₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊ I’ll Keep You Safe — TFA Bumblebee X fem!Reader ₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊
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TEN — Entangled Creations
Word Count: 9.1k
Warnings: Suspense, playful and affectionate bullying, and a plot that is starting to thicken.
A/N: I’m so sorry for this chapter being late. EMS life is ROUGH. BUT… I have a few notes before we continue. There will be a major character death at some point… I’m adding that to the masterlist tags now. rip. ALSO, a reminder that this fic is largely my own AU. It doesn’t follow the plot of the TFA show, it takes a lot of elements and concepts from other TF media, and the sequel will be set in the TFP universe. If that’s not your cup of tea, no worries. I kindly ask that you just do not be passive-aggressive with me over it when the tags are right there, lol. Please feel free to ask questions or anything of the sort if you’d like to learn more! I’ll answer what I can without going into spoiler territory. Finally as always, please let me know what you think! Tags on reblogs and comments alwaysss give me so much life and they inspire me to keep writing. I LOVE knowing that people out there are enjoying my story. Thank you and enjoy!
₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊
Over the sound of crinkling parchment paper, you closed your eyes to relish in the mouthwatering taste of your long-awaited cheeseburger. After another long day of Autobot shenanigans, it was a welcomed moment of peace on the Detroit riverbank.
Bumblebee sat beside you with his legs splayed out before him, pedes slowly turning from side to side while he leaned back onto his servos in the soft grass. His optics searched the glittering water ahead while you sat perched on the large root of the tree that loomed above you both, fully enveloped in the need to satisfy your stomach.
Sitting in this exact spot had become the new norm for the two of you ever since the Blitzwing incident almost a month prior. Bumblebee wanted to be closer to the road and away from any obstacles—like an almost-full boatyard—so he could make a much easier getaway if he needed to. He’d learned from that incident, clearly.
And you absolutely weren't complaining. The wide river before you reflected the lights of the buildings across the way as well as the moon, whenever it was visible and full. The massive Ambassador Bridge stood to the left not too far away. You could easily move just beyond the dense branches to look up into the sky for some stargazing, and the upward slope behind you provided some privacy from any prying eyes on the road and beyond. It was certainly pretty, and definitely a quiet and peaceful spot to sit and relax with your friend. Plus, the nauseating height of that davit was no longer a worry.
The summer heat had faded, giving way to chillier nights and warm afternoons. Halloween was just around the corner now that October had come, and you couldn’t wait for Bumblebee to actually experience it this year, particularly because you’d since discovered that he was insanely easy to scare. The young mech could barely handle scary clips online, let alone a bunch of much smaller beings dressed up as monsters and creatures and everything in between. At least, that was what you’d assumed.
The Autobot in question continued to gaze ahead in silence while you wolfed down your burger. His optics fell on the Ambassador Bridge for a long moment before a shiver ran through his circuits and he shook it off before turning to arch an optic ridge at you. “You enjoying your fuel?”
A vigorous nod and a piece of lettuce falling from your lip gave him his answer.
He laughed softly, then turned his optics back to the water again. “Ratchet’s gonna try to work on the holomatter generator again in a few cycles. Maybe I actually could try human fuel soon.”
“I wonder how that’s gonna work,” You mumbled through another mouthful, “The food is solid, so where does it go when you’re not a holoform anymore? Like, if your holoform disappeared, would a pile of ground beef fall on the floor out of thin air?” The image in your head made you wince. “Actually, that would be so gross. Ew.”
“Yeah, actually. Ew.” He shot you another smirk, then looked back at the water once again. “I think it’d be cool to actually feel like a human for a day. To touch stuff and feel stuff. But also not. I don’t know.”
You took your last bite and balled the parchment paper up into a ball with one hand, tossed it into the paper bag on your right, then turned to look at him. “Why not?
“Because being so small and having no plating or armor would probably make me feel so defenseless and basically naked.”
Your head turned sharply to your left so you could send him a glare and half a smile, “Hey! We’re not totally defenseless!”
“Yeah, you are! You guys are all squishy and soft! I mean, it’s gotta feel weird, right?” He leaned up to take the pressure off his servos, then reached over to poke your side with one digit which earned him a sharp laugh. “See? I just can’t believe I used to think you were dangerous!”
You pushed his servo away with another laugh, staying upright to defend yourself from it again if you needed to.
“Besides, I’m your guardian.” Bumblebee leaned forward and brought his knees closer to his chassis to balance his weight on the grass. “I can’t really protect you if I’m just as small and squishy as you are.”
“You’d be surprised.” You mused. “Humans are strong too. You just gotta give us the right tools.” Then you angled your head to the side to give him a playful glare. “And I am still dangerous. Mentally, at least.”
The Autobot turned back to you and squinted. “Yeah—dangerously delusional.”
You rolled your eyes and smiled, then cast your sights back on the rocky riverbank ahead.
The bridge continued to glitter with passing taillights against the dark night sky. Your eyes studied the sheer height of it and for a long moment, you wondered how far the roadway actually was from the water. It was a sickening drop—definitely way further than you’d first thought. Even simply driving across it gave you a strange spike of anxiety and nausea. You couldn’t imagine ever looking down into the dark river from that height.
The thought of it made you shiver once more. You shook your head, then let out a dramatic sigh and threw yourself down onto your back in the soft grass.
It took a moment for you to move again, mostly because you simply enjoyed laying beneath a massive tree, breathing in the scent of fall, and relishing in it all with your eyes closed. When you did open them again, stars speckled the spaces in between the leaves above you as the branches swayed in a gentle breeze. You could only count a few of the leaves that were still green, some of them patchy and others completely swallowed in warm shades of orange altogether. Beside you still, Bumblebee was quiet for once. He seemed to be enjoying the serenity just as much as yourself.
Life alongside him really hadn’t been as insane as you’d originally been led to believe. Decepticon activity was quieter than usual, according to the other Autobots—which was certainly strange but no one was complaining about it. Detroit remained relatively peaceful on that front, and the people inhabiting the city seemed to be at ease as well. Almost two months without a Decepticon attack? Extremely suspicious, sure, but certainly not unappreciated.
Liz had now met Bumblebee two more times since that first awkward meeting. She seemed a bit more relaxed with the idea of her niece hanging around a boy in her age group, especially now that she was actually able to talk to him and get a feel for his intentions—even if they weren’t completely true. They were still nothing but good intentions, but it was still technically a lie nonetheless. You were just glad that she could relax now. She’d barely complained about the ‘cybertronian problem’ at all since that night either, actually.
Prowl’s words still bounced around in your head on random occasions. The lack of Decepticon presence might have brought your guard down quite a lot, but his never seemed to go down at all. His persistence for remaining vigilant was incessant—and even annoying at times.
Prowl’s just paranoid. The words broke through to the forefront of your other thoughts, Everything’s fine.
The lack of chaos and danger was more than you could ask for. It only meant that you could spend more quality time making up inside jokes with the extremely rude Autobot scout beside you.
“You’re my best friend, Bee. The best friend I’ve ever had.” You’d blurted the quiet statement without thinking or even looking at him. While you continued to stare up at the stars beyond the leafy canopy, in your peripheral vision you saw his helm jerk to the side so he could look at you.
He didn’t say anything, but he continued to search your features. Suddenly, your cheeks were burning and you could feel your chest growing hot. So continuing to talk seemed to be the best thing to do without embarrassing yourself—hopefully. “I’m just glad that I ended up moving to Detroit.” You finally turned to give him a mischievous smile, “Honestly, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my own little talking car to harass me everyday.”
“Little?!” The scout’s emotion visibly twisted from feigned offense into something sinister, complete with a wicked smirk. “You–!”
His servos lunged forward and immediately began an onslaught of poking and prodding, tickling your sides and your middle while minding his own strength. You let out a shriek that was quickly drowned out with laughter, totally and completely unable to form shouts of protest. Somewhere in the attack, he used a digit to ruffle your hair and started laughing at how wild he’d made it look. Your arms flew out once or twice in an effort to shove him away, and of course it would never work. However, your broken pleading for mercy was what finally made it end.
Through your ragged breathing and now-rigid posture, you’d leaned all the way up once more and stared at him with wild eyes, your giggling dying down when he stated firmly, “That’ll teach you not to call me little ever again.” Then he turned his helm up at you like he was too good to meet your eyes, “Because I’m not the smallest anymore. You are.”
Your heart was racing still, unable to come down from the unexpected attack. He’d figured out that humans can be tickled, clearly. How? You had no idea. But it was certainly something to remember from now on. You’d just have to figure out how to get him back for it anytime he weaponized it against you. Surely there had to be something that could work.
For now, you gave in. “Oh, please forgive me!” The back of your hand met your forehead and you leaned back, “How will I ever survive without our friendship?” With the rest of your woeful words, you flopped back down into your original place with your back in the grass and released a dramatic sigh.
“I think you’ll live.” Bumblebee mused.
You pinned your eyes shut and sighed loudly again to see if it would instigate him further, but when he surprisingly didn’t say anything, you finally allowed your muscles to relax. With another deep breath, you inhaled the scent of the chilly night air once again and calmed the racing, gleeful heart in your chest. Your eyes opened once more to find those pretty leaves again. “I don’t think I would, actually–”
The branches were… darker, somehow. While you thought your eyes were simply struggling to adjust, you realized that the stars beyond the canopy were now gone. At your sudden silence, Bumblebee turned to look at you with questioning optics and a mouth that hung open as if he were about to ask you what was wrong. He saw your eyes narrow, arms slowly pushing yourself up as you squinted up into the leaves before he finally voiced his concern, “What’re you looking at?”
As the realization dawned on you, you felt your pulse rush. “There’s something up in the–”
Whatever it was, it moved. The branches high up above shuddered against it’s weight and the leaves rustled violently. Then multiple bright red eyes appeared, and you couldn’t hold back a gasp of alarm.
A loud yelp ripped out of your lungs as you were snatched from your place in the grass. Bumblebee whirled on his pedes and jumped away to stand with his back facing the river. He threw you up onto the top of his chassis in between his helm and shoulder plating before he whipped out his stingers, loud electricity pulsating from them through erratic sparks and narrowed optics searching the treetop. But whatever was there had now vanished.
Your hands gripped the edge of his chassis as you steadied yourself, your own eyes searching wildly, “I saw something! I know I–!”
A heavy thud from behind him sent him whirling on his pedes again, but this time the both of you shrieked in total and complete terror at the sight of an enormous spider on the rocky riverbank. His weapons surprisingly didn’t fire off—probably because he was too focused on screaming louder than you’d ever thought possible and simultaneously backing away. And you were vocalizing just the same.
The horrifyingly massive insect didn’t move or speak during your very vocal shared panic. By the time your voices were dying down, still nothing had happened. Only a glaring stare bleeding from every single one of those slitted red optics grew with intensity as Bumblebee’s voice droned off and your’s did the same.
Silence. Tense, thick silence blanketed the space between yourself, your friend, and the multi-legged being that was still unmoving on the river’s rocky edge. The only sound drifting across the open stretch was the faint thrumming of Bumblebee’s electric stingers.
Until a smooth feminine voice delivered a dry insult. “Well, that was dramatic.”
Then, it transformed. Bumblebee’s posture tensed beneath your palms and you reached for something to grab onto, absentmindedly remembering not to grab onto his horns.
The being stood, her long and pointed appendages curling behind her back as she moved to stand upright. Black, purple, and gold plating reflected the indigo moonlight from above and the streetlights from the top of the slope that were now behind you. Sharp heels, clawed digits, and a sleek form came to take shape just a few yards before him. The new face stretched her arms forward before she looked completely relaxed with one servo coming to rest on her hip. Her armored helm and faceplate lacked any and all emotion—other than maybe a single shred of irritation.
Bumblebee’s stingers pulsed with fresh energy and he narrowed his optics, glowering at the feminine cybertronian that clearly neither of you had ever seen before. Inwardly, you cursed at yourself while you waited for something to inevitably happen. I just jinxed us.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Autobot.” Her voice was smooth, silky, and definitely not at all unnerving. “It’s just a little spider.”
“Back up.” You could feel the scout’s voicebox vibrating up through your chest as he growled. “I can see that insignia just fine.”
The femme glanced down at the Decepticon symbol in the center of her armored neckband, then she let out a sigh that sounded more like a hiss. “What—this thing?” One of her claws reached up to tap it lightly, “I haven’t been one of them for a long time, sweetspark.”
You narrowed your own eyes at her suspiciously. Nothing about the femme standing on the rocks ahead of you made you feel anything other than alarmed and ill. Her plating had sharp edges and ribbed pieces, very obviously less uniformed than any other cybertronian you’d ever seen. However, it made sense when considering what her alternate form was. A massive, metal spider with unnervingly long legs would send anyone into a spiral.
Your friend continued to hold his pointed glare, his stingers vibrating with energy once again and never lowering even an inch. “Then what do you want?”
Her helm flicked to her left just slightly. Even though her numerous optics were solid in color, you could almost feel their burning intensity. She seemed calm and collected, but there was still something about her that just seemed… wrong. A shiver ran along the length of your spine and into your fingertips.
“My designation is Black Arachnia.” The dark femme started in that same silky tone. Bumblebee’s form tensed once again when she stepped to the side and began to slowly pace along the rocky shoreline. “I’ve been exploring this planet for a few vorns now, but I came back here when I heard of the drama that you ridiculous mechs will still not let die. Somehow, you’ve dragged the war onto yet another planet—as if destroying our own homeworld wasn’t already enough.”
“We didn’t destroy anything. You can blame your leader for that.” Bumblebee hissed viciously through gritted denta.
Black Arachnia ignored him, her optics focused on the rocks before her pedes as she took each slow step, still not at all concerned about the scout’s drawn weapons. “But then I saw you, Autobot. And I was intrigued when I saw that human following your every move.” Her helm turned gradually to look at him once more. “A cybertronian and an Earth organic attached at the hip? It’s interesting. You’re proof that our kind can tolerate organic matter.”
Bumblebee didn’t move or speak. Goosebumps exploded along the surface of your skin and against the fabric of your sleeves.
“It’s cute, in a way. I really wondered how that came to be.” Arachnia stopped in her tracks and let out a soft laugh. “So I’ve been observing your bond for the last stellar cycle.”
She’s been watching us? For how long? Another shiver quaked through your body, as if you weren't already completely and totally freaked out.
Movement from her caught your attention once more and when you looked back, you saw half-lidded optics already meeting your own squinting eyes. Then that same smooth voice practically purred, “What’s your name, sweetspark?”
Your fingers curled along the edge of Bumblebee’s chassis, white-knuckling your grip on him and your breath caught in your chest for only a brief second. Even if you wanted to respond, Bumblebee beat you to it.
“You’re a freak of nature and you need to frag off.” His stingers roared with energy and the electric currents flared along the air before he squared his shoulders. The Autobot genuinely seemed like he was one more word away from firing a shot at his target.
“Hmph. Nature.” Arachnia’s optics squinted at him and her lip curled, just a fraction of anger making itself known. She paused for a long moment and searched him up and down, but she still hadn’t moved. “Sometimes becoming a freak of nature is a good thing, believe it or not. Organic matter might just end up being the key to a kind of power one can only dream of.”
The femme’s servo slipped from her hip and she took one small step toward him, then those solid optics narrowed in on you once again. “We have far more in common than you’d think.”
Bumblebee took one step back and repositioned his stingers to aim at her helm.
Then, she smiled and hissed with a note of disgust. “Hold onto that one while you can, scout.”
“Get lost!” He barked an instant response.
You flinched when the sparking stingers before him finally released in a flurry of zaps. Bolts of electricity soared across the air, each one missing their intended target as she dodged them effortlessly. Arachnia bent her knees and launched herself upward faster than your eyes could follow before she landed, now standing in the grass a few yards away on Bumblebee’s left. The young ‘Bot jerked to the side to face her and held his stingers higher, but he didn’t fire again.
You’d expected her to retaliate, to lash out—something. But she didn’t. Her posture was still relaxed when she stood tall after her landing with her helm lolled over her shoulder to send him another unbothered look.
Bumblebee was practically seething, his chassis shuddering in sporadic pants with his knees bent and ready to act if needed. Through his movements, you’d latched onto the side of his neck with one hand and the edge of his shoulder plating in the other. Staring at the being ahead of you once again was the only thing you felt you could really do.
Arachnia stared back for a moment longer before she raised her servos defensively and took a step back. Then she smiled and murmured, “See you around.”
With that, she shifted. The massive cybertronian spider came to be again, then scurried up the slope and out of sight.
The scout remained tense and rigid for a long moment. Only at the sound of your shaky breathing did he relax just slightly, one stinger returning to a servo while he let out an exvent himself. Bumblebee then straightened and stood tall with his helm turning back to see where she’d disappeared. Clearly, he still wasn’t convinced that she really had left.
On a normal night, you might have thought that the tense silence was suffocating. Instead you found yourself thinking the same thing that he probably was—it’s still dangerous. But when scanning the top of the slope revealed nothing and there was no sound other than the acceleration of a few distant cars, your shoulders finally sagged. She was gone.
Your friend shook his helm like he was rebooting himself. When you looked to find his faceplate, you found a scowl and squinting optics still trained on where he last saw her. It lasted only a moment before he turned to meet your gaze. “You good?”
“I’m good.” You stared at him, jaw agape for a few seconds and blinking away any lingering scraps of wild alarm. “Are you good?”
“Psh, I’m good.” He tried to sound confident, but it didn’t really work. His apprehension was still evident in his optics, his posture that still hadn’t completely relaxed, and the fact that he kept looking up the slope said everything. However, his opposite stinger finally turned back into a servo nonetheless. “But that was really weird.”
“You don’t say?” Your eyes went wide and you craned your neck forward to find his optics again with a tone that emphasized the sarcasm. “She just said she’s been following us for a stellar-whatever!”
“A stellar cycle.” The Autobot corrected. His optics only flicked to your face for a second as he spoke. “It’s like– I think it’s a month for you guys. Or whatever you call it.”
Your shoulders slumped with a sigh, then you flopped over with your weight leaning on the side of his helm. The fresh image of those many pointed legs popped back into your head and a violent shiver wracked your bones. You let out a hiss of disgust, “I hate spiders.”
“Me too.” Bumblebee confirmed, his own shiver reverberating through his circuits. “Especially the Decepticon kind.”
You were honestly surprised that he wasn’t complaining about you being so close to touching his horns by now. “I didn’t even know those existed and honestly, I’m not really thrilled about it.”
“Me neither—to both of those points.” Bumblebee finally turned to face the tree that had previously provided shelter, then he reached up to pluck you from your spot atop his chassis. The scout set you down on the ground beside him gently before he shifted back into the familiar WRX and popped the driver’s door open automatically. “Let’s go tell the guys.”
You nodded wordlessly and jumped in, happy to feel the warmth of his interior. Until that moment, you hadn’t realized that the goosebumps along your skin were still very prominent—likely from the combination of feeling thoroughly freaked out and the chilly night air.
Bumblebee pulled up alongside the massive oak tree and stopped to let you out for a brief second. You needed to retrieve your almost-forgotten burger-joint paperbag.
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“There was this… spider-lady. But it was really weird.” Bumblebee’s need to talk with his servos flying all over the place would likely never be something he’d stop doing. “Apparently she’s been stalking us for cycles like some kind of freak!”
Optimus’ words were mellow and level, and one of his servos held his chin in a thoughtful expression. “And you saw the Decepticon insignia?”
“Yeah! She said she’s not one of them anymore—apparently.” Bumblebee’s optics turned to pan across the room at the other Autobots.
When you both scrambled in through the open bay door, Bulkhead had been discussing something with Optimus. Ratchet was in the middle of his never-ending tinkering. And Prowl must have been in the hallway, because the slender mech only appeared after Bumblebee exploded with frantic rambling. The plant had been quiet for a long couple of weeks and it left the team almost restless to some degree. Some excitement—even if it was coming from the ever-dramatic scout—was more than enough to get them all to stop what they were doing without a second thought.
Your own words seemed to get trapped in your throat. By now, your comfort among the other Autobots had skyrocketed, but they still left you feeling a bit intimidated during group discussions sometimes. You were getting better at it everyday, but the idea that you were just a little pest never seemed to stop bleeding from the cracks of your subconscious. Prowl’s consistent attitude still wasn’t helping either.
“And you didn’t engage?” The cyberninja’s monotone voice carried over to the scout standing beside you. There was just enough of a suspicious tone in there, you almost thought he was trying to instigate something.
“Well, not really. I fired a few warning shots to get her to back off, but that was it.” Bumblebee’s optics flicked across his teammates briefly, then he looked down at you and down at his pedes. “She didn’t attack back.”
Prowl let out a quiet hiss that was half a sigh, his right servo reaching up to cover his visor. You saw Bumblebee tense beside you, so before any bickering could inevitably blow up, you leaned up and took a deep breath.
“She talked about cybertronians getting along with organics and stuff. It was really weird.” You finally managed to work up enough courage to add to the conversation, even if your eyes still stayed stuck and glued to the cement beneath your sneakers. “Then she said that we have a lot in common, and she left.”
“She said that she has a lot in common with who?” Ratchet’s voice from behind you startled you only slightly. The older mech was leaning over you so he could meet your eyes, and you had to crane your neck back to see it. He had one optic ridge arched in question. “You?”
“I mean– I think?” You looked away from his optics, glazed eyes scanning the faceplates of the other Autobots to gauge their reactions. “She was looking right at me when she said it.”
Both Ratchet and Prowl looked to Optimus, then Bumblebee and Bulkhead did the same after staring down at you for a moment longer. Clearly they were all looking to their leader to see what he would think about the strange encounter.
The noble Autobot in question had his optics trained on you for a long few seconds—long enough to make your stomach churn at the unwanted attention. “And you’re sure you weren’t followed?”
“Honestly?” Bumblebee shrugged, his features flinching at the sudden realization. “I hope not. If she’s actually been following us for almost a stellar cycle, I had no idea.”
You looked from your friend and back up to the taller leader. Bumblebee didn’t answer his question, so you did. “I don’t think she followed us back to the plant tonight, no. We kept checking behind us and we never saw anything weird.”
Optimus let out a huff of air. Then the mech turned slightly and began to pace for just a moment. He was very clearly deep in thought, squinting his narrowed optics and still holding his chin within his servo. Then he heaved a heavy exvent and turned to meet the optics of his surrounding and expectant comrades. “I don’t like it.”
“Who would?” Ratchet quipped, his tone dropping into thick sarcasm. “A techno-organic stalking humans wasn’t exactly what I would have expected for our roster.”
“A techno-organic?” Your voice cracked. “Is that what she is?”
Optimus let out a hmph, then squared his shoulders before he turned to face Prowl and Bulkhead on his right. “I’m going to scope it out, see if she’s still in the area. Prowl, you’ll come with.”
The mech in question nodded wordlessly. His helm turned to his right, hidden optics undoubtedly landing on you, and you could feel yourself shrinking deeper into your own skin under the weight of his stare. You tried to avoid his gaze but before you could internally explode over it, he’d already looked away once more.
Neither one of you had spoken a word to each other since he’d lashed out at you—not really. There wasn’t really any need for it. You’d tried your best to hide away from his intense presence more often than not, and Bumblebee also made that quite easy for you. The scout very obviously had never liked Prowl from the start—and that feeling was mutual—long before you’d showed up in their lives, so keeping his charge away from the irritable grouch became one of his top priorities very quickly. Especially after you refused to tell him about how your ‘conversation’ went.
“You two–” Optimus turned to point at Bulkhead, then to Bumblebee, “–stay here with [Name] until we get back with a report.”
Bulkhead nodded. Bumblebee folded his arms across his chassis and dropped his helm to the side. There was a sharp scowl adorning his faceplate and his narrowed optics looked anywhere else but at the commanding leader. The scout was muttering something, but it was too quiet for you to catch it all. Something about ‘my charge’ and ‘I never get to patrol for stuff like this.’
You blinked at him, then rolled your eyes and shook off the remaining nerves as they fired warning after warning in your brain. You were ever so slowly beginning to get a grip on your anxious thoughts, but it was still a fight nonetheless. Plus, it wasn’t like you’d be able to truly relax with the newfound knowledge of an alien stalker on the loose.
Optimus stepped into the space between yourself and the yellow mech with Prowl following just a few paces behind. Once again, you could feel the weight of his stare burning the surface of your skin as he stalked quietly past. But that time, you chose not to meet it.
Maybe ignoring Prowl enough actually would make it all go away.
The two beings exited through the open bay door and Ratchet closed it swiftly behind them. When he turned back to face the abnormal silence, he found a stagnant room with three youngsters expectantly staring back at him.
A scowl rippled along his scarred faceplate, “What are you all staring at? Go play one of those human games—or whatever mindless slag you love to distract yourselves with.”
The old mech ambled away and into his own medical bay. That left yourself, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead all staring after him—until you turned to look back at the scout, then to the wrecker.
With the both of them stupidly staring back and Bumblebee being abnormally quiet, you threw your arms up in the air and widened your eyes.
Bulkhead blinked, then his helm turned just slightly to the side. “What now?”
You simply shrugged, eyes surveying him and Bumblebee repeatedly. “I dunno.”
“We do what Ratchet said!” Bumblebee suddenly jumped in the spot where he stood, his arms waving animatedly before him and his optics squinting in a suspicious look. Then his ever-present mischievous smirk came back brighter than ever. “Distract ourselves with mindless human slag!”
You could feel a shiver run through your insides, but you matched the energy nonetheless. “I don’t… ew, dude. Just ew. You make it sound so gross.”
“You’re gross!” Bumblebee barked defensively as he pointed a digit at you. “I’m just trying to make sure we don’t rust while we wait stellar cycles for them to come back.”
The young ‘Bot turned on his heel and sauntered across the living space toward the mouth of the hallway. He stopped short just before disappearing around the edge of the wall where he could still see you and the giant green mech standing behind you. After a long moment again filled with silent staring, his optic lids dropped and he tipped his helm to the side, “Well? What’re you guys waiting for? Come on!”
The sound of Bulkhead’s shifting parts finally made you move when you realized he’d obeyed without a second thought, and you did just the same. Scrambling to catch up with enormous beings wasn’t as easy as it looked—not to mention holding that pace while trying to keep up with them. Their legs were way longer than yours, after all.
Bumblebee led the two of you back into his own living quarters. Once the young ‘Bot was inside the space, he turned and waited for Bulkhead and yourself to step in before shoving the heavy door closed behind you. Then he scampered across the concrete floor to the opposite wall and hurriedly rummaged through a pile of electronics. Wires and batteries flew into the air and all over the place as he tossed them away, earning him a bark from you after you’d dodged one of the many pieces of flying debris.
“Watch it, dude!” Another small battery flew past your skull. How could he even manage batteries with servos as large as his own? You didn’t know—but you did know that you didn’t want to get clobbered with them. “You’re gonna hit me with those.”
A sharp tang sounded off from Bulkhead’s pede as he was struck with the end of a powercable. One side of his oversized jaw twitched upward in irritation at the contact. “Maybe [Name] should have some armor around here.”
Your eyes shot up to find his optics, wide and amazed and sparkling with sudden interest. “Whoa! I want armor! That would be so sick!”
A scoff came from the hyperfocused scout across the room, but he didn’t look away from whatever he was trying to find. “[Name] doesn’t need armor! She has me.”
“That’s exactly the problem.” Bulkhead leaned forward with one servo outstretched as if he wanted to cover you with it, but he stopped just before reaching you when Bumblebee barked excitedly.
“Aha!” The yellow mech jumped backward and pumped his servos into the air triumphantly, then he turned and presented the object in his grasp to yourself and the just as equally confused Autobot standing behind you.
It was a large box of some kind—dark gray and black in color with cables coming out of the backside of it and a large lens on it’s front.
Bumblebee’s smug smile tugging at his faceplate made you want to make some kind of joke to fluster him. However, your genuine curiosity outweighed the need to do so. “And this is–?”
“A media player.” He stated matter-of-factly, optics closed.
You blinked at him before your eyelids dropped just slightly, even if he couldn’t see it. “That’s a projector.”
“No, it’s my media player.” The Autobot reared back and shot you a look of feigned disgust. “It plays media.”
You had to resist the urge to smile teasingly. “Yeah. Also known as a projector.”
“No, it’s–!”
“Oh, who cares what it’s called!” Bulkhead snapped from behind you. His booming voice was more than enough to get anyone to shut up. “It plays movies! So we’re watching a movie. Right?”
“Right!” Bumblebee smiled brightly, then he looked down at you and winked. “So go get your big pile of tarps while I set this thing up.”
You rolled your eyes and sighed dramatically, but turned to find your mess of blankets nonetheless.
Over the last month, you’d obtained some king-sized blankets of your own to keep at the plant. Soft, plush, and warm quilted ones that offered a level of comfort you didn’t even have in your own bedroom at home. After you’d discovered this, you almost wished you had purchased more than the few residing in Bumblebee’s quarters to keep at the house too. But something in the back of your brain told you that it wasn’t exactly just the blankets offering comfort—it was the company you had when you were nestled here within them. Plus, Liz would wonder what you’d spent all that money on.
After you’d assembled a mess of blankets on the floor to your liking, you kicked off your sneakers and leaped into them with an excited yap. Almost instantly, you were buried in the soft and feathery material and it was a welcomed invitation to immediately relax. You allowed your muscles to go limp and your shoulders to slump so you could sink even further down on your back, closing your eyes in bliss as you did so.
Until a shadow loomed, blocking out the dim light that was beyond your eyelids. So you opted to crack one eye open.
Staring down at you was Bulkhead. The wrecker had titled his helm in what looked like confusion, one of his optic ridges was arched and his jaw quirked upward in a half smile. “What are you doing?”
You could only return his smile as you closed your eyes again. “Basking in the beauty and comfort of some really soft blankets. You should try it sometime.”
You could hear Bulkhead’s physical reaction; leaning backward while undoubtedly continuing to arch his optic ridge as he replied, “Uh, we don’t really need blankets. And I can’t even really… feel them… I guess?”
You cracked an eye open once more so you could see him again. “You can’t? Why not?”
“Uh, well–” The huge mech leaned further back and looked away awkwardly, “–we don’t have exposed protoforms, so we can’t really feel stuff like that.”
You leaned up while gazing at him in shock, curiosity rounding your eyes. “You can’t? Are you sure?” You threw one hand over your shoulder and pointed at Bumblebee with your thumb. “Because if I so much as flick that dude’s plating, he gets all freaked out about how much it hurts.”
The yellow scout’s helm shot upward from where he’d originally been focused on plugging in the cables for the projector. His cheeks were blown up and his optics were wide and angry, like he couldn’t believe that you’d actually say that to another member of the team. “Hey!”
“What?” You threw a sideways glance over your shoulder and tried to stifle your snort of laughter, “It’s true and you know it! It happened like, four hours ago!”
“No, it’s not!” Bumblebee jumped in place and threw his servos up into the air. Then he turned his optics on Bulkhead. “Listen, she likes to make stuff up all the time, so I wouldn’t–”
“Nah. I believe her. She’s not making that up.” The larger Autobot blinked and suppressed a rumble of laughter in his own chassis.
The reaction instantly earned him exasperated shouting from across the room. “What? Why?!”
“Because that so sounds like something you would do and it happens all the time.” Bulkhead snickered in a giddy tone of voice and you couldn’t help the laugh that broke out.
The younger ‘Bot threw his servos all over the place like he was struggling to bat the airborne insults away. “I–! You–! I can’t even–!”
He stood there staring between you and the wrecker for a long moment, then whirled on his pedes and very obviously tried his hardest to focus his efforts back on the projector. Then came the unmistakable sounds of his fans kicking on.
Your explosive laughter finally broke free, simply unable to hold it in anymore. Every few seconds through your cracked eyes, you could see him bristling at the sound while he rummaged through the mess of cables in his servos. Though it was extremely difficult, you tried to speak brokenly through your fit. “Oh– come on, Bee! We’re just– we’re just messing with you.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Laugh it up back there!” Bumblebee’s voice had developed a slight sting, then he turned and squinted at you harshly. “‘Cause you’re so gonna pay for that.”
“Ohhh.” Your tone droned up and down through a mischievous smile and you squinted back. “I’m so scared.”
“You don’t even know the half of it–” He murmured menacingly. Then without warning, he turned and leaped forward, stamping his pedes on the concrete and stopping just short of your blanket pile. The action made you clumsily fall back into the pillowed mess with a yelp, but he hardly heard it because he was too busy shouting, “–because you’re about to scream your little organic head off!”
“What?” Your arms worked to shove yourself upright again and your voice broke through the movement.
Bumblebee leaned all the way over, looming above you with his usually-suspect smug smile. “It’s scary movie time.”
“Oh, great.” A laugh, then you rolled your eyes. “Now I get to listen to you scream like a little girl for the next two hours.”
“Yeah. That’s usually what happens.” Bulkhead, still standing behind you, snickered.
“Wha–!” Bumblebee lurched backward like he’d been physically struck and cursed, “Don’t make me laugh, [Name]. Primus.”
He ate his words, however.
Because only about forty minutes into the movie, Bumblebee was shivering beside you. He was struggling to suppress it, but you saw it as clear as day. Bulkhead sat on your opposite side with his pedes situated in front of him comfortably and even he was casting you sideways glances at times. Both of you saw it perfectly clear, even in the light that only came from the projection and the blue string lights around the room.
Then came the most glorious possible thing that could ever grace your eyes.
A creature in the projection jumped forward, and the scout let out the highest shriek you’d ever heard in your life. Not only did you have no idea his voice could even reach that level of volume, but his frantic flailing and the distance his body tumbled backward only made it all the more epic. The screeching lasted for a long few seconds, and when he finally stopped scrambling for a grip on anything within range that he could grab onto, he froze.
He saw you and Bulkhead staring at him with massive eyes and optics respectively. Then came the howling laughter. You’d rolled onto your side in your blanket nest, completely unable to breathe, just as Bulkhead fell backward with a loud crash as his plating met solid concrete. The ground beneath the fabrics trembled just slightly as he shouted broken words through his fit, and your chest began to hurt without a proper breath.
The small ‘Bot squinted at you both while you were lost in the elation. He shuffled over and sat back down without a word—only bitterly narrowed optics and a curled lip as he watched you both struggling to compose yourselves.
When you finally leaned up once more, you were wiping fresh tears from the corners of your eyes with the backs of each of your hands. Your laughter had simmered down into sporadic whimpers, like you were genuinely trying to silence yourself and it was close to an impossible feat.
Bulkhead was now upright once more as well, and you only knew that because you’d recognized the familiar sound of shifting metal. You cast your eyes to your left where the ever-silent scout sat silently—no doubt internally simmering like a tea kettle.
Finally and after a heavy sigh, you managed to form coherent words, “You can hold my hand if you want t–”
“I don’t need hand-holding!” Bumblebee flinched away like your outstretched hand was a loaded weapon, “You need hand-holding!”
More laughter ensued—as if his torture was never going to end.
It wasn’t much longer before the movie ended with just a few more jumpscares. Bumblebee tried to hide his fear, but that was absolutely an impossible task. He didn’t know how to quell his trembling, nevermind stifle his vocal panic. The young mech was the most vocal of any of the Autobots, so naturally it would make sense that he couldn’t handle sitting quietly through any movie—and a scary one at that. Truly, it was a glorious thing to witness and it helped your anxiety fade away more and more by the minute.
You couldn’t stop a loud yawn from announcing your exhaustion. It really had been yet another long day, and the emotional adrenaline-fueled fluctuations had taken their toll. Bulkhead agreed that it was time for stasis, and he left without teasing his younger comrade any more than he already had.
You stood up and climbed out of your blanket nest clumsily, nearly tripping over your own foot as you did so. Bumblebee was in the process of closing the hangar door behind Bulkhead, but he stopped when he heard your voice.
“Hey!” You were waggling one finger at him when he turned to look at you, “Come on. You know the drill.”
Bumblebee’s shoulders slumped and he squeezed his optic lids shut, angling his helm upward to groan at the ceiling. “Ugh! You and your protoform.”
Your response came after a curt giggle. “No. It’s called privacy. And you need to get used to it.”
Bumblebee was halfway through opening up the door once again when he turned to shoot you a confused look. “I just don’t get it! I mean– why? I have a protoform too, y’know. It’s not that crazy.”
You eyed him and quirked one brow. “Can I see it?”
Instantly, he snapped his mouth shut, his optics blew up, and you heard his fans kick on. “Uh, well–”
“Exactly.” You shook your head and laughed lightly, simply waving your hand at him. “Now scram. I’ll be done in not even a full minute.”
“Ugh.” He sighed, but he didn’t argue any further.
At the sound of that massive door sliding shut, you turned your focus over to your little makeshift shelf to the right of his television setup. Within it, you’d accumulated a bit of your clothes from home to keep at the plant. There were way too many times where you’d been showered with dirt over and over again. Bumblebee was still learning that in a dirt lot or a muddy patch of grass, he should at least move away from you before transforming as soon as you left his interior.
That, and you really just wanted to have some comfy clothes to change into after a long day of robot shenanigans running amuck.
Once you were comfortably tucked into a pair of sweatpants and your biggest sweatshirt, you called for your friend to enter the room once more. Bumblebee slowly cracked the door without looking in, asked if you were sure, and pushed the door open further once he had your confirmation.
For a ‘Bot that pretends to be annoyed all the time, he sure did respect your demands. Most of the time.
Bumblebee quickly closed the hangar door behind him, flipped that huge lightswitch on the wall next to it, then took a few paces over to his berth and sat down on the edge of it. His bright blue optics lit up tiny dust particles as they floated around his helm and in front of his faceplate, watching you curiously.
You were in the middle of tossing some blankets up and around your head, very obviously in the process of making your blanket pile comfortable to sleep in once more. After settling your heavy quilted blanket across the divot in the middle, you climbed in and allowed the warm fabric to swallow you almost completely.
Bumblebee’s optics focused on you for a moment longer. Then he let out a dramatic sigh and flopped over onto his back, slowly pushing himself into a comfortable place across the length of the berth with his pedes. “That was a long day.”
Silence, and then a reply muffled by blankets. “It was.”
His optics searched the ceiling, pipes and concrete illuminated by bright royal blue string lights. Then he smiled, “I’m starting to think I should keep you away from Bulkhead.”
“What?” He heard you shift and lean up, but he didn’t look. “No! Why?!”
“Because every time you guys are together, you gang up on me!” Bumblebee rolled onto his side so he’d be able to see you from the edge, “Bullying isn’t cute, y’know.”
“Oh, come on. You bully me all the time!”
True, he thought. “Yeah, but I don’t bully you the way you bully me when he’s in the room.”
“What?” He could see you staring up at him, your jaw working to form some kind of retort, but you gave up after a moment and flopped back down into your makeshift bed once more. “Wimp.”
Bumblebee lurched upward with his arms and digits outstretched. “See?! Exactly!”
“Oh my god.” Your laughing made him smile.
The mech leaned back down and settled himself once more and a comfortable silence fell across the dimly lit room. Silence was never really something he liked, however. “That femme was really weird.”
More silence, then came a tentative reply from down below him. “Yeah. I don’t like her.”
“Me neither.” Bumblebee scowled. “And she called you sweetspark! Only I can do that!”
He heard a tiny laugh, but you didn’t reply.
He narrowed his optics up at the ceiling, deep in a bitter thought. “Also, if she’s been rogue for a long time like she said, why didn’t she get rid of her slag insignia? It’s so easy.”
You leaned up out of the warmth once again in favor of finding his optics. “Really? How… do you even do that? Does it hurt?”
“It can. You can get a new piece of plating, or smelt it off. Usually you need a medic to do it for you.” The Autobot above you murmured, then you heard his parts shifting as a violent shiver wracked his form. “But smelting it off would probably feel worse than Unicron himself.”
You scrunched your nose and titled your head, confused. “Uni-what? What about a unicorn?”
There was a sharp tang. Bumblebee definitely just clapped his forehead with his servo. “Unicron. He’s the… Uh, actually that’s a really long story. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”
“Huh. Okay.”
Another long pause came and went. Your eyes drifted from the edge of the berth above you and floated over the floor, then the walls, the many stolen street signs and posters, and the royal blue lights up above.
The sound of metal shifting grasped your attention once more, however.
“Hey, [Name]? Uh– do you…” Yet another long pause, and Bumblebee’s voice was way quieter than you’d ever heard it before. “Do you wanna, um– maybe go to stasis up here?”
You blinked, and suddenly your cheeks were burning and hot to the touch. “You mean up there with you?”
“Yeah, uh–” He sat up yet again, his voicebox faltering like he didn’t know how to speak, “I mean, you can if you want to.”
There was a warm feeling in your chest. And it grew, and grew, and grew until it threatened to combust. You kept your cool however, calm and level and not at all feeling warm from head-to-toe all over. Your lengthy silence made that feeling grow with intensity and you suddenly found yourself needing to deflect somehow, so you said the first thing that came to mind. “You scared up there all by yourself?”
“No!” He barked.
A hefty laugh fell out of you at his instant and defensive response. “Relax, sunshine. I’m just messing with you. And yes, I would like that.”
There was some quiet muttering that you couldn’t really hear clearly, and then the mech was moving to stand. Bumblebee loomed over you only for a second before he reached down to gently pick you up and out of the blankets. He placed you softly on the foot of the berth and leaned back down once more to retrieve your warm haven, then turned and dumped them at the head of the bare slab of metal. You let out a giggle and you weren’t sure if he heard it, but if he did, he chose not to react.
He waited for you to climb back into them before he slowly and very cautiously followed suit. By the time you were done fluffing them, his helm was already laying beside you.
Your eyes drifted over his faceplate, his optics, and down to where his servos were crossing his chassis. He refused to look at you but he obviously knew you were staring, because the sound of his fans spinning harder was way too loud for you to miss.
Yet another chuckle, then you settled in and pulled part of that heavy quilt over your legs. “Thank you, o’ great hero.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.”
A curt snort, then you finally allowed your muscles to relax and you fell limp in the warmth and safety once more.
With a heavy sigh, you tried to focus on releasing each limb from any lingering tension one by one. Staring at the ceiling proved to be interesting just like Bumblebee was doing, but it wasn’t because you were blushing like he was.
Really, you were just starting to analyze without even realizing it.
The spider-femme—a techno-organic—really was weird. Not to mention everything she said and her threatening undertone. She mentioned organics and cybertronians getting along, fully admitted to stalking you and your best friend for weeks, and what she said when she mentioned ‘holding onto that one while you can?’ It was extremely unsettling at the bare minimum.
You couldn’t help but shiver.
Somehow, you’d managed to fall asleep not long after that. But Bumblebee was wide awake, and he absolutely could not relax.
At some point in the night, he rolled over so he could see you. You were there, in the plant with him, and nothing would happen to you. He was sure of it.
But there was this sinking, gnawing feeling that wouldn’t release it’s grip on his spark. It pulsated and grew the more he thought about it and he could feel the tremors within his circuits through every nanokilk that passed by.
No techno-organic former-Decepticon would ever get their nasty servos anywhere near you, and he would make sure of that. Because he’d fry their protoform from the inside out if they ever tried.
₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊
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