DISCLAIMER: I don't own Power Rangers, Jason (Austin St. John), Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson), Kat (Catherine Sutherland) or Tommy (Jason David Frank). Although the prospect of owning JDF is appealing, I'm sure his wife would have a problem with that.
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Author's Notes: I don't know what possessed me to write this. I suppose its because I was watching some old episodes of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers recently (my favorite show as a kid) and listening to this song and got inspired. I'm a huge Tommy/Kimberly fan. So much, in fact, that after they writers decided to have Kim break it off with Tommy in that horrible 'Dear John' letter, I quit watching the show. I couldn't stomach the fact that Tommy was going to end up with Kat. No offense to Kat fans, but I thought she was a horrible Kim replacement and found her nauseating. The only saving grace for her would have been if she ended up with Jason. I think they would have balanced each other nicely. Jason seemed to go well with the pink ranger. I mean, if Kim had to be with anybody else it would have been Jason so I suppose that's why I wrote this fic. It's still a T/K all the way, but it explores the feelings I believe Jason had for the lovely pink ranger.
Anyway, here it is. It's a oneshot songfic to the song "Whenever You Come Around" by Vince Gill.
Whenever You Come Around
By akksgurl
She was beautiful. She always had been, but somehow in this moment she was even more beautiful. Her graceful limbs bending and twirling to some silent song only she could hear. She held him captivated and he found himself holding his breath unconsciously. He didn't want this moment to end. He didn't want the spell to break and reality to set back in again. She wasn't his. She never would be, but in that moment he could pretend. If only for a moment.
The face of an angel
Pretty eyes that shine
I lie awake at night
Wishing you were mine
Her landing was perfect and the spell was broken with a cry of exuberance among her team – both on and off the mat. Her smile was as bright as the sun in Angel Grove and her happiness shown through her eyes as she gazed into the crowds in the stands, her eyes connecting with the one she sought.
Tommy Oliver – her white knight.
Jason smiled softly to himself. Tommy wasn't a white ranger anymore, but he knew Kim would always think of him that way. Tommy – always risking life and limb to rescue the woman he loved more than he loved himself. Jason had never considered Kimberly the wilting flower type, but she always seemed to get weak kneed around Tommy. From the first moment she'd laid eyes on him, Jason knew her heart was forever lost to him. Jason had wanted to hate Tommy for it, but he couldn't. He genuinely liked Tommy. And Tommy, Jason knew, loved Kimberly above all other things.
I'm standing here holding
The biggest heartache in town
Whenever you come around
Jason sat back and watched their budding romance silently. He never let on that he wanted to be the one Kimberly greeted with a flirtatious smile at her locker after every class. He never showed that he wished it was his shoulder she'd put her head on. No one ever knew that every day, his heart broke a little bit more.
Maybe that was why it'd been so easy to give up his powers and join Trini and Zack at the Peace Conference. Being a ranger had ceased to mean anything to him after Tommy had become the leader. The only thing Jason had over Tommy was his authority over the team. Kimberly had looked up to him as a leader and had trusted his judgment, but Jason knew it was all for nothing as soon as Tommy had descended to the ground in a cloud of white and was announced to be the new leader. Jason had felt betrayed by Zordon and Tommy as well. Tommy had stolen the girl and then his spot on the team within a year and Zordon had let him. Then again, as Jason's conscience liked to remind him, Tommy wouldn't have even been on the team had it not been for Jason.
Funny how it all came back to bite him.
So Jason had left. He'd left behind the team that no longer meant anything to him and the girl who meant everything but didn't love him in return. He'd left without a backward glance. His last mission as a ranger was to find a successor and he'd chosen Rocky DeSantos. It was a decision he wasn't quite sure he was happy with, but he believed that subconsciously he'd chosen Rocky – a sub-par martial artist in comparison – to spite the team. To spite Tommy, more specifically. Fortunately – or unfortunately depending on your vantage point – Rocky was a good ranger. And Tommy, as it turned out, was an excellent leader; perhaps even better than Jason himself.
Jason hadn't been there when Tommy had gotten The Letter at the Juice Bar, but Billy had told him what it had said. Jason couldn't believe what Kimberly had done. Three years together and she'd thrown Tommy to the wind like he hadn't meant anything to her. His heart broke for Tommy, knowing his best friend would be half alive without Kimberly, but at the same time Jason found himself hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, this time he'd get his chance.
I get weak in the knees
And I lose my breath
Oh, I try to speak
But the words won't come
I'm so scared to death
He'd flown from Switzerland like a madman and found himself on Kimberly's doorstep, panting from having run halfway there from the airport. She wasn't as surprised as he'd expected her to be. She wasn't even happy, in fact. The first thing Jason noticed about his beautiful ex-pink ranger was that her brown eyes were rimmed with red.
She'd been crying and Jason instantly felt horrible for his hopeful musings on the plane ride over. She'd never be his. Together or not, her heart belonged to Tommy.
After a few minutes of silent staring, Kimberly had collapsed into his arms in a quiver, sobbing heap, mumbling through her tears unintelligible words he couldn't comprehend. All he knew was that she regretted The Letter. He could feel that much in the way she was gripping his collar and panting through her tears.
"Why'd you do it?" he'd croaked, not sure if he truly wanted to know or not but unable to keep the words from spilling from his throat.
She wrenched herself away from his arms and spun angrily, pacing dramatically around the apartment, "Because I'm an idiot!" she shouted, smacking her face in emphasis, "Because all I can think about is that Kat is up there with him and I'm down here! Because he always fit so well with the Pink Ranger and now that I'm not that girl anymore…why would he want me!"
His heart broke – not just for himself, but for his beautiful Kimberly who was so broken over everything that had happened. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and show her that she could survive without Tommy Oliver. That he could give her the love she thought she'd die without. But instead of saying those words, Jason found himself bestowing the wonders of Kimberly and why Tommy will always be the one for her.
And when you smile that smile
The world turns upside down
Whenever you come around
Jason had moved on autopilot, calming Kimberly and then arranging a flight to Angel Grove from her apartment phone. He needed to move quickly. He didn't want to lose his momentum and crumble into a sobbing heap like Kimberly had been. He was being noble. He was tired of being noble. He wanted to stop it and just take her in his arms and forget the world. He wanted to show her that he'd love her forever if she'd just let him.
Instead, Jason found himself on a plane with Kimberly. A plane taking her back to Tommy and effectively squelching his dreams forever. The entire flight was quiet. Neither wanted to talk to the other, instead choosing to hold their emotions in check.
I feel so helpless
I feel just like a kid
What is it about you
That makes me keep my feelings hid
Jason wanted to pretend that he was happy for her when she found herself back in Tommy's arms, but his smile couldn't quite reach his eyes. The red Zeo ranger had been more receptive to Kimberly than Jason had expected – or hoped. His eyes had lit up when Kimberly had told him the entire thing was a horrible mistake; that she hadn't meant a word. Everybody was happy that the Power Couple was back on solid ground. Almost everybody at least. Jason knew he was only fooling himself if he swore that part of him wasn't disappointed and he could tell in Kat's eyes that she was less than thrilled herself.
It was in that moment that he felt he'd found a kindred spirit in the new Pink Ranger. Unrequited love gave them a bond he never quite had with anybody else. She loved Tommy and he loved Kimberly but the feelings weren't returned. They never would be returned.
You couldn't bust up soul mates, no matter how hard you tried.
I wish I could tell you
But the words can't be found
Whenever you come around.
So now Jason found himself standing in the stands; just another face in the crowd as Kimberly was cheered for her flawless performance in the Pan Global gymnastics competition. He hadn't expected her to go back to Florida once she found herself safely in Tommy's arms again, but to her surprise his long-haired best friend had insisted. He wanted her to finish what she'd started and then come back to him.
Jason still found himself jealous of the fact that – no matter the distance – her eyes always seemed to find Tommy. Her smile – that smile that could tear down any barrier he erected around his heart to protect himself from her – was almost always directed at Tommy now. Jason missed it when she'd look at him that same way. Or maybe he just missed the way he let his imagination believe she was looking at him that way. She never really saw him the way he wanted her to.
I get weak in the knees
And I lose my breath
Oh, I try to speak
But the words won't come
I'm so scared to death
Tommy turned and looked at Jason, a smile laced with love and devotion for Kimberly on his handsome face, "Should I do it now, or wait till later?"
Jason sighed as he looked wistfully down to where Kimberly was receiving roses from her fans and cheers from the stands. He felt his heart tightening a little bit, but he said the one thing he knew in his heart Tommy really wanted to hear, "Do it now, bro. You know she'll say yes."
Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled the small velvet case from within, clutching it in his hand tightly. He gave Jason a smirk and made his way carefully down the stands to where Kimberly was standing, awaiting the scores from the judges.
With Tommy's spot vacated, Kat was on Jason's right side now and she scooted closer to him, "So this is it, huh? He's going to ask her."
Jason nodded, unable to form words as a lump was created in his throat. Within moments, Kimberly was going to be completely lost to him, but, Jason realized, she was never really within his grasp to begin with.
And when you smile that smile
The world turns upside down
Whenever you come around
He couldn't hear the question Tommy asked. He couldn't hear Kimberly's response. All Jason could comprehend was that Tommy was sliding the small diamond he'd spent his life savings purchasing onto her finger and Kimberly was jumping into his arms like an ecstatic child on Christmas.
That was it. It was over. An entire lifetime of dreaming and wishing came to a screeching halt in that moment. He could sense his friends running down the stands to surround the couple, but Jason found himself frozen in that spot. Kimberly's beautiful brown eyes had ascended the crowd and found his like she used to do so many times in the past before Tommy had clouded her vision.
She moved to him, a vision of loveliness among the crowded gymnasium. Jason sensed Kat move back to let Kimberly through, but he noticed nothing other than the petite brunette who filled his senses with a longing that overcame him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed – the hug of a friend, not a lover – but Jason relished in the feeling anyway.
"Thank you." She whispered, burying her face in his chest, "I wouldn't be this happy if it wasn't for you." She looked up at, "You're the best friend a girl could ever have, Jase. I love you."
"I love you too…" he replied, saying the three words he'd longed to say to her for as long as he could remember but knowing she didn't sense the depth with which he meant them.
She smiled her beautiful smile at him before turning to run back to Tommy's waiting arms. To run out of his life and out of his reach forever.
And when you smile that smile
The whole world turns upside down
Whenever you come around
Kat patted Jason on the shoulder and cocked her head to the side with a sad smile, "I know exactly what you're feeling." She said softly, "It'll get better. I promise."
Jason looked at the pretty blonde – really looked at her – for the first time since meeting her. His eyes weren't clouded with visions of Kimberly anymore. For the first time in his life he was seeing clearly. He was seeing a lovely girl who loved the other half of the Power Couple and who had walked away from it in one piece.
Maybe there was hope for him yet.
Jason smiled at her and extended his elbow in a gentlemanly gesture, "Shall we go congratulate the couple?" he asked. Kat smiled at him and nodded, linking her arm through his.
Whenever you come around