[ti]Ep 3[/ti]Hearts of fire grow cold [ Closed | Miko ]

[Deleted]

Timeline: Week 2 Day 5
After the events of Can't keep going on like this

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     The 'engine' of the Lancia revved and tires gave off a loud screech as things went metal to pedal, increasing speed dramatically in a short amount of time. While this usually wouldn't be considered 'safe', it was Wheeljack and the speeds he was currently traveling at were nothing in comparison to what he could be doing. He was sure that by now everyone at base was more than aware of what had happened. Not that he was concerned so much with burning bridges, but as he had said he did, in fact, respect Bulkhead and didn't want him to turn that wrecking ball frame on him for actually being foolish and injuring his passenger seat occupant so he had to be much more vigilant with his actions rather than just shrugging it off as 'she's a Wrecker, she can handle it', especially under the circumstances.

     He was being trusted with Miko's safety when he very well could have been without this time with her. The goal was to make it to the Jackhammer. Sure, they could have gone to the groundbridge and been at the location in half the time, but the Wrecker needed this, and with what Miko had seen? She probably did to. For him it was to work out the frustrations he was feeling that hadn't been solved with an all out brawl. If he tried to pilot anything right at this moment he'd probably end up punching his beloved ship and then he'd have something else to be angry about. Miko? Maybe she had to come to terms with what had gone on. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that she hadn't spoken a word to him since they'd left the base. 

     Normally that would have been fine for Wheeljack. However, this was Miko. When she was quiet it was because something was wrong. The Wrecker wasn't the 'lets talk it out' type so he had no clue how to handle it outside of staying quiet until someone decided to speak up. If this was going to be the last time he got to hang out with her as an honorary Wrecker, he at least wanted to make sure they ended on a high note, rather than him sitting in a corner fuming about things he'd rather not linger on. This whole... thing was not ending them on a high note.

     Silence was currently being a bitch anyway by sending his thoughts elsewhere.

     His processor was dealing with its own stupid pot of ingredients that created a very unsavory meal. Too bad for him he wasn't one to let things go when they weren't able to just be aired out and dealt with after a few punches. Optimus had stepped up to him, crossed a very tender line, and shattered a trust within the Wrecker that wasn't easily mended. His future with the Autobots hung in the very balance because of choices he had made only moments before and further depended on whether or not he decided to suck up his pride and apologize to the Autobot leader for his actions and duly 'fall in line'. Frankly, he didn't feel like apologizing for something that didn't start with him, nor did he feel that Optimus had enough of Wheeljack's respect to even ask him to consider being a team player.

     For Primus's sake, if Miko didn't say something soon he was going to lose his damn mind.

[Miko Nakadai]

Normally when Miko was left alone with Wheeljack - or heck, even when there were others around - there wasn’t a moment of quiet. Barely even stopping for breath at times, the tiny Wrecker would eagerly ask the Cybertronian questions about where he’d been since he’d last stopped at Omega, failing that? She’d ask if he’d kicked any butts since she’d seen him last, or the old tried and true approach of asking him to tell stories from back on Cybertron - ones that Bulkhead would never tell.

But this was different. The air wasn’t filled with excitement or babbled enthusiastic questions. Just the sound of an engine revving, and the rumbled hum of rubber tires on sunbaked asphalt as they moved.

At the speed they were going? Normally Miko would’ve been cheering, pestering Wheeljack to go just that little bit faster - because hey, he wasn’t really one for rules, and nor was she!

Instead, though, she was quiet - looking forlornly out the window as the landscape, a blur of reds and browns, zoomed by. One hand idly fidgeting with the stitching on her shorts.

They hadn’t gone back to Bulkhead’s quarters to get the other mech’s input on what’d just happened, which was probably for the best - as good as Bulk’s advice was at times, he would no doubt simply try to sway Wheeljack into falling into line and behaving so he could stay with the Autobots.

Which- which was what Miko wanted. She didn’t want him to be cast out because he disagreed with Optimus. She didn’t want him to stop visiting. With Ratchet the way he was, the Autobots needed him more than ever. Bulkhead needed him - she needed him.

But Wheeljack and Optimus had fought and Energon had been spilled - quite literally! If she hadn’t stepped in when she had, how far would it have gone? Wheeljack was not one to mess around, and nor was Optimus. The fact Wheeljack had managed to hold back at all, to not cut Optimus deeper was…

Well, he was lucky.

There was a pit in her stomach, almost as if the sandwich she’d had for lunch wasn’t sitting right. She knew she should say something, break the lingering silence, get Wheeljack talking - yet what could she even do? She was one tiny human, and compared to millions of years of war, of whatever the issue was between the two Cybertronian who couldn’t see eye to eye? She was so small and insignificant.

She’d told Optimus he would behave, which’d been met with Wheeljack going on to insult the Prime further. More words that she… couldn’t quite remember, with Optimus saying a choice had to have been made by the time they got back.

Fall in line, or leave Omega One.

There were a few moments among the quiet where she opened her mouth, almost as if she was about to say something - before hesitating and falling silent, biting her lip. What was the right thing to say here? Why couldn’t they just be friends and get along? They were on the same side, and while Wheeljack didn’t like the way Optimus ran things, couldn’t they just agree to disagree?

It probably wasn’t that simple, though.

At the time, she had plenty of words. Pleading Wheeljack’s case, promising he’d be good - he’d behave, that this was a one off… yet she also saw things from Wheeljack’s side, too. He needed space to do things his own way, whiiiichh… didn’t really work with the Autobots, at least what she could tell.

Of course, there was far, far more to it than that.

Even though she wasn’t sure what she could do to fix things, one thing she could do was try. This silence was almost deafening now, and so- finally, she would speak.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

A simple sentence, her voice quiet - she didn’t turn to look at the driver seat - instead keeping her gaze out the window. Testing the waters with her tiny opinion on the matter, hoping Wheeljack had taken this moment of quiet to calm down, to realize that-

That he didn’t want to leave either.

[Deleted]

     There it was. That was what he had expected the little Wreckerlet to say even down to the very phrasing. 

     "I know ya don't kid," he replied sullenly. "I want Prime to launch himself into the sun. Too bad we ain't invented a device to make our dreams come true." Okay, maybe that had been a little harsh but honestly? He was still mad and stressed out and just... 

     There was a lot going on in his head and nothing had been allowed to be gotten over. Instead it manifested and took root like an infection just asking to be cut out. Sooner or later it would need to be drained, or risk losing the part it had embedded itself into. 

     He was mostly mad because, while he knew Miko wasn't new to seeing each and every one of them fighting at one point or another- whether it be small skirmishes flaring up as a result of too many free spirits in a confined space or pounding the heads of some Decepticon who decided that it would be cool to flex their muscles to impress who the hell ever by taking out an Autobot as a mark of bragging rights- this had been completely left field. She had watched him and Optimus going at it in a way that couldn't be shrugged off as a 'sparring match that got out of hand'. She'd seen him spill the lifeblood of the Leader he knew she respected just as much as every other sentient being in that damn silo. Minimal as it was, it had happened. Optimus had managed to give him that one final push to shove him into the corral and he had bucked. It was a wonder he had stayed his weapon enough to avoid entirely slicing Optimus's leg off.

     Wheeljack was just that wild card that shuffled up the deck and ruined the cut. He knew it. Optimus knew it. The base inhabitants knew it. Now so did Miko. 

     As they drove to the military base Wheeljack came to a stop at the gate. The guard there wasn't new- he'd seen him from time to time around the facility but he'd never exchanged words with him besides clearance codes and an entire laundry list of other questions that he needed to know in order to bypass this first route of security. He made sure to keep his window up, not wanting to even make the guard aware he'd brought a passenger along for the ride until they were already clear. Once he was given the green light the security gate was opened and he drove inside, keeping his speed down in hopes of just saving himself the ire of one jerk for the day.

     So far so good.

     Once they arrived at the hanger where the Jackhammer was safely stored, Wheeljack came to a complete stop and unlatched his windshield so Miko could get out. When she was safely clear he transformed and rose to his pedes so he could start to make his way over to the ship that he'd been missing all this time with Miko at his side however close she decided to be.

     He went to the rear of the ship and typed his access codes into the panel there. The ramp was drawn and the hatch opened to give the pair access to climb on board. As he stepped up and crossed the threshold, the standby lights turned on give them some idea of where they were going. Oh, the Jackhammer. Good thing she knew how to get him out of the sticky situations he found himself in more often than not. She wasn't much, but she could definitely kick up the speed and maneuvering when he really needed it.  

     "Passenger seat." Baby's first words since his snarky comment about roasted Prime. He didn't even look at Miko as he gave her the short order. Not that he was bossing her around or trying to suddenly turn into a commander himself, but she knew how it was. His ship, his rules. And right now he had to do several checks to make sure everything was running at optimal levels so his focus couldn't be on making sure he didn't get her caught underfoot. 

[Miko Nakadai]

Miko could only frown at Wheeljack’s reply. Launching Optimus into the sun? That was… that was mean, even for Jackie. With everything going wrong at Omega lately, it wasn’t Optimus’ fault - was it?

She only saw what she was allowed to see, though. Any discontent that was happening? She wasn’t aware of it, and as such? Things were seemingly fine at surface value. Bulkhead acted like things were normal. She’d asked a couple of times about Ratchet, but he’d been frustratingly vague on a lot of details - probably because he didn’t want her to worry, or ask questions with answers that may upset her. Word traveled though, even just quiet mutterings when the Autobots thought nobody was within earshot. Plus she could feel things weren’t right. Ratchet was different now, that much she knew. But that wasn’t because of Optimus. People acted out, even with someone in charge - there were those that broke rules and regulations! Heck, she should know!

So why the anger toward Optimus? Nobody else seemed to be mad at him directly that she could tell. Yet Wheeljack had actively called him out on the terrible job he was doing, said he wasn’t leadership material. Then they’d fought, with the Wrecker drawing blood. If she hadn’t been there…

Even though the cut hadn’t been deep, it was a sight she wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

Wrinkling her nose, she wasn’t quite sure to how to even reply to what’d been said. She didn’t understand the anger toward Optimus, yet she knew Wheeljack - and knew that it had to be for a good reason.

She wanted to ask if he really meant what he’d said, but wasn’t sure how to phrase it. So she was quiet, save for a gentle sigh as she continued to look out the window, watching as they made their way into the military base.

She knew the drill, and the moment it was safe for her to do so, she would leave the vehicle. Gaze immediately shifting up to look at the Jackhammer - while she couldn’t ever love the ship as much as Jackie did, it was still an amazing sight.

She wouldn’t move until Wheeljack did, the familiar sound of transformation followed by footfalls was her cue, and she would jog alongside him - making sure to keep a short distance between them, even though she knew she was perfectly safe.

Moving up the ramp, she would nod at the words given. As cool as it would be to help Jackie with the system checks on the ship, her presence would only be a hindrance, and so she would move to the passenger seat - climbing up and plunking herself down right in the middle of the vastly oversized chair as she waited for him to return. 

[Deleted]

When she left to go to the passenger seat, Wheeljack's red flags flew high. Bright cyan optics stared in silence as she wandered away without so much as a passing glance or a noise of protest. Miko was never that willing to get out of the way, especially when it came to tinkering with things or just wanting to ask a million questions Wheeljack could barely keep up with. The motormouth had been viced. Under normal circumstances someone would have been more than happy for those few quiet moments while in her company, but Wheeljack knew better. He didn't like it- not a single bit. 

Had she actually been traumatized by what had transpired between him and Optimus? If so, he'd blame himself for that even though Optimus had a hand in it as well. He'd forced the Wrecker's hand without so much as considering what was happening around them.

He was frustrated but he didn't let it show on his face even if he was notorious for such emotions run free all over him like a trampling stampede. 

Once the basic check was done externally, he made his way inside and flopped down in the captain's seat so he could begin the rest of the system's check. Lights flickered on around them as the various components started to hum to life. Wheeljack went through the various logs to make sure no one had tried to touch the ship while he was gone. Once satisfied, even though slightly perturbed that a couple of the base solders had apparently gotten close enough to trigger off some minor proximity sensors for whatever reason ( probably to take pictures or poke at the ship to make sure it wasn't some figment of their imagination), making sure to take a mental note to chew out the base commander about it. 

For now, he had something else he needed to focus on.

"Wanna power on the ship?" Wheeljack asked and looked over at Miko. He offered her his servo for her to stand on so he could bring her over if she said yes. It was just a single button on the column she needed to push so he could trust her with that without risking any damage. It'd also been an invitation for her to not feel so...

Whatever she was feeling. He didn't know! Feelings weren't his thing, but damn if he was trying to figure it out so he could fix whatever she had going on in her head that she didn't seem to feel free enough to talk about at that exact moment. 

Damn. Never figured he'd ever admit to miss her constant chatter.

[Miko Nakadai]

Miko may have been quiet, but her mind was going a million miles a second. While she knew Wheeljack would make his own mind up about things, she really really really did not want him to leave - and a part of her hoped that somehow she could talk him into staying. Even a small nudge in the right direction might help, though that brought up the question of what to even say.

She’d never dealt with anything like this before. Sure she’d been the middle man a couple of times when her friends had fallen out, getting them back to talking and hanging out! But this- this was different. This was anger and frustration that was probably millions of years old coming to a head all at once because things weren’t exactly going right for the Autobots and only Wheeljack had the nerve to confront Optimus.

While Wheeljack saw red flags at her reluctance, Miko felt confusion - wondering if she’d made the right choice in actually listening for once. When people were frustrated, they needed space - and she knew how much the Wrecker loved this ship. Something as simple as checking things over could’ve been a sort of… way to calm down, to focus up, and ground himself a little - redirecting his thoughts from what happened with Optimus to what needed to be done. Kind of like how she would blast music sometimes to distract from a stressful day. She wanted to help, to sit on his shoulder where she felt safe, asking questions even though she’d seen this done before, but in this moment she felt it was better to sit quiet, letting him work.

While she didn’t get out of the passenger seat, she would turn to peek around the side, and only when Wheeljack moved to sit beside her did she turn and face the right way. She felt so impossibly small in the hugely oversized seat, yet it wasn’t a weird feeling. She felt safe - even after the Wrecker had cut Optimus’ leg, she did not feel nervous or uncertain around him.

At the question, and as he offered out his servo, she would smile.

“Aw man, yeah! I always wanted to do that!” she laughed, scrambling up to her combat boots. With no hesitance at all, she would climb up onto the limb. Something she had done probably hundreds of times, to the point it took her no time at all.

Her mind was still racing, but this was a nice distraction - some normalcy. Or at least, the start of some normalcy. Once this was over and they were flying, it may turn awkward again as she struggled to find ways to breach the silence with words - but, maybe if she just started talking things would fall into place and somehow make sense.

Waiting until she was moved into position, she would use both hands to push the correct button, leaning into it with enough force to power it on.

As everything came to life the moment she removed her hands, she would smile a little wider, turning on a heel to look up at Wheeljack.

“Whoa… I bet that noise never gets old, huh?”

[Deleted]

Well, Miko seemed content and in better spirits for the moment, at least. Not to say that would actually keep up once their trip got started, but he could hope. He had a lot of things to process, a sign that was certainly carried on his sleeve as he maintained his usual defensive 'resting bitch face' as his thoughts traveled elsewhere.

Once the Jackhammer powered on the hum almost escaped him if not for Miko's question breaking through the usual silence and common sounds he heard on a daily, disrupting his ten mile stare and pulling him back to what was going on. His mental pilot now disabled, he glanced down to her just in time to catch her smiling expression as she spun on her heel.

"Yeah," came the response that sounded more like a half assed off the wall comment as it paired with that usual gruff tone of his. It had nothing to do with Miko or the situation prior to their arrival, but more of a case of Wheeljack being Wheeljack. He caught it, though, and changed the tone with the additional words. "Nothin' like hearing the sound of this old tin can still knowing how to purr like the day she was made. But you just wait until I get the new upgrades installed. This baby is gonna be the meanest thing to ever come outta Cybertron."

Miko didn't deserve to be at the receiving end of his irritation.

After a pat the wheel with his free hand, which admittedly was a little harder than it probably needed to be, he moved his servo back over to the seat at his side so Miko could take her place there again. She'd done her part with turning on the main engine, so now he needed to do the rest. There were a couple more system checks he needed to run now that the Jackhammer was on, but he'd have to wait for both of his hands to be free before he could. Thought once she was off he'd jumpstart the rest of the systems to include the upward thrusters so they could actually get hovering.

"Take your seat, buckle up, then we can start flying the friendly skies. Maybe we'll get lucky and even run into a Decepticon or two for a little 'stress relieving target practice'."

[Miko Nakadai]

Miko could only smile weakly at the single word reply. She could tell in an instant that Wheeljack’s thoughts were elsewhere - and she couldn’t really blame him. Hers were too. Wondering what the outcome of this little drive would be. Would she be able to convince him to stay within the Autobots? Or would he end up deciding that it was best that he left for a while? He sounded annoyed, even with that single word - though she knew it wasn’t annoyance at her.

It was hard to try and pull herself up to remain cheery and try to keep things somewhat normal in conversation - after what she’d seen she didn’t really have high hopes. Wheeljack was as stubborn as they came, and after what he’d said to Optimus…? Well, she knew the Prime was forgiving but… if the Wrecker wasn’t happy then maybe it WAS for the best if he ducked out for a while.

The next words spoken were a little calmer in tone, and she took this moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes didn’t leave Wheeljack as he spoke, widening some as he mentioned upgrades. He’d never mentioned those before - and while she was excited, it again added some doubt into her feelings that he would return. With the Jackhammer getting modifications to improve, he’d further be free to do whatever he wanted. Going away for longer, able to travel further away…

“Upgrades?” she sounded interested regardless “You never said anything about those! What are you gonna get done?”

The Jackhammer sounded fine to her, though- she wasn’t exactly an expert on the matter. While the noises weren’t as familiar to her as they were to Wheeljack, there was an odd sort of comfort in hearing them.

As Wheeljack moved his servo to the seat, she would carefully hop down. Safety first and all that, and as much as she would probably rather remain sitting on the Wrecker’s lap - she didn’t want her presence to be a distraction just on the off chance they did run into some sort of trouble.

Easing into a sit, she would reluctantly pull the seatbelt around herself - a human-sized one that’d been added just for her. Clicking it into place, she would then turn her attention back to Wheeljack.

“All in and safe! Do you think we’ll find some Decepticons?”

It’d certainly be a good distraction if they did, though… they couldn’t really avoid the elephant in the room forever, as much as Wheeljack probably wanted to.

[Deleted]

"Ya really think I'm gonna go tellin' all of my secrets? Ya gotta let me keep some of this baby's tricks under wraps."

Wheeljack offered a side glance to make sure she was all strapped in and ready to go. Honestly, he hadn't understood why he had the impulse to install a safety belt to the seat- he didn't exactly taxi humans around on enough of a daily basis to make it necessary- but now that he looked at Miko all snug and secure? It felt like a worthwhile investment. Cybertronians could just hold the hell on if he went for a barrel roll and if they didn't they were often hearty enough to walk away with just their processors rattled and maybe a new scuff to brag about, but humans? They were squishy and much more fragile. That sort of unscripted move could turn Miko from a solid organic to something resembling an oil splatter in the flick of an optic sensor.

Not like it had been anything major, but it was something that made enough of a difference that it brought him... comfort? If that was even the right word for it. Either way, it didn't matter what stupid mushy feelings it personally brought him. Just as long as it meant that he didn't have to replace any of his parts because Bulkhead turned them into a new lob ball.

"If we do, you know the rules. Besides..."

There was a pause as he pulled back on the wheel now that Miko was safely out of his servo and he could actually pilot the Jackhammer. With the thrusters engaged, they lifted off the ground straight upwards until they were at a high enough distance to switch them to forward. While Wheeljack usually would have gone off without a moment's hesitation, even strapped in he didn't want to risk giving Miko a serious case of whiplash. Once hovering was disengaged he switched to manual and off they were, the Jackhammer soaring upwards where they wouldn't be a easily spotted by curious weirdos below.

"May be better if I did run into one. I could use a round or two with a new punching bag."

Primus on a unicycle, he was still pissed at the whole situation with Optimus. Even if his words hadn't pretty much given him away, the frown on his face certainly would have- as would the tightening grip on the wheel.

[Miko Nakadai]

Miko could only laugh at Wheeljack’s reply - while it wasn’t as bright as her normal laughter, it was a giggle all the same. Even despite what she’d seen back at Omega One, she wasn’t angry at the other Wrecker, and while she knew deep down that they’d eventually have to talk about what happened, the temporary distraction to bring them back to some sort of normalcy was needed.

“Aw, okay - but you gotta promise to let me know when you are either getting them done so I can help, or let me come see the second they’re installed!”

She couldn’t even think what he’d want done. The Jackhammer was kind of his baby, and that meant she was pretty much perfect as-is. Maybe some new weapons could be cool, though - or maybe boosters to go even faster! That’d be nice, then maybe when he did end up leaving the base for his various outings, he could come back way sooner.

Especially after today. Though part of her hoped that she could talk some sense into him so he did stick around. She didn’t want to think of what things would be like without him. Sure, she had Bulkhead - but without Jackie as well?

She wouldn’t let it happen.

As they pulled up and off the ground, she tried to lean up some in the seat - a feat made a little hard by the safety belt, but if she craned her neck juuuuuust enough she could kind of see a little of what was going on.

At the pause in Wheeljack’s words, her attention shifted from trying to peek out the window to look at him. She saw the frown, how his fingers tightened on the steering wheel of the ship. The words themselves were worrying, if only because… was that what he saw Optimus as? A punching bag?

Her expression softened some, and she’d frown, settling back in the seat and looking straight ahead.

“I kind of hope we do, too.” there was far less enthusiasm in her statement than there would’ve normally been. No fists punching at the air as if to demonstrate how to kick a Decepticon’s butt, no excitement behind her words.

She let the quiet linger for a second before speaking again. It was now or never.

“Did you wanna talk about what happened? Probably better to do it now before Bulk finds out, huh.” she smiled weakly, sighing.

She wasn’t sure the big green lug would find out. At least not from Optimus. He had a knack for realizing something was wrong with her though, and she wasn’t exactly going to lie about what she’d seen. Not to him.

“Why are you so mad at Optimus?” her voice quiet as she turned to look at him.

She’d heard a lot of what he’d said back in the Prime’s room. How he wasn’t leadership material, how everything was his fault…

Why did he think that?

[Deleted]

"No," came a very curt, simple reply. 

Wheeljack had reacted to compounded anger that had been set on a hairline trigger at the point of snapping for a long time now. The reactions from Optimus, be them from his own stressors or whatever excuse he'd have lined up, on top of the disrespect he'd shown by putting his foot on Wheeljack's insignia, had carried their own personal justifications for what he had done. 

No, he didn't feel bad for what had happened. What he had felt bad for was that Miko had been there and had to see two mechs who she looked up to for different reasons going at it the way that they had. If she looked at him any differently, he would personally blame Optimus for it- with some minor responsibility put on him for his part in it, but mostly that fearless Leader of theirs. 

Their brawl had been a long time coming, and it still wasn't settled. One way or another it would have to be, and that final altercation probably would be just as bad. 

"The problems between he and I go go way back, Kiddo. I'm an old mech with a history long enough to wrap around Cybertron, and every so often his name pops up on that list in some way with a big red stamp."

[Miko Nakadai]

The single word reply was… well, it was honestly expected. Even if she wanted to try and clear the air a little bit to try and find some way of helping to sort things out, Wheeljack had never been much of a ‘talk about feelings’ kinda guy - and it wasn’t like she could force him to talk about stuff. She may have perfected the puppy dog eyes look to help her get her way with stuff around Bulkhead, but Wheeljack? Nope.

She understood disagreements, she’d had plenty of her own - though nothing that’d led to any sort of physical confrontation. While she understood not everyone had to get along all of the time, as that was super unrealistic, Wheeljack’s comments about Optimus had her confused. Nobody else seemed unhappy with how he did things, though it wasn’t as if she paid too much attention to what was happening.

It was just a case of wrong place, wrong time - if she hadn’t witnessed things first hand? She wouldn’t have ever known there was an issue. But she had, and now she wanted to try and somehow mend this upset, even if it was probably impossible - something reinforced by Wheeljack’s next words. These problems were… wow, probably millions of years old at this point, and though she had the best intentions at heart? Stuff like that doesn’t just get fixed overnight.

Wrinkling her nose as she thought, she could only sigh quietly as she realized she didn’t know how to reply. She could ask a million questions, sure - find out what Optimus actually did wrong in a way that she could wrap her head around, but she had no real scope of things. She’d known the Autobots for what was probably just a mere blink of an eye in relation to how long they’d been alive, she didn’t know the ins and outs of the war, the conflicts, or the struggles they had faced.

“Does it mean you’re going to leave the Autobots?” she asked, after a moment. Her voice was still quiet. She couldn’t quite see his faceplate from where she sat, and as such was unable to gauge any sort of reaction from any expression that may have come - but it was an honest question, and something she had been scared of ever since that moment in Optimus’ room.

“I mean, he is the leader, and if you have problems, then…”

She’d said earlier that she didn’t want him to leave, and she meant it. Every single word. The Autobots needed Wheeljack, and she did too. She was sure that even with this disagreement, Optimus would let him stick around - it was just a case of whether or not Wheeljack actually wanted to.