Optimus limped down the hall. His ankle still wasn't working quite right, and every time Ratchet tried to apologize for the wound he somehow caused, the Prime would hush him and tell him that he would soon be fine, but he wouldn't go back to the Arctic anytime soon.

But the fact that he would walk funny and sound a bit off didn't amount to the biggest problem.

He hadn't brought Rafael his snowball when he had promised he would.

But there was no way in the Pits that he would go back to the Arctic until he could walk correctly.

However...

He walked to the catwalk where the littlest human was resting after running around in Ratchet's lab. He and the others were charged with healing their guardians while Optimus and Arcee defrosted and went under standard defrosting procedures.

He hated waking humans. They were so cute as they struggled to wipe their eyes and sit up, it was fragging near spark-breaking. But he prodded little Rafael gently until he blinked up at the Prime.

"Optimus?"

"Hush," he said and he scooped him up before Ratchet could possibly know what was happening. Then he powered up the GroundBridge and he stepped through.

He hadn't wanted to go to the Arctic, so he instead went to a state that had snow at that time. He wished he had remembered to grab some clothes for the little human, but he reasoned that it wouldn't take all day to fetch the little one a snowball and then get back into the base before they were missed.

Optimus slowly set Raf into the snow and he squeaked when the human went in up to his knees. "Primus," he said softly and he took a slow step forward, then he set Raf in his pede-print.

The human gathered a bunch of snow into his hands and he threw the ball at Optimus. It hit him in the knee, but the 'bot flinched and fell to one knee as he gripped it for show. "Oh, Primus, you got me!"

They played like that for hours. The neighborhood kids became curious and they ran out in their good winter gear to see what was happening. Optimus let them climb onto him and he guided a few over his legs and onto his belly when he rolled over onto his back. Raf remained close to his spark for warmth.

He finally had to pull away from the human children. Raf was getting cold and the children were getting tired. He purred his goodbyes to the children, then he carried Raf through the GroundBridge with a snowball in one servo.

Ratchet had his servos on his hips. "Where have you been?"

"Fetching a promised snowball," Optimus said as he set Raf down on the catwalk with his snowball. Jack and Miko tried to get in on the fun, but Optimus looked at them disapprovingly and they let Raf alone with his snowball.

"You realize it will melt, right?"

Optimus looked at him. "I do, Ratchet. And if Rafael desires another snowball after that one melts, I will gladly go and get him another one...after my ankle regains function."

While Ratchet fussed over the ankle, Optimus looked over at Raf and smiled softly. The human was watching him and he gave a little smile in response.

"I'm sorry you're hurt, Optimus," he said.

"It is not your fault," he said and he reached over to touch the human boy. His digittip touched his head and he smiled gently. "I would have taken you to get a snowball if my legs didn't function..." He started to fall asleep. Ratchet was cursing.

Raf let his head rest against the railing as he watched him. "Good night, Optimus..."

The Prime tried to form a response, but sleep was persistant, and so he lost the battle. He dreamed of snow, of children, and of promised snowballs.