Warnings: None in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Not ours, not by a long shot, at least the characters. But we hope you enjoy our story.
Soundwave booted up the optic wiring, hoping against hope that this would work. He was getting rather tired of not being able to see. The light was blinding after so long on the dark, but the room quickly came into focus. The mech beamed. "Ratchet: Never ceases to amaze."
Ratchet let a small smile slip. "Go on, get out of here then. I don't need you crowding the med bay." He said as he turned to clean up. "Oh, and make sure you go see Optimus. He's expecting you."
Soundwave and Jazz nodded dutifully as they headed out the med bay. The cassettes rejoined them in the hall and Soundwave soon bundled them away in his chassis. Some time had passed while Ratchet was installing the visor and more Autobots were roaming the base. Until they got out on duty, Soundwave felt better not having to keep an eye on all of his creations.
The ex-Decepticon frowned behind his mask as he and Jazz moved through the base. When he was blind, he'd been unable to see the stares, glares really, of the Autobots they passed. He had never been a bot that got along overly-well with others, but the not-quite-hostile bots surrounding them still set him on edge.
Jazz clearly sensed his discomfort through their bond and nudged his shoulder gently. The looks they were getting hadn't escaped his notice, but he was confident that the others would get over themselves and see how great Soundwave was soon enough. It would just take time.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Soundwave: Unused to being the center of attention."
It wasn't a lie. Even as a gladiator, Soundwave hadn't liked the feeling of being watched and judged. Perhaps that was what had drawn him to communications and intelligence in the first place. He far preferred to be the watcher.
"They'll get over themselves soon enough. You're just bright and shiny and new!"
Soundwave couldn't help but grin and roll his eyes at Jazz's silliness. After the seriousness of the past few days, it was quite a relief to be able to smile and joke again. By no means were they out of the woods yet, but at least they were together and more or less safe.
They arrived at Prime's office in only a few minutes. The Autobot base was not overly large, after all. Jazz knocked and they waited patiently for the call telling them to enter. Prime sat behind his deck, reading through something on a datapad. He gestured for them to take a seat across from him and he entered some information and then set the pad aside, clasping his servos together and placing them on the desk.
"How are the two of you doing? I see Ratchet was able to replace your visor without any complications."
"Ratchet: An excellent medic. Autobots: Very lucky to have him."
Prime smiled and nodded good-naturedly.
"I completely agree. Ratchet has brought a lot to the table for us and most of us wouldn't have made it this long without him. We are incredibly fortunate that he chose this side. Now, shall we get down to business?"
The two straightened, all signs of humor gone. Their servos reached across the space between them to grab hold of one another. Ratchet had told them that Jazz had been more or less exonerated, but they each knew better than to take such a threat lightly.
"Let me begin by offering you both my congratulations on your bonding. It is good to see that, even in this time of war, bots can find happiness together. That's important during times like these. However, that does not excuse the recent actions exhibited by either of you."
Soundwave immediately found himself becoming defensive. Perhaps Ratchet misunderstood the situation?
"Jazz: Did not commit treason."
Prime held up a servo to show he wasn't quite done.
"The other officers and I have determined that Jazz's actions do not qualify as treason. That being said, they had the very real possibility of placing the Autobot cause, and many here at the base, in danger. This cannot be overlooked. Jazz, you will be confined to the base until Soundwave can be proven trustworthy and your security clearance will be dropped to the Basic level for the remainder of that time."
Jazz sighed in relief, knowing things could have been a lot worse.
"And Soundwave?"
He wasn't so naïve as to think his lover would be excused.
"Soundwave will be confined to the base, and to your quarters unless he has an escort. The same will apply to the cassettes. I'm taking a leap of faith here by allowing you to count as an escort. I trust you, Jazz, and I believe you wouldn't do anything to endanger our side of this war."
Jazz ducked his helm in acknowledgement.
"Thank you, Optimus."
"You don't need to thank me, just make sure you don't pull any more surprises like this on us in the future. I'm getting far too old to be dealing with this sort of thing." They all shared a chuckle. "And, Soundwave, I think it would be best if you did not keep your cassettes hidden away. It would be better for our members to see them and be able to adjust to their presence."
"As you wish."
"Good. Well, then, I believe that is all. You two are dismissed. Prowl is sending me over more paperwork that needs to get done."
Once they were back in the hall, Soundwave released his cassettes.
Jazz let his happiness flow between them all. "What do you say to exploring base a little?" He asked, smiling widely at Soundwave.
The taller bot slotted his mask back into place after giving his lover a quick kiss. "Soundwave: Would enjoy that."
The cassettes agreed just as easily, and the twins quickly scaled their creator to sit on his shoulders. "Lookin' good, Boss Bot!"
Jazz held Soundwave's servo in his own. "Let's go check out the rec room." He said, leading the way.
Soundwave nodded and they set off.
Jazz kept a hold of his bonded's hand as he strolled confidently into the rec room.
A/N: Hey all hope you're enjoying it. Things are looking pretty up them, aren't they. As always, thanks for reading, and please review.
