Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all characters therein belong to Disney.

Summary: The Ninja rangers all gather together to celebrate Christmas. Some rangers see this as a time to spend time with someone special; some see it as a time to get exactly what they want for Christmas.

This fic is in response to the Power Ranger Romantics Clan's December Fanfic Challenge over at requisites:

Story must take place either on or around Christmas.
There must be a character singing a Christmas carol horribly
Someone has to be having difficulties with decorations
Needed dialogue: "Hey, look, mistletoe"
"Isn't mistletoe poisonous?"
"Well, I wasn't planning on eating it,"

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"Arg!" Shane exclaimed angrily as he threw down the large bundle of Christmas tree lights. Tori walked into the room carrying a large plate Cherry pie. She set the treat down on one of the tables they had set up in Ninja Opts. She looked over to see her friend and fellow sensei glaring daggers at the knotted mess.

"Problems?" Tori asked with a smirk. Shane's glare shifted from the lights to his blonde friend.

"The stupid lights won't unknot. I've been sitting crouched over this stupid thing for two hours and……well, look!" He declared, gesturing angrily at the object. Tori peered down at it and had to hold back a giggle. The lights looked like they had just been taken out of the box and no one had bothered unknotting them yet.

"Relax," she said. "Why don't you take a break and let someone else slave over it? I need some help bringing the food out and hanging up the wall decorations anyway." Shane sighed and nodded. He walked over to her and looked down at the pie she set out.

"Oooh, is that cherry?" He asked as he went to take a piece. Tori slapped his hand as it was mere inches from the pie.

"Yes, it is cherry, and no, you can't have a piece yet. It's for the party," she said. Shane frowned before shaking his hand a bit.

"So, who's showing up to this shin-dig?" He asked.

"Well, there's you, me, Dustin, Sensei, Kapri, Marah, Hunter and some of the students," Tori recounted.

"What, no Blake?" Shane asked. Tori frowned and looked down.

"No," she said sadly. "He's got a motocross meet tomorrow and couldn't take the time off from Factory Blue." Shane saw her change in mood and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, maybe he'll call tonight, so at least you guys can talk on Christmas," Shane said. Tori nodded, trying to look at the positive. Sure, she wouldn't get to see her boyfriend for their first major holiday together since finally becoming a couple during their brief reunion in Reefside with the Dino rangers, but at least they'd get to talk, and that was definitely better than nothing.

"You're right," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She heaved a heavy sigh before standing up straight. She walked back to the kitchen, her previous mood returning. Shane followed.

"So, which students are showing up?" Shane asked.

"Well, Kyle and Tally are a definite," Tori said.

"And Eric?" Shane asked, seeing as Kyle, Tally and Eric were always seen together. It almost reminded Shane of himself, Tori and Dustin. Tori shook her head.

"No, he's spending Christmas with his family in Reefside," Tori said. She pulled out a pie from the oven. "Take this," she said, turning to Shane and handing him the pie. Shane took it.

"Ah! Hot," he said, quickly setting it down on the counter. Tori laughed and went back to the main room of Ninja Opts. She saw Cam walk into the room with a large box.

"Here's some more decorations dad had put away," he said. Tori nodded as she approached the box and peered down at it. "Oh, cool, a wreath," she said, catching sight of the round object. She crouched down to get a closer look. She found a star for the top of the Christmas tree, some tinsel, some packets of red and green icicles. She began pulling out the objects and saw something at the bottom of the box. "Mistletoe?" Tori asked, giving Cam a devious look. "Anyone you plan on using this on?" She asked. Cam rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, Tori, watch where you stand, I just might plant one on you," he said sarcastically. "I just grabbed the box; I didn't know what was in it." Tori smirked as she watched him turn and walk away shaking his head. Tori smirked even wider as she thought of who Cam probably wanted to "plant one" on. A few weeks after they defeated Lothor for the second time, Cam came out to the others. It was quite a night----Sensei was shocked and went for a long walk, Shane and Dustin stared at him incredulously as they tried to grasp the fact that one of their close friends was gay. Kapri and Marah told him that he doesn't dress nice enough to be gay, which only resulted in everyone rolling their eyes. After a few hours, everything settled down and everyone eased Cam's worries by telling him that no matter what, they still loved him. Not long after this, she found out a certain blonde former Crimson ranger had a similar preference, and had a liking to the former Samurai ranger……….It didn't hurt the fact that she was the girlfriend of the certain blonde's brother. It hadn't taken much of a detective's eye to see that Cam might have the same feelings for the blonde, seeing as at the mention of Hunter spending Christmas with them, his eyes lit up.

"Hey, Tor," Shane said, breaking her out of her thoughts. Tori looked up.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"Kyle and Tally just called. Eric invited them to spend Christmas with him back in Reefside at the last minute and they decided to take him up on his offer," he said. Tori nodded. "So, it's just us rangers…….plus Kapri, Marah and Sensei…….tonight," he said. As if in cue, the two sisters in question walked into the room belting out what Tori and Shane could at best guess say was "Jingle Bells"…………although their off-key rendition of the song didn't do much to prove it.

"JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY! OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN A ONE HORSE OPEN SLEIGH-AY JINGLE BELLS JINGLE BELLS..." They sang as they walked in with their arms linked. Dustin walked in behind them, holding his hands over his ears. Tori groaned, remembering her trip to the alternate universe where she encountered Kapri and Marah as folk singers and begged them to stop singing.

"Uh……..Guys," Shane said, taking hold of Kapri's shoulders to make them stop skipping about. "How about we save the Christmas carols for later…….when everyone else is here to…….uh……enjoy your singing…" The girls looked at him before smiling.

"Okay," Marah said. She disentangled herself from her sister and walked over to Dustin, putting her arms around his waist. Dustin kissed the side of her forehead before mouthing 'thank you' to Shane, making sure neither girls saw.

"So, where is Uncle Kanoi?" Kapri asked.

"Cam said he went to see a friend across town. He'll be back in time for the festivities," Tori said.

---

An hour later, the wind ninjas, Cam, Kapri, Marah and Sensei all sat together in the main room of Ninja Opts. They were able to get all the decorations put up, including the tree lights which Dustin was able to unknot with ease, much to Shane's chagrin. They had put some tinsel along the banisters in the room, along the walls, and mistletoe in some spots. They were all now just waiting for Hunter to show up.

"Ho ho ho!" Came a voice as Hunter walked in from the main entrance of Ninja Opts with wrapped presents in his arms. Shane, Dustin and Tori got up to their feet and happily greeted him, helping him by taking the gifts from his arms and setting them down.

"Hey, man," Shane said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"How was your trip? Did you hit any traffic or anything?" Tori asked. Hunter shook his head.

"Nah. But some yahoo in a dark blue Sedan behind me kept blowing his damn horn. I was almost ready to pull over and deck him," Hunter said.

"Well, is it my fault that you drive slower than a 90 year old grandma?" Came a voice as a figure stepped into Ninja Opts right behind him. Tori gasped.

"Blake?!" She said. She dropped the large present she had in her arms as Blake gave her a smile right before she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck the two melting into a kiss. Unfortunately, when she dropped the gift, it landed right on Hunter's foot.

"Ow!" Hunter exclaimed as he hobbled backwards in pain. Tori and Blake broke apart at Hunter's yell.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Tori said sheepishly. "Was that something big?" She asked. Hunter glared at her.

"Oh no, just the ten volume set on Ninja history that Sensei Oramo bought for Sensei," Hunter growled. Dustin and Shane cringed and helped their friend sit down. Tori looked at Blake.

"I can't believe you're here," she said. "I thought you couldn't get the time off," she said.

"I talked to Roger Hannah and told him one way or another, I was spending time with those I care about. So he could either give me the time off or I'd quit." Tori's eyes widened.

"Really?" Tori asked. "So, I guess with a threat like that, he had to give you the time off," she said. Blake looked away. Tori's eyes grew even wider. "Oh, no……..Blake……" She said. "I……….I'm so sorry," she said. Blake shook his head and gave her a smile.

"Don't be," he said. "Besides, I was getting tired of not getting to see you all the time," he said, giving her a soft kiss. Tori looked at him.

"But, Factory Blue's your dream…….Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. Blake nodded.

"I'm going to help Hunter over at the Thunder Academy and maybe in a few months, start up my own team. I've got the money for it," he said. "Besides, Factory Blue was my dream. I've found a better one," he said, as if to make his point clear, he stared deeply into Tori's eyes and swept a strand of blonde hair from her face, causing her to blush. Blake smiled and kissed her once more before the two of them joined the others gathered around the table. Cam saw Hunter sitting off to the side and went over to him, kneeling in front of the crimson ranger. Hunter looked up from his injured foot and saw Cam. He gave his former teammate a half smile.

"How's your foot?" Cam asked. Hunter's smile faded. We haven't seen each other in months, and that's his opening line? Hunter shook his head slightly. What were you expecting, a profession of love? As if. It's not like he's…. "Hunter?" Cam's voice broke through Hunter's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Your foot, how is it?" Cam asked.

"Oh, right, my foot," Hunter said. He shrugged. "A little sore, no big deal," he said.

"Let me look," Cam said. He gently lifted up Hunter's foot and pulled off the blonde's shoe. Hunter sat back as he felt Cam's fingers gently sweep across his sock covered foot. He felt his heart begin to race as the samurai's fingers probed his flesh. "How does this feel?" Cam asked, looking up at Hunter.

"Fantastic," Hunter muttered. He quickly caught himself. "I mean……fine, it feels fine," he said.

"Well, it doesn't feel broken or anything. You probably are just going to have one big bruise tomorrow," Cam said. Hunter caught his eye. The two stared deeply into one another's eyes for a long time. Hunter stared into his eyes, and was surprised to see something there. He couldn't quite describe what it was, but there was something there. Their joint reverie was broken as Cam quickly blinked and averted his eyes. Then again, I might be wrong. Hunter thought to himself as a half smile come onto his face. "Uh…Yeah, so, your foot should be fi….fine," Cam stammered as a blush crept onto his face. Hunter's half smile broke out into a slight smirk at the blushing stammering former ranger. Hunter leaned his head back and saw the small leafy green ornament hanging from the wall right above him.

"Hey, look, mistletoe," Hunter said, pointing upwards. Cam glanced up, then looked at Hunter, who was giving him a suggestive look, which only seemed to make Cam's blush intensify.

"Isn't mistletoe poisonous?" Cam asked, joking nervously. Hunter leaned forward in his chair, putting a hand on Cam's shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't planning on eating it," Hunter said. Cam gulped before quickly getting back up to his feet, causing Hunter to lean back again.

"I'll uh………go………..uh…….." He mumbled. "I mean……….I've got to check on the food," he said before making a hasty retreat to the kitchen. The others all watched Cam as he quickly left the room. Hunter smirked as he stood up and joined the others around the table.

"Is Cameron all right?" Sensei asked. Everyone averted their gaze to Hunter.

"Yeah, he's fine," Hunter said, which resulted in Tori and Blake quirking their eyebrows at him, as if to say I'm sure he is. Hunter simply cleared his throat and turned to Kapri and Marah, asking them how their ninja training was coming along. The rest of the night went on when Cam returned to the main room with dishes of lasagna, cut up turkey and duck, and bowls of mashed potatoes, peas, and corn. He nervously dismissed Hunter's offer to help bring out the food and simply made several trips to and from the kitchen.

"Wow, this all looks really good," Blake said, admiring the spread. "You guys made this?"

"Tori made the major stuff," Cam said.

"The guys helped with the sides," Tori said, not wanting to take all the credit.

"And we made the lasagna," Marah said proudly. Tori leaned over to Blake.

"We tried to tell them that you don't usually eat lasagna during the holidays…..but they were excited about helping out and that's pretty much all they know how to make," she whispered to him. Blake chuckled and nodded. The group of friends enjoyed their meal with Tori getting the cherry and apple pies from before for desert.

"Oh man," Hunter said, leaning back and placing a hand on his protruding stomach. "I think you guys have killed us," he groaned. Blake laughed.

"Yeah, but death by food…….what a way to go," he said. Sensei smiled before yawning gently. Cam looked at his father.

"Dad, you okay?" He asked. Sensei nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine," he said. "I think the poultry is having its effect on me," he said with a slight chuckle.

"Do you want us to make you some coffee or something?" Shane asked. Sensei shook his head.

"No, no, I think I will just go to bed," he said as he got up.

"Are you sure?" Cam asked. His father nodded.

"Hunter, Blake, I hope you two will stay the night. I wouldn't want you driving back to the Thunder Academy this late," Sensei said.

"There'll probably be loads of traffic anyway," Blake said, liking the idea of spending even more time with Tori.

"Yeah, we'll just have to take you up on that offer," Hunter said, sending a grin Cam's way, making Cam look down.

"Good, goodnight then," Sensei said. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder as he left the room. The others yelled out goodnight to him.

"Who wants the last piece of cherry pie?" Tori asked. Shane quickly snatched up the plate before anyone else had a chance to claim it. "Err…Never mind…" Tori said, causing everyone else to laugh. As the night wore on, Cam and Tori began to put the empty dishes in the kitchen sink, leaving Blake, Hunter, Shane, Dustin, Marah and Kapri in the main room. Dustin and Marah sat close together in their own little world apart from the others. Kapri and Shane began to talk about ninja training, leaving the Bradley brothers to their own devices. Blake shifted closer to his brother.

"So, what's going on?" Blake asked.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"You and Cam, what's going on between you two?" Blake asked. Hunter smirked.

"Why, nothing, little brother," he said. Blake narrowed his eyes.

"I don't like that look. That's the look you used to give me when we were kids. Right before you locked me in Leann's closet and leave me in there until she found me……….which usually wasn't for at least an hour." Hunter chuckled.

"Seriously, nothing's going on…."

"But you want there to be something, huh?" Blake asked knowingly. Hunter cleared his throat.

"Maybe," he said. Blake smirked.

"Well, its obvious Cam wants something to," Blake said, taking note of Cam's nervousness around his brother. "And we both know that he's not going to do anything about it, so maybe you should." Hunter looked a little uneasy. He wasn't a hundred percent certain if Cam actually felt the same. Heck, he wasn't even sure if Cam had that certain preference. "Come on," Blake encouraged. "Don't tell me big bad Hunter is scared," he teased. Hunter glared at him.

"Scared?" He asked. "Who do you think you're talking to? I am definitely not scared, especially not of Cam."

"Well, then go talk to him," Blake challenged.

"Maybe I will," Hunter said. He went to get up, only to have his bravery fail. "What do I say?" Hunter asked. Blake chuckled and shook his head.

"Hey, if worse comes to worse, you can always do something else with your mouth," Blake teased.

"Good lord, little brother. Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?" Hunter asked, astonished. Blake chuckled. His attention was averted when he saw Tori coming out of the kitchen.

"I've been banned from the kitchen after I accidentally tried to wash his Teflon pan with a brillo pad," she said as she squeezed between the Bradley brothers and curled up against Blake. "So, what are you two talking about?"

"Hunter's massive crush on Cam," Blake replied. Hunter glared at his brother.

"Ah," Tori said. "Well, you know, Cam's all alone in the kitchen," Tori said.

"He's unsure what to say to him," Blake said.

"Who says you have to talk?" Tori teased. Hunter rolled his eyes.

"No wonder you two are perfect for each other," he grumbled. He sighed. "It's not like he's even-"

"He is," Tori said. Hunter looked at her.

"He is?" He asked. Tori nodded. "Okay, fine, even if he is, that doesn't mean he-"

"He does," Tori said. Hunter paused.

"He does?"

"Oh yeah," Tori said, grinning. "You should've seen his face when he found out you were coming over today." Hunter sat back and processed this for a second.

"So, uh, I guess I better go talk to him," Hunter said as he stood up.

"Go on, bro," Blake said. "Go get your man," he added, giving his brother a smile. Hunter rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. He paused at the entryway as he watched Cam scrub his pots and pans. He leaned against the wall as he watched Cam's arms move up and down as he scrubbed and dunked the item he was currently washing into the soapy water. Hunter stood there, trying to figure out what to say when he caught sight of a piece mistletoe hanging from the top of the kitchen archway. He smirked as he reached up and pulled the green ornament down from the wall. With the item in his hand, he slowly strode up to Cam and took hold of his shoulder, spinning him around to face him. Cam stared at him, startled, before he felt Hunter take hold of the back of his neck and crushed their lips together. The force of their bodies crushing together made Cam stumble back against the sink counter. The movement did nothing to cease Hunter's abuse on Cam's lips. Cam gave a soft moan as he felt Hunter suck gently on his bottom lip. After a sweet eternity the two finally broke apart, only for the fact that they needed to breathe. Both panted heavily as they looked at each other.

"What was that?" Cam asked. Hunter chuckled.

"I believe that was a kiss," he said. Cam gave him a look.

"I figured that out, thanks…….I just mean…….." Cam said, his voice trailing off. Hunter smirked before tilting his head up. Cam looked up and saw Hunter's other hand over his head, holding the mistletoe.

"Just getting into the Christmas spirit," he said. Cam looked at Hunter, searching his eyes for something. Was Hunter actually serious, or was he just playing some sick joke?

"Are you serious?" Cam asked. Hunter's smirk faded and it was replaced with a sincere smile.

"As a heart attack," he said. Now it was Cam's turn to smirk.

"Well, I guess I should get into the spirit too," he said. He lifted his own hand up and grabbed Hunter's raised arm by the wrist. He pushed Hunter's arm back until the leafy green object was hanging over Hunter's head. He then put his other hand on the back of Hunter's head. "Merry Christmas," he whispered as he pulled Hunter in for another kiss. Outside of the kitchen stood Blake, Tori, Dustin, Marah, Kapri and Shane spying on the kissing pair.

"Aww, they're so cute," Marah said softly. Kapri agreed, smiling broadly. Tori smiled and looked at Blake.

"So, I'm guessing this is just a good Christmas for both of you guys," she grinned, putting her arm around his shoulder. Blake grinned at her.

"Oh yeah. We both got exactly what we wanted," he said.

"Oh?" Tori asked.

"Uh huh," Blake said. "It's obvious what Hunter wanted," Blake smirked, casting a look at his brother who was still in a lip-lock with Cam.

"And you, Blake Bradley, what did you want for Christmas?"

"Why, Tori, you of course," he grinned, causing Tori to blush.

"Merry Christmas, Tori," he said.

"Merry Christmas, Blake," Tori said as they leaned in for their own lip-lock.

END