A.N.: Hi, there! This is my first Dino Thunder fic, so I hope you'll like it. Be prepared for A LOT of relationship stuff, but also a fair deal of fighting evil (as all Power Rangers should!) and such. This story begins after Tommy becomes the Black Ranger, but as if Trent has yet to be introduced and will continue until the series finally. Any kind of response is appreciated :)
"Hey, babe, could you pass me a napkin?" Conner asked, trying to cover the strawberry milkshake mustache collected above his upper lip. Hayley's Cyber-Space was teeming with people as usual. Maybe that's why Kira hadn't handed him a napkin from the stack in front of her: it was too noisy. That must have been it, he decided. She sat across from him, flipping through a notebook, trying to study something, apparently. He tried again, a little louder. "Babe? Babe! Kira!"
"That's more like it." She smiled, mischievously, sliding the stack of napkins in front of him. He sneered, wiping the milkshake away. He had given he what she wanted. She'd just played him, again. Kira was getting too good at getting what she wanted from Conner and he was secretly loving it.
"Thanks, babe." Kira rolled her eyes with a laugh, and held her hand out expectantly. He stared at her palm, wondering what she wanted now. "What?" He asked.
"You know what." She raised her eyebrows. When Conner shook his head in confusion, she reached across the table and grabbed his hand. The touch was electric, an almost tangible chemistry, that caused Conner to inhale sharply. She didn't touch him often, but when she did, his skin always flushed warmly to remind him where she had. Turning his hand palm up, she popped the cap off her pen and scribbled one word across it. He looked down and read her name. "There," She said, self-satisfied. "Now, if you forget, you can remind yourself."
"Hey, if you two are finished," Ethan interrupted, breaking their eye contact. "We actually have work to do." He attempted to hide his annoyance at their flirtation, but with great difficulty.
"Right." Conner smiled. "Work." With a wink at Ethan, he took another sip of his shake.
"Seriously, Conner. Dr. O made it sound like this quiz is going to be worth a lot of points and my grade's been dragging since the whole spandex thing cut into my study schedule." Ethan huffed, turning his attention back to the textbook.
"Dragging? Down to what? A 93 percent?" Kira asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm all for the extra study buddies, but I'm pretty sure my grade is lower than yours, and I can almost guarantee McKnight's is, but we're not freaking."
"Yeah," Conner agreed. Suddenly realizing what she had said, he stopped himself. "Hey… I'm actually not doing that bad in O's class. For your information, I actually studied for the last test." Kira snorted. "What? What's so funny, then?"
"Nothing," Covering her mouth, she tried to hide her laughter. "Nothing."
"Tell me!"
"No really," She insisted. "It's nothing!"
"Tell me, or I'll… I'll…" Looking around for a suitable threat, Conner's eyes landed on the tall glass, still more than half full of strawberry milkshake. He smirked, grasping it firmly, and positioning it to pour on Kira's lap. "I'll do it, I swear."
"You wouldn't." She challenged, looking for a hint of weakness in his eyes.
"Try me." His wrist twisted a centimeter, pushing the pink frothy liquid closer to the edge of the glass, and ultimately Kira's pants. She looked at it nervously. He lived for this. Driving Kira insane was the most fun he'd had in years.
"Okay, okay! Put it down!"
"You're just going to say it was nothing again. Tell me why you laughed, and then I'll put it down." Winning was one of his favorite past times.
"I laughed because I saw your last test score," She had to fight the giggle from returning. "And if I were you I wouldn't brag about studying for that one. What were you, three points above failing?"
"You're lucky I'm a man of my word, or I'd spill this on you anyway." He said, slamming the glass back on to their table. Milkshake flew across the table, headed straight for Ethan.
"Bro!" Ethan exclaimed, jumping back. The force of his jump caused him to tip over in his chair and hit the floor with an undignified groan. "That was so unnecessary." He grumbled, picking himself up and trying to wipe the pink stain from his shirt. This only caused his hand to become cold and sticky. "Oh, and my textbook! Conner! Now the pages are going to get all stuck to each other." The book was now soaked in milkshake, and the ink in the corner of the open page was beginning to run.
"My bad," Conner blushed. He picked up a napkin from the stack and reached over to help clean, accidentally knocking the glass, and the rest of the milkshake, over on to Ethan's notebook.
"Stop! I don't need your help!" Ethan shouted. The entire café grew silent, and looked over to the trio. He slammed his books shut, collected them in his arms and marched to the door. Before he left, he turned around, brow furrowed in anger. "And the next time the two of you want to flirt, make sure it's nowhere near me!" With that, he stormed out and let the door swing behind him.
Hayley, seeing the incident, picked up the bus rag from behind the counter and headed over to the table where Conner and Kira wore matching expressions of mortification. "He's just a wound a little tight," Hayley said, trying to ease the tension. "No use crying over spilt milkshake, I always say."
"Sorry, Hayley." Said Kira, as the color returned to her face. "We were just messing around…"
"Don't sweat it." She smiled, dabbing at the last bit. "See, no harm done. Oh, by the way, Tommy wanted me to tell you kids to get your studying done, because the quiz tomorrow—"
"Is worth a lot of points, I know." Conner interrupted. "Look if it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to get going. Causing a scene generally makes staying a less than attractive option."
"Yeah, me, too." Kira sighed, looking around. She decided there were too many people looking back. "Mind if I catch a ride with you?" Conner shrugged.
"Okay, then." Hayley said. "Be safe, you two!"
The pair walked out, heads down, hoping the starring would stop, but it was only beginning.