Christmas carols played softly in the background as Ashley and Cassie collectively stared into a pot of apple juice, waiting for it to boil.
"I think it might be true what they say about watched pots," Cassie sighed laughingly. Ashley smiled back at Cassie.
"Yeah, you're right. I just don't want it to burn to the bottom or boil over in the stove." Ashley looked around the small kitchen for something else that could occupy her attention. She had been so happy when Andros had suggested that they have a Christmas celebration at their home on KO-35, but had been ecstatic when he had, unbeknownst to her, sent the shuttle to Earth to collect Cassie, TJ, Carlos and her brother Jeff. She nearly cried with joy when she opened the front door to see them all standing there on her front porch. She looked out the window into the dark night as snowflakes started to fall. It had been snowing off and on for the last few days and there was now a substantial blanket of snow covering the yard. She smiled to herself. "Cass, look!" She pointed out the window excitedly.
"Oh my gosh, SNOW!" Ashley laughed as Cassie jumped up and down like a child. Having grown up in Southern California, it was Ashley's first Christmas with snow, as well as her first Christmas away from home. She silently thanked God for Andros and his uncanny ability to discern what she was feeling, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. At the same time it bothered her that she hadn't been aware enough of his emotions to do the same for him during the five years he had spent with her on Earth. She knew he must have been homesick, but he hid everything so well that it was nearly impossible to read him. It made him seem unapproachable and older than he was. She recalled how shocked she'd been to learn that Andros was almost a full year younger than her. Eleven months to be exact. In fact, he had just turned 21 yesterday. She, along with the other rangers, had convinced the twins to go out drinking with them in honor of that American tradition. Even though Karovans didn't celebrate birthdays, they had agreed, if somewhat reluctantly. But Ashley knew better. When she and Andros had lived in London, he had gone partying and clubbing with his workmates on a regular basis. He had gotten his commercial pilot's license and had flown 757's for US Airways while she went to school in Angel Grove and New York, then had been hired by British Airways when they had moved to London so that Ashley could further her education and career in fashion. She never would have guessed that airline pilots and flight attendants were such wild party animals. Cassie had known Andros was pretending as well. She and Ashley had followed him on Twitter when he was staying in hotels with the rest of his flight crew and often laughed hysterically over the phone while discussing some of his hilarious and sometimes gross tweets. They had made a list of their favorites. It read:
"I blacked out and woke up with a missed call from someone I saved in my phone as the Karate Kid."
"I am told that last night I pissed in my closet, then walked to the bathroom to wash my hands. I hope the maid doesn't tell the chief pilot."
"I woke up in a shopping cart this morning. How was your night?"
"At some point I made a semi-conscious decision that I was okay with sleeping in my own vomit."
"I sleep walked to bathroom and woke up shitting. Easily one of the most disorienting moments of my life"
"Turns out I'm a social drinker. I just happen to be very social."
"I may have just told some kid I'd pay him to shit in the pool."
"It's one of those mornings where you're proud of yourself just for waking up."
"I'm going to practice throwing up so I can be ready for Friday…and Saturday."
"This last weekend single-handedly took me off the liver transplant list."
"Karaoke makes my soul die, one wretched song at a time."
"After I tried for 10 minutes to hang my beer from the coat hook in the bathroom, I realized I might be drunk."
"You laugh because clearly you have never had to clean shit out of a bathtub."
Ashley thought to herself that she should read them to TJ and Carlos, since they hadn't been big tweeters.
They had all gotten roaring drunk last night and the other rangers found out just how much fun Andros was when he was sloshed. Ashley had always been afraid that he'd be an angry or violent drunk, but as it turned out, Andros was a very hyper and friendly drunk who laughed hysterically at almost anything, which was fine by Ashley because she loved to hear him laugh. It had been his idea when they got back from the club, to pour dish soap and water on the tile floor in their hallway, strip down to their skivvies and slide up and down the hall on their bellies or butts. Zhane and Andros both had matching bruises where they had collided and cracked their foreheads together. Seeing the two of them covered in water and suds, roaring with laughter, wearing nothing but their underwear, was a sight that Ashley would not soon forget. She grinned at the memory.
"Andros, can you come here for a sec?" Ashley called to the group in the living room.
"Hang on Ash, I'm about to kick your brother's ass at chess," he called back. She moved to the doorway between the kitchen and living room to watch while Cassie added the cinnamon sticks to the now bubbling pot of juice. "Choose wisely young grasshoppa," Andros playfully warned Jeff. Jeff rolled his eyes and moved his queen to take Andros' rook. "You little bitch! You took my rook!" he complained loudly. He rubbed his chin dramatically as he surveyed the board then rubbed his hands together and grinned evilly. As he moved his bishop across the board he said,"Oh yeah, and by the way, check mate. Woot woot!"
"Fuck!" Jeff swore as Andros jumped up from the coffee table and did an NFL style victory dance all the way over to the kitchen door, where Ashley was standing. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close for a quick kiss on the cheek.
"What did you need kushka?"he asked, using his Karovan pet name for her. Ashley pointed to the overflowing garbage can.
"Would you mind taking that out for me please?" she smiled and batted her eyelashes at him.
"Grrrr," he mock growled as he curled his lip up to bare his teeth at her, then eyed the garbage can as if it were a quantron standing in the corner. "I suppose," he sighed, feigning great suffrage. She laughed at him, slapping him in the butt as he walked to the can. "Hey there! You better not let my girlfriend catch you doing that, she's the yellow ranger, she'll kick your ass," he said severely. Cassie laughed from her post at the stove.
"Oh really?" Ashley queried. Andros nodded gravely. "Well I'm not scared of her, and besides, I'd be willing to risk a little ass kicking for some sugar from the sexiest man in the universe," she said as she walked seductively toward him. He looked behind him and then back at her, raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself. "Yes you!" She put her hands on his chest and lightly shoved him against the counter.
"Hey, I'm warning you," Andros said through a slightly nervous laugh as Ashley closed the gap between them.
"What would your girlfriend do if I kissed you?" she asked as she slid her hands up his flat stomach, over his chest and put her arms around his neck.
"Why don't you try it and find out," he said softly, sliding his arms around her trim waist and brushing his lips against hers. She smiled and kissed him softly.
"I love you Andros," she said quietly.
"I love you too Ashley," he replied, kissing her again before letting her go. She smiled at his back as he tied the garbage bag closed. "Hey, what are you guys making in here? It smells fantastic."
"We are making spiced apple cider for tonight and some pies for tomorrow," Cassie answered him.
"Oh. Apples… do I like apples?" he asked, looking at Ashley.
"Yes you like apples, as long as they aren't red delicious," she replied. "Babe, you might wanna put a jacket on," she said, pointing at the window. He narrowed his eyes at the snow drifting silently past the window and shook his head.
"I'll be alright, it's what, a ten foot walk? And it's not windy yet," he said, winking at her. She and Cassie followed him to the living room to join TJ and Jeff on the couch while Andros continued on to the front door.
"Hey, where's Carlos?" Ashley asked.
"Oh, he went outside to have a cigarette," TJ answered her. Ashley rolled her eyes. Carlos had picked up that bad habit after enlisting in the air force. His reasoning was that smokers got to go on breaks while non-smokers had to stay in formation and wait for the smokers to get back. Andros harassed him about it unmercifully, saying that as a ranger, Carlos was putting other people's safety in jeopardy by abusing his body. Carlos had tried three times but couldn't seem to kick the habit.
Andros opened the front door to a blast of cold air, and Zhane and Karone, who were just about to knock. "Man you have good timing Andros," Zhane smiled.
"No, she has good timing," Andros rebutted, pointing at Ashley and holding the garbage bag up. "Well hurry up and come in guys, it's cold out there," he motioned toward the couch in the front room. Cassie and Ashley started laughing and Zhane looked questioningly at the girls.
"Hey, Andros," Cassie called. Andros looked at her expectantly. "Mistletoe!" Andros looked up and sure enough, he and Zhane were standing under the mistletoe.
"Ah shit," he groaned as both the girls burst out laughing. Zhane and Karone exchanged confused looks.
"Alright boys, I wanna see you kiss!" Cassie announced merrily.
"Wait, what?" Zhane asked startled.
"It's an Earth tradition that if two people meet under the mistletoe that they have to kiss," Andros deadpanned.
"What!? No way!" Zhane backed up. Andros smiled mischievously dropping the trash bag on the floor.
"C'mere you sexy beast and gimme some sugar!" Andros laughed as he threw his arms around Zhane's neck and kissed him right on the lips while Zhane struggled to get away.
"Ugh! C'mon Andros, if you're gonna kiss me then do it right!" Zhane said grabbing Andros, slamming him against the wall and kissing him square on the mouth with an indecent amount of tongue. Andros shoved Zhane away and promptly began spitting and gagging as Zhane laughed. "Was that good enough for you Cassie?" Cassie laughed in response.
"No, that wasn't gay at all," TJ said sarcastically, frowning at the red and silver rangers.
"Ugh! Damn, Zhane! Dude have you been drinking!?" Andros asked, scowling as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
"Nope, just got me all hot and bothered the way you threw yourself at me back there."
"Watch your back Zhane, payback's a bitch you know." Andros picked up the bag of trash, walked past Zhane and out the open front door only to be hit squarely in the chest by a snowball. He scanned the snowy front yard for his attacker and spotted Carlos laughing behind a bush. "Oh…hell…no," he said, punctuating each monosyllable by swiping at the snow on his black turtleneck. Carlos promptly stopped laughing as Andros dropped the bag of trash for the second time that night, and took off like a cheetah. Carlos knew he'd never outrun Andros, but he tried none the less. Everyone in the living room rushed to the front porch to watch the chase. Andros quickly caught up with Carlos and tackled him to the powdery ground, grabbing a large chunk of snow and letting it crash down onto the black ranger's head. Then he jumped up and brushed the snow off his dark burgundy pants before offering Carlos a hand up. They both stood there, breathing hard as evidenced by the puffs of white coming from their mouths. Andros smiled. "See, I told you smoking was gonna slow you down."
"Man, even when I was playing soccer every day, and not smoking, and training with you on the simudeck, I still couldn't outrun you. No one on the team can outrun you Andros," Carlos said in exasperation. Andros crossed his arms and grinned. Then he put his arm across Carlos' shoulders and walked back to the house with him as they laughed. He quickly tossed the garbage bag into the compactor before anything else could interrupt him and strode back into the warm house, shaking the snowflakes out of his short blonde hair.
Ashley had been a little sad about the hair cut, but she knew why Andros had done it and was okay with it. He had taken a vow and joined a brotherhood of rangers about two years before they had met. Part of the vow involved not cutting your hair until your first mission had been completed. Andros had never told her what that mission had been because it was supposed to remain a secret except to those who had taken the vow. They called themselves Keepers and Andros had a tattoo encircling his left ankle that marked him as one of them. Andros thought of the phantom ranger and wondered if he had completed his mission yet. Ashley once asked him if Tommy was a Keeper as well, which made Andros laugh. Tommy was not a Keeper.
Though he hid it well, Andros didn't have much respect for Tommy. When he discovered how ill prepared the rangers that Tommy and his team had chosen to take their place were, Andros decided that he didn't think Tommy deserved to be a red. He was appalled that another ranger would be careless enough to pass their powers on to another person and then turn them loose with no training whatsoever to fight the forces of evil. They had effectively been abandoned by the other team, especially TJ who was unsure as a leader to begin with. If Andros hadn't stumbled upon them, floating through space, Tommy's abandonment would have been a death sentence to the painfully naive and under powered rangers.
Andros frowned as he recalled the time when all the red rangers had gotten together to stop Venjix from using Serpenterra to attack Earth. Tommy had come in and instantly assumed command, to the annoyance of the other rangers. Andros had just stood back and watched the other rangers' reactions. He was disgusted by the red Wildforce ranger's starstruck attitude toward Tommy and Jason. It only fed the red Zeo ranger's ego. Jason at least had the good grace to act humble. Arrogant, the Gold Ranger had called Tommy, and Andros had to agree.
When the Gold Ranger had called on Andros, he was forced to tell Ashley about the Keepers. He had told her that a Keeper could call on another Keeper to help them complete a mission and that that Keeper had a duty to answer the call and help their brother or sister in any way they could. She understood that he couldn't tell her any more than that, which he was thankful for. He was also thankful that being called on was a fairly rare occurrence.
"Okay everyone, here it is!" Cassie announced as she brought out a tray of steaming cups.
"Oh goody!" Andros said as he flopped down between Ashley and Karone and gave his sister a one armed hug. "So, how's my favorite purple ranger?" he asked. Karone smiled.
"Oh you know, same old same old. Haven't had to poke any kids this week, so that's good." Andros nodded in agreement as Cassie handed them their cups. Karone sipped tentatively at the steaming beverage and smiled in approval.
After her stint on Terra Venture, the council had asked Karone if she would accept the newly created purple morpher. Andros was so happy he had cried when she said yes. Karone had cried too. After her inauguration ceremony she had decided that she had spent so much of her life trying to hurt people that she wanted to do something that would help people. So she chose to attend medical school and became a doctor. She recalled the way Andros positively beamed with pride at her graduation. It amazed her how, after everything she had done to hurt him when they were still enemies, that he could simply forget all of it and trust her so completely just because she turned out to be his sister. She had often wished that she could so easily forget the things she had done…especially the things she'd done to Andros. He was the first person that had truly shown her unconditional love. She was so happy that he had found her.
"So how has my favorite red ranger been after last night's escapades?" she asked. Andros chuckled softly.
"Well, if you must know, I woke up this morning with a massive headache. I couldn't tell if it was the fault of Zhane's brick for a skull or the fifth of vodka that I polished off without assistance," he punctuated the statement with a proud smile. "Then while I was taking my morning pee, I felt the sudden urge to vomit and proceeded to puke into the same water I just peed in. It was epic. Good thing it didn't splash me in the face." Karone wrinkled her face in disgust while Zhane laughed.
"I had almost the same experience this morning," Zhane commiserated.
"You know, if someone had told me five years ago that I'd be doing jello shots and sliding up and down a soapy hallway in my underwear with Andros, I would have taken them straight to an insane asylum," TJ said. All the rangers laughed in agreement.
"Hey, I can still be serious when I want to be…I just don't want to be," Andros stated plainly. "And I know for a fact that you guys don't like me to be serious all the time anyway."
"I don't think TJ meant he wanted you to be serious, Andros. He was just making a note of the 180 you've done since we first met you," Cassie countered.
"Well, I for one, think that the real 180 was Andros being serious all the time," Zhane said flatly. "I mean, c'mon you guys, do you really think that someone with a stick that far up his ass could have been MY best friend?" he asked. Everyone laughed.
"Truer words have never been spoken my friend," the red ranger smiled back at his friend.
"I think it was the haircut," Karone laughed.
"Ah man, I we seriously going there again?" Andros whined.
"YES! You told me you would and you keep dragging your feet," she argued. "So when are you gonna do it?"
"Tonight?" he asked. She nodded her head vigorously. "Okay fine, tonight it is. What color?"
"Hmmmm…" Karone drummed her fingers on her lips as she pondered.
"Well my vote is for pink," Cassie announced with a grin.
"You would say that," he complained. "I don't wanna do pink!"
"I dunno, it takes a pretty confident man to wear pink. Andros are you saying you aren't confident enough in your masculinity to wear pink?" Jeff teased. Karone shook her head.
"No not pink. I kinda like blue. Whadya think Andros?" Karone looked at her brother.
"I could rock blue."
"Okay then, blue it is!" TJ announced proudly.
"So, where do we go to get it?" Ashley asked.
"Actually…" Karone paused as she reached into her bag and pulled out two jars of Manic Panic.
"You little…you had this planned from the start!" Andros accused. She grinned evilly. "Okay, lets do this. Guys," he fixed everyone in the room with a mock nervous glance, "I'll be back." And he followed Karone into the bathroom.
An hour later Karone announced from the bathroom, "Okay everyone! It's time!"
"Drum roll please!" Cassie yelled as they all started patting the coffee table.
"Wait!" Ashley yelled, "We need the music." And she dashed to the stereo and put on the only song she could think of for such a debut.
"I'm, too sexy for my…" the stereo blared as everyone started laughing. Then the twins came out, strutting around like proper models, hands showcasing their matching blue hair, game show style to a chorus of cat calls and wolf whistles. "…poor pussy…poor pussy cat," the stereo continued as the red and purple rangers reclaimed their seats on the couch.
"Great music choice Ash," Andros said, rolling his eyes at the chorus of laughter. He put his arm around Ashley, and as she cuddled up against her teammate, best friend, and lover, she thought to herself that tomorrow would be her first Christmas away from home, and she was sure it was going to be her best Christmas yet.
A/N: I always thought that if Andros' reasons for being so morose were taken away, that he would blossom into a proper teenage/college age guy. I didn't want to clutter up the story with too much background information so if something is confusing to you, ask me about it. :) BTW this is my first fan fic so no flames, especially from Tommy lovers. It's a viable argument that Tommy just threw the morphers at them and left them to flounder, which they did, until Andros stepped in.