AN: This fic was written for tfanonkink! The kink included surprise bonding, some extended seduction, and, of course, Megatron pursuing Soundwave. I have a feeling this one MIGHT end up a little long. Let's see where it ends up, eh? Also, this will obviously eventually work itself up to an M rating. It isn't there yet, but I'll go ahead and stick it there so that nobody begins this fic unaware of my intentions.

It will eventually contain (in no particular order): Eventual sparkmerging, a mix of sticky and plug'n'play methods of interface, pissy Starscream, shameless debauchery, Gratuitous Capitalization, tentacles, humor (hopefully), eventual mechpreg(well, I'll mainly be focusing on the impregnation… process… but chapters containing such will have addition warnings), a bit of fluff here and there, Knock Out being Knock Out, a handful of light side-pairings, and a Vehicon named Steve.

I'll also be combining material from the entire Aligned continuity, meaning the game War for Cybertron as well as the two novels by Alex Irvine; there are some contradictions between these two mediums and the Prime show, but they are all part of the same continuity family. I'll do my best not to confuse anyone who hasn't read them with my Author's Notes. The first thing I think I should clarify before reading is that, for the purpose of this story, Frenzy and Rumble were, at one time, Soundwave's symbionts. But we'll get into what happened to them later.

For handy reference, this chapter contains the following squicks:

None! Unless you hate rock formations.

OKAY SO my future author's notes will not be so long-winded, I promise; I just wanna make sure we're all on the same page before I jump in. :) Here we go!

Let Me Hear You Whisper
Prologue

It had started with talks, and Starscream had initiated them. The crew at large didn't know what he was planning, at first; they only knew that the Second-in-Command suddenly needed much of his Lord's time. Soundwave knew from the beginning, of course, because watching, listening, and… well, knowing was simply what he did.If asked to summarize the discussions neatly, the Communications Officer would actually find himself hard-pressed to, and not just because words were not his forte. The nature of the talks had been abstract, the subjects myriad and the digressions meandering, but it eventually boiled down to a few key things.

First of all, Megatron had nearly died. Technically that was incorrect. He had died, but had been preserved by the mysterious power of Dark Energon. His death had left more than a void in the Decepticon ranks-it had left a void in the Decepticon ideal. Starscream had noticed this from the very beginning. There had been a lack of respect, of discipline,in the days that had followed Megatron's fall.

Second of all, Megatron's return had restored order, but it had not restored vigor. His crew obeyed him and feared him, but their crushing near-defeat had left a lingering demoralization that not even Megatron's miraculous resurrection could mend. They needed to be reminded of who they were, of where they came from.

Third of all, the Decepticon cause required an heir. Soundwave knew that it had been difficult for Starscream to admit that one could not simply assume control of the Decepticon ranks; he had tried, after having been in a position of power for eons, and had failed. They needed more than a commander. They needed a presence.

The culmination of these points had brought Starscream to suggest, of all things, a Bonding. It was quite an audacious thing to do. Soundwave knew how to read Megatron's subtler expressions, and had almost been amused by the slight narrowing of his Lord's eyes, the sudden tenseness in his frame. Bonding, Starscream had insisted, solved the latter two problems. It was an ancient Cybertronian custom, something that would reconnect the crews with their lost origins. It would also lead the way to producing an heir, someone who could carry on his progenitors' work even if the worst befell Megatron and his Intended.

Soundwave could also deduce that Starscream had brought up Megatron's near-deactivation as a reminder of the warlord's mortality. Megatron was nearly unstoppable, but he was not immortal. It was a cunning strategy, but Soundwave knew that Megatron's aversion to something like a Bonding would outweigh any fear he had of leaving no legacy aside from his cause behind. To Bond with another would be to imply equality. Bonding was an act that opened two sparks to one another, that merged their harmonies permanently. Megatron was too proud to consent to equality with anyoneand too savage to share the innermost spark-frequencies with another individual.

So it came as a great surprise to the Third in Command when Megatron, after weeks of plying from Starscream, agreed.

Needless to say, it initially caused quite a stir amongst the crew. A bonding was something most of the Nemesis'scomplement of drones had never even seen before, as the majority of them had been created after the start of the great Cybertronian War. Speculation ran wild as to who Megatron would choose for the momentous task of becoming his Bondmate. Everyone suspected that it would be an officer, but nobody knew who. Soundwave was aware of the cross-chatter, be it simple dialogue between Cybertronians or more sophisticated electronic means of communication. It was, as always, part of his job to know.

Everyone was preparing for the ceremony. Even if there was no suspicion as to a particular mech or femme's chances, the choosing ceremony was no joke, and anything but the most pristine of conditions during the ceremony would indicate lack of respect for the Cybertronian choosing a Bondmate. Everyone knew what they could expect if they openly disrespected their Lord.

"Besides," Soundwave heard Knock Out say one night, when he was finishing up his tasks in the medbay with the help of his lumbering assistant, "you really never know."

He had seen Breakdown frown at that (from the vantage point of the Nemesis's security feeds), his single optic narrowing slightly. He couldn't tell if this was from nervousness that he might be chosen (though Breakdown was loyal, Soundwave knew he would not welcome such advances from Megatron), or if it was worry that Knock Out might find himself in their Lord's crosshairs (everyone knew that Breakdown and Knock Out had a thing going; just what that thingwas, Soundwave couldn't precisely say).

Starscream was barely tolerable. The Seeker was full of himself at the worst of times, and now he strutted about the Nemesis as if he already had been chosen. Though Starscream was a tidy mech, he was never one to preen to the extent that their Chief Medical Officer did. Now, Starscream gleamed wherever he walked. This was beyond respect. This was the look of a mech that expected himself to be put into the spotlight. If anyone was annoyed by this, they hid their annoyance well. After all, Starscream outranked everyone except Megatron himself. Soundwave personally did not care what the Seeker did in his free time. If he wanted to buff himself to a glittering shine, let him.

Airachnid alone seemed unconcerned with the whole affair. When questioned by Knock Out during a routine medical exam, the femme laughed softly from where she was reclined, her extra limbs splayed for the doctor to examine. Knock out was testing the small joints with surprising delicacy, and the effect was clearly relaxing for her. It must have felt rather like a massage. "First and foremost, I am not his type. Besides, Megatron knows me too well. I am certain he is aware that I would be resistant to a bond like that. It's too… confining."

"I never would have pinned you for the 'fear-of-commitment' sort." Knock Out grinned, only now glancing her way, his words laden with sarcasm.

Airachnid took it in stride and gave a predatory grin. "He knows I would never be satisfied by just one mech." She fixed a pointed stare first at Knock Out, and then at Breakdown. The Chief Medical Officer's eyes widened and he blinked slowly, glancing briefly to Breakdown, who looked as much like a deer caught in the headlights as an enormous burly mech could.

Soundwave decided to suspend his monitoring of the medical bay for now; he really did notneed to hear what came next. As such, he missed the second half of the conversation, which cropped up some fifteen minutes later.

"Just what doyou think his type is?" Knock Out asked, glancing between Airachnid and Breakdown and clearly enjoying the sight of his fierce, imposing companion looking more and more awkward by the moment.

Airachnid stopped leering at Breakdown long enough to return her attention to Knock Out. "It's rather obvious. Steadfast, loyal… and above all, quiet."

Realization lit in the medic's unusual red optics. "You aren't saying…?"

"That he might skip Seconds and jump straight into Thirds? That is exactlywhat I am saying. You can count on it."

Knock Out cocked his head. For a moment his expression was blank and thoughtful. Then, a wicked grin lit his features. "You want to bet?"

Elsewhere on the ship the initial excitement of the Bonding had quite died down. On the crew's deck, the drones were going about their business. Drone correspondence was not something that Soundwave monitored heavily. First of all, there were just so many things being said, either verbally, or though silent electronic means, or through the subtle shifting of EM fields. Soundwave could handle it, couldcarefully pick apart each delicate string in the tangled web of communication, but it would require his absolute focus.

The second and more important reason was that much of what they had to say was unimportant.

He did a cursory sweep, just to make sure thoughts of sedition weren't seeping into the processors of the troops, but as usual, he only came away with rather banal conversation. A group of miners was having a discussion over the unusual formations of Earth rock they'd seen at their last dig. A flying Eradicon was weighing the pros and cons of a decent wax job with a groundling Vehicon. Shifts were being swapped or coordinated. Battle scars were being shown. A swaggering Vehicon was telling a tale of (likely largely false) derring-do about an exciting chase he'd had on his last scouting patrol, to an amusingly rapt audience. A formation of Eradicons were playing an Earth game of chance involving dice. A mixed group of drones were watching a film on a vid. Soundwave quickly traced the film's origins to make sure it contained material he was comfortable wouldn't effect the drones' dedication to their duty.

The title was not forthcoming (Kung Pow!meant nothing to Soundwave) but after watching approximately thirty minutes of the film, the Third in Command deemed it harmless.

The drones were largely unaffected by the atmosphere in the ship. That was to be expected; they were just drones, and there was virtually no chance of any of them having any significant role in the bonding ceremony. Soundwave himself was a little surprised at how… normal everything seemed that night. Maybe it said something about how far they'd come from their roots that the prospect of an honest-to-Primus Bonding sparked little more than medbay gossip.

A ping from Laserbeak distracted him, and Soundwave immediately altered his patrol. The mech silently made his way towards the topmost deck of the Nemesis. He stepped outside. On the Nemesis's dorsal plating, there was a broad, flat expanse open to the sky, but shielded through electromagnetic means from the worst of the wind. Their ship was drifting over the Pacific Ocean, and below there was nothing but sea to behold. Laserbeak was returning from some last-minute reconnaissance in Japan.

Soundwave stood quietly, letting the slight tug of the cold wind cool his components. His armor lifted itself from his protoform slightly, allowing the cold air to slide underneath, brushing the wires and bare metal with an almost liquid caress. Soundwave allowed his thoughts to drift. He could not really blame anyone for taking the Bonding lightly. Most of the Decepticons knew of such niceties only as stories, anyway. Hehad certainly never witnessed anything as raw and tender in the Gladiator Pits. Bonding was simply something that happened to someone else. It wasn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that half of the crew earnestly believed they would never find a Bondmate.

His thoughts were interrupted, because another mech was approaching. Soundwave could sense him through the deck. He half-turned, quietly turning the signal over in his processor, and was somewhat surprised to discern the presence of his Lord. There was no cause for alarm if Megatron was coming here. He turned away from the hatch, staring off into the night in the direction from which Laserbeak would be arriving. Behind him, he heard the slide of metal, and then the heavy footsteps of Megatron. They carried the warlord to his side.

He swiveled his face towards his leader, who was not looking at him, but rather staring out into the darkness with narrowed optics. His thoughts were clearly turned inward, his EM field tightly-coiled and radiating rapid, pensive frequencies. "Soundwave. You are aware the preliminary stages of the ceremony begin tomorrow?"

Soundwave rarely spoke, even to Megatron. He preferred to communicate either through replayed transmissions, or through wireless bursts of information. Words could be twisted, could be misconstrued; raw data could not. Besides, Soundwave was used to keeping council with his symbionts above all others. Before he had met Megatron, before he had been given anyone or anythingto believe in, Soundwave had had them.

An unfamiliar twist of pain went through the normally-stoic Third's Spark. They were gone, now. Most of them, anyway. He responded to Megatron smoothly and wirelessly, sending him an affirmative burst.

"I am not looking forward to it," Megatron growled, "It is too decadent for my tastes, too reminiscent of everything the old Cybertron stood for." Soundwave privately thought it appropriate that Megatron would be instinctively disgusted by a ceremony designed to highlight what he must have thought was weakness, but he did not share this thought. "I will shorten it. This is, after all, a Decepticon bonding."

Soundwave sent another wireless burst to is Lord. In it he indicated that Starscream would undoubtedly be displeased with Megatron's altering of the Bonding.

Megatron laughed, low and booming in the windswept silence above the Nemesis. "He will adjust. Starscream will be doing muchof that in the weeks to come."

Soundwave took this as confirmation to what everyone suspected. So, Megatron would be taking his Second in Command as a bondmate. It wasn't terribly surprising news. The two of them had chemistry that, while not romantic, was dynamic and at times volatile. Soundwave did not understand why those situations could and sometimes wouldresult in mutual attraction, but it was not his job to understand why Megatron pursued his Intended.

The Third in Commander raised a long arm silently and smoothly as Laserbeak finally approached, curving a neat arc through the air to perch on her master's arm. Soundwave drew his symbiont close, allowing a moment's diversion to gently trace his spindly fingers over the leading edge of his faithful spy's wing.

He didn't mind that Megatron saw. Megatron knew that the bond between Soundwave and his symbionts was strong. Soundwave did not consider his attachment to Laserbeak and Ravage a weakness. After witnessing what Soundwave had done to the last Cybertronian to harm one of his symbionts, neither did Megatron.

Megatron watched silently, his expression unreadable. If Soundwave reached out, he knew he could delve into his Lord's very thoughts, but he respected Megatron far too much for that. "You will need to be present tomorrow," Megatron said quite suddenly, "of course."

Soundwave turned his blank screen towards Megatron and nodded once, decisively, respectfully. Then, to his surprise, Megatron grinned at him, an expression that blended amusement with something unusually predatory. There was a glint in his eye that Soundwave recognized: that was the look that meant Megatron knew something that everyone else didn't. Had it been any other situation with any other being, Soundwave would have been suspicious of the situation, of that look.

Not so with Megatron.

Without a word of farewell, Megatron turned and left. Soundwave returned his attention to Laserbeak, who made a series of low-pitched beeps to communicate her appreciation. The Communications Chief trailed his fingers over his small symbiont's angular back again. It wouldn't hurt to remain out there a little longer with the night and the wind.

After all, it was a big day tomorrow.