A/N: Power Rangers doesn't belong to me, if it did, this would've been a spinoff instead of fanfiction.

CHAPTER 22: COUNTING DOWN TO SECONDS

Stupid Bridge. Sam sat thinking by the pool, irritated by the way Bridge was just leaving. Had they not had fun? Had he been a bad roommate? What was wrong? Bridge was never the cold one. That had always been Sky. What changed?

It had been an hour since he left Bridge to his packing.

Suddenly, Sam the kid one, came running to him, waking him from his thoughts.

"SAM!" he shouted. Not that the mission was over, older Sam could lie around the poolside in his ranger uniform. They had made an entry under his name under the register. Man, the guy at the desk looked surprised!

"what is it mini-me?" he asked,

"yo twice-my-size, I just saw Bridge leaving? Aren't we all like supposed to go together?" kid Sam looked worried.

"he left early." Sam said, nonchalantly.

"you don't seem fazed?"

"why should I? he's a mean guy who left without explanation"

"are you sure you're talking about Bridge?" Sam slanted his eyebrows, "Bridge Carson? mean guy? Am I the only one who sees the mismatch?"

"why are you awake at eleven?"

"It's eleven thirty."

"my point exactly. Why are you still awake?" older Sam said.

"Kat asked me to take a walk while she and Cyril 'talked'. She said that I should go and find Bridge. I couldn't, but then I saw him leave, and then I found you and then I asked you why Bridge was leaving."

"okay, I'm caught up. But I don't care Bridge is leaving." He said, and pulled a sleep mask over his helmet, why he did that? He was going nuts. Really.

"you do. Why else would you put a sleep mask over your ranger helmet? It's because that guy's leaving is driving YOU crazy." Sam told Sam.

"why would it drive me crazy?" Sam asked.

"because he's your friend and you care about him and you are not liking why he's leaving just like that."

"okay?"

"you still don't know what you should do huh?"

"not a clue" older Sam shook his head.

Younger Sam bent his head back, and groaned, "you gotta chase him to the airport and ask him why and convince him to stay. At least till the rest of us do."

"okay." He got up, and just as he was leaving, he asked, "aren't you coming along? I though Kat asked you to find Bridge?"

"good idea" he nodded, and the two hijacked a taxi and drove to the airport, the driver sitting in the back-seat, banging his head against the door as his taxi zoomed in the streets of Honolulu at 150 miles an hour.

"why did I let SPD drive my taxi" he mumbled to himself in Hawaiian.

So this way, the two Sams made their way to the airport to stop Bridge from leaving.

X-X-X

"how in the fuckin universe do you pronounce that?" Jack asked, as he looked up at the name of the restaurant where Syd had gotten him for a late dinner.

"it's called Senritsu no Senritsu." Syd said with a perfect Japanese accent, "it means melody of melody."

"don't you think that's a little dumb. Melody OF melody?" Jack said, sardonic.

"yeah, it is, but I don't care. I love this chain of restaurants and I love the food here, and I ant you to prove yourself worthy of me here." She said.

"that actually sounds like a Japanese tradition."

"I don't know whether it's actually Japanese or not, but it is the tradition in many, many cultures where the guy has to prove himself before he can be with the girl" Syd stated.

"and what culture are you from?"

"American, but since you've slept with Christie an lowered your standards like that, I want to make sure you're still good for me or not."

"you know, I want to be offended, but knowing what went down between you and Christina makes it hard" he said, and she gently kissed him.

"shall we?" she then asked, gesturing towards the restaurant.

"we shall" he replied, and they entered.

X-X-X

They had entered the Honolulu International Airport: a guy in a blue-white Power Ranger suit and a dirty-blond haired kid, approx 14, with a lot of freckles.

They ran all the way from the entry gate, where they brushed past security showing their SPD ID cards. Then all the way from the baggage drop to the immigration, where the airport Customs officers stopped them.

"where do you think you're going?" they stuck out a hand.

"there's a guy who's boarding a flight to NewTech City and we need to stop them." Sam said, distraught. Driving a car for 34 miles at this top speed had drained him.

"yeah, he's about five-nine, and red haired, and has a kind of goofy look" Sam aided in the description.

"We're airport security and you will have to show us some ID proofs." The officer said; a badge shone on his dark navy uniform.

"Huh? What is this fucking baloney? I'm wearing an SPD uniform for goodness's sake!" Sam cried out.

"here are our SPD badges" kid Sam said, showing some decency.

"we're sorry, we do not accept institutional ID cards. We need your passports from NewTech city."

"passports?" Sam looked as if he had never heard the name.

"yes, dummy! Passports which we very conveniently left at the hotel!" kid Sam almost shouted at his older self.

"well, if you have left your passports at the hotel, we cannot let you pass immigration." The officer said again, this time with a triumphant smirk. This seemed like his first time getting better of SPD officers.

"what the fuck? What the fricking fuck?" Sam was annoyed beyond compare.

"Sam, you know what to do!" older Sam yelled and as if on cue, kid Sam jumped up, and kicked at a table, which was there, and then another, and another… wait, how were there tables in the middle of the airport?

And as the baffled, dazed customs officers ducked and dodged the flying tables, Sam morphed into the ball of light and floated away. The officers just stared at the kid who was standing there, and wondering where that weird Ranger-y guy had disappeared.

Kid Sam was left laughing like anything.

Older Sam meanwhile made his way across the airport, checking the boards here and there, trying to find the flight to NTC taking Bridge. He had thought that Bridge must've already left, when he suddenly spotted him, sitting with his suitcase and backpack in the waiting area outside gate 12-B.

"BRIDGE CARSON!" Sam shouted out to him, he turned around to see the floating ball of light at him.

X-X-X

"this place is simply rad!" Jack said, excited to see the traditional Japanese style restaurant. There were flowers neatly arranged on top of low table

"yep, it always is, though don't think I like this lavender scent here." Syd commented, sitting down at one of the tables.

"so, what does this have to do with anything related to our relationship?" he asked. Syd didn't reply, she turned to one of the waiters, and ordered something from the menu.

"what did you order?" Jack asked, wondering why she hadn't asked him what he wanted.

"your test." She said, smirking, knowing Jack was gonna fail, for sure.

Then, a few minutes later, the waiter arrived with a strange flat, circular box, (two actually), and then, placed it on the table, opening it, and taking out whatever pieces there were in it, onto their plates along with wooden chopsticks.

"what's this?" Jack asked.

"sushi" Syd said, nonchalantly, knowing in her mind that Jack's brain was simply flipping out, and enjoying his shocked reaction with enthusiasm.

"Sushi?" he asked.

"too scared?"

"nope, not at all, I can eat raw fish…" he said, looking at it as if it'd jump at him and gobble him up instead.

"you can still back away if you wanna Jackie" Syd said, like she was talking to a scared child.

"baby, I eat sushi all time, it's nothing for me!" he boasted.

"well, then what are you waiting for?" Syd asked, plopping one into her own mouth, quite casually.

Jack was sweating. He was used to having his food cooked, or steamed, or fried, or grilled, or even smoked, but NOT, definitely NOT raw.

Damn love.

Wait what?

Whatever. Focus on the problem at hand. He gingerly picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks, and tried to lift it, but it slipped out of it, and landed back on the plate.

"can't even pick it up, huh Landers?" she asked, mockingly.

"I can, I'm just out of shape" he replied, then tried again, and again, and again, and again, and then yet again, but each time, it'd escape him, and make it's way back to the plate, the table, or his lap.

"use your hand if it's so hard" Syd helpfully advised.

"thanks" he mumbled, and picked it up with his hand, and scared to death about how gagging it's taste would be, and that he'd be puking in front of the girl he's trying to impress, but nonetheless, he put it in his mouth, grimacing. Then chewed on it, and then swallowed it, then a few seconds pass.

"it's… not bad!" he said, his face lighting up.

"told you so" she said, "and by the way, you can stop pretending that you've had this before, or I'll make you eat the octopus as well"

"alright, alright fine, I was lying I have never eaten it before," he said, "just not an OCTOPUS. Who the fuck eats an octopus?"
"quite a lot of people actually, even in the US. it's not new." She said, smiling at his innocence.

She knew he had grown up on the streets and hadn't had the chance to experience the elite cuisine. Though what exactly made octopus elite was something to wonder, even for Sydney.

"okay, honey, fine, you admitted the truth, you had sushi, and you liked it, I don't think you flunked the test" She smirked, "but there have been better performers"

"well, I guess I'm sorry for being cocky, but I can date you, right?" he asked, mock nervously and in reply, Syd bent in and kissed him.

there were two official couples in the squad now.

That'd get messy, no?

X-X-X

"Bridge!" Sam shouted for the third time after being ignored by him.

Finally, annoyed, Bridge turned around, while Sam morphed into his ranger state.

"What do you want Sam?" his voice was uncannily cold.

"I want to talk to you" Sam replied.

"Well I don't. So why don't you just turn around and leave?" he replied.

"why not Bridge? What changed?"

"what changed?" Bridge repeated incredulous.

"yes Bridge Carson, Mario Russo, whoever you answer to, I don't know what went down between us, I mean when we'd come here, we were having so much fun! I mean, remember the beach? The espressos? The cocktails? The games? The poolside? The 8-Ball? So much other stuff we did together on this trip! What about when we were back at the SPD academy? All those training routines where we spent the time poking fun at Sky and Jack, the big bosses? All the games of lightball? What happened? Why did you change?" Sam asked, distraught.

"I changed because I had to Sam" Bridge replied, quietly.

"you had to" Sam said, and laughed sardonically, "like I've never heard that before."

"look Sam, even if I can tell you, I know you won't understand it. Get it?" his eyes were flaming.

"tell me Bridge. I'm sure I can understand it." Sam said, encouragingly, placing a hand on Bridge's shoulder, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see a bunch of customs officers running towards him, and kid Sam chasing them, he extended his arms, and two of them disappeared reappearing a few gates ahead, and then another few disappeared, reappearing all over the airport: Sam's power.

"Bridge quick! I don't have much time! just tell me the truth man!" he said.

"you want the truth? Well, then here's the truth! Sam Waltham, I. Am. In. Love. With You." he slowly spelt out. He didn't want to tell him, but Sam had forced him.

Sam was shocked. Hell shocked. He didn't know what to say. He had no clue what had just happened. Did he just say that he loved him? He was gay? Bridge's eyes were wild maybe with love? Lust? He had so many questions. So many doubts, but he didn't have the time to reply. He wanted to tell Bridge something. A lot of things actually. About how he felt, about how he wanted to feel, about how he had wanted things to happen. He wanted to ask Bridge since when he had felt these things and al lot more, but his head was spinning, and then, right in front of Bridge, the customs officer gripped his shoulders, Bridge turned and saw kid Sam there, behind, his hands encased in metal, which had finally stopped his teleportation. And the two were pulled away, by the security, as Bridge's flight began boarding, and he made his way back on road to SPD. The Sams were thrown out of the airport, not detained because 1) they were power rangers and 2) Sam was an adult.

But Sam and Bridge couldn't talk.

He'd have to find another way, maybe he'd pick up his calls now, or maybe he'd talk to him at SPD when they finally get back, with all of his other friends.

He knew Bridge had to face a million problems, because of being Jewish and gay. In some societies this literally meant suicide. He'd have to do something about him. Bridge had been one of his best friends in this time, and he couldn't dare to lose him, this way or that.

X-X-X

A/N: the next one will again be a long one, and the last one, highlighting the rangers' last day at Hawaii, and what happens when they return to SPD. Sorry I didn't include Sky and Z in this chapter, maybe the first one I've done ever. Anyway, the next chapter will have the end to Sam and Bridge's story arc and a final closing off to the whole story.

PS. I'm no master in Japanese language or traditions, so forgive me for any mistakes here, all I know is from anime.