Escape the Walls Around
by SMYGO4EVA
"How are you holding up?" Arcee asked, sitting beside Ratchet's workspace.
"To be honest, I've been better," The medic responded, his helm hung low. His voice was weary and exhausted, even when he was barely tinkering with his work.
"I know the feeling," Arcee nodded, and turned away, crossing her arms and her optics downcast.
Ratchet shuffled from the side of the table, retrieving a wrench from his toolbox. His optics narrowed as he continued his work.
Arcee knew that look; he was trying to keep himself busy and focused so he wouldn't have to remember what he had been through earlier.
She had been through that route before, trying to get back to normal after being captured by the Decepticons, and she still had her bad days. One moment she's absentmindedly rub her wrist, and the next she could remember the iron bonds around her wrists, the splatter of Energon, and the feeling of helplessness that permeated through her. In those moments, her spark ached. Now it was Ratchet who came back from the other side, from when he was accosted and nearly killed by Megatron and Predaking.
When Ratchet had similar moments, if at all, Arcee didn't register it. He didn't want her to, it seemed. He was still reeling, she could tell. It wasn't that he couldn't talk about it; it was that he didn't want to. The look in his optics held the need to return to something that was before, or something that never was.
"Ratchet, I understand, really. You've been through a lot, we all have, but you survived. You don't need to bottle everything up, no need to keep everything to yourself. Trust me, I learned that the hard way." The Autobot said, her optics softening as she spoke.
Ratchet set aside his tools and then turned to Arcee, and smiled softly, slowly but surely. "Thank you, Arcee. I appreciate it." The medic said, before looking away for a moment. "I'm…not ready to talk about it yet. It will take time before I'm ready, so it's good to know that I'm not the only one."
"Glad to hear it." Arcee agreed, and put a servo on Ratchet's shoulder, smiling back at him.