Chapter 13

It was just before sunset when the med bay door finally opened. Ratchet walked out, his optics full of worry and then he spotted Prowl. He let out a low growl, closing the med bay door.

"What in pit do you think your doing here?" Ratchet spat as Prowl got to his feet.

"I want to see Bumblebee," Prowl answered, his optics reflecting the torture of emotions within, "I need to tell him…" Prowl's voice drifted away, did it need saying?

"Well you can't see him," Ratchet snarled, "I trusted you Prowl. I thought you were a better mech than that. And so did Bumblebee, do you realize the spark break you've just put him through?" Prowl swayed sadly.

"I know Ratchet," Prowl said, his voice full of agony, "I know. And I hate myself for it. Please, I'm begging you. Just give me a chance to see him." Ratchet optic's narrowed in thought for a moment before he pushed the door open slightly.

"You have until I get back," Ratchet said sharply. Prowl flashed him a grateful smile that he did not return. The medic stalked down the hallway as Prowl entered. What he saw cause the hand of guilt around Prowl's spark to squeeze even tighter. Bumblebee was looking at the ceiling, his optics seeing nothing. He looked dead. Prowl moved forwards carefully.

"Bee?" he said softly and Bumblebee winced.

"Why…?" Bumblebee choked out, his voice hardly more than a whisper, his optics not looking down to him, "Why did you do it Prowl?" Prowl tried his best to hold back the sob, but he couldn't. At the noise, Bumblebee looked down at him, confused.

"Are…are you…crying?" Bumblebee asked, his own faceplate still wet with tears.

"Yeah," Prowl said through the tears, stepping forward a bit, "I guess I am." There was a pause and very slowly, Bumblebee reached out a servo, asking for Prowl's. Prowl took Bee's servo in his own, and allowed the smaller bot to pull him nearer.

"Please," Bumblebee said, not letting go of his servo, "Tell me why."

"I was angry," Prowl confessed, "Not at you. I don't know what made me say it. I'm really really sorry Bee. I really am. I will do anything…anything to prove it to you."

"Why were you so angry?" Bumblebee questioned and Prowl gulped, how was he going to explain that he thought Ratchet had stolen him from Prowl?

"I thought…" he began softly, pulling himself closer to Bumblebee, "When I saw you and Ratchet, I thought…you two…"

"You thought me and Ratchet were together!" Bumblebee shrieked, "Prowl you must be kidding me?!" Prowl shock his head, and now it was his turn to be confused.

"You mean your not?" he asked.

"No!" Bumblebee said, looking horrified at the thought, "No offense to Ratchet, but he's like two billion stellarcycle's older than me!"

"Haha," Ratchet said, pushing into the med bay, "Hilarious Bumblebee. I'm not that old." Bumblebee shrugged then turned back to Prowl.

"I still don't understand," Bumblebee said, "Even if you thought…that" Bumblebee shuddered, "Why did you react like that?" That had been the exact question he'd wanted to avoid, clearly Primus was not on his side here.

"I was shocked," Prowl answered slowly, "And I…I…I thought it was wrong for you two to…"

"So you were worried I'd blown a few circuits?" Bumblebee assumed and Prowl nodded, Ratchet rolling his optics at him. Although it was a lie, Prowl knew this wasn't the time to confess his feeling for him, not when he trusted him so little.

"Well Prowl, let me say this," Bumblebee said, "Boy can you overreact." Bumblebee let out a small laugh.

"So if you two weren't together, what were you doing?" Prowl asked. Suddenly Bumblebee looked warily over at Ratchet.

"Why does that matter?" Ratchet asked, his optics flashing at Bee.

"Why won't you tell me?" Prowl countered.

"Because you already spilled one secret," Bumblebee answered in a small voice and Prowl flinched, "And we can't chance a second." Prowl took another step towards him.

"Bee, please. I didn't mean to tell them anything," Prowl begged, "They don't even believe me anyway, they think it was just a rush of my mouth. Your secret is safe. Please, forgive me. I won't ever be so stupid again." Ratchet looked over at Bumblebee.

"He's right," Ratchet said, surprising Prowl, he was sure the medic would be against Prowl all the way, "None of the team does believe him." Ratchet sighed, "Its up to you Bumblebee, you can do what you like with him." Prowl turned to be, waiting for his decision. The beetle hesitated for a moment before he answered.

"Okay Prowl," Bumblebee said, smiling slightly at him, "I forgive you." Prowl's spark leapt with joy, but Bee hadn't finished, "For most of it. But I can't forgive you for betraying my secret, even if it is still safe." Prowl whined.

"What can I do to prove it to you Bee?" Prowl asked.

"It's not like that," Bumblebee said shaking his head, "I just…I don't feel in my spark I can trust you anymore Prowl. Trust can't be proved, it has to be earned."

"But we can still be friends, while I show you I can be trusted," Prowl asked, he couldn't lose him, ever.

"Yeah, friends," Bumblebee said with a full smile this time and Prowl sighed with relief. But Prowl's moment of relief was broken by the med bay door opening. He turned to see Blurr walking in.

"Hey Bee," Blurr said with a friendly smile, "How are you holding up?"

"Not bad thanks Blurr," Bumblebee said, returning his smile. Blurr's optics flicked to Prowl then back to Bumblebee.

"Am I interrupting something?" Blurr asked casually. Yes, Prowl thought, now frag of for a moment will you. But before he could reply Bumblebee cut over him

"Actually Prowl was just leaving," Bumblebee answered and Prowl winced, "Weren't you Prowl?"

"Yeah," he answered hollowly, "I'll see you." Bumblebee didn't answer him but Blurr gave him a triumphant smile as he walked past. He looked back at Ratchet for support but the medic only gave him a look that said, it's your own fault. Prowl walked out and shut the med bay door behind him. How could he have failed Bumblebee so badly?

A month had passed since then, and Prowl had give up all hope of ever winning Bumblebee back again. It felt like the time he'd almost lost Bumblebee forever, but this time it was worse, this time he'd lost him to someone else. And that was always there, like a slap on the faceplate. Blurr was always with Bumblebee now. It felt like he'd been replaced but Prowl knew that wasn't what had happened at all. Blurr hadn't reacted when Prowl had lost his temper, merely wearing the expression of a hunter who had sunk its teeth into a particularly good piece of prey. This was his plan all along, Prowl thought miserably, leaning on the tree in his room. Was this how Blurr had felt watching him and Bee get closer? He didn't know how much longer his spark could take. He shut off his optics and remembered what had happened a week ago, the day he'd given up.

He'd been going to see Bumblebee, determined not to let Blurr get in the way. But when he'd pushed the med bay door open his spark had stopped at the sight. Bee was in Blurr's arms, laughing happily, giving Prowl the smile he used to give Prowl. Blurr had noticed Prowl first.

"What?" Blurr had asked, Bumblebee realizing he was there then.

"I…I was coming to see Bumblebee," Prowl stammered.

"Erm…maybe later Prowl?" Bumblebee said, not looking at him, "We were right in the middle of something."

"Yeah, sure," Prowl said backing out. He'd kept his emotions bottled up until he'd reached his room. He let the racking sobs shudder his frame, his spark letting out the pure despair and loneliness. How could it have gone so badly wrong? Bumblebee didn't want to see him anymore, he was happy with Blurr. Was all this because he couldn't trust him? No and he'd realized with a jolt how badly he'd hurt the smaller bot. He'd broken him, causing him more agony than any of the wounds that had been inflicted on him in the last three months. And now he felt that pain, every time he looked at Prowl, Prowl could see it in the scout's optics. The never ending see of tortured agony within the small bots own spark. Prowl came back to the present, curling into himself with a shudder.

"I'm sorry Bee," Prowl whispered, as the tears started to fall again, "I'm sorry Bee. I'm so sorry."

But what Prowl didn't know, was that things were about to change. But for the better or worse?

Both. Inevitably both.

Blurr laughed as Bumblebee made a face.

"Don't look at me like that," Blurr said still laughing, "It's true, I could do a hundred laps in 10 seconds."

"Yeah whatever," Bumblebee said with a smile, looking up at him from where he lay.

"I'll prove it to you one day," Blurr promised.

"And I'll be at the finish line waiting for you," Bumblebee put in cheekily.

"Ha! You'll never beat me," Blurr grinned.

"Oh really? I'm the fastest thing on wheels and you better believe it," he said pushing himself up.

"Well then, I'll just have to race you one day to find out," Blurr teased.

"I guess you will," Bumblebee said with smirk, both of them knew it could never happen, but right now they didn't care. They were having too much fun.

"You can't do that if you're not in vehicle mode," Blurr said, suddenly sounding curious, "Have you been in vehicle mode since…?" Blurr didn't need to finish, it was clear to any bot on base what he meant. The 'accident' had just about become a forbidden word, a taboo.

"No," Bumblebee said, looking a little put out, "Ratchet said not to."

"Why?" Blurr asked, "What harm could it possibly do?" Bumblebee shrugged.

"I don't know," Bumblebee said, "But I trust Ratchet and I haven't tried."

"Well why don't you know while he's not here?" Blurr suggested.

"But Ratchet said not to," Bumblebee said uncertainly.

"So?" Blurr said with a mischievous smile, "Since when should that stop you? Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" Bumblebee looked thoughtful for a moment before he to grinned.

"Your right," Bumblebee said and he pushed himself off the berth they had been lounging on.

"Besides, your much better now," Blurr said affectionately.

"Thanks," Bumblebee said, "Now let's see." Bumblebee started his transformation sequence and he was almost in vehicle mode, easily progressing.

"See Bumblebee," Blurr said with a bigger smile, "I said you'd be…" But Blurr was cut off by an echoingly loud CRACK, followed by a sharp snapping noise. Blurr's smile vanished.

"Bee?" he said in concern. Bumblebee changed back into bot mode. He lay still for a second, energon following out of his back, staring in shock, before he let out a painfully loud scream of white hot agony.