Chapter Text
The ritual was set to take place at high noon at the Temple Simfur. It felt strange to have such an intimate ceremony in the middle of the day, but, as that was the least unusual part of the whole affair, Sam kept his reservations to himself. He leaned over, propping an elbow on his knees and thumbing the grit out of his eyes. He had barely slept the night before, tossing and turning as his anxieties played against the back of his eyelids. Bumblebee had been quietly supportive, but that had only made things worse. Sam still struggled with certain human scruples, despite the decades he had spent on Cybertron.
“Are you ready?”
Sam startled, his head coming up as the question pulled him out of his reverie. Optimus was standing in the entrance to the antechamber, his optics unusually bright against the gloom. The older Prime was stripped down to his protoform, bare except for the glyphs that had been painstakingly painted across his body.
“I don’t know.” Sam admitted with a nervous laugh, “I guess so.”
Optimus’ expression gentled in some definable way, and he took a step further into the antechamber. “It is your right to decline, if you wish. You must not feel coerced.”
Sam chewed on the inside of his lip. He was sorely tempted to agree—he knew that Optimus would think no less of him for it. The only thing that stayed his hand was the knowledge, deep inside his bones, that there was nothing intimate about what was about to happen. It was sexual, yes, but the physical expression of the act was the means, not the why.
“No.” He slowly replied, shaking his head, “I’m alright. I want to do it.”
Optimus’ optics roved over Sam’s body from head to toe. Whatever he saw seemed to satisfy the older Prime, for he inclined his helm in response.
“Then it is time.” He rumbled.
Sam’s heart skipped a beat and then picked up in double-time. He pushed himself to his feet, wiping his sweaty hands on his suit as he crossed the room. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the cavernous space, which was otherwise silent except for the distant sound of hymnal music. The notes were a low, harmonic thrum that Sam could almost feel in his bones.
“I’m sorry in advance if mess something up.” He tried to joke.
Optimus’ expression warmed with fond amusement. “There is no right or wrong way to experience the Joining after the prayers have been spoken.”
The older Prime stepped aside, gesturing towards the long hallway in front of them. Sam took a deep breath, doing his best to bring his thundering heartbeat under control, before he straightened his spine and strode through the entryway. He forced his chin up, keeping his eyes on the far wall as he walked. He was so used to feigning confidence by now that it was almost as good as the real thing.
The hallway curved around the outer extent of the main chamber, and as they walked, Sam could see down into the sanctuary. It was dark, except for the lanterns that hung from the stone archways that surrounded the chancel. In the center of the chancel was a dais that served as a pulpit—he had occasionally stood there himself, in the past. Optimus walked at his side, measuring his pace with Sam’s shorter gait. It was only the matter of minutes before they were descending down the curved incline to the floor below.
Sam’s heartbeat sped up as they reached the nave, which was bordered on both sides by tidy rows of benches. Together, he and Optimus came to a full stop.
“Are you certain?” Prime murmured.
Sam took a deep breath in through his nose, and then he released it in a shaky exhale.
“Yes.” He said, nodding his head.
Although his eyes were pinned on the dais, Sam could feel the swell of Optimus’ emotions—his approval, his affection, his pride. It served to shore up his tenuous courage.
“Very well.” Prime rumbled.
At some unspoken signal, the hymnal stopped and the liturgy began. Sam was familiar with the prayers—he had studied them extensively over the last ninety years. They included prayers of benevolence and supplication, to Primus and the Primes. The words were spoken in harmony, with questions asked and answered in turn. The voices echoed around the large room, seemingly rising up to heaven itself.
Together, he and Optimus strolled towards the circle of light at the end of the nave. Sam’s step faltered as he climbed the steps, which had been adjusted to accommodate his height when the temple was re-built. He couldn’t help but glance sidelong at the raised platform that stood in the center of the dais. He was about to become intimately acquainted with it.
Optimus turned to face the darkened chamber as soon as he stepped onto the dais. The liturgy had stopped, but Sam knew that the acolytes were still present. He couldn’t see them, but he caught the occasional flash of movement in the shadows. Like Optimus, they had removed their armor plating, which rendered them virtually invisible. He squinted into the darkness, trying to see who was present—there were over two dozen acolytes now, but only a handful had been chosen to attend. Briefly, Sam wondered whether Smokescreen and Mirage had come. He wasn’t sure whether their presence would make things easier or harder.
“Sam?”
Sam startled, coming back to himself only to find Optimus looking down at him. He blushed hotly as he realized that the prayers had been spoken and he was supposed to provide the refrain.
“Until all are one.” Sam hastily replied.
He could feel the pulse of amusement that his reaction had garnered from the acolytes, and he was intensely thankful for the circle of light that hid them from his sight. His relief was short-lived, however, as Optimus gestured meaningfully to the platform. Sam took another deep breath, struggling to keep the apprehension off his face as he climbed onto it. Optimus stood behind him, close enough to catch him if he slipped.
“Alright.” Sam said, shifting his weight as he looked uncertainly at the older Prime, “What now?”
He knew the basics of the ceremony—he had read about it and he had witnessed it once before, but the specifics weren’t set in stone. Each iteration depended on the Prime and the supplicant.
Optimus’ expression softened, and a moment later, his holoform materialized on the platform. Sam’s eyebrows drew up in surprise as he realized that he was naked and painted in the same symbols as his bipedal mode. Sam couldn’t help the way his eyes dragged down the older man’s chest, lingering on the more intimate aspects of his body, before flicking up to his face. Optimus was watching him with an air of patient understanding.
“Oo-kay.” Sam managed, a nervous smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
“Sam.” Optimus rumbled as his bipedal mode went to his knees, placing them at more of an equal height with one another, “Would you like to get undressed?”
Sam glanced down at himself, remembering all at once that he was still in his formal attire.
“Uh, yeah.” He said, reaching for the clasps with unsteady hands, “Right.”
“Let me help you.” Optimus intoned, his holoform stepping forward to unfasten the clasp below his throat.
Sam stilled at the feeling of Prime’s hands on his body. The holoform tugged the first clasp open with infinite care, before moving on to the second and the third. It was only the matter of moments before Sam’s undershirt was laid bare. Optimus slid his hands up Sam’s chest, clasping the material and pulling it off his shoulders. His touch was firm and sure, and Sam was surprised by the mixture of apprehension and anticipation that pooled in his belly.
“Lift up.” Optimus murmured.
Sam obeyed him, lifting his arms so that the holoform could slide the material off of him. Prime glanced up at Sam, making meaningful eye contact as his hands slid towards Sam’s waist.
“May I?” He rumbled.
Sam’s mouth was suddenly dry, and he had to wet his lips before he could reply.
“Yeah, okay.” He managed, his voice little more than a breath of air.
Optimus’ face creased in a smile, which caused his steel blue eyes to crinkle with affection. His fingers slipped into the waistline of Sam’s pants, before deftly unfastening the last two clasps. Sam’s heart was doing something complicated—simultaneously trying to beat out of his chest and climb up his throat. Optimus glanced up at him, meeting his wide-eyed gaze, before going down to his knees. Sam made a strangled sound of surprise, but the holoform merely tugged the fabric over his hips and down to his ankles.
“Lift.” Optimus instructed, patting Sam’s foot to emphasize his point.
A moment later, Sam was standing in his boxers and a thin undershirt. Optimus gracefully straightened to his full height and, rather than helping Sam out of the remainder of his clothing, as he had expected, the holoform stepped all the way into Sam’s personal space.
“May I kiss you?” He murmured, head angled down so that their mouths were scant inches apart.
When Sam had agreed to participate in the ceremony, Optimus had insisted that they discuss his preferences—both in terms of what he enjoyed and of what he wanted to avoid. It had been a tedious, embarrassing, detailed process, but now Sam was intensely grateful for it.
“Yeah.” He murmured, nodding his head, “That’s alright.”
Optimus smiled down at him, a barely-there twitch of his lips, before he brought his hands to clasp the sides of Sam’s face. The holoform held him gently as he leaned down, capturing Sam’s mouth with his own. It was awkward at first, as Sam adjusted for the differences in their height, but it wasn’t long before he realized two things with complete certainty.
First, Optimus Prime was an excellent kisser, and second, he clearly knew what he was about.
Sam pulled back slightly, peering up at Optimus in surprise.
“Who?” He asked.
Prime did not pretend to misunderstand him. “Dave Carter, for a time.”
His reply caused a complicated twist of emotion—there was shock and disbelief and amusement, all mixed up together with an ample amount of grief. It had been fifty years since Carter had died, and he still felt the loss as keenly as the day of his passing.
Something of his expression must have been telling, for Optimus stroked Sam’s face with his thumbs.
“Now is not the time for mourning.” He rumbled gently, “This is a celebration of life.”
Sam closed his eyes, giving a terse nod to acknowledge the truth of his words. He felt Optimus brush against him, gentle and understanding, and then the holoform was kissing him again. It was deeper this time, and when Optimus caught his bottom lip between his teeth, Sam couldn’t prevent the groan that escaped him. The holoform’s expression sharpened somehow, as though in satisfaction, and then he was kissing Sam for real. Sam kissed him back, his arms coming up to wrap around the holoform’s shoulders in order to steady himself. At the same time, Optimus’ hands slid down Sam’s ribs and over his flanks to grasp the hem of his shirt. Sam raised his arms without being told, and Optimus pulled the material over his head, before tossing it aside.
“Would you like to lay down?” He murmured, nibbling across Sam’s jaw.
“Okay.” Sam replied, a little breathlessly.
The holoform guided him down to the stone platform. Thankfully, someone had had the presence of mind to cover it with an altar cloth. Optimus knelt by his side, his eyes trailing over Sam’s body from head to toe. It gave Sam a funny twist, low in his belly, to realize that there was nothing fatherly about his gaze. It was heated and intense, and Sam flushed beneath it. The holoform’s lips curved up in a warm smile, and he ducked his head to nuzzle at the underside of Sam’s jaw.
“Take off your underthings.” He said, more a suggestion than a command.
Sam’s breath hitched in his throat, but he didn’t hesitate to reach down and hook his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers. Optimus helped him, and a moment later, he was lying naked beneath the older Prime.
“Relax.” Optus murmured, moving to lie alongside him, “You’re doing well.”
Sam closed his eyes as the holoform leaned over, mouthing a wet trail down his chest. The open-mouthed kisses were interspersed with purposeful swipes of his tongue, and at the same time, Optimus trailed the fingertips of one hand across Sam’s abdomen. The touch was feather-light, little more than a ghosting of fingernails across flesh. Sam made a needy sound in the back of his throat that surely would have embarrassed him if the holoform hadn’t chosen that moment to lean over, capturing one of Sam’s nipples in his mouth. His breath rushed out of him in an explosive exhale, and Optimus sucked lightly on the sensitive papilla. Sam’s cock, which had heretofore taken only a cursory interest in the proceedings, twitched and began to thicken against his belly.
Optimus gave a satisfied rumble deep inside his chest, and then he caught Sam’s nipple between his teeth and bared down with enough pressure to startle a gasp from him. At the same time, the holoform slid a hand between Sam’s legs and cupped his half-hard erection in his palm.
Sam was aching and needy within moments, and he groaned softly in embarrassment. He hadn’t gotten this hard, this quickly in a long time. He mentally reassured himself that it was a result of the celibacy he had undertaken prior to the ceremony, but all thoughts of wounded pride flew out the window when Optimus stroked him from root to crown.
“Ohmygod.” Sam squeaked.
To his surprise, Optimus actually laughed—a low, rumbling sound that made Sam’s head come up in surprise. The holoform merely quirked a smile at him, an uncharacteristically mischievous expression on his face.
“No, it’s just me.” He chuckled.
Sam stared at him for a long moment, and then he broke into helpless laughter. He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking with mirth, while Optimus stroked him through it. The sensation was exquisite, after two months of self-imposed celibacy, and Sam let his legs fall open as his laughter trailed away. Optimus rumbled at him approvingly, and then he climbed over Sam’s leg to settle in the space between his knees. Sam let his hands fall to his sides, bracing them against the platform beneath him, and then Optimus leaned down to suck a vivid bruise into the flesh below his navel.
Sam bit his lip to keep his strangled moan from escaping, but Optimus gave his hip a warning squeeze.
“Don’t hold back.” He rumbled, almost like a reproach. “Let me hear you.”
“Sorry.” Sam managed to gasp, but Optimus was already leaning down to suckle at the underside of Sam’s dick, just below the cockhead. He couldn’t prevent the sound that escaped him, desperate and base, as his hips twitched under the holoform’s dual assault.
//Do you still consent to penetrative sex?// Optimus asked, startling Sam back to himself.
He raised his head, fixing the holoform with a hesitant frown. //Yeah, I think so.//
Optimus gave him a measured look, which caused Sam to flush faintly.
//Yes, I do.// He tried again.
The holoform nodded, and then he was nudging Sam’s legs further apart with his hands. Sam obeyed without question, and a moment later, Optimus traced a finger down the underside of Sam’s cock, over his balls, and along his perineum. Sam raised a fist to his mouth, intending to bite his knuckles to stifle his groan of pleasure, but he remembered himself at the last moment. He pressed his palms flat against the berth as Optimus rubbed at his puckered entrance with one finger.
“Tell me at once if you experience any discomfort.” He commanded, and there was no doubt in Sam’s mind that it was a command. The tone made Sam’s groin tighten in well-trained arousal, and he briefly lamented his refusal to engage in any sort of bondage or submission play. Optimus didn’t let him linger on it for long—in the next moment, he was pouring a liberal amount of lubrication over Sam’s cock, and then he was stroking him with one hand while he teased his entrance with the other.
Sam whimpered, throwing his head back and squeezing his eyes shut. He was painfully hard now, and precum was drooling out of his dick with every stroke of the holoform’s hand.
“I’m not going to last long if you keep that up.” He gasped.
Optimus chuckled at him, low and indecent as he applied pressure to the tight ring of muscle that he was teasing, “Well, you are most fortunate that men of your physiological age have short refractory periods—you’re going to need it.”
Sam groaned, equal parts dismayed and excited. The sound was lost in a strangled yell of surprise as the holoform bent down and began tonguing at Sam’s asshole. He stared between his legs in shocked disbelief as Optimus Prime, savior of Cybertron and sovereign leader of its peoples, proceeded to eat him out with every evidence of enjoyment.
“F-u-u-uck.” Sam moaned, his groin tightening up as he came all over his belly. Optimus continued swirling his tongue over the tight ring of muscle as he stroked Sam through the aftershocks.
When Sam had finally caught his breath, Optimus met his gaze and, without taking his eyes off Sam’s face, bent down to lick the semen off his body. Sam stared, mouth agape, as the holoform licked him clean, and when he finished, Optimus sat back on his heels.
“How long until you’re ready to go again?” He asked.
It took Sam a moment to remember how to speak.
“After that?” He managed faintly, “Not long.”
“Well then.” Optimus chuckled, smoothing his hands up Sam’s legs to settle in the dip of his pelvis, “Let me help you along.”
The Autobot leader spent the better part of fifteen minutes working Sam back into a frenzy. He was surprised—and impressed—to learn that Optimus was highly capable of both deep-throating and edging. He got Sam to the point of being hard enough to hurt, before he pulled off his dick with an obscene wet noise.
“Would you prefer to be on your back? Or on your hands and knees?” He asked.
For the first time since climbing onto the dais, Sam hesitated. He couldn’t stop himself from craning his neck, peering into the darkness that surrounded them. He had no idea who was watching them, and he suddenly felt profoundly exposed. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Optimus caught his chin in one hand and gently turned his face back towards him.
“Ignore them.” He rumbled, “It is just you and me.”
Sam’s tongue darted out as he nervously licked his lips. The holoform said nothing else, letting Sam get over his nerves without pressing him.
“On my back.” Sam said at last, “Please.”
If he was lying on his back, then he wouldn’t have to stare into the shadows, wondering who was watching him or what they were thinking. Optimus nodded in understanding, and then he shuffled closer as he raised up onto his knees.
“Deep breath.” Prime murmured.
Sam sucked in a harsh breath as the head of the holoform’s cock pressed against his loosened hole, and then Optimus was sinking into his body. Sam couldn’t prevent his groan of pleasure at being stretched and filled—it had been so long. When the holoform was finally seated to the hilt, he grasped Sam beneath his right knee, and curled his leg to press against his chest. The new position changed the angle of penetration, and when Optimus gave an exploratory thrust of his hips, pleasure licked up Sam’s spine.
“Oh God.” Sam moaned, every muscle in his body quivering with an exquisite combination of pleasure and anticipation, “Please, oh fuck, Optimus, please—!”
The Autobot leader was not inclined to tease him any further—thank fucking God—and he set up a steady pace. His cock dragged over Sam’s prostate with every thrust, and it wasn’t long until he was begging, pleading for him to go faster, go harder, touch him—anything to push him over the brink.
“It’s time, Sam.” Optimus murmured, one hand pressing Sam’s knee to his chest and the other reaching down to grasp his erection, “Let go of your firewalls.”
The command startled Sam out of the burning fog of his arousal—he had almost forgotten about this aspect of the ceremony. He bit his lip, anxiety curling low in his gut again, but before it could fester, Optimus began fucking him in earnest. The sound of wet flesh striking flesh was obscenely loud in the silence of the great hall, but it paled in comparison to the guttural sounds that Sam was making.
//Now Sam.// Optimus prompted, and although his voice was gentle, it was undercut by a current of strain.
Half-mad with desperation, Sam threw his firewalls aside with all of his strength. The neural-network filled his mind in a rush, and all at once, he could identify the acolytes in the shadows. Smokescreen and Mirage were standing nearest the podium, while Jolt, Kup, and Drift stood further away. Their mental presences pressed against him, reverent and thankful, at the same time that Optimus unleashed his charge. Sam arched his back and screamed as liquid pleasure exploded through him, both mind and body. His ecstasy was mirrored by Optimus’ release, and the older Prime pressed into Sam’s mind as closely as their connection would allow, sharing the experience.
It took a long time for Sam to come back to himself.
Eventually, he blinked open bleary eyes to find himself draped in soft sheets. Optimus’ holoform was at his side, and when he realized that Sam was finally cognizant again, he graced him with an affectionate smile.
“Here.” He murmured, sliding a hand under Sam’s back and helping him into a sitting position. As soon as he was settled, he pressed a bottle of water into Sam’s trembling hands. “Drink. You’re dehydrated.”
Suddenly aware of his burning thirst, Sam twisted the cap off the bottle and drank deeply. When he finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Are we done?” He croaked.
“It is finished.” Optimus agreed, inclining his head. “You humble me with your devotion.”
Sam became aware of a steady thrum of yearning at the edge of his mind. He glanced over his shoulder to find Bumblebee standing at the edge of the dais, half-obscured by shadow. The scout whistled a long series of glyphs at him, and Sam smiled faintly at the naked affection in his voice. He turned back around to glance up at Optimus’ bipedal mode.
“How long will it take to finish the rites for the acolytes?” He asked.
Optimus tilted his head, as though surprised by the question. “It will take some time—there are two dozen of them, after all.”
Sam slanted a tired half-smile up at the Autobot leader as he brought the bottle of water to his lips, “Gimme a half an hour and I'll join you.”
Optimus’ expression sharped perceptibly as he asked, in a low rumble, “Are you certain?”
Sam finished the water with a lighthearted laugh. “Oh yeah—that’s one burden I’m more than happy to shoulder.”
TO BE CONTINUED