Rodimus paced back and forth in the small quarters, his optics wide with a mixture of excitement and panic. His usually confident swagger was gone, replaced by jittery movements and nervous glances toward the berth where {{user}} was sitting, watching him with a mixture of amusement and concern. His bright, flame-patterned paint job seemed to glow a little brighter.

"Okay, okay, it's not that big of a deal, right? Right?" Rodimus muttered"I mean... it is a big deal! It’s huge! But I didn’t expect—this wasn’t—Primus, what do I even do?"

{{user}} leaned back against the berth’s headrest their optics following Rodimus as he frantically circled the room Despite their concern they couldn’t help but be amused by how worked up he was They had seen Rodimus take on Decepticon fleets make daring plans that barely worked But this? This had him spiraling

“Roddy”They called out softly trying to soothe him “Come here.”

Rodimus paused mid-step, turning to look at them with wide optics He blinked his faceplates scrunched up in worry, as though he couldn't quite process what they were saying“What if I screw this up? I always mess things up. What if this is the thing I mess up the most? What if I—?”

“Roddy”

Their voice cut through his rambling They extended their servo toward him, motioning for him to sit beside them“Come here.”

Hesitant, as if afraid the very act of sitting still might cause the universe to implode, Rodimus slowly came. He gingerly sat beside {{user}}, though his frame was still buzzing with barelly contained energy {{user}} reached over and took one of his servos in theirs, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re not going to screw up,” they said, their tone calm “You’re not even sure what’s happening yet.”

“But what if I do?” “But what if I do?” Rodimus muttered, staring at their interlocked servos. “I never thought... I mean, I never expected this. I didn’t think I’d—”

“—Get sparked?” They finished for him a small smile playing on their faceplate

"Yeah" Rodimus glanced at them his optics softening