Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day started out well, Bee thought, with Sam taking him for a drive, and going to see Mikaela after a while and taking them out to a nice restaurant for breakfast, but, of course, there's no such thing as a day off for an Autobot. Of course, right after they got home, Bumblebee had to go and fight Barricade. Can't this guy just take a break?

As he was thinking, he had a split second to jump in front of Optimus before he was hit by that strange weapon Barricade had gotten. After that everything suddenly went white, then black.
-
"Bumblebee, no!!!" I scream as the young bot jumps into the path of the weapon's blast. In a second he vanishes, leaving only a small human in his place.

"Ironhide, keep him busy!" I bark the order at the weapons specialist as I reach for the unconcious boy. Of course, he takes that as an opportunity to pull out his cannons.

I shake my head and carry the young one to safety. After he is a safe distance away from the battle, I contact Ratchet and tell him to wait by the road for a boy in a yellow jacket and then head back to assist Ironhide.
-
I moan as I open my optics. My entire body hurts. Where am I?

I look around only to see a huge fight, and on instinct I run in the opposite direction. I only stop when I get to a clearing and... a road. Why does everything look so... strange?

Wait... is that...? I struggle to catch my breath, and I walk over to the van- sorry, medical rescue vehicle- with the door open for me.

"Ratchet?" I croak out. I can still talk but... My voice... what's wrong with my voice? It sounds so much younger, it has a much higher pitch, and it has that strange accent that Sam speaks with. Sam... I need to see Sam!

"Get in." The voice from the speakers confirms my theory that this is, indeed, our medical officer. I comply, sitting in the drivers seat.

"What's going on? Can you take me to Sam's house?"

"Put on your seatbelt, first." I roll my optics- no, eyes?- but I do as I'm told. Ratchet starts driving once I'm properly situated.

"What happened?" Ratchet doesn't understand my question, and I have to explain that I'm Bumblebee, and that I don't have a clue what's going on. He explains that he can't help me unless I tell him exactly what happened. So, I do.

"...So now I'm here." I slump forward in my seat, confused and upset.

"Well the only thing I can tell you is that whatever hit you made you human. He was trying to leave Optimus defenseless and weak, however, you jumped into it's path."

"Well, at least it was only me that got hit... if it were Optimus we'd have no leader, if it was Ironhide we wouldn't be able to fix damaged weapons, and if it were you we wouldn't have a doctor to assist with injuries." We finally stop at Sam's house as I finish speaking, and I suddenly feel nervous.

"Um... what am I supposed to tell Sam?" I stare at the house nervously.

"Just say whatever comes to mind. There is no reason to be nervous."

"I guess you're right..." I take a moment to calm my nerves and hop out of the van- medical rescue vehicle- and run up to the front door. After a second of hesitation, I knock. The woman that answers the door is not Sam.

"Oh! Hello, are you a friend of Sam's?" I assume this is one of his parents. She looks so different now...

"I-" I try to reply, but she cuts me off.

"It's so nice of you to visit, please, come in, have a seat!" She pulls me into the house and leads me to the couch.

"Sam! Your friend is here!!!" Those animals- Sam called them chihuahuas...? One looks nothing like the other- are barking at me and trying to attack me. Maybe they can tell that I'm not human?

"What friend?" Sam walks down the stairs, and for a moment I'm stunned by how different he looks from this size. I feel my face heat up. Am I overheating? He stares at me. Oh no, he doesn't recognize me.

"Mom, I don't know that guy-"

"Of course not, I just came here to talk to you. I was meaning to tell her that we aren't well acquainted. Can we take this outside, please?" Now they're both staring. Great, now I'm even more nervous.

"Yeah, sure." He walks down the rest of the stairs, and opens the door for me. I thank him as I walk outside. He closes the door.

"Who are you? Are you with Sector Seven?" He doesn't trust me. I laugh.

"Do I look like I work for Sector Seven?" For the first time I look down at my attire. A yellow jacket, a grey shirt with a bee on it, and ripped jeans.

"Answer the question!" He feels threatened.

"No! I'm your car! Or, well, I used to be. Now I'm obviously a human." I smile at him.

"Is this a joke?" He doesn't believe me. Well, I wouldn't believe me, either.

"No, it's me, Bumblebee! Ratchet drove me here after it happened, but he probably went back to make sure no one got injured. I can prove it! This morning I took you and Mikaela to a restaurant for breakfast."

"Yeah, we went to IHOP... but how do I know you didn't just follow me around for a while?"

"Sam. Just believe me. After you got home, I had to go fight Brawl, and he shot at Optimus with some weird weapon, and I jumped in front of him so he wouldn't get hurt. The next thing I knew, I was human." I shrug to emphasize my statement.

"Believe me if you want. I honestly can't blame you for being cautious, but the last thing I'll say to convince you, is that you bought me for four thousand dollars at Bolivia's Used Cars and Petting Zoo, after I destroyed all of the other cars and scaring the dealer by making the windows burst." I finish the sentence with a smirk at the memory, and turn around, prepared to leave.

"Wait!" I turn back to Sam, I hope he believes me. He stares at me for a second. He might not know what to say.
-
"U-uh..." What am I supposed to say? What should I do?!

"You're gonna need a human name... most people get weirded out when they meet someone with a name like Bumblebee..." Bee lights up, and runs over to hug me. He knocks me over when he does. We both tumble to the ground. This is gonna be interesting...

Chapter Text

"Sam!" Bee's voice rings from above as his feet thump against the stairs. Sam looks up from the dishes- his mom insists he does them, so their guest isn't bothered by the clutter- to see him stumble down the last few steps and run to his side.

"I've done extensive research on human names, and decided on the title Beckett Mischa Abel, Beckett meaning beehive, Mischa meaning bee-like, and Abel being a slightly modified version of abeja, the Spanish word for bee, so they all relate to my original title, Bumblebee." His proud smile is blinding and his already unnaturally bright blue eyes are shining even brighter. His blond and black hair is messy and hanging over his forehead, as he struggles to keep it in place. Sam smiles back and holds back a laugh.

"Your name doesn't have to relate to your Cybertronian name that much, Bee. Just something simple like... John Beckett would have worked."

"Do... you want me to change it?" A genuinely confused Bee tilts his head, a force of habit from using actions more than speech.

"No, of course not! I'm just saying, the name doesn't need to have a specific meaning, that's all." He continues washing the dishes, expecting 'Beckett' to leave him alone. However, Bee doesn't walk away. He stands behind Sam and watches over his shoulder as he does his chore.

"Sam, what are you doing? Why are you scrubbing the plates?"

"Because, they're dirty. We ate off of them last night, remember? I need to get the food off of them."

"Yes, but doesn't the machine do that?" He nudges the nearby dish washer with his foot.

"Not all of it. There are some things that stick to the plate, so I have to scrub them off."

"Oh..." Bee watches for a while as Sam puts the dish in the machine and grabs another off the counter.

"Can I help?" He moves to stand by Sam's side.

"Do you really want to?" Sam asks in disbelief as Bee shrugs.

"They would get done faster that way. Then we can go talk to the Autobots and buy me the things that I'll need." Sam goes silent for a moment as he thinks over the response.

"...Good point." He steps aside to allow Bee to stand by him.
-
"...so that's why the kitchen is covered in water and bubbles...!" Bee finishes, averting Judith Witwicky's stern glare as his bubble-coated face steadily gets redder, Sam looking no less guilty.

"Well, clean it up! Both of you! Right now!" There's a mixed mumble of 'yes mom' and 'yes ma'am' as the boys walk away to get towels, both equally ashamed and terrified of Judith's wrath.

"She was a lot less intimidating when I was an Autobot..." Bee remarks sheepishly as he mops up water and bubbles.

"Well now you know what I felt like when she saw my 'brand new camaro' after the fight with Barricade." Bee shrugs and holds his hands up in mock defense.

"Mikaela was the one that complained about your 'piece of crap camero.' Blame her." He continues scrubbing a particularly soaked area right in front if the sink.

"Looking back now, I see that a bubble war was a terrible idea..." Sam mumbles. Bee nods in agreement, soaking up the last of the water.

"Are we already done?" Bee asks.

"I think so. I don't see any more." Sam replies, looking around. Bee sighs.

"Good. I really need to get new clothes, because these are soaked." He pulls the wet shirt away from his skin, as it is sticking to him very uncomfortably.

"You can borrow some of mine. I'll get them for you and you can change in the downstairs bathroom, over there." Sam points to the small room near the guest room that Bee slept in the night before. He runs upstairs to change his clothes and get Bee a new outfit.

As he waits, Bumblebee decides to walk around the house a bit, to get to know it better, so Sam doesn't have to constantly tell him where things are.

He walks into the living room to see Sam's dad watching something on the TV. He walks over and notices that it's just a bunch of guys fighting over a ball.

"Mr. Witwicky, what are you watching?"

"Baseball. Its a sport."

"Why? It just looks like a bunch of guys throwing a ball around... and hitting it with a stick." Bee takes a spot on the couch by Ron's side. He kind of zones out as Ron explains the game. This goes on until Sam comes back.

Bee eagerly gets up and sprints to Sam to grab his clothes and go get dressed.
-
We finally finish shopping, Bee wanted to try on almost everything, but I was finally able to get him out of Walmart. When we actually got to the Autobot base, or the NEST HQ, everyone was in a panic about Bumblebee, and everything was just an insane blur until Optimus broke it up.

"ENOUGH." He turned to us after everyone calmed down.

"Sam, please, tell them why you are here."

Bee was covering his ears, and was trying to avoid looking at the Autobots. He looked scared, like seeing the Autobots like this was too much.

"Bee, do you want to step outside?" I gently ask.

"No. It was just really loud." He looks up and removes his hands from over his ears. He gives me a bright smile, though he still seems a bit nervous.

"I'm fine!"

"Okay..." I really don't think he should stay, but... I don't want to force him to leave.

"Would you like to tell them what happened?"

"Do I really have to explain it again?" He whines.

Optimus bends on his knee to speak to Bee, and he seems to calm down a bit. He isn't so tense.

"They can help you, but only if they know what happened." By now everyones staring at him, and his face is getting redder by the second.

"Well... We were fighting Barricade yesterday, and he shot at Optimus with a new weapon. I jumped in the way to defend him, and I passed out. When I woke up I was human, and Ratchet took me to Sam's house... even though I should have come here first..." He tugged at the collar of his shirt near the end, ashamed of his irresponsible request to be brought to me.

"Also, I guess I should have started by telling you that I'm Bumblebee..." Everyone started to chatter, which only added to his nervousness. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to help him through his embarrassment.

In the next second he was ushered into a medical room and attached to a bunch of machines. They immediately started testing on him and asking questions. I found out that he's really bad about being the center of attention.

As he gets tested on, I consult the people that aren't busy about getting a new car to replace Bee until they can fix him. I only get vague agreements and a 'we'll see what we can do'.

After they finish taking blood samples, heart rate readings, and notes, they allow us to speak to the Autobots on a high platform. Bee seems a lot more calm, and finally stopped blushing.

"How do you feel?" Ratchet asks, concerned. Bee sighs and thinks for a moment.

"I'm not sure. It's all very strange. When I get nervous, I feel like I overheat, when I'm tired I feel drained, everything looks different and the same at once..." He looks at me for a second.

"It's like a parallel universe or something. It's not exactly different, but there's something... off about it. Buildings look larger, but cars look almost the same. Mirrors look like portals to different worlds, because when I look in them, I see someone else." I never really thought about how Bee felt about all of this. I think for a moment, if something similar happened to me. If I became something else- like a cat, or a squirrel, maybe. My point of view and appearance changed...

The Autobots continued asking concerned questions until it started to get late, and we had to leave because Bee was getting tired- saying it felt like he had a low battery.

When we walk outside, there is someone at the door that hands me keys to my new car, and outside waiting for us is... a crappy, beat up Hummer. Great.

Nonetheless, we get in and drive home in it. At least it runs well... and rides smooth enough for Bee to fall asleep in the passenger seat until we get home. We finally head to bed and get some sleep. Maybe we can do something fun tomorrow...

Chapter Text

Bee hums cheerfully along to the radio as I drive us to Mikaela's house. We had plans for a romantic movie date but... with Bee tagging along, I don't think it'll work out the way I planned...

Then again, I can't just leave him at home. He wouldn't have anything to do, and he'd probably just get bored and follow my parents around.

I have to push my thoughts aside as I pull into her driveway.

"Bee, I need you to get in the back." Bee whines quietly as he slides off of the passenger seat and starts following me to the front door.

"No, you have to get back in the car." He stops suddenly.

"What? Why?! I want to go with you!" He whines as he slightly purses his lips in a pout.

"I don't want Mikaela to see you until after I've explained what happened-"

"Sam! You weren't even there! How can you possibly explain what happened if you didn't witness it?!" His pout turns into a scowl.

"Just get in the car!" I finally end that stupid argument and turn to the front door, where Mikaela is already standing, arms crossed and hip to the side.

"So, what happened?" She asks, strutting towards me.

"Who is that?" I pissed her off. I pissed her off and I have no clue how.

"That... is Bumblebee. He was turned into a human by Barricade in that fight the other day." I nervously bite my cheeks and try desperately to keep eye contact with her.

"Really? How?" She swiftly shifts from angry to intrigued, and from one leg to the other.

"I don't know. Barricade built some weird machine and shot at Optimus, but Bee jumped in the way. After that Ratchet took him to my place, and we went to get him examined and to get a car to replace him with." I tap the car.

"They gave me this." There's an uncomfortable silence as she bites her lip, processing the information. She finally nods and walks to the other side of the car, to sit where Bee was before.

"So, is he gonna be a third wheel on our date?" I start the engine.

"Well, he doesn't really have anything else to do." I say as I pull into the road.

"What do you mean by 'third wheel'?" Bee leans so his face is between the front seats.

"She means someone who's left out when three people hang out."

"Oh... that doesn't sound fun..." He looks at me in the mirror with his big, blue eyes.

"Will I be a third wheel?" He pleads with his eyes for me to say no. After a minute of thinking, I answer.

"I'll try not to leave you out, okay?" He nods and smiles brightly.

"Thank you!"
-
Instead of buying tickets to the movie we were supposed to watch, 27 Dresses, Sam buys three tickets to The Incredible Hulk. I can't help but roll my eyes.

"We were supposed to watch a rom-com..." I whisper as we order snacks.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't wanna make Bee uncomfortable. Plus, I'm pretty sure this movie has some romance in it. Also, I've wanted to see it for so long...!" Sam reasons and pleads.

"No, Sam, you didn't have to do that for me...!" Bee adds in nervously.

"Yes, I did. This movie is supposed to be great, so please pay attention!" Sam begs me as we enter the theater.

"Alright..." I sigh as I sit down.
-
The movie was great, and very exciting. It's a shame Mikaela didn't seem to enjoy it as much as Sam and I did...

After the movie we dropped her off and drove to a small clearing, where they were supposed to have a picnic, but she insisted we go without her. She was really upset the whole time... she kept telling Sam that they 'needed to take a break'. I keep asking Sam what that means, but he refuses to talk about it.

Regardless, I help him lay down the blanket and take the meal out of the weaved basket. As we eat we talk about everything and nothing. This is all so strange, but oddly nice. Why did we set up a blanket? Why do we carry food in a basket rather than a cooler?

I shove these issues aside and focus on the sunset, the food, and Sam. My stomach feels strange, light, like it's floating. Perhaps I am ill? Should I seek medical help?

My skin is getting hot again, but not just my face. It doesn't feel uncomfortable, it feels rather like I'm wrapped in a light blanket. I wonder if this is normal, if Sam feels it too.

All of a sudden the ground tremors, and Barricade leaps out of the trees surrounding the field, and grabs my waist, squeezing and lifting and shaking me. This feels terrible, I feel sick. I hear Sam yelling, screaming my name, calling out for me, but it sounds so distant, even though he is in the hand just to my left. All I can hear is a horrible ringing. My ears are numb.

"I see that my canon worked, sadly, you were not the intended target." He's snarling, but I can barely see through the dark haze fogging my vision.

"However, this does not mean I won't make you suffer." He's screaming, but the ringing gets louder, blocks out the sound. I feel intense pain as his grip tightens, and I close my eyes, praying for unconsciousness. I can still faintly hear Sam, but I can do nothing but fall prey to darkness... Is this what Sam has to go through during fights like this?

Chapter Text

I scream out for Bee, and beg him to wake up, to stay awake, but to no avail.

Slowly my own vision starts to fade, even as I fight unconsciousness off, it manages to overwhelm me.
-
It's dark, dimly lit. Where am I? Where's Sam? I try to move. I can't. My limbs are numb and bound together. I'm sitting on the ground. All I can do is moan in pain.

"Bee?" Sam whispers. He's behind me. We are tied together. I moan again.

"S...Sam..." My throat burns at the name. I hiss quietly at the pain.

"I-it... hurts..." The last syllable becomes another pained hiss.

"What hurts?" He's concerned. Very concerned.

"Every... thing..." I can't move. It hurts to move.

"It's fine, just relax. We're gonna be fine." He's so calm. How is he so calm?

"Wh... what...?"

"Shh! Quiet, they're coming back!" Sam hisses back.

Soon I see lights- the optics of a decepticon- far above, and getting closer. I try to move, to scramble away at least, but I can only manage a slight, painful spasm. He laughs at me.

"Poor Bumblebee, reduced to a scared, lost child, looking for his parents. Pathetic."

I can only lower my head and growl. My throat is on fire... I feel Sam's hands grab onto mine. So warm...

"What do you want from us?!" Sam screams at him.

"I want to know where the Autobots are hiding." He finally leaves my view. My whole body shakes with his footsteps. Primus, make it stop...!

"They're not hiding. They don't hide."

"No? Well, let me rephrase that." His fist slams the ground, and I let out a silent whimper. "I want to know the location of the Autobot base!!!"

So loud... His voice is so loud... He's too close.

"I'm sorry, but we can't give it to you. That is classified information." He doesn't even stutter. Doesn't show fear.

In a second there's pain- blinding pain that doesn't go away. It hurts everywhere. I can't even hear myself scream, I wouldn't know I was if it wasn't for the pain in my throat. All I can hear is Sam- Sam's screaming, Sam's in pain. I have to help Sam. We have to get out of here.

"St-still not saying it...!" He chokes on his words. I feel something hot drip from my mouth. I scream at the Decepticon.

"LET SAM GO. TORTURE ME ALL YOU WANT BUT DON'T DRAG SAM INTO THIS."

"Let him go?" He retorts. "I would, but if I do, he'll run off and bring help. I can't let that happen. That would ruin the fun." No... please, Primus, no...!

"Besides..." He smirks at me. He's too close. I can feel the air from his voice receptor. "He is your torture."

He backs away and turns to leave us.

"I'll let you two think a while longer. See you in an hour." I can gear the engine as he drives away.

"Well..." I'm struggling for air. "That was terrible..."

Sam leans back on me. "Yeah..." I can hear his strained breathing.

"How...? How were you so calm, and... and brave?"

"I'm used... used to being in those situations... by now..."

Suddenly I feel awful. That's my fault. If I hadn't stayed around him- if I had just gotten the glasses and left- he never would have had to go through any of this. He would have lived a relatively normal life.

"We... we have to get out..." I struggle against the metal bounding us together- tying us to the ground.

"How the hell... do you suppose... we do that?" Sam huffs in response.

"There's gotta be some way... to break these stupid things..." I muster the strength to stand up, as best as I can, and look for something we can use to break out.

I observe our surroundings. We're in an abandoned car factory. There are metal cutting tools all over the place, but none of them are within reach. I slump back down in defeat.

"Maybe we'll get lucky, and someone will come and find us... or the Autobots will show up and save us..." I fight back tears and sniffle, resting my head in my knees. "Oh, who am I kidding?! It's hopeless!!!" I start to shake and sob.

"Oh, come on, Bee... don't cry... I'm sure we'll be fine..." Our fingers intertwine again. "Don't be like that..."

Sam tries to stand up. "Come on. Maybe there's something you didn't see, or... or maybe something I could reach."

I attempt to get up once more, but end up knocking over both Sam, and myself. On our next try, Sam and I tug on the chain a bit too hard.

It turns out, the chain and cuffs had rusted before we were put in them, and when they broke we both ended up on the ground again.
-
"Oh my God, I can't believe that actually worked!!" Sam yells as he gets up and helps Bee to his feet. Bee smiles back at him.

"Neither can I." They're practically beaming, overridden with joy, and surprise. Bee finally wipes the red substance from his lips- blood.

They make their way out of there as soon as possible, and hurry back to the NEST HQ to alert the Autobots and get medical help.