Chapter 3 – Pizza with Sausage
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"Can we take this moment to be kind of mad at Wes?" Blake was frowning down at the squares of croissant dough laid out in front of him, eyes darting between the freakishly identical dough shapes and the pan of tomato sauce beside him, as though he still could not determine how these two items connected to each other. "This was going to be Kai's job, right?"
Shane dutifully did not look up from his block of cheese. Kai had left very exact instructions on how each type of cheese was supposed to be cut for proper 'platter preparation', and he was not going to let Blake's complaining distract him when he had finally figured it all out. "Yes to the second part, and a definite 'no' to the first."
"Spoilsport."
"Whiner," Shane replied easily, eyes narrowing in concentration. He had a feeling that if these were not as exact as the dough Kai had left out for them, someone (him) was going to get an earful.
Except it was Kai, so it would be less of an earful and more of a dismissive glance that felt kind of more devastating than a full blown-out lecture ever could so…yeah, cheese squares.
Shane spent the majority of his day-to-day activities actively fighting off a maniacal space ninja from taking over the Earth, he could handle cheese squares.
Or was it supposed to be triangles?
Damn it, why did this have to seem deceptively achievable?
"Diner," Blake countered in the meantime, proving his point by popping a handful of the peperoni shreds (also all uniform in width) into his mouth.
Shane frowned, and actively did not double-check Kai's instructions. If it hadn't been squares, he was pleading innocence. Or, confusion, at the very least. He was supposed to be on music duty with Tori and Cam, while Blake was supposed to be with Hunter and the others, but Kai's rearrangement had all of them shuffled around.
"Save those for the pizza rolls," he chided. "Speaking of which…" Shane nodded his head meaningful towards the supplies laid out in front of Blake, the freshly-grated mozzarella cheese resting in a metal bowl next to the homemade marinara sauce, taking up residence with the shredded pepperoni. Kai hadn't dismissed the menu as 'too simple' when Wes had created it – because surprisingly enough, Kai was probably one of the least-judgmental people Shane had ever met – but if the blue ranger was going to be in charge of actually cooking it, he had opted to take the selected food-items to their fanciest extremes.
Blake gave an exaggerated sigh, making no effort to cover up the half-chewed food in his mouth as he set himself to work making the pizza rolls. "Fine, I'm on it. But don't expect me to get any joy from this."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Shane replied.
Seriously, he wouldn't. There would never be an instance where he would be so woefully misguided as to assume Blake liked being second-string kitchen detail. It wasn't that he disliked cooking so much that he resented the fact that he had to step in when he wasn't first in line for chef duties.
Damned if Shane would ever understand the Bradley's and their pride-issues. Get your face smashed in during a battle? No shame in calling for backup. Dare to dismiss their cooking skills? Absolute tragedy.
Shane swore they did have of this shit just to annoy him. Or Cam.
Cam was actually the more probable target.
"When do you think they're gonna do it?"
Blake's question startled Shane out of his annoyed reverie, pulling his attention away from his cheese squares (his beautiful, beautiful cheese squares) to take in the navy ranger as he sloppily scooped marinara sauce onto a croissant square.
It seemed like an innocent question, which was how Shane knew it was a trap. First he would ask 'Do what?' and then Blake would give him those side-eyes that perfectly emoted absolute innocence that was a lie, and then they would be gossiping about something Shane probably didn't want to be gossiping about. That's what always happened.
And he fell for it, every time, because some part of him still could not believe that the thunder rangers were really a bunch of forty-year-old soccer moms at heart.
Don't engage. Don't engage. Don't engage-
"Do what?" Shane asked.
Curse him and his innate curiosity. Curse it to hell.
Side-eyes were engaged, Blake gave him a glance Shane would almost consider coy if he didn't think Tori would somehow find out about it. And then ceaselessly make fun of him for it. And probably make matching hats of mockery with Hunter over it, because that was how the blond's of team Ninja Storm bonded.
"You know…" Blake drawled, even though Shane had very obviously just proved he didn't know. "It."
There was no doubt in Shane's hormonal teenage mind that 'It' was a euphemism for sex. He would not give Blake the added satisfaction of requesting clarification on that front, not when he was suppressing a Cheshire cat grin as it was.
Shane sighed. He was a bit stressed, there were four other types of cheeses that had to be cut in their own specific manner and that didn't even knock out a quarter of the list of food they were supposed to be making.
He was tempted to give up and cut them all the same, but the imaginary weight of Kai's disapproval glance kept him pressing steadily forward.
Still, he played his part. As long as Blake was entertained, the navy ranger would keep working.
He would keep working regardless, but if Shane just went along with the conversation, there was a possibility to relieve some of the anticipation Blake seemed to be trembling with in an effort to keep himself contained, so it was talk, or deal with antsy Blake.
Tori knew better than anyone that antsy-Blake was not a person you ever wanted to meet.
"Who?" The question came out in a defeated sigh, but it didn't deter Blake in the slightest.
"Wes and Eric," the navy ranger replied automatically, words trampling on the end of Shane's query, making no effort to hide the fact that he was waiting for that exact question. "I have a running bet with Hunter and Dustin about when they're-"
"Gonna do 'it'," She repeated the earlier words with a roll of his eyes. "You guys should know better than to bet on ranger's love-lives."
Blake shrugged, grabbing a handful of cheese. "Way I figure, there's no way any other team could have as many issues as ours did-"
"Yours being that you wouldn't build up the courage to ask Tori on a date," Shane muttered.
"-Seeing as they are mature adults who already went through their awkward stages-" Blake shot him a dangerous look that indicated he heard Shane but was going to do him the courtesy of ignoring the red ranger.
"My awkward stage is my life," Shane very maturely grumbled in retaliation.
"-it is only reasonable," Blake continued, raising his voice in an obnoxious manner. "That Wes and Eric's inevitable copulation occur in a…reasonable manner."
At this, Shane stopped. "At a birthday party?"
It was deadpanned. Said in a slow drawling manner that was his best Hunter-imitation, oozing disbelief with a side of 'you're-dumb-for-even-slightly-thinking-that' that was supposed to transition the conversation in a completely different direction. Perhaps, there would be a light-hearted bicker ending in wild conspiracy theories about other unworldly things that were possible because of their ranger-status. Or something. It was supposed to be a mild deterrent, at least.
Blake took it at face-value and ran with it, because Shane was a fool who thought the younger Bradley would follow a logical conversational path.
"A birthday party with booze," Blake elaborated, wagging his eyebrows for extra emphasis. "Think about it; they break into some drinking games, maybe they have a bit too much, Wes stays with Eric to make sure the birthday boy's okay and… one thing leads to another, a.k.a. drunken fond confessions as they stare off into the starry night-"
Shane raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to interject, but Blake waved him off. "That was Dustin's contribution."
The air ninja closed his mouth with a nod, all too familiar with Dustin's romantic-star-gazing insistencies. It was easier to go along with him than to argue.
"-and then bam, instant make outs," Blake concluded, clapping his hands together for emphasis. "Next thing you know, Eric makes the rounds, calling everyone and cussing them out for the surprise party, and then he not-so-subtly lets out the secret that he doesn't really want to cover up all that much in the first place that he and Wes did it, and I get fifty dollars."
"You're very confident about this conclusion," Shane noted. It wasn't a difficult observation with Blake preening with smugness. "What does Hunter have to say about this?"
"Typical Hunter insanity," Blake dismissed with a roll of his eyes. "He's insistent on this Wes-Kai-Eric-Leo thing that no one else is buying – except Cyber Cam so, you know, not much of a vote of confidence there."
"He is a super computer," Shane pointed out.
"So I'll trust him with my laptop," Blake replied. "But I'm not trusting behavioral observations from a guy with who still uses the word 'tubular' in a non-ironic fashion."
Shane frowned, looking up from his cutting board. "Trip uses 'tubular'."
"Trip was born on another planet," Blake countered. "Also, one thousand years in the future. Trip gets a pass."
But Cyber Cam was unforgivable. Sound logic, that.
Probably had to do with Cam's contributions to that particular individual. Blake was nothing if not thorough in his support of his brother's sworn vendettas.
At some point, Shane was going to have to be an actual leader of his team and force Cam and Hunter into some kind of friendship zone, but for the moment, such endeavors seemed insurmountable. Maybe they would bond over defeating Lothor, Shane could hope for that.
Fruitlessly, but he could hope.
Before Shane could offer some words of discouragement (because this should be discouraged – the whole betting thing, or he should at least get in on the action), none other than the previous topic of their conversation burst into the room, streamers trailing behind him like some kind of alternative couture cape.
The living room must be a proper monstrosity of party decorations then.
"Thanks for the pass!" Trip cheered, flapping his hand in Shane's general direction in what was probably a spastic wave of greeting before rounding on Blake. "What am I passing?"
"The allowable tolerance for use of the word 'tubular'," Blake replied immediately, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he added a pinch of peperoni shreds on top of his current sauce/cheese/dough monstrosity. It seemed that someone was not fearing of potential Kai-disappointment. Maybe it was a blue-ranger thing, like Blake was immune.
Or maybe he was just spiteful, which was the more logical conclusion.
Go his team, totally not-full of spastic, unbalanced individuals. Yaaaay.
In the meantime, Trip's face lit up with a smile that could only be considered 'incomprehensibly pleased' (term coined by Justin). "Tubular!" he cheered, pumping a fist into the air. The roll of crape paper in his grasp looked like it wanted to make a serious break for it, but the Xybrian managed to hold on, enthusiasm transferred into a small happy dance. "Could you tell that to Lucas? He keeps saying that I'm not using it right-"
"No one uses it right," Blake offered sagely. "But you make it work." Trip paused, halting his dance with a quizzical look on his face, and Blake added, "I'll be sure to tell Lucas."
Trip smiled, and with that, the happy dance resumed.
Not that Shane would ever forget it, but it was moments like these where Blake's true evil shined through. The guy seriously gave no damns.
It was dangerous behavior though, so Shane had every intention of tattling to Tori about it later. Blake may not fear the wrath of other blue rangers, but he had no intention of ever crossing the Aqua water ranger without good reason.
They had to pick sides the last time those two had fought, it had been awful. Shane shuddered thinking about it, and he knew Dustin still had nightmares about the passive-aggressive awkward silences to this day.
Thank goodness for sensei, was all Shane had to say about that. Thank goodness for their tiny, Guinea pig sensei and the tinier, barely legible peace-treaty that was framed above his habitat in Ninja Ops.
Shane was pretty sure that had been the work of Cyber Cam, but he wouldn't put it past Blake to offer some adorable interior decorating upgrades as his own private peace offering to Tori.
He was pretty sure these were the kinds of things they were supposed to talk about at those 'red ranger' meetups Leo had told him about, but Shane was mildly terrified that his 'quirky' teammate stories wouldn't come close to any of the other leader's team-problems. That would certainly be a fun day he hoped never-ever happened. Maybe he'd get sick for the next one. And then 'infect' Hunter. And then barricaded both of them in Ninja Ops, because…sickness.
Really, Shane was just trying to take things one day at a time.
"Say Trip…" Blake began innocently enough, having waited for Trip to start scoping at the kitchen cabinets for his next streamer victim. "As their teammate, what's your opinion on the whole Wes-and-Eric…?" He trailed off with a waggle of his eyebrows. "You know."
Trip, whose acclimation to subtlety was equal to Lothor's acclimation of not-going on a murderous rampage, blinked in confusion. "I know what?"
"He thinks Wes and Eric want to get it on." Shane had heard Justin coming down the hallway, and momentarily celebrated the presence of another mature individual.
At first, the Turbo ranger had been an acquired taste, but Shane had come to realize that Justin's superior intellect had forced him into the Hunter-mindset of living, i.e. being grumpy to everyone and pretending you don't care even if you really very much care.
It was a survival mechanism Shane didn't blame him for, but he was still incredibly glad when Justin had dropped the act and allowed Shane the title of 'friend'. It gave him another sane person to talk to (aside from Tori and sensei), and it was always nice to get a non-ninja perspective, as Shane was beginning to learn that those could be a 'bit' skewed.
Trip opened his mouth for another question, and Justin cut him off with a gentle wave of his hand. "'It' being sex," he elaborated. "Which is ridiculous, as Eric can barely manage friendship with Collins. Why you think this is a recipe for love, I will never know."
Blake rolled his eyes, figuratively laughing in the face of Justin's deduction. "You, of all people, should realize that whatever aggravation they had disappeared a while ago. Now," Blake leveled the sauce spoon in Justin's direction, specks of tomato dripping onto his poorly-constructed pizza blobs. "They are building up a sexual tension that needs to be relieved-"
"Only you could say the words 'sexual tension' with a straight face and sound genuine." Justin shuddered, the utter lack of his appreciation apparent in every movement. "And you are watching too many soap operas if you think Wes and Eric will be a thing."
"What did you mean 'him of all people'?" Trip added, focusing on the very part of Blake's statement Shane had been hoping he would overlook. "Why would Justin know-?"
"Don't worry about it." Blake kept his gaze on Justin when he interrupted, which was a mistake. It was a mistake in so many ways.
The first and foremost of these being that Justin's protective nature of all things Trip-related was going to kick in now, insistent that the green ranger not be treated less just because of cultural ignorance, which would lead to an argument they never needed to have to begin with, because the whole thing was dumb.
"Children," Shane sighed, earning the irritated glares of two blue rangers. "Play nice, this is a happy day."
"What do you mean 'him of all people'?" Trip added, focusing on the very part of Blake's statement Shane had been hoping he would overlook.
From his position by the doorway, Justin froze, frown settling onto his features as he looked at Blake with narrowed eyes. There was a warning in that gaze.
A warning that would be completely ignored, if Blake's barely-restrained glee was any indication. "What I mean is-"
"That Justin's a smart guy; ergo, he knows many things," Shane interrupted, chucking a cheese square at Blake that the other ranger expertly snatched out of the air. "That's all he meant."
Trip blinked, Justin's shoulders relaxed, and Blake finally gave into laughter, having the decency to at least stifle his mirth with the palm of his hand. Of course, that in itself earned Justin's ire once more, but it wasn't the usual overwhelming rage that resulted from anything Trip-related, so Shane was going to count it as a victory.
For a moment, Trip looked considering, rotating one of the rolls of streamer in his hands. "I don't know about sex," he replied eventually. "But they are in love, so I suppose that could be a natural progression of their relationship."
Shane's knife slipped, dicing the poor cheese slice in front of him into a triangle instead of a square. He took a second to mourn that instead of worrying about the startled sputter from Justin, the brunette seeming to choke on nothing, much to Blake's amusement.
Carefully, Shane set his incorrectly-diced cheese triangles aside and willed his headache away, making the laudable decision to check out of this conversation.
"Love," Justin managed, sharing no such sentiment. "You think they love-?"
"Don't think." Trip's reply was distracted, the Xybrian having moved on from the confusing customs of Earthlings in favor of finding the best place to start his newest streamer atrocity. "I know it. It's-" He made a broad waving motion, something Shane was almost certain the green ranger had picked up from Hunter. "Obvious, you know?"
"No." Justin seemed to compose himself for the declaration to be firm, his eyes narrowing into an annoyed glare as he took in the green ranger. "It's not obvious, because it's not real."
Trip's head rolled back, a tired, almost defeated sigh escaping his lips as he looked up towards the ceiling.
That, he had definitely gotten from Hunter. "Humans," he muttered.
"That's racist," Blake noted with a smile that just…would not quit. His demand for entertainment/gossip/drama had been met plus some, keeping the soccer-mom within thoroughly satisfied for at least the next ten minutes. Maybe.
"It's true," Trip whined, snatching a chair from the kitchen table and shoving next to the counter so he could reach the ceiling to start his work. "How can you not see that they belong to each other-?"
"With my eyes," Justin replied, radiated annoyance somewhat dampened by the concerned gaze he kept shooting Trip in what would probably be a precarious position on the chair (for Trip, as clumsiness was not so much an attribute so much as a way of living for the Xybrian). "Humans have a completely different sociality, a different culture. You can't apply Xybrian rules to a concept that is continuously adapting."
Blake, catching the possibility of a cultural discussion and immediately dismissing it at boring, cut in before Trip could reply. "What about Kai and Leo? What's your take on their romantic entanglement with Wes and Eric?"
"I thought you didn't support Hunter's 'insane' theory," Shane noted. Partly to defend his boyfriend's unwise betting decision, and partly to call Blake out on being a little pot-stirring shit.
Blake shrugged Shane's criticism off with a lazy shift of his shoulders. "I'm interested in his cultural interpretation."
Justin scoffed. "You're interested in not-being bored. I heard Hunter's theory, it's just as jank as yours."
"It's not a theory," Trip insisted, haphazardly slapping a piece of tape on top of the bundle of streamers he had been holding in place. "It's true."
"It's not," Justin sighed.
"It's none of our business," Shane offered.
The room at large ignored him.
"Just wait for tonight," Blake insisted, his earlier excitement building up again at the prospect of a new(ish) audience. "Wait for them to get boozed up-"
"Under no conditions do I want to hear anymore underage individuals toss around the words 'boozed up' today." Jason – the original red ranger that Shane wasn't totally in-awe of to the point that he had to forcibly restrain himself into a subdued, cool disposition each time he talked to him – walked into the room like some kind of saving grace, the booze in-question packed away in two cardboard boxes that he balanced easily. "But out of curiosity, who is getting boozed up?"
"Wes and Eric," Blake replied before Justin had a chance to cut him off. "They will booze, and they will have sex, and I will get fifty bucks."
Jason laughed, dumping his boxes on the counter by the fridge and reaching out to ruffle Blake's hair, because he was an amazing individual and Shane was secretly in love with him a little bit. Just, a bit. Hunter was cool with it, Hunter also being the individual that spread the 'Blake loves frequent signs of affection that rhyme with 'snair buffling'', because if the Bradleys were ruthless to anyone, it was definitely each other.
Shane and Tori had long ago given up on understanding how their boyfriends worked. Life was better that way.
"Sounds like easy money," Jason noted in a tone that was congratulatory. "Who'd you get to take you up on that bet?"
Blake's irritation vanished immediately in favor of absolute smugness. "Hunter and-"
"How can you say that?" Justin groused. He had moved from his position in the doorway to graciously help out Shane with cheese cutting, and together they had graduated to 'wedges'. "They're not dating and they will never be-"
"They're not dating?" Jason paused, one bottle of liquor (Shane couldn't read the label from were he was; the only discerning feature was that it was blue). "Of course they're dating. How could they not-be dating?"
The older ranger looked to Shane, of all people, for confirmation, and then the air ninja immediately found himself the focus of four very curious pairs of eyes. Or, three-and-a-half, technically, since Trip's turn to face him had landed the green ranger in a precarious tilt, and Justin had to split his attention between Trip and Shane because he refused to admit that he was stupidly in love with the green ranger.
"Well…" Blake prompted, pulling Shane from his reverie. "You have more experience with un-acknowledged love than anyone else-"
Shane raised a justifiably unimpressed eyebrow at the navy ranger. "Pot," he drawled. "Kettle. I am not taking that critique from you."
"I didn't make Tori cry," Blake griped.
"I didn't make Hunter cry either," Shane shot back, even as his mind meandered over to the one time he kind of did make Hunter cry, but it totally wasn't his fault that he had gotten a bolder smashed into him. It had literally teleported from out of nowhere.
He was a ninja, not omnipotent.
"I feel like this is a story we could all benefit from hearing," Jason noted. "But first of all, what do you mean they're not dating?"
Shane sighed, looking down at his cheeses. At least there were only three more to go.
It could be worse.
"Well," Jason began in response to something Blake had said. "This is going to make my birthday present kind of awkward."
And there was the worse.
It was good to know that some things in life would always be predictable.
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"I'm not sure what part of you thought this was a good idea, but this was not a good idea."
The voice came from beside Alex. He had heard the other ranger's approached, but he had assumed by the amount of stealth exhibited by the individual that it had been Mr. Park, or Mr. Bradley.
To his surprise, it had been someone else entirely, but the stranger seemed content enough to treat Alex with a familiarity that they did not in any way possess. Perhaps it was a source of entertainment for him.
"It may seem like a good idea, no wait-" The man jumped up, firing off a few shots with the 'laser gun' (Alex was intimately familiar with laser weaponry, and this contraption, complete with oversized, nonconforming receptor vest, did not qualify for such) before ducking back behind the cover Alex had backed himself into about two minutes into this game of 'laser tag'.
It seemed remarkably similar to some of the simulation exercises ran by cadets at Time Force, but the black light combined with fluorescent, exaggerated images splayed across the walls, with noise constantly blasting (Lucas had explained it was this era's version of the 'greatest musical hits', upon which Alex had immediately given his condolences to this era's citizens) made it feel more childish than useful.
"Hilarious maybe," The stranger continued, his eyes focused on the mirror and holes around them, in search of other prey. "No, hilarious definitely – but I feel like the obvious call for trouble outweighs the entertainment benefits. Also, nice hair, but I don't think Eric's going to be super-fooled by it." The stranger shifted, moving with quiet grace to the other side of the opening to Alex's corner, aiming his 'gun' with narrowed eyes before firing off a few 'laser' shots. "Flattered, maybe, but not fooled. Did you already get the cake-thing worked out?"
"I assume Commander Collins is still consumed with preparation." The pieces fell together for Alex, creating a neat picture that could be the only explanation for the stranger's behavior. "I'm the Commander's decedent, Alex Collins."
Based on the previous reactions Alex had received upon sharing this fact (his ancestor was well-liked among this group, Alex could acknowledge that much, though he preferred the Commander remain in the unaddressed corners of his mind), Alex had been expecting disappointment. It would ultimately shift to confusion, then annoyance or ambivalent acceptance, and then Alex would add another mental tally to the list of reasons he should not have accompanied the others to the past.
Lucas' insistence had been…thoughtful, Alex supposed, but Alex's presence did not seem to serve much of a purpose to the individual they were supposed to be celebrating. Alex had never met Commander Meyers before today, only knew of him through Lucas' stories.
The brunette hadn't asked for them, but the Lucase rarely heeded the boundaries of what Alex considered necessary in his life. Food was also on that list.
In the wake of expected confusion, it took Alex a few seconds to realize his new companion had not been thrown by this information at all. "His descendent from the future? You work with the rest of Wes' team, right? Congrats on not-dying, by the way."
"Yes, yes, and thank you." Alex shifted his 'gun' from one palm to the other, using it as a distraction to will away the uncomfortable feelings that surrounded the memory of Ransik's escape and his failure to integrate into Jen's team.
It wasn't even a memory he truly possessed anymore, since the timestream was altered.
"You're welcome." The other man said it blithely, shooting off another beam of light before ducking back down behind the safety of the black paneled wall. "What did I miss?"
"There was a round of golf." Lucas had already begun to recount it as the 'stuff of legends', though Alex failed to see how entertainment could be derived from watching a grown man miss a plastic ball four times in a row. Even after they had split into teams, the entire affair seemed more…befuddling than joyful.
The Commander appeared to be in good spirits at the end though, which was, Alex supposed, what ultimately mattered.
"Ah, hell, I had been looking forward to that," the stranger muttered, eyes narrowing as he focused on a point in the distance. "Who won? Please tell me it wasn't Eric. I know it's his birthday and he's your teammate and that friendship would imply inherent support, but it would be way better if-"
The stranger turned to face Alex for this last part, cutting himself off with a few confused blinks.
He wasn't self-conscious under the inspection, but Alex felt himself shifting despite that fact, looking over the other man's shoulder, towards the entrance of their hideaway. Vigilance was important in any exercise, even one as trivial as this.
Alex managed his new vigil for a grand total of two seconds before the stranger asked, "Did I hurt your feelings?"
Confusion was…an obvious response. Alex did not feel shame for surrendering to it.
"Oh shit, I hurt your feelings," the other ranger continued before Alex could respond to the negatory. "I shouldn't have mentioned the dying-thing."
"You didn't hurt my feelings," Alex assured.
The stranger immediately disregarded this statement. "I totally hurt your feelings, I'm sorry."
"You didn't hurt my feelings." He could feel his jaw tighten, teeth clenched together as he forced himself to find a calmer mental place. It was the noise, he decided. The awful noise and flashing lights and childish noises emitting from these equally childish and unnecessary 'laser' gear.
"Can I hug you?" the stranger continued, eyes wide and earnest.
It reminded Alex distantly of Trip, eager to correct himself upon executing some social faux pas and Alex- he wasn't any better. Would never be any better. He barely navigated conversations with minimal social grace, he would never be one to critique the Xybrian, and he wouldn't hold anything against this stranger, regardless of whatever wrongs he felt had been committed.
Words were just that, words. Meaningless. Feelings inspired by the careless use of them were useless and misguided, and Alex was neither of those things.
With that in mind, Alex abandoned whatever conversational civility he had managed and opted for the authoritative tone that had gotten him through so many missions in Time Force. "No, you may not, and-"
"I'm going to hug you now," the ranger said, oblivious to Alex's firm demand.
And then Alex had an armful of a person he still didn't truly know, and… it wasn't the end of the world.
"Sorry," the stranger said quietly, his breath warm against Alex's ear. "I get the whole awkward-thing. I mean, I have a teammate who's the epitome of graceless conversations, but you need to know that your feelings matter, and I'm sorry for hurting them."
"You didn't hurt them," Alex insisted.
Even as he gradually returned the hold, the stranger needed to know this much.
"I've been told the first step to enlightenment is to accept what has been for what it is, and embrace what will be with an open mind." The stranger offered. "Of course, that was said by a dude much smarter than I am, so there's a chance I'm misquoting something."
"I think the current rendition has some merit," Alex found himself replying. He should have broken the hold by now, but it was…comfortable. Odd, but comfortable.
The only one who felt truly this easy with physical demonstrations of affection – who felt the need, more accurately – was Trip. Even though Alex did not know who this person was – or to what team they belonged – the Time Force agent found the exchange…refreshing.
The stranger laughed. "Should have known you'd be a charmer. Now…" he trailed off, finally pulling back from the hold he had all but thrown himself into. "I believe we have some other rangers to properly destroy in laser battle."
Alex blinked in confusion, staring down at his 'gun'. "I don't believe that can be accomplished with our current equipment."
"Destroy their morale," the stranger explained off-handedly. "Like so."
He stood up, fired off a few rapid shots of his laser 'gun', and ducked back down behind their wall.
In the distance, the familiar sounds of a receptor vest being targeted rang out, accompanied by some not-so-muffled curses.
"Who the hell is FlamingLion?!" Lucas' voice shouted. "Leo, are you here?!"
"In the flesh baby!" the stranger – Leo – yelled, cackling as he let out another volley of shots. He shifted into a crouch. "We'd better relocate before Carter finds us."
"I gave up on victory a while ago," Alex admitted. "I'm comfortable where I am, I'll only slow you down."
"Yeah, I don't leave teammates behind," Leo countered. "So get up and let's get moving."
He offered Alex a hand, not even looking up as he distributed cover fire while he pulled the other brunette to his feet.
Alex wasn't sure if it was his confidence, or the off-handed inclusion that had him following Leo. It was nothing, just words, and words were-
Something small, and foolish, but Alex held onto it anyway.
It was nice to not be left behind.
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Until next time :)