Tracing the familiar pattern of his quarter's ceiling tiles for the umpteenth time, the mech gave up hope of returning to sleep. He might as well face it: it was morning. It wasn't that he hated mornings: in fact, getting up bright and early to start off the day's work was usually a joyous event. It's just when Rodimus was the one planning the day's work, Ultra Magnus was not sure how excited he could be.

The blue mech huffed out a sigh. Just what did Rodimus have in store for him today? He wasn't sure, but he knew the other mech was looking forward to it. In fact, the red and yellow mech could hardly contain his excitement all week. So much so that work went at a painstakingly slow place and the captain has to be reprimanded for daydreaming on a regular basis.

But the troubling part was that Ultra Magnus agreed with him. Just when did that happen? True, Rodimus was the captain- the one in charge, but usually he did not agree so readily with him. Or at the very least, without a long night of going over a list in an attempt to make the higher up listen to reason. Letting out another sigh, Ultra Magnus closed his optics and thought of that day quite some time ago.

... ... ... ...

The flight back to the Lost Light was painfully slow. Even after a full belly, he still desired a snack. Some chocolates maybe? A grimace appeared on Ultra Magnus's face as he tried to put the thought of food out of his mind.

"You alright?" Rodimus asked from his left.

"Fine."

"Ya sure?" Rodimus questioned. "Looks like something is bothering you."

"Just... Hungry," The blue mech grumbled as the bay doors opened to grant them entrance. He was happy that the shuttle was returning to the landing dock on the spaceship and came to a stop. Once the door swished open, Ultra Magnus unbuckled the safety belt, stood up, and briskly walked off the pod.

Rodimus quickly trailed behind him. "Hey...um, Well, I may have something in my suite-"

"I am heading to the med bay," Ultra Magnus sternly replied. "I need to get this problem..." Ultra Magnus gestured to his round belly.."Taken care of. ASAP."

"But wait!" Rodimus called out as he grabbed the bigger mech's servo. "You sure-"

"Rodimus," Ultra Magnus spoke. "Just why would you think I want to stay like this? To constantly feel hungry...To engorge myself on so much food, yet never feel full..."

"aw come on... Can't be that bad," Rodimus spoke with a sly smile on his face. He walked up and pressed his fit body against the chubby body. "I think-"

"With all due respect Sir, I don't care what you think Rodimus!" Ultra Magnus spoke, trying not to shout. "Look what's happened to me. Look what you've done to me. Just look!"

Rodimus smirked. "Yeah, I see, and I ain't complaining-"

"It's 'I am not complaining. Ain't is not a word," Ultra Magnus barked out as he pushed the smaller mech away from him. "And of course, you wouldn't complain. You're not the unhappy one here." With that, the chubby mech turned and walked away.

"I..." Rodimus spoke, wearing a sad expression. "I didn't know you were unhappy..."

"Just stay still, don't pull out the IV's, and in the morning you'll be all finished," Ratchet said as he secured the last bit of tubing from the machine. "And don't worry, you should be able to return to work relatively soon."

"Thankyou," Ultra Magnus replied.

"If you need anything, just comm me. But otherwise, just go into a recharge, okay?" Ratchet said as he turned the equipment on.

"Alright, I will," Ultra Magnus replied.

"Do you want me to hook up a video screen or anything?" the CMO asked as he stood up.

"No. No, thankyou. You have done enough with giving me these," Ultra Magnus held up the datapads. "These will be sufficient to keep me occupied."

"Alright then. I'll see you in the morning. I have a few things I need to finish up myself, so if you'll excuse me, I'll return to my quarters."

Ultra Magnus nodded his head and watched the doctor retreat into the other room, leaving him in the silence of the med bay. Well, relative silence. The soft hum of his machine lulled in the background as well as Wheeljacks. Looking at the other mech across the room, Ultra Magnus wasn't the only one who went on an energon binge. While he felt a little sorry for him, this is what he gets for not following the rules.

The next thing he knew, he was startled awake. All he remembered was reading through his datapad, then everything went blank. He must have dozed off in spite of wanting to catch up on his duties. He could allow himself that break-after all, he has been through a lot, but what he couldn't shake off was the feeling of being watched. Out of the corner of his optics, he saw someone and he let out a startled gasp.

"Sorry! Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya," Rodimus spoke. Apparently he had pulled up a chair and was sitting net to his berth.

"What do you want?" Ultra Magnus asked as he blinked his optics.

"I... I just wanted to talk to you, that's all." The red mech said as his fiddled with his fingers, not able to look the other in the optics. "About... You know, what you said earlier. About not being happy..."

He did say that, didn't he? But he had a right to speak of how he felt, right? He didn't like always feeling hungry. He didn't like feeling as if he didn't have control over himself.

"Look, man, I am sorry," Rodimus spoke softly. "I... I didn't mean to make you feel bad about yourself..."

"Rodimus," Ultra Magnus called out. "You didn't do anything to make me feel this way. I mean...while I have the feeling I'll regret this later, I.. I actually had quite a good night with you. I never knew... You had those kind of feelings for me."

Talk about coming from right field. There were no signs what so ever his captain might have feelings more than their working relationship. The red mech never spoke of wanting to do those things with him before. It was kind of a shock; however, there was one question he had, and while it may be a bit awkward to ask, Ultra Magnus had to know the answer.

"Rodimus, can I ask you something?" the blue mech boldy asked. "Something serious."

"Shoot."

"Do... Um... What happened last night..." Ultra Magnus feebly continued on. "Was .., was that for real? Do you really like me in that way-"

"Yes, Magnus," Rodimus interrupted, only to be cut off himself.

"Let me finish. Please," Ultra Magnus stated. "I mean, you like me for who I really am, and not just because... I gained all this weight."

"Magnus, I always liked you," Rodimus answered. "And no, your weight had nothing to do with it. Though, I will honestly say, it was a pleasant surprise."

"Why didn't you mention something before?"

"I've tried."

"What do you mean?" Ultra Magnus said in shock.

"What I mean, silly," Rodimus said with a hint of a smile, "Is that you are rather dense when it comes to things like this. I kept giving you hints, or signs, whatever, and they always went over your helm."

Was he given signs and he just didn't know it? Biting his lip, he tried to think hard of past situations to see if he was clueless, but naturally, he didn't think there were any signs given. Still, it kind of bothered him that he was that unobservant.

"Look, don't worry about it," Rodimus said. "You know now, don't you? That should be good enough."

"Right," Ultra Magnus muttered out. "So... Ah, where does that leave us?"

"I dunno Mags, where does it leave us?" Rodimus said as Ultra Magnus wore a puzzled look. "You call it."

"What do you mean?"

"You call it... You make the decision," Rodimus gave a little smile. "Where does it leave us? Do you like, you know, what I have to offer? Or would you rather not take our relationship down that route. Choose whatever will make you happy."

Primus, this decision was up to him, and he didn't like the pressure of it. On one hand, he enjoyed their actions earlier. It was oddly invigorating seeing his captain squirm under his actions. And he will admit, it was nice to use his interface equipment with someone else rather than just his own hand. However, he couldn't help but to think of the downside of having the sports car as a lover...

"The fact that I am taking the antidote to this... This... Whatever it is, isn't going to change your feelings towards me?" Ultra Magnus questioned.

"Nope, not at all."

Why not give him a shot? The prospect of someone actually wanting to spend more intimate time with him won over. "Sure...I guess- I mean, we'll see how it goes..." Rodimus gave a beaming smile. "Just promise me one thing: Don't get carried away like you sometimes do. The last thing I need is for you to try something embarrassing, like fragging me on your table... With other mechs in the room."

"SO you wouldn't object to being fragged on a table?"

"RODIMUS!"

"What? You said with other mech's in the room," Rodimus reminded the other. "What if no one else is in the room?"

"I...well... I don't know...I mean, I guess it would be alright," Primus-Ultra Magnus was wondering if he made a mistake!

"What about video cameras?" Rodimus asked and was answered with a shocked expression on the blue mech's face as well as reddening cheeks. "Teasing! Just teasing! No cameras..." The red and yellow mech scooted his chair closer and carefully grabbed the larger mech's servo. "Are you feeling ok? This treatment isn't uncomfortable, is it?"

"NO, it's fine," Ultra Magnus answered, but couldn't help but notice a slight from on his captains-wait, his lover's- mouth. "It's not bothering you that I am taking the treatment..."

Rodimus shook his head and shrugged. "It's your body."

"You seemed to enjoy my flabbiness a lot," Ultra Magnus spoke. "I just don't want you to be disappointed."

"I can assure you, I am not," Rodimus answered. "I'll always have the fond memories to look back on, huh?"

... ... ...

And Rodimus was right. He had no qualms about him taking the antidote. The sensation of being hungry went away almost instantly. However, his chubby body took some work. His newly found lover took it upon himself to help burn all the excess fat off. Their free time was spent finding ways to exercise in an assortment of ways. One way involved moving the waste bin to the other side of the room so every time something had to be thrown out, he would have to walk to the other side of his office.

Another way was to have him laying on his back while Rodimus held a datapad. Every time he needed to go forward a page, he had to sit up all the way to his knees to be able to press the button. Another way- which was Rodimus' favorite-was to simply burn off extra calories fragging. It didn't take him very long to return to his regular frame shape.

Onlining his optics, Ultra Magnus couldn't help but to chuckle at the memories of some time ago. It was fun how the pair worked together to reach his goal. He felt proud of their accomplishment. He smiled to himself as he ran his hand down his chest to his grumbling belly where he pinched at the flab that was once again there. Primus, he was starving. Just where the hell was Rodimus with his promised breakfast in bed?

A/N- Now, I did kind of go in a different route with something- but don't worry-the good stuffs happens in the next chappy