Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Epilogue:
Richard "Dick" Simmons knew it was well past time. He knew that, had known it, in the back of his mind for years, in every instant when he came home and saw not a trace of himself in his house beyond a few childhood knick-knacks in his bedroom.
All of the furniture and decorations had mostly been his mother's. His father's items had long since been moved out well before she had even passed away. He had never felt at "home" here, especially once she was gone. But, he hadn't had the heart to move anything, to really add anything of his own into the mix.
Perhaps it had been a childish sense of simply not wanting to diminish his mother's presence, or a fear of not wanting to change things for his father. Or maybe it was a fear of something else coming through and changing everything, uprooting him both literally and figuratively.
But, the odds of that happening were significantly low. Had been probably all the while, but even more so now that Hargrove had been ousted from the Council after all of his crimes had come to light. Especially now that there was a tentative peace building between the Slums and Above Ground.
For the first time in a long while, Simmons could say that he was actually proud to be a soldier, working on a joint task force with other Above Ground military and members of the Resistance to help ensure that the peace would happen.
Hargrove and his supporters had fled, including his father. If the senior Simmons was ever found he would be arrested.
So, yes, it was more than past time to do this.
Yet, the cyborg still sat in an almost catatonic state in the one chair that remained in what had been his father's room in the house, surrounded by the boxes of impersonal things that had once adorned the space his father had so often preferred instead of spending time with his family.
There was a giddy sense of both freedom and panic building inside him. When Simmons had been a child, he hadn't been allowed to step one foot into this space, let alone touching anything in it.
Putting everything into boxes to be taken away, to use the room and reshape it in any way he saw fit? It was almost too overwhelming.
He nearly wanted to cry, but not in the same way he had when he'd packed up some of his mother's things. Unlike his father's items, some remnants of his mother such as furniture or her favorite art and decorative pieces would remain and only be added to. Her memories and presence were warm ones.
No, this time, his wanting to cry wasn't due to sadness. Well, maybe there was some sadness for what had never been. But, there was relief too. Even if he had to keep telling himself that the man wouldn't be running in any second to scold him.
His nerves nearly got the best of him when the door opened behind him, though the redhead managed to jump only a little bit and covered up his sniffling with an oh-so-subtle rub of his hand over his nose.
"Hey."
It was Grif, though he knew logically it would be since he was only other person in the house. Kai was still living with them, though now that her brother was healed she had started to quite loudly voice her declaration of wanting to officially move in with her girlfriend.
Having the two Grif siblings temporarily living with him had been what had prompted all of this in the first place. While the Slums dweller had been pretty much under bedrest following Sidewinder in order to finally get his body to properly heal, Grif had gotten Simmons back into the habit of talking about everything again.
Simmons had admitted to not feeling like this place was really his yet, and Grif had wanted to know what would help him see it that way. The solution had come to Simmons pretty quickly following that.
"H—hey." He greeted, as Grif sat down next to him on one of the crates.
"Kai went off with her friends just now." The tan man informed him, "Kind of figured she wouldn't want to help with taking all of this out."
Simmons threw him a watery smile, "Honestly, I'm shocked you are, fat-ass."
Grif smirked, "Well, if that's your attitude I could just go back to my third nap of the day."
He rolled his eyes, "It's a day off. Shouldn't you use it to be more productive?"
"We have very different ideas of what to do on days off, Simmons." Grif informed him blankly.
Before Simmons could argue further, he sighed, "Besides, I said I'd help you before so I'm stuck doing it now."
"Wow." He deadpanned, "Your graciousness is apparent."
"Whatever, nerd." Grif grinned, which immediately had Simmons doing the same.
For a few moments, there was silence before Grif spoke up again, hesitatingly as he glanced around the boxed up space, "So, you really want my input on how things should look in here?"
Simmons nodded, face turning red again.
That had been one of his main ideas with this project all along. In order for this place to finally feel like home to Simmons, he wanted, needed it to feel like one for Grif too. A place where both of could be comfortable living. Surprisingly enough, Grif hadn't mocked him for that when the Above Grounder had told him that in a stuttering voice.
He'd only stared at him as if looking at something truly incredible before grabbing onto his hands and pulling him into a kiss with an affectionate "kiss-ass" that was followed promptly by a "dumbass" from Simmons.
He glanced over at Grif, "Have you decided anything yet?"
The Resistance fighter looked contemplative, "Not yet. First we need to get these things out of here and work from there."
"Right." He sighed, knowing that was true yet still feeling that odd mix of emotions, "G—give me a second?"
"However long you need." Grif's voice was understanding, and Simmons felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him in close to Grif's warmth.
He sighed, feeling himself calming down already and feeling immensely thankful for Grif's presence in his life. The redhead needed some way to help show the other that too.
"Hey, Grif?" He asked as an idea came to him just then, closing his eyes.
"Hmm?" The Slums dweller sounded lazily content.
"When this is finished," Simmons smiled nostalgically, "I want to show you something."
The air was crisp and each breath sent a jolt through C.T.'s body, starting from her lungs. The sun, now fully out after days of hiding behind the clouds, was helping to warm her skin just a bit on what otherwise might be just a way too chilly morning.
She paused on the steps to the hospital, frowning somewhat. It was a bizarre experience to be back in Above Ground again. Even more so to be back in Above Ground without having to wear the protective concealment of her armor.
She glanced back, witnessing the commotion still going on in the streets behind her. The building she was about to enter was located close to one of the many underground tunnel entrances.
Normally, what would be of very little concern to the citizenry here. They were always sealed off under the highest of computer code, with perhaps a guard or two during particularly stressful times. But, they'd been so often not used that it had been easy enough for the vast majority of Above Ground citizens to simply forget and live life as though, kilometers and kilometers below their feet, there hadn't been people trying to etch out a living after being deemed "unfit" to live topside generations ago.
But, now? Now that spot was still definitely something of an attention-grabber, even weeks after the decree had finally come through that the entrances were to be left unsealed and that travel and trade between both regions had become permissible again.
The Council's ruling had come as quite a shock at first, but as news filtered to the ranks as to why it was happening and people saw that the Slums having access to the top wasn't going to cause anything to explode into flames, it had now simply became a major point of curiosity. It was quite the opposite of an explosion, really. It actually proved lucrative to several businesses.
The brunette suspected this would become the norm eventually too, once everyone became used to the new routine. After all, it had caused an equal amount of stirring in the Slums as well, but right now there was still a large adjustment period for everything.
With that in mind, she supposed it was time to try a bit of that "adjusting" too herself. With a sigh, she stepped through the large glass doors of the hospital.
C.T. had never been a fan of these places, but she supposed this more civilian-suited one was slightly less cold and sterile than the medical wings were that you would find yourself in if training or a mission went awry.
The few staff members she saw often seemed friendly and conversed with their patients. It was a trait she'd only associated with Doctor Grey, despite her more unnerving commentary at times, and Medic DuFresne in the more military-minded medical circles.
Still, she had to choke back the sudden sense of unease that nearly overwhelmed her when she stepped inside and got a good look at the hospital. Her hand was clutching onto the bottom of the colorful bouquet she was currently gripping with nearly enough force to bend the thick grouping of stems back when a nurse pushed someone in a wheelchair past her.
Yes, she'd definitely seen far too many of the insides of facilities just like this one over the years. She imagined most of her compatriots probably felt the same.
Despite this being her first time visiting, she expertly bypassed the nurse's station and its patient registry. She might not have been here earlier, but she had already learned the room and floor number of where she was heading by heart.
C.T. was surprised, however, that her meticulous information-gathering, if one could call simply asking her friends for the information well in advance, proved completely unnecessary when she caught sight of a woman with pale blond hair with orchid highlights sitting on a bench in a garden atrium designed for patients and visitors alike.
If the hair hadn't been an obvious giveaway as to who she was, then the scowl and ready-to-pounce body language would have certainly done the trick.
The former Freelancer made her way out into the atrium, a slight smile on her face at the obvious improvement in the other woman's condition already. She sat down beside her on the bench and looked out at the idyllic landscape and other people milling about there, instinctively knowing to give the patient a wide berth of space.
Agent South Dakota barely turned her head to acknowledge C.T.'s presence, a scoff making its way past her lips, "Those had better not fucking be for me."
She was obviously referring to the bouquet of flowers that C.T. was carrying.
York had once brought South flowers as a joke of sorts after a training mishap. The subsequent beat down that had occurred gave new meaning to the "a rose has thorns" saying.
The brunette shook her head, willing the nostalgic memory to fade although thinking back didn't hurt nearly as much anymore, but there was always a lingering touch of sadness even to overall fond recollections, "No, these are for the memorial."
The recently built one to immortalize all of the innocents that had been killed as a result of power plays by those higher up in Above Ground. It had been built in the center of the city, appropriately right next to where both the governmental headquarters of the Council was as well as the location of the first tunnel that had been built, and subsequently sealed until just recently, between the Slums and topside.
A fountain, made to be identical to the very one that still stood in Level One, as directly in line with one another as science could allow given the distance between them. It was a symbolic gesture that held quite a bit of weight to many people for differing personal reasons. C.T. included.
"I heard that they finally finished that thing." South hummed in acknowledgment, tapping a knee thoughtfully, "Took them long enough for a glorified water sprinkler."
"Well, there were a lot of other things that took priority beforehand." C.T. admitted.
"I know." A snort escaped South as she leaned back on the bench, closing her eyes, "It's a shame I wasn't awake to see when they exposed that dipshit Hargrove's plans to him and the rest of the old geezers. Heard his whole turning tail and running thing was pretty hilarious."
C.T. hadn't been there either for that part of the story, though she'd heard a great deal about it later on from those who had been.
Because they were pressed for time, evidently Four Seven Niner had literally decided a roof landing was their best bet. Following that, a combination of force and Doyle's clout due to his many years of faithful service to the Council had been enough to push them the rest of the way through the surprised guards and onlookers into the main Council chamber, where Kimball had wasted no time in presenting their findings from Sidewinder to the bewildered Council members.
Their turning against Hargrove rather unanimously given his coup plans had, York and Sarge both assured her later, been a sight to behold. As had Hargrove's face twisting with rage and turning purple at his scheming having been so thoroughly exposed without anything for him to count as a major victory.
She would have loved to have seen that herself, in particular.
No, the only downside to all of that had been that Hargrove had apparently still had enough followers to escape custody shortly afterwards. But, there was now a combined effort to track him down and his overall support in both populated regions was gone. Not that he had had any in the Slums to begin with. Thus, making him ineffectual as far as threats went currently.
Still, it made things rather bitter all the same that he'd evaded any kind of real justice for what he'd done. At least most of his influence had been gone from the subsequent diplomatic talks following the immediate ceasefire of hostilities from Above Ground to the Slums.
That whole process was still an understandably slow-going, delicate one given the history between the two places. But, without Hargrove and his followers adding fuel to the fire and the Resistance now publicly considered something of "heroes" even amongst the Above Ground populace for their actions in preventing his complete takeover, there was progress all the same.
One couldn't stress how free travel for the Slums residents for the first time topside was a huge step forward, even if more work still needed to be done elsewhere.
"It's pretty impressive that you're awake just a few months afterwards, all things considered." C.T. informed her former teammate, "Even more so that you're moving around."
The Above Grounder smirked, "Yeah, I'd heard that my prognosis hadn't exactly been the greatest."
Potentially permanent paralysis following waking up from a coma. South was downplaying things rather considerably.
"You're tough." The brunette informed her, "Combining that with Doctor Grey's skills, it's no wonder you've improved so much."
South chuckled, "I bet she just scares most people into recovering even before she looks them over."
"Wouldn't shock me in the slightest." C.T. looked over at the other woman with mild concern though, despite how she looked more or less fine even with her longer hospital stay, "Still, are you actually allowed to be moving around the hospital on your own yet?"
The last thing the Resistance fighter had heard about South's situation and recovery, which hadn't been that long at all really since she'd conversed with North just the other day, had been that South was only technically being permitted limited movement without medical supervision. Her recovery had been phenomenal so far, all things considered, but there was still concern that she could do her body more harm than good if she pushed it too far while it was still healing.
South had been sitting here by herself, which probably meant she was listening to the doctors' orders here about as well as she ever had during the Project.
Her former teammate scoffed, "Please, I know my own body better than those pushy doctors." She said derisively, "They say I'll be good enough to work in a few months with therapy. I say it will be a month or two. Tops."
C.T. must have not seemed completely convinced, because a dark look crossed over South's features and she turned her head to glower at the plants around them, "Don't start any bullshit about me needing to take it easy." She said stiffly, "I've already heard more than enough of that coddling crap from North to last a fucking lifetime."
"Yeah, he mentioned that he and Theta were dropping in to check on you and make sure you weren't bashing any doctor's heads in whenever they had the time."
"He's been that way ever since we were little." She let out a huff of air, rolling her eyes, "He's being a fucking idiot."
C.T. raised an eyebrow, "You don't want him to visit then?"
She imagined that if South had been readily against him coming around, if she had voiced it to him, her brother would have stayed away and respected her wishes.
Obviously, South knew that too as she looked decidedly uneasy about the question, "Not necessarily." She finally admitted at length, "But, if I was in his position, I wouldn't be coming around here at all. Much less bringing an A.I. anywhere near me."
C.T. sighed herself, "Things have always been complicated."
"Yeah, and that word seriously fucking pisses me off now." South frowned, "But, he's always been a way too forgiving idiot."
C.T. almost expected an accusation then given her own past actions, but was surprised instead when the other woman simply looked over at her, "I think all of you guys are, though." She remarked, "You know you're the last one to come and visit me?"
The brunette blinked in surprise, "Even Wyoming beat me to it?"
"Yep." A nod, "Even Wyoming." South grinned, "He gave me a package of herbal tea even though I hate the stuff. Asshole."
"We do all have odd senses of humor." C.T. glanced down at the bouquet in her lap, thinking that perhaps she should call Andersmith and inform him that she'd be late.
They had been the last of their comrades to visit the memorial site, deciding to go together in friendly solidarity while they put down flowers in memory of those they'd both personally lost. He'd finally started calling her just "C.T." when they'd made the plans to do so.
But, she didn't really want to be late for a meeting with one friend while another still seemed conversational—
"Speaking of both idiocy and humor," South was mulling out loud just then and it interrupted her thoughts, "I've asked Kimball if I could be on bodyguard duty once I've fully recovered."
That caught the brunette's attention, and she glanced over to see South smirking at nothing in particular.
"I bet that would really mess with North and some of the other tight asses' heads, huh?"
C.T. couldn't help but smile in agreement, "No doubt." She admitted.
"Only problem is, since North is practically glued to her hip now that they're friends or whatever, I'd be seeing a lot of him. But, I guess it would force conversation. Or something." South shrugged, acting nonchalant over the matter, "Amongst the others too."
Yes, since Kimball was pretty much the representative of the Slums to the Council, the Freelancers were often helping to guard her for understandable safety concerns, along with Doyle and the Council themselves in light of the recent developments and changes in governmental policy. Though Sarge and Tucker both insisted that the Reds and Blues could handle things on their own still.
C.T. grinned, "Would be hard to ignore you that way."
"Exactly." South sneered back, "I think I could get a few good recommendations. Not to mention call in a few favors."
In a weird way, despite the uneasiness of being around South due to the past, it was oddly relieving to hear that she was thinking of sticking around once she was better.
C.T. wondered if being a part of Blue Team had made her hopelessly sentimental in a way, and she decided then and there that she didn't mind if it had.
"Ah, sorry it took so long." A voice suddenly spoke up, "The coffee around here is shit."
C.T. was shocked when Four Seven Niner trotted into view, holding out two coffee cups in her hands.
South scowled, "What did you do, fly across the fucking city for those?"
Niner didn't miss a beat, "No, but one of them could be making a round trip to your face if you aren't careful."
The two women rolled their eyes at the same time as Niner handed South one of the beverages.
The pilot glanced at C.T. then, "Hey, look who's here too." She said in way of greeting, "I would've picked you up something if I'd known."
C.T. blinked, unsure of how to respond. Since when had the two of them become friends? South had cussed out Niner several times during missions before, and the pilot had always made it a point to pretty much ignore her as a result, "Er…"
"She just stopped by on her way somewhere else." South informed the tan woman when it appeared as though C.T. was at a loss of words, taking a grateful sip of coffee.
"I see." Niner nodded her head, "Can't tempt you to stay longer then? This one's such a great conversationalist, after all."
Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. South gave the pilot the finger in response, though there was no actual animosity on display throughout the exchange at all.
"You're just lucky I need you to sneak me in good java." She muttered into her cup a moment later.
"Well, a love of caffeine is about your only redeeming trait." Niner squeezed in to sit between the two Above Grounders, taking a relishing gulp of her own beverage.
C.T. couldn't help but grin, watching the two sipping their drinks in quiet amicability. Perhaps healing and miracles really could happen.
By the time she'd excused herself and contacted Andersmith to let him know she was on her way, C.T. held the bouquet closer to her with a slightly more hopeful bounce in her step. "Not a problem, C.T. The others said they would wait up for us at the park before starting." was his immediate reply.
She was actually looking forward to having the chance to hang out with just the lieutenants for a change of pace afterwards too. She'd have to try her hardest to not slip into her "gossiper" days later on today when hanging out more with Andersmith and others, all while resisting the urge to message some of her other friends to boot.
After all, it was something both Wash and him had so often teased her about doing when she was younger.
C.T. was so going to tease him about this later, Washington decided as he gazed at the orange tabby cradled in Junior's arms. Not that Tucker wasn't doing a fine job of that already.
"Really, Wash?" The dark-skinned man had his head cocked to the side with an amused glint building up in his eyes despite the obviously fake exasperation building up in his voice, "We haven't even moved up here for more than a couple of weeks and you decided to get us a pet?"
The cat in question meowed on cue, leaping out of Junior's arms to run over to her new food bowl. This caused an excited squeal to erupt from the boy, who followed afterwards to watch his new friend chow down.
Washington sighed at the reminder of recent events, his face turning slightly red at the indirect mention.
With the Resistance spending more time now in Above Ground to ensure that the peace transitional talks continued at a good pace, and with the members of Red and Blue Team in particular having to be topside more often than not as a result to help guard Kimball, Washington had sort-of volunteered his apartment to Tucker's small family.
If only because Tucker had been complaining loudly about not knowing where to even start looking for temporary residency up here, and how he understandably didn't appreciate how the few ones he had found seemed to have landlords or neighbors who glanced at Junior with suspicion and paranoia.
It had caused more than a bit of eyebrow waggling from the younger Slums dweller due to their recent relationship developments, as by that point everyone in their lives knew that the one "dinner date" that Washington had owed Tucker and Junior following Sidewinder had become a pretty consistent event in their lives.
Those eyebrow waggles in turn caused Washington to get rather red in the face, but Tucker had been more grateful and relieved by the offer than anything else. The appreciative hug he had gotten in return once Tucker had been sure it wasn't going to be a major bother for the Freelancer had been more than enough to knock any hesitation about suggesting the idea completely out of Washington's mind.
It had also caused even more redness to engulf his freckles, and when he returned the gesture gratefully he'd had to remind himself to actually let go as well when Tucker reluctantly pulled away from the embrace.
The Above Grounder sighed, "Well, Doc and Donut had found her over by where they go to their weekend farmer's market."
"Oh, yeah!" Tucker nodded thoughtfully, "Donut keeps swearing I should go for the nut selection there alone."
The innuendo was not lost on the former Freelancer, but he ignored it, "You should wait for winter then." Washington informed him, having already caught more than enough of a glimpse at the matching "shopping spree" outfits that the Donut and Doc couple wore when they had begged him to help find a home for the abandoned cat.
He didn't even think either of them owned a bike, let alone why their bike shorts had to be so…so very short to begin with.
Tucker seemed to read his mind, "Dude, if you think the cold would get Donut to bundle up more, you're going to be in for a shock!"
Washington decided to focus the conversation back to the cat for the sake of his own continued sanity, "Doc had somehow heard that I had cats before and, well…"
Thankfully, his parents had really come through on that end when Washington had not been of the right frame of mind to really take care of himself, let alone any other living creatures. They'd bonded so much with the two felines that Washington had decided even after things had settled down that it was best for them to stay at his parents' home where he could always visit them if he wanted to.
"And you fell in love at first sight, right?"
Tucker finished the story for the Above Grounder after he had trailed off, glancing from a sheepish-looking agent to the huge basket of newly purchased cat toys already out in the center of the living room. The toys explained why no one had been here earlier when Tucker had come to check on the two following catching up on a mission report from an eagerly-wanting-to-get-away Andersmith before, back to his son gushing over the feline, "Both of you did."
"Yeah." Washington admitted quietly, almost as though he was afraid that saying he had a soft spot for animals, and particularly cats, would lose him valuable Freelancer street cred with Tucker or anyone else.
It was a monumental struggle on Tucker's part to keep from laughing. Tucker sighed, acting as though the whole matter was a huge inconvenience that he needed to deliberate quite a bit on. He saw Washington fidgeting nervously a bit more. Damn it, he was just that good at acting!
"Well, it is your place and you're letting us stay here for free. So, if I complained, that would just make me a huge dick."
Washington looked ready to protest that despite the hopeful glimmer now spreading across his eyes. He wanted Tucker to feel like he had a say in this apartment too, after all, because…
"Besides," Tucker continued on as he watched his son playing with the feline contentedly, interrupting Washington's train of thought, "Junior's always wanted a pet."
He grinned when he caught Washington's gaze again, "Our crappy residence level in the Slums didn't allow them, and domestic pets weren't easy to find underground anyways."
After everything that Junior had been through, having a pet was a great experience for him. A sign that hopefully things would get better for the small child from here on out. Tucker wasn't even aware that his eyes had watered slightly until he dabbed at them absentmindedly with the back of his hand.
Washington had put a hand on his shoulder, a knowing look in his gray eyes. They both smiled slightly at one another. Maybe they needed that sign just as much as Junior did.
With Washington's hand still on his shoulder in a supportive gesture, Tucker called out to his son, "Hey, kiddo, have you picked out a name for your new buddy yet?"
"Honk!" Junior exclaimed loudly, the cat rubbing up against his fingers while purring happily.
Tucker frowned slightly, "I think Freckles is already taken, Junior."
Yeah, they definitely didn't need Caboose trying to demonstrate why his Freckles was the superior one later on down the road.
Junior frowned, apparently not sure what else to call the animal at the moment.
"Well, this kitty happens to be a girl and there's a bit of red mixed in with her coloring." Washington spoke up just then, and Tucker wasn't even going to ask how he possibly knew the cat's gender, "How about we call her Ruby?"
"Blarg!" Junior nodded his head in eager excitement at the name suggestion, his grin becoming larger than it had been before.
"A name even Sarge would be proud of." Tucker joked.
Washington actually genuinely laughed. For once all of the possible teasing, the threat still from Hargrove and his currently missing supporters, all of the work that still needed to be done? All of that were the farthest things from the Freelancer's mind just then.
It seemed that the three of them had all needed this moment, and there wasn't a damn thing about it that he would change.
As far as "triple" dates go, or whatever the fuck it was that they were doing, Leonard Church supposed things could have been weirder.
"Oh, Church, they have ice cream on waffles!" Caboose exclaimed loudly, jabbing his finger at the electronic tablet displaying the menu right in front of the other man without any regard to his personal space whatsoever, "Want to split it?"
The Above Grounder groaned, tried counting to ten and getting into his happy place, which he was still convinced was burned down, and found that he had failed miserably, "You've had about two meals already, Caboose. Even before we got here!"
The last thing he really wanted to deal with was the younger blond from Blue Team complaining about stomach aches later on.
"Aw, it's sweet you keep track for him." Tex chimed in mockingly.
He didn't miss a beat, "Shut up, bitch."
He turned back to the large member of Blue Team who had decided they were best friends, "Besides, I'm a robot. Remember?" Church tried using reasoning, "I don't eat."
"That's okay then!" Caboose beamed, "I can split it with Freckles instead."
"AFFIRMATIVE!" The gun sitting precariously in its own chair next to Caboose agreed, sounding absolutely excited at the prospect. Yeah, the waiter had definitely done a double-take on that when they sat down at the table.
Church sighed, "You don't even have a fucking mouth!" He shot back at the V.I. before crossing his arms over his chest in a huff as his rant continued, "This whole thing is beyond pointless to begin with." He informed them, "Of the nine of us here, five are goddamned robots!"
Tex still seemed way too amused by his outbursts, even with her foot on his shin underneath the table. He had a feeling that rather intimate gesture could turn into a rather violent one that would cost him a shitload of money to repair if he really ended up upsetting her, "Your point is?"
"Why the fuck are we deciding to use our rare and valuable free time to sit at a restaurant?"
York glanced over at him from a shared look he gave to Carolina. The two were sitting close together and sharing a menu in what was one of the rare moments of public displays of affection his cousin had ever displayed, "Because some of us are human and we haven't had the chance to eat in more than twelve hours." He remarked jovially before turning to Caboose, "Why don't I split with you and Freckles, buddy?"
"Yay!" This idea seemed to be quite a hit with Caboose, who loved sharing things with friends evidently.
A burst of confetti came from the gun as well. Church only just barely resisted the urge to kick the chair out from under it since he didn't want a whole bunch of bullets fired into his metallic ass.
"I thought it was a nice way to spend a relaxing day." Sheila remarked softly from her spot at the table.
"Sólo quería pasar tiempo con Sheila y ver cómo reaccionarías a todo esto. Hasta el momento, no han decepcionado a cada cuenta." {"I just wanted to spend time with Sheila and see how you'd react to all of this. So far, I have not been disappointed on either count."}
The Spanish-speaking robot sitting next to Sheila put in his two credits as well, the two tilting their helmets together momentarily before pulling apart to remark on the odd menu item selections of the establishment.
"It is a nice change of pace to constant guard duty or endless debate talks, Church." North supplied helpfully.
"Or hunting down Hargrove and his cronies." York added in.
He supposed they did have him there. Even though that didn't mean he still had to like it.
"Most of them have already been located." Delta's sudden appearance hovering over York's shoulder was no longer too off-putting to anyone, "Only about ten percent remain still at large."
"That's still enough to potentially be a problem later on down the road if left unchecked, Delta." Carolina, always practical in her thinking, stated.
He nodded his green helmeted head in agreement, "Indeed, Agent Carolina."
Tex scoffed, "Give me three more weeks, and they'll be none of them left to worry about."
Carolina raised a red eyebrow, "Really? I think I could have it done in two."
The other woman smirked in response, "Bet you we could do it in less than one working together."
There was a pause over the table as Carolina pondered the female robot's words. At length, she nodded with a slight smile crossing over her face, "Most likely."
York whistled, "Is it wrong that I almost feel sorry for those poor bastards now?"
"I wouldn't." Tex grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes that was explained a second later when her foot moved a fraction more underneath the table.
If he'd been human, Church was pretty sure he'd have jumped a bit at that point. As it was, he shifted in his seat, raising his eyebrows at Tex as she moved her foot away. The look back that she shot him was a teasing commentary for later. Which reminded Church that he still needed to figure out a safe word.
North smiled and got up, his drink of tea only about halfway empty, "Well, this was nice, but I need to get going." He informed them all.
"Oh, right." York nodded his head in understanding, his and Carolina's hands and arms were touching on the table, their pinkies entwined without anyone noticing when that had even happened, "That thing is today, isn't it?"
North nodded, putting credits down for his beverage, "I'll tell them you said hello."
"Oh, joy." The last thing Church needed was for Sarge of all people to show up on an impromptu visit waving his shotgun around.
If they had to get yet another chair for a beloved weapon from the waiting staff, he was fairly certain they'd be banned from the restaurant entirely instead of just sitting in the outside area.
But, still, he supposed being able to have these kinds of sort-of relaxing moments at all with friends and barely tolerated acquaintances was a nice change of pace. All things considered.
"Oh, hey, guys!" a familiarly cheerful voice rang out from behind him.
It was joined by Doc laughing pleasantly, "Fancy running into you here for lunch too!"
Donut's arm was wrapped over the purple medic's shoulders, a basket of vegetables and other goods from their weekly farmer's market run held like precious cargo in the dirty blond's other hand.
The basket was held at perfect view to showcase their usual matching "going out" attire.
Despite the groan that nearly came out of his mouth out of force of sheer habit at the sight, Church actually almost felt oddly content when the two men joined their little group a second later at everyone's behest.
Maybe he needed to get himself looked over to make sure he was functioning properly, but right now? Church honestly found himself not giving a fuck.
"Okay, so someone thought a radioactive lake was a good thing to put in a park why exactly?" Bitters asked as he and his friends emerged from the cave out into the sunlight once more.
He squinted and held his hand up over his eyes to shield them for a few seconds, the others doing the same around him. Ever since they'd been traveling between the underground and topside more regularly, the light change to their eyes wasn't nearly as extreme as it had been before, but it still took some getting used to.
"Well, it is a pretty sight, isn't it?" Jensen remarked, smiling and showing off her braces that minutes ago had been bathed in a soft green light, "Provided you stay the regulated safe distance away from it."
"Or that you don't go swimming in it!" Palomo added in, nodding sagely at his advice, "No matter how warm and inviting it looks."
It had certainly not looked "warm" or "inviting" to go for a swim to Bitters, as most glowing green things tended to scream "dangerously radioactive" to him, but he did have to admit that it had been an eerily beautiful sight all the same.
Though, even at the regulated safe distance, it had felt incredibly weird and just a tad risky to have been wandering in the cave without any armor on. Not that you really needed it for a day of enjoying yourself in Chorus Park, but still.
"You should totally come see it at night." Kai told Bitters, winking over at Volleyball as she did so, "It's an awesome make-out spot!"
"Yeah, yeah." He nodded before his brain actually registered what she had just said, "Wait, what?!"
Kai made a face as though his needing clarification on what she had said was completely silly to her, "Well, we had to find some new spots to spend time in since Big Bro and the Gray Guy are always going at it at Gray Guy's house, and it would be rude to do it in front of Jensen!"
"Um!" Jensen's tan, freckled face was now extremely red.
Bitters had almost forgotten that Kai and Captain Grif had been given temporary shelter in Captain Simmons' home while everyone was still pretty much staying topside.
The Above Grounder had offered the same for the other younger recruits given the size of the place as evidently his father had been a big wig in the military though he didn't like discussing that too much, and he had come from a long line of other big wigs besides. But, no one had wanted to be a third wheel to the finally together couple despite the generous offer.
They had all quickly found alternate housing at an apartment complex that hadn't been opposed to renting out to Slums dwellers now that they were allowed to travel and live freely in Above Ground.
The only reason Kai hadn't yet was because she had been helping to take care of Captain Grif's injuries. But, now that he was more or less completely healed, Bitters knew that she was debating moving in with Jensen and Volleyball herself so that her brother and his boyfriend could finally have happy moments alone together now that things had settled down quite a bit.
"Hey, if they get too hot and heavy you can always hang out with us at our place, Jensen!" Palomo graciously offered the girl before adding in a lower tone, "Andersmith doesn't put up with too many shenanigans when we're all together. Just ask those guys!"
He jerked his thumb over in Bitters and Matthews' direction just then, the auburn-haired young man turning red at the commentary.
Bitters did as well, but he managed to get out a customary "Shut the fuck up, Palomo." all the same.
"Well, thanks for the offer, but I kind of just go out to eat or to fix something outside if they need the space." The girl explained, shifting awkwardly.
"Or we try to go somewhere else so it isn't constantly her having to leave." Volleyball added in.
Kai nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, so that way it's fair for everyone."
"Oh." Palomo almost looked deflated at the news before another hopeful look crossed over his features again, "Well, maybe next time you decide to go out, I could keep you company or something?"
Jensen blinked a second or so as she processed the question, before giving the dark-skinned young man a tentative nod, "Sure, why not?"
He grinned, glancing over at Bitters who shook his head in exasperation at his friend's hopeful antics but couldn't help smiling anyways.
Volleyball grabbed Kai's hand then, grinning herself as the two shared a quick kiss on the lips, "Now where did we leave the picnic stuff again?" She asked when they pulled apart.
Kai's face lit up at the mention of food, after all she was her brother's sister, "Right by that cluster of trees where Andersmith said he and C.T. would meet us at later." She recalled, smiling brightly, "Good idea! I'm starving!"
With that, she pulled Volleyball along with her in the direction of the impromptu picnic they had set up before the lake tour earlier. As they passed by Jensen, Volleyball reached out and grabbed her friend's hand too with a laugh, and she in turn pulled Palomo along as they passed him. All of them a laughing, energetic, happy train of friends.
Matthews, his face turning back to a slightly more normal color, went to hurry up and join them but was stopped by Bitters' hand on his shoulder.
"We can catch up in a little while." Bitters told him when he saw Matthews' questioning glance before he reached over and kissed the other young man quickly.
Matthews returned the kiss eagerly, his face only turning slightly red as Bitters pulled him back towards the cave's entrance. Palomo had been right about one thing: the apartment was a bit too cramped for a ton of privacy. Right now, with everyone happy and more or less at peace, they needed a moment to themselves too.
One of the things that Bitters had thought while glancing around that cavern earlier, even way before Kai had mentioned her antics with Volleyball in there, had been how absolutely amazing Matthews would probably look fully bathed in that glowing green light.
Vanessa Kimball frowned, feeling oddly out-of-place amidst the small gathering. She glanced at Sarge questioningly, who was standing beside an also looking tad out-of-place Doctor Grey and Doyle. Farther away from all of them stood Wyoming, the floating visage of Gamma next to him.
The Freelancer had joined the group after relaying some more information on the whereabouts of Hargrove that he had received from Locus earlier. The steel and green-armored mercenary had evidently beat him to a probable location once more, but had left intel for him to spread back to the proper channels in both the Slums and Above Ground. It was a proverbial cat and mouse game now between the two, though it seemed to only motivate Wyoming further in pursuing all parties involved.
"Are you certain you want us to be here?" She asked in a low voice, meaning herself and Doctor Grey.
The three men had decided that they wanted to pay their respects to the mysterious "Butch" at the recently built memorial site.
In a way, Kimball understood why the doctor was in attendance given the dark-skinned woman's new "acquaintanceship" with Sarge and the fact that she was fairly good friends with Doyle. Even though the Above Ground doctor had never personally met the man they wanted to pay respects to, she at least was connected more to the people who personally had.
But, herself?
"Of course, I wouldn't have asked in the first place if I didn't want you to come!" Sarge exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"You have been hard at work for the last several months and even before then for who knows how long. This is your first day off in forever!" Doctor Grey assessed, casting a critical eye over the other woman, "Someone has to make sure you don't sneak back out into the field!"
"But—!" She began to protest, more than just a bit annoyed if that was the only actual reason as to why she was out here.
"Besides," Sarge seemed to pick up on her thinking rather quickly just then, a trait it seemed he'd always been good at, "In a way, it'll be good moral support." His next words came out a bit softer, with a fond reminiscent edge to them, "I think he would have liked ya if you'd met. All of them would have."
She relaxed somewhat, realizing now that it was probably more that Sarge needed support in this instance than anything else. They were paying their respects to an old friend, yes, but Sarge had also lost several other people who had mattered to him both well before he had ventured into the Slums to join the Resistance and afterwards. One of whom Kimball knew she had reminded him quite a bit of in the past.
Perhaps she could use this time to pay her respects to those she had lost as well. After all, all of them had last far too many people in their lives.
"Besides, Miss Kimball," Doyle coughed awkwardly nearby, "Sarge said something about setting up a shooting range and toasting later on being a tradition of sorts for the two of you on days off?"
That brought back a ton of memories, and she caught a nostalgic glint in Sarge's eyes too as he nodded his head in silent agreement to what Doyle had said were their plans for afterwards.
"I wouldn't want you to miss it." He harrumphed quietly.
She grinned back at him, "Wouldn't want to either."
"Though I am not sure how shooting targets afterwards or drinking is an appropriate—" Doyle began.
Kimball cut him off in mid-ramble, "It's a bit hard to explain."
"It makes sense though once you see it in action. Trust us." Sarge assured his friend.
"If you say so." Doyle still didn't look too convinced, but Kimball was looking forward in an oddly joking way to seeing his reaction to some of Sarge's more "explosive" targets.
Evidently, Doctor Grey already knew about them, because she cast a conspiratorial wink in the two Resistance fighters' directions. No doubt Sarge had told her in a moment of intense excitement since he always looked forward to these events.
Doyle had been a massive help in gaining this newfound peace and trying to maintain it, yes, but he could still be a bit too by-the-book-written-by-the-Council at times. Helping to expose him to life outside of that would do him a world of good.
Wyoming looked over at them with an impatient glance, "Well, now that the pleasantries are done with, let's get this over with. Shall we?"
"Yes, Reggie." Gamma seemed to be in somber agreement with the mercenary.
They both said that, but it was actually the white-armored former Freelancer and his A.I. partner who stood the longest at the memorial site out of anyone. Wyoming's head had been downcast to hide his expression from view the entire time. The two seemed lost in their own thoughts as they remained there in perfect silence.
Sarge glanced over at them with a sigh, "I think they need some time to themselves." He muttered, a knowing look crossing over his features as he regarded Wyoming in particular.
Both he and Doyle moved off to the side to reminisce quietly, and Doctor Grey had apparently run into C.T. and Andersmith just at the two had been about ready to leave the site themselves. There had been two fresh bouquets at the foot of the fountain when they had approached it, and Kimball wondered if they had come from them.
They were going to meet up with the other lieutenants over at Chorus Park. Kimball caught snippets of excited, whispered information about the radiation levels of the underground lake there. She hadn't been there yet herself, but desperately wanted to see it at some point the more she kept hearing about it for some reason she couldn't quite explain. But, beyond smiling in greeting at them, she didn't join in on their talk.
Sarge had asked her if she could write a few words down about today in her records if she felt up to it later and she was pondering just what to say in them.
"Hey." She didn't even startle at North's voice behind her, nodding her head in silent greeting to both him and Theta.
"It went well, I think." She remarked to his questioning glance over at everyone gathered there, "We're almost ready to head out."
"I'm glad." North smiled softly, "I know it was something they'd been meaning to do for a while."
Theta looked somber for a few seconds given the topic at hand, though he couldn't help but become a bit more excited in the next couple of moments, "So, Sarge is going to use the fireworks I helped him design then?" He asked.
A nod, "Of course." She assured the child-like A.I., "We're giving Doyle the honor of setting them off first."
"Oh, yes! I can't wait!" He made a holographic display of fireworks explode in front of them just then in anticipation, "I'll have to tell Junior all about it later!"
North smiled at his antics before looking at Kimball in amusement, "Does Doyle know?"
"It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if he did." She smirked before adding a reassuring, "But, I'll buy him a drink as a conciliatory gesture for the surprise afterwards."
"That's mighty generous of you." He grinned back before letting out a tired sigh, "Though after target shooting I should probably check up on South again."
"If you can wait a bit, I'd like to come too." Kimball told him, continuing on before he could ask why that was, "She recently sent me a work request for when she's healed that I want to discuss with her."
For a second, North's expression was one of complete and utter bewilderment as her words sank in. By the time Sarge was calling the two of them over to get moving to the location where the targets were set up, North was smiling quite a bit and Kimball wasn't even certain that he was even aware that he was doing so.
She didn't know she was either until both Sarge and Doyle commented on it later with drinks in hand. Wyoming had left by then after joining in on a toast to "Butch" and she was just about to go with North to the hospital. It had been a rather long time since she'd even thought that such a thing like smiling a lot was remotely possible for her anymore.
It was well into the night when they were finally done moving all of Simmons' asshole father's shit out of the house. Though Simmons had been understandably upset and nervous in the beginning of the process, by the time the day had worn on and they were finished with it, he seemed to be practically beaming with relief.
The sight was enough to get Dexter Grif to smile himself, and he had to resist the urge to pull the lanky cyborg into a hug and impromptu make-out session. It was really hard to resist doing just that though, and he only managed to avoid it due to the fact that Simmons apparently really wanted to show him something tonight.
If Grif delayed them, he knew that he'd probably never hear the end of it given how important whatever it was seemed to be to the other man. He was beyond perplexed when Simmons grabbed his hand and pulled him along without telling him anything about where exactly they were going until they were standing in front of the massive Mother of the Invention base, a facility that Grif had only recently even just received clearance for.
Grif stared up at the towering military structure with a frown before skeptically asking, "You were excited about coming here?"
Simmons nodded his head enthusiastically, beaming again with eager anticipation and completely oblivious to Grif's very apparent confusion.
"To a military facility we've both been to before?" He continued with a blank look on his face, "Where we do work sometimes?"
Another nod. Simmons was almost bouncing on the balls of his feet at this point. It would be endearingly cute if the situation wasn't quite so odd.
"On our day off from working?" Grif finished.
Simmons nodded a third time, and Grif was kicking himself by this point mentally for just not having gone with his initial make-out plan instead.
He let out a weary sigh, "This is the very, very sad epitome of a kiss-ass if there ever was one, Simmons." He informed the other soldier, turning to leave.
The hand that suddenly reached out and gripped onto his arm with gentle insistence stopped him from going further than a step back, however.
"W—wait, Grif!" Simmons pleaded urgently, "I promise, we're not here to do any kind of work!"
Grif raised a black eyebrow and waited for further explanation.
Simmons fidgeted awkwardly under his gaze, "There's…there's something I want to show you." He told Grif nervously, hand still clutching onto the scarred man's arm, "But you're going to have to trust me."
Grif was too curious by this point to say no, though when Simmons led them into the nearly deserted building and had them going up in an elevator, he almost questioned why that was. He couldn't stop the trill of panic that surged through him as the levels kept getting higher and higher with each floor they passed, his legs turning into jelly by the time they stepped out onto one of the highest floors of the ship-turned facility.
Thank fuck there were no windows immediately upon stepping out, so he couldn't see outside but he just knew and could imagine trying to see past that overlook on Level One again following the massacre and he wanted to puke.
Simmons held his hand and they went into a room that looked to be some kind of a rest or meeting space with an observational component off of the main hallway.
Grif stood completely frozen just inside the door, eyes suddenly glued to the floor once he had caught sight of the large expanse of window on the other side of the space. Sweat was sliding down in cold beads across his skin as he tried to somehow steady himself and keep breathing.
"I used to come here a lot when I worked at this base frequently." Simmons remarked conversationally, his voice calm as if he was trying to pull Grif back from the edge of panic through it, "It reminded me of when you took me up to the rafters above Level One."
When they'd both been dumb kids who hadn't known what was going to happen later on, Grif wanted to say in response, but his voice wasn't working just then. It was a struggle to keep getting air in his lungs.
Simmons carried on, glancing at Grif in concern as he did so, "I used to be terrified of heights, you know." He admitted, and Grif vaguely remembered how he had reacted when Grif had told him that he had wanted to show the redhead the sight from the rafters back then, "But, after that? After that, they somehow became a connection to you."
That caused Grif's eyes to jump up to Simmons' face. The Above Grounder was red-faced, but his voice and eyes were clear and focused entirely on the man before him.
"You gave me a whole new perspective back then, Grif." The redhead continued, his voice a little stronger now, "I want…I really want to help give that back to you."
Unable to do anything but nod mutely in response, Grif remained completely focused on Simmons' face as he gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and led them both over to the large viewing window.
"It's okay." He heard the cyborg murmuring gently close by his ear, "I'm right here, Grif."
Grif took in one shaky, deep breath…and looked.
For a moment, all he saw and thought of was a wall of sheer, black panic that nearly stopped his breathing and heart entirely. Then the fear unclenched from around his chest ever so slowly. The blackness he saw began morphing into a night sky filled with the darkened outlines of clouds and dotted with stars farther up ahead.
The lights and buildings of Above Ground twinkled below them and, even further below them, Grif's memories had him recalling all of the times as a boy that he'd climbed up onto the rafters and had looked down at everyone living their lives in the Slums farther down.
He could see and picture it all so clearly through the glass, was looking at it all through a reflection of both himself and Simmons standing there together tightly holding one another's hands.
He felt like he was flying. He was so overcome with emotion at the sensations that he felt as though he was nearly about to burst. He was fucking happy.
"Hey," The Slums dweller asked, surprised at how only somewhat shaky his voice sounded just then, "You ever wonder why we're here?"
He squeezed Simmons' hand tightly at the same time that Simmons did his own, and he knew that the Above Grounder felt the same way he did at that very moment without him having to say anything.
"Not anymore." Came Simmons' response, and Grif couldn't have said it any better himself.
They stood like that for a long while, holding hands and leaning against the other, completely lost in and enjoying the moment.
Together.
Author's Notes: The End! :D
I hope that the Epilogue ended things on a satisfactory note for everyone, and that I ended things on as enjoyable a note and with as much happy friendship moments and touching romance ones as I could! :)
This has been a wonderful story to write, and I cannot thank everyone enough who have enjoyed reading this AU and who have been so awesomely supportive throughout its evolution. Thank you all, truly. :)
Yes, "Ruby" WAS a homage to another Rooster Teeth show that is currently airing its third season!
I hope to see you around with my future stories, and I hope this was a good way to close this tale out on. :D I had a great experience writing and sharing AG. Thank you so much again. :D