Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #82: Lunch, T)
Four songs that helped finish this damn prompt:
Aly and AJ - Potential Breakup Song
break up song
You're Not The One (music video) - Tyler Foehr
Baby, now that I've found you - Alison Krauss and Union Station
Infinite love to my Shi-chan for suggesting them to me when I asked her for inspirtation songs.
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/: #82: Lunch
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/: I have come to the conclusion that Bridge is not an angry person. Not only can I not remember a single incident where he ever actually yelled angry-like at anyone, but it’s impossible to write him that way. Which is incredibly inconvenient for this prompt. -Glares at him-
Much love to challon86, phantom_blue, and my Shi-chan for helping me wrestle with this prompt.
B Squad looked like they'd been steamrolled - twice, Eric decided, eyeing the five teens draped around their usual table in the cafeteria. Draped being a literal term: Syd had scooted her chair close enough to Z to lean over her shoulder and close her eyes. Z was either tolerating this, or too tired to care. Jack was about to nosedive into his French fries, and Sky seemed to be sitting up straight by sheer force of will, staring blankly ahead as he slowly drank his juice. Bridge had already lost the battle for consciousness, snuggling contentedly with his tray.
"Poor things," Kimberly murmured sympathetically. "It's been a rough week for them, hasn't it?"
"No kidding," Wes sighed, leaning against Eric.
"Been a rough week for us, too," Eric murmured to no one in particular, fighting the urge to wrap an arm around Wes and pull him closer.
Rocky grinned faintly. "No kidding."
Wes made a gesture at him.
"What does that mean, anyway?" Zack asked, leaning in to sample some of Rocky's plate. "I see you and Justin do it all the time, but no one ever wants to explain."
"You don't need to know," Justin returned, elbowing Wes lightly from the other side. Eric glared at him as the movement shifted him as well, and got an eye roll in return.
"It's something rude," Karone informed Zack. "The Aquitian version of - " She paused, jerking her left fist upward. "The Earthian thing. Flipping. But a slightly different meaning, which is the only reason the Power lets them get away with it."
"Where did you guys learn that?" Shane asked, eyeing them oddly.
Wes and Justin glanced at each other, smiling faintly. "Corcus was an interesting guy," Wes commented evasively.
"That he was," Justin snickered.
"And I'm telling you, you are *never* getting to pick for movie night again," Casey informed Sora as C Squad wandered in for lunch. "I don't know who told you that you have taste in movies, but *I'm* telling you they lied."
"Fight Club is an awesome movie!" Sora argued. "It's about a guy with mental problems and people who hate authority! And if there's any place that deserves to celebrate that, it's S.P.D."
"Stop channeling your dad, Sor."
Rhythm sighed, glancing at Ecliptor. The other boy shook his head in return. At Ecliptor's side, Heart giggled softly.
Eric frowned slightly. Okay, seeing Keri walking around with C Squad while she was visiting wasn't odd, or occasionally Hawk whenever he was here, but what was Heart doing with them? She wasn't S.P.D., and she was barely a year older than Casey, who was the youngest on the Squad.
Heart paused suddenly, her gaze flickering across the room. She frowned, nudging Ecliptor slightly with her elbow and waiting until she had both of the older boys' attention before nodding across the room to B Squad. Sora and Casey stopped arguing (for once), turning to look as well. The rest of C Squad exchanged glances, Sophie frowning slightly, Marinda biting her lip and looking worried.
Eric sighed, shaking his head as C Squad went over to bother their higher-ranked cadets. It was good that the two squads got along - mostly - but there were times he wondered if it was worth how much they aggravated on another.
Sky, for instance, was constantly annoyed by Sora and her love of arguing the most meaningless points just for the sake of arguing. While Keri and Syd were best friends, things between them had been a bit strained since Keri found out about Jack. Jack, who she obviously could barely get along with as it was. Of course, Keri wasn’t even technically C Squad, but she always acted like she was when she came to Newtech City. Ironic, being that she was A Squad in the Satra Galaxy S.P.D.
The rest of the two squads actually got along. Bridge and Sophie were still good friends, and somehow Z’s street girl/rocker attitude blended surprisingly well with Casey, C Squad’s gothic girl. Marinda was too sweet and friendly for anyone not to like, while Rhythm and Ecliptor kept mostly to themselves.
Which further proved his personal view that Sky and Jack were trouble.
"So everyone got their schedules ready for today?" Kimberly asked.
"Yes, Mom," Zack teased.
She swatted him. "Hey, you guys are the ones who stuck me with this job," she reminded him, scowling. "And the moment Tommy and the others come home, I’m dumping it all back on him."
Somehow Eric doubted it; Kimberly may hate being R.C., but she was too good at it to just stop.
"Whatever you say," Rocky agreed, echoing his silent thoughts.
Kimberly glared at him, and everyone laughed.
The end of lunch chime went off, and Eric glanced back as Rhythm practically leapt from his seat. "Time for class," he said loudly. "Let's head out, everyone. Keri, are you coming?"
Keri hesitated, finally sighing and looking annoyed. "Yeah, I'm coming." But she punched Sky in the shoulder as she got up.
Eric fought back a grin as he watched them. Sky was his kid, but Keri reminded him of Taylor sometimes: one woman with a *whole* lot of attitude.
He paused as Ecliptor offered a hand up to Heart. She smiled brilliantly at him as she accepted, and her hand remained on his arm as she turned to look at her brother. "I'll see you later, Bridgey. Be safe?"
Bridge glanced up at her, his expression softening. "I'll try."
Heart's smile faltered a little at his resigned tone, but she nodded before walking to the door for her next class. Her hand never left the crook of Ecliptor's elbow, and not one member of C Squad gave it so much as a second glance.
Eric blinked for a moment before glancing around the table to make sure he wasn't the only one who'd seen. Kimberly had a soft expression on her face as she stared after the couple. Rocky was frowning, Zack looked amused, and Wes startled. Justin, Karone, and Shane didn't seem to have noticed.
"Hey, did I just see ... ?"
He glanced back as Syd straightened in her chair.
"Wow, you're slipping, Bridge," Jack commented.
Bridge glanced up, blinking. "Huh?"
"You're letting your little sister date. That's against the Big Brother Code."
Bridge stared at Jack blankly.
"Seriously, after the way you've warned people for just looking at her. It's kind of a surprise," Z agreed, grinning.
Bridge muttered something inaudible, looking back at his tray as he poked at his breakfast.
The rest of his squad exchanged puzzled frowns.
"Well, that just means it's time to set Bridge up with someone," Sky declared suddenly.
Bridge's head came up. "What?"
Sky smirked at him. "Well, the rest of us are dating, so now we need to find someone for you." He glanced at Syd. "Any ideas?"
If he hadn't looked back at Bridge, Eric wouldn't have noticed his fist clenching. There was a pause, and suddenly he stood, grumbling something under his breath. Grabbing his tray, he headed for the door.
Z moved to catch his arm, frowning. "Bridge, we're just teasing."
"Don't touch me!"
The cafeteria went abruptly silent.
Bridge closed his eyes. "Don't. Just ... don't."
"Bridge, what's wrong?" Syd asked, looking worried now.
Again, Bridge looked like he wanted to say something, but visibly stopped himself. "It's nothing," he muttered. "It's nothing."
But Sky had already stood, reaching for him as he tried to head for the door again. "Bridge - "
Bridge whirled, just barely dodging Sky's hand with a furious glare. "I said *don't* touch me!"
Sky frowned. "Are your powers acting up again?"
Bridge stared at him for a moment, then began to chuckle softly as he bowed his head.
Jack rose to his feet, looking concerned. "Bridge ... ?"
"You think my powers are acting up?" The words were soft, but impossible not to hear in the silence. He looked up slowly, and the faint smile on his face was somehow disturbing. "I'm an empath, Sky. My powers don't 'go away' - they're always like this. Just because my gloves keep me from seeing auras or sensing thoughts doesn't mean I stop being an empath. I thought you knew that. But then, I thought you and Syd knew how my powers work, too. And obviously you don't, because any time it matters, you don't believe me when I tell you something unless I prove it to you."
Syd looked horrified. "That's not - "
"T-Top," Bridge cut in, counting on his fingers. "The Fernovian bank robber. Telepathy. Dream fighting. It doesn't matter that I told you, because you can't see it. Or you don't trust me. I don't know anymore. I don't know if I even care."
"Bridge - " Z tried.
"It gets old, you know?" Bridge went on, sounding almost conversational now. "Always being the weird one. Always knowing things I'm not supposed to. Or hey, even being the single guy when all my friends are pairing up. 'Cause it's not like I don't sense how you all feel about each other. And it's not like I can turn it off either, which is convenient. 'Cause then I get to watch everyone pair off when we fight Krybots, and try not to feel how protective of each other you are while I'm fighting all by myself. It's not like that doesn't ever bother me, you know? But I can't say anything about it, because then I'll make everyone feel bad."
"Bridge, that's not what - "
"It's hard, trying to be happy for all of you," Bridge spoke over Jack like he hadn't even said anything. His voice was quiet, his eyes distant. "I am, because it's hard not to be happy for someone else who's happy, but sometimes ... " He shook his head. "Well, that doesn't matter anyway."
"But it *does* matter, Bridgey," Syd protested, sounding like she was about to cry.
"Bridge." Sky held out a hand, suddenly looking calm and confident. "Let me help quiet things for a little while."
Bridge shook his head. "That's not going to help, Sky."
"You don't know that," Sky argued. "Just try."
He grabbed Bridge's shoulder as the younger boy sighed, and blue light suddenly surrounded them both. Sky glanced down at his teammate, and Eric realized with a sinking feeling that Sky thought that he had just solved whatever was bothering his friend.
But Bridge looked back at him solemnly. "This is me, Sky," he said quietly. "These are my feelings. You can't make them go away by trying to protect me."
Sky stared, looking startled. "But - "
Bridge shook his head again. "You've never understood, Sky. And I doubt you ever will."
Sky glared at him. "And what don't I understand?"
Bridge looked at him for a moment, sighed, and leaned closer to whisper something in Sky's ear.
Sky's eyes went wide.
Bridge pulled away to watch him with another sigh. "You really need to stop being meaner to me just to prove you don't have feelings for me anymore, by the way," he murmured, almost in afterthought. "I get the point."
He brushed off Sky's hand casually, dropping his tray in the return bin by the door. He glanced over at Rocky and Zack as he passed them, shaking his head again as Rocky started toward him. "No, Dad. I just need to be alone for awhile. And tell Mom not to worry about it; she doesn't need to drop everything for me. I'll be fine."
There was a stunned silence as he left, the former Rangers exchanging worried looks while everyone else seemed to be shocked by what was, for Bridge, the closest to a nervous breakdown that anyone had ever seen him. Eric glanced at Wes, who was frowning, and turned to see what he was looking at.
B Squad was staring at one another. Jack seemed agitated, as he often was when he didn't know how to handle a situation. Syd had finally broken down, clinging to a stunned and worried Z as she cried on her shoulder.
And Sky remained were Bridge had left him, looking absolutely and completely stunned and horrified.