Home for Christmas

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For a couple of years I wanted to write a Christmas Transformers fanfic, but I could never come up with a good plot that I could work with. Then around Thanksgiving of 2012, the starting ideas for this fic hit me suddenly out of the blue one night and I just had to go with writing it. At first, I had plans for it to be really humorous, but the more I wrote on it the more warm and fuzzy it became. Fellow Starscream fangirls will probably get more enjoyment out of this fic than anyone else.

And, yes, this IS a sequel to my ‘Terrible Susie’ fic. It’s kinda different than the first one, but it is a sequel.

Transformers and all related characters © Hasbro

Fanfic and plot © by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

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Starscream trudged through the snow-covered sidewalks of Detroit, dodging human feet and fighting against the swirling winds and blinding snow that constantly beat against him. Cars zoomed by, splattering him with more snow and even hard pieces of ice. The disgruntled seeker shot death glares at anything and anyone that dared come within two feet of him, but his glares went unnoticed by the people passing by him. He was no longer a threat and he had accepted this fact hours ago, although it still made him feel good to glare at something. His face softened and drooped and he sighed long and hard. He was alone and he was… tiny… again. After falling victim to Perceptor's shrink gun for a second time, he made up his mind that he wasn't going to go near those accursed Autobots ever again after he was turned back to normal. They were bad news as far as he was concerned. It would have been a perfect battle, he mused, if it hadn't been for Perceptor and his slagging gun. Not to mention the shrink gun breaking this time. Now he was stuck being fourteen inches high until the gun was fixed. Perceptor said it would be two or three days at the most, maybe longer depending on what was actually wrong with it. Optimus had offered to find him some place to stay until they could get him back to his normal size, but he had refused. No way was he going to give in to the Autobots’ kindness, much less stay with them or anywhere they offered. He already knew it would be a prison cell or some such room. So now he was left to fend for himself and at an embarrassing height. Memories of the last time he was turned small started returning to him and he shuddered. Ever since he started out wandering the city, he had taken great care to avoid any human children, preferably ones that looked as young as Susie had been.

Starscream shivered as another gust of freezing wind and snow blew over him. He wrapped his arms around himself and hunkered down next to a nearby store’s door until it passed. He was freezing inside and out and felt like his inner workings and systems weren’t functioning properly. In fact, his internal readouts were screaming warnings that everything was in danger of freezing up. What a night to be in this state, he thought. He needed a place to stay, but where?

“Cold,” he whispered to himself, “So… cold. WHY does this slagging planet have to be SO COLD??”

Another gust came up forcing the tiny seeker to hunker down again. He shivered until his armor rattled. That did it. He just couldn't go any farther. Instead, he settled himself in the corner, next to the door. No one was coming in or going out at that time, so it made the perfect shelter for the time being. Not having anything else to do, Starscream turned to look through the glass door. The store looked warm and inviting. There were shelves and glass display cases full of breads, rolls, cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts, cakes, and delectable pastries. Festively decorated tables stood near the door and on top of them were different types of breads and fruitcakes piled in the shape of Christmas trees with jars of jams, flavored butters, and other spreads nestled near the bottom. There was even a special table in the center of the store that was full of dainty gingerbread houses with graham cracker and frosting pathways lined with tiny gumdrops. The sight alone was enough to make anyone's mouth water. Not Starscream, though. He didn't know much about earth food since he never ate it, so the sight did little for him. He only had one thing on his mind: warmth. The bakery looked warm enough for him. He got up and prepared to go in but realized that he couldn't reach the handle. He longingly peered up at it and sighed. Forget flying up. Until he was properly thawed, he felt that neither his thrusters nor his transforming systems would work. Walking forward, he pressed his face against the glass, letting his claws slide down with a high-pitched squeal. He turned and wrapped his arms around him again and tried to keep his dental plates from chattering together. He couldn't feel his wings, hands, or his feet anymore and he felt like he would slip into recharge any moment.