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He was- cute. That was certainly a word for it. Short, a little stout, a smile crooked to one side. Blue eyes, bright with a naive of innocents. But he quipped, and he joked, and, if Rodimus was being honest, the poor bug practically embarrassed himself. There was nothing bad about him, no, certainly not, he just wasn’t quite- Rodimus’ type. And yet, he kept showing up. If there was one thing Rodimus could give this guy credit for it was just how persistent he was. Cute. Honestly. Very cute. Just not quite right.
It only took one glance before Rodimus’ night suddenly became a little bit less exciting. “He’s here,” he muttered into the edge of his drink.
“Just ignore him,” Blurr said, shrugging a shoulder. “What’s the harm, anyways,” he smirked. “You’ve just got a fan, that’s all.”
“A fan? A fan. More like a stalker, Primus, everytime. I swear. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s probably harmless, but geez. Give a guy a break.”
Blurr leaned back a little to stare past his friend. “Ehh,” Blurr held out before leaning forward again. “He looks harmless.”
Again Rodimus scoffed. “I know he looks harmless. He probably is harmless. No, scratch that, I know he’s harmless.”
“Doesn’t look too comfortable.”
“Is he coming over here?”
“Uh-” Blurr leaned over again to check. “No. Doesn’t look like it. He’s got a friend with him.”
At that Rodimus perked. Without thinking he whipped around to see what he could see. He quickly found the yellow bug in the crowd accompanied by a much larger red bot who Rodimus had never seen before. Rodimus turned back to Blurr.
“As bad as this sounds, I genuinely didn’t think he had friends.”
“He’s here,”
“Didn’t you know he was gonna be here?”
“No, I assumed he’d be at Visages.”
“You worried about it?”
Bumblebee slid into a booth with Ironhide right on his tail. The large red bot squeezed himself beside his friend, the seat just slightly too small for his mass, the table even more so.
“I wouldn’t say worried,” Bumblebee said, halfheartedly shrugging a shoulder as his fingers fiddled atop the table. “I just don’t want to look like a creep.”
“Oh Bee, I think it’s a little too late for that.”
Bee slapped his hands flat atop the table, snapping his gaze to Ironhide. “I do not look like a creep,” he said. “That was an accident, I accidentally found out where he lived.”
Ironhide shook his head, reaching a hand up to call over someone to get them a couple of drinks. “You can say that Bee, and sure, I’ll believe ya,” he looked down at his smaller friend. “But they don’t know that. His friends don’t know that, an’ you dug yerself a hole higher than the top’a yer head. An’ buddy, I don’t think you can dig yerself out.” Ironhide reached a hand up again and waved someone over. “Ey, you said you were buyin’ right?”
“Yes, but only to a point,” Bumblebee said, pointing a sharp finger at his friend. “I don’t need to haul your sorry aft home.”
Ironhide just waved him off. “Ahh, cool yer jets, I ain’t gonna get overcharged.”
Ironhide ordered a pint and one fancy drink in a tall glass. At that Bee chuckled at him.
“I don’t care how frilly it is,” Ironhide said. “Chock full of engex and tastes like a goodie.”
Bee knocked Ironhide’s arm with his knuckle. “And here I took you as a hardened bot,” he joked.
“Yer little crush over there’s drinkin’ one,” Ironhide said, gesturing that corner of the room with the edge of his glass. Bumblebee’s smile fell a little as he looked over to where Rodimus was sitting. A few friends sat with him, the blue guy, the racer, what was his name? Blurr? Yeah, Blurr was there. Another mech, Smokescreen, if Bee was remembering right, and who else? A gray and black bot with orange biolights, Bumblebee didn’t recognize him, but he seemed to he having a good time. Albeit a seemingly overcharged good time, but a good time nonetheless.
Bumblebee fell from his trance when something smacked his arm. Ironhide leaned over a bit. “You’re staring,” he said, trying to stifle a smirk. “Why don’t you go over and talk to them?”
Bumblebee leaned away from his friend so he could look him in the face. “Are you insane?” he said.
Ironhide shrugged, sitting up. “What? Ain’t like you never done it before.”
“See, but that was different, that was intentional. This- this is not. Usually I just go to wherever the celebration for Blurr’s race is, or I go to the race and then go. Whatever. That doesn’t look weird-”
“It looks a little weird-”
“So anyways, that doesn’t look weird. Randomly showing up at a bar he happens to be at,” Bee pointed to his friend. “That’s weird.”
Ironhide rolled his eyes before finishing off the rest of his fancy drink. “Suit yerself,” he said. “But my guess is if you really wanna get to know him, this setting is good as any. Certainly better than those race parties you keep on tryin’ to shoulder your way into.”
Bee’s fingers thrummed atop the table. “Maybe I could,” he muttered mostly to himself. “Go over and talk to him,” his jaw worked and he bit his lip for half a second before letting it go. Bumblebee’s dentia tapped together as he thought. The possibilities. Either it could all go great, or it could crash and burn. A finger tapped restlessly on the table before Bumblebee flung himself from his seat. “Okay,” he said. “I’m going to go over there....you should order another pint.”
With fingers fiddling in front of him Bumblebee shuffled over to where Rodimus was sitting. His eyes were locked on the orange racer, staring past him and fixating on nothing but a blot of bright orange in the otherwise dim bar. Blurr spotted him, snapping Bumblebee out of his trance and stopping him in his tracks. Bee’s pedes skided across the smooth sticky floor of the bar. He could feel his eyes nearly popping out of his head as his glance whipped around before fixating back on Rodimus. Bumblebee worked his jaw and coughed into a fist. He drew his lips in and captured them between his dentia, letting out a small keen before taking a deep vent.
Calm. Breathe. There was nothing to be afraid of.
With half reassurance Bee shifted his pedes. For a moment he waded from foot to foot before forcing one of them to move. His legs carried him the rest of the way to Rodimus table. At the table he put on a smile. Blurr alerted Rodimus of the Bee’s presence before Bumblebee could make himself known.
Rodimus swiveled on his stool. He forced a smile, the pull on his eyes betraying it. “Hi Bumblebee,” Rodimus said, already seeming tired of this conversation.
For a brief moment Bumblebee’s lips stayed locked together. He scolded himself. Speak. Speak you idiot.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” Bee spit out past the lump in his throat. He was tempted to slap himself. Instead he just went with it. “I mean, hi, Rodimus.”
Rodimus turned more towards the smaller bot. “Do you frequent this bar?” he asked, his fake smile falling into a stoic expression of genuine interest.
Bee nodded, his smile easing with the real conversation. “Yeah, I live a couple blocks away. My pal Ironhide and I like it here, it’s a nice place.”
“Pretty clean.”
“Yeah, Mac keeps a good bar. What brings you here?”
Rodimus threw a thumb over his shoulder. “This is Trailbreaker’s spot.”
Bee nodded. “Oh,” he smiled past Rodimus to look at Trailbreaker. The black painted bot offered a crooked smile and held his drink up. Bee held up a hand. “Nice to meet you,”
Rodimus vaguely gestured the table. “Want to join us?” he offered, the smile reluctantly tugging at his lips again.
Bee waved a hand. “Oh no, I have someone waiting at my table. I just came to say hi. It was nice to see you.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Bee turned on a heel and wandered back to his own table, holding his head between his shoulders as he did. A warmth rose in his cheeks coating his face with a purple hue. When he sat back down Ironhide was still sipping at his brightly colored cocktail.
“That seemed to go well,” he commented, pouring a glass of engex from the pint. He slid it to Bumblebee who blindly caught it and threw back half of it with one swig. With the cup back on the table Bee wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand and shrugged. “Could have gone worse,” he said.
Ironhide nudged Bumblebee with his elbow. “Coulda embarrassed yerself,” he smirked.
Bumblebee lifted his glass to his lips again. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Could’ve.”
The club was routier than Bumblebee was used to. Probably because he’d arrived late and by that time he was generally safe at a table with his back to all of the nonsense on the floor. In this case, though, he’d missed the race and had to go after work. It wasn’t usually that hard to get in without a name drop, Bumblebee had done it often. This time, though, he’d spent almost twenty minutes arguing with the bouncer before he was finally let into the bar.
Squeezing through the tight overcharged crowd he could hardly hear anything. No amount of ‘excuse me’ or ‘pardon me’s’ would work with this crowd. Music blaring, lights flashing to the beat, only briefly illuminating the party space every second. It was dark otherwise, especially from Bumblebee’s vantage point just above almost everybody's hips or lower. Bumblebee eventually made it to the bar and tried to order himself a drink. It was hard when he could hardly lift a hand to call the bartender’s attention, or call loud enough to get it.
Instead of trying for a drink he sat up on his knees and scanned the bar for Rodimus and his party. Bee spotted them in a quieter corner, making it their own. Bumblebee drew his lips between his dentia and sat back on the stool. His fingers thrummed against the glowing bar top.
“Ey,”
A gruff voice snapped Bumblebee from his trance. He looked up at the frowning bar owner.
“Ordering a drink?” he asked.
“Uh,” Bee stuttered. “Just engex,” he spit out quickly. “Please,” he said quietly at the end. The bar owner slapped a glass to the table and poured Bee his glowing purple drink. Bumblebee took it with another small thanks and held it between two hands. He stared down at the thick substance and let his mind wander away from the music and the bar and everything else. He wondered how he would approach Rodimus table without looking weird, or creepy, or pushy, or the one guy who always showed up in places no one wanted him to be.
Bumblebee groaned, resting his head on the counter. He wasn’t sure how long he was sitting there when something light brushed his shoulder. His head snapped up. The hand on his shoulder flinched away. Bee whipped around to see Rodimus standing beside him.
Everything paused. A warmth rose in Bumblebee’s cheeks. When time unfroze he tried to rub it away with the ball of his hand. “Rodimus,” he said. “Uh- hi,” he smiled.
“Oh good you’re not dead,” Rodimus said, straight faced.
Bumblebee’s eyes glanced off to the side as the wheels turned in his head, trying to figure out whether that was a joke or not. Rodimus smiled then, and Bumblebee felt as though he might melt.
“I thought you were overcharged,” Rodimus called over the music. “Do you want to join me and the guys?” he asked, flicking his thumb over his shoulder in a vague direction.
“Uhm- Sure,” Bumblebee called back. “If you don’t mind. I don't want to be a bother.”
“No. It’s quieter over there anyways.”
Quieter sounded nice. Bee leaped from his stool and followed Rodimus over to where he was sitting. All of the other bots at the table seemed to be smirking at him. There was a mischievous glint in the corner of Blurr’s eye as his teeth just barely peaked out between his lips.
There were a few pitchers on the table, full, half full and empty. Stray drops of engex dotted the surface of the dark metal slab. It wasn’t a big group of mechs. The only free seat besides the one Rodimus stole was the one between Smokescreen and Blurr. Hesitantly Bumblebee smiled at them and climbed into it, his hand shaking as he put it down on the seat to haul himself atop it. Blurr and Smokescreen stared at him as Bee got comfortable, only turning away when the already overcharged Trailbreaker drew their attention.
They laughed at his antics. Bumblebee’s hands tightly squeezed his cup. He smiled along and occasionally tried to join the conversation, but found his voice drowned by the fast talking speedster and the quick quipping Trailbreaker. Bee sometimes let his gaze fall on Rodimus. His smile was bright in the dim lighting, the lights from the loud dance floor bouncing off his plating. Rodimus looked good in any light, even the tacky neon of a popular club.
Bumblebee’s thoughts were interrupted when Blurr smacked him in the back.
With a sickly smirk on his lips Blurr leaned forward. “So, Bumblebee. How’s life?”
Bumblebee’s fingertips rubbed against his glass. “Life? It’s good. Glad to have it.”
Blurr chuckled, sitting up straight. He grabbed the pitcher from the center of the table and poured Bee another drink. “Another drink?” he offered.
“Uh,” Bee stared at the liquid flowing into his glass. “Sure,” he tried to smile, but only half of his face made it.
The evening dragged on. From where he was seated Bumblebee couldn’t properly talk to Rodimus. It was too loud and he was too far. But every time his glass was near empty he found it full again, filled by Blurr who’s hand must have been fused to that pitcher, and who’s smile grew more and more crooked with every drop that fell into Bumblebee’s glass.
“Blurr,” Rodimus said sternly, a crest bending his brow. “Don’t you think that’s enough?”
“What?” Blurr complained, smile still on his face, arm around the back of Bumblebee’s chair. “We’re just having a little fun.”
“I think that’s enough,” Rodimus stood up in his seat and swiped the pitcher from Blurr’s hand. He practically slammed it back on the table beside his own cup, throwing a mean glare to his friend, who simply continued to smirk.
Bumblebee, meanwhile, was wading in his chair. He tried to blink the blur from his vision. The lights seemed brighter, all of a sudden, before they seemed to disappear.
Rodimus huffed a throaty sigh. “You guys are jerks.” he said, standing from his seat and walking around the table.
“What?” Blurr said. “It’s this what you wanted.”
Rodimus bit out another sigh. “Not like this,” Rodimus put his hands on Bumblebee’s shoulders and tried to ease him from the stool. “Come on, Bee, I’m taking you home.”
Bumblebee looked up at Rodimus, one eye blinked after another. “Where are you going?” he asked, letting himself be helped down from the stool. On his own two pedes he stumbled a bit.
“We’re going,” Rodimus said. “I’m taking you home,” Rodimus sneered, hooking one of his arms into Bumblebee’s. “Going to have to walk,” he muttered. “Great.”
Bumblebee shuffled along, dragged and supported by Rodimus. They walked past the dancing overcharged patrons, and past the bouncer, out into the street, damp from acid rain and spitting smoke from holes and crevices. Light bounced off the slick surface, pink and blue neon bright against the walkways as Rodimus slowly dragged them out of that sector and into more quiet, dimmer territory.
Bumblebee was quiet. He’d been pretty quiet all evening, surprisingly. Normally he tried too hard to be charming and funny. It fell through, most of his jokes couldn’t meet the punchline, and he got more pity laughs than anything. Rodimus sighed. He was cute, really, he was. And sweet, but just- Rodimus didn’t know. Just not for him. He kept telling himself that.
Rodimus helped Bumblebee up the stairs of his apartment. It was simple. Not too small, just big enough for one bot. An energon dispenser greeted them in the door, to the right of that, through a long threshold, was a living space, and on the other side of that was the bedroom. It was dark, Rodimus didn’t bother turning on the light. Instead he wandered to the glowing energon dispenser and made Bee a cube. Bumblebee, who had continued to follow Rodimus, was struggling to keep his pedes on the ground. Rodimus put a hand on his arms and carefully lead him to a chair and encouraged him to sit down before placing the cube on the table in front of him.
“Drink up,” Rodimus said. “Have to put some real fuel in you.”
Bee took the cube and emptied it, chugging it down in one go before gently placing it down on the table. Rodimus just shook his head. “Alright Bee,” he muttered. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Bumblebee stood from his seat without instruction. He almost fell backwards upon taking his first step, but Rodimus helped steady him. Rodimus walked behind the bug, keeping his hands on Bee’s shoulder’s so he wouldn’t fall back.
“Hey, so,” Rodimus started but stopped. He worked his jaw. “I’m sorry about this,” he said. “What they did. They were just being jerks,” Rodimus waded his head. “And you probably won’t remember this,” he said before muttering. “Makes me feel better though.”
As soon as the berth was at Bumblebee’s knees Bee fell right into it. Rodimus flinched back at the sound of metal on metal, and blinked a couple times, trying to figure whether he should try and help Bee into a better, more comfortable position. When he leaned down to investigate, however, and found Bee was already out cold. Rodimus shrugged it off and determine he was probably fine.
Rodimus retired to the couch, deciding it best to stay just in case Bumblebee woke up and tried to do anything in his still overcharged state. Rodimus probably wouldn’t be much help, though, considering he was asleep in all of thirty second after his back hit the couch.
Bumblebee groaned. His tanks felt as though they were having a wrestling match. His processor ached, pounding against it’s housing. His back strut protested at every movement, along with every other joint in his body, but Bumblebee managed to sit up anyways. On a shaking arms he shoved himself off his front and managed to get his knees under him on the berth. Letting out a sigh he rubbed his temples with his fingers for a moment before bowing his head into the bed and groaning again. For a while he just stayed like that, holding his head and his stomach.
Eventually he sighed and hauled his sorry aft off the bed, using all of the will he could muster. On heavy pedes he shuffled himself to the livingroom. When his eyes landed on the bright orange and yellow figure on his couch Bumblebee nearly yelped, his first thought being it was a stranger. He nearly screamed when his processor caught up with his eyes and figured out it was Rodimus.
Now fully awake, all aches forgotten Bumblebee just stood there. Little noises clicked through his processor as he tried to recall what happened last night.
Nothing.
If he’d done anything stupid, fortunately or unfortunately, he’d forgotten it. Hopefully he hadn’t done anything stupid. Bumblebee groaned into his palms. Primus, let him not have done anything stupid. Not in front of Rodimus.
Taking a deep vent Bumblebee removed his face from it’s hiding place. If he wanted to know the only way to do it was to ask. Bee wandered over to his uninvited, but very welcome guest, and poked him in the shoulder.
“Rodimus,” Bee whispered. “Rodimus wake up,” he poked a little harder, shaking the speedster. Bumblebee worked his jaw. “Rodimus,” he said a little louder. “Rodimus!”
Rodimus bolted upright, his face just barely missing Bumblebee’s head. Bee flinched back. Rodimus looked around. When he spotted Bumblebee he seemed taken back.
“Oh Bee,” he said, stiff stance easing. Rodimus rubbed one of his eyes with the ball of his hand. “Hey, you’re up. How are you feeling?”
Bumblebee took a step back, the back of his knees hit the coffee table. “Like scrap,” he answered honestly, “What happened last night?”
Rodimus shifted so he was sitting properly on the couch. “So you don’t remember anything?”
Bee took a seat on the table. “Uh- no. I didn’t do anything stupid did I?” he asked, cringing.
Rodimus shook his head and waved a hand in front of himself . “Oh no no. You were surprisingly quiet actually.” he smirked, leaning himself on an elbow balancing on his knee as he leaned forward.
Bumblebee offered a weak smile, but a real one. “That’s good to hear,” he sighed. He glanced to the left and vaguely gestured towards the energon dispenser. “Can I- offer you a cube?” he asked, the words struggling to make it past his lips smoothly.
“I could go for a cube,” Rodimus said, standing up.
Bee followed Rodimus to the energon dispenser and made himself a cube. They sat down at the table and sipped at their energon in silence for a while. Bumblebee occasionally found himself staring at Rodimus who stared off into space, chin balancing on an upturned palm. When Rodimus eyes briefly glanced to Bee he turned his head down and went back to his cube. Rodimus fingers tapped atop the table, thrumming in an even pattern. Bee just sipped at his cube, trying to keep his eyes on the fuel right below his nose.
“So why don’t you ever asked my on a real date?”
Bumblebee nearly spit out his drink, stopping the sip abruptly and choking on the energon that had been going down his intake. Bumblebee slapped his chest, coughing across the table. “Wha-” he rasped. He cleared his throat. “What?”
Rodimus shrugged, turning in his seat to face Bumblebee and placing both hands on the table so his cube rested between his elbows. “I mean, you like me don’t you?”
“Uh-” Bee held out. He chuckled awkwardly, scratching at the side of his face. “Yes,” he muttered, keeping his gaze on the table.
Rodimus leaned over a bit to get a better look at Bee’s face.
“Those bars aren’t really your scene are they?” Rodimus asked.
“Uh-”
“I can tell they’re not. You like places like Maccadam’s more, right?” Rodimus asked, leaning back in his seat and stretching out his legs under the table. He crossed his arms over his chest.
Bee shrugged. “Yeah, it’s nice,” he put his cube to his lips. “Quieter. Homey,” he took a sip. “Not quite- your scene I’m guessing though.”
Rodimus shrugged. “I’m up for anywhere that serves good drinks. But you never did answer my question.”
“About what?”
“If you like me so much how come you’ve never asked me out?”
Bee waded his head. “Well, I’d say that question answers itself.”
Rodimus sat up straight. “Humor me.”
Bee put his cube down. “You’re-” he lifted his palm to the sky. “Well you’re you. And I’m me,” he gestured between them. “That’s- it’s...I mean I don’t know how much looks mean, and I know that sounds bad, but-”
“I’m out of your league.”
“Yeah. That.”
It was silent for a moment. Rodimus took in a deep considering breath. “Alright,” he said. “Well. Let me do you a favor. Bumblebee, would you like to go on a date with me?”
Bumblebee’s spark stopped in it’s chamber. He snapped his gaze to Rodimus, his cube falling back to the table. “Would I like to do a what with you?” he asked, blue eyes wide.
Rodimus smirked, leaning forward. “I asked if you’d want to go on a date with me.”
“Yes. Wait. Are you being serious?”
“As a spark attack.”
Bee leaned back a little bit. “Is this a pity date?” he asked. Then leaned forward. “Actually don’t answer that, I don’t care.”
Rodimus smiled. He leaned his head on his palm again. “Great. Then you can pick me up around seven. And we’ll call it a date.”
“Yes,” Bee said, “We- I can do that.”
Rodimus stood up and downed his cube before heading to the door. “Alright, see you then.”
Bee offered a weak wave. “S-see you then.”
The door clicked shut. Bumblebee leaped out of his seat, throwing a fist to the sky with excitement. “Yes!” he called. “Dear Primus, I must be the luckiest bot in this entire universe.”
Rodimus sighed, rubbing his brow with a finger and thumb. He stayed in the hallways for a moment and listened to Bumblebee celebrate behind the door. As much as Rodimus didn’t want to he couldn’t help but smile. Cute. He really was cute.
Rodimus eventually went on his way. He had the honor of telling his friends the good news, that oughta be fun. Rodimus jogged down the stairs and burst through the door. He leaped into car form and drove off down the street, rushing to the track to meet up with Blurr and Smokescreen who had taken an early morning race to stretch their legs and wheels.
Rodimus leaped back into pipedal form and approached the edge of the massive track. When Blurr and Smokescreen hit the end of their race they stopped short and flipped forward. Smokescreen stumbled and landed on his face while Blurr landed gracefully on his pedes.
“Oh, lover boy,” Blurr teased, walking over to Rodimus. “So, have fun last night?”
Rodimus rolled his eyes. “Har har,” he deadpanned. “You’re a jerk, I hope you know that.”
“Pft,” Blurr waved a hand, wandering over the the energon dispenser set beside a bench. “Takes one to know one,” he got himself a cube of blue fuel and sat himself down on the bench. Legs stretched out, he placed an elbow on the back of it. “So, bug make it home okay?”
“No thanks to you,” Rodimus scowled, walking over to the bench and standing in front of Blurr, arms crossed. Rodimus smirked, leaning down so he was face to face with the racer. “Actually, I asked him on a date.”
Blurr sputtered into his energon, easy going demeanor melting away as his plating clenched and he sat up straight. “You what!?” he asked, abandoning the cube on the bench. “Rodimus, why would you do that?”
It was strange to see concern bending Blurr’s brow, albeit unwelcome.
Rodimus stood up straight. “I wanted to, duh,” he said. “And so what? Do you have a problem with that?”
Blurr drew his legs in so his pedes were under the bench. He furrowed half his brow, squinting an eye. “Uh, Cybertron to Rodimus, didn’t we want this guy off your back?”
“I don’t think I ever said that…” Rodimus trailed off. He kicked some dirt under his pedes, fingers thrumming against his arm. He shrugged a shoulder. “I’d say he’s kind of- grown on me- a little. Maybe,” he let his arms drop and waved his hand flat. “Listen, it doesn’t matter. I just told you that to annoy you.”
“But you are actually going on a date with him.”
“I am. Tonight,” Rodimus shrugged. “But hey, maybe he’ll get his fill,” the smirk returned. “Then you won’t have to deal with his bad jokes anymore.”
Blurr pointed to his friend. “Yeah, but you’ll have to deal with all of them.”
“Hm,” Rodimus shrugged. “I’ll live.” He wandered over to the track. “Who knows. Maybe it’ll be fun.”
Blurr stood and followed. He scoffed. “Yeah, for the bug. You’re going to have to tell me about it when your done,” Blurr transformed and rolled the rest of the way to the track, taking his position on the line. Rodimus walked all the way there before changing modes. Their engines hummed with the anticipation of a race.
“Oh, you’ll hear about it,” Rodimus assured. “After you clear my dust out of your audio receptors,”
“What?”
Rodimus took off.
Rodimus checked his chronometer again. Late. Now by ten clicks instead of seven. Soon to be eleven. Rodimus sighed. And to think, Bee had been so excited to go on this date. Rodimus placed his hand back on his hip for a moment before crossing his arms and leaning back against the building. He stared off down the street in the direction he assumed Bumblebee would be coming from.
The dinky hum of a motor drew his attention in the opposite direction. Racing down the street was a little yellow bug. At the edge of the sidewalk Bee flipped into his bipedal form and rushed up to Rodimus.
“Sorry I’m late,” he huffed, sounding winded. “I got caught up.”
Rodimus inspected him for a moment. Clean and freshly polished. Nice to see he put some effort into it. Bumblebee pulled something from his subspace and presented it to Rodimus.
“I was trying to get you this,” Bee said, “part of the reason why I was late.”
Rodimus took the object between two fingers. It had a long grey stem harboring a brightly blooming, metallic looking flower head at it’s top. The street lamps illuminated it’s surface in an array of colors. Rodimus smiled softly at the gift. He twisted it in his fingers and watched the color contort on the petals.
“Cool,” Rodimus said. “where did you get it?”
Bee stood up straight, “of the little stands in the trading district.”
“Hm,” Rodimus tucked the flower in his sub space. “So. What have you got planned for us?”
Bee smiled. “I’ve got the whole night planned out, if you don’t mind a few surprises.”
“Lead the way.”
They walked from Rodimus stoop out from between the buildings and to the more open leisurely district, with shops and stands set up around the docking area. It wasn’t a long walk, and there weren’t many people on the back roads where they were coming from. Bright lanterns lit the streets where the market started. Purple and blue lights floated about adding a spring of color to the festive area. People ran about the streets, dancing and singing, talking and taking drinks in and out local bars and restaurants. Rodimus surveyed his surroundings, not expecting such festivities. Granted, the area was generally well populated and one of the sites on a need-to-see tour of Iacon, but Rodimus didn’t expect it to be this busy.
“It’s a festival of light,” Bee said, drawing Rodimus’ attention. “I think it’s a Neoprimalist thing, bi-annual. You seem surprised.”
Rodimus shrugged. “I live down the street from this district. I wonder why I never came.”
“It doesn’t really extend at all past the docks. This area has one of the densest populations of Neoprimalists.”
They wandered about the festival, not really taking part in the celebration itself. Rodimus inspected his fair share of trinkets and trading goods from other planets that free Cybertronians had brought back with them, as well as bought from other trade dealers. Rodimus had to admit there was was some pretty cool stuff. Some of the stands were tattooing little matrix’s on people’s cheeks, while others told fortunes and sold supplemented energon or crystal dust to keep bad spirits away from the spark. Besides that, though, there were energon chip and sweet stands, and lanturn sellers who showed off light tricks with their hands.
It was loud, but not rowdy. Bee lead them to a bar where they sat at the edge of the patio and got themselves a couple drinks to chat with.
“So, Bee, where are you from?” Rodimus asked, twirling his drink in his hand and squinting an eye into it to see if he could spot any specks. Deemed safe he took a sip as Bumblebee answered.
“Oh, I’m from Iacon. You?”
“Nyon.”
“Oh cool. I’ve never been to Nyon. What brought you here?”
Rodimus shrugged. “Work. Friends. Races. It’s not the wealthiest city- I mean,” Rodimus twisted his lps for a moment before perking abrow. “I mean it’s no Kaon. But it’s no Iacon.”
“I think Nyon’s closer to Vos, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, a bit. Have you ever been to Vos?”
Bumblebee shook his head. “No, I don’t travel much.”
“What do you do for work?”
“I work at one of the energon distilleries.”
“Ah.”
“And you.”
“Odd jobs.”
“Oh.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, I think I thought you raced with Blurr.”
“I do. But not professionally,” Rodimus crossed his legs and leaned an elbow on the table. “Most of my racing is through underground circuits.”
Bumblebee smiled. “Cool.”
The conversation went on. A few drinks were had before they took to wandering the festival. They headed towards the docks, a somewhat quieter area of the festivities. Bee resisted the urge to check out the many booths lining the streets, and instead kept up his steady conversation with Rodimus.
They made it to the water. Both placed their elbows on the boardwalk rails and stared off.
Rodimus looked down. Street lamps reflected in the water above his head. It bounced off his plating and danced with the waves.
“Have you ever been down here?” Bee asked.
Rodimus perked, throwing his gaze to Bumblebee. After a moment he shrugged and turned around to lean back against the rail with his elbows propped atop it. “Not really,” he said. “Mostly I work. Go out. Not around here, though. Never really wandered around here,” Rodimus threw a smirk to Bumblebee.
“Not until now at least.”
Bee smiled, averting his eyes. He picked at the plating at the side of his head and stared off into the water. After a moment he placed his hand back on the railing and shoved off. “Wanna keep walking?” he asked.
Rodimus bounced himself off the rail and took a place in stride with Bee.
“Sure.”
They mosied down the docks, lost in their own little world. They discussed racing and the bars they frequented. Paint jobs and history. The city they lived in, and the cities they’d lived in. Bee found the smile on his face wide and hurting his cheeks. They wandered, following a path to nowhere specific, until they ended up in a small park not too far away from where they were but significantly less crowded.
“So- you don’t like racing that much.”
“No, I do like racing. Watching it is just sort of boring. I’d rather be doing it.”
Rodimus puffed a laugh. “Wow. You are a determined stalker,” he joked.
“I- wouldn’t call myself that,” Bee said sheepishly.
Rodimus lightly elbowed Bee in the arm.
“I’m just messing with you.”
“I’m- sorry if I ever came off too strong. I just wasn’t really sure how to approach you.”
“It’s cool. Though, I did always pride myself on how approachable I am.”
Bumblebee snorted a laugh before quickly slapping a hand over his mouth.
Rodimus cocked his head. “What?” he asked. “You don’t think I’m approachable?”
Bee shrugged, removing the hand from his mouth. “Well-” he said, his voice a slightly higher pitch than normal. He cleared his vocalizer. “You’re not- not approachable.”
“Oh come on,” Rodimus stifled a laugh.
Bee resisted a smile, placing a hand over his mouth again. Rodimus shoved his shoulder. “Come on,” he chuckled. “What? What makes me not approachable?”
Bee twisted his lips, turning his chin up slightly as he thought. “You’ve got this kind of- aura about you-” he started, moving his hands around. “I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s like- you’re cool. And smooth. And you’ve got that smirk, and a bright color scheme. Makes almost everyone around you wanna move aside when you walk by, you’re just…” Bee trailed off. “I think I’m trying to say that you’re cool.”
Rodimus stifled a laugh. “Oh, well. In that case. You’d be right.”
Bumblebee chuckled, gently elbowing Rodimus in the side.
“Don’t be so humble.”
“I can’t help it, it’s just my nature.”
“I like your nature,” Bee muttered, his eyes dimmed but beamed up at Rodimus. Rodimus smiled back. A heat rose in Bumblebee’s cheeks and he looked away.
The conversation went on. About racing, the weather, very briefly the current political news. Not much to talk about, but they stretched it out and out and didn’t let it drag between them.
“So you don’t get out much,” Bumblebee said, leaping up onto the edge of a fountain.
“No, I don’t get out much around here. Where Blurr and the guys hang out, that’s usually my scene. You don’t get out much either.”
“No, I do,” Bee corrected, leaning them in a circle around the fountain, their pace slow and steady as Bee moseyed along. He shrugged. “Mostly around here. When I’m not trying to elbow my way into your posse.”
“Elbow all you want,” Rodimus shrugged. “I could use a break from my knuckle heads. Why do you think I invited you to sit with us all those times?”
Bumblebee leaped off the fountain. “I dunno, pity?” he shrugged.
Rodimus puffed a laugh. “No,” he said stifling a smirk. “I don’t do anything out of pity.”
“I have a hard time believing that.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Bumblebee gestured their general area, spinning as a circle so he captured the whole picture before turning forward. “We’re here. Together. Walking in a park on a beautiful evening. And if you’re not doing this out of pity then I don’t know what to think.”
“Not pity,” Rodimus said, stopping.
Bumblebee stopped a couple paces ahead and turned to face Rodimus.
Rodimus twisted his lip slightly, cocking his head a bit and throwing a glance to the side. He scrubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, “What would you say,” he said, then flicking his hand out and cocking his head to the opposite side. “If I sorta kinda- genuinely liked you.”
There was a pause between them.
“I’d ask you what they put in your drink,” Bee said, his voice airy.
Rodimus took the two steps forward to almost close the distance between them. He slid his hand down Bumblebees wrist and intertwined their fingers. Rodimus took a few steps forward. When their fingers caught and Rodimus tugged Bumblebee moved. As he shuffled forward his grip on Rodimus hand tightened.
They walked all the way back to Rodimus apartment.
“This was fun,” Rodimus said, releasing Bee’s hand. “Can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned next time.”
“There’s a next time?”
“No, I just held your hand the whole way here for fun.”
Bumblebee’s cheeks became a deep shade of purple. “Right,” he said sheepishly. “Heh. Sorry. It’s just-” He clenched and unclenched his fist before forcing it to sit on his side. “Unbelievable,” he mumbled to himself, then looked up at Rodimus. “Who says I’m planning the date next time?”
Rodimus laughed stiffly. “Oh, I’ll blow your mind with my date, buddy.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Rodimus offered a wave. “Until next time,”
Bee offered a weaker wave. “Till next time,” he muttered back.
“What do you think smaller yellow bots like to do for fun?”
Blurr reached over to the opposite foot where he say in a split on the ground. “Why are you asking me that?” he asked warily, looking up at Rodimus who was standing.
Rodimus shrugged, flicking a hand out. “I’m trying to come up with a good date.”
Blurr was on his feet in an instant. “You’re going out with him again?”
Rodimus face fell to impatience. “Blurr, we’re dating.”
“I know. You told me.”
Rodimus shook his head. “You’re no help at all,” he said, abandoning Blurr for the track.
Rodimus did a few laps around the track. He racked his brain for something the quirky little bug might want to do for fun but found nothing. Not that Bee didn’t do anything, he probably did. But Rodimus had only ever seen him in settings that weren’t his “scene” per say, and so had no grasp on Bumblebee’s actual interests.
Festivals maybe?
He did know about that one at the docks.
Maybe he liked traded goods. He did go from one market to the other.
Oh no.
Rodimus stopped and flipped into bipedal mode. “I got it,” he snapped, smirking as he walked off the track.
“Where are we going?”
“Haven’t I already told you it’s a surprise?” Rodimus said, flipping into bipedal form. Bee flipped over beside him. With a triumphant smile Rodimus watched Bee react to what they saw before them.
“A race?” Bee asked, quirking a brow. “And here I thought you were some master date planner,” he teased.
“Oh, no no. We’re not going to a race.”
Bee faltered. For a moment he looked around for something else event worthy. “Then where are we going?” he asked, looking back to Rodimus.
Instead of answering Rodimus strode forward. Bumblebee leaped to follow and soon found himself walking past the threshold out onto the track itself.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Bee mumbled, gaping at the magnificent sight. Bright lights lit up the track, a blue crisp surface. Smoothed over and clean, but rough with the weather of racers pedes and tires.
Rodimus stepped onto the track and took his position at the starting line in car mode. When Bee didn’t follow he revved his engine.
Bumblebee leaped to attention, kneeling into car form and revving his, admittedly much less impressive engine in response. Before anyone could say go Rodimus took off. Bee’s tires spun for a moment before he was racing down the track, quickly catching up to Rodimus who continually honked his horn and threw out playful insults like “slow poke” and “Don’t overheat your engine.”
Bumblebee laughed in response, throwing back a few of his own as they rounded the corners and hugged the curves. They took about a dozen turns about the track before Rodimus skidded off the road and jumped into bipedal mode. Bee, who had been right on his tail, tried to do the same thing. Instead of landing gracefully on his pedes, however, he flew right into Rodimus, knocking them both over.
Rodimus laughed, throwing his head back into the dirt.
“Smooth move,” he said, poking his partner in the head.
Bumblebee became a deep shade of purple, laughing weakly. “I did that on purpose,” he claimed. “Uh- making sure you’re keeping your guard up.”
Rodimus puffed a laugh. “Sure you did.”
The pair fell into silence. Bumblebee kept his eyes off of Rodimus, despite the temptation to look. It suddenly occurred to him that he was still on top of Rodimus, though his limbs, just as suddenly, felt too heavy to move.
“Ya know,” Rodimus said. “You’re kind of cute from his angle.”
Bee tried to stifle his smile, still only gifting Rodimus glances.
“You mean- I don’t always look cute?” he stuttered out, the warmth in his cheeks spreading until it reached the edges of his eyes.
“I never said that.”
Before Bumblebee knew what was happening he found a soft kiss being planted on his nose. The heat in his face felt as though it was about to boil out the top of his head.
Rodimus chuckled. “You should see your face.”
“Still cute I hope,” Bee said quickly, hardly aware of the words coming out of his mouth. After another moment of staring he rolled over to lay on his back. Rodimus scooted slightly closer so that their shoulders were touching, his head resting atop Bumblebees.
Under the light of the track there weren’t many stars to see. But there was enough to keep their attention.
For a while they just laid in silence, searching for the little flecks of light through the polluted barrier. It was Bumblebee who broke the silence, keeping hush voice in a hush as he spoke.
“So- Rodimus, silly question but-” Bee cut himself off, he rubbed his warm cheek with the tips of his fingers before forcing his hands back to his lap. “Are we- are we in this for the long run?”
Rodimus smirked, his gaze still on the sky. He took one of the hands resting in Bee’s lap and entangled it in his own, dragging it to rest between them. Rodimus let out a long, content sigh.
“I’d say we are.”