A/N: Once again, there is a slight mentioning of Kim not taking care of herself. Nothing graphic, but trigger warning just in case.
Thanks to Itakecatnap and Pinkgymnast93 for reviewing. Thanks to BrookeSHodges for giving kudos and reviewing over on AO3, where this fix is completed, though there might be a few changes as I reread this. (Such as in this chapter, though the results are the same.) Also thanks to evilflu1 for putting this story on their alerts.
"Well, we're not getting married just yet, so there's still plenty of time for something to happen." Jason said.
"Yea, maybe we should track Rita and Zedd down so they can give you some tips on how to enjoy married bliss." Adam said, looking across the room at the girls. "By the way, who are all these people?" He asked, pointing.
"Trini sent out invites to some people from school to join us." Jason told them, nodding to someone who walked by.
"Is that Tia over there? I think I know who I'm dancing with." Zack said, pointing at one of their former classmates. She had been the only girl at Angel Grove that could turn his head from Angela, but she had always been dating someone else. Tia caught his eye, grinning at him and gesturing him over. "Catch you guys later." Zack said, waving goodbye to his friends before running off.
"I don't think I recognize half the people here." Billy observed.
"A lot of them are people from Trini's college. I barely know them." Jason said, waving at another person.
"Not even me?" A young blond woman popped up, smiling at them.
"Lil sis!" Jason yelled giving her a hug.
"Hey Billy." She said, hugging him as well.
"Lauren. I haven't seen you in years." The former Blue Ranger said, grinning at her.
"Well, I'm a senior in High School now, so I've been busy." She informed them, giving Billy another hug before turning to Adam. "I'm Lauren, Mark's sister." Adam smiled at her shyly.
"You'd think she was the first person to ever finish high school the way our parents are acting." Mark supplied, coming up behind them.
"Oh stop. You're just jealous I'm graduating top of my class." Lauren said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.
"Sure am." Mark said, making a face before laughing.
"Where's Trini?" Lauren asked, turning back to Jason.
"She's over there with some of the girls." Jason said, pointing.
"I'm going to go say hi." Lauren said, looking at her brother who nodded before taking off.
"Mom's a little nervous about her being at an 'adult' party." He supplied.
"We'll help keep an eye on her." Billy promised.
"I'd appreciate that." Mark said, eyeing Tommy as the former White Ranger approached with a drink. "Congrats on your title defense." He said, shaking Tommy's hand.
"Thanks man." Tommy replied with a shy grin. Suddenly, across the room they could hear squealing.
"Guess she found the girls." Adam commented, looking over.
"Good." Mark muttered, turning to listen to Rocky say something. A few more people stopped by to say hi, their group steadily increasing until it started to break up into little groups. Billy and Mark were laughing about something that had happened in elementary school when Lauren came up, pushing her brother gently.
"You jerk! You didn't tell me Kim was going to be here."
"Hey now." Mark said, spreading his hands out. "I didn't know. I wasn't aware she was home" He insisted, turning to Kim. "Looking good sweetheart." He said, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Kimberly laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you trying again?" She asked teasingly, placing a hand over her heart.
"I mean, I have grown up since kindergarten. I promise I won't break your heart again." He said, smiling.
"I'll have to see what Trini says first." She replied, dragging him away. Lauren watched them go, giggling.
"Big brothers got a crush." She observed, winking at BIlly.
"That seems to be accurate." He replied, glancing over at Jason, who was talking to Tommy and another guy that they knew from the gym.
"Is that him?" Lauren asked, following Billy's gaze.
"Him who?"
"Tommy. I've never met him." Lauren replied.
"I'll introduce you." Billy said, pulling her over. Lauren hid behind Billy a little bit, smiling at the boys.
"You get tired of talking to the girls already." Jason teased when he saw her.
"No, but I wanted to meet Tommy." She said, looking up at him with a wide grin on her face. "Kimberly used to tell me about you, but we've never met." She said shyly.
"Lauren is Mark's sister." Billy explained. Tommy smiled back, asking her a few questions about herself while she tried not to giggle. Jason and Billy exchanged a look, knowing how much their friend hated being fawned over but finding it very amusing.
"Lauren, leave Tommy alone please." Mark begged when he came back with the other girls.
"I just wanted to meet him." She said, blushing a little. Mark laughed.
"She's heard so many stories about you over the years from everyone, it's like you're some sort of legend around here." He said off-handedly.
"Stop." Lauren glared at him.
"Seriously. It's like High School all over again." Mark shook his head at her. "The we love Tommy Oliver club." Jason and Billy both snorted, trying not to burst out laughing. Adam and Rocky looked over, staring at their friend and former teammate in concern.
"You guys ok?" Rocky asked, concerned when Jason started choking from laughter.
"Affirmative." Billy managed to say, not looking at the former White Ranger.
"I feel like I stepped in the middle of something here." Lauren said, raising an eyebrow.
"You want to know why I always dated girls from Valley? This guy right here." Mark pointed at Tommy, winking while Jason and Billy lost it again, Adam and Rocky joining them. Mark opened his mouth to say something else, flinching when he got hit on the head.
"Are you joining the club? We've got t-shirts." Trini teased, giving Mark a look.
"Really?" Mark asked, a giant grin on his face.
"You know, the real pain was answering all the fan mail. Used to get hand cramps." Trini shook her hand, ignoring Tommy's glare. Aisha and Kimberly appeared just then, eyeing the group.
"Everything ok?" Aisha asked.
"Yea, we were just talking about Tommy's fan club." Trini said.
"Don't remind me." Kimberly said, wrinkling her nose. "Have you ever seen groupies at a rock concert? If I had a dollar for every time a girl threw her bra at him while we were on a date, I'd be set for life."
"Kimberly!" Tommy said, eyes widening in surprise.
"What? I'm a good investor." She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink, ignoring her ex-boyfriend's glare.
"How many members are we up too now?" Aisha chimed in.
"Official or unofficial?" Kimberly asked sweetly.
"Whichever one makes Tommy's head explode more." Aisha replied. Kimberly tilted her head, pretending to think.
"I don't know the actual number, but we've got 26 states and 14 other countries in 4 continents." She said after a minute.
"Seriously?" Tommy looked at her while everyone laughed. Kimberly shrugged.
"Billy used to send me links to your tournaments. I'd watch them with the girls between practices. All you guys." She said, gesturing to Jason, Rocky and Adam.
"You did?" Jason asked, surprised. Kimberly nodded, suddenly very focused on her drink.
"Needed some cheap entertainment. You should have heard us when you and Tommy won that big state competition last year. One of the girls almost twisted her ankle she was cheering so loud." She said.
"I didn't realize you kept up with us." Tommy said softly. Kimberly looked over at him.
"We all did it. Helped us miss home a little less." Aisha gave her a hug, knowing just how Kim was feeling.
"Ok, I think Tommy's had enough." Mark commented after a moment, looking over at the other male. "Besides I'm still waiting for my answer girls." Kimberly and Aisha laughed, while Trini flipped her hair and walked over to Jason, giving him a kiss.
"Looks like my heart has been broken yet again." Mark continued, clutching his chest.
"Sorry, but you know the rules. Girlfriends don't date each other's exes." Trini told him sternly. Tommy couldn't help but wince when she said that, knowing that Kat had heard the same thing from people when they were dating.
"My heart will always be yours." He promised, looking over at Jason. "Even though I don't think your fiancé would approve. I guess I'll have to move on. Wish me luck." He waved goodbye dramatically, gesturing to his sister to follow before heading off to the dance floor where he met up with Zack.
"I see he's still a flirt." Jason said dryly.
"You got that right." Trini replied, kissing him again. "You won't need to worry about him though." She promised, glancing over at Adam. "However, it probably wouldn't hurt to spend some time with your girlfriend." She said pointedly. Adam took the hint, offering Aisha his arm.
"Such a gentleman." Aisha responded, looking over at Kim. "Are you going to come?"
"Yea, I promised Mark a dance. Might as well get it over with." Kimberly looked over at Billy.
"Want to be my wingman?" She asked.
"Do I have a choice?" Billy asked.
"Surely you wouldn't leave a helpless girl like myself alone?" Kimberly asked him, giggling when he agreed. "Rocky, you come too. I'll need backup when Billy bails after two songs."
"Anybody else?" Billy asked, looking hopefully at the other three.
"Yea, please don't make me go." Rocky begged.
"You don't have a choice." Kimberly said, grabbing his arm. "Jason's dancing with Trini and by the look on Tommy's face if I asked him I might not make it off the floor alive."
"Rocky, I'll come out in a minute. I need a break." Trini said, waiting for them to leave, laughing at something Kimberly said in passing.
"I take it Mark got rejected again." Jason said when they left. Trini grinned, shaking her head.
"It's tradition." She replied cheekily.
"What's tradition?" Tommy asked.
"Mark asked me out in Kindergarten, then he played with Kimberly on the swings, so I broke up with him, and Zack threatened to give him a black eye." Trini said with a grin. "Now he doesn't get to date either of us." Jason rolled his eyes. "Jason's jealous because he was my first kiss." Trini continued.
"On the cheek."
"Still a kiss love." Trini reminded him.
"I don't care who kissed you before, just as long as I'm the one who gets to kiss you now." Jason said. Trini faked swooned, placing a hand on her heart.
"I'm so lucky." She said.
"Don't you forget it either." Jason told her, grinning. Trini stroked his face trying to contain her laughter.
"I'm going to get a drink, then I'm going out on the dance floor. You'll come?" She asked, and Jason nodded. Trini turned to Tommy.
"Don't spend the whole night brooding, ok? There's at least 16 women who have checked you out already. Trust me." She said, and he nodded. "Good. Now if you excuse me, Kim reminded me of my duties as club VP."
"Why is it torment Tommy night?" The former leader asked.
"Because it's so easy to do." Trini replied, blowing him a kiss before leaving.
"She's right you know." Jason said when his fiancée left.
"I'm not brooding." Tommy replied.
"Listen man, whatever you want to do, I'll support you. But you got to figure this out so you both can move on."
"There's nothing to figure out. We talked, we discussed and decided that we're friends."
"Sure, you are. So are Trini and me. If you can't see how she feels about you, then maybe that's all you should be." Jason tapped Tommy on the arm. "You know what my grandma told when I started talking to her about Trini? Shit or get off the pot." Tommy couldn't help but chuckle at that. Jason's grandma was as strait-laced as they came, and the fact that she would say something like that amused him greatly.
"I'd rather be friends then risk losing her again." Tommy told him, frowning. He couldn't go through that pain again.
"Or you could have what Trini and I have." Jason suggested, looking out to see Trini out on the floor. "I'm going out. Just think about it ok. I want my buddy back." Tommy was silent, watching his friends out on the dance floor before finally joining them himself.
X
Kim sat on a bench outside the club, getting some fresh air. She closed her eyes, enjoying some peace and quiet. Minutes passed, and she sensed someone standing by her, looking up to see Tommy.
"You ok?" He asked, handing her a bottle of water.
"Yea, it's just been a long couple of weeks." She said, scouting over so he could sit down next to her.
"I'm sure." He said, sitting down and looking at her, noticing something in her hand.
"What's that?" Kimberly looked down, her face twitching into a weird smile.
"Some guy gave this to me." She said, flipping the card around.
"What is it?" He asked.
"A key card to his room." She said quietly.
"A what?"
"He's in town for a wedding. Asked me to join him for a nightcap." Tommy's mouth dropped open, not sure what to say.
"I'll kick his ass if you want." He finally decided on.
"No, you won't." Kimberly said. "I am an adult, and who I chose to spend time with is my business."
"Are you going to go?" He asked after a minute and Kim shook her head, reaching up to pull out the hair clip she was wearing, allowing her brunette locks to settle around her shoulders.
"Then why do you have that?" He asked, touching the card, trying to control the urge to take it and go find the guy and punch him in the face.
"Because I was debating it. That's why I came out here." She gestured to the bench.
"Why aren't you then?" He asked, curious. Kimberly shrugged. "Well I'm glad. I'd hate for you to make a decision you'd regret." Tommy told her.
"Wouldn't be the first time." She said, looking at him.
"Kimberly..." Tommy's voice trailed off, watching her face carefully. Kimberly held his gaze for a minute before turning away, tapping the card again.
"When I left, Zordon and I had a long talk. He let me know when I lost my connection to the Morphing Grid, it could affect my memories of my life here. He thought it would help me cope with the loss of power. He said I'd still remember, but it wouldn't be so… present. He said he had been worried about Jason, Zack and Trini and didn't want me to go through the same things and risk hurting myself again." She paused, trying to piece together her words."It helped a lot at first, but then I started to forget things, or I'd have to admit huge chunks of stories to avoid questions. I started to get things mixed up, then I forgot details. Then I met…" She gestured, knowing that Tommy would understand who she was talking about. "It was nice to have someone that I could talk to about things, that I didn't have to lie to people about or have them tell me I was romanticizing our relationship. When I moved to France, we decided it wasn't meant to be so we parted as friends. Then I spent months with the team, practicing and going out. It was the first time I didn't have someone in my life. Before the Rangers, I always had a 'boyfriend.' Then we met Zordon and Alpha, and there was no time until we met and got together. So all of the sudden I had this big stretch of time where I wasn't connected to anyone, and could do whatever I wanted." She stopped again, squeezing the room card. "And all I could think about was how much I missed you." She said quietly, turning to face him. "Kat and I used to email about you."
"You did?"
"Yea, she asked me about dating you and I told her to go for it. She told me about things that were going on with the Rangers too. Then I got busy, and you guys were always busy, so we stopped. I didn't hear from her again until she called me to tell me you guys had broken up." Kimberly didn't mention the part when Kat said she was tired of competing with Tommy's memories of her, the same sentiment Devon had expressed when he had broken up with her.
"I missed you too." He admitted carefully.
"Could have fooled me." Kimberly muttered. Tommy watched her, noting how her hand still clenched that card. "I've decided I'm going to take classes at State and compete on their gymnastics team." She announced, changing the subject.
"That's great Kim. I'm happy for you." Tommy said.
"I wanted to stay close to home for a while and see how my life goes from there." She said, looking up at him. "Besides, as president of your fan club, it'll be easier to run the meetings from here." She pretended to swoon, giggling drunkenly as she leaned back against the bench.
"Stop." Tommy warned, trying not to smile when she kept giggling. "You shouldn't be saying stuff like that."
"You mean the truth?" She asked innocently.
"It's not true." Tommy grumbled, startling when she snorted.
"You have no clue Tommy." She insisted.
"Women did not throw themselves at my feet in High School." He retorted. Kimberly touched his arm, smiling.
"You do realize that you could have had a different girl on your arm every night of the week right?" She asked him.
"Why would I want that when I had you?" Tommy asked, freezing briefly when Kimberly slid over to him, resting her head on his arm. They sat there for a minute before Tommy shifted, wrapping his arm around her. Kim curled up next to him, putting her hand on his chest, stroking his pecs through his shirt. Tommy shifted, realizing that he was about to get into a very compromising position with her. He could smell alcohol on her breath and knew that he needed to get away. "Kim, how much have you had to drink?" He asked carefully, looking down at her.
"Enough." Kimberly said, her hand creeping down.
"We're not doing this right now." Tommy told her.
"I've heard that before." Kimberly said, pulling away a little.
"Kim." Tommy said, shaking his head.
"I know, and you were right to say no back then. But we're both adults now. We can have an adult relationship." Kimberly reminded him.
"Being friends with an ex is a very adult relationship." Tommy said, trying to stand up and dis-entangle from her, but she had a death grip on his shirt.
"Benefits is a very adult relationship too." She said.
"Let go Kimberly." Tommy said, pulling away from her and standing up. He watched her carefully, not sure what to do. When Kim was on her tour, they had talked one night and decided that things were too complicated between them, and they needed to just stay friends. The fact Kimberly was now acting like this was concerning for him on many levels.
"Let's go." He said, extending a hand.
"Ok." Kimberly said, looking up at him. Tommy took a step back, watching her.
"Help me up?" She asked, and Tommy did, placing a hand under her elbow to steady her.
"Did you eat anything?" He asked her, concerned. He didn't think Kimberly was a big drinker and he was trying to understand why she was so tipsy.
"Nope." Kimberly said, popping the p while swaying a little. "I have to stay fit you know." She said, gesturing towards herself.
"You still need to eat thought." Tommy said, wrapping an arm around her again.
"I've just been trying to get through the last few weeks." She insisted.
"I get that. But remember what happened last time you went overboard?" Tommy said, looking at her.
"It's not that bad. Just been busy and haven't been keeping track of myself." She replied. Tommy pulled out his phone, texting something before looking back at her.
"I'm taking you back to Aisha's." He announced.
"Are you sure that's where you want to go?" Kim asked, smiling back at him.
"Yes." Tommy told her.
"Fine." Kimberly sighed, allowing him to escort her to his car. They rode back to Aisha's in silence, Kimberly feeling better by the time they got back there.
"Let me help you get inside." Tommy said, starting to get out of the car.
"I'm fine, thanks." Kimberly replied, unbuckling herself and opening her door.
"Kimberly-"
"I appreciate the ride home." She interrupted him, opening her own door.
"Kimberly-"
"Listen Tommy. There's only so much rejection a person can take. I get why you said no before, but you don't have the Power Rangers to use as an excuse anymore." She reminded him. Tommy was silent for a minute.
"Did you really think I would take advantage of you when you've been drinking?" He asked her, an edge of something in his voice Kimberly couldn't place.
"No. Because you're a good person who respects me. But tell me now, if I call you tomorrow and tell you I still want to sleep with you, what would you say?" Tommy was quiet again. Kimberly sighed, looking at Aisha's house.
"Good-night Tommy. I'll see you later." She smiled at him, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, scooping her heels off the floor and exiting the vehicle, walking into the house without a sign of the tipsiness she had shown at the club.