#cybertronian!reader

Let's not think about Starscream's sacrifice later 🤫

"Ravage! You know you won't escape on your own!" Megatron follows after the cassette he knows all too well. Data stick in between her jaws and running as quickly as she can to evade him. The woods aren't as thick where they are currently- A more open space. So she cannot simply slip through the bristle and disappear into the greenery.

He's almost upon her- close enough he knows she may do something drastic and he lunges before she can make her own dicey decision.

One that does not follow through when Megatron is slammed into the ground much sooner than he would have, if his momentum carried through like it should have. A weight- one he registers lately as a mech had sent him right into the ground. With enough force to feel it in his denta.

Rock and dirt fly and Megatron curses before hauling himself out of the small imprint in the dirt. Cannon raised and ready to fire if given the opportunity.

But instead he freezes. Stops dead still and his cannon powers down immediately.

Because the mech now only a couple pedes in front of him is no other than you.

When he lowers his cannon you just turned your attention onto Ravage instead. So he takes a step forward fully ready to tackle you if he truly needed to-

"Ravage. Return." It's a short order. One that stops her and him just like that. Because you'd said it.

She stops and glances at Megatron and then you. Like she didn't want to leave you to fend for yourself.

Like you couldn't fight him with enough force to make him regret every decision he's ever made leading up to this. (Like he wouldn't do that regardless if you weren't as strong as you were.)

You stared at one another for a moment before you nodded.

That was apparently enough for the cassette and she turned to Megatron one more time to snarl at him. Before dashing off into the brush- information going with her. You now standing directly between Megatron and his assignment.

A quick com flag tells him Optimus is still busy with the seekers. He meets your hard gaze with one of his own.

The silence is practically deafening.

He breaks it.

"I'm not going to fight you."

You scoffed a disbelieving laugh "Yeah?" Your optic ridge arched and a smile on your faceplate. It was not a happy thing.

A beat passed.

Then your expression dropped and you frowned at him. "You're serious?"

When he doesn't respond and keeps his expression sure, you sighed.

You shuttered your optics closed before slowly shaking your helm and lowering your fighting stance. One of your servos finds the back of your neck to rub. "Primus, you continue to find new ways to disappoint me." Megatron has to fight the flinch the casual words bring.

Without giving him another glance, you turned on your pedes and begun walking in the direction Ravage had gone in.

Megatron freezes before he gains his wits again. Once he does he follows after you with a bit of speed. Just to make sure you don't get away from him.

He should fight you. He should capture you. He shouldn't be allowing you to simply turn your back on him and walk away. Not when you were directly attacking G.H.O.S.T operations. Not when you were what was preventing him from retrieving the stolen information Ravage had made off with.

But he finds he cannot bring himself to do it. It had been a long- a very long time since you'd not immediately attempted to kill him.

It had been an even longer one since the last time you'd even spoken to him.

He had begun to assume after all these years you'd decided to torture him specifically by staying silent In his presence.

So he follows. Follows after like an alleyway felinoid who had been given scraps.

It's a causal pace of travel. Not hurried in the slightest. Because he knows the longer you stall the farther Ravage gets away from him.

He knows you're playing him to a degree at the very least. But he also knows if you'd wanted to, there was absolutely nothing stopping you from fighting him with every plate and nanite in your frame. But you hadn't- you were kind. Still even after these years and his own actions. Underneath that exterior of a hardened Decepticon was you- though more so it was not the only part of yourself. It was you. He would not deny that. Capable of brutality and beautiful just the same. Pretty- Handsome.

Multiple earth descriptors pop to the forefront of his helm.

Like nothing had changed in these years.

A fabrication that he couldn't even attempt to entertain when your kindness ran thin and you'd finally spoke again. Voice flat. Completely absent of the affection you once felt for him. Void of even the calm relaxed tone you would proudly reward him with, when he was alone with you. Holding only restrained contempt for him now- it's much more devastating than it should be after these years. (He doesn't know if it ever won't be.)

"You gonna tail me till I get tired and beat you senseless?"

"I want to talk." It's more honest than he thought he would allow himself to be.

You continue your way through the woods brushing away stray branches that come too close to your frame as you walk on. "Then talk. I'm not gagging you. Am I?" You very well may be, the way his throat tightens when he even thinks about where to start.

He dismisses the immediate urge to apologize. He's apologized to you more times than he believes he can count. (Yet it will never be enough.)

Next he smothers down the rather desperate admittance of "I miss you." Keeping it buried somewhere deep within his spark. Knowing he had no right to say that now.

Not when he left you.

Megatron sighed softly to gather himself together. To attempt to be cordial. To be as well behaved and as he presentable as he can. You deserved nothing less. (But you simultaneously deserved more than he could ever give.)

"I wanted to invite you to visit a... dear friend of mine." With me is unspoken but still sits obvious and heavy in the air. You are undisturbed as you continue forward so he also does. "I know I've wronged you in ways I can never make up for- done things I cannot undue. But I would like... I would to make things- better." He purposefully avoids the word "fix" because he knows there was more than likely no fixing what he'd done. "To not..." He stops with the thought he was going to say.

Because "to not leave you in dark" is so cruel of a thing to say he almost cannot believe he even considered it. Not now. Not after all these years. He's attempted, (Not nearly hard enough. Not nearly enough.) to pretend this was anything more than a rather poor attempt of Megatron trying to ease the pain in his spark.

The guilt in his processor.

But it was more than that-! He wanted you to not have to hate him so thoroughly. He wanted you to have some form of closure just like himself. He wanted you to met Dorothy and actually talk to him and her.

(He wanted you to have the same clarity like he had. To realize you've truly been doing wrong. That it didnt need to be this way.)

"She's... why I realized I'd done wrong." The words are heavy on his glossia. "I'd like to show you why I changed at the very least. To truly let you understand why I did what I did."

He feels comfortable with the offer- you'd always preferred to keep innocents out of the war whenever possible. (Even back when he would directly involve them despite your wants.) You did the same on earth. Elita reported you'd even saved a Bus full of civilians on her last encounter with you. When the multiple mech fight had led to stray blaster fire almost blowing the defenseless vehicle to bits. It survived. So did everyone aboard it. Simply because of you and no one else decided to act.

Because you decided to do the right thing.

"Glad she was worth changing for." There's no venom in your tone. Simply a flat edge of sarcasm to it. But the words might as well have been engraved on your knuckles and smashed directly into his unguarded olfactory.

Words he cannot find a rebuttal for- you'd expressed your doubts to him before. You'd done so countless times before over the many many vorns you’d known each other. The frequency and weight behind those concerns only increasing the longer the war continued. Worries about the cause. About his actions. About him- About what he was doing.

About what he was becoming.

The worry of someone he held closest to his spark but concerns he'd ignored or dismissed as if they were nothing more than the yelps of a glitch ridden turbofox.

As If they were nothing more than the scorn and things hurled at you both, for daring to challenge the system you'd both been abused by.

He would bury your words. Bury your concerns underneath his own words. Underneath his own ideals. Underneath reminders of why you'd both forsaken Cybertron and his oppressors. Reminded you why he had to. Why you had to. Why this was all necessary.

Why you'd both turned your backs on acts and depravity that were unforgivable on cybetron.

Turned your backs on bots who fought against you or refused to see things from the Decepticon viewpoint.

Turned your backs on the true weight and full severity of the atrocities the Decepticons committed.

And he'd done the very same to you in the end.

He'd abandoned you as easily as he had the rest of his former mechs. Without warning. Without word. Without what he knew must have seemed like care.

"I-" he paused. "… I know I've wronged you but I know you also don't necessarily agree with the current Decepticon cause." It's an audacious thing to say- scummy even when considering everything. But Megatron also knows it's true.

It has to be. He knows you're good. You're a good bot. A mech he's known was truly good as long as you'd been friends.

A mech much too good for a mech like him to have sullied.

He knows you're still good despite it all. Despite how much he's hurt you. Despite how furious you rightfully were with him.

He knows you can still do the right thing. If any Decepticon could. It would be you.

"Yeah, maybe theres a touch of tension. And well...  at least I know Starscream." You shrugged simply continuing on as you spoke. Not even turning your helm back his way once the entire time he'd been following you. "He's actually not too bad when you're not trying to kill him every other cycle. I might even say we're actually- friends now."

"Starscream-?" He cannot stop himself from responding to the outrageous idea.

Friends-? Friends? You and Starscream?

Surely you must be joking.

You always butted helms- yes, there was an underlying understanding between the two of you in a way two Decepticons who despise each other could only have. But you both clashed- verbally and physically more times he could count. The thin air of professionalism you'd both retrain always threatening to give way to energon being spilled.

And you were supposedly friends now-?

"Yup." You popped the end of the word against your derma. Some lingering hint of amusement in your tone. The only emotion he's had privy to this entire trek through the woods. "Again we still argue sometimes, but we're actually pretty good to one another. I actually know him enough now I trust him with my life. Yes, I'm serious about that."

The frankly unacceptable notion has him balking at the back of your helm. "You cannot-!" you did in fact already confirm it in the same vent. "Starscream- Starscream-!?" He stresses because he cannot not. His traitorous second in command!? You cannot put that amount of trust in him-! He'll end up getting you killed the moment it serves him!

"Yeah, that's what I said. He's mellowed out actually after the years." Ten earth years was hardly enough time to mellow even the outer layer of that seekers personality disorder. "Unlike some mechs I actually know him and what he's going to do and what to expect from him. Surprise surprise betrayal actually isn't one of the thing's I have to expect from him. Funny isn’t it?" The implication makes something hot and demanding unfurl in his chassis. In a way he hadn't felt in a while.

Funny was certainly a way to put it.

A sick joke.

The idea that you- the notion that you'd even imply- all but state that Starscream. Starscream of all mechs was more trustworthy than Megatron. That you trusted him more. That you were having conversations with him regularly. That you were allowing the seeker to have access to yourself as a friend. To willingly give Starscream your time- your softer side. Your more honest disposition.

The unsaid idea that you valued your relationship with Starscream over him.

The fact that it very well and easily was more than likely true now, was enough to drive Megatron to act recklessly.

He impulsively closed the distance he'd mechanically kept between you two almost immediately. His arm shooting outwards to grab onto your pauldron to all but yank you to face him. To force you to look at him-!

"You know me-!" Is what manages to sneer out of his mouth in a fit of frustration. You knew him. You knew him better than anyone else on this planet. Probably in this solar system. The years- the vorns- the decavorns you'd spent together. As friends let alone together. You must know he had good reason to do what he'd done- you have to know he didn't mean to harm you like he had. You have to know he had to do what he did when he had to.

You have to know he still loves you.

Like a trigger to a blaster you swing back around and strike his servo away from you. It stings and your plating flares in fury. Your optics lock and they're like a sniper sight with how the pin point accuracy the look you give him lands. Em field near choking against his front with a rage he has not seen directed at him from you in a very long time. Even through the years of fighting he'd been subjected to from you after his defection. "I thought I did-!"

It's sharp. Like you'd grown tired of entertaining his desperate attempts to hold onto something that had already slipped through his digits like sand.

Your plating that had tightened and angled in rage, flattened right back out after the snarl before you'd sighed. It was weary. Tired- not even surprised. It was resigned. Like you were expecting this.

Your posture straightened and your pauldrons went loose. Like there was no point to the aggressiveness you'd glimpsed him with.

You make optic contact with him that's not a glare for the first time the entire exchange.

It is easily more devastating than the glare. Your gaze is almost soft. Even. Sure. Expression almost empty. But there was hints of what felt like blatant alarms to Megatron’s audials from what he registered it as.

Disappointed. Accepted disappointment.

Your optics dulled when you'd held each other's gazes for a moment.

When you spoke again your voice was even. Flat. A sense of exhaustion in it that was subdued. Quiet and somber to an almost wistful degree. A small huff- a ghost of a laugh escaping you when you opened your mouth again.

"I really thought I did."

He froze- his lines ran cold.

His fuel tank churns.

He cannot get himself to respond back.

And like a coward he simply stands there in stunned silence when you finally grow tired of his inaction. You turned and walked off back through the tree lines. Taking off into the woods with a controlled even gait. Not even rushing or running from him- simply leaving at your own pace.

…

He vents for the first time in klicks when you'd been out of sight for who knows how long.

He manages a thick swallow- How? He does not know. His throat cables are so tight they feel like they may snap underneath the amount of tension stuck in them.

He grits his jaw and his servos fist tight enough at his sides they ache. He resists the urge to turn and slam his fist into the closest tree. Ending the thought alongside the idea of burning the entire forest down. He would not. Only because of one fact that pushes to the forefront of his helm.

A fact he's come to terms with over the years of his change and all the things he's done that he cannot undue.

Megatron had only himself to blame.

Support divider credit: @/cursed-carmine,

Cybertronian! Insert/Reader

Knockout prefers bigger bots, yknow, the 'heavy duty type'. That doesn't necessarily mean taller bots. Though if you're shorter, he'll definitely tease that.

Maybe it's a security thing, but he prefers bots who can left more then their own share. [Bigger, better]

Just like his frame type, he likes his relationships to develop fast. Sure he'll slow down if you prefer that, but he'll make his feelings and desires known. So LOTS of flirting.

Clingy, and one for PDA, mostly as a dominance thing to scare other bots off. Territorial? Maybe.

Likes to glide his pointed servos over your shoulders and back when passing by, not hard enough to leave scratches, but enough to feel a flick of static electricity trade itself between you two.

Will slide his servos and digits between the gaps of your hips and lower back when simply loitering beside you. He tends to fidget absent mindedly with the mesh and wiring- similar to squeezing a partners love handles or sliding a hand over your lovers ass.

Will expect to be pampered and loved on, though ironically gets flustered with PDA directed towards him.

Human! Insert/Reader

It takes KnockOut a while to even consider being JUST FRIENDS with a human.

Best way to this mechs spark is stroking his primus-forsaken ego.

Still a bit iffy about you touching him, even when you get close. This is due to your natural oil, which he TRIES [not really] to explain nicely that your dirty little mits are covered in. Though soon enough he starts seeing them as little marks he can wear with him when he's not around you! Not that any other bot notices...

He's the type of mech to treat his lil human F/O like a purse dog, SORRY. He carries you around, coz he doesn't want you stepped on OR getting dirty.

Drive in movies are a MUST and he loves having someone to talk to about said movies. Breakdown rarely accompanies him to said movies, so its a welcome change.

He may or may not convince you to pamper the shit out of him. Relating back to point three, he may just say it's what you owe him for getting him covered in your little oily finger prints.

Probably would love to pamper you back, whether not it's healthy, he sees your presentation as an extension of himself. He'd probably somehow get his hands on the finest [most likely red and gold] clothes and accessories.

Would probably pick and prod at you, pet you and overall be all over you.

HUGE flirt, and uses human movies as education on how to court you. It's cringe as fuck, but some how works with his charisma.

Human-ish/Changeling! Reader

Most of what Human! Insert applies to Changeling! Insert. He views you as a interesting "specimen", but ultimately finds you easier to relate to then a plain human due to the shared ability to change forms.

Would be really interested in your species mimicking abilities, and if they also apply to mechanical life [it does, just takes a hella lot of practice!].

With your ability to change form, the size difference that would be seen between a human and a Cybertronian can easily be bridged. Though frankly he prefers when you're smaller, since seeing an organic as big as a Cybertronian, no matter the form is a bit... disconserting.

Doesn't let you out of his sight much. You're not exactly safe around your own kind [humans] or Cybertronians, especially if it's known of your abilities.

He would NOT trust other scientists around you, and especially not human governments. If Megatron or Soundwave knows you're a changeling, then KnockOut is even more fretful.