Power Rangers RPM, Gem
Back! The wedding was lovely, and so was the honeymoon. ;-) I'm still rather ridiculously happy. Moving in with someone is hard work, though. Luckily the husband doesn't mind my commandeering the television for RPM!
Title: Noticing
Rating: PG
Characters: Gem, Scott
Summary: Gem doesn't understand why Scott is upset, but he's going to try and fix it anyway. Spoilers for "Heroes Among Us." Mostly an excuse for Gem character study, which is...hard. I expected it to be hard, but it may have defeated me. I suppose I'll try again later?
After Colonel Truman presents him with his medal for valor, only the sheer unexpectedness of the event keeps Gem from overflowing with excitement before the Colonel leaves the room. A medal! He's never gotten a medal before. And a medal for valor! Valor is a good thing, Gem knows from how often the term comes up in the Colonel's speeches, and here it turns out that he was being valorous all along when he thought he was just having fun! This is the best present ever, even including the time in project Alphabet Soup when Gemma managed to override the locks on their door so they could go celebrate their birthday with Dr. K before the guards caught them.
Well. Maybe not quite that good.
Gem is so intensely happy that it takes a few moments before he realizes that only Gemma is celebrating with him. The other Rangers don't look happy at all. Summer has a serious face on, and the other Rangers are turning away from him, shooting glances into the corner of the room (or ignoring that corner of the room with an intensity that is just as obvious as the glancing) where Scott is leaning against his car, his back towards the group.
Gem doesn't know why Scott walked away first, but Summer is talking now in her most solemn voice, and Gem focuses on it with all the attention it deserves. Clearly this is important, even if most of what Summer says doesn't make much sense. Dad, with all its attendant hang-ups and complications, slides through Gem's head and instantly back out again. He has no reference point for "dad." Instead, his brain catches at the phrase Summer has just clarified: "He's upset that ... never notices him."
Gem knows what it's like not to be noticed. If he tries, he can still remember the time when he and Gemma worked hard for the approval of the scientists at Alphabet Soup, creating better and more efficient programs each time, only to watch their supervisors' eyes look straight past them every time. Gem remembers feeling bad - as bad as he can remember ever feeling - before he and his sister figured out that the only people who mattered were each other. (And Dr. K, but they weren't allowed to see her very often, so she only mattered sometimes.) Gem doesn't want Scott to feel bad. So when he returns from his somewhat less-than-celebratory lunch (Scott conspicuous in his absence) to find Scott gone, it's the most natural decision in the world to follow his tire tracks out of the garage.
It doesn't occur to Gem to tell anybody where he's going when he leaves. Scott had made him promise to tell him before going out on any more missions, but he can't tell Scott anything unless he finds him, and that's where he's going, anyway.
***
Gem is upset when he realizes that Scott's tracks leave the city. He doesn't figure out why until he lands his Zord next to his nominal leader, throwing up great clouds of dust over Scott's freshly waxed car. The words spill out of him without thinking. "You always say stuff like 'stick with the team' and 'always have a plan' and - and then you come out here. Why?"
He really wants to know, too. He and Gemma have been trying really hard to play by the new rules Scott and Dr. K have created. If Scott can break them, then what do they matter? But he had been beginning to think that they did matter. It doesn't make any sense.
Scott's face becomes serious just like Summer's had, and Gem leans in for the explanation that accompanies that look. Halfway through, though, Scott stops. "Who am I kidding? I screwed up."
That makes more sense then Scott changing the rules, and Gem feels reassured. But now Scott is walking away again, looking even more unhappy than before. That isn't what Gem wanted at all. He thinks he knows how to fix this one, though. "That's okay," he offers. "I mess up a lot too." He knows this is true, knows also that he and Gemma mess up in ways that they don't even understand until the team explains it to them. And that's when it hits him - the most recent time he made a mistake that he didn't know about until later, and how he can go about making it right.
It's both harder and easier than he expects to throw the medal away. He's received so few presents in his life, and he knows this one is important. But he's never had this many friends before either, and his friend is more important, no matter how shiny the medal is.
He can hardly believe it when Scott gives it back to him. He doesn't understand. The medal is the problem, isn't it? He just wants his friend to feel happy again. Why won't Scott let him throw it away? But beneath the complicated mess of emotions on Scott's face that Gem doesn't even try to make sense of, he sees feelings he does know. Sincerity. Friendship. Scott believes it, when he tells Gem that he deserves his medal. Gem's fingers close tightly around the cool disc. Even though he can't think of another way to make Scott feel better, as he settles the medal around his neck again, Gem feels even happier than he did when the Colonel first gave it to him.
***
Several fun explosions and exhilarating hours later, the Rangers return to the garage. The battle is won, the refugees rescued, and before the Colonel makes his second entrance into the garage, Gem just knows that something exciting is about to happen. Gemma feels it too, his certainty and anticipation, and joins him with popcorn to wait. He watches and wants to cheer aloud as the Colonel gives Scott a medal as well - but he holds back, barely, and is glad he did as Scott begins to speak. His heart does a funny beat when Scott gives the award back.
Gemma's standing near him, like always, and he can sense her confusion without having to see her face. Why would Scott give back his shiny new medal? Especially when he wanted it so badly? Gem's not used to feeling things differently than his sister, and for a moment he wants to feel confused too; then he takes another look at Scott. Scott is smiling. Happiness and something else, something stronger and deeper, infuses that small smile with a strength that resonates in the space between him and the Colonel, who for just one moment wears the same look.
Gem remembers how he felt when Scott gave him back his medal, and he thinks he understands.
Title: Noticing
Rating: PG
Characters: Gem, Scott
Summary: Gem doesn't understand why Scott is upset, but he's going to try and fix it anyway. Spoilers for "Heroes Among Us." Mostly an excuse for Gem character study, which is...hard. I expected it to be hard, but it may have defeated me. I suppose I'll try again later?
After Colonel Truman presents him with his medal for valor, only the sheer unexpectedness of the event keeps Gem from overflowing with excitement before the Colonel leaves the room. A medal! He's never gotten a medal before. And a medal for valor! Valor is a good thing, Gem knows from how often the term comes up in the Colonel's speeches, and here it turns out that he was being valorous all along when he thought he was just having fun! This is the best present ever, even including the time in project Alphabet Soup when Gemma managed to override the locks on their door so they could go celebrate their birthday with Dr. K before the guards caught them.
Well. Maybe not quite that good.
Gem is so intensely happy that it takes a few moments before he realizes that only Gemma is celebrating with him. The other Rangers don't look happy at all. Summer has a serious face on, and the other Rangers are turning away from him, shooting glances into the corner of the room (or ignoring that corner of the room with an intensity that is just as obvious as the glancing) where Scott is leaning against his car, his back towards the group.
Gem doesn't know why Scott walked away first, but Summer is talking now in her most solemn voice, and Gem focuses on it with all the attention it deserves. Clearly this is important, even if most of what Summer says doesn't make much sense. Dad, with all its attendant hang-ups and complications, slides through Gem's head and instantly back out again. He has no reference point for "dad." Instead, his brain catches at the phrase Summer has just clarified: "He's upset that ... never notices him."
Gem knows what it's like not to be noticed. If he tries, he can still remember the time when he and Gemma worked hard for the approval of the scientists at Alphabet Soup, creating better and more efficient programs each time, only to watch their supervisors' eyes look straight past them every time. Gem remembers feeling bad - as bad as he can remember ever feeling - before he and his sister figured out that the only people who mattered were each other. (And Dr. K, but they weren't allowed to see her very often, so she only mattered sometimes.) Gem doesn't want Scott to feel bad. So when he returns from his somewhat less-than-celebratory lunch (Scott conspicuous in his absence) to find Scott gone, it's the most natural decision in the world to follow his tire tracks out of the garage.
It doesn't occur to Gem to tell anybody where he's going when he leaves. Scott had made him promise to tell him before going out on any more missions, but he can't tell Scott anything unless he finds him, and that's where he's going, anyway.
***
Gem is upset when he realizes that Scott's tracks leave the city. He doesn't figure out why until he lands his Zord next to his nominal leader, throwing up great clouds of dust over Scott's freshly waxed car. The words spill out of him without thinking. "You always say stuff like 'stick with the team' and 'always have a plan' and - and then you come out here. Why?"
He really wants to know, too. He and Gemma have been trying really hard to play by the new rules Scott and Dr. K have created. If Scott can break them, then what do they matter? But he had been beginning to think that they did matter. It doesn't make any sense.
Scott's face becomes serious just like Summer's had, and Gem leans in for the explanation that accompanies that look. Halfway through, though, Scott stops. "Who am I kidding? I screwed up."
That makes more sense then Scott changing the rules, and Gem feels reassured. But now Scott is walking away again, looking even more unhappy than before. That isn't what Gem wanted at all. He thinks he knows how to fix this one, though. "That's okay," he offers. "I mess up a lot too." He knows this is true, knows also that he and Gemma mess up in ways that they don't even understand until the team explains it to them. And that's when it hits him - the most recent time he made a mistake that he didn't know about until later, and how he can go about making it right.
It's both harder and easier than he expects to throw the medal away. He's received so few presents in his life, and he knows this one is important. But he's never had this many friends before either, and his friend is more important, no matter how shiny the medal is.
He can hardly believe it when Scott gives it back to him. He doesn't understand. The medal is the problem, isn't it? He just wants his friend to feel happy again. Why won't Scott let him throw it away? But beneath the complicated mess of emotions on Scott's face that Gem doesn't even try to make sense of, he sees feelings he does know. Sincerity. Friendship. Scott believes it, when he tells Gem that he deserves his medal. Gem's fingers close tightly around the cool disc. Even though he can't think of another way to make Scott feel better, as he settles the medal around his neck again, Gem feels even happier than he did when the Colonel first gave it to him.
***
Several fun explosions and exhilarating hours later, the Rangers return to the garage. The battle is won, the refugees rescued, and before the Colonel makes his second entrance into the garage, Gem just knows that something exciting is about to happen. Gemma feels it too, his certainty and anticipation, and joins him with popcorn to wait. He watches and wants to cheer aloud as the Colonel gives Scott a medal as well - but he holds back, barely, and is glad he did as Scott begins to speak. His heart does a funny beat when Scott gives the award back.
Gemma's standing near him, like always, and he can sense her confusion without having to see her face. Why would Scott give back his shiny new medal? Especially when he wanted it so badly? Gem's not used to feeling things differently than his sister, and for a moment he wants to feel confused too; then he takes another look at Scott. Scott is smiling. Happiness and something else, something stronger and deeper, infuses that small smile with a strength that resonates in the space between him and the Colonel, who for just one moment wears the same look.
Gem remembers how he felt when Scott gave him back his medal, and he thinks he understands.