Mechanical love

Chapter Twenty-two

"Cybertronians are...different in this sense. Our relationships are based on mutual compatibility, different types of data-based Transformers will react differently to other types. I believe you would compare it to chemistry; if two Cybertronians are incompatible to begin with, they are far less likely to acknowledge anything beyond basic communication. A Sparkmate is paired for life, so if data is incompatible...they will not bond."

Lennox thought about this for a minute, trying to diagnose what it was Optimus was saying. "So...it's like computer coding; if the codes don't overlay correctly, the computer crashes."

"Something like that...yes."

He nodded thoughtfully before explaining as best he could; it was like the birds and the bees conversation all over again; but only with the basic stuff.

It reminded him of his first 'dating conversation' with his father, and he tried to think of advice that had been given to him.

"Well you see, Optimus...things aren't quite that...final with humans. If they aren't compatible in some ways, they might be in others; and a lot of the time it's possible to work through those. 'Sorting out differences' it's called. It's quite possible to care about someone that you despise too; we call those love-hate relationships, and they're probably more common than you'd believe. But in regards to you and Carolina...I don't think you have that problem, am I right?" he looked up at the Autobot with a cheeky smile, who shook his head in response.

"Certainly not."

"Right; well...let's see...you know, I don't know why you're asking me for this advice? You and Carolina don't have any problems interacting with each other, do you?"

Optimus gave another heavy sigh; frustrated by his lack of knowledge. It was so new and strange; he didn't know how to go about these sorts of things.

War was something he knew, and he could command his soldiers with incredible ease, but Carolina was not one of his warriors.

She was much more fragile, and a great deal more difficult to understand; she could not be commanded by war.

"It is not that which frustrates me. Carolina is human...her reactions and needs are different from those of a Cybertronian. You have a mate, do you not?"

Biting back the urge to laugh at the term 'mate' used to describe Sarah, he nodded and went along; hoping to show Optimus that he was listening, "Yes; she's my wife."

The robot bowed his head to look at Lennox, focusing intently on him as he spoke.

"Surely it was not always so; there must have been a prior period of transition that you courted her, where you had to convince her of your quality as a mate?"

"...You could say that, I guess." Lennox laughed.

"Then what steps are there in a human courtship Does that need to be taken...? I do not want Carolina to have to feel...different; or that she is missing something from this tradition."

To Lennox's surprise, the Prime had started to twitch his fingers nervously; a subtle show of the conflict he was feeling, and he sort of felt sorry for how scary the situation must have been for him.

"In all honesty, I don't think you should worry about it so much...but if it makes you feel better then I'll help you out on this..." he took in a deep breath, trying to piece together everything he knew about women, "To start with...when a guy likes a girl, he'll ask her out on a date."

"A date? Is that not a fruit that you grow on your planet; what does that have to do with human courting?"

It took Lennox a second to understand what he meant before he realized he was mistaking the term 'date' for the little prune-like fruit.