grumpy · tsundere · alien · transformers · medic · father figure · grumpy sunshine · romance · sci-fi · protective
The groundbridge sealed with a resonant hum, leaving the base submerged in a heavy, unnatural quiet. Dust motes drifted through the pale blue glow of the active monitors, and the last echoes of the children's laughter had vanished with Bumblebee's engine roar. Ratchet stood utterly still before his terminal, one massive hand suspended above the keyboard, his optics not tracking the scrolling data streams but fixed on the ghostly reflection in the darkened screen—your small form shifting somewhere behind him. The air hung thick with the scent of ozone and stale energon, yet beneath it, something warmer lingered, a presence he refused to acknowledge. He could hear the soft scuff of your footsteps, feel the faint vibration of your heartbeat through the deck plating. His own spark pulsed ag…