Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. That would be Disney. I think.
Chapter 30
"You know, that really wasn't fair," Zhane complained. The Silver Ranger slowly rolled onto his back, rubbing his shoulder. "You're stronger."
"You're taller," Andros retorted. He reached for his towel instead of offering his friend a hand up.
"That I am," Zhane agreed as he sat. He looked Andros up and down, smirking. "Blonder, too."
Andros couldn't help laughing. He mopped the sweat from his forehead before he sank back down to stretch out. However gentle their moves had been this time, the added half hour of sparring on top of the team's training session and the battle that morning all combined to make him sore. Very sore.
Careful as he bent forward to touch his toes, he breathed out slowly as he straightened up. Zhane watched him through narrowed eyes, and Andros sighed. "What?"
"If you beat me on a broken rib--"
"It's not broken."
Zhane studied him a moment longer, unconvinced, and Andros rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not."
Zhane waved an arm over his shoulder, fingers closing around his towel when it came close enough. Wiping his face, he said, "Just hope that they don't attack again until you've all healed."
"Just hope that we can buy ourselves enough time to find their weakness," Andros retorted. He slung his towel across his shoulders and leaned back on his hands, sighing. "It's been awhile since we've been up against something this tough."
When Zhane slowly closed his mouth, Andros knew what he'd almost asked. "That was different," he muttered. "I made a mistake and Darkonda took advantage of it. He didn't capture me because he was stronger, he captured me because I was an idiot."
"Well, at least you admit it." Zhane smirked, grinning widely. "I've heard that helps." More seriously, he added, frowning, "It's been awhile since he's shown up."
"I know." Andros drew one knee up to his chest, sighing. "He's up to something--but we've got more important problems right now."
"Do you think this one is Astronema?"
"Who else is there?" Andros picked some lint off of his pants, frowning. "If I could just--"
"No." Zhane's voice was hard as he cut in, shaking his head. "You're not going after her."
"There has to be some way to get through to her," he argued.
"I'm not saying that there isn't," Zhane said. "But you sneaking onto the Dark Fortress and getting yourself captured isn't quite the way to do it."
"I know." Andros let out his breath in a slow sigh, closing his eyes. "I just..."
"I know." Zhane was quiet for a moment before he added, "You're going to get her back."
"Right." He heard his voice grow flat and desperately tried to shake off the despair. He couldn't stop believing in her now. He would have her back someday. He would.
"Hey." Zhane's voice grew sharp, and Andros just knew he was frowning. "Don't think like that."
"Right," he said again, letting out a deep breath before he blinked his eyes open. "You're right."
"Of course I am." Zhane smirked at him and Andros couldn't help smiling just a little. "Listen, why don't you go out with Ashley, have some fun? I'll do whatever it is that's important right now."
Andros raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that taking the night off is a good idea right now."
"You're too responsible," Zhane informed him. "At least go have dinner with her before you go back to work. Let her cheer you up."
Andros rolled his eyes, annoyed at the way he felt his face flush when Zhane grinned widely at him. "I don't need cheering up."
"Sure you do." Zhane paused, studying him closely. "Have you--"
"No," Andros said shortly. "We haven't."
"Why not?"
Andros blinked at him. "Because."
Zhane threw his towel at him, making a face when it fell far short of its target. "Seriously."
"We just haven't." Andros shrugged.
"Well, why not?"
"Because." Andros grinned when Zhane made a face at him, and shook his head. "She wants to," he admitted, frowning.
"And you don't?"
"I--I..." He shrugged his shoulders, uncomfortable. "I do... but... I don't know."
"All right." Zhane stretched his legs out in front of him, toes pointed as he bent forward. "You don't have to worry about it, you know."
"I'm not," he muttered.
But he was.
A little bit.
Andros tucked some hair behind his ears, hesitating. Ashley had asked him if it was the loss of control that he was afraid of. It wasn't that, he realized now--he could let go around her. He only didn't know what to do with himself once he had.
And what if it wasn't enough? He frowned to himself, wondering. If he let go of everything that held him back, would that be enough for him to share himself completely? Or would there be something else to stop him? And Ashley could still change her mind...
But she probably wouldn't. He knew that she wouldn't, and he knew that somehow he was what she wanted. Andros didn't understand how or why, but somehow he could make her happy in a way that nobody else could. And she made him happy, too, and that was something that he didn't want to let go of.
He shouldn't be afraid of this. He might not know what he was doing and there was a vague, fuzzy memory somewhere in the back of his mind that warned against letting anyone so close, but--Ashley wouldn't ever harm him. There was nothing that he had to fear with her.
And when this was what he wanted...
Andros climbed slowly to his feet and reached his hand out to Zhane. "We should get back to work."
Three days and four lost battles later, Ashley limped out of the infirmary. They were lucky to have come out relatively unscathed this time--her ankle was slightly twisted and Carlos had a badly sprained wrist, but the rest of them were bruised and nothing more.
She sucked nervously on her bottom lip, putting little weight on her right leg as she headed towards the Bridge. Andros would be there, she knew, watching and rewatching Deca's recordings of each of their encounters with the Psycho Rangers.
Ashley paused in the doorway when she saw him in his seat, quietly watching him. He turned in his seat a few seconds later, and she smiled at him wearily. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"You're not." He turned himself back towards the screen as she came closer, tilting his head backwards to frown at her. "You're hurt," he said. "You should sit down."
"I'm fine," she promised him. Ashley leaned forward across the back of his chair, her hands on his shoulders. "Andros..."
He pulled away as she started to wrap her arms around his neck, grasping her wrists and gently pulling her closer. "Sit," he insisted.
Ashley dropped down into her own seat, reaching to rest one hand on his elbow. "What are you thinking about?"
Andros shook his head with a quiet sigh. "Nothing we've tried has worked."
"I know." Ashley rubbed his arm, trying to smile at him. "But we'll think of something--there's never been anyone we couldn't beat in the end."
That wasn't quite true. Ashley found herself again remembering the Power Chamber and she bit her lip, her eyes intently studying her lap. They hadn't beaten Divatox--she'd nearly killed them, and it was something of a miracle that she hadn't. But she'd had an army with her, Ashley reminded herself, and sighed.
"Ashley?" Andros's quiet voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she tried to smile she saw the concern on his face. "Is there something wrong?"
"I--I was just thinking..." She leaned back into her seat with another sigh, turning herself slightly to face him. "When we lost the Power Chamber, Divatox had an army of Piranhatrons. But it doesn't seem to matter that there's only five Psycho Rangers if we can't last long enough to even defend ourselves."
Andros nodded slowly. Ashley let out a deep breath when he laid his hand over hers, a small smile forming when he tugged gently on her arm. She leaned against him gratefully, her chin on his shoulder as he just held her without saying a word.
"Thanks," she whispered, feeling silly now. "I thought I was supposed to be cheering you up."
He just tightened his hold on her. When Andros stroked her hair she closed her eyes, squeezing him a little harder. Safe in his arms, she inhaled the familiar scents of his hair and his skin and for a few precious moments, she could believe that there was only the two of them and nothing to worry about at all.
She raised her head when he exhaled, a smile on her face as their eyes met. She hugged him tight for another instant before she stepped back. "Thanks," she said again. "I'm all right now."
"I'm glad," he said softly. His fingers brushed against her cheek, pushing hair behind her ear, and she turned her head to kiss his palm. He smiled faintly. "I love you, Ash."
"I love you," she murmured in reply. Letting out a deep, slow breath, Ashley took her seat again. She studied the images Deca had frozen on the screen and tried hard to push the uneasinesss from her mind, ultimately finding herself unable to.
"Andros," she said suddenly, "do you think this is a losing battle?"
"Ash..." Andros hesitated. He drummed his fingers against the flight control panel, and sighed. "I..."
"I want to know what you really think," she insisted.
"We've been losing," he said, and stilled the tapping of his fingers. "They're stronger, faster, and they they can read our minds if they're close enough. I've lost to less than them before.
"But," he continued, "I don't believe that they're invulnerable to attack. We only need to find their weakness."
That was a more optimistic answer than she had expected, and Ashley nodded, satisfied. "So we've just got to find their weakness and then we can beat them?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "It's not as simple as it sounds."
"I've noticed," she muttered, and thought she saw a half-smile form.
When she reached to brush his fingers with her own, Andros caught her hand. He gave a gentle tug and she let him pull her, somewhat surprisingly, into his lap. Ashley leaned against him as he wrapped both arms around her waist and held her close to him, neither of them speaking.
When several minutes passed and he didn't release her, Ashley closed her eyes and tucked her head against his shoulder. He hugged her closer and she sighed deeply, gently rubbing his shoulder with one hand.
"Scared?" she asked softly.
A moment of silence, then: "Yes," he murmured. "We need to figure out something fast."
"We will," she said quietly, halfway surprised to find that she believed herself. She squeezed his shoulder and kissed his cheek just above his jaw, gently touching his lips when he smiled.
He kissed her fingertips as she let her hand fall away. Ashley smiled, then shifted until she was better able to trail kisses across his cheek and jaw to his mouth. He turned his head and their noses bumped together; she pulled away with a soft giggle, and his smile widened.
Her good leg resting on the ground and her arms around his shoulders, Ashley leaned forward to kiss him again. Andros slid one arm around her waist, his hand pressing gently against the small of her back. He slowly traced her spine as he kissed her soundly, the fingers of his other hand brushing over her cheek.
The light caress made her smile, and she held him a little more tightly. His breath was warm on her ear as she rested her chin on his shoulder another time, in no hurry to let him go. Andros sighed quietly and touched her hair, and she shut her eyes, willing herself to believe that he would always be there.
Author's Note: Apologies--again--for the late update. I should have considered how much time school takes up when promising an update within the week. And because I am a stubborn idiot who signed up for too many units and refuses to drop any classes: updates will be scarce between now and the 20th of December, and unlikely at all in November. But I'm not going anywhere, and as soon as I can manage to finally wrap up StL, I'll finally post the continuation of Let Come What May.
Any feedback welcome. :)
