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The war academy wasn’t easy to get into.
It was kinda prestigious. The high-caste spent millions on tuition and nerds from all over the planet worked their afts off for scholarships. It churned out conquerors, champions, and even a few Primes. There was a rumour royalty had been enrolled this year; some spoilt delinquent who’d been told to choose between the academy and a prison sentence.
So yeah, real prestigious.
Skywarp hadn’t known any of this until after he’d turned up. Because It hadn’t been hard for him to get in. Thinking back though, the Admissions Officer had been pretty excited to hear about his warp drive.
“And it’s operated independently?” They’d asked him, sitting literally on the edge of their seat. “Who runs the calculations?”
“Me, I guess,” Skywarp had wrinkled his nose at the question. Of course it was gonna be him. Who else was gonna do it? The neighbours?! Weirdo.
Anyway, he was here now. Full ride; free tuition, free fuel, free boarding, and the worse roommate to have ever been forged.
“That’s my air you’re breathing, charity case,” Starscream, the roommate in question, drawled from a berth covered in expensive looking insulation sheets; embroidered, imported silk.
When Skywarp had met him, he had thought Starscream was one of the most attractive seekers he had ever seen. His frame was striking, colourful, and polished, and his face so perfectly symmetrical he had obviously never been punched.
Which was crazy, because Starscream was also the most punchable seeker Skywarp had ever seen too.
It took Skywarp a full five seconds to realise Starscream wasn’t actually trying to claim possession of the air now (along with everything else on this side of the slagging planet), but talking about Skywarp being on the wrong side of the room.
“I gotta get my data-pads.” Skywarp grumbled, stomping further into Starscream’s declared territory (which was two-thirds of the room, to Skywarp’s one) to retrieve his stuff.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually going to the seminar.” Starscream eyed him sceptically.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Skywarp bit back, hugging the data-pad to his chest defensively -mostly in an effort to restrain himself from throwing it as Starscream’s evil face.
Starscream tutted and went back to his own reading of some complicated looking flight equations. “It’s not like you could keep up.” He muttered under his breath.
Skywarp felt his face warm. Forget throwing stuff, he was tempted to venture even deeper into enemy territory to punch Starscream in his perfect nose, but he didn’t wanna be late. Or expelled -Starscream seemed the sort of spoilt high-caster who’d run crying ‘assault’ to campus authorities over one little cheek-shattering smack to the face.
He promised himself he’d get Starscream back later -preferably when he was sleeping and wouldn’t see it coming- and left for his seminar.
Last time he had been late, walking into a packed lecture theatre and a disappointed instructor. He’d had to sit at the front, which sucked because the instructor could then see him not paying attention.
Even worse, he’d gotten this awful crick in his neck from all the time he’d spent looking back, trying to catch Thundercracker’s optic.
Thundercracker, who Skywarp was completely and unashamedly in love with.
Yeah, Skywarp had thought Starscream was hot, but it was kind of superficial, because as soon as Starscream had opened his mouth it became clear he was so evil it made him virtually unfraggable. Something Skywarp had previously though impossible, because every single one of his exes had been depraved, but he’d still clanged them.
Thundercracker wasn’t evil. Thundercracker was the smartest, coolest, funniest, best smelling seeker Skywarp had ever met, and he had learnt all of that after just one boring leadership seminar sat next to him, staring at the curve of his cheek, the angle of his nose…
“TC!” He shouted with a frantic wave, spotting the object of his affections sitting on the top row when he entered the lecture hall.
Thundercracker’s face took on colour when the shout gained the attention of their classmates, but Skywarp didn’t care. He teleported himself to the top row before someone else could muscle their way in and try to sit next to his best friend. A lot of the other students gasped and flinched away at the spark of electrical discharge.
“Skywarp,” Thundercracker said his name, taking his wrist -tingles went up Skywarp’s arm at his touch.
“TC,” he breathed, his spark pulsing weirdly, like it was bigger and heavier. It kept happening around Thundercracker. Maybe he was dying or something.
“You’re not allowed to teleport on campus.” Thundercracker told him sternly, frowning. “You’ve already been warned…”
“Oh,” Skywarp nodded, spark shrinking back in disappointment when Thundercracker took his servo back. “Yeah, I forgot.”
He dropped heavily into his seat, and when the instructor arrived and started droning on about whatever they were supposed to be learning, Skywarp slipped into his own thoughts.
He really liked Thundercracker, but he couldn’t figure out if Thundercracker liked him back. He laughed at his jokes and smiled when he saw Skywarp in the halls, but all attempts at getting him back to his room to do something actually fun had so far failed.
Maybe Thundercracker was just shy, or socially awkward, like all the other nerds who’d earned scholarships here.
But seriously, if someone looked at Skywarp the way Thundercracker looked at him back in the lower levels of Vos, he’d have probably gotten them knocked up by now.
He was dragged from his musings by a warm leg falling against his own. Thundercracker’s. Skywarp felt all tingly and warm again, and moved his pede across to bump it into Thundercracker’s.
Only for Thundercracker to smile apologetically and move his leg away.
Skywarp thought he was going to burst with frustration.
Which was probably why as soon as the seminar was over, he turned to Thundercracker and all but shouted at him; “Will you come back to my room?!”
Thundercracker’s optics widened in surprise. A black seeker siting in the row in front of them turned to her friend to grumble, ‘Talk about desperate’.
“To study!” Skywarp corrected, shooting a glare at the back of her helm. “I mean, to help me study. I don’t get any of this stuff.”
Thundercracker’s surprise morphed into sympathy, “Might help if you paid attention.”
“I get distracted.” Which wasn’t untrue. “Please, I don’t wanna fail.”
“You told me last week you don’t care if they kicked you out.”
“Yeah, ‘cause they’re not gonna kick me out.” Skywarp reminded him. “I can teleport. They don’t care how dumb I am.”
“You’re not dumb.” Thundercracker told him sternly.
It was in contradiction to what everyone else on the planet thought, but whatever. He liked Thundercracker enough to look past the delusion.
“I don’t have anyone else,” Skywarp decided to play the pity card.
Thundercracker sighed, but smiled. “Sure, but you actually have to try-“
“I do try!”
“Really?” Thundercracker looked sceptical.
“Yeah, when I’m not distracted.”
“I can come over after-“
“Now.” Skywarp decided, grabbing Thundercracker’s wrist, too excited for tact. “You can just come over now. Classes are done.”
Thundercracker was smirking in amusement now, “What about fuel?”
“I got fuel in my room.”
It was Starscream’s fuel, but whatever.
Thundercracker nodded, “Okay.”
Skywarp was so eager to just get somewhere quiet and private with Thundercracker that he almost forgot he wasn’t allowed to teleport again. It meant they had to walk all the way back to his quarters, with Thundercracker going over what he had found interesting in their seminar today and apparently expecting Skywarp to actually listen. And he kind of was, but he wasn’t listening to the words so much as he was the rhythm and depth of Thundercracker’s low voice.
By some Primus given miracle, Starscream was no longer guarding the room like a brooding dragon, so Skywarp ushered Thundercracker inside and locked the door behind them.
“This is way bigger than mine,” Thundercracker said appreciatively.
“Yeah,” Skywarp agreed, already breaking into the crate under Starscream’s berth to steal the energon.
Having assumed the berth in question was Skywarp’s -because he was rifling through the contents beneath it- Thundercracker plonked himself down on the edge, running a servo over the fancy sheets. “You have expensive taste.”
“Uh,” Skywarp glanced over at his side of the room, with the unmade berth and stained sheets and the mess he’d left everywhere. No way was he owning up to that if he wanted to get laid. “Yeah. I do.”
“Where did you get them?” Thundercracker asked, studying the embroidery. “This looks like the Vosian royal seal-“
“Here!” Skywarp shoved a cube under Thundercracker’s nose. “It’s triple distilled.”
Thundercracker’s optics lit up when he tasted it.
Skywarp sat on Starscream’s berth beside him, as close as he dared, and watched as Thundercracker’s throat worked as he swallowed. He had a nice neck. It wasn’t something Skywarp had ever noticed on anyone before.
He leaned closer, clenching and unclenching his servo where it rested on his thigh.
Thundercracker finished the energon and set the cube aside. He licked his lips. Skywarp stared with his mouth hanging open.
Thundercracker noticed. “You okay?”
“Uh huh,” Skywarp nodded stupidly, still gawping because he was a loser.
“You want to go over what you missed today?” Thundercracker took pity on him and changed the subject, fishing out his data-pad from the seminar. “We were looking at how the impact of rationing on Antilla lead to…”
Thundercracker was beautiful even when he was being so boring. Skywarp watched him dazedly, wistfully-
“…averse effects on the invading party, which- Warp?” Thundercracker’s handsome mouth had fallen into a frown. “Are you even listening to me?”
“No,” Skywarp answered honestly. And leaned forward to kiss him.
He was braced for a shove away, but it never came.
Thundercracker stiffened against him, and Skywarp felt the sharp breath of surprise from his vents, but he wasn’t pushed away. He lingered against Thundercracker’s lips, which were smooth and warm, before reaching for the back of Thundercracker’s helm.
Thundercracker pulled away. Skywarp tried to follow.
“We shouldn’t-“ Thundercracker was flushed with embarrassment and couldn’t meet his optics. It only made Skywarp want him more.
“Why?” He pleaded, still leaning in.
“We’re not supposed to-“ Thundercracker’s optics darted around the room like he thought the furniture was gonna rat him out. “My scholarship-“
“No one’s gonna know.” Skywarp promised, catching his servo and pulling him back to him. “C’mere.”
Thundercracker let himself be dragged back, optics bright with panic. Skywarp watched them soften as he nudged their noses together, let their lips brush.
“I really like you.”
He thought he’d have to at least a little more charming, but It didn’t take much to win Thundercracker over, because his optics shuttered with a weak sound of defeat, and then Skywarp got to kiss him again, this time deeply.
Thundercracker made all kinds of noises as Skywarp slipped a servo behind his back to play with his wings. Before long, he was on his back on Starscream’s berth, letting Skywarp lay atop him, hip to hip, cockpit to cockpit.
“We should be… studying,” Thundercracker breathed between kisses, turning his helm aside so Skywarp could bite his neck and he could moan about it.
“You’re such a nerd,” Skywarp groaned, grabbing two servos full of his turbines and squeezing. Thundercracker arched into his touch, his legs falling open. “I can’t wait to frag you.”
“‘Warp,” Thundercracker clutched at Skywarp’s shoulders helplessly. “We’re not allowed-!”
Primus, it made it so much hotter.
Skywarp rolled his hips down, smirking to himself when Thundercracker lifted his own to meet them. He began to rock against him, squeezing and stroking Thundercracker’s wings until he grunted and Skywarp felt his panel slide away.
He reached between them with eager, hasty digits, and touched Thundercracker’s wet valve. Thundercracker’s servo shot out lightning fast and caught Skywarp’s wrist, but Skywarp didn’t stop, rubbing over his node until Thundercracker’s helm was thrown back and he was overloading. A dark patch of lubricant spread across the expensive sheets beneath Thundercracker’s aft as he huffed and panted.
Skywarp licked his thumb, tasting it, then leaned over Thundercracker to kiss the edge of his jaw. “You’re so hot.”
Thundercracker, panting with his optics shuttered, didn’t respond.
“For a nerd,” Skywarp added.
Thundercracker’s optics snapped open to glare at him. “Do you want to frag me?”
Skywarp leaned back onto his heels and allowed his codpiece to transform away, relieving the pressure of his spike as it extended perpendicular to his pelvis. Thundercracker propped himself up onto his forearms to see.
“What do you think?” Skywarp pointed.
Thundercracker rolled his optics, but was obviously hiding a smile as he laid back, opening his legs to form a cradle. Skywarp gladly fell into it. He made sure to kiss Thundercracker again - sticking his glossa into his mouth and everything because he was allowed to- and lined himself up with Thundercracker’s valve. He pushed in.
Thundercracker convulsed beneath him, everything locking up so, so tight that Skywarp’s mouth fell open with low, slow moan. “Oh, Primus…”
“Warp,” Thundercracker breathed, digits pressing dents into Skywarp’s armour.
Skywarp rolled his hips, and yeah, it was good. So good, he had to tell Thundercracker.
“I like your valve,” he huffed, moving his spike in and out of it, watching as Thundercracker’s brow creased for a whole new reason. “It’s so wet.”
“Oh Primus,” Thundercracker sounded exasperated, and though he had already been a little flushed across the cheeks from the fragging, now he was turning bright purple as energon filled every inch of his face. “Shut up-“
“No, I’m serious,” Skywarp began to work his hips in little circles. “Tight too, like you’re pulling me deeper-“
Thundercracker’s servo shoved against his mouth clumsily, but Skywarp started to frag him too hard for Thundercracker to properly gag him. He was gripping Skywarp’s shoulders again before long, just holding on, his legs locked around the small of Skywarp’s back.
“Warp-“ he hissed, denta clenched. “Primus, Warp-“
Thundercracker overloaded again, and Skywarp liked that he’d done that. Liked that he’d done that twice. Had turned Thundercracker into a flushed, damp, overheated mess. And now he was going to get to overload too, inside Thundercracker.
He sped up, letting it come to him, shuttering his optics and focusing on the damp heat and clench of callipers, and Thundercracker’s huffing vents. As climax hit he held deep and shoved his face into Thundercracker’s neck, breathing his scent in, because he smelled so, so good.
Thundercracker made a soft noise of contentment, squeezing his legs around Skywarp as he felt him overload, “Warp…”
“Hmm,” Skywarp moaned until his neck, bucking lazily to wring out the last of his pleasure, before his arms gave out he and slumped atop him. Thundercracker grunted from his weight and let his kegs fall away from Skywarp’s back.
They lay there in silence, unmoving, until Skywarp finally lifted his helm.
Thundercracker met his gaze with hazy but fond optics.
Maybe he liked Skywarp back after all…
“I gotta tell you something,” Skywarp whispered.
Thundercracker’s expression was one genuine and sincere, “You can tell me anything.”
“This isn’t my berth.”
Thundercracker blinked, looked down at the sheets they’d ruined, and then back up at Skywarp.
“So… you’re not Vosian royalty?”
Skywarp blinked back. “…Am I supposed to be?”
Thundercracker pointed at the berth covers, “Somebody is.”
Suddenly, a lot of stuff about Starscream made sense, mostly him being evil.
Then he took in the condition of the berth sheets -rumpled and soiled by their fluids- and wondered if an exiled prince still had the authority to have someone executed.
He smiled at Thundercracker, “I know you probably want to like, cuddle and slag, but I think we should run.”
Thundercracker frowned, “Why?”
It was at that point the locked door rattled. From outside in the corridor, Starscream’s voice cursed, then the zapping sounds of wires being cut could be heard as someone began to override the lock.
Skywarp slipped his spike out of Thundercracker, because teleporting with it inside him was too weird, even for him.
“That’s why,” he said, activating his warp drive, even though he wasn’t allowed to, right as the door whooshed open, and Starscream screamed.