Chrysalis

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers.

:: This story is totally AU. I don't know why but I really like writing AU stories :D This won't be long. Just like Angel and Heroes, it'll probably take about five or six chapters. School has started but I'll try to update this and TSTM&TS soon. Enjoy.

Part one.

The twenty five year old Kimberly Hart lifted up her face and shut her eyes close. For a moment she just let the balmy afternoon breeze cool her face. Work had been pretty tough, but she enjoyed this kind of feeling more than anything else. Two years were not a short period of time and even after all this time, she's still trying to adjust with the surroundings.

"What are you doing?" Nate asked with a chuckle. "I thought you were going home? I guess you're not as tired as you claimed. So… how about that dinner? Interested?"

Her friend's deep voice cut her trail of thoughts and her eyes snapped open. Standing next to her car in the parking lot, Kimberly turned around to face the grinning and confident Nathan J. Mackenzie. She sighed and threw her bag on the backseat before addressing him. "Yes, I'm tired and was about going to go home before you came,"

"Really?"

Kim smiled and walked into his welcoming embrace for a friendly hug. "Yes," She pulled away and got inside her car. "I'll see you on Monday,"

"You could see me tonight and tomorrow morning if you wanted," He teased, cocking his eyebrows playfully.

She laughed. "Tempting, but no thanks,"

After another smile and goodbye, Kim started the engine and drove away. Nate was handsome enough to make any woman drop to their knees and his great sense of humor was kind of cute, but it's better for them to remain as friends and nothing more. Nate was a great friend and she wouldn't want that to ever change. Of course, when they first met six months ago, she had thought that he had all the qualities to be a potential boyfriend and he really did. However, after the first kiss that happened unexpectedly between them, she knew that her initial impression wasn't correct. They were better off as friends and things could get pretty annoying when the other person insisted that she was wrong.

Kim turned on the radio and tuned in her favorite station, sighing happily when one of her all time favorite songs was being played. Tomorrow was finally Saturday and at last she could get the much needed sleep that she desperately wanted. Working in a busy magazine company was tiring, yet a fun thing to do. She was doing what she loved to do and got paid for it.

Gymnastics had been her life since she was four. She had competed in numerous competitions, even the world class games like the Pan Globals. But as much as she loved gymnastics, she didn't want to let it consume all her life. After high school, there had been a delay for a couple of years before she decided to get her degree in Arts and applied for a job as soon as she graduated. Her life now was pretty ordinary that sometimes it felt more than a little boring.

Slowing down a little, Kim took a left turn. The apartment she had been living in was only twenty minutes driving from her work place; something that she was still grateful for. Suddenly she saw something white flashing in front of her car and she automatically stepped on the brake, stopping the car with a jolt. "Oh shit," She gasped, feeling a thud. She had hit something… no, worse, someone.

Kim quickly unbuckled herself and jumped out of the car. She closed her eyes in dismay when she found a man sitting on the ground about half a meter from her car. He was clearly hissing in pain, his hand rubbing a same spot on his head, but he was still alive. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," He replied hoarsely with a grunt.

Kim eyed the man carefully and forced herself to kneel down and check on him. He had on a white short sleeved shirt so she could see the scratches and blood smudges marked his arms. There's another scratch on the head from hitting the pavement, but it seemed like there's no fatal damage done. Breathing a bit slower, she released his arm and said, "I'm really sorry, but I didn't see you crossing the street," That was close. She almost killed a guy and the thought made her palms slightly wet, her heart racing wildly inside her chest.

"It's okay. It's my fault for not paying attention," He replied shortly, looking down at her for a few seconds before turning his face away. "It could have been worse. At least you didn't send me flying to the air and kill me,"

"Do you need to go to the hospital? Your head… you could have concussion or something like that," Kim suggested, still feeling badly for what had happened. His effort to lighten up the mood only worked a little. She mentally kicked herself for being so careless and distracted. "I'm so so sorry,"

He winced when he tried to move his right arm. "It's okay,"

"I live up there," Kim said, her hand making a gesture towards her building. "If you don't mind, maybe I could help you with that cuts," She was hesitant to invite a stranger into her apartment, but it's not like she could just shoo him away. She did cause him to be in this condition. He looked harmless anyway.

"Sure, that would be cool," In spite of the pain, he grinned at her. "I'm Tommy by the way. Tommy Oliver,"

"Kimberly," She shook his extended hand, careful not to graps it too tight. "Come on, but wait… how about your car? Is it okay to leave it here?"

Tommy shook his head. "I visited a friend who lived in the neighbourhood and he borrowed my car for the evening. I decided to take a bus home and well, I met you here,"

"Sorry," Kim muttered and took a good, long, look at the tall guy in front of her. He reminded her of someone familiar. "Have we met before? Because I think I've seen you somewhere,"

"You know what, that line was pretty out-to-date," He replied with a sly smile and Kim's expression changed in a fraction of second. For a moment she was tempted to just leave him there, seeing he was feeling strong enough to crack a joke like that.

"I didn't mean it like that," Kim returned with a deep frown and abruptly dropped his hand. She soon regretted her sudden movement when he groaned. "I just thought… nevermind. If you're alright, maybe I should just drop you at your pla-," Kim stopped mid-sentence when she saw him wincing once again. Biting her lower lips, Kim sighed, feeling the guilt returning. "Get in,"

--

The short drive to the basement parking lot and her apartment on the 11th floor was spent mostly in silent. She was tired and wasn't really in the mood for making any conversations. Tommy seemed to be fine and she once again wondered if bringing him to her place was the right thing to do.

"You okay?" She asked in concern. Tommy was favoring his right ankle. Acting on impulse, she slid her hand around his arm to prevent him from losing his balance.

"Do you realize that was the third time you asked me that question?" He had the nerve to say. This man was nearly as bad as Nate! Watching her somber expression, the smile slowly faded from his face. "Sorry, but I'm fine. As a martial artist I kinda used to this kind of injury,"

"You're a martial artist?" Kim inquired when the elevator stopped and the door glided open with a chime. That was an understatement though. She could feel the tight muscles underneath her hands.

"I am. In fact I moved to California because my bestfriend offered to open a karate academy together,"

The former gymnast released his arm and fished out a key from her bag. As she was unlocking the door, Tommy leaned against the wall to support his body. He was standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth radiated from him. Oh well, she should've just took him home or to the hospital!

"That's cool," She answered, her voice lacking of real interest because one, she was feeling extremely tired, and two, she was not in her best mood this evening. "Umm…," Great. She wasn't expecting company nor was she a very tidy person. Thank God she didn't leave her bra hanging on the doorknob like she did yesterday. "Come inside,"

"You live alone?" He asked after Kim helped him to sit in the recliner so that he could stretch out his legs. Meanwhile she had wandered to the bathroom to retrive the first aid kit.

A "Yes" came from her mouth although for a short second she wanted to say that she lived with her husband and their twins. Alas, she didn't think she would convince him that she was somebody's wife, let alone a mother of two.

"You have a nice place," Tommy commented once she returned and sat on the coffee table. "Fortunately mine is completely furnished, or I'll be sleeping on the floor tonight," He let Kimberly roll his faded blue jeans to work on his knee. "I haven't unpacked and boxes are scattered all over my apartment,"

"When'd you move here?" She asked while carefully applying some alcohol to the bleeded wound. If Nate found out that she was talking with a random stranger that her car nearly hit at this time of hour instead of sleeping like she promised him she would, he would totally flip.

"Two days ago. I was from Texas,"

"Ah, my Dad lives there," She informed and started bandaging his leg. "My parents divorced when I was fifteen and since then my father moved to Texas while my Mom got married to a French guy,"

It was when Tommy murmured his respond did Kim realize what she just said. Did she just tell him she was coming from a broken home family?

"I was adopted," Tommy said before she could get even more uncomfortable. He seemed to think it was normal for two people who just met less than half an hour to exchange stories about their family background. "I never knew my biology parents; they died in a car crash when I was very little. A baby,"

"I'm sorry," Kim mumbled, feeling her face flush pink.

"It's alright," Tommy tilted his head backwards, giving her full access to clean up the sctraches on his forehead. "I'm very close with my adopted parents and I'm proud to be their son,"

Kim nodded, not saying anything partly because she didn't know what to say.

"Nice job," Tommy said, looking at his leg. "Thanks,"

"I was a girl scout. This is the only thing that I was good at beside selling cookies,"

He looked like a nice guy… and handsome too, another voice said. Without moving his head, Tommy observed the small yet cozy living room. She took the time to really look at him because the strange, deja vu feeling washed through her all over again. This time though, Tommy caught her staring at him.

"What? You're not going to say if we've met before again, are you?" He teased lightly and this time there wasn't a moment of hesitancy for her to land a smack on his arm. "Hey!"

Kim rose to her feet and wiped her hands on her jeans. "I'll go grab my jacket and after that I'll drive you home,"

"I was only joking," He shouted as Kim vanished into her room. "Do you have aspirins?"

Upon hearing his request, Kim rolled her eyes. Was he only joking again or being serious? Groaning, Kim walked to the cabinet and took some aspirins for him. She gazed at her bed longingly when she walked passed the bedroom. "Tommy, you can-," The words died in her mouth when she found him sleeping in her living room. Was it for real? She's gone for like five minutes!

"Tommy, wake up," Kim demanded and put her hands on her hips. He didn't even budge. "Tommy, come on, I'm not in the mood for this,"

Still no answers.

"Oh seriously, could this day get any worse than this?"

--

Kim rolled to her side when the alarm clock went off, waking her from her uneased sleep. She felt the nightstand for the damn clock and with a jab of her hand, the room was quiet once again. This was Saturday and she's supposed to sleep until noon, but with a certain man 'paying rent' in her living room, she couldn't do that, could she?

After several useless attempts to wake him up, Kim gave up and dropped an old blanket over his body before retiring to her room. Of course, she locked the door, just in case he was only playing dead and decided to do something funny.

Feeling cautious, she woke up about three times last night just to make sure he's still there doing what he's supposed to do: sleeping. Now thanks to Mr. Oliver, she was feeling more tired than she had been yesterday.

Rubbing her eyes, Kim slowly sat up and leaned her head back against the headboard. 7.02 am. What the hell Kimberly Hart was doing at 7.02 am on Saturday?

She slid off the bed and put on her robe over the pink camisole and pajamas shorts. Her hair was still in a messy bun but she didn't give it a second thought. Kim opened the door and walked straight to the living room.

It was empty.

Raising her eyebrows, she saw the neatly folded blanket on the table. Kim's eyes scanned the room, making sure that nothing was missing. You're being paranoia, Hart.

A paper on top of the blanket caught her eyes and she sleepily took it.

Hey, Kimberly. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch last night. Don't be afraid, I won't take anything with me, though I took the liberty to look around. You're a gymnast? That's sweet. Anyway, I gotta go so I'll let myself out.

P.S.: I took the aspirins on the table. I assumed it was for me?

The brunette put the note back on the table and fell to the recliner, too lazy to go back to her room. She closed the curtain and grabbed the blanket from the table. Ignoring that the dark burgundy cloth was smelled faintly of Tommy's cologne, she snuggled closer and fell asleep almost immediately.

Last night was pretty strange, but it's not like she would see him again.

:: That's the end of first chapter. Hope you like it. Please review, no flame though. Thanks.

- Yuuri