good on paper, picture perfect

relaxation

“So what exactly is this about?” Rose questioned as she stared at Ultra Magnus with confusion on her faceplates. He was pacing back and forth across the hallways like some kind of lunatic. It reminded her of the way Ratchet paced, only in reverse.

"You've been nauseous for a week now have you?" Magnus asked.

"Yes, I mean it isn't really that complicated, It's just a minor bug..." 

Rose tried to tell Magnus, she knew he was overprotective and worried for her sake. But something was off and he wanted her to check it out.  She wasn't gonna lie though she DID worry herself sick but she didn't want to bother anyone.

Magnus stopped mid stride, his helm cocked to the side and squinted his optics at her.

"Rose... You're not planning anything stupid right?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. 

Oh no, he saw through her again. Of course he did. 

"No! Nothing like that!" Rose assured him.

She could sense he didn't believe her and honestly, she didn't blame him. There were a few times during the last few weeks when she had been acting strange.

He took her by surprise a lot of times.

He would come into her bunk while she was in recharge and then start asking questions. It seemed like the questions got more and more personal each time. Rose would think up a lie to cover for it, she had done it before but she never told him that.

Now was one of those times.
Rose sighed and rubbed at her optics with a servo.

"I haven't been doing much lately, I guess I need sleep." She said, trying to make him happy.

His posture loosened up somewhat and a smile tugged at his lips as he turned back to face her.

"You know that doesn't help me right? I need to see if there's something going on. If you can't talk to me or any of us about it, then I need to know what." He stated matter of factly.

Rose opened her mouth to protest but couldn't find the words. 
What was she supposed to say here? That there was nothing wrong because she just needed some recharge and it'll all go away soon? No, that wouldn't fly. Not when her adoptive father looked like he was ready to explode from worry.

Her eyes flicked down towards her feet, her spark felt heavy. It was like someone scooped out a chunk of it and left an ache inside. Maybe she did need rest after all.

"Fine... Just promise not to send anyone else in if I say something I shouldn't? Or make me sit through a whole lecture?" Rose requested, her voice was small, barely above a whisper.

"Of course." Magnus replied immediately and moved towards her, crouching down so that they both were at eye level.

"Look... Rose, I'm not going anywhere. Okay? This stuff, whatever it is... I'm here for you. We'll figure this out together." Magnus reassured her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a warm, tight hug.

Rose melted against him, closing her optics and returning the hug. Her head rested on his chassis, breathing deeply in an effort to calm her rapidly beating spark.

"Okay." She breathed and let him guide her back to her room, the pair of them falling into routine quickly. Rose lay still, staring at the ceiling. It hurt, it hurt a lot, to lie here and pretend everything was okay. She felt like she couldn't breathe. At least Magnus didn't press her for answers anymore.

He simply sat beside her, holding her hand. After she fell asleep, he made sure to keep watch outside her door.