"Isn't it beautiful, Jack…?"

"Absolutely gorgeous…and the sunset isn't half bad, either."

Arcee rolled her eyes at Jack's lame attempt at humor but she still smiled in spite of herself.

"Jack, that joke is older than I am…"

"…and exactly how old would that be again…?" Jack said with a wink.

Arcee said without missing a beat, "A lady never tells her age."

Jack chuckled and reclined slightly, continuing to enjoy the view. "Almost had you that time. One of these days I'll find out."

"You wish."

Jack and Arcee had made it to their secret place on the desert mountaintop just in time to catch the sunset. It was three years ago on an evening very much like tonight that they had finally revealed their true feelings to each other. It had not been an easy road, fraught with both tragedy and hardship. Ultimately, true love had conquered all. It may have been a cliché, but it was still true.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, and darkness blanketed the earth.

Jack's glowing eyes cut through the night as he stole a sideways glance at Arcee, hoping to see if she was looking back at him.

She was. She smiled expectantly, waiting for Jack to make the first move.

Jack grinned and wasted no time.

"So…"

Arcee giggled at their little game. She thought to herself, All right...two can play, Darby.

"So…"

Jack continued to smile confidently and gazed into her eyes with his best not-so-innocent look. Playing dirty was not beneath him. He was determined to win.

Arcee had no intention of losing, either. She returned Jack's gaze with a sultry come-hither look that would have melted lead.

Jack almost caved then and there, but he managed to hold on long enough to play his trump card.

"Nice bike."

Arcee caught the reference, remembering back to when they first encountered each other. At the time Jack didn't know yet that Arcee was anything more than the single most beautiful motorcycle that he had ever seen. Admiringly, he had gently caressed the bike's seat and said, "I love you." Arcee had never been touched by a human before, but his words and his touch had changed her forever. Sometime later after Jack had discovered the truth of Arcee, she had joked around with him by saying, "Nice bike." Jack would always be extra careful from that point on...you never knew when the motorcycle might be capable of touching you back.

The electric tension finally became too great, and snapped.

A feline growl escaped Arcee as she suddenly pounced, taking Jack in her arms and tackling him to the ground.

"Take it easy, Arcee…!" Jack laughed, surprised more than anything, as Arcee kept him pinned to the ground. He had never seen her like this before. Arcee's eyes held a wicked gleam as she gently peppered his face with desperate kisses.

"Take it easy, nothing! It's been over a year since we've been alone like this! I'm impatient!"

Arcee began to sensually nuzzle Jack's neck, sending shivers down his spine. He found it difficult to speak but managed to ask hoarsely, "Wh - what happened to, 'I'm never touching you again?'"

"You got a reprieve. Now shut up and kiss me."

Jack chuckled, "Yes, ma'am." He abruptly kissed Arcee with all the molten passion he could muster. She moaned in pleasure from the fiery sensation. Pulling back, he tenderly looked into her eyes and breathed, "Just be gentle, okay? I break easy."

"You can't fool me, Jack. We both know you're a lot more durable than you used to be..." Arcee said knowingly.

Jack froze. He grew quiet and his expression fell. He turned away and faced the lonely night.

"Jack…?"

He said nothing in reply. Arcee nodded to herself, her suspicions confirmed.

"I thought so."

With a sympathetic understanding in her voice, she asked, "How long have you known…?"

"…since the Matrix became a part of me." Jack's voice was distant, as if he were isolated from the rest of the world…alone.

"Oh my poor, sweet Jack…"

Arcee moved behind Jack, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. He tentatively reached up with one hand, slowly followed by the other as he held on to her tightly. He leaned into her comforting embrace as he blinked back the tears.

She gently rested her chin on Jack's shoulder and asked, "When were you going to tell the others…?"

"I don't…I don't know, Arcee."

Jack pulled away and stood.

"It's not exactly something you casually bring up in a conversation. 'Oh, hey Mom…how are you doing? Me? I'm just great. Just became one with the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, so not only am I the father of an entirely new species, I'm also the new Prime! Oh, did I happen to mention that one of the side effects is that I will probably live as long as the Autobots, so while time has pretty much stopped for me I get to watch everybody I love on Earth grow old and die!'"

Jack angrily whirled and cried, "How's THAT, Arcee?!"

She smiled sadly and said, "You know, it wasn't too long ago that I had these very same feelings."

Jack lowered his head in shame, unable to face her.

"Jack, before you were transformed by the Matrix I had prepared myself to spend a very short lifetime with you."

Arcee looked around them, her eyes shining in the dark. She smiled, remembering the past. The memories were bittersweet but precious to her because Jack was there. In her spark, Jack was always there.

"Remember when we first came to this place three years ago? I compared a human's life to a sunset…it burns so bright and beautiful, but just when you begin to truly appreciate its beauty…it ends, suddenly and abruptly."

Arcee moved closer to Jack. She knelt so that they were more of an equal height. She carefully cupped her hand underneath his chin and gently raised it so that their eyes met and she could see his face.

"So please believe me when I say that I understand very well what you're going through, Jack."

He whispered her name, "…Arcee…"

She enveloped him in a protective embrace and held him close as he trembled with emotion.

"Oh, baby…you've kept this secret burden to yourself for over three years…trying to be strong for everyone…"

She pulled back, gazing lovingly into his eyes.

"…but I knew. I knew you were hurting."

"…how…? How could you know? I never said - "

"You didn't have to." Arcee interrupted. "I'm your Sparkmate, remember? I could feel your pain as if it were my very own."

"I...I never meant to hurt you, Arcee..."

"I know, and it's okay. Still...why do you still hold everything inside, Jack?"

He shrugged, "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"I never see you cry, Jack...besides that one time when you had told me about your father."

"I was worried I was about to lose you forever, Arcee. The only time you'll ever see me cry is when I've lost hope."

"I owe you an apology, Jack. You're still human, no matter what changes the Matrix has made to you. You see, even though I could sense what you were going through, I didn't say anything because I made the mistake of treating you like an Autobot. I was prepared to wait as long as you needed until you were ready to talk, but I forgot that my perception of three years' time is like a blink of an eye compared to how you experience it. It's going to take you at least a few hundred years before you get used to a lifespan like ours."

She looked down, ashamed of her actions. "I am so sorry, Jack."

Arcee dared to look into Jack's eyes.

Nervously she asked, "Forgive me?"

Jack immediately reached up and caressed Arcee's cheek.

"Don't, Arcee. I'm the one who should be asking for your forgiveness. You said it yourself: we're Sparkmates. I should have told you the second I knew what had happened."

"Jack...? Why didn't you say anything?" Arcee was confused.

"Because…you've been through more pain in your lifetime than anyone should ever have to experience. I didn't want to burden you with anything else."

"Jack, sharing our lives is not a burden." Arcee gently ran her fingers through Jack's hair, trying to soothe and reassure him with the comforting gesture.

Jack suddenly pulled Arcee into a desperate embrace, holding her close and not letting go.

"Don't ever leave me, Arcee. If...if anything ever happened to you…I don't know what I'd - "

"I know. I feel the same way, Jack." She returned the embrace and smirked, "So don't get any ideas about going anywhere, all right? I plan on sticking around for a long time."

Jack sighed, "What am I going to do, Arcee? I…I can't face my family and tell them something like this…"

"You know you aren't in this alone, Jack."

He smiled slightly, "Yeah, I know."

Arcee thought for a moment and quietly said, "Jack…there is a way we can face this together."

Intrigued by her words, Jack pulled back and curiously repeated, "…together…?"

Arcee suddenly became very shy and timid. She forced herself to look into Jack's eyes.

"Yes. We…we can sparkbond."

"I thought we had already bonded, Arcee. I mean, I've got the whole glowing-eyes thing to prove it, right…?"

Arcee agreed, "We bonded physically, that's true. When we shared our bodies, there was a transference that created a union of sorts. That's why your eyes now glow and how I'm able to sense your emotions."

Jack grinned and added, "…and how we have a baby, remember?"

Jack's smile was infectious and Arcee grinned despite herself, "Yes, but the union was incomplete. I'm talking about bonding our very essence, the core of who and what we are as individuals. I haven't said anything before now because I didn't want to frighten you with all that it entailed. It means total trust…total commitment. We would know each other's innermost thoughts and be able to share our burdens by drawing strength from one another."

Jack quietly pondered Arcee's words. "So…I'll be in your heart, mind and soul…and you'll be in mine?"

Arcee nodded, "No secrets…nothing hidden…together forever as one."

"Okay. So...when can we get started?"

"Jack, this isn't something to be taken lightly. This is a huge step and once it's done, it's forever. No turning back."

"Arcee, believe me when I say that I don't think I've ever wanted anything more. I've waited my entire life just to be with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Till death do us part, Arcee…and maybe beyond that."

Arcee fought the urge to cry. "…Jack…"

"All right…what do we do…?"

"Well, we…we begin by revealing and exposing my spark chamber." Arcee hesitated, suddenly unsure of herself.

"Arcee…?"

"I-I'm sorry, Jack. I've never...done this before, and if I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little frightened by...by what we're about to do. This is the single most intimate act imaginable to a Cybertronian."

Finally Arcee mustered the courage. Armored plates moved and shifted, opening and revealing her spark to Jack.

"Our spark chamber contains our life…our essence…what you would call our soul."

Jack stared in silent awe of the beauty of Arcee's spark. Located in about the same place as a human heart, her spark chamber pulsed rhythmically with a bright shimmering light, bathing Jack in its glow.

"…Arcee…"

"Yes, Jack…it's me. All that I am, all that I ever have been, all that I ever will be…it's me."

"You - you're so…" Jack was so moved that he couldn't speak.

"Jack? What is it, what's wrong…?"

"Arcee…I - I don't deserve you. You really are an angel..."

She was frightened by the intensity of the sudden wave of love she felt for her little Sparkmate.

"Jack. I have never felt this way about anyone before. You're the love of my life. You know that…right?"

"I do. It…it's just...I…thank you, Arcee."

"Anytime, Jack. Just speaking the truth."

"Arcee, I hate to bring this up, but how can we - I can't…my body just doesn't work like yours. H-how are we supposed to...to...make a connection…? Plus, I still don't even have a spark! Weren't you once concerned that if we did this it might kill me?"

"Don't worry, Jack. I've thought about that myself, and I have a theory. Do you remember the moment when the Matrix first became a part of you?"

"Yeah, like it was yesterday. Hey, wait a second! The Matrix transformed into pure energy when we became one! Th-that means…"

Arcee finished, "…it means that you don't have anything mechanical inside your body...the Matrix resides within you and serves as your spark, and its power has saturated your entire body. Any physical contact directly to my spark chamber should do the trick."

"Wow...any physical contact...?" Jack smiled and nervously drew closer to Arcee.

"Let's just start by embracing...okay, Smooth Operator...?"

"Em-embracing...embracing is good..." Jack suddenly found it difficult to speak.

"So…" Arcee smiled with fervent anticipation.

"So..." Jack breathlessly repeated.

The air around them smelled of ozone, charged with electricity.

"D-does this mean we…touch sparks now?"

"Yes."

They held each other tightly, preparing to take the final step together. Their eyes began to glow brighter than normal. Tiny arcs of energy began to dance back and forth between their sparks, now only separated by a hairsbreadth.

"Jack…this may be a little…intense."

Contact.

It was unlike anything Jack and Arcee had ever experienced. Sensations coursed through both of their bodies...sensations of fire and ice, light and dark, positive and negative...they were shaken to the very foundation of who they were as individuals. They shattered...the fragments of their former lives combining together. They merged...they joined...they bonded. They had ceased being two separate beings and had now become one entity. The sum total of both of their lives was instantly distilled into a single core memory. All that Jack was…was now part of Arcee. All that Arcee was…was now part of Jack. The could no longer distinguish where one ended and the other began. All that they were...all that they had been...they were now One.

They were both dazzled from the sparkbond and held onto one another for support.

Jack felt Arcee's presence in his mind…in his spark. Her echo resonated throughout his entire being. It was amazing. Already he felt stronger, both physically and emotionally. Suddenly all of the world's problems didn't seem so daunting. Jack was strangely at peace.

Jack wondered how Arcee fared from the bonding.

Arcee smiled broadly. She had a peculiar look and stared at Jack with obvious amusement.

Jack could not stand the maddening suspense and asked, "…What?"

"Your favorite color is pink…?"

"Well, yeah. I've always really liked that little pink halo you have in your eyes. It's very…pretty."

Jack suddenly began to become fully aware of his presence in Arcee's spark. Her secrets were now an open book to him, and he could not contain his surprise.

"Hold the phone. My being smaller than you is actually a turn-on…?"

Arcee grinned, "What can I say? I like 'em young and short. So…fishnet stockings, huh?"

Jack was flabbergasted but couldn't help but laugh. This was fun. "Sue me. I'm a leg man. Oil baths…?"

"Trust me: you'll learn to love them. You still watch cartoons? I knew it."

"Whatever. Everybody watches them."

"Jack…?"

"Yeah, Arcee…?"

"Please stop talking and come here."

"See, I knew you were going to say that."

Arcee quickly transformed into her third body, sweeping Jack into a fervent embrace. They kissed deeply and passionately. He trailed long and lingering kisses from her cheek down to her throat. Despite the warm night air, she shivered as he gently caressed her.

Jack couldn't resist, "Just for the record, I never would have guessed you were that old."

"That's it. I'm cutting you off for good this time…" Arcee gasped as Jack suddenly picked her up and began to carry her back to their tent. She purred, "…after tonight, that is."

"Until the next time, right…?"

"…until the next time."