A/N: This chapter contains sexual situations between Dustin and Shane. Please consider yourself warned.
When Dustin saw Shane plummet towards the ground he thought his heart would stop from the sight alone. He heard a panicked voice scream his friend's name, realized that it was his own and found himself running towards the crash site with a speed he didn't know he possessed. He barely spared it a glance when the monsters exploded a few yards to his left for his entire attention was firmly fixed on the motionless red form sprawled out on the concrete. He scurried to a stop, dropping to his knees at the same time as a ripple went through Shane's body. The Red Ranger's suit began to shimmer, then evaporated, leaving Shane lying on the ground in his jeans and t-shirt.
Dustin carefully rolled Shane onto his back and bent over him, his frantic gaze traveling over his friend's body and face. Thankfully, he didn't see any obvious injuries, but that didn't mean that there wasn't internal bleeding or that Shane didn't have a concussion – or worse. Dustin's hands were shaking when he reached out to feel under the Red Ranger's jaw. To his relief, he found Shane's pulse right away. "Come on, babe, wake up," he whispered, repeating it like a mantra until he heard hurried boot-steps behind him. Suddenly, Tori, Blake and Hunter were crouched around him, their expressions behind their open visors grave and concerned.
None of them wasted time on needless questions such as 'is he all right?' Instead, Hunter raised his morpher.
"Cam, we need an emergency transport to Ops. NOW!" he barked, and before Dustin could cradle Shane's body into his arms, all five of them started to shimmer and vanished into thin air.
Back at Ops…The Rangers materialized in the middle of Ninja Ops' control room. Dustin blinked rapidly to clear his vision from the transport to see Cam already leaning over Shane, waving his medical scanner over the unconscious ninja's head. They all powered down while Cam was tending to their leader. Without looking up from the readings, he barked to no one in particular, "I need the cot from my room, and also some pillows and blankets."
Blake and Tori jumped into action and were back a few moments later, bearing the requested items. Hunter and Dustin carefully placed Shane onto the cot while Cam kept running the scanner over him, his expression unreadable. When he finally put the device aside, the technician spoke to everybody, but his almond eyes were fixed on the Yellow Ranger.
"He was lucky. Because he was still morphed, a lot of the damage was reflected, plus there was still some of the residual energy from the Battelizer in his suit and that gave him just enough extra protection."
Dustin's shoulders dropped in relief. "So nothing's broken, no internal injuries or stuff like that?"
Cam shook his head. "No, but I'm sure he'll have a killer headache once he wakes up."
"When do you think that'll be?" Tori asked, but Cam shrugged.
"I honestly have no idea."
"Isn't there anything else we can do, Cam?" Hunter was still looking worried.
"Afraid not," Cam replied, "other than monitoring him until he regains consciousness."
"I'll do that." Dustin picked up a chair from the other side of the room, placed it next to Shane's cot and collapsed into it. Then he held out his hand to Cam for the scanning device. "Now, how do I work this thing?"
Let's just go…Shane finally stirred almost an hour later. Dustin was out of the chair in an instant, kneeling next to the cot while Shane's eyelids fluttered open.
"Ouch," the Air ninja winced, made the corresponding face and put a hand on his head. "Killer headache."
Dustin couldn't help but snicker at his friend's unknowing repetition of Cam's exact words. He reached out and ran his hand carefully through Shane's short hair. "Welcome back, man; you had us all scared there for a moment."
Shane squinted at the harsh, fluorescent ceiling lights and Dustin could imagine the pounding that must be going on inside his friend's head.
"What happened?"
"Later." Dustin kept raking his fingers through Shane's hair. "You want an aspirin?"
"No, I want three."
Grinning, glad to be able to do something useful, Dustin jumped up. "One order of assorted drugs, extra potent, coming right up."
He disappeared into Ninja Ops' small kitchenette and returned a minute later with the aspirin and some Gatorade to find Shane propped up on his elbow, eyes scanning the room. "Where's everybody?"
Dustin handed him the pills and unscrewed the top from the sports drink bottle. "Tori had to go home, Blake and Hunter had to head back to the shop, since Blake was supposed to be locking up for me, and Cam is in the Zord Bay."
Shane slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. He popped all three pills at once and took a long swig from the plastic bottle. He looked drained and his dark complexion was still too far on the gray side for Dustin's liking, but when he spoke after a moment, his voice was firm. "Let's get out of here, too, then."
Dustin's gaze turned anxious almost instantly. "I don't know, dude, you really should be resting…"
"Probably, but not here," Shane said determinedly.
"Shane…"
"Dustin, have you ever had to lie on this thing?" Shane threw the cot a mildly disgusted look. "A torture rack is more comfortable than that." His dark eyes looked up at Dustin in a silent plea until the Earth ninja threw up his hands in capitulation.
"All right, I guess, but we better head back to my place, then. 'Cause if your mom were to see you like this…"
Shane made a face. "Yeah, I know. And I don't feel like playing 20 Questions."
"More like thirty," Dustin mumbled, then moved to help Shane get up from the cot. "I'll just leave Cam a note and then we're outta here."
Dustin's room…againUnder the cover of darkness, the two ninjas risked streaking all the way back to the Brooks house, where they came to a stop crouched behind Mr. Brooks' SUV in the driveway. Dustin threw a worried glance at Shane whose forehead was glistening with perspiration. The short streak had clearly exerted him.
"Dude, you need to lie down."
Shane didn't even protest as Dustin pulled his friend's arm across his shoulder and grabbed his waist with his other free hand. Together, they slowly made their way to the front door and Dustin was glad to hear the faint sounds of the television drifting out of the living room as he inched the door open. Great. His parents would never hear them.
They crossed the short hallway and snuck up the stairs, and by the time they reached the upper floor landing, Shane was panting. Once back inside Dustin's room, the Red Ranger dropped onto the bed like a stone. Dustin looked over his exhausted friend for a moment before he patted his knee affectionately.
"You just rest and I'll get you some water, okay?"
Incoherent mumbling was the only reply from the bed.
Repose…Dustin bounded down the stairs, not bothering to hide his presence from his parents this time. Officially, they had been holed up in his room the entire time, after all. But he reached the kitchen unquestioned, where he grabbed the water and a bag of chips, just in case. On the way back out, he paused by the wall phone, thought for a moment, then picked up the receiver and dialed seven familiar digits. A moment later he was speaking to Mrs. Clark, letting her know that Shane had crashed on his couch, wiped out and disillusioned from too many consistent losses playing video games.
The lies came easily to him, even though he didn't like it; he had done it way too many times in the past year.
'The down-parts of being a Ranger,' he thought sadly after he hung up the phone, then took the water and chips up to his room.
Shane had kicked off his sneakers in the meantime, but other than that, the Red Ranger was in the exact same position he had been when Dustin left; arms sprawled out, upper body stretched across the entire mattress, whereas his legs from the knees on down were hanging off the bed. Not to mention that he was also dead asleep.
Should have expected that…With a resigned sigh, Dustin slid an arm beneath Shane's knees, pulling them up and onto the mattress. The move straightened out Shane's body enough to create a barely sufficient amount of space on the bed for Dustin to lie down as well. But first he moved on to the next business at hand.
This is not exactly how I had pictured getting into your pants, but...A rueful smile formed on Dustin's face while he unbuckled Shane's belt and pulled the jeans off his unresponsive friend. He went to drape a blanket over him when he suddenly paused to let his eyes travel over Shane's prone form, now clad only in black and red checkered boxer shorts and his red tank top. Then he stripped off his own pants and climbed into bed next to Shane, pulling the blanket over them both. Shane reflexively rolled onto his side, presenting his back to Dustin and the Earth ninja scooted closer, fitting their bodies together. For a long moment he simply lay there, staring at the back of Shane's head.
'If you only knew what you do to me,' he thought wistfully, then planted a kiss on the side of the sleeping Air ninja's neck and draped his arm across his waist before he closed his eyes and tried to blank out his mind enough to go to sleep.
Mutual comfort…Shane awoke sluggishly and disoriented. He blinked against the murky darkness, but the moonlight shining into the room from the undraped window illuminated enough shadows for him to recognize his surroundings; a room almost as familiar to him as his own. Dustin's place. But the view was all wrong...Shane frowned. From his reclining side position he had a clear sight of the faux leather couch he usually crashed on, which could only mean that he was in Dustin's bed, but why? And where was Dustin? Suddenly, the events from earlier on crashed back into his mind. The monster fight, summoning the Battelizer, a searing blast of energy right into his chest, flames, heat, the ground coming towards him at sickening speed...Instinctively, Shane shook his head, attempting to dislodge the images from his mind, but the gesture only caused a wave of dizziness to wash over him. He groaned softly - then flinched in surprise as something behind him moved. An instant later a familiar hand was on his arm and Dustin's soft voice sounded from right below his ear. "Shane?"
It was only then that Shane became aware of the solid body pressed up against him. He rolled onto his back and looked up into Dustin's concerned eyes. He attempted a weak grin. "Hi."
"Hey." Dustin's anxious expression remained. "How're you feeling?"
Shane considered this for a moment. "Okay, I guess. Headache's gone at least." He put a hand to his temple in emphasis. "What time is it?"
Dustin gave a slight shrug. "I dunno, two-something, I think."
"In the morning?"
Dustin saw Shane's eyes widen and put a hand on his chest. "Relax, dude, I already called your house and told your mom that you're gonna crash at my place tonight. She was cool with it."
That did relax Shane somewhat; their parents were used to having them stay at each other's homes. Back at the Clark house, Dustin was as familiar with Shane's couch as Shane was with Dustin's.
Shane nodded his thanks and rubbed at his eyes to get the last of the fog out of his brain. "Aw, man, I can't believe I was out of it for so long."
"You took a pretty bad hit; takes time to bounce back from something like that." Dustin was still hovering over him, his face so uncommonly grave that Shane reached out to touch his cheek.
"Hey, you ok?" he asked, a frown forming between his brows as he gingerly sat up in bed.
"Yeah, I wasn't the one who took a direct blast to the chest and then fell five stories onto solid concrete."
"I'm all right, Dustin. It takes more than a little tickle like that to keep me off my feet for long." Shane smirked, but Dustin wasn't going for it; instead, the Yellow Ranger just blinked and looked away. "I know, and yeah, I've seen you take hits like that before but...this time was just really bad. I mean that fireball they shot at you was huge, and then seeing you drop like that..." Dustin turned back to Shane's face, a mixture of agony and embarrassment in his eyes. "You had me scared shitless, Shane."
Shane reached out, pulling Dustin against his chest. "I'm sorry, D."
"'s all right." Dustin's reply was muffled against his skin, but then the Earth ninja raised his head. "As long as you're okay now, as long as you're here..." He cut himself off by planting a firm kiss on Shane's lips. Shane responded eagerly, pulling Dustin with him as he lay back so that the Earth ninja ended up draped over him.
"Shane, I don't know about this, you're still hurting…" Dustin protested weakly, but Shane gripped the back of his neck, pulling his head back down until their mouths were almost touching.
"If you don't keep kissing me, I'll hurt you," he whispered, his grin belying his words. Dustin gladly complied, sealing their lips with burning urgency. Their bodies' reactions were almost instantaneous, and with now only the thin fabrics of their tank tops and their underwear between them, the effects were way more pronounced than the first time.
Feeling Dustin growing hard against him once again, Shane couldn't bite back the growl of pleasure that escaped his throat.
If his morpher went off now, he'd toss it out the window without hesitation.
He tugged on Dustin's shirt impatiently, and the brunet did not need any further invitation as he pulled off his top and immediately went to work on ridding Shane of his. Skin to skin, they were soon rolling around the entire width of Dustin's queen-size bed, ardently picking up where they had been forced to leave off a few hours ago.
Dustin was careful to keep his full weight off Shane's chest. From his own experience with energy weapon blasts he knew that the Red Ranger would be sporting a painful, not to mention huge, bruise for the next few weeks. Bracing himself on either side of the body underneath him, he lowered his mouth to Shane's upper torso and began to shower the bruised flesh with feather-light kisses.
Shane closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of Dustin's lips on his skin, his tongue swirling around his nipple, nipping, licking, teasing…Shane groaned at the intense, almost unbearable pleasure and arched his back in a desperate request for more. He had just enough breath to utter an almost inaudible "Please…"
Lost in sensations, it took him a moment to realize what the sudden sound from above was: Dustin was giggling. Shane cracked an eyelid open. "What's so funny?" he asked with all the dignity he could muster.
Dustin shrugged, grinning down on him. "You. You're hot when you beg." The Earth ninja laughed softly at Shane's mock-exasperated expression. "Kidding, dude. I'm just happy. Happy that you are all right, that you're here with me right now, that I can finally be with you…like this."
Shane couldn't help but smile back at him. By now he was feeling pretty darn happy himself. Heedless of the bruises on his chest, Shane wrapped his arms around Dustin, drew him tightly against him and buried his face into the Yellow Ranger's neck.
Joy of life. They had won another battle, had beaten Lothor back once again and he, Shane, was alive and alone with just the person he wanted to celebrate this victory with.
Mouth still firmly attached to Dustin's neck, Shane rose up and gripped his lover's shoulder. The Earth ninja let himself be rolled onto his back without protest. Their positions now reversed, Shane looked down onto his best friend's flushed face, grinning mischievously.
"Can't let you have all the fun," he said and went on to lavish some serious attention on Dustin's chest. He sucked on a nipple, gently at first, then more insistently, coaxing whimpers of pleasure out of the Earth ninja underneath him.
Dustin had no idea that a part of his anatomy he had hardly ever given any thought to so far could suddenly turn so sensitive. Every playful nip from Shane sent bolts of delicious electricity straight into his groin until he was positively writhing under the onslaught of the Air ninja's lips and tongue on his nipples.
"Shane, I need…I want to…" Dustin began to stammer hoarsely, then bit his lips, cheeks burning.
"What do you want to do, babe?" Shane whispered, his voice as raw with emotions as Dustin's. "Tell me."
Dustin took a breath before he looked straight into Shane's eyes. "I…I want to touch you."
Shane gazed back at him with penetrating eyes. His reply was hoarse but steady. "Okay."
Dustin swallowed. How many times had he been imagining this?Secret fantasies in a dark room, in this very bed, as a matter of fact…Only this time it was real.
Dustin's hand shook slightly as he propped himself up on one elbow, his fingers tracing down his best friend's dark skin, over hard abdominal muscles and lower. Shane seemed to be barely breathing, immobilized by anticipation, but just before he made any further moves, Dustin paused, looking nervous all of a sudden. "Shane, I just want to let you know that…this isn't just about your body, ok? This is about you – all of you."
Shane held his gaze, soft and warm and never flinching. "I know."
Encouraged, Dustin smiled and his hand finally slid inside the red boxers. It felt strange, yet so exciting to hold Shane in his hand – steel wrapped in velvet. Shane's eyelids fluttered until his eyes were mere slits and his breath began to come in shallow, ragged bursts. The sight was so hot that Dustin's own member throbbed even harder, begging to be released from the confines of his shorts.
Suddenly, Shane surge against him, his mouth clamping down on Dustin's in a ferocious, all-consuming kiss that completely threw the Earth ninja's rhythm for a moment. Then Shane's fingers were at the waistband of his shorts, tugging, searching – and finding. Dustin drew in a sharp breath at Shane's first touch.
Ablaze with mindless need, Dustin thrust into Shane's hand, his heart threatening to break through his chest at the sensations Shane's ministrations evoked from him.
Gulping for breath between their deep, open-mouthed kisses, Shane suddenly pulled back, looking at Dustin with eyes filled with such desire and affection that the Earth ninja's pulse sped up yet another notch.
"Dustin, I…I'm gonna…" he panted as Dustin leaned in and kissed him with tender passion, swallowing Shane's groan. Then Shane's hips jerked. The Air ninja shuddered once more, then broke their kiss to gaze at Dustin with glazed eyes, yet he somehow possessed the frame of mind to keep on working on him. Apparently, he could tell that Dustin was getting close as well.
With his own high yet to abate, Shane watched Dustin, and a more beautiful sight he could not have wished for. The way Dustin felt, his flushed face, the sounds he made and especially the fiery desire in his eyes gave Shane a mental orgasm that rivaled his physical one from a moment ago.
To be able to give and receive so much pleasure…Dustin choked back a sob as waves of liquid heat suddenly rolled through him. A moment later, Shane's free hand wrapped around him. Dustin gladly leaned into the embrace, spent and marveling at what had just transpired between them.
They held each other until their breathing returned to normal before Dustin raised his head, looking around in obvious search for something. He finally reached out and picked up his shirt from the edge of the bed, using it in lieu of a towel to clean them both up.
"Have you ever done this before?" Shane asked quietly when he could finally find his voice, and the blush that crept into Dustin's cheeks was visible even in the semi-darkness.
"No. You?"
"No." Shane cleared his throat self-consciously before he said, "Well, not on somebody else, that is." An abashed grin formed on his face.
Dustin grinned back. "Yeah, same here." His chocolate-brown eyes fixed on Shane. "But you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this."
Shane looked towards the sofa and suddenly emitted a soft laugh. "You know, all those times I've crashed on your couch…" His eyes sparkled. "All the fun we've been missing out on…"
"All the more to make up for," Dustin grinned.
"Mmmm, can't wait." Shane kissed him tenderly and Dustin melted back into the Red Ranger's arms, his head resting in the crook of his shoulder.
Now, with the adrenaline rush of their passions abating, Shane could feel a drowsiness enveloping him. A small groan of fatigue confirmed for him that Dustin was in the same condition. They crawled back under the blanket, fitting themselves together comfortably. Neither of them bothered with finding any of their discarded clothing; instead, they simply enjoyed the new sensation of having nothing but warm skin between them. A completely new feeling for both of them, but something they could definitely get used to.
The edges of Shane's awareness were rapidly getting fuzzy – to a point where the sudden sound of Dustin's voice actually startled him.
"Shane? You asleep yet?"
"Huh?…no, what's up?"
"I was just thinking something…" A moment of quiet, then, "I think it would be a good idea for us to, you know, get tested before we, uhm…go any further."
Dustin looked up, Shane looked down and the Yellow Ranger could see warmth and understanding in his lover's eyes.
"I always thought you hated needles," Shane said.
"Yeah, but this is worth it."
Shane smiled and lifted his arm to run his fingers through Dustin's hair. "Tell you what: We'll go together after school later on if nothing else comes up, ok?"
Dustin nodded while he ran through a mental list of somethings that could be coming up: alien battles, ninja training, unexpected Ranger drills, the third world war…none of which could keep him from getting a couple of syringes full of his blood sucked out of his vein by a three-inch needle – as long as Shane was with him to hold his hand. This was for their future, after all.
Dustin smiled before he put his head back onto Shane's chest. "Not very romantic, I know," he mumbled, "but necessary."
"Yeah." Shane's fingers continued to comb through thick, dark curls. " But we can always work on the romantic parts afterwards."
The Earth ninja let out a chuckle. "I've got a couple of ideas…"
Beneath Dustin's cheek, Shane's chest vibrated slightly with his own chortle, but his words were beginning to sound slurred. "Me, too. Guess we'll find out tonight whether we had the same ideas."
With Shane already more than halfway into dreamland, Dustin didn't bother with a reply. But this evening suddenly seemed way too far away.
With his last remaining strength, Dustin lifted his head once more and planted a closed-eyed kiss somewhere in the region between Shane's chin and his mouth before he snuggled tighter into his lover's embrace and started to drift off into blissful sleep himself.
"G'night, Shane," he whispered.
I love you. And hopefully soon I'll work up the nerve to tell you.
Morning after…Way too soon, the sound of the alarm clock from the nightstand broke the silence of the room like klaxons on a battle cruiser. The two entwined bodies on the bed jerked simultaneously and Dustin reluctantly disentangled himself from Shane's arms to hit the snooze button. Two seconds later he was back in his previous position, snuggling into Shane's side – until he felt something solid pressed up against his stomach. Grinning, he raised his head, looking into Shane's sleepy face. "Good morning." He lifted the blanket. "And good morning to you, too," he addressed Shane's morning erection with a crooked grin.
Eyes still closed, Shane stretched lazily, like a cat. Dustin watched him. They had just spent their first night together – as lovers. And to wake up in Shane's arms, remembering what had happened between them, knowing they had taken the next step together - joy flooded his body and mind, leaving him with a high that no drug could. This was great, wonderful, awes….
"Dustin, about what happened a few hours ago..." Shane had opened his eyes and was now looking at him, his face carefully blank.
Dustin froze as his happiness abruptly began to crumble all around him. "Oh God, you're having second thoughts," he croaked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"
"What? No." Shane pulled him up and cut him off with a kiss. "Are you kidding? I was going to say that I hope you wouldn't have any second thoughts about what we did..."
Dustin was so relieved, he was grinning like an idiot. "No, dude, no way!" He followed up on his exclamation with several hungry kisses, each of which Shane returned only too willingly.
"Matter of fact, I was just thinking..." he breathed against Dustin's mouth a long moment later, "We should do this after every battle. Best tension relief I can think of."
"Why wait for a battle?" Dustin sported a mischievous grin as he rolled on top of Shane, eager fingers already reaching between them, seeking, until a throaty growl from the Air ninja told him that he had found his target.
When they finally arrived at school almost forty-five minutes late, even the detention slips their teacher promptly presented them with couldn't quite wipe the grins off their faces.
THE ENDA/N: Thank you for all your nice reviews, even though this particular pairing is certainly not the most popular one. But for me it always held a fascination – besides the fact that I just like seeing those two together.
PS: The 'uncensored' version can be read on Cmar's www. Rangerfiction. net