Work Text:
The soft, faint whirring of the data analyzer filled the silence of the lab, cooling fans clicking on as the time passed. The energon sample inside was subtly visible through the translucent glass, reflecting the glaring lights of the analyzer’s internals as it rotated.
Soon enough, text flowed onto the data analyzer’s screen, going into details about compositions and structures.
The text was grainy from Soundwave’s view, melding with the screen itself from the grainy distortion of the security cameras. He leaned forwards in his chair, as if coming closer to his monitors would better display Shockwave’s findings.
He could always simply pull up the data himself off to the side, but he wouldn’t find any meaning in the readings there. No, Soundwave was only watching for the large, obsidian-coloured mech that moved about the lab with a fluid grace that bellied his imposing size. Every other monitor with live feed distant hallways and corridors had only a fleeting moment of Soundwave’s attention. Cargo bays and barracks held occasional gossip and meaningless arm-wrestles at best.
But the lab was where that clinical detachment and silence gave the warmth and comfort that bested any presence the communications officer had ever longed for. Megatron had his brave and brutish pull, the gladiatorial pits had held awe and camaraderie. But Shockwave, he held a quiet EM field that seemed to deafen the outside world, even through the monitor screens.
There were no thoughts to read that could be reached. No anger or worry. All that he could glean from Shockwave’s mind was the silence that could tamp down on any other overwhelming sensory inputs. He was magnificent. The deep breath that gave Soundwave a break without ever needing to take a real step back.
As Shockwave read from the data analyzer’s screen, Soundwave let his gaze trail over the rigid, but flawless posture that Shockwave retained. His frame wasn’t bulky like a common grunt would try to show off, and it was far from lanky, slim, or weak. It was balanced.
By his pedes, Ravage stalked by, brushing up against Soundwave’s legs. And he was pulled back from the calming lull of nothingness to the present– where thoughts were whispers and shouts for a few moments before he focused on just his own, as he had been taught to all those cycles ago.
“Query: interruption?”
Ravage meandered closer for a few sparkbeats, crimson optics narrowed, not in distaste, but scrutiny.
“Your attention is divided. Elsewhere.”
The observation was simple, not untrue or accusatory, but rather curious. Perhaps even a bit playful. Soundwave glanced down to the cassette under him, sniffing at his pedes.
“Soundwave: focused. Status: operational.” He replied curtly, scooting forwards on his chair to resume his work; which at the time, was just… watching.
Watching Shockwave stare at energon under microscopes or UV lights. Watching his audial fins unconsciously flick when his experiments yielded subpar results.
Processing mission reports could wait. Reviewing drafts for future plans could wait. Checking up on Starscream could wait, for the oblivious wonder on Soundwave’s screens. Separated only by schedules and professionalism, the scientist would’ve been at Soundwave’s side every nanoclick of the cycle if it was possible.
The lack of noise in his EM field quieted down everyone else’s. The gaping void where Soundwave usually witnessed thoughts of promotions or memories of sparring from mechs like Breakdown or Skywarp, was nothing but an empty room in Shockwave. There were no ramblings in his mind on calculations or opinions on battle outcomes that Soundwave could reach.
The absence of data for him to look at in Shockwave’s processors should’ve worried Soundwave. There was no insight to ulterior motives or doubt. No way to ensure his loyalty to the cause beyond looking at his actions. But it was fine. Megatron trusted him, Soundwave trusted him, and with that, the rest of the Decepticons– even if some followed with reluctance or hesitation.
It didn’t matter. Soundwave couldn’t find it in him to care anymore. There was a time when he wondered how Shockwave dictated the logical actions, restless in his recharge, and there was a time when he thought about how Shockwave saw his environment, or his colleagues. But right now, was when the quiet of his systems muted the blaring cacophonies of unruly trines and incompetent combiner gestalts.
Starscream’s mind was always projected in shouts and haughty declarations whenever he was near, and Knockout’s constant fretting over his vanity made Soundwave’s internal HUD flicker with instability. But Shockwave, without even realizing it, drowned out every other headspace’s noise with his lack thereof.
And he didn’t have to like Soundwave. Not romantically, platonically, or even give him apathetic favour from practical or tactical benefits. All he had to do, was be nearby– even if ‘nearby’ meant being seen on the screen of a monitor, surrounded by countless other security feeds on the Nemesis.
The communications officer would’ve wanted nothing more than to keep such an enigma around, not just as a companion or tool, but perhaps even as something more, despite the mental constraints Shockwave had that blocked those possibilities. To serve a righteous leader, together, coordinating together and battling with shared, insurmountable devotion.
If Shockwave was ever to feel more than just the binary of ‘logical’ and ‘illogical,’ and if he was ever to look for a spark to fill, Soundwave would be there, as he had silently promised to himself to be.
No one would understand Shockwave like he did. No one else could confidently say that Shockwave only preferred that all of his belongings be of neutral colours despite his lack of favourite colours only because he valued consistency.
If there was ever a day that Shockwave would look beyond his work, and beyond his orders and interests, Soundwave prayed to Unicron below that the scientist would look his way.
But for now, he would be content to watch Shockwave continue his work.