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I had always known it was going to be a possibility.
I went after him anyway.
Whether I was attracted to him or not didn’t matter; he was happy with Rodimus and that was enough. Those two adorable idiots had reconciled much more than I had ever thought possible and now were likely preparing to spend the rest of their lives together. I had my own personal victory to celebrate as well. For the very first time in my life, I had gone out of my way to tough out a difficult relationship and subsequently forged a close friendship.
But what was I going to do with myself now?
The Lost Light had been my swansong, and I really hadn’t planned on having a life after it. The war had been a successful distraction from my persistent loneliness, but now that it was over, the pangs were starting to come back again. Fortunately, I had the clinic to distract me. The waiting room was nearly always full; sometimes First Aid came down from the hospital to help out. It would eventually settle down, but for right now, it was a comforting distraction.
If he knew… If Drift knew I was working myself even harder, he would have probably given me a pretty good lecture about taking care of myself. But why? For whom? I could train the next generation of doctors, and then what? I would still be coming home to an empty apartment.
In that quiet space though, when the buzz of the day had finally settled down, I always thought of him. The way he faced life with such an intense fierceness. His compelling humor and captivating wit. That unguarded smile when he opened up. His deeply kind azure optics glowing in the dark as we talked late into the night on the way back home. If I had only had the courage to tell him how much he meant to me.
I loved him. I genuinely loved him. Enough that I wanted to see him happy even apart from me.
Inevitably, thinking about Drift always led me to thinking about Rodimus, and as I had a lot of empty nights, I’d been able to sort through some of what had happened back on the Lost Light. Drift had been the primary reason I had been angry at Rodimus, but seeing as how Drift had forgiven him—rather intensely at that—I didn’t have any reason to be angry anymore either. With that out of the way, I started to realize how much I actually did like the captain.
We had a lot in common, and it wasn’t just that we both loved Drift. We both got bored easily, but I had learned to hide it better by working long hours. Our emotions were quick and intense, but he burned through that energy much faster than I did. We both could be quite single-minded, but when he was focused on the quest, I was focused on Drift. I heavily regretted each and every time I had outright insulted Rodimus instead of directly criticizing him, because we had desperately needed each other’s help.
Eventually, I would figure out what to do about the both of them. But if there was anything that bringing Drift back from exile had taught me, it was that I needed to continue to reach out to those I loved. I couldn’t continue sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I needed someone to talk to.
First Aid was more than a colleague; he was now a trusted friend. I had sent him a brief note, and he had cleared his schedule the next night to come over for dinner. He brought takeout from a local restaurant near the hospital. I hadn’t had takeout in nearly four million years. On top of that, it was one of my favorites: noodled energon with a metallic spice mix. I’d consumed loads of that stuff while studying in medical school.
After dinner, we sat back with steaming cups of hot copper tea. I think First Aid brought the tea specifically to keep me away from the engex. Sneaky bastard. The perfectly balanced spice reminded me of just how much I missed Drift’s tea. I must have looked solemn while drinking it, because First Aid almost immediately changed the subject to the real purpose of the visit.
“Have you talked to Drift lately?” he asked.
I shook my helm. “No.” My spark ached at the lack of our long and engaging conversations, but I had wanted to give the new couple space.
First Aid took a deep breath and sighed. “He’s your friend. If you want to keep that friendship, at some point you need to tell him the truth.”
“Oh, you mean that truth that could very well cause issues between him and Rodimus?” I gestured wildly with my cube, almost sloshing my tea onto the table. I set it down, sat back, and held my face in my hand. “I’m not doing that to him.”
“Oh, this has nothing to do with that.” First Aid’s voice was strained but still calm. “Drift will do what he needs to do for himself. You just don’t want to hear confirmation of your worst fears.” He took a long sip of tea. “You already know the worst outcome. You’re already there. Did you ever think that maybe you saying something could make things better?”
I choked down tears. The ending of the war and the quest was like a dam bursting; there was no longer anything forcing the emotions in. “I don’t see how there’s any possibility of that,” I said, trying and failing to keep my voice level.
“Do you even remember Delphi?”
I glared at him.
“No, I mean, do you remember Drift at Delphi? Sure, Pharma’s treachery was world-class, but Drift stuck very close to you throughout the entire affair. The virus had all but immobilized him in his berth, but when he realized where you had gone, he forced himself to stand up and shuffle over to the ladder. I tried to stop him, but he gave me a glare I will never forget. He shaded his optics red, Ratchet. Deadlock red. It’s actually how I figured out who he was. In his state I don’t even know if he realized he had flicked them over. I let him go. With the last bit of his energy, he saved your life.”
I knew what First Aid was getting at, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe it, so I said something blatantly obtuse. “So he’s a very intense friend.”
First Aid made a very pained sound. “Primus, Ratchet…”
Like any good doctor, I had to weigh every single one of the differential diagnoses. “Even if he was willing to die to save me, it didn’t mean he was attracted to me. It just meant that he cared deeply about me.”
“Do you hear yourself?” First Aid pounded on the table. “Do you ‘facing hear yourself? That is exactly what Drift would think about you. It’s like trying to talk in an echo chamber!”
Oh.
Oh no.
“Look, I could be wrong, Ratchet, but do you really want to take that chance?”
First Aid left shortly after that. He made it clear he wasn’t angry with me, just worried. He wanted me to be happy, and sometimes that meant challenging my stubbornness. I had thought Pharma would have been the best choice for the next CMO, but I’m glad I was dead wrong.
That left me trying to figure out how to start a conversation with Drift. I grabbed my tablet and started typing.
Drift,
We haven’t had much of a chance to talk lately, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over and have dinner at some point. First Aid found a great place to get some pre-war-style takeout that you might appreciate.
Ratchet
I hit send before I could overthink it, and almost immediately the doorbell rang. It couldn’t possibly be him, right? I got up and looked at the door monitor. There was no one there. I opened the door. Still no one there. I stepped out into the cool night air and hit my pede against something. A tablet sat on my doorstep, accompanied by a vase of intricate crystal flowers. I picked them both up and peered further over my balcony. There was no one in the street as far as I could see.
I went back inside and sat down, setting the flowers down in the center of my table and clicking the tablet on. There was one message.
I’ve tried to hold this back for a long time, but I can no longer. I have been attracted to you for so long, but my love for you goes well beyond that. Your wonderfully witty sense of humor, the fierce care that you have for others, and the lengths you will go to show it all resonate with me to such a degree that it is almost indescribable.
I regret that I was so afraid of rejection that I did not have the courage to admit these things to you in person. However, these are not feelings I can contain within my frame, nor do I wish to. When we were at the farewell party, I noticed that you seemed to be fading away with such an intense pain, but I was too involved in my own affairs to speak up, and for that I am so sorry. Please believe me when I say that you are not alone and you are loved, very much so, and I hope that soon I can tell you that in person.
Your Secret Admirer
My face was burning up, my spark had skipped a few beats, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t breathing for the entire time I was reading it. Who could this be? Beyond them serving onboard the Lost Light, the details were too vague to narrow down their identity any further. Whether this person was single, ready to move on from another relationship, or simply polyamorous, I had no idea.
I nearly jumped when my internal comm dinged with a text message.
Ratchet,
I would love to have dinner with you! How does tomorrow sound, maybe right after the clinic closes? Drinks are on me.
Drift
Well, that was easier than I thought it would be, but then again, that was the easiest part. Before he had left, First Aid had suggested that I write down my feelings for Drift in a letter. That way, I wouldn’t have to come up with the words in real time. I grabbed my tablet and for a few minutes just stared at the screen. What I thought about him was so nebulous that it would have been easier to kiss him than write an essay, but I decided to just start typing.
Drift,
There’s a lot that I’ve struggled to say to you for a long time, but I need to be honest with you because you are my friend and you should know the truth. For a while now, certainly since you were exiled from the ship, I’ve started to fall in love with you. When I left the ship to find you, it didn’t matter whether you would return my feelings or not, but it still does no good to hide these things from someone I love.
I know you’ve chosen Rodimus, and I don’t want to separate the two of you, because I know you love him much more than I ever did. I do regret not being bold enough to tell you on the ride back home, but Rodimus will make you happy, I’m sure of it.
I still want to be in your life. Don’t worry about me; I’ve been through this before and I will be okay. I just thought that you and Rodimus should know. I’d like to discuss this with you further if you are willing. You are one of the closest friends I have ever had, and the last thing I want is for this to drive a wedge between us.
Ratchet
Not exactly the traditional love letter, but then again, I was nowhere near a traditional romantic and neither was Drift. We could both quip with the best of them, but we both held actions above all else. It was not going to be an easy conversation, but at least it was going to break the ice.
To complicate things even further, I now had this secret admirer to contend with. Was I going to have to turn them down? Or was it someone who I already wanted? Unlikely. But still, maybe I should give them a chance? In one night my world had turned upside down, and it was enough to replace my depressed thoughts with worried thoughts, which was a slight improvement.
That night, I lay back in my berth and fell asleep dreaming of the tantalizing impossibility that Drift wrote that anonymous letter.
The next day I tried not to focus as much as I could on the simultaneous excitement and horror of Drift’s visit. Before going to work I did as much cleaning as I could of my living space. I should have cleaned for First Aid as well, but I think he understood that I was in a pretty bad mood at the time. Not that my living space was messy in any regard, but I wanted to not just make it clean but welcoming.
I was able to slip out of the clinic a little early that night thanks to First Aid covering for me. Hopefully in a few years’ time, I’d be able to recruit from the first batch of newly minted doctors that came from the Bronze Harvest, but right now, First Aid was more than happy to facilitate this reconciliation with Drift. I went down to the shops and bought some nice scented candles that I thought Drift would enjoy. Then I drove all the way to the hospital to get the food, fighting traffic all the way back and nervous that I wouldn’t make it in time.
I pulled up to Drift lazily leaning against the railing, grinning finial to finial. I transformed, and no sooner had I placed my packages on the ground than he immediately wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly into him. All of my anxiety drained away; I could swear it was the same for him, as his breathing stabilized while he relaxed against me. The night was already cold, but with us together like this, it didn’t bite nearly as much as it would have otherwise.
Drift slowly disengaged and cupped my face with both his hands. His optics were gleaming with repressed tears, but his smile, that beautiful sweet smile of his, was finally genuine. “There you are. I was beginning to worry.”
I frowned and checked my chronometer. “I’m five minutes early.”
Drift shook his helm. “No, no, not that. Your aura was dull, but it’s returned now.”
“Ah.” I had finally accepted that Drift may have possessed some sort of extra sensory perception, given how densely packed the sensors were in his finials, but that left me not knowing exactly how to respond. I grabbed my packages from the ground. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” Drift turned around and picked up a thermal. “I made us some tea. I hope you like it.”
I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and started escorting him up the stairs. “You know I always love your tea.”
It was as scrumptious as always, even better than I had remembered. Drift sucked down the noodles and talked rapidly about a place he had been to several times before the war that served something nearly identical. I was glad I had gotten him a double order; speedsters need to maintain a high energy intake, and Drift was really appreciative of me remembering that.
We relaxed in the slightly darkened candlelit room filled with music from my own club playlist, chatting and reminiscing for several hours. The last time we had done this it had been in the shuttle on the way back, and I had missed his keen insight and delightful humor so much.
“How are you and Rodimus getting along?” I finally got the courage to ask.
Drift grinned and chuckled as he looked away from me. “We’re fine. We’re doing good.”
“Are you…” I gulped. “Are you thinking about getting junxed?”
“Ah, no, not yet. We’re taking our time.” Drift turned back and stared straight into my optics. I could have gotten lost in their deep blue hue. “We still have a few things to figure out.”
The tablet I had poured all my feelings into sat on the table next to the one my “secret admirer” had left. I thought about reaching over and getting it, but I couldn’t make myself move just yet.
Drift cocked his helm. “How about you?”
“Fine, fine,” I lied and then realized how hypocritical it was. “Scratch that. Clinic’s been abuzz downstairs, but I have to admit, it’s been kind of lonely otherwise. And then there’s my ‘secret admirer.’” Even my signature air quotes felt rusty.
Drift leaned forward, his optics widening as he grinned. “Secret admirer? How exciting! Do you have any idea who it is?”
I shook my helm. “Not a clue. I can hardly bring myself to even believe it’s real.”
“Why so?”
“I just…” It was a thought I hadn’t quite put words to yet. Stalling, I leaned over and slid both tablets towards me, including the one with my confession. I might as well bring it along to force myself to deal with it. I handed him the one from the admirer, triple checking that it wasn’t my own. “The tablet and the flowers in front of you just appeared on my doorstep last night.”
Drift read through the note several times. “Interesting,” he said rather emotionlessly. If he had any jealousy, he wasn’t showing it, and I started to wonder whether I should give him the other tablet at all. With it now in front of me in physical form, not handing it to him eventually would seem like a form of lying.
“What?” I asked, stalling again.
“I was trying to think whether the writing style would help to narrow down their identity.” Drift scrolled through it again and then sat it down in front of him. He leaned forward to run his fingers gently through the flowers. “These are genuine. I’d find it hard to believe that they were less rare here than on our Cybertron. They must have been incredibly expensive.” He slid his other hand over the one I had rested on the table and squeezed, unwaveringly meeting my optics with a sweet smile. “Someone really does like you.”
I snorted to try to shake the pain away.
Drift’s smile faded, but his grip tightened. “Ratchet…” he breathed.
“Well, it’s not like they’re lining up like they used to!” I exclaimed as I slipped my hand out of his, with a bit of resistance, to throw my arms up in the air. “And you know damn well I struggle with relationships! I could barely get ours right, let alone something romantic. Who would want that, if they know me so well?”
There was a flash of red in Drift’s optics that disappeared almost before I could see it, replaced now by the deep gold that I hadn’t seen in over four million years. He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity. “I once looked at you long ago with these optics,” he said in an eerily calm and steady voice. “And you helped me at my worst. You accepted me at my worst because you knew that the world had not been kind to me. Even as Deadlock I had more control over my environment, but every single morning when I wake up, I still have to remind myself that I am worthy of Rodimus, that I am worthy of you, because I have worked so hard to change.”
Drift gently gathered my hands back into his own, his optics maintaining their original hue. “And so have you. If they know you as well as they say, they know you’ve changed too.” He chuckled. “Given that you insisted on not just being a friend, but being a friend with the actual me, the messy part of me, and then follow through on empathizing with me, something I know was incrediblydifficult for you. I’m not surprised you have a secret admirer. Even if they’re not ‘lining up like they used to,’ they’re certainly getting the best version of you.”
I briefly shifted my optics over at the confession still sitting on the table. I envied Drift’s way with words, that he could compose something much sweeter in real time than I could after several edits. At the very least, my words had come from the spark. I nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
Drift leaned over and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. When he finally pulled back, he was still clutching my shoulders. “How about this? I’ll do some scouting to see who’s leaving you these notes and get to the bottom of it, okay?”
I nodded again. “Yeah, thanks.”
The azure had returned to Drift’s optics. “Of course, Ratchet. Anything for you.” He stayed there staring at me for a bit before sighing. “It’s late. I should probably head back.” He stood up.
“Wait.” I forced myself not to think when I reached over for the other tablet and handed it up to him. “I had a chance to gather some thoughts. Can you read it? No rush.”
Drift cocked his helm as he took it but then smiled. “Of course, Ratchet!” When I stood up, he hugged me again for much longer this time. “It was really great seeing you again. We should make this a regular thing.”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t sleep that night.
The next day went by uneventfully, painfully so given that I kept checking my messages for anything from Drift. I was tempted to send him another message, but I had said there was no rush, so I had to be patient if I wanted this to go right. I was much more exhausted than I usually was after work due to the worry, so when I finally trudged up the stairs to my apartment, I almost didn’t register the additional tablet sitting on my doorstep, this time on top of a small package.
I took the strange items inside and sat down in my most comfortable chair before I examined them more closely. Inside the package there was a small framed picture of ornate flames overlaid with a hologram making it look like the flames were moving. I propped it up on the table as I started reading the tablet.
This time, I thought I would give you a bit of my art. I doodle mostly, but I found these pens that could create these fiery effects and thought you might like them. I really enjoyed creating this for you!
You’re probably wondering who I am, but I’m not quite ready to reveal that just yet. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, and I’ve screwed up more times than I can count, but you’ve been more patient with me than most people, and I really really do love that about you. I admire that tenacious nature of yours and that passion I know burns right underneath your frame.
I wish I had been more forthcoming in the past, but I hope that I can change that soon.
Your Secret Admirer
There was something slightly odd about the note compared to the last one, but before I could process it further, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, Rodimus was leaning stretched up against the doorframe, wearing that ridiculously goofy grin.
“Hey, Ratch! Can I come in?”
I tried to hide how flushed my frame had become as I gestured for him to take a seat at my table. “What brings you here?” I asked as I sat down, resting my arms on the table in front of me.
“What? I can’t make a simple social call?” Rodimus put a hand on the top of mine, sending more shivers through my frame. “Drift’s really worried about you though. Usually after he’s seen you, he’s more talkative than usual, but last night when he came home, he was kind of reserved. He wouldn’t say that anything was wrong because he’s used to hiding all that from people, but I know him better than that.”
For all of his faults, Rodimus knew his crew extremely well, and that was one of the things that had made him an effective captain. I wasn’t going to be able to hide very much from him, not that I was any good at that anyway.
I sighed. “Did he tell you about the admirer?”
“Yep!” Rodimus grinned. “That’s actually the other reason why I’m here.”
“What did he tell you?”
“Not much. Only that you had gotten a note but seemed depressed about it, like you didn’t believe it. He headed out early this morning to try to figure out their identity, and apparently he was successful, because he came bouncing back in with the news.”
I supposed it was relatively easy for an ex-bounty hunter to get quick results, but one didn’t usually describe Drift as “bouncing.” He couldn’t have been that excited for me, could he? Unless the person he found was someone truly special.
But who could be as special as Drift?
“Ratch? You okay?”
I hadn’t realized I had zoned out until Rodimus prompted me again. “To tell you the truth…” I avoided looking directly at him. “I didn’t expect to come back from the quest alive.”
Rodimus silently studied me for a moment. “Does Drift know?” he asked in a low voice. Interestingly, he had skipped over a few questions that wouldn’t matter in the long run and had instead cut right to the point with almost surgical precision. It annoyed my coworkers to no end when I would skip to the end of a diagnosis without explaining it because my brain was just wired that way. I wondered if we both had further sharpened that ability during the war because it kept us alive.
“No,” I whispered just loud enough for Rodimus to hear. “I couldn’t bear to tell him. He’s lost so many people that I was worried it would upset him further.” Why was it so much easier to tell Rodimus about this than Drift? Maybe it was because we weren’t as close or didn’t have as much of a history? His optics were still focused on me when I forced myself to meet them. “But what was I going to do without my hands? What would I be if I wasn’t a doctor?”
Rodimus nodded. “The end of the war was brutal on people like us. You spend almost your entire life never finding a moment of boredom, but as soon as it stops, you worry what the next thing is going to be.” He sighed. “Drift’s just happy existing in peacetime, and he doesn’t understand how I can be so itchy all the time. Well, he understands why, but he doesn’t get it.” He rubbed my hand with his thumb. “Not like you do.”
I was luckier than Rodimus in that regard. I had at least been able to reopen a clinic. He had lost his ship and had faced the consequences that came with it, that there was nothing holding his family together anymore. He was trying to be cheerful, but his optics betrayed how depressed he felt, and his sadness mirrored my own.
I smiled at him. “I was honestly expecting him to show up at the clinic one day and tell me that I was working too hard as usual and drag me elsewhere, although he never seemed all that comfortable in Swerve’s, or any bar for that matter.”
Rodimus sighed. “Yeah, it’s not really where he wants to go. Too much stimulation, which, ironically, is what I need.”
“What we need,” I corrected him. “You know, we could always go, just the two of us, if he’s not feeling it.”
Rodimus lit up like a pair of headlights as he grinned. “Party with the genuine Party Ambulance?” Count me in!”
I groaned, but only playfully so. I hadn’t heard that name in years, but somehow I didn’t mind him using it in that way. The thought of hanging out with him was becoming more appealing, strangely enough. I could go with Rodimus while not constantly worrying that Drift was overwhelmed but simultaneously dismissing any of my concerns.
“But you have to meet this admirer of yours. I think you’ll really like them!” Rodimus had now set his other hand around mine and held fast, his optics intensely locked onto mine. “Tell you what, you should go on a double date with me and Drift.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. If things went well, then I’d have someone to distract me from my attraction to Drift, and apparently now, Rodimus. If things went badly, I’d have two friends to support me. I nodded. “Okay.”
Rodimus beamed. “Great! How’s tomorrow night? I’ll send you the details?”
I couldn’t use work as an excuse anymore. “Sounds good.”
We both rose from the table at the same time, but Rodimus was quick to wrap his arms around me in a tight hug, gently swaying me. “You can come to me anytime you want to talk about anything at all, okay? Drift and I want you to be happy, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. We both love you very much.”
It was like he was trying to tell me something in how he emphasized his words but was holding back for some reason. But the warmth of his frame around me was distracting, like my spark was trying to leap out of its casing. Rodimus had never once said he loved me, even in friendship, but now he was adamant about it, and suddenly I found myself wanting more.
I lay in my berth that night thinking about Rodimus. I felt so much closer to him than I had before, and now I wanted him almost just as much as I wanted Drift. Was I going all the wrong direction with this admirer? Certainly it wouldn’t hurt to go on a simple date to find out at the very least, but now it was even more complicated with having a crush on Drift and Rodimus at the same time.
My last thought before falling asleep was now whether Rodimus was my admirer.
We agreed to meet at a relatively laid back restaurant downtown. I had gone in for a repaint and wax to make sure I looked as best as I could, and fortunately the drive was relatively peaceful, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone scuffing up my paint job.
I found myself driving slower than usual. It was hard getting into the swing of things again now that the war was over. I knew I had to hope for the best: that two of my closest friends had gotten excited for me over this secret admirer, and that they thought that I would like them so much that they were going to go out with me on this date.
When I finally reached the establishment, I spotted Rodimus and Drift standing in the corner against the wall.
No one else was with them.
“Well, I’m here. Is my ‘secret admirer’ late.”
“Nope,” Rodimus giggled.
“He’s already here,” Drift grinned.
I frowned at both of them, confused. I looked down and saw that they both had their hands behind their backs. What were they up to?
Drift and Rodimus both brought their hands forward. Drift had a set of colorful crystal flowers while Rodimus had a piece of flaming holographic artwork. “We’re your double date!” they said simultaneously.
Oh.
Oh, yes!
I had them in my arms as fast as I could get them there. The tears came and I didn’t care. As soon as I started letting go, Drift grabbed me and kissed me hard, breathing in sharply and probing so fast that it almost knocked me backwards. He tasted like a rare spice, deep and rich and intense. When he was done, mutually reluctantly it seemed, Rodimus came up and put his forehelm against me, and I answered with another kiss. It felt as exciting as I had imagined it, hot and humid and strangely familiar, like a reflection of myself.
I didn’t want to let go, but my speedsters were most likely hungry.
My speedsters. Plural. I could hardly believe it.
We managed to secure a private booth away from the crowd. After dinner, the whole story came out. Drift and Rodimus had indeed been involved at the very start of the voyage, but the whole Overlord affair had put a damper on their relationship. Drift had wanted to tell me how much he loved me, but he was too afraid of losing me and had refrained from that discussion. Rodimus too had been attracted to me, but he assumed he had burned that bridge with how he had treated Drift.
“He comes to me one night,” Rodimus said, swirling his drink, “and says, ‘Roddy, I need to be honest with you. I’ve always been in love with Ratchet.’” He patted Drift’s shoulder on the other side of me. “You were so fragging scared, but I knew something had been bothering you.”
Drift hummed against me. “Of course you did, Roddy. I couldn’t keep it in any longer.”
“And once he told me, and after I calmed him down, I told him, ‘Drift, I can’t possibly keep you from him. I would love to share you with him.’”
By the Pit, Rodimus was exactly like me.
“So we hatch this ‘secret admirer’ plan, not expecting that you’d invite him over.”
Drift chuckled. “I dropped that note off, catapulted onto the roof, and then answered your invite while I was up there.”
“But what we didn’t expect,” Rodimus continued, snuggling up closer, “was that you would then confess your feelings outright to him.”
Drift kissed near my audial. “That was beautiful, by the way,” he whispered. “I love you too.” The words shivered down my spinal strut. I turned and kissed the top of his helm.
“And as for you,” I said as I bent over towards Rodimus’ audial, “I don’t know you nearly as well as Drift.” I kissed the side of his helm. “But I’d love that to change.”
Rodimus looked up at me with bright twinkling optics. “Really? I mean… I’m flattered! I just wanted to make sure Drift was happy, but if you wanted to take me as well along for the ride…”
It was a big step, but I wanted to take it. Maybe it would work out, maybe it wouldn’t, but coming back from the voyage of the Lost Light made me want to take chances with people that I’d never taken before. “Just how big is your place, anyway?”
“Tiny,” Rodimus groaned.
“Cozy,” Drift corrected.
I chuckled. That was just like them. “How about you both come home with me? The room above the clinic is pretty huge, large enough for the three of us.”
“Ratch, you mean that?” Drift almost whispered. “It’s not moving too fast for you?”
“Not at all,” I said, squeezing them both closer to me. “We’re used to thinking on our pedes. I think we can work out whatever problems come up.”
That night, I lay in my berth happy and warm with two speedsters curled up and purring on either side of me. As I started to fall into recharge, I reflected on how wrong I was in how I thought things would end up when I had gone to fetch Drift. After all, sometimes the best possibilities are the ones you don’t expect.