h&a fic - jungle fury
Happy Birthday, dearstranger1!
Believe it or not, I had this little story idea for your birthday LAST year *cough*. Anyway, here it is at last! It's Charlieverse with elements of Jason Smith's real life because, dude, being a freakin' POWER RANGER is so totally Robbie.
Title: Jungle Fury
Fandom: Home and Away (AU - Charlieverse)
Pairings: Robbie/Kim, Robbie/Kim/Mitzi
Rating: PG
Summary: There's an odd kind of role reversal when Robbie becomes the superhero.
There's something really weird, Kim thinks as he folds a set of Red Ranger PJs and places them in the drawer, about your eight year old son sleeping in a shrine to your best friend. Boyfriend. Whatever they hell he and Robbie are.
Ever since some sleazeball casting director, who should have been keeping his slimy eyeballs to himself in Kim's opinion, spotted Robbie working behind the scenes of another cheesy horror movie and offered him a job in front of the camera, Kim's life has been a living hell.
Well, maybe 'living hell' is exaggerating a little. There hasn't been a crazed serial killer or major natural disaster in the Bay all year, and Colleen hasn't hit on him for at least three weeks so, yeah, things could be worse. But they'd probably be better if Charlie didn't have a giant life-size poster of Robbie in red spandex sticky-taped to the wall beside his bed.
Pretty much everything some genius marketing guy has decided could be Red Ranger themed is in Charlie's room. There are action figures posed on the bookshelf alongside props and little mementos Robbie has sent Charlie for every show and tell day since he started the show, and every DVD box set ever produced signed by the entire cast. It's like walking into the Robbie Hunter museum and it will never cease to freak Kim out to watch his son shove his Red Ranger toothbrush into his mouth every morning and night. At least it gets the kid to brush his teeth, according to Rob. Kim’s not so sure the trauma is worth the payoff. He longs for the days when all Charlie ever wanted was a puppy like Krypto the Superdog and he could brush the request off with a quick lecture on responsibility.
It's not like Kim can say no to Charlie with this stuff, not when the boy's in the shop with big pleading eyes and a trembling lip, holding up the latest tacky merchandising idea saying, "But Dad, it's Uncle Robbie and I miss him." There is no response to that - no lecture or lesson to be learned - because Kim misses Robbie, too, and even if the Red Ranger bubble bath won't help him, maybe it'll make Charlie feel a little better, and that's the best he can do.
It's not just Charlie, either. Sally had laughingly told him all about Pippa's own shrine and her scrapbook full of magazine clippings. Apparently, she'd made Sally buy glitter and little heart stickers the other day and Kim tries not to clench his jaw every time the girl visits now because he knows it's stupid to be jealous of a slightly annoying little girl but he can't help it, and exactly when did he stop being the object of schoolgirl crushes anyway? Just because Robbie's perfect little babyface never seems to age - he should try raising a willful eight year old by himself and watch the frown lines develop.
It's wrong. Ten thousand kinds of wrong. But as Kim straightens the Red Ranger quilt cover and fluffs the matching pillows, his eyes are drawn to life-size Robbie on the wall and he can't help but stare. Even with the youthful complexion covered by a mask, his boyfriend is totally hot.
He's reminded, of course, of another poster involving a tight red costume and dirty thoughts. Mitzi the swimsuit centrefold was responsible for many a sleepless night back when Robbie and Kim shared a room. If her exposed body wasn't enough to drive Kim's teenage hormones crazy, the late night sound of rustling sheets and tiny little sighs escaping Robbie's lips always did. The vivid memory of that startles him, and he feels guilt for even adjusting his stance slightly as his eyes never leave Robbie's image.
Kim's a little flustered and vaguely considering an anonymous thank you note to the costume designer when the phone rings. His phone, so the ringtone is an old 78 Saab song from long ago, and not the theme to Jungle Fury. When he answers, Robbie laughs in his ear. "What are you up to? You sound guilty."
"Nothing! Ah, housework. Tidying Charlie’s room." He stops and lets Robbie chuckle a little, exhaling slowly. "I miss you."
"I miss you, too." Kim can almost see the wistful smile. This long distance thing never gets any easier.
"Then explain to me again why you're running around New Zealand in stupid red tights when you could be here helping me clean up after Cyclone Charlie every day."
"Because I'd have nothing to send for Show and Tell day if I was unemployed. And my tights are stupid now? Really? That hurts, Kimothy."
"Well they're...tight. Why can't you guys save the world in track pants? What's wrong with track pants?"
"Obviously you've thought about this at length, Kim. You have a serious problem with my costume."
"Problem? Of course I have a problem! You. In red spandex. Blown up to life-size and stuck on my kid's wall. And don't say 'at length' while we're having this discussion. It's not right."
Robbie laughs loudly. "Don't say 'blown up', either."
Kim takes a breath, and then can't help but laugh as well. He flops down onto the bed, smiling because Robbie's pixelated printed face is next to his head on the pillow case. "Shut up," he says with a grin. "You're so lame."
"Yeah," Robbie responds fondly, "I love you, too."
They hardly ever say it. Kim doesn't think they've ever had to because it's something the both of them have always known. Right from the beginning when there were school ties and Eskimo Joe gigs and wacky nudist resorts. There's never been a time where Kim didn't know it was true, but lately he's been so damn needy for some reason. Like a frickin' girl. And Robbie's words calm him. It would be the scariest thing ever if he wasn't feeling so content right at this moment.
"So," Kim says, because he doesn't want this conversation to go in certain directions while he's reclining on his kid's bed and he's way too comfy to move, "I think Pippa might be seriously delusional. She thinks you're totally hot or something."
Robbie squeaks indignantly, and Kim relaxes now they're on much safer ground again as he teases Robbie about his legion of eight year old fans and the stupid bubble bath he bought Charlie the other day.
"It's quite fun, actually," Kim explains, gleeful. "I get to twist your head off every night at Charlie's bath time."
Robbie does not seem to see the appeal. "Hey, speaking of, how's Charlie handling school now? That kid still giving him trouble?"
Kim frowns, pulling himself up to sit against the headboard. "What kid?"
There is a pause before Robbie answers, gently like he knows he was walking on eggshells or crossing boundaries or whatever other metaphor there is for knowing something is going to piss Kim off. "It's probably nothing - just some kid that was teasing him a bit. He kind of asked me how to handle him."
"And?"
"And I said to talk to you."
"Which he obviously didn't," Kim says, failing to hide his disappointment. He's spent eight years at the centre of his boy’s universe and he hates that it's changing. "Why didn't he?"
"I dunno, Kim. Maybe he thought he could talk to me because I was the nerdy kid everyone picked on at school. Until I met you."
"No," Kim says, because he knows he's no longer the only hero in Charlie's life, and he might just be beginning to deal with that, "he told you because you have lethal ninja moves. And can also somehow turn into a tiger. I can't compete with that."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Robbie says slyly, and Kim grins in spite of himself. "I've seen a few moves that could definitely compete with the tiger morph thing."
"Hold that thought," Kim says, and if he’s going to be so damn girly lately, he's going to want something more from Robbie than simple reassurance that Charlie still needs him. "This is definitely a conversation that needs to be taken as far from Charlie's room as possible."
"Ooh," Robbie says, his voice a little breathless over the phone. "I love it when you take charge."
~*~
The next show and tell day eve, Charlie hands an envelope addressed to Kim from his package and runs to his room to play with the laser gun that looks even more plastic and fake than it did onscreen yet Charlie declares as "awesomely cool and awesome." Alone, Kim slides his finger under the seal and laughs as he sees the contents. He doesn't know much about laser guns, but Kim knows at least one thing: he has the most awesomely cool and awesome boyfriend ever. And he now has the first object for his very own shrine.
Believe it or not, I had this little story idea for your birthday LAST year *cough*. Anyway, here it is at last! It's Charlieverse with elements of Jason Smith's real life because, dude, being a freakin' POWER RANGER is so totally Robbie.
Title: Jungle Fury
Fandom: Home and Away (AU - Charlieverse)
Pairings: Robbie/Kim, Robbie/Kim/Mitzi
Rating: PG
Summary: There's an odd kind of role reversal when Robbie becomes the superhero.
There's something really weird, Kim thinks as he folds a set of Red Ranger PJs and places them in the drawer, about your eight year old son sleeping in a shrine to your best friend. Boyfriend. Whatever they hell he and Robbie are.
Ever since some sleazeball casting director, who should have been keeping his slimy eyeballs to himself in Kim's opinion, spotted Robbie working behind the scenes of another cheesy horror movie and offered him a job in front of the camera, Kim's life has been a living hell.
Well, maybe 'living hell' is exaggerating a little. There hasn't been a crazed serial killer or major natural disaster in the Bay all year, and Colleen hasn't hit on him for at least three weeks so, yeah, things could be worse. But they'd probably be better if Charlie didn't have a giant life-size poster of Robbie in red spandex sticky-taped to the wall beside his bed.
Pretty much everything some genius marketing guy has decided could be Red Ranger themed is in Charlie's room. There are action figures posed on the bookshelf alongside props and little mementos Robbie has sent Charlie for every show and tell day since he started the show, and every DVD box set ever produced signed by the entire cast. It's like walking into the Robbie Hunter museum and it will never cease to freak Kim out to watch his son shove his Red Ranger toothbrush into his mouth every morning and night. At least it gets the kid to brush his teeth, according to Rob. Kim’s not so sure the trauma is worth the payoff. He longs for the days when all Charlie ever wanted was a puppy like Krypto the Superdog and he could brush the request off with a quick lecture on responsibility.
It's not like Kim can say no to Charlie with this stuff, not when the boy's in the shop with big pleading eyes and a trembling lip, holding up the latest tacky merchandising idea saying, "But Dad, it's Uncle Robbie and I miss him." There is no response to that - no lecture or lesson to be learned - because Kim misses Robbie, too, and even if the Red Ranger bubble bath won't help him, maybe it'll make Charlie feel a little better, and that's the best he can do.
It's not just Charlie, either. Sally had laughingly told him all about Pippa's own shrine and her scrapbook full of magazine clippings. Apparently, she'd made Sally buy glitter and little heart stickers the other day and Kim tries not to clench his jaw every time the girl visits now because he knows it's stupid to be jealous of a slightly annoying little girl but he can't help it, and exactly when did he stop being the object of schoolgirl crushes anyway? Just because Robbie's perfect little babyface never seems to age - he should try raising a willful eight year old by himself and watch the frown lines develop.
It's wrong. Ten thousand kinds of wrong. But as Kim straightens the Red Ranger quilt cover and fluffs the matching pillows, his eyes are drawn to life-size Robbie on the wall and he can't help but stare. Even with the youthful complexion covered by a mask, his boyfriend is totally hot.
He's reminded, of course, of another poster involving a tight red costume and dirty thoughts. Mitzi the swimsuit centrefold was responsible for many a sleepless night back when Robbie and Kim shared a room. If her exposed body wasn't enough to drive Kim's teenage hormones crazy, the late night sound of rustling sheets and tiny little sighs escaping Robbie's lips always did. The vivid memory of that startles him, and he feels guilt for even adjusting his stance slightly as his eyes never leave Robbie's image.
Kim's a little flustered and vaguely considering an anonymous thank you note to the costume designer when the phone rings. His phone, so the ringtone is an old 78 Saab song from long ago, and not the theme to Jungle Fury. When he answers, Robbie laughs in his ear. "What are you up to? You sound guilty."
"Nothing! Ah, housework. Tidying Charlie’s room." He stops and lets Robbie chuckle a little, exhaling slowly. "I miss you."
"I miss you, too." Kim can almost see the wistful smile. This long distance thing never gets any easier.
"Then explain to me again why you're running around New Zealand in stupid red tights when you could be here helping me clean up after Cyclone Charlie every day."
"Because I'd have nothing to send for Show and Tell day if I was unemployed. And my tights are stupid now? Really? That hurts, Kimothy."
"Well they're...tight. Why can't you guys save the world in track pants? What's wrong with track pants?"
"Obviously you've thought about this at length, Kim. You have a serious problem with my costume."
"Problem? Of course I have a problem! You. In red spandex. Blown up to life-size and stuck on my kid's wall. And don't say 'at length' while we're having this discussion. It's not right."
Robbie laughs loudly. "Don't say 'blown up', either."
Kim takes a breath, and then can't help but laugh as well. He flops down onto the bed, smiling because Robbie's pixelated printed face is next to his head on the pillow case. "Shut up," he says with a grin. "You're so lame."
"Yeah," Robbie responds fondly, "I love you, too."
They hardly ever say it. Kim doesn't think they've ever had to because it's something the both of them have always known. Right from the beginning when there were school ties and Eskimo Joe gigs and wacky nudist resorts. There's never been a time where Kim didn't know it was true, but lately he's been so damn needy for some reason. Like a frickin' girl. And Robbie's words calm him. It would be the scariest thing ever if he wasn't feeling so content right at this moment.
"So," Kim says, because he doesn't want this conversation to go in certain directions while he's reclining on his kid's bed and he's way too comfy to move, "I think Pippa might be seriously delusional. She thinks you're totally hot or something."
Robbie squeaks indignantly, and Kim relaxes now they're on much safer ground again as he teases Robbie about his legion of eight year old fans and the stupid bubble bath he bought Charlie the other day.
"It's quite fun, actually," Kim explains, gleeful. "I get to twist your head off every night at Charlie's bath time."
Robbie does not seem to see the appeal. "Hey, speaking of, how's Charlie handling school now? That kid still giving him trouble?"
Kim frowns, pulling himself up to sit against the headboard. "What kid?"
There is a pause before Robbie answers, gently like he knows he was walking on eggshells or crossing boundaries or whatever other metaphor there is for knowing something is going to piss Kim off. "It's probably nothing - just some kid that was teasing him a bit. He kind of asked me how to handle him."
"And?"
"And I said to talk to you."
"Which he obviously didn't," Kim says, failing to hide his disappointment. He's spent eight years at the centre of his boy’s universe and he hates that it's changing. "Why didn't he?"
"I dunno, Kim. Maybe he thought he could talk to me because I was the nerdy kid everyone picked on at school. Until I met you."
"No," Kim says, because he knows he's no longer the only hero in Charlie's life, and he might just be beginning to deal with that, "he told you because you have lethal ninja moves. And can also somehow turn into a tiger. I can't compete with that."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Robbie says slyly, and Kim grins in spite of himself. "I've seen a few moves that could definitely compete with the tiger morph thing."
"Hold that thought," Kim says, and if he’s going to be so damn girly lately, he's going to want something more from Robbie than simple reassurance that Charlie still needs him. "This is definitely a conversation that needs to be taken as far from Charlie's room as possible."
"Ooh," Robbie says, his voice a little breathless over the phone. "I love it when you take charge."
~*~
The next show and tell day eve, Charlie hands an envelope addressed to Kim from his package and runs to his room to play with the laser gun that looks even more plastic and fake than it did onscreen yet Charlie declares as "awesomely cool and awesome." Alone, Kim slides his finger under the seal and laughs as he sees the contents. He doesn't know much about laser guns, but Kim knows at least one thing: he has the most awesomely cool and awesome boyfriend ever. And he now has the first object for his very own shrine.