The challenges can be found at Ars Amatoria's Ranger Romance Themes.

Challenge: Beautiful
Pair: Sky/Z
Disclaimer: Don't own the Power Rangers, not even an action figure.
Timeframe: This fic is set somewhere between Perception and Reflection.

Summary: The date begins

Once Sky had finally managed to ask Z out on a date there was very little time to prepare. The first night they had off together was the very next day. Sky had indicated that they were going someplace nice, but not overly fancy; Z was relieved about that. She didn't really want to spend the evening in a place where she couldn't read the menu and she felt like people were staring at her like she didn't belong there. But Sky's vague "someplace nice" did not really give her a good idea about how to dress. Eventually she broke down, told Syd about her dinner date with Sky and asked for help. Z was a little surprised and touched by Syd's enthusiastic response; she'd harbored a tiny fear in the back of her mind that Syd would disapprove of her dating Sky. But Syd dispelled that fear in an instant, reassuring Z that she had always looked up to Sky as a big brother and nothing more.

Z was grateful that the Pink Ranger hadn't automatically opted for a shopping trip, but instead decided to work with what was already in Z's closet. It went without saying that Z was living on a much stricter budget than Syd, and she was grateful that Syd's first response to her plea for help wasn't "let's go shopping". Instead, Syd attacked Z's closet with a zeal that was stunning to the Yellow Ranger. She was amazed at the number of outfits Syd was able to assemble with the relatively small number of choices at hand. Syd generously donated whatever accessories she thought would brighten up an outfit; but Z decided to stick with her own yellow accents over Syd's pink touches.

Z twirled slowly getting final approval from the Pink Ranger; Syd sat on her bed wearing her pink tank top and favorite grey sweatpants. After an afternoon of trying on everything she owned and half of Syd's closet, they'd settled on a simple black dress. The top was form fitting with short cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. The skirt was loose with a sheer layer on top, and fell to just above her knee. Z didn't know where Syd had dug it up from, but around her waist was one of her favorite yellow scarves that had gone missing for a while, tied to accentuate her slim waist – Syd insisted that the black needed to be relieved and thought the yellow scarf was perfect. Z was very happy with the effect. And so was Syd. "Perfect!" was the verdict from the petite Pink Ranger.

A knock on the door announced Sky's arrival. It was no surprise to Z that he was exactly on time. An astonishing number of butterflies took up residence in Z's stomach right before the door opened allowing Sky to enter. Her breath caught in her throat as Sky walked in the room; Syd smiled warmly in approval. It was unusual to see Sky out of uniform, so to see him dressed to go out was a real treat. He wore a white buttoned down shirt under a navy blazer; Z was relieved to see that he was not wearing a tie, and he'd even left the top button of his shirt unbuttoned. The kaki slacks he wore were not too dressy and were very flattering to his long-limbed legs. She thought he looked stunning.

Sky approached with an admiring smile on his face, completely oblivious to the effect his appearance was having on Z. "You look beautiful." he stated softly.

Z felt an instant of vertigo – like she was poised on the edge of something totally new and scary. How could she know that she wouldn't do something crazy and mess everything up? Instantly her common sense took over – she wasn't about to go temporarily insane just because she was going on a date with Sky. They were friends, and if things went well, maybe eventually they could be more than that. She smiled up at Sky, "I had some help dressing." She smiled gratefully at Syd who beamed. Gently Z reached up to smooth Sky's lapel. There were no wrinkles; it was just an excuse to touch him. "You look very handsome, yourself."

Sky gave her a little half bow, but didn't otherwise acknowledge the compliment. From somewhere he produced a small bouquet of yellow carnations. "These are for you." Z gasped in surprise and then buried her nose in the small blossoms. She breathed their scent in deeply. Z's face was lit with delight as she raised her eyes to Sky's. "I love carnations! How did you know?"

Sky nodded in Syd's direction. "A little pink bird told me."

Syd shrugged her shoulders and put on her most innocent face, but her smile gave her away. "Ready to go?" Sky asked.

Z nodded in the affirmative. She picked up her handbag and the black and yellow wrap Syd had "discovered" somewhere. Z has her suspicions that if she looked in the wastebasket she might find some incriminating price tags; but Syd hadn't made a big deal, and Z was too grateful to look a gift horse in the mouth. Clutching her flowers in her left hand, Z linked her right arm through Sky's left, and together they exited on their first real date.

TBC - The date will continue - I'm having such a hard time keeping these ficlets short!