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"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Soundwave helped Hot Rod up after they managed to escape the assassination attempt, and they ran toward the forest until they found an abandoned settlement.
It was then when Hot Rod noticed that Soundwave was injured. "You're hurt!"
"It's superficial, nothing that my repairing nanites can't handle."
Hot Rod wanted none of that excuse and began to repair Soundwave's injuries.
"It's a little deep," he commented worriedly before he began to wrap the exposed wirings and seal the fuel lines before welding the cut. "I think that should do it for now."
Soundwave said nothing. He knew that Hot Rod had some medical knowledge, although not CMO level yet, but it should be enough as long as they stay alive until they reach Iacon.
And then...they would part ways. His objective would be done once Hot Rod regained his place as Prime. Iacon needed him after Optimus passed away and Sentinel usurped the leadership. The city was in chaos since then because Soundwave's master Megatron formed a resistance to overthrow the false prime.
As much as he regretted the idea of leaving Hot Rod once Sentinel was dealt with, he had to make sure that Hot Rod must reclaim the Matrix that his sire left for him and him alone.
"Once it's over, are you going back to Kaon?"
Soundwave looked at him. "Yes."
"But what if I don't want you to?"
He paused. "...I am merely a soldier tasked to protect you. It is my duty as your guardian to take you back to Iacon. I promised Lord Megatron to being you there safely."
He didn't mean to fall in love with the mech he had to protect with his life. It wasn't meant to be. Hot Rod, whose true designation was Rodimus, was of noble birth before his carrier Optimus had him taken to Nyon for his safety. And Soundwave? He was nothing more than a mere wanderer who had his cassettes for company before he ended in Kaon and much later met Megatron in the gladiator arena.
Knowing the caste system of Iacon, a relationship between a noble and a common bot, much less a mech with no known origin like himself, was so heavily frowned upon. Although Hot Rod hated the idea, the truth was inevitably unavoidable. He was destined to lead Cybertron back to its glory that Sentinel stole away from Optimus.
He had to reclaim Iacon, and Soundwave will do what it takes to get him there!
"Get some rest, Hot Rod. We have a long way to go."
"What if we don't have to?"
He quickly glanced. "What are you talking about?"
"As much as I want Iacon to be free from that Sentinel, I don't know if I can pull it off the way my carrier did. He knew Iacon more than I did, and me? I was raised in Nyon. It's a poor place, but it had a nice race track, the people are equal, and there's enough energon to share to everyone, until Sentinel had it raided, its people slain if not displaced, just to find me and have me killed. Had it not for you and Megatron, I would have been dead, but I still feel the regret of not saving the place I grew up in. All I had is Nyon's knowledge. It's different from the advanced city of Iacon. I can't just incorporate Nyon's culture into the city when everyone was so used to the caste system."
"And that is why you must still go," encouraged Soundwave. "That is why I have to keep you safe, so you will fulfill Optimus' legacy to promote equality."
"But what's the point of promoting equality if you can't even stay once I take his mantle of leadership?" Hot Rod questioned. "When Megatron took me in after Nyon fell, the Decepticons became my family. You helped me train and learn, made me realize about Sentinel's cruelty, and you protected me when he sent his assassins to kill me. And yet the Cons can't even stay! It's not fair!"
"We can't stay. The Decepticons compose of commoners and workers who joined forces to overthrow Sentinel and his corrupt regime." He hung his helm. "...We do not belong to Iacon."
Hot Rod gazed at him with a pained expression. "You're not changing your mind about leaving?"
Soundwave sulked.
"Oh..."
They sat silent for less than a joor before Hot Rod spoke again.
"If you won't come back, at least leave me something to remember you by..."
Soundwave blinked his visor for a moment before he gave him his personal Decepticon badge.
"No. Not that."
He gave the speedster a puzzled look before Hot Rod faced him, frame and all, before crawling toward him and gently sat on his lap, thighs apart.
"Hot Rod..."
Hot Rod lovingly stared into his crimson visor. "Leave me a memory of you, Soundwave..."