What Friends Are For, a Transformers G1 one shot
Title: What Friends Are For
Universe: G1
Rating: G
Characters: Cosmos, Bumblebee
Warnings: fluff and an amoral human
Prompt: Cosmos/Bumblebee--A token of my appreciation.
Notes: written for the May 8-14, 2011 weekly request round at tf_rare_pairing many thanks to wicked3659 for giving this a quick beta for me.
Cosmos was sitting alone in a corner of the rec room and staring morosely into a cube of energon when Bumblebee plunked himself down in the chair across from. The green minibot barely even looked up at the other to acknowledge him. “Hi, Bumblebee,” he said unenthusiastically.
“Hi,” the scout replied. “So Spike told me you broke cover during that attack today at the space exhibit.”
“Yeah.” Cosmos’ already unhappy expression fell further. “Prowl was so angry. The manager blamed me for all the damages, even though he was the one to ask for an Autobot to hide on-site in case the Decepticons showed up. I guess it’s going to cost us a lot of money.”
“He also told me that if you hadn’t, then he would have gotten stomped on by Starscream.” Bumblebee reached across the table and took one of the other mech’s hands. “You saved my best friend out there today. And all those kids. You’re a hero, no matter what Prowl says.”
Cosmos pulled his hand away and stood up abruptly. “Tell me that again when I’m sweeping up broken displays and being told by their owner how stupid and worthless I am.”
Bumblebee frowned as he watched his friend walk away.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“It’s not right, Prowl and you know it.” Bumblebee crossed his arms and glared at the tactician. “If it had been me or Jazz or any bot on the Ops team, Blaster would be throwing us a party for saving the day. But you’ve got Cosmos out there cleaning up a mess that Starscream made just because some Human is so focused on money that he can’t place the blame where it belongs.”
“Cosmos’ actions were the cause of a great deal of damage and as such, there must be some compensation. Clean up and disposal was a very large part of the cost and as a result that duty falls to Cosmos.” Prowl sighed. “It is not a matter of punishment or placing blame. Replacing this exhibit is a cost the Autobots cannot afford, nor is the publicity from refusing to do so.”
“Prowl! That’s what the Humans have insurance for! That’s what pays for the replacements and the rebuilding, not us!” The scout rubbed his forehead in unconscious imitation of the gesture Spike and Sparkplug were known for making when they were stressed. “Some companies even offer special policies for people who live or work in areas the Decepticons are known for attacking! Paying for this mess isn’t our responsibility and being blackmailed into it because he wants to blame us for some lost business is not okay! And have you even bothered to check in and see how he’s treating Cosmos?”
That did get Prowl’s attention. “What do you mean?”
“He’s cruel and abusive! Cosmos went there to help him, and now he’s being treated like slag!” The minibot fought to keep his voice even. Shouting at Prowl wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“Has he been injured in any way?”
“No, not yet.” Bumblebee replied.
“Then I’m afraid there is nothing to be done about it.” The tactician shook his head. “I understand that you want your friend to be treated well, but there is only so much I can do.”
“Well even if you can’t do anything, I can.” The smaller mech turned and headed for the door.
“Bumblebee, don’t do anything that will cause us more problems. Our position on Earth is far too tenuous as it is.” Prowl’s tone was both worried and weary.
“Don’t worry, Prowl. When I’m done, we will not be the ones with a problem.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
It hadn’t taken much-or really any-asking to get Jazz and Mirage to help him. They had never liked the slimy businessman that owned the traveling space exhibit. He had reminded all of the Ops team far too much of Swindle, and people like Swindle were always problems.
A quick background check proved that this particular “businessman” was no different. He had an arrest list containing dozens of entries in multiple states, with charges for insurance fraud, tax evasion, passing bad checks and other various kinds of business fraud.
Jazz had been positively gleeful at the idea of getting to teach this particular Human a lesson he would never forget. He had told Bumblebee to let him handle everything and had sent the minibot off to help Cosmos.
The green minibot had been surprised when the scout pulled up alongside him. “Bumblebee? What are you doing here?”
“Giving you a hand. Prowl says you aren’t really on punishment duty, so it won’t be a problem if I come along to speed things up.” Bumblebee transformed and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Besides, I thought you could use some company.”
“It’s okay,” Cosmos replied softly. “I’m used to working alone.”
“Yeah, but that’s because the rest of us can’t fly.” The yellow minibot gave him a companionable smile. “Doing that job on your own doesn’t mean you have to do every job on your own. Now, tell me what needs done.”
“Well, there’s a lot of glass and scrap metal that need to go to the recycling center, if you want to gather that up.” Cosmos returned his smile a little shyly.
“Great.” With an enthusiasm that had little to do with the clean up and everything to do with seeing what Jazz had in store, Bumblebee set to work.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
They worked for several hours before Jazz and Mirage arrived. Bumblebee smiled at them when they transformed and gave them a thumbs up, which Jazz returned. Cosmos looked at them with confusion.
“Why are Jazz and Mirage here? What have you three been planning?”
“We’ve been planning,” the yellow minibot threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders and guided him toward the taller mechs, “A way to get you out of this and pin all the blame for this right back where it belongs.”
“But-“
“Ah, ah! No buts, my mech.” Jazz grinned at the green minibot as Mirage tapped gently on the door to the trailer the exhibit’s owner was using as an office. “You’re being punished for a crime you didn’t commit and that ain’t right. But we’ll get it squared away.”
Mirage tapped on the door again, as the human hadn’t come out before Jazz finished speaking. “Mister Davis, we know you’re inside this trailer. It will be easier on us all if you come to the door.”
After a moment, there was muttered cursing inside the trailer and the door was flung open. The human didn’t even try to hide his annoyance at being disturbed. “What?”
Calmly, Mirage pulled a stack of human-sized papers from his subspace and handed them to the owner.
“What is this?” Mister Davis began flipping pages, skimming over the words. “A court summons?!”
“Indeed.” Mirage gave him a smug smile. “It seems that someone among the proper authorities discovered that, not only were you illegally employing workers without compensation, you failed to provide adequate insurance for your business and you were attempting to extort financial compensation from the victims of a disaster your deliberately orchestrated. The district attorney was quite upset.”
Davis’ face paled noticeably.
“And don’t even try to think about running,” Jazz added. “There ain’t no place on Earth where you could hide.”
The human paled further, then retreated back into the trailer quickly. The door slammed and there was a loud thump that implied that he had probably kicked it.
Jazz chuckled a little darkly. “Well, that takes care of that. C’mon, Cosmos; you got a part to get to!”
“A party?” The green minibot looked mystified by what had just happened.
“Sure! You’re a hero! Heroes get parties.” Jazz grinned at him.
“But what about the clean up?” Cosmos looked from Jazz to the trash piles and back.
“They are not your problem anymore,” Mirage assured him. “In fact, a local cleanup agency is already on their way, with every intent to bill their labor to the appropriate payer.”
“So, c’mon!” Jazz dropped down into his alternate mode. “Blaster’ll have some rockin’ tunes going, and Rewind said something about breaking out some old candy recipes.”
Mirage followed the Ops team leader’s example and the two of them left for the Ark, giving Bumblebee and Cosmos a moment alone.
The green minibot took his friend’s arm and led them away from the trailer a little, not wanting the human inside to eavesdrop on them. “You all really did this for me?”
“Yeah.” The yellow minibot pulled the other into a hug. “Friends take care of each other, especially when someone’s hurting them.”
Cosmos returned the hug tightly. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Bumblebee pulled back a little and gave him a smile. “Let’s not ever find out, huh?”
Their moment was broken by Jazz interrupting them over the comm system. //You two coming or what? Prowl says he’s got something to say to Cosmos.//
“Better be an apology,” Bumblebee grumbled, dropping down into his alternate mode.
//We’re on our way, Jazz.// Cosmos transformed as well, hovering over the other minibot’s roof and flying just slowly enough to stay with him.
Universe: G1
Rating: G
Characters: Cosmos, Bumblebee
Warnings: fluff and an amoral human
Prompt: Cosmos/Bumblebee--A token of my appreciation.
Notes: written for the May 8-14, 2011 weekly request round at tf_rare_pairing many thanks to wicked3659 for giving this a quick beta for me.
Cosmos was sitting alone in a corner of the rec room and staring morosely into a cube of energon when Bumblebee plunked himself down in the chair across from. The green minibot barely even looked up at the other to acknowledge him. “Hi, Bumblebee,” he said unenthusiastically.
“Hi,” the scout replied. “So Spike told me you broke cover during that attack today at the space exhibit.”
“Yeah.” Cosmos’ already unhappy expression fell further. “Prowl was so angry. The manager blamed me for all the damages, even though he was the one to ask for an Autobot to hide on-site in case the Decepticons showed up. I guess it’s going to cost us a lot of money.”
“He also told me that if you hadn’t, then he would have gotten stomped on by Starscream.” Bumblebee reached across the table and took one of the other mech’s hands. “You saved my best friend out there today. And all those kids. You’re a hero, no matter what Prowl says.”
Cosmos pulled his hand away and stood up abruptly. “Tell me that again when I’m sweeping up broken displays and being told by their owner how stupid and worthless I am.”
Bumblebee frowned as he watched his friend walk away.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“It’s not right, Prowl and you know it.” Bumblebee crossed his arms and glared at the tactician. “If it had been me or Jazz or any bot on the Ops team, Blaster would be throwing us a party for saving the day. But you’ve got Cosmos out there cleaning up a mess that Starscream made just because some Human is so focused on money that he can’t place the blame where it belongs.”
“Cosmos’ actions were the cause of a great deal of damage and as such, there must be some compensation. Clean up and disposal was a very large part of the cost and as a result that duty falls to Cosmos.” Prowl sighed. “It is not a matter of punishment or placing blame. Replacing this exhibit is a cost the Autobots cannot afford, nor is the publicity from refusing to do so.”
“Prowl! That’s what the Humans have insurance for! That’s what pays for the replacements and the rebuilding, not us!” The scout rubbed his forehead in unconscious imitation of the gesture Spike and Sparkplug were known for making when they were stressed. “Some companies even offer special policies for people who live or work in areas the Decepticons are known for attacking! Paying for this mess isn’t our responsibility and being blackmailed into it because he wants to blame us for some lost business is not okay! And have you even bothered to check in and see how he’s treating Cosmos?”
That did get Prowl’s attention. “What do you mean?”
“He’s cruel and abusive! Cosmos went there to help him, and now he’s being treated like slag!” The minibot fought to keep his voice even. Shouting at Prowl wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“Has he been injured in any way?”
“No, not yet.” Bumblebee replied.
“Then I’m afraid there is nothing to be done about it.” The tactician shook his head. “I understand that you want your friend to be treated well, but there is only so much I can do.”
“Well even if you can’t do anything, I can.” The smaller mech turned and headed for the door.
“Bumblebee, don’t do anything that will cause us more problems. Our position on Earth is far too tenuous as it is.” Prowl’s tone was both worried and weary.
“Don’t worry, Prowl. When I’m done, we will not be the ones with a problem.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
It hadn’t taken much-or really any-asking to get Jazz and Mirage to help him. They had never liked the slimy businessman that owned the traveling space exhibit. He had reminded all of the Ops team far too much of Swindle, and people like Swindle were always problems.
A quick background check proved that this particular “businessman” was no different. He had an arrest list containing dozens of entries in multiple states, with charges for insurance fraud, tax evasion, passing bad checks and other various kinds of business fraud.
Jazz had been positively gleeful at the idea of getting to teach this particular Human a lesson he would never forget. He had told Bumblebee to let him handle everything and had sent the minibot off to help Cosmos.
The green minibot had been surprised when the scout pulled up alongside him. “Bumblebee? What are you doing here?”
“Giving you a hand. Prowl says you aren’t really on punishment duty, so it won’t be a problem if I come along to speed things up.” Bumblebee transformed and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Besides, I thought you could use some company.”
“It’s okay,” Cosmos replied softly. “I’m used to working alone.”
“Yeah, but that’s because the rest of us can’t fly.” The yellow minibot gave him a companionable smile. “Doing that job on your own doesn’t mean you have to do every job on your own. Now, tell me what needs done.”
“Well, there’s a lot of glass and scrap metal that need to go to the recycling center, if you want to gather that up.” Cosmos returned his smile a little shyly.
“Great.” With an enthusiasm that had little to do with the clean up and everything to do with seeing what Jazz had in store, Bumblebee set to work.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
They worked for several hours before Jazz and Mirage arrived. Bumblebee smiled at them when they transformed and gave them a thumbs up, which Jazz returned. Cosmos looked at them with confusion.
“Why are Jazz and Mirage here? What have you three been planning?”
“We’ve been planning,” the yellow minibot threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders and guided him toward the taller mechs, “A way to get you out of this and pin all the blame for this right back where it belongs.”
“But-“
“Ah, ah! No buts, my mech.” Jazz grinned at the green minibot as Mirage tapped gently on the door to the trailer the exhibit’s owner was using as an office. “You’re being punished for a crime you didn’t commit and that ain’t right. But we’ll get it squared away.”
Mirage tapped on the door again, as the human hadn’t come out before Jazz finished speaking. “Mister Davis, we know you’re inside this trailer. It will be easier on us all if you come to the door.”
After a moment, there was muttered cursing inside the trailer and the door was flung open. The human didn’t even try to hide his annoyance at being disturbed. “What?”
Calmly, Mirage pulled a stack of human-sized papers from his subspace and handed them to the owner.
“What is this?” Mister Davis began flipping pages, skimming over the words. “A court summons?!”
“Indeed.” Mirage gave him a smug smile. “It seems that someone among the proper authorities discovered that, not only were you illegally employing workers without compensation, you failed to provide adequate insurance for your business and you were attempting to extort financial compensation from the victims of a disaster your deliberately orchestrated. The district attorney was quite upset.”
Davis’ face paled noticeably.
“And don’t even try to think about running,” Jazz added. “There ain’t no place on Earth where you could hide.”
The human paled further, then retreated back into the trailer quickly. The door slammed and there was a loud thump that implied that he had probably kicked it.
Jazz chuckled a little darkly. “Well, that takes care of that. C’mon, Cosmos; you got a part to get to!”
“A party?” The green minibot looked mystified by what had just happened.
“Sure! You’re a hero! Heroes get parties.” Jazz grinned at him.
“But what about the clean up?” Cosmos looked from Jazz to the trash piles and back.
“They are not your problem anymore,” Mirage assured him. “In fact, a local cleanup agency is already on their way, with every intent to bill their labor to the appropriate payer.”
“So, c’mon!” Jazz dropped down into his alternate mode. “Blaster’ll have some rockin’ tunes going, and Rewind said something about breaking out some old candy recipes.”
Mirage followed the Ops team leader’s example and the two of them left for the Ark, giving Bumblebee and Cosmos a moment alone.
The green minibot took his friend’s arm and led them away from the trailer a little, not wanting the human inside to eavesdrop on them. “You all really did this for me?”
“Yeah.” The yellow minibot pulled the other into a hug. “Friends take care of each other, especially when someone’s hurting them.”
Cosmos returned the hug tightly. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Bumblebee pulled back a little and gave him a smile. “Let’s not ever find out, huh?”
Their moment was broken by Jazz interrupting them over the comm system. //You two coming or what? Prowl says he’s got something to say to Cosmos.//
“Better be an apology,” Bumblebee grumbled, dropping down into his alternate mode.
//We’re on our way, Jazz.// Cosmos transformed as well, hovering over the other minibot’s roof and flying just slowly enough to stay with him.