Combustion

Oh my god… I know it's weird but I just could NOT get this pairing out of my head. It's INSANE:) and yet, here I am actually writing one.

Personally I'd never even thought about the concept before. Transformers were always just cool, big ass robots to me, but after seeing the movie I felt like reading some fanfiction and ran into a story with a Bumblebee/Sam pairing.

My first thought was… "that's just weird – 30 foot robot, 5-6 foot boy…", but it was actually really good, and the more I thought about it the more it occurred to me that they do both really seem into each other :D So forgetting the question of sex and other stuff it could really just be a story about love that isn't necessarily about the physical.

So I suppose you could call it SLASH… you know, if you consider bumblebee to be a guy. Which I do, since, you know, he IS a guy.

Chapter 1

The sounding of the horn was a loud blast in the afternoon air, disturbing the quiet of suburbia with a loud mechanised trumpet. With a grin, Sam leapt up from his computer and hastily threw on a shirt, barely pausing long enough to do up most of the buttons. Without stopping he bent over and grabbed his sneakers as he headed out the bedroom door, dropping his phone and wallet into them, then bounding down the stairs two at a time.

As he reached the bottom he saw his parents in the living room, anxiously staring out at the front yard through the drapes, looking almost exactly like a nosy couple spying on their neighbours. Of course they weren't really looking at the neighbours at all. If they had been Sam wouldn't have cared. Now though he let out an exasperated breath.

"He's not going to suddenly go on a rampage and kill everyone you know." They jumped what looked like a foot in the air, like a couple of teenagers caught sneaking out after curfew.

"You could always go out and say hello." His dad fidgeted and cleared his throat while his mother peered from behind his shoulder. Trust her to be able to face down armed government agents but be unable to handle that her son drove a robotic car.

"Now son, I know you trust it, but your mother and I; well we just can't be so accepting. At least not yet. It's all a little too much to grasp. I mean, talking to a car." Sam rolled his eyes at them, a slight grin on his face. He supposed anyone who hadn't been directly involved in the recent battle couldn't truly accept the concept of the Autobots and Decepticons. They'd never seen Bumblebee transform afterall, though the government had been nice enough to include them in the debriefing. Apparently they seemed to have blocked out most of it however, and decided that his companion must have just been an advanced robotic car.

"It's a He dad. And He saved my life and incidentally yours. You might show a little gratitude and at least be civil to him." His father appeared ready to debate or comment further, but the doorbell rang with a suddenness that made them all jump. It had only been a few weeks since the "terrorist bombing" incident had occurred, and they were all still a little on edge about who or what might come knocking at their door. As he set his eye to the peephole however he let out a relieved sigh.

"It's Mikaela." Behind him he could swear his parents brightened instantly, Bumblebee and the Transformers instantly forgotten with the reminder that their son had met a girl. He grimaced, his stomach suddenly feeling a little unsettled, and opened the door with a click. Mikaela was standing there in a pair of tight jeans and a very snug top, though surprisingly for her there was no flesh exposed around her midriff. She looked dressed up, and Sam suddenly got a sinking feeling.

"Hey Mikaela. Um. What's up?" Within a second her expression had changed from happy to amused acceptance.

"You completely forgot didn't you?" Sam's brain whirled as he desperately tried to remember what he'd forgotten. If he'd been a transformer he was sure the clicking and whirring would be audible from a block away. Of course transformers probably didn't forget things at all, what with being computers. He'd have to remember to ask Bumblebee about it sometime. Imagine what memories he must have. Space, other worlds, other people. It really was quite fasci…

A throat cleared in front of him, reminding him that Mikaela was still there, and his parents were still standing behind him, staring.

"Uh… Sorry?" He figured it was always good to start with an apology.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine Sam. We can still make the movie. You ready to go?" Blood rushed to his face as he blushed with embarrassment, looking down at the floor in an attempt to hide it.

"Actually, well, you see. Um… B and I have plans." A frown appeared on Mikaela's forehead then, filtering down over the rest of her, until she was standing there with her hands on her hips. The expression though, thankfully, was more disappointment than anger.

"They're having an open day over at Fairfield race track, today only, so, well, me and B were gonna head over and do some laps…" his voice faded out as he saw her start to smile again, a slightly sardonic edge to it that sent a rush of nervousness through him. It reminded him suddenly of the day he'd invited her into his car. He didn't need to look behind him to feel the disapproval from his parents. It scorched him like a heat on his back, almost like a voice saying 'don't blow it with this girl, you'll never do better.' The sad thing was he agreed with them, he probably couldn't ever do better. Standing there in front of him she looked fantastic, everything a football quarterback had hanging off his arm and everything a normal guy (wet) dreamed of.

For some reason however, it no longer excited him like it did at the start. Maybe it was because right now, behind her, was an alien robot disguised as a car. An alien robot who, for some reason, liked hanging around with him. The same one who had even asked if he could stay with him, when he could have been with the other Autobots. His insides twisted with indecision and his mouth opened and closed without sound. His brain told him that the decision really shouldn't be that difficult. Hot girl, date, movie, the choice seemed obvious. But deep down he found he really didn't want to go. Not because he didn't like Mikaela, he did, but because that would mean 2 hours of Bumblebee sitting in a parking garage while he fretted in the theatre about him. Then it would mean Bumblebee sitting in either his driveway or Mikaela's as they hung out together afterwards, and then finally sitting all night in the driveway while he slept. It really wasn't very fair at all to a guy who had saved his life and protected him through the whole recent debacle.

Plus dating was hard work, he'd have to be entertaining, witty, interesting. Sure Mikaela probably knew by now that he wasn't those things but it still felt as though he should be. He'd have to sit there wondering whether he should hold her hand. Was he meant to say something funny to a remark onscreen? Did she want him to hug her when the hero dies and leaves his wife alone? Was his hand too sweaty? Did she want some of his popcorn? Was she too cold? Too hot? He really wanted the simplicity that he had with Bumblebee today. Just the two of them, together, enjoying each other's company and the feel of the road as they flew along.

And he got that feeling then that had hit him a few times since he and Mikaela had been together, that one that told him it wasn't supposed to be this hard for two people. Most couples ended up sharing their friends and time when they got together, but that didn't seem to be working here. Whenever he was with the two of them together there was a kind of awkwardness that fell across both of them, as though his car and his girlfriend weren't quite comfortable around each other. He'd asked Bumblebee about it once, to which the car had responded only by saying "you are my driver Sam." The comment had done exactly nothing towards clearing up what the problem was, and Mikaela wasn't any help either. In fact she'd been even less helpful, only stating that "the two of us get on great. We just have conflicting interests."

He didn't know what they were fighting about, or even if they were actually fighting. They never yelled, never argued, but somehow it felt like they were in competition over something, and he was always having to choose one or the other. He didn't understand, and it left him feeling terrible. Every time he chose to hang out with Bumblebee it seemed he was letting everyone else down. He really didn't want to disappoint Mikaela, or his parents, but wasn't there supposed to be more when you were with someone than just doing what made everyone else happy?

"It's fine Sam. We can forget the movie." Her voice was soft and understanding, the smile she gave completely without anger or bitterness. He looked up at her in relief, and let out an anxious breath. He stepped out the door as she stepped to the side, following him down the front stairs to where Bumblebee was sitting brightly in the driveway waiting.

"Thanks Mikaela. I really appreciate it. We can go see the movie another time yeah?" She nodded beside him, holding his phone and wallet as he awkwardly pulled his shoes on while standing up.

"Sure Sam. I'd love to." He stretched out his hand, taking back the items and turning towards the car, the engine already running in anticipation.

"So can I come with, to the track?" Sam froze, slowly pivoting towards her, his mouth moving like a fish again. He could see his parents standing in the still open front door watching the whole scene, and desperately just wanted to jump into Bumblebee and be off before this got any worse. He emitted a few unintelligible noises which could have meant anything, and then Bumblebee revved beside him, the vibrations travelling straight up his spine like the brush of fingers.

"Uh, B and I really wanted to just hang out by ourselves today." The words left his mouth without conscious thought, a response to the refusal he sensed in the engine purr beside him. The driver's door opened with a click, swinging wide, an invitation for Sam to get in. The passenger's door however, stayed firmly closed.

"I'll chat to you tonight huh?" He'd barely uttered the words before the door slammed shut again, sealing him inside. He leant heavily back into the leather seat, banging his head into the headrest in frustration. Surrounding him, he felt B gun it out of the driveway, and he looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Mikaela in the mirror. Surprisingly she didn't seem upset in the least, in fact her smile was almost self-satisfied, like Sylvester when he caught Tweety. He closed his eyes and banged his head back into the seat again.

"Stupid. Stupid." He didn't know what he'd been thinking, turning down Mikaela and the movie, a couple of months ago he'd have driven his car off a cliff to impress her. He'd just changed so much since then, as, no doubt, had she, and things seemed different. He no longer felt the urge to prove himself to her, no longer feeling as though he was unworthy of her attention. They'd been through hell together and come out the other end in one piece. Maybe that had changed their potential feelings. He no longer saw her as a perfect, unattainable symbol as she used to be, but more as a fellow person, flawed and chaotic as he was. Maybe it had just been the allure of the forbidden that had drawn him to her in the first place. He ran a hand over the steering wheel, feeling the soft leather that encased it.

"Am I an idiot B? Have I just screwed up majorly?" The dash in front of him lit up as the radio came on, breaking the silence of the cabin. The station was one he probably wouldn't have listened to normally, soft and lyrical.

"And she will always carry on, something is lost, but something is found.
They will keep on speaking her name, some things change, some stay the same."

He didn't know why B still chose to use the radio while in car form, but the song was soothing, so he sank back into the leather. His companion was right. Things always changed; people, places, they were all subject to time and distance. Maybe he and Mikaela had simply passed the point where they could be more than friends. He turned to watch the scenery flying by outside the window and smiled at his reflection. Sitting here, safe inside B, knowing the autobot would do anything for him, as he would in return, thoughts of being with Mikaela didn't seem as important as before.

His parents would be so disappointed.

Fin