Here it is! Chapter two! It's shorter than what I wanted. I hope Chapter Three will be longer. x3 But, yes, please read!!
Italics mean writing.
Enjoy!
Chapter Two – Matters of the Heart and Spark
9:34pm, Inside the Autobot Base
When Darren awoke from his deep sleep, he was in a semi-large room inside the base. It was almost completely dark, in spite of the faint glow of many monitors sitting on a large desk, and heavy silence hung in the air. Darren felt someone shift beneath him and he crawled out of the nook in Bumblebee's armor, just enough to peek his head up at his friend. He tensed.
Bumblebee was awake, his optics a rich blue hue that emitted faint beams of light. They glowed wonderfully, mesmerizing Darren for a moment. The mech blinked his optics and shifted again, making Darren scurry back inside the nook of Bumblebee's chassis. He gulped quietly, his breathing accelerating. Though he felt some sort of attachment toward Bumblebee, he couldn't fully bring himself to be alone with him. Fear churned sickeningly in his stomach. Darren curled and snuggled into the comfortable niche, hearing Bumblebee sigh quietly. Did he notice him staring at him?
He tossed a few strands of blonde hair from his eyes, then hugged his backpack, propping chin on it. He wished he would calm down. He released a deep breath and shut his eyes again, feeling Bumblebee's finger slip in and prod his spine.
//\\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Bumblebee's Point of View
I feel that Darren is awake, and I had felt his eyes watching me. Did I call his name? No. Too many things are going through my mind, and I feel like a wreck. Cybertron, Darren, Sam, Arcee…To name a few.
I'm homesick. Sure, you could call this base, the Adonis III, my home, but home, is where the spark is. My spark is on Cybertron, where I was born into this military lifestyle and trained to be the soldier I am today. This base is nothing but cold metal and screws, housing us robots, even more metal. Of course, I have no problem being here on Earth, in the company of humans. It is my duty to protect them from the Decepticons and that, I will do. But, I'll always miss my home planet.
Darren has a special case that wrenches my spark. It pained me to see tears fall from the innocent human's eyes. Energon welled in my own ducts as I remembered that I don't even know my creators. They could be dead. They could have abandoned me to a whole group of younglings, who all, in the end, were handed to the care of commanders to become the soldiers of tomorrow. I wish I knew my mother, my father. If only they could just see me…See their baby bot all grown up. Though I'm only the equivalent of a human teenager, I'm almost a full-fledged mech. I'm getting there.
I know, regardless if they loved me or not, my mom and dad would be proud.
I feel Darren moving again. His small hands and feet tickle me, but I hold in the urge to laugh. Instead, I stroke him with my finger, feeling him tense again. He's afraid of me…understandable. Soon, he'll grow comfortable around me, and the others. I'll remain patient with him.
To keep him warm, I rev my internal systems, directing the warmth of the energon and coolant running through my vessels to my chassis. Darren's body warms quickly and I kill some of the heat. He's resting above my spark. I know he's wondering what it is.
"Bee?" He calls my name in a whisper a moment later.
I turn my head down in his direction.
"Yes?" I answer him.
A small palm is set on my metal skin, covering the space of only a very tiny part of my spark.
"What's in here?" He asks softly. "Something's humming."
I smile. His innocence amuses me.
"It's my heart, Darren," I say calmly. "My spark."
He pauses. He's thinking.
"A spark?"
I nod. "Yes, I spark…Like humans have hearts." I pause then, thinking about how to make the easy to understand. "Each spark everyone us holds is part of the spirit of Primus, our 'version' of your God, I guess. We can take severe amounts of damage, as long as a spark stays intact. Once damage goes beyond what the spark can manage, it is extinguished, and we die."
I've never heard myself sound so smart.
I hear Darren chuckle in a snort, amazed.
"So, you guys can basically live forever?" he said.
"Yeah, we could," I say.
Darren just nods.
"I wish I could live like that…," He says a minute later. "Live forever…"
His comment makes me wince.
"Darren," I coo. "The human culture is better than ours, in some ways I don't think you see."
"Tch'," he scoffs. "Like what."
"You don't have to worry about being killed, or the enemy discovering your base's location," I tell him somewhat firmly. "You weren't born into a heated war, either, were you?"
Darren didn't answer until a few seconds later.
"N-No," his voice trembled.
"And at least you know who your parents are…"
Darren blinks. "…You don't know yours?"
I shake my head. "No…"
He squirms, but doesn't say anything more.
I sigh. I'm glad. I don't want to continue any further. I want to think in silence again…collect my thoughts and organize them.
Darren squirms again, then tucks himself deeper into the nook in my armor.
"I didn't mean to be so firm," I apologize.
"S'okay," he whispers.
Silence thereafter. Heavy and deafening to my receptors.
I think Darren has his eyes closed again, and his movements aren't frequent. I slip a few fingers around his small body and cradle him tenderly, turning my head to a side. He's squirming again, moving against my fingers until he lays flat on his stomach. I nudge the tip of a finger into his stomach, and he laughs. I chuckle, stroking his back with my thumb. The way he reacts to my actions always makes me smile.
I can feel his tiny heart beating against my finger, it's incredibly small. The anatomy of a human always fascinates me, one of the reasons why I have a solid human holographic form. I was given it many years back as a choice and, being interested in human culture, I agreed to it. The process was somewhat tedious and lengthy, with moments where the pain was overwhelming. Now, I can become a human in a few seconds. I only have to think it, and it happens, like transforming from my robot to car form.
He almost looks like me in my human form. Perhaps I can show him what I look like tomorrow. I know he'll be shocked.
I release him and raise a knee. My optic lids fall and I turn my optics offline. It's getting late in the night – Going on ten. I might as well get some recharge cycles in before dawn breaks.
//\\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Darren's Point of View
Dear Diary,
Today was absolutely amazing. I did it. I ran away from home. I set off with my backpack full of enough clothes and food, a camera, my journal, some pictures, my cell phone, and a few other things. It took me a few hours to get out of the city and then, when I was completely gone, I followed the highway.
I trailed off to a forest and soon found myself lost, but I wasn't afraid. Tears kept coming to my eyes. I couldn't believe I ran, and I still can't. And I definitely don't believe I'm here.
I came across this place, er this base, where all of these giant robots live, like the ones that were fighting in the city that day. Optimus Prime is here and I can't believe it. His spy, Second Lieutenant, is with me right now, and I'm sleeping in a little place in his armor. It's comfortable and he keeps stroking my spine. He's real curious I guess.
I haven't met anyone else yet, but, I probably will tomorrow. I just can't believe I'm here. I'm not too comfortable yet, living in their base. I'm actually a little scared. They're so freakin' huge. I think they could eat me and not even know it. Jesus.
It's incredibly quiet in Bumblebee's room, that's the spy, and the silence is almost deafening. Really. Bee's sleeping now.
And even though he'sasleep, he keeps touching my body. He keeps toying with my spine, stroking it and nudging his big finger into it. It does tickle and I can't help but laugh sometimes, and he always laughs with me. The robot does have a way with making a kid happy. I like that about him. He's gotta big heart. Andhe's really friendly and loving, and like a father I've never had.
Well, it's getting late. I've slept already, but I still want to rest a little bit more for who-knows-what tomorrow will bring.
Until next time, goodbye diary
Darren snapped the cap back on his pen and shut his diary softly, soon tucking it in a slot of his backpack. He zipped the slot shut and sighed, feeling his hand around inside the backpack for anything. He was kinda hungry. He wondered what Bumblebee and everyone else ate around here.
His fingers wrapped around a chocolate chip granola bar and he revealed it in front of his eyes. He slowly peeled away its wrapper and observed it. The chocolate was melted, but aside from that, it looked pretty edible. Taking a bite from it, he sat up, sitting cross legged. He swallowed and took another bite, chewing slowly.
"…No crumbs on my armor, okay?" resonated Bumblebee's voice gently. He laughed softly.
Darren shuddered, startled that Bumblebee's voice came so unexpectedly. He chuckled weakly, and nodded.
"Oh-Okay," he choked out. He swallowed. "No guarantees though."
Bumblebee smiled with a warm hum, easing a finger through his armor to pat Darren's leg. For the first time, Darren reached out and touched Bumblebee's finger, his small hand gripping it firmly. Bumblebee laughed softly, feeling Darren's fingers gently fondle against the metal. Darren smiled and ran his hand down the smooth metal, noticing the finger bend.
"Darren, I wouldn't trade you for the world," Bumblebee said in a near whisper.
"Same here, Bee," Darren said with a smile, food in his mouth.
He swallowed. Crawling out of the nook, he climbed onto Bumblebee's chest, sitting himself on top of his spark chamber. He held out the already-bitten granola bar, smiling wider.
"Wanna bite?"
"Oh, Darren," Bumblebee chuckled. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"I'm not sure if I could process that…"
Darren chuckled. "You never know until you try."
"Darrennnn…" Bumblebee warned.
"Oh, all right." Darren finished the granola bar, crumpling the wrapper in both hands. He swallowed and licked his lips, jerking his head slightly to push away stray locks of blonde hair.
Bumblebee smiled, his optics drooping. He watched as Darren ran curious fingers along the crannies of his armor, brushing them lightly between the plating, toying with his wiring. Whenever someone did that, Bumblebee received satisfying pulsations in his spark. He purred, and Darren laughed.
"You're a robot, yet you purr like a cat," He said with a grin.
"I make many noises," Bumblebee corrected him playfully.
Darren snorted.
"So, what's everyone else doin'?" He asked, his pale blue eyes fixing themselves on Bumblebee's optics.
Bumblebee shrugged. "Sleeping, too, I guess," he said. "Though Optimus and Ironhide tend to work until late at night…They could still be awake."
Darren grinned. "Could we go see them?"
"Mmm, tomorrow, Darren," Bumblebee said groggily. "I promise."
Darren nodded, looking away with a frown.
"Alright, I guess I should let you sleep too."
"That'd be very nice," Bumblebee yawned.
Bumblebee chuckled and stretched out his legs until his knee joints bended softly.
He breathed in, making Darren rise with his chest. He closed his optics and vented out a breath. Darren laid on his stomach and pat Bumblebee's chest twice with his hand, setting his ear over the robot's spark. He listened to its steady humming pulse, smiling in fascination. Bumblebee didn't notice. His recharge systems were running and he was falling asleep. But, he managed to set his hand over Darren, gently prodding the human's side with a single fingertip, up and down his skin. Darren smiled, gently clawing his fingers to and fro against the metal. Bumblebee purred.
Closing his eyes, Darren used Bumblebee's spark as an aid to help him sleep. Bumblebee's heart was so much larger than him, and it gently vibrated his entire body as it beat, making the human even more comfortable and sleepy.
The human was like a sparkling Bumblebee longed to have someday. He wished to keep him safe and watch him grow to be a man. Yes, you could say that Bumblebee loved Darren and so, he told himself this first, in his mind, then to Darren as he tussled the boy's blonde hair with his fingertip. The human boy chuckled in a dream.
"I love you, Darren."
More to come!! Stay tuned! And don't forget to respond everyone. x3 ! Thank you.