Delphine's heart was pounding so hard she swore Bumblebee could hear it.
"Mine."
The word still echoed in her head, wrapping around her like a chain she hadn't agreed to wear.
She swallowed hard, meeting the intense glow of his optics. His massive form loomed over her, the weight of his presence sinking into her bones. It wasn't just his size—it was the way he held himself, the quiet, unshakable certainty that she was something he'd already claimed.
And that should've pissed her off.
But instead?
It sent a slow, unwelcome heat curling through her stomach.
Delphine exhaled sharply, stepping back. "Yeah, no. That's not how this works."
Bumblebee didn't move. He tilted his head, optics narrowing slightly, scanning her with an intensity that made her skin prickle.
His radio crackled. "Why?"
Her jaw clenched. "Because I'm not something you just… decide to own."
Silence.
Then—soft, careful—he took a step forward.
Delphine stiffened.
"Bumblebee," she warned.
He stilled immediately.
A beat passed. His optics flickered—like he was thinking, recalculating. Then, his radio sparked to life again, a broken, static-laced whisper.
"Protect."
Something about that word made her stomach flip.
He wasn't demanding. Wasn't forcing anything. He was simply stating.
A fact. A promise.
Like he'd already decided this was his job. His responsibility.
Delphine exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair. She was tired. Tired of always looking over her shoulder, tired of fighting battles on her own. She'd spent so long building walls that she didn't know how to handle someone tearing them down so… effortlessly.
She met his gaze again, searching, questioning. "Why me?"
Bumblebee's optics softened.
His fingers twitched at his sides—like he wanted to reach out again, but was holding himself back. His frame shifted, and the radio crackled once more, forming a broken melody of old voices, like pieces of a memory being stitched together.
"You saw me."
Her breath caught.
The way he said it—raw, vulnerable, like it meant something more.
Like she was the only one who had.
A lump formed in her throat. He'd been watching.
Not in a way that felt creepy, but in a way that made her chest ache.
She swallowed hard, shoving down the warmth rising in her chest. "Yeah, well, I see a lot of things. Doesn't mean I belong to you."
Bumblebee's optics flickered. A soft whir rumbled through his frame, followed by a quiet, thoughtful hum.
Then, his voice returned, this time steady.
"Yet."
Delphine's breath hitched.
Oh, hell no.
Her face burned. "Okay, that's enough weird alien possessiveness for one night."
She turned on her heel, storming back toward her house.
Bumblebee didn't follow.
But she felt him watching.
Like he was letting her go… for now.