Chapter Text
‘You have nothing scheduled here. Please refresh the page or contact your manager for more information’
Soundwave refreshed the page. He watched as it buffered…before.
‘You have nothing scheduled here. ’
He blinked and looked away from the screen.
…Okay…
This was… strange to say the least.
Maybe there was something faulty with the new task manager he had downloaded?
He ran through a few subsystems, and they all came back with the same result. Odd, but it was becoming increasingly believable…
He started up a comm channel, the line buzzed once before he panicked and quickly shut it.
‘What am I thinking?!’ He thought in a brief flash.
He checked it again and felt his spark nearly spin out of control, almost like he had just got away with something criminal, he grinned looking at the schedule like it had personally delivered him a paid day off form signed by Megatron himself, and it made his spark flutter at the thought. Six groons, He had exactly six groons before his mandatory recharge cycle and it wasn’t filled with archiving duty or an extra data mining shift, it was six blissful groons of nothing. Absolutely nothing was left in his schedule that he could possibly do, and he almost wanted to cry from relief.
‘I’ve made it.’ he thought with an overwhelming amount of ecstasy. It was a feeling that made him feel light as air and want to run to the nearest mech and kiss them in pure celebration. He paused for a second and considered it before silently shaking his head.
He did not need to go that far, but he did make a soft noise of barely contained excitement and continued down the hall making his way to his berth room while frantically trying to figure out what in Kaon’s pits he was meant to do with so much down time… What was his idea of relaxing?
The thought faded when he made his way into the room. Odd noises came from the berth room past the small living area, half whispers, and giggles. Ah, the twins, maybe he should spend some time with them since he had nothing else to do? It wasn’t a bad idea, and it sounded like they weren’t currently busy... so. He made his way over just in time to see them covering something up, he ignored it opting to reset his vocalizer with a click to announce his presence.
“Rumble, Frenzy?” he asked as he made his way closer which made the two startled, causing them to simultaneously jump in place and kick whatever it was they had been messing with under the berth. He blinked interest gripping him for a moment but once more decided to ignore it.
“Oh! Heya Boss!” Rumble started and Frenzy elbowed him in the side giving him a look that screamed ‘Shut up’. “Whatcha doing back here so soon?” She asked, looking at him as though he was suspicious, for a moment, though her tone stayed conversational. Soundwave was about to tell her exactly why he was back so soon, but it seemed that Rumble had checked the time and grabbed his sister’s arm “It doesn't matter- we gotta go! Another recon mission-“ He quickly explained with a small smile and a sorry expression. Soundwave watched them for a moment but did not question it.
“Be safe.” He offered as they rushed out of the room. He watched the door slide shut and simply waited for a moment. Then another. Once he heard the pede steps fade he sprang into action. He immediately dropped to his knees and began to pull out whatever those two had hidden under the berth. Normally he would not have cared, he wouldn’t have checked unless he thought it was something they really shouldn’t have, but now? He had the time, and he intended to use it.
It took him very little time to clear out under the berth. He found things that ranged from mundane to dangerous to straight up odd. Though he did not care about all that. What he did care about was what he found all the way at the back of the wall, it must have been here for a while seeing how it wasn’t already gone or even half used, surprisingly. He smirked at the finding and looked over the labels.
High grade and engex, and some top shelf stuff to boot, brand new and sealed, they must have been picking off Swindle’s good stash. He sub-spaced the lot save for two bottles, that would keep the twins from losing it, and shoved the rest of the, what he considered junk, away in roughly the order he had found it in.
Now what to do…
###
He decided after a nice hot wash in the wash racks that it might be nice to lay low. See just how long he might be able to get away with this lapse in the schedule and all, he was still convinced this was a mistake but was not about to pass it up. Even so one thing was obvious, anyone would check for him in his berth-room first…
So Soundwave settled on a lower floor storage room that apparently only he had seemed to know about. It was relatively empty save for a few crates and a few data pads he had stored here earlier. He sat with his back on the wall sipping engex while playing a human logic-puzzle game. He did not understand the challenge, all you had to do was avoid the mines. Simple numerical deductions could tell you where not to click.
Although right when he was in the middle of a new round (he definitely wasn’t starting level 128) the door to his hiding spot opened, closed, and a few curses were heard. He blinked; wait he knew that voice-
He flicked the holo screen away and peaked up from his spot. Starscream? What in the pits was he doing here? He watched him for a moment, upper body resting on the crate as he held his cheek in one hand and lazily watched the seeker. All his high command problems had drifted away with the engex long ago and he was left here watching the frustrated seeker growl out whatever it was he was mad about. He barely understood him, but it was something about extra drills, ‘never ending shifts’ (that sounded familiar), and how everyone was an idiot including Megatron, especially Megatron.
“You done- or?” He asked calmly, perhaps too relaxed in tone.
“AH!” The mech yelled and backed into the door staring at Soundwave as if he had appeared from nowhere and he was the one interrupting his privacy, it was clearly the other way around. “Where did you come from?!” He asked looking around the room like there had to be a secret entrance Soundwave snuck through just to punish him with his presence. Although he had yet to see it despite the light being only half dimmed.
“How did you find this room?” He asked back, it was a lazy question that he frankly didn’t need the answer to. But he somewhat craved to know.
“I thought no one else used the lower-level storage rooms-” he said in a huff and crossed his arms in defense. Soundwave blinked for a moment, processing, before all too casually shrugging. “I had made the same assumption.” He muttered before reaching down and taking a swing of his engex. That seemed to catch the SIC’s attention, the scent was pungent after all, but he seemed to notice it more now that the panic had settled.
“Are you..” he asked, voice laced in something between amusement and disbelief.
“Are you drinking?” He came closer to the crate and watched as Soundwave took a hefty sip of the engex.
“Yeah?” He asked raising a brow from under his visor before looking down at the engex like it might have secretly betrayed him. “What about it?”
“On your shift?! Oh- Just wait until Megatron hears about this! SOUNDWAVE! Of all mechs, caught by me, SLACKING!” He laughed hard and sharp, but Soundwave did not look affected. Perhaps he was too far gone to understand the consequences. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned down to his optic level.
“You could be punished for this~” Starscream teased but Soundwave still made no move to beg for mercy. “Are you really so confident-“ He began but Soundwave seemed to be messily pulling something up before showing the holo-screen to Starscream. He stared at it for a moment, blinked, shifted his hands from his hips to crossed over his chest and scoffed.
“How do I know that that isn’t fake?!” He asked, trying once more only to receive a flat look from the other that made him scoff. “Alright fine, you’ve made your point.” He said in a huff. He moved around the crate and simply stared at the other for a few seconds before sitting down across from him and holding a hand out expectingly. Soundwave tilted his helm to the side in a questioning manner that made Starscream all but roll his optics and wave the hand frantically. “I know you have more than just the one, hand it over and we both keep quiet about the-” He made heavy ironic quotations “-misuse of a storage room.”
Soundwave thought about it for a long moment, just to watch Starscream squirm in his impatience, before taking another cube of engex and handing it over. Starscream took it and relaxed into the wall, inspecting the drink for a moment before taking a deep gulp that surely burned his throat. Soundwave relaxed on his side and took a swig of his own. There was a long moment of silence, it was awkward but bearable though before either of them could break the silence a faint alarm sounded from the higher floors, something distant yet heavy. Soundwave blinked and they shared a look.
Starscream was the first one up rushing to the storage door moving to open it. “It’s not going to open~” Soundwave said, his voice hitting an odd sing-song tone that did not quite suit him. Nothing happened. Soundwave took another swig. Starscream tried again. Still nothing. “The doors locked-” Starscream said flatly, and Soundwave chuckled, actually laughed at him, and waved a hand all too casually. “Relax, that’s just the” He squinted and tilted his head to listen to the alarm. “Scraplets alarm” he said, nodding sagely, as if that explained everything. “SCRAPLETS?!” Starscream yelled his efforts redoubling on the door.
“It isn’t worth trying, the whole ship is in lockdown, it’ll start freezing out whatever chewed the wires within the course of roughly two or three groons, give or take.” He said relaxing back into the wall, they had time, it was a massive ship after all, it would take a while. “How are you so relaxed when we have a scraplet on the loose?!” He asked rushing back to his side of the room and once more settled in from across Soundwave. He shrugged, “Scraplets haven’t been detected in all the time we’ve been on earth, and any time the alarm is triggered it's often due to some kind of earth rodent finding its way on the ship.”
“Earth rodents can survive at the bottom of the ocean?” Starscream asked helm tilting in bemused fascination.
“No idea, but they do keep popping up.” He said with a hum and Starscream simply nodded, they were probably sneaking in with cargo, it was the most rational explanation. But if Soundwave was sure, it wasn’t an actual scraplet… What was the harm in believing it? He finished his cube and tapped Soundwave’s leg with his pede. The other simply slid another cube his way. Starscream took it, content.
They shared quite a few drinks after that, Soundwave closer to comfortably drunk while Starscream edged on the further stages of tipsy, likely edging drunk as well seeing how fast he drank them back to back after that little scraplet scare, the alarm was quieter now as the ship prompted its own flush out system and as such wasn’t quite the annoyance it was when it had begun. Soundwave shifted and took another drink, maybe he should continue his game?
There was light clinking on a cube that drew his attention, and he looked up just as Starscream began. “Sooo… Come here often?” He tried, his tone conversational, demeanor fully relaxed as he slumped his torso against a leg, hugging a knee and propping his helm up while swirling his drink. Soundwave usually would not answer this, he was known for being silent and avoiding stupid questions, but with the warm buzz of engex running through his lines and with how the world felt warmer than it had in a millennium he tilted his head from side to side. “Occasionally” He offered before nodding at the data pads in the corner “I use it to hide between shifts” he paused his mind catching up to what he said “Read!-” He sputtered “I mean read-“ But Starscream was already laughing “He’s got jokes!-“ he said before pulling closer. Soundwave just sighed and drank some more trying to numb the embarrassing flush that pricked at his cheeks while his optics avoided the seeker.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Starscream offered “I use it to hide as well, from all the idiots that is… and yes that does include you~” he said an optic winking in a knowing way, tone a tad too playful. This was odd. It felt a little too peaceful, especially for having Starscream around. His optics adjusted and soaked in the mech before him. He was still laughing to himself, the way his pauldrons and wings minutely jumped with every note of his pitchy chuckle and the curve of his derma, all together it had caught his attention. Has the seeker always been this…? He didn’t have the word for it. But it would come to him, eventually. He slumped into the wall and looked up at the ceiling. Now that he was thinking about it, he didn’t want this to end. It was so nice just to sit here and have company.
His optics offlined and his telepathy silently slipped out in the rare moment of relaxation, faintly brushing against the fuzzy edges of Starscream’s possessor. He did not account for how rude that could have been until he found himself lost in a mix of similar emotions although when he pulled back one word fell from his glossa without a second thought. “warm” he muttered optics fixed on the seeker and that made Starscream draw back a bit confused. “Warm?” He asked. Soundwave blinked and shook his helm a bit. “It’s.. nothing” he said finally as he simply returned to his cube, but Starscream seemed persistent. He didn’t need to know that’s the word he had been missing.
Starscream finished his own cube and without so much as a single thought against it, made his way towards Soundwave, placing himself flush with his legs reaching out those pale blue hands and suddenly taking hold of his helm, thumbs lightly pressing into his cheeks making his faceplates flush hard. He was trapped between Starscream and the wall, there was no way to escape him, but even more surprisingly he found that he was a bit too far gone to actually want to do anything about that, judging by the way he was actively leaning into the touch. His spark spun a bit faster at the contact, it felt rather… nice.
“Hmm- I have no idea what you’re talking about, you feel frigid to me.” he said with a mildly peaked interest, although those warm soothing hands were being pulled from their comfortable resting place on his cheeks and helm alike, where he wanted them to be, and back toward Starscream. His own hands rose up and gently held Starscream’s hands and pushed them back onto his vents and cheeks. His fans clicked on as he leaned further into those warm soft servos.
He shuttered out a vent when Starscream’s thumbs traced the edges of his helm. “You’re a rather needy mech when you don’t have your guard up…” Soundwave only swallowed as he tilted his helm harder into those feather light touches, couldn’t he stay quiet for even a moment? Starscream was teasing him, he knew it, but even so he couldn't help it. The temperature was dropping rapidly, due to that aforementioned protocol, and while most of the Cons aboard the Nemesis would not have been affected greatly, such as the many flight frames and heavy framed individuals, other frame types were not as lucky, and he just so happened to be amongst those ranks.
He found himself learning harder into the warmth of the seeker, his cold frame seeking the natural warmth that his idling engine brought. He leaned in further until he had pressed himself dangerously close to the other. At some point he stopped paying attention and let his optics offline for an undetermined amount of time. Starscream was chuckling, a low amused sound that Soundwave wanted to settle into like a warm berth, he said something and watched him expectantly. When Soundwave did not respond he playfully pinched his cheek.
“You should pay more attention to me-“ Starscream said in a huff and Soundwave allowed his attention to drift back to his words and not only the sensations of another mech holding him. “Hmm?” He replied smartly, looking up at him in a drunken haze, optics falling onto Starscream once more though this time he paused, spark stuttering in its chamber for a solid moment while his vision rapidly refocused. “So- How do I look?~” That sneaky aft took his visor. His cheeks flushed a deep blue, and he reached out to take it back. Starscream pulled away and gave a ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ with a wave of his hand flicking his own away from reaching out and taking the visor back. “Ah, Ah- Tell me what you think~”
Soundwave rubbed an optic tentatively with the palm of his hand in a disappointed motion before he watched the mech for a few moments and Starscream had the audacity to pose… By primus he hated to admit his visor had actually, kind of, looked good on him. He pouted a moment which made the other grin in celebration. “As I thought~ I look so stunning I’ve left you speechless!” His wings hiked up in pride and in mere moments Soundwave lunged at the other.
“AH!” The seeker was taken by surprise when Soundwave pounced on him, hands yanking on his pauldrons while Starscream’s hand flew to the visor and shoved it in the air out of the other’s reach. The pounce was not as effective as Soundwave would have liked, it was clumsy and inefficient, but he was also clearly drunk, so he took pity upon his own short comings, Starscream moved too quickly for him to grab the visor back, but he was able to effectively push the seeker down.
An engine purred to life and Soundwave looked down in shock. Starscream grinned and used the opportunity to grab the cassette deck and flip their positions, so it was Soundwave who was pinned rather than him. Sat smugly above him pushing the visor back on victoriously before grasping his flailing arms and pinning them on either side of his head.
“You didn’t tell me what you think~” he said, derma mere inches away from his own. Soundwave’s optics reluctantly pulled away from the sight and he forced himself to look at the other in the optics. Golden orbs gazing up into those crimson pools hidden behind his own visor. His hands twitched uselessly at his sides and he could hardly breathe out the answer.
“Radiant” he muttered, Starscream seemed to have picked up on the word seeing as a smug grin radiated off of him. “Sorry I didn’t quite catch that~” he most certainly did. “Could you repeat it?” He asked in a whisper, vents fluttering over his cheek, wings twitching with excitement. Soundwave was too lost at the moment. Lost in the lustrous shine of polished paint, glinting crimson from the visor, and the comfortable weight that trapped him in place. His mind had slowed and he had hardly registered his own movements as he lifted himself just enough to press closer to Starscream. His optics fluttered for a moment before he forced a hand out of Starscream’s grip and held his chin as roaming golden optics inspected him for a few moments before all caution was promptly thrown to the wind and Soundwave pulled Starscream down into a kiss.
There was a small surprised squeak that came from the jet, his optics flared brightly under the visor before flicking into a dim maroon. Soundwave’s Optics offlined for a moment as he enjoyed the light push and pull, the consistent brushing motion of those flawless lips against his own. His hand moved slowly from his cheek to the nape of his neck sliding down the narrow path before slotting evenly between his wings. He felt them twitch as Starscream’s own hands rested firmly on his pauldron and the other hand found its way intertwining with his other hand in a loose hold. Soundwave gasped lightly at the feeling of a bite on his lower lip, a silent plea to deepen the connection, and an offer he couldn’t resist accepting.
Their vents mixed together in heavy bouts of steam, warm air puffing from their systems as he heard cooling fans click on to reduce the internal heat. His hand dragged over his wing as he weakly gripped the edge looking for some kind of hold against the other. A particularly long drag against his glossa had Soundwave feeling weak in the tanks, the taste of sweet coolant and warm engex melding on his own glossa, his spark spinning rapidly in his casing while their helms inched close enough that his EMF slipped for a brief moment, which got him a rewarding squeeze of the servo and a revealing brush of Starscream’s own. Starscream’s sharp fang-like denta teased the sides of his glossa right as the seeker pulled away with heavy vents and a fogged visor. Soundwave’s hand weakly fell from its hold on his wings and he simply puffed out vents, optics coming back online just to catch the way those derma glistened and how he pushed the visor up so casually just to stare back down at him. Soundwave couldn’t help but smile as Starscream looked down in a flushed and somewhat stunned silence.
“Did you catch that?” Soundwave asked with a smirk of his own and he smugly watched the seeker slowly, unsurely nod for a moment in the affirmative before quickly deciding that he would not be bested like this. The nod turned into a firm shake in the negative and Starscream was digging his talons into Soundwave’s hand, hooking him back into place. Starscream took the visor and tossed it to the corner in a decided motion, it would only get in the way after all.
“I don’t believe I did” He said before pulling the tape deck into another searing kiss. Hands flew over frames as interest renewed and passion peaked. It was soft and subtle at first but as they continued it grew to be a challenge to see just what else they might find.
A soft spot on Starscream’s wing that made his back arch and fingers curl around the other. Which made it obvious just how sensitive the rim around Soundwave’s glass compartment door was and how it made the mech squirm and vent harder under him. Another brush of their crests brought them spiraling together. White hot friction and an unbridled spark between the two had at some point broken the kiss and they quickly found a proper angle to form the connection.
It was like lightning in his processor. A thick and heavy storm that brought unexpected zaps of rushing pleasure that rained down in steady droves, amidst a hundred conflicting feelings. He gasped hard and pushed harder into Starscream hands scrambling for purchase anywhere he could reach, it was too much and not enough all at once. His optics must have been glitched because the seeker had been consumed in a luminous corona of light, an aura manifested, his fans whirred harder as Starscream began pinpointing those strikes like a blitzkrieg, every strike a new emotion laced with lust and the essence of a pleasure he desperately sought to give and hoped to receive in turn.
His optics flickered offline as he refocused his own EMF guiding it, to a more intentional attack on the seeker. Opposed to the loud storm that was assaulting his processor with a certain ferocity that was sure to short circuit something. His own field hid in plain sight, manifesting as a light fog that touched everything it could reach. While his own mind was plunged into a fuzzy mess of pleasure loops and sizzling circuits, Starscream himself would be experiencing a building whisper.
A mutter in his mind that settled into the crevices like a wisp of affection and an overwhelming urge to please. Starscream squirmed from above him as he projected his attempt to soothe the chaos in his mind. At first it was an uncomfortable stillness that enveloped his processor and wormed itself into every working function of his mind before steadily pooling into the areas that ached the most in protest to Soundwave’s affections. It was as though Soundwave’s EMF was a dam, neat and contained until another wanting push from Starscream set a crack into place.
That gave immediate relief as it turned from barely a trickle to a steady stream slowly forming pools that quenched his hot spots, comfortably forcing pressure and what he could only describe as ‘good vibes’ into those sharp spikes of activity before melding them down into softer shapes that were built to hold the mech under him fondly. His mind was blanking; his own attacks weakened as Soundwave’s silent assault made him flush and melt into the firm hold the other had over his processor. The unmistakable sound of turbines clicking on and a heavy spooling filled the space drowning out the sound of an empty tape deck whirring and clicking at random intervals and the soft noises of pleasure neither mech could contain.
Both mechs were soaring towards an overload and Starscream struggled not to break the connection although with how tightly and desperately Soundwave was holding onto him, he supposed it wouldn’t be much of a problem. His processor was already short-circuiting from those deep pools that sunk into him and forced him to relax further into Soundwave even as his vents stalled and hands clasped at any bit of Soundwave’s frame desperately keeping as much contact with the mech as possible, his own attacks still a frenzy although now the signals read clear. Craving, desire, possession, passion, more-. That last one played on a loop, low and subtle but there all the same. Soundwave’s telepathy played on the edges of those pools picking up on the random escaping thought or two and bounced back his own answers, happily meeting Starscream’s pleas with his own desires.
He knew how desperately Starscream wanted it, he felt it, heard it, lived it, and Soundwave was more than happy to provide. Soundwave’s crest pressed firmly into Starscream’s. The connection between them was stronger this time around. Passions renewed and hands flying into unspoken weak points. Pools turned to an ocean. The dam had been an illusion. This was Soundwave. Heavy and blissful, lust incarnate. An ocean of emotions and feelings all hyper focused on one thing. Pleasure. And he had succeeded.
Starscream’s vocalizer glitched as the two simultaneously scrambled for purchase, Soundwave firmly wrapping his arms around Starscream’s neck pulling the seeker impossibly closer, his name playing on loop in low muttered frantic whispers, while Starscream’s talons hooked into his back while one cradled his helm pressing him even closer letting out a sharp sob of his own pleasure in a fuse blowing, processor damaging overload.
Sparks flew inside their minds, a shared experience only amplified by the telepathy that danced around the stormy sea the two had created. Waves of heat lapped at Soundwave’s mind, and he had fallen backward venting hard, white smoke rising from his vents. While Starscream slumped over him coughing out a small plume of dark smoke as lightning tracing the edges of his vision before his optics had short-circuited and he was left in a long quiet.
Systems rebooted, modules refreshed, and optics onlined in a slow process. Soundwave groaned softly, his circuits felt fried, and his body was limp under the weight of Starscream’s frame. He was riding the aftershock like a high he didn’t want to come down from. Everything felt wonderful, even if he had tripped a few too many currents in too short a time frame, it was not like his self-repair systems had failed, it would sort itself out in time. He let out a blissful vent, servo gliding lazily up and down the seeker’s back in smooth comforting strokes that he hoped would stir him. It seemed to work seeing as the seeker onlined in a groggy start his frame jumping at the sudden stimuli. He coughed out the remains of the smoke and buried his helm into Soundwave’s neck in an act of defiance to being woken. He grumbled something out, but Soundwave could not make out any real words and he simply smiled. Pure bliss dances on every edge and corner of his processor, static buzzing over his frame. He gave shallow vents and continued his ministrations of thanks over his partner’s frame.
“Sweet-Solace-Prime”
Soundwave startled at the voice and looked to Starscream who was now propping himself up on his chest one hand used as a perch for his helm while the other stayed loosely intertwined with Soundwave’s, Starscream’s thumb lazily running over the back of his hand in soothing circles. He watched the mech above him, those gleaming red optics boring down into him as that smug grin had come back in full force.
“You’re more fun than you let on~” he said with a hum before reaching down and once more taking those kiss-bitten lips against his own and lingering as they shared in their indulgence just a little more. Starscream pulled away before it got anywhere, kissing down his cheek toward his neck before lightly playing with the cables there, plunking at them with a free hand and nipping at them with sharp denta.
Soundwave held back a compromising noise before letting out a calming vent. He hummed with an amused lilt. “Most mechs aren’t worth my time” and the way Starscream’s wings twitched and raised with interest told him everything he needed to know. “Oh? So-” Starscream pulled back up to optic level looking entirely too smug. “Now I’m worth your time?” He asked wings flicking with barely contained excitement from what was, essentially, a compliment. And everyone, and he did mean everyone, knew just how hard it was to get one of those from Soundwave of all mechs… unless, of course, you were Megatron. But he wasn’t and that made it all the sweeter.
Soundwave rolled his optics and pulled himself up enough to catch the other’s lips once more, effectively shutting the seeker up and had them both melting back into the comfortable ‘quiet’. Time seemed to blur after that. The alarm had been long forgotten and since deactivated, kilks and groons blended, until the two had snugly fallen into recharge while curled up together on their sides, facing each other. Limbs entangled and faceplates mere inches apart vents mixing in the still air. Time all but froze for the two as they simply and blissfully enjoyed a long and fulfilling recharge cycle in the safety of one another’s arms. The next cycle’s work all but forgotten about as they refused to belong to the world above them and were content to rest until the relentless march of time forced them to move once more.