This one sort of follows Stick and Teddy Bear, and works around the prompt "iPod". Sgt Epps comes looking for his precious music player...


For Love of Music

Jazz shuffled slightly to the beat of the music pounding into his audios from the little human device they called an iPod. The two little outlet ports were plugged into his audio receptors and he held the main storage device carefully in his hand. It was not that he really needed one – he was capable of storing more than ten times the amount of songs in his own memory – it was just the whole novelty of the thing that had made him swipe the device from Sgt Epps in the first place.

The good Sgt had been listening to it when Jazz gave him a ride home one time, the volume turned on loud enough that Jazz could hear the music without it needing to be plugged into his audios, and he was sure that level of volume couldn’t be good for the human’s hearing. It had aroused his curiosity enough for him to inquire what it was and how it worked.

Jazz figured he’d borrow it for a while and test it out himself, he’d just failed to mention it to Epps before he left.

Bumblebee watched in amusement from his bunk, where he was still recovering from the injury with the stick, as Jazz danced and hummed along to the music, thoroughly enjoying himself. It warmed Bumblebee’s spark to see his best friend and companion slowly but surely easing himself back into the carefree, happy lifestyle he’d led before the whole mess at Mission City, and it was great to have a playmate again.

The sound of a door banging made Bumblebee sit up with a jump, and a very familiar voice rang through part of the base

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“Jazz! He’s here! Run!” Bumblebee quickly sent a text to his friend.

Jazz immediately looked up, shut off the music just as Sgt Epps let out a particularly colorful curse, and his optics darted around the room in a panic. There was only one exit and Epps was currently on the other side of it. With no other option in sight, the white Solstice looked up.

Using his magnetics, he quickly hauled himself up the metal walls and to the roof where he perched precariously between the rafters and tried to power down his mechanics so as not to make too much sound. The only thing he left on full power were his magnetics to make sure he wouldn’t fall off.

Bumblebee chuckled as he watched Jazz make his escape. He had to smother it in a hurry when Sgt Epps banged into the room looking as slagged off as Bumblebee’d ever seen him. The human eyed the Autobot keenly and it took all of Bumblebee’s will-power to keep a straight face under that scrutinizing gaze.

“I know he’s here, Bee, so tell me where he is an’ I’ll make it quick and painless,” Epps said.

The yellow Camaro just gave a helpless shrug, optics as innocent as the day he was sparked and shook his head.

“An’ I know you can talk so playin’ dumb ain’t gonna work wit’ me either.” Epps started to search around the room, after all, there were only so many places a giant alien robot could hide. Even one as small as Jazz. “Jazz, man, I swear that’s the last time I’m lettin’ you crash at my crib.”

Bumblebee watched him and couldn’t resist turning on his own radio. “And I still haven't found what I’m looking for,” came through his crystal clear speakers.

Epps rounded on him. “Dude, don’t start wit’ me. If you weren’t already hurt I’d be kickin’ your ass for coverin’ for ‘im.”

“That’s what friends are for,” came Bumblebee’s cheeky reply.

Up in the rafters, Jazz couldn’t help but snicker at Bumblebee’s tenacity. Perhaps he knew that there was relatively little damage Epps could do to him, especially with Ratchet nearby. Bumblebee was a recovering patient after all, and any attempts to compromise that would be met with a lecture packing all the force of a blunt object to the head, courtesy of the medic. Even Epps wasn’t THAT stupid.

Instead he just glared at the yellow Autobot and resumed his hunt for Jazz. “If that walkin’ bucket of bolts has erased any of my music, I swear I’m gonna tie him down and string daisies from those horns of his.”

Jazz wondered what other creative threats Epps would come up with if he stayed hidden long enough. Though not too long, he hoped. His limbs were starting to get a little tired from holding him up, and neither did he want to expend too much energy on his magnetics.

“I’m sure Jazz didn’t mean to take your iPod without asking you, Sgt Epps,” Bumblebee said, he, too realizing that Jazz was probably getting a little stiff from holding his position. Granted they’d been in tighter spots together back in their days on Cybertron, but it didn’t mean magnetizing oneself to the roof was any less uncomfortable. “He just wanted to try it out for himself. He’s curious like that. Anything new fascinates him. He wont break it or alter your music or anything.”

By now, Epps had searched the whole of the room to no avail and Bumblebee’s words further sobered him a bit. “Eh well, he’s gotta ask the next time he wants borrow somethin’ from me.” He crossed his arms.

Above the scene, Jazz shifted his weight slightly to get more comfortable and the movement sent a slight flucctuation through his magnetic system. It was enough to dislodge the iPod that had been tucked away in a fold of his armor and send it plummeting to the ground below. He knew that if the thing broke Epps would have a fit, and vainly tried to make a grab for it, but missed.

“Aw crap!” he exclaimed.

Epps jumped and looked up in time to see his precious iPod hurtling to the floor. A choice curse left his mouth and he dived to catch it despite knowing that there was a high chance he wouldn’t make it before it shattered to bits.

Neither of the two had reckoned with Bumblebee however. Picking up the large teddy bear – a ‘Get Well Soon’ gift Jazz had picked up for him at a fair with Mikaela’s help – he tossed it across the floor just in time as the device landed on the bear’s soft, plush tummy. Both Epps and Jazz let out sighs of relief.

The sergeant picked himself off the floor, iPod in hand, then glared up at the white Autobot who swung himself down from the rafters and landed gracefully on the floor. He picked up the bear, dusted it off and handed it back to Bumblebee.

“Nice save, Bee,” he said.

“Yeah, thanks man,” Epps said.

Then they turned to face each other. Jazz crossed his arms. So did Epps.

“Next time y’wanna use my stuff y’gotta tell me,” Epps said.

“It was hazardous to your health,” Jazz replied.

“What the hell you talkin’ ‘bout, man?”

“You keep listening to your music at that volume, you’ll be deaf by the time you’re forty. I relieved you of it to give your ears a chance to recover.”

Epps considered this. “Alright, alright! Man, I swear you’ve been talkin’ to Lennox. Okay, so if I promise to keep the volume down to a reasonable level, will you stop pilfering my stuff?”

“Agreed.”

Man and mech extended hands and shook on that.

Epps headed to the door as Jazz turned back to Bumblebee, who had been watching the whole exchange with a good deal of amusement. Then he stopped.

“Hey, why don’t you and Bee drop by my crib next week. I’m getting a new sound system installed that I think you two might like to check out,” he said.

“In other words, party?” Jazz asked.

“You bet.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bumblebee replied.

“Cool. Oh and Jazz?”

“Yeah?”

“Ever heard of a li’l thing called DDR?” Epps asked.

“Not really.”

The sergeant snickered. “Then you, my friend, are going down.”


~END.