When Optimus came around, Arcee was laying beside him and Airachnid was tending to Ratchet. He stared at her. "Sisters?"
"Yes. My sire and carrier created Aleta-One first, but when she was kidnapped away from them by Shockwave and turned into Airachnid, they created me as a replacement, but I wasn't enough..." She sighed softly as she sat up. "My sire was a mech named Springforth and my carrier was a femme named Thunderblade, and they were killed in the war. Shockwave tapped into Aleta's coding and used her to kill 'bots, including our carrier and sire."
Optimus nodded and he pulled her close as he sighed. He could barely remember his carrier, Stormchaser, and he knew his sire was Primus himself, but he didn't lose Stormchaser, not like Arcee and Airachnid...Aleta...lost their carrier and sire. Stormchaser succumbed to wounds. Thunderblade and Springforth were killed by the daughter they once knew.
Aleta glanced over at them, smiling slightly. She still wanted Optimus, and now he knew why.
If Airachnid was Aleta-1, then she was his femme when he was Orion Pax and she was Ariel. It made since eventually in his helm.
Ariel was wounded, she was reborn as Aleta-1, and they fell in love again. Then Ariel was turned into Airachnid due to Shockwave, which meant that Ariel had been cared for by the mad scientist for some time before he changed her...which explained why he had never been to her house...so when he met Airachnid, it was no wonder that they fell in love...and he admitted that he was still drawn to her. He had Clicked with her, but then he had Clicked with Arcee. How? Because they were related, and had nearly the same spark-signatures...they were interchangable to his spark.
He sighed. The choice weighed heavily on his processor and on his spark. He wanted his Arcee, his beloved Arcee, but he also wanted his beloved first love, his lovely Ariel.
He hugged Arcee close and kissed her audio.
"I need time to think...I will be in my office. I need to figure out who will be my mate, either you or your sister... I will call the femme I choose in when I have reached my decision."
Then he got up and left the room, his servo over his mouth as he pulled at his upper lip.
OoO
Optimus called the femme in, purring when he saw her in the doorway. "Come in," he said as he moved the datapad he was working on aside. "I have reached my decision."
"Have you?" The femme sat down and crossed her legs. She was trembling with excitement as she watched him. Optimus could barely keep his trembling to himself.
"I have, and I have chosen you."
"Oh, Optimus..."
Optimus leaned over the desk and gave her a kiss, then he took her servos into his as he pulled her closer. He needed more of her, needed her against him. It was as if he needed her like he needed Energon. Without her, he would die.
"I love you, my dearest..."
"What about A-"
"Shhh...It's just you and me, now..." He scooped the littler femme up and carried her to the showers. He bathed her gently, hungry for the same physical contact. She did not disappoint and soon they were kissing, whining and whimpering for the other.
When they finally pulled away, Optimus' lips hurt and he knew that hers were the same way. He smiled and drew his battle mask over his mouth to hide it.
"Oh, don't hide that smile from me. You used to smile all the time before you got that thing..." She tapped at his chest, referring to the Matrix.
He nodded and he lifted her. "I should smile more, yes?"
"Indeed." She smiled up at him. When he laid her down in the sheets of his berth, their berth, she squirmed like a sparkling and purred loudly up at him.
Optimus laid beside her and he held her against his chest.
"I love you, Arcee."
"I love you, too, Optimus."