Recap: Send my muse a word and they’ll tell you something about their past related to that word (Angst Edition).______________________________
She was clinging too tightly.
Her frame shook, paint flaking from lack of care, metal hissing against his back and wherever they touched. Her massive arms had him nearly pinned, but he did not punish her for it.
General Strika of the Decepticons, mighty force of freedom and dealer of death, was grieving.
Sorrow heaved from the large femme’s vents in ugly gasps and gusts of moisture, systems overflowing with ticking heat. Her mourning was wordless, stoic, and he kept the silence with her.
Dark, starry space glittered beyond the massive windows of the Nemesis’ observation deck. The floor beneath them hummed with the new flagship’s powerful engines — a soothing purr he would never have offered personally.
The Nemesis… their only gain from Lugnut’s sacrifice.
Strika’s arms curled — if possible — tighter, her heat seeping desperately into his cooler, calmer frame. He let out a low ventilation, tilting his helm to allow the femme’s faceplates a hollow near his neck cabling. She accepted the invitation without a sound, clenched jaw scraping against his shoulder spikes as she edged deeper.
So they remained, as long as could be allowed. She deserved no less, and her pride would demand his helm if he offered more.
Some would claim favoritism. That Lord Megatron simply admired his General enough to permit such a breach in protocol, or that he had a personal interest in her bonded’s passing.
Only an intelligent, chance few would recall a bright-eyed archivist, or the night a gladiator grieved alone.
Bonds were of many kinds.
Heartbreak came in many forms.
Sympathy could be shown in unorthodox ways.
Note: Headcanon in action is that Strika and Megatron have a long-standing friendship of practicality. They understand one another very well because they’re similar people. This, here, is Megatron offering comfort without intimacy, and Strika accepting without being vulnerable. It’s just... normal, to them. You gotta grieve, and Megatron respects her enough to offer assistance.
