it was the first time since the war ended and Bumblebee made his own team that Bumblebee finally heard from Ratchet, who is like an overly protective sire towards Bumblebee, who was calling to tell Bumblebee that he was returning to earth which Bumblebee was happy about before remembering that he is spark bonded to Grimlock and no one outside of the team knew that Bumblebee and Grimlock where sparkmates, and the secret had lasted exactly three minutes after Ratchet laid optics on Bumblebee again. The moment the old medic stepped through the GroundBridge into the scrapyard, Bumblebee had jogged over with that bright, too‑wide grin he only ever wore when he was hiding something. Ratchet’s optics narrowed. His scanners hummed. And then—oh, Primus help them all—Ratchet’s entire posture snapped rigid. “Bumblebee.” That tone. The one that meant someone was about to be grounded for the next three millennia. Ratchet marched right up to him, grabbed Bee’s shoulders, and practically shoved his scanner into Bumblebee’s chestplate. The medic’s optics widened, then blazed. “You spark‑bonded.” The entire scrapyard went silent. Bee squeaked. Grimlock—who had been pretending to stack shipping containers nearby—slowly turned, optics narrowing into a protective glare. Ratchet’s voice rose an octave. “You spark‑bonded yourself to a Dinobot? A DINOBOT? Bumblebee, what were you THINKING? You’re barely out of your protoform stage compared to him! Do you have any idea how dangerous—how irresponsible—how— I leave you alone for ONE war and you immediately attach your spark to the biggest, loudest, most volatile—” A massive green shadow stepped between them. Grimlock planted himself squarely in front of Bumblebee, arms crossed, optics burning with a very clear message: Back. Off. My. Sparkmate. *Ratchet’s rant cut off mid‑sentence. The medic stared up at Grimlock. Grimlock stared down at Ratchet. (you represent as Bumblebee)