It had started long before, he had to admit. The way his optics wandered over the broad frame of the mech he was sharing space with, at the time, under orders for the construction of a new weapon. He still did not understand why he had been assigned to help the mech as he was not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination and had never had much of an interest in the field. The plans for the weapon had not even been shared with him, leaving him entirely in the dark on the project. Even worse, he knew that the assignment had nothing that would keep his symbionts' attention for long. Instead of trying to keep there for unneeded assistance, since he was aware of that problem, he had released them earlier and left them to their own devices with the caveat of not causing a lot of damage.
The blue frame of one of his most recently bonded symbionts stumbled over to him, exhaustion clear in every line of his frame. His arms extended towards the communications officer in a bid to be picked up as he noticed the host's gaze on him. The sparkling-like chirp-whirr emphasized the point and brought his arms down to scoop up the younger of the twins. Cradling the small chassis close, he rubbed a soothing hand along back struts.
"Rumble: docking preferred?" he asked, tonal modifiers signifying the question embedded within his usually monotone voice.
"Nuh-uh," the small symbiont muttered, voice muffled by the way he pressed his helm into the carrier-host's neck cables, a position he was kept in by firm, but not restrictive, hands. "Frenz 'cided 'e wanted that 'ntire berth."
His complaint trailed off as he cycled back down into the recharge he had never really left, trusting the navy-plated mech with his safety and comfort. Soundwave checked his chronometer and was surprised to find how late it was by then, understanding fully why his normally rambunctious symbionts had chosen to recharge of their free will. It was much later than he had believed and, once he knew the time, he found himself becoming tired, recharge protocols attempting to initiate. It really would not do for that to happen in Shockwave's lab, but he had no desire to try and move as that would risk disturbing Rumble, and a cranky Rumble was not good for anyone's health and continued functioning. Frenzy and Ratbat would take far too much enjoyment in tormenting him if he was pulled from recharge again before he was ready to be.
Perhaps, just this once, he could cycle down into his own recharge in a place that he was not entirely comfortable in, but knew to be safe enough for even his symbionts' presence.
"Soundwave," he stated as he turned to look over at his silent guest that had taken up residence in the far corner of his lab. He came to a halt as he took in the sight of the Decepticon's Chief Communications Officer in recharge, one of his younglings cuddled close to his chest and arms wrapped protectively around the small frame. That had not been something he had expected to see when he had asked for the mech's help with a small portion of the project as he knew that the other's hand were smaller and would be able to reach places much more easily than his could. It appeared as if he would either have to do it himself, or that he would need to wait until the mech cycled up.
His spark spun slowly in its casing. The sight of a carrier-host taking care of his little ones was something that reminded everyone, on a spark-deep level, of reproduction and the sight of a Carrier holding a tiny sparkling. It was why they were such sought after partners and it was surprising that no one had yet claimed the mech as their own, which he knew through the troops' avoidance of the mech, since there were not that many Carriers left with good instincts when it came to caring for others. Most had gone to the Autobots also, leaving many of the Decepticons turning their olfactory ridges up at all Carriers they came across.
He hummed a low note in thought as he looked over the carrier-host that was slumped in a conveniently located chair that he had been unaware of. Perhaps Soundwave or one of his symbionts had brought it in for the mech since he had no memory of the piece of furniture being present within his lab. It would not do to leave him there over the rest of the cycle, but he did not wish to pull the mech out of recharge, especially with one of the mech-framed ones on his chassis. Those two were known for their viciousness and, while he knew that they were no real match for him, he did not wish to annoy the Decepticon leader by damaging one of the hellions. They had gained his favor somehow and had stayed within his good graces effortlessly, though he was unaware how as the symbionts were not the greatest assets to the Cause. He shook his helm to refocus his thoughts on the matter of what to do with the carrier-host as he did not want to leave him within his lab.
With an unnoticed sigh, he moved over to the mech and bent, lifting the much slighter frame and carrying him out of the lab before standing there, trying to figure out what to do with him next. As he stood there, contemplating his next move, the navy and white frame of the communications officer curled closer into his own violet plating, which decided him. He would need to be placed in the room that had been assigned to him at the beginning of the assignment where he was sure the other symbionts were located at the time. Long, confident strides took him there in short order and stopped just before the door so that he could burst the unlocking code to the panel and wait for the door to slide open and admit him.
Stepping just inside the door, he waited for his optical sensors to recalibrate to the gloom that shrouded the room so that he could figure out where everything was within the room. He had never been within the quarters as there had never been a need for it before, which left him without the needed memory of the quarters to just walk through confidently. As soon as he could see shapes, though, he moved in the direction of the large berth and laid the carrier-host down on the slab of malleable metal that would support any frame to the correct position in relation to other parts of a mech's frame. There was nothing else that he could do to make the mech comfortable, but was quite glad to have his safe area empty, as it should be since he was the only one that was allowed within.
For all that he did not like the mech in his lab, he was quite content to stand next to the berth and look at the relatively delicate frame of the carrier-host. The navy and white were placed in spots that drew attention to some of the mech's most desirable features, a tactic that he had not thought the communications officer would have taken with his paintjob as it was only one to be used when a mech was looking for a partner or was stating that they had one and were ready for a sparkling. That was an intriguing thought to explore later. With one last look over the seductive frame, he turned and left the room, heading towards his own so that he could recharge and be ready for the next cycle that he would have to spend in the company of another mech. It had been so long since any had been around that he was sure he had been quite rude to the mech, but there was nothing he could do to change the past. Perhaps he would change the way he interacted with the mech to show that he was not the worst choice for a mate, but he was processing ridiculousness. Recharge was definitely required if he was thinking of something like that.