Here's some more. It's still another set up chapter. Next chapter Optimus gets turned into the sparkling.
Meanwhile…the shooting range
There was an explosion. The target dummy blew into bits. Then the bits were blasting into dust…repeatedly!
"What the frag has got your main energon line in a knot?" Chromia demanded when her best friend blew the slag out of the target dummy. "We're supposed to having target practice. You keep it up and we won't have any targets left to practice on!"
"Nothing's wrong!" Elita snarled, firing off a few more shots.
Another target dummy blown into tiny bits. It did nothing to dampen her anger. She was still pissed at Optimus.
"Elita, talk to me. I heard you yelling at Optimus last night. What did that lugnut do now?"
Elita growled, putting the safety on and setting her plasma rifle down. She knew Chromia wasn't going to drop the subject. She never did. May as well get it out and off her chest.
"He brought up the sparkling issue again," Elita said.
"Wow, that's the third time since you arrived on Earth six months ago. He must really want one."
"Yeah, that's the problem. He wants one. Since when do mechs want sparklings? I thought that was the femmes' job!"
"So why don't you want a sparkling?"
"I'm…I'm not the motherly type, Chromia. I don't coddle, I don't like being coddled. I'd be a terrible mother while Optimus would get father of the year."
"Is that why you're so afraid? That you won't be a good mother?"
Elita's head drooped down and she nodded slowly. She just didn't have that motherly instinct. She had fought so hard and for so long for her place in a mech's world she's not sure if she could ever get it back. If she even had it to begin with.
"My dear friend, we're not born mothers. It's like everything else, you have to learn. But you'll never learn unless you try. You might actually surprise yourself. And quit being so hard on Optimus, he loves you so much. At least he wants to have sparklings with you. Ironhide's more terrified than you about them. If he even thinks I'm going to bring up the subject he bolts."
"Maybe you're right," she sighed. "I do owe Optimus an apology for last night. I kind of overreacted by threatening to blow his interface appliance off."
"There you go! Just be sure to tell me the good news! I want to be the first to know you're sparking."
"Chromia, I'm just going to talk to him. We're not going to be interfacing."
"Pfft, you're no fun. You should kiss and make up. It's more fun that way. Ironhide and I have had some of the best overloads ever when we make up after an argument."
"Primus, I don't need to hear about yours and Ironhide's overloads. You two are loud enough as it is!"
"Yeah, well you and Optimus are no mutes either when you're interfacing or spark merging."
"Chromia…"
"Shut it and go to your mech!" she laughed, turning Elita around and giving her friend a good kick in the aft. "Give him good frag! You'll both feel better, trust me."
Elita left without argument. She knew what Chromia was talking about. There were a few times when Optimus and her kissed and made up. When the time allowed them to. Being Prime didn't always give Optimus the spare time other mechs had. Still, they were always able to make time for each other for special occasions, like their anniversary or even her spark day, the day she came into existence. In fact, only a rare few know that day.
"Prowl, have you seen Optimus?"
"No, he's not scheduled for duty yet. Jazz, told me that he heard you both arguing last night."
"Yeah. I kicked him out of our quarters."
"Ah…that explains it," he smiled, recalling where he saw Prime wandering in the middle of the night. "He might still be down in the lab section of the base. I saw him outside Wheeljack's lab late last night. I suspect he was trying to find a suitable place to recharge."
Elita closed her optic covers' slightly feeling bad that her sparkmate had to resort to sleeping in a lab.
"Thank you, Prowl," she nodded.
Then she headed off to find Optimus. She was determined to find him no matter what at this point.