AN: Requested one-shot for AnonymousAuthor1998 for the adorable Recall she drew for me on dA. She wanted to see Miko meeting Bulkhead in the Animated universe.

Number One Fan

TFA Universe: Miko meets Bulkhead [Set before Season 2/Megatron's resurrection]

One-Shot for AnonymousAuthor1998

"I don't need a babysitter!"

Professor Isaac Sumdac—founder of Sumdac Systems and arguably one of the greatest minds of the 21st century—could only sigh as he watched his daughter frantically tear apart her bedroom, flinging pillows around the room while Tutor Bot chased after her. Sparkplug hid beneath her bed, staring out at the usual destruction his owner created. "Sari-"

"I'm super responsible on my own! I can take care of myself, and the Autobots watch after me when I'm with them. Well, except for that one time…that you don't need to know about."

Professor Sumdac sighed again at the innocent smile his daughter gave him and shook his head as Tutor Bot continuously ran in to the wall with a pillow stuck to his head. "Sari, while I am happy that you found friends in the Autobots, I worry that your relationships with others is…for a lack of words, lacking."

"It's not my fault everyone my age just finds me intimidating," Sari said with a pout. She jumped off the bed, and Sparkplug wiggled out to sit at her feet and adoringly wagged his tail for her. The young redhead grinned and reached down to pick him up, hugging him to her chest as she looked up at her dad with big, sparkling eyes. "Besides, I like robots better."

"Yes, yes," Sumdac muttered distractedly as a new idea came to mind. Had he developed a machine to lick postage stamps yet? People still used those, right? "That is one of my worries. She'll be here within the next hour."

"What!" Sari exclaimed, dropping Sparkplug like a hot potato and running after her dad. She slid in front of him to block the door and almost got run over by the distracted man. The girl propped her hands on her non-existent hips and glared up at him. "You were just gonna dump this on me last minute? What if I don't like her? Or she stinks, or she has this ugly mole that just stares at me every time I talk to her or-"

"What's done is done," Professor Sumdac interrupted. He reached out and absently patted his daughter on the head as he walked past, imagining how Megatron would be so pleased about his latest idea. He stopped when he noticed the glare his only daughter was sending him. "Don't be that way Sari; I only wish for what's best for you. Besides, I was very careful with who I chose this time. You'll like her—honestly!"

"Yeah," Sari muttered under her breath after the door closed behind him. She picked up Sparkplug and hurried back to her bed. "That's what you said about the last one. She's the whole reason you made Tutor Bot!"

"You need to get a job."

That's what Jack had said the last time she had gone to borrow money from him. So Miko had just rolled her eyes and gone to Raf the next time she needed some spare change. He was making more interning at Sumdac Systems than Jack made in a year at the overrated burger stand he worked for. Seriously, who even went to the outdated KO Burger anyway? You know…other than the old people who wanted to "revisit the good ol' days where people actually made the food" or something like that? Burger Bot was where it was at!

The point was, Miko was getting a strong sense of déjà vu as she leaned against the desk that her computer nerd friend worked at.

"You know Miko," Rafael said as he counted out the ten dollars she had asked for. That was the great thing about her friends—while everyone else their age had adopted the virtual cash cards popular in this day and age, Jack and Raf stuck with the old school paper and metal. It was the few people like them that kept that method of payment alive. "Have you ever thought about getting a job? You wouldn't have to come to me and Jack every time you needed money."

"But Raf," the Japanese teenager groaned as she accepted the cash he offered. She quickly counted it out and stuffed it into the cute, plushie shaped clutch that hung from her waist. It was one thing from Japan that she had not grown out of since her parents had moved to Detroit five years prior. "I already have a job! Who else would make sure you and Mr. Responsible have fun instead of overworking yourselves?"

"I mean an actual job." The young brunet lifted a finger to push his glasses back up his nose and waved away the assistant bot that inquired if he needed assistance. "I know you're basically allergic to work-"

"Hey, don't get sassy on me Raf. Remember that even though you're this young prodigy working for arguably the wealthiest, technologically advanced industries, you're still just a twelve year old kid. You can't have more sass than me."

Rafael smiled at the finger wag Miko gave him. "Sorry, I can't help what just comes naturally. Anyway, they've been looking for someone to help down in the mailroom. All you'd have to do is sit at a desk and organize the emails that come in, maybe deliver a package upstairs every once in a while. It's a really easy job."

"And sounds super lame," Miko added with an uninterested sneer. She might appreciate the technology that made her life easier, but that did not mean she was a complete computer nerd like Raf was. Sitting in front of a computer all day? It might have sounded like a dream job to him, but for her it was just plain torture! "I might be workaphobic, but if I ever get a job it'll have to involve a little more than that."

Rafael shrugged and grabbed the paper that was spat out of the printer/scanner beside him. He read over it quickly and put it to the side before he started typing on his keyboard. "If you say so. The longer you take to find a job, then the longer you'll have to wait to buy the latest heavy metal album that pops up on the internet."

"You can't be serious." The teenager's pink and black hair flopped around as she desperately leaned against the desk. "Raf? You're really cutting me off?"

"Sorry Miko, but I can't continue to support your poor habits. If you want your music, you're gonna have to get the money on your own."

In his defense, Rafael really did look sorry, and Miko narrowed her hazel eyes at him. She straightened back up and propped her hands on her hips. "Did Jack put you up to this Raf? He did, didn't he? Don't let him boss you around. Fight the power man!"

"Jack didn't put me up to anything!" Raf protested, but it was too late. Miko was already stomping out of his cubicle, muttering nasty promises for the next time she met up with the other teenager. He sighed and went back to his computer, taking the time to shoot off a quick message to Jack to watch his back. The other teen would need enough time in advance to prepare for the punk storm coming his way.

Meanwhile, Miko was making her way out of the Sumdac Systems, muttering under her breath what she would do to Jack the next time she saw him. No one prevented her from buying classic heavy metal. No one!

She was too busy plotting ways to get back at Jack to notice the elevator she walked past ding open or the red and yellow blur that shot out of it. The teenager yelped as the unseen blur collided with her, sending them both to the ground in a tangled heap. "Hey! What the-"

"You've gotta hide me!" Miko blinked as the young girl sitting on her stomach grabbed her face, pulling her close to look her in the eye. The girl's wide brown eyes looked desperate. "She's trying to kill me!"

"What? Who's trying to kill you?"

"The babysitter!"

The elevator beside the one that the girl had dove out of dinged open, and a young woman stepped out of it, looking worried as she searched the lobby. Without thinking, Miko shoved the little girl behind the bushy plant that resided next to the elevator and innocently smiled when the woman looked her way after hearing the girl yelp. The woman stepped closer as Miko climbed back to her feet. "Have you seen a little girl? She must have just gotten off the elevator before I did."

"Yeah, I kinda noticed." The teenager pointed in the direction of the front doors. "I think she ran that way, but I'm not sure. I was too busy being shoved to the floor."

"Thank you so much!"

Miko kept her happy grin until the woman had vanished, and then promptly turned to glare at the plant. Red pigtails popped out of the leaves as the girl innocently smiled up at her. "What's the deal, shorty? That seriously hurt."

"Sorry about that," the girl said sheepishly, stepping out from behind the plant to join Miko out in the open. She scratched the back of her head and continued to smile. "I was pretty desperate to get away from her though. I thought if I made it to the door before she came down, then I'd be home free."

"What'd she do to make you run like that?"

"She tried to feed me broccoli—for lunch!"

Miko grinned at the disturbed expression that came over the girl's face. "How'd you get away?"

"I rigged my Tutor Bot to go ballistic long enough to distract her." A mischievous smile spawned from the heavy frown, and she took a step closer to the teenager as if to share a secret. "I've never seen broccoli get tossed so far!"

Miko's grin just got bigger. This was a kid after her own heart! "What's your name, shorty?"

"Sari. What's yours?"

"Miko Nakadai." Miko took a deep bow, making the girl laugh. "At your service. I like rocking out on a daily basis and giant robots who kick butt."

"Sweet; you're ten times cooler than anyone my dad's ever hired. So what are you doing here?"

"To be honest, I was bumming money from a friend. But I guess that can't be a thing anymore. Now I have to find a job."

Sari's grin got wider, and she grabbed Miko's wrist to pull her into the open elevator. "Look no further! I've got the perfect job for you…as long as you don't try to feed me broccoli."

Being a babysitter wasn't that bad. At least when she had a kid like Sari to watch.

Sari was almost like the little sister Miko never had. She was mischievous, loud, ingenious, adventurous—pretty much any antonym for "boring." The job of a babysitter to the young Sumdac was ten times better than having to categorize emails all day, and it gave Miko plenty of opportunity to do what she usually did on a daily basis. Her schedule barely even changed over the two months she had "babysat" for the kid. If she wanted to rock out with her guitar, Sari would lead her to the most awesome sound room ever; if she wanted to laze around and watch a movie, Sari would open up the mini-theater her dad had designed, concession stand and all; and if she wanted to just get out and roam the city, Sari was all for that.

Meeting Sari had been arguably the best moment in her teenage life…so far anyway. She still had a couple of years to have another "best moment."

"Where are we going today, short stuff?" Miko asked as they sauntered down the sidewalk. They had just "escaped" from Sumdac Tower with some intricate maneuvers through the ventilation system, and Sari had insisted on taking her to a "special place" once they had reached the street.

"If I tell you, then it wouldn't be a surprise!" Sari insisted as she skipped along beside the older girl. They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the crossing bot to signal them to continue. "You're gonna love it! I don't usually show this to other people, but you're really cool and my friend…well, my only human friend. You just have to keep it a secret because if people knew where they were, they'd get bombarded with the camerabots. Those things got pretty old after the first week. Besides, I think 'Bee's getting a little jealous because I'm not hanging out with him as much."

Miko hummed, and her mind began to wonder as she attempted to figure where they were going. They were starting to leave the busy business section of the city and entering the more rundown part of town. If they walked for much longer they could pay a visit to Jack at KO Burger. It'd be fun to introduce him to the girl she had been talking about for the past month. And by "introduce," she meant completely mess with him while he was on the job. It was funny to watch him try to retain the professional aura he had to exhibit when his manager breathed down his neck.

"Here we are!"

The teenager blinked as Sari eagerly pulled back a section of the drooping chain-link fence to crawl through. She grinned at Miko as she held back the section for her to follow. For once, Miko was looking very skeptical of the younger girl's motives. "Is this even legal? Because I don't want to go back to jail for trespassing again. My parents said they'd take away my CDs if I got caught again."

"You went to jail?" Sari's large eyes lit up with even more admiration for the older girl. "That's so awesome. I've tried to get in there, but Captain Fanzone keeps saying I'm too young to commit any federal offense, no matter how much he wants to lock me up."

Miko looked surprised by the girl's statement but immediately shook it off. The younger girl said and did stranger things on a daily basis. She crept through the small gap and watched Sari patch up the little opening before skipping towards the rundown buildings. Miko took in the few piles of junk that littered the open lot and the broken windows that gave the building character as she walked behind Sari.

"You don't have to worry about going to jail though. Sumdac Systems actually owns this place. It used to be a car factory before my dad moved the business to a much nicer building on the other side of town. It pretty much just sat here unused until they came along."

"They who?"

Sari just grinned her mischievous grin and ushered the teenager in to the building. The entrance was dimly lit as they walked in. Miko glanced around at the old machines they passed, and her usual confidence in the Sumdac progeny began to plummet. "Uh, Sari? You sure you know where you're going? 'Cause I'm all for field trips, but I'd prefer someplace that's …cooler…"

Miko's word's slowly trailed off as Sari skipped ahead into the brightly lit open space of the building. The young girl skipped straight towards the very thing that had caused the teenager to trail off. "Hey 'Bee!"

The black and yellow robot absently glanced away from the big screen TV he was playing on before suddenly flinging the controller to the side and jumping up. "Sari! It's about time you showed back up. You wouldn't believe how boring it is around here. I mean, I was being left with-"

"Remember, I might be old, but I can hear everything you say."

"Uh, yeah," the robot trailed off, and Miko turned her gaping head to the red and white robot that had walked out of one the backrooms. It snorted at them before returning from where it had come, and this "Bee" robot scooped Sari up to continue speaking in a more hushed tone. "Boss Bot's been trying to build team spirit again. Him and Bulkhead are trying to loosen Prowl up, and I get left with grandpa back there."

"I heard that!"

"I didn't say anything; I swear!" Sari laughed as Bee swung her around to avoid a piece of scrap metal that was flung at them. "Geez, what's crawled up your tailpipe lately?"

"You think I like being cooped up in here with you? I'd rather eat my own…who are you?"

Miko jumped as everyone's attention was suddenly focused on her. She waved a little at the glaring robot. "What's up? I'm Miko: babysitter extraordinaire."

"Oh cool!" Bee exclaimed as the bigger robot snorted. His grin never fell as he turned back to Sari. "What's a babysitter?"

"Daddy hired her to watch me. You know, after I ran off the other babysitter he hired. She's so awesome."

"Primus," the grouchy one growled as he officially retreated from the room. "Not another one. I'm getting too old for this."

"I'm Bumblebee," the yellow robot said cheerfully as he placed Sari back on the ground beside Miko. He gave her a cheesy grin that had her smirking in response and stood back up to strike a pose. "The cool, handsome, and all around inspiring one of the bunch. Please no flash photography…unless it's my good side."

"Wait a minute," Miko said slowly, and Sari smiled as her babysitter visibly attempted to restrain a squeal. "You're an Autobot? As in the Autobots? The ones that popped out of Lake Erie to kick butt and take names?"

"It is another one," Ratchet could be heard groaning from the other room. Unfortunately for him, no one was listening.

"I told you you'd love my surprise," Sari laughed as Bumblebee struck a few more poses for the awestruck teen. Miko released her first squeal as the Autobot showed off his stingers. "Consider it a thanks for saving me from all the awful babysitters my dad could have hired."

"This is so awesome!" Miko squealed, running around Bumblebee to see him from all angles. She wiped out her phone to take a picture and came around full circle to display it. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting them! You guys are so rad—kicking bad guy butt, saving the day, destroying things."

"Uh," Bumblebee stuttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. We kinda don't mean to do the last thing. It just kinda happens."

"Where's the big one?" Miko asked with excitement, completely ignoring what Bumblebee had said. She turned to Sari, and her excitement made her hop in place. "The big green one? I wanna meet him—he's my all-time favorite."

"Bulkhead? As in our Bulkhead? How can he be your favorite? He's the biggest klutz there is."

"Uh, excuse me? I don't judge your favorite Autobot, so don't judge mine."

"But…I'm my favorite Autobot."

"Exactly."

Sari snickered at Bumblebee's confusion and gestured for Miko to follow her as she skipped to the oversized couch the Autobots had built. "Bulkhead's out on patrol with the others right now, so we'll just wait here for him. In the meantime, how about a round of Ninja Gladiator?"

"You're on!"

"Hey!" Bumblebee protested as the girls hogged the only human sized controllers they had and started a game. He jumped over the back of the couch and snatched up the controller he used. "I play winner."

"I'm really sorry about what happened. I really didn't mean to break it. I mean, how was I supposed to know that the fish weren't being kept hostage? My understanding is that they're supposed to be swimming in places like the lake or what's called 'an ocean.'"

Optimus sighed as Prowl stomped past them with an inaudible growl, tracking water through their home on Earth. He waited until the ninja had entered the main part of the building before turning to a sheepish Bulkhead, who was the only one to come out of this entire situation without getting wet. He sighed again. "It's alright Bulkhead. Accidents happen and misunderstandings are a pretty common thing right now. The good thing is that no one got hurt, all the fishes were given a temporary new home, and we'll be back on Monday to help fix the aquarium. Just…if you ever feel the urge to free something again, ask if it's okay first."

"You can count on me!" Bulkhead said with a cheerful salute, and the huge mech stomped in to the base. Optimus sighed once more as the foundation of the building minutely shook in time with the big 'bot. If there ever was a mech too big for his frame, it would have to be Bulkhead, but that big spark of his had to go somewhere.

The young leader followed his two crew members into the abandoned building, shaking out his armor when he felt left over water sloshing around inside. By the time he had made it through the front entrance, Prowl was already leaving again with Ratchet right on his tail. Optimus couldn't help but be surprised. After all, the ninja-bot had very clearly said that he was locking himself in his room to meditate when they got back. "Prowl?"

"I can't meditate under these conditions," was all Prowl said before transforming and driving away. Optimus looked to Ratchet, but the medic simply shrugged and transformed into his own vehicular form.

"You'll understand when you get inside," the old mech grouched as he slowly rolled out. "If you need me, don't call. I'll be taking a stasis nap on the corner of fifth and sixth because that seems to be the only place I can take one without getting a ticket."

The younger mech watched as the two Autobots disappeared at their own pace and shrugged. It wasn't odd for Ratchet or Prowl to wonder off on their own; they were both mechs who appreciated solitude, and it wasn't an easy task to accomplish with Bumblebee on one end of the compound and Bulkhead on the other. Optimus respected both mechs' decisions to leave from time to time as long as it didn't interfere with the team spirit he attempted to instil in his crew.

All in all, he simply shrugged off Prowl and Ratchet's departure and headed inside. As soon as he entered, he immediately regretted it as he covered his audial receptors. "What the- what is that noise?"

Optimus was ignored as Bumblebee came sliding by, doing what the humans called "air guitar," and Sari was right behind him, shouting at the top of her lungs as the loud music that pumped out of the old intercom system shook the building. His optics widened at the sight of another organic—this one being a little older than Sari—rocking out on the back of their couch, bobbing her head in time with the real guitar she rocked out on.

The Prime stuttered as Bulkhead, who had been standing beside him in confusion, suddenly started jumping around, joining Bumblebee and Sari on their circuit around their "living room." "Ah yeah! What is this awesome noise? I've never heard anything like it in my life!"

The guitar solo suddenly came to a screeching halt, and while the others loudly protested, Optimus could only sigh in relief. Who in the AllSpark could listen to that dreaded noise? He looked over at the new human that had been playing it and found her gaping towards Bulkhead. "Who are-"

"Oh my God!" she interrupted him as she hastily slid down the couch and rushed over to Bulkhead. The green mech look terribly confused as the human stared up at him in awe. "It's you! It's really you. This is so…so…awesome! You're the coolest Autobot there is!"

"Uh," Bulkhead stuttered with embarrassment. He carefully pointed in the direction of Optimus, and the other mech hoped it wouldn't bring the human's attention to him. "I think you've got the wrong bot little human. See, Optimus is by far the coolest one here."

Optimus felt his spark warm at his companion's honest statement, but the human looked severely displeased. She shot the Prime one analytical glare before completely ignoring him. "Are you kidding me? Bulky—mind if I call you that big guy?—you are like ten times better than that fire truck over there! You wreck things better than anyone I know."

The huge grin that had been spreading across Bulkhead's face abruptly fell, and he looked more upset than when Bumblebee had taken the last Energon gummy. "Oh, of course. The only thing you humans expect of me is to break stuff. I've got other hobbies too you know."

"Like what?"

"Well…I kinda started painting recently."

The girl stared up at Bulkhead for a moment, and Optimus' spark went out to the other mech. He knew that it was hard for a mech when only one thing was expected of him. Anything else after that didn't make any difference. "Hey, why don't we-"

"Sweet. Tell me you like to listen to heavy metal too! 'Cause if you do, I'll love you for all eternity."

Bulkhead looked just as surprised as Optimus felt, and the mech reached up to scratch his head. "Is that what you were just playing?" The human eagerly nodded, looking up at him hopeful hazel eyes. "Then yeah! I really liked that."

The human squealed and grabbed onto Sari's shoulders when the younger girl walked up to her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best day of my life! Meeting my favorite Autobot; discovering that he likes the same things I do; hanging out with you guys—what would I have done if I never met you, shorty?"

"Uh…lived a miserable life with a miserable job and not met Bulkhead?"

"Ew…don't ever bring that up again. It makes me wanna vomit just thinking about it."

Optimus smiled as Bulkhead's obvious "Number One Fan" encouraged him to show her his art and watched them walk over to the other side of the room, the human introducing herself as Miko and talking non-stop about the things they were going to be doing together now. Of all the Autobots, Bulkhead had been the one with the least amount of big fans. Even Ratchet had somehow managed to rack up more with the older humans.

His lack of popularity had upset Bulkhead, even though he had never made it overwhelmingly obvious, simply stating on occasion about not being as popular. And the few fans he did have simply saw him as a massive brute whose sole purpose was to destroy things with his wrecking balls. It was nice to see him enthusiastically explaining one of the few paintings he had created, and Miko listened to him with the upmost consideration, nodding when needed to and inserting an opinion here and there.

Optimus could see this as a start to a very beautiful friendship…

"You ready to rock out big guy?"

"Oh yeah!"

The Prime quickly left as Miko began strumming her guitar and Bulkhead added his own beat. Beautiful friendship or not, "heavy metal" was going to have to be restricted to certain times of the day. Preferably after returning from a long day of patrol. Which street had Ratchet said wouldn't give out tickets?

Transformers © Hasbro