Kicking over the coffee table

Disclaimer: The Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara and the film story to DreamWorks and Paramount, I 'm just playing around in their Universe for a bit.

Rating: T

Pairings: SamxBee

Summary: Autobot Sam discovers his feelings for Bumblebee come into conflict with his human upbringing, and he is made to understand that he has to come to terms with this.

Setting: Movieverse

Author's notes: Although this can be read as a stand-alone, it was written, with her permission, as a "missing" scene set between Chapter Six and the epilogue of LittleMewLugia's/Lugianna's story "A Spark of Life"

"So this is my room?" said Sam. He was outside the lockable room he had been given in the Autobot Base with Bumblebee and Ironhide. To start off with Optimus had given him an electronic signal to open the door but Ironhide was now demonstrating the voice activated system for security.

"Just say your name or 'Open' or 'Come in.' All three if you want."

"Sam. Open. Come in," said Sam. It was simpler like that, with no numbers as yet, and he hadn't liked his e-bay identity anyway. He wasn't going to have every mech in the base going by and laughing at 'Ladiesman 217." Perhaps it would be different here than in class, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Check!" said Ironhide, looking at the port by the door where a light blipped. "That's it, it's got the pattern now. No-one can get into your room now except Ratchet, Sam, and that's for Health and Safety reasons only. He's already checked it out. You'll find we've left you some presents too."

"Thanks!" Sam beckoned Bumblebee in, and Ironhide sighed and went back to his other duties, which today included accompanying Optimus to an official meeting with the humans. Within base, but much more boring.

"Shut!" commanded Sam, only then realizing that he had not inputted this command, but the door worked it out. "And Lock!"

He was glad to hear the click that meant it had worked this out from his voice pattern. After all, there were only so many commands you could give a door.

"Now where were we?

"Sam, I think we should exercise caution. After all, you have only just learned to walk and transform in that body."

"Bee, I only wanted to give you a hug. We can do more walking, you can show me round the base afterwards if you like. Just let me do this while we're alone."

That was all he at first intended to do. But it had to be a full hug, not just a shoulder hug. He threw his arms round his robotic friend in gratitude for his help in the past and appreciation of all that Bee had recently done for him, and he found that all the other feelings came too, his fears about getting taken by Sector 7, grief about the loss in a certain way of Mikaela and his parents, though this had been moderated over the months by being allowed to see them and the sensitive way the transition had been treated, grief at the loss of his old body joined with joy at the sensations of the new one.

For now he could feel Bee's body too. Litres of coolant being pumped round in his chest found an answering beat in his friend's chest. Although under layers of metal, glass, Perspex and power lines, he could feel the jig of Bee's spark as it went up his chest, almost at the same level as his own. His hands, although metal on metal, instead of skin on metal, were loaded with sensors and the back-casing below the doors he could feel between Bee's shoulders must've been a special place because it was like electricity ran back up his arms and set loops of sensations coursing through his wires that he'd never felt before.

To balance them, Bee put his arms round Sam and his hands in the same place. Sam moved his fingers down and up in response to signals zinging through him.

"Is this all right?"

"Yes. Do go on."

As well as his voice whines and chugs seemed to be coming from his and Bee's electrical and mechanical engines. He didn't care, it felt wonderful. It just didn't feel… right. He moved his hands up to Bee's shoulders, sliding along the doors at the bottom metal seams onto the warm rubber of the tyres, then round to the neck. This was easier. Bee had rather a big chest. He still felt moved to explore and ran his hands over the known areas on Bee's head.

"These are very smooth."

"My audio receivers. Yes."

His hands moved down again to the neck area, caressing. Bee did the same thing, fingers moving to stroke the little input at the back of Sam's neck. Sam followed his movements.

"You have a very sensitive data-port."

"So've you."

Again Sam wanted to move back but at the same time wanted to look his friend in the eyes, those eyes that cared for him and could look straight at him now, only just a bit down, as he was still slightly smaller. He wanted to kiss that precious, treasured face - what was this? He moved his head onto Bee's chest but that still seemed to be a danger area. He wanted to move his hands down, but part of him wanted to stop there.

He was hot, his head seemed to be whirling with a dizzy full feeling and his chest thwummed like it was going to explode. He locked up, but had already unbalanced them and he could only direct the fall-for they were now falling - into a fairly clear patch of floor knocking over and shattering something made of wood with his feet.

"I-I'm sorry Bee. I didn't mean - I only meant to make you happy."

"Ratchet! Come in, you're needed. Sam's hurt."

"Yes? Symptoms?"

"He's lying on the floor holding his chest and his head and - crying."

"Sounds like he's overcompensating. What's the history?"

"He tried to hug me and we fell over."

"I'll come!"

"Can I touch him?"

"Of course. Reassure him. Just nothing on the back and chest or head till I come."

Optimus called Ratchet just as he was leaving the Med-bay.

"Ratchet! Is Sam with you? His Mom and Dad and Mikaela have turned up, and I can't get through to him."

"Fraggit! Sam and Bumblebee are in Sam's room, Prime. Bring them with you, but don't let them in till after me. There's been an accident."

Meanwhile Bumblebee was stroking Sam's arms and speaking to him tenderly to calm him down. It had almost the opposite effect. In his keyed-up state, waves of energy ran down his spinal column and his feet kicked out wildly, breaking small objects at the other end of the room. Thinking only that he must not kick Bumblebee, Sam kicked one foot over the other to control it, forgetting the new state of his toes and ankles. The top foot's toes crashed into the bottom foot's ankle joint and it exploded in pain and felt wet.

"Oh no!" Bumblebee put a hand on his hip to steady him and the feedback loop arced down towards it in the direction it might in a human. The legs locked up, there was only one more place for the energy to go and the "Relax!" signals from the brain did not help it either. Sam's lubricant valve popped open and he felt it draining out of him.

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee called urgently "Things have gotten worse, Sam's kicked his ankle open and he's leaking coolant and lubricant all over the floor!"

"Then get a hand on it! Stop it, I'll be there in a moment! Try and keep him awake, to go under would be dangerous now, talk to him, make him angry with you if you have to, but get him to hold on!"

Bee sighed, he was not looking forward to that bit, but he knew how to get Sam's attention.

"Sam! Hold still!" Scooting forward on his knees he changed hands on the hip, supporting his weight with the other hand on the ground, then getting his most forward hand to the coolant tube in the hurt ankle and holding it shut so the leak stopped mainly.

"Now I'm going to close your lubricant valve manually, try not to

wriggle while I do this!"

It was hard because this was quite a sensitive place. Sam moaned and shook even though he tried to control it. He shuttered his optics.

"Sam! Try and stay with me now! We're going to get through this, Ratchet is coming, I think your parents and Mikaela want to see you and Optimus, and -and… Slag it, Sam, I need you to hang on! Look at me!"

Sam's optics shot open and brightened in the robot equivalent of getting wide and alert. Never in all his experience had he heard Bee swear! His body had gone into survival mode and even though his head hurt and his chest felt as though it was going to explode, it felt to a measure controlled as he locked optics with the blue fire of those in his friend's face.

"Okay, I'm here!" Ratchet arrived outside. Good, Optimus wasn't here yet. He databursted his com signal at the door.

'Ratchet, CMO, Emergency Security Override!'

The door hissed back, and he went in fast and low, sliding on the slick lubricant. It was a good job he'd known he was going down to the ground to help Sam, or he'd have crashed across the room into

Bumblebee and knocked him over. As it was, he was able to brace himself and didn't.

"It's all right, Sam!"

Ratchet didn't need to swear, although he sometimes did, he had enough authority in his voice. Sam tore his eyes away with a questioning look to Ratchet's.

Ratchet touched his face and chest, and it was like he had a damp cloth in his hands. Sam realized that was what he was probably doing - dampening, in the mechanical sense. Whereas things had seemed strained before, it now become easier to function.

"Huh?"

"It's all right for you to have feelings for Bumblebee."

Ratchet unplugged a line in his chest and plugged it into Sam's to make up for the lost fluid.

"You're still thinking like a human. Your body's changed but your mind's still making the transition. Love's one of the strongest forces in the Universe, Sam, and there's no need to be ashamed of it. What do you think we're fighting for - what do you think we came halfway across the Universe for? Not just the All-Spark."

"Megatron's followers admired him and wanted its power, but they're in it for the companionship and what they think is the freedom to do what they want. I'm not dissing everything about them, but the love of power and the hate and fear that operating in stealth all the time involves seems to corrupt their mind world. We love - in the sense of care about - Optimus Prime, he cares for us and understands what we're about. Your love for your guardian -though more direct and personal - was almost bound to arise, we've had it before in our ranks, it's no less important and it's all we've got now."

"The All-Spark didn't create many femme-bots, so mech-on-mech relationships became commonplace, to raise All-Spark-given children or just for spark-sex. It has none of the horrified connotations it seems to have on your world, although sex - merging sparks - with a femme was the only thing other than the All-Spark to produce children. That was feared on our world, not the other, but I won't go into that. Even if some femmes turn up, it was and always will be okay, and I'm glad you've found your spark-mate." He took out the pipe and it retracted.

"Right, now Bumblebee, I'm going to swap positions with you, so get ready to come up here and I'll take over where you 're holding. On three - one, two three!" They swapped over. Ratchet now held the pipe in Sam's leg and Ratchet adjusted the lubricant valve and topped him up.

"That was what you were worried about, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but how did you know?"

"I guessed. I wish I'd known what you were going to do today, I could have talked about this before and offered the Med-bay."

"What, so you could watch?"

"No, monitor you, offer a safe space so you could ask questions, anything. You'd be surprised how many times it happens in the recharging chambers, especially the big ones, in the half hour we give before someone settles down to recharging. I've been checking up on you, but I didn't want to interfere because it would infringe on your freedom. I guess you've been needing this and it all came out at once."

"Right, now I'm going to off-line you so I can fix the rest or it's going to hurt. Yes, hold Bee's hand." Sam did. Ratchet pressed something on him and all the lines of the room became fuzzy.

Ratchet replaced the coolant pipes with spares he kept about him and filled up with a pouch of coolant he carried. Then he welded Sam's leg up with his micro-laser. Then he scanned him again, checking for any burned out circuits and anything he could re-align while not in the Med-bay. Finally, he re-onlined him again.

Mikaela tapped at the door.

"Come in!" called Sam.

She did and stood just inside the doorway. Ratchet was now sucking up the remainder of the spilled fluids with another tool he kept in his foot, and Bumblebee had got Sam a cup of Energon from the dispenser in his room. She took in everything, and knowing that Sam's parent's were behind her, though at a respectful distance, she said with a light chuckle:

"Oh Sam, I knew you had a new room here, but only you could start off your first day at the Autobot base by tripping over the coffee table as you and Bumblebee came in!"

Later, Bumblebee and Sam were in the Med-bay about to recharge.

"D'you think Ratchet meant what he said about letting it happen in a recharging chamber down here in the Med-bay?

"Ratchet doesn't say what he doesn't mean."

"All right then, shall we try it again?"

So they did, this time more carefully and tenderly, Bee explaining a bit more on the way, and Sam finding out more than he had ever known about these Cybertronian bodies now that he was in one.

Well, Sam reflected, he now had a longer lifetime to find out about all this.