Title: Peace Offering
Universe: Bayverse, Embassy Town AU
Rating: G
Characters: Carly Spencer, Mikaela Banes, Sam Witwicky
Prompt: acceptance
Content Advisory: F/F relationship, mentions of past M/F canon relationships, brief strong language
Notes: written for cottoncandy_bingo, filling my "acceptance" square.
The knock on the front door was unexpected, and Mikaela made an unhappy noise from the bathroom where she was tryng to get ready for their night out. They'd had more than one interruption already and were running well behind the mechanic's self-imposed schedule.
"It's all right, Mik. I'll get it." Carly set down her hair brush next to the sink and left the room. The knock sounded a second time--much more tentatively--just before she got to the door.
Her ex-boyfriend was lowering his hand as she opened the door. "Sam."
"Carly, hey. Hi." Sam fidgeted with the package he was holding in his left hand. "Um, can I come in? I promise not to take to long and Ironhide's downstairs waiting to kill me if I make either of you mad."
"He is, is he?" She resisted the urge to grin. Ironhide had practically adopted Mikaela over the past year--just after her father had gone back to jail--and it was just like him to threaten Sam like he was an unwanted pest. "I'll have to remind him that he can't shoot the political allies. Come on in."
Carly stepped aside and let Sam step through the doorway. He stood awkwardly on the tile entry, shifting the box from one hand to the other and doing his best not to make eye contact.
"Carly, who is it?" Mikaela stepped into the room and froze. "Sam. You better have a good explanation."
"He says he'll just be a minute," Carly assured her girlfriend. "And Ironhide's already threatened to kill him, so I doubt this will be like last time."
"Oh my god, last time." Sam turned crimson and held out the box in front of him like a shield. "I was such an asshole last time. I couldn't handle you guys being together, not because you're both girls or anything like that, because you both dumped me and ended up together and so there I was, the loser who was such a bad boyfriend his ex-girlfriends started dating each other. And I know that was stupid and selfish and I'm so sorry and I really hope you guys will accept this peace offering and we can try that whole being friends thing."
The blonde woman blinked as she processed his words. The brunette woman crossed her arms and frowned. "Did Buster put you up to this?"
"No, Buster definitely did not put me up to this." He held the box a little higher. "I'm sorry I was an asshole. You guys are a great couple and if you make each other happy, then that's what I want for you."
"Do you really mean it?" Carly asked. "Because if you hurt Mikaela again, Ironhide won't have time to kill you."
"I really, really mean it. I know I'm an insensitive jerk sometimes, and you'll probably have to point it out occasionally, but Asshole Sam is gone and New Sam would really like to be friends."
"And this isn't some elaborate scheme to just get into bed with both of us at the same time?" Mikaela didn't move. "Because if it is, you can leave right now and shove that peace offering up your--"
"No! God no!" Sam flinched. "I mean, I'd be lying if I said that didn't sound hot, but it's not at all what I want! You guys were two of my best friends, and I miss that."
"You hurt us both," Carly mirrored Mikaela's frown. "You can't repair that with promises and a nice present. You know that, right?"
"I do know that. That's why I came in person instead of putting the box in the mail with a card or something lame like that." The dark haired man gave them an awkward smile and gestured toward the women with the box. "This is a present that says I'm done being an asshole and I'm ready to prove it with my actions."
"He did brave Ironhide," Mikaela said, giving Carly a contemplative look. "You have to be pretty sincere to come anyway, after getting a threat like that."
The English woman nodded. "That would deter a lesser man. One more chance?"
"One more chance," The American woman agreed.
Sam grinned as Mikaela stepped forward and took the box from him.