Chapter Six: Cupid Rangers
"I'm telling you guys! We're getting even more homework since this whole thing started! More and more!" Ethan complained as he threw his pencil down on the table in frustration. Conner nodded in agreement. While he normally would have been the one complaining, Ethan was more agitated at the moment since he'd had to miss a game release because of homework and training. Conner hadn't had to miss anything truly important in a while and Kira was making sure that she balanced her time better now. Still, they were starting to agree with him as they were tired of constantly being responsible and blowing off the more enjoyable things in life. "Seriously, Conner, when was the last time that you practiced soccer, just for fun? Kira, hasn't the number of songs you've created gone down?"
"Not by that much!" Kira snapped, a little defensive about her music. Even she understood that he wasn't implying that she was lazy, it still bothered her.
"He's right," Conner agreed. As Kira's head whirled around to glare at him, he threw his hands up. "It's not your fault, Kira. Ethan hasn't been able to play his games as much either. There's just too much to do."
"There, see?" Ethan asked, making sure that Hayley didn't overhear them. "It's not our fault that we had no training to begin with."
"Yeah, well, what can we do about it anyway?" Kira asked and Ethan sat back for a moment. He hadn't gotten that far yet. Conner looked at his friends, saw the defeat, and sighed as he went back to studying. Kira quietly joined him, but Ethan's mind was going a mile a minute. Finally he sat up quickly, a smile rushing to his face.
"I've got it!" He exclaimed, still managing to keep his voice quiet enough. Both of the other teenagers quickly looked over as they hoped his plan was a good one. "We've got to get Doctor O a girlfriend."
"Are you serious?" Conner asked, hope fading again. "Besides, that takes care of Doctor O, but what about Kim and Hayley?"
"We don't need to worry about Kim and Hayley," Ethan decided. "Who plans the training schedule? Doctor O. Who teaches the science class? Doctor O. Who insisted that we needed to work harder to become a team…?"
"Doctor O," Conner answered. "Ethan, you're a genius!"
"I know," Ethan answered and they high-fived. Kira, on the other hand, looked less than happy by their idea.
"Oh yeah, 'cause this can't backfire badly," she scoffed. Both boys just looked at her.
"Come on, Kira!" Conner pushed. "You have to admit that he's been pushing us."
"Besides," added Ethan. "We'll need your help. We're a team, right?"
"Technically, Doctor O is a part of the team too," Kira reminded them and both of them shrugged. A minor fact like that wasn't going to get in their way.
"And we're doing him a favor," Conner said. "Come on, Kira."
"Please?" Ethan asked. Kira groaned but nodded. They were right, the three of them were a team.
"I just know I'm going to regret this," she said as she shook her head.
"Wait, you saw Anton?" Kimberly asked. Tommy inwardly groaned. Seven. That was how many times she'd asked the question.
"Yes, Kim. And as I was trying to say, he's different. He's not the same guy. Well, he is, but he's not," Tommy answered.
"Well, being dead will do that to a guy," she quipped. "What was he doing at Hayley's anyway?"
"He, uh, has a son," Tommy answered and Kim laughed.
"What, he didn't learn his lesson with you?" She snickered and laughed even harder at his scowl. "Oh, come on, Tommy. You know I'm right."
"Yeah, well, you weren't the greatest guest ever, you know," he muttered, trying to save face.
"True, but I didn't eat ten times my own weight either," she said with a laugh. After a minute, her smile died and she looked at him seriously. "So, he's really changed, huh?"
"Big time, Kim," he answered. Both were quiet for a moment. Kim had met the man during one of her visits to Tommy to see how he was doing in coming up with a power. She'd found out about their experiments then and had genuinely liked the older man. Besides for being rich and funding the projects, he'd also been a hands on man. Something Tommy was insisting he'd somehow lost.
"Well, we should probably keep an eye on him for now. Besides, maybe it's a temporary thing," she offered.
"Yeah, may… Wait, what do you mean keep an eye on him?" Tommy exclaimed, his head snapping up to look at her.
"Well, Mesagog has been keeping an eye on you, right? Didn't Anton Mercer help you build everything? I seem to remember that," she reminded him with a look. He glared at her tone, but nodded.
"You're right," he agreed and sat down at the computer. Kim pulled up a chair and joined him, affectionately petting Red as he stood beside her. They were quiet again before Kim spoke up.
"Any luck finding the black raptor rider egg?" She asked finally.
"None yet, Kim. What if it's hatched? These guys were hard enough to train without running around on their own for weeks," he answered. Kim shrugged.
"I still don't understand how it got lost from the others in the first place. Hell, I don't even know why you made a black one in the first place. I mean, you didn't even know about the black gem, did you?" She asked and he shook his head no.
"Black was the first one we made. I wanted to see if we could do it and I figured that if I could, I wouldn't want one of the main colors to be less than the others. If we started with red and it was inferior than the blue and yellow two would be better and the red ranger would be at a disadvantage. Same for all of the other colors. So, I chose black and worked with it," he explained. "In all honesty, Kim, there is a good chance that it didn't and won't hatch."
"Sort of like the runt of the litter?" She asked and he nodded. "Well, at least we don't have to worry too much about a power play with the raptors when we find it."
"If, Kim. If we find it," he reminded her. Kim shrugged, stretching. She had been stuck in the lab and at Hayley's without getting outside as much. She had to admit, she wanted out for a bit.
"Tell you what, Tommy," she offered. "You stay here and keep an eye on things in case Mesagog attacks and I'll take Red to see if we can find the black egg."
"Kim, what if you're seen?" He asked and she smiled.
"Don't worry about it, Tommy. I'll be right back!" She answered happily as she raced upstairs. Red looked over at Tommy and cocked his head to the side.
"Don't worry about it, Red. All women are like that," Tommy muttered. Red went back to watching the door patiently. After all, raptors can't shrug. Within minutes, Kim came racing back downstairs wearing a large red cloak. Tommy stared at her. "Where did you get that?"
"I was Little Red Riding Hood one year for Halloween. I'm sure Conner, Jason, and Rocky won't mind if I borrow their color," she answered, making sure the cloak covered her head. Tommy had to admit that he couldn't tell anything about her from the back, which was the only side anyone would see when she was riding Red. Like his Ranger, Red was the fastest of the raptors. He sighed and nodded.
"I don't suppose you'll listen if I tell you no?" He asked and she gave him a look. "I didn't think so."
"Relax, Tommy! Red could use the exercise and I'm bored anyway. We'll be fine. Besides, I have my communicator," she reminded him. Red was already next to her, staying perfectly still so that she could get on. Tommy just nodded and Kim grinned. "Catch you on the flipside!"
She leapt onto Red's back and they raced out the door. Tommy watched and shook his head as he looked back at the screen. Anton Mercer was back, he wanted nothing to do with Tommy, they still hadn't found the black egg, Kim was off riding one of the raptors to find said egg, and she had a Little Red Riding Hood cloak. He heard a chuckle from behind him and looked to see Jason standing there. Tommy growled. "When are you going back to Angel Grove?"
"You'll miss me when I'm gone," Jason teased and pointed to the camera that watched Kim ride off. "I figured that you could use a bit of a sparring match."
Tommy just grinned.
"So, who do we hook him up with?" Conner asked. "I mean, in order to get him a girlfriend, I'm pretty sure we need a girl."
"Well," Ethan said thoughtfully. "Who are the women in his life?"
Kira sighed. "Hayley, Kim, and Principal Randall." All three made a face at the last one. Desperate or not, they were not subjecting their teacher to that. Kira quickly amended her statement. "Hayley and Kim."
"Not Hayley," Ethan offered. "She even said something about not being interested in him."
"So, that leaves Kim!" Conner said helpfully. The other two gave him a look.
"Figure that one out all on your own?" Ethan teased.
"Shut up, Ethan," Conner fought back. "Alright, so Kim it is."
"Uh, guys? How are we going to do this when we know nothing about them really?" Kira asked. The boys looked a bit worried for a moment before Ethan snapped his fingers.
"Trini and Jason," he answered. "The four of them have been friends for a long time. Besides, we're helping. They'll want to help their friends, right?"
"Right," they agreed. They began to plot and plan a way for this to work including the involvement of flowers, music, movies, and anything else their teenage minds could come up with. To their good fortune, Trini came in during the middle of their plans and Kira called her over.
Trini hadn't been just good at guessing what Billy was talking about when they were teenagers; she was intelligent and easily the second smartest behind Billy. She was also observant and she understood people which made her well-rounded, so she guessed that when three teenagers are calling you over to a secluded area in an excited manner, and you know their teachers, mischief is about to occur. Still, Trini was curious over the matter and better her than someone else, she supposed, so she headed over and sat down. Within moments, she had the entire story, which she would usually have turned down. That said, hearing the couple that they had wanted to put together caught her interest and she had to admit that hooking her best friend up with the love of the woman's life did intrigue her. Besides, it would be a fun story to share the next time all of the former Rangers got back together.
"Very well," she said. "I'll help you, but let's wait for Jason. I'm sure he'll want to help too."
All three nodded. Kira looked at her. "So, do you have a plan?"
Trini smiled at that. "Of course. You three are going to have to do the grunt work, though."
"Okay!" They quickly agreed. Trini kept that in mind. Zack still did like to play tricks on his friends and having three willing accomplices might mean that she could turn the table on him. For now, however, her thoughts were quickly staying with the plan forming in her mind.
"This way, Red," Kim told her companion gently and the raptor headed off in the direction she pushed. She still hadn't found anything and it was a large forest. That was assuming, of course, that the egg had landed somewhere out here. Even more of an assumption was that it was an egg. Kim wasn't about to admit it to Tommy, but one of the reasons why she'd taken Red was that if the egg had hatched, then Red would be their best shot of keeping her safe and getting it to mind. They'd stayed away from the Corral as Hayley and Kim had nicknamed the area where the zords stayed. Close enough to come quickly, yet far enough out where they couldn't be seen, the resting spot for the Biozords was well-hidden and easy to reach. Still, they would have also noticed if there was an energy force near it, so there was no point in looking.
Red seemed to be enjoying the time out, even if he was out there for a reason. She wasn't really pushing him hard and he was happy enough to be out of the lab. He and the other two were permanent fixtures in the lab by this point, but he still enjoyed running around outdoors, especially with someone on his back. Well, a certain two someones anyway. He still tended to snap if anyone other than Kim or Conner tried to ride him. He was a two person raptor, thank you very much. His sensor that allowed him to "smell" kicked into gear as he smelled something familiar. While making sure not to knock Kimberly out of the saddle, he headed down a different way.
"Hey! Red, what are you doing?" She asked. The raptor didn't even squeak. Instead he continued down the path he was on. "Red, come on!"
His raptor mind had wrapped around the idea that Kim couldn't smell it. It also realized that she was trying to get him to go a different way when what he wanted was this way. They could look for what she wanted later but he wanted to check this out. He raced down the path, leaping off rocks and heading toward a deep ravine. There, alone and trapped, was a black raptor rider. His shell wasn't crunched as if he had been jumping on it, which led Kim to believe that he hadn't been hatched for very long, and the energy that their lab would have gotten was definitely masked by something or another.
"Come on, Red, we need to get him out," Kim said, jumping off his back. She began to look for a log that she could shove down in there. Raptors were good jumpers, but the edges were slick and the black raptor was newly hatched. It would take a little while before he understood everything he could do.
Red, on the other hand, moved to the edge of the cliff and chirped at it. The black raptor looked up and chirped back. Red adapted quickly and accepted that one of his pack was stuck. Without Yellow or Blue, he was going to have a harder time helping the raptor and the log might work, but he wouldn't understand what to do. Red was experienced, but this new raptor was younger. He could also tell that something was wrong with this pack member on top of it. He raced over to Kim and chirped at her. "Hey, Red, what is it?"
The raptor chirped and raced back to the edge, jumping in. He chirped at the black one and motioned upward. Red was able to jump back out, but the black one was still having difficulties and fell back in. Kim looked confused. "How come you can get out, Red?" She asked and moved to her communicator. "Tommy?"
"Kim! I was beginning to worry about you!" Tommy's voice came through clearly.
"Are you busy? I could really use your help out here," she asked.
"No problem. Jason can watch the computer. Where are you?" He asked and she read off the coordinates to him. She was really starting to like all of the nifty gadgets that Hayley had come up with. "I'll be there as soon as I can!"
Red bobbed his head and chirped something to the new black raptor. It chirped something back. They continued to chirp to each other and Kim sat down next to Red. It was going to be a little while.
With Tommy gone, Jason was able to relax and occasionally glanced at the computer. Without alarms going off, he really had nothing to worry about. He leaned back in the chair and began planning out his next week. Trini and he were going to head back to Angel Grove in a couple of days, and for now he was enjoying laid back duties. As agreed before, all six were potential mentors. If something happened to Tommy, Jason would take over and the same for Kim and Trini. Since they were here, Jason and Trini were happy to help out their friends with training the new kids, but both agreed that it was also as much fun to just be laid back about it and offer an opinion once in a while, sort of like uncles and aunts instead of the main teacher. It was much more relaxing.
"Jason, we need to talk." Trini's words as she entered the lab broke him out of his thoughts and he immediately turned around to face her. He noticed that the three teens were with her and he looked a bit confused. "They came up with a plan and they want our help."
"A plan? For what?" Jason asked. He could tell that she obviously was thinking about something if she didn't tell him what was going on right away. He patiently waited while she sat down across from him.
"To get Kim and Tommy together," she answered. The room fell into silence when Jason fell out of the chair he was sitting in. It was completely unexpected to everyone, other than Trini, that something that simple would cause the first leader of the Power Rangers to fall from his seat.
"And do they know you're doing this?" He asked as he picked himself up from the floor.
"Of course not," she answered. Jason grinned.
"Count me in!" He said quickly to the teens' surprise. "What's your plan?"
"Who says I have a plan?" Trini asked innocently and Jason's grin expanded.
"Trini, you always have a plan," he told her, slightly flirting. She turned a slight shade of red, but quickly brushed it off and laid it out for them.
"Jason, you and I will have to get them here, alone, when we're ready. That shouldn't be too difficult. Kira, you're in charge of music. Conner, you handle the flowers. Ethan, we need you to mess around with anything technical, like lights. Split up setting the table, getting candles for the middle of the table, and finding a table cloth. Jason, you and I will do the cooking," she said. The others nodded and they got to work with making their plan come into fruition. "Jason, where are they right now?"
"They went looking for an egg and then Kim needed his help," he answered.
"Good, stay here. When they come back, offer to take them to the hotel or something. Come up with a reason, any reason," she pushed.
"Pipes broke?" He offered. She gave him a look.
"And who is going to fix them, Jason?" She asked and he grinned.
"I will. Tommy and Kim both know that I can. They've broke at the dojo a few times and it was cheaper for me to just learn how to fix them if it's a small problem," he offered. Trini nodded.
"Fair enough," she agreed. "Alright, new plan. You keep them busy, and I'll cook."
"Done," he agreed and turned back to the computer, waiting.
"It's trapped?" Tommy asked as he got out of the car and Kim nodded.
"Big time, Tommy. I was thinking that maybe it was too high, but Red had no problem jumping out," she said. "Do you think something is wrong with it?"
"Like I said, Kim, I made the black one first. It hatched last and you said it might be smaller," he said. "I'm not sure what to do."
Red watched for a few minutes as they talked and came closer to the ravine, but this was not going how he wanted it to go. They were taking too long and he wanted the Ranger here for a reason. He ducked his head down and charged Tommy. Kim called out and Tommy jumped, but it was right onto Red's back. Pleased, Red jumped up and then fell into the ravine, Tommy still on his back. The moment they landed, Tommy jumped off the raptor's back. "Red! What the hell was that for?"
Red pushed him toward the black one and jumped back up next to Kim. Kim bit her lip. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh? What do you mean 'uh oh?'" Tommy demanded and Kim looked over at Red who was next to her, but was laying down, relaxed.
"I, uh, think you're stuck down there until you can get the new raptor out. On the plus side, I don't think that they'll be fighting anytime soon," she offered.
"Kim! Find that log or something, alright?" He asked and she nodded, racing off. "Red, get down here! Red! Dammit, come here! Red!"
Red was paying no attention to the noise whatsoever, though he did keep an eye on Kim. If she looked like she was in trouble, he'd help her. The black raptor, on the other hand, was chirping pitifully and it didn't take Tommy long to figure out why. Somehow, between the time it hatched and now, the dino had managed to damage its leg. Though made out of metal, it seemed that the metal wasn't attached in the same way as Red, Yellow, and Blue. With Hayley's help, they'd be able to fix it, but first they had to get out of the ravine in the first place. Tommy was cursing the red raptor, loudly enough so that Red could hear it, but he was still stuck in the equivalent of a giant hole. He felt something nudge him and he suddenly remembered that this raptor wasn't trained.
Immediately, he began to back away from it and the other raptor moved toward him. His mind branched off to realize that the raptor could walk just fine, but not jump well before he realized he was in a lot of trouble. "Red! Red, get down here now!"
The black raptor's tail waved back and forth a bit and then it jumped at Tommy. The black ranger couldn't move quick enough as the raptor overtook him.
"A log, a log, a log. Oh, screw this! Hayley?" Kim's voice rang out over the communicator.
"What is it? I'm watching everything, Squirt," Jason's voice rang over the communicator. "Whatever is blocking everything must be closer to the ravine. I can see you too. So, what do you need?"
"Can you check around where I am and find a large log?" She requested.
"No problem. What do you need it for?" He asked.
"Well, the new raptor is stuck in a ravine. Red, uh, dragged Tommy down into it and hopped back out. I can't convince him to go back in, so I need a log," she answered and she could hear him laughing. "It's not funny, Jason! It's an untamed raptor!"
"Sorry, you're right. Speaking of right, look to it. There should be one there," the former red Ranger informed her. Thrilled, she raced over to it. It was only then that she realized that she couldn't carry it on her own.
"Red! Come here!" She called out. The raptor came running over to her and didn't even need to be told what to do as it began to help her push the log back to the ravine. That was when they heard Tommy scream.
Tommy groaned and pushed the raptor off of him as it tried to nuzzle him. It obeyed the gesture and continued to wave its tail in what Tommy realized was a playful way. "Tommy?! Are you alright?" He heard Kim scream down at him.
"I'm fine, Kim!" He answered. "It's friendly!"
"What happened?" She asked, as Red and she finished pushing the log over.
"He jumped on me. He was trying to play," Tommy answered, only realizing afterward that he'd called the new raptor a he instead of an it. Fortunately, they managed to get the log down and Tommy looked at the raptor. "I'm going to need a ride back up. Can you give me a lift?"
He slowly pulled himself up onto the raptor's back and waited to make sure that the raptor didn't do anything else. Instead, the black raptor climbed the log a bit and managed to leap up the rest of the way, barely making it to the top. Tommy glanced over at Red who bobbed his head and turned around, looking back toward Tommy's house. Perhaps I made them a bit smarter than I thought.
"Well, I could have done that!" Kim said, motioning to the log. "Why on earth did Red seem to act like we needed you out here?"
"Because he's a bastard," Tommy answered and Red made an unpleasant noise. Definitely too smart. Tommy shrugged. "Besides, if something more serious was wrong with the new one, then I would have been able to figure it out since I made them. Maybe I shouldn't have bragged about that so much."
"Probably not," Kim answered and got onto Red's back. Tommy took a minute, but followed when he got onto Black's. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."
Tommy happily agreed and quickly morphed so that his identity would be safe on the ride back.
"Hey Trini? How much longer until everything is done?" Jason called up to her. Trini glanced around the kitchen and noticed that mostly everything was cooked. The table was set with candles and Kira had chosen the music. Flowers were decorating the atmosphere and Ethan had gotten new light bulbs to make the atmosphere a little darker and more romantic. Conner had joined Trini in the kitchen and was finishing up a salad.
"Not too much longer. Why?" She asked. Jason looked a bit worried.
"They took longer than we thought, Tri," he answered. "We're going to have to go through with this without getting them cleaned up."
Trini looked disappointed, but she had to agree. By the time they could get them out of the way and back, the food would be cold. She calmed herself down and nodded to herself. "We can still pull this off."
"Got it. I'll send them up when they get here and slip out through the back. Make sure everything is ready on the table," he told her. He went back to watching the cameras and let Trini know when they were getting close. Needing to buy them a little time, he managed to intercept them when they came in.
"Hey, Bro," Tommy said, jumping off Black. "Just so you know, raptors are not the way to travel."
Kim laughed as her companion powered down and she jumped off of Red, who nudged her a bit. "He's exaggerating. It wasn't that bad. Besides, we found the little guy."
Jason glanced over to see Blue and Yellow look curiously over at Black who was hopping around. Red joined them and watched from a distance. Black, unlike Blue and Yellow or even Red, was in the process of figuring out what things were. More than once, Red needed to snap at him to keep him away from things that Red understood to be important like the computer. Jason laughed and slapped Tommy on the back. "Congrats, Bro. You have another teenager."
"Yeah," Tommy agreed and motioned toward Red. "But I think Red has this one covered."
"Of course he does," Kim scoffed. "Red is a good leader, head of the pack. It's in his… uh… either circuits or DNA."
Jason listened carefully to the upstairs. When he heard the door open and close, he took complete control of the situation. "So, what are you two going to do now?"
"Shower," answered Tommy. Kim shrugged.
"I can wait, but I think I'll get something to eat," she answered. Jason nodded.
"Have a good night then, guys," he stated and waited until they were at the stairs before running out the back escape route. He enjoyed living. Within a few minutes of running, Trini pulled up next to him to pick him up. Their plan was in full swing.
Kim and Tommy, on the other hand, were less than pleased. "Why those conniving little…"
"I recognize the music," Tommy added. "Kira likes it."
"The flowers are red."
"Ethan would be the first to come up with the lights."
"This is Trini's recipe. I'd recognize it from anyway. They set us up!" Kim finished.
"Oh yeah," Tommy answered. "I'm sure Jason and Trini thought this was a great idea. We're not going at it like bunnies, so obviously we need help."
"We've been flirting," Kim agreed though she did pause right after saying it. "We do need to talk some stuff out, though, if we're honestly going to try this."
"We talked out that letter years ago," Tommy answered in confusion. Kim nodded.
"Yes, but there's still worry from you especially that it might happen again. It won't, Tommy. If this doesn't work out, I'll tell you to your face," she promised. Tommy nodded.
"Same here. We were kids, Kim. No older than Kira, Conner, and Ethan. Looking back, I'm not surprised it happened," he said. "We know better now."
"We need to take this slow, Tommy," Kim added. "No rushing into anything."
Tommy nodded and they were both quiet, though not the bad kind of quiet, but the kind where you're making sure that everything is sinking in before you continue. Tommy was the first to break it as he sat down at the table. Annoyed or not, a free meal was a free meal. "So, how are we going to do it?"
"Get back at them?" Kim asked as she joined him and at his nod, she grinned. "Simple. We'll overplay it."
"Huh?" Tommy asked filling his plate and then looking at her in confusion. She grinned at him as she spoke and got her own food.
"Do you remember those romantic movies I would take you to and we'd mimic them afterward because they were overplaying it? Well, we'll do that. We'll mimic what they were expecting before we let them know we're onto them."
"It wasn't that that hard to figure out," Tommy grumbled as he began to eat. "They could have been more subtle."
"So could we, but this way is far more fun…"
"You know," Conner stated from the table in the lab. "No matter how many times I look at the question, I still don't care who killed Hamlet."
"Technically, Laertes," answered Kira, looking through a different book. "He stabbed him but it was Claudius' idea."
"Seriously?" Conner asked. "Dude, maybe I do need to read the book if they're stabbing each other."
"Only read the last act then. Other than Polonius and Ophelia, everyone else dies at the end," Ethan offered. "And who put us on lab duty anyway?"
"Hayley," Kira answered. "She said something about energy signatures and us needing to keep an eye on it so that she could run the café."
"So, listen for when the alarms go off?" Conner asked.
"Yeah," Kira answered. They sighed and went back to homework, realizing that they had tests, essays, and various other things due. Jason and Trini still didn't know if their plan worked and warned the teenagers not to mention it. Still, they were relieved when Trini and Jason joined them in the lab for a couple reasons: they didn't want to worry about the only ones around Kim and Doctor O if the plan failed and the adults could pay more attention to the computers while they did homework. Before any of them could say a word, however, they heard giggling and laughter.
"Is that what I think it is?" Conner asked, sounding a little disgusted. The thought of getting their mentors together had been a great idea in his eyes, but he forgot about the seeing them together part. Sure enough, Kim ran down the stairs, giggling and racing behind Jason. Fortunately, she was still completely dressed and had some sense about her. Their other mentor raced down, shirt off, after her and saw her behind Jason who was trying to figure out what was going on.
"Beautiful lady, come here!" He called out and Kim merely giggled and continued to use Jason as a sheild. Tommy actually ran after her and she moved from behind Jason, racing away yet letting herself get caught. "Have I ever told you that I just want to drown in your eyes?"
"Yes, but you can tell me again," she told him sweetly, batting her eyes. He pulled her closer to him.
"Why would I need to repeat such a thing when there is so much more about you to talk about? Your hair…"
"Flatterer."
"Your nose…"
"Oh now really."
"Your mouth…"
"What about it?" Kim asked and he leaned into her, giving her a quick kiss.
"It's so kissable," he answered after and dipped her for another. She giggled again and turned her head a bit playfully.
"Oh you men. It might not work out."
"We can try," Tommy said suggestively, leaning to try to kiss her again. She gently pushed against him, her face a mixture of want and mock worry.
"The letter…"
"Is ancient history. Be mine?"
"Always!" She agreed and pulled him back to her for another kiss. The teens made a face and looked at Jason and Trini, imploring them to stop it. Trini looked at Jason and Jason sighed.
"Alright! Alright! We get the point. No more setting you two up. Now stop it! You'll give the kids nightmares," Jason snapped. Trini scoffed at that.
"Forget the kids. They're giving –me- nightmares," she muttered. Both Kim and Tommy smiled as he let her up and they turned to face the conspirators.
"Why?" Kim asked, her hands on her hips. "Was their nothing on T.V.? No movies you wanted to see?"
"We got a show anyway," Jason said with a shrug and a sheepish smile. "Besides, it was the teens' idea, we just decided to help them out."
"Why?" She asked Jason and turned to the teens. "Why? All of you, just why?"
All three teens looked at each other embarrassedly before Ethan spoke up. After all, it had been originally his idea. "Well, we felt a little overworked with school and training and saving the world from evil… We sort wanted a break and I thought…"
"And we agreed with him," Conner said quickly, not about to let Ethan hang by himself.
"That maybe if Doctor O had a girlfriend then he'd, uh, be easier on us?" Ethan finished. Now that he thought about it, Kira had been right. Stupid idea. He was hanging around Conner too much. "And Principal Randall was off the list and Hayley wasn't interested or anything and you seemed to like Kimberly, so, uh…"
"We didn't think you'd mind?" Offered Conner, smiling hopefully. Tommy looked furious while Kim actually started laughing. She looked straight at Conner, knowing he'd give her a true answer.
"That's how you put it to Trini and Jason too, wasn't it?" She asked and the teens looked even more embarrassed. "Guys, Tommy and I used to date. In fact, I broke up with him with a 'Dear John' letter."
The three teens looked mortified while Jason and Trini looked completely calm over the whole thing. It didn't take the teens long before they realized that Jason and Trini knew this and let them do it anyway. Trini had come up with the plan even. Conner looked at her. "Why…?"
"They belong together," the former yellow Ranger answered unabashed. "I was hoping that it might work."
Kim giggled. "Tri, Tommy and I were already flirting and starting over. We were even planning on dating anyway. We just want to take it slow this time so we don't screw it up again."
Conner opened his mouth to say something, but both Ethan and Kira clapped their hands over it. Trini and Jason had the grace to look a little embarrassed at this point. Kira offered their mentors a sheepish smile. "Uh, congrats?"
"Thank you, Kira," Kim answered. "I'm sure I'd be saying the same to the boys, but they're a little busy right. Just no more getting involved with us dating, okay?"
"We won't," Kira quickly promised.
"Never," Ethan added.
"Not unless you ask," finished Conner. Kim nodded.
"Good," she said and Doctor Oliver shook his head, still angry.
"Obviously, you have more time on your hands than you think if you can plan something like this," he said, turning to look at all three. "So, you can just do a couple extra essays for science class. On fossils. The normal length."
From behind him, Kim made the gesture that they needn't bother listening to him. When he turned around to face her, Kim looked completely calm. "Since they don't actually count, Tommy, how about I look them over? If they don't do a good job, then I'll give them extra training. I mean, you have those tests from Tuesday to grade already."
Tommy smiled. "Thanks, Kim, and I guess that's fair. I mean, they did it to you too and I already handed out the punishment," he said. He turned and headed upstairs. Kim waited and looked at the teens.
"Don't worry about it. I really don't feel like grading papers anyway," she said with a wink and turned to her old friends. "No more helping. Any of you."
The teens quickly reaffirmed their statements from earlier. At least one of their mentors was taking this in stride and they didn't want to anger her as well. The other two looked a little more upset over it.
"You're no fun," pouted Jason, though he held up his hands in a mock surrender when she glared at him. She then turned her glare to her best friend.
Trini looked straight back at her and deadpanned as she asked, "Did I mention the nightmares you two gave me? Never again, Kim."
Kim just smiled.
Author's Note: This chapter was the beginning of the official relationship between Kim and Tommy. I do intend to take it slow, so don't expect them to rush off to bed anytime soon. I wasn't sure if I should have dragged on their charade a bit longer, but it was making –me- nauseous so I decided to stop.
Black was shown on the show, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember when Tommy found him and he just sort of seemed to appear. Also, Tommy didn't really know about the black gem, so why would he make one? I felt like filling in the blanks here. Red and Black, while being cybertronic raptors, seem to have developed as characters for me. Go fig, huh?
And thank you for all the reviews you guys have given. I appreciate them all so much.