Chapter Text
"Is there anything you miss about Cybertron that Earth doesn't have?"
When Hashtag had explained to him with great enthusiasm her idea for a d ocumentary about the Cybertronians' experience on Earth, while dragging him away to interview him, Bumblebee had expected to receive questions, in fact, about Earth such as: "What do you think of the seasons?", or "Which animal is your favorite?", or "Do you like Earth?" Simple questions he would answer: "It's not common for a planet to have them, I find it a special feature that makes Earth even more special and beautiful. My favorite is spring" and then "I don't know, maybe the Yellow Zigalo?" And finally "Of course! Why shouldn't I?" So, when little Hashtag asked him that seemingly harmless and not at all difficult to answer question, Bumblebee found his voice dying in his intake.
Did he miss anything about Cybertron?
Well of course! After all, it was his planet, his home, and he missed it more than anything... and yet. Was there anything nice about Cybertron that Earth didn't have? He had lived most of his life in war and the happy memories related to his planet were ... few, very few, to be counted on one servo, that's why they were so important. Cybertron was the place where he had been forged, but it had never been safe as a home is supposed to be. - This was the kind of question that kept him up at night overthinking for hours and hours .- Most of the time he felt like a tramp, with nowhere to return to or take refuge; of course, the Maltos had been very welcoming to him and had made sure he felt safe with them, but, as sad as he was to admit it, he didn't feel at home, he couldn't . It was as if his spark wanted to go home but he didn't know where it was; he kept longing for a place he didn't even know the name of...maybe he would never find out, maybe he would never feel at home, and that scared him. It made him feel like when he was-
"... Bumblebee, are you there?" Hashtag's voice brought him back to reality, reminding him that he was not in his berth, but in front of a camera that had captured his awkward moment of prolonged silence. He probably looked like an idiot . He would have facepalmed himself if it hadn't been for the fact that he was still being filmed.
"Sorry, I got distracted for a moment thinking about the report I have to send to Optimus." As an excuse it was plausible, after the last events he had had much more 'office' work than usual. And as expected...
"No worries Bee, I'm sure it has to be a super boring thing to do. Do not wish to be in your shoes."
Pft. Starscream who? Make way for the new master of deception: Bumblebee!
"Yes, it's really boring and now that I think about it better also challenging, maybe it's better if I go-" He didn't have time to get out of the barn that Hashtag stood in front of him blocking the exit.
'Wait!' She screamed, then cleared her voice and recomposed herself "I mean, I'm sure Optimus won't get angry if the report takes a while more to be done, especially if it's to participate in my documentary! Also, hadn't you already written a report yesterday? I don't think anything new has happened in a day."
Nevermind, forget about the deception thing
"Optimus... Optimus knows about the documentary?" He asked surprised.
"Of course he does!! He even gave me ideas on how to structure it. He will be one of the next to be interviewed."
"Cool..." It was the only thing that came out of his intake as Hashtag made him sit in front of the camera again.
"Super cool!" She responded enthusiastically while arranging the frame. "Back to the documentary: Is there anything you're missing about Cybertron that Earth doesn't have?"
Bumblebee sighed, surrendering to the fact that he couldn't run away from this. "It's a complicated question to answer" and seeing the girl's confused look he added with melancholy in his words: "When the war started I was young - very young - and it went on for so many years that- well I...I don't-"
"Bee stop" Hashtag said turning off the camera, "If you don't feel comfortable answering a question you can say it, I thought it was implied, but I probably should have explained it." and looking down she added with sorrow in her voice "I didn't think that- I hadn't thought about the impact this question might have- "
"Don't worry Hashtag, it's okay, there's nothing wrong with the question ." It's me . Bumblebee offered her a smile to try to reassure her, "Is it okay if we continue the interview later? I should go now." A pang of guilt hitted him as a sad look painted Hashtag's face, but he really needed a breath of fresh air and to be alone. What a strange thing, he used to hate being alone.
"Okay Bee, are you sure that-"
"I'm sure, it's okay, I'm fine. Don't worry." And having said that, he rushed out of the barn, looking for a place where he would not be disturbed. Maybe he would even go for a race, - the positives of not having the G.H.O.S.T. on his heels anymore - it always made him feel better and helped him clear his mind.