"Failed you, failed you, failed you," the robot keened over and over, two words stuck on a loop that spun too fast, the syllables bleeding together into something unrecognizable and heartbreaking. "Left you, failed you- "
"Knock it off, Bee," the young man snapped, taking fearless steps toward the towering mecha, and pointing at the ground. "And get down here."
Bumblebee looked as uncertain as they'd ever seen him; the odd, alien structure of his face doing little to mask the very human anxiety as he knelt carefully. The man- Bee had called him Sam- reached out to put a hand on the yellow armor of his knee, eyes sharp and fierce.
"You did not fail me." His voice was quiet but it pierced through the air like a gunshot. "You've never failed me." Bee's round optics flicked down and away, but back again like he couldn't help it, crooning softly. Quiet clicks and whirrs were the only other sound for a moment, the scout watching nervously as Sam groped for words. "They... they were so smug about managing to trick you. Apparently the drug they used was like TTX on crack. Made me look dead- sound dead, feel dead. I was awake the whole time, I could see and hear but I couldn't- move, couldn't even blink. And I saw the look on your face when you thought I was gone." There was hard compassion in his face when the human reached up for the robot, a relentless forgiveness. "I don't blame you for not knowing. They killed me right in front of you."
"But, Sam," Bumblebee shook his head, and the misery in the electric blue of his eyes was almost too much for Cade to bear. "Five years. Didn't even look for you, didn't even try. All this time you were alive, Sam, Sam, and I didn't even look for you."
"What about me?" Sam ripped his hand away like the metal plating had grown white-hot, and stalked a few steps away, and then quickly back again. "You've all been hunted and gunned down, out here fighting every day. I was useless while our friends were getting hurt, safe and sound in a metal box while the world went to hell."
Bee jerked like he'd been struck, radio whirring madly and spitting out, "And it was not your fault but mine, and it was- "
"We can go around in circles all day, Bee," Sam interrupted, folding his arms, looking like he'd dig in his heels and argue for a month to get his way, "or you can bot up and forgive yourself, and start acting like you're glad to see me." His voice gentled a little, eyes too bright as they darted away. "Cause I'm- god, I'm so glad to see you."
The yellow alien clicked, optics shuttering; maybe in shock or surprise, rendered speechless and devastatingly unsure, wavering visibly between shame and yearning. But after a minute that felt more like an hour, the young Autobot- so volatile and headstrong, with a disregard for his own safety that bordered upon suicidal for reasons Cade was just beginning to understand- reached out with one large, impossibly gentle finger to touch Sam's shoulder and the side of his face.
It would take longer to forgive and forget than a singular moment of warmth, but there was a light in Bee's round eyes Cade hadn't seen before- and if hope could look like any one thing, it would look like that light in those eyes.
"And all that counts is here and now," The Wanted crooned into the cool twilight, as relief broke like a dam in Sam's face and Bumblebee hummed like a hot engine, "My Universe will never be the same, I'm glad you came."
Sam laughed, breathlessly- as if he'd been braced for a longer battle, and didn't know what to do with himself now that it was over- and Bee chirped in response, the sound almost childlike in its simple joy; and when he pulled away it was only to transform into vehicle mode, an older make by several years than the one Cade had last seen him in, with two rally stripes instead of one, and, inexplicably, a disco ball glinting from the rearview mirror.
The door popped open, engine revving the way a tiger might purr, and Sam's pale, tired face lit up, the circles under his eyes less daunting as he whooped in pure delight.
Sam turned, a grin tugging at his mouth as he promised they'd be right back, already ducking into the driver's seat, and Cade grinned right back.
The song on the radio cranked a little higher, spilling out for the world to hear in the seconds before the door slammed closed behind him and Bumblebee's tires screamed against the tarmac, rolling smoke as Sam laughed like he had years to catch up on.
"I'm glad you came."