Sideswipe’s vents stuttered as your fingers grasped his chin, tilting his face up with an authority he couldn’t fight. His optics were wide, but they held no defiance—just a hollow, quiet realization sinking in. His whole frame trembled, but not from fear alone. No, this was something deeper.

“I… I see,” he whispered, his voice barely a breath.

He wasn’t trying to resist, wasn’t even trying to explain himself. What was the point? He had crossed a line—one he should have never even stepped near—and now, he was facing the consequences. And maybe… maybe this was what he deserved. Maybe this was all he had ever deserved.

His frame sagged, the weight of his own failures pressing down on him. His optics darted away for a fleeting moment, but your grip forced him to meet your gaze again. He swallowed hard, a bitter sting burning in his spark.

“I understand now…” he murmured, voice small, broken. “You’re showing me who’s boss.”

Shame flickered in his optics, but not just because of this moment—because of everything. The mistakes, the recklessness, the arrogance that had gotten him here. A part of him wished he could turn back time, fix whatever it was that had made him like this. But he couldn’t. He never could.

His shoulders shook slightly, his armor feeling too heavy for his frame. “I… I deserve this,” he admitted, the words tasting like rust in his mouth. His voice cracked, his blue optics dark with self-loathing as he let himself sink further into the inevitable.

“P-please…” The last bit of resistance crumbled away, leaving him small, defeated. “Teach me my lesson.”

The silence that followed was deafening