Stardust
Bumblebee often told Sam stories of Cybertron, what it was like before the war. The Guardian seemed to take a great delight in teaching his charge about his own culture.
"So, you guys are pretty much immortal?" the astonishment in Sam's voice caused Bumblebee to chuckle, Sam's body bobbed up and down from his perch on Bumblebee's chest armour as the sound rippled through.
The pair were at their usual tree, at the overlook near the edge of the city of Tranquility. The sun had just set in front of the pair, and the sky was beginning to blacken, enveloping the land in night. Bumblebee was leant up agianst the lone oak tree on top of the grassy hill, as with most of the pairs visits, the overlook was deserted, allowing Bumblebee to safely transform without the risk of being spotted.
Blue optics regarded the smaller being, taking in the look of shock and awe that was clearly alit in Sam's expression. "Yes," Bumblebee replied softly, turning his head to gaze at the fading colours of light. "As long as our systems continue to function well, we get an adequate supply of energon, and our sparks are not damaged in battle, we can continue to function indefinitely."
Sam shook his head, almost in disbelief, "that's pretty crazy to get you're head around, Bee." Bumblebee whirred thoughtfully for a moment, as he often did when trying to think of something to say.
"Yes, I suppose it is, from a human's perspective." Noticing Sam's face grimace, "not that is a bad thing, or completely understandable. " He added quickly. "Your spieces only know how to measure your life in decades rather than centuries, you have evolved to live seven to eight decades and then die. My kind have always been long-lived, to us, living to be two million of your years is not uncommon."
Sam turned his gaze out to the horizon, sighing heavily. How was he, a short lived human, suppose to relate to a being, who was a member of a spieces that was much older and long lived than his own?
Noticing Sam's change in body posture, Bumblebee gazed down at his human charge with concern. Touching a gentle finger at Sam's face to try and get human's attention, "What's wrong Sam?" he asked gently.
Sam sighed, turning his head once more to find Bumblebee staring down at him concerned at his sudden change in mood.
"Its just that..." Sam's voice trailed off.
Bumblebee cocked his head to one side, chirping as he so often did to try and get Sam to open up, the gentle noise always seemed to work better than speaking sometimes, as it was proving to at this moment, as Sam soon began speaking once more, in a low quiet voice.
"I feel so...insignificant, compared to you, Bee. I mean, like you said, you guys can live for a millennia, you've travelled in space, met different spieces from other planets, heck, you transform into one of the coolest cars on this side of the planet. Next to you, Optimus and the others, me, and just the human spieces as a whole are pretty much like a spec of dust when compared to a spieces like yours."
Sam hung his head almost in shame upon finishing his sentence, staring at his hands. How could one small human compare to an essentially immortal being from a distant planet? The word maggot quickly came to mind, remembering how the decepticons seem to regard human life.
Bumblebee's optics glowed brightly with emotion, hearing Sam's voice sounding so small and miserable. As gently as he could muster, he tapped the young human's shoulder, before gently running one yellow finger down Sam's back in a motion he hoped would offer some comfort to his charge.
Sam looked up, seeing Bumblebee's metal face staring down at him, compassion clearly alit in the Mech's bright blue optics, wordlessly, Bumblebee gently scooped up his human, depositing him upon a flat spot next to his metal shoulder. Sam steadied himself, shuffling sideways so he could lean on Bumblebee's metal head.
"Sam." Bee said, gently. "Look up, right there." Sam moved his gaze to the spot Bumblebee's hand was gesturing to up into the night sky, his eyes widening at the sight of the bright sparkling stars that were now dominating the once blackened night sky.
"I am going to tell you something that Optimus once told me, a while ago, when I was feeling like I had no purpose." Bumblebee's words took Sam by surprise.
Bumblebee turned his head, his blue optics gazing intently at Sam's face. "He told me, that every living being, no matter how small, big or spieces was special, because we all come from the stars themselves. Every Cybertroian and every human, your parents, Michaela, you Sam, are amazing and beautiful, because like us, you too are children of the stardust. Every atom of your body once was a part of a star, and stars give life to the universe's living things. I wouldn't call that insignificant, would you?"
Sam stared at Bumblebee for a moment, his brown eyes shimmering with tears, quickly he proceeded to wipe them away. Shaking his head, Sam laughed happily. "No Bee, I wouldn't, I would call that pretty amazing."
Bumblebee nodded, moving one metal head up to gently cup behind Sam's back. Sam smiled, leaning into the embrace, once more he turned his head to join Bumblebee, staring out at the bright array of stars, knowing he too like Bumblebee was a child of the stardust.