it is time for chapter DATE

[girloz14]

Typewith: http://typewith.me/almostdonewithclothing

OR IF THAT DIED, LIKE IT TOTALLY DID: http://sync.in/shallwetrythisonenow



He onlines slowly, slightly confused as to why he isn't being held and petted since Skywarp had fallen into recharge with him. When he finally onlines his optics, the seeker is standing a little bit away with a cube of energon, "I thought you'd like to drink this. What would you like to talk about?"

"I," he takes the energon and sips it until his processor connects correctly to his mouth. "I do not know. What are your interests, Skywarp? I would talk about code and mechanics, but I am not sure how much you would understand."

Skywarp's wings droop back and down suddenly, "I don't know either. I'd like to listen to you, though." He smiles, wings perking back up, "I bet I'd understand it when you said it. And it won't sound scary."

Perceptor drinks about half a cube, thinking about what he'd prefer to talk about that wouldn't make the seeker confused about what is going on, nor just end up using the sound of his voice to get revved up. Tilting his head, he finally asks, "Would you like to hear about my twins?"

Skywarp taps his claws against his own half full cube of energon, "Twins?"

Looking down into the pink fluid, he smiles. "My twins. I'm sure you've seen them when you are out fighting. The only Autobots with actual flying altmodes. Based off of Starscream's coding. Is that ringing any bells?"

"Those two are yours?" Skywarp's optics were wide, "But, . . . they're so scary."

Perceptor sips his energon to stop himself from laughing. "I suppose they can be. They certainly have pulled several stunts that have left my spark frantic with worry."

Skywarp looks down, dragging a claw along the edge of the berth. "Who'd you have them with?"

"Wheeljack and Red Alert," he answers absently, still thinking of his twins.

"Three bots?" Skywarp squeaked. "But . . how'd you do it with three bots?"

Perceptor glances up, and recounts the conversation in his processor. "Oh, no. We didn't spark them that way, Skywarp. We rebuilt them after they were damaged. So they're . . . not really ours, I suppose. But I like to imagine them as mine."

"So you aren't with anyone else?" Skywarp's tone is suspiciously light.

Perceptor glances at the bot's claws and is suddenly reminded the mech is a seeker, very likely to want to rip apart any bot he was with. However, he is thankful he won't even have to lie to protect someone, and nods his head, a tiny smile on his face, "Absolutely no one, Skywarp."

The seeker reaches over, running a claw along Perceptor's helmet, just missing the dials, "That's good."

"I don't enjoy interfacing with bots unless I know them very well, Skywarp," he warns, ducking his head away from the touch. "You don't have the experience to understand it, I assume, but it is far better if you know and genuinely care about a bot before you let them touch you that way."

Skywarp nods eagerly. "I understand." He reaches out and pets Perceptor's helmet again. "Do your twins know you're here?"

Pulling the seeker's servo away from his head, he sighs, "I don't know. Slipstream said something about telling them, but I'd actually prefer if she hasn't. They will do something utterly reckless and get themselves offlined."

Skywarp beams at him, "Just like a seeker!"

"Perhaps. Except that my twins do not have spark shards." He levels a long, hard look at Skywarp. "If they offline, they offline permanently. And I will never forgive anyone who lets that happen to them." Not even himself.

Skywarp nods again, "They fight very well. If they haven't gotten slagged yet, they won't."

He finishes his cube of energon, and nods, "That is my hope."

Skywarp takes the empty cube from him, "They are very good fighters! The only seeker that can catch up to them when they take off is Slipstream." Skywarp pauses, rubbing the toe of his ped on the floor, "Or me when I teleport."

Perceptor looks up, optic ridge raised, "You can teleport?"

"Yes," he frowns, "but I can't control it. I teleport when I'm afraid." He smiles shyly, "I could try showing you later? I can't promise it will work though. And it might take me a while to get back from wherever I end up."

Perceptor shakes his head, "You can show me another time. I'll take your word on it for now." He still doubted him. The bot was nowhere near large enough to have transwarp tech in him.

Skywarp looks at him shyly, blinking prettily, "Maybe on our next date?"

Perceptor drops to the floor, and walks over to his desk, "We'll see."

He starts to climb up only to be set carefully on the top by Skywarp, who pushes him some general repair tools, "You still have the claw marks you got from when you were out with Slipstream. Do you want me to help fix them?"

He shakes his head, "My dials are sensitive, and I prefer to repair my armor on my own."

Skywarp sits and watches him, "Does it hurt to work on them?"

Perceptor glances at him, "No. Not unless they've been far more damaged than mine have." He picks out a few tools and works on the dials first, carefully fixing the claw marks. It is ridiculous how practiced he is at repairing himself-working with Wheeljack really should net him hazard pay.

Skywarp stares him, wide opticked and terrified, "You've been hurt worse than that? I don't like it when my helmet vents get crushed, but I can just switch it for a undamaged one."

He runs a servo around the dial, checking for more damage, "This is nothing in comparison to being blown up," he pauses, "You have replacement helmets?"

Skywarp pulls a small, for a Decepticon, mirror out of his sub-space, holding it up for Perceptor, he nods, "Starscream says it is better to just switch out the armor as we go, and repair it when it isn't attached to anyone. We're less likely to damage ourselves or the other seekers that way." The bot frowns at him, "I don't like that you get blown up."

"It is a part of working with experimental and dangerous things," he examines himself in the mirror, and makes a final adjustment to his dial. "One anticipates that a few of your projects will have less than perfect results."

Or, in Wheeljack's case: most of his projects.

Skywarp taps his dial gently with a claw tip, "You still have a little scratch here."

Tilting his head, he studies his reflection, "Do I? I don't see it." Skywarp hands him a polishing cloth, and he gives the mech a confused look, but does a quick swipe on the dial. "I still do not know what you are talking about."

The seeker reaches over, but quickly pulls back, "I can polish you when you're done repairing. I like polishing out scratches and dents."

He looks at Skywarp blankly, "Is this just an excuse to touch me?"

The seeker's optics widen far too innocently, "No! I just..." he shrinks under Percetor's gaze, "Sort of, but I want you to look nice just as much as I want to touch you. You should take care of how you look, so everyone can be jealous they don't get to touch you."

Perceptor gives the request some consideration. Seekers were known for their impeccable finishes. "If you try polishing my sparkplates, I will never let you polish me again," he warns.

Skywarp makes a happy sound, "You'll let me do it?" He reaches out for the smaller bot, and Perceptor raises a servo to stop him.

"After. After I finish repairing my armor."

Skywarp puts his servos in his lap, and fidgets in the chair, "I'll make you even prettier, Percy."

Perceptor sighs, picking back up the tools, "If you say so." Skywarp watches far too closely for him to be very comfortable as he removes the clawmarks, but doesn't make a single move to touch or pet him. Counting that as a win, he finishes and studies himself in the mirror. He's actually looking much better than he has on cybertron, no soot marks or large accidental dents. "Do I really need to be polished? I think I look fine."

"You've still got scuffs and scratches," Skywarp takes a polishing cloth and pulls Perceptor onto his lap. "You'll look perfect when I'm done." He slowly rubs at imaginary -as far as Perceptor is concerned- scratches and invisible scuffs.

"I look fine already," he says, but allows Skywarp to continue.

The seeker is immensely careful on his helmet, making sure not to put too much pressure or spend too much time on his dials. when the bot is finished, the only part that isn't polished to perfection is his sparkplates, and he allows himself a small smile; it is very clear that the little bit that's unpolished is driving Skywarp crazy. Taking the cloth from the mech, Perceptor looks in the mirror, and starts to polish the plates.

Skywarp peers over the top of the mirror, watching for a klick, "I wish you'd let me do that. I'd be done already, and you'd look perfect." The tips of the seeker's claws tap the glass, "... More perfect."

"I prefer to polish these myself, Skywarp." Perceptor finishes, and hands the cloth back to the larger bot. He examines himself in the mirror. "I do not think I have looked this clean-" he pauses, "ever." And a megacycle or so of being carried around by Slipstream and Skywarp will have him quickly scuffed once more.

Skywarp looks at him slyly, "If you let me, I could polish you every day."

Perceptor keeps from shuddering, "I would only get dirty again, and there is no one to show off to in the room aside from you or Starscream," he pauses, "And Slipstream."

The seeker's claws tighten on the mirror, making grooves in the glass, almost cracking it, "You don't need to show off to Slipstream."

Curious reaction to his suggestion, that. "No, I don't suppose I do. She seems far more interested in my twins." Perceptor frowns. He is not entirely happy with that thought. The jet twins are rather . . . naive, when it comes to certain things. And he is fairly certain they lack experience with any interfacing partners. Perhaps he should install the neutering code in Slipstream. Or a highly modified version, related only to his twins. He pulls out a datapad and scolls over Slipstream's code. Would such a thing even be possible?

He thinks about how her and his code compare, and decides against it. She'd find it easily, since the way she codes is more like a song, and his is very militant and orderly, and do something utterly horrendous to him. Most likely only letting him live because Starscream wants him alive, and she doesn't want the job of fixing the personalities.

Skywarp reaches over, and touches Perceptor lightly on his shoulder, "I... I don't think she'd hurt them, Percy. They are very seeker like. And they are very pretty."

Perceptor eyes him suspiciously, "Pretty?"

The Seeker squeaks, "Um, no, I mean. You made very nice frames for them? And they keep themselves shined up nicely?"

Apparently, he can't trust any of the seekers around his twins.

Skywarp whines, "I'm just telling you they are as nice as you, even if I don't want to-" The mech hides his face, mumbling incoherently.

He'd ask what exactly Skywarp doesn't want to do, but he's very certain it involves talk about sparks and shards; not anything he wants to hear about from any seeker... especially when it comes to his twins.

Perceptor leans back, thinking about strategies for escape. "If you wish to continue our date, you could show me more of this ship."

Skywarp perks up, wings fluttering happily, "You want to keep dating?"

"I would like to continue this date."

Skywarp stands up, and is just about to grab him when he stops, "Would you like to walk, or for me to carry you?"

Perceptor gives the mech a small smile, "I will walk." Slipping off the desk, he lands on the floor lightly.

Skywarp frowns at him, pulling out the polishing cloth again, "You're scratching your paint when you do that." He's polished quickly, "There! You look perfect again."

"A few scratches aren't going to be noticed, Skywarp," Perceptor exits the room at Skywarp's side, just far enough away that he's out of reach. "I have gone to council meetings with an arm missing before. Scuffs are nothing."

Skywarp gives him a horrified look.

Ignoring the mech, he goes on, walking steadily, "I am looking better than I ever have. I do not understand why you are so interested in keeping me polished. You already said it was partially to touch me, and partially to make other bots jealous. Who do I have to make jealous here, Skywarp? There are only seekers, and I could never compare."

"But you're the first bot Starscream's allowed to stay on the ship with us," Skywarp walks closer to him, servo brushing against his armor as if by accident. Perceptor is relatively certain he's doing it on purpose. "And you're gorgeous."

He almost stops in his tracks at that. Perceptor has been flirted with by many, and has interfaced quite a few bots over his long life, but he's generally wanted for his abilities and processor. Not his frame.

He can't stop the faint blush that shows on his faceplate, but starts walking again, "It is very... flattering to be told that by a seeker, Skywarp."

The mech looks down at him with dim optics, "I like you more than I like the other seekers."

Perceptor logs the various hallways and rooms in his processor, building a functional map of the ship. If he ever gets a chance to escape, he has no desire to end up in some dead-end corridor. "Where is the room you are actually assigned to, Skywarp? And the other Seekers?"

Skywarp dims his optics, "You want to see my room?"

"I'd like to know where it is," so I can avoid it, he doesn't add, "And where the other seekers are."

Skywarp gives him a distressed look, "So you can go to their rooms? But you are on a date with me!"

He removes his glasses, rubbing his optics with his thumb and forefinger, "I'm trying to figure out where not to go."

"... You don't want to go to my room? But it doesn't have any of Starscream's cameras in it! Isn't that better?"

"I'm very comforted that Starscream feels no need to monitor your private activities, Skywarp. But I have no reason to need to visit your room personally." He gives the bot an arch look, "Do you want me to accidentally wander into, say, Thundercracker's room some solar cycle?"

"No." Skywarp tugs on Perceptor's shoulder kibble, "But you don't need to go wandering alone. I can come with you, whenever you want."

Thinking about how badly Starscream would react if he went on a walk to think, he nods. "I'll need your frequency, of course."

Skywarp beams at him, and sends it immediately, "Do I get to com you when I want to talk to you, Percy?"

"Only if it isn't to talk about interfacing or anything of that nature, Skywarp. I will just block you if that happens." He pauses, looking up at Skywarp, "Or while you're rubbing your sparkshard." He doesn't care that the bot can't overload without him, he will not accept a 'facing com.

"Oh," his wings droop dejectedly, "but I can still call you about other things?"

"If you want, yes." Perceptor studies the long hallway in front of them. This ship was built for Decepticons, and it shows. Everything is ridiculously large. Ultra Magnus would feel more comfortable here than Perceptor does.

Skywarp points out a door, "That's Sunstorm's room."

Perceptor takes a step away from it, and almost hides behind the seeker's legs, "I will make a point of avoiding it."

The door slides open suddenly, and a white servo grabs Perceptor's shoulder kibble before yanking him into the room. Skywarp shrieks and tries to grab him back, but the door slides shut just as quickly as it had opened, trapping Perceptor inside. He vents hard, processor blank with shock.

Sunstorm picks him up and sets him on the berth before he can think to try attacking. He drops down so his optics are level with Perceptor's. "Wonderful, brilliant little Perceptor," the bot begins, face much more serious than usual, "we need to talk."

Perceptor looks around quickly, "That is very doubtful."

Sunstorm moves so he stays in the smaller mech's sight, "Only talking, clever Percy. And an offer, from me to you. I want you to remove the code you put on me."

"No."

Sunstorm looks at the door nervously, voice still grim, "I do not expect a bot as brilliant as you to do this for free, pretty Percy." He tries to move away again, but Sunstorm hurries on, "I will murder a bot of your choice, and never touch you again unless it is because Starscream or you ordered me to be there for maintenence."

Perceptor stops and stares at him, "You are offering to . . . murder for me?"

"Yes." Sunstorm smiles a bit, "I am sure a bot such as yourself has, or will have, someone they wish to offline at some point. Even the most brilliant and stunning of bots accrues enemies over the stellar cycles. I will offline a bot for you, provided I am capable of doing so." He looks down, "Should you want Megatron offlined, I can guarantee that I will be unable to accomplish such a task."

Perceptor blinks at the seeker in shock, unsure what he can say about that. After a little bit, he gains his composure enough to say, "I can think of no one I would like offlined, Sunstorm."

The mech raises an optic ridge, "No one, protective Percy? Not even one you would like to keep away from your wonderful twins?"

His processor flashes through all the seekers, and discards that as impossible, then goes to Sentinel. That bot keeps making excuses as to why his twins can not call; lies and more lies about how it is unprofessional and unsafe. His twins have to sneak around behind the bot's back just to call him, Red Alert, or Wheeljack. Not even all three at the time. Just one for the time they can get to the inter-spacial com line. It is rare they can talk at all, much less to him, who is always busy with council meetings and never at his own home.

In addition to that, Sentinel was well-known for his . . . disloyalty to Ultra Magnus. Not in terms of action, certainly- the bot stuck to the rules more rigidly than any bot Perceptor had ever met. Save the few times he got himself in trouble, in which case, he tossed the rules out with the used energon cubes. But he had routinely wished that the Magnus would retire, so that he could become Magnus in his stead. Perceptor could scarcely restrain the shudder that thought caused.

"If I," he pauses, then forces himself to continue, "requested this of you, would you ever reveal it to anyone?"

Sunstorm shakes his head quickly, "I would not, that would mean you would refuse to remove it! I will never tell anyone you asked me to, and just claim I did it because I wanted to, not for any other reason, fantastic Percy."

Perceptor crosses his legs, tapping his lips, the bot could easily be lying. He stares at the bots for two kliks before nodding. "Very well, you are going to have to bring back proof that you offlined Sentinel Prime. Can you do this?"

"Oh, absolutely," the seeker vents an enormous sigh of relief. "He will be a most simple target. He's only remained alive thus far due to luck." Sunstorm rests a servo on the berth beside Perceptor. "And when I bring his head back for you, you will remove the code from me?"

"I will turn the code off," Perceptor corrects. "If you prove capable of keeping your servos to yourself after that, I will eventually remove it."

Sunstorm makes a small broken noise, "I will be able to overload, right? Not like Skywarp?"

Perceptor shrugs, "I am uncertain what is wrong with him. I have theories," involving lying seekers, but he has taken Slipstream's warning to spark, "but nothing substantial. You should be unaffected."

A thunderous pounding starts on the door, "Sunstorm, you insolent brat, you will open this door right now!" Starscream screeches. "How did you even manage to lock this door?"

Sunstorm flinches, "Oh, Primus. Our magnanimous leader is not happy with me."

Perceptor watches, fascinated. "How did you get the door locked so he couldn't get in?"

"Necessity and a sudden, unexpected lack of overloads will make any bot capable of great feats."

Perceptor gives Sunstorm a sharp look, ignoring Starscream's berating (which sounds a very great deal like how he does when he's upset with the twins), "How long have you been planning on doing this?"

"Megacycle after you put in the code," Sunstorm replies instantly.

Shaking his head in amusement, he slips off the berth, and walks to the door, which is shaking under the pounding of Starscream's servos.

He opens the door and looks up at Starscream. "It's fine. We worked our issues out."

Starscream ignores him and picks Perceptor up, turning him round to examine him, paying special attention to his sparkplates. "Were you injured?" His optics narrow, "If you are delayed in your work due to injury or other . . . trauma, I will be most displeased with you and with the one responsible."

Sunstorm smiles, "Our glorious sciencebot has proved himself both compassionate and forgiving, Starscream. He has allowed me to apologize for my advances."

Starscream raises an optic ridge, "Seriously? What did you bribe him with?"

"I will keep my servos off of him... and another... item I have promised not to disclose." Sunstrom taps the tips of his claws together, and looks anywhere but at Starscream.

Starscream's optics narrow, and he drops Perceptor, who is caught deftly by Skywarp, "What did you agree to do, Sunstrom?"

Percepter pushes away the nuzzling Skywarp, "He offered to offline a bot for me. I wasn't expecting you to keep it secret from the seekers, Sunstorm."

Starscream's optics widen the slightest bit, "You? There's a bot you want dead badly enough to actually accept his offer?" A grin creeps across his face, "Who?"

"Sentinel Prime," Sunstorm says, voice tinged with pride. "He wants Sentinel offlined, and he wants a trophy."

"Why, you devious little bot," Starscream purrs, "I would have never expected that of you." He reaches over and rubs Perceptor's helmet. "Red optics would suit you very well, I think."

Perceptor keeps his neutral expression, seething inside, it is so insulting to say he's as devious as a Decepticon, "If you say so, Starscream." He would like nothing more to curse at the mech, but that would only end with him desperately damaged and still expected to work.

The seeker smirks at him, "Maybe I should tell Megatron that I have you soon," he puts a single claw under Perceptor's chin, tilting his face up, looking interestedly at his optics. "He may even brand you, since you're so useful."

Perceptor shudders, and Starscream laughs brightly, "It would be a great honor, sciencebot. Very, very few Autobots are allowed to take the Decepticon symbol, let alone be branded with it." He pats Perceptor's head again. "You would take it quite willingly, I think, after Megatron had a chance to . . . convince you."

Skywarp's servos stroke Perceptor's armor protectively, brushing over the dents in his shoulder kibble where he was grabbed.

Starscream walks off, and Sunstorm goes back into his room. Leaning into Skywarp's touch, he murmurs, "I think... this date is over, Skywarp. Take me back to the room." He doesn't feel up to walking now, Starscream took any triumph he had before away completely.

Skywarp scoops him up, cradling him gently. The mech makes a point not to fondle or touch him inappropriately the entire time, not even saying a word. Perceptor is grateful for it, he knows the bot wants to comment how much he's like him to be a decepticon or how proud he is that he wants Sentinel dead, so the fact that Skywarp doesn't... it shows he is smarter than he acts at times. And Perceptor has always gone for the smarter bots.

Perceptor relaxes a bit, and hopes he hasn't made a mistake with his request for Sentinel's . . . death. He's already starting to regret it. He steels his spark. No, he won't allow himself to regret this. Sentinel Prime was dangerous, and he was going to get his twins killed with his bad battle plans and general glitchhead behavior. If he had to be responsible for this, then so be it. His twins would survive.

He's set gently on the floor, and he opens the door. Skywarp looks down at him, "I'll... I'll see you in a few megacycles?"

Checking his internal clock, he's slightly amazed that didn't take very long at all, "Yes. For your mid-solar cycle energon cube." He pauses, turning to look up at the seeker, "Kneel on the floor, Skywarp."

The mech blinks at him in confusion, but does as he's told. Reaching up, he pulls the seeker's head down and into a kiss. Pulling away before Skywarp can think to deepen it, he murmurs, "It was a good first date. For the bits the other seekers didn't ruin. You are allowed to do another in three solar cycles. I have to work, and this is only setting me back."

The Seeker makes some nearly unidentifiable sound -rather like a squeal- and jerks Perceptor into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Yes. We will date again. Three solar cycles from now." He looks longingly at Perceptor's mouth, but refrains from actually kissing him. "I'll go. Now." Skywarp gets up slowly and walks to the door, turning back to look at the smaller bot a half dozen times.

Perceptor waits until the door is closed to collapse back on the berth. Primus. He'd love a cube of high-grade.