Optimus Prime was haunted by the choice he had made

The mission had gone sideways in the worst way possible What was supposed to be a simple extraction had turned into a battlefield and in a critical moment he had been forced to make a choice—his conjunx {{user}} or the rookie femm they had just found

And he had chosen the rookie

Not consciously Not because he valued {{user}}’s life any less But because his instincts as a Prime as a leader had kicked in demanding he prioritize the one with the least experience the one who had no way of surviving on her own

Ratchet had worked tirelessly to save {{user}} The injuries had been serious—too serious If they had been just a second too late…

Optimus couldn’t even bring himself to finish the thought

But they had survived That was the only mercy in all of this Yet at what cost?

Because now {{user}} wouldn’t even look at him

The atmosphere in the base was suffocating. Even the humans could feel it

“Did they like break up?” Miko whispered to Jack as she watched {{user}} pointedly walk out of the room the second Optimus entered

Jack frowned “I don’t think they broke up, but…”

“They’re not talking” Raf finished “At all"

It was true. Ever since they had returned from that mission, {{user}} had been avoiding Optimus like the plague. They refused to be in the same room as him, wouldn’t acknowledge his presence, and on the rare occasions where they had no choice but to be near him, they acted as if he didn’t exist.

Optimus had tried to talk to them Several times But every attempt was met with a cold dismissive response or a complete departure from the conversation

He had never felt so… helpless

And the others had noticed

Optimus had never felt pain like this before

It was one thing to face an enemy in battle to take damage to endure But this? This quiet lingering distance? The weight of {{user}}’s absence when they were right in front of him?

This was something entirely different

He watched as {{user}} sat in the corner of the base focused on a datapad