Pedestal

When Optimus first met Sentinel, he had no idea that it was going to be this difficult to be is friend.

If his condescending, holier-than-thou character isn't bad enough, every 'bot still seems to like and admire him. All Optimus has been is "Sentinel's friend" or "that guy who hangs out with Sentinel." Despite Sentinel's good company in hard times, he's still the forerunner.

Optimus guessed that's why he made a promise to beat Sentinel's record at the combat simulator. Maybe if he does that, he could be "Optimus who has the highest score on the combat simulator" and not just "Optimus, Sentinel's friend."

Obedient

Sentinel is waiting in their quarters for him.

'What's the prognosis?' Sentinel asks.

'On report,' Optimus states.

'That's not too bad.'

'It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been put on report because of something you did.'

If

'Even if my joints rust up?' Elita asks.

'Always,' Sentinel promises.

'…Even if Optimus finds out?'

'…Let's not think that far ahead.'

Sure

Sentinel seems certain that he passed the exams with flying colours.

Optimus looks back and can think of a million things he could do over again.

He wishes he had Sentinel's confidence.

All-Knowing

'…You already knew that I was seeing Sentinel?' asks Elita.

'Of course I did,' says Optimus. 'What, you think I never noticed you two sneaking off whenever you thought I wasn't looking?'

'Actually, yes. Well – why didn't you tell us that you knew?'

'Because it was funny.'

Clean

'Why are you two cleaning up?' asks Elita, kicking aside some of the debris in Sentinel and Optimus's quarters. 'I thought you liked the mess. "The mess makes it homely," you said!'

'We're not doing it willingly!' Optimus retaliates. 'Kup is coming over.'

Panic crosses her faceplate. 'I'll sort everything into piles.'

Forgiving

'You do too much for him,' Kup says. He and Optimus are sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, looking down on the city lights below in the dead of night. He was supposed to be back at the dorm an hour ago, but somehow that seems irrelevant. 'You're too emotional and, frankly, gullible. You have to learn to stand up for yourself.'

'But he's my friend!' responds Optimus. 'When he asks for help, what am I going to do – turn him away?'

'Maybe the best thing for Sentinel is that 'bots stop doing everything for him, so he can own up to his mistakes and accept the consequences.'

Teammates

They're going to work together. They already know that.

Sentinel, Optimus, and Elita spend the evening in Maccadam's, Kup alongside them, making their grand plans for the future. They're all going to graduate from the Academy before joining the Elite Guard and being a team.

Kup spends the evening listening in silence. His instincts tell him otherwise.