The star was Beta Orionis, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, the seventh brightest in the whole sky… Rigel. Well, it was actually three stars, but from such a great damn distance the brightest over shown the other two – and given that it was 120,000 times brighter than the frickin' Sun, no wonder.

He was getting off track.

So the star was named Rigel, from the Arabic "riǧlal-ǧabbār" – foot of the great one. Great one being that enormous square shaped guy in the sky. Cade wasn't really sure how Orion counted as a person up there, all awkward shaped and weird looking, but apparently he was. The Great Hunter, or something. He wasn't much of an astronomer.

But anyway, that was the star. It made sense, in a roundabout fashion. Orion was the big guy, the giant warrior, towering over the other mythical characters in the cosmos. And in Orion, Rigel was the brightest of the stars. Almost as bright as his spark had been.

"Damnit, Cade," The man grumbled, before taking another sip of his beer. "This a new low, even for you."

Here he was, sitting on the roof of a motor home, overlooking his half built actual home, staring up at the sky like the forlorn teenager he used to be. Like he had been doing for the last few weeks, every night, staring up at the sky at Orion, his belt, and the bright star that made up his right leg.

There were a lot of stories about Orion. They all varied in some ways, but a few things stayed the same. He was the world's greatest hunter, a powerful warrior, skilled blacksmith, handsome and mighty. The son of Gods and Amazon queens. Someone so amazing, so wonderful, he deserved to be up there, floating above everybody else… so far out of reach.

There were versions of the story were he fell in love with the goddess Artemis, and her brother Apollo deemed him unworthy. (Harsh. But then, Cade had done something similar not too long ago.) He tricked her into killing him, and then he was placed in the sky. Damned for daring to love someone too good for him, for loving a God. Maybe Cade had made the same mistake.

Now, he was getting his metaphors mixed up. Was he Orion in this story, or was Opti…

Sighing, Cade's eyes slid shut, shoulders slouching, turning away from the sky.

It had been almost six months since the fight in Hong Kong, and Optimus Prime's abrupt departure from the world, and Cade's life. What had only been a handful of days, maybe a week, felt like a lifetime to him. So much had changed. From a down-on-his-luck inventor and single father, drowning in bills, to an unlikely celebrity and father of a college freshman, attending school on full scholarship thanks to one Joshua Joyce.

The world had exploded in the aftermath of Hong Kong and the revelations it brought. The Autobots were heroes again, the tragedy of their damnation revealed to all. Cade, Tessa, and Shane had all been put under the limelight, but where the children embraced it, Cade rejected it entirely. He didn't want interviews, book deals, tv show specials. He just wanted to tinker and toy and work on his house.

Yes, Joshua had offered to have the house built for him, and Cade almost took him up on it. But it was so much trouble. Work crews spent more time gawking at the Autobots when they came by to visit, or triyng to get his autograph. Those that would work, rarely went along with his improvements and innovations. He didn't have the patience to put up with them, so eventually, he turned them all away. He wanted to build this house, his last house, the house he'd be spending the rest of his life in –

-alone, no wife, no kid, not even a dog –

He wanted it to be perfect. Something had to go right around here.

The Autobots had offered to help, but they had their hands full. In their own way, they were celebrities too, dealing with the press, the government, the efforts to rebuild. As official refugees again, they were being given a place to live and work, a way to contact other Autobots and call them home. This time, there was no CIA involvement whatsoever – and most if not all of the CIA and Cemetery Wind had been replaced or disbanded. NEST was back, as were many old faces who had worked with the bots. Cade could hardly blame Bumblebee or the others for being happy to see their friends again.

As for Tessa, she was at school, and sincerely enjoying it. Every week during their phone calls she seemed so happy, despite the stress and the headaches, the workload and the struggle. She excelled under pressure. Listening to her talk with such enthusiasm about anything and everything was music to his ears. He could listen forever. In those moments, she sounded the most like her mother.

Her first semester was almost over, and winter break was coming. At least then he'd have company at the house for a while… though the house was hardly livable yet. One man working on tweaking and building an entire property was a lot of work. Hence, the mobile home. Good thing Joshua was footing the bill.

But none of those things were really Cade's problem. The troubles with the house, missing his kid, his friends on the Autobots… those really weren't what was sticking in his craw.

Cade opened his eyes and lifted them back up to Rigel, to that shimmering star.

Optimus.

Cade had been in love before. Oh yes, he had, and it had hit him like a semi truck – no pun intended – back then, too. A realization all at once, like an ACME brick dropped on his head. He just knew, this was the one, this was the person he had to be with come hell or high water, long as he lived. Or… she lived, in that case. Cade felt his mouth go dry and took another sip of beer.

See, the problem was, realizations don't always come when they need to. Sometimes, they come months after the fact, when he's knee deep in grease and grime trying to program the laundry-folding-bot, thinking about how much it pisses him off that Optimus just fucking left, just like that, with barely a word, and the thought that he'll never see him again hurts like losing his wife all over – and oh Jesus H. Christ he's in love with Optimus Prime.

"What the fuck is wrong with me," He mutters to himself desperately, and drinks the rest of the beer in one glug.

See, it's not that Optimus is a guy. Cade's never really thought about his sexuality (no dating household), he's only ever been with the love of his life before. After her, it wasn't an issue, anymore. But being in love with a guy, it doesn't mess with him, love is love.

The fact that the guy is a fifty foot tall alien robot? Nah, that doesn't bother him either. In fact, it makes complete fucking sense. Of course he'd fall in love with a goddamn sentient robot, it sounds just like something he'd be stupid enough to do.

But to fall for Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, the best damn guy Cade's ever known in his life? Who just rocketed to the stars and might not be back within Cade's lifetime?

Yeah, he's fucked.

So, the problem isn't exactly that he's in love, or that he's in love with a giant alien robot. It's just the fact that the giant alien robot fucking took off into outer space and might never be coming back and Cade will never have the chance to tell him, to tell him –

To tell him what?

Tell Optimus Prime that Cade Yaeger, high school drop-out and unemployed widow, loves him? What a laugh. The Optimus Prime, in love with a human being, and of all of them, him? Yeah, that's not happening. It would never happen.

And yet…

It just irks him. Like an itch in his side that won't leave. The thought that ten, fifteen, twenty years might pass before Optimus will come back and all that time, he won't know. Won't know how Cade lays up at night thinking about his voice, his eyes, the warmth of his frame. Won't know how he trembles at that rumbling baritone, or smiles at his awkward humor. How selfless he is, how honorable he is, and how noble, despite everything, despite all he's lost and how many times he's been betrayed.

That he might never come back. That he might never know.

But there's nothing he can do about that. Optimus is gone, off on his mission, and Cade is stuck here, with a half built empty house and no direction, no drive. It's like the adventure ended, and he was left with the scraps. With a friend to bury, a daughter to say goodbye to, no house to go home to. Everyone else got the new start, the happy ending, the next big quest.

And he's just here. Waiting. With a secret burning on the tip of his tongue and no one to tell it to.

If he can just make it to December, he'll be fine.

That's what Cade's been telling himself, amidst all the work. On top of his odd jobs and personal projects, now he's got a whole laundry list of things to do. Not all of it is his expertise either, but he's learning as he goes, which is… an experience. Dry-walling was a whole hell of a lot of fun.

After what felt like years but was really about a month, demolition and clearing the old lot was finally done. Then, he started planning what he wanted for the new house, which was supposed to be all finished before he started, but he just – kept changing what he wanted. Adding new ideas, adjusting old ones. His blueprints looked like something a four year old had gotten ahold of.

Slowly, and surely, he was getting shit done, even if his mind was constantly drifting, even worse than usual. He couldn't help thinking about Tessa, and what she might be doing, or Bumblebee and the others and how they were fairing. About Optimus, where he might be, if he was alright, if he…

Work was about the only thing that could shake those thoughts off. Work, and the ever present hope of…

Cade was drawn out of his thoughts by the blare of his ringtone, and a grin popped on his face. Setting his hammer aside, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, and put it to his ear. "Hey, baby!" Grinning, Cade sat back, breathing hard. "How's it going? Finals over yet?"

"Ugh, I wish," Tessa said through the phone, sounding almost as exhausted as he was. His grin brightened at her voice. "Two more to go, another week and I'm done."

"That means one semester down, seven to go! Congrats."

Giggling, the girl replied, "Thanks, Dad."

"So, what are you going to do to celebrate?"

"Well the Bots invited me to stay at their new base for Winter break." Tessa started. "They've got a really nice place set up, and I'd love to meet Sam and the others, after everything we've heard about them."

"Oh." Hesitating, Cade dragged his hand along his jeans, tapped his fingers on his thigh. "That sounds cool. How long do you plan on going?"

"Only a week or so, because Shane has a race in Florida, and we planned to go sight-seeing and make it a vacation after."

"Neat," Cade forced himself to say after much too long a pause. Gnawing on his lip, he turned his head. "Neat."

"You okay Dad?"

"Yeah, I'm good, just – you know – tinkering, kinda distracted." More like blistering out under the Texan sun, trying to put shingles on a roof.

"So, is it okay? If I go?"

God, he wanted to say no. But what kind of man would that make him? She sounded so damn excited. He could just imagine the look on her face, the hope, the joy… "Course you can, sweetheart." He mumbled with a smile. His look brightened at her cheery response, even as his own hopes started to crumble.

"How's the house?"

"House is great! House is – fine." House is barely built and not up to code, but she didn't have to know that. She'd just insist on coming home and helping and ruining her winter break.

"You sure you're okay up there? You don't have to stay by yourself."

And what, dump the lonely old guy on everyone else and ruin the fun? "I'll be fine, Tessa. You have a good time."

Usually, talks with his daughter left him feeling lighter. That day, after he hung up the phone, he felt lower than dirt.

He lasted another week before he finally snapped.

"God fucking damnit!" With a furious curse he tossed the level across the room, watched it careen towards the tarp covering the hole where a wall should be, and tumble out to the grass below. After more than three times trying to get the damn door level, he still couldn't hang it right. He couldn't even finish his daughter's fucking room, but he wanted to have her stay for winter break?

Huffing and puffing and red in the face, Cade stood back up, chest heaving. Enough was enough. For the last few months he'd been all but trapped in the past. Stuck on losing Tessa, and Optimus, and Lucas, and everything and everyone else that was gone. Enough. Was. Enough. Grown men don't pine for what's lost and lose sight of the future.

After a moment, Cade sighed, rubbing his sweat laden hand over his sweat laden forehead and doing not a lick of good. Another huff, and his arm dropped, and he turned his exhausted body towards the open space where a door was supposed to be, stepping into what would one day be a hallway. Currently, it was a half-way boarded obstacle course with paint cans scattered about.

Cade made his way over the holes in the floor, down the staircase that still didn't have a railing, past the kitchen that was basically comprised of a sink, cabinets with no doors, and a ceiling fan that still wouldn't do as it was told. (Apparently, the clap on, clap off technology was not easily applicable to such devices.)

He left his disaster of a house, entered the mobile home, and didn't come out for three days. That was how long it took him to design and create the transceiver.

It was one of his better ideas. Repairing Optimus had taught him a good bit about Transformers, including how they communicated. Every Autobot had their own radio frequency that could be communicated with even in deep space, millions of miles apart. While he only vaguely knew how it worked, he had some ideas, and he knew exactly what Optimus's frequency was.

And he was going to do something really, really stupid with it.

It probably wouldn't even work, he told himself as he built, hands trembling, his lip ever caught between his teeth. Honestly, it was a ridiculous notion. To think he could replicate the Transformers radio system and use it to talk to the big guy? Ludicrous. He wasn't that good. He was barely any good.

But he kept working. Kept pushing himself, through sleepless nights and hours without eating. He forgot his meds twice in a row and was forced to quit when he got so nauseous he couldn't stand. Yet eventually, three days later, he finally did it. A functional Autobot transmitter, built from scraps of alien tech and the shit he had left over from his old barn.

"Yeah," Cade whispered, breathlessly, hands extended in reverent awe of his creation. "I'm good." For a moment, he really believed it.

Then the doubts came crawling in. Would it really work? Did he want it to work? Because if it did – then – the thought of his ridiculous, overly emotional drivel actually reaching Optimus –

Did he really want to do this?

Frowning, Cade lowered his arms and clenched his fists. Yes, he wanted to. He hadn't worked so hard to let this thing sit on a shelf, untested. Besides, it would keep bothering him if he did nothing, and he had to let it go and move on. Otherwise it would never leave him.

"Well then," Cade muttered, lifting a hand to the dial. "Here goes nothing."

Optimus was halfway to the space port when he heard it.

"Is something wrong?"

Optics narrowed, Optimus looked off behind him, towards Earth, far too far away to be seen and yet a constant presence in his mind, a memory he couldn't shake. The planet had given him so much, and cost him so much, and it was the closest to home he had, now that Cybertron was gone. And on Earth, … he had left many precious ones behind.

But not all those who were precious to him were still on Earth.

"I'm fine, Magnus, just a small error," The mech insisted, turning to his friend. "My transmitter may be malfunctioning; I'm receiving a – strange signal."

Ultra Magnus said nothing, cocking an eyebrow, before he nodded. "Shall we go? The ship will be leaving within the joor."

Sighing, Optimus took to walking beside his friend through the enormous space port, filled with alien life of all kinds and sizes. "Is there no deterring you from this path?"

"If you are on this mission, so am I." Magnus insisted. "Hiding the seed is of paramount importance." While he might not have been on Earth for the mission, Magnus could recognize the importance of keeping such a thing out of Galvatron – formerly Megatron's – hands. When they'd bumped into each other in the last star cluster, Optimus had been thrilled to find his old friend, alive. Now, he was a little more upset it hadn't been on the way back, not there.

"So be it." Optimus nodded. "Let's roll –"

Then he heard it again – stronger this time, much stronger, and clearer. A voice. Shock and wonder ran through him, and he spun round, towards that phantom Earth. He couldn't help but smile. "Cade?"

"Optimus, what's –"

"Wait here." That was all he had to say for Ultra Magnus to stay put. Optimus stepped away from him, before turning all his focus towards the transmission echoing in his auditory processors…

'Well this might be the most idiotic stunt I've ever pulled. If you can hear me Optimus, I want you to remember what I said about humans making mistakes, 'cause if I'm making one now, well… I hope you can forgive me. Here goes.'

'A few months ago, I was just a guy struggling to get from day to day and get my girl into college. Then I went and bought a shitty old truck, and I thought I'd finally found the break that would get us through… and I did. Just not how I thought.'

'Meeting you, and the other bots, seeing what I've seen… it changes you. I can't say how much it's meant to me. But I'm rambling, and avoiding the point, and… I don't know how much longer this thing's gonna work.'

'The long story short is, in that week I knew you, Optimus, you became one of the most important people – bots – in the world to me. Who you are, that soul you got shining inside you… there's little better in the world. And - I love you for it. I love you. Which is stupid for all kinds of reasons, but, it is what it is.'

'… I just – I guess I wanted you to know. In case – you know. You don't make it back. In time."

The transmission turned to grey static for a while, then clicked off. And Optimus still stood completely stiff, staring at the distance, mouth agape.

"Cade…?" Of course, the man couldn't hear him. He was millions of miles away, on a distant planet Optimus might never see again. He might never see him again…

Love… Cade loved him? It was a wonderful notion, but could it be true? In the short time he'd known the man, he'd found him to be an exceptional individual. Driven, passionate, honest, steadfast in his beliefs, a true ally the likes of which Optimus hadn't known since Sam Witwicky and his friends. The man had touched something in Optimus, reawaken the faith he'd almost lost, the compassion that had been darkened by loss and suffering. For a while, he'd lost himself in the grief of war. Cade had brought him through it, repaired his frame and his spark.

But, did he love him?

He was a human, frail and short-lived, so very different. Yet, Optimus had found humans to be fantastic, wonderful beings at times, who made loyal and true companions. But, love? A spark mate? Could it be?

He… wasn't sure. But if he left on that ship…

"Sir, if we are leaving, we must go now."

Still staring back, Optimus felt guilt and regret welling up inside him. If only he'd stayed a little longer. He could have hesitated, he could have at least spoken to him in private, given a better goodbye…

"Sir?"

Optimus forced himself to turn to Magnus, ashamed of his distraction from duty. The look on his fellow's face was indulgent, gentle even. Ultra Magnus approached, reaching out and taking the seed from his hands.

"It has occurred to me," Ultra Magnus began. "That this does not seem to be an appropriate distribution of our resources, sir."

Optimus blinked. "How so?"

"Hiding the seed really only takes one bot." Magnus insisted. "Yet, two of us are here, and our comrades on planet Birth –"

"Earth,"

"Yes, that, are leaderless. With the youngling Bumblebee and those buffoons left in charge, there won't be a base to return to."

"That… is a fair point."

"Of course, I could go to Earth." Ultra Magnus offered. "But I have no experience with the planet, and my – dedication to the regulations of leadership might not be as well received as your style of leadership." A smirk appeared on the bot's face. "Perhaps – I should go alone?"

His whole frame rebelled against it. Letting another Autobot take on a deadly mission he'd meant to take himself? For his own selfish desires? And while Magnus's argument had some sense to it, still… this felt selfish. It felt wrong.

"Optimus," The mech began, placing a servo on the other's shoulder. "I don't know what's happened, but something is bothering you. If you do not face it now, it will distract you from your duty in the future. I am a seasoned Autobot leader, am I not? I believe I can be trusted with this mission. Unless, you doubt my performance, sir." He said all this with complete honesty and respect, forcing Optimus to admit that yes, Magnus was completely capable. And he was right.

"If that is what you wish." Optimus finally agreed, nodding. Then, he smiled. "Thank you."

Magnus smiled in return, and they shook servos. "Until we meet again, Prime."

"Until then."

And he was off, turning back around… for Planet Earth.