Title: Trust Me
Author: Kyra Neko-Rei
Characters: Megatron/Soundwave.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: They aren't mine. I don't think I even have action figures of these two, at least not G1.
Summary: It was awhile before he trusted him. It was awhile before he was trusted.
Author's Note: This has been sitting around for awhile; I wrote it for a prompt, elsewhere, of "Megatron/Soundwave: Trust Issues." It's your standard garden-variety "how (insert characters) meet," specifically Megatron and Soundwave. These are my favorite types of stories, the formation of a new relationship-I'm lucky my favorite pairing is everybody/everybody.
It was awhile before he trusted him.
It had to be. Megatron was not a trusting mech; Starscream, and in fact, life in general, had seen to that, and even if he had trusted Soundwave too quickly, he would have been suspicious of himself for it. The underworld of Kaon, home to the violent and the desperate, was rich with frightening myths and rumors-and truths-and Megatron had heard enough about the damage telepathy could wreak to be intensely wary of the one that had requested membership in the Decepticons. Greedy, yes, for such a thing to be wielded on his side of the brewing war, but-was Soundwave on the Decepticons' side? Was he on Megatron's side, for that matter, or was he seeking to do with stealth what Starscream regularly sought to do with eruptions of sudden violence, and replace him as head of the Decepticons with himself none the wiser?
The first time he met the mech, Megatron took the precaution of scrawling "I am the leader of the Decepticons" on his forearm, and backing up certain other important pieces of information and sending them to himself on a time-delay loop, before leaving his quarters to interview Soundwave.
He hadn't been expecting the mech he met, and he wondered for a long time afterwards whether that was part of an elaborate trap. He'd thought to find a living weapon, a powerful, charismatic, sleekly dangerous mech who could wield devastating psychic powers against the Autobots for him. He found an average-sized, ordinary, somewhat battered mech with the subtle tremors of energon deficiency and a quiet, wary disposition hidden behind an impenetrable mask and visor. Almost disdainful, Megatron had reached out to rip the offending obstructions away, and Soundwave had arrested his attempt midway, holding Megatron's wrist in a grip that shook but did not relent.
Intrigued, Megatron had withdrawn his hand, and Soundwave had made his formal request to join. During the interview, the leader of the Decepticons learned that Soundwave's telepathy was almost purely receptive (which he'd trust in his own good time, thank you; he wasn't stupid), that he had a rare and widely disapproved-of split-sparking ability and four sparklings from it carried inside him (which was intriguing for a variety of reasons), that between his unconventionally-sparked offspring and fear of his telepathic abilities he had been marginalized for most of his life, and that given acceptance, security, and opportunity he would serve loyally and to the best of his abilities.
He had acknowledged Megatron's distrust, which he could obviously feel, apologetically and with, Megatron thought, a hint of longing. He couldn't be sure, though he prided himself on reading people; the visor and mask hid much, and he suspected Soundwave would not retract them even if he made it a direct order. He let that slide; it was rarely a good idea to give an order that wouldn't be obeyed (Starscream didn't count), and a wise leader did not court hatred from his subordinates by forcing such a sensitive issue. Doubtless, Soundwave was aware of that decision too; he conveyed gratitude with subtlety, but even with the barriers up, Megatron could tell that his relief was profound.
Megatron had accepted Soundwave into the Decepticons, painted the emblem on the new recruit's chest himself, and headed off to his quarters to make sure his processors hadn't been tampered with. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he gave orders for Soundwave's talents to be analyzed and his telepathic abilities to be examined in detail. Leaving it to the Constructicons to see about getting past the mask and visor, he showed up in the repair bay when they were in the middle of things, finding Scavenger playing happily with four sparklets while Hook and Scrapper analyzed the data coming from the scanner linked into a port in Soundwave's helm. The mask and visor were very much in place; Megatron suppressed disappointment and a bit of irritation, hoping Soundwave was too distracted to be aware of them. Something about such barriers annoyed him; he didn't like not having access to the face behind them.
He collected, and pored over, the results of the scan. Impressive receptive powers and limited suggestive abilities, not great enough to trick Megatron into thinking he was Soundwave's subordinate, but plenty to coax a disoriented prisoner into giving up information, if he couldn't discover it outright. Megatron relaxed his scrutiny of the mech, and cleared him for duty as a high-level tactical officer. Paid attention to his analyses, quashed the hostile reactions other Decepticons had towards a split-sparker and a telepath, gave him assignments that utilized his talents for communications duty as well as tactical planning and intelligence.
Stopped by the Constructicons' office on a sudden whim and looked over the original scans of Soundwave's processor.
Ordered a re-scan the first time a battle left Soundwave unconscious.
Suppressed pangs of conscience when Soundwave, ever aware of Megatron's continued distrust, communicated obvious apology in his body language and remained steadfast in his dedication to doing anything Megatron wanted of him.
There was an occasion on which Megatron interrupted a pair of mechs pinning Soundwave to the wall while detailing what, to their thinking, was wrong and obscene about split-sparking; one of them had started in on what should be done with the offspring of such a mech when he silenced them both with a pair of fusion-cannon blasts that sent the mechs scrambling for the medbay with smoking holes in their armor; Soundwave had sank down the wall when they let go of him, and it looked almost accidental that he landed on his knees until he bowed, and murmured, "Thank you."
Megatron wished the visor away, but deliberately refrained from making it an order, pulling Soundwave up instead. The next day, the telepath approached him, requesting that he have words with a few other soldiers who made a habit of thinking such things at him. In addition to acceding to the request, Megatron promoted him to third in command, giving him the authority to punish such harassment himself. Soundwave didn't need an excuse to kneel this time, and Megatron practically ached at the thought of what his face might look like, filled with gratitude. After pulling Soundwave to his pedes, he made an excuse to leave quickly, taking Soundwave off the hook of dealing with that.
And overloaded himself in the privacy of his quarters, imagining it.
The next battle left Soundwave injured again, and he fought with the impulse to remove mask and visor and have a look while the mech was offline. Soundwave would know, the next time he saw Megatron, and Megatron found he did not wish to face whatever fallout might come from that. Soundwave was loyal, and devoted, and Megatron found he valued both.
He caught himself again just as Soundwave regained consciousness, wondering if that emotion was the result of a long-term, subtle trap that Soundwave had finally sprung on him. Turned and left the medbay as Soundwave read his thoughts and wilted, for once wishing for a mask and visor himself.
Fantasized that night about punishing Soundwave for something-that would give him justification to remove the mask. Unfortunately, Soundwave never did anything requiring punishment, a fact that was underscored the next cycle when Soundwave turned up in his office to apologize for the anxiety he was causing Megatron over his loyalty, and disappeared before Megatron's emotions could flood through both of them. They only flooded over Megatron, who dropped his head into his hands and ejected air from his intakes in a sigh.
Fine.
He'd analyzed the situation long enough. He'd trust his instincts and his analysis.
He'd take the risk.
He cornered Soundwave after his shift-metaphorically, since Soundwave did not need to be cornered. Soundwave, for his part, could tell the difference instantly, and his reaction-joy, elation-was as clear to Megatron as Megatron's emotions were to him, mask or no mask. He could read Megatron's invitation, too, and nodded acceptance. With the telepathy, he knew the way to Megatron's quarters as well as Megatron did himself.
Megatron embraced him as soon as the door closed. Soundwave, for his part, melted most gratifyingly into Megatron's arms. And he did have projective abilities-Megatron could feel them now, as he was suddenly aware of Soundwave's emotions: joy, pleasure, warmth, admiration, and a fierce relief-the sweetness only felt by one who has been alone and outcast finding safety and acceptance, and by one whose long-admired benefactor had finally opened up to him. Soundwave wasn't the only one to melt, and Megatron threw dignity to the abyss after his rejected suspicions and let Soundwave feel how pleased he was to be the recipient of it all.
Somehow they made it to the berth, Soundwave settling contentedly under him. Megatron paused to savor the view, fingertips stroking over Soundwave's rich blue plating, and Soundwave surprised him spectacularly by tapping him on the shoulder, meeting his gaze, and retracting both mask and visor.
He was beautiful underneath it, and expressive, his face displaying every emotion as clearly as he could project them-embarrassment was among them, but he was joyful and grateful and content and more than a little aroused. "For you," he said softly. "I trust you."
Megatron kissed him, letting his emotions, clear as speech, say all he needed to say.