Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Don't sue me.

Slytherin-Angel44: Here it is! And fast, too. Well, almost. :D

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Carlos wasn't meaning to be hateful, exactly... You'll see. Andros gets to be cute some more. ;-)

Sasja: Carlos is less of a jerk here. He explains himself, anyway. He is gorgeous--but Andros is way more gorgeous!

JDPhoenix: My thinking exactly with Andros. :D Carlos explains himself here, and as for how bad the invasion can go... Well, when you take Andros's suicidal tendencies and throw in the fact that he's all on his own and has emotional issues regarding the two people he's supposed to kill... pretty bad.

Jenny: No offense taken. I see what you mean now that I think about it--it would have been better to put a chapter in between as a sort of transition. :sigh: Next time, then. :P

C.C.C: Carlos stops being a jerk here and explains what he meant.

Funky In Fishnet: Thanks:-) I hope I didn't make Carlos into too much of a jerk; I just needed him to say something that would make Andros even more convinced that he needed to go.

Mita427: There will be some A/A action soon, I promise.

DizneeDol: He won't tell her in this story, sorry, but it won't be too long.

TrueRomantic: He is and he should... but I think he's dumb enough not to. :P

Star Fata: Yeah, I like Andros slightly stupid. It's not just your brain, and Carlos explains what he meant.

Arwennicole: Wow, thanks:D Here's more, and there will be more soon, I promise.

hmmart: Thanks and so am I! Now I can write again. :D

Chapter 31

"Andros."

Carlos greeted him with a curt nod as he entered the holding bay early the next morning. Remembering their conversation the night before, Andros frowned but mimicked the gesture nonetheless, keeping his expression carefully neutral. He caught TJ watching them with ill-disguised interest, but the blue ranger went on eating while Andros stepped over to the Synthetron and ordered himself some food.

"What is that?"

Andros glanced up in annoyance when Carlos motioned at his plate. "What's that?" he countered, indicating the black ranger's own breakfast with a sweep of his hand.

"Oatmeal."

Andros did nothing to indicate that he had even heard the answer, and Carlos didn't repeat himself. With a sigh, he trailed a spoon through the oatmeal while Andros proceeded to eat calmly and TJ rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

"Ketchup, anyone?" TJ was the one to break the tense silence, offering around the ketchup bottle. "Andros?"

"No, thanks," he replied coolly, his countenance belied by the white-knuckled grip he had on his fork.

"Well, I'm done," TJ announced. He stood and shot Carlos a look that said quite plainly that he wanted no part in this. "I'll see you guys later."

"Later," Carlos called after him before turning to Andros with a sigh.

The other had gone on eating silently and did nothing to suggest that he had noticed the departure of the blue ranger. He ignored Carlos's presence in a similar fashion, scowling down at his breakfast.

"Look, Andros..." Carlos sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry."

He watched Andros hesitate visibly, fork hovering in midair for a moment or two while Carlos waited and tried not to show his impatience. With a sigh, Andros carefully lowered the fork back down onto the plate and raised his head.

"I guess I was a little out of line last night." Carlos shrugged, offering Andros a nervous grin. "That's all."

Andros contemplated the apology for several seconds with a frown on his face. "You said Ashley was one of you," he stated finally, his tone chilly but rather hesitant.

"Yeah." Carlos shifted a bit uncomfortably on his stool. "She's family. That's all I meant."

"Family?" Andros sounded considerably warmer now. "So you're not--"

"Interested in her?" Carlos finished. He shook his head as he let out a short laugh. "We've tried that. Ashley and I are just friends."

The remaining tension melted away as Andros relaxed visibly. He even looked about ready to respond when Cassie breezed into the holding bay, chirping a greeting that seemed more befitting of Ashley.

"Morning," she said brightly, sliding onto the stool TJ had vacated a few minutes before. "You guys are up early."

"So are you," Carlos pointed out.

"Ashley and I are going shopping," Cassie informed him. "At least, I am... I still need to get her a birthday present."

"You've got a week," Carlos reminded her. "That's plenty of time."

Cassie just laughed at him. "This from the guy who gives gag gifts every year because he ran out of time to find a real birthday present."

"Birthday present?" Andros ventured, and then tried not to blush when Carlos and Cassie turned incredulous gazes on him.

"You don't know what that is?" Cassie asked, surprise evident in her voice. "Really?"

"Should I?"

"No, not really," Cassie admitted when Andros practically bristled defensively. "Here on Earth, most people have this tradition where we celebrate the day that we're born.'

"Oh." Andros frowned slightly, his expression turning puzzled. "Why?"

"We just do."

"Oh," Andros said again. "That's... nice."

"You should see your face," Cassie told him, laughing not unkindly. "You don't have to get it. There's probably a ton of things about KO-35 we wouldn't understand."

"Probably," he agreed, now looking rather intrigued. "What do you do, exactly?"

"Have a party," Carlos explained. "There's a birthday cake and everyone brings a present for whoever's birthday it happens to be."

"You'll see at Ashley's party," Cassie said when Andros still appeared slightly confused. "Which you and Zhane and Karone are coming to, by the way."

"We... are?" Andros glanced over at her nervously. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie informed him cheerfully. "Unless you've got a good reason, you're coming. Ashley would love it," she added with a grin.

Andros looked away before they could catch his blush, wondering just how they knew. "She would?"

"Yeah," Cassie said emphatically. "She would."

"I--Okay," he agreed uncertainly. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie repeated breezily. "You're coming, you're having fun, end of story."

"But--" Andros grinned when Cassie rolled her eyes. "What do I get her?" he finished seriously, frowning again. "I don't really understand how this works," he admitted.

"Something she'd like," Carlos told him, rather unhelpfully.

"Just get the first thing you see that reminds you of her," Cassie suggested. "It's what I always do--I'm horrible at thinking up gifts."

"I'll try," Andros said slowly, still uncertain. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it so much," Cassie advised him. "It's not really that big of a deal... and Ashley will love it just that you're there."

"She will?" A small smile formed on his face at her words and he glanced away, biting down on his lower lip to suppress it. Cassie giggled, suddenly seeing what Ashley must.

"Yeah," she said firmly. "She will, and--"

"Morning, guys," came Ashley's voice, more subdued than usual but still lively.

"Good; you're up," Cassie said brightly. "We're going shopping, are you ready?"

"We are?" Ashley repeated. "But--"

"No buts," Cassie said for the third time that morning. "We're going shopping."

"I--Okay," Ashley agreed, catching Andros's eye and smiling faintly. "I'll wait until you're done. Morning, Andros."

"Hi," he said softly, carefully avoiding her gaze. "How are you feeling?"

Carlos thought he saw Ashley almost smile. "Better," she said after a brief pause. "Thanks."

Andros either didn't know how to answer that or chose not to. At any rate, Cassie pushed aside her now empty plate and stood, linking her arm through Ashley's.

"We'll see you guys later," she said cheerfully, giving Ashley's arm a tug to get her moving. "Bye."

"Bye," Ashley echoed, letting Cassie drag her out of the holding bay more than willingly. "See you later."

"You really do care about her," Carlos conceded, watching Andros follow Ashley with his eyes.

"Of course I do." Andros cast him an insulted look and Carlos rolled his eyes.

"Well, how were we supposed to know?" he defended himself. "You're not exactly the friendliest guy around, you know. I just don't want to see Ashley hurt."

"I'd never hurt her," Andros insisted.

"But if you do," Carlos warned, "I will hunt you down."

"Fair enough," Andros agreed, mostly for the sake of ending the argument but deciding that if he ever hurt Ashley that badly, he'd deserve whatever the black ranger had in store for him. "But I'd never hurt her."

"Right," Carlos said. "I know."

Andros sighed silently and turned his attention back to his food, now cold and unappetizing. While they weren't on as chilly terms as they had been the previous night, it was clear that Carlos didn't trust him. Andros took a sip of his drink, deciding that if he wasn't trusted, then there was no reason for him to trust any of them in return. Things might be improving, but he was largely on his own.

"I have to go," he announced abruptly, shoving his plate to the side and standing. Carlos called some sort of good-bye after him, but Andros wasn't listening. He had work to do, and the sooner he started, the sooner he had his morpher back.