#->| sparkflower-fields: rumble

[silenceofthewave]

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[silenceofthewave]

[Rumble and Frenzy are typing...]

Frenzy: THE BOSS HAS BEEN FRAGGING

Frenzy: EW GROSS YUCK

Rumble: I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY GOING TO BE AN UNCLE

Rumble: [Sends a loud and mic peaked audio of him crying]

Frenzy: [Sends an audio of him laughing and then coughing into the mic]

Rumble: Who's the sire Boss? Wait wait... I want to guess

Rumble: Megatron

Rumble: Shockwave

Rumble: ...Starscream?

Rumble: Don't tell me its Knockout. Please for the love of Primus I don't want to call Knockout Dad.

Frenzy: He's better than Screamer.

Rumble: ...Yeah okay, fair.

Frenzy: Also, why the frag would we call him 'Dad' we don't even call the Boss that.

Rumble: Idk funnier I guess.

Rumble: Whoever it is, we're calling them Dad. I wanna see em squirm. Serves em right for canoodlin with our parental figure.

Frenzy: >:) Welcome to the family, Daddy.

Rumble: Okay, that made me uncomfortable...

Rumble: Do it.

Soundwave: Both of you realize this is the global group chat right?

[silenceofthewave]

@sparkflower-fields said, "The twin cassettes, as usual, are fighting about something as they enter their boss’s office. Then, noticing the state of their boss, they stop. For a moment they stare, surprised expressions on their little face plates. But then they look at each other and nod before getting to work. Rumble drags several pillows and blankets over to Soundwave, making a nest around it, as Frenzy fiddles with the lights, turning them down. Then, simultaneously, they both climb into the nest and rest next to Soundwave. Not touching it, not bothering it. But being there with their beloved boss, a mere breath away if it needed them."

Ever so gently, Soundwave pulls the twins in. It emanated gratitude towards them as it adjusted the blankets and pillows to give them their fair share. It rested its chin atop Rumble's helm as its long arm easily stretched out across the both of them.

Sure- Soundwave felt like firey hot slag that smelled of sulfur and acid. But the twins presence made it more bearable. For all their shenanigans and hijinks, they were still Soundwave's little brothers- family. It couldn't help but be thankful for their support.

[sparkflower-fields]

Rumble watches with wide optics, only partially hidden behind his visor. Once Soundwave is close enough, it could see his optics looking at the image of himself holding the sparkling. And all the others laying around him. The surprised look melts into one of annoyance. He stands up, gently setting the bitlet down, before turning back to his older sibling.

“Tch. Fine. If that’s how you wanna play it bro.” He drops the boss from his addressing of Soundwave. Which isn’t often. But typically it’s a sign that the sibling rivalry was about to take a very interesting turn, or someone was going to die. In this case, death isn’t imminent but there are some who might wish for death after this.

“I’ll tell everyone they’re yours and Shocker’s bits. And that you sired them. Who else would know than your own cassettes? All I gotta do is tell Frenzy about your funny little smear campaign and we’re telling all the undercity all the embarrassing things we hear going on in your hab when the good scientist drops by for a visit. And that’s real blackmail. Because I know what he tells you when you think you two love birds are alone.” He immediately drops his voice, mimicking Shockwave’s. He probably had it recorded on his taping system and downloaded it to use for this exact reason. To bug the scrap out of Soundwave.

“Such a good, obedient test subject aren’t you? Oh~ Soundwave~ I’m so smart and I love it when you spank my shiny metal aft~” He crudely turns around and smacks his own aft at Soundwave, sticking his glossa out at it.

“Let’s make more science babies, Soundwave! Oh YES!” He moaned as Shockwave, and he could keep going, with this hauntingly accurate voice. It seems the shenanigans and crude pranks weren’t the only thing the twins had learned from Soundwave. Voice recording and mimicry were definitely something they picked up quickly, finding plenty of uses for it to run amuck.

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[silenceofthewave]

The way Rumble simply did as he was asked was impressive. Perhaps Soundwave had simply spent too much time around the unruly forces that made up the Decepticons. Maybe it simply had been far too long since one of its orders hadn't been questioned. Either way, Soundwave was grateful for Rumble's efficiency.

They both worked in relative quiet. Soundwave was busy preparing a washrack station. The station wasn't perfect- there was no running solvent or way to make it so the liquid showered down; it would have to manually bring the solvent in. However, the tub was spacious enough to house at least two, if not three, sparklings at once. To the side, Laserbeak's polishing kit sat with a small assortment of waxed were placed on top.

There was also the feeding station. Fueling up was going to be the hardest part of this whole situation. They would have to be on some kind of rotating schedule, which meant that there would be shifts between who was in charge of general care, and who was in charge of nutritional needs.

Soundwave loves sparklings. Make no mistake. However. Who in their right slagging mind thought that giving Soundwave- or anyone- fifty sparklings was a good idea?! Where does one even get fifty sparklings?!

Just as Soundwave's brooding was reaching its peak, Rumble just had to say something.

Carefully, Soundwave set the tool in its servo down. It slowly turned to fully face Rumble. It only paused when it saw the bitlet in his arms. As Soundwave fought the urge to call him cute, its visor flashed and a photo of the scene in front of it appeared.

.: Blackmail. :. Soundwave answered. .: Soundwave: Will send this to Frenzy. Caption: Rumble had cryptic carriage. Query: Does Frenzy know who the sire is? :.

Soundwave leaned down so Rumble could get a better view of the picture. Not only did it have him and the bitlet in the center, in the background lied almost all the others.

.: Frenzy: Will never let this go. Rumble: Will endure millenia of pestering, teasing, misinformation campaigns, and "who's the sire" jokes. Avoidance Procedures: Do not ask about their progenitors. Do not ask about Soundwave's intimate life. :. It shuttered a little as the comm went through for emphasis. .: Rumble: Will like neither answer. :.

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[silenceofthewave]

The sound of crying makes Soundwave stop. It wanted to reach out, to comfort him, but something told it that wasn't a good idea. It could only watch in bewilderment as Rumble stomped away.

Had its words really hurt him that badly? It wasn't Soundwave's intention to make him cry. The small pang of guilt in its chassis grew, constricting the inner mesh around its internals.

After a moment, while Rumble was still settling down, Soundwave slowly walked over to one of the bitlets. It picked her up with a gentleness rarely ever seen, as if she was made of the most fragile of glass vials. Careful not to disturb her any further, Soundwave cradled her to the bright glow on its chest; its spark. Its visor lit up dimly as it began scrolling through several apps. Eventually, Soundwave chose one and opened up a playlist.

The music was soft and distinctly human. Strings and soft woodwinds, leather drums and pitched percussion. A gentle symphony of noise that would hopefully be soothing.

It made its way over to the bed, sitting down next to Rumble. Its hands still cradled the sparkling, who was happily napping and sucking her thumb. She wiggled a bit, resting so her cheek was over Soundwave's spark.

Soundwave let its normally close kept EM field out slightly. The field was warm like a comforting hug and surrounded the little one on its chest. Though, it extended a bit further. The warm, golden hue gently brushed against Rumble's, near his shoulder. It didn't go much further, but it also didn't leave. Its gentle brush was almost as if Soundwave was trying to say, "It's okay. I'm here."

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[silenceofthewave]

Soundwave didn't need telepathy or their bond to tell that it had certainly done something wrong. The way Rumble's face fell, his stinging words, the little march he did to the door was all Soundwave needed to see. Its shoulders sagged a little when he reached to open the door.

.: Rumble: Wait. :. Soundwave sent the text comm as it stepped forward.

It didn't crowd his space, but it did hover behind him a little.

.: Soun- I apologize. :. Soundwave shifted from one pede to the other, hoping that the drop of syntax showed its sincerity.

.: You have been a great help beyond just this. Reaction: Unfair. Stressed due to unusual events. Does not mean outburst was deserved. :.

Sending the comms felt like chewing glass. Soundwave hated apologizing- especially when it was in the wrong. It hated being wrong in general. Normally, it wouldn't even bother! But, this was Rumble- its little brother, its charge, an important part of its family. Soundwave would set aside its pride momentarily for him.

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[sparkflower-fields]

He stops in his tracks, his servo hovering over the hab suit door control. Getting the notification, he looks down at his arm comm and reads the messages. And then he reads the messages again, and again. He then lets his arm fall to his side and Soundwave could hear a very familiar, yet rare sound. Rumble crying.

It starts as soft little *hic* noises, followed by his shoulders drooping and his helm dropping forward into his servos. Rumble doesn't cry often. Maybe more so than Frenzy, who quite literally never cries. Rumble is the softer twin, the more emotional one, yet he hardly ever cries. But he's crying now.

He's not totally sure why he's crying. He wipes at the energon tears spilling down his face plate, trying to get it to stop, but its as if he sprung a leak, and once it started he couldn't stop it. He frustratedly turns back around and stomps back over to the sparklings. The stomping shakes the hab slightly which causes some of the bits to fuss, but Rumble stops as soon as he hears their noises.

He sits down with them and gathers a few around him before leaning against the side of the berth and resting one on his chassis. He keeps them close to him, to feel his presence, and despite his own hurt feelings, he sends soothing emotions through his EM field, the same ones he used to do for Frenzy when they were alone on the streets.

Tears are still falling down his face plate, and he won't look at Soundwave.

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.

[silenceofthewave]

Well, this was certainly horrifying. Not only horrifying, but also incredibly inaccurate. First off, Shockwave would never say any of those things. Second off, Rumble's got it all wrong-

Wait. Why is Soundwave even entertaining this line of thought? This was ridiculous.

.: Previous Statements: Incorrect. :. Of course Soundwave's pechant for accuracy was never going to let this go, .: Correction: Shockwave would never refer to Soundwave as "test subject". Second Correction: Rumble has too much tone inflection for Shockwave. Third Correction: Rumble is using far too simple of a lexicon to accurately depict Shockwave. :.

Did Soundwave just call Rumble dumb? Maybe. He deserved it though- in its mind, at least.

.: Query: If Shockwave were other parental figure to "science babies" would he not be here? Shockwave: Not one to leave experimental subjects alone. Not one to abandon projects. Not one to allow others to do the work he is focused on. Rumble: Forgetting important aspect to blackmail. Evidence. :.

Soundwave stood up and snapped another picture. It displayed it on the visor; it was distinctly lacking Shockwave and a timestamp was in the bottom left corner. Was Soundwave about to turn this into a teaching moment? Absolutely.

.: Blackmail: Requires evidence to be a real threat. Evidence: Accurate recordings, photos, videos. Tangible, irrefutable proof. Rumble: Possesses none of these things, because they didn't happen. Soundwave: Possesses irrefutable counter evidence such as 24/7 surveillance, video of when the sparklings arrived, etcetera. :.

Soundwave tilted its helm, looking down at Rumble, .: Rumble: Good try. However: Will simply be rumors. Unbelievable ones. Must think about who will be hearing said rumors and reputation of the rumor's subjects. Must be able to create something believable around complex social understandings. :.

@sparkflower-fields said, " "Uh... Boss whats with the uh... army of bits?" Rumble is standing in the doorway looking more lost than he normally does. "

.: Bitlets: Appeared. :.

That was the only explanation Rumble was going to get for now. Soundwave turned its helm to look over its shoulder. It gave Rumble a severe look through the visor; as if this was somehow his fault.

Soundwave knew it wasn't, but that didn't stop the momentary show of irritation. Still, after a moment, its shoulders sagged, and it paused what it was working on. It turned to face Rumble.

.: Soundwave: Requesting Rumble's assistance regarding construction of habsuite. :.