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Skywarp's fuel tank was uncomfortably full. Still, she forced herself to take another bite of the meal she ordered. Peace was in full swing, the energeon crisis finally resolved, and with the excess fuel came all sorts of fancy shops and restaurants serving both novel and revamped recipes. An elbow nudged her side.
"You must be really hungry," Thundercracker joked, a smile splitting his face.
Skywarp chuckled nervously. Thundercracker's plate was still half-full. Starscream's had even more left. But hers was almost empty. She had been hungry when they came in. Starving, actually. She hadn't taken in any fuel since the morning, when she picked up one of those fancy drinks on her way to the crystal gardens.
The place had opened only a decacycle ago, and she wanted to take pictures. In the vorn since the war ended, she had taken up streaming, which blossomed into a sizeable following. They liked seeing little things from her life, even if they were carefully curated.
"I guess so," Skywarp said.
Starscream scoffed. He flicked one of his jellied fries at Thundercracker, who flinched as it smacked him on the nose.
"Oh, lay off," Starscream said. "You know her warp drive consumes a lot of energy."
It did. It was fine, though. Starscream and Thundercracker made sure she stayed fueled during the war. They gave up portions of their own rations a few times. She ignored the guilt that always curled in her spark to drink it. She was an asset, so she always got more than everyone else, but more didn't mean enough.
She pushed her food around on the plate, appetite fully soured. Eventually, the waiter came and offered them boxes. Skywarp stared down at them. Three boxes, three meals. The remaining fuel on her plate stared back.
When they lived together, Thundercracker always ate the leftovers. Starscream complained that they felt wrong—different taste and different texture. Skywarp agreed. She used to not mind it, but after they were forced to drink tainted fuel during the war and got sick, well… all she could think about was that. So, she didn't touch leftovers anymore. She tended to forget about them, anyway. They went bad before she could eat them.
She couldn't force herself to take another bite. Thundercracker packed up Starscream's meal, taking it for himself. Skywarp tapped on the table. Should she ask if he wanted hers as well? There was so little left, but it would still be wasted fuel.
She stayed quiet. They went their separate ways—three Seekers, three homes.
!!!
The sink was almost empty. At least there were no dishes to clean. Skywarp's fuel tank was just as empty. The fridge had some ingredients in it, but she didn't really feel like cooking. Not that she knew much about cooking, anyway. But there was a ready-made meal in freezer that she could heat up. Except, the mercury cream was supposed to expire today. So, she really should use that.
She didn't want to. All she knew how to make with it was noodles with sauce, and the thought of putting sauce in her mouth made her shudder. And the squelchy noodles? Starscream was right about textures. They really could make or break meals. She didn't usually care, but some days, it was too much. Today was one of those.
She pulled the mercury cream out and opened it. It smelled normal. It swirled in the carton, thick and reflective as ever. She poured it in the sink. A small amount of it remained trapped above the drain. She ran the sink and it was washed away, guilt twisting her spark at the waste. But it would be past date tomorrow, and she wasn't using it today.
The apartment was quiet. Her refrigerator hummed. The lights made a dull, droning noise. She chucked the carton into the trash. Now, she had to heat up that meal, right?
She turned away and flopped onto the couch. The meal also had a sauce. It was thick the last time she had it, but it wasn't bad. Still…
Skywarp stood up and walked to her room. She could heat it up later. If she was just going to lay around, she was going to do something productive. Leaning back into her desk chair, she turned on her console.
"Heya, mecha! Yeah, I know I didn't announce this one today, but I figured it'd be a nice surprise!"
It was a little less lonely with so many anonymous eyes watching her. And if when she ended the stream, it was dark out and her frame was heavy with tiredness, was it really so bad to just go straight into recharge?
!!!
Warping was always fun—a colorful rush as she transported herself across space. She appeared at the entrance to the store, luckily not in anyone's way. It wasn't something she could predict, so she usually only warped into the air. But this was central Vos, so there were plenty of mecha in the air.
The door let out a chime as Skywarp passed through it. There was a line, but she walked past it, heading for the online order stand. One of the workers paused, looking up at her before offering her the cup and bag they were about to place on the stand. Skywarp took it with a smile.
"Thank you!" She chirped, taking a step away before activating her warp drive.
She was back at her apartment, with only the buzzing of the fridge to keep her company. She placed the food on the counter. Her abdomen ached—a sure symptom of a completely empty fuel tank. She pulled the sandwich out of the bag and took a bite.
She told herself she wouldn't keep buying meals from that shop. It was a fancy place, so it costed a fair amount of shanix—not that she was lacking in that department with all of her generous donors, but it was the principle. She couldn't just… splurge on things like this. But she forgot to buy groceries yesterday, so why not enjoy herself a little?
Sure, maybe she'd also forgotten to buy them the day before, and the day before that, and the decacycles before that. Maybe the workers knowing her by name and appearance wasn't just because she was a well-known streamer or ex-war criminal. Maybe she just didn't feel like getting groceries. Maybe it was easier to refuel if she didn't have to prepare the fuel herself. Maybe she was lazy.
Whatever. She already had the fuel. It was too late now. Though, as she finished the sandwich and sipped the drink, she felt hollow. She pushed it down. She was just bored. Duh. And what was the best way to solve boredom?
Skywarp dialed Thundercracker's and Starscream's comms.
[Wanna go for a flight?]
They didn't respond until after she was done with her drink, but that was fine. Thundercracker was a big writer and everyone wanted him to work on their stuff. Starscream was the Vosian chairmech for the United Cybertronian Council. They had things to do. She could wait.
But her wings drooped as the responses finally came in. Both of them were busy. Oh, well. She dumped the ice from the drink into the sink and shoved the bags into her over-filled trash bin. She really should take that out, shouldn't she? Meh.
She stalked toward her room and settled in the chair again.
"Heya, mecha!"
!!!
The game was a dating sim of some sort. Skywarp usually preferred things of the more action-packed variety—platformers and shooters that she had to react to quickly—but Thundercracker had written for it, so she bought it. Unfortunately, he was busy the day she was going to play it on stream, but that was fine. Thundercracker and Starscream rarely watched her streams anyway. She finished up her breakfast and settled in her chair, excitement thrumming in her spark.
She waited in the title screen as the viewers rolled in, engaging them in casual conversation until they reached a large enough number for her to hit play. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was a faceless mass of audience members. And as it turned out, the game had a really engaging story with a dark twist. It wasn't a dating sim, but a horror game! She would have to send Thundercracker a message later.
But as she was in the middle of a particularly tense scene, a sharp pain in her abdomen distracted her. Subconsciously, she brought a hand down to it. A quick glance at the time showed she had been streaming for breems, and she hadn't eaten anything since the morning! That explained it.
But, well. She was in the middle of a scene. She couldn't just up and leave! So, she finished the scene and hit pause.
"Sorry, mecha!" She said. "Gotta go grab a snack."
Because all she needed was something quick to make the pain go away. She didn't need a meal or anything crazy like that. Just something small. It would take too long to cook, anyway. She pulled an energeon pop from the freezer and sat back down.
The chat was an unreadable flood at the best of times. Even slow mode couldn't salvage it. But she did catch a few messages asking where she was, or even infuriated that she left. Huh. Not like she could control being hungry.
She sucked on the energeon pop, cackling a bit at the sort of messages that prompted. She hadn't chosen the pop on purpose, but it was fun to play with her audience. Besides, it was nice to feel wanted for once. She knew that type of attention could go to dark places, but she didn't run into her fans very often, anyway. Probably because she warped to most places, but whatever. She resumed the game.
If she went to sleep that night without having an actual meal, who was to say?
!!!
They were finally together again. Skywarp had to keep her wings from fluttering as they walked into the restaurant. She hadn't seen them in orns. After they sat, she leaned into Thundercracker, playfully nuzzling him. He shoved her away with a smile. She stuck out her tongue and he laughed. On the other side of him, Starscream scoffed dramatically. She reached around Thundercracker to poke him on the nose, and received a gentle bite on the finger in return.
Ordering was easy. They'd been there a thousand times. Skywarp's fuel tank ached. It had stopped hurting sharply a while ago, after she'd had some coolant. The materials the tank produced to break down fuel could also digest the tank itself if it was empty, or some slag like that. She didn't know. Starscream was the science-y one. So she had a drink to dilute it, because she knew they'd be coming here, and she didn't really feel like making herself fuel if she knew they were going to be here. Not that she ever really felt like making herself a meal.
So, when their fuel arrived, she was ready to dig in. Except… well, she got about a quarter of the way through her portion. Then, the iron shavings started feeling a bit too scratchy, and it wasn't as flavorful as she thought. Her tank still hurt, but in a different way. She swallowed a bite and stared the meal down. How could she go from starving to not wanting to touch fuel so quickly?
"You okay?" Thundercracker asked quietly.
"Yeah," Skywarp mumbled. "I'm fine."
She just wasn't as hungry as she thought.
!!!
The freezer still had a few scattered frozen meals in it. Skywarp's frame was heavy, but her chest and helm were light. She closed the freezer and flopped onto the couch. It was the middle of the day. Why was she so tired?
Her tank still hurt. She hadn't eaten anything today beyond breakfast. She didn't want to. Why didn't she want to? Was she catching something? She rolled over, placing a hand on her abdomen. It hurt too much for her to eat, but it would only stop hurting if she ate. Why was the world so stupid?
Skywarp inputted Starscream's and Thundercracker's comms. Maybe they'd respond this time. Maybe they'd be free. Maybe they could talk to her. Cleaning fluid pooled at the edges of her optics. She wiped it away.
Thundercracker used to cook for them. She missed coming back to a nice meal, but she missed Thundercracker even more. Starscream always complained about whatever new recipe he was trying before even tasting it, then quickly declared it the best one yet. It became such a running thing that Thundercracker finished his proclamation before he could complete it.
But they were probably busy. Why bother? Skywarp forced herself off the couch and into her chair.
"Heya, mecha."