• Huffing through his vents as he spots you looking for him, he follows you. Amused at how oblivious are you. That you have no idea he’s even there. But then his kind are obviously superior. Even if the other Cybertronians mostly ignore him or call him tiny. Tell him he’s in the way. Watching a new arrival step in front of you, your neck cranes as you lift a hand. Probably greeting them, asking them about their day. Trying to be nice. And the mech bends down, servos carelessly shoving you down before they grab the energon off your cart.

• But hitting the ground hard enough to jar you, your jaw clenches as the stranger lifts the barrel and drains it. Know better than to argue or to try and tell him off, though. Flinching when he crushes the barrel and almost drops it on you, the mech sways slightly on his peds. Is he drunk? Had seen an internal memo warning about some of the mechs drinking some kind of alien bathtub hooch, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. Getting to your feet, you reach for your cart and yelp when he shoves you back down and pins you there while laughing. Ribs aching at the pressure, you struggle to get out from under his servos.

• Snarling when you scream, he’s striding your way as the other mech lifts his hand enough for you to push up to your hands and feet before seizing you by a leg and yanking you backwards, your jaw smacking the ground. “Let go,” he demands, pointing imperiously. Furious at the blood at the corner of your lip and on your chin as you stay down, trembling. ‘Scram. Find your own toy,’ the mech growls, reaching to knock him away and he goes sprawling, head turning to meet your frightened eyes. Because against a full size mech? He’s as helpless as you are and he hates it.

After the surprise picnic date, Soundwave subspaced everything and took you out on a stroll. It was a nice day out with the sun high above you to warm you from the slight chill in the winds. It was the last week of August when Starscream took you, the autumn wind had started to come in. You forgot to check the date on your phone earlier but you assumed it was at least within the first few days of September. Though the wind here was a bit more chilly. From what you saw, you figured you were in a mountain region.

Throughout the walk, Soundwave would tell you information about each plant you looked at for more than two seconds. Even Laserbeak was out flying and returning with a flower in his talons that you expressed interest in. You quickly had a growing bouquet of many different flowers. Getting and idea, you asked Soundwave to hold the flowers and hand you ones with long stems. Once you started weaving them together, he caught on and handed you thicker stems every now and then so it would be more stable.

When you tied off the last stem, you proudly held up your finished flower crown. With Laserbeak being smaller, he perched on your shoulders and extened his neck over your head to see your work. As you tilted it different angles, you noticed Soundwave staring at you with a heart emoticon on his visor. Getting an idea, you crooked a finger to make him lean down. Once he was in range you slid the crown over his helm and stepped back with a smile.

Three purple lines appeared where his cheeks would be, making it look like he's blushing. You wished you remembered to grab your phone so you could snap a picture. Laserbeak made a laughing sound as Soundwave straightened up and lightly ran the tips of his digits across the petals. It seems like you inspired him as two of his tentacle things came out and started weaving flowers together. With how little flowers there was, it turned out much smaller than the one you made.

When he placed his own flower crown on your head, it wound up fitting more like a tiara than a crown. He seemed quite pleased with himself as you smiled up at him. Taking the tiny flowers that weren't long enough to weave together, he tucked them behind your ears. You were sure you were quite the sight with flowers all around your head with little petals caught in your hair. He then offered his hand to you so you could continue your walk.

Hand in servo, you let him lead the way through the woods. After what felt like an hour of walking, your feet were starting to get sore. Giving his servo a squeeze, you suggested a short break so you could rest. You didn't expect him to scoop you up bridal style. Your face felt like it was on fire as you shyly looked up at his visor. He just titled his helm at you before continuing walking. Laserbeak moved from your shoulders to his, giving you an almost smug look as he perched.

Feeling a bit bold, you cupped the side of his visor and leaned up to kiss the edge of the screen. "Thank you for this date." You softly said. He halted his movement as the entirety of his visor turned purple. You worried that you made him glitch out or something as he seemed to be blue screening. Hearing a quiet click, his screen returned to normal. Before you could ask if he was okay, he leaned down and bumped his visor on your forehead in an imitation of a kiss. Now it was your turn for your brain to crash.

His shoulders lightly shook in silent laughter making Laserbeak chirp. He continued walking while holding you, using his tentacles to grab passing flowers. As your bouquet grew again, you noticed how most of the flowers were purple with the occasional red one. Soon the sun started to dissappear behind the mountain. You weren't quite ready for the date to end but natural urges were calling and you needed a bathroom. A quick tap on Soundwave's chassis let him know you were ready to head back towards the ship.

As a glowing portal opened up in front of you, you expected him to immediately step through. But you were surprised when Soundwave suddenly put you down and nudged you behind him. Before you could question what he was doing, he quickly mass shifted back to his original height just as someone stepped through the portal. Recognizing the familiar yellow paint you shuffled behind a tree. Several autobots stepped through the portal with their weapons pointed at Soundwave.

As they questioned why the communications officer was out in the middle of nowhere, Laserbeak swooped down towards you back to his origional size. He had the flower crown you made in his talons as his beak grabbed the edge of your top and tugged you away. Wanting to not get stepped on during their fight you let him guide you deeper into the woods. Laserbeak flew ahead of you as you ran to keep up. Questions ran through your mind as you did your best to keep up.

Why did the autobots show up here? From what you saw there were at least two. That yellow one and one you started calling green boy. You really need to think of better names to call them. Hearing Laserbeak squawking you skidded to a stop just as a large silver and blue pede stepped in front of you. You'd recognize the autobot with the sexy deep voice anywhere. Laserbeak hovered protectivly in front of you as the weapons on his wings hummed to life.

Prime transformed his servo into a gun and pointed it at the two of you. "You're safe now human. Please come with me. The decepticons won't hurt you any more." He held his servo out like he expected you to throw yourself on his digits. The audacity of this bot to pull a gun on your friend and expect you to be thankful. Placing a hand on Laserbeak's wing you took a step forward. Even with a visor you could tell he was shooting you a look that said 'really?'.

The autobot seemed almost hopeful as you stood in front of your friend and craned you neck to look up at him. His hopes were dashed as you flipped him off with both hands and swung yourself around Laserbeak's neck so you straddled his upper back. With a chirp he immediately took off into the air without hesitation. "Suck a dick Prime!" You yelled as Laserbeak weaved through the limbs of the trees away from him.

You couldn't help but laugh maniacally at his dumbfounded expression. That fool really thought that you'd run off to join his autobots group. Laserbeak joined your laughter as he dipped closer towards the ground. When he flew around a large tree you saw Soundwave hidden among the wildlife. The second he saw you both approaching a portal opened next to him. Laserbeak flew you through it quickly as Soundwave stepped through right after.

The shock of going from cool mountain air to a cold sterile ship made goosebumps break out across your body. The second the portal closed Laserbeak landed on Soundwave's outstretched arm. He held out his servo so you could hop down onto it. Once you were situated on his palm Laserbeak swooped around and dropped the flower crown you made on your lap before flying towards his chassis and folded up.

It was so cool how he blended seamlessly into his armor. Despite the autobots crashing your date towards the end, it was actually quite nice. Though you were a bit upset that you lost all the flowers you had. The flowers he picked would've been enough to make another flower crown for Megatron. Noticing a blob of red from the corner of your eye you reached up and pulled out a small red flower that was tucked behind your ear. Luckily it stayed unlike all the other flowers that blew away while riding the back of Laserbeak.

Twirling the stem in your fingers, you looked up at Soundwave with a grin. "I had a nice time. Though the next date could definitely use less autobots." You joked with a chuckle. He nodded his head in agreement as he carefully plucked his flower crown from your lap. A small panel on his chest shifted as he placed the flowers inside. So that's where his subspace was. Now you finally got to see it up close instead of wondering how things dissapaeared so fast.

He curled his digits around you as he started walking. Once he arrived in his habsuite he opened the door to his washracks and sat you down. You were prepared to try and squat over a hole like you did in your bathroom in Starscream's washrack but was surprised by what you saw. Half walls were put up for privacy and looked like an actual bathroom. Only with futuristic alien appliances. The shower head was a bit tall for you but still much easier to reach. It even had a bidet with a deep metal sink next to it.

You could cry tears of joy at the sight of a proper bathroom. As much as you wanted to hug Soundwave and thank him, you needed to use it more. As you washed your hands you wondered if the shower portion was for his cassets. Based off the ladder size you figured that they had to be around your height. Though it seemed they used to be taller than you from the size of the tiny washrack. Walking back to the room Soundwave was already at his monitors. He didn't need to look at you as he lowered his servo for you to climb on.

• You ask him things like that and his resolve wavers, servos flexing to reach for you. Moving slowly so he doesn’t startle you, he reaches to brush a servo against your cheek, fascinated with the softness of you. “All’s well,” he replies even though he’s not so sure. Wanting things he shouldn’t. Like you. A future. An after. Letting his hand fall, you reach for him. Sliding your palm into his as you swallow, your smile uncertain and he can’t look away from your small hand in his. ‘So what movie are we going to?’ You ask and it takes him a klik to even realize you asked a question. Too transfixed by your hand in his. That you’d reached for him.

• And you’re pretty sure your awkward self just made this weird because he’s staring at your hand in his. Why had you grabbed his hand? It’s not like this is a date. It’s just two coworkers going to a movie together. Platonically. Trying to pull away, his servos interlace with your fingers. Refusing to let go. Thoroughly flustered, you can feel your skin prickling with awareness of how close he is. The heat of his frame. “Yours Forever and Always,” he murmurs and your mind blanks. “The movie?” He adds as you want the ground to open up under your feet. That’s the new cheesy romance flick, isn’t it?

• “Sure. It’s a date,” you answer, staring at the ground before you run your other hand over your face, eyes closing like you’re in pain. Your field an embarrassed mess even without your emotions and fractured thoughts spilling into him with his telepathy. Fans cycling on, he gives in to the urge to rub his servo over your knuckle and your shoulders hunch. Doesn’t know what to say now. What to do. But he doesn’t want to let go. Has a feeling you’ll run if he does. That he’ll chase. “Not a date-date. Just two friends. Together. Watching a movie.” Lips twitching behind his mask as your shoulders shake like you’re silently laughing, that need to protect you lifts through him. And it’s that same urge that had made him refuse to let you get fired.

• Feeling the awkwardness sliding inexorably into almost painful territory, he’s still holding your hand. While asking if you want to go watch a sappy romance flick with him. You’re pretty sure this is the real reason why coyotes gnaw their legs off when they get caught in traps. Struggling with the urge to laugh at the ludicrousness of this whole situation, you only resist because you don’t want to hurt his feelings. Like him too much for that. And that thought stops you short as you blink. You like him. Do you actually have a crush on him? When had that happened? Wait, is this a date-date?

I mean sure, it was maybe ODD that it was listed for a "dormitory and housing unit” but also, like… I mean, enough money to cover your car troubles and most of the rent? You didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe, though, you should have been looking for fine print. Some little blurb hidden in your contract. Because if you did, you'd probably look the giant metal alien in the mouth. Or something.

☆ This was a disaster waiting to happen, and the (ex..?) communications officer knew it.

Venting softly, he tracked the comings and goings of every single bot and con that walked past this hall. Autobot Cliffjumper. Decepticon Hook. Autobots Ratchet and First Aid. Autobot Leader Optimus Prime. It was a few joors after that he spotted Megatron.

Soundwave rumbled to himself. This treaty was bound to fail. He knew it would. These things… these peaceful moments, they never lasted. The humans of earth having made some sort of… housing unit to accommodate the two factions while in their tumultuous treaty during their stay on earth. Hoping to please the violent, warmongering, technologically advanced race, he presumed. The end of the war…

Or so they say. Soundwave would have to see. Would love nothing more for his cassettes to experience life without war and strife. The decepticon moved, deciding he would head to the… “common area”. Neutral space meant those of EITHER side were welcome to exist, but the autobots had started to take it over a bit.

☆ Grumbling a bit, noise cancelling headphones on, you pressed the head of the massive dust mop to the floor and began a light jog. The massive space that was some sort of entertainment room was what you were in charge of cleaning today. Swept every day, mopped every other day via one of those floor scrubbing zambonis that acted like a big, big roomba almost. Because these guys were big and, well, being metal… dust and dirt happened on a massive scale.

Pausing, you readjusted your face mask. The cleaning cart you parked near the wall had some harsh chemicals, and sweeping kicked up dust that made you sneeze constantly, so you opted for a black face mask that covered your mouth and nose. The giant alien ROBOTS you cleaned up after tended to not really… notice you all that much. You preferred it. They kinda scared you, being so huge. The first time you met one was when this little yellow one was getting into some kind of tiff with a grey and red guy, the two bickering in their strange, growly language.

According to the other humans helping maintain the place, the whole Ignoring thing was pretty good. The ones with the red badges were… SOMETIMES friendly. Polite. But the two factions had apparently just made a very tense little peace treaty and the autobots won the war, so the purple faction was pretty pissed and salty.

Plus, as nice as some could be, you wanted to work and get done. Not chatted to about mundane stuff. Just do your job and clock out. At least you weren't part of the stock team. Or the guys who processed orders and inventory management. They had to talk to the guys. You just had to sweep floors and deploy the mop bot.

You readjusted your headphones and kept moving. At least the twin dickheads weren't out and about. Last they were, the red and purple jerks had made off with your cart and stashed it down a hall that took ages to find thanks to your little legs.

☆ Optics slowly trailed after the human calling out an “excuse me!!” as they ran with a cart, pushing a few barrels of energon. He could have swiped one, but it seemed they were flagging someone down- Autobot Hound, by the looks of it, who brightened as they hurried his way with the platform truck. If it was his delivery, he didn't want to get between it. At least, not in direct view. He was a stealth mech, a spy. Not a brash youngling.

He wondered idly if there was a third player in this they weren't considering- the humans. If perhaps they were trying for something more. Perhaps poisoning them all. Or with how many small, soft, and polite little fleshlings were running about, all hard at work dutifully making their lives easier, perhaps their species were trying to get into their good graces. Join with a federation of sorts despite not being the most space-faring race.

Venting, Soundwave continued his trek to the common room, only for four things to happen simultaneously as he passed the threshold of the space: He felt the closed off, somewhat prickly fields of all the autobots in the room that were previously held close suddenly flare out in a panicked wave, something collided with his pede in a way he only BARELY felt, a small string of pain as he came into CONTACT with whatever that was's field lanced through him, and the panicked shouting of Rumble and Frenzy in his compartment rang out. Yelling for him to stop and freeze.

And freeze he did. He couldn't tell exactly what had happened, but he trusted his cassettes enough to know it was important. Pede hovering a few feet off the ground, still.

☆ Something metal had come out of nowhere and you clipped it with your head, barking out in pain and shock as you went down. And when you stared up, it took a beat before you realized you were about to be crushed. A giant foot hovering over you. Tears welled in your eyes, your breath quickened, and you felt sick. You were going to die. At least it would be quick.

… Except you… didn't. The foot stayed like that, unmoving. You heard a few whispers around you, dazedly looking over to see one of the robots that had been in the commons moving to stand up- some black and white one, followed by a blue and grey one. Swallowing hard, headphones knocked askew and the faint sound of your music playing, you called out.

“H…Hello? Please… fuck, please don't crush me…”

The foot slowly lifted higher, moving back, and you saw who you clocked yourself on- one of the big robot guys obviously, this one blue and yellow with some odd… door on his chest. The purple emblem- fuck, that was one of the moodier ones you'd been warned to give a wide berth by other coworkers. That these ones weren't the fondest of humans, only keeping the peace due to the treaty and the housing.

• Can hear Soundwave venting roughly, see the faint tremor in his servos, but otherwise the mass displaced mech looks like he’s in complete control. Sure of himself as always. But you know him better than that. Tucking your legs under you as you twist toward him, you’re handing him his son as he stiffens. “Here.” His big hands reaching to cradle the tiny form, supporting his head without you needing to tell him. Laying your cheek against his chassis, you watch your son kick his chubby legs, chirping uncertainly when he can’t find you.

• Can feel his sparkling’s field prickling him and he lets go of the hold on his own field. Pushing it outward and feeling you relax against him with a soft sound of surprise as his son settles, hiding his tiny face against his chassis. “Whatever you’re doing, I love it,” you mumble and your eyes are almost closed, surprising him. Wasn’t even sure of you could sense fields since yours is always broadcasting. Feeling your blissed out calm sinking into him, he adjust his son against himself.

• Wish you’d known that he could do this a long time ago, because this feels amazing. All of your worries and stress just washing out of you like sinking into a warm bath. Feeling his arm tighten around you, your attention slides to your son tucked in the crook of his other arm. And it still feels surreal that you have a kid. That the two of you are parents. Aware of all those worries and concerns waiting to ambush you on the other side of the feel good vibes he’s pushing out, you inhale slowly.

• Warmth spreading through him as you blink sleepily when he croons to his son, your cheek slides against him. Apparently the sound as effective on you as it is the sparkling as you yawn. “That’s cheating,” you say, the words slurring as you yawn again. Fighting to stay awake as his crooning deepens. Trying to lull you into resting. “You’re a good husband,” you mumble and he retracts his mask to brush a kiss against the top of your head as his son snuggles closer. ‘Rest.’

• Wincing at that whispered word, his servos brush your cheek, tipping your face up. And the uncertainty in those strange eyes hurts. Even if he understands it. You’re not what he’d expected. What he’d thought he wanted. But maybe you’re what he needs. Doubts he’s what you’d imagined when you’d dreamed of a conjunx, either. Do your kind even call it that? Knows so little about humans. About you. When he’d been found and brought in to be trained for the Elite Guard, the Primes had seen potential in him. Something worth saving. Training. He feels like that again with you. Like he was lost before finding you.

• “We can figure that out. Together,” he says and his deep rumbling voice sinks into you, easing your tension. Breath hitching as his servos ghost along the line of your throat, rubbing against your jaw, it occurs to you that you’re as alien and strange to him as he is to you. But he’s not fighting this pull like you are. Like he’s already sure. Pushing slightly back, your face lifts and his visor brightens, his palm pressing against your collarbone. When you nervously wet your lips, he rumbles and the sound seems hungry. Emboldens you. Pressing your palms against his chassis, you trace the pattern on the glass. Is it glass? Maybe some alien polymer humans don’t even know about. It’s warm under your hands. Feels alive as the hum of his internal systems thrum into you and you realize you never thought of him as just a machine. A thing.

• Wishes he could get a better read on your thoughts, but they’re so quick. There and then gone, a quicksilver, ever shifting wildness of emotion, images, and fragments of thoughts. Never encountered anything like your species. Your hands slide against him, timidly exploring as his plating heats. One of his own hands cupping your side, sliding down over your hip. What are the odds of finding a species so like his own? Of finding his spark mate. “But how do I know what’s real? What’s me?” You whisper, the question sounding so lost and he understands the worry in your voice even as a part of him wants to ask if it matters. He’s found you. You’re his.

• Aware of him, the way he smells, the warmth of those big hands, you inhale when he tugs you into his frame, your body pressed against his own as your heart beats faster. Wanting him to kiss you. To stop touching you because you feel out of control when he does. Needing to feel him hold you. His head lowers, mask retracting and you panic even as you flush in response. Head turning away and you feel the heat of his mouth against your throat. Hear the soft noise you make, body arching into his as one of his hands slides against your back. He’s home and safety. Familiar. He’s a complete stranger. And you still want him. Need him.

• Pulling himself out of the sleeve of your covering, he knows he should be worried about his current situation. Because right now? He’s vulnerable. They all are. If the humans meant them harm, now would be the perfect time to act. Instead you’ve just been fussing over him. Trying to feed him energon goodies and coiling his tendrils around your fingers while talking to him in a cooing tone. Like he’s a sparkling. Apparently smitten with him being this size. You’d made a funny sound when you’d seen what had happened to him and covered your mouth with your hands before grabbing him. And you haven’t put him down since.

• Watching him crawl over your fingers as he pulls himself completely out of your sleeve, you’re fighting for your life to resist the urge to kiss him. One of the other other caretakers had actually muttered that at that size and crawling around like that, he looked unsettlingly like a bat. But then, you’ve always thought bats had cute little puppy faces. And he’s much cuter. His plating barely ruffles and you’re lifting your hand with him clinging to it.

• Venting with a soft hush when you press a kiss against his helm, he offers you a smiley face emoji. And you smile, lifting him higher as he stretches his limbs to make the leap to your shoulder. Servos clinging to your covering, he slides himself down inside the neck of your top, arms hanging out to keep himself from sliding down inside the soft material. Letting your amused field sink into him, he wonders how the other Decepticons are faring. Last he’d seen Megatron, the warlord had been trying to bite his human caretaker.

• Feeling him relax against you tucked down inside your shirt, you don’t bother trying to coax him out. He’s kind of cute poking out of there anyway. Walking through your dorm room, you throw some popcorn in the microwave and try to guess what kind of movies the tiny mech might enjoy. Action maybe? Or s musical? And you’re planning to take full advantage of this. To take him to the zoo next, show him all the places he’s normally too big to experience. Maybe a museum. Or the aquarium. He might like the jellyfish.