Chapter Text
I am the last titan ever forged, and the last to ever fly among the stars. While I never had the chance to carry the likes of Prima, Solus, Megatronus, Lio, or Nova Prime, I have carried Nominus Prime, the one who defeated the Threefold Spark. I have carried the great Pyra Magna, Strika, Ultra Magnus, and Dai Atlas, who all aided Nominus Prime and saved millions of lives across the galaxy. And in recent cycles, I carried Optimus Prime and many other Cybertronians to safety. Still, for what feels like the longest time, I carried…you.
Of course, I've had many other cityspeakers, and they've all rejoined the allspark in one way or another. I am one of the oldest Cybertronians still functioning, after all. I've had all sorts of bots for a cityspeaker. I shared the same connection we do with all of them. They see what I see, hear what I hear, and feel what I feel. Still, I was never as intimate with them as I am with you.
I remember your first cycle as my speaker. It was only a kilocycle after the war against the Threefold Spark. You ran around my corridors as if you were a turbofox with a warm smile on your face, enthusiastic about what's to come. Only after that, you walked into the command bridge, whistling with your hands behind your back. I connected my cables to the back of your neck and head, and you heard my voice for the very first time.
“You sound so…beautiful,” were the first words you said to me. I'd never had that happen before. The first thing most other cityspeakers said to me was nervous introductions…or nothing at all. Never in my entire life had I seen someone so eager to be a cityspeaker. Never in my entire life had I seen someone so straightforward with their first words.
If I'm to be honest, I had never enjoyed music that much. Well, that was until you came along. The first cycle, you asked me to play a few of your favorite songs. I obliged. While I didn't listen to music much myself, I had a large database containing most songs ever sung on Cybertron. At first, you bobbed your head and hummed along. A few kliks later, you asked if I'd let you dance, and who was I to say no to that? For the rest of the cycle, you moved around the control room, your body perfectly in sync with the melody. I watched while you had the time of your life. Then you asked me to join.
I didn't quite understand why. You said you didn't want me to feel left out. I reminded you that I was the ship you were dancing in. I was already part of it. Still, you insisted I make a holomatter avatar so you could dance with me. It was a surprise. Most other cityspeakers didn't even know I could do that, and even if they did, they never asked me to form a full avatar, and none had ever asked me to dance with them. I was hesitant at first. I even said no, but I couldn’t stand to see your bright blue optics dim and your shoulder pads droop down in disappointment, so I gave in.
The moment you saw me in my holoform, your eyes brightened again, and your shoulder pads pointed upward. I smiled, and you smiled even wider. I offered my hand, and you pulled me into your embrace. It felt so…strange. The warmth of sentio metallico on my servos, your arms wrapped around my waist, my arms wrapped around yours, your face so up close, and your smile that could light up a galaxy. No words were uttered. The only noise was the music. The only bot inside of me was you. Once low on energy, you told me to stop the music. I did, and my holoform dissipated just as the songs came to an abrupt end.
You looked up at the ceiling and told me that my holoform–and by extension my titan form–was gorgeous. I didn't know what to say, but I remember letting out some hot air and accidentally causing a maintenance bot to panic. No other cityspeaker had complimented me quite like you did. They mostly brought up my military campaigns and my journeys with the primes of past, or the kind of unimaginable power a titan like me holds. Still, no one had ever complimented me on my looks…no one but you.
I asked if you enjoyed your first cycle, and you immediately told me it was an honor. Oh, Lightbright, the honor was all mine.
We've been through so much together, flying across the colonies, escorting the likes of Nominus, Zeta, and Sentinel Prime in their diplomatic journeys. We've fought many battles where you guided me towards the right decisions. We've taken off all by ourselves, flying alongside comets, whizzing past stars moments before a supernova, and shining in the reflections of the asteroid belt within that binary star system you love so much.
You were the best cityspeaker I could've asked for. You spoke to me constantly, asking me of Cybertron's ancient past, my opinions on the current political climate, my opinions on the colonies, my thoughts on the Nominus Edict, my taste in art, or my taste in…other Cybertronians. That last part always stumped me. I was a titan. As much as I disliked it, I was a powerful being capable of destruction on a gargantuan scale. All my life, my focus has been on furthering the goals of the primes. All my life, my focus was on not bringing harm to the other smaller bots. I never had the chance to think about romance. So, I started out with no answers.
You, on the other hand, seemingly had all of it. Someone strong, compassionate, gentle, preferably taller than you, preferably someone with a blocky frame. That was always your answer. I wished I could give an answer, and I started looking back. Had I ever been interested in anyone? Well, not particularly. No one in my life had ever felt like anything more than a friend or an acquaintance. No one except you.
You knew so much about me. You cared so much about me. Smart, laid back, kind, and beautiful. The blue glow of your eyes contrasting with the red markings under them, the gold accents all around your frame, your distinct helmet, the way your body twists and turns so beautifully when you dance, and your smile that shines like the Allspark. After a while, my answer to your question became descriptions of you, and I realized your answer had always been descriptions of me.
I never thought I’d fall in love, not with another titan, not with any other Cybertronian, but I fell for my own cityspeaker. It’s only logical. Apart from other titans, cityspeakers are the only ones I can communicate with. Even still, it’s not something I had expected to happen when I first met you. A titan forming a romantic relationship with their speaker is rare. And yet, it happened. We happened.
I remember when we embarked on that diplomatic mission, right before the tether fell. By that point, we were already so close. I was used to your music. I was used to your touch whenever you requested that I form a full holoform. And you were used to the way my cables fit so well into the back of your neck. You were used to feeling all the things I feel. You were used to the small shockwaves I'd send through your body as “kisses”.
While on that voyage, you asked if I wanted to make our relationship official. You wanted to go through the conjunx endura rites with me. Of course, I said yes. We were already intimate with each other, and we knew so much about each other. The only thing left to do was to exchange our gifts, our innermost energon. You walked into my spark chamber and left a vial of your innermost energon in it. On my part, I'd already given you a vial so long ago. And with that, we were conjunx endurae…right before everything went wrong.
Lightbright, I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. The worry, the pain, the loneliness. It must've been tough. It must've been unbearable. I wish I hadn't been the only titan online when Vigilem attacked the tether. I wish I didn't have to take Vigilem offline. And I wish I could've stayed awake when we landed on the moon.
But a titan's life is never an easy one, and the same can be said for their cityspeakers…their loved ones. A kilocycle ago, I came back online. You were sitting in my spark chamber, holding onto the innermost energon I'd given you. Your dim optics swelled with tears, and I wiped them away with my holoform servos. And once my avatar fully formed, you pulled me in. So warm…so comfortably warm, just like always. I offered to play some of your favorite songs, but you said no. You wanted us to stay in each other's embrace. You wanted me to stay as close as I could.
And now, here we are, cycles after I woke up. You're not dancing. In fact, you haven't been doing that since I woke up. Still, our go-to tracks play in the background while you float in the command bridge, attached to my cables.
“I'm happy we met, Lodestar,” you say, left hand tracing along the holographic screen in front of you.
I chuckle, “As am I.”
“It's just…we've been through so much together, no?” you ask. You've said the words so many times before, but I never grow tired of it.
“We have,” I reply. “And so much has changed for us, for Cybertron.”
You stare blankly at the ceiling, hands at the back of your helm. “It has, hasn't it? Nominus is gone, Cybertron's at war again, and the titans…it feels so overwhelming.”
“It's a lot to take in,” I agree. “So much happened in such a short span of time, and so much is still happening back on Cybertron.”
You cover your optics with your left forearm and sigh. “Oh, Lodestar, I'm just glad you're still with me.”
I form a holographic hand next to you and touch the side of your face. “Lightbright, I'll always be with you.”
That gets you to smile, “I know you will.”
“Would you like me to form a full avatar?” I offer, “We haven't danced together in some time now, have we not?” Still, I had no expectations of you agreeing to it. You've been uncharacteristically saying no for some time now.
“I think I'll head to my hab suite for now,” you answer. “Maybe another time.”
“Of course,” my holographic hand fades.
You detach from my cables and slowly make your way down to the floor. “I'd love to dance, Lodestar, but I need some rest, no?”
“I understand,” I say. You've gone without recharging for three cycles, after all.
You make your way to the door, still smiling. “We'll dance once I'm fully charged, okay?”
“I look forward to it,” I reply, chuckling as you leave the command bridge. “Rest well, my cityspeaker.”