Six months had passed since the accident.

Six months since Grif had lost his memory and personality.

Six months since the old Grif died and a new one emerged.

Six months since Simmons had lost his best friend.

Six months since the redhead had lost his crush.

Six months in which the redhead felt miserable and alone.

Simmons was done with his shift and in his room – alone. During the last days, Grif had been sleeping somewhere else. He still officially was his bunkmate, but unofficially they weren't anymore.

Since Grif more or less moved out, Simmons had even more trouble falling asleep. He missed the regular sound of the Hawaiians breathing. Fuck, he even missed the snoring he often used to beef about!

Simmons just took off his chest piece, when the door opened and Grif came in. He already had stripped of his armor. The orange pile on the bed showed it clearly. Obviously, he already had showered.

Without any more word, Simmons stripped down to his boxers, leaving for the shower. He didn't know when, but during the last days they had stopped talking with each other. Like there's nothing more to say.

Standing under the warm spray, Simmons tried to calm down as much as possible. He still felt like breaking down and crying, but he couldn't. He had a team to lead and Grif was still here. Just differently. The redhead just had to come to terms with it. Some when. He couldn't be miserable about losing the most important person in his life all the time even though he would have loved to be exactly that.

After the shower, Simmons slipped into his civvies, slowly making his way back to his room. Grif still was there, sitting on the bed, deep in thoughts. The cyborg didn't bother to pull him out of there.

Rummaging around in his drawer, he searched for a book Simmons had hidden there. Earlier, Grif would have used it as a doorstopper or something like that. Which was the reason why Simmons hid his books from Grif.

Drawing out the book, something fell down with a bright 'Pling' wobbling away. Oh, no! The ring!

Just like the lucky bastard Simmons was, the ring came to a stop directly in front of Grifs feet. Simmons face turned beet red.

Carefully, the tan skinned man lift the ring up, mustering it intensely.

"What's that?"

"That's a ring." Squawked Simmons awkwardly. "You gave it to me some years ago because Tucker always joked about us bickering like a married couple. It was a joke." Explained the cyborg half awkward half sad.

Grif didn't reply, only starring at the ring like it's a wonder.

When he didn't say something, Simmons grew restless, feeling his face heat up even more.

"You know what? Actually, I should have thrown away the ring. It was a joke to fuck with me. You didn't even think about what you provoke with this thing. It was idiotic to keep it." Rambled Simmons, looking down on his hands.

He knew the ring should have been some kind of teasing. Grif had taken a washer, hammering it in a ring shape, before embedding something like a little glassy stone he found in the caves at Blood Gulch into it.

He really didn't know why he still had this ring. Why he still held it so dear when it was meant as a tease.

Grif still didn't answer. Looking up with a frown, Simmons could see him still stand there, staring at the ring.

"Uh Grif?"

Still no answer.

"Grif?"

Suddenly a jolt seemed to run through the Hawaiians body. He began to tremble, before rolling his eyes up until you only could see white, before collapsing on the ground. The ring again rolled away.

Simmons however didn't care about the ring. With a huge step, he was beside Grif, just in the right moment to save his head from a painful collision with the hard concrete ground.

"Grif! Grif!" Oh god, this felt like a terrifying flashback of what happened half a year ago. Grif laid in his arms, unconscious, Simmons close to panic.

Grabbing for Grifs helmet, he didn't bother if everyone on the campus could hear his high-pitching voice when he practically screamed for Grey to hurry the fuck up and come over.

It was in the middle of the fucking night when Grif woke up in his bunk. Strange, he didn't remember going to bed. Besides,… he had been sleeping somewhere else during the last days. Why ever…

When he tried to move his right hand, he noticed that something was blocking it from moving. Looking down on it, he could see Simmons hand there, his head just beside it and sleeping soundly.

Carefully pulling out his hand from under Simmons, he tried to sit up. But his spinning and hurting head had other plans.

Laying back down with a groan, Grif massaged his temples. Fucking shit. He hadn't even felt this bad when he was completely and utterly hungover.

Laying there, he stared up to the ceiling. What happened anyway? He knew he lost his memory about six months ago, Simmons trying to help him as good as he could. Some when during the last month, they stopped talking and began to drift apart.

Pondering over it, Grif really couldn't say why that happened. They always had been best friends and suddenly, they drifted apart like they never had something in common.

Anyway. How did he get here?

He remembered coming back to the room after a refreshing shower. Simmons was there, rummaging around in his drawer, when something fell to the ground. Right the ring. He had taken it up to muster it and suddenly, he felt like someone opened the flood gates in his head, all those memories coming back like a fucking avalanche, rolling over him. That was when he must have blacked out.

Simmons of course panicked, thought Grif, closing his eyes again. Having a nap sounded like the best idea in days right now.

However, he didn't have time to start dropping off, when he felt someone move beside him.

Looking down, he could see that Simmons was blinking, looking bleary and tired. When he saw that Grif was awake, he immediately was wide awake. "Grif! You're awake."

"Obviously."

"What happened? Out of the blue, you collapsed! You worried the shit out of me!"

Grif shrugged a bit clumsy.

"Dunno man, I can't really remember." Lie, but he somehow didn't want to tell Simmons right away that his head felt like it's about to explode.

There was another silence, Simmons still looking at Grifs face for any sign of discomfort.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." That wasn't even half a lie.

"You hurt somewhere? You fell on the ground like a sack of potatoes."

"Not really…" before the accident he would have whined about every bruise. Now he didn't think it was important enough to even mention.

"Ah…" replied Simmons after what felt like an eternity. Slowly, he began to turn around, ready to walk away. "I better get Grey to have a look-over."

Grif was faster, grabbing his hand and pulling him down on the bed. Due to the unexpected movement, Simmons stumbled back, falling on the bunk with a squeal. His face was practically glowing in the dark of the room.

"Nah, I'm fine. Let's just have a nap. Grey can wait until tomorrow. Besides, my head hurts too much to bear her squeaky voice." Muttered Grif, pulling Simmons close.

The cyborgs head was tucked in under the Hawaiians chin. This body was rigid and his face hot from embarrassment. But Grif didn't care.

"You know…" Began Grif after waiting some moments for the redhead to relax. He didn't. "You weren't shooting a rocket like a badass at Tex in the fight. You were panicking and screaming like a girl, almost not able to pull the trigger."

Simmons sharply breathed in, nestling to get some space between them to look up at Grifs features. The Hawaiian looked down with his trade-mark smirk he often used to wear until six months ago.

"What?"

"I said you screamed like a girl then."

"But- I- You-" he stopped himself, shortly collecting his thoughts before asking in a hushed voice.

"You remember?" His voice carried so much different emotions. Fear, hope, disbelief… Grif almost couldn't wrap his head around all the things he heard out of this little question.

The smirk turned into a smile.

"Yeah, I don't know how, but the ring triggered something in me. Suddenly all the things I forgot came rushing back. It was hilarious. I don't know, but I think that's the reason why I passed out."

Simmons didn't reply. He only was staring at Grif in disbelief and awe, like he still was trying to proceed the information. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape.

"You really remember?"

"I told you just that, nerd." Grif rolled his eyes, but his smile never leaving his lips.

A huge smile exploded on Simmons face. Grif could see that he was about to tear up. He opened and closed his mouth several times, without really being able to say something. He was just looking at Grif with teary eyes, like he's the fucking eighth world wonder.

The Hawaiian on the other hand spontaneously pulled the cyborg in a tight embrace, again making him tucking his head under the tan mans chin.

Soon after, he felt how Simmons hands rose, tightly grabbing his shirt. His shoulders shook slightly, something moistening Grifs shirt. He heard low sobs coming from the redhead.

He kissed the top of Simmons head while rubbing soothing circles into the skin of his back. Normally, he would needle the cyborg relentlessly about his attitude to cry so fast.

But not today. He too felt like he would like to cry. The Hawaiian had tried to make the best out of the six months, but looking back, he felt like crying. If he wouldn't have gotten his memory back, he and Simmons would have drifted apart, not even bothering to talk to each other.

They had been so close friends before, closer than normal friends would be, sharing almost everything. They understood each other without talking, they knew by heart what the other needed. Twelve years of fighting and bickering, of saving each other's asses and helping the other through every day, everything would almost have gotten lost permanently.

To whatever god was out there, Grif bid his thanks that he remembered again and that he and Simmons still were so close.

After some time, the sobbing slowly subdued, as well as the tears. Grifs shirt was damp, but he didn't care. Earlier he would have freaked, but since he remembered again, what happened after those six months, he didn't really care. Strangely enough, it felt like a bit of the old Grif had stayed and got blended with his normal personality, making him being again a completely different Grif than the previous two were. Although he again was close to the way, he had been before.

When Grif was sure that Simmons calmed down so far, he gently nudged his shoulder.

"Hey Simmons?"

"Uh, what? Oh yeah, your shirt, you might want to change it." Simmons began to pull away, the Hawaiian only allowing it to a certain point where he would hold Simmons back from further pulling away.

"You once said that there was a secret you have about my old self."

Grif could see that the tips of Simmons ears again turned beet red.

"You promised me to tell me when I remember. And I remembered. You gonna tell me the secret now?"

As to be expected, the redhead shook his head, his face getting an even darker shade of crimson.

"Come on, you promised it at least"

"It would be too embarrassing. And it's ridiculous."

"Why don't you let me decide if it's ridiculous or not?"

Simmons again fell silent. Which made Grif feeling uncomfortable. He was just about to say sorry for his prying behavior (Something also left over from the six-months-Grif) when Simmons muttered something under his breath.

"Sorry, I didn't quiet catch that."

"I like you, okay? I mean, really like-like you. That's also the reason why I kept the ring." Mumbled Simmons. He had curled up a slight little bit, looking down to where he normally would have his hands – when he would be sitting.

The Hawaiian could feel the heat radiating from Simmons face, the tips of his ears even redder than his hair.

"Simmons."

No reaction.

"Simmons, look at me." Reluctantly, the cyborg lift his head, looking anywhere but at Grifs face.

A low chuckle emitted from Grif to Simmons awkward behavior. He always had been more awkward when it came to feelings, especially feelings for someone of the same sex like Simmons. His dad had been an asshole about that. Making him go camping in the fiercest thunderstorm, hitting him with his leather belt when he wasn't manly enough, trying to beat the gay tendencies out of him.

Simmons sometimes had told him about his dad, what he heard made him piece together a halfway accurate picture of a horrible homo-phobic dad who tried to make his son a portrayal of his own, projecting his ambitions on his son, not caring what he wanted to do.

In hindsight, the military school may have been one of the best things his dad did to Simmons.

Grif took his sweet time to look into the green and red eye of Simmons. The cyborg eye looked back unwaveringly, while the human eye showed different emotions. Such as uncertainty, fear, confusion, sadness… His eyes displayed as much emotions as his voice had some moments ago.

Leaning down, the Hawaiian caught Simmons lips in a kiss, gently pressing his lips on Simmons.

The cyborg didn't reply right away. The tenseness of his body showed it clearly that he was more than surprised.

After some moments, the Hawaiian pulled back with an amused chuckle. "You know, when someone kisses you, you're supposed to kiss back." Mumbled Grif before again pressing his lips on Simmons.

This time, the cyborg seemed to get what Grif wanted to do. It was awkward at best.

Obviously, the cyborg never had kissed someone before. Grif lift a hand to turn Simmons head just a little bit to improve their angle, so that their noses wouldn't get squished.

It was their first kiss, Grif however didn't feel like intensifying it. They both seemed to be happy the way the kiss played out.

When they separated, Grif pulled Simmons back in, again laying his head on Simmons.

"You know, the ring back then wasn't just to fuck with you." Muttered Grif, placing a gentle kiss on Simmons head.

"You mean-?" Began Simmons, his voice failing him.

"Yeah, I meant it. And I assume you would have accepted, since you kept the ring."

Simmons nodded, something again wetting his shirt.

"During those six months I had no memories, I always had the feeling like I have forgotten something important." Continued Grif. "I have forgotten that I too, really like-like you." Again, he pressed a gentle kiss in Simmons hair, before nuzzling his face in it.

Simmons didn't reply, only cuddling closer to Grif.

"We still should get Grey to check you over." Muttered Simmons after an eternity.

"I know, but not now. I'm tired and my head kills me. I just wanna nap. With you." Grif yawned heartily, nestling a bit until he was comfortable, again nuzzling his face in Simmons hair, only to fall asleep moments later.