Tyler didn't stick around for long, but he thanked me for helping to turn the tide of war during Chicago. I made sure to put the memory chips of the three deceased Autobots in my backpack, retrieving Bee's ring as I did so. After saying goodbye to Tyler, Bee had driven us back to the abandoned church. The rest of the Autobots and my human family were dispersed amongst the interior, doing their own thing. I greeted Cade first, leaving my backpack with him before returning to Bee.
He'd wandered off to a corner of the building, and was examining his cannon when I returned. "Bee, can you engage your holoform for a minute?" Bee didn't question it, transforming and engaging his holoform. "Is something wrong?" I shook my head, feeling optics on my back. It was most likely Optimus or Crosshairs. "No, I just have something for you." I retrieved his ring from my pocket, holding it in my fist to prevent him from seeing it. "Hold your hand out." Bee looked more sceptical now but did as I said.
With my own ring on my finger, I placed the silver engraved ring in his palm. He opened his eyes, a grin breaking out the moment he saw his ring. "No way, you got me a ring??" He placed it on his finger, and I then held up my own hand, showing off my ring. "Matching rings." It took a moment for it to sink in. "That... That's the ring I got for you for that human holiday. When you were still attending Princeton." I nodded, more than happy that he remembered. "You still have it." I nodded again, smiling. "Of course I have it. It means everything to me."
Before I could say anything else, Bee scooped me up into his holoform's arms, hugging me tightly. It was enough of a shock to cause a squeal to escape me, which startled the Autobots in the building. I hugged him back, but upon seeing the stares from the other Autobots, I patted Bee's shoulder, whispering to him. "I think we're annoying Drift and Crosshairs." Bee paused for a second, smirking in the direction of the two warriors. Then, without any hesitance, captured my lips with his.
| | |
Cade had put me in time out. He treated it seriously, too. Said I was 'encouraging Tessa' with my PDA. I'd tried to leave the corner of the church, but Crosshairs was playing the role of my guard, and it was getting on my nerves. He was finding it to be hilarious. It was only after twenty minutes had passed that Cade let me go. "No PDA, alright?" I shot Cade a glare as he reprimanded me. I was two seconds away from decking his ass on the concrete ground.
Shane had started a fire near the middle of the building a few minutes ago with the help of Hound, and Bee had taken to sitting on the floor in front of it in his bi-pedal form. With a helping hand from Bee, I climbed up to sit on his shoulder. Cade had tried to get me to stop, but he didn't know how long I'd been doing it. It was second nature for me now. "Hey, no smooching in front of me!" Tessa and Shane had previously been cuddled up together on a makeshift couch. Cade was having a go at them again.
"Poor Tessa. Her relationship is always under fire from Cade." Bee whirred quietly in response to my whispers. I had my legs tucked up close to my body, and my head resting against the side of Bee's neck. "You're so square. And who says smooching? What about Rose??" The Autobots attention was turned to me, cuddled up against Bee's neck. "Rose is an adult, she can do what she likes. You're my daughter, and I don't like seeing my daughter with some older guy." Sticking up for Tessa, I nonchalantly spoke.
"Well, that's not what you said earlier when you put me in time out. Also, Bee's a lot older than me, so I think Tessa's in the clear." Crosshairs snickered, covering it up as Optimus shot him a look. "Rose, I believe Cade is simply worried about the implications on Tessa's future, seeing that she is being courted by an older man." I shifted in place, slipping slightly on the smooth metal. This meant I had to hold onto something to keep myself in place. That thing happened to be one of Bee's neck cables. As soon as I grabbed it, he jolted forward, causing me to fall from his shoulder, shrieking as I did.
Optimus was nearest to us, and he only just managed to catch me, lurching forward with one servo outstretched. "Rose! Are you okay?" Slightly dizzy, I sat up in Optimus' hand, nodding to his question. "Yeah. I think so." Bee was shaking his head now, one hand on his neck where I had previously been sitting. "Bumblebee, are you well?" The bot didn't speak right away, looking around for a few seconds before focusing on Prime. "Yes. I don't know what happened."
Rubbing my hip, sore from where I had been caught by Optimus, I pulled the puppy dog eyes look at Bee. "I'm sorry I touched your neck cables. I was trying to reposition myself so I didn't slip off." Suddenly, Hound started to laugh. Very loudly. "Ah. Rose, would you mind taking a walk with me?" Shrugging to Optimus, the Prime made his way over to the other side of the building. "Now, Rose, I understand Ratchet spoke to you about Cybertronian biology during your time at NEST. Did he explain to you about a Cybertronian's weak spots?"
I raised an eyebrow, a sneaky look emerging on my face. I didn't mean to, but the notion of Bee having weak spots was too good of an opportunity to pass up on. "No. Care to explain?" Optimus held his hand up to a large piece of scaffolding, allowing me to climb onto it. "How shall I start..." I got comfortable, legs hanging off the wooden boards, crossed at the ankles. "Cybertronians are not all different from your species. While we may be of metal origin, we too have sensitive areas on our bi-pedal and altmode forms. The main spot for a Cybertronian is the neck cables, as they are exposed and control nerve endings. Bumblebee responded to your touch with such force because human skin is much softer than the metal of a Cybertronian."
I snuck a look at Bee. He was sitting in the same place, occasionally looking over in our direction. "Okay. Something I never asked Ratchet about was, uh," I was going red now. How was I supposed to ask Optimus of all people?? "Judging by your biological response, I'm assuming you want to know more about interfacing with my species?" I averted my eyes from Optimus, looking at the ground, or the opposite end of the building. "Yeah. You don't have to tell me, I'm just curious." Optimus nearly cracked a smile.
"I see. In your case, I do not know how it would work between a human and one of my kind. But since our holoform's are human and solid, I would suggest asking Bee about the subject another time. For now, I will give you the basics. Cybertronians are technically both genders, as we possess the reproductive anatomy of both a mech and a femme. Interfacing isn't something to be ashamed of on Cybertron, nor is asking one for aid in any kind of interfacing exploit. While it may be a shy subject for both you and Bumblebee, this is only because you are both different species, and react differently to the topic. Bumblebee may be open to trying such activities but will be very hesitant in his bi-pedal form, since humans are very fragile. Our sparks can be just as sensitive as any kind of reproductive anatomy since they are fused to our bodies and possess an energy that can latch onto any biological body that we become attached to. This is why Bumblebee feels so strongly for you. His spark has become attached to your presence, and will likely attempt to bond with you, even if it is not at Bumblebee's discretion."
I blinked once, then twice at the Prime. It took a moment for everything he said to properly sink in. "Wow. Okay. You said Cybertronians can also have weak spots in their altmodes." Optimus nodded. "Altmodes can be just as sensitive as our bi-pedal forms because, in our vehicular form, we can still feel everything that touches us. Like having a human passenger may feel odd or having a human sitting on our hood. We can still see everything that happens, mainly through our mirrors. Inside an altmode, we are most sensitive through things like the steering wheel, seats, and gear shift." Oh.
I gently bit my lip, remembering all those times I sat on Bee's hood or squirmed in the passenger's seat due to Sam's tickling. "So Bee can feel everything I do?" Optimus nodded once more. "Oh. Thank you for explaining it to me." Optimus gave me a tiny smile. "You are very welcome, Rose. Allow me to help you down." Optimus offered me a hand, helping me down from the tall scaffolding. As soon as I was on the ground, Optimus made his way over to Cade, having choice words with Crosshairs as he poked fun at Bee.
I was almost nervous now, hesitant to approach Bee. As soon as Bee spotted me, standing alone and unsure, he beeped softly. "Hey Bee," Now that his attention was on me, I couldn't just stay away from him. He'd probably think I was ignoring him. "Are you okay now? I didn't break anything?" The Autobot whirred, shaking his head. "C'mon Princess, we gotta talk." Bee suddenly transformed, opening his driver's side door for me. "Oh." What did Bee want to talk about? Did he want to break up??
Ignoring my brash thoughts, I got into the Camaro, being very gentle as I placed my hands on the steering wheel. "Where are we going?" Bee shut my door, speeding out of the building. "Quiet place. We need to talk." I deviated my gaze from Bee's steering wheel to look at the mass of civilians on the sidewalk. They all looked so happy. So content with their lives. Why couldn't I have that? Yeah, I loved Bee and my Autobot family, but I always had a tiny prick of regret in the back of my mind.
If I'd never gotten into that Camaro, knowing it was an alien, I would still be with Sam and my parents. "Is this place okay?" It was another abandoned building, although this one looked recently abandoned rather than decades old. "Of course." Bee pulled into the building, which looked to be some kind of parking structure. Just to be safe, Bee drove to the back of the building to ensure our privacy. As soon as I got out of his altmode, his holoform engaged, taking a seat on the end of his hood.
"Bee, I'm really sorry about before. I didn't mean to touch your neck cables." He shook his head, staring at the concrete below us while he fiddled with his ring. "It's completely fine, Rose. Please, don't worry about it." How could I not worry about it? He'd brought me out here to talk alone and was looking really nervous about something. I had no idea what was going to happen, and it was making me slowly descend into panic. "Then why did you bring me out here?" Bee let out a slow sigh, finally looking up to meet my worried gaze.
"What would you say if I brought you out here to bond with me?"
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