Title: "Jason's Perfect Plan"
The sequel to "I Hate Poetry"
One-Shot
Written by: Shawn30
Summary: Jason is finally ready to confess his love to Trini, and drags Tommy along for the crazy ride.
Category: Romance/Humor
Rating: PG-13 at best for some naughty thoughts and suggestions
Timeline: A short time after I Hate Poetry - Think post White Light period of MMPR.
Authors Notes 1: Fluffy goodness just cause, lol.
Authors Notes 2: I never intended to write a sequel to "I Hate Poetry," but sometimes the mind goes to zany places and you just want to write something funny.
"Love is like a Rubix Cube. There are countless numbers of wrong twists and turns, but when you get it right, it looks perfect no matter what way you look at it."
~~ Unknown
The home of Trini Kwan
1770 Kostner Lane
Monday, 5:45 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
The basement closet door quietly clicked shut, drowning Tommy and Jason in complete darkness.
"This was the most dumbass idea ever," Tommy whispered venomously at what he hoped was his best friend's face, but turned out to be the handle of a vacuum cleaner. "Why did I let you talk me into this?"
"Shut it!" Jason ordered as he watched through the blinds of the door as Trini's mom, Simone, walked through the basement area that the Yellow Ranger used to train in to the nearby laundry-room. They had barely ducked inside the closet moments ago, almost getting caught. "Look, this is romantic and sweet and I'm going to do it! And since Zordon made you the leader and I never did anything wrong to lose my position as leader, you owe me!"
Frowning, Tommy rolled his eyes in the dark. "Are you going to hold that over my head for the rest of my life?"
"Yes, I intend too," Jason whisper-argued. "And even when you die in the afterlife I will remind you of the unfairity of it all."
Tommy blinked. "Unfairity isn't even a word."
"It is!" Jason whisper-replied.
"Is not!"
"How would you know?!"
"I know stuff!"
"You know nothing!"
"I know it would be better to just hand Trini that bouquet of roses and the love letter you wrote rather than leave it for here for her," Tommy declared in quiet tone of voice. He wasn't sure if he was talking to the vacuum cleaner handle or Jason, but he continued. "Bro, we just snuck into her house and now we're stuck in a small dark closet. In some circles that's called breaking and entering. If Trini's mom catches us in here then how do we explain that?!"
"Look, just relax. I've thought this through very clearly." No, Jason really hadn t. Not at all. "I've considered all possibilities." He'd only considered one. Success. "This is the most romantic, sweet way." Not really. In truth it was the best way for her to let him down easy if she didn't return his feelings. She'd get the roses and read the letter and then probably call him and tell him it was a sweet gesture, but that she didn't feel that way about him. And then he wouldn't have to see it in her eyes or hear her fumble for words to break his heart. No way could he say any of that out loud.
Not that he had too. At least to Tommy, anyway.
Tommy Oliver knew he was the King of being afraid of girls. What he knew about them could fit inside a thimble. His Beautiful was both patient, understanding, and clearly accepting of his inability take charge of their relationship. He also knew Jason was cut from the same cloth in every way, and that if Trini didn't feel the same way it would be pretty heartbreaking.
Tommy understood his best bro all too well. That's why he intended to stand by his side through this bit of craziness.
"Okay, Simone just left. Won't be long now." Holding a bouquet of a dozen red rose and the scented letter he wrote, Jason felt his blood pressure increase exponentially. He was either about to have a heart attack or get it broken. "Lets go."
Just as soon as he and Tommy attempted to emerge out of the closet, they heard fast-moving footsteps clambering down to the basement. "Crap!" they whisper-swore, ducking back inside the dark closet.
"This early workout will give us time to study for Ms. Rogains Chemistry quiz," Trini noted as she led Kim to her white Yoga Mats in the center of the room. Both were dressed to work up a sweat. "I need a 'B' on that test to stay on the Honor Roll; which will in turn assure me of a car for the summer."
Kim began stretching beside her. "We have our practice notes and we're gonna cram. We will make that test our bitch!"
Eyes addicted to the sexy sight before him, Tommy tried not to drool as Kim slowly bent, stretched, and essentially assumed poses that gave him a condition he did not want to have in the presence of Jason. Not even in the dark.
Meanwhile Jason found himself in the same predicament, watching Trini bend, arch, and reach in ways that made him swallow hard in the back of his throat. OK, he knew he should just hop out of this closet right now and present her with the roses and his two page love letter. That would be the courageous thing to do.
But he couldn't help the nagging fear of what if she didn't feel the same way? He was sure she did as he'd gone over his evidence with Tommy and Zack over the last couple of days.
First off, there were the simmering little cute smiles she saved just for him. The ones he secretly lived for.
Second was the fact that she made it her business to always sit next to him at lunch. Every single day. That mad to mean something.
Third, he knew she'd turned down at least two dates in the last three weeks with guys most girls around him thought were cute and nice. Neither of which knew that their continued existence on Earth was due to her polite refusal of said date.
And finally there was the whole "I believe in you," talk they shared on the rooftop the night Tommy returned as the White Ranger and new leader. Zordon had explained to him in private that he changed leadership with all the former leaders in the same manner. There was never a discussion and he didn't do it because Jason was lacking or performed badly in the role. And that when the next leader after Tommy was chosen, the White Ranger would be treated the exact same way.
Still, it hurt his pride to the core. But Trini showed up with her beautiful heart, kind words, and understanding. She just made him feel so much better about the whole situation. And there was a moment towards the end of their talk when they were standing so close and he swore she wanted him to kiss her.
Jason just didn t have the guts to do it.
And he deeply regretted that.
But after Tommy's very public declaration with his poem two weeks ago, Jason knew he had to make his move. He was happy for his best friend and little sister, but he wanted his own happiness. He wasn't sure when friendship with the Yellow Ranger turned to attraction, but he was beyond infatuated. He knew he loved Trini, but he didn't want to lose her to another guy simply because he was to chicken-shit to step up to the plate.
Trini deserved to be romanced and treated great. He intended to do both to the best of his ability.
But out of nowhere as Trina and Kim continued engaging in idle chatter about school gossip, a truly horrid scent filled the Red Ranger's nostrils. He winced powerfully, trying his best not to inhale. Even in the dark he knew from where this horrendous stench came. "Bro, did something crawl up your butt and die?"
"I... I had the burrito supreme lunch," Tommy whisper-confessed apologetically to his silent but deadly deed. "Actually, I had two of them. My bad."
"Oh God... oh god, I think I'm going blind." Holding his nose, he tried not to inhale the fowl air. "We need to light a match, or find some air freshener. I... I think I can feel my hair falling out."
"Ha, ha," Tommy whisper-bitched at his best pal, while grinning a little at his distress. "OK, what's the plan now?"
Before Jason could shrug, which was as close to a plan as he had, Kim altered the course of his friendship with Tommy forever.
"T, I have something to confess," Kim began in a slightly nervous tone as the girls assumed their Yoga poses. This was huge, HUGE! news for the Pink Ranger, so she tried to settle down as much as she could. She couldn't keep this from her best friend any longer. "OK, so I didn't technically want to work out early just so that we'd have more time to study. I wanted to talk to you about something." She paused briefly as she now had Trini's undivided attention. "Its pretty important."
"You can tell me anything, Kim. You know that. What is it?"
Suddenly Tommy's heart stopped as it dawned on him what this talk was about, and that his girlfriend had told him she was going to have this talk with Trini today, and that he should have his with Jason.
Of course Tommy Oliver forgot.
Wincing in the shadows, Tommy shut his eyes to the inevitable hurricane of shock to follow.
Blushing ever so, Kim exhaled a deeply held breath as she revealed her most closely guarded secret. "Tommy and I had sex two weeks ago."
Trini sat perfectly still, clearly floored by this unexpected turn of events. Had she heard Kim correctly? "But... but I thought the plan was to wait till Prom night? That was your 'Super Not Gonna Change No Matter How Badly You Wanted Him' plan."
The closest thing to an honest reply from the Pink Ranger was a little shrug. "Yeah, well, the romantic poem he wrote about me and the unexpected opportunity of my mom working a double shift that same night led to unplanned naughty shenanigans," she lightly giggled in her hands. Trini's eyes bugged out at the news. "Relax, I promise we were careful. As far as protection goes, I'm on mine and he had his. But no, it wasn't planned that it would happen that night. It just did."
Tommy could not see Jason Lee Scott.
But he most certainly felt the Red Ranger's deadly, murderous gaze all over his face. There was a cold silence in the closet. Sort of like the dead of space. But maybe that was a positive. The cat was now out of the bag and it was time to move past it and all.
"But two days later, yeah... that sex was 'Very' planned," Kim recalled gleefully, and with no small amount of teenage evil.
OK, so Tommy knew that wasn't good. Awkward didn't begin to describe how he felt being stuck in this dark closet while listening to his totally awesome new sex life being revealed to his best bro in nothing resembling the way he intended. He could all but hear the muscles in Jason's body tightening. He could imagine his fists clenching. It was like watching the timer on a bomb ticking down...
"And that Tuesday when he had a bad cold and I was getting my new contacts... well that was a all-day Pink and White Ranger Sexy Times Day."
Tommy had no time to react, choking out a weakly yelp as Jason's free hand closed around his throat. The back heel of his foot slammed into the wall, causing a chaotic chain reaction of wacky events.
First came Jason's near shout, "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU TOMMY!"
Next came the closet door being powerfully flung open with Trini and Kim staring in mute shock at the Red Ranger clearly choking the now pale White Ranger.
Having had no time to adjust to her best friend's post virginal news, Trini glared back and forth between the guys in shock. As if what she just heard wasn't frying her brain enough. "What in the world is going on here?"
Kim blanched, taking a step back. And then another. "What is that smell? Oh God, I think I can actually see the stink! You guys got a a dead body in there or something?"
"Why are you carrying roses and a letter, Jason?" Oh wait, Trini's razor-sharp mind hit a complete full stop! Using her vaunted Batman detective skills at a velocity that would make the Starship Enterprise's Warp 9 look like a turtle race, she quickly deduced that Jason was mostly likely here to give them to her after the way he'd been acting the last two weeks. And that he talked Tommy into this crazy caper of sneaking in here. Her mom didn't mention she had company waiting for her, meaning the guys pretty much broke in. Likely through the back window near the furnace. And since she had mentioned not less than a week ago how much she loved roses, 'Big Red', her cute nickname for her hopefully soon-to-be boyfriend, was listening. Of course one of them had really bad gas in the closet, judging from the bad odor. Likely Tommy was the culprit as he had two of those stuffed bean burritos for lunch. And it was now obvious by Jason's clear discomfort that he did not know Kim and Tommy had been "Morphing" the last two weeks.
Oh this was going to be fun.
Was it her Birthday? Trini smiled, silently.
"Let him go, Jase." Hands on her slender hips, Trini waited as they slowly exited the closet. Jason looked very nervous and a bit overwhelmed. It was far to cute. Grimacing, Tommy rubbed at his throat, now standing beside Kim who was clearly wondering what in the world was happening here. "Which of you two amazing gentleman would like to explain why you're hiding in my basement closet? And Jason, what's up with roses and a letter?"
When Tommy extended his hands in a mock flourish, as if to silently say "The floor is yours," Jason felt the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. He had faced terrifying monsters and huge creatures and evil robots and clones and aliens bent on world-wide destruction. But facing the woman who held his heart was far tougher than all of them combined. And all eyes were on him, waiting for him to say something.
Words... what were they again? Oh yeah, they were the means of communication. Sadly, Jason's words were choking in his throat. He was near panicking! Began to sweat a little. Standing there stiff as a board with no clue how to proceed. So he just went for it in hopes that he wouldn't make a fool of himself.
"I brought these for you," Jason finally found the courage to declare, and then extended the roses to Trini. Her response was the most mild quirk of a brow, followed by taking the roses. She brought them to her nose, inhaling the pleasant fragrance.
"What does this mean?" Trini asked calmly, politely, holding his gaze hostage as he had nowhere to run this time. While dealing with Kim and her newly minted status of being a ex-member of the V-card carrying society was still to come, her own love life was about to Finally! take center stage.
Jason's perfect plan had fallen apart so completely that now even he knew he had no plan at all. But there she was, his gorgeous, brilliant, courageous, and quietly evil love of his life staring at him with a world of expectation in her lovely eyes.
Feeling he just couldn't back down as she deserved his best, Jason told the scary truth. "I wrote you a letter to express to you how I felt... I mean how I feel about you. And I brought the roses because I know you love them."
"Why did you guys sneak in when you could have easily teleported the flowers and card here?" Trini questioned while trying her very best not to laugh. Poking holes in guys plans were her second favorite thing in the world. Good thing Jason was her first.
While mentally kicking his own butt that he hadn't thought of that himself, Jason could only exhale and smile a little. The big bad Red Ranger felt vulnerable for once. But retreating was not an option. "I meant to just leave them and hope that you would call me later on tonight and tell me what you thought about the letter."
So he was insecure about her feelings? He wasn't sure she loved him. The big dope, she'd all but worn brightly lit neon shirt every day that read "I love Jason Lee Scott," on the front. Alas, he was just a teenage boy. A powerful, handsome, lethal one. But one nonetheless less.
Trini gave a slow nod, and then politely ordered. "Read it to me."
Jason blinked.
Tommy blinked.
Trini and Kim shared a quick glance and silent female conversation only girls could have.
'You go girl!'
'I know, right! I want my pound of flesh!'
'Make him pay!'
'I intend too!'
While Kim and Trini concluded their brief eye-conversation, Jason gulped as he slowly took the letter from inside the scented envelope. He attempted a sort of eye conversation with Tommy, who could only shrug as he'd had his big romantic moment already.
Swallowing hard in the back of his throat, Jason cleared it, and then began to read. "Dear Trini. We've been the best of friends since we were kids. You knew how to change the chain on a bike before I did, and when the chain on my BMX disc wheel bike broke you fixed it. I remember thinking you were the smartest, coolest person on the planet. From that day on I liked you and loved getting to know you. You, me, Billy, Zack, and Kim were a kind of family. But deep down I didn't think of you as a sister, although I never said it. You were so pretty to me. You always knew how to make peace when people wanted to argue or fight. And you always knew how to make me feel better when I was sad, and knew what to say to me when I was feeling down."
He continued, "I think you're an amazing person, a great Ranger, and a beautiful woman." When his eyes dared to raise he found the most beaming smile centered on him from Trini. "I know this will probably come as a surprise to you, as it was shocking to me, but its only been in the last year that my feelings for you have changed. I've always seen you as a equal, and a dear, close friend. But as we've gotten older I can't get over how pretty you are. And how smart you are. I love listening to you talk to people and help them. I think you'd make a great psychiatrist one day. If you can deal with Kim's insanity you can deal with anyone."
"I'm going to run you over with my car, Jason," the Pink Ranger huffed.
"Shhh, this is my love letter time. No interruptions," Trini declared. Kim nodded.
Jason greatly detested the spotlight, but had to go on. All eyes were on him. This was his one shot with the clock winding down to win the game. Or girl as it was. "I've watched you as a Ranger act with courage and character. I've watched you face down all your fears and never flinch. I think you're a spectacular person, and I see you as more than a friend now. You make me laugh and smile all the time. You're my favorite person to be around, so I was wondering if you might let me take you to dinner and a movie sometime? And if you by some chance you don't feel the same then I hope you find a really nice guy and I promise I won't act weird around you. But I do hope you consider going out with me. I would try my hardest to make you feel as special as I think you are. Sincerely yours, Jason."
Having stared down Lord Zedd face to face without blinking, the Red Ranger hadn't so much as lifted his gaze from the floor. He was truly afraid of what he might see.
Tommy waited anxiously, staring at Trini's casual expression for a clue of if this was a good or bad letter. Kim wiped a misty tear aside, waiting patiently for her best friend to respond.
As for Trini Kwan, it was routinely said she had a 'Poker Face' that could win millions in Vegas. That was in play right now as she began a slow tour around Jason, casually circling him without saying a word.
On the inside though, she was so beyond crazy for this wonderful guy. His letter would be re-read so many times tonight she was sure by the morning she'd be able to recite it from memory. She loved him. But that didn't mean she'd make it easy for him.
Exhaling deeply, Jason rose to face Trini when she finally paused in front of him. Well it was all out there now. His heart was just levitating in mid-air. Either she'd grab it and make it her own or stomp on it. "So..."
Holding the roses to her heart, Trini said, "Seven months ago on a Tuesday I helped you study half the night for a big Chemistry exam at your house. I even brought pizza for dinner. I missed watching Beverly Hills 90210 for you that night. And you know that's my favorite show. Why do you think I did that?"
"Uhm..." Jason shot a look Tommy's way. The White Ranger had nothing.
Trini could only smile. "Three weeks after that I asked you to come over to my house to watch martial arts movies on a Saturday afternoon."
"I remember that," Jason recalled now. "But everyone canceled except me."
"Yeah, funny isn't it... how this eclectic group of martial arts geeks we call friends all turned down a free taco day with martial arts movies? Does that at all seem strange to you?"
Considering what she said from a different point of view, Jason pondered her query. "A bit..."
Trini paused to let what she was saying soak into the male teenage mind a little. She could tell even Tommy was catching on. "The homecoming dance you didn't go to because you had the flu. Remember how I twisted my ankle and ended up watching scary movies with you on your couch that night?"
Finally, Jason began to put two and two together. His heart soared. "Yes, I do," he smiled.
"Well let me let you in on a little secret." Leaning into him, Trini whispered lightly in his ear, "I didn't twist my ankle."
Feeling as though Christmas morning was just around the corner, he knew he had to let her do things her way. "I see."
Trini playfully tapped the roses at his chest. "And then there was the day you were replaced by Tommy as the team leader. And you were all alone on the rooftop of the Command Center. And I brought you your favorite donuts, all while wearing a red shirt and a red clip in my hair." She watched that memory sink into him, his gaze heated and fixed on her. Now tell me, Jason? When have you ever seen me wear the color red? 'Your' color," seductively noted in a breathy tone.
The awesome realization was all over Jason's face now as everything finally clicked into place. His head bowed in a mildly bashful pose. "Us guys can be a little dense sometimes."
"A little?" Kim snickered, "I have no doubt my honey has half a brick in his skull to go along with half a brain."
"Hey!" Tommy glared.
"I still love you," Kim winked, leaning into the White Ranger's side. His arm curled around her waist.
Jason paid them no mind, though he knew he'd kick Tommy in the head some time soon. Just not today. Today was all about the lovely girl in front of him. "I like you a lot, Trini."
"I like you too."
"So will you go out with me?"
"Yes," she replied with the brightest smile, and then dove at him and kissed his brains out.
Trini was done waiting for him to make the first move.
The End
Authors End Notes: Ok, indulging this little series of fluff fics is over. Back to the passion of "Something Special," the darkness of "Ether", and the truly evil of "Fallen God" And all my Star Wars fics. Big time updates coming for a lot of fics soon :) Stay Tuned!