My December

This is my snow covered home

Snow; that was the first thing he saw. White flecks of somewhat frozen water softly sticking to his window. The intensity of the sun glaring off the white fields beneath his window blinded him momentarily as he grabbed his wits…and noticed his empty bed. He's still gone.

The same thought would echo through his mind every morning he awoke. It helped him get through reality. It helped him grasp the fact that despite distance, he was still connected to Hunter.

"Dustin, are you awake?"

His mom's voice was rebounding off the walls of the house and he could hear her footsteps drawing nearer. His door opened.

"Look at the snow outside," she noted gleefully, pulling off the green pot-holder on her hand.

He smiled weakly, "Yeah, I know. It's beautiful."

She sat down on his bed, ignoring his lack of a shirt; "Are you going to help me with Thanksgiving dinner?"

He cracked a smile, "Only if you need an official taste-tester."

"I could always use an extra."

She stood abruptly after several moments of silence, drawing in a breath, "C'mon, I just put the pies in."

Dustin moved to dress and followed his mom to the kitchen. Before he shut his door, he cast a forlorn glance out at the wintery setting outside and wondered if Hunter would be okay with such blistering temperatures.

This is me alone

He bit down as the spikes of utter agony split into him. He felt them burn at his veins, bringing physical pain to an all-time peak, before the screaming began. The shriek of an ethereal realm pierced his eardrums and he felt his heart squeeze severely. Then it stopped. His focus broke, and all pain subsided instantaneously.

"Damn it!" he slammed his fist into the snow covered rock, shattering it in his anger. "Why can't I do this?"

He sat back, catching his breath. Despite the abnormally frigid Californian temperatures, his brow was sweating profusely and his clothes lay in a rumpled pile next to him. He'd learned several months ago that attempting to focus with clothes on would surely suffocate one.

Hunter pulled his pants on and trekked barefoot to his backpack of materials. He pulled out several canisters; one for water, one for food, one for storage, and laid them neatly in a symmetrical row. His compulsive behavior continued as he followed the same ritual, placing exactly 5 photos of the same size around him in a circle. One picture of Dustin, one of Blake, one of all the rangers, and one of each parent brought a sudden wave of nostalgia to him, but it focused him. Shortly afterwards, he brought out the book Sensei Amino had given him and began to read. The language, as impossible as it seemed, flowed into his mind, his eyes lighting with a crimson-colored flame. He read aloud, and animals began to scatter, leftover leaves blowing away from him as gusts of winds abruptly changed their current. He uttered louder and louder as the wind picked up until a deafening boom shook the skies and the trees. Hunter stopped reading and raised his left hand—his morpher hand—to the darkened, angry clouds, and focused. The red flicker in his eyes never died, as a bolt sent by the sky god himself struck his arm, Hunter's body radiating a blinding crimson color. For a second, he was reminded of morphing until the numbness of energy tapped into him and he was teleported.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Dustin in the kitchen with his mom. They were laughing. He looked happy. Hunter smiled to himself at seeing the young man before him. Dustin wasn't depressed. And Hunter sighed a breath of relief. He knew his time was running out.

Stepping forward, he passed through the counter, through Dustin's mom, and steadied himself in front of the former yellow ranger. And slowly, as he felt himself begin to fade away, he pressed his intangible lips to Dustin's.

This is me pretending

Dustin paused, a sudden warmth waving into his lips; and he pushed forward, wondering what this new sensation was. But as quickly and mystically as it had come, it was gone.

"What's wrong?"

Dustin shook his head at his mom, "Nothing…I felt something weird."

She shrugged and went back to telling him about Christmas plans; vacationing to see her mother who lived alone in Alaska. She was a crazy old woman with a bad eye and a long cane she used to beat people away, or to punish little children who snuck in her candy jar. Dustin had noted that if one were to approach the candy jar mid conversation, she would never lash out, as she normally spoke with her eyes closed. Why his mother wanted to visit her was beyond him.

"Lee, I can't find my golden lapels anywhere, and the tie I laid out is suddenly missing."

Dustin turned towards his dad, who was frantically adjusting his white Oxford pinstripe shirt.

"Jake…your lapels are in the bathroom next to the sink and your tie is on the ironing board."

Lee, Dustin's dark haired, blue eyed mom, smiled warmly at her husband's sudden change in state.

"Well what about my graphs? I printed them out this morning and—" Lee Brooks handed him the stack of graphs set neatly on the kitchen table, "—and my notes on the annual—" Again, like Wonder Woman, she set the notes in his hands. "One more question."

"What's that?" she asked.

"What would I do without you?"

"Oh Jacob…I figured you'd learned by now—there's no such thing as life without me."

The seemingly perfect family laughed, and Dustin felt his smile flicker when his eyes fell upon his freestyle trophy. He could only think of how Hunter had helped him perfect a trick shortly before he left. He could only think of the day he'd won the trophy—how when he pulled his helmet off and looked around at his overjoyed fans—and Hunter wasn't there.

"Dustin? Hello, Mars to Dustin?"

He snapped out of his zone, "Yeah?"

His mother gave him a suspicious look, a half grin on her face, "Were you daydreaming?"

"Sorta…I kinda zoned out, ha-ha…"

"Well, I was trying to ask you to pick Janie up from the airport. Her flight lands in about a half-hour."

"Yeah, sure, let me grab my coat and I'll be on my way."

He took a look at the trophy again and stowed his feelings away before he ran up the stairs to grab his coat. Seeing his sister would make things easier for him—she was always so open and adventurous. Maybe he could open up to her and get some of his feelings for Hunter out to someone before he exploded.

This is all I need

He gasped, pulling cold air into his lungs and feeling it burn his chest. But he wouldn't let it take him out of the trance. The colors in front of him began to swirl, entire trees pooling into each other and meshing with the cold ground beneath him. And suddenly, finally, a loud crack of thunder filled the air, lightning blazing all around him. All of the lightning, every strand, every branch, ever particle of it, glowed dark red. It encased Hunter in its electrical hold, and he embraced the warmth of it, let it run through his veins and allowed it to fill him up. And finally, the ultimate synchronism with his element had completed.

He opened his eyes and saw them. Two figures. One with long blond hair. One with short dark hair. Both wore light colored robes, both wore smiles upon their faces. And Hunter knew at that moment, he had achieved the skill. He was able to speak with the dead.

"Hello, Hunter," his dad spoke softly, stepping forward.

He was no transparent image this time, but a fully corporeal man whose hand laid lightly on Hunter's shoulder.

The Crimson Ninja fought back the tears that threatened to fall as he gazed into the fully whole face of the only man he'd been able to call a father. He looked to the left, where his mother stood beaming.

"Sensei Omino told us you'd be perfecting this skill. I had no doubt of your great ninja prowess, but I'd never thought you'd achieve this level so quickly."

Hunter looked taken aback at his mother's statement.

"So quickly? Mom, it took me nearly half a year."

"Most ninjas never learn this technique, Hunter. And those who do normally take years to complete it."

"There's so much I want to know, so much I still haven't learned from Sensei Amino. He said you two could teach me. And I need to be taught so badly."

His parents nodded, "In time. But time moves differently in the realm of the dead, and being here will tax your body enormously. You need to rest and come back tomorrow."

Her words took a few seconds, before Hunter felt the sudden wave of fatigue slam into him. He nearly collapsed then and there. He managed to utter a strangulated "bye" before he lost focus and blacked out.

Just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed

"Wow."

Dustin exhaled deeply, "Yeah."

"And…how long's this been going on?"

"A year. He left 6 months ago…"

"For…?"

"He's a teacher…and he had to go to some weird country so that he could be qualified for a higher position."

"Ah…"

"Dustin…you need to tell mom and dad."

"No. Especially not dad."

"Why not?"

"Janie, you know how dad is. He's a-okay with legalizing marijuana, but when I told him I'd tried it, he totally flipped out."

She shrugged, "This time's different, Dustin."

He shook his head, turning at the stop light and continuing down the snowy road.

"Mom would totally back you up, and, since it's Hunter you're dating, I'm sure it'd make things a lot easier—"

"I said no, Janie."

She looked taken aback at her brother's tone, but dropped the subject nonetheless.

He had been wrong. Talking to Janie helped some, but now she was pushing him to do the very thing he was avoiding. And he knew that without Hunter there, he couldn't possibly go through with telling his parents. He would need Hunter in case he lost everything else.

So Dustin continued on through his routine; Ninja School, Storm Chargers, and hanging out every once in a while. Until December 25th.

He absently slapped around his nightstand, feeling for his ringing and vibrating phone.

"Hello?" he asked groggily, straining his eyes to see his clock. 4:49 AM.

"Hi."

Dustin stopped rubbing his eyes immediately.

"Hunter?"

"Hey Dustin."

His voice sounded a bit rough, but it was definitely Hunter. Hunter was calling him. He was talking to him. Was he in Blue Bay Harbor again? Was he still training? Would he be coming back soon if he wasn't home yet?

"Wha-where are you?"

"I'm…not really sure. I wandered into a town to reload on supplies…I figured I'd give you a call. Sorry if I woke you. What time is it there?"

"It's almost 5 am. But…you're not home? When will you be? What're you training for?"

"Let's not talk about that. How've you been?"

Dustin sighed. He rubbed his temples in frustration, glanced at the clock, and pulled his covers up around him again, holding the phone close to his face.

"I've been okay. It's not the same without you."

"I feel the same way everyday. I miss all of you."

Dustin hesitated for a moment, then he spoke up, "I thought I wasn't going to hear from you again."

"Why would you think that?"

"I…I dunno. I didn't even know if you were alive or not. I mean…do you know what that feels like?"

Hunter was quiet while his boyfriend spoke, but remained quiet long after the question was asked.

"Why can't you come home?"

"I haven't finished training."

"Training for what, Hunter?"

"I can't tell you…yet."

Dustin growled in anger, "Fine."

"Look…in time you can know…but for now; no."

"Okay."

Another pause.

"How're things with your family?"

"Fine. Mom's out of town visiting my grandma, Janie's with her boyfriend, and dad is with his family."

"What's the special occasion?"

Dustin was speechless.

"You…you mean you don't know?"

Hunter spoke slowly, "No…"

"Hunter, today's Christmas."

Silence.

"Oh."

"God Hunter…you need to come home. And if you're not back soon, I'm talking to Amino myself. This is complete and utter bullshit, and you know it too."

"I know it may seem that way, but I need this training Dustin."

Dustin didn't argue, but he entertained the thought for several minutes.

And then Hunter began to speak. About all sorts of things, really. The scenery, how far he'd traveled, the people he met; if it weren't for him having to be apart from Dustin, he would've been having fun, it sounded like.

For hours they talked, until the sun began to peak over the far mountains. Dustin's eyes began to slowly close, and Hunter spoke more softly now, sensing Dustin was losing consciousness.

"Alright, well I'm going to go now."

"Mhm…"

"Goodbye, Dustin."

"Bye…"

"I love you."

"I love you too," Dustin muttered.

A faint click later and Hunter was gone. At least to Dustin's ear, but to his mind, and to his heart, he wasn't. And the dreams that abounded filled Dustin up with subconscious hope. Though through the next months of his life, he would find just how deep that hope went.