Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, only their mood and the plot.

Rooftops

"We aren't allowed to be together." He told her once.

She never listened. Why is it that she never listens to what he tells her?

And it's not like he could stop seeing her, just stop thinking about her or even ignore her… it was an obsession to him. She was like a drug and it scared him a little, to know there was one thing he was depended on for living. Her. Poets have written sonnets and poems about this feeling, this love emotion, surely it was nothing like he felt; there were no exploding fireworks or sweaty palms, not even slight nervousness, only this addiction: an uncompromised want.

He tried to escape it, running away, disappearing after every burning defeat. He couldn't win against the Power Rangers because he was so worked up over her, he knew it now. He didn't have the strength to kill her or to even cause her the slightest pain in the form of hurting her friends.

He hated losing!

Recently, he noticed that while trying not to be with her, he was avoiding her entire group. Her wish for them to be unharmed was a stronger command to him than Diabolico's and he knew that if he hadn't obeyed her wish, her punishment for him would be far worse than anything Diabolico could inflict upon his skin. Was this how everything was meant to be? Was he supposed to feel this worthless? She made him hurt from the inside, on his knees, surrendering to the unyielding wanting of her. Only she could save him from this fate worse than this of a beggar, straying from door to door, hoping for salvation.

Salvation.

It was absurd! Standing on this rooftop, watching the sun setting down on Mariner Bay and being so whiny. What reason had he to wail and brood, like a mere human, when he was so much more than just human? None of them ever fought a vampire or killed a Lilith, struggled with a giant or dismembered a fully grown hydra.

"Kelsey…" He murmured and at his will, a small portal appeared in the terrain realm, a window that showed him she was at the park, sitting against a tree and reading a book. Happy at this opportunity, Ryan made the portal to dissolve while he made his way to her. He moved from rooftop to rooftop towards Mariner Bay Park.

Jumping down from the last rooftop down, he made his way to her, invisible.

He stopped when he saw her; she was no different than he has seen her through his portal. Only much more beautiful, exquisite.

He gulped and sent his hand forward as he inched closer. He ran his hand on her cheek gently and she leaned in his touch, sighing gently.

"I missed you."

"It has been too long." He agreed as he materialized in front of her, noticing how her cat-like eyes drank the sight of him. She brought her hand to his and, leaning against him even more than before.

"Help me up?" She asked and he nodded and offered her his hand, which she took as he pulled her up and then, closer, to him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her head was resting against his chest. She was all delicate and soft against him and that made his stomach turn with an unexpected delight.

He liked how the extreme hardcore skater was so different with him. He liked to see how much of an affect he had on her, knowing that maybe, she wanted him as much as he wanted her. It didn't matter that they were of opposite sides in a war.

Who needed salvation when he had her?

"You were too long gone, Ryan." She murmured against his chest and Ryan frowned slightly.

Too long? It has only been two days since he last saw her, at the Mariner Bay promenade. Maybe… maybe she was reluctant to see him as he was reluctant to see her? Maybe what she felt was as intense as he felt? Addicted?

"You shouldn't touch me. You shouldn't want me." He said later, when they were sharing her bed in the Aquabase. He was desperate as her fingers traced his face gently, like she was seeing him with her hands. She didn't miss one feature in his face, her light touch making him shiver the slightest way, a pleasant way. But he couldn't pull himself away. She was too alluring, too… curious, and her trust, damn the devil, her trust. She was so sure of him and so giving. How could he refuse that? How can any man refuse it?

"I do." She insisted in a whisper, but he knew her; her words might have come out as a whisper but she was touching his chest again and they both knew what that meant. The way her fingers glided on the scarred surface of his chest and abs, the way they so lovingly shaped out each and every scar. Each scar had its own horrifying history, but it seemed her fingers erased his bad memories of disobedience. It was almost worth it.

"We can't, Kelsey, please…" He begged her;

He couldn't say no to her, she was his drug. Addicting, reviving. Her fingers were now on his arms, tracing a few blood vessels that were visible through his skin with her fingertips.

"Damn it!" He pushed her off on the bed, jumping out of the bed, standing in front of her. "Why don't you understand?!" He demanded, she shrugged, completely un-phased.

"I need you." She said simply, not even bothering to get up on her feet.

"We are enemies, Kelsey. We fight each other! I should hate you!" He called, her light green eyes changed drastically and she straightened up, a blanket tightened to her bare body.

"Do you want to?" She asked icily and he turned his back to her, rubbing the corrupted skin on his abdomen, nervous.

No, he didn't want to, but he should've.

"Yes." His voice was tensed and she smiled and relaxed against the pillows.

"I don't believe you." She closed her eyes and snuggled into the pillows. They stayed like that for a while: Kelsey leaning against the pillows, a blanket to her body and Ryan standing and watching her, seething and thinking, but mostly, losing his mind to her. The silence wasn't a harsh one, only slightly uncomfortable;

"Ryan?" Kelsey asked after a few more moments of silence and he glanced at her. "Come to bed, I'm cold." She murmured and he gave a slight nod and entered the bed. The moment he did so, Kelsey snuggled close to him, her head resting on his chest, one of his arms holding her close while the other toyed with her loose tawny hair.

Hate her? It seemed impossible now.

"You have no idea how much you mean to me," she whispered to him, her face buried in his chest, he held her closer. "I can lose everything but I won't care, because I have you." She admitted and he kissed her head, somewhat relieved at her statement.

"You have me." He repeated, trying to reassure her.

"I hate this so much, I hate being a ranger. I hate fighting against you, I hate the thought I could hurt you." She mumbled and he smiled and looked down to see her hiding in his chest.

"You can't hurt me." He mumbled to her hair before placing a kiss on her head.

"I hate the Aquabase and being away from you and I hate all those regulations I have to stand up to. I only feel myself again when I'm with you." She said quietly a tear rolled down her cheek. "You're my escape from them." She added so quietly that he wasn't sure he heard her.

"I am what you want me to be. Your escape." He smiled and kissed her head again. "Calm down, one way or another, it will all be over soon."

"And when it's over, where will we be?"

"With each other, Kelsey, somehow, we will always be together."

And that was enough, for now.

A/N: Another Ryan x Kelsey oneshot… It was actually two separate plots that I decided to fuse together and see how they work. Who says synergy sucks? I think they came out a little older or maybe this piece came out more realistic than I intended. Reviews would be very welcome! :)