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The stalker from the sewers is living in his shed.
Megatron could tell because the cyberchickens refused to enter no matter how much he tried to bribe them with energon crumbs.
That and the smell.
When he decided to help Goldbug, he never really thought it would lead to this.
He stood in front of the small coop, the cyberchickens gathering around his legs as they indignantly pecked at him to do something about the intruder.
It would be easy… he thinks.
Megatron may have mostly done paperwork during the war, but he was sure handling some stranger out of his land would be easy enough. He had been giving a rusty sword by Ironhide so he had some practice with handling tough opponents.
Yet, a part of him felt bad at the thought of kicking out the stalker from the sewers, especially since Goldbug hadn't even really been scared - mostly mocking as he hid behind Megatron while he talked about the monster that lived underneath the town.
It had only been a few days since he had arrived at the settlement, but Megatron felt it was rather odd that the town had a monster problem that they weren't doing anything about aside from posting signs to go take out a few things in the mines.
But well… the stalker in his shed was hardly a thing even if he did smell awful.
From the small window, he could catch a glimpse of red eyes glaring at him from the darkness. Megatron could only stare back before the stalker eventually disappeared deep within the building.
He had known for some time now that he had been there. Each time he had gone to tend to the energon flowers, he could feel the stalker's heated gaze staring at him from behind.
It should alarm him.
But at this point, he hadn't done anything yet and Megatron felt sorry that the stalker had been previously living in the sewers. He hadn't caught a good look at him when he had gone down there, but he could tell that they were probably just a homeless vagrant. Nothing exactly new since many had been displaced during the war, and Megatron felt it was fine if the stalker decided to stay in his shed.
Sure, sometimes he felt the stalker was watching him through the window when he slept during the night but that was probably just him being paranoid.
Megatron glanced down at the cyberchickens, shaking his head as they peered up at him with judgement in their beady little eyes. They weren't exactly thrilled to be sleeping outside, but maybe Megatron can compromise by letting them sleep inside the house with him instead.
With one last look at the shed, he gathered up the cyberchickens and began heading straight towards his house.
As he did, he felt a heated glare watch him right up until he finally closed the front door.
Hm.
Maybe he should offered the stalker to live with him instead.
—
Life resumed as it did, even with the stalker living in his shed.
The only real change is that now he wasn't so cold in his house since the cyberchickens seemed to like cuddling up with him…
Well, Megatron assumed it was the cyberchickens.
The stalker even sometimes left him gifts which… usually didn't really do anything to help him but it was the thought that counted.
Sometimes, he did have to wonder though where the stalker was getting these things, but Megatron had learned not to question strange happenings in this town.
Even though the stalker had chosen to stay in the shed, Megatron has never had the chance to see what he looked like.
It was a routine that they both seemed to have no problem living with.
Until… Megatron pushed himself too hard.
It had become a bad habit of his to spend too much time in the mines. It wasn't that he enjoyed being within the bowels of the earth, certainly never had been a dream of his to be a miner - preferring the far too distant dream of becoming a math professor, but he had neglected to check the time until he felt his own exhaustion began to seep in.
The walk through the sleeping town had not been fun, the light of the moon barely illuminating his path as he stumbled the still unfamiliar paths back to his home. It didn't help that he could feel the presence of eyes behind him with each step he took.
While the reunification of Autobots and Decepticons was successful, it still didn't change the hostile air between some members within the community.
He certainly Rodimus insulting him on the first day. He had only wanted to say hi, but the former Autobot had given him a cursory look before stating that he looked "alright" for a Decepticon.
He had continued to be snide, but he'd stopped after a while. Even ignoring him nowadays when they met.
And Goldbug loved to go into his farm and rip out an energon flower or two during the night… though he hadn't done that ever since the stalker had moved into the shed.
Even so, Megatron was no fool to believe that everyone in the town had good intentions.
It was just rather unfortunate that he had neglected to check the time.
He could feel his body begin to shut down as his feet grew sluggish and his brain began to dwindle down. Shadows danced against the edge of his vision as he began to sway. Soon, he could hardly tell where he was going, hoping that somehow he would be able to make it back inside his house before he ended up fainting. He felt himself take a single step on the wooden porch before he finally collapsed, head knocking against the wood.
He heard the slightest creak of footsteps behind him.
Yet there was nothing to be done as he felt himself fall into the deep lull of sleep.
—
Megatron was surprised to find himself curled up under the safety of his blankets the next day.
He blinked, checking the time to see that he had overslept by a few hours, alarm bells ringing in his head as he thought of his poor energon flowers that would have wilted by now.
He had been one leg out of bed when he noticed the letter on the table. With slight wooziness, he headed towards it, glancing at the message that was left behind for him.
'Next time, try not to stay up too late. Be grateful I'm watching over you. You can't trust anyone in this town. I also noticed you got a few scraps from the mines and patched those up. I wouldn't trust Dr. Ratchet if I were you. So, if you ever need anything, just come to me. I would prefer you to stay out of the mines, but you're stubborn. Maybe I should just come with you next time, though I already do anyway.
P.S. I watered the flowers. Now stay in bed.
Sincerely,
Optimus'
Next to the letter was a bowl of soup.
Megatron would have felt flattered if it wasn't obvious that the soup was somehow burnt.
He placed the letter back on the table, taking it in for a moment as he realized this was the first time he'd learnt of the stalker's name.
Optimus.
He had heard of that name from Ultra Magnus' ramblings about his loser brother who had decided to run away from home and at times from Alpha Trion who talked about his former ward with slight disdain when he was too drunk to really put a filter in what information he was sharing.
Megatron really didn't try to pry into the lives of his neighbors, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued about Optimus… and why he was living in the sewers when his own family was residing in the town.
There was a lot of secrets to be uncovered in this small town, and while Megatron's job was to tend to the energon flowers, a part of him wanted to understand this place better. The town was one of the few settlements created by both factions to foster better relations between Autobots and Decepticons… it was half the reason why Megatron chose to retire here instead of remaining only within Decepticon territory.
He was close to some of the former Decepticons in the town, but there was a half of the story he was missing.
And Megatron intended to use this chance they had been given to the fullest.
Besides, he might owe the stalker… no, Optimus a favor.
The cyberchickens would probably also like to get back into their own coop.
They were adorable but Megatron didn't exactly think they made good roommates.
With a slight sigh, Megatron got ready for the day.
He just needed to walk up the mountains and request for a house upgrade.
Hopefully, Optimus would understand.
—
Optimus was furious.
From the small window of the coop, he watched in slight irritation as Megatron left the house, barely glancing over in his direction before heading back up the mountain.
As was his duty as Megatron's future conjunx, Optimus should have followed him as he always did since he'd first moved into the coop. However, the excursions of the previous day had exhausted him and he was annoyed enough to sulk for a few minutes as he wondered what could be so important for Megatron to leave the farm today.
It was bad enough he had to share Megatron with the rest of the town, now he had to settle with the fact that even with a fully written letter, Megatron's stubborness was too strong. A part of him felt almost insulted that he had poured out a piece of his concern and Megatron had ignored his advice about staying home for the day.
Still, Optimus didn't stay angry for long. Every couple had their moments of doubt and disagreements. Megatron's attitude was merely one of the few parts of him that Optimus could learn to appreciate overtime. A shame that it at times clouded his good intelligence.
By the time he had stopped sulking and resolved to follow Megatron to where he had gone, like the good future conjunx he was going to be once he found a way to properly introduce himself to Megatron (or maybe he ought to steal a marriage certificate from Alpha Trion's house and forge the signatures instead…), a significant amount of time had passed. He had been a few seconds away from leaving the coop when he heard voices from outside.
Optimus remained standing, his blood boiling at the thought that it could be Goldbug (who he thought he had scared away already) or any of those annoying townsfolk that thought they had the right to stand next to Megatron, much less talk to him. As he glanced out the window, he spotted Megatron with Starscream, the two of them standing next to the farmhouse as they discussed with each other in secret.
Optimus did not like Starscream.
He had thought, in the past, he would have been a great asset. Yet, Starscream had been much less help than those Optimus had considered his own allies.
If there was anyone in this town who he considered undeserving of Megatron's time, aside from Ultra Magnus, Starscream was the next on his list.
Optimus could do nothing but sulk as the two of them continued on talking like he wasn't there.
The sight of it made him far too betrayed, and he turned away, resolving to sleep instead. He curled up on the pile of hay that was far more comfier than the floor of the sewers.
If he had been patient and continued watching for a few minutes longer, he may have realized that Starscream had brought some tools with him.
Yet, Optimus slept away as Starscream worked on upgrading the farmhouse.
—
It was past midnight when he heard the door creak open.
Megatron stood in the shadows of the house, unsurprised when the front door swung open.
With the small traces of moonlight, he was finally able to see Optimus for the first time.
His hair was a curly mess of purple, red eyes glinting with slight confusion as his attention was turned to look at where the bed used to be before the house had been upgraded to include another room.
Megatron waited for a few seconds, wanting to tease the other man as he watched the bafflement turn into slight panic as Optimus turned away from the house, perhaps ready to go find Megatron.
Before the other could leave though, Megatron let out a small cough.
Red eyes met blue as Optimus turned to him, the other man startled to see him even though Megatron was already certain that Optimus had seen him plenty of times before.
After all, the more Megatron thought about it, the more he realized that those cyberchickens were definitely not the ones cuddling him in his sleep.
"You could knock."
"Why are you still awake?"
"Are those really the first words you wish to tell me?" He teased, enjoying the slight upperhand he had before Megatron finally felt sorry enough to be a bit more compassionate. "I admit, my first words aren't better either."
"You were waiting for me." There was a slight tone of accusation in Optimus' voice, as if he was insulted that Megatron would betray him like this, as if he was the one breaking into the other's home. "Why?"
"I wanted to thank you." Megatron felt a small smile play on his lips as he approached the other man. At such close proximity, Megatron could see the slight tenseness. "You could have left me on the porch that night, or taken anything from my pockets. You didn't."
"Tch, you need to take better care of yourself." Optimus frowned, "You could thank me in other ways."
"A bit too soon to be propositioning me." Yet somehow the thought didn't disturb him as much as it probably should have. It didn't help that Optimus was attractive, and Megatron had never met anyone quite possibly devoted to him as he did now. Still, he had his restraint. "But you are right."
Megatron's gaze softened, "I don't know you, but I know that nobody deserves to be living in the sewers. I'd like you to remain here with me if you have nowhere else to go. Maybe we could grow to be close friends eventually."
"Or more—"
"What?"
"You are inviting me to stay with you?"
"Yes." Megatron let the other topic drop, he headed to the bedroom. "I did ask Starscream to upgrade the house since I wanted you to live here instead of the coop, and—"
Megatron stared into the room.
"Ah. We might have a problem—"
"It seems fine to me."
Megatron had forgotten to tell Starscream to provide another bed.