Dance with me?

 

Starscream stood on the lip of the cliff, optics dimmed, looking vaguely up at the night sky. He didn’t turn when he heard the footsteps coming towards him; even with his optics barely online his other sensors more than compensated. Besides, what sort of bondmate wouldn’t recognise one of his companions?

          “Starscream?”

He smiled faintly and inclined his head as Dreadmoon came up behind him. “Something wrong?” The monitor enquired, slipping his arms around the seeker’s narrow waist.

          “Surprisingly no - things are going well in the base, nothing’s blown up, no-one’s trying to kill my crew...” Starscream murmured, the half-smile curling teasingly across his lips as he leant back into Dreadmoon’s hold. He tilted his head against his companion’s long cheek guards; Dreadmoon turned to rest his cheek on the top of Starscream’s helmet, gazing into the night.

          “What are you looking at?” He asked quietly, unwilling to jolt his mate from his thoughtful mood. Dreadmoon had found a long time ago that Starscream was rarely at ease when pensive, either scheming or sulking, so it was usually only with his companions that he was cheerful enough - or relaxed enough - to let his mind drift. It was... interesting... to talk to him then; there had been occasions, when questioned and his train of thought interrupted, that he’d partly emerge from his meditations on life, the universe and everything to reply with the most bizarre comments ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. It had become almost a running joke between the three of them now - apparently it had been a constant habit of his during his time at the Science Academy, and Skyfire had a treasure trove of stories he could tell...if Starscream didn’t mind, or if it was just him and Dreadmoon.

          That seemed to be happening more often these days - Dreadmoon frowned, so lost in thought with his bondmate nestled close that he didn’t hear Starscream’s quiet reply. He and Skyfire had been bumping into each other with increasing regularity for the past... well, he couldn’t quite pin down how long exactly, but more so than usual. And strangely enough, he found that he was starting to mind it less and less - if he ignored the fact they were both Starscream’s bondmates, at least. Dreadmoon didn’t like being manoeuvred - he was the master manipulator, he pulled all the strings, always had - that is, up until he met Starscream...

 

He sighed softly, oblivious of Starscream’s half-annoyed, half-amused ‘glance’ as he flicked his sensors over his oblivious bondmate leaning on his head.

 

Starscream had barely noticed when Dreadmoon asked his question; he was in his arms, contemplative and untroubled, relishing the sense of tranquility the brief respite from Stormworld’s rain lent him. As a matter of fact, he had been lazily looking for Cybertron’s rough position in the sky - guessing at the locations of all the planets he’d seen with Skyfire all those aeons ago and trying to put them all into an imaginary constellation. It was amazing the vague, half-formed notions he came up with when he had time to just stand and think - he’d privately called his habit ‘Dreadmooning’, partly from his mate’s confession of watching him endlessly before they’d bonded and partly from a long-forgotten lecture at the hands of a teacher at the Science Academy. She scolded him continually for standing around doing ‘nothing’ during the time allotted to personal lab work, sharply berating him for “periods of mooning around when students should be working”...until he’d come up with the theory behind his null-ray after one such absent-minded session. Skyfire had hundreds of those stories...

He rose from his reverie somewhat to realise he hadn’t actually answered Dreadmoon’s question. Looking back to where he’d guessed Cybertron’s position to be, he murmured “The stars. Trying to plot my own constellation, where we’ve been...” He trailed off, lost in his thoughts.

It took him a few minutes to realise that Dreadmoon wasn’t actually listening.

   He flickered his sensors, touching on impressions of Dreadmoon’s thoughts gently through their bond when his curiosity became too much. Amused at the similarity to his own - as well as oh-so-slightly annoyed - he suddenly came up with a plan to get Dreadmoon’s full attention. He almost let out a mental snigger and gave the game away, but caught himself just in time - he’d get his bondmate’s attention in the most...appropriate way he could think of...

Grinning mischievously, Starscream silently activated his jets.

 

Dreadmoon had no idea that Starscream had so much as thought about moving until he faintly noticed his mate’s arms slipping over his own. He didn’t consider it further - until a second later when his feet left the ground...

“Starscream, what-?”

     The seeker grinned impishly. “Don’t panic, love - you can fly too, remember?”

          He hadn’t panicked exactly, but the abrupt realisation that he was suddenly three feet off the ground had caught him on the hop, so to speak. He activated his own jets and was about to tell Starscream as much when the seeker let him go, slipping from his arms and revolving in midair as soon as he was far enough away not to brain Dreadmoon with his wings.

“What did I say I was thinking about, Dreadmoon?” Starscream asked archly - knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to answer, and trying to keep his expression neutral.

The monitor’s core temp rose - he’d become so caught up in his own thoughts he hadn’t listened... and judging from the look on Starscream’s faceplate, he knew it.

Before he could say anything, however, his commander continued. “I said I was thinking about the stars. Actually, you reminded me of a xenobiology session at the Science Academy. That teacher took the lab sessions too - she constantly accused me of not paying attention, but I did in her lectures...” Before Dreadmoon had a chance to react Starscream rolled into a tight arc; flirting swiftly past his startled companion he lightly ran his fingers over a curved wing, silver-blue shins teasing outstretched fingers as Dreadmoon fought to keep level in his wake. The seeker settled a slight distance away, stretched out on the breeze as if he owned it - a part of the sky akin to the beings he’d just pulled from his databanks.

That teasing smile tugging at his mouth despite his best efforts, Starscream continued to a bewildered Dreadmoon; “...it’s amazing, the things you learn when you listen...” Dreadmoon looked up at him, optics wondering, just as Starscream ghosted overhead; fingers trailing over lip, cheek, helm; shin sliding up his arm, his nosecone brushing Dreadmoon’s wing...

This time Dreadmoon reacted quickly enough to catch the wandering fingers; pivoting Starscream as he drifted past meant he slid over Dreadmoon’s wings to his back - trying to pull away led nowhere, so the seeker laughed and let his bondmate reel him back in.

“What are you doing?” Dreadmoon breathed, enthralled by the unexpected contact but trying - unsuccessfully - to force it down and concentrate on his wilful companion.

“Getting your attention,” Starscream laughed, fending off Dreadmoon’s helmet as his bondmate tried to get him in his sights. Failing to get a good look at his face, Dreadmoon settled for watching the moonlight play on Starscream’s fingers as he determinedly held on to a blue wrist.

          “That wasn’t what I meant.”

          “I know,” the seeker smirked. His free fingers whispered over the blue plating of Dreadmoon’s wings, the ripple of sensation startling his unsuspecting captor. Dreadmoon shivered under the touch; circuits became suddenly and deliciously agitated, keening under Starscream’s gentle, merciless fingertips.

          “This is what happens when you ignore me, cariad,” he whispered. Tracing the tip of Dreadmoon’s wing, knife-edged metal alive with sensors flaring from the concentrated attention, Starscream nuzzled what he could reach of his bondmate’s neck.

“The one time you’re not paying attention, when you’re distracted, preoccupied...I’m going to take advantage... ” Starscream practically purred as he ‘felt’ Dreadmoon’s mind racing, the words spinning in a whirlwind through his second’s mind - he brushed his fingers over the purple symbol on Dreadmoon’s shoulder and felt him shudder, the words tangling and spinning in a thousand directions. He grinned, and ran his fingers oh-so-deliciously slowly down the edge of Dreadmoon’s wing as far as he could reach.

That did it - with a gasp Dreadmoon let go of Starscream’s wrist and span to face him, grabbing for his hands.

Too slow.

Starscream threw himself backwards, whipping his hands away as Dreadmoon turned. He couldn’t stop his smile as he saw Dreadmoon’s face - exasperation and confusion warring with desire.

“What exactly are you playing at, Starscream?” Dreadmoon demanded, his expression a picture Starscream relished.

“I told you - taking advantage” the seeker smirked. Relenting at the look of utter frustration on his companion’s face, he continued- “In the xenobiology classes, we looked at a species of flying reptiles - the one thing I remembered most about their habits was that they performed a dance in the sky after choosing their mate.” He grinned at the dawning comprehension that lit up Dreadmoon’s face. “They mate for life...” Starscream continued as he drifted closer, swaying rhythmically in the breeze, until their bodies were close enough to touch. 

“...now do you understand?” He whispered, gazing into Dreadmoon’s optics, all humour fleeing his tone as the challenging smirk grew on his lips. The monitor’s ruby optics glowed softly, a smile reflected in Starscream’s moonlight-dappled plating as he touched his fingers to the seeker’s face.

“Always,” he murmured to his silver prince, the light of his soul, his starfire.

“Then...dance with me?”

***

The night sky over Stormworld glittered with light. The heavens’ velvet filled with glowing fires as the two flyers danced; Starscream sighed over the treetops as Dreadmoon banked around him, circling so close the whisper of his wake caressed his plating and left him trembling. His sensors drank in the dark form beside him as they curled and tumbled through the air, close enough to touch, limbs entwining but never making contact as they turned together in perfect harmony. Starscream pivoted and sank on his back as Dreadmoon ringed around and over him, the seeker’s lips lightly brushing midnight plating as cerulean fingertips sighed down his palm. The contact left fire in its wake - each touch, the lightest brush of metal to metal, limb to wing, sparked a simmering heat that banked and rose in a flaming parallel to the skyborne rite.

Slowly the heat rose to consume them - the turns became tighter, the accidental contacts more frequent and deliberate before they drew apart, the aerial ballet descending lower to become an all-encompassing caress as they hovered scant feet above the ground. Mind hazy from desire and discovery, Dreadmoon was the first to reluctantly touch the ground. He wanted Starscream, badly, now, but he had just enough self-control to realise that bondmode in the atmosphere wasn’t a great idea.

Starscream however forced his need back recklessly - he had no intention of stopping yet. He wove around Dreadmoon like a plume of smoke, moving just enough to keep his companion constantly stimulated, determined to explore this new game as long as possible. Dreadmoon couldn’t stand it; he moaned and whipped round, pulling Starscream to him, wrapping his wings around his wayward mate and holding him close. Surprised and elated, the seeker didn’t think to try and escape to carry on the game - especially when Dreadmoon released his arms to longingly run his hands over Starscream’s wings, already finely-tuned and vulnerable to the slightest touch, leaving him reeling from the tactile overload. The seeker’s optics sputtered offline, before the seething crimson storms returned, visibly matching the desire that raged like a furnace through Dreadmoon’s burning gaze.

As the pyres merged and their circuitry rose up in flames, just before hurling himself into the fire where his lover waited like a djinn in the heat, Dreadmoon fleetingly wondered what else Starscream had learnt at the Academy...

 

 

 

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dance with me is ©Gemma. So there. Nyah. And Dreadmoon is ©Wayward - Starscream knows who he belongs to. I don’t, but it’s still not me. Boo.