Tears at Midnight (Time Force/Power Rangers, K)
I just realized the only icon I have that would actually work for this post I don't have room for in my icons. So, I must improvise. >.<
I've been wanting to do one of these since it was started, but I couldn't come up with anything. Then I started pondering the only two seasons I might be able to write that hadn't been done yet (Time Force and Lost Galaxy) and ... I suddenly found myself writing this.
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force
Rating/: K
Disclaimer/: I wish I owned Trip, 'cause he's adorable and cuddly. But sadly, I own only my vague, angsty attempt at a drabble.
Summary/: Wes wakes up one night to learn what being a 'team' really means.
Warnings/: Possibly semi-OOC, depending on how you view certain characters.
Author's Notes/: Written for starandrea's Puppy Pile Matching Meme. I may do more; I was debating a few teams, and this one finally just ... hit me. It's actually kinda sad, though. I think my muses are crying out for angst recently.
It was the crying that caught his attention.
He wasn't exactly sure if he'd really heard it or not at first. So he waited, listening for something in the silence. Sure enough, there was a soft, quiet sniffle. And what was definitely the sound of a muffled sob.
He rolled over carefully, trying not to wake up Lucas in his curiosity to see who it was. Really, it could have been anyone. His friends were all stranded a thousand years from home, after all. He couldn't really blame them for getting homesick.
Heck, *he* still got homesick.
Trying not to wake Lucas turned out to be a wasted effort. The other man's eyes were already open, and he seemed to be waiting for something. He glanced at him when he rolled.
He frowned uncertainly, tilting his head in the direction the sound was coming from.
Lucas just sighed and nodded.
They each climbed silently to their feet, but Lucas was the one to lead the way as they padded across the floor to find the sound.
Trip, he realized abruptly. It had to be Trip, because he was the only one not here. Unless it was one of the girls, but -
Then he glanced up to see Jen coming from around the corner, looking completely unsurprised to see them. She nodded once, solemnly, and joined them in their trek to find their missing teammate.
They found Trip sitting in the window overlooking the city, hugging his knees and looking miserable as he softly sobbed against them. Katie was already there, sitting at his side and running her fingers through his hair with a sad expression on her face. After a moment, she leaned down to kiss Trip's temple.
It was that gesture that made him realize this wasn't anything new to them. This ... whatever was wrong with Trip, the others had known about it for awhile now. And he hadn't. Whether that was due to living at home for the first few weeks they'd been here, or the fact that they'd known each other before they came here, he didn't know.
He swallowed uncomfortably, as once again the feeling of being an outsider hit him hard. Maybe ... maybe he should let them handle this. Maybe it really it wasn't even any of his business.
"Don't go!"
The sudden cry startled him, staring back at Trip's desperate look, eyes wide and shining with tears. It was only then that he realized he'd been instinctively trying to back out of the room, to give them their privacy. Because he had absolutely *no* idea what this was, or what he could possibly do to help fix it.
"Please don't go," Trip pleaded weakly, holding out a hand in treaty.
Well, that was it. He marched across the room without a second thought, giving his - younger? - friend a one armed hug and ruffling his hair lightly. "I'm not going anywhere, buddy," he promised softly.
The hope in Trip's eyes was painful to see. "You promise?"
"We all promise, Trip," Jen said softly, her eyes filled with sympathetic pain. "No one's going anywhere."
"We won't leave you," Katie agreed, reaching around to squeeze his hand again.
There was a long silence as he wondered what could possibly have happened to cause this. Who had made Trip feel so desperately afraid of being alone? And who did he need to know to do something about it?
"Lucas ... ?"
Lucas glanced back over his shoulder, resting a hand on the doorframe. "I'm getting blankets," he informed them all. His expression softened a little. "I'll be right back, Trip."
But despite the promise, he noticed the way Trip tensed anxiously the entire time Lucas was gone, only marginally relaxing as the rest of them moved closer. He wanted so much to ask, but he could tell instinctively that now wasn't the time. Instead he kept an arm around Trip's shoulders, moving enough for Katie to cuddle up to his other side, and Jen to rest her hand on his knee.
Lucas returned with every blanket they'd managed to stock in the clock tower, dumping them in a large ball in the middle of the floor. He fussed for a moment, stretching a few of them out before stepping back to survey his work. Then he sighed, rolling his eyes and muttering "Pillows ... " to himself before he disappeared again.
This time his return came with a pillow handed to each of them, followed by a gesture towards the blankets. The girls didn't seem to think any of this was strange, and Trip seemed to even perk up a little, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't ask questions. Even when he found himself laying on the floor, staring out at the stars through the large window with Trip nestled between him and Katie. Jen was curled up against his back, which was strange and uncomfortable for reasons he hoped no one would question. Her arm had stretched across him to hold Trip's hand, while Lucas had settled down behind Katie, reaching out in much the same way Jen had.
It was only then, with all five of them wrapped up in each other and bundled in blankets, that Trip finally, slowly, began to relax. There was a long, slow sigh, and a head drifted slowly to rest against his shoulder. He thought about complaining just for show, but then he heard Trip sigh "Thanks, Wes ... " and decided it was better not to say anything at all.
Jen hugged him, resting her head against his shoulder blade, and he could feel Kate's curls brushing his neck and he could swear Lucas just kicked him - twice. But Trip's tears were gone as his breathing turned soft and even, and he was warm and comfortable and hey, it was even possible to kick Lucas back without disturbing Trip. So he forced himself to relax, and realize that maybe, it wasn't *too* bad to be surrounded like this. Better than huddling under a single blanket in this drafty place anyway.
It wouldn't be until morning, when he woke up with a crick in his neck and Katie's hair trying to climb up his nose and an aching back and hip while Trip bounced around and greeted them all with a cheery "Good morning!" that he would get his answers. When Jen would pull him aside and quietly explain that Trip was a telepath, and the people he'd been connected to weren't in this time. And as a result, he would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, mentally reaching, only to find nothing reaching back.
And it wouldn't be Lucas' nod that got him out of bed the next time he heard Trip crying, bringing his own blanket and pillow to join his friends.
From starandrea: "Puppy Pile Matching Meme! If you're reading this, you're invited to write a puppy pile of any size and post it to your journal. For each puppy pile you write, starandrea will match it with another (not necessarily from the same fandom) until we have a little puppy pile of love and fic!
("puppy pile" - wherein multiple people pile on top of or beside each other in a friendly way.)
To play, all you have to do is write a puppy pile and tell starandrea where it is at