Calculated Risk

Disclaimer: The Power Rangers aren't mine. C'est la vie

Chapter Five: Quiet Intimacies

SLAM!

Fran awoke with a shriek, sitting bolt upright at the sudden and deafening sound of something striking the ground. Whatever it was, it wasn't thunder. She knows thunder. That—whatever the heck it was—was far scarier.

Fran was struggling to get her pounding heart to settle to a more steady rhythm when she finally noticed RJ, or at least an outline of him, sitting up on his futon. When he spoke his voice sounded very bleary and bewildered.

"Huh. I guess the power's gone out. Not sure if it's just the neighborhood or the whole city. Are you okay?"

"As soon as my heart starts calming down," Fran whispered. "I'll let you know."

Without a second of hesitation, RJ crawled over to her futon and sat himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He kept his left arm wrapped around her waist as he gently slid his right hand over her shoulder before coming to rest against her sternum while carefully pulling her back so her spine was flush against his chest. He frowned as he felt just how fast and hard Fran's heart was beating. It was understandable as she did just endure a rather awful scare, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Breathe with me," He told her quietly as he rested his forehead against the back of her head.

"Inhale. Through the nose," His voice was warm and soft as he instructed her. He waited until he heard her comply. "And exhale through the mouth. Slowly though, or you're setting yourself up for another panic attack."

Thankfully, Fran followed his instructions without complaint. They breathed together for several moments, slowly inhaling and exhaling as Fran's heart began to gradually relax beneath his touch.

RJ released a silent breath of relief, the air stirring his friend's loose brown locks as his own shoulders unclenched. He put as much lightheartedness into his voice as he could muster. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Fran breathed. "Thank you."

He hugged her a little tighter. "Anytime."

Fran turned her head and RJ could practically feel her distaste at being in complete darkness. He distracted himself from the thought of giving her any sort of hint to Master Swoop and the Swoop technique by carefully reaching out and grinning when he successfully booped her on the nose.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Just had a feeling that you had that annoyed look on your face you sometimes get," RJ replied blithely. "And you do! Because your nose was all wrinkly when I tapped it and whenever you're annoyed, your nose wrinkles, your lips frown and your eyes narrow into this…" He waved his hand in the air as if he could physically touch the word he was searching for. "I don't know how to describe it…ladylike sneer."

"'Ladylike sneer…'" Fran echoed disbelieving.

"Yup."

"And why do you think I'm annoyed?"

"Because we can't see anything."

"That's true," Fran admitted. She then grew concerned and began patting her futon, thrusting her hands into her sheets and sleeping bag. "I also can't see or feel Gouda!"

Her hand skimmed along her futon and something round and firm jumped beneath her touch. Definitely not the soft fur of a kitten however. "RJ, is that you?"

"Yep, that would be me." His voice came out as an embarrassed squeak and Fran leaned back violently, nearly falling off the futon in the process.

"O-oh goodness…what did I just…?"

RJ nearly slammed back onto the futon as he howled in laughter. "My…my knee!" He wheezed. "You…you touched my knee!"

"Oh…" Heat flooded her face as Fran began to wonder if there was any scientific possibility of dying from humiliation. "But the way you reacted…"

RJ cleared his throat, trying to contain his laughter as he explained. "I'm…ah…kinda ticklish there…"

Fran was silent for a full minute as she bit down on a smile. In as casual a voice she could muster, she said, "Filing that away for later…now where is my kitten?"

"She probably took off when the power went out," RJ theorized sensibly. "I'll bet Smoky fled as well."

His friend hummed as she leaned over the edge of the bed, patting around for her backpack. Once her fingers wrapped around one of the straps, she grinned and pulled it onto her lap. She opened the main section and rummaged around before pulling out a flashlight.

Fran snapped on the light, making sure to aim it away from RJ's eyes as she did so. "That's better!" She then laughed sheepishly. "I forgot I brought this with me."

"If it makes you feel better, I forgot to grab my own flashlights and candles too."

RJ slid off the futon and held out a hand, "Care to take a walk with me to find them, milady?"

With a beaming smile, Fran slid her hand into RJ's. "It would be my pleasure, milord."

Keeping her hand in his, RJ led Fran over to a shelf a short distance from his bed. He knelt down and opened a toolbox on the bottom level, grateful that he didn't have to ask Fran to keep the flashlight trained on him as he opened it and pulled out his own flashlight.

He snapped on the flashlight and placed it under his chin in the clichéd "scary stories" look but any sort of playful menace he may have intended was ruined when he waggled his eyebrows at Fran.

"It's a crime against sleepovers that we didn't tell each other scary stories," RJ declared.

Fran smirked. "I bet I've read stories that are scarier than whatever you can tell me." She spun on her heel and booked it back to her futon, knowing she would never be able to keep up a pretense of innocence.

RJ gaped at her for a full minute before spluttering, "W-would you like to make an actual bet?!"

"Not tonight, I'm too tired. I would like to know what caused that sound from before."

"You mean the one that nearly gave you a heart attack?" RJ asked cheekily as he joined her by the windows.

Fran rolled her eyes before voicing her speculation. "I don't think it was a blown transformer, they don't normally sound like that."

"No," RJ agreed. "Besides that sounded like something hitting the ground." His sea green eyes roved the stormy scene before him; taking in the trees blowing in the wind, some of them dangerously close to falling onto houses and cars. The rain fell so hard and fast that he could see the sheets of water as they plummeted to the ground, before rushing in shallow rivers over the asphalt. He winced when a bright flash over lightning nearly assaulted his vision.

"I thought the lightning was done," he grumbled, just barely audible over the accompanying thunder.

"Apparently not."

Sighing, RJ blinked until his vision cleared and then continued looking for whatever had fallen and woken them up. It was a few minutes before his eyes snagged on something and he gently elbowed Fran to get her attention. "Fran, look!"

Following RJ's line of sight, Fran gasped when she saw a line of telephone poles and powerlines lying on the ground. "Oh my gosh!"

Unthinkingly, RJ wrapped an arm around Fran's shoulders pulling her tight to his side. "Man am I glad that neither one of us is out there right now."

"Or the cats…" Fran bit her lip in worry. "If the wind can do this, I can only imagine what's become of the windows in my apartment."

"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here if that's the case."

She hesitated only to be cut off by RJ adding, "And don't tell me you're concerned about imposing because I'm telling you right now, you're not."

Fran blushed, grateful that the relative darkness of the room hid that from RJ's view. "Thank you."

A large yawn interrupted his response, "C'mon, let's go back to sleep. Pretty sure I won't be opening the restaurant today anyway."

"Maybe you should." At RJ's curious look, Fran continued, "In case there are people who need a warm place to go with an internet connection and food."

"As sweet as that suggestion is, it might be too dangerous to travel around too soon," RJ gently pointed out. "What with the downed powerlines and all."

Fran winced, "Good point."

RJ guided her back to the futons and threw himself gracelessly onto his. "We'll figure out a game plan later."

Fran laid back down on her own futon. "Okay."

"G'night, Fran…again."

"Good morning, RJ," Fran giggled as she slipped into sleep.

Hours later as RJ stumbled from the bathroom where he had gotten changed with only the aid of his and Fran's flashlights, he was greeted with the sound of annoyed grunts, cries of pain and what shocked him the most—swearing.

At least he was fairly certain Fran was swearing. She wasn't speaking in English however.

As he got closer to Fran, he saw that she was sitting on her bed, fully dressed for the day while declaring war on her hair that had apparently gotten tangled overnight. He jumped when she yelled, "OW!"

"Are you supposed to be a bit gentler when dealing with knots?"

He had to hide a smile when she glared up at him, fire in her amber eyes. "I've been dealing with this for the past ten minutes," she replied primly. "Gentle got me nowhere."

"Want me to give it a shot?"

Arching an eyebrow in challenge, Fran wordlessly handed over her brush and sat cross-legged as she awaited RJ's attempt at detangling her stubborn tresses.

RJ took a seat behind her and reached for a few strands that were indeed tangled together. Gingerly he worked his way through the knot moving from the bottom up, a trick his mother had taught him when his own hair would occasionally rebel.

The pair sat silently as RJ continued to gently untangle Fran's hair. He'd noticed that whenever her hair was down rather than tied back, it would fall in loose curls that gave Fran the look of a princess. He was also beginning to notice that her hair was smooth and glossy.

And not that he would ever tell her, but really nice to touch.

RJ ran the brush through Fran's hair, an almost thoughtful expression on his face as he hunted around for any more tiny tangles, grateful that none of the knots were near the roots of her hair because he knew that no matter how gentle he could be with the brush, it would more than likely hurt her and he would never want that.

"Want me to braid your hair?"

Fran turned around at that, blushing slightly when she saw that RJ still had her hair in his hand, fingers absently twirling the strands. "Did your mom teach you?"

"Mhm," RJ confirmed with a nod. "Sometimes I'd braid her hair. Heck, I even used to braid my dad's hair on the rare occasion because it's longer than mine and my mom's."

Relieved to see and hear that talking about his dad didn't seem to cause any sort of negative emotions within RJ's countenance, Fran nodded in encouragement. "Go for it."

Once Fran was facing away from him, RJ brushed her hair once more, doing his best to get the curls to lay a little straighter. Once her hair was to his satisfaction, he separated it into three seconds and began weaving a basic braid.

Butterflies began to flood Fran's stomach as she felt RJ's hands in her hair as he braided it, doing her best not to shiver every time his fingertips accidentally brushed the back of her neck. It was such a simple task, but in this silence, it felt almost intimate as if only the two of them existed.

Oh dear, Fran bit her lip in slight embarrassment. Am I getting a crush on RJ? He was sweet, kind, patient, clever, made her laugh often…it didn't hurt either that he had shaggy brown locks that she found herself wanting to play with recently and eyes the color of a sea that could drown her.

Okay…Fran admitted to herself. Maybe I am crushing on RJ…dare I say anything in the future though or will that cause me to lose him?

RJ broke through her fretting by cheerfully declaring, "All done!"

Fran blinked, surprised that she had lost herself in her reverie. It didn't always happen with her thoughts unless those thoughts were occupied by a book; or if she was reading said book. Reaching behind her, she felt the classic plait that made up a braid and grinned. RJ had done a great job. She turned and was about to thank him when he surprised her by looking concerned and asking what was wrong.

"Uh…nothing?"

"Then why is the light in your eyes not there right now?" RJ questioned as he gestured to said eyes. "Actually your whole aura seems off. Like you're hiding in rain clouds or something."

Fran looked at him in confusion. "My aura…"

"I said what I said."

She laughed at that. "Just…thinking some heavy thoughts I guess."

RJ arched a brow at her response. "Anything you want to share with the class?"

"Maybe later…"

He nodded, deciding to let it go for the time being, feeling better about hearing her laugh. "I'll hold you to it."

Fran played with the end of the braid, "Want me to braid your hair?"

RJ laughed slightly. "I don't think my hair's long enough for that."

Fran studied him for a second before asking, "What about a Padawan braid?"

He brightened at that. "Now that could be cool."

Smiling, Fran shifted so she faced RJ completely. She gently took hold a section of RJ's hair just behind his left ear, still starting near the scalp and began weaving the same plait that he had given her. His tresses were just as silky as she thought they would be and from sitting this close to him, she could see just how sharp his jawline was, the stubble that grew along it and lips that were fuller than she realized.

The butterflies in her stomach grew in number.

Ducking her face slightly so that RJ wouldn't see the blush flooding her cheeks, Fran finished the braid. She instructed him to hold the end in place while she fished a band from her backpack and wrapped it around the braid.

"There you go," She grinned. "All set, Padawan James."

RJ snickered and stood, sketching a quick Jedi bow. "Thank you, Master Rossi."

Fran scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm no Jedi Master."

"You'd make a great knight," RJ assured her. "Like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Jocasta Nu."

Fran looked at him in interest. "You know of Jocasta?"

"The badass librarian? D'uh!"

Fran laughed at that before she turned to look out the windows. "I think the worst of the storm has passed. Do you think it's safe enough to go outside and see how the restaurant held up?"

"I think we came through the storm okay but part of me is afraid I might be wrong," RJ admitted.

Fran stood from her futon and held out a hand to RJ. "Only one way to find out."

Taking Fran's hand in his, RJ stood and led the way toward the restaurant. Once the pair made their way down the stairs, RJ nearly sagged against his friend in relief when he saw that the restaurant had indeed made it through the storm unscathed. There were no shards of broken glass on the floor, nor was there any evidence of flooding. The only "damage" there was was the fact that the power was out.

"Okay so I just don't open the refrigerators or freezer for a day or two and I think this will be survivable," RJ mused.

Fran squeezed his hand. "I think so too." She sighed warily before continuing, "My place on the other hand…"

"Well, we'll go in a little while," RJ told her reassuringly. "I think the roads are pretty flooded out so it might not be until tonight that we can go see. And hey…if you need to stay for another night or two…"

Fran blushed and grumbled about not being sure if she had enough clothes in her duffle.

"I do own a washer and dryer."

"Okay…"

"Awesome!" RJ cheered. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and I know there's a banana-chocolate chip muffin or two with my name on it."

Fran laughed at that. "Yeah, same."

It was early evening when Fran had received a call from her landlord promising her that all was well with her apartment and the building overall and once the flood waters had receded, RJ drove Fran back to her home. She opened her mouth to apologize for the fifth time for being unnecessarily worried about the possibility of her windows blowing in when a bemused RJ cut her off.

"Stop," he told her, gently placing a hand on her arm. "I had a lot of fun and we wouldn't have had that fun if you weren't there."

"True," Fran conceded, unable to school her features into anything other than sheepish.

"Besides," RJ went on. "Without you, I probably wouldn't have even known that there were cats out there to rescue."

Fran sighed, her shoulders slumped at that. She had asked the landlord if she would be able to keep the strays with her, promising up and down to get them vaccinated and chipped but the kindly widow who owned her apartment gently told Fran that the building association decreed that residents were only allowed one pet per apartment. Unwilling to separate Gouda from Smoky, Fran resigned herself to leaving the fluffy white kitten at Jungle Karma. RJ had immediately promised her that he would take excellent care of the cats and that she could visit whenever he wanted.

Knowing what had brought her mood down, RJ patted her hand. "It'll be okay, Fran. I'm planning on taking them to the vet tomorrow if the office is open." Briefly he flicked his gaze to her. "You're more than welcome to come with me if you want. So long as you're off work."

Fran gave a small laugh as they pulled up to her apartment complex. "I actually am scheduled for the day off as a matter of fact." She hopped out of the jeep and pulled out her duffel and sleeping bag from the back. "What time do you want to meet up?"

"Ten?" RJ asked as he joined her on the passenger side of the truck.

"Sounds good to me," Fran agreed with a nod. "Thank you again for anything."

"Totally up for doing it again." He pulled her into his arms. "Preferably without the threat of terrible weather."

"Thank goodness we don't live where blizzards happen."

"Exactly."

The pair lingered in the embrace for a long moment, neither one ready to say goodbye just yet. Finally Fran hugged RJ tighter to her before releasing him. "See you tomorrow," she said as she hitched her duffel bag to her shoulder.

"Until tomorrow."

A surge of courage coursed through her and before she could fully think about it, Fran stretched to her full height and placed a soft kiss on RJ's cheek. Two heartbeats later and she spun away from him, a violent blush on her face as she all but sprinted into her building.

RJ merely stood there, eyes blinking as he gradually registered the fact that Fran had indeed kissed him. A kiss on the cheek, but still. A kiss. A small kernel of hope began to bloom in his chest at the possibility of having his feelings for her turn out to be mutual.

RJ and Fran didn't get to the veterinarian's office until eleven-thirty the next morning due to the struggle of fitting the unhappy kittens into their carrier along with the appointment time being the only one available that was early.

Fran had the carrier settled on her lap while RJ handled the paperwork. She kept cooing to the mewing kittens, reaching in as far as she could to stroke their fur with a gentle finger, making sure to give an equal amount of attention to each cat. She glanced up just in time to see the vet's technician poke her head into the waiting area and call RJ's name. Fran continued to coo at Smoky and Gouda as they made their way into the exam room, hardly aware of RJ wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders.

Ten minutes after the vet began her examination of the kittens, which included checking the healthiness of their coats and skin, clarity of their eyesight and strength of hearing, RJ asked, "So doc, how are our kids doing?"

Fran looked at him, eyes filled with confusion. "Kids? RJ, they're baby cats, not baby goats."

"Oh no, Fran. I just meant that—" He noticed the mischief that replaced the confusion in her gaze and rolled his eyes. "Oh ha ha. You're just messing with me."

Fran giggled and patted his arm in apology.

The vet smiled at the two friends. "You two are an adorable couple," she observed.

Both RJ and Fran froze, their eyes wide as their faces heated with a blush. "Oh…oh uh, um…we're…we're not…" Fran blustered.

RJ squeezed Fran's shoulders. "She's my best friend and…" he trailed off, unsure how to finish his thought without sounding like a jackass.

"We're best friends," Fran said firmly.

The vet held her hands up placatingly. "No matter then. As for the real reason why we're here, both Smoky and Gouda seem to be in excellent health for their age. No more than ten months, I would wager. Now, one thing to note is Gouda's heterochromia. Usually cats who have one blue eye tend to have severe hearing loss on that side."

"Oh," Fran frowned in concern.

"It's nothing detrimental in the long run," the vet assured her. "Her hearing is just fine for right now and even if she loses hearing in the left ear, Gouda will still be able to live a fulfilling life."

"That's good to know," RJ chimed in, giving the doctor a grateful smile.

"Now all we need to do is get these two ladies vaccinated and chipped then they can head back home."

Thirty minutes later, RJ and Fran were back in the loft above the JKP, playing with the pair of disgruntled kittens whom were still annoyed with receiving shots, being chipped and shoved back into the carrier.

Really, to the kittens' perspective, it was just rude.

"Don't you worry Gouda," Fran told the kitten in her lap seriously. "You're still gonna be awesome, even if you do become deaf in one ear."

RJ reached over to gently stroke the kitten's ears. "She'll be great," he confirmed. "I won't let you down."

Fran arched a brow, "I still get to see her whenever, yeah?"

"Just text first."

"Like I would just ambush you," Fran scoffed. There was a decidedly heavy pause before she added. "Unless we're talking tickle attacks of course."

The look she slanted him plus the smirk on her face were decidedly evil in RJ's opinion and he found himself hastily removing Smoky from his lap. "Oh no you don't."

Fran blinked at him, a mock innocent look on her face. "No I don't what, RJ?"

Her hand darted out and lightly grazed his side, eliciting a giggle from her friend. He blushed and swatted her hand away. "Don't do that!"

RJ took off running across the loft as Fran chased him while laughing, eager to catch up to him and see where else she could tickle him and get him to giggle like he had done so just seconds ago.

Ooh! Maybe there was a chance she could make him snort!

Three weeks after Smoky and Gouda's first visit to the vet found Fran walking into Jungle Karma Pizza an hour before closing. RJ looked up from where he was ringing up a take-out order and had to do a double take at the sight of his best friend.

Fran was always pretty, but she had never dressed up, always preferring to be in jeans and a t-shirt or shorts and a tank. That night however she was clad in a dark purple t-shirt that RJ quickly looked away from, heat suffusing his face when he realized that it was cut lower than he had ever seen on her, revealing a dusting of freckles just above her clavicle. A black skirt decorated with purple wildflowers flowed from her hips to her ankles. Her curls were free from any ties, gently framing her face while her cheeks were a shimmery rose, her eyes which were not framed by eyeglasses appeared to be larger by the smoky eyeshadow highlighting the lids and RJ could have sworn the lip gloss Fran wore put her mouth into a pout.

All in all, Fran looked like a whole other woman.

Yet when she made eye contact with him and smiled bashfully, RJ immediately found his best friend in her gaze and grinned. "You're looking awfully dolled up!" His smile went tight as he did his damnedest to stamp out the sharp jab of jealousy in his heart as he then asked, "Have a hot date tonight?" He also did his best to ignore the sudden smugness that crept in from the recesses of his mind. Nosy wolf…

His heart then jolted in shock when she winked at him and replied, "Why? Are you asking?" She then laughed and shook her head, "No, no date tonight, RJ. I've got work."

RJ frowned slightly at that as he glanced at the clock near the door. "Now? Isn't the library closing in an hour?"

"It is," Fran confirmed with a nod. "To the public. However tonight's the lock in so I'm helping with that."

"…Lock in…?"

Fran looked at him in surprise. "Did I not tell you about that?" When RJ shook his head, Fran lightly facepalmed herself before explaining; "The teen club that I volunteer with has a party at the end of every school year. No thanks to that storm earlier in the month, it got pushed back to today. What happens is when the library is closed to the public, we have your typical party food, pizza…ice cream. We play games and watch movies and even work on arts and crafts that we'll use for the kids' summer reading program launch party that starts in July. The club members' favorite part is the fact that this party lasts until midnight."

"That sounds awesome!" RJ enthused. He then smirked. "Let me guess? You're here for the pizza?"

Fran laughed. "Correctamundo," she replied, earning a grin from RJ. "I'm also here to ask if you wanted to come with me. We're down a librarian to serve as chaperone so I was wondering if you'd like to fill that spot. I already vouched for you with my boss just in case you said yes."

"Heck yeah, I'm in," RJ said. "Let me just handle your order and then after I close up, we can go." He glanced down at his uniform and laughed. "After I find something a little more appropriate."

"You don't have to get dressed up," Fran assured him. When he shot a meaningful glance at her own outfit, Fran rolled her eyes and elaborated. "This outfit is because, a: it's a party and b: it's hot out but it's still a work occasion so the skirt is the answer here."

"Gotcha."

An hour later, RJ, whom had changed into a grey and purple t-shirt and black pants, unthinkingly complementing Fran's outfit; balanced a stack of four pizzas on one arm as he offered Fran the other, "Ready whenever you are, princess."

"Princess?!" She laughed as she looped her arm through his. She looked down at her skirt. "Is it because of this?" She sashayed her hips, making the skirt fly out as if she were dancing in a ball gown instead.

RJ merely grinned and met her eyes directly as he answered her, "Nope."

She was flustered the entire ride to the library.

The following night Fran sat in RJ's chair, reading her newest book as she waited for RJ to finish with a delivery order that was across town. Smoky was curled up on the arm, quietly purring as Fran pet her. Gouda was draped along the top of the chair, sound asleep although occasionally she could be her snoring, a sound that amused Fran to no end. Fran was in the middle of a chapter that was heading into the climax of the story when RJ trudged up the stairs into the loft, sighing loudly as he did so.

"Everything alright?" Fran asked as she glanced up from her book. Inwardly she winced when she saw the exhaustion in the set of his shoulders and the overall unhappy look on his face. "Bad delivery run?"

"Just a really long, busy day."

"I'm sorry," Fran lamented. "I should have offered to help you."

RJ managed to chuckle at that. "How? You were working today."

"I know. I just feel like still could have done something when I came here instead of sitting around and reading."

"Didn't you feed the cats?"

"I did," Fran confirmed. "I also cleaned out their litter box and managed to wrestle with Gouda and trim her nails." She shot a dirty look at Smoky whom appeared nonplussed. "She just hid."

"Eh. I'll handle her." RJ walked over to Fran and lifted her arm before ducking underneath it and seating himself next to her. He then draped the arm he held over his shoulder, keeping hold of her hand. He slouched slightly and snuggled in close. "So, what're we reading?"

Fran smiled down at her book. "It's called Cinder, the first book to a series called The Lunar Chronicles. It's a cyberpunk take on several tales."

RJ laid his head on Fran's shoulder. "Let me guess, Cinderella is the main character of the first book?"

"Her name is Cinder here," Fran explained. "She's actually a cyborg from the moon!"

RJ slid his incredulous gaze over to her, brow arched. "I beg your pardon?"

Fran giggled and elaborated. "Yeah, there's a race on the moon called the Lunars. They have this awful hierarchy between those who can pull off glamour and those who cannot. Those who can't like Cinder here; they are called shells. They are very looked down upon."

"Ouch."

"Not to mention the biological warfare that the Lunars have launched on the people of Earth."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yup," Fran nodded seriously. "I'm pretty sure it's a political ploy thought up by Queen Levana of Luna—that's what they call the moon, by the way. She seems to be after the Empress's crown of the Eastern Commonwealth so she can eventually take over both worlds."

"That's intense." RJ's eyes were wide and alight with interest. "I wanna read too."

Without prompt, Fran flipped the book back to the beginning. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Thirty pages into the story and Fran became aware of two things. One, RJ had stopped peppering their reading session with questions and commentary; two, his breathing had become heavier and steadier. Glancing down at him from the corner of her eye had confirmed her suspicions. He had fallen asleep.

Smiling softly at the sight, Fran returned her attention to the book. She kept one finger on the spot where they had left off and flipped ahead to where she was reading before RJ had returned home. It wasn't all that late into the night and she didn't have the heart to move him.

She was nearing the end of the book and was beginning to begin to doze off herself when RJ moved, startling her into wakefulness. He sighed and shifted, moving closer to the crook of her neck, gently squeezing the hand he still held.

"I really like you Fran," he murmured, his voice slurred with sleep. "I like you so much."

He fell back asleep, his lips lightly brushing against her collarbone as he shifted. That, combined with his confession had Fran turning a violent shade of red as she did her best not to squeak in shock and wake him.

Okay…okay…Fran tried to rationalize. He's asleep. He has no idea what he's saying.

Yet Fran couldn't fully shake the notion that RJ was indeed sincere and that he returned her feelings.

Exhaling as quietly as she could, Fran gently laid her head against RJ's. Just before her eyes closed she whispered, "I like you too, RJ. So, so much."

Yaaaaay! We have a confession! Question is: will they remember when they wake up? Find out next chapter! Hoping to have that up within a week or two.

Needless to say, I don't own Star Wars either. Can't hurt to cover my bases with disclaimers though.

The lock in really does happen! In the library in my hometown, every June there's a lock in just like the one described in my story. The Lunar Chronicles also exists and is an awesome series! Kinda wish it could be a movie or television show...

Reviews encourage and inspire me, so please send them!