randomplaces | TFA 'verse. Autobot headquarters. Spider temper's tingling

"How dare she!" Crash!

"That slagging garbage scow!" THUD

"I'll rip her fragging voice processor out and use it for waste oil! ACK!"

Bittersweet stood and looked down at Blackarachnia, whose fist hovered inches from her plating.

Blackarachnia glowered up at the white femme, but then groaned as realization hit. "I woke Optimus."

"Yes." Bittersweet nodded gently.

"Arrghhhhhh." Blackarachnia ducked past her and made her way to the truck-bot's modest quarters, where he was sitting on his berth with his optics half closed and his back to the wall. "Optimus?"

He groaned and flinched at the sight of her. "What is it, Blackarachnia? It couldn't have been Bumblebee, he's currently cowering under his berth with terror."

She stopped short and blinked, feeling a surprising pang of guilt. "Whoops."

"Yeah. I suppose that about sums it up." Optimus sighed and rubbed his faceplate with one hand. "If you're done throwing temper tantrums can I go back to sleep?"

Blackarachnia sighed herself and walked over to scramble up beside him. "I... I'm sorry."

Optimus froze, then peered at her from between his fingers with an expression of incredulity and concern. "...What?"

"I said... I'm sorry." She leaned against him, her optic band lowered to the berth. "I tried to get the little 'bot for you, but they wouldn't give her to me."

"You... went to.... No. Blackarachnia, she can't come back here. Do you know what our people would say about her? I don't want her to live as an outcast, or to be mocked for something she can't even help."

"Who would know?" She frowned up at him, disturbed by his earnest tone and urgent expression.

"Besides, it's just not safe here. She's as helpless as a human baby." He shook his head. "Just... leave her where she's safe. Please."

"But you need her." Blackarachnia gave him a small thump with her fist, careful not to dent it worse than she had already on the wall.

"No..." said Optimus softly. "I just need to be able to talk about her to someone."

"Doesn't the old one know?" She looked up at him, wishing she could frown.

"Ratchet? No. He was busy saving Koko and Bumblebee when the little one came." Optimus wondered what he was supposed to do with his arm when she was leaning on him like that. "And I don't think he's familiar enough with spiders to have recognized the damage."

Blackarachnia didn't notice his dilemma, instead putting her arms around him. "Was... it bad?"

He frowned down at her, but then looked away. "It felt bad. And I was more afraid than I'd ever been before."

"Afraid of dying?"

"No... well, yes, that too."

She looked up again. "What do you mean?"

His jaw squared and his voice dropped. "I was afraid of letting you down again."

Blackarachnia found herself gently rubbing his abdominal plate, since his back was to the wall and she couldn't rub that. "You really are a boyscout, aren't you?"

"Err...?"

"Pure Autobot academy hero." Her voice lacked its usual mocking edge.

Optimus looked down at her with bemused confusion, trying to understand what she was saying and doing.

"Here comes Mr. Congeniality, and the last thing I want to hear right now is him harping at me for disturbing his patients." Blackarachnia gave him a last pat on the stomach, then stood and went up on tiptoe to hug him as high as she could before jumping off his berth and scooting out of the room and away.

Optimus blinked, then blinked again as wonder came to his faceplate.

"You're... welcome," he said softly.