Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.
Chapter 16
Ashley double-checked to be sure that her nail polish had dried and grabbed her purse. She smoothed down the black skirt one last time and straightened up, heading for the Bridge. Andros had asked her to meet him there at seven, five minutes from now. Just enough time for her not to be late.
He was already there when she arrived, arms crossed over his chest while he stared at the floor. Ashley watched him for a moment, a smile on her face. He was dressed in a new pair of jeans and a red button-down shirt, his hair falling loosely around his shoulders. His expression was nervous and uncertain, and she tried not to sigh. Even with that look on his face, he was adorable. She'd just have to get him to relax a little.
"Hi," she said softly, stepping past the doors onto the Bridge.
He froze, his eyes flickering towards hers tentatively. "H--hi," he stammered, forcing a smile. "You look nice."
She was completely surprised to feel herself blush, warmth touching her cheeks and neck. Andros was hardly even looking at her! She shouldn't feel this flustered. But he'd never once said anything about how she looked, and that he did now made her stomach flutter.
"Thanks," Ashley murmured quietly. "You do too. So, where are we going?"
"Well, I..." Andros straightened up, his eyes on the floor again. "I didn't know where I should take you, but the others said that you liked Chinese food..."
"I love it, actually," she corrected him with a smile. "That sounds great."
"You're sure?" he asked anxiously. "We could go somewhere else."
"Chinese sounds great," she repeated firmly. Impulsively, she stepped to his side and touched his arm, lightly kissing his cheek. "Hey, you can relax a little," she told him softly. "It's just dinner."
"Yeah," he agreed distantly. He finally dropped his arms down to his sides, and she caught one of his hands. His palms were sweaty, and she smiled a little. He needed to loosen up.
"Deca, teleport us to Angel Grove," Andros requested, and her fingers tightened over his everything dissolved around her.
When the sparkles faded, Ashley glanced around to find them in downtown Angel Grove. The early autumn air was still warm, but just cool enough to be comfortable. She smiled up at Andros, sighing when she found him looking down again.
"Which way?" she asked, as they emerged from behind the dumpsters and made their way back to the sidewalk. "There's two Chinese restaurants and a Thai place around here."
"It was... this way." Andros pointed towards their left, and then frowned. "At least I think it was..."
"Well, what was the name of it?" she prompted.
"Um..." He blushed and stared at his feet. "I'm not sure..."
Ashley sighed in amused exasperation. "Was there a dragon anywhere in the name?"
He shook his head. "No," he said with certainty. "There wasn't."
She smiled and tugged on his hand. "This way, then," and took a step towards the right. "We're going to Liu's. It was the small family-owned place, right?"
He nodded, his expression brightening. "Yeah," he said sheepishly. "That was it."
Ashley laughed gently and squeezed his hand. "Come on, then," she said. "I'm starving!"
Andros didn't answer, but she heard him let out a deep breath just before they stepped inside. She assumed that meant that they'd gone to the right restaurant.
The air-conditioning teased their hair lightly as the door shut behind them, and Ashley shivered slightly. She wished she'd brought a jacket, she thought to herself distractedly, following Andros to a small table in the corner.
"Have you ever had Chinese before?" she asked, unsurprised when he shook his head no. "You'll love it, I promise."
"You can order," he said, examining the menu with a frown. "You know what you like."
"Um..." Ashley studied her menu for a few moments. "Do you like spicy food?"
"I--I guess so," he said uncertainly, and shrugged. "There's not a lot I won't eat."
"A little of everything, then," Ashley decided. "How hungry are you?"
"Hungry enough to eat?"
She laughed. "Then we'll skip the soup. A vegetable dish, a meat dish, and some rice sound good?"
Andros nodded without answering, and Ashley shook her head with a small smile. His nervousness was surprisingly sweet, in a way. Part of her wanted to just throw her arms around him in a hug. The rest of her just wanted to shake him.
"Are you two ready to order?" The waiter appeared at their table out of nowhere, pad and pen in hand.
"Yes we are." Ashley smiled and quickly glanced down at the menu one more time. "We'll have one order of orange chicken, the snow peas, and rice for two people. Oh, and two glasses of water, please."
The waiter left, and Ashley's eyes slid back to Andros. The moment she caught his eye he looked away. She sighed quietly when he fiddled with he silverware, reaching across the table to catch his hands.
"How was your day?" she asked finally, when she couldn't think of anything else.
"Fine," he muttered. When he glanced over his shoulder, Ashley thought that he was going to add something that others weren't meant to overhear, but he fell silent after that.
Her gaze drifted towards the window. The sidewalks were still crowded on Saturday evening, some shoppers and some probably making their way to the clubs up the street. Ashley smiled trying to picture Andros in a dance club. That topped the list of places he would never go.
"Ashley?" he ventured quietly, and her head snapped back towards him.
"Yeah?"
"I--I, um..." She wondered idly if he was going to blush every time he opened his mouth. "I just--"
Andros broke off midsentence and turned quickly to look behind him. Ashley looked at him curiously, but he only let out a deep breath and started talking again. "I just wanted to--to say that... um, I... you..." His voice trailed off in a sigh. "Forget it."
Disappointed, Ashley settled back into her seat and tried to get comfortable. A look she couldn't comprehend flashed across Andros's face and he sighed again, fidgeting around and playing with his silverware some more. She just watched him and wondered what was so wrong.
They sat there in silence until the food arrived. Andros studied the food with some interest, and she thought he finally relaxed. Ashley helped herself to some chicken and reached for her chopsticks, digging in.
It was a moment before she noticed that Andros was holding a chopstick in each hand and glaring at them both. She smiled as he glanced between her hand and his own, before looking up at her face, baffled.
"How do you..."
Ashley laughed and set hers aside, reaching across the table. "Here," she said, and arranged them in his hand. "Does that feel comfortable?"
"I... not really," he admitted, clumsily picking up a piece of meat. It fell off halfway to his mouth.
Ashley tried not to giggle. He clearly wasn't amused. "It's tricky at first," she tried to reassure him. "Just use a fork this time."
Andros stabbed half-heartedly at a pea. A brief look of intense fury passed across his face before he set the chopsticks aside and picked up the fork. Ashley watched him uneasily, not sure what was bothering him but not feeling like she should ask.
He didn't eat much. Neither did she and half an hour later, Ashley just wanted to get outside. She wondered if she could get him to take a walk with her, anything to open him up a little.
She perked up when their fortune cookies arrived. Andros even smiled a little when he cracked his open and found the paper inside, but his face clouded when he read it.
Ashley rolled her eyes at her own. We come to love not by finding the perfect person but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. "That's not even a fortune," she complained quietly. "I swear I've gotten an e-mail that said the exact same thing." But it was sweet in a corny sort of way and probably true... and besides, the last fortune she'd gotten had said that she would have good luck in business investments. Ashley smiled and slid the tiny slip of paper into her purse.
"What's yours say?" she wanted to know, when he wouldn't stop staring at the piece of paper in his hand. "I'll tell you mine."
"It's nothing," he muttered, and crumpled the paper in his hand. "Are you done?"
"Yeah," she said, and smiled at him. "Thanks for dinner, Andros."
He didn't smile back. If anything, he only looked even more unhappy. Ashley sighed and reached for her purse. "Let's pay and get out of here, all right?" she said. "It's still light out, we can go take a walk or something."
"I... sure." Surprise flicked across his face, but he nodded his head. She saw him frown a moment later and looked over at him quizzically. His eyes met hers a moment later and he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I... don't have any money," he mumbled. "I forgot..."
"Oh..." Ashley remembered suddenly what Zhane had told her once--on KO-35 Rangers didn't pay. She frowned as Andros glared down at his lap and reached for her purse. "Don't worry about it," she told him. "I've got enough."
"I'm sorry," he muttered, eyes on his hands. "I--"
"Don't worry about it," she repeated firmly. "It's all right. You're not used to Earth."
That didn't seem to make him feel any better, and she heard him blow out his breath in a sigh. "I'll pay you back."
"No you won't." She shook her head when he looked up at her, and smiled. "If it bothers you so much, remember your money the next time we go out."
His eyes narrowed, and Ashley winced inwardly. She hadn't meant to say that, and she knew that he knew it. Not that she wouldn't want to go out with him again, it was just that... well... "Let's go take a walk or something, all right?" she said abruptly, and stood up.
Andros seemed to like the idea of getting out of there. He shot up so quickly that he disrupted the table, is mostly-full water glass tipping over. Ashley jumped back as the water sloshed over the edge of the table, spilling across her skirt.
She yelped in surprise as the cold touched her skin, laughing by the time she grabbed a napkin to soak it all up. "It's all right," she said, when Andros opened his mouth to apologize. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"I'm sorry," he muttered anyway, his eyes on the floor as he followed her to the register. He still wasn't looking at her when they stepped outside, and she grabbed his arm until he turned towards her. "What?"
"What do you want to do right now?" she asked. "This really isn't your thing, is it?"
"I don't care," he said, staring hard at the sidewalk. "Whatever you want is fine."
She looked at him skeptically. "You want to walk around window-shopping?" He looked like he just wanted to run back to his room and lock the door behind him.
Andros shrugged. "Is that what you want to do?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "But if you'd rather go back to the Megaship..."
He shook his head. "I told you, it's fine," he said, rather unconvincingly. "Really."
"Okay, then," she said, and took his hand. Ashley wasn't really surprised to feel his palms sweating, and wondered what she was thinking. She should just give up and go back to the Megaship already.
She just kept... hoping that he'd open up just a little. Her mind thought back to the Andros who had stayed with her a few days before, helping her with her homework and writing it down for her when she couldn't use her arm. That was the guy she wanted to be on a date with.
He followed her towards the stores, pulling his hand out of hers. Ashley paused and glanced back at him. Andros was keeping up with her fine, but he didn't seem to want either to talk to her or look at her. She knew he was embarrassed, and she could totally understand why, but if he would just look at her and say something, she would forget it in five minutes.
"That would look nice on you," she said suddenly, pausing to study a men's leather jacket on display. "It'd fit your shoulders really well. In case you ever need a leather jacket," she added sheepishly. "Sorry, I notice things like that. I'm thinking about being a designer."
"Of clothes?" He smiled a little bit when she nodded, his eyes drifting back towards the jacket. "Are you sure it would look good?"
"Well, no." Ashley grinned at him. "The only way you'll know for sure is if you try it on."
"Um... that's all right," he said, shaking his head.
"Oh." Disappointed, she turned to keep walking. "Okay, then."
She'd barely gone more than three steps before she stopped again, this time in front of a jewelry display. One bracelet caught her eye, a simple, delicate silver chain linking together pearls and an orange gem that she thought might have been topaz. Ashley only let herself admire it for a moment, knowing that she really shouldn't keep doing this to Andros. She just kept hoping that he'd stop... hiding.
"Ashley! Hey Ash!"
She glanced up when she heard her name, turning to catch sight of the speaker. "Elijah! Hi!" Ashley laughed as her brother's best friend caught up with her, his girlfriend just behind him. "What are you doing here?"
"Going dancing," Laurel said brightly. "You two wanna come?"
"Oh, um, maybe next time," Ashley said quickly, remembering her earlier thoughts about Andros in a club. "We're just walking around. Andros, this is Elijah and Laurel. They're both seniors at Angel Grove High with the rest of us. Guys, this is Andros."
Andros shook both their hands and smiled politely, but she saw him back up a few steps once introductions were made. She shot him a curious look when he let out a deep breath, but he shook his head at her.
"You sure you don't want to come?" Elijah wanted to know.
"You can go if you want to, Ash," Andros said softly. "I'll just go back to the--I'll just go home."
"No, Andros..." She shook her head. If he hadn't been with her, she would have jumped at the chance, but she didn't care how this date was going. It was still a date and she wasn't going to ditch him.
"Really, it's okay. You should have some fun tonight." Andros took a few more steps backwards. "I'll see you later."
"Andros..." She sighed and shook her head when he disappeared around the corner, knowing that he'd probably teleported himself out by now.
"Everything all right?" Laurel asked curiously. "Your boyfriend seems a little--"
"Nervous," Ashley finished for her, not wanting to know what her friend would come up with. "Long story. I should go find him..."
"Come with us," Elijah insisted. "Just for half an hour or so. It'll be fun."
"I really shouldn't..." Ashley sighed and shoved her hair back. But maybe Andros just wanted some time alone, and he'd been the one to leave in the first place... Feeling guiltier than she probably should, Ashley nodded slowly. "Well, all right. But just for a little while."
"Hungry?" a cheerful voice asked. Astronema looked up when Zhane stepped into the room, a tray in his hands. "I brought some food."
"Not really," she answered, sitting cross-legged on her bed.
"I'll eat it, then," he volunteered, and she had to smile as he set the tray on her dresser and pulled up a chair. "You sure you don't want any? It's good."
"I'm sure." She toyed with her hair for a moment while he ate, sick of blue. Maybe she'd go blond again... Astronema gave her head a quick shake, and frowned. No. Purple was much better.
"Whoa." Zhane stared at her for a moment, and then took another sip of whatever he was drinking. "That was cool."
Inexplicably, a pleased smile appeared on her face. "Magic."
He nodded slowly. "Can you do... anything?"
She shrugged. "Everything I've tried."
"Wish I could do that," he remarked. "It'd come in handy when I needed to get Andros for something."
"You're horrible."
"Thanks." He grinned at her widely, sobering as he added, "Speaking of Andros..."
"I--I don't know." Sometimes she thought she knew him, but those images were hazy, almost like dreams. "I don't know," she repeated.
"It's going to take more than a few days," Zhane said seriously. "He knows that, and I hope you do too."
She nodded slowly. She knew. It was what kept her on this ship full of Rangers that didn't trust her, just hoping that she would remember her brother. "Thanks," Astronema said quietly to the Silver Ranger.
He just smiled at her. "Anytime."
He hadn't bothered to turn on a light. Andros kept his head buried in the pillow, ignoring Deca's persistent attempts to get him to talk. It was times like now that her human side irritated him to no end--why wouldn't she just leave him alone when he asked?
"I cannot empathize with your situation if you refuse to talk," she reminded him for what was probably the tenth or twentieth time. "You haven't been this difficult in years," she added in a more human tone. "Won't you talk about it?"
"No." Andros sighed and rolled over onto his back. "Look, Deca, leave me alone. The next time I need intensive therapy, I'll come find you."
"I do not believe that deal is beneficial to either of us," she remarked, and he groaned.
"Go away." He turned back onto his stomach. "I don't want to talk to you."
Miraculously, she fell silent. Andros let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, only to lift his head slightly when someone knocked on his door. "Tell whoever it is to go away," he muttered. "I don't feel like seeing anyone."
He dropped his head back down and buried his face in the pillow, his eyes squeezed shut. He wondered how long it would be before anyone noticed if he just stayed in bed for a few days. Facing Ashley after the mess he'd made of tonight... he couldn't do that.
"Ashley wishes to speak with you," Deca informed him, and Andros groaned into the pillow.
He'd wanted so badly for tonight to be perfect for her... But every time that he'd opened his mouth, he'd been too tongue-tied to speak. He hadn't meant to spill water on her and no one had told him that he was supposed to pay for things on Earth, but he should have known. He hadn't even been able to figure out how to eat right.
"Tell her I'm asleep," he ordered Deca, and tried to think of anything but their date for a moment.
The door slid open instead. Andros sat up and shot an angry glare at Deca. She only blinked calmly at him and turned the lights up, and his gaze shifted unconsciously towards Ashley.
His face suddenly felt very hot. "H--hi," he stuttered awkwardly. "I, um... did you need something?"
"I wanted to apologize," she said softly, and his eyes widened in surprise. "I shouldn't have left you the way that I did."
"I was the one who left," he muttered. He didn't know what else to say, except that he couldn't blame her for not coming after him. "Did you at least have fun with them?"
"Yeah." She didn't look away. "But I would rather have been with you."
He almost wanted to laugh. "Ashley, you don't have to--"
"I'm not just saying that," she insisted, folding her arms over her chest. "Look, Andros, I really do like you. I know you were nervous and I know that tonight didn't go so well, but I was wondering if maybe you would want to have lunch with me on Saturday?"
"I..." Andros stared at her guardedly, but he almost thought she was totally serious. She watched him expectantly, and relief flooded through him, mingled with confusion. "But--really?"
Ashley nodded, smiling a little at him. "Is that a yes?"
He watched her uncertainly for a moment longer. He really didn't want to do anything that would make him feel like a fool again, but on the other hand... she didn't really seem to mind that he'd already done so once. "I... all right," he agreed, smiling tentatively. "That sounds... nice."
She nodded slowly. "I'll plan everything this time, okay?"
"If you want to." He wondered at the mysterious little smile playing on her lips, but he didn't ask.
"Oh, and Andros?" Ashley's expression turned decidedly more mischievous as she took a step closer to him. "There's something else that you're supposed to do on a date."
He frowned. "What's that?"
She was sitting on the bed next to him a moment later, one of her hands pushing his shoulder until he faced her. Andros tensed, skin crawling as he realized how... close she was. It had never bothered him before, and there was no reason it should bother him now, he told himself firmly, unable to quash his sudden uneasiness. This was Ashley. His friend. His... girlfriend? Andros bit his lip anxiously.
He hadn't realized before how much... touching there was involved in this. Ashley was an affectionate person and Andros was mostly okay with that, because it had never felt like she was demanding anything from him. Her hugs had been more comforting than anything else, and he hadn't minded her kissing his cheek because, well... she was smiling and happy and it had made him feel the same. Now, though, she was looking at him like she was expecting him to do something, and he didn't feel okay about it anymore.
"Ashley?" he said, scooting away from her. "Don't..."
"Andros?" He tensed when she laid a hand on his shoulder, and she drew away immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he muttered. "I... what are you doing?"
"What do you want me to do?" she asked softly. "Andros?"
"I--I don't know," he stammered. That wasn't much of an answer, and he just told he the truth. "You're looking at me like I'm supposed to do something or know what you're doing, and I don't."
Surprise crossed her face. "Is that what it seems like?" she wanted to know. "Because I don't expect more than you can give, however much or little that is."
"Oh." Andros stared at his lap for a few minutes, just thinking. He really did want to kiss her, it was just that... he was scared. He didn't know what he was afraid of, but he didn't have a clue what he was doing, and kissing her would mean letting her get closer to him than anyone ever had. Andros wasn't sure which one was bothering him the most.
"I... I've never kissed anyone before," he muttered finally.
"I know that," she said softly. "Look at me for a minute?"
Andros knew exactly what Ashley was going to do, and for a minute he almost didn't turn his head towards her. He wasn't sure what it was that made him change his mind, but slowly, he turned his head to the side, his heart thudding anxiously when he found their noses almost bumping. Ashley smiled at him and leaned a little closer, and just for a second, her lips touched his. Andros relaxed, staring at her with wide eyes as she pulled away.
"See?" she whispered, her breath hot on his mouth. "It's not so hard."
Andros bit down hard on the inside of his lip, still feeling her mouth warm against his. The smile broke through anyway, and he knew he was blushing again. "Can I kiss you?" he asked, feeling her laugh more than he heard it.
"You don't have to ask," she murmured. He didn't care.
He pressed his lips against hers carefully, still not quite sure what he was supposed to do. Her lips were warm and soft, and for some reason tasted like strawberries. Andros pulled back quickly, before he unknowingly did something that he wasn't supposed to.
Ashley sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, one of her arms wrapping around his middle. He carefully pulled his arm out from beneath hers and draped it over her shoulders, just holding her.
"This is nice," Ashley murmured, and he couldn't help but agree whole-heartedly.
"I should get some sleep," she said regretfully a moment later, slowly straightening up. Her fingers brushed lightly against his cheek and she smiled, leaning forward to kiss him one more time. "I'll see you in the morning."
He nodded, a smile on his face as he watched her walk away. Letting out a deep breath as the door slid shut after her, Andros flopped down and rolled onto his back, exhausted. Ashley asking him to lunch only made him feel marginally less stupid, but as for those kisses... A grin spread across his face and he closed his eyes, only to open them again in annoyance when his door slid open.
"Don't you ever knock?" he demanded, vaguely aware that he was still grinning like an idiot.
Zhane just smirked at him. "So, how was your date?"
Author's Note: Yes I know I'm being mean to Andros. I don't care. This was too much fun to write. ::grins:: He'll make it up to her later. Next chapter will be up in a few days, and the story can actually start now that they've kissed. Hope you like it, please review.
