A/N: Here we go, the party scene! But, will it all be fun and games? We'll find out. I'm also sorry that this was late.
Oh, by the way, I know G1 is set in the 80's, but excuse me for using recent music that I know. Sorry for using stuff interchangeably between decades -_-' You have been warned, no flames for that please.
Turning Point – Chapter 12
"A party."
"Yeah…a party."
"For us."
"You, your guys, the Seekers. Jazz said it's like a 'welcome to the Autobots' party crossed with a victory party."
"And…you are expecting me to go to these festivities?"
"Well, yeah. Thought it'd be a change of pace. Something exciting instead of being either stuck here or on comm. duty with me."
"…a party."
Blaster arched an optic ridge. "I believe we just went over that." He couldn't really blame his friend for questioning it and analysing it. Pit, he'd be confused too if he went over to the Nemesis and the Decepticons decided to have a party that was partly for him. He could understand the odd feeling, but it didn't mean he wanted Soundwave to be too wary to go to it.
Soundwave gave Blaster a dead, not impressed look. The red mech merely grinned innocently.
"Am I to understand that the whole base will be there?" the navy mech asked, crossing his arms.
Blaster had to catch himself before he laughed. It was the pose that Soundwave used to adopt when Ravage chewed up a datapad or when he woke up hungover after a party and Soundwave had to help sober him up.
"Well, not the whole base. I know a few of the more hostile minibots are not going to stick around too long, and I think there will be a few others who won't want to go. But yeah, a majority. Still going to be mechs doing patrols, if that's what you are worried about," answered the boom box.
Yes, that was exactly what he had been concerned about. He didn't want his creations to be caught, and it was still one of the biggest fears he held.
To be completely honest with himself, however, he was curious. He had hardly remembered the parties he had been to back on Cybertron, although he remembered DJ-ing with Blaster on such occasions. The only parties he had been to since then had been Decepticon victory parties – surely, this type of party would be vastly different from the ones he had been accustomed to. Decepticon parties included lots of loud, heavy Cybertronian music that acted like a battering ram against one's audials, lots of high grade and stimulants, and the ever inevitable public interfacing.
Of course, he had always tried to steer clear once it got to that stage.
Knowing that he could be laughed at for asking, the telepath questioned, "So…what happens at the party?"
Blaster gave him an odd look, as if caught somewhere between pity and incredulousness. "Well," he began, "we have a bit of high grade, we dance, we talk, sometimes we perform and sing. It's really just an excuse to be social and have some fun. Your cassettes will be totally fine there. I know mine love DJ-ing with me when we have parties."
"Human music?"
"Yeah mech! I love the human's music. So emotive with some songs, and some are just so cool to groove to," the comm. officer said excitedly, grinning at the choice of topic.
"Really?" Soundwave's curiosity was piqued. He and his cassettes had listened to Earth music in their quarters, but only when they were sure that no other mech was around to hear it. He had to admit that Blaster was right. Human music was so interesting.
Blaster nodded happily. "I love Bon Jovi. That guys knows how to rock! I also like a lot of the more mainstream, recent stuff. Like Jason Derulo, Lady Gaga, heaps of stuff. I think Prowl called Jazz's and my tastes in music 'eclectic.' Gotta say, it fits," he said.
"Oh."
The more chipper mech took a long look at his friend, at a mech who was slowly healing during their time and chat sessions together. He looked so uncertain, reminding Blaster of baby birds about to take their first flight. Kindly, he asked, "So…what human music interests you?"
Soundwave mumbled something that he couldn't hear, so he gestured for the other mech to say it louder.
"I actually…rather enjoy the sounds of Maroon 5 and of classic rock bands, among others."
Blaster felt sorry for Soundwave. The mech had been so gregarious with his music back on Cybertron, back at Frequency, and for it not to be shown, and for it to be seen as shameful to like music broke his spark. He hid it well and nodded, smiling. "Maroon 5, huh? Their tunes are pretty sweet. Catchy, groovy. Nice taste, mech."
The words seemed to do the trick, and the telepath let a small smile turn the corners of his lips up as he looked at his friend in gratitude.
"So…you're coming to the party?" Blaster asked hopefully, playfully batting his optics.
He was quite sure Soundwave rolled his own optics as he answer, "Yes, Blaster. For you."
Blaster could hide the massive grin that came over his face when
Starscream couldn't believe it.
The first time he had gone to the Autobot's rec-room and they had the audacity to throw a party!
True, it was both a victory party and a form of 'welcome,' but still!
He had merely wanted to go for some energon. To, as Optimus Prime put it oh so bluntly yesterday after he had his flight, 'get out and know the fraction you're going to be living with.' Sure! Go and know the mechs that he had recently tried to murder/maim/rule. No problem, Prime, no problem at all.
At least his trine had arrived and were having a bit of fun.
Skywarp and Thundercracker were next to him, Skywarp singing loudly (and badly) to a song playing. Starscream didn't recognise it, being it was Earth music, but it was alright to listen too…once Skywarp stopped trying to sing it.
Sipping his energon, the tricoloured jet found himself grateful for some things. One being that Skyfire was still in his lab. Lately, he had acted like such a sap around his old friend. Clinging on to him like a sparkling, not being snappy like he was usually, being so pathetic in all senses of the word. He didn't feel like himself.
'But then again,' he thought to himself, 'I have gone through…lots and lots of slag I don't deserve.'
It was a small victory to say that he didn't deserve the treatment under Megatron's hands. Secretly, for a little while, he thought he had. But for Skyfire to go and pound his abuser to the ground…
He scowled, thinking of the way he acted once Skyfire came back, jumping onto him like some love struck Seekerlet.
"Hey Star, what's got you looking like a lemon face?" Skywarp asked, grinning at his trine leader.
"None of your business," the tricoloured mech answered neutrally, schooling his expression. He saw his trinemates give sideways glances to each other and he rolled his optics. "I'm thinking," he answered. Having performed the Trine Ritual so recently, he felt safer with them, more…able to be open.
At least the questioning made Skywarp stop singing.
"Always thinking! I swear you never stop!" teased the black flier, leaning over his mate to playfully poke his leader in the arm. Starscream swatted the finger away with another scowl.
It was Thundercracker's turn to roll his optics, and he grabbed his lover and said, "Let's go dance. Maybe we can get rid of that excess energy. See you later, Star."
Starscream smirked at the gleeful expression on Skywarp's face as he was swept onto the dance floor in front of the music station, where Jazz and Blaster were manning the music files. There weren't many on the dancefloor. The small spy, Bumblebee, was there with another minibot, Beachroamer, or something like that. The diva-like mech, Tracks, was swaying along to the music, although he turned his lip up when Skywarp and Thundercracker began to dance. Most mechs, Starscream observed, were at their tables, with cubes of normal or high-grade energon in front of them and chatting, enjoying the music.
He had been mostly ignored by most mechs, which was good. No hostile reaction was a good reaction in this situation.
Looking around, the Seeker had a feeling like most of the Autobots were waiting for something. If so, then what? The party had started, that much was sure, with the music and the atmosphere, but even he knew it was…not complete.
The doors cycled open, and the figure in the doorway caused Starscream to look and become curious.
Soundwave looked around awkwardly, his cassettes around his pedes looking gleeful and excited. Spotting him, the telepath made for his table.
This could be interesting.
Jazz saw Soundwave enter first, nudging Blaster who was rooting around in a box of datafiles.
"Your bondmate is here," the black and white mentioned, laughing when his friend jabbed him in the kneejoint.
"Shh! I don't want anyone to overhear you!" Blaster whispered in a harsh tone, frowning, holding up the next set of tracks he wanted to play.
Jazz merely smirked. "Chill, mech. Yur secret is safe with me. But don't be surprised if other mechs are startin' to suspect. The way ya've been actin' toward him is so protective and all. Getting' a little obvious," he said neutrally.
"I can't help who I fall in love with, Jazz. You know that more than anyone," the red mech said, still frowning as he thought about how others would see his actions towards his long lost friend.
"Yeah, Ah know. But watch it. Ya don't want Soundwave to find out yet, cos he's still reeling over the abuse and all. Plus, it'd be real awkward with him livin' in your quarters," the saboteur explained, bobbing his head along to the beat of "Don't wanna go home" by Jason Derulo that just came on.
The music of one of his favourite artists at the moment calmed the larger mech, and he shifted to the beat and smirked. "Yeah, you're right. You reckon it'll look too overprotective if I go down to meet him right now?"
"Yep. Give 'im a wave, smile at 'im, but don't go down to see him just yet, Blast-man. Personally, Ah think ya're babyin' him just a little, but maybe that's because Ah know that when Ah came on too strong to Prowl back when we got together, he'd back off. So give 'im a little bit of space. If he needs ya, he'll sure as Pit let ya know, Ah'll guarantee it," Jazz replied with no hesitation, putting it kindly but bluntly.
Blaster sighed, but did as recommended, smiling at the ex-Con and his cassettes, waving jovially at them before sitting down and checking the playlist for tonight.
"There ya go!" the visored mech encouraged with a smirk. "Now, what song out of the three should Ah sing tonight? After all, Ah haven't serenaded Prowl publically in a while…"
It got the cassette player mech to chuckle. "That poor bondmate of yours get's 'serenaded' every night in your quarters every night, I'm sure."
Jazz mock-gasped and trilled, "Young mech, how dare you impugn me of such actions! No matter how true they are!"
Blaster laughed at his friends acting and looked with a critical optic over the three songs Jazz showed him on the music station holoscreen. With a chuckle, he said, "I don't think that singing 'Nasty Naughty Boy,' in public will make Prowl happy. I think that one is one reserved for a private dance in the berthroom."
"Been there, done that. Just wonderin' if Ah should do it public." The cheeky grin on the smaller mech's face could have blinded any jet in the sky from the ground.
Blaster rolled his optics. "TMI, mech. Anyway, I also don't think that 'Marry You,' by Bruno Mars will be right. It's…rather 'blah' for singing to your bondmate, I think. I like the last one, where'd ya find that one?"
"It's a musical, got turned into a movie. Got loads of drama. Ya reckon it'll do?"
"Prowl'll love it."
Returning Blaster's wave, Soundwave continued to approach the table at which Starscream sat at. The Seeker didn't look like tense or hostile in any way. He was simply watching their approach with a blank face. He stood in front of the table and inquired, "Seat: taken?"
"No. Go ahead," came the response.
He took the seat and gestured to his cassettes. "Objective: retrieve energon," he intoned, and they nodded, running off to get energon. He noted they were cautious, but animated and happy to be out and around others.
"Eager little fiends," Starscream said, drawing his attention to the mech he was sitting with.
"Cassettes: in new environment. Excitement: logical," he said, mask modulating his voice.
"Of course," replied the Seeker.
It was an odd, awkward silence until the cassettes came back, each with a cube of energon in their hands, Ratbat swooping down to deposit the extra cube he got in front of his creator. Soundwave made an odd hum, and the small mechs sat down and drank their energon obediently, their optics roving around the room. Of course, they knew the size of the room from the map of the base, but they rarely had cause to enter it in their infiltrations, and so their optics gathered all the information they could.
"So…how's life on base for you?" Starscream asked, wincing as the question came out. To his audials, it made the awkward moment even worse. The look that the telepath shot him behind the visor was so flat that he wondered if the truce they had made…that night…was a full truce after all.
After what seemed like minutes, but was actually a few seconds, Soundwave replied quietly, "Life: getting together. Autobots: better environment."
"Well, it certainly is an improvement over a living with a megalomaniac," the Seeker said.
"Indeed."
Plucking up all his will to eject the next words from his mouth, the flier murmured, "Listen, I do have one thing to say. You have my gratitude for making a decision on that night for us to come here. I've found life here more agreeable than what it was on the Nemesis."
"Query: so it's not just the energon that is better?"
Soundwave cracked a joke.
Not the strongest of jokes…but a joke nevertheless. Starscream arched his optic ridges in surprise and answered, "Well, it's a bonus."
Soundwave seemed to smirk, but it was hard to tell with that mask.
"Evening, gentlemechs."
Prowl had been the one to speak, coming to them with a datapad in one hand and a cube of energon in the other. Starscream swore that the mech didn't go anywhere without a datapad. He nodded as the blue mech across from him greeted Prowl in his monotone. Even the cassettes greeted Prowl civilly, if not jovially. Ravage even let himself be patted on the helm!
"Cassettes: are free to dance," Soundwave said, Rumble an Frenzy grinning and running onto the dance floor near Skywarp and TC, Ratbat flying over to join them, while the other three slunk off to explore.
Sitting down, the Praxian commented, "Nice to see you both here and getting out and about. How are you, Starcream?"
"Fine." No way was he going to have a personal talk with the SIC until he was good and ready.
Prowl sensed this and wisely turned to Soundwave to ask the same question. The jet was surprised that the telepath actually opened his mask to talk to the doorwinged mech. It sated one of his long held curiosities. To see that Soundwave had a perfectly smooth, handsome lower face was a bit of a disappointment for him, actually. He had been expecting a scar or something.
"Content for now," the tapedeck replied.
It was true. His creations were buzzing with curiosity and excitement about their surrounds. Ratbat was having fun with the twins dancing to 'Love Shack' by the B-52's, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were cackling over who had the worst playing cards from the game between Smokescreen, Hound, and Warpath, and Ravage was curled up under the music station near Blaster.
"That's-"
"Good evenin' mechs! Now that everybot's here and settled in, we're going to kick off with a lil' performance!"
Jazz's cheerful voice interrupted all conversation throughout the room everyone turning to look at the beaming black and white on the small stage next to the music station. Once all the attention was on him, he went on, "Now, Ah haven't done a lil' serenadin' recently, so Ah'm gonna do it tonight, to show our new bots how we have a good laugh and to kick off a good time!"
Soundwave and Starscream turned their gaze abruptly to Prowl, who groaned in mortification, "Oh Primus, not another one."
"Sir?" asked Soundwave.
"Watch," the chevroned mech mumbled, placing his helm in his hands.
The light dimmed in the rec room, and a light over the stage brightened, enhancing the shining paintjob of the saboteur as he grinned and moved along to the brassy 60's big band music that began to flow out of the speakers. Mechs around the room were grinning. They'd seen this type of display before. Jazz amplified his voice to sing.
Never met a mech,
Quite like you.
Doing all you can, making my dreams come true
The saboteur turned head on towards the table where Prowl sat, catching his bondmate's secretly happy optics as he poured out the next words.
You're strong and you're smart
You've taken my spark, and Ah'll give you the rest of me too
You're the perfect mech for me, Ah love you Ah do
The singing mech pointed his finger at his bondmate as the smooth, vocals flowed out of his mouth and floated through the air to reach his comrades, who were grinning – some were moving along to the cheery music.
Mm Ah love ya
You're the perfect man for me, Ah love you Ah do
You've got a charm, you simply disarm me every time.
As long as you drive, Ah'm along for the ride, all the way,
Ah said it before, there won't be a door that's closed to us.
Putting all my trust in you…Cause you, you'll always be true, Ooooohhhhh! Ah never could have known…
This would be,
Oh you and you alone, yeah…All for me.
Jazz twirled, grooving along the music, visor flashing with mischievousness as he jumped off the stage, sauntering towards Prowl. The doorwinger's optics widened with realisation. He made to move, but as he pushed back his chair, his lover made an odd sort of jump and landed in his lap, continuing to sing.
Ah know you're the best, you've passed every test, it's almost too good to be true
You're the perfect mech for me, Ah love you Ah do
You're the perfect mech for me, Ah love you Ah do
As he finished the song, Jazz drew his bondmate into a quick, but deep kiss, encouraging wolf whistles and cat calls from the Autobots while Starscream and Soundwave didn't know where to look…should they look at all was the question they asked themselves.
As his lover drew away, Prowl's faceplates heated in embarrassment, so much that pink tinged the top of his cheekplating.
Jazz merely giggled and flounced away, bowing to the rec-room and calling out, "Now, let's get this party truly stared!"
Instantly, Blaster switched on "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet. Mechs stood up to dance again, but more did so. The lights dimmed and multicoloured balls flicked on, casting the rainbow coloured light everywhere throughout the room.
Starscream snerked and said to the Praxian at the table, "Well, that was no what I expected from such uptight bots."
Prowl cleared his throat, engaging his professionalism and replied, "Jazz is…very unconventional."
"I'll say," said Starscream, smirking.
Soundwave smiled kindly and commented, "Your mate has a very nice vocal tone. And…it was…cute." Soundwave frowned at himself, even as the word left his mouth. He had never found the need of using the word, but it seemed to fit this mech who had trusted him and the saboteur.
Prowl smiled back at him and said, "I am off to do my duty. Have a nice night, mechs."
"Soft Autobots," muttered the flier softly, but the telepath knew there was no true inflection in the tone.
"Indeed."
Seeing the high grade cubes available, Starscream asked his old enemy, "You want high-grade? I'll get some if you want it. Pit knows it'll be better than the trash we had back on the Nemesis."
"…sure."
As Starscream wandered off to get them energon, Soundwave reflected how juxtaposed his life was compared to the one he had been living. The habits so ingrained in him would take their time to fade, and until they did, he marvelled at how his citations had changed. He felt like a curious youngling with all the comparisons he was doing. Catching Blaster's optic at the music station, he gave a tentative smile in reassurance. It was good that Blaster was giving him his autonomy back, bit by bit.
When Starscream came back with the desired cubes of high-grade, Soundwave vowed to see the party to its end. It wasn't so bad after all.
Two Hours Later.
Soundwave wished that he hadn't vowed to stay.
Not that it was horrible. No.
It was just a bit…awkward and a little uncomfortable to see a few mechs dancing with their partners in such a way that he didn't need his telepathy to know the activities they were planning on doing later that night. Especially those twins. He was sure that their names were next to the definition of 'sexy dancing' in any mechs dictionary. They were the most overt, kissing each other, hands sliding into seams and under plating that he was sure was not fit for public.
At least half of the Autobots in the room were either pleasantly buzzed or completely drunk.
So was Skywarp. He was dancing with the Autobot Smokescreen on top of a table, to the applause of Trailbreaker, Hound and Mirage, who were all buzzed.
It was a happy and friendly atmosphere that accompanied the varying states of drunkenness.
He had been mostly left alone, although it had been rather entertaining to have the young gunner, Bluestreak, come up and start talking about random Disney movies. He now knew everything about the Fox and the Hound. Apart from the huge public displays of affection and drunkenness, it was nice to listen to the different songs.
Soundwave felt himself having to hide a smirk behind his hand as Skywarp plucked Starscream from the dancefloor as the song changed, both overcharged Seeker's beginning to do the 'Macarena.'
He was glad. Unbeknownst to Starscream, he kept mental tabs on the Seeker. The emotional state had fluctuated so much that it sometimes puzzled him, but now it seemed to have levelled out. No doubt there was still pain, but the Seeker was coming back to himself, slowly.
In his thoughts and not being able to hear much over the thudding of "DJ got us falling in love again," by Usher, the telepath didn't realise that a very drunk mech had stumbled to his table, sitting in a chair next to him.
It was the heavy, stale scent of consumed high-grade – and a lot of it – was what broke Soundwave out of his thoughts.
Tracks leaned in drunkenly and giggled, "You're a con."
"I was…" Soundwave said, not liking the distance between him and this mech. This mech hated Decepticons almost as much as Cliffjumper did.
The giggle was shriller and Tracks said, "Bet you'd be good in the berth."
Soundwave did not like where this was going.
"Shee, cos you guysss are bad, you'd be baaaad in the berth…" the drunk mech 'whispered' in a loud voice. Soundwave recoiled, moving to the next chair along, but the mech just followed, a hand dipping down to stroke along his thigh in a caress that was supposed to be seductive, but came out clumsy. The navy mech pushed the hand off and warned, "Desist."
"Issa party….wanna party…"
The clumsy hand searched his abdomen, filling Soundwave with an unfathomable anger. Gathering his telepathic prowess, he forced himself into the orange-faced Autobot's processor and bypassed the rather lewd thoughts circulating in the mechs mental, drunk processes. One that was done, he found the forced recharge and triggered it, backing away both telepathically and physically from the corvette as he slumped and went into recharge.
"Wave."
Soundwave turned to see Blaster there, looking concerned.
"You okay main machine?" the red mech asked, looking between his friend and Tracks.
"I am now,' he replied steadily.
Giving a pitying look to the drunk mech who was offline, Blaster mentioned, "He tends to go overboard with the high-grade, but who can really blame him. When we want to have fun, or we need to forget, we go all out, and Tracks is a sure sign of that. By the way, I rather enjoyed how you made him recharge. That was cool."
"I didn't enjoy the thoughts," muttered Soundwave.
Blaster winced and said, "Yeah I'll bet."
They watched the party in companionable silence. Blaster's cassettes had come in from comm. duty and were now dancing with Rumble, Frenzy and Ratbat, while Ravage talked with his condor siblings. The two split spark mechs were happy to simply watch their fun, until Blaster got hit by an idea.
"Hey Wave, next party, wanna DJ with me? Put on a show like we used to?"
Soundwave smiled as he considered it. As soon as he heard it, he liked it. Besides…his competitive side was aching to have a go at trying to best Blaster on the holo-matter DJ tables.
"May the best mech win."
A/N: I tried to make the character of Starscream a little less 'damsel'-like in this one.
I hoped you liked it, and if you did, PLEASE REVIEW.