Revelations
By Dany
PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, one impulsive move can change things quite dramatically…

"Dude, why did he make this run so long?" Dustin panted as he slumped down heavily next to Shane. "That was at least ten miles there."

Shane only nodded, too occupied with catching his breath to respond verbally. The Air ninja leaned back in the grass, chest heaving.

"I think he's still mad about yesterday," he said after a few moments, glaring up at Dustin. "I told you that putting hot sauce on his guinea pig food was a bad idea."

"Yeah, well, lesson learned." The Earth ninja flashed a goofy grin. "You gotta admit, though, it was wicked funny!"

"Yeah," Shane chuckled. "Who would've thought that guinea pigs can make faces like that."

The two young men lay side by side for several minutes, simply recuperating from their penalty run. The sounds of the forest were all around them and the soft rustling of the wind through the tree branches was soothing enough to lull Dustin to sleep. He was hovering on the brink of dreamland when Shane's voice abruptly brought him back.

"Hey, you got homework to do later?"

"No, why?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Cool. Wanna play some video games at my place? I snatched the last one of the new Mortal Kombat games from Blockbuster yesterday."

That got Dustin's attention. "No way! I've been trying to get one of those for weeks, but they are always reserved!" He sat up excitedly.

Shane did, too, looking smug. "That's 'cause you don't have connections like me."

"So did you try it yet?"

The Air ninja flashed a huge grin. "Dude, it rocks! I played 'till after midnight last night."

Dustin threw a playful punch at him. "Bet I can still kick your butt, though."

Shane caught Dustin's fist. "Keep dreaming, bro!"

Laughing, the two young men scrambled to their feet and made their way back to Ninja Ops to change. Then they raced to Shane's house.

In Shane's room…

Dustin had to laugh at the look of stunned disbelief on Shane's face as the Red Ranger watched the TV screen where his fighter was getting the snot beat out of him.

"Super Kombo??? How do you even know any Super Kombos??? You said you haven't played this yet!!" Shane fixed Dustin with a glare, but that look was lost on the Yellow Ranger who had already turned back to the screen.

"Watch this!" Dustin was pressing buttons on his console in lightening-quick succession, and Shane could only stare helplessly as his fighter went down in a spray of blood and fire.

Fatality! Flawless Victory! was flashing across the screen and Shane threw his console away with a disgusted exclamation. "That was just so wrong!"

He regarded Dustin through narrowed eyes. "You been reading the cheat codes online!"

Dustin was grinning from ear to ear. "Of course! Dude, I told you - I've been on the waiting list at Blockbuster for that game for ever. What else was I gonna do in the meantime?"

"You are so gonna pay for this!" Shane growled, but the twinkle in his eyes belied his serious face as he pounced on the Earth ninja. The two young men ended up in a tangled heap on the floor, rolling across the carpet of Shane's room. Shane was stronger than Dustin, but the Earth ninja was faster, and before the Red Ranger could pin Dustin's arms to the floor, he brought his knees up, scissored them around Shane's waist and flipped him over onto his back. The momentum swung him around as well and he ended up sprawled across the Air ninja's body.

Dustin looked down – and onto a scenario he had been dreaming about for a long time.

Shane's face, his scent, the feel of his body underneath him…Dustin reacted purely on instinct. A part of his brain screamed 'NO!' even as he pressed his lips onto Shane's, but it was already too late. He could feel Shane freeze, but strangely enough, the Air ninja didn't pull away. And for a blissful moment longer, Dustin kissed his best friend before the voice in his head finally broke through.

'My god, what am I doing?' "Oh, damn! Shane, I…I'm sorry!" Dustin scrambled off him. He slumped onto the carpet with his back to Shane, hugging his knees with his arms. He closed his eyes and let out a quivering sigh. 'Why the hell did I just do that?' he thought miserably. 'Shane never knew how I feel and now he's gonna hate me!'

A queasy feeling was spreading in his gut and Dustin hoped he wasn't going to be sick right here, right now.

"Dustin," came Shane's voice from behind him. Dustin didn't move. Then there was movement off to his side, a presence close to him.

"Dustin," Shane said again, quiet but insistent. This time Dustin turned his head.

Their eyes met, and to his surprise Dustin saw no anger in his friend's handsome dark face; only confusion.

"What was that?" Shane asked quietly, almost gently.

"That was our friendship going down the drain," Dustin replied in a shaky voice.

Shane frowned. "Bro, quit talking stupid. We were horsing around and I guess stuff like that happens sometimes. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing…" Shane was watching Dustin's face intently. "…right?"

Dustin suddenly broke eye contact with his friend and studied the floor.

"Right?" Shane repeated. He received only silence for an answer.

After what seemed a long moment, however, Dustin did answer his friend – with a simple shake of his head, and if he had looked at Shane at that moment he would have seen the Air ninja's eyes go wide at his silent confession.

"Look, can't we just forget what just happened?" Dustin whispered, raking his hand through his chocolate curls, still looking at anything but Shane. "It was a dumb thing to do, I mean, I know you're straight, and I can understand if you're really mad now…"

"Dude, I'm not mad. More like…perplexed, I guess," Shane interrupted him. "I just didn't know that you weren't." Dustin threw him a puzzled look.

"Straight, I mean," Shane explained.

Dustin shook his head, frustration written all over his face. "God, Shane, I don't know what I am!" he exclaimed. "I mean…I like girls and all, and it's not like I'm looking at every guy who walks past me! Just…" Miserably, he shook his head again, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

"Just…" Shane was peering at him, eyebrows raised, and Dustin's gaze dropped back to the carpet.

"Just…you," the Yellow Ranger mumbled.

If he hadn't already been crouched down next to Dustin, then this subsequent disclosure would definitely have catapulted him onto his butt. "Since when have you been feeling…that way?" Shane probed carefully.

Dustin looked as uncomfortable as Shane had ever seen him. It was strange to see his usually so carefree friend like this, and Shane had to curb his automatic instinct to reach out and hug him.

The Yellow Ranger was picking at a stray carpet hair. "I'm not sure. Sometime after we joined the academy, I think."

Shane's brows lifted even higher. But that was eight months ago!

"Must have been that training uniform." The words were out of his mouth before Shane could prevent it, and Dustin actually chuckled.

"Probably," the Earth ninja replied with a lopsided half-grin. The mood momentarily lightened between them, but it didn't last. Before long, Dustin's shoulders slumped again and his face reassumed its earlier miserable expression.

"Shane, can we pleeaase forget this ever happened?" he repeated his earlier plea, and his face fell when Shane shook his head. But the Red Ranger had a strange look on his own face when he leaned closer towards Dustin. "No, let's not forget what happened, because I'm not sure if I want to forget it."

What made Dustin look up sharply wasn't so much what Shane had said but how he had said it. A subtle undertone in the Air ninja's voice, a gentleness that instinctively sent Dustin's heart racing. It couldn't possibly be…could it?

For the first time since the kiss, Dustin locked eyes with Shane.

"What are you saying?" he breathed. The Yellow Ranger's eyes were huge and round, and for some indefinable reason, Shane felt his heart flutter at that sight.

He knew he looked somewhat at a loss, but he did not break eye contact. "I dunno, this is all really confusing. I guess…I mean, I think…" Realizing he was babbling, he sighed and made a helpless shrugging gesture. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm flattered, Dustin."

Dustin blinked. "Flattered?"

"Yeah, I mean, we've been best friends forever. You're like a brother to me, and…"

He broke off in mid-sentence when he saw Dustin's disheartened face and realized too late that this had probably been the utterly wrong thing to say. He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's just that I've never thought about anyone that way, you know?"

Dustin nodded curtly and opened his mouth to speak, but Shane quickly continued. "But if I ever did, then…you would be the one I'd be looking at first."

Dustin's mouth snapped closed and the Earth ninja looked at him with such a surprised expression it was almost comical.

The corners of Shane's mouth quirked. "Oh, and kissing you wasn't so bad, either." As soon as those words had left his mouth, Shane started. Did I really just say that?

Dustin actually smiled faintly. "For real?"

Then his expression changed, and Shane watched the uncertainty creep back into the Earth ninja's face before the young man took a deep breath and met Shane's eyes. He seemed to be steeling himself for something.

"Wanna try again, maybe?" The words were barely a whisper.

And strangely enough, Shane found himself nodding.

Their second kiss was worlds apart from the first. Still closed-mouthed and chaste, it was nevertheless as intoxicating to Dustin as the deepest French kiss he had ever indulged in. Slow, gentle, caring…and Shane was more responsive than Dustin had anticipated. Dustin kept his eyes closed, losing himself in the exquisite feeling of his best friend's sensuous lips.

It was a kiss that went straight into his soul.

They didn't touch each other, and Dustin was actually glad about that, for if Shane had so much as brushed his fingertips against him at that very moment, he most likely would have lost the desperate grip he had on his remaining little bit of self-control. And if this kiss continued, for that matter…

But then it was over. Shane's lips retreated and Dustin stifled a moan at the sense of loss.

Slowly he opened his eyes to look into his friend's face, only inches from his own. The myriad of emotions he saw there startled him. Shane's chest was heaving at least as much as it had just a few hours ago in the woods, and his eyes were glazed. Dustin briefly wondered if he looked the same. He must have, for he could feel his heart hammering against his rib cage with the ferocity of a steam train.

Shane blinked rapidly a few times, as if to reel himself back into reality, and licked his lips. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. "I…I need some time to think about this, D.

I don't know what's happening here; this is all so new…and fast." He cleared his throat. "…and confusing."

Dustin managed to nod. "Take all the time you need." Anything, anything you want, Shane.

"I can't give you any guarantees…"

"I know, and it's ok. Really." As long as there's a shred of hope, I'll wait. Dustin gave Shane what he hoped was a comforting enough smile. It actually wasn't so hard to smile right now. Dustin did feel lighter, now that the burden of secrecy had been lifted off his shoulders. Shane knew and was cool with it. That was all that counted. And as far as what the future might hold…they would just have to take it day by day, and if Shane decided not to take this any further, then they would still be friends. It would be hard, but Dustin knew it would be even harder to lose their precious friendship.

"So, are you up for another round?" Shane's voice suddenly derailed his train of thought and Dustin cast him a hopeful look.

"The game," Shane added hastily and nodded towards the Playstation. "I meant the game."

"Oh, uhmm…sure." Dustin caught the wireless console Shane tossed him and leaned back against the couch.

"And no Super Kombos this time," Shane crawled towards the Playstation, re-set the game and settled back down next to Dustin. That he sat closer than before was not lost on the Earth ninja.

"And this time, your butt is mine," Shane said, and Dustin threw him an incredulous side-glance. Was this just an innocent pun, or...?

The Red Ranger's eyes never left the screen, but Dustin could have sworn he saw his friend grin for an instant before the poker face was back in place.

Dustin turned back to the TV screen as well. Yup, this is definitely gonna be interesting from now on.

THE END