Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #73: Agony, T)
-Kicks LiveJournal- This should have been up last night, but *someone* was being a pain in the ass. -Glares at it-
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/: #73: Agony
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, character death
Author's Notes/: This prompt has been a pain in the butt, and I don't like it. That is all.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair with a pleased smile he couldn't hold in. Only six bruises today. He was getting better. And a couple of them couldn't have been avoided - people who hadn't seen him coming. The rest were, well, there still weren't as many as there'd been yesterday. He was finally getting somewhere. He had to be.
And at least the migraines were finally gone.
He glanced at where he'd put his datapad, knowing he should do some more paperwork. But ... he was so tired ... One little nap wouldn't hurt, would it? Just a short one. He'd earned it, with everything he'd done today.
Yeah. Just one little nap ...
****
He awoke to the sensation that something was wrong. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his chair.
Eric stared back at him, arms folded as he learned against the doorway.
He blinked, rubbing his eyes again.
No, he was still there.
He straightened in his chair, excitement surging. Out of habit, one of his hands when up to run over his hair. It passed over his temple in the process, and he froze at the feeling of cold metal under his hand.
"Forget something this morning?" Eric spoke up, his voice deadly soft.
Wes stared back at him blankly. If Eric was hoping to make him feel guilty, this was the wrong way to go about it. And while he wouldn't admit it, there was a lingering feeling of disappointment.
Eric sighed, moving away from the door to take the chair opposite him. "You wanna tell me why you've spent the last two days wandering around S.P.D. without your SightMap?"
For a moment, Wes had to fight with himself for what to say. Part of him wanted to refuse; Eric had barged in here without warning, and just ... Well, the way he'd woken up, thinking he was ... It hurt, and it made him want to hold that in because it was Eric's fault for making him think that, even for a moment. But he also knew that he owed Eric honesty after everything that had happened before, and that lying to him now would only tear apart the tentative trust they'd slowly been rebuilding between them.
He sighed, because in the end, he did owe Eric his honesty.
He got up to pace. "This is going to sound crazy," he warned. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to turn and meet Eric's eyes. "I think my eyesight's coming back."
It sounded stupid the moment he said it aloud, and he struggled not to wince. "I'm starting to notice light patterns, and sometimes I think I can sort of tell colors - sometimes," he added hastily.
There was a pause.
"So what's up with not wearing your SightMap?" Eric asked quietly. "Not to mention that you only have Jen with you half the time."
"I can't try to ... try to see if there's a difference, when I wear it," Wes muttered, his hand moving up to touch the device nervously. "And I finally realized it was giving me headaches, so ... I thought I'd try and figure out how much I can see on my own."
"And leaving Jen at home?"
He let out a slow breath, finally giving a shrug. "Would you settle for an 'I don't really know'?"
"That's such a copout," Eric grumbled. "Can I at least get what brought this on?"
Wes was quite for a moment. "What's that new Ranger look like?" he asked suddenly.
He felt, rather than saw, Eric's flinch. "What do you mean?"
"Four days ago, *something* saved the kids from being overwhelmed by Krybots," he reminded him. "During the meeting, Cruger said it was described as a white streak. The best glimpse the satellite cameras got was something white that everyone agreed was most likely a new Ranger." He paused. "You know what I saw?"
"Wes - "
"Nothing," he interrupted. "Because I can't even read a stupid viewscreen. I had to listen to the kids argue over who saved them all from the Krybots, and I couldn't even tell what they were talking about. Do you have any idea what that's like?"
Distantly, he noticed he was shaking.
Eric pushed himself to his feet. "Come on."
Wes frowned. "Why? Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
****
"Well?" he asked quietly, trying not to fidget.
While he was glad Eric had believed him, going to the medical wing was *not* what he'd had in mind. Point of fact, he'd instinctively tried to bolt when he'd realized where they were. It was only Eric's hand on his arm that stopped him, forcibly pulling him inside and asking Aisha if she was available for an exam.
She'd listened quietly before bringing him into an examining room. The whole thing seemed to take forever, as she carefully and thoroughly checked his pupils, ran tests, and asked questions. Through it all she'd been calm and patient, not giving away a hint of what sort of results she was getting.
"You were right," she told him simply. "The damage to your eyes has been healing, enough to the point that you've developed some sensitivity to light. Your SightMap was giving you headaches because it was sending signals to your brain that it was already getting. I'll ask Justin to make some adjustments for you."
She kept talking, but he didn't care. His eyesight was coming back. It was coming *back*. He'd be able to see again. It was a struggle to keep in the cheer he wanted to give while she was still explaining things.
Then her hand touched his shoulder, startling him as she leaned in close. "Wes," she said quietly, gently. Something about her tone gave him the impression she'd noticed he wasn't listening. "Your eyes *are* healing. But they're not going to recover fully."
He froze. "What?"
The hand squeezed. "The scar tissue has healed, but there's no way it could ever be completely repaired; the damage was too severe. It's not enough to completely restore your vision. I'm sorry."
He swayed slightly as she whispered her apology, and somehow he could feel the tears just beginning to brush his cheeks. Not enough? But ... but he could tell shadows now. And bright colors. It wasn't enough? He'd never ... He'd *never* ...
Someone was in front of him, large hands cupping either side of his face and brushing his cheeks gently. And then he was pulled forward into a strong chest, hands rubbing his back soothingly. There was a light kiss to his hair.
His hands fisted in Eric's shirt before he was even aware of it. He buried his face against the other man and cried like he hadn't in years.
Because no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted it, he'd never see again.