Note: This is a oneshot for Fanatic97 from . The request was based on a Deviant Art commission of Elita from Transformers Animated wearing a wedding dress. Originally the request was for my Library of Cybertron stories, but that is strictly for reader inserts. I don't normally write canon x canon stories, but I liked the idea that Fanatic97 gave me so much that I decided to make an exception. I hope you like it Fanatic!
When the war ended, the Autobots began rounding up many of the Decepticon stragglers. While she had never really been a Decepticon, Elita (formally known as Black Arachnia) found herself being grabbed up as well. There was a trial and Elita was certain she was going to end up toiling away in the Stockade for the rest of her life. Imagine her shock when Optimus spoke up in her favor at the trial. He told the court that her criminal behavior had been due to her Techno-Organic state. She'd been confused, frightened, and angry and her partially organic brain had been unable to deal with what was happening. In short, she'd been unable to control herself and should not be held accountable for her actions. Elita knew that none of it was true, she'd been perfectly in control of herself at the time, but she had been acting out despair and desperation. All that she wanted was to be her normal self again. Fortunately, Optimus' testimony had fully convinced both the court and the Council Members and Elita's punishment had been reduced to house arrest for the equivalent of two Earth years.
Optimus offered to take her in and take responsibility for her while she served her time. Not only that but, with the aid of Ultra Magnus, he commissioned some of Cybertron's top medics and scientists to find a way to reverse her Techno-Organic state. Elita was touched, confused, but deeply touched at how much Optimus was willing to do for her. During the time that she was forced to stay in his care, the two of them reconnected. In spite of her spidery new form, a great deal of the old Elita was still in there and Optimus was still very much in love with her. It was both a surprise and a relief to discover that. Elita had convinced herself that she was an unlovable monster and it made her extremely bitter. Now, though, the bitterness had waned. Still, she wanted her old body back. The scientists working on her problem were doing everything they could, but as time went on with no results in sight, Elita began to worry that they would never find a cure.
"What if I can't go back?" She asked Optimus one day.
It only took a moment for him to answer. He looked her straight in the optics and with the sincerest tone she'd ever heard him use he said,
"Nothing changes."
His intense gaze made her optics water and she had to look away.
"Between us, nothing changes." He said. "I guess I can't hide it anymore. I love you, Elita. I always have. Even when you were with Sentinel, I wanted to tell you. I couldn't then, but I can now. Even after you changed, I cared. It hurt me when you felt the need to do the things you did. It hurt because you wouldn't let me help you. It hurt me most of all because you thought that I was afraid of you or revolted by you. I was worried for you because you weren't acting like yourself anymore. I wanted the old Elita back just as much as you did if only because you weren't happy like this. But if it turns out that you're stuck like this, then so be it. I'll love you either way, because for me you're still you. You're still the Elita I fell for so long ago."
Elita's spark felt like it was going to explode after such a confession. With the way Sentinel responded to her new look, she felt certain that no one could love her. People would only ever see her as a freak and a monster. Once she gained control of herself, she turned back to him.
"If you can accept me like I am, then I suppose I can too." She said.
One Earth week before her house arrest sentence ended, Perceptor presented a cure to Ultra Magnus. The procedure took some time but eventually Elita was fully Cybertronian again. While she had been satisfied that Optimus would love her regardless, she was still very happy to have her old body back.
Once her sentence had ended, she began reconnecting with old friends and just getting used to Cybertron again. During this time, she and Optimus began performing the Conjunx Ritus. Their joining was announced to the other Autobots and a now young adult Sari, when she came to visit. Being from Earth and not being familiar with Cybertronian terms and rituals, Sari didn't understand what it meant for them to be Conjunx Endura. Bumblebee took the liberty of explaining it to her.
"It's like being married." He stated simply.
Sari got quiet for a bit before screaming, "YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED!?"
For some reason this didn't sit well with her. It wasn't because they got married so much as it was that she and her father hadn't been invited. Optimus explained that the Conjunx Ritus was a private thing. Sari understood but still seemed put out.
"I'm happy for you guys, really, but I guess I just wanted to be there to see my friends get hitched!" she pouted.
Optimus seemed distressed by this. Elita was just touched that Sari considered her a friend in spite of the whole kidnapping thing. That's when Sari made a suggestion.
"Okay, so you guys are married, but you haven't actually had a wedding. You could still have a wedding even though you're already married. Lots of people on Earth do that." She pointed out.
"What's a wedding?" Optimus asked.
Sari explained the Earth custom. Optimus and Elita were unsure but the other Autobots seemed intrigued. The idea was bounced around and there was discussion of who could fill what role. Jazz could do music. Bumblebee wanted to be best man. Bulkhead was just happy to help out in anyway. Eventually, the topic of Optimus and Elita having an Earth style Conjunx Ritus ceremony spread around so much that people were offering to help. Ultra Magnus actually offered to "give Elita away". His face didn't show it at all, but Elita felt that he was actually excited about the ordeal. Before either Elita or Optimus could even offer their opinion on the matter, a date had been decided and preparations were being made.
That's how Elita found herself standing before Cybertronian size mirror and giving her reflection a skeptical look.
"I'm not sure about this." She said to Sari as the half-Cybertronian zipped around her feet fiddling with the fabric of the oversized wedding gown she wore. One thing that Sari had been especially insistent on was that Optimus and Elita needed proper traditional attire for the wedding. Thus, Ultra Magnus hired a cloth-maker. Cloth was a rare thing on Cybertron, and clothing was usually limited to capes or robes. These robes were reserved for Cybertronians of high standing and importance like those within the political society or the nobility. Elita did not feel she deserved to be wearing the gorgeous, delicate gown. It looked like it should be worn by a noble femme not an ex-Con and former criminal like herself.
"It's way too late to be getting cold feet, don't you think? You're already wearing the dress." Sari said.
Elita looked down at herself.
"Yes, but does something like this really suit me?" Elita asked as she pinched a piece of the fragile fabric between her thumb and index finger.
"'Course it does! You look amazing!" Sari insisted. She looked down at the time piece on her arm. "Welp, we better get moving."
Suddenly a look of horrified realization came over the Earthing's face.
"What!?" Elita exclaimed. "Did I rip it? Tell me I didn't rip it!?"
She frantically twirled around, scanning her reflection in search for tears.
"No, it isn't that." Sari said as she repeatedly face palmed herself.
"Then what?" Elita demanded with ever growing worry.
"I just realized that you can't transform now that you're wearing the dress." Sari moaned.
Elita looked down at herself.
"Oh. Oooh no." she muttered.
"Now I don't know how we're gonna get you to the chapel on time!" Sari cried, throwing her arms up in frustration. "We shoulda got you to the chapel first and then put on the dress but, nooooo I just had to stick to tradition and keep you hidden from Optimus!"
"Because it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?" Elita asked.
"Yeah. It's dumb but I wanted to do it that way anyway." Sari lamented, hating herself at that moment.
Elita sighed and wrung her hands anxiously. It took them forever to get the dress on, too. The dress was so delicate because the cloth-maker wanted to stick to tradition and use Earth made cloth. The result was very fragile fabric that had to be pulled on very slowly or risk it getting snagged on Elita's metal joints and kibble and tearing. It was a tedious and painstaking process. They couldn't very well take it back off now. Having Elita walk the distance to the chapel was out of the question. A giant robot strolling down the streets of Detroit garnered a lot attention. A giant robot in a wedding dress would probably cause a riot. Just imagining the scenario had Elita covering her face plates in shame. Not only that, but it would mean being late to her own wedding.
Both females were silent for a long time before Sari suddenly yelled,
"I got it!"
The grin had returned to her face as she looked up at Elita.
"Okay, I got an idea! Just wait here and don't worry. I'll be right back!"
Sari ran out of the room leaving Elita to wallow in her anxiety. She started thinking that the whole thing was a bad idea. Optimus had seemed so determined to make his young Earth friend happy, though. And Sari didn't harbor any bad feelings against her due to her past behavior, even kidnapping her, even going so far as to consider her a friend. It felt wrong to deny the tiny Techno-Organic her request. Moments later a beaming Sari excitedly rolled into the room.
"Alright! Transportation problem solved!" She announced, clearly proud of her own cleverness. "Let's go."
Elita followed Sari out of the old auto factory that Optimus' group had been using as their Earth base; her anxiety giving way to curiosity. Once outside, she gasped and then laughed with relief at what Sari had cooked up. Parked in the driveway was Bulkhead. He was in his alt-mode and covered in frilly white ribbons, tassels, golden bells and many other Earth wedding paraphernalia. Behind him was a large commercial trailer. He honked his horn.
"Hey Sari! Hey Elita!" he said, his normal shy tone replaced with excitement.
"Bulky couldn't find anything that he wanted to do for the wedding that wasn't already being taken care of by somebody else. He thought he was going to be regulated to just another guest." Sari explained.
"Sari told be about your problem, so I got into vehicle mode, Sari did a little decorating, and now I'm the official Wedding Transportation bot!" Bulkhead explained with a bit of pride.
Elita smiled warmly as Sari opened up the trailer doors to let Elita crawl inside.
"Thank you, Bulkhead." She said.
"No problem!" he responded, happy to finally be able to take part in the wedding ceremony.
"Be careful of the dress!" Sari warned.
As if Elita needed to be told.
The ride to the wedding was cramped and uncomfortable for Elita but she was just happy that the transportation problem had been solved.
Optimus stood stiffly in his suit and tugged at his tie. The Cloth-Maker had been rather excited about taking part in the alien Conjunx Ritus ceremony and insisted that both parties involved be properly garbed. So, Optimus found himself decked out in snugly fitting, uncomfortable Earth clothing while he nervously waited for Elita's arrival. More frustrating was that Sari refused to let him catch even so much as a glance at his "bride to be" before the ceremony due to some Earth superstition about it being bad luck to do so.
"You're gonna break it if you keep pulling on it." Bumblebee whispered.
Optimus huffed and glanced down at the yellow bot with a look of slight jealousy. All other wedding participants had been spared the need for clothing. Vaguely Optimus wondered if Elita felt as out of place and uncomfortable as he did. He glanced around at the others. The Jet Twins had argued over who would get to be the ring bearer and finally decided that they could both be ring bearer if they combined. They stood in their combined form holding the pillow with the Cybertronian sized ring in a proud and stiff manner that almost had Optimus laughing at them. The priest that they'd hired was an old mech that wasn't too sure about performing a ceremony that normally involved an alien religion but a little tweaking of the rites to involve Primus and Cybertronian belief and he stopped grumbling. The Chapel they were using was one that Sari called "Undenominational" which hopefully meant that they wouldn't be offending any of the local populace for using their chapel in such a way. Jazz had brought along a large Cybertronian organ to play the traditional Earth wedding music on. He was currently playing a few soft Cybertronian tunes to help keep people in the "wedding mood". Optimus sighed. Everything seemed to be going smoothly but as the time clicked on, he found himself constantly checking his internal chronometer. What if something went wrong? What if Elita changed her mind? What if she didn't want to go through with it after all? Technically they were already joined but their friends had put so much effort into this. What if she was having those feelings of unworthiness again and he wasn't there to offer comfort?
When Bulkhead rolled up decked out in wedding décor Optimus relaxed a little, but his anxiety rose once again when he realized that besides the very out of place trailer he was towing, Bulkhead was alone.
"Where's Elita?" Bumblebee asked, voicing Optimus' own concerns.
"Right here!" Sari said as she jumped out of Bulkhead's interior. She walked around to the trailer and opened it up to reveal what Optimus was positive was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. When Elita stepped out onto the pavement she seemed to sparkle in the sun. The raiment she wore seemed to be made out of the sun's rays itself. She looked divine, like a messenger from Primus himself. Optimus's mouth dropped open when he looked at her. The Autobots cheered as they celebrated the bride's arrival. Ultra Magnus took his place by Elita's side as he escorted her down the aisle. He seemed as serious and grim faced as always but if one looked close enough they could optical cleanser glistening in the corners of his optics.
Later that night as Elita cuddled up next to her "husband", she confessed her feelings to him.
"Glad that's over." She said.
Optimus laughed, relieved he wasn't the only one happy to be done with the whole wedding ceremony thing.
"Agreed. That was the most stressful thing that I ever had to endure, and I've fought Megatron!"
Elita chuckled.
"Do you think it's as stressful for humans, too? There was just so much involved in that ceremony. I'll take a normal, quiet Conjunx Ritus any day." She said. "At least our friends are happy now."
Optimus smiled.
"You know I never got to tell you how beautiful you looked today." He said softly and kissed her cheek. They embraced for a moment.
"I was going to keep the gown, but that didn't work out." She said.
"Why? What happened?" Optimus asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Well, Earth fabric's a bit fragile." She began. "When Sari was helping me take it off it got caught on a bit of my kibble. We tried to get it loose, but it was so stuck that… well… it didn't survive."
"We still have the rings, but mostly we have our memories and each other. That's all we need." Optimus said.
Elita smiled at him before asking, "What about that snazzy suit you were wearing?"
Optimus looked a little sheepish.
"Oh um… well… I may have… taken it out somewhere and set it on fire." He admitted.
Elita laughed until her optics watered.