Work Text:
Something between a groan and a very satisfied moan escaped Sam’s lips. His eyes fluttered open to find himself tucked between the shoulder and chest of his bonded’s holoform. He smiled, angling his head slightly to nudge Bee’s chin with the tip of his nose.
“Mhm, mornin’,” he murmured.
“Good morning, love. How are you feeling?”
Sam took a second to actually feel his body, wincing slightly at the dull ache of his backside, there in part to their heated coupling the night before. Despite the pain that was to come later, he regretted nothing of it. He had been working around the clock since their departure from Cybertron, and this trip in particular had proven to be most stressful. In the aftermath, Optimus had ordered everyone to leave Sam alone for an entire week, and much to Sam’s surprise and delight, Bee joined him permanently halfway through the week. Given the rare opportunity, the two of them took advantage of every nanosecond.
“Last night was amazing. I forgot how good you were with those lips of yours.”
He could feel the amusement and possessiveness from the scout’s holoform, followed by a very suggestive remark. However, Sam didn’t pay it any attention, too focused on yawning and stretching himself underneath the covers that just barely concealed his private parts.
They laid like that for a long while, basking in each other’s presence and warmth. Then Sam felt the bed shift. Looking to the side, he caught Bee getting up. Quickly, he hooked a leg around Bee’s, holding firm.
“Don’t go.”
It was their last day before his break was over. Sam wanted nothing more than to spend it there in bed, doing absolutely nothing, because that sounded like heaven, and he was not looking forward to returning to his duties in a little less than twenty-four hours.
“You don’t have to move,” Bee suggested.
Good , Sam said to himself. Because he refused to.
Bee cocked up an eyebrow. “But doesn’t his holiness require his sacred morning drink?”
Sam propped his upper body on bent elbows before gently grabbing at the side of Bee’s face with one hand, pulling the holoform towards him. The scout didn’t need to be told what to do, more than happy to oblige his bonded, kissing Sam deeply. They stayed like that, sucking air out of one another until Sam broke them apart, panting desperately. He was oblivious to the slight twitch in Bee’s eyes.
“Fuck coffee. This holiness demands you stay here and tend to my needs.”
Bee whispered warm air into Sam’s ear. “Tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen.”
Sam couldn’t help the shiver down his spine, considering his options. It technically wasn’t the most strenuous of intimate activity they’ve ever done. He was confident they could go another round. However, his mind instantly jumped back to reality. They weren’t traveling alone. Alongside the Ark’s crew, the bitlets were also with them. If they saw him limping, there would be no telling what they would do. The three sparklings were fiercely protective of him and Sam wasn’t keen on finding out what they’d do to his bonded.
“Turn around,” came a stern voice.
Sam blinked. “What?”
“You heard me, Sam. On your stomach.”
Gulping, Sam followed Bee’s command, a trickle of apprehension pooling in his abdomen. Nothing happened. Then there was a pressure on his lower back, followed by the trailing of skilled hands and elbows. Sam groaned into the bedsheet as Bee worked his muscles, moving to every part of his body like a skillful masseur until he felt practically boneless. It was an hour of pure bliss. Sam couldn’t be more grateful that his bonded knew what he needed, even if he didn’t know himself sometimes.
“You’re welcome.”
Bee proceeded to kiss the top of Sam’s forehead, followed by soft kisses peppered along his neck and shoulders. The overwhelming swell of love, raw and strong, inflated his chest.
Sam eventually hauled himself out of bed, only to plop onto the couch for Bee to finish his ministrations on his feet. Halfway through, Sam and Bee picked up a familiar signature approaching the hab-suite. It glowed a glittering white amethyst tone, warm and subtle.
Sam’s eyes widened, recognizing who it was. Bee peered up from his sitting position, providing his bonded a knowing look when Sam questioned why Clifjumper was coming here. Unless the Ark was on fire, Cliffjumper would never disobey a direct order, especially from Optimus. Sam couldn’t help the trepidation forcing his beating heart to race faster. He only hoped whatever it was--
Bee’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“You needn’t worry,” Bee advised, working his thumb into the ball of Sam’s feet. “You’ll see when they get here.”
Sam knitted his brows together. “They?”
Bee simply smirked. Then, a soft knock resounded against the hab-suite’s entrance.
“JARVIS, who is it?” Sam softly inquired.
Telatraan’s voice softly reverberated throughout the space.
“Waiting outside are Cliffjumper, Solar Flare, Tranquility and Sea Glass.”
Sam threw Bee a quizzical look, wondering what they were doing here--not that he wasn’t happy to see all of them--but he got no answer in response. He huffed and pushed himself onto his feet as Bee re-clothed himself. Sam grabbed his robe from where it had been tossed over the back of the couch and threw it on. He slid on his slippers and walked over to the entrance of their apartment with Bee beside him.
The door slid open, revealing a litany of technicolored plating—reds, blacks, blues, golds, greens and oranges. Behind the bitlets stood Cliffjumper.
Sam didn’t hold back his surprise at the sight of the bitlets, each of them carrying a tray of food. He instantly noticed they were some of his favorite dishes.
“Hi, Sam!” Tranquility greeted. “We brought you breakfast—“
A sharp chirp cut Tranquility off. On his right, Solar Flare warbled meaningfully, as if correcting the other. Tranquility’s optics brightened.
“I mean, lunch! Lunch, uh huh!”
Sam blinked. His face broke into a smile, feeling genuinely touched by their efforts. They had never made Sam food before, only because they were never taught how to. His gaze went to Cliff for the barest moment. The scout winked a blue optic.
“Thank you. You guys didn’t have to do that.”
“But we wanted to!” exclaimed Sea Glass, standing next to Tranquility’s left. Her audial fins glowed a bright green, reminding Sam distinctly of a certain engineer.
“That’s sweet of you, Sea Glass. Come on in.”
Sam ushered them inside and the bitlets surged forward, crowding into the living area and setting the trays on the table in front of the couches. Picking up a fork, Sam speared a piece of chicken mixed in with bell peppers and gravy sauce before popping it in his mouth. It was sweet and spicy, just how he liked it. Sam barely held back the sound of satisfaction, savoring the taste.
“This is so good,” he said. “My compliments to the chefs.”
It was a small compliment, but spoke volumes to the bitlets. They puffed up with pride and bounced happily at his reaction. Cliffjumper sub spaced a bottle of water, setting it aside the other two trays—one filled with fruit and the other a tiny dessert.
“Alright, now let’s give Sam time to eat,” Cliff announced. “Who wants to visit the pea plants in the hydroponics lab?”
Three sets of servos shot up instantly, followed by a flurry of chirps and warbles. Sam brushed his presence over the three of them, earning himself happy trills in return. He watched as the three of them waddled their way out, but not before they all waved goodbye to him.
At the hiss of closed doors, Sam resumed his lunch, finishing it all at a record pace. As he set down his utensil, he couldn’t help the disquiet floating in his chest.
Bee wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulder, placing a chaste kiss on the side of his forehead.
“Y’know I’m proud of you,” Bee said softly.
Sam glanced at his guardian turned best friend turned sparkmate.
“You’re talking about Tranq, Sol and Glass?”
Bee nodded. Sam broke eye contact with the scout, lost in his own thoughts. The nervousness from the beginning of the trip began creeping its way back in, albeit a bit more forceful now that the bitlets were actually, physically on the Ark with him, light years away from Cybertron, from all the other Creators, still too far from Earth, in the middle of cold, dead space.
And there was no going back now.
That thought alone scared Sam the most.
At first, Sam had been adamant about not bringing them, too afraid of how the people of Earth would react to baby Cybertronians roaming their planet. Earth and Cybertron had been on peaceful terms with one another over the past several centuries. But when Sam had returned to Earth and the public had found out about the Allspark’s alterations to his being, many people did not react well. Sam ghosted his fingers over his left clavicle. The bullet wound scar was long gone, but the phantom feel of it still lingered—a subtle reminder of what he had become and what he no longer was.
“What if they react badly?” Sam suddenly asked.
“The bitlets or the people of Earth?”
Sam would be lying to himself if he said one or the other. He was honestly terrified of both.
Bee squeezed his other hand tightly, pushing reassurance into their bond space.
“They will be protected. Security is tightened, we will watch them constantly. They will be safe, I promise.”
Sam smiled tightly at Bee’s promise, yet a piece of his heart remained doubtful. He couldn’t identify the right adjective for what he felt in that moment until his bonded spoke it for him.
“You won’t have to worry.”
Worry. That was a word he had become very accustomed to in all parts of his life—from fighting his grades tooth and nail for his first car to the decision to take the bitlets with him to Earth.
For the barest moment, Sam felt a pang of sadness wash over him when the faces of his mother and father came to view. Was this what they felt when they had no other choice but to let him go, forced to be separated and not knowing what would happen to him? Or all the times when he had been captured by the enemy? Sam was starting to understand exactly how his parents had felt all those years ago. He didn’t realize until now just how strong they were.
Bee proceeded to wrap his presence around Sam’s, enclosing it in a tight embrace.
No other words needed to be exchanged. He would trust Bee, his bonded. There was no need to worry.
He just had to keep telling himself that a million plus times a day.
The remainder of their trip flew by.
Even before the start of their journey, the three bitlets had talked about Sam’s former home planet nonstop. They went as far as to bother each and every bot on the Ark that would stay long enough to listen about what they knew about the blue and green planet.
After Cliffjumper had volunteered to quell their curiosities by making random trips to the hydroponics lab, Sam decided to give them a crash course on Earth in general by devising weekly “class sessions” that would keep them busy until their arrival.
They all took to it like a duck to water—in varying degrees, of course.
Solar Flare was the most studious of them all, constantly typing into his datapad when Sam or any of the other bots taught. He took a particular interest in each country, memorizing their provinces, cities, and going as far as knowing the name of streets, avenues, boulevards, etc. by the third lesson. Tranquility and Sea Glass were excited about pretty much everything. They tried to follow Solar Flare’s example on note taking, but it never remained consistent.
Bringing Hound in for a few lessons revealed Sea Glass’s fitting interest in the ocean. She would go on and on about almost every aquatic animal known to man (at least to Sam’s knowledge) to anyone who would listen to her. She had taken a particular liking to crabs, and Sam could barely contain his amusement when she wrangled an exasperated Sideswipe into an impromptu presentation about the coconut crabs that lived on Diego Garcia. Bluestreak and Cliffjumper would join in on occasion, mainly to help watch over the bitlets. Bee took it upon himself to push Sam on the opalized trolley—a gift from the bitlets: the idea had been Solar Flare’s and it had been decorated by all three of them—to give his bonded better access height-wise to the holographic diagrams of the world map and other things.
Jazz decided to add his own flare to the conference room they had made into a makeshift classroom, dangling small silver disco balls from the ceiling. They were perfect for when Sam would put on Earth music and dance with reckless abandon with the four feet, four hundred pound bitlets. Somehow, “The YMCA” made it into the soundtrack, and it became customary to see the bitlets performing the dance at random while traveling around the Ark, much to everyone’s amusement.
Before they all knew it, the Ark was well on its way into entering the Solar System.
Sam tapped his datapad's screen twice before sliding his finger deftly over to the left, typing furiously into it for a good few minutes. In the background, he could hear the chatter of the other bots spread across the bridge. He vaguely made out Prowl’s monotonous voice talking about Neptune, of which they were inbound to pass. The brunette lifted his head, taking in the view, the task at hand momentarily forgotten. He stared at the ice giant that filled the view-screen. Awe and disbelief washed over him in waves, sending chills down his spine. No matter how many times he had traveled up and down the solar system, no satellite picture on a Google search would ever compare to this.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a grey, blue and green mass waddling towards him at a hasty pace, coming over to him from where she had been tucked under an empty workstation with a datapad of her own. Sea Glass’ colorful plating flared in an excited manner, coupled with chattery warbles. Sam tucked his datapad between the fold of his underarm and stood up just in time as the bitlet collided with his legs and midsection, nearly sending Sam to the ground.
“Hey Sea Glass,” he greeted, stabilizing his footing. He smoothed a hand over the back of her helm affectionately, to which she purred deep in her chassis. The vibration against his chest sent a warm swell to inflate his insides. She looked up at him, her optics shining.
“Sam! Come look!” she exclaimed.
Sam let himself be dragged across to the lower deck, stopping at the farthest part, which gave them a wide view of the open space beyond. Sea Glass let out a series of trills and chirps, pointing a tiny servo towards the planet floating in the distance. Her audial fins glowed a brilliant lime green.
“Sunny said we’d be entering your solar system this cycle. That’s Neptune, right? I heard Prowl just say we were passing it! Neptune has water! Do you think there’s a beach there, too?”
Sam chuckled. “I don’t think so, sweetspark. Neptune’s full of ice and gas. Water too, but there’s not enough land for a beach.”
“Oh.”
The two fins flattened against her head, the bright green tone replaced with a pale lavender. Sam internally panicked. Light purple meant Sea Glass was sad, and a sad bitlet was something Sam wanted to avoid on this trip like the plague. Quickly, Sam silently pinged for a status update to everyone nearby while distracting the little bitlet.
“What’s wrong, Glass?”
Sea Glass pouted her lip plates, suddenly finding interest in the floor. “I just want to see a beach. It sounds so pretty.”
Sam crouched down, gently stroking the side of her face plates.
“When we get there, I promise you can visit the beach all you want. Just as long as you’re with a grown up at all times. No wandering around on your own. You’re going to have a blast.”
Sam hummed approvingly at her eventual nod. His mind brightened at the receival of a return ping.
//ETA twenty-four hours, thirty-seven minutes to Earth.//
Sam sent back thanks and appreciation for the speedy response.
“And guess what? One more solar cycle and we’ll be there. You just got to be a bit more patient. Can you do that for me, Glass?”
The light purple that was there moments ago brightened back to a light green.
She gasped. “Really? Okay! I will! You’ll come swim with me, right? And look for shells and crabs and starfish in the sand? Oh! And urchins and clams, too! Please? Pretty please?”
He chuckled. “Of course, Glass. I’d love to.”
Sea Glass bounced on her pedes as Sam continued listening to her babble about the sharks Hound had taught them about earlier in the week.
Sometime later, the bridge entrance hissed open, revealing a black and yellow mechanoid. Sam locked eyes with the newcomer, flashing a smile when his bonded brushed affectionately against his mind.
//Hey you.//
//Hey beautiful.//
The scout ambled over to the pair. His gears shifted as he crouched beside them, running a digit across Sea Glass’ back. The bitlet trilled back.
//How are they?//
Bee acknowledged Sam’s question with a light bump as he simultaneously played with Sea Glass.
//Cliff and Sunstreaker are watching over the other two. Ratchet can’t wait to get them out of his medbay.//
Sam smirked at the mention of his own Creator. The medic sang his disapproval with the bitlets being near his tools, but Sam didn’t want them meandering around the Ark and getting lost or hurt, especially with how sensitive they still were during their early molting stage. Sam still worried over their safety on a completely new planet. He wouldn’t have the assistance of all the other creators, which left Ratchet, Bee, Cliff, Sunstreaker, Hound and Hot Rod as their main caretakers, with only two actual creators amongst them.
Bee’s voice resonated inside his head, interrupting his thoughts.
//Ratchet wants to see Sea Glass, now preferably. We need to prepare them for arrival.//
Sam nodded, also pushing acknowledgement back towards the scout and to Ratchet, if he was listening in on them. He rubbed the underside of Sea Glass’ audial fins gently.
“Glass, do you wanna go join Sol and Tranq? I think they’re lonely without you.”
The bitlet looked between the two of them and nodded, bouncing on her pedes. “Yes, please!”
Bee backed himself up before transforming into his alt mode, popping open one of his doors. Sam took Sea Glass’ servo--still smaller than his own hand, but just barely--and they settled themselves inside Bee’s backseat. Bee’s door clicked shut, and the Camaro sped out of the bridge, heading towards medbay.
The final leg of their arrival to Earth went smoothly for the most part. As soon as the Ark landed, Sam went with Optimus and Bumblebee to go meet with Claudia Mendez, the current Chief of Staff, while the other Autobots unloaded the supplies off the loading dock. Cliffjumper, Ratchet, and Sunstreaker tended to the bitlets. The three little bots ventured down the ramp a bit ahead of their caretakers, vocalizing excitedly as they took in the island, and Earth, for the first time.
It really didn’t take long for things to go haywire.
One of the support staff that was stationed near the space ship caught sight of the bitlets and exclaimed in surprise. Sea Glass startled at the shout and panicked. She shrieked and bolted, hiding behind Sunstreaker’s legs, crying as she clutched at his golden yellow armor for dear life. Solar Flare and Tranquility backed themselves close to her, flaring their plating in a menacing display. The soldier that had been standing by the staff member that had shouted made a motion as if to grab for his weapon, and Sunstreaker bristled in fury, his vocalizer crackling in explosive outrage. He activated his plasma cannon, swiping the glowing point at the NEST soldiers. The other soldiers shouted in surprise, and quicker than a blink there were guns out and trained on Sunstreaker.
Ratchet immediately came from behind the younger Autobot and proceeded to grab his weaponized arm, pointing it towards the sky. He twisted it at an uncomfortable angle, far enough to force Sunstreaker onto one knee. Cliffjumper quickly gathered Sea Glass into his servos, pressing her tightly against his chassis.
A yellow and black Camaro sped towards them, its tires screeched to a stop. Sam burst out of the driver’s side, eyes wide, mouth agape at the chaos greeting him in the middle of the airfield. Mendez exited Bumblee’s alt mode from the passenger’s side before the scout initiated his transformation sequence, standing at his full height in seconds. The sound of three very upset bitlets made Sam’s stomach churn and when he spotted Sea Glass clutching the chest plates of Cliffjumper’s chassis, lubricant dripping from her optics, Sam saw red.
“Get away from them! NOW!” he bellowed. Sam angrily pushed his way through the mass of people, at least those who weren’t quick enough to heed his warning, and people stumbled out of his way.
Mendez barked at the soldiers. “Lower your weapons this instant! You have your orders! At ease!”
Sam ran towards Hound, who had gathered up Solar Flare and Tranquility and moved them away from the milling soldiers, Sunstreaker, and Ratchet, ignoring the burning in his chest. He crouched down in front of them, inspecting them both thoroughly, searching for any scrapes or dents. They calmed at Sam’s presence, lessening the flare of their armored plating.
“You are two okay?”
The two of them nodded in unison. Tranquility, whose golden horns gleamed softly against the sunlight, jutted a grey servo to the group of humans.
“It scared Sea Glass!” he exclaimed, glaring daggers at that one particular human.
Satisfied with his findings, Sam sent a glare of his own at the source of his bitlets’ distress. The civilian gulped nervously under Sam’s intense stare, understanding the message full and clear.
Cliffjumper approached, slowly crouching with Sea Glass still held securely in his servos. Sam moved to gently caress the back of her helm, perturbed by her shakiness. He frowned at the burnt orange tone that colored her fins.
“Hey, Glass,” Sam whispered. “It’s me.”
The bitlet didn’t move for a long while, and neither did Sam. It took a several minutes of gentle caresses and whispers of soft nothings until she finally budged. And when she did, Sea Glass latched the top half of her body onto Sam’s, crying into his shoulder. Despite the tightness of her hold, Sam returned the embrace. He nodded to Cliffjumper, brushing appreciation towards the scout. Cliff nodded back once, his servos still holding the bottom half of her firmly. There were so many times Sam wished he could simply cradle them in his arms like a human baby, and this was definitely one of them.
“It’s okay. We’re here. Everything’s going to be okay.”
An equivalent of a hiccup escaped the bitlet’s airways. It rocked Sam on his feet, but he didn’t mind. An indeterminate amount of time later, she was calm enough for them to move. Her audial fins had brightened to a soft red. Sam opened his mouth to speak, but not in time. Sunstreaker had freed himself from Ratchet’s hold, still warbling angrily in Cybertronian at the medic, who snapped back just as heatedly. The yellow mech stalked his way towards them. His blue optics were bright with emotion as he took Sea Glass from Sam and Cliffjumper’s hold.
“Are they alright?”
Sam twisted around to face NEST’s current chief of staff. He offered her a tight smile, opening his mouth to speak but words wouldn’t formulate. She squeezed his shoulder, an understanding expression on her face. Sam didn’t realize until that moment that he was shivering from head to toe.
He started. “I’m sorry--”
“Don’t be,” she cut him off. “Tend to your people first. These other matters can wait.”
Sam nodded his thanks.
It took a little while longer for the bitlets to be calm enough to move again. Bee gathered up Solar Flare and Tranquility, while Sea Glass stayed with Sunstreaker. Together, the Cybertronians, led by Sam, made their way into the underground base. Most of the island’s inhabitants saluted as they passed, but didn’t dare to make eye contact.
Sam was just fine with that.
As the first week passed by, Sam couldn’t be more thankful for the relative peace that came with it. The Autobots made themselves at home, hunkering down in West Quad while Sam returned to his apartment in North Quad. Every time he entered the familiar living space, he began to feel detached towards it. It didn’t feel anything like his apartment back on Cybertron. Earth was becoming more and more alien to him.
Despite the part of him that was afraid of this notion, the other part of him told him to embrace it fully. Everyone he knew from before was gone--his mother, father, nana, Will, Mikaela, Dave…
Sam was spurred into a moment of sadness at the pang that hit him heavy in the heart. Dave in particular had been a dear friend since the beginning and when he learned of his passing, lightyears apart, Sam had cried for days. He made a mental note to visit Carter’s grave before he left Earth again. They had a lot to catch up on, he smiled sadly to himself.
Sam made sure to check in on the bitlets at every opportunity he could snatch, worried they’d have a hard time adjusting. However, they settled in rather quickly, playing around in one of the empty hangers under Sunstreaker or Cliffjumper’s supervision. Every time they saw him in the morning, the trio would flare their plating and emit a chime that sounded awfully similar to his coffee machine. This had caused several head turns from the other residents of the island, but Sam didn’t pay them any mind and neither did the bots. Sam made sure to kiss each of their helms before heading off to his first meeting.
The NEST soldiers and civilian staff who were permitted to be around them would awe and coo at their antics. Hot Rod became the target of Ratchet’s scolding, being blamed for the misplacement of his tools. Roddy shot Solar Flare a couple dirty looks, but the red and gold bitlet merely blinked back innocently. Meanwhile, Tranquility busied himself with Sea Glass, playing together with her at every opportunity they had. Sam was thankful for this. Sea Glass was now back to her usual self, laughing and warbling happily with her creche mate. It was night and day compared to how she was a few days ago.
It didn’t take long for the three bitlets to begin gaining popularity amongst the island as the “cutest things they’d ever seen.” Sam couldn’t agree more.
The topic of the beach had been brought up a few times. Sam, struggling with his overloaded schedule, was finally able to squeeze in a day to spend time with the bitlets on July 4th weekend, which worked out perfectly. They would get to see fireworks that night too--Bee had made arrangements for that--and they would have the entire day to play outside in the waters.
Sea Glass beamed, jumping up and down. Tranquility ran around excitedly, gathering empty canisters to build the sand castles he’d been reading up on with Sea Glass. Solar Flare merely shrugged, although Sam could feel the curiosity emitted from his EM field.
Finally, the day came.
Beachcomber, Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, and Hot Rod headed out first to get everything set up. Sam was applying the last bits of sunscreen to his tanned skin when he paused, sensing a cluster of sparks nearby. He turned, finding the bitlets peeking from behind the door frame, huddled together like a pack of penguins.
“You guys ready?” he called out.
They chimed in unison. Solar Flare stepped away from the group first, angling his head curiously.
“Why are you applying that to your outer shell? What is it?” he asked, reaching out to touch at a streak of the lotion that Sam hadn’t had a chance to rub into his arm yet.
“It’s sunscreen. It's so that I don’t get sunburned,” Sam explained.
Solar Flare narrowed his red optics. “The sun hurts you?”
Sam shrugged. “Some of us, yes. It’s a precautionary step. Too much sun exposure isn’t good for humans.”
The bitlets looked between one another, speaking silently amongst themselves. Sam brought his brows together. He knew what they were doing. He grabbed his towel, beelining towards the group.
“Who wants to go in the water first?”
Tranquility and Sea Glass snapped their helms forward, shooting their hands up first. “Me! Me!”
“Alright, whoever meets Bee in the hangar now gets first dibs!”
He didn’t have to wait a second longer. There was a cacophony of shifting metal, and blurs of blue, green and gold raced out into the hallway. Solar Flare gave him a quick glance before transforming and chasing after the other two. Sam chuckled at their receding shouts, pinging his bonded on the incoming company.
About thirty minutes later, they arrived at Barton Point. Bee slowed to a stop, allowing Sam and the bitlets to clamor out of his cabin before initiating his transformation sequence. Sunstreaker was already making his way over, cooing at his sparkling. She trilled back in greeting. The other two head over to where Cliffjumper and Bluestreak were, pails and shovels already at hand.
Tranquility chirped for Sea Glass to come over, but the femme didn’t hear him. Instead, she stared transfixed at a red and blue creature a few feet away. It had ten jointed legs and two large pincer-like claws. The creature ambled slowly across the sand, its legs moving in pairs. Sea Glass gazed up towards her Creator, optics wide.
“It’s as big as me!” She tilted her head, inching closer to the creature, which froze as it watched her approach. “That’s a coconut crab?”
“That’s a coconut crab,” Sunstreaker confirmed, crouching beside her and putting a servo on her shoulder to keep her from moving closer to the crab. “You gotta treat the crabs gently, like you treat Sam. He seems to be a little scared of you, so let’s just look from here, not touch.”
The golden mech stayed there, patiently waiting while Sea Glass took in her fill of the crustacean. After the crab scurried away, Sea Glass turned back to the rest of the beach and quickly stumbled upon a variety of sea shells, each ranging in size and color. She held them in her servos as if they were the most precious things in the universe, before gently placing each one into the little plastic bucket they had brought with them. When they finally made it to the shoreline, she backed up instinctually at the incoming rise of water. She watched it recede before taking a cautious step closer, one after the other. She wiggled a pede curiously, feeling something hard. She knelt and pushed the sand away from where she had stepped, and gasped as she saw a shiny shell wedged down into the sand. She delicately picked it up and stood, making to turn around to show it to Sunstreaker when a wave of ocean water hit her square in the face. She whistled in surprise and stumbled backwards, sending her plopping onto her aft.
It took her a moment to realize what just happened. She bounced right back up, exploding into static and whistles.
“I want to try that again! Can I?”
Sunstreaker joined her, smiling and enjoying himself at the happy cackle of his sparkling.
Not too far away, Tranquility and Solar Flare were making their sandcastles. Solar Flare had a concentrated expression as he molded his side together while Tranquility’s… wasn’t looking so hot.
Sam watched them, smiling ear to ear. He couldn’t help the swell of fondness swell inside his stomach at the sight of his bitlets happy and having fun. He set aside his sunglasses, and ran to join Sea Glass and Sunstreaker.
“Sam!” she exclaimed. “Let’s go in the water now! Come on!” Shrieks filled the air as splashes were traded back and forth. Sam nearly got knocked over when Tranquility and Solar Flare jumped in. It soon became a three versus one splash battle, and Sam was losing terribly.
Hot Rod and Bee soon joined the group while Cliff stayed with Beachcomber and Bluestreak, guarding the unfinished sand castles, Sam’s belongings, and their lunch.
Hours into their play they called for a break. Bee helped Sam back to shore. Sea Glass took the opportunity to show Sam the shells she had collected earlier in the day. Sam oohed and ahed at every shell she handed to him.
“Hey, Glassy. Wanna try something?”
Sea Glass peeked her helm up at Hot Rod’s call. She trotted over to the cavalier, tilting her helm sideways. Just as she set down her pail of newly found treasures, Sea Glass found herself scooped up inside Roddy’s servos. The next thing she knew, Sea Glass found herself airborne for a matter of seconds right before hitting the ocean’s surface with a loud splash.
Sam and every other bot present froze, wearing horrified expressions realizing what just happened. Hot Rod, on the other hand, wore the largest shit eating grin on his face.
Sam’s heart stopped, hit by a deja vu moment.
“Hot Rod,” he said, aghast, “ Why did you do that?”
Hot Rod shrugged. “You said don’t throw humans, not other mechs, Sammy. She’ll love it, watch.”
Bee and Cliff strode quickly into the water, chirping in Cybertronian, desperately searching for the missing bitlet. Sunstreaker lunged at Hot Rod, punching the mech hard enough to dent his chest plate from the force. Anger roiled off him in waves.
“Are you glitched?! You threw my bitlet into the ocean! I swear to Primus, Hot Rod, I’m going to melt you down for spare parts --!”
Sunstreaker froze, feeling a spike of his sparkling’s signature. He twisted around just in time to see Sea Glass bop her head up above the surface, closer to the shore from where she had landed. She waved her servos just as Bumblebee scooped her up, shaking off the excess water like a dog. Her voice bellowed loudly across the clearing.
“Hot Rod, I wanna do that again! That was FUN!” she exclaimed loudly.
Sam felt himself cold sweat while Sunstreaker swore something inside his processor short circuited. He wasn’t sure whether it was from relief or abject horror. Hot Rod threw his head back, laughing at their antics. Sunstreaker snapped out of his daze, conking Roddy hard on the helm.
“No way! We get a turn first!” Tranquility said, and they turned to see him and Solar Flare running towards Hot Rod and Sunstreaker.
“Yeah, us next!” Solar Flare said, already tapping at Hot Rod’s legs and making an ‘up’ gesture with his arms. “Did you see how big that splash was? I want to make a splash like that!”
“Biggest splash wins?” Tranquility asked, crowding around Hot Rod’s other leg.
Sea Glass was deposited back into the white sand, joining the end of the line. “This is so much fun! Sunny, will you throw me in this time?”
For the remainder of the afternoon, the golden mech was forced to watch his bitlet get thrown into the ocean, his spark nearly falling out of his casing each time she went airborne.
Sam came to join him, smiling up towards the mech. He didn’t need words to understand what the young Prime wanted to say.
A heavy ex-vent left his intakes.
As long as the bitlets were happy…
At the end of the night, the bitlets were huddled around a firepit made by Hound and Sam. Solar Flare was quietly playing with his datapad while Tranquility was attempting to stay awake, leaving Sea Glass the more active of the three sparklings. She was crouched a little ways away from the bonfire, arranging shells and rocks in the sand. She placed her final shell, stood up to examine her work, and nodded.
“Sam, Sam, come look at what I made!” Sam got up to his feet, trailing behind her as she led him back over to her workspot. He gasped.
There in the sand were all the shells she had collected earlier, outlining the shape of a heart. Inside the heart were three large letters that spelled his name.
He proceeded to hug the bitlet, thanking her.
“It’s beautiful. I love it.”
Sam snapped a picture of her creation while Sea Glass recorded the happiness that radiated off of Sam and his features. She loved happy Sam. It made her happy, too.
An explosion in the air caught their attention and Tranquility jumped awake at the noise. They looked up to find the sky alight with colorful fireworks brightening the night darkness beautifully.
Solar Flare stopped what he was doing in awe of the fireworks, and Sea Glass looked transfixed at the colorful display. Sam gathered them together as they sat and watched the exploding lights for the remainder of the night, enjoying each other’s presence. Bee, Sunstreaker, Beachcomber, Hound, Cliff and Bluestreak sat there with them, relishing in the peaceful moment.
Sam squeezed Bee’s hand, reiterating his thanks from many months ago. Nothing could describe the love and happiness Sam felt in that moment.
//Thank you for having them here with us.//
//You’re welcome. Anything for you.//
//I love you so much.//
Bee’s optics brightened, and his holoform squeezed Sam’s hand back.
//I love you more.//