Simmons has nightmares about his time in the Labyrinth. Grif helps.


Pairings Beyond Grimmons:

~N/A

Other Notes for This Story:

~Set some undefined time after the events of Season 17, so SPOILERS exist.


Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.

Labyrinthine Recollections

It wasn't the first time that Dexter Grif awoke to whimpering punctuated with a sharp, heartbreaking scream. He'd turn to see Richard "Dick" Simmons a gasping and sweaty broken mess, bolting upright in their shared bed since they'd long since gotten used to rooming together during retirement, had even moved their beds together so that they could have more room. The others had long since opted not to comment on their bedroom arrangement, save for an occasional shining glimmer in either Tucker's or Donut's eyes.

So, no, this was definitely not the first time that Simmons had interrupted his much needed fourteen hours of sleep. Grif figured that it was far from the last if previous nights were any indication. Simmons had been sleeping poorly ever since they'd come back from their journey to fix time.

Grif thought he knew why, but he didn't want to press his luck. The orange-wearing man was too afraid of being Pandora and opening up a box with a shitload of stuff he wasn't prepared or equipped to deal with, of being forced to think back to his own nightmarish experiences in the Labyrinth. Sure, they joked about it now and he still occasionally watched the footage he'd gotten of Simmons back then from his helmet-cam because it was too hilarious not to.

But Grif wasn't an idiot. He knew that, like all of them, Simmons must have seen something truly horrific in the labyrinthine depths before the funny shit happened. The redhead was too much of an anxious, mirror-breaking mess with daddy and self-esteem issues not to. Grif and Kai had just seen the tail end and Simmons wasn't going to break down and reveal any trauma to people who had laughed while he was getting chased by a UFO wanting to take away his dick. They all sort-of sucked with talking about anything really important anyways. Kind of their thing. It occurred to Grif that he wasn't exactly going around and opening up about what he'd seen himself, or what Kai had been through either because that shit was private.

So he pretended to be asleep each time Simmons woke up from a nightmare, even though it tore a little at his insides to see through half-lidded eyes Simmons being so choked up, but "Do you want to talk about it?" just seemed like both too hard and too little to say about whatever Simmons was recalling.

However, this time Grif's eyes remained wide open as Simmons began to come to in his surroundings, slowly realizing he was back in their room. The maroon-wearing man let out a sharp, pained breath as he tried calming down before he did what he always did and nervously turned his head to see if Grif was still "sleeping" or not. Green eyes, one organic and one artificial, met a green eye and brown eye. The two stared at one another, Grif too afraid to move a muscle because Simmons looked like he was contemplating bolting at any second.

"H-hey." Simmons finally said shakily, a watery smile plastered on his face.

"Hey." Grif shifted on his side of the bed so that he was sitting up too, leaning in closer to Simmons and gently taking his hand in his.

He could almost feel the redhead's artificial heart gears pounding in Simmons' thin, nerdy pale chest, could definitely feel his own heart thudding loudly as if to match.

"Can't...can't sleep?" Simmons asked, looking pointedly away just then though his grip on Grif's hand remained firmly in place.

"Yeah." Grif admitted since it was safe enough to do so as Simmons had initiated the question, "What about you?"

"Oh, uh, same!" Simmons turned back to look at his tan-skinned companion, trying to smile widely as if to reassure both himself and Grif, "Excited to start the day tomorrow and rework my chore wheel!"

"Kiss-ass." Grif mumbled fondly, his hand tightening around Simmons'. He was relieved when Simmons squeezed back.

They stayed like that in companionable silence for a long while until Simmons seemed to calm down, his breathing becoming deeper and his posture more relaxed. Grif paused, hesitating for a moment before finally working up the nerve to say, "You know, if you ever want to talk about it..."

Simmons' smile was genuine this time, though he looked as if he was so touched by the gesture that he might cry, "I know. And I...I probably will. Just, not yet, you know?"

Grif nodded because yeah, he did know. He understood that quite a lot. Simmons took in a deep breath and squeezed his hand, "And if you ever want to talk..."

"Yeah." Grif squeezed back, just as touched, "I know."


Author's Notes:This fic largely came about because I was disappointed that we didn't get to see a more serious Labyrinth experience for Simmons. I've a few more story ideas involving plot elements from the Labyrinth, so those might show up in future updates too. :)