(Please see all previous disclaimers)
Several days after the last battle which ended he life of Megatron and severely injured Optimus, Aquaformer was hoping that this day would see Optimus coming home. Aquaformer had fixed up their quarters, in hopes that today was the day when she no longer had to go to the med bay to see her mate. She wanted him home. Little did she realize that Optimus hadn't wanted to stay in the med bay this long, but Ratchet had refused to discharge the bot until things looked better.
Arriving at the med bay, Aquaformer let out a heavy sigh and headed for the berth her mate was supposed to be on. The only problem was, when she arrived at the berth, Optimus was gone. She lowered her helm. She knew he was online, but she had figured he would at least wait for her before leaving the med bay. She didn't want to cry, but this hurt.
And figuring no one saw her enter the med bay to collect her healing mate, she quietly left, tears in her optics. Little did she realize Ratchet had seen her and how she looked. He hadn't realized that the Prime had left until Ratchet saw Aquaformer leave, dejected and alone. Ratchet, not liking what he had seen, tried comming Optimus, after Aquaformer was out of hearing range, of course.
"Ratchet to Prime, come in Prime" Ratchet practically yelled over the comm. He was not going to stand to see Aquaformer hurt, even her mate the Prime. She deserved to be treated better than that.
"Prime here. What's wrong, Ratchet?" Optimus asked, having no idea what had just occurred or why Ratchet sounded so upset. He had been trying to find something to give to Aquaformer as a gift and a thank you for staying by his side. He had no idea the pain he had caused by his disappearance from the med bay.
"Your mate came here, looking for you, you brute" Ratchet retorted, unafraid of calling the Prime out.
Optimus was angry, at first. How dare Ratchet call the Prime a name. Then Optimus remembered that Ratchet and Aquaformer were friends. And then things made sense. Optimus failing to wait for his mate had caused Aquaformer to feel hurt again. Optimus then was upset with himself. He was trying to help his mate and he had ended up hurting her again. "I guess I better get home then" Optimus commed back.
"I would think that would be a step in the right direction. Ratchet out" Ratchet then ended the comm. Optimus sighed heavily. He could only hope his mate would forgive him. He quickly found a little trinket he hoped she would like and headed for home. He had no idea how she would react once he got there, but he hoped she would at least welcome him into their shared quarters. But with her being sparked, her reaction could be anything and he knew it. Oh well, he figured, time to head home and hope she will accept me back as her mate.