#which. has a massive garage. a fully equipped lab.

[the-faultofdaedalus]

reading 2012!avengers fics with coulson in them (or really like. any main mcu fic with coulson in it) is now always so unintentionally funny post-aos consumption because like

This Is Not The Same Man

[starscreamwastaken]

Research Partners. Ch. 1

This is kind of lame, it is three in the morning and this is what happens when I get ideas. First chapter of  fic I will post to AO3 later, but don’t feel like it right now. 

Genre: Romance, kind of. Humor, with probably a dash of drama later. (This is just the first chapter, and it’s barely edited. Stay turned for more.)

Pairings: Starscream/Skyfire

Summary: Starscream’s budding relationship with Skyfire through their time together as research partners at the Academy of Science and Technology. 

Note: This takes place waaaaay before everything, so Starscream is pretty young in this. Also, I always liked the idea of the major cities and city-states all having their own language, so anything in italics is Vosnian. 

Starscream was escorted to the lab where he would be working. The hallways were wide, and, for the most part, empty. He received stares from the occasional passerby. To those he replied with a scowl. Starscream kept his eyes forward, and his head somewhat high. He wanted to display a confidence on top of his seemingly negative attitude.

Starscream was fairly cynical, true, but he was a scientist at spark. This was what he wanted. He was curious by nature, despite his tendency to be slightly untrusting towards other sparks. It was not so severe, but Starscream had et to find anyone he trusted fully. He was a Vosnian seeker among Iacon science students. The likelihood of them accepting his kind was slim. The Academy of Science and Technology didn’t hold many transfer students, considering the hostility between the city-states. There were many reasons for the students to dislike the seeker. He was not one of them, he was from an “enemy” state, he was a flyer, he was intelligent, and he was pretty. Being pretty, though, was more likely to get him hit on. That was another thing he was not at all looking forward to.

The Academy was for learning. Starscream was there to complete his studies and do research. He was going to explore the galaxy and help solve the impending energy crisis. He was going to see new species and new planets. He wanted to study new stars and come up with a renewable source of energon. He was going to produce new energon, unlike anything anyone has ever seen.

That was his goal. That was why he worked so hard in Vos, so he could be here, the Iacon Academy of Science. The best research and education facility Cybertron had. The most prestigious school a Cybertronian could attend. It was not an easy place to get into. Starscream would not allow himself to be distracted.

The bot escorting the new student stopped in front of their destination, “This is where you’ll be working,” he said, gesturing the door. Starscream had to pay careful attention to what the other bot was saying. The Seeker was still trying to learn the language of Iacon, so he sometimes had a hard time keeping up. He was a fast learner, though, so he assumed learning the Iacon language would not take him too long. He understood it better than he could actually speak it, so he tended to stay away from conversation, “Okay,” he said, just a bit of an accent slipping through.

“Your partner should be here already. If he’s not just sit tight, when he gets back he’ll catch you up on the project,” the fellow student opened the door to let Starscream in. Starscream wasn’t sure what the students name was. It was something vehical-like, Wheel-- something or another. Whoever he was he seemed nice. A bit odd and a bit off, but harmless enough.

“If you need anything, I’ll be around. Just call for Wheeljack.”

Wheeljack, that was it. That was the guy’s name. Starscream was glad he said it.

Starscream gave a light smile, “Thank you,” he said quietly.

Wheeljack pointed to him with a finger gun, “Any time,” he said, “and good luck,” a second later he was gone, leaving Starscream alone in the lab.

Starscream looked around. He could not help but notice how large everything was. This lab was huge, by comparison to many of the other labs Starscream had seen upon his first tour of the academy. It was similar to a hangar. There were a few tables, and everything anyone would need to conduct endless experiments, but there was also a large door to the outside. The ceilings were high, and the space was well lit, but more garage like than lab.

Starscream began to wonder who his partner was.

It didn’t take long for him to find out.

A small ruckus came from the hallways, drawing Starscream from his thoughts. A calm voice apologized to someone from behind the door. A few seconds later the door opened, revealing only about three fourths of a figure. The bot leaned down and maneuvered himself through the doorway, careful not to drop whatever it was he was holding. The massive figure struggled to get through the door, but he did eventually make it.

Starscream found himself wide eyed at the enormous shuttle frame that now stood before him. Starscream was so distracted by the mere size of the bot, he nearly forgot that this  person was most likely his partner.

The red and white bot passed right by the seeker to place the things in his arms on the table. As soon as they were down he turned to the newcomer, “You must be Starscream!” he said happily, approaching the red bot. He put out his hand, which Starscream took.

“I’m Skyfire,” the larger introduced himself, “Welcome to my lab.”

Starscream was almost surprised to see such a genuine smile emerge from the bot before him. Starscream was generally met with smirks and suggestive gazes. To have someone greet him so pleasantly almost felt strange.

“Starscream,” Starscream greeted, “But---” he had a hard time finding the right words in Iaconian, “You seem to, this-- know this already.”

Skyfire seemed to pause for a second. His eyes widened just slightly with thought, “I’m sorry, I forgot you were from Vos. If you ever need  any assistance with you Iaconian, I would be happy to help.”

Starscream was taken aback for a moment. Since when did anyone from Iacon take the time to learn Vosnian? To say it was surprising would be almost an understatement.

“Thank you,” started Starscream, feeling slightly more comfortable using his own language, “I may take you up on that.”

Skyfire smiled again, “we can speak Vosnian in the lab, if you prefer. If you feel more comfortable. I understand that being thrown in such a drastically different place can take a bit  of adjusting. This is your first day, am I correct?”

Starscream gave a slight nod, now finding himself in a smile, “My first day in the lab, yes. Speaking of which, I am still wondering what it is you’re researching.”

“Oh, of course,” Skyfire started, leading Starscream to the equipment. The shuttle began to explain what it was they would be doing.

Throughout the explanation Starscream kept his guard up, like he always did. Something about the setting made him feel just the slightest bit more relaxed, however. His research partner seemed trustworthy enough for now.

Thought Starscream did not like trying to predict the future, he could not help but think that this would be a beautiful partnership.