Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Disney and the like, which I am not affliated with. Spoilers for "Impact". Mild slash.

Sometimes Sky had dreams about Jack showing up at all hours of the day, standing in his doorway and leaning against the wall like he always did. And for some reason, it was Jack in that exact pose that had flashed into Sky's mind when he realized he could no longer see the Red Flyer. So when he saw Jack standing there several hours later, it threw him for a loop. "Hi."

"Hey," said Jack casually. "You cool?"

Sky put down his book. He'd been re-reading the same sentence over and over again anyway. "No," he said. "I'm not cool. What the hell were you thinking, Jack?"

Jack bristled, standing up straighter. "I was thinking that I was the better shot, and that we had a better chance of destroying the meteor if I took that shot."

"You may be the better shot," Sky said, and it irked him fiercely to have to admit to this fact, "but I'm the better pilot. You might not have made it out in time."

"Yeah, but I did."

"Just because you're the Red Ranger doesn't mean that you always have to play the hero."

To his surprise, Jack said, "I'm sorry." He sat on the edge of Sky's bed, and Sky, without thinking, moved over to give him room. "I didn't mean to do it like that," said Jack. "I..." He frowned, like there was something more he wanted to say.

"Jack?"

Jack sighed, looking at the door, the floor, and then finally at Sky with a deeply serious flatness to his gaze. "I'd rather it be me than you," he said quietly.

Sky had to look away. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that; wasn't quite sure of the implications. If it meant what he thought it meant...

His silence was a poor move. Jack read into it the wrong way, and got up quickly. "I should go."

"I'm glad you're okay." Sky forced himself to raise his head and meet Jack's eyes.

Jack responded in Jack fashion, with a light grin. "Miss me, did you?"

"Not in the slightest," Sky replied quickly. "I would've been made leader if you died." In the wake of the weak joke, it all came back to him, the severity of the situation, the notion that Jack had been dead. "I'm sorry," he blurted.

"For what?"

"For treating you the way I do. You're team leader, and I should treat you with the respect you deserve. You've earned it. What's more than that, you're my friend." Jack nodded at him, understanding reflecting in his dark eyes. Sky bit the bullet: "I've been at SPD so long without ever knowing you, but now I can't think about SPD without picturing you."

"You were right when you said that I didn't know much about friendships," Jack said carefully, sitting back down. "I lived on the streets, and the only person I came in contact with on a regular basis was Z. When I came here, I didn't think you and I would ever get along. We still don't, half the time. But in some weird, messed-up way, you're..." Jack trailed off and stared at his hands, folding them in his lap. "You're important to me."

"I didn't want you to die."

"I'm hoping that you don't really want any of us to die," said Jack with a wry half-smile.

"Well, Bridge can get very annoying sometimes..."

"You would pick this, of all times, to finally learn how to crack a joke." Jack had an annoying habit of switching from goofy to annoyed in two seconds, and he illustrated this ability now, rising from his seat with a huff. But as he headed towards the door, and Sky tried again to think of the appropriate thing to say, Jack surprised them both by stopping. Without turning around, the Red Ranger said carefully, "Look, I don't know if we're even thinking the same thing or not, but if we are, one of us should just come out and say it. Even if it might get us in trouble. Half the time, I can barely stand to be around you. But sometimes, when I am, well... it goes against all SPD regulations to even think about how I feel about you, and I can't even imagine what would happen to me if I acted on it."

Sky could understand why Jack couldn't bring direct voice to it, but he also understood that he was being given a rare window (a very rare window, a once-in-a-lifetime window). If he didn't act on it, he would be a bigger idiot than Piggy and Boom combined. "I understand," was all he could think to say. It wasn't enough. He more than understood. He agreed. But he couldn't say it.

"Can you ever graduate from here?" Jack asked, finally deciding to look at Sky once he'd changed the subject.

Sky shook his head. "You can retire, and you can resign, but you get promoted to A-squad, and that's the final step. It's a very important step to some people. The only step."

"I can respect that," Jack said. "I'm just saying that it leads to some complications. Maybe some of us don't want to put our job ahead of our personal lives. At least not forever. Are you going to be career SPD?"

"Yes," said Sky without thinking, because he had always wanted it. It was in his blood, and no matter how much he wanted other things, SPD and being a Ranger came first.

"Since you know so much, what's the policy on dating outside of the Academy?"

"The Commander is married. It's allowed."

"And would you be willing to..." Jack looked at a spot somewhere over Sky's head, and Sky stared at his shoes. "Would you be willing to consider that option?"

He should use pronouns instead of generalities. They'd already passed the point where they could turn back without consequence. Still, he kept it forcibly light. "I don't know if I could handle you for extended periods of time."

"And that's the brilliance of it. I wouldn't be here."

Sky was floored at how completely serious Jack seemed to be about it. "You'd be willing to leave SPD for—" He couldn't figure out how to finish.

"For a chance at something I want?" Jack gave him a very direct look then, one that made Sky feel hot and cold all at once. "I like it here," said Jack, "but when all is said and done, I won't have an obligation to stay. I'd stay for the team, but you can still be friends with people when you go somewhere. And you can be something more, when you don't have huge books on rules and regulations weighing you down. Of course I'd leave SPD if I thought there was something better for me."

Sky could only nod. It wasn't as though he wasn't listening, because he was. But for some reason, his mind had jumped to the one moment where Jack had given Sky the Red morpher. He'd never met Sky's father, one of his predecessors for the Red Ranger mantle. It hadn't been a gesture of honor, but one of friendship and the utmost respect. Jack had shown Sky time and time again just precisely what their relationship was to him, and Sky had disregarded it every time, too caught up in his own pride and his ingrained obsession with obeying SPD. Sky was weighed down by those books that Jack was talking about, and he was the one waving them over Jack's head. That was the reason that he had such an on and off relationship with the Red Ranger. Jack was unafraid. No matter the consequences that Cruger heaped on him, he just went ahead and did what he wanted anyway. He was willing to risk things for what he believed in. He was willing to take chances. What chance had Sky ever taken? What had he ever risked?

Sky stood up, crossing the room in a step and a half and kissing Jack in an act that was as much defiance as it was love. Jack stood still for a moment, just as surprised as the Blue Ranger was, but soon Sky felt the weight of a hand on his arm and the pressure of Jack's lips as he kissed him back. Underneath the kiss, though, there was a sensation that Sky had only ever felt once before, the idea that he was doing something very, very important.

It was Jack who ended the kiss, and Sky had to keep his eyes closed for a moment, ingraining the memory into his brain because he knew instinctively that he wouldn't get the chance again for some time, and he had to make it last.

"We don't have to deal with this yet. I know how much SPD means to you. I can wait."

Sky was beginning to get the notion that there were more important things. But he smiled. "That's fine. We still have to get through the thing where we hate each other half the time."

"I don't hate you," Jack said. "I just don't listen to anything you say."

Sky laughed. Even though he was teetering on the edge of a precipice of a very uncertain future, he felt as though he had a safety rope knotted around his waist. The interesting thing was, he wasn't sure yet whether Jack was the rope or the precipice. But it didn't matter. Nor did it matter that the two things he wanted most directly conflicted with each other. What mattered was that he was no longer scared. He was going to take a leaf from Jack's book and just do what he felt like.

Well, up to a point.

"Listen, you wanna go train or something?" Sky asked.

"I'm still a little sore from last time," Jack said.

"Great. Then you won't feel too bad when I kick your ass."

"Hey, go easy on me! I almost died, remember?"

"Not funny."

"What, too soon?" Jack grinned so easily that Sky had to join in. "All right, number two, let's see what you've got."

"Oh, it is so on."

Bridge walked into his empty room later that evening, taking off his gloves and falling face-first onto his bed, tired from helping Boom repair lasers that had gotten decimated from someone's last training room session. He rolled over onto his back, getting a distinct tingle. He opened his eyes, and could see aura traces as plain as day. He watched the motions of the red and blue auras, dancing around the room like a video cassette being fast-forwarded. They blazed brighter, moving closer together until they merged, making Bridge warm inside from the intense happiness saturating the room. He savored the feeling for a few moments, the resolution and the calm, and the way the air just seemed to crackle with a satisfied sigh. Then he pulled his gloves back on and settled back into his pillow, falling asleep with nothing but gladness for his friends.