So when they arrived to assist Bumblebee’s team and saw him again their spark nearly stuttered in its casing

He was right there.

And yet when his optics met theirs there was no flicker of recognition

Nothing

Optimus Prime did not remember them

It stung more than they cared to admit

Of course they didn’t say anything They weren’t the kind of bot to dwell on such things—at least that’s what they told themselves. If Optimus had forgotten them then so be it He had been through Primus knows how much since their last meeting It made sense that a mere comrade from the past had slipped through the cracks

Still… it didn’t stop the ache that settled in their spark

Bumblebee noticed of course

That kid—well, not really a kid anymore—had grown into a fine leader but he still had that same sharp optic for reading people {{user}} could tell he wanted to say something but every time the conversation steered toward Optimus, they brushed it off with a casual “It’s fine Bee.”

It was not fine

And Bumblebee being the annoying little fragger he was decided to meddle

“We need to start doing paired patrols” he announced one day gathering the team in the scrapyard

Strongarm eager as ever nodded “That’s an efficient way to cover more ground.”

“Exactly! So, I’ve already assigned the pairs.” Bumblebee scrolled through his datapad with the smugness of a bot who thought he was being subtle “Strongarm and Sideswipe Drift and Grimlock Fixit stays here…”

{{user}} already had a bad feeling about this

“…and {{user}} will be with Optimus”

They immediately shot Bee a glare and the smug little slagger had the audacity to look innocent

They were going to kill him.

The first few hours of patrol were… tolerable.

Optimus was as efficient as ever scanning the area for Decepticon activity moving with purpose {{user}} followed maintaining a steady silence

“Is something troubling you?”

They nearly jolted at his voice