For a Moment (Skyfire x Starscream ficlet)
This fic was way too long to add to my skystar headcanons so here, have it in its very own post sgfdfg Enjoy!
Skyfire is peculiar, Starscream had decided after their initial meeting.
There were few bots he knew who had been from Vos who had a frame such as Skyfire’s, and even fewer that managed to get into the illustrious career of scientific expansion. Skyfire was peculiar but nice enough, he found himself thinking, with a solid work ethic, and despite Starscream's conflicting, visceral desires both to actively avoid and actively seek out the larger mech, it seemed they always seemed to cross paths, no matter what.
Maybe it was the distinct, gentle disposition he almost always held. Maybe it was the way he softly murmured the steps to the equations to himself, the focused, unmovable look in his eyes as he inspected whatever he would need to inspect, maybe it was the way he always seemed to have empirical evidence to support Starscream's theories as he proposed them to the scientists ranked above them. Maybe it was the long, long period he'd spent studying alongside him to even break into the field and then the subsequent position he obtained in a lab with him. But somehow, some way, the bot had worn him down.
He isn't sure how they managed to get on such good terms, when Starscream had initially been just a tad standoffish and maybe even rude. But this is one of the few things the little jet finds that he can't particularly complain about.
“Hello, Starscream. How are you doing?” is the daily gentle greeting that Skyfire offers from his spot at the computer. It seemed he didn't even need to look up anymore when Starscream entered, for every day, as soon as he walks into the lab, he would receive this greeting. And no matter the mood he is in, no matter the argument he’d gotten into just before work, no matter the inconvenience he has been afflicted with, instantly, at that greeting, a slight smile pulls at the corners of his lips.
“Skyfire, a pleasure to see you.” he always quips in response, and though it could easily be mistaken as simple pleasantries, he can’t help the visceral sincerity that infects every word, and the sickeningly positive feelings swelling in his chasis. Feelings were disgusting—but not when he thought about Skyfire. And somehow, he'd infected his mind. And somehow, Starscream was letting him continue to do so. "Which specimen are we looking at today?"
"Let's see—" The shuttle glanced at a screen, at the agenda, naturally a collaboration between himself and his partner, "There's a sample from the abandoned ship we found, from the M51 galaxy that we can look at. The results of the tests we ran on them should be ready in a klik or two."
"Ah, excellent! What do you suppose will be the findings?" Starscream inquires, practically waltzing his way over to the sink, giving his hands a quick wash—it's better to be as sterile as possible in the lab, he reminds himself—and in response, Skyfire chuckles.
"I assume there will be traces of other types of beings in the universe, considering the galaxy it's from—" and just like that, with that simple question, Skyfire speaks his mind, calmly, always searching for just the right words. Starscream listens intently as he washes his hands, yet the words are lost on him. He stands there, thinking, listening to the droning, the slight changes of inflection as Skyfire's excitement bleeds into the words.
For a moment, Skyfire looks at him fondly, gently slips a hand around his, and tells him how happy he is to be in that moment with him. And Starscream of course smiles wide, and leans against him, and the world is small and safe, and there is no one goading him into arguments, no one to tell him he is lesser.
"Starscream?" Skyfire's voice startles him, and just like that, the images in his mind fade away, and his hands are quite cold. Oh. It seems he did it again. He pulls his hands out from under the running water. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm perfectly fine!" he answers, his voice a borderline squawk as he feels his cheeks burn, quickly drying off with a clean towel that sat on the counter. "I am perfectly fine, and I—am ready to get started!"
Skyfire blinks at him in confusion—but smiles anyway. Silly Starscream.
As if choreographed, synchronized, Starscream, as he does every morning, strides to the cabinet as Skyfire turns to the big sink, disinfecting tools as per protocol; disinfect before and after, just to be safe. To the smaller's surprise, as soon as he makes it to the shelves, he notes the carefully thought out assortment of items; alphabetized data pads with the proper labels stacked neatly, directly within reach, at just about eye level. The heavier equipment for the less miniscule small jobs sat at his pedes, as usual, neatly lined up and labeled. The textbooks were stood upright, flush against the wall of the bookcase. The items slightly above his head, somehow, were even neater than they were the day before, things that he probably wouldn't need. He glances at Skyfire, who is not looking. A slight glare is cast to the datapads and textbooks.
“Curse you,” he grumbles to them, hopefully so low that Skyfire didn’t hear, thinking back to the purposeful way in which he organized those shelves the day before—the more essential things up high, far out of his reach, so that Skyfire could help him. But he thumbs through, anyway, pulling out the datapad closer to the top of its stack. It was labeled “M51" of course. He opens the pad, flicking through it in search of something or other. “Skyfire—did you hear about the meteor shower?” he asks out of the blue, upon finding the images of the M51 galaxy, space debris floating so lonely through the vast abyss.
Skyfire turns to him, delicately setting the now-disinfected tools down, and Starscream does not look up from the pad. He approaches, knowing he needed something from the cabinet as well, anyway.
“Yes, and Vos will have the most visibility. I know the best spot. I can take you.” Skyfire wanted to say. His smile does not go away. “No,” is his real answer, and Starscream’s carnelian optics finally flick up, his neck craning to get a better view of the titan of a mech. "I didn't hear about it."
“You didn’t?” he challenges, and Skyfire fearlessly meets the little lion man's gaze. Starscream raises an optic ridge at him in confusion, only for him to let it go. If anyone was to enlighten the big lug, it would be him, he'd decided. “I assumed you would have been following the news. Nevertheless, it’s my job as co-administrator of this laboratory to inform you of these things—”
There he goes again, Skyfire muses to himself. He watches intently as Starscream speaks endlessly about the meteors—about how Vos surely will have the best sightings, how, clearly, as scientists, it would be in their best interest to attend together to see it in person, for “The reports all suggest that a meteor will land on Cybertron, and Primus forbid some two-bit, backwater, third-rate- scientist get there to report findings before I—I mean, we do.”
Skyfire isn’t sure how they establish that they shall go together, and he isn’t sure how Starscream convinced him to land atop the capitol building of the City of Vos (a place he knows they are not supposed to be) when they take off for the viewing, but he isn’t complaining. Not when the sun descends, not when the sky bleeds from blue to pink and purple, to the dark abyss, pinpricked with stars.
“We have ten kliks,” Starscream informs him as soon as they transform into their bipedal modes, already getting himself comfortable on the hard surface of the roof. Skyfire barely has a moment to gather himself before Starscream is patting the spot beside him, staring up at him so intensely that the shuttle can't bring himself to say no. “Have a seat."
Skyfire obeys without another word, settling heavily beside him, and all at once for a moment, he comes to a realization that Starscream is so small, and he is so big, and for another moment he somehow wonders why, exactly, Starscream even liked to be around such a big, lumbering bot. He's stricken with a vague feeling of self-consciousness. He does not tense up. He does not shy away. He simply embraces the here, the now, and the time he has dedicated to his dear lab partner. He fiddles anxiously with the few pieces of equipment he brought along in his subspace—small things to collect the pieces of the meteor that may or may not end up crashing on the surface of Cybertron.
The ten kliks are spent mostly quiet. Starscream takes this opportunity to drink in the sight of the oversized scientist, and although he does a decent job of being subtle, he is suddenly acutely aware that Skyfire's hands shake, just a tiny bit when he leans too close, and he knows this because perhaps more than a few times, within those ten kliks, he would "mistakenly" brush his hands whilst handing things over—mostly notes and small, sciencey things, and once, a small flask that the larger reluctantly accepts.
"Excited, are we?" he teases, flashing his cat-like grin at the taller. Skyfire, despite appearing just slightly startled, can't help wanting to keep smiling at him.
"Yes," Skyfire confirms, his gaze lingering on the smaller bot for just a tad longer than he was sure was right at the moment. "Very much so."
When the meteor shower begins close to midnight, it starts with one, a singular journeying white beam darting across the sky. Like the lonely wanderer. Skyfire can't help but be filled with a sense of wistful hope. And then it pauses for several nano-kliks. Starscream pouts, disappointed he has only secured the one picture of the one comet—until another darts across the sky, blue in hue this time. And then another, yellow. And then the sky is filled with these things darting their way through the universe, colorful, abnormal but beautiful. It's so amazing that Starscream must put down his camera simply to watch, his grin having faded into a slack-jawed expression, and then into a small, genuine, awed smile, the type that is so real and sincere that it wrinkles the corners of your eyes. He had obtained plenty of photos, anyway.
Skyfire's hands are still shaking, but his spark has never felt so alight. The sky is pinpricked and stricken with lights. A meteor shower had never looked so good. And then he feels it—the gentle slip of a servo resting delicately in his own, gripping his digits so delicately as they watch the universe rain on them. The sensation is so heartfelt that Skyfire must look over, awe-struck, and he can swear, for all the stars in the sky, the one next to him seemed to absolutely shine, even when not trying to. Especially when not trying to.
"I wonder where they'll land," Starscream thinks aloud. "And I wonder if we could inspect one, if we can manage to catch one. Certainly, we could and certainly, we would find interesting things! But would we be permitted?" And Starscream knew he would likely inspect the meteor fragments anyway, out of sheer, morbid curiosity, regardless of what their superiors said. They could all get fragged, anyway.
"That would be something," Skyfire muses, unsure if Starscream even realizes he's grabbed for his hand. "I certainly hope we'd get to." He knows Starscream would want to look at it regardless. Skyfire can't bring himself to release his hand or say no to indulging their curiosity.
"Imagine the secrets of the universe it could uncover," Starscream laughs his gremliny laugh, and it's enough to earn a little chuckle from the giant. Starscream turns his attention back to Skyfire, and the larger almost can't believe the feeling inflating in his chest, so tight and perfect and light, like he could float away at any moment. He can swear he sees forever in those eyes, bathed in the lights and shining so eagerly, twinged with a vague sense of mischief. "Imagine how much we could do with them! Then no one can say how stupid fliers are—and I will lead them to greatness with you by my side!"
"That sounds amazing," Skyfire answers, barely able to maintain his composure. He gives his hand a slight squeeze. Starscream seems to realize he had made a bold move. His wings raise, a tad bit stiff, only to then lower, a brief slip in his attempts to push away those feelings. "You're destined for amazing things, Star—" he smiles so warmly that the seeker's cheeks burn, and he's sure he can't hide the aggressive blush crawling onto his cheeks. He looks away quickly. "I'll follow you wherever you lead."
The smaller of the two gave his hand a squeeze.
"You better not be joking," Starscream mumbles to him, and in the gorgeous lights, the hue of his cheekplates, practically glowing in embarrassment. For a moment, he is sure that the tightness in his chasis will be the death of him. "Promise me you mean it." he orders, and Skyfire's cheeks become light blue.
"I promise I mean it," Skyfire answers, and he offers back the flask, having not yet taken a sip. For a moment, it feels as though the whole world could end, and Skyfire would be perfectly content to spend the last moments with Starscream. The urge to hold the smaller mech returns the way it always does when he finds himself in the clutches of loneliness—yet Starscream is right here. For another moment he's sure this is a dream. "I'll follow you as long as you'll have me."
For a moment, the meteor shower doesn't matter. Starscream accepts the flask, and takes a small swig before offering it back. Skyfire takes a swig, as well. Vosian wine has never tasted so good.
"Until the end," Starscream remarks, squeezing his hand again, fighting the urge to reach out for an embrace, to scratch the itch for contact, the desire to be held securely in Skyfire's strong arms. "I'll lead you until the end."
"Until the end," Skyfire agrees, smiling wide and genuine at his dear friend.
And for a moment, it is as if they are one mind, one spark, one soul, for they both think the same thing; There is nowhere I'd rather be than beside you.
