Song-speech
I present a light little drabble, wherein Mikeala knows stuff and Sam is silent.
Mikeala is drumming her fingers against the hood, staring ahead at the view from the overlook. Beside her, Sam is lounging back, tracing lines on the metal with a finger without realizing he is. It’s become such a habit, he doesn’t think about it at all anymore. He just likes how Bee purrs softly when he does it. Mikeala’s silent, but he’s gotten used to that, too, especially at the overlook. It’s either that, or, well, yeah. But today she’s obviously not in the mood, so he’s not going to push. Besides, he’s content enough just enjoying the sun and Bee’s soft rumbling underneath his hands.
Mikeala shifts and sits up a little straighter with a deep, resigned sigh. Sam totally misses the warning signs.
“Guys, we need to talk,” she announces, her voice resolutely serious.
Sam can only blink at her, feeling a tiny butterfly of dread flutter somewhere in his chest. That didn’t sound too good.
She raps on Bee’s hood with a knuckle, and she’s still damn serious. “That includes you.”
The Autobot switches radio channels. ‘What’s this? There’s something very wrong.’ The cheerfulness of the song doesn’t fit, but Sam knows well that Bumblebee can’t always be too picky with his choice of music. The lyrics do the job.
Now Sam’s becoming truly alarmed. He straightens slowly. “What he said. What’s going on?” He thinks he might know. He’s aware of what might be wrong as much as he feels guilty for it.
Mikeala takes a deep breath, stares at both of them, and finally exhales in another sigh. “You two. That’s what’s going on.”
“What’s wrong with us?” But Sam can guess. The little extra attention he’s been giving Bumblebee, the extra time. But what can he do, his car’s become his best friend. He swallows, trying not to let it show. Maybe it’s something else. He shouldn’t blow it now.
Bumblebee seems to want explanations just as much. ‘Just wanna hear you say something that you believe to be true,’ replaces the white noise.
“I’m not blind, you know. I see what’s going on. You care more for your car than for me,” Mikeala elaborates easily with a small accepting smile that makes Sam feel guilty all over again.
Sam flaps his hands up. “What - No! What’re you-” he starts, searching for something to say; he might be able to bullshit his parents through anything, but not Mikeala. He’d already come to the realization of what she’s implying a while ago, but he still loves her. Only, he’s got Bee too, now.
‘Let’s forget about the things I told you, I really didn’t mean to do your head in - just a momentary misunderstanding,’ Bee provides helpfully. Mikeala only shakes her head.
“The fact that Sam’s still not babbling his way out of this proves me right. I told you, I’m not blind, or oblivious,” she points out and her lack of anger is what convinces Sam that it would’ve been useless to try anyways.
Bee’s still trying to cover the matter with his songs, alternating between ‘You've already proved it to me, time and time again , baby you're one good friend,’ and ‘Don't you know, I ain't never gonna let you go, don't go.’ Mikeala effectively shuts him up by smacking a hand against his hood.
“Stop that!” She closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath, and when she opens them again Sam gets the distinct impression that she’s staring Bumblebee in the eyes, even if the camaro obviously lacks said eyes to be stared at. “There’s no way to explain, how she knows what she knows, she don’t let it show, but a woman knows,” she sings, her voice steady and sure.
Bumblebee’s silent for a long time. Finally, his radio crackles back to life; ‘Well I'm so sorry. So sorry. I'm so terribly, terribly sorry.’ A brief search. ‘You wanna hate me then hate me , what can I do?’
Mikeala’s smiling that smile again. Sam wants to say something, but for one of a few moments in his life, he’s at a complete loss.
“You get it when we speak your language,” she laughs, and surprisingly it’s not bitter in the least. It’s soft and cheerful and maybe just a tad sad. “Don’t worry, Bee, I could never hate you.” She looks at both of them for a few last moments. “I’m going to walk home.”
True to her word, she just walks away with one last ‘Bye guys’, and Sam realizes he’s just had one of the weirdest breakups in history, but one nonetheless. He flops back on the hood, feeling like an idiot for not having been able to do or say anything at all, but oddly, he’s content with how it all ultimately turned out.
Beneath him, Bumblebee starts singing: 'So what happens when you lose everythin', you just carry on and with a grin, sing!' and Sam catches himself humming to the song, his fingers tracing lines on the hood.
And I still don't know how Bee can find his lyrics so damn fast...they gave me quite the headache.