Ephemeral

Summary- Two chance meetings, two brief moments of sentimentality between old partners. Change is a slow, uncertain process, no matter who's involved. One-shot.

AN- Just a short snippet I've been fiddling with for a while and finally decided to post. It's a bit of a character study of the connection between Skyfire and Starscream, even while they're on opposite sides of the battlefield.

It was the low sound of muttered cursing that drew Skyfire to the clearing after the fight was all but over. It had been another routine clash with the Decepticons, the familiar chaos of insults and weapons with the two leaders at its epicenter. As always, Skyfire hated it.

He despised the violence and near tangible hatred between the two factions, the occasional shriek of pain or triumphant shout of victory from energon spattered frames. Skyfire had been sparked a pacifist, and even though he'd accepted that wasn't an option anymore, he could barely tolerate the frenzied violence in the center of combat.

The fight had been in their favor and, without any injured mecha to transport yet, he had drifted away from the fighting warriors. When a few stray blasts drove him over the nearby forest, he didn't bother rushing immediately back into the confusion. That was when he first heard the murmur of noise below him, muffled enough he nearly mistook it for a mere echo from the battle. He paused, silencing his engines and turning up his audios. It was a moment before he heard it again, and this time he could discern a discordant note of pain in the tone. Someone was hurt

Touching down, Skyfire cautiously made his way to where he'd heard the sound, blaster held, if slightly awkwardly, in front of him. Even if the mech was injured, that didn't mean he would be helpless. And even an Autobot might attack if he was caught off guard and damaged.

When an alarmingly familiar red and blue chassis came into sight, Skyfire almost turned around right then. Starscream. Of course. The one mech he'd been trying to wipe from his memory banks, and a painful reminder of what the millennia in the ice had stolen from him. He almost left, should have left, but the obvious damage to his frame woke up some still lingering concern for his old friend, and he paused.

Garishly bright fluids streaked his plating from a large hole in his side, the edges blackened from where some kind of blast had torn through the armor. One of his wings hung at an unnatural angle from where he'd hit the ground. His face was twisted in both pain and anger as his hands worked to stem the flow, his vocalizer furiously voicing low curses, but his jerking movements and flickering optics betrayed the extent of the damage.

"Starscream?" The designation slipped out before he had a chance to think, and he inwardly cringed at the stupidity of announcing his presence like that as well as the concern that had snuck into his tone without his permission.

Starscream jerked to his feet at the sound of his voice, though he swayed and almost tipped over at the sudden movement. Skyfire had to remind himself not to reach out and steady him. This Starscream wasn't the one he remembered, and he doubted he'd appreciate the gesture.

Brilliantly red optics drilled into him, made bright by the stress of his injuries. "Skyfire," he spat, lifting his null rays. Skyfire never found out whether the Seeker was going to shoot him or just threaten him with the weapons, as the shift almost knocked him off his feet again. His optics flickered off completely, and for a moment Skyfire was sure the energon loss had forced him into stasis lock.

Unable to stop himself this time, Skyfire automatically took a step forward, but Starscream's optics flashed back online and he managed to right himself without interference. He was forced to lean heavily on a large boulder to keep his balance, and one of his hands clutched at his leaking wound. Skyfire tried to conceal the unwelcome flickers of concern for the weakened Seeker, though he doubted he was successful.

"Stay back," Starscream warned. His weapons weren't pointed at him, but Skyfire had no doubt that he'd find a way to shoot him regardless. Assuming the energon loss didn't offline him first. Starscream shifted slightly to better balance himself, and he hissed as his injured wing scraped against the stone. Skyfire flinched as he noticed the growing splashes of energon on the rocks around the Seeker.

Starscream's suspicious gaze never left his frame. "Don't even think about trying to-"

His vocalizer cut off mid-threat as his optics darkened, the fluid loss finally forcing him offline, and he started to fall. Skyfire couldn't stop himself from stepping forward to stop his once-partner from hitting the ground, carefully cradling his damaged side. He lifted Starscream's frame easily, and he grimaced as he felt the wet slide of fresh energon against his plating.

Skyfire gently laid the Seeker against the ground, carefully avoiding putting pressure on the open wounds. Starscream didn't even twitch as he was moved, which showed the extent of his wounds. Skyfire paused for a moment and just stared at his injured frame.

This… was a problem

Starscream was the enemy. He had proved that time after time, and Skyfire had done his best to accept that his old friend was gone. As an Autobot, he had a responsibility to alert Command about the offline mech. Actually repairing the injuries of the Decepticon Air Commander would be tantamount to treason. Logically, it should have been an easy decision but, as always, emotion got in the way.

If he left him unaided, Starscream could deactivate before any of his allies found him, and calling the Autobots would turn him into a prisoner of war. Much as he'd been trying to forget their old friendship, his conscience wouldn't let him just leave Starscream there, let alone turn him over to his enemies. The Autobots were, after all, warriors in a countless decavorn long war, despite their moral stance.

With an annoyed sigh, Skyfire took a basic med-kit from his subspace. He wouldn't stay for long, but he could at least stop the leaks before heading back to the Autobots. At least until someone else came for the Seeker.

It wasn't long before the ragged tears in the Seeker's energon and fluid lines were repaired or, in the case of the larger holes, at least sealed off. Skyfire cleaned as much grit out of his systems as he could before carefully setting Starscream's injured side against the ground as gently as he could. Lying unmoving on the ground, he looked far more vulnerable than when he'd been awake.

He really should just leave. Starscream wasn't in danger of stasis lock anymore, and it was only a matter of time before he either onlined or was found by one of his teammates. Yet, somehow, the thought of leaving the Seeker injured and unguarded made his fuel tanks churn unpleasantly. It was more of the unwelcome sentimentality for his old partner that he'd been failing to ignore, but it wouldn't really do any harm to delay leaving for a bit longer…

Moments later, Skyfire settled in just barely within scanning distance of the Seeker. He dampened his electrical resonance before sitting in a small section of the thick woods that would conceal his frame from above. It was several breems before the rumble of jet engines reached his audios. He was too far away to see their arrival, but his scanners caught the two faint blips reach the clearing where he'd left Starscream. Skyfire waited until he sensed them leave again before moving.

He pulled himself to his feet and started back towards where the rest of the Autobots would be. Megatron had, undoubtedly, ended the battle by calling a retreat once again, and the Autobots would be starting to regroup and search for any missing mecha. Skyfire resolutely removed the memory files of his encounter with Starscream from the front of his processer and focused on the post-battle routine. He would be needed to help carry the injured back to the Ark.

Skyfire laid himself gingerly against a nearby, sturdy looking tree, letting out a hiss of pain as the rough bark aggravated his wounds. He was definitely out of the fight. He'd need to do some field repairs on the injuries soon, but for now all he wanted to do was lean back for a moment and wait for his chassis to stop trembling.

His processer, already starting to drift through a darkening haze, snapped back to alertness at the feel of hands gently probing the edges of his injuries. His optics flashed back online, but it took a moment for the blurred shapes to resolve itself into the familiar frametype standing almost directly below his helm. He had to reset his optics twice before he accepted what his visual feeds were telling him, and he couldn't stop a disbelieving burst of air from shuddering through his vents. There was a Seeker beside him. And not just any Seeker, but the familiar sharp red and white lines of the mech he'd never thought he'd see again anywhere other than across the battlefield.

Starscream.

Starscream's hands jerked away at the sound of his intake. His helm flew up to meet his gaze, and a flash of what looked almost like guilt crossed his face before the more familiar look of petulant annoyance replaced it.

"Don't even think that I'm doing this for you, or whatever ridiculous sentimental idea is running through your processer right now," Starscream snapped. "I'm just repaying the debt I owe you for last time. That's it."

Skyfire didn't say anything, too stunned by the Seeker's presence to risk saying the wrong thing and chasing him away. After a moment, Starscream's hands returned to his injury. It took a solid breem of him silently prodding his injuries and tying off minor leaks before Skyfire managed to collect his scattered thoughts enough to speak.

"What are-" he started, but his vocalizer let out a strangled sound as Starscream unexpectedly tweaked a pain relay in his arm, shooting him a venomous glare.

"Not. One. Word," he hissed, and Skyfire obediently fell silent.

He could only stare in stunned disbelief as Starscream, completely ignoring him, took a basic med-kit out of his subspace and started to efficiently seal the worst of his wounds, muttering angrily under his breath the entire time.

Starscream was helping him because of what he'd done that battle? He… hadn't expected that. Fixing Starscream was supposed to be the end of it. A single, sentimental act due to Starscream's injuries. He hadn't expected Starscream to ever mention his moment of weakness, let alone try to repay him for it. He honestly hadn't believed the Seeker to be capable of that anymore.

His spark gave a small twinge at the thought- a mix of nostalgia and fondness and even some small bit of hope. It still wasn't his Starscream- the mech he'd worked beside for vorns, had explored galaxy with, would have trusted with his very spark. The closest friend he'd ever had. This mech wasn't him anymore, not after tens of thousands of vorns of war and loss, and yet…

It was still Starscream's spark. His memories. He wasn't truly his Seeker anymore, but there had to be some small remnant of that mech still there. Even if it was just enough for him to risk himself to help his old partner.

Skyfire watched the Seeker as he continued to seal up the largest gash in his abdomen, wincing in pain ever so often as his sensor net flared from the contact. He mentally traced the familiar curves of his chassis, committing them to memory. From this close, he could see the old patchwork of scars and wield marks almost invisible against the vivid color of his armor. A sparse few he recognized from before, but the intervening time had carved most of them onto his frame. Skyfire paid special attention to them, as if the faded outlines of old wounds could show him what had twisted his partner into the warrior he had become.

Skyfire was so lost in thought that he was caught off guard when Starscream stepped back from him and looked at him with unreadable red optics, apparently having finished with the field repairs. Starscream gave his frame a brief, searching glance, looking for any injuries he'd missed, before spinning around and starting to leave without saying a word. Skyfire impulsively started to reach out to stop him—to speak with him, get some answers, something—but stopped before he could touch him. He knew better than to expect that would work.

"Thank you," he told the retreating Seeker. Starscream didn't turn, but Skyfire caught a slight stumble in his steps. Then, with a graceful flurry or motion as he transformed, he tore off into the sky. As Skyfire watched the familiar, fading trails of smoke from his engines cut trails through the clear blue, he smiled.

~.*.~