Blast from the Past
The bell rang and students began dispersing, heading for their respective classes. Kira, Ethan and Conner slowly made their way towards first period.
"So you think we have another pop quiz today?" Kira groaned as they reached the doorway.
"I don't know but he seriously needs to lighten up on the workload. I mean how are we supposed to save the world and study?" Conner joked.
"Guys come on. Give Dr. O a break," Ethan muttered, sitting down.
"Besides, why would he give us a pop quiz today when we have a test," he added with a smirk.
"We have a test?" Conner rasped, making both Kira and Ethan snicker. Before either of them could come up with a snide remark, Tommy walked in.
"Good morning everybody. I hope you're all ready for the test," he greeted and began passing out tests. Conner took the paper and stared down at it. He didn't recognize any of the material on the exam.
Class passed slowly as the test dragged on. Conner flipped pages, trying to find something he actually knew. After what felt like eons the bell rang. He put his pencil down and heaved a sigh. He doubted Dr. O would give him extra credit for saving the world. The rest of the class filed out leaving Kira, Ethan and Conner to hand in their tests.
"So what did you guys think of the test?" Tommy asked as he took their papers.
"Uh…if I fail…can we blame it on Mesagog? You know…this whole saving the world business is really time consuming," Conner tried to joke.
"You should be able to manage your school work and being a ranger," Tommy said, tossing the papers in his bag.
"We'll see you later Dr. O," Ethan called. Tommy just nodded as he watched the trio walk out the door. They were halfway down the hall when they heard a voice call out to them.
"Excuse me," a male voice called. They stopped and turned around. They were greeted with a tall guy in a black leather jacket and red bandana.
"Uh…can we help you?" Kira asked.
"I'm looking for Tommy Oliver," the man stated.
"He's in there," Conner said, pointing towards the classroom. The guy nodded and without so much as a 'thank you' headed that direction.
"What was that about?" Ethan wondered aloud.
"Let's go find out," Conner murmured and they headed that direction.
Tommy was just packing up the rest of his papers when there was a knock on the door frame. He looked up and nearly dropped his bag on the floor.
"What? I don't even get a hello?" the guy in the doorway asked. Conner and company were now hiding out of sight around the corner.
"Jason," Tommy said with a smile.
"Uh…what are you doing here?" he asked, motioning for his guest to come in.
"I was in town and I looked you up," Jason answered with a laugh.
"How've you been?" Tommy asked before pulling Jason into a firm hug.
"I've been alright. Teaching martial arts on the East Coast," his friend answered.
"And you, Dr. Oliver," Jason teased, emphasizing his title.
"Yeah…I guess being around dinosaurs for so long…just couldn't get it out of my system," Tommy laughed. They began to walk out of the classroom, prompting Kira, Conner and Ethan to retreat a few yards.
"So how long you in town for?" Tommy asked, surreptitiously slipping his hand into Jason's.
"A couple of days," Jason answered as they nearly tripped over the three teens. They looked up at Tommy, guilt etched on their faces.
"Shouldn't you three be in class?" he asked as they stood up.
"Uh…Dr. O we can explain," Conner began.
'We just wanted to make sure that he found you," Kira interrupted, pointing to Jason.
"Thanks but you should get to class before you get in trouble," Tommy insisted.
"Students of yours?" Jason snickered.
"Yeah…" Tommy trailed off.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by for Tommy. Jason sat in on the remainder of his classes and they headed back to his place as soon as the afternoon bell rang. They pulled up in Tommy's jeep and Jason looked around.
"Kind of out in the middle of nowhere isn't it?" he asked, climbing out.
"It's better that way," Tommy muttered as he pushed the front the door open. The pair disappeared inside.
"Want the grand tour?" he asked setting his bag down.
"Sure," Jason answered as Tommy led him through the upper levels of his house. They returned back to the kitchen and Jason peered at the t-rex skeleton sitting on the counter.
"Is that supposed to be a center piece?" he asked, poking it. Before Tommy could answer the stairs leading to the basement appeared.
"Guess I should show you the uh…rest of the house," Tommy mumbled as they descended.
Some ten minutes later Jason was just staring at Tommy. He'd explained what had happened and about who Conner, Kira and Ethan were. Tommy shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Well…say something," he urged.
"Why didn't you just tell me you were back in the ranger business, man. That's great," Jason exclaimed.
"By the way, they know who you are…or at least who you were," Tommy added as they headed back upstairs.
"Didn't seem to earlier," Jason remarked, sitting down on the couch.
"I think they were more embarrassed that we caught them spying," Tommy laughed, joining his comrade. They sat in silence for a while before Jason inched closer. Tommy caught the movement and couldn't help but smile.
"You think you're going to get something do you?" he asked with a raised brow.
"I can always just take it," Jason said with a wink.
"You think so huh?" Tommy flirted back, pulling Jason to him. The pair toppled over, Tommy pinning Jason down as their lips met briefly.
"It's been too long," Tommy breathed before closing the gap between them again. Hands started to roam over arms and torsos. Neither of them heard the footsteps downstairs.
"Where's Dr. O. I thought he'd be here," Conner stated, looking around.
"Well guys…he does live here. Maybe he's upstairs," Kira suggested. Ethan and Conner shared a 'duh' look and headed up to the kitchen. In the next room, Jason had managed to slip Tommy's shirt from his body, tossing it to the ground.
"Did I mention I missed you," Tommy rasped, fighting with Jason's shirt.
"Once or twice," Jason gasped, trying to help his lover's efforts.
"I think I hear something," Ethan whispered, pointing towards the next room. The trio slowly made their way around the corner just in time for Kira to catch a flying red shirt. She stared at it for a minute before she looked up. She felt tapping on her arms and looked to her left and right. Both Conner and Ethan were gawking at the sight before them. Tommy looked up and saw the three staring at him and he toppled off the couch, landing on the ground with a 'thud'. Jason landed on top of him.
"What the hell was that?" Jason asked as Tommy wriggled from beneath him.
"We have company," Tommy managed to get out as he searched for his shirt. Kira hurriedly handed Jason his shirt.
"What are you three doing here?" Tommy finally asked, once he'd pulled his shirt back on.
"Uh…this is sort of our new hang out," Ethan answered. Kira kept averting her gaze as Jason leapt over the top of the couch.
"Maybe I should…" he began but Tommy stopped him.
"No. Stay," Tommy said.
"Dr. O…what's going on?" Conner questioned, looking very unsure of what was going on.
"You might want to sit down," Tommy said, addressing the three teens. They reluctantly took seats on the couch. Tommy and Jason shared a look.
"We didn't mean to um…interrupt," Ethan muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Guys…there's something you need to know," Tommy began. All three looked at him intently.
"Jason…is the original Red Ranger," he continued.
"Wait…like...the original?" Conner asked. Jason nodded.
"So…what we walked in on…that was…" Kira stammered.
"That was…" Tommy began to answer but Jason cut him off.
"I'm only in town for a few days and we haven't seen each other in a while," he interrupted.
"Ok…this is kind of whack," Ethan remarked, getting a smack on the arm from Kira.
"Look…I'd appreciate it if you could keep what you saw to yourselves," Tommy said.
"Sure…we…we'll see you in class tomorrow," Kira mumbled, grabbing the boys' by the sleeves and dragging them out of the room.
"Worried you weren't going to get any tonight?" Jason said just loud enough for the kids to hear.
"He didn't just say that," Kira said, looking disgusted.
"Would you keep it down…at least until they leave?" Tommy hissed. The trio heard Jason laugh a little as they retreated down the steps on their way to the Cyber Café. They found Hailey behind the counter.
"Hey guys…you ok? You don't look so good," she commented as they pulled up stools.
"Uh…well…would you be ok if you just walked in your teacher getting it on with a guy," Kira hissed. Hailey didn't look nearly as surprised or shocked as they had been.
"Jason's in town?" she asked simply.
"You know him?" Conner gasped.
"Course I know Jason. He practically lived on Tommy's couch during college and our first year of grad school," she answered with a shrug.
'Did you know they…." Ethan trailed off.
"Did I know they were involved? How couldn't I? Believe me you weren't the first to walk in on the two of them. They can't seem to understand the concept of a locked door," she laughed.
"Ok…it's great that you find this so amusing but…it's kind of freaking us out," Conner stated.
"Look…now you know. Just…keep it to yourselves," Hailey informed them.
"That's what Dr. O told us," Ethan added. The three teens shared another look. They weren't so sure they wanted to keep their teacher's little secret.