Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.
A/N: This is the end of Honor. Next up is Speed, Ronnie's story. Now is a time to remind people that SPD is, per Canon, in the future and therefore to be treated differently.
They defeated the Master just in time for Christmas, which was good because Xander's parents were flying him back to Australia for a week, and bad because none of them had told anyone that they were maybe-kind of-trying to date each other and so finding ways to be together just them were difficult, what with Madison being lonely after Nick, Udonna and Leanbow headed off for South Carolina and Claire calling them at least once a week to fix a spell gone wrong or because she's lonely with Daggeron off doing whatever it was he did when he wasn't pushing Chip in his sword lessons.
Xander had been the creative genius who figured out one way to arrange it. Claire and Daggeron didn't celebrate Christmas, but were willing to do a 'winter celebration and gift exchange' along with LeeLee, Phineas and Necrolai, or Nikki as she called herself after she'd lost her powers. Xander had told everyone to show up at five and then asked Vida and Chip to come over at four to help him 'decorate'.
Besides managing the Rock Porium, Xander was the overseer of a small apartment complex his grandparents owned. Chip still wasn't sure if his Australian relatives had bought the complex for some obscure reason or if it had been his grandparents' way of helping him stay in America after high school and his dad's transfer back to Australia shortly after graduation. Certainly, he'd never heard of them owning it until graduation, when Xander had rushed up to him and told him all about it.
One of the perks was that Xander lived in a nice two bedroom apartment rent free, and all he had to do was handle the off hour maintenance emergencies. There was a day manager who handled things like renting the apartments and seeing to their upkeep; Xander just had to sign off the big ticket items for his grandparents.
On the appointed day, a week before Christmas, Chip arrived at Xander's just after four with a backpack full of gifts and nothing on his mind but tree ornaments and tinsel. Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock to find himself practically dragged into the apartment after he'd knocked and kissed thoroughly while the door slammed shut. "I swear," Xander said when he broke the kiss, "if something happens in the next hour that interrupts us, I will not be responsible for the opinion of my plants."
Chip simply stared up at his boyfriend, startled, "Ok," he said finally.
"I mean, it's not fair," Xander said, "I finally get the chance to actually think of you and Vida as more than friends and every time we try to do something we get interrupted."
"Where is Vida?" Chip asked.
"In the kitchen," Xander replied, "probably eating all my cookie dough."
"Not all of it," Vida protested as she appeared over Xander's shoulder, "I save some for Chip." She slid around Xander and kissed his cheek. "I'm getting a cold," she added with a slight sniff.
"I can take care of that," Chip said, "just let me put my backpack down, ok?"
It was the work of a moment for him to execute the neat healing spell Udonna had taught him, "Wow," Vida said, and took a deep breath, "I can breathe again."
"I know, it's like magic," Chip said with lifted eyebrows.
"You only think you're funny," Vida told him and kissed him on the lips. She tasted like chocolate and cookies, while Xander had tasted like chocolate and cinnamon.
"I am hilarious," Chip said after breaking the kiss, "Now where's my cookie dough?"
It was in the kitchen that Chip really felt it. Maybe it was the way Xander grumbled but teased as he made more batches of cookie dough because they ate half of it, or the way Vida would stick bits of dough in Xander's mouth to shut him up. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't trying to race each other for something Chip wasn't sure he was ready for yet.
Maybe it was just the Spirit of Christmas settling upon them, but for forty-five minutes, in a kitchen that grew progressively covered in flour, Chip felt at home. Soon enough, he knew, their friends would arrive to exchange gifts and eat cookies and it would be a little awkward because Nick and his parents were gone but they'd enjoy the gifts. Then Xander would be off to Australia for a summer Christmas and to try to explain the three of them to his parents. Vida would get back to trying to distract and cheer up Madison between Nick's infrequent phone calls while raging to Chip that her sister was a stubborn idiot and Nick was a moron because they wouldn't use their morphers as cell phones and talk more. Chip would be back at Winterlight, chasing cousins and fighting with his step-sister, who had managed to say something nice when she'd found out he was a Ranger, but her ingrained hatred had overcome her awe quickly.
Maybe in the new year, Chip would given in and move in with Xander so he could focus on nursing school and Vida would move in to the empty apartment being renovated with Madison and they could just be a young relationship with a sister-in-law to cheer up.
Maybe it would happen, maybe it wouldn't, but as Vida fed him a bit of cookie dough, Chip couldn't stop himself from praying. If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.
