Chapter Text
He came online on a cold, hard berth, which was rather disappointing since he remembered falling offline against warm armor and listening to a strong engine. He sat up slowly, careful not to aggravate any of the injuries Megatron had given him, and looked around the room.
It wasn’t much to speak of. Four metal walls—thin and probably made by the organics the Autobots were allied with—with windows near the roof to let in light. Equally thin metal roof, with exposed supports and fragile looking lights hanging from them. The room was tall, though; easily able to handle Optimus Prime standing at full height, and wide enough to hold several of the larger Decepticons like Lugnut or Strika.
It was also empty of anything aside from the berth he’d been laying on.
Skywarp made a disdainful noise. “What? You don’t trust me with your equipment?”
His voice echoed around the metal room, sounding unpleasantly tinny. He frowned and flopped back onto the berth. His warp system hadn’t been taken offline, so he could leave, but where would he go? Megatron was crazier than a Unicron Cultist and there was no way the Seeker was going to go back to that, even if Megatron would let him come back after he’d run to the Prime. And that wasn’t really very likely.
Besides, he had forgotten what it was like to actually be trusted and taken at face value. It had been really nice to see that on Optimus’ face after so many vorns. And it had been equally nice to be held in arms strong enough to tear him apart and feel safe. And to hear that familiar engine purring under his audio sensors. And…
And he needed to stop thinking along those lines before he embarrassed himself. Optimus hadn’t actually said he was okay with the idea of taking up where they’d left off right before the war. Granted, he hadn’t said no either, but Skywarp didn’t want to push his luck. He was going to have enough trouble with the other Autobots, even if it didn’t seem like all he wanted was to get into their leader’s berth. He was absolutely not going to let them think that he was just an interface crazy Seeker.
Even if he really, really missed having those big hands rubbing his wings.
He let out a disheartened puff of air and tried to get more comfortable on the berth. The odds of the Autobots ever accepting him, let alone being able to deal with the fact that he was interfacing with their Prime, were pretty astronomical. His best bet was to figure out how to talk his way out of this one, run while they were recharging and live the rest of his existence as a neutral on some moon somewhere.
He’d be bored out of his mind, but at least he wouldn’t be scrap.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He’d been on the verge of just warping out of the room and running off without so much as a “thanks for the repairs” when the door finally opened. Optimus strode into the room like he owned the place—and maybe he did, being Prime and all—while Skywarp sat back up.
“So, what are you going to do with me?” The Seeker wanted to take back the words when he saw Optimus’ wince. He wanted to say something about not having meant the words the way they sounded or make excuses for what he’d really meant or something that would take that hurt look of the Prime’s face.
But… he had meant the words they way they sounded. He would be deluding himself to expect a warm welcome from the Autobots.
“Is that truly what you expect from us?” Optimus asked sadly. “That we would punish you after you risked your very spark to come to me for help?”
“What am I supposed to expect? We’ve been on opposing sides since the day you broke away from Megatron. I shot you that day.” Skywarp pulled his feet up onto the berth and wrapped his arms around his legs, wishing he had a proper roost. He could hide his body language so much better then. “None of you are going to trust me, even if I defect. I bet that weapon master of yours is even planning my execution right now.”
“If Ironhide is planning your execution, he is doing it without my knowledge or permission.” The Prime moved to the side of the berth and carefully laid a hand over the Seeker’s patellar plating. “And I trust you, or I would not have met you alone as you requested. Come, let’s move outside so that you can feel the air on your plating and see the stars while we talk.”
“And give up my position to Soundwave. No thank you.” He knew he sounded petulant, but Skywarp really couldn’t seem to help himself. Now that he’d had time to think about his decision when he wasn’t blinded by pain and being bombarded by system shutdown and deactivation warnings, it really didn’t seem like such a good idea to have come running to his old lover for help.
“I can assure you that Soundwave and Megatron, as a result, already know that you are with us. In fact, Megatron delivered a very strongly worded communiqué on the subject not long after Ratchet finished your repairs.” Optimus removed his hand from Skywarp’s plating and held it out in open invitation. “You will be as safe outside as you are in here, and being out in the air will be much better for your mental state than a metal box.”
That much, at least, was true. Much longer in the box and he probably would have started to go stir crazy, especially since they’d left him will all of nothing to do. Even a datapad and stylus would have kept him occupied; he could have been working on some new cannon design or minimizing energy expenditures for his warp field generator or something.
Carefully, the Seeker took the Prime’s hand. “If this is a trick, I’m going to kill you again.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Optimus, this is crazy!”
Optimus gave the Human a mild look. “Your opinion is noted, Major Lennox.”
“Do more than just note it. Pay attention to it.” Lennox glared at him. “Three and a half years we’ve been helping you fight off the Decepticons. And now you’ve just… adopted one of them and didn’t even consult me! You didn’t ask anyone’s opinion; you just brought him in here, fixed him up and then gave him free run of the base. For all we know, he’s sending intel back to Megatron right now and you don’t even seem to care!”
“Did you not read my report, major? I had thought my reasoning was quite clear, as were the security measures we have implemented, on the chance that you are correct in your concerns and he is acting as an agent for Megatron.”
“That’s even better! I’m supped to accept it because he’s your ex-boyfriend! We’re all just supposed to be okay with having someone who tried to kill us living here because the two of you used to be an item.” The Human flung his arms out dramatically to the side. “Of course, that makes perfect sense. He won’t hurt us anymore because of the power of love or some shit like that.”
“Major I hardly think sarcasm is an appropriate or mature response.” Optimus’ tolerant expression melted into a frown. “I am sorry that you don’t agree with my actions, but what kind of freedom is it that I offer if I cannot offer it to all my people? Does your own government not give sanctuary to men and women who defect from their respective sides of your conflicts?”
Lennox dropped his arms to his sides. “Fine. But if it backfires, it’s your ass.”