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Wheeljack
“You should ask him out,” Bumblebee says softly.
Starscream freezes, his wings hitching defensively. “And why would I do that?”
“He's a good 'bot who has lost most of his close friends. He's lonely and tries to hide it in his work. I think the two of you-”
“Can find comfort together in our loneliness?” Starscream sneers. “For that to happen I would have to be lonely – which I'm not. I'm perfectly happy keeping my own company.”
“Then why do you look so sad?”
Starscream refuses to acknowledge his existence for the rest of the cycle.
Windblade
“You know, arguing with her like she's your Conjunx of million years isn't doing anything to help the rumours that the two of you are secretly dating.”
“What rumours?!” Starscream screeches. His hand flexes as if he's gearing up to stab someone. Probably Bumblebee.
“The ones which earlier sent a certain member of your security team into a giggle fit.”
“Idiots,” he spits, disgusted. “They have no idea what they're talking about.”
Bumblebee arches an optic ridge. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes! My relationship with Windblade is... purely professional.”
Bee hears the finality mixed in with the regret and lets the matter drop.
Optimus Prime
“Don't tell me you haven't thought about it.”
“Excuse me?!”
Bee crosses his arms and pins Starscream with an unimpressed stare. “You forget that I've seen you in your berth. I know how you convince your processor to quiet enough that you can recharge. Don't pretend being held down by big, charismatic bots with the strength and skill to keep you there isn't one of your biggest kinks.”
Seeing Starscream speechless is a rare thing that does not last.
“The last time I indulged that particular kink was with Megatron. Look how that turned out.”
Bee suppresses a wince. “You're right; you should probably keep that as solely self-service material.”
Blur
“You can think of it as a scheme if it makes you feel better,” Bumblebee says desperately. “You said yourself that his bar has become a pillar of the community. If you were able to seduce him then you could get back in there, be seen, connect with your constituents. It would do your re-election campaign a world of good.”
Starscream looks him dead in the optics. “No.”
Thundercracker
“Stop laughing.”
For some reason Bee's glare does not phase Starscream. Or stop the near hysterical laughter.
“He's your friend, or was, and friendships often lead to-”
“First,” Starscream interrupts, holding up a finger. “He was my subordinate, not my friend. Second, he is an idiot with a bizarre obsession with that pet of his. Like Pit am I getting involved with someone clearly suffering from processor damage.”
“He's not – oh forget it!” Bee throws up his arms and leaves, defeated.
Bumblebee
As a ghost it was a hard thing to accept that there was a limited amount he could do to protect the citizens of Cybertron from Starscream. He could moralise him, sympathise with him, advise him – but he could never touch him. Cybertronians are social creatures who need, at the very least, the occasional touch to stop them from going insane. Starscream was too paranoid to ever allow anyone that close, no matter how hard Bee tried to convince him of the benefits. And, oh boy, did he ever try. Even when, towards the end, he would have given anything to be the one to pull Starscream into a kiss hot enough to melt circuits.
When Wheeljack finally manages to free him from that other place between dimensions, Bumblebee's dream suddenly becomes a potential reality. Unicron is still a problem (obviously), but Bee is use to dealing with extinction level problems. The trick is to break them down into achievable objectives. That way impossible things don't seem so impossible.
Once they take care of the planet-eating monster threatening their species, Bee applies the same miracle-making tactic to get himself a date with Starscream. First, he convinces Starscream that he's the jet's 'hallucination'. Replaying conversations Bumblebee couldn't possibly have known about if he had actually been dead all this time is a highly effective tactic. Second, he proves that he is now very, very solid with a full frame hug. Third... well, by this point Starscream's so grateful he no longer has to question his sanity that he would have agreed to pretty much anything Bee asked of him. Luckily for Starscream Bumblebee isn't the sort of bot who would take advantage of him like that. Sharing a cube or two of High Grade is enough for Bee. For now, anyway. He's willing to go at the pace Starscream needs to go at to convince himself this isn't a trick. Bumblebee is looking forward to that moment because that is when he can start convincing Starscream that he is here to stay permanently and, well, now that he has his frame back that is the part Bee is looking forward to the most.