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As part of their ongoing efforts to connect with their fans. Today, the Repair Crew hosts a fan signing event. Everything has been set up at a local venue, their many many fans lined up outside the building to get their autographs, receive their merchandise, signed merchandise, speak with their favorite band member, get selfies with them even.
“All right team!” Bulkhead announces “I know everything is all Deception, Deception, Deception! But we're gonna turn it into Repair Crew, Repair Crew, Repair Crew! Yay!” He cheers with flair, his hands eagerly waving in the air.
The Repair Crew. Optimus, Prowl and Bumblebee. With pens in hand, they exclaimed in unison but in a hushed tone “Happy fans, happy Prime Gate!” All three pull their pens together and akin to a toast, clink them together with a soft click.
“Let's bring them in!”
The moment the venue doors opened, it was like a dam had bursted. A large crowd floods into the venue, a tidal wave of wild and excited fans. Their screams and cheers filling and piercing the air.
“Hey! Single file! No pushing!” Bulkhead, working on crowd control, he orders as five individuals, who are dressed completely in sleeping bags for some reason. They file in, first in line.
Optimus, with pen in hand and popping it open, ready to sign a poster of him. "And who should I make this out to?”
"To our biggest fans!"
The sleeping bags slip off and fell to the floor to reveal…
"It's Deception!" The fans shrieked.
The Repair Crew's reaction however, visibly and loudly, groaning and growling with frustration and annoyance. Optimus, with pen still in hand, clenched it into fist so tight, a soft but audible crack could be heard through their growls. Bumblebee as well, snapping his pen in half with both hands.
“It is an honor!” Bulkhead politely bowed towards the rival band. “Table, now!”
At Bulkhead's order, a separate table for Deception was set in an instant, right next to the Repair Crew’s.
"Oh! Joint signing!" The fans wooed, lots of them leaving the line for the Repair Crew to Deception.
"We lose half the fans!" Optimus then abruptly stood up and announced "Deception will sit with us!”
"What?! Optimus?!" Prowl growled with a hushed tone.
"Ops, what are you doing?!" Bumblebee whisper shrieked.
“Genius!” Bulkhead mutters, tears streaming down his cheeks at such brilliance.
“Huh? Same table!”
Those fans were just as quick to return to the line for the Repair Crew's table… Well, not just them anymore with Deception's table joining in and merging with theirs.
"We need every fan” Optimus reassures both Prowl and Bumblebee as he sits back down on his seat. “Trust me!”
To Prowls' annoyance, Knockout takes the seat at his right, while Starscream sits at his left.
“We keep meeting like this!” Knockout teases with a purr, one arm splayed across the backrest of Prowl's seat while the other has his elbow on the table and his helm resting on his hand. Prowl could do nothing but snarl at the demon pretty guy.
Bumblebee meanwhile, he argues as he watches Wasp proceed to take the seat at his left "I am not sitting with no Deception-" Only to end up sheepishly giggling and cackling the moment Blitzwing sits at his other side. "Whazzup?"
Back to Prowl. Not only does he have to deal with Knockout invading his personal space, but also, perhaps even worse, Starscream’s obscene display of his vanity and hubris. Creating frottages with his abs with a pencil on paper, then handing the shaded poster with his signed autograph to a fan right after, two more fans having received the same. Prowl did not hide his absolute disgust and cringe.
Anyways, that leaves Megatron sitting right next to Optimus. Megatron wore a smile that could fool most, but there was something more there, something hidden beneath the surface. Optimus could only force a polite smile in return. The guardian did his best to maintain his calm facade, even as his irritation continued to smolder within. He could feel the demon's presence beside him, his charismatic aura and easygoing demeanor making it difficult to stay calm and collected in his presence.
“I hope you're comfortable!”
"Well, I didn't think you'd like sharing" Megatron teased softly.
"Believe me, I'm ecstatic!” Optimus grins through clenched dentae. “I love sharing!”
"Oh, I can tell!" He leans in a bit closer to the guardian, speaking the next part softly with a hushed tone, loud enough for only just the guardian could hear him "So you shared your secret with your friends?"
Despite his best efforts, the sharp glare in the guardian's optics were clear.
Prowl, Starscream and Knockout meanwhile…
“If only I could smash your demon face right now!” Prowl snarls, quite aggressive when he signs a poster. Only to immediately switch to sweet and nice as he handed it to a fan “Thanks for coming!”
The fan is left smiling awkwardly the moment they receive it, as if unsure whether to be grateful for the signed souvenir or disappointed at how ruined it was.
Back to Optimus and Megatron.
"Hold on, you haven't told them yet?" Megatron pointedly asks with a teasing edge in his tone. "... Or should I?”
"I'm gonna tell them…” The demon rose an optic ridge at that “... Eventually.”
Suddenly, an unexpected intrusion of a fan cuts through the tension between the guardian and demon.
"Are you two whispering?"
For a moment, both Optimus and Megatron just stared at the fan like a pair of idiots. Then, stammering awkwardly, frantically signing a poster and urgently handing it to her right after, wide and awkward smiles across both their faces.
"Don't worry! Your secret's safe with me!" The fan whispered, pointing down to the picture printed on her shirt. It was a fan art!... Of them?!... Together?! Not to mention, the ship name in big bold letters “MegaOp”.
Caught entirely off guard, both Optimus and Megatron could only flush with cringe. The realization that their bickering may have been mistaken for... Something else. Both tried to recover, giving the fan a friendly, if slightly forced smile and laughing nervously.
"Awe, so cute!” The fan shrieked happily as she steps to the side.
Back to the rest of the gang…
“Thanks for coming!” Bumblebee cheerily waved a fan goodbye with his pen.
All of a sudden, Blitzwing's face clicked and whirled akin to a revolving door. From calm and aloof yellow, it was as if a switch had been flipped, he has turned into a wild and aggressive blue. And for some reason, he just straight up viciously barks at said fan like some rabid dog.
Bumblebee though was quick to scold the unruly Deception member, smacking a pen over the top of his helm. “No! Bad Deception Boy!”
Prowl, Starscream and Knockout meanwhile are literally fighting over a fan's leg cast. Both Knockout and Starscream are just playing around, like it was some silly game. Prowl on the other hand is nearing his limit.
“I'll sign first!”
“No, I'll sign first!”
“I'll sign first!”
“No, I'll sign first!”
The poor fan is left reeling in pain.
Once that MegaOp shipper fan left, the tension between Optimus and Megatron returns in an instant, and they are both back to quietly bickering.
"I'm not gonna talk to someone who's helping Unicron!”
"I'm only helping myself!" Megatron defended himself. "Look, if I help him, he promised to erase my memories, and those voices in my head will be gone.”
"Pathetic!”
"Oh, you think I'm pathetic?!" Megatron suddenly leans in close, whispering close to Optimus' audial. "You can't even talk about your patterns!"
His unexpected closeness, his words, the reminder of Optimus’ secret that he dared to speak of... It pushed him over his limit, the final straw. Without a second thought, Optimus retaliated, stomping down on Megatron's foot, hard enough to make the demon yelp in surprise and pain.
He was quick to grit his dentae to silence himself, trying his damndest not to cry out more than he already had. He wanted to grab the guardian and just throw him across the room. But he held himself back, knowing that it was probably not a very good idea, not in front of the fans. So all he could do was just shoot him a glare.
"You want me to talk about my patterns? I hate them! Just like I hate all demons! And I hate Unicron!”
"If hate could defeat Unicron, I would've done it a long time ago! Trust me!”
For a moment, there was only silence. The air between them thick with tension, both of them staring at one another for what felt like an eternity. Neither spoke another word, the sound of chatting fans and the commotion of the signing event continued on all around them. But it all seemed to just fade away as Optimus' and Megatron's optics remained locked with the other’s, a silent battle of wills… That's until…
"Excuse me, Mr. Tron!" A young fangirl timidly says, cutting through the tension between Optimus and Megatron, catching them off guard even. "I made this for you!" She hands to him what looks to be a sheet of paper.
Megatron blinks, genuinely taken aback, but he was quick to compose himself. He looks down, eyeing the drawing that the young girl offered.
"Uh… For me?" He replies, his voice much lower and less controlled, his irritation for the guardian momentarily forgotten. The expression on his face softens somewhat as he looks down at the piece of paper. He was surprised as well as hesitant, yet was gentle when he reached for the little girl's drawing and accepted it from her.
The sight of Megatron, the demon's cold and tough exterior. Giving way to gentle, almost protective tenderness, the guardian was both confused, yet couldn't help but find it... Adorable? Optimus wasn't certain why, but he felt the need to smile as he looked up towards Megatron.
"Maybe listen to those voices instead of the ones in your head!"
Megatron falters for a moment, his defenses falling, his attention turned from the little fangirl's drawing back to Optimus. He wasn't expecting the guardian's words to be so... Gentle, the softness in his expression almost disarming. He couldn't help the way his unbeating spark skipped as this guardian just smiles at him.
In an unexpected and out-of-character reaction, Optimus suddenly stood up from his seat and…
"Isn't he great? Woo! Megatron, everybody! Yeah, Megatron!” Optimus yells and cheers, clapping hard and loud.
The fans followed suit, breaking into applause and tossing bouquets for each and every member of Deception, even Megatron got a bouquet. Except for the leader though, they picked up their bouquets and posed for the fans.
“Woo, Megatron?” Prowl questions with a raised brow.
Megatron sat there in a slight daze, his mind still stuck on the guardian's gentle words. The sudden attention was unexpected and the demon found himself at a loss for words. For a moment, he's left stunned, just sitting there as all the fans cheered for him. The unexpected celebration, the shouts and cheers, the outburst of support from Optimus had caught the demon entirely by surprise.
He quickly got back into character almost instantly, flashing a smile and waving at the fans. The demon had to remind himself that this was all a part of the act, that this softness that guardian showed was nothing more than that. A ploy to get the fans swooning.
Megatron then stood up and announced "Unfortunately, Deception has to run! Thank you, everyone!"
Megatron and Deception's sudden farewell caught the fans by surprise, a wave of disappointment rippled through the crowd, a chorus of "Awws" echoing through the room. Before Optimus could even say something, Megatron has already left with Deception. And as soon as they were out of sight from the fans, one by one, each band member's facade fell. Callously tossing away the bouquets gifted to them straight into the trash.
Megatron was the last to set his bouquet into the trash, stopping for a moment. He hated how the guardian still lingered in his mind: his kind words, his soft smile, the gentle look in those blue optics playing on repeat... It was confusing… Confusing him. He couldn't quite understand why he couldn't get them… Get him off his mind...
And there was the drawing the little fangirl gifted him, Megatron's gaze falling to the piece of parchment. He'd never been given a gift before, let alone one this... Adorable. It was a drawing of him with an angel's wings and a halo, a single rose in his hands. But it was the words scribbled at the top that caught his attention.
"Megaton, you have a beautiful soul"
He'd never been depicted so… It was surprisingly cute and sweet, something he's never experienced before. And he'd never been described as beautiful. Let alone... His soul.
That single word echoed in his mind, repeating over and over again like a broken record... Soul... It was as if the very word itself was designed to break right through his cold veneer. His expression remained stoic, a mask to hide the way that single word made him feel. And then there was Beautiful… No one in his entire life had ever called him that. He'd been called many things: ruthless, brutal, cruel, a monster… But never beautiful.
Oh, if only that little girl knew who he was… What he really was… Her sweet naivety and innocence... If she had known his true nature, if she had known the real him, would she still say that he had a beautiful soul? Would she still look at him with admiration with those bright eyes?
However, the Guardian does. Optimus knew who he was, what he was. The thought of him, the guardian, a hero, the enemy. He was supposed to hate him, to despise him, to fight him as the sworn enemy he was. Well, he does. But somehow for some reason, he still spoke to him with kindness like he was worth something, still looked at him with gentle optics, still smiled at him with the warmth he had never thought he would feel again.
Megatron found himself recalling every moment he'd had with that guardian… With Optimus. His thoughts were a tangled, conflicted mess… It was all so foreign to him, yet it made his cold unbeating spark flutter in ways it never had before.
............
"The Internet loves this, and the Internet is never wrong!" Bulkhead says, looking down at his tablet.
Only for Prowl to suddenly snatch it from him. On screen was just a shot of Optimus and Megatron's feet, barely even touching.
"MegaOp! That's genius!" Bulkhead exclaims.
A tap of the finger sends them to the next image, a fan art this time. It was of Blitzwing and Bumblebee, and Wasp as… A Baby? Posing as their love child for some weird reason. "BlitzBee! Where did they come up with that?"
Another tap, and the next was a photoshopped image of Prowl, Starscream and Knockout together.
"StarKnockProwl?!" Prowl sneers between clenched dentae, his free hand clenching into a fist, while the other that held the device shakes.
"Awe, you guys look so cute together!" Bumblebee sweetly cooes.
That got Prowl pissed. So much so, the device is practically crushed in his grasp.
“My tab!”
“I'll get you a new one!”