Calculated Risk

Disclaimer: Once again, I have the dissatisfaction of saying that I don't own Power Rangers.

Chapter Three: Rolling Clouds

RJ muttered darkly to himself as he scrubbed away at a stubborn stain on his counter top for what felt like the fifth time that morning, putting as much elbow grease into it as he could muster. For whatever reason that only the spirits knew about, the damned patch of gunk just wasn't coming out. He'd tried everything from aerosol sprays to vinegar and baking soda and now he was just using good old fashioned effort to try and get rid of the offending spot. RJ's first ever health inspection was in two days and the young businessman was determined to make every inch of the restaurant sparkle and shine. He wasn't about to let the inspector find a single health code violation.

He'd dealt with years of scrutiny after all; practically his entire life. What was one more day? At least his kitchen had been rebuilt in due time since the fire.

RJ jumped when a box was plopped onto the counter top, filling his line of sight. He looked up, seeing Fran wear a sheepish grin. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"All good," RJ assured her as he straightened. He grinned as he realized just what the plain white box was. "Oooh, more treats?"

Fran hadn't actually baked anything in recent memory due to aiding students with finals week as well as attending her own exams but RJ had been hard-pressed to ensure those cannoli she had given him when she had first stepped into JKP had lasted. He had actually been successful too.

For three whole days.

Fran shrugged one shoulder as she absently toyed with box's lid. She blushed and refused to meet her friend's gaze as she explained. "You've seemed rather stressed over the past couple of days and I figured I could try cheering you up by baking something new."

It was RJ's turn to look sheepish. "You noticed, huh?"

She peeked up at him through her bangs. "You weren't yourself. Not really. You've been sighing heavily and you tend to run your hand through your hair a lot." Her eyes widened as a heat flooded through her skin once more. "N-not that I've been staring o-or anything, but…!"

"Breathe Fran," RJ told her gently. "You're right," he added as Fran took a breath. "I have been stressing. I have a health inspection coming up in a couple of days. It's my first one and I'm pretty nervous."

"RJ you take great care of this place," Fran said. "I have no doubt that you're gonna do awesome."

He beamed at that. "Thanks, Fran. You always know how to cheer me up."

She tried waving away his praise. "Oh as if you don't do the same for me."

RJ pointed a finger at her, his expression and voice mock stern. "You, young lady, need to learn how to take a compliment."

She laughed awkwardly while nodding. "Yeah, yeah I do." She then gestured to the box. "Are you going to open it?"

"Right now," RJ affirmed as he did just that. He gasped happily when he saw what was in the box. "Tiramisu? Why Miss Fran, you're getting quite fancy."

Fran stuck her tongue out at him. "Hardly," she retorted. "It's a family comfort food, actually."

RJ was touched at that. "Really? And you're giving me some?"

"Do you not see the box in front of you?"

"I just mean that it's a family recipe that you're using for me!"

"The cannoli were from my family's recipe too, RJ," Fran pointed out. "You're my friend and I care about you. Why wouldn't I help you through some of the most comforting food I know? I mean, I know you've mentioned pizza being a comfort food and while I do know how to make it, I always thought it would be weird to make pizza for you, of all people."

RJ snorted at that. "Fran, I would be highly honored to eat pizza made by you."

"Noted," Fran giggled.

RJ disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, before returning with a knife, a pair of forks and two paper plates. He sliced them a sizeable square of the Italian dessert each and plated them, sliding one to Fran. She smiled her thanks but didn't spear her fork into the tiramisu, waiting for RJ to try his first, both eager and nervous to know what he thought of her handiwork.

"It's so fluffy!" He said with admiration as he looked at the piece balanced on his fork. He popped the bite into his mouth and had to hold back a groan. "This is delicious!" He looked at Fran with slight mischief in his eyes as he asked. "Can I hire you to be my dessert chef? I can bake just fine, but honestly, your stuff tastes like, a hundred times better."

Biting back a scoff, Fran looked thoughtful before replying, "I would love to, but honestly since I'm using my family's recipes, I would have to ask. As something meant for friends is one thing, but for profit is a whole other story."

"That's fair," RJ replied with a nod.

The pair of friends continued to consume their treat in silence, just listening to the music on the restaurant's sound system when the latest song was interrupted by a news broadcast.

"This just in Ocean Bluff," the radio DJ announced, his normally cheerful voice taking on a informative tone reminiscent of a television news anchor. "A large storm system is headed to the city and should start pouring by tomorrow morning. We can expect as much as up to a foot of rain, strong winds up to seventy miles per hour and a wind chill factor of forty degrees. This storm system is expected to last twenty-four to thirty-six hours before heading up to Briarwood."

"Well that sounds like a party," RJ said.

"Yeah," Fran replied slowly. "A party…" A look of concern crossed her face.

"Everything okay?"

"It's just the high winds making me nervous," Fran explained. "My apartment building's pretty old and the windows tend to rattle in their frames in wind stronger than a breeze. I'm always nervous that the windows are going to shatter, especially the one above my bed."

RJ shared her concern. "Yeah that does sound pretty nerve-wracking."

She sighed. "And if the storm is heading up to Briarwood anyway, I don't think I can bunk with Chip. Guess I better look into storm shelters."

RJ is thoughtfully quiet for a moment before suggesting another option to Fran other than being stuck in her apartment with rickety windows or staying in a storm shelter. "You could stay with me," he offered with a small grin that grew wider as the idea gained more appeal. "Sleepover at JKP!"

Fran looked at him with slight disbelief. "You're…you're serious."

"Quite serious. I've got a futon you can use. Just need to dig it out."

"RJ, we've been friends for what? Three weeks? Maybe a month? We barely know each other! What if one of us snores?"

"I'm ninety-five to ninety-eight percent sure I don't snore," RJ told her.

"Why not a hundred percent?"

"That you can either classify as a margin for error or modesty, take your pick. Besides," he went on. "We can use the sleepover to get to know one other better and you can rest easy not having to worry about glass shattering over your head. Actually, I'd rest easy knowing that too."

Fran didn't say anything right away, grappling with her options. Finally she gave a shy smile. "Okay, a sleepover does sound pretty fun."

"Awesome!" RJ cheered. He offered his hand for a high five and with a laugh; Fran clapped her own hand against his. "Wanna come over tomorrow after your shift at the library?"

"That sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Do you think you should shore up the windows here at JKP because they're on the ground floor and for all we know, flooding could be a possibility?"

"Probably a wise move. You know, part of me can't believe we're getting such weather, it's not even hurricane season!"

"Tell me about it! It's not even my birthday and already we're getting crappy weather!"

RJ looked at Fran, confused. "Do you usually get rained out on your birthday?"

"No, but my birthday is June 17th and that's closer to hurricane season than today is."

"True," RJ conceded then smirked. "I will be keeping that date in mind, by the way."

"And when's your birthday?"

"Not til November," he hedged. Fran rolled her eyes at the lack of a real response, already knowing that her friend was two years older than her but deciding not to say anything.

She glanced at her watch and said, "I guess I better get going, I have a shift today actually. It's short but I still need to be on time."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Four o'clock sharp and ready to help batten down the hatches!"

RJ came around the counter and pulled her into a hug that Fran eagerly returned. "See you then."

"See you." With some reluctance, Fran pulled away from him and walked toward the exit, waving as she moved.

As soon as Fran exited, RJ went back to his spot behind the counter, eyeing the stubborn stain with distaste. It took him less than sixty seconds to decide that he would deal with it later, preferring to sink his fork into the tiramisu still sitting in the box, part of him wondering how long this concoction would last and part of him hoping that Fran would bring something to the sleepover.

Now to find that futon…

He startled when a customer called his name, needing his attention. With a blush suffusing his face and an awkward smile, RJ headed over to the customer's table.

…As soon as the restaurant was actually closed, that is.

True to her word, Fran arrived the next afternoon at four o'clock sharp. The sky was already filled with dark grey clouds, swollen with rain that waited to burst from their misty confines. The wind was beginning to pick up, tossing Fran's hair about as she walked into the restaurant, fighting slightly to get the door shut.

She walked with some hesitation at the thought of being in a restaurant—even if it was empty, RJ having closed early due to the impending storm— with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, a sleeping bag tucked under her arm and an insulated bag in her hand, but RJ had assuaged her nerves with a welcoming smile and ushered her up the stairs into his spacious loft. Fran did her best not to gape as she took in the never before seen area.

"This is so cool!" She breathed. She saw a fooseball table and an air hockey table not too far from a basketball hoop. A comfortable looking forest green recliner sat in front of an eclectic bank of televisions. A hammock was strung up on the second level with a king-sized bed nearby, a zebra print blanket with its corners tucked in dutifully. There were several shelves that held a mess of parts, tools and other projects along with a scattering of comic books that seemed to be organized within its chaos.

All in all, it was absolutely certain to Fran that this was RJ's living space.

She jumped slightly when RJ gently tugged the bag out of her hand. "What'd you bring?" He studied the bag curiously as he hefted it. "This actually feels heavy."

Fran grinned. "I baked chocolate chip cookies because they're delicious and a classic. That led me to thinking about ice cream which is a sleepover classic and we could make chipwiches! Or sundaes, I did buy some ice cream sauces and whipped cream."

"Did you pack sprinkles?" RJ intoned gravely despite the delight she could see in his eyes.

"Obviously."

A grin. "Obviously."

Fran then added, "I also made muffins for breakfast just in case the power happens to go out. I hope you like banana chocolate chip."

"I'm offended you'd even consider that I wouldn't like that." RJ snickered when Fran rolled her eyes. "This place is equipped with a generator but I appreciate your thoughtfulness all the same."

He gestured to a space Fran could see beyond the basketball hoop that was set up as a small personal kitchen. "I'm gonna go put the ice cream in the freezer and then we can set up your futon."

"Okay."

Within minutes, RJ and Fran were opening up a twin sized futon placed a few feet from the recliner and television set up. As Fran began organizing the violet sheets RJ had loaned her, the man himself surprised her by setting up a second futon across from hers. When she looked at him curiously, he said. "I forgot I had bought two of these. Pretty sure there was a sale at some point. Figured if we ended up talking all night, it would be easier if we were closer than me being up where my bed is."

"That makes sense," Fran agreed. "Though I've never stayed up all night talking with someone."

"Not even Chip?"

She had to think about that for a moment. "The latest we stayed up was until about…three in the morning?" She laughed sheepishly. "We got caught up in an online Dungeons and Dragons campaign."

"That's practically all night," RJ pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Fran agreed. "I always figured 'up all night' meant seeing the sun rise the next day."

RJ flopped out onto his futon as he stretched the sheet over the mattress. "Well, if this storm isn't too terrible, we might be able to do that. Otherwise we'll be watching the sky go from pitch black to grey."

Fran tossed her pillows onto her futon and placed her royal blue sleeping bag on top of it, planning to open it completely and use it as a blanket later on. "Fair point." She then surprised RJ by pulling out a small, well-loved wolf plush that she gently sat on top of the pillows.

"Is that a wolf?" He asked and Fran was relieved to hear delight in his voice rather than teasing.

"Yep. My mom and I visited the wolf conservation center over in Angel Grove when I was little. He was practically one of my best friends and I sometimes take him with me when I sleep in an unfamiliar place. Not that this place is all that unfamiliar but…you know…"

"It is and it isn't," RJ said with a nod. "Does he have a name?"

He immediately regretted his question when he saw the mirth in her eyes, the smirk that played about her lips when she replied in a completely serious tone, "Bobby."

Fran laughed when RJ physically recoiled at the name. She was well aware that his name was actually Robert James and that he absolutely loathed the nickname Bobby. While she never really teased him about it, his reaction always managed to make her giggle. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she assured him. "His name is JJ."

RJ arched a brow at that. "Seriously?"

"Mhm." Fran blushed and played with the plush's fur, seemingly hesitant in explaining further but after a minute of dawdling, she did. "This is going to sound completely silly, but remember I was like, eight when I got him. We were in Angel Grove and I thought that Jason, the red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger was one of the coolest guys around.

"I didn't have a crush on him but I did used to wish that he would be my big brother. So I figured when not name this little guy after him? Chip's actually the one who shortened it to JJ. I think he actually has a blue triceratops plush which of course is named Billy."

"Nice! What a cool part of your childhood." RJ then looked at her slightly teasing. "You do know that you should have a tyrannosaurus for JJ, right? Not a wolf."

Fran huffed at that. "We were at a wolf conservation center, not a history museum."

A crack of thunder and the sound of pouring rain diverted the pair's attention back to the whole reason for the sleepover. The storm system that was now bearing down on Ocean Bluff.

"Guess we better batten down those hatches, huh?" Fran asked with a wink.

RJ chuckled. "Guess so."

The two spent the better part of an hour boarding up the windows, RJ slightly grateful for the restaurant's awnings that did a fairly good job of protecting him from the rain as he boards up the windows from the outside, Fran reinforcing those windows from the inside. Yet once the wind began to pick up, RJ found his back beginning to get soaked and began to work faster. He was hurrying toward the door that Fran had partially held out for him when she frowned, her expression of intense concentration.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

She shushed him, listening intently. Closing his mouth, RJ listened as well, silently for a full minute before he finally heard what sounded like the tiny cries of a kitten.

Clearly Fran had heard the sounds too for she shot past him into the storm, racing around the corner and disappearing from sight.

"Hey! Fran! Wait up!"

RJ caught up to her within seconds, seeing her staring at what wasn't one kitten but two. They looked old enough to have maybe been a year old for their eyes were open and their fur looked thick. One cat had white fur with heterochromia, one eye yellow while the other was blue. The second cat was grey with a pair of sky blue eyes. They were both soaked and terrified out of their little minds.

The loud crack of thunder did nothing to help the situation but thankfully they hadn't fled.

Fran whipped to face RJ, her eyes wide and pleading. RJ smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "You don't need to give me those puppy dog eyes Fran, of course we're going to help them. I'm not sure if I have any cans of tuna but I definitely have chicken I can spare for them."

He felt her sink in relief before hugging him tightly in thanks. Pulling away she then faced the kittens again, gingerly making her way over to them. They meowed, but instead of shrinking away from her, sniffed her outstretched hands for a second before butting their little heads against her palms. With a giggle, Fran picked up the white one while RJ proffered his hand to the grey one who deemed him suitable after a few seconds.

The pair made their way back into JKP, Fran cooing to the cat she held the entire time. Despite being dripping wet, RJ stroked the kitten in his hands, unable to get over just how blue the cat's eyes were.

"Are you going to keep them?"

Both friends had asked the question and laughed at the realization. "I don't know if we should separate them," RJ admitted thoughtfully. "For all we know they came from the same litter."

"My apartment building does allow cats," Fran said. "But I'm not sure how many per unit."

"I could probably keep them upstairs so long as I ensure that they stay up there because that's definitely a health code violation."

"Aww, so they can't be your new mascots?" Fran teased and RJ snorted.

"They don't necessarily fit with the jungle theme of Jungle Karma Pizza."

"Of course they do! They're just domesticated, that's all."

"There are cat cafés but I don't think there're any cat pizzerias and I'm not a hundred percent I want to be the first."

"That's fair. We can figure out their home situation later. Let's just get them dried off for now."

"Us too."

"I am kinda cold," Fran said before looking thoughtfully at her kitten whom was beginning to wriggle in her arms, wanting to get down and explore. "Names?"

"Smoky for mine," RJ said. "I feel like it's a given. What about yours?"

"Gouda," Fran replied with certainty. "The fur's not yellow, but I like it anyway."

"Me too," RJ agreed. "Okay, game plan. We get these two upstairs, dried off and fed. Then we get ourselves dried off and you can have the high honor of making the pizza for dinner tonight."

She burst out laughing at that. "It shall be my pleasure, good sir."

Yaaay! Sleepover at JKP! Technically in the loft but fun times shall still be had! And now RJ has a pair of "mascots"! Or Fran has new pets, I haven't decided who will be keeping the kittens but for all intents and purposes, Smoky will be RJ's and Gouda will be Fran's. The latter is named as such for the sake of puns. :3

Fran's rickety window situation is reflective of the apartment building I used to live in. The windows would slam in high winds. One year during a blizzard, a significant part of our living room window shattered and the glass blew inside, forcing us to sleep in a hotel for a little while because it was too damn cold even with the heat on!

Hope you guys like and please review!