Ratchet was right; the second part of the "pregnancy" was like hell; his chassis kept aching, and sometimes he couldn't sleep because of the pain. Often Ratchet offered very low sedatives so that he could sleep better at night. But of course, being paranoid that he was, and a first time carrier, Bumblebee kindly declined that offered, worried about the sparkling's health even though Ratchet said that the sedatives that he was offering wouldn't hurt the sparkling one bit, and said that perhaps it would possibly calm the sparkling down, too, and perhaps make the process go much smoother. Although Bumblebee adored and trusted Ratchet with all of his spark, he didn't want to take any risks. And strangely, Ratchet didn't keep pestering him about it, either. That was the good thing about Ratchet; he was smart like that.

One of those said nights where he stayed up, simply staring up at the ceiling, Bumblebee again found himself wondering about the sparkling. He still wanted to believe that it belonged to Optimus, however was slowly having his doubts because of the fact that Ratchet was unsure of the exact time and date of conception, and that they would be able to find out who the sire was only when the sparkling was born. Bumblebee often told Optimus how he felt about this, and the Prime kept telling the younger bot the same thing; that no matter what, he was going to help Bumblebee take care of the sparkling. That made Bumblebee more than happy, and often quickly forgot about what he was thinking about, if only for a few hours or so.

Over the past few weeks, Bumblebee and Optimus had grown closer than ever; Optimus often told bits and pieces of his history before the war, Bumblebee sitting in his lap and listening quietly. Apparently, Optimus had once been a Dataclerk by the name of Orion Pax before the war, and had been appointed Prime by the council. Bumblebee had heard of them, however only in stories, seeing as how the war started well before he was born. Optimus had also gotten training from Ironhide himself, before and during his early years as Prime. That made sense, seeing as how Ironhide was probably one of the oldest mechs he had ever known. Well, that and Jetfire. And Wheeljack. And maybe Perceptor. Bumblebee had lost count of how many mechs he had met that were as old or older than Ironhide, and often tried no to ask, seeing as how that would be rude. Optimus had also told him that he had once been bonded before the war; to a femme named Elita-One, however, like Optimus had thought, Bumblebee had never heard of said femme.

It was one night that Bumblebee had asked Optimus about what happened between he and Megatron, if anything; about how the warlord said that Optimus used to be "his" and about how he told all of these things that had happened between the two. Optimus at first was reluctant to talk about; 'Bee couldn't blame him, of course, being that they had been nearly brothers at one point in time - or so he heard - and had been really close, too. But after a few days, and Bumblebee looking sad, Optimus seemed to finally be able to come clean; Bumblebee had been sitting up in their shared berth, reading an old Datapad Ratchet have given him about sparklings and birth, when Optimus wandered in, Datapads in servo, his helm slightly tilted downward.

( Hey, Optimus ) Bumblebee chirped happily, leaning his Datapad down a little as he watched Optimus with happy optics.

"Hello, 'Bee," Optimus said almost with a saddened or even slightly distressed voice; simply tossing his Datapads onto his desk when he was close enough. Bumblebee instantly sat his Datapad down on his lap and gave a worried click.

( Everything okay, Optimus? ) asked the small mech, worried that Optimus seemed a but more edgy and down than he usually did. ( What's wrong? You can tell me. )

Optimus finally looked up with saddened optics, his face mask retracting to show a frown that fit nowhere on his lovers face. When the Prime finally started to make his over to the berth, Bumblebee quickly sat his Datapad on the table next to the berth before scooting over towards the wall to make room for the bigger bot. When Optimus finally got settled on the berth, legs lying straight, instantly the red and blue bot - gently - grabbed the small bot around the waist and slowly moved him onto his lap; Bumblebee at first giving at startled squeak at the movement before relaxing. He was quickly wrapped up by strong arms, the yellow bot relaxing his helm against the larger bot's chassis as a servo went to join it, the other landing in his lap. An arm gently cupped his helm against his chassis, and Optimus gave an exasperated sigh, his chin relaxing against the top of Bumblebee's helm.

"I never thought he would do this to someone, honestly, even to someone like you," muttered Optimus muttered, Bumblebee easily feeling the larger mech's jaw moving against his helm. "Then again, I could see him doing this as some sort of revenge or something, after finding out what you were to me and all."

( Revenge? ) asked Bumblebee curiously, although he knew better than to do so; Megatron had gotten his aft whooped so many times - a few times, actually, in the past few weeks, or so Bumblebee heard, seeing as how he wasn't allowed to go out an fight in his condition - and Megatron was trying to get back as his foe.

"Yes," Optimus went on, shifting so that he could pull the smaller mech closer to him, as if he would suddenly be taken away like last time, and that worse would happen to him. "We've been rivals for ages, but I bet that this is something before that." When Bumblebee looked up at his lover's face and gave a questioning click, Optimus again sighed. "While the one reason I broke the bond with Elita was so that Megatron couldn't use her against me," Optimus explained, "it goes back further than the war. As you may know, Megatron and I were once…. Companions. Friends. But we were more than that.

"After he and I had become…. Closer, everything seemed to become more intimate from there on out. I knew him more in those moments than I thought I ever would and will. I hate to admit that once we cared for each other deeply, the way I do for you and our sparkling now, but that had died away when he started acting the way he is today. I had once hoped that he would change, but now…. I am afraid that he is a lost cause." Smiling, almost to himself, Optimus leaned over slightly and nuzzled Bumblebee on the helm affectionately. "That, and I have you."

A purring sound came from the yellow mech's radio, and happily leaned his helm back, bumping noses with the larger mech and making him chuckle slightly. Their lips barely ghosted past one another as Bumblebee leaned up further, although slightly held down by the larger bot's arms. Instead of leaning down to kiss him like he usually did, Optimus sat back up, still holding Bumblebee close, however he seemed to be mulling over something by the "thinking" look on his face plates. Bumblebee tilted his helm to the side and waited quietly, however after a few moments, Bumblebee had to butt in.

( Optimus, what's wrong?) he asked, worried because it seemed that Optimus was spacing out a bit too much today. Optimus shifted his jaw a bit, before looking back down at the smaller bot with a hint of thought in his optics.

"Bumblebee," he muttered, almost seeming to realize that he was still there, and this was not in fact a dream.

( Yes? ) asked the yellow bot when Optimus didn't continue. Optimus seemed to take another moment to think before at least trying to go on.

"Bumblebee, I have been thinking," started Optimus yes again, gently rubbing the back of the younger bot's helm, as if soothing him for something, "and you don't have to say yes. I was just thinking that, maybe after the sparkling was born… Never mind."

( What is it? ) asked Bumblebee when Optimus yet again seemed unable to finish his sentence before seeming to doubt himself. Optimus sighed after a moment; no didn't always hurt, right?

"Well, I was wondering, that maybe after the sparkling was born, that perhaps we could really be a family," Optimus said. When Bumblebee gave a confused click, Optimus asked, "Bumblebee, I was wondering if, after the sparkling was born, seeing as how it would hurt it and all, that maybe we could, erm, bond, and make out family complete."

Oh yeah, that defiantly did it, alright. Bumblebee seemed frozen in his confused spot, barely shuttering his optics as he stared back up into his lover's dark blue ones. Optimus instantly turned his helm away in shame. Too soon? He should have guessed that. He knew he should have waited longer before asking Bumblebee to spark bond with him, but of course, he had always been the stupid fragger who had to always let his emotions get in the way.

"Optimus?" Bumblebee finally managed to croak, Optimus slowly turning his helm as he waited for the reaction to take over. What he got was totally unexpected; suddenly two arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, nearly making him tumble over from the suddenness of it. Bumblebee then proceeded to nuzzle his helm into Optimus's neck wires, holding onto him tightly and threatening never to let go. As Optimus reached up to make sure that Bumblebee stayed against him, he could feel the yellow mech's slightly bumped chassis; knowing that would change quite quickly.

"Bumblebee, are you alright?" Optimus asked steadily, wondering at first if it were what the humans call "hormones" that was making Bumblebee act like this; not like he always did, but he heard that often those carrying tended to act different, such as having mood swings, when they were. Which would explain a lot, really…. Bumblebee shifted his helm to where it was tipped up, and he was both able to breath and talk pretty much into the larger bot's audio.

( Do you really want to know how long I've been wanting you to ask me to bond with you? ) asked the smaller bot in a quiet voice, as if any louder would break Optimus's audio.

Suddenly Optimus got a large smile on his lips, holding the small bot tighter, obviously just as happy to hear the answer. And as they sat their in their bliss, the only thing that worried Bumblebee was weather or not that smile would be plastered on the Prime's face or not. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to look serious any time he took his mask off.


Do you really want to know how much I love that ending to this chapter? Honestly, has anyone ever met a person who looked like they were wearing an expression that would never come off no matter how hard they tried? I've met a few people in my life, personally. Also, I've sadly come up with a song that could relate to the story/the current main pairing. Go off somewhere and listen to Listen to Your Heart by DHT. xD