Of Scoops, Slices and Sunsets

Disclaimer: Not mine, plain and simple.

Chapter 14: Flash Fiction Friday

"Ugghhhh…." RJ groaned as he stood in the kitchen, blearily staring at the countertop beneath his hands, fingers weakly curled over the knife he used to pare vegetables. It was eight o'clock in the morning, the usual time he began doing the morning prep work required to open Jungle Karma Pizza. However the night before he, Fran and his students had been caught up in a videogame tournament. Fran had been the smart one and bowed out at eleven, Casey being the one to walk her home that night. When the red Ranger had returned, he was immediately swept back into the games. Eventually the others went to sleep one by one until RJ and Casey were left, battling it out until around four in the morning when they finally called it quits and vowed to pick the controllers back up the following night.

RJ's body protested at being up and about after a mere three and a half hours of sleep. He ached. Honestly, it almost felt like he had a hangover but the wolf Ranger knew for a fact that there wasn't any alcohol in the loft. His students were all underage and really, it wasn't his thing.

Gingerly, RJ slid the knife away from himself and let out a huge yawn, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "I'm awake," he mumbled to no one in particular. "But at what cost?"

The answer came in the form of Fran cheerfully slipping into the kitchen. "Morning, RJ!" She trilled as she plopped down a large, steaming thermos of tea in front of her friend. Without even tasting it, RJ immediately knew that Fran had brought him citrus-hibiscus tea, one of his favorite caffeinated flavors. She also slid a wrapped breakfast sandwich next to the thermos. "I thought you could use it this morning," Fran told him with a wink. "I brought enough for the others too."

As her words and the kindness of her gesture that was so completely Fran sank in, RJ smiled softly. "Oh, I see."

Fran tilted her head, betraying her curiosity. "See what?"

RJ pulled her into a hug that managed to be tight and tender all at once. "You. You're what makes getting up so early worth it."

Bashfully, Fran smiled into his shoulder as she hugged him back.

Silence rang in the loft. The battle had been fierce. Difficult. Utterly exhausting. The Rangers did not come through it unscathed. Upon return, Casey immediately made a beeline for his room, unceremoniously throwing himself onto his bed and falling asleep. Lily and Theo stuck together, tending to their wounds. As for RJ, he was sat with Fran on the stairs leading to his sleeping area. In the past, RJ would have told Fran not to worry about any injuries he had sustained in battle, his unique abilities as a Pai Zhuq master would speed up his healing process. However he relented once Fran had asked him to let her patch him up. It was the least she could do to help, she had insisted and seeing the helplessness and frustration in her amber depths had him caving.

As gently as possible, Fran smoothed a salve over the cuts and scrapes over RJ's knuckles as well as the back of his hands. It had been a cheap attack, hitting RJ with a blast while the man had been unmorphed and unaware. Something that had the wolf Ranger seething though he managed to keep his rage in check while in Fran's presence. Instead, RJ distracted himself by taking note of the pleasant warmth of Fran's hands. They were small, freckles dancing about. Her skin was not completely smooth due to the hard work she put into the restaurant, sometimes shouldering the responsibility of running the place completely on her own.

Oftentimes, RJ mentally chided himself. Fran often ran the restaurant without any of them. How she did it without complaint was beyond him, but it was a fact that both awed and humbled him. On top of running Jungle Karma, Fran was there for the Rangers emotionally, always lending an ear to listen to and the occasional shoulder to cry on, making sure that they ate and rested. Fran kept them in balance.

She kept him in balance.

Without Fran, RJ had no idea what he would do, but he didn't have any desire to find out.

He broke the silence by tentatively asking her, "You do know that I appreciate you, don't you, Fran?"

Fran looked at him with a bemused smile on her face. "Are you telling me all of the 'thank yous' and the hugs and…oh I don't know…accepting my salary suddenly being tripled without blinking doesn't mean anything?"

He laughed. "Well, I mean, that pay raise was the least I could do."

"You know," Fran mused. "I probably should have thought that there was more to it when I was offered so much money. Working with the Power Rangers just never crossed my mind."

"You should have probably suspected something a little out of the ordinary once you became friends with me," RJ told her blithely as he winked.

"True."

Fran made to grab the gauze to wrap over the medicine covered wounds when RJ slid his hands beneath hers. He lifted her hands to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to each one. "I don't just appreciate you, Fran," he told her seriously. "I adore you."

Flustered beyond words, it took Fran a moment to find her voice. "I-I adore you too, RJ."

He covered the space between them, kissing her softly. Fran startled for a second before sighing and kissing him back, gently cradling his jaw, her thumb stroking his cheek. She smiled slightly into the kiss as she felt the prickle of his unshaven skin beneath her touch. When the need for air made itself apparent, RJ pulled away and rested his forehead against Fran's, squeezing her hands in his.

"When all of this is over," RJ began in the same hushed tone he used earlier. "When Dai Shi is gone and the city is safe…when we are safe…will you go out with me?"

Fran beamed brightly, the smile lighting in her eyes. "Absolutely."

RJ kissed her again in joy.

Okay so not the cleverest of titles, but it'll do.

Why do I always have them kissing the other's hand? Why is that their thing?

I'm not sure when Calculated Risk will be updated honestly. Hopefully next week but I've been working a lot of hours and I am beat. I need a day off and do nothing! Then I can focus on updating.