Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #92: Holiday, T)
Behold, the Power Rangers Gay Pride - I mean, Ranger Festival! ^_^V
Fun, chaos and sappy angst. Hadn't intended for the angst, but it sort of happened anyway. Oops?
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/: Wes/Eric, R.J./O.C., Rocky/Adam, Zack/Aisha, T.J./O.C., Justin/Rose, Carter/Ryan, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Z/Syd, Jack/Charlie, Sky/Bridge, and probably some others I'm forgetting.
prompt/: #91: Birthday
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/: The Kerovian Ranger Festival is something I came up with for later use in my Fade to Darkness trilogy. But I didn’t want to do any of the normal holidays for this prompt, so I decided to use it here. For anyone who’s curious, the Neo-Kerova team mentioned was Andros and Zhane’s team before they met the Astro Rangers.
Much love to rainbowdepot.com for inspiring the clothing and accessories used throughout this chapter, and purplestripe66,
phantom_blue, challon86, and writerpayne for all their help.
Written for jadetate, who wanted to see a 'family day' with the Collins/Myers/Tate/Finn clan. I know it’s not quite what you were hoping for, but here’s a start.
On a side note, anyone who can make me pictures of *any* of the outfits described in this chapter will win my eternal love and devotion.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Eric grumbled, glaring down at his tie.
Wes rolled his eyes, keeping focused on making sure he didn't lose any strands. "Eric, it's the last day. You've already made it through thirteen days of this. Relax, would you? Besides, you promised."
His only response was an indistinguishable growl.
He sighed, pausing to make sure the bows were nice and tight as he finished. "All right, Princess," he declared finally. "You're all set."
Emily blinked up at him. He'd put her hair in pigtails and tied several different colored ribbons around the ties. The result was adorable, and he smiled at her. "You're beautiful," he told her, leaning in to bump his nose against hers.
"She's always beautiful," Eric retorted as she squealed happily.
"Yes, but now she's *rainbow* beautiful," he returned, smiling at his little girl. "All set for Power Rangers Day, Princess?"
"Pi'sa!" she laughed, patting her tiny hands against his face.
"How does 'pizza' translate to yes?" Eric demanded as he scooped her up. He paused to adjust her tie-dyed shirt and gently batted her hands away from his rainbow-striped tie.
"Because R.J. says 'pizza', and Sky says yes," he answered with a shrug. "They're two, Eric. She doesn't know the difference."
"Daniel does," his husband grumbled.
"That's because *Daniel* takes after his namesake." He hefted first one son, then the other, pausing to kiss each of their heads.
Daniel looked at him with quiet dark eyes that reminded him more of Eric than any of the others did, while Charlie wrinkled his nose. "Da ... " he whined.
He smiled and kissed him again, grinning when he made a face. "Too bad; I love you. Get used to it," he informed the toddler.
Eric was watching him when he looked up. "What?"
Eric shook his head. "Nothing," he murmured, but he could see the other man was trying not to smile. "We ready?"
"You've got one, so you get the bag," Wes informed him. "Otherwise, yes."
Eric rolled his eyes. "I know the rules, you don't have to remind me."
"Can't hurt." He adjusted the boys, smiling brightly at his husband. "So?"
Eric tugged down on the tie-dyed bucket hat Wes was wearing with his free hand, glancing up at it and shaking his head. "You look ridiculous."
"It's for Trip," he retorted, eyes narrowing slightly.
"I know that. But you look ridiculous in that hat."
His attempt to protest again was silenced with a soft kiss, and he surrendered with a sigh.
"Jerk," he muttered as they broke apart to the sound of fussing kids. He smiled a little.
"And?" Eric returned smugly, swinging the red backpack they used as a diaper bag over one shoulder. He went to open the front door and froze.
Wes frowned at the holdup. "Eric?"
He tried to peek around his husband and paused, blinking. "Oh. Oh, hi!" He smiled brightly, hoping it didn't look awkward. "Jack! Daniel! How are you?"
"Um, hi ... " Daniel frowned a little. "We, uh ... We just happened to be ... Well, we had some time off, and Jack wanted to stop by ... Is this a bad time?"
"We can come back," his father-in-law added quickly, looking slightly uncomfortable. He winced when Daniel elbowed him sharply.
Wes glanced at Eric, who shrugged minutely. He forced a broad smile at the two men on his porch. "No, it's not that. It's just ... we were on our way to S.P.D. for the last day of the Kerovian Ranger Festival. You're all more than welcome to come if you like. I mean, the more the merrier." He tried not to eye the pair standing behind Jack and Daniel.
"Well, we don't want to impose," the woman behind Jack said quickly.
"I'm sorry, did you say *Kerovian* Festival?" Daniel asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he peered at Wes in interest.
Wes tried not to smile and failed. "Some of the people at S.P.D. are from the planet KO-35. We've been celebrating a few of their major holidays pretty much since S.P.D. started. Right now we're on the last day of the Ranger Festival - Power Rangers Day. Like I said, you're more than welcome to come with us if you want. It's a city-wide holiday now."
Daniel turned to look at Jack. There was a moment of silence as they stared at one another, and finally Jack groaned. "All right, all right, fine." He sighed, rolling his eyes in a way that was painfully reminiscent of Eric. "Who am I to keep us from a 'cultural experience'?" he grumbled under his breath.
Wes grinned, shifting his grip on Charlie. While things had been awkward a first - and still were at times, being that the Myers/O’Neill men weren't exactly the best at working through their issues, he'd gotten used to his father-in-law the longer he knew him. He got along better with Daniel, being someone who knew what it was like to deal with one of them, but Jack never failed to remind him that no matter how much he hated it, Eric was truly his father's son.
The woman behind Jack stepped forward with a friendly smile. "You need a hand?"
"Thank you," he sighed in relief. He'd gotten *used* to carrying both boys, but that didn't mean it was easy. There were times he envied Vanessa for her hips - and R.J., who moved in a way that made him seem like he did. He paused, considered, and offered Daniel to her. "You'd better take Daniel. He's not so bad with strangers," he explained. "Charlie's the troublemaker."
"So this is Daniel, and that's Charlie?" she repeated, smiling at the boy in her arms. Somehow Wes was had a feeling she knew where the boys had gotten their names. "Aren't you a cutie?" she cooed, tickling his stomach.
Daniel squirmed a little, blinking up at her. After a moment he latched onto one of her fingers, sucking contentedly.
"I'm Sam, by the way," she added suddenly, offering a hand. "Samantha Carter. I work with Jack and Daniel." The corner of her mouth quirked slightly. "The older Daniel, I mean."
He laughed as they shook. "Wes Collins. This is my husband Eric, and the princess he's holding is Emily."
"Do you normally hand our kids over to complete strangers?" Eric interrupted, glaring at him briefly before looking suspiciously at Sam.
Wes rolled his eyes. "When they come with your dad, I'm not exactly worried about it," he told him flatly. Whether or not Eric wanted to admit it, Jack was almost as protective of their kids as Eric was - which was *definitely* saying something. He turned to offer a hand to the larger man in the back. "Sorry, and you are ... ?"
There was a pause. "My name is Murray," the man said at last, taking his hand awkwardly and squeezing it tighter than was strictly necessary. "I also work with ColonelO'neill and DanielJackson."
He smiled and tried to keep from grinning. Murray? Yeah, right. He wasn't a member of S.P.D. for nothing. "Nice to meet you," he said sincerely. He elbowed Eric.
"Yeah, nice to meet you," he sighed. "So are you guys following us, or what? We've only got so much room in the car."
Wes discreetly stopped on his foot, ignoring the pained grunt. "Is there anything you guys need before we go?" He smiled brightly when the other four shook their heads, Sam looking amused. "Let's get this show on the road, then."
****
"Kerovians are basically party people," Wes explained to Daniel, adjusting Charlie as they left the parking lot for the center of the park. The corner of his mouth quirked as he thought of Andros. "Most of them, anyway. The Kerovian Ranger festival is two weeks of celebrating Power Rangers and what we do. There's twelve 'Color Days', like Day of Red, Day of Black, Day of Blue, and so on. For the Color Days, everyone dresses up in that Color to celebrate that type of Ranger. After the last Color Day, we go into Ranger Days. Kerova Rangers Day, which celebrates the first six Rangers of KO-35, then Neo-Kerova Rangers Day, which is for the team that took over for them - one of them is actually our teammate now. Then we have Astro Rangers Day, for the team that helped to bring the APG together and destroyed Dark Specter. Today is the last day, Power Rangers Day, which is for all Power Rangers everywhere." He grinned faintly. "They even managed to get some of our allied teams to visit from their planets, since we've all worked together for so long."
"Sounds very elaborate," Daniel commented.
He shrugged. "It is, but it's really a lot of fun. It gives us a chance to appreciate what our Rangers do for each other, and remember the teams that have come before us."
"What is this, Gay Pride Day?" Jack demanded as they surveyed the entrance to the festival. People were everywhere, dressed in every shade imaginable. Rainbow streamers, balloons, and flags decorated the area, leaving everything garishly bright. If it wasn't for the pictures and emblems of various Power Rangers teams mingled in, it would have been impossible to tell the difference.
He grunted when Daniel elbowed him with a hissed "Jack!"
Wes grinned. "Technically, it's Power Rangers Day," he reminded his father-in-law. "But with all the colors, it's sort of hard to tell."
"Time! Quantum!"
He turned and laughed aloud as Zhane bounded toward them, beaming. Zhane adored parties as much as any typical Kerovian, and the Ranger Festival had always been one of his favorites. He'd dressed for the occasion in typical Zhane fashion: a grey T-shirt bearing the words 'Got Pride?' with the word 'Pride' in rainbow text, a rainbow-colored grass skirt, a matching Hawaiian lei around his neck covering a rope of rainbow Marti Gras beads, and rainbow flip-flop sandals. There was a small SPD badge pinned to his right shoulder identical to the one he wore when he morphed, and a crown of flowers sprayed with silver metallic paint sat on his head.
"Welcome to Power Rangers Day!" he greeted them brightly, hugging everyone in the group without even bothering to pause to see who was who. For a moment Wes worried at the way Murray stiffened, but Zhane was already moving away to grin at them all. "First of all ... " He turned, reaching for one of the two tables sitting just inside the entrance to the festival. He slipped rainbow sashes over Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Murray before any of them had any chance to say anything, let alone realize what he was doing, then crowned Wes and Eric each with their own ring of flowers, this time in red.
"You have *got* to be kidding me," Eric protested, reaching for the crown.
"All Rangers wear crowns on Power Rangers Day, current or former," Zhane informed him. He handed two more S.P.D. pins to Wes. "Newtech Team symbol," he explained simply. He turned to point. "Over there we have the dancing area, food is down that way along with general merchandise for your Power Ranger needs, S.P.D.'s Rangers started a game of Frisbee over there, there's a sparring area that way, and we have an area for painted tattoos by the wall S.P.D. has so kindly donated to the community mural project. The Team Talent show begins at two, story time is at five, and the memorial starts at sundown. Any questions?"
"How do you *breathe*?" Eric demanded as Wes pinned his badge to him.
Zhane just grinned at him. "Practice."
"Dude! There you guys are!"
Wes turned to greet Dustin with a smile, and stared. "Uh ... Dustin? What ... What are you wearing?"
Dustin blinked at him, barely sparing a glance to the tie-dye dress over a yellow T-shirt, rainbow-striped socks, and tall brown boots. The red devil horns he was wearing on his head started to slide, pulling his yellow and blue flower crown with it, and he pushed them up absently. "Oh. Hunter like, bet me I didn't mean it when I said I'd do anything to make another culture feel more comfortable." He grinned brightly. "And he was *totally* wrong, dude." He turned, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Shane!" he bellowed. "Two more, dude!"
He raised his eyebrows as Shane hurried over to them. Shane, unlike Dustin and Zhane, looked mostly normal. The only odd addition was the rainbow wrist band he wore on his left wrist, and his own red flower crown. "Something wrong, Shane?" he asked.
Shane rolled his eyes. "Turns out there's a Color Solidarity thing going around on top of the team thing - the Pinks started it. But by the time we found out, all that was left was these." He slid another rainbow wristband on Wes. Like Zhane, he handed him the one for Eric rather than attempting it himself.
Wes eyed his new wristband bemusedly. "Thanks."
Shane nodded, patting him on the shoulder absently. "There's a zero-gravity bounce house set up by the dancing area if you guys get tired of lugging the kids around. Gotta go - I think I see Mack. Dude! Mack! Wait up!"
Wes watched him go before turning to look at his husband.
Eric's eyes narrowed.
"You promised," Wes told him pointedly.
There was a pause, a growl, and Eric shifted Emily to offer his left hand.
Wes slipped on the bracelet, pausing to smile and offer him a kiss. "Thanks," he murmured. He knew Eric hated all of this, but he'd agreed to put up with it because Wes hadn't wanted the triplets to think there was anything wrong with being proud of their Colors, or taking part in the festival.
Eric sighed. "You owe me," he muttered, but there was no real annoyance to it. He paused, catching Emily's hands as she tried to reach for Wes' flower crown. "Hey. That's not yours," he warned.
She whined, flailing as she strained for it. "Shiny!"
Wes looked at her, his face softening. 'Shiny' was something between 'pretty' and 'want' for the triplets. He'd give it to her in a heartbeat, but then Zhane would be upset. "No, Emily."
Eric sighed again, shifting her a little and reaching to Wes' head. "Hang on a sec," he murmured. There was a slight tug, and he reached down with to weave the single flower he'd stolen from Wes' crown into one of her pigtails. "There you go, Princess."
"Ooh, wait." Wes reached up to take another flower, this time from Eric's crown, and put it on the other pigtail. He kissed Emily's nose. "There we are. Now you're the shiniest girl here," he told her, smiling at her delighted squeal.
Almost instantly two wails of protest split the air.
Wes and Eric exchanged amused glances before looking at their sons. Wes sighed, shaking his head with a smile as he removed two more flowers from Eric's crown. "You know, I'm starting to get why Nes says we spoil them too much," he remarked.
"Like I care," Eric retorted, already trying to figure out a way to tie one of the red flowers in his hand to Charlie.
"Dad! Eric!"
He looked up and smiled. "Hey, Sky. We heard you guys started a Frisbee game."
His son shrugged, already reaching to take Emily before Eric had a chance to do much more than glare at him. "Bridge said you guys were here, so I thought I'd take a break." He paused to smile down at his baby sister, tickling her. "Hey, Star."
"S'y!" Emily cheered, grabbing for his hands as she giggled.
Wes smiled fondly at them. He'd worried a little, when they'd first told Sky that they were going to have another kid. He hadn't reacted well to the news at all, avoiding them for days until - from what the rest of the S.P.D. Rangers had explained - Jack, Charlie, and Z had beat some sense into him. He still hadn't been happy about it, but that changed the night the three of them were born. When Wes had first put Emily in Sky's arms, there was something in Sky's eyes as he watched her carefully. From that moment on, he'd been the perfect big brother - even if Emily was blatantly his favorite.
"S'y!" Charlie whined, struggling to reach his older brother. "Shiny S'y!"
Behind him, he could hear Jack's snort.
Sky just shook his head, reaching for Charlie as well. He looking down at the two toddlers, frowning at them. "I only have two arms, you know," he reminded them flatly.
Emily snuggled into him contentedly. Charlie just laughed and tugged on one of the rainbow gloves Sky was wearing.
"Sky? Oh, hi Uncle Wes! Hi, Uncle Eric!" Bridge greeted brightly as he jogged over to them, pushing a rainbow Marti Gras feather mask up on the top of his head. He turned to look at his boyfriend, grinning. "Jack says if you don't get back there and keep us from losing, he's going to demote you to D Squad for real."
Sky rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see him try,"
Bridge just smiled, leaning in to wiggle his fingers at Charlie and Emily. Charlie grabbed for him, trying to steal one of his gloves as well. Bridge let him have it, revealing his usual leather gloves underneath, and turned to take the younger Daniel from Sam as he introduced himself. Daniel immediately babbled happily to Bridge in the few words he knew, beaming as Bridge carried on as though they were having a normal conversation. If Daniel had a favorite person, it was *definitely* Bridge.
"You want them in the bounce house?" Sky asked, raising his eyebrows. "They'll be in there for hours."
Wes shrugged, reaching to take Charlie back. "Maybe later. I was actually thinking we should swing by the mural first so they can make their mark."
"That should be interesting," Eric snorted, stealing Emily as Sky scowled at him.
Privately, Wes rolled his eyes at them. They were worse with her than they'd been with Sheep.
He turned to smile at the older Daniel and the rest of their group. "You guys coming with us, or did you just want to wander around?"
"Wander," Jack said as Daniel answered with "We'll come with you." They exchanged glances, Jack sighed and rolled his eyes, and Wes fought back a snicker. "Apparently we're coming with you," Jack informed him.
"We'd better get back to the game," Bridge reminded Sky as he let Sam take his own toddler again. "Last I saw, A Squad was winning."
"Not for long," Sky retorted. "We'll catch up with you later, Dad."
"Have fun!" he called as Bridge dragged Sky along.
"Let's go cover these kids in paint," Eric sighed, hefting Emily up against his shoulder.
R.J. was there to greet them at the mural, with a bright smile and a declaration of "Ah, here to release your inner artist, I see." R.J. was almost worse than Dustin; he dressed in one of his usual purple shirts and jeans, but he'd wrapped a rainbow sarong around his waist and strung multiple rainbow bangles along his arms.
Eric stared at him. "R.J., if I didn't know you married Vanessa, I'd swear you were gay."
"Oh, I am," R.J. returned brightly. "I'm gay for life. After all, what's life without joy? Aren't *you* gay?"
Eric rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder as Wes snickered and R.J. grinned at him. He turned and paused, blinking for a moment. "Tommy."
Wes turned to smile at their superior officer and nearly choked.
Tommy wore black slacks with a rainbow belt, being held up by a set of rainbow suspenders. His black T-shirt had a stencil of the Dino Rangers footprint symbol on it, and he had a rainbow wristband on his left wrist, while a rainbow hair scrunchie sat on his right. Glancing down revealed that someone had gotten him to wear rainbow shoelaces in his sneakers.
"You look like Rainbow Bright puked on you," Eric informed the other man.
Tommy sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well, that's a new one."
There was a giggle, and Kimberly peeked out from behind him. Unlike Tommy, she'd somehow managed to make her own set of rainbow suspenders work with her jean shorts and pink T-shirt, completed by the set of rainbow feathered wings on her back. "He's been getting comments all day," she explained. "Rainbow nightmare, fashion disaster, stuff like that."
"You look cute, Kim," Wes informed her, handing over Charlie as she reached for him.
"Thanks," she returned cheerfully, playing with Charlie for a moment. She glanced up. "So you guys are here for the mural?"
"Nah, we're just here to make fun of Tommy," Wes teased, reaching for a can of red paint. "So what exactly are we doing here?"
"Anything you want, my man," R.J. told him happily. "Art is all about self expression." He paused, glancing down as Emily happily placed a golden handprint against his stomach. " … And making a mess," he finished ruefully as everyone laughed. He stopped to consider, shrugged, and offered a can of paint to each of the boys, holding out his shirt to them.
By the time they'd all finished adding their own artwork to the wall, R.J. was covered in tiny hand prints, Eric was griping about the paint in his hair, and Wes was seriously considering donating his shoe to the wall after Charlie had taken some paint of his own to it.
It was the most fun he'd had in ages.
****
"The Kerovian Ranger Festival is a time to honor our Rangers, and remember what they do for us. Power Rangers Day is a day to have fun, but it's also a day to honor those we have lost," Tommy said solemnly, looking out over the crowd. "Tonight, we remember our friends, and the impact they had in our lives. We remember how hard they fought for us, and that their sacrifices mean something. That we're here today, tonight, because of them."
He stepped back, and the holographic projector slowly began to play.
Trini Kwan, fighting fiercely, and offering a bright, kind smile to the camera. The Aquitian Rangers, Delphine tilting her head curiously, Aurico giving the Aquitian version of an innocent expression, and Cestro intently studying a cluster of mechanical parts. Conner McKnight, grinning wildly and giving a thumbs up at his wedding reception, while Ethan James looked shell-shocked at his side. Kira Fernandez playing a song for them, strumming her guitar with a distant look in her eyes. Joel Rawlings whooping and waving his cowboy hat in the air. Chad Lee studying a pool at the aquarium, looking up in surprise and smiling sheepishly. Kelsey Winslow rollerblading through the halls of S.P.D., spinning to flash a salute to a startled Cruger before moving on. Tori Bradley teasing her squad and pausing to push the camera out of her face. Dax Lo babbling on at a table in the cafeteria as more than one person stared at him blankly.
Wes swallowed hard, and felt Eric's arm squeeze him tighter.
The words 'In honor of those we have yet to meet' scrolled across the screen.
Jen Scotts looking fierce, Lucas Kendall grinning brightly at the car in front of him. Katie lifting a large crate over her head with a bright smile, and Trip looking hopeful as he clutched Circuit to his chest. Then a shot of the four of them together, marching through the streets of Silver Hills.
It took a moment to remind himself to breathe, that they were gone, but that didn't mean they were ... gone. That he had another team, sitting all around him as they watched this tribute to their friends. That his family was still here, that Charlie was asleep in his lap while Daniel snuggled against his side. That Eric was leaning close, whispering in his ear.
He turned to look at him, and felt the tear fall.
Eric moved closer, resting their foreheads together. He didn't say anything, just watched him, waiting for Wes to tell him he was okay. He felt Emily tug on his shirt, and glanced down to see her looking at him worriedly. He tried to smile.
There was a cheer from somewhere to his left that made him look up. The screen was still playing, now showing the Omega and Nova Rangers facing off against Krybots that final day during Grumm's fall. The shout had come from the rest of the S.P.D. Rangers, all gathered together in the grass. Jack was yelling Sam's name and waving wildly, while Charlie rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly. The rest of their team was laughing, cuddling together as they watched the show.
Movement out of the corner of his eye startled him, and he turned to stare at the screen again.
He didn't know how they'd done it, but someone had released hundreds of butterflies into the setting sun. Their wings sparkled in the dying light, and the effect was almost magical. More than one person oohed in appreciation.
Butterflies, he remembered distantly, represented the soul in Japanese culture. Mack had told him that.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to look around the park. Ranger teams grouped together in the area that had been set aside specifically for them, while the rest of the park was flooded with civilians who had come just to enjoy the festival. The Newtech Rangers were gathered around him and Eric, and Sky was within calling distance. His father-in-law and the friends that had come with him were to the right, and his youngest children were in his arms.
It was what they'd fought for, what they'd left home for.
He closed his eyes for a moment before turning to watch the last of the butterflies disappear. His friends had fought to protect this, to protect the chance for festivals, and children, and new beginnings. And in that sense, they'd won.
And it was time for him to stop grieving, and let them go.
He dropped one hand to stroke Emily's hair as she tugged on him again. Then he looked into his husband's eyes, and smiled.
"I love you," he murmured.
There was a moment of silence as Eric watched him warily for a moment before he finally sighed. A hand came up to cup Wes' cheek. "Love you, too."
And as they kissed, Wes could feel the last of the remaining tightness in his chest finally loosen.