Author's Note: I actually finished this one reasonably quickly, considering my crazy schedule. This oneshot will be the first in a series, to explain how close Tommy and Kira became in the last episodes of Dino Thunder.

Timeline: Post-Drawn Into Danger and Pre-House of Cards


In His Eyes


EMMA:
I sit and watch the rain,
And see my tears run down the windowpane...

LUCY:
I sit and watch the sky.
And I can hear it breathe a sigh...

EMMA:
I think of him,
How we were...

LUCY:
And when I think of him,
Then I remember...

LUCY/EMMA:
Remember...

EMMA:
In his eyes I can see
Where my heart longs to be!

LUCY:
In his eyes I see a gentle glow,
And that's where I'll be safe, I know!

EMMA:
Safe in his arms, close to his heart...

LUCY:
But I don't know quite where to start...

EMMA:
By looking in his eyes,
Will I see beyond tomorrow?

LUCY:
By looking in his eyes,
Will I see beyond the sorrow
That I feel?

EMMA:
Will his eyes reveal to me
Promises or lies?

LUCY:
But he can't conceal from me
The love in his eyes!

EMMA:
I know their every look,
His eyes!

LUCY:
They're like an open book,
His eyes!

LUCY/EMMA:
But most of all the look
That hypnotized me!

EMMA:
If I'm wise,
I will walk away,
And gladly...

LUCY:
But, sadly,
I'm not wise,
It's hard to talk away
The mem'ries that you prize!

EMMA:
Love is worth forgiving for!

LUCY:
Now I realize -

LUCY/EMMA:
Everything worth living for
Is there, in his eyes!

EMMA:
Love is worth forgiving for!
Now I realize -

LUCY:
Now I realize -

LUCY/EMMA:
Everything worth living for
Is there, in his eyes!


Kira stared at the tickets in her hands. There were two, one for her mother, and one for her, to see Jekyll and Hyde at the Reefside Convention Center. The only problem: her mother's boss decided to be a jerk, making Kelly Ford work the night that they were scheduled to see the show.

Kelly had allowed that Kira could go see the show without her, but Kira didn't want to go alone. If she had to go alone, she might as well not go at all. Musicals weren't fun to see by yourself.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kira strode into Hayley's Cyberspace. First one on her list: Trent. He'd told her he wanted to do something, just with her instead of the entire Ranger team, since lately that seemed the only way to spend time with each other. Hopefully, this would be the sort of event that Trent would appreciate.

The Cyberspace was, for once, not that busy. Trent was chatting with Hayley about something—computers, business, or his art. Trent's back was to her, so that when Hayley saw her, she tugged Trent's sleeve and pointed her out. Trent turned around, and smiled. It was the smile Kira loved—the shy, sweet smile.

Kira smiled back, walking up to him, fanning the tickets slightly. "Slow day?" she teased.

"I love slow days," Trent confessed, glancing at Hayley. Hayley waved off the concern. "Slow days are cool. Don't worry about it."

"So, any reason in particular for you to be here? Don't you have band practice today?" Trent inquired.

Kira rolled her eyes. "We've been done for about an hour now. But I do have a reason to be here—remember how my mom and I were going to go see Jekyll and Hyde at the Convention Center?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"My mom can't take me, and I don't want to go alone. Would you go with me?"

Trent hesitated. "Kira, I'm not really into musicals. And Jekyll and Hyde—well, it hits a little too close to home right now. The guy who reverts from good to evil, right?"

"With the help of science," Kira clarified.

"I can't do it right now. I'm sorry."

The Yellow Ranger understood what Trent was trying to say. It brought back bad memories of Trent being evil. Trent was desperately waiting for her to get it. Crestfallen, she nodded. "That's okay. I'll ask Ethan."

"Thanks, Kira," Trent smiled again, but this time there was a touch of relief to his smile. Kira didn't fully understand, but then again, Trent was a hard person to figure out.

Shrugging, Kira left the café.


Ethan was playing a computer game at his house. The Dr. James, Ethan's mom, had told Kira that she was always welcome, and Kira took advantage of that now. Ethan's mom let her in, calling Ethan to the living room.

Ethan was a good sport about it—he nearly always was. But he couldn't go either. "Sorry, Kira, but I'm helping Hayley that night with a gaming competition. It's for younger kids, to build up community."

"It's okay," Kira allowed, getting a bit annoyed, but not with Ethan. "Tell me how it went, okay?"

Ethan nodded. "I don't think Conner's got anything going that night," he offered. "You could ask him. He could probably act like a gentleman for one night."

Kira and Ethan stared at each other. Then, simultaneously, they burst out laughing.


Conner froze. "I could have sworn that you just asked me to go to a musical with you."

Kira rolled her eyes in derision. "Yes, I did," she told him with exaggerated patience. "Is that a problem?"

Acknowledging her dark tone, Conner shook his head. "No, but, Kira, I'm a soccer player. I don't do musicals. They're so…girly."

"This one's pretty dark. It's Jekyll and Hyde, Conner. How can you call that girly?"

"If the guys find out…" Conner squirmed.

"We can keep it a secret," Kira snapped, at the end of her patience.

"Actually, I just remembered. The soccer players are having a party that night, you know, to celebrate getting into the championship? I'll be busy." Conner explained with the air of major relief. "They're already pissed that I haven't been spending enough time with them, so I'd better go."

"Fine," Kira sighed, turning to walk off the field. Conner called after her, "Ask Hayley! You can make it a girls' night out!"

Kira snorted.


Kira entered the Cyberspace for the second time that day. Trent's shift was over, something she was grateful for. The shadows outside were lengthening and the Cyberspace were all but deserted. Hayley was standing behind the counter, polishing some glasses. "Any luck?" the redhead wanted to know, offering an apple smoothie.

Sometimes, Hayley was too perceptive. Kira took the smoothie, informing Hayley, "One day you're going to teach me how you do that."

"You spend enough time around people, and it gets easier to predict what they're going to do." Hayley retorted playfully. "I take it Conner and Ethan said no?"

"Yeah," Kira mumbled. "I'd invite you, but Ethan said you're doing a gaming competition for younger kids that night."

A thoughtful look crossed Hayley's face. "You might want to ask Tommy. A friend of his in high school introduced him to the Phantom of the Opera, and he's loved musicals since." She shuddered. "Imagine trying to study physics while listening to 'All I Ask of You'."

Kira giggled. "I never knew that."

Hayley shrugged, stealing Kira's signature move for the day. "Tommy doesn't really like to talk about his past. He prefers to live in the present."

Elsewhere…

Tommy sneezed three times in a row. Getting up to get a Kleenex, he muttered, "Someone is talking about me."

Back to the girls…

"Why does he do that?" Kira inquired, honestly curious. "Like, sometimes he'll start to tell us a story, and then stop halfway through, as if something's paining him."

Hayley busied herself cleaning off the counter. "He misses them. To talk about them brings up the memories." She turned to Kira. "He would kill me if he knew I talked about it."

"He'll hear nothing about it from me," Kira assured, holding up her hands. She leaned on the counter, her chin in her hands. "Do you have their numbers, though?"

"Why do you ask?" Hayley inquired curiously.

Kira grinned. "Are you in the mood to surprise him?"

Hayley looked at the evil glint in the Yellow Ranger's eyes, and agreed. "But not right now," Hayley cautioned, going into the back to retrieve her address book. "Wait until school is over."

Kira nodded, the very epitome of innocence.


Tommy was having a nice, normal day. He was on time to teach his classes, Mesogog hadn't made a peep for about a month now (part of him wondered if he should be worried, but he shrugged it off. The freak had issues) and he had the lab to himself for once.

"Dr. O?"

Well, almost to himself.

Kira padded down the stairs, her face a mask of worry. In her hand, she held two pieces of paper.

"What's up, Kira?" Tommy asked, shoving aside his sudden introverted tendencies. Kira was okay to be around—she didn't blather about inane topics like Conner had a predisposition to do, or play loud games, like Ethan.

"My mom can't go to see Jekyll and Hyde with me," Kira explained, showing him the tickets. "I've asked everyone else. Somehow, the universe conspired to have them busy that night."

Tommy gazed at the tickets, thinking hard. On one hand, it would be nice to see a musical, since he hadn't seen one in so long. On the other hand, it would be inappropriate.

He could feel Kira's concerned stare. If she had asked everyone else to go, and they all had things to do… "What about Cassidy?" he asked, stalling for time.

Kira rolled her eyes. "She'd talk the entire time. She'd also make sure I knew what a big favor she was doing for me when I supplied the tickets. I can skip that, thanks."

True—very true. The temptation was growing, especially since he had heard really good things about Jekyll and Hyde. But still…inappropriate.

"We fight together, Dr. O," Kira added, successfully managing to pin down the source of Tommy's reluctance. "I'm pretty sure this won't be inappropriate. It's just a musical, and those things are ridiculously proper."

Good point. Tommy deliberated further, before finally asking, "Would you like me to pick you up?"

Kira grinned.


The Saturday night came at last. Tommy had pulled the top over his Jeep, not quite seeing the point of using a different car to go to the Convention Center. He'd donned a suit—these things were ridiculously proper when it came to etiquette—and his tie itched.

Kira's driveway was empty. That's right—she said her mother had to work tonight. The door opened just as he pulled up completely, and Kira came out, dressed to the nines in a floor-length yellow gown with a sheer black wrap. Her hair was caught up in a bun, yellow chopsticks sticking out of the hairstyle.

Used to these sorts of things, Tommy opened the door for her. "Thanks, Dr. O," Kira murmured.

"Nice dress," he answered, opening his own door.

Kira stared down at the silk covering her body. "Thanks," she said again. "I actually like this dress."

"Was there a possibility you wouldn't?" Tommy inquired.

Kira shrugged, a mite astounded that she would talk about a dress with her science teacher, of all people. "It was one of the dresses I picked up when the meteor scrambled our personalities. After our personalities were returned to normal, I went through all the clothes I had bought and returned most of it, but I liked this dress too much to get rid of it."

"I think Conner had that issue with the books he bought when he was under the meteor's influence," Tommy told her with good-natured humor. "All of a sudden, he had more books than he knew what to do with, and his mother wouldn't let him return them. I think Ethan ended up adopting them."

Kira giggled, not knowing that part of the story.

The conversation on the way to the convention center was light and easy, the chat of two good friends. The crowd outside of the convention center was quite large, but the tickets Kira's mom got were good for avoiding the main crush. After parking, Tommy offered Kira his arm in a gallant gesture, and laughing, she took it.


The musical was as good as Tommy had heard it was. The music resembled a mixture of The Secret Garden (with the chorus line telling the story and moving the plot along) and Godspell (rock opera). There were precious few moments of humor, but the idea and the point of the story struck chords in the audience.

During the intermission, Kira stood up to stretch. Tommy looked almost high, with his grin. She couldn't call him on it—she was grinning too. "So, are you glad you came?"

Tommy could only nod. "I like how they portray Jekyll as someone who is doing what he does for the good of the human race," he confessed, staring at the dark stage. "It kinda reminds me of Anton. He's always wanted to do good for the human race."

Kira blinked. She remembered what Trent said about Jekyll and Hyde: Hits a little too close to home. At the time, she thought he meant the whole evil White Ranger, but it might mean anything. Then she shrugged it off; she's being too paranoid, again.

On the drive home after the end of the musical, Kira and Tommy discussed certain points of the musical like the true fans they were. Tommy had to force his eyes away from the intent Kira to watch the road, since it was dark.

He ended up being grateful for doing it, though, because he saw a figure in the headlights. He slowed, stopping fully. Kira paused. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he murmured. He opened his door and exited. "Are you all right?"

There was a curious growling from the figure, and Kira and Tommy exchanged a look. She exited the Jeep too, walking towards the shadowed figure. "Hello?" she called.

With a flash of green lightning, they were surrounded by Tyrannodrones and Elsa. Kira turned to Tommy. "Dr. O, I've got to morph. I can't fight in this dress."

"Shame," Elsa drawled.

Tommy nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready," Kira answered. They morphed, appearing in respective flashes of light as the Black and Yellow Rangers.

Kira went straight for Elsa. The bitch annoyed her, and when she was in such a good mood, Elsa was going down for ruining her evening. Elsa appeared unimpressed by the barrage of blows, but after while, a look of apprehension, followed by fear settled in the evil henchwoman's eyes. "We'll finish this later," Elsa hissed to Kira as Tommy threw another Tyrannodrone. With another flash of light, they disappeared.

Kira demorphed, glaring at the world. One day, Elsa was going to pay.