#and I especially don't draw them how they'd appear when he's hiding them but someone who can perceive ghosts is looking

[erradox]

Oh how I've missed drawing this kid

[linawritesocs]

Here is my writing for you <3

Aka reasons why I KNOW Lilia x Lina x Rollo is canon frfr

First of all, the vibes and the aesthetics are there. Trust

The :D x :( x :| dynamic is so fun. So so fun

Lilia is scooping you and Rollo up in his arms and giving you both forehead kisses <3

You and Rollo have things in common and I think you'd be able to help each other get through a lot of stuff!

Plus Lilia is there to always support you and he's very understanding!! No judgment from him at all, absolutely 0

Again, LILIA AND ROLLO WOULD FIND YOUR SMILE AND LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU STUNNING!!! GORGEOUS!!! They wouldn't want to change a single thing about you!

They'd take such good care of you, no cap. Seriously. They'd be absurdly good at it. And they're incredibly careful and ask if you're comfortable :)

Why did they fall for you? Not sure with them but in my head, they saw a failgirl meow meow (affectionate) and went "OMG I LOVE THEMMM" and "...Okay so I love them"

Also that one Halloween drawing you did is like. Stuck in my head permanently. The vampire x witch x priest one.

Ngl I think y'all should have a pet cat. Idk why but it seems right

So the fireworks during masquerade, right? Or whatever they were if they weren't fireworks, I'm not sure jsndkfs

I think Rollo would take you both to a place that's kinda far and the sounds aren't very audible, but the view of the town is great! And you get a clear view of the fireworks so that you don't have to miss how pretty they are!

I'm trying to think of date ideas but I'm kind of blanking rn? I know it'd be something more low-key... OHHH what if cat cafe??? (I feel like I keep mentioning cats but that's literally your and Rollo's energies, I can't just forget cats)

Whenever you're sick, Rollo would definitely take some time away from NBC, like a few hours, so he can see you and make sure you're doing all right! Maybe he brings you some food or medicines he heard is good for you!

I'm sure Lilia does a really good job too, plus he'd make sure you aren't lonely and in low spirits!

Random thought: If Silver is basically the son of Lilia and Lina, what's Rollo's role? I feel like he doesn't dislike Silver, that's all, but if you have thoughts... 👁️👁️

Cottagecore house cottagecore house cottagecore house

Once y'all graduate I can see you having a cottagecore house. Yes just like Seth and Rollo

That's all I have rn but PLEASE RAMBLE IN YOUR RESPONSE IF YOU WANT!!! I WANNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THEM <333

HSDHDJSJSDJKSJS TARUUUUU THIS IS SO CUTE I'M GONNA CRYYYYYY

and you're right. rollo x lina are just cat x cat. both of them are so cat-coded.

THE IMAGE OF LILIA SCOOPING BOTH ME AND ROLLO UP IS SO FUNNY but it's okay i know he can do it

everything about the vampire x priest x witch au is perfect. lina and lilia already dating and lilia going "hey dude wanna form a polycule". rollo naming one of the bells john and making cole and sebastian worry for his mental health. rollo being So Scared that someone is gonna find out about his relationship with those two but when cole and sebastian do find out they just go "OMG SO YOU DO HAVE BITCHES SLAYYYYY- ahem, we mean. wow.. you're not maidenless.." lina secretly being a catgirl and hiding her cat ears under her witch hat and fully turning into a cat when she's comfortable around rollo. honestly priest!rollo is a very popular au concept especially with a vampire/witch/other "monster" s/o but like. come on. we all know this is the best one /lh

. I GUESS SILVER CAN ALSO BE ROLLO'S SON THOUGH THAT'D BE SO FUNNY IT'S LIKE ".. so. uh. y-you're dating my father." ".. yes" "and you're also dating my mother" "also yes" ".. uh. does that make you-" "i am literally one year older than you" "okay father number two" NO BUT THEY EVEN LOOK KINDA SIMILAR. KNIGHT OF DAWN WHO. i'm actually obsessed with the way how silver actually looks and acts like a mix of them. he can appear very suddenly, scaring others in the process, just like lilia, he's eepy like lina and also tends to blame himself a lot just like them and he looks a lot like rollo and is very serious and responsible, just like him. he is literally their son. i'm gonna sob

here are some of my fav lina x lilia x rollo concepts if you don't mind me sharing!

lilia is 700 years old and he's been through so much and it took a lot of time for him to change and become the gremlin that he is today. lina is MUCH younger than him, but she also had to go through a lot of horrors. lilia never says that their trauma isn't valid and never says stuff like "well at least you didn't have to fight in a war". he just hopes they can feel a bit lighter when he's around.

i've mentioned before that i imagine lina's unique magic hurting them a lot in exchange for them to do things as good (or better than) as others so yeah, maybe rollo would find lina suspicious at first but then imagine him finding out about what her magic is doing to her and he's like. "SEE. I AM RIGHT. WE HAVE TO SAVE YOU WE HAVE TO GET RID OF MAGIC WE HAVE TO-" and lina is standing there like "sir.. why do you want to save me.."

*sobs* rollo putting a flower in lina's hair while she's sitting lost in thought and comparing her to that flower *CRIES*

rollo being confused why lilia is 100% okay with a poly relationship and lilia is like "well. uh. well. you see. i have EXPERIENCE" mallenoa and her husband (possibly crowley)

ACTUALLY IT'S SO FUNNY bc if you think about it lina x lilia x rollo is like a reverse version of that relationship. it's not the "actual queen" and a "trash man" it's "the nbc student council president and the most talented student from that school" and "a wet cat i found on the street and said "i just think it's neat"".

*SOBBING* LINA HAS NOTICEABLE FANGS.. DO YOU KNOW WHO ALSO HAS THOSE.. which means linalilia can just bite rollo whenever they want.

lina and lilia dye each other's hair all the time and try to make rollo join them. they fail but it's okay

[trashyocstash]

here's chapter 9

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8

n order to track down Phantom Blot’s whereabouts, Mickey made his way over to Mouseton Prison to talk with one of Blot's goons. Using his credentials as a detective who worked with the police before, he was able to interview the goon alone.

“Phantom Blot has gone missing and I'm trying to look for him, do you have any idea where he could be?”

The goon thought about it, “Maybe he's with that blonde he kidnapped. What's her name..Lily?”

Mickey was taken aback, “Wha…why would you think that?”

“When she was being held hostage by him, he'd let her see the art he stole and they started geeking out about it together. I've never seen Boss so happy before, he has some pretty obvious affections towards her.”

It was hard to imagine Lily was willingly harbouring a criminal, especially Phantom Blot of all people, but Mickey couldn't rule out the possibility. He also thought back to Lily’s assurances of him not hurting her, Blot's persistence on keeping her with him and how he'd been her “goth friend”.

With all of that in mind, he decided his next stop was Lily's house.

—------

Sitting on her couch, Lily had a smile on her face as she drew a flower. Truthfully, she hadn't drawn in a while, but sharing an interest in art with Blot had helped her.

Speaking of, Phantom Blot came up from behind and grinned, noting her drawing, “It looks great.”

She'd heard footsteps and turned her head around, smiling shyly, “It does?”

He nodded, “You mentioned you like drawing nature sketches, I knew they'd look amazing.”

“You're too sweet..”

“That's a first,” He chuckled, then an idea came to mind, “Maybe one of these days we could collaborate on an art piece together. You could sketch it out and I'd paint it.”

Her eyes widened, “That would be wonderful, of course.”

They shared a smile when there was a knock at the door.

“Oh! Let me go see who that is!” Lily got up as Phantom Blot hid himself away, not wanting to be seen yet.

She opened the door and was greeted by Mickey, who had a worried expression on his face, “Hi Mickey..what's wrong?”

“Can I..come in?” He asked.

“I..um..” She didn't want to turn him down out of fear of being rude, but also didn't want to let him in because of Phantom Blot either.

Lily's behaviour immediately came off as suspicious to Mickey, he raised a brow and persisted, “Lily, I need to come in.”

She started to sweat, “Um…”

“I see the mouse is here,” Phantom Blot came out of hiding and appeared behind Lily, wrapping his arms around her.

“Blot! Keep your hands off her!” Mickey yelled, Lily had assured him that Phantom Blot hadn't hurt her, but he didn't trust the villain and feared he would eventually.

“Woah, someone's mad,” Phantom Blot laughed as he moved his hands off her waist, and raised them in the air.

Mickey calmed down and turned his attention towards Lily, “Why are you letting him stay with you?”

Her nerves worsened, she was afraid that Mickey would hate her regardless of what she said, “He..arrived at my house, injured, looking to me for help. So I let him in and have been caring for him.”

He appreciated that she had such a big heart that she would even be kind and caring towards villains. Still, it didn't ease his worries and fears, “Are you alright? Has he been treating you well?”

“Yes..he's been good to me,” She replied, grateful that he didn't hate her after all.

Mickey breathed a sigh of relief, however, a look of uncertainty remained on his face, which Phantom Blot noticed.

“Aren't you supposed to be the hero? Yet here you are, so weary of someone injured being cared for,” He faked an offended sounding voice to add to it.

The mouse rolled his eyes, “I'm not mad at her for caring for someone who's injured, I just don't trust you.”

“I promise that everything is alright, it's okay, I’m okay,” Lily assured Mickey gently.

She did indeed seem to be fine, just understandably nervous. Mickey gave in and took a deep breath, “Well, alright. I trust you,” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “I'll..see you later..”

Lily and Phantom Blot watched as Mickey soon turned around and left.

Blot chuckled, “He's over thinking everything, can you believe he yelled at me?”

“He just cares about me, that's all,” Lily replied. She was truly grateful to see how much Mickey proved that he cared about her, it certainly helped soothe her trust issues.

Phantom Blot held his tongue back from saying all the spitting insults he wanted to about Mickey, for once. It was strange to not only be friends with one of Mickey's friends, but to have feelings for her. He'd always found the mouse and his buddies to be suckers, naive and a bunch of annoying goody two shoes.

But Lily was different. She was intelligent, shared his interests and was kind and caring towards him. They had more in common than it seemed on the surface. And he loved being around her, he felt at ease in her presence and like he could be more calm and relaxed over always being the terrifying villain. He loved that he was the villain of course, but it was still..nice..

Lily gave him a smile, “Well..I was thinking, do you wanna go outside with me?”

He smiled back, “Sure.”

As they made their way to the backyard door, Phantom Blot felt the pain in his back flare up again and he gripped onto it, his eyes shut and clenched tightly, alongside his mouth.

Lily quickly grabbed some water and aspirin for him, which he took.

“Thank you darling,” He visibly relaxed, and his hand moved up to caress her cheek, but he quickly put it back down once he remembered she didn't like to be touched there.

She frowned, getting the hint at what he wanted to do. Lily started to consider if she should let him touch her there, perhaps it could help her heal, and she knew Blot wouldn't hurt her.

“It's okay..you can..touch my cheek..”

Blot was surprised to hear that, “Are you sure?”

“Yes..I don't want to be like this forever..and I..trust you..”

He hesitated, “Well…alright then...”

Slowly, he inched his hand towards her cheek, as a way to help ease her into it. Lily sucked in a breath, her nerves were shooting up, but she reiterated to herself that Phantom Blot wasn't going to hurt her.

His hand softly rested on her cheek. At first, Lily's nerves remained, but she took a deep breath and stared at him. She felt his hand continue to stay on her cheek, not causing harm, but staying put and gentle.

She appreciated it, appreciated how sweet he was with her. The longer his hand stayed put, the more she felt relaxed and at ease.

“Do you think I could caress your cheek too?” He asked.

“I think it could help,” She agreed.

Lily felt his hand move, the nerves briefly returned, but eased again once she felt him simply caressing her cheek. His touch was soft and gentle, a warm, comforting presence she was grateful for. To her mind, this only reinforced that Phantom Blot was a safe person.

“Thank you,” Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes.

Blot noticed and began to wipe them away, “You know I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again.”

His head moved against hers, and she smiled, leaning her head towards his too, “I know.”

Having him so close made Lily imagine kissing him, wondering how his lips would feel against hers, how good his kisses would be. But she held back, he'd told her she didn't need a matchmaker when she let him know of her desire to be loved as she is, when she had him. He'd also repeatedly said that he liked her, not that he loved her, so she was unsure of his feelings towards her and didn't know the depths of any attraction he had. And she wanted to be sure of that. Plus he was a villain, getting with him didn't sound like the smartest idea.

Deciding to try and push those thoughts aside, she spoke up, “Come on, we were going to go outside right?”

“Right.”

They walked through what had been done of the sunroom so far, and out into the backyard.

It was small, but comfortable, with a white wooden bench at the back, a bird bath, bushes, flowers, her in progress garden, a white picket fence surrounding it and a stone pathway that led to a little seating area with more wooden furniture. A few small lights stuck out of the ground, dotting the area. A couple of birds were in the bath, chirping and drinking the water, and there were faint sounds of the city in the air.

Lily pointed to the garden, “I've been spending time working on a garden out here. It's..comforting to be out in nature for me, you know? It's relaxing, beautiful and peaceful. I love the feeling of the breeze on my fur and the sounds of nature. It helps me feel at ease. There is beauty everywhere.”

He gave her a flirty smirk at that, making her blush.

Her words also made him think of the garden in front of his mansion. His housekeeper, Mrs. Fragmuffin, was the one that maintained it, and he figured Lily would enjoy helping her with that.

“I get that,” He grinned, “As for me, I love science. It's great to just kick back and use my scientific knowledge for experiments and inventing things, sometimes I put on some music too.”

“And what do you listen to?”

“Goth rock, what else?” He grinned.

Lily giggled, grateful for how at ease he made her feel.

They went to relax at the seating area together, but Lily had found herself thinking about Mason ghosting her because of Phantom Blot, and Mickey’s weariness at him staying with her. She feared that her friendship with Blot would cause people to hate her, and others, like Mason, to outright reject her.

Lily frowned, “Do you..think people will hate me for being friends with you?”

Blot gave her a reassuring look, “The mouse didn't, you'll probably be fine. Besides…even if people did hate you..” He grinned, “You'll always have me.”

She smiled again, “Thank you.”

They continued to spend time together, enjoying each other's company.

At the back of Blot's mind, he was thinking of Phantom Brat. He had told her he wouldn't be gone for long, but that was because he hadn't anticipated getting thrown in jail and that fight. Phantom Blot worried about her, knowing she must feel upset and lonely without him, and it made him feel terribly guilty.

But he was going to make it up to her, he knew that with certainty.

—------

Night arrived, and Lily attempted to go to sleep. But once again, she was plagued by Cody. She thought of the ways he'd hurt her, and how she was afraid he'd find her again. Lily was terrified, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she tossed and turned on the bed.

But she soon remembered who she had staying with her: Phantom Blot.

Lily made her downstairs, where she saw him lying on the couch.

His ears twitched and he turned his head back, seeing her crying and her normally delicate blonde curls were a mess. He frowned, worried for her, “What happened?”

“I..I can't sleep. I was thinking about my ex again..I'm afraid he'll find me..” She sniffled.

Phantom Blot slipped off the couch and made his way over to her, placing his hands on her sides and gently caressing them, “I told you, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. Besides, I'm the Phantom Blot himself. And anyone who tries to mess with me quickly realizes how idotic they were being.”

She smiled gratefully through her tears, “You're right I..I'm just..I came here to start over, I don't want to see him again.”

“Don't worry dear, you've got the greatest criminal to ever live on your side, everything will be just fine.”

Lily wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and he returned it, both loving being so close to the other.

“Can you..sleep on my bed with me?” Lily asked.

Blot's eyes widened at her question, “Yes, of course.”

They went to her bedroom together, and Lily snuggled close against Blot, feeling safe and secure with him around.

This time, she closed her eyes and managed to fall asleep. Her mind took comfort in his presence, knowing everything would be alright, as long he was there. 

She had a pleasant dream too, where she fulfilled that desire to kiss him, under a blanket of stars on the grass.

As for Phantom Blot, his natural instincts guided him, he felt the need to guard her and protect her from harm. He knew some people were just unreasonable, obsessive and controlling to a dangerous degree and it wouldn't shock him if Cody fell into that.

Regardless of whatever happened, as he watched her sleeping form, relishing in her finally looking at peace, he knew he would always protect her.

[qupshalfempty]

Written as a not yet established relationship but mutual pining. It got so lovey dovey my heart hurt while writing this. It's very rough around the edges due to not writing for so long, but I hope y'all like it!

108. “Shh… You need to be quiet.” W/ Ultra Magnus and a Cybertronian! SO

Walking out of my berth room I was immediately met with the distant voices of both Optimus and Magnus. Following the voices in curiosity, I entered the main room of the base standing behind both of them as they mentioned a mission, an energon mine and.. My name? Before I could greet them their attention's on me. Never being the subject of their gazes so intensely, I gave them a lopsided tilt of my dermas.

“What’s going on?”

...

The glowing light from the portal fades behind Magnus and I as our pedes stepped off of the concrete floor of the base and onto the stick littered forest floor set in front of us. The forest was dense, light from the Earth’s star struggling to shine through the canopy above. Many of the planet’s smaller life forms were skittering away disappearing deeper into the woods, most certainly running from our sudden appearance.

Magnus paid them no mind, instead signaling me to follow him in I assume to be the direction of the abandoned energon mine we were to scout out. I trail silently behind him, already preparing for the long trek ahead of us..

Other than the occasional hand signals and “yes sir” from myself the travel had been near silent, the only other sounds coming from the crunching of tree limbs and brier under our pedes and the occasional animals nearby. I could do nothing but let my processor wander, distracted from the mission at hand.

The gleams of light cast from the sun painted what parts of the forest floor it could touch with golden strokes. At times his plating would catch the light and reflect against the leaves and other flora he’d push past in reds and blues… This would be romantic if we'd actually said more than a couple phrases to each other. I could only hope for that to change and for him to acknowledge me with more than just small smiles and hidden softness from the rest of the team.

I silently thanked scouting missions like these, allowing me more time around 'Magnus than usually allotted for his position. It gave me the chance to enjoy his presence and what soft smiles he'd offer when we were alone, which has been the only sign of any feelings returned on his part. I’d only hoped it wasn’t out of politeness and rather returned feelings anyway, just the thought is what’s stopped me from confessing much earlier.. While it’s been pointed out plenty of times how different he acts around me and how much more gentle he is towards me... It’s hard to believe he’d return any feelings, or would want to pursue a bond when one of us could be offlined any klick while fighting this war. Although I’d take whatever time I had left to be with him… By the All Spark I’m in deep.

Next thing I know, my left pede hits a displaced root and I'm sent tumbling forward into a familiar blur of red and blue. Just barely catching myself with my servos on… Magnus’ back plating… I jolted backward, ripping my servos from his back like they'd touched rust, and shakily righted myself. He jumped in surprise, snapping his helm back in my direction with widened optics before his optic ridges down turned in his signature stern look. I withered under his stare with an awkward chuckle before he finally gave what I assume to be a sigh and an attempt at a softer look that was really just one of neutrality for him. 

"Be more careful."

Turning away without waiting for an answer, he continues. I hesitantly follow albeit much farther behind so I don’t embarrass myself again. After an estimated half an hour of awkward silence, he pushes a tree limb out of his way and stops in his tracks. 

"We're here." 

Magnus was already crouched behind some thickened shrubbery, giant enough to hide his stature, and was looking towards an opening in the lower brier's branches he had held back. Peering over his shoulder was a cave's entrance a little ways away, hidden near perfectly from sight with the dense woods surrounding it. Peaking out of the tall grass thoroughly covering the vicinity of the entrance was mining equipment and empty carts overgrown with vines. They were most definitely left behind. Thankfully we had coordinates or we would have never found this. Not that I would've minded being around Magnus longer anyway… I quickly shook my helm, ridding my thoughts away.

"We should comm the others." I whispered, focused completely on the cave and not on the inexistent distance of our shoulder plates. My fans whirred.

He nodded, already a step ahead of me with his servos to his audials.

"Ratchet, the coordinates were correct. It appears abandoned, we'll be on lookout."

"Affirmative." I hear Ratchet grumble.

Magnus then turned his helm to me and raised an optic ridge, realizing how close we were, I shove myself back as calm as possible for someone’s who’s fan’s volume turned to that of a garbage disposal. He either didn’t notice or mercifully said nothing and instead continued in his usual stern tone.

"We’ll be scouting the area for any decepticon activity."

"So.. we'll be here a while?"

"Yes."

…

After the equivalent of 3.5 earth hours and a detailed dirt drawing followed by a reprimand from Magnus about "leaving behind tracks"… I got bored. Being on a recon mission with my spark lighter, without any plot going on, was uninteresting to say the least... He didn't make an effort to talk, his steady focus solely on the cave and the wind blowing the shrubbery. The only sounds that could be heard was the chirping of birds and someone's fans kicking on.. that wasn't mine for once.

Looking up from my plating was Magnus' helm darting away from my direction and back towards the mine. Was he looking at me? 

Luckily, my fans had no time to react as Magnus held his left servo up, a silent command to stay still and quiet. He glared down at the entrance before giving the signal to follow.

He pushed his way past the shrubbery and slid down the cliff side we'd been securely perched on. I followed close behind, letting him lead a path through the straw like grass.

Now usually I don't question his orders, but this was meant as a simple scout mission, a "stake out" as the humans vids would say, and we comm base to come pick up the energon once it's deemed safe. But this seems to be quite risky for someone who's so.. well the complete opposite. 

I ran every scenario through my processor as we continued deeper. Maybe he heard something? I'd thought he'd comm back to base and let them know. But our job is to see if it's abandoned right? So we’d have to confirm if it is, although just the two of us and no backup? Whatever it was, I'm sure Magnus has a good reason. 

By now we were in deep, the only light we had to shine our way was our optics and from what little energon there was left behind in the walls. I was barely able to stop my chassis from touching his back when he suddenly stopped and motioned me to look into the wide open room ahead. My optics brightened at the sight.

Inside was a huge cavern with the walls and ceiling filled to the brim with energon, full of huge deposits that were barely touched. Carts full of even more glowing energy cubes were ready to be rolled out. For sure able to power our small team for a long while. Oddly enough the machines were trapped in vines and aimed at a wall full of energon, two more were aimed at another, covered in the same vines.. 

It's unbelievable that something drove the Decepticons out, especially with all of this energon ready to leave… But from the looks of it, it seems all of the abandoned machinery hasn’t been touched in a while...

"We should comm base-"

One of the drills far ahead cuts Magnus' whisper off, it turns on and attempts to cut into the rock around an energon deposit before groaning as it struggles against the vines holding it captive. Suddenly a Decepticon enters from one of the nearby halls and expects it, grumbling something along the lines of "fast growing.." and "damned flora.." while tearing the vines off...

We both duck behind the rock wall at the bot's appearance, Magnus’ throwing his arm back to push me behind him. Luckily the decepticon took no notice, ripping what little vines were left off before the drill’s shrill sounds started up again. Magnus looked over towards me and started to signal before he was stopped short by the sudden sounds of pede steps coming from behind us. Our only exit. 

My optics widen, I look to him for orders only to see the same surprise in his. He turns to me fully looking around the dark tunnel before his optics catch something behind me and pushes me backward into it. With no time to react my back plating hits a hard rock wall, reflexively letting out a muffled 'humph!' into someone's servos.

"Shh… you need to be quiet." 

Turning on my optics at the voice I was met with Magnus' chassis, and slowly trailing up his clavicular plate, his neck cabling, and finally his face were his optics gazing down at me inches away from my own helm. One of his servos covering my dermas while the other was pressed firmly against my side with what little space there was. I didn't dare speak, not with the pedes slowly getting closer or the intense stare of Magnus'. Looking at my surroundings before my fans kicked on, we were in near complete darkness if not for our optics. From what else I could make out we were in a small enough crevice for the both of us and surrounded by rock on all sides other than the tight opening I’d been pushed through. Magnus' form towered over me, keeping me from peeking out of the crevice he'd somehow shoved us both in. Daring to peer at his face I can make out his optics slowly dimming.

"Shut off your optics."

A shudder went down my spinal frame at the demand but I obeyed, hoping he wouldn't notice. Knowing how close our frames were and how intertwined our limbs were, he most definitely did.

We both stood stock still as the sounds grew closer, the voices complaining about the flora destroying nearly all of their equipment and setting them back by 7 Earth days. The panic built up pressure in my chassis, knowing they’d soon be passing us. The only thing grounding me was Magnus’ rough digits pressed into my coxal plating and dangerously close to grazing the side of my pelvic plate. I’d forced my fans to shut off despite the heat emerging from both of our frames.

A rock being kicked from a pede step just outside our makeshift cover made me flinch, something I dare not risk illuminating my optics to see pressed into my forehelm. I stood stock still, reaching out and clenching something to ease my jitters as we listened in the dark.

After the longest klick of my life, the sounds of pedes slowly fade away further into the cave. I only allowed my shoulders to relax when the cave around us was fully silent, I slowly turned on my optics before widening them in surprise from the helm inches away from mine for yet the third time this Earth cycle….

Magnus' forehelm was pressed against mine, his helm cast down and his features being the most peaceful I've ever seen them. Not a hint of his signature crease of irritation between his optic ridges, you'd nearly think he were recharging if not for the heat I felt on my own helm emanating from his.

I could do nothing, not able to move away even if I wanted to due to the rock keeping me trapped from behind. Instead, I stayed still. His optics slowly turned on, meeting mine before looking downwards. I followed his gaze to find the object I'd grabbed in the dark, my servos were tightly clenched around his digits. Before I could instinctively pull back and apologize, his digits wrapped firmly around my servos, three of his digits able to cover my entire servos fully. He’d made no move to push away, instead keeping our frames pressed together. My sensors were off the charts, at times sensing his thumb run over my outer plating along my hip.

I didn't know what to do, so I followed his lead instead. Not able to keep his gaze for long I tucked my forehelm into his chassis and we stayed that way for what felt like megacycles until we heard loud pede steps and the shooting of blasters coming close. Soon enough we recognized Optimus' and Ratchet's voices from close by. By then I knew we definitely took too long to comm back and I'm not planning on explaining what happened.