AN: Credit to Karategal and TheMoonlessNight for letting me borrow a few of their ideas.
Truce
For Optimus, it was simply too easy to locate Bumblebee. Leaving Sam and Mikaela in the hands of Ratchet-Primus, his friend was going to tear him a new one and then some- Optimus assumed his Peterbilt truck form and sped out after the little youngling's signal.
Primus…I should not ask, but please… a little more time. Please.
The lookout oddly enough was quiet this time of day. Bumblebee was parked near the ledge, having transformed and was sitting with his head on his knees. Optimus followed suit, pausing several feet away from the smaller 'bot.
"Bumblebee?" He rumbled. No response, save for the yellow head turning slightly. "May I sit with you?" Again, no response, and Optimus took that as a 'yes'. Gyros spun as he carefully sat next to the smaller Autobot, massive legs hanging off the ledge of the lookout. "Aahh. So." How best to start the conversation? "Quite a surprise Ironhide and Chromia pulled on us." More silence, and finally an unhappy click from Bumblebee.
"…Doesn't he still like me?"
"Now stop acting like a sparkling." Optimus scolded. "Of course Ironhide still likes you. He loves you as if you were his own. It's just that…" He sighed. Primus, why did the little ones ask the hardest questions? "Things are delicate right now." Delicate was an understatement. "Just realize that before you came, all of us…especially Ironhide…we were lonely for a long time. And he had something very special with Chromia." The spy clicked again.
"I know, I know…it's just that…" He curled up. "I don't know, Optimus. It's all so…weird!"
"Another understatement." The Autobot leader rumbled. "But try to look at it this way. You always wanted a little brother or sister, correct?"
"Yes…"
"Well after apologizing to Ironhide, try to think of their little sparkling as your little sister. Which, somewhat technically, she is." Bumblebee considered this.
"I'll apologize, sir." He began. "But…I'd…I just need to think about-"
"Of course." Optimus said. "At least be civil to her and Chromia. Aside from you, she's the first sparkling that's been born in a very long time." Bumblebee nodded.
"Optimus…" Blue optics lifted, pinned the Autobot leader with their gaze. "Are you sure you don't know anything about my creator?" Prime felt his pump slam painfully in his chest, and then settle back into its normal beat.
"No little one. I'm sorry."
"Eeww. Oh man. That's wrong. That's just WRONG." Mikaela resisted the urge to slam her head into a hand; Ratchet had taken them to the medical bay to clean up and calm down after Bumblebee had stranded them outside the Ark, briefly explaining the situation.
"Sam! They don't reproduce like we do. So there's no 'eww' involved."
"Mikaela, its Ironhide. Ironhide!"
"So?" The black-haired teen snapped back, twisting her hair into a loose ponytail. "Ratchet, can you get somebody to show me to my room?" The yellow Autobot nodded.
"Perceptor!" He called. The yellow and white scientist appeared.
"You called?"
"Yes. Can you show Mikaela to her quarters so she can get settled?" A grin crossed Perceptor's face as the human waved at him, smiling.
"It would be a pleasure." Extending one hand, he allowed Mikaela to get on before standing up and walking out of the room. That done, Ratchet turned his attention to Sam.
"You and Bumblebee…I'm assuming he will come back with his processor straight- will still room together?"
"Oh yeah." Sam replied, nodding his head. "I can understand where he's coming from. I mean, that's a shocker." Shucking off his jacket, he settled down on the examination table. "But I don't understand one thing. I mean, she's the first like…baby born in a long time right? Aside from Bumblebee? Why are all of you so worried? Shouldn't you be like celebrating or something?" Ratchet sighed.
"It's…a bit complicated, Sam. Some warning for starters would have been appreciated, and we still have the threat of Decepticons about. And then…" The yellow Autobot paused, trying to phrase what he was about to say next. "Hope. She's the very first young femme-bot in a long time, and on Cybertron during the war, Autobot and Decepticon femmes alike were almost wiped out." Sam started violently, his eyes widening.
"Why?" Ratchet shook his head.
"We don't know why." And it wasn't something he wanted to get into…not today. "Anyway. I'll take you to your quarters, and then afterwards when Prime and Bumblebee get back, we have to call a meeting. With Nightfire around, a few things need to change."
Ironhide stood impassively as Optimus approached him, Bumblebee in tow. The Autobot leader gave his friend a small nod as he passed, leaving guardian and youngling alone together. Bumblebee fidgeted, looking down at the ground before straightening his frame and facing the weapons specialist.
"I'm sorry Ironhide." He said. "I know…you wouldn't abandon me. I acted like a spoiled sparking, and-"
"Oh hush." The black mech said, striding forward and giving the spy a light punch on the shoulder joint. "After all the fraggin little temper tantrums you had with me when you were younger? However…" He tucked one hand under the yellow 'bot's chin. "I'm sorry for not telling you."
"No, no. It was your own business. Just…give me some time to get adjusted, please."
"Only fair." Ironhide rumbled. He clapped Bumblebee on the back, pulling him close. "Let's go. Prime was going on about some meeting earlier. And you got two humans you need to talk to as well."
"What's up bitches?"
"Ow!"
"Watch the language!" Ratchet snapped. "Sparkling present." He pointed to Nightfire, who had curled into a deep recharge in Chromia's arms.
"She's not gonna hear me!"
"Alright, settle down." Optimus ordered, taking a seat on the large Autobot-sized couch in the recreation room. The meeting was strictly informal, and he smiled at Sam and Mikaela who had taken up perches on Bumblebee's shoulder. Ironhide strode into the room, taking a seat next to Chromia and gently flicking a finger over Nightfire's head. "We all present and accounted for? Hound?"
"Here."
"Perceptor? Red Alert?" The two bots raised their hands. "Sunstreaker and Sidewipe?"
"Hn."
"Yo." Optimus nodded.
"Good. Let's get down to business then. I believe everyone more or less has met the new member of our team." Nine pairs of optics and two sets of human eyes immediately looked at the sleeping Nightfire, causing Chromia to twitch slightly and pull the little 'bot closer. "And I'm sure most, if not all of you have already offered your well-wishes and congratulations. It also apparently has dawned on me now that we need to-"
"Oh Primus no." Jazz moaned in mock complaint. "No, Prime, not the rules again. I'm beggin' you man!"
"Rules?" Mikaela asked.
"Sparkings and younglings are very sensitive to their environment." Ratchet answered. "Being raised on a battleship wasn't exactly…a good background for Bumblebee, so we tried to make up for it by being careful about our actions, words, what information he was allowed to access."
"Sparkling 101." Sam said.
"You have it."
"First rule." Optimus interrupted, but there was a glint in his optics that indicated he was enjoying this. "No High-Grade of any kind, shape, or form around Nightfire."
"Awww..."
"No cursing-" A glare towards Jazz, Ironhide and the Twins. "No screaming, no roughhousing. The little one's coming from enough violence as it is."
"Hey!" Ironhide barked as the Autobots, Sam and Mikaela dissolved into laughter. Even Chromia couldn't hide a smile. Then the room fell into dead silence as Nightfire twitched, and then curled up into an even tighter ball.
"Gah…" Sideswipe muttered. "Rule four. Don't wake up the sparkling in recharge!" Optimus nodded.
"Number five. Keep her out of the firing range."
"That's a given." Chromia muttered.
"Rule six. Until further notice, not a single word of this is to be transmitted to anyone." The Autobot leader said, his tone turning serious. "Our kind we can swear to silence, but Sam and Mikaela, I trust you to not mention this to anyone." The two teens nodded.
"We promise, Prime." Mikaela said.
"Yeah." Sam added.
"Good." Optimus said. "I realize this sounds unorthodox, but this matter is once again, delicate."
"Why?" Mikaela asked. "I mean, Sam told me a little bit before we all got together, but I'd like to know a little more." Surpisingly, it was Bumblebee that answered.
"I don't know that much myself, because I came online afterwards." The spy started. "But at one point in the war, Megatron suddenly gave orders for all femme-bots, either Decepticon or Autobot to be killed."
"We found out too late." Prowl said somberly.
"That infernal demon also issued the same commands on all sparklings and younglings not long after." Perceptor added. "Until the present time, Bumblebee's been the very last one."
"Do you even know why he did that?" Mikaela whispered, sickened. "Chromia, how did you…" The silver-blue mech smiled sadly.
"Not many of us were that lucky. In fact the only ones who survived were the ones either on Artemis 1 or the other stronger Autobot bases." Dim memories of grief and despair threatened to arise, but Chromia pushed them back. "Besides." She smiled down at the sleeping Nightfire. "It's the past, and we have a wonderful new present and future."
"Yeah, with the spawn of trigger-happy there." Sunstreaker muttered, slouching into his seat. This earned him dirty looks from both Ironhide and Chromia, with the black mech mouthing threats at the yellow twin.
"If there is any other business?" Prime rumbled, shooting his own glares at his friend and Sunstreaker. "I believe that is all for the moment. The shifts for the next three days have been posted-"
"When will Wheeljack and First Aid arrive?" Bluestreak asked.
"Teletran-1 estimates the middle of this incoming week." Ratchet responded. The chatter soon turned to other topics, with jokes being tossed at Ironhide when he picked up the still-sleeping Nightfire from Chromia's arms to put into full recharge. Bumblebee even worked up his curiosity enough to look closer at the sleeping sparkling, asking Jazz and Optimus questions about his own infancy.
Not even Sam noticed when a alert light started to flash on one of Teletran-1's consoles, a map of the solar system coming up on a monitor, a yellow dot flashing just past Mars…