Chapter Text
It’s only a day later after the incident when Knockout decides you can try sparring, as long as you avoid any moves that would jar your wings. You promise him you’ll be careful. So, after lunch, you find yourself facing Knockout across the sparring mat again.
“This seems like a familiar situation,” you start, grinning.
“Ah, but I have a feeling you’ll be the one on the ground this time,” Knockout replies easily.
“You were cocky last time, and if I seem to recall, you were actually the one who lost,” you say sarcastically, holding a hand over your spark as if it pained you to say it. “So maybe you ought to be thinking about that and keep it as a reminder when I throw you to the ground again.” You’re grinning, flexing your digits, and stretching out your arms, totally at ease, confident in your abilities.
Without sparing a second, he charges toward you. He swings his arm for a punch, but you catch it. When you throw a punch of your own, he catches it too. You’re both in a deadlock.
“Well, this is interesting.” You comment, using a bit more of your strength to try and bear down on him, but he’s pushing back, you’re both fairly evenly matched in strength.
“I’m not complaining. Your optics are captivating up close like this.”
You smirk and lean in closer. “You’d see them closer if you stopped resisting.”
He grins.
“Not a chance, sweetspark. I’m not losing as easily as the first time.” You drop to the floor, releasing his hand and sweep his legs out from under him. Then you plant a pede on his chest.
“What was that, earlier, about not ending up on the ground?” You comment with a teasing smile. He grins up at you, then, before you can react, snags your foot, and tugs you down to the ground next. You crash to the mat with an “Oof.” That knocked the wind out of my vents…you groan, struggling to get your breath back. Knockout’s pinned you by the time you recover, his hands pinning yours to the mat.
“Oh, how quickly the turns have tabled,” he comments.
“Isn’t that supposed to be how the tables have turned?” you ask, tilting your head at his human comment.
“Shush, I’ve won.” He places a finger on your lips to silence you. You grin. Oh, you fool, releasing one of my hands. In an instant, you snake your legs around his waist and shove with your free hand, rolling, so you’re now the one pinning Knockout to the map. You’ve got your knees on his thighs so he can’t pull the same move, and are pinning his hands by the wrists.
“Care to yield now?” you say, triumphant as you smirk down at him.
“Has anyone ever told you it’s rude to touch without even a date first?” He heaves up, luckily breaking free of your grip. You leap back as you both get to your feet again.
“You treat all femmes this nice?” you reply as he charges toward you again and you roll out of the way. You land a solid kick to his side and send him flying. He recovers fast, though.
”Nice try, but Arcee’s used that one before.” You growl at him and lunge. He trips me up and you hit the floor again.
“Scrap…” you groan. “You’ve gotten better…”
“You’re slowing down. Getting tired?”
“You wish.” You haul yourself up and make certain to trip him after you do so. “I’m just getting started.”
”Do I even provide you with a challenge?” He grunts as you lock arms again.
“You’re….ugh…getting better.” You mutter back, straining against his hold.
“You fight me with weapons and you’d lose, you know.”
“Oh, I know. That’s why I avoid it. I’m not getting shocked. That’d hurt.” I reply, finally pulling backward, rolling on my back, kicking a foot up under him, and then releasing his arms so he lands on the ground with an explosive vent of air. I grin down at him, wincing as my wings twinge in protest.
”Had enough yet?” He looks up at you, and sighs.
“I could keep going…buuut my paint job could use a polishing.” He replies, clearly trying to save face.
”I’ll give you a hand.” You reply with a grin, pulling him to his feet.
The Next Morning…
“Ah, [Name]. I have an errand I need you to run.” It’s Starscream, again. You’re alone in med bay when he enters.
“Commander, I’m kind of busy-“
“Leave it for Knockout. This is important!”
You stifle a sigh and nod.
“Alright, what do you need this time?” Despite your own efforts, some of the exasperation you’re feeling seeps out into your tone. He glares at you.
“I do not appreciate your tone, Private [Name],” he replies. “You will speak to your Commander with respect!” he gripes at you.
“Yes, sir.” Was he always this much of a pain to deal with, or is it only since I was grounded? “What do you need?” He hesitates.
“I require…ah…wing polish.” This is the second time he’s asked for that… is he getting to be vain like Knockout?
“Did the container I already gave you run out?”
“Ah, yes. Yes, it did. Now stop asking questions, and just fetch me some!” he snaps.
“…You’re in luck, Commander,” you mutter, opening a storage crate. “We have some right here, so no need for me to run off to storage. Here you are, sir,” you say, careful to keep your tone respectful this time. He stares at your servo as you hold it out. After a few more seconds, he angrily swipes it from your hand, and then dramatically storms out of med bay, his heels only adding to the effect.
“…what crawled up his aft?” You go back to your tasks. After some time, Knockout enters.
“Was that Starscream I saw?”
“I see you’ve finished your polishing for today. And yes, it was. This is the third time today he’s been by.”
Knockout looks at you with surprised optics.
“The third time…today?”
“Yes. I believe it was four times yesterday. The day before that…maybe two?” You comment. “Now that I think about it, yeah… he’s been by an awful lot lately. It’s getting to be really annoying.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this sooner?” Knockout asks, raising an eyebrow.
“…I thought you knew. Doesn’t he come by when you’re here?”
Knockout’s posture stiffens. His optics narrow.
“No…no, he doesn’t.”
Huh. Interesting coincidence. “So he’s only ever here, when you’re here. Alone.”
“…pretty much, yeah. It’s so annoying!” You huff, crossing your arms. “[Name], do this, [Name], I need you to do that, oh, and don’t talk back to me or say otherwise, I’m your superior, blah blah blah. Does he think I don’t have my own tasks to do?” You throw your servos up in exasperation and turn back to wiping down one of the berths. Consequently, you miss Knockout’s optics narrowing as he grits his denta and clenches his servos.
“…Anything he’s asked for in particular? Anything he’s asked you to do?” Knockout’s fists clench tighter as he says the words.
“Um…no, not anything I can really recall. Why do you ask?” You hear a soft vent and turn to face him. But at this point, his posture has relaxed, and his hands are hanging loosely at his sides.
“Just curious. He seems to love making a nuisance of himself, doesn’t he?” You roll your optics.
“You can say that again. Oh, by the way, are you down to spar later, after tasks?”
“Only if we do it with weapons this time.”
You groan and turn back to the berth. “Fine. We’ll spar with weapons.”
A few hours later, you’re out on lunch break. You’ve just finished sipping your energon when Starscream makes an appearance. You immediately hold back a groan.
“Yes, sir? Something you needed?” You ask respectfully, internally gritting your teeth in exasperation.
“no, actually. Would you mind joining me for patrol?” For a second, the polite words and tone throws you off and you hesitate before you reply.
“I…I’m sorry sir, I can’t. I’m not yet healed enough to transform.” You’re still a bit stunned, but also slightly amused when he seems at a sudden loss for words. “I’m also busy, I’m sorry.” you reply. “I’m sparring with Knockout and Breakdown.” Starscream’s optics narrow, but you miss the brief flash of concern on his face.
“Is that wise, in your…condition?”
“I mean, Knockout, as the medic, has cleared it a few times by now. We’ve sparred without issues a few times before.” Starscream nods, tapping his long servos against his chin.
”In that case, care to spar against me?” This time, you spot the wicked smirk that spreads across his lips. You flinch, but don’t immediately turn him down. Now that I think about it…he is a Seeker. I haven’t fought a fellow Seeker in a few weeks. And he’s my commanding officer. As commander, he’s no doubt got skills and experience that I don’t. I could learn something new…and I’m also not eager to face Knockout’s electric staff or Breakdown’s hammer. This is a good chance to challenge myself, too, in hand-to-hand combat. I’ve no doubt that Knockout would clear it- it’s more physical therapy for me and my wings.
“..Alright, Starscream. Let’s spar,” you agree. “Just let me inform Knockout-” you start to raise a hand to your comm link.
“No, no, we must make the most of our time. Let’s go.” He grabs your wrist and pulls you after him before you can activate your comms.
“But-! So pushy…” You follow him, mostly so he won’t pull you off your pedes.
A few moments later, you’re standing in the second training room. It’s smaller than the one you usually spar in. It’s only got a few mats, no second level, and the rack of weapons is significantly fewer.
“…So…” you start to say, hesitant. Starscream finally drops your wrist to look you up and down, calculating something.
“Let’s see how you hold up to seeker standards after your…extended absence." He takes a position across the mat from you, long, pointy digits extended. You grin.
“All due respect sir, but try not to underestimate me. I’m still a member of the elite seeker corps.” You crack your fingers, ready for the fight.
“We’ll see.” He’s just as confident, staring at you with a mix of contempt and amusement. Your posture is loose, muscles ready. You can feel your vents starting to cycle faster in anticipation. “Come at me.” He beckons. “If you’re so confident.”
With a yell, you charge him.
”Ow…I might need another trip to med bay…” you groan. Starscream chuckles.
“I didn’t hurt you that badly. You’re not leaking.”
“It’s probably all internal. I’ll have these dents for weeks…” you groan, taking a long swig from an energon cube, exhausted. Your vents are cycling heavily. “I was not expecting to get my aft handed to me…at least not that badly…”
Starscream just shrugs, smirking. “Ready to go again, yet?”
“Just a few more seconds…Okay!” You haul yourself to your feet. “Show me how you did that flip again?”
“If you’re so eager for another dose of punishment, be my guest.” He teases you back. You roll your optics.
“I’ll win eventually. I got you with that leg sweep, remember. And the twist and heave,” you reply, taking a stance across from him yet again.
“Yes, and the next time you tried the sweep, I managed to grab your foot, kick your other leg out, and send you crashing to the ground. And with the twist and heave, I managed to twist your arm up and around, forcing you to yield. You’re predictable. You have tells.” You cock your head at him curiously.
“Tells?”
“Little things that happen, right before you make a move. Every warrior has them. The trick is to keep an eye out for them. And then, when you know what they’re going to do, you control the fight.” He explains. “Take that Primus-cursed autobot, Arcee. She relies on flashy gymnastics and acrobatics, but if you’ve seen her perform the same flip three times, you know exactly where to aim your next shot, and she ends up flipping directly into it.” You nod as you think it over.
“What about, say, Bulkhead?”
“Bulkhead’s easier. He relies on brute strength and heavy hits. Because of that, he’s slow to recover from a large swing and miss, allowing you the perfect chance to topple him.”
“Actually, now that you mention it, Knockout has a similar flaw. He overextends, and then he’s off-balance, allowing me a chance to trip him up.” Starscream nods.
“Everyone has their tells, their faults, their issues. Our own leader certainly has some, but he’s had eons of experience to work on them, and to fix them. Once you notice your faults, work on removing them. Then I can’t predict you and defeat you so easily.”
He gives you a long moment to think that over, to try and think of your tells.
“Alright, I think I get it. What’re some of my tells?” He grins.
“What makes you think I’ll tell you? Can’t you figure it out?”
“Primus’s sake, Starscream, throw me a bone here.” He hums, thinking it over.
“What’re you willing to give me in return for this knowledge?”
You groan. “I don’t know. What do you want?” He gives you a superior smirk.
”Let’s make a bargain…”
In the main sparring room, Knockout taps his pede, before checking his chronometer again. Where are they? Surely they’re not that scared of facing off with me with weapons? They’re not usually late like this. He sighs. “I’ll just wait five more minutes…”