Prowl having been foretold about his fated mate back in his dojo training and spending all his time on trying to decipher the riddle before giving up and eventually ending up with Team Prime.
One day they are talking about some fairytales (fate, magical love, prophecies n stuff) and stuff and Prowl mentions a prophecy tradition all dojos continue. Both Sari and Bulk got interested so he told them about his own prophecy of finding his fated mate. It was confusing and cryptic, some sentences almost didn't make sense to him.
When Prowl finished talking, he commented how he spent half his life trying to figure it out to find them but gave up. Both Sari and Bulkhead just stared at him the whole time he was talking.
Prowl was quite taken aback by this flat statement, he joked thinking they were just messing with him but nope. Apparently the riddle was not difficult at all for them to understand and all of the clues about this mysterious mate pointed right to Bee himself. They even repeated the whole thing and pointed out each connection to an aspect of the mech.
Prowl just stood there unable to find words to describe what was happening, all this time he spent trying to decipher this blasted prophecy and the two of them cracked it within seconds of hearing it... and they pointed him to the answer that was right there! And the worst part, their analysis actually made sense! Each phrase that he thought was a metaphor was a literal description of Bee and his traits.
He didn't know what to feel, at one point he just left to process the newly acquired knowledge on his own when the two weren't paying attention to him. Bee was his fated mate, even with the whole thing of prophecies having unexpected answers, THAT was something he never would've thought in a billion years- he and Bee were completely different, if not polar opposites. How could they ever be the perfect happy couple the allspark wrote in stars?
Then again he couldn't help but remember all the times they worked together and everything went better than expected. How Prowl filled the traits Bee was lacking and how Bee did the same with Prowl's shortcomings. There was a fine line between what each of them had and it made their personalities fit snug alongside each other like puzzle pieces, each missing a chunk that the other had and vice versa. Also he's heard more than enough about 'opposites attracting each other' from many people and books he's read.
He found himself observing Bee more often, watching him do things from a safe distance, contemplating what to do, if he should do something. He couldn't just go up to him and say "hey we are fated to be together by the allspark", Bee would laugh right in his face and think he's got processor damage or something! Simply asking him out would be safer option, they've been on a more peaceful side since Prowl figured out the prophecy.
While Prowl was stuck in stagnation, Sari and Bulkhead decided that there was enough romantic tension between these two and chatted up Bee about Prowl acting weird recently. They tried to be mysterious, keeping the information for a long while before finally revealing what they found out.
"Oh, that? Yeah I'm still waiting for him to put on a brave face and ask me out."
Yeah so turns out, Bee knew about the prophecy all along, he had a weird dream years ago with a similar message and once he met Prowl it clicked instantly. He didn't want to pressure the other mech into a relationship with him and instead let Prowl get to know him more first, get comfortable, let things progress at their own pace. He wanted it to be natural and their own choice, not something forced onto them by some mystic force.
To say the least, Sari and Bulk were quite disappointed to not have surprised Bee with this.
Days passed and Prowl still had no idea what to do. Bee has been rather nice to him lately, or at least didn't pull as much pranks on him as usual. Tho he still couldn't help the feeling that all this was intentional- the glances across the room, cheeky smiles feeling warmer than usual when Bee was looking at him specifically, his oil made just right and handed to him with such care. Little comments about things he liked that Bee heard of or saw. All this just added to the little things Prowl finally noticed about Bee- how caring he was, how his joy seemed to spread to others when he was around, how delicate and precise he could be with projects and complex mechanisms or even games based on reflexes and fast completion with little room for mistakes. How his demeanor shifted when he was genuinely enjoying something he was doing rather than just engaging with it for play and jokes. How silky his voice sounded when he hummed little songs and tunes for himself when he thought no one was around. How his seemingly plain paint was actually splashed with slightly different shades of yellow from repainting scratched areas so many times, how some scratches and scars still shone thru the metal even after being patched. How when he looked closely, he could see specs of lighter alloy in Bee's faceplate, giving him faint appear of freckles.
All this and more swirled in his mind, a faint but steady feeling creeping somewhere near his spark along with new yet familiar warmth whenever he heard Bee laugh at one of his own bad jokes again.
It was at this time he's learned about the predicted meteor shower in the area. All this time he's been wondering what to do and this might just be the opportunity he needed.
He spent all his time preparing everything he might need, picking the location and their activities, rehearsing questions and answers he might need. When the time finally came, everybody was preparing to watch the meteor shower together. Prowl waited out a moment to approach Bee when he was separated from the rest.
He tried to be casual, yet the reason of this whole operation kept him on edge, constantly causing him to stutter and mess up his wording. He started again, saying he and Bee were meant for something greater- wait no he wasn't supposed to bring up the prophecy damn it! He tried to get something, anything that will lead them to the next part of the conversation but he was too messy.
Flat, straight up question that came from Bee was the only thing he said the whole time Prowl was talking. It stopped the ninjabot dead in his tracks and instead, made him give a plain answer. Prowl didn't know what to expect but to his surprise Bee smiled and accepted, asking about things and giving almost no room for answer before going away to do something.
The day of the meteor shower Prowl was standing outside base, clean and polished, with a bouquet of sunflowers in his servos- flowers Bee mentioned in his rambles during Prowl's failed successfully plan. He's been rather nervous, while no one has said anything, everybody has been giving him these knowing looks- he should've expected Bee to speak about their plans on this special occasion.
Sound of pedesteps snapped him out of his thoughts, soon Bee came out of the entrance shutter, looking beautiful as ever. He was buffed and his polish had slight glittery effect to it. His faceplate had touch ups of make up and horns sharpened. Around his neck was a silk ribbon, in the exact shade of blue to match his optics. He even got new tires and decorative hubcaps to highlight the simple yet elegant look. A complete makeover from what Prowl was so used to seeing.
Bee was delighted to receive the flowers from Prowl, even tho he was the one that lowkey told him what flowers to get, Prowl assumed it was the courtesy of watching so many classic romance movies. Speaking of which, Prowl actually thought about going to the movies but as he found out there was no drive-in theater that played movies during the day- lucky for him the closest thing to a movie was happening at the nearest park, an art of theater festival was happening and they had a big portable stage set up which they could comfortably see from a safe distance to the crowd.
He wasn't sure Bee was gonna like it, he never seemed to have interest in more classic form or entertainment, however Bee didn't seem to dislike the spectacle. He even chuckled at some of the scenes. They stayed there for a couple of shows, Prowl got to relax enough to have some casual chatter with Bee. Overall it wasn't a bad idea, Bee even offhandedly mentioned it being kinda fun.
They left in the late afternoon, the time was nearing. Prowl asked Bee to turn off his gps and follow him. He led them outside the city, tho not too far from the main roads, he knew Bee got nervous in the wilderness. There was a small parking lot near and clearing with the view over the city, surprisingly no one was there but them- Bee loudly assumed it was the fake roadworks signs they passed a while before reaching this place. There was a small picnic set up in the best view spot. Prowl took great care in preparing their favorite snacks. They chatted some more before Prowl took the initiative to say some more vulnerable things. How nice it was to spend time together, how pretty Bee was tonight, what he's been feeling lately... things have gotten softer, more intimate, Bee listening carefully to his every word- yet he didn't get to say what he wanted before flashes of light entered his vision as the meteor shower started.
It was beautiful, dozens of little lights flying across the sky, some even flickering with various colors before disappearing. Prowl was a little sad that such beauty would interrupt his big moment but he quickly let go of it as he felt another frame lean on his gently, helm resting atop his shoulder as Bee kept his optic on the sky relaxed. Prowl slowly wrapped his arm around him, steadily relaxing as well and taking in as much of the feeling as he could.
They stayed like this til the shower became scarce, only then did Bee commented how amazing it was and how happy he was that Prowl finally confessed. That little slip made Prowl confused- wait, Bee knew about this? How??
While initially he didn't intend on doing so, Bee ended up telling him everything. So Prowl's worries were all for nothing? Bee knew about the prophecy all this time AND accepted it the moment he knew?
Prowl honestly didn't know whether the deflating feeling inside was disappointment or relief, so all that stress and planning everything behind everybody's back was of the same effect as if he just told him straight up....
Bee would beg to differ, as if Prowl hadn't planned this date, they wouldn't have enjoyed all this time together. And besides, now that they were officially together, it was only gonna get better from now on.
Of course, Prowl had to agree, but not before he chews out both of Bee's besties for trying to out him like that.
