"What the slag was that?!"

A loud metallic bang echoed down the halls of the Axalon, causing the young feline to jump in his seat. Rhinox looked up as well, slowly shaking his head. Well, it's not like he didn't expect it. In fact, he was rather surprised the scuffle between the two hadn't started the second Optimus stepped foot in the raptor's den. At this point he was just hoping they would spare the ship in the process.

Cheetor looked expectantly up at the science officer.

"Shouldn't we go break them up or something?"

Rattrap scoffed at that.

"You wanna go get yourself scraped, be my guest. I ain't gettin' my tail within strikin' distance of that psychopath any time soon."

Rhinox vented a sigh before returning to his work.

"Let Optimus settle it on his own. Dinobot should cool his circuits once he gets the ever-living slag beaten out of him."

Cheetor groaned in a mix of disappointment and worry as he stared down the hall.

"Yeah, that's if Big Bot doesn't get it first…"

Optimus probably would have preferred getting his plates kicked. At least that was a situation he knew how to handle. But his current predicament? If he'd been told a week ago that he'd find himself pinned against the wall with his mouth practically welded to that of a battle-crazed Saurian, he'd have likely ordered that bot to get scanned for viruses. Yet, here he was. So, what exactly was he supposed to do? Blast him? Would that improve the situation or just make it worse? He could try to break free, but the keyword there was 'try'. It was about when Dinobot forced his back harder against the wall that he resolved to try blasting him. His forearms having been left free, he armed his wrist cannon, aiming for the raptors damaged side. However, just as he prepared to fire, Dinobot shoved himself off the Maximal leader with a loud snarl. Optimus remained leaning against the wall venting heavily, optics fixed on the raptor as he slammed a fist into the display console on his desk, shattering the screen with an irate roar.

Optimus kept his arm cannon at the ready just in case, but it appeared to be safe for the moment. Dinobot was leaning over his destroyed computer much like he had been when the gorilla first arrived. After a long moment, the door locks disengaged.

"Go…" the raptor rumbled out in a low tone, never turning to look his way. Optimus disarmed his weapon, pushing himself off the wall. He took a step towards the warrior instead, earning himself a red-hot glare.

"Just go!" Dinobot growled, talons digging into the surface of the desk as if to anchor himself there.

Optimus backed off, completely at a loss for words. What exactly was he meant to do here? His command training had prepared him for just about any situation imaginable, but this? He was still unsure if it was real or if he was dreaming. Dinobot had just kissed him. That one notion alone threatened to overload his logic circuits. Not only that, he'd never been kissed quite like that before. The taste lingering on his lips still held an almost electric charge, tingling with equal parts passion and bloodlust. Was this how Predacons kissed?

The Maximal leader was only snapped back to reality when a particularly vicious snarl was directed his way. His optics focused once more on Dinobot, still desperately digging his talons into his desk to hold himself back, fiery red optics staring back over his shoulder plate.

"Leave!" he practically screeched out, those red optics shifting to an energized green. Optimus wasted no time in darting out of the enraged raptor's quarters, the doors closing behind him just in time to save him a few freshly burned ventilation holes in his back. Instead, he could hear the sizzle of lasers taking out their aggression on the other side of the door.

They died down soon enough, but all was not silent inside afterwards. Optimus couldn't help but flinch at the almost feral roar that was barely muffled by the thick steel plating of the Axalon's hull, followed by the screeching of tearing metal as some other unidentified object in the room was torn to shreds. He decided it was best to just leave Dinobot to his odd behavior rather than try to intervene again. After all, there was no telling what would happen to him once the raptor's self-control finally broke.

Optimus was still more or less in a daze as he made his way back to the bridge, fingertips brushing lightly across his lips as though trying to confirm what he'd just experienced was real. He almost didn't notice his fellow crewmembers staring at him as he reentered the command module.

"H-hey, Big Bot! You alright?" Cheetor questioned somewhat hesitantly as he looked over his commander for damage, albeit from a healthy distance.

"Yeah, from all tha noise you two were makin' back there, we half expected ya to come back lookin' like ya'd gone a few rounds with an industrial trash compactor! Heh, seems like ya lucked out escaping with just a bit of dirt on ya," Rattrap added with no shortage of amusement in his voice. Optimus looked down at himself, finally noticing the mud that had been smeared into the fur covering his chestplate. He recalled the moment prior; a mud coated Dinobot shoving him against the wall, leathery chestplate pressing close against his own. He felt his faceplates instantly heat up upon reliving the event in his mind. He abruptly cleared his throat, shaking his head as though to banish the thought.

"Y-yes, well… Not everything needs to be solved with violence… Now then, Rhinox," Optimus quickly shifted his attention to his science officer, hoping to preempt whatever witty retort Rattrap had opened his mouth to say. "Would you mind joining me in the lab for a moment? I've got some, err… biological research data that I'd like to get your opinion on."

Rhinox arched a browplate as he watched the commander make his way rather quickly into the lab, but eventually followed without complaint. Once the lab door closed them off from the rest of the command center, Optimus plopped down into one of the station seats, venting out what sounded like a very strained sigh.

"I assume this is where you tell me what in the Pit is going on here?" the rhino asked in his usual calm manner. Optimus could only hold his head in his hands.

"Honestly, I was hoping you'd have the answer to that question, old friend…"

"Me?" Rhinox asked in bewilderment. "What would I know about Dinobot that you wouldn't? You're the one that went to talk to him."

Optimus heaved another sigh, letting his arms fall down across each knee as he looked up at the larger bot.

"He kissed me, Rhinox."

At that, both of Rhinox's browplates shot upward, his mouth hanging open for a long moment.

"I'm… I'm sorry… What did you just say?" he asked once he finally found his voice again, convinced he must have misheard. Unfortunately, Optimus replied by throwing his hands up, everything that had rapidly built up over the past few minutes just spilling out of him.

"He kissed me! I went back there to try to talk to him, and halfway through the conversation he just… Just shoved me against the wall and kissed me! I'm afraid to think how far he would have taken it if he hadn't snapped back to his senses after a few seconds, and even then it looked like he was just barely able to keep himself in check."

Rhinox listen silently as Optimus explained the encounter, his optics searching the ape's face for truth the entire time. Alas, he knew better than to think the Maximal leader would make up a story like that. After a long moment of thought, it was his turn to vent a gruff sigh. He pulled up the other station seat, settling himself down across from his fellow bot. He rested his elbows on his knees, broad hands running down his face to settle over his nose and mouth.

Optimus could see the science officer's optics shift as they stared off into nothing, the mech clearly going over all he could possibly think of in his mind to explain such strange behavior. From the looks of it, the older mech wasn't liking the possible answer.

"This all started a few weeks ago, yeah?" Rhinox asked finally, never looking up from where he stared vaguely at the floor panels behind where Optimus sat.

"He said it started after the Predacons stole our energon damping coil. It's only gotten bad enough for us to notice recently."

"Slag… That's what I was afraid of…"

Optimus tilted his head slightly, a single browplate raising quizzically.

"What is it? Do you know what's happened to him?"

Rhinox drew in a deep breath before continuing with his explanation.

"I can't be certain, but it sounds to me like going feral like that may have activated some sort of dormant mating instincts in his programming."

Optimus' optics widened, and he could feel his circuits go cold in him.

"'M-mating instincts..?'" he repeated hesitantly. Rhinox nodded.

"Considering how he jumped all over you like that, I'd say it's a safe bet," he replied, gesturing towards the mud in Optimus' fur. The commander reflexively tried to cover the mess with his hand.

"S-so… What do we do about that? Any chance we can just wait it out and let it run its course?"

It was a long shot, he knew, but still his spark sank when Rhinox slowly shook his head.

"'Fraid not. If it's gone on this long, then I'd imagine the only way to get it to stop is to fulfill those primal instincts and mate with someone… And, I'm sorry to break it to you, but it looks like he's chosen you to do the deed."

Optimus could only sit there frozen in stunned silence. Dinobot wanted to mate with him? Sure, that was where the conversation was clearly going, but he still couldn't believe it.

"A-are… Are you suggesting I interface with one of my crewmembers?"

"I know it breaks about a dozen regulations, but given the circumstances, you might not have any other choice."

At this point, Optimus shot up out of his seat.

"There's got to be some other way! Can't you get into his code and turn off whatever it is that's making him behave this way? Normally, I wouldn't suggest something like that, but this is inconveniencing him more than any of us. Surely he'd prefer that over the alternative."

Once again, Rhinox shook his head.

"Even if you could manage to drag him in here while he's so hot under the collar, I'm not sure I have the skill necessary to alter core programming like that. That's some serious mnemosurgery, which isn't something I'm equipped to do."

"So, I just gotta take one for the team, huh…" Optimus replied in an utterly defeated tone, his shoulders wilting.

"Sorry, pal. That seems like the only option we have right now. If nothing else, it might help you blow off a little steam yourself. I'm sure you could use it after having to deal with this group of boltheads for so long."

At that, the commander gave his old friend a weary smirk.

"If only… I somehow doubt it'll be very enjoyable for me. I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume he likes it rougher than I do. Besides…" he paused, averting his gaze and shifting uncomfortably, his faceplates heating slightly. "Err… not to get into more detail than necessary, but… I-I don't think I can take the spike of a mech that much bigger than me…"

Much to his surprise, Rhinox merely chuckled at that.

"Well, if that's what you're worried about, I might just have some good news for you."

Optimus' head snapped back to stare at the science officer, a truly confused look on his face. Rhinox gave him a small smirk.

"His mating programming was activated by his beast mode's instincts, right? It would stand to reason that those instincts would directly affect what part of his mating programming would activate."

"What difference does that make?" Optimus questioned." Would it matter if he's a reptile rather than a mammal?"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Rhinox retorted, that amused smirk never leaving his lips. "As it turns out, the fossil Megatron sampled Dinobot's beast mode DNA from… was a female velociraptor."

Optimus felt his entire faceplate heat up to the point he was sure the metal was visibly glowing. So that meant that Dinobot wasn't in rut. He was in heat. That also meant that, in their hypothetical match-up, Optimus would be the one to do the spiking. He felt his spark practically jump up into his throat at the thought.

"I…" He hesitated, truly unsure what to say. Finally, he settled on, "I-I'll think about it."

Rhinox gave him a shrug in response.

"That's all you can do, I suppose. Just promise me you'll be careful if you decide to go through with it."

At that, Optimus couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"C'mon, Rhinox. I'm not that inexperienced. I think I can take Dinobot if I'm the one calling the shots."

"Again, not what I meant."

Optimus' smirk faded as he gave the rhino a questioning look. Rhinox sighed.

"Listen… I know how you are, Optimus. You have the habit of thinking more with your spark than your head when it comes to stuff like this. Normally, I wouldn't consider that a weakness, but… It might not be a good idea to get too attached. Dinobot may be on our side, but his core programming is still Predacon. I highly doubt he's interested in an actual relationship."

Optimus scoffed in reply.

"I'm not going to fall in love with someone after interfacing with them one time. I'm more than aware that this is just a one-time thing."

With that, the Maximal leader made his way to the lab door, excusing himself from the conversation. As he left, Rhinox merely shook his head.

"Yeah, we'll see about that…"

After his little talk with Rhinox, Optimus managed to slip out of the bridge without being cornered by the other two. He made his way down the halls of the Axalon towards his quarters, all the while contemplating what he should do. Interfacing with Dinobot… The notion was an entirely alien one to him. Yet… His hand moved up to brush at the mud still stuck to his fur, the memory of the kiss that started all this still on his lips… For some reason, the more he thought about it, the more the concept appealed to him. In fact, if he was being honest with himself, he might actually be looking forward to it.