A/N: Thanks to Izzy Evans for following and to Itakecatnap for reviewing. Just to let you know, this is an AU so no Dino Thunder involved!
The next few weeks went by quickly. Kimberly met with her coach, agreeing to perform at a local meet in the next month. She wasn't going to make it back to the Olympics but staying on the circuit until she figured out her life was a smart move.
It would also give her a chance to look at some talent- a lot of gymnasts became coaches after they retired, and she could potentially go that route. She knew her coach was ready to move on and was working several younger girls and having them enter this meet as well. Going to the gym at 5am helped to keep her mind sharp, and practice wore her out enough so she didn't think about Tommy too much, or how much she had missed her friends in general over the years.
She had tried to move out of Aisha's house several times, but her parents had refused, insisting she stay until after the event so they could make sure she was taken care of. Kimberly had insisted they allow her to pay rent, which they agreed to. She didn't see anymore much, focusing on getting her final routines together for the event.
Today was no different as she worked through her floor routine, stressed out that she wasn't getting enough airtime for her flips. It was the same thing that had happened during her Olympic routine, costly her points that left her off the podium. She kept going, working through her kinks and trying to get herself in her best place mentally. Finally, she managed to hit her last rotation, sighing in relief.
"Wow. That's even more impressive up close." Someone said, and she turned only to see Tommy watching her.
"How long were you there?" She asked, blushing a little.
"A while." He said, pointing at the doorway. "I didn't want to distract you." Kimberly took a deep breath, walking off the mat towards him. He watched her warily, making her stop before she got too close, even though she wanted nothing more than to run into his arms.
"Why are you here?" She asked quietly.
"Trini yelled at me." He responded, turning slightly away from her.
"Oh." Kimberly said, adjusting her weight. She bit her lip, not sure what to say.
"You were amazing. At the Games I mean. I was so proud of you." Tommy said, looking at her.
"Thank you. I just wish I could have nailed that floor routine." Kimberly confessed. "That used to be my strongest event you know."
"I remember." Tommy said, looking down at her, smiling at a memory. They were quiet again, not quite looking at each other.
"I should finish my routine. Are you going to be around later?" She asked hopefully.
"I've got to get to work."
"Oh." Kimberly said again, internally kicking herself. She hoped she didn't scare him off.
"I just wanted to say hi." Tommy finished, flashing a smile at her which made her stomach flip-flop.
"Well, don't be a stranger. You know where I'm staying." Kimberly said, smiling back at him. Tommy nodded, waving at her and turning to leave.
"Hey Tommy?" Kimberly said, stopping him.
"Thanks for coming to see me." She finished, watching as Tommy left.
X
"Kim. Get up." Aisha said, shaking her friend awake.
"What?" Kimberly said, slowly opening her eyes.
"Aisha, it's Sunday." She groaned, curling back up in bed. This was her one day to sleep in, and she tried to take advantage of it.
"You need to get up." Aisha repeated, shaking her.
"Why?" Kim asked sleepily, closing her eyes.
"I already told you. You have a visitor." Aisha told her.
"Tell them to come back later." Kim muttered.
"Kimberly. It's Tommy." Aisha whispered, hitting her with a pillow.
"Tommy?" Kimberly answered sleepily, yawning.
"Yes. Tommy. You know, your ex-boyfriend, the man to whom no other man can compete with?" Aisha said with a smile. Kimberly blinked at her for a moment, trying to understand what she was saying. "I woke you up 30 minutes ago and told you he was on his way. I thought you were getting ready."
"I thought that was a dream." Kimberly replied, shaking the sleep from her head.
"Oh, it's no dream. He brought you these." Aisha continued, producing a vase of white and pink daisies. Kimberly looked at the flowers, fighting down a blush.
"Can you keep him entertained for a bit?" She asked, reaching for the vase.
"Don't worry. Mom's got him handled." Aisha promised, winking at her friend. "I'll let you get ready." She said.
"Wait. What should I wear?" Kimberly asked, looking at her closet.
"Go shower. I'll pull out that pale pink lacy dress you bought last week." Aisha promised.
"Thanks Aisha." Kimberly said, getting out of bed, taking a quick shower, wondering what Tommy was doing there. Lightning quick she put on her makeup and styled her hair, putting on the dress before nodding at herself in the mirror.
"Not bad." She said, looking down at her watch to see she had gotten ready in about 30 minutes. Taking a deep breath, she slipped on a pair of flats before walking downstairs, She could hear Aisha's mom chattering, talking to Tommy about something. She stopped when she saw Kimberly, smiling at her while Tommy turned, looking her over slowly, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"Sorry to wake you up. Aisha told me you were up already." He said, glancing over at the former Yellow Ranger, who just shrugged. "Anyway, I was hoping we could go out to brunch." Kimberly brightened at that, looking over at Aisha who gestured with her hand, a giant grin on her face.
"Let's go." She said, pulling Tommy away from Aisha's mom, who smiled at them, clearly pleased that Tommy was here for Kimberly.
"You two have fun." Aisha said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. Tommy placed his hand on Kimberly's elbow, saying goodbye to Aisha and her mom before escorting her out, stopping only to say goodbye to Aisha's dad before leaving, trying to ignore the sounds of Aisha and her mom squealing as they walked out the door.
X
"That was the most uncomfortable meal I've ever had." Kimberly told Tommy when they got in the car.
"I guess it's hard to have privacy when you're a celebrity." Tommy said off-handedly, glancing over at her.
"It's been weird." Kimberly confirmed, smiling at him.
"Then again, you're not exactly a slouch either." She reminded him.
"I know, but I haven't done what you did either." Tommy confirmed, fiddling with his keys.
"Yes, because what I've done is some much better that what you've done." Kimberly said sarcastically.
"People don't know that though." Tommy reminded her.
"I know." Tommy watched her for a minute before taking her hand, flipping it over to gently touch a small scar on her wrist from one of their many battles.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to your tournament." Kimberly said after a minute, watching him carefully.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." He replied, clearly beating himself up about something she couldn't quite remember.
"Tommy. Your job isn't to save me." Kimberly reminded him. He let go of her hand, starting the car and pulling out of the parking spot. "Can we go somewhere and just talk?" She asked once she realized he was taking her back to Aisha's. Tommy's jaw twitched, but he turned left at the next light, heading silently towards the park. When they got there they heading north and soon managed to disappear along one of the trails they used to walk back in high school.
"How are your parents?" Kimberly asked after a bit, looking at him.
"Fine. Mom wanted me to tell you hi from her." Tommy replied, looking away.
"I thought she'd hate me." Kimberly replied, the memory of her letter dancing between them.
"She thought you were right."
"Really?"
"Something about fate." Tommy shrugged, looking away.
"Fate, huh?" Kimberly stopped, looking up at him. Tommy glanced back, concern written on his face.
"I guess it was fate I sent you that letter."
"I don't want to talk about that right now." Tommy replied, turning away from her.
"We need to." Kimberly insisted, grabbing Tommy's arm. He stiffened but didn't push her away.
"I just want to get this over with." She said, watching as Tommy's shoulders sagged slightly.
"Go ahead." He sighed. Kimberly walked in front of him, looking into his eyes.
"You and I were so good together. As friends, as teammates, as a couple. When I left, it was like I ripped away a piece of myself and left it here." She could tell by the look on Tommy's face that he agreed. "I fought it down for a long time, then I met someone, a family member of a friend I competed with." She paused, kicking the dirt.
"We hung out a little bit and got along. I realized I liked him after a few months, so I stopped talking to him. I knew something had to change, so I wrote to you one night after practice." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Actually, I wrote a whole bunch of letters to you. Crying ones, rambling ones, ones begging you to come take me home. I wrapped them up and put them away, hoping the feelings would disappear." Tommy placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I would have come in a second. You know that."
"I do. That's why I didn't send them. I realized that I needed a break, and I sent the one you got. Then I started dating that guy, and we enjoyed being together. I didn't have to worry about Zedd, or Rita, or Goldar, or monsters coming to take me to force me into battle-"Tommy's hand tightened on her shoulder, remembering the multiple times he had to go save her from one of their enemies. "-and it was good until the day we looked at each other and realized we weren't in love so we broke up."
"I didn't realize you guys had broken up." Tommy said quietly.
"I know. I didn't want to tell you. I knew you were with Kat, and I didn't want to mess that up for you." She admitted. "When I called Trini to tell her about the Olympics, she didn't tell me you two had broken up. I didn't have your number anymore, so I just told her to tell everyone. I didn't find out until I was coming home." Tommy was quiet, removing his hand from her shoulder, stepping around her and continuing down the path.
Kimberly followed, almost running to keep up with his long stride. She slowed down, allowing him to get away from her, giving him a chance to breathe. He stopped at a bench, sitting down and staring at his hands while she sat down next to him.
"So what now?" He asked, looking at her.
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far honestly." She said, reaching up to fix a piece of hair.
"I don't know if I can trust you again." He admitted, leaning back. Kimberly touched her chest, feeling her heart thumping loudly.
"I'd like to get to know you again if you'd let me." She said quietly. "At least so our friends can feel comfortable inviting us to the same places." Tommy nodded, looking away from her. Kimberly took a breath, exhaling it slowly. They stayed for a while, neither one talking until Tommy looked over at her.
"I should get you home." He said, and Kimberly nodded, standing up and following him back to the car.