Author's note. This is mostly just an excuse to write some good old fashioned slash in the guise of a story. Suggestions of pairings and grouping would be appreciated.
Enjoy and please review.
"Bumblebee!" Spike happily cried as his friend was brought into the Ark, supported by Ironhide. "You're back!"
Bumblebee gave him the thumbs up while offering a rather tired smile. He looked completely beat, his body was covered in dents and smears of different oils. In fact, Spike didn't think he recognised some of them; transformers seemed to have all sorts of bodily fluids. Spike quickly rushed over to his friend, asking.
"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," Bumblebee said tiredly as he almost stumbled.
"Whoa there, Bumblebee," Ironhide said sternly. "Yah save your energy for Ratchet, he's annoyed enough as it is."
Bumblebee chuckled dryly at this.
"Sorry for keeping you all waiting, those Seekers are hard to get away from."
"Don't ah know it," Ironhide said very darkly and he and Bumblebee shared a very knowing look.
"The Trine got you?" Spike said with a grimace, he'd seen what they were like.
"Yep, the Elite Trine got me all right," Bumblebee said with a slight wince as Ironhide now said.
"Okay, that's enough from yah, Bee. Ah'm getting yah to the Med Bay, ya'll can talk tah Spike later."
"I'll see you later Bee," Spike said with a smile as Bumblebee was lifted into Ironhide's arms and carried off.
Spike sighed in relief; he'd been really worried about this best friend. There had been a raid earlier and during the battle, Bumblebee had been carried off. Although oddly, it seemed he hadn't been taken to the Nemesis so some of the Autobots had gone after their missing scout. At least most of the Autobots ever captured usually got back in good condition or at least didn't look like they'd been badly tortured. Maybe a little beat up but the Autobots seemed to take that in their stride.
Chip had once wondered if this was to ensure Decepticons prisoners were treated well but Spike had no idea. None of the Con who got captured was ever tortured that was for sure. And boy, did they seem smug about it, some of them even left grinning from ear to ear.
Spike scowled, the human boy really wished he could teach those no good Cons a lesson, especially when they hurt Bee. But sadly, that was highly unlikely; he was just too small and weak to do anything. He'd just have to settle for annoying them whenever he could, which was actually easier than you'd think and it was always fun to see them riled up.
The boy was just about to head to the Rec Room to wait Bumblebee's release from the Med Bay when a flash of sliver caught his eye. It was a small orb containing precious nanites which Spike knew were vital in treating viruses and other similar aliments. They were also used in many other complicated procedures but Spike didn't really understand how they worked. But what he did know was, these nanites could not just be left here, they needed to be taken to Ratchet and as soon as possible.
With this thought in mind, he darted forward and scooped the metal orb up. It was like holding a very large, heavy melon but thankfully it was small enough that he could carry it. He staggered a little at first, adjusting the orb so that he could hold it safely before setting off for the Med Bay. With his precious cargo, it was slow going particularly as there didn't seem to be any bots about but he wasn't discouraged.
"Maybe this will cheer the doc bot up," Spike said with a chuckle. Ratchet always seemed to be in a bad mood when someone walked in injured, this could help with Bumblebee having to deal with him.
It took him a while but eventually, Spike made it to the Med Bay. He was panting; it was hard work carrying this orb so he went to a corner beside the door to have a rest. Just when he'd regained his strength, the Med Bay door opened and Ironhide strode out, he'd clearly finished making sure Bumblebee was okay. Seeing his chance, Spike darted in before the doors could close, Ratchet didn't like being disturbed while he had patients.
Spike carefully sneaked over to a cabinet, he didn't want to announce his presence until he knew Ratchet wasn't in a really bad mood. If he was, Spike would just leave the orb somewhere safe and try to leave. He was hopeful Ratchet would be pleased at the return of the orb and let him stay to comfort Bee. He generally wasn't allowed in the Med Bay if Ratchet was treating someone, only if it was very minor injuries or a check up.
Something about being distracted by extras bodies was Ratchet's excuse.
He carefully crept forward, he could hear the Medic angrily muttering.
"...Seekers, as if I didn't have enough to deal with. Alright, how many?"
"All three," came Bumblebee's rueful voice. "You know how it is; it's apparently not as much fun unless at least three are involved."
"You better be grateful you've never had more than three," Ratchet replied darkly. "Then I'd probably be fixing you up all night."
"Looks like I got lucky," Bumblebee laughed. "But you know what, we've been damned lucky they haven't done it near any humans. Can you imagine the reaction?"
Spike frowned; he didn't understand what they were talking about. He thought Bee had been beaten up by the Seekers but somehow, it didn't sound like it. However, for the life of him, he couldn't work out what they were talking about so he decided to sneak a bit closer to hear more.
"Hmm, the press would have a field day or whatever it is they say," Ratchet said absentmindedly. "You just be careful around young Spike, we don't want him getting wind of it. Although I'm surprised he hasn't with those dratted twins..."
"Come on Ratchet, even they have more sense than that," Bumblebee said reasonably. "They keep it in their quarters, like everyone else."
"Not everyone does," Ratchet grumbled, making Bumblebee chuckle.
"Okay, not everyone but they do make sure no one's going to stumble across them. Optimus was pretty clear on that point."
"Yeah," Ratchet sighed. "But I'm still waiting for the cycle when some human comes in here screaming about what they've seen. Then what will we do, eh?"
"We'd work something out," the yellow scout said optimistically. "Err...Ratchet, would you mind taking a look at my Port, feels a little out of place."
"Port, what did Bumblebee mean by that?" Spike wondered as he crept even closer, although he couldn't quite see them yet.
"You just had three Seekers," Ratchet chuckled. "I'd be worried if it didn't feel strange."
Spike now peered around the corner of some strange machine who purpose he didn't know. What he saw nearly made him explode in shock and no wonder. There was Bumblebee, lying on a berth with his legs spread wide and waiting patiently as Ratchet leaned in between said spread legs. Ratchet had a small torch and was shinning it forward and Spike was unpleasantly reminded of one of those doctors' shows where a woman gave birth...
He shuddered, banishing that image before blinking and rubbing his eyes. He couldn't be seeing what he thought he was seeing, he just couldn't. Bumblebee just had an injury on his inner thigh, yeah that was it. This was just one of those situations where he got the wrong end of the stick; probably because of the angle he was seeing them. Yeah, he was just being silly, in a moment, Ratchet would explain what was happening and everything would be alright.
"Did all three interface with you?" Ratchet now asked casually as he reached a hand forward.
Interface? Didn't that mean...
"Yep but not all at once," Bumblebee assured the Medic. "They took turns, I felt like a star of one of those human porn movies."
"Don't remind me of those," Ratchet warned as the blood drained from Spike's face. "I hope never to have to see anything like that ever again; I still don't know how Bluestreak of all bots found them..."
"Who knows," Bumblebee said with a shrug, not realising that Spike was slowly backing away.
Spike's mind was whirling as he tried to comprehend what he'd just seen and heard. Bumblebee had had sex with the Seeker Trine and what's more, seemed completely unconcerned about it. Like it was a regular occurrence...
"Urgh," Spike said with a slight retched, completely forgetting about the orb which fell from his lax hands and landed with a crash.
"Huh, what's that?" came Ratchet's voice but Spike was already running.
The Med Bay opened and First Air strode in, startling as Spike sped between his feet and down the corridor. He could hear Bumblebee and Ratchet calling after him but he didn't stop, just kept running until he was outside the base. He felt ill; they'd all kept this from him, all the Autobots.
Because by the sound of things, all the Autobots were at this and how often were they at it with the Decepticons? Was this why those cons sometimes left looking so smug? Why some of the Autobots came back from the Nemesis only a little beat up rather than tortured? He didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to know; he just wanted to hide in a little corner.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed there, under a rock just outside the base but eventually, he heard someone calling his name. It sounded like Jazz but he ignored the voice, he didn't want to talk to any of the Autobots at the moment. However, it wasn't long until a shadow fell over his hiding place and the glow of a blue visor suddenly lit it up.
"Hey there Spike," Jazz said with a smile as he took in the human boy currently hugging his knees.
Spike gave him a betrayed look before continuing to look at the ground. Jazz lightly chuckled before asking.
"Yah gonna come out?"
"No," Spike mumbled. "Go away."
"Come on now, you can't stay out here all night," Jazz pointed out reasonably. "Come out and let's talk."
"I don't wanna talk," Spike mumbled, he just wanted to pretend that this afternoon never happened.
"But you need to," Jazz said firmly. "Some explaining needs to be done; I think you've got the wrong idea about things."
"So Bumblebee didn't get raped by the Seekers?" Spike said accusingly.
"Ah no, not exactly," Jazz said, holding out a hand. "Spike, let me explains to you, please."
Spike shifted but he knew Jazz could easily lift him out if he wanted to. So with a heavy sigh, he uncurled himself and got up. With a smile, Jazz took hold of him gently and then lifted him out and up. Cradling the young boy to his chest, Jazz said softly.
"Come on; let's go for a little walk."
Spike clung to the Autobot TIC, suddenly feeling very young. He'd never been involved sexually with anyone and it was weird to think that even Bumblebee, his best friend, had been. Of course, the Autobots were all adults but still. Somehow, because there were only Mechs here, he'd never thought of anyone of them as having sex.
"So," Jazz began conversationally. "Bumblebee tells me you spotted him in the Med Bay and probably heard enough to draw certain conclusions."
"You guys have sex," Spike said dully causing Jazz to laugh.
"That we do, Spike, that we do. Except we call it interface, not sex. And for us, interface is a little different to your sex?"
"How?" Spike asked plaintively, still feeling very low.
"Well, for starters, interface isn't as big to us as your sex is," Jazz explained. "Uh...let's think of a good example...kissing."
"Kissing?" Spike said in disbelief.
"Yeah kissing," Jazz said, apparently pleased at the comparison. "Yah see, kissing can mean all kinds of things to you guys, can't it? Sometimes it can be real passionate but other times it's just a little show of affection. For instance, I've seen your dad give you a kiss."
"Yeah but it's not a real kiss," Spike said, pulling a face. His dad sometimes forgot how old he was and gave him a quick peck on the head, ruffling his hair as he did so. He supposed if his mom was still alive, she'd have given him a lot more kisses.
Jazz just chuckled.
"I think it's still a kiss Spike, it just means something different. It's something personal between you and your dad because you guys are so close. If another relative did that, I reckon it wouldn't have the same affect but would mean something."
"I suppose," Spike mumbled.
"And I've noticed on those sport channels," Jazz continued. "The guys and gals sometimes kiss each other in celebration. And then of course, you've got couples kissing and that definitely means something."
"Okay," Spike said slowly. "But what does that have to do with you guys having sex...interfacing?"
"Simple," Jazz said. "Spike, do you know what a Spark Bond is?"
"Sort of," Spike said with a frown. "It's when you guys join your Sparks or something."
Jazz nodded.
"That's right and that's something that's generally reserved for couples, both Bonded and intending to Bond. They don't just get pleasure out of; it's really intimate as they share thoughts and feelings. It's real special and not to be taken lightly."
The saboteur's voice took on a dark tone as he said.
"If anyone tried to force a Spark Bond or Merge on another who was unwilling, then that would be rape Spike and it's a terrible thing. For us, a Spark Merge is similar to your sex, between loving couples anyway. Forcing a Spark Merge is all about control, of being able to feel your victim's pain, despair and helplessness."
Spike shivered, that sounded awful.
"So...the Seekers having...uh, interface with Bee isn't bad?" he asked slowly.
"Not really, it's more annoying than anything," Jazz said. "Imagine someone you didn't like who got hold of you and started kissing and cuddling yah. You know they ain't going to do anything worse, maybe slap yah round a little but definitely nothing worse. And you can't get away from them so you've got to put up with it until they let you go. That's what it was like for Bee, just something he had to put up with."
"But...but doesn't it hurt?" Spike asked, very confused. "Isn't it...you know, really awful?"
"No and I'll tell you why," Jazz said with a smile. "I know humans can rape others without a care to the damage their inflicting but it doesn't work like that with us. Our equipment shall we say, is delicate. We can't just shove it in without stimulating our partner first; they need to be enjoying themselves before we can. A major part of the pleasure is knowing your pleasuring your partner and that's why we don't think of it as rape. It's an annoyance at times, definitely but we just wait until they've satisfied themselves and we can go on our way."
"I dunno if I really understand," admitted Spike, causing Jazz to pat his head.
"Don't worry about it Spike, that's one reason we didn't tell you guys about it. It's a part of our culture we figured you little guys would have a lot of trouble with."
Spike frowned.
"You could have tried with me," he said with a pout.
"We could?" Jazz asked, his tone suggesting he was raising an optic brow.
"Yeah," Spike said before remembering seeing Bumblebee in that position and shuddering. "Well, maybe."
Jazz gave him a very knowing smile which caused Spike to say.
"But I know now."
"You do," Jazz agreed with a nod. "And we'll have to do some more explaining, that's for sure. But Ratchet was wondering why you were in there in the first place..."
"I was returning an orb of Nanites I found," Spike said quickly. "There wasn't anyone about and I know how important those are to you guys. I didn't want to disturb Ratchet so I was just going to sneak it in and see how Bee was doing."
"Ah, okay," Jazz said with a nod. "It's good of you to return those, they are very important."
Spike nodded before suddenly remembering.
"Wait a minute...Ratchet said the twins did it!"
"Yeah," Jazz said in an concerned voice.
"But...but their brothers," Spike exclaimed in disbelief. "They can't have sex...I mean, interface?"
"Why not?" Jazz asked slyly before laughing as Spike goggled at him.
"Remember Spike, to us, interface is like kissing and cuddling. Sometimes it's really passionate but other times, it's just someone sharing love. That's what the twins do, they've got two halves of the same Spark, so their even closer than normal siblings. And sometimes, they do interface, to help keep that bond strong.
"I'm still not sure if I understand," Spike said, hating to admit it but it was the truth.
"Don't worry about it, you will," Jazz assured him. "Once you've had time to adjust to the idea, it'll be okay."
Spike nodded, he hoped it would. Right now, everything was confusing and he could barely comprehend it. So he quickly said.
"So...how does that work? The Seekers interfacing with Bee? Does that happen a lot?"
"If they get the urge to," Jazz said as he went to sit down on a handy boulder. "You see Spike, when Cybertron was at peace, interfacing was no problem. You saw someone you liked, they liked you back, and you could just interface. The bar and club scene was massive, it was so easy to go there and find a partner. They even have special rooms for bots to disappear into."
Spike stared, he knew humans did something similar but Jazz made it sound a lot bigger on his planet. And by the sounds of it, it was perfectly socially acceptable with no one looking down on it.
"Even in places like Kaon, it wasn't really a problem for anyone to have a quick frag, even if they were forced to do it out in the open," Jazz continued. "Wasn't as pleasant but no one minded and those bots got release and satisfaction. Now, you should have seen Vos in its day, man, I still get shivers."
"Why, what was Vos like?" Spike asked curiously.
"Home city of the Seekers," Jazz said, a very wide grin on his face. "Not only are they interfacing mad but they blatantly display it. You remember showing us those birds that dance through the air, trying to attract mates? Well, Seekers do something very similar, they used to loads of aerodynamics which they'd use to advertise the fact they wanted an interface. By watching them, you could tell if they wanted to do it with a fellow flyer or a grounder."
Jazz paused before adding slyly.
"Or sometimes, they were making it clear they had a hungry trine who were looking for one or several partners to share."
Spike stared wide eyed at that, now that conjured up some interesting images. Shaking his head slightly, he asked a new question.
"But why did they interface with Bee? He's the enemy, isn't he?"
"He is," Jazz agreed. "But you see, despite the fact that interfacing is such a free thing, the Cons are a bit funny about it. There is a bit of dominance involved and it can be hard for them to pounce on partners who don't put up a struggle or try to get revenge later on. Remember, if a bot doesn't really want it, it's an annoyance that makes them want to get their own back later. Plus, the Cons are only really close to their select groups, like the Trines or the Gestalt groups."
"So...it's easy for you guys to interface but not for them?" Spike said slowly.
"You got it Spike. We all know and trust each other, if we see someone, we can just ask nicely. Or, if we know they'll appreciate it, we might kidnap them, but it's all in good fun," Jazz said with a nod. "But for the Cons, jostling to prove who's toughest, that's a bit harder. So on occasion, they'll kidnap one of us and have their wicked way."
Spike tried not to smile at the cartoon villain emphasis Jazz put on that last part.
"We're the enemy and if they can subdue us, they've already scored several points. Interfacing with us because an added bonus."
"So then they can thump their chests and strut," Spike said with a slight grin as Jazz outright laughed.
"That's exactly it, couldn't have put it better myself Spike."
"Well," Spike said. "I'm glad you guys don't really get hurt if the Cons are desperate for an interface."
Jazz's visor flashed, indicating that he was winking.
"That's the best part; those Cons get so frustrated they practically beg us to get captured. And luckily for us, Megatron knows to keep his troops healthy and happy, he has to allow it."
"How come he doesn't torture you after his troops are satisfied?" Spike asked curiously.
"That's the funny thing about us Spike, if we've interfaced with someone, doesn't feel right to hurt them," Jazz said thoughtfully. "And even the Cons feel the same way, after working to pleasure someone to turn around and hurt them...just doesn't work. So, it's always clear whether it's going to be a torture or an interface session with the Cons. That answer your question, Spike?"
"Yeah," Spike said with a nod before sheepishly saying. "I'd better go and apologise to Ratchet and Bee."
"You go on," Jazz said, carefully placing Spike on the ground and the young boy started to walk away.
But then he paused and turned back.
"Jazz, I get why the Cons take advantage of their prisoners...but what about when the Cons are prisoners?"
All Jazz did was offer him a very sly grin making the young boy groan. It seemed the Autobots were just as interface mad as their counterparts.
Author's note. I hope everyone liked it, just trying to get a bit of story in there before it plunges into slash. What would everyone like to see next, Bee's encounter with the Seekers, wink wink. Or something else, suggestions are needed.
