Riley couldn't tell you the sheer relief he had felt when his friends emerged from the vent, even if he kept it hidden, but especially at seeing Chase there, unharmed and well and just as furious as the rest of them.
He took a petty moment to enjoy his victory.
"You see the game wasn't chess."
"Surprise." The other rangers took that as their cue
"The game was to escape the maze." And seeing the monsters shock was far to entertaining. "Oh and that reminds me, checkmate." And he knocked away the playing piece with a flourish before joining the others.
Puzzler didn't last long and soon they were all demorphed, one more alien blasted to pieces.
The first thing Riley did was pull Chase into a kiss, taking the black ranger by surprise. It didn't stop him returning the kiss just as desperately, both of them holding tight as if the other would disappear. They ignored the cat calls from Tyler and cheers from Shelby and only pulled away when they were breathless.
Chase pressed their foreheads and the tips of their noses together and Riley flushed a little more at the intimate act, Chase had done it several times and Riley was sure the elder thought he was oblivious to what it meant. They lingered there, not moving and oblivious to the rest of the world, breathing in each other's presence.
"Guys, we should get back to the lair." Tyler spoke from the side, not interrupting but drawing them back to reality regardless.
The rangers split up, arriving at different times, but mainly because Shelby and Tyler went to get pizza and Koda had run ahead so the green and black rangers arrived second, sitting next to each other at the table, Chase with his back to it while Riley sat properly.
"Don't feel guilty." Riley looked up at his boyfriend with a rueful smile, still getting use to how well they could read each other now. "Really don't, if you want to think about it logically then if you had got the charger back we would be three rangers down permanently and future fights would become far more difficult all the while you and Koda would have to deal with the grief of losing us."
Chase shrugged as Riley stared at him for a moment before standing up and suddenly the Kiwi had a lap full of beautiful blond ranger and desperate lips against his own.
Their kiss was hot and deep, the realisation that they could die falling into place again. When they finally pulled away they were panting, Riley holding himself in place with arms around the brunette's neck, savouring the warm hands that were gripping his waist, just under his shirt.
"When did you get so clever Hotshot?" Emerald eyes gleamed with life and Chase was glad to see the guilt was gone, allowing himself to paint on his trade mark smirk.
"Always have been, you just never realised."
"Is that why you still think I don't know what a hongi is?"
And never, ever, did Riley think he'd hear Chase stutter nor see him blush so furiously. A hongi was a traditional maori greeting, pressing forehead and nose to the other persons simultaneously and holding it the way Chase did was reserved for lovers.
"How do you know that mate?"
Warm brown eyes looked at him with curiosity and wonder and he flushed under that look.
"I, well, I know you love your home so I thought your culture might be important to you and started researching. It's really interesting so I just kept going." Riley scratched the back of his head with one hand. "And when you first used the hongi, I knew I was partially right at least."
The green ranger moaned as he was kissed again, loving the way Chase used his tongue and he pulled that flipping hat so he could twine his fingers in the dark strands.
A sharp whistle broke them apart and both of them winced, they'd completely forgotten that they were still in the base, with members of their team.
"Sorry Miss Morgan." The two chorused just before Shelby and Tyler arrived with the pizza.
"Come on, let's eat before Koda finishes it all."
Riley stood offering his hand to the skater who hauled himself up, pressing one quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips before leading them over to the food.