She couldn't sleep.
Laurelin rolled over in bed and sighed heavily at the ceiling. It wasn't bad dreams or too much caffine. It was... a lack of something. She felt like something was missin. She felt out of place. She felt vulnerable. She was looking for comfort. And, she knew where comfort was.
She pushed herself up in bed slightly and glanced out her window. She could see the Autobots hangar in the dim night lights of the base.
That was where comfort was. With Optimus.
She shook her head and rolled onto her side, for one last attempt at sleep.
She did not last fifteen minutes.
She pulled herself upright and gathered a small blanket into her arms, along with her pillow. She carefully tucked the keycard into the strap of her bra. She opened her door carefully, so as not to disturb Ricci – who had started developing a bad habit of leaving their adjoining door open at all hours – and closed the door just as quietly.
She made her way across the empty expanse of lot between her new home and the hangar. In the daylight hours : The gap did not seem so large, the space did not seem so overwhelming. Though, tonight : It felt like hours before she was peering around the open hangar doors.
She could clearly see Bumblebee in the back of the hangar. His bright yellow paint identified him easily. He was facing away from her, and was clearly off-line. Ironhide and Ratchet were transformed as well, in another corner of the hangar. They were facing each other. They were either asleep or not paying Laurelin any attention at the moment. Their forms lit up softly every now. She imagined them having a quiet conversation about what, she didn't know.
Optimus was facing the door more specifically, facing Laurelin's window from inside the hangar.
As Laurelin rounded the corner : Optimus' headlights flickered on very dimly. He was already awake.
She went to greet him, to offer an excuse of some kind…
When the driver's side door on Optimus' cab opened.
Laurelin took the hint and climbed into Optimus' cab without hesitation. « I'm glad I didn't wake you up. » Laurelin said, as she quietly closed the door behind her. « But… I'm… I'm sorry to bother you. »
« Couldn't sleep… ? » Optimus provided.
Laurelin shook her head.
« Neither could I. I attempted to shut down numerous times, but it didn't last. It was..."
« Uncomfortable. Lonely. » Laurelin ended the sentence for him.
« Yes. Exactly. "
« I was really hoping I could sleep better here. I thought my insomnia was because I wasn't safe… »
« I attributed my sleeplessness to worry over you and the distance between us. It would have taken so much effort for you to get into contact with me, if something had gone wrong. I would have gotten to you as quickly as possible… But I feared I would not have been quick enough. »
Laurelin pulled her knees up to her chest. « I've... never felt like this before. I… I mean.. The way I feel about you… » She admitted quietly. « I'm… I'm sorry. That's silly… » As she felt herself blush.
« No. It's not. I… I feel the same. » Optimus admitted in his turn. « There is a connection between us, somehow, that I cannot deny. I feel drawn to you, pulled to you... And the fact that you are a human does not matter. The fast that we are from different planets is no consequence. We are connected deeper than that. Our souls are alike. »
Laurelin carefully listened to Optimus, before she spoke again. « I've thought about you practically every minute of every day, since we first met. … I don't know how to put what I feel into words. You're so different, from us – humans. And yet, you feel so much like home. Your very presence is comforting. I want to be with you all the time… Leaving you is getting harder and harder, even when it's only for a few hours. It's foolish… B- »
« It is not. One soul can become addicted to another. There is nothing wrong with that. There are only ill effects when the connection is abused or mistreated. I would never do those things to you, Laurelin. I… I treasure the bond we have. Though, it is not tangible : It is my most prized possession. I would not trade my feelings for you, our feelings for each other…I wouldn't for anythin in the universe. »
« I... » Laurelin paused. She reached forward and tenderly ran her hands over Optimus's steering wheel. « I love you, Optimus. » She said before she could stop herself.
« I love you too, Laurelin. » Optimus responded instantly, as he was just waiting for her to say those words.
She shifted, to lay down in his cabin pulling her blanket and pillow into place.
His engine was turned off but still he rumbled like something alive, like something warm and protective and... safe. She ran her hands over the soft cushions of the seats, in his cabin as he spoke to her, his voice low and soft. He told her how much he cared for her, how unlike anyone he had ever met she was. She curled up against his seats and let herself drift into sleep, a good sleep at long last. She felt his love around her, like the perfect blanke and his cab's cushions molding perfectly to her body. She continued to stroke his seat until sleep overcame her.
He loved her. She loved him.
They were different, yes but their love was not. They would cherish it, nurture it and find a way to make it work. Somehow they would bridge the gap between their physical differences and they would be together.