The funny feeling had become a constant in Ratchet's life over the next few weeks. It was a confusing feeling and it came and went in waves. It was a bizarre mix between thrill, anxiety, and flusterment.

Thankfully the media attention had gone down for Ratchet's part, thanks to Elita and Magnus announcing that their new sparkling was on the way. Optimus, however, didn't sink away from the attention. He was busy putting himself in the frontlines, beginning to grow more bold and more present. He had stopped wearing his mask so often in public and the press dug it up. He held speeches for more of the political crowds, speaking up about corruption, calling out Senators, and calling for peace in Kaon.

Between the ceremony planning and the public appearances, Optimus and Red gave him lessons on how to act the part of high caste in more formal settings. Proper table etiquette, dance lessons, how to read people better, how to use less abrasive tactics when fighting battles made of words. All things that Ratchet could use to his advantage in his conquest to better Cybertron.

Ratchet was learning quickly, and this arrangement was quickly being turned to his advantage with Optimus so eager to be on his side. There was a good 5 months left until the ceremony and today was the day Ratchet had scheduled to start trying on ceremonial cloaks.

It was a long standing tradition to wear something as such to represent love sheltering someone in a beautiful way. Ratchet had never really imagined what kind of cloak he would pick.

Luckily for him, there were more than a few tailors who were more than willing to restrict their customers for a few hours to give him privacy from the media. It was easy enough to convince them that they didn't want any chance that Optimus would see what he picked out before the big day.

The transport came to a stop, bringing Ratchet back from his thoughts. Elita poked his shoulder playfully. "Ready to come try things on?" She smiled.

Ratchet sighed softly, standing up out of the car. "I suppose I should get this over with. I've been putting it off for long enough" he grumbled faintly.

Red chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Elita and I will be helping you out. We'll tell you what looks flattering and we'll stop you from choosing something that isn't flattering. Besides, I looked into this place myself. Locally owned and run by a pair of twins, recently moved here from Kaon. They really support you and Optimus and they have a tasteful selection. Best of all they're sworn to secrecy. They tick all the boxes," he hummed.

"Oh, and we already know them! It's where I got my cloak for my ceremony," Elita chuckled. "Don't worry, you're in really good hands with them."

Ratchet scoffed softly. "Whatever you say," he muttered as they walked through the shop entrance. He took a glance around, the carpet that decorated the area was white and all sorts of mannequins were on display showing off cloaks of all sizes and colors for all sorts of different builds.

Furs from organic worlds, luxurious silk ones with luxurious silk, intricate beadings, and embroidery. There were some simple ones made from lace and satin, others that were thick and draping, some that were decorated in crystals, some that were purely one color with a flashy clasp in the front. Long trains, some that stopped at waist, and everything in between. There were even some cloaks that were very artsy and made Ratchet question if it was even capable of being worn.

He knew this would happen, all sorts of choices and all super overwhelming. He couldn't imagine wearing any of them.

"Hi there!" He gasped and jumped a little bit at the sudden voice. He looked towards it, finding a tall and skinny red Kaonite in his vision. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he chuckled. "I'm Sideswipe, welcome to our humble boutique. We're so happy you've chosen us, Ratchet." He extended a hand to him with a warm grin.

Ratchet blinked, exhaling slowly. He took the extended servo, shaking it. "Nice to meet you too…" he sighed.

Elita grinned walking towards him. He chuckled, giving her a hug and kissing her cheek in a friendly greeting. "Elita, it's been too long! Congratulations! I cannot wait to see the little bitlet. Magnus is still treating you well?" He chuckled.

"Always," she chuckled. "Thanks for doing this, Sides. It means a lot."

"Oh heavens, it isn't a problem! Right this way," he smiled, leading him over to a sofa sitting in front of a mirror and a walkway. "So I've been dying to know, what is your vision?" He smiled, sitting everyone down on the couch,

Ratchet stared at him for a hard ten seconds. "My what?"

Sideswipe chuckled. "What do you want to wear? What's the theme, what's the idea?" He asked.

Elita and Red both chuckled awkwardly.

Ratchet pursed his lips. "Um… so about that- I don't really have any idea," he said.

The mech gave him a kind of wide opticed look of disbelief. "Um. Okay, that's fine. Surely you've looked at different styles, so let's start there! What kind of cloaks catch your optics? What colors?"

Ratchet slowly shook his helm. "I mean, I've tried to browse, but I haven't the faintest idea. Every time I try to find something I like I get overwhelmed and I give up. I have literally no creativity."

"Okaaayyyy, so it seems like you're experiencing something that's totally common. You've got Celebrity Couple Syndrome; you're all sorts of overwhelmed with all the attention you're getting and it's fried your CPU," he chuckled. "Let's think back to before the engagement. What kind of things did you like then?" He asked.

Ratchet stared at him. "So… I don't think you really understand," he said slowly. "I'm just unimaginative- the most fashionable thing I've ever worn that I've chosen myself was a pair of red scrubs, and I wore them because I was treating a ward full of sparklings with tank upsets and it was the only thing I had that wasn't covered in bodily fluids. I literally don't know anything."

Sideswipe looked between the other two. Elita simply gave him a confirming nod while Red grimaced. "Yeahhhh that is pretty accurate. We've gone through all sorts of magazines and he can't form an opinion on anything," Elita sighed.

"Ah," he chuckled slowly. "Well this sounds like a job for my brother then… oh Sunny!" He called walking towards the back of the store.

Ratchet sighed softly leaning back on the couch. He wished someone would just pick something for him to wear.

After a moment, Sideswipe reappeared, alongside an almost identical mech to him. He was painted a simmering golden yellow with a measuring tape draped around his neck and a pincushion strapped around his wrist. He also had some sort of low prescription visor on. He also gave Elita and Red a friendly greeting as Sideswipe introduced him to Ratchet.

"This is my twin, Sunstreaker, he's the artistic genius here," he smiled. "I'm just the salesperson and a moving mannequin when he needs it."

"Alright so I've been told I'm needed," He asked, taking the visor off and folding it away. "Let's stand you up and see where to start… he hummed faintly.

Ratchet slowly stood walking over a little ways as the golden mech circled him. "Hmmm, stronger build, flared waist, broad shoulders… you have some good curves, so let's work with them. You need something with a snugger fit around the shoulders; no belts or sashes. Think something that flows, and nothing too long." he told Sideswipe. "And nothing dark! We want to be bright!"

All four of them brought him a handful of things to try on. It felt like a never ending stream of cloak after cloak after cloak.

Ratchet had to admit it was a little nicer than he had thought it would be. They made nice conversation while they worked to find something that Ratchet liked. They mainly talked about ceremony things, funny stories that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had. The controversy surrounding Ratchet's own ceremony because they were ignoring many royal traditions, and they also talked about Optimus a little bit

After a long time of experimenting with different styles and colors, Ratchet found a lovely flowing pale yellow cloak that had a small train. It was lined with white fur hood, and it draped elegantly over his shoulders. It had small crystals that hung off of the fabric. They glistened and jingled faintly when he walked. The clasp was golden and simple; it actually framed the beautiful engagement pendant very well.

Ratchet turned, looking away from himself in the mirror to look back at his entourage. Both of them were smiling at him. "I think I really like this one," he chuckled.

Elita grinned up at him. "It really suits you," she murmured as Red dug in his subspace for a moment, taking out a small black box. He carefully undid the ribbon that held it shut and pulled off the lid.

"Here," he murmured, taking out a crown. It was much more delicate than the traditional one for Optimus. It was golden and elegant with a few crystals embedded into the metal. It curved down, the point pointing down and laying a crystal in the middle of his forehelm.

Red stood walking over with it in hand. "This is going to be yours, we might as well see how it looks," he chuckled.

Ratchet gave him a small smile, going ahead and bowing his helm down so that Red could put it in place. Ratchet looked back at himself in the mirror again, seeing himself with the crown. He stared at it. He would have never imagined wearing something like a crown…

It was a small reminder of just how far his life had jumped the rails. What would he be doing now if he hadn't signed the contract? What if he hadn't run for Senate?

Nothing close to this. That was for sure.

He didn't stop the small melancholy smile from spreading across his face. It wasn't ideal, no. But it was working out. "I like it," he murmured to Red, tilting his helm in a few different directions to get a few different angles of the crown. "Let's get this one," Ratchet said, shifting the cloak around him carefully, and giving the crown back, not wanting to lose it.

"Alrighty! I'll just bring you back to my office for a fitting so I can make just a few alterations. I'll put your family crest on the clasp, for good luck," he smiled at him going ahead and guiding him to the back.

Sunstreaker shut the door behind him quietly, and whipped out the measuring tape and taking down a few measurements, once Ratchet was in the room where he wanted him.

"So what's he actually like?" He asked, placing a few pins in place.

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at him. "What, you haven't seen any of the interviews we gave?"

Sunstreak shrugged. "Gossip magazines are one thing," he replied simply. "Talk shows are another. But direct source? Nothing can really beat that."

Ratchet chuckled faintly. "I've already said everything publically. He's wonderful, he really is. He's sweet, caring, and attentive. I'm lucky to have him."

Sunstreaker hummed as he let the silence fall, tilting his helm. "Is that so… "

"It is. You'll have to forgive me for withholding so much, we just like to keep it between us as much as we can. We don't have much, that's just us" he replied with a practiced smile.

He chuckled a little bit looking back at Ratchet as he stood up. "You don't love him."

Ratchet's spark was bathed in ice as cold dread washed through him. That wasn't supposed to happen. Sunstreaker was supposed to awe at him and tell him how lucky he was but he had seen right through him. He had struck right through him, cracking the carefully constructed mask they had put forward. He frowned, concealing his panic. "What the hell is that supposed to mean," he asked, taking the defensive.

Sunstreaker smiled at him with a shrug. "Exactly what I said. You don't love him, do you?"

"I do," he said, taking a small step back.

"What is the meaning of this, you're way out of line-" Ratchet snapped back at him.

"How does he like his energon?" He asked pacing around him and adjusting a few more pins.

"I don't appreciate this game-" he snarked, his spark pulsing anxiously.

"It's not a game. Answer the question," he replied. "If you love him so much why don't you convince me?" He hummed.

Ratchet was panicking. He had never expected anything like this. They already had a little bit of influence in the world, if they went out and said something would anyone believe them? Are there cameras? Was he willing to bet that there weren't any? He had no choice but to try and convince him.

"He likes it sweet," he replied in a small growl.

"Hmm Right or left side of the berth?" He asked.

"Left."

"Why is that?"

"This is ridiculous," he snapped back at him once again.

"It is. So why the left?"

"I don't know why, he just prefers that side! He always has!" Ratchet snapped. He was grasping for straws and he knew it, but there wasn't any significance to these questions. These stupid domestic ideas.

"When did you meet him?" He asked.

"I don't remember it was a while ago," he replied. "We kind of lost track and we never really cared to keep track of such trivial things-"

"Hmm it says a lot that you don't care to remember something as trivial as how long you've known the person you're bonding to…" he hummed.

Ratchet ground his denta together. "We didn't want to assign a date to it, we care too deeply for each other to bother with nonsense like that."

"I wonder exactly how well you supposedly know him? Hmm? Do you know anything about him? What's his favorite meal? What kind of movies and books does he like? What kind of quirks does he have?"

"Well all of that is really none of your business! We have to be in front of everyone on Cybertron anyway, so we want to keep a few measly things just for us, is that so wrong??"

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do!" He snapped back.

"Then say it."

Ratchet froze, staring at Sunstreaker. He leaned against the wall, the measuring tape still draped around his neck, and his face practically motionless. Mild amusement turned the corners of the tailor's mouth up. The words were getting caught in his throat. He stuttered for a moment before looking down. He had been caught. There was no way that he could convince him…

He scoffed faintly. "That's what I thought."

Ratchet sighed in defeat, rubbing his optics with a hand. "What gave it away…?"

"I've been dealing with people all my life, Ratchet. It was a lot of little things that I had to put together. The way you kept quiet when we brought him up, the way you looked so sad when Red put that crown on you. The way you just seemed to know so little about him. I've seen love. I've seen it nearly daily. What the two of you have? It's convincing from a distance and it makes for good TV, but get a little closer and you can see that there's a lot of holes in it."

He looked back up at Sunstreaker, surprised.

He looked back at him and scoffed again as he turned to write down a receipt for Ratchet. "If you think I'm going to out you, you're mistaken. I'm considerably self serving for my brother and I. We support the both of you, but we just want a little bit more information that is more refined about who it is we're actually supporting, if you catch my drift," there was a small glint in his optics.

Yes he caught the drift. They wanted to make sure they weren't going to be double crossed later on down the line, when Optimus ascended to full power. They wanted to make sure he wasn't all talk…

Ratchet huffed faintly. "He's very gentle towards me if you care to know."

"That's always a good sign," he replied. "So what does he speak about behind the cameras?"

Ratchet looked back down. "About all the injustices in the world and how he plans to correct them. He talks of getting rid of the caste system, dissolving the Council and the Senate, putting an age requirement on government. He talks about redistributing resources. For a long time I was thinking it was all talk to lure me in closer, but…."

"But?" He asked pausing in his work.

He looked back at Sunstreak, as he felt a hint of apprehension slipped into the mechs field. "But he's got a fire in him," Ratchet continued. "When he talks about it there's something about him that kind of changes. There's passion and furry there. He's got a plan and he's out there gathering followers. He's only growing more bold. Especially with the situation in Kaon getting worse."

Sunstreaker nodded at this. "Well it's good that he's ready to make changes and use his influence for some good. I'm happy that we haven't made a mistake in voicing our support," he smiled, setting the pen down and handing over the invoice before he helped Ratchet take the cloak off. He hung it on a mannequin, and led Ratchet to the front desk.

Ratchet remained quiet as Sunstreaker rang him up while Sideswipe chatted with the other two.

"I do have one more question," he hummed typing in the numbers.

Ratchet looked up as he gathered the necessary credits. "And that would be…?"

"How do you feel about him?" He asked.

Ratchet paused, looking up at him. "What do you mean?"

Sunstreaker chuckled, taki the credits and counting them silently in his helm before he replied. "About Optimus. How do you actually feel about him. I mean, I can tell that you don't exactly hate him, but you don't love him either. So?" He asked.

Ratchet looked down, furrowing his optic ridges. "I've never been asked something like that… you're right I certainly don't hate him," he replied softly. "In fact, I would go as far to say that I'm actually starting to like him a little bit…"

Sunstreaker tilted his helm. "Is that so?"

Ratchet looked back up at him. "It is."

"Why?" He hummed.

Ratchet blinked a little in shock. "Because he's a good mech. He's proven that to me in all sorts of capasities. He's kind to others, he cares about his actions. He goes out of his way to make certain that his power remains in check. He's not once made anyone do anything for him. He's very sweet too, he cooks for the two of us and he teaches me new skills that are going to be so useful in the future dealing with all this high class slag," he chuckled, smiling a little wider. "He's a good mech that's just good for the sake of being good…of course I like him."

Sunstreaker stared at him, for the first time that afternoon, with optics that didn't know what they were looking at. "Huh… that is interesting….'

Ratchet tilted his helm. "What is?" He asked with a small frown.

The golden mech shook his helm. "Oh… nothing. Maybe you'll get it later…" he said handing Ratchet back his change. "Be sure to come again, you'll be notified when I've made all the correct adjustments. Thank you, once again for choosing us." He smiled

With that the three of them were off, and the car ride home was longer that the trip there, somehow. Ratchet once again fell into his thoughts. He wondered what Sideswipe had meant by that. He wondered if he had missed something in practice as he wasn't quite sure how to read something like that…

He looked out at the sky, the same family words that had struck his interest now had a partner in his helm.

'You intrigue me…' 'maybe you'll get it later…"

So many double meanings.

Would he ever really catch up?