Disclaimer: Oh, haven't you heard? I bought the rights to the series yesterday!

Author's note: Yay! Another update, so far I've been updating every week. Go me! I can't guarantee it will always be like this though. Keep sending me those thoughts and opinions on my story!

In reply to the reviews: thanks Whispering Ranger, KenzeiLee, CamFan4Ever (I'm so glad you're reading this! You're like my … hero when it comes to PRNS stories, haha) and Marcus1233 (interesting that you make the 'bottom' remark. It's like that, isn't it? Well, I can't say I won't do it in this story but let's just say you'll also get to know another side of Hunter along the way).

Love is in the air
Tough times

Once they got outside, they noticed darkness had already settled. For some reason, it made Hunter feel more at ease. The darkness could both be threatening or soothing. Right now, it was soothing. He could feel some of the tension leave his body which made his shoulders drop slightly. He hadn't even noticed he'd pulled them up just the tinniest bit. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair. It felt good on his still heated skin from practice.

In front of them, Shane was telling loudly about some new skateboarding trick he'd mastered that day. Hunter smiled a bit. Shane was as passionate about skateboarding as he was about motocross.

"Dustin, I need to talk to you," Hunter said as quietly as possible.

"Sure, man, what's up?" Dustin asked, smiling.

"Privately."

Dustin's eyebrow rose. "Oh. Sure. Um. Well, you're with your own car, right? We can stay here and then you can drive me home."

Hunter wanted to speak but didn't trust his voice so he settled for nodding and trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. They told the other three of their plans to stay in the forest for a bit, under the cover of a re-match by dark and waited until they had gone through the portal. The sounds of chatter immediately died away and now the forest seemed more eerie than soothing. Even the breeze made him shiver now. Yet he knew nothing could happen to them here. Luckily, the moon was shining brightly and stars covered the night's sky. That way, they would not be completely in the dark.

"Let's walk," Hunter suggested. Somehow it seemed a lot easier to talk while they were walking. That way he didn't necessarily have to look at Dustin and could pretend he was talking to himself.

"Sure but whatever it is you want to say, hurry up," Dustin said but followed anyway, risking a nervous glance around him. He was not too keen on being in a dark forest. Too much horror movies did that to a person. He knew that if someone, or something, attacked them here, they would most likely win, what with them being ninjas and on top of that rangers. Even so, he didn't want to push his luck.

Hunter nodded and tried to think of what to say. All of his previous thoughts had gone out the window now that he was alone with Dustin. He had known that would happen. He was not 

one for expressing his feelings either and he could not believe he was going to come clean to Dustin about his feelings. Blake would probably be proud if he knew though.

"Hunter?"

A nearby branch cracked and Dustin jumped about a foot in the air and closer to him.

Hunter couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Dustin. The only one who can attack us here is Cam."

"I know," Dustin mumbled, trying to calm down his racing heart. He walked a bit closer to Hunter. He'd seen enough horror movies to know that things could appear at any time and place. The area around Ninja Ops suddenly didn't seem so safe anymore. He kept looking around him.

"I suppose I'll just tell you," Hunter took a deep breath and cut right to the chase, "I'm in love with you."

The words needed several seconds to sink and when they did, Dustin forgot all about his fear of the forest and focused his full attention on the Thunder Ranger walking by his side.

Hunter risked a glance at him and could make out Dustin's more than a little shocked expression. His heart sank.

"Wow. I mean … wow." That was about the only thing Dustin managed to bring out at the current time. Thoughts ran through his head and he was having trouble formulating a reply to what Hunter had just said. It would help if he actually knew what his feelings towards Hunter were. He thought back to the night on the beach. He had felt very comfortable around Hunter, he'd almost felt as if it should be like that every day but did that mean that he could have a relationship with his friend? He couldn't imagine it but the idea wasn't at all unappealing.

He stopped and forced Hunter to stop by putting a hand on his arm. He looked up Hunter.

"Look, I'll be honest with you. I don't know what to make of my own feelings towards you. I feel like you've set this ball in motion but I cannot give you an answer now. I have to think about this." Dustin spoke.

Hunter's face fell and Dustin noticed.

"Look, man, that doesn't mean I'm rejecting you. I'm willing to give you a chance but I don't want to lead you on either so I want to know what I get myself into first." Dustin explained quickly. He was very proud that he managed to sound mature and rational. It was a nice change from his normal childish and impulsive behavior.

Hunter nodded and managed a smile. It was probably the best he could've hoped for. He hadn't expected a declaration of love back. He hadn't really known what to expect.

"Out of curiosity, for how long have you felt this way about me?"

The dark made Hunter slightly bolder and the words tumbled out of his mouth. "I don't know when it started but I've always been attracted to you. Then when I started to get to know you better, the feelings came. I don't know when I actually fell in love."

Dustin nodded. It was obvious Hunter at least knew what he was doing and that he hadn't acted out of impulse. If he was going to try to have a relationship with Hunter, he wanted to know that Hunter was genuine. Hunted had passed that test.

"I can't guarantee anything but I'll think about it."

"I have another idea. How about you let me take you out on a date? You can see what it's like and see how you feel then." The suggestion came out before he even had a chance to think about it.

Dustin tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Okay. That sounds good. But if we go on a date, I don't want to be around other people. At this stage, I don't want people to get the wrong idea."

Hunter nodded his agreement. "I'll think of something and let you know."

--

The next morning started out very much like the previous morning with the slight difference that Dustin managed to get there on time. In fact, he was five minutes early. Still completely out of breath but early. Hunter and Dustin kept exchanging glances throughout the entire morning. On the car ride home, they had agreed that they would also keep it a secret from their friends until they knew where they were headed. It wouldn't be easy, especially for Hunter because he would have to lie to his brother but they didn't want their friends to make a fuss of something that might not even work out.

Hunter was in the back when his morpher beeped. Cam's voice sounded through, telling him there was a monster in town. He hurried out to the front where Blake and Dustin were watching him, waiting for the news.

'Trouble,' he mouthed. Dustin and Blake nodded and with some hurried apologies directed at Kelly, left the store.

Kelly placed her hands on her hips, her lips thinned to a fine line. What was it with them and storming out? Every time they came back with an explanation that was even less believable than the one before that. She knew it must be important because they, especially Dustin, would not leave her like that. She had a suspicion but it sounded too ridiculous to think about it much, let alone say it out loud. She shook her head and returned to do her job while patiently waiting for her friends to return.

Dustin, Hunter and Blake were morphed and ready by the time they reached the square where Kelzacks were harassing people. Upon seeing the rangers arrive, they left the people alone and focused on them. The people used that time to run to safety. They were soon joined by the other three rangers. The Kelzacks were dealt with quickly. Dustin did not understand why Lothor kept sending them, they were dealt with within five minutes. If he was trying to exhaust them before sending the freak-of-the-week, then it was not working either. They didn't even break a sweat. It had become routine. They did not have to wait long for the monster.

If anything, it looked most like a centaur but with two heads and four spider like arms.

"Oh man, they keep getting uglier." Shane muttered.

"Let's get this over with," Hunter muttered, sounding bored.

Shane, Dustin and Tori drew their Ninja Swords and launched the first attack. The multiple arms proved to cause a problem for them. The monster managed to stop every swing they took at it. On of its arm slammed in to Dustin, sending him flying against a near by building. 

He slid down from the wall in a heap. Luckily, his suit absorbed most of the hit and he was back on his feet in no time.

Meanwhile, the Thunder Brothers had joined in the fight. With five of them fighting, they stood a bit more of a chance but the monster proved to have more tricks up its sleeve than they had initially expected. Out of its spider like arm, it shot a kind of web. Hunter used his shield to protect himself and Tori who was closest to him. Shane went up in the air but it caught Cam and Blake who both fell to the ground. They trashed around, obviously in agony but the others didn't know why.

Hunter, keeping his shield up, protected the Wind Rangers while they formed the Storm Striker. Hunter then jumped out of their way as a big red sphere left the weapon and crashed into the monster. It caused the monster to stumble back and release whatever hold it had on Blake and Cam. Hunter rushed forward to make sure they were okay while the other three launched another attack while the monster was recuperating. This time they managed to get a few fair hits in. Cam joined in while the Winds and the Thunders combined their weapons. The blast it caused proved enough to destroy the monster.

They didn't waste time with asking if everyone was okay and called for their Zords while the monster became at least ten times its size.

The monster shot out its web again, it enveloped their entire Zord.

"We're losing electricity!" Shane yelled, hastily pressing some buttons. It also felt as if they themselves were losing energy.

"Shane, this is going to sound crazy but turn the Zord off!" Cam yelled.

"We can turn the Zord off?" Dustin asked, "How?"

Shane knew better than to question Cam and did as he was told. The web fell off, there was no more electricity running through the Zord for it to drain. The Zord immediately sprung back online again. Upon Shane's orders, they placed their disks in the lock and turned the handle which made the Zord produce a sphere which carried a big sword. It only took one swipe for the monster to be destroyed again. Cheers of victory rose.

They met back on the ground, unmorphed.

"Everyone okay?" Cam asked.

"Feeling a bit faint." Blake mumbled. He did look pale.

"Yeah, me too." Cam admitted.

"We better get back to Ninja Ops," Shane suggested, supporting Cam as he wobbled a bit. Tori stayed close to Blake's side.

"We've got to head back to Storm Chargers," Dustin said. He did feel tired but they could not leave Kelly. They'd been gone long enough already.

"Don't worry about it, we'll take care of them." Shane said with a nod. They disappeared in their streaks. Dustin and Hunter jogged back to Storm Chargers which was not too far away. They didn't speak as they were both tired.

"Are you two alright? Where's Blake?" Kelly asked, worried, noticing the state Hunter and Dustin were in. They looked tired, as if they had just run 10 miles.

"Blake is sick. We're fine. Sorry for running of like that." Hunter apologized. He took his place behind the counter while Dustin returned to stocking the shelves.

Kelly raised an eyebrow. They had been gone for an hour and they looked dead tired now. Blake was apparently sick. She didn't believe it. There was more going on, she knew that much. She knew they would never tell her though and perhaps she didn't want them to.

Hunter rested his chin on his hand and stared unseeingly out over the shop. He still had not been able to think of what to do for a date and he felt too tired to think about it now. It was as if his brain was fried and he felt like a pudding which he realized was a weird comparison but he did. He felt muscle less, as if there was nothing holding him upright. That of course was ridiculous too because he was still standing up.

He shook it off and smiled warmly as a customer made his way over to pay. He handled it quickly and then rested his chin on his hand again.

"Guys, I've got an errand to run, I'll be back in fifteen minutes," Kelly said, going in the back and coming back out with her bag.

"Sure, Kel," Hunter said. She was probably of to the bank.

Dustin came to stand beside him, sitting up on the counter and facing him. "I didn't feel this tired right after the battle," he mumbled.

"Yeah, guess the adrenaline has worn off," Hunter said, running a hand over his face. He needed a shower and sleep.

"I just hope Cam and Blake are okay. They literally got their energy drained."

"They'll be fine, they're both strong." Hunter said soothingly although he could not help feeling worried about his little brother. He hated it to see Blake in pain, sometimes he hated it that Blake was a ranger too. He couldn't handle losing Blake too. He'd already lost his parents. Blake was his only family.

"Yeah, they are," Dustin agreed. He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they were sparkling.

"Have you thought about our date yet?"

Hunter smiled, "I have an idea."

"Good," Dustin said beaming at him. "Let me know in time." He jumped back of the counter and returned to work.

The day seemed to last forever but by the end of the tiring working day, Hunter at least knew what they could do for a date and where so that they wouldn't be seen. Now it was just a matter of arranging stuff and getting everything sorted. They should be able to go on their date in two days, which was a Saturday. That was excellent. There was no work and no training on Sunday. Lothor usually took his off day then too so they could stay up late of they wanted to and sleep in the next morning when needed. He told Dustin he'd pick him up at 

seven pm on Saturday night. Dustin agreed happily. Hunter had the feeling this date would go great. He was still smiling when he finally got under the hot sprays of the shower.

Author's note: The next chapter, the date. That should take an entire chapter so get ready for some cuteness and fluff Let's just hope nothing goes wrong …