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He didn’t care about the minibot.
Cyclonus hadn’t cared about anyone for quite some time now and he wasn’t about to start caring again anytime soon. Especially not for a mech as tiny and talkative and deceitful as Tailgate.
It didn’t shouldn’t matter that the little idiot was the only one on the ship that didn’t look at him with either anger or fear. Cyclonus didn’t begrudge the crew for that, he knew he had more than earned their scorn with his past actions. If Tailgate knew what he’d done he was sure the minibot would share the same look as the rest of the crew. The thought of the little white and blue mech staring at him in fear certainly did not cause his spark to twinge in regret.
Besides, Cyclonus didn’t like liars, which meant that he couldn’t like Tailgate. His repeated attempts at conversation and invitations to events were obviously just an attempt to live up to his ridiculous lie. He still didn’t know why he had chosen to stop Rewind from exposing Tailgate’s lie at the bar, but it was not born from any sort of attachment to the minibot. Hearing Tailgate voice his feelings of worthlessness and abandonment shouldn’t have caused a rush of sympathy and understanding. Cyclonus shouldn’t have felt the need to comfort the sobbing minibot because he did NOT care.
Tailgate was something that Cyclonus could not, should not, and would not care about. He was a rare bright spot in Cyclonus’ dark world, someone who cared about him regardless of his refusal to reciprocate those feelings. Tailgate’s light and warmth wasn’t something he had grown fond of or used to. It couldn’t be because it wouldn’t last. Nothing good ever seemed to last long around Cyclonus.
Caring meant hurting and Cyclonus was done being hurt. Cyclonus didn’t care about the minibot because he couldn’t. It was easier not to.