Chapter Text
Michaela ended up washing the rest of the kids, and was in awe at just how much garbage she was able to dig out from them, the worst of the bunch being Boombait and Gifbait.
“I swear, it’s like you all lived in a dumpster or something,” she said as used a scrub on Gifbait’s grill, who hummed contentedly at the sensation.
“We did,” Gifbait replied as she shook herself off, pieces of soggy something falling off of her with a loud splat.
Michaela turned to Juian with an unimpressed expression, to which he raised his servos defensively.
“What?” Julian said. “It’s not like I can just book a fucking hotel for us- and most of the time people generally avoid going into junkyards.”
“Bumblebee stayed in a dealership,” Michaela pointed out.
Julian crossed his arms with a huff. “Bumbles did not have to look after babies.”
The girl paused before nodding. “Alright, that’s fair.”
She turned back to Gifbait who was poking at the clumps on the floor with a digit, her expression one of complete fascination.
“Gif, can you transform for me please?” Michaela asked as she switched over to the soap, taking the opportunity to retie her ponytail as she did so.
Gifbait nodded and transformed, and Michaela clambered onto her hood and began to blast the soapy mixture all over the Honda until she looked less like a vehicle and more like a living mass of bubbles.
Julian internally snapped a picture at the sight before he walked over to crouch in front of his daughter with a laugh. “Where’s my girl? I only see bubbles.”
Gifbait giggled and wiggled her mirrors. “Gifbait: still here, Creator Klikbait!”
“So she is!” Julian crowed as he reached forward to poke at her hood. “I didn’t see you there!”
Gifbait garbled happily and Michaela jumped off of her to go grab the hose with a light laugh. “You’re such a good dad, Klik.”
Julian settled down onto his haunches and smiled fondly at his daughter. “Thanks. I’ve been trying.”
Michaela began to wash away all of the bubbles as she said, “That’s still better than most people these days.” She smiled to herself as Gifbait squealed at the feeling of the water flowing over her windows. “It’s good to see that even alien robots can get this shit right.”
Julian reached over to gently nudge the teenager with a claw. “Trust me, there was a lot I was fucking up before I started getting shit even close to ‘right.’” Julian closed his optics with a small huff of amusement. “I was kind of a deadbeat bastard at the start, if I’m being honest.”
He looked at Gifbait then around at the rest of his kids who were all splayed out on the ground waiting to dry off as they played robot tetris together. “The kids set me straight though.”
Michaela shut off the hose and thumped Gifbait on her hood, letting the femmling know that she could transform, which she did with a happy mumble before trudging over to snuggle into Starbait’s side who easily made space for her.
“My point still stands,” Michaela told him with a small, sad smile. “You’re a good dad.”
Julian looked at her, and felt his audials twitch downwards when he realized she was speaking from experience. “Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”
A moment later he reached over to scoop her up, the girl letting out a surprised shriek of laughter when he smooshed his face against her body with a grin. “You’re a good kid, Michaela. Never change.”
She gave him a bright smile. “Aw, thanks, Klik.”
Julian felt movement within his chassis and his audials perked up. “Oh shit, I think Soundbait’s up.”
“Really?!” Michaela gasped as she clapped her hands over her cheeks. “Can I see him?”
“Fuck yeah you can,” Julian said as he lowered the girl onto the ground. He gently lifted his youngest from his chassis, the baby uncurling in his servo to blink around the new environment with large optics. “Here comes the boy~”
Michaela covered her mouth to muffle the adoring squeal that came out. “Oh my god, he’s so cute!”
“Right?” Julian cooed as he cocooned his tiny son in between his servos and lowered him down so that Michaela could get a closer look at him. “Hard to believe that he’s gonna get bigger than this, huh?”
They sat like that for a while, cooing over the baby as the rest of the kids occasionally came over to look at Soundbait, the smaller of the ‘baits even clambering into Julian’s servos to nuzzle him before going back to playing with each other, while his larger kids contented themselves with gentle nudges of their digits against their youngest sibling’s plating.
Soundbait soaked all of the attention like a sponge, and began to chirp up at Julian expectantly, large optics wide and pleading.
Oh, I know that look, Julian thought with an amused grin.
“You hungry, Sound?” Julian crooned as he stood up. The baby chirped up at him again and wiggled his little body excitedly. “Aw, yeah you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
Julian glanced down at Michaela. “I’m gonna go back to the hangar and feed him. In case anyone wonders where I went.”
“Okay, see you later, Klik,” Michaela said with a wave as she trotted over to sit with Ringbait who waggled her legs at the girl in greeting.
Julian turned and began to walk back in the direction he and Bumblebee had come from, paying no mind to the various soldiers that stared at his tiny child that continued to chirp up at him.
He would have continued to ignore them if it wasn’t for the squadron of soldiers that stepped into his path, the woman who nearly had him shot back at HQ-2 taking point as she glared up at him.
Julian flicked his optics over them with a scowl as he gently placed the now whining Soundbait into his chassis. “You got something to say?”
“Not at all,” the woman replied as she raised her arm, the soldiers clearing a path around them. “We’re taking our leave, as a matter of fact.”
She continued on her way, and Julian narrowed his optics when he realized she was heading in the direction of his kids. Better not take the fucking risk.
He pinged a message over to Bumblebee, needing a moment to find the line the Camaro had only ever used once before to send him coordinates. “Hey, Bumbles. I need you to keep an eye on my kids. They’re over by the wash, and some bitch with a bad attitude is hanging around with a squad. I’d stay but I need to feed Sound.”
He received an affirmative from the Camaro and the ping dropped. Julian felt his ruffled plating settle when he spotted a flash of yellow darting over to where his kids were, and let himself breath out in relief. I should find out what the others’ pings are just in case…
He returned to the hangar and let himself sink down onto the ground with a grunt as his hips shifted, nearly making him overbalance but he managed to catch himself by digging his claws into the wall, the metal there letting out a loud shriek, and his audials flattened against his helm at the sound, making him hiss in annoyance.
Had he been paying attention, he would have heard a muffled curse outside followed by the sound of running footsteps that quickly faded away.
Settled, he dragged over a can of gasoline and opened it before lifting Soundbait out of his chassis once again, the baby squeaking excitedly when he caught the scent of the fumes.
“Yeah, yeah,” Julian said as he began to feed him, feeling his spark melt at the sight of Soundbait’s tiny claws that came up to grasp onto his own. “I’ve got you, buddy.”
Once the baby was done feeding, Julian cradled him against his chassis, quietly humming to him until he drifted off to recharge once again, and he tucked him back into his chassis, the anxiety he hadn’t realized he had been feeling quieting at the knowledge that his kid was now safe inside of him.
As Julian considered going into recharge as well, he startled when the hangar doors slammed open, revealing a panicked Bumblebee who looked around frantically with his gun at the ready before slowly relaxing, and he glanced over at Julian in confusion.
“Sam- heard a loud noise- got- worried~” Bumblebee said as he peered at the wall that now had three gouges in it. “-Attack?”
Julian raised a servo against his pulsing spark because jesus christ that had scared the shit out of him. “What- no, no attack. I just slipped earlier.” Tensing, he leaned forwards and asked, “How are the kids? Did the bitch leave?”
Bumblebee’s audials twitched but he nodded as he transformed his servo back. “Gone~ tried to talk to- kids, but- Gif- scared them all straight, haha!”
Julian felt his optics widen. “Gif scared them off?”
Bumblebee’s optics squinted at him in amusement. “Like father, like daughter.”
Julian preened. “Heh, that’s my girl.”
“Is he alright, Bee?” Sam called as he raced into the hangar, stopping to place his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
“A-okay!” Bumblebee said as he reached over to gently pat the teenager on the back with a digit. “Just a- misunderstanding.”
“Oh, thank god,” Sam wheezed. “Michaela would freak if anything happened to you, man. Even if you are insane.” He made a face. “Not sure why she likes you so much, if I’m being honest.”
Julian’s audials perked up as he snorted in amusement. “Michaela’s great. Also, thanks for calling in the calvary, Sammy. Now I know that you’re useful as a runner.”
“Fuck off,” Sam laughed. “See if I look out for you again.”
Julian snickered before slumping against the wall behind him with a tired sigh. “Man, I’m beat. I’m gonna take a nap.”
“You didn’t even do anything,” Sam said, only to get pushed out of the hangar by Bumblebee. “Wha- c’mon, Bee. I’m kidding!”
Julian snorted softly as the teenager was gently chased out, and he let himself sink down onto his side, feeling the way his optics grew heavier and heavier as the seconds ticked by.
Distantly, he heard Bumblebee return and quietly shut the hangar doors before seemingly deciding to watch over him, judging by the quiet creaking sounds of the terminator sitting down a few meters away from where he had laid down.
The thought that his friend would make sure him and his baby wouldn’t get fucking shot in their sleep was a comforting one, and he let himself curl up into a ball, before finally slipping into recharge.
Bumblebee quietly observed Klikbait as the mech’s intakes cycled in the silence of the hangar, his optics roving over the other’s changed appearance appreciatively before he glanced down at his servos consideringly.
He recalled Optimus having mentioned something about Klikbait telling him about being experimented on by humans, of being taken apart before being reconstructed into what he was when Bumblebee first met the somewhat crazy, charismatic mech.
Thinking back on their first meeting, Bumblebee felt his audials flatten against his helm when he recalled just how frail Klikbait had looked with his protoform practically bared to the entire world, and it was a wonder just how he managed to stay alive this long considering that he had run into Starscream, Barricade, Blackout, Scorponok and Megatron.
And Soundwave now too, Bumblebee mused. And then his thoughts went towards that confrontation, and he felt his door wings shudder as he recalled the vicious way in which the smaller mech had torn open the Decepticon’s mouth to breath fire down his throat.
He spared a quick glance towards Klikbait and he slowly trailed his gaze down to those wickedly sharp claws before he forced himself to look away with a frustrated burst of static.
Not the time, Bumblebee scolded himself before he let himself recall the way Klikbait’s mangled frame had repaired itself after converting Soundwave into a sparkling, which then led to him thinking about the armor that now covered the entirety of his protoform, giving him a distinctly… curvy appearance.
Bumblebee slammed the back of his helm against the hangar wall and froze when Klikbait snuffled before settling down, though not before stretching out one sleek leg in front of him… and Bumblebee felt like he was going to lose his mind.
It didn’t help that the other mech had seemingly forgotten various aspects of their culture, according to Optimus who had pulled them all aside to discuss the possibility of Klikbait having been stranded on Earth for millions of vorns and as a result from the lack of outside interaction with his own species, he simply… adapted to a human-like outlook.
Which also meant that he didn’t remember that one did not simply open their chassis in front of anyone just to offer cans of gasoline. Friendly gesture or no, it was just too… enticing.
Or that it was incredibly suggestive to ask another mech or femme to retrieve materials for their offspring when there was no partner to speak of, and Bumblebee wondered what it said about him that he had never bothered to explain any of this to his friend.
He reached up to grasp his helm with both servos and felt himself flinch when Klikbait’s pede knocked against his leg as the small mech shifted once again in his sleep.
Bumblebee shuttered his optics and took a deep intake of air. Focus.
Accidental offerings of courtship aside, Klikbait also didn’t seem to realize how his wildcard nature appealed to various battle-hardened mechs. Bumblebee had seen a few appreciative glances aimed at the small mech on the rare occasions he was able to display his abilities as a fiery brawler, and that was not even scraping the surface of other things one could appreciate about Klikbait.
Bumblebee, in a rare moment of sheer stupidity, went down the list, unaware of the long-dormant coding that was steadily beginning to awaken as he did so.
Klikbait was hot-tempered, but still kind. It showed in the way he was fiercely protective over his offspring, willing to tear anything apart even if it meant literally killing himself in the process- his processor flashed to a snarling Klikbait covered in red energon, and wondered why the image made him feel… very interested.
Bumblebee smacked himself with a servo. Focus!
…But he was infinitely gentler with his young, always there to comfort them or take care of them, somehow able to tend to each of their needs despite how many there were, which was an impressive feat considering that most sparklings usually ended up fending for themselves on the rare occasions a cybertronian managed to nest, resulting in a number of the sparklings dying off before even reaching a single vorn.
A possessive feeling slithered through Bumblebee at the thought of Klikbait eventually settling down to make a nest of his own, and at the thought of who would help him make that nest- he shook his helm to clear away the sudden, violent feeling that the thought inspired.
Focus!
Klikbait could fight.
Immediately, Bumblebee’s processor drudged up various points of data from his memory banks; Klikbait facing off against Soundwave; Klikbait purring at him and Jazz as steam wafted off of his frame, the half-lidded golden optics, the crooked claw as he beckoned them to come at him; the memory of his hot frame beneath Bumblebee’s arm as he was forced to let him go before the mech proceeded to disintegrate Scorponok when he realized that Bumblebee was taking too much damage-
Protective, Bumblebee’s processor rumbled. A good mate.
Bumblebee’s optics swiveled wide open at that, and with a start, he frantically ran through every bit of coding within his frame where he eventually stumbled upon a code that was now awake and active.
“Fucking- shit,” Bumblebee warbled as he thunked against the wall behind him, his optics fixated on the roof of the hangar above him as he scanned through the code feverishly.
There, an almost innocuous bit of coding cycled through his systems, one he would have missed entirely if not for the sudden, unexpected thought-
[<Active: Compatibility Protocols; Target: Carrier>]
01010010 01110101 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110011 01101001 01101101 01110101 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101110 00101110 00101110 00100000 01110010 01110101 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110 00101110 00101110 00100000 01110010 01110101 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110 00101110 00101110 00100000 01110011 01101001 01101101 01110101 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00111010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01101100 01100101 01110100 01100101
[<Target: Compatible; Activating latent Sire protocols… Sire protocols Active>]
Fuccckkkkkkk, Bumblebee thought emphatically.
Oblivious to his crisis, Klikbait hummed softly and continued to sleep.
Scratching from inside of his chassis roused Julian from recharge and he sat up with a yawn and popped open the compartment, where he was immediately greeted by Soundbait’s eager blue optics as the baby chirped and squeaked up at him.
“Hello to you too, little guy,” Julian greeted him groggily as he reached down to scoop him up. “You definitely look like you slept real fucking good.”
As if to prove his statement true, his tiny baby wiggled excitedly and squeaked at him again.
“I bet you’re hungry again,” Julian said as he stretched out the spikes on his back. “Alright, let’s get you some-”
He blinked when a can of gasoline was held out in front of him and he followed the servo up to an expectant Bumblebee. “-gas. Thanks, Bumbles. You’re a fucking g.” He reached up and plucked the can from the other terminator’s servo, not giving a thought to the way the other silently watched as he began to feed Soundbait, nor did he notice the way his optics dilated when he began to coo at his baby when he let out a squeaky burp. “God, you’re so fuckin’ cute.”
Julian brought his face up to Soundbait who squealed as he nuzzled against his tiny frame, chuffing as the baby began to let out high-pitched squeaking laughs until he finally pulled away with a bright grin. “Right, my turn to fuel up.”
Julian reached out for the gas and lifted it up to his mouth and gulped down the contents. Once it was empty, he pulled the can away with a satisfied sigh.
“Come and get your~ free meal ticket!” Bumblebee suddenly said as he pushed another can of gasoline into Julian’s claws, who accepted it with a laugh.
“Anything happen while I was out?” Julian asked as he began to sip at the second can.
Bumblebee seemed to tense before he relaxed and shook his helm. “All clear- partner.”
Julian eyed him for a moment before shrugging. “Aight.”
He finished up the second can and found that he felt much more awake than before. “Huh, I guess it takes more than one can of gas to keep me going now.”
Bumblebee cocked his helm to the side before pointedly looking down at his hips, to which Julian snapped, “Shut up.”
The Camaro leaned back as a laugh track played out from his vocalizer. “I ain’t sayin’ nothin’-”
“You implied it, you yellow fuck,” Julian said as he pointed a claw at him. “So shut.”
“Alright, alight- I’m zippin’ it-” Bumblebee said as he made a zipping motion over his mouthpiece.
“Good,” Julian nodded before pushing himself up onto his pedes, making sure to keep a hold of Soundbait who had been watching their interaction with wide, curious optics. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna go on a fucking walk. I’ve been sleeping too much, and I want to check on my kids.”
“Don’t mind me- I’ll join ya, toots,” Bumblebee said as he pushed open the doors for Julian who nodded at him in thanks.
“Fine by me,” Julian snorted as he walked out. He paused and turned to the Camaro who was closing the hangar doors behind them. “Hey, I’ve got your, uh, comm-ping thing, right? Is there a way I can get Optimus’s and Ironhide’s? Maybe Ratchet’s too?”
Bumblebee was suddenly looming over him; his optics focused intensely on him. “Why?”
Julian blinked up at him and held up Soundbait who chirped up at the Camaro. “I want to make sure I can call on them to keep an eye on the kids whenever I can’t.” Julian glanced at his baby and let a slow smile spread across his face as he added, “Or whenever I end up having to look after more tiny babies like this little guy.”
Bumblebee stared down at Soundbait before his optics swiveled to stare into Julian’s face, and Julian watched bemusedly as they brightened and the Camaro nodded eagerly. “It takes- a village- here you go!”
Julian processed the pings he received and grinned when he recognized their respective owners. “Ay, nice. I was stressing the fuck out over this earlier.”
Bumblebee made an odd rumbling sound and Julian stared at him. In his servos, Soundbait had frozen up completely and was staring intently up at the Camaro. “... you good, dude?”
Bumblebee nodded before stepping closer to him and nudged him along. “Let’s go- time’s a-wasting!”
Julian snorted, but went along anyway, not noticing the way Soundbait cocked his little helm up at Bumblebee warily before letting out a clicking chirp, one that was echoed back by the Camaro, making the bitlet perk up and squeak excitedly.
“Heh,” Julian said as he looked down at his baby. “I think he wants to go with you. You cool with that, Bumbles?”
Bumblebee nodded and accepted the tiny sparkling when he was handed to him, his audials flicking on his head as he squinted down at Julian’s child and made another clicking chirp at him.
Soundbait cooed and nuzzled against Bumblebee’s servos, his frame practically melting in the Camaro’s hold.
Julian glanced over and his audials perked up at the sight. “Damn, he really likes you. That’s it, you’re now my go-to babysitter. You’ll never escape the responsibility, Bumbles.”
Oddly enough, Bumblebee seemed completely fine with the declaration.
“That is- perfectly fine by me,” Bumblebee said.
Ayo, holup-
“Are you alright?” Julian finally asked as he stopped and squinted up at the weirdly chill Camaro. “You’re not sick, are you? You’re actin’ all fuckin’,” he searched for a word, and settled with, “High or some shit.”
“Never better,” Bumblebee said serenely, holding a now sleeping Soundbait.
Julian stared at him before huffing. “Okay… but if anything feels fuckin’ off, you go to Ratchet, you hear me?”
Bumblebee nodded. “Loud and clear.”
He didn’t move.
Julian threw his servos up into the air with an exasperated sigh. “Well, I tried. Fuck it- if you keel over, I’ll throw Gif at you and hope for the best. C’mon.”
“Aye, aye- sir,” Bumblebee said as he followed after him.
Julian did not notice the way Bumblebee's optics dropped down to watch him walk, nor did he pick up on the rumbling purr the Camaro began to let out as he continued to watch.
From the other side of the room, a scientist raised a mug of coffee to her mouth as she and her partner observed the two alien robots making their way through the base.
"Think they're fucking?" Her partner asked.
They watched as Bumblebee nearly ran into one of the cranes that they had brought in to fix the ceiling, and he was immediately scolded by Klikbait before the smaller robot snatched his baby back from the other and stomped off.
They were then treated to the sight of a sulking Bumblebee as he trudged after the other, though he still kept his gaze firmly locked on the smaller robot's... posterior.
"Yeah," she sighed tiredly. "They're definitely fucking."
"Should we report it?"
She thought about it. She took another sip of her coffee.
"Nah," she answered. "We're not paid enough for that kind of shit."