It was a pity that his new bondmate came up and found him on the Ark's engines right then. If he had been just a little later, they would not be sitting there, next to each other, so awkwardly. As it was, he was sitting in what the humans referred to as the 'fetal position', silently hoping that the subject would be dropped, but knowing that it would not be.

"So, just because I don't comment on how nice you look, you believe I'll leave you?"

"Bonds can be dissolved," he murmured, barely audible to the medic.

"And you think I'm that shallow?" the red and white exclaimed, tone more hurt than angry.

"Well, I've had it happen before!" he exploded, jerking up to his full height and stalking off of the engine they were perched on. Not far onto the main body of the embedded ship, he sank back to his knees and buried his helm in his hands to sob quietly.

Careful hands rested on his shoulders for a long moment before his lax frame was pulled into a warm, tight embrace. His systems and voice hummed to try and comfort his much younger bondmate even as he struggled to comprehend that the mech had been bonded previously. After getting him to calm slightly, he asked in a soft voice at odds with his normal tone, "Will you tell me?"

It took a little while longer before he finally spoke. "I was an artist – not a Cybertronian artist though since I used organic materials unless I was sketching on a 'pad – so I normally had messy plating. 'Course, I didn't start getting interested in art until after I was bonded and before all that I only kept my plating up for something to do. My," he stifled another sob. "My bondmate would come home and all he ever did was criticize. Sideswipe could tell you. He was old enough to understand what his Sire was saying by the time I had picked up art. I…. I took everything he said to spark. The only reason anyone would want me is because of my looks. My looks were the only reason he bonded me to begin with. He only wanted me because we could have beautiful sparklings. I was a trophy bondmate." He paused for a long moment. "You never wondered why I hated Tracks?"

"So that's the mech," the medic growled, reaching for his favorite throwing wrench.

"Oh no. The slagger was my bondmate's brother. He just ignored me entirely until Sideswipe was kindled."

"Well, I could care less about how shiny you are. I liked you for your steadiness first and then your creativity. I would love you even if the only color you had was the metal of your armor. You come to me whenever you start feeling like you're not good enough and I'll set you straight. Point me in the right direction and the mech'll have a dent in their helm."

A slightly watery chuckle greeted that last declaration even as he leaned into the medic and the protective flair of his field. This was the most comfortable he had been in orns.