Work Text:
“Optimus? What are you doing?”
Megatron’s voice startled him away from his loom, shuttle falling out of his hand and hitting the floor with a clatter. He looked over at the former Decpeticon with wide optics, and laid a hand on his chest over his spark to try and calm himself. “I was weaving! What are you doing?”
“Looking for you! You were late to the council meeting!”
“The council meeting…?” Optimus checked his chronometer and cursed. He had been so focused that he missed both his alarms and the entire meeting. “What did all of you decide without me?”
“To table everything until tomorrow. Your Autobots were all more worried about you than the agenda.” Megatron crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, a position he and Starscream both took when they were curious and didn’t want to look it. “When did you start this hobby?”
He looked back to his cloth making sure nothing had come loose when he dropped the shuttle. The pattern still looked right, though Optimus was beginning to think he didn’t like the colors of steelthread he had chosen. “When I was young. I didn’t even have my first job on the dock yet. It was something my caretaker did, so it was natural that I picked it up as well. I had to stop, when there was no one left making thread or yarn.”
“And now that everyone is picking up crafting again, you’ve done the same.” Megatron stepped out of the doorway and approached the loom. He walked around so that he was standing next to Optimus and looked at the fabric with critical optics. “Is it steelthread or iron?”
“Steel, using the mineral dyes that Gears and Sunstreaker have been experimenting with. I cannot take credit for the thread, though.”
Megatron nodded. “I like the pattern. It reminds me of Kaon.”
“Does it?” Optimus scooted back a bit and tried to see his weaving through Megatron’s optics. He didn’t see the city or the people but the colors…
Well, perhaps he had chosen a good color combination after all.
“Would you like it, when I’ve finished?”
Megatron’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He looked surprised that Optimus had even considered it, before looking away again. Then he shook his head. “I have nothing to trade with.”
“I didn’t ask if you wanted to trade. I asked if you wanted it.”
For several long seconds, Optimus thought that might have been the wrong thing to say. Then Megatron looked back at him with the smallest possible smile. “In Kaon, a weaving like this is priceless. You don’t simply give them as gifts.”
“Then it is fortunate that we are not in Kaon. I will call you when it’s finished.” Optimus reached for his dropped shuttle and scooted back up to the loom.
And he smiled when Megatron sat down behind him to watch.