“Meet Me At The Bar. I’m Buying.”

i saw youre doing requests! can i request dating headcanons where y/n is a blackwatch agent also dating a fellow blackwatch agent (genji, cass, moira, and reaper)? tia! <3

Blackwatch Dating HC's

Already did Cassidy's so just the rest of Blackwatch.

Genji

Not at his healthiest, but God damn his angstiness is kinda hot for you.

While he is focused on vengeance against his brother, you manage to pull him out of it or you help him vent and vow to help him out.

Genji really appreciates the gesture

When Genji is off of his vengeful Shimada bs he'd love to take you to the arcade, an old past time of his.

He's not really in it for playing to win anymore he just likes seeing the smile on your face when you're playing with him.

Anything to tear him away from his Blackwatch work.

If your a electrical engineer of any kind hell occasionally let you mess with the lighting on his body

You totally didn't use his body as a disco ball while blasting funk nope

When it's just the two of you in a private place, he shows his love through physical touch

Genji likes to cradle your face and lightly graze his thumbs across your skin

If you're lucky he might take off his mask and ask to kiss you

You're going to have to be real patient with him, after his murder he's real insecure about his being as a cyborg.

If he does kiss you he's gentle, he has a feral side that wants to go all put, but around you he wants to savor the moment and keep you there in his arms.

As far as dinners go, he doesn't really eat much... not much left of a body to sustain anyways, but he'll be more than happy to help you cook!

He's great with a knife, doesn't have to worry about nicking himself.

In the bed, Genji's a cuddler. He is semi-emberassed about it. He falls asleep on his side and wake up wrapped around you.

I liken Genji to a cat, he just rubs up against you trying to get some affection and cuddles he's too scared to ask for.

If you two are on missions together, he sticks by you, no arguments and everyone on the team knows this. Not even Commander Reyes can separate the two of you.

After long missions spent apart Genji shows up at your room or vice versa but no matter you hell take you into his arms and press his head against your shoulder.

He fears losing you as he has lost himself.

Moira

Listen, you have to be into science if you're going to roll with Moira.

Since you're a science person or an agent who operates in the science division you can expect to be working with Moira a lot

While she won't experiment on you (unless you ask) she'll ask for your participation in helping her with an experiment and analysis.

You both know it's hard to find time for either of you to go out together, so the best time for dates is unsurpsingly in the lab.

Moira will gladly do a couple silly experiments to keep moral high with various experiment such as giving a rabbit a pair of human arms, exploding goop, and some stuff they probably belongs in Area 51.

After it's been in exhausting day you two will find it easier to just walk over to whoevers room is the closest and crash there. Not before before pulling you close and kissing you. Moira looks into your eyes and wonders how you can put up with her insanity.

Blanket hugger I swear, she's not even ashamed about it

She also has the coldest feet she's so tall most blankets won't cover her completely.

Hope you don't mind being Moira's little space heater, she'll leech your warmth.

Has all of her limbs wrapped around you kind of like a spider

Loves you more than she'll ever admit.

If you're out on the field, you can bet sharing notes and observations is a must.

Since you're same department you two get to stick together

Gabriel (Commander Reyes)

Big man, soft heart.

It's lonely at the top and he loves when you drag him out of the base to do stuff.

Gabriel loves to go to the movies, horror and comedy in particular

Also gives him an excuse to have you hold his hand during some scary parts

Also adores glancing at you laughing at some dumb scene in a comedy

Always brings his heavy gray hoodie and has you wear it if the theater gets to cold. Gabe always manages to grab a picture of you in it and set it as his screen saver.

Type of man to take you out to dinner afterward, and refuses to let go of your hand.

On base you can hang with him in his room, since he's Commander his accomadations are nicer than yours.

He has a heated blanket and you can't find the heart to tell him no when he asks you if you want to cuddle with him.

Gabriel is a big man, but the way he holds you is unmatched to anyone else

He is gentle with his touch and likes to rest you on top of his chest.

His heartbeat puts you at ease and sleep finds you easier than normal.

On missions with him, it's common to get separated since he's Commander there are times where he works from a computer to strategize in comms. But the few times he's on the field you two are a force of nature.

Unstoppable really.

After long missions apart, Gabriel searches for you and when he find you he pulls you into a searing kiss and lifts you up, smiling with tears in his eyes tha you're ok.

With his warm hand in yours, tomorrow is a new day and any day with Gabe is a good day.

A/N: I already did Cassidy's for dating HC's so I did the other homies of black watch. I'm going to sleep now but I'll update the master list tomorrow.

Have a request? Drop it in the request box and be sure to check the rules!

“The only bed worth sleeping’s the one right next to you” -cold cold man, Saint Motel. for @usedbandaid

High key this is one of my favourite songs ever and every time I listen to it I can’t help but think of Hades, so here I am a year and a half later finally making this. I know this is really rough looking but I did learn a lot from making this- since I’ve never really attempted a project quite to this scale before.

Run - Genji X Reader

In which Genji gives into his dark desires.

tags: NSFW, fem reader? (Genji calls them good girl, pretty girl, etc. but I don't think any pronouns are used idk), knife play, rough! sex, a thing for tears, unprotected sex, filthy, dark, and dirty, "Run, and if I catch you, I fuck you"

A/N: i'm surprised I wrote this as fast as I did, but it combines some of my favorite tropes. It is also a bit darker than some of my previous works, but I do still hope you all enjoy this <3

Genji shouldn’t like this. He knows he shouldn’t, but some dark, depraved part of him adores the way your tears stain your cheeks. You sob so pretty. He’s sure it’d be even prettier if you were sobbing for him. 

“I hate you!” You scream out, the words slicing through the air. You don’t mean them, not even close. Genji doesn’t even flinch at your cruelness. In fact, his mask shifts in a way that almost looks like he smiled. He doesn’t move out of the chair in his room that the two of you are in, but you keep pacing through the room. 

“I know you do,” he says softly. You two had been on a mission together, and you ended up taking the fall for something that was both of your faults. You did it without hesitation, knowing Genji would be kicked out if he fucked up again. And yet, the vicious reprimands from Reyes still stung at your heart. You have always been good, almost perfect, at your job, and it’s something that you take pride in. 

“I told you not to take the fall,” Genji says. You bite out a chuckle, a humorless sound suffocated by tears.

“And what? Let you get kicked out?” You sigh, letting your tears fall again. It shouldn’t sting your pride this much to be yelled at, but it does. 

Genji watches your movements, entranced at your puffy cheeks and red face. You’re a tight ball of sadness and frustration, but your tears look so beautiful. A part of him wants to go to Reyes and break his nose for making you cry, but another part of him wants to bend you over and make you cry for him, the only thing you should cry for. The image in his head is enough to have him hardening in his pants, still in his Blackwatch uniform. He wonders if other parts of your body look this pretty when they’re red. 

A tinge of guilt radiates through his body. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. He knows he shouldn’t, but you seem to take over him. Since the accident, he has had hardly any desire for anybody, but you’re different. Sick thoughts, ones of making you breathless and begging, take over his mind. He wonders if you’d like it rough or if you’d like it soft and gentle, like a lover. He could do both, be both, if that’s what you wanted. 

“Stop looking at me like that,” you mutter when you notice his dark eyes tracing your body. It’s a look you can’t quite decode, and that drives you insane.

“Why not?” Genji’s voice is soft and breathy, and it sends chills along your skin. His eyes slowly drag back to your face, and the look in his eyes makes the hair on the back of your neck stand. It’s dark, twisted, hungry. 

“I don’t know what it means,” you breathe out softly. Genji takes in a sharp breath as your eyes meet his. Yours are still glossy from tears and the sight goes straight to his cock. Maybe it’s best that you don’t know what it means. Maybe it’s best you don’t know he’s thinking about how pretty you would look crying while you come around his cock. He should be more ashamed that he’s getting hard by your sobs, but he isn’t.

“You don’t want to know what it means,” he says. He’s teetering on the edge of pushing you against the wall and pressing his lips to yours. You face him and square your shoulders, eyes narrowing. 

“I think I do,” you say. He’s always been alluring to you, but nothing that you would act on. He seems tortured, like he needs to be the one to make the first move. You spent countless nights hoping he would do just that, but never had your wishes fulfilled. Your heartbeat picks up at the thought of him wanting you. Is that what that look is? “I’m having…twisted thoughts about you,” he says his words carefully, his dark eyes scanning your entire face for your reaction. Your eyes widen slightly in surprise. Twisted?

“Twisted how?” You ask, taking a step forward.

Genji’s resolve snaps when he sees you step toward him instead of away when he says he’s having thoughts. He stands quickly and closes the distance between the two of you. You don’t back away, and that has his skin burning. He needs to touch you. 

“I want to fuck more tears out of you,” Genji says as he stands over you. He’s not incredibly tall, but his presence fills the entire room, leaving it thick with tension and desire. You look at him, feeling heat spread across your body under his gaze.

You smile. 

You fucking smile. The motion has Genji hardening even more. His pretty little thing likes it rough, hm? Oh, he’ll show you rough.

“Tell me to stop, and it ends,” he says, before he leans down and presses a soft kiss against your neck. You shake your head. You’re not stopping him.

“Ten seconds, pretty girl. You get ten seconds. Run, and if I catch you, I’ll fuck you so hard that all those tears will be mine,” he says against your skin. 

“You-” You start, but your words get caught in your throat. Genji gives you just enough time to say no, and you couldn’t even dream of that. You want this, him, badly. 

“Ten.”

He’s serious. Any questions you had in the back of your mind are lost and you turn to the door. You sprint out of it, leaving it swinging behind you. You hear him chuckle softly as he continues counting down. Your heart beats hard as you run through the base’s hallways, but the heat spreading to your core makes it hard to focus. It’s late enough that the hallways are completely empty. You distantly hear his countdown get closer to zero, and you scramble for ideas. You can’t outrun him. He’s faster and stronger, but maybe you could hide. You dart past a few more doors before you reach your room and sneak in, forgetting to close the door behind you. He reached zero a few seconds ago and you can hear his footsteps approaching. He usually moves in silence, so you know he wants you to hear each step he makes. You duck into your closet, closing the door behind you. Surely he won’t find you, right? Though, do you really want him to not find you? The footsteps get closer, and you take a sharp intake and watch through the barely there crack in your closet doors. Genji stands in your bedroom doorway, shaking his head. 

“Oh, pretty little thing, don’t you know to cover your tracks?” He says softly, stepping into the room and pulling the door shut behind himself. He clicks the lock on it, and you hold your breath as he starts to pace the room. He checks the bathroom first, then around the room, until he looks at the closet. Your heart stops as you swear the two of you make eye contact through the crack in the door. He steps towards you, yanking the closet door open. His head tilts as he sees you, and you take your lip in between your teeth. 

“Gotcha,” he says, and you have a feeling he’s smiling under the mask. He reaches out to you, taking a handful of your hair and pulling you out of the closet. His grip is tight, and the slight pain only builds the heat in you. You whimper in his hold, letting him stare down at you. 

He uses his other hand to pull the mask down, then uses his tight grip in your hair to push you closer to him. There’s a moment of hesitation, where he loosens his grip enough to let you push him away. You don’t, instead closing the distance and pressing your lips against his. His kiss is hungry, desperate, feral, and you devour it. He pulls on your hair enough to cause you to let out a soft gasp, which he uses to his advantage to gain access to your mouth. His tongue takes over yours, like a man starved. You whimper against the kiss, his roughness only making you wetter. 

Genji pulls away, his grip gone from your hair. You whine at the lack of any sort of contact, but your eyes widen when he unsheathes one of his blades. It’s a shorter one, nowhere near as long as his sword, but it’s still a blade. There’s a wicked glimmer in his eyes and he looks into yours, an eyebrow raised, as he throws the knife. The blade plants deeply into the hardwood, the handle out. You watch in confusion as Genji sits in your armchair, just a few inches from where he planted the blade. It sticks out in between his feet, and you frown. What is he doing?

“Ride it,” he says, leaning back in the chair. Your mouth hangs open. He wants you to… “Ride my blade,  pretty girl.”

There’s a challenge in his tone, his dark eyes watching you. Heat rises through your body at the thought of him watching you ride one of his knives, and your sex riddled brain makes the decision. You pull your pants down slowly, your wet underwear sticking to your core for a brief second. Genji’s eyes narrow in on that, and you can’t help the smile as he watches you. If he’s going to tease you, you’re going to do it right back. You drop to your knees by the blade, leaning down and taking as much of the handle in your mouth as you can. Genji groans at the sight, but doesn’t intervene. You continue to wet the handle with your saliva, running your tongue up and down the base. You glance up at him through your eyelashes, and he has to shift in his chair. He could touch himself now, but he’s holding back. 

Once the handle is wet enough, you rise and position your hips over it. You sink down onto it slowly, whining as the hard material stretches you. It’s only a few inches, but it’s thick and sturdy, and you need any sort of touch right now. Genji watches you with intent, his eyes on where you and his blade are connected. You take all of it in and sigh, letting yourself adjust to the size. 

Your shirt hangs low on you, and as you start to move up and down the blade, it falls in front of you. Genji growls, upset that his view is being blocked, and another one of his blades is quickly unsheathed. He moves with expert grace and precision, slicing through the material. The shreds of your shirt drop to the ground around you, your bra also in shambles. You shudder as he presses the blade against your throat, using it to tilt your head up. You swallow, feeling the blade against your skin. You’re not in any true danger with him. He’s an expert with blades, and you know you won’t be cut unless it’s intentional. 

“Look at me while you read my blade, baby,” he says. You nod, not trusting yourself to form words, and he lets the blade fall away. You’re close enough to touch him, so you brace yourself on his thighs as you start to move up and down on the handle of his knife. You whimper softly as you take it all over and over again, your nails digging into his thighs. It stretches you so nicely, and the fact that it’s a knife, his knife, makes you even wetter. This is a blade he has taken on more missions than you can count, and here you are riding it while he watches. 

“Does it feel good?” Genji asks above you. 

“So…good,” you say. He reaches to your chest, grabbing your nipples and rolling them between his fingers. A sharp whine sounds from your throat when he pinches both of them, and you clench around the blade. 

“Genji, please,” you mutter. You need more. 

“Please what?” Genji says, pinching so hard that it starts to hurt. The pain mixes with the pleasure, creating a delicious building heat. You’re so close, but you need more. 

“More…” you shudder out, your orgasm building as you continue to ride the blade. “Please. More. I need-”

Your voice catches in your throat when he leans forward and reaches in between you. His metal fingers graze your clit softly, and you buck your hips toward his hand. A light burns in his dark eyes. He pushes into your clit harder, rubbing circles into it. The motion, the blade, all of it has you falling apart. Your head falls into his lap, but his other hand balls your hair into his fist and pulls you back up. 

“You’re going to look at me while you come on my blade,” he commands. His dark eyes are full of hunger and it sends chills down your spine. You start to snap something back, but he pushes down on your clit. The sensations overcome you and you scream out his name as your orgasm rocks through you. Your head starts to sway from the strength of it, your eyes seeing stars, and Genji lets you rest your head in his lap to regain yourself for a few seconds. 

“Can’t wait to kill somebody with that blade knowing what you did to it,” he says, softly petting your hair. You clench around it. Perhaps it’s sick, dark, twisted, to be so attracted to the thought of him using the blade that’s currently several inches deep into you to kill somebody. If it is, then you are sick as well. 

“You’re going to use this blade after this?” You find yourself asking. 

“Of course. It’s my favorite blade now,” Genji says. He lifts your head up softly, cupping your cheeks. “Can you go for another one?”

It’s a stark contrast to the depraved roughness, but you nod. You want more, need more. 

“That’s my girl,” he whispers, his thumb running along your cheek. He helps you off the knife and stand up, even if it’s only briefly, before he pushes you down onto your bed. You land softly, and he’s on top of you quickly. He brings his lips to yours, peppering a soft kiss on them. He pulls back and you whimper at the loss of contact. 

“That desperate, hm?” He smiles as he stands. He pulls his sheathes off, letting all of his gear drop to the floor around him. 

“Don’t tease me,” you beg. Genji just smirks at you. He pulls his shirt over his head and drops it to the floor. His lithe frame is intoxicating, his lean muscles flexing as he moves. You could watch it for hours, but you know Genji has other plans for you. 

He hooks his fingers into his waistband, pulling his pants and boxers down. Your mouth waters at the sight. He’s certainly bigger than the handle of the blade, and flesh. Your core clenches at the sight, and he lets you look your fill.

“Nobody has looked at me like that since the accident,” Genji says softly, a laugh sounding through the air.

“You’re beautiful,” you say, and you hope it sounds as genuine as it is. “Truly.”

“Ah, don’t stroke my ego,” Genji says as he leans back over you. You start to say something back, but his lips connect with one of your nipples and it has you gasping. He chuckles against your skin, pressing his tongue against your nipple. You moan out his name, but it’s more of a  plea than anything else. You need him. 

“You sound so pretty,” he says. 

“Please, Genji, don’t tease me,” you whisper out in between soft breaths. He shakes his head, his dark hair tickling your chest. 

“I’ll do as I please, baby,” he looks up at you, keeping his eyes on yours as he takes your other nipple into his mouth. He takes it in between his teeth and the ragged feeling has your back arching into him. He reaches down in between the two of you, and you gasp as he drags his fingers along your core. The touch is gone as soon as it was there, and you squirm under him at the loss of contact. He brings his fingers up to his mouth,  dipping them behind his lips and sucking you off of them. 

“Fucking incredible,” he says. You hold his dark gaze, and you know you look pathetic.

“I need you inside me. Please,” you whimper out. Genji snarls, actually snarls, and pulls away from you. He’s back on you almost immediately, lining himself up at your entrance. He sinks into you slowly, the room filling with soft moans from both of you. His hands grip your hips tightly, tight enough that it hurts, but your brain is too focused on the feelings he’s giving you now. Hell, you like the pain. 

“God, you’re so fucking perfect,” he says as he pushes further in. He stretches you so perfectly, the sting melding with the pleasure. He barely gives you any time to adjust before he’s pulling back and thrusting back in. You scream out, your hand balling up the blanket under you. 

“You look so good like this. At my fucking mercy, pretty girl.” His vulgar words mixed with the praise has you clenching around him, which makes a sick smile appear on his features. He’s got you in the palm of his hand, and he knows it. His metal hand finds its way to your clit, rubbing circles in it, rougher as he thrusts in. Your back arches into him at the combined sensations, and he uses the opportunity to press a soft kiss against your throat. You fall back, heat starting to build in your stomach. 

“Genji,” you say softly.

“I know, baby,” is all he replies. He keeps working you with both his cock and his hand, until you’re whimpering and falling apart under his touch. Your orgasm rattles over with you a force unmatched by anything you’ve experienced before. Your vision dots with black as you scream out his name. He continues thrusting into you, continues rubbing on your clit, continues his harsh grip on your hip. The overstimulation makes your body shake, and tears start to prick your eyes. One of them falls down your cheek and you go to wipe it away, but Genji’s hand catches your wrist.

“Let me see those tears, pretty girl,” he says. You nod, and he releases your wrist. Your hands somehow find their way to his back, and you dig your nails in hard as he continues to overstimulate you. You know your nails are probably hurting him, but he doesn’t say anything. Tears pour out of your eyes now, tracing the lines they made earlier. 

“You’re doing so good for me,” Genji mutters, his voice raspy. You look past your teary eyes to see him, his dark hair falling over his face. You reach to him, cupping his face and running your finger along one of the bigger scars. The gesture is tender, and it catches him off guard, but he loves the way you look at him. His thrusts start to get sloppy, and you can tell he’s getting close. Another tear falls out of your eye as your body reaches another climax. It rocks through you and has you clenching down on his cock, which is enough to send him over the edge. You keep clenching around him as he goes through his orgasm, his head falling to the crook of your neck. 

It takes the both of you a bit to calm down enough to move. He moves first, pulling away enough to kiss the tears along your skin. You smile softly at him. He’s the perfect mix of dark, twisted desires and soft, gentle love. He eventually helps you get cleaned up and gets you some water to drink before pulling you into bed with him. He cradles you so gently, his hand running along your hair as you rest your head against his chest. Your hand traces connection between metal and skin, sleep starting to take over. 

“Thank you for taking care of me,” you say softly. Your voice sounds groggy with sleep.

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” he replies. You nod, moving just enough to press your lips to the place where metal and flesh melds on his chest. He tenses, but when your soft lips press a part of him that he’s hated, he finds himself wishing your lips would touch it more often. Perhaps you’re healing him, healing his wounds.

spoilers for River Ward missions so BEWARE!

River Ward's questline is so important to me and imma tell you why;

because you can finally save someone.

you can't save Jackie (your best choom) and you can't save Evelyn (who didn't deserve what happened to her) and you can't save Scorpion (who didn't deserve what happened to him) and you can't really save the dolls at Clouds, but you can save Randy and some of the other victims that were taken as well, and i can't tell you how cathartic that was for me (and my V by extension) to know that Randy's gonna be able to come home to a family who loves him.

River, the ex-cop, really said, "I trust you and only you to help me find someone very dear to me," and then you actually??? succeed?????? yes, River, i fucking love you THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING ME

Classic

Back to my old bull again. And by that I mean trying to draw Transformers, realizing robots are still really hard for me to draw, giving up and going to the humanized redesign comfort zone. It’s fine, I’m fine, sharp angles aren’t for everybody and humanizations are great character design exercises, it’s fiiiine.

Beast Wars Maximals as humans! Optimus Primal, Rhinox, Rattrap, Cheetor, Dinobot, Tigatron, Airazor, Silverbolt and Depth Charge.

There’s more where this came from…

a/n: i remembered that old blackwatch genji short’s i wrote not too long ago, decided to do a short little part four to it because, gosh darn it i love this man far too much. 

written with the genji of now though! also don’t worry, this was written with the intent of having missing information as to what happened between genji and the reader in blackwatch. 

part three

Genji never expected to see you again, holding the picture he took of you in secret near and dear to his heart, but here you are standing in front of him. Gun pointed at him, looking just as beautiful and as dangerous as you did in his memories. 

His heart started beating rapidly, almost as if it were trying to escape his chest, unable to stop the hand that reached for his chest through his metal plating, Genji couldn’t stop the small little cry that filtered its way through his voice synthesizer. 

The recognition in your eyes did not go unmissed by Genji, nor did the small waver from the hand holding the gun. Many things had changed since the two of you were in Blackwatch, where all Genji had felt was anger, a thirst for revenge, the pain of his body adjusting to its new form, and his self-hatred. 

At that moment you and he of Blackwatch were brought to the forefront of his mind. How you treated him like he was human, how he had pushed you away. How you had made sure he was comfortable with his body, and how he had craved to feel your touch again. How you had worked delicately, learning the places to slide a knife into his prototype body, never using this knowledge to harm him, only to help him. 

He was a fool, a damn fool for letting you go, for leaving things the way that he did. With bitterness and anger. Acting like a child, pushing you away without looking back to tell you why he did what he did. He never wanted to lose your warmth, your affection, your kindness, and love. 

He lost it all in one fell swoop that night he left. But now, maybe now he could right the wrongs he had sowed in the past and walk this new one with you once more. 

He just had to win, your gun versus his blade. To see if he had changed, to see if what he said was true, that he had changed, that he wanted to walk a newer and clearer path with you. 

He just had to win and with that thought in his mind, Genji would not allow himself to lose. He would not lose you again. Winning this battle would earn the newly recalled Overwatch a strong, and valuable ally. For Genji… he would have a chance to start anew with you, and that put a smile on his face. 

Optimus and his Ragtag Family

The dad instincts are strong in Optimus, he really can't help it. Going to earth has not made it any better.

Bumblebee

Bumblebee was the first to be spontaneously adopted by Optimus. He was and always will be Optimus precious little ray of sunshine. However Bee isn't a little sparkling any more, a fact that became far more apparent to the Prime after their arrival to earth. It's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact Optimus is very proud of his firstborn. Seeing Bee come into his own as an adult and a leader brings Optimus great joy. But that doesn't change the fact that his little one isn't all that little anymore, giving his parental coding the chance to make a reappearance.

Of course he still gets opportunities to love his precious sparkling. He often gives Bee small tender touches and hugs when there aren't too many optics watching. And he always is there to comfort and advise Bee, taking care to ensure his firstborn always feels loved. And while the opportunities are few and far between he will do his best to spend time with his youngling when possible.

Despite all that Optimus has begun to feel the inklings of emptiness in his spark, almost as though something he had no idea was vital is missing. He wants to protect, to teach, to provide, and Bee is simply too old for Optimus to do many of those things for him in the capacity he did before.

Bumblebee, while still relying on Optimus on occasion, has begun to fend for himself, stepping into the realm of adulthood and leaving his childish connections behind. As such Optimus has turned to his team and the younglings with them to satisfy his desire to dote on someone.

Ratchet

While their relationship is more of a bond between friends than anything else, Optimus still dotes on Ratchet in typical older sibling fashion. He can be a bit overbearing at times but generally Optimus is just a very concerned friend and brother figure. And despite being the worst at caring for himself, Optimus is incredibly devoted when it comes to taking care of everyone else, especially Ratchet.

Optimus will check on Ratchet regularly, usually he just hangs around in the doorway for a moment until he confirms weather or not Ratchet has moved since his last check in. If Ratchet has not moved or looks a little unsteady, Optimus will drop in and silently slide over some energon or depending on the situation, maneuver Ratchet away from his project and to his berth for some well earned recharge.

On days where Ratchet refuses his more subtle efforts, Optimus will go full on big bro mode and pull out some tricks from his time as Orion. Generally in such instances Optimus will make himself enough of a nuisance for Ratchet to throw in the towel and take care of himself. He does this in numerous ways, ranging from purposefully moving Ratchet's tools to strange locations to consistently poking at him and being a smart alec until Ratchet gets tired of him.

Optimus always feels a little bad after such days and does his best to make it up to Ratchet later by leaving a treat or apology note at his station.

Arcee

Arcee can be prickly at times, as such it is a bit difficult for Optimus to figure out just where he stands outside of the role of Commanding Officer. He tends to act like a mix between a father figure and a concerned elderly neighbor around her as he is not sure what she would find acceptable. Thankfully she has yet to comment on his behavior, so Optimus has taken to assuming she is alright with his choice of persona.

As his relationship with her is rather unclear, he tends to dote on her in indirect ways. Things like leaving her little gifts, notes, and treats are common ways for him to take care of her. He will also simply sit beside her and offer his silent companionship when she is having a bad day. She has yet to reject him whenever he plops down next to her with an embroidery kit or a ball of yarn with knitting needles. Some days she will join him in his activity, other times she won't, either way, it doesn't bother Optimus.

Other times when Optimus is feeling a little more bold or Arcee is having a particularly bad bout of PTSD, he will give her hugs. On such occasions she always melts into his hold, sometimes crying against him and other times simply enjoying the feeling of being held. There are even times when she falls into recharge while he cradles her like he would a sparkling. His spark never ceases to flutter in fatherly joy when it happens. The fact that Arcee trusts him enough to fall into recharge in his embrace is something he cherishes.

Bulkhead & Wheeljack

Bulkhead and Wheeljack might as well be overgrown sparklings considering the way they act. With this in mind, Optimus often ends up taking a fatherly role when they require some comfort or discipline. It's not even intentional half the time, Optimus just has a lot of experience handling sparklings and seeing the behavior of Bulkhead and Wheeljack prompts his long since automated parental responses.

Wheeljack gets sent out to his ship or to his berthroom when he gets too rowdy or narrowly avoids a tool tossed by Ratchet. Bulkhead receives similar treatment when he acts up, often being assigned some dull desk work or being sent to his berthroom as well. Optimus does what he can to not make his treatment scream "punishing a misbehaving sparkling" but sometimes it can't really be hidden. His disappointed dad voice and his no-nonsense servos on the hips give him away when his persona of a stern commander slips.

However its not all punishment from him. When Wheeljack is struggling with some scientific endeavor Optimus will step up and offer his knowledge from his time as Orion Pax. Optimus always tells himself that he does this to keep Wheeljack from going too far. However this tends to backfire as Optimus has always been a sucker for science and always gets super into whatever Wheeljack is working on. Their combined intellect and interest often ends with an explosion of sorts, much to Ratchet's irritation.

As for Bulkhead, Optimus likes to assist when he can, and in most cases that means having to help the ex-wrecker figure out the meaning behind human slang and customs. As he was once an Archivist and student of Alpha Trion, obtaining the data is easy, however figuring it out is far more troubling. Bulkhead and Optimus can spend hours deciphering things on the internet if left uninterrupted. And usually when they walk away both are left a little out of it for a while. All in all, it is some quality not quite father-son bonding time.

Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus holds the unofficial title of Optimus's bonded brother. There are multiple reasons for this, partially it is due to the fact that Optimus trained him personally, but also because both are practically attached at the hip when they are together. Optimus leads and Ultra Magnus gets everyone lined up behind him. Optimus stands as a shining beacon representing the pinnacle of Cybertronian kind, a paragon of justice and wisdom. And in order to preserve this image, Ultra Magnus deals with the less savory things involved in both political and literal warfare.

They fit together perfectly, supporting each other and making up for the other's weaknesses. Their bond is both old and strong, forged through the flames of war and tempered by long years of strife. Due to this, Optimus has developed a unique method of caring for his brother in all but CNA.

They need no words most of the time. When Ultra Magnus is angry, Optimus takes him out for a spar in order to cool down. When he is unsettled or emotionally shaken, Optimus will sit beside him and converse about trivial things, holding his brother's servo to comfort him. And when he is injured, Optimus will stay at his side, offering his companionship and support, wiping away stray tears, and giving Ultra Magnus comforting touches.

Their bond is quiet, one that goes nearly completely unnoticed, however they are still brothers, even if no one else sees it.

Smokescreen

It really was unintentional on Optimus's part, but a youngling left unattended was simply too much for his parental drives and he gave in nearly immediately. Before anyone on the team could even finish getting used to Smokescreen's presence, he was already on the receiving end of Optimus's doting.

Smokescreen has 0 issues with his new unofficial father-son arrangement. Outside of his fanboy reasons for being excited about the arrangement, he also doesn't have many memories of his previous caretakers, the war took them early and he was drafted into the army soon after. Having someone who genuinely cares for and loves him is something he didn't know he needed and now can't live without. He is by far one of the most receptive to Optimus's affections.

Smokescreen leaps at every opportunity to be close to Optimus. He will take every offered hug and touch with exuberance and adores receiving head pats. He positively beams whenever the Prime tells him stories and gives him lessons in history. And whenever he feels down he always goes to Optimus with his arms open, eager for comfort.

Optimus, in light of Bumblebee's increasing maturity and independence, adores Smokescreen's openly childlike behavior when off duty. It brings back memories of when Bee was little and would look to him for guidance at every moment. Teaching and caring for Smokescreen brings Optimus joy he thought would fade with Bumblebee's rise into adulthood.

Both he and Smokescreen relish in the affection they receive from each other.

The Human Kiddos

Never in Optimus's functioning did he ever think he would ever get attached to an organic, much less develop an unnatural bond with three of them. It is an odd thing to say the least, having his parental coding insist that the human children are obviously his sparklings and that he should be treating them as such can be rather off-putting. However Optimus has experienced a great deal of strange things over the course of his long life, and quickly took the development in stride.

It can be a little difficult for Optimus to adjust his behavior to match his newest charges needs though. His coding tells him that the human children are sickly or disabled sparklings. This often drives him to constantly worry about them and want nothing more than for Primus to wrap them up in living metal so as to keep them safe. This particular mindset becomes especially evident with Rafael.

Rafael is the smallest of the human children, and thus quickly took up a place in Optimus's mind as the runt of the litter due to both his size and his apparent disablement because of his need for glasses. As such Optimus feels the need to take extra care of Rafael, carefully intervening in any situation that is marginally dangerous for the child and taking the time to learn his preferences and interests. Not only that, but he regularly finds himself humming at a frequency too high for human ears but very clearly meant to comfort a young sparkling to any bots in the area.

Outside of Optimus overprotectiveness, he and Raf bond over their love of language and regularly have discussions on the subject. And when Optimus has time he often tries his hardest to help Raf learn Cybertronian speech. It hurts his spark to see Raf struggle with the sounds as he does not have the correct vocal ability, Optimus's coding always telling him that his sparkling is damaged and in need of medical attention. He tries to push those feelings aside and instead tries to focus on feeling proud of Raf for managing the few words he can vocalize.

Optimus has since given Raf a Cybertronian name, referring to him as 'Bright-Sparked-Child-of-Terra' in Cybertronian when it is just him and the human children.

As for Miko, Optimus's coding insists that she was meant for the skies, a born flier despite her organic form. This influences his actions as he often puts her on his shoulder and and lets her observe the world around her as he would with a flight gifted sparkling. He also finds himself constantly ushering her away from tall ledges and places. Her organic armor being too soft to survive any attempts at flight and her small body having no wings so to speak of.

It is another thing that makes his spark clench. He knows she is human, but deep down he believes that if she were born of Primus she would soar with the skies as her kingdom. He does his best to sooth his own aching spark and Miko's own desire to experience the thrill of the air by taking her out for drives at his top speed. They bond over the excitement and the chance to let loose, Miko always returns to base cheerful afterwards.

She too was given a name. Optimus calls her 'Mistress-of-the-Terran-Skies', a name that comes out like a song when he speaks it.

Lastly there is Jack, the child who reminds Optimus of himself from his days as Orion. He can tell Jack is hurting, still suffering from old wounds and the combined stress of keeping his friends out of trouble and their repeated encounters with Decepticons. To Optimus he seems to be like one of the many sparklings left orphaned and traumatized during the height of the war. This too causes Optimus's spark to ache, no child should look like that.

As such Jack receives special care from Optimus, who approaches him as one would a stray cybercat. Slowly, and over a great length of time he allowed Jack to warm up to him, starting with comforting words and eventually leading the human child to sleep against Optimus's pede or shoulder. He is fond of telling Jack stories fit for sparklings when the boy is particularly tired, often tucking him in afterwards as best he can with servos as large as his.

His coding tells him that if Jack were created Cybertronian he would certainly be a great mech, his spirit and drive while subdued, tell him this. As such Optimus has given Jack the name 'Little-Light-of-Terra'.

It Will Heal

When Jaal's family is taken by the Roekaar, he asks Bridget to trust him. That's not the problem. Trusting Jaal is as easy as breathing. What isn't so easy is watching as a madman nearly kills the man who has stolen her heart.

AO3 Link

Bridget can’t think. She can’t breathe.

All she can think about is how horribly wrong things have gone.

When Jaal desperately begs for her aid, explaining that Akksul has recruited his siblings into the Roekaar, she agrees to help without hesitation.

When they come across said siblings on the battlefield, and they begin bearing down on her with insults, she tries her best to keep her cool. Even as they tower over her and spout that she’d be better off dead, she doesn’t retort. She doesn’t want to feed into Akksul’s poisonous beliefs about her kind.

Even when Lathoul is shot and tells them of the bombs that have been planted, she doesn’t lose her focus. She remains fixed on her goal.

It isn’t until they reach the Forge proper that things begin to spiral.          

Once they disarm the bombs, Teviint runs to Jaal, clinging to him like the scared child she is. “I killed Lathoul! I killed him. I’m so sorry.”

Bridget stares at her in concern. This girl can’t be more than a teenager, and yet Akksul is using her as a weapon, twisting her confusion into a tool for his hatred.

Jaal, however, is less sympathetic. He stares down at her coldly, not offering a hint of comfort. “He’s not dead. You’re lucky”

She looks up at him, her expression so lost and afraid. “I lost my mind, Jaal. I want to go home.”

“But the cause!” Baranjj protests. “I joined because of you!”

“I shot our brother,” Teviint counters, looking at him as though he grew a second head.

He looks down in uncertainty, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He seems just as scared and anxious as his sister. Looking back to her, he says, “Don’t leave me-”

“Let her go.” He is cut off by Akksul appearing from the shadows, stalking forward like a villain. “I only want soldiers who are committed to our cause.” His icy gaze turns to Bridget and Jaal and he sneers, “Not weaklings who stand by and watch the destruction of our people at the hands of aliens.”

More Roekaar filter in from the upper level of the Forge, their weapons all trained on their little group. Akksul stands proudly, assured in his upper hand.

Teviint seems to shrink back, hiding behind Jaal. Baranjj also tries to make himself smaller, pulling into himself. Bridget feels herself bristle in anger. “You recruit kids and make them fight their families,” she spits, glaring at the Roekaar leader. “It’s sick and so are you.”

Akksul seems unbothered by her accusations. Stepping forward, he says assuredly, “I speak for our people and I say you’re done in Heleus.”

He raises a hand to gesture towards Bridget and she instinctively lifts her rifle, aiming at him. Simultaneously, Jaal warns her not to, but Akksul is already grinning.

Chuckling maliciously, he leans into her personal space, the barrel of the gun pressing against his chest. “Martyr me.” He urges. “Please. I dare you.”

Bridget stares him down, hissing out an exhale. Jaal had asked her to trust him on this mission, to follow his lead. And killing Akksul certainly wouldn’t plead a great case for her, especially considering his followers still have their weapons trained on her.

Everything about him infuriates her. But she somehow remains calm.

“I made a promise to my friend that you’re making really hard to keep,” she growls.

His smile falls, and he stares at her in frustration for a long while before turning his attention back to his followers.

“They move onto our planets. They they take our resources, make us weak!”

“I’ve watched Ryder make planets habitable!” Jaal appeals to the angara, his voice impatient but resolute.

“Exactly!” Akksul retorts. “And they’ll never let us forget it.”

“She rescued your beloved Moshae!” Jaal interrupts, and it has the Roekaar leader pausing.

“I know,” he admits quietly, spurring his supporters to look at one another in uncertainty.

“Saved. Her. Life,” Jaal continues, his words punctuated and strong.

“I know, stop defending them!” Akksul says indignantly, beginning to sound like an annoyed child.

Not paying him any mind, Jaal attempts to keep going. “The Moshae trusts Ryder, and-”

“Stop.”

Akksul cuts him off by aiming his gun at Jaal, clearly threatened that he’s losing control of the situation.

Jaal looks at him warily, taking a half step back and raising his hands defensively.

“We’ve been fighting the wrong enemy,” Akksul rambles. “Maybe the enemy is this traitor!”

Lowering his hands, Jaal stares him down resolutely, muttering a quiet warning, “Easy…”

Panicked, Bridget raises her gun to Akksul once more, looking at her angaran companion in distress. “Jaal?”

She hates that her voice sounds so small.

God, what is she supposed to do here? Akksul is clearly crazy. He claims to want to protect the angara, but here he is threatening to kill one of his own. She’s not about to let him take Jaal’s life. And yet, as has already been established, shooting him is off the table, too…

“Don’t!” Jaal warns, sparing her a glance and a careful gesture, his eyes pleading with her. Trust me, they say.

She does. Of course she does. It’s Akksul she doesn’t trust.

Turning his full attention back to the man before him, Jaal’s gaze hardens. “The Moshae trusts Ryder. You’ve become a danger to your own people,” he utters lowly. “Walk away.”

Reason isn’t reaching Akksul, though. Gritting his teeth, he retorts, “Or…I kill you and reveal the Resistance for the traitors they are!”

He pulls the trigger and a sharp, panicked scream tears itself from Bridget’s throat. If everyone’s attention wasn’t focused on Akksul and Jaal, she’s sure she’d be getting looks for the anguished sound she just made. But that isn’t at the forefront of her mind right now.

Jaal’s dead. He’s dead and she did nothing to stop it. She’s trembling uncontrollably, her gun still pointed at Akksul, but she’s frozen in place.

She wants to kill him. Wants to make him pay for killing the man she was easily falling in love with. He deserves it. But as desperate as she feels right now, she made a promise to Jaal…and she’s not about to break it now.

A pained groan draws her attention and her gaze immediately snaps in its direction.

It can’t be…

Akksul missed. He was at point-blank range and he somehow managed to miss. The bullet grazed Jaal’s cheek, leaving a small, shallow cut in its place. Blood trickles down his face as he stares Akksul down unwaveringly.

Bridget wants to cry with relief. To hold him close and reaffirm that he’s okay. But she can’t quite get over the shock of thinking he was lost to her, no matter how brief.

Everyone gapes at the scene in utter awe and disbelief.

Jaal has commanded the attention of the entire Forge, and rightfully so.                

Akksul looks up at his followers, a lost, uncertain expression on his face. The Roekaar begin to filter out, shaking their heads in disgust as they do.

Staring Akksul down, Jaal carries a powerful weight to his gaze.

“The alien is not the monster here,” he declares with conviction.

Akksul does not answer right away. His focus is on the angara turning their backs on him. “I love my people…” he utters quietly, looking down in defeat.

Bridget believes it. Unfortunately, his heart has been poisoned and twisted beyond recognition. She wonders what he might have been like had he not been captured by the kett. Despite all the hurt he’s caused, she pities him in that moment.

 Jaal does not deign to respond to him, but he seems to come to the same conclusion as Bridget. After a long moment of staring at his former classmate, he turns to his siblings and says, “Come on…let’s get you home.”

Following quietly, Bridgets walks slightly behind him. She glances up at Jaal, noticing the trail of torn flesh that had been carved by the bullet, blue trickling lightly from the edges. She can’t believe how close he came to dying. Any closer to the right and he would have been gone from her life entirely. Hell, it’s a miracle the bullet didn’t hit his cowl either. She’s not terribly familiar with angaran anatomy, but she’s certain there must be vital blood vessels there.  The fact that he stands before her relatively unscathed is astronomical.

The blood that had begun pooling at the edge of his wound spills over slightly, running down his cheek. She reaches out, but stops short of touching him. “You okay…?”she asks quietly.

He spares her a glance before saying, “Yeah, thanks…” before letting out a strained grunt, a wince pulling at his lips.

They make there way back in relative silence. On the shuttle, Bridget can’t help but stare at Jaal the whole way, a sense of numbness overcoming her.

A bandage now rests over his injured cheek, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

He almost died. He almost died and she almost let it happen. Granted, she knows that shooting Akksul would have been a terrible idea, but she just can’t stop thinking about it. She cares about Jaal more than she ever thought possible. At this point, it’s more than a silly crush. Even though she knows he doesn’t return her feelings, the thought of losing him…Of never again getting to tease him about idioms or spend time working on projects together…It tears her heart apart.

She can feel Vetra’s eyes on her throughout the ride back, but her companion remains silent, for which she is grateful.

At some point, they land back where they started, Teviint apologizing to Lathoul and the mothers coming to reunite with their lost children. Jaal gently puts his hand on her shoulder and guides her to the side. She follows, her gaze still hollow and empty. She’s barely processed anything since Akksul fired his pistol.

“Thank you for trusting me,” Jaal tells her, looking out over the landscape. “Killing Akksul would have made the Roekaar stronger.”

He’s so calm. Too calm. Infuriatingly calm. He’d almost died for fuck’s sake!

It’s enough to snap Bridget out of her apathy. “He shot you,”she says, bitter.

“I’m glad he did. It exposed how far he’d fallen.”              

Even still, he remains composed and collected. He even smiles.

Bridget stares at him in disbelief. “Jaal, you were this close to dying back there! Do you have any idea how risky that was?!”

He has the audacity to chuckle at her and she bristles.

“It all worked out, didn’t it? A little risk was worth it, I’d say.”

She can’t believe it. Here she is, tearing herself apart with worry and he has the gall to think her reaction is amusing.

“You idiot!” she cries, banging her fist against his chest. “You think it’s funny that you almost had your brains blown out?” She hits him again, and he takes small steps back with each advance, staring down at her with wide, surprised eyes.

“Is your life that meaningless to you?” she continues, tears beginning to form. “Or am I just stupid for daring to care that I might lose you?!”

Bridget stops assaulting his chest, though her fists still rest there, trembling. Her gaze has fallen to the ground and she shuts her eyes tightly, the tears now falling freely. Her frame shakes as sobs begin to wrack her body.

He instantly pulls her close to him, cradling her in his embrace.

She does her best to suppress her crying, though it takes her a minute. The desperate kiss he presses against the crown of her head makes it even more difficult to pull herself together, but eventually, she calms down enough to speak.

“I was really worried…” she ends up whispering, her voice somewhat hoarse.

Jaal pulls back just enough to look her in the eyes. His expression is pained, his brows drawn together in worry. Gently, he lifts a hand to wipe her tears, his thumb drawing careful arcs across her cheek.

Carefully, he pulls her forehead to his, and they both close their eyes as they lean into each other. “It will heal,” he murmurs. “All scars do.”

She sniffles slightly, her arms pulling Jaal into as tight of a hug as she can, though his bulky torso makes it impossible for her embrace to completely encircle him.

“I apologize for worrying you…” he says quietly, one hand absently petting her hair.

She doesn’t respond, just pulls him even closer.

They stay like that for a long while, and when they do part, he makes sure to plant another feather light kiss atop her head.

Bridget looks up at him, her expression full of confusion and longing. He softly trails his hand down the side of her face. He stares at her for an achingly long time before clearing his throat and stepping back. She misses his warmth immediately.

“We should get back…” he says, looking back towards the others. “I want to say goodbye before my family heads home.”

Absently, she nods, watching as he heads over.

She tries not to focus on the kisses or the gentle touches. Jaal is a naturally affectionate person. He was just comforting her. It doesn’t mean anything more. Thinking that it might…that’s just setting herself up for more hurt. She doesn’t need to do that to herself.

At least he’s alive.  She can cling to that.

Sighing, she gradually makes her way back to the group.

She pushes her longing down. Far enough away where she can try to forget that he’s captured her heart so thoroughly.

——

So I haven't written anything in over 3 years...but I have an actual excuse this time. Long story short, cancer sucks. (Don't worry, I'm not in danger of dying, but having chronic pain the last few years honestly hasn't been much better...)

In any case, I've really missed writing and finally found the inspiration to finish this after starting it years ago. I have a few more projects I hope to work on, though I can't say how many more of them will be Andromeda related.

I’ve been waiting for you

Someone must have sent you here to save my life

In your loving arms I’ll be alright

You saved my life