Having a connection and recognizing what it might mean is just as difficult as acting on it.

Pairings Beyond Grimmons:

~Sarcus

~Kaikaina x Grey

~Tucker x Andersmith

~Washalina

~Chex

~Doyle x Kimball

~Palomo x Jensen

~Bitthews

~Lopez x Sheila

~Docnut

Other Notes for This Story:

~Soulmate AU in a more modern day setting.

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

Tingles and Statistics

Throughout the years, Richard "Dick" Simmons had heard about the so-called "soulmate connection." How could he not have, really, when it permeated everyday life?

After all, there was a seemingly endless supply of philosophical and creative works on the subject. One couldn't walk down the street without seeing advertisements that claimed they could help narrow down the search for one's potential soulmates. Not to mention the constant clamor of those searching for theirs, or those with found soulmates who lamented circumstances and decisions that kept them apart, or those who gushed endlessly about how complete life had become once they had found their other half.

Yes, Simmons knew as much as anyone else about the concept. He even sometimes went over the stats in his head, trying to figure out the mathematical equations behind the seemingly limitless number of soulmate variables that existed.

In theory, everyone was potentially connected to a number of others the world over. Those people could become "soulmates" over time if they interacted with one another often enough, if they somehow formed that connection and chose to let that bond grow and develop.

There were even studies done on how it was possible for someone, in their final moments on Earth, to somehow push a part of their connection with another onto someone else they cared for. That way, the people those dying cared about wouldn't be left completely alone, that their spark somehow carried on. Such studies were more of a gray area though, as the theory behind them was difficult to prove and it was obvious that some either couldn't do so or refused to let go on a subconscious level. After all, the human mind and soul were quite complicated.

Even still, given the sheer volume of people in the world, the odds of actually meeting one of your potential soulmates wasn't amazingly high. Nor were the odds that the potential bond that grew to connect a pair over time would be actively pursued by either party once they had met. There were a myriad of reasons one might have for not doing so, given the inherent complexities and flaws inherent in every single person.

Simmons' own parents were a prime example. His father was a distant, practical-minded man with higher standards than most could ever hope to reach, and a mindset that something so inherently random as a soulmate connection wouldn't adhere to him. After all, what if a potential soulmate was just a bad fit for his life and career in general? So, Simmons' father never sought any of his possible soulmates out, thinking the whole matter exceedingly pointless and frivolous.

His mother, on the other hand, had found one of hers, having been fortunate enough to have met her while the two had been growing up. But their relationship hadn't exactly been welcome news to either of their families, so Simmons' mother had chosen to end it and resign herself to a partner that would both please her parents and provide her with a comfortable lifestyle.

Simmons had asked her once what had happened to the other woman, and his mother had distantly shrugged and simply said that they hadn't stayed in touch.

It didn't seem as if their decision to marry had made either of his parents particularly happy. They were too proud, however, to admit that they had willingly trapped themselves in a loveless marriage for appearance's sake, raising a son who they both felt was a disappointment.

Simmons watched his parents act like strangers at the best of times while trying his hardest to get them to at least feel a shred of something other than apathy for him. Because of his parents, while growing up he thought constantly about bonds rejected and bonds chosen.

On a day when she didn't seem to have too hollow of a smile, Simmons had once worked up the courage to ask his mother what that initial "spark" between potential soulmates felt like. With a nostalgic, nearly unreadable expression on her pinched face she had told him that it was like a tingle that shot through your entire body, one that increased in intensity with every meeting.

Simmons wasn't quite sure what that really described, and his mother's brief bout of humoring him faded just as quickly as it had come about. He could never get her to elaborate on the topic, and he never had the heart to ask anyone else afterwards about it, deciding it was utterly pointless.

Even as a child, Simmons had been halfway convinced he would never experience that sensation his mother had so inarticulately described.

…At twenty-seven-years-old, having been completely rejected by his family quite a few years earlier and consequently becoming another stranger in a brand new city attempting to make a fresh start, he was absolutely sure of it.

"No."

"Dude, what the fuck? You know I'd totally do it for you!"

Simmons kept his eyes glued onto the tablet in front of him, a slight sigh escaping his mouth as he tried to unsuccessfully tune out the conversation going on just a few feet away from where he was sitting as he looked over his work e-mail.

The heavyset, tan-skinned man sitting across from Simmons on the picnic bench let out his own much larger sigh of exasperation at his friend's remark, "One, you don't have a sister." Dexter Grif pointed out rather matter-of-factly, "Two, you would definitely not pimp her out even if you did, Tucker."

Lavernius Tucker, a mutual acquaintance of both Simmons and Sarge from their place of work at Rebel Central Tech, held up his hands quickly as if to block a blow from the person he was currently seated next to, "Whoa there, Grif! Who said anything about pimping Kai out?" He cheekily grinned a split-second later, a sly look entering his eyes, "I know for a fact that she really doesn't need any help in that department if you get what I mean. Bow-chicka-bow-wow!"

"Tucker." Grif's tone took on a definite murderous note just then, and Simmons made the mistake of looking up out of simple curiosity to gauge the rest of Grif's reaction despite how much his own face had started to heat up at what Tucker had been implying.

Rich brown eyes immediately locked onto his own, Grif raising a dark-haired eyebrow as if to challenge the lankier redhead to just try and interject his personal thoughts into a conversation that so clearly didn't involve him. Simmons bit his lip nervously in response and lowered his head once more, inwardly praying that Sarge and Carolina would show up soon.

He didn't know why he had even agreed to meet up with them here when Tucker, along with Grif, had cornered him earlier right before lunch. He barely knew either of them despite Tucker having started working at Rebel Central about two years ago, and Grif he only knew on account of Carolina sometimes making him run errands for her when she freelanced over at Federal Central Tech next door. Simmons was still hopelessly awkward enough as it was with his own small gaggle of friends he had managed to accrue since he had moved to Chorus, going to lunch with acquaintances was way out of his comfort zone.

"Eh, lighten the fuck up. You know I think your sister is fucking awesome." Tucker carried on emphatically when he realized he wouldn't have to pry Grif's hands away from Simmons' throat, "Besides, she's one of the only chicks I know who doesn't have a hang-up about me having to be home early on account of the babysitter."

Right, Tucker actually had a son who was in elementary school already. Simmons had met Junior once when the kid had been sick. Kimball had let the single parent bring Junior to work until his doctor appointment. Junior had even informed Tucker that introducing Simmons as the "office nerd" wasn't exactly polite, much to Simmons' surprise and no small amount of pride from Tucker.

"Even if I did say yes and ask her for you because for some unbelievably stupid reason you think she would actually listen to me about anything," Grif spoke up pointedly, making a face as he did so, "It's pretty fucking last-minute even for you, dude."

The teal-wearing man's shoulders slumped, "I know. But this whole stupid outing is fucking last-minute!" Tucker complained, "Church and Tex really need to plan their whole "we've been back together for a week so we need to rub it in our dear friends' faces" anniversaries earlier."

"Wouldn't that imply that they actually knew how things would go beforehand?" Simmons couldn't stop himself from inquiring.

Two pairs of brown eyes turned to regard him then, and he wanted to shrink in on himself. But, surprisingly, Tucker actually smirked in response, "You're telling me, dude." He remarked, "Those two are the very definition of weird-as-all-fuck soulmates."

Simmons blinked at the admission of Church and Tex's status in regards to one another. He recalled how Carolina had once said something much the same about her younger brother and his on-and-off-and-then-on-again girlfriend, only with more frustration.

Then again, Carolina had lost a soulmate herself awhile back and her sentiment in regards to Church's situation stemmed largely from concern for her sibling's wellbeing, even if she had to begrudgingly admit that their odd arrangement somehow inexplicably seemed to work for them. Tex and Church even jokingly agreed to share custody of their friend Caboose regardless of where they currently were in their relationship cycle.

"Too much work if you ask me." Grif mumbled under his breath rather disinterestedly, shrugging his shoulders for added emphasis.

"I'm with you there, man." Tucker told the orange-wearing man emphatically as he leaned backwards with a confident glint in his eyes, "That's why I always make sure to date around. Don't want to deprive the ladies, if you know what I mean!"

He winked, and Simmons rolled his eyes.

Grif remained looking largely unimpressed, "And here I thought it was because you just couldn't get anyone to go out on a second date with you."

"Hey, fuck you, asshole!" Tucker quickly gave Grif the finger, "At least I have options."

"Which is totally why you've been begging me to set up Kai as your plus one for the evening." Grif noted dryly.

Tucker groaned and Simmons suddenly remembered something that he had distantly overheard a few days ago when Caboose had stopped by to visit with Carolina, "Hey, Tucker, didn't Caboose actually give you someone's number?" He asked out of genuine curiosity.

Tucker nodded in faint remembrance, though he looked positively deflated despite the reminder, "Yeah. Some chick he knows named J. Elizabeth Something." He frowned a moment later and shook his head, "But that came from Caboose."

"Beggars can't be choosers." Grif pointed out pseudo-sagely.

"It's worth a shot at least." Simmons tried reasoning, "It would probably make Caboose happy if you followed through."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tucker trailed off when he glanced up from the picnic bench they had all been sitting around at the sound of approaching footsteps. His face broke out in a grin a second later, "Fucking finally!"

Sarge and Carolina approached the trio along with a towering figure of a man with an X-shaped scar marring his face that Simmons was absolutely positive no one had ever had the courage to ask him about. In the red-haired woman's hand was the handle of the bag of sandwiches that Tucker had begged her to get.

Carolina quirked her lips upwards slightly at Tucker's comment, "Waiting long?" She asked, clearly amused by his impatience.

"Not really." Tucker shrugged before he gestured towards Grif and Simmons, "But these two assholes aren't the best with communication."

"Hey!"

Both men exclaimed at once, turning to look at the other for a split-second afterwards. Simmons broke eye contact first, his face heating up in surprise along with a rather odd sensation suddenly rising in his gut. He figured it had to do with his usual bout of nerves and anxiety, so he opted not to eat anything as the others dug into their lunch bounty.

"Didn't expect to see you in town again so soon, Locus." Grif stated in the scarred man's direction as he sat down along with Sarge next to Simmons, "Weren't you on some sales trip for Doyle or something?"

"It finished quicker than anticipated." Locus' reply was quite to the point.

Sarge laughed loudly, hitting Locus on the back rather roughly in an amicable gesture that would have knocked someone as scrawny as Simmons down onto the ground though Locus didn't react at all beyond a slight grimace, "Sam is a very persuasive fella when he wants to be!" The older man exclaimed proudly.

"If by "persuasive" you mean "fucking terrifying," then yeah." Tucker muttered under his breath.

Grif raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Sam?"

Locus shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "It's my name." He finally said at length, "My actual name."

Carolina regarded the silent, shocked expressions on the other three's faces in mild amusement, "You didn't actually think his name was Locus, did you?" She asked, already knowing they probably did if her "you are all idiots" smile was any indication.

Tucker guffawed quickly in response, "What? No!" He looked down at his half-eaten sandwich with immense interest, "It's not like I thought he had legally changed it to make himself seem more intimidating in order to gain the upper hand in tech sales or shit!"

The way Tucker said that last part pretty much cemented that was exactly what he had thought. Everyone made a point of looking away from the clearly embarrassed Tucker for a moment to help him save a bit of face.

Simmons turned his attention back to Sarge the second he felt he could do so, his inquisitive nature getting the better of him, "How did you know that though, Sarge?" He asked the red-wearing man, "I mean, about his real name?"

Carolina had been working as something of a freelancer within both Donald Doyle's and Vanessa Kimball's rival companies for quite some time now, so it only made sense that she would have known. But Sarge had been working at Kimball's Rebel Central for about as long as Locus had been over at Doyle's Federal Central so…

"He told it to me once." Sarge stated rather enigmatically, "Over dinner."

"What?" All eyes had turned to the pair now, and Locus looked downright sheepish for a moment at all of the attention, which was a decidedly bizarre expression for a man so intimidating to wear.

"I had just left my business partner," Locus informed them a second later, "And I ran into Sarge. He was the one who convinced me to seek out fulltime employment with Doyle."

Sarge snickered fondly at the memory, "I figured that Doyle had put out those hiring ads back then because I'd been helping Kimball so thoroughly kick his keister!"

"Huh." Grif glanced at the two in obvious surprise as if somehow seeing them both in a new light, "So you're friends then?"

Sarge tapped his finger on the table in front of him, pointedly not looking at anyone. He even seemed reluctant to throw some kind of lazy or orange-related insult Grif's way as he so often tended to do for some reason no one had ever been quite sure about.

Locus, never one to be extremely comfortable with revealing too much personal information and clearly almost reaching his limit for the day, shifted his gaze away as well, "Of a sort." He finally managed to get out.

"Dude, you two are lucky that Donut isn't here." Tucker let out a low whistle, "You know how excited he gets about forbidden office romances."

If he expected the two older men to vehemently deny anything, he was in for a shock as they instead remained steadfastly silent, a slight redness to both of their cheeks.

"No fucking way." Tucker intoned rather incredulously as realization began seeping in over what their silence potentially implied, "Are you two sou—?!"

"Well, I'll be! Look at the time. We should skedaddle." Sarge abruptly stood up from the bench, motioning with his hand over to Tucker and Simmons as he did so, "Those afternoon reports won't write themselves."

"Yes, sir!" Simmons stated out of sheer force of habit.

Locus caught Sarge's eye then as they gave one another a brief nod, almost as if confirming something amongst themselves. Grif looked halfway amused and horrified at the sight, while Carolina ate her late lunch in peace.

"I bet they would if Simmons wrote a nerd algorithm for them or something." Tucker pouted at not getting a vocal answer to his interrupted question, though the reaction had made the answer obvious enough.

"Hey!" Simmons protested as he stood up to follow Sarge, trying to hold himself back from explaining to Tucker the sheer number of limitations and difficulties inherent in that idea in order to avoid getting made fun of even more.

He reached down for his tablet, and was surprised when a rolled up sandwich hit the back of his hand.

The maroon-wearing man glanced questioningly over at Grif, the other man already working on munching down his second helping.

"You should eat something later, kiss-ass." was all Grif said in response to the redhead's regard.

Simmons ignored the way he found himself blushing. The odd pins-and-needles sensation he suddenly felt was one he could easily equate to his having once again done something wholly embarrassing, like forgetting to eat during the designated lunch period.

Doctor Emily Grey was a certifiable genius, and a good friend to both Vanessa Kimball and Donald Doyle before their shared interests had led to them become staunch competitors. It was no surprise that she tended to frequent their offices quite a bit and, after helping Simmons through a fainting spell once at Rebel Central (he had totally seen a fucking snake in that coat closet, he swears!), somehow the two of them had become something of friends.

Though that still didn't explain how Simmons found himself sitting at a rather fine dining restaurant table with Grey and a largely distracted Tucker, glancing up from behind a menu every so often at a red-haired woman clearly waiting for someone else to arrive at a smaller table set for two.

"Why exactly are we here again?" Simmons whispered over to the dark-skinned woman, as if hoping the answer would make sense this time.

Grey beamed a disconcertingly bright smile his way, "For science, of course!" She exclaimed gleefully.

"Right." Simmons said, unable to look anything but doubtful at her declaration.

"Observation is a key aspect of research, Simmons." She reminded him matter-of-factly.

"I don't know about that." Tucker murmured as he scrolled through some of the text messages on his phone, "It just seems like we're spying on Carolina and her date, which is totally going to get us killed if she finds out about it."

"And there is no way that she wouldn't, because subtlety is not exactly your forte." Carolina's cool voice interjected rather calmly into the mix, causing both Simmons and Tucker to jump in fright when they looked up and saw the cyan-wearing woman standing by their table alongside a freckled man in a gray suit with a yellow tie that nearly matched his blond hair.

The unknown man raised an eyebrow as he glanced over from the trio to Carolina in mild amusement, "Friends of yours?" He asked her with a strong sense of familiarity.

Carolina pursed her lips slightly, but she thankfully seemed more bemused than affronted, "Unfortunately."

"Really now, Carolina." Doctor Grey, completely nonplussed by having been caught in her spying, raised an eyebrow, "You have to admit that your rather secretive behavior when asking me to help you get this reservation was rather curiosity-piquing."

Carolina opened her mouth to respond, then closed it quickly with a sigh, "I honestly have no idea how to respond."

"It was the same for us when we heard you might have a date!" Tucker chimed in, and Simmons wasn't sure if Tucker was actually trying to help pull them out of the fire or was just taking the plunge and digging their graves deeper, "Church said you were seeing a friend or something, but this is a pretty snazzy setup for a normal meet-and-greet."

The blond-haired guy blushed and looked Carolina's way as she averted her gaze. Her own face was slightly red to match her hair, and she clenched her hands into fists at her sides in a manner that had Tucker instinctively flinching, "That's because I had wanted some privacy." She finally grunted out.

"Carolina…" Her apparent date gripped her shoulder slightly and she relaxed before a surprisingly open expression crossed over her features.

"Wash and I…we met through York awhile back." She explained after a moment of collecting her thoughts.

Tucker looked stricken and apologetic at the admission. Following the accident that took York's life, Carolina hardly ever talked about him to anyone.

"I just moved back and Carolina offered to help me set up here again." The man they now knew to be David Washington from when Church had talked about his and Carolina's past explained further, "I thought it might be nice to reminisce a bit."

"Damn." Tucker winced remorsefully, "Now I kind of feel like we were being intrusive assholes."

"You usually always are, Tucker." Carolina smirked down at him, "I think it's actually part of your unusual charm."

"S—sorry!" Simmons quickly apologized too.

"It's fine." Washington was quick to reassure them, a slight sort-of smile crossing over his features, "I'm glad that Carolina has such a…" He chose his next word rather carefully, "Colorful group looking out for her."

"Hey, if you're going to be sticking around here, you're gonna be stuck with us too, pal!" Tucker joked.

"They'll grow on you." Carolina reassured Washington, the sight of her hand slipping momentarily into his not lost on anyone, "Eventually." She let go a second later to raise an eyebrow over at Doctor Grey, "I'm rather shocked that you duped these two into hanging around while you waited for your own date to show."

Tucker and Simmons looked over at Grey in bewildered shock as she pointedly cleared her throat, "Y—yes, well. There was a reason I was able to even get the reservations here at all, and…"

"That was all because of me, bitches!"

Kaikaina Grif exclaimed loudly as she waltzed into the establishment like she owned the place, her older brother exasperatedly hot on her heels.

"You two know each other?" Simmons asked incredulously, watching Doctor Grey nod her head slightly to Kai in way of greeting as the two grinned at one another.

Kai smirked over at him, "Met when I broke my ankle awhile back, and we got to talking all about my awesome flexibility."

"Er…" Simmons felt his face heat up at the implication behind her words, and he looked over to find Grif scowling.

Grey's cheeks had darkened at the younger Grif's comment, "Kai is very limber." She murmured under her breath, almost uncharacteristically shy.

"Fucking shit." Tucker let out a low whisper, "I did not see that one coming. Two crazy hot chicks. Bow-chicka-bow-wow!"

Kai winked at the assembled group at large, "The spark thing was pretty hot too," she informed them happily, "So we totally had to fucking see each other again."

"Spark?" Simmons blinked, having heard that term somewhere in the past.

"You'd be very surprised at just who you might connect to, Simmons." Grey stated softly, glancing over at Carolina and Washington, "And over what."

The two looked away from one another at that, but Washington's fingers momentarily sought Carolina's for a brief second that no one opted to comment on.

"But," Simmons felt the need to change the subject in light of potentially revealing his own lack of experience on the whole soulmate subject, "How did Kai help get the reservations here?"

"The owner still fucking owes me for not telling anyone how I helped him lower the health code in the kitchen down a few grades if you get my drift." Kai waggled her eyebrows rather suggestively to further emphasize the point.

"Fuck yeah, I do!" Tucker held up his hand for a high-five at the same time that Grif groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Goddamn it, Kai!"

"It's totally back up now though." The younger woman in yellow assured both Carolina and Washington, who looked as if they were about to become rather nauseous at her revelation.

"You know," Washington suddenly turned over to regard Carolina, "York would probably love a toast to his memory at that local dive bar a few blocks back."

"Plus, we could both use a few more drinks to forget that this conversation ever happened." Carolina readily agreed, the two apparently not able to make their getaway fast enough since they were already waving backwards at the assembled group and heading out the door.

Kai grinned playfully and draped herself over Grey's shoulders so that she could whisper loudly in her ear, "Hey! That means their table opened up, right? We can call fucking dibs on it!" An excited glimmer danced in her brown eyes, "Wanna tell me about how that brain surgery today went?"

Grey smiled and reached up to grip one of Kai's hands in her own, "I thought you'd never ask."

As they left the bewildered trio of men behind, Tucker raised an incredulous eyebrow in Grif's direction, "Are you seriously okay with your little sister dating the crazy doctor lady?"

Grif shrugged, glancing at the happy pair with an odd look of contentment, "They seem weirdly happy together, and Kai's actually been interested in someone for longer than a day so…" he shrugged and trailed off, obviously feeling like he didn't need to finish his reasoning.

"Right." Tucker looked down as his phone beeped again.

"Is it that Elizabeth girl again?" Grif asked curiously, "Caboose said you two had hit it off, but you usually can't wait to gloat so I wasn't sure."

The dark-skinned man looked positively stricken, "We did, but—!"

The phone beeped once more.

"Aren't you going to answer them?" Simmons asked as well, knowing that Tucker had been receiving texts on his phone throughout the day.

Tucker sighed and slumped backwards in his seat, "It's fucking complicated, dude. Trust me."

"Anyone willing to still go out with you after the first time is probably someone you should keep dating." The tan-skinned man couldn't resist mocking his friend just then.

Tucker responded by giving Grif the finger before he glanced down hesitantly at his phone. After a moment, he seemed to make up his mind because a look of surprising determination crossed over his features as he snapped the item up and walked towards the door, "Shit, I gotta take this." He said as he headed outside the restaurant.

That just left Simmons and Grif there, Simmons fidgeting awkwardly in his chair as the sounds of Kai and Grey's tinkling laughter filled the room. He was about to excuse himself to leave as well when the heavyset man suddenly plopped down in the chair directly next to his own, grabbing the menu from in front of the redhead as he did so.

"I hope they have fucking burgers at least." Grif murmured more to himself than to Simmons.

"Um…" Simmons couldn't help but stare at him in startled surprise, "What are you doing?"

Grif, in turn, shot him a blank look, "Kai dragged me down here to meet her girlfriend and all that walking made me hungry."

"B—but…!"

"The reservation has already been made, and Grey isn't going to get the table fee back even after they moved to the smaller one if we bail. So let's not waste it, yeah?" The chubby man reasoned rather logically, "I'll even split the bill."

"You mean pay for your part and I'll pay for mine?" Simmons asked him, "Like anyone at a restaurant who is not on a date would do?"

"And here I thought you'd want to be progressive." Grif countered back.

Simmons felt his whole body practically heat up, "We're not on a date!" He tried pointing out the fact in vain.

"With that attitude of yours, we probably never will be." Grif informed him matter-of-factly as he turned the menu over to the deserts, "But, I'll be generous and pay for the deserts if you stick around." He eyed the waiting staff who were slowly starting to brave circling around the tables again, "The looks people give you are sort-of rude when you eat three of them by yourself."

Simmons spluttered in response, but somehow couldn't bring himself to leave the table despite the brain-breaking circumstances he suddenly found himself further entrenched in. He barely even noticed the slight, not altogether unpleasant tingle when Grif's shoulder bumped into his own for a moment. Nor did he notice exactly when it was that Kai and Grey decided to leave.

Tucker never did come back to the table, but he found he didn't exactly mind once he got roped into the oddly thought-provoking and rather entertaining conversation that Grif had somehow unknowingly pulled him into before the waiters finally kicked the two of them out in order to close up the restaurant.

It was no surprise to anyone that the rival businesses of Rebel Central Tech and Federal Central Tech ultimately ended up merging together, especially in light of Donut walking in on the two business leaders apparently in the midst of a very heated sort-of entanglement of their own in a copy room that Lopez refused to enter from that moment onwards.

The two businesses had literally been located next door to one another, so merging them into Armonia Tech, named after the college that both Kimball and Doyle had evidently attended, had been no trouble either, especially with the plans that the recently hired designer Sheila had started to implement. She and her young assistant Matthews became constant presences in the offices for several months afterwards.

The biggest surprise by far was the revelation that came with the new crop of employees who joined the recently created Armonia Tech's ranks. Among them, after all, was the mysterious J. Elizabeth Something who Tucker had been dating for quite some time now, much to Caboose's continued gushing delight.

"You should have just told us, Tucker." Grif stated casually as he sipped his coffee while leaning against the backwall of the recently renovated shared office space.

He wordlessly handed Simmons a steaming mug of his own when Simmons came up to join the two of them after his normal reminder that they still needed to finish up their work. Grif's action caused Simmons to stare at the proffered mug momentarily to ponder just how the orange-wearing man had managed to know to pick up the very mug the redhead had specifically brought in from home.

John Elizabeth Andersmith was currently talking to two other new employees, Katie Jensen and Charles Palomo, about how their date the night before had gone with an easygoing and friendly smile on his face as the two younger people blushed along with their recollections.

"I know." Tucker sighed and rolled his eyes, his gaze lingering on Andersmith's blue-trimmed shirt, "But I'd built up such a huge reputation as a ladies' man…"

"That you completely made up in your mind." Grif interjected.

Tucker shot him a quick glare but carried on regardless, "And then Caboose matches me up with a guy of all things and just as I'm about to clear up the mistake," he paused in remembrance before waving a hand in the air as if that explained everything, "It happens."

"It?" Simmons questioned, not quite sure what the dark-skinned man was referring to.

"You know." Tucker continues before Simmons could try to state that, no, he did not in fact know what Tucker had been vaguely trying to say, "It. I'd never felt it before, not even with Junior's mom." His cheeks darkened in the telltale sign of a blush, "So I decided to see where this shit went." He smiled in Andersmith's direction when the dark-haired man looked over his way, beaming and waving back himself, "You know what? It's actually been pretty fucking great." His smile widened even more, "Junior likes him a lot too."

Tucker looked over at Grif and Simmons as if waiting for some kind of joking remark or mocking challenge, but it never came. Instead, Simmons was looking between Tucker and Andersmith with something akin to sincere longing in his green eyes, and Grif was watching the expression on Simmons' face with an oddly keen interest.

Grif shook his head as if to get his thoughts refocused as he turned to face Tucker instead, "Good for you, Tucker." He finally said with genuine warmth in his voice.

Simmons nodded his head in earnest agreement, and Tucker seemed to relax visibly at his friends apparently being happy for him. But it didn't last long before he honestly told them, "Okay, the two of you are weirding me the fuck out."

Grif rolled his eyes, the moment of sincerity apparently passed with that declaration, "Oh, just go and make out with your boyfriend, Tucker." He smirked, "Maybe you two could go on a double date with Jensen and Palomo, or even Sarge and Locus. Or even…"

He trailed off as he saw the last new employee, Antoine Bitters, handing a roll of design blueprints over to Matthews, the customary scowl that was usually plastered on his face completely nonexistent as he spoke with the auburn-haired young man. Sheila was nowhere to be found, apparently having disappeared with Lopez somewhere a while ago.

"Shit." Grif muttered as a sudden realization hit him and he turned conspiratorially to Simmons, "Pretty much every asshole here and every other asshole we know has a soulmate connection now. What are the fucking odds of that?"

Simmons could have said that he spent far too many hours trying to figure that out himself, but he decided not to reveal another of his pathetically nerdy tendencies.

Rather, he opted to continue standing next to Grif instead of going back to doing any of his actual work for the moment as he sipped the coffee Grif had given him.

"So, Kai texted me earlier about how she and Grey are going to be crashing over at our place again…"

Simmons rolled his eyes at Grif trailing off like he did, the two of them already at the steps leading up to his apartment, "If you want to spend the night, all you have to do is fucking ask." He grumbled out.

Grif smirked back knowingly in response, "I wouldn't want to impose."

They were at the door by the time he had finished the sentence, and Simmons threw it open without even glancing back at Grif, his fingers keeping the door pushed inwards, "Hurry up and get in, fat-ass."

It wasn't like Grif staying over wasn't a common enough occurrence by this point. After all, Simmons' place was closer to their work, and once Grif had found out about his couch bed…well, the days of Grif asking other friends and co-workers for a place to crash whenever his sister brought her shenanigans (sexcapades, she preferred to call them) home were long since over.

Simmons didn't even really think about it anymore, sometimes catching himself off-guard by looking for Grif's prone form huddled under a myriad of blankets in the living room whenever he got up before getting ready for the day himself.

Grif didn't make a comment on finding out about the couch bed still being pulled out from his last visit, though his eyes lingered after Simmons when the other man went into his bedroom to wordlessly pull out his pajamas for the night.

The two men stared at each other through the open doorway for a long moment when Simmons felt Grif's continued regard and turned to face his direction, the breath catching in Simmons' lungs as that weird-ass jolt that only ever seemed to happen whenever he was around Grif ran through his body once more.

The maroon-wearing man reluctantly pulled himself away after who knew how much time had awkwardly, even heatedly, passed. He felt Grif do so a moment later.

Out of all of the soulmate pairs that had so inexplicably popped up around him ever since he had moved to Chorus, Simmons supposed it only made the most sense for Doc and Donut to marry first.

After all, Donut had only dreamed about planning his wedding day ever since he had seen his mothers renew their vows when he was seven.

The ceremony had gone off without a hitch, and Simmons could only imagine how much of that was due to Donut's extensive planning. The pink-wearing man had collapsed into his seat for the first half of the reception in what could only be described as jubilant exhaustion, his new husband attentively and adoringly holding his hand and waving a fan in his face.

Out on the dance floor, Tucker and Andersmith were leading Junior along, the small boy laughing happily and beaming up at them as the trio all held hands and moved together in a joyful circle.

Caboose was demonstrating a new trick he had taught his dog Freckles to both Church and Tex, the blonde decidedly more amused than her boyfriend at Caboose having borrowed Church's steak as the reward treat.

Washington and Carolina were discussing something with Sarge and Locus off to the side, and from the fact that Washington and Locus were holding their respective partners back, Simmons had the feeling it had something to do with some kind of sports team again.

Lopez may have had too much to drink already, as he appeared to be serenading Sheila in Spanish at the moment, though the brunette designer didn't seem to mind with how tightly she was gripping the kneeling man's hand.

Jensen and Palomo were contentedly making what appeared to be flower chains at their table with their tilted heads leaning in rather close together, having brought in a huge bag of daisies themselves. Simmons suspected they would be presenting their creations to Doc and Donut later on.

Kimball and Doyle had stepped over to congratulate the happily married couple, both glaring at the other every so often when they interrupted the other's well wishes with one of their own, though they were holding hands tightly and smiling cheerfully in the other's direction all the same.

Kai had greeted Simmons upon her arrival at the reception area, but hadn't stuck around for him to inquire about where Grif was before she and Doctor Grey headed over to check out the table arrangements. There were roses stuck into their hair as they sat together, laughing blissfully in a corner.

Simmons, not that he had been actively looking for him or anything like that since the wedding party had made their way to the reception, finally found Grif talking to Bitters and Matthews close to the bar. Matthews was beaming brightly at what the older man had just said to them, Bitters replying to it rather succinctly before he placed his hand on the other young man's shoulder and dragged him off to the dance floor.

Grif caught Simmons approaching not a second later, giving him a small wave in greeting.

"Pretty nice wedding so far, huh?" Simmons blurted out quickly in light of not knowing what else to say, a fond smile growing on his face as he looked around.

He never could have pictured an event like this, growing up in the house he had as a kid. But now? Now, it just felt nice. Wonderful, really.

"I'm pretty sure Donut would have killed someone if it hadn't been." Grif joked back, though he was only half-kidding. They had all seen the extreme frustration Donut had let slip out that Doc had to quickly diffuse when something had been even the tiniest bit out of sorts.

"Definitely." Simmons concurred, fidgeting awkwardly on his feet as he shyly glanced Grif's way then, "Um, did your date have a nice time too?"

He wasn't really sure why he asked that. Only that Grif seemed like he would bring a plus one to a wedding, if only to divert attention away from his trying to sneak off with more food. Okay, Kai had maybe told him that had happened once, so it was a safe assumption. Simmons tried to not dwell on how strangely upset he felt at the notion though.

Grif threw an unreadable look his way, "I don't know." He admitted at length, raising a black eyebrow a moment later, "Did you?"

Simmons was taken aback by the abrupt, nonsensical question, "Wh—what?"

With a lengthy sigh, Grif fished out his beautifully calligraphed invitation from his pocket, holding out the crumpled paper for Simmons to see. Underneath the plus one question, he had clearly written out Simmons' name.

"But we didn't even come together." was all a bewildered Simmons could think to say.

"No, but we should have." Grif dropped the invitation onto the ground.

Before Simmons could berate Grif about littering, the heavyset man stepped forward and grabbed Simmons' hand tightly in his own. That strange, all-encompassing familiar tingle caused Simmons to shiver, and Grif smiled as he gently pressed their foreheads together.

"You definitely felt it that time. Right, Simmons?" Grif asked the redhead, voice both knowing and hesitant all at once, as if he was afraid what a refusal from Simmons could mean.

Simmons' heartrate sped up and he shakily nodded his head, "Y—yeah." He finally managed to get out.

Grif wrapped his arms around Simmons then, pulling the lankier man impossibly close as the music started up once more somewhere behind them, "Wanna feel it some more?" he whispered into Simmons' ear.

Simmons was so lost in the moment that he couldn't say anything, but he nodded his head earnestly as he wrapped his arms tightly around Grif, suddenly not sure if he would ever want to let go.

"Y—yeah, I really do." He finally got out, smiling brightly to match Grif's own.

Dancing in a corner of a reception hall surrounded by friends and not wanting to take his eyes off of Grif's for even a second, his whole body seemed to spark to life at the warmth flowing between the two of them.

This tingle was that spark people talked about but, in that very moment, Simmons honestly could have cared less about soulmate statistical probabilities.

Author's Notes: To make up for my updating schedule being so sporadic recently, here is another one shot for you! :D I tried to make it a smaller one, but once again my tendency to ramble on in writing clearly got the better of me. XD

This was my first attempt at writing a Soulmate AU, and it was an interesting concept to explore even if I'm not quite as confident with the finished work as I'd like to be. Still, I hope the humor notes hit home at least and that the fluff was cozy like a well-loved blanket. :D

In honor of this being Rare Pair Week, quite a few of the pairings aside from Grimmons fall into the Rare Pair category. Some of them are ones I've never written before, and I apologize to fans of them if that shows. I had fun exploring the dynamics though, and some of those pairings might even crop up in future stories of mine! :D

Also, yep, it took Grif and Simmons as long as it did to get together in this AU because Tucker was totally spot-on earlier in the story when he said they both suck at communicating (how in character for them!). XD That's okay though because it just makes the later fluff all the more sweet! :)

Thank you for reading! :)