Disclaimer: Power Rangers characters, events and locations belong to Saban/BVE; no profit is being made by the authors of this story.

Strangers In Red

Ch. 6: Accepting Comfort

"Eric was the first stranger I ever had sex with," Jason sighed as he finished his recollection. "Until then it had always been guys I'd known before – none very well, I never really made friends with any of them, but … anyway." He paused. "He was also the last guy I'd been with. Until you."

Tommy nodded slowly, understanding why the experience might have soured Jason on men for a while. Being put down like that was hard to take for anyone, man or woman, and to have it happen after being intimate with a person must've hurt. Especially someone as warm and caring as Jason. He shook his head.

"I don't get it," he murmured. "Why was he so pissed? It's not as if you'd been a cock-tease, then failed to deliver …"

"I don't know," Jason said. "And after a while, I didn't care. That night, though …"

Tommy kissed him. "He hurt you," he surmised.

To his mild surprise, Jason shrugged. "Maybe. Possibly. What I remember most, though, is being so goddamn angry when he left like he did, I could've punched him if he'd stayed a minute longer."

Which was a feeling Tommy understood all too well. If Eric had been in the room with them this very instant, he would want to slug him as well. For being such a jerk, for callously rejecting Jason … for causing him pain.

"I've got half a mind now to cancel the trip to Silver Hills," he muttered angrily.

"Not on my behalf," Jason hurried to say, but smiled gratefully at his lover's support. "It's been years, and I've gotten over it."

"Yeah, well, I just don't know if I can face Eric now, knowing what he did to you," Tommy grumbled. "Not and be civil, anyway." He looked for something, anything, to distract his mind, reached for his wine glass and found it empty. Suddenly restless, needing to pace off at least some of his feelings, he sat up and swung his legs off the bed. "I'll get us a refill," he said curtly, and before Jason could object left the bedroom.

Several minutes later Tommy had calmed down and returned with a fresh bottle of wine and a bowl of nuts, to find Jason lying on the haphazardly straightened bed, waiting for him. Tommy paused in the door and drank in the sight of his lover. Tanned skin contrasted starkly with the white sheets, his hair was slightly mussed from their earlier lovemaking, and the invitation he could read in the dark eyes propelled him across the room with renewed eagerness. Tommy put the wine on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the mattress, placing one hand on the smooth broad chest.

"I love you, Jase," he whispered, feeling the steady heartbeat under his palm stumble once the way it always did when he said the words.

"I know," Jason replied just as softly, entwining his fingers with Tommy's. "Love you, too." They gazed steadily into each other's eyes until Jason's lips curved into a smile. He patted the space at his side. "Lie with me?"

"Sure." The bed dipped as Tommy stretched out next to Jason and propped his head into his hand, his other sliding comfortingly around Jason's waist. Jason reached up and ran his fingers through Tommy's short hair, then down his cheek to his mouth. He traced the warm lips with his forefinger.

"What has you so worked up, Bro?" he asked eventually. "And don't tell me you're not; I know you too well."

Tommy looked away. "Eric," he spat at last, his anger resurfacing. "What gave him the right to … to …" he shook his head, frustrated at his inability to put his feelings into words. So Jason did it for him.

"To run out on me the way he did?" he queried quietly. "For having been one of the guys that came before you? Or are you just mad at me because there were others?"

Stunned by Jason's insight – and dead-on assessment – Tommy blinked. "Both," he confessed at last. "Although I'm not really mad at you; I mean, I know that you were sorta playing the field at one time, not just with Eric. I may not like it much, but … okay. Water under the bridge, and all that. But where did he get off on treating you like a piece of garbage just because you refused to do what he wanted? Refusing a certain practice, be it intercourse, oral sex or whatever, is everybody's right if it makes them uncomfortable. Doesn't matter whether it's two guys, girls or a mixed couple, if it's a one-night stand or a relationship – nobody should get away with something like that!"

"I agree, but honestly, it's not such a big deal," Jason soothed him.

"I bet it was a big deal at the time, though."

The dark eyes grew distant. "Yeah … yeah, at the time it was," Jason admitted and smiled when he was instantly drawn into a comforting embrace. "Mmm. Thanks." He threw a leg over Tommy's thighs, tucked one arm across his middle and rested his head on a lean shoulder, wishing he could've had such closeness that long-ago night as well.

They were silent for several minutes, just holding each other, until Tommy voiced a question that kept niggling at his mind.

"What about the whole mess upset you the most?"

Jason had often asked himself that very thing, and had finally found an answer that felt right.

"I guess … not so much that he just up and left like he did, but more that he didn't even stay long enough to argue – tried harder to change my mind or something," he replied. "If he had, who knows … but hell, he didn't even get real angry. At least I could've understood that, I think. Sure, what we did was never supposed to go beyond that night, past some, ah, recreational sex, but I'd thought we … connected somehow, y'know? We both had something to celebrate, were both into martial arts, we had a blast leading each other on – and when we finally got around to some action, that felt pretty good, too. Even getting interrupted twice was kind of funny because we were both so frustrated."

Despite himself, Tommy had to chuckle as he remembered what Jason had told him about his encounter. "You guys really had to work at getting laid, huh?"

Jason snorted. "No kidding. Until then I'd thought my mom coming home early one day when I was making out with Emily in my room had been bad, but almost getting caught by the cops? Man!" He shook his head. "And the second time … if I hadn't been so horny, I would've given up there and then." He paused, then went on. "But Eric was so different from everyone else I'd been with. Older, edgier, I could tell he had a lot more experience than me, and to top it all I thought he was a damn hot-looking guy. I wanted that, and wasn't about to give it up when I'd found it."

"You thought he was hot?" Tommy repeated slowly, somehow uncomfortable at the idea.

"Uh huh. Dark, built and handsome," Jason smiled and brushed a kiss against Tommy's chest. "Just like you. And since I couldn't have you for my birthday, he was an okay substitute."

"Oh." Absurdly pleased, Tommy smiled back. But he sensed that there were some things that still needed to be aired. "What else was there, Jase?"

His lover blushed. "It's really stupid," he mumbled, avoiding looking at Tommy.

"Nothing is stupid if it upsets you. Give."

Jason hesitated, then sighed. "Well, if you have to know … for the longest time afterwards, I'd wondered whether it was because of me that things went sour. Compared to Eric I wasn't very experienced, I was just a student without money, had no car, was barely legal … I felt as if I wasn't good enough somehow. Not even to satisfy a stranger I'd met in a bar," he whispered.

-Aw, man. This is worse than I thought.-. For his best friend, a man who'd always prided himself on his confidence and ability to deal with any situation to feel so inadequate, the event must've scarred him more than Jason would ever admit. -Damn you, Eric, for doing that to him!-

He wrapped both arms around Jason and drew him close against him, bodies touching shoulder to knees. "But you are, Bro," he murmured. "Trust me. I know you, and there's no way in hell that you're not good enough for anybody," he vowed. "You're the best."

"Thanks, Bro," Jason replied with a small sigh. Then he shook himself and met the loving brown eyes at last. "Thanks for listening and understanding," he said quietly. "I guess I needed that."

"Anytime, Jase."

The two continued to lie closely entwined on the wide bed, taking and giving comfort through gentle touches and caresses, just being together. After a while, Jason stirred and looked at his lover.

"Tom?"

"Yeah?"

"I … I have a problem," Jason murmured. Tommy raised a questioning eyebrow and let one hand drift past Jason's navel. There was a definite reaction to his touch, but none of the immediacy he expected. Jason smiled wryly even as he gasped softly with pleasure and thrust into the questing fingers. "Not that kind of problem. Or rather, not exactly." He hesitated, glanced away briefly.

"What, then?" Tommy asked gently, reluctantly releasing the pulsing column of flesh. "Still Eric?"

"Yeah," Jason admitted with a pout and small sigh. Tommy's hand had felt so good …! "Meeting him again for our mission was quite a shock, but in a way it also helped me to put the whole mess behind me once and for all. I could finally chalk it up to experience and leave it at that. To learn that he'd become a Ranger, to fight at his side, knowingthat he had my back the same as you and the rest of the guys … it kind of put everything a little more into perspective, you know? I realized then that he couldn't quite be the selfish bastard I thought he was. Not and be one of us. When I left, I could honestly wish him well and mean it."

"That's great," Tommy commented, "but how is that a problem?"

"Well … ever since you told me I – we – would be seeing him again in a couple weeks, I can't stop thinking about it," Jason confessed, blushing with embarrassment and frustration. "It's driving me nuts. So maybe not everything about that one time was bad, but I don't want Eric in my mind anymore. He means nothing to me except he's someone I once knew – okay, had sex with – and that he's a fellow Ranger who deserves my loyalty." He drew a shuddering breath. "Tommy, he's the very last person I want to be thinking of now that we're finally together. Especially when I'm here with you like this." A small gesture encompassed the room, the bed and their naked bodies.

"Hmm, yeah, that is a problem." Tommy certainly didn't want Jason to think of any of his former lovers; neither here and now nor at other times and places, period. He fought down a surge of unreasoning anger; Jason needed his understanding and support, not jealousy. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked at last.

"Maybe." The deep voice was even lower than usual, and very soft. "Yes. Please?"

Tommy felt instantly mollified. "How?" he asked, just as softly.

Jason didn't answer directly, just slid his hand to Tommy's chest. He followed the contours of muscle and bones with gentle touches that enticed rather than aroused, but that changed as he eventually began to play with a stiffening nipple. Tommy shivered as another portion of his anatomy followed suit, and he told it sternly to behave.

Jason's expression was both shadowed and hopeful as he looked at his partner and best friend. "Make me forget about him, Tommy," he requested. "Do with me whatever you want until I see, hear, feel, taste nobody but you anymore …"

"Oh, Jase …"

There was no way Tommy could refuse the plea, and at a loss for words simply bent his head to kiss the warm mouth. Jason's lips opened for his tongue immediately, letting it glide past his teeth to tangle with his own. With tender enthusiasm, Tommy proceeded to exorcize any third presence in their bed. Jason responded freely and willingly to every touch, pliant as never before, and both reveled in the sensations, taking their time to wring every last response from each other. Skin grew slowly damp with sweat, breaths were coming in faster, shorter bursts and hands wandered wherever they wanted until at last they were both straining with need and desperate for release.

Conscious as never before of the trust and love they shared, Tommy reached for some lubricant and prepared his lover. Then, he took what was his – what Jason was giving him, and him alone.

Afterwards the two lay sated and tired in each other's arms, slowly drifting off to sleep. Just before his eyes closed, Tommy felt the need for some reassurance.

"Jase?"

"Mmm?"

"Did it work?"

"Wha …?" Drowsily, Jason squinted at Tommy, who hesitated, then asked anyway.

"Are you still thinking about Eric?"

He got an indistinct grumble, a yawn and a half-hearted swat against his arm.

"Please, Jason," Tommy murmured softly, kissing him. "I really need to know."

"'Bout what," Jason slurred, more than half-asleep already.

"Eric," Tommy repeated.

"Eric who?"

With that, the strong body relaxed in slumber, and all that Tommy could hear were Jason's soft snores. It was enough to send him into sleep as well with a smile on his face and the knowledge that they'd be all right.

---

"So, that's it," Eric said into the silence of his bedroom. "I walked out, found my car, went back to my hotel. The next morning I drove back to Silver Hills. Three weeks later - I finished my training with the Silver Guardians, we went into action, and I saw you." He watched Wes's face for reactions, seeing little beyond the gleam of light reflected from blue eyes. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Wes raised a brow. "I'm not sure. Parts of that were pretty hard to listen to."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I wanted you to tell me." There was a smile in Wes's voice, softening his next words. "I gotta say, I think I like you now a lot better than I would have liked you then."

"But I'm still the same person." Eric groped for the right way to say what he wanted to say; to make Wes understand. "Yeah, I changed - but only on the surface. I was always the same underneath. Sure I screwed around with a lot of guys - and I had a good time doing it, can't deny that - but I think I was always looking for something else, something I didn't find with any of them."

"Not even with Nick?"

Eric sighed. "No. Close, but - no. I always knew that wouldn't last."

"And Jason? He seems like a nice guy. And it sounds like he liked you."

"Maybe he liked what he saw at first. If he got to know me - maybe not."

Wes's eyes examined his face. "How do you feel about seeing him again?"

"Well ..." Eric shrugged uncomfortably. "I kind of feel bad about the way I walked out on him like that."

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well ..." Wes hesitated, but the question needed to be asked, at least to get it off his own mind. "Do you still have feelings for him?"

To his surprise, the corner of Eric's mouth turned up. "I liked the guy okay, but I never had feelings for him. None above the waist, anyway."

"And below the waist?" Wes asked without giving himself a chance to think about it. "I mean - do you still think about him sometimes?"

Eric's eyes met his steadily. "How could I, when I've got you?"

They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments until Wes blinked, smiled slowly, and raised his head to move forward enough for a light kiss. "Good answer," he murmured. Even if a remaining twinge of jealousy told him it might not be one hundred percent true, it was what he had needed to hear. "So anyway ... if you feel bad about what happened with Jason, now you can tell him you're sorry."

"After all these years? He probably forgot all about it."

"I dunno," Wes said, letting a teasing tone creep into his voice. "You're pretty memorable." He reached out a hand to trace the contours of Eric's shoulders.

"Yeah, well. I'm sure the only thing he remembers is me acting like an asshole. He was pretty mad." Eric shook his head at the mental image of that young man sitting on a narrow bed all those years ago, glaring in anger.

Wes's hand rose to move a thumb gently across Eric's lips, then cup his cheek. "When you saw him again during the Red Ranger mission, did he say anything?"

"Nope. Just what you heard. Hardly looked at me the rest of the time." Eric smiled faintly and turned his head to press a kiss into Wes's palm. "But - we were pretty busy then, if you remember."

"And now ..." Wes briefly ran his hand down Eric's neck and over his throat, and then started to draw slow circles on his chest. "I think you should talk to him."

"You think so, huh?"

"Yeah. Just to make sure both of you can forget about it. Leave it behind, you know? You'll both feel better."

"Wes ..." Eric reached to grasp Wes's wrist, stopping the hand that was starting to drift lower in its teasing movements.

"Yeah?" Blue eyes met his unblinkingly.

"You haven't said how you feel about seeing Jason."

Wes shrugged slightly, but his eyes moved away. "Me? I don't feel one way or the other."

"Bullshit. Is it going to bother you being around someone I had sex with in the past?" He lifted himself up on one arm and leaned forward a little to make Wes look at his face. "Someone you know I thought was hot? Because if it is, we should just forget about getting together with him and Tommy. Tell them we're busy, let them do their thing with Dr. Zaskin and just go on home."

Wes frowned. While Eric didn't usually make the effort to notice or deal with other people's feelings, when he did he was usually right, and now was one of those times. Seeing Jason - and seeing Eric with Jason, even in a completely innocent social setting - was going to bother him. Which didn't mean either of them should take the easy way out. "No. I'm not going to back out just because I might feel a little jealous."

"I know you don't want to back out." Eric bent a little lower to brush his lips over Wes's and continued very softly. "But I know what it feels like. I was jealous every time I saw you with Jen. I'm jealous of the girls you slept with in college. I get a little jealous every time I catch you looking at a guy who isn't me. I don't want you feeling that."

Wes was smiling again now. "I had no idea you're so - possessive."

And Eric's lips curved in return. "When you've got something good, you want to hold on to it."

"Tell me about it." Wes watched Eric lie back down and reached for him, beginning that slow circling movement with his hand again. "But a little jealousy comes with the territory. Maybe you think I'm still a spoiled, sheltered brat who can't take it-"

"I never said-"

"Or you think I'm so delicate that you need to protect me."

"I never said that either-"

"Then you should know I'll be just fine." He moved in closer, sliding an arm under Eric's neck while continuing to explore his lover's warm skin with the other hand. "Of course, I could always use some moral support ..."

"Moral support? How?"

Wes grinned. "Like this is how."

They kissed, gently and slowly at first, mapping every contour of each other's lips before Wes slid his tongue into Eric's mouth, taking the time to make it an unhurried and sensual caress as his hands continued on their way. As they found their goal, Eric reached for him, first running his fingers through Wes's hair, then lazily moving down over neck, shoulders, back, and buttocks, once again traveling the paths of that body he knew at least as well as his own.

They were both ready, and past ready, by the time they made their preparations and came together again, bodies joining and moving as one, sweat-dampened skin under their hands, choosing to be face to face with eyes locked on each other, watching every fleeting expression, giving and taking until they both found release.

Later, as they lay warm, satisfied, and relaxed, Wes asked very softly, "Remember when you said you were looking for something with all those guys, years ago?"

"Yeah, sure I remember."

"Have you found it now?"

"You know I have."

To Be Continued …