A/N: (coughs) Okay, been a while since I got back to the writing bored. Taking a small break from SRMTHFG, decided to give a Bumblebee 2018 movie fanfic a try. This is going to be a shorter story. It takes place as a kind of 'future' from the Bumblebee movie.

So here we go, enjoy!
Warning: VERY sad. Don't read if prone to easy tears.

-Reunited

Charlie sat out on the window's lip of her small cabin high up in the mountains, run down boots snuggly fit her quivering feet as she breathed a stream of hot air into her hands. Having turned thirty last week had not been as much of a 'celebration' as she had hopped her, but there was an unexpected surprise that followed.

She rubbed her hands together to build up the heat, why she sat outside in the middle of a light blizzard on a Colorado night was beyond her, maybe it was because one could see the stars so clearly here. Smiling, she ran a finger through her long black hair, recalling the day she moved out of her mom at twenty-one and had been moving around the states for nearly nine years. Starting out as a basic mechanic, she did a lot of grease monkey jobs on the side while learning how to play instruments for quick tips at downtown pubs.

Since twenty-one, she had been on her own. Her mind would occasionally wander back to the good old days with family, even that annoying little brother of her's, and Memo—ah that afro hair wearing goof with a lovely caramel tan… how she remembered the sight of his build when removing his shirt to coax him to feel the wind to his skin while they drove over eighty miles per hour on the sandy beaches in that old California town.

But just like before, every time she tried to recall those wonderful moments with Memo, large electrical blue eyes as soft as the stars themselves would gallop wildly into her mind and take over every sense of self-control Charlie possessed. The faded yellow paint job of a shy sentient individual who couldn't remember anything came into her memory, but also a noble warrior who could stand against rivals five times his size.

Bumblebee… how she remembered him fondly. Never would she have known the feelings that'd elope her to that adorable Volkswagen beetle that shifted into a sleek Camaro upon their last goodbye. Charlie shook her head, when the Autobot swung his arms protectively around her to shield off Agents' gunfire, or watch as he crushed her arch rival's car in carried away joy.

Memo had been a nice stand-in, she did care for that boy, but something she felt for Bumblebee made the idea of romance with others nearly impossible. She had tried to shrug off those old emotions and sought out the attention of other attractive men—but in the end, she could never keep a solid relationship.

Eventually, she got a little exhausted from running from one state to another and settled down for a temporary break in the rocky mountains of Colorado. Nice, quiet, subtle… everything she wanted, except for much-needed company. She knew no one, and like her teen years, mostly kept to herself and focused on work. Living alone was not that bad, she did it most of her young adult life, but her birthdays were becoming a touch more grim to bear by each passing year.

But this thirtieth birthday was something different, starting at the night of last week, she had laid down on the couch with a nearly empty wine bottle in hand, slurred and unaware of the snow that had frosted her from the forgotten open window. Skin almost as numb as her boggled the mind, she almost missed the sounds of a revving engine outside her door. Barely able to stand, she stumbled to the window, peeked outside and was greeted by a sight she thought the liquor had created.

A familiar yellow bug sat in the knee-deep snow by her newly fixed jeep, headlights shining brightly as if they were eyes focused intently on her.

Charlie was barely able to see the sight the liquor had blurred, watching as the blurry shape of yellow and black shifted from a low sitting vehicle to a much taller humanoid shape. She grasped the window's wooden frame to keep from falling back as the ground vibrated from footsteps growing nearer, till the sight of heavenly blue eyes invaded her world.

"Charlie," came a shaky voice that sounded like a fancy young man using a synthesizer.

She had almost passed out as a large metal hand reached forward, outstretched fingers begging to be held. This had to be a dream, with a firm head shake, Charlie moved away from the window, aiming to close it till the shocked blue eyes halted her. Pain, those beautiful blue eyes displayed such… pain, seeing her move away as if not remembering who their owner was.

"Charlie…!" He tried again, throat sparking as he struggled to speak. Metal fingertips moving to part the window before it could close, his eyes boring into her, begging for the drunken human to conjure up some soberness to listen.

He called her name, maybe this was not a dream. Or it could be, how could she know?

"Who?" she muttered, hand nearly dropping the glass as she forced herself to sit down.

The Autobot moved closer, nearly poking his head through the window. Lacking a mouth, she could still tell by his facial gears' awkward bending that he was smiling, in happiness or concern, she was not sure.

"Please remember me…" He begged antennas pulled back like a puppy who got in trouble for chewing up a pair of expensive shoes.

"Bee…" she breathed hoarsely.

"Yes!" He nodded fast, moving away from the window and heading towards her door with vigorous excitement. Though the haze of overjoyed, he accidentally ripped the door down off and opened the cabin's entrance. The Autobot folded himself so he could fit through the narrow passage away and into the more open living room—luckily this one-story cabin was tall enough to allow him some extra manoeuvring room.

"Where did you… come from?" She asked, still not believing the towering shadow above her.

"I've been l-looking for you for s-s-so long!" He called, flopping on the floor in front of her and placing an anxious hand to her head.

"Optimus allowed me temporary leave, I returned to California's coast, but… you weren't there."

"How did you… get your voice back?" She hiccupped out, entranced by the sound she never had the luxury of hearing the first time.

"Ratchet was able to f-fix my vocal projectors… i-I still s-stutter every now and t-then." Bee paused, seeing the empty glass bottle in her hand. Metallic brows raised to full height, alarm creased all over his face.

"What is that in your hand? A-and why are you actings-so disillusioned?"

Charlie cut him a weak smile, still struggling to believe this was real. The Autobot she had been too scared to admit such feelings to now standing before her, like a recently closed door had been reopened by Heaven's grace and mercy.

"I'm fine Bee, don't worry about me." She placed the wine bottle down, hiccupping nonstop as she struggled to find the opened window she had previously forgotten to close.

Before Bee could question her odd state, she threw out another question.

"I thought you were a Camaro now?"

"I was, but I c-changed back to something I know y-you'd be most familiar with. I needed you to s-s-see and know it was me." He made another move to reach for her, the movement now quicker and more desperate. "I… n-needed to see y-you."

Sighing, Charlie stood dumbfounded, unsure of how to respond to this. Maybe this was not a dream.

His fingers grazed over her nose, bringing his face to rest in her limp hand, like the day they had first met.

…

Charlie chuckled as she swung her legs out from the railing and leapt into the snow down below. That had happened last week, and a lot has happened since. The yellow Autobot had been staying in her isolated cabin for the last eight or so days, finding the living room a far more preferred resting place than outside—giving as she had no garage.

She had anticipated the yellow scout would be leaving any day since visiting her, but for some reason, Bee had been a touch more insistent on staying. Confused, she had reminded him he had a duty to his alignment and shouldn't stay away too long, but the scout had been strangely quiet about his future plans.

For now, it'd seem the yellow bot was intent on spending many vacationing days here now that he had finally found her, and Charlie was far from complaining. Quite delighted, she tried to make the Autobot as comfortable as possible.

Chopping some wood with the swift swing of an axe, the tall girl hauled the bouts of log to the patio and ventured back inside once the outside deeds were done. Clicking her boots against the floor to knock off the remaining snow, she removed her jacket and gazed to the adorable sight before her.

Bumblebee curled up on a couple green futons Charlie had managed to throw together so the autobot had a large enough area to rest on. The poor bug had been worn out from his active duties over the years they had been separated, so she made sure to do some extra chores when he was in a restful stasis. The last thing she wanted was him fussing over her labouring efforts to make sure he was comfortable. But when he was happy, she sure as heck was.

Pouring herself some brandy eggnog, the woman took a few sluggish sips, admiring the fire place's flames casting a golden glow over Bee's paint that seemed to enhance his yellow complexion.

They had stayed up nearly every night, catching up on things the other missed. Bumblebee had reflected positively to his and his allies' adjustment to this planet and how Optimus had made arrangements to call Earth their new home. So overall, the good old bug was doing well, until he asked how Charlie had been fairing with life.

That was where she had grown silent. Briefly mentioning her consistent drifter like lifestyle, going from place to place and jumping at different employment opportunities, feeling like a free spirit that needed to explore the countryside. But that was where the topic ended.

Because the part she left out, was her exciting trails had come to an abrupt halt last year when she had, during an internship at a Wreck Center, lost all consciousness during the graveyard shift and had to be rushed to the hospital. There the doctors had delivered her grave news, information that had led her to slow the frivolous travels and temporarily settle in Colorado.

She didn't tell Bee the condition that ailed her, but the pain medicine she carried would often lose its effectiveness. So the occasional drink provided a more powerful numbing effect she needed when the pains re-hit her cranium. No doubt the Autobot thought by now she drank too much and did voice this concern, but she brushed it off.

She just wanted to focus on him.

His head tucked smoothly into the party sized pillows crowding his helmet. Charlie couldn't prevent her eyes from studying every crack and curve of his metallic frame. Recalling how smooth and strangely soft his metal felt to her hand, it was almost unintentionally seductive.

Walking to his sleeping frame, she ran one finger down his back, feeling the springs and cogs before resting to his hip. Stunning, it was so cold outside, yet his metal was so warm, almost as if he had been human himself.

Bee hummed and shivered in response to the tickle sensation her fingers had on his hip armour section. His voice squeaked as he turned over, opening sleepy optics to gaze happily at his human.

"M-morning," he chirped in a choppy voice while reaching to press a hand to her cheek.

Charlie's hand lingered over one of his large digits, pressing her cheek further into his grip. How she wished she could tell him how she truly felt.

"Morning, did you sleep well?"

"Great! D-did you?"

She paused but forced an upbeat smile on to hide the exhaustion plaguing her soul.

"About the same as usual," not a complete lie.

When she removed her hand from his and stalked into the kitchen, Bee abruptly sat up, eyes lingering to the woman who seemed to keep a distance from him. Confusion inking out when he saw her grab a coat and scarf.

"W-where are you… g-going?"

"Just into town," she recovered a pen from the cabinet and scribbled some words down on a notepad, leaving it on the table when she made a move to grab her car keys.

"I-I can d-drive you."

"You've been moving around enough, you should rest!" She laughed, brushing off his worry. "I'll return, besides, I need to see if I can find a balancer to maybe soothe out your voice module."

Bee paused, glancing to the note on the table.

"O-okay, come bac-k to me so-oon."

A/N: Here's chapter 1! Hope you enjoyed it, apologies for the shortness and pardon spelling mistakes—I was too lazy to re-read it. Except for the next chapter soon, and have a great day.

Merry Christmas!