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It was starting to get dark, but the sky was still bright with the setting sun.
Something about evening in the Winter made all the shadows deeper, but it also made the light harsher; two extremes, the night pushing to flood the world, the day not ready to let go yet.
Simmons and Caboose had been slowly working outside since 1 in the afternoon… they would have started sooner, but Simmons had to make sure Sarge wasn’t around. If he saw them attempting anything resembling yardwork, he would jump right in, and suddenly the lawnmower and snowblower would get combined into some kind of mechanical chimera, capable of digging to the center of the Earth, to harness the lava from the deeper layers, thus melting the snow, and-
Well. It was better to just avoid Sarge, and any “help” he might offer, altogether.
Caboose had been very good about not telling anybody what they were doing. However, he did let the others know that he had a SECRET. A secret he wouldn’t share, no matter what. Tucker, Donut, Kai, and even Carolina had started to jokingly try to get answers out of him, playing different guessing-games and attempting bribery. Caboose refused to be bribed, but he still grabbed the cinnamon rolls and ate them, before Tucker tried to tackle him.
At one point, they tried to bring Church into it, reasoning that if Church asked, Caboose would HAVE to answer. Caboose argued that it wasn’t FAIR, using Church as a secret weapon was CHEATING! Church looked at them all, several people trying to neg him into being involved, and one person silently begging him not to with puppy-dog eyes. Church decided it was funnier to see others suffer and let Caboose keep the secret to himself.
Eventually, they gave up, because even when he was vaguely cooperative, Caboose spoke in riddles, and they weren’t sure what he was hinting at. When the time was right, and everybody was busy, Simmons suggested they take a little walk; the signal it was time to work on their Important Secret Project. Caboose revealed he saved a cinnamon roll for Simmons (by hiding it in the fruit bowl in the kitchen when he ran by). “I thought you’d like one because it’s your name!” Caboose explained, and Simmons wasn’t going to argue.
The Important Secret Project was Simmons’ idea… though, it was more of a hasty decision with less planning than he usually made. When the group decided to spend time somewhere as a little Winter Vacation while on Earth, he hadn’t thought about doing anything like this. When they found a good location, cabins in the woods by a lake, near a little town, it was decided they would go there- and he still hadn’t thought about doing anything. After the plane ride, and then the drive out to the cabins, Simmons still had no plan. Once they arrived and un-packed, Grif made a comment to Kai, about how she better not “Almost drown in the lake again!”, because evidently during their one special school trip as children, that very thing happened.
Even though she had been alright (and told everybody that she totally met a merman down there), it had ruined the whole trip. Grif felt guilty about leaving his sister in the hotel room for students while all the other kids went to play in the snow, so he stayed inside with her (complaining periodically, yes, but still trying to be a loving older brother, and all that junk). The other kids made a sled-run in the park, but the next day it rained, turning everything into slush. Grif never got to go sledding at all.
That was when Simmons got the idea.
He checked the weather reports over and over again. It was getting colder every day, but it wasn’t going to snow until their third night here. There weren’t any hills in their area by the lake. Just a sheer drop from an upper layer of earth to a lower one, where perhaps the foundation for another cabin was once going to be built, but had never been completed. A few small slopes rose and fell around them, but most of these were outside of the area they were renting.
Something that required more effort needed to be done. So, Simmons called the owners of the cabin to get permission (and he was very proud of himself for his composed and calm “phone voice”, despite how internally awkward he felt), and explained his idea to Caboose, who appreciated anything fun AND was strong enough to help.
For a few hours, they stacked rocks, dead branches and broken tree limbs against the edge of the drop, making an incline that also curved to the side as it became level with the lower area of the ground. They made sure it was wide and sturdy. Then, they started digging up some loose mud, and packing it over the “ramp”. Eventually, it actually looked like a natural hillside. Simmons tested the safety of the curve by rolling a few large, round rocks down. If they got stuck, or didn’t follow the sloping bank properly, he and Caboose adjusted it with more mud, stamping it down.
“I think- I think we’re done!” Simmons said, his breath making little clouds in the cold air.
“Unless you changed you mind about the loop-de-loop,” Caboose walked over to stand beside Simmons, admiring their work.
“I’m honestly tempted to try and make one that’s structurally sound and functional, only using sticks, rocks, and mud, but… I don’t think we have time,” Simmons explained, giving Caboose a sympathetic side-hug at his obvious disappointment.
They walked toward the cabin together, and when Simmons started to lag behind (the muscles in his organic leg tired after so much movement and strain), Caboose simply wrapped his arms around Simmons’ middle, lifted him up, and carried him the rest of the way. The others weren’t sure why Caboose and Simmons were stumbling inside, laughing and muddy, but it seemed like they had enjoyed their walk.
There was still one more part to The Important Secret Project; they had to go pick up a delivery. Once Simmons was certain about what he was going to do, he ordered several items to be delivered at the general store in town (there was a post office for residents, but for people staying at the cabins, the general store accepted mail and larger packages).
As cover, Simmons and Caboose offered to go pick up something from one of the restaurants for dinner. After everybody argued over what they wanted, they finally agreed to order from the place that made different soups and stews, with a few sandwiches and salads. Sarge had insisted that one of their rental cars be a truck with a huge bed, and now that was going to come in handy; besides the food, Simmons and Caboose were going to be bringing back a few things that would take up a LOT of space.
Simmons turned the heat up high in the car before they left, because he knows Caboose would want to roll the windows down while the truck was moving (for whatever reason, wearing a helmet never bothered Caboose, but being in a vehicle with the windows up gave him that weird carsick-suffocated feeling. On the other hand, it irritated Simmons if the windows were only open a crack, and he heard the air whistling… they either had to be all the way up, or wide open). Driving at night made Simmons nervous. Driving in the winter, on wet roads, made Simmons nervous. However, driving with a passenger who liked to chit-chat helped distract him from being nervous. Normally, that was Grif by default, but because of the The Important Secret Project, he was not an option… and really, Caboose was more than qualified when it came to enjoyable, distracting chit-chat. With good company, Simmons had an easy time driving on the trip to town and back.
Before picking up the food, Simmons went by the store, and Caboose helped lift up all the boxes containing the items they ordered (they were fairly large, but not very heavy). After getting everything from the restaurant (which was more difficult to keep secure, but Simmons had brought along the large insulated bag for this very reason), the two men returned to the cabin.
The rest of the evening was spent eating, watching TV, playing cards and checkers, and making s’mores by the fireplace. Eventually, one by one, everybody started to stumble off to bed.
Grif and Simmons had taken one of the smaller rooms for themselves, but it was and cozy enough (maybe ten years ago, they would have each pitched a fit over sharing space like this… but they’ve certainly moved on from all that. Finally realizing you love your annoying best friend, and he loves you too, changes a few things). Grif got in bed first, and held the blankets open for Simmons, looking so eager and happy to finally cuddle in bed. Simmons felt all kinds of fond and soft feelings rise up in his chest seeing Grif like this. He gets in bed as well, snuggled close. He just wished they had a window in their room… it was supposed to snow tonight, but Simmons wouldn’t know for sure until morning.
People have often joked that when Simmons went through the whole process of becoming a cyborg, he wound up with a digital clock in his head. The truth was, Simmons had always been so nervous about being on time for something important, he would wake up before any alarms he set went off. If he wanted to wake up to get somewhere at nine in the morning, he’d set an alarm for seven, but wake up at six. That’s just how his brain always worked, no digital clock required.
Simmons woke up at six the next morning, long before Grif would even entertain the idea of leaving sleep behind. He had to very carefully slide himself out of bed, careful not to disturb Grif as he slipped out of the arms that were loosely draped over him (poor Grif; he was still dead-asleep, but he made a little whimper of protest when he felt the loss of his Simmons-shaped comfort).
Simmons crept downstairs, quiet as possible since the others were still asleep in their rooms. He came into the hallways that lead out to the kitchen and living room… and he could see clearly through the wide windows, even though it was still dark outside; in the night, two feet of snow had fallen. Thick, fluffy flakes were still drifting down from the sky. Everything was white, except for spots directly under trees and other structures. It was beautiful. It was perfect for the The Important Secret Project.
Simmons decided to wait a while before rousing Grif, but it was hard to feel eager with the anticipation. He made himself some coffee mixed with hot chocolate and turned the downstairs TV on with the volume low. Even though he wanted to give Grif more time to sleep, he also wanted them both to be out there as soon as possible. If he waited too long, the early-risers would come down soon. Simmons didn’t want to keep them from the fun or anything, he specifically got enough items delivered so they could all share this together… but it was a surprise meant for Grif to enjoy first.
A little after seven, Simmons went back upstairs to begin the grand undertaking of getting Grif to wake up.
“Grif… Grif. Wake up. C’mon, you need to see something…” Simmons said, voice low at first, but gently rising in volume. He rubbed Grif’s back and squeezed Grif’s shoulders, getting Grif to focus.
“Hmmmmwhaa? Simmims?” Grif yawned and muttered, still half-asleep. “W’time’issit?”
“It’s early. I’m sorry, I know- but you gotta come downstairs. I really, REALLY want you to see this!”
“Ugh… if it isn’t Bigfoot or a woolly mammoth that got thawed out of an iceberg and came back to life, I don’t CARE…” Grif tried to roll over, but Simmons wouldn’t let him.
“No, it’s nothing like that, but it’s still REALLY COOL, please come down!” Simmons crouched down on his knees beside the bed, eye-level with Grif, trying to convince him to get up with a kiss to the forehead.
“How about YOU just get back under the covers with ME… that sounds like a GREAT idea…” Grif attempted to put an arm around Simmons’ shoulders, pull him closer, and roll over again to take Simmons with him (and also press a sleepy kiss to the crook of Simmons’ neck).
“No, no-no-no, you have to get UP, come on Grif! I made some of that hot chocolate coffee you like, and this is something really amazing, I promise you’ll like it, now come on!” Simmons argued, using Grif’s own tactic against him; he slid his own arms under Grif’s, wrapped around his back, and started to pull Grif out of bed.
“Ahhh no, Simmons… if you loved me, you’d get back in bed, and let me sleep until noon!” Grif whined.
“I DO love you-” Simmons tried to argue.
“Then prove it! Whatever it is you want to show me, it can wait!” Grif was almost entirely out of the bed now, but refusing to support his own weight.
“Grif. I love you VERY MUCH, and that’s why I want you to come come downstairs, OK? Because I need to show you something, OK? So, stop being a kill-joy! OK!”
Finally, Grif gave up on being dead-weight, and stood up, letting Simmons guide him downstairs. He was too fuzzy to even notice the snow outside; once he got to the kitchen, he immediately went to get something warm to drink. Simmons was almost vibrating beside him as he watched Grif take a large gulp from his mug, letting the heat flow down his throat, and into his belly, helping wake up.
“Alright, this better be good, whatever it- oh,” Grif looked up and saw everything outside. Sunlight was beginning to peak over the mountains on the horizon, even though clouds were directly above them in the sky. It sent out streaks of gold between all the trees, shining across the snow, making it sparkle in the dawn. “Well, that’s… that’s very beautiful Simmons, thanks for sharing this winter-wonderland moment with me… but you absolutely could have let me sleep for another couple of hours. Just saying,”
“I didn’t just want you to see the snow. I want you to see something OUTSIDE in the snow,” Simmons grinned, and started to lead Grif over to the shelves and hooks by the door, where they had all the coats, boots, and snowpants.
“You’re kidding, right? You want me to go OUT there? Simmons, this is CRUEL!”
“I swear, you’re gonna be very happy in a few minutes, just trust me!” Simmons ignored the protests from Grif, and began to pull a coat on himself, then Grif (who seemed to be too stunned to resist). “And remember. I love you,”
Grif glared at Simmons, because he had no argument for that, and started to pull on his snowpants, then his boots. When they both stepped out on the porch, Simmons grabbed two large, flat packages stacked up by the door. He refused to explain what it was for. Grif just rolled his eyes, and followed Simmons into the snow. Seeing snowflakes falling in the sunlight was such an enchanting sight, Grif almost forgot to complain. Almost. Grif grumbled and griped periodically, and Simmons just rolled his eyes when Grif tried to lean pathetically against him. Just when Grif started to get impatient, feeling that he had indulged whatever “surprise nonsense” this was supposed to be long enough, Simmons stopped walking. Grif stopped beside him.
“Where the heck did THAT come from!?”
“Me and Caboose made it!” Simmons said, smiling with gleeful pride.
“You MADE it? How did you- you can’t just make a HILL! And that’s a huge hill, it’s almost as tall as the cabin! Did you guys sneak an excavator and a bulldozer out here?” Grif took a few steps ahead of Simmons, walking around to get a better view of the slope.
“Oh, god, no… Sarge would have sensed construction equipment being nearby, even if he couldn’t see it. Nah, we just kept stacking up tree branches and rocks and mud-”
“THAT’S what you guys were doing yesterday! Wait, is this what Caboose’s big secret was?” Grif turned back to look at Simmons, who was getting one of the boxes open.
“Yep!”
“Well, this is- yeah, this is pretty freaking cool Simmons. I mean, seriously, good job. You and Caboose are mighty Movers of the Earth, you should totally start a landscaping business together. But I still don’t get why you wanted to drag me out of my precious bed-”
“Because I wanted to do this for YOU,” Simmons explained, pulling a large, round, sled saucer from the box. He walked over to Grif, and held it out for him. “I know you never got to go sledding as a kid… and basically every other time we’ve been in the snow, something horrible was happening. Like the cliff. Or almost getting killed on Chorus. So I decided to ask Caboose for some help, and we made a hill for a sled run. Now you can finally have some fun in the snow!”
Grif didn’t know what to say. He took the sled from Simmons, and pressed his face into Simmons’ chest, where the coat was open just a bit, and Grif could feel Simmons’ body heat through his shirt. He was happy, but also so much more… of course Simmons would commit to a spur-of-the-moment decision, stubborn to make something that should be impossible happen. Of course he would wake Grif up at an unreasonable time of day, and then drag Grif out into the bitter cold just to show off. Of course it would turn out that it was all meant to be a surprise for Grif, so now he couldn’t even be angry about it. Of course Simmons would be so romantic and inconsiderate at the same time.
“I love you,” Grif mumbled, his voice shaking with the laughter that wanted to burst out.
“I know. And see, I love you too. I proved it. Now, hurry up and enjoy yourself, before the Blues come out here and take over! Or Doc starts giving us a safety lecture about sledding!” Simmons gave Grif a brief, tight hug, and then playfully pushed him away. Grif finally let his laughter out as he turned and ran up the hill.
Simmons watched as Grif took a few test-runs, finding a groove for the best sled route, and then joined him with his own saucer. They made a few different paths for sled-runs; one that went directly down the length of the hill, and two that curved off to the side, twisting and turning in their own directions. Each run ended with a gentle “crash” into a snowbank.
Grif laughed every time he came to a stop, and Simmons felt a special sense of satisfaction seeing Grif like this; the first time he ever started to have something more than friendship feelings toward Grif was when they had been talking together, and Grif had been so excited to tell Simmons about his favorite comic books… in that moment, Grif looked younger, even more so than when he and Simmons met, and Grif forgot all about how miserable he felt being a soldier, and Simmons could almost imagine what it would have been like if they had met earlier, if somehow Grif had been his friend when they were teenagers, and then Simmons wouldn’t have been so alone, and he would have known Grif as somebody who was still hopeful about his life (and then Simmons had suddenly felt awkward, thinking about how nice and soft Grif’s smile was).
Simmons definitely isn’t alone anymore. Grif definitely wasn’t miserable anymore. Simmons doesn’t feel awkward about liking Grif’s smile anymore, either; he can lean over and kiss Grif whenever he wants.
They maybe had a whole hour outside to themselves, before a few of the others woke up, came out to see the snow, followed their tracks, and discovered the sled run. Caboose was very proud to show it off, now that he could finally reveal The Important Secret Project. More boxes were opened up, and soon, everybody was running up the hill, taking turns sliding back down. Sarge got two new paths made side-by-side, so people could race.
Eventually, Grif and Simmons went back to the cabin to take a break and have something to eat. Caboose came along with them. As Grif thanked him for helping with the surprise, Caboose revealed that he had stolen more cinnamon rolls from Tucker, and the three happily shared them together. Sitting on the porch, eating cinnamon rolls and enjoy more warm drinks (the hot chocolate coffee for Grif and Simmons, and warm apple cider for Caboose), they could see the others moving away from the sledding hill, and beginning to work on building different structures in the snow… even though they couldn’t hear every word, Sarge’s voice carried pretty well, and judging from the way Church was laughing (while also tossing out a few swear words), a big snowball war was about to start. Red Team and Blue Team were each going to need snow forts as bases. Caboose and Simmons were going to be busy on a new project.
When they eventually started to rejoin the others, Grif noticed somebody had gone over to the large boulders that rose above the surface of the lake... the same lake that was just barely frozen, the ice certainly not thick enough to walk on...
"KAIKAINA, I SWEAR IF YOU FALL IN THAT LAKE, I'M JUST GONNA LET YOU DROWN!"