Well, my muse has left me. This is going to be the last chapter, everyone. I hope you've enjoyed it and that the ending satisfies you ;) I made it a bit longer than usual to finish with a bang :p Warning - this chapter is much slashier than the others have been. You might need to have read "Megatron Origins" to understand one part of this chapter, but it isn't too important.

"And that about finishes it, I guess," Starscream ended his report, sitting in his usual spot in the war room with Megatron and Soundwave. The silver tyrant nodded, looking towards Soundwave.

"Very well then," he rumbled, "as we discussed, you'll be in charge for the next three days, Soundwave. Keep an eye on Skywarp, he kept mentioning parties. And for Primus' sake, keep an optic on your sparklings too, I don't want them causing havoc while Starscream and I are gone. No more match-making, please."

"Of course, Megatron," Soundwave droned, hiding a smirk behind his facemask.

"That closes this meeting, then," Megatron said, standing up and subspacing the reports on the table. Soundwave nodded, turning on his heel and exiting the war room while Starscream subspaced his own datapads.

"Remind me again why we're taking three days off?" the seeker asked with false innocence, knowing the answer full well.

The gladiator smiled, taking Starscream's chin between his fingers and tilting the dark face upwards to meet his optics. "We have unfinished business to attend to, my dear second. Come along, now." The seeker grinned, a wicked glint in his optics, standing to follow the Decepticon commander down to his - no, their quarters.

Passing down through several levels, it was only when they reached the floor housing Megatron's personal quarters that the gladiator took the blue hand of Starscream in his larger black one, squeezing it too tightly as usual, though the seeker didn't have the spark to tell him so. He lead the flier through the various traps that had once been anti-Starscream devices, now modified to be anti-everyone-else. The order had been clear - no interruptions for the next three days. Most of the troops had been told that the two high-ranking Decepticons were travelling to Cybertron to deal with Shockwave.

Pausing outside the heavy door to their rooms, Megatron stopped suddenly, turning to peer at Starscream. He squeezed the blue hand tighter, nervously, but again, Starscream didn't protest. He'd only learnt how to hold hands yesterday - there was all the time in the world to teach him not to hold hands so hard.

"Starscream…" Megatron swallowed hard. "Do you remember when you said you wouldn't believe…uh, what it was Soundwave said until I said it myself?"

The seeker nodded, smiling gently, sensing where this was going. Megatron took the other blue hand in his free one, stepping closer to Starscream, the air from his nervous vents brushing against the flier's canopy. The air commander hitched his intakes expectantly. "This is…you know this is difficult for me, Starscream," Megatron continued, voice low and soft. "I…I want you to know that…I really…for a long time, I've…"

"You don't have to say it now," Starscream whispered gently. "We have time."

"No," growled the tyrant, more to himself than Starscream. "I need you to hear it. I need you to believe it. I l…I really lo…luhhh…I…gah!" The seeker tried not to laugh, smiling widely at Megatron struggling. "I…Ireallyloveyou! There! I really love you, Starscream."

The flier leaned forward, lifting himself up on his toes to kiss Megatron softly. The tyrant eagerly responded, before breaking away to speak again. "I know that you loved me once, too, a long time ago. And I hope I can make you fall in love with me again."

Starscream laughed, light and gentle, leaning his helm against the broad silver chest of the gladiator. "You big, stupid slagger," he sighed, "I never stopped loving you."

Megatron wrapped his arms around the seeker possessively, spark pounding in his chest. "Then bond with me. Be my sparkmate, like you promised."

"Of course," breathed the air commander, lips brushing against those of the tyrant. Still holding him close, Megatron reached an arm over to open the door, leading the seeker into their quarters. Starscream gasped.

"What on Cybertron - ?!"

"Do you like it?" Megatron grinned, gesturing at their quarters. Next to his large, silver throne was a smaller one, perfectly sized for the seeker with lower arm rests to accommodate his wings. Propped up on what had been Megatron's writing table was the datapad with the photograph of Megatron and Starscream on the day of his promotion to second in command displayed proudly - all these years, the gladiator had kept a copy for himself! Opposite the door to the washrooms was a new door, open just enough that Starscream could see his lab equipment had been moved into their quarters. The cupboard had been enlarged, now housing the trinkets Starscream had kept in his own quarters along with spare null rays next to the fusion cannon parts. Then there was the berth - big enough for two the size of Megatron.

"I gave Soundwave your old quarters. I hope you don't mind?" Megatron questioned.

"Well, I certainly won't be needing them anymore," Starscream said appreciatively, still in shock at how quickly Megatron had managed to have his quarters renovated by the Constructicons. "It's…it's perfect!"

"Excellent," the commander rumbled, walking up behind the flier to snake his arms around the white waist. "Now, what say we take off our weapons?" Starscream nodded, hastily removing his null rays and placing them in the cupboard next to the spares. Megatron unlatched the fusion cannon, passing it to the flier to put away - a symbolic gesture in itself, since he'd once beaten the Coneheads up just for going near it. The cannon was heavier than Starscream remembered it being when he first gave it to the gladiator - probably modified now to better suit the Decepticon.

Starscream turned around, looking at Megatron expectantly. A predator-like expression flickered over the silver gladiator's face as he sloped over to the flier, taking the blue hands once again and leading him to the berth.

"You'll have to tell me when I'm too rough," the tyrant rumbled, a hint of apology in his vocalizer. "I'm not used to being nice."

"Who said I didn't like it a little rough?" the flier smirked. Megatron bared his teeth in a wicked smile, and happily shoved the seeker down onto the berth where Starscream landed with a loud clang.

"Like this?" Megatron growled, crawling on his hands and knees to loom over his prey.

"Just like that," Starscream purred, pulling Megatron down to kiss him, far more passionately than he had before. The engines of the larger mech rumbled contentedly, kissing back, daring to graze the dark lips of the seeker with his teeth. Starscream parted his lips, inviting his new lover to explore his mouth deeper; Megatron eagerly began to seek the tongue of the flier with his own, flicking at it cautiously before tugging at it gently.

Drawing back, Megatron began to kiss Starscream's jaw, all along until he reached his chin, down his neck to the sensitive wires held there. Letting instinct guide him, he began to suck the more delicate cables lightly, eliciting a gasp from Starscream. The seeker pulled him down on top of him completely, allowing the weight of the gladiator to pin him to the berth. Pleased by this reaction, Megatron sucked harder, scraping with his teeth gently, teasing the wires between his dental plating. Starscream squirmed beneath him, digging sharp blue fingers into the tyrant's back. He twisted his head a little, trying to lick the silver helm attacking his neck.

Megatron raised his head, tugging at the tongue that had been flicking at him with his lips. Carefully, Starscream pulled the tyrant's helmet off, placing it next to the berth gently. The gladiator looked down at him for a moment, admiring the sight below him, while the flier raised his hands to the miner's plating Megatron usually kept hidden. He stroked them, waking long dormant sensors and teasing a groan from Megatron - it felt good to stretch those plates after so many centuries under that helmet.

Again, he descended to Starscream's neck while the flier continued to play with his crown. The gladiator dipped lower to nip at red vents, orange canopy, white waist, while Starscream tangled his legs around the gladiator's torso, arching his back happily, digging his fingers deeper to tease underneath the silver plating of the warrior. Megatron growled, eagerly pushing into the touches, baring his teeth dangerously.

The Decepticon commander moved his attention to the white, striped wings beneath him, tracing the Decepticon symbol embellished there possessively. Dragging a finger up and down the edges, Starscream moaned, arching again, while Megatron leaned down to lick at the subtle joints and sensor circuits spread over them. The seeker shrieked, bucking violently; the gladiator grinned to himself, pleased to be able to cause such a reaction on his first try and being gentle.

He allowed himself to be a little rougher, digging his hands into the metal sheets comprising the wings beneath him. The seeker lived up to his name, screaming, without the pain that used to come with Megatron's touches, but instead with pleasure. Reaching his arms around the tyrant's torso, he dug his hands under whatever plating he could find, fingers tickling wires and circuits. The commander shuddered, turning to bury his face against Starscream's neck again.

"Starscream…" he breathed, vents whining with effort.

Wordlessly, the seeker understood, and the glass canopy retracted to reveal his cockpit. As gently as he could with his large, black fingers, Megatron moved to explore the flier's chest, looking for the clasp that would reveal his spark chamber. Starscream dragged a finger down the large, silver chest above him, and the commander complied, opening his chest plates to reveal his closed spark chamber. The seeker allowed a satisfied smile to linger on his features as black fingers continued to probe deeper into his cockpit, making him shiver imperceptibly.

At last, Megatron's finger brushed over the clasp, and Starscream shuddered. With a push, the cockpit transformed, folding back into the seeker's body to reveal his spark chamber. The tyrant could feel the energy of the seeker whirling just below the surface, tantalizingly. Starscream pawed at the gladiator's own spark chamber, purring impatiently. Megatron chuckled, allowing the blue hands to open his spark chamber first - the air commander gasped as the bright, red orb was revealed, lighting up his dark features. Pushing back the plates of the seeker's spark chamber, Megatron looked down at Starscream's spark approvingly running his finger along the edge of it, dragging a shriek from the flier's vocalizer.

"Megatron," he rasped, optics burning up at the tyrant.

"Show me," whispered Megatron, lowering himself down slowly, lips brushing against Starscream's, "what love really is, Starscream."

Taking the flier's lips with his own, the Decepticon closed the gap between their sparks, merging their life-forces into one.

Megatron came online, moaning, body still reverberating with pleasure. Gentle hands were stroking his head, and he opened his optics to see Starscream's looking down at him with a lazy smile, content, basking in the afterglow of their merge. It was more than just seeing the contentment on the flier's face - he could feel it, alive and vibrant, Starscream's own spark living in his just as Megatron's spark lived in that of the flier's. He reached out experimentally, feeling Starscream respond easily, tendrils of self wrapping around his consciousness.

He nuzzled his face into Starscream's neck, kissing it softly.

Something felt different now - instead of feeling like space barnacles were crawling over him, his circuits felt like they were tingling quietly. Where before there had been an uneasiness in his processor, there was a sense of relaxation and ease, as if he suddenly knew what to do with the feelings coming from his spark. Letting himself bask in the warmth he now felt, tangled together with Starscream, he looked at his emotional processing unit, wondering if his hunch was right.

And there, nestled amongst his other programming, was a new folder of incredibly complex mathematical instructions, labelled very simply,

"Love".