Love Ingredients

Disclaimer: Wasn't, isn't, won't be mine.

:: It's been for-ever since I wrote TK. And it feels weird. I have been doing lots of Flashpoint lately and it's funny in a way because both Jules and Kimberly are played by our Amy Jo and yet their characters are so different. This fic was what I called a nowhere-to-go fic. It's a story about life. Everything after Turbo is AU. I had fun writing it. Hope you enjoy :)

Thank you Nina!

Would have posted this sooner, but FFnet has been being silly for days. Bleh.

Beep… beep… beep…

Half awake, Kimberly Hart rolled over and reached out to slam off the alarm. The morning sun rays were gently filtering through the slits of the blinds and the birds were chirping a beautiful -and somewhat noisy- orchestra. In some mornings they would cause her headaches; on that morning, the mood set was good.

2 hearts.

Tommy was still soundly asleep next to her, snoring lightly. She gazed at the ceiling of their bedroom –she was still not used to calling the house their house, much to Tommy's dismay – as the last remnants of last night's dream began to fade into forgettable debris. When she was fully awake, she carefully slid out of his stretched arm and padded into the bathroom.

The room, just like any other places in the house, was in desperate need of some woman's touch, Kim mused as she began to undress and step into the shower.

The amazement rushed through her every time she realized how her life had changed. Even after all that time, it hadn't completely sunk in. Rewind her life a couple of years back and she was still training and preparing the girls to compete in the Olympics. It was such a prestigious position and gymnastics was her life. But did she really want it to be all her life?

Later, Adam and Tanya got married; and right there and then, in their wedding among the civilians were the rangers, former and active. Former being the former green, white and red ranger. Former being her former high school sweetheart. Tommy Oliver.

They had been talking again long before the reception. The broken bridge of their friendship had been fixed, although they were just friends at best. She knew he was finishing his master in Paleontology and he knew she was thinking of pursuing interests other than Gymnastics. When she ended up spending the night in his hotel room, neither blamed the alcohol.

2 teacups of faith.

'What made you think that this time will be different?' she asked him the morning after, tugged close to his chest. 'What made you so sure that I wouldn't break your heart again?'

'Because we love each other. I have always loved you, and I know that I won't find another woman whom I'll love the way I do you.' The smile on his face was enough to chase away any doubt and uncertainty. 'We're grown ups now and I won't let distance get in our way. I know you're scared, so am I. But we'll take it slow, one step at a time.'

When she sat in the plane heading back to Miami the next day, gazing at the sea of clouds, there was new-found confidence and determination in her eyes. They would make it work, somehow; because this time, they had stronger faith in each other. She didn't think she deserved the second chance, but now that she had got it, she wouldn't ruin it the way she had before.

2 cups of sacrifice.

Kim turned off the shower, shivered slightly and quickly dressed. When she walked back into the bedroom, the carpeted floor dampened the sound of her footsteps. Tommy was still in the same position she had left him, mouth gaping open slightly. The educating sight warmed her heart.

It was one of the moments when she felt that she had indeed made the right choice; that she should stop thinking whether her decision to quit her job and go back to get her degree in business management was the right thing to do. It was what was meant to be.

Juggling a long distance relationship and hectic schedules hadn't been easy, but it hadn't been impossible. When he asked her to move in with him, her answer had come easier than she had thought.

'It's an open invitation, Beautiful. Whenever you're ready.'

'I am,' she insisted as the line had gone quiet. When she talked again, her voice dropped to an intimate whisper. 'You encouraged me to chase my dreams. You put me first even though it was killing you. Now it's my turn to do the same. I know you can't leave California so I will come to you. You're home, Tommy. Took me a while to admit that, but it's true.'

'Then I'm glad.'

1 jar of angst.

With the old ninja skill she still possessed, Kim crawled back into bed, watching her sleeping ranger with endless adoration in her eyes. She loved watching him sleep, seeing his chest move up and down in synchronicity with his breathing. There were days when she would find anguish contorting his face - the lines on his forehead clearly accentuated.

They carried and shared many life experiences and burden, having faced their fair share of obstacles; like when Trini passed away, or when Tommy's father had his second heart attack.

Kim was pleased to know that they would always be each others rock.

Tommy seemed to be in a deep sleep, and from the gentle smile on his lips it looked like he was in the middle of a good dream. As much as she loathed waking him up, he had a class to teach in a few hours.

Kim ran a slender finger over his cheek down to his lips. She smiled when he twitched beneath her caress. Her palm smoothed down his muscled arm then gently shook him. "Hey Handsome, it's time to wake up."

Groaning, Tommy buried his face on his pillow before turning his head, eyes slowly fluttering open. What little could be seen from the slits of his eyes were looking up at her.

"Good morning."

His eyes were smiling, telling their own stories. He looked as though he was happy that the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her. Tommy absently rubbed her arm. The feel of his calloused fingertips on her skin send wonderful tingles down her spine. For a long minute nobody said anything, simply cherishing the moment and basking themselves in being together. "Tell me again, why did I choose to be a teacher?" His voice was hoarse when he broke the comfortable silence.

"Because you love teaching and your students definitely appreciate you as well. It's not every year they get a hunk for a science teacher." Kim giggled and pecked his head playfully.

He groaned and gripped her hand tighter. "Happy Anniversary, Beautiful."

"You remember?" Tommy scowled at the mention of his infamous memory and Kim pressed a finger over his mouth to stop any further debate. "Happy Anniversary. Breakfast will be ready soon."

100 grams of happiness.

You definitely have to repaint the walls, dearest, Kim thought as she stared at the dull beige living room. The lack of color in the house was sad, especially given the fact that the owner had been the multicolored ranger. Now it was her job to make sure that the house didn't feel like a bachelor and a science teacher's.

Slowly, Kim, give the guy some room, she reminded herself, but changing that bloody awful curtain first thing first wouldn't kill him.

She took out a cartoon of eggs and frozen bacon from the fridge and started the coffee machine. Tommy needed his caffeine fix to be fully human in the morning, she'd rather have some fresh orange juice. She liked her eggs scrambled, it had taken her a whole week to make a perfect sunny side up just the way he loved it. He ate his toast plain, she couldn't not have it with strawberry jam.

Both had been living alone for a long time and while staying together under the same roof had been proven to be a challenge at the beginning, everything was water under the bridge now. The ring adorning her finger glimmered, nodding its approval.

It had certainly made their lives when she 'approved' his proposal. That one small little word that had taken the relationship to the next, not last, important step.

'I still have a present for you.'

'Oh Tommy, but you've already given me this trip! God knows I needed it.' He had surprised her with a three-day get away trip far from work, friends and traffic. Meeting Bulk and Skull in the resort though, had been a startling yet not unwelcomed surprise.

His answer was to tilt her chin up and capture her lips in a kiss. The kiss was simple, yet the feelings it evoked were complex and spiralling. She could feel her eyes begin to mist up under her lids. When he finally pulled back, she saw him holding the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

'I love you, Kim, always. I can't imagine having a life without you, you are my life. Marry me, Beautiful?'

2 teaspoons of extra spice.

She had agreed to marry him and it was certainly one of the defining moments in her life. A stepping stone. Soon-to-be Mrs. Kimberly Oliver!

The private celebration afterwards had a league of its own but even it wouldn't have saved him from staying on the couch when he ditched her the next day, playing hero with the other red rangers without bothering to tell her.

The note he had left on the nightstand didn't mention anything about rangers – egoistical red rangers- or Serpentera or moon or aliens. She was so upset she had started considering not sending wedding invitations to those red rangers involved. Tommy was free to look for another best man.

As good as the celebration sex had been, it was nothing compared with the make-up sex.

And he was all hers.

She had a ring, a huge one at that, to confirm that.

1 garnish of understanding.

"Billy sent an email. He will come next weekend and Zack will tag along too. Zack's trying to convince Jase to make the time, but it looks like it's just going to be both of them," Tommy said while chewing his second piece of toast. "We can go to the new seafood restaurant by the beach."

"That's great! It's been a while. Jason did tell me that with the new dojo opening soon, things have been a bit busy, but who knows?" Tommy nodded and Kim eyed him closely for a while. She sighed. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Of course."

But he didn't look okay. He looked distraught. He was nervous about something and she bet she knew what it was about. "The preparation for finals is going alright?"

"Definitely."

Right. One word answer. Kim drank her juice and got up, depositing the dirty dishes in the sink. It was Tommy's first year teaching and thus it was his first finals. She knew he had to hand them in to the new Principal the day after tomorrow and between saving the world and being a mentor to the rangers (not to mention being a good fiancée to her), he was swamped.

Kim wiped her hands on the towel and turned around, leaning back against the counter. "You know that it's okay to skip dinner tonight," she said lightly and smirked when his eyebrows rose. She walked to him and looped an arm around his shoulders, letting him pulling her close. "We still can have dinner at home and I'll even cook your favorite food," she paused, biting her lips. It was no secret that cooking wasn't very high on her list of skills. "Well, at least I will try. I'll ask Haley to help me out and you sure can spare a few hours for me later."

"But this is our anniversary," Tommy insisted, frowning his disagreement. It was bad enough that they had to postpone their wedding by a year. Today had marked the third year of their relationship and he wanted to keep the tradition - treat her, dine and wine her, show her off. He had placed a reservation at the newly opened French restaurant downtown which he knew Kim was dying to try.

"I'll be Mrs. Oliver in the next 2 months and after that you will get a new anniversary date. Then you can spoil me."

"Kimberly…"

"Don't worry, we'll still have fun tonight." She kissed the tip of his nose and winked at him. "I'll make sure of that."

2 bags of hugs and kisses.

"So I'll be home around 5," Tommy said, fully dressed in pants, black dress shirt and tie – the teacher attire. He pocketed his glasses. "Then I'll spend a couple of hours to finish the finals while you try not to kill us." His grin was teasing and he earned a playful slap for it.

Smirking, Kim reached up and pulled him down to her level. His hands, around her waist, pulled her closer. Their lips met and for long moments they were lost in the gentle passion. She didn't think there would ever come a day when they would get tired of each other. God, she hoped not.

Only when air became necessary she broke the kiss, resting their foreheads together. His scent was everywhere and the heady taste of him still lingered on her lips. She slowly, reluctantly, released her hold on him. "As much as I hate this, you'd better go or you're going to be late. I have to get ready myself."

Endless romance.

"I love you, Mrs. Oliver," Tommy said, never getting tired of testing the word on his tongue.

"I love you too, Mr. Oliver," Kim answered. It would never get old.

They shared another kiss before Tommy ran to his jeep. She waited until he drove away before making her way upstairs.

Just two more months and then their lives would be forever intertwined. The roads had been rocky, the grounds had been shaky, but they were very, very close. Ups and downs, tears and laughter, challenges and changes, adjustments and blessings.

Love and devotion.

Him and her.

At the end of the day, she could live with it.

Perfect Ingredients.

:)