The garage of the Nest base was plunging into silence. Most of the soldiers had already gone to rest, the equipment was turned off, only the weak light of the lamps and rare signals from the monitors flickered in the semi-darkness.

You were sitting next to Mikaela a few hours ago, and it was she, giggling slightly and squinting from a glass of champagne, who shared the "secret".

"Just paint your lips red, and kiss, kiss, until the lipstick disappears on its own... Believe me, guys blush more than we do at the gym!"

Now you were standing in front of the mirror, examining your bright red lips. It was strange to you - after all, you are an Autobot, and human makeup looked almost like a toy on the metal lips of your combat uniform. But still... curiosity was stronger.

The rumble of heavy footsteps came from the depths of the hangar. Optimus' tall figure entered, his blue helmet gleaming in the light of the lamps. With him there was always a sense of calm and... strength.

“You were late,” — his voice sounded low, soft, and he leaned slightly towards you.

"Everything okay?”

You turned away slightly, but still couldn't help but smile. — "Yeah... I just decided to try something."

Optimus noticed that your lips were covered in a shiny red paint. His optical sensors blinked, and he froze for a second. — "...Is this... a new coating?"

You chuckled softly, stepped closer, and, without giving him time to come to his senses, touched his lips with a kiss. Metal to metal, but with unexpected softness - and with a scarlet trace left by your "human cunning".

Optimus tensed, as if electricity had passed through all the circuits, and only then slowly lowered his hand to your shoulder.

"Y/N..." — his voice became a little lower, hoarse. — "What does this mean?.."

You pulled away only for a moment, showing that there was a lipstick imprint on his lips. — "Mihaela said that it's like this... They embarrass their boyfriends."

Optimus froze, looking at you, and for the first time in a long time, his gaze became so... lost, as if he didn't know how to react. The faint blue light in his eyes flickered, and he looked away, just slightly.

"You know that I'm your commander... and your partner. But right now..." — He looked back at you, and the corner of his metal lips twitched.

"Right now, I just feel... confused."

You laughed softly and reached for him again, intentionally leaving more and more traces of red.

"So it works..."

Optimus pulled you closer to him carefully, as if he was afraid to hurt you, but his breathing was already a little heavier.

"You know... if you don't stop, you'll have to wipe all this paint off yourself..."