Archive of Our Own ^beta

Frenzy stood in front of the bathroom mirror, droplets of water sprinkling in a disarrayed puddle on the tile, which desperately needed a re-grout. The mirror was steamed up, only displaying a foggy image of the tan boy that stood in front of it.

He grabbed a random hand towel and placed it over his wet hair, ruffling it in a half-assed attempt to dry it. The mirror had started to clear up and Frenzy took this opportunity to trace a stubby finger over the foggy surface, droplets left where his fingertip traced intricate, yet crude, doodles.

First a smiley face, then a lazy doodle of Ravage, then he started to draw something rather phallic, before he smeared it away with a full palmed swipe. But something strange appeared on the shiny surface. Periwinkle?

Frenzy quickly turned around, facing the entrance to the grimy bathroom. But nothing was there. As he turned back to the mirror, it was just a smeary reflection of him. The bare boy still by himself, with no familiar twin to throw a bar of soap at him. No brother to steal his towel before he got out of the spray of warm water. No nuisance of a sibling to swap toothbrushes because he thought ‘it’d be funny’.

“Stupid thing.” He scoffed, before wrapping his lower half in a towel and stepping out into the chilly air of what he and Soundwave called home.

Soundwave was cooking in their kitchen— well, kitchenette, a comforting smell of vegetable broth and meat emanating from the pot. The rusty stove still functioned, and it never failed to bring a sense of fleeting warmth that lacked in the war.

The soft clink of bowls, painted on by the twins themselves, came as they were placed in front of Frenzy, then in Soundwave’s spot.

The warm light of a lamp nearby lit what seemed to be a series of rambles on a scrap piece of paper, and a couple doodles to accompany them. A quiet pour of liquid drew Frenzy’s gaze up, and his bowl was full of a nice familiar recipe. Chicken soup.

“Hey boss.” Frenzy began as Soundwave sat down, swiping the paper away and bringing the soup bowl closer. “Where’d you get chicken?”

“When I was scouting.” Was all Soundwave said, before he poured some soup of his own in a cracked bowl. Soundwave glanced over at the empty chair between the two of them, with a bowl in front of it, like he was thinking of adding some in there. But he just placed the small pot down on the table and stared at his own bowl.

“You gonna eat boss?” Frenzy asked, almost anticipating his guardian’s removal of his mask, eyes going a little wider than usual.

“Not now. It’s still hot.”

“Aw…” Frenzy pouted, before he looked down at his portion of soup, steam rising in waves of nostalgic smells. But in the cream-colored broth, an unnatural color arose. Peri—

He lifted the warm bowl in his tan hands to his lips, and tipped it back, broth scalding his tongue. A stray tear pricked his eye, but he drank it down and let the bowl clatter as he threw it down.

“Shit!”

“Frenzy—.” Soundwave reached out a gloved hand from across the table, but Frenzy was already pushing his chair away and standing up from the table, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “Frenzy… you didn’t eat your chicken—.

“I’m fine. Leave me alone!” He stomped away from the table to the workspace, but not without knocking over something on a nearby nightstand.

It fell onto the floor with a sound of glass shattering, the object facedown now. Soundwave rose after a moment and walked towards the object, picking it up with a careful gentleness. He turned it over and his posture slackened. It was a photo of Rumble and Frenzy during their first days with Soundwave.

When they first laughed. Their sweet little smiles, such joy in such a dark time.

He placed it back on the nightstand and stared a moment before walking back to the table and started to clean up, leaving Rumble’s bowl in his place.

“You stupid bastard.” Frenzy snarled, sitting on a swivel-chair backwards and tapping the glass case his brother lay, dormant. He might as well been dead and rotting in the ground, trampled on by others as they killed each other.

But no.

He just had to stay and be forced to live when he didn’t want to be. He was fine dead right?

“I hate ya’ sometimes.” Frenzy said, quiet and confessional. “You just had to be killed. And for nothing. Nothing! And here you are, dead and still in the corner of my goddamn eye.”

A chill ran up Frenzy’s spine, and he reached behind himself as if to smack away the possibility that Rumble might be behind him. “Stupid… stupid careless…”

A frown slowly drew itself on Frenzy’s lips, cheeks growing red as he punched the glass between what was left of his brother and him. Tears welled up, but he willed them away and sniffled loudly. “We…”

His voice wavered slightly, no matter how much he wanted to keep it even, knowing Rumble would just tease him. Frenzy could almost imagine his ghost pulling his hat over his eyes for shedding tears that needn’t be shed.

“We had your favorite tonight…” He sniffled, rubbing his pinking nose with his forearm. “Chicken soup. You always liked it extra spicy… but it was still good.”

“Dad’s a good cook… isn’t he?” Frenzy’s form trembled as he leaned against the glass, a shadow overcasting the lifeless body of his twin.

“I fucking miss you Rumble…”

But no amount of tears can bring him back. Even Soundwave knew and he was keeping Rumble in this glass coffin nonetheless.

“I miss you…”