Chapter Text
Perceptor shifted uncomfortably as he watched the taller mech exit the council building and approach him, his hands worrying at his focus knobs on his arms. He’d have to remember to readjust his lense later; surely by now it was very out of focus. He had to admit, it was humbling seeing such a large mech standing in front of him. He knew he was short, but he’d never felt small before.
“Perceptor, I presume?” The tall mech’s voice rumbled in Perceptor’s chest, and the small red bot brought a hand up to rest on the glass of his windshield. That felt rather strange.
“Yes, sir. Perceptor of Caminus.” Perceptor pushed his thoughts aside as he answered, tilting his helm back to meet the other’s gaze. He was large, intimidating… Alluring… Perceptor in-vented sharply, bringing a hand up to adjust his glasses as the larger mech leaned over him.
“Caminus? How odd, I’d thought all Camiens were--”
“That’s a misconception.” Perceptor interjected, his narrowed optics giving the taller mech a hint that he had perhaps overstepped a boundary. “Mech and femmes coexist on Caminus. Although, I suppose I understand where that assumption comes from; the most prominent Camiens are femmes.” He hesitates and the taller mech tilts his head, expecting there to be more to this outburst. Perceptor taps a finger to his chin, thinking a moment. “Perhaps, had things been different, I would’ve been among those femmes. But… I think being a mech suits me far better.” Perceptor mumbles.
The stranger blinked in surprise. That wasn’t at all what he had expected from the small, red mech. It seemed Perceptor’s sharp response was indeed warranted; it wasn’t really his business making such assumptions. A gentle smile worked its way across his face, and he nodded. “I see. I believe it does suit you. You make a rather handsome mech.”
Why did that comment feel...strange? Perceptor couldn’t quite pin the feeling down. He was sure it was just nerves. He’d have to think it over later. For the time being, he had more important matters to think about.
“You’re not much younger than me, it seems. Newly graduated from the Academy, I’d assume?” the other asked, turning to walk back towards the council building. The light glinted off of his deep purple plating, and Perceptor had to shake his head to refocus on the question rather than the beautiful coloration of the other mech’s armor.
“Yes, sir. I was top of my class. I was told I’m the best sniper they’ve seen in a long while.” Perceptor walked briskly behind the purple mech, his small steps no match for the other’s long strides.
“A sniper? But aren’t you the new representative of the science guild?”
“Yes, sir, I--”
“So formal. You’re aware you aren’t required to call me ‘sir’, correct?”
“Oh-- Oh! Yes, right. I apologize, I just hadn’t caught your name, so I had thought…”
The large, purple mech chuckled, grinning.
“I am Shockwave. Welcome to the council.”
Perceptor tapped his pen on his desk absentmindedly. He hadn’t quite been able to focus lately, his processor too full of plans for fieldwork. He hated desk work. It was odd that a scientist of his intellect would dislike sitting and theorizing so much, but he found it hard to enjoy writing down his ideas when he could be out in the field testing them. Ah, but science is a process. He had to have an idea before he could test one.
He sighed, looking across the lab to the window. It was night already? He hadn’t even noticed the day had gone by. He rubbed at his optics and set his pen down, leaning back in his chair. He could go home.
Or he could pull an all nighter and impress everyone else in the lab when they saw his work completed and perfected.
Perceptor grinned and leaned back over his work, taking up his pen once again. He wasn’t typically the competitive type, but one of his coworkers, Wheeljack, brought out the worst in him. He couldn’t help a little friendly competition with his best friend.
As he had just begun scribbling something down, the sound of the door sliding open caught his attention. A certain purple mech strode confidently into the lab, carrying two cups.
“Good evening, Shockwave. A pleasure to see you in my humble laboratory.”
“Evening? Are you aware it’s nearly midnight? I’d gotten word from Wheeljack that you were still holed up here. I assumed you were most likely going to be here all night, so I felt it was only right that I bring you something to help you stay awake.” Shockwave set one of the cups on the desk just to the side of Perceptor’s work, though the cup quickly found itself in the red mech’s hands.
Perceptor sighed as he brought the drink close to his face, the sweet smell a welcome change to the smell of sanitary lab equipment. He savored it as he took a small drink, setting the cup back on his desk as he smiled up at Shockwave. “I was aware it was late, I just wasn’t aware of exactly how late. I had some work I wanted to finish before tomorrow.”
“It’s nearly tomorrow already, Percy.” Shockwave laughed, pulling a chair over to Perceptor’s desk so that he could join the other.
“It isn’t tomorrow until I’ve woken from recharging.” Perceptor responded matter of factly.
“And when will you recharge?”
“...Tomorrow.”
The small red mech pressed his lips together in an attempt to hold back his laughter, but failed, turning away from Shockwave as he giggled. Shockwave couldn’t help but laugh as well, his soft blue optics glinting with amusement. He leaned on his forearms onto Perceptor’s desk, tilting his head to the side as he smiled down at the other.
“Would you mind, then, if I stated here with you for the night? Perhaps you can educate me about your latest project.”
Perceptor hesitated.
“Please, stay with me. I… I would like that, very much.”
Council meetings were a bore for any young mech and despite typically being very focused when it came to important matters, Perceptor was still young and was not exempt from boredom. His mind wandered and he caught himself staring across the meeting room at Shockwave. He wondered if Shockwave was just as bored as he was. His gaze traveled down Shockwave’s frame onto the senator’s hands, which were folded delicately on his desk. Perceptor blinked thoughtfully. Shockwave’s hands looked soft. Maybe he could…
Perceptor’s attention snapped back to the council meeting, his back straightening as he realized what he’d been thinking. No, no that wasn’t something he should be thinking. Shockwave was a fellow council member, their relationship was strictly professional. He couldn’t think those kinds of things about a coworker. But still…
The meeting came to a close and Perceptor walked away from it without having retained anything Ultra Magnus had said. He had been too preoccupied. He sighed and slid his fingers under his glasses to rub at his eyes. He needed to clear his head somehow, but--
“Percy.”
Perceptor turned towards the source of the voice and his eyes met Shockwave’s, who was smiling that gentle smile of his. That infuriatingly gentle smile. Why did he have to have such a cute smile? Though as he approached, that smile faltered and was replaced by a look of concern.
“You kept looking at me during the meeting. Is something the matter?” Shockwave cocked his head to the side. The antenna on the sides of his head perked upward and Perceptor bit his bottom lip. Oh, now that was too cute.
“I was simply… I was thinking about…” Perceptor lifted his hands to fold them over his chest, as he did when he was nervous, but Shockwave reached out and caught one of his hands in his own. Perceptor had to stop himself from audibly gasping as he blinked up at the purple mech. Shockwave was grinning. That stupid, handsome grin.
“Would you like to go somewhere tonight?”
It had been months since the first time they’d gone out together. It was nothing more than fun outings where they talked and joked and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice being able to relax around each other. The professional relationship had fallen away to reveal a wonderful kind of friendship that Perceptor didn’t have with anyone else. Sure, Wheeljack was his best friend and the two of them got up to all sorts of things as well, but it never felt as… Free as this.
As the two stopped in front of Perceptor’s habsuite, Shockwave gently nudged the smaller bot’s shoulder to get his attention. “Would you be interested in another date tomorrow night?”
Perceptor fumbled the lock on his door and his keycard clattered against the floor, the silence following it feeling heavy on his shoulders. He turned his head towards the other, his surprised expression meeting Shockwave’s expectant gaze.
“Date? Was… Was this a date?”
“Of course. We’ve been going on dates for some time now. What did you think they were?”
“I-- I just thought…” Perceptor laughed nervously, his face flushed as he covered his mouth with one hand. “It didn't occur to me that we were going on dates.”
There was silence for a moment, then Perceptor gasped as Shockwave’s hand wrapped around his waist and pulled a bit him closer. He didn’t look up at the other, his head turned away as he brought his hands up to cover his face. His face felt hot, too hot. Deep down he’d hoped Shockwave was interested in him, but now that he realized he always was...
“Percy, look at me.”
“I’m-- I’m sorry, I’m just a bit surprised-- nervous? Yes, nervous perhaps. I didn’t think you’d even considered me to be--”
“Percy, please look at me.”
Perceptor buries his face deeper into his hands as he continues to ramble. Shockwave smiles and brings Perceptor even closer to his frame, a hand working its way past Perceptor’s hands to gently caress the smaller mech’s cheek. Perceptor pulls his hands away slightly, enough to see the other as Shockwave gently guides him to look up at him. Shockwave begins to lean down towards Perceptor, his voice soft,
“How can I kiss you if you won’t look at me?”