Disclaimer: If I owned Power Rangers, I would not waste my time writing fanfiction; I'd be putting this stuff in the show every week. Clearly, I don't own it. So don't sue.

A/N: Some Conner/Kira fluff I was working on. Set prior to the White Thunder saga.

A/N 2: This is my final chapter, and I'd like to thank everyone for their support.

Wonderwall

"Why do they call it a crush, anyway?" Conner asked the next morning, taking a seat at the island in the kitchen and tossing an apple back and forth between his hands. "Oh, yeah, because it rips out your internal organs and stomps the living crap out of them. Crush."

"Oh, Conner, sweetie," his mother said with a sad smile, putting down her frying pan and sitting across from him. "Who is it?"

"This girl from school." Conner sighed and rolled his eyes. "She's a psychopath."

"I'm glad to see you're expanding your horizons," she said dryly.

He took a heavy bite of his apple and chewed it more than necessary before swallowing and saying, "She's completely crazy, Mom. Last night I found out that she had a crush on me back in, like, ninth grade. And now she hates me, and I don't freaking get it."

"Girls are complicated, honey."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I can't. You're a teenager, you already think you know everything. And here's something else you should know. You're going to be late for soccer practice, honey."

"Am I?" Conner checked the clock on the wall. He'd overslept this morning, owing to the fact that he'd spent half of last night getting overly frustrated with himself and engaging in a boxing match with his pillow. "I guess I am. Hmm. I should really get a watch or something."

"You mean you don't have one?" He shook his head. "Then what's that on your wrist--?" she asked, reaching her hand out for his com bracelet.

He jerked his hand away. "Nothing, nothing," he said quickly. He stood up.

His mother grinned. "I bet I know what that is."

Conner paled, hit by a wave of panic, that combated with the notion in his brain that there was no possible way his mother could know that her son was actually the Red Ranger.

"It's a gift from that girl, isn't it," she said.

Conner relaxed. "Yeah, it is," he said. "Gotta go, Mom, see you later."

"Have fun at practice. Oh, and Conner? Good luck with your girl," she said.

"Right. Thanks," Conner answered, grabbing his jacket and backpack and running out to his car. He neglected to mention to his mother that today was the day he fully intended to snag one of the soccer groupies that had been coming to watch him since the ninth grade. If there was any way to get over Kira, replacing her had to be it.

Conner jogged across the field to where Zack Clark, the team captain, was giving the team a pep talk of some kind. Everyone had always assumed that Conner would be made the captain, but he was too much of a rogue to assume the role and didn't want the responsibility heaped on him. Ironic, how the same year that he had denied captainship of the team, he had been made into the leader of the Power Rangers.

"You're late, McKnight."

"No way," Conner panted. "It's five of."

"Whatever, let's just get going, all right?" Zack said.

Conner threw himself into practice, playing with a ferocity that he rarely pulled out of his bag for practices, only for games. But he was currently a ball of hormones, so it seemed appropriate to just let loose. He was exhausted when Zack finally blew the whistle that they could go home, and he squeezed his water bottle at his face. Some of it got in his mouth, most of it splashed his face, dripping off his hair. "You were really good, McKnight. I hope you can keep that up for our game next week."

"Is there any doubt?" Conner asked.

"Sometimes you catch me by surprise, Conner," Zack said. "Like your bizarro little stunt with that weird singer chick at the dance last night. I know you were just trying to piss Wingate off, but that was a creepy way to go about doing it."

Conner shrugged and turned away, knowing that if he'd been facing Zack, the senior would probably have seen Conner's pained expression. "Yeah, well, I like to spice things up," Conner said, keeping his voice detached and nonchalant. "But as far as girls go, I've seen a lot weirder than Kira Ford, you know? Most chicks will play head games with you, but least with her, you always know where you stand."

"Gotta admire that, I guess," Zack said. Conner chanced a glance at his teammate. Zack smirked. "So where exactly do you stand with her?"

Conner laughed. "She hates my guts after that little stunt."

"I can imagine. But you guys are like, friends or some junk, right? You two and that Ethan kid from the computer club."

"Yeah, they're pretty decent people," Conner admitted. "We got saddled together for a, uh, group project, and it turns out they're not half bad."

"Hmm. Well, whatever. Just keep your game in check and get back to me."

"Can do," Conner said. He crossed the field on the way to his car, but was stopped en route by the sight of two girls sitting on the bleachers. He recognized them, two sophomore girls who'd been watching him since last year. Decently cute, but cookie cutter preppy types, no real individual mark like Kira. But he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Kira. Using that as his resolve, he approached. "Hey."

They regarded each other with wide eyes, before the blond spoke. "Ohmigod, you're Conner McKnight."

"Um…yep," he said, tossing his bocce ball up in the air and catching it neatly.

"Why are you talking to us?" the brunette asked, as awestruck as her friend, but slightly more suspicious.

"Well, you two come to practices a lot," Conner said, "and I just thought it was really cool that you supported us so much. And I wanted to say thanks."

They looked at each other again, stifling giggles just barely, but unable to hide their incredulous and yet overjoyed grins. The blond smiled. "Well, you're…really good. You know?"

"I hope you mean the whole team and not just me," he said. "Because it's a group effort all the way."

"Oh, we do, we do," the brunette said, apparently convinced that his team player attitude --something that he admittedly hadn't really had before becoming a Ranger-- made him a sweet guy, and he wasn't trying to trick them into anything. Conner couldn't help but wonder what on earth had happened to her to make her hold that suspicion. "You're all fantastic."

"I was just going to head out and get a post-practice snack," he said. "Do you guys want to come?"

They glanced at each other yet again.

"Is he…" the brunette said.

"Are you…" the blond said.

"You're dating that weird guitarist though, aren't you?" the brunette finally said.

Conner blinked. "Kira?"

The blond looked dismayed when he mentioned Kira's name, but he quickly added, "No, no, nothing like that."

"Oh," they breathed simultaneously, their faces infused with hope again.

"So...food?" he asked.

The blond opened her mouth to answer, but the words that floated through the air were, "Conner! There you are; I've been looking for you."

Since the girl in front of him hadn't spoken, he turned around, and saw Kira crossing the grass to him. "Yeah, well, I'm on the soccer field, that comes as a surprise to you?" he said.

"Not in the slightest. Would you come with me? We need to talk."

The sophomores both slumped. "Told you," the brunette muttered, as Kira dragged Conner off before he could explain anything to the girls.

"Kira, for the love of--what are you doing?"

A safe distance away from the bleachers and Conner's would-be distraction, Kira faced him and rolled her eyes before saying, "Look, I was unfair to you yesterday, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for going off on you. It was really unnecessary."

"Oh, you think?"

"I'm trying to apologize, idiot, don't make this any harder than it already is."

"With heartfelt sentimentality like that, how can I say no?"

"Why are you so huffy all of a sudden? I thought you'd be thrilled that I was sorry."

"Because I was talking to those girls and you dragged me away."

"What, bored with me already?" she asked.

"You didn't want me to like you anyway, remember?"

"You're making this whole 'feeling bad' thing really hard."

"And you're making this whole liking you thing even harder."

"Then maybe you should just stop."

"I'm trying to," he grumbled, "but you just killed my best chance."

"Soccer groupies," she said flatly.

"People who actually like me. Unlike a ridiculous crush on the one girl at school who hates my guts."

"I don't hate your guts, Conner, geez!"

"You sure have a funny way of showing it!" he said. They were both yelling now, which embarrassed Conner greatly, but before he could think of a way to get out of this and keep his dignity in tact, Kira had grabbed the collar of his soccer uniform and pulled him down to her height to kiss him squarely on the mouth.

He didn't have a chance to really get into it before she released him. He spluttered. "What...was that?"

"Payback," she said hotly, then a fierce blush set her face aflame, as horror seeped into her eyes and she darted away.

"Kira… Kira!" he said, sighing as he realized he was going to have to chase her yet again. He grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Would you just stop running away so we can a freaking conversation? And I mean a real one this time, no yelling."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"We have everything to talk about," he said. She still looked uncertain; annoyed, even. He let go of her arm. "We have to work together, right? We shouldn't be leaving things unresolved."

"Fine. Let's go somewhere then."

"I have my car. You name the place."

"I have somewhere in mind..."
"What is this place?"

"Well, remember the day that Ethan first dragged us to the Cyberspace, said he wanted us to know what he was about?" Conner nodded. "Well, this is what I'm about." She gestured her hand at the grove of trees around them, blocking them from the rest of the park. It was by the lake, and a lot more peaceful than the woods. The fact that they'd never ran into a pack of drones in the park didn't hurt the serenity factor. "This is where I come --where I used to come, not so much anymore-- to relax and write songs and things."

"It's really cool here," Conner said. There were some large boulders in the clearing, situated in the shade and big enough for sitting on, as if nature had intended this place to be where two teenagers could sit and talk their muddled lives to death. Conner sat down, wishing that he'd had a chance to change out of his uniform. When Kira had first accosted him, his jersey had been plastered to his back with sweat.

"Yeah, I love it here," she said, perching on a different boulder. "So. Talk." They'd managed to keep silent, save for Kira's occasional driving directions, for the duration of the car ride. Which had helped calm Conner's nerves, and at the same time, bring his anxiety to a new level.

He attempted to cross his legs under him Indian-style, but the configuration of the rock wouldn't allow him the position comfortably. He shuffled and shifted for a bit before finally getting comfy. "Where should we start?"

"How about we start at the part where you like me," she suggested. There was a less-than-pleasant note in her voice. He cast her a warning look and reminded her that they'd agreed to keep things nice. "Okay, I'm sorry." She sighed, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly, as if composing herself. She opened them again. "Right. Let's go. You…like me."

"Yeah," he admitted, blushing, even though he'd stated it plainly the night before. It was weirdly hard to say it now. He figured it was because they were out in the open, in plain daylight, approaching this like rational people instead of in a heated screaming match.

With a flash, Conner remembered Kira kissing him --her actually kissing him, not his bizarre fluke at the dance-- and his face burned even brighter.

"It was an accident that I kissed you. I never meant to, honestly. I never even dreamed about it, I just was really ticked off at Wingate, and I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry about that. You have no idea how sorry," he added under his breath.

"Can I ask why?" Kira said softly.

"Why I'm sorry?"

"No, why you like me."

That was a question he hadn't been expecting to be saddled with. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, you're, you're um…" he wracked his brain, trying to find a suitable word to describe her looks without offending her, as he was bound to do, before finally settling on the classic, "beautiful. And you're incredibly talented, I mean, your songs are amazing. And you don't care what anyone thinks about you, and you're a really good Ranger, and…well, a whole lot of things," he trailed off lamely, having realized that he was in the middle of a babbling tirade, and probably looked like a huge idiot.

"Oh. Wow. I…wow," she said.

"Yeah. So. Um. Listen, I know you like Trent and all that, and if you do, that's fine. I guess I just want to know where I stand, is all. I'm not asking you to like me back, I'm not asking for anything to change. It was an accident that this whole thing got started, and it was my fault, so don't feel like you owe me anything."

"I don't hate you," she said. "I don't know why you ever came to think that."

"You're mean to me and make fun of me all the time?" he said, and then grinned at how ridiculous it sounded, a six-one soccer-playing jock whining about getting teased by a petite female guitarist.

"You get the same flack from Ethan, and he doesn't hate you."

"Ethan doesn't know how to react with flesh-and-blood people. I think he still kinda thinks that if he touches us, we'll turn out to be pixilated or something."

Kira laughed, but soon got serious again. "Well, I don't hate you."

"Good to know."

"And the Trent thing… I mean, I don't even know if he likes me or not."

"Oh, he likes you, don't be ridiculous," Conner said. "The guy drew a picture of you as a superhero, for crying out loud."

"Well, at least you're upfront about this…I respect that, and I appreciate it."

"Thanks, I think. Or you're welcome. Or both. I'm not sure."

"You know, yesterday, when you got hurt, I was really worried."

"It was nothing serious." He felt just fine this morning.

"But at the time, we didn't know that. And I was scared for you, and it just got me thinking."

"About me."

"About you," Kira confirmed. "And I care about you."

This revelation, while it shouldn't have been surprising, all things considered, stunned Conner. "You mean, like, you--"

Kira held up her hand. "Please. Let's not make this any harder than it already is."

Conner nodded, stood up, and stretched. It was cool in the grove, and he dreaded the thought of going back into the blazing hot sun. If only he and Kira could stay in here forever…

Kira, too, stood up. "So."

"So," he echoed, wondering what he could say. He liked her; she liked him (maybe). "Where do we go from here?"

"We don't go anywhere," she said. "Nothing's ever going to come of this, Conner, you and I both know that."

"Right, of course," he said. He turned to go, to disappear through the bushes the way he'd come in, but he felt Kira's hand closing around his wrist. "Conner, wait," he heard, the words barely reaching his brain as he faced her and they met in a kiss. It surely had been her intent when pulling him back, but as to who actually started it, Conner couldn't say. Nor did he have any way of judging how long they stood there, their mouths melding, but they were both short of breath when it ended. He flashed his trademark grin at her. "Are you sure nothing's ever going to come of this?"

She smiled at that, and it was a beautiful smile. But she shook her head, and sadness was in her eyes. "It can't, Conner."

"Why can't it," he asked in a gentle, teasing voice, taking her hands in his and swinging them back and forth. Kira liked him, liked him a lot, if that kiss was any indication, and he couldn't imagine ever being happier.

Kira gently extracted herself from him. "Because of a lot of things. Because of Trent. Because of the team."

She was right. As much as he found himself wanting her to be wrong, he knew that she was absolutely right. "I do like you, Conner, a lot. But Trent's my friend, and he's your friend, too."

"So you're saying that you don't want anything to do with me until you know what your options are with him."

"I'm not saying that at all," she said, and he felt a twinge of remorse, because he hadn't really meant it. He was hurting, and just spouting the first hateful thing he could, but he had a feeling that she knew he wasn't serious. "Think about the team, Conner, about what we're doing. You said yourself there's nothing more important than it. What if this, what if you and I work out? Imagine what could go wrong if that Elsa whore found out about us --and you know she would-- and used it against the Rangers. Do you want your judgment to be impaired, to be blinded? Do you want the fate of the world resting in the hands of someone who's overcome by grief and can't think straight?"

"No," he said simply, because he didn't. He knew perfectly well how important his job was, and Kira was right, he didn't want to jeopardize anything this huge. Not even for the happiness he'd felt just moments earlier.

The weight of a superhero's life was heavy on his shoulders, but it was the right decision to be made, and he knew it. "It could be worse, Conner," she counseled him.

"You know, Trent…you can never be completely honest with him. You can never trust him like you can trust me."

"Yeah, I know. But maybe it's better that way, you know? It's simple stuff. Simple is good."

She raised up on the tips of her toes and kissed him gently. It seemed like goodbye. "I'm sorry about this, Conner, you have to understand that."

"I understand," he said, and a part of him honestly did understand. He hated it, but he understood completely.

"Okay then. Let's go. Smoothie? My treat…"

Conner nodded, and followed. In the end, he figured, when the chips were cashed, and Kira had to make a decision, she might well choose him. He had more notches in his belt than Trent, all things considered, and what had transpired this afternoon was just another secret between the two of them, locked away from the rest of the world.

This wasn't what Conner had been hoping for, not by a long shot. But it was a start.