"What?"

The word barely escaped Trini's mouth before her mother grabbed her arm, pulling her into the living room. Trini looked around, expecting to find this husband to be sitting on the couch with a pleasant smile. His parents flanking his sides, smiling like Stepford Wives as the nodded along to everything that was being said. Her mother spoke in rapid Vietnamese.

"I said we found you a husband!" Mrs. Kwan gracefully lowered herself onto the couch and crossed her legs at the knee. She never crossed them at the ankle. Mr. Kwan sat next to her, beaming with pride. Looking closely, it appeared that he may have been tearing up, too.

Trini didn't pay too much attention to it; her mind was already swirling. Everything around her was hot, she pulled at the collar of her shirt, hoping to relieve the sudden influx in temperature. Her ears roared. And…did her heart stop?

"You remember Khoa Nguyen, right" Mr. Kwan asked. He must've thought the stunned expression on Trini's face was of excitement. Not horror. Not disbelief. Not wondering how fast she could get out of there and get to her room before she passed out.

"Uh, the, uh," Trini stammered.

What?

"Of course, you remember, Khoa! His family owns the most nail salons in Angel Grove. And they have a restaurant. We eat there all the time."

Right, she remembered her mother pointing that out. Sort of. Wait, why did that name sound so familiar? Oh, right. "Isn't he the one who used to push me over into the sand and take my toys all the time?"

"Yes, that's him!" Mr. Kwan's smile widened even further. "I knew you'd remember him."

Mrs. Kwan waved her hand. "Such a terror as a little boy, but now he's grown up to be very nice and very handsome. You'll really like him Trini." She noticed the sour expression on Trini's face and mistakenly thought it to be less than what she was really feeling. "Oh, don't look at us like that, Trini. He has changed. He's excited to see you again. Or, in this case to meet you. It's been so long. We've invited them over for dinner."

"What?"

Now Mr. Kwan frowned and barked, "Don't be so rude!"

Trini quickly apologized. She let out a long sigh then sat up straight, rounding out her shoulders. Maybe now that she had her parent's attention, she could get the whole story. "I'm a little surprised. You sprung this upon me so…"

"Trini, we've been talking about this marriage since you were a little girl," Mrs. Kwan reminded her.

"Yes, mom, I remember but…" Trini took another deep breath. She clenched her hands into fists. Suddenly, she felt the need to reach out strike each of them in the face. Or a punching bag. Or a putty. She'd give anything for a putty or Goldar to show up right about then. "I never thought you were being serious."

"Of course we were being serious. This is a big honor. It's great for both families as it is for our kids." Mrs. Kwan sat up straight almost as if a rod had been put into her back, when Trini leaned forward and rested her face in her hands. "You must sit up, dear. It's going to ruin your posture and you won't please your husband with bad posture."

Trini did as she was told, keeping her face blank. She tried not to let her disgust, frustration, and dismay show any further than it already had. She didn't want to disrespect her parents but…they were disrespecting her, weren't they? Yes, they'd spoken about it when she was younger, but it had been little comments here or there not 'when you get married' not 'when we find you a husband' but 'if'.

"Mom, you never really asked me about—"

"We should never have to ask," Mr. Kwan interrupted. "It should be something you're proud to do. Trini, this will ensure you a future."

"What about finding the person I want to marry?" Trini asked.

Now Mr. Kwan's face screwed up, mimicking the air of disdain she held only moments before. "You can' believe such nonsense this American media has shown you. Trini, 'the one' does not exist. Nothing more than 'the one' that we can choose for you." He laughed at his own joke while Mrs. Kwan smiled and nodded.

"But…I know you say Khoa has grown up, but what if I don't like him?"

"You will learn to like him. Love is something that grows. There is no such thing as love at first sight. YOU have to work to make your relationship work, you can't expect to sit back and wait for everything to fall into place. We didn't raise you to be lazy. This is giving stability to both families."

"But—" Trini was cut off again.

"We've known the Nguyens for a long time, and we've worked together on this. Your in-laws will not turn their back on you. We will all get along and it will be good for our families. We know you two best, this really is the best decision for you." She raised a hand. "And think of the stability. Their family is very wealthy."

Now Trini understood. "This has to do with money? Not with what would make me happy with my husband?"

"Trini, Khoa will make you happy!" Mr. Kwan ran his hands up and down the legs of his pants before resting his hand on her mother's knee. She smiled and placed her free hand on top of his. "Your mother and I are proof that arranged marriages can work."

Trini's eyes widened. This was news to her. "You told me you met while you were working together."

"Yes." Mrs. Kwan nodded. "I was working at his house when we met. He had recently gotten in trouble with his parents and had been instructed to clean alongside the rest of us."

Trini put her face in her hands. Shook her head. Took in calm, deep breaths. She moved her mind into a meditative state to stay calm. Maybe with meditation, focusing on the energies around her she could figure things out. Make them understand how wrong it was to take control of her life like this.

"What if you're wrong?" Trini finally asked. "And we don't get along? What if we get divorced."

"You won't get divorced, you'll make it work."

"What if there's someone else I want to marry?"

"We'd still have to approve." Mrs. Kwan blinked, her eyes lighting up. "Is there someone else you want to marry?"

Trini stared. Her mother was missing the point. Comically, so. Couldn't she see there were other things that were of importance in getting married? Like their age? She knew the youngest those got married were in their early twenties, Trini was already seventeen, close to graduating. It wasn't much longer until she had to get ready for the ceremony. They'd have to move into their own home, figure out the business they'd be following, then, at some point, they'd all expect her to give birth the heir of their families' fortunes.

No.

She didn't want that at all.

But before she could get it out completely, to let them understand how much she didn't like the idea, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Kwan immediately switched to English as she trilled, "Oh, they're here!"

"We invited the Nguyens over to dinner," Mr. Kwan explained to Trini's stunned face. "To talk to them a little about what we expect of this. And so you could see Khoa again."

"I…what?" Trini twisted around in her seat, just in time for her mother to open the front door with a flourish. Vietnamese greetings flew back and forth for a few moments before the door closed once more and footsteps headed her way. The sound of each step propelling her closer and closer to her doom.

Still, Trini was curious to see what Khoa looked like. She leaned to the side and peered over her mother's shoulders as they approached and got her first look. He was very attractive, actually. Eyes that shone with kindness, long hair that spiked in the front in an American style—of which she was sure would have to be changed once they did get married—and dressed like any other teen she knew in a pair of jeans. The white button down thrown on top had to have a last-minute change, he rolled his shoulders often enough.

Khoa held an air of friendly confidence around him that immediately fell when he caught Trini's eye. A sheepish smile came to his face and he walked over and sat down next to her. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "I see that you don't seem too pleased about this whole thing, either."

Relief churned through Trini like a tidal wave. "You, too?" She asked.

"We've been talking about this for as long as I could remember, I just never expected it to come so soon," Khoa explained. He reached up and pushed his hair back from his forehead. "There were a lot more things I wanted to do with my life before settling down and getting married. I mean, we're still in high school."

That wave ebbed a little. "So…you like the idea of an arranged marriage?"

"My parents know me better than anyone. Who else would be the best to choose a wife for me?"

"What about you? Don't you think you could choose your own wife?"

"For the rest of my life I'll continue to be leaning about myself. But my parents already know the man I am and the man I can become. I put a lot of trust in their choice for me." Khoa gave her a kind smile. "But I see that you're not completely entrusting with the idea. I don't blame you. If anything, I hope we can at least be friends through this whole thing and that you can learn to trust me."

Trini shook her head. Trust was a difficult thing to give to other people. As difficult as it was to receive. She didn't trust many people anymore, not since she became a ranger. It was harder to figure out the intentions of those around her, not knowing if they were being honest, or if they were working with Rita and Zedd in some way. She knew part of that was still because of Tommy's stint of being the green ranger. None of it was his fault, she knew that intuitively, but she had taken a hard hit from the revelation.

Now, it proved she couldn't trust her parents either. True, they thought this was for her own good, but what good was it when she couldn't make the decision for herself. It would've been another story if she had gone to them and said she wanted them to find her a husband and Khoa showed up. But no. She could tell from the way their parents were speaking they'd met up numerous times before to speak about it.

"Well, we should at least get to know each other a little, right?" Khoa asked. "To take the nerves off?"

"Right." Trini managed a small smile. None of this was his fault. She shouldn't punish him for it.

"Okay, first, I want to make sure you understand…I'm really sorry for pushing you down and taking your toys all the time when we were kids." Trini started to laugh. "I wasn't sure if you would remember but—"

"—I remember," Trini said. "Yeah…you took one of my Hot Wheels."

"In my defense, you weren't playing with them right."

"They were little cars!"

"And you were burying them in the sand, not driving around with them." Khoa ran his hands over the legs of his jeans. "But I am sorry. If I thought I had them somewhere, I'd bring them back to you."

"Don't worry about it, I managed to collect more Hot Wheels since then." Trini laughed again. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "So, what school do you go to?"

"I go to the Christian School across the city," Khoa explained. "You go to Angel Grove High, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Oh, your school is in the paper for a lot of things," Khoa explained. "And my parents always tend to brag about your when your name is mentioned. Especially about this Mentorship program that you started there. They say it's genius."

"Really?" Trini glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen.

They spoke in rapid-fire Vietnamese with her parents. They didn't look so bad, a little older than her own parents were. Mrs. Nguyen wasn't as graceful as her mother, as it was she had taken in the American culture a little bit more. She wore a tank-top and work out shorts, a cap turned forward on her forehead while her husband was dressed in jeans, a belt, and a colorful top.

Her mother would've made a comment if her father tried to wear so many colors at once, but here she complemented Khoa's mother with ease.

"Oh yeah, my parents love you already," Khoa said. Then his cheeks reddened at the admission and he turned away from Trini, clearing his throat. "Uh, I guess I just admitted that we talk about you a lot. You didn't really know about this did you?"

"No. My parents sprung this on me as soon as I walked through the door."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry."

"It's alright." In a way, it was. Khoa was nice. She didn't hate him in any way. They could probably hang out a few times and things wouldn't get awkward or anything. "So, you go to the Christian school? Do you have to wear a uniform and everything?"

"Yes, I have to wear a uniform," Khoa replied with a roll of his eyes. "I have a tie and a blazer and everything. But your school is a public school so you don't have those kinds of regulations."

"We have a dress code, but nothing as strict as what you have to wear," Trini explained. She held up her fingers. "For guys, as long as your underwear doesn't show you're good. But for the girls you can't show your underwear, you can't show your bra, and you can't have more than a couple of inches of your stomach showing."

"Hmm, maybe I should go to your school then." The two laughed a little. "So, tell me about your friends."

Trini smiled as she always did when her friends were mentioned. "My friends are great," she said. "We're always there for each other, we always have each other's backs. There's always someone to go to for something to do or just to listen. I can do different things with each of them as easily as we can hang out as group." And fight monsters and save the city, she thought, making her smile widen. "Kimberly is my best friend, we've known each other forever. Our personalities are a little different but it's like we're sisters. Avalon, I just met recently, she's really feisty but she had a big heart for her friends. Billy is super smart, he can make anything and understands just as much. I've really grown to understand him as a person and as a friend. Zack is the life of the party, he can't do anything without finding some sort of enjoyment in it, even homework. Tommy's a little shy and a little flighty, but he's always there for everyone. And Jason is the one who keeps us all together; he really puts a lot of his care into the people around him."

Khoa nodded, listening quietly as she went through a rundown of her friends. He frowned a little once she got to the boys, reaching up to scratch behind his ear while he listened to her talk. "I didn't know you were friends with so many guys."

"Yeah…" Trini shrugged.

"I just mean, your personality seems a little…quiet, reserved, very calm and very loving. And the teenage guys I've been around don't seem to be anything like that." He threw in a smile, to show he was joking and Trini laughed, missing that the smile didn't reach his eyes. "They tend to be really loud and—"

"—Obnoxious?" Trini teased.

"I don't think I'm obnoxious at all."

"No, I don't think you are, either."

And the rest of the night went like that. Khoa and Trini were left to talk amongst themselves and they talked about a lot of different things. In the end, she didn't think he was bad at all.

When they left he had held his hand out for her to shake and she did, surprised by the strength of his grip. Still, she gave him a warm smile and a promise that they'd talk again soon.

As friends.

She wasn't quite sure about him being a husband.

The next morning when Trini got ready for school, she had hoped everything turned out to be a joke of some sort. Maybe that she had imagined it. She was wrong. Her mother was on her the minute she got up. Commenting on her state of dress, "you must dress conservatively to not embarrass your husband" and to the training she did, "Khoa trains in martial arts, too, but you might want to think about holding off on it a little. You don't want to become better than him.'. It was starting to drive her crazy.

She should've known Jason would've noticed it as soon as he arrived to pick her up. As he leaned over and opened the passenger side door, Trini slid inside and slammed the door shut without a word of thanks. She was so deep in thought.

Still, Jason didn't push her. He buckled in and waited for Trini to do the same before pulling away and driving to school. So many different things were already starting to rub Trini the wrong way. She couldn't help but think that her mother would say something about getting a ride to school from a boy that wasn't her husband. How she hung out with different guys in her friend group without him there. How she wouldn't even get to style her hair a certain way because of her husband.

The two were silent most of the way to school. Then Jason cleared his throat and asked, "Trini, is everything okay? You're being kind of quiet."

That was a definite change. Normally, she'd be just as talkative as Kim the moment she woke up. To the same volume, maybe not. The same speed and enthusiasm, sure.

"I'm fine," Trini finally replied.

She wasn't going to say anything until all of their friends were there.

How funny would that be? "Guess what guys, I'm getting married. Oh, and I don't know my husband at all." She could only imagine what the looks on their faces would be like. Their responses…she was freaking engaged.

The realization hit her then. That if she was engaged or maybe just pre-engaged to be engaged, that meant that she couldn't really date or date other people.

And that thought really bugged her.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited and alerted so far. I'm glad you're enjoying the second story to the series so far. The next update will come soon.

Also you pronoune Khoa Nguen as 'Kuh-waa' 'Win'.

~Av