Chapter 6

Soundwave chuckled and bounced Prima on his knee, the sparkling clicking and squealing loudly as he waved his tiny servos in the air. There was a knock on the door and Soundwave looked up.

"Come in." He called and the door hissed open, revealing Optimus standing in the doorway.

"We need to talk." Soundwave shrank slightly but Prima squealed at the sight of his creator. Optimus stared at the sparkling, his gaze unreadable as the sparkling clicked and struggled to get to him.

"Prima…" Soundwave whispered, stroking his sparkling's back to try and soothe him back into a calmer state. Prima, however, was not to be swayed as he groped for his creator.

"I do not remember ever interfacing with you." Optimus whispered. "How can they be mine?"

Soundwave looked away.

"I… I didn't want you to let your emotions cloud your judgment about them." Soundwave whispered. "They are not like the others… They will become so much more…"

"Because they are mine?" Optimus asked somewhat coldly. Soundwave looked down and when he looked up again his visor and mask were retracted.

"Because they are yours and mine." Soundwave whispered, standing up with Prima in his arms. "I took some of your spark plasma and CNA, I had Rumble and Frenzy implant them into my spark."

"Because you couldn't stand the thought of interfacing with me?" Optimus snarled, suddenly releasing a burst of anger.

"No!" Soundwave turned away, hugging Prima to his chest tightly.

"Then why not, Soundwave, Rumble and Frenzy said that you had me, you've never had me and I know it's not because I don't want it. Tell me what you're playing at!" Optimus rarely lost his temper but this was aggravating.

"I… I don't want to love you." Soundwave whispered finally, his monotone crackling with static.

"You don't want to…"

"I do not believe in love, I don't want to believe in it either." Soundwave whispered. "I don't want to fall in love with you."

"How do you know you will?" Optimus asked, stepping forward.

"Because." Soundwave whispered, turning and looking at Optimus. Optimus felt something tugging at his spark as the other mech stepped forward. Soundwave offlined his optics for a moment and the sensation soon became all Optimus could focus on. His spark was going mad, trying to tear itself from his chassis to get to Soundwave. The other mech seemed similarly affected, whimpering and cringing as he stepped away, as if distance would quell the aching pull of their sparks.

"What…" Optimus stepped forward and pressed his hand to his chestplates.

"I don't want to fall in love with you." Soundwave whispered, turning away. "I don't want to destroy you, just like I destroy everyone else."

"You won't destroy me, Soundwave." Optimus whispered, pulling the smaller mech closer. "I love you."

"No!" Soundwave sobbed, his façade breaking completely. "No! No! You don't!" He turned away, clinging to Prima. The sparkling squealed in distress at it's creator's disturbed emotions, clinging to Soundwave's hands and gnawing at a finger to snap Soundwave out of it.

"Soundwave!" Optimus grabbed Soundwave, wrestling the sparkling away and into his recharge berth before grabbing Soundwave's face, shaking him slightly. "What is wrong? Why can't you love me?"

"Because I don't want to lose everything again!" Soundwave sobbed, grabbing Optimus' arms. "I loved him too and he died! I killed him! My own bondmate, I killed him! He killed my sparklings so I killed him!" The Breeder was babbling now and Optimus could do little more than hold the mech before he finally shut down, limp and offline in Optimus' arms.

Some questions would need to be answered later on.