Simmons never expected to form THAT type of bond with someone.
Pairings Beyond Grimmons:
~Carwash
~Locnut
Other Notes for This Story:
~Summon Night AU.
~Written for the 15kinks comm on Dreamwidth. The prompt was "Libra: #2 Immobilization."
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Resonance
Richard "Dick" Simmons sighed heavily to himself as he maintained his precarious hold on the towering collection of papers. He couldn't even see over the gigantic stack, having to move his head to look over them instead. The redhead's neck position was just uncomfortable enough that he relied more on his ingrained knowledge of Eucross Headquarters to maneuver towards the exit of Sarge's workshop.
"Ow, fuck! The toes on my left foot!" Simmons winced as his foot hit against a large wrench that Sarge had no doubt tossed aside after a tinkering session, one that Lopez had probably not bothered cleaning up because the older human in red had insisted that they go out on an obscure mission ("Just because everyone's gettin' along and singin' kumbaya together doesn't mean I can't find a proper use for my good ol' shotgun here, yeehaw!").
Simmons was barely able to keep the teetering tower of papers from crashing to the floor. He shakily let out what would have accounted as a sigh of relief, if he had real lungs and not artificial ones that is. He had only just seen Sarge and his Mechanical Soldier Cross running down the hallway, Lopez more-or-less just reluctantly tailing the older human. That had been when Sarge asked Simmons to drop off his reports to Administration "on the double."
…Because it was Simmons' duty to try and assist the Summoners and their allies whenever possible, he had quickly agreed, only remembering far too late that Sarge was so old-fashioned that he still refused to type his reports out on data tablets.
As the Mechanical Doll questioned once more why pain receptors and feeling circuitry were considered good things for Frarzen such as himself to have because that fucking hurt, he also pondered the irony of Sarge's interest in the Machine World, Loreilal, despite the human's refusal to embrace the efficient data transferal methods that Lyndbaum had started implementing thanks to the wide breadth of cultural sharing now between the worlds. Sarge even had Lopez as his Cross and a whole mechanical-based workshop! But, Simmons reminded himself, the veteran Summoner was a complicated man.
The door to the workshop slid open just a few meters in front of him, and Simmons pseudo-sighed with relief. Now he just needed to make it a little ways to the elevator, somehow hit the button for Administration, and he would be home!
He was so certain of his steps this time that he just stared at the block of papers in front of him, not expecting to slam right into what felt like the equivalent of a soft, brick wall. Simmons let out a totally manly yelp as all of the reports fluttered down towards the ground of the hallway.
Shit! What was Sarge's top secret classification system again?
"Whoa." The wall, as it turned out, spoke in a rather amused voice, "Might want to watch where you're going, dude."
Simmons glared up accusingly at the voice, a piece of paper comically falling down from the top of his head at the same time, "I…I could say the same to you!" He sputtered out to the stranger.
The Demi-Human standing in front of him was not someone Simmons recognized, though he did look somewhat familiar. The chubby man had tan skin and furry cat ears on the sides of his head, along with a lazily swishing feline tail with brown fur and white stripes. There were even faint white stripes wrapping around his bare skin too, and Simmons tried not looking down the stranger's distractedly bare chest to see just how far they went.
So, this person was a member of a cat tribe. That wasn't all that shocking, considering how varied the Demi-Humans of Maetropa were.
"Maybe, but I'm not the one stuck under a paper avalanche." The Demi-Human told him smugly.
"That's also because you—!"
Simmons cut off with a shocked gasp when the Demi-Human bent down and gripped his upper arms, pulling the redhead upright once again. He felt his mechanical parts and circuitry getting decidedly hotter as the two of them remained standing in the hallway, the unknown stranger's grip still warm and oddly lingering around his arms.
"Huh." The Demi-Human said, peering closely at Simmons' face in a way that had the maroon-wearing man fidget self-consciously, "I couldn't tell before, but you're one of those Loreilal dolls, right?"
Simmons flushed, feeling a bit defensive considering that everyone had certain preconceptions when the term "doll" was thrown around, "Wh—what if I am?" He asked.
A careless shrug was the response: "Nothing, really. I've just never met one before."
He felt himself relaxing slightly at the honest answer, "…Frarzen." Simmons muttered, feeling the need to correct this stranger who didn't seem to be making the same comments about "dolls" he was used to.
Of course, his reply was met with a decidedly blank look, "Did you just do some kind of weird robotic sneeze?" The Demi-Human asked, a dark eyebrow lifting inquisitively.
"That's what we're called officially," Simmons rolled his eyes, "Instead of dolls."
"Ah." Understanding dawned in the stranger's brown eyes, "Kind of like how we don't like to be called brutes and dumb beasts and shit."
Simmons frowned, knowing about the past prejudices that the Demi-Humans had unfortunately faced. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was a common ground of sorts.
"Dex!" A familiar female voice called out, "There you are!"
The newest trainee for the Outer World Mediation Bureau, also known simply as Eucross, Kaikaina Grif, came to a skidding halt just a meter or so away from the two men. She took in large, gulping gasps of air as a flickering ball of light danced high above her head.
"I told you we'd find him!" The young woman's Cross, a Fairy from her own world of Maetropa, stated cheerily.
"Hey, Kai. Hey, Huggins." The man Kaikaina had referred to as Dex casually greeted, "What's up?"
Kaikaina Grif was a half-human, half-Demi-Human hybrid from Maetropa, also a cat one, now that Simmons was more carefully regarding her. She had the same tan skin and long, curly black hair as this stranger, save for feline ears that only had the same shade of brown fur to them. There were no white tabby lines dotting her fur and skin though.
Kai was something of a gossip topic around Eucross, being one of the few non-full-blooded humans capable of being a Summoner, "Don't 'hey' us, you asshole!" She ground out angrily, "Don't you know how hard it was to get permission for this tour?"
Right. Usually only Eucross agents or otherworld representatives were allowed in headquarters, and Simmons hadn't recognized this Dex as either.
"You wouldn't believe the strings she had to pull just to get it!" Huggins declared, her light dimming ever-so-slightly as she whispered, "There were actual strings!"
"And the thongs they were connected to." Kai finished for her Summon in recollection.
Simmons was very close to overheating at the insinuation behind her words.
Dex grimaced, "Goddamn it, Kai!"
She stuck out her tongue, "You asked for it, bitch."
"Only because I wanted to make sure the two of you were staying out of trouble!"
"Um," Simmons broke through the exasperated comment, flinching when all eyes and sentient light sources landed on him, "You guys know each other?"
"Yeah, Dex here is my dumb big bro." Kai explained.
"He goes by Grif usually." Huggins elaborated.
Simmons nodded, "I—I see."
"I know he isn't supposed to be wandering around by himself, so don't go blowing a fuse or whatever." The young half-human told him, "If he does it again, we'll totally kick his ass for you."
Grif guffawed, causing Huggins to yell out "Just try us, old man!" as Grif followed Kai and Huggins down the hall all the same with a barely concealed prideful look the two females' way, leaving a bewildered Simmons behind.
…With a floor covered in way too detailed reports.
"Fuck!" He yelled to no one in particular.
"Simmons!" Lavernius Tucker's voice cheerfully called out as Simmons finally exited Administration, "Just the guy I wanted to see!"
"Really?" The Frarzen asked, raising an eyebrow, "You usually never want to talk to me unless…" He trailed off when he saw the pleading look in Tucker's brown eyes, instantly realizing this fell into the category of the dark-skinned human from right here in Lyndbaum wanting a favor, "What do you need?"
Tucker looked grateful that he didn't have to try to cover up his real purpose for seeking Simmons out, "Okay, well, I promised Junior that we'd go to the Silturn colony today," he began, "To learn a bit more about his heritage and shit."
Simmons nodded. Junior was Tucker's eight-year-old son, half-Yokai on his absent mother's side. Tucker was doing his best to raise the boy on his own, but getting the time to visit the colonies of the other worlds for anything but official Eucross business was pretty difficult. They had probably been planning this for months.
"Wash just contacted me about there being a transport job that needs a guard pronto." Tucker stated, "Should be no big deal since Doc isn't exactly the most useful Cross around."
Doc was the remnant of very questionable enhancement methods regarding the abilities of some of the otherworldly denizens of Lyndbaum. He was an Angel who had developed a split-personality that was itself a Fiend as a result. While normally harmless as his Angel self, O'Malley was unstable at the best of times. Tucker had been given Doc to form a Cross Pact with based on the sole reasoning that Doc would have been jailed for life if no one stepped up to do so. For some reason, Tucker and the others at Eucross had a calming effect on Doc, so it was deemed they'd make good Summon partners.
"But Junior's already here from school. I can't disappoint him again!" Tucker whined, as if that somehow made his story more appealing.
Simmons would argue that Tucker even bothering to try was proof he never would, but ultimately chose to keep quiet lest Tucker decide to mock him for trying to have a heart-to-heart like Donut or Doc might. He let out a sigh, hearing muffled laughter from Doc and Junior further away.
"All right. I'll go instead."
"Caboose is helping Sarge and Lopez along with Freckles," Carolina stated as she continued going through her collected reports and briefings, "And Donut went on a personal holiday with Locus to Sapureth, but I know it was a bit unfair of us to rely so much on Tucker at the last minute."
Her Freelancer police partner nodded his head with a worried frown of his own, "Yeah, if I had known he had made plans with his son I wouldn't have given him that assignment." Washington said, gray eyes narrowed.
Carolina looked slightly drained as she wiped a few beads of sweat off her face. It was rather disconcerting to see her so out-of-sorts, "I'm sorry." She stated without preamble as she looked towards Simmons, "If I could delay going back to Loreilal at the moment, I would."
Washington frowned, "You've already delayed it long enough, Carolina. You need to recharge."
She grimaced at the remark, but nodded curtly.
Carolina's father had been a Veiger, a human-like race that lived in underground shelters beneath the Machine World. They were the ones who had initially polluted the world so much that the Mechanical Soldiers and Frarzen had been created to inhabit the surface in their stead. There were few still alive now, and they had to go to extremes to stay that way. As strong as Carolina was, she had inherited those traits and had to return every so often to the land where she had been born. Washington often insisted on going with her.
It was a testament to her strength that she only had to do so every half a year. Most full-blooded Veigers had to remain locked away underground and were placed in deep cold sleep for long durations in order to sustain themselves.
"It's all right." Simmons assured her, "Inventorying is something like my specialty!"
He wasn't trying to appease her either, having even meticulously kept guidelines on said subject.
"We kept the confiscation of the shipment a secret, so we're not suspecting any major surprises." Carolina explained, "But it is a fairly large amount of summonite, so…"
"It's best to remain cautious and be prepared for anything." Washington advised when she trailed off.
Simmons gulped and shakily nodded his head.
Summonite was the stone that used to help create a contract between a potential Summoner and their respective Guardian Beast. Well, before the implementation of the more tasteful term of Cross and the Cross Technique became the norm for summoning, that is. It had once been highly regulated and sought after for that reason alone, though it could also be used as a very potent energy source in general which was usually why the items were still so highly sought after to this day.
Simmons didn't know where the Freelancers had picked up such a huge crate of the stuff, and he figured it was probably best not to know. All he had to do now that it was in a Eucross-sanctioned safehouse was stay with it until either Donut and Locus, Sarge and Lopez, or even Caboose and Freckles came to retrieve the summonite.
He could do that, at least, especially since Carolina had said he could organize the summonite in the meanwhile. He was keeping himself busy and content doing just that: one container of the stones lying at his feet as he picked up one of them and examined the glowing green lines within. A stone connected to Maetropa.
The redhead was about to put it back down when a cup of coffee was suddenly thrust into his face.
"Here." Grif's voice nearly caused him to jump and throw the rare summonite right in his face, "Kai said I should apologize."
If Simmons had a heart, it would have burst out of his chest then. As it was, his inner gears and mind were working furiously, "W—what the fuck are you doing here?" He managed to ask.
Grif raised an eyebrow, "I told the pink-wearing guy, Donut, right? I told him that I was looking for you and he told me to come here."
That figured. Donut meant well, but he could be something of a blabbermouth when Locus wasn't around to tell him to stay quiet. They must have been heading back to Eucross following their foray into Sapureth.
Simmons sighed, "This is a Eucross mission." He managed to state the obvious, hoping Grif would get the hint.
"It's not like I want to be anywhere near these things, trust me." Grif was giving the crate and the container Simmons had been reorganizing a noticeably wide and wary berth, "I won't tell if you don't."
"Th—that's…!"
The coffee was in his face again before Grif pulled back and shot him a considering look, "Or can you not eat and drink or something?" His expression indicated that the chubby Demi-Human thought that would be the worst thing in the world.
Simmons frowned and took the beverage, figuring it would get Grif to leave quicker if he did, "It's not that I can't, I just don't have a vital need for it." He explained.
"Dude, that's sad."
Simmons snorted, "Of course you'd think that." He said as he took a sip of the coffee. It was good.
Grif remained and Simmons found that he didn't even mind.
Simmons was this close to powering down and going into reserve mode, which very rarely ever happened now that he thought about it, when he felt it.
He shot upright, waking Grif from the nap that he had been blissfully deep into, "Simmons?" The feline Demi-Human rubbed sleepily at his eyes, "What's…?"
But Grif didn't finish his question, eyes going wide and alert with shock when Simmons, suddenly standing rigidly and looking as though he couldn't breathe (odd, given that he didn't really), fell over into an unmoving heap on the ground.
"What the fuck?" Grif was up on his feet and grabbing at him, turning Simmons onto his back, "What's wrong?"
Simmons, however, remained completely unresponsive save for the alarm building up in his eyes. He couldn't speak, couldn't move his body. He was completely immobile, waves of panic washing over him. Only something like an Emp developed in the Machine World could do this. They were definitely black market, which meant…
"Sorry to interrupt the otherworldly pillow talk, gentlemen," a thug in a business suit said smugly as he and his goons stepped into the space, "But word is that youse Eucross goodie-two-shoes are hoarding something that should be out on the free market."
Grif hissed, claws sharpening on the tips of his fingers. Simmons cursed that he still could only look up from his helpless spot on the floor.
"Kitty here could stand to go on a diet." Thug Number One joked, glancing down at Simmons next, "And whaddaya know? We were right to use the Emp, boys. We got ourselves a doll here!"
One of the other guys with him snickered, "Too bad it's not a girl. We could have tripled our profits."
To Simmons' shock, Grif stepped in front of him, the fur on his tail raised and ears pressed to the sides of his head, "Take the fucking stones and just leave!" He snarled from behind gritted teeth.
The thug smirked as Simmons couldn't even protest (didn't Grif realize that the summonite was important and these assholes would never use them for anything good!?), "But where's the fun in that? I promised the guys we'd have a good time." He said in stereotypical villain fashion.
And then Grif was…holy fuck! He was leaping right into the throng of people and going for the leader's throat. Simmons watched with growing terror as the Demi-Human entirely disappeared from sight, the sounds of violent fighting suddenly being interspersed with pain.
If only he could fucking do something…
A sudden warmth by his knee caused Simmons to try and glance down as far as he could (it wasn't much). He was surprised to see that a new stone, one that looked similar but wholly different from the summonite had mysteriously appeared there, even though he knew nothing like it had been present moments before.
And it…Simmons couldn't believe it, but it was glowing too? He recognized a Resonance Stone, the magical embodiment of a Cross Pact being formed, when he saw one. But how was that even possible? He had only just met Grif.
The glow was becoming brighter now, reminding him somewhat of Huggins when she really let loose. Simmons closed his eyes, thinking of Grif fighting, of wanting to help somehow, trying to picture a bond in his heart and mind.
A Cross Pact made one stronger. They helped to grow the Summoner and Cross to be stronger than the sum of their parts. Together.
The mysteriously appeared Resonance Stone seemed to read his thoughts, and a green light washed over the entire room.
Grif suddenly had the strength to throw off the five assholes who had been trying to tackle him to the ground. He looked over at Simmons to find the source of the light that was now very much surrounding the two of them.
Simmons was back up on his feet, a glowing security baton stick out and at the ready. He looked sheepish, "S—sorry for the wait, and um…the…"
Grif waved him off, "It can wait right now." He told the redhead, smirking, "Ready to kick some ass?"
Simmons grinned right back at him, feeling more reassured than he ever had before in his life, "Let's do this!"
"Wait, so that's it then?" Tucker asked, bewildered, "We had to put on a huge show and dance to become Summoners, but you just fucking wish and it happens?"
"Talk about wishful thinking!" Huggins joked from her spot flying above Grif and Kai's heads.
Grif had to give her a fist bump for that, "Oh, nice one!"
Simmons smiled slightly from his spot nearby the three natives of Maetropa. He had to admit that had been pretty good.
"That's hardly the point here, Tucker!" Donut stated rather dramatically a second later, "I wanna hear all about how Grif and Simmons really pounded it into that big group of guys!"
His Fiend partner, Locus, let out a small sigh, "Also not exactly the point, Donut."
"Aw, you're just upset that they didn't leave any of the sweaty details to you!" Donut joked, smiling, "Don't worry, Locus, one of my patented slow rub downs will melt all that tension away, especially with my happy ending!"
The large, intimidating figure who seemed to be comprised of the shadows he could melt into save for the x-shaped scar across his face turned away then, still managing to get it across that he was most likely blushing, "Maybe later, Donut. In private." Locus muttered.
"Lame!" Kai booed loudly from her spot, sticking out her tongue to taunt her brother when he groaned and put his head in his hands.
"There were a few guys in the hallway who still wanted to play, so Freckles tagged them and made them it." Caboose informed the group happily.
"AFFIRMATIVE." Came from the giant Mechanical Soldier who had to remain out in the hallway at the moment because he couldn't fit through the door.
Lopez glanced over in that direction and seemed to sigh rather longingly, as though wishing he could also be outside with Freckles in this very moment.
"I do think Tucker might be onto something, as painful as that is to admit given his dastardly preference for the color blue." Sarge admitted, "Aren't humans technically the only ones who can be Summoners?"
"Hey!" Kai shouted indignantly.
"Under normal circumstances, I mean." Sarge was quick to correct, although he didn't seem to care if he caused offense.
"Half-humans have been noted to be Summoners too." Simmons tried to appease Kai.
"These circumstances weren't what I'd call normal to begin with." Washington's voice over the communicator stated.
He was still in Loreilal with Carolina, though she was currently having a procedure done and couldn't be disturbed.
"Maybe the strength of their feelings at the time just caused the Cross Pact to form accidentally?" Doc supplied helpfully.
Tucker guffawed, "No offense, Doc, but your ideas are always stupid."
Doc laughed, "Oh, Tucker, how could I possibly take offense to that? It's always important to listen to others' opinions."
Grif shot Simmons a questioning look and he shrugged. That was surprisingly normal for them, actually.
"Regardless, until Carolina and I can get back to Lyndbaum and get things moving, it seems like the higher-ups want Grif and Simmons to stay put in Lyndbaum as an active Summoner and Cross unit." Washington sighed, "You know we could always use the extra manpower."
Kai let out a happy cry as she punched Grif in the shoulder excitedly, "Hey, looks like that tour wasn't wasted after all!" She exclaimed happily.
Grif said nothing in response and Simmons frowned.
Simmons supposed that one of the positives of being a Frarzen was that he didn't really need to sleep. Sure, large bouts of inactivity could activate what was for all intents and purposes a "sleep mode," but given his anxiousness, that happened quite rarely. In fact, when he had nearly drifted off with Grif had been the first time he had ever felt like that in a while…
Now he was terrified, because what if that had been a mistake? What if he had been more alert? Could he have prevented the situation that led to Grif being forced to make a Cross Pact with him?
It were these types of doubting thoughts that kept him awake and found Simmons heading towards the roof of the Eucross Headquarters. It seemed he wasn't the only one being kept up as well.
"Hey." Grif greeted from the bench that he was sitting on as the door closed, looking over at Simmons.
"H—hey." Simmons made his way over and sat down beside him, feeling extremely nervous and guilty all of a sudden.
After all, he didn't really know much about Grif. Yet, he was somehow the cause of Grif being inextricably thrown into a world and life he didn't seem to be too keen on. He should…he should say, do something. Right?
"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"
Whatever garbled apology he had been about to stammer out died in his throat, and Simmons blinked in surprise.
"That sort of thing used to always keep me up at night." Grif grinned as he continued, "It used to drive the rest of our tribe nuts because I'd pass out during the day."
"Really?" Simmons couldn't help but ask with a wry smile.
"Really," he smirked right back, "And then Kai made a Cross Pact with Huggins out of the blue and had to leave for training in Lyndbaum. I was left wondering that all the more, by myself."
Simmons looked down at his hands, "And it's still keeping you up at night?" He asked softly.
Grif shot him an amused look, "What do you think?" He asked apathetically.
Simmons felt his circuitry starting to overheat once more for reasons he couldn't fathom, "I…hadn't thought about it until I came to work here. Your first question." He finally admitted, "I mean, Frarzen are produced in factories, you know? Our purpose is kind of already set."
"Simmons…"
But Simmons wasn't really wanting to illicit sympathy or feel sorry for himself, "But the guys here? They always ask me what I want to do, and it really made me think." He cut whatever the Demi-Human was going to say off as he glanced over at Grif shyly, "I still don't know the answer, and maybe it's something we're never meant to know, just like how or why we became partners."
Grif remained silent, emboldening Simmons to continue.
"But maybe, if it's okay with you, we could try and find out together?"
For a long while, Simmons was terrified that he had overstepped somehow. He was backpedaling furiously in his mind and about to say something to dig himself out of this hole when…
"Well, why the fuck not?" Grif said at last, shrugging his shoulders, "Besides, it's not like we have much of a choice, huh?"
Well, there was always the possibility that they could somehow sever the Cross Pact. But if Grif didn't even want to bring it up, Simmons was certainly not going to, "'Fraid not." His smile widened a bit, "Seems like we're stuck together for a little while."
Grif looked over at Simmons contemplatively, "Probably can't complain about that too much."
Simmons was about to ask him what he meant, but Grif surprised him by yawning and resting his head on Simmons' shoulder.
"For a robot, you're surprisingly soft."
He was going to short-circuit, "It's the synthetic skin and muscle, and—and…" The redhead stammered.
"Five minutes. Okay, Simmons?"
He nodded mutely, and couldn't believe it when Grif actually fell asleep a split-second later. Oddly enough, he felt strangely calm being like this too.
…When Simmons opened his eyes once again, night had become day once more. He didn't want to move or wake his new partner up as he smiled slightly.
Author's Notes:I so apologize for posting another short oneshot. Summer is an insanely busy time of year for me, but I shall do my best to keep up with updating or posting something at least every week to make up for it!
This is my first AU that is actually set in/based upon another series. In this case, it is the awesome but not as well-known Summon Night SRPG series! :D They are quite fun games, and the idea to have the RvB characters in that story-verse just kept coming to me after playing some of the games a bit in my free time. XD I think I tried explaining as much as you really need to know about the games' lore as I could without making it too boring, but I apologize if it was confusing all the same! As far as a timeline for the games, I'd say this is definitely set at some point during the "Resonance Era" of the future where Summon Night 5 takes place, as I love the idea of all of the worlds' cultures moving towards exchanging ideas and learning to just live together equally. :)
I ended up having quite a bit of fun writing out this AU even though I'm not as confident in what the end result might be, so I MIGHT be writing a sequel story to it at some point that explores how Grif and Simmons' Cross Pact dynamics and overall relationship have evolved from this beginning stage while they are out on a diplomatic mission together. Not sure when I will write it though, but hopefully it will be a decent continuation. XD
Thank you so much for remaining patient with me and reading the story! :D
