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Compromise is not about losing. It is about deciding that the other person has just as much right to be happy with the end result as you do. - DONNA MARTINI
“The answer is no.”
Skyfire let out a huff of air from his intakes. “Starscream…,” he began, a hint of irritation in his voice.
Starscream’s optics narrowed at the tone. “I absolutely refuse, Skyfire.”
“You said you’d go along with whatever I wanted to do for this date,” Skyfire replied tersely.
“That was before I knew you were planning on taking me to an engex bar in central Iacon to share a few cubes with the rest of your science friends!” Starscream snapped. “Autobots, no less!”
“The war is over, Starscream,” Skyfire replied, still trying not to lose his temper. “And you promised.”
The tri-color snorted. “‘The war is over’? On datapad, maybe. In reality, I have no reason to believe that I’ll be welcome with your friends.” He spat out the last word.with a snarl in his tone. “Seriously, Skyfire, just because you decided to forgive the past, it doesn’t mean that everyone else will!”
“You’re not giving them a chance,” Skyfire snapped back.
Another snort. “You didn’t spend thousands of vorns having their weapons aimed at you, Skyfire,” the Seeker hissed. “You didn’t have to spend thousands of vorns hearing recordings of the Autobots, their scientists included, speaking about me like I was a half-credit buymech!”
Starscream’s optics glowed bright red. “I went back to Vos following the war because I didn’t have any desire to deal with that scrap anymore. At least there, rumors don't follow me wherever I go. I have nothing to prove.”
Skyfire felt like he'd been punched in the fuel tank at the revelation his partner had just dropped on him, and his irritation melted away. "I didn't know," he said quietly.
"No, you didn't know," Starscream said harshly. "But you should have. They might have left out the comments about me being a buymech around you, but I am well aware that I was considered worse than Megatron among the Autobots, and I doubt said Autobots had any qualms about airing their opinions of me around you. Given what happened when you were freed from the ice, they likely thought you'd agree with them."
Skyfire grimaced, knowing there was more than a little truth to Starscream's words. And what's more, he couldn't deny that he'd been angry at his partner for not being upfront with him, and shooting him. After a time, his anger had cooled to a certain extent, enough that when Megatron had been killed and Optimus Prime had made the offer for peace talks, Skyfire had started sending messages to Starscream. Just small messages, asking how he was, how he was holding up, and asking about his Trine.
For a while, he'd gotten no reply. Then one day while he was working in his lab, he'd been startled by Skywarp popping in. Alarmed, actually, would have been a better term for it, considering that he’d been assured by no less than Red Alert that the science labs were completely secure. But before he could call for any assistance, Skywarp shoved a datapad into his hands, muttering something about lazy Trineleaders needing to learn how to use their comms. and then popped away again.
When Skyfire turned the datapad on, he’d stared for a moment at what he saw there: an answer to every question he’d sent over the past few decacycles, and was finished up with a “Is that answer enough for you, slagger?”
He hadn’t been able to help it at the time, he’d laughed, seeing the Starscream he’d once known in that single sentence. He sent a text comm. back confirming that yes, it was answer enough, and he’d be available to speak to the Seeker, even if it was only an exchange of messages over comms.
::Persistent slagger, aren’t you?:: had been his reply, but in the end he had agreed to the chats, and once the war was officially declared over and Cybertronians began rebuilding, they’d started up with vid calls, and eventually they visited back and forth to each other’s living spaces.
And gradually, the old feelings for each other had started returning. At first, Skyfire hadn’t caught on to certain small behaviors of Starscream’s, such as furtive glances and how he seemed to cut himself off at times when the conversation inched towards their past courtship. It hadn’t been until he’d woken from recharge finding himself chained to a pole somewhere in Vos face to face with Skywarp and Thundercracker and getting what the humans called the “shovel talk'' from them that he’d finally gotten the picture.
Skyfire still shuddered at that memory. Even now, he didn’t want to know how those two had discovered just how many knots a shuttle’s wings could be tied into. As much as he enjoyed the pursuit of knowledge, even he knew he was better off leaving some tidbits alone.
He brought his focus back to the present. For several decacycles now, Starscream had invited him to several events taking place in Vos and Altihex, but eventually Skyfire had asked if it would be possible for him to invite Starscream somewhere, and after some discussion, Starscream had agreed that Skyfire could be the one to take him on a date.
Which led to this moment…
The thing was, Skyfire couldn’t deny that some thought he was crazy for dating Starscream, but they’d usually shut up when he pointed out to them that they hadn’t known him before the war, and besides, he could handle himself fine when it came to the Seeker.
But he’d never heard some of the worst of it, mostly because of his stasis in the ice and partly because the science team had kept away from the subject of Starscream by and large.
Still, that wasn’t an excuse, and he should have thought his idea of an outing through. Forcing his colleagues to deal with the situation wouldn’t end well, even if Starscream hadn’t minded the notion.
“You’re right,” Skyfire said, a small portion of his processor becoming slightly amused at the way Starscream’s wings flicked in surprise and his optics widened. “I wasn’t considering all of the history there, and I should have. I am sorry for that.”
Starscream crossed his arms in front of his chest and glanced away. “Accepted,” he muttered, his tone hinting to embarrassment and probably having expected more of a fight.
“That said, I still would like to take you somewhere in Iacon,” Skyfire continued, processor racing as he tried to come up with a place that neither of them would find objectionable. “Would the Academy Observatory be acceptable?”
Starscream hesitated a moment, then nodded. “That’s fine,” he replied.
Skyfire could see something flickering in his partner’s optics, and decided to extend a bit more of a peace offering. “I’ll also be speaking to my colleagues about what you told me. I’m not thrilled that they would have spoken about you like that behind my back.”
Starscream started at those words, clearly not having expected that statement, either. “They’re your friends, Skyfire…,” he began carefully.
“And that is my concern to deal with,” Skyfire said firmly. He found himself wondering if Starscream had not said anything before in part because he didn’t want to force Skyfire to choose between his colleagues and him.
But that was a discussion for another time, he decided. Right now, it was more important that he reassure his amari that he wasn’t going to force him into anything he didn’t want to do.
Especially considering that Starscream’s Trinemates knew where to find him if he did just that.
“Shall we?” Skyfire asked, holding out his hand in invitation.
Starscream grinned, all the tension draining out of his frame as he stepped forward to grasp Skyfire’s hand.
“Of course,” he replied.
“It’s a date.”