You don’t know why he keeps you around. You’re not a hostage—he doesn't threaten you. You're not entirely a pet, either. You’re useful, apparently. You know human infrastructure. You can fix things.

So, Starscream tolerates your presence. Barely.

The first time he shielded you from debris during a battle, he called it “an accident.”

The second time, he blamed your poor reaction time.

But the third time, when you were almost crushed and he actually caught you, holding you in a careful claw like something fragile—he didn’t say anything at all.

He just looked at you. Silent. Eyes narrowed. Face unreadable.

And then he hissed, “If you die, I’ll have to find another human. That’s inconvenient.”

But he kept holding you just a second too long before setting you down.