It must have looked funny. Him standing there in the doorway with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a shawl, having just pushed the door open. Optimus sitting at this desk with a potted crystal in front of him, looking like he was a child that had gotten caught sneaking a sweet. The time showing 2-something o'clock in the morning.

The office itself was very tidy. Only some papers and a few desk things in front of him. The desk itself was a sleeker design. Light shone dimly from the lamp and from the crystal. Optimus looked like he was tired. Ratchet wasn't the sneakiest so it explains why he wasn't caught.

They stared at each other. Prolonged and direct optic contact. Something in Ratchet's helm froze up. He had done that on impulse; he didn't actually have a plan here.

He shouldn't have done that.

Ratchet broke contact with Optimus's optics to look at the crystal, before looking back at him.

Optimus cleared his throat softly. "Ratchet…Why are you awake?" He asked slowly, embarrassment slowly leaking into his field. "And… are you cold…?" He eyed the knitted blanket draped cozily around his shoulders.

"Why are you talking to a plant?" He countered bluntly, eyeing the crystal.

Optimus stared back at him, slowly pushing the crystal to the side, not breaking optic contact. "Well um…" he cleared his throat. "How much of that did you hear?"

"I heard enough," he replied, waltzing over to the chair on the opposite side of the desk and sitting down, crossing a leg over his knee. "I was snooping around because I couldn't sleep and I stumbled across you here." Optimus watched him as he spoke, still a little surprised as he continued. "What you did wrong was you didn't just ask me and you're sitting here, in your study in the middle of the night. Talking to a potted crystal…."

Part of him wanted to say something snarky about leaving him to his devices and leaving right then and there, but there was another thing in his helm telling him to stay. To address what he had heard. This was the best way around the weird awkward static… the best way to maybe fix this. "So," he sighed, sitting back and making himself comfortable. "I'm here. You're here. Let's talk about it."

Optimus stared at him from his side of the desk. "I… I mean… What do you mean?"

"I mean let's talk about it. Let's have a discussion. Let's get on the same page."

Optimus seemed to shrink back a little into the chair.

Ratchet stared across the desk at him as he kind of stuttered and mumbled trying to form some sort of sentence before petering out.

Ratchet tilted his helm at this, raising an optic ridge.

Optimus pursed his lips before beginning to speak. "I didn't intend for you to hear me, I apologize." He said softly.

Ratchet shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry over. I'm not mad at you, I just want to use this as a place to start because I feel we've been having issues communicating ever since the engagement."

He looked down at the desk again in silent agreement. "Things have felt a little awkward…"

"So let's clear the air then. Let's make the best of this, so what do you want to talk to me about."

Optimus stuttered and grasped for words for a moment before slowly asking, "what do you want me to talk to you about…?"

Ratchet chuckled faintly. "What were you talking to yourself about?"

Optimus stared at him for a moment. "You heard what it was about…"

"Well, yes, but let's pretend for a second that I hadn't," he replied. "I'm sitting right here, so what do you want to tell me? Be blunt about it."

The Prime sat still for a minute collecting his thoughts. "Alright… Why do you seem to be upset with me? I thought you wanted to try and get to know each other so what changed?"

Ratchet blinked, "fair question," he hummed. "The way you present yourself to the public made me feel insecure in how you present yourself to me. I felt with how effortless that transition was, that you could easily be lying to me. I won't lie, your public persona isn't one I care for… but with how I just walked in on I feel more secure that you aren't lying to me. Which is why I'm here now."

He nodded slowly. "What don't you like about my public persona?" He asked.

Ratchet chuckled. "It's intimidating and cold. I've always preferred company with those who show passion towards things," he replied. "Why have that kind of front in public anyways?"

Optimus looked up at him. "It's something I was taught to do… I wasn't really allowed to have those kinds of things around my parents… My mother saw passion as a sign that I was picking up behavior from my father and my father saw it as a sign of weakness. So they trained me to not show anything like that… It's one of the things I admire about you the most, Ratchet. You can display such passion and emotion so easily in front of people and you have no qualms of other's opinions about it. You don't need anyone's approval…" He trailed off. "I wish I knew how to do that…" He said scratching the back of his helm.

Ratchet felt his spark swirl just a little bit. He had always had confidence and had never been shy about much, really. He didn't have trouble expressing himself or expressing who he was. For just a moment he felt as if the wall between them had lowered just a little bit. "Well, the first thing you need to do is decide that you're going to do it."

Optimus looked up at him. "What do you mean you decide to do it?" He chuckled.

"I mean you convince yourself to say what you think. Come hell or high water, say what you want to say. You already have done it to Sentinel," he replied. "So what's stopping you from doing that everywhere?"

"When I do something like that to sire, it's out of disrespect or provocation," he replied with a chuckle.

"But you still speak your mind when he pisses you off," Ratchet pointed out. "You know not everyone on the planet is going to approve of you no matter how well you do, so you might as well win some real approval by giving them something true. If there's one thing everyone says they like in authority figures, it's honesty."

"Is that really true?" He asked.

"For sure. Ask anyone what their favorite trait is in the politician they like, and they will say they think they're honest," Ratchet replied. "So think of it like actually giving people what they ask for."

Optimus chuckled faintly, shaking his head. "Alright… That's something I can do I believe…"

He hummed faintly as he adjusted the blanket around him again. "We can get there eventually, I'm sure. Anything you want to talk about?"

He hummed back. "I have a few more things… Like what can I do to make this more comfortable for you?" He asked. "I'd love some suggestions because I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing. I really do want this to be as comfortable as possible for you. It's mostly my fault that you're here in the first place," he murmured, his optics softening a little bit. "Is there anything I can do better to help build some trust with you?"

Ratchet looked up at this. Those little doubts in the back of his mind were slowly melting away. His spark skipped a little bit. Those optics; that voice and tone… They way he had said it was touching. The uncertainty in his voice, the gentleness. He cared. He most certainly cared.

There was something inside him that made him feel a little bit warm. He felt it rise to his audios a little bit. He cleared his throat brushing it to the side.

"Well, you aren't exactly doing anything wrong, but I have a few suggestions to help," he said slowly. "I think going outside a little more would be helpful. Maybe doing a little more outside of 'work' would help…" he chuckled. "Maybe if we ease up on the formality… And honestly… being upfront would really be the most helpful. I'm not the best at picking up on hints, so some bluntness would be appreciated… Remembering that I'm fairly capable would be nice. Sometimes you treat me like I'm a little fragile…Just- talk to me. About something other than work every now and then. Just like we did over coffee."

He sat back in his seat with a small smile. "Alright…I think I can do that," he chuckled.

Ratchet gave him a small smile. "…What about you?" He asked.

Optimus chuffed, raising an optic at him. "What about me?"

"I mean… is there anything I can do for you?" Ratchet asked him. "I want this to be equal after all. So is there something you want me to do for you? To help?"

He looked surprised for a moment, fiddling with his hands on the desk a little bit. "Well… honestly a little initiative can help. Often I don't really know where to start, so it can be really helpful for me…"

He hummed faintly. "Yeah… I can do that. I'll try and do that a little bit more."

Optimus smiled at this, nodding and picking up a pen. He cleared his throat and slouched over a little bit. "So… we have to check out venues for the ceremony but while we're out and about, do you wanna get coffee tomorrow? Before we go?" He asked slowly. "I know about a cafe in the area anyway… maybe we can check it out if you're okay with that? I know I'm a little sick of fast food anyway…" he said.

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "You know, I really could go for something other than a cheap salad. I hate fast food," he said. "But… I think that's a great idea."

He could have sworn that Optimus smiled just a little wider. "Alright, I'll make the arrangements in the morning. We'll head out in time for lunch then?"

"Lunch sounds great," he agreed.

The small clock on the wall chimed softly for a few seconds indicating the coming of another hour passing. Optimus turned and looked, blinking in surprise. "Oh… my goodness it's really late…"

"It is.." Ratchet sighed, his optics beginning to feel a little on the heavier side. The weight that had been rolling around in his chest had lifted at some point. Strange, he considered it. Maybe this was what he had needed.

"We ought to get some sleep. We are going to be busy tomorrow," Optimus chuckled slowly standing up.

"Yes. Yes we ought to," he agreed. "At least we aren't leaving until late morning," he said, also getting up. "I think I'm going to head back to my room, then." He yawned, turning to leave down the hall.

"Oh, Ratchet. There is one more thing I wanted to tell you…" he said softly.

Ratchet paused at this turning back around to look back at him. Their optics met, his tone anxious and his optics soft. A faint hint of embarrassment brushing from his feild to Ratchet's.

"I know you probably overheard me say this but I wanted to tell you to your face… I really do like you. You're amazing company and…. And I really admire you."

A strange feeling washed over him and he looked down. He had overheard that but he had practically brushed it off to the side. His face felt a little hot and the corners of his mouth crept up into a smile. He tried to hide it with a small chuckle. "Well… you're pretty admirable yourself," he said looking back up at him. A small glint flashed across the Prime's optics.

Ratchet turned around walking over to the door. He paused again at the doorway, looking back at him, still standing there. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight," he said before continuing down the hall.

The whole way down the hall, his spark flared in his chest. That funny feeling that had washed over him still lingered a little bit as he settled into his room. He was just happy that the mech that had been growing on him was real, he decided. It was nice to know that maybe this wouldn't be all that bad at all.