((Ideas always sound better in my head than they turn out in WordPad.

I don't own the Transformers, I'm just borrowing them for a little bit.))

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Sometimes, he thought, it would be better if he fit humanity's expectations for a sentient robot.

Mechanical. Efficient. Logical. Emotionless.

It wasn't that Optimus Prime wanted to be ruthless and harsh like the Decepticons, no, nothing at all like that.

More like he knew that he would crack someday under the emotional stress of being a leader.

It was probably selfish, but sometimes he wanted to feel... nothing. He wanted respite from the endless stream of worries and doubts that plagued him. What if so-and-so dies? What if the Decepticons conquer Earth? ...And so on.

He didn't think he'd be able to handle the guilt he would feel if he ever failed the Autobot cause. And he seriously doubted that he'd be able to live his life without failing his duty at least once.

Some day, he would slip. Some day, one of Megatron's crazy schemes would work. It could be something negligible, or it could be something devastating.

He didn't want to even think about the possibilities, much less find out.

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((A big thank-you to everyone who has read or reviewed.))