Mechanical love

Chapter twenty

When Carolina woke up the next morning, she had expected to wake up bent over her workspace with a stiff neck and a numb butt.

What she hadn't expected was to find herself curled up warm under the blankets of her N.E.S.T bunk, wrapped in the arms of an ungodly beautiful man who smelled of metal and masculinity. Not that she was going to complain; oh heavens no.

Not in the slightest.

With a smile, she propped herself up on her arm so that she could take some time to observe the Holoform as it rested beside her.

She didn't look at it as Optimus himself; the body was merely just a vessel that allowed them these tender moments, all the Holoform did was act as an extension of him.

The early morning sun shone through the high, military-issue windows of the building, dancing gently over his high cheekbones, and creating a glossy sheen in that blue-black mop of hair.

She noticed that his chest moved beneath her hand, and his eyes moved beneath his eyelids.

Carolina gently dragged her hand from his chest and traced her fingers lightly along the strip of facial hair on his chin; giggling to herself at the tickle beneath her digits.

The lithe, stained fingers rested on the junction between his neck and his shoulder and she suddenly remembered the night he had come back to the Naval Fleet from Egypt; the night she had not dared to believe he was really there.

There was a little favour she wanted to return to him from that night.

Stretching forward on her stomach, she lowered her right hand onto the Holoform's solid chest and tucked her face underneath the crook in his neck with an almost cheeky smile.

She pursed her lips and pressed them against Optimus' neck softly; feeling her stomach flutter with the action. His body was warm, but Carolina couldn't help but notice that his skin retained a faint metallic taste against her lips; a taste that was so him.

Optimus stirred

"Good morning, Chief," she murmured, before she gently dragged her hand down to his chest to pick up the pendant from around his neck; the symbol of the Autobots glowing a very faint blue colour from the Energon that was laced through it, "my very own alien diplomat..."

She giggled a little at the thought before sitting up a little and quietly swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

She didn't really want to get up; in fact, if she was honest, she could have stayed in his arms all day without a thought.

Upon looking down at her dangling feet, she realized that she was dressed in her black under-leggings, her tank top, and her socks.

Wait...had Optimus...removed her pants?

In an almost sudden recollection, the previous night came back to her in blurry pieces, only recalling snippets of conversation; but she remembered the expression on his face when she had begun to remove her own pants.

"Oh Optimus..." she whispered with a smile, "...ever the gentleman; I should have known."

Searching the floor for her jumpsuit, she pulled draped it over her arm and ducked quietly under the bunk for her toiletries container before making her way quietly to the locker rooms where the showers were located.

When she had finally returned, fresh, dressed, and ready for the day; her bunk was empty.

The covers were just as she had left them and there was a slight indentation on one side where Optimus had lain beside her. She felt her chest swell at the fact that he had moved her there in the first place.