Step into my office [Closed]

[luckyfaceplate]

Who: Optimus Prime and Drift
Where: The Crater I guess?
When: After his talk with Rodimus
What: So I heard you want to date my son
Warnings: Dad mode activated

So after a discussion with Rodimus and seeing his now badgeless exterior, Optimus has been thinking long and hard about the significance of that. Granted, Rodimus had been rather avoidant of the subject, but he knew he could get an answer out of the other half of the party if he played his cards right. He didn't want to intimidate Drift any, but he certainly wanted to know if HE knew the significance.

Drift would, in his opinion.

So he contacted Drift, leaving him a datapad to meet him at a specific area (the Crater, nowhere special, really) to discuss this. Although...Optimus was really at a loss for what to say.

How DO you bring up this topic...

Comments

[auramatic]

Drift won't lie, something in his spark seizes for just a second until Optimus clarifies his meaning -- and then he relaxes again in relief. More than relief, really -- to hear from Optimus Prime himself that he's earned his place as an Autobot, as much as anyone else...something washes warmly over Drift's mind and spark, something he can't quite name or place, but it overwhelms him, suffusing him with the sense of strange new hope.

Which is why Optimus catches him totally off guard with his next comment.

Drift's optics widen slightly, and for a moment he's got the look about him of someone who's been caught. He straightens up quickly enough, though, optics softening as they peer back at Optimus. Optimus is...being a little oblique. Drift feels the need to tread carefully.

"...It's a very personal one, yes," Drift admits softly, and he traces his thumb around the edge of Rodimus' old badge. "I know. It's..." What does he say here? Drift fumbles for the words. "It means very much to me."

Yes he is please don't make him come right out and say it.

[optout]

He can see Drift relax, to his own relief. Scaring him (and he knows he could've) wasn't part of his intention. His own eyes soften at seeing that, as if his opinion actually meant something to him. That seemed so rare now, now that the war was over.

...

Ah, there we go. The realization of what he just said sunk in, and while Optimus may be oblivious to anything like this directed at him, he can certainly see it in these two. And the guilty look on Drift's face was as clear as day. If Rodimus wasn't going to own up to it, Drift certainly couldn't hide that secret.

"I'm glad." But he holds up a hand, as if he has more to say. "Rodimus needs someone who can bring out the best in him. If that's you, I want you to be aware of your weaknesses."

His eyes flick down a moment. Can you tell how much that little asshole means to him, Drift? "Does he know how intimate you feel?"

[auramatic]

Man, this conversation is subverting all kinds of expectations. He wasn't really expecting Optimus to shut him down, but he didn't anticipate this kind of gentle probing and almost...fatherly advice. Drift's never had a dad, Optimus, he doesn't know what this feeling is.

"My...weaknesses?" Not as though Drift would object to having them. He knows he does. But even so, he can't quite tease out what Optimus means by that.

The obvious care behind Optimus' line of questioning warms Drift's spark, though. Drift casts his gaze down at the...very personal question, but a smile tugs at his lips. His palm presses flat over the badge on his chest and stays there.

"Yes, he does."

[optout]

At least someone's appreciating it. Rodimus never calls him and he had to find out by demanding he come up from the basement via a text message.

"Your collective weaknesses. And how you'll work through them," he corrects, his eyes casting down to the ground. He would be the first to admit that Rodimus was a perfect individual, and Drift didn't need anyone telling him that he had some problems of his own. But having someone to work through the with? That was invaluable.

One he hopes Drift knows. And can help Rodimus realize.

You can't see it, but if you listen closely, there's a soft sound of something shifting in Optimus Prime. It's nothing visible. It's hidden behind a specific plate between his nose and chin.

The sound of Optimus's smile.

"Watch out for him. For me."

[auramatic]

Drift can't mask it -- his optics widen slightly, his spark drawing in tight in his chest. This is a rare moment, he knows, and he makes sure to savor it. He is being granted something special here. No one's ever entrusted him with something like this before. Drift's taken on plenty of responsibility himself, much of it far from his concern, but it's rare that anyone lends him that trust. His optics dim, a wave of emotion rolling through him, and he casts his gaze downward, nodding.

"I will." There's a world of sincerity in his voice, barer than usual. "I can promise you that."

[optout]

"You'll do fine," Optimus assures him, placing a hand on that shoulder plating. He knew Drift--maybe even before Drift realized it, when he took him to the dead end clinic. He knew he was a lost soul then, and that he'd found something now.

He sees the way Rodimus talks about him, and he sees the way Drift looks when he's given this responsibility.

He doesn't need the wisdom of the Matrix to tell him that things are in good hands. In fact, he couldn't find any more stable ones to put Rodimus in now.

"That's all."

[auramatic]

The hand on his shoulder just seals the deal on this being an emotional moment for Drift. It shows on his face, and he seems to stand a little taller under Optimus' hand. Of course he knows he's not the only one who cares about Rodimus, but it still brightens Drift's spark to see Optimus so clearly looking out for him.

"Thank you, Optimus." A slight smile tugs at Drift's lips. He hopes this won't be the last time he gets to have a personal conversation with Optimus.