The chat window on Sam's mini Dell laptop flashed at him, alerting him to a new message. The Economics class was deep in note taking, so there was no danger of anyone noticing what he was doing (or they'd mistake it for note taking). Granted one handed, as his right hand and shoulder where still bandaged after the battle in Egypt; it took some picking but he managed to maneuver his way around the keyboard. Pulling up the chat screen he read:
Semi-flaming: Will be there in 10 minutes; meet me in the quad after class. Are you ready?
To which he responded:
Smartwicky: Been ready for two days, see you than. 3 U
Returning his attention to the professor, Sam allowed his good hand to take notes while his mind drifted; it had been nothing short of a miracle that he had survived the events of the previous month. None the worse for ware except his arm, shoulder and a cranky lower back. Amid the chaos's he had developed a bond with the Autobot leader, which by the end of the fighting had developed into a relationship. One that initially was met with disbelief by several of the Autbots, Ratchet and Ironhide came to mind. Having voiced the loudest, in the end the knowledge was only shared with those that could be trusted the most. Will, Epps Sideswipe and Bumblebee rounded out the inner circle, with Will cracking jokes about Sam liking older men. He had returned to college after many promises to his parents that Bumblebee would check in on him every weekend (cleverly disguised in holo form as his cousin Bryan). Weekly online chats with Optimus helped dull the separation, today was the first time he'd see him in almost two months.
Ratchet had explained that because of the bond, he could feel certain emotions; as the class ended he began to feel a twinge at the edge of his conciseness. Shoving the laptop into his duffel bag, he shouldered it and headed out the classroom door. Being in large crowds still left him panicked; breathing deep he honed in on the sensations and followed them through the press of bodies around him.
Sitting on a bench in the quad, looking like a professor on his lunch break was Optimus Prime in holo form. If a professor also moonlighted as a long haul trucker, clad in jeans, black steel toed boots and a grey t-shirt. A red plaid flannel shirt and cream Stetson finished off the look. Cornflower blue eyes scanned the crowd looking for a familiar person.
Following the echoes in his mind of 'home, peace, safety' Sam broke into a smile as he rounded the corner of a building and the now familiar holo form came into view. "Miss me". He asked as Optimus moved to take the duffel bag, "always love" came the low rumbling reply that Sam swore mimicked the semi's engine in idle, satisfied with the answer they walked in silence. Inside the cab of the red and blue truck, there was hugging and a few long over due kisses. There was supposed to be more, Sam desperately wanted there to be more but he was asleep before he could finish the thought. Optimus carefully shifted his sleeping human into the passenger seat and secured the seat belt; pausing to remove the young mans shoes (it helped ease his back). Any other human would have been soundly reprimanded but Sam was special. Beloved of Prime, for that he was allowed certain indulgences.
There would be plenty of time to strengthen the bond; it was a four day weekend ahead of them and a rare chance to be alone for most of it. Optimus allowed a smile to cross his face as he pulled out into the street (driving him self never got old). The sounds of NPR filled the cabin; it was a recent human indulgence of his that he'd picked up.