Chapter 19: Recovery

Staying out of action was harder than it seemed. Megatron was so used to being involved in things, whether it be leading patrols or scouting for new energon. He was the leader of the Decepticons, after all. The workaholic side of him was making this little extended vacation miserable. He couldn't do much more than relaying orders from the Medbay. And if he tried to leave, Knockout was quick to stop him.

Today, however, he'd had enough. He felt that he was well enough to go do things on his own.

While Knockout chatted in the backroom with Breakdown, Megatron made his escape. He pushed himself up from the medberth, careful not to knock anything over with his massive frame. He cast a quick glance towards the backroom just to make sure the red medic wasn't coming before he made his way to the door.

So far, he felt fine. He was aware that his circuits were still in the process of knitting themselves back together, which caused a bit of soreness in certain spots. He heavily favored his left leg as he walked since the right one was hurting him more than he liked.

Shockwave soon came into his line of sight as he rounded a corner, though his irregular pedesteps had alerted the scientist to his presence long before he had come around the corner.

"Megatron! You are looking well." Shockwave commented as Megatron approached, his singular blue optic scanning him. "I don't recall Knockout giving you permission to leave the Medbay."

"He didn't. I made the decision myself. Sitting around and accomplishing nothing is doing more harm than good, I believe." Megatron replied. He winced as he put a bit of weight on his ailing leg. Standing on it was more uncomfortable than walking on it. "Where is Starscream?"

Shockwave split his attention between Megatron and the datapad in his servo, occasionally glancing down to read a few lines of text. "I remember him mentioning that he was going on a brief flight before he visited you today. He has yet to return, so I'm sure he's still out there." 

"Thank you. I'll go ask Soundwave if he can bridge me there, since I have some recovering to do before I can fly again." With that, he dipped his helm to the scientist and continued further down the hallway towards the communication hub that was Soundwave's workspace.

***

Megatron was met with the brilliance of a wide-open flower field as he stepped out of the portal. There were flowers of red, blue, purple, yellow, and green as far as the eye could see, painting the rolling hills like a canvas. Their sweet scent reminded him of the treats he used to enjoy back on Cybertron. He sighed softly. The beautiful wonders of this planet only continued reminded him of home.

The approaching roar of a jet's engines snatched his attention before he could fall deeper into thought. He looked up just in time to see Starscream's sleek alt-form race over him. The sun glinted off the seeker's frame, casting him with a heavenly glow. A small smile appeared on the silver mech's face as he watched Starscream fly by.

Starscream made it look so effortless the way he pivoted and twirled through the clouds. He was even more elegant in the air than he was on the ground. Megatron had a deep appreciation for seekers. In a way, he envied them. They were sleek and beautiful, while he was brutish and clunky. Starscream's beauty wasn't the only thing he loved him for, though. He had a unique personality. He was smart, funny, and kind. He was everything he ever wanted in a partner.

His ailing leg gave him a painful reminder that he'd been standing on it for too long. Sighing heavily, Megatron carefully lowered himself to the ground and sat amongst the flowers. I suppose I could stick around until he notices I'm here. He propped himself up with one arm, his icy blue optics scanning the sea of colors that surrounded him.

Looking closely, he could see fuzzy little creatures flitting about between the flower petals. "Hm.. what might you be?" He lifted a digit and held it near one of the flowers that the creatures were buzzing around. They didn't seem too bothered by his presence. One of them even grew curious enough to approach his face, now hovering directly between his optics. He almost went cross-eyed trying to get a better look at the tiny thing. To his surprise, it landed right where his nose would be, if he had one.

"Having fun with the bumblebees, I see. Aren't you supposed to be in the Medbay?"

Megatron looked up, cracking a slight grin when he saw Starscream standing over him. "I was getting stir-crazy, so I left to get some fresh air." He said, feeling little tingles on his faceplate as the tiny creature crawled around. "What did you call them?"

"Bumblebees. Jack was the one who told me about them." Starscream replied, placing a servo on one hip. He chuckled in amusement. "Reminds me of a certain scout."

"Ah yes. He even bears the same name. Same coloration as well. I like these ones better, they're more docile than the Bumblebee we know."

"Agreed." Starscream sat down beside Megatron, careful not to crush any flowers if possible. The bee on Megatron's face buzzed away, disturbed by the movement. "So... how long were you watching me?" He asked, a hint of embarrassment in his tone.

"I only arrived here a few minutes ago." Megatron replied, shifting his weight onto his left arm since his right one was getting stiff. "Don't be embarrassed. You fly very beautifully."

Starscream's cheeks flushed and he averted his gaze for a quick moment. "You've seen me fly thousands of times. What makes this time any different?" He just couldn't bring himself to accept a compliment from Megatron. He didn't know how to react.

"The difference is you aren't dodging missiles or deploying airstrikes. While those actions are beautiful in their own way despite their violent nature, I believe this is more meaningful. Out here in this landscape, you are flying for your own pleasure. Not because you have to, because you want to. That in itself is beautiful to me."

Starscream couldn't help but snicker.

"What's so funny?" Megatron asked with a chuckle.

"It's just.. you always go on these little rants when you want to prove something. They remind me of the speeches they used to give in the Council." Starscream was unable to contain his laughter.

A raging blush of embarrassment washed over Megatron's faceplate. "A-Are they really that bad?" He practically squeaked. "I try not to, but sometimes they just come out and-"

"No, no!" Starscream waved his servo dismissively, though he was still trying to contain his laughter. He quickly wiped his optics free of tears. "They're not bad. I think they're cute."

"Cute...?" Megatron's voice quivered. His composure had been completely lost at this point. Starscream, of all mechs, thought something he did was cute! Oh Primus, how was he supposed to react to that?

"I mean, yeah. Seeing a mech who's usually serious speak about something he's passionate about with such emotion is nice. Hey, are you alright? Maybe I should take you back to Knockout."

Finally, Megatron was able to snap himself out of it before he made himself look like a fool. He slapped on a smile and tried to act like nothing had happened. "No, that's alright. I just had a little.. um... malfunction. I think some of my circuitry is still scrambled." He chuckled. Based on the look Starscream gave him, he knew the seeker didn't believe him one bit.

Starscream quirked a brow, but didn't press further. "Whatever you say." A thought came to mind and he pushed himself to his pedes. "Come on, let's go for a walk. That should stretch out your joints." He held out his servo for Megatron to grab.

Megatron blinked, staring up at Starscream for a second. He didn't have the spark to tell him his leg was hurting him, so he just took the seeker's servo and hauled himself to his pedes. "Okay. Lead the way, then."

Starscream grinned, tugging on Megatron's arm as he parted the sea of flowers to reach the treeline in the distance. He had been waiting for something like this to happen for quite some time. Maybe he would be able to properly confess this time without any interruptions. Scrap, now that thought was making him nervous. What if he messed up? No, he wouldn't mess up. Even if he did, Megatron would understand. Right? He shook the thoughts from his head, focusing on enjoying the walk instead.