A Chance To Change or Stay The Same

One Night Without The Blame

That'll Never Go Away

Only You Can Make It Right

To Walk Away And Have No Fight

But Don't Ever Go Away

I'll Be Waiting

He knew why everyone was angry. Even to him it sounded like a strange idea at first, however a good one. Wasn't he capable? Wasn't he strong enough for the job? He thought he was. He thought that he could do it. Prime did asked for volunteers, didn't he? He did. Sure, he just basically got out of the med bay, and his vocal processor was broken beyond repair - so said Ratchet, who seemed gloomier about the idea of Bumblebee not having a voice than the youngling did - but that didn't mean he couldn't move around like he usually did? He was a strong 'bot. He was raised properly - or at least so he deemed, he rather liked his little "family", so he wasn't going to complain - and knew right from wrong and all of that. He knew how to fight, too; wasn't that why Ironhide had offered to train him? Because he was such a master at weapons? Or maybe it was because his guardian didn't trust anyone else with his charge. Bumblebee couldn't really blame him; most of the other mechs on board the Ark were pretty bad at shooting compared to Ironhide. That and knowledge of weapons, but still.

So it wouldn't hurt to ask for the mission to follow the AllSpark, would it? He wasn't that much of a religious mech, but he hoped to Primus that it wouldn't hurt. Primus knew what everyone might say if he asked to have that mission. As stated, everyone on board the Ark was his family, and Primus forbid that he do anything that could get himself killed. Ironhide was the most over protective brute he'd ever met; if something were wrong, he'd go to any lengths to protect his charge. He also knew that, when he was younger and could get away with "the face", which were puppy dog optics and a pouty lip, he could get Ironhide to let him get away with murder. Which was kind of funny, considering that that statement was more than true and he had heard Jazz once proclaim that he could have killed the Prime and Ironhide would defend his charge. Jazz.

The protective older brother. He was lucky that he hadn't ever had any real girlfriends yet, or even boyfriends for that matter. He knew that Jazz would most likely be snooping up in his business, and scaring said other out of his life. Well, unless they had the personality of say, Ratchet or Sunstreaker. Then it'd probably be the other way around. It wasn't like he didn't like the protectiveness that came with the saboteur, it was just that he couldn't get away with something like that. He loved Jazz to death, yes; but sometimes he was just suffocated. Being a little brother was harder than it looked, honestly it was. Especially when you had a set of twins looking out for you, too.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were probably the funest fraggers in the whole universe when he was younger. Although Sunstreaker never admitted it, he did like Bumblebee as some sort of family, or even a little brother; Sideswipe didn't deny the little guy when he was a sparkling, and often had him help play - small - pranks on his twin from time to time. He also took in him into the training area, where Bumblebee got to watch Sunstreaker beat the slag out of other mechs on base. It was quite entertaining, really. He often wondered what either twin would be like without the other. Probably more depressed than Sunny already was, which Bumblebee couldn't really see happening, but Ratchet would have a way of fixing them back into shape, wouldn't he?

Ratch' was a good medic. Bumblebee loved him to death, and he knew that Ratchet sought him as his own charge just as much as Ironhide did. Then again, you would have to put up with an annoying, yellow sparkling if you wanted to, per say, go out with Ironhide. Not like Ratchet didn't like the little bugger before that. Often Ratchet was the one to baby sit Bumblebee when he was first introduced to those on the Ark; it seemed that the yellow sparkling would only stay quiet - at least during the day - with a limited few, and Ratchet was one of them. Often the medic would explain tools and how they worked and what not to the sparkling, who not even a day later would ask the same questions about the same tool all over again. Often Bumblebee wondered how Ratchet ever put up with him, then again, he had everybody wrapped around his finger from the start, he knew. So said Wheeljack, although Bumblebee tried never to abuse that right when he understood what the frag it meant.

Wheeljack had to be one of the funest 'bots on the Ark; Bumblebee always dubbed the inventor as his grand creator from the moment he could talk, and even before that, when 'Jack became one of his favorite bots on the Ark to play with. Wheeljack had always spoilt him with toys and gadgets and play things, so he never really remembered being bored when he was young. Bumblebee could also remember that the most favorite part of Wheeljack to him was the fins on his helm. They always amused him, and Wheeljack told him that when he was just a little bitsy sparkling, often he would try to grab them every time they lit up if he were near the inventors helm and inspect them, as if wondering how they worked. And every time Wheeljack made them move and light up, he said that Bumblebee would go into a giggle fit as he tried to make them stop moving so he could keep inspecting them. They really fascinated him, seeing as how 'Jack was the only one to have fins that lit up with his every emotion and every time he spoke, and how there were a few mechs he knew who already had face masks, making Bumblebee unimpressed by Wheeljack's.

Maybe that's why Optimus wore his so much more than anyone he ever knew; to hide some sort of pain from everyone else. He had only seen Optimus with his mask off but only a few times, and that was when he was a sparkling; and he could hardly remember those days anymore, no matter how fun and exciting they were. He knew Optimus would be the most depressed when he asked him for the mission; besides Ironhide, Optimus was always the one he could remember being around the most growing up. He could remember the odd games they used to play in his office and his room, where it looked like he couldn't fit. Hide n' Go Seek and Knight and the Dragon were always the two best games Bumblebee had fun playing with the older mech. It was always hard for Optimus to hide in Hide n' Go Seek, but even if it were, Optimus always let him win in both finding and hiding. In Knight and the Dragon, Bumblebee - the heroic knight - always went on an adventure to save the princess from the ferocious dragon - which was Optimus. Bumblebee always slew the dragon and saved the damsel in distress, now that he recalled.

Smiling to himself at those recollections, Bumblebee chuckled, glad that he was in he and Ironhide's quarters and he was alone. Optimus was always a great playmate and caregiver, he had to admit. And he said he hadn't raised a sparkling before! Sighing and relaxing, Bumblebee pulled up the covers and rolled over to face the wall, hearing Ironhide's laughter echo through the hall and into the room, signaling his arrival from the firing range. Bumblebee was supposed to be asleep a few hours ago, due to Ratchet ordering him to rest for the next few days, but all this thinking made him lay awake for what seemed like an eternity. The door to his and Ironhide's shared quarters slid open, light flooding into the dim room.

"Alright, see ya'll later," laughed the weapons speaclist, making Bumblebee in turn smile as he held back a laugh of his own; he had to admit, his guardian had a hearty laugh.

The door shut behind the brute mech as he stepped further into the berth room, the dim light of the nightlights at their plugins giving enough light to see without waking anyone up. Bumblebee froze and then relaxed as he tried to act like he had been sleeping as he heard footsteps creak on the floor towards his bed. Ironhide stopped when his knee joints hit lightly against the side of the berth, and a gentle servo touched the top yellow bot's helm, as if makin sure that he was actually asleep. 'Bee knew that his guardian knew that his charge knew how to fake recharge, so he wouldn't doubt him doing something like that. Finally, he heard a faint release of intakes as Ironhide gently used the back of his servo to trail down to his charge's cheek in a comforting way, making Bumblebee nearly into the touch if it weren't for the fact that he was supposed to be asleep.

"G'night, 'Bee," Ironhide muttered before taking his servo back and, first gently moving the blank over his charge's shoulder, as if worried he might get cold, and tucking him in, before quietly moving to his desk.

Bumblebee could hear the sound of Ironhide trying to be quiet about putting his cannons on his desk, most likely choosing to wait until morning to both them and himself. The creaking of the floor continued when Ironhide moved to the opposite side of the room of which Bumblebee's berth was placed, to his own berth. Ironhide grunted as he climbed into his berth, the sounds of sheets rustling as he got under the covers, lying his helm on the pillows. After a sigh, the brute mech when still, although Bumblebee didn't trust him going asleep just yet. Then again, after a few hours of shooting at the shooting range and kicking everyone's afts at it, he would have been tired too. Within a few minutes, Ironhide's breathing caught up a rhythm, and Bumblebee caught wind of snoring from the older mech.

Smiling, Bumblebee shifted in his berth, lying back on his back strut so he was looking at the ceiling again, servos finding their place behind his helm. He couldn't honestly help but wonder if his friends and "family" would be proud at his descions of wanting to ask Prime for the mission to follow the AllSpark or if they would kill him and eat his entrails for breakfast. For most of them, it would probably be the later one, no doubt. Ironhide would probably have him locked away like Rapunzle, he was sure, if they didn't kill him off first. Bumblebee couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Ironhide actually doing something like that. He didn't doubt that he wouldn't, for his guardian was very over protective of him. But then again, he didn't know what he would do without it. Probably die in a corner somewhere, honestly. And even then, Ironhide would find someway to protect his ghost when and if need be. And that was something Bumblebee was quite content about.

Sighing and rolling back over, pulling the blanket up over himself again, Bumblebee thought that it would be best if he stopped the thinking for tonight and try to catch some recharge before Ironhide caught him awake. He knew his descion was made already, that he was going to go to Prime tomorrow and ask for the mission to follow the AllSpark, and he knew how everyone else was going to react to it once they found out. But in the end, he knew that they were going to be proud of him for what he was trying to do, one way or another. Because somehow or someway, he would make them proud in the end.

Wasn't that what younglings were for?


The song is Let It Go by Cavo.