Transformers: New Generation -- Pt 3

chapter 4

"So, I'm going on a mission undercover as a 'Con, into a heavily-guarded prison with the most annoying bot in charge of it all?" Mirage asked.

Mirage was sat on a storage box in the Ark's hangar, legs up and positioned crisscrossed. He held a strange contraption in one servo, a tool in his other. Elita sat on a box across from him, Optimus leaning against some boxes while next to the illusionary.

Elita rolled her optics at the winded recount of the brief, smirking humorously. "Yes." She said simply.

Mirage smiled, setting the contraption down and raising a leg, draping an arm over it.

"Well, it's more interesting than sitting around." He said, "When am I going?"

"I'd assume that Ultra Magnus would want you there as soon as possible." Optimus said, "We need to get this Energon as soon as we can."

The blue and white bot nodded in understanding. He grabbed the contraption again, hopping down from the box. He looked at the Spy-Unit commander.

"I'll get everything ready." Mirage said, "Wish me luck."

Elita nodded. The illusionary bot padded away, and Optimus walked over to the other commander. He sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her body. She leaned into him, shuddering her optics and smiling. They stayed like that for a while, sitting in silence, enjoying each other's presence. After a while, Elita raised herself up and slowly moved to stand. Optimus moved his arm to allow her to stand.

"I have to get back to Praxus." She stated, looking back at her lover and smiling, "The soonest I can come back is in a few weeks, but it could be longer than that."

Optimus kept down a sad sigh, nodding. He stood and approached his lover, and the two hugged.

The Prime almost considered not letting go – he wanted her to stay. He wanted them to find a secluded spot, huddled together as the sun sank below the horizon, and prosper in each other's presence. Or was that Orion speaking from a deep-rooted memory he couldn't access? However, a war raged, and it wasn't kind. It took and fed off the anguish of its victims, and it didn't care that he wanted the peace and quiet of pre-conflict Cybertron – something that he couldn't remember and could barely fathom – and it reveled in the conflict Optimus was experiencing.

He finally let go, allowing Elita to pull away and look up at him. She gave a small smile, raising herself up and planting a kiss on his cheekplate.

"You better take care of yourself." She said, "I don't know how big of a responsibility being Prime is, but I can imagine it being grueling."

A breathy chuckle escaped Optimus. "You take care of yourself, too." He said.

The reddish-orange bot nodded. The two stood there awkwardly, now, silence passing through them as clangs and crashes sounded around the hangar. They didn't know what to do – who would leave first?

The Prime slowly reached a servo out to his lover, who almost immediately grasped it.

"I'll go with you to the tunnels." He said.

The smaller bot smiled, nodding.

They walked out of the Ark, servo-in-servo, padding to the entrance of the tunnels. Once there, they both stopped, staring down the darkness. A familiar fear swelled within Optimus, but it wasn't as strong as the times before. It was a way he'd grown since first joining the Autobots, and he felt pride in that fact.

Elita faced Optimus, lifting his servo and kissing it. The larger bot felt his faceplates heat up, and his lover giggled. He didn't hide his faceplates, simply smiling back and chuckling. The two bots hugged, and Elita turned to leave, not without saying three more words.