Sharks can't love - SoundRod AU

Bandages and Bondage

When the duo swam into the infirmary, Ratchet was less than thrilled. He sat Hotrod down on a bed, Soundwave curled up beside him, tail swishing.

His bioluminescent scales glimmered with worry.

"Fuck happened to you? You get eaten by piranhas or some shit?" Wheeljack said as he swam in with a coral basket of medical supplies.

Hotrod chuckled nervously as Ratchet was wrapping his wounds up. How was he supposed to tell people that his own prisoner fucking ate some of him?

Soundwave kept getting glared from Ratchet to the point he was sitting on the kelp bed curled with his tail around Hotrod possessively. He laid his chin on Hotrod's shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Jeez, attachment issues much." Ratchet rumbled as he patched up a deeper bite. Ratchet paused, looking closely at the wound before putting bandages over it.

"Maybe he did get bit by some nasty piranhas, he's been bit up and down his side and there's a cut out of his tail." Ratchet said to his mate, looking back at the silver catfish.

"Awe, let me guess, the big bad Siren threw you at him to save his own scales?" Wheeljack teased Hotrod.

Soundwave hissed, lifting his claws and clasping them around Hotrod's arm protectively. Hotrod growled gently and pulled his arm away.

Soundwave's eyes widened and looked shattered, like someone just broke his favorite coral.

Soundwave whimpered and swam out of the infirmary.

Hotrod sighed, feeling sorry for being so rude, but within the last two hours Soundwave hurt him and was now being all clingy.

"Tell us the truth, I'm the doctor." Ratchet hissed, narrowing his flaming blue and orange eyes.

"H-Soundwave, he's a cannibal." Hotrod started.

Wheeljack dropped the coral basket on his paw and yelped, Ratchet looked up with wide eyes.

"What?" Ratchet growled, giving Hotrod a stern look.

"No, what else?" Wheeljack snarled, lifting his paw out from under the basket and reaching for the dagger strapped around his forearm.

"Nothing, just....he got hungry, I guess...." Hotrod said, looking down.

"That does it!" Wheeljack snarled, twisting around and dashing out the infirmary.

Hotrod sat up in his bed in a panic, sailing over Ratchet's head as he dashed out after Wheeljack.

He saw Wheeljack's shimmering silver tail twist around a corner towards Hotrod's den. Hotrod painted and swam after him.

He ran straight into Jetfire and Optimus in his frenzy to get to Soundwave.

"Hotrod?" Optimus asked, helping the small Mer float again.

"What's wrong?" Jetfire asked.

"W-Wheeljack went after Soundwave— going after..." Hotrod said quickly, trying to get around the bigger Mermaids.

"Did you get hurt?" Optimus asked, gesturing to Hotrod's bandages.

"No! W-well, yes— I don't....I, Soundwave is a cannibal and bit me a few times while we were sleeping, and now Wheeljack wants to kill him for hurting me." Hotrod panicked.

"I'll go stop him." Jetfire rumbled, swimming in a wide arch and churning the water around him as he swam for the den.

Optimus held Hotrod back with his tail, wrapping the light gray-blue tail around Hotrod's body and pulling him back towards the infirmary.