Chapter Text
"You wish to… "Restore" my frame?" Megatron asked.
"I'm offering to do your finish~! If I were leader, which is a VERY BIG hypothetical, I'd always want to look my very best!" Knockout replied, quickly adding in the "hypothetical" line so he didn't accidentally anger Megatron.
Megatron was hesitant. He had always allowed his battle scars to be shown as a way to prove his dominance over the Decepticons. To him being seen without them would be no different than being seen as one of the Vehicons. But the medic had proved himself useful, even with the death of his conjunx Breakdown that still haunts the Nemesis.
"I will allow it," Megatron said while un-clenching his servos, not realizing he had them balled up.
As Knockout used the buffer, Megatron's processor wandered.
'Did you do this for Breakdown as well? Am I to be his replacement? Then again… There were rumors of you being enamored by STARSCREAM of all mechs for a while…'
"Such a foxy shade of silver! Why would you ever want to hide it?" Knockout said after finishing the process.
Megatron was snapped out of his trance as he responded with, "Are you suggesting I am a coward when it comes to my appearance?"
"No, of course not! In fact, I know you're QUITE the opposite," Knockout said, waving his empty servo around.
Megatron then suddenly grabbed Knockout's servo, causing the medic to freeze up and drop the buffer. Ignoring the sound the object made, the gladiator used his thumb to rub Knockout's palm as gently as he was able to.
"M-My lord…" Knockout muttered, feeling his spark begin to overheat.
"Such a hypocrite you are, Knockout~… Willing to desecrate the corpse of your loved one, then planning on courting another. Have you not had time to grieve?" Megatron said with a grin as he got off the slab and leaned down, his servo still gripping the blushing medic's.
If not for the heavy atmosphere, the moment could have been seen as romantic.
"I…" Knockout trailed off.
Suddenly, the medic's optics closed and his knee pauldrons gave out. Megatron managed to catch him by the waist with his other servo.
"Knockout?! Respond!" Megatron yelled, which slightly roused Knockout back online.
"A-Apologies… Spark… Overheated…" Knockout forced out.
Megatron had heard about the condition from when he was "friends" with Ratchet but was never notified that Knockout was afflicted.
"I-I'll be fine…" Knockout continued, not wanting Megatron to worry and even tried to stand on his own but failed.
"When was your last recharge cycle?" Megatron asked with what seemed to be concern in his voice as he swept Knockout off of his pedes.
"I… Don't know, actually. I-I've been so busy taking care of patients and completing Shockwave's requests," Knockout replied, his audials drooping.
"I shall notify Shockwave that he will have to find a temporary assistant until you have recovered," Megatron said.
Knockout turned his helm to see that Megatron was taking him somewhere, but the medic had never been down this part of the ship before.
"Where am I going?" Knockout asked.
"My berth. I rarely use it these days so you may recharge in it until you are well," Megatron replied.
"Yes, m'lord…" Knockout said while putting his left audial against Megatron's chassis, able to make out the thrums of Megatron's spark, or what might have been left of it given all the Dark Energon the warlord was consuming on the daily.
The rhythm of it was enough to put Knockout into a peaceful sleep which made Megatron let out a sigh, but he would not be able to say if it was out of annoyance or relief. He walked into his berthroom, which seemed to be cleaned up recently given there was no speck of dust in sight. He placed the medic on the berth and gently pulled the sheet over him, almost finding it comedic given how small he was compared to his current resting place. Megatron was about to leave but was suddenly grabbed by his left pinky digit, causing his gladiator instinct to kick in for a split second, but regained his composure when he saw Knockout hadn't woken up.
'Does he wish for me to stay?' Megatron thought.
He knew he couldn't as he slowly pried Knockout's servo away and whispered, "I cannot be at your side, but I pray that you have pleasant dreams to rid yourself of your sorrow."
Knockout smiled as he allowed his servo to dangle over the side of the berth, nuzzling his face-plate into the large mesh pillow. Megatron almost found the sight charming but quickly suppressed that feeling as he left the room, only lingering for a split second, then walked away.