TF: No Need To Say Goodbye

[wildernesstales]

Rating: PG-13
Series: G1
Pairings: Soundwave/Ratchet
Summary: The outbreak of war affects everything, but can a relationship survive?
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I’ve forgotten…
Authors Notes: For the tf_rare_pairing June Challenge prompt – The Call, Regina Spektor.  Thank you to lady_katana4544 for helping me think of which pairing to use!  Still not entirely happy with this, but the more I poke at it, the less likely I am to post it.
Feedback makes friends.  Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

 

 

When the war broke out, he’d been one of the first to join up, determined to do what he could to make a difference.  He hadn’t thought it would interfere in his relationship at all.  And in the beginning, it hadn’t.

When they’d first met, Soundwave had been a young musician, desperately seeking success.  Ratchet had been a medical intern, close to gaining his crosses.  A quiet night at Soundwave’s local club had had more of an impact than either of them realised.

A chance meeting a few days later, and they agreed to meet for drinks.  And it was the start of a relationship that would span years.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn’t as if he meant for things to end the way they did.  It just… happened.  Neither of them had seen it coming, though in retrospect, all the signs were there.

Ratchet had joined up with the Autobots once war had been declared.  He felt it was the only right thing to do, and he agreed with Optimus Prime’s views on Cybertron and freedom.  Soundwave had been more preoccupied with making sure their sparklings were safe, which Ratchet assured them they would be.  They were under Autobot protection now.

Which was fine, until the war escalated.  Ratchet had been called away to deal with some injuries, which meant he was away from home.  Soundwave was confident that no harm would befall him or their sparklings.  After all, nothing had happened so far.

But he was wrong.

A visit from the Decepticon leader was certainly not Soundwave had been expecting.  Nor was the threat towards him and their sparklings.  That the Decepticons had gotten this close was proof, Megatron said, of the Autobots’ inability to protect their own.  He left Soundwave no choice but to join the Decepticons to assure their sparklings safety.

When Ratchet returned, he was greeted by an empty house.

Wandering through the house, he found a datapad with a few lines hastily scribbled.

‘I’m not saying goodbye.’

He wasn’t sure what it meant, but judging from the fact that all Soundwave’s possessions were still in the house, the mech had left in a hurry.  Reporting the situation to the Autobots, he quickly realised that Soundwave was now with the Decepticons.  It was only the arrival of more Autobots that stopped him from going to find Soundwave, regardless of the danger he might be putting himself in.

As time went on, Ratchet was kept abreast of what Soundwave was doing.  They had little contact on or off the battlefield, yet Ratchet still held out hope that they could recoup what they had lost.

After all, they hadn’t actually said goodbye.