Chapter Thirty-Two – Double the Delight
Hot Rod's Quarters, Cliantha I
Noticing that Hot Rod's door was slightly open, Arcee slowly pushed it forward as she started to tiptoe into the room, her pale blue optics scanning intently until they landed on a red and yellow form on the recharge berth. She slowly eased to it, taking in a nervous breath.
"H-Hot R - "
"Don't even say it, Arcee," droned the mech sadly. "I know what you've came to do…"
The pink femme blinked, taking a couple steps closer. "You do?"
He nodded, looking at her without the slightest bit of a smile. "This is goodbye, isn't it?"
Arcee felt her spark sink and she looked into his optics. His were an unusual dull blue-gray, not in their normal electric flare. She frowned and looked away from them, not wanting to feel to regretful about what she'd came to do.
He knew it, she knew it. It had to be done.
"Hot Rod…" she started, then stopped. She didn't know what to say, how to say it.
"You were the femme of my dreams, Love" he sighed sorrowfully. "What did I do wrong? Anything at all?"
She looked down at the floor, shaking her head slowly, not saying anything.
"…My aggression, huh?" he said in a weak chuckle. "…Towards Bumblebee, right? It's that, isn't it?" He looked away from her too. "You didn't like that…"
Arcee sighed. "I suppose that's… a part of it," she said softly. "I'd like it if you were a little more…respectful and courteous to him, Hot Rod."
The mech looked at her. "I can't help it when…he has you."
Arcee twisted her lip.
"I love you, Arcee," whispered Hot Rod. "And I have for many, many, many years…too many to record."
"Rod," Arcee sighed. She slowly moved to sit at his side, sitting a light hand on his shoulder. His optics turned to hers and she saw tears glazed over their surface. Her spark dropped more at the sight, but she smiled softly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure you'll have no problem following your spark to another femme."
"There's no other femme in the universe like you," he said quietly.
Arcee smiled a little wider. "Honey, you'll find someone," she sighed, grazing her fingers across his attractive faceplate. "You're incredibly handsome, Hot Rod…"
The mech smiled sheepishly, and then frowned, looking away from her. "I suppose…I'll miss you unexplainably, Arcee."
She leaned forward and kissed his cheekplate, and he didn't smile.
"Unexplainably…" he said again under a breath. A tear fell from one optic.
"I have to follow my spark, Hot Rod…"
"Wh-Why?" he sighed in a short cry.
"It could be leading me to the fate best for me," she told him calmly. "The one that will make me the best femme I can be in this universe."
"Why wasn't it content with me?" he murmured forlornly. "Arcee, I saw us together forever. 'Till all became one…I saw us with sparklings of our own, a-and now…" He trailed off.
Arcee frowned. "I will love you always," she breathed in his receptor. Setting a hand over his thrumming spark, she said, "Our bond will remain strong. It can't be interfered with."
The mech gave her a look, still frowning with tears in his optic ducts. "But, the one between you and Bumblebee will always be stronger."
The femme stared into his optics, not knowing what to say. Hot Rod turned his head away, shaking it once.
"I'm sorry, Arcee," he whispered. "For everything I did…"
Silence again. She could only stare sadly.
"…Forgive me, baby."
Arcee planted another kiss against his cheekplate. He sighed, thinking it'd be the last one.
"I'll love you always, Hot Rod," she said, rising from the berth. "You know I will."
A pause as her words hung in the air. For once, she got no, "I love you," back.
She winced. She knew she'd hurt him.
"Just, pl-please be there when the sparkling is born," she said quietly. "I would like you to see the baby bot."
"That would make everything worse," he shot back gently. "Why would I want to see your creation when it could have been ours?"
Arcee gulped down a lump in her throat.
"I should've bonded with you sooner," he chastised himself, curling his hands into fists. "Why didn't I…?!"
She shook her head. "Hot Rod - "
"Goodbye, Arcee…"
Flinching at his words, the femme turned from him, moving herself to the opened door. She stepped one foot out, then looked back at him with a worried faceplate, blinking at him nervously.
"Tell the others that I've transferred to the Adonis III?"
Hot Rod sighed. "No."
She shivered.
"C-Could you please?"
"Do it yourself," the mech grumbled, leaning a shoulder against a wall angrily.
Silence.
"Goodbye, Arcee."
The femme bowed her head and departed from the room slowly, feeling her spark sink to the very bottom of its holding chamber. Lastly, she turned her optics to him, feeling a tear trickle down her cheekplate.
"Goodbye, Hot Rod."
Adonis III, Two Weeks Later…
Bumblebee slipped his fingers between Darren's as he took the human's hand, feeling the warm contact of skin-on-skin, their palms pressing together. Darren's eyes looked up into the electric blue hue of Bumblebee's, and they smiled at each other.
"Are you nervous?" Darren asked. "What if you get a baby femme?"
Bumblebee grinned wider, pulling Darren against him as he swiftly moved an arm around the human's waistline.
"Darren, I will be content with either a femme or mech," he said.
Darren chuckled. "But, c'mon, what would you prefer?"
Bumblebee shot him a playful look, mocking anger. "I don't have a preference."
Darren light jabbed Bumblebee in the side with his elbow, chuckling. "You're too nice."
Bumblebee purred and, releasing Darren's hand, he transformed into an eighteen foot tall robot in a matter of seconds, the process becoming more natural to him. Leaning down, he scooped up Darren gently in his palms, pausing before Ratchet's door.
"Let's go in, shall we?" The mech smiled, cradling Darren against his chest with one hand as he knocked on the door with the other.
Darren grinned happily, sighing as he heard the nearby thrums of Bumblebee's spark that lay behind the yellow metal. "Everyone else's inside?"
The mech nodded twice. "M'hm. The whole squad's waiting."
Darren blinked with a nod. "Uh-Uhm, Bee?"
"Hmm?"
"How can you tell the gender of a, like…robot fetus?"
Bumblebee laughed, nuzzling Darren's hair with a finger. "Same way you humans do."
Darren chuckled. "O-Oh."
"Mech parts are different from femmes, Darren," Bumblebee said in a wide smile. "You obviously haven't studied our framework too closely. Arcee and I have similar structures, but femmes tend to have more protruded chestplates and…y-you know the rest."
Darren's eyes were widened, and he swallowed, laughing. "That was plenty enough info, Bee. Th-Thanks."
The mech whirred, blinking as the door of Ratchet's quarters parted open slowly. "You're very welcome," he whispered, nodding at the medical officer that appeared at the door at the same time.
"Hello, Sir," said Bumblebee and Darren in unison.
Ratchet greeted them both with a smile, stepping aside. "Come inside, you two," he said. "We're just about to get started."
Bumblebee stepped into the room, looking about the others with a wider smile.
"Hello, everyone," he greeted, easing Darren deeper against his chest.
"Hey, kid," waved Jazz with a smile. "Doin' alright?"
Bumblebee nodded. "Yes, I am. Thank you."
Optimus' optics flared gently as they looked deeply into Bumblebee's, and the towering mech lifted his hand to stroke Bumblebee's head, tussling his neck's wiring slowly. He gave the younger mech a pat on the back, nodding at him once. "Not too nervous are you, son?"
Bumblebee shook his head. "No, Sir. Not too nervous."
"I can't wait to find out," said Darren happily.
Ironhide's massive form waddled over in heavy thuds, his arms crossed over his burly chest. "M'sure you'll be pleased with either outcome, huh?" he said gruffly, a small smile on his faceplate.
Bumblebee nodded. "As long as I have a healthy baby bot, I'm happy."
A finger tapped his shoulder, and Bumblebee turned to see Ratchet looking down at him, one of his hands gesturing in a direction.
"She's ready," he said softly.
Bumblebee nodded and turned his head. "Yes, Sir."
Once his optics fell over his femme, who lay on the medical berth, his spark thrummed powerfully in their bond, his feet carrying him toward her in slow, lengthy strides.
"Hello, beautiful," he murmured lowly, leaning down to plant a kiss against her cheekplate.
Arcee leaned up slightly and returned his kiss, setting one on his metal mouth in a smile. "Hello, honey," she said softly. "I can't wait to know about our baby."
Bumblebee held Darren closer against him as he lowered his body alongside Arcee's, letting her tuck her head against his neck like she always did. "I can't wait either," he whispered into her receptor.
As the other's circled around the medical berth, Ratchet stepped before them all, moving his hands toward Arcee with a small smile.
"Just keep still, Arcee," the medical officer cooed, latching his fingers between two pink plates of her stomach. "This shouldn't hurt." He started peeling away the armor, setting them beside her legs. "One moment…"
Bumblebee took Arcee's hand, his large optics watching intently as Ratchet worked. Arcee took deep breaths against him, her optics watching too, as was everyone else's.
"What'do ya think, Prime?" murmured Jazz, grinning. "Femme er mech?"
Optimus smiled, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight. "I'm not too sure, Jazz."
The second-in-command chuckled. "I betcha it'll be a mech."
Ratchet smiled a little wider as he finished, soon trailing his hands up to Arcee's chest to open her chest compartment slowly, his optics scanning over the sparks that rested in the chamber. They widened slowly and the medical officer had to lean closer to make sure what he saw wasn't an illusion.
"Primus, Arcee," he breathed, looking to her optics. "You're not going to believe this."
The femme blinked and she felt Bumblebee's hand squeeze hers. Darren squirmed onto his knees against Bumblebee's chest.
"Wh-What is it, Ratchet?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"Is something wrong?" questioned Ironhide, arching an optic ridge.
Bumblebee whirred nervously, his spark skipping.
Primus, please, he thought. Nothing can be wrong…
Ratchet shook his head at them. "N-No, it's something good," he told them. "Very good…"
Bumblebee leaned forward. "What is it?"
Ratchet grinned, looking to Bumblebee, then Arcee. "I'm happy to announce that you two will be having twins."
Dead silence.
Darren broke it. "Holy shit..."
Bumblebee was frozen.
"Twins…" breathed Optimus.
"Th-This has to be some sort of mistake," said Jazz, chuckling weakly. "I mean…c'mon. Twins?!"
Ironhide groaned, shaking his head and muttering indistinctly.
"…Tw-Twins?!" Bumblebee exclaimed, slowly smiling. "Ratchet, are you positive?"
"Dear, Primus," groaned Arcee, sinking against her mech. He held her tightly, their sparks flirting. "Two sparklings…"
Ratchet shook his head. "I'm not lying to you, I'm afraid," he said in a chuckle. "There are indeed two other sparks in the casing, not including her own."
Everyone leaned forward, taking a look. Indeed, there were two other sparks squirming around the chamber happily, feeding off the energy of their mother's spark, and the strong thrums from their father's. Bumblebee smiled.
"Our babies," he whispered, kissing Arcee lightly.
Darren looked up at Ratchet. "How will we know their genders?"
Ratchet smiled at the human, moving his fingers to Arcee's stomach compartment. He opened up another partition compacted within another. "We look in here, where the actual sparklings are carried."
Darren blinked. "Why are they in two separate compartments?"
Bumblebee whirred, nuzzling Darren's hair with a finger. "The sparks are kept separate so they are near the mother's, taking in its energy to keep alive. The sparklings will be taken from Arcee's stomach chamber once they're ready to be born, and then, then sparks will be inserted into them afterwards."
Ratchet grinned. "Couldn't of said it better myself."
Darren chuckled, feeling Bumblebee bring him forward as every Autobot leaned forward, looking down as Ratchet opened the chamber fully.
Inside, rested two baby bots, their tiny bodies curled up into balls, their optics round and large like their father's. Their colors could not be determined in the pool of nourishing energon they floated in, but no one needed to know them.
The baby bots were beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
Arcee gasped quietly, lying her head against Bumblebee with tears of joy stinging her optics. Bumblebee, too, was in shock, his optics not able to tear away from his baby bots.
Their sparklings.
How he wanted to lean down and kiss them already, smother them in love.
Ratchet leaned down closer, examining.
"What can ya tell, doc?" asked Jazz, shifting with a grin.
"Yes, are they mechs? Femmes?" Optimus questioned, smiling as he rested his palms against the berth, leaning closer. "Both?"
Ironhide's optics narrowed as he studied them closely. "I think…both."
Ratchet nodded, leaning back some. "Correct," he whispered. "A mech and femmebot."
Arcee shivered in a cry of joy, and Bumblebee wrapped an arm around her, pressing her against him as Darren was held against his spark. He felt the human's arms lay against his heart as he tried to hug him, fingers soon prodding against his metal armor.
"Congratulations, Dad," said the human softly. "And Arcee…congrats."
Bumblebee smiled, tussling Darren's hair in many happy whirrs.
"Thank you," they both said back at him.
His optics fell to the baby bots again, and his spark thrummed under Darren, pulsing happy with Arcee's and their sparklings'. As the others began talking in excited whispers, he leaned down to the sparklings with a grin, waving at them with his fingers.
At Zaidian and Xylastar.
"Hello, our precious creations," he murmured warmly. "You don't know me yet, but you will."