Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Kevin found that he usually had his best conversations with Mia just before bed. They would always be talking as they brushed their teeth, washed off their make-up and daily grim, put on their pyjamas and crawled into bed. This time was no exception.
"When is that kid going to learn?" he asked with a slight chuckle as he sat on the bed and watched Mia wipe her face with a towel. Mia had just finished telling him about her encounter with Spike at the supermarket and how he still seemed to be crushing on her and the pink Ranger.
"He's harmless, Kev. Let the kid have his little fantasy," Mia shrugged. "Besides, I told him I'm engaged, and I doubt he's the kind of kid who would actually go after a soon-to-be-married-woman. He's kind of sweet. Once you get past the freaky love-sick stare."
"I still find it hilarious that he's crushing on you and the pink Ranger," Kevin smiled. "If he only knew…"
Mia, who was reaching for her toothbrush, hesitated for a moment as she recalled her conversation with Emily right after their meeting with Spike. She hoped nothing would come of it, but Spike had been so close to figuring her out and he hadn't even been trying. It was just a coincidence that he had developed a crush on her and the pink Ranger. But because of that crush, he was starting to put two and two together.
"Well…"
Kevin noticed the hesitation and heard the little tone of worry in his fiancée's voice. He furrowed his brow and panic started to build up inside of him.
"Mia…"
"Look, he's like every other madly in love teenage boy. He's got his fantasies and he lets his imagination run wild…"
"Whoa, whoa… what does that…? What did he say? What kind of fantasies?"
"Let's just say I'll need to wear a little less pink from now on," Mia shrugged. She put the toothpaste on her brush and ran it under the water. "He's… well… catching on."
"You mean…?"
"According to Emily, every time he sees me I'm wearing pink. He let his mind wander and imagined how cool it would be if I was the pink Ranger. I think Emily took care of it though."
"You think?"
"I wasn't there," Mia answered. "I was picking out bread. Spike told Emily about me being the pink Ranger and she handled it."
"But if this Spike kid can figure it out…"
"I doubt anything's going to happen," Mia shook her head and spit out the toothpaste from her mouth. She reached for her pink cup and filled it with water. She spit that out, grabbed her towel and turned back to Kevin on the bed, "Like I said: teenage fantasy. And if he does ask, I can always deny it."
"But you would deny it," Kevin frowned. "It's a secret identity for a reason. Would he really expect you to admit to being a Power Ranger when no one's supposed to know?"
Mia shrugged and crawled into bed with Kevin. She looked at her fiancé, "I guess not."
"How long before he figures it out? Even if he can't ever prove it, we can't let him walking around assuming what we know is true. And when he does think he knows you're for sure the pink Ranger, he'll be able to stretch it all out. You're always with Emily when he sees you, and she's always wearing yellow. He's seen me maybe once or twice and I can almost guarantee that I was wearing blue. What about when he runs into Mike, Jayden or Antonio and realise they're part of our group and they always wear green, red and gold?"
"Would Spike really figure it out, though?" Mia asked. "I mean, he's a sweet kid, but he's not the brightest. Surely someone else would have caught on if we were obvious. I think we're safe."
"Still… this does open my eyes," Kevin said. He got out of bed and started making his way to the door. Mia looked at him curiously.
"Where are you going?" she asked him.
"We're going to have to throw Spike and everyone off. One way or another."
-Samurai-
"Not gold…" Antonio clutched his neck with one hand, pretending he had trouble breathing, while the other grabbed his red shirt in a fist, "losing power… won't make it…!"
"This feels freaky," Mike agreed, looking down at his blue sweater. He turned to Kevin, "and dude, I'm not just talking about the colour."
"Get it off!" Emily tugged at the bottom of her pink shirt. She was the yellow Ranger, not the pink. It felt weird not wearing her colour.
"This is only temporary, guys," Kevin promised sliding a green t-shirt on. "Now that Spike is starting to clue in we need to be a little careful."
"How is this going to throw him off, though?" Mike asked. He pulled at the collar of his, or rather, Kevin's sweater. "We're still wearing the Ranger colours."
"We don't own anything else."
"I've got a question," Jayden asked, holding Antonio's scarf in his hand, "We don't actually have to trade styles, do we?"
Antonio snatched his scarf out of Jayden's hands and held it securely. He glared at his best friend, "Hey, if I have to wear this horrendous colour, I'm keeping my scarf."
"We'll figure it out. But for now we should try switching up the colours a little more."
"Do not like," Emily shook her head and glared at Mia, "You can keep the pink stuff. This is just weird."
"You look cute in pink," Mia smiled as she slid on a yellow sweater. It was then that she was hit by the wave of weird. She looked down at herself and shook her head, "Okay… no… this is just…"
Mike's hand shot up in the air, "Why do we have to do this at the house? Can't we just swap colours when we go out in public?"
"Which is pretty much never for some of us," Jayden added.
All eyes turned to Kevin. The blue (or green at this point) Ranger shrugged his shoulders.
"We should get used to wearing another colour."
"Nope," Mike shook his head and pulled the blue sweater off quickly. "This won't fly. I'll do the public thing for like… a day, but that's it."
"I'm with Mike. If it's not gold, it's got to go," Antonio pulled at his shirt, eager to remove it. Jayden shot his best friend a look.
"You hardly ever wear gold anyways," he said.
"Still," Antonio mumbled. "These aren't my clothes, this isn't my colour and it's just… weird."
"Get it off! Get it off! Get it… Mia! It's eating me!" Emily cried when she couldn't find her way out of Mia's shirt. The older girl chuckled and helped Emily worm her way out of the pink shirt. When it was off, Emily glared at it, "I don't like pink. Mia, forget what I said at the store, you can keep your Samuraizer. Now, I'm finding a yellow shirt and I'm going to bed before I have nightmares."
"I'm coming with," Mike laughed. He handed Kevin his sweater, "At least find a shirt that looks like something I would wear."
"Like I would own something you would wear," Kevin chuckled, letting Mike and Emily head back to bed. He turned to the remaining Rangers, "C'mon, guys. We can't let people figure out who we are. If we mix it up…"
"One kid is onto us," Antonio shrugged his shoulders. "And he's like, what? Fourteen? Fifteen? I doubt anyone is going to listen to him anyways? Now, I'm off to bed too. Adios."
"Good night," the three Rangers nodded to Antonio as he left. Jayden then turned to Kevin with a sigh and held out his hand.
"Give me the blue sweater. Next time I head out I'll wear it."
"Thanks, Jay," Kevin smiled.
Mia looked at her fiancé, "And if you think it'll turn Spike away, I guess I could borrow a few of Emily's clothes. Anyways, this gives me an excuse to go clothes shopping. If you think I need to start wearing different colours…"
"Just don't drag me with you," Kevin groaned. Mia frowned and shook her head.
"Why would I do that? What do you know about women's clothes? That's why there's another girl on this team."
She kissed her fiancé before heading to her room for bed. Jayden nodded to Kevin and limped back to his room.
Kevin sighed. At least half the team was willing to go along with his plan, and he was sure the other half would follow, even if it was reluctantly. They couldn't afford anyone finding out the identities of the Power Rangers. Too much was at risk.
But as he walked back to his room he was starting to understand what the others were complaining about. He found himself pulling at his green shirt uncomfortably.
"This just… isn't right…"
