Happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate. This is my second attempt at a valentine's day fic since the other one wasn't so well received. I hope you all enjoy this one.
Power Rangers belong to Saban. I'm not making any profit off from this piece of writing.
Angel Grove California
The group of teenagers made their way down the promenade passed the stores and kiosks that made up the shoppers mecca also known as Angel Grove Mall.
Andros was in a state of mild confusion, all around him he saw many stores had taken on a rather romantic atmosphere and a lot o them were colors of red and pink. And white too. One store in particular had some very scantily clad mannequins in the display window...and the outfits they were wearing...seemed only to be made for...risque purposes.
He averted his eyes quickly and instead focused on his girlfriend who was currently holding his arm captive. She seemed vibrantly happy and was looking all around them at all the shops. The current focus of her attention was on a clothing store that held an assortment of flowers. The sign in the window said 'Take her breath away this Valentine's day'
Valentine's Day? Was this another Earth custom? He would have to remind himself to ask DECCA about it when he got back to the ship. But for now, he would enjoy the outing.
Soon they found themselves at the food court and unlike before, they opted out of Asian food and settled for some burgers and fries, (though nothing came close to Adele's cooking.)
All the way through lunch, Andros found his mind wandering as his friends chattered away...and more talk about this valentine's day. From the way his girlfriend's eyes glittered...
Wow, it must be pretty important to her. And if it's important to her, then it was to him...what ever Valentine's day was, he'd make it his business to make it perfect to her...as soon as he'd thoroughly researched it...of course.
Then the beginnings of an intense discussion brought him out of his thoughts.
Do we have to watch that movie every year? Why can't we just watch a good old action flick? Or even a Disney movie, anything but Cinderella!" Carlos was grousing.
Cassie's eyes took on a murderous look and TJ knowing Cassie's ire was sparked, cut in. "Hey Carlos, Cinderella is a good movie...besides Valentine's day is a girls day and if this will make them happy, we'll may get through it unscathed."
Andros was even more confused, Unscathed? Now it sounded dangerous! Would he need his morpher for this?
Carlos's shoulders slumped. "Alright, a sappy movie it is."
Cassie grinned at him and then settled into eating her fries.
Andros leaned over to TJ. "What is a Cinderella?"
The dark skinned friend grinned. "You'll see it tonight with us...you may as well get used to it. Having two girls as friends means you'll sit through a bunch of movies like this...but its become a tradition since we first became 'a crew.'
Andros understood the cryptic message. This would be a very interesting night.
That night was very eye opening for him. They all sat in the couch of the common area of the ship with bowls of popcorn in their laps. And soda on the small coffee table they'd brought in.
Ashley was curled up against Andros side and her head rested on his shoulder. His arm was curled around her and he enjoyed it in every way.
The movie itself was actually a musical...and it wasn't hard to follow. It didn't take long for him to become engrossed in the tale as were his other friends, though they'd never admit to it...ever.
At one point both girls broke into song...about impossible things happening...and he found himself humming to the tune. They really were good singers, he never would have guessed.
By the end of the movie, Ashley's eyes were glittering again, and he loved it when they did that, and he resolved to make that happen more often.
When it was over, the girls had soft grins on their faces and the way ashley was looking at him made his heart glow and he held her closer and pecked her on the cheek.
What ever this Valentines day thing was, it had to be good and if he had to wear armor and padding then so be it. He was all for it!
Once everyone was asleep, he retired to his room and got out of his clothes into some sweat pants. Then he sat down on his bed.
"DECA?"
On line and at your service."
I need to know about Valentine's day...it seems to be an earth custom of some kind. I want to know everything about it."
Accessing Internet database for Valentine's day.
A few moments passed.
"Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day,is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the outline, doves, and the figure of the winged . Since the 19th heart-shaped century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards."
Andros was quiet for a moment. That can't be it. It sounds like a holiday that involves big companies making money. DECA is there any other information on it?"
"Please specify."
Andros thought hard for a moment. "What sort of activies do intimate companions do on this day? Are there any kind of rituals invovled?"
"Accessing...yes. Valentine's Day is a Earth holiday that revolves around romance and many expressions of love. It's activities involve exchange of vows, tokens of affection and according to the internet and several online stores, mating activites and mass pro creation."
Andros almost fell out of his bed. "Mating activivties?"
"Affirmative, other words for it are sexual intercourse, making love, and exchange of bodily fluids."
Andros was redder then his ranger suit. "So to make this holiday special for Ashely, I have to have sex with her?"
"Affirmative, would you like me to produce some condoms for you? Or some contraceptives?"
"...Whoa, that's too fast, I barely kissed her cheek tonight. That's a really big step...but I also want Ashley to be happy. No, that can't be all there is to Valentine's day, otherwise there wold be twenty times as many humans on earth...maybe I should ask someone who lives here...maybe TJ."
With that, he tapped the consul and patched it through to TJ's room.
"TJ, are you still up?"
"Yeah, just surfing the net, what's up?"
"I'm having trouble understanding an Earth custom, the net isn't helping me. Do you have a few minutes?"
He could hear the blue space ranger yawn. "Yeah, be right there."
Minutes later, the door opened and Andros stopped his pacing..
"TJ, I need to know about Valentine's day... I asked DECA but...TJ, I'm not ready to have sex with Ashley just yet! There's got to be something else to it!"
TJ had to fight back his laughing grin at Andros' frantic look. He took a deep breath and then another, still wanting to laugh but valiantly holding it back as he took a seat across from Andro's bed.
"I'm so glad you asked me first. Then I would have to kill you for doing anything like that with her."
Andros nodded. "Then its not about mating activities.."
TJ shook his head. "It's been known to happen, between married and consenting adults. But for those of us just starting out, and wishing we were starting out, we go the safer route."
"Its mainly a day to shower your girlfriend or wife with tokens of affection and to show her how much she means to you. Things like flowers, candy, gifts and intimate dinners. Girls love being showered with gifts, and they like to dress up and make themselves beautiful and you're expected to do so as well. Its all about intimacy and romance."
"I see, well it doesn't sound as dangerous as I thought."
It was now TJ's turn to be confused. "Its not dangerous at all. What gave you that idea?"
"You said that if watched the movie tonight we would make it out unscathed...that made it sound pretty dangerous to me."
TJ looked thoughtful and this time he did laugh. "No, I was being sarcastic, Carlos was in danger from being attacked by Cassie because when it comes to ladies he hasn't mastered the art of sensitivity, he's also very bitter about not having a girlfriend. But I promise you, you're not in any danger from Valentine's day. Ashley is a yellow, and she can definitely control herself.
"So I won't need padding or a morpher?"
TJ shook his head. "No, but seeing as how this is your first time doing something like this, you'll definitely need my help."
Andros gave him a grateful look. "Good, that's a relief. I want to make this valentine's day special for her. But I wasn't ready to go that far...thanks."
TJ just laughed as he got up. Meet me on the bridge at 8, we've got a lot to accomplish in a short time."
The following evening
"Andros, where are we going?"
"I wanted to make Valentine's Day special for you, so we're going to dinner.
"But we're at The Surf Spot? And it's closed."
Andros smiled at her. "The Surf Spot is closed, but Cafe de la Amour has just opened."
Ashley looked up to see the front door had opened and an elegant looking Adele stood waiting for them. "What's going on?"
Andros grinned at her and offered her his arm. "I've managed to get a private reservation at the most exclusive restaurant at Angel Grove. It's only open for tonight, come on my lady."
Ashley giggled, accepted her boyfriend's arm, and let him lead them up the stairs and into the front door.
The interior was like nothing she'd ever seen before. All the tables had been pushed back against the wall except for a single one in the center of the room. This table was covered over with a white linen tablecloth and had a very beautiful round centerpiece that consisted entirely of roses and little diamonds were sprinkled around it.
The lights were dimmed just enough to see the table. A few decorative candle stands were placed around the perimeter and lastly, on the table itself were two place settings complete artfully folded napkins and some gleaming silverwear.
Ashley gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Andros, you did this?"
"Not entirely, I had lots of help. I wanted to make this Valentine's Day special for you. Adele opened up her building and made us dinner, she wouldn't have us going to any pricy resturtant for what she called 'tiny mole hills of food.'"
Ashley grinned as the a fore- mention proprietor walked into the room. "Welcome to my cafe, if you'll have a seat, we'll get your dinner started right away. You're in Adele's hands, so this will be a night to remember."
With those words she walked to a cd player in the corner and hit a button. Immediately some soft jazz music that could only be Kenny G began to pour out of the speakers.
Andros grinned as he led his date the table and pulled out her chair for her. Before gently pushing in her chair for her. Then beaming he walked over to his own chair and sat down.
Tonight, he wore a black suit with a red tie and some shiny dress shoes. His hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. Ashely wore a yellow off the shoulder dress that went to her knees and was made of soft cotton. Her hair was left lose with a delicate set of combs that pulled her softly curled hair away from her face. Around her neck, she wore the necklace that andros had given her for her birthday and in her ears she wore some beautiful earings that Cassie had loaned her for the night. On her feet she wore some strappy sandals that she had bought for just such an occasion.
And her eyes sparkled with happiness.
Those eyes were all that he ever could have asked for.
The dinner was amazing, it was rotisseie chicken with sweet corn and mashed potatoes. There was also a loaf of freshly baked bread still hot and moist from the oven with creamy honey butter slathered all over it. They ate in a comfortable silence and had their fill.
Just as they finished, a blue spot light came on and the rest of the lights dimmed...and a song began to play.
Andros got up, would you dance with me?
Ashely grinned and held out her hand. The song seemed to have been chosen just for them. Andros kissed her cheek again and pulled her against of him, wrapping a warm arm around her waist and guiding her slowly around the floor.
All I am, all I'll be
Everything in this world
All that I'll ever need
Is in your eyes
Shining at me
When you smile I can feel
All my passion unfolding
Your hand brushes mine
And a thousand sensations
Seduce me 'cause I
I do cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will love you still
From the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much
I do
In my world, before you
I lived outside my emotions
Didn't know where I was going
'Til that day I found you
How you opened my life
To a new paradise
In a world torn by change
Still with all of my heart
'Til my dying day
I do cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will love you still
From the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much
I do
The moment the song ended was the perfect moment...and they both leaned in for a kiss..a real heart stopping kiss...the first one they ever shared.
It wasn't chaste or innocent. Their souls connected then and they knew that they were it. Soul-mates.
When they came up for air, Andros looked her in the eye, he was breathless and every part of him was on fire. He was breathless.
"I love you, Ashley."
His girlfriend was almost trembling in his arms, he could tell that she was feeling as unsteady as he was and he held her tighter to him.
"I...I love you too Andros... Kiss me again."
He happily obliged her again and again.
Not even the rich chocolate fudge cake with chocolate sauce that Adele left on the table was enough to get their attention.
This would be the first of many kisses they would share.
And they would cherish every one of them.
Since I have no valentine this year, please be kind and leave nice reviews!
Song credit goes to 98 Degrees for I Do (Cherish You)
