Game

Summary: "What's Marco Polo?" Tyzonn asked. The other rangers looked at Tyzonn before realizing that there probably wasn't Marco Polo on Mercury.
The rangers make use of the swimming pool in the Hartford mansion on an especially hot Saturday.

Timeline: Can take place anytime after Just Like Me or It's Hammer Time.

Note: I originally hadn't intended for this to be this long, but eh, what can I say? The muses took over.

2nd note: there's a little Mack/Rose in here as well…………since I can't seem to keep myself from writing at least some cuteness involving them, ha-ha.

Will sat in the rec room of the mansion, his head rolling back as he fanned himself. He had originally been wearing his full training suit, but the heat had made him remove his jacket and shirt, leaving him sitting there in only his pants and black under shirt. On the other end of the couch, Rose; who had also reduced her training uniform and sat now in her black pants and a pink short sleeved shirt that was already showing wet splotches from her sweat, sat in a state that could best be described as rapture as she held an ice cold bottle of water to her forehead. Between the two of them, Dax lay on his stomach on the floor, pressing his cheek on the cool marble surface while Mack, Ronny and Tyzonn sat on the couch opposite of them in equal discomfort. The three of them had also removed their jackets as Mack and Tyzonn wore red and grey t-shirts and Ronny sat in a yellow tank-top. Ronny kept piling her long hair at the top of her head and fastening it with her yellow scrunchie, only to redo it as it seemed like no matter what she did, there were stray hairs touching the back of her sweat drenched neck.

"How is it possible for it to be this hot?" Tyzonn groaned.

"Yeah, man," Will said, rolling his head to look at Mack. "Don't you have an air conditioner in this place?"

"I'm sorry to report that the central cooling system is very much on the fritz," came Spencer's voice as he entered the room with a tray full of drinking glasses in his hands. "And the repairman cannot come to fix it until Monday," this added information unleashed a set of six groans from six unhappy young people. "Lemonade?" Spencer asked as he approached the group. He came over to Will, Dax and Rose first. Will gratefully took one of the six glasses and instantly placed the tip of the glass on his lips. Rose kept the cool bottle on her forehead as she took a glass with her free hand, thanking the butler. Dax pulled himself up to a sitting position and took a glass as well. Spencer then made his way to the other three.

"Spencer," Ronny began, taking note of the fact that the butler seemed to be quite comfortable in his full suit. "I can't believe you're not practically sweating to death in all those clothes," she said. Spencer simply stood up straight and set the now empty tray on top of the end table by Mack.

"Ronny, I am an Englishman, and Englishmen, by dear, do not sweat," he said, as if the mere idea of sweating was unbelievably uncouth. He then gave a small smirk. "Of course, it does help that I just spent the last fifteen minutes standing with my face at an open freezer door," he said, causing the others to laugh.

"If dad complains about the energy bill this month, you should know that I have full intention of telling him the butler did it," Mack joked as he took a sip from his glass.

"Yes, well, I do believe that having eight people living under one roof will help in explaining any extra expenses," Spencer replied.

"Speaking of Mr. Hartford," Rose said as she lowered the now half empty glass of lemonade to her lab. "Where is he? I haven't seen him since yesterday morning."

"Ah, yes," Spencer said. "Mr. Hartford left yesterday afternoon for an excavation in the artic," he informed.

"The arctic?" Will asked. "Lucky bast-" he paused, realizing that using such a term in front of Mack, the man in question's son, would possibly be unwise. "Uh…….bashful fellow," Will said, backpedaling.

"Yes, lucky 'bashful fellow' indeed," Spencer smirked before leaving the room, no doubt to return to the freezer. The six rangers finished their drinks and placed the glasses on the floor or one of the end tables, whichever required the lease amount of movement. Dax assumed his previous position with his cheek against the floor as the others did whatever they could to alleviate their discomfort. Ronny wiped at her neck with her hand when an idea struck her. She looked at her hand before smirking gently to herself. The others watched as she used her powers to basically turn her hand into the equivalent of a high powered fan in front of her face.

"So not fair," Dax grumbled from his spot on the floor. Tyzonn watched Ronny from his spot beside her and grinned, seeing the benefit of having had plopped down beside her on the couch. Of course, not that he hadn't had other motives—mostly being the desire to be next to her—when he did so. Tyzonn shifted closer to the yellow ranger, leaning against her so the wind from her hand could hit him as well. Ronny smiled and moved her hand so that the air could hit them both equally.

"Ah," Tyzonn sighed. He wasn't sure what sensation was more enjoyable—the cool refreshing air hitting his face, or the feel of Ronny so close to him.

"Why couldn't I have had the super speed ability?" He heard Dax grumble. Across the room, Will blinked as his head snapped upright.

"Mack?" He asked.

"What?" Mack replied.

"Don't you have a huge swimming pool in your backyard?" He asked. Dax seemed to bolt upright at this, as Rose fixed her eyes upon the red ranger and Tyzonn and Ronny leisurely turned their heads towards him. Mack blinked, suddenly feeling like a colossal idiot.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly. In all their complaining about the heat, no one had even remembered that there was cold, chlorinated relief just a few yards away from them. At this point, Ronny's hand grew tired and she stopped the fanning and let her hand fall to her side as the six rangers all looked at each other for a moment before scrambling up to their feet and running out of the room.

----

Ten minutes later; one the ranger males made their way to the backyard. The blazing sun hitting them as they trekked from the house to the yard was worth it as they all thought of what waited for them. Once they reached the pool, the four men walked over to the lounge chairs that were nearby. Mack set his red towel down on one of the chairs before adjusting the waist band of his red board shorts. Dax set his blue towel in the lounge chair beside Mack as he excitedly ran his hands along the sides of his blue swim trunks, enthralled by the glistening pool in front of them. Will set his black towel on the chair beside Dax's and sat down. Dax turned to look at Will and instantly cringed.

"Aw jeez, man, did you have to whip out the banana hammock?" Dax asked, regarding Will's black Speedo. Mack laughed as Tyzonn simply observed with uncertainty over what exactly a 'banana hammock' was as he set down his grey towel on the lounge chair beside Will and looked down at his own apparel. Once he joined the team, Mack had accompanied him to the mall to help him get, as he had said 'normal' clothes, as he would have trouble fitting in anywhere with his Mercurian garb. While on the trip, Tyzonn had gotten swimwear similar to what Mack had, long shorts, which Mack had explained to him, were called 'board shorts'. They were a silvery grey shade with a white floral silhouetted pattern down the legs.

"Ha-ha," Will said. "Very funny. And where'd you get your swim suit, Kids 'R' Us?" Will asked, smirking. Before Dax could say anything that could possibly escalate from just simple banter, Mack stepped in.

"Hey, if you guys want to spend you're afternoon trading insults, go right ahead," Mack said. "I for one am getting in the pool," he added as he sat down on the edge of the pool and slid in. Tyzonn followed the red ranger's example as Mack made a few strokes away from the wall before dunking his head under the water. Having never been in a pool like this, Tyzonn wasn't quite certain what to expect and was pleasantly surprised as the cool liquid made contact with his skin. He walked away from the wall and lowered himself to his knees, letting his entire body become submerged before straightening back up, laughing as he stood.

"This feels wonderful," he said, sweeping his wet blonde hair out of his face.

"What, they don't have pools on your planet?" Dax asked. Tyzonn turned to see that Dax and Will had gotten into the pool.

"No," Tyzonn shrugged. "We do have lakes and rivers though," he added. "Although, it doesn't usually get this hot back home, so we've never had the need to make sure of them like this," he said. The other three nodded at yet another reminder that Tyzonn was new to earthling customs and practice, even the practice of cooling off in a pool.

"What happened to the girls?" Mack asked. As if the cosmos decided to answer his question at the moment, the four of them saw Rose and Ronny walking over to the pool area. Rose was dressed in a light pink two piece swim suit that looked to be the equivalent of short shorts and a tank top, while Ronny wore a similarly styled only hers was yellow and the top ended a bit higher on her stomach, showing more skin between the hem of the top and the top of the bottoms than Rose's did. Tyzonn couldn't help but stare at Ronny, completely captivated by the visible skin of her legs and stomach, which had at other times been completely covered and hidden from view.

"Thanks for waiting, guys," Ronny joked as she and Rose set their pink and yellow towels down on the remaining lounge chairs.

"Hey, in three digit degree weather, all manners and courtesies cease to exist," Will replied. The two girls rolled their eyes. Rose went over to the edge of the pool and placed her hand on the ground, bending down as she simply jumped into the pool. Tyzonn saw Ronny walking over to the ladder in the pool and decided to swim over to her. He reached the ladder just as Ronny was stepping down the ladder.

"Hey," he said. Ronny smiled and stood on the last rung of the ladder, jumping off so her body sank into the water. Once Ronny was back on her feet, she gathered her dripping hair and twisted it into a pun, securing it with a small hair tie she had worn around her wrist.

"Hey guys, how about a game of Marco Polo?" Dax suggested as the six friends gathered together at the center of the pool. Will quirked an eyebrow at the blue ranger.

"Marco Polo?" He asked. "I didn't know we were ten year olds at summer camp," he said.

"Aw, come on, Will," Rose said, treading water beside him, it was moments like this she was less then thrilled at being the shortest member of the team as she had to work her arms and legs just to keep anything other than just her head above water.

"Yeah, sounds like fun," Mack said. He looked over at Rose and grinned before grabbing hold of her waist. Rose gave a surprised yelp as she felt Mack pick her up and place her on the other side of him. At first she didn't understand why he had done that but once she felt her feet planted on the cemented floor of the pool, yet everything from her ribcage up was effortlessly above water. She then came to the realization that Mack had been standing where the floor just barely began to slope downward to make the pool deeper, and the other side of him was the shallower side.

"Thanks," Rose said.

"I'm in," Ronny said, returning the focus to the idea of playing a game. Will rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I guess it won't be terribly boring," he said.

"What's Marco Polo?" Tyzonn asked. The other rangers looked at Tyzonn before realizing that there probably wasn't Marco Polo on Mercury. After some time, the five rangers were able to successfully explain the game to Tyzonn, and moved over to the shallow side as they commenced the game.

"Alright, since it was Dax's idea, he can be it first," Ronny said.

"It?" Tyzonn asked, confused. Ronny bit her lip to keep from giggling.

"'Marco'," she explained, causing Tyzonn to give a comprehending nod. Soon, the game began as Dax closed his eyes and began to count. Tyzonn watched as Rose, Mack, Will and Ronny swam away before following.

"….9, 10……MARCO!" Dax yelled.

"Polo!" Ronny, Will, Mack, Rose shouted back.

"Polo!" Tyzonn said. Dax slowly moved forward with his hands stretched out in front of him as the others swam away. Tyzonn opted to simply stay close to Ronny, as she seemed to know what she was doing…..not that he didn't mind staying close to her anyway.

"Marco!" Dax said again.

"Polo!" The other five shouted back, Tyzonn now getting the timing right. Dax swam forward a bit, getting closer to where Ronny and Tyzonn stood.

"Marco!" Dax said.

"Polo!" The others replied. Ronny laughed as she grabbed Tyzonn's wrist and pulled him away from Dax with her as she gently treaded away. Dax made a dive for where he thought someone was, only to fall straight into the water. He got back up, sputtering slightly; the sound of the other's laughing filled his ears. He groaned and turned around.

"Marco!" He said as he swam forward.

"Po-" Will began, only to cut himself off as Dax's hand made contact with his shoulder. Dax opened his eyes and grinned.

"Now Will's it," Dax announced. Will sighed and closed his eyes.

"Now, no cheating and using your powers," he heard Ronny chastise playfully before he began to count. The game went on for some time as Will tagged Ronny, who then in turned tagged Mack. While Mack was it, he seemed to only be going after Rose, which resulted in the pink ranger giggling and yelping as she evaded him. Mack finally dove after her once he got a lock of where she was and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up off her feet as he laughed. Rose shrieked and laughed.

"That's not fair," she protested.

"All's fair in Marco Polo," Mack kidded before setting her back down on the ground. Rose groaned and took her turn as it, which was soon ended by Tyzonn not moving away fast enough as she moved forward, her hand touching his back. By this time, Tyzonn had figured out the duty of being the Marco and had to trouble playing the part before handing the role to Mack.

"Mack, if you even think about coming after me again, you will be in pain," Rose threatened. Mack laughed and decided it would only be fair to legitimately play the game this time as he wandered blindly, trying to make contact with anyone. After a few minutes, his hand came in contact with Ronny's hip, making her it again. As Ronny closed her eyes and began to count, Tyzonn watched her, smiling as an idea came to him.

"Marco!" She called out.

"Polo!" The others replied. Mack, Rose, Dax and Will swam away, but Tyzonn stayed in place.

"Marco!" Ronny called out as she walked towards the direction of the others.

"Polo!" Came the joint reply. Tyzonn grinned as he swam up behind Ronny.

"Marco!" She yelled.

"Polo!" The others yelled. Ronny spun around as she heard one of the 'polos' come from behind her. Tyzonn's grin widened as he took a single step backwards.

"Marco?" She called out, uncertainly, trying to find the one voice that was closest to her. The others gave out the standard reply. Ronny tilted her head and decided to turn back around and make her way to the other voices. Tyzonn swam over and got in front of her.

"Uh, what is Ty doing?" Dax asked as he, Rose, Will and Mack treaded not too far away. "Doesn't he know he should be swimming away from Ronny?" Will smirked.

"Something tells me that's not his intention," Will said as he realized what Tyzonn was doing. Smooth, Ty, very smooth, Will commended.

"Marco!" Ronny called out. By this time, Tyzonn stood in front of her, though managed to avoid her outstretched hands.

"Polo," Tyzonn said softly. Ronny jumped at how close the voice was before moving her hands to touch whoever it was that was there. But before her hands could make contact with him, Tyzonn quickly leaned in, pressing his lips against hers while the others watched on with surprised and amused expressions. Ronny's eyes snapped open at the feel of lips on hers, but her body seemed to relax as she saw who those lips belonged to. Tyzonn rested his hands on her hips while Ronny placed her hands on his shoulders as the two deepened their kiss, their lips dancing slowly dancing together.

"Whoo!" Dax called out. "Go, Tyzonn!" He laughed, causing Mack, Rose and Will to chuckle. Ronny suddenly remembered that she and Tyzonn were not alone and quickly pulled her head back, ducking her head slightly as her cheeks blushed a deep red, almost matching Mack's shorts. The formerly kissing pair kept their hands where they were as Ronny pursed her lips, secretly savoring Tyzonn's lingering taste. She then looked back up at Tyzonn. He was smiling down at her, but she could also tell there was some doubt in his eyes, as if he wasn't sure if he should've done that.

"That's not how the game's played," Ronny admonished playfully before smiling back at him. Tyzonn saw the sparkle in her eyes and grinned.

"I decided to be a little creative with the rules," he replied, before going in for another kiss. The other four watched as the pair kissed.

"Uh, so I guess the games over?" Mack asked his companions, a smirk grazing his features.

"I believe so," Rose said with a laugh.

END