EDIT; I would like to thank Black Ankle, for pointing out that my harsh judgement on Carly could have stopped readers from taking interest in the story. While I personally REALLY disliked her role, I'm sure there are others who wouldn't. So I've reworded it to be a little more diplomatically correct. ENJOY!

THIS STORY CONTAINS A LITTLE KISSY KISSY ;)

Okay so basically I went and saw Transformers 3 the other day, and I fell in love with it all over again. The movie was AMAZING, Bumblebee was AMAZING, Optimus Prime was AMAZING, EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING, I spent most of the time in the cinema trying to mop up my profuse nosebleed hahaha.

I started this story as a sort of Friendship/Comfort thing, but my sister then said to me "Nah, give Optimus some lovin' ;P) so yeah, you can all blame her for this crack. Hahaha

I do not own Transformers. If I did, the lead female would have been a nerdy, quirky humoured nobody; NOT a leggy, supermodel bombshell who changed from stilettos to flats in action scenes (watch the lead female in Transformers 3's feet and you'll see what I mean)

PLEASE NOTE THIS STORY CONTAINS A SMALL SPOILER, NOT AN EXCESSIVE ONE, BUT YOU MAY NEED TO SEE THE MOVIE TO UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION OF OPTIMUS PRIME'S DESPAIR.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

ALSO, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW – THIS ONESHOT HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A FULL STORY! IF YOU GO TO MY PROFILE, THE TITLE OF THE NEW FIC IS PRIMARY MECHANISMS AND IT STARTS FROM WHEN TESSA JOINS N.E.S.T.

The general mood around the N.E.S.T base was not a good one. Soldiers had all but deserted the military facility, opting to either spend the remaining time of Earth's freedom with their loved ones, or were preparing to fight back against the Decepticon threat foreboding their planet. The Autobots had been ordered to expulse themselves from Earth, and so had been all but left to complete their affairs. The base was quite, and in one of the hangars stood the leader of the Autobots; who had all but given in to despair.

As Optimus Prime took in his surroundings, he shook his head sadly. He was at a loss for what to do. The human race's political leaders had already made their choice, they didn't want the Autobots' help; as much as Optimus knew that it would doom them. Megatron and Sentinel would never leave the planet in peace…it wasn't what they wanted. What they wanted was to revive Cybertron, at the cost of the Earth itself. Immersed in his thoughts, the Prime didn't notice the footsteps coming down one of the echoing hallways, deserted by the humans.

"Well, well…what have we here?" called a voice, snapping Prime from his revere to turn and view the visitor.

Before him stood a girl he and his Autobots had come to know very well the last few years; a woman of barely 23 years old who went by the name of Tessa Jackson. She was a self-trained mechanic with no military skills whatsoever, who worked on the Autobots in their vehicle forms. She'd fixed engines, beaten out panels and fixed countless mechanical injuries in their battles against the Decepticons. Optimus had grown to trust her above all others, as had his team, for her skill in machinery was unparalleled. She stopped at the entrance to the hangar, leaning against the edge of the entry frame with crossed arms and a sad, sympathetic smile on her face.

"Didn't think you'd still be here Optimus." She stated calmly, taking a few steps as she started to walk towards him. The metal on her boots' lace clips jingled with each step she took, and her navy blue clothing was scuffed with grease and dirt. The jacket half of her jumpsuit was unzipped and knotted around her waist, revealing the almost threadbare grey tank top she always wore underneath. Her auburn copper-brown hair had been pulled back into her trademark "no bullshit" ponytail. "I heard about…Sentinel's condition..." Her voice carried its usual raspy undertone, like that of someone with a sore throat; something she'd always openly disliked about herself.

Optimus gave an audible sigh as he sat on the floor, his mechanical arms rested on his knees. As Tessa reached him, he noticed how dwarfed she was in comparison. Her amber eyes stared up at him in a reserved calmness, her face questioning. "Are you really going to agree?"

"I'm afraid we have little choice. Earth's leaders have decided they do not want our help." He replied, casting his fibre-optic eyes down on her, only to have her respond by creasing her brow in frustrated confusion.

"But…it's the worst possible choice that they could make! Getting rid of the Autobots is going to be worse than a death sentence!" she exclaimed, placing her hand on the pristine blue metal of what you could have called his feet. Her touch was familiar, and it pained Optimus to feel so safe knowing he would very soon have to leave.

"Never the less, it is still their right to have the freedom to choose. We must accept their decision and-"

"But that's bullshit Optimus! This whole situation is bullshit!" She curled her hand into a fist, thumping the metal of his leg. The Prime was more than used to her random outbursts like this. They weren't frequent, but neither were they uncommon. She was a kind hearted person, if not a little rough around the edges and she cared deeply for those she worked with, however uneducated in military procedure she may have been. Tracing her fingers over the metal she had just hit, she lowered her head slightly.

"Sorry…I shouldn't have hit you."

"Hit me? I'm afraid I didn't feel a thing." He stated, looking at his hand as if checking under his nails. Tessa looked up at him with a miffed smirk.

"Hardy ha." She snorted, acknowledging her lack of strength against him. "You just…you guys can't leave. We still need you…"

Optimus felt the spark within his chest begin to ache. He thought about what could happen to Sam, to Tessa, to the men and women who had fought alongside him and the people of Earth he had only ever wanted to protect. The idea of them being left here undefended and alone near killed him. But he had no strategy, no power to change the humans' minds. He sighed loudly and leaned forward, placing Tessa in his hands and standing once more.

"I am sorry…" He murmured. He took a step over to the high placed ramp the militants and officials used to be eye level with him. He rested her safely onto it and stood face to face with her, amber brown eyes levelled with crystal blue optics. "…but there is nothing we can do."

Tessa had never seen him this way. This…leader had all but given up. Every step of his journey to protect the human race, the ignorant officials still believed that they knew better; that they could fix their own problems. She didn't have any doubts that her people would not be able to fight the oncoming Decepticon onslaught. The human race wasn't strong enough. To see the only one who had ever tried to protect them so downtrodden simply broke her heart. What she worried for, more than anything else, was the safety of the Autobots. If it came down to choosing between them and the human race, she would have no hesitation about choosing the Autobots; choosing Optimus. It was wrong for her to feel the way that she did, to discard human life in such a way. It wasn't that it would be an easy choice, she loved her people. She just loved the Autobots more.

"Optimus…" she muttered, placing her tiny hand over the tip of his mechanical finger, rested on the railing, "if you can't stay…then take me with you."

A feeling in his chest erupted beneath the surface at her words. To think that she would forsake her world to stay with them both honoured and troubled him. But, with a heavy heart he forced himself to refuse. "We would take you with us if there were any way to allow it. But you can't survive in space. You would die."

"Better to die on my way into the Heavens with the Autobots, than to die from the Decepticons as Earth turns to Hell…" she murmured, "I can't stand the idea of you leaving…I miss you even just thinking about it."

Optimus had nothing he could say in response, he too was at a complete loss of what to do. There was no game plan on what to do next, he had no answers for his soldiers. There was no way they could fight back. Despite every fibre of his being trying to tell him otherwise, there was no other way around it. Megatron and Sentinel had won. A sudden sharp sob grappled for his attention, causing him to look down at the mechanic. Tessa had folded her arms over his hand and was sobbing into them, leaning against him. This broke his restraint; he had never seen her cry before.

"Tessa…" he murmured, gently moving his hand so that she would lift her face to him, "You must be strong now. Your planet is going to need every ounce of strength it has left." He raised her off the platform and placed her on the ground floor before leaning down onto one knee before her, trying to see her expressions. To his surprise when she looked up at him, her face was no longer one of despair, but fierce determination. Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes but her spirit was not dampened.

"Don't let the bastards win Optimus. Fight back! Do something covert, quiet, something that they can't suspect! But don't you dare let them win!" she exclaimed.

"There is no plan…I do not know if there even is a way to fight back. How would you suggest we do that?" he asked, bending so that his face was now eye level to her. She could reach out and touch him if she wanted to. She smiled in response to his concern, taking a step closer to him and placing a hand upon the metal frame of his cheek before looking him directly in the eye.

"You can think of something; I have complete faith in you. After all…" she placed her forehead against the cool metal and traced her fingers against it; lowering her voice to a whisper, "you're Optimus Prime."

To his surprise, he was savouring the feeling of someone actually comforting him. The one who was always leader, always had to be strong; the one that both Autobots and humans looked to for order and guidance. But even in this moment of weakness, he felt he shouldn't have been delighting in her touch as much as he was; there was something about the feeling in his chest that was not as innocent as it should have been and his eyes slid shut in something akin to bliss. It wasn't until he felt Tessa press her cheek to the blue metal of his that he realised she was speaking to him.

"I wish you were human…or that I was bigger…" she muttered, "At least then I could hug you."

His metal felt cold against her skin, there was familiarity and warmth in the memory of his friendship. So many times she'd wished that…things were different. Of all the Autobots, he'd been her favourite; right from the beginning. He'd talked to her, helped her feel like she belonged in N.E.S.T despite her inability to fire a weapon, or understand a military's protocol. There had been so many nights she would spend working late into the night, buffing out his battle dents and fixing the metal that decorated him; so many days she'd come to work with the weight of the world on her shoulders and had him remove the burden simply by being there. She knew she shouldn't have felt the way she did; he was an alien for all intents and purposes. She knew; and she didn't care.

She dreamed of something that was doomed to failure from the first moment.

"Tessa…" he murmured, his voice rumbling within very close ear shot, "Thank you. I will take your words with me."

She gave a quiet chuckle, patting his cheek gently. "If only we weren't both so different. Maybe in another life, I could have had a chance with you…" Drawing back a little, she caught his gaze with an understanding smile and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, the cold surface leaving a bitter metallic taste on her lips, "I know you'll do what's right Optimus. But if this is goodbye, then the only regret I have is not being able to tell you how much I love you; just how…important you are to me. Good night…"

Trailing her hand gently over the metal of his face once more she turned and started walking away before he could respond to her statement, her boots thumping on the hard flooring. Behind her she heard the sound of the Prime morphing back into what she guessed was his Peterbilt Semi formation. He was probably going to rest now, hopefully planning something that could stop the Decepticon threat. Either that or her confession had confused or upset him. But either way, she had wanted him to know because if this really was going to be the end-

"Tessa." Echoed a voice from behind her; and oh by the heavens it sounded like Optimus; just less…metallic. Turning slowly she gasped and furrowed her brow in confusion she was greeted with the sight of a tall, olive skinned man leaning against the truck that she knew to be Optimus. He had an air of authority and a chiselled face that had to belong to the Gods themselves. His hair was a tousled mop of straight, almost blue-black tresses that trailed in refined sideburns down his jaw into a trimmed goatee. Standing what had to be at least 5'10 he appeared to be in his early thirties and wore a blue jacket trimmed white, bearing a red flame pattern along the sleeves and bottom hem. Dark, gunmetal grey jeans traced his legs, leading her eyes to a pair of red and navy sneakers. But it was his eyes that drew her attention; eyes that so blue they glowed, like a pair for very familiar crystal blue optics.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, "O…Optimus?"

He sighed and took a couple of steps away from the truck towards her. Tessa's immediate response was to back up; wary of the shocking resemblance in a person she'd never seen before. He'd appeared out of nowhere…how was it possible? As he got closer though, she noticed the thick silver linked chain around his neck with a heavy pendant bearing the seal of the Autobots resting against his black undershirt. "It can't be."

The ungodly beautiful man stopped in front of her and sighed. "Tessa…this is a holoform. This is one of the forms we use to "drive" when an Autobot is in their vehicle form. This is…not the real me, but I am using it to share this with you. You…are important to me also."

He raised a hand almost tentatively and placed it firmly on her shoulder. She gasped at the touch, somehow having expected his grip to not feel so solid, so real. In return she lifted her own hand, gently grazing her fingers against his cheek, playing with the small strip of facial hair along his jaw. His eyelids slid shut and he exhaled heavily, his breathe tickling the stray hairs that had come loose from her ponytail. His grip moved from her shoulder to said ponytail, tugging softly at the fabric elastic band that tied it before gently drawing it out of her hair. His fingers twined instantly, almost greedily into the spilled copper-brown locks and wove their way to her scalp, savouring the sensation against his fingertips.

"If this isn't real…Tessa whispered, watching as he slid his eyes open to look at her, "then let me never wake up."

Optimus smiled and took her hand from his face, clasping it within his own before bending his head to bury his face into her neck. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of sweat and metal; her scent. He was skin to skin with her, her back resting against the wall of the hangar and the bridge of his nose pressed against the junction between her neck and her shoulder. This was something more wonderful than he could have ever imagined. But a thought still nagged him, a desire of sorts.

"I wish to make a request of you." He stated quietly, feeling her heart beating against his chest. He pulled back a little to stand nose to nose with her, his hand still twined in her hair at the nape of her neck. "Something I have…long wished to do."

It was then she noticed the faded pink that dashed his cheeks. He was out of his element, this was uncharted territory for an Autobot…of course. She knew what it he was asking for. He was requesting permission to kiss her. And all Hell be damned if she was going to say no. Gripping his jacket in her fist, she stretched up on her toes and crushed her mouth to his. Optimus inhaled sharply through his nose as she wove her fingers into his mop of blue-black locks and grabbed at his hair. She pulled him closer, chewing at his bottom lip; teaching him. Her nails scraped against his scalp slowly and agonizingly, causing the man standing over her to groan into her mouth. He had never felt sensations like this; what this girl was doing to him was…inhuman! Something snapped within him, something almost animal. In this moment he was no longer the controlled, clear headed leader of a top secret military arm; he was a man claiming the woman he loved, his senses foggy and clouded with affection and lust. That primal break in his concentration destroyed what control he had left.

In a sudden turn, he took over dominance of the kiss, pressing Tessa firmly into the wall behind them, hands tangled in her hair and twisted in her shirt. She broke the kiss briefly for air and gasped in surprise when he latched himself onto her neck, trailing kisses on her throat, to her collarbone.

Tessa wasn't a novice to romance by any means, but she'd never had a partner kiss her so…fiercely. He was entirely focused on her, gauging her reactions and taking intense note of what she responded to. His attentiveness made her wonder; just how long had he wanted this? Eventually she reached her slender fingers up to his chin, pulling him back and looked at him with a fiercely intense gaze. She began to trail feather light, soft kisses cross his jawbone; slow and teasing. Her hand traced from the small of his back, to the front of his shirt. She dipped her fingers lightly under the hem to gently brush to space of skin just below his naval, her fingertips tickled by the tiny trail of hair there.

This resulted in the biggest reaction yet.

He gasped sharply, bracing his hand against her shoulder as the shocking sensation shot up his spine. "Tessa, what in the name of Cybertron…was that..?" He felt weak at the knees and his skull was throbbing in time with his heartbeat. This was when the girl between him and the wall slid her arms up the back of his shirt and dragged her nails down either side of his spine, causing him to almost collapse against her. He braced his forearms against the cold metal wall, her form trapped between them as her lips tickled his ear.

"Optimus…" she whispered, "if tonight is all we have, let me make it worth it…"

All he could do was nod unintelligibly as his breathe caught in his throat and Tessa gently guided him back from the wall, taking his hand. She led him slowly over towards where the familiar, custom painted red and blue semi-truck was parked and turned back to him with an alluring, almost mischievous smile.

"Where are we going?" he asked, confused as to why she was (in a manner speaking) approaching the other him. Tessa let go of his hand to climb up the side-steps of his truck with a teasing chuckle.

"Inside you." She whispered, shooting him a soft wink and a smile. "If you think you can't defeat the Decepticons, then perhaps this will give you a reason to fight back."

Optimus swallowed as he looked up at her, his eyes still clouded over with emotion but the fear easy to see. "Are you sure that this…?"

"Do you trust me, Optimus Prime?" she stated gently, keeping her gaze locked on his as he regarded her in all her glory. Her delicate, oil stained hands, the fiery mass of silken hair, her confident and hard worked form. His answer was easy.

"Yes. I do."

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she gently outstretched a hand out to him and her voice lowered to a mere whisper.

"Then trust me now."

With no further hesitation he clasped his hand in hers and allowed her to help him climb up the side of his truck form, the vehicle providing a comfort at being so close to himself; a feeling that only a Transformer could comprehend. Tessa pulled him up with her into the cabin, gently pushing him in and turning to have one last safe glance at the hangar.

Then with that, the door to the truck's cabin shut with a thump behind them.