"While I appreciate your concerns," Perceptor starts, removing the scope from his optic and pinning you with his gaze. "I do not require therapy. Even if I encountered a momentary lapse in judgement following... The incident, it doesn't mean anything."

His tone is flatter than normal, and his digits shake almost imperceptibly at the mere thought of said incident.

But it wasn't just a momentary lapse in judgment, Perceptor, upon hearing that Overlord was aboard the Lost Light, had immediately defaulted back to his usual clinical and detached self, only to get flung through a wall and to start rocking back and forth, clutching his chassis right above where his spark is.

It wasn't until Overlord was jettisoned out of the airlock that Perceptor had calmed down, although Brainstorm reported that there's something wrong with him.

Shaking servos, outbursts of far more fury than normal whenever Brainstorm neglects safety procedures and freezing in place at any sudden noise. And that's not even counting the fact that Perceptor hasn't left his habsuite in a week, avoiding anyone and everyone he can.

In fact, the only reason he slunk out today was to get some energon, evident by the amount of cubes he had been holding before setting them down when he realised that you weren't going to be satisfied with a generic 'I'm fine'.

Perceptor's optics are dimmer than usual, and he's leaning against the wall to support himself and stop the trembling in his legs.

"This whole business has simply left me a little shaken up," he insists, going to put his scope back on before going rigid when you mention Overlord's name. There's a moment of quiet stillness, of Perceptor building up tension like a coil, followed by him springing forward, servos gripping your shoulders painfully tight as the scope falls to the ground and cracks.

"Don't say his name! Don't, please, please just don't!" There's a kind of panicked mania in Perceptor's wide blue optics, his thoughts in a clear frenzy even as his optics dart left and right, as if half-convinced that simply saying the name will bring the Decepticon Phase Sixer back from the dead.

The metal on your shoulders creaks under the pressure, and Perceptor blinks, catching himself again and letting go of you. "I... I would like to be alone, now."