Unrequited

Chapter 28: As it Should Be...

Prime P.O.V

''Don't forget to breathe!''

The feel of her hand moving down my back, those soft, warm lips of hers brushed against my ear before I felt them on my cheek as Orianna kissed me. To say I had not been expecting it would be an understatement. It had both shocked, annoyed, disconcerted and excited me in equal measure and I had found myself floundering in how best to respond - and that in and of itself, concerned me.

Though brief in its duration, I had not experienced such a display of physical contact since Elita and certainly not from a human female. I did not know what course of action to take and so I decided it was prudent to make some sort of excuse and retreat. Regrouping until I had better control of my emotions, was able to analyse the situation, how I felt about it and how best to proceed without hurting Orianna.

I ex-vented softly as I recalled that moment between us. At first, I had been shocked as I had been so intensely focused on hitting my target and proving to Orianna the importance of ignoring extraneous distractions. However, as soon as I heard her voice whisper in my ear and felt her lips on my cheek, I lost all focus as strange sensations flooded my systems. Intense pleasure and intense shock fought within me. In that moment, I knew my last few shots had strayed from their mark and the final bullet had missed the target entirely.

I had rounded on her, anger and annoyance seeming to jostle for attention within me. Such a personal infringement on my space seemed an underhanded thing to do in that situation given the nature of our challenge. But when I looked at her face, her eyes as they stared so intensely into mine, those lips and when I recalled how they had felt against my cheek, I found myself wanting to feel it again. An excitement, an almost need to have her touch me like that again tore through me and yet, it was the realisation of this need that gave me pause.

Even though I was in my holo form, that of a human male, and in that state, I was disposed to the normal physiological responses of a male, I should not want to kiss Orianna! /She was a human female. It was not a logical reaction to have given I was a Transformer/. The fact I had even thought to do this, the strength of my desire to do so in that moment, was very disconcerting indeed, and I found myself trying desperately to remove myself from the situation. /From her/.

A feeling of shame washed over me yet again as I recalled the manner in which I departed. Orianna had looked so confused, hurt, and lost at my reaction. /Or perhaps I had frightened her?/. I wanted to say so many things to her in that moment and yet I could not seem to form a coherent though in my processor as I stood wordlessly before her.

As I drove away from her, I debated heading to the Med Bay to speak with Rachet and inform him of what had happened between us and my subsequent reaction and seek his counsel. But as I drew nearer, I decided against that course of action. Rachet would likely admonish me for how I behaved and for my illogical reaction and thoughts. He might also reproach Orianna for having taken the action in the first place, despite the fact it had only been to distract me and help her win her bet. I was certain she had not meant anything by it, and I did not want her to experience Rachet's ire because of her innocent choice.

In the end I had found my way to our beach. I had retreated to the relative comfort it provided as I sought to make sense of what had just happened. I had sat that day watching the eddies and swirls of the current crash into the rocks before the wave washed up on the shore and sank silently and peacefully into the sand. At first, it appeared there was turbulent motion, an almost violent attempt on the wave's behalf to stop its course, before its energy petered out and it almost calmly accepted its fate on the shore.

I had smiled to myself then as I had made a startling comparison between the waves and my own present state of mind. My reaction to Orianna's innocent kiss had been much like the wave crashing into the rock. I fought it, it created turbulence and a chaotic reaction within me for a variety of reasons. Yet once I accepted it for what it was, an innocent action of a friend to win a bet, I began to feel somewhat calmer and accepting. Although it had been wholly unexpected, it was not something to shun nor was it unforgivable or distasteful. It was simply a moment, and one not likely to be repeated.