You freeze, as does Bumblebee. You glance at Twitch and Hashtag, about to urge them to hide - but strangely, they look... delighted.

Starscream transforms, striding towards you with narrowed optics. "Training, my aft-!"

"Starscream!"

All of a sudden, he freezes.

"...Hashtag?"

"It is you!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"And Twitch, too," Starscream says, an optic ridge raised.

You straighten up slowly, all threat of an aft-whooping forgotten. "You know each other?"

"Yeah!" Hashtag cheers. "It... it is a long story, though."

Bumblebee had been looking wary at first, but his frame had relaxed into something akin to resignation. "Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that."

"You know, too?"

"Yeah. Something about a Dweller? Starscream apparently near sacrificed himself for Hashtag, and she talked my audial off about it for months..."

Huh. That's nice. At least, that's what you force yourself to think in order to prevent the ugly feeling from surfacing in your processor.

You watch, feeling like you're on the sidelines as Starscream complains about fleshlings and Terrans, despite the small smile on his faceplate. Hashtag says something your fuzzy processor doesn't register, and Starscream actually laughs. When was the last time he'd done that in front of you?

Stop, you tell yourself fiercely, struggling to suppress the wave of... some mysterious, unpleasant emotion that surged in your spark. You're being ridiculous. You're being childish.

Just as you felt like you were able to retain some semblance of a normal bot, Twitch hugs Starscream.

You can only stare.

Starscream makes a dramatic show of being disgusted, which only makes the sisters laugh more - and just pats Twitch on the helm.

Starscream catches you staring. He shrugs an elegant shoulder. "I'm not the only one who has surreptitious Autobot acquaintances, you know."

That stings.

You're suddenly aware of just how much you don't know about him, just how great the distance is between you both. You knowing Bumblebee and Ratchet was one thing - but you're suddenly reminded of just how much of his history you didn't know. A history shared with others. Not you. You take a step back, nauseous.

"Hey," Bumblebee says, nudging you. "You look like there's ants in your seams."

"Ugh," You say disgustedly. Leaning way too heavily into your pretense of normalcy. You twist around to inspect your frame for good measure. "There aren't, right?"

Bumblebee rolls his optics. "No." But his expression softens.

"Seriously, you good?"

"Fine," You bite out, trying not to lash out. That was a bad habit you'd realized you were picking up. Was it a Decepticon thing? Lashing out and getting defensive whenever you showed any sign of emotion. You didn't do that before, and the realization only serves to compound your misery. "Hey, I'm just going to get some air."

"You don't look fine."

"Not used to the... forest biomes."

Bumblebee squints, leaning in to inspect your pinched expression properly. His optics flick abruptly to your tense wings, and your spark sinks as realization ripples over his faceplate. Scrap. You'd been so fixated on smoothing out the expression on your faceplate (and failing) that you'd forgotten your wings - which were essentially blaring neon signs that broadcasted your displeasure from miles away.

"You're jea-"

"Shut up," You hiss. "I will be normal and well-adjusted about this. I will go and fly a couple of laps in the stratosphere, and return with the sweetest expression any Cybertronian ever saw!"

Bumblebee snorts. "That's very healthy of you."

Still, he lets you go, probably seeing that space would benefit you more than pressing you to stay.

You stalk off into a deeper part of the woods before actually transforming and taking off. No sense calling attention to yourself - it was the opposite of what you wanted to do. Sulking was a solo activity, and by Primus, you were going to luxuriate in it.

You finally land on a relatively isolated-looking field. It's lush and green, and looks like it would feel quite nice against your wings. You throw yourself under the shade of a sturdy tree, spread-eagled on the ground. For a moment, you take in the blessed silence.

When was the last time you'd been alone? Distantly, the sounds of the local fauna filtered into your audials. Lyrical twittering noises over the gentle whooshing of wind. Birds.

You'd remembered the name of this species easily - they were fliers, and their language sounded similar to Vosian, with their trilling chirps and clicks. You liked birds, you decided, shuttering your optics as you soaked in their musical calls.

Unfortunately, your blessed silence did not last long.

"Cadet?"

Of all bots you were expecting, you were not expecting this one.

"Thundercracker?"

Thundercracker looks just as confused as you are.

"What are you doing here?" You ask.

"I like coming here to think," He shrugs. "It's peaceful."

His curious optics turn to you. "What about you?"

"Uh. Nothing much."

Oh. It dawns on you that this is his spot, and he's probably here to do some thinking. Alone.

"I was just going, anyway."

"...Wait."

Thundercracker carefully lowers his large frame down onto the grass, next to you. You shuffle over to accommodate his wings - he was the largest of the trine, tall and broad. Ordinarily, a mech of his size would have come across as naturally intimidating. Yet, every careful glance, his pacifistic nature, the way he tries to make himself smaller all the time coalesces into an EM field you can only describe as harmless. "We can do nothing together. Unless you're in a rush?"

He's glancing at you carefully, a gently questioning look in his optics. You reluctantly concede that no normal and well-adjusted mech would be lying listlessly in random fields out of the blue, and he'd clearly picked up on that. It's an incredibly kind offer.

"...I'd like to stay, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Thundercracker says gently. "You're welcome to join me anytime."

You carefully lower yourself back to the grass.

"How are you adjusting to your wings?" He asks, as you shift around to find a more comfortable position.

You flex them, feeling every blade of grass whisper against your sensory nets. Knockout had done a fantastic job with your new wings. If not for the abrupt sense of juddering wrongness that would overcome you at times, the delicate wiring and sensors had been joined together so well that you could shutter your optics and they would feel like yours.

"I did a triple barrel roll the other day."

Thundercracker nods encouragingly. "Not too bad, then."

"I never did get to thank you," You mumble. "I appreciate it. I know... I know you were there."

His optics widen for a klik. "You know-?"

You fight through the churning of your fuel tanks to nod. You are grateful. Flight is not to be something taken for granted, after all. Eventually, Thundercracker sighs. "If it helps, that mech had it coming. It was just a matter of now or later."

That catches you off guard. For someone as timid as Thundercracker to pass such severe judgement on a mech - it must have been bad. Still, confusion roils within you, torn between relief it wasn't an innocent - and revulsion at having the parts of a likely serial murderer weighing heavy on your back.

Thundercracker seems to sense that the topic was not to be lingered on. Unfortunately, his gentleness comes hand in hand with a severe lack of tact, if only because he is completely unable to hide the fact that he worries.

"So, what brought you here?"

You fling an arm over your optics and groan.

"It's stupid."

"Can't be that stupid if it bothers you this much," He prods gently.

Your cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Bumblebee introduced me to some of his friends," You mutter. "And it was good, but then Starscream turned up... and turns out they knew each other?"

Thundercracker squints, then his optics brighten. "Twitch and Hashtag?"

The heavy feeling in your internals sours further, immediately pursued by a hot rush of shame. They were nice, for Primus' sake. You liked them. Why were you being so childish?

"Yup."

"How are they?" Thundercracker asks, with genuine interest.

"You know them too?"

"Seen them once or twice."

"They look well," You say weakly. You're not being fair to them, but pulling yourself together is difficult - if only because it means slapping a mask on and pushing those feelings away. Again.

Thundercracker must have picked up on the erratic pulse of your EM field. "Did the meeting not go well?"

"No, no, it went well. I like them."

"But?" Thundercracker presses.

You slump. "They seemed so... familiar with Starscream."

Thundercracker tilts his helm.

"More familiar than me."

"...Ah."

Angry embarrassment heats your plates as soon as the words leave your intake. Thundercracker was trine, for Primus' sake. He and Skywarp understood Starscream on a level that was incomprehensible to you, and here you were, sulking in some field because you were irrationally jealous of someone giving him a hug. Had you ever-?

Thundercracker looks thoughtful. "You've always been top of his class in the Academy, right?"

"I... yeah?"

"So you've always had his attention. And after the whole Academy thing, you haven't really socialized with bots younger than yourself."

"I guess so."

"So," Thundercracker continues pointedly, "it's not out of the ordinary that you'd find yourself unsettled if he gives his attention to others. Others you could feasibly compare yourself to."

"I- I'm - TC, they're kids. How could I be jealous of kids?"

"It's potential," Thundercracker says. His voice is too kind for the painful accuracy of his remarks.

"Just like you, when you were at the Academy. I know a what a mech looks like when they're doubting themselves."

Before you can even open your intake to say something, anything that would stem the coolant rising to your optics, Thundercracker pushes on.

"You think Starscream's going to abandon you to focus on new potential, don't you? That you're not good enough?"

Your silence is damning confirmation, the coolant leaking freely from your optics even more so.

Thundercracker allows you a klik to collect yourself.

"You know," he says gently, "I went through the same thing when we first trined."

"Huh? But..."

You never seem to doubt your connection, is what you wanted to say. Thundercracker seems to understand.

"It was me and Skywarp at first. And you know how he gets... he gets really distracted by novelty." Instead of a grimace like you expected, he just shakes his head fondly. "So when Starscream first appeared, Skywarp was utterly enamoured. Wouldn't stop talking about him, even in berth with me."

"Oh," Is all you can say. You're not sure you'd be able to cope with that.

"But his affections for me never actually wavered. In fact, he was confused when I first brought it up to him."

You can't help but snicker. "He would be."

Thundercracker laughs with you. "Yeah. But it wasn't that he'd... removed some of his feelings for me, only to allocate them to another bot. His bond with me isn't any less strong just because he has a bond with Starscream, too."

He looks at you, optics gentle as ever. "You have a special place in Starscream's spark, you know that? That's not going to change. Even if he refuses to admit it."

You ex-vent, shaky.

"I think I'm just scared of losing him. Especially when I don't know how to keep him."

"That's another thing," Thundercracker chuckles. "A personality like that? No one can keep him. If he's stayed this long, it's by his own volition, and he's not going anywhere."

"O-oh."

You swipe at the remnants of coolant on your faceplate and stare up at the cerulean sky, feeling oddly freer.

"...Thanks, TC."

"You're good enough," Thundercracker says gently. "You've more than earned your place by Starscream's side. Starscream sees that. I promise you."

"Got it. Enough mushiness." You scrub at your faceplate as Thundercracker laughs, briefly pulling you into a friendly, one-armed hug.

Unexpectedly, the moment is disrupted by the overhead roar of jet engines. Wind whistles in your audials as a familiar streak of red, white, and blue descends, transforming to reveal the very bot you'd been talking about.

"Speak of the devil," Thundercracker mutters. You'd picked up on enough Terran sayings to understand what he meant, and you hide a snicker behind your servo.

Starscream storms towards you both.

"Where have you been? Bumblebee said you just took off!"

"Just talking to TC."

His optics flicker in surprise. As soon as he takes in the way you're leaning casually against Thundercracker's frame, his optics harden, but not before betraying a flash of.... was that... hurt?

"I see," He says stiffly.

Thundercracker sighs. "Starscream, come on. We're just talking."

Meanwhile, you're taking in the curious twitch of his wings.

The smears of coolant suddenly catch his attention, and his optics narrow. "Have you been crying?"

"No," you say, immediately.

Displeasure pulls at Starscream's intake. It seemed like forever that he'd been sternly telling you not to pull away from him, but each instance only seemed to make you increasingly uncertain. Save for the times under the cover of darkness, when you'd burrow into his arms and silently stain his chassis with coolant.

Yet, here you were in broad daylight, relaxed wings revealing just how comfortable you felt around Thundercracker. Thundercracker. Not him.

"Come on," Thundercracker sighs, nudging you. "Up you get."

He carefully brushes grass trimmings from your wings, even if it makes Starscream's servos curl into fists.

Abruptly, it dawns on you. You're not the only jealous one here.

You're ridiculous.

You're both ridiculous.

The thought makes you lightheaded, and you bite your intake to restrain the hysterical laughter that bubbles up in your vocaliser.

Thundercracker gives you a purposeful look. "Go on."

You eye Starscream. At the very least, the position would make it impossible for him to shoot you with a null ray.

You in-vent deeply before walking forwards and throwing your arms around him.

Your lax frames may fit together like puzzle pieces when you're recharging - but it's clear that hugging is an entirely different matter. He's utterly stiff in your arms, and you wince as your cockpits clack together. For all the contact that you've shared, whether supporting one another to Knockout's medbay, recharging while tangled in each other, or idle fingers dancing over smooth plating during conversation - it's never been purposeful. Acknowledged.

You're starting to think this is all one big mistake when suddenly, the unmistakable warmth of his arms envelops you. Hesitant, but there. Something Thundercracker had said earlier flashes across your processor.

It's difficult because it matters.

You firmly burrow closer to Starscream. This matters. He matters to you.

"I'm still your favourite, right?" You mutter, muffled in his chassis.

His servos on your back are careful. "What's gotten into you?"

You prickle.

Oh.

So it's weird when you hug him. Not to mention that he's not answering the question. You're about to step back, but unexpectedly, he presses you close again, not allowing you to pull away.

"Let go," You hiss. You are decidedly not crying.

"...You've always been my favourite."

"You're just saying that," You say sulkily. "Look, it's fine. I'm just being stupid-"

"Listen," Starscream says insistently, almost angrily, servos coming up to cup your faceplate.

"You will get it through your processor that you... you are special to me."

You stare at him blankly for a klik.

"I'll train more, I swear." So you can keep it that way. So he won't abandon you, is what you decide not to say.

"That's not what I meant," Starscream snarls, frustrated. "You..."

"He's attached," Thundercracker says placidly.

Starscream whirls on him. "Shut it!"

He's not denying it, though. Thundercracker ignores him to look pointedly at you.

"Oh."

Clarity washes over you in a warm, peaceful wave.

You'd never had anything to fear in the first place. As difficult as it was, you were going to accept it - the truth that you weren't about to be replaced.

You melt against Starscream's chassis, finding that you do indeed fit like puzzle pieces.

Starscream's tirade abruptly cuts short at the press of your warmth against him. One of his servos comes up to cradle the back of your helm, the other securely at your waist.

"Thanks, TC," You mutter, and in that moment, Starscream seems to realize that his jealousy was similarly unfounded. Not that he'd ever admit it.

Thundercracker inclines his helm, satisfied. It seemed that the Terran movies weren't that exaggerated after all - happy endings did exist.

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#transformers #maccadam #transformers x reader #starscream x reader #starscream #thundercracker #cadet au #asks #hashtag malto #twitch malto

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