Chapter Two

Aisha Campbell sat hunched with two of her best friends, Rocky DeSantos and Adam Park. Kimberly had sent her a text about an unidentified vessel outside of Earth's atmosphere and asked her to check it out. Thanks to the technology they possessed, they were able to estimate the landing location which happened to be in her vicinity. What was even more perfect was that Adam and Rocky had chosen that time to pay her a visit. That was a stroke of luck on her part. Ever since moving to Africa, she didn't get to see her friends all that much. When Kim said that there was a second unidentified vessel following the first, she sent a silent prayer to the heavens that her friends were there because she wasn't exactly sure she could hold off a potential threat on her own.

She snuck a glance at the couple. They were huddled together, hands intertwined. That brought a smile to her face. The Ranger life could be a lonely one because one of the most sacred rules was that they couldn't tell anyone they were rangers. That made dating hard. Always having to think of an excuse to run out in the middle of a date. It's not like they could say 'I'm having a great time but I need to go save the world. Save me some dessert'. She had known Rocky and Adam much longer than she had known any of the other rangers. The three of them had grown up together and had gone to school in Stone Canyon. Their parents had each gotten a promotion or a job transfer when they were in high school and shortly after their move to Angel Grove was when their whole world changed.

Growing up, she had always suspected that there was something going on between her two friends. She never pushed or pried but she was very observant. The way the boys touched each other affectionately, or when their eyes lingered on each other longer than normal. Rocky always seemed to worry more about Adam than he did others.

"Hey," Aisha started. She was starting to get bored. They had placed sensors that would detect motion within a fifty mile radius of the projected touchdown and now they were just waiting out of sight. The boys turned to look at her. "Tell me again when you two knuckleheads realized you had feelings for each other." She had heard the story a hundred times but it never failed to put a smile on her face.

Adam turned red and Rocky just flashed the biggest smile. "You really want to hear that story again? It's ancient history." Rocky laughed when Aisha nodded her head. Rocky turned to look at his husband. "I think subconsciously we always knew. We were just afraid to admit it." He paused and looked at his husband again. Adam nodded his confirmation and Rocky continued. "I think for me, I really started to notice in middle school. Our first sleepover after puberty. We had always shared a bed as kids, whether I was at his house or he was at mine. I didn't think anything of it until that first night when Adam, in his sleep, snuggled his backside into me. I started to have this reaction that I didn't have before. It made me really nervous and I started sleeping on the floor after that."

Adam had taken the opportunity of his husband's pause to interject. "I was really upset after that. I thought I had done something wrong. For as long as I could remember, Rocky had always slept in bed with me. I used to get really bad nightmares and would always wake up with his arms around me, comforting me. When he started sleeping on the floor, I felt like part of me was missing. I didn't realize why at first. Actually, Rocky was the first one to realize his feelings for me. But as we grew older, I found myself getting excited every time he touched me. A hand on the shoulder, our legs accidentally brushing together. Every touch felt like electricity coursing through my body."

Aisha sat, enthralled once again in their story, her arms propped up on her knees and her head resting on her arms. Rocky decided to take over. "It wasn't until one day after gym when we were all showering and I couldn't take my eyes off Adam. I was discreet about it of course, watching him shower out of the corner of my eye. The way his hands ran over his body, soap running down his ass. I popped the biggest erection ever, which naturally I tried to play off as general teenage hormones. That was when I realized not only was I gay but that I was attracted to my best friend."

Adam's face started to sport a nice shade of pink as Rocky was describing his sexual awakening about him. "For me, it took a little bit longer. Sure, I checked Rocky out in the shower too but I tried to tell myself that it was for comparison. Growing up, I would hear my parents talk about gay people like they were the worst thing on earth and I remember telling myself that I wasn't gay, I was just checking out guys because I aspired to be what they were. I lived in denial for a long time." Adam took a breath and Rocky gently squeezed his hand, letting him know that he was safe. "A few months after we moved to Angel Grove, I had a sex dream about Rocky and woke up with my sheets and my boxers a complete mess. Let's say I completely freaked the hell out."

"Adam started to avoid me other than school and ranger duties. I noticed that he didn't meet my eyes as much, he pulled away at the slightest touch. He stopped coming over and would always give me an excuse when I would suggest staying at his place. I tried to date girls. Try to convince myself that I wasn't gay and that I wasn't into Adam. But it never worked out. I could hold their hands just fine but nothing more than that."

"I tried to date girls too. For a while I thought that there might have been something between Tanya and I but I couldn't push myself to pursue anything. Every time I was with a girl, my mind was drawn back to Rocky. I knew deep down, I couldn't ever fully commit to a girl and I couldn't hurt Tanya like that. It wasn't until you paid us that visit after graduation and the three of us had that sleep over that I started to accept my sexuality."

"That sleepover was when I first realized that I just wasn't attracted to my best friend, but I was in love with him and that was all thanks to you." Rocky paused because Aisha started to smirk proudly. "I had a feeling you had suspected me at least. But it wasn't until that sleepover that confirmed it for me. First, you insisted on sitting at the very end of the bed while we watch the movie, placing Adam and I next to each other and then there was the movie itself."

Adam interrupted his husband. "Yeah that movie was very pointed. I didn't know how Rocky felt about me at the time so I just assumed I was being obvious. When you insisted on playing the movie about the two guy friends that fell in love with each other, I thought for sure my secret was out."

Aisha laughed. "Yeah I came across that movie at the video store and knew it was perfect. Both of you were being obvious but only to those who were paying attention. To be honest, I had suspected for a long time that there was something going on between you guys but nothing ever happened. I expected a letter or a phone call from Kat or one of you guys after moving to Africa confirming my suspicions but it never came. I knew you two needed a little nudge."

"Yeah well after that movie, I couldn't deny it anymore. It was driving me crazy because I didn't want to ruin our friendship and had no idea that Adam felt the same way. It took us a few weeks after you came back to Africa before anything happened." Rocky stated.

"My parents were headed out of town and insisted I have Rocky stay over for safety. If they had known that I was previously a Power Ranger, I don't think they would have worried as much. But we had watched a movie and were laying in bed afterward talking about it and Rocky started laughing. Being that close to him and seeing his smile, it was like I lost all control over my body and next thing I knew I was…"

"Kissing me." Rocky interrupted. He had one of those stupid silly grins on his face as he remembered that moment. "It was unlike anything I had ever felt but I was so shocked that it happened that I just froze. Up until that moment, kissing Adam was something I had only dreamed about. I didn't expect for a minute that it could be a reality. Adam kissed me for a few minutes and pulled away before I had a chance to respond. He had a horrified look on his face and I knew that by not responding, I fucked up. He started to apologize but kept stammering and couldn't form a complete sentence."

"Well what did you expect? I made a move, unsure if you felt the same, and I got zero response. I thought I had just ruined everything. I was getting ready to bolt out of the bed, hell out of the house and make a run for it when you placed your hand on the back of my head and crashed your lips into mine. It took a moment for my brain to realize what was happening and then my body took over, pulling you close and wrapping my leg around your waist." Adam playfully shoulder bumped his husband.

"We kept our relationship a secret for a few weeks. Both of us were still nervous to tell our friends and families." Rocky recalled. "Then because we both have the shittiest luck, the weekend before we left for college we decided at that moment to be intimate for the first time together. I had gone over to Adam's because his house always provided more privacy than mine."

"I had music playing so that my parents didn't hear any weird noises. Everything had started off great. We had started making out like we always did anytime we got the chance to be alone. Between the heavy kissing and the grinding against each other, we were both hornier than we ever were. Rocky stopped grinding his hips into me long enough to practically rip my clothes off. I had barely gotten his clothes off before he was attacking me with his lips again. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist to pull him closer and that was how Tommy, Kat and the gang found us." Adam started to blush again. Aisha couldn't blame him. To be that vulnerable in front of anyone was humiliating.

"Adam's mom didn't realize that I had come over that afternoon before she got home from work. The gang had shone up hoping for one last hurrah before we all went our separate ways for school. Poor Mrs. Parks. She had let them in and told them that Adam was up in his room listening to music and would love the surprise." Rocky paused to start laughing uncontrollably. "I think everyone got a surprise that day. Adam had just pulled me closer to him and he had his fingers dug into my back when I started to kiss his neck when the next thing we knew, his bedroom door opened. We heard a scream first. Still not sure if it was Kat, Tanya or Mrs. Parks." Rocky continued to laugh again.

"Rocky had his back to the door so fortunately for him, he missed that entire moment. Unfortunately for me, being underneath him, I could see everything. Tanya had covered Justin's eyes, Kat had her hand over her mouth and Tommy just stood there gaping like his jaw had come unhinged." Adam shook his head at the memory. "I remember wishing for an alien attack before I remembered that we weren't rangers anymore. The worst part of all was that I could hear my mom on the hallway phone telling my dad that he owed her twenty bucks."

"Needless to say our secret was out. Turns out, both of our parents had suspected something for years. At least our moms did. They had placed bets against our dads. The gang took it easier than we thought they were going to. They all congratulated us and wished us well. Zordon and Alpha had known for a while too but were kind enough not to say anything. We also didn't attempt to get intimate again until we were in college and sharing our own dorm room."

"The rest is history really. Rocky and I graduated, we opened our own Dojo and then when gay marriage was legal, this big lug got down on one knee and asked me to marry him." Adam smiled fondly at the memory.

Aisha clapped in excitement. "I always love when you guys tell this story. Everyone deserves to find a great love and be happy, no matter your skin color or sexual preference and I am so glad you both have each other."

Rocky and Adam looked lovingly into each other's eyes. Rocky gave Adam's hand a squeeze. "This man makes me more and more happy with every passing…"

BOOM!

The impact of a large vessel traveling at an extremely fast rate into Earth's atmosphere sent a shockwave so loud it made the ground shake and the tree rattle.

"Alright guys, show time." Aisha said, reaching for her morpher.