Title: A Swift Divulgence
Verse: TF:Prime
Series: None
Rating: T for sheer stalkery creepiness.
Warnings: Stalking.
Pairings: Soundwave/Arcee, Ensemble
Summary: Arcee has a bit of an issue, namely Soundwave.
Note:A sequel to Watching and A Matter of Miscommunication.

"What?" Jack asked, thinking he had heard Raf wrong.

Raf sighed, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. "I said Soundwave has a crush on Arcee, and has been leaving her gifts at your house."

"A crush?" He asked again, thinking-no Hoping-he had heard wrong.

"Yeah, like you have on Sierra, only creepier." Miko piped up, looking up from the game she had been playing on her phone. She nearly bounced. "He was the stalker she had on-line, right?"

"Exactly." Raf added helpfully, his attention going back to his laptop.

"Stalker?" Jack nearly shouted. "Wait how-you mean-"

"Pretty much." Raf said, not looking up. "Already heard waaaaay too much about that. Thanks, Bee." The bot in question let out a little trill, throwing his hands up.

"You mean-" Jack stood there blinking. "They-"

Miko bit out a laugh. "Don't blow a circuit, Jack."

Jack shook his head, not sure if he should be horrified at what they were suggesting, disgusted that they were suggesting it, or just plain mad because they were keeping secrets. "I'm not blowing a circuit. I just don't like secrets. Someone should have told me." He ground out.

Jack frowned and wondered if that was why that pesky little bot was now at the base. "So...it was just on-line?" That wasn't so bad he guessed.

"No, not at all. Bee said Soundwave left presents in the garage. Er...your garage." Raf said not looking up as he typed away on his laptop.

"What?" Jack yelled.
Miko snickered, "I think this is exactly why no one told you."

OoOoOoOoOo

Knock Out watched Soundwave. There was definitely something up with the telepath, but the red medic could not quite put his digit on what it was. He was certainly acting dodgier than normal, but that wasn't saying much. Dodgy was the very description of most Cons. "Very interesting."

Breakdown rolled his optics. "If you say so."

Knock Out cracked a smile. "Well, I do. there is obviously something going on. Perhaps Megatron should know."

"What makes you think he doesn't already." Breakdown said giving the red bot a sideways glance.

"Just a hunch. Question is...who is it?" Knock Out tapped a digit on his cheek.

"Who is what?" Breakdown said, clearly confused.

"Who is he obsessing over." Knock Out said, rolling his own optics.

"What?" Breakdown snorted, "Are you kidding me? He doesn't even have feelings? Does he?"

Knock Out patted Breakdown's shoulder. "Pretty sure he does." he smirked.

Breakdown's brow-plates rose. "Ah-right, I don't even want to know."

Knock Out's smirk grew. He wondered what Starscream would give for this information. The seeker never failed to amuse him.

OoOoOoOoOo

Jack huffed stomping across the Autobot base's main-room, his eyes narrowing as he looked at his mother, then at Arcee and back. "You knew about this." He accused his mother.

"Knew about what, sweetie?" June asked, the picture of innocence.

"That-" he pointed at Arcee. "Soundwave, the garage. THE GARAGE."

"Jack, you are not making any sense."

Arcee palmed her face, the picture of exasperation. "That is exactly why I didn't tell you."

"She has a point." June said. "It isn't something you would understand."

"And you would?" Jack yelled.

"You would be surprised." June said, in a dead-panned tone.

Jack huffed, throwing his hands in the air, and stomped away.

Arcee's optics widened and she watched as her partner stomped away. Her shoulder's slumped. "Well that went really well."

Ratchet snorted from the corner, "You expected it to go any better than that?"

Arcee glared. "I hoped it wouldn't go at all. Thanks a lot, Raf."

Raf glanced up from his laptop for a moment, and watched Arcee. "You shouldn't keep secrets. Not from Jack. you know how he is. Ratchet is right." He shrugged went went back to doing whatever it was he was normally doing.

Ratchet merely rolled his eyes, his attention returning to the monitor before him.

OoOoOoOoOo

The red Astin Martin rolled across the payment, finally stopping beside the jet. Both looked out of place on the otherwise deserted air strip.

::What are you doing here?:: Starscream's voice squealed across the comm link.

::I thought you would be pleased to see me.:: Knock Out purred.

::Megatron-::

::Still has no idea where you are.::

The silence was telling.

Knock Out chuckled across the comm. ::You have missed a lot.::

::Oh, I'm sure.:: Starscream sighed.

::No, really. Soundwave-::

::Has his optics on an Autobot.:: Starscream would have smirked if he could have in alt-form.

::Interesting. I had not realized it had gone so far.:: Knock Out said thoughtfully.

::The femme. Arcee.:: Starscream added drily.

::Ah. no accounting for taste, I suppose.::

::None at all.:: Starscream agreed.

::We could take him down with this.::

::Perhaps.:: Starscream replied in kind, rolling it across his processor. ::Perhaps.::

OoOoOoOoOo

Frenzy sighed, pacing across the room. It was dragging boring being stuck in the room. His comma were disabled, he couldn't call to his twin if he wanted to, but at this point he really didn't want to.

"Boss is gonna kill me if he catches me." he muttered, x-venting heavily, his small body heating up with too much stress.

He startled when the door slid open and Arcee slipped inside, a cube in her hand. He took it from her servos, eagerly. Warning signs had been popping onto his HUD for hours.

He watched the Femme. He could almost see what his Boss was so obsessed about. "You should be careful." He spat out the words barely registering in his processor before they were out. "He will do anything..."

Arcee shivered, "Right, squirt, I'm sure he will."

Frenzy vented again, he felt sorry for her, she really did not understand yet, and he prayed to Primus she wouldn't. He doubted she understood what his boss was capable of in any sense of the term.

OoOoOoOoOo

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Jack said, pain leaking into his tone. "I thought you trusted me. I thought I was your partner. Partners don't keep secrets like that Arcee."

Arcee winced inside, and stopped in the deserted stretch of road. "Jackson."

"Don't Jackson me."

"I-honestly I was scared. I am still scared."

"You told my mother."

"She understands. She has had a similar experience."

"Wait...what?" Jack winced. "Really?"

"Yes, really, Jack."

"I'm sorry."

Arcee vented loudly, and wished she could just hug him."So am I."

"I'm just worried about you."

"I'm worried about me too."

OoOoOoOoOo

Megatron stood in the control room. Scowling. Knock Out watched him, trying to gauge his mood. sometimes it did not pay to approach his erstwhile leader. Not if he was in the wrong mood. He was more prone to tear a bot apart then to listen to them.

"Lord Megatron. I think there is something you should know."

"I am listening."

Knock Out x-vented and began.

OoOoOoOoOo

Arcee frowned, as she watched Jack walk into the house. Something was not right. She was exhausted, emotionally and mentally, but still scanned the area more than half afraid that Rumble, or one of Soundness's other minions were still lurking. She fretted about it, and worried about Jack and June's safety far more than her own. All she wanted to do was roll into the garage and slip into recharge, but something in the air left her feeling uneasy. She paused, visually scanning the area again. She wondered if she was not just glitching.

There was a static crackle in the air. Her optics widened as she felt an electrical burst. Soundwave dropped his cloaking field and stepped out of the shadows. Arcee leveled her plasma gun at the mech and slowly backed away.

"Stay away from me." she cringed, backing up a step.

"Wise advice for now." Megatron rumbled, as he stepped out of a ground bridge. He glanced at the femme for a fraction of a moment, before writing her off as inconsequential. The ground-bridge's portal closed with an audible snap leaving them all bathed in darkness.

Arcee bit back a scream, both arm blasters leveled at the Decepticons. SlagitslagslagI'Msoslagged. She screamed inside, backing up and away from the Cons. She wondered for a moment if she should call for help, but she froze, and finally fully understood the human saying of 'froze like a deer in head-lights.'

Megatron's attention turned back to her for a moment, and he laughed; a loud rumble of noise that she did not understand at first.

She took another step back, terror creeping along her processor.

"You reek of fear, little one." Megatron smirked, his optics glowing brightly in the dark night before they moved back to his spy-master. He was more amused than anything about this. Soundwave had never been one to take advantage of a femme's attention. Not in their gladiatorial days, and not any time since to Megatron's knowledge.

"But now is not the time." He rumbled, leveling Soundwave a look. "Come."He barked at Soundwave, even as he was leaping into the air and transforming. The aircraft shot into the sky.

Arcee trembled, hugging herself. Her knees gave out and she sank to the street. Her spark felt as if it was going to pulse out of her chest. She sat there for what seemed like an eternity tracking the aircraft until they were well out of her sensor range.

The lights to the Darby's house flicked back on, and June and Jack came out through the garage.

"Arcee?" Jack called, finally spotting her crouched in the street. "Are you okay?" He walked up to her, and placed a small hand on her warm plating."Arcee?"

She tried to talk, but nothing but static came out for a moment. Finally she managed to find her voice, "Yes, Jack-I-I'm fine."

June watched them both with a worried gaze, after a moment her own eyes went to the sky.

Arcee's own gaze never wavered. At least, it was over... Well, as much as Cybertronian problems ever could be.

OoOoOoOoOo

Megatron looked out the window of the control room, the terran landscape stretching as far as he could see. The horizon soft in the night-time-hour obscuring the gentle curvature of the earth. He clasped his hands behind his back, silent for a moment.

Soundwave stood behind him, clearly uneasy.

"Now is not the time." Megatron said, still looking at the night-scape. "But when we win this war-and we will-my most loyal will be rewarded as such."