Orion woke up earlier than usual.
He didn't even have to online his optics to tell. He had been waking up earlier ever since he had gotten well. His systems didn't need as much time to slow down as they did before.
Orion stayed laying down, resting for just a Klik more before opening his optics. They adjusted to the dimly lit room very quickly, and even after they did, Orion remained still. It was nice. The quiet was very calming. Even without looking around the room, he knew that Ratchet was there. Just the presence of another was keeping him content. Orion closed his optics again, thankful for the peace.
He soon decided that he had rested enough. Orion sat up, glancing to his side, where he knew his caretaker was, then he blinked.
Ratchet was slouched over in his chair, head resting in his arms, facedown on his desk. His ventilation was slow and steady, indicating that he was deep in recharge. Orion assumed that he had worked late again, something he had been doing more frequently as of late.
Ratchet spent a lot of time with Orion, but he would still work on a datapad while they were together, as if he was trying to distract himself from something. Orion had tried to bring it up once before, asking if Ratchet was alright, but his caretaker just smiled and dismissed any notion that something was wrong. Orion didn't bring it up again. He wanted to, but he never did. If Ratchet wanted Orion to know, then he would have told.
Of course, that meant Ratchet was more tired than usual. Orion wondered why Ratchet was working himself so hard, but the sparkling was sure that Ratchet knew what he was doing. Still, Orion wished there was something he could do to help. He wasn't a medic, so he couldn't help with any repairs or healing. There wasn't a lot he could even try to do. Orion frowned as he tried to think of how he could assist his caretaker.
He could get him a cube of Energon.
That would be good. Orion could go to the refueling station and get Energon for Ratchet to refuel on. It would save his caretaker time, and Orion would be doing something to help. That was good.
Orion hadn't been to the refueling station after he returned to the Medical Center from Tanker's prison. The one that held Ratchet hostage. It would be nice to see Spoiler again. That mech was very nice. Orion had never been a frequent visitor to the refueling station, but Spoiler had always been kind whenever he had gone there. Orion liked that mech very much.
Orion slid off of his berth, stepping carefully towards the door as he tried not to make a sound. The door slid open silently, as if wanting to help the sparkling sneak away unnoticed. The door closed without a noise as well, after Orion passed through it. Orion looked down the hall, noticing that there wasn't a lot of activity. He walked out of the Medical Quarters, and the view clearly changed.
Mechs and femmes were busy in the halls, as there was never a time when someone wasn't hurt. Orion didn't remember a time where the Medical Center was calm, where someone wasn't hurting, but he did know that was to be expected in a Medical Center. He passed by an operating room, and through the door he saw Fascia starting to assist Decklid with an operation on what appeared to be a Gladiator with a sword sticking through his chest, though they were only just about to begin the procedure, which was why the door hadn't yet been closed. In the halls, he walked around Fastener, who was looking over a patient file and didn't even notice the sparkling pass by, and as Fastener began speaking to someone who wasn't there, Orion realized that the mech was uplinked with someone.
Orion brought it upon himself to learn the name of everyone he met in the Medical Center, medic or otherwise. He owed them that, at least. He resided in the same building they worked in, and on more than one occasion did they treat him when Ratchet was too busy to do it himself. It was obvious that they didn't really care about Orion, due to him being a defective, but that was alright. They had been much better after Ratchet had come back.
Orion looked through a nearby window, and he had grown enough to see through it without standing as tall as he could. The darkness outside confirmed that it was much earlier than Orion usually awoke. He didn't feel that tired, though. Perhaps that was because his systems had also grown stronger.
It didn't take long for Orion to reach the refueling station. The lights were on, indicating that someone was inside. Orion walked through the entrance, and saw that there were only a few Cybertronians in the room, most likely due to how early it was. Orion stepped towards where he intended to go, but before he got there, he stopped.
There was a mech standing in front of the Energon stockpile. Orion watched the mech with his head tilted. He didn't know who that mech was.
Still, Orion had something he wanted to do, and he approached the mech. Orion stopped a few steps away from the mech, and the mech looked down at him with a frown. Orion smiled kindly in return, hands folded behind him. "May I please have an Energon cube?"
The mech eyed Orion, clearly unimpressed, before turning around and grabbing a cube and handing it to the sparkling. The mech began to promptly ignore Orion, instead directing his attention to other Cybertronians in the room. It was obvious that he didn't care for Orion, and it was also obvious why. Orion had been treated that way by others before, because he was a defective. He wouldn't hold that against the mech, though. He already knew that was how Cybertron worked.
Orion looked around the refueling station for a Klik before glancing back up at the mech. "Where is Spoiler?"
The mech looked annoyed of having to speak with the wrong sparkling, but still responded, though sounding very uninterested. "Who?"
"The Energon Sorter who works here," Orion elaborated, with a smile. "Do you know where he is?"
The mech rolled his optics, as if the answer was obvious. "He was offlined. I'm his replacement."
Orion's optics widened, and he looked shocked. And saddened. Both because someone he liked had been killed, and because the mech in front of him didn't seem to care in the slightest. Orion looked away, towards the ground.
"Oh."
The mech had already stopped paying attention to the sparkling. Orion quietly thanked him for the Energon before turning around and leaving.
The walk back to his shared quarters seemed shorter than it was to get the the refueling station, though that was probably because Orion was thinking deeply. It was wrong. All of it. The way Cybertronians treated Cybertronians. It didn't matter what class they were, they all treated each other terribly. He felt like someone had told him about that before, about Cybertron was becoming a home for the sparkless, about how something needed to be done, but he didn't remember. He didn't know what to do. What could he do?
He knew why Ratchet never let him go back to the refueling station. Ratchet didn't want Orion to know what had happened. Ratchet didn't want Orion to hurt. Orion shook his head. Ratchet wasn't like those Cybertronians. He was a medic, and a medic cared for all. A life is still a life.
It was strange. Orion could recall things that he didn't remember hearing. He remembered someone telling him not to fall prey to the caste, someone sounding very upset for him, and pleads for him to live. It almost seemed like those memories weren't his, but he knew they were. They had to be. He didn't understand them very well, but they were still his.
Orion looked up, facing the door to his shared quarters. The door opened silently as Orion approached, and showed the sparkling that Ratchet was still where he was before Orion left. Orion walked into the room, the door still quiet as it closed behind him, and he stopped beside Ratchet. Orion carefully placed the Energon cube on the desk, hands resting on the surface for a moment as he observed his caretaker. After a Klik, Orion quietly spoke. "Ratchet?"
Ratchet almost shot into a sitting position, startling Orion enough to make him back up a step. Ratchet pinched the bridge between his optics, muttering about how he was awake. He opened his optics, noticing the glowing blue cube in front of him, before looking down to Orion, who smiled sweetly. Ratchet smiled tiredly in return. "Hello, Orion."
Orion grinned happily, though before he said anything else, he noticed something on the desk. Ratchet's datapad was online, open to a medical file. Orion stood up a little straighter to get a better look at the file, optics locking onto a picture. Orion tilted his head. "Is that me?"
Ratchet followed Orion's gaze, then frowned as he remembered what he had been doing. And why. Ratchet nodded. "Yes. I was just finalizing your medical file."
Orion's grin grew. "That's because I'm alright now, right?"
Ratchet frowned.
Orion was alright. That was what Ratchet had been hoping for ever since he found the unborn spark. Rooter had died trying to show that unborn spark to him. He had originally felt that he owed her his attempt to save it. That feeling changed when the sparkling became his. Not when he received Orion. Not when the sparkling was treated or was becoming attached to him. When Orion became his. When Orion learned to walk and talk. When Ratchet would hold him, though they didn't always exchange words. When they told their stories.
The only thing Ratchet had wanted was for Orion to be safe, and get better. Ratchet finally had what he wanted, but he wasn't happy.
Yes, Orion was alright.
That was why he was going to be taken away.
Ratchet knew he needed to tell him. Orion needed to know. Ratchet knew it was wrong to keep lying to the sparkling. He never directly told the sparkling that he was staying for good, but he never said that he wasn't. Orion didn't know how the Guilds worked. He was too young. Ratchet didn't know how to explain it to him. Ratchet didn't want to see the hurt in his sparkling's optics when he told him the truth.
He had no control over what was happening, and that made him feel terrible.
Ratchet saw something blue out of the corner of his optic, and was reminded of the cube that sat there. Accepting the distraction gratefully, he picked it up in his hand, though he didn't drink it. Ratchet's optics narrowed as he looked at the cube, though they softened slightly when he turned back to his charge. "Did you get this?"
There was only a moment's pause before Orion answered.
"Yes," Orion replied, somewhat cautiously. He didn't intend to make Ratchet angry. "I wanted to help you."
Ratchet watched Orion thoughtfully before letting out an exasperated breath. "You should have told me where you were going. If I woke and I didn't know where you were..."
Ratchet stopped there, knowing Orion would understand. Orion nodded. "I didn't want to wake you. I'm sorry."
Ratchet grumbled something under his breath while waving a hand dismissively. He drank the Energon rather quickly, placing the cube back down and looking over his datapad. There were only two more things he needed to finish reporting before it was done.
Orion knew that Ratchet was going to be busy for a little while, so he sat down on his own berth, not really doing anything except looking over the room. Familiar and comforting.
"Can we go for a walk later? It looks really nice outside," Orion asked suddenly. He grew enthusiastic as he kept speaking. "Maybe we could go visit Voltlock and Motor, too, if that's alright. Maybe they would want to come with us!"
Orion continued smiling, and that only managed to make Ratchet feel even worse, reminding him of what he was trying to make himself forget.
Ratchet didn't know how to tell him. How could he tell him? How could he tell Orion that they were going to live apart? Ratchet was the only guardian Orion had even known. How could he tell his little sparkling that they were never going to see each other again?
"Ratchet?" Orion's voice brought Ratchet from his thoughts, and he noticed that he had finished the report while barely paying attention to it. As if he knew everything by spark. Ratchet turned his head, locking his optics with the concerned optics of his sparkling.
Orion knew that there was a problem. He also knew that Ratchet didn't want him to know about it, but Orion wanted to help. Perhaps there was something he could do.
Orion's voice was quiet. "What's wrong?"
Ratchet could have told Orion the truth right then and there. He knew that he needed to. It was almost time. There wasn't enough time left to make something of, but there was enough time to explain. He knew that he could do it.
Ratchet smiled lightly. "Nothing. Everything is alright."
That wasn't a lie. It would be alright. Alpha Trion would take good care of Orion, Ratchet knew that, though it was hard for him to be certain. Orion was almost taken away by another mech, and that mech would have killed the sparkling. Alpha Trion was not that mech.
Though, Ratchet knew some of his distrust towards the master archivist stemmed from the fact that Alpha Trion volunteered. The Guilds did not broadcast their intentions of relocation to all of Cybertron. He was not part of the Guilds. He was most certainly not a member of the High Council. There was no way Alpha Trion could have known.
Though, Ratchet knew Orion would grow up well, even if he wasn't the one who raised him.
Ratchet stood up, leaving his datapad on the desk and walking over to stand in front of his sparkling. It was time. Time for what he knew was going to happen from the very beginning. "Do you have your datapad?"
"Yes," Orion said with a nod, picking it up and holding it out for Ratchet to see before looking over it himself. He traced a large crack that ran across the screen. "Why do you want me to bring it?"
Ratchet didn't answer him, only holding out a hand for the sparkling to take. "Come with me, Orion."
Orion took the hand without hesitation. He smiled, wondering if they were going to go for the walk he had hoped for. Orion hopped off of his berth as Ratchet began to lead him out of the room, the door creaking in protest as it slowly slid open.
The walk down the halls was silent. For one, there was nothing to say, but for the other, there were so many things that still needed to be said. Still, neither spoke.
Mechs and femmes were busy in the halls. Ratchet didn't remember a time where the Medical Center was calm, but he was used to that. They passed by an operating room, and through the door Ratchet saw Fascia starting to assist Decklid with covering the lifeless body of what appeared to be a Gladiator, though they were only just finishing up, which was why the door had recently been opened. In the halls, they walked by Fastener, who was looking over a patient file of a femme who couldn't carry or sire, and speaking to her through an uplink, trying to console her
Ratchet could see all of it. Every terrible thing that happened. The good could never outweigh the bad. Too often would a Cybertronian come in with a injury or illness, and while they were usually healed, they still suffered until then. Ratchet didn't want Orion to live witnessing that.
Perhaps it would be best for Orion to leave.
As the entrance to the Medical Center came into view, Ratchet saw Voltlock talking with a mech he had never seen before. Motor was standing nearby, though he didn't include himself in the conversation. The two medics didn't seem to notice that the caretaker and sparkling had arrived, but as soon as they entered the room, Ratchet could have sworn that the unknown mech's optics seemed to glow brighter with recognition. Ratchet blinked.
The mech looked strangely like one of Ratchet's more frequent patients, but they couldn't possibly have been the same mech. The mech speaking to Voltlock held himself with much more authority than the old mech, and gave off a feeling of someone who should be respected. His armor looked more polished and clean, as if it had never been rusted at any point during his existence. They didn't even have the same paint job.
Of course, it wasn't hard to get a different paint job. Nor was it for someone to change their frame, but going through all of that trouble for no reason seemed pointless.
It couldn't have possibly been him.
Orion walked up to Voltlock, who paused his conversation with the mech and looked down at the sparkling by his leg. He smiled, but his optics betrayed him by glowing a sad blue. He would really miss Orion. That sparkling had done wonders for Ratchet, who was kinder than he ever was before, though he was by no means friendly. Voltlock hoped that wouldn't change for the worst when the reason for those changes was gone.
When Ratchet first brought Orion to the Medical Center, Voltlock found out about Rooter. He didn't know how Ratchet would handle being alone again.
Voltlock almost instantly noticed Orion's cheerfulness. He appeared to be taking the separation rather well. That made Voltlock feel better about the whole situation, and his smile grew. "How are you doing, kid?"
"I'm alright," Orion answered, looking over to Motor with a smile before returning his attention to Voltlock. "Would you and Motor want to come for a walk with us later on? We could even go outside!"
Voltlock's optics widened as he realized that Ratchet hadn't told Orion about what was happening. He glanced over to Ratchet with a look of disbelief, only to be met with a look of utter defeat. Voltlock softened, a frown appearing on his faceplate. He knew that Orion needed to be told, just as well as Ratchet did.
Voltlock was saved from having to crush the sparkling's spirits when the mech he and Motor were speaking with turned towards Orion, gaining his attention.
"Greetings, Orion Pax," The mech said, sounding very calm. "My designation is Alpha Trion."
Orion blinked. He had read about a mech with that name. He wasn't certain if the mech in front of him was who he said he was, as Alpha Trion hadn't been seen outside of the Iacon Hall of Records in Solar Cycles, but still he stayed polite. "Hello."
Even the way Alpha Trion spoke made it clear that he couldn't be the same mech Ratchet treated. The old mech had been much friendlier, much more willing to share tales with others. There would be no reason for Alpha Trion to completely change himself, both in frame and in the way he acted. They couldn't have been the same mech.
But that wasn't the only thing Ratchet noticed.
Alpha Trion looked at Orion like he had seen him before. As if he already knew almost everything about him. That unnerved Ratchet quite a bit, as the only way Alpha Trion could have known anything was by meeting Orion before, or frequently meeting someone Orion knew. Orion didn't seem to recognize the mech, so that meant the former wasn't an option. Ratchet decided to ask Voltlock and Motor later.
He returned his attention to the master archivist, and watched as the mech looked over Orion with a seemingly questioning look in his optics. Alpha Trion seemed to be waiting for something. He watched Orion as if remembering, or trying to figure something out, before voicing whatever was concerning him. "I do not believe that you are ready to leave."
"Leave?" Orion repeated, smiling slightly through his confusion. "What do you mean?"
Alpha Trion didn't respond, and didn't seem like he was going to, so Orion turned to Ratchet. Ratchet didn't know what to say. He could see Voltlock shift uncomfortably and Motor watch with sympathy out of the corner of his optic, but he refused to turn to them. He needed to tell Orion himself. Ratchet knelt down, placing a hand on his sparkling's shoulder.
Orion watched Ratchet with curiosity, though not saying anything, waiting for Ratchet to speak. Ratchet spent a Klik thinking about what he was going to say, what he needed to say, but he knew that nothing he said would help sooth Orion. The sparkling would most certainly be upset no matter how he was informed. Ratchet told. "Orion, the Guilds of Cybertron have sorted you, and you have been chosen to be an archivist. Archivists aren't placed to work in Medical Centers."
Orion nodded, hearing every word that Ratchet said, but not completely understanding where his caretaker was going with that.
"You're going to go to the Iacon Hall of Records. Alpha Trion is going to mentor you. He's going to teach you everything you need to know," Ratchet continued, trying his best to keep Orion calm. Ratchet looked into his sparkling's optics with a rare glow of kindness. "He'll take care of you."
Orion said nothing. Absolutely nothing. He didn't even look like he was processing what had been said. He stared at his caretaker, his expression remaining the same, until he finally spoke.
"You..." Orion said, voice barely wavering. "... Lied to me?"
Ratchet saw the complete lack of expression on his sparkling's faceplate, and quickly grew concerned. "Orion-"
"You lied to me," Orion said, with much more force than he ever had before. He stepped back out of Ratchet's reach, glaring into the shocked medic's optics. "You told me they weren't going to take me away!"
As soon as he said that, Orion threw his datapad to the floor, which added another crack to the ones already there. Orion turned and ran away, back the way they came. Ratchet stood up immediately, watching his sparkling disappear from sight in mere moments. His voice grew louder with concern. "Orion!"
Voltlock's gaze kept switching between staring with wide optics in the direction Orion fled to Ratchet standing alone in shock. Motor crossed his arms, though he didn't look judgemental. He just watched Ratchet curiously. His optics were asking a question Ratchet already knew the answer to.
Ratchet wished he had told Orion sooner. He didn't intend for it to get that far. Though, he was almost certain that Orion's reaction would have been the same. He shouldn't have put anyone else in the middle of it. He had been so selfish. He shouldn't have forced Voltlock, Motor, and most certainly not Alpha Trion, into witnessing something that should have been dealt with on their own. Alone.
Ratchet hurt.
Orion had never spoken to him that way before. Orion had never spoken to anyone that way before. Ratchet knew that he hurt his sparkling badly, even worse than what he was feeling. Ratchet had never wanted to hurt Orion, but he ended up being the one who hurt him the most.
Ratchet saw Alpha Trion kneel down, picking up the dropped datapad with care. He stood back up, looking to Ratchet.
"You should speak to him," Alpha Trion said suddenly, as if stating a fact. He nodded, but other than that he did not move. "I will wait here."
At first, Ratchet didn't seem to comprehend what had been said. He listened to the words, but he only heard the deeper meaning. Alpha Trion acted like he knew that was going to happen. Like he knew what needed to happen. It was as if he already knew how Orion acted, what Orion wanted, what Orion needed. What Orion needed to hear, and who he needed to hear it from. The only way he could have known that was by seeing it himself.
Like watching a newborn sparkling reaching out towards his caretaker.
Helping a sparkling find his way to search for someone he cared about.
Watching a medic tense at the mention of his departing charge.
Ratchet shook his head. That didn't matter. None of that mattered. What mattered right then was Orion, and Orion needed him. Ratchet began to make his way down the path he knew his sparkling had taken. There was nowhere else Orion would want to go. He would want to go somewhere he knew, a place that was familiar, a place where he felt comforted, a place where he was home.
Ratchet walked slowly, but he still arrived in front of his quarters much sooner than he expected. The door was closed, and it didn't open when he stood before it. Ratchet knew that if he pushed it or something then it would probably open, but he wasn't going to do that. He needed Orion to want him there. Ratchet raised his hand to knock, but before he did, he froze.
Orion was crying.
Ratchet could tell. The sound was muffled, and very quiet, but Ratchet knew. He wanted to say something, to make everything better.
Ratchet couldn't find his voice.
What could he say? He made a mistake. He made a terrible mistake, and his mistake hurt his sparkling.
He felt horrible.
Ratchet turned his back to the door, leaning against it, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He knew he needed to wait. Just for a moment. Just for his sparkling to calm down on his own. Ratchet didn't know how to handle that situation. He had never seen his sparkling cry.
So, he waited.
As he waited, he thought. About everything. About Orion. About everything he could have done to keep his sparkling from ever feeling so much pain that he would cry. His spark felt heavy with guilt, but he knew he couldn't change anything. He wished he could change something, but he couldn't.
Ratchet sat until he couldn't hear anything from inside. He didn't know how long it had been. Not very long, but long enough. Ratchet stood up, raising his hand and knocking gently on the door. When Orion didn't answer, Ratchet frowned with concern, though before he could knock again, the door opened.
Orion was sitting on Ratchet's berth, knees tucked into his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He did not look up, though Ratchet could see lubricant trailing from his optics that showed how badly he hurt. Ratchet didn't speak. He walked closer to his berth, sitting down next to his sparkling, though Orion didn't respond.
Ratchet kept waiting. He didn't care how long he would wait. If Alpha Trion got impatient with them then that was his problem.
Ratchet would wait as long as it took.
"Everything's okay now," Orion finally spoke, vocalizer trembling with sadness. "Why do I have to go?"
There was almost a Klik of silence before he received a reply.
"It's not my choice," Ratchet answered. "Nor is it yours. The Guilds of Cybertron decide what happens to each and every Cybertronian. They are the ones who declared myself a medic, and you an archivist. They are the ones who choose what happens to us, and they have made their choice."
Orion turned towards Ratchet, leaning over and wrapping his arms around his caretaker's waist. Ratchet placed a comforting hand on Orion's back, caressing softly as his sparkling spoke. "Is there anything you can do?"
Ratchet shook his head, even though he knew Orion couldn't see. "No, there isn't."
Orion didn't respond for a moment, before speaking up again. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No," Ratchet said firmly. "Don't... You didn't do anything wrong. This is just how the caste system works."
Orion voice was only just above a whisper. "There's nothing we can do."
Ratchet placed a hand under his charge's chin to make Orion look at him. Ratchet smiled softly, trying to make Orion feel better. "You'll be alright."
Orion didn't seem reassured in the slightest. "Will you be alright?"
Ratchet took a moment to respond. He wasn't certain. He and Orion had been together for so long, Ratchet couldn't imagine his life without his sparkling. His sparkling who had changed him so much.
He had avoided that question for as long as he could, lying each time it was asked. After everything, would he truly be able to continue as he was without the one who helped make him that way?
"Yes, I will," Ratchet said. "I know that you'll be safe. Alpha Trion will look after you. He will care for you."
"You're my caretaker," Orion pressed, almost sounding desperate as his grip around Ratchet tightened. "I only remember you. You were always there. I don't want anyone else. I want you."
Ratchet watched Orion with concern. He had never been so vocal about his desires before, but it would be the last time he would ever be able to tell someone about them, someone he trusted enough for that.
"I don't know what to do," Orion whispered in defeat, hanging his head. "Other Cybertronians have tried to hurt us before. They would have killed me to hurt you. I don't want you to hurt."
"Tanker is gone," Ratchet said, trying to reassure his sparkling. Neither of them had said that mech's name since they were reunited while Ratchet was recovering, but that name didn't haunt them anymore. That name made them remember how much they cared for each other, how they hoped the best for each other. How they didn't want to say good bye. "No one is going to hurt you, and even if you do get hurt, I will always come to fix you."
Ratchet was never as certain as he was then.
The mention of that name reminded Orion of everything that had happened. Orion already knew what Tanker had done, and why. Tanker had hurt Ratchet, but Orion helped heal him.
Orion was his remedy, just the same as Ratchet was to him.
Orion knew what had happened to Rooter. Ratchet had told him, and Orion knew that Ratchet could have easily let the grief consume him, too.
At first, Orion couldn't imagine what he would do if Ratchet ended up like Tanker, being so hurt that he would hurt others. That would be the last thing Orion wanted. Though, Orion understood the only thing he could do were that situation to ever occur.
Orion would try to stop him. He wouldn't try to hurt him any more than he already was, but he would try to help him.
"I'll tell our stories," Orion said suddenly. Ratchet watched him curiously, though Orion didn't look up. "I'll tell Alpha Trion about the organic in the blue box. I'll tell him about the race of organics with hammers as a weapon."
Those were stories Orion had told Ratchet. Ratchet had never really paid attention to them. But, they made his sparkling happy. If Orion wanted to share his happiness with others, than Ratchet wouldn't ever stop him.
"I'll tell him about a mech who fell in love, and went insane from grief," Orion continued, and Ratchet froze. Orion didn't stop. "I'll tell him about a mech's revenge. I'll tell him about a mech who lost someone. I'll tell him about the ones who were hurt. I'll tell him about the sorter who was lost."
Ratchet knew that story. It was a story that they told before, one that they experienced, one that only they could really understand. One that they couldn't bring themselves to hate, and one they loved without a doubt.
"I'll tell him about how a mech took someone away, and how he was returned home. I'll tell him about the names on a datapad, how stories were told, and how a defective survived."
It was a story they both knew so well.
"I'll tell him about a medic and his sparkling."
Their story.
And it would be their last.
"I was wondering if we were..." Orion was already starting to feel silly for asking the question, but he wasn't going to change his mind. He needed to know. "I know that you're my caretaker, and I know that you care about me, but it's not really the same."
Ratchet waited patiently for Orion to say what he was trying to say. Orion let go of his caretaker, looking away.
"Are we..." Orion tapped his fingers lightly on his knees. "Friends?"
At first, his caretaker didn't reply, and Orion was beginning to think that it was wrong for him to ask that, then Ratchet laughed.
Ratchet laughed. Orion had never heard him laugh before. He heard amused hums and rare chuckles, but he had never heard Ratchet laugh from the spark. It was nice. Orion was glad that he made his caretaker happy.
"Yes," Ratchet confirmed, smirking at his sparkling with amusement. "Yes, we're friends."
Orion finally smiled again, and Ratchet smiled in return. He didn't want to upset his sparkling again. It would be the last time he ever saw his sparkling smile.
Ratchet was happy.
He stood up, and his sparkling slid down from the berth. They walked side by side as they exited the room, as they walked down the halls together for the last time. It was the very last time, and they were both alright with that. They were completely silent.
They didn't need to say goodbye. They already said everything they needed to say.
They soon arrived back at the entrance. Voltlock and Motor were still there, to Ratchet's surprise. They were both smiling, glad that everything had been resolved. Alpha Trion stood tall, still holding the datapad in one hand. Ratchet walked with Orion until they were a few steps away from the sparkling's new mentor. Ratchet stopped, but Orion continued forward until he stood directly in front of the mech.
Alpha Trion held out his free hand. "It is time to go, Orion Pax."
Orion observed the hand thoughtfully. Taking it would mean starting a whole new story.
Orion and Ratchet's story had ended. It hurt to reach the end of their story, but there were so many other stories that they could start with others. Stories with ones they would meet, ones they would care for, ones that cared for them.
Orion took Alpha Trion's hand, and the mentor began to lead the sparkling away. The doorway to go outside opened for them to leave.
But, when there were no other stories to be told, they would always remember the one they had.
Orion stopped.
And there was always a chance that a story could continue.
Orion turned back to his caretaker, smiling. "We'll see each other again someday, right?"
Ratchet nodded, smiling as well. "Of course."
"You promise?"
"I promise."