Some deep, distant part of Starscream does feel regret, but it's not an emotion he's familiar enough with to be able to identify it. It just confuses him, makes him angry.
For a rare, brief moment he's speechless. The clamp comes off and he grunts with relief and starts to flex his wings enthusiastically, working the kinks out... then they tuck back in alarm (potentially grazing Optimus inadvertently if he's still within range of them).
It sounds like hyperbole, but it's not: No one has earnestly used the word "friend" with regards to Starscream since... well, he literally can't remember. Since before the war, at least. And he hasn't reciprocated or used it sincerely towards anyone else, probably ever.
"Yes, well... that was your mistake. I don't have friends; the handful of individuals in my line of work can't afford the risk," he mutters with forced sounding disdain, like he's covering for something he's sensitive about. It's the hard truth of being a Decepticon officer (not that Starscream had ever at any point been very good at people even before he became that). The stakes of Decepticon politics are far too high, only the lower ranking officers can really afford to foster personal relationships or let anyone to get close to them.
The wings come back up, flexing laterally, almost like a bird flapping. "I can offer you this much in penance: My actions certainly weren't anything personal. You can rest easy about that."
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Some deep, distant part of Starscream does feel regret, but it's not an emotion he's familiar enough with to be able to identify it. It just confuses him, makes him angry.
For a rare, brief moment he's speechless. The clamp comes off and he grunts with relief and starts to flex his wings enthusiastically, working the kinks out... then they tuck back in alarm (potentially grazing Optimus inadvertently if he's still within range of them).
It sounds like hyperbole, but it's not: No one has earnestly used the word "friend" with regards to Starscream since... well, he literally can't remember. Since before the war, at least. And he hasn't reciprocated or used it sincerely towards anyone else, probably ever.
"Yes, well... that was your mistake. I don't have friends; the handful of individuals in my line of work can't afford the risk," he mutters with forced sounding disdain, like he's covering for something he's sensitive about. It's the hard truth of being a Decepticon officer (not that Starscream had ever at any point been very good at people even before he became that). The stakes of Decepticon politics are far too high, only the lower ranking officers can really afford to foster personal relationships or let anyone to get close to them.
The wings come back up, flexing laterally, almost like a bird flapping. "I can offer you this much in penance: My actions certainly weren't anything personal. You can rest easy about that."