Work Text:
[Some lyrics are changed to better fit the characters]
Bumblebee: They/It
Optimus Prime: He/Him
Bulkhead: He/They/It
Ratchet: He/It
Prowl: Succu/Lent/Lents/Lents/Succulentself and They/Them
Arcee: Any pronouns, but is uncomfortable being called it/its
Thunderstrike (oc): He/Zey
Stripe Minor (oc): She/He
Sentinel Prime: He/Him
Ultra Magnus: Tech/Techne/Techan/Techself and He/Him
Starscream: He/They
Megatron: It/He
●● They'd take the world off my shoulders,
if it was ever hard to move. ●●
Optimus Prime leaned over his work desk and propped his helm up with his servos. He had been up for joors filling out paperwork and working on new techniques. He rubbed his optic lenses harshly, trying to focus them on the words on the datapad, but to no avail.
Suddenly, the door to his office opened. Bumblebee, the maintenance team's resident chaos-maker and scout, stood in the opening. "Bumblebee, why are you awake?" "I could ask you the same thing," The minibot grinned. They closed the door and skipped up to his desk, observing the massive stacks of both complete and uncomplete datapads. "Do you need anything?" they asked with concern, "I'd be happy to help. You need to recharge as well." Optimus felt a strange warmth spread through his chassis. He could feel himself smile. "Bumblebee, I appreciate your concern, but please, go recharge. You do not need to worry about–!!" Optimus was cut off by Bumblebee hopping into his lap. It looked up at him and pouted.
"C'mon, boss bot! Can't this wait?" Bumblebee leaned into Optimus' chassis. The strange warmth began to spread to his faceplate and tanks. "I…I think Magnus would not mind if I…was a little late…" the Prime stuttered. The minibot in his lap was positioned so their pelvic plating was flush. When did Optimus begin to feel so hot? Bumblebee looked oblivious to Optimus’s rising core temperature as they grinned and said, "In that case, let's get you to berth, big guy! I'm not recharging until you're recharging."
●● It'd turn the rain to a rainbow,
when I was living in the blue. ●●
Optimus watched his team through the monitors. The outside was in a state that the organics called "foggy"; it was absolutely dreadful. Since the outside was cold and wet, the maintenance-turned-combat team stayed in their base. The atmospheric state seemed to have zapped them all of their energy.
Except for Bumblebee.
Bumblebee was out scouting, despite Ratchet and Optimus insisting they stay at base like the rest of them. They had just shook their helm and smiled before reassuring them that they'd be fine, and there was nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, not only did Optimus now have to worry about his beloved scout getting hurt by the organic atmosphere, the Autobot base was now fully and treacherously quiet. Nobot had any energy to do stuff. No Bulkhead painting, Ratchet experimenting, unexpected calls from–
Wait, when did Optimus start referring to Bumblebee as his "beloved scout?"
That's weird. Oh great, there it is again…that strange warmth. He should get that checked out.
A couple joors later, the team leader saw the base entrance open to permit Bumblebee inside. The minibot smiled and skipped down the hallway. Optimus watched his scout keenly, observing the minibot so closely that he failed to notice that aforementioned minibot was approaching the monitor room.
"Heya, boss! Knew you'd be in here!" The energetic mech approached their Prime happily. "Bumblebee, glad you made it back safely," Optimus smiled warmly. The minibot stopped a few strides away from Optimus. "Of course I did: do you really think some mist is gonna stop me?" they asked rhetorically. Warmth spread through Optimus' chassis, up to his auditory fins and down to his pelvic plating, and he felt his servos become slightly sticky with condensation.
"No, I suppose not…now, scouting report, please?" Optimus more so asked instead of ordered.
~~~~~
Optimus returned to his monitor duty. He watched Bumblebee approach Bulkhead and Prowl, who were sitting in the rec room. Prowl was sitting quietly on the sofa while Bulkhead sat against the wall, his helm occasionally hitting the wall in frustration. Bumblebee skipped into the room. "Wow, I thought y'all would've done something – anything – by now. Come on, let's play video games!" The minibot jumped over the back of the sofa and landed next to Prowl. If Optimus wasn’t watching as closely as he was, he wouldn’t have seen the small smile on the cyberninja's faceplates. Bulkhead pulled themselves up from the wall and sat in front of the sofa instead. He too was smiling, just more noticeably. "How was your patrol?" "It was surprisingly nice! There weren't a lot of humans out, so it was easier to get around," the minibot reported to their best friend. "Interesting," Prowl nodded curtly before resuming lents quiet state. Bumblebee smiled. “You’re smiling!” “No, I’m not,” Prowl covered lents intake with a servo. Bumblebee went to pry it off. “C’mon, nature boy! It’s pretty!”
~~~~~
Optimus stayed laser-focused on Bumblebee for the rest of the solarcycle, watching it through the monitors. Towards the "afternoon," as the organics called it, the minibot visited Ratchet. The elderly medic sat at his desk, helm propped up in his servos. "Hey doc!" Bumblebee sauntered towards Ratchet and held out an energon cube, "I haven't seen you all solarcycle, you alright?" The medic sat up and spun around in his seat. A tired smile split Ratchet's faceplate when he noticed Bee’s offering. “Thanks Bee, I haven’t refueled today,” the elderly medic took the cube gratefully. The minibot hopped onto a medical berth, letting its stabilizers dangle. Optimus found the sight endearing. He heard the sound of Bulkhead knocking a paint can over and smiled. Through the hall camera speaker, he heard the faint sound of Prowl mumbling. The base was alive once more.
●● Why then, if he’s so perfect,
do I still wish that it was you?
Perfect don’t mean that it’s workin’,
So- ●●
“What can I do?”
Bumblebee sat on the ground next to their leader. Optimus had never felt weaker in his sparkcycle, having to rely on his team for emotional support. He should be lifting THEM up, dammit! But here was Bumblebee, offering help even when Optimus didn’t ask for it. “Bumblebee…” he rumbled. The scout reached out and rested a servo on his pauldron. “Let me help you, Optimus,” it gently rubbed the rough plating. The Prime shuddered at the sound of Bumblebee saying his designation…also from the frame-rattling sob that he had failed to choke back. He swallowed dryly. Bumblebee pulled the taller mech gently, holding him against itself, rubbing the mech’s pauldrons. The Prime let himself be moved, struggling to hold back further opticfluid. Bumblebee whispered sweet words to the mech as he sobbed, massaging tense armor and plating.
●● When you’re out of sight,
in my mind… ●●
Optimus sat in his berthroom. He laid across his berth, chassis and helm dangling off the side. They had returned to Cybertron. The loud, harsh snores from Sentinel’s room were a harsh contrast to the soft—but equally as loud—snores that Bulkhead had. He didn’t realise how much the ambient noise of the Earth base during the lunarcycle affected his recharge. The Prime huffed and sat up, feeling the energon rush to his helm. Somebot else had to be awake.
~~~~~
He had been correct. After carefully escaping the authority quarters, Optimus had found Bumblebee in one of the eastern training rooms. The minibot looked up from their practice and grinned. “Can’t sleep either, huh?” the yellow Cybertronian spoke. The training rooms were soundproofed to prevent disruption during meetings. “Yeah…I did not realise how this change would affect me,” the Prime nodded curtly. Bumblebee shrugged. “Yeah, I figured it’d be diffcult. Bulkhead and I usually talk each other to recharge, but no~, they have the berthrooms separated by size!” The minibot punched the training dummy it had been working on before Optimus came in. The training dummy was knocked off its base and collided with the wall. “I understand your frustrations. I also managed to forget that Sentinel is a terrible snorer,” Optimus grinned, knowing this new dirt on the other Prime would lighten Bumblebee’s mood. He was right. The minibot lit up. “He snores?! Well, of course he does—with a chin that size, I’d imagine it easy for his vents to get confused…” the minibot shrugged cheekily.
~~~~~
After a few joors, (and sparring matches, Bumblebee was getting better at deflecting melee weapons), Bumblebee left for their berthroom. Optimus watched them leave. His spark felt unreasonably heavy. They were just training together, why did it leaving him kind of…hurt? Well, he wasn’t really in pain, but it was incredibly tight in his chassis. It was like a heavy weight was slowly dropped on his chassis. He really, really needs to see Ratchet soon. Optimus decided to go back to his own berthroom and recharge on it.
●● ‘Cause sometimes, I look in its eyes,
and that’s where I find a glimpse of us. ●●
Optimus stilled, inches away from Ratchet, a servo on the medic’s upper stabilizer. “Is something wrong, Orion?” the medic asked. “I— no, I’m fine,” Primus, how embarrassing…he had thought of Bumblebee when going in for a kiss with his lover.
A part of his processor didn’t mind the notion.
●● And I try to fall for his touch, ●●
Ratchet held the Prime close, holding the mech flush against its chassis. The Prime shuddered. This was so familiar, yet so different…
●● but I’m thinkin’ of the way it was. ●●
Optimus let the young minibot pull him close. “Come on, bossbot! Dance with me!” Bumblebee pulled the Prime closer, touching their chassises together. The Prime smiled and laughed. “I’m afraid I am a little rusty…” “I don’t care! Let's dance!”
●● Said I’m fine and acted oblivious,
but I’m only here passing time in its arms. ●●
Ratchet held Optimus there. The Prime halfheartedly wrapped his arms around the medic, mirroring his position.
●● Hopin’ I’ll find…a glimpse of us.
Tell me he savours your glory, ●●
Optimus watched Bumblebee and their sparkmate dance around the room. He had monitor duty, and it appeared that today was the day the couple wanted to be extra lovey-dovey. Thunderstrike, a dark blue seeker who worked with the Autobots Special Ops team, spun the scout and pulled them closer, kissing them gently on the forehelm. Optimus felt jealousy settle in his tanks. There was no way that this…bot could truly love Bumblebee. There was no way…right? They’d be broken up by next equicycle, right?
●● Do zey laugh the way I did?
Is this a part of your story?
One that I had never lived… ●●
::Thunderstrike!:: Bumblebee jumped into Thunderstrike’s arms. He caught it flawlessly and spun around, laughing gleefully. “Beebee!” the seeker nuzzled against the minibot’s neck. The minibot visibly shivered, but allowed zem to stay there. Their battle mask temporarily unlatched to peck Thunderstrike on the cheekridge. The Special Ops mech held the scout closer to zem. “Hey, no cute couple stuff until our report's done!” Stripe Minor joked. Thunderstrike bent down and let Bumblebee safely down to the ground. It chirped sadly when its pedes hit the ground. “I’ll be right back, okay?” The mech kissed the minibot on the forehelm and followed zer leader to Magnus' office. “So, you really like him, huh?” Arcee teased. Bumblebee hit her on the arm and buzzed angrily. “Hey, no need to get offended!” the femme backed away.
Optimus watched diligently, anger settling in his chassis. This was NOT what he wanted, nor what he expected. He thought this would’ve been over a long time ago. How did he let this happen?! Why did ANYBOT let this happen?! How could Stripe Minor just walk by this situation and let them be?! Shouldn’t she be concerned about this? We’re returning to Earth soon! Calm down, nobot knows Thunderstrike better than zer Minor, right? I’ll ask him later…
~~~~~
“You called me, Optimus Prime?” The slim mech closed the office door quietly. Optimus looked up from his work and tightened his mouth into a straight line. “Yes. Please, take a seat,” he managed to squeeze past the lump in his throat cables. The Mercedes-Benz Special Ops specialist sat down in the office stool Optimus had already grabbed for him. Smiling, Stripe Minor asked why she was called. The Prime gathered himself before speaking. “I have concerns about Thunderstrike and Bumblebee’s…relationship,” the Prime began, “and I was wondering if you felt the same about it.” Stripe Minor’s smile fell and his opticridges furrowed together. “Concerns? Why? They’ve known each other for a while, I doubt either of them have plans to hurt the other,” Stripe spoke softly. “They’ve had previous relations?” “Yes, they went to school together…they actually grew up next to each other, same streetway,” the Minor nodded curtly. “And…they have never fought?” Optimus dug deeper. “Well, of course! But they haven’t fought recently. Seems they grew out of it,” Stripe Minor leaned back, “But, why are you concerned?”
“I am simply concerned for the mental and physical well-being of my scout. I do not know how they will handle being apart from Thunderstrike,” the Prime lied. To be honest, he couldn’t quite understand why he cared so much. They looked so happy together, and he hated it.
●● Maybe one day, you’ll feel lonely…
and in zer eyes, you’ll get a glimpse. ●●
Optimus had never felt more torn in his life. It filled him with great joy that his beloved scout—Primus, there it is again…”beloved scout”—had found somebot that made them feel loved. However, it ripped at his spark that it wasn’t him. His frustration was not overseen by Ratchet. The medic glanced up at the Prime. “Why are you so upset?” “I do not know,” he lied. Ratchet’s optics tilted in concern. “You’re lying. Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Ratchet reached up and held his lover’s helm in their cold servos, “Of course, you do not have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable, but…” “But what?” Optimus met Ratchet’s servos, holding them against his cheekridges. “Sometimes…I feel like you’re not telling me anything. I don’t want you to think you need to hide things from me…” Ratchet leaned into Optimus. “I…I do not want to talk about it right now,” the Prime shook his helm gently.
~~~~~
Bumblebee laid against Thunderstrike’s chassis. They ran their digits across the complex detailing of his pauldrons, feeling the engraved lines and shapes. Thunderstrike massaged Bumblebee’s doorwings, which flicked happily at the touches. “Hey, Beebee?” the seeker spoke softly. ::Yeah, sweetspark?:: the minibot’s doorwings twitched upwards when Thunderstrike caressed a sensitive node. Said minibot moaned softly. The seeker smiled at its response, but it quickly fell. “I don’t think Optimus likes me,” Thunderstrike admitted. The minibot sat up. ::Really? Why?:: “Well, whenever we’re hanging out in the rec room and he’s there as well, he stares at me. It’s not a friendly look: in fact, it kind of looks like he wants me gone,” Thunderstrike sat up as well, pressing zer own chassis against Bumblebee’s. ::Does he? I never noticed. I’ll ask him about it,:: Bumblebee chirped and revved its engine. Thunderstrike fired his own in response. ::But for now, let's just cuddle. I don’t want to get up.:: Bumblebee beeped before pushing Thunderstrike back down and resuming their tracing. The seeker smiled and went back to Bumblebee’s doorwings.
●● Maybe you’ll start slippin’ slowly and find me again.
When you’re out of sight,
in my mind… ●●
Thunderstrike held the now able-to-speak Bumblebee tightly against his chassis. Optimus watched them embrace from a short distance. “Hey, be careful with them!” Ratchet yelled. “I know, I know, I just…” Bumblebee cut the seeker off with a kiss. Thunderstrike giggled breathlessly and nuzzled zer lover’s throat cables. Bumblebee wrapped its arms around the other’s pauldrons. “I missed you, Thunder…” “I missed you, too! What do you think I was doing? NOT missing you?!” Thunderstrike playfully scolded the minibot. Bumblebee laughed. The sound made Optimus heat up, even if he desperately wished it was him holding the little scout close, nuzzling against their throat cables, joking about how much he missed him…
“Come along, Optimus Prime. My office. You know the drill,” Ultra Magnus reminded him. Optimus begrudgingly followed techne to techan office, where Sentinel eyed him condescendingly before leaving.
●● ‘Cause sometimes, I look in its eyes,
and that’s where I find a glimpse of us…
And I try to fall for his touch, ●●
Optimus watched his lover recharge peacefully on the berth. The Prime clutched a dirty cleaning rag in his servo, sticky from spilled transfluid and lubricant. He sighed heavily and dropped the rag in his and Ratchet's shared cleaning basket before laying down next to him. Optimus curled around the medic and shuttered his optics.
●● But I'm thinking of the way it was.●●
Said I’m fine, and acted oblivious,
but I’m only here passing time in its arms.
Hoping I’ll find… ●●
Optimus winced. “Hey, be careful, you’re still recovering,” a familiar voice spoke softly. Pain pierced through the Prime’s systems. “Sentinel’s been put on probation,” Bumblebee told him, chuckling happily. Optimus slowly online his optics and saw the beautiful mech above him. The yellow Camaro held a sterile medical towel to his leader’s pauldron, which left them straddling the Prime’s chassis. Optimus smiled weakly. “I can’t believe he did that, but I never put him above assault,” the minibot grumbled. It lifted the cleaning rag gently and put it to the side. Cold air assaulted Optimus’s wounds, making him groan in agony. “I know, I know, give me a klik,” Bumblebee sympathised, “Ratchet will be happy you woke up, though.” Bumblebee reached for another, readily-sterilized medical towel and pressed it gently against the edges of the gash. “I can’t recall what happened…” “Yeah, Ratchet said you might not remember. Let me catch you up to speed…”
~~~~~
“So…Sentinel attacked me?”
Ratchet had since returned and, after much evaluation of Bumblebee’s job cleaning the gash, let Bumblebee stay. He was now welding the wound while Bumblebee distracted him. “Yeah, like I said before, Ultra Magnus put him on probation, tech won’t kick him to the curb unless you press charges,” the minibot scoffed before peering at the Prime. “Will you?” they asked. “Well—!” Optimus bit his glossa when the welder went over a particularly sensitive spot. “Sorry, dear. I know it hurts,” Ratchet soothed. Bumblebee leaned back in its seat and smiled. “You two are cute together!” they chirped.
●● …a glimpse of us. ●●
Bumblebee slowly online their optics. Optimus stood over the minibot, protecting it from the harsh medbay lights. A large servo cradled the minibot’s helm. “Bumblebee…?” the Prime asked softly. Bumblebee opened their intake to say something, but only static came out. It reached up to its throat cables curiously and felt the hole. “Bumblebee…” a static-filled sob racked Bumblebee’s frame as they realised what had happened. The Prime stayed there, comforting the minibot. “Optimus? What—Bee?! You’re awake!” Ratchet shoved Optimus out of the way. For a moment, the Prime almost shoved Ratchet back, but remembered that Ratchet was just trying to help.
●● Ooh,
Ooh-ooh-ooh ●●
Bumblebee danced to the high-paced organic song. They moved freely, enjoying the energy that coursed through its wires. Optimus watched from the doorframe. What felt like a billion emotions attacked him at once; admiration, love, joy, arousal, and excitement were a few among them that he could recognize. Optimus wondered if Bumblebee ever watched him the way Optimus watched them, but then again, Ratchet would never let Bumblebee anywhere near a monitor.
●● Ooh,
Ooh-ooh-ooh ●●
Bumblebee watched the lifeless form of Starscream fall. It seemed like the seeker—and everybot around them—was moving in slow motion. They could see the anger on Megatron’s faceplate, the horror in Knockout’s, the surprise in Ratchet’s, and most surprisingly, the pride in Optimus’. The Prime watched diligently, a proud smirk driving Megatron’s rage further. “Your scout has OFFLINED my commander!” The warlord went to kick Optimus in the midriff, but the Prime jumped back before it could. “Decepticons, fall back!” the tyrant bellowed.
~~~~~
“So.”
Bumblebee stood across from Optimus in his office. “Um…sorry?” “Why are you apologizing? You offlined a Decepticon in self-defense; their second-in-command, no less!” The Prime beamed. The minibot looked relieved. "Oh, thank Primus, I thought you were gonna get onto me for offlining somebot…I didn't really mean to do that, though…" the minibot trailed off. They looked a bit distraught. “Bumblebee, it is unfortunate that we have to lay down fellow Cybetronians lives, but sometimes it is all we can do,” Optimus spoke softly, attempting to soothe the minibot. Bumblebee looked up at him, opticfluid threatening to fall down its pretty faceplate; it broke Optimus’ spark to see them like that. “Do you need—?” “No, no, I’ll be fine, I just…” The minibot swallowed before continuing, “I didn’t- I didn’t want that to happen. I would never want that to happen to anybot! It- it felt like it wasn’t me when it happened!” Optimus had since stood and was now standing before the distraught minibot. He picked Bumblebee up and held them close. He felt warm opticfluid fall onto his pauldron from Bee’s optics.
They both stayed like this for a while.
●● ‘Cause sometimes, I look in his eyes, ●●
Optimus met Ratchet’s optics from across the room. The elderly medic’s optics were dim with boredom. Sentinel was yelling at the Magnus about being on probation. It did not seem to occur to Sentinel that this is the exact reason why he was put on probation in the first place.
●● And that’s where I find,
a glimpse of us… ●●
Optimus met Bumblebee’s optics. Their optics were bright with amusment. “What do you mean, Bumblebee’s staying?!” Sentinel bellowed. “Who do you think you’re talking to with that tone?” Ultra Magnus challenged the Prime. He ignored techne. “Have you not SEEN his—“ “Their.” “Have you not seen THEIR behavioural records?!” Sentinel snarled. The Magnus seemed more concerned about the misuse of Bumblebee’s pronouns than anything.
●● And I try to fall for its touch,
But I’m thinking of the way it was. ●●
Optimus pushed Ratchet away. The medic looked confused. “Optimus, are you alright?” “Yes, I…well, no, obviously, but…” The Prime stumbled over his words. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Ratchet reassured the mech. “I- no, it’s not quite that, it’s just that…” Ratchet suddenly realised what was happening. “Optimus, do you…” “I don’t. I’m sorry, Ratchet. I have loved another for a while, I just didn’t realise it.” Ratchet reset his voicebox. Optimus stood still, unsure as to what was going to happen from here. “I knew it,” The medic sighed, “Bumblebee, right? Oh, don’t give me that look, it’s fairly obvious. I didn’t say anything because…because I thought I could still make this…us…work. I don’t think you’re right for them, though…”
“Have you seen how happy Thunderstrike makes it?”
~~~~~
Ratchet and Optimus’ breakup spread like wildfire around the Autobot base. Optimus’ spark stung. More from Ratchet’s words than the actual breakup. Of course he knew how happy Thunderstrike makes Bumblebee! It made him want to rip the datapad in his servos apart and steal the minibot from that stupid seeker whenever he thought of them together. A knock on his office door caught his attention. “Come in,” He managed to grind out in a no-nonsense tone. To his surprise, Bumblebee stood in the doorway. “Bumblebee? I- this is unexpected. Come in,” The Prime stumbled briefly before regaining the ability to speak. The minibot closed the door gently and approached the Prime. Optimus felt himself heat up when Bumblebee walked around the desk to meet him. The minibot rested a servo on the Prime’s upper stabilizer. “You okay?” Bumblebee asked. They were obviously concerned. It tickled Optimus’ core that they cared so much.
“I will be fine, Bee.” “Okay— hey, you called me Bee!” The minibot’s optics lit up. Optimus almost purred at the sight. His scout was beautiful in every way.
●● Said I’m fine, and said I moved on,
but I’m only here passing time in my office.
Hoping I’ll find… ●●
Optimus finally finished his paperwork. He rubbed his optic lenses gently and leaned back in his seat. His backplates popped back into alignment as he did so. Optimus stood from his workdesk and left his office for his berthroom. On the way, he found the light on in one of the western training rooms. It was Bumblebee. The Prime frowned. Why was Bumblebee awake? The Prime decided to investigate. He opened the door to the training room and saw Bumblebee working out. The minibot peered up at him. “Hey boss! DId you finish your paperwork?” The minibot pushed themselves off the floor and to their pedes. “Yes. Why are you awake so early?” “I woke up a bit ago and couldn’t fall back into recharge, so I decided to do something,” Bumblebee gestured vaguely. “I see. Please do not push yourself too hard, we may have a Decepticon attack today,” Optimus predicted. “Got it, boss! Good night!” The minibot called after their Prime as he left.
The Prime wished he could’ve stayed, but he couldn’t. With every step he took towards his berth instead of back towards Bumblebee, his chassis tightened. Once he got to his berth, he saw the organic sun peeking above the horizon. Shuttering his optics, Optimus fell into recharge quickly. He dreamed of his beautiful scout, and the life he could give them. Maybe one day, when Thunderstrike isn’t in his way…
●● …A glimpse of us. ●●
…he’ll have them, if it’s the last thing he does.