#robotswriting

“Soundwave?” 

Soundwave tilted his head up with an inquisitive “hm?” 

Magnus smiled at him – an expression that came to his face so easily and immediately that it made something sweeten inside him. “What do you think of the hospital plans? You probably got the report on this as well already, but I was wondering about your opinion on the disagreement.” 

Soundwave had to stop for a moment. Hospital plans? He thought he had read those, but last night had been a bit… busy. 

He had been trying to work though the mountains of memos and paperwork on his kitchen table when he had gotten a call from Cyclonus. He’d been able to guess the cause the second he had picked up and heard a crash in the background behind Cyclonus’s fretful tone. He hurried over to the small plaza to find Galvatron in a rage, lashing out blindly at anyone who dared stray too close to him. There were a few Autobots in the vicinity, and Soundwave was displeased to notice their hands on their weapons – it was a good thing he arrived when he did. He had leveled a sharp glare at those autobots, sighing internally in relief when they left shortly. 

Many bots had struggled to adjust to a life free of constant combat (and for that Soundwave could not blame them), but out of them all, Galvatron had it nearly the worst. He reacted at the drop of a coin, fluctuating between triumphant joy and paranoid fury, and whenever Soundwave saw him like this he cursed Unicron bitterly for twisting his mind into seeing any touch as a hostile one. Cyclonus had tried to explain what had triggered Galvatron’s panic, but Soundwave couldn’t quite remember it now through the sleep-deprived fog. He had simply reached out, slowly, gently, with his mind, and brushed against Galvatron’s. 

Galvatron jumped at the touch, but Soundwave didn’t say anything – he posed no orders or questions, but simply stayed, hovering there next to his consciousness, nonjudgemental, undemanding. 

It took an hour or two, but bit by bit, Galvatron had latched onto the cool, steady aura beside him and followed its example. He might have even followed it too well; as Cyclonus took his hand to lead him back to his room, his optics had begun to dim, and Soundwave had checked his internal chronometer to realize it was nearly morning and he wasn’t yet done with his paperwork. Needless to say, he hadn’t gotten much rest.

Now, he wracked his sleep-addled processor for some kind of detail about a hospital, but couldn’t come up with a thing. Sheepishly, he looked up at Magnus. “I… do not quite remember the terms of this disagreement. I apologize.” 

Magnus blinked, but his surprise at Soundwave being unprepared was quickly overtaken by an understanding smile (Soundwave felt his spark melt just a little more). “No need. I can go over it, if you would like?” After receiving a nod, he started talking in that adorably formal ‘meeting’ tone of his. “The crux of it is which building should be chosen to house the hospital. One location – I believe it may have been a hospital originally before the war – is located closer to the most populous section of the city, and has a good layout for our needs. However, there are some stability concerns about the structure, and it’s a bit smaller than we would have hoped for. The other option looks to have been an office – it has more open space, which is helpful considering the amount of patients they may have, but it’s farther away from the bulk of the population.”

Magnus waited for a response, cocking his head when none came. “...Soundwave?”

Soundwave, who hadn’t moved, flashed his visor once. “I am thinking.”

“Ah. Of course,” Magnus nodded promptly and looked back up. 

“...Primary concern is accessibility. First location would be the best option for this, and funds can be allocated towards stabilization. Internal walls could be knocked down to create larger space, which could be better managed alongside stabilization efforts.”

Magnus grinned – so openly and brightly it almost looked wrong on his face. “I agree completely. Would you mind if I noted your advice on my report?”

“Mm.”

Magnus paused. He then realized that Soundwave had started leaning on him some time in the last few minutes, and that his visor was quite dim. Lowering his voice as to not bother him, he said, “Er- Soundwave? Do you want to sit down somewhere?”

“Mmno, just need a moment,” Soundwave replied in a distinctly drowsy tone. 

Magnus huffed a soft sigh. “Alright. Take as long as you need.” 

Iacon didn’t glitter like he remembered. Most of the glass had blown out, the steel warped and blackened, the towers fallen down long ago. The sun had dipped below the horizon just far enough that the world had turned blue, and the half-repaired ruins cast long shadows over the streets. Standing there, Soundwave a warmth against his side, Magnus could see some lights glimmering on in a few windows, little glowing pockets in the great blue-black hollows of Iacon. It was gigantic, and cold, and lonely, and-

Ah. Soundwave was asleep.