And Days Go By officially becomes a series!
I finally got to see the Dino Thunder/Ninja Storm team up (Thunder Storm?) awhile ago. I love Dustin in the beginning! "What happened here?" "We totally kicked their butts!" -Snickers-
Anywho, it gave me an idea of something that could have happened during the time the Wind Rangers were evil. And then I couldn't leave the ending hanging... -Grins- And then I had another idea, which I still can't stop giggling over. And now I have the inklings of an idea to continue a point mentioned in the next section. I'm also more than open to requests for mini-plots of Shane and Dustin running around the academy, so feel free to suggest some.
In the meantime, enjoy!
Bad Days
He should have expected it when his dismissal was met with silence. He wasn't paying much attention, though, too busy cleaning up from the day's lesson. The whole class had been quiet and without problems, which is what should have alerted him. But it didn't.
"Sensei...?" came a hesitant voice.
He actually jumped, turning to look at his students in surprise. "Uh, yeah? What is it?" He blinked as he realized that none of them had left yet, and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"That's what we wanted to ask you." Angel informed him, but her eyes were worried.
"Did something happen Sensei?" Eileen asked.
"You don't seem like...yourself." Marshall put in.
They must be worried; Marshall didn't stutter once.
"I'm fine." he assured them, forcing his usual grin to his face. "No worries."
Audrey stepped towards him to put a hand on his arm, her eyes dark with concern. He knew he was in trouble now; his students were never this forward. "But we are worried, Sensei." she told him softly. Her eyes searched his. "Does this have anything to do with Sensei Clarke?"
He flinched instinctively, his eyes filling with pain and fear. "Y-you guys are such worrywarts." he scoffed weakly. "Now class dismissed. I've got work to do. Go on; get out of here."
"But Sensei-"
"Go." he said sharply. He hadn't meant to; he could see the hurt in their eyes. But it got the point across as they finally left him alone.
He leaned his head back against a tree, closing his eyes. Half of his students were Heart-Type Ninjas, which seriously stunk sometimes. They were more sensitive to his emotions, and more persistent about making sure he was all right. And the ones that weren't Heart-Types listened to the ones that were. Not to mention Eileen being a Mind meant she overanalyzed him constantly. It was a seriously bad combination.
He pushed himself up after a moment, sighing. Stretching, he opened his eyes and moved to finish his clean up. He froze.
Shane was staring at him from across the clearing.
He ducked his head down, hurriedly gathering everything he needed and headed back to the Academy. He had a lot of stuff to do after all. He didn't have time to hang around.
"Hey, Dustin!"
He turned, blinking, and lit up instantly. "Dude! Blake! Hunter!" He embraced each one enthusiastically, thumping each other on the back before stepping back to beam at them both. "I thought you guys were already gone. What are you doing here?"
"Thought we'd stay a bit for a little visit." Hunter replied, giving a slight smile at Dustin's enthusiasm.
"I never get to see you guys anymore." Blake agreed.
Dustin grinned. "So who's fault is that?"
He received a scowl in return. "Very funny."
"So, what have you been up to lately?" Hunter asked, leaning back against a tree.
"Teaching, training, and more teaching." Dustin sighed. He flashed them both another smile. "Some of the new students are a real handful."
"And that's all you've been doing?" Blake shook his head disapprovingly. "You've gotta get out more, man."
He shrugged. "Never have the time." He glanced at his watch. "You guys wanna grab some lunch from the cafeteria? I don't have another class 'til one."
"Sure."
"Sounds good to me."
Dustin beamed.
As they walked together, talking and laughing over recent events in each other's lives, Dustin reveled in the feeling. For a moment, all that mattered was spending time with two of his best friends that he hadn't seen in ages. He teased, joked, and moaned in jealousy. And for that wonderful, brief span of time, he was able to forget...
"Hey, what's up with that?" Blake interrupted Hunter, pointing.
Dustin blinked, turning to look at the open door. "It's just a closet, dude. Someone must have forgot to shut it all the way."
Almost as if on cue, a loud thump came from inside, followed by a muffled curse.
"Sounds occupied to me." Hunter commented, smirking at Blake.
Dustin groaned, completely missing the looks exchanged between the brothers. "Man, I hate doing the whole discipline thing." he complained, even as he headed to the closet. Sighing, he reached for the door and opened it wide. "All right guys, break it-"
Something shoved him hard in the back, forcing him to stumble. He barely had time to protest before everything when dark. The last thing he heard was the sound of a lock sliding into place, and a chair bracing against a door.
Dustin muttered darkly, rubbing his head. "Oh, real nice, guys. Very mature." he grumbled, pushing himself away from the soft surface he'd landed on. "Okay, you got me. Now let me out."
No one answered him.
He felt around blindly for the door handle. Predictably, it didn't turn under his hand. "Come on, guys! Lemme out already. The joke's over."
"It's not a joke." came a soft voice from behind him. "It was my idea. Blake and Hunter agreed to help."
Abruptly, Dustin realized just what the soft object he'd landed on was.
"I had to get you to talk to me somehow." Shane continued. Dustin couldn't see him, but he could still feel that intense, searching gaze.
He kept his eyes on the door, refusing to turn around. "You could have just asked, dude. I mean, seriously. Isn't this a little-"
"Dustin."
He shut up.
There was a sigh. "What do I have to do to make it up to you?" Shane demanded. There was a thump, and another muffled curse. "I didn't mean it." he said quietly after a moment. "You know I didn't. Don't you?" There was a note of pleading to his tone.
"Of course I know." Dustin muttered back, unconsciously rubbing his arms as he wrapped them around himself. He leaned against a wall, tilting his head back as he tried to ignore the bucket digging into his calf. "You...I know."
-"Well, I think we should-"
A sharp, stinging pain in his cheek as he stared, stunned. Distantly, he could hear the sound of Tori's laughter.
"I'm the leader here. I do the thinking. I don't need to hear stupid ideas from a brainless idiot."-
He shuddered, bowing his head.
Arms came around him, leaving no way to fight them in the cramped position he was in. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Shane whispered. "You're not stupid. I've never thought you were. I..." A hand came up to brush his left cheek gently, tenderly.
He flinched.
He could feel the pain that welled up in Shane from that simple movement. "I...I'm sorry." he mumbled. "I just...keep seeing it. And every time I do, I..."
This time the fingers were followed by lips, brushing feather-light against his skin. "I'm so, so sorry, Dustin. I wish I could take it all back."
(But you can't!) he cried silently. (Maybe you wouldn't have said it if you weren't under a spell, but that doesn't mean you haven't thought it. And once you've said something you can't take it back!)
"I love you."
He blinked.
He looked up slowly, his eyes somehow managing to find Shane's in the darkness. His body was tense and awkward, but his eyes pleaded sincerity. "I love you." he repeated, his voice soft, the words tense and quick.
It wasn't the first time he'd said it. But Shane wasn't so good with words, so he like to show how much he cared. As a Body-Type Ninja, he was very physical when it came to demonstrating affection. He showed Dustin his feelings constantly, but saying it was much harder for him. He preferred to believe that Dustin could feel it, or understand how he felt by the way he acted towards him.
Which he did. But there was a difference between knowing Shane loved him, and hearing Shane say it himself. A big difference, as his senses reminded him quite abruptly why Sensei had told him he was a Heart-Type Ninja when he'd first started training.
The emotions were so overwhelming that If he didn't say something soon, he was going to end up bawling like a girl. So instead, he chose to follow Shane's usual methods. Leaning forward, he tilted his head slightly and enforced all his feelings in one simple kiss.
The arms around him tightened, pulling him closer. Inevitably, one hand somehow found its way into his hair, winding into his curls. He pulled back a little with a laugh he couldn't hold in, leaning his head against Shane's chest as he chuckled. "Dude, you are so obsessed."
Shane sighed in response, the arm around his waist squeezing tighter. "Forgive me?" he asked after a moment.
Dustin bit his lip, wavering. Shaking his head, he shoved the thoughts and insecurities away, leading himself soak in Shane's presence instead. "Yeah. It wasn't really you." he agreed. He allowed his heart one last ache at the memory of Shane glaring at him and slapping him across the face before firmly pushing it out of his mind for good.
There was a long, comfortable and soothing silence as they stood wrapped in each other's arms. After awhile however, the broom sticking into Dustin's back reminded him that supply closets were not the most romantic of places to be. He reached for his wrist and frowned. "Shane? Did you bring your morpher to tell Blake and Hunter when to let us out?"
There was a long pause.
"Fudge."