Rating – T May be mild adult themes.

Legal – I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

It was beginning to get late when Damon came into the hut he shared with Kai. It had only been a couple of weeks since the citizens of Terra Venture had settled on the planet of Miranoi. The locals had been kind enough to allow the citizens of Terra Venture to settle while they set about building up the planet.

Once it had landed, the space station was basically the planet's only city. Commander Stanton had assured the locals that the expansion would be slow, and the ancestral lands would remain untouched for those who did not want to embrace the new, modern way of life, but they had every intention of building up the planet as a new outpost for earth just as they had always planned.

He threw his tool kit onto the floor and looked around curiously. Normally by now the house would be filled with the wonderful aroma of whatever delight Kai was making them for dinner. As he made his way towards the bathroom to wash up, he noticed a small sliver of light under the door and realised he was in there. Hearing Kai singing gleefully, he let out a small laugh. He had only heard him laugh once before, right before his last date.

"Kai, I'm hungry." He complained.

"Then heat up some leftovers!" He shot back from behind the locked door. Kai's cooking was so good that this wasn't an entirely unappealing option. Even the leftovers crammed into Tupperware dishes shoved into the freezer for God knows how long were miles better than anything Damon could make. He was still curious as to exactly why he was shut away in the bathroom, but he just shrugged and made his way to the kitchen to use the sink there to clean up. Clearly Kai was going to be a while.

Just as he was drying his hands, Kai walked in, wearing his best suit pants and a blue silk shirt. He could smell from across the room that Kai had gone overboard on the aftershave Kendrix had given him for Christmas. He also noticed that he was carrying a large bouquet of roses.

"Kai, you know I don't swing that way right?" Damon asked him. Kai just shoved him playfully as he laughed at the teasing.

"I'm going out tonight." Kai told him.

"Is it another date with that girl from the wedding?" Damon asked him. "That seems to be going well." Kai shook his head.

"We broke up." He informed him. "It wasn't working out."

"Oh, sorry I didn't know." Damon responded, feeling a little badly for bringing it up. "So the lucky girl is...?"

Kai smiled as he thought about her. He knew that Damon wouldn't leave it alone.

"I was going to tell Kendrix how I feel." Kai told him. Damon smiled as he heard this. He knew that Kai had been good friends with Kendrix long before they joined Terra Venture. They had virtually grown up together. In all that time, they had been inseparable; of course that was also part of the problem. Kai's feelings for her had changed over the years. He had wanted more from her than mere friendship ever since they had gone to their high school prom together. Damon knew all about Kai's feelings for her, and had called him on it long ago.

"Well it's about time." Damon told him.

"When I watched her die, when she disappeared, it killed me." Kai admitted. "All I could think about was that she didn't know how I felt. I was so scared that it would affect our friendship that I never took a chance on her."

He took a seat as Damon put a Tupperware dish containing some leftover Stroganoff into the microwave.

"When we put the Quasar sabres back, when I saw her come around that cliff, it was like all the fights were finally worth it. It was like everything I ever wanted. Every prayer had been answered. I got a second chance. When I saw her, when I held her in my arms again, I promised myself that I'd not waste it. I promised I'd not risk letting it happen again."

"Well you know I was pulling for you to tell her before." Damon replied. "Good luck man."

"Thanks." Kai replied, gathering the roses as he headed for the door. "I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

It was a little after seven when he got to Kendrix's apartment. Kai stood in the lobby, taking a few deep breaths to steel himself for his talk with her. He had faced down Trakena's deadliest warriors many times, but given what he was about to do, the simple door to her apartment, one he had walked through many times, seemed like an obstacle more daunting than all of them put together.

He brought out a breath spray, using it for seemingly the millionth time as he prepared himself. He knocked on the door, his heart pounding as he waited for her. Kendrix opened the door, a huge grin on her face.

"Kai, come on in!" She screeched excitedly, pulling him inside before he could say anything. He hadn't seen her so excited in a long time. She pulled him through to the living room, where he found Mike sitting on the couch. He was a little curious as to exactly why he was there. There was a bottle of wine, and a couple of glasses on the table. Kendrix was never much of a drinker, but it looked like they had both had a couple of glasses given how little was left. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Kendrix..."

"Kai, we've been best friends for years, I'm really pleased you're the first one to hear our news." She rushed out, her eyes shedding a couple of tears of joy. She showed him her left hand, and Kai felt his heart breaking as he saw the ring. "Mike just proposed. We're engaged!"

Kai didn't know what to say or do. They all knew that Kendrix and Mike had been good friends for a while, but he had never imagined that it was anything beyond that.

"We were kind of close before all this started." He explained, putting his arm around Kendrix and pulling her into himself, holding her warmly as he smiled. "First, I fell down the abyss, then Kendrix fell to Psycho Pink, it just showed us how fragile life can be."

Kai almost wanted to break down in tears when he saw Mike kissing her.

"So when she came back, I figured maybe we should give it a shot." He continued. "I know it's sudden, but I figured, who knows what could happen? Why wait?"

Kai smiled at them, forcing a little grin through his heartache. He felt as if he had been smashed in the chest with a sledgehammer.

"Congratulations." He finally managed to say, shaking Mike's hand. Kendrix came across, hugging him tightly.

"I'm really glad you were the first to know." Kendrix told him. "I can't believe all this is happening. We've got so much to arrange!"

"I still have to tell my brother." Mike said with a grin. "We're probably going to meet up with everyone in the bar tomorrow night. It would mean a lot to us if you were there."

"I'll be there." He assured them. "I should be going."

"Oh, I guess you were just on your way to see Jacqueline." Kendrix commented, noticing the roses. Kai saw her looking and forced himself to smile. She didn't know that he had broken up with Jacqueline, but then she couldn't. He had only done it last night when he made the decision to speak to Kendrix. "I love roses!"

"She's a lucky girl." Mike told him. "Maybe you can bring her tomorrow."

"Maybe." Kai said in a sigh as he got up from the sofa. "Anyway, I best not keep her waiting."

"Have a great time." Kendrix told him as she showed him out. As the door closed behind him, Kai looked to the flowers in his hand and finally allowed himself to shed a tear. Once again, he had left it too late to let Kendrix know what she meant to him. The only consolation was that he knew Mike well, and he knew that he would take care of her and do everything he could to make her happy. As he left the apartment block, he threw the roses into a trash can and slowly made the long, lonely trip home.