FIRST: Lovelies, if you're reading this then I strongly suggest you read "Momentary Replacment" by Cr8zeCorbinFangirl, because that's the inspiration for this piece of work and the titles even go along together! :D

On a serious note, reading the fiction mentioned above was SO fun; Theo and Casey are very in character and it captures character voices well, as well as the writer being an AWESOME person and helping me out writing this...adjunct to her own piece. So. Read it, and then come back here, babe!

SECOND: *Sigh* No, i don't own Theo or Casey or the Power Rangers Franchise. Gosh. I hate having to come out denial for these things...

THIRD: Review and let me know if you like it, because this is the most hardcore slash I've written so...as you can see, I'm still a writing virgin :) Also, any pointed out spelling errors that I missed (as well as grammatical errors) would be greatly appreciated.

Theo woke up in the dead of the night, shivering and sweating, feeling…feverish. The ranger could tell he had been dreaming about something, but about what, he couldn't quite recall. Sitting up, he closed his eyes and let himself fall into meditation in effort to remember what had him in such a state.

All he remembered was the feel of hands gliding along his chest, heated kisses pressed to his chest and neck, the feel of another's lips tangled with his…

Casey.

Dammit. He'd been having these kinds of dreams for over a month and half now, long after Casey returned from being… "in heat," as RJ called it.

It had started out quietly enough. Theo would occasionally have thoughts like, It would be nice to have his arm around me, or, I wonder what would happen if I hugged him? (Of course, he would also think unwillingly about the incident at Pai Zhuq and quickly turn his thoughts to safer territory. Usually.) These types of thoughts were always gone fairly quickly, dissipating as soon as he considered them.

And he did consider them, laughing first to himself and then at some with Lily as he viewed them with amusement. But soon after, his condition started to change; he had started noticing Casey. Just…noticing.

The other boy, for all he was tall and somewhat lanky, moved with a grace that was distinctly feline, and his tiger brown eyes were complicated; if you looked straight at them, they looked through you. And his hands…whether he handled weapons or pizza dough, Theo would stop to watch the long fingers grasp and pull and shift. And he pretended it didn't make him shiver, that it didn't make him burn. It was other things too, that Theo would happen to see and then not be able to un-see; things like the line of his jaw, the length of his neck, the dip of his collarbone. Small things, but many of them.

Of course, all this noticing was done by observation, but observing has to be done by looking at something, and when RJ and Lily started to notice him staring at Casey all the time, they wanted to know what was up. It was strange, they said, how whenever they happened to glance over at him, his eyes were fixated on Casey. RJ asked more than once with a knowing smile on his face, but Lily only ever asked him if he was okay. (And when absentminded, head-in-the-pages Fran started to ask him about it, Theo resolved that he would spend less time looking at the other boy, lest he notice as well.)

The blue ranger had brushed them all off, assuring them he was fine, but he could feel an achingly slow burn in the pit of his stomach sometimes that made him doubt his own words. And all these revelations were definitely Casey's fault; when Theo closed his eyes without the proper meditation, he could almost always feel the hot burn of Casey's lips against his own, pushing hungrily.

Swinging his legs down from the mattress, Theo threw back the covers to stand but promptly fell against his dresser, his legs trembling. Panicked, the ranger took a deep breath and pushed himself upright, willing himself to stop quivering like a taut bowstring. When he felt stable enough, Theo walked clumsily down the stairs into RJ's kitchen and leaned against the metal refrigerator, whimpering softly at the feel of cool metal against his skin.

For some reason the burn in his stomach had gotten worse during the night; usually, when he woke the next day (after falling asleep to a gnawing burn in his stomach that pestered him and asked him why he wasn't in the next room over where Casey was) the burn had faded, sometimes even gone completely. But lately, he was waking up with the same feeling, just slightly dimmed. And tonight, he hadn't even made it the full night; he woke up reeling from dreams centered on the same burning that Casey had given to him a month before, and it was worse.

*So* much worse, taking over his mind, hazing over his thoughts, coursing through his veins…Theo could feel his legs begin to shake again, and so he swallowed hard against a suddenly dry throat and tried to block all things Casey from his mind. Squeezing his eyes shut, the boy scrubbed a hand over his face and then grabbed some cold water from the fridge with a long suffering sigh, setting it down on the counter in front of him.

Turning away from the counter and opening a higher cabinet, Theo stretched for a plastic cup (because who knows what he'd do to a glass in his current condition), slipping a little on the cold tile, and suddenly stopped as a voice very near to him said, "Thought I heard you down here. Need some help grabbing that glass, Jaguar?"

That voice…it was Casey's, but undoubtedly had an rumbling, resonating undercurrent of a something that Theo couldn't place; whatever it was, it ran in time with Theo's heartbeat as a long fingered hand came up and grabbed the cup with ease, wrapping around it and setting it down on counter in front of him, the arm curving around him, the person it belonged to resting comfortably at his back, those fingers drumming the counter softly. Theo bit his bottom lip and ducked underneath the arm hurriedly, turning right back around and ignoring the person standing next to him, determinedly fixed on unscrewing the water jug. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Casey's hand landed on his shoulder and gave a soft squeeze. As it was, he let out a breathless sigh.

"What's wrong, Theo? You seem kind of tense lately, almost like you're sick or something. Anything I can help with?"

Casey was looking at him with kind eyes, but his words, said with that same sonorous undertone despite being innocently meant, only made Theo blush a deep red as he considered what, exactly, Casey could do for him. Shaking his head, Theo refocused on the water jug and his cup and tried to pour some water, hands trembling.

"I-I'm fine, Casey, really, but thanks anyways."

He had almost lifted up the water jug to pouring position when Casey jerked him around by the shoulder and lifted a hand to check his temperature, the long fingers and the palm of his hand cool against the other boy's feverish forehead. Theo took his entire lower lip in his mouth trying to prevent crying out, leaning into the touch that felt so good against his skin. Casey didn't even notice; he tore back his hand after a couple seconds, blowing on it a little.

"Wow! Theo, you're burning up! Are you sure you're-"

Theo shook his head, waving his hand at the other boy in an attempt to seem like his normal, slightly condescending self.

"I said I was fine. But, thanks, C-Casey."

Casey nodded slowly and began to back up to the stairs, saying, "As long as you're sure you're fine…drink some water and sleep in front of the fan, or something."

Theo nodded at the boy as the brunette flashed a brilliant smile that set his hands to shaking again and barely managed to wish him good night.

RJ rounded the corner even as Casey disappeared into the stairwell.

"All the Rangers up tonight, huh? Don't you know you need to get sleep to save the world properly?"

Theo swallowed hard and poured himself a glass of water, spilling it everywhere as his hands shook from the effort. This couldn't be good; he was getting weaker, his legs unable to support him, his arm strength diminishing. Giving up as he got nearly a half full glass of water, Theo set down the jug and tried to screw the cap back on, his hands trembling badly.

"Theo? What's wrong?"

Theo only shook his head and tried to will himself to calm down, clenching his hand in a fist, head bowed as he tried to regain control over himself. He heard RJ come over and slide the jug over, screwing the cap back on quickly and efficiently. Even as he took a deep, almost sobbing breath, his master commanded, "Theo, look at me. Open your eyes and tell me what's wrong."

But the ranger didn't want to open his eyes. His head had started to pound, and he could smell Casey's soap and shampoo, and his hands spread out on the countertop and clenched back into fists as Theo started to shake like a leaf. RJ, not to be deterred, tried to look at Theo, coming from one side and then the other to bend over and crane his neck and see if he could get his student to look at him.

Theo, eyes still closed, turned his face away from him. But despite Theo's efforts to avoid RJ's stare, RJ eventually grabbed Theo's chin and pulled it up roughly, the surprise of which caused Theo to open his eyes and stare in weak shock. The older man tilted Theo's head from side to side, looking at his eyes in the dark, ignoring the patch of moonlight that would probably be better for seeing right behind him. Could he even see…?

"Damn. Not you too, Theo. Your eyes…they're reflecting the light…you've got cat eyes. Don't tell me…"

RJ dropped the ranger's chin in favor of pushing a cool hand against his forehead, but it was done so quickly and came so unexpectedly that Theo cried out, a small groan at the feel of his hand against his forehead and the memory of Casey's hand on his forehead…RJ pulled back his hand hurriedly, analyzing Theo's reactions and his current state; the teenager was shaking, trembling, his hand in fists and his head bowed over his crossed arms on the marble counter. His legs looked close to giving out on him, his white tank was sweat drenched, and even as he watched Theo started to whimper low in the back of his throat. RJ resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Theo."

The other male didn't stir at his name, and so RJ shook his shoulder (thinking perhaps, given the circumstance, it wasn't in his best interest to touch the boy, but to hell with it) and made sure he looked up.

"Theo, you're…in heat."

Even though RJ was sure that showing any kind of physical reaction was tough for the boy, his eyes widened almost comically at the news, and he stilled with some sort of supreme effort. He chewed on his lower lip for a couple seconds before nodding and starting to slowly tremble again, starting with his hands.

"What do I do? I…"

RJ smiled kindly, feeling sorry for the boy who prided himself on his control as he lost it, slowly.

"Theo, you're sick. You're going to need to stay in your room, for your own good; I'll contact Pai Zhuq, get them to set up a quarantined room for you."

Theo nodded weakly and pushed away from the counter, swaying unsteadily as he started to make his way towards the stairs. For his own good probably meant for his sanity, and possibly to prevent any embarrassing run-ins.

"I'm going…going…to try and get to sleep."

RJ waved him off, assuring him he'd put away the cup and the water. The young ranger headed up the stairs with a vice grip on the stair handle, concentrating very firmly on putting one foot in front of the other. When he reached the top of the stairs, he paused and steadied himself as much as he could, trying to keep the swaying and the trembling at bay with little success.

After a second of fruitless effort, Theo blew out a sigh and started the trudge to his room, feeling like he was going to fall over at any second. He stopped at the door to grasp it tightly and regain some balance, then headed for his bed, falling onto it and curling up facing his wall, back to the door, shivering but feeling too overheated for his navy blue comforter.

"Hey, Theo, thought I heard you. Are you okay?"

A weight on his bed at his back told Theo that, indeed, the one person he wanted to avoid was seated next to him. Feeling Casey's hand come up and rest on his shoulder, Theo stifled a full blown moan and managed to downscale it to a small groan of want. Shrugging off the hand, Theo scooted away from him, still facing the wall.

"No. Go away, Casey. I really don't feel good at all…"

Casey leaned over earnestly and turned Theo to face him with nimble hands, making Theo close his eyes with another groan. He didn't expect the press of Casey's forehead against his own, nor to hear whispered words. Theo felt a keen start up in his throat as the other boy pushed closer.

"Theo…I'm worried about you. You're sick, I think, and…I don't really know how, but from what I can remember…Theo, if I can help you, tell me."

"No. No, you can't. I'm sick, really sick, according to RJ, and so you need to leave. I…I'm going to Pai Zhuq in a couple days and until then, I'm staying here in my room, with no visitors, no exceptions, Casey. What would you know anyways?"

Casey flushed and looked away, mumbling, "RJ told me that I was, ah, sick like this a month ago. I can't remember anything on my own…at least, anything real."

"What? Casey," Theo sat up weakly, propping himself on pillows, inwardly panicking, because honestly, what did Casey remember when Theo couldn't remember for himself? "I…don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds like a lot of nonsense to me."

Casey huffed in annoyance and sat back against the wall, fanning himself. The room had been warm when he first came in, but as he had been talking to his friend, the temperature had gotten steadily hotter, and there was such a weird mood in the air…with a click of his tongue, Casey said, "Well, I think I know why you might be feeling sick, at any rate, because it's so hot in here I feel like I'm burning up and I'm not even sick like you."

Theo sighed and closed his eyes tightly, his words soft and angry under his breath.

"It's probably only that way because you came in my room."

Casey looked at Theo strangely, almost incredulously, and leaned a little closer, his voice also softer as he asked, "What do you mean, it's that way because I came in? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were hitting on-"

The blue ranger opened his eyes and stared straight into Casey, and Casey wondered if maybe he wasn't going crazy because he could swear that Theo was…giving off this smell and vibe like he wanted to get close as he could to Casey and he was holding himself back. Even as their eyes were locked, Theo leaned in even closer, their noses almost touching.

"Do me a favor and leave before it's not up to you anymore, Casey. I don't want to hurt you but you keep putting yourself in the line of fire; don't come back into my room until RJ says you can, or I won't hold myself back."

Casey opened and shut his mouth a few times, meaning to reply, but only managed a small squeak and a nod, his eyes still locked with Theo's. Watching as Theo's eyes flickered down to his lips, the brunet felt his breathing speed up when Theo bit his lip and moved closer, slowly…the red ranger felt his eyes drifting shut, until there was suddenly a disturbing lack of Theo in his personal space, and he could breathe almost normally again as the crushing presence was removed.

"Go away now, Casey."

The brunet opened his eyes to find a quivering Theo facing the wall again, turned away from him. Swallowing hard, Casey managed a "good night" and headed to his own room, trying to figure what exactly had happened, and if Theo had felt this weird energy when he had visited him at Pai Zhuq.

The next morning, RJ warned Lily off of Theo's room while they ate breakfast, explaining that he was sick with a virus that could spread very easily. Lily agreed to stay away from Theo's room; but when RJ told Casey, Casey made no such promise and instead responded with a slight nod of his head in acknowledgment, a million miles away. RJ waved a hand in front of the red ranger's face, snapping to get his attention.

"Hey, Casey, I told you not to go to Theo's room. He's sick. You hear me?"

Casey brought his focus back in to RJ, who was interrupting some serious soul searching, and stared at him hard, his voice edged with irritation.

"RJ, I've been…sick with this before. I think I'm immune to catching it again, at least for a while."

RJ raised his eyebrows in surprise, and backed off with a placating gesture, smirking, "If you feel it's in your best interest, then by all means, do what you will. I'm pretty sure you and Theo have…gotten used to the virus, together, no doubt, while you were sick, so it's no problem if you want to do something else."

The red ranger had enough sense to be embarrassed by the obvious statement in reference to his exploits while being in heat, and promptly sported two spots of red on his cheeks, ducking his head to one side and nodding. RJ laughed as Lily asked what, exactly, they were talking about.

"Um, Theo? I brought you some food and water; I'm coming in, okay?"

Casey walked into the room hesitantly, expecting to find his friend asleep and jumping in surprise when he found Theo staring straight at him with hungry eyes, sitting straight up with his legs crossed, as if the blue ranger had been meditating. He nervously held up the tray of food and the bowl of cool water with a washcloth, and set it down on the Theo's desk, moving to stand right in front of him, about a foot from the bed. The red ranger stood there awkwardly for a second before Theo growled, "I told you not to come back in my room."

"Yeah, but we couldn't send Lily in here, it would be really aw-"

Theo cut him off with a shake of the head.

"Didn't I tell you I wouldn't be able to hold myself accountable for my actions if you came back?"

"Okay, fine, yeah, but, Theo-"

Theo made a slight keening noise, close to a whine, and he closed his eyes, screwing them shut in agitation.

"God, why do you have to make everything so complicated?"

In a flash punctuated only by a slight grunt, the smaller boy grabbed Casey and pinned him to the wall, physically moving the taller boy into a sitting position on the bed. Straddling his legs, Theo fisted his hand in the back of Casey's hair and tilted his head up and kissed him, desperately, hungrily, his tongue breaking open Casey's lips immediately and forcing his way inside to slide against the red ranger's own.

Pushing Casey back, the smaller boy managed to press himself closer so that they were chest to chest, and as Casey's hands came up to push him away, Theo disarmed him with a growl low in his throat and very little thinking, slamming both of his wrists against the wall and caging them in his hands. Casey moaned, turning his head away.

"T-Theo, I-"

The ranger in question had stopped to give his leader a break, nipping at his neck sharply, playfully, taking delight in the squirms and cries that Casey was giving him in return. As Theo found a sweet spot on Casey's neck and sucked a bruise, he could feel the red ranger's hands moving, the muscles clenching and unclenching as Casey tried not to cry out loudly.

Just as quick, Theo was done with his job and moved onto unbuttoning Casey's shirt, exposing bare flesh that received the same treatment as his neck and was soon covered in bite marks and love marks. Pushing button-up shirt all the way down Casey's shoulders, Theo nipped at the middle of Casey's chest, kissing the dip of his collarbone and dipping his tongue into the hollow a few times before deciding he wanted louder moans from the red ranger.

Licking his lips, Theo looked up into half lidded eyes, brown eyes that looked back at him hazily, completely in bliss. Smiling a fierce grin back, Theo playfully licked at one of Casey's nipples, watching the hazy, half mast eyes startle widely into shock. Theo attached his mouth and began to suck, causing the other boy to buck and arch his back; Casey began to struggle and tried to move his hands to push Theo off of him, because really, how far was this going to go before Casey could no longer will himself to stop? But Theo still had those long-fingered hands in a vice grip, now laying down by his waist, his arms by his sides.

"Oh…oh!…Theo, quit i-it, just wait for a sec-"

Theo pulled back to growl fiercely at Casey, a deep sound very aggressive and low in his throat, and ground their hips together while kissing Casey, and stopped, panting, as he observed Casey's reactions.

The other boy's back was arched, and he was moaning softly, grinding his hips up just the tiniest bit on a rhythm that Theo had established, and since Casey moaned out his name when he stopped, Theo decided to indulge him and continue. He went back to grinding his body against Casey's slowly, a leisurely pace that made Casey want to cry, and kissed the brunet hard, their tongues sliding against each other. Theo licked at the top of Casey's mouth and drank in the moans he received, chuckling as Casey pulled back and whimpered, "Theo…"

Casey wasn't sure exactly what was going on but he was sure that it wasn't the best thing for the two for them to be doing. But, as much as he was knew that Theo would probably hate himself for losing control like this, Casey couldn't bring himself to stop the Asian boy currently sticking his tongue in his mouth.

It took the sound of a zipper being pulled down, metallic and harsh against the softer sounds of moaning and breathing, for Casey to fully come to his senses and realize what an epically bad idea taking advantage of his best friend was.

"Theo! No!"

The boy in question was laying kisses down to Casey's navel as Casey started to thrash in his grip, pausing to drop his tongue in a couple times before continuing down. The red ranger struggled frantically as he felt a tongue at the waistband of his underwear and the feeling of teeth pulling it down, sliding slowly.

"Theo! Quit it! Seriously…"

Kisses to his hips distracted him, made him groan, but Casey managed to find strength in the thought of protecting Theo from himself and wrenched the other boy off him, pushing him off the bed. And didn't he look so…fuckable, laying sprawled on the floor, staring up with wide eyes that begged permission to continue what they were doing? Still, Casey took a shuddering breath and ran a hand over his face, sighing.

"This was not a good idea."

Theo blinked, could only sit and blink at Casey covered in bite marks with his shirt open and his hair mussed and bruises on his wrists and ohdeargod open jeans the dip of his hipbones and his saliva slicked skin sitting on his bed…he heard his voice, small, scared, asking, "What did we do? What have I done?"

Casey still had a hand over his eyes, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to regain his breath.

"I don't even know—"

"How could I let myself lose it like that—"

"This is all my fault."

The two rangers surprised each other by saying the same thing simultaneously, and quickly met eyes in surprise before embarrassment and inappropriate thoughts drove their gazes away from each other just as fast.

"Casey, I…I don't know how exactly to deal with this, but—"

Casey sat up straight fast, looking at Theo with flashing eyes. The blue ranger met his gaze and ducked his head quickly at what he saw there.

"Theo, if you even begin to blame yourself, I swear, your training when you come back will be so bad…"

Embarrassment forgotten, Theo crossed his arms and sat up straight, glaring at the other boy in exasperation.

"What? How is this not my fault, Casey? I claim to be controlled and yet, were you even paying attention to how much I lost it?"

The brunet rolled his eyes and scrambled down from the bed, sitting next to Theo, unaware that even as he did so Theo's pulse began to race again. Taking a deep breath, Casey murmured, "Theo, it's not completely your fault, okay? And besides…I'm not going to sit here and pretend you took advantage of me or whatever. I came in here knowing on some level what to expect, I just…I didn't know how far it was going to go."

Breathing just a little faster, Theo managed, "You knew and you still came?"

Casey shrugged and turned away, flushing a bright red at his cheeks and ears.

"Well, sure, I've…been sick with this before, and RJ filled me in, so..."

Theo was struggling, now; the thought that his friend had known exactly what was going to happen to him and had come anyways was unbearably hot in his mind, and it made him want again. With a small groan, Theo put his arms around his knees and ducked his head.

"C-Casey…you should l-leave now."

Looking over, the brunet was surprised to find Theo curled up in defense against him, and reached out his hand with a chuckle to lightly ruffle Theo's hair when the smaller boy's hand shot out and recaptured his wrist, the feeling of his skin hot, squeezing hard, right in place over the previous wound, and if the feeling of aching jolting up his arm wasn't hot, Casey was sure Theo's skin was affecting him because already he could feel the temperature rising again.

His whole face red now, Casey swallowed and whispered, "Theo? I'm sorry, you're right; I should…go."

The hand tightened before, with a sound like a grunt, Casey was pulled into another kiss, his wrist held firmly in place, their lips open against one another even as Theo ran his tongue over the other boy's bottom lip and Casey shifted closer with a wistful sigh and tilted his head further so he could have more—

"Casey? What's taking so long on that food?"

The two startled apart as RJ opened the door and peeked his head in, fanning himself.

"It's hot in here, you know that, right?"

Theo nodded quickly and turned away, placing his back against the bed and covering his face with his hands. RJ watched as Casey turned to Theo and said something in an undertone before getting up and walking confidently past RJ, shirt open and all.

"Nothing's taking long. I was just talking to Theo. I'll be in the training room if you need me."

Watching the kid walk away, RJ had to admit he was impressed with the kid's self confidence. Turning back to Theo, the master asked his pupil, "Are you feeling okay? I contacted Pai Zhuq; they said they can have you in tomorrow and that it should only last for a couple days, not even two weeks, especially now that you've already had some sort of…"

Theo held up a shaking hand, eyes shut tight.

"Don't say it. That's…that's great. I'll be ready to go in the morning."

One week at Pai Zhuq and the burn, dammit!

Theo was sure that the thermostat was jacked up in his room, because honestly, how was it ever this hot? He slept, mostly, in the oven that was his room and because he was assured of no visitors he slept only in his boxer shorts, because any other layers might just have killed him.

How Casey had managed two weeks of this, he'd never know; the other ranger was one the strongest people he'd had ever met. When he was awake, the burn was at once a burn and also an ache that wanted, craved for contact. When he was asleep, the dreams! Dear God, the dreams drove him crazy, because having learnt so much more of Casey's skin meant there was that much more to dream about; having a fresh memory of the other boy's hands on him only fueled the craving.

Still, if he could save himself from the weird tension going between him and Casey, even if it meant going through this torture, he'd do it. Theo didn't know exactly what was going on between them, but the fact that Casey was in fact pushing it and not retreating let Theo know it wasn't the best idea. After all, Casey was nothing if impulsive. But oh…if Casey was here, perhaps he'd get better faster. He'd certainly feel better…

"I knew it was an awesome idea to visit you, then. I wasn't worried at all. Just for the record."

Theo started out his half awake state, heart pounding in fright, not as some sort of sick Pavlovian response to the red ranger's voice, he swore. Sitting straight up in shock, Theo managed to gasp out, "Casey."

The boy in question nodded and set down his bag on the foot of the bed, unzipping it and approaching Theo with two somethings in his hands. Theo scrambled back on the covers even as Casey sat down.

"W-What are those? A-and…back up, Casey, please."

Chuckling, Casey threw the two things at him; they turned out to be gel ice packs. Even as the cool packs hit his chest, Theo remembered he was bare-chested as well as barelegged at the same moment that Casey realized it. And just to torture the Asian boy, instead of looking away immediately in embarrassment, Casey looked him over v-e-r-y slowly, studying him. Theo shivered under his gaze. After a moment, Casey remarked softly, "You look…fine, Theo. You look good. You holding up okay?"

Theo nodded slowly, not trusting his voice. Casey looked up at him intently, their gazes locking. Moving closer, Casey murmured, "Theo, are you sure? It's so hot in here, and RJ told me that's because of the pheromones you're putting out right now, but it can't be good for you…have you been sleeping at all?"

Even as Theo nodded once more, he rubbed at his eyes and Casey could see the dark smudges under his eyes.

"Not well, then. Theo…I…wanted to apologize. I remember how it was after I kissed you, and how the dreams and the heat were so much worse that it felt good, all because I touched you before…and now that you've been sent here right after I took advantage of you like that, I feel bad, because, well, I'm not trying to sound pretentious or cocky here," at this Theo drew a deep breath and shut his eyes tightly, "but if I made it worse for you I just want you to know I'm sorry, okay?"

The Asian boy looked at the brunet for a second before breathing, "Well, it's not like you did it on purpose…you didn't take advantage of me. I'm pretty sure I took advantage of you, actually."

Casey stood, agitated.

"No, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, but you…it's not like you could help it, and just because I wanted it to happen I went when I knew you couldn't resist…what kind of friend is that?"

The haze was pulling Theo back in, and he was slipping in and out of the tenuous control he had the longer Casey stayed. What was he even saying anymore to Casey?

"Maybe not a friend."

Did he really just proposition his best friend? He barely recognized his own voice, it was so rough, but Casey mistook it for sadness and looked up, pained.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but Theo, you have to know, I keep thinking about you even though I'm not in heat, and it…I…"

The brunet sat on his bed again and grabbed his hand, a determined look on his face. Theo could only stare in a slightly shocked state at the hand gripping his own, because if Casey was saying what he thought he was…

"Theo, I might not want you just as a friend anymore. And, well, if this is the only way I get to experience that, even for just a couple days, I want it."

The hand that gripped his was tight and cooler than his own…the simple touch had him shaking like a leaf all over again, and the haze was pulling tighter around his coherent thoughts. But the haze…he could see through it, this time as it surrounded him, but only to one thing; why? He found himself focused on Casey's sharp-bright eyes and earnest voice and trembling, nervous hands, because who wouldn't be nervous when they were…confessing to…more-than-friendly feelings?

Oh, Casey…Theo wrenched his hand away, mumbling, "Casey, I can't just use you like that…"

He was trying so hard to refuse the offer; it was freely given but he could never hurt Casey like that, especially when Casey obviously wanted something more than this and right now, this was all Theo could give him. He wanted very badly to give him more, to give him all, but his mouth wasn't cooperating with his brain right now, perhaps because of the blood all heading in another direction.

"I'm telling you I want you to!"

"Casey…no, you don't, it has to be me affecting you or something—"

"No. I dream about you Theo, and it's killing me. If I can have you only this way or not at all, I'd rather it be this way."

Not only this way, Casey. Not only.

But now Casey was bright red with embarrassment but so, so serious and Theo found himself pinning the other boy to the bed and kissing him, long and deep. When he pulled away, gasping for breath, Casey surged upwards and recaptured his lips, biting his bottom lip and pulling him down so Casey could rest his head back on the bed.

Finally, they let go of each other for air, and Theo looked down at Casey and could only think, beautiful, before he claimed him again. Tongues slid against each other as Casey snuck an arm around Theo's waist and pulled him close so they matched up chest to chest, waist to waist, and hip to hip. Pulling away with a hitched breath, Theo pressed his forehead to Casey's.

"Casey," and Casey whimpered at the sound of his name, God, "not only this way, not just like this, whenever you want, whenever you need, please, I…"

And it didn't make much sense but the red ranger understood for all he was somewhat preoccupied and groaned, pushing a hand into the other's hair and holding him there as he kissed him over and over, stealing his breath.

"Theo, you're going to kill me one day, I swear."

Theo took a ragged breath and leveled twinkling eyes at Casey, the fever going to his head. Twisting his hips a little, he growled, "Surely not before you help me out, Tiger?"

Casey looked down at their hips before looking back up with a wicked grin.

"Of course not."

Theo was released three days later, and came home to a small welcoming party with Fran, RJ, and Lily. When Theo and Casey walked into the pizza shop, the three shouted, "Surprise!"

"Thanks, guys!"

Theo came in with a big smile on his face, and even though he looked a little tired, he was much better overall. He even gave hugs to everyone, including RJ. Casey laughed at small Theo being dwarfed by the significantly taller RJ as he set the bags down by the door.

Lily came from nowhere, a happy bouncing ball of blonde smiles and bright eyes, and practically tackled Theo, ecstatic. Theo hesitantly wrapped his arms around Lily and hugged her back, watching Casey carefully. After all, after their first couple of times being together, Casey was the one who had nearly attacked that poor disciple who had brought them food and another first aid kit because he asked Theo how he was doing. To the Asian boy's relief, Casey seemed to be keeping himself in check, though a small growl only for Theo's ears reverberated around the room.

"Theo! You're back so soon! I remember Casey was gone for a month…why are you back from Pai Zhuq so early?"

Casey snorted to cover up a laugh as Theo grinned and declared, "My recovery time must be faster than his."

Lily let go (Casey visibly relaxed as she stepped away from his jaguar) and sat down as Fran served pizza up on some plates with a friendly grin at the returning rangers. With the worst timing ever, Lily waited until Theo was seated (rather closely) to Casey and chewing on his slice before asking, "I'm glad you recovered so fast! But, Theo, what were you sick with?"

Theo choked a little on his pizza before swallowing uncomfortably, leaning back into Casey's hand rubbing slow circles on his back as he looked determinedly at Lily's chair and said, "Well, it wasn't anything too big, but Casey's…ministrations definitely helped."

RJ's raucous laugh combed the air as he came through the kitchen door and mussed up Theo's hair.

"I'm quite sure they did, Theo. You know, Casey, it always goes faster when someone's there to…release you."

By this time, both of the male rangers were flushed brightly and looking at their pizza slices, Casey's hand sliding down to rest at his side. Theo gave a little start and took a deep breath as the brunet boy next to him smiled through his flush, grinning at RJ, who gave a little nod. Lily looked at the two of them curiously and back to RJ, wondering, "What on earth are you three talking about?"

RJ merely beamed and headed back into the kitchens with a giant wink at Lily.

"Don't worry too much about it, Lily."

As Lily chased RJ down for questioning, Theo resumed eating his slice of pizza, still a bright red as Fran came out to offer them more. Casey only smiled and told her no thanks, rubbing his thumb slowly over Theo's hand as he held it under the counter from where he had grabbed it before. Making sure she was gone, Casey leaned over and pressed a kiss to Theo's temple.

"Don't get so flustered. That's what gave us away to RJ."

Theo glared at him and stuck out his tongue, returning to his gaze to his food and steadfastly ignoring the sight of the boy next to him.

"I…I don't know how….How can I not when you're being distracting over here?"

Casey grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Distracting? Whatever do you mean, Theo?"

Theo shivered as Casey squeezed his hand.

"That! I mean that!"

"Why's it distracting?"

Theo put his head in his other hand and sighed, eyes closed tightly, grumbling, "Because…I really like it when you do that."

Casey looked out of the window at the city, and whispered, "I know."

And that got him a small smile, which was all he ever really needed.