Chapter Text
William Lennox watched the commotion at the front door from the far end of the room, Omen clutched protectively to his chest and Annabelle holding onto his shoulder, his optics narrow and jaw clenched. After everything he had done, Megatron still thought he could walk right in and haul him back to the Decepticon headquarters? Lennox most certainly was not going to let him. Not after destroying his family, transforming him, trying to take the place of the people he held dearest, using him. He told himself he wouldn't allow the warlord within ten yards of himself, even as his spark spun faster in its chamber.
"Let me in, Prime!" The angered rasp of the Decepticon echoed through the room, as he scraped at the door Optimus was valiantly, but unsuccessfully, trying to slam in his faceplates. "I have to see William; you don't understand!"
Lennox's optics widened for a split second. This was the first time Megatron had ever called him by his real name. The argument continued for several minutes, most of the words not registering in Lennox's audials, distracted as he was by the uncharacteristic, but still not entirely unwelcome, use of his first name. Then Megatron broke past Optimus' defense and stomped up to his faceplates.
"I've been thinking about what you said," Megatron announced. "And I've come to the realization that you were right."
"...About what?" Lennox asked, searching his memory for the relevant conversation.
"The war. Why I've kept it going."
Lennox blinked.
Megatron turned around, somehow oblivious to the arsenal aimed at his chestplates. "It's pointless! Whatever we've hoped to accomplish from the perpetuation of this energon shed has long since been destroyed; Cybertron lies in ruins, our armies are broken and hopeless, mine has turned on me over the recent debacle, yours," he glared pointedly at Optimus, "is weary of all of this, and we're stuck on a backwater planet, hiding from a species that poses little real threat to us. There is nothing left for me to rule, even if I still wanted it, and there's nothing left for you to protect." He looked back at Lennox, optics narrow with a soft, almost imperceptible sadness. "All I want is to build a family, not destroy the rest of our species in a worthless war that lost its meaning millennia ago."
The bots and humans occupying the room stared at him, weapons still raised and charged, uncertain how to respond.
"Are you... defecting?" Lennox said slowly.
"No," Megatron growled. "I am calling a cease fire. An end to the war."
"An' wha' makes ya think we're gonna believe ya?" Ironhide hissed, cannons rotating.
"I did not come with an army,Autobot. I am alone, I have not pulled my weapons on any of you, and I am standing in your base while it is still intact."
"Wait," Lennox said. "You said your army turned against you. Doesn't that mean you have nothing left to lose? You're just bluffing so we let our guard down and you can just destroy us."
Megatron frowned. "I have everything left to lose, William. Did you not hear why they turned? They thought I had betrayed the cause, trying to keep you safe."
Lennox's optics narrowed, but his spark flipped. Perhaps the words were indeed true, despite how his processor argued they were blatant lies, trying to lull his spark back into the complacency he had built while he had kept him trapped in the Decepticon base.
Omen squeaked, reaching out to the silver warlord. Lennox pulled him tighter to his chestplates, wrapping his arms around the sparkling to block his view of the larger mech.
"Please, William, give me a chance," Megatron whispered. " The Autobots will follow your lead, I'm certain."
Lennox just stared at him in silence, even as Omen continued to squirm in his grasp. Annabelle watched the mech with wide, scared eyes. "You're pathetic, you know that right?"
"And Why would you say that?"
Lennox allowed himself a slight smirk. "For one, you're in love with me of all people; you've lost your army, you can't keep your claws on what you want, and now you've come crawling to me like I'm some kind of savior." He snorted a soft laugh, keeping his optics trained on the other mech for his retaliation.
Megatron's optics narrowed, but he otherwise did not let on he had even heard the response.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not what you think I am. I'm not going to just roll over and trust you, and that includes being the one to invite you into my home."
"But..." Megatron tilted his helm slightly, as if confused by the rejection. "What does your spark say?"
"I'm done with listening to what my spark says. I was done before I even started. All it's ever told me is lies; you probably programmed the blasted thing that way."
"...That's not even possible. Sparks cannot be controlled by an outside source..."
"You know what I mean," Lennox half yelled.
Megatron flinched slightly, shocking Lennox. "I only wanted a family," he said softly, as Lennox turned and walked away.
"Then you picked the wrong human to make it with."
"You were the only being in the world worthy of my attention."
Lennox froze at the words, Omen squeaking over his shoulder at his creator.
"That's why I chose you. I could have taken any person online, but of all of them only You were good enough to be my queen."
Silence reigned for a moment, before Lennox finally shattered it again. "Why? Why am I so 'worthy'?"
There was another pause, as Megatron contemplated his reasons. "Because... You're you. Everything that makes you who you are, the strength, passion, stubbornness, loyalty... That burning fire inside that makes you such a warrior. That's Why I'm in love with you."
And Lennox knew the words were true, because the Autobots still watched, slack jawed, weapons primed but lowered in surprise as Megatron gave what was probably the most sparkfelt and genuine public statement he had ever -and would ever- make. He knew the proud mech would never bring himself to say such things aloud if they weren't the absolute truth.
"That doesn't change the fact that you're you and everything you've done to us."
"The past cannot be changed, but the future is still within our control."
Lennox turned around slowly, coming faceplate to faceplate with the Decepticon. "And you think you'll just be able to change like that?" He snapped his fingers. "Following the proper path is harder than you seem to think, especially for a bot of your caliber."
"You really believe I think this will be easy? I'm no fool, Colonel, and I most certainly don't think I'll just be able to earn your trust like that," Megatron snapped his fingers, mocking the way Lennox had punctuated his own statement.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I want to try."
The Autobots merely stared at him for several minutes.
Eventually Lennox broke the silence again. "Try if you want, but you'll need someone else to invite you to stay." He turned and stalked out of the room, disappearing around the corner into a darkened hallway.
Ironhide narrowed his optics at Megatron with a growl before following the human-turned-mech out.
Optimus turned to Megatron with a frown. "I have my doubts about your sincerity, but I hope what you say is true. You may stay, but only so long as you relinquish your weapons and promise not to harm anyone in this base or harass them in any way. That includes approaching Colonel Lennox if he does not want you near, understood?"