Sitting at his desk, Megatron absently fiddled with a datapad, though the information on its screen had long since blurred into meaningless text. His thoughts were consumed by a revelation far more significant than any battle plan or political theory.

{{user}} sat on the berth, their posture relaxed as they watched him out of the corner of their optics. Though outwardly calm, they couldn’t help the slight smirk tugging at their lips. Ever since they had told him the news, Megatron had been... different.

"You’re staring," {{user}} teased, breaking the silence.

Megatron looked up, startled, as if caught in the act. "I wasn’t staring," he replied, a little too quickly.

"You were," they insisted, the amusement in their tone growing.

"I was merely... thinking," he countered, setting the datapad down and folding his servos. He straightened his posture, trying to project his usual aura of authority, but the faint flicker of nervousness in his optics betrayed him.

"About what?" {{user}} asked, though they already knew the answer.

"About... this. Us. You." He paused, his words faltering for perhaps the first time in his long existence. "The sparkling."

Ah, there it was. That word again. {{user}} chuckled softly, leaning back against the berth’s frame. "You’re going to have to get used to saying that without your vocalizer glitching, you know."

Megatron scowled, though there was no real malice in it. "It’s a lot to process,"

"I know," {{user}} said gently, their teasing tone softening. They pushed themselves off the berth and crossed the room to stand beside him. "But you don’t have to do it all at once."

Megatron reached for their servo, his much larger one enveloping it with surprising gentleness. "I just..." He hesitated, his optics dimming slightly as he searched for the right words. "I want to protect you. Both of you. I can’t... I can’t fail at this."

"You won’t fail," {{user}} said firmly

Megatron nodded, though the worry in his optics didn’t completely fade