Ranger reunion. The two words meant something that five people never thought existed, let alone happen. To have a Ranger reunion, there would have to be at least two series of Rangers. The first five thought that the fight would be won in the first year, so there would be no need for another team of Rangers. But was been a need, and there was a Ranger reunion. From the first five, Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini and Kim, to the last, Andros, Carlos, TJ, Zhane, Ashley and Cassie, they were all there. Several Rangers had moved, but nothing changed the feelings of comradeship with fellow people who had fought on teams like theirs.
The reunion was in a hall that one of the Rangers had rented. First to show up was Kim and Trini, who had moved close to each other after the Pan-Globals and the end of the peace conference. It was obvious which colour Rangers they had been by their long dresses in pink and yellow respectively. Next was Justin and Rocky, who had run into each other a few days earlier. They each wore tuxes, with a shirt of their colour underneath. After the guys had moved out of the doorway, Aisha snuck in, radiant in her short yellow minidress. The group of men who came in afterwards anything but snuck in, as they barged through in record time. There was Billy, in a blue shirt, and Jason, in a dim gold shade. Tommy was next, with a white shirt, before Zack, in such a dark green the rest had thought it was black. The four had rekindled their friendship shortly beforehand. Zhane, Andros and Karone moved into the hall next, wearing silver, red and purple. The next two had become common around Angel Grove, with their business right in the centre of it; Ashley and Cassie had ended up running a minor clothes store, so with clothes to dispose of, it was no wonder they could find something pink and yellow. Carlos and TJ entered, various degrees of rumpled-ness clear in their olive green and dark red vests. Tanya and Kat had managed to find something of their colours as well, as was obvious when they crossed the threshold of the hall. Adam entered soon afterwards, fading into shadows with his black suit and shirt. The groups mingled as the old and new Rangers discovered their predecessors and successors.
Adam smiled as he walked around listening to everyone's conversation, never joining in, but learning about Rangers after and before his time. Another thing that he noticed were the visible Ranger couples. Andros and Ashley were standing very close together, as was Tommy and Kim. One pair he never though would happen was TJ and Cassie, since although he didn't know his friends' successors very well, he thought that Cassie had some romance going on with a guy called the Phantom Ranger. Trini and Billy were matches he would have made, as were Aisha and Rocky. He didn't think that Tanya had noticed, but she was throwing some very interested glances at Zack. Zhane and Karone were holding hands, as they chatted to the bachelors of the group, Justin, Jason and Carlos. He finished the rest of his drink, and then placed it on the nearby bench before heading outside. He had been the one to actually rent the room, even though it was Kat's idea. He frowned briefly as he wondered over Kat. What was she thinking, about Tommy and Kim? He shook the thoughts out of his head as he got down to the bottom of the garden, which sloped down to the outskirts of Angel Grove. Adam smiled as the moonlight reflected off what looked like a large pane of glass, and took off his outer jacket.
Kat raised her glass as Justin barrelled by. She smiled at Rocky briefly before letting her gaze wander. She glanced over Andros, Tommy, Zack, Jason, looking for the one person who organised this with her. She grinned briefly as she heard a noise coming from outside. Why didn't he strike her as the type?
Adam swam with slow and contended strokes, moving in circles around the pool. He flipped and pushed off from the wall. The water flew as he started doing butterfly-his favourite swimming stroke. He had done about five laps of the pool when he became aware of someone watching him. Adam kept doing butterfly until he reached the person's end. There he stopped, and looked upwards.
"Hey," a softly accented voice said quietly. "Aren't you supposed to be at the party?"
"Hi Kat," Adam said back. "I was, but I just needed to relax for a bit." There was a long pause.
"I didn't know you knew butterfly," Kat finally managed.
Adam smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Katherine." He pushed off, into another lap of swimming. When he finished, he tread-water lazily just in front of Kat, only just keeping his head above water. His old swimming T-shirt he wore over his old shorts billowed out slightly.
"I never pictured you as the type to go swimming by moonlight," she teased softly.
"I never pictured you as the type who would come out and watch me," Adam shot back.
"Touché," Kat said. She stared silently at the city lights with a growing sense of…what? Vulnerability? "So who's going to be the first married, do you think?" Kat asked. She twisted to find Adam climbing out of the pool.
"Andros and Ashley, I should think," he called back, proving that he did hear her question. "Then, if Tommy ever gets up the nerve, probably him and Kim." Adam noticed Kat's face as he dried himself off. "Sorry." He pulled his shirt over his head and smoothed it down.
"For what?" Kat asked.
"If I brought up any bad memories." He offered her a hand, which she took. She shivered involuntarily as a flood of warmth spread up her arm. It had been too long since she had held someone's hand. He led her on a winding path that he had found when he was checking the place out. He continued. "Since you and Tommy were so close…"
"No, we weren't. We decided after Rangering that we didn't have a lot in common. We didn't ever really have much in common, actually. And I knew he was in love with Kim. So we broke up. We're still friendly though," she added. "What about you? How goes the romance with Tanya?"
"What romance?" Adam asked rhetorically. "In high school, neither one of us wanted to be pursued by anyone of the opposite sex, so…we made up a bogus plan to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend. No real love, just friendship."
"So…you got a real girl now?" Kat asked.
"No, although that isn't to say they haven't tried." Adam spared a glance her way and smiled. Kat had a sudden feeling of…relief? Why would she be feeling relief that one of her closest friends wasn't in love?
"You?" he asked. She simply shook her head. They continued walking until they got to a large naturally made step, made mostly of a nearby tree's root. Adam jumped down, and then lifted a hand to help her down the obstacle. She accepted the hand, and swung herself down. She miscalculated, and they ended up with about three centimetres of distance between them. She let out a breath. They were so close…
He raised his hand and brought it down softly on her hair. When she looked at him questioningly, he raised his hand again to show her the leaf he held between two fingers. "It was in your hair," he said huskily.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" Confusion shone in Adam's black eyes, as well as what Kat, surprised, identified as longing.
"For this," she breathed, leaning closer. When he didn't pull back, she softly lowered her lips onto his. He stood in shock for a moment, before lightly wrapping his arms around her waist. Finally he broke the kiss, smiling at the look on Kat's face. He draped his arm over her shoulder and gently led her back towards the hall.
Adam looked out the window of the church. His guess had come true, Andros and Ashley had married first, and now it was Tommy and Kim's big day. Tomorrow, Sunday the third of July, would be three years to the day since he had realised his love for Kat, and now he had something to cement that love with.
"Now, the best man will say a few words," Tommy interrupted his thoughts with. Adam turned to watch Jason stand.
"Well, what can you say about Tommy?" Jason began. "When I first met the guy, he was a competitor in a tournament. Afterwards he became an enemy, someone I regarded as evil." Only a few people understood the message behind the carefully spoken words. "Then he 'turned', and became one of my best friends. After I left, Tommy became the 'leader' of the little group. Unfortunately, I heard soon after that Tommy and Kim's relationship had hit a rocky patch. I came back, and was introduced to the new members of our group. I finally left for good then so did he. We re-met at a reunion, and here we are today." Jason paused. "Kim, on the other hand, was my friend since we were ten. We went through rough patches, like any friends, and we had our good times. These two were the first official couple of our group, and I wish them many years of happiness." He raised his glass. "To Tommy and Kim!"
"To Tommy and Kim!" many of the people echoed. Adam lifted his glass and looked around for his girlfriend. She was chatting to Tanya, who was holding hands with Zack. He made his way over, and gave Kat a peck on the cheek.
"Can we talk?" he asked, motioning outside. She nodded, and held up a hand to excuse them. They walked outside onto the balcony, where the only person there quickly excused herself. Adam stopped, and took a breath.
He's going to break up with me Kat realised. She fought to keep a puzzled smile on her face, although she felt like crying inside.
"As you know, we've been going out for almost three years," he began. Her heart sank. He's trying to be nice. "And I've realised something." We can't be together. "I love you Kat, and I never want to lose you." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. See you as soon as the world turns sane again, her mind told her at it went on holiday. "Will you marry me?" he asked, presenting it to her. She opened it in a daze. A medium-sized diamond winked at her from the centre of a circle of shining black and pink stones.
"Yes." The word came out quietly, but Adam heard it as clearly as if she had yelled it into his ear. He picked her up around the waist and twirled her around. "I love you Adam."
"I love you too, Kat."