Ratchet sat in the lounge, contemplating. He was mapping out a kind of timeline that had happened, writing it out in a diary. Three month ago, he had met Optimus, that was the beginning of the timeline. A week later he met Optimus's family. The next day they got publicly engaged. Then they had a bunch of interviews. One month ago, he and Optimus had that talk in his office; they went to check out the gardens the following day…. Ratchet had bought his cloak two weeks ago and the conversation between him and the tailor still bounced around in his helm nearly nonstop. Optimus was currently out and about.

Hmm…

What Sunstreaker had said to him had caught him off guard. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it did. He had asked why Ratchet liked him. When HAD Ratchet started to like him?

He looked at the timeline tracing over the writing idly with a pen.

He didn't really ever become conscious of them being 'friends.' Were they friends? What was the definition of someone's friendship? What was it supposed to be like? He tried recalling some of his past friendships. How had he found Aid?

Aid was a long time friendship, he recalled. They had met during primary school, while they were still younglings. They had always had a similar dream and similar interests, so they stuck together. They spent a lot of time together with all the schooling they had between them. Aid always made it easy, he was an open book and always seemed to know what to talk about. Keeping a conversation flowing with Aid was easy.

Talking to Optimus was easy too. He hadn't noticed that it had gotten so much easier before. When did their conversations stop stuttering and dying? When did he become comfortable?

He looked out at the window and into the backyard. When did this stop feeling like a birdcage?

He sighed, putting the pen down, staring critically at the timeline. The answer was right in front of him. He knew that he had stopped outright despising him around the engagement, after seeing his father and talking to Zeta.

Originally he had reached out to him because he felt bad for what Optimus had to put up with and wanted to try and help. He wanted to try and make up for all kinds of assumptions that he had made.

Thinking back to the talk in the office, he could have walked away, so why didn't he?

He took a glance over at the untouched stack of envelopes. He was supposed to be signing invitations, but that hadn't really happened. He wasn't motivated enough to do it.

He heard the sound of the door opening followed by a couple of voices chatting away in the entrance hall. One of them was Optimus, but the other one he wasn't too sure of.

He closed the diary and stashed it away before going out to investigate. "Optimus?" He called out, wandering towards the voices.

When he got to the entrance hall, Optimus was there, talking to a Praxian, presumably a Nobel as well.

Optimus looked up from the conversation they were having and smiled at him. "Ratchet, this is Bluestreak."

Ratchet walked a little closer. "I didn't know we would be entertaining anyone today," he chuckled, drawing his field in a little closer so as to not tip Bluestreak off to the idea that he was on edge. This had taken him by surprise, and after Sunstreaker… he would rather not risk letting anyone else find out about their less than romantic arrangement.

"He's just visiting, there's a bit of a security problem in the hotel he's staying in for the summit this weekend. It was my oversight. Ironhide, Red, and I are going to see to it that it's fixed, and hopefully can get a little more support for security at the summit," he replied as he took a few steps closer to Ratchet, his optics still locked. That steady voice, that careful wording. He was talking in code, he realized. "I must get going, I promise I won't be long, dearest, but my comm doesn't seem to be working. I won't be able to tell you when I'm coming back," he murmured before bending down and pecking him on the cheek. "Stay out of trouble, I trust you'll keep him entertained," he chirped down at him with a tone that was meant to sound teasing, tapping him on the collar.

His mind was racing. From what he could understand, they needed to put on a really convincing show, if the 'dearest' was anything to go by. They needed to win Bluestreak's support, and Optimus trusted him to put on the show for Bluestreak. Something told him that they would be in trouble if he figured it out… but that was everything that he had caught. What did everything else mean? What kind of trouble were they going to be in? Would they be found out? With his comm down he wouldn't be able to ask for any insight discreetly.

Ratchet smiled back at him. "You can count on it," he replied. "Come back to me soon," he said softly, squeezing his servo carefully. His servos had been a little on the shaky side, Ratchet noticed. Anxious.

He had also gotten a small glimpse of his field; Stress.

Please don't leave me for too long, Ratchet thought. I don't know what you're talking about. What in the universe is wrong?

Optimus gave him a soft nod before he squeezed back, turned, and disappeared through the door.

Bluestreak smiled at him once the two of them were alone. "He's very sweet. He speaks very highly of you," he chuckled.

Ratchet nodded with a small smile. "He's very loving," he chuckled as he led him back to the lounge area. He was trying to pull all the information he had on this particular mech to the front of his mind. He wasn't having much success. Bluestreak came from Praxus, he knew of his brother Prowl, and of his sire Barricade. He knew that their family was known for the security team they trained and employed. Primus what else was there …

"Do you care for coffee or tea?" Ratchet asked.

"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine," he replied softly as he looked around. Ratchet continued to try to find a way to distract him. What kind of things could he talk about that wasn't about him and Optimus. He walked in after him, his optics landing on the box on the bottom of the shelf. There's an idea…

"Hmm, your family prides itself on teaching tactics, yes?" He asked.

Bluestreak nodded. "Yes, all of us are put through a lot of schooling revolving around the idea," he chuckled.

Ratchet smiled walking over and retrieving the box. "Hmm, maybe I could convince you to play a match or two with me."

Bluestreak looked down at the box and smiled. "Ooh, I haven't played chess in so long. You'll be a much more even match for me. Prowl is utterly ruthless so there was no point in playing him," he chuckled. "Allow me." He said taking the box lid off and beginning to set up. Ratchet smiled with a small sense of victory. He was distracted, at least…

Once they were all set up, Ratchet gestured to him. "You take the first move," he murmured.

Bluestreak chuckled, moving a pawn first. Ratchet followed his move with a pawn of his own. "I wasn't aware that Optimus spoke of me when he was away," he said.

Bluestreak hummed, moving another pawn. "Yes, all good things of course. I asked him and he went on for a while…" he hummed.

"Ah yes, he can ramble on for all sorts of things if you invite him to," Ratchet replied. "I'm fond of it, conversation is how he really caught my attention," he replied, moving another piece. Ratchet looked up at the praxian carefully. Why did this mech make Optimus so anxious?

"Is that so?" He hummed, moving his knight out. "What kind of things does he ramble about?" He asked with a smile.

"Oh goodness where to start," he sighed. Half-truths are the best lies, he reminded himself. "He loves to read, he's fond of history. He likes cooking," he murmured. "He'll talk to me about pretty much anything that crosses his mind," he hummed.

The pieces continued to move at about the same pace as the conversation.

"Is that so," he chuckled. "He seems pretty chipper all the time. Does he ever complain?" He asked.

Ratchet chuckled. "Naturally," he replied. "I have to prod at him a little bit, sometimes. So that he doesn't bottle it up." He moved another piece. There was something telling him that this conversation was a lot like the game they were playing. He was digging. He was digging a lot deeper than most do. Asking more specific questions that were harder to sidestep.

He smiled fondly. "How's the ceremony plans coming?" He asked.

"They're coming quite nicely, however, I think we would be in a hot mess if it wasn't for Elita and Red," he chuckled. "Optimus and I don't really know what we're doing," he replied.

"Hmmm, why don't you find a ceremony planner?" He asked, capturing a pawn of Ratchet's.

He moved another piece out. "We didn't find one in the area that wouldn't push the traditional vision," he replied.

"Ah, yes. That whole controversy. There are a few questions as to why not a traditional bonding ceremony," he asked, moving a rook out of place.

Ratchet moved a piece away from the rook. "Because having a traditional bonding isn't something we want," he chuckled.

"Well yes, but there are some theories out there floating around," he replied. "There are a few Senators out there that have hinted at the idea of you and Optimus don't actually planning on merging, and that's why you don't want a traditional ceremony," he murmured, moving out a bishop. "Check."

Ratchet was prepared for this one. He scoffed. "Mere rumors. It's hardly our fault no one was paying attention when we started seeing each other. I guess we were just that good at sneaking around," he replied, capturing the offending knight. "We want something a little simpler because I don't want to look back on our anniversary and remember all the strife a giant ceremony would be, and I certainly don't want to be utterly drained afterwards. I want to have the room and energy to dance, party with my friends and family, and not be worried about being so proper. I want to be able to eat a few pieces of cake without a reporter taking a dozen unflattering photos of me and writing about how it'll go to my hips. We'll spend the rest of our lives serving Cybertron, we want this one thing to ourselves is all."

Bluestreak smiled. "Well, it's a lot sweeter when you put it like that. But why sneak around?" He chuckled, moving his other rook.

"Because Sentinel doesn't approve of me," he chuckled, countering it with his knight. "I was born in a lower middle caste and now I am here, because I worked very hard for it. He finds me distasteful because I didn't stay put where I was born. He also believes that I'm an awful choice for his son because I don't care to submit. He thinks I'm too abrasive to be a Prime's consort."

Bluestreak scoffed. "Is that so?" He asked.

"It is.

"Can't he put a restriction on the matrix inheritance?" He asked, putting another bishop forward.

Ratchet hummed. "He did. It was that Optimus had to bond to someone before assuming full power. He revealed us, saying it was no problem, and Sentinel was outraged. Of course, since Optimus is a grown mech, he isn't allowed to tell him who he has to bond to, only that he must. Hence, Sentinel's intense hatred of me. He doesn't even look at me when he doesn't have to." He moved a pawn forwards.

Bluestreak hummed faintly. "Well then, I suppose that makes sense. Sentinel isn't known for his happy demeanor."

Ratchet nodded.

Blue chuckled. " I don't mean to sound rude but he just seemed… so cold before. For a while I thought he would be Sentinel all over again, but he's kind of changed. So what's the story behind that?"

Ratchet chuckled faintly. "Well, let's see… I suppose that started when he asked me how I'm so confident. He didn't mean to be so cold, it was just him freezing up and him not knowing how to be genuine, you see. I told him to be convicted to saying what he wanted to say; come to hell or high water. I guess it's one of the things I really learned to like about him," he mused.

"I know you've probably had a million people ask you, and I've seen what you say to the public, but what do you like about him so much?" He asked.

"I like a lot of things about him," Ratchet replied. "I like how gentle he is. How caring he is, how much passion he has. I like how he balances things," he chuckled.

"Like what?" Blue asked.

"Like how he balances taking care of me with making sure he doesn't patronize me…" he said softly. "How he balances his surroundings with his beliefs. He has this 'can do' attitude. I think it's really admirable. He's just one of those mechs who… does good things because he likes being kind… I really like seeing that." he murmured remembering the waiter. "He's someone you can trust, and he's always done his absolute best to put me equal with him. One of the best things I see in him is his devotion to doing his absolute best, and his utter determination to help. It's one of the things I love about him…"

Ratchet felt his face heat up a little at the statement he had just made. He cleared his throat a little bit in embarrassment.

Blue smiled, moving another piece.

Ratchet continued to speak with him about all sorts of aspects of his relationship with Optimus, and Ratchet acted like he was happy to talk about it.

They went back and forth for what felt like hours. Ratchet was on the edge of his seat the entire time, but as they spoke back and forth, Ratchet was beginning to feel like he was a little more confident in answers. He felt he was knowing the actual answer about Optimus. He had stories to tell about him, like how he had asked in the beginning of their relationship if table placement was a thing in commoner culture. How he was kind of a lightweight with wine. What kind of books he liked, what kind of art he appreciated. Where he wanted to go. It wasn't until now that Ratchet was beginning to understand exactly how much they actually knew about each other.

Optimus certainly wasn't a stranger to him anymore. And he truthfully found Optimus appealing to be around.

Bluestreak chuckled softly. "I believe you've put me in checkmate," he said looking down at the board. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Indeed," he chuckled.

Just then the sound of the door opening once more drifted into the room. Optimus walked through with Hide in tow. "Ratchet?" He called.

"In the lounge!" he called back.

Optimus appeared in the doorway not two seconds later. "I dearly hope that you haven't grown too bored in my absence, Bluestreak." He said. "We've fixed the issue and we've confirmed the safety of your room. Red is ready to escort you back."

Bluestreak shook and extended a hand to Ratchet. "Thank you for the game, Ratchet. I greatly enjoyed it."

Ratchet smiled, taking it and bidding him farewell.

Optimus saw Bluestreak to the door giving him another set of apologies and goodbyes before Hide escorted him to the car and the door shut behind him. Optimus stood still waiting, until the sound of the car pulling away was heard.

He turned to Ratchet, advancing quickly. Ratchet jumped in surprise when he took a hold of his shoulders. "Did you understand?" He asked, looking all sorts of shaken.

Ratchet blinked. "Well, I knew that something was wrong and that he wasn't to know. So what the hell?" He asked.

"What did you talk about?" He asked, still deeply shaken.

"We talked about us," he said, frowning. "What's going on? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Did you have to outright lie about anything??" He asked.

"No- I didn't- Optimus tell me what the hell is going on?? What's the matter?" Ratchet asked, growing rather fed up as he shoved him back a little bit.

He was shaking as he looked down at Ratchet. "Bluestreak is a documented Truthseer," he said.

Ratchet froze up a little bit realizing the implications of that. Truthseers had a very rare CPU modification that allowed them to monitor the physical attributes that are associated with lying. Temperature, body language, verbal contradictions, etcetera. The reason it was so rare was that not many bots had a compatible CPU. He began to feel a little paler. Many times these bots were hired and made good money from this mod. Specifically from reporters. "Oh… I see…"

Optimus sighed, walking over to the couch and sitting down heavily. "Oh Primus… did he point out anything to you??" He asked. "Did he accuse you of anything?"

"No… no he didn't," he murmured, sitting down too. "He asked questions, but… he didn't say anything about thinking I was lying… I didn't really lie about a whole lot. I might have stretched the truth here and there but… no he didn't speak up."

Optimus sighed. "That's a relief… I'm so sorry Ratchet, Red didn't have the time to warn me and my comm chip got fried."

"It's… it's fine…" he murmured. "I'm really tired after that whole thing, I think I'm going to rest in my room…" he said slowly getting up.

"Alright… I'll call you when food's ready," Optimus replied. "Oh and Ratchet?"

He hummed, turning his helm to look at him. Optimus smiled at him. "Thank you. I owe you one."

He managed a small chuckle before retreating into the stairway and then disappearing from Optimus's view.

His spark pulsed heavily in his chest. His helm spun with the new information. What was going on with him?

He pushed the door open to his room slowly walking over and burying his face in the pillows. It was burning hot for some strange reason. He closed his optics wanting the waves of strangeness to pass.

He didn't want to think too terribly hard.

Ratchet swallowed nervously remembering a few of the things he had said. He didn't really mean for them to be super truthful, but he knew they weren't exactly lies either but still.

He didn't really know he genuinely liked so many things about Optimus, but he was glad he actually did like a lot of things about but but…

Shouldn't saying he loved anything about him be a lie…?