Nix tightened the clamps holding the two parts of the new barrel for one of the hydraulics to the Tyrannosaurus' central hatch as Billy welded the pieces together.
"Okay." Billy said turning off the welding device in his hands and pulling up the goggles he wore over his glasses, letting it rest on his forehead. He pulled off his glasses, folding on the temples in to have them dangle from the front of his shirt. "That should do it."
"Goldar definitely isn't one for restraint." Nix commented as she pulled off her own set of goggles to examine the newly sealed seam in the hydraulic barrel.
"I'd say that's an accurate observation." Billy stated as he picked up his tools and moved back onto the catwalk. "Without the assistance, the repairs would have taken me all day."
He looked to Nix, giving her an appreciative smile. "Your visit was fortuitous. Thanks."
Nix blinked, processing the foreign appearance of Billy without his glasses. "He's…rather handsome." Realizing she'd been momentarily staring, Nix gave her head a small shake. "You're welcome. I'm happy I could be of help."
"What about the other zords?" she asked, turning her eyes away from Billy to the hangar in an attempt to hide her sudden bashfulness.
Grabbing his glasses from the front of his shirt, Billy pulled a cleaning cloth from his pocket to wipe the lenses. "The Saber-Tooth and my Triceratops suffered a few deeps scratches and scorch marks that will be remedied once they're back in their hiding places. Zack's Mastodon requires some minor maintenance to the Megazord's arm components, but we should be able to complete all of that tonight."
Billy placed his glasses back on his face, lifting his gaze to Phoenix. "That is…if you would care to stay and continue to help me."
"Absolutely." Nix replied, turning to meet his gaze. "Shall we head over?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the Mastodon zord.
Just as Billy opened his mouth to speak, his communicator went off. He and Nix exchanged amused smirks at the timing before Billy lifted his wrist to talk. "Billy here."
"Hey man, it's Zack." Came the voice on the other end. "Tommy is leaving in a few minutes, and the guys are gathered to see him off. We're just waiting for you."
"Right, I'll be right there." He replied into the device, his eyes lifting to meet Nix.
"Go on. Alpha and I will get started on the Mastodon in the meantime." Nix said with a grin.
"Okay, I'll come right back." Billy said with a nod of his head before activating his communicator and teleporting out.
"Take care of yourself, man." Jason said as he clasped hands with Tommy.
"I will, Jase." Tommy said, giving him a sideways smile. "Take care of yourself too, bro."
"Hey, don't be a stranger, alright?" said Zack, also clasping hands with him
"Yeah." Tommy said with a small laugh in his tone. "I won't this time. I promise."
"We're here if you need anything." Trini added as she pulled him into a hug.
"I know." He replied, giving her a slight squeeze before pulling away.
"We'll be eagerly awaiting correspondence from you." Billy said as they clasped hands.
"You bet, man." Tommy returned with a grin before his eyes landed onto the face of the petite brunette to Billy's right. He stepped in front of her with a sad half-grin.
"We'll miss you, Tommy." Kim said as she stepped forward, rising on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug.
Tommy closed his eyes, cherishing the embrace as he pulled Kim tightly to him. "I'll miss you too." He replied in a voice barely above a whisper.
"All of you." Tommy addressed to the entire team as he and Kim separated.
Looking back to Kim, he ran a thumb over her cheek. "I'll keep in touch this time. I promise."
Kim gave Tommy a trusting smile in return. "I know."
Stepping away, Tommy took one last look at his friends and former teammates. "Well, guys…I guess this is it for now."
"Come back when you're ready, bro." Jason said as the remaining five rangers all either held each other's hand or put an arm around each other.
"I will." Tommy returned. With one last wave to the group, he stepped away heading towards his uncle's truck and climbed into the front passenger seat.
"So…what do we do now?" asked Zack, who had one arm draped around Jason's shoulder and his other draped around Trini. The remaining rangers watched as the truck pulled out of the parking lot of the Youth Center, turn onto the street, and disappear.
"I don't feel like being alone right now." Kim answered as she took Trini's free hand and linked an arm with Billy's, pulling him into the small huddle they were forming.
"Why don't we all see a movie?" Trini suggested as she looked between her friends.
"That sounds like a great idea." Jason remarked with a grin.
Billy's shoulders dropped as a look of disappointment crossed his face. "As much as I would like to accompany you guys, I promised Phoenix that I'd head back to the Command Center to complete repairs to our Zords."
"Well, why don't we come and help you guys out? We can catch a movie afterwards." Zack offered on behalf of the group. "She's part of the gang now, after all."
The other teens agreeing to Zack's proposal, headed for the back of the Youth Center, still holding onto each other to teleport back to the Command Center.
Kimberly and Billy stood at the opening to a hall of theaters as they waited for Phoenix and Jason, the pair currently standing at the concession stand. The two volunteered themselves to get sodas and snacks for the group while the Trini and Zack went ahead to secure seats.
Jason leaned onto his forearms on the glass-top counter of the concession stand as the worker behind the counter went about putting the groups order together. He looked over to Nix, who was currently looking about the space of the cinema lobby.
A grin was etched into his face at Nix's clear fascination with her current surrounding's. "Have to admit, her curiosity is pretty cute."
"Now that I think about it, this is your first time at one of these places, isn't it?" Jason asked in a low voice, as his eyes glanced around to the workers behind the counter.
Nix brought her attention to him, returning the grin. "It is." She shifted her stance to lean against the counter. "I admit, there are a few things about human society I find both odd and fascinating."
"I'm sure." Jason responded with a chuckle in his voice. "But you've been adjusting to most of it pretty well."
"You and the others have helped with that." Nix replied with a warm smile. Jason blinked, suddenly becoming aware that he'd been starring. Clearing his throat, he casually turned his attention back to the worker that was finishing their order.
"First Kim, now Phoenix…" Jason berated himself as he rolled his eyes. "Get a grip, Scott." He kicked himself mentally. His own feelings were getting complicated enough when it came to Kim, and he had already made up his mind to not explore them further for the sake of his friendship with her and his loyalty to Tommy.
Jason quickly stole a glance at Nix from the corner of his eye. "She is pretty cute….and attractive." He admitted to himself, but as far as he could tell, had no romantic interest in her.
"Since Kim brought it up last night, I can't help thinking about it." He let out a short breath, suddenly annoyed with his own thoughts.
"You alright, Jason?" Nix asked, noting the slight hint of annoyance on his face.
"It's just my own curiosity. Besides, Billy likes her from what I can tell." He turned to smile at her, giving a slight nod. "Yeah, just overthinking something. Everything's good."
They turned away from the counter and began heading in the direction of the hall to the theater as Kim and Billy waved to them from the outside of the assigned theater to their chosen movie. Kim chewed her bottom lip as she watched Jason and Nix at leave the snack bar. She peaked over to her blue-clad friend, who was also watching the pair as intently as herself. Kim turned her attention back to the two as her ears picked up a bit of laughter that she recognized belonged to Nix. She was laughing at something that Jason said, his grin stretching into a full smile as they chatted.
Despite her choice to see how things would go with Tommy, and Jason's claim to have no romantic interest in Phoenix, she couldn't stifle the growing unease at the sight of the two in front of her.
"Feelings can always change…" She thought, reflecting on the recent events and her own odd feelings when it came to Jason.
Kim looked back at Billy. Though he wore a smile on his face, she noticed the same uneasiness emitting from him that she felt. "Hey, Billy?"
"Yeah, Kim?" Billy replied as he kept his focus on Jason and Nix.
"You like Phoenix, don't you?" She asked as her eyes landed back on the pair.
"I'm…not sure." Billy answered. "She's a friend, but I do seem to experience an elevated sense of awareness to her person when she is present."
"They've been getting pretty close, haven't they?" Kim stated in a low voice, noticing the tone of hurt that laced her words as she watched Jason and Nix head in the direction of her and Billy.
"That would be an accurate observation." Billy answered as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
Kim moved closer to Bill, her fingers lacing together as she held onto one of his arms. "I almost feel a little…"
"Jealous?" Billy chimed in, finishing her sentence.
"Yeah…" Kim replied as she tried to make sense of the confusing emotions within her. Billy looked at the petite brunette beside him, noting the dismal look on her face. "Kim?"
"Yeah?" she replied, drawing her eyes away from Nix and Jason to look at Billy.
Billy's brow furrowed in concern at the peculiar tone in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Kim furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment before a smile emerged at her friend's inquiry. "Of course!"
Despite her efforts to hide it, Billy picked up on the slight somber tone in Kim's voice. "Did you and Tommy get a chance to talk?"
Kim nodded in response as she turned her attention back to the approaching pair of Nix and Jason. "Yeah…we went for a walk in the park and talked everything out."
Billy followed Kim's eyeline to Jason, his eyes quickly switching to land on Phoenix. "Do you mind if I inquire about what happened?"
Kim let out a long breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. "He said even though he wasn't ready to come back to Angel Grove, he wanted to try."
Billy let out a breath as well as he tried to process his own turbulent feelings. "I hope everything works out." The words causing him to wonder if he intended them for Kim and Tommy, or was voicing his own thoughts aloud.
Kim gave Billy's arm a light squeeze, putting a smile on her face as Nix and Jason approached. Jason's grin widened as his gaze met Kim's, sending another wave of conflicting and confusing emotions to course through her. "I do too."
