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Chapter Text

He should not feel this way after all this time should he? Because somehow he still remembered the trust fall exercise vividly. It was weird, what had Grimlock done to get his attention except catching him when he fell? It was just a trust exercise, a way to get to know each other. But somehow Bee wanted to be back in Grimlock's arms. To be held again. There were so many times when he was the one to hold everyone up, but not then, not that moment. Bumblebee ex-vented, closed his optics for a moment and then just stood up. He needed a new trust exercise, no matter what. Furthermore, it would be a good way to see whether Strongarm and Sideswipe got better acquainted or not.

'Team, it's time for a new trust exercise,' he said when he had everyone gathered around.

'Oh, no. Not that again!' Sideswipe wined.

'Shut it, Sideswipe!' Strongarm said sharply. 'This is important.'

'Exactly,' Bee said. 'It is to see how much we have improved as a team.'

'Yeah, sure,' Sideswipe said. 'But it isn't going to work with Fixit if we do that trust fall exercise again.' He made a waving gesture to indicate the size of the small bot was the problem.

'I can most certainly crept- cake- catch you,' Fixit said somewhat offended.

'At least he does his job right,' Strongarm said.

'Hey! I do my job,' Sideswipe threw back and Bee sighed while he shook his head. His optics went to Grimlock, who was the only one not to join the bickering. Bee was surprised to find his eyes on him already and felt heat rise to his face. He looked quickly away, knowing he should stop the fight before it got out of hand.

'Strongarm, Sideswipe calm down,' he said.

'Yes, sir!' Strongarm said immediately, Sideswipe only growled.

'Fixit, you are a part of the team we can never miss,' Bee said. 'You don't have to do the exercise because we know we can already count on you.' Fixit's face filled with pride and Bee knew he would not hear the end of it.

'So how will we do the exercise, boss?' Grimlock asked and Bumblebee felt himself drawn to those bright burning optics again.

'We have to catch each other at least once,' he said, not wanting to let go off Grim's gaze, but knew he had to divide his attention to the other bots as well. It made sure they listened. 'I'll start with the catch, then Strongarm, after that Sideswipe and we end with Grimlock.' The three of them nodded and Bee could not wait for his last fall, knowing it would be in Grimlock's arms. Of course, it went wrong when Strongarm and Sideswipe had to catch each other, Bee did not expect anything else. But what did surprise him was that he felt a pang of jealousy when the others were caught by Grimlock. He just wanted those arms for himself.

'That was good, Grimlock,' Bee said before it was his turn to fall and the giant bot beamed proudly.

'Thank you, boss,' he said. 'Are you ready to fall in my arms?'

'In a few seconds,' Bee said with a smile and looked at Strongarm and Sideswipe. 'You two have still some work to do.' The two grunted but knew what was asked from them. Bee was happy with the distance they created and looked at the bot before him. 'You ready?'

'Always, boss,' Grimlock said with a broad smile and Bee could not help but to smile back. He turned his back to the bot and let himself fall. Everything seemed to slow down, from the moment he let himself fall to the moment Grimlock caught him. But not the same way as he had done with the other bots. He had caught them as a bot would by a normal exercise, just like Bumblebee had given the example of. Only this time Grimlock caught him like he did the very first time. Bridal style and very close. Bee felt Grimlock's arms around him again and felt how his engines were working a bit harder than usual. It felt so safe. Bee ex-vented happily en caught Grimlock's eyes. His face wore a bright smile and Bee smiled back.

'Did I do well, boss?' the dinobot asked and Bumblebee nodded, feeling very comfortable in his current position.

'Yes, Grimlock,' he said. 'You did excellent.'

Chapter Text

Grimlock would tell everyone the things he saw when trapped in the weird goo was a horrible monster named a cat. What he wouldn't tell was what his second dream was. That second dream was what made him feel on edge a lot lately, fidgeting and looking concerned at a certain other bot.

'Grim? Something wrong?' Bumblebee asked when he caught Grim's worried look. The larger bot shook his head.

'No, nothing wrong,' he said maybe a bit too fast to be convincing.

'You're still scared of the cat?'

'No,' Grimlock said, without hesitation and Bee laughed.

'You had me worried there for a moment big guy,' he said and gave him a small pat on his arm. 'But if there is something the matter, please let me know. We're a team remember? We help each other with their problems.' Grim nodded, but couldn't help but to start fidgeting again.

___
'Grim, what is it?' Bee asked while ex-venting deeply.

'What?' Grim said as if he was caught in an act he did not have any knowledge of.

'You've been following me around for a while now,' Bee said, brow raised.

'I haven't been-' Grim started but Bee gave him this look which showed a lie would not get him any further. 'Okay, yes. I have been following you, Bee. I'm sorry.' He slumped a bit while sadness was written all over his face. Bee frowned with worry and took a step closer to him.

'So what is it?' Grim felt his spark beat restlessly.

'I- well,' he said looking anywhere but the bot in front of him. Bumblebee just calmly waited for him to continue. 'The thing is-.'

'Hey! What's hanging?' Sideswipe suddenly burst in, just back from a patrol round. Grimlock just froze and looked at Sideswipe without any expression.

'Hey, Sideswipe,' Bee said. 'How was the patrol?'

'Well, you know... kicked some butt, was awesome, the usual,' he answered and the lieutenant just shook his head with a smile while the younger bot passed them by. His gaze went back to Grimlock who still seemed to be frozen on the spot.

'So, what is it?' Bee asked him, the larger bot shook his head a few times and then looked at him again.

'What?'

'You were following me, remember?' Bee said. 'So what was up with that?'

'I- er... I need to go,' Grimlock said in some panic and quickly transformed. 'Patrol is calling.'

'You don't even-' Bee started, but the dinobot was already gone.

___

'Have you seen Grimlock?' Bee asked Strongarm while she was cleaning her weapon.

'Grimlock?' she asked and thought for a second. 'No, lieutenant. Not recently at least.' Bee nodded and let his gaze go through the scrapyard but didn't see the bot he was looking for. He really wanted to talk to him. Something was wrong, but it seemed that Sideswipe had ruined the moment when the larger bot was to tell him.

'Thank you, Strongarm,' Bee said. 'I go look somewhere else.' But he discovered pretty fast that no one knew where the large bot went.

'Well, it seems that he's just in the woods,' Fixit said.

'Then I'll go look for him,' Bee said with a nod and a growing worry for Grimlock.

___

'Grim? Grimlock?' Bee called and checked his location again. He should be nearby. 'Grim- Oh there you are!' The large bot sat on a treetrunk, optics fixed on the ground.

'Is everything okay?' Bee asked and carefully laid his hand on his shoulder. Grim shook his head. 'Is it okay if I sit next to you?' Grim nodded and Bee took place next to him. In a moment of quiet Bumblebee wondered what had the dinobot so upset.

'You know you can talk to me, Grim,' Bee said and laid his hand reassuring on his arm. Now Grimlock looked at him. Worry in his eyes.

'Bee,' he said and laid his hand on Bee's. 'You remember that batbot right?'

'The one with that supersonic scream? Can't forget that.' Grim nodded.

'What did you dream?' he asked having a strong but warm grip on Bee's hand.

'I-' Bee ex-vented, trying to ignore how his spark sparked by Grimlock's touch. 'I dreamed Optimus thought I was not worthy to lead. That I destroyed everything that I-' He ex-vented again, not looking a Grimlock this time. 'That I was a bad leader and let everyone down.' His optics went back to Grim. There was a moment of silence and the deep worry was back in Grimlock's eyes.

'I had two dreams,' he said and looked away. 'I don't think that's normal.' Silence invaded them once again.

'So, you were followed by two cats?' Bee eventually joked. Grim's optics were large with confusion.

'Oh, thank the Allspark no. That would've been horrible,' he said, shivered and then a frown entered his face. He looked away again. 'Only... not as scary as what I dreamed.' Bee felt worry entering his body. Grimlock was not a bot to be scared easily except if it was a cat. To hear them say that was a bit scary itself and Bee wondered what in the name of the Allspark could have scared Grim more than a cat.

'So,' Bee said slowly after another silence. 'Do you want to tell me?' Grimlock looked at him again, repositioning his hand which still laid on top of Bee's. The lieutenant wanted to say that he didn't have to tell him if he didn't want to, but the dinobot talked before a word could escape him.

'I dreamed that we were fighting, the team together against the deceptions,' he told with a smile which faded. 'But I wasn't strong enough. My punches didn't hit and-' Grim now grabbed Bee's hand with both his hands. 'You were killed, Bee,' he said with trembling voice. 'You were killed and it was my fault. Strongarm and Sideswipe did not want me on the team and you... You just- I don't want to lose you, Bee.'

'Hey, it's alright, Grim,' Bee said and laid his free hand on top of Grim's hands. 'It's alright.' Grimlock let his head fall on Bee's shoulder.

'Please don't leave us, Bee. I don't know what I would do if you went offline.'

'Well, I won't,' Bumblebee said reassuring and noticed Grimlock nuzzled himself more closely. 'I wasn't planning on going offline anytime soon.' He smiled and let his head fall to the side to touch Grim's. It was a moment of peace and quiet, rudely interrupted by the coms.

'Lieutenant Bumblebee,' Fixit called. 'Did you find Grimlock? Wait I can see you did. But is he okay? Are you okay? Did something happen-?'

'We're fine, Fixit,' Bumblebee replied and Grimlock raised his head from his shoulder. The moment they just had was broken, but it was fine. 'We'll be back soon.' Grim nodded when he made eye contact with him. He then smiled.

'Sorry that I made you all worry,' Grim said.

'It's fine. You just needed some time alone. Nothing wrong with that.' The large bot nodded.

'Don't tell anyone, though,' he then said with a frown, fidgeting a bit.

'I won't,' Bee replied. 'But don't be scared to tell me your worries if you have any.'

'I won't, Bee,' Grim said and looked at him. 'And thank you.' Bumblebee smiled.

'Come, or else they'll get worried.'

Chapter Text

Grimlock was watching Bumblebee pacing around. It confused him why the smaller bot was pacing around so much. What would have caused a high level of pacing, he wondered and decided to ask.

'Bee?'

'Ah!' the smaller bot almost screamed. Startled Grim took a step back and gave Bee an odd look. 'Oh, sorry, Grimlock. Didn't see you there.'

'Are you okay?' Grim asked carefully. Who knew if he would accidentally scare the lieutenant again.

'Ah, yes, sorry. I'm just a bit... you know.' Bee waved with his hands in the air but the other bot did not know what he was getting at. 'It's that there haven't been any signs of deceptions lately and it makes me... Well, really nervous and just stressed.'

'Oh,' Grim said and thought for a bit. 'What if we go punch some things? That should help, right? Punching away all your nervousness!' Bee gave him a smile.

'I don't think-' he started but stopped himself. 'You know what, maybe it will. Show me something to punch, Grim.' The dinobot lit up and proudly puffed out his chest.

'Where are you going?' Sideswipe asked when he passed them.

'Punching things,' Grim said proudly.

'Punching, huh,' the red bot said. 'Can I join?'

'I don't see why-' Bee started but was interrupted by Grim's loud voice.

'No,' he said firmly and Sideswipe frowned. Grim saw his mistake and tried to come up with a better reason than just wanting to have some time with Bumblebee without any other bot around. 'There- There's only room for two punching robots.' Grim felt a bit hot by saying that and hoped Sideswipe didn't see through his lie or just didn't care.

'Ah, okay. Well, call me next time you go punching,' he said and gave them a lazy wave goodbye. Grimlock ex-vented with relief which resulted in a questionable look of Bumblebee. But nothing was said until they had left the scrapyard and entered the forest.

'Is there really just place for two?' Bee asked and Grim felt himself blush from embarrassment.

'Well, yeah I don't want you to get more stress with a bot to look after, Bee,' he said, somewhat nervous. Bee smiled.

'That's very thoughtful of you,' he said. 'It would be less relaxing with Sideswipe. Even though I love that guy, he can be a pain in the ass most of the time.' Grim was confused by those words and frowned.

'You love Sideswipe?' he asked feeling and looking down, missing the shocked face Bee made.

'Wait what?' Bee said and stopped their walk. 'What do you mean exactly, Grimlock?'

'Ah well,' the larger bot started but narrow his optics to look Bee better in the eye. 'I thought that... You know?'

'I know?' Bee asked wondering where it all came from and let out a laugh. 'He is a youngling, Grim. It will never be like that.'

'He's a... Oh. Oh!' Grimlock chuckled nervously and rubbed his head. 'I totally read that wrong,' he then said and Bee smiled.

'Oh, by the Allspark, that would be something, wouldn't it,' he said and shook his head. 'Well anyway, where's the punching place?'

'Almost there,' Grim said and felt way more at ease than he did before. He also felt more energetic and took a little sprint. 'Follow me!' Bee rolled his optics but did follow his pace until they got into a clearing with a few big rocks.

'So... This is your punching place?' the small bot asked, Grimlock nodded.

'Found it all by myself,' he said, spreading his arms, basically showing off.

'Well, I can't say that I'm not impressed,' Bee said and laid one of his hands on the rock's surface. 'This is indeed a punching place.' Grim grinned proudly.

'So, you wanna punch?' Bee laughed.

'Sure.'

'You can also punch me.'

'Punch you?'

'Yeah, like real hard and I try to stop it!' Grim said enthusiastically. 'Come on Bee, you want to relax. Punching is good for relaxing.' Bee chuckled.

'Okay, okay,' he said. 'You're the punch master so I believe you'll know best.' Grim's grin widened and he opened one of his hands. Bee gave him a quick look and then hit his hand against his. It was a pretty good punch and Grim felt happy. So he opened his other hand. Bee punched his hand again and kept going at it. Until Grim closed his hand over Bee's. Bee frowned but punched his free hand in the other where Grim locked his hand as well.

'Grim?' Bee asked with a raised eyebrow. 'What are you doing?' Grimlock had an idea and wasn't going to tell Bee until he had executed it.

'Something fun,' he said and shifted his weight so smaller bot lost his balance.

'Really, Grim?' Bee asked with a laugh when they lay on top of each other. Grimlock could only give a sheepish smile. The yellow bot gave him a small push but did not use enough strength to move the dinobot.

'Come on,' Grimlock teased. 'You can use more of you punching strength.'

'Like this?' Bumblebee asked and this time succeeding in rolling Grim off him. But Grimlock had different plans and just made the lieutenant roll with him.

'There's some good punching in you,' he said now with the yellow bot on top of him. It was a pretty sight, he thought and could not stop his smiling.

'Thank you, Grimlock,' Bee said, not quite sure if he liked his new position or not. I was maybe a bit too intimate.

'Bee?'

'Yeah?'

'Feel less nervous?' Bumblebee blinked and then nodded with a smile.

'Yes,' he said, but looked away from Grim's gaze. 'I feel oddly relaxed.'

'That's good,' Grim said ex-venting deeply.

'Yeah...' There was a moment of silence. 'I should get off,' Bumblebee said and wanted to do just that.

'Can't let you do that,' Grim said and switched their places with a roll. Now he was on top of Bee again. The smaller bot was startled at first but slowly a blush crept up his face. Their gazes were now interlocked and they both felt a warm feeling building up inside. Time seemed to pass by slowly until Grim finally let Bee go. 'Ha, just kidding,' he said, suddenly unable to look at the yellow bot.

'Maybe we should- er- go back to camp, right?' Bumblebee said suddenly finding it a lot more interesting to look at rocks.

'Yeah,' Grimlock said and got on his feet while his body still felt heated leaving a smile on his face. 'Maybe we should. Strongarm will be worried, right?'

'Probably.'

Chapter Text

'Is it me or are we being watched?' Bee asked Grim while they were taking a stroll around the scrapyard.

'Should I punch something?' Grim asked ready to transform.

'Not yet,' Bee said and laid his hand on Grimlock's arm something he was doing more and more often lately. As well as just finding moments to just be with the bot. Was it in missions or outside. He liked being alone with Grim, there was always some kind of safeness to it he hadn't felt in years.

'You see something?' Grimlock asked and Bee shook his head. 'What if it is a cat?'

'It probably isn't,' he said but could not ignore Grim was on edge.

'Could I hold your hand?' he asked out of the blue it seemed and Bee frowned. 'I saw the humans do it in one of Russel's movies,' he explained shyly. 'And it seemed to help the humans so I thought that maybe it could work for us as well? I just really don't like cats...'

'I know,' Bumblebee said reassuring and grabbed Grim's hand. 'Better?' The large bot nodded and Bee felt his body heating itself a bit more. Their servos intertwined and they continued their walk without wanting to let go.

~

The morning came and Grimlock noticed he did not want to go back to the group and having to let go of Bee. They sat on a tree trunk not far from the camp, but far enough for a bit of privacy.

'I think we should head back,' Bee said, stood up and stretched his body. Grim looked at him, not knowing how he could keep him. 'Something wrong?' Grimlock stood up as well, towering over the yellow bot who had an orange glow from the dawning sun.

'I-' he started, unable to move or say anything. He was suddenly captured by two beautiful optics which made him wanting to be more close to the bot than just standing in front of them. 'Do you remember that one film Russel showed us?'

'Which one?' Bee asked with a laugh. 'The kid showed us dozens.'

'That one where they put their faces together? I- I wanna try that?' Bee was silent for a long moment, thinking of what it could mean, trying to ignore the heavy pulsing of his spark.

'I-' he started, noticing Grimlock came closer.

'Is it weird that I want to try it?' he said, his helm just millimetres from Bumblebee's.

'I don't know,' Bee answered. 'Maybe it is, maybe it isn't?' They stared at each other, both not making a move. Until Bee decided that if it was ever going to happen it should happen now that the sun was not fully risen yet. He tilted his head like he had seen the humans do and pressed his face softly against that of the other bot. It was a weird experience like ten things happened at the same time that a pure silence was present.

'I think I understand why humans do this,' Grimlock said and Bee nodded now that their heads were apart again.

'It was...'

'Nice.'

'Yeah, it was nice,' Bee said and smiled while taking Grim's hands in his.

'Would you like to do it again sometime?' the larger bot asked and Bee felt a bit flustered but was certainly not the only one feeling that way.

'Yes, I'd love to,' he answered with a smile that was returned. 'But, we need to get back to camp now.' Grim's smile dropped a bit.

'Oh, yeah, we should,' he said rubbing his neck. 'But after that?' Bee smiled and Grim's face lit up.

'But don't tell anyone,' he said. 'I don't know how we are even gonna explain this to the younglings or even the humans.'

'I won't,' Grim said. 'I want it to be our secret moment.' The looked at each other for some kliks and Grimlock decided to pull the lieutenant in a short hug.

'We should get back,' Bee said when they let go of each other. Smile still present.

'Lead the way boss.'

Chapter Text

'Optimus, I don't get why you brought me here?' Bumblebee asked while trying to get himself through the crowd.

'To observe, Bee,' the Prime said in his usual calm voice. 'There are things to learn from those stronger around you.'

'Aren't they just punching each other until one is knocked offline?' Bee asked. 'I don't see how I can learn from that. Or maybe only that those with the largest endurance wins?' Optimus laughed.

'That is one way to put it, but no,' he said. 'When they start, you will understand.'

'And when will they start?' Bee asked with a sigh, happy to finally reach their spot in this huge arena. Optimus only smiled and took his place between screaming and yelling bots. He wondered how the other bot wasn't affected by how much that noise invaded their audio sensors.

'Didn't Megatron used to fight here?' Bee asked just hoping to have less pain in his audio sensors if he had to focus on the Prime next to him.

'He did, yes,' Optimus said with a sadness in his eyes Bumblebee couldn't quite place. 'But we're not here for a history lesson about the Decepticon leader, maybe another time perhaps.' Bee nodded and flinched when it was loudly announced that the fight was about to start. The crowd started to roar and Bumblebee flinched, again, but noticed he was curious to see who the fighters were while adjusting his sensors. Only to discover he didn't hear the first name because everyone was chanting Groundpounder. The bot that listened to the name was proudly waving around and definitely living in the moment. And it became clear he was one of the top fighters by putting his opponent to the ground in just a few punches.

'How am I supposed to learn from this when he knocks them down in mere kliks?' Bee asked Optimus who had a smile on his face.

'At the end of the day, you'll understand.' Bee frowned but continued to watch how the champion defeated bot after bot. Slowly Bee started to see, the further the fights came the longer they lasted. It was not because the opponents became stronger, they became smarter. Or at least a bit of both.

The other fights in between were not as gripping as those of Groundpounder, at least that was what Bumblebee thought at first. Because one dinobot caught his attention like no other. His dark-grey and green plating had scratches everywhere but seemed to be stronger than any other. The more fights the T-Rex won, the louder his name was chanted. And Bee felt he was rooting for him too. There was something about the happy jumps the bot made when he won that made Bee admire him. How he could even see his optics burn proud and brightly when he fought. And the sheer determination always present in his hits and punches.

'Can we see the finals next week?' Bumblebee asked eagerly caught up in the last fight, almost jumping the moment his favourite fighter won. Optimus laughed.

'As long as you're learning,' he said and Bee nodded full excitement. He wondered who the champion would be. He hoped it would be the dinobot called Grimlock. And couldn't care less about Groundpounder who was whispered to become the champion this season.

'Optimus? Who do you think will win?'

'That is hard to say,' he answered. 'But I think we will discover it next week during the finals.'

___
One week later

This time Bee's audio sensors were prepared so he wasn't that much disturbed by the huge amount of noise in the arena. His spark was beating excitedly and he was happy Optimus had them better seats this time.

'Don't forget to take notes, Bumblebee,' the Prime said while the smaller bot was hanging over the edge to see the fighting area better.

'Will do, sir,' Bee said but wasn't paying that much attention to him. His optics were fixed on the two bots that entered the arena. On the left Groundpounder, on the right Grimlock. His gaze stayed with the second bot, and Bee hoped he would win. He really wanted to see the dinobot win.

'Fighters are you ready?!' The crowd went wild, wooing, chanting and calling the name of their favourite bot. Bee felt himself get high on everyone's excitement and yelled with them. The fight was one he had never seen before. Grimlock seemed to be neck on neck with Groundpounder. And Bee realised thinking back to Groundpounder's earlier fights he was the first to do so. They seemed equals in strength and with.

'Come on,' Bee without noticing mumbled when Grimlock struggled to keep the other bot off him. 'You can do it, come on.' Another tail strike followed by a punch, but it wasn't the finishing blow. Groundpounder had something on his sleeve and a ball of fire was sent the dinobot's way. Bee felt his spark drop and felt utterly devastated when seeing Grimlock being unable to get up again. Groundpounder was crowned the winner and Grimlock sulked back to the side. Optics sad and angry.

'So? What did you learn?' Bee looked away and to Optimus who he had forgotten was here as well.

'That your opponent can always have one last trick on his sleeve,' he said and the Prime nodded.

'Exactly. Keep that in mind when we're on a new mission.' Bee nodded and took one last glance at the arena.

'Is there an after-party?' he asked, something that suddenly caught his audio sensors.

'I won't stop you if you want to go,' Optimus said with a laugh. 'But I myself have other tasks to attend to.'

___

It was even more crowded at the party, but Bee hoped he could talk to either bot he had seen fighting just now. Or he really wanted to talk to Grimlock, he did not know why but the fight had really piqued Bumblebee's interest in the bot. But would the losing bot even be present here? Or maybe he would be somewhere else in the arena and not per se at the party.

'The next time I'll defeat him and then the crowd will scream my name!' Bee turned around to the sound of the voice and had to admit he did not recognise the dinobot in his bot form.

'Yeah, sure Grim,' the bot next to him said.

'Just watch me!' Grimlock growled. 'I'll smash him to pieces next time.'

'Er- excuse me?' Bee said invading their conversation. 'You're Grimlock right?' The other bot laughed and slapped Grimlock on his shoulder.

'You still have fans I see,' they said and gave Bumblebee a smile. 'Don't crush them.' Grimlock just stared at them while they walked laughingly away leaving the yellow bot alone with the dino.

'What do you want?' Grimlock asked, definitely not in a good mood. 'If you want to harass me, do that somewhere else or I have to punch you.'

'Oh, no. By the Allspark no!' Bee said quickly and raised his hands in defence. Grimlock ex-vented deeply.

'So, what's it then?'

'I just wanted to say that,' Bee started suddenly feeling very nervous. 'That I really admired your fighting style.' Grimlock raised an eyebrow.

'You did?' he asked, optics wide before a smug expression took over his face. 'Of course you did. I'm the great Grimlock! I punch everyone on my way to the ground.' He moved his arm as punching an invisible opponent. Bee laughed by this sudden change in atmosphere.

'So how did you learn to fight?' he asked and Grimlock's expression got even smugger.

'Well,' he started straightening his back suddenly filled with pride. 'It all started when I was just a sparkling.' Grimlock basically told Bee his whole life story with huge arm movements and occasionally a punch in the pillar next to him. Bumblebee listened with awe and felt his interest in the other bot only increase.

'So how do you plan to defeat Groundpounder the next time you meet?' Bee asked and Grimlock thought for a while.

'I need something to deflect the fire...' he said and ex-vented deeply. 'Only...' he lowered his vocals ashamed, 'I don't know how.' Bee frowned.

'I think that I do,' he said and got a questionable look.

'You do?' Grimlock asked and seemed to scan him up and down.

'When is the next fight?'

'The closest is the one for the arena's anniversary. Still a couple of orbital cycles away,' Grimlock said but did not remove his optics from Bumblebee's frame. 'But how are you gonna help me? You're not a fighting bot.'

'For a matter of fact I am,' Bee said offended. 'Just not in the arena.'

'I find that hard to believe,' Grimlock said optics narrowed. 'But it's not that any other bot came to me with a plan to finally defeat that Groundpounder.' He felt silent for a moment. 'So you're in. Show me what you got.'

___

The first thing Bumblebee noticed was that Grimlock listened poorly. Really poorly. He did not believe any of Bee's idea would work even if he explained why it would give him an advantage on his opponent. The second thing was that Optimus seemed to approve Bumblebee's attempt to learn the dinobot how to read his opponents movements more accurately. The third thing was something entirely different. It was something that was slowly growing while he was working with the dinobot. The more time they spent together the more they seemed to grow to each other. Even with the problems Grimlock had with listening to him, they seemed to get along pretty well. Bee felt his spark warm to the thought of seeing the other bot again. To have friendly fights, and laugh about the worst jokes they could think off.

'Bee, check this out,' Grimlock said and transformed next to a huge boulder. 'Mega punch!' he yelled and shattered the rock. He had a toothy grin on his face and Bee couldn't help but to smile at well.

'Sadly the rock isn't Groundpounder,' he said and Grim's smile dropped.

'Ah, come on Bee! Just tell me I'm strong,' he said, optics pleading.

'I thought you already knew you were?'

'Yeah, but I like it when you say it.' Bee felt his spark grow restlessly. His body seemed to heat up.

'You're the strongest bot I know, Grim,' he said while his spark was pulsing hungrily. Grimlock grinned proudly.

'We're so gonna win that fight!' he said determined and punched his hands into each other. 'The crowd will be chanting our name!' He mimicked the sound of the crowd and Bee laughed.

'I don't think they will be calling my name,' he said and Grimlock turned back to his bot form.

'Of course they will!' he said and slapped Bumblebee on his shoulder plate. 'If it gets known you're my coach, they will love you for making me their champion!'

'I don't think so,' Bee said laughing it away. 'Because you deserve it more.'

'Then I'll chant your name,' Grim said excitedly and lifted the yellow bot into the air. 'Bee! Bee! Bee!' he said carrying him around. 'Woooh!' Bumblebee laughed and was put back to the ground.

'Sounds good right?' Grimlock said with a grin.

'It's almost as if I'm in the arena already,' Bee said not removing his optics from the larger bot before him.

'It will be better during the real fight, Bee,' he said still grinning. 'It always is up close!'

'So I'll be standing down below with you?'

'You're my coach remember?' Grimlock said and patted him on his shoulder plate again. 'Coaches are supposed to be with their fighter.'

___

Bee hadn't felt so nervous in a long time. His head was buzzing and he looked at Grimlock who was living in the moment. He seemed impatient while looking at the arena, moving his footing every now and then.

'Come on, start already,' the dinobot said his vocals low, but loud enough for Bee's audio sensors to pick up. He then looked behind him at the smaller bot and all his impatience seemed washed away. 'You okay there Bee?' The yellow bot nodded.

'Yeah, I just-' he said after resetting his vocals a few times. 'I really want you to win.' Grim grinned.

'That's sweet,' he said and Bee smiled. 'I'll make sure we will. Just you watch! I'll use my punches and punch them to the ground!' He punched the air a few times amplifying his point. 'And then I'll use what you told me! Grab 'em, smash 'em, pull them to the ground. We'll beat them!' Bumblebee closed his optics for a klick with a smile. That moment Grimlock's name was called and the dinobot looked at the arena.

'Good luck, Grim,' Bee said. Grimlock gave him a wink and stepped into the arena. Bee felt his spark pulsing while watching the dinobot go. His body was heating itself without a good reason and he was glad no one could hear his ventilation accelerate because the crowd was yelling loudly. They called Grimlock's name, maybe a bit softer than Groundpounder but Bee knew that would change. He might be a bit afraid Grim could lose, but everything told him he should not. It was the days they had practised new moves, the days they had analysed Groudpounder's move pattern, the days they trained till the sun went down. And it was how Grimlock stood there, ready to punch, ready to win.

'You can do it Grim!' Bee eventually yelled, not that the dinobot could hear him, but he liked to imagine he did. The fight started with a punch, a kick and a growl. Bumblebee saw Groundpounder had improved as well and was using new ways to get Grimlock off his feet.

'Come on,' Bee muttered. 'Come on. Come on.' They were wrestling at the moment and they both did not move. They kept each other in a firm grip. 'Come on Grim, you know what to do.' And just when he said that Grimlock changed his grip, pulling Groundpounder out of balance. 'Yes!' Bee cheered and threw a fist happily in the air. The fight changed to Grim's advantage and Bee couldn't help but to smile while seeing the dinobot being smarter than the other. Only the moment Groundpounder used his fireball again, Grimlock miscalculated. Bee felt his vocalizer go offline while Grim was hit by fire.

'Come on Grim, get up! Don't let him win!' Grimlock growled angrily and got up way too slow. Groundpounder was on him and Bumblebee felt himself panic. The two big bots stared each other down while Groundpounder had a strong grip around Grimlock's neck and pinned him against the wall. The dinobot growled again, but the fire in his optics wasn't done burning. He used all his strength to push Groundpounder off him. Bee tried to follow what happened next, but it was almost a blur of movements in which Grimlock eventually had a good hit with his tail. Groundpounder stumbled and Bee saw that he was about to use his fireball again while screaming some weird battle cry. This time Grimlock was prepared and flung himself onto his opponent evading the fire and smashing Groundpounder into the sand. Bumblebee watched in silence when the crowd went wild. He did not want to cheer too early. He had to know for certain Grimlock had won. It seemed to take forever to finally hear the words announcing the fight was over and Grimlock... Grimlock had won! Bee felt his optics water and cheered as hard as he could. Grimlock was crowned the winner of the tournament. But before he accepted the prize he ran to Bumblebee, took him by the hand and pulled him with him. Bee let it happen and didn't even realise their servos intertwined while running to the middle of the arena. Grim let go of him to finally accept the cup. The crowd went wild while he showed the cup to them. Then he wrapped one arm around Bee while still waving his prize proudly around.

'We won Bee! We won!' he chanted and Bee couldn't help but join him.

When they finally left the fighting area and were out of sight of the public Grimlock pulled Bee in a big hug.

'We won Bee!' he said again and Bumblebee returned the hug gladly.

'By the Allspark we did!' he said just as happy not wanting to let go off the big hot.

'So what we do now?' Grim asked letting go but still keeping his hands on Bee's shoulder plates.

'I don't know? Party?'

'Alright! That sounds like a plan!'

___

The party was fun and wild but not one moment Grimlock swayed from Bee's side. The larger bot was determined to tell everyone how great of a help he had been and Bee noticed Grim smiled every time they looked at each other.

'You know Bee,' Grim said after they finally left the party. 'I couldn't have done it without you. So, I'll make sure they'll be chanting your name next time I win!'

'You don't have to,' Bumblebee said with a sweet smile.

'But I want to!' Grim said. 'It is the least I can do! The least you deserve!' Bee felt his body heat itself when Grim took his servos in his and looked deep into his optics, suddenly close and eye to eye. 'You mean so much to me, Bee. You don't even know.' Bee's spark went crazy and was pulsing while his ventilation had a hard time keeping up with his reaction to Grim's words and touch. It was maybe all the things that had happen today, all the emotions that he could think of only one thing and one thing only. Without any hesitation, he kissed Grimlock. Maybe a bit forceful, but the dinobot should be able to handle it.

'You mean a lot to me too,' Bee said, optics closed and resting his helmet against Grim's. He was scared to look at the other bot, scared he had miscalculated, scared Grim did not feel that way. But the moment a hand was at the side of his face making him look at Grim, he knew. A huge grin was painted on the dinobot's face and he stole a kiss from the yellow bot.

'That makes me really happy,' he said in between soft kisses letting out a giggle Bumblebee mirrored. 'I think it makes me feel like the happiest dinobot alive,' he then murmured warmly holding the smaller bot closely. Leaving the cold night for another day.