Chapter 112

A Different Shade of Pink

Kimberly led Kat over to a picnic table on the opposite side of the entrance from where the other Rangers were congregating. "Okay," Kimberly said as she and Kat sat down on top of the table, propping their feet on the bench. "I'm trying to work through everything I need to say and just say it, but I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to begin." Kat gave her an encouraging nod and they lapsed into silence. Finally Kimberly sighed. "Well, awkward small talk is as good an opener as any. How've you been?"

"Good, you?" Kat asked automatically.

"Fine. Teaching. Gymnastics. In Los Angeles. You?"

"Dancing. Ballet. Australia."

"Ah." Kimberly sighed again. "Well, that about sums it up for small talk. Here goes. It turns out that letter Tommy sent me when he—wait, you don't know about that letter, do you?"

Kat's brow furrowed as she struggled to think what Kimberly might be talking about. "You mean the letter you sent Tommy when you broke up?"

"Yes! That letter. Sort of. Um… you remember Skull, right?" Kimberly asked. Kat nodded emphatically. "Of course you remember Skull, who wouldn't… it turns out that letter was actually a fake one from me to Tommy that Skull used to write to himself as part of some sort of process in a self-help book."

Kat gave her a blank stare. "…What?"

Kimberly grimaced. "Sorry. It's just you're the only one who doesn't know and given, you know, that we both dated Tommy and things were kind of awkward between us the last time we saw each other it's kind of just… okay. I never dumped Tommy, Kat."

"…Oh," Kat said uncertainly.

"Skull dumped Tommy. Apparently back when Skull had that huge crush on me he used to write fake letters between me and Tommy, where I'd dump Tommy and run off into the sunset with Skull. He dropped one of those in the Youth Center and Ernie found it, picked it up, and gave it to Tommy. Then Tommy wrote me a letter, saying he didn't blame me, and I thought he was dumping me. And now… we broke up like seven or eight years ago for no real reason, Kat. We just found out yesterday that our whole breakup was an accident."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kat said sympathetically. "That sounds awful."

"…Right," Kimberly said, nodding. "Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but thanks."

Kat frowned. "What were you expecting?"

Kimberly shrugged. "I don't know. You dated Tommy, I dated Tommy, and now I might be… well… dating Tommy again…"

"You're back together?"

Kimberly shook her head wildly. "No, no, no… not yet… but we… m-might be… talking about it. Thinking about it. Maybe… I don't know. We're working on it. It's all kind of new, and what with the Ranger kegger and the week we've been having…"

Kat patted her knee. "Don't worry. You'll get it all sorted out. So! What did you want to talk to me about?"

Kimberly stared at her. "That was what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh." Kat looked confused. "You could have told me that without coming all the way over here. If the others know, why are you telling me in private?"

"I didn't know if you'd be… y'know, upset or whatever. About me and Tommy."

Kat rolled her eyes. "For goodness sakes, Kim, Tommy and I were together for four months seven years ago. I'm not exactly shackled to him with a ball and chain. If you want to date Tommy, be my guest."

Kimberly gaped at her for a moment. "Oh. Um… okay. Right. Okay, then."

Kat gave her a tentative smile. "I know we haven't spoken much, ever since…" She sighed. "Look, as long as we're here, maybe it's time we talked a few things out." She looked away from Kimberly, folding her arms over her stomach. "First of all, I'm sorry I didn't send you a lot of letters after you broke up… after Skull broke up with Tommy, or… well, whatever did happen there. I just wasn't sure how to approach the subject."

"I wasn't either," Kimberly said.

Kat nodded and continued, the words tumbling out of her in a rush. "I fully intended to tell you that I was dating Tommy. It was just so new, when you and Jason came back to Angel Grove; I wasn't even sure it was worth mentioning then, we weren't even serious yet. I'm sorry I didn't just tell you and I'm sorry I didn't make more of an effort to keep in touch with you in spite of Tommy. I was really freaked out, Kim, and after Trini said what she did—"

"What did Trini say?" Kimberly demanded. Trini had mentioned meeting Kat before, but she had never really mentioned any conversations of interest.

Kat smiled, looking embarrassed. "After you and Tommy broke up, when Trini and the others came to town to cheer Tommy up, Trini took me aside and explained myself to me."

"Ooh, I hate it when she does that," Kimberly said with a sympathetic wince.

"She said that I was trying to set Tommy up with Heather as a way to alleviate my own guilt over being glad that Tommy was single," Kat said, shaking her head. "She was right, too—I was trying to use Heather to hide the fact that I was happy that Tommy was available. I just… I want you to know I never had any intention of stealing him. Once Rita's control was broken, anyway. Before or after you left for Florida. I never would have done that."

"I know," Kimberly assured her, surprised. "I never would have thought you would, Kat."

Kat didn't look convinced. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

Kimberly stared at her. "Kat, I trusted you with my Power Coin. The most… most sacred possession I had. I wouldn't have left that in the hands of anyone I thought might be a boyfriend-stealing bitch. Don't be ridiculous." Kat let out a shaky laugh. "I mean," Kimberly continued earnestly, "I had faith in you, as a person. Why would you think I would… would doubt you like that?"

"I tried to steal him while evil," Kat pointed out. "I thought… I thought when you saw us together, maybe you'd think I'd been… been planning it all along. You didn't really seem… surprised."

Kimberly snorted. "No offense, but that's stupid." Kat chuckled. "I mean, come on. Why would I be surprised? I didn't think you were going behind my back and seducing him; I just knew Tommy and I knew you and any idiot could see you two were compatible. Besides, he was a superhero in disguise with a fondness for girls in pink. Who else was he going to date?" Kat laughed. "Plus Jason already told me. Right before we went scuba diving. By the time Divatox got us, I was already used to the idea."

"You were never mad at me?" Kat asked.

"Of course not!" Kimberly exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Why would I be?"

Kat smiled weakly at her. "I've waited years to tell you that. I… I also… after Muiranthias…"

"I'm sorry," Kimberly said. "I never really apologized for everything, I just… oh my god, things were so awkward…"

Kat shook her head. "No, no, I kept meaning to apologize to you. I know it's terrible to be made evil and I could barely even speak to you because I was so terrified about Tommy and I… I should have been there for you, Kim."

"That's crazy talk," Kimberly said. "I kicked your butt. I totally—"

"Oh, please, I did much worse to you while evil."

"No, you didn't! At least you could fight your spell off."

"That's just it. Maligore had you in complete control; I was still conscious occasionally—"

"Oh, wow, we're not really doing the 'I'm sorry I went evil thing,' are we?" Kimberly interrupted. "I forgive you. So in the past. Done."

"Me too!" Kat exclaimed, throwing her arms around Kimberly for a hug, which Kimberly returned. "We've got to get back in touch, Kim—it's been too long. I owe you so much…"

"Are you kidding?" Kimberly pulled back and slapped Kat playfully on the arm. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't have been able to go to Florida, I'd never be a professional gymnast, I'd—"

"You gave me the power, Kimberly," Kat said. "Nothing could ever top that. I owe you everything."

Kimberly shook her head. "You deserved it, Kat. I've always believed that."

Kat hugged her again. "Oh, I feel so much better."

"Me, too. I'm so glad we cleared the air between us."

"Yes, me too." Kat let go and sat back. "So! Tell me everything. What's been going on?"

"All kinds of things! It's been seven years, we have so much catching up to do… wow." Kimberly grinned. "You know what? Let's not even get into it now. I've got less than three hours before I have to get up on that stage and I have no idea what I'm going to say but we are definitely going to catch up just as soon as we can."

"Definitely," Kat agreed. "Oh, hey—you've been hanging out with Tommy and the Dino Rangers all week, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well… what's the scoop on Conner?"

Kimberly stared at her. "The scoop how?"

"He's kind of cute, don't you think?" Kat asked, twisting her hands in a nervous gesture.

Kimberly's jaw dropped. "Uh… I never actually thought about it," she confessed, uncertain if she was more horrified or shocked. Recovering as quickly as she could, Kimberly tried to come up with something Kat might be interested to know. "But, let's see… he's funny. From Reefside. Has a twin brother who goes to the Wind Ninja Academy."

"Really?" Kat asked, surprised. "The Ninja Storm school?"

Kimberly nodded. "Mm-hmm. Conner's friends with the Ninja Rangers; they helped the Dino Thunder team out once, if I remember correctly. Oh, soccer! Conner's great at soccer; Carlos says Conner has the makings of a pro."

Kat's eyebrows rose, impressed. "Hmm. He was a Tyrannosaurus, wasn't he?"

"Uh-huh. And his Dino Gem gave him the power of super speed, but that's gone now. Let's see… he likes animals. Got along real well with Cole. Oh! And he's kind of the one who got me and Tommy back together. Sort of."

"Really? How sweet of him!"

"I know, right? Granted I was totally mad about it at the time—you know the Secret Chamber in Jason and Trini's house?" Kat nodded. "Conner locked me and Tommy in there. Handcuffed us, too, but they were cheap novelty handcuffs with safety latches—"

"Conner has handcuffs?" Kat asked, startled.

"No, actually, Jason and Trini had some—well, last Thursday, Tommy and I got trapped in a Spencer's and we damaged some merchandise. Tommy had to buy like eight hundred dollars worth of fuzzy handcuffs and pole-dancing kits."

"They make kits for that?"

"Yeah! They come with these instructional DVDs. Tommy said I could have them, and I've got like four of them left—gave some away at the party last night. Want one?"

"I'll get back to you on that," Kat laughed. "Never mind that now—tell me everything. You haven't seen Tommy in years, have you? What was it like, seeing him again?"

Kimberly winced. "Well, it started with an ice bucket last Friday," she began, and launched into the tale of the past week.

"Oh, thank god you're here," Jason groaned as Trini, Aisha, Tanya and Hayley came walking up. "Tommy's gonna be here any minute, and someone sensible has to break the news to him."

"What news?" Hayley demanded.

"What's up with Zack and Rocky?" Aisha asked before Jason could reply.

Jason shrugged; he had laughed himself out, and Adam was down to the occasional chuckle, but Rocky had clued Zack in on the joke and the two were now laughing themselves sick. "It's complicated. Did Zack tell you Kat was here?"

"Kat's here?" Tanya asked, her face lighting up.

Jason nodded. Trini bit her lip. "That's going to get tricky," she commented. "Kimberly and Kat haven't spoken in years, and Tommy used to date both of them, and now with this Skull complication…"

"It gets worse," Jason said ruefully. "Conner was flirting with her."

"Huh?" Tanya asked.

"Conner was flirting with her," Jason repeated. "He was flirting with Kat."

"What?" all four girls demanded.

"They were flirting. She said he was 'quite the charmer.' He had the patented guy-moving-in-for-the-kill face when we showed up. Tommy finds out, he's gonna have kittens."

Hayley snorted, all too familiar with Conner's romantic antics. "Jason, they can't have known each other for an hour. I doubt there are wedding bells in the air."

Jason shook his head. "Hayley, picture yourself having the week Tommy's been having. Now top it off with your ex flirting with Conner."

A shudder went through Hayley and the three Yellows. "Is Conner doing well with her?" Trini asked.

"Surprisingly well," Jason confirmed. "In fact… it kind of reminded me of when Kat and Tommy started going out."

"Oh, boy," Tanya said, eyes widening.

"And to make matters worse, she and Kim are off talking. Alone," Jason added. "You know that's gonna end well."

"Dr. O!" called Kira, who was standing with Ethan, Trent and Conner under the shade of the trees. She waved her box of action figures. "Come look what Trent bought me!"

Jason, Trini, Aisha, Tanya and Hayley looked up to see Tommy approaching. "I'll go head him off," Trini muttered.

"Thanks," Hayley said. "I forgot how nice it was to let other people take care of Tommy."

"I'll come with," Jason told Trini. They started across the grass; Tommy, seeing them coming towards him alone, realized something was wrong and slowed to a halt. "What's your game plan?" Jason whispered to Trini.

"You'll see," she replied. They stopped a few feet away from Tommy.

"What's up?" Tommy asked.

"It's like this, Tommy," Trini said. "Kat is here, she's currently having a private conversation with Kimberly, and we think she may have a crush on Conner."

Tommy and Jason stared at her. "That's it?" Jason demanded incredulously. "I could have done that!"

Trini shrugged. "Sometimes blunt is best."

"…Say that again?" Tommy asked, frowning.

"Kat is here. Conner's been flirting with her and Jason seems to think she's pretty taken with Conner. Kimberly's having a private conversation with her right now," Trini repeated patiently.

Tommy sighed. "Remind me again what I did to deserve this?"

"Nothing, man," Jason said sympathetically. "That's just what happens when you move to Angel Grove."

Trini reached out and gave Tommy a consoling pat on the shoulder. "Cheer up, Tommy. Sooner or later it'll stop getting worse."

"Do you actually believe that, or are you just trying to keep me from bursting into tears?" Tommy asked dryly.

"Both."

Tommy sighed again. "Please, please, please tell me you're making this up. At least some of it?"

"Hey Tommy," called Kimberly. Tommy whirled around to see her and Kat walk by, joking and laughing. Kat waved and called out a hello as the two girls passed Jason, Trini and Tommy and headed for the larger group of Rangers by the trees; Tommy distinctly heard the words "clown fight" before they moved out of earshot. He stared, numb, as Kat greeted Aisha, Tanya and Hayley and then Conner came over to Kat. She started talking with him, both of them all smiles. Hayley rolled her eyes and went to go sit down by Adam, while Aisha and Tanya whispered to each other and watched Conner and Kat with avid interest. Tommy found himself horrified to remember some of Kat's actions from his own days of flirting with Kat—the way she brushed her fingertips against Conner's forearm, the nervous gesture of tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, how she blushed and grinned when Conner complimented her…

"This cannot be happening," Tommy said firmly. "It can't be."

"Sorry, bro," Jason muttered.

Tommy looked pleadingly at Trini. "Make it stop."

She shook her head. "You're going to have to deal with this."

"I just got Kim back," Tommy complained. "Well, sort of back. And now Kat's here, and Kimberly's chummy with her when I know they haven't spoken since Divatox, and to make things worse Conner's flirting with Kat and she's falling for it."

Trini smiled sympathetically. "I know, Tommy, but to be perfectly honest? There's nothing you can do about it."

"I could kill Conner," Tommy insisted. "That would solve a lot of my problems."

"Might create a few more," Jason pointed out.

"Come on, Tommy," Trini said, rolling her eyes. "Conner's a good kid and Kat's taken with him. Deal with it."

Tommy glowered over at Conner and Kat. "I feel nauseous. I've met her boyfriends before. Why do I feel nauseous?"

"Technically, it's 'nauseated,'" Trini replied. "Nauseous means 'to cause feelings of nausea,' as in 'nauseous fumes.' Nauseated means 'afflicted with feelings of nausea.'" Trini paused, waiting while Tommy made a mental note of that before continuing. "It's natural that you feel sick, Tommy. You care about Kat. You may not have felt sick when you've seen her express interest in other men before, but this is different. This is different because Conner knows you, reminds you of yourself, and being a Ranger has an edge over every other guy she's dated, albeit a small one. You also haven't seen Kat in awhile, and usually the moment you see her there are shy smiles and a little nostalgia. This time it's a passing 'Hi, Tommy' and her flirting with your goofball protégé."

"I have Kim. I shouldn't care."

Trini shrugged. "You don't have Kim, Tommy. You have more of Kimberly than you used to have, and that's a start, but it isn't enough. What you're feeling now has less to do with how you feel about Kat and how you feel about Conner and more to do with seeing a door slam shut in your face. Kat is no longer an option, not because of Conner but because she simply isn't, and even when you met some random man she was dating you were able to ignore that she was no longer an option because you knew her, knew her type, knew that her dates didn't know her secret, knew they couldn't compete with you if you wanted to pursue her, even though you knew that if you did pursue her your relationship would eventually fail because you and Kat are not compatible enough to survive in the long run. You've avoided facing that she wasn't an option until now and it isn't fun to face, I'll give you that, but in the end… so what?"

Tommy frowned at her thoughtfully. He wanted to say that it mattered, to come up with a perfectly logical excuse… but he knew that was what it would be. An excuse, not a reason.

Trini stepped closer and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You care about Kat, sure, maybe even love her—I've never asked. Yet you know, deep down, it wouldn't be Kat. If it was ever going to be Kat you wouldn't have chased Kimberly in the first place; you would have chased Kat. So whatever happens with Kimberly, or any other woman that enters your life from here on out, you don't need that door open. Let it close, Tommy. At the end of the day, you've made some real progress at getting Kimberly back, and she's the love of your life, and you know it. Not to mention the fact that Kat lives in Australia, Conner lives in Reefside, and they're roughly eight years apart in age. I doubt it can last. Use the time Kat's flirting with him to bond with Kimberly—she and Kat haven't talked in years, and obviously they mean to catch up. This could be your only chance to talk with Kimberly before we have to go up on the stage and when we come down? There will be dozens of Rangers to steal Kimberly's time. You're running out of opportunities to spend time with her before the vacation's over, and you of all people know that physical distance makes it difficult to bridge emotional distance. Prioritize, Tommy—forget about Kat and Conner and everything that isn't a part of getting Kimberly back."

Trini waited patiently as emotions flickered across his face. Confusion, hesitation, annoyance, anger, disgust, resignation, and then finally he was smiling, his gaze turning from Kat to Kimberly. He muttered an absent, "Thanks, Trini," and headed towards the group, his mind already fully focused on Kimberly.

Jason sighed as he watched Tommy go. "How do you do that?" he asked Trini wistfully.

"What, exactly?" she asked.

"That." He gestured after Tommy. "The Yellow thing. Hell, until the end there I was pretty sure it wasn't going to work. I thought Tommy made some good points, til you steamrolled them. You blindsided him with the problem, almost knocked him on his ass from shock. You corrected his grammar, for crying out loud. And yet there goes Tommy with a smile on his face, hugging Kat hello without a care in the world and chatting up Kimberly like a man on a mission and how do you do that, Trini?"

"First of all, I was doing it long before it was a 'Yellow' thing, and second, every situation has a protocol, and this required getting everything into Tommy's head, letting him process it, and letting him discard it before he could work himself up about it. I dumped the information on him too fast for it to sink in, distracted him temporarily with a bit of inane trivia about word usage, and forced him to quickly and methodically deal with how he felt before the shock of the problem could wear off. I'm not sure why—maybe it hurts too much, or maybe they just don't understand themselves well enough—but people don't like to examine their true feelings about something that bothers them, and Tommy's no exception. Once I figured out how he was probably feeling about the problem—which I did long before I told him the problem—all I had to do was force him to examine it and point out ways to overcome it before it could hurt him badly enough to cause actual heartache." Trini shrugged. "No big deal."

Jason shook his head. "You really are amazing, you know that?"

Trini took his hand and smiled at him. "I've been told. Now let's get back in there before something else goes wrong."

"Hey, Kat," Tommy called, opening his arms to her. "How've you been?"

"Hey, Tommy," she said, giving him a quick squeeze and stepping back. "Good, how are you?"

"Good." He smiled, and to his complete horror found himself blurting out, "Conner's seventeen, you know."

Conner gave him a wounded look, feeling that as a guy who'd just reconciled with his ex-girlfriend—however tentatively—and a guy who'd had years of dating experience, Tommy should know better. Kimberly, to Tommy's further embarrassment, let out a muffled giggle.

Kat's eyes widened in surprise. "He is?"

"I'll be eighteen in a couple weeks," Conner told her as calmly as he could, trying to make his age seem like a total non-issue.

"Oh." Kat relaxed and smiled at him. "I never would have guessed. You seemed so mature for your age."

"Oh, I get that all the time," Conner assured her.

Ethan, Kira and Trent didn't so much go into a coughing fit as go into a choking-to-death-on-toxic-gas fit. Tommy stared incredulously at Kat for a while and considered correcting whatever brainwashing had led her to this conclusion, but then decided it might be best to extricate himself from the situation before it got any worse. Tommy turned to Kimberly. "Hey—did you see the zord miniatures at that booth over there?" he asked, hoping Kimberly would say no so that he could ask if she'd like him to show them to her.

"Yes, I did," Kimberly said, but before Tommy could get disappointed, she reached into a shopping bag and pulled out a replica Firebird Thunderzord. "Isn't it amazing?" she gushed.

"They have our other zords, as well," Tommy told her. "I was just over there—" He fumbled in his own shopping bag and pulled out a miniature of the Dragonzord. "Found the White Tigerzord, too."

"I bought all three of mine," she said. "I was going to have two of them shipped to my house so I wouldn't have to carry them around all day but then I remembered I'm going to be in the suit here soon and someone else will have to carry them around all day, so they're in the bag, too. Did you see the Megatigerzord and the Ultrazord? They were way expensive."

Tommy smirked. "That's what Anton's credit card is for. I couldn't carry all the ones I wanted to buy, but now that I know they have shipping… want to head back over there and grab a couple? One for you, one for me? And since I'm feeling generous, maybe even one for Anton."

Kimberly let out a noise of pleasure that made Tommy's brain die for a moment. "Oh, my god, yes," she hissed, grabbing his arm and hauling back towards the booth.

Tommy grinned. He was facing a long day of mixing with fans while wearing nothing but a powerless replica of his suit; his ex was flirting with, of all people, Conner; he was completely unprepared for his public appearance; and he was fully aware that at some point chaos would probably smack him upside the head. Yet somehow, none of that mattered right now. Nothing mattered except Kimberly.

End Notes: Congratulations to monkeerangerfan, our four thousandth reviewer! It's been over five years since we started this fic… hard to believe it's almost finished. (By "almost" we mean "hopefully almost," of course.) Apologies for the late update; we spent so long torturing the Rangers while getting them to Power Rangers Day that we totally forgot to come up with ideas for ways to torture them at Power Rangers Day, so we're a tad stumped. We're working on it, though, and we welcome any and all suggestions y'all might have.

By the way, we now have a blog open for "Of Love and Bunnies" at blogspot, the link to which is in my profile, where we intend to occasionally ramble about OLaB. Also, a dear sweet person dubbed krinsbez created an "Of Love and Bunnies" page at TV tropes (again, link is in my profile). We've been on TV Tropes for a while now on the fanfiction recommendations page, but now we are one of the few fanfics with its own listing and the only Power Rangers fanfiction that is listed in a favorable light. Feel free to check it out or add to it; I sometimes swing by and throw in bits and pieces myself, though it usually leads to me spending the next forty-eight hours randomly clicking links, so beware the tendency of the site to suck you in. Oh, and I've decided that I hate smart quotes after all, and am slowly converting to straight quotes.

We still plan to do sequels to this story, if we ever finish this one, and maybe prequels; at the moment we're working on a story describing the events of the Dino Rangers at prom. I'd also like to point out that Freyja SilverWillow's story "Wow" is part of the OLaB universe, detailing Kira and Trent's relationship as per the "Of Love and Bunnies" storyline, so reading it would be beneficial and as always reviews are awesome, so please read and review "Wow."

P.S. For those of you who don't know, Saban has reacquired the rights to the Power Rangers franchise and new episodes are set to air on Nickelodeon in 2011.