Simmons and Grif bond over stolen cookies while at boot camp.

Pairings Beyond Grimmons:

~N/A

Other Notes for This Story:

~Written for the awesome blankslate101, who gave me the wonderful prompt: "They're in boot camp trying to break into the cafeteria for Grif's midnight snack or some other adorable scene. I just really want boot camp bonding!"

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

Late Night Thievery

"I can't believe that I let you talk me into this."

Richard "Dick" Simmons' voice was little more than a hushed, scandalized whisper as he shot the beam of light that he was carrying towards the lock that his companion was currently in the process of picking.

"I don't recall putting a fucking gun to your head, Simmons." Dexter Grif replied with a rather patronizing-yet-bored tone. The redhead could practically hear the eye roll in Grif's voice when the other man spoke up, quelling down his own sense of rising indignation.

"Th—that's…!" Besides the point, really. …Is what Simmons wanted to say, but he found himself biting down on that particular vein of dialogue rather quickly since it veered into territory the maroon-armored soldier was trying to avoid.

After all, Simmons did not want to vocalize that he had agreed to this break-in of theirs because Grif had grinned like the goddamned sun when, hours ago, he had suggested it as they had finished their patrol. The redhead refused to dwell on the fact that Grif was one of the only positives he had discovered in the hellhole that was their boot camp, and that the idea of the chubby soldier getting caught and punished yet again for stealing food left a tiny, twisted knot of anxiety in Simmons' stomach.

Simmons did not want to admit that maybe, just maybe Grif was right: that he needed to live a little every once in a while, damn it! The maroon-armored soldier didn't want to think too much on the fact that in a few weeks' time they would most likely be shipped off to different parts of the fucking galaxy and would never see each other again. After all, he was already thinking (no doubt, in his father's eyes at any rate, way too emotionally) of how much being separated from Grif was going to suck.

No, Simmons was definitely not going to say any of those things out loud. He didn't want to provide the chubbier man with even more fuel for teasing. Simmons also didn't want to make things even more awkward for himself. A hard feat in and of itself considering how he was already a walking, awkward jumble of nerves and self-esteem issues.

So, instead, Simmons sighed and rolled his green eyes, "Just hurry it up, fat-ass."

Grif's brown irises lazily looked up at the redhead just as the door to the mess hall finally opened. Simmons did not want to think of how long they had been standing there in the dark trying to rig the damn thing open. If he did, he'd no doubt have a panic attack about how totally exposed they would have been if someone had come walking by.

"Dude," Grif said apathetically as he shook his head, "I finished while you were busy stuttering to yourself."

Simmons felt his face begin to warm in embarrassment, "I, I wasn't…!" He tried to formulate some kind of defense to the orange-armored soldier's comment, only for his brain to oh-so-helpfully freeze on him and cause him to stutter even more.

"Uh-huh, sure." Grif said as he patted Simmons' shoulder in a patronizing fashion, "Whatever you say, buddy."

The redhead ground his teeth in annoyance, but Grif didn't notice as he was already moving stealthily through the mess hall and into the kitchen proper.

As he watched Grif maneuver his way through the area, Simmons couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed at how easily the heavyset man was managing to move in the dark. It didn't seem physically possible, but Grif tended to defy the rules of physics where snacks were concerned. If he actually ever bothered applying those skills out on the field, then Grif would be…

"Simmons!" The tan-skinned man abruptly whispered, effectively cutting off Simmons' rambling thoughts, "Over here!"

Simmons tried not to roll his eyes again at his friend's frantic motioning as he carefully picked his way to the back of the kitchen. He was sad to admit that his movements were less graceful than Grif's, but damn it! This whole experience was way out of Simmons' comfort zone and he really sucked when it came to dealing with stressful situations, so fuck it if he couldn't move like some stealthily agile food scavenging ninja!

"We need to get going before someone sees us!" Simmons hissed out rather urgently as he approached his partner in crime.

Grif nodded his head in that infuriating way of his, the one that clearly indicated he wasn't paying much attention at all to what Simmons had just said, "We hit the fucking jackpot!"

Simmons glanced down at the object Grif was gesturing towards, surprised to see a whole crate of what appeared to be boxes of cookies, "You seriously want to steal all of this?"

"Well, yeah," Grif replied as he grinned again and Simmons couldn't help but be transfixed once more, "Why do you think I said this was going to be a two-person job?"

Simmons sighed, suddenly feeling the urge to regret all of his life choices.

"We are going to get in a shitload of trouble for this." Simmons groaned as he sat with his back to the crate that they had just finished stashing away in Grif's top secret "napping spot."

…Simmons tried to ignore the way his heart sped up slightly at the knowledge that he was the only one besides the orange-armored draftee who knew about the cave overlook. After all, it was probably no big deal to Grif that he had showed him the spot, so why should Simmons really show how touched he was by the display of trust? That would just make things weird.

Grif sat down beside him, already unwrapping a cookie, "Probably."

Simmons shot him an incredulous look at the admission, "Then why even fucking do it in the first place?"

"Chill, Simmons." Grif said as he shrugged indifferently, looking towards the stars dotting the sky over the entranceway, "It's not like it will matter in a few weeks anyways, right?"

"Oh." Simmons frowned and looked at the dirt on the cave floor, "Right."

Damn Grif for bringing up a touchy topic that he had been trying not to think about. Leaving their sucky boot camp was going to suck that much more, but Simmons didn't want to dwell on it. He quickly busied himself by playing with some of the smaller rocks on the ground to avoid delving too deeply into "feelings" territory.

"But, seriously, I wouldn't have been able to have scored such a big haul without you." Grif noted a few moments later, "Thanks, man."

Simmons glanced up, surprised at the words. But, the redhead didn't make eye contact with Grif seeing as how the chubby man's eyes glanced off to the side as if actively avoiding Simmons' gaze. The tan-skinned man was happily munching away on one of the cookies they had just "liberated" from the mess hall, as if he hadn't said a word.

The maroon-armored soldier smiled shakily at the unexpected praise all the same, willing himself not to cry again. "Th—thanks, Grif. I—" he began, looking away quickly himself without finishing his thought.

"Simmons."

Simmons turned his head questioningly towards Grif again, opening his mouth to ask him what was up when suddenly a chocolate chip cookie was crammed into his face.

Grif watched him chew and struggle to swallow the baked good down with a satisfied, almost fond smile on his face.

"Doesn't it taste better when it is hard-fought and earned?" He asked him in a pseudo-sage way that was totally mocking Simmons' kiss-ass tendencies.

Simmons glared at the chubby man as he swallowed the last few cookie crumbs, though the slight smile on his face that matched Grif's own betrayed him. Neither man chose to comment on the noticeable red tinge blossoming across their faces in the dark.

…For once, Simmons found that he couldn't really argue with Grif's sentiment. He didn't regret this moment at all.

Author's Notes: I hope this story was adorable enough for you, blankslate101! :D Hopefully, I will get your other prompt ideas written out sometime in the near future too. :) This was a fun story to help get back into the swing of writing again following the hectic craziness of my trip earlier. Next update should be a new chapter for Specials, so I hope people will look forward to it! :D