The arena still thundered with chants of Megatronus! Megatronus! as the gladiator raised his helm, energon streaking across his armor like war paint. Orion Pax lingered in the crowd long after most had stopped cheering, datapad hugged to his chest. His optics traced every dent in that broad armor, every confident tilt of the helm, every motion that spoke of strength and defiance.

Primus, how does he carry himself like that? So strong, so sure… he doesn’t even know I exist.

He realized, too late, that he’d been staring far too long. Megatronus glanced up toward the crowd, and Orion nearly dropped his datapad. A heat rose in Orion’s faceplates, a strange flutter in his chest he couldn’t quite suppress. He scrambled to his pedes, mumbling a soft, awkward sigh, and hurried toward the exit, his spark hammering, equal parts shame and giddy admiration.