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"Excellent job, Soundwave. With the intel you were able to gather, this should change the tides of the war very soon. Prime and his Autobots won't know what will hit them," Megatron said. "Tell Starscream and Shockwave that we will be holding a meeting about this soon."
Soundwave nodded and made his way through the corridor on his own, for a bream he considered heading towards the med-bay, but thought that the injuries he had sustained were tolerable enough to handle on his own. It was Laserbeak he was more concerned about after her return to his chassis. She was quieter than usual and it made him uneasy.
Starscream was the first mech he saw since returning, the seeker’s optics widening almost comically as he spotted and made his way to him. Soundwave rolled his optics.
"Soundwave," Starscream said, folding his servos behind his back, legs strutting about like he hadn’t abandoned his post by Megatron’s side earlier for a little rendezvous of betrayal or had lost his t-cog in the process to a human before crawling back and begging to be spared. "I assume your mission was successful?"
Soundwave didn’t bother with formalities. "[Tell Starscream and Shockwave that there will be a meeting about] [the intel you were able to gather,]" Megatron’s voice played back.
"Understood. I'll head there immediately," Starscream answered, clearly surprised by the cold shoulder that was being handed to him. "But what is that on your visor, Soundwave? Is that a crack? I told you to be careful before heading out—"
He yelped in pain as Soundwave slammed his servo into his tank and stared at him through his visor. Starscream gulped, his energon going cold when he realized that his eventual return to the Decepticons and its rank was not going to be an easy transition to get back into. Not with Soundwave at least, the one mech he was hoping to spend some of his free time with later once he was done running errands for Megatron and Shockwave.
“[You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that before you come into my faceplate,]” Wheeljack’s voice announced. “[Some nerve.] [Starscream.]”
“Are you mad at me for leaving? Is that why you’re acting like this,’ Starscream sneered, his words cut short when Soundwave looked at him, the plating of his metal starting to rise and shift in annoyance. Something was about to happen.
Starscream held his breath, waiting for Soundwave to say something, but it never came. Instead, Soundwave pushed past him, shoulder slamming into his as he made his way through, the irony of being purposefully ignored by the one Decepticon who refused to speak due to his vow of silence, continuing to dawn on Starscream.
His optics dimmed as he stared at Soundwave’s disappearing figure in the hallway. He was used to Soundwave’s silence, but after spending so much time away from him and nearly losing his life to either the Autobots and their stupidity or that human, Starscream followed after Soundwave. He had already spent so much time away from him and didn’t want to anymore.
Gradually, he increased his walking pace until he was able to reach forward and stop him by grabbing the flat edge of his arm and pulling it back towards him. Starscream panted, grateful that Soundwave’s current form was more lighter and far thinner than his previous one—the same one that used to dominate the gladiatorial pits of Kaon with the help of his mini-cons—it was easier to pull him backwards than not.
Soundwave refused to look back. He didn’t angle his visor towards him either, but he did yank his arm out of Starscream’s grasp and touched it, as if he had viewed Starscream as disgusting and unworthy of touching him.
Starscream sucked in a deep breath. "Yes, I understand that you can handle yourself just fine, Soundwave. Perfectly fine on your own, but as your conjunx, I can't help but feel an immense wave of concern towards your physical well-being.”
Soundwave didn’t respond to his worries. He didn’t start walking off either. Starscream considered that a small win.
“I mean what kind of conjunx am I if I let you continue to roam around like this. You should look your best, if not to further reflect how superior of a mech you are compared to me," Starscream exclaimed, wincing in preparation for Soundwave’s next move, slowly opening his optics when nothing happened.
Soundwave was now standing before him, staring at him. The reflection of his visor still facing him, seemingly accepting of what was said to him, finding it reasonable or perhaps logical. Starscream cleared his throat, wings twitching behind him. He started to panic, however, when Soundwave started to walk towards him until he was backed into the wall.
"Oh course, I also worry about our darling Laserbeak’s well being too! Not just you. You’re both so so important to me," Starscream said, hesitant to reach out and touch Soundwave. He didn't know if that was allowed yet. Slowly, he tested the idea, relieved when Soundwave let him touch his chevron and eventually Laserbeak.
Soundwave, however, remained still. His data cables, however, had already extended from his lower back and were slinking around Starscream’s ankle like a slithering serpent on the hunt for its next meal.
"Just let me help you," Starscream coaxed, pressing his forehead against Soundwave’s chevron. "I only want to make sure you’re not working yourself to mere scrap again… I know you’re mad at me for abandoning my duties and you, but I’m back aren’t I? There’s no need for us to fight like this, dear."
“[Not everything is supposed to go your way,]” Arcee’s voice said. “[I was doing just fine on my own.]”
“Yes, of course you were,” Starscream said. “You're an excellent asset to the Decepticons.”
“[And you are nothing but a worthless sniveling piece of scrap,]” Megatron’s voice replied back. “[Don't make me regret which one of you I let live.]”
Starscream nodded. Quietly, he wrung his wrists, twisting his servos around them as he stood there taking Soundwave's words in.
Everyone always talked about how strange and odd Soundwave was, or how diligent he could be when handling surveillance, but Starscream thought that was only part of Soundwave's actual character.
Nobody seemed to know how stubborn and vindictive Soundwave could be. How quickly he could turn when annoyed towards someone, but also sweet.
“I still live to serve our cause above all else. Above my ego and pride,” he said, taking Soundwave's silence and still frame as confirmation to continue on. “But of course, that does not change how important you are to it and me. You need to be looked at by Knock Out and if Megatron won't order it then I will.”
He blinked furiously when Soundwave made a move to detach Laserbeak from his chassis, and pushed her into his arms. Starscream glanced down at her and wondered if this was Soundwave’s version of extending an olive tree branch towards him, or just to test his previous words.
"Alright, I'll tend to her first, but you still need someone to tend towards you,” he said.
Soundwave leaned forward after that, his servos extending to grasp Starscream's head, and his visor touched where their lips would’ve met if not with it on.
"Yes, I..." Starscream said softly. His cheeks burned. "I'll get to it. Right away, dear.”
Luckily for him, Laserbeak was fairly easy to wake and she was back to her usual self again, causing a whole nother form of issues with it.
Starscream groaned as his sparkling fussed and slapped him with her wings, her disinterest in staying with him more than abundantly clear.
“Oh, stop it,” he said, snatching her wings. “Your sire needs to rest! Not be worried about you and your tantrum, Laserbeak— Soundwave put me down!?”
Soundwave ignored the request, adding another data cable to Starscream’s waist as he held him in the air. Perhaps even amused when Laserbeak seemed to also partake in his shenanigans when she wriggled out of Starscream’s arms and landed on his head despite his complaints.
“Ugh,” Starscream said, rubbing his faceplate. “Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. Let me down, I want to see the repair work Knock Out has done on you.”
He sucked in a deep breath of relief when Soundwave listened to him and he was back onto the ground in an instant. While Laserbeak took the opportunity to return back to Soundwave’s chassis with a loud click.
“He did a decent enough job,” Starscream said, the tips of his digits brushing against where the cracks used to be on Soundwave’s visor. “Nevertheless, this is about you and not him! I brought you something to fuel on while you tend to other matters.”
Soundwave looked down at the box of energon in Starscream’s servo and took it. Slowly, he brought it up to his visor and scanned it, interested about its contents.
“I know how much you enjoy your sweets,” Starscream said, gently kissing Soundwave’s chevron. “So I asked my seekers to go out and fetch you some on the way back to the Nemesis.”
He smiled when Soundwave’s visor flashed a purple smiley face at him and made a mental note to pat himself on the back later for pleasing his conjunx.
“Only the best for you, dear.”
Soundwave seemed to agree with how he nuzzled him, pulling their frames closer with his data cables. A hug. Starscream hummed accepting the affection displayed to him by Soundwave by returning the hug. He wrapped his arms around Soundwave and kissed his kibbling until he was nudged off with a slow and intentional incoming servo.
“I'll stop,” Starscream said, pouting. However, the time he had thought was still possible between him and Soundwave was interrupted by a loud ping in the background, forcing their attention towards it, realizing that it was an incoming message from Megatron.
:Soundwave come in. Do you know where that blasted Starscream is? I thought you told him to come in for our meeting, that fool is still missing! Locate him! Immediately!:
Soundwave looked at Starscream silently, like he was losing at something left too long on the counter.
“I—I should go,” Starscream said, clearing his throat. “I'll see you later then.”
The code to Soundwave's surveillance room had changed, Starscream realized when he tried inputting it only to see it flash bright red and notify him that it was the wrong password.
Starscream grit his teeth. He was already annoyed about Shockwave’s arrival and re-introduction to the Decepticons after cycles of assuming he was dead. But even after attempting to win back some of Soundwave’s affection, it seemed his attempts to woo him still weren’t enough to ease the ongoing cold war between them.
He took a step back when the door opened, revealing Shockwave’s looming optic as he looked down at him. Starscream glared. Shockwave, however, ignored him and left without saying a word to him.
Realizing that this was his chance to go inside, Starscream slipped in, sighing in relief when his plan had worked. Soundwave was facing his monitors, still scanning for the location of the Autobots base.
“You changed the code,” Starscream said, folding his servos behind his back. He frowned, walking forward. “Are you still upset at me, Soundwave?”
“[Illogical,]” Shockwave's voice said. “[That would imply that I care about you, Starscream.]”
“And what was Shockwave here for exactly?” Starscream asked, struggling to hide his jealousy. His palms bled as he dug into them with his claws.
Soundwave didn’t respond.
“Fine, don't tell me,” Starscream said fuming. “I'm sure it was nothing of importance…”
The silence that followed after that was thicker than he was used to and it felt as if their previous encounter had done nothing to ease the growing distance between them still. Normally, he had no issue filling the silence, but he was still unsure where he and Soundwave stood.
“Are you still mad at me? I thought we had crossed that bridge earlier,” Starscream said.
He expected another biting voice recording or more silence in return for his words, but instead he was faced with Soundwave looking back at him like he was still being surveyed.
Starscream held his servos together and pleaded with Soundwave to ease his ongoing cold front towards him. He took a step forward, whining when Soundwave’s servo touched him, the action radiating both softness and authority towards him.
“It’s fine if you are,” Starscream conceded, giving into Soundwave’s touch, “I can accept it.”
“[Not mad.] [Disappointed,]" Shockwave’s voice said. “[You acted illogically and abandoned your post.]”
“I understand.”
“[Do you really?]”
“Yes,” Starscream said, nodding. “I promise.”
“[I find your actions and words always differ when it comes to you,]” Shockwave’s voice said. “[Only time will tell. That's the most logical thing.]”
“Don’t tell me you’re still moping about Soundwave acting indifferent to you,” Knock Out grumbled. “Just accept he doesn’t want anything to do with you and move on. You should also consider yourself lucky that he hasn’t gone through the trouble to dissolve your conjunx bond already. You were gone for a long time, Starscream.”
Starscream glared. “Who said anything about him not wanting anything to do with me or that he would even think about dissolving our sacred bond,” he snapped, reaching for one of the omega keys on the table. He gripped it with his servo. “He’s just—being his usual self. That’s all.”
“Sure and him giving you his infamous cold shoulder after kicking you out of your shared berth is also him ‘being his usual self’ given the circumstances, Starscream.”
“He’ll come around. He has to.”
Knock Out shot him a knowing look. “Yeah and Megatron will stand down as leader of the Decepticons one day. Just give up.”
Give up.
Starscream bit his lip and clenched his jaw. It wasn't in his coding to know defeat nor wish to accept it.
“If I gave up that easily, I would've never gotten with Soundwave,” he said, glaring at Knock Out. “Besides, he's always been difficult to chase after given his resolve to finish his workload.”
“Oh, like you're not the cause of his previous workload,” Knock Out snapped back. “Soundwave was the only one here competent enough to keep this whole place running! He even had to take on your side of the armada when you left. All you and Shockwave ever make people do is your slagging and stupid menial tasks!”
Knock Out slammed the omega key onto the stable, steam seeping from his vents. Another verbal spew of insults under his breath as he stormed off, leaving Starscream to stand there and watch.
He wondered if Knock Out's outburst was related to his recent discovery about Breakdown’s current condition and Megatron’s order to let him be scrapped. Soundwave had hinted about it to him earlier on a different day about what had gone on while he was away. There was no point trying to console a grieving and distressed conjunx, Starscream supposed.
Though he did try to evaluate Knock Out's earlier words. His departure from the Decepticons had no doubt left someone in need to fulfill what was supposed to have been done by him.
Knock Out was needed in the med-bay, any expertise he could've offered would've been useless when it came to ordering and guiding the armada. Darkwing wasn't good at tactics and Airachnid had her insecticons to control.
Megatron wouldn't have wanted to bother either, it was better to task it to someone else while he focused his efforts on their current plans as a whole. That left Soundwave as the only real and frankly reliable option to fill the void he had caused in the Nemesis when he left.
Starscream sighed. Selfishly, he wanted to storm into Soundwave’s surveillance room again and yell at him for the way he was acting.
But then he was reminded of the many nights Soundwave would often spend working, often refusing to recharge, even if only for a mere joor. He prioritized work above all. No, he prioritized work and Laserbeak above all. Never himself.
Soundwave stared at the ceiling, his systems still rebooting as he searched around the room for any signs of a disturbance. He hadn't bothered to change the codes to his personal quarters.
He figured Starscream would either attempt to weasel his way back inside after being thrown out or would accept that he still wasn't fully welcomed back by him.
For the most part, he had expected it to be the first situation. To wake up and see Starscream clinging onto him like there were still things between them left to discuss, figure out, but the space beside him was empty. Cold even. Like no one had ever been there.
He was used to that by now though. It wasn't difficult for him to understand why Starscream had left then come back, groveled and pleaded with Megatron to be accepted.
However, Soundwave thought, maybe Starscream’s true fault was assuming Megatron would be the one to grovel and plead to when returning in the first place.
His conjunx had a faulty habit of misunderstanding how things should work between them. He also had a clear misunderstanding that all could be forgiven with a few sweet words or actions. That a sweet gesture or kiss was enough to wipe his previous actions—create a clean slate.
Maybe it worked the first few times, but after spending so much time together because of the war either: plotting, planning, and pulling each other places around the Nemesis. Soundwave had realized how taxing it all was.
How taxing it was to stay by someone who treated him like he was easy to subdue and be forgiven by, as if all was water under the bridge when it clearly wasn't.
Starscream never communicated with him through their conjunx bond when he left, he was from what Soundwave could only guess—fixated on his survival and whatever plot had been cooked up in his disastrous head.
And to that, Soundwave concluded that he still felt something towards Starscream. He didn’t hate the affection aimed towards him. He found that there was some joy within him when it came to his current relationship with Starscream.
Dissolving their bond would've taken too much time anyway, taking him away from whatever he was currently tasked with due to what little Decepticons they had left already to fight and use in the war.
He had more efficient things to do and an emotionally unstable Starscream would only cause more problems. The seeker was already on thin enough ice as it was in Megatron’s optics due to his latest stunt after all.
Though, the more logical parts of him found it hard to believe Starscream whenever he said that he would follow through with the things he said. Flattery could only go so far before it became something entirely different, like a thinly veiled lie.
Shockwave thought his behavior in response to Starscream’s initial return and attempts to constantly flatter him were rather illogical at first, given how he had chosen to remove his emotions, in favor of maintaining higher download speeds and faster networking.
Soundwave didn't bother to dignify his words with a response, stomping his pedes around the scientist's lab. So what if he chose to act cold yet receptive towards Starscream? Chosing to alternate between them both as he pleased. He was well in his rights to.
He was also still annoyed with what little hardware still allowed it on top of the amount of work he was already given to handle and take care of on the Nemesis. Megatron asking him to take on Starscream tasks only added to his silent aggravation about things. But he knew no one else was up for the task like he was, so he accepted it.
Because of that Starscream’s confusion that he could still possibly be mad at him for leaving had nearly sent him over the edge as he simmered in silence, staring at him.
There was only so much patience and lack of caring he could extend towards Starscream and his lack of emotional intelligence to understand why he would still be mad at him, but only if he had the capabilities to accept that that was the only reasonable emotion one could feel with what had happened in the first place.
It was easy to see through the lies and false promises that would often fall out of Starscream’s teeth and the explanations he would give in order to give himself some plausible deniability, all of it boiling down to his traitorous and lecherous personality.
His rotten core. It could be worse, Soundwave thought, slowly walking through the hallways of the Nemesis until he reached his surveillance room, inputting the new code again, but not before changing it.
However, instead of being faced with the mountains of data pads and tasks he would later have to sort through before having his energon, his area he was used to seeing them placed on was empty.
Cleaned too.
He looked around for any sign of who could’ve been in his surveillance room, but there was almost nothing to advise him on where to look first. Starscream potentially coming in and taking over his list of things to do for the day crossed his mind, but he dismissed it almost immediately.
Almost.
If Starscream had been the one to do it then he would’ve been waiting for him somewhere, hatched a plan to brag about how much of a wonderful commander he was or conjunx.
Held whatever he had done without asking over him like it was something to celebrate and be thankful for—and not simply just the bare minimum of effort that was to be expected from someone of both his status and caliber.
But when he thought things through a little further—the likelihood that it was Starscream who came into his surveillance room and rummaged through his things in order to figure out what needed to be done later in the day was high.
No one else had the stupidity or guts to touch his things—not when they knew how much of a hindrance their actions would be towards him.
He liked to do things for a certain reason, whatever he had personally deemed as efficient. That and no one was that friendly amongst the Decepticons, friendly enough to take on someone else's tasks with no benefit in sight or forced coercion.
His shoulders sagged. Although, he was annoyed. He was slightly relieved to see that Starscream had taken it upon himself to do something for him without asking or insisting that he be praised for doing something that should’ve been done a long time ago— given their relationship as conjunx.
The wind was starting to pick up again from the platform Starscream was standing on, servos folded behind his back as he continued to wait for Soundwave to return.
Earlier, he had been planning on asking him if he would care to join him for fuel. But after searching around the Nemesis, he concluded that Soundwave had to be hiding in Shockwave’s lab again, and that led him to pace back and forth in front of the entrance to it, hesitant to actually go in.
And by the time he had forced himself to enter, before he could even ask, Shockwave informed him rather unceremoniously that Soundwave had gone out for a quick flight, something about blowing off steam.
Starscream grimaced at the thought of Soundwave still being mad at him. But it could’ve been worse. He could've been ambushed and tortured by Soundwave for handling his affairs behind his back or without asking for his permission to.
Still, after some reflection, he realized that it was probably the least of his troubles if Soundwave had decided to do something to him. He had been a bad conjunx for the longest time and had much to make up for in his relationship with Soundwave.
A loud zipping sound can be heard in the air as Soundwave shot through the air and landed on the platform, his arms drifting forward as he did.
Starscream could feel Soundwave’s hidden optics burning through him, the subtlety of his gaze as he looked at him through his visor, and how it made him squirm—or beg once again to be forgiven.
But he knew that was not what Soundwave wanted from him. He wanted action and certainty that he would come through with actions, not words.
“Did you have a nice flight?” Starscream asked, observant to the slow tortuous pace that Soundwave would always set when he started walking. He followed after Soundwave, acceptant towards the silence that followed after his words. “Shockwave informed me that you had gone out.”
Soundwave nodded in response, before turning back to look at him, as if confused why he was there and waiting for him.
“I was hoping that we could fuel together. I made something special for you,” Starscream said. He smiled when Soundwave continued to stare at him, undoubtedly interested in what he had prepared while remaining his aloof self until his visor started to glow and lines of audio played across it.
“[I’m almost tempted to suspect you are planning something nefarious behind my back, Starscream.]”
Starscream let out a deep chuckle. “You’ll see, dear.”
“[Dinner?]” Soundwave stared at the arranged spread in front of him with narrow optics, his visor glinting under the dim lighting.
He sent Laserbeak forward to investigate further, linking his optics to hers while he casually examined some of the floral and candle decorations laid out for them.
They were to his taste and were relatively easy to make out through his purple coded vision. The candles and their wicks, slender tapered frames had just been lit and the flowers looked fresh, just plucked from a bush and arranged for him to stare at.
Starscream hummed, corked wine bottle in servo. “It's been so long since we've had a proper meal together,” he said, setting the bottle down. “I thought we could finally have one.”
He walked over to where Soundwave was and pulled out a chair for him, gesturing for him to sit down. While waiting for Soundwave, Starscream’s optics became drawn to the glowing purple inseams hidden within the internal structure of his plating, only visible through the gaps that formed in it when he moved.
Soundwave remained still, however, after sitting down in the chair, arms lowered to the ground. He tried to find the words to describe how he felt about Starscream’s latest attempt to win his affection back, but it was difficult. Starscream pushed his chair in and smiled.
“I brought your favorites,” he said, gesturing to the dishes he had laid out for Soundwave.
Grilled sharkitcon meat that was already deboned and left for him to pick apart as he pleased, steamed long gears with spices grinded from dehydrated minerals laid out in a clean line, marinated energon nut bolts put on the side as palette cleansers in a small tray. All of it fresh and clearly made with care with him in mind.
Soundwave made a mental note about that. If Starscream had claimed to make them, he would’ve immediately disregarded it knowing how lazy Starscream was when it came to making things.
Especially when his usual style was ordering others to or dragging them into his schemes—so he could pin it on anyone else, but himself if it happened to go wrong. At least, he was honest tonight.
Starscream set down the plates and reached for one of the flute glasses, curling his digits around the base as he poured into it.
The engex he had brought and started to pour was a rich purple and magenta color, implying its luxurious taste and liquidity. When he was done, he set it down in front of Soundwave and waited for his reaction, his gaze anxious.
Despite the intimate silence, Starscream stood there watching as Soundwave lifted his arm from the ground and bent his arm to pick up the flute with his servo, visor pitch black as he brought it to him for further inspection.
Starscream let out a soft sigh of relief when he saw Soundwave’s visor retract and the flute was brought to his lips. He sat in his chair.
“I asked Shockwave for help in developing it since we don’t have anything like it on earth these days,” Starscream said. “I hope it’s to your taste. I know the engex we’re able to brew from the mines once wasn’t your favorite to ingest.”
“[It’s palatable,]” Soundwave replied, using Starscream’s voice clips.
He took another sip of the engex, enjoying the smooth taste as it glided down his throat. The faint glow of the candles flickering across his faceplate as he watched Starscream pick apart the most tender parts of the sharkticon like its cheeks, and placed a few stalks of the steamed long gear next to it for him to eat.
“I also tried to find the ingredients to make one of your old favorite desserts, but I’m not sure if it tastes the same,” Starscream admitted while waiting for Soundwave to stop hovering his fork over his plate, and he started eating from it.
“[We’ll see.]”
Starscream made his own plate of things to eat after ensuring Soundwave was pleased with his. Also making sure to refill his glass of engex. He knew how Soundwave always liked to keep his glass full when eating.
Old habits even when hardly capable of being kept up due to the war were hard to rid, Starscream supposed as he ate, chewing on his food.
His gaze, however, remained on Soundwave and if he was enjoying himself. Soundwave’s movements were slow and deliberate, graceful even whenever he maneuvered his limbs around, or used his data cables to reach for something.
Despite scanning an earthen vehicle for his alt mode, Soundwave retained his Cybertronian parts. Starscream never minded though, he found it appealing and Soundwave-like for him to keep something on him that everyone else was fine to disregard in the end.
Though sometimes he would almost forget how Cybertronian Soundwave looked until they were mere klicks apart from one another. Then he would become discombobulated on instinct, thrown off by how different Soundwave looked until he was thwacked over the helm and reminded to continue on with his work or armada.
Starscream could also still smell the polish Soundwave had buffed onto himself the night before, the same one he had gifted him once for their anniversary.
Between using the polish Soundwave usually had or the one he was gifted before by him, he still chose to use it. Maybe that was a sign, things were still repairable between them.
Starscream's wings fluttered subconsciously behind his back. He lowered his head when he noticed Soundwave had seen it too and his optics darkened.
By the time they finished eating, Soundwave stared at the dessert Starscream had mentioned to him earlier and had finally brought out. He nudged the bowl with his digit, scrutinizing the gel like texture as it wobbled in front of him with his narrowed optics. It was missing something.
Pure boiled energon by itself had no taste, there had to be additional things added to it or it wouldn't taste like much. There were also arguments between mechs if energon was better served sweet or savory, maybe cold or hot. It always depended on the mech's environment and their class—sometimes even just their personal taste.
Soundwave liked things sweet. His peers used to complain it was less that he enjoyed sweet things and that he preferred to eat cloyingly sweet things.
Things no one else could stand so he could simply have more of it. His carrier never complained though, but she had always said he was the sweetest thing in her world.
He looked up, however, to see Starscream holding a small pitcher in his servo, standing beside him with it.
“Don't worry,” Starscream said, pouring the pitcher over the jellied energon, the pungent sweet smell of boiled energon crystals wafting towards his nose. He frowned at how sweet it was, but tried to control his faceplate. “I still remember your fondness for this type of syrup on energon jelly.”
Soundwave stared at his reflection in the bowl, and opened his palm, expecting a spoon to be placed there. His lips tugged upwards on instinct when he felt Starscream hand him the spoon before he could even finish making the action.
“[Acceptable.]”
Starscream smiled. “I know,” he said, gazing down at Soundwave as he ate his jellied energon and licked his lips whenever the sweet syrup made contact with them. “After all your hard work ensuring the Nemesis is running in both my absence and presence, it’s the least of what you deserve, dear.”
The way back to their quarters is slow and agonizing for Starscream, but he tries to stay relaxed as Soundwave continues to walk by his side.
The main plight of his concerns lingering on whether or not his actions from earlier have done enough to at least start the thawing process on Soundwave’s previously cold and hot demeanor towards him.
He also wondered if Soundwave had finally deemed him worth keeping, if it outweighed the benefits and losses that would come to him if he were to go through with dismantling their sacred conjunx bond.
However, he knew better than to directly ask about it. Knowing how the question would only add onto Soundwave’s emotional fatigue and cause an already bigger rift between them to form, so he kept his mouth shut and his head forward.
Eventually, he turned around, casting his gaze towards Soundwave as they approached the door to their quarters. If it were how things were before, he would’ve entered and held the door for Soundwave, but after being thrown out and told to sleep outside, Starscream was afraid of causing a similar scene. He stepped to the side and waited for Soundwave to move first.
He wrung his servos as Soundwave opened the door and stepped into it, his head not even turning in his direction. His data cables move from behind his lower back uninterrupted in their current task of setting the berth up again while Starscream remained outside, his optics never leaving Soundwave.
His pedes stood at the invisible line drawn between where he was allowed and not allowed—the hallway and the personal quarters he shared with Soundwave and Laserbeak.
For the most part, he hoped that his actions today were enough to earn him back some of Soundwave’s patience towards his weak and sniveling personality, whatever was usually given to him when he acted a fool.
But he knew asking for more unreasonable things like that had landed him already in Soundwave’s disfavor by forcing him to take control of his old duties then arriving back like nothing had happened between them, even asking if Soundwave was mad at him for all he had done.
Anyone with a decent head on their shoulder’s, would’ve understood how he had shot himself into the hot seat because of his own actions, and that he would remain there until he had proved himself as reliable and worthy of being allowed back inside again by Soundwave.
So he stood there awkwardly without much thought or interest to argue, unsure if he should go or not.
“[Are you coming in or not?]” Starscream’s voice rang out, his annoyed and grating tone echoing throughout the air. “[I’m tired from today's latest affairs.]”
“Yes,” Starscream responded, wings arched and lowered towards the ground. He stared at Soundwave’s visor and smiled without missing a single beat in his steps.
Soundwave said nothing to him like always, but his EM field brushed against him, far warmer than it had felt before.
Starscream let out another sigh of relief when he felt it wrap against him and extended his own back out towards Soundwave, prepared to grovel once again if he had to, but it looked like he didn't have to tonight.