Blood and Gold

"We are Sparkmates"

Hands were on Ivi's side as she slowly opened her eyes. There was Ratchet, in his holoform, pressing on her bruised skin. She frowned a moment before the memories of Shanghai returned in headache. Her wound...it hadn't healed, but Ratchet had fixed it. He flicked his eyes to hers when he felt her movement. "It didn't heal," she whispered, scared as to what that could mean. 
He nodded, seemingly unconcerned. "Yes, Ivi. You had some unfortunate luck: whatever impaled you had struck this organ right here," he pressed down on the bruise right beneath her rib, causing her to wince.
The girl sent him an angry look, but he just looked the other way. "It would seem that organ controls your regeneration. So, you would see how it getting a hole punched through it would have been a problem, right?"
Ivi nodded and tried to sit up when he pushed her back down. "Nope, not until I'm done with my checks."
The girl groaned, but let him continue pushing and prodding on the bruises where the entrance and exit wound had been. "How did you fix it?" She asked.
"It repaired itself while the others thought you were dying of blood loss. The organ took almost the whole time from Shanghai to here to heal, but your wounds were already starting to close when you arrived here. Nothing serious in the long run, just an unfortunate placing of shrapnel. You did, however, scare the rest of the team and your brother. It took me a while to convince the Major that you hadn't died in his arms."
The team. How angry would they be with her? "I didn't know that my healing came from an organ, and I certainly didn't think much of handling the problem myself."
Ratchet nodded and scanned her sides over and over. "Yes, from a logical standpoint, you did the right thing, but I assure you Optimus does not see it that way."
She felt her body freeze and her blood became ice. "Oh no."
"Oh yes, he is waiting to talk to you as soon as I release you."
Ivi covered her face with her hands. "Which is actually now since I see no reason to keep you. You are healing just fine. I'll send him in,"he paused at the door and looked back at her, "Next time avoid getting shot at."
Ratchet left before she could stop him.
Damn medic knew exactly what he was doing, and it was obvious he wasn't looking at this from a 'logical standpoint' either. She was so dead. Ivi changed into the clean -and not covered in blood- clothes on the table next to her, and was done, pulling her shirt down over her, just in time as Optimus came into the room. His holoform's eyes were torn between anger and concern. She turned her head away, hoping that he would just yell at her a bit then leave. "That was incredibly reckless, what you did," he scolded, sounding as though he was fighting to keep his voice level.
It was harder like this, when he tried to talk to her. Ivi lowered her eyes to the ground: she was just trying to keep the Decepticon from killing more people. It was so hard to have him angry with her, considering how much their relationship had improved over the last year, but still she found ways to make him angry. "Why would you try and hold off the Decepticon by yourself?" He asked.
"It was going to hurt more people, I was just trying to stall it," Ivi whispered, turning to look in his eyes.
They were definitely softer, but it didn't lessen the blow of his answer. "You are not allowed to sacrifice yourself for anyone," he ordered.
Anger broiled inside her. She cared for him, she really did, and all the others too, but he was asking her to do something impossible. They were her friends! He was her friend! Optimus and their time together meant the world to her, how could she just stand idle and let them fall? "We are a team, remember? We are all friends, and you let everyone else throw their lives away, including your own, but you won't let me? Why?" Ivi asked, her eyes burning.
Don't cry, don't cry. Not in front of him, she resolved. Optimus looked like a lost puppy, his eyes wide and sad. "Ivi," He said softly, trying to reach for her.
"No," she backed up to stay away from his hands.
Just as she turned to leave, Optimus grabbed her arm, causing Ivi to whip her head around at him. Neither of them could say anything, however, as a ripple of electrical shocks passed back and forth from where his hand was touching her arm. Ivi stared into Optimus' eyes, hoping he had an answer for her; but he looked just as scared as her. A light started glowing in his holoform's chest, and Ivi realized she could hear it: like the wind, spinning around and around in a tornado of light. Optimus was frozen, whether in fear or shock, she didn't know, but Ivi was practically trembling as the shocks went through them. Surprisingly, it was very hard to pull away, like his grip had been cemented on her arm, but she did. Everything stopped, yet she could still hear that rushing wind; the light in his chest. Ivi could feel her own breath quickening and she kept backing away. Optimus, stayed in his spot, looking as though he had lost something as his eyes drifted to his hand. She ran out of the building, past Ratchet and the others, and off the base. Her body was starting to burn, like a fire had been lit inside of her. While her mind raced a million miles a minute, her legs carried her to a familiar place. The small cave with its own lagoon of water. That had been her shared spot with Optimus, they went there if he needed to vent about the humans and their bureaucracy. Now, it would have to be her temporary haven from him. He would find her, like always, and then maybe he could tell her what had happened to them. She hated when he was angry at her. She hated that she always did something to make his go off, but she couldn't help it. Ivi had no idea what she did wrong. Her body froze as she eyed the water. Yes...she did know: Ivi liked him in a way she didn't believe possible. For what? They both had sparkmates, so this was not only wrong, but pointless. Ivi shook her head; she needed to stop thinking about it, her body was too hot to be normal. A fire was eating away at her, she needed to stop it. A momentary reprieve came when the breeze hit her and Ivi knew what she needed to do. The girl slipped off her shoes and took a step towards the water, steam rising when her feet hit the freezing liquid. It continued to rise off the water as submerged up to her waist. The wind sound was still there, in the back of her head as Ivi covered her ears. It didn't help, it was like it was inside her now. She didn't know what was happening. Just as she was about to go deeper, she heard his footsteps, running towards the lagoon. She looked at the semi calm water and saw her eyes were glowing. Not gold, but blue, like Optimus' optics.  "Ivi!" Optimus called, and she turned her head back to him.
His eyes were glowing blue too. What was happening to them? The Autobot walked into the water after her, and she the same resistance from before against her as she tried to move away. Optimus stopped right in front of her, raised hands like he was going to touch her, but he didn't. He held them there as steam rose off both of their bodies. It seemed he was burning up too. "Ivi," He whispered once more, and she wished he would say something else.
Anything else, because the way he said her name only made all the burning so much worse. "You can never sacrifice yourself," Optimus finally said, "because I cannot lose you."
Ivi started shaking her head; this was not going to happen. With tears pricking at her eyes, she started to back away. She couldn't lose him either, but he had someone tied to his Spark. That someone wasn't her. "You have a sparkmate, but it's not me," she whispered, trying to ignore the way the look in his eyes made it feel like she was being impaled all over again.
He was very reasonable, surely he could see that none of this was right. Everything just hurt. It looked like she might have gotten through to him, but then he moved closer and whispered, "Do you trust me?"
The burning flared up as she felt the heat rising off of Optimus, and all the girl could manage to do was nod as all her nerves cried out in pain. She didn't know what she was expecting, but Ivi hadn't been prepared for him to suddenly grab her hands with his. A gasp left her lips as his touch felt like fire on her skin. The burning ebbed slowly as she felt the same shocks from before. Just when she thought it was going away, Optimus replaced his hands on her face. The shocks intensified and Ivi didn't know how to feel. Her breathing was rapid as she tried to decode what he was doing. However, she didn't have to wait long to discover her answer: the Autobot leader leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. All breathing stopped as her nerves seemed to explode all over her body. Optimus was kissing her. A warmth grew in her chest, and even though she hadn't asked for it, Ivi didn't want it to end. It was gentle, as if she was just being kissed by the wind, and his lips were softer than any thing she could have imagined. All he roast reasonings fell away; this felt right. Too soon, Optimus pulled away, hands tracing her face, sending another wave of shocks throughout her body. "Ivi, do you see now?"
She was going to go blind if anymore currents went through her, so no, the girl did not see; but she knew he wasn't being literal. Optimus leaned down once more, but instead of kissing her again, he whispered, "We are Sparkmates."
Ivi stared at him again, seeing the storm inside his glowing eyes. She took a small breath and held his hand in hers, feeling the electricity passing back and forth. Her spark hadn't thrown him back. When their eyes connected again, Optimus smiled softly, and she could resist returning the smile. He pulled her flush against him and once again claimed her lips, this time with more force as the burning began to intensify. Increased streams of steam billowed off the water, and Ivi gave him a questioning look when they parted again. "It's the bonding process."
The bonding process. Ratchet had told her something about it: it was supposed to be very intense as the two sparks claimed each other. A connection was created between the two. As their lips connected for a third time, Ivi realized that rushing wind was his Spark. They were already partially connected. Optimus' arms were strong around her and Ivi wished he wouldn't let go. Even though they were miles from the base, waist-deep in freezing water, and burning like stars, Ivi felt safe with him. She always did, even when he was angry with her. For whatever reason, Ivi opened her eyes, and saw their chests were glowing with those lights again. Their Sparks. The girl felt all the burning reach a while knew level as Optimus kissed her harder, and matching his force only intensified it. Her body was trembling against his, and all they could do was hold each other as the lights exploded in a flash, overwhelming them both in a wave of electricity and emotions. The burning left and was replaced by fatigue, even breathing was hard. Optimus pulled away and cupped her face, looking at her with an ocean of emotions. As he did so, Ivi felt something stir inside her. More feelings flooded her, but they weren't her own. More fatigue, love, and happiness, but with the addition of something softer. Adoration. That was what was in his eyes, and she couldn't help but share it as his eyes widened. Now they could tell what the other was feeling. Their bond was complete. Almost, a little voice told her. Whatever the other step was, Ivi didn't know, but fatigue was starting to win over all the other feelings -for both of them- and Optimus picked her up. "Let's go home," he whispered in her ear.
However, they didn't make it far, just out of water when he toppled over. She laughed at the shocked look on his face. "This can be home for now," Ivi smiled, keeping her arms wrapped around him.
Optimus nodded and rested his head on her shoulder. Even her bones felt heavy, and if she died right then, Ivi would have died happy. Optimus tightened his grip on her just as sleep claimed them. Ivi let the darkness wash over her with a smile on her face.