Season of the Bee
By: TCOOKIES777
Chapter 1: Year ONE - Her Charming Bot
It is the summer of 1988 when Bee makes the drive all the way back to the San Francisco bay area one year after his parting with Charlie. He moves halfway across the world, driving through torrents of rain, flashes of thunder, and through ripping winds. Forgoing human road laws, Bee has gotten used to the typical police car chases that always ends with the officer heading down the opposite road or driving right past Bee's new disguise.
The entire trip back to Brighton Falls is lonely without his allies, but it is best for the Autobots to remain at the base. None of them, not even Optimus, understands when Bee makes his request for a temporary leave of absence. They ask him the purpose of the trip. He tells them it is to see a human girl. Her name is Charlie—Charlie Watson. She is about to turn nineteen—she turned eighteen the day they met and Bee wants to celebrate this day properly. Optimus had taken Bumblebee aside to ask if this human can be trusted and Bumblebee simply says that he trusts Charlie with his life. He did it before and she did not fail him.
The other Autobots still don't understand and they tease Bee for having become so attached to a mere little human. Ire shoots through his circuits and Bee is quick to display a hologram of his human girl. Every detail is exactly perfect, just as Bee remembers of her from the dark, untamed hair, fierce eyes, the slightly upturned nose, even the combat boots to match her favorite leather vest. He had felt a sense of pride and even shyness as his allies studied the hologram while Bee explained the girl's skill with car parts. Magic hands, he had called it; she has magic hands that could bring any machine to life as she had done so to him before.
Some of the Autobots like Jazz express their desire to come along for the trip to meet this special human and, again, they tease Bee when he struggles to make an excuse for why they cannot come with. Optimus is the one who comes to Bee's rescue and he grants the small Autobot permission to go albeit he must be covert about it. He cannot reveal himself to the humans as it will draw the government's attention once again. Understanding this, the young Autobot does not mind having to remain in vehicle mode just as long as he can make the trip alone.
This is a personal matter for Bee. Something that he needs to do on his own.
To fill the silence of the trip, Bee constantly scans the radio for any The Smiths songs. The Smiths had been her favorite and they had easily become Bee's favorites as well with their catchy beats. His favorites so far are "The Charming Man" and "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" and the latter plays in the late evening as he nears the Golden Gate bridge. He's sporting the same paint but with a new look as a Toyota MR2 Supercharged car instead of the Volkswagen Beetle Charlie is familiar with. Listening to The Smiths, he rocks side to side at a stoplight and the driver of the car beside him stares at Bee's empty driver's seat. The light turns green and Bee peels down the road, tires screeching in a hurry to get to his destination, leaving the smell of burnt rubber on asphalt for the human still staring in disbelief.
Take me out tonight
Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one, da...
Oh, I haven't got one
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine
Oh, there is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
By early morning, Bee is parked on the opposite side of Charlie's house on the street end. He's currently taking up the driveway of Charlie's neighbor, waiting for her to appear. It's almost noon when she comes out and she looks exactly the same as when Bee left her. Her hair is longer though, spilling across her chest, and Bee watches as she tugs it into a messy ponytail. She doesn't notice him—doesn't even raise her head to catch the black and yellow car in the driveway before her. Blue shorts and a black sleeveless shirt adorns her form on this hot day and Bee can't help but smile when she stops at the sidewalk to lipsync to some song on her Walkman.
He wants to roll up beside her father's car—the car she has successfully fixed and is using now—and he wants to speak to her. To wave his hand and see her young face brighten with surprise and then joy. Charlie would be ecstatic to see him—he knows it because he is just as ecstatic to see her. It's taking every ounce of Bee's fuel to not transform and sweep his human girl into a hug, feel the warmth of her flesh on his metal body, hear her barks of laughter, dark eyes crinkling with glee once she recognizes him.
But Bee doesn't move. He sits, parked in the driveway of Charlie's neighbor, and watches her jump into the cherry red car of her late father. The engine roars to life and Bee hums quietly with pride at the sight of his human toying with the radio in search of a good song. Bee can't help but think that, if he were the one to drive her, he'd already know which station she'd want. Still, he waits for Charlie to find the station she always ends up picking and he begins to tremble with excitement.
It is time and Bee has been planning this moment since he'd set out on this trip.
"And now we have a special message from an anonymous person to a dear friend." At first, Charlie makes no sign of caring about this special announcement, too busy rummaging through the compartment. Then, the radio host continues and Bee trembles with excitement when his human's dark eyes widen at the message. "Happy nineteenth birthday, Charlie Watson. From a busy bee…"
Charlie tilts her head back, face embracing the summer sun, and she lets out a sweet laughter of amazement, drawing out a pleased hum from Bee as he zooms in on her face to capture the moment.
"Well, Charlie Watson, whoever sent this message is quite the charming man and also has good taste in music!" The radio host continued as Charlie grinned at her car's dashboard. "Wishing you a happy birthday with this jam by The Smiths, here we have, 'This Charming Man'!"
Punctured bicycle
On a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet?
When in this charming car
This charming man…
Another bout of laughter bearing unbridled joy. Charlie is already bobbing her head in time to the pump up music and Bee is tempted to join in. He has learned to dance and rock to jams even though the Autobots find him strange for it. Jazz has begun to get into it and Bee knows it is only a matter of time before he will have a buddy to jam out with. But Charlie is his one and only dance partner and she always will be. She knows the moves, the songs, and the lyrics best and Bee wishes he could be her car to drive today if only so they could sit and listen together.
The Smiths song is still playing when Charlie finally leaves for work. Bee watches her go, the summer breeze tearing stray strands of hair out of her ponytail. He silently rolls onto the street as the cherry car shrinks into the distance.
It's quiet now, and Bee is missing the vibe of the music and the spark that had run through him at the sight of Charlie and her smile. The music is not only gone, but it is like she has taken the spirit of it with her and Bee yearns to chase after her, to follow her song. It feels like a calling—her calling—and Bee can't help but whine when he slams on the brakes to keep from trailing after his human.
The dial of his radio shifts side to side as Bee searches for a song to match his mood. He finds nothing. Nothing to convey what he truly wants to say. Nothing to express how much he feels for this human girl who has made such a presence in his life. The song Bee truly wants is a song that only his Charlie can give to him.
Perhaps next time…
Bee tells himself this for the rest of the day, visiting all of the spots that he has seen with Charlie. It's a little tour of he gives himself, reminiscing every memory that he'd made with Charlie at every spot. From the high point of the cliff near the amusement park to the strip of the beach where she'd taught him how to hide. His last stop at the end of the day is the hill where they'd said their goodbyes. Sitting on that hill now, Bee stares at the Golden Gate bridge, watching lines of cars zoom back and forth. Sometimes, he expects a classic cherry car to be in one of those lanes, zooming his way. And then Charlie would meet him here and she'd be all ready to go for another adventure together.
He'd always make sure his human girl would be safe. Oh, the look on Charlie's face when she'd meet Optimus and the rest of the crew. With her unique set of skills, she would easily befriend Ratchet or even Wheeljack. As Bee considers the idea of his human meeting his rowdy crew, he finds himself slightly worried about some of the bots embarrassing him. They can be pretty aggressive and rambunctious for human standards. Then, perhaps next year, when the Autobots are more assimilated with human customs.
Yellow antennas perk up at this thought and Bee chirps aloud in approval. Yes, next year! From what Bee understood about humans, the older they were then the more independence and freedom they gained. Next year, Charlie could come with Bee to meet the gang! Bee begins to buzz with excitement to the point that a wing pops out. He tucks it back in, turning to gaze once more at the bridge.
Next year, he'd be driving across that bridge carrying Charlie towards another adventure together. He rocks back and forth on his plated feet with anticipation. They were going to have so much fun together! He just knows they are.
Transforming back into his favorite car mode, Bee merges into the traffic, posing as a VW Beetle with paint as bright as the sun itself. As he begins his trip back to base, Bee switches to a station to play another song by The Smiths. Throughout the journey back, he plays song after song by that band, thinking of his human girl and wondering if she too is listening to the same songs.
A/N: Bee and Charlie's relationship was just so adorable! The way they communicated with each other through touch, words, and songs. I just HAD to write a fanfic about them. We need more fics of these two!