The next morning had a sense of settlement to it. The weird static that clung to the walls when both of them were in the same room faded away. Optimus, as usual, had woken up way before him. He had changed out his armor for a nicer set but something that was still casual before he made sure that he looked semi nice. He went ahead and put on the engagement pendant around his neck and went ahead and hid the darker color under his optics with a little make-up. He really ought to get more sleep…

After he was satisfied with how he looked he went ahead and tossed a notepad, his tablet, his wallet, and a few pens into his bag. There were already some common medications in there, a small first aid kit, and pepper spray. Something that connected him to old life, he supposed. He knew he didn't actually 'need' to bring anything with how many people there were to cater and protect him, but he found it made him feel a little calmer just to have it on him, especially if they were going to downtown Iacon.

He double checked everything one more time before turning the lights off in his room and heading downstairs, slinging the bag's strap over his shoulder and across his chest as he walked.

Optimus met him at the foot of the stairs, a datapad in hand. He was just a little surprised to see him not in his regal armor. Even through all the press rounds he had worn something more formal. He still sported his typical colors of course, but the shape was less rigid and less bulky. Very casual.

Ironhide was at the door waiting and Elita was with him. Magnus was standing there too, more than likely he was there to keep an optic on Elita. No doubt that keeping her in his view helped relax his sire protocols too. She was beginning to show just a little bit, no doubt she was taking every opportunity to wander freely before she had to make the announcement to the public.

Red, of course, was busy chattering away on his comm, out loud. He was making sure all of the security was in place, blended into the crowd and ready. With Optimus taking a more public approach to Primehood; they had adopted a more discrete security method. Guards strategically placed in planned locations, dressed as normal mechs and femmes going about their day. Each was armed, of course, but concealed.

Once he got off the comm, he quickly began directing everyone to the transport, giving them the go ahead. The drive itself was short and uneventful. It mainly consisted of Red reading out the itinerary, to meet back at a certain time, etcetera.

"I'm excited to walk around!" Elita had said as the transport pulled to a stop and the door was opened. "The gardens aren't going to see us until 2, so we have a little over three hours to just to have a nice day out," she chuckled standing up on the sidewalk. "It's been forever since I've been shopping."

Magnus chuckled and followed her, rolling his optics faintly. "You say forever…"

"Oh be quiet," she chastised him with a faint smirk.

Ironhide got out, followed by Optimus, and then Ratchet. The door was shut and then the driver pulled away to find somewhere more discreet to park.

"Ah, downtown. It's been forever for me too. I've been itching to get my hands on a new camera," Red chuckled.

Hide laughed. "You do that, I'm gonna go look for some chocolates for Mia. Think it'll be a nice way to say sorry for bein' so busy with work and all."

Red chuckled again. "You ought to give her them to say sorry you've come across me," he sneered teasingly.

"Oh shut yer trap, Red. I don't see you getting a sweet spark anytime soon," he sassed right back.

"Bicker all you want boys, There's a comfy scarf here with my name on it somewhere. Meet you back here in a few hours!" She called walking off.

"Oh brother, nesting already I see," Magnus sighed, a small smile creeping across his face as he went to follow her.

Ratchet chuckled, shaking his helm at this watching the others scatter in a few different directions. Optimus bent down a little bit. "Feel like lunch yet?" He hummed.

He looked up at him with a small smile, "I wouldn't mind."

He straightened up, nodding his helm in the opposite direction before beginning to walk. Ratchet followed him at his side. Bots passing them didn't really pay them a whole lot of mind. A few whispered here and there of course, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Optimus lead him through the front doors of an establishment, the bell mounted above the door frame jingling faintly. It was a calm atmosphere, a few bots sitting and enjoying a meal here and there, but they weren't horribly busy. A hostess came up to greet them, with widened optics.

"Hi, welcome to Downtown Delights, I'm Retro and I'll be your server today," he said with a small smile. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, it'll be under Orion," he said. "Secondary name, Pax."

Ratchet watched as he typed something into the little computer before nodding. "Yes, I have you right here… this way please!" He said.

Both of them followed over toward the front corner of the restaurant, in front of the window. A table for two with silverware laid out along with two menus. Both of them took a seat as the server got a notepad out. "Can I start you off with something to drink?" He asked

"Yes, I'll take a cube with iron please, and can you get me a coffee?" Ratchet said, watching him scribble it down.

Optimus hummed faintly. "I'll take my energon with yellow flakes and I'll have a coffee too." He said. "Thank you."

He nodded before darting away.

Ratchet faintly wondered if they had been recognized yet as he opened the menu. He skimmed the first page before glancing up at Optimus, seeing him reach into his subspace and pull out a small case. He opened it and took out a translucent visor with a red rim around it and slipped them on over his optics.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't know you needed a reading visor. I guess I've not seen you wearing them."

Optimus looked up. "Oh, yes." He replied. "They're fairly new. I have trouble reading small print and my optometrist said something about preventing optic strain from reading so much," he chuckled.

Ratchet smiled. "Well I'm glad to see someone actually using them as prescribed. You have no idea how many people just go get diagnosed, get a prescription set, and then just not use them. Then they go right back to complaining that their helm hurts and they can't read things," he chuckled.

"I know, sire did the exact same thing, they actually do help," he said looking down at the menu. "What are you thinking of getting?"

"Hmm… I was thinking about getting the pasta and salad special," he said. "What about you?" He asked.

"I'm thinking about getting the grilled nelib. Something light just sounds nice especially since we'll be having plenty of cake later. I'll probably get a salad too..."

He hummed faintly, nodding. The waiter came back with their cubes and their additives along with a pot of coffee for them to share.

"Alright! Do you need more time or have you decided?" He asked, whipping out his little order pad once again.

As they were placing their orders, Ratchet noticed some people standing and staring from across the way. He noticed that some of them were taking a few pictures. As the waiter rushed off to submit their order to the kitchen Ratchet pointed them out to Optimus.

"Ah… well don't worry too much about them. There's plenty of security in the area," he said, glancing over to a group of mechs 'playing cards' at a nearby table as they ate.

Ratchet nodded, relaxing a little bit in his chair. "So I know you said you liked that new dystopian novel series. Did you hear they were going to be making a movie series on it too?" He asked.

"No I didn't, I guess I'll just have to see it," he said, lighting up a little bit. "It'll be really interesting to see how they plan to film the beginning scene. It starts with this horrific accident, and it's where you meet the protagonist," he chuckled.

They went on and on. Talking about all sorts of things as they waited for their meal. Ratchet talked about the things he collected and Optimus talked about the other books he liked and which series he followed.

The conversation had something that had been missing before, something that Ratchet couldn't really name, but he definitely liked their dynamic with it more.

They went through the pot of coffee and the waiter went ahead and brought them another one. Ratchet poked fun at Optimus for liking his drinks so sweet as he added a handful of sweetener packets and creamers to each cup. They laughed about all sorts of stupid things. They had gotten their food at some point and as they ate they continued to talk. He wasn't really sure how it happened but they had come up with something of a game where Ratchet would describe something about peasant life and Optimus would try and guess if he was bullshitting him or if it was actually real.

"Okay, okay. There's this superstition that if you feel unlucky, you just need to toss sweetener over your shoulder and it'll go away," he chuckled.

"Okay, something tells me that's fake," he laughed.

"Nope it's true!" Ratchet laughed. "It's totally and completely true!!"

Optimus chuckled, shaking his helm. "I had no idea there were so many superstitions, honestly," he said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Well if you take into account places all over the planet it actually doesn't seem like too much," he replied with a small smile.

"Where have you been? Travel-wise I mean," He asked smiling.

Ratchet hummed leaning back in his seat. "Let see, I grew up in Crystal City, I've been to Praxus, Velo-city, Polyhex. I've been to Yuss. And I've traveled to a few of the colony planets. Hmmm I believe that's it," he sighed. "It was mostly for research purposes and things like that. Mostly medicine related," he chuckled.

"It's really nice that you can travel like that, I haven't really been anywhere outside of Iacon," he chuckled. "I'm looking forward to seeing some other places besides here," he replied.

"I feel like it would be really interesting to see Vos," Ratchet replied with a small smile.

Optimus nodded. "Vos would be interesting. I'd love to see the Seeker Heights History Museum," he chuckled softly.

Ratchet sighed, fiddling with his silverware absentmindedly. "That was a good meal," he said. "Maybe we should go shopping, we still have some time to burn," he said.

Optimus nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me," he said. Just like that the waiter brought the check over, sliding it over to Optimus. Optimus took a look at it before signing it, pulling out his own wallet, placing the right amount of credits in, and pulling out a little bit more and placing it on the table as a tip. "Ready to go?"

Ratchet smiled and nodded, getting up and following Optimus to the exit. Right before he left, he realized that he had forgotten his bag.

"Oh, I'll be right back, I left my bag behind, I'll be right there!" he said before walking back to retrieve it.

There he found the waiter standing over the table, his back to Ratchet. Ratchet frowned seeing him be so unmoving. He approached carefully, "excuse me, I just came back for my bag, but are you alright?" He asked.

The waiter turned to him, tears in his optics. "Oh, hi there, I think you forgot a little bit of your change-" he said shakily, holding out three 50 credit pieces to him. Ratchet blinked at him. He looked over to the 30 credit pieces still on the table, pretty much the equivalent of their meal.

Ratchet sighed, picking up the little booklet that Optimus had set on the table and opened it. Inside he found the receipt in which Optimus had signed in his elegant looping signature, along with the phrase, "keep the change AND the tip! :)"

He blinked slowly looking down at the words. That kind of odd feeling washed over him again. This was done truly out of kindness, he wasn't meant to have seen this kind of generosity. Of course he was happy that it was there, but there was something else rising in his chest. Pride? A pho sense of flattery? He wasn't really sure, but it didn't really matter.

He chuckled faintly. "Nope, it's all yours," he said with a small smile. "He says right there to keep all of it," he said. "Now you stick all of it in your subspace and keep it there until you get home. I saw you running this entire place yourself. It's a gift so you don't have to report it to anyone, you got it?"

"Are you sure?? It's an awful lot-" he said.

"I'm sure, Optimus and I are very well off," he replied, leaning over the chair and picking up his bag from the floor. "We want you to have it. You did a good job, so you earned it."

The poor mech sniffled looking down at the money in his servos. "This… this is enough to cover a few more months of my antidepressants…I… I can't thank you enough…" he murmured, stifling a small sob.

Ratchet paused and looked back at him with a small frown. "What do you take if I may ask?"

"Fydicoxin…" he replied softly. "My therapist says that it's an optional drug, so my insurance didn't cover it…"

Ratchet frowned. "Fydicoxin shouldn't be any more than 15 credits for a months worth… you're being overcharged," he said digging into his bag.

"I know… I'm trying to switch therapists but I haven't really found anyone who seems to be any better…" he said shakily.

"Hmm, well I can help you with that. I know someone in the area. He'll be more affordable and far more helpful," he said, scribbling down an address and a frequency number. "His name is Rung. Do you know where this is?" He asked, pushing the paper towards him.

He sniffled again, nodding. "That's pretty close to my apartment complex. I could probably walk there…"

"Good, it saves you a transport fare too," he smiled, tearing the first page from the notepad and scribbling another note. "Here, I can't be certain that it'll work, but give this to your pharmacist. They might give you an additional refill while you're switching your paperwork over," he said glancing around and tearing it off and handing it over.

"But… but how do you know that I'm not lying…?" He asked.

"Well, because it's more likely that you aren't with how the system is, but even if you were lying, you wouldn't really be getting anything. But let's walk through the scenarios shall we? If you were lying to me, this medication would cause insomnia, migraines, and anxiety and if you're lucky it'll make you a little high for a little while and I've fed an addiction of yours. Assuming you don't down an entire bottle of it, you'll likely live another day and have more time to seek help for addiction before you go through withdrawal. If you aren't lying then, this medication can help improve your quality of life by giving you the correct chemical to help balance your mood and by avoiding giving you withdrawal symptoms. The situation that's most detrimental is if you truly need this medication and you don't have access to it, you go through withdrawal or potentially harm yourself" he said, putting the notepad away. "I don't see why I shouldn't help if I can," he smiled.

The waiter bowed his helm. "Thank you… thank you so much. I'm so truly grateful…"

Ratchet smiled. "It's really no problem… keep your chin up, okay?"

"Alright, I will! Thank you sir, have a wonderful day sir!"

Ratchet chuckled. "You too!" He said walking out with his bag.

He met up with Optimus just outside of the door. He was smiling at him. "Find your bag?" He asked.

Ratchet nodded. "I did, thanks for waiting." He replied.

"No problem, where to next?" He asked.

Ratchet hummed faintly. "I'd love to check out what kind of shops there are in the area."

Optimus nodded. "I'll be interested to see too," he replied.

"I know there's a bookstore nearby," he replied with a small smile as they began wandering down the street.

They drifted from store to store, Optimus easily spending a small fortune at the bookstore and now had a few bags of books with him. Ratchet had stopped by with a few new additions to his bookmark collection. They had stopped by the spice merchant and gotten a few new things to try. They had bought a few bags of coffee that sounded like they would be good, and they even found a liquor store they went into and found a few more things to try.

Optimus insisted that he carry the majority of everything while they roamed around. Of course there were a few times they knew that someone was taking pictures of them, but they tried to ignore it the best they could.

Eventually the minutes ticked by and they managed to wander back in time to where they were meeting up to head on over to the gardens.

Magnus was carrying all sorts of bags for Elita. It was comical how many bags were hung over his arms. From the looks of it most of them were sparkling items. A few smaller blankets, a bottle kit, and a few toys from what Ratchet could see. Most of the bags, upon further inspection were from a single store. Most of them were scarves. Something she could carry a sparkling with, he guessed. They all piled into the transport after loading their things into the back.

Red was chattering away about the new camera he found at a great price while Ironhide set the bag of sweets he had gotten down beside him.

He looked up upon seeing the four of them enter the car, and closing the door behind them as it began to move again.

Ratchet sighed. "Who's ready to do some ceremony planning?" He chuckled sarcastically.

Everyone collectively groaned. It had become somewhat of a joke since they had yet to find a ceremony planner that didn't push the traditional scrap, so they had just decided to do it all themselves.

Optimus sighed. "I almost forgot about having to do that…"

Elita gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. "Ah, well. I'm sure the gardens will be a nice place to have it anyway." Optimus gave a small huff in return.

"Ugh, we still have to go robe shopping soon… " Ratchet sighed. "I hate looking for clothes. I hardly care what kind of armor I wear, how am I supposed to pick out a ceremony robe," he sighed.

"Well, that I can help you with," Elita chuckled.

Ratchet sighed resting his helm back against the seat. "Hmm, we're also doing cake testing there, aren't we?"

"We are?" Hide asked, looking over at Optimus.

"We are," Optimus replied. "The bakery offered to meet us there without a charge. I'm guessing they're counting on some publicity. I saw knocking out two birds with one stone so I went ahead and signed off on it," he replied with a sigh. "I hope everyone has an appetite for cake."

Ratchet returned to his quiet, still mulling over what he had seen from Optimus that day. He knew that he was a pleasant and kind mech, but he hadn't really pegged him to go out of his way like that. And for him to not even mention it. Ratchet wasn't even supposed to have seen it. He never would have known if he hadn't left his bag. It was a tiny accidental glimpse of what kind of mech Optimus was. He wondered what other things he had in him.

Just for a moment he wanted to see more of it. He glanced over at him, watching them talk to each other while he pretended he was listening. He couldn't help but agree with himself inwardly that this kind of thing was something he liked to see from Optimus. He hoped that he could keep being surprised like this.

They talked the rest of the drive before they pulled up to the garden entrance. There was someone waiting for them. She was wearing a vest over her armor that was black and had a patch on her right side that identified her as a member of the Cybertronian Fauna Preservation Society along with a small golden badge. "Hi there!" She greeted them. "I'm Crystal, I'm the sitting president of the CFPS, and I'm here to show you around," she grinned, extending a hand to Optimus and Ratchet.

Optimus smiled back and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for doing this for us."

"Oh it's really no problem!" She chuckled, she said, shaking Ratchet's hand as well. "It's the least I could do with such a generous donation for conservation efforts on the table," she smiled. "Right this way!"

The six of them began to follow closely behind her, Optimus and Ratchet in the front. Once they were past the front gates, they were greeted with all sorts of exotic fauna. There were a few crystals that were planted occasionally on the sides of the path leading further in, marking the way. All sorts of organic flowers were planted closer to the ground. Large and delicate organic plants draped vines and caught one's optics with pops of vivid colors. They grew all across these large towering things that were all over. It felt like standing under a large tent made up of organic things.

"The large, towering plants are something called trees. We brought back three from a distant planet called Sol 3. They were the first plant we decided we wanted to preserve. That was over 6 centuries ago and they've grown considerably. Several of them produce fruit occasionally. They're also an excellent aid for all sorts of fauna from all sorts of planets."

"Interesting…" Optimus said looking up and around at the towering things. "They're beautiful," he murmured before looking a little closer to the ground. "What's this one?" he asked.

"We call that a War Lilly. It's from Exodus 4," she said, seeing him looking at the large lime-green flower.

Ratchet chuckled softly looking all around. "I've never seen anything organic in person," he chuckled.

"I'm not surprised," she smiled. "Organic things can get a bad wrap for being 'dirty' but they're very beautiful," she smiled, guiding them further in. After the initial section of flowers and plants, they were led into a larger, more open place. It was covered in a dark green soft carpeted thing, upon further inspection, was also a plant. In the center of the large square of the moss, there was a very large tree. At the base of it, there was something of an altar. Flowers decorated it.

"This is called Moss. It's found on a multitude of planets. It's surprisingly universal. It's so durable that you can walk on it without harming it and it soaks up excess moisture," she said. "We've taken the liberty of setting up the altar at the base of the central tree. This is the best place in the garden to hold the actual ceremony," she said.

Optimus hummed looking around, stepping off the path carefully. "Wow… that's actually really interesting. It's so soft," he chuckled looking down. He walked a few more steps before looking up.

"What kind of decorations would you allow us to hang?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, these trees are extremely sturdy. Their exoskeleton is very hard and it doesn't really hurt them to hang anything on them. We'll be happy to help you do it properly, so the short answer is anything from lights to fabric, to running a Line to hang things off of."

Ratchet hummed faintly. "I'm thinking maybe about hanging some ribbon, some gossamer, and some lights. We're not wanting anything over the top," he told her.

"I see, well drapery would be wonderful and it wouldn't compromise the fauna's health," Crystal replied. "I'm sure that a few of the groundskeepers can help out with hanging them."

They spent the next few hours mapping out possible things to do with the space they had been given, drawing out rough floor plans, figuring how many chairs were needed, and such. The bakery showed up after a while and the cake was tried. They settled on a mix of several different types of cupcakes and a chocolate cake for Ratchet and Optimus to share on their own before they finally got to go home.

Crystal was very helpful in giving them information they needed and offered her services in helping with anything they needed. Optimus wrote out a check for her then and there before they left downtown Iacon for the night.

Later that evening, Optimus and Ratchet were left alone as everyone went their separate ways. Optimus had made something simple and light for dinner, some soup and a small side. They ate together in silence for the first portion of dinner.

"What you did for that waiter… it was really nice of you," Ratchet murmured. He had been thinking about it all day but hadn't had the time to process it or really the privacy to bring it up with him until now.

Optimus paused, looking up from his soup to meet Ratchet's optics. "What do you mean?"

"That tip," he said softly. "You meant for me to see you leaving the 30 credits for him, you didn't mean for me to see you left an additional 150 for him."

He hummed faintly with a soft smile. "No…" he chuckled. "I didn't mean for you to see that." He said sitting back in his seat. "I was wondering why you took so long to go back for your bag."

Ratchet locked optics with him. "Why were you so secretive about it?" He asked.

He looked back. "I didn't really think about it being secretive," he said softly. "I just wanted to do it, so I did. I hope I made things a little easier for him."

They looked at each other for a prolonged moment before Ratchet looked back down at his bowl. "That was very kind of you," he murmured. "I hope you know that you did," he said.

Optimus gave him a small smile before he gathered the dishes in front of him and took them back over to the sink, set them down, and walked back.

"I think I'm going to retire early tonight," he said, yawning. "Have a good night." He walked past the table and towards the stairwell.

"Goodnight," Ratchet sighed. He smiled softly, getting up and turning in his dishes too. That feeling, when had it washed up on him again?

It wasn't an awful feeling, but it made him feel strange. It was similar to anxiety. It made his tanks churn a little, and his chamber feel a little too warm. It almost made him a little dizzy.

Maybe he was just stressed.

Ceremony planning wasn't a walk in the park. That was it…

Stress.

A new kind of stress. Domestic stress. Nothing like a full ER with trauma patients. Not close to a test either. Definitely nothing like the stress of meeting a deadline for research…

Maybe that was a name for it.

He shook his helm, going and turning the lights off before heading up the stairs himself, turning and going to his room.

That funny feeling ebbed away over a little bit of time and he drifted off.