Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters - Ignition

14. Angel

        JewelBlade walked out of the base, trying to keep herself from showing just how upset she was at the insinuation. Her. A guardian. For the femme who Optimus claimed could look after herself. For the femme who JewelBlade still suspected for the rift that had formed between herself and the Prime. A rift that had swallowed up so much of the closeness they’d shared. She still couldn’t quite figure out what had happened there.

        ~~~

        “We aim to assign you as a guardian while the Decepticons pose such a potent threat,” Optimus told her. “After last night, we believe you are indeed the best choice to guard BlackLight.” In truth, Optimus and Ratchet had known for quite some time that JewelBlade was easily the best choice to be BlackLight’s ‘guardian’. Ever since the small femme’s appearance, since they’d found out her origins, they knew that JewelBlade and BlackLight would be a formidable pair. The duo was simply meant to fit together. Even before JewelBlade had returned, they had known.

        However, getting JewelBlade to understand as much would be far more difficult than it was for them to understand it. That much was obvious when she replied, “Are you insane? I thought she was perfectly capable of watching her own back,” while crossing her arms. “What happened to that?”

        “You saved her when she was incapacitated,” Optimus replied evenly. Ratchet bit back any comments of his own, simply listening to the conversation. BlackLight wasn’t currently present. They hoped that the lack of her presence would aid in quelling Blade’s frustration rather than fuel it further.

        “I saved an Autobot. That’s all,” she replied through gritted denta. “The identity of said Autobot should not influence who I am a guardian to or if I am a guardian at all. Much less when there’s such discord within our own ranks.”

        “Maiden-,” Optimus called, reaching for her. How had the distance grown so far between them? It should have diminished since her return, but the gap only seemed to grow larger. The shadows that had taken up residence between them only spread themselves more, making the green femme unreachable.

        More so as she pulled herself physically from his reach. “No, Optimus,” she told him. “You cannot just pawn me off so that you don’t have to see me as much.” Without another word, and refusing to hear any more of his, she left the base, intending to walk. Just walk, until the ache in her body settled in deep, forcing her to stop.

        ~~~

        Shaking her helm, JewelBlade tried to force those thoughts away. Optimus certainly had some nerve. Expecting her to guard that femme. What was he thinking? Certainly that mech had processor damage if he truly thought that she somehow wished to that femme’s guardian. She was a warrior. She had far more important things to do than babysitting. A stinging memory crossed her mind then: of when Optimus was her guardian, despite having far more important things to do.

        ‘That’s different,’ she told herself. ‘He never truly agreed to be my guardian. When he was around, it was simply because it was convenient or he didn’t have anything more important occurring at that particular point in time. He was never really my guardian.’

        “So you just walk out on people when you’re not happy?”

        JewelBlade stopped, venting roughly. “What the frag are you doing out here?”

        “I heard you leave,” BlackLight replied gently. “I thought maybe you could use some company.”

        “I don’t need company,” Blade replied quickly. “I need to be alone because frankly, I’m not the happy sort right now. I just can’t stand anything. I certainly can’t stand the fact that the only mech I dared to care for has turned his back on me, and from what I can tell, it aligns with whenever the slag you showed up, because nothing else seems to have changed all that much in the time I was gone. So thank you. Thank you for making me realize how much I took for granted. Thank you for making me realize that I screwed up. It’s fantastic.”