(Please see all previous disclaimers)
The next morning soon came and Lancex felt like something was pressing against him. The only time he had felt this before was that one night after the Prime had been injured and the Prime had used it to help heal faster, or so he had explained to Lancex. This time, though, it felt more weighty than that. That in and of itself concerned Lancex and he woke up. He nearly panicked as he saw two sets of arms crossing over him. One set looked familiar and Lancex followed them and saw Optimus. That was mildly relieving. Then he checked the other side and was stunned to find Predaking. While it felt somewhat good, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about this. However, seeing that he was unable to remove the arms and assuming that they needed to heal from battle scars he couldn't see, Lancex fell back asleep.
A few short hours later, both Predaking and Optimus stir. At first, both are a bit confused as to what had happened, but the confusion faded quickly as they fully came on line. And while Predaking glared heavily at Optimus, Optimus shot a weary but warning look to Predaking. The only thing that refocused them off of each other was watching Lancex sleep. Both couldn't help but think just how wonderful Lancex looked as he recharged. But knowing that there was still much to do, Predaking and Optimus reluctantly left.
Once outside the room, Optimus and Predaking went their separate ways, neither fully trusting the other. As Predaking walked away, he couldn't believe he found such a perfect bot. Lancex was strong, courageous, honest, and just the perfect bot for the dragon bot, or so Predaking thought. The dragon also hoped two things – Lancex could carry sparklings and that Lancex would want Predaking more than Optimus. Predaking decided one thing, he would do his best to show he was a good choice of a mate for Lancex.
Meanwhile, as Optimus headed off, he wasn't sure what to think. Granted, Lancex was an excellent soldier, fully capable of fighting this infernal war and yet caring and compassionate even if he had blunted emotions most of the time. Optimus was still arguing with himself about why he felt so drawn to this bot. Sure, Optimus would like a bot like Lancex as a mate should the Prime ever be allowed to bond and not fight this war, but Optimus was also sure that Lancex would find much more desirable mates than the old Prime. Optimus wasn't sure if he had a shot at this, especially now that Predaking was involved. Optimus just hoped that if Lancex ever wanted a family, he would get the bots he deserved to love and cherish him, even if that wasn't Optimus.