Reunion (Rocky/Adam)
Title: Reunion
Pairing: Rocky/Adam
Rating: PG
AN: Post-Zeo. Can be seen as either pre- or post-Once a Ranger, whichever you fancy. :)
There were times when Rocky sincerely wished his friends didn’t have such a strong assumption that he liked being the centre of attention. True, he occasionally had the tendency to be loud and he liked a party, but there were times when he just wanted to be left alone. Now was one of those times.
Alright, so he’d been in favour of the whole reunion thing, he’d even helped Kim get everything sorted, booked the community centre before they turned out to have been double-booked leaving them with few options other than the park they were currently in, but now that everyone was here he almost regretted it. He wanted to talk to Adam and he couldn’t do that with all the others hanging around, constantly interrupting. Not for this kind of conversation. He hadn’t actually been planning on bringing this up but now that they were here… well, the opportunity was there. Or it would be if everyone else would just leave them the hell alone.
He’d half expected Adam to turn up with Tanya, despite their not-so-recent break up, but Adam had surprised him by turning up with someone else entirely. So while he’d been pouncing on Adam in a manly-totally-heterosexual-best-friend way, Adam had laughed and told him to pay attention to who was behind him. A confused frown had turned into a delighted yell as he’d spotted Aisha and he’d picked her up, whirling her around, amid laughing protests to put her down already. He’d ignored her, too caught up in the thrill of having all three of them together again in over a decade. He’d let go eventually, only for Aisha to be pounced on by Kimberly and then they’d disappeared for a while.
He’d caught Tanya giving him a few odd looks as the afternoon passed, but he couldn’t work out why; there was no way she could know, right? He’d only recently admitted it to himself, after all; she couldn’t know. He’d been incredibly relieved when Adam and Tanya had split up, then he’d felt guilty. He shouldn’t be happy that Adam’s relationship wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought it had been. That had been the turning point and over time he’d come to a few conclusions about himself, not least that apparently he was attracted to other men and that it was a very real possibility that he was in love with his best friend. His very straight best friend.
Since coming to these conclusions he’d debated endlessly about whether or not he should tell Adam; how hard could it be, right? Adam wouldn’t freak out over something like that. Right. He wouldn’t. He still decided he’d keep quiet. Adam was depressingly straight and even if he didn’t freak out things would still be awkward; better to just not say anything. But then he’d seen Adam again for the first time in far too long and all the phone calls, all the emails, they couldn’t compete with having Adam standing right in front of him. Face to face with Adam his resolve crumbled; unable to maintain his determination when faced with the smile that had always warmed him; with dark eyes that seemed to look right into him; with everything that made Adam ‘Adam’.
“Come on,” Adam said in his ear. “I think they can do without us for a while.”
Strolling casually away from the picnic baskets and the buffet table Rocky sighed in relief as they made their escape, the sounds of their friends voices disappearing into the distance.
“So,” Adam prompted eventually, making himself comfortable on a bench, one foot propped up on the bench, the other flat on the floor, “what did you want to talk about?”
“Talk about?” Rocky asked innocently and Adam grinned.
“Yes, talk about. You’re practically bursting trying to keep it yourself.”
Rocky sighed. There were definite downsides to being in love with your best friend, he decided. Benefits too, probably, but definitely downsides. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d managed to bluff his way past Adam when the other man wanted to know something. He ran his eyes over Adam reflexively, noting less than absently that he looked very, very good. His hair was shorter than the last time Rocky had seen it and there were a few lines around his eyes now where there hadn’t been any before, but overall he hadn’t changed much. He was even wearing black, while Rocky had gone for red; it was another example of how, even now, they unknowingly complemented each other. Or maybe he was reading way too much into it.
His hopes that Adam would take his silence and let it go proved fruitless, Adam just sitting there, watching him intently until he broke. “Alright,” he sighed. “Just… promise you won’t freak out on me?”
Adam’s eyebrows shot up, his expression one of concern. “You’re my best friend, Rocky. Why would I freak out?”
Rocky shrugged. “Because.”
“Because,” Adam repeated flatly.
“A lot of people do,” Rocky replied defensively.
“Considering I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be not freaking out over I couldn’t say,” Adam said pointedly and Rocky slumped, sitting down on the bench and staring at the ground.
“I’m not straight, Adam,” he said finally, not lifting his eyes. There was a soft chuckle from beside him and that was what made him look up, frown forming. How could Adam think this was funny? But Adam didn’t seem to be laughing at him, although there was definite amusement lurking there.
“You want to know something?” Adam asked.
Rocky shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
“I’m not either.”
He blinked. “Say what?”
Adam’s mouth twitched slightly. “I’m not straight, Rocky.”
“Ah, hello,” Rocky said pointedly. “Tanya? Remember her?” Maybe it was a low blow, bringing Tanya into this, but she was pretty definite evidence that Adam was straight. “Or Sarah Diaz, you had that crush on her,” he continued. “Sabrina, who might not actually count seeing as she was Scorpina, but still, you get my point.”
“I can come up with a few of your high school crushes, too,” Adam said just as pointedly, eyes narrowing in challenge. “Jennifer and Penny spring to mind.”
Rocky winced. “Fair enough,” he conceded, but thinking back on it, he couldn’t say for sure if they’d really been crushes or if he’d just been so far in denial and thought they were. “But that’s not the point.”
“No, it’s not,” Adam agreed. “We’ve both changed since high school, we can’t use that as a judge of who we are. Or who we’re attracted to.”
“I get the point,” Rocky growled. “But since when do you like guys?” And there it was, finally out in the open.
“Since when do you?” Adam countered before leaning back against the bench.
“A while.”
“Same.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I just did!”
“…true.”
“So…”
“So.”
“…this is awkward.”
“No kidding.”
They sat there in silence, absorbing all the things that had come to light. “Did Tanya know?” Rocky asked eventually and Adam sighed.
“Yeah, she knew.”
Rocky winced. “How’d she take it?”
“About as well as could be expected,” Adam replied tiredly. “You’re not going to go ‘Oh, sweetie, how nice’ when you find out your boyfriend happens to like guys as well.”
“No, I wouldn’t think so,” Rocky agreed. “That why you split up?” Because if it was… he and Tanya were going to have words.
“No,” Adam answered. “It took some work, but we got things working again. At least for a while. It was just… we were going in different directions, I suppose and we couldn’t find any middle ground. We split up before things got so bad we couldn’t be friends anymore.” He sighed, eyes distant. “So while it might have been part of the problem, it wasn’t the trigger for the break-up.”
Rocky nodded. Well, okay then. Maybe Tanya wouldn’t get that talking-to after all. “Um, Adam?” No! Bad time, bad time, don’t even…
“Mm?”
Seriously! Don’t go there, it isn’t going to end well and… “This probably isn’t the best moment for this but,” Rocky hesitated, then took the plunge, “can I kiss you?”
Adam blinked in surprise, then his mouth curled in a warm smile. “Only if I can kiss you back.”
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Pairing: Rocky/Adam
Rating: PG
AN: Post-Zeo. Can be seen as either pre- or post-Once a Ranger, whichever you fancy. :)
There were times when Rocky sincerely wished his friends didn’t have such a strong assumption that he liked being the centre of attention. True, he occasionally had the tendency to be loud and he liked a party, but there were times when he just wanted to be left alone. Now was one of those times.
Alright, so he’d been in favour of the whole reunion thing, he’d even helped Kim get everything sorted, booked the community centre before they turned out to have been double-booked leaving them with few options other than the park they were currently in, but now that everyone was here he almost regretted it. He wanted to talk to Adam and he couldn’t do that with all the others hanging around, constantly interrupting. Not for this kind of conversation. He hadn’t actually been planning on bringing this up but now that they were here… well, the opportunity was there. Or it would be if everyone else would just leave them the hell alone.
He’d half expected Adam to turn up with Tanya, despite their not-so-recent break up, but Adam had surprised him by turning up with someone else entirely. So while he’d been pouncing on Adam in a manly-totally-heterosexual-best-friend way, Adam had laughed and told him to pay attention to who was behind him. A confused frown had turned into a delighted yell as he’d spotted Aisha and he’d picked her up, whirling her around, amid laughing protests to put her down already. He’d ignored her, too caught up in the thrill of having all three of them together again in over a decade. He’d let go eventually, only for Aisha to be pounced on by Kimberly and then they’d disappeared for a while.
He’d caught Tanya giving him a few odd looks as the afternoon passed, but he couldn’t work out why; there was no way she could know, right? He’d only recently admitted it to himself, after all; she couldn’t know. He’d been incredibly relieved when Adam and Tanya had split up, then he’d felt guilty. He shouldn’t be happy that Adam’s relationship wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought it had been. That had been the turning point and over time he’d come to a few conclusions about himself, not least that apparently he was attracted to other men and that it was a very real possibility that he was in love with his best friend. His very straight best friend.
Since coming to these conclusions he’d debated endlessly about whether or not he should tell Adam; how hard could it be, right? Adam wouldn’t freak out over something like that. Right. He wouldn’t. He still decided he’d keep quiet. Adam was depressingly straight and even if he didn’t freak out things would still be awkward; better to just not say anything. But then he’d seen Adam again for the first time in far too long and all the phone calls, all the emails, they couldn’t compete with having Adam standing right in front of him. Face to face with Adam his resolve crumbled; unable to maintain his determination when faced with the smile that had always warmed him; with dark eyes that seemed to look right into him; with everything that made Adam ‘Adam’.
“Come on,” Adam said in his ear. “I think they can do without us for a while.”
Strolling casually away from the picnic baskets and the buffet table Rocky sighed in relief as they made their escape, the sounds of their friends voices disappearing into the distance.
“So,” Adam prompted eventually, making himself comfortable on a bench, one foot propped up on the bench, the other flat on the floor, “what did you want to talk about?”
“Talk about?” Rocky asked innocently and Adam grinned.
“Yes, talk about. You’re practically bursting trying to keep it yourself.”
Rocky sighed. There were definite downsides to being in love with your best friend, he decided. Benefits too, probably, but definitely downsides. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d managed to bluff his way past Adam when the other man wanted to know something. He ran his eyes over Adam reflexively, noting less than absently that he looked very, very good. His hair was shorter than the last time Rocky had seen it and there were a few lines around his eyes now where there hadn’t been any before, but overall he hadn’t changed much. He was even wearing black, while Rocky had gone for red; it was another example of how, even now, they unknowingly complemented each other. Or maybe he was reading way too much into it.
His hopes that Adam would take his silence and let it go proved fruitless, Adam just sitting there, watching him intently until he broke. “Alright,” he sighed. “Just… promise you won’t freak out on me?”
Adam’s eyebrows shot up, his expression one of concern. “You’re my best friend, Rocky. Why would I freak out?”
Rocky shrugged. “Because.”
“Because,” Adam repeated flatly.
“A lot of people do,” Rocky replied defensively.
“Considering I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be not freaking out over I couldn’t say,” Adam said pointedly and Rocky slumped, sitting down on the bench and staring at the ground.
“I’m not straight, Adam,” he said finally, not lifting his eyes. There was a soft chuckle from beside him and that was what made him look up, frown forming. How could Adam think this was funny? But Adam didn’t seem to be laughing at him, although there was definite amusement lurking there.
“You want to know something?” Adam asked.
Rocky shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
“I’m not either.”
He blinked. “Say what?”
Adam’s mouth twitched slightly. “I’m not straight, Rocky.”
“Ah, hello,” Rocky said pointedly. “Tanya? Remember her?” Maybe it was a low blow, bringing Tanya into this, but she was pretty definite evidence that Adam was straight. “Or Sarah Diaz, you had that crush on her,” he continued. “Sabrina, who might not actually count seeing as she was Scorpina, but still, you get my point.”
“I can come up with a few of your high school crushes, too,” Adam said just as pointedly, eyes narrowing in challenge. “Jennifer and Penny spring to mind.”
Rocky winced. “Fair enough,” he conceded, but thinking back on it, he couldn’t say for sure if they’d really been crushes or if he’d just been so far in denial and thought they were. “But that’s not the point.”
“No, it’s not,” Adam agreed. “We’ve both changed since high school, we can’t use that as a judge of who we are. Or who we’re attracted to.”
“I get the point,” Rocky growled. “But since when do you like guys?” And there it was, finally out in the open.
“Since when do you?” Adam countered before leaning back against the bench.
“A while.”
“Same.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I just did!”
“…true.”
“So…”
“So.”
“…this is awkward.”
“No kidding.”
They sat there in silence, absorbing all the things that had come to light. “Did Tanya know?” Rocky asked eventually and Adam sighed.
“Yeah, she knew.”
Rocky winced. “How’d she take it?”
“About as well as could be expected,” Adam replied tiredly. “You’re not going to go ‘Oh, sweetie, how nice’ when you find out your boyfriend happens to like guys as well.”
“No, I wouldn’t think so,” Rocky agreed. “That why you split up?” Because if it was… he and Tanya were going to have words.
“No,” Adam answered. “It took some work, but we got things working again. At least for a while. It was just… we were going in different directions, I suppose and we couldn’t find any middle ground. We split up before things got so bad we couldn’t be friends anymore.” He sighed, eyes distant. “So while it might have been part of the problem, it wasn’t the trigger for the break-up.”
Rocky nodded. Well, okay then. Maybe Tanya wouldn’t get that talking-to after all. “Um, Adam?” No! Bad time, bad time, don’t even…
“Mm?”
Seriously! Don’t go there, it isn’t going to end well and… “This probably isn’t the best moment for this but,” Rocky hesitated, then took the plunge, “can I kiss you?”
Adam blinked in surprise, then his mouth curled in a warm smile. “Only if I can kiss you back.”
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