The Warlord's Sparkling

Chapter| 7

A/N: Random happy Breakdown is here! :)
———

It felt so strange to be at an uneasy peace with Megatron, especially since he tended to be very violent, but Starscream couldn't help but feel a sense of power. The all powerful Megatron had come to him for advice. The seeker thought the day would never come.

"I suppose we shall start with the basics." Starscream said after a few minutes of silence, glancing up from watching Hailstorm to look at the warlord. "I'll show you how to properly hold him, then you'll try it."

Megatron simply grunted in response, acting as if he really wasn't interested in learning anything. In reality, he actually was somewhat curious as to how one cared for such a tiny creature. He watched with a raised optic ridge as Starscream scooped up Hailstorm and cradled him in his arms.

That seemed easy enough. He could do that.

"Now you try it." Starscream said, hesitating for a split second before handing Hailstorm over to Megatron. His protective instincts put him on edge, making him think Megatron might harm the seekerling in some way.

The silver warlord awkwardly took the wiggling seekerling, trying to figure out what to do now. It didn't seem that easy anymore. Remembering how Starscream did it, he laid Hailstorm down as carefully as he could in his arms and held him against his chassis.

Starscream was so antsy, he looked like he was ready to jump out of his plating. "Make sure you support his head, my liege—"

"I'm trying." Megatron hissed out of frustration. The fact that Hailstorm didn't feel like being held or staying still at the moment made things harder.

Eventually, Megatron was able to get him into the proper position, his massive forearm actually supporting the tiny sparkling rather well. He released an exasperated sigh and frowned at the seekerling, who was staring up at him with wide optics.

"Little brat." He seethed softly, flashing a glimpse of his sharp denta at the little one as he sneered.

Hailstorm seemed to think that the face Megatron had made was funny, though the warlord had thought it was intimidating. He giggled and stuck his arms up in the air, grabby little hands trying to reach Megatron's face.

Megatron pulled his head back and made a somewhat disgusted face. He heard Starscream snicker and shot him a nasty glare, which shut him up pretty quickly.

"What's next?" He grumbled, obviously unamused by Hailstorm's antics.

Starscream composed himself and sat upright, clearing his throat.

"Right. Young seekerlings need to be fed low-grade energon every four hours or so. Anything other than low-grade will make them sick until they get old enough to take in regular energon." He gestured with his hand as he spoke. "Be sure to keep him stimulated and give him plenty of attention. He'll quickly become annoying if you don't. Watch him closely once he starts moving around a bit more and make sure he doesn't jump off of something too high. Young seekerlings tend to do that because they think they can fly and end up hurting themselves."

The entire time, Megatron was just staring at Starscream with blank optics. He was listening, but it just seemed like a lot to take in at once. Using his free hand to rub his temple, he huffed and shifted his position in the chair he was sitting in.

"Anything else?" He asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"No, I think I've told you everything you need to know for now. Just call me if you have any questions, my liege." Starscream said with a sneer, rubbing in the fact that Megatron was now the clueless one instead of him.

Megatron growled at the seeker. "Don't get too comfortable, Starscream. This doesn't change anything."

"Of course."

———

By the time the end of the day came, Megatron was exhausted. Dealing with idiots all day sure took the energy out of him, not to mention the extra addition of stress with Hailstorm's arrival. Now it was finally time to sleep it all off. Except for one problem.

Hailstorm wasn't having it.

Megatron had laid the seekerling down in the makeshift crib that Starscream had made earlier and gone to his own berth, thinking that he would be able to recharge without any disturbances.

He was terribly wrong.

Hailstorm refused to go to sleep. He cried and whined for hours, nearly driving Megatron insane. No matter how long he tried to ignore it, Megatron just couldn't recharge at all. Finally, he had enough and contacted Starscream via his comnlink, not caring if his SIC was awake or not. When Starscream answered, there was a groggy voice on the other end that Megatron was not used to hearing.

<<What do you want?>> Starscream grumbled through the comnlink, obviously annoyed.

<<The little brat won't be quiet. How do I make him cease his whining?>> Megatron growled while Hailstorm was pretty much screaming in the background.

<<Bring him into your berth.>>

<<What?!>>

<<Seekerlings don't like to sleep alone. He's not going to recharge if you don't let him sleep with you.>>

<<I will not allow a sparkling in my berth!>>

<<Then you must not want to sleep that badly!>>

Before Megatron could retort, Starscream ended the comn. The warlord hissed in frustration and returned his attention to Hailstorm, who was bawling his optics out. He scowled at the little seekerling, wishing he could just make him disappear.

No.

He needed to prove that something so small couldn't break him.

With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly lifted Hailstorm out of the crib and carried him over to his berth, where he laid down and got comfortable.

"You're fine, you little pest. Stop whining and go to sleep." He muttered, glaring at the sparkling that was laying on his broad chassis.

Hailstorm surprisingly stopped crying, now just staring at Megatron. His scarlet red optics were filled with fresh tears that spilled down his cheeks. Chirping softly, the little one slowly crawled up the warlord's chassis and curled up right under his chin, nestling into his neckcables.

Megatron initially groaned in dismay, seeing that he couldn't really move without disturbing Hailstorm, but at least the little demon was quiet now. He waited a few minutes until he heard Hailstorm recharging before he finally slipped into recharge himself.

————

Gahhh, that chapter was so cuteeee!