Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #45: Attitude, T)
I've decided that it sucks to be Eric in this chapter, but I had so much fun writing it, I don't care.
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/: #45: Attitude
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 is one of the chapters that shall be confusing, due to the way I originally set all Eric POVs as every fifth chapter. This takes place *before* Wes woke up from his coma. Sky is now nine years old - and freakishly smart. c.c;;
The picture of Eric and Wes together is based off an icon I found once, which I just learned was made by jadetate for Angel. It's too adorable not to use.
"It wasn't anything big," Eric explained quietly, absently running his thumb over the back of the hand in his grasp. He still didn't know why he did that, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to stop. "Just your dad, and a few friends I never realized Phillips had. Pretty quiet ceremony. But your dad made sure the place he's in is beautiful." He hesitated. "I left your old baseball with him before they lowered the casket. Figured you'd want him to have it, after he taught you. Didn't think flowers were real appropriate for you two. You dad wanted me to say something, but I really couldn't think of anything. He always just saw me as 'Master Wesley's boyfriend', anyway. And don't deny it - you know it's true. He only liked me when I made you happy." He swallowed for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts.
"Why do you keep coming here every weekend?" came a voice from the doorway.
His jaw tightened, and he took several deep breaths to calm his temper. "Because I can't be here everyday," he said shortly.
There was a long silence as Vanessa studied him. "You really believe he's going to wake up, don't you?" she murmured.
"Of course I do," he snapped back. "And he *will*."
"I don't get you," she said abruptly. "You dump Wes - which, granted, I can somewhat understand in the circumstances. You ignore him for years, only showing up when it suits you. Four years ago you walked out on him for good. And now you're at his bedside every week, holding his hand and swearing up and down to anyone who'll listen that he'll still wake up after over a year in a coma."
He glared at her. "I don't need your approval to be here."
She folded her arms and met his glare straight on, looking unimpressed. "Maybe you do. After all, I'm the one who's had Wes crying on my shoulder over you for eight years."
"And obviously you never got anything out of it," he snarled sarcastically, his free hand clenching.
"I didn't," she returned coolly. "The only things Wes has ever given me was Sky and a lot of headaches."
"Oh, please," he spat. "You can't tell me you've lived with him for all these years out of the goodness of your heart."
She straightened suddenly, staring at him. "You bastard," she whispered. "You're still in love with him. After all this time, and all the shit you've put him through ... you still love him."
"And you don't?" he snapped back.
There was an ugly silence as each of them registered that the other wasn't denying the accusation.
Out of nowhere Vanessa plopped down in the other chair of the room with a sigh, rubbing her temples. "This is so ridiculously messed up," she muttered. "I keep wondering who I murdered in a past life to deserve Wes."
Eric humphed as he eyed her warily. "I can't believe that I'm actually saying this, but I know what you mean."
"And the worst part is that the more you try to hate him for it, the more you realize you can't," she grumbled, scowling at the form in the bed.
Eric shook his head, snorting faintly. "For someone that's in love with Wes, you sure give him a lot of crap."
She raised an eyebrow. "'And you don't'?" she parroted back at him.
He stared at her, unamused. "I spent a year watching Wes chase after Jen before he suddenly decided that he was in love with me, covered his butt when he did something stupid, kept him from getting taken out in a fight, and agreed to have kids together only to find out he knew we'd never get the chance to raise them. Then while I'm trying to find a way to keep from beating his face in, he tells me he's leaving for Newtech City out of the blue, mails off a letter to tell me that he's having a kid with someone else, and starts begging me to come see him every time there's something wrong with the kid. I finally, *finally* get the chance to talk to him, and he takes off before I can finish, deciding all on his own that there's no chance we'll ever be together again - which *you* by the way, were so kind to help me work out. Then he takes off on some 'mission' on another planet without so much as dropping me a line - 'conveniently' forgetting that my morpher is programmed to know when he's in trouble. I lost my girlfriend because of that mess. And then, when I almost got my life back in back in order, he ... " He swallowed, suddenly unable to finish, and gestured toward the bed.
Feeling uncomfortable at his outburst, he found himself staring at Wes' hand still held carefully in his own. "Wes has been in and out of my life for the past twenty years. You don't stop caring about someone you've known that long."
"Wes tried to understand you better than you think, you know," Vanessa said quietly. "Every time it came up with someone about why you two weren't a couple anymore, he always blamed it on himself - never you. I know for a fact he's never stopped grieving for those boys." She hesitated for a moment. "I told him I loved him once, just before he left for Aquitar." She forced a bitter smile. "He kissed my cheek and said he loved me, too." She reached out to stroke Wes' arm with a sigh before letting her hand fall. "I fell in love with him years ago. He was always so dedicated to Sky, rearranging his whole life around him and the other kids. And then he was so eager to prove himself, he was hard *not* to love." She looked up then, meeting Eric's eyes. "*I* love him. But Wes has never loved anyone but you."
A strange peace seemed to settle over the two of them.
"I'll never like you," Eric remarked suddenly. He looked at her with an unreadable expression. "But I don't entirely hate you right now."
She offered a hand, smirking faintly. "Likewise."
And she didn't so much as flinch when he made a point of squeezing tighter than was strictly necessary.
They sat there in silence for awhile, and neither bothered to check the time. Both knew that the peace between them was tentative and uncertain. But strangely, neither one cared whether it lasted or not.
"So," Vanessa spoke up after what could have been mere minutes or hours. "You ever thought about getting a job with S.P.D., to be closer to Wes?"
Eric blinked up at her, then looked skeptical. "And leave the Silver Guardians?"
She shrugged. "Besides being here more often, you're a Power Ranger; you're pretty much guaranteed a job with any department of S.P.D. you decide you feel comfortable in."
"I suppose so," he agreed carefully. "But that would mean that I'd probably have to sell my place in Silver Hills. And does S.P.D. allow pets in the rooms on base?"
"No. But I do."
He stared at her. "You're not serious."
She shrugged again. "It wouldn't exactly be free - you'd have to split the utilities with me. And rent is sharing responsibilities with Sky."
Shock had turned to suspicion as he eyed her again. "You're insane. This *idea* is insane."
She smirked faintly. "Sanity is something we all learn to put aside the moment we sign up for S.P.D." She stood up, leaning over to gently brush Wes' bangs back from his face before turning for the door. "Think about it."
When he knew for sure that she was gone, he leaned over to tussle Wes' bangs, leaving them lying haphazardly across his forehead.
****
The room was neater than he expected. It looked like someone had routinely gone through and dusted it - probably Sky, judging by the state of Vanessa's lab when he helped her move it out to the garage. Sky was probably the reason everything had been put into its proper place as well. Wes wouldn't have bothered, and the kid was freakishly neat.
He found himself wandering over to look at the nightstand. A picture had been left sitting out of him and Wes, both in Guardian uniforms, grinning at the camera as Wes grabbed him from behind in a hug. He stared at it for a long time, taking in how happy both their expressions were.
He went to pick it up and noticed something white sticking out of a corner of the frame. Frowning, he flipped it over and opened the back. He lifted out the picture, planning to adjust it in the frame.
A photo strip fell out into his hand.
Wes was grinning wildly in all four shots, next to a man who looked so much like him anyone might have assumed them to be brothers. The man wasn't smiling, even in the third shot when Wes started poking him in the ribs. But in the very last frame, a very tiny, hesitant, almost-smile had begun to creep across his face.
Alex.
Eric stared at the strip, multiple feelings surging through him. He'd never known Wes had this. What was it supposed to be, a reminder of what he had to do?
No. Even through his anger and hurt, he forced himself to acknowledge that Wes wasn't like that. He had probably had the pictures taken to try and remember the other man by. He'd always been upset about not getting more pictures of the others besides what he had from the picnic on the Animarium. And maybe ... after he'd known, he hadn't wanted to give them up?
He tucked the picture and photo strip back in the frame together with an annoyed sigh at him himself. There he was again, trying to make up reasons for Wes not to have meant what he'd done. He already *knew* why, but somehow he still kept trying to justify it to himself.
"Who's that in the picture?"
He jumped, silently cursing at himself for not hearing anyone coming. He glanced over at the doorway, where Sky stood watching him with an unreadable expression. "What?"
"The photos," Sky said again, his gaze dropping to the pictures in his hand. "I found it when I was trying to clean. Who is that? Why does he look so much like my dad?"
Eric sighed. He took a moment to calm himself, at last leveling a serious look at Sky. "Are you *sure* you wanna know? It might change how you think about Wes." He wasn't blind to Sky's hero-worship of Wes - and if he ever found out which moron from S.P.D. actually gave the kid his father's helmet as a memento he'd make sure they knew how much he disapproved of that - but he didn't know how comfortable he was with telling the kid his father wasn't the perfect hero S.P.D. was trying to remember him as.
Sky frowned slightly. "Will it change how I think 'cause you're mad at him?"
He blinked, startled. "What?"
"Dad told me once that he did a very bad thing to you, and you'd never forgive him for it," Sky explained. "It was right after the wedding, when everyone was acting funny around you both."
"You remember that?" he demanded incredulously. "You were four!"
Sky humphed, looking just the slightest bit smug. "I've got a good memory." He tilted his head in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Wes. "Is that why it'll change how I think of him?"
Eric sighed heavily, gesturing to the bed. "Sit down, Sky." He eyed the kid as they sat together. Never thought I'd have to be the one to explain things to him. Thanks a lot, Wes, he thought sourly. He took a deep breath. "Okay. How much do you know about me and your dad?"
"That you were teammates," Sky returned immediately. "He says you used to be best friends, too." He frowned slightly. "Sometimes he'd say you were close, but he wouldn't explain how."
Great; now I get to shatter *all* of the kid's illusions. "That's probably because he wasn't sure how you'd take it," he told him. "Your dad and I were a couple."
Sky blinked rapidly, trying to absorb this information. "You were?"
He nodded. "For about seven years."
Sky's brow furrowed suddenly, and he looked at up in confusion. "Why are you telling me that? Dad never would."
Eric shrugged. "You're old enough to ask, you're old enough to know. Wes probably wasn't comfortable with talking to you about it."
"Oh." Sky blinked again. "So what does that have to do with it?"
Everything. "Your dad and I decided after a few years that we wanted to have kids," he said slowly, trying to ignore the hurt and anger that still flared up after all this time. "So we - " He hesitated. "You know how Bridge was born, right?" Then he paused in growing horror. "You ... you do know about the birds and the bees, and all that, right?"
Sky rolled his eyes. "Bridge was genetically created with DNA from Uncle Rocky and Uncle Adam, and Aunt Aisha gave birth to him," he recited. "My mom explained it. And yes, I know about *sex*."
Thank you, Vanessa, he thought reverently. "Good," he coughed, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Anyway, Wes and I decided to do that."
Sky sat up straighter, staring at him. "*What*?"
"We had kids together. Two - Alexander and Benjamin."
"How old are they?" Sky demanded, leaning forward. "Why haven't I met them? Where are they?"
He held up a hand to quiet the kid, shaking his head. "This is where it gets complicated," he sighed. "Has your dad ever told you about the Red Time Force Ranger before him, Alex?"
Sky looked puzzled for a few moments, then his eyes shot abruptly wide. "Alexander is *Alex*?!"
Smart kid, Eric mused to himself, more than slightly surprised. Maybe smarter than me and Wes combined. "Yeah," he said aloud. "Alexander is Alex."
Sky glanced at him warily. "This is gonna get weird, isn't it?"
He smiled in spite of himself. "Yeah. It gets weird." He took a deep breath. "Alexander and Benjamin - our kids - were kidnapped after they were born, before we even got the chance to take them home." He swallowed, forcing himself to finish. "Wes told me later he knew that it was going to happen, because Alex had already told him. He never said anything to me because he was 'protecting the timeline', and he thought he could keep them safe on his own." His voice came out more bitter than he'd intended.
Sky was silent for several minutes as he digested this, and Eric let him think on it. It was a lot to take in after all; he wasn't sure if *he* could handle it. Distantly he wondered what Sky would think when he looked at that helmet now.
The helmet that his older brother *and* his father had worn.
He tried not shudder.
"So you're mad at Dad, but not Alex?"
He blinked at the sudden question, glancing at Sky. "What?"
Sky was still frowning. "It's just .... I can see why you'd be mad at Dad for not telling you - I think I am too, a little," he admitted. "But wasn't Alex the one who told him not to? Why aren't you mad at him?"
Eric stared at him. "I never thought about that," he managed finally. Trust the kid to think of something I never did.
"So ... what happens to Alex and Benjamin?" Sky asked. "Do you know?"
Eric closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "Yeah," he whispered. He forced out the words, because Sky had a right to know. "They were taken to the future and raised by Time Force so they could test the Red Time Force and Quantum morphers. Alex was the first person to use your dad's morpher. Benjamin used mine," he lifted his left wrist, "And ... eventually it destroyed him. Alex brought him back to the past to be cremated - that's how I met him."
Sky's eyes were huge. "Ben *died*?"
He nodded. "Or - he will. In the future." He frowned. "And in the future, Alex is still the Red Time Force Ranger. I guess he got the morpher back somehow after your dad - " He cut himself off, unwilling to finish that thought. Because Wes *wasn't dead*.
Sky was silent for awhile, and Eric didn't try to say anything. He knew he'd given the kid a lot of new information he probably wasn't ready for, but it wasn't fair to keep it from him. It wasn't fair to expect him not to wonder about who his father was - is, and not be told.
He'd spent enough years trying to understand his own father.
"If Dad hadn't done what Alex told him to, I wouldn't have been born, would I?" Sky asked at last, watching him solemnly.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Your dad always wanted more kids after the twins."
Sky blinked. "So that's why my middle name is Ericson?"
*Really* smart kid, Eric thought ruefully. "Your dad promised me once that if we had anymore kids, we'd name it Skylar, 'cause I liked the name. Your middle name he came up with all on his own; I had nothing to do with it."
Sky considered this. "That makes you my step-father."
He blinked. "What?"
Sky's expression was serious as he looked up at him, but his eyes had brightened. "Well, you're not my dad. But I could have been your kid. So since you're helping take care of me now, that makes you more like my step-father," he explained earnestly.
Eric looked at him for a minute. "That's a pretty good attitude to have about this mess," he said finally.
Sky shrugged.
"Sky? Eric? Dinner!" Vanessa called.
Sky bounced to his feet, offering a hand. "Come on, Eric!"
He blinked again, startled. In the span of one conversation, he'd gone from 'Uncle Eric' to just Eric. And step-father? He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming Brat," he told him, tussling his hair as Sky made a face at him.
But maybe he could live with it.