Real life's getting more like fiction each day...

[m808btank]

Sheila spends the rest of that day and most of the next few wandering around the Blue side of the canyon in a bit of a daze. She is in a bit of shock about the sudden changes in her relationship with Simmons-happy, but still surprised

Comments

[simmons2point0]

Simmons is hiding a smile under his visor as he heads across the canyon to meet her. He's idly throwing a toolbox in the air and catching it by the handle, though he's carrying a cardboard box under his other arm.

"Hey, that's sweet," he remarks, laughing. "You and me both."

[m808btank]

Sheila turns on her holoprojector, feeling better with a face to present to him. She giggles shyly as he approaches.

"Hello to you, too." She pauses for a moment. "It's from Wicked," she murmurs, not really noticing the boxes in Simmons' hands.

[simmons2point0]

"Another one of your oldies, huh?" Simmons says, smiling, and sets the packages he's carrying down on one of the tank treads. "I need to look up all this classical stuff of yours someday," he remarks, shrugging faintly. "Not that I mind, of course..."

[m808btank]

"I can help you with that," Sheila says. "I think whoever installed all of this music put some of the synopses into my database as well." She blushes a little bit, moving across the tank body to crouch down next to Simmons.

"What is this?" she asks, trying to change the subject a little bit.

[simmons2point0]

"I just never know what to ask," he says. "Most of my usual stack of questions don't really apply to you..."

Simmons grabs the toolbox and equipment and hops into the cockpit. "Not like I can really ask you about where you were or what you did before you got here." He pauses. "Okay, maybe I can..." he says, grinning, and unbolting an access panel. "Did you do anything else before you were here? Do you remember? ...And I'm starting now, okay?"

[m808btank]

"Okay," Sheila responds, her voice holding both nervousness and excitement. "I was built by a military contractor in Mexico. I seem to remember sitting in storage for a while before I was dropped out here." She pauses, then asks with a smile in her voice, "What did you do before you were here?"

[simmons2point0]

"You didn't get bored or anything?" Simmons asks as he starts to quickly and carefully disconnect wires. "And before I got to Blood Gulch, you mean, right? My last post was a planet somewhere in the Sirius sector. We called it 'death island', but it wasn't too bad. Was a hell of a lot busier than over here, we did actually see more action against the... Blues..." His voice trails off and he shakes his head.

[m808btank]

"I had no concept of boredom," she says softly. "Why 'death island'? How did it get its name?" She tries, but realizes that her sensors cannot register anything Simmons is doing, only his proximity, and she tries not to let that worry her.

[m808btank]

Tentatively, Sheila brings most of her systems online once more. She hesitates for a moment, asking "Should I bring up the prjector, Dick?"

[simmons2point0]

"Well, it won't hurt the new systems if you do..." Simmons says with a faint laugh. "You'll probably want to switch it off when the simulation's active, but, for now?" He looks up at her turret and gives a smile. "Your call."

[m808btank]

"On then." Sheila activates the projector with a small sense of relief. She turns to face him, a small smile on her face. "What happens now?"

[simmons2point0]

"Whatever you want," he says, giving a faint hand wave. "But if you want to try this thing out, I'll get it booted up - it won't take a moment."

[m808btank]

"Mmm..." Slowly, she wraps her arms around his waist for a hug, excited and somehow comfortable with the entire situation.

[simmons2point0]

As Simmons realises, he slowly slides his other hand around her back in turn. A faint, caring smile crosses his features as he looks at her. "Yeah..." he whispers, lost for words for once.

[m808btank]

She opens her eyes and looks up at him, her light hair falling into her eyes just enough to be noticeable.

[simmons2point0]

Laughing, he breaks the hug long enough to reach out to brush it away, looking into her eyes as he does.

[m808btank]

She places a finger to his lips, shushing him. "Do not worry about it," she says. "You didn't know me then, and you would act differently now because you do." She grins at him.

[simmons2point0]

He blinks on Sheila's motion, looks down, and grins. "Well, yeah," he says. "That stuff - it all feels like..." Like it was another lifetime, he wants to say. Like he's never been a Red, never been an enemy. Like nothing before even existed.

[m808btank]

"So long ago..." She smiles at him and rests her head on his chest. "So glad you're here," she whispers to herself.

[simmons2point0]

He catches the whisper and smiles at her softly. "Me too," he whispers, running a hand across her back and shoulders as gently as he can.