Bumblebee and Windblade stood in muted awe as they watched Starscream being dragged to the therapist’s office, small sparks flying as his talons scrapped against the wall like a turbocat being forced to take a bath. When he saw Windblade, he reached out his weaker, still-sore arm and let out a dramatic “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!” as he was dragged around the corner.

Windblade, unable and not wishing to interfere, waved goodbye at her unlikely friend.

Bumblebee looked up at Windblade, squinting his optics and raising an eyebrow.

“Yes I know, he’s a little dramatic.”

Bumblebee silently mouthed the words, “A ‘LITTLE?’”

Windblade smirked. “Okay, maybe more than a little. But give him a break Bee, he’s been through hell recently.”

Windblade peeled the now-melted cold pack off her optic. “It’s all wobbly, now.” She said as she played with the floppy bag of liquid in her hands. Her injury would only take a few days to heal. All she needed to do was wear the optic patch due to light sensitivity. But regardless of whether the injury was minor or not, Bumblebee was incessantly attentive to Windblade’s every need. He took the cold pack from her and quickly ran off to refreeze it in his quarters. Windblade followed, amused.

Bumblebee’s small frame practically had to climb into his fridge to reach the Insta-freezer in the back. He shoved aside the multitude of snack junk out of the way before sticking the cold pack in. It would take a few minutes to fully solidify.

While the two waited, Windblade commented, “You’re so sweet, you know that? You really don’t have to go through all this trouble.”

Bumblebee clambered out of his fridge, Windblade helping him down. Bumblebee took her hands, savoring the sensation for a few moments before asking, “Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m quite fine. Thank you, Bumblebee.”

While the two waited for the cold pack to freeze, Bumblebee started fidgeting with an old action figure from his shelf.

“No way. You still have that?”

Bumblebee happily nodded, handing her the toy so she could see it.

Despite being a sparkling’s toy, Windblade still handled it with care. It had to be a few thousand cycles old at that point. Even the little rubber tires on the toy had completely deteriorated over time.

“You’ve had this since you were a kid, right?”

Bumblebee happily nodded again.

“Wow. Man, wish I had salvaged some of my old stuff before I left Caminus. Guess I didn’t realize how sentimental those items were till it was too late.” Windblade handed the toy back to Bumblebee, not wanting to accidentally break it.

Bumblebee transformed the figure, which took a lot longer than the real thing, before putting it back up on his shelf. While Bee was doing this, Windblade started looking at the various photos that her friend had mounted on his wall. Most looked like they were taken when Bee was much younger and before Optimus and Elita split. Bumblebee’s smile shined brightly in every photo he was in. Windblade couldn’t help but realize how much happier he looked before his injury, causing her wings to slightly lower.

Something seemed different, though…

“Hey, Bee. Where’s all the pictures of Cliff you had up here?”

Just the sound of his dead brother’s name immediately made Bee’s horns curl back and his wings go stiff.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Bee! I shouldn’t have said anything!”

Bee’s head lowered and he crossed his arms. He wasn’t angry at Windblade, he could never be. He was more so angry at himself for being so sensitive.

“You okay, Bee?”

Bumblebee slowly nodded his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Bumblebee looked up at Windblade, who was looking back down at him with an expression of genuine guilt. The smaller Autobot, without even thinking, slowly wrapped his arms around Windblade in an embrace. Windblade hugged him back tightly.

Windblade stroked the top of Bee’s helmet crest. “It still hurts… I know. I know. I’ll always be here for you, Bee.”

Bumblebee was worried she might feel his spark pounding as her words graced his audio processors. He prayed to Primus that he didn’t end up releasing pheromones while she held him.

“I love you…” He wanted to say it so badly, but his hands were too busy holding the one he wanted to say it to. He wished he could tell her in his own voice. The voice Windblade heard singing the night they met. But he knew he couldn’t wait that long.

Bumblebee reluctantly let go of her and took her hands. “Can I….. tell you something?”

“Of course, Bee! Anything.”

Bumblebee froze. He didn’t know if he could do it. He didn’t even know if he had the strength to keep his hands from shaking too much.

“Windblade, there’s… Something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time…”

Here goes nothing.

“Windblade, I-“

“BEEEEEEEEEEP~” The insta-freeze was done.

Bumblebee sighed and went to climb back into his fridge for the cold pack. He handed it over to Winblade.

“Ah, thank you! That feels a lot better.” Windblade said, holding the cold pack against her injured optic. “Now, what was it you wanted to say?”

Bumblebee shook his head and mouthed the words, “Never mind.” He scolded himself internally, “Coward! I’m such a coward!”

“You sure?”

Bumblebee sadly nodded.

“Are you okay, Bee?”

Bee paused. He wondered if he should really just rip off the bandage right now.

“Bee?”

Bumblebee grabbed her hands before pausing again. “You don’t see me differently now than you did before my injury, right?”

Windblade’s optic widened with worry, “Of course not! You’re my best friend, Bee, Why would I ever think that?”

Bumblebee held his head down, “I just feel like I was a lot more fun to hang around back then. I was funnier, I was more social, you loved my singing voice… But now I feel like I’m just a big sad sack that my friends have to drag around with them.”

“What are you talking about?! You’re STILL great to hang out with.” Windblade lifted Bee’s chin to meet his optics. “Of course, I still love you, Bee—“

Bumblebee's spark skipped a beat as his horns pricked up.

“We all love you! Wind bladed added.

Goddamn it. Bumblebee’s horns curled back down.

“Sure, you’ve got a piece missing. And I know I can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating it must be to lose something as personal to your identity as your voice. But Bee… You’ve done nothing wrong. And if anyone makes you feel like you have—“ The fembot punched a fist in her palm, creating a loud metal clank. “—They can answer to me!” She hugged Bee again, this time lowering herself down to his level.

Bumblebee couldn’t keep himself from burying his face into Windblade’s neck, taking in her scent. She didn’t seem to mind. She only held on tighter. Bumblebee pulled away before his pheromones started emitting. As he stepped back, Windblade’s gaze lingered on him with warmth and concern.

“You’re still you, Bee,” Windblade reassured softly. “The you that I’ve always cared about.”

Bee managed a small forced smile, but Windblade could see the sadness still lingering in his optics.

Bumblebee’s comm started beeping, but he quickly silenced it.

“You sure that’s not anything important? It could be your dad, or Ratchet, or something.”

Bumblebee sighed and picked up the comm. Windblade watched as he listened to the voice on the other end for a few seconds. His optics suddenly widened as he grabbed Windblade’s hand and ran out of his quarters with her.

“Bee! Are you okay?! What’s going on?!”

Bumblebee didn’t stop to answer. He ran with her all the way to the medbay doors. There was already a large crowd waiting outside in front of them. When Bumblebee tried to go in with Windblade, Ratchet stopped her at the entrance.

“Only close friends and family for now. We don’t want to overwhelm him.” Ratchet said firmly yet calmly.

“Did something happen to Ironhide?” Windblade asked in concern.

A light, rarely seen smile appeared on Ratchet’s face. “The big guy finally woke up!”

“That’s huge news!” She looked to Bumblebee, who now had a genuine smile on his face. Seeing her friend happy again warmed her spark. “You go on ahead, Bee. We’ll catch up later.”

Bee went in with Ratchet leading the way. The older bot stopped him before entering Ironhide’s room.

“I know you’re excited, kid. But remember, that injury took a massive toll on him. He’s not exactly himself yet. But what’s important right now is to keep having hope.”

Bumblebee gave the doctor a firm nod before trying to enter, but Ratchet stopped him again.

“I’m serious, Bee. He-” Ratchet rubbed the smaller Autobot’s shoulder while avoiding his optics. “He may not even remember your face and is very easily disoriented. He seems to recall a few people, but he’s clearly not… Well, you’ll see. Just keep in mind that he will most likely be recovering from his brain injury for the rest of his life.” Ratchet could see Bee’s wings and horns slightly droop but could tell that the youngster understood his words well enough. He gave the little yellow Autobot a pat on the back before letting him through the door.

Although only family and close friends were currently being allowed in, that was still a lot of people. Even despite most of Hide’s social group members being long dead, the room was still full. No wonder Ratchet didn’t want that crowd coming in. Bee’s entire family was there, including Elita with Chase, although she was standing at a noticeable distance from Optimus and Hot Rod. Aside from the family and Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, Jazz, Blaster and the cassettes, Wheeljack, the twins, and Mirage.

Having a large, close-knit network of relationships was integral to a Transformer’s survival. Such a long, hard life would be impossible to keep one’s sanity without other people to be there for you. Ironhide had made a lot of friends over the cycles. Although, oddly, Bumblebee couldn’t see Chromia anywhere. This worried Bee a bit. What could have happened to her? She should have been the first one there.

The room buzzed softly with murmurs of relief and encouragement, though everyone made sure to give Ironhide some space to not overwhelm him. Ironhide himself looked like he was barely awake, but Bee could see the dim blue glow of his remaining optic looking over at Optimus, who was holding his hand. Bumblebee’s spark pounded as he stepped closer, taking in the sight of his old friend. When Ironhide noticed Bee’s presence, his optic brightened momentarily.

Optimus spoke to his son, still holding Ironhide’s hand. “It’s okay, Bumblebee. You can come closer.” Optimus moved a bit out of the way to give his son room.

Bumblebee, who wasn’t much taller than the hospital bed, had to stand on the tips of his peds to see over Iornhide’s big chassis. He felt slightly annoyed, but ultimately appreciative when he felt Ultra Magnus lift him up. This was the first time Bee had gotten a good look at Ironhide’s injury. He swore he could feel his spark stop beating for a moment. The chipped red armor…. The massive gunshot wound… The other Autobot looking back at him, so unrecognizable he couldn’t even tell if they were fully conscious…. He looked just like… Bumblebee wanted down. Now. Ultra Magnus must have felt the little bot shaking in his hands. He set Bee down and asked him if he was okay. Optimus and Elita also noticed the sudden change in their son’s disposition, causing both bot’s antennae to perk as their frames tensed. Magnus knelt over Bumblebee as the smaller mech tried to calm himself down.

“Give him some space, Ultra Magnus. I think seeing the injury may have overwhelmed him.”

Magnus did as his leader directed. Optimus kept a close optic on Bumblebee.

“Bee?” The hoarse, weak murmur was barely a whisper, but the voice was still unmistakable. Ironhide’s trembling hand let go of Optimus’s and slowly lowered to rest on Bumblebee’s head.

A tear escaped from Bumblebee’s optic. He was still slightly shaken, but the gesture lifted a weight off of the young bot’s spark. He took Ironhide’s hand, hoping that the older mech still remembered how to speak chirolinguistics, “Hello, Ironhide.” was all that he said.

Ironhide gave a very weak squeeze, but Bee was happy to get a response nonetheless.”

Elita whispered to Ratchet, “Where’s Chromia? She should be here!”

“Ironhide didn’t…” Ratchet closed his optics and sighed deeply, “He didn’t remember her.”

Elita cupped a hand over her mouth. She sharply turned to the temporary supervisor, “Chase, we need to go find her right now!”

“Um, Elita, I’m not sure I can-“

“Come on, kid!” She pulled Chase along by the arm.

The young cadet felt very sheepish around the much higher-ranking bot, despite the fact he was meant to be watching her. He awkwardly agreed to go along.

“Hey, where’s mom going?” Hot Rod asked Optimus.

Optimus’s antennae lowered, “I believe she’s going to look for Chromia. The poor girl is in a fragile state.”

“He doesn’t remember her either, does he?”

Optimus sadly shook his head.

“Damn…” Hot Rod muttered. “Poor Chromia.”

“Let’s not discuss this here.” Magnus cut in.

Optimus looked down at Bumblebee, optics glowing with a quiet pride. “He knows you,” he said softly, “Even after all of this, he knows you.” He placed a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder.

Bumblebee didn’t know whether to smile, cry, or feel guilty for being recognized over Chromia.

Ironhide’s optic dimmed slightly as exhaustion crept over him. Bumblebee could feel his hand start to lose its weak grip.

“No no, stay with me!” Bumblebee thought. He gave Ironhide’s hand a squeeze and looked up to Ratchet for help.

One of the twins, Sunstreaker, called out, “Oh crap, is he dead again?”

Ratchet scolded the youngster. “He’s not dead and never was! He just needs a lot more rest.” He turned to Bumblebee, who looked utterly terrified. “It’s okay, kid. He just fell asleep.”

Bumblebee felt somewhat relieved, but the anxiety still stuck to him like a wad of glue.

He felt Optimus place his hand back on his shoulder, “You look like you need rest too, Son.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“But… I just got here.” Bumblebee thought.

But Optimus could easily recognize when one of his bots was getting the, “PTSD shakes” as Megatron liked to put it. “It’s alright son. You can visit him whenever you want.”

Ratchet chipped in, “Um, I don’t know about ANY time but…” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Optimus. “I’ll make sure he’s allowed in here when he’s able to be.”

Bumblebee jumped slightly, not expecting his brother to start playfully tussling his horns, “Come on, man. Let’s go play some video games in the rec room. Drinks are on me.”

Hot Rod led Bumblebee out of the room, draping a casual arm over his brother’s smaller frame. “It’s gonna be okay, buddy.” He tried reassuring.

They spotted Windblade with Chromia, Elita One, and Chase outside the medbay. Chase stood there uncomfortably as Elita tenderly held her grief-stricken friend.

“Give him time. Ironhide is recovering from a serious head injury. He’ll most likely start to remember more as time goes by.” Windblade tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about.

Hot Rod stood silent, wishing he had something to say. Meanwhile, Bumblebee’s guilt twisted further into his spark.

Elita’s antennae slightly perked when she noticed her adult sparklings by the doorway. “Boys… now may not be a good time.”

Hot Rod stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact with his mother. “Yeah, I figured…”

Windblade gave Bumblebee a soft smile once she saw him. “Hey, Bee. I’m sorry, I can’t really hang out right now. But I’ll meet up with you later. Okay?”

Bumblebee nodded understandingly.

Hot Rod nudged Bee along, who continued to look back at Chromia and the others for a while.

Hot Rod bought drinks for himself and Bumblebee at the lounge bar before heading into the rec room with him. He swore he could still faintly smell the vehicon pheromones in there, but it was weak enough to not bother him. “Bet you can’t beat me at Polybius!”

“Doesn’t that game give you a headache?” Bumblebee asked, clasping his brother’s hands. “And you KNOW I win way more often.”

“Not anymore! I’ve been practicing a lot with Arcee and I’m really good at it now. Come on! Let me kick your ass!”

Bumblebee sighed. “Fine.”

They stepped up to the arcade cabinet. The machine was quite literally ancient. Wheeljack had salvaged it and a few other games out of the ruins of Maccadam’s Oil House back on Cybertron. It was in rough shape when he found it, but Wheeljack was able to restore it quite well. It was just a bit buggy at times.

Hot Rod slammed the side of the cabinet, “Turn on, stupid thing!”. He had to give it another hit and a good kick to get it to finally turn on. “Ah! Finally! Get ready to be absolutely DESTROYED bro!”

Hot Rod slipped a shanix into the machine and started playing intensely while Bumblebee stood there, not seeming as enthusiastic as he normally would be. He fiddled lazily with the joystick while Hot Rod demolished Bee’s score. He couldn’t help but notice how easily he was winning.

Hot Rod let go of the console and looked at his brother. Bumblebee looked back at him. “You aren’t into this right now, are you?”

Bumblebee gave a little shrug.

“You wanna talk about it? You seem kinda tense lately, man.”

Bumblebee released the joystick and just stared at his reflection on the cabinet’s screen for a while.

“Bee?”

Without looking at him, he took one of Hot Rod’s hands. “I think need another drink first.”

“Hell yeah! No problem!” Hot Rod shot finger guns at the smaller Autobot as he went back to the bar.

Bumblebee went to sit on a couch. He thought he would have some time alone before he felt the cushion beneath him sink to the side with a heavy weight. Then, two big green arms picked him up and forcibly bear-hugged him.

“Hey, little buddy! I haven’t seen you in days!” The massive mech could feel Bee struggle to get out of his grip. He set him back down on the couch next to him. “Sorry, little buddy.”

Normally, Bumblebee would not have minded the physical affection from his friend at all, but for some reason, he just wasn’t in the mood. He couldn’t really tell why, but he just wasn’t. He gave his big friend a reassuring rub on the forearm.

“EEEEY IT’S BULKHEAD!” Hot Rod called out from the other side of the rec room, holding a pint of lowgrade in each hand.

“Sup’ Roddy!” Bulkhead greeted.

Hot Rod approached the two and handed Bumblebee one of the pints. “So, you wanted to talk to me about something.”

Bumblebee silently turned his optics to Bulkhead, then back at his brother.

“Uhhh. Hey, Bulk?” Hot Rod asked the big green Autobot. “I think Bee wants to talk to me privately.”

“Oh…” Bulkhead said, seeming a little disappointed. He had known Bumblebee longer than Windblade had. He didn’t know why his friend was suddenly being so distant.

“He’s just not feeling too well. Don’t worry about it, big guy.” Hot Rod told him.

Bulkhead, sweet-natured as ever, gave Bumblebee a gentle comforting pat on the head before getting up to find someone else to talk to. Bumblebee felt awful.

Once Bulkhead had wandered off, Bumblebee drank his low-grade in silence. Despite the rec room buzzing with its usual activity, Bumblebee looked drained of energy.

Hot Rod sat down next to his brother and slid closer to him. He took a long sip of his own drink before starting, “All right Bee, spill.” he took another sip. “What’s got your servos in a twist, my man?”

Bumblebee set his pint on the table in front of him, hesitating. Where could he even begin? There was always so much on his mind these days. Should he tell him why he reacted to Iornhide’s injury the way he did? No… No. He wasn’t ready to tell anyone what happened to him and Cliffjumper yet. He cycled through a whirlwind of emotions piling up as his fingers traced the rim of his glass.

His hands moved slowly to Hot Rod’s, “I’m in love with Windblade…”

“AWWWWWW!!“ Hot Rod clasped a hand over his mouth before lowering his voice. “Awwwww!”

Bumblebee rolled his optics. He could tell that his brother was starting to get tipsy from the low-grade. “I just really don’t know how to tell her, man. I’m not the same bot I used to be.”

“Dude, what are you saying? You’re seriously the coolest guy I know! I think you’ve got a good shot with her! You should go ask her out!”

“But I’m not… ME anymore. Somethings wrong with me now. Ever since the injury I just…” Bumblebee deeply sighed and let go of his brother’s hands. He wasn’t sure how to put what he was feeling into words.

“Hey, worst she could say is no! Which is… probably exactly what you’re worried about. Er, just forget I said that.” Hot Rod took another large swig of his drink. “Still, dude. Give it a shot before someone else does! Besides, you two are already pretty close. You two would be a lot more likely to stick together than me and, uh…” He glanced over at Arcee, who was sitting on another couch with her Conjunx, Ailron. The two fembots were clearly drunk, devouring each other as if it was their last night alive.

Bumblebee remembered Hot Rod’s old fling with Arcee. She was a bit too intense for even him, but they had still remained close friends after breaking up. Bee knew his brother had a point. He and Windblade WERE very close. He couldn’t really imagine being with anyone else.

Bumblebee had never felt much romantic attraction to others. He messed around with other bots every now and then, but it was always platonic at most. Windbalde was the first other Transformer he had felt close enough to develop feelings for. He was terrified that she might say no, but knowing how fleeting love was, he knew he had to tell her soon.

When he looked back at his brother, he looked a little… off.

“Uhhh… Bee? I’m uh…” Hot Rod’s optics began to shift between brightening and dimming.

“Oh no, not again!” Bumblebee thought, getting up from the couch to avoid the incoming tsunami.

Hot Rod’s frame heaved. “Oh, man. Dude, I’m SO sorry but I think I might have drank a little too- Oh GOD here it comes!”

Bumblebee shut his optics and covered his audio processors so he didn’t have to bear witness. But he could still hear the muffled sounds of Hot Rod wretching and then falling to the floor with a heavy “CLANK.”

“Roddy threw up and passed out again!” Arcee yelled out to Blurr, who was busy cleaning tables.

“UUUUGH!!” Blurr yelled back. “IfhekeepsdoingthatI’mcuttinghimoff!”

Bumblebee knew there was no way Hot Rod could have passed out from only two pints. How much had he been drinking that day?

Bulkhead, seeing what had happened, rushed over to pick Hot Rod up. “Don’t worry, little buddy.” He said to Bumblebee. “I’ll take him back to his room for you. You just take it easy, okay?”

Bumblebee now felt even more awful for how he had treated Bulkhead earlier.

Bumblebee meandered back to his quarters, hoping he’d bump into Windblade along the way. He didn’t, unfortunately.

It wasn’t that late yet, but Bumblebee decided to retire for the night, anyway. He climbed up onto his bed, which was lowered down enough for a bot his size. He took a dose of the sleep aid that Rung had prescribed him earlier that day. He was exhausted, despite barely doing anything that day. But he kept himself awake with a movie until the meds finally kicked in. He wanted to recharge but was fearful of the nightmares that awaited him in his sleep. It was a post-war movie and it was pretty terrible. Thundercracker was a really bad actor, but very entertaining to watch. Normally, Bumblebee would be in hysterics watching this train wreck with his friends, but this time he just watched in silence with a blank expression.

He lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling. He felt so bad about Chromia and Bulkhead. And the image of Ironhide’s half-missing helm still stuck in the front of his mind as if someone welded it there. He accosted himself for not being able to handle it.

Then there was Windblade. His feelings for her grew stronger by the day, and yet, he wasn’t certain he could be the mech she deserved. Everything that had drawn her, as well as others, towards him felt like it was fading away. He wasn’t that funny anymore, he got stressed too easily, and even video games and shitty movies didn’t seem to have the same kick to them anymore.

Bumblebee turned off the movie after realizing how little he was paying attention. He tried to think of what else he could do while waiting to fall asleep. Nothing he thought of seemed to pique his interest. Well… there was ONE thing he could do— something he typically did alone in his room every night anyway. But he could never keep his mind off of Windblade while doing it and always felt guilty afterward. He momentarily considered letting his physical urges get the best of him, but then he noticed a consistent sound coming from somewhere in his room.

“Drip….. Drip……. Drip…… Drip…..”

It was a cube of liquid energon he had forgotten about on the table the other day. He must have accidentally tipped it over, and now it was spilled out on the table, dripping onto the floor.

“Drip….. Drip…… Drip…..

The sound sent a cold shiver up his spinal cable. He quickly got up to clean it, the feeling still remaining.

He tried not to think about it, but the memory forced its way to the front of his mind. The sound of blood dripping from an operating table…. The sight of it pooling underneath and the agonizing groans of a slowly dying mech.

A soft knock on his door thankfully interrupted his thoughts.

Drowsy from the medication, he slowly got up and answered. He was pleased to see Windblade’s face smiling down at him. But not as pleased to see Starscream standing right behind her.

Bumblebee squinted his optics at the much taller mech. “Ugh, why is HE here?” Bumblebee thought to himself. But he was glad to see Windblade nonetheless.

“Hey, Bee!” She greeted with a hug that Bee happily returned. “You wanna see something really cool?”

Bumblebee eagerly nodded, but then his expression changed suddenly as he looked at the bot behind her. Starscream raised a brow at him.

“It’s fine, Bee.” Said Windblade, “He just got discharged and I wanted him to come along so he could blow off some steam.”

Not wanting to be rude, Bumblebee decided to tolerate Starscream’s presence for now. But there was no way Bee was going to confess his love to Windblade in front of HIM, of all people.

“Come on, guys! This will be great, I promise!” Windblade led the two mechs all the way down to the ship’s center, near Ark’s spark chamber. The chamber was completely sealed off from the ship’s population, but all three bots could still feel the heavy beating of Ark’s spark beneath their peds.

“Where exactly are we going?” Starscream asked Windblade.

“It’s a surprise! But, we do have to stay quiet in case Perceptor is hanging around here.”

“Oooh!~ Breaking the rules, are we?” Starscream teased.

“Something like that. But don’t worry, I’ve done this before and nothing bad happened.”

Bumblebee was beginning to lag behind, the sensation of Ark’s spark pulsating blood throughout the ship was strangely soothing. It reminded him of when he was a sparkling and would be lulled into recharge mode by the spark of whoever was holding him. He nearly nodded off before Starscream yelled at him to hurry up. Windblade roughly jabbed the seeker in the arm with her elbow.

“Ow! Alright! I’m sorry!”

“Say it to him.”

Starscream reluctantly looked back at Bee. “Sorry…” he muttered.

That was the first time in Bumblebee’s life that he had ever heard Starscream utter any form of an apology. He was more bewildered by it than he was impressed. Maybe Windblade had a tighter leash on the seeker than he thought.

Winblade stopped at a huge set of doors. “It’s in here!”

“The nursery? Ew, kids…”

“No silly, It’s in the fauna chamber on the other side.”She pulled out a keycard.

“Where the hell did you get your hands on one of those? Isn’t this place supposed to have the highest security on the ship?”

“Er… yes. Back when Red Alert was still in charge of security. I got this keycard from Elita, though. She trusts me enough to be in here.”

“Elita?! Do NOT let her know I came with you. I’m really not up for getting the scrap beaten out of me for a THIRD time this month.”

“Of course, I’m not going to tell her, Star.”Windblade softly reassured him, “You know how much I hate seeing you get kicked around like that.”

Bumblebee could see Starscream turn his head. A faint red hue appeared on the seeker’s cheek. Bumblebee’s horn twitched.

Windblade slid the keycard in. The large doors clicked for a few seconds before slowly opening, revealing the nursery.

Bumblebee had already been in there a few times with Optimus. It was breathtaking each time. The nursery was actually the ship’s stasis pod chamber. The pods were intended to be used in the event of a crash, or during extended space voyages such as the one Bee was currently on. But, Bumblebee, nor anyone else he had seen in the fleet was using the pods. Gazing into one of the large containers, one would see the reason why.

Bumblebee stopped to look inside a pod. In it, were 4 peacefully sleeping sparklings. They were so young that they hadn’t grown their first armor layer yet. They were just bare protoforms, completely defenseless. Their sparks were fully exposed and visible, reflecting inside the pod with a beautiful blue glow. Bumblebee was always mesmerized by them.

Bumblebee smiled at them, placing his hand on the glass. “Hello, babies!”

Every single one of the stasis pods on the fleet— not just The Ark —Held either sparklings or fauna. Nearly all of the children were only newsparks, salvaged from deep within Cybertron’s core. People lost their lives trying to save the very last of the most precious members of their species. With the wells no longer operating, all the newsparks that didn’t have a chance to emerge were stuck down there for several vorns. Although hundreds of sparklings were rescued, many resided far too deep within Primus’s spark. They would all soon join the rest of the victims back home.

Although the sparklings on the fleet would never know their original home, they would also never know the horrors of war. Or at least… that’s what everyone was hoping. The first sunrise they would witness not be Shalua’s, but that of a different star’s on a different world that was 7.795 lightyears away from home. A new home. A peaceful home.

There were also quite a few adolescents in the stasis pods. Bumblebee actually knew a few of them personally. One of them, Grimlock, being way bigger than him despite not even getting his first altmode yet. Even though the adolescents were old enough to not need constant supervision, practically everyone had agreed that having a bunch of teenagers running around a tiny fleet full of very mentally unwell adults was a terrible idea. Especially considering how heavily the crew tended to drink. However, there was a rumor that one adolescent on the Nemesis sabotaged his own pod before launch so that he could stay awake. Bumblebee figured that if the rumor were true, the poor kid likely regretted it by now. This was not a good way to be spending the last cycles of one’s sparklinghood.

“Hey, Bug! You get lost or something?” Starscream shouted at Bumblebee, earning another light jab from Windblade. “Fine! Fine! Ugh… Bumblebee, would you PLEASE try to keep up?”

Bumblebee caught up with the two at another door that was similar to the last one. Windblade used her key card again, this time opening the fauna chamber. She made sure to close the door behind her just in case a critter or two got out.

“You’re gonna love what I found! I thought we weren’t able to save these little guys, but there are whole pods here packed full of them!” She guided her friends to two pods that seemed to be full of…. fluff?

“One on the right is full of the wild ones. See how they all have white, grey, or black fur? That’s how you know. We won’t wake up these guys.”

“Wait—“ Starscream stopped her, “You’re not gonna open a pod, are you?”

“Don’t worry, the other pod is full of very docile domesticated ones.”

Bumblebee looked inside the pod on the left. It was also full of fluff, but this fluff was VERY colorful.

“It looks like a rainbow threw up in there.” Starscream remarked, “You sure you want these things running around in here?”

“We’ll only take out two. I’ve been, er… sorta coming down here often to visit the pair I bonded with. I’m really hoping I get to adopt them when we get to Theta-3.”

Upon taking a more detailed inside the pod, Bumblebee realized what these creatures were. His horns perked up and he began to excitedly bounce up and down.

Windblade turned off the stasis pod and quickly removed her pair before closing it and switching it back on. One was bright blue, green, and yellow with a red tail and head tuft. The other was yellow and covered in black stripes. Bumblebee liked that one a lot.

Bee’s optics grew wide and brightened with affection as he and the others watched two little fuzzballs slowly uncurl in Windblade’s palms. Their huge ears uncovered their sleepy little faces as they blinked their eyes awake. One yawned, causing Windblade and Bumblebee to purr at the adorable sight.

The blue fuzzball opened its beak, “Dah-ay-loh oo-tye!”

Starscream quickly hid behind a pod. “You didn’t tell me they were FURBIES! Those things freak me out!”

Windblade snickered, “What?! Come on! They’re completely harmless!”

“It’s the EYES! I don’t like how they-“

The yellow and black furby intensely stared at Starscream, causing him to cower behind the pod even more.

Windblade and Bumblebee just looked at him and laughed.

“It’s not funny! I got bitten by one of those once and it got infected!”

“Doo-dah u-nye noo-loo ay-koo!”

“DID YOU HEAR WHAT IT JUST SAID?!”

“Star… it’s a furby.”

“Wait- You DON’T understand them? Have I been fucking crazy this whole time?!”

Bumblebee nodded “yes.”

Windblade handed the furbies over to Bumblebee, who was more than eager to take them. She walked over to Starscream and gently held his hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had such a fear of them. But, would you mind if I tried to introduce you to them? They’re incredibly friendly and I promise they won’t bite. Furbies are really smart. They’ll know how much I like you!”

Bumblebee was far too busy playing with a furby that had climbed on top of his head to notice Windblade kiss Starscream’s hand and caress his cheek.

“You’ll be okay, Star.”

Starscream cautiously nodded, now blushing.

Windblade took him by the hand and led him back to Bumblebee. She picked the blue furby off his head and placed it on her shoulder. “This is Kid Cuisine, and the other one is Bumblebee Jr.” She said with a big smile.

Bumblebee silently laughed, greatly amused by Windblade’s choice of names. Bumblebee Jr. hopped up on Bumblebee’s shoulder and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. It actually sort of hurt due to his injury, but the little critter was just too cute to remove.

Despite the cuddly exterior, furbies were all mechanical on the inside. They were native to the colder regions of Cybertron. Evolution had traded their armor for soft alloy covered in thick hair. It kept them warm in the wild as they huddled together at night. Cybertronians eventually domesticated them, resulting in a massive variety of coats and breeds. Bumblebee learned all this in a documentary he watched once as a sparkling. Since then, they had been his favorite creature on Cybertron. He was overjoyed to see that so many of them had been saved.

The furby perched on Bumblebee’s shoulder shifted its weight, its unblinking eyes locking onto the bandage snug around his neck. It’s head tilted curiously and pawed gently at the edge of the bandage. Bumblebee froze.

“Owie?” The furby reached out and brushed a paw a little too close to the wound.

Bumblebee flinched but didn’t pull away.

The furby’s big ears drooped down as it repeated softly, “Dah owie…”

Bumblebee’s gaze flickered, his optics dropping to the ground. Images of that day flashed unbidden in his mind. He still remembered how it felt— his neck being slowly torn open while he was still conscious— Feeling every excruciating moment. Shockwave— cold and unfeeling —taking out and putting in whatever he wanted. To this day, Bumblebee still didn’t know what the deception had intended to do with him. Ratchet had pulled out several foreign objects from deep in his neck over the last several cycles. Bee sometimes wondered if there was no point to it. Perhaps Shockwave just wanted something to torture.

Bumblebee couldn’t scream anymore. He needed to. He always needed to.

“Doo-moh u-nye! Furby dah boo-nye u-nye!”

Bumblebee blinked out of his trance as the furby on his shoulder gave him a little peck on the cheek.

Windblade’s voice broke through the fog “Bee, are you okay?” Her tone was soft.

He nodded his head, lying.

“You’re leaking.” Starscream pointed out.

Bumblebee, mortified, quickly rubbed all the tears off his face.

“Hey, hey! It’s okay!” Windblade rushed over to hug him.

The blue furby, Kid Cuisine, hopped from Windblade to Bumblebee’s other shoulder. Now, he had a fuzzball for each, “Fwii ha bii ow-ow?”

Bumblebee very gently nodded yes to the delicate little creature, this time not lying.

“Oh… I think the furbs noticed the injury. I’m so sorry, Bee, I can take them if you want.”

Bumblebee quickly shook his head.

“Alright. Just… Just don’t be afraid to talk to me, okay?”

The striped one, Bumblebee Jr., kept its distance from the wound and was now nuzzling the side of Bee’s helmet. The little Autobot couldn’t help but smile.

Kid Cuisine gave Bee an affectionate peck on the nose before hopping onto his head to investigate his horns. It curiously pawed and pecked at one of them, which tickled. Bumblebee’s laugh came out of the hole in his neck in short, ragged bursts. Sounding like a weak buzz. Jr.’s ears pricked up and started buzzing with him, causing him to laugh more.

Windblade laughed along with them. “I think I should take you down here more often, Bee! I haven’t seen you laugh this much for a while.”

As joyful as he felt, the laughing was beginning to strain his injury and become painful. He picked Kid Cuisine off his head and handed them over to Windblade. Bumblebee sat down next to a stasis pod to continue playing with Jr. The pod contained a large, fluffy blue… thing. The label on it said it was an organic creature from one of the colony planets. Bumblebee liked at Windblade anx pointed to the pod he was leaning against with his thumb.

“OHHHH NO! Do NOT take that one out!” Starscream warned.

“Don’t worry Star, I won’t. I’ve tried before and he’s super grumpy.”

Bumblebee tilted his head, horns loosely flopping to the side.

“It’s a benevolus insignis. They are usually very docile because they have no natural predators. People on Caminus sometimes kept them as pets. I tried to befriend that one, but it just looked at me all annoyed and shut the pod closed in my face.”

“Heheh. That’s actually pretty funny.” Starscream snickered.

“Why don’t you like benevolus insignis Starscream?”

“…..because it’s a BEAR????? Do you have any idea how strong those things are?! Shockwave tried to turn a few of them into war animals and they did NOT cooperate. I almost got my head ripped off by this disgustingly cutesy bright pink one!”

“That’s horrible.”

“It was! Hurt like hell!”

“No, I mean the fact that Shockwave tried to twist them into something else is horrible!”

“Oh.. Yes. That is also bad.”

“U-nye uh-uh, u-nye nuh-noo!” Bumblebee Jr. called out.

“Windblade, he’s leaking again.”

Winblade carefully sat down next to Bumblebee and took his hand. “Bee… PLEASE talk to me.”

“Don’t… Don’t ever say that name.”

Starscream, observing the pair’s hands asked, “Shockwave?”

Bumblebee curled into himself, cradling the little furby. He was trembling.

“No judgment here, kid. Lot of bots have a bad history with that con.”

“Starscream, please. You aren’t helping.” Windblade said firmly.

Starscream stepped back, “Er, sorry…”

Windblade returned her focus to Bumblebee, “We won’t talk about him around you anymore. I promise.”

Bumblebee was still shaking but was gradually beginning to calm down again.

Starscream raised a brow and muttered under his breath, “Primus, what the hell did he do to the bug?” Starscream had seen this reaction before— from Thundercracker. The blue seeker was temporarily appointed as Shockwave’s assistant. Not even a week later, he ran away and Starscream had to track him down. He found his pitiful triplet brother hiding under a pile of rubble, trembling and cowering into himself, not unlike Bumblebee.

“He-He m-made me do things I didn’t want- They were neutral seekers… I had to… help him with the-“

Starscream, for a rare moment, was not irritated by his brother. Starscream knew what went on in that lab. Even he wasn’t desensitized enough to want to hang around there. He felt… sorry for his brother. Not something he usually did.

“AAAAAAAAAH AHHH GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!” He was jolted out of his thoughts as Kid Cuisine leaped from Windblade and directly into Starscream’s face.”

“Dah boo-nye! Dah boo-nye! Ay-koo u-nye noo-lah!” The furby sang in tease.

“IT’S TAUNTING MEEEEEE!”

“Kid Cuisine! Get over here!” Windblade demanded.

The tone she used reminded Bumblebee of Elita. He sure knew what that meant. That Furb better do what she says!

Kid Cuisine’s ears drooped and hopped back into Winblade’s hands.

“Man, you really are scared of these things, aren’t you?”

Starscream grumbled, “Well, I wouldn’t say I’m SCARED, I’m just… on high alert around them.”

Windblade rolled her optics but kept a playful smile.

Bumblebee Jr let out a little yawn and spoke in a soft, happy tone, “Kah noo-loo kah way-loh...” soon followed by the sound of little snores.

Windblade and Starscream looked at Bumblebee, who was now fast asleep with the furby.

“Oh, poor Bee. He must be exhausted.” Windblade said with warmth. “He hasn’t gotten much recharge lately. I think we should start heading back now so he can get some rest.”

“Yes, please!” Starscream agreed.

Winblade carefully scooped up the sleeping furby and kissed the other one goodbye before placing them back inside their stasis pod. She then went over to Bee to tried and nudge him awake. “Hey, sleepy. Time to get going.”

Bumblebee responded by flopping over to the ground, a static-sounding snore coming from the hole in his throat.

“Bee?” The red fembot attempted to shake her friend awake.

“That bot is out cold. And I’m not carrying him back.” Starscream said, arms crossed.”

“Bee, come on!” Windblade nudged Bumblebee again.

Bee remained asleep.

“Is he on sleeping meds” Starscream questioned.

Windblade tried to shake Bee awake but couldn’t. “Oh no! We gotta get him out of here before Preceptor comes in here and sees us. He’ll take away my key card and I won’t be able to see the furbies anymore!

Starscream watched as Windlade tried to Bumblebee’s arms over her shoulders and carry him on her back, but her wings were getting in the way.

“Here, let me help you,” Starscream grumbled.

He picked the little Autobot up and helped Windblade get a good hold on his arms.

“Thanks, Star, you’re a lifesaver!”

“Huh…. That’s my first time hearing that.”

Winblade gave Starscream a peck on the cheek before the group headed out the door. Starscream held the side of his cheek and smiled as they walked past the ship’s spark chamber.

“Sooo…. Windblade?”

“Hm?”

“Are…. doing anything tonight?”

Windblade smirked, “Not really, you?”

“Ah- so… Do-“

Windblade laughed, “I know what you’re gonna ask, Starscream.” A light blush appeared on her face. “Sure… I wouldn’t mind spending another night with you.” She readjusted Bumblebee on her back, “But we get this guy back home first. Sheesh… he’s heavier than he looks. My arms getting tired.” She suddenly felt a large weight lifted off her back, “Starscream?”

Starscream was holding up the unconscious yellow mech as if he was picking up a cat, “I got him. You go meet me back at my quarters.” He kissed Windblade on the lips and then whispered into her audio processor in a sultry voice, “My turn to be on top this time.”

“Oh my god, STOP!” Windblade playfully pushed him away, giggling, “You are so naughty! Just go put him to bed, you dork!”

Starscream split off from Windblade and took Bumblebee back to his quarters. The door was unlocked. Most of the doors on The Ark were. People didn’t really see a reason to since they all knew each other. Starscream was probably one of the only bots on the ship who did lock his door.

He plopped Bumblebee onto his bed. “Jeez, he really is heavier than he looks!” He couldn’t help but notice the photos mounted on the wall, all filled with family and friends. Starscream’s optics dimmed a bit. He got a weird…. sad feeling? He couldn’t really put down why. He brushed it off and left, closing the door behind him.