Chapter Text
He revves his engine as he drives the winding Witwicky roads, speeding up to get to his meeting on time.
The meeting place? Decepticon base. Far away from the actual town, hidden and etched into a mountainside.
This isn't the first time he's been here. Actually it might be around the 10th or 11th. All in about 2 months.
He feels more like an errand boy than a diplomat.
After the defeat of Mandroid, G.H.O.S.T. and the shattering of Quintus' Luminous stone, the Autobots and Decepticons formed a... shaky alliance.
It was all because of the Terrans, really. Their hope for the future seemed to have touched even the Decepticons sparks.
So, with Starscream acting as the Decepticons leader, he and Optimus shook hands and formed an agreement.
The agreement? Yet to be fully determined.
All the Decepticons asked for in exchange for their help, was energon reserves and the freedom to move around without being hunted down.
It made sense. They were all desperate to get back to Cybertron.
What the Autobots didn't account for was Decepticons not understanding laws.
Or at least, not caring about them.
So another meeting was had! And then another... and another... all because the Decepticons were becoming much more demanding with their requests.
And that's exactly what he's doing today. Going through requests with Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave.
Woohoo...
But that's not the only thing he's doing today.
He's not only bringing more energon (wow he really is an errand boy) but also, upgraded schematics for the G.H.O.S.T. space bridge.
After taking over G.H.O.S.T. base, Wheeljack found the schematics for the space bridge they were building. So, with the help of Shockwave, they're redrawing them and fixing whatever parts the humans messed up.
It isn't usually Bee's job to bring them. Wheeljack and Shockwave usually exchange information through a comm link.
But today, their comm links went offline because Wheeljack decided messing with Teletrann is the first thing he wants to get up to in the morning.
His excuse was wanting to lower the charge it needed to work, so Wheeljack could power... whatever else project he was working on.
Bee wasn't paying attention, already dreading the day because of his rough morning trying to air out all the fumes inside the base.
He's so lost in reminiscing, he doesn't realize he's about to ram into the shuttered door to the Decepticon base.
He quickly transforms, skidding to a halt right in front of the entrance, centimeters away from slamming his faceplate into it.
The energon reserves he's carrying with a tow rattle around behind him, almost falling down and spilling out.
He's still, staring at the shutters in shock because of his almost collision.
Loud cackling is what breaks him from his stupor.
Walking a few steps back, he notices Frenzy and Lazerbeak perched on the walls of the base, falling over each other in their laughter.
An annoyed frown appears on Bee's faceplates.
"Haha, very funny guys. Now can you let me in, I'm gonna be late to my meeting."
Frenzy wipes a fake tear from her faceplate while Lazerbeak continue to cackle on in the back. She smirks and stares down at him mockingly.
"Nahh, I'd like to see you get chewed out by Screamer for being late again."
Bee glares at her, both at the refusal to cooperate and the reminder of the last time he was late to a meeting.
Starscream had passively aggressively chewed him out in front of every Decepticon in the base. They've been using it against him ever since.
Too bad for her, today, he's already one step ahead.
He sighs mockingly, shrugging his shoulders in a seemingly uncaring manner, turning his helm to the side.
"Well, bummer. Since I can't get in, guess you won't be getting those comic books you requested..."
Out of the corner of his eye he sees both of them perk up. Lazerbeak even stopped his laughing at the mention of them.
Bee's lip plates quirk up slightly.
Bingo.
"H-Hey now, let's not be hasty. We were just joking is all. We'll let you in right away!"
And then they're gone from view, going behind the wall to open the doors.
The smirk Bee was hiding now rests fully uncovered on his faceplate.
Kids. They're all the same.
Soon enough, the shutters start to open.
Bee quickly grabs the tow with the energon and drags it with him. Let's himself inside with a skip to his step.
The Cassettebots are waiting for him to get in, fidgeting where they stand, clearly eager to get their long awaited present.
The smirk on Bee's face softens into a soft smile.
He opens his subspace storage and pulls out the comics.
This little obsession of their started all because of Robby.
The kids sometimes come to visit the Decepticon base with him. They like spending time with the Decepticons, especially the Cassettebots.
One day Robby brought some of his comics as entertainment and Frenzy and Lazerbeak were instantly hooked. Robby gifted them his comics and told them he had more to spare, in case they get interested in a specific story.
So now, occasionally when Bee visits, the Cassettebots will have comics to request, giving the previous volumes back.
He's glad the kids are trying their best to get along with everyone. Sometimes it doesn't work out the best but Bumblebee will always encourage them for even trying.
As he hands the comics over, his smirk comes back.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Frenzy groans before waving him away.
"Yeah, yeah, just get to your boring old mech meeting."
A small snort leaves Bee before he continues his way towards actual base.
As the enters through the door built inside of the mountainside, the first thing he sees is Breakdown.
He's leaning against the wall, faceplates stuck in a frown. He clearly has a lot on his processor.
Bee leaves the tow near the other energon crates before jogging up to him eagerly, a bright smile lighting up his face.
"Breakdown, hey!"
His greeting seems to snap Breakdown out of his processor. He smiles.
It's clearly forced.
His faceplate is still tense and his optics aren't crinkled in the way the usually are when he's happy.
Somethings wrong.
Alarm bells ring inside his processor. Bee's smile falls slightly, settling into a weird grimace and his optics dim, losing their light.
Breakdown reads him instantly and somehow the smile becomes even more forced than before.
"Bee, hey! I was waiting on you."
The alarms in his processor sound even louder.
"Haha, okayy... you'll have to wait a bit longer... I have a meeting with the others right now."
Breakdowns optic twitches slightly, invisible to anyone else but a giant warning sign to Bee.
"Yeah, I know. I'll wait for you, don't got anywhere else to go anyway."
Bee let's out a strained chuckle.
"Riight. Anyway, I'll be going now..."
He spares Breakdown one last glance before power walking to the stairs that lead to the upper floor command room.
Once he's on the floor, a voice sounds from his left.
"That was pathetic."
He nearly jumps out of his protoform.
Starscream stands in the shadows of the corridor, blue optics shining bright, staring at Bee with contempt.
Bee holds a hand to his hammering spark and glares at Starscream.
"What the frag was that for?! And what's it to you anyway? It's not like it's any of your business how Breakdown and I interact."
Starscream's optics sharpen at the last comment.
"It is my business when Breakdown makes it my business.
...But well, you wouldn't know that yet, would you?"
A cruel smirk etches itself on Starscream's faceplate. He steps up to Bumblebee and leers down at him.
"You would've known if you'd arrived earlier. But maybe Primus spared us your bad attitude that's going to be brought upon by Breakdown's announcement."
Bee takes a step back, still holding a hand to his spark. It's hammering, though this time from anxiety.
He glares at Starscream "What are you talking about? What announcement-"
"Oh do stop bothering our guest Starscream. I thought you a better leader than this."
Shockwaves voice sounds from behind him.
He wonders if his spark can take any more shock than it already has before giving up.
Starscream snarls at Shockwave, presumably from the comment and ruining his fun. With a tsk he saunters off to the command room.
Bee finds himself following the Seekers movement with his optics. A deep frown ever present on his face.
As they're left alone, Shockwave turns to Bee, his singular optic staring him down.
"I do apologize for his actions. He chastises the others for their inability to stop sticking their olfactory sensors in other mechs business yet he does the same."
"It's... it's fine. Don't worry about it Shockwave. Let's start the meeting, you've been waiting for me long enough."
As they walk down the hall together, Bee's spark finally quiets down.
He doesn't want to admit it but out of all the Decepticons, he finds himself the most comfortable around Shockwave.
He probably shouldn't feel that way since out of all the Decepticons, Shockwave holds the number one place for committed war crimes and crimes in general.
And no, don't ask him how he knows that.
His thoughts are cut short as they finally enter the command room.
Soundwave is already there, petting Ravage as she rests in his lap.
They lock optics (he thinks?) and Bee sends him a small smile and wave. Soundwave nods in return. Ravage opens an optic from her position and sends Bee a quiet meow in greeting.
As they settle down, Bee already dreads the meeting ahead, wondering what utter bullshit (a term he's never going to stop using) requests he's going to hear coming from the Decepticons.
So, as to not start the meeting off on a bad note, Bee opens his subspace and pulls out a data pad.
He slams it on the table, cutting off whatever Starscream wanted to say (which earns him a glare), then slides it towards Shockwave.
"Here's the new space bridge schematics. Had to deliver them like this since Wheeljack blew out our comm lines."
Shockwave picks up the data pad "I see. I was wondering why Wheeljack didn't pick up my calls on our schedules timeframe."
Bee snorts "Annoyed you, didn't it?"
If looks could kill then the one Shockwave was giving him right now would have him 6 feet under.
"Keep the data pad, by the time you've looked through everything, our comm line should be in working order.
...Hopefully."
As Shockwave groans and rests his helm in his hand, Bee sends him an awkward and apologetic smile.
A clearing of the intake draws their attention back to Starscream.
"If you two are done with your yammering, I'd like to get to our request pile. It is quite full today..."
Yammering? Where did Starscream learn that?
Without a pause, Starscream opens a data pad and starts reading off a list of requests.
-🐝✈️-
The meeting is two hours long.
Two.
Hours.
Two hours of utter nonsense.
Even Starscream was grimacing at some of the requests.
I mean, who requests 300 kilograms of blue dye and 50 industrial mixers???
(He's starting to think most of these requests have been put in as a joke.)
Bee sits in the meeting room with his helm on the table and his hands gripping the edges of it in pure agony.
Shockwave and Soundwave already left, using the excuse of having work to do, as if Bee doesn't have work too!
He has kids to teach and take care of damn it!
As Starscream picks another request, staring at it in utter confusion before opening his intake to read it out loud, Bee slams a fist on the table.
Starscream startles and stares with wide optics at the expression on Bee's face.
He can feel his optics twitching, distressed by the insanity of the meeting. A wide grin is stretched on his faceplate, making him looking like he's lost his processor.
Maybe he has.
"Starscream, I think this is enough for today. We haven't gotten anywhere and I swear if I hear one more ridiculous request-"
"Oh don't get your circuit boards in a twist, I was going to request we stop here for today as well, before you rudely interrupted me."
The only thing Bumblebee fully paid attention to in that sentence is-
"Did you just mix Earth and Cybertronian slang? Who taught you that?"
Starscream rolls his optics before getting up from his seat at the table and walking towards the exit.
Bee scrambles up from his seat and follows him, running up and in front of Starscream, ensuring he can't run away.
Bee walks backwards and Starscream continues to walk forward towards who knows where.
"Helloooo? I'm gonna needs you to answer that."
Starscream rolls his optics again "And who's the one getting into the others business now hm?"
Bee answers with a deadpan glare.
"If you must know, Hashtag and I keep in contact. She has quite the... colorful language. It's hard not to adapt to it as well."
Recognition lights through his processor, remembering Hashtag having mentioned her continued communication with Starscream.
Finally satisfied, Bumblebee falls into step with Starscream.
"Oh yeah, I remember her mentioning that. Must've slipped my processor."
A snort sounds from his right "Clearly I'm not the only one combining slang."
"Hey, I've been doing that for a looong time. You haven't though. It's... surprising."
Starscream tilts his head in his direction "You're treating it as if it's wrong. Shouldn't you be happy I'm adapting to Earth customs?"
The question flusters Bumblebee, it has him scrambling for an explanation. Waving his servos around in a placating manner, he rambles on.
"N-no! No!! That's not how I meant it! I'm glad you're open to learning, i-it's just-"
Laughter cuts off Bumblebee's rambling.
They've both stopped in their tracks. Starscream to stop himself from falling over and Bumblebee from the utter shock of Starscream's laughter.
It's... nice. Really nice. The laughter makes Starscream's whole frame rumble, his faceplate scrunched up and optics closed in pure delight. At their edge, he has markings that humans have dubbed "crows feet".
The sound is light-hearted but slightly squeaky, sounding almost like the birds Bee hears in the forest.
Bee finds himself chuckling along. Eventually mixing with Starscream's own residual chuckles.
"Alright, alright, you got me. Are you satisfied now?"
Another small chuckle "Quite."
They stare at each other with easygoing smiles.
Maybe hanging around Starscream doesn't have to be so bad.
A fake cough is what snaps them out of their staring.
Breakdown stands near the stairs. Staring at them in contempt.
Bumblebee gets a sense of deja vu.
Now, fully awkward because of the look Breakdown is giving him, he turns towards Starscream...
...who's glaring at Breakdown threateningly.
Huh, wonder what that's all about.
A small awkward smile rests on his faceplate "So... see you soon Screamer?"
Starscream continues to glare at Breakdown for a few seconds before turning to look down at Bumblebee.
"See you soon Little Bee."
As Starscream turns down another corridor, Bee calls after him.
"I told you not to call me that!!"
Starscream turns his helm to look over his shoulder plate but continues walking forward with a smirk.
"And I told you not to call me Screamer."
A silly grin finds itself on Bee's face. Whatever just happened between them has his spark lighting up in delight.
A looming presence behind him is what brings his processor back down to Earth.
The grin from his face is gone the second he turns back.
Anger practically reeks off of Breakdown. He doesn't even need to check his EM field to know that.
"Glad to see you finally noticin' me Bee."
Bee flinches back at Breakdown's sizzling remark.
"Breakdown I'm sorry but you know how important these meetings are. We can't stop them just because-"
"Just because of what, Bumblebee."
The statement has Bee shutting up quickly.
He messed up.
"No, go on, tell me. Just because of what? Just because of a private conversation with your so-called best friend-"
"Breakdown-"
"No, Bumblebee. You left me waiting for you for two hours. You knew I was waiting for you, fully knowing I have something important to say."
"Hey, you didn't tell me it was important-"
A bitter chuckle leaves Breakdown "Don't give me excuses. I know you can read me better than anyone. You knew."
Bee holds his servos up in surrender, hoping to calm down Breakdown a bit with the action.
"Okay... okay. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know it meant this much to you. If I had known, I would've tried to end the meeting earlier."
His statement seems to finally calm down Breakdown. At least, to some degree.
"Now let's go to your berthroom. I'm sure you don't want to talk out in the hallway."
Breakdown still doesn't say anything but he nods his head in acknowledgement.
Together they head downstairs and towards the hall with the berthrooms. By the time they're at Breakdown's door, he's fully calmed down, nervous but also eager energy wavering in his EM field.
Once they enter, Breakdown holds a servo out to his berth.
"Sit down and get comfortable."
He seats himself near the end of the berth, leaving room at the top for Breakdown.
Once Breakdown gets comfortable, he softly grabs Bee's servos, holding each servo in his own.
"Bee I... frag I'm just going to rip the band-aid off.
I'm planning on leaving. The annual Michigan derby is happening soon and I want to join. Then a month later the..."
Bee stops listening to Breakdown after "I'm planning on leaving".
He's left staring wide opticed at Breakdown, dread slowly rising up his back strut.
It settles deep within his frame.
This isn't going to end well.
"Why." is the only word that leaves Bee's intake.
It seems to confuse Breakdown. He's clearly not noticing the distraught feelings hovering around Bumblebee like a blanket.
"Why? Bee I just told you, the annual-"
"No Breakdown. Why now? Why at all?! We finally have peace Breakdown, you don't have to run away anymore, we can stay together-"
Laughter spills out of Breakdowns intake.
It feels like ice cold water pouring over Bumblebee's frame.
"Bumblebee~ you thought I was driving around because I was just running away? I'm a Stunticon Bumblebee, you already know this. You know we don't stay in one place, we go where the wind takes us."
Bumblebee feels like his world is spinning, like his vestibular system has been set off balance.
"So... so you're just running away? Leaving me here again-"
"Who said I was leaving you? Bumblebee, you can come with, you know! It'll be like old times!"
A bright smile rests on Breakdown's face.
It makes Bumblebee's energon boil.
"Breakdown, I can't. You know that."
Breakdown sneers at him "What, still stuck being Optimus' lapdog? Thought you didn't listen to him anymore."
In a fit of anger Bumblebee leaps off of the berth, servos clenched tight. He stands, towering over Breakdown.
"Don't call me that. After everything, how dare you. And this is not about Optimus, this is about everything. I have responsibilities here Breakdown. I have a family! And I'm a diplomat for Primus' sake! Me and the Malto's are the only thing keeping this peace treaty steady, I can't just up and leave!"
Breakdowns faceplate settles into the angry stare he saw while they were with Starscream.
His words are covered in molten anger as he speaks.
"Why is it that every time I ask you to go with me, you refuse. You keep saying you love me yet every time you bring up some excuse, every time you pick a different side-"
Bumblebee's frame starts shaking from anger.
"I'm not the one who made it about sides Breakdown."
The silence in the room weighs heavy.
"I'm not the one who picked a different side first. Yet I'm the only one being loyal. So don't you dare insinuate I'm not loyal.
And don't you ever, and I mean ever, dare use my love for you against me like that. Especially when we're not even together."
After a few seconds of silence and staring each other down, Bumblebee finally turns back and walks to the door.
"We're done here."
With a slam, Bumblebee makes his way down the corridors. His steps are heavy, you can hear the anger settled within them.
As he enters the main room and makes his way towards the exit, out of the corner of his optics, he catches a flash of blue, red and gray.
He stops and looks up, locking optics with Starscream.
He stands at the top of the stairs, a frown on his faceplate. His optics are full of what Bumblebee thinks is consideration.
Bee glares at him in anger, not because of Breakdown but because of the way Starscream treated him earlier.
He knew and he rubbed it in Bumblebee's face. Used it against him, as a jab. As if Bumblebee's misery is entertaining to him.
With a swift turn, Bumblebee continues his walk towards the exit and quickly leaves the base.
In his anger, he fails to respond to Frenzy and Lazerbeak's goodbyes, which he regrets on his way back home.