Ravi had hoped it wouldn't come to this.
He wanted to be a Ranger. His mother had been working on Grid Battleforce his whole life and he wanted to be a part of it. When he heard they were recruiting candidates, he begged her to let him join. She agreed and he knew he wanted nothing more.
While working for Grid Battleforce, before applying to be a Ranger candidate, Ravi met Roxy. She worked in his department. For her, it was just a summer job – something to keep her busy and get her a little extra money for college. Ravi liked her and by the end of the first summer, he mustered up the courage to ask her on a date. Roxy agreed, and though the date didn't go perfectly (Ravi remembered spilling pasta sauce all over his shirt), it was the best night of his life. Roxy was sweet, and charming, and funny. She was positive and caring, and she made him smile – a lot. When he was around her, or even just thinking of her, he wanted to do better, and be better. She always inspired him.
When he applied to be a Ranger candidate, Roxy followed. She believed in Grid Battleforce's ideas and values and wanted to do all she could to help support it. She also liked the idea of serving her city and being a Ranger offered her that opportunity.
However, his mother had made something clear the moment the Ranger candidates were chosen. Romantic relationships between Rangers were banned. Ravi wanted to protest at first, since he and Roxy were now in a committed relationship, but his mother started to list the reasons behind the rule.
Romantic relationships were a distraction. Your focus would always be on the person with which you were involved and not on the task at hand. It put the Ranger, and their teammates at risk, since the two Rangers in a relationship would always choose each other out of love, rather than make the most logical choice.
Romantic relationships were a weakness. Anyone who wanted to steal the Morph-X, or use its powers for personal gain already had poor intentions. It wouldn't be a far stretch to imagine they wouldn't hesitate to use the love two Rangers shared against them. Ravi couldn't imagine doing anything to harm Roxy, even if it was for the greater good.
A work environment was not the place for a romantic relationship. The responsibility they had to Grid Battleforce and the city was far more important than their personal relationships. They chose to be Ranger candidates; to put their lives on the line, and at the same time on hold.
Though Ravi didn't like the thought of losing Roxy, he did have a job to do. He made a commitment to be a Ranger and to honour the rules and responsibilities that came with it. He just hoped Roxy felt the same. He had hoped they wouldn't both be chosen as Rangers, but since they were, it was time to have the talk.
Before heading into Grid Battleforce that morning, Ravi met Roxy at her home early. He took her down to the park and walked over to the lake. There was a dock over the water that was peaceful and at this time, it would be private. He walked out to the dock with her and looked out at the water as he breathed out a heavy sigh.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't a good surprise?" Roxy asked about the early met up and the trip to the lake. Ravi couldn't bring himself to look at her.
"We're Rangers now."
"I know," Roxy nodded her head.
"My mother… uh, the Commander made the rules very clear."
"No using your powers for personal gain, no escalating a fight…"
"You know the one I'm talking about."
"You're not serious about that one, are you?" Roxy asked him with a tone of slight annoyance. "Ravi, you don't always have to follow every rule, especially if it's ridiculous. Past Rangers have dated."
"Can you prove that?"
"The new hire," Roxy said. "The Ranger consultant dated a teammate."
"Maybe they had different ruled," Ravin shrugged. "Besides, the Commander brought up good reasons. It's too dangerous to be involved."
"So I'm just supposed to shut off my feelings? Ravi, your mother chose us, knowing we were already dating…"
"That Ranger chose us," Ravi corrected her. "And I doubt my mother would have told her anything about that. She wanted an unbiased opinion."
"Ravi…"
"When we signed up to be Rangers, we knew what we were getting into."
"We also made a promise that no matter what, this wouldn't affect our relationship."
"We also promised Grid Battleforce that we would put our lives on hold. The odds of both of us getting the position were so low, I thought maybe it would work out but…"
"So, this is more important to you, then?" Roxy asked and Ravi could see she was getting the wrong idea. He wanted to tell her that she mattered more to him than anything, and that was the very reason he had to break things off. However, he couldn't. This had to be done. Maybe if she hated him for him, she could deal with it a little better.
"We're Rangers now, Roxy. You know we can't be together," he said. He knew he had to leave it at that. He couldn't say much more without hurting her, or without giving her hope that he might change his mind. The rules were the rules.
He walked away from the lake. Grid Battleforce wasn't far from the park and he knew Roxy likely wouldn't want to get in the car with him. He knew she would make her own way over when she was ready. There was still time.