Chapter Text
After an endless age of conflict that had nearly brought their race to extinction, the remaining Cybertronians had finally achieved the impossible. They had not only ended the war but came to a peace agreement between Autobots and Decepticons with successful peace talks, formally absolving the Decepticons of their exile. Mediation had proved an unexpectedly successful tactic, and members on both sides wondered why they had not tried talking it out sooner over tearing each other’s frames apart.
Some had their doubts about how long this peace would last, given the deceitful nature of Decepticons. Yet some Cybertronians had realized much earlier that the divide between Autobots and Cons could easily be bridged on an interpersonal level.
Ratchet had found out about that, rather seen it firsthand not too long ago. Despite his initial doubts, he knew in his spark that when mechs truly sat down and talked to one another, even a Decepticon and an Autobot could become friends or even more. Although it depended on the 'Cons in question, he supposed. Some of them were always going to be worse than others; yet looking back at the times of the prewar senate, the same could be said about Autobots.
Despite this conclusion, Ratchet knew that not everyone was as open to this new era of peaceful coexistence and the new possibilities that came with it, no matter how 'open‘ they believed themselves. Things often seemed to look different once someone in one’s immediate circle was the one breaking traditions founded in ancient hostilities.
It was for that reason, that he felt unable to relax when he sat down with his former teammates turned friends in their energon bar of choice after their respective shifts.
Bulkhead had nearly tipped their entire table over earlier in his attempt to sit down but was now heartily laughing with Optimus and even Prowl, who showed a rare display of emotions whenever they sat down like this: like oldtimers reminiscing bygone times, which was quite accurate in Ratchet’s case.
Only one of them was still missing, and Ratchet somewhat dreaded Bumblebee’s inevitable arrival and the minibot’s revelation that would come with it. This entire meeting had been Ratchet’s idea, but as time moved forward he began to wonder if this was the right time and the right way to break the 'news‘. But there would never be a right time, given the situation Bumblebee had created for himself.
Ratchet nearly dropped his energon cube when Optimus brought up the question of just what their friend could want to announce in such an official setting given that it was Bumblebee, and he could barely keep anything to himself for a long time. Although unbeknownst to them, for once he had been able to hide something - and had hidden it well at that.
Ratchet sighed into his energon cube before he downed the entire thing in an attempt to stay calm. This was not his mess, and it was going to go one way or the other. The entire situation was out of his servos entirely. Yet he could not imagine how well each of his friends was going to react to the news.
In retrospect, he certainly could have handled this news better himself. But in true Bumblebee fashion, the minibot had decided to push none other than Ratchet into icy waters without giving a warning first.
He still felt somewhat flattered that despite their previous differences, Bumblebee had felt most comfortable confiding in Ratchet out of all bots - but of course, there had been the simple reason that he was a medic. No one in their right mind would have come to Bulkhead for a secret emergency checkup on a former political prisoner and war criminal…