Disclaimer: Transformers © Hasbro

Notes: Mwahahahah. Yes, readers, this part of the story is, indeed, mech-smut. It's plug-n-play, but I'm really hovering on the border with it in this one. Moreso than I did with "Undercover," in my opinion. This also rockets my rating up to M for at least this part. And for the record, this chapter ties in with "Well-Shagged" (basically, this occurs a few weeks before that one takes place).

Prompt: Dominant


Two weeks into this particular project – a better way to refine the energy they gathered into suitable energon – and Starscream was getting thoroughly frustrated. The calibration circuitry kept frying astroseconds into each test run, and the energon it was producing wasn't fit enough to keep a minibot functional on lowest power consumption. The seeker swore violently and threw the panel he'd been working on across the room, barely missing Soundwave.

Most of the front-liners in the Decepticon army were under the impression that the second-and-third in command hated one another. It wasn't precisely the truth; Soundwave had a way of unnerving most mechs given his talents, and Starscream both feared and respected said talents. Also, the telepath was generally the only one around that he would credit with understanding what the slag he was saying whenever he got too involved in a scientific project. In truth, he'd rather work on a project this delicate with Soundwave than with the Constructicons any day; he'd let Hook or Scavenger work on his internal circuitry, but he'd sooner kidnap Wheeljack and let him build a refinement chamber. At least then when it blew up no one would be surprised or overly-critical.

However, frustration and a familiar low-level ache in his circuitry were foremost in Starscream's thoughts. Two weeks with no valid results was enough to try every last ounce of his patience, and all he wanted right now was to drag one of his flyers off for a quick interface before collapsing into his berth until it was time for morning rations. Unfortunately, he had his own rule about not disturbing any berthmates before they were ready to online, and given how much this project was bothering him chances were good that he'd be up well before even a quarter-cycle had passed to go right back to work. He could ideally manage the collapsing into a berth part for at least a little while, if he ever got that fragging panel rewired.

Starscream pushed himself to his feet with the intention of stalking over to where the panel was now resting against the wall, but a firm grip on his arm stopped him before he was even halfway there. The seeker turned a questioning gaze to Soundwave, who was as unreadable as always behind his mask and visor.

"Leave it," the larger mech intoned, something in his voice sounding as if he were hovering on the edge of frustration and exhaustion as well. "Recommendation: recharge before resuming any work."

Starscream frowned slightly before giving a nod. "A few joors' rest sounds ideal," he agreed. A few joors of recharge would be more ideal after doing something about the ache in his circuits, but he'd discovered long ago that when an interface partner was absent he could force himself to ignore it with some measure of success. Something in seeker physiology made them literally need to interface at times, although no one had yet to understand the reason for this cybernetic quirk. It was just an accepted fact that seekers were somewhat promiscuous, even though seekers themselves never actually flaunted their behaviour.

Granted, that nature was likely what prompted the air commander to extend the invitation in the first place: "If you'd like, you can stay in my quarters tonight. Your Cassettes are most likely in recharge by now."

Soundwave was silent for a moment, giving the seeker the impression that he was being closely studied, before offering a brief nod and stepping off to the side to let the slighter-built mech leave first. He fell into step behind Starscream, making no other move until after they'd arrived at the air commander's quarters. Soundwave waited until after the door had slid closed behind them and relocked before abruptly grabbing hold of the seeker's arm once more and pushing him against the wall, stepping forward to pin him in place.

Starscream felt his armour heat up further and the ache in his circuits intensify at the closer-than-expected contact and moved his arms instinctively to push the other mech away, only to have them grasped and pushed back down again.

"You do not realize just how loud your thoughts can be," Soundwave remarked almost conversationally even as he continued to invade the seeker's personal space. He wasn't completely familiar with seekers in general, but he'd been around the Decepticon seekers for so long now that their deeper, more instinct-driven thoughts were easy to pick out from the rest of their processes. Starscream may have believed that thoughts of interfacing had drifted into his mind once or twice in the past two weeks, but Soundwave had picked up on those subroutines demanding attention at least three times each cycle. He also knew exactly what this particular seeker desired in his berthmates and – having been long-since driven to distraction by Starscream's subconscious signals – was more than willing to fulfill that role.

In spite of generally enjoying an argument with the air commander, Soundwave didn't give him the chance to protest; the moment Starscream opened his mouth to do just that the spy retracted his mask and silenced the yet-unspoken words with a kiss. It was obvious by how quickly the seeker surrendered that he'd pushed off any encounters for far longer than he was usually wont to do, and the knowledge that he finally had Starscream right where he'd wanted for some time now made Soundwave's systems nearly overheat.

He broke off the kiss abruptly, ignoring the faint whine of protest that worked its way from Starscream's vocalizer, and dragged the seeker over to the recharge berth. It took no more than a moment for Soundwave to push the other mech down and no more than a hand resting flat against his cockpit to convince him to stay down; the spy's free hand drifted to the paneling that covered his partner's interfacing connectors, carefully working the latches open and setting the panel aside before opening his own covering.

Starscream automatically reached down to run his fingers along the other's connectors, unable to hold back a confused sound when Soundwave grabbed hold of his wrist and forced it to lay flat on the berth. The larger mech hovered over him and growled softly, pressing hard on the trapped wrist for just a moment before releasing his grip; the seeker made no second attempt to touch his partner.

Satisfied for the moment that Starscream wasn't going to move, the spy turned his attention back to his previous task. A faint shudder wracked the seeker's frame as Soundwave ran one finger lightly across the other's receptor ports, three in all and apparently already sensitive to the touch. He glanced up again and sent a silent order – lie still – before reaching for one of his own cords. The telepathic mech brushed the other two ports purposely as he made the first connection, smirking slightly at his partner's bitten-off whimper.

The other two connections were made in much the same manner, a faintly teasing caress accompanying the initial energy surge at the points of contact. With any other lover – and perhaps, in future encounters with this one – Soundwave would have opened his own ports for the other's cords. This time, though, he had something else entirely in mind. He pressed his full weight down on the seeker, nuzzling the wires on Starscream's neck even as he coaxed his partner's legs to wrap about his waist before sending the first strong pulse of energy through their connections.

Starscream's optics flickered and his head dropped back, mouth opening in a silent gasp of pleasure. His arms moved automatically to wrap around his lover's shoulders, clinging tightly as another pulse assaulted his systems. If his own cords had been linked up to Soundwave, he'd be returning the pulses as quickly as he was receiving them; however, the spy had taken the completely dominant role for this encounter, and Starscream was helpless to reciprocate in any way until he overloaded.

And he loved it.

Most of his previous lovers had expected him to take the lead role in their interfacing; given a seeker's proclivities, it was considered proper to allow the seeker to control the encounter. Starscream had usually needed to cajole his partners into taking a fully dominant role, and even then he failed more often than he succeeded. But Soundwave—

Another strong pulse distracted him from his silent musings, accompanied by a sharp bite to his neck. Starscream bit his lip and wrapped himself even more tightly around Soundwave, burying his face against the telepath's shoulder in an attempt to muffle his cries. He could just barely register the larger mech whispering something to him, and tried to tune his audio receptors to catch the words. More energy pulses kept him from processing what was being said in full, but what he could catch sounded possessive.

Soundwave nuzzled his lover's helm, a faint grin crossing his lips as he sent a stronger energy pulse through their connections. His systems were rapidly overheating, steam beginning to rise from his armour, and he could tell that his seeker was on the verge of release. He pressed a kiss to one audio receptor, keeping his mouth there for a moment longer.

"I don't care how many lovers you've taken," he whispered harshly, "but you're mine now. You don't look at another, you don't think of another. You only overload for me." The spy sent another sharp pulse to his seeker, not pausing before sending another, and another. "Break for me, my falling star."

The combination of the possessive words and the ceaseless energy pulses were too much, and Starscream's optics flashed white as he overloaded. The sudden snap finally caused a feedback loop, surging back through the interfacing connections into Soundwave and sending him over the edge only an instant later. The pair collapsed onto the berth, their fans working rapidly to cool their frames even as their vents cycled air just as quickly.

Starscream made a faint sound of protest as his lover moved to disconnect his cords. "Not yet," he murmured, tightening his legs around Soundwave's waist and nuzzling into his neck. "Please."

The spy hesitated only for a moment before nodding slightly, settling onto his side and pulling the seeker to rest fully against him. "As you wish," he replied as he brushed a kiss to his lover's helm. "Recharge now."

"Mmm. But only for a joor," Starscream replied sleepily.

Soundwave huffed slightly as he slipped towards recharge as well. "Four joors."

"Two."

"Two, and refuel before going back to work," the spy bargained, nuzzling his lover slightly.

"Mmm," the seeker agreed, automatically setting his internal clock to wake him at the agreed-upon time. Maybe if he asked nicely – or thought loudly – enough, they'd have time for another interface before that refuel.