A/N; This is the first of two ficlets resulting from the 200 reviews poll! This one is for Eject/Laserbeak. Hope you like!

Eject had known who Laserbeak was, of course. They all did – it was part of their job to know the players of the rival team, after all. And Laserbeak was a very good player.

What he hadn't known, though, was that she was – well, a she. Or that when she was clean and polished, her wing plating was almost iridescent. And he certainly hadn't known how impossibly tiny and fragile she could feel when she crawled into his lap.

He'd thought he hated her until that moment. Then he got really confused.

Of course, it hadn't stopped there.

Because Laserbeak was funny. She was caring, and clever, and all those things Eject hadn't really been sure that Decepticons could be – all those things he enjoyed in his friends, in mechs of his own faction. And the more time he spent with her - and he did spend time with her, if only to keep her from slipping into a depression - the more trouble he had seeing the faction instead of the cassette.

Suddenly, Laserbeak was a friend. Strangely enough. A friend who was soft, and affectionate, and looked at him with that expression that he'd never had directed at him before.

And then they'd moved bases.

Laserbeak hadn't liked the trip. She'd been in a crate of sorts, with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe guarding her, and it had been cramped and uncomfortable and nasty. The new base was no better, because now she was in a cell, no longer able to fly or even stretch her wings.

He'd only managed to go to see her once after the move. She hadn't been happy and he hadn't been allowed inside the cell. They'd had to settle for touching through the bars – his hands on her wings, stroking and massaging, and her head resting against his shoulder.

Then, a few days later, she was released. And Eject had expected that that was that.

He hadn't expected to actually miss her.

And then Isobel had gotten kidnapped, and all sorts of slag had hit the fan. Eject had been as worried as everybody else – he may not have been as close to her as some of the others, but he liked the human, slaggit, and he would do anything to get her back.

Not that things improved that much when they did get her back.

The entire Autobot camp is full of righteous fury. Eject is madder than he can remember ever having been before, because the perpetrators are like him – different, yeah, and Decepticons, sure, but cassettes, mechlings even, not that different from himself and Rewind.

Soundwave had done this.

And thinking of Soundwave usually makes him think of Laserbeak.

That's part of why he's so mad. He can't reconcile the image he has of Laserbeak, of warm, smooth plating and a trembling, scared frame in his arms, with the image he has of the big, navy carrier calmly and coolly applying the shock probe to a defenseless human.

How is it possible he can miss one and hate the other? When Laserbeak and Soundwave are as closely bound together as he and Blaster are?

It makes no sense.

And it keeps him up at nights.

"Dammit, bro, stop tossing and turning," Rewind mutters, and Eject takes a pede to the shin. Not that it hurts much, he did worse to himself when Blaster tried to teach them to tap dance, but still. "Lie still, fraggit. Recharge."

"Can't," Eject replies, twisting to lie on his back. "'m too mad."

"Then get out and walk it off," Ramhorn grumbles. "You're a nuisance in here. Some of us have shifts in the morning."

Eject does, too. Not that knowing that lets him recharge any faster.

Still, he gets out of their shared berth and makes his way outside, sneaking past Blaster's room as quiet as he knows how. Arcee's in there, he knows that, and Bluestreak, too. The night before it had been Bumblebee, and Blaster had been almost happy again in the morning.

Eject didn't pretend to understand. But he didn't mind much, either. They were all pleasant enough. And Blaster was happy, that was the most important thing.

At least he had been happy before all this slag began.

The darkness outside is peaceful, as least on the surface. Eject has learned well enough by now that that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Still, he offers a wave to Wheeljack, heading back to his quarters, and another one for Trailbreaker who's headed out on patrol.

It's peaceful enough, this night. It's enough to settle his processor somewhat.

He ambles past the hangar that passes for a rec room, past the Aerialbots' hangar, until he gets to the runway that borders on the salt flats. He's not allowed too much further out that way, but there's a shed of sorts just on the other side of the runway that's been his refuge before. It's barely more than three walls and a roof with a bench inside, and Eject doesn't really know what it's for, but it reminds him of a baseball dugout, so he likes it. And he can hide in there from the full-sized bots if he needs to. It's a good spot to sit and think for a while.

Except tonight it's already occupied.

Granted, she's on the roof instead of the bench inside. But she's still there, looking at him, waiting.

It takes him a few moments to swallow his surprise. Then he takes another few hesitant steps towards her.

"Hey, Laserbeak."

*Hello, Eject.* She sounds tentative, almost nervous.

He walks underneath where she's sitting to drop down on the bench. It's nice being on a planet where everything is so conveniently cassette-sized.

Laserbeak leaps from the ceiling, gliding around to land on the ground in front of him. *Are you mad at me?*

He thinks about that for a moment. "Should I be?"

*I wouldn't blame you if you were,* she says softly.

Eject watches her. She's not changed. And it's surprising to him how much he just wants her to cuddle up in his arms as she has before.

"No," he sighs, looking away from her. "No, I'm not mad at you. I'm really fragged off at your carrier, though."

Laserbeak walks hesitantly closer, until she's right in front of him. *For what it's worth, I'm sorry.*

"Yeah." She's close enough that he has to turn his head to look away from her, so he doesn't try. It's not like she's hard on the optics, anyway. "Did you know? What he was doing?"

*No,* she replies, shuffling even a bit closer. *Soundwave kept me in our quarters, and both he and my brothers locked the bond down. I knew he was doing something, but I just assumed it was something secret he was working on for Lord Megatron. It's happened before."

Eject smiles faintly under his mask at that. He lifts a hand towards Laserbeak, and she leans into it gratefully. "Well, that's something at least. It's bad enough he's your carrier, I'm glad you're not connected to the whole thing any more than that."

It's nice, he thinks, having her near him again. He enjoys the feel of her plating under his hand. So it's only natural to tug slightly at her, put his fingers on the back of her neck, until she's nuzzling against his shoulder and his hands can stroke down her wings.

"Much as I'm happy to see you," he says, "I'm not sure you should have come. I don't think you're safe here anymore. The Autobots really hate your carrier at this point, and they might let it spill over on you."

*Do you hate my carrier?* The question is hesitant. She doesn't pull away, though, which is nice.

"I do," Eject replies, surprised by the vehemence in his own voice. He can't remember ever having been this slagged off at anyone before. "I hate him, and I hate Rumble and Frenzy, and if they were here right now I'd probably raise the alarm on them instantly. And then I'm not sure we'd leave them alive."

Laserbeak is quiet for a moment, and then she does pull back. Those sharp optics meet his.

*You do realize that Soundwave didn't have a choice.*

Eject gapes at her. "Like pit! He could have chosen to not hurt Isobel, he could have left her alone!"

*No, he couldn't!* Laserbeak snaps, flaring her plating angrily. *There was no other option!*

Eject's suddenly on his feet. He can't remember standing up, or deciding to clench his fists, or even to shout at her, but he's still doing so. "Frag that! She's an innocent human! Pit, she doesn't even know anything useful! There was no reason to hurt her!"

*He had to!* Laserbeak shoots back, and she sounds furious as well. *He had to, because he owed her a debt because of me, and he knew what would happen if he didn't intervene. For Primus' sake, she was in Swindle's custody! Vortex's gestaltmate! Do you know what would have happened if Vortex got hold of her? Do you know how he uses his holoform? He's sick!* Delicate wing platelets ruffle again, and Laserbeak turns away. *Soundwave didn't want to, he told me that! He tried to make it as easy on her as he could, but he had to make it look real! And when Lord Megatron started asking, he had to produce results! He couldn't even keep her fed, because he couldn't risk any one of us getting caught with food for her! It killed him a little inside every time she screamed, every time she cried, and he still had to keep the charades up for our Lord and Master! Because Lord Megatron,* and this time the name is almost a sneer, *would have taken it out of our plating, mine or one of my siblings', if he hadn't!* She turns then, stares at him. *You don't understand, and how can you? The Autobots are soft! There's room here for caring, and friendship, and love, and family, and everything else Lord Megatron has named a weakness! There's room for taking care of those who need it. Not so in the Decepticons.* She looks down then, her plating settling along her back, clenching against her frame until she looks as small as when he first saw her in that cell. *Soundwave was walking a delicate line even handling her as gently as he did. Any more, and we would have surely been deactivated. And Isobel, too.*

Eject can't do anything but stare at her. He doesn't even feel angry anymore, there's no room for that next to the astonishment.

When another moment passes without him saying anything, Laserbeak sighs softly. It's just a small ex-vent, but it echoes in Eject's spark.

*I should leave. Please tell Isobel I'm sorry and I hope I can still be her friend.*

She's just about to take off when he lifts his hand again. "Wait."

Her head turns slightly, and one red, piercing optic meets his.

"I'm sorry," Eject says, and he means it. "I should have thought about how hard this has been for you. I shouldn't have shouted. Please don't leave yet. I've –" he takes a steadying in-vent, "I've missed you."

She pauses, then chuckles and lowers her head. *This world is crazy.* Those red optics turn to him again, but this time they're warm. *I've missed you, too, Eject. More than you think.*

"Then stay a bit longer," he says, sitting down on the bench again and patting the wood next to him. "Let's just pretend the world isn't crazy, huh? We can do that for a while?"

*Really?* Now Laserbeak sounds hopeful. *You can ignore this much crazy?*

He shrugs. "Hey, I'm a sports fan. You have no idea how much crazy I ignore on a daily basis."

Laserbeak giggles, a bright, cheerful sound over his comm, and he grins. And when she chooses to hop onto his lap instead of the bench next to him, well, he's not objecting to that. And finding out that his arms fit just as well around her as they used to…

Eject is happy. For the first time since they let Laserbeak go, he's genuinely, truly happy.

It feels very natural to press his face against Laserbeak's plating, nuzzling her neck.

"I'll work on it," he promises, a spur-of-the-moment decision that feels more right by the second. "On not hating your family, I mean."

*As long as you understand,* Laserbeak replies, curling up in his arms and resting her head against his shoulder. *As long as you know that they didn't want to do this. That's enough. And as long as you don't hate me.*

"You're much too sweet to hate," Eject says, mentally wincing at the lame line even as he says it.

Laserbeak just giggles again, though. *I can work with that.*

The day is bright, much brighter than the previous day. Eject is almost whistling as he head to his shift in the comm hub, much as a Cybertronian can whistle. He feels like cartwheeling, or dancing, but the mood around him is much too sober for that.

He's beaming inside, though.

*Hey, honey,* he sends, using the hidden frequency that piggybacks on the human broadcast signals. Keeping to short, easy bursts, so neither Blaster nor Red Alert can detect them. *Missing you already.*

He waves jauntily at Jazz, and the saboteur raises an optic ridge above his visor. "Happy today, m'mech?"

Eject shrugs easily, and then he does cartwheel. Only Jazz around right now anyway, and Jazz always knows more than he lets on. "Would you believe me if I say that I have cause to? And that it's a good thing?"

Jazz watches him for a moment longer, considering, and then smiles. "I can guess. I'm happy for ya, m'mech. An' we need all th'bridges across that gap we can get, 'specially with th' recent slag about Isobel." He stops, then, winking at Eject and pointing at him with one slim finger. "Just don' give away the homeworld."

And Eject laughs, because he gets it. He laughs so hard that his cartwheel collapses and he crashes to the ground still chortling. "Gotcha, Jazz."

The saboteur grins and walks away.

Eject lies there for a moment, letting his taxed systems settle. When the answering message comes in, he opens it eagerly.

*Likewise. I'll see you soon, handsome.*

He laughs again. It's easy, freeing. He's as light as a feather.

He can feel someone laughing at him over the bond. *Much as I appreciate your mood today, kiddo, you think you're gonna make it to your shift soon?*

*Sorry, Blaster,* he comms back, getting to his feet. He's still chuckling. *'m on my way.*

Yeah. Things are looking good.