Arcee awoke with an aching head. She saw the pain remedy on her bedside table and was grateful that someone, probably Ratchet, had put it there. She had only vague memories of the previous night. She had been so depressed recently, thinking about her lost partners. She had finally broken out some of the high-grade she had found in Cliffjumper's quarters after he died. This was not the ideal way to deal with her problems, she knew, but it was better than any other alternative she could think of. She took the meds then headed to get Jack and bring him to school. She couldn't shake the sadness she was feeling.
Optimus noted the dull look in Arcee's optics as she left with Bulkhead and Bumblebee to bring the children to school. She wouldn't be returning until the afternoon, as it was her turn to keep watch at the school. He debated changing the assignments so he could speak with her, but decided that he would just let it go, as long as it didn't happen again. He couldn't begrudge her the chance to de-stress if she felt like she needed it.
As Arcee sat outside of Jasper High School, she tried to remember what she had done the previous night. She remembered the high grade, of course. She remembered Ratchet finding her in the command center, walking circles around the autobot insignia on the floor and singing a silly song. After that, things were hazy. He sent her to her room, she knew. But had she gone straight there? Why did she remember seeing Optimus last night? Actually, she remembered kissing him! She must have dreamed it, after she got to her room. That was the only sane explanation. She wouldn't have actually gone to Optimus and kissed him, right? Unless he brought it up, she would never know,because she certainly wasn't about to ask him!
Optimus intended to spend the evening in his quarters working, but exhaustion got the better of him and he laid down to sleep. He didn't hear the drunken giggles at his door this time, but the knocking woke him enough to call "come in".
In his half-dreaming state, he didn't realize that Arcee had entered his room. He didn't realize that she had crawled into his bed with him. He thought he was having a very pleasant dream as he pulled her against his side and she snuggled into him, using his arm as a pillow
Arcee didn't have a particular plan as she entered his quarters. She was drunk, and she just knew she needed to see him. She wasn't expecting him to already be sleeping, but in her current state, curling up next to him seemed like a good idea. This was where she wanted to be - in his arms, in his bed. Without her usual filters to tell her that this was a bad idea, she acted on impulse.
Optimus woke up thinking how odd, yet nice, it was to dream of simply holding Arcee in his arms while they both slept. His dreams the previous night, after she had kissed him, and been much less . . . innocent. As his systems onlined he realized with a start that he could still feel her in his arms. He opened his optics and was immediately shocked to see that she was actually sleeping in his arms. He didn't dare move as he frantically searched through his files from the previous night, finding the time when someone knocked on his door, and he called them in. That had to be it - she must have come in then. But the question remained - what now? He had yet to figure it out when she started to wake up.
Arcee woke with another headache. That's it, never again, she thought, the high-grade is not worth the headache the next day. As her systems onlined, she realized she was sleeping next to something large and warm. And alive. She opened her optics and looked directly into Optimus' optics. "Scrap."
She was off the bed and out the door before he could say a word.
There. Much better. It's not done yet, but at least this doesn't make me want to cry! This is how the story was originally supposed to go. And that seems like a great place to stop for today.
I typed this while watching my children at gymnastics, with my keyboard on my lap and my tablet next to me on the bleachers, so I wasn't able to look at the words as I was typing. I've proofed it, but you know how proofing your own work goes. Spelling and grammar mistakes are my fault, but if you see any please let me know! As a former teacher, I really dislike bad spelling and grammar.
