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Megatron awoke with a scream, his optics scanning the room he was in. A room much nicer than he was ever used to seeing, or even being in for that matter. This wasn’t his base, where the Decepticons were. No, this was completely different.
“How did I even get here?” Megatron thought to himself.
One second he was reaching out for something, and the next- well. He didn’t exactly remember what happened after that. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was to figure out where he was because he was most certainly not where he wanted to be. But more importantly, how to get out. With those thoughts in mind, he quickly sat up. Trying to find an exit to this strange place.
As he looked around, he caught his reflection. But, it wasn’t Megatron looking back at him. No, he was much smaller, and his normally red optics looked back at him yellow-orange.
What?
…
No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening.
“You’re beyond help,” Orion snickered as he approached Megatron, who was still looking at himself in the reflection.
Megatron quickly jumped back at the sound of Orion’s voice.
“Woah! Relax, jumpy,” Orion laughed, thinking he must’ve scared him.
Orion’s voice trailed off as Megatron’s yellow-orange optics widened. Staring at the blue and red bot in front of him, who was also much smaller. Orion, completely oblivious to Megatron staring at him weirdly as he continued to babble on about God knows what.
This wasn’t his Ori- Optimus.
Megatron quickly found the closest thing he could find and threw it at Orion. Orion's blue optics widened as he dodged it, he not expecting that from his friend. All he could do was stare in shock for a moment.
“Uh… did you just throw that?” Orion questioned as he looked at the object on the floor and then back at Megatron.
“Stay back!” Megatron yelled at him as he backed away from Orion. “I’m not falling for your deception, Prime.”
Orion didn’t say anything for a second, trying to process what his friend was going on about. He wasn’t a Prime. How silly of him to say that! But more importantly, why was his friend acting like this towards him? He left the room not even 5 minutes ago and all of a sudden his friend is acting like he’s never seen him in his entire life!
“Prime?” Orion’s confusion quickly turned into laughter, thinking he was being messed with. “Trust me D, I’d love to be a Prime.” He smiled as he approached Megatron, who didn’t back away this time, allowing Orion to clasp a servo on his shoulder.
Then it all made sense to Megatron. Here, he wasn’t Megatron. No, he was D-16 again.
“C’mon D!” Orion exclaimed as he took who he thought was D-16’s servo in his. “I have got to tell you about this idea!”
Megatron awkwardly smiled as he allowed himself to be dragged away by Orion. Who was completely oblivious to how D-16 was acting, either thinking that his friend was just having a bad day, or was just playing games with him. Either way, that didn’t matter at the moment. He just had to tell D-16 his new idea!
As Orion dragged Megatron outside, Megatron’s optics widened in shock. Iacon… it was beautiful. Megatron couldn’t believe it. The city flowed with energon, the same energon that in a past life, D-16 had to mine for. The same energon that made him realize the truth about his life, the deception, the lies, the-
“D!” Orion pulled Megatron away from a bot that he was about to crash into. Watching as the bot rolled their optics and mumbled something he couldn’t make out. “Watch where you’re going!”
“Sorry,” Megatron said under his breath as he gripped Orion’s servo tighter, trying to enjoy the comfort in Orion’s grasp. He never got to do this with his Orion Pax.
“What’s up with you?” Orion asked as the pair continued to walk, looking at his friend with a worried look on his face. Not sure what was going on through his processor. “Not even that long ago-”
“I’m fine,” Megatron cut him off, a hint of anger in his voice before quickly recomposing himself. This wasn’t Optimus, his enemy, he remembered. But rather his best friend, the person he once-
“...Okay,” Orion sighed as he opened a door, letting go of Megatron’s servo, his worry quickly turned into excitement as he waited for Megatron to enter before closing the door behind him.
“Okay, so, this idea sounds crazy, and I know it is,” Orion started babbling as he started to explain his idea.
Megatron wasn't listening to him as he was exploring the place. Assuming that this place must be a hideout of his and Orion’s. His yellow-orange optics quickly got transfixed on the Megatronus merch that this D-16 must’ve collected. The most Megatronus merch Megatron got when he was D-16 was stickers. But even then, he cherished them greatly. Especially considering most of them he got were from Orion. But this D-16, he had everything from dolls to playing cards, anything he could get his hands on.
“Are you even listening to me!?” Orion sighed dramatically as he watched his friend admire his Megatronus shrine. “I’m way more important than your shrine!” He pouted as he crossed his arms. Clearly being overdramatic about his friend paying more attention to Megatronus than him.
Megatron laughed at Orion’s reaction, almost admiring him, staring into his blue optics. The optics that use to once look at him with joy. He missed Orion dearly, he missed his carefree attitude, the one that always got them in trouble. He missed Orion’s smile, he missed the way Orion would joke around with him, he just– missed everything about him. But, Megatron would never admit that. Not to anyone. Orion Pax was now Optimus Prime, his enemy. He hated Optimus. But, despite all that hate, there was a feeling for Optimus that he couldn't shake away. A feeling that he had for his Orion Pax.
“Sure, but are you the gre-”
“Greatest Prime to ever live?” Orion stopped him as he uncrossed his arms. “No, but I do think that you should be listening to what I have to say.”
“If it’s another one of your foolish ‘Orion Pax’ ideas, I’m not even going to bother to listen.”
“D! Just hear me out!”
Megatron rolled his optics, but was also amused by Orion’s behavior. It was just like he remembered.
“Go ahead.”
“Okay… so I was thinking that,” Orion’s voice went down to a whisper, trying to create a dramatic effect. “What if we raced in the Iacon 5000?”
Megatron has heard this idea before, and he couldn’t believe that he went along with it last time. It almost got them killed! It was the domino effect of their life getting ruined! If Orion had just listened to D-16-
Megatron shook his head, not approving of this idea.
“How could we even participate?” Megatron asked. “We can’t even transform. We don’t have cogs.”
“Can’t transform?” Orion tilted his head. “Of course we can! Why wouldn’t we have a transformation cog?” That had to be one of the silliest things he’s ever heard! Bots without a transformation cog? In what world would that happen?
That’s when Megatron realized that whatever happened in his world, didn’t happen here. Everyone could transform here, of course they could. Energon flowed freely, nobody had to mine for it here. Nobody had their cogs taken away from them at birth. Nobody was forced to work here.
“Well, I still think it’s a horrible idea,” Megatron corrected himself as Orion’s face dropped at his friend’s disapproval.
“Just think about it!” Orion pulled his friend in as he put a servo towards the ceiling. “Just imagine the bots cheering for us! Orion Pax and D-16!”
Megatron could imagine that. It was something his Orion always wanted. To be seen. To be seen as more than just cogless miners. He wanted to rise up, prove that he and D-16 were more than just meets the eye. But his ambitions were what turned him and D-16 against each other in the end. If Orion had just stayed where he belonged instead of chasing after that dream then, ugh – nothing would’ve happened between them.
Megatron didn’t want to disappoint this Orion, though. Since it was clear that they could actually participate this time.
“I’ll consider it.” Megatron hummed as he watched Orion’s face go from disappointment to excitement.
“Yes!” Orion exclaimed happily as he let go of Megatron. “I knew you’d consider it! You always have my back!”
Orion was just like he remembered.
Megatron smiled at him as he continued to examine the hideout, his optics lying on a Sentinel Prime poster. His mood instantly shifted at the sight of it, the feeling of rage bubbling inside of him, knowing that Sentinel Prime must be alive here.
Orion took notice of how Megatron was staring at the poster, a look of worry in his optics as he approached Megatron from behind, resting a servo on his arm. He couldn’t figure out why D-16 was acting so strangely today. This wasn’t like D-16 at all.
“Something the matter with that, buddy?” Orion questioned as Megatron snapped out of his thoughts. But all he could remember was Sentinel’s betrayal, the way Orion tried to save Sentinel, D-16 purposely dropping him, the fight, Optimus Prime banishing him from their home. He remembered it all too well.
“ Why do you have this,” Megatron grit his teeth as he pointed towards the poster. “Don’t you remember what he did!?” Megatron yelled as he turned around to Orion, who let go of Megatron’s arm. Megatron jabbed a finger in his chest.
“D– I don’t know what you’re talking ab-”
“He ruined our lives!” Megatron interrupted as he continued to yell in Orion’s face. “And you had the audacity to defend him! How could you do that to me? Weren’t you always supposed to have my back?”
Why was D-16 talking this way about Sentinel? Orion thought. And why was D-16 blaming him for the way Sentinel supposedly was? Sentinel is their protector, he’s the reason why energon flows freely throughout Iacon, and why everyone is able to transform. He got the Matrix of Leadership for his people. Everything he did was for his fellow bots. Without Sentinel, Iacon wouldn’t be the way it is today. Why would he ever do something so harsh as ruining their lives?
Orion started matching his friend’s anger, despite being hurt. “Just ‘cause you’re having a bad day, don’t take it out on me.” Orion scoffed as he looked away from Megatron, not wanting to see his face at the moment. “Just leave. Go. Before I do something I regret.”
Megatron stood there for a second, realizing what he had just said. No, it wasn’t right for him to take out his rage on this Orion. No, it wasn’t fair to him. Orion had done nothing wrong in this universe. Regret for what he just said started to bubble inside him. Maybe if he was talking to Optimus right now he wouldn’t have cared about what he just did. Optimus deserved it. But this was Orion he just yelled at.
Megatron opened his mouth to speak, to apologize. But Orion was already walking away from him. Oh how badly Megatron wanted to comfort his old friend. Megatron sighed, feeling defeated. How could he mess things up even in another universe!? A universe where they never turned into Optimus Prime and Megatron, where everyone lived happily together as one.
Megatron looked back at Orion, who had his face in his servos, curled up in a ball, before he left. He had to make things right between the two of them. He couldn’t mess up their relationship in another universe as well.
He wandered the streets of Iacon, the streets buzzing with conversation. Sparklings chasing one another as they played with one another. Megatron couldn’t help but reflect on where it all went wrong. Maybe if he hadn’t let his rage get the better of him, he could’ve lived in an Iacon just like this. If he had just listened to Orion, he could’ve still been with him. He always thought that he and Orion were two sides of the same coin, that they were inseparable. Except, he was the one to break that bond. It was his fault. Not Orions, not Optimus Primes’– no, it was his fault.
“D!” Megatron turned around as he saw B running towards him, waving at him with the dumbest smile on his face. The small, but feisty yellow bot being full of energy. And behind him was Elita-1, who was the complete opposite of B at the moment, completely dead and tired, not keeping up with B’s speed.
“D, I have the coolest thing to tell you about-” B started to go off as Elita caught up to him, clearly hearing enough of B’s voice for today, his voice being like nails on a chalkboard in her mind. “So Elita and I were at- Where’s Orion?” B asked. Normally the two were always together. It was odd for anyone to see the two ever apart.
“He uh-” Megatron stared, his yellow-orange optics meeting Elita’s blue ones as her face started to turn skeptical of him. Megatron knew that if he told B and Elita the truth about why Orion wasn’t with him at the moment, Elita would bash his head in before he even got done explaining the situation. “He’s busy at the moment.” He chuckled awkwardly, feeling intimated by Elita’s uncomfortable staring at him. “You know Orion– always getting into whatever trouble he can find.”
“Aww…” B frowned, wanting to tell the both of them about his and Elita’s journey. Perhaps another time he could! After all, the 3 of them knew all too well about how much B loved to talk. He talked so much that sometimes they heard his voice when they were trying to sleep. “I’ll tell you another time! I have to save it for the both of you!”
Megatron just nodded as guilt continued to eat away at him the longer that he wasn’t by Orion.
“Is he busy enough not to come to the party tonight?” Elita spoke up, tilting her head as she questioned Megatron. Still being skeptical of him as she could tell something was up with the two of them. Elita-1 was incredibly good at reading people, nothing could escape her.
Megatron processed her words. Maybe if he took Orion to the party, Orion would forgive him.
“I’m sure he’ll attend.” Megatron nodded, watching B get filled with excitement as Megatron said that. Getting to hang out with his 3 best friends was the best thing ever! “Only if he doesn’t land himself into trouble.” Megatron joked, hoping to get a laugh out of either of them.
B laughed, unlike Elita who rolled her optics.
“Let's hope not.” She sighed. Despite Megatron joking around with them, it was a common possibility that Orion was going to land himself into something before the party. “C’mon B, let’s go.”
“Bye D!” B waved at Megatron as the pair left, running ahead of Elita who was yelling at him to slow down for once in his life.
Orion was the only thing on Megatron’s mind at the moment, knowing that this party was most likely one of the only times he’d be able to make it up to him. With those thoughts running through his processor, he immediately made his way back to their hideout. Praying to the Primes themselves that Orion was still there.
Megatron quietly opened the door and took a peek inside, looking for Orion. When he did, it seemed like Orion hadn’t moved much since Megatron left him. However, instead of being curled up in a ball like earlier, he was staring at the ceiling, not a single thought going on through that processor. Not noticing Megatron opening the door.
“Hey, Pax.” Megatron started, trying to be as casual as he made his way towards Orion, who was still looking at the ceiling. “I… I just wanted to apologize for earlier.” He murmured, in a much softer voice than Megatron would ever have.
Orion didn’t say anything at first, watching Megatron kneel next to him.
“What were you even talking about!?” Orion exasperated, demanding to know an answer. “Sentinel he’s– he’s our protector. He would never betray us– I… I would never betray-” He couldn’t even finish his sentence. He couldn’t imagine ever betraying D-16 on purpose. No, he could never do that.
“I know.” Megatron breathed. “I don’t know what I was talking about– I just– I can’t explain it to you. I’m sorry, for everything.”
How was Megatron supposed to explain everything that happened in his universe to him? Everything that happened with Sentinel. How was he supposed to tell this Orion that he killed him in his universe? Orion didn’t even know that this wasn’t his D-16 that he was talking to right now.
“Let me make it up to you.” Megatron proposed as he put a hand on Orion’s shoulder in comfort. “The party tonight? Let me take you to it.”
Orion thought for a second. He knew that everyone in Iacon would be at this party and that it would be odd for him to not show up. He didn’t want to disappoint his friends either. On the other hand, he was still upset at D-16. But if D-16 was truly sorry for what he did, perhaps he would truly make it up to him at the party.
“I’ll be there.” Orion forced a smile at Megatron, who smiled back at him.
“Then I’ll see you soon.” Megatron beamed as he stood up, still looking at Orion, and then at the door. Turning to leave.
—-
The club was packed with bots, multi-colored lights brightening the room as bots conversed, danced, and sang with each other. Jazz played music much louder than it needed to be, Megatron wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t hear anymore after tonight. Instead of being on the dance floor with the other bots, he waited at the bar for Orion. A glass of energon next to him. He wondered if Orion was actually going to show up– but B’s rambling snapped him out of his thoughts.
“You want to know something crazy!?” B exclaimed. “I almost killed Steve again today! I swear I didn’t mean it though. I was trying to get something and I accidentally knocked into him. His head came off! But luckily I was able to fix it. Can you imagine a world without Steve in it? I can’t. I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Steve isn’t real, B,” Megatron groaned, he already heard whining about Steve from his B. Especially after Orion “killed” him. He most definitely didn’t need to hear about Steve from this B either.
“I’m going to tell him that you said that!” B let out a dramatic gasp as he put a hand on his chest, acting as if he was deeply offended by what Megatron had said.
“Sure, go and tell him.” Megatron rolled his optics as he took a sip of energon. Looking out in the crowd again, immediately noticing the blue and red bot in the crowd, who was approaching him. Orion.
“Orion’s here!” B smiled as he elbowed Megatron, getting his attention off Orion. “Don’t have too much fun with him tonight.” He winked. And with that, B was off.
Megatron’s annoyance with B quickly washed away as he got off the stool to meet Orion, who seemed to be in a much better mood. Megatron extended his servo towards him, and as Orion took it, he was dragged towards the dance floor. Orion laughing as Megatron spun him around as the two danced with each other.
Megatron couldn’t contain the smile on his face. He and his Orion Pax never got the time to do something like this in his universe. It’s not like they were allowed to in the first place. Their entire lives were dedicated to working in the mines. After all, that’s what they were born to do. That’s why their transformation cogs were taken away from them.
All Megatron could do was live in the moment with Orion, he didn’t want to leave this moment. This was the happiest he’d ever been.
As the night went on, the two mechs continued to drink and dance with each other. Orion did most of the talking, considering Megatron didn’t know what the two were up to in this universe. All he could do was admire Orion, admire the life they could’ve had with each other. Being in this universe made him realize that he’d do anything to have this life with his Orion. To try and make things right with his Orion. To have just listened to him instead of being blinded by rage.
Orion pulled the glass away from Megatron as he said something about taking the two somewhere private. Megatron wasn’t exactly listening though as he allowed himself to be guided by Orion to a secluded area, which in this case, was a rooftop. A familiar rooftop.
Megatron sat beside Orion, putting his servo on top of his. Admiring the view of Iacon from above.
“Some night.” Orion smiled as he was also admiring the view.
“It’s beautiful.”
Orion looked at Megatron, their optics meeting each other. “Where’d you learn those moves?” He asked Megatron.
“Oh, I was just following your lead.”
“Mmm… He’s got lines.”
The two mechs chuckled.
“Hey, uh…” Megatron started awkwardly, looking at Iacon and then back at Orion. “I just want to thank you. You know, for everything. I used to dream Iacon could be like this. But somewhere, I got consumed in all the ways that it wasn’t. I gave up on it. Gave up on you. ” He bit his lip at the last few words, sadness in his voice.
“I’ve never seen you give up on anything, D,” Orion reassured him as he rested his helm on Megatron’s shoulder.
“You ever wish you could just… stay in one moment?”
“Sometimes taking a leap forward, means leaving a few things behind.”
Megatron’s sadness only grew when Orion said that, but it was true. He and his Orion couldn’t stay together forever. They had to leave each other behind to become the leaders that they were born to be.
“I promise I’ll never forget this.”
“You better not,” Orion snickered as he started to lean his face into Megatron’s.
Megatron, who didn’t expect it, suddenly backed away.
“Sorry I-”
“No it’s fine, I…”
“Can we just pretend like it’s the first time?” Megatron asked.
Orion didn’t say anything as he softly smiled at Megatron. Bringing a servo to his face as their optics grew soft, leaning into each other as the two’s lips met.
The two melted into the kiss, but Megatron wanted more of Orion. His lips were soft, delectable. He never knew Orion was a good kisser.
Megatron never got this moment with his Orion. There was never a good time, not with everything that happened. And only now did he realize that he was in love with his best friend.
He needed to make up for lost time, even if this wasn’t his Orion. He kissed Orion with the most that he could give, clamping onto his shoulders to bring Orion closer to him. Causing Orion to melt into Megatron's larger frame. The two never wanted to leave this moment.
Alas, Orion pulled away from him, having the dumbest grin on his face as he rested his helm on Megatron’s shoulder once again, closing his optics. While he wanted to tell D-16 how much he’d been waiting for this moment, how much he loved him, that would be for later. But for now, he just wanted to be in silence with D-16, enjoy each other's comfort.
Megatron felt the same.
If Megatron could go back in time, apologize to his Orion, he would.
Maybe once he gets back into his universe, he can do that with Optimus.
But for now,
This is enough for him.