Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me.
She's smiling, and the sun is shining, and it occurs to him that maybe taking a day off once in a while is actually a good idea.
"So, you've really never been to an amusement park before?" he asks her as they wander over to the nearest cotton candy stand. "Like, ever?"
Emily giggles. "Nope, never. The closest would be our town festival, I guess, where we all gather in the town square and jump in haystacks and ride in carriages."
"Sounds fun," Jayden remarks, pulling his wallet out and flashing her a smile. "You ought to bring us there sometime; show us how you do things out in the country."
"Maybe later," Emily smiles. "After we've defeated Xandred and everything."
He pauses halfway to the stand and sends her a sidelong look. "You really think we can defeat him?"
She blinks, looking astonished. "Well, yeah! I mean, we train so hard – especially you – and we've defeated all the nighlocks so far, so why wouldn't we beat them?"
Jayden shoves his free hand into his pocket, frowning thoughtfully. "I've never thought about it like that. My whole life, I've grown up with the idea that Xandred is pure evil and dangerous and defeating him is going to take a lot of hard work."
"That's still true," Emily reminds him, touching his arm gently. "But that doesn't mean we can't do it. We're Power Rangers, after all. Nothing's impossible for us."
He hesitates, then offers her a genuine smile. "That's true, too."
"See?" Emily beams. "You just need some optimism in your life! Training day and night will just make you tired and frustrated, but taking days off to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine will give you perspective. And seeing all these people enjoying their lives – "
She pauses to sweep an arm at the rest of the park-goers, her smile lingering on the little children bouncing around and the laughing teenagers, and he looks around, too, taking in all the little details – there's a little girl with a blue ribbon in her hair hugging and squealing her friend; there's a young boy chattering excitedly to his father; there are two teenagers holding hands and kissing – and he finds himself seeing the world as she does.
And if he's being honest, it's too beautiful a world to not want to live in.
"Doesn't it give you something to fight for?" she finishes softly, reaching out and taking his hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. "Doesn't it give you hope that no matter what happens, no matter how many humans have to suffer for the river to rise before we defeat them – and we will defeat them – everything will be all right because there's love in the world?"
A heartbeat of silence passes before he returns her smile.
"Yeah," Jayden says softly. "Yeah, it does."
Emily's smile seems to light up her face. "Good! Let's go get some cotton candy, then!"
She drags him off, still holding his hand, and for the first time in what feels like forever, he's actually laughing, and it feels amazing.
A/N: Tell me I'm not the only one who like Jayden/Emily? They would be so cute together! :D And if you read this, please drop me a review telling me what you thought! I really appreciate it!
Don't favorite without reviewing, please and thank you :)