Chapter 5

I Am Not A Robot – Alex and Lucas: Acquaintances

Warnings: The vaguest allusion to one-sided boy/boy relationships, Drunkenness, and breach of personal boundaries. Features Alex and Lucas of Time Force (or, for those confused, Brown-haired Wes and Lucas).

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There had been plans, Alex remembered, solid plans for his evening's schedule. To some, they might not seem particularly fancy, but for him they had been adequate and, more importantly, required urgent attention.

Unfortunately, one brief call from an old Academy acquaintance at the Collections Facility had swiftly ruined that.

Alex did not bother driving Lucas back to his own apartment, not with the other man as incapacitated as he was. The blue ranger had seemed fine earlier in the evening, but apparently making good on his promise to enjoy their time off had taken more out of him than originally intended. His common sense, for example, or basic decency, or understanding of his tolerance for alcohol or his previous respect for personal boundaries which he was now in total favor of ignoring as he sprawled across Alex's side, as though he belonged there.

Drunk-Lucas was a new experience for Alex, but it was not one the brunette had particularly desired to encounter. Fate, it would seem, had stripped that choice from him.

"You're drunk," Alex pointed out. It wasn't the first time had indicated this particular fact, but he felt that it needed to be repeated. Forever.

"I'm not…drunk," Lucas slurred, his head listing to the side as Alex dragged him up the stairs to his own apartment. "I'm very drunk."

"That's not better," Alex said tersely. Though he supposed he could appreciate the honesty, even if it was less of a choice and more of a byproduct of what Lucas had ingested. With a sigh, Alex readjusted his hold on Lucas, firmly latching onto the arm around his shoulder with one hand and wrapping the other arm around the blue ranger's waist. They had made it to the right floor, now Alex just had to manhandle Lucas down the hall without waking any of his neighbors.

"You know, you-" Lucas hiccupped, smiling at action in a contented kind of way. Alex took the opportunity for silence as it was and dragged the blue ranger down the hall. "Yerr not…happy," Lucas said this like it was a discovery, a slow burn as he studied the side of Alex's face. "Nope," he declared, shoving his cold nose into the base of Alex's neck. It was uncomfortable. "Not happy."

Now that they were standing still outside of Alex's door, Lucas had decided he was completely done with supporting his own weight. With a dejected sigh, he wrapped both of his arms around Alex's waist and leaned, nearly taking them both down as Alex finished swiping his key card.

He tried, but failed, and Alex got him into the apartment with the trained efficiency of a veteran Time Force agent. With a few quick strides, he dumped Lucas on his couch and turned to get some water from the kitchen. Dehydration would be the least of Lucas' worries tomorrow, but Alex didn't keep the kind of medication necessary for dealing with hangovers, so it was the only thing he could offer Lucas at this moment.

A hand grabbing onto his pant-leg stopped him before he could get that far.

"Why won't you go?" Lucas asked, staring up at Alex pitifully. He had one arm draped across his face to block out the stark lighting, but he looked up at Alex through the shadows, imploring. "Everyone else is going."

Alex considered his options. He could break the very weak grip Lucas had on his pants, he could force the blue ranger to drink the water, then lower the lights and let him sleep the worst of the hangover away. Alex considered leaving to pick up pain medication for the morning, the reports he had waiting for review on his desk, and the fact that any conversation they had Lucas certainly would not remember in the morning. At most, it would be a hazy imprint, and at least, a complete waste of time. If Alex wanted to be most effective, he would dim the lights and leave Lucas to tomorrow's fate; Alex had duties to attend to, Lucas would understand. They weren't even really friends anyway.

Leaving was the obvious choice.

Instead, Alex sat on the edge of the couch near Lucas' waist, where the blue ranger had left just enough room for him. It probably hadn't been intentional.

"I didn't work with your team Lucas," Alex explained quietly, the same reasoning he had used on Trip. "Wes did. And aside from that, I believe it would be…odd, for him. Uncomfortable."

There was some shifting on the couch, and when Alex looked down Lucas had rolled onto his side so that he was facing out, curled around the red Time Force ranger. "That's dumb," Lucas complained. "You're a ranger. It's a…Ranger-"

"I know what it is," Alex interrupted coolly. He wasn't going to sit around and be lectured by a drunk man.

"Then you should go," Lucas pressed. He brought his arm down, squinting at the sudden onslaught of light, and reached out for Alex. Eventually his hand landed near the brunette's hip. "You should…they should know you. Stop hiding."

"I'm not hiding." Alex frowned, and contemplated moving Lucas' hand.

He didn't, but he contemplated it, and wondered why it was there in the first place.

Alcohol, of course. It was a stupid question.

A bitter laugh erupted from Lucas- small, but distinct. "You're best at hiding," Lucas complained. His grip tightened against Alex's hip. "That's what you do. Did. You hide." He frowned, and looked up at Alex. "Why do you do that?"

It was possible for there to be coherency behind the queries. Possible that these were some deep-seated troubles that Lucas could only manage to address with the aid of 'liquid courage'.

But more likely, they were idle curiosities, whims that had struck the blue ranger now, when he was out of sorts.

What did Alex owe Lucas, for him to consider giving these drunken rambles any kind of attention or serious consideration?

"Why are you drunk Lucas?" Alex kept his eyes locked on the other ranger's, asking the question that had plagued him since he had received the call.

The blue ranger's frown deepened, clearly displeased. "You won't come," Lucas complained.

Alex rolled his eyes. That was hardly a reason for Lucas to resort to such an extreme. There had to be something else, something he probably didn't remember.

"You won't come, and-" Lucas squinted his eyes. "You know we're friends, right?"

Alex blinked, but said nothing. Drunken rambles.

It was an odd turn; Alex hadn't considered Lucas to be overly concerned with-

"You don't know-" Lucas moaned, throwing his arm back over his eyes dramatically.

The absence of Lucas' grip was noted, but not mourned. It wasn't - it hadn't been, and wouldn't be - anything worth considering.

"We're friends," Alex offered. They weren't, but if it made Lucas feel better for the moment, Alex was willing to lie. It wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Lying," Lucas grumbled. He was frowning, shifting as though he were trying to sit up again. Alex pushed him back down before he could disorient himself, and Lucas latched onto his hand, grip surprisingly strong. "You're lying," Lucas accused, his eyes narrowing. He had shifted so that he was on his back again, with Alex half hunched over him. His other hand moved to the arm Alex had moved to brace himself. "You're lying and…" Lucas swallowed.

At this range, Alex could smell the alcohol clearly. His inexperience with such beverages left him ignorant as to the particular cocktails the blue ranger had partaken of, but the base scent he could recognize. What he could not recognize, or ever understand, was the tired kind of desperation in Lucas' eyes.

Lucas looked down at his hands, then slowly let go. "You don't like it when I touch you."

Alex, who still had one hand braced against Lucas' chest, considered this.

A few seconds later, he deduced that he had not misheard the other ranger.

"I'm sorry," Lucas mumbled, rolling his head to the side. He didn't mention anything about Alex's hand - his touch - didn't say anything about their proximity or why he was drunk at three in the morning, or why he had insisted that Alex was the only person capable of picking him up.

He was drunk. Drunk brains did not run on logic, they ran on whim, on things as insubstantial as their fuel, on half-coherent fancies and emptiness.

It didn't mean anything.

"Apology accepted," Alex said after a short pause.

He hadn't taken his hand off Lucas' chest.

The other ranger didn't say anything; he kept his gaze fixed to the side. Eventually, he drew his arm back over his eyes, and Alex took that as his cue to leave.

He set out a glass of water, dimmed the lights, and retreated to his study, back to his duties, back to his responsibilities.

Lucas wouldn't remember anything in the morning.

Perhaps Alex should emulate that strategy.

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Endnotes:

Alex and Lucas' exchange was originally supposed to be over data pads (tablet kind of deal), but then I was struck with the idea of drunk Lucas, and decided I could kind of bend the prompt of electric communication for them.

For those of you who are a little lost, Alex is Wes' descendent from the year 3000, and the original red Time Force Ranger. He's played by the same actor who played Wes (but you know, with brown hair, so the producers have declared him totally different) and has a tragic-ish side story for the season. Bottom line, he helped the rangers out a couple times and was kind of a dick, which automatically makes him interesting and in need of explanation because there's being a dick, and then being an impressive amount of dick. It was astounding.

Also, Merry Christmas Eve! I'll be posting again tomorrow, but here's a little taste to hold you over 'till then.

Until next time :D