Her heart stopped when she saw him walk around the corner.

Her breath became slow and desperate.

Her eyes were glued to his bright blue ones.

Oh God, was she in deep.

Sam looked over at the approching Prime with a welcoming smile, but Ace was stuck with her eyes on him. Blood rushed away from her head and her cheeks paled. The look Optimus had in his eyes was different from anything she'd seen before and it struck fear in her heart. It wasn't the kind of fear that made her want to run, it was the kind of fear that forced her to hold still and face what was coming. How likely was it that he had heard her confession to Sam? Had he been listening to everything?

"Hey, Optimus," Sam greeted, "Everything going okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Optimus answered. They way his tone was firm and strained stressed the fact that he'd heard something to set him off, "I was hoping to speak to Azrael alone. That is, if you have a moment?

Ace was hardly able to stutter, "Y-yes, I-I have a-a moment."

"Alright, I'll leave you two to it," Sam said before making a silent exit.

His deep blue eyes were trained on Sam until he was out of the training room, the door shut behind him. Suddenly, a rough hand clasped around her wrist. Ace's eyes snapped up to his face, finding his eyes narrowed in what she could only think of as rage. He pulled her arm back enough to the point it forced her forward. She crashed into his chest, but he hardly moved.

"O-Optimus?!" she squeaked, "I-I thought y-you wanted -"

"Quiet," he said without bite.

He brought her arm between the two of them. She watched with bated breath as he dragged his finger down her arm. It sent waves of shivers throughout her body - a mortal desire to be touched being satisfied. It scared her how much she was trusting him, leaning into him. She hated it - she hated everything about his weakness of hers. Ace tried to pull her arm back only to be brought forward all the more. Optimus hooked his arm around her waist while still gripping her arm in his hand. She noticed the black gel she was all too familiar with rising out of her skin slowly, pushing forward and spreading across her arm until it made a protective cover. That was, until it began to move. The gel shifted down her arm, revealing in its wake years worth of scaring. Ace's chest became heavy the longer Optimus stared at her scared skin.

"Optimus, please don't -"

"Why?" he demanded. It was hardly a question despite his phrasing, "Why hurt yourself, Azrael? Why bring harm to yourself when you've had enough? Explain what the reasoning is behind you wanting to tear your own body apart!"

She winced from the volume in his voice. She hadn't ever expect him to speak with such conviction, let alone raise his voice towards her. Ace shook her head in refusal. Optimus wouldn't be able to comprehend why she would cause herself pain without realizing it.

"You wouldn't understand, Optimus," she tried to speak calmly, but her voice came out as desperate sobs. Hot tears pushed at her eyes and a few rolled over her cheeks. She shook her head again, "You... you wouldn't understand -"

"Don't tell me what I won't understand!" he shot back. His hands came up to cup her face. He held her head in his hands, his thumbs rubbing the tears from her cheeks, "I will understand more than you know, Azrael. Please, please trust me. I can't let you continue on as you are."

"Why not?!" she cried out, defeated. Her blue eyes were red from the tears, "Why c-can't you j-just leave me a-alone?! L-Like th-the rest o-of them?!"

He pulled her as close as he possibly could. Optimus held her head in his hand and used the other to press it against her back. He admired how their bodies, despite his own being a haloform, fit perfectly together. He took in her broken down state, angry tears rushing down her cheeks as she continued to sob weakly. Her hands were pressed against his chest in a weak attempt to push him away, but instead grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. She felt warm against him. She felt so wonderfully warm. Ace gasped for air as she waited quietly for her answer.

"I could never leave you alone, Azrael," he pressed his forehead against hers in hopes of some how bringing her even closer to him, "I could never leave the one I love."

A soft sob racked through her body as she heard those words fall from his lips. Her grip on his shirt tightened as he held onto her with strong, stone arms. Optimus watched as the light that seemed to have faded from her eyes began to flicker again, brighter than before. He smiled as he felt her lean into his hand, into his touch. He took the chance and pushed her into a wall gently, not breaking the contact between their bodies. She felt herself relaxing involuntarily as he leaned closer. In the shadows of the dimmed training rom, his face was so close to hers that she could smell the heavy, entrancing fragrance of metal and pine - as if he had been amongst the trees. His arms were around her, as sure and hard as the wall he had her pressed against. Ace felt this rush of helplessness, this sinking yielding, this surging tide of comfort and warmth that left her limp at the end. The lined face of Optimus Prime, decorated by shadows and the paling light of the bulbs above, was blurred and drowned to nothingness.

Optimus tilted Ace's head back, finger wrapped around her chin as he looked to her azure eyes for permission. With only a small, hardly noticeable nod from Ace, Optimus caught her lips in a slow, careful dance. He knew he had to be gentle and patient for her, to let her understand the weight of this situation all while trying to remain on her own two legs. All his processors could understand was to keep her there, safe, and at peace. Despite the lingering taste of salt on his lips, Optimus couldn't have imagined anything more perfect, because there was nothing more perfect. What was perfect was this moment, there, with his chosen one. There with his Destined Conjunx Endura.

With swift graduation of intensity and need, Ace clung to the Prime desperately. He was the only solid thing from what she could feel in the becoming dizzy world. She shuddered as she felt something drag across her lower lip. Trembling, she parted her lips just enough to taste him, an oddly sweet breath of air mixing into her cavern. The act didn't last long as Optimus slowly pulled away from Ace, only far enough that their lips continued to brush together. She leaned up, desperate to feel him again. She wanted more - scratch that, she needed more. Optimus granted her a second soft kiss that only lasted but a second at most. She felt empty without that connection to him, a desperate need to have him against her.

"I-I..." she whispered breathlessly, "I don't... how do I say... I -"

"I love you, Azrael," he whispered soothingly. She felt his hand come up to her scalp, rubbing slow, pleasurable circles into her head. He smiled as he watched a state of peace wash over her, "There are many things that you do not know about me, many things that you and I will have to discover together. But one thing out of them all I will always know is how much I adore you."

"I-I... I love you too, Optimus,"

Tears were still gushing down her cheeks, but at a slower rate than before. Optimus wiped what he could away only for them to be replaced by new tears.

"Is there anything I can do to stop these?" he whispered kindly.

Ace shook her head. She let her grip fall from his shirt and wiped at her eyes violently. Optimus grabbed her hands and pulled them against his chest.

"Don't do that," he cupped her face with a free hand, "Be gentle to yourself, Azrael. You need it."

And a whole new set of tears began to fall. Optimus pulled her close to his chest in hopes of soothing her. He needed some hope of taking her pain away. He had to do something. Who would the Prime be to let his Destined Conjunx Endura go on in this cycle.

"I-it's hard t-to th-think that... that so-someone li-like y-you loves someone l-like m-me," Ace was hardly able to whisper.

"Why is that so hard for you, Azrael?" he prompted gently, "It is not hard for me to accept it. I love you, more than I thought I could ever care for anything. Why can't you accept that simple truth?"

"It's not simple, Optimus. It's so far from simple," she gapped out, "You don't know how long it's been since someone has done this. Since someone wanted to bring me close, to look into me rather than at me, to make me feel this - this - I don't even know! It's just... since I came here, since I met you, I haven't been the same. I've stopped analyzing everything I see. I've stopped being distrustful and worried. I've stopped doing everything that kept me alive."

She watched his eyes narrow as she saw that. She wanted to analyze him - to figure out what she had said but it seemed that her mind disagreed with her there. She watched with bated breath as confliction stormed back and forth in his eyes. His cyan eyes that gleamed at her with gentleness and compassion, but also worry. A very overpowering sense of worry.

"Why would analyzing everything keep you alive? Why would you have to think about that?" he pushed a little harder this time, "What happened to you, Azrael?"

Ace opened her mouth as if she were about to speak before she shut it again. She kept floundering about, trying to come up with some sort of answer - some sort of explanation that would make sense.

"M-my... my father didn't... we didn't... he..." she groaned as she tried to speak, shaking her head.

"He hurt you,"

Her head shot up as she met his raging blue eyes. His grip on her suddenly tightened to the point where there was hardly no space in between them. She felt his hot breath against her ear.

"I will never let anyone harm you again, Azrael. You have my word,"

"Optimus, I need you to do something," Ace's soft, weak voice hardly made a sound, "I-I know that I can be hard sometimes, but... please don't... don't let me go."

"Never, my beloved,"

"So what's the news, Doc?" Lennox wondered as he and the mysterious dark haired woman walked around the base at a leisurely pace, "You usually don't call meetings. And you usually aren't grinning so much."

It was true. Ace wasn't known for her smile around the base, but on this day in particular, or rather, this evening, she'd been grinning nonstop. Her startling blue eyes were gleaming with a new sort of joy that she'd never expressed before.

"I did say that I would teach you how to analyze," she said with a forced Southern drawl to her voice, "Tell me, Will, what do you see when you look at me? Don't tell me what I look like, tell me how I look."

"How you look? You look like you've just gotten the best news of your whole life," he chuckled, but stopped when he noticed her nodding, "Wait, really? What was the news?"

"That's what I'm trying to get you to find out," Ace laughed, "C'mon, Major. There are key points in my personality as of right now. Point them out. They're blatantly obvious."

"Okay, well... you're grinning a lot and you're in a joking mood, so you're happy. Your eyes look bloodshot, meaning that you were crying for some reason earlier. Your hair is messier than usual and you said that you woke up thirty minutes ago..." he trailed off, "Hey, where were you asleep? Epps went to your room an hour ago and you weren't there."

"I was with someone," she admitted slyly, "You've picked up on three so far, but there are more. You're going based off of how I look and not how I look."

"That doesn't make sense,"

"Sure it does!" Ace exclaimed, "As of right now, you're in a playful mood which would usually mean that someone pranked Director Galloway or you've received good news. Considering how giddy you seem to be, I'm going to say both. Now then, with that out of the way, you're already like a father figure to several of the 'bots when they need it, not to mention you give me advise on the most basic things. That's a tell-tale sign that you're already a father. Because of your sudden lift in spirit, I'd dare to say that you're expecting a second little one."

Lennox grinned, shaking his head in disbelief, "How are you so good at this?"

"It's in my job description... uh, most of them, anyways," she chuckled sheepishly, "So, figure it out yet?"

"No. You're hard to read. How would you suggest I start?"

"Well, you've done good so far. Here's what I do. I start with physical appearance - an assessment of the subject. It's what I did with you when I met you are the bar. That's how I knew I could trust you. When I figured out who you were, I created a mental and emotional profile based off of your current state," she used her hands as if to clarify what she was doing, "Your friend had just gotten engaged with the woman of his dreams. You had gone out drinking. But this time, you kept it to yourself, indicating that it's not all the best of news. I know that you're more than happy to have a second child, and by the way Epps told it, you're not ashamed to throw a party like you did when you learned about Annabelle, so it's likely that this pregnancy is high risk."

"Epps told on me?" Will narrowed his eyes playfully, "That jerk."

Ace chuckled, "So, any more guesses? Look at me, then look at me. You know parts of my past and you're able to recognize some of my patterns. What about me stands out? What about me is the same?"

"Okay, well... you haven't slept with anyone in that way," he murmured. Ace shoved his shoulder playfully as they walked along the frame to the opened hanger door, "You don't smile a lot and you're usually a little more cleaned up... You don't cry, so that's what's different... You disappeared for a while without telling anyone, which you don't do... unless you were with someone?"

"Getting closer,"

"Hmm... wait, Optimus was missing for a good part of the day up until half and hour ago. Were you with him?"

As the dark haired female nodded, Will's grin turned into a smirk.

"I knew it!" he shouted excitedly, "I knew that he was going to do it!"

"You knew?" Ace wondered, "You knew what?"

"That Optimus was going to ask you out. The team wanted to set you up with the other, but Ratchet and I said to give you and Boss Bot another month. And look here, not even two weeks later and you two are together!" he pumped his fist into the air. Ace snorted at the childish action but shrugged. Will turned to her with wide eyes, "You can't tell the others, not yet. I've got this whole thing planned out to tell them I was right."

Ace let her face fall into her hand, "Will, why?"

"It's an announcement party!" Will defended, "It's for you and Optimus, I just want to include the fact that I was right."

"Was it... everyone?" Ace asked curiously, "Did just you and Ratchet think that we would get together in our own time?"

"Well, Sam agreed with us, but he didn't want in on the betting."

"Oh, so you bet on us, now? Okay then, big guy, I get twenty percent!"

Will laughed heartily as Ace stuck her tongue out at him. She grinned, slinging her arm around his shoulders as they walked back into the base in giggles. Ace was clutching her stomach and Will was holding his chest.

"S-so what'd you bet on?" she wondered, still catching her breath from the laughter.

"W-we tried to-to figure out how you'd get together," Will admitted, "If he just confessed and you took action or if he did everything - what happened?"

"Uh, well, Sam had been in the room when Optimus asked if I had a minute to speak to him. I said yes, Sam left, Optimus and I... talked," she tested out the word. She didn't need Will worrying about her mental state as much as Optimus was. She'd already become a pretty good liar to Ratchet, coming up with dreams or stating that she didn't remember them. But Ace knew she couldn't lie completely - not to Will, "Then, I'm not really sure what happened, but I'd started crying when he asked me about the past when I'd try to hurt myself. I didn't have a good past, Will. It was God awful. Then, he said he loved me, and... ta-da. We're in some sort of a relationship now. I'm not sure what Cybertronian relationships are like or how they're different, but I assume me being his "Destined Conjunx Endura" will change a few things."

"Yeah, it might," Will agreed, "Bee was buzzing around earlier, talking about how you and Sam had set up a day for the three of you to hang out."

Ace nodded, "We were talking about it, yeah. I meant to run it by you before we did anything."

"Just... take someone with you," Will said, "Optimus might shut down if he loses you now. Plus, we're still not sure about the target on your back."

"Do you think I should take the risk?" Ace wondered, "I'm... I've risked my life for a few things, and every one of them were more important than I am. Should I put my lie in jeopardy because I want to hang out with some old friends?"

"Kid, it's been years since you've last seen them," Will insisted, "Don't worry about it, okay? I've got you covered. We'll wait for a day where we can mostly insure that you'll be safe. You'll have two 'bots with you and if that's not safe enough, someone will call us. Optimus will be there to save the day and we'll come back."

"You know, I like this place. It's better than my old home," she admitted, "My apartment had thin walls. You could hear everything. But here, you sleep soundly through the night."

"Speaking of sleep, how did you sleep? About an hour ago, I mean,"

Ace narrowed her eyes at Will, "You just want to know if Optimus and I slept together."

"Well, yeah,"

"To be honest, we did. I mean, I fell asleep in his cabin. I didn't know he had a bed back there," Ace looked up in thought, "He kept insisting that I go to sleep if I was so tired. Eventually, I did. He laid down next to me for a while. When I woke up, he was awake. We were both kind of surprised. I had been in one of those odd deep sleeps where you're full aware that you're dreaming, but you just go along with the plot. He said that Ironhide and Ratchet needed to see him, and that made me laugh because... two of the voices that I heard in my dream were Ironhide's and Ratchet's."

"Like a connection?"

"Exactly like a connection!"

"Huh, that's weird," Will muttered, "Ratchet said that you two shouldn't have that kind of bond for another month or so. Guess you and Optimus are exceeding all expectations, eh?"

Ace rolled her eyes, "Don't be stupid."

"Ouch! That burned, kid,"

"Good. You need your ass handed to you, old man,"

Will laughed again.