Well, here we have it, my loyal readers!

I have decided that these are going to be a collection of Oneshots based on characters/situations that don't get posted into the Primary Mechanisms Storyline. Think of it as an 'extras reel' so to speak :)

This first one is a very special one that you all requested and voted for: the Celebratory Chapter to celebrate PriMech reaching 100 chapters!

The vote was for one of Tessa's exes to show up on the scene and have Optimus reacting to it ;)

I suffered a LOT of Writers Block with this one, and I'm still not entirely happy with it; but I have held off on an update for you guys long enough. So despite my own level of dissatisfaction, I hope YOU GUYS enjoy it; because I wrote this one for you :)

Suggestions and ideas for future 'PriMech: Side Chronicles' Oneshots are more than welcome. You guys are the reason the story has come this far, so I'm sure everyone has their own ideas that they want to see. Feel free to do so and I'll see what I can juggle hahaha.

"Aw, come on Chief!"

"Tess…" he said warningly, his voice carrying through the grill of the Peterbilt, "It will be safer for you to do this on base; washing…me on your rather public property is not particularly safe."

The little mechanic scoffed and playfully kicked at his tyre, the truck parked in her driveway.

She and Optimus had planned to spend the Sunday relaxing together, perhaps even going for a drive to see her father and stepmother; but as soon as the Autobot leader had arrived, Tessa had sprung a different plan on him.

A car wash.

"Oh, admit it, Optimus Prime." She teased, leaning against the truck and lowering her voice with a smile, "You're just worried I'll hit something sensitive. Maybe I can vacuum the interior too."

"Tessa…" he warned, "Can we not do something else? I thought you wanted to go and see your father?"

The woman's eyes were glittering, and he could see this. She was clearly in a playful mood, not that these were uncommon with her; but it did mean that there would be no way around it until she did what she insisted. Besides, it wasn't as though his finish was exactly…pristine right now. His paint job was covered in patches of dried Decepticon Energon, dirt, mud and a whole manner of other generally unpleasant things. But he refused because he did not want Tessa doing 'military work' on her days off; she spent enough of her time on base as it was, taking care of the Autobots and studying under Ratchet; even more so now that the Sparkbond between her and Optimus was complete, the medic wanted to keep an eye on her health.

The mechanic had all but come to terms with the newfound length of her life…not necessarily at peace with it, but accepting nonetheless. She still worried for the future, and for the day that she would see the family she loved age and perish over time; he understood her aversion to seeing such things, but the Prime would be lying if he said he was not glad that her life was connected to his own.

He would keep her for as long as she would have him; no matter the length of time or distance. And when she finally had to say goodbye to the humans that she loved, Optimus would be there to hold her up after the fall; be there to tell her that everything would be alright.

After all, she would still have a Cybertronian family that loved her; even if they could not replace the one that she would lose. His soldiers had vowed to protect and defend her as one of their own, and for most of them this was more than a matter of protocol to guard a Prime's Sparkmate. Sideswipe and Ironhide for instance, would have lain down their lives to protect Tessa long before she and Optimus had even attempted to Sparkbond.

Even Ratchet, the cantankerous medic with a less than fantastic bedside manner would defend her should she be in danger. Optimus had seen the desperation to save Tessa when she had collapsed and begun the final stages of the Sparkbond; Ratchet had feared he would not save her, because the circumstances were new and completely in the dark. After all how was one supposed to know how to counteract something, when it had never happened before? Human/Cybertronian relationships didn't exactly have an encyclopaedia on the stages and dangers of their unions…Tess and Optimus were practically writing a new page of history; a new path that had not been uncovered yet.

In his musings, Optimus had not noticed that Tessa had brought out a bucket, some soaps, scrubs and polishes and dumped them on the lawn decisively before turning to him.
"On the grass, Prime." She said with a mocking tone of authority, her hands placed playfully on her hips as she spoke, "And no flashing your bumper to my neighbours."

He had to restrain a genuinely amused chuckle from rumbling up the truck's grill at her jibe, and decided that arguing with her would probably pointless and useless to say the least. Without another objection, he reversed out of her driveway and drove up onto the weed-choked lawn in front of her home. Truth be told, although he felt guilty for having her clean his alt mode while she was not within working hours, he did feel quite shabby of late. It had been a good few days since he had been able to be washed, and even then it had been mostly a rinse down to try and rid himself of the majority of Decepticon blood that had been spilled in their most recent raid against them.

The enemy was quiet of late, for the most part; but rogue 'Cons still popped up on occasion; some of the more rogue members of the faction endangering human lives in their aggressions. Optimus and his soldiers had recently had quite a stint in trying to keep a Decepticon troupe from wreaking havoc in a populated area; he had been forced to end lives in an abrupt and almost cold way.

Even if they were Decepticons, it was still taking the life of a sentient being.

So perhaps the chance to indulge in a little treatment from his life-mate was not such a selfish thing to ask… And as that thought occurred to him, the Prime felt his internal guilt melt away a little; surely he deserved a small moment to himself. The chance to forget that there was a war, and live for a moment.

After all, it was only a car wash.

"Whoa!"

He was snapped from his revere as Tessa took advantage of his distraction to douse him with the garden hose, the ice cold water hitting the metal with a stark chill. She grinned at him with an almost sinister glint in her eye, knowing perfectly well that he could see her clearly.

"Oops." She sneered.

"Tessa," He said with an almost warning growl, the undertone demonstrating his amusement, "…that is freezing."

Another, much wider grin this time, "I know." She teased, taking the hose off of the truck and putting it into the large bucket to fill it with water. The mechanic then squeezed in some soap, grinning to herself as it started to bubble into a soapy froth. Picking up one of the large sponges, she tossed it into the bucket and pulled her long hair into a simple ponytail, hitching up the hem of her ratty old denim jeans as she prepared to get saturated in what would inevitably turn into a water fight.

Any fighting they did would have to be discreet and subtle though, because of her neighbours…but that added to the fun; both of them trying to one up the other without being seen. After all, talking to vehicles was normal for her; the neighbours had seen her many times having one sided conversations with her Valiant during its repairs…but to have an all-out battle against a sentient truck on her front lawn would just raise suspicions.

Not so much about 'military secrets' but about her mental health; her neighbours would probably think that she'd gone off the deep end and start buying cats to grow old with. The idea made her laugh to herself as she picked up the hose and turned the nozzle head onto 'jet' so that she could get to work.

"God you're filthy, you dirty old man." She muttered under her breath, aiming the hose head at him, "Ready?"

"No." he said indignantly, "That water is cold."
Another sneer, this one gleeful and almost dangerous. "Too bad, suck it up princess." Then she turned the stream on and hit him full force with the high pressure hose; right on the side door. She could have sworn she saw the vehicle tremble as the icy water slid over his form, running into seams and streaming between the joints of the vehicle.

Supressing a slightly victorious smirk, Tessa set to work removing the most of the debris and muck that coated her alien counterpart; astounded by the amount of grime that stuck to him.

Getting the majority of it off was anything but easy, and it took nearly a full hour's work to get most of it off him.

There was solidified mud caked to the rims of the wheel guards, tyres and the grill; as well as a clear, slightly blue-hued fluid that had solidified on the paint. Tess assumed that this was Energon, and she did not particularly want to guess where it had come from…

"God, this stuff it crusted to you, Chief! Why haven't you had this cleaned up already?" she exclaimed quietly, picking tenderly at a chunk of mud that had been softened by the spray of the water. Tess heard him sigh through the vents in the undercarriage of the truck before he answered her.

"It was several days before we were able to get back to base Tessa, you remember when we left for the raid."

She sighed heavily and picked up the sponge from the bucket to begin scrubbing the paintwork down now that the most of the dirt was gone from his frame, "Oh, I remember Optimus. I always remember; hell, you should have seen me on your trip to Shanghai…That was the first time I'd been 'in' on what you guys actually did."

"I did see you…" he reminded her, "The bond, remember? Everything in your life that you have seen, said or felt…I have experienced; as you did for me. I also recall one particularly…amusing memory; of what you said to Director Galloway when he spoke degradingly of me. What was the term he used…?" he pulled up the files of her memories that he had categorized upon seeing, amusement flooding him as he experienced her fury toward the man, "…Scrap metal? I did not think you capable of such ferocity."

Tess smiled inwardly and gave a laugh, unable to hide the amusement from the thought; it had felt so good to put Galloway back in his place, "Nobody messes with my robot." She stated quietly, scrubbing at one of the Energon stains on the driver's side door.

"Your robot?" he rumbled quietly, "And I was under the impression that the alien sentient vehicles were under the custody of the military…"

She shook her head and snickered to herself before answering him; swinging herself up onto the side of the truck to reach a higher spot on the vehicle's paintwork. He was finally starting to shine up; it had been difficult work, but he was almost finished.

"Oh really? I bet the military wouldn't be able to relay your memories of Cybertron, or that they'd know how many layers of metal protect your Spark and how they integrate; or which video games you're best at with that computer-mind of yours…and I definitely don't think that they'd know your little fetish kink with wall-sex, now would they?"

The truck made a sudden abrupt hiss, similar to a stall, even though the vehicle itself was not on. It reminded her of someone choking in surprise, and the action made her smile; clearly she'd caught him off guard with that last remark. Optimus was, by nature, a rather discreet being; however open and honest he may been, that did not mean that he was openly frivolous about matters of personal affair. So naturally, Tessa found it as easy to embarrass him as it was for him to embarrass her.

They came to a stalemate as Tessa finished her work, given that they had to maintain an air of 'normalcy' whilst she was outside in her yard and could not be seen warring with a massive freight liner on her lawn. Although…Optimus did manage to roll forward into her and make her trip over the soap bucket, saturating the entire front of her clothing along with the rest of her that was already soaked from wash water. Their little war was certainly discreet, and Tessa did have the 'human' advantage…but that did not mean that Optimus could not retaliate.

It was as the mechanic was climbing down from the massive hood that she heard someone calling her name; and her gaze shot to the driveway on the opposite side.

A young man roughly in his late 20's to early 30's with warm brown hair, a tall build and broad shoulders and dark, hazel eyes. Her heart sank into her stomach in disbelief, there was no way…

"…Joseph." She said harshly, her feet hitting the ground firmly. She was suddenly glad that she had chosen to wear jeans and a t-shirt instead of shorts and a tank top to wash Optimus, because she felt more layered and comfortable…more shielded in a way. "What are you doing here?"

The man gave a casual shrug and crossed the driveway to meet her halfway on the lawn. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt, his arms covered in tattoos that she knew twined along his chest and back, peeking out at the top of his shirt collar. Her fingers tensed at his presence, she didn't want him here.

"I was in Ricky's garage the other day seein' if he had an extra mechanic job I could take; my old boss had to close up shop. Ricky said that you had to get cut a few years ago, workin' for the army or something. It was so funny that I had to come see if it was true, that's all."

Her eyes narrowed, and she knew that Optimus was hearing this conversation beside her; but he was staying out of this, a fact for which she was grateful for. "You're kidding, right?" she said seriously, "You seriously came to my house because of a rumour from Ricky? What's so intriguing about knowing who I work for?"

Ricky was the owner of the garage that Tessa had worked for before going to N.E.S.T and he was a nice man, about the same age as her father with 4 grown kids. He'd been forced to cut down of staff members, and Tessa had been given the boot; Ricky had been regretful of the decision but it had needed to happen. She and Joseph had both been mechanics in the once busy garage, but Joseph had quit shortly after a serious contention that had formed between the two of them.

Joseph laughed with genuine mirth, sounding like one who was having a deep conversation with an old friend, "Oh, come on you have to admit; the idea of you working in the military? I mean jeez, I know you're a good mechanic but that's hardly your style. I know you better than anyone, and-"

"-You do not." She said sharply, her amber eyes flashing angrily in the sunlight that caught them, "Don't you dare talk about me like you know me."

He held his hands up defensively with a shrug and a smile, "Sure, whatever you say. Let's face it though, military work would hardly be your scene. I mean, you're not good enough for something like that, seriously!"

"Well for your information, I do work for the military; and I love it. So now you've satisfied your rumour, now will you please go away?"

"Nice truck." He said conversationally, as though she hadn't just dismissed him.

"I said go away."

Joseph gave a chuckle and shook his head slowly, "Relax would you, jeez! One mechanic to another, man; it's a sweet piece of machinery. You must've had a hell of a time finding parts. Is it yours?"

Tess was taken aback by how easy and conversational he was being; as though there was no animosity between them…maybe she remembered their last interactions differently…was she just overreacting…? What did he want. Well, whatever his intentions, she knew a really convenient way to get rid of him.

"No, it's not mine."
"Oh, military truck or somethin'?" he laughed, "So that's what you do in the army…babysit their trucks?"

The female mechanic's eyes narrowed harshly at him as her voice dropped to an annoyed, almost venomous tone. "It's my fiancé's truck. He's one of the military Commanders on base."

Turning back to her and running a hand through his short, spiky brown hair he gave a snort, "Sleeping with your boss, huh?"

"No." she said levelly, her eyes watching him as he viewed the vehicle with the interest and affection that only a fellow mechanic could, "He's the Commander but he's got no authority over my part of the department; we're more like…co-workers."

Joseph placed a hand on the side of the truck, ducking onto one knee to check the undercarriage of the vehicle as he spoke, his back turned to her as he addressed her like she was not important enough to talk to her face; his very presence was irritating her, and she just wanted him to leave. He was LAUGHING at her… "Should never dip your pen in the office ink, Tessa; just saying."

"Oh, well you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Joey?" she said sarcastically, "How is Hayley?"

Joseph's fingers paused on the step of the truck, Optimus found his metal skin crawling with the wish for him to stop touching the Peterbilt. To his relief, the hand left him; but only to stand up and face Tessa. Optimus knew this man's face from the woman's memories that he had experienced.

Joseph Tayler had been a former workmate of Tessa's years ago, a mechanic in one of the garages that she had been employed at. He was funny, tough and a good mechanic; but possessed a condescending and superior mannerism that already (even in only the few moments of his presence) made Optimus want to take him by the shoulder, guide him to the edge of the driveway and tell him to not come back. The human male was also Tessa's last lover before himself, with Tessa having broken off the relationship about a year before she'd started working at N.E.S.T.

"What the hell, Terry?" he scoffed, "Are you still hung up about that? It was years ago."

"Don't you dare call me that! I'm not hung up about it, I just don't see why I should be conversing with you like an old friend after what you did."

"Look, I apologized a thousand times about it, okay-?"

"Why?" she scoffed, "You weren't sorry; the only thing that you were sorry about was the fact that I caught you."

Joseph shot her an annoyed look, as though she were overreacting and he had every right to be angry at her. "What the hell, it was 3 years ago; when are you going to get over that?"

"You fucking cheated on me you asshole!" she snapped, her gaze sharpening to a pinpoint, "With the workshop apprentice! She was what, 19?"

"Tess, it was a stupid fling; it didn't mean a thing." He snapped, trying to justify it, "It was just-"

"-We were fucking engaged! Did that not mean anything to you?" Stopping herself from continuing, she raised her hands and changed the course of her words, "You know what, whatever. It was three years ago, and now I'm with somebody that knows me; I love him more than anything. Now, I don't know why you thought that you had any right to come here, but now that you've heard your rumour and ruffled my fucking feathers, you can go."

Joseph made an annoyed sound and shook his head, Tessa's eyes focusing on the way his tattoos on his neck creased as he moved; she knew those tattoos a little too well for her liking, and she did not want him here.

"Tessa, stop being such a fucking ice-queen-bitch! If you were over this whole thing, you wouldn't still be so hung up over something that happened so god-damned long ago."

"I'm not hung up over it, you DICK." She snapped, "I just don't remember you fondly, nor will I ever."

The tattooed man snorted at her remark, his attitude becoming annoyed and condescending as he looked at her with an expression of smug triumph. "Obviously this new fiancé of yours can't be all that if you've thought about me – Oof!"

The door to the Peterbilt flew open, hitting the human in the face. Nothing hard enough to injure him, but certainly enough of a warning to let him known that particular listening parties were not pleased with the implication.

Tessa stopped short, astounded by the outright action that Optimus had taken against Joseph, but then it occurred to her…the Prime had all of her memories at his disposal.

He had seen the event that she had seen; walking in on her at-the-time-fiancé with his mouth on the neck of another woman, the 19-year-old garage apprentice at the time.

Tessa's apprentice.

"What the fuck?" Joseph exclaimed, staring at the truck from his stumble; though he had managed to maintain his footing. He turned to Tessa with a bewildered and annoyed expression, "Did you do that? What the hell!"

She bit her lip in an attempt to not laugh at the surprised tone in his voice, the way his vocal chords were a tad higher in confusion. "No. That wasn't me."

"Then what the hell was it?"

"The truck." She answered honestly, her arms folding over her chest, "Optimus is in the military, Joseph; his truck is…special."
"O – Optimus? What kind of fuckin' stupid pretty boy name is that – Aargh!"

The door flew open again, and this time it hit Joseph so hard that knocked the man back and he fell to the ground; appearing a little dazed and not entirely coherent. The Prime used this opportunity to utilize the Holoform, the false human body crackling to life inside the cabin and jumping down out of the opposite side of the truck, walking around to where Tessa was standing.

"Chief-?" she asked, looking over at the man as he groaned on the lawn; not aware of what was going on around him, "Is – is he hurt badly-?"

Optimus placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head with a sigh, "No, I made sure to only project enough force to daze him. He will be out for a few minutes, and this gives me viable time to have 'arrived' here…I have a few things to discuss with him about appropriate respect."

Tessa looked over at the tattooed man on her weed-choked grass and pulled a perturbed face. She didn't like Joseph, and she certainly didn't care that he was currently dazed and probably suffering from a headache; she was more concerned about what had made Optimus so upset that he would take such an action against a human. Especially considering that the Autobot code was to protect them rather than harm them.

"Are you okay…?" she asked gently, putting a hand on the Holoform's arm and turning his chin to look at her; away from Joseph, "What is it; tell me."

She noticed the furrow of his brow as he spoke in a deep, incredibly dark liquid growl; his eyes sliding over to view the male human with a rather cold manner that she was unused to from him, "You are my mate, and he has no right to appear at your home and make disrespectful remarks about your capabilities or relationships."

"My capabilities…?"

"He claimed you were 'not good enough' to work for the military, Tessa; I will not allow that. It is faithlessness and fault like his that cause the rifts among people on Cybertron – "

"Shhhhh!, Chief; he'll hear you. Classified, remember?"

"I doubt he could comprehend the concept in any case." The Autobot leader said seriously, "He will learn to never disrespect you again."

Optimus placed a hand on her cheek, which was still damp from the carwash that she had given him during which she had gotten saturated. He leaned down and planted a searing kiss to her mouth very briefly before he heard the man on the lawn give a discomforted groan; causing him to release his lover and turn his gaze to Joseph.

An uncharacteristically annoyed scowl he made his way towards the human, and Tessa couldn't help but feel her chest jump a little; she had no doubt that Optimus was not going to hurt him, but she was worried about the anger and annoyance that he was displaying. Optimus was not a confrontational or aggressive being, seeing him act this way was certainly a little out of step for him… And that was when the realization hit her; about the events of Halloween when she herself had acted similarly to him, when a woman had possessed the nerve to proposition him.

Was Optimus…jealous?

She watched him reach Joseph, kneeling down over the human and gripping the front of his black shirt firmly to aid him in standing. However the 'assistance' ended once the man was back on his feet with Optimus using his commanding tone.

"Up." He ordered, releasing the dazed human who stumbled a little, gripping his nose. Joseph's eye focused on the taller, slightly leaner man in front of him and then his brow furrowed into a suspicious glare.
"The fuck, man? Who the hell are you?"

"Commander Optimus Prime." He said firmly in response. Tessa could hear the authority that Optimus was injecting into his voice, clearly as a non-aggressive intimidation tactic; the use of honorary titles and occupational achievements. She couldn't help but compare it to the game of 'my-horse-is-bigger-than-your-horse' that Riley and Aaron used to play when they butted heads as teenagers. She felt incredibly caught in the middle, she didn't want Optimus to hurt Joseph; for the sake of the Prime's own conscience rather than the adulterer's well-being.

Tessa didn't give two shits about Joseph.

Hate was not in Tessa's nature, but the way that the human had hurt her had stuck with her for a long time after it had happened. She had never been engaged before Joseph, so the level of commitment had been vested in the entirety of her heart; the emotional injury over the event would never be okay, she would never be forgiving for what he had done.

Her attention was drawn as Joseph spoke to the Prime with a sense of condescending distain. "When the hell did you get here? How long was I on the floor? Tess, what the fuck was with the goddamned door?"

"Do not speak to her like that." Optimus said sharply, curtly as he straightened the Holoform's shoulders; his frame standing higher than the human's own. Clearly, however, Joseph was either too ignorant or too smug to understand the subtle tactic of hierarchy that Optimus was demonstrating; the more passive attempt at deterring him.

"Stay out of this, man; ain't got nothing to do with you." He snapped back, his eyes on Tessa as he pointed at the door that had belted him in the face, "What the heck happened with the goddamned car door?"

Tessa felt her shoulders tense as he spoke to her, at how much his voice just grated her. "Dunno. Does it even really matter, Joe? You shouldn't be here."

"Psshhtt, I have every right to be here; I came to see you."

"No," she snapped, "you came to run be down. You were hoping to clear up some dumb rumour in the hopes that I'd still be hung up over you and fall into your arms because I lost my job and haven't been able to find another one."

"Bullshit – !" he took a step towards her but Optimus' hand shot up to brace against the tattooed man's chest, his eyes glaring at him like a set of piercing, glowing lasers.

"That," he rumbled dangerously, "is close enough."

Joseph would deny it if asked, but a chill ran down his spine at the underlying ferocity in the tone. This man, obviously a long time server of the military; was an unknown factor, he did not know what he was capable of. His eyes narrowed up at the taller man with defiance that the Prime found himself comparing to an adolescent boy; petulant and full of unnecessary pride. He had seen the attitude many a time in the war on Cybertron; it was an attitude that often blinded and left one open to attacks.

Soldiers had died because of idiotic pride such as this man's.

Optimus found that he did not perceive the man so much as a 'threat' but more of an annoyance, an irritation. The sheer lack of insight and maturity from this human was nothing but sad; for him to think himself worthy of one such as his Tessa.

Tessa ignored the contention between the two males to continue her address to Joseph, "No, it's not 'bullshit' Joseph. It wouldn't be the first time you tried to make me go back to you, you fucking pompous ass. Like you even deserve to be forgiven!" she pressed a hand to her temple to try and will away the headache that he was giving her, "I have a news flash for you, Joey." She spat his nickname with evident disgust, demonstrating just how unwilling she was to even consider treating him as the friend he seemed to be trying to paint himself as, "I'm engaged to someone that I love more than anything in the world, I have a job that makes a difference to the world, and my family is healthy, happy and supportive. I don't need you in my life, and I certainly don't want you in it. You satisfied your stupid curiosity; now go away, and don't think about getting the nerve to come back."

"You're not even going to let me explain?" Joseph snapped angrily, pushing against Optimus' hand to no avail.

Tessa shook her head with an angry look on her face, "Why should I? You forfeited any chance to explain the moment you touched her."

"Let it go! You're acting like a fucking jealous whore –! – AArrgh!"

Optimus' hand had clenched itself into a fist around his shirt and the human found himself slammed into the side of the truck, the Holoform's neon gaze searing into Joseph's with protective, irritated fury. A deep growl rumbled up his chest at the insult to his Sparkmate, all rationality and calm collectiveness meaning very little underlying his anger at the human's nerve.

Joseph was pinned about a foot above the ground, unknowingly entirely surrounded by the Autobot in every form, his chest aching with the sheer pressure that propped him up. Optimus glared up at him with an expression that was dark, volatile and defensive; his mate was not to be insulted. Cybertronians were renowned for their fierce protection of the beings that they loved, most of all those that they had tied their Sparks to.

"I warned you not to disrespect her." Optimus rumbled in his most authoritive liquid baritone, his teeth visible as the words rose to a demanding snarl; one that sounded every bit like an angry drill sergeant, "You will not speak to her like that, she has asked you to leave; so..." he voice dropped to an almost hiss as he issued an order, "…leave."

The venom in Optimus' voice had to have terrified Joseph, because even Tessa felt a chill run up her spine from it. The man's throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly, seeing that he would easily be outmatched; this military man simply oozed experience. There was an air about him of someone who was restraining his strength, but was capable of so much more; hell, Joseph felt the air that this person had probably killed before.

This grudge wasn't worth his life; and they both knew it.

Joseph's eyes narrowed in detest at his defeat, but he wanted to walk away from this still standing with both legs intact. "Alright, whatever…Not fucking worth this…" Optimus narrowed his glare to the point where his eyes were practically slits, his irises still glowing through them.

"A wise move, boy." He rumbled, sliding the human back down the side of the truck and releasing his hold.

Joseph stumbled a moment to catch his footing before slowly stepping towards the edge of the lawn; not taking his eyes off the Prime or turning his back. Optimus acted in much the same manner, standing between Tessa and the male as a shield while he side-stepped with him; the two almost circling each other in what could have been compared to some kind of shootout stand-off. Joseph moved his gaze to Tess, trying to ignore the icy glare that he was getting from the protective fiancé.

"Better be careful, Tess; I think your boyfriend's the angry abusive type." He said harshly, "Might wanna keep a leash on that."

Her eyes narrowed at the attack on Optimus, her fists clenching angrily as she responded in a calm, deadly tone, "Get. Out. Of. Here."

He raised both his hands in surrender with a scoff, looking over Optimus with evident scrutiny as he sidestepped to block the man's view of Tessa. Backing up, he crossed the street to where he'd obviously parked his car, climbed in and drove away; but not without doing an angry burnout in the street and speeding violently down the road.

He was gone.

Tessa felt her chest race and her skin prickle as she gave a strangled sound; this caused Optimus to turn and view her just as her knees buckled from the stress.

"Tessa!" he exclaimed, catching her in his grasp and lowering her gently to the ground, sitting beside her. She did not speak for a moment, just trying to file through her anger and hurt; all the things that had been brought up by seeing the man who had hurt her.

"I'm…sorry you had to see him…he was-"

"-Your intended life partner." Optimus finished for her, "I know."

"You knew? But…oh…wait…Memories, right?" she shrugged with a laugh, feeling a little sheepish.

Optimus pressed a thumb to her forehead and planted a kiss there once the extremity had removed itself, "Yes."

Tessa scratched the back of her neck and laughed awkwardly, "Yeah…still have to get used to that…so that means that you know…what he did…?"

"I witnessed everything as you did at the time. What he did was wrong, Tessa; he had no place to come here treating you as though you were at fault, or that he had any right to be forgiven."

With a heavy sigh, she snuggled in to the Holoform tightly; neither of them caring that she was saturated from wash-water or that they were sitting on her driveway in front of the open garage. It felt reassuring to be told that she had not done the wrong thing in not accepting him; because Joseph had a habit of being able to make the people around him feel at fault, leaving him blame free even when the wrong was completely his. Optimus had seen this in her memories of Joseph, knowing that she had been convinced many times to take the blame for things that she needn't have done so for.

"Thanks, Chief." She said softly, lifting her face to plant a kiss on his jawline, feeling his fingers tighten around her gently, protectively, "I guess we'll have to wash you again, I mean…you had to soil your door just to smack him in the face."

She heard him smirk, his eyes turning to the truck before looking down at her, willing himself to try and lighten her mood; anything to see her smile again. "I found the end result to be worth the setback."

As expected, she did crack a smile; shaking her head amusedly at him she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and planted a kiss to the Holoform's mouth, "I'm glad that you didn't actually hurt him, Optimus; for your sake, not his."

His voice lowered so that it was audible to only the two of them, lest any of her neighbours be eavesdropping after the disturbance on Tessa's front lawn. "It was not without restraint, I assure you… Violence is not within my personal nature, but when the Sparkmate of a Cybertronian is insulted, harassed or threatened; our only response is to eliminate that threat by any means of removal. It was the source of much contention on Cybertron, because our mates are paramount to us, Tessa. I will do anything to protect you."

She felt her heart skip a beat at the last sentence, because the idea that she would be protected from anything that would ever hurt her…was comforting. Every human wanted nothing more than to be safe, loved and happy; and she had these in abundance. Pulling Optimus closer into their cuddled embrace, she sighed heavily.

"And I'd do anything I could to protect you…" she said gently, "…even if I can't step on things the way you can. I would have liked to step on Joseph today…"

A heavy chuckle rumbled up his chest at her words before he decided to stand, gently helping her to her feet. She gave a surprised gasp when he took her shoulders and pulled her into a tight, upright hug; his chest pressed against her so tightly that she could feel the humming beat of the Spark…the one that still beat in time with her own heart. He buried his face into her hair as she wrapped her arms around the small of his back and held him just as tightly.

"He does not own you, Tessa. Do not dwell on him; he is insignificant in your life now."

His words struck true, and she squeezed him for comfort at the thoughts, the memories that unwillingly surrounded her; memories that she no longer felt love or connection to, they were just…histories. And they irritated her.

"Yeah…I know." She murmured softly, "I guess it just bothers me that I was even stupid enough to ever care about him… The idea that I was his just…irks me."

She suddenly felt a kiss plant itself on her neck, and his fingers slid to the collar of her t-shirt, pulling it aside a little so that he could kiss her shoulder. She squeaked and gave a surprised giggle when she felt the tongue of the Holoform gently trace across the skin before releasing her shirt, returning it to its original position on her body.

"…He was a fool to treat you the way that he did; and because of it he lost you. Now, you are mine." His tone was gentle and loving, but possessed that strange, growling undertone that she herself had taken when she had been angry about the woman trying to 'steal' her Autobot. Knowingly she smiled and pressed a hand to the space of his chest where the false body's Spark resided.

""Hmm…why don't you prove that fact?" she teased with a laugh, twining her fingers into his hair and pulling his forehead down to hers; their eyes both closing contentedly as she pressed into him.

"Perhaps I should." He rumbled against her lips, knowing exactly what she was implying; and truth be told, he felt that she could use the reassurance, "You do need to change these pieces of clothing, in any case." And in all honesty, he would be more than happy to obligingly assist her in doing so…

With an almost amusing snicker, she tightened her hold in his hair and pressed her mouth to his with a cheeky, almost insistent kiss as she lowered her voice to a whisper.

"You're so sexy when you're jealous."