Notes: This is loosely based on a true story from the 2014 Power Morphicon. However, I have not slavishly adhered to the actual events, because a) I wasn't there and b) I'm writing about the characters, not the actors. This story is for the ladies of the Toku Ladies Podcast.
Kevin had a strict training regimen. Everyone knew that. His swimming teammates knew it. His Power Ranger teammates knew it. Anyone who'd ever eaten a meal with him knew it.
Granted, his time as a Ranger had loosened him up a bit, but when he was preparing for Olympic trials...all bets were off.
His regimen involved very specific foods and exercises. And now that he no longer had to wake up in the middle of the night to fight the Nighlok, it involved very specific sleep requirements.
Which was why his training regimen did not involve disturbances outside his hotel room when he was trying to sleep. He was reaching for his earplugs when he realized the disturbance involved a familiar voice.
"No," Kevin said, putting a pillow over his head. "No no no. One of the others will deal with this, right?" But he knew he was lying to himself and he dragged himself out of bed with a groan.
It was force of habit that had him grabbing his sword from the bag, because who knew what else might await him outside?
Slamming his door open with more force than was strictly necessary, he pointed the sword at Mike, who knelt outside.
Shirtless Mike.
Drunk Mike.
Mike who was loudly demanding pizza.
Why was this even his life? Kevin wondered. Waving the sword, he said, "Shut up."
"But I need pizza." Mike held out his arms with an extremely pathetic expression.
"I don't have any. I don't eat pizza when I'm training."
"You do have some. Jayden and I left it in your fridge. Unner the shrou-shprou-sprouts."
Kevin felt a vein in his forehead start to throb. The vein that Mike had always had this effect on.
He hadn't missed the feeling at all.
At this point, because Kevin's humiliation wasn't nearly complete, the door to the next room opened and three curious female faces peered out. They looked at shirtless Mike. They looked at pajama-clad Kevin. They looked at Mike. They looked at Kevin.
And the one in front turned to the others and said "This is totally the best day ever." The other two nodded furiously.
Mike whirled on his knees, teetering slightly in his drunken state and staying upright only because of his years of training. "Do you have pizza? He won't give me any pizza. What kinda friend is he? He's a tebbirile-terrible friend."
"Terrible," the second women said solemnly.
Kevin started to rub his forehead and realized he was still holding his sword. He hastily shoved it behind his back and the ladies next door politely pretended they hadn't seen that. "Mike!" he said.
"Kevin!" Mike turned back, teetering even more precariously.
"Stop yelling and get in here."
"Are you going to give me pizza?" He looked up with puppy dog eyes.
"I'll find the pizza if you just get in here." Kevin grabbed Mike's arm and yanked him upright and forward. He wanted to wave politely to the ladies but realized the other hand was still busy with the sword. "Er...sorry for the commotion."
"Not a problem," the third woman said, looking at Mike's chest with unconcealed interest. "Not a problem at all."
"Any time, in fact," the first said.
Kevin managed a smile through gritted teeth and tugged Mike inside, closing the door firmly behind him. "What are you doing?"
Mike swayed against him and Kevin almost dropped his sword as Mike's face came very very close. "I'm looking for pizza," Mike said, his beery breath an abomination.
"Gah!" Kevin let Mike fall against the door and stomped back into the hotel room. "When did you have time to get drunk?"
"Antonio said he knew dis...this cool bar, so we went there." Mike leaned against the door, grinning.
"I knew inviting you guys to come watch the trials was going to come back and bite me in the ass."
"I get to bite your ass?" Mike asked, trying to push off the door and failing.
"No!" Kevin yanked open the small fridge and rummaged around under his protein shakes and other sundries until he found the foil-wrapped pizza. He stomped back to Mike and shoved it into his hand. "Here. Pizza. Now go away and let me sleep."
Mike looked down at the pizza. "But it's cold."
Had the man always whined like this? Kevin couldn't recall. "It's been in a refrigerator."
"I need to warm it up."
"I don't have a microwave."
Before Kevin could react, Mike had opened the door he was leaning against and jumped out into the hall so he could bang on the room next door. "I need a microwave!"
The door opened almost immediately, which Kevin found suspicious. "Sorry," the first woman said. "We don't have a microwave in our room."
"We wish we did," the second woman said.
"We certainly do," the third woman said.
As Mike pouted at them, Kevin had to admit they really did look like they wished they did. The question was...why did that make him want to hit them?
Waving the pizza dramatically, Mike said (very loudly), "How am I supposed to eat cold pizza?"
"Pizza's still good cold," the first woman said.
"Not nearly as good," the second woman said.
"Cold pizza is fine!" Kevin said. "Wait, why am I even discussing this?"
"Because your friend is still looking for a microwave?" the third woman asked, pointing down the hall at Mike, who was pounding on random doors and yelling about microwaves.
"Mike! Stop that!"
"Fuck Blue!" Mike hollered over his shoulder.
Kevin nearly stopped breathing and couldn't look at the three women. After a moment of paralysis, he ran down the hall and grabbed Mike's shoulder. "What did you say?"
Mike blinked. "Er...fuck you?"
"No, you-" Kevin closed his eyes. Then he realized he was holding Mike's bare shoulder. His warm bare shoulder. His warm bare muscular shoulder. Kevin felt his face turn hot. "Mike, please come back to my room. You're disturbing the other guests."
"Not at all," the three women chorused.
Kevin glared at them. "Not helping."
They grinned back, unrepentant.
"Mike...please."
Mike tilted his head. "Well, you did say please." Throwing an arm around Kevin's shoulder, he began stumbling back down the hall toward Kevin's room.
Kevin tried to ignore the body pressed up against his, but thin pajamas and shirtless Mike were a...distracting combination.
"Good night," the three women chorused as they went by.
"Good night!" Mike hollered, trying to bow to them and nearly falling over.
Kevin could hear their laughter as the hotel room door slammed shut behind them. It made the vein in his forehead throb even harder.
And then Mike was in front of him and Kevin's back was to the door and Kevin didn't know what to do with his hands, which kept trying to grab Mike's back or shoulders or...other parts.
"I know you prefer to sleep before competition," Mike said, sounding a lot less drunk suddenly. "But I have another suggestion."
"Uh..."
Mike leaned in for a kiss and at first he just tasted like beer and Kevin wasn't sure he liked it. And then Mike leaned his entire body against him and the kiss tasted more like, well, what must be Mike, and that was a lot better.
Mike pulled back a tiny bit and murmured onto his lips. "Maybe I could get you back in your bed."
"Bed is good. It's night after all."
"Of course." Mike pulled him further into the room. "I'll let you get some rest. Eventually."
*****************************************
Kevin rolled over and looked at the clock, which read 7:47 am. Eyes flying open, he yelped in alarm and flailed.
His flailing arm bumped into bare skin and he froze, slowly turning his head.
Mike opened one eye. "My head is going to explode if you keep yelling like that." He closed the eye and pulled a pillow over his head, leaving the rest of his body only covered by a thin sheet. "Come back to bed and be quiet," he mumbled from under the pillow.
Kevin's training regimen was already shot to hell and he had 24 hours before he was competing. Looking at the clock again, he shrugged and lay back down on the bed, putting an arm and leg over that very tempting body.
"Mmm," Mike said. "Much better."
Kevin would never admit it aloud, but it really was better.
-end-