Sam wasn't sure how things had ended up like this.

He was currently laying on his back in the back of the Chevrolet Camaro that was making its way steadily down the highway. He wore just his jeans and a white shirt with his normal brown hoodie. He was spread across the two seats, the smooth road under Bumblebee's wheels causing him to doze on and off as his exhaustion from the earlier emotional breakdown didn't help with that. He had walked home in a daze to find Bumblebee waiting for him at the house and said he wanted to go for a long, long drive. He didn't explain what had happened, but Bumblebee didn't question. He just opened the door for Sam.

So that's where they were; on the highway with few cars around, Sam in the back seat nearly dozing. His eyes were shut. Now if only he could clear his mind so he could just forget a few things…

"Sam?" Bumblebee's voice was quiet and hushed over the background noise of the radio, which was tuned to something classical and light.

Sam wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't care. He turned automatically to the radio, as if that were the main source of Bumblebee's voice despite that the voice was practically everywhere. "Hmm?"

"Are you all right?"

Sam looked up to the ceiling of the car, letting out a long sigh and closing his eyes. "Yeah, I s'pose…"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bee suggested. He knew Sam would more than likely refuse, but he still thought to ask. He was truly concerned about his human.

"Not really…" He didn't want to talk about the recent events at all. Not about Mikaela's move out of the country. Not about his true emotions. Not anything, really. And there was a reason. What had happened had hurt Sam. And it wasn't the fact that Mikaela was leaving him behind while she moved to Europe. Or how she had said goodbye.

It was that Sam figured out he truly hadn't loved her in the first place.

Bumblebee made a noise that sounded something like a sigh before going silent again. The classical music from the radio took over the robot's silence. Sam just stared at the ceiling of the vehicle.

"I dunno, I guess this is just one of those times where a guy needs a hug," Sam suddenly blurted out.

Bumblebee swerved into another lane smoothly and he didn't say anything until he came up with an idea of his own. "Sam, sit up for a moment."

Slightly dazed and confused, but not caring what he was told now, the teenager complied. He sat in the left seat now, staring out the left window, waiting for Bee to tell him to lie back again. It didn't come and Sam sighed. "Sit up for wha—whoa!"

He hadn't been able to finish his sentence before the car swerved again, taking a sharp turn, and he fell back. He expected falling back against the right door, but he felt to hands catch and balance him before two thin, but strong arms enveloped him in a hug from behind.

Sam turned his head and stared at the person hugging him and was surprised to find it was Bee's hologram – a teen boy like Sam with blonde hair to his ears and two black streaks like antennae – that was holding him close. But holograms were merely light and projected sound. So how was this thing hugging him?

The hologram seemed to flicker a moment before putting a bittersweet smile on smooth lips. "You wanted a hug, right?" It was still Bee's voice, too.

"H-how are you able to do that? Don't you need to focus on the car…?" Sam was bewildered by this. Not only did Bumblebee need to keep his senses and attention on the road, but holograms were in no way solid!

Bee still smiled that bittersweet smile. It made his bright blue eyes stand out. "I perfected this program a few months ago to create a solid hologram of what my human form would be. Since it's still just a hologram, I can keep focus on the road and its actions for you at the same time."

Sam felt himself flush at the 'for you' part of Bee's words, but he said nothing of it. He relaxed a little. "I-If you say so…"

Sam decided to throw logic out the window and leaned back into his car's hologram. Bumblebee nodded to himself before pulling Sam closer, hoping the hug would help. He had access to the internet to figure out why hugs were important and why they helped when someone had just had an emotional breakdown. Right now, that someone was his human and he wanted to help.

Sam let out a sigh and allowed himself to relax against Bee, leaning back against him, settled in-between the hologram's legs, his back to Bee's chest. He didn't know holograms could feel so… warm. Well, he knew they would be warm because they were light themselves, but he knew he meant a different kind of warmth. Like he was able to tell Bee cared a lot for him. Without the words to tell him that.

While the car still drove smoothly as ever, the hologram of Bumblebee kept a firm, gentle hold on Sam as his human leaned back on him. One of his hands came up to stroke the short brown hair in a comforting gesture while the other was down, fiddling with one of Sam's hands, helping keep the teenager's mind off of whatever had happened.

"Hey, Bee?"

"Hmm?"

"You ever know that feeling where you think you love someone and then you find out you didn't and you feel really bad for… I dunno, goading them on? And then you find out you love someone else…?"

Bee's eyes widened and he nearly pressed on the brakes in shock. It was as if Sam had read his memories without realizing it. The hologram paused in stroking Sam's hair. "Yes, Sam. I have."

Bumblebee had. He thought he felt a love for another Autobot on the team – one he wouldn't name now because it didn't truly matter – and he had tried to project affection towards him. Then, after the other Autobot had realized what he had been doing, Bee had realized it wasn't truly what he felt. Bumblebee remembered switching on his hologram – back when it was just light – and letting his emotions rule it till it broke down sobbing. He told it to cry for him. And cry it did. His Spark had pulsed with guilt and anger at himself, as if he didn't have enough on his shoulders already.

Sam frowned, having not expected Bee to answer in affirmative. He didn't have the strength to look back at Bee, but he was relaxed against the hologram, knowing he wouldn't fall through like he had the first time. That was a happy memory that flashed through his mind for a moment before he was brought back to the present. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

Bee shook his head. "It's not important." He pushed himself back and turned Sam so he could see his face. "Feel better?"

Sam barely nodded, his mouth going dry. "Y-yeah. Thanks."

Bee attempted a small smile.

Sam just realized how close the proximity of their faces were. He could feel the hologram's very real breath on his cheeks and how his own breath was fanning Bee's face, blowing at some of the other teen's bangs. Sam felt his cheeks grow warm as he realized what this looked like, but he felt as if it were something he had wanted for a while but couldn't truly grasp before. He knew what he wanted.

It went the same for Bumblebee. He felt Sam's warm breath caressing his cheeks and blowing his few blond bangs out of his face and Bee found he liked it. Very much. Yes, Sam was the one Bumblebee found he cared for above all others, yet he knew the thin line between being a friend and being a lover. He knew it all too well. But he didn't say anything. Sam had Mikaela as far as Bee was concerned.

Bumblebee made a move to shift back, but before he could, Sam had leaned into him and put his lips over Bee's in a kiss. The hologram's eyes widened and a million things flooded through him at once. Confusion, surprise, joy, shock, fear, amazement… all of which made the hologram of Bee, as well as the car, extremely hot. The AC turned on full blast in an attempt to cool it down. The Camaro turned sharply on the road, losing control for a few moments before the car pulled into the bike lane and immediately powered down. In those few moments, the hologram of Bee tilted his head and responded to the kiss wholeheartedly, the hands coming back up and caressing the sides of Sam's face. The hologram's body automatically pushed against Sam's and the brown-haired teenager fell back against the seats, letting out – to Bee's surprise – a small moan. Bee pulled back to let Sam get a gulp of fresh air before he captured those lips again in a frenzied passion, his tongue battling with Sam's as the hologram straddled his human. Primus, how long had he kept this all inside him?

"Bee…" It was a whisper when Sam pulled back for air, biting his lip to still taste Bee.

Bumblebee didn't want to shatter the mood, but he looked deep into Sam's eyes. "I thought you liked Mikaela."

Sam turned his head away. "I thought I did…"

"Sam…" Bee paused to think. Wait a minute. Bumblebee frowned and used a hand to turn his human's head towards him. "Is that why you wanted to go for a drive? To distract you from it?"

Sam barely nodded. Bee nodded in return, making a small humming noise under his breath. Sam didn't look comfortable with the topic and Bee understood that. A distraction was what Sam needed, right? Bumblebee leaned down and pressed his forehead against the other teenager's, his body still straddling Sam's waist. "Do you still need a distraction, Sam?"

The human shivered at the breath on his face and his eyes widened. He swallowed as he realized his throat was dry. Bee risked his trademark smile – the bittersweet one. Sam felt more relaxed with that smile on the hologram's face, but he tried to back out of the offer, for Bee's sake if not his own. "Y-you don't need to do that… I mean… a-are you suggesting w-what I think you are? You really don't have t—"

Bumblebee shushed his human with a finger on those pale lips with that same smile. "All I asked was if you needed a distraction. Any distraction."

Any distraction. That meant whatever Sam wanted. And what he wanted right now was for Bee to comfort him, distract him from everything. And he found himself not minding if it was in the way he was thinking.

"Yeah…"

Bee smiled.