Pairing: Optimus Prime/Tessa Yeager

Rating: General

Details/Themes: AU, comfort

Requested by optimus+maximus

Mourning was not something Optimus was accustomed to, mainly because he never found the time as he always had to move on quickly. Those types of emotions could make survival nearly impossible. It was saddening how many people he had forgotten over the years of war. Even when his memory did return of his losses, his feelings were dim because the shock of it all was no longer an actual outcry so there was no pain in it. As heartless as some may consider it, he could do nothing.

But then there were humans like Tessa who reacted immediately to loss and to him, the grief seemed foreign. She had lost her father, Cade, to Lockdown while he kept the hunter preoccupied from killing the Prime. A noble sacrifice. Since the girl had no one but Shane really, the Prime made it his new duty to watch over her as he felt he owed her that in return for her family's contribution in restoring his purpose as well as the unification of his Autobots. It would be his debt to the death, this time he intended to make good of that.

Tessa sat upon the roof of her house. When she was stressed or angry, she would sneak up on it through her hidden attic door without her father's knowledge, especially at night when the stars were as lively as city lights. If heaven was real and the stars signified all whom had died, she had to wonder if her father was up there peering down on her with an observant eye. Large footprints caught her ear but she did not turn away from the sky to see who it was.

Leaning against the side of the building, the Autobot puffed steam from his makeshift nostrils. He was well aware why she was here. He too eventually peered up towards the star-lit atmosphere.

"I miss him, Optimus. Nothing feels the same without him."

The Prime gave a low animalistic groan in acknowledgement.

The girl smirked, "Do you think he would approve if he found out you are my guardian?"

"I would imagine he would not condone the idea for certain reasons," the semi-truck replied. "Of course, he may not also approve of the fact that now you have more 'men' in your life either."

A smile broke upon Optimus' face when the human burst out laughing. He often tried to cheer Bumblebee up the same way by making a sad thing seem less intimidating. From what Cade had said, Tessa was just as impossible as Bumblebee as a teenager. The parallels between the two youngsters were scary but if Optimus could parent his scout, he surely can help Tessa too by filling in.

"That's a good point! Optimus?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for staying and keeping me safe."

The mech stayed silent, pondering her words carefully. After a minute, he held his servo open for her to climb upon. He brought her close to his chest where if one were to listen closely could hear is spark pulsing. Tessa instinctively rested her head against one of his pieces of armor with a content sigh. It helped that his body temperature could keep others warm in close proximity but he didn't have to tell her that.

She felt safe among him, protected like not even Galvatron could hurt her. She smiled again as his voice rumbled through her.

"I will always be here for you, I promise."

AN: Forgive me if this seems off or something, I've never written for this pairing before so I had to study Tessa closer and make sure I could do this as flawlessly as I can. I tried!