His finger comes up, very lightly touching her back in whatever comfort it can offer in return. He sometimes forgets how young the species is; seventeen years is a blink of the eye for them, and yet in the past decade they've been on Earth things have gone from bad to hopeful to hopeless to victory to pain and he is tired of these ups and downs. They've tugged him and his in so many directions that he almost just wishes it would stop so that he wouldn't have to endure it anymore.

He's altogether not sure how much more he can take.

Optimus follows Mikaela with his hand, ensuring that if she loses her grip again...she'll still have something to catch her. Because the next bomb he drops is a quiet admission;

"When we find the means, we will be leaving Earth."