Marine Teals
:asfdf: : comm link.
Chapter 3
Thundercracker nearly jumped out of his armour as a pair of red and grey arms latched tightly onto him. Letting out a frustrated growl, he tried to shake Sideswipe off before he attempt that blasted Jet Judo. How come almost every single raid those two hellions would try to rip his wings off while he was still using them? Was he that much of an easy target? Aggravation was an understatement as he looped and turned to get rid of unwanted baggage. Then Sideswipe started to claw at the undersides of his alt mode.
Note to self: rethink policy of instilling fear into your enemies. Be more like Megatron. Or Blitzwing. Or even Starscream. Any Deception who did not get Jet Judo - ed on a regular basis.
The blinding pain and sound of shattering glass announced to him that the red Autobot had punched a hole in his glass cockpit. Thundercracker spiralled desperately and felt the intruding hands grip tighter on his frame. Sideswipe raised a fist, preparing to smash his control panels.
Thundercracker heard an earsplitting shriek.
Out of nowhere, Laserbeak came into view and started to rain hell on Sideswipe, hitting him square in the chassis. Sideswipe plummeted to the ground with a scream. Thundercracker hadn't fully computed what was happening and was staring at the Autobot's departing fall when she squawked at him to pay attention to the battle. The aerial cassette stuck close to him for the remainder of the raid, even circling him protectively, watching for any potential "hitchhikers".
Thus, a very sore and confused Thundercracker flew across the battlefield, occasionally releasing shots on unsuspecting Autobots. Laserbeak NEVER helped him willingly before, yet here she was by his side like a guardian. He caught a glimpse of marine blue and noticed Soundwave watching him. The mech scanned his form quickly, then continued to conduct the raid. Was he searching for injuries?
:T.C!: Skywarp called through his comm. :Why is Soundwave's spy following ya?:
After the Stunticons incident, Thundercracker didn't speak to him for days. Skywarp, thinking that Thundercracker would simply forgive him like other times, had tried in vain to struck up a conversation. On the third day, the black and purple slagger, drenched from helm to pede with seawater, had trudged into the command room, offered him a cluster of red coral as an apology while wearing a kicked turbofox's face. It was hard to stay angry after that, no matter how much Thundercracker tried.
He contemplated ignoring Skywarp, just to show that he was still a little angry but then decided against it. Plus Skypwarp had been extra nice lately, but that wouldn't last long. The seeker was more irresponsible and childish than a sparkling.
:Beats me:
:Weird... Need my help?:
:Nah... She got rid of Sideswipe for me. Guess that means she won't stab my back. You go and mess with the 'Bots:
:Ahead of ya already.: The purple Seeker sound extremely gleeful.
When the raid ended, the Decepticons made off with quite a decent amount of energon, and Skywarp was waving around an arm suspiciously like Sideswipe's. The moment Megatron called retreat, the Aerial cassette left him for her master. Thundercracker tried to catch Soundwave's optics but it seemed the tapedeck was intent on ignoring him, keeping his gaze trained on Megatron.
The teal seeker approached the surveillance systems with small, cautious steps. Perching on one monitor, Laserbeak watched him with the intensity of a turbofox preying on a glitchmouse. Thundercracker unsubspaced a small box containing a few energon treats he had sneaked from Skywarp's secret stash, placed one treat on his palm, then nervously stretched it towards Laserbeak in a silent offer. One wrong move and his servo would be gone for good.
Laserbeak watched him until he began to shift. The cassette clucked then suddenly struck her head out in a flash, causing Thundercracker to jump a few feet into the air. Laserbeak plucked the treat from his hand and settled back. Taking this as a good sign, Thundercracker presented the whole box, placing it next to the avian cassette.
What was he doing, being all nice and shit? Giving gifts out of good will? That's the Autobots' job.
Laserbeak wasn't too threatening when she was eating treats, decided Thundercracker as he tilted his head to watch, a small smile slowly creeping onto his face.
"Laserbeak: accepts gratitude display."
He jumped. Damnit! Why did he always get sneaked on by Soundwave?
"Stop that!"
"Query: stop what?"
"Stop the sneaking! All that espionage and spying, it's unnerving!" He retrieved the empty box. "And she did help me during the raid, so I've got to thank her somehow."
He could still fell the amusement radiating from Soundwave as the mech opened his compartment. "Laserbeak, return." The cassette folded and docked, leaving the two mechs alone in the monitor room. Soundwave sat down and watched Thundercracker, subconsciously tracing and drawing random patterns on the keyboards. The seeker found himself staring at one mesmerizing blue servo, its long sleek digits circling and entwining in almost like a dance. Better than seeing a telepath staring at him with a penetrating gaze.
"Thundercracker, strange."
Thundercracker was startled at the sudden statement.
"Huh? How so?"
Soundwave canted his head slightly to the side, and Thundercracker knew he would die in the Pit because to him that act was almost adorable. "Gratitude, rare among Deceptions."
"... If being grateful is strange, then wouldn't you be the strangest? You helped me twice without asking for anything in return. Well, yet, that is. Somehow I feel like you won't use my misery to blackmail me. You told Laserbeak to watch me, didn't you?" He cut Soundwave off before the mech could speak. "And don't even bother to deny it, I can guess."
"Repeat of previous encounter, not welcomed." Thundercracker didn't need to be a genius to figure out which specific encounter Soundwave was alluding to. "Best avoided."
"Oh? And here I thought you are a bit more of an opportunist." The Seeker didn't know why but that stung. If he was that much of a problem, why not just leave him to cool off alone on that cliff? "You know, saving up favors to use against me when the time comes?"
The tapedeck stiffened, gave Thundercracker a searing glare as a silent "Get out" and the room fell into awkward silence. Thundercracker stood around a bit more, glaring back. Stubborn mech.
"Fine. If you want me gone that much, I'll go."
He strode towards the door and on second thought, called back when he was almost out.
"Whatever the reason, I appreciated the help. It saved me a lot of trouble. Happy monitoring."
He didn't saw the way Soundwave's nasal ridge turned the slightest shade of pink.
Thundercracker was strolling the hallway when he saw Soundwave around the corner, carrying an enormous mountain of datapads. Astrotrain and Blitzwing suddenly rushed out right in front of the telepath from a nearby room.
There was an ugly "CLANG" as Soundwave crashed headfirst onto the floor, sprawling datapads everywhere. The moment the two triplechangers noticed they who they had bumped into, they retreated with astonishing speed, not even bothering to look back. Thundercracker stared as Soundwave started to pushed himself up and quickly strode over.
Sucks to be a feared Deception officer huh. Other mechs wouldn't help you without a price. Now that he thought about it, Soundwave seemed kind of... lonely. At least Starscream had his trine. Beside the Cassetticons, the telepath didn't really have an equal to talk to.
Soundwave jolted when he saw the seeker approaching and eyed him warily. "Here." He held out a servo.
The blue tapedeck hesitated before grasping his servo and letting himself be pulled up. Thundercracker bent down to collect whatever datapads he could reach but he didn't give them back to Soundwave. The other mech gave him a questioning look and he just shrugged.
"Where are you heading off to?"
Soundwave tilted his head. Again. Intentionally or not, it's not normal for someone so stoic to do something so. Slagging. Adorable.
"Thundercracker, offering to carry?"
The teal Seeker smirked. "Let's just say I'm going in the same direction. Besides, carrying that many datapads is quite dumb. And," he paused, "I was a bit of an aft back there, so..." That was the closest to an apology Soundwave'd ever get.
He couldn't tell if Soundwave was happy, but he knew the tapedeck's mood seemed to lighten up.
"Apology accepted."
"Wha-What? I'm not apologising!" He stuttered.
Soundwave only hummed in response.
They walked at an unhurried pace. Thundercracker let Soundwave walk one step in front of him.
"So are we even now?"
"... Possibly."
Soundwave placed his datapads onto an empty table in the Meeting room, Thundercracker following suit. They started filing the datapads onto one of the nearby data shelves and the room was completely silent, save for Thundercracker's occasional question about where to put something.
Thundercracker was internally sweating if possible, and he cursed himself for trying to keep up a front. Being alone with a mindreader wasn't his cube of energon. After placing the last datapad onto the shelf, he dropped into a chair and slumped, sighing in relief.
"Energon?"
"Huh?" Thundercracker looked around, bewildered. Why'd there be energon in the Meeting room?
Soundwave pointed to a tiny energon dispenser.
Oh. He didn't remember that being here. Thundercracker never paid attention to the interior of the room since all he did during meetings was letting his mind float on the clouds. Soundwave probably mistook his sigh of relief for exhaustion. It was oddly caring, in a sense.
"No, I'm not underfueled or anything. I'll just go now." He moved to stand up.
Soundwave intoned in a voice that left no room for arguments. "Sit." He filled a minicube and handed it to Thundercracker. He shook his head and raised the cube towards the tapedeck. "No, I don't need it. You have it."
"Soundwave: insist."
"No, I'm ok."
"Drink."
"No, really." Why would Soundwave keep offering him energon?
Soundwave looked at the minicube in Thundercracker's hand, then back at him. His shoulders sagged a fraction and his visor dimmed to a soft, sad glow. He plucked the cube up in an almost sullen manner. Thundercracker might be presumptuous and he might be misreading because Soundwave was extremely hard to read, but it suddenly struck him as obvious.
Soundwave was trying to be nice. And he messed it up.
"Sorry." He mumbled apologetically and took the cube back. Thundercracker sat down and took a small sip. "You are just being nice, and I'm just being idiotic." The marine mech stared at him then lightly shook his head and settled down into a chair next to Thundercracker's. They sat in silence, Thundercracker drinking and Soundwave simply watching him. It was a nice mid-grade that left a subtle warmth on its way down, and Thundercracker was almost glad he accepted the offer. Not that he liked it or anything.
He placed the emptied cube down and threw a glance at the other mech. "It's... um... quite nice but... uh... I think we should leave. I don't think Megatron will be very pleased to know we hang out in this place."
As they walked out into the hallway, Thundercracker heard the familiar crackling sound that accompanied Skywarp's teleportations. He quickly shoved Soundwave out of arm's reach, then a "VOP" resounded.
A thick curtain of bright neon green paint came showering on the place where Soundwave had previously been, which was where he currently stood. Thundercracker was covered head-to-pede in the slagging substance. Soundwave was unaffected, luckily. Looking behind, he found a gaping Skywarp holding a bucket.
"Thundercracker? What, I thought-"
"SkyWAAAAARP!" Thundercracker hissed though gritted denta. He was going to kill Skywarp. Skywarp warped immediately. Thundercracker was not known for his violence but he could be quite ruthless when he was angered. Damn moronic pea-brained fragface, trying to prank others again!
As he ran past Soundwave to chase the purple slagger, he said to the confused tapedeck.
"You owe me big time for this."
And the entire Nemesis got to see Thundercracker's homicidal side again.
The teal seeker almost peeled down the door to his shared quarter with his Trine in his attempt to reach Skywarp. Said mech was cowering behind a very irritated Starscream who had his servos firmly planted on his hips.
"Move. Aside." Thundercracker gritted out.
"No! What is the meaning of all this fuss? And why are you covered in glowing green paint?!" Starscream screeched. He seemed more irritated than usual. Maybe his daily schemes to overthow Ol' Buckethead failed again, or maybe he was just PMSing, whatever the Pit that human slang meant. He only knew that female organics became angry very easily if they were referred to with this term, so it must've been equivalent to a really rude insult to femmes. Come to think of it, Starscream was like a femme... a very ugly, macho femme with the most annoying cadence ever existed.
"Well, cack-handed Warp here tried to throw his bucket of paint on Soundwave but I got to be the victim instead. So now I'd like to offline him if you don't mind."
"That's not an excuse! Do you know what you've done? I swear why do I have to deal with you idiots on a daily basis! All the crap I have to go through... "
Thundercracker tuned him out at his point. Starscream's one to talk... He could still remember how the tricolor seeker had screeched when Skywarp painted his pedes a glorious shade of pink. Everyone in a 200m radius had to have their audio receptors reset. And Primus was he still ranting? If Starscream was a femme, he'd be a very ugly, nagging wife, like some of those humans he saw on this thing called "TV". Wait... Then Megatron'd be the abusive husband... The entire Decepticon army would be an extremely dysfunctional family, with the soldiers as children. Children with multiple personality disorders, anger management issues, murder obsession, Down syndrome and over-the-top selfishness... He'd be the nerd, he supposed, and Soundwave would be the antisocial loner...
Thundercracker snorted at those ridiculous thoughts. He'd been watching too much of those human entertainments. The shrill sound of Starscream's voice brought him back to the present.
"... You're not listening, aren't you? Skywarp, stop hiding behind me and explain yourself!"
"T.C had to get in the way! The paint was meant for Soundwave!" Skywarp squawk indignantly. "He didn't have to push him away and take the paint on himself! And why the hell were you with that creep in the first place?"
"Wait, you were with SOUNDWAVE?!" Starscream screamed. True to his name.
"Stop being so loud, you're tearing a hole in my audio receptors..." Thundercracker mumbled.
"What'd you say? Why you..."
"Look, he wasn't threatening me or anything. We just happened to be going in the same direction, and since he had some problems with the datapads I figure I'd help him carry them for a bit." He intentionally left our most of the important details, like how Soundwave got bumped into, him helping the tapedeck organize the datapads and him being offered energon. The shocked looks on his trinemates' faces was enough proof that his decision had been wise.
"You were helping him?" They exclaimed.
Oops. "Uhm... Nnn-ye-ah? F - forget it."
"I told you not to associate yourself with him! He's a psychopath who will do anything to remain in Megatron's good graces. It's not worth the risk being nice to him." Starscream pinched his nasal ridge.
Thundercracker was getting tired of this ridiculous conversation. He should have just said the easy way out. "I told you he didn't do anything. It was just a kind of payment. He helped before so I don't want to be in his debt."
"Him helping you? He's definitely plotting something. Stay away from him T.C!"
"You're the one I need to get away from, Skywarp. And I don't think he's plotting anything. Am I the only mech on the Nemesis who actually believe in gratitude? Like, you know, actually helping others?"
"Don't get near him. It's for your own good. And I still haven't forget that time when you sought out Soundwave in the morning and had morning fuel with him," said Starscream.
They were watching him that time? Thundercracker was generally quite patient but this talk was blowing his fuse quickly. They were being completely irrational.
"I'll associate with whomever I wish, help whoever I want, thank you very much. You're not my creators, so don't tell me what to do."
And with that he stormed out to take a shower and a much needed flight, ignoring the indignant yelps his trinemates made. Another moment in this room and he might strangle some mech.
When he returned, Starscream opened his mouth but he silenced him with a single glare.
Thundercracker was noticing a certain pattern in his encounters with Soundwave in the last couple of days.
After the paint incident (he still hadn't received an apology from the perpetrator), Soundwave had been staring at him a lot, well at least he thought so. He would be standing around, minding his own business, then suddenly he would feel the weight of a gaze on his back. He would turn around and would always saw Soundwave nearby, but he could never caught the telepath looking at him.
And then there was the time when Thundercracker wanted to fly but the shuttle hatch was keyed shut, and the mech on watch had just left to get a late energon snack. Unluckily, the control panels were locked. He had waited for half an hour before almost storming off in frustration when Soundwave rounded the corner. He spotted the teal seeker hovering near the hatch and walked over, keyed in the password and strode away without a single word.
The next day, during morning energon, Blitzwing and Astrotrain were hanging out in front of the energon dispenser, and Soundwave didn't look too thrilled to get close, the antisocial telepath he was (not that he had a say, since he wasn't the most social either). As a thank you, Thundercracker shoved the two triplechangers out of the way, filled two cubes and handed Soundwave one. The cassette player was surprised at first but recovered quickly and nodded his silent thanks.
After that, Soundwave handed him a small can of paint without any explanation, with which he scrawled "Have anyone seen my CPU?" onto Skywarp's wings when he was napping. It was fun seeing the entire Nemesis laugh at the clueless purple seeker.
Thundercracker pulled a kicking and cussing Frenzy away from Scrapper and Hoist.
Soundwave snuck him out of the Nemesis for a midnight flight.
It was… weird, like a strange exchange. This weird game of gratitude was driving him crazy.
"This has to stop."
Soundwave looked at him, uncomprehending. They were alone in the monitor room, Soundwave being on duty.
"Elaborate."
"This… this weird gratitude thing between us… It's getting out of hand."
"Soundwave, dislike being in debt."
Thundercracker scrunched up his nose. The problem was that they were both stubborn and hated being in other's debt. Then suddenly an idea struck him. "Well, same here, but it's getting kind of annoying. How about I make a proposal?"
"… Proceed."
"Whenever I help you, you'll have morning energon with me. Whenever you help me, I'll help you with the datapads. We can choose the time when the other have to do the return favors."
The tapedeck kept silent for a while until Thundercracker began to fidget uncomfortably. Maybe because he was always with boisterous, loud and rude mechs like his trinemates that the seeker couldn't deal well with Soundwave's silence. Perhaps he was wrong when asking Soundwave to fuel in the morning. He didn't know what hit him then.
He mumbled when the silence became too much to bear. "You know what, forget it."
"… Terms, acceptable."
He jerked up to look at Soundwave's face, carefully devoid of all emotion. The atmosphere in the room seemed to lift.
"Really?"
"Affirmative."
"… Don't go back on your words."
Soundwave tilted his head, the light behind his visor mild. Thundercracker mentally smacked himself. He would go to the Pit, he was certain now.
This one is quite a long chapter as a compensation for me disappearing for so long.
Thank you all of those who followed, faved and reviewed. It motivates me a lot.
Until next time. Bye.