Thirty Days in a Second

Thirty Days in a Second
.o
Part Two: Taking Shape
.o

"...yoo-hoo...wake up."

Arcee startled at that low voice right in her audio. So deep, so pleasant, and belonging to the last person in the universe she wanted to talk to. She didn't like the shiver it sent down her chassis.

Without opening her eyes, she aimed her blaster at the source.

"Back off."

Starscream chuckled at her. "If I really planned to kill you, you wouldn't be awake to point that thing at my face."

"I don't care." Arcee narrowed her eyes. "Back off."

His eyebrow twitched. "You Autobots can't take a joke."

"Decepticon jokes are about as funny as rust in an aft vent."

He leaned over her audio again, "You wound me."

She opened her eyes and glared, "Back off!"

Starscream snickered and scooted towards the cave opening. Arcee lifted her head and saw his legs walking away from the entrance. She wriggled outside to catch up.

Without the wind gusting, the temperature outdoors was almost pleasant. Safe enough to function all day and not require shelter.

Starscream stayed intent on his handheld scanning device. Arcee watched him thrust his fingers into a snow bank and walk a circle around it. His fingertips dug trenches in one side and phased right through the other. At the point where his hand stopped having an effect, he stuck his arm all the way inside and pulled back a handful of snow from--she wasn't sure how far in. Then he stepped into it. The drift collapsed when he emerged on the other side, his armor covered in slush.

Physics didn't work that way. How many universal laws did Starscream just break before her eyes?

Arcee had to look away. She hugged herself and mentally cursed. You're a soldier, Arcee! Get a hold of yourself! Stop this!

"Do you have any ideas yet?"

"Not until I take a scan from the sky," said Starscream. "My directional scanners can't pinpoint a magnetic pole. I have no sun to use as a reference and no idea which direction is which."

"Okay." Arcee marched right up to him and jumped on his back. She slipped her arms around his neck. "Let's go."

"Hey!" Starscream tried to buck her off. He almost succeeded. Then she wrapped her legs about his waist and he flinched at her knee touching his patched side.

She held on tighter and spoke into his audio. "I trust you about as far as I can throw you. I'm coming with you. Don't argue. Can you fly in your robot mode?"

"Not as fast as my alternate mode." He grumbled. When she refused to climb down, he sighed. "Fine. Hold on tight and mind the patch."

Starscream took off at a dizzying pace and Arcee momentarily closed her optics. He was someone solid and real amidst a great unknown. That alone made her hold onto him a little tighter. She dared to look down at the ground. The Nemesis debris and Eradicon bodies were thumb sized specks in the dull white snow. Far off on one horizon, the sky appeared slightly darker gray. All the air--the wind and the ordinary breeze--moved in that general direction.

"I can't detect the energon ore buried here, but I'm picking debris buried up to sixty feet under the snow." Starscream's voice vibrated through his back.

"Why are some things in phase and others out? It doesn't make sense. It seems so random."

"There's a pattern here. I just have to find it."

Arcee tightened her grip. The air chilled as Starscream followed the wind.

They flew.

And flew.

And flew.

The dark spot on the horizon never came closer. Like chasing a rainbow, it retreated at the same speed they approached.

Thirty minutes passed according to Arcee's current chronometer settings. She glanced at the barren terrain. They were passing the Nemesis debris and Eradicon bodies again, and they never changed directions.

"This doesn't make sense!" Arcee mentally kicked herself for letting her nervousness show. She just couldn't disguise her disbelief. Everything her optics took in defied reality.

Starscream offered no explanation until he descended for a landing. The snowy landscape grew until Arcee felt the jolt of his pointed feet touching down. She hopped to the ground while Starscream puzzled over the scanner.

"We went in a circle," she said.

"Mmhmm."

"So...what does this mean? Are we still on Earth or not?"

"Yes...and no." Starscream turned to look at her with a self-satisfied grin.

"Right. That really answers my question, Starscream." Arcee folded her arms. "Keep talking."

Much to her annoyance, Starscream chuckled and imitated her posture. "You're so stand-offish. Look around. I see no reason to hurry."

"Grr..." Arcee aimed her blaster squarely at his face. "I'm not in the mood for games! I don't like this place and I don't like you. Start talking!"

"Calm down first. You shouldn't ruin that pretty little face with such a sneer."

You arrogant little-- Arcee powered up the blaster. "I'm not kidding!"

She heard Starscream's arm transform and stared down the barrel of his cannon. Its angry red center glowed like an accusing optic. The air chilled, and this time it wasn't the wind.

"Don't be impulsive." Starscream narrowed his eyes. "Shooting me won't get you the answers you seek."

"How do I know you won't shoot me?" Arcee growled.

"Do you want to return to your fellow Autobots? I thought so." He gestured with his cannon. "Lower your weapon and I might be inclined to talk."

"You go first. Stand down, Starscream. Then I'll listen to anything you have to say."

His weapon whined and glowed brighter. He thrust it forward for emphasis. "No, you stand down, Autobot!"

Arcee knew she had no choice. Starscream wasn't talking until she stopped posing a threat. She let her weapon fall to her side and hoped she wouldn't regret it later.

Starscream smirked at her. His cannon transformed back into an arm. "Before I begin...how much do you know about atoms?"

Impatience made Arcee grit her dental plates. Knowing she had no choice but to work with him sent a thrum of disquiet through her systems. Even worse, he enjoyed making her uncomfortable. Keeping calm was the only way she could stay on top of the situation.

Once she controlled her anger, she spoke.

"Enough to know they're the basis of everything. I know the chemical properties of energon, but I'm not a science bot. If there's more to it that relates to this, stop stalling and start talking."

"I'll keep it simple for you." Starscream straightened and folded his hands behind his back. "The particles that make up atoms are always moving. Some say they even phase in and out of time and space as we know it, but they do so at such a high speed that even we can't process it. My theory is the blast caused by the dueling ground bridge portals emitted enough energy to knock our very atomic structures into the 'out' phase. We've moved forward in time by a mere second, and we're still one second ahead of everything else. It's why all you see is frozen--even our chronometers. Nothing has happened yet."

"Wait. We're ahead of everything? Then why were the kids able to see us moving when this happened to them?" Arcee longed to find a hole in his theory. Her mind wasn't scientific enough, and it bothered her. What if he was lying?

"Oh. Them." Starscream leaned back. "They probably went backwards a nanosecond. Their brains wouldn't detect the delay on such a small scale, but they likely experienced normal time a nanosecond behind you. Imagine, if you will, that they slipped backwards for a longer period...say, five minutes. You would wave your hand, but due to the space-time distortion there would be a five minute delay between your action and them seeing your hand move. Do you understand now?"

"All right." Arcee shifted her weight in a vain attempt to hide her discomfort. "Why some Eradicons are solid and others aren't? Why aren't the Scraplets moving?"

"Several Scraplets followed me through the portal. They were vaporized by the intense energy. The rest are dead. All except the one I pulled..." Starscream's hand went to his patched side. "My theory--and it is just a theory--is the shockwave of the explosion affected everything that was sitting still at the time of the blast. Even snow shifting because of the glacier's movement would be 'out' of this phase."

"So we have wind here because it wasn't blowing when the portals exploded?"

He nodded. His gaze went back to the scanner. He paced, mulling over the readouts and muttering to himself. For a few seconds Arcee forgot he was one of the most dangerous Decepticon warriors in Megatron's army.

"In the simplest terms I can use...we're in a pocket of space-time only as large as the shockwave caused by the exploding portals. The universe beyond that point? It doesn't exist right now because time hasn't gone that far forward yet."

Arcee hugged herself tighter. The wind kicked up again and her systems weren't taking kindly to the frozen blast.

"Both of our teams will notice we've been gone too long. They'll come looking."

"They won't because they haven't reached that moment yet. It may be millions of years before we hear the tock that comes after tick in normal time." Starscream reached out and grasped her arm.

Arcee reflexively aimed her weapon at his head.

"Stop that!" Starscream hissed. "You're no use to me dead! I was going to take you back to the cave. It's too cold for both of us in this blasted wind!"

"I can walk on my own," grumbled Arcee.

"I spotted a better cave from the air. The one we're using is soaked in energon and snow. It won't stay warm enough."

"Which way?"

Starscream turned his back to her with a long-suffering sigh. "Hop on. You can't reach it from the ground."

Arcee's pride took the hit. There was no room for taking chances in the sub-zero temperatures. She climbed onto Starscream's back. He jumped into the air and turned sharply to the right. She spotted the cave right away--a dark mouth yawning high up on the glacier. It faced completely away from the wind.

Starscream landed on the ledge outside the cave. To Arcee's dismay, it was narrower than their previous shelter--so narrow it barely accommodated Starscream's wingspan. They climbed in feet-first and had nowhere to lay except against each other. Arcee stiffened at Starscream draping his arm over her waist.

What did Jack say humans called this position? Forking? No...no, something else. Argh, I can't remember! I sure as frag can't believe I'm laying like this with Starscream. Ugh...

"You'll have to excuse me." There was his voice again, right in her audio. "I have nowhere else to put that arm."

"Don't flatter yourself, 'con." Arcee whispered.

The combined warmth of their internals warmed the cave to a comfortable temperature. Arcee felt her servos relax for the first time since she landed in this other-time.

"How will we get back in phase with the rest of the universe?"

"I...don't know yet. Why? Are you in a hurry?"

"To get away from you? Yeah. You bet I am."

"Oh, come on. I can't be that horrible as company."

"You're a Decepticon and you blew my arm off, once. That's reason enough."

Starscream laughed quietly against her audio. Knowing he literally had no place else to put his head made it three times more uncomfortable. Suddenly, the hand draped over her waist reached up to brush her upper arm. "This arm?"

Arcee grabbed his fingers and twisted until he yanked his hand away "Don't."

"You're so temperamental."

"You're an aft."

Starscream had nothing more to say. Arcee let him drape his hand across her waist again. She stared at his long, slender fingers. They looked so delicate, as if the slightest pressure would crush them, but she'd seen Starscream's hands in action enough to know otherwise. Every Decepticon she fought had fingertips capable of puncturing the thickest armor. Starscream wasn't any different.

Arcee's mind wandered in directions she didn't want. She shied away from the very idea of that hand doing anything besides cause her pain. Starscream's fingers reminded her of Airachnid's spider legs. She clung to that thought to keep her mind out of the gutter. Feeling Starscream's regular exhalations on her neck didn't help.

It's because he's right up against me and it's been ages since I...since I've been held. Arcee rationalized. Then, frowning, she chased the thought away.

Fine, admit it. He has a nice sounding voice. So does Optimus, but Optimus doesn't excite m--argh! Okay, I know what's going on. I haven't interfaced in ages. My body is reacting by instinct. I am not in the slightest bit attracted to Starscream. He's a jerk, he's a 'con and I don't trust him. I'm stronger than this. Okay, body, stop it now. Right now.

She drifted into recharge to Starscream's intakes hissing in her audio. Heated memories of hands and kisses filled her dreams.

.o

"Who is Tailgate?"

Arcee blinked awake. She felt unusually warm and content. At least, up until she remembered who asked the question.

"What? Who told--"

"Nobody." Starscream made no attempts at moving away. Arcee wished he would stop talking in her audio. "You whispered the name in your sleep. Was he a lover?"

She stiffened and clenched her fists, turning her face to the floor so he couldn't read her perturbed expression. "None of your business, Starscream."

He flexed his fingers. They were far too close to her abdomen for comfort. "I was just making conversation."

"Don't."

Starscream leaned over her shoulder and spoke into her audio again. "Fine. Be that way."

Arcee squirmed. "Stop acting like you don't have your own nightmares."

He hesitated. Slightly, but she knew she stung his ego. The lapse didn't last long.

"Heh, heh. You certainly weren't having a nightmare. Oh, don't look so ashamed. Dream overloads happen to the best of us. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and the burst of heat."

Scandalized didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

"Did you..."

"Nope. My hand stayed right where it is now." He flexed his fingers again. "Besides, you didn't need any help at all."

Right then, Arcee wanted nothing more than to vanish into the cracks in the cave wall three inches from her face. Overloading in her sleep in Starscream's arms was the most humiliating--

"Overloads..." Starscream whispered to himself. He reached up to pull himself out of the cave and stood on the icy ledge. "The competing ground bridge portals overloaded when their energy streams crossed paths. If I simulate the same energy output, it might knock us back into phase with the rest of time."

Groaning, Arcee fought to staunch the burning in her face plates. "Right. Let's just build a generator out of wire clips and chewing putty."

Starscream ignored her quip. "Get on my back. We need to get to that debris before the wind starts up. I think there's an engine buried in the snow, but we won't be able to get it this time."

"The wind seems to show up every hour and blow for three. I've been counting."

"So have I. It's going to start again in thirty minutes. Hurry up!"

Arcee climbed onto Starscream's back. He flew to the debris site in record time. Arcee barely jumped off before he started digging in the snow.

"Should I look for anything specific?"

"Anything electronic. Anything. I can sort it in the cave, but I need to grab what I can before it gets windy. The debris should all be in phase with us. Get started!"

"Don't order me around." Arcee snapped. Then she took a step and fell waist deep in soft snow. She ignored Starscream's snicker while she pulled herself out. "I'm fine. Thanks for being concerned."

"Just start salvaging." He said, and promptly turned his back to pick through pieces of shielding.

Their salvage operation must have included Eradicon bodies. Starscream found the corpse Arcee cut open and tore viciously into it with his claws. Arcee took his lead and helped him with the disassembly.

"The body behind you should be tangible."

"Where will we store the parts?"

"I can cut a hole into the side of the cave, but don't get any ideas of trying to make the whole thing wider. It'll collapse."

"Yes, I know." Arcee grunted as her arm blades took the second Eradicon corpse apart. "This one has a full fuel tank."

"Keep it."

Arcee stuck the outlet hose into her mouth and drank a generous portion. The cold energon inside tasted bitter. Eradicons were notable for their large fuel tanks. Some even said the Decepticons designed them that way so they could cannibalize their fuel situations like this.

Starscream brushed past her, transformed and took to the sky. "I'll be right back."

"Hey!"

He was already gone.

Arcee peered at the collection of Eradicon parts. They hadn't started picking through the Nemesis pieces yet. She raised her optics to the horizon where the darker gray patch appeared larger than she remembered. Something about it seemed ominous, but she couldn't put her servo on why.

Probably some kind of storm. Arcee bent over the debris she collected. I better make something to carry this scrap back to the cave.

The wind kicked up again just before Starscream swooped out of the colorless sky. Arcee used his absence to fashion a carrying sling out of Eradicon armor and rubbery joint tensors. She found herself slightly admiring Starscream's physical strength--he carried her and the makeshift sling without any sign of a struggle. At least, not until they reached the cave. She noticed him clutching his patched side.

"Did you rupture the solder?"

"No."

"Then let me make sure it's not turning into a rust infection."

"I would feel it before you saw it." Starscream grunted. "The cold just hurts. I'm fine. Stash this behind you."

Arcee noticed the long hole he dug into the cave wall. It would hold everything they brought like a crude shelf. She stashed the items he handed to her and scooted over to let him climb into the cave. They could sit up if they kept their knees near their chests, but even then their legs overlapped. Starscream didn't appear to mind. Arcee tried not to squirm at feeling his pointy feet brush her calf armor.

Outside, bitter wind blustered across the desolate landscape. Arcee watched it turn everything into a haze of grayish-white. Occasionally, it howled over the top of the glacier. The sound set Arcee's circuits on edge.

Starscream acted unbothered by the noise. He stripped wires using his dental plates, separated the exposed tips with his fingers and put them aside. Occasionally, he pinched the tip of a wire between his barely-there lips and pulled its innards completely out of the insulation in one smooth motion. There was a focused intensity about him that Arcee couldn't help but watch.

At least, until he glanced up and saw her staring.

"Holoscans last longer," Starscream said, the insulation still clutched in the corner of his mouth.

Arcee crossed her arms and looked away. "Do you want help stripping those?"

He tossed a bundle into her lap. "Both ends. Copper wires get stripped completely. They have white insulation. Don't cut any red cables--let me do that. They have optical fibers and I need them intact."

"Funny, Autobot optical fibers are blue." Arcee remarked. She opted for her combination wire cutter and needle nose pliers instead of her dental plates. For a time the only sounds were the wind and the clicks of insulation being stripped.

The wind did not make for comforting silence. Arcee needed a distraction, so she asked the first question that came to mind.

"So, how did somebody like you end up working for Megatron?"

A moment passed where Starscream didn't answer. He bit one more cable, turned his head and spat the piece of insulation out the cave entrance. His red optics fixed on hers like hot coals. "I saw an opportunity to return Cybertron to its Golden Age, but he went the other direction. All he cares about is power. I...don't follow him because I like him." He chortled and put down his wire bundle. "He was almost sane once upon a time."

Arcee swore she saw a hint of pain in his eyes. "Chucking a load of Dark Energon through a space bridge never struck me as a sane move."

"Oh, that." Starscream rolled his optics. "You can't talk Megatron out of anything anymore."

She eyed the scratches still present on his armor. Megatron's touch wasn't exactly subtle.

"Back in the day, Megatron was a miner working underground. Then he rose to become a gladiator."

"Doesn't surprise me." Arcee said.

"I was head of the air warriors and was--still am--a scientist. I spent years studying Dark Energon. I know how dangerous it is, and I took a risk using it on myself...but that is beside the point. Megatron is who he is and his life has shaped him--and when I joined him, he shaped me, too." Starscream leaned back and flexed his feet. "Megatron is obsessed with power. He's obsessed with destroying Optimus Prime. His obsessions will be his undoing, but does he listen when I remind him? Nope. Oh, well! I'll just keep waiting until he gets himself killed."

"Nice plan." Arcee scoffed.

"Thanks." Starscream smirked. "Personally, I think he will eventually kill Optimus. Once Megatron sets his mind to something--"

"Optimus doesn't want to fight him. He does because he has to and it makes him feel guilty, but I know he'll do whatever it takes to stop Megatron. And frankly, so will I." Arcee stripped the last wire in her pile and set her bundle next to Starscream's.

"They were lovers a long time ago." Starscream grinned. "But they didn't get a chance to bond. They quarreled until the war swept all talk of their relationship into a corner. Speaking of lovers, Arcee..." He waggled his eyebrows at her, "...this Tailgate fellow..."

Arcee stiffened so she wouldn't flinch. Really? Could he pick a sorer subject to discuss? "It was a long time ago. I don't want to talk about it."

"Uh-oh, did he leave you?"

"Shut up about it!" She exploded, "Just drop it! I said that I don't want to talk about it! That means I don't want to talk about it!"

Starscream's voice became an uncharacteristically soft rumble. "Just tell me why you're so bitter and I'll leave the matter alone."

A hot prickle formed in her throat. Did he get a thrill out of making her uncomfortable? Perhaps telling the truth would shut him up.

"He's dead." She finally admitted, "The people I get close to tend to die on me." And that's why I keep pushing you away. You're a Decepticon and you aren't the least bit charming. You're my enemy. I don't want to start caring about what happens to you!

"Well, that explains a lot." Starscream leaned over to pick up another wire bundle. Suddenly, he gasped, grabbed his injured side and almost collapsed into Arcee's lap.

Arcee scooted over to examine the patch. This time, he didn't protest.

...it's too late to not care.

"I'm fine," Starscream whispered.

"No, you're not." Arcee thumbed the solder, "Does that hurt?"

"ARGH! Don't do that!"

"Guess so."

"Does the patch contain any nickel?" Starscream asked.

"Yeah. Ten percent. Why?"

He sighed. "My body doesn't like nickel. Now I know why it's taking so long to seal off the damage. It's rejecting the patch. Use scrap from that dead Eradicon instead."

"Nickel allergy, eh? That's pretty rare." Arcee squinted one optic. "Cutting that patch off is going to hurt."

He shifted his legs sideways to make his wound easier to access. "Megatron did worse and I'm still functional. Just get it over with before I change my mind."

"Don't order me around."

Arcee took out her medical kit. She burned the solder away from the patch and pried it off. Starscream hissed and bit his knuckles. A thin film of nanites made the edges of the wound glisten. A good sign of healing, so she didn't wipe it off. Inside, the tape binding his energon line together still held strong.

"The wound looks smaller than last time. It's not rusty, it's crawling with nanites. That's good."

"Mmhmm."

"You also have cracks around the edge."

"I'm very aware of that. It's because of the nickel. So much for your patch job, hm?"

"Tch!" Arcee hissed contemptuously. "It's not my fault you're among the two percent of the population with a nickel allergy. Now shut up and stay still."

She chewed her bottom lip and welded a strip of shiny black Eradicon armor over the hole. It stood out even more than the silver patch she used before. Starscream's legs stiffened beneath her--she felt it because she sat on them to keep him from kicking.

"Almost done...just don't put snow on it. It'll crack more."

Starscream's optics flickered and sank deeper into their sockets. Coolant condensation sparkled under the edges of his helm. His hands shook and he cycled air in short gasps. He was in a lot more pain than he let on, and Arcee wasn't buying his tough mech act anymore.

"Hey. I can stop for a minute."

"I'm fine. It's not the worst I've been through."

"It's still pain, Starscream."

"I'm not the only one in pain here." Starscream said pointedly.

Arcee resisted an outward cringe. Yes, she had her own wounds to deal with. Wounds not visible to the optics. She ignored Starscream's remark and continued her train of thought.

"You aggravated that injury carrying everything back, didn't you?" Arcee glared at him. "Why didn't you say something sooner? You dumbaft! Bending and twisting when you're rejecting a patch--where the frag is your CPU? In your aft? Your systems haven't fully recovered from all the energon you lost! Have you taken any fuel since you woke up?"

"No."

She shoved the Eradicon's fuel tank into his hands. "Don't argue. Drink some and rest. We're not going outside until you're stable. I can't have you collapsing in the snow when you're my ride up here."

"I'll argue my case when I have the energy." Starscream sighed. He put the outlet hose in his mouth and gulped like a mech who hadn't consumed energon in eons. "This is annoying. I hope the snow doesn't cover up the debris."

Arcee reached over and slapped the side of his head. "Stop it. I know where the wreckage is. I can dig it back up."

Starscream caught her wrist and turned her hand over on his palm. Arcee stiffened and tried to pull away. He wouldn't let go. His fingers had a stronger grip than she first realized.

"You should have been a medic." He tapped a fingertip on her palm. "You have the perfect hands for it."

Talking seemed to ease his pain.

"I was a scout like Bumblebee." Arcee smirked to cover up her discomfort. She set her eyebrows in a line. "Now, I'm a soldier."

"Mm. Not surprised at all. I came from a higher caste than Megatron. Hard to believe now, isn't it?" His eyes glimmered with pride. "None of us would be where we are now if I became the leader back then."

None of us would be the people we became because of this war, either. We are who we are because the people we meet shape our lives. Who would I be if I never met Tailgate? Who would I be if I never met Optimus? Who will I become by knowing you?

Arcee had nowhere to look besides Starscream's smoldering optics. They were so unusual--red with white pupils. Like metal in a forge. Like a being still taking shape.

"We can't change the past," she said.

He grinned, and for once it wasn't full of malice. "There's still the future. Look around. Blank slate. What will it look like when you arrive?"

She realized he still held her hand, and didn't mind as much as before. "I don't know." Cheekily, she smiled back at him, "I guess we both have to wait and see."

"I suppose so." Starscream said back.

Their eyes stayed locked as the wind gusted outside. Arcee couldn't look away. If a being still being molded existed behind those optics, did that mean she had an effect on the person taking form? Was everyone a constant work in progress? Was this experience shaping her, too?

All at once, she noticed Starscream's face coming a few inches closer. The weight of his presence surrounded her like a force field. She felt it pulling her in, and she realized she didn't want to escape.

Their mouths were a centimeter apart when Starscream suddenly buckled, letting go of her hand to clasp his side.

"Oh!" Arcee jolted back to reality. She scooted over as far as she could and helped him sit up against the wall. "Are you okay?"

"I just--I'm fine!" He batted her hands away before she could prod the patch. "I hate Scraplets."

"I had to solder your wiring back together," said Arcee. "Could one still be shorting--"

"No, it's the wound. The sting is very distinct. I'll be all right."

Still frowning, Arcee pushed herself to her side of the cave. Starscream said nothing more, and rested quietly with his hand draped over the patch. Arcee left him alone and focused on stripping insulation off a pile of copper wires.

Less for Starscream to worry about later, she told herself. By the Allspark, why did I almost kiss him? I hate him! That was a stupid move. I'm just lonely, and it's been ages since anyone treated me like a fembot instead of a fellow soldier.

But the real reason burned in her mind. It wasn't Starscream that she hated.

She hated that he reminded her of Tailgate.

Was it really so bad?

Arcee snorted to herself. It could be worse. What if she fell into this situation with Knock Out? Endless prattling about his personal modifications. With Soundwave? No conversation at all. Megatron? No, Arcee didn't let her mind go there.

Earlier, Starscream mentioned building something. Arcee glanced around at the piles of wires, motherboards and LED's. What was he planning?

"Let's just hope we have enough wires for whatever you're going to build," she mumbled.

No witty retort.

Worried, Arcee glanced up.

Starscream's head was bowed and his optics shuttered. He'd fallen asleep sitting up against the wall, and for the first time in awhile he appeared peaceful. Arcee decided she liked him better when he slept. His arrogant squint and snide little smirk were gone. Tailgate once said the best way to know a bot was to catch them in recharge--the only state where a person's face relaxed enough to truly see behind any front they put up.

Starscream looked so young, but Arcee knew he was much older than his appearance let on.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

She lifted a coil of copper wire from Starscream's hands and set it aside. Then she shifted to sit between him and the drafty cave entrance. Beside her, his shoulder rose and fell with his intakes. She saw his eyebrows twitch. It made her smile.

Sleep well, Starscream.