A/N: If you're in this fandom, you've probably read countless "the Letter" stories and explanations behind it. Ready for another one? Power Rangers isn't mine.
Tommy had been walking around outside for hours. Just walking. He couldn't let himself think. If he did, he would think about the letter still folded up and in his back pocket. He would think about the words Kimberly had written to him. He would think about the heartbreak threatening to rush up within him and overspill with every step, each beat of his heart, a sing miscalculated inhale and he would feel everything.
If any couple could make it through this, he was sure it was the two of them. They had always been so independent. They had never needed the other to be there, but things were just better together. As rangers, as students, and just as teenagers, they fit together perfectly, but they still functioned apart from each other. Surely, they could handle a distance relationship.
As a long-distance couple, they made sure to make time for each other, even with her training and with his ranger duties, they picked three times a month to have phone call "dates" and they wrote letters constantly. When she had been back for Christmas, it was like she had never been gone after the initial rush of finally seeing her, holding her, and being able to kiss her.
Then Kim had to leave again and it was rough, but this time they could see the finish line. The Pan Global games happened in June and then she would be done. She could come back, or they could decide on the next step of their lives together. Now… what?
Tommy was broken out of his trance-like walk by the voice of Katherine, the new Pink.
"Tommy, there you are, I've been looking all over for you!" Tommy met her eyes, looked at his surroundings, taking notice that he was in the park, and sat down at a nearby picnic table.
The tall blonde was out of breath, but looked happy to have found him, her tone and face not matching the next words to come out of her mouth. "I'm really sorry about that letter. That was a crummy way to find out." She sat down on the table-top next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. If he just looked at her hand, it could be Kim; Pink sweatshirt sleeve, pink nails. No, Kim kept her nails short. The better for fighting putties, she had always said, but he knew it was easier to practice in gymnastics without the "danger" of breaking one.
He looked from the hand, after what he was sure was a longer pause than it needed to be. "Uh, thanks, Kat. What did you need that you've been looking for me?"
She scooched closer to him on the wooden frame. "I didn't need anything, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You took off from the Youth Center so fast. I wanted to check on you."
Tommy moved away, stood up and looked at the sky. The moon had come out and stars had come to life in the time he had spent wandering around town. How long had he been walking anyway? "thank you. I'm not sure okay is the right word, but I'm not physically hurt. You can head home, I'll be fine."
He heard Kat stand up behind him, "It's all right. I don't mind staying with-."
"Tommy!" White and Pink clad teenagers turned toward their teammates who were rushing toward them across the park.
"Guys, what is it? What's wrong?" Tommy almost hoped it was a monster threatening Earth. He could use the distraction and channel his feelings toward stopping it.
Adam and Rocky came to a stop in front of him, both looking entirely too happy for this to be a life-threatening attack on the inhabitants of Earth.
Adam spoke first, "We've been thinking, ever since I handed that letter to you, it just didn't sound like Kim."
Rocky jumped in, "Yeah, we've known her for over a year, shared life-endangering missions with her. She can't have changed that much. Plus, we all know how she feels about you, this just feels off."
"Guys, I appreciate this, but she wrote it, it's her handwriting, and what's done is done." Tommy started to turn away, but Rocky clutched his shoulder, stopping him.
"What if it's not 'done is done'? We've been at the Command Center and Zordon agrees with us that it's fishy." The bright smile was still on Rocky's face, but Tommy was enraged.
Turning back fully to face his friends, Tommy exploded, "you talked to Zordon about my love life? Don't you think he has better things to worry about than a love-sick 18-year-old? That's also a huge invasion of my privacy. You had no right!"
Rocky had stepped back and was looking at the ground as though it had sprouted words to his favorite book. Adam stepped up next, "is it still wrong if Zordon agreed to teleport you down to Florida to check on her?"
Tommy was completely taken aback, "I, uh, What?"
Adam continued, "Yeah, Zordon thought it was weird and said that as she's not a ranger anymore, he can't get a reading on her, but he's willing to let you teleport to her, check on her, and if you think she's under some type of evil influence, you're supposed to bring her back for help."
He couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say. Finally, he broke into a smile, "Hey, guys that's so awesome, thank you!" Without another word, he touched his fingers to the button on his communicator and teleported to the Command Center.
"Zordon!"
The glowing white head floated in its tube, as normal. "I hear our original pterodactyl may be in some trouble, Tommy. You must go to her."
"Thank you, Zordon, you don't know how much this means to me." The figure seemed to smile, as much as he ever did.
"Tommy, you must hurry, if you are needed back here for Ranger duties, I will have no choice but to have Alpha contact you and bring you back. As this is a special trip, I'm afraid you will have to let us teleport you to and from. Contact Alpha or myself when you are ready to leave and let us know if you are bringing Kimberly with you. Good luck, and may the power protect you."
Tommy stepped back and adopted a ready stance as he felt the familiar tingling of long-distance teleportation begin to take hold.
*1 week earlier*
Kimberly was lying on her dorm room bed, finishing up an assignment from the school's private tutor when her phone rang. Picking it up, she suppressed a groan when she heard her mother's voice.
"Hello, Kimberly, you should have gotten a package from me earlier today, I wanted to know if you had opened it." Kimberly had actually received the package the day before, but had avoided opening it. Her mother meant well, but usually sent pictures of herself and her husband in Paris. Or else, even worse, news stories about the Power Rangers. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her mother happy or the success of her friends, but it all made everything feel so lonely. On top of that, every set of pictures she got from her friends made Kat seem very friendly. She was always right next to Tommy, in every picture. Maybe she was being too sensitive, but they always looked so close, even in ranger poses in the newspaper. She just hadn't felt like dealing with those emotions, so she left the box closed. Now, though, she couldn't avoid it.
Cradling the phone and walking to the box, she tore off the tape, "Thanks, Mom! I got it. Oooh, my favorite French chocolate. You're the best!"
She could hear her mother chuckling on the other end. "There's more if you look further down." She dug through the box and pulled out the news article of a fresh Power Rangers victory. She felt her breath catch, but, luckily, her mom didn't notice. "Kimmy, did you find it? You were always so interested in the Power Rangers when we lived in Angel Grove. I thought you might want another article to keep on top of the latest news!"
Choking back either anger or heartbreak, she managed to choke out, "Thanks, Mom, you're so thoughtful. I have to go, there's someone at the door. Love you, bye!" She hurriedly disconnected the call and sat down on the bed, staring at the picture.
Under the headline of "Power Rangers Pull Through!" was a picture of the entire squad. Usually, this wouldn't bother her, if it weren't for the positions of the Red and Pink clad figures. Although their faces were obscured by their helmets, the Pink Ranger was definitely looking down at the Red, from her vantage point of having her legs locked around his waist, as he had an arm around her lower back.
Several hours of on-and-off crying intermixed with staring off into space later and Kim finally pulled herself off of the bed. She looked in the mirror over her vanity table and tried to will away the tears, the puffiness around her eyes, and the grim certainty she felt that Tommy was falling for Kat and there was nothing she could do about it. She leaned her head against the cool glass and muttered, "can't someone just take this pain away?"
As she stared at her reflection, another face began to form before her eyes. Instead of her own, she could now see Rita Repulsa. As realization dawned, Kim jumped back and sank into a defensive stance. "What do you want? I'm not even a Ranger anymore!"
Rita laughed from the mirror, "Relax, Kimmy, I'm not even really in your room. I'm just using your mirror to talk to you. You asked for someone to take the pain away and here I am. Like your wicked witch- godmother!"
Kim straightened up, "Wicked Witch? Godmother? Talking to me in a mirror? I think you're mixing up a few children's stories there. Why would you want to help me, anyway? Haven't you vowed to destroy me a few times?"
"Oh my little former Pink Ranger, I have no problems with you now that you're not a Ranger! And my gift to you would not only fix your problem, but it would make sure you never wanted to be a Ranger and a pain in my rear ever again! If we can get enough of the original Rangers off the team, then maybe Zeddy and I can come back and try again." Rita ended her monologue with her signature over-gesticulations and gazed at Kim with what was probably supposed to be a smile, but looked more like a grimace.
"Oh Whatever, Rita, the Rangers will always find a way to beat you." Kim crossed her arms and sank back down onto the bed. It seemed clear that Rita was only in the mirror and she was in no danger.
"If you're so sure, then why not take my gift? I'll just leave it here for you to use or not as you please!" Before Kim could object, Rita swirled the tip of her wand in a circle and a coil of rope appeared on Kim's table.
As Kim hopped up to look more closely at it, she opened her mouth to ask what it was, how it worked, and what the end result would be, but as she looked to the mirror, all she saw was her own reflection looking back at her. It wasn't glowing, it wasn't moving on its own, it really just looked like a coil of every day rope.
Whatever. It was late. She still hadn't replied to Tommy's latest letter, not that she knew what to say in the face of mounting evidence that she was losing him. She was tired. And, lastly, she was in no mood for games from Rita. She grabbed at the rope and threw it roughly on the ground so she could put her hair up before bed.
As she stood up from the vanity and hit the light switch, Kim's foot caught on the end of the rope and she fell face-first into the bed, fast asleep.
Upon waking, she heard knocking on her door. Throwing on a robe and opening the door enough to peer out, she greeted two other gymnasts from the same program.
"Hey Kim," a tall redhead greeted, "want to get some breakfast before heading to morning workout with us?"
Kim sneered at the two girls she had been friends with, amazed that she hadn't seen it before. "As if, you two probably just want to sabotage me in this competition so I don't take a slot from one of you." With that, she slammed the door in the faces of her very confused friends.
Turning back to her room, she noticed a mess of rope on the floor and kicked it into her closet and then sat down with a piece of paper and a pen.
"I've got to focus on my gymnastics! What have I been thinking, holding onto Tommy back in Angel Grove? It's splitting my focus. I have to win. I have to be perfect. He's just a distraction. I have to get rid of him." She began to write out a break-up letter, re-read it, and decided it was too harsh. It needed to be worded just right. She knew Tommy, he would question her if she didn't give just the right explanation.
"Well, if he can have someone new, then so can I. I'll even make mine better for me than Kat could ever be for him. Let's see, he'll be 'kind,' 'caring,' and 'sensitive.' That sounds good. I'll make it sound like I'm just so sorry over it. Yes, that's great." Kim folded the piece of paper and slipped it into the envelope.
Kim changed into a practice leotard, grabbed the letter and a bottle of water, and slipped out of her dorm to mail away her last distraction, practice until she bled, and win this spot in the Pan-globals.
~Tommy in Florida~
Landing in the cover of a tree outside the gymnasium, Tommy took a minute to orient himself.
What if she had really written that letter? What if she really had fallen in love with another guy? What if this other guy was going to be at this practice? He wished he could morph and draw strength from that before walking inside.
This was ridiculous. He loved her just as much as she loved him. He was always thinking about her. He had to do this, if only for closure. If only for his sanity. With a deep breath, he pulled the door to the gym open.
Immediately, he was spotted by the coach who had come to see Kim back in Angel Grove. "Hey, you, you're from California. You were one of Kimberly's friends, right?"
Tommy was unsure how to respond to that. What if she had given specific instructions for him not to be let in? "Umm…"
"I'm bad with names son, but I'm good with faces. It's part of my job to analyze visual details to make my gymnasts better. Very good visual memory. No listen, I need you to talk to her. She's gotten crazy competitive in the last week. I don't know what's going on, but she' become very driven here." He moved closer to Tommy and put a hand on his shoulder, forcing Tommy to hunch down a little, "Not that that's a bad thing, but she's barely taking the time to eat or sleep, she's blowing off her school work, and she's not working with the team. It's just individual practice all the time. Maybe you know her well enough to snap her out of it?"
"I, umm, I can try it sir. I am down here to visit her." The coach slapped him on the back.
"That's good! She needs to take some time to recharge. I like dedicated gymnasts, but she's going to hurt herself like this and she hates it when I make her take a break." He back away from Tommy, picked up a clipboard, and began shuffling pages.
Tommy assumed that was all the instruction he was going to get and wandered farther into they gym. He looked through all the equipment until he spotted her, on the beam, rotating on the toes of one foot while the other was being pulled up by her ear. How she could put herself in these positions was anyone's guess, but he knew it had saved her life on more than one occasion.
As he drew closer, he knew exactly what her coach had meant. She had deep circles under her eyes, she looked much thinner than her usual already petite frame, and all-in-all, she looked about ready to crack.
He went right up the edge of the mat and waited for her to notice him, not wanting to scare her and cause her to fall. When she finally looked down, she let out a yelp, and dismounted, although without as much grace as she usually did.
With hands on hips, Kim strutted over to him. "Tommy, what are you doing here? Didn't you get my letter?"
Joining Kim on the mat and leaning back against the beam, Tommy slid his hands into his pockets before speaking. "Yeah, Kim, I did. That's why I'm here. It seemed off. Zordon and Alpha agreed, so they teleported me down here to make sure nothing, well, Ranger-y had happened to you."
Kim huffed at him, "Well, clearly you can see that I'm fine, so if you'll move away from my beam, I can get back to my routine." She placed a hand on the beam as though to hoist herself up, but Tommy placed his own on top of hers.
"You don't seem to be in any danger at the moment, but you are acting strange. And with what your coach said to me, you clearly don't have another guy down here. He said you haven't even been taking enough time off practice to sleep properly, let alone have a secret boyfriend. What is it Kim. You can tell me. If you want me out of your life, just tell me straight. Don't lie to me."
Kim fixed him with a cold gaze. "Yes, Tommy, I want you out of my life so I can practice. I have to be perfect and I can't do that with you in my way. So if you would kindly move your sweaty hand off of mine, I can get back to winning."
Kim intended to stare him down, but Tommy wasn't flustered. He had stared down too many beings who wanted him dead to be intimidated by this pixie-like brunette. He also wasn't convinced that she was okay. Some of her words were triggering a memory of another plot, earlier on in their relationship. "Actually, no. You get to take a break. Your coach even said so. He doesn't want you practicing right now, so you might as well come for a walk with me. If you can convince me that everything is fine, I'll go home and you never have to hear from me again."
Kim ripped her hand out from under his and threw her arms into the air. "Is that the only way you'll leave me alone and let me focus on winning? Fine, I'll come with you. Ten minutes, Let me grab my bag and I'll come outside for ten minutes. Then I need to get back inside. All that matters to me anymore is winning. Kim sauntered away, still visibly upset with him.
Tommy lifted his communicator to his mouth so he could whisper into the mouthpiece. "Zordon, I'll be outside with Kim in one minute. Be ready to teleport us. She isn't going to want to come."
His communicator crackled to life, "Is it as we feared, Tommy? Is Kim under an influence of evil?"
"I'm not positive, Zordon, but she's acting really weird. And it seems familiar. If I'm right, you're going to have to get some roses ready."
Tommy signed off and walked toward the door to open it for Kim as she joined him. "Okay, start talking, I mean it. Ten minutes has started and then I'm going back inside. I- Hey, what are you doing?" Tommy had led her behind the same tree he had teleported to previously, grabbed Kim's wrists and felt Zordon tug them both back to the Command Center.