I was just thinking about Starscream's words and this one shot sprang into my head.

I do not own Transformers : Prime.

"Ratchet?"

"What is it, Optimus?" Ratchet looked up from the monitor he was working with and turned around to face his old friend.

"Do you...think that I..." Optimus was feeling very unsure of himself at the moment. After all, he carried a great burden on his shoulders that was his and his alone. And as a Prime, he wasn't supposed to show any of his self doubt to others. But with all the difficulties the Autobots were currently tackling, Optimus' confidence had slipped to an all time low.

"Just spit it out, for Primus' sake."

"Do you think I... pontificate?"

Ratchet subtly raised an optic ridge. "And who put that one into your processors?"

"Starscream." Optimus replied, now feeling rather embarrassed, as though Ratchet were a father berating his child.

The medic shook his helm exasperatedly."You're believing what Starscream is saying? Honestly, Optimus, don't you have better things to worry about?"

"I... Never mind." Optimus walked away, now feeling even more sheepish.

"Optimus!" Ratchet called out, but the Prime was already out of audio range.

The medic just sighed and shook his helm once more, then returned to his work.

Optimus walked down the hallway of the base and into the energon storage room. Only Arcee was there. Everyone else had finished off their nightly rations – except himself.

He took a cube from the neatly stacked pile and put it in the refiner. He stood by as it worked, the steady beat of its working seeming to calm him.

He could feel the femme's optics on him, but he made no move to look back at her. Finally, she asked,"Something on your mind?"

Optimus was not surprised. Arcee might have been a relatively 'new' friend of his, unlike, say, Ratchet, but she was still much better at reading the Prime's emotions, even when he had his normal mask on. Or maybe it was just because she was good at reading faces, whether it was Bumblebee, Bulkhead or even Cliffjumper when he was still alive. In any case, Optimus had to think for a moment before giving her an answer."Perhaps."

He took the energon from the refiner, and, pouring it into a cube, leaned against the wall, his position unconsciously mirroring Arcee's. She regarded him inquisitively and a little miffed, as though hurt that he had answered so cryptically, but didn't try to break the silence.

Starscream's words were still preying on his mind and he knew that there was only one way to get them out. So he decided to take a chance, even with the Matrix screaming at him not to : he had already revealed too much to Ratchet. He watched her take a long sip of the energon in her servos.

"Arcee, do you... think I... pontificate?"

Her mouth fell slightly open. Optimus felt embarrassed, as before, and resolved never, ever, to ask the question again, no matter how much it bothered him. He felt the temperature of faceplate quickly rise a few degrees.

Then, to hi greatest amazement, she started laughing. His temperature went even higher. "Seriously, Optimus? Who told you that?"

"Starscream." Why was everyone asking him that?

Arcee smiled, though Optimus couldn't possibly fathom why. She walked over and laid a servo just below his shoulder plate (she wasn't tall enough to reach all the way up.)

"You don't pontificate, Optimus. Screamer does it, though, the big hypocrite."

Optimus smiled back : A rare event.

"What's really on your mind, though?" Arcee pressed. "I can tell that it's not actually Starscream."

"I...I suppose." said Optimus, suddenly uncomfortable. "However, it is my burden to bear, not yours."

"What's your burden is the team's burden. And what's the team's burden is my burden too." She countered. "So spill."

The Prime sighed slightly. The Matrix wasn't just yelling at him now, it was spewing curses. But he ignored it anyway."Sometimes... I wonder if I am making the right choices."

"Don't worry." Arcee assured. "No matter what, we'll always support you. We won't abandon you. Not even if you did something drastic, like...like destroying Cybertron. Which, well, isn't going to happen anyway – it's already destroyed."

Optimus was surprised. The confidence with which she spoke seemed rather astounding – to him, anyway. "Thank you." he said, not knowing what else to say.

She grinned. "Any time, Prime, any time."

Little did he know, that he would as good as destroy Cybertron a few days later.

It's the first time I've written anything like this, so please tell me how I did!