Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #20: Evil is Fun!, T)
Mwaha! I finally have more Bright Skies! ^_^V
It took me forever for figure out what I was doing for this prompt. Even now I affectionately like to think of it as 'Eric vs. The B Squad Midgets'. It came out a bit angstier than I'd originally planned, but that's what worked.
But most importantly, this now means I am twenty chapters into Bright Skies! Only eighty more prompts to go ... c.c;;
Author/: Tsukino Akume
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force moving into S.P.D., multiple Rangers from each season
Characters/: Wes (Time Force), multiple Rangers from other teams (Literally too many to list)
Pairings/: Post - Wes/Eric, Rocky/Adam, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Carter/Dana, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Conner/Ethan, Justin/Rose, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Nick/Maddison, Zack/Aisha, Trent/Kira, Post - Billy/Cestria. Future Ryan/Carter and Billy/Hayley. More couples will most likely be mentioned, but not shown.
prompt/: #20: Evil is Fun!
Rating/: T (For non - graphic mentions of people having babies and being violent with one another)
Disclaimer/: I don't own the Power Rangers, but if Disney's hiring any new writers I volunteer.
Summary/: When Wes' life starts to fall apart, an accident gives him a chance at a fresh start in New Tech City, with Space Patrol Delta. But even a new life has its ups and downs - and weird friends. Meanwhile, Eric tries to move on.
Warnings/: A mentally handicapped person living in a medical facility, angst, male and female slash, non - cemented couples (In otherwords, pairings that will be separated), children created by scientific means
Author's Notes/: I do not own, work at, or am affiliated with Denny's Restaurants. I needed a family-style atmosphere, and that was the first place that came to mind.
Eric had known when he got up that Saturday morning that it was going to be an unusual day. For one, he wasn't working. Mr. Collins had pretty much booted him out the door yesterday and insisted he was taking today off. For another, Taylor had also called yesterday, informing that she was coming to see him.
She had, much to his surprise, been keeping in touch with him over the last four years, even after Wes' accident. Mostly through e-mail, but they bitched about the issues in their lives, kept up on how each other were doing, that sort of thing. He never asked about Wes, but she always casually mentioned him every once in awhile. He still wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not.
So he was up early, preparing for Taylor's visit. He didn't exactly know what she was planning to do while she was here - Silver Hills wasn't all that great for entertainment value - and she'd never told him how long she'd be there for. He'd changed the bed sheets and prepared himself for a night on the couch just in case.
At 8:00am sharp, he answered the doorbell to find Taylor standing on his porch. "You ever find out what it's like to take three four-year-olds and a three-year-old to Denny's?" she asked without preamble.
He stared at her blankly. "No."
"Get your coat. You're about to learn."
"*What*?!"
****
She lost a bet. What in the *world* kind of bet could she have lost to be forced to spend the day babysitting four toddlers? And why did she have to drag him into it?
It wasn't that he hated kids. He didn't really mind them, actually; it was adults he couldn't stand. And the rugrats weren't ... completely horrible. The dark-haired girl seemed to like to entertain herself, and the scrawny boy talked a lot, but at least he didn't cause much trouble. The little blond one was even kinda sweet; she'd taken to him immediately.
And then of course there was Sky, who he would have known in a heartbeat. He had those damn lips. And he was *constantly* pouting.
Taylor, of *course* designated him in charge of Sky and ... was it Sydney? She claimed the other two were harder to monitor, but Eric had his suspicions on that. The scrawny boy with the weird name was pretty obedient for a kid, and smarter than anyone his age oughta be, and the brunette was harmless as far as he could tell.
It was Sydney who spilled her milk, cried when she didn't get the cookies she wanted, refused to eat until he told her she wouldn't get anything else to eat and left her with it, and had to go 'potty' five times - apparently she was still being trained.
Sky stared at him the whole time, which was making him nervous. He colored on his menu whenever Eric reminded him about it, but a few minutes later, he'd be back to staring at him again. It was getting creepy.
"What is it?" he asked finally, just barely managing to remember to keep his temper in check.
Sky blinked up at him. After a moment, he pointed to the morpher on Eric's left wrist. "S'like Daddy's." he stated solemnly. "Yours has more buttons, but symbols look the same."
At this, the scrawny boy looked up, his face lighting into a bright grin as all three of the older kids suddenly focused on Eric's morpher. "It is!" he agreed brightly. "Even feels like 'im!"
Eric stared back at Sky. Why in the world would he have thought his morpher looked like Wes'? They didn't look anything alike at all; the Chrono Morphers looked like silver eggs for some reason. His Quantum Morpher was more like a rectangular box. And sitting beside him or not, how had the kid picked up on 'button's so quickly?
"Sky, Bridge," Taylor spoke up, her voice soft but firm. "We don't talk about that outside of S.P.D., remember? Not everyone knows."
Bridge looked abashed, while Sky just continued to stare up at Eric. "Sorry, Uncle Eric," Bridge mumbled.
"Sorry Uncle Eric," Sky echoed, but judging by the look in his eyes, he was only saying it because Taylor told him to.
"It's okay," Eric heard himself say. "It's not really a secret for me."
Sydney nearly knocked over her milk again, and he took a moment to move it out of her reach his time. At last he glanced at Taylor. "'Uncle' Eric?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugged, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "Anyone with a morpher is 'aunt' or 'uncle' around S.P.D. You get used to it."
Somehow he doubted he'd ever be comfortable with the idea of being Sky's 'uncle', but he kept that to himself. He glanced down at Sky. "You've got good eyes."
Sky's solemn expression didn't change, and he wondered if the kid ever smiled. "Thanks."
****
The park had been a relatively obvious choice in their search for something to entertain the kids. It was Eric who surprised Taylor, sneaking off for a quick purchase at the store where'd they'd stopped to get snacks and a lunch to go. He wasn't really sure what made him buy them. It just felt ... right somehow.
And for some reason, he found himself wanting to see Sky smile.
He kept them secret until after they'd set up camp, so to speak, with a nice spot to leave everything else and a big, open grassy area for the kids to play in. "I got something for you guys," he announced abruptly.
Elizabeth blinked up at him curiously. "Presents?"
"Presents!" Sydney cheered instantly, clapping her small hands.
"Spoiling them already, Eric?" Taylor asked, looking amused.
He tossed her the small, simple squirt gun in response. "Boys vs. Girls," he said shortly.
Taylor smirked as she caught her gun. "Oh, you are *so* on."
He took a moment to demonstrate to Bridge and Sky how the gun worked, and how to hold it. Bridge struggled at first, but his determination to get it right was kinda cute. The little boy lit up as he got the hang of it at last, turning to look at Sky with bright eyes. "Let's get 'em, Sky!"
Sky carefully clasped his small hands around the tiny gun and gave a quick nod to the other boy. Then he look up at Eric, and smiled.
He'd been right; he did have Wes' smile.
****
Eric reclined with a sigh, tucking his arms behind his head. "Finally asleep," he muttered.
Taylor leaned against back beside him with a smirk. "You tired out all ready?" she asked softly.
He shook his head. "Nah. Just didn't think they'd ever lie down."
He took the time to glance over the four kids passed out on the blanket. Sydney had cuddled up together with Bridge, the little girl sucking her thumb contentedly. Elizabeth was sprawled on Sydney's other side, one arm flung across the other kids as she snored softly. Sky had laid down further away from the others, facing outward towards the rest of the park; it was hard to tell if he was being anti-social or trying to protect the other three.
"You think Sky's a sixth?" he asked suddenly.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at him. "He's four, Eric. Don't you think it's a bit early to be diagnosing his Ranger type? He probably won't even be a Ranger; Vanessa and Wes would never let him."
Somehow he doubted Wes would ever stop his own son from doing something he wanted to do, but he didn't know what sort of influence his girlfriend would have. And even then, something about Sky just seemed like Ranger material to him. He kept his thoughts to himself however, strangely content to watch the kids sleep.
An envelope hovered in front of his nose.
"What's this?" he demanded, snatching it out of the air.
Taylor elbowed him with a scowl. "Quiet!" she hissed. "You'll wake the kids."
But Eric was too busy staring to respond.
You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of ...
"What the ... You're getting *married*?" he whispered furiously, just barely managing to remember to keep his voice down.
Taylor rolled her eyes. "Thanks. I'm glad to know the idea of me with a husband is Armageddon for you."
He shot her an annoyed glare. "I thought you said you and Jason weren't serious."
She shrugged. "We weren't. Then he asked me to marry him, and I said yes."
He paused, looking at her warily now. "You're not asking me to be part of the ceremony, are you?"
She snorted. "We had to limit the wedding party to teammates only; this thing is gonna be a mess as it is. All you have to do is show up and stay through the reception. I won't even demand you bring a gift - I'll just call you a cheap jerk for the rest of our lives if you don't."
Eric froze. "Reception?"
There was an awkward silence.
"He doesn't know you were there," Taylor said suddenly, her voice soft. "He wasn't coherent enough to tell the difference when he woke up, and Dana told security not to let him know you came because she didn't want to cause any stress during his recovery. As far as Wes knows, you've been in Silver Hills since the day he left, and you'll only be there because Jason and I asked you. He won't try and find you."
He sat there for a moment, trying to process her words. The initial surge of fear at the thought of being forced to confront Wes with why he'd left was gone now. Instead he felt his heart clench, and a hollow feeling filled his chest. Wes never knew he was there. He thought Eric couldn't even be bothered to show up when he was seriously injured.
"The hospital?" His voice sounded distant.
Taylor shook her head, but her eyes watched him with something between sympathy and pity. "He thinks his dad brought the Silver Guardians."
"If you hurt him right now, I will personally see to it that you never get near him again."
Apparently Dana was a woman of her word. He wanted to hate her for it, but he couldn’t - she was trying to protect Wes.
"Eric?" There was concern in Taylor's voice, which brought him back to his senses faster than anything else would have.
"I'll be there," he said abruptly. He lifted the invitation to show what he meant. "I'll come," he repeated. He forced himself to smirk. "Someone's gotta watch the doors while you hold Jason in place."
She smacked him in the arm with a glare. "Jerk."
They settled back down after a few minutes, and Eric went back to watching the kids sleep. "Hey," he said suddenly. "Exactly what bet did you lose, anyway?"
"Hmm? Oh. I didn't."
He sat up, turning to look at her in surprise. "What? But you said - "
She didn't move, continuing to watch the park around them. "I said that to get you out of the house this morning. There was never a bet. I volunteered to take the kids on a day trip."
He stared for several moments as it finally dawned on him why she'd done it. He choked down his first response, forcing himself to lay back again and look at the kids once more. Sky had rolled over to face the others, and now he could see the innocent expression the boy had as he slept.
After a few minutes he managed to calm himself down enough to say something that he didn't need to scream at her. "You're evil."
"You had fun," she returned, unconcerned.
"Yeah," he whispered, swallowing hard as he stared at Wes' son. "But you're still evil."
Taylor gently laid a hand on his shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. "You're welcome," she murmured.