A/N: Um...it's Bridge's birthday. Yeah...
8-3-1. Eight letters – three words – one meaning. I love you. Sky could never bring himself to say those words. To most people, it was never difficult to say, but Sky was terrified to say it because he meant it. He was giving his heart, and he could only hope it was enough.
Letting out a sigh, he watched as his cloud of breath dispersed into the surrounding air. He was frustrated. Bridge had him so confused and he had no idea what to do. The green ranger was sociable with everyone but at times, Sky could swear he had caught him staring. Maybe it was just his overactive imagination. Letting out another frustrated sigh, he sat down to watch the sunrise.
Bridge scowled. The look was out of place on his usually smiling face, but he scowled nonetheless. Today was not his day. He had woken up later than he meant to; he relied on Sky to wake him up but that led to the fact that Sky was no where to be found and now his jacket, the receiver of his scowl, refused to cooperate. Tossing the offending garment onto the closet floor, Bridge sighed and exited the room.
Walking into the hall, Bridge endeavored to find Z. He wanted to talk and, seeing as how Sky mysteriously disappeared off the face of the planet, Z was the only one he could openly converse with.
Shuffling into the lounge, Bridge found her sprawled on the couch watching a re-run of some old cartoon. Z eyed him, noticing the slight sag in his shoulders and his downcast eyes. Bridge, however, merely joined the yellow ranger in her sprawled position, barely noticing his surroundings.
"Love sucks." Z raised an eyebrow.
"And a good morning to you too." Bridge just sighed.
"I don't know, Z. Maybe I should just give up. I've tried hinting, flirting, openly staring… Everyone at SPD except for him knows I love him. Either he's the most oblivious man on the planet or he doesn't feel the same way." It was Z's turn to sigh.
"Aw, Bridge, don't say that. Cheer up, it's your birthday."
"Some birthday. The one present I want is the most frustrating man on the planet. Should I send him a note, or something? I don't think they carry a line of 'Please, For Gods' Sake, Just Fuck Me Already' cards." Z laughed at her friend's dilemma but stifled it when Bridge glared at her.
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. All right, we'll figure this out. You go celebrate your birthday and I'll think of a way that we can let Sky know how you feel." Bridge nodded, silently wondering if this was a safe plan.
Overhearing the conversation, Sky concealed himself from Bridge before dodging into the room to catch Z.
"Oh, hey Sky, what's up?" She asked, hoping that she was acting naturally.
"Drop the act, Z, I heard what Bridge said." Z scowled at his tone of voice.
"Fine but if you don't feel the same way, don't be mean to him about it." Sky rolled his eyes.
"Z, don't you think I would have told him already, instead of coming to you? I've never intentionally led someone on." Z eyed him suspiciously but saw only open honesty on the normally cold face.
"Alright, I believe you, but the warning still stands. And since you feel the same way, it's going to make my job a lot easier. Now come on, we're going to make this Bridge's best birthday ever!"
Bridge wandered aimlessly through the deserted corridors of SPD. Cruger had taken the cadets on a training exercise while the other squads were off fighting. Only B-squad had gotten the day off, which meant the entire academy was empty. If anyone had asked Bridge, he would have sworn he just saw a tumbleweed go past, but no one was there, so no one asked. Letting out a sigh, Bridge leaned listlessly against the wall. So far Z was the only one who had remembered his birthday and now she had disappeared. Bridge felt ready to break down and cry and it wasn't even noon yet.
"Bridgey!" Bridge's head snapped up as he watched Syd come running towards him. He let out a gasp as arms encircled him and spun him around.
"We've been looking for you, Bridge." The green ranger twisted him body, turning to look at a grinning Sky. "We're dragging you to the carnival."
"And are you planning on carrying me there as well?" Bridge inquired.
"If that's the only way to get you there." Bridge laughed, secretly reveling in their close proximity.
"Oh, come on, Bridge," Jack wheedled, suddenly appearing.
"Yeah, I dare you to tell me that you don't want to go to the carnival," Z stated, crossing her arms.
"Alright, alright," Bridge placated. "We'll go just as soon as my feet are touching the ground again," he said, looking at his feet, which were a good two inches off the floor. Sky laughed and set him down. "Alright," Bridge grinned, straightening out his rumpled shirt. "Let's go hit the carnival!"
Bridge couldn't remember the last time he had been to a carnival. He stood next to Sky as he laughed at Jack, who was currently making every known face to man – and some unknown – as the roller coaster made another loop.
"You've been watching people ride all day. Why don't you just go ride it already?" Sky asked, slightly amused at Bridge's antics. Bridge, meanwhile, just gave a full-body shudder.
"Promise you won't laugh?" he asked pleadingly. Sky nodded, and Bridge continued. "Alright, I'm afraid of roller coasters." Sky's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Roller coasters? So, it's not even heights or anything, just roller coasters?" Bridge nodded, refusing to meet Sky's eyes. "Hey, it's alright," he said, clapping his back. "There's plenty to do without riding any of the roller coasters. I'll stay with you so you don't get lonely." Bridge grinned while nodding but his face instantly sobered.
"But don't you want to ride any of the roller coasters? I don't want you to miss out on any fun just because of my irrational fears." Sky laughed, shaking his head.
"No fear is irrational. Well, no… That's not true. Most fears aren't irrational. Besides, I'm not a big fan of roller coasters, myself, so we'll just be the bag boys, alright?" Bridge's grin widened as he tagged along with Sky, happy to be able to bask in his attention. "You want anything to eat?"
"No, I'm – hey look, Sky! It's the milk bottle game! I used to save up my allowance until the carnival came to town, and then I'd waste it all in one day playing this game. I never won anything though…" he trailed off, pouting. "Stupid thing's rigged."
"No it's not, you just have no aim. Two games please," he told the worker, handing over the money. With three clean shots, Sky knocked all three piles of the bottles down.
"You can get one big bear or three smaller ones," the employee stated, clearly bored.
"Three small ones, please," Sky stated, passing them over to three little kids who had been watching, wide-eyed. Grinning happily, they shouted their thanks and ran off. Three throws later and Sky handed over a gigantic green bear to Bridge. "There, now you've won something," Sky said with a wink before walking on. Bridge stared at the bear in his arms before hugging it closer, smiling softly.
"Hey Sky?" he asked softly. The blue ranger turned, glancing over his shoulder. Bridge hesitated before changing his mind.
"What?" Sky asked. Bridge shook his head.
"Let's go get something to eat." Sky laughed as he patted the younger man on the back.
"Alright, let's go get you some food. What would you like, aside from buttery toast?" he asked, wiggling his fingers.
"Yeah, seriously," Jack chimed as he, Z, and Syd caught up with them. "The rest of us have to eat, too, you know." Bridge stuck out his tongue, causing the other rangers to laugh.
"Come on, someone choose a place to eat! I'm wasting away here," Syd whined. "Hey, I want a bear!" Bridge hugged his bear all the tighter as Z rolled her eyes at the melodramatic pink ranger.
"Get your own bear!" He said, hiding behind Sky.
"Bridge chooses where we eat. As long as it's something we'll all eat," she added, putting an end to the bear argument. Bridge rolled his eyes, muttering something about 'toast' and 'unappreciated' under his breath. Sky chuckled before speaking up.
"There's a new pizza joint. Everyone could order their own food and Bridge could get garlic bread." Bridge instantaneously perked up, beaming at the suggestion. "Sound good?"
"We're going," Bridge stated, not even waiting for the others' responses. "Lead the way."
"This pizza is orgasmic…" Syd stated, grabbing another slice. Bridge paused, staring at her with his pizza halfway to his mouth.
"Please, never say that again." Syd rolled her eyes as Z laughed. Sky and Jack just shook their heads, tuning out the conversation as they attempted to eat their pizza in peace.
"Don't eat so much you guys," Z warned. "Save some room for dinner." Three rangers nodded their agreement as they watched Bridge inhale another piece of garlic bread. "That includes you as well, oh Inhaler of All Things Toasted and Buttery." Bridge made a face.
"But Z, it's a form of buttery toast!" He whined, wiggling his fingers. The group dissolved into a fit of giggles around the exasperated green ranger.
"Case in point, Bridge," Z gasped. "Case in point."
"Hey Syd?" Jack whispered as Z and Sky continued to give Bridge grief. "What's going on later?" Syd rolled her eyes at the oblivious red ranger.
"It's Bridge's birthday, idiot! This was all part of the plan for his surprise party!"
"Oh, I get it now," he stated, nodding. "But we didn't get him a present," he exclaimed worriedly. Syd rolled her eyes again.
"This is his present, Jack."
"I still feel bad about it, though." Syd shrugged.
"Well, Z said that she and Sky have a special present for him. They're going to give it to him after the party."
"Oh, ok," he nodded, turning to finish his meal. "Did Cruger okay the party?"
"Jack!" She whacked him upside the head.
"Ow! All right, already, it was just a question! Hey, who took my garlic bread?"
"Yeah, 'cause it isn't completely obvious who did it," Sky stated, pointing to a figure desperately trying to cram all of the evidence into his mouth.
"Bridge!"
"Thanks for today, you guys," Bridge said as they entered the academy. Receiving no answer, he turned to find himself completely alone. "Guys? Guys, this is getting really tiring…" he called, pacing down the empty halls. "This is the second time today you've ditched me," he yelled, frustrated. The carnival had been fun but, aside from Z, they had yet to even acknowledge his birthday. Maybe they really had all forgotten… Sighing dejectedly, Bridge trudged into the academy lounge.
"SURPRISE!" The shout caught him off guard as he jumped, stumbling and falling against the door. Gasping for breath, Bridge let out a shaky laugh as his teammates surrounded him, each individually wishing him a happy birthday and apologizing for the shock.
Settling down, the five rangers sprawled across various couches, chairs, and the floor as they consumed copious amounts of junk food and rotted their brains by watching hour after hour of Bridge's favorite movies.
"Syd, share some popcorn," Z whined.
"Shit!" Bridge shouted, jumping at the dramatic music as he inched slowly closer to Sky.
"Bridge, why do you watch this movie if it scares you so much?" Sky asked, comforting the younger ranger.
"It's a good movie," he replied, his voice muffled by the fabric of Sky's shirt. He jumped again as a high-pitched shriek emitted from the screen. The blue ranger bit back a laugh as he hoisted Bridge closer.
"You have a bear for this."
"Nuh-uh," he shook his head. "Syd stole it." Sky sighed, glaring at the back of the blonde's head, not because he wasn't happy holding the green ranger, but because she stole the bear he had specifically given to Bridge.
"Are you going to be up all night?" he asked, glancing down at brown hair.
"No," Bridge replied meekly, burrowing into Sky's side.
"Liar," he laughed. "Alright, last movie, at least for you," he amended as three glares were sent his way. Reaching over at an opportune time, he grabbed the bear back from Syd, returning it to the arms of a grateful Bridge.
Actually, if it's ok, I think I'll just go to bed now," he said quickly, exiting the room with increased speed as blood splatter covered the cameral lens. Sky laughed again as he followed the green ranger out of the room. Watching them leave, Z grinned.
"Hey!" Syd said indignantly. "I wanted that bear!"
"So, have a happy birthday?" Sky asked innocently. Bridge smiled softly as he placed the green bear on his bed.
"Mm-hmm," he nodded.
"Sorry you didn't get any actual presents," Sky said remorsefully. Bridge laughed.
"I got a bear. Besides, memories don't cost anything and they last just as long."
"Are you sure there's nothing else you wanted for you birthday," he pressed. Bridge looked at the floor, silently contemplating.
"Well, I was going to tell someone how I felt about them, but I don't want them to hate me," he stated sadly, climbing onto his bed. Sky smiled inwardly, sitting on his own bed, back against the wall, facing Bridge.
"No one could hate you," he assured. "Tell me, maybe I can help." Bridge shook his head.
"I can't." Sky raised an eyebrow, playing his part. "You'd hate me," he whispered.
"Would it help if I told you who I had feelings for?"
"Maybe," he said, his heart sinking into his stomach.
"Promise you won't hate me?" Bridge nodded, hugging his bear tighter as he tried to ready himself for the impending broken heart.
"You," Sky whispered so softly Bridge almost missed it.
"What?" he asked shocked.
"I love you," Sky said louder and more firmly. Bridge slowly smiled, launching himself onto Sky's bed.
"Say it again," he whispered, bouncing slightly.
"I love you."
"8-3-1?" he asked. Sky smiled.
"8-3-1," he assured. Bridge nodded.
"Good."
Reviews Please