Chapter Text
It all started as a simple solo patrol with himself, racing through the endless forest, between millennia-old trees, crystal clear rivers and thin unpaved roads way older than the high mountains of that same biome in the not-that-big state of Nevada, having fun more than actually patrolling and seeking for Decepticons activities.
Bumblebee was carefree at that moment, only focusing on the path ahead, trying not to make a turn too fast and risk falling way too many meters down to the ground and, for the first time in a while, keeping his radio off, listening to his own engine rumble in the quiet wild area. It felt peaceful.
The war had been grinding at him for quite literally his whole spark-cycle, slowly biting his frame and spark away with endless battles, strategies and infinite losses. So many losses.
It felt nice to finally have a calm moment just him and his own processor.
Nothing against his friends, of course! He loved them and would sacrifice anything for them but sometimes all that chaos with the kids, and missions, and patrols, and Decepticons attacks, and just everything. It was just too much for Bumblebee's processor to stand for too long at a time, so he used his patrols to just doze off, even taking more enjoyable paths, observing his surroundings and taking in every little color, sound and feeling that beautiful planet could offer to his tired circuits.
He was getting higher and higher, speeding up the mountain’s small road, the colossal stone structure towering over the whole forest, its freezing air scratching at his vents and making his bright yellow hood feel like pure ice, giving him goosebumps at the immediate wave of cold.
After a few kliks the path he was following with fierce speed came to an end, becoming way too narrow to drive. Bumblebee quickly decreased his speed, transforming into his alt mode in the process, trying to both slow himself down more rapidly and wanting to stretch his pedes a bit. As soon as he managed to block his frame from falling he stopped in his tracks for a moment, looking around at the stunning view, even considering maybe continuing the path, walking till he reached the peak of it all and maybe touching some snow.
Deep in thought he caressly looked up from the ground and his light blue optics met a few cities in the far skyline, but they weren't Nevada' s cities. That far away was actually California.
Bee snapped his helm up so quickly he felt his vision spin for a split second, half in disbelief and half in surprise. How the frag did he get so far away from his initial coordinates?
He wasn't supposed to even be near the forest, but somehow he managed to reach the border between Nevada and California. That was on him for not checking his GPS during his whole ride. How reckless.
He stared at the far vision of the other state's little houses and structures like he was hypnotized, still difficult for him to believe he got so far off from where he was supposed to be in so little time he had.
A wave of memory files filled his processor. Good memories.
In a way he missed California: its beaches were the only thing keeping him sane after he lost almost all his memories. And Charlie did too. Her smile was so warm with love and admiration. She had been so brave back then, helping an Autobot she didn't even know before then and risking her life doing so, going against both Decepticons and her own race laws and beliefs.
Now that he thought about it he missed her more than he could admit he did. After all she had been his anchor for a while back when he didn't even remember his own name. Charlie literally named him, put him back together with the little resources and spare parts she had in her garage and stayed by him even when they both knew it was dangerous.
“It would be nice seeing her again, even if only for a few nano-kliks”,he thought. Then an idea went through his tired processor: why not now.
He was supposed to be on patrol for the rest of the day, nobody was even trying to contact him in any way, the Decepticons were seemingly calm and minding their own business for once in Cybertronian history and Optimus was back at the base, that meant everybot was safe as much as the Prime was present with them.
He hesitated, getting closer to the edge, almost taking a false step and falling down.
After recovering from the almost around-half-a-mile fall he made a quick decision: he's going. He'll turn his tracker off just for the ride to reach Brighton Falls and to find Charlie. Nobody would notice anything if he was fast enough, and he is always fast. He is the fastest thing on earth, of course he would make it.
He'll just check up on her, maybe say hi if he feels safe enough to break cover, nothing more, nothing less.
Oh Ratchet was so going to offline him if he found out.
He hoped he wouldn't find out; at least not until he was back to base.
He could even bring her back to the silo with him and make her finally meet Optimus, all his “new” friends and the kids, too! That didn't sound like a half bad idea.
After setting his processor he went to his HUD and quickly turned off his tracker, hoping Ratchet's comms would come as late as they could, giving him just the right time to make the trip to California's coast and back.
He turned and transformed back to his car mode, speeding up as soon as he could, excitement making itself present on how his wheels screeched on the ground, making dirt, dust and debris fly and scatter behind him and create a small smoky trail.
While driving back down to the forest below Bumblebee started recreating how their meeting should go in his processor. He didn't remember how much time it had been since he last saw her: she probably was all grown up now, older, maybe with sparklings and a conjurix, living in her own house, with her own things, rules and new life.
The thought of her old best friend finally having a life at peace from that messy and toxic household she had been living in for years made Bee's spark make turns of pure joy for her. He knew what it felt like to want peace for just a few kliks and getting none, plus unbearable scoldings for venting wrong. It was excruciating and actually very much irritating. They both shared being always treated as sparklings.
They had much in common.
The uneven and bumpy road finally turned back into the usual black dirt road as he got closer to his destination. He couldn't say he didn't break a few speed limits as he sped on the highway like it was his personal Formula 1 course, but he was thrilled to finally meet Charlie after so long apart and, besides, time was already slowly running out and he needed to do the deed as fast as he could, so he was excused in some way. The road was surprisingly empty of any human trace apart from the actual asphalt and guardrails, clearly human-made, so the drive was smooth, quiet and fast. Just the way Bumblebee likes it to be.
The sun was starting to get higher in the light blue sky, warming up every object on its way with its rays of pure heat and light. Bumblebee felt it hitting his roof and spreading the warmth through his whole frame, even warming up his insides, the dark seats absorbing the heat and spreading it into the whole interior. His tires were scraping against the black asphalt, gripping the road firmly, their rotation way too fast for the eye to follow. The windows and windshield were starting to get hot too, but that didn't bother the bot more than it would, focusing exclusively on the road ahead and the turns he had to take.
Now that he thought about it Charlie could've lived everywhere around the US if not even the world. He wasn't even sure if she still lived in the same city or if she moved out into some other place at some point.
That wasn't a problem. He would find a way to track her when he got there. The only thing he had to do now was drive.