Standstill
by SMYGO4EVA
"I have a knack for getting into trouble, huh, Optimus?"
Windblade didn't notice that he came in. She didn't have to. Optimus always maintained a careful distance between himself and the rest of the team. He still wasn't quite up to his full strength yet, and she had tried to help him through it, many times in fact.
It ended up being an exercise in wounded pride and knowing one's boundaries, at least it was for her. Windblade thought that she was in control of her own actions, but that part wasn't true either. She had charged in, to only put the others in danger, and her plans falling flat on the ground.
She remembered what she could do next time. But that didn't free her from the admonishments she heard in her head; the peculiar, snide, and harsh whispers coursed through her mind.
That was why she needed to be by herself in the empty human garage at the base they had found close by. She didn't notice Optimus in the doorway, but she didn't need to, as she sensed his presence them and there.
Optics met briefly. "I guess I don't know my own limits, don't I?"
"You're still learning," the Prime replied, "and your spark was in the right place."
Windblade blinked, and the unsteady whispering ceased in her chassis. Venting out one long sigh, she stood up from where she sat for some time and stood firm to meet the Prime's gaze once again.
"I know. I guess I didn't think I was the learning type, not anymore."
"And the price?"
"That I run into things blindly, thinking that I can't make any mistakes, when I know I will, over, over, over, and over again."
Optimus' gaze softened; he then lent out his servo to her. "It is over and done, Windblade. You know your mistake, and all that you can do now is to move forward."
Windblade hesitated, but she then took his servo with her own as they walked out to the outside world together. "That's right," she said softly, "over and done."