Marine Teals
:asdffgh: comm link
Chapter 5
The first thing Thundercracker noticed when he onlined was the darkness surrounding him. The next thing he noticed was a weight on his chassis and sharp rocks pressed against his back. Soundwave was sprawled on top of him, unmoving, his visor black. Out cold, huh.
He twisted his helm to inspect their situation. Rocky walls met him on four sides, occasionally pebbles and dust would fall from the "ceiling". Due to the cave-in, they were trapped in one of the "pockets" Starscream had mentioned about. The space was very cramped, just wide enough for his wings to fit. Thundercracker recalled how the two of them got here in the first place and felt a surge of anger towards the mech currently on top of him. It was all his fault.
He hissed and shook Soundwave. "Get off me!" When he received no reply, Thundercracker snaked his servos under the other's armpits and tried to push him off but the mech wouldn't even budge. Strange. A mech with a frame similar to Soundwave's shouldn't be this heavy. He flailed his hands behind the tapedeck and Thundercracker's spark chilled when he found rocks - boulders - wedged on Soundwave's back.
Soundwave's visor flickered online, but the glow was very weak, a barely-there light. His voice was very shaky.
"Th - Thundercracker?"
"Soundwave." The teal seeker tried to sound calm. "There are... obstacles on you. Stay still so I can get rid of them."
Thundercracker wound his arms around Soundwave and started to push the boulders off the tapedeck's trembling frame. When a particularly heavy rock rolled off to the side, Soundwave jerked violently and gave a pained whimper. Long digits dug into his shoulders and as soon as the rest of the rocks were gone, he pulled the other frame flush against his own, rubbing comforting patterns on the other's back. He cringed when he felt the stickiness of energon. These were horrible dents.
Soundwave was... surprisingly fragile.
"Sshh sshh ssshhh... " He shushed at the distressed mech, momentarily forgetting his anger. After a short while, the shaking stopped, and he pulled away to look into Soundwave's visor.
"Okay?"
"... Affirmative."
"Come on, we've got to get out."
He began to feel the walls while Soundwave leaned back against the rocks, rubbing at the dents on his arm. From what he could see, Soundwave was in quite bad shape. He himself only had a few small dents and cracks. After 5 minutes and finding nothing, he growled in frustration and threw his arms up exasperatedly.
"Any idea how to get out?"
"... Negative. Survey of position: a slab of stone currently blocks the exit, preventing stones above from falling down. Removal, dangerous."
"Great. Great! We can't do anything. My comm's useless and I'm betting yours is the same. Can you use your link with the Cassettes to get us out?"
Soundwave was silent for a few minutes. "Our location, unknown to Autobots, meaning chance of capture: minimal."
"So that means they found a way to pretend we had left." A nod confirmed his theory.
"Rescue, due in five hours."
"THAT long?!"
"Presence of Autobots, must be eliminated."
"They're waiting for the Bots to vacate the area, forget we exist, then dig us up. Just perfect. This is all your fault, just so you know."
"Negative." Soundwave's visor light narrowed into slits. "Thundercracker, attacked Soundwave. Caused the cave-in."
"You attacked Skywarp!" Thundercracker yelled. "You freaking SHOT him! I don't care if he's an aft and a processor-dead moron, he's still my trinemate, and I sure as Pit won't stand to see someone attack him!" He jabbed a digit at Soundwave's chest compartment, making the tapedeck stumble backwards.
"Skywarp, attacked Rumble!" That was the first time he heard Soundwave raised his voice. He was breathing hard, his visor blazing with some unknown emotion other than apathy.
"What?"
"Skywarp, causing trouble for Soundwave by firing missiles near Soundwave's location. Rumble, angered, tried to attack Skywarp when he transformed into mech mode. Skywarp hurt Rumble. Soundwave..." The tapedeck sighed tiredly. "Carrier protocol, triggered. Reaction, reflex."
"You're lying."
"Negative."
Thundercracker remembered explosions, though he never wondered exactly who they were aimed at. Then there was Skywarp flinging the Cassetticon into the rocks. So that was what it was all about. He refused to believe it all, since lies came easily and naturally for Decepticons.
"...Fine. I'll let it go for now." There was always time to find out later. "Just because we are staying here for a while and I don't want too much hard feelings between us."
The atmosphere soon turned awkward.
"Thundercracker's right wing, dented." Soundwave said softly.
"Oh, it's nothing". He brushed it off. "You're worse than I am. I can still fly if I need to. Are we going to stand here until help arrives or are we going to sit, 'cause my legs are starting to hurt."
"Space, insufficient."
There was enough space for only one mech to sit, which means...
... Primus help him for coming up with this idea. There was no way Soundwave would comply, unless he was taken by surprise.
"Hey Soundwave, what is that over there?"
The tapedeck turned towards where Thundercracker was pointing. An opening.
Thundercracker promptly sat down, grabbed Soundwave's wrist and yanked him down onto his lap, back-to-chassis. He wrapped his arms around the navy mech's waist and settled his helm in the crook of Soundwave's neck. Soundwave yelped in pain when his back made contact with the teal Seeker's front. He tensed up and started to thrash, but the lack of space and Thundercracker's iron hold soon deterred him.
"Thundercracker?"
"What?" Thundercracker inhaled the scent that was uniquely Soundwave's. A strange blend of energon, dirt and flora permeated his olfactory senses.
"Explain action immediately." Soundwave's visor glowed ominously.
"It's warmer this way. Besides, we have no space so we'll both be comfy like this." It was true, at least most of it. His hot breath ghosted near Soundwave's audio receptors and he shivered slightly. The tapedeck turned to get a better look at Thundercracker and nearly jumped out of Thundercracker's arms when his lower left leg scraped against the Seeker's inner calf.
Squinting in the darkness, Thundercracker could slowly made out the outline of Soundwave's damaged leg. A palm-sized piece of plating had been torn off, exposing mangled, burnt wiring underneath. Looked like Thundercracker got him bad. He sat silently for a while and watched drops of energon slowly leak out from the broken fuel lines.
Soundwave's breath was hitching now, his armor too feverish for comfort. The energon loss must be taking a toll on him. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
"Sorry," he mumbled, burying his face in Soundwave's back, taking care not to scrape against the dents. He was glad their current position hid his faceplate from the other's view. "Shouldn't have shot you. I screwed up big time, didn't I? Megatron is going to be so furious he'd probably offline me." Thundercracker bit his lower derma. How much time did they have? Would he still be alive after Megatron punished him? His arms tightened around Soundwave's waist as he thought of the worst.
Soundwave let out a small sigh and cautiously leaned against Thundercracker, tilting his helm backwards to rest lightly on his shoulder. "Thundercracker's survival: certain. Seekers, too valuable to Deception cause."
Thundercracker snorted. "He beats Starscream on a regular basis. What makes you think I'd get a better treatment?"
"Fact: Starscream, attempted treason and tried to overturn Megatron numerous times, yet never deactivated. Seeker Trines: tactical advantage. Trine: three Seekers required. Also, Soundwave partially at fault. Attacking Skywarp, unwise. Consequences, possibly worse." Soundwave's helm lowered in a uncharacteristic display of unease. "Punishment, unavoidable."
"Hey, hey", the blue Seeker pinched Soundwave's side, eliciting a startled yelp from the tapedeck. " You're gonna be fine. You're his most treasured soldier. I mean, you're a mech too, not Primus, so you're bound to slip up sometimes. Besides," he added, grinning, " you have me as a partner in suffering. It's a mighty fine day to die if I do say so myself."
Soundwave quietly glowered for a few minutes before shaking his helm. "Immature."
"Telepath."
They settled into companionable silence after that, simply waiting for their rescue. The constant heat radiating from Soundwave's frame and the soft hum of his machines was soothing, and Thundercracker couldn't help but notice how... trusting their position seemed. In normal circumstances Soundwave would never act this way. Maybe the fatigue was getting the better of him, or maybe Soundwave did trust him to an extent. The last few weeks had been strange but fun, and he felt he and Soundwave had come to an understanding. Of course there were still awkwardness but they were getting along. Was it presumptuous of him to think they were friends?
It was quite shameful to admit but he enjoyed the feeling of a warm frame in his arms.
Soundwave's visor dimmed to a soft glow, the lights behind flickering and weakening by the second. His body sagged against Thundercracker's for support and his ventilations slowed.
" Come on, rest. It'll do you good. I'll wake you when they come." The Seeker urged.
Soundwave gave an almost imperceptible nod as his visor lights sputtered out for good and his frame went limp. Thundercracker waited until he was sure Soundwave was in deep recharge before carefully pulling him closer and arranging his limbs into a more comfortable position. He shifted the blue helm so that Soundwave's face was turned with his battlemask brushing against his own neck cables. Thundercracker gave the helm a small pat then sighed. The tiny crevice was in complete darkness now, save for the faint glow of his optics.
Thundercracker jolted awake when he heard shuffling from above. He checked his internal chronometers and found nearly a joor had passed, meaning he must've dozed off. He gently nudged Soundwave.
" Get up. They're here."
No response.
"Soundwave?"
Oh no.
He frantically shook the tapedeck. "Come on, get up!"
A tiny flicker of light answered him and he watched the glow of Soundwave's visor brighten up slowly as his systems lazily onlined. Soundwave lightly tugged at him to release his hold, then pushed himself up. Thundercracker quickly stood to steady the tapedeck's wobbly stance, one arm securely wound around a slim waist. He quickly dropped his arm and Soundwave immediately put what little distance he could between them when the boulders above cleared away, blinding them with sunlight. It took a few seconds for both to adjust their optics.
"There you are slaggers." Starscream's faceplate popped into view, his optic ridges drawn together tightly. He leaned into the crevice and extended a servo for Thundercracker to grasp. "Megatron's one unhappy camper, just so you know. Hook might have to stitch you and the blue glitch over there from pieces when he's done with you two." Starscream said as he pulled Thundercracker out of the crevice.
"Wait, you're the only one on the rescue party?"
"Megatron thinks one is enough. Since you two fragfaces get yourselves into this mess in the first place, it's only fitting you get yourselves out."
The teal-tinted blue Seeker blanched.
"Come on, let's get back. Megatron doesn't like to wait." The tricolor mech fired up his thrusters and moved to take off when Thundercracker called him back.
"Wait! What about Soundwave? Help me get him out!"
Starscream's optics narrowed. "Fragger shot Skywarp and gets you into trouble. What makes you think I'll help him? Leave him be, he can get himself out." He blasted off before Thundercracker could utter another word.
He heard the sound of crumbling rocks followed by a large thud and quickly strode to the crevice opening only to find Soundwave lying in a crumpled heap, his back against the hard rocks. It seemed like the cassette master had tried to climb out of his imprisonment but failed miserably. Thundercracker stifled a snicker as he reached as deep as possible into the crevice.
"Here, klutz."
Soundwave glared at him with the intensity of the smoldering Pit, making him just a tiny bit queasy. After what felt like ages, Soundwave finally grabbed his servo and gently tugged as a silent request for help. About midway up, he lost his footing and nearly pulled Thundercracker down with him.
"You still able to fly?" He hauled the blue tapedeck to his pedes, drawing a pained whimper when Soundwave landed on his injured leg. In the daylight, Thundercracker could see the full extent of the damage on Soundwave's frame and his spark sank. They'd better be quick or he'd have a half-dead mech on him.
Soundwave checked and keened in distress as one of his built-in thrusters were damaged.
"... Negative." Soundwave breathed out an enduring sigh. Thundercracker thought for a moment. He COULD just ditch Soundwave here and fly back first but he would feel very guilty afterwards for making an incapacitated mech walk miles to base.
"Transform."
"Pardon?"
"I said transform into your alt mode."
" Thundercracker, expecting Soundwave to return in cassette player mode?"
"No you idiot. I am going to carry you back in my aerial mode, so transform already. We haven't got all day."
Soundwave stared at him as if searching for something. Thundercracker snorted. Always so suspicious. "I'm not going to drop you OK? I'm not Starscream."
"Soundwave's intended location?"
He hadn't thought about that or rather didn't want to think about it. Frankly, the only answer scared him. "Well... Maybe in my cockpit?"
The tapedeck shuffled his pedes only marginally but it was enough to show how much the idea unnerved him. " Cockpit: house to Spark chamber... personal. Sacred to Seeker Trine. Soundwave, does not wish to intrude."
Thundercracker was baffled. Most grounders never bothered to understand Seeker culture, thinking that they were vain and hypocritical. Soundwave was quite considerate for a non-seeker.
"It's ok, I'll manage. I'm tough as nails." He flashed the marine mech what he deemed an assuring grin. "Besides, you don't want to walk all the way back to base, do you?"
"Reason for worry: not just physical wellbeing."
"... Just do it."
"Alternatives, not available?"
"I could carry you and fly back with my thrusters but that would take forever. Making Megatron impatient is... unwise."
"But..."
"Look, I'm just as intimidated by this ... arrangement as you are but we've no choice, so let's just get this over with."
Soundwave went stiff for a click, then initiated his transformation sequence. His frame begin to fold and fold, becoming smaller and smaller and in a few seconds, a battered cassette player was lying where Soundwave previously stood. Thundercracker had always wondered how in the Pit Soundwave and Megatron could transform into things so terribly small compared to a Cybertronian frame. He picked Soundwave up gently.
"Soundwave? You ready?"
No reply.
"Soundwave?"
Nothing. He suddenly realised his current predicament and smacked his helm.
"Great! How am I going to talk to you when you're a cassette player now?"
Hardly had he spoken when an unknown commlink pinged him for acknowledgment which he hastily accepted.
Communication officer and spymaster, expert of espionage. Right. Should take him no time at all to hack into Thundercracker's frequencies.
:Link, operational?:
:Loud and clear.: He took a bit of time to inspect the commlink that they had just established, noting some (of the numerous) firewalls and security codes embedded into its programming that would likely thwart the ambition of all eavesdroppers. Soundwave was very thorough in making their shared frequency confidential.
:Ready?: Soundwave replied with an affirmative burst.
Thundercracker was a nervous wreck. He wasn't a whimpy virgin in any sense but never had he let someone so close to his spark, literally. It was like that organic saying, something about offering your heart on a plate, whatever it meant. He would be sweating buckets if possible.
His cockpit slid open and he quickly placed the cassette player inside. Thundercracker cycled slow and deep ventilations to calm his nerves. It felt weird, really weird, like something there but not quite there. Not to mention the slight tickles.
Just a little while. He could handle it.
Thundercracker launched himself skyward and boosted his thrusters to maximum speed. Being in the air soothed him more than he had thought. Soundwave had been eerily silent since the beginning of the trip. No matter what he did, he couldn't elicit a response from the stoic mech. He even performed a loop, feeling the tapedeck being thrown around inside his cockpit to provoke, yet Soundwave remained quiet.
Silent treatment, huh. :You know what, just pretend I don't exist. It's not like having another mech near my spark chamber is any big deal.: Thundercracker grounded out in annoyance.
Finally, a small burst of static answered him. Music suddenly flooded their shared commlink, and Thundercracker was speechless at the familiarity of the melody.
:How did you know this tune?: He demanded, a bit too harshly. He should be the only mech who knew of it!
Soundwave's voice was small. :... Thundercracker, hummed tune at previous meeting. Soundwave, replicated and searched for original version.: A long pause, then a nearly inaudible :Apology.:
That took him by surprise, and the teal Seeker suppressed a grin. He turned sharply, lightly jostling the tapedeck. Their shared commlink burst to life.
:... Jerk.:
Thundercracker laughed heartily. :Oh, don't be so rude to your savior! I might just drop you!:
Really, the poor mech was too conscientious for his own good.
The moment Thundercracker touched down on the Nemesis' deck, Starscream was already there tapping his pedes.
"What took you so long? I'm here half an hour ago!"
"Excuse me, you're not the mech who got trapped in a closed space underground for five hours! Cut me the crap!" Thundercracker growled when he landed a bit too hard and skidded a few hundred metres.
"Well hurry up and come to the Common room! Megatron's waiting and I'm sick of telling him your location every 5 minutes!"
Starscream paused his rant and looked around. He smiled a self-satisfactory smirk and his tone took a lighter turn. "I see you listened to me and left Soundwave to his own devices. If this incident doesn't make him lose Megatron's favors, arriving late will surely guarantee a beating. I'm going first. Scrub off all that muck and make yourself presentable."
The teal Seeker started to rub away the dirt on his arms, feeling anger swell inside him. Starscream and his selfishness... Making an incapacitated mech suffer just for his own enjoyment and personal goals... As soon as the tri-colored Seeker was out of sight, he carefully checked to make sure there were no onlookers before opening his cockpit and taking the marine tapedeck out.
He placed Soundwave down and looked away. "Here you go."
The sound of transformation greeted his audios, then an ugly CLANG. Startled, he turned sharply to find Soundwave had promptly fallen into a crumpled heap on the floor, his limbs still tangled together.
"Soundwave! What...?"
Soundwave's visor glowed dim, his monotonous voice strained. "Q-Query: Assistance?"
Thundercracker crouched down and started to separate the tapedeck's limbs. His damaged leg must've been very painful, so painful he had to stop the transformation sequence midway. When he unhooked the injured appendage, Soundwave cried out softly. "O-Ow!"
"Sorry. Bear with it for a moment." Carefully he pulled at the leg and lowered it down slowly. Soundwave didn't make any more sound, but Thundercracker could tell from the rapidly flickering light behind his visor that he was still in pain. After freeing the marine mech's limbs, Thundercracker let out a breath he didn't notice he had been holding.
He hauled Soundwave to his pedes, slinging an arm around his shoulder and wound one arm around the other mech's waist. When no protest was made, Thundercracker walked the tapedeck to the Common room.
Soundwave stopped him before he could enter. He procured a rag from his subspace and started wiping at the Seeker's wings. Thundercracker's optics dimmed as nimble fingers pried into seams, cleaning sediments that were stuck in between. The constant pressure on his most sensitive appendages caused him to offline his optics lulled him into a sleeplike trance.
"So how are we going to explain ourselves?"
"Main perpetrator: Skywarp."
Thundercracker's spark stopped. "Don't. Don't say his name. If it was truly him like you said, then say it was me. He's my trinemate. Wouldn't you do the same had it been your cassettes that got into trouble?" The administrations on his wings ceased. The Seeker sighed when Soundwave kept silent.
"Besides, if I was punished, he wouldn't do such a thing again. You... it was just self defence. If anything, you shouldn't even be here."
He kept his optics offlined even when the touches left his wings, since he was sure Soundwave would be cleaning himself next. The mech would probably appreciate some privacy.
He only looked when the door slid open, making sure Soundwave was ahead of him before following in.
"You have one minute to explain yourselves. My patience is wearing thin." Megatron barked from where he stood on the raised platform.
Soundwave lowered his helm and spoke quickly. "Cassetticon, threatened by fellow Decepticon. Carrier protocols, activated as a form of protection for cassettes. Actions, instinctive." He paused, then quietly added: "Actions, unacceptable. Soundwave fully responsible."
With several long strides, Megatron neared the tapedeck and cuffed his helm, hard. Soundwave stumbled backwards, then dropped onto his knees from disorientation. He quickly changed into a kneeling position and didn't dare to look up as the Warlord loomed over his battered form. "I must say I'm disappointed in you, Soundwave. I thought you, out of all mech, would have better self-control than this."
Thundercracker stared at him in surprise. The mech didn't mention his name or Skywarp, meaning he was going to take the blame all on himself. He cringed when Megatron brutally gripped the telepath's chin and jerked his faceplate upwards. Judging from the tremors in his frame and the flickering of his visor, the teal Seeker knew Soundwave was struggling to stay online. Starscream was snickering gleefully and Skywarp, a fresh weld on his side, was grinning like a madman. Soundwave's symbionts were shaking with rage in a corner. The rest present were simply looking on with interest at the whole exchange.
No way was Thundercracker letting it go down like this.
"My Lord, if I may," He quickly cut in when Megatron raised his first. "I attacked Soundwave and caused the cave-in in the first place. If the raid was unsuccessful then I should be the mech held responsible."
He diverted his gaze downwards when he saw the silver gunformer approaching. A clawed servo gripped his right wing and squeezed. Thundercracker could feel metal tearing and shredding under the immense force and he bit down on his dermas, hard enough to draw energon. A blow to his helm threw him off-balance and Thundercracker immediately dropped into a submissive crouch. He had learnt from many of Starscream's beatings that defiance would only earn you more pain.
"Please show mercy, my Lord." He pleaded.
Out of the corner of his optics, he saw Soundwave's shocked expression. Starscream's and Skywarp's faceplate were devoid of the initial glee.
"Lucky for you, you little charade had garnered more than a few glances from the Autobots, distracting them long enough for us to succeed." Megatron growled and walked away. "Be grateful I am in a lenient mood. Now get out of my sight."
"Thank you, my Lord." Before Thundercracker could check on the tapedeck, Starscream and Skywarp nearly threw themselves at him and herded him away.
"Why did you try to take the blame?" Starscream screeched, taking him by the arm and started dragging him to the medbay.
"You should've just let Soundwave be the scapegoat. I was so sure Megatron would crush him!" Skywarp whined.
"Though Skywarp's missiles did the trick, huh?" Starscream cackled, making Thundercracker stop dead in his tracks.
"Wait, what? You really fired the missiles at him?"
"He deserves it." The purple Seeker pouted. "He was taking you away from us!"
Thundercracker jerked his arms out of Starscream's grasp, then turned to face his Trinemates with a seething glare.
"First off, he didn't take me away from you, I chose to spend time with him of my own free will. Second, you should show a bit of gratitude to the mech, Skywarp. You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Megatron's wrath were he to discover you hurt Rumble in the first place, which lead to him shooting you, which lead to me attacking him, which caused the cave-in?"
Skywarp blanched.
Thundercracker turned sharply on his pedes and marched back into the room to find the Cassetticons flocking around Soundwave. The moment they saw his approach, they bombarded him with pleading looks. Soundwave was tensely watching his every movement. The teal Seeker let out a sigh before scooping the mech up bridal-style. Soundwave thrashed and flailed his limbs weakly but Thundercracker simply rolled the blue frame close to his chassis and set out for the medbay.
:Thundercracker, desist!:
He responded with a :Don't be ridiculous: and shut the comm before Soundwave could protest, then threw a question over his shoulder. "Are you coming or not?"
The Cassetticons ran.
"Lay him down over there. Go out and keep the scraplets company for a while, then I'll fix you later. If they come in here I'll never be able to work properly." Hook pointed to a berth near the wall and left to retrieve his tools.
Soundwave had stopped struggling and resigned himself to his fate; although he gifted Thundercracker with a searing glare the entire trip to the medbay (which he ignored, obviously). The second Thundercracker laid him down, he sprang up like a jack-in-a-box and looked around. Probably for his cassettes. Thundercracker pushed the mech back onto the berth with a firm shake of his helm.
Babysitting a bunch of impatient, rambunctious mechs wasn't his cube of energon. Especially when they were trying to extract information from him.
"What happened back during the cave-in? Boss wouldn't tell me anything!"
"Squawk!"
"How's his injuries?"
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"Is he gonna be ok?"
"Squawk!"
"Hey, what did you two do in that cave?"
Thundercracker felt a metaphorical vein pop.
"Just shut up!" He yelled. The Cassetticons clammed shut. "Soundwave's just a bit scratched, nothing life-threatening. A little buffing and welding and he's gonna be good as new. He bled a little, yeah, but it's not like he's gonna die! And no, I'm not telling you what happened! Tell your master to do that himself!" He slumped down in his seat and crossed his arms, irritated.
Something nudged at his arm, then Frenzy dropping a small lump of colorful crystals into his lap. Thundercracker looked up to see five expectant faces.
"Uh... thanks, but what am I supposed to do with a rock?"
"It's called a peacemaking gift, moron", grumbled Frenzy, who threw a punch at his arm. "You helped Boss a lot, so I guess you're cool." All the others eagerly nodded.
He turned the small organic piece in his palm. The dim light in the hallway hit its edges and it sparkled with a tint of teal, like the shade of his armor. It seemed the midgets put a lot of effort into finding the crystal lump.
So they... approve of him? Is that an appropriate thought?
A voice made him jump a few feet into the air. "Get in here." He quickly subspace the gift.
"Sit." Hook didn't even bothered to spare a glace when Thundercracker entered. Soundwave immediately shifted his helm to face the wall. He looked better, though, without an entire chunk of plating missing from one leg and dents larger than Thundercracker's own servos.
"Couldn't you be a bit nicer to your patients?"
"My medbay, my rules. Unless you want a toaster welded to your aft?" The Constructicon laid out an array of tools next to Thundercracker on the berth.
"No thanks. And what the frag is a toaster anyway?"
"Some piece of earth technology. It's quite funny. Wanna see?" Hook pulled at his injured wing for better access. Thundercracker winced at the heat from the welders. The burning sensation passed swiftly, leaving a ticklish feeling behind.
"Yeah... Maybe later." Soundwave was still facing away from him. Had he offended the tapedeck in any way?
Hook pulled back to take a look at his handiwork. "Almost done. A couple of buffings and you'll be good as new."
It felt like an eternity but finally Hook put down his tools with a satisfied smirk.
"You're good to go. You and Soundwave can stay in the medbay for a while, but don't you dare sleep here. I'm going. Do not touch anything." With that the Constructicon left.
Thundercracker waited for a couple of cliks to make sure the Constructicon was really gone before approaching the blue mech.
"Hey Soundwave. You feeling better?"
No reply.
"Soundwave!"
Primus he hated the silent treatment.
"Answer, or Primus so help me I'll tell Skywarp to dump orange slime on you while you sleep. Which smells awful by the way. And hard to clean."
Soundwave twitched slightly, then sit up. Still he refused to look at Thundercracker.
"Ok, what crawled up you aft and died?" The teal Seeker gave a exasperated huff. "You hadn't spoken or look at me at all. Unless... You only associate with me when you need my help, is that it?"
Soundwave immediately whipped his helm in Thundercracker's direction and hastily replied. "N-Negative!"
Thundercracker's mouth hung open when he saw the tapedeck's overbright visor and his crimson nasal ridge. In fact, any part on his face that wasn't covered by his visor and faceplate was the same shade of red.
Soundwave was blushing.
If that wasn't the cutest thing ever then he didn't know what was. But why? Did he do anythi-
... Oh.
Thundercracker felt a faint blush rose on his cheeks as well, and he stood there speechless for a moment. Soundwave looked down at his own servos.
"... Gratitude, offered." He sucked in a breath. "Thundercracker's departure, preferred."
Thundercracker thought fast. No doubt after today, the blue mech would avoid him like the Rust plague out of embarrassment. That would ruin what little accquaintanceship they had been having.
"Fine, fine, I'll go. But just one thing." The Seeker allowed a wicked grin on on his lips and had the satisfaction of seeing Soundwave tense up.
"I helped you, right?"
The telepath slowly nodded.
"You know what it means, right? I'll be waiting in the Rec room tomorrow."
The dejected slump of Soundwave's shoulders made him laugh out loud.
Quick update is quick. A long chapter again.
I can't write lemon to save my life. Guess I'll just stick to weird fluff then.
It was strange that I was halfway through writing this chapter before I even finished chapter 4.
Thanks to all those who reviewed, faved and followed my story. It makes me really happy.
See you all in chapter 6!