Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bumblebee wheezed as his optics faded in and out of focus. His helm must have taken some damage as the humans around looked larger than he was. What an odd thought

They were wearing dark clothes with so many packs and pouches. They were shouting at each other. Blue and Red lights about just out of his vision and were accompanied by louder-than-life sirens. The noise peirced at his head. He couldn't think, but Bee tried to remember what happened before he was here. He remembered going on a mission with Lennox and the op team. There was a fight. His body felt like it was becoming molten.

Bee was being pushed into a building. He tried to shrink down so he could fit through the doors, only to realise these doors were much larger than he had thought. Maybe this was a building made for Autobots? His mind prickled at hissed as the lights blared down onto him. Too bright.

He could feel himself going into stasis. He tried to fight it. A mask was put over his face and for some reason the air grew thicker. He wanted to panic, air didn't thicken or thin for autobots, because they didn't need air to survive. He tried to call out, but all that came was a sharp pain in his throat and a rasped croak. The people, humans, were able to hold him down as they towered over him. He didn't know how this was possible. He needed to get away. He tried to fight them off, but his body grew sluggish and limp.

The last thing he could hear was Captain Lennox shouting in a different room asking for Bee.

When he woke up, it was to a white room on an unusually soft bed. Everything looked large. It almost looked like he was in Optimus’s room, however, it wasn’t the design of Optimus’s room. And in this strange very large room sat Lennox. He was asleep in a chair that was both large and also fit perfectly to the small human captain. Bee’s processor’s couldn’t comprehend what this mad illusion was trying to show him. He tried to access his radio to splice songs together to communicate to the captain. He even tried to use his binal speech to at least get the humans attention. However neither would work. He started to feel panicked, and tried with all his spark to comm-link into the other Autobots. It was silent and no messages seemed to be sent.

This made the young Autobot panick. He could hear loud panting and the hammering of a very loud human heartbeat right next to his ears. A loud mechanical beeping increased in tempo as well. He turned to see if Lennox was hyperventilating, but the man stayed quiet and asleep. Bee trembled from his bed and fell to the floor in hazy pain. He got up on shaky legs. It almost feels like he had just gotten out of surgey from the time when his legs had been blown up. Which shouldn't be the case considering the mods they had given him to prevent being completely blown up.

He stumbled through a doorway hoping it was a way out of this unreal world and back to Optimus or Sam or anyone really. Even the normal sized Lennox would be better than the whacked out world he found himself in.

This strange room yielded even more terrifying and strange results. Its what Sam calls a 'bathroom'. It usually was so tiny; as much in this new place was supposed to be. However, it was the mirror that had Bee frozen in horrific shock. Instead of seeing his face with his mouthguard fused into place and his glowing blue optics gleaming against almost too bright of a yellow finish. A human was staring at him.

They were much smaller and looked younger than Sam. Bee reached out towards the mirror and the reflected image reached back towards him with small hands. A choked gasp struggled out of Bee and the image reflected his fear. He and the boy reached towards their head and instead of a metallic helm, fluffy blonde locks ran through his bandaged fingers as well as the reflection's. He ran to the mirror, climbing onto the sink and sitting as close to the reflection as he could. He inspected this strange form he found himself in, investigating the realness of the image. He didn’t realise he had been clicking his tongue and making distressed whines as he fell even further into despair.

“Bumblebee?” Lennox whispered, slowly walking into the room. Bee glanced at the large not-Lennox and cowered closer to the mirror, away from this not-Lennox. He held his hands out in defense, ready for a fight. Not-Lennox stopped, not moving an inch. Bee tried to talk to him again. But all that came out were whines, rumbles, and tongue-clicks. “It’s me, kid. It’s Lennox.”

Bee shook his head. He shook this human head, making accusing clicks, anything to inform this imposter that he was not believed. How was he Lennox if Bee wasn’t even Bee.

“I know you must be confused, but let me explain before you become more freaked, kid.” Lennox stepped closer, but Bee held his hands out as if he still had his shooters and not these flesh-wrapped bone-meat appendages. “The Decepticons had this device and you got hit, kid. They had aimed it at Optimus, but you blocked what we assume was their only shot because they hightailed it out of there when it didn’t quite work. You fell unconscious and began to shrink. We brought you to this hospital when the transformation from bot to human was complete. You saved Prime, Bee.”

Bee didn’t know if he trusted this Lennox yet. What he said sounded plausible and impossible at the same time. It was just... he was human! How in the All Spark was that supposed to be conceivable? Bumblebee squinted his eyes and gnashed his teeth.

“Still don’t believe me, kid? Um.. what if I told you something only the real Lennox would know?” Lennox asked. Bee cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t deter the man. He hummed, really thinking of the most perfect answer. Bee watched, his still large, overly bright blue eyes held onto Lennox’s own brown eyes. “After the huge fight between Megatron. The first one. You didn’t want to admit to the other Autobots that you kind of feared Sam’s mom and had me accompany you on your patrols for over a week to make sure the women wouldn’t beat you up.”

Bee dropped his guard. He didn’t even tell Sam as to why the Captain was also on watch for that week. Lennox let out a sigh, letting the tension leave his body. He walked over and picked the small child out of the sink. Bee looked no older than six years old. If this was an accurate representation of the bot’s real age Lennox was going to use the Autobots as scrap metal. Not just a child soldier, but practically a baby soldier.

It didn’t take long for a nurse and then a doctor to come in. They both said their pleasantries about Bumblebee being awake and alert. Then they got to work. The young scout started to fight as blood was drawn and vitals were checked. He chittered when the doctor brought a light to his eyes and hissed as a nurse tried to get him to stop squirming.

“I see our suspicions were correct with his scarred vocal chords.” The doctor hummed.

“Are we good to get out of here, or are you going to continue to agitate my kid?” Lennox asked, tapping his foot.

“No need to get impatient, Mr. Lennox. We’ll just need to bring in the paperwork and you and young Bee here will be all set to go.” The nurse smiled before leaving the room.

They were once again on their own. Bee turned to Lennox and gave a series of clicks and ticks in what Bee remembered of Morse Code that the human army had used many times around him. He just wanted to know where Optimus was and when he was going back to his leader.

“That’s the thing Bee. Optimus doesn’t think its safe for you to go back to the base. And if we brought what could only be assumed as a six year old child into a high security facility our operations might be shut down.” Lennox tried to explain, but the young autobot kept trying to get past him. Eventually Lennox just held the distressed kid on his hip, walking back and fourth trying to sooth Bee like he did his own, much younger, kid. Bumblebee soon tired out from his struggles and lay limp in the captain’s arms, trying to fight recharge.

For the first time, Ironhide drove cautiously down the roads as Bumblebee slumbered in his back seat and Lennox called his wife to tell her that he sort of adopted kid. Ironhide took this time to comm into the base. To talk sense into Optimus.

“He should be with his team, his people. Bumblebee is an Autobot, even if hr doesn’t look it anymore.” Ironhide reasoned.

“He is small. Smaller than any other human that we’ve ever interacted with. One misstep and he will be with the All Spark. I could not bear it if this were to happen.” Optimus stated.

“So you’ll ship him out, leave him alone in a world he knows nothing about? What if Bumblebee still requires Energon to survive? He is dead then too.” Ironhide shot back, his engines rumbling: displeased.

“The other humans have their own homes to get back to. Bumblebee would be at base all the time, Ironhide. And with each passing day the Decepticons grow closer to finding where we have stationed.” Optimus stressed. “If they found Bee, they would not hesitate to kill him. I know this looks like I am turning my back on my scout. I assure you, I have thought hard and with a heavy heart have made this decision.”

“I will look after him, then.” Ironhide declared. “I already watch over the captain and his family. If Bee is to stay with Lennox, then I am to stay with Bee.” He disconnected the link before Optimus could deny his wishes.

Lennox slumped back into the seat, looking back at the still slumbering child. Ironhide also wanted to just decompress for a moment. The stress of demanding answers and your wants to a superior is always nerve wracking.

“How did Sarah take the news?” Ironhide asked.

“Much better than when she first found out that our truck wasn’t just a truck. She’s not happy about it though. Though I wouldn’t worry.” Lennox continued to turn back, making sure the kid was still there every few minutes. This time revealing that Bee was awake and running his small hands against the interior of his friend. “How are you feeling, Bee?”

A few clicks and rattling grunts came from the kid, but nothing too distressing. The thought of teaching him sign language flashed through the captain’s mind.

They arrived home after another hour of driving. Sarah walked out of the house as Lennox was helping the kid out of the back of the truck. She tried to stay angry at her husband, but couldn’t help melt into the large blue eyes practically glowing against such small, round, dark cheeks of the child.

“Bee, you remember Sarah, right? She’s come to the base every so often.” Lennox said. The child let out a confirming chirp. The woman cooed and bent down to be at eye-level with the tiny bot-turned-child.

“Welcome to the family, Bumblebee.”

Chapter Text

Bumblebee woke up inside Ironhide. He was paralyzed with confusion and fear until the morning’s findings came back to him. He was human, smaller than Sam even. He ran his fingers against the leather of his comrade. It was smooth, but also had small textures where the seams of the seats were. Such a small detail the Autobot usually doesn’t notice. Did his own seats feel like this?

Lennox asked how he was feeling. How could he explain to the human how lost he was? How could he put into words - he couldn’t use - that he didn’t know what to do?

He already knew Optimus didn’t want him. Ironhide trired to explain what Lennox had earlier, but it just made his chest ache.

Everything was so miserably different. It took so long for them to reach Lennox’s house. He could have done it faster in his alt form. A form that was gone, along with everything else. When they eventually arrived, Bee tried to get out of Ironhide. He jabbed at the seat-belt release with his weak fingers until it clicked open. He struggled to get the heavy door to open - which it only did because of Ironhide. The drop from the seat to the ground below was dizzy to look at. His legs hung in the air. Eventually, Lennox came to pull him out. It was humiliating. Bee couldn’t help but feel his eyes burn and feel wet at the same time.

“Bee, you remember Sarah, right?” Lennox asked, gesturing to his wife. Bee did remember the woman. She was nicer than Sam’s parents at least.

“Welcome to the family, Bumblebee.” The way she said that. The way she smiled and tried to touch his hair. How she crouched down to be at eye-level when Bee should be the one towering over everyone (except for Ironhide). Then there was the way that everyone just decided this is where he was going to be without his own input. His eyes started to leak and soft hics and huffs pushed past his mouth. Bee stumbled away, hiding behind the large wheels of Ironhide.

The mech gently transformed into his biped form and shielded the kid from the humans.

Bee chirped and tsked and tried to talk to the autobot. He wanted to go back to Optimus. He promised he wouldn’t get underfoot. He would even help Ratchet without complaining. He can be useful still.

“I can’t understand you anymore, Bee.” Ironhide said solemnly. “But I can guess. And I promise by the All Spark, I will not leave you.”

Lennox was back by Bee’s side coaxing him into his house and onto a couch that he shouldn’t be able to fit on. Bee sat there, curled up in a soft yellow blanket and cloths that didn’t quite fit him. He could hear Lennox and Sarah talking in their kitchen as the wife made food.

“We can’t just harbor a child, Will. So what’s your plan?” Sarah asked in a hushed whisper. It wasn't quite enough to be unheard from tiny human ears.

“We’ve got people drawing up paperwork so if anyone comes around asking questions, all they'll get is the fact that we adopted a kid. That’s the hard part, and it’s being taken care of.” Lennox replied.

“The hard part? The hard part is getting him culturized as a human. To get him into a school, and accustomed to our world on such an intimate level. The hard part is making sure we understand him, Will. At least as a giant robot he had the ability to use the radio as his voice.” Sarah ran a hand down her face.

“You don’t give Sam credit enough of showing Bumblebee human culture.” Lennox tried to lighten the mood, but Sarah wasn’t having it.

“Are we changing his name?” She asked.

“What?” Lennox jeered back. “Why would we change his name?”

“It’s Bumblebee, like an insect. Who is going to believe someone named their child after an insect?” Sarah shook her head.

“If Jay-Z and Beyonce can name their kid ‘Blue Ivy’. Bumblebee can keep his name. Plus it’s not like he’s an actual six year old. He just looks siz. He’s got tough skin.” Lennox shook his head. “You’re worrying too much, babe. It’ll work out in the end, just take it one day at a time. Just like we do with Annabell.”

Bumblebee huddled further into his nest in the corner of the couch. He tried to tune out the conversation in the kitchen and watch the television. It flashed bright colors and showed cutesy characters. It was very different from the dark-horror movies that Sam would seek out drive-thru theatres so they could watch together.

The house soon filled with a strange sent. Bee beeped with urgency rolling off the couch and running to the humans, tugging on Lennox’s pant leg to get him to leave his house with his wife and kid. Something was trying to poison them!

“What’s up, Bee?” Lennox asked, not seeming to be alarmed by the sent. So Bee touched his nose, looking around, trying to get the message across. “Yeah, it does smell good. Sarah’s almost done making dinner.”

Bee turned to Sarah as she put piles of steaming things onto plates and brought them to the table. While most of the smell stayed in the kitchen, the plates also carried the same scent. Which meant Sarah was either trying to kill everyone. Or this was a weird human thing.

“Come sit down, Bee.” Sarah patted a chair on their small kitchen table. He shuffled to the chair and had to sit on his knees to be able to see and reach everything properly. He watched as Sarah and Lennox began eating with the small silver things. He copied them, but found it was a lot harder than he thought as he fisted the fork and stabbed it into the meal. Once on the fork he watched as the others chomped down and mashed it up with their teeth and jaws.

The sensation was weird, hot and inside him. It turned into a sort of paste that wasn’t enjoyable to feel at all, but the taste was nice. It coated his tongue and made him feel happy. But after a while of chewing he grew bored. He couldn’t tell what was making their food vanish and make room for more? Until his mouthful got close to the back of his throat, which convulsed automatically and the food vanished. Bee dropped his fork and started to panic.

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s normal, kid. It’s called eating.” Lennox was by his side in a moment, patting his back as Bee tried to cough his heart out. Bee let out shrieks and hisses, clinging to the man. Once he calmed down Lennox tried to return him to his dinner, but Bee outright refused to eat. It was a terrible experience. His stomach even growled and roared with unwant.

“You gotta eat, kid.” Bee shook his head, baring his teeth and growling at his food along with his stomach.

“Bumblebee, you’re tummy is trying to tell you that it needs more.” Sarah crotched down next to the child. “I promise it gets better. And you’ll feel better once you eat.” Bee shook his head again, looking away from the plate.

“I’ll let you see Sam if you eat.” Lennox said. Sam? Bee blinked, cocking his head. “Yeah, you can hang out with him and Mikaela.” Bee nodded and took another bite of the food. He didn’t want to let it down his throat but Lennox’s continual promise that this is how it worked quelled some of Bee’s anxieties. It took a whole hour to finish the plate. At the end, Bee didn’t exactly feel better, but he did feel less tired.

Which was ample means to explore. He needed to find a spot that Lennox and his wife couldn't find him incase they decided to put him through that whole ordeal again. Surely, this eating thing didn't have to happen very often. Sure he's seen Sam eat alot. He had yelled at the teen for getting crumbs in the cracks of his upholstery, which itched like crazy.

Bee shook his head and focused on his task. He slipped underneath the table and watched as Sarah and Lennox gathered up the dishes and got to washing them. Sarah took other plates and bowls that were laying in wait on the counter, openning tiny doors all around the kitchen to reveal tiny little closets and compartments. Bee waited for her and Lennox to be busy with more cleaning, he let his expert scouting and stealth abilities to tell him the perfect time to dash forward and hole himself into one of these hiding spots.

Sarah turned to start rinsing the plates that Lennox had been washing. Lennox was still elbows deep in soapy water. Bee took this moment, while both of their backs were to him, to make his move.

That was when Annabell was dropped off by the babysitter.

“Oh, it’s nice to see you home, Captain Lennox.” The girl, about Sam’s age, waved as Lennox was pulling Bumblebee out of a kitchen cabinet.

“Hello, Kasey. Thanks again for looking after Annabell.” Lennox approached, Bee held like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. Bumblebee chittered and tried to crawl out of his capture, almost kicking Lennox in the face.

“Who’s the kid?” Kasey narrowed her eyes at the eight year old.

“A friend of mine passed. We’ve decided to look after the kid in his absence.” Lennox explained.

“Sure, just know I take double for any additions.” She threatened before kneeling down. “Byebye Annabell. See ya, later.”

“Byebye Kasey.” Annabell laughed before turning to her dad. “Who’s that?”

“This is Bumblebee, Baby girl. He’s gonna be living with us.”

“Like the car? Vroom?” She looked at the boy, who looked down at her and made rumbling noises in his chest.

“Sort of, yeah. Why don’t you go put your stuff away in your room and you two can play before bed time?” She nodded and grabbed her bag, running to her room. Bee gave an irritated chirp. He didn’t want to play with a baby human. He wanted to go into the tiny dark closet and be alone.

Actually, he wanted to be with Sam. He wanted to be with Optimus and the others, but that wasn’t going to be an option. “Just be nice. And don’t make her cry.” Lennox warned.

Annabell came out of her room with a hand full of toys, dropping them down in the middle of the living room before grabbing onto Bumblebee and pulling him to sit with her around the pile. She picked up each one and explained them and what she named them. Bee didn’t really care about the multitudes of plastic human females or the tiny plastic horses. He did, however, find a set of tiny cars. There was a yellow car, with white stripes and one of the wheels was missing. He picked it up and looked at it.

“And you can be the boy.” Annabell thrusted a doll into Bee’s face. He made a few chirps, lifting up the toy car. “No, we’re playing house, not cars.” Annabell pouted.

Bee pushed the human toy away. He didn’t want to pretend to be a human. He was already one, and it wasn’t fun. He wanted to be a car. He said as much in his huffs and tsks. The smaller child didn’t understand morse code, not like her dad.

“No, you can’t be a car!” Annabell shouted, yanking the toy from his hands. He felt his fists ball up, but he wasn’t allowed to hurt humans. Optimus would surely never take him back if he broke that rule. So he took deep breathes like he sees Lennox do when dealing with the twins or his own men. “You have to be the human!”

Bumblebee chirped angrily, ignoring the girl and picking the car back up. She stomped her foot and snatched the car once again, forcing the doll into Bumblebee’s hand and threw the car down the hall so hard another wheel popped off. Bumblebee stood there, glaring at the stupid human doll. It was tiny, and frail, just as humans were to Bee a day ago. He looked at the girl and threw the toy as she did the car. It hit the corner of the wall and it’s head popped off. The girl start to wail, but Bee didn’t care. He stormed out of the house and climbed into Ironhide’s passenger side.

“I can’t take you anywhere, kid.” Ironhide said, sending a text to Lennox that Bee was safe with him if the man was looking. Bee nodded, letting out a string of wobbling chirps. He just wanted to be away from the other humans. He didn’t have to be elsewhere. Bee didn’t stay alone for long. Lennox pulled open the door, an angry look on his face.

“I said not to make her cry, Bumblebee.” Lennox’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was angry. Bee didn’t turn to the human. She was the one who threw the car first, so Bee could just claim he thought that was the game they were playing. He knew it was a lie, but what did he care? “I know you know not to throw things. You aren’t an actual child. Why did you do it.”

She did it first. Morse code took a long time to spell out, each letter having to be chirped out one at a time. It almost made Bee miss his binary-talk when his vocoder had first broken.

“She is a child.” Lennox’s arms were crossed. Bee shrunk down at that, holding his knees tighter to his body but still not turning to look at the captain. “What made you think that breaking the toys was okay?”

I don’t want to be a human. Bee chittered.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a brat.” Lennox was still angry.

I don’t want to be a human and I don’t want to pretend-play a human. I just wanted the stupid toy car, and she doesn’t know morse code. And she was the one to throw it first. I Bee trailed off after that, his eyes were leaking again. I’m sorry

Lennox relaxed, uncrossing his arms and running a hand down his face. He leaned more casually against Ironhide’s door frame. The mech rumbled his engines to send soothing vibrations to the kid in his seat.

“You’ve been having a rough day, huh Bee?” Lennox’s voice was soft, like he used back in the hospital and to get Bee to continue to eat. It rumbled like an engine, but was smooth and silk-like all the same. Bee nodded into his knees. He took a deep breath. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Bee relaxed a little bit as the human left. He smashed his face into Ironhide’s cool seats and let the soft rumbling lull him into a drowsy state. The mech didn’t say his concerns out loud, letting his thoughts text out to Lennox so Bee wouldn’t be so frightened and stressed.

Ironhide was no medic, but he was around Ratchet long enough to understand and make a few theories on his own. Bumblebee usually acted childish, and could be rash at time, but never like this. If the chemicals of a human child flowed through him, he could very well have the emotional outlook and development of what this body allowed him to have. In other words, if Bee’s body was six, he might have the emotional mentality of his body.

Lennox came back, opening up the driver’s door and getting in.

“We’re going for a drive.” Lennox said, and Ironhide revved up his engine and pulled out of the house. Bee didn’t make any move to acknowledge the man, but as the minutes grew longer and the silence stretched one, it was either find himself falling asleep or engage with the human.

Where are we going?

“Just on a ride, kid.”

They didn’t get back to the house until the moon was already high in the sky, and Bee was this side of staying conscious. Lennox helped him through the house and back onto the couch, making a list of everything they needed to get for the kid to be comfortable. But that was a job for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Captain Lennox, Bumblebee isn’t here if that’s what you’re looking for.” Sam said as Ironhide pulled up and the captain jumped out. Mikaela waved from her spot inspecting the old engine of Sam’s replacement car when Bee is out in the field.

“I know. That’s why I’m here.” Something about the way Lennox said it had both teens dropping what they were doing and turning fully to him.

“Is he alright? Did he die. I swear if you wrecked him, I’m going to beat-” Sam began frantically threatening Lennox when Ironhide’s passenger rear door popped open and tiny light-the-night yellow sketchers popped out followed by black overall-shorts over a yellow t-shirt, but was drowned out by an overly large bee-themed jacket. The kid slipped on the last few inches out of the truck, landing smack on his bottom. Instead of crying out like most children do, he let out a series of clicks and chitters.

“I said I’d get you in a second, kid.” Lennox sighed, walking over and picking the child up to his feet. Sam looked between the kid and Lennox. He turned to Mikaela to make sure she was also seeing the kid as well.

“Uh, I didn’t know Epps had a kid?” Sam asked. “What’s his, uh, name?”

“Bumblebee.” Lennox said, face flat. Sam wanted to laugh, but the kid just looked down at his shoes, scuffing his toes in the grass.

“No way.” Sam knelt down to take a closer look at the little boy. “Like, my car? Like the 18 foot alien robot?” The kid let out a sad whine.

“Why is he a child? Shouldn’t he be older, even if he was turned into a human.” Mikaela asked, standing closer to Lennox. It wasn't surprising that the teens had jumped so quickly to this obsurd conclusion. They'd been through enough weirdness with the Autobots that to them this might just be some kind of other-alt-form.

“We think that is the purpose of the weapon, not to just turn the autobots into humans, but also small and defenseless.” Lennox explained the battle and how Bee saved Optimus from their weapon. Sam ruffled Bee’s fluffy blonde hair.

“He looks more like you cheated on Sarah with some cute African mama while on tour, then Epps and his girlfriend’s kid.” Mikaela cooed at Bee.

“I think my babysitter has the same idea.” Lennox groaned. “We tried to say he was a dead friend’s kid, but I’m not sure she completely bought it.”

“Sarah would have you sleeping in the dog house if that were true.” Mikaela assured.

“Oh, I’m in the doghouse either way. Apparently it’s a little traumatising to experience being a human than just observing them.” Lennox laughed as Bee let out a series of grumbles and chirps.

“So I have to stick with the crapper?” Sam bemoaned. Bee turned to him, letting out chirps and chitters. His tiny hand rested on Sam’s cheek, a determined look taking over his whole face as he promised he didn’t become a human to shake his duties to and for Sam.

“It was a joke, buddy. Don’t worry.” Sam laughed, loud and boustious. So loud that it could be heard from the house.

Judy walked out and completely went heads over heels for the little kid in her front yard. She snatched him up instantly, pinching his chubby cheeks and gushing about the brightest blue eyes she’s ever seen.

“Ma! Mom! MOM!” Sam shouted as Bee struggled against the matriarchy of the Witwicky family. “You’re freaking him out. Will you put him down?”

“He’s so small, you were this small once. Oh, I remember when you used to just rip your overall’s off cause you didn’t like them at all. But look how cute he is!” Judy at least set Bee down, who ran and hid behind Lennox’s legs, glaring at the woman from behind them.

“Yeah, yeah, ma. Why are you out here anyway?”

“You were so loud, I wanted to see what was happening. I'm glad I did. Look at him, oh such a cutie. By the way, dinner is almost done. We have enough for you two as well, Captain Lennox.” She turned to the other adult.

“I’ll have to decline. We’re supposed to be picking up the last of the supplies for Bee and then headed back to the wife’s dinner. She’d kill me if I came with a full stomach.” Lennox gave a tight smile. Judy went on about being a good husband and yelling at her own to take notes. Ron yelled back about having been her husband for long enough to know how to handle his marriage.

“We’ll be able to see Bee at the base, right?” Sam asked.

“No. Optimus isn’t a fan of having him with the other Autobots and my superiors feel the same with having a child running around base. So he’ll be at my house until we figure out how to get him back to normal.”

“And if you can’t?” Lennox didn’t answer, not verbally, but the look on his face said enough. Bee let out a grumble, folding his arms and shaking his head. He wouldn’t rest until he could kick ass and drive fast again. “Well, I could always look after him if you need someone. I owe him for looking after me all this time anyway.”

“Thanks, kid. We’ll be around.” Lennox said. Bee wrapped his arms around Sam, who picked him up and helped him back into Ironhide, finding a kid’s car seat. Sam suppressed the need to laugh. An autobot that’s been in wars, has killed, and can take a brutal beating, has to also resort to being put into a car seat for his own safety.

“See ya later, Bee.” Sam ruffled the soft curls one last time. Bee waved goodbye.

Lennox was a little surprised that it wasn’t like pulling teeth to get Bumblebee away from Sam. He was almost positive that the autobot-turned-boy would try to stay with his ward. Maybe it was the promise of seeing Sam again that eased the separation. But Lennox wasn’t complaining. He wasn’t lying when he said he still had to get Bee a few more supplies for his room and Sarah was expecting him home at some point.

Bumblebee’s eyes went wide as they walked into yet another store. Lennox had been dragging him in and out of them all day. He’s been shoved into clothes for hours, and made to choose sleeping supplies and shelves. He was placed in front of plastic toys, but he didn’t want to look at those. Lennox held out a newer version of the yellow toy car and put it in the cart. Bumblebee didn’t want to acknowledge its presence so he turned away. His hand brushed against something soft, which made him stop in his tracks. Peaking to the side, he found a large box filled with fake earth animals. It was staring into his spark with beady black eyes, long drooping ears rested around its face.

“You can have the bunny if you want, Bee.” Lennox said, lifting it out of the box and placing it in Bee’s hands. Bumblebee’s fingers gripped automatically to the soft fur. He let out a stream of happy clicks.

The bunny was now in his room at the house, safe, protected. This new store was different. It was just shelves and shelves of books. Lennox wasn’t really browsing as he had done the other stores. No, he was walking straight to the counter where a girl sat, typing away at her computer. She ignored the duo until Lennox cleared his throat. She let out a sigh, turning to him with bored eyes.

“The children’s section is down the hall and to the right. The education corner is up the stairs all the way in the back.” She went back to her computer.

“I’m William Lennox. I called earlier.” He said.

“Oh, yeah, my boss said something about that. We’ve pulled some books for you.” She spun around, digging around a different shelf behind her before she pulled out a stack of large books. “These are the ones we’ve found.”

“I’ll take them all.” Lennox said. Bee went on his tiptoes and pulled down a small thin book. The cover had a cartoon child smiling, their hands in an odd position. The title was colorful and in big letters, ‘American Sign Language for Children’.

______________

The first time Lennox got back to the Autobot Base wasn’t until a whole week after getting into a healthy routine with Bumblebee. The kid was picking up sign language faster than Lennox could relearn it, so communication was still rocky, but it was getting better. They also had a grid of pictures and words that Bee could point at to help let Sarah know what he needed.

“Lennox, good to see ya back.” Epps clapped him on the back. “How’s the kid?”

“10,000 years of prior knowledge really makes ‘em smart, you know.” Lennox tries to smile, but it doesn’t quite appear. He drops his facade, running a hand down his face. “He’s upset on good days, throws tantrums on bad ones. He gets stressed easily and frustration runs high every minute.”

“That doesn’t really sound like Bumblebee. He’s usually so upbeat even in tough situations.” Epps commented.

“Ironhide thinks Bee is reacting to his physical age due to the human chemicals and endorphins bumping through his body. I’m inclined to believe so as well. Also, it’s a situation none of us has ever gone through before. He’s in unknown territory without his family to help him. He’s been abandoned and castout and everything is a constant reminder of what he’s lost. He sacrificed himself for his leader, for the one he looks up to for guidance and safety. And because of the outcome, he was pushed away by that very man.” Lennox tried to explain the feelings that have been tearing Bumblebee into pieces.

“Yeah, that does sound stressful.” Epps slouched. “How’s Annabell taking having an older brother?”

“She hates it.” Lennox groaned, sliding down to the floor.

“It can’t be that bad.” Epps laughed at his friend’s pain.

“She’s just fine sharing, as long as its in the way she wants, which Bee usually gets overwhelmed with her demands and ends up with Annabell throwing a tantrum and Bee hiding away in Ironhide.” Lennox took a deep breath.

“Do I even want to know how Sarah is taking this?” Epps helped Lennox to his feet.

“Oh, she’s loving how much room she has in the King bed without any company.” Lennox gave a dry bark of laughter.

“Seriously?”

“She loves Bee, didn’t even take a second to warm up to him. She is mad that I made this ‘life-changing’ decision without her.”

“Well, we’re wife and kid free here, man. So just come down to the hanger and see what the bots have been up to.” Epps led the way to the large warehouse where the autobots were walking around and talking with other military faciliants. Or they were trying too. Ironhide was shouting at Optimus and anyone else who tried to argue with him or try to calm him down.

“I’ve got tear stains in my leather upholster, because he thinks he’s been abandoned! And you know what, he ain’t wrong.” Ironhide folded his arms, glaring at the leader of the Autobots.

“We’ve been over this, Ironhide. He would not be safe here. I’m not going to change my decision.” Optimus huffed, getting frustrated at this endless cycle that was getting them nowhere.

“Oh, I know. But I want you to live with the guilt of that decision riding on your conscience till the All Spark has mercy.” Ironhide spins his cannons, but doesn’t engage in any violence with his commander. Lennox was surprised the weapon’s expert held back. Ironhide had been overheating with rage for the whole ride here.

“Don’t start a fight, Ironhide. Bumblebee knew the risk.” Wheeljack said. “Besides, being alone isn’t the worst. I’m by myself all the time.” Wheeljack didn’t get to continue his thoughts as Ironhide slammed his fist into the other’s face.

“Hey! Hey! Ironhide! They’re not going to change their minds with senseless violence. We’re here to do a job. Just keep it civil, big guy.” Lennox said, running to break up the bots.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to the range.” Ironhide transformed into his truck and rolled away from the others.

“Thank you for understanding, Captain.” Optimus started, but Lennox shot a glare up to the large mech.

“Don’t think I’m on your side, Prime. I just hate cleaning up the messes that happen when you guys fight.” Lennox turned away from the bot to organize his men.

Chapter Text

////////Six Months Later\\\\\\\\\

Bee was walking home from school. Lennox and Ironhide were hunting down Decepticons in Europe, so he didn’t really have a ride today, which was fine. He didn’t mind not going back to the house when Lennox or Ironhide wasn’t there. It’s not that Bee didn’t like Sarah or Annabell, but they just didn’t really get each other. Annabell tried to poke at every nerve Bumblebee had, just testing his patience. Sarah either babied him too much or acted as if he should already know how to do some complex human thing.

And then there was school. Apparently, Sarah was right about his name. Though Bee still didn’t understand how a girl in his class can be named ‘jasmine’ after a flower, but to be called after the insect that lets that flower grow and flourish… that’s taking it too weird? Not to mention no one in the institute knows morse code, and only a few, including his teacher know sign language. The school said they’d set him up with an interpreter. That has yet to be seen.

“Oh, hey, you’re Honey Bee, right?” Bumblebee jumped as a boy his physical age tapped him on the shoulder. Bee pulled out a small keyring of flash card that said common phrases to help him interact with people who couldn’t understand his other forms of communications. He tapped on the one with his actual name on it. “Oh, well I’m Raven.”

Bee made a saluting gesture; instead of his hand being horizontal and pushed in front of him, his palm was vertical and facing out while his hand moved away to the side of his temple. Then, Bee finger-spelt the boy’s name. Raven looked at his hands with wide eyes.

“Woah, you really can’t speak, can you?” Raven asked. Bee let out angry trills, glaring at the boy. He started to walk faster, getting away from the human. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that!”

Bee chittered, turning around and raising an eyebrow. You have one chance.

“I just didn’t want to believe Harvey. He’s always making up things about other people. My mom says he’s a bully.” Raven rambled. Bee nodded in agreement. Harvey was a larger kid in his class who kept trying to pick fights and make fun of Bumblebee. Bee would hand the kid’s ass to him, but he was still an Autobots and harming humans was still a big ‘no’ in his books. “We should be friends. I see you like Voltron. My favorite is the red lion, but the yellow one is alright too.”

Bumblebee shrugged, not knowing what this ‘Voltron’ was, but decided not to try to confuse the other with too complex interactions. This is the most pleasant conversation he’s had since being forced to partake in the human learning institution.

Soon Raven had to split off to go to his own home, but made Bee promise to meet up tomorrow to walk to school. Bee felt lighter for some reason, almost like he wasn’t so alone. Annabell picked up on his good mood as soon as he entered the house. A toy sailed through the air and whacked him in the forehead.

“Hi, Bee!” She smiled.

“Annabell, stop throwing toys. Go sit in the corner.” Sarah gawked. This turned into a ten minute scream-cry feast in which Annabell was forced to spend time in the corner for longer than her original sentence. Bumblebee was already set up at the table by this point, pulling out his homework. Sarah began to sign as she spoke. “How was school, Bee?”

‘Good, I meet a new friend. His name is Raven.’ Bee signed, his feet kicking in the open air under the table.

“Oh, that’s nice, what did you guys talk about?” Sarah leaned over the counter, ruffling Bee’s hair. He huffed and waved her hand away.

‘He kept talking about some lion-show called Voltage or something? Said I liked it too? I don’t know why he would think that.’

“You mean Voltron? Your bookbag is designed to look like one of the characters on the show. He probably thought you got the bag because you liked the show, not because it was yellow and black.” She explained, lifting up the bag in question. On the back in vinyl letters did read ‘Voltron’. “We could watch it. So you know what your friend is talking about.”

Bee shrugged at this. He’s tried to watch human entertainment, but nothing really caught his interest. Well, he’s only really seen whatever the Witwicky’s watched, and that was just through their living room window as he was parked in their driveway. Recently, Annabell has been making him watch her shows, which were all about learning numbers, colors, and being nice. At least she has her numbers and colors down.

“Yeah, it can be our thing, when you’re done with your homework we can watch a few episodes.” Sarah nodded to herself.

Annabell was returned from her sentencing. She shuffled up to Bumblebee, holding out the wooden block that she had thrown at him earlier.

“M’sorry, Bee.” She toed at the ground and gave him large puppy dog eyes. Bee huffed and took the block from her. He’s learned pretty fast to accept her peace offerings or have her throw another tantrum.

‘Yeah, I’m sure you are.’ Bee signed back. Annabell jumped around to her mom.

“Mom, what did he say?” Sarah shook her head at the young autobot. “He said, ‘apology accepted’.”

It didn’t take long to finish the easy equations or sentence structures his teachers assigned for his class. As soon as he put his work back into his bag, Sarah ushered him onto the couch and turned on their television.

“Get comfortable, sweetie, the first episode is the longest.” Bee wrapped himself in the yellow blanket that he’s since claimed as his own. As the episode went on, Bee found himself drawing parallels of his own life and the autobots to those of these characters. He was so immersed into this stupid cartoon that he didn’t even notice that Lennox had arrived and sat down next to his wife. Not until the episode was paused.

‘HEY!’ Bumblebee turned to Sarah, jumping a little when Lennox was also there.

“Hey to you too, kid.” Lennox said, his voice thick and his face contorted in worry. Bumblebee sat up.

‘Is Ironhide okay?’ Bee signed, trying to twist out of his cocoon to get a better look outside for the mech.

“He’s fine, Bee. But I do have some bad news. The Decepticons found the base. The Autobots had to be relocated and for your safety, we might not be getting their new location.”

‘What about Ironhide? He still needs Energon to function. How will I find them once we’ve figured out how to change me back?’ Bee asked.

“They don’t think there’s a cure for you, Bee. Optimus thought it best to cut ties. Don’t worry about Ironhide. We’re still going to get shipments of Energon for him.” Lennox pulled Bee into his chest. Bee didn’t have room to sign his frustrations, but he also didn’t have energy to fight off his prison of warm arms. Instead he let Lennox’s voice swirl around his own thoughts that wanted to drown him.

_______________

Bee slipped out of the house. The moon, street lamps, and his blinking shoe steps were his only light to navigate out of the neighborhood and try to find his way back to Optimus. The mech might not want him, but that was where he belonged, and he was done taking no for an answer.

It wasn’t the first time that he realized that walking was much more time consuming than driving. This was just another time that the notion ingrained itself into his head. This was the first time Bumblebee found himself walking for a long time after sunset. It seemed to take longer in the dark. It took so much longer to reach the school than it usually does.

Maybe it wasn’t the darkness of night that had Bumblebee shuffling his feet. Maybe it was the thought of seeing Optimus and the others after a month of not seeing them. Maybe it was the knowledge that this was in direct opposition of Optimus’s orders. This is the most rebellious he’s been in a long time. Bumblebee finds his feet stopping. He looks around and realizes he’s walked himself all the way just a house past Sam’s. The chill has already settled into his skin, but he’s just noticed his minutely shivers. His teeth are chattering, and he feels tired seeping into the very marrow of his human bones. His feet and legs ache. It must have been half the night gone by now.

A rumbling sound brings the rest of the world back into focus. Cars race towards him, screeching to a halt and boxing him in. At first he thinks its normal bad humans, until he recognizes the cars and notices the Decepticons’ insignias.

“I don’t get it.” Starscream’s voice is audible from his vehicular mode. “There is but a human child where the signal emits. No energon, no Autobots. Nothing.”

Bumblebee’s heart spikes. He backs away from Megatron’s Right Hand. The other ‘Cons have switched back to their natural state. They leer down at Bumblebee. One even tries to grab at him. He rolls to the side, and books it for a crack in their formation. Breakdown snagged Bee’s leg, scooping him upside-down, before he could make it. Bee kept hissing and sputtering at the Cons, but they weren’t intimidated.

“It appears, Starscream, that the boy is the origin of the signal. Maybe Knockout’s weapon wasn’t as defective as we had first thought. This human child does have a striking resemblance to their mute scout.” Breakdown muses.

Bee lets out sharp whistles, hoping the sleeping humans around them will awaken, but its almost no use. His vision starts to blur as the Cons start moving away. He doesn’t know what to do. He starts pushing against the metal fist around his leg, but with each shove the only result is his palms getting hotter.

Bumblebee can feel in his gut that Breakdown is about to shift. He can hear the t-cog clicking its gears in the split second preparation of turning into the alt mode. Bee panics, pulling his arm as far back as he could and smacking hard onto Breakdown’s grip. Instead of being halted by the warm living metal, his hand pushed in with no resistance. A shot of blue energy cut a path from his hand to the open sky. Breakdown drops Bee on the ground in surprise. Bee is able to twist himself to land on his back rather than just his head. He ignores the searing pain of smacking into the asphalt and scrambles away from his capture. The other Cons make a quick double-back, but not before Bee is on his feet. His palms and fingers tingle from the heat, but are unharmed from the powerful blast-ray. Cons surround him. He pulls his arm back and lets out another blast, sweeping his arm in an arc and taking out a line of the enemies, and also some of the residential appliances.

“Bee?” It’s Sam’s voice as he scampers out of his house in a shirt and boxers. “Where’s Lennox? Why are you here?” Bee doesn’t answer. He can’t answer. He sidesteps a blast from the Cons. Its not enough, Bee is grabbed again. His arms are pinned to his side in Starscream’s hand.

“I’ve got him, retreat.” Starscream proclaimed, ignoring Bee’s chitters and Sam’s shouts. A ground bridge was opened a few feet away. Starscream watched his men walk into the portal before turning to Sam with a viscous grin. “Till the next time, Witwick-AH”

Bee was once again hitting the ground. His back is singing and his ears are ringing from the gunshot. His vision is blurry, but he can still make out Mikaela cocking back a rifle as Sam ran to him. Sam carefully moved Bee away from the Decepticon, who was clutching his shot-up hand. There was a moment where it looked like Starscream was going to exact revenge. Luckily the portal behind him started to close and if he wanted a ride back home he couldn’t fight the humans. Everyone sighed with relief until they looked down at Bee.

The worried shouts of his friends were cut short as Bee’s small body finally gave it quits and passed out.

Chapter Text

Bumblebee awoke in a strange house, on a strange bed. He scrambled up, trying to ignore his pounding head. It wasn’t until he noticed Sam passed out in his desk chair that he realized that this was Sam’s room. It looked so different when he was inside instead of looking though the window.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Mikaela said, placing a hand on Bee’s shoulder and pushing him back down. “You’ve got a lot of people worried for you, Bee.”

Bee brought up his hands to sign his apologies, but stopped. They were wrapped up in white gauze. He studied them, trying to remember when he’d hurt them. The energy-blasts from last night hadn’t hurt. His hands should be fine, right?

“When Sam called Captain Lennox, he was still asleep, and hadn't even realized you had left. Do you know how bad he would have felt if Sam and I hadn’t woken up and you were just taken by the Cons?” She asked, voice hard and unmoving. Bee flinched away. “You know Ironhide will most likely just drive you to us even if Lennox isn’t there. He did it last week. So why isn’t Ironhide with you?”

‘Didn’t want to come here.’ Bee signed in stiff, aching movements.

“What do you mean?” Sam’s asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Instead of easing the tense atmosphere, he just added to it.

‘Wanted to go home.’ Bee said.

“You were already home, I don’t-” Mikaela put a hand up to stop her boyfriend.

“You wanted to go to Optimus? Lennox told you about their base-switching.” She asked. Bee nodded, looking up at the ceiling so he didn’t have to look at either of them.

“Stop it, Bee.” Sam sounded as tired as Bee felt. He sounded as if an age old ache finally settled completely into his bones, locking into place. “Optimus has already made his decision. He doesn’t want you near him or the other Autobots in this form. At least when you’re this small.”

“Sam!” Mikaela yelled, smacking her boyfriend over the head.

“What? He needs to hear it. He won’t stop chasing the Autobots until its said.” Sam defended.

“You could have said it with a lighter touch.”

“We’ve been trying to do that for a month, and look at where that got us? Bee ran away from the captain and almost got kidnapped by Decepticons.” Bee wanted the bed to collapse in half and eat him whole as the teen couple started to yell over him as if he weren’t in the room. He felt his eyes well up with tears as frustrations lodged in the middle of his throat, too thick to swallow.

Bee tried to get their attention after a while, but they were in their own world at this point. It wasn’t until Lennox slammed the door open that the teens stopped arguing. Lennox didn’t stop walking until Bee was in his arms.

“We’re getting you a phone, and a tracker. And you are so grounded.” Lennox didn’t sound angry, though. He sounded like he was about to cry, which for some reason had the floodgates on Bee burst.

“You know, for a being who didn’t have actual tear ducts for most of their life, Bee sure does cry a lot.” Sam laughed, only to punch in the stomach by Mikaela. “Ow.”

“Shut up, Sam.”

“I’m not comfortable with overly emotional situations.” Sam bemoaned.

“What happened to his hands?” Lennox asked, holding Bee’s hands in his own to inspect the bandages. Bee sat there looking disgruntled, but didn’t pull away.

Sam and Mikaela stumbled over each other as they tried to explain what happened from when they arrived. About the energon beam that shot from Bee’s hands. Lennox turned to Bee, who shrugged, just as new to this situation as the rest of them.

“An energon blast?” Lennox whistled, still not letting Bee from his side. He looked down at the soft blonde locks and piercing blue eyes that peered up at him. “How is that even possible?”

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Sam sunk back down in his desk chair. Bumblebee shuffled his hands out of Lennox’s grasp. He had a theory.

‘Breakdown said something about an energon signal emitting from me.’ Bee winced as his wounds pulled on some of the signs.

“If Bee is still emitting a signal like a Cybertronian, then that means he’s in trouble. Like real big trouble.” Sam realizes.

“And with Prime and his team having just cut ties its going to be a while before we reform contact with them.” Lennox rubbed at his temple.

“So what do we do?”

___________

“Hi, Bumblebee!” Raven ran up to Bee. “Why didn’t you go to school yesterday? And what happened to your hands? Can you sign now? Does it hurt?”

‘Hi, Raven.’ Bee signed.

“That was my name again, right?” Bee nodded. Raven smile grew wider. He lifted his hand in the sign for ‘F’ tapped his cheek and quickly pushed away. Bee was startled at the sign. It was the sign for ‘bee’, And also how Lennox, Sarah, Sam, and Mikaela have been signing his own name. If they remembered to sign as they talk. Not that they had to, because he wasn’t deaf, but it was good practice for them to understand him better. “My neighbor’s grandson is deaf so my mom said I could ask him to teach me how to sign so we can talk! He said that was how to say bee.”

Bumblebee nodded. He finger-spelt his name and then did the sign for ‘bee’, then he finger-spelt Raven’s name and did the sign for ‘Crow’, which was basically just signing ‘black bird’.

“That’s so super cool! That’s all I know, but I extra-ultra promise I’m going to learn all of it so we can be best friends!” Raven pumped his fist in the air.

‘You do that.’ Bee signed, nodding his head. He couldn’t get the smile off face. Raven was just so nice to him.

“So, why were you not at school?” Raven settled down.

Bee pulled out the small cellphone Lennox had bought for him yesterday. Raven gasped, going on another excited babble about the device and how cool it was that he had one even though he wasn’t in even in middle school. Bee mostly ignored his friend as he carefully typed out his explanation. He didn’t have to pass the phone over to Raven, who just read it over his shoulders as Bee typed.

“Oh, is Lennox your dad?” Raven asked. Bee gave a shrug, but then nodded. “You should just call him ‘dad’ then. It had less letters so it’d be easier to sign too.”

Bee shrugged. He didn’t see why he couldn’t do it.

“So you ran away two nights ago and some bad people tried to kidnap you and your dad wouldn’t let you go back to school before you got an actual way to contact him in case of emergencies and also signed you up for self defense classes and like martial arts and stuff?”

Bee shook his phone in Raven’s face. That’s what he just wrote out, so yeah, it’s what happened.

“Why did you run away?” Raven asked.

‘Complicated.’ Bee typed.

“I ran away once. My mom wouldn’t let me watch cartoons. I had to go home when it got dark though and when I did she grounded me and wouldn’t let me watch cartoons for even longer.” Raven shook his head. Bee decided to keep his thoughts to himself. For some reason there were times when it was harder to remember that he was actually ten thousand years older than everyone on this planet. And then there were times like these. “So what happened to your hands?”

Bee mimicked falling and scraping his hands on the ground. Raven went on another word dump of how he fell and scraped his knee so bad he had to get stitches. Back and forth they went. Raven asking a question, Bee answering in a few short words and then Raven going on for five minutes before the cycle commences. It was nice to be honest.

The school day continued. And like all the other days, Bee was bored. He knew how to speak English and he knew that the internet could answer all of these questions for him if he needed to look up what region the rocky mountains were located in America. He’s had to do it before. Math class was cool. He’s seen Ratchet and Wheeljack make cool things out of just strings of numbers.

His favorite class was after lunch. Technically, everyday they cycled through a few different subjects. Spanish was extra boring, because he couldn’t really participate because most of the class was talking and that was kind of hard when a giant mech rips out your vocal chords. Gym was fun, but no one wanted to be partners or on teams with the weird mute kid. Art was - it wasn’t his thing.

His favorite class was music. He didn’t care for the recorder he had to learn to use, but he did like when the teacher brought out his guitar. It looked so cool. He wanted to learn how to play that.

Bee found himself climbing into Ironhide after the last bell. Lennox waved at one of the teachers that were standing watch and pulled away, but not to the direction of their house. Bee sunk further into his seat, letting out a series of sighs and whines. He had thought Lennox was joking about signing him up for some human self defense/fighting classes.

“It’s for your own good. Ironhide is trying to get in contact with Optimus now to see what we should do, but its not going well. I don’t think you want to be shackled with a bodyguard for the rest of your life, and I don’t want to have to worry every time you leave the house.” If Epps or any of his men found out how much he’s been outright mothering Bee, Lennox would be teased for the rest of his days. That didn’t stop the jack hammering of his heart when he thinks about Bumblebee, his kid, getting captured by the Decepticons.

“Chin up, kid. I’ll be sure to mention to Lennox’s crew that he’s a mother hen.” Ironhide promised.

“Saws the one who did the search for ‘the perfect gym’.” Lennox flicked the steering wheel. Ironhide slammed the driver’s seat back in retaliation. Bee couldn’t help but laugh as the human tried to fight the autobot. Which got the attention of both and they formed an alliance against the kid.

Bumblebee scrambled into the back seats of Ironhide, kicking Lennox away as the man came for him. He tucked himself in the corner right behind the driver seat, thinking himself safe. Only for the seat to slam back again.

They pulled into the gym not too long after.

Chapter Text

A tall woman stood in front of Bee with an ever present scowl on her face. A handful of shoeless kids in all white clothes were practicing movements behind her. Bee turned back to Lennox and shook his head. He wasn’t going to put on pajamas and make a fool of himself. He’d rather be at the hands of Starscream.

“Too late, we’ve already paid for you to be here for a month. So you’ll have to tough it out.” Lennox shrugged.

‘That kid just fell.’ Bee watched as a kid kept tripping over his pant legs and then knocked over another kid and like a domino effect they all toppled to the ground. The woman closed her eyes as she heard the commotion and her students started to fight.

“Silence!” She yelled over the noise and the kids got back into their lines. “Jacob, I thought you said your mom got the right sized gi this time.”

“She said I’d grow into them.” The boy that was the epicenter crossed his arms. “I tried to explain it to her, but she said not to argue with her.”

“Alright, alright. Go get the spare out of my office. The rest of you continue practicing.” She turned back to Bumblebee and Lennox. “Is he deaf?” She asked.

“No, he can hear you just fine. He’s just mute.” Lennox answered.

“Ah, I understand. It’s nice to see a parent taking action to help their child’s confidence. I’ve had many kids here come in mute and leave little chatterboxes.” The woman said.

“It has to be some miracle to get Bumblebee to talk. He lost his voice in an accident when he was younger. His vocal chords are all but ripped out.” Lennox explained, motioning Bee to tilt his head up and reveal the gruesome scars around his neck. Bee didn’t really care for his scars. He came to terms with them long ago.

“That would be difficult to restore his voice, but no matter, we aren’t throat doctors and I have a harsh zero tolerance policy on any sort of bullying so rest assured your son is in a safe place.” The woman knelt down to be at the same height as Bee. “Hello, Bumblebee, I am Laura Alves. You may call me Sensei Alves or just Sensei. I’ll be your instructor until you decide to leave my classroom.”

“Alright, Bee, I’ll be back to pick you up in about -”

“We train for two hours a day.”

“Two hours, kid.” Lennox ruffled Bee’s hair and walked out. Bee slumped in defeat as he was left with the angry looking woman and about fifteen other kids.

The first thing she had Bee do was take off his shoes and socks. The floor was cool on his feet, making his toes curl. And then the woman led him into her office and handed him a box with the same white pajamas as the other kids.

“This is called a ‘gi’. It will be your uniform when you come here. It will be your responsibility to bring them back each time. I like to start each of my students with a practice match against me. Don’t be frightened, I’m not going to go all out, my young student. It’s just for me to see your capabilities. Sometimes you kids soak up some knowledge in fighting by watching television.” Laura talked almost as much as Raven. Bee nodded along and made a few clicking noises to let her know he was listening. “After that we’ll decide on the disciplines to start you out with.”

The class was surrounding the mat. A girl with a high ponytail let out a whoop and told the sensei to ‘have his ass’. Laura told the girl to stand in the corner for time out. She looked about Annabell’s age.

“Okay, are you ready, Bumblebee?” Laura asked. Bee nodded, mimicking the teacher’s pose. He took a deep breath and nodded.

Bee was a trained soldier, he wasn’t just a scout. He was the scout for Optimus Prime. Or was the scout for Optimus Prime. He wasn’t going to go down so easily, and he never has. Even when Megatron ripped out his voice box it wasn’t without a fight.

The height difference was like fighting Optimus Prime in his original form. Laura towered over him. He blocked a few blows and threw a punch of his own. This body’s muscles didn’t have the same extreme training as his old one had. This body wouldn’t listen to all of his commands like it was breathing. He hit the floor.

He hit the floor before the first minute was up.

“That was really good, Bumblebee.” Laura held her hand out to him. He was about to ignore it, but decided not to. He wanted to be angry with the teacher for his defeat. He even wanted to be mad at himself. He couldn’t. He knew how much work and skills he had. He survived in a multi-century old war when a lot of his race was killed out. It wasn’t his fault. It was the decepticon’s fault. It was Knockout. It was Starscream. It was Megatron, who was to blame for this and any future failures of his. This was the first step in making sure he’d be able to make Megatron pay.

With a determined look, Bee threw the first punch to the air along with a group of earth children.

___________

Annabell was hiding from Sarah again and it was up to Bee to find her. It was surprisingly difficult to find one five year old in just a two story house. There were a few places he could instantly cross off his list. Lennox’s office was off limits to anyone who wasn’t ‘physically an adult, don’t argue with me, Bumblebee,’ and Annabell was terrified of the attic storage space. That left a lot of places to cover.

Sarah had started using Bumblebee as her own scout, searching out her daughter. Bee couldn’t deny the fact that he sort of enjoyed this intense version of hide-n’-go-seek. Until today when he searched up and down the normal spots and still couldn’t find Annabell. He took a long look at the office, but still didn’t dare go there first. He walked to the attic stairs, looking up the darkened path to see if he could get a glimpse of the little Lennox.

“Bee!” Annabell popped out of the shadows, giving Bee a heart attack. “Look what I found!” She held out a small violin. Bee’s music teacher had one of these hanging on his classroom walls. She strummed the strings violently. Bee waved his hands to stop her, but it wasn’t fast enough. One of the brittle stings snapped and lashed back at the girl. Her high pitched scream alerted the mother to the mess. Bee tried to see if she was seriously hurt, but Annabell kept pushing him away.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah ran into the hall, oven mitts still on.

‘She found an old violin and the string snapped.’ Bee pointed to the busted instrument he had pushed away.

“Alright, alright. Let’s see the damage.” Sarah said, her voice calming down and coaxed her daughter into moving her hand away from her face. There was a scratch across her cheek, and a little blood was coming out, but nothing that looked too serious. Sarah picked up Annabell and brought her to the bathroom to get cleaned off and a few bandaids where the bleeding was originating.

Bee went back to the hall and picked up the violin. It fit right in his hands. He didn’t touch the strings though. He used to use the lyrics of musicians on the radio for his voice. He could communicate with his team and with Sam by switching through thousands of channels and stations to construct his own thoughts. Or he’d use the radio waves and the makeshift coder Ratchet had fixed him up with. It would translate the thoughts he wanted to speak into binary code and beep it to the world, which was automatically translated by the other transformers. His music teacher keeps saying music had a voice of its own. Even the instruments and their notes could give a message to people.

Bumblebee didn’t know why, but he found himself stashing the violin under his bed. He’d get his strength back with Laura and her class. With Sign Language, he’d have his words back. But with this violin, he’d get his voice back. He’ll move waves of people if it meant crashing on a safer shore.

It wasn’t until after the three ate dinner that Lennox came home from work that day. Ironhide’s loud rumble alerting them to their arrival. The man came through, ruffling both his kid’s hairs and giving them a kiss on the cheek before going to his wife to properly greet her. It had been established after the first week that this process was to take place. Even so, Bee never really got used to the contact. It made his skin tingle and cheeks warm up. He brushed the ‘older’ man away each time.

“What happened to Bell?” Lennox asked, inspecting his daughter’s battle wound.

“She had a fight with your old violin. I told you to throw that thing away.” Sarah said. Bee’s heart started to pound in his chest. He kept his head down, but an eye on the couple.

“Well, I guess it has to go if its already got a body count.” Lennox walked to the attic before Bee could stall him. He came back down with an empty case. “Where is it?”

“Bumblebee said he put it back? Bee, where is the violin?” Sarah asked. Bee shook his head and shrugged. He tried to get his breathing under control.

“Come on, Bee. Go get it.” Lennox’s voice was stern, almost a sprinkle of disappointment could be heard. Bee couldn’t stand when the man was disappointed in him. He shuffled to his room, already uncovering his hiding spot. It hadn’t even been two hours since it was there. His declaration crumbling in his hands. Lennox was at his door, but instead of a scowl, a soft smile was on his face.

‘What?’ Bee asked, hunching his shoulders around the violin.

“Do you want to learn how to play?” Lennox smirked. “Don’t be shy to ask if you want to do something. I know I’m sort of forcing you to take self defence classes, so its only fair for you to do something you want to do.”

Bee nodded his head so fast it almost felt like it could pop off. Lennox laughed, taking the violin from Bee’s hands and walked back into the kitchen. Bee followed, his feet lighter and heart fluttering in excitement. Until it dropped when he saw the instrument in the trash. He ran to get it out, but was stopped by Lennox

“Woah, there. What’s wrong, Bee?” Lennox asked, hands solid on Bee’s shoulders

‘I thought you said I could learn how to play it?’ Bee signed frantically.

“Yeah, but Bee, that one is broken and busted. We can get you a new one.” Lennox explained. Bee shook his head. He hadn’t cried for a week, not since he ran away. And yet here he was, breaking that record.

‘I can fix it!’ He tried to push Lennox away, but again the man was stronger. ‘Please, it can be fixed. Don’t throw it away!’

Lennox made eye contact with his wife. It would be cheaper just to buy a new Violin, he’d probably have to buy a new set of every piece of equipment for it, not to mention he hasn’t touched the thing since he was fourteen, and its been sitting in his childhood treasures ever since in various attics and storage units. The repairs would be expensive. But he also had a feeling Bee was panicking about more than just a broken instrument. How could he explain to the kid that he wasn’t going to throw him away even though he was ‘broken’ when his last family all but decided to do just that?

“Now, Bumblebee. It’s just a violin, sometimes -” Sarah began, but Lennox gave her another look. “Will, you can’t be serious. No, Will- Fine, fine.” Bee trilled happily as he fished the violin out of the trash. Sarah brought the mood down as she told him and Annabell to get ready and go to bed. Bee wanted to fight back, it wasn’t eight yet and so it wasn’t time for that. He had already lost the fight of ‘he’s not technically a child and didn’t need a bedtime’ long ago. Sarah wasn’t having any of it.

Bee was crawling into bed when he realised he had left his blanket in the living room from earlier that day. He tried to assure himself that he wasn’t a child and didn’t need that specific blanket to fall asleep. He had plenty of others he could use. He changed his mind after shifting and shuffling about his bed for half an hour. As he crept out of his room he could hear Sarah and Lennox talking about something. The closer he got to his living room the easier it was to hear.

“- but you’re taking him to his lessons.”

“That’s not fair to Bee.” Lennox shot up. “You know that I keep odd hours for tracking down Decepticons. It’s my job. Even if Prime is at an unknown location, Ironhide and I still have that job to do.”

“Then find a more stable one. One that has a less possibility of getting you killed by giant robot aliens. I can’t take care of both Bee and Annabell by myself. And Annabell is our child.” Sarah’s voice was cold steel to Bee’s spine. “If I had to, I’d choose her every time.”

“Bumblebee isn’t some dog, Sarah. He’s a kid too. You wouldn’t seriously just throw him out?” Lennox wasn’t shouting, but he didn’t have too. Bumblebee could see his blanket draped across the same couch these two were having this conversation. He couldn’t bring himself to peel away from the wall’s shadows and get it.

“He’s not a kid, though. He knows it, you know it. I know it. It’s his favorite argument. He loves pointing it out.” Sarah ran a hand down her face.

“You know that isn’t completely true. Sure, Bee has more memories than most seven year olds, but he’s a kid. He’d be helpless on his own. I couldn’t just do that to him.”

“I know. But it just feels like I’m the one taking care of him, while you’re off doing god knows what. My life has been flipped upside down and you seem like none of this ever happened. You get to come home and in an hour or two he’s asleep. Do you know how hard it is to juggle a job, taking care of those two, and learning a whole new language, just so I can understand one of them. You brought Bumblebee home. I wasn’t a part of this decision.” Sarah’s voice was thick and full of tears.

“Stop talking like he’s an expendable animal, Sarah. Yeah, I was the one to decide that Bumblebee doesn’t deserve to be thrown to the dogs. But you said it was fine. You didn’t think it was such an awful idea seven months ago. You can’t turn back around and act like I twisted your arm.” Lennox stood up, pacing the length of the couch.

“I’m just asking you to switch your MOS to give you more time with your family, and make sure you have more time with family.” Sarah stressed.

“I’m not mad about that. I’m mad that you think tossing Bee aside is okay.” Lennox’s voice was like gravel at this point, but still didn’t rise in volume. Bee was choking. He couldn’t breath, his heart was beating and body was burning. He thought he was finally getting along with Sarah. They threw snacks at galra after she helped him with his homework everyday. She taught him how to make cookies last week. She was nice. And she hated him. He couldn’t even run away again, Lennox would be devastated.

“It’s not like I want to. Just make sure I don’t have to make that choice.” Sarah was outright crying now. Bee’s stomach dropped as Lennox promised his wife he’d look into changing jobs. Bee sunk back into his room, foregoing his blanket for tonight. He had others that were just fine.

He couldn’t go to sleep. The conversation ran through his head, bouncing between one ear to the next. An emotionally draining game of ping-pong. And the blue blanket was too scratchy, the green one too large, the one with trucks on it was too puffy. They all lay, kicked off, on the floor. He held his stuffed bunny tight to his chest, the soft ears positioned over his eyes to soak up his tears if they ever decided to spill.

He didn’t move as his door was cracked open. He made sure his breathing stayed even and calm. Soft footsteps approached his bed, and a familiar warmth was draped over his body. Large, rough hands tucked the blanket snuggly around him.

“I won’t let you be thrown away again, Bee. I promise.” Lennox whispered.

With tired hands, Bee found himself signing ‘good night, dad.’

“Good night, kid.”