Seeker, Corvette, Datsun and Porsche
This story was triggered by a number of things. First, the bunny here.
Then, the quote: “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Author currently debatable.
And finally, the Blues Brothers’ Shake a Tail Feather, and Jason Mraz’s Bella Luna.
Title: Seeker and Corvette, Datsun and Porsche
'Verse: G1 Transformers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: TF cussing.
After the prank the seekers had pulled on him, it was no surprise that Tracks wanted a little payback (only a little, he did get Skywarp to agree to their… whatever it was they had, after all).
And, all things considered, it was more than fitting that that payback would come in the form of a song.
= = =
The idea came to him as he lay on his berth with Skywarp, after they had managed to ditch the pair of yentas to spend the night in his quarters. The teleporter’s trinemates made no secret of the fact that they didn’t trust him, and while Tracks could understand why and was willing to put up with a lot, the constant surveillance and suspicion was beginning to wear on him. And Skywarp.
The purple and black jet was… Frag, he didn’t understand it either. He’d thought he’d have been dumped by now, what with his rep and only an agreement to let him try at a relationship between them. He’d thought the seeker would test out his berth for a bit, and then leave once he’d satisfied his curiosity. But the jet was still with him, if the recharging chassis sprawled out over him was any indication.
And they did more than just interface. Last night, for example, they’d curled together and just… talked. Tracks had described the human cities he found so enthralling, and Skywarp had listened, unlike some of the other Autobots, then responded with tales of his own and how he liked the way the cityscape looked like at night.
“Like flying over a maze of stars.” The seeker had said, and then shared a memory file with him. While flight capable, the Corvette had never taken to the air in the middle of the night just for the scenery (he’d thought it all streetlights and darkness at that height, and the streets always seemed so much more interesting). The jet had snickered, and just before falling into recharge, had murmured that maybe, they ought to go flying together some night.
“What, like on a date?” He didn’t know what had possessed him to tease Skywarp with that line. Too much time spent hanging around Raoul or watching the human entertainment programs, perhaps. The jet had only chirred sleepily and mumbled “Yeah. I guess” before going offline and leaving Tracks to his confusion.
He’d gone into recharge much later, only to come online before his internal alarms went off. With nothing else to do and Skywarp an insensate and comfortable weight on his chestplates, he’d flipped on his radio and scanned the channels for something to listen to. As music played softly, he stopped on one that caught his attention and smirked at the lyrics. Human music could be so ridiculous at times. Boogaloo? Shingalings? Shake your tail feather?
Honestly.
A shifting against his chassis caught his attention. Glancing down, he saw that the jet was still in recharge. He considered dialling down the volume or turning off the music altogether when he noticed Skywarp’s wings were twitching to the beat of the song. Curious, he turned up the volume slightly, and was rewarded with more noticeable twitches and a little wiggling of a certain black and purple frame against his.
“Tracks?” A drowsy murmur drew his focus to the just onlining teleporter.
“Yeah?”
“What are you listening to?” Interesting, Skywarp was fully online now, but he didn’t seem to realise his wings were still fluttering about. Or that his frame was still shifting in rather distracting manners against the Corvette’s.
All in perfect time to the radio.
And so the idea occurred to Tracks. If all seekers reacted this way to music…
“Nothing important.” He ran a hand teasingly up his seeker’s back struts, garnering a pleased little sigh as he did so. Skywarp was still unconsciously bobbing to the music. Pressing their frames close, he revved his engine and smirked when the jet purred in response, the little involuntary movements Skywarp was making only adding to the pleasurable sensations they were building between them.
Leaning up to kiss the mech good morning, Tracks decided that maybe revenge wasn’t so important after all.
At least, until Starscream commed Skywarp, peevishly demanding to know where the teleporter was, what he was doing and why he hadn’t returned to their quarters last night. After a similarly peeved reply (Track’s room, Tracks, and none of your fragging business!), the seeker had groaned and thumped his helm backwards onto the berth.
“Killjoy.” Tracks could only agree, and the thought of getting a little payback, for a different reason this time, reared its head again. And when he shared his plan with Skywarp (only fair, after all, and he did want need to test a seeker’s reaction to music properly), the teleporter was more than eager to help out.
= = =
The initial step of the plan involved getting Jazz in on it. While the Porsche had little sympathy and much amusement for Tracks’s plight, the plan was far too tempting for him to resist (music, dancing, poking fun at Starscream, what more could a mech want?).
A dropped word here and there, an almost halfway plausible reason thanks to Bluestreak going into stasis in a few days time (though honestly, the Ark crew would take any excuse to indulge in revelry), and they had a party ready to go with all the jets invited and definitely turning up.
And Tracks and Skywarp (and Jazz) never even had to lift a finger to set anything up.
= = =
The party was well and truly underway when Skywarp realised something. Hiding his reaction as best he could, the black and purple seeker sidled over to Tracks.
“Hey superstar.” A playful growl answered him as the Corvette tugged him close. “You will never tire of that nickname, will you?”
“Nope.” His cheeky grin was genuine, and Tracks sighed in mock despair. “I’m doomed.”
“Yup.” Skywarp wriggled closer to nuzzle at the mech’s audio, pretending to flirt with him. “We may have a problem. Prowl’s in here.”
“Ooh, frag. Didn’t think of that.”
The Autobot SIC was in a corner with his trinemates, flanking Bluestreak with Smokescreen. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were with them, and all five looked to be content with staying where they were. Seekers clustered about the gunner, occasionally dispersing to circulate about the room and direct a few watchful, just a hair under hostile looks a certain Corvette’s way.
“You two enjoying yourselves? Blaster’s almost ready to start the music portion of the evening.”
After convincing their sparks to start up again (and sending a quick thanks to Primus), the pair informed Jazz of the problem. The Ops mech quirked a puzzled grin at them.
“I don’t really see the issue here.”
“We need the music to get kinda loud, and he’ll play wet blanket and get Blaster to turn it down.”
“Ah, no problem, I’ll get him out of here, then divert him for as long as you need to get the goods.”
“Really? Thanks, Jazz, you’re a lifesaver.”
“Heh, just make sure I get a copy of the vids.”
And with that, the black and white mech drifted off and slowly made his way across the room to where the Datsuns and Lamborghinis were. A quick conversation with the tactician, and both black and whites were taking their leave of the party.
With the only responsible mech at the party out of the way, Blaster grinned, and the rest of the room grinned back, just as eager. With a laugh, the tape player started the first song of the night.
= = =
The beat was infectious, and the melody was catchy, though the lyrics were beyond inane. As the song played on though, Starscream picked up on a faint… snickering. Turning to see who was making the noise, he caught sight of Thundercracker’s wingtips, fluttering briskly as the mech shifted about on his pedes. And then he saw that the Coneheads seemed to be doing the same, in an oddly… synchronised manner.
Then he realised, to his horror, that he was doing the exact same thing. And finally, the lyrics of the song sank in.
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather
As Tracks caught his gaze and smirked, he sniffed haughtily and stalked over. Once he reached the Corvette and his trinemate, however, Starscream only smirked back.
“Well, took you long enough.”
“Huh?”
“What, like I’d let my wingmate fly with just any bot? You had to prove you’d got the back struts and manifolds first. And ‘Warp had to want you bad enough to take us on too. Now go be disgustingly sappy somewhere out of my sight.”
Skywarp tackled his trine leader in a hug, then grabbed hold of a pliant Tracks’s hand and pulled him out of the room and down the corridor. The Corvette followed, a stunned grin slowly etching itself across his faceplates.
Back at the party, Starscream had been pulled into a dance by Skyfire.
“Don’t say it.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Skyfire’s smile was evident in his tone, and the smaller flier just grumped in reply.
“Hmph.”
= = =
He’d promised to only borrow Prowl ‘for a short while’, visor flashing in a quick wink at Bluestreak and Smokescreen, who hid their snickers with remarkable aplomb (though he did hear one whisper ‘Finally’ to the other). Leading the tactician away from the noise of the rec room and out of the Ark, he paused at a clearing he deemed suitable, and turned to face a very bemused Prowl, who’d raised an optic ridge in anticipation.
“What matter did you want to bring up with me that has to be discussed here?” The Datsun gestured to the space about them, and Jazz grinned, holding out his hand to the other mech.
“For one, no cameras. For another, c’mere and I’ll tell you.”
Complying, Prowl’s hand took his, and he tugged the Datsun over, finding his other hand and clasping that as well. Soft music started up, and there was a quiet laugh from the tactician.
“Bluestreak, Smokescreen and I don’t respond to music the way the other seekers will.”
“Mmm. I know. Been watching you a long time, long enough to notice. Why though?”
“Airborne seekers used to coordinate their flights with sound, using regular beats and vibrations to distinguish actual communication from background noise. The responses are almost instinctive, in a way. We can’t fly any more, and the responses no longer serve a purpose, so we suppressed that part of our programming. It was distracting.”
“Do you miss it?”
Prowl glanced down, and softly murmured. “I can’t honestly say I don’t miss it at all, but I’ve managed to find other things,” Here he smiled at Jazz again. “To distract me.”
Jazz tilted his helm back and chuckled. “Lemme distract you again then. Dance with me?”
Prowl’s only response was to slip his hands from Jazz’s to rest lightly on the Porsche’s hips, pulling him ever so slightly closer. Then, Jazz humming softly to the song he was playing, they swayed together under the night sky.
Then, the quote: “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Author currently debatable.
And finally, the Blues Brothers’ Shake a Tail Feather, and Jason Mraz’s Bella Luna.
Title: Seeker and Corvette, Datsun and Porsche
'Verse: G1 Transformers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: TF cussing.
After the prank the seekers had pulled on him, it was no surprise that Tracks wanted a little payback (only a little, he did get Skywarp to agree to their… whatever it was they had, after all).
And, all things considered, it was more than fitting that that payback would come in the form of a song.
= = =
The idea came to him as he lay on his berth with Skywarp, after they had managed to ditch the pair of yentas to spend the night in his quarters. The teleporter’s trinemates made no secret of the fact that they didn’t trust him, and while Tracks could understand why and was willing to put up with a lot, the constant surveillance and suspicion was beginning to wear on him. And Skywarp.
The purple and black jet was… Frag, he didn’t understand it either. He’d thought he’d have been dumped by now, what with his rep and only an agreement to let him try at a relationship between them. He’d thought the seeker would test out his berth for a bit, and then leave once he’d satisfied his curiosity. But the jet was still with him, if the recharging chassis sprawled out over him was any indication.
And they did more than just interface. Last night, for example, they’d curled together and just… talked. Tracks had described the human cities he found so enthralling, and Skywarp had listened, unlike some of the other Autobots, then responded with tales of his own and how he liked the way the cityscape looked like at night.
“Like flying over a maze of stars.” The seeker had said, and then shared a memory file with him. While flight capable, the Corvette had never taken to the air in the middle of the night just for the scenery (he’d thought it all streetlights and darkness at that height, and the streets always seemed so much more interesting). The jet had snickered, and just before falling into recharge, had murmured that maybe, they ought to go flying together some night.
“What, like on a date?” He didn’t know what had possessed him to tease Skywarp with that line. Too much time spent hanging around Raoul or watching the human entertainment programs, perhaps. The jet had only chirred sleepily and mumbled “Yeah. I guess” before going offline and leaving Tracks to his confusion.
He’d gone into recharge much later, only to come online before his internal alarms went off. With nothing else to do and Skywarp an insensate and comfortable weight on his chestplates, he’d flipped on his radio and scanned the channels for something to listen to. As music played softly, he stopped on one that caught his attention and smirked at the lyrics. Human music could be so ridiculous at times. Boogaloo? Shingalings? Shake your tail feather?
Honestly.
A shifting against his chassis caught his attention. Glancing down, he saw that the jet was still in recharge. He considered dialling down the volume or turning off the music altogether when he noticed Skywarp’s wings were twitching to the beat of the song. Curious, he turned up the volume slightly, and was rewarded with more noticeable twitches and a little wiggling of a certain black and purple frame against his.
“Tracks?” A drowsy murmur drew his focus to the just onlining teleporter.
“Yeah?”
“What are you listening to?” Interesting, Skywarp was fully online now, but he didn’t seem to realise his wings were still fluttering about. Or that his frame was still shifting in rather distracting manners against the Corvette’s.
All in perfect time to the radio.
And so the idea occurred to Tracks. If all seekers reacted this way to music…
“Nothing important.” He ran a hand teasingly up his seeker’s back struts, garnering a pleased little sigh as he did so. Skywarp was still unconsciously bobbing to the music. Pressing their frames close, he revved his engine and smirked when the jet purred in response, the little involuntary movements Skywarp was making only adding to the pleasurable sensations they were building between them.
Leaning up to kiss the mech good morning, Tracks decided that maybe revenge wasn’t so important after all.
At least, until Starscream commed Skywarp, peevishly demanding to know where the teleporter was, what he was doing and why he hadn’t returned to their quarters last night. After a similarly peeved reply (Track’s room, Tracks, and none of your fragging business!), the seeker had groaned and thumped his helm backwards onto the berth.
“Killjoy.” Tracks could only agree, and the thought of getting a little payback, for a different reason this time, reared its head again. And when he shared his plan with Skywarp (only fair, after all, and he did want need to test a seeker’s reaction to music properly), the teleporter was more than eager to help out.
= = =
The initial step of the plan involved getting Jazz in on it. While the Porsche had little sympathy and much amusement for Tracks’s plight, the plan was far too tempting for him to resist (music, dancing, poking fun at Starscream, what more could a mech want?).
A dropped word here and there, an almost halfway plausible reason thanks to Bluestreak going into stasis in a few days time (though honestly, the Ark crew would take any excuse to indulge in revelry), and they had a party ready to go with all the jets invited and definitely turning up.
And Tracks and Skywarp (and Jazz) never even had to lift a finger to set anything up.
= = =
The party was well and truly underway when Skywarp realised something. Hiding his reaction as best he could, the black and purple seeker sidled over to Tracks.
“Hey superstar.” A playful growl answered him as the Corvette tugged him close. “You will never tire of that nickname, will you?”
“Nope.” His cheeky grin was genuine, and Tracks sighed in mock despair. “I’m doomed.”
“Yup.” Skywarp wriggled closer to nuzzle at the mech’s audio, pretending to flirt with him. “We may have a problem. Prowl’s in here.”
“Ooh, frag. Didn’t think of that.”
The Autobot SIC was in a corner with his trinemates, flanking Bluestreak with Smokescreen. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were with them, and all five looked to be content with staying where they were. Seekers clustered about the gunner, occasionally dispersing to circulate about the room and direct a few watchful, just a hair under hostile looks a certain Corvette’s way.
“You two enjoying yourselves? Blaster’s almost ready to start the music portion of the evening.”
After convincing their sparks to start up again (and sending a quick thanks to Primus), the pair informed Jazz of the problem. The Ops mech quirked a puzzled grin at them.
“I don’t really see the issue here.”
“We need the music to get kinda loud, and he’ll play wet blanket and get Blaster to turn it down.”
“Ah, no problem, I’ll get him out of here, then divert him for as long as you need to get the goods.”
“Really? Thanks, Jazz, you’re a lifesaver.”
“Heh, just make sure I get a copy of the vids.”
And with that, the black and white mech drifted off and slowly made his way across the room to where the Datsuns and Lamborghinis were. A quick conversation with the tactician, and both black and whites were taking their leave of the party.
With the only responsible mech at the party out of the way, Blaster grinned, and the rest of the room grinned back, just as eager. With a laugh, the tape player started the first song of the night.
= = =
The beat was infectious, and the melody was catchy, though the lyrics were beyond inane. As the song played on though, Starscream picked up on a faint… snickering. Turning to see who was making the noise, he caught sight of Thundercracker’s wingtips, fluttering briskly as the mech shifted about on his pedes. And then he saw that the Coneheads seemed to be doing the same, in an oddly… synchronised manner.
Then he realised, to his horror, that he was doing the exact same thing. And finally, the lyrics of the song sank in.
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather
As Tracks caught his gaze and smirked, he sniffed haughtily and stalked over. Once he reached the Corvette and his trinemate, however, Starscream only smirked back.
“Well, took you long enough.”
“Huh?”
“What, like I’d let my wingmate fly with just any bot? You had to prove you’d got the back struts and manifolds first. And ‘Warp had to want you bad enough to take us on too. Now go be disgustingly sappy somewhere out of my sight.”
Skywarp tackled his trine leader in a hug, then grabbed hold of a pliant Tracks’s hand and pulled him out of the room and down the corridor. The Corvette followed, a stunned grin slowly etching itself across his faceplates.
Back at the party, Starscream had been pulled into a dance by Skyfire.
“Don’t say it.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Skyfire’s smile was evident in his tone, and the smaller flier just grumped in reply.
“Hmph.”
= = =
He’d promised to only borrow Prowl ‘for a short while’, visor flashing in a quick wink at Bluestreak and Smokescreen, who hid their snickers with remarkable aplomb (though he did hear one whisper ‘Finally’ to the other). Leading the tactician away from the noise of the rec room and out of the Ark, he paused at a clearing he deemed suitable, and turned to face a very bemused Prowl, who’d raised an optic ridge in anticipation.
“What matter did you want to bring up with me that has to be discussed here?” The Datsun gestured to the space about them, and Jazz grinned, holding out his hand to the other mech.
“For one, no cameras. For another, c’mere and I’ll tell you.”
Complying, Prowl’s hand took his, and he tugged the Datsun over, finding his other hand and clasping that as well. Soft music started up, and there was a quiet laugh from the tactician.
“Bluestreak, Smokescreen and I don’t respond to music the way the other seekers will.”
“Mmm. I know. Been watching you a long time, long enough to notice. Why though?”
“Airborne seekers used to coordinate their flights with sound, using regular beats and vibrations to distinguish actual communication from background noise. The responses are almost instinctive, in a way. We can’t fly any more, and the responses no longer serve a purpose, so we suppressed that part of our programming. It was distracting.”
“Do you miss it?”
Prowl glanced down, and softly murmured. “I can’t honestly say I don’t miss it at all, but I’ve managed to find other things,” Here he smiled at Jazz again. “To distract me.”
Jazz tilted his helm back and chuckled. “Lemme distract you again then. Dance with me?”
Prowl’s only response was to slip his hands from Jazz’s to rest lightly on the Porsche’s hips, pulling him ever so slightly closer. Then, Jazz humming softly to the song he was playing, they swayed together under the night sky.