A/N: Happy chapter time! I figured that after the last two chapters were so dark, it was time for some happy fluff. :3 Which the next two chapters will be full of, or at least I hope so.

...

CHAPTER 22
Fun and Titles

Trevor was unsure of how to take the idea of the restraining order at first, but eventually relented. In response to all that happened, Bumblebee had decided to bring him on a pre-birthday trip to lighten the mood. It had taken a lot of permission to let them both leave base for even a short while. Trevor leaned back against his adoptive father's seat calmly as he watched the scenery move past them. Bumblebee claimed this was supposed to be a surprise, so he hadn't exactly told him where they were going yet. "Bee, where are we going?" Trevor asked yet again. "Can you tell me now?"

The playful side of Bumblebee yet again popped out as the mech played "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkle. Trevor rolled his eyes, and leaned back. "The point of a birthday present, even an early one," Bumblebee began. "Is to surprise the person celebrating their birthday. So how much of a father would I be if I spoiled the surprise?"

"You're evil." Trevor replied.

"I love you too my precious sparkling," Bumblebee hummed.

Trevor smirked a bit, leaning against the passengers side door. What was Bumblebee planning? He knew that being young, there were several things Bumblebee's processor might have come up with. A theme park, a movie premiere, just about anything. But at the same time, he didn't want to get his hopes up too big. After several minutes, he finally decided to take a nap, which lasted another hour before he heard Bumblebee speak up. "Wakey, wakey, kiddo," Trevor grunted, his eyes fluttering open. "We're here."

Trevor blinked slightly, rubbing a tired eye as his gaze traveled up towards the building in front of him. Or should he say stadium? A Nascar stadium. Trevor's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He'd never been to a Nascar race, only ever seen them on television and dreamed of making it there. "Bee, Bee you didn't," Trevor breathed. "How? How could you even afford tickets?"

Bumblebee's engine purred a bit, and his holoform appeared, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I told Keller your birthday was coming up. And seeing as you loved Nascar, and all that happened, he was willing to pull a few strings and help out," He gave a small shrug, as if it was nothing. "So, what do you think? Am I the world's greatest dad or what?"

"You're definitely the world's most modest one," Trevor teased gently, before wrapping his arms around the holoform. "But yeah, you're pretty fraggin' awesome!" He almost surprised himself with the Cybertronian lingo. "Thanks so much! Man, I've never been to an actual Nascar race! I mean I always wanted to go, but you know the deal." He climbed out of Bumblebee's alt mode practically bouncing up and down. "I haven't got a lot of money."

Bumblebee reached into his glove compartment, holding up a credit card the government had issued them. "That my little friend, is why they gave me one of these," Bumblebee told him. "You can gourge on all the junk food you want too. Just don't tell Ratchet, because I don't want to be chewed out for it," Trevor laughed a little at that. "What? You know he would! He's worse than that House from the TV Show you showed me!"

"Telling him you said that," Trevor joked. "Totally telling him you said that."

"You'd do that to the most awesome dad in the world?" Bumblebee pouted.

Trevor shrugged, earning him a noogie from the mech, who merely gave one big grin. After all, he knew Trevor wasn't serious, the way they could joke like this only made their relationship just that much more fun. He led the boy towards the gate, fooling with the tickets he had behind his credit card. He handed it over to the man politely, and he let them through. Soon the smell of engine gas, corn dogs, and the like wafted their way into Trevor's nose. "Oh man, Bee, this is going to be sick," He breathed out. "Where are our seats?"

"Front row," Trevor's eyes widened. "Government perks, kid, government perks."

Trevor could barely control the excitement that filled him. Here he was, about to experience his first Nascar race, from the front row. And for him, it was probably the most exciting present he'd ever received. He looked at Bumblebee with a smile, allowing him to put an arm around his shoulders again. "Bee?" Bumblebee stared down at Trevor with a curious look in his eyes. "I think I'm ready to call you dad," He finally managed. "I know it's been only a little time, but, after what time it has been I really do just... I don't know... Don't know if you're ready."

Bumblebee was silent, unsure of how to respond to that. Indeed, it had been a while since Trevor had been entrusted into his care, and the day was bound to come. But was he ready to actually be the "dad" that someone called out to every morning. The "dad" that Trevor talked about when speaking to his friends. And yet, the alternative option that was alive at the moment was a creep, and that wouldn't do. And besides, he felt his spark warm at the thought the more he thought about it. "Yeah," Bumblebee ruffled his son's hair gently. "I think I'd like it if I started to be "dad", as long as you're really ready. Don't feel obligated to do it," He added.

"You've proved you're going to be my dad for a long time," Trevor replied. "And that you love me as much as my... My dad did," The scout knew that he meant Joseph at that part. "So I mean, I can't keep calling you "Bee" forever. Even though you call Optimus, Prime, I figure that's the whole pecking order deal."

"Trev?" Trevor was quiet at the way Bumblebee spoke. "I'm honored to be your dad." That time, the boy smiled broadly. "Now, come on, let's go grab those seats of ours, the race will probably start soon."

Trevor followed, breathing in a sigh of relief, he simply felt nothing but excitement. They stepped out into the stadium, and Trevor's ears were filled with the roar of excitement from the crowd, his eyes brightening in response. It was madness, but just the right level of madness for him, the kind of madness that made him more than happy. "Our seats should be right around here," Bumblebee pointed to the first row, as Trevor followed him down the row, until they were in the middle, and sat down. "Up-close and personal enough for you?" He teased as Trevor scooted up, his eyes on the racers.

"This is where I wanna be someday, dad," Trevor breathed out. "Someday, I'm gonna be right down there with them. But I never thought I'd get to go here until then," He shook his head. "I'm not even sure I'm ready to handle this level of excitement," He bounced up and down as Bumblebee chuckled at him. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, but you're really adorable when you get excited," Bumblebee replied, his tone jovial and teasing. "Come on, kiddo, I like it. I think it's fun, and I'll get just as excited with you," He then added. "Though I'm guessing this will have nothing on Cybertronian races. Remind me to show you some of my recordings of the races I saw back in the day," He then added. "I even raced once or twice myself."

"You did!?" Trevor asked. "You can teach me!"

"Get your license first," Bumblebee smirked a bit. "Then I'll teach you everything I learned. I wasn't on the circuit a lot, but I can teach you some stuff. Drifting, speed control, the whole nine yards," He explained as Trevor nodded his head rapidly. "But for now, I think this race is about to start." He grinned widely. "Just remember, I'm recording this, so don't go too wild now," He whispered with a wide grin.

"No promises."

As the race, indeed, began, Trevor sat up, and prepared for the excitement to begin. And beside him, Bumblebee simply carefully rubbed Trevor's back, his smile only spreading. Hoping the happiness he had lasted. Because Primus knew that Trevor deserved some happiness after the past few days.

...

The race itself ended up being even more exciting, though Bumblebee mostly watched Trevor. The boy was so excited that you could never tell that just a few days ago, he'd been struggling with his emotions. As a result, the day was spent with lots of excited cheering, popcorn, cotton candy, pretzels, and when Trevor finally had taken in enough, the bathroom. As it ended, Bumblebee was dealing with a very exhausted fifteen year old as they made their way towards the car, the boy seemingly staring off into space and probably daydreaming.

That had only been part of the day though. After that, they had free rein of Vegas, and Bumblebee had taken him sight-seeing. He took him on the New York, New York roller coaster, as well as to one of the shows (with any luck the government wouldn't mind), and a few other activities before calling it a night. Because by the time the show was done, they were both worn out and ready to head out. As a result, they had finally gotten back into his alt mode, and decided to find a place to crash for the night.

Pretty soon, the excited, and overly exhausted boy had his head laid in his lap as Bumblebee drove. They wouldn't be leaving Vegas for the night, so they had time to kill. And so he drove through the streets, finally coming upon a rest stop where they could stay for the night. The others had suggested hotels, but he didn't feel too comfortable with the idea, given there were Decepticons still out there. And Primus forbid Barricade chose to come around now and make an attack on Trevor before he could get to him.

As he parked, he felt the body shift on top of his holoform. Bumblebee smiled, almost in disbelief that it was almost his birthday. It had seemed so far away seven months ago, and now, he knew it was two days away. "You should be sleeping," Bumblebee told him with an amused tone. "You must be exhausted from all the fun you've been having."

"That was crazy awesome," Trevor told him with a smile. "Can we go to the Adventuredome tomorrow? Before we have to leave?"

Bumblebee thought it over, and finally nodded his head. The thought of a carnival like place sound like a lot of fun, actually. Maybe he could even really impress the boy and win him something at one of the games. "Yeah, I think we can squeeze it in. I mean, I'd take you now, but I am wiped," He grunted, leaning his head back. "So, you really enjoyed this? I didn't like, overload you or anything, did I?"

Trevor shook his head, sitting up a little, and laying his head again Bumblebee's shoulder. "That was the best time I've had in forever," Trevor admitted, swallowing a bit. "You didn't have to do that, you know that, right?" Bumblebee tilted his head a little. "Some little present or trinket would have been just as cool," The mech smiled a little. "This is..."

"I wanted you to feel better," Bumblebee replied. "Life's been a load of slag to you lately," He then explained. "And I like to see my son happy. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, do you?" He then chuckled. "Besides, I've been having a lot of fun too. You're forgetting I'm a youngling at spark, I've been having a grand ole time!"

Trevor chuckled slightly, leaning back yet again, his eyes were struggling to stay open. Bumblebee could tell too, as he moved Trevor into a laying position again. "Come on, dad, I'm not even tired," Trevor murmured, his voice suddenly caught. "Man, "dad", that's going to take some getting used to," Bumblebee nodded in agreement. "I'm glad you made it so I could trust you like that though-."

"None of that talk," Bumblebee shook his head. "This trip is purely a smiles only trip, baby boy," He told him with a smile. "But I'm glad you're calling me it too. After hearing it a few times today I wouldn't have it any other way," He then added. "Bee always felt a little formal for my kid to be saying anyway," Trevor shrugged a bit. "What does this mean for Optimus?"

"I'm not sure he's ready to be "grandpa" yet," Trevor shrugged his shoulder. "So he's just Optimus, or Prime for now," He explained, knowing that the words sat better with him for the moment. "I just have to do things in baby steps," He paused a moment, and shifted comfortably. "Mind if I go back to sleep? Because you're right, I'm still really tired."

"Goodnight, Trev."

Bumblebee laid a kiss on top of his son's head at that, leaning back a little. "Love you," Trevor murmured.

"Love you more," Bumblebee teased.

As Trevor drifted back into sleep, the scout took a deep breath, and closed his holoform's eyes. So much had changed in his life in such a short amount of time, a fact which might have scared him before. But now, he really couldn't imagine a world without Trevor. A world where he wasn't a father, and didn't feel the level of love and affection he felt for the boy. And it was for this reason that he thanked Primus every day, as he did now, for putting him in his path. Even in the face of tragedy, he would always feel like this was somehow meant to be.

Soon, he too fell into deep recharge, his body relaxing as he fell deep into the darkness. It had definitely been a fun day, but that was the reason he was going to be very thankful to end it with the two of them, side-by-side, asleep.

...

A/N: A little shorter a chapter, I know. But the next one will be longer. :)