I could hear the explosions of the airstrikes behind us. I looked over at my friend.

"Dude, you know your chest is on fire," I pointed out.

Ironhide just shrugged as we ran, which made me smile. Suddenly, Sam diverted away from us towards Optimus.

"Sam!" Lennox called, but he ignored him.

Megatron appeared through the dust and took a shot at Sam, sending him flying through the air.

"Ironhide, help the others. I'm going after Megatron," I said as I broke away from the group before he could protest.

I took out my sword and stabbed him through the shoulder.

"This is for Optimus, you Mega-jerk!" I said.

"Arr! You'll pay for that!" he said as he knocked me back before transforming and fleeing.

I put my sword away and made my way to Sam, only to see that he was hurt. I took out my blasters and shot at the Cons as Lennox and the other humans tried to save Sam.

Please be okay, my friend.

After a few minutes, Sam woke up. I looked over and saw that somehow the Matrix was no longer dust.

Weird. Cool, but weird.

Sam grabbed it and stood up. He climbed onto Optimus and merged the Matrix with his spark. He hopped off as Optimus came back.

"Boy, you returned for me..." he said as he got up.

YES!

However, the Fallen appeared out of nowhere and stole the Matrix before disappearing again.

You better not die again, Optimus.

Que came over and showed him how to use a jetpack. I walked over to them. As much as I wanted to tackle Optimus in a bear hug, I knew we  had a battle to win first.

"I'm coming with you," I said.
He smiled and nodded.
"Wouldn't be fun if you didn't," he replied.

He picked me up by the waist and flew towards the pyramids. I looked down so he wouldn't see that I was blushing. When we got to the pyramid, Optimus dropped me off on Megatron. I tackled him and we tumbled down the pyramid.

"Back for more, I see. You know, we could use a warrior with your skill," he said with a smirk after we regained our footing at the base of the pyramid.

"There is no fragging way I'll ever join you and the Decepticons!" I replied, glaring at him.

"Your loss," he said as he attacked.

We fought for a few minutes before he managed to stab me in the torso. I stumbled back, but quickly got out my blaster and countered by shooting half of his face off. He fell and called for StarScream. When he arrived, they retreated. I smirked in victory as I put my blaster away. I knelt down and out my hand over the wound. I breathed heavily as exhaustion finally flooded over me now that I had a break. I looked around, but I couldn't see the Autobot leader anywhere.

"Optimus?" I asked the air.
Please be okay. I can't lose you all over again.

After a minute, Optimus came over. I relaxed when I saw that he was okay. He knelt down beside me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little exhausted is all," I replied as I looked up at him and smiled.

He smiled back and stood up. He held out his hand to help me up.

"Well if that is all then we should probably get back to the others. Wouldn't want them to worry. Plus the sooner we get through Star's lectures the better," he said.

I nodded and gratefully took his hand, not wanting to let go. When I stood up, I slightly cringed from the pain and hoped that Optimus didn't see it.

"I...uh...I missed you, while I was, you know, dead. There was nobot to talk to," he said as he gave me a small smile and slowly let go of my hand.

"I missed you too," I smiled back.
More than you know.
I kept my hand over the wound as I started walking.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Optimus asked as he walked beside me.

"Yeah. At least, I think I am. I mean, I'm still alive," I replied, giving him a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"True. So... any bets on who Star is going to yell at first?" Optimus asked as we walked to a sphinx that had a bird on its face.

He took off the jet pack and kept walking.

"Maybe Ironhide. His chest was on fire earlier. Then again, maybe you, since you were kinda dead for a few days," I replied

Optimus chuckled.

"Knowing Star she probably already chewed out Ironhide. But I don't know, you are hurt and she would probably want to fix you first, so I would say you will get the first lecture out of the two of us," he said with a smile.

I smiled back and rolled my optics.
"How was everyone, while I was...out?" he asked.

"Well...of course we were all sad. Sam, Lennox, and Epps were the ones who were probably impacted the most. I don't really know how Star reacted. All I know is that she somehow managed to get herself captured for a while. Bee was the one that saved her," I replied.

"So they're together?" Optimus asked.

"Technically, no. I'm pretty sure they haven't been on a date yet, but I am sure that they've both told each other how they feel," I replied.

I looked away for a moment to try to hide my nervousness. I saw the city appear as we walked over a hill.

"Well, um, there's the city. Thankfully it's not blown up," I joked, changing the subject.

He let out a small laugh.

"Yeah but there is still a lot of damage, which means the humans are going to be in my audio receptors about it... again," he said with a smile.

We got back to the city to see Bee with his arm wrapped around Star's waist, making me smirk. He gave me his "I'm-going-to-kill-you-later" look as Star came up to us.

"Again really? I swear one day you're going to get yourself killed. You gotta start you know not getting hurt!" she said as she quickly fixed me up.

Then, Star turned to Optimus.

"And as for you! You fragging died! I don't even know how you came back! I don't want to know," she told him as she wrapped him in a hug.

I smiled and managed to hold back a laugh.

"Don't do something that stupid again, you hear me," she said after she let go.

I took this chance to scan the area to make sure all the Decepticons were gone. I was relieved when I didn't see any.

Good. They left like the cowards they are.

Star was walking back over to Bee. I smiled at the two before turning around. My optics landed on Optimus once more.

Don't do it...don't do it...don't...ah, scrap it.

I smiled and tackled him to the ground. At this point, I had to tell him because next time...I might not get another chance.

"I guess you could say I've become the Fallen for you," Optimus said.

I smiled and chuckled at his joke.

"You have no idea how much I missed you," I said so only he could hear as I rested my head on his chest and closed my optics.

If he doesn't feel the same way, then this will make things really awkward for a long time.

"And you have no idea how much I love you, and have wanted to tell you for a while now. I never meant to die, and hurt you the way I did, and I never wish to see you cry like that again," Optimus said as he placed a hand on my back.

YES!

I knew I was blushing but at this point I didn't care. I opened my optics and looked at him.

"Okay, one, I love you too and I should've told you sooner. Two...how do you know that..." I asked.

He looked at me happily.

"There were certain times that I was able to see you and the others. The first time I saw you crying over me, you don't know how much I wanted to return at that moment. I mean I had wanted to return from the start but after seeing you hurt like that...I had this drive, this motivation to get back to you and make things right," he explained.

I smiled at him but I didn't really know how to respond.

"Well, you're back now," I said as I rested my head on his chest once again.

"Yes, and I am glad to be back. I mean look what trouble you all got into while I was away," he said.

I smiled and closed my optics. I relaxed and let sleep flood over me because I knew that I was safe.