Locked

[niyazi-a.livejournal.com]

PG-13
Bayverse
Barricade/Starscream
angst, ref noncon, aftermath of noncon
lol scrubbing the hard drive and this is the last of my 10_orders fics. Prompt: smile

Barricade frowned.  Why was Aerial Combat locked?  It didn’t keep him out: he had override codes for every door on the slaggin’ ship.  But still. It was unusual. 

He slapped the datapad he’d been holding against his forearm, letting the magnets hold it in place as he entered the code.  The door slid open to reveal silence and darkness.  Empty? Not…quite.

In the far corner, about Barricade’s optic level, the dim glow of a pair of crimson lenses.  Barricade’s optical scans shifted to lowlight.  Starscream, sitting on the floor, foreknees drawn up, arms around them, curled up like a sparkling.  The optics tracked him dully as he approached.

“What brings you here?” he half-asked.  The Air Commander wasn’t the type to skulk in locked rooms.  He felt a smirk curl across his mouth.  Starscream, weak. He could see what he hoped was a flare of dislike in the jet’s optics—a recognition.  Yes, Starscream. I have seen you.  

He waited for Starscream to lash, to throw some of his abundant arrogance at Barricade. He braced himself for it, readying his retort.

Nothing.  Something like a tendril of unease uncoiled itself in him. The head dipped for a handful of kliks, then raised up, with an effort.  “Did you have any legitimate business, Barricade?” Starscream asked.  Barricade could hear the attempt at an edge.  Heard it fail.  They both did, like a knife clattering to the floor. 

Barricade tugged the datapad off his arm, flicking it on, but then…found himself hesitating.  It was an open shot. His to take.  All the things he’d bottled up over the ages. His chance to get back. 

But it was also a cheap shot.  And there was some mystery here he couldn’t figure out. “What happened?”

A strange play across the jet’s face. “Nothing happened.”

“Liar.”  A little confidence swelled up the smirk on his face.

“And if I am?” The chin tipped up defiantly.  “Which presumes I would feel the need to lie to you.”

“You lie to everyone,” Barricade snapped.  Another pause, waiting for response.  Still nothing. The confidence ebbed.  The datapad clicked to his arm almost without his conscious effort. He tightened his gaze on the jet, opening his optical light filters.  His lower optics blinked in alarm when he spotted the pink-purple of energon seeping over the collar armor. Injured?  Not Blackout again—he would have heard. And Blackout had no real grievance, since Megatron’s return. 

Megatron.

Starscream turned his face away, recognizing the flash of comprehension on Barricade’s face.  What should have been a surge of triumph withered somehow. 

“You injured? Can…summon repairbots?” he offered. Though that was stupid: Starscream could call for them himself if he’d needed them.  Still, he couldn’t think of anything better to say. 

“It is not serious,” Starscream mumbled.  The upper chevron of his mouth twitched. “You may mock me, now.”

“Well, thanks for the permission,” Barricade retorted, but it was almost reflex. 

Starscream sighed. 

The moment stretched long and awkward. 

“Been where you are,” Barricade mumbled, “only in way worse condition.” 

“Yes, I am aware,” Starscream said, tiredly.  The jet’s quiet acquiescence blunted the edge of Barricade’s words, of his temper. 

Barricade rocked, uneasily, side-to-side.  “Tell me about it?”

“It is not an original story.”

“Yeah, I know,” Barricade said. “None of mine were, either. Doesn’t mean it hurt less.”

Their optics met, briefly;  connected.  He could feel the jet searching his face for something. “And?”

He shrugged. “Still feels like the worst time, every time. The worst thing anyone has or could ever do to me.”

The jet’s optics spiraled wider. “Yes,” he said. One hand moved to rub at his injured cable.  “It does.” 

Barricade didn’t like Starscream like this.  He missed the easy, familiar conflict, like barely-covered hatred. He didn’t want to feel like this. Unsettled. Not alone.  And yet there was a strange solace that even an arrogant mech like Starscream could be brought here, and in fact, took it so hard.  “Tell me?”  He didn’t know why he asked, whether he wanted the answer or just wanted this awkward moment to end.

Starscream didn’t answer for a long time, instead staring at his stained talons, turning his hands over as though he’d never seen them before. “Everything,” he said, hollowly. “Again, I am to lose everything.” 

“It wasn’t yours.” 

A fast flick of one optic.  “The role belongs to whoever can claim it. I have lost that, twice, with no regrets.  It is…everything else.”  He rubbed one thumb over a talon, the energon still slick between them. “My dignity. My honor.”  He sighed as if he didn’t expect Barricade to understand. 

“Not his to take,” Barricade said, pushing at Starscream’s ego.

A soft snort as though Barricade were denying reality.

“Yours to take back, then.”  Barricade pushed harder. 

“I have no…plan. No strategy.”

“Don’t need one right away.  Just…not letting him win is a step. A big one.”  Barricade cut himself off with a sound like a hiss.  Why was he saying these things?

The jet’s optics sought his out again.  “Yes,” Starscream said.  He shifted on his aft, releasing from the tense ball. “You are right.” 

“Come on, then,” Barricade said, grabbing his datapad again, praying that things would return to normal.  He flashed a quick grin at the jet. “Smile for me.”

“It is not that simple.” 

“It is.” 

“It will be insincere.”

“Would that be the first insincere smile you’ve ever made?”

“I do not see how faking a smile can help.”

Barricade shrugged. “Proves you have some control over something.” He stepped back. “Now. Smile.” 

Starscream cocked his head, but the upper flares of his mouth spread in a sickly attempt at a grin.

Barricade grinned back.  “It’s a start.”

Comments

[ravynfyre.livejournal.com]

Barricade, Decepticon shrink and social worker!

[velvet-infinity.livejournal.com]

'Cade can be so compassionate. Even when he doesn't mean to be XP

[scarredbutalive.livejournal.com]

my heart went clench! at your description of poor Screamer in the corner and you captured the awkwardness and togetherness nicely. And wohoo for Starscreams little smile there at the end!:D

So nice to see these two again, been a while now. *happydance*

[toyzintheattik.livejournal.com]

Nothing. Something like a tendril of unease uncoiled itself in him. The head dipped for a handful of kliks, then raised up, with an effort. “Did you have any legitimate business, Barricade?” Starscream asked. Barricade could hear the attempt at an edge. Heard it fail. They both did, like a knife clattering to the floor.

That! <3