Author's note: This is my first every Transformers centered story! I also published this on my Wattpad and Archive Of Our Own accounts! They have the exact same names as this one. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers: Prime or any of its characters. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.

In the outskirts of Jasper, Nevada, a green SUV drove down the road towards a T section, but instead of taking either left or right, it went straight. A big rock formation stood in front of the car but before it could crash head-on into it, some part of the rock peeled itself back to show a large door opening to a tunnel. As soon as the tires touched concrete, the door closed and was covered by the fake rock again. The SUV drove down the large tunnel before it finally opened to a much larger area. The room was at least 10 stories tall and had a few more hallways leading to other areas inside the base. There was a command center and two platforms for humans. One lead to an elevator that went up to the top of the base where a landing pad was and another was an entertainment center, complete with a TV, a gaming console, and even a refrigerator. The SUV slowed to a stop before it opened its passenger door and an Asian teenage girl hopped out. She had pink highlights in her hair, which was held up in pigtails, and she was wearing her usual t-shirt with a tank top over it, with a belt that had a few stuffed animals attached to it. She had tights with purple and pink horizontal stripes, jean shorts, and boots that almost reached to her knees.

After she slammed the passenger door shut behind her, the familiar sound of gears shifting and clanking reached her ears and she turned to see that the SUV had transformed into a giant robot that looked down at her. Her guardian, Bulkhead, sighed before speaking.

"Miko, remember what we talked about cutting detention?"

Miko groaned. "C'mon, Bulk! I don't have time for detention! Slash Monkey is playing tonight in Ontario and it's their last night playing in North America! I wasn't able to see them last time because we were trapped in a cave, and I can't miss this chance! Besides, who needs detention and you still sound like my parents."

"We want what's best for you. Education is really important. You need it to be able to do many jobs. I didn't have education back on Cybertron and I'm still not the smartest. This has been pointed out many times-especially by Ratchet."

"I'm old, not deaf!" The medic shouted from his post at the Command Center.

"But still, you can't just cut detention! You'll only be given more punishments. School shouldn't be that hard as long as you do the work and pay attention. That's what Jack and Raf keep saying.

"What's the point of it? I'm a free spirit! Living free without the burdens of school on my shoulders. Jack and Raf should take my advice." Miko said as she climbed the stairs towards the entertainment center and flopped onto the couch before flipping out her phone.

The former-Wrecker sighed before the sound of engines reached his audio receptors. A yellow Chevrolet Carmaro with black stripes rolled into the base and allowed a young boy with spiky red hair and glass exit before transforming to reveal the scout, Bumblebee.

:Beep! Beep! Buzz! Beep?:

"Yes, Bee, Miko did cut detention again. Which is why both of us are here early." Bulkhead replied.

:Beep! Whirr! Buzzzzzz:

The scout drew out as he brought his servo down his faceplate.

"Miko, you know that school isn't that hard. I'm twelve and I'm in highschool. Besides, it's fun!" Raf said to her as he pulled out his laptop.

"Yeah, fun to do nothing but learn things that you won't even need and having like 10 hours of homework. Seriously, you need to take the time to have actual fun, Raf! Like, going on an adventure."

"Aren't our Autobot friends adventure enough?" Raf asked.

"Of course they are! And I'm taking advantage of every mission the Autobots' have for my adventure."

"And thank you for letting me know to keep a sharp optic on you every time I open the ground bridge." Ratchet called out, causing Miko to groan.

"To be honest, Miko, it's for the best." Everyone turned to see Jack hopping off Arcee and taking off his helmet just as Arcee transformed into her bot form. "It's a whole lot safer. For you as well as me and Raf." Jack said. "And you're back early... uh oh, what'd you do?"

"I'm back early? Well, why are you back late?" The girl shot back. Jack immediately started and blushed.

"W-well I-I uh I wa-was uhh wi-"

Arcee sighed and rolled her optics. "He was talking to Sierra for like 15 minutes. And he's got something called 'a date' with her this Friday."

Jack groaned and it was quite obvious he wanted to disappear as Miko dramatically gasped and began to clap. "You finally got the girl! Good for you!" Miko said as she clapped. "You must tell me the details!" She said.

"What's a date?" Bulkhead asked the femme.

"Besides a day, from what I know, it's when a boy or a girl or two people of the same sex spend time together in a romantic way, and the partners are in lovey duby states… it also usually makes teenage boys even more awkward than they are."

"Hey!"

"What? It's true."

"If we're done here, I need Bulkhead to prepare for night patrol." Ratchet interrupted. "Optimus will be back in about an hour and wants him to be ready by then. There has been some suspicious activity in the Quebec region of Canada." A map of the area came up on the screens.

"What?! But Bulkhead and I are going to the Slash Monkey concert tonight! Can't someone else take the job instead?"

"Arcee is still recovering from her battle with Starscream, Bumblebee took the morning patrol, Optimus's patrol ends right before the night patrol begins, Wheeljack is somewhere off in the galaxy doing most likely something foolish, and I need to stay here in case of an emergency. I'm sure there is another way for you to get to your concert of very obnoxious music you seem to enjoy." Ratchet said with a wave of his forearm, not looking at her.

"But-"

"Hey, Miko, Arcee can take you." Jack said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"She can?"

"I can?" Arcee asked.

"Yeah, my mom got called to assist with an emergency at another hospital and won't be back tonight. I can stay here at the Base tonight and Arcee can watch you."

"Remind me what I get out of it?" Arcee asked.

Jack sighed before signaling her to bend to his level and whispering something in one of her audio receptors. When he pulled away, she had an understanding look on her face and nodded. "I would be glad to take you."

"Hmpf." Miko folded her arms over her chest and turned away. Bulkhead cleared his intake and looked at her, hoping that she would agree. She sighed "Fine... at least I can see Slash Monkey."

Bulkhead smiled. "Thanks, Miko."

Raf leaned towards Jack. "How did you get Arcee to agree?"

"Would you want to hear Miko whine and complain all night?" Jack whispered.

"Point taken."

"Ratchet, prepare the groundbridge."

Optimus Prime returned from patrolling the eastern part of China right on time. Bumblebee had already taken Raf home and Arcee left with Miko half an hour before hand. Jack was making a makeshift bed out of the couch, having being bridged to his home to grab his things for the night. Optimus turned to Bulkhead.

"Remember Bulkhead, if anything happens, contact us immediately. With Megatron's return, we now need every Autobot we have."

"Don't worry, Optimus. I won't make the same mistake twice." Bulkhead said, remembering his fights with Breakdown and M.E.C.H. alone, and nearly not coming back both times.

Optimus nodded in agreement. "I'm sure you will. Stay safe, soldier."

Bulkhead nodded in return as the groundbridge opened up. He transformed drove through it, eventually disappearing as he came towards the other side of the bridge. Optimus stared at the empty groundbridge in longing before it closed.

"Optimus?" Said mech jumped at the sound of Ratchet calling his name.

"Yes, Old Friend?"

"You're staring again.. You can always offer to go with him."

"I'm confident that Bulkhead is able to care for himself. I trust that he will make the right decision if something comes up."

"Optimus… you told me about your feelings… now you need to tell him." Ratchet said before he left the room.

Jack looked up from the couch. "Uh, Optimus, what does he mean by that?"

Optimus looked at the boy and sighed before retreating to his berth quarters, leaving Jack even more confused.

Jack was eating a K.O burger when Optimus walked back into main hanger. He swallowed the bit he had in his mouth and wiped away ketchup and mayonnaise with a napkin. He placed the remaining amount of food on the table before standing up and walking to the edge of the platform.

"Hey, Optimus," The Prime turned towards the teen. "Can I ask you something?"

Optimus strided to him and lowered his open servo, allowing the boy to hop onto it. "Of course, Jack."

Jack looked at his hands, thinking about how he wanted to put his question. "What did Ratchet mean earlier about you telling Bulkhead something? I asked you earlier but you didn't answer."

Optimus sighed before he placed Jack on the ground and knelt on one knee to get closer to the boy. "Jack… I understand that on your planet, there have been many disagreements on same-sex relationships."

"Yeah, there have been. In the past, it wasn't allowed, but now, more and more people are beginning to support it. I support it myself. I know some people who define as LGBT. Unfortunately, there are still many people who hate the idea, or at least feel some distaste towards it."

Optimus nodded. "Indeed," He was silent for a few moments before speaking "Jack… on Cybertron, both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships were seen as normal… no one thought of anything against them. I... I wanted to see what you thought about it."

Jack was silent. "You like him, don't you?" Optimus averted his optics. Jack walked up to him and put a comforting hand on the metal of his ped. "Hey, hey. It's ok. I said that I support it. I'm sure the others do to… why don't you tell Bulkhead how you feel?"

"It's not that easy, Jack," The mech sighed. "As a Prime, I'm not supposed to have a romantic relationship. My main focus must be on protecting the Universe and stopping the Decepticons… A Prime that has a conjunx is unworthy."

"Well, that's a load of scrap! I mean, no one should be alone. Everyone deserves to have somebody, including you, Prime or not."

Optimus didn't respond. Was it possible? Could he be allowed to love another? Even if he could, would Bulkhead love him back? It was obvious that Bulkhead would follow him into an acid pit, or jump in it if he was ordered to. His optics focused in on the teenager. "Thank you, Jack, for your support."

"Anytime." Jack patted the metal before walking back to the platform, covering a yawn with his hand. Optimus looked at the digital clock on one of the Command Center's screens.

23:30 Hours

No wonder the boy was so tired. Jack yelped as he was suddenly scooped up and carried over to the couch. Optimus carefully settled him on the couch, moving the blanket over him. Jack settled into the comfortable furniture before looking back at Optimus. "Thank you," A yawn. "Goodnight, Optimus." Jack said before his breathing evened out as he went to sleep.

Optimus smiled at the boy. "Goodnight, Jack." He said, even though it was most likely he couldn't hear him.

Optimus walked over to the Command Center, turning on one of the screens. Agent Fowler sent another complaint about the damage of one of their recent missions and ordering him to fill out a report about it. Sighing, he began to fill out the report, answering questions and explaining incidents in "extreme detail" as Agent Fowler wanted.

Optimus exhaled in relief as he sent the last filled out report to Agent Fowler. He seemed to not be having a good day as he sent him piles of digital paperwork. He glanced over at the clock.

2:55 Hours

Had he seriously been working for over three hours? Ugh,... he needed a good recharge before Bulkhead-

Wait…

He glanced at the time again. Bulkhead would be returning from Quebec in less than five minutes.

"Finally finished the reports?" Optimus turned to see Ratchet walking from the hallway towards him.

"Yes, I have. What are you doing still up?"

"I woke up not long ago. I need to be here to bridge Bulkhead back to base and in case he has some wounds or found something of interest. It's my job as the CMO."

"Indeed…. Old Friend, I thought about what you have told me earlier and talked to Jack about the situation," He hesitated and inhaled deeply. "I have decided to tell Bulkhead."

Ratchet smirked. "About slagging time."

"R-Ratchet, I need a groundbridge..." Bulkhead's voice came from the overhead comm unit.

"Coming up." He walked over to the bridge controls and pulled the lever. Bulkhead came out of the swirling light of cool colors. But he looked… different. He was walking more slowly with a limp. His outer plating was dented and even his optics seemed dull or sometimes would flicker with what looked like fear.

"Bulkhead! What happened?" Ratchet asked as he and Optimus ran to him and supported the Wrecker, helping him walk to the Medical Bay.

The green mech chuckled nervously. "Heh, I wasn't paying attention and drove off the side of a mountain. Bashed me up like Breakdown was full of high-grade." Bulkhead groaned in pain before continuing. "It was not pretty." Ratchet helped him sit on the medical berth before starting up his scanner.

Bulkhead waved his servos in front of him. "Woah, woah, Ratchet! The damage is not that bad. I just busted my ankle joint and just need to buff out the dents. I'm fine, really!"

"Hmph! I'll be the judge of that! You could have internal damage or other injuries!" He began to scan him. "How do you even drive off a mountain anyway?" He mumbled, mostly to himself.

"I'm fine! I swear!"

"Bulkhead, Ratchet is right. We do not know what other injuries you sustained. For your health and for the team's benefit, it's important to let Ratchet check you over completely."

"I'm fine! We might need all of this equipment and supplied for bots who have more serious injuries. I just need Doc-Bot here to fix my ankle and buff the dents. Besides, if I was really hurt, I would let you know."

Optimus and Ratchet looked at each other in hesitation before the latter grumbled. "Fine, but if you are experiencing any pain, you will come straight to me. Understood?"

"Of course, Ratch!"

Ratchet sighed as he began to fix Bulkhead's ankle joint. He had Optimus help Bulkhead buff the dents. Optimus moved around to the back, where it looked like he saw a scratch in the metal. Five lines, four parallel and one perpendicular. Optimus was about to question Bulkhead about it before Ratchet spoke.

"Alright, Bulkhead, your ankle has been repaired. Don't put too much stress on it for another day. I'll let you know when it's fully healed, which shouldn't take much time. And it looks like you both took care of the dents. Now, go get some recharge and rest that ankle as much as you can." Ratchet told him before putting away his welding tools and powering off the machines.

"Ugh. T-Thanks, Ratchet." He started to make his way towards his chambers. Optimus was about to power down the Command Center before he realized that he could tell him about his feelings. Optimus went down the hall and quickly caught up to Bulkhead who didn't get that far.

"Bulkhead."

The mech froze before he turned around.

"Yes, Optimus? Can I help you?"

"I-" He stopped mid word. Could he tell the Wrecker about how he felt? In this dark, damp hallway? No. He couldn't. If he was going to admit to Bulkhead about his feelings, he was going to do it in a more romantic location.

"I just need to know how the patrol was."

Bulkhead seemed to startle. He hesitated before answering.

"The patrol was uneventful. Nothing happened. No energon spikes or Decepticon signals…" He spoke his answer quickly with a quiet voice. That was not like Bulkhead at all. Optimus wanted to ask more, but it was clear that both were tired and needed to rest. He would ask him more later.

"Alright. I'll leave you to rest."

Bulkhead nodded timidly before turning around and walking to the door of his quarters. He looked over at the Prime. "Goodnight, Optimus!" He said with a smile, but his cheery voice seemed to be forced. Optimus could tell. He could tell if anyone was acting different or unusual. It came from both the wisdom of the Matrix and millions of years of experience.

"Goodnight, Bulkhead."

Bulkhead smiled before entering his room and shutting the door. Optimus then decided to head to his quarters. Bulkhead's injuries, actions, and behaviors were not normal. Not after an uneventful patrol.

Something was wrong with Bulkhead, and Optimus was determined to find out.

Author's note:

Well, the first chapter is done with! Yay! I'm already working on the second and third chapters and hope to have them up before the year ends! No promises, school and work will get in the way, but I'll do my best!

This took forever as has been very confusing and it took me literally 15-20 minutes to find out how to publish stories, but I managed!

Rate and review!