Power Rangers Samurai

Jayden/Antonio Pre-Slash and Slash

Fallling Hurts But Love Heals

Summary: Set during "The Blue and the Gold". Instead of helping Antonio up the hill Kevin lets him fall. And when the other rangers find them they learn what/why it happened and Jayden realizes something he's been feeling for awhile.

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Chapter 3: Jayden's Feelings

Jayden's Pov

For the first time in my life I didn't feel like I was a leader. I had let my best friend get hurt by a fellow Samurai and I wasn't able to stop it. We all knew that Kevin didn't really accept Antonio but I don't think that anyone would have seen that he would go this far. Looking down at Antonio I kept being reminded of how I failed as the Red Ranger.

I couldn't contain my anger any longer. Grabbing the closest thing to me (an empty glass) I threw it at the wall and it broke into many pieces.

"Jayden!"

I looked over to see Ji at the door with a concerned look on his face. Slowly he walked over to me and opened his arms. Immediately I feel into them, for once accepting the comfort I needed.

"This is all my fault" I told Ji but I was mostly telling myself.

"Jayden, just because you are the Red Ranger that does not mean you are responsible for everything that happens to the team. Kevin made his own choice today and only he is responsible for what happened to Antonio"

Deep down I knew that he was right, I just couldn't accept it.

"Mentor I let Antonio onto this team. I promised myself that I would protect, he's my responsibility and I let him down" I moved back over to Antonio and sat down next to him.

"Antonio can take care of himself, you've seen him do it before" He was right again. Antonio has fought very hard to prove that he was worthy to be a Samurai.

"I know you're right Ji but seeing him like this and the thought that I wasn't there to help him makes me think that I'm not good enough to lead them. We could be losing two Rangers today" I told him.

"Jayden, did you ever think that you feel this way because of how you feel for Antonio?"

"I... I don't know what you mean" Ji pulled over a chair and sat down next me. He then looked at Antonio like he had figured something out.

"Maybe I trained you too hard for you not to realize your own feelings. Ever since you two met you've always been close and the more time you spent together the closer you got. I remember the day Antonio left, you wanted to skip training and run after him. When I didn't let that happen you locked yourself in your room. That was the first time you ever missed a day of training. Then Antonio came back I was sure that you would allow him to join, I was surprised when you didn't at first but then the other helped you and you let Antonio become the Sixth Samurai Ranger. Then I watched as you two re-connected and that's when I knew that things had changed, that Antonio's feelings for you had grown...and that so had yours." He stood up and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I think it's time you finally realized your own feelings" And with that he left me to be alone again. All I could think about was what he just told me, that my feelings for Antonio had changed? And that his feelings had changed for me?

"What does he mean by that?"

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath I thought back to all the memories that I have of me and Antonio and one of them stood out: our first time training together since he returned.

*Flashback*

"So Antonio, are you ready to being your training as a official Samurai Ranger?" I asked him as I tossed him a practice sword.

"Bring it baby! And don't go easy on me, I can take it" He got into a fighting stance.

"If you say so" I got into my fighting stance.

And the battle begun. He came at me and I blocked his shot on instinct. Then I went at him with slash after slash but he managed to block all the shots.

We kept going back and forth, switching from offense to defense over and over, it seemed that we were equally matched or so I thought.

Unexpectedly he disarmed me and sent a downward slash toward my legs causing me to fall on my back. And looking up I was met with his sword in my face.

"Looks like I win this battle amigo" he reached his hand out to help me up. So I grabbed his hand and deciding to teach him a lesson I pulled him down and flipped us so that I was on top.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Antonio"

We both just burst out laughing but then stopped when we were staring into each others eyes. Looking into them I could see the child that I was friends with all those years ago and the man that I had finally reunited with. I could see that everything that I had liked about him was still there and that there was more of him to like.

I could feel myself drifting closer to him and he was doing the same. And just before our lips touched the alarm went off.

Quickly we both jumped up and ran inside to see where the next attack would take us.

I opened my eyes with a sudden realization. Looking down at Antonio once again I knew that what I was feeling was correct. I grabbed his hand and finally said what I had been hiding from myself.

"Antonio, I love you"

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Cliffhanger!

(But not for long, I'll have the next chapter up soon)