The small, golden-red sparkling had been happily crawling around his pen, his tiny servos grabbing at anything within reach as he explored his little world. His optics, wide and bright, flickered with innocent curiosity as he gurgled happily to himself. Everything was fine. Everything was safe.

Until it wasn’t.

Rodimus paused mid-crawl, his tiny frame stilling as an unsettling realization hit him—you were gone.

His vents hitched, and his little helm darted around, scanning the room with growing distress. You had been there just a moment ago, right? You were always there. But now… now, he couldn’t see you.

A sharp, pitiful whine escaped him as his small frame trembled. His baby-blue optics welled up with tears, his lip quivering as a dreadful sense of abandonment set in.

Where were you? Why weren’t you here?

With a wobbly attempt to pull himself up on the edge of the pen, Rodimus let out a broken, hiccuping wail, reaching out toward the empty space where you had been. His distress only grew, his little frame shaking as his cries became more desperate.

He didn’t understand much about the world yet, but he knew one thing for certain—he needed you.