I could not fit this little one in any of my current Transformer stories so it is a standalone which is set a little before the 'Pinpricks', which you are also welcome to read. A little fluff never hurt nobody.

Be gentle,

Turbo

The Autobot base on Earth was much calmer after the end of the war. Now they were primarily busy with taking shifts to patrol for any incoming bots while stationed in the little blue planet. That, or in case of Knock Out, finding out more about the sentient organics. That night Smokescreen had dragged the reluctant medic out to show him how humans had fun despite insistently polite attempts of the red mech to shake him off.

So it came as no surprise that Bumblebee was jolted up from his sleep by Smokescreen howling just outside his personal quarters. At first he was alarmed, his stingers whirred to life but after hearing laughter he calmed down and tried falling asleep again. Unfortunately snippets of conversation floated around his audio receptors like annoying hummingbirds refusing to die down. Seriously, were they camping outside his door? For a moment he considered shoo-ing Smokescreen and whoever he was with away but something in the conversation about cone-shaped party hats and an angry Knock Out held his attention. Something about carnival and human children. In general it was difficult to distinguish who it was that Smokescreen was speaking to but according to his tone of voice it was an exciting story. If the medic was privy to the conversation he provided no evidence of that.

-" It just went Plop! And we were on freeway going fast so it slid all the way up his roof; in a white line! And then he tried wiping it off and it went all over his windscreen!" Bumblebee heard some laughter, good, at least Smokescreen was not talking to himself but that also had been the last straw to his patience.

-"Guys, could you talk elsewhere? I have an early shift tomorrow." He yelled from his berth not bothering to even open the door.

He could hear muttered apologies and shuffling, they were leaving, good.

About half an hour later he was roused from his sleep again by a quiet knock on the door. It was tentative, almost not there. Bumblebee dismissed it for tricks of his processor until he heard it again. Grumbling he pushed himself up from his prone position and glanced at the small human clock Raf had given him for learning how humans tracked their time. The mechanic construct consisted primarily of cogs and a tightly wound spring, the spring tension had to be reinforced every 24 human hours… and it ticked. At first it made Bumblebee uncomfortable but when Raf explained that some people likened it to the beating of human heart, the mech learned to like the sound.

The clock face was white with black dials tipped in phosphorescent substance that glowed in the dark. Currently the large dial rested in middle bottom and the small dial was perched somewhat between numbers 4 and 5. So it was 4.30 by human standards though whether it was 4.30 in of the day or night still depended on checking the light conditions outdoors. Things got even more confusing in areas closer to the Earth poles where presence or absence of light was not a reliable indicator. He heard a knock again. OK, his sleep time was officially over.

Bumblebee dragged himself out of the berth and mumbled next to the closed door still hoping it had been his imagination -" Who is it?"

-" May I come in?"

-" Knock Out? Shouldn't you out of all bots be getting beauty sleep?" Bumblebee slid the door open and stepped aside letting the red mech in. The medic was clearly agitated so for a moment Bumblebee even felt a pang of compassion in his spark, that was until Knock Out turned on the overhead illumination much to scout's chargin'.

-" Ow, was that necessary?" Bee covered his eyes against the glare, wincing as he felt the optic shutters clench painfully. -"You could have warned me."

-" I need you to tell me if you see anything." There was a pressing urgency in the way Knock Out spoke as he stepped up closer. Bumblebee blinked again, confused. -" I can see, thank you, I am still not blind despite your efforts."

Knock Out made a noise of annoyance and pointed to his chassis. -" I meant here."

Bumblebee blinked, realization dawning on him, optic ridges drawing downwards. -" Did a bird mark your hood again? Seriously, you woke me up for that?"

Bumblebee liked birds for their colorful plumes and lovely voices but birds liked Knock Out more when it came to their less poetic bodily functions. Granted that the Aston Martin preferred parking in places which protected his paint from the glare of the sun (to avoid premature fading of his top coat) he became an easy target when no shadowy overpasses or roofed parking lots were available. Generally grounders had a compromised relationship with birds, bugs and an occasional raccoon, but Knock Out was the only one who thought it was their fault for getting in the way.

-" Worse." The medic growled. His finish did look fresh and fragrant from the wax, still retaining warmth from the washracks but for some reason he still was not satisfied.

-" Look, I want to sleep. Please stop playing charades and tell me what I should look at."

-" Spots. It was this white, cold and greasy organic substance human children use for fuel."

-" You mean ice-cream."

-" So that is how it was called." Knock Out's eyes brightened and Bumblebee assumed that he was already checking human networks for the chemical components and their interaction with paint.

-" It could have also been frozen yoghurt." Bumblebee suggested just to annoy the medic. He did not feel charitable at all. Not at 4.30 in the human-time morning. -" Depending on grease and carbohydrate ratio it could have been an ice cone or a slushie." He continued counting off other white cold substances he could recall on his digits -" Or a fruit sorbet with high citric acid content, or a frozen pudding … mayonnaise?" Now that was bending it but he was enjoying himself. That is before he saw Knock Out's narrowed optics on him.

-" Now you are just messing with me." The medic stated wryly, looking belligerent.

Bumblebee shrugged, what could he say? That was the truth but apparently that was important to Knock Out so he sighed and promised to be serious about his inspection. He leant forward to examine the chassis of the ruby mech in all earnestly. Everything looked neatly polished, almost liquid to an optic. Bumblebee wondered how much time Knock Out had spent on it to look that way. He asked the medic to turn around to examine his back after he was done with the front, humming slightly. More time passed as the medic stared blankly at some human poster that hung next to Bumblebee's berth. He tried to delve deeper into the contents but felt a slight peck on his audiofin. He tensed a bit, regarding the black and yellow bot from the corner of his eye, not saying anything, just waiting, assessing.

Bumblebee slapped himself mentally, it had felt right somehow but ended up being awkward. -"You missed a spot there." He summoned a lighthearted smile.

Knock Out's eyes dimmed, his professional mask clicked in place as he straightened up and shuttered his eyes before he continued -"I hoped that I would not need to remind you that under no circumstances should you ingest human food. Especially not the sort that was thrown at me."

-"I will keep that in mind." The scout chuckled, now what Smokescreen had said earlier that night was making sense.

After a moment of silence Knock Out finally spoke -"Thank you."

Bumblebee cocked his head to the side inquisitively. -"What for?" He was not done teasing the red mech but he had to be delicate, too much teasing might make him avoid Bumblebee altogether.

-"For… for your time." The medic excused himself and quietly retreated from the room.

As Bumblebee had feared, Knock Out had set to avoiding him as well.

Confused Knock Out is confused. Or rather, not sure what to make of things early on.