"Azrael?"

The dark-haired woman looked behind her, finding her Cybertronian companion watching her with worried optics. She smiled tiredly at him with a soft, sad smile. Her giant lover knelt down to peer closer at her. She walked toward him while yawning. Her sleepy smile grew wider as he peered down at her.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked tenderly, placing his servo on the ground.

"Just... thinking," she answered vaguely while stepping onto his servo, "What are you doing out of stasis?"

"I was worried about you. I could sense that you were awake," he admitted. He brought her up to be optic level with him, "I believe the phrase is 'penny for your thoughts'?"

She chuckled softly at her lover's antics. She leaned back against one of his digits as she sat down on his servo. She shrugged tiredly as she looked sleepily into his cyan optics. He stood to his full height and began to walk to the open entrance to the base. He noticed the rain coming down, pattering down on the roof. She crawled out as far as she could from his servo to stick her own into the cool rain. She giggled softly from the feeling of water splashing onto her soft skin. He smiled endearingly down at the small human femme. She had these moments when she seemed so innocent and soft - as if she could break at any moment.

"You're not going to treat me differently, are you?" Azrael wondered, "Because of what you saw yesterday? I'm still me to you, right?"

He sighed. He didn't want to lie to her but he also knew what she needed to hear. She needed to know that he didn't see her as any weaker, and the Prime didn't. He saw a miracle in that woman, confused as to how she was even alive after so much pain had swallowed up her life. Her past, while a little more clear, was still a mainly untouched subject she shied away from - and for good reason, it seemed. There were lines she was still fighting not to cross, walls she was not quite ready to let down. He could understand her reluctance and fear; her broken nature was hidden well behind her attempts to seem unscathed. She was purely an enigma, one he was only just beginning to solve.

"I have been trying to overlook your past in order to see you as the strong and brave woman you are," he said carefully, "But there are somethings that I cannot let go. Your sire kept basic affection away from you, let alone knowing the kind of physical affection most common among your own kind. Your entire life has lacked love until now. That is what I will change."

"But I already know you love me, Optimus. You don't have to change," she insisted.

"It is not me changing," Optimus corrected, "Cybertronians have connections going into depths with their partner that humans do not explore. What we are now is nothing compared to the levels of intimacy Cybertronians have."

She felt a pang in her heart knowing that there was more to a Cybertronian relationship than a human's. Did that mean that while she was pampered and taken care of, Optimus would never get to reach that depth? Was she holding him back from that connection he could have with someone else? She made a note to speak with Ratchet over these worries of hers.

"But you've already given me so much, you don't have to give me more," she argued.

"I want to give you more, Azrael. On Cybertron, partners would leave for an entire Joor simply to bond together over the smallest of things, all to strengthen what they have," he stated with a firm and rumbling tone.

"A Joor? Is that a unit of time or something?"

"It is the equivalent of a week,"

Azrael giggled despite the soft thumps of pain she felt in her heart, "Could you imagine if we left for a week? Your team would go crazy without you."

Optimus watched the small female organism in the palm of his servo. Laid down calmly against his metal plating, looking up at him with those twinkling orbs of glittering blue. He brought up his other servo, placing his digit lightly against her stomach. The soft, airy, innocent giggle that passed her lips made the Prime smile. Azrael wrapped her arms around his digit and pressed her lips to the metal sensory plating. She stayed there for a moment, listening to the low hum coming from the giant that looked down at her adoringly. He watched as she yawned softly, trying to hide it.

"I take it you are feeling tired, now?"

He received no verbal response, only a small nod from the woman in the palm of his servo. She yawned again, tiredly, as she looked up at the Prime. She smiled lazily.

"Optimus, I want to ask you something," she said softly.

"You may ask me anything, beloved,"

"Do you want to keep us secret?" she wondered.

Optimus tensed at her question. He shook his helm.

"No, I do not want to. But it may be what is best for the time being," he said, "I fear what will be made of you if other humans find our relationship to be inappropriate."

"Fuck 'em,"

Optimus blinked several times at the sudden foul language his beloved had used. Still holding onto his finger with a sleepy look in her eye, Azrael said it again.

"Fuck 'em. I don't care what anyone thinks about us. That's what love is, isn't it? Not caring what others think of you, just thinking about your partner," Azrael stated, "So let them get mad. Let them come after us for all I care. As long as you love me, I'm happy. As long as you love me, Optimus, I can do anything."

The Prime began his transformation around Azrael. She watched in awe as she always did while the giant she called her lover converted into his Peterbilt Semi form. Gears and rods popped into place, panels clicked together, and suddenly she was in his cabin, sat on the soft bed she found herself sleeping in more and more often. She giggled sleepily as Optimus' haloform fizzled to life in front of her. He leaned down to peck her lips softly, which quickly turned into something more passionate. He hooked her chin and pulled away reluctantly.

"Sleep, beloved," he insisted, "You need the rest."

"I don't want to just yet," she whispered. She mentally cursed herself for yawning again. She shook her head as to rid herself of her desire to sleep, "I want to stay with you."

"You are with me, Azrael," he soothed. He kissed her softly before whispering against her lips, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Orion," she said with a tone of playful defeat.

The last thing she'd expected her morning to start out with was a politically territorial bureaucrat. Azrael had woken up in a comfortable blanket burrito early that morning with the idea of getting in her daily jog before she started her new work out schedule. Everything had been blissful. Optimus came online a few moments after Azrael had, immediately activating his haloform to greet her 'good morning' in one of the best ways. Just as Azrael was considering pushing off her work out schedule another day just to spend time with the Prime, Ironhide had com-linked, notifying Optimus to a 'political slagger'.

"We'll have our time," he soothed the agitated woman who clung to his shirt possessively, "You mentioned you wanted to start your work out schedule today."

"I want to stay with you," she whined softly into his neck, "I'm not letting go."

"Azrael," he sighed, "Please, it would be best if you don't interfere with Director Galloway -"

"I'm not letting go," she repeated stubbornly, "I go with you, or you don't go."

She realized that he could simply deactivate his haloform and remove her from the cabin by transforming, but the Prime let out a hefty sigh - a clear sign that he had given in. Azrael smirked in triumph over her lover's attempt to keep her away.

"This is for the better," she insisted as they parted from one another, "I was bound to run into him at some point. Best put it on my own terms if anything."

"I admit that your logic is sound, but that does not change my mind," Optimus stared at her back. He looked away when she pulled her nightshirt over her head, "I still believe that this meeting could have waited for another time. Perhaps when Director Galloway isn't so upset? Why do you wish to meet him so badly?"

Azrael pulled on a tight grey tank top and a pair of camo cargo pants that she had stolen from Will for the hell of it. She swayed her hips as if testing the fabric before nodding in satisfaction. She peered back at Optimus with an undeniable fire lit in her eyes. Yes, he loved this woman, but her determination could be testing at times.

"Look, I need you to trust me here," Azrael said. She walked back over to the haloform still sitting on the bed. She plopped herself down in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck. She pecked his lips softly, "You can't ask questions right now. You can't know anything about this or you'll get in trouble with the General."

"Azrael -"

"No questions," she reminded in a whisper, "Just trust. Can you do that for me, Blue?"

Optimus stiffened as he felt her soft, plump lips press against his own with a nearly feather-like touch. There was something different this time, something that his systems didn't recognize. He could feel his internal systems kicking in to cool him down as he leaned into her for more. She pulled away quickly.

"We'll have our time," she mocked light-heartedly. She pecked his lips quickly again, "Just be patient and trust me."

"I trust you, but I make no promises on remaining patient,"

She slipped off his lap as if she were water running through his fingers, her slender yet curved frame contorting as she silently slipped out of his grip. He didn't know why he was noticing all these things about her physically. He didn't know why the small bounce of her hair or the way her lips appeared softer than usual put him on edge, but it did. Watching her saunter out of his parked alt-mode created a painful pang in his chassis. Optimus felt breathless, thinking about her every image - every time he'd seen her shown in a new light. Something about it seemed animalistic, the way his spark was thumping rapidly while thinking of that dark-haired woman. He shook his haloform's head of the thoughts that clouded his processor. Director Galloway was waiting, and that was never a good thing.

He shut off his haloform.

The Prime began to shift and form into his tall frame, a symbol for all Cybertronians to look to. It was almost comical, the thought that his small human lover was able to bring him to his knees. Optimus took his thunderous steps forward through the hanger's catwalk where, unmistakably, Azrael was already standing. She smiled at him in a way that held a message he knew was just for him.

"I love you,"

She turned from him, and he watched as she shifted from her soft, almost vulnerable disposition into one of strength. His Azrael had been put away until whatever idea she had in her head was executed to her liking.

Ace's narrowed blue eyes looked around, waiting for the unfamiliar face to show itself. She hadn't met Theodore Galloway, and honestly, she could understand why no one wanted her to considering how terrible he is to the Autobots according to everyone else. However, Ace refused to create a profile on him until she'd met him in person. She watched Will and Epps enter the catwalk platform in time for a new, unknown voice to shout at them.

"What is this? What is going on here - who is she?!"

Ah, now she could understand.

Ace turned her head to the side, catching the dark eyes of Director Galloway whose face was about as red as Optimus' painted flames. She could already begin to see the buttons that she shouldn't press to aggravate this man. Ace chuckled softly, smugly, even. She was hoping her call pulled through. She remained quiet for the moment as Will and Epps glanced at her. Will shot her a warning side-glare while Epps had a more 'I'm sorry you are here right now' look.

"I'm Dr. Azrael Echolynn," she addressed him with a smooth voice, "I was the target at the Bricktown Apartment complex that was destroyed. Since then, I have been relocated here to the base until we are sure that I am safe. But, that is beside the point here, Director Galloway."

She wasn't surprised as he took furious stops toward her, "You're nothing but a civilian - you should have any sort of clearance to be here, attacked or not!"

Ace winced as the foul stench of eggs and garlic spewed from Director Galloway's mouth while he shouted. She waved her hand in front of her nose as to swish away the contaminated air. His face proceeded to turn firetruck red from her act of 'disrespect'.

"You were once a civilian as well, Mr. Galloway -"

"That's Director -"

"Mr. Galloway," Ace reiterated in an irritated voice, "I happen to be more than simply a 'civilian' as you so claim. I happen to be a woman with a certain set of skills that makes me useful to the Autobots and the base. I have a rare genetic factor that a Medic from another world isn't even able to understand with more advanced technology, not to mention the fact that I was the targeted individual for the first Decepticon attack since El Reno."

"Alright, so you're got a few scars on you. We all do! What makes you so special?" he snapped at her.

The clanging of rubber smacking against metal reached Ace's ears. She smirked triumphantly as she looked over to the stairway where a young-looking baby-faced soldier appeared with a long, thin, deep yellow folder in hand. He had a childish grin on his face, although, Ace supposed that with his face type he always had a childish grin.

"Dr. Echolyn?" he said excitedly, "I have a document from the General addressed to you."

"Perfect timing," she nodded. She reached out her hand and effortlessly plucked the envelope from his hand, "You're welcome to stay if you'd like."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Ace smiled with a hint of amusement as she flicked open the envelope. She slipped out the thin pack of paper and flicked through to the middle of it. She grinned as she picked out two papers - one pink and one yellow. Her eyes flickered over the pink paper as a smug grin began to spread across her lips. She turned it over in her hand, teasingly waving it in the air in front of Galloway.

"'Dear Mr. Galloway, it is to our displeasure to announce that due to your lacking ability to manage your position as Director of the Autobots and the N.E.S.T. base, you have been removed and relieved of all government status effective immediately'," Ace recited as she handed over the pink slip of paper, "'Best regards, General Morshower and the President.' More details are contained on the page, but I didn't think you'd want me to hurt your ego too badly."

The satisfying pale in Galloway's face proved to be more gratifying than Ace had thought. Her grin widened as she looked over her yellow paper.

"W-what... wh-who's..."

"I happen to be taking on the role of Director of the N.E.S.T. base," Ace stated as she folded her arms in front of her, "Mr. Galloway, you are a man that treats everyone as if they are dirt for you to step on. We are not your stepping stones, we are not your stairs to the top. Your thirst for power led to your unquestionable downfall. Your greed led to your depletion of any power and hold in the government."

"You can't do this -!"

"I most certainly can," Ace returned with a bite in her voice, "It was your unfair treatment to the Autobots and the soldiers of this base that aided in your failure to treat others as your equal."

"This... this isn't - how can you just take my position?!"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Mr. Galloway. As the previous Director advised me before his removal, civilians are not allowed on base," Ace turned her gaze over to the young soldier that had brought the file up, "Please escort Mr. Galloway out of base after he's cleaned out his - I mean - my office and provide him transportation to the White House. Mr. President would like to have a few words with him."

With more glee than she was able to possibly express, Ace watched as Galloway was grabbed by his arms and shuffled down the stairs at hyperspeed by the young soldier. She tried to hold back her giggling, but eventually, it burst forward and fell from her lips as she fell over in hysterical laughter. Her knees were hardly able to hold her up as she laughed. Azrael sucked in a harsh breath as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"It has been so long since I've been like that," she grinned widely as she looked at the two loyal soldiers and her favorite Autobot, "It felt so strange."

However, she received no verbal reply as she was suddenly saluted. Her eyes widened at both Will and Epps' stiffened figures, hands positioned in a formal salute. Her heart warmed at the two men. Will was the first one to break formation.

"Doc, you've done more for us than we could have asked," he said honestly.

"It was nothing, Will, really," Azrael brushed him off, "I've seen the way that everyone has to tread on unsure waters around here. I can tell you that now, things are going to go a lot smoother with me around."

"Azrael," Optimus' rumbling voice came from behind her. Said woman turned around with a twinkling smile. He bowed his head to her, "Thank you for what you have done. The Autobots are forever in your debt."

Azrael leaned over the railing and bounced onto the balls of her feet. She planted a tender kiss against the warm metal of her giant lover. With another smile, she pulled away from him.

"You've got nothing to thank me for," she whispered, "Besides, you've taken such good care of me. Now, it's my turn to take care of you."

"Can you believe it? Finally got that asshole out of this place!"

"Really? I thought it was a joke that Haunz started up,"

"No, it's for real. Remember that chick that's been stayin' here?"

"Oh yeah, the one that saved the kid,"

"Her? No way,"

"Apparently the kid's got some contacts. Got Galloway kicked out and took his place,"

"Shit, that means things are gonna start changin' 'round here,"

"What was her name?"

"It started with an A or something... I know that everyone's callin' her Director Ace,"

"Director Ace? Betta than Galloway,"

"I heard that she'd managed to bring in more funding for the... project,"

"No shit, really? Director's got more talent than I thought,"

"Say she used to do a little bit of everything. You name it, she probably knows something about it -"

"If she didn't write the damn book on it,"

"Goddamn. Maybe I should swing by 'er office,"

"Wouldn't recommend it, Tomps. That's Prime's gal,"

"You're shittin' me. Prime got a girl before Tomps?"

"Shut it, Macrall,"

"I'm just saying - she went for the alien over you,"

Azrael sat quietly in her office, raking her eyes over paper after paper that needed her re-approval since becoming Director. She sighed softly as she ran a hand through her hair. It was more of a challenge than she had expected, but nothing she couldn't handle. Galloway had really messed up the office before he left - most likely a final 'fuck you' to her. Azrael chuckled at the recent memory. The soldiers had pulled up a bright pink car for Galloway to drive in all the way to Washington D.C. Soft knocks on the door alerted Azrael to someone behind it. She lifted her head from the mountain of files in front of her.

"Enter," she called as she moved over her current stack of files.

The familiar haloform of Ratchet opened the door with a plate in hand. Azrael grinned as she caught the scent of a blueberry muffin - something only Optimus knew to get her. She waved the medic into her office with a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Ratchet," she greeted as he set down the plate in front of her.

"Afternoon, actually," he quipped as he took a seat across from you, "Optimus sent me."

"I figured as much," Azrael chuckled, "But I suspect that you have more than simply Optimus sending you here to come visit me."

"Yes, well, I was hoping to discuss a few things with you if you had a moment," he admitted.

Another grin and Azrael's quick answer: "Please, I need a distraction right now."

"Did he destroy that much?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"The only thing he destroyed was the order. It won't take more than a little extra time to straighten out, then things should go smoothly from there," she sighed as she sat back in her chair.

She leaned forward again to grab the muffin she was sure Optimus picked up from outside of the base. She settled in and took a small bite of the warm, buttery treat her lover sent. She hummed as the sweet flavor of blueberries coated her tongue. Azrael then eyed Ratchet as he leaned forward with an almost excited look on his face.

"So, about those ulterior motives," she said.

"Well, you already know that one of my wishes is to have the name of the newest investor of the N.E.S.T. base," he started.

"And you already know that they wish to remain anonymous," Azrael mused as she took another bite, "Next?"

"I take it that Optimus has informed you of when couples with a Cybertronian partner would take a Joor simply to bond," Ratchet said, "This is a crucial part for all Cybertronian relationships, and because you are the perfect match for Optimus, I must insist on this event."

The idea alone nearly made her jump for it. She would have given anything to be alone with Optimus for a week, out doing whatever they wanted. Azrael bit her lip softly. Oh, she wanted to indulge in that pleasure, but there was an issue, and that was her new job.

With a sigh, she said, "Ratchet, you know neither Optimus nor I would willingly walk away from our jobs. He has to save the world and I have to make sure he can."

"He won't be able to save the world if his bond with you grows weak," Ratchet returned, "It is a threat to his health and yours. Because of this, I'm afraid I'll have to force your hand."

Azrael's eyes widened. What was the point in all of this? Of course, she had responsibilities and several of them kept her from Optimus' side, but a majority of them smashed the two together. Why was Ratchet so keen on forcing the pair of them out of their duties for an entire week? What was he expecting? But then again, he said that it was a heart to Optimus' health. Azrael knew that she would put Optimus above anything and anyone else - he was her everything. Slowly, a clam expression returned to her face.

"It will have to wait," she said slowly, eyeing the medic, "I don't have the time saved up to spend a week away from the base, let alone leave anyone else in charge."

"And... how long are you suggesting?" the medic leaned closer with a smug smirk of victory.

Azrael glanced away for but a second, numbers running across her eyes.

"Another week at least,"

"Done,"