A Little Gossip Never Hurt Anyone

By: Boxer Thief

Disclaimer: Still not mine, though I am seriously considering making Bridge into a plushie so I can carry him around with me all day.

Warnings: Still no spoilers, and no action yet, sorry folks. Just my typical probable OOC, because it's not impossible that I could write them in character, it's just improbable. Oh, and boy love…can't forget the boy love.

Chapter Two: Awkward Moments

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Bridge yawned as he stretched out his back on his bed. Blinking his eyes open, he stared confusingly at the ceiling. "That's odd," he thought aloud. "I don't remember falling asleep last night. I remember waiting up for Sky to come back and…" Bridge's eyes widened and he shot up in bed. "Sky! Oh, I wanted to talk to him to see what was wrong," he glanced over at Sky's bed, it was empty but slightly rumpled, a sign that it was newly made. Sky had slept there, but had already left.

"Ah man," Bridge groaned as he sat up in bed. "I missed him." He then realized for the first time that he was still wearing the same clothes he had on the day before. "Heh, guess I forgot to get changed." Glancing to the side of his bed, he noticed his missing SPD overcoat and shoes. Neatly folded, they looked out of place amongst all his clutter. Warmth spread through him as Bridge realized that Sky must have removed them for him. Maybe Sky wasn't mad at him after all.

With new hope rising within him, Bridge quickly put on some new clothes and walked out of his room. He turned toward the training area, thinking that would be the best bet of seeing Sky. He'd work things out with Sky as soon as he found him. Pausing, he changed his mind and turned down a different hallway, he'd just go get a quick plate of buttery toast first. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

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The cafeteria was almost empty when Sky entered. It was the haze between meals, not early enough for breakfast, but still not late enough for lunch. Yet the one person that he was looking for was there, as he spotted Bridge standing on his head with an empty plate next to him.

Sky's breath hitched as he noticed Bridge's shirt being pulled down by gravity, exposing his midriff, but he quickly shook it off. This is why they needed to talk, so things would stop being weird and go back to normal.

Quickly walking over, he paused when he reached the green ranger, debating whether or not to speak or wait for his presence to be known. He didn't have long as Bridge made the choice for him. "Hey Sky," Bridge opened his eyes and hopped down from his position. "You know, I had a dream about you last night."

Sky looked at him in shock; that was not what he had expected this conversation to start. But then again, with Bridge, you learn to expect the unexpected. "Really?" he finally questioned.

"Yeah," he nodded, and then thought for a moment. "I can't seem to recall what happened, but I definitely remember your presence." He smiled up at Sky, "That's funny because I always remember my dreams."

"Hilarious," Sky dismissed as he tried to approach the reason why he had sought Bridge out. "Listen, Bridge…have you heard any rumors lately?"

Bridge's face went confused, "Well…yeah. Tons. They're everywhere around here." His eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh, there was this one that I heard."

Sky's ears perked up in interest, if Bridge had already heard the rumor, then there would be no need for Sky to alert him of his position. "What was it?"

"Well, I heard that Littell in accounting is having an affair with Hewitt down in transfers, and that Hewitt's pregnant with his kid," Bridge concentrated hard. "It just seems really odd because I'm pretty sure Hewitt is male as well, that alien race just produces very uni-gender looking kids. And even if Hewitt was female, I don't think it's possible for that particular inter-species relationship to-"

"That," Sky interrupted, "is not the rumor I was talking about."

"Oh," Bridge looked interested. "Then what one were you talking about?"

"Well," Sky started off. 'This is harder than I thought, but why? He deserves to know just as much as I do.' He sat down, Bridge quickly following suit, and looked at Bridge's expectant face, "I'm sure you'll get a laugh out of this-"

"Hey, I could use a laugh, fill me in," startled, Sky looked over his shoulder to see a smiling Jack Landers.

'Great,' he thought sarcastically. 'Just the person I wanted to see.'

Bridge replied before Sky could get a word in, "Oh, Sky was just going to tell me about a rumor he heard that bugged him."

"Really?" Jack's voice implied he was way more interested than he had any right to be. He quickly shifted his gaze to the blue ranger. "Now, what rumor could possibly crawl under the skin of our beloved ice prince here?"

Sky gritted his teeth, "Nothing's crawled under my skin. I'm not bothered by anything. I'm perfectly calm."

"Uh huh," Jack replied unconvincingly. "Well, then you'll have no objections to me testing a theory." He turned back to Bridge, "Bridge, would you hand me a soda from the set over there?"

Bridge looked over to see an unopened six-pack of soda sitting on the table next to Sky, "But Sky's closer…couldn't-"

"I asked you, Bridge," Jack insisted, as Sky continued to glare up at him.

Bridge looked back and forth between his two friends. Something was going on, he could tell that much, but without further information…Bridge shrugged and reached over Sky to grab a soda can.

Sky's breath caught in his throat as Bridge's body pressed against his. It felt as if his core was on fire as warmth spread throughout his being. 'God, why does this feel so good?' Sky questioned himself desperately. 'It's just Bridge. BRIDGE! Your best friend!' But somehow this knowledge only increased the rate of his already racing heart.

Fortunately for Sky, Bridge finished fishing out a can from the six-pack and threw it over to Jack. But the red ranger didn't even look at it before responding, "I don't like this one, get me a different one."

"But they're all exactly the same," Bridge said, exasperatedly.

Jack smiled back, "I just don't like this one."

Bridge rolled his eyes and went back to the soda pack, taking special care to examine them this time to make sure he wouldn't be forced to get a new one again.

Sky spent this entire time with his eyes closed, trying to think of anything except the warm body spread out against his. 'Uh, regulation #627: No cadet must…no, whenever a threat…God he smells so good.' Sky's eyes shot open as he realized just how much he was enjoying Bridge's presence. In panic, he quickly pushed the green ranger away from him, who lost his balance and ended up sprawled out on the floor.

"Sky? What…huh?" Bridge looked up at him, shock, hurt, and confusion filling his amazingly blue eyes.

'What? Amazingly blue eyes?' Sky stared down at Bridge, breathing heavily. "I-I'm sorry. I just…I mean…it's not-"

"As much as I hate to break up this little episode of Sky freaking out," Jack looked at his watch, "I believe it's time for our daily patrol."

Bridge sent one last pained look in Sky's direction, then realizing that he wasn't going to get an explanation anytime soon, pushed himself off the floor. Tossing the soda can at Jack with more force than necessary, Bridge walked out of the cafeteria.

Sky watched Bridge leave, then groaned and put his face in his hands. Jack let out a low whistle, "So, does that hissy fit mean that Bridge is the woman in the relationship?" He looked down at the soda in his hands, "You know, I don't even like orange soda. You want it?"

Sky growled, standing up. His eyes shot daggers into Jack as he passed him on his way out, "Just stay away from me from now on."

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Z looked over at her friend in the corner of her eye. She and Bridge had been assigned together for the day and set out to patrol in the jeep. Lucky for them, because with Bridge as distracted as he was, he probably couldn't walk without running into a wall.

"You going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to guess?" Z finally asked.

Bridge blinked out of his haze and responded eloquently, "Huh?"

Z rolled her eyes, "Case and point. You're completely out of it, and you're no where near your usual happy-go-lucky self. So I'll ask again," she gave him the sternest look she could muster without taking her eyes off the road. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to guess?"

"I think it'd be better if you guessed," Bridge sighed as he put his feet on the dashboard and leaned back. "I have no idea what's going on."

"Want me to pull over so you can stand on your head?" Z offered, smiling.

Bridge grinned for the first time sense they started the patrol, "Thanks, but I doubt the big dog would be happy about us ditching our duties." He sighed, "Besides, I already tried that this morning. What I can figure out doesn't tell me what's happening."

There was a short silence in the jeep before Bridge spoke up again, "Sky's mad at me."

Z paused before responding, "Is this about last night?"

"Part of it," Bridge nodded. "That's when it started. But Sky's been weird around me. It's like we can't even brush by each other without him going postal. He tried talking to me this morning, but then Jack showed up and-"

"Wait," Z interrupted. "Jack's involved in this?"

Bridge nodded again, "He knows what's going on. That much I'm sure of. Whenever Sky's acting strange, Jack comes by and makes it ten times worse."

Z thought about it for a moment, "I wouldn't worry about it."

"What?" Bridge looked up in shock.

"Well, the way I see it, Jack and Sky are having another one of their bickering contests," Z explained. "Jack probably just found something that struck a nerve with Sky and is trying to milk it for all it's worth. Sky, being the serious self-righteous prick that he is, is just reacting accordingly." She smiled reassuringly at Bridge, "I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough, you just have to wait it out."

Bridge considered it, "Maybe you're right. But I still wish that I could find a way to sort it out sooner."

"Tell you what," Z smiled. "I'll talk to Jack and you can talk to Sky and we'll try to get everything back to normal."

Bridge smiled back, "Sounds like a plan." There was a more comfortable silence until he spoke up again, "He's not, you know."

Z looked confused, "Who's not what?"

"Sky," he answered. "He's not a serious self-righteous prick."

Z laughed aloud, "Hey, you're the one who's best friends with the guy, not me. Now let's get back to work."

"Aye, aye, cap'in," Bridge mock saluted.

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"You're sulking," Syd insisted.

"I'm not sulking," Sky defended. "Tate's do not sulk."

"You're pondering with a scowl on your face," Syd continued. "You are so sulking."

Sky simply decided not to answer her this time and continued walking.

"You can tell me, you know," Syd tried. "It might help."

"There's nothing to tell," Sky dismissed, increasing his pace.

Syd bit her lip as she watched Sky. Considering what approach would get her the best results, she finally decided to just be direct. "Okay, what did Jack tell you about Bridge?"

Sky stumbled in his steps and stared at her in shock, "What?"

"Oh please," Syd rolled her eyes. "I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid. Last night you kept shooting Bridge awkward glances and blushed every time he leaned slightly towards you. And Jack was sitting there acting like a cat that just caught the mouse."

Sky thought about it for a moment before turning away, "It's not something I can talk about."

Syd huffed and stormed over to him, "Look, if you're not going to tell me for your own sake, then do it for Bridge's."

Sky looked confused as Syd continued, "Right now Bridge is tearing himself apart inside trying to figure out what he did wrong to make you act like this. No, he didn't tell me, but I've known him just as long as you have and I can tell."

"Now you're going to suck up your pride and tell me what Jack told you because I'm not going to let you continue to hurt Bridge like this," Syd glared pointedly at Sky.

Sky felt guilt rush through him as he recalled Bridge's pained expressions from last night and this morning, "I don't want to hurt Bridge."

Syd sighed in relief, "Then tell me what's going on."

There was a round of silence before Sky responded, "There was this rumor, Jack told me about it."

"About Bridge?" Syd guessed.

"About me and Bridge," Sky emphasized. "In it, people are saying that Bridge and I are…together," he paused before clarifying. "Romantically."

Syd's eyes widened in shock, "Sky, you can't believe that. I mean, even Jack can't believe that. He's just messing with you."

"I know that," Sky shot, and then sighed. "I told myself that. But now…things are weird. Every time I look at Bridge I think…" Sky trailed off.

"What?" Syd encouraged.

Sky leaned against the wall next to him, taking a deep breath, "What if they saw something I missed?"

He paused and Syd caught his anguish filled eyes, "What if I'm in love with Bridge?"

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A/N: Wow! Thank you so much to my reviewers! I didn't expect to be this well received! - I love you all so much. Here, this chapter is longer than the last one…well, a little longer. Actually, after planning out the beginning story line, I realized I had to break this chapter up; otherwise the next chapter would have been about 2 pages long while this one was…probably 12. So I hope you stay with me! I LOVE YOU ALL!