Sam jerked himself awake, sitting himself upright with a hand over his chest. Another nightmare. The same one. His heart raced while sweat ran down his head. At least this time he wasn't screaming. He took a minute to wipe away the drops of sweat before looking outside his window, the sun blaring brightly into the room. The teen threw his legs over the bedside and pushed up, stretching his arms in the process. He rubbed his hair and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
After the process of waking up, just as he was about to take a peak of the fridge, knocks came from the entrance to his room as he rested the face towel around his neck before answering it. Opening the door, he was tackled down by two people. He groaned in pain as he fell on the floor, the combined weight of the three hitting him hard. Looking down, he noticed who they resembled.
One being dressed in a vermillion red and the other a lime green. This included the colour of their hair and the shirts they wore. Though identical, the only thing that differentiated the two were there colours. They both had blue eyes, like that of Bee, with flat hair, t-shirts and shorts as well as well as pairs of joggers. The two looked to be in their early years of high-school with the childish grins they held. It took a moment to process who they were before Sam remembered how the Autobots were using holoform more times than often.
"Skids! Mudflap!" A voice had called out from the doorway as all three turned. Sam recognised the voice instantly.
At the front of the door, a man with raven black hair and bright blue eyes stared glared into the room at the twins. Silently, Sam had to admit that he was at the pinnacle of handsome. A strong jaw bone, rippling muscles that stretched the brown leather jacket he wore over the black button-up that had red flames flowing up the edges, and ripped jeans to compliment his black boots. Around his neck hung a pair of dog-tags, one holding the Autobot symbol. His height a head taller than Bee's holoform while his dark swept-back hair contrasted his eyes. The slight five-o'clock shadow made the teen's heart leap when he stared at the man and figured out who he was.
"I told you two to control yourself. What do you two do? Leap at Samuel the moment he opens the door." The man chided, pulling the twins off of Sam's body by the hem of their shirts before setting them outside of the room.
"But we we're jus' happy to see 'im 'gain." Skids countered.
"Yea'. Sam don't mind." Mudflap added.
"You two don't know that." He stated as the twins gave a guilty look at the ground.
"It's alright, Optimus." Sam said, pushing himself off the ground before dusting his clothes. The Prime turned back to the human with a look that was mixed between confusion and worry. "If they didn't mean any harm and no one got hurt, it's all good."
"That's not the point, Samuel-"
"Sam." The Witwicky corrected as the elder was surprised to have the human cut in his words. Not even the government officials had the guts to do that. Regaining his cool, he continued.
"Sam, then. The point is if you don't lecture them, they're more than likely to do it again. And believe me, the entire base knows." Optimus heaved sigh as he reached a hand to his face and slid it down. The teen couldn't imagine what the twins had done. The possibilities are endless. He'd have to ask someone later.
"Then I think that's enough of a lecture for the two. Besides, I wanted to see you guys as well. Just didn't expect you to be at the front door." The college student smiled towards the three, bringing a smile to each of them.
"See! He didn't mind!" The twins spoke in unison. The Prime shot a glare towards the two as they turned left and ran down the corridor. The human could only laugh nervously before the holoform turned back.
"Anyways, good morning, Sam." He greeted.
"Mornin', big guy. Wanna' join me for breakfast?" Sam offered.
"Actually, our holoforms can't consume substances like you do. The best we can do is take in energon. But may I come in for the morning?" The Prime explained and asked.
"Of course," Sam stepped out of the way as Optimus walked in. "You know, it's weird that the one who designed the room is the one asking to be let in." He joked.
"True. But no matter, it is still your room. It'd be rude not to ask." He said, looking back to the teen who closed the door.
"Point taken." The elder was then guided to the kitchen table as he took a seat while Sam went to rummage the fridge. He'd guess fried eggs will do for the morning. Plus, it'd give enough time for the two to talk while he worked on it and ate. As he got the stove ready, he began the conversation.
"So, how've you been? Any troubles?"
"None that I can recall. The Decepticons have been quiet most of the time and the Autobots are fitting in along with the humans on base. Though there were the times when the twins caused a ruckus, Ironhide and Ratchet came to a disagreement and Galloway's mad outburst when he was fired, it didn't affect anyone to harshly." The mech recounted.
Sam smiled as he cracked an egg onto the pan. "That's great, but you didn't answer my question. How've you been?"
Optimus blinked in his holoform before answering. "Fine. And you?"
"Great. Especially now that I get to be here for about a month's worth of my holiday." The teen responded, cracking a second egg.
"That's good, but aren't you spending the holidays with your parents?"
"They said they'll come and visit when it's that time."
"I'll be looking forward to meeting them." Sam gave a small chuckle.
"And I'm interested to find out how they react when they see you're a giant robotic alien species." The leader gave a smile at the comment. "I'm also interested how'd my mum react when she hears you were the one that destroyed the fountain." The Autobot tensed up in seat as he looked seriously at the human.
"Sam."
"Hey, I won't tell if you don't." The teen brought out a plate and carefully dropped the eggs onto the dish. As he placed the pan down, he grabbed the plate along with a fork and knife before setting himself down, opposite to the Prime's seat. "So while I'm eating, mind telling me a few things that did happen here."
Optimus smiled again before he started on his recount of the past few months. Most of the time, Sam was listening. But during an opportune moment, the student gave a joke or two along with a comment to follow. The entire time, a smile was lifted upon the Prime's face. Sam had noticed there were times when the raven-haired man/mech looked as though he was about to laugh. But every time, he was sadly disappointed. He was now tempted and challenged himself to make the holoform laugh.
Frankly, it was harder than it looked. After every joke and every humorous comment, the man seemed to smile brighter, but brought no came laughter from his lips. By the time Optimus had finished his recount, Sam had finished his plate and had placed it into the sink, leaving it to clean later. Looking up at the clock of the kitchen, he found it was already half-past nine when he woke up at quarter-past eight.
"Wow. Time flies. Don't you have any meetings today Optimus?" Sam inquired.
"I do, but none at the moment. I'll have to return to my office by eleven, but I'm free until then. If you want, I can show you around the base." The Prime offered.
"Really? I'll take you up on that offer then."
After that, the two set out of the sleeping quarters as they traversed the building. A few people greeting the leader with a wave or a general 'hello'. It was a moment before Sam noticed a few things. Most of the ones who had greeted him were females. All except one as it was one of the soldiers. But the rest were all women. Or at least a few groups of them. It wasn't the fact that they were women on an army base. But the fact that most of them blushed or giggled when Optimus waved back.
Ignoring it for now, he listened to the Prime as he pointed at each different section of the building. Before long, they came to a room with double doors as he heard a few chatters behind them. Optimus opened it before allowing the teen the first step in. The student thanked the elder before noticing the people within the room.
"Sam?" One of the men questioned, his voice that of Ironhide's. The looked close to the height of Optimus, but about a centimetre shorter with the same dark hair that was almost flat. He wore a black shirt along with brown long pants paired with army boots. Around his neck was the same set of dog-tags as the Prime. Unlike Optimus, he had fully grown beard as well as a moustache joining it as his brown eyes complimented his face.
Next to the man was another. This man had golden eyes as well as white hair and a few wrinkles here and there. He'd worn a brown sweater with black long pants as well as a pair of black loafers. Draped over his arms was a lab coat, giving him the look of a natural doctor/scientist at work. He had a muscular build, but not one would look for in an army. And around his neck were the same pair of dog-tags, fitted to his own with his initials.
That's not all, both of the twins and Bee had sat at a couch behind the two older men as they gave a wave to the human and Prime. "Hey, Sam! Over here!" Bee called out, using his hand to ask the teen to move closer. Sam gave a sigh as he figured out the situation before being told. From what Optimus has been telling, he'd guess that the two men were arguing again as the three mechlings watched in humour.
As the human advanced towards the couch, he took the time to inspect the room. It looked like the room had dated back into the British times, with the walls painted a dark red with darker patterns following up the walls and each corner being lined with gold paint. It was a pretty large room. On the far side of the door, sets of windows were placed as a couch, and two sofas were pushed up to the wall. Beside the windows and sofas, two shelves were placed as one held both books and data-pads (Autobot form of a book), while the other held a collection of home movies and a few sets of games for different consoles. In front of the couch, a carpet was laid out, covering half the room with a table placed with different sets of remotes for the TV. While on the topic, the TV monitor was huge. It had almost reached the door as it was held up on the wall and stretched out to the corner where a vase sat on a stand. Under the television, sets of consoles, DVD players, and audio equipment were placed, allowing everyone full access to anyone. And if that wasn't enough, there was a small fireplace just beside the TV. To the walls of the room, there were five doors. One being the entrance. Two on one wall and two on the other, leading to different rooms.
The teen sat in between the twins and Bumblebee as he asked for a rundown of what he had missed, acting as if he had seen them during the past few months.
"Well, Ironhide and Ratchet here are having what human's call, a 'lover's quarrel'." Bee joked as it took a moment for the rest of the Autobots to search what the term meant on the World Wide Web. From there on, the room exploded with Ratchet and Ironhide's death threats and arguments thrown at the yellow mechling, the twins doubling over on their seats and Optimus trying to mediate the shouting two. Notice the word, 'trying'.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME 'BONDED' TO HIM!" 'Hide barked, insult within his voice. With that, Ratchet had turned his head and eyed the weapon specialist down.
"AND WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO IMPLY BY THAT?!"
"Basically what I said! Who'd in their lifetime would choose to bond with you?!"
"Then I don't think much can be said about you either!" The two growled at each other sparks flared between the two, Skids and Mudflap wheezing by this point. Sam had a small giggle himself, but decided to stay with the small amount from fear if either two arguing holoforms get him. It was soon before Optimus had put his foot down.
"Enough you two!" Hand flying in both Ratchet's and Ironhide's face as he pried the two apart from each other. The room went silent at the raised voice of the Prime. "I believe that calls for more than enough immaturity today. Do I make myself clear?" The leader asked.
"But-" The two started, quickly interjected by Optimus again.
"Do I make myself clear?" The Prime asked again, emphasising on the first few words.
The two glared at each other for a moment before turning their bodies in the opposite direction, each giving a huff of understanding. There was tiny moment with wind blowing between the group before Optimus heaved out his own breath moving to sit on the sofa beside the couch, a hand over his face.
"You okay, sir?" Bee asked, leaning forward on his seat.
"Mmm. I might've had one too many dealings with a troublesome person the other day."
"That bad, huh?" Sam joined in, catching the attention of the other two once more.
"Samuel, when on Earth were you going to tell us that you had come?" Ratchet questioned.
"It wasn't like I was hiding. Bee gave me a ride to this place just yesterday. By the time we arrived, you guys were in a meeting and I was pretty darn tired. And you all seemed to be doing fine without me."
"'Dis ain't what 'd call fine." Mudflap joked, pointing towards the to mechs.
"You mus' be out of your min' if yous thin' this is fine." Skids added as the medic and weapons specialist growled at the twins. Bee gave a light laugh while Sam smiled.
"So where's Will and Epps?" Sam asked.
"Right behind ya' kid." A voice spoke from behind the couch, scaring the daylights out of Sam. Jumping up on his seat, the teen turned to find that the two NEST soldiers were standing behind them all, grins among their faces. Having a hand over his chest, Sam laughed while a hand reached over the couch and ruffled his hair. The Witwicky pulled away from the touch as the men laughed.
"Good to see you doing fine Sam." Will greeted.
"Never would've guessed to see you here. What, college finally let you out?" Epps followed, leaning his arms on the couch.
"Yep. Going to be staying here for about a month's worth of holiday." Soon, the entire room joined in the conversation, taking the time to greet one another as old war-allies. Though none acted like one. Optimus decided to stay out of most of the conversation, listening to each story told from different perspectives. But, he was mainly focused on the human teen. No matter how much he denied it, Sam was still a sparkling in all of their eyes. A thought of something else. Every laugh or smile the boy gave, the more it made his spark pulse in ecstatic. It had hurt, yet it felt strangely pleasing.
It took a while to get through most of the stories and a few things that the Autobots had learnt from human cultures before Optimus took a glance at the clock. The time reading 10:50.
"I hate to ruin this moment, but Lennox, Hide. We have a meeting to get to." The two men nodded to the Prime as they gave a small goodbye before all three exited the room. Sam counted to five after they had left before grabbing the attention of those remaining in the room.
"Okay, let's get serious for a second." The teen stated, standing up as every looked up to the college student in confusion. "Have any of you guys seen Optimus laugh before?" He asked, as Epps flipped back through his head while the Autobots stayed silent. Only the dark-skinned man had answered with a shake of the head as Sam noticed the four bots' silence.
Sam looked to Bee as the blonde gave a guilty look. "Well… I'm not sure if we're at liberty to say-"
"Which we aren't." Ratchet intervened, before crossing his arms. "The only ones who know the real reason is Optimus and Ironhide. But I do know for a fact that he hasn't ever fully enjoyed himself to his fullest ever since he became a Prime." He revealed.
"And how long ago was that?" Epps inquired.
"This was before any of you were born. Falling back to the last millennia at least."
The two humans blinked in surprise as they estimated the time. It must've been decades of generations before they were born. And the elder mech hadn't laugh since then. Sam had to admit to himself, he couldn't live such a life like that. There were times when he felt like he was in a life with absolutely no laughs. But he couldn't truly make that his life. And yet, the Prime has, for over a thousand years no less.
Sam looked away from Bee and stared long and hard at the door the three left through, feeling a sense of pity and resolve at the pit of his stomach. When he did, he had missed the eyes of hurt and anguish looking on his back.
A few hours later…
Sam watched as Ironhide continued to shoot each target down, showing his cannons off. With a popcorn bag in hand and a comfortable seat behind the shooting range. Averting his attention for a second to the yellow Autobot, he noticed how the mechling shot off many charges at once. And like the black Transformer, each shot hit its mark, blowing away the battle dummies' heads.
After a few more rounds, the firing came down to a non-existing level. Bee and Ironhide made their way over to where Sam had sat, who now was sipping a bottle of soda as they took up the space beside him, at the point of crushing human if they were a meter or two closer.
The older mech turned to the smaller Autobot. "Bumblebee, you were shooting a little more wildly today. In a battle, you'd be wasting those shots."
The younger bot looked up with a little unease as he gave a Cybertronian version of a smile. "Sorry… Just something… going through my mind…" The radio worded.
"Anything to worry about?" Sam asked, pulling the straw away from his lips. Bee turned down and shook his head. In truth, he lied. The bot wasn't thinking of anything other than ways to show off to his human friend. Unfortunately, the teen didn't hold those eyes of amazement he'd usually see with a recruit around the base.
The three talked for a while as something nagged the back of the Witwicky's mind which he couldn't let go. It wasn't until he noticed that he was staring at the ground that snapped back to reality. Pulling up the courage, he faced the weapons specialist with a face of resolve. Bee noticed this as he was curious.
"Hey, Hide? Why doesn't Optimus laugh?" Sam asked, almost regretting his decision when the two bots froze (ironically) robotically. Bee insisted that the teen had taken the question back, quite unfortunately he didn't as he waited for a reply from the black mech. Ironhide stared at the human with wide optics before confirming that he had truly wanted an answer.
The mech shook his head lightly before deciding his words. "I'm only telling you this because I believe somewhere in my spark that you have a right to know, for bringing him back to the land of the living. And that I also believe that he should move on from it."
The boy was on the end of his seat as he waited for the mech to continue. Bee, who was beside them, was also curious of the answer. Not that he heard it in full detail, the yellow Autobot had only been given a brief summary of it. Like any teen/mechling, he'd be interested.
"It was about the time Optimus had first become Prime. Around that time, he had a bonded. A sparkmate. Her name was Elita-1, and she was the first ever Autobot femme, so of course she was treated much differently than others." A quick and short pain writhed through the teen's heart, but he ignored, believing it was nothing. "But that didn't change how Optimus nor most of us had seen her as a great friend. She was a strong warrior as well, almost matching the Prime."
Ironhide took a pause and pushed air out of his air vents, the Autobot version of a sigh. "Shortly after the ceremony for Optimus' inheritance, Elita-1 and her squad were sent off on recon mission. Sadly, they never returned nor were found." Bee was shocked to hear this, but allowed his mentor to continue. "We all took it pretty hard, but being that he was bonded with the femme, he took it the hardest. In the end, Optimus never believed that they were dead and just continued to believe so. But I think even he had lost himself along the way. And that's why he doesn't laugh."
For the minute, he allowed Sam and Bee to take in the information. Sam had stopped his snacking on his food and drink and drifted a gaze towards the ground. If Sam didn't feel bad about asking before, he sure was now. Looking at the leader right now, he couldn't imagine the pain that he had suffered. A pain so hard that had followed him over millennia. Now he had to guess what being 'bonded' really felt like. And the suffering when they lose a bond.
Both Autobots noticed the sad look in the human's eyes as the black bot spoke up. "Sam… Don't regret asking. I chose to answer because I have hope." The weapons specialist rested a finger on the human's shoulder.
"Hope in what?"
"You." The single syllable rung in the teen's head for a few times before he snapped back to reality. "That you'll be the one who'll break through to him." The mech explained. For a moment, the college student felt a gust of wind hit his chest as a blush came to his head. Blinking it away, a smile was brought to his lips from the Autobot's earnest answer.
"I… I'll try my best. Thanks, Ironhide." Sam responded, as the gloomy atmosphere dispersed with both the scout and weapons specialist smiling in their own way.
"My pleasure."
"You know, you'd make a great uncle one day." Sam commented, watching as Hide stared in disbelief.
"Is that a compliment? Or an insult?"
"Maybe." The teen answered in a childish tone.
After Sam had left Bee and Ironhide, he decided to take another scenic tour of the base, noting all the places he's passed and the ones he hasn't seen yet. Thinking on what was best, he decided to stay on paths that he knew or were shown. At least that way, he wouldn't get lost which was a somewhat tendency of his. Speaking of tendencies, he looked about his route as he noticed that it was different from his memory.
Turning back, he walked a few metres to find that he couldn't even remember the last turn he took. Panic was starting to set in as he looked about the area, searching for any sign of life. Unfortunately, not a person was in sight. And in the heat of the moment, the teen began running, taking whichever turns he could. Maybe if he did bother looking back, then he would've noticed walking his way, but yet again, it was another tendency of his to not. Especially when being chased.
Looking ahead, another turn came up as he twisted his body, closing his eyes to blink. Unfortunately, yet another unfortunate outcome for him was that someone was taking the same turn, the two crashing with Sam knocked back on his rear. The two mumbled apologies after apologies before finally looking up to see who the other they had crashed into was.
"Samuel?" The teen pulled his eyes up, noting that only one person calls him by that and with that voice.
"Optimus? Oh god, I'm so, so sorry about that! I was just-" The Witwicky stopped mid-sentence, thinking on a way to phrase it without totally embarrassing himself.
"Just what?" The Prime asked, his blue eyes now staring straight at his own. Sam couldn't say what, but every time he'd look into those eyes or optics, he'd find his words caught in his throat.
"Um… uh… lost…" He admitted as could practically die on the spot from embarrassment. From the lack of a response, the leader must've thought that he was pathetic at this point. Averting his eyes to the corner, he didn't notice the hand abruptly placed on his head. Looking up, he was yet again, faced with a smile.
"Come, little one. I'll show you the way." Optimus said, turning around as he moved the hand down from the boy's head to catch the teen's palm. Sam noticed immediately as the blush intensified and he flinched from the contact for a moment. The Prime waited for the human for a second before he pulled him along, leading the way. The teen was far too busy taken by surprise than to notice the people that they had passed, some of them had stopping to stare at the two with wide mouths.
When his sense of reality did come back, he looked to sides where audiences lined up in awe. Then they stopped. His hand still held onto by the Prime for a few seconds longer before it was released. Optimus looked around for a moment, ignoring the frozen soldiers before turning to the teen. "Here we are. I strongly advise that you don't wander around too much without one of us with you."
"…" Sam stood silent, his flushed face revealed his embarrassment. Forget digging a hole and crawling into it, he'd rather leave the entire planet all together than walk hand-in-hand with the Autobot leader… Not that it was a bad thing. Sooner rather than later, Optimus noticed the colour red that had burnt the teen's face. A hand reaching out to touch the cheek, Sam jolted in surprise but stood still.
"Are you alright, Sam? Your face is glowing red. Should I go get Ratchet-"
"No!" Sam had flat out interjected, knowing the medic would most likely give the same comment during their first meeting. As much as the human had wanted to admit, he was clearly flushed from the contact. If either the leader or the medic heard about it, they'd more than likely take it the wrong way.
Optimus was cut off guard from the sudden response as he gazed confusingly at the teen. "I-I'm fine. Just a… human thing." He lied. Technically, he didn't lie, just holding back on the whole truth. Just when the Prime had seemed to space off, the Witwicky quickly predicted that he was searching it on the World Wide Web and so, decided to cut in before he found out. At least, not while he stood right in front of him. "Anyways," Sam spoke loudly, snapping Optimus back to reality and cutting of his search engine. "Thanks for helping big guy."
"Anytime, Sam. But I have to ask, how did you get that far away from the main corridors?"
"I guess, it's because I space out more often than not."
"Something weighing your mind?" He asked.
"…" The teen thought for a moment, looking back to his nightmares. Not only that, but also the story about Optimus' past. He didn't land back down on Earth until his name was called.
"Sam?"
"… No. It's nothing, Optimus. I'm alright." He lied, keeping his eyes away from the holoform's. The Prime stared a little longer, suspicion aroused from the back of his processor. For now, he didn't question it, changing the subject.
"I see. Would you like to join me and the others for dinner in the cafeteria?"
Sam turned back with a small smile before replying with, "Sure."
