Chapter 3: Sweet Torture

Orianna P.O.V

Torture.

It was outright torture, pure and simple. Torture of the sweetest kind. That was the only conclusion I could reach as I once again lay wide awake in my bed at 2am in downtown Diego Garcia.

Despite working as official liaison for the Autobots to help them assimilate into earthen culture, I was stationed away from their quarters in Eclipse Point. The Autobots were situated at Point Marianne, roughly twelve miles away, in one of the large hangers that were located behind the runway. /Possibly a good thing not being near them – or rather him – at the moment/. I snorted out loud to the walls in my room. ''Not like that stopped you going to visit him the other night at the beach!''

I groaned as I threw the cotton sheet off, rocketing to my feet in frustration. I padded across the floor to the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea. Drinking Pepsi Max at this unholy hour of the morning seemed wrong, even to me. Mug in hand, I walked out onto the small balcony that overlooked Eclipse Bay towards Point Marianne and settled myself in one of the two chairs I had set up there. I drew my knees up under my chin and placed my mug on the table beside me, absent mindedly sipping from it every now and then.

My gaze was drawn to the distant shore across the Bay where I knew he would be. Either deep in recharge, or more than likely in Hanger 1 attending to some ''Primely business''. I chuckled to myself. ''Just what DOES he do at all hours of the night and day? You'd think being the leader of a sentient race of metal beings from another planet, entitles you to forgo the paperwork we humans seem compelled to do.'' I reached out to grab my mug of Chai tea and sipped the spiced, hot liquid carefully. Whatever it was that he did, I knew he was constantly busy and very rarely had time to relax. ''Which made the other night so special,'' I mused out loud to myself.

I sighed as I placed the mug back on the table and closed my eyes, recalling how a couple of nights ago I had spent a precious few hours with the Autobot leader in the early hours of the morning. He had clearly just finished a long and tedious meeting with Morshower and more than likely Lennox and the JCS, when I came across him standing on our little beach.

For a moment I had simply hidden in the tree line watching him, unsure if I should interrupt him and, to be honest, I was simply enjoying the view. He stood like some magnificent metallic statue, the moonlight glinting and gleaming off his paintwork. His handsome helm titled back slightly towards the night sky as he was lost in thought. My heart rate had sped up, my palms felt clammy, and my throat was dry. A delicious heat had spread throughout my body as I stood transfixed by the being before me.

I had been unable to sleep as I tossed and turned, wrestling with my feelings towards the individual that was currently before me. Almost of their own volition my feet began to move towards him. I could no longer contain my need to be near him and I stepped out, asking him to share what was on his mind. He had snapped his helm up, perhaps shocked and embarrassed to be caught off guard - by a human no less. Those piercing azure optics had fixed on me and that deep voice of his rumbled my name, ''Orianna?'' It had been both a question and statement and his tone held no reproach but rather happiness and pleasure.

In that moment I knew. I knew beyond any doubt now that I was in love. This was not just some schoolgirl crush, some silly, passing infatuation. Bizarre yes, given he was a twenty-eight-foot-tall robot from another planet, but it was real. What I felt was real. Seeing him standing there, hearing the way he greeted me, watching this handsome, regal being regard me so intensely, I knew I was in trouble.

/I was in love with Optimus Prime!/.

Sighing in frustration once again, I opened my eyes and stared longingly down the Bay to where the object of my affections was likely deep in recharge. Blissfully unaware of the effect he was having on a rather unextraordinary human female who was pining away for someone she would likely never be able to tell how she felt, much less be with and have those feelings returned.

I growled out loud as I jumped to my feet and took a step forward, leaning heavily on the balcony rail of the second story. ''Bloody torture! Why couldn't you have fallen for Epps or one of the many fine-looking N.E.S.T soldiers stationed here? Hell, even bloody Lennox would be less hassle and torture than THIS!''

Without warning, the image of Prime reclining casually beside me under the stars that night on our beach, flashed through my mind. His broad chest rising and falling as he laughed out loud and that handsome face of his thrown back in carefree abandon as he enjoyed a joke with me. A blush crept across my cheeks as I recalled how I had practically leered at him, my eyes travelling the length of his powerful frame in lascivious appreciation. Naturally, he had no idea what thoughts were racing through my mind.

I lowered my head slowly to my arms and groaned. ''Sweet, bloody torture!'' I had no idea how I was going to get through this. Normally, when I realised I liked someone, I would just tell them straight out or flirt with them until they asked me out. /But this?/. This was not a normal situation, not by any stretch of the imagination.

I snorted as I shoved off the balcony railing and collapsed back on my chair. ''I mean, you can't just casually announce to a twenty-eight-foot robot from another planet that you are in love with them. Can you?'' I bit my lower lip in quiet consideration for a second before I brought my hands up to cradle my face and groaned out loud yet again. ''FUCK SAKE IDIOT! Of course, you can't!''

I had no idea how to deal with these feelings and I had no idea how to try and get rid of them! While they may be real, the idea of a human woman loving and being in love with a giant sentient robot from Cybertron was just UTTERLY ridiculous and impossible. No one would believe it, much less accept it.

I rubbed my face roughly as if I was trying to erase all feeling and thoughts from deep within me. I took one last look at the few lights that twinkled across Eclipse Bay at Marianne Point and rose swiftly to my feet. I walked back inside in quiet resignation, closing the sliding door behind me.

As I slid back into my awaiting bed, I reasoned with myself out loud. ''Right OC, review your options. Number one, it's going to be tough, but ignore my feelings, fight them until maybe they go away. Number two, avoid Prime altogether for the foreseeable future until some MAN walks into my life that makes me forget all about Optimus,'' even as the words left my mouth, I knew that seemed unlikely, ''and number three, just resign from my post as Autobot liaison and move to the other side of the planet severing all ties at once!''

As I pulled the sheet up to drape lightly over my body, I sighed for what must have been the millionth time tonight. ''Well OC, all those ideas have merit in their own way, but all are equally shit!'' I brought an arm up to lay haphazardly over my eyes. ''Guess you'll just have to do what you do best. Wing it!''

As the sound of birds chirping their greeting to the dawn filled the air, sleep finally found me and I succumbed willingly, if only so I wouldn't have to think anymore.