Author's Note: Many, many thanks to Grayseeker, who sent me a wonderful picture that inspired me to write this ficlet!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Transformers, and I do not make any money with this fic.
Playdate
xxx
The first message was deleted on the spot. A communication captioned 'play date?' didn't deserve his attention. But the text appeared on his HUD again, and again, and finally a fourth time, each time adorned with increasingly irritating emoticons. Soundwave opened a private comm. channel.
'Lieutenant Skywarp; state agenda.'
'Hey, jam master,' came the immediate response. 'Uh, I mean 'Sir'. Listen, I know you're off this night cycle, so why don't you drop by and bring your kitty-cat? Got a little surprise for him.'
A hint of mildly annoyed curiosity filled their bond as Ravage, having been listening in, raised his head from Soundwave's lap. "What's he up to again?"
'Ravage's suspicion: prank in preparation,' Soundwave sent.
'Hey, no, I'm totally serious here! I found these thingamabobs on patrol today, and they'd make the perfect playthings for Rav.'
Thingamabobs? There was a gentle, clicking noise as Ravage unsheathed one of his claws. "Oh, I'd love to play with him, alright." Soundwave suppressed a smile.
'Order,' he sent to Skywarp. 'Stop wasting our time.'
'Aw, come on! I mean, look at this!'
There was a moment of silence as both creator and creation stared at the video feed the Seeker provided. Ravage parked his aft squarely on the floor with an audible thump. "Oh, sweet Primus," he said. Soundwave stood from his seat.
'New order,' he sent to the Seeker. 'DO NOT MOVE.'
xxx
"Explanation; forthcoming?"
Skywarp, sitting on the floor at Soundwave's feet, simply shrugged. His attention was focused of the two miniature organic versions of Ravage that were climbing about on his chassis. One had perched on his shoulder strut and was curiously nosing his helm, while the other traversed the length of his outstretched arm with astonishing confidence.
"Found them by the roadside during patrol," he answered, catching the little arm-walker as it slipped and nearly slid off. "Creator was deactivated - run over, from the looks of it. But the little ones were fine, so I thought Ravage might like some new playmates."
"A rational decision, for a change," Ravage said acerbically. He, too, had taken residence on the Seeker's berth, his body forming a graceful bow around three more of the tiny organics who had dropped into recharge after the toil of summiting Skywarp's helm. "Without their creators, immature organics usually perish quite quickly."
Skywarp grinned at him. "See? That's where you come in. Your place is so crowded already you probably won't even notice they're there. And I can come by and kitty-sit."
Ravage's ears twitched. "Are you picking up interferences from the humans' social networks again?"
Soundwave rested a soothing hand on his creation's head. "Megatron; will not sanction this," he pointed out.
"Hey, if Starscream can bring in organics for his lab, why can't I bring in organic pets?" Skywarp sat the kitten down on his arm again and gently scratched it between the ears with one finger. The little one began to purr in response, obviously content, and the Seeker chuckled and tried to emulate the sound by letting his engine do a little hiccup. Soundwave played his trump card.
"Problems; various: Special fuel; required. Sanitary equipment; indispensable. Trouble; waiting to happen."
But Skywarp just waved his hand dismissively. "I do recon missions or patrol every few cycles. You tell me what you need, I'll get it."
'You realize we will have to do this, right?'
Soundwave looked down at his creation who was using the tip of his tail to carefully rub one of the recharging kitten's belly. 'Ravage; getting soft?'
'I'm taking precautions. Knowing him, if we say no, he'll just hide them in some random ventilation shaft. Imagine what that will lead to.'
Soundwave took a moment to compute the possible outcomes. Then he turned to the Seeker.
"Lieutenant Skywarp; stand by for requirements list."
*Fin*