Disclaimer: Oh, the things I'd have if I owned this series... (looks on dreamily)

I didn't wanna do anymore writing until after Christmas, but, the urge to do a one-shot wouldn't go away.

This fic is set during Turbo, BTW.

And let's not flame, please. It's not even necessary and it's really irksome. Seriously. I'm just trying to write a fic about mature people. If you dislike her or the pairing, that's your right. But overlook this fic. Don't need to read about how much you hate it cuz of the pairing.

On we go... .

Deeper Than Love

The long-haired, brown-eyed, handsome young man was walking along the beach, hands stuffed in his pockets. It was a breezy, Tuesday evening, not many people were around and it was relatively quiet. He liked that. A lot. Anyone who'd been a planet defender for the last nearly four years of their life would totally understand.

Anyhow, instead of going to the youth center- like he normally did after school- he'd chosen to come to the beach. It wasn't his usual thinking spot, but, that really didn't matter. Besides, he was in a beach-y mood anyway.

He'd come here to think of all that'd happened in his life in the last several months. His first love had ended their relationship in a one-page letter, he'd become involved with her successor and gained new powers- again- some time later. Before all that, an evil empress had cast an evil spell on him, like, five minutes after he'd come to Angel Grove. And it wasn't the only time he'd been brainwashed. Bad guys seemed to love him as a target. Yeah, he'd been gone through more than most his age, that was for sure.

His thoughts slowly returned to the energetic, gorgeous brunette he'd fallen in love with a few years back. Like any young couple happy and in love, they'd been certain it'd be forever. That certainty had come to a screeching halt the day he received that piece of paper at the youth center. He'd felt so many different emotions. Hurt, shock, anger... .The letter had been considered an uncharacteristic move on her part.

He'd been sure that if he never saw or talk to her again, it'd be way too soon. She'd really torn him up on the inside and he'd been positive he'd never recover from it. Why wouldn't he be? They'd been so close, gone through so much, shared a lot. But... a light came into his life. A light in the form of a certain blue-eyed, blonde, female teammate.

She'd been the very best friend anyone could ask for. She'd been absolutely amazing. Patient, supportive, understanding. All his friends had tried to help him get past the pain of the letter- in their own ways- and, for that, he was still truly grateful. But her... . Well, Miss Wind Chaser had definitely helped the most. She'd done all she could to help... and that was mainly why he'd developed an attraction for her.

He'd been nervous about telling her that and asking her out because of the way he'd been burned the first time around. Not that he believed she'd ever hurt him. It was just... well, he'd wanted to be careful anyway. Like any guy would. But, he decided to take the chance anyway because she was worth it. It was a decision he'd never regret.

As for the gymnast who'd once held his heart, they'd finally talked about the whole letter deal. The morning after she and Jason had come back to Angel Grove. Anyway, they'd sat in the park and talked it all out. She'd cried, apologized for hurting him so badly and ending things in such a cold way. He'd told her that it would take a little time to totally get past the pain the letter had caused, but, he was fine now. Happy again. And that forgiveness would not be a long way off at all. Also, he was really looking forward to getting their friendship back on track.

She'd told him that she was as well and that she was happy he was happy. He'd thanked her and wished her nothing but the best from there on out. They'd both meant what they'd said. Truly. Also, they'd both admitted that, no matter how much they'd wanted it to last- and they had- they knew they'd eventually part since they were teens and thousands of miles apart.

Truthfully, a small part of him had almost expected for all the old feelings to come rushing back when they'd arranged to talk- after all, they'd had a long-standing relationship. He believed she'd expected it, too. But, nothing had resurfaced. Oh, they'd always love each other and live in special places in each others' hearts, but... they'd grown. They were a little bit different now. They'd moved on and they were both content. She wished him nothing but happiness with the pink Turbo ranger and he, in turn, wished her nothing but happiness with her guy.

The red ranger's thoughts shifted to his current girlfriend then. Thinking of her always brought an easy smile to his face. She was supposed to be joining him here in a short while. Oh, man. He really couldn't even verbalize what he felt for her. He just knew that it'd come to run so much deeper than love.

He shared a special closeness with the former pink ranger- always would- but, the closeness he shared with the current pink ranger was also special and what they had was... more mature. Maybe because they were so close to adulthood. Yeah, he'd matured a lot. Grown. He had more depth now. And he had that beautiful, Australian blonde to thank for that. She'd taught him more than she'd ever realize.

He stopped walking to stare out at the water. He loved coming to the beach. Okay, it wasn't exactly hard to find a Californian who liked the beach, but, still. Anyway, he loved it most when former Zeo Ranger One was with him. They'd spent countless times here... making out, talking about nothing and everything, strolling along hand in hand... or just sitting quietly... enjoying each others' company... watching the sunset... communicating with no words at all.

"Hey, you."

He turned to face her and his grin widened. "Hey. I'm so glad you're here."

She smiled and stepped up next to him. They linked arms and stared out at the ocean. "I hope Divatox doesn't decide to "check in" right now."

"You said it," he said with a light laugh. Then, he looked over at her. "Kat?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" she asked.

"Everything," he said.

She smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. "You're welcome, sweetie. But what else was I to do? When someone I care about is any kind of need, I'll do whatever I can to help them."

"And that you did. Kat... you have no idea how proud I am to know you. You'll never get that," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, I think I have a pretty good idea," she said with a gentle smile.

"I'd say I love you, but, you know that already and besides... I can't say it because what I feel is more than love. I know that probably sounds crazy-" he was saying.

"It's actually one of the most sane things I've ever heard, Tommy. If it is crazy, then, they'd better lock up us both because I feel the exact same way," she said, an intense warmth filling her soul.

Tommy nodded and smiled. He should've known she'd get it. He gently turned her face towards his, caressed it for several moments, then, leaned in and pressed his lips softly to hers. He slowly deepened the kiss... they came up for air a couple minutes later. Though, it seemed like a couple years later.

"Do you wanna stay for the sunset?" she asked, running her fingers through his soft hair.

"Definitely," he said.

The young couple shared another kiss, then, fond smiles. They sat down on the sand and he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She easily slid her arm around his waist and they exchanged smiles once again. Then, they looked ahead and began their wait for the sunset.

Short and sweet. Zeopurple, since you're a diehard T/Kat-ter, I dedicate this to you. I hope you liked it. Cya.