Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy answered the door right away when Billy knocked on Saturday morning. She was in a magenta running suit with a black tank top underneath that said "Pro Boxer." She'd been surprised when he called her last night and said he wanted to go running with her in the morning. But when she saw he was dressed in a button down suit shirt and kakis and holding a single long stem rose, surprise was an understatement.

"What's this?" she said. "You're supposed to get receiving gifts, not giving them."

Billy shrugged. "I just wanted to."

Marcy took the rose from his hand and put her arms around his shoulders kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

She stepped back into the apartment and he followed her in and waited while she put the rose in water.

"Are you sure you want to go running today?" she said. His outfit made it obvious he had other plans but she asked anyway. "It's your birthday after all, surely there's something more fun out there."

"If I asked you to go somewhere else with me, would you do it?"

Marcy just shrugged. "Sure.

She followed him to the car, and slid inside when he opened the door. On the backseat she saw a large picnic basket and a quilt. She asked where they were going, but he just smiled and said it was a surprise.

Ten minutes later they were parked in a lot at the far end of Angel Grove Park near the lake. The parking lot was empty as was the park surrounding it. Marcy wasn't very familiar with the layout of the park because she didn't go there much, so she had no idea where they were.

"I hope you don't mind taking a little walk," he said.

She shook her head. She'd changed her clothes quickly before they left, pulling on a brown sundress with strappy sleeves and a thin chenille sweater on top. Billy hefted the picnic basket out the backseat and started walking towards the lake. Marcy followed as he led her around the perimeter of the lake. They walked for a long time. Billy didn't speak, just kept his eyes on the path that led around the lake.

They walked along the path until they reached a large rock formation on the far end of the lake. The parking lot was gone from sight and most of the area was surrounded by trees. Billy stepped from the path and started toward the rocks. Marcy followed him, glad she had opted for sandals instead of the her new brown pumps she had been eyeing for this dress. Billy seemed to know where he was going however and even stopped and took her hand to help her over larger rocks. Finally they came to an open area that looked out over the lake. Billy set the basket down and spread the blanket on the smooth stone.

"This is beautiful," Marcy said looking out over the water. "How did you find this place?"

Billy smiled. "I've been coming here since I was a kid. I don't really remember how I found it."

He opened the basket and started pulling out food items. He had bagels and cream cheese, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee. They ate sitting next to each other on the blanket not talking about much, just enjoying each other's company and the perfect view of the sun coming up over the water.

"Are your other friends coming?" Marcy asked.

"Negative," he said. "It's just us this morning."

"You could have invited the others," she said. He was always spending time with her, she knew he didn't see his friends much lately, and she didn't like that. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with him, but she didn't want to stop him from being with his friends.

"I wanted it to be just us," he said.

"You don't have to leave your friends out with me you know," she said.

"I know," Billy replied. "I'm meeting them this afternoon, plus the party. I just wanted some time with you."

Marcy down at her half-eaten bagel. "I wish I didn't have to work today."

Billy reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Me too," he said softly. "But you'll be there tonight."

"Of course I will," she said.

"And you're here now," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," she whispered back.

He leaned in slowly and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Billy jumped when he heard the knocking at the door. He was surprised by the reaction because he'd been pacing in front of it for nearly an hour, in anticipation.

It had been a nearly perfect birthday. Breakfast in the park with Marcy, then lunch with the Rangers. Rita and Zedd of course, hadn't passed on the chance to wish him a happy birthday with a new monster, but they'd taken care of that with plenty of time to get ready for the party.

Marcy had offered to come pick him up and he'd agreed even thought the Rad Bug was running perfectly. For some reason the idea of having a few extra moments alone in the car seemed important.

He took hold of the handle and pulled the door open slowly. Marcy was standing there, but he had to blink a few times to realize it was really her. She was beautiful. Her dress was blue satin that hugged her body tight and fell off her hips in waves ending just below the knee.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He swallowed hard, most of his concentration going toward fighting off the sudden wave of heat that rushed through his body at the sight of her. Her hair had been curled and pinned so that it fell around her face is long blonde waves.
"If you see something you don't like, you have to take it up with Kimberly," she said. "This was all her doing. I've been sitting in her living room for the last two hours. If I never see a curling iron again it'll be too soon."

He laughed at that. "You look beautiful."

She smiled. "You ready to go?"

He nodded. He'd been ready for hour. Her Caddy was parked on the street in front of the house and she headed for it, keys in her hand, but when the reached the street she turned and held them out.

"You want to drive?"

"You're going to let me drive the Cadillac."

Her eyes narrowed mischievously. "I think I can trust you."

He took the keys and opened the door for her then went around the other side. He settled into the driver's seat and the glare of the streetlight caught his eye and he looked over and saw it shining down, reflecting off Marcy's dress. The skirt had fallen back a bit when she'd sat down, revealing most of her thighs, which glowed almost white under the fluorescent lamp. He could see the perfectly toned muscles of her legs perfectly smoothed, and sculpted so you could practically see where each individual muscle ran under the skin. He imagined tracing each line with his fingers, feeling them flex under his hands as he-

"Billy, are you okay?"

He shook his head from the fantasy. "I'm fine." He started the car quickly and pulled away from the curb.

Ten minutes later they were at the Youth Center. All his friends were already there waiting and within seconds he was ten deep in well wishers and congratulations from everyone. Kimberly had gone all out on the decorations and food, there was even a DJ playing some of his favorite songs, even though the vast majority of them were not in main stream popularity at the moment…or ever.

Marcy stayed at his side all night while they danced and talked. Then Ernie brought out a huge cake, which unlike a few other birthday parties, made it to the table without ending up on Bulk and Skull.

They ate and he opened his presents, Marcy sitting off to the side of the table smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. He wasn't sure what this meant until he reached the bottom of the small pile and realized she hadn't gotten him a present.

It's not that big a deal, he told himself. We've only been together a month.

But so much had happened in the past month. Everything felt different now. He'd felt it from the moment he'd woken up this morning. Today would make everything different. Things with Marcy would be okay now. But seeing the way she looked over the table at him made him doubt everything he'd been anticipating since that moment in the bookstore when he'd refused to leave simply because she was older then he was.

He finished opening presents and thanked everyone, and the party started to wind down a little. Dancing started again, but Billy just sat there, sipping Ernie's homemade punch and watching his friends.

He saw Marcy move out of the corner of his eye and felt her arm around his shoulder.

"Hey there, Birthday boy," she said. She brushed his cheek with the back of her fingers affectionately. "Did you get everything you wanted."

He shrugged. "I guess so."

Tommy, Rocky and Adam had pitched in together and gotten a new computer module he'd been wanting. He was shocked they remembered the right one because he'd only mentioned it a few times and it had to be ordered from a specialty store. Aisha had gotten him a book on computer mechanics. He was fairly certain she'd walked into a bookstore and selected a science book at random, but hey, at least she tried. Kim, having no mind for computers or science at all, had gone another way and gotten him a very nice shirt from her favorite store at the mall. Normally getting clothes was insulting, but when they came from Kim it was quite the opposite. She put a lot of thought into buying clothes for others and always managed to pick something that suited the person perfectly. The last few years she'd played a very large role in his wardrobe choices, so a nice shirt from her was a massive compliment.

"They're your friends," she said. "You're very lucky."

Billy nodded and sat back in hid chair. But he felt Marcy shift and thread her arm through his. "Come on," she said. "I wanna dance with the birthday boy."

He led her to the dance floor where people had paired off for a slow dance. She slid her arms around his neck without hesitating and he pulled her in by the waist, moving slowly to the music. They were cheek to cheek and his eyes were closed, just feeling her presence there in his arms. It was comfortable. He realized, they were comfortable together, they always had been. It was easy for him to talk to her, to tell her things even when he sounded like he came from another planet. And she understood, that was the important part. When he would start babbling about computer code or lapse into using four syllable terms for everyday objects it didn't bother her. In fact she seemed to relish in it.

It occurred to him that that was gift enough. She'd come into his life randomly, but from that first moment they'd both known they had a connection. Over the last few weeks they'd been exploring just how far that connection went. For some reason he thought this day would be the end of the journey, but now, looking back, he realized it was only the beginning. There were a million new things yet to explore and work out together. He hadn't even told his friends the truth about her age yet. He had originally planed to do it sometime tonight, but now, holding her there on the dance floor as if it were just the two of them, he decided it was an adventure better left for another day.

"I didn't get you a present," she said softly, as if she could hear his thoughts.

"It's okay," he said automatically. "You didn't have to-"

She moved back a little, but only enough to look him in the eye without breaking their embrace. "No, I do have something for you, but…it's not something you can wrap in a box."

"What?"

She took a deep breath. They were no longer moving to the music, but standing there, holding each other in the dim light. "Okay, I've been working on this in my head all week so just listen and don't say anything or I might not be able to get through it."

Billy nodded, a small lump forming in his stomach, but he wasn't sure if it was from fear or anticipation.

Marcy took another deep breath. "When you walked into the bookstore that day, I knew something was different about you. I don't get attracted to people onsite. It just doesn't happen to me. But you, it was like a switch went off in my head and everything changed. When I found out you were still in high school, it scared me, because I did like you, a lot, and I thought I wouldn't get another chance like that. But then there you were again, and no matter what I did you didn't walk away.

"I've been hanging on to this belief that today would change things, and there are things that will change, but there's other things that won't. Just because you're eighteen now isn't going to make everything perfect, but the funny thing is, I don't care. I don't care what problems it causes, and what sacrifices I have to make, as long as I make them with you.

"Because I am absolutely, irrevocably, undeniably in love with you. I don't care what the consequences are, I don't care if you don't feel the same way. I love you and that's not going to change."

She paused then and Billy waited, her sharp eyes looking into his, softened by the dim light of the dance floor.

When she didn't say anything for several seconds Billy asked, "Are you done?"

"Yes."

He nodded then pulled her in tight and kissed her hard. She kissed him back, her arms wrapping tighter around his neck. He felt her tongue touch his and for a moment he completely forgot where he was and that he was and that he was surrounded by his friends and family and it wasn't until she pulled away gently that he realized the music had stopped. He knew if he looked around all eyes would be on him, and everyone would be watching what happened next, but he didn't look. The only thing he saw was Marcy's face, inches from his.

"I love you, too."