Chapter Text
Thundercracker and Skywarp go silent when Starscream enters their shared habsuite. That’s not suspicious at all. His trinemates really think they’re being subtle.
Starscream elects to ignore them. Skywarp is staring at him. He ignores that too. He sits at his desk and pulls out a datapad. He can feel Thundercracker and Skywarp arguing over the trinebond. Whatever it is they’re shutting him out. He very pointedly does not feel left out it because he doesn’t care. Obviously.
Starscream can see Skywarp move toward him in his peripheries. Starscream doesn’t take his optics off his datapad. Thundercracker lets out a tired sigh, his end of the bond feels reluctant and a little annoyed.
Starscream ignores both of them. If his trinemates want to cut him out then so be it. He doesn’t need them. He certainly doesn’t need to be dragged into whatever petty argument they’re having. It’s fine….
It’s not fine. Starscream is irritated. Why would they exclude him like this. Is his opinion not worth anything why would they-
Lost in thought Starscream notices Skywarp’s advance too late. They both go clattering to the floor at Skywarp bodily tackles him.
Starscream snarls. “What are you doing!” He screeches. Grabbing Skywarp’s face and shoving him away. Pinned under his weight as Skywarp straddles his chest there’s not much else he can do.
Skywarp grimaces. “Okay, hear me out.” His voice muffled under Starscream’s servo.
Absolutely not. Starscream plants his pedes and bucks Skywarp off him. Skywarp yelps as he’s dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. “Ow Screamer.” He rubs his shoulder where he landed. “That hur- Oh Slag!” Starscream pounces on him.
They end up grappling on the floor. Rolling around wrestling. Starscream’s cockpit is scratched and he’s got paint transfers scuffed across his torso. Fragging Skywarp.
Starscream manages to catch Skywarp in a headlock. “Starscream wait!” He paws at the arm around his neck. Starscream squeezes tighter. Skywarp wheezes as he claws strips of paint off Starscream’s arm. Starscream clenches harder. Skywarp somehow manages to reach up over both their shoulders and grab Starscream wing, wrenching hard.
“Okay, okay, enough.” Thundercracker admonishes them. They both pause. Starscream glares at him. Skywarp started this but to the pits if of Starscream won’t finish it.
Thundercracker exvents. “On the count of three both of you let go.” The stern set of his face plates make the unsaid ‘Or I’ll make you’ very clear. “One. Two. Three.” Starscream and Skywarp break apart.
Skywarp braces on his knees, rubbing his sore neck cabling. Starscream adjusts his wing with a wince. They both stagger to their pedes. Starscream looks down himself with a scowl. His finish is ruined. It’s going to take joors to buff all the scuffs and paint transfers out of his plating. Damn it Skywarp.
Skywarp tries to say somthing but his voice cracks with static. Thundercracker shoots him an unimpressed frown. “Really Starscream?”
Really Starscream!! Really! Starscream! Starscream flares his wings in indignation. “He started it!” He snarls.
Thundercracker sighs and pinches his olfactory ridge. “I’m out.” He looks at Skywarp who it struggling to reset his vocalizer and then at Starscream who is seething in barley contained rage. He shakes his head. “Yeah… I’m out.”
Skywarp throws himself at Thundercracker as he turns to leave. Arms wrapped around his waist. Not supporting his own weight. “Skywarp.” Thundercracker complains, trying to pry his arms off him.
Starscream watched them with open distain. “You promised you were gonna help.” Skywarp whines.
Thundercracker stops trying to pry Skywarp off him. His wings sag in defeat. “That was before you went and did that.” He gestures at Starscream. Their optics meet. Starscream narrowed his optics in suspicion. Thundercracker averts his.
“What? I didn’t even hurt him. He almost poped my helm off!” Skywarp finally let Thundercracker go. Starscream is going to kill Skywarp. That inconsiderate, selfish, immature-
“Skywarp you completely slagged his finish. If you wanted him to say yes this was not the way to go about it.” Starscream clenched his servos.
Skywarp finally looks at Starscream and then immediately blanches at the sight of his scuffed disheveled frame. There’s hardly a spot on Skywarp. Despite his best efforts. Despite Starscream giving as good as he got. Skywarp is practically unblemished. It only makes him angrier.
“Oh…” Skywarp gives a disarming smile. “Oops.” He shrugs nonchalantly. Starscream’s optic twitches. He slowly shifts into a crouch his wings flaring in a threat display.
Skywarp giggles nervously. “Come on Screamer. I wasn’t trying to mess up your paint.” He backs away warily. “I mean if anything you messed your own paint up when you tried to strangle me so.”
Starscream really is going to kill him.
They’re frozen. Optics locked. Eventually Skywarp twitches and Starscream lunges. Skywarp lets out an embarrassing shriek as he throws himself out of Starscream’s way. He tries to take cover behind Thundercracker only to find Thundercracker has already left.
{Thundercracker! You abandoned me!} Starscream over hears through the trinebond. He lunges for Skywarp again only to be narrowly evaded.
Skywarp scrambles around the berth. Putting it between them. Starscream takes a step. Skywarp matches it in the opposite direction. They stagnate once again, warily studying one another.
Starscream bides his time. {I told you I’m out. I’m not fistfighting Starscream for you.} Skywarp makes a dismayed expression. He’s distracted.
Starscream leaps over the berth and Skywarp’s optics go wide in alarm. He doesn’t have time to dodge. They crumple to the floor in a tangled heap. See how Skywarp does without Thundercracker playing bodyguard. Starscream’s engine snarls.
Skywarp pushes his panic through the trine bond. Good he should be scared. Stupid slagger ruining Starscream’s finish for no good reason. He manages to catch Skywarp by the throat again. Pinning him the the floor. Leveraging his weight into his servos, wrapped around Skywarp’s neck, making him wheeze.
{Just warp away idiot} Thundercracker pushes back irritably.
Skywarp’s face goes from panicked to relived. No! He can’t-
There’s the sharp crack of a warp drive and Starscream almost doesn’t catch himself before his face smacks onto the floor. No! That coward. How dare he. How dare Thundercracker help him.
He broadcasts his rage over the trinebond. His own trine turning against him. Those selfish cretins. They’ll pay for this. He’ll make sure of it. He’ll-
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Starscream’s scowl doesn’t let up even as Thundercracker works a rotary buff over his scuffed chassis. It feels good but not good enough to make him any less angry at Skywarp.
“You know you overreacted right?” Thundercracker asks him blandly. “You have to know that.” Starscream sniffs distainfuly and pointedly doesn’t answer. Thundercracker rolls his optics and continues working the rotary across his damaged paint.
Skywarp is still absent. Starscream doesn’t know where he went and to be quite frank he doesn’t care. “He just wanted to ask you somthing.” Thundercracker explained.
“So he tackled me?” Starscream sneers.
Thundercracker sighed. “He panicked. He’s been psyching himself out all cycle to ask you.”
“Ask me what?” Starscream demands. What could have possibly been so important as to warrant this?
Thundercracker shakes his helm. “It’s his question. I’m not going to ask it for him.”
Starscream squinted in suspicion but didn’t press the topic. Skywarp would have to come back eventually. He’d get his answers then.
Thundercracker scoffed and rolled his optics. “You’re such glitch sometimes.” Starscream doesn’t deign him with an answer.
Starscream was right. It does in fact take the better part of two joors, even with Thundercracker’s help, to buff out all the superficial damage. But finally his finish is flawless again. He turns studiying his reflection in the wall length mirror in their habsuites adjoined washracks.
Starscream flicks his wings. Watching the light glint off their freshly polished metal. He smiles. Perfect.
“If you’re done leering at your own aft.” Thundercracker comments dryly. He’s leaning in the door of the washrack watching Starscream. He lifts the rotary, and raises his brows in question.
Starscream rolls his optics. “Impatient much.” He scoffs.
They end up seated on the berth. Thundercracker sitting cross legged in front of Starscream.
Starscream runs the rotary buff over Thundercracker’s wings. Unlike himself Thundercracker would much rather handle most of his upkeep on his own. There are still some hard to reach places on his back and wings he needs help with though. What are trinemates for?
He slowly runs the rotary down towards the hinges of Thundercracker’s wings. Those are always fun. He bites back a smirk as Thundercracker hisses as the rotary meets sensitive metal. “Starscream I know you know what you’re doing.”
“Oh?” Starscream worked the rotary in firm circles over Thundercracker’s hinges. First the left then the right. “And what am I doing?” He purred. Thundercracker gasped and hunched forward, inadvertently pressing his wings harder into the stimulation.
“Frag me.” Thundercracker groaned. Starscream continued his ministrations with the rotary. This was the best part of helping his trinemates groom themselves. Touching all those sensitive transformation seems and components that weren’t used to direct contact.
Starscream drew away from Thundercracker. In response Thundercracker’s field flowed with both relief and frustration. He fumbled for a moment searching for the control switch on the rotary before it clicked onto a higher setting with a whir. “Lay down.” Starscream ordered. Thundercracker complied, sprawling languidly on his front. His wings shivering in anticipation.
Starscream swung a leg over Thundercracker, straddling his hips. Rocking his own warming arry against Thundercracker’s aft. He set the rotary back against his wings and Thundercracker moaned, burying his face in the berth sheets.
Starscream runs the rotary over those sensitive wing hinges. Firmly massaging. Thundercracker pliant and lax beneath him. Em field awash with arousal.
Thundercracker’s overload is a slow creeping thing. It builds liked gentle waves. Regardless, the echo of it through the trinebond has Starscream biting his own derma and shivering.
Before Thundercracker’s field can teek with discomfort Starscream pulls the rotary away and turns it off. He tosses it off the side of the berth. Thundercracker makes a noise of complaint at the mistreatment of the tool but it’s largely for show.
Starscream leans forward. Plastering himself across Thundercracker’s back, grinding his hips down onto him. His spike is pressurized behind his panels. He can feel Thundercracker’s reluctance over the bond. That’s fine, Thundercracker prefers to spike. Starscream doesn’t mind using his valve instead.
He stands up onto his knees, giving Thundercracker space to roll over beneath him. Which Thundercracker does. Starscream settles back down. He pops his valve panel and settles down to grind his bared array against Thundercracker’s codpiece.
Thundercracker’s servos raise to grip his hips. Clever digits delving into sensitive transformation seams. Starscream leans over. Their derma meet. Thundercracker tilts into the kiss. His glossa peeking out to lap at Starscream’s derma. He opens his is intake to meet him.
Their glossa glide together as Stasrscream grinds his arry down harder. Thundercracker shivers under him, still sensitive from his earlier overload. Starscream smirks into the kiss and Thundercracker nips at his derma in retaliation. His servos leave their purchase on his hips. “Back up.” Thundercracker mumbles agains Starscream’s intake.
Starscream raises just enough and there’s the snap of a panel folding away. Thundercracker’s spike pressurizes into his servo. He strokes himself and with his free servo tugs on Starscream’s hip to encourage him back down.
With Thundercracker holding his spike steady. Starscream sinks down onto him with a pleased hum. Seated fully Starscream pauses for a moment. He can feel Thundercracker’s hips giving short aborted thrusts. He’s got his derma between his denta, optics half shuttered as he trembles in anticipation.
Starscream holds optic contact and grins. He starts slow. Bracing his servos on either side of Thundercracker’s helm and working his hips firm steady thrusts. Thundercracker plants his pedes on the berth and rocks up to meet him.
They find a steady pace. A little slower and softer then Starscream usually prefers but this interface is less about getting off and more about intimacy.
Starscream can feel his charge building. His overload growing closer. So close. He grits his denta and grinds his hips down. Not thrusting but working Thundercracker’s spike against a sensitive node deep in his valve. Every shift of Thundercracker’s hips sends the tip of his spike throbbing against it.
Starscream is on the cusp. His wings flared wide, vents heaving. So of course this is when Skywarp decides to stop playing coward.
There’s the crack of a warp gate and suddenly the berth is dipping behind Starscream with Skywarp’s weight. Starscream’s engine snarls as Skywarp presses close behind him. Arms circling his waist. One servo raising to curl into the blades of his turbines. The other sinking down to his array and finding his external node. Sharp denta ghost his throat cabling.
Thundercracker seems wholly uncaring of the interruption. Watching them with lazy optics. His servos grip Starscream’s hips as he grinds up into him with uncanny aim. Each thrust asulting his ceiling node. Starscream groans. Skywarp’s servo tips rolling his external node in firm circles.
Starscream arches with gasp, charge crackling across his frame. Sparks leap from him where his plating meets his trinemates. Starscream lets his optics fall shut. As overload takes him. Thundercracker shudders under him as his valve clenches around his spike.
Skywarp continues to rub his node through his overload. Never one to let a good thing lie. Starscream has to elbow Skywarp off him when overstimulation threatens to sour the after glow. Thundercracker seems content to lie beneath him even as his spike remains hard inside him.
Starscream is no fool. He knows a coordinated attack when he sees one. These manipulative trinemates of his. He’d be proud of how well they played him if he wasn’t so annoyed.
He basks in the heat of their frames around him. Thundercracker is tracing abstract patterns along the seams of his abdomen. The purring of his engine sounds halfway to recharge already. Skywarp has busied himself nipping little dents into Starscream’s neck cables. He just finished buffing out the marks from earlier. Fragging Skywarp.
Starscream exvented. “Alright.” He huffed, mildly annoyed. “What do you want?”
Skywarp paused his ministrations. Starscream leans back against him. Tilting his helm up, resting it on his shoulder. “We were thinking.” Skywarp starts hesitantly. Thundercracker scoffs. “Fine. I was thinking.” Skywarp corrects. He breaks off, lost in thought.
“About?” Starscream prompts him. He can see why Skywarp waited until after interface to broach this. Any other time Starscream would’ve lost patience with him already. But with the pleasant hum of an overload making his systems lax he finds himself unusually tolerant.
“About you and Megatron.” Skywarp eventually relents. At that Starscream gives pause. He can’t help the way suspicion creeps into his em field. Skaywarp is practically vibrating with anxiety behind him. “You’ve seemed closer latley?” His voice trails off questioningly.
They have been closer haven’t they? Starscream hasn’t given it much thought. It had started as something casual. Something rough and dirty. A means of burning off excess energy. A less volatile way of working out frustrations at one another. It was nice, too nice maybe. It was odd how easy it was to get along with Megatron when he wasn’t trying to off him every other cycle.
“So what?” Starscream settled on. His relationship with Megatron, because as much as he hates to admit it they are in a relationship aren’t they, shouldn’t be any concern of Skywarp’s. Except… maybe it was a concern. To both of his trinemates.
Starscream hasn’t pursued anyone for anything other than a casual fling since… The image of Skyfire’s face comes to mind. He brushed the thought aside. Skywarp hesitated. “Can we meet him?” It’s a stupid question. They already know Megatron but he’s not referring to meeting in the literal sense. He’s referring to knowing Megatron in an intamate sense. Knowing Megatron like Starscream has begun to know him. As a possible romantic prospect.
Starscream frowns. “I have to think about it.” He can feel Skywarp gearing up to argue but Thundercracker interrupts him. “Okay.”
Skywarp deflates. “Yeah, okay.” He grumbles.
It takes some maneuvering but they manage to settle down into a comfortable position together. Thundercracker sprawled on his back. Starscream and Skywarp on either side of him. He meets Skywarp’s optics across Thundercracker. Starscream pointedly shutters his optics.
He can feel them whispering about somthing over the trinebond. He ignores them. Bringing this up with Megatron’s is going to be such a pain. They haven’t even really talked about what they are to each other and if Megatron has his way, they never will. The emotionally stunted moron. Not that Starscream can judge.