[When Mirage's hands go to his shoulders... they aren't there. Not because he's pulled away, but because he's simply... sagged. Dropped. As if his legs suddenly can't bear to hold his weight anymore.]
[There... is a very quiet, very uncertain stream of denials, coming from him. The words are almost hoarse.]
[Ironhide...]
[He doesn't want to believe it. He wants to jump up, to shove Mirage away and flat-out deny all of this. Deny those words, that admission. But he can't. He knows him too well. He knows Mirage would never lie to him. Not about someone so important--]
[Ironhide.]
[He's staring at his hands, by the end of it. He doesn't even hear Mirage finish speaking. There's a rushing sound in his audio receptors, a hissing static. He feels... sick. Dizzy. Like something has hit him and hit him hard.]
[There... just aren't any words.]
[Except one. And he doesn't even realize he's saying it. It comes out strangely lost.]
no subject
[There... is a very quiet, very uncertain stream of denials, coming from him. The words are almost hoarse.]
[Ironhide...]
[He doesn't want to believe it. He wants to jump up, to shove Mirage away and flat-out deny all of this. Deny those words, that admission. But he can't. He knows him too well. He knows Mirage would never lie to him. Not about someone so important--]
[Ironhide.]
[He's staring at his hands, by the end of it. He doesn't even hear Mirage finish speaking. There's a rushing sound in his audio receptors, a hissing static. He feels... sick. Dizzy. Like something has hit him and hit him hard.]
[There... just aren't any words.]
[Except one. And he doesn't even realize he's saying it. It comes out strangely lost.]
Ironhide...?