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clemjolichose · 2 years

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Would You Be So Kind?

Summary: During his college years, Patton falls in love with a boy he often sees at the coffee shop in the morning. His best friend Emile helps him approach the very handsome young man.

AU: Burning Pile - a college Sanders Sides AU. This one-shot takes place before the main events of the AU and represents Logan, Patton, Emile and Remy’s backstories.

Characters: Logan (he/him), Patton (he/they), Emile (he/she), Remy (he/him), Willy (OC, he/him)

Pairings: logicality (Logan x Patton) and remile (Remy x Emile)

TW/CW: ableism, fatphobia (for one interaction around the middle)

Patton Warren and Emile Picani had only entered the Remy's when the second man exclaimed:

"Oh! Cutie at twelve o'clock!"

Patton looked and blushed immediately.

"Shush! He will hear you!"

He put a finger over his own mouth, accompanying his words with a shushing gesture. Emile laughed it off and walked over to the counter, turning to the barista. He smiled at him and laughed awkwardly, all flirtatious.

"Hey Rem- hum, my friend and I would like your darkest coffee, as usual."

The man wiggled his eyebrows, making the barista laugh.

"As dark as your soul, I suppose? All right, two cups of cream coming up!"

He turned around to just prepare their usual - and not two cups of cream - as Emile watched him. Patton, however, was a little distracted by the first cutie spotted when they entered the coffee shop. He had already seen his face around the campus, but every time his heart failed him like the first, skipping beats and accelerating. His stomach would twist at the thought of talking to this stranger, hearing his voice... though he never entertained the idea long enough to build up the courage to do it. It didn't matter how many times Emile pushed him towards him. It had been two months now and they still didn't know his name or what he was studying here.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, you can get your coffee now, Remy teased him, handing him the cup."

Patton snapped back into reality and blinked a few times at the barista who laughed again.

"You're really all head over heels for him. Falling hard, uh? Can't blame you, you have the same look as Emily.

-You call Em "Emily"? Patton asked, finally taking the cup.

-Yeah, well, he's real cute. You better run back to him or he'll start thinking something is up, Remy advised him."

Patton turned his head to see Emile waving at him from a table. He hesitated.

"He paid for you, you'll pay next time; the barista informed him."

So he smiled at Remy while walking over to his best friend.

Logan had been here for an hour, barely looking up from his notebook and textbooks scattered around the table. He sometimes sipped from his black coffee in which he secretly added liquor. Not that he liked the taste, but it was to keep him going. The stress of being near the finals of the first semester was getting to him and he needed this to not fall apart. After all, he was already doing that in high school, which, of course, should be considered a bad idea because he was a teenager. The thing is: as long as he was getting perfect grades, it didn't matter how he was doing it. Nobody cared. So he kept doing it and it started being a habit - and Logan really struggled to fall out of it, or get another one. His autistic brain had found a way to cope with the stress of being inadequate and no other methods could get to that level. He was fucked...

Still, he didn't drink too much alcohol at once. Only a sip of liquor in a coffee every now and then, not more than once a week. Though he knew that alcoholism was around the corner, waiting for him, he just didn't want to think about it. Losing himself and his sense of reality into his work was the best way to forget about it. And that was how he didn't spot the two guys loudly talking about him. Remy hadn't missed them though and was about to make things move fast.

There weren't a lot of clients, actually no one was coming in, so Remy got out from behind the counter and walked over to Patton and Emile, sitting beside them on a reversed chair. He supported himself by putting his crossed arms on the backrest.

"Hey, by the way, the Remy's will host a game show tomorrow night. Something chill, so people can get to know each other. I was wondering if two cute, clever guys like you would like to come and bless us with their presence?"

Both men blushed and giggled softly, but Emile was definitely the most flustered. Patton answered for the both of them:

"Yeah, that could be fun. What time?

-Six pm, be on time 'cause I know someone will."

Remy eyed over to Logan who had just rolled his sleeves all the way above his elbows. It was Patton's turn to get flustered and Emile's turn to answer, hooking his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"We will be there. Thanks!"

With a satisfied and rather proud expression, Remy rose up. He gave a last piece of information before returning to his job, though:

"He will want to get first place in the Trivia Game. Make him know you're clever, get on his team, and win his heart. That's the way."

And with those words, he fingerguned his way out.

Patton was freaking out. They had nothing to wear for a fun night out on the town - or on the campus! At least Emile, as a good roommate and best friend, was supporting them through a mental breakdown during which they changed their mind. Sitting at the end of their bed, their head in their hands, they were almost crying.

"Come on, Pat! It's gonna be okay!"

Emile held them, caressing their back with a smile.

"I know it means a lot to you. Hey- how about this: you go through my wardrobe and find something to wear there. Does it sound good?"

Patton lifted their head and wiped their cheeks.

"Yeah, huh, why not.

-Rise up then, Sleeping Beauty, it's time to get you changed to meet your Prince Charming before midnight.

-I think you're mixing tales..."

They both laughed while walking over to Emile's bedroom.

An hour or so later, Emile and Patton stepped in the Remy's, the music playing loudly with people dancing in the middle of the room where tables have been removed. Emile approached the young owner.

"Hey, you turned it into a nightclub.

-That wasn't the idea but someone took the DJ's place and I don't know where she went, Remy answered, lowering his glasses to look at Emile.

-Have you checked the bathroom? Patton said."

He shook his head.

"I should go. Are you coming with me, Emile?"

The man nodded excitedly and followed his crush to the bathroom, leaving Patton alone with a sorry expression, mouthing the word to them. He brushed it off, putting his thumbs up in encouragement. When both men were out of sight, he settled in a quiet corner before being approached by Remy's former boss - Willy. Willy sat down near them and talked to him:

"Look at that! That poor coffee shop! This not a way to keep the place nice, nay.

-It's students having fun. I wish we had a place like that when I started my studies here."

Patton looked at the people dancing with a pleased smile. Willy thought the student would agree with him, since he was just left by his friend and sitting in the corner, but they were happy seeing people happy, and right now the room was filled with laughter. He was just a grumpy old man before even reaching 40. He didn't answer, only muttering curses about the young generations that sometimes made Patton giggled. Willy was never hurtful, and could actually agree that progress was nice - he was himself a gay man after all - but he also didn't know how to express his feelings except through complaints. That's what his father did and his father's father before him. Patton never minded his company, nor did Remy who liked complaining with him or poking fun at him from time to time. Another person never minded him, and was actually eager to see him: Patton's crush. When he rolled over to them and settled next to Willy, Patton blushed and fell silent. He wished he had a drink to look down to and avert his eyes from the prettiest boy he had ever seen.

"Good evening, Willy. I didn't think you would come, the nerd greeted him with a low voice."

This wasn't the first time Patton heard him, but his voice was so deep and regular, almost like a bass rhythm that made his heart beat faster and louder - if the loud music didn't already.

"Well, you told me you'd be here, Willy answered sincerely. Though I don't know how the sound doesn't trigger you.

-Ear plugs.

-Ah, of course."

Patton had never heard Willy so relaxed. He was actually amazed hearing the two of them interact. Though it didn't last long because some dudes walked up to them, already laughing, looking like jerks already.

"Hey, what's up nerd? Not you since you're stuck in that chair!"

They high-fived and Patton's blood boiled in anger. They looked over at the said nerd who was looking at his legs, clutching his wheelchair's massive armrests. They were about to stand up when Willy snapped back, holding his cane in a threatening manner.

"You fuckers better go off and learn some respect before I kick your asses 'til you bleed! And I've done that to policemen in the 1980s so don't try me."

One of the guys went pale and tried to escape with his friend, but the other laughed.

"What you're gonna do, old man? You can't catch up if we run.

-See if you can run first. I'll have you on the ground."

They were getting close to fighting and the target of the mockery was very much upset, seeing how clenched his jaw was. Patton stepped in:

"You boys get off before I call Remy. You're just mean because you didn't find something else interesting to do, like getting girls. Be alone in another corner and let nice people enjoy nice things - that means not you.

-Oh, the fat boy is getting angry, the man cooed annoyingly. So what, you'll sit on us and make us suffocate? That's no muscle there, I bet I can lift you up."

So Patton did the only thing left to do: thanks to his smaller body, but very strong - the mean student was very wrong about Pat's strength - he kicked him right in the nuts. The boy fell and was led away by his scared friend. The violence wasn't usual for Patton and that made him snap back in reality. He turned to the man in the wheelchair who was breathing heavily while Willy was still cursing about them.

"Hey, are you alright? Do you mind if I-"

Patton was about to touch his hand in the hope to unclench it as he was visibly hurting himself, but he quickly shook his head, a movement so wide he might have pulled his neck.

"Okay, I'm not touching you, that's fine. You're fine, they're not there anymore."

They tried to talk loud enough to be heard, but not too much so he could still sound soft. The man wouldn't look up, his body tense.

"We should go outside, get you in a safe place where you can calm down. Can I touch your wheelchair to push you outside?"

He wasn't answering. Willy, who was finished cursing the jerks, explained:

"He's having a meltdown, he won't talk to you, you know...

-I'm not asking him to talk, there are other ways of communicating if we're willing to actually use empathy.

-We don't have the time, the older man sighed, annoyed."

He took the wheelchairs handles but then the man sitting in it jerked up, his hand flailing to Willy, smacking him to push him away.

"Ah fuck, Logan. You little shit."

And Patton understood the situation was very wrong.

"You should apologise to him, they said firmly, looking down at Willy.

-What? That shit hurts-

-Apologise now. Do you like to be respected? He would like that too and you showed disregard for his consent, so apologise!"

Willy stood there for a moment, leaning on his cane. Then he sighed again.

"You're right. Sorry boy, I didn't mean to hurt you. It was my fault."

Just like that, Logan calmed down, as if the guilt was removed from his shoulders and the sense of justice was rushing through him - a pleasant sensation for once. He looked up to stare at Patton's face, though not their eyes the student noted, saying nothing and standing still. After a moment, Patton asked again:

"Do you want me to push you outside?"

Logan nodded. Relieved, Patton turned around, took the handles and slowly made their way out. Willy stayed inside, ruminating about what he's done to the poor boy.

Outside, the air was chill and made the two men shiver. Logan squirmed and moaned in displeasure. Glancing over to him, Patton took off their scarf and showed it to him. When Logan looked at him with expectant eyes, not entirely understanding, they very slowly put it around him, smiling.

"There. Don't get cold."

Logan chuckled and snuggled in the soft light blue scarf. He looked away, very much embarrassed anyone had to see him during one of his meltdowns. He even smacked someone! But this kind stranger, who seemed so concerned about goodness and shoulds, stayed with him and didn't hold it against him. It was odd and he felt like he was about to be manipulated - a defence mechanism, though it fell apart when they spoke:

"So, do you have a partner for tonight's trivia game? It's in groups of two and I didn't find anyone."

He shook his head.

"Aw, too bad. Well, not really, because that means we can team up and win that game! Wouldn't it be fun?"

Logan chuckled while removing his ear plugs, now much more collected - there was something about the man next to him that calmed him in the most troubling, exciting, tender way.

"Weren't you with a friend?

-Emile? Oh, he plans to flirt with Remy all night. I don't want to be third wheeling.

-Third wheel- but you're... human."

Logan sounded genuinely confused about the expression, so Patton explained it - it was like explaining how college and city life worked to their parents. They were used to explaining things that looked easy to understand for some people, or even things that were the norm. But Patton wasn't normal, nor their family was, not even their best friend Emile. And they were more than happy to see their crush wasn't either, as they were afraid he would make fun of them.

"Being the third wheel is an expression - you say that about someone who is with friends that are in a relationship. The friends show their affection in front of the third person so that person becomes a third wheel, a witness of their affection.

-Ah, I see, Logan realised. Is it because a bicycle has two wheels so a third would be unnecessary? The third friend is the unnecessary wheel?

-That is a harsh way to put it but yeah. I mean, it really isn't far from the truth, because you feel unnecessary when you're the third wheel. So I better stay with you, huh? We're gonna have so much fun!""

Both of them were deeply focused on their conversation when Willy stepped out of the coffee shop.

"Well, gentlemen, I must head back home. I thought the Trivia Game would start sooner, he told them, playing with his cane's handle.

-Oh, I should try to find Remy, Patton said. I haven't seen him since Emile and him- Oh, I think I know what happened.

-You do that and I get some sleep. I'm sure I'll dream about kicking those bastards' asses."

Logan chuckled, moving back and forth in his wheelchair. Patton noticed it in the corner of their eye and smiled. It made them happy to see their crush so alive and energetic in their own weird way after their meltdown. Willy walked away, waving at Logan.

"You can go and search for Remy, I'll get back inside by myself.

-Alright, I'll get back to you for the game so don't try to hide!"

Patton hurried inside while Logan calmly made his way back into the party.

When Patton entered the restroom, he heard the sound of smooching. He grimaced and knocked on a stall's door.

"Remy?"

Remy and Emile stumbled behind the door, with lots of "shit" and "fuck" and "sorry". When they got out, Patton's best friend was red as ever and dishevelled.

"We weren't doing- Emile tried to say.

-I don't wanna know, Patton cut him out.

-We were just kissing!

-And I'm happy for you but I'm here to get Remy. People are waiting for the game to start."

Remy seemed to remember the game just now as he put his sunglasses back on.

"Thanks for telling me. I was a bit... distracted."

He glanced over at Emile who giggled adorably and Patton smiled. They were cute.

The three of them walked back into the party and Remy reached for the microphone, so Patton joined Logan. Emile winked at his best friend and gave him space to get closer to him.

Logan had a drink with him, calmly waiting for Patton at a table. He smiled at him when he saw him coming.

"What are you having?

-Red wine, Logan answered carelessly. Do you want me to get you a glass?

-They serve red wine?? Patton exclaimed, surprised.

-It's from Remy's personal collection, the man answered with a grin, looking proud."

Patton giggled and acquiesced, so Logan rolled to the counter and stealed Remy's wine bottle. He came back laughing and filled another glass so they could toast. The game started as they both sipped their wine.

The first questions were fairly easy and just a few people were eliminated. Patton and Logan were leading, answering Remy's questions with ease, especially for the nerd. And to celebrate each point, they both drank some wine to the point they were completely drunk by the end of the night and the final questions were a complete black out for Patton.

The next day, Patton tried to talk to Logan at the coffee shop, but he was resolutely silent and wouldn't even look at him.

"Hey, Lo, it's me, don't you remember? We teamed up last night for the game!"

No answer. No smile. No reaction. He sighed, pained to be ignored.

"Hey, did I do something wrong? I know I blacked out last night but if I did anything that embarrassed or hurted you, I would prefer to know about it!"

That somehow got Logan more tense. He was flipping pages while obviously not reading them, actively ignoring him.

"Please, Logan, stop ignoring me."

All of a sudden, Logan looked up in annoyance and sighed.

"I made a mistake last night. That's what happened."

All of Patton's words left his mouth and he couldn't think of an answer. Emile was flirting with Remy at the counter, unaware of what was happening between Patton and Logan.

"I… kissed you, the latter murmured finally, looking down at his textbooks.

-What…"

Patton was more and more confused.

"And it was a mistake, for you? he asked in a tiny tiny voice."

His eyes watered, his heart ached and he was almost choking, unable to talk. When Logan looked up once again, he couldn't help but panic, putting a hand on Patton's arm with a tight grip.

"Fuck, Patton, I'm sorry- What I meant is… Uh, I kissed without your consent, while you were drunk, and you not remembering it is just another proof that I shouldn't have done that."

His hand moved from his arm to his cheek as he was wiping away the tears.

"I don't want to hurt you. I would never hurt you on purpose, he continued."

Patton smiled and Logan's stomach flipped. He wanted to see his smile again, he wanted to see him beaming, shining like the sun outside. He froze there, agape, his eyes darting at the man's lips.

"I know that, silly. And you were drunk too. Phew, I was afraid for a moment there, Patton giggled."

Logan smiled in return.

"Afraid of what? Logan asked, oblivious."

Patton got a little bit closer to his face.

"Afraid of– I don't know, my feelings not being reciprocated."

He played shyness, but was still smiling, knowing what would happen next. At least he hoped it would happen.

"But they are."

Logan was so red, his whole face was burning, and he didn't seem able to act on his feelings. He cleared his voice and talked again before Patton could:

"I've seen you at the theatre. You work at the theatre, right?

-I am a student in theatrical art, Patton nodded.

-And well… You, I couldn't get my eyes off you. I came back for each of your plays, I don't know what's happening to me…"

He sighed, because all these feelings were too much for him to handle. He was planting his nails in the palms of his hands, nervous and needing to stim his feelings out. Patton noticed and held his hand, playing with his fingers.

"Maybe we can talk about that after our lessons, this afternoon?

-We can, Logan acquiesced.

-Perfect, that's a date, Patton smiled. Do you mind if I kiss you?"

Logan blushed again and slightly turned his head to show his cheek. Patton laughed and planted a kiss there, before rushing outside, waving at his future boyfriend, a sweet man, kind enough to love him back. It was the start of a new exciting life-long adventure.

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power-rangers-side-force · 1 year

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Prologue: The Past: A team to behold

*No warnings apply here I think! Just kicking off the au with some actual content. Enjoy!

“If you ask anyone, they’ll say the first Power Ranger, and the leader of the Power Rangers was the Red Ranger. That's wrong. When it comes to that debate, Angel Grove tells a different story. Named after its founder, Angel Grove is known to be the location of the only set of Power Rangers proven to exist, and they call themselves the Mind Force. Led by the Green ranger, this team of heroes protected the world from those who wished it harm. There is no Red Ranger. In fact, there are only the Green, Yellow, Pink, and Grey rangers, recently joined by the Orange ranger. These rangers have proven themselves courageous and are worthy of protecting our world from threats. Who are these masked vigilantes? The world may never know. But what we do know, is that for all the bravado surrounding them, this Red Ranger myth seems to be fully fictional ” He sucked in a breath. “ So, what do you all think? Think it’ll be good enough for the paper for once? The amount of lies in those things are disgusting, and I wanna spread some truth for a change.”

Janus, Remus, and Remy were all sat, gathered at the town's best location to unwind, the juice bar. The three had only been friends at the beginning of the school year, but a lot had changed since then. Now they were sitting, nearing the end of their school year, and had been through so much, and had so much yet to come. Things had started when they all went to a small cove, with that fateful day those crystals fell into their hands. Now they led lives they could never have dreamed of, fighting a great enemy in colour coordinated spandex suits, led by an alien in a test tube and a strange skittish android, all whilst being physically enhanced to battle for as long as possible. Hell, they could even go to space if they really wanted! All this, whilst still having the safety of home to fall back on. These three alone had become so close these past months, doing everything they could together. Their custom made communicators made it so they could chat any and everywhere, as well as be alerted to any danger afoot. Said communicators were crafted out of old watches, and luckily, watches could go with any outfit they wore. Everything was perfectly concealed.

“It’s good babes, but is this really the best time to speak about the rangers?” Remy tilted his sunglasses forward. “I mean, we don’t want any news on us, imagine having to deal with paparazzi without our stunning faces on show!” The other two on the table could only roll their eyes with their exasperated sighs as he proceeded to feign a faint. “Chill coffee addict, I’m just clearing up some damn conspiracy nonsense, besides, what's better for kicking off a journalism career than covering the one topic the other reporters won't seriously touch due to there being no interview chances?” Janus put his notebook down in a small huff of frustration, no longer being taken seriously due to Remy's joke. “What do you think ‘mus, do you agree with insomniac-Drew over there or do you have your own two cents?” The last teen twirled the moustache he’d grown before sitting up. “What do I think?! I think we should hunt down the squirt who started that rumour! I mean, what's so wrong with green being the leader? Why does red have to be the focus? There isn't even a Red ranger!”

Remuses ranting quickly came to a close as someone approached the table. Emile practically collapsed into the chair she pulled out, exhausted much more than normal due to her normal routine, as well as the added battle from earlier that day. “What's gotten you three all riled up then?” The boys shifted their seats to accommodate the extra table member as Janus spun their notebook over to her. “Here Em, take a read and tell me what ya’ think. I’m thinking of finally giving journalism a shot, and I’m thinking that starting with the extra ranger rumour will be a great start.” Just as if his train of thought was finally back on track after being derailed, Remus resumed his rant, unaware of the sudden jarred expressions of everyone around him. “Who even does that?! The Power Rangers are great the way they are now! Who even came up with a Red Ranger?!”

“Your brother Remus. Your brother started the Red Ranger rumour." They all turned to Emile, Remy clearly holding in a laugh. "He told me all about it when I was babysitting him whilst you had that tournament away from town. We were sat watching cartoons as always, and he turned to me and asked ‘who's your favourite ranger? Mines the red one,’ and I said, ‘Roman, there is no Red ranger. Do you mean the Pink one?’ And he yelled, ‘No! The red one who leads the rangers!’ And by this point I stared at him and asked if he meant the Green Ranger, who we all know is the actual leader, and a great one at that, but he yelled again saying, ‘No! The Red one! The Green one’s only the second leader! The true leader is the Red Ranger at their base!’ And then he leaned super close to me and whispered ‘I’m the Red Ranger, I made him up, and I told everyone at school and they told all their friends and their parents, and now everyone knows of the Red Ranger!’ And then he struck a little pose and ran off. So I was walking with all of you the next day, and I was gonna tell you about it all but by then everyone already knew about Romans Ranger OC”

The table was struck silent by Emiles tirade, and stayed that way for a few seconds before Remy burst out laughing and verbal chaos ensued.

“Oh my god-”

“I am going to kill my brother-”

“Remus don’t you dare-”

“Fight, fight, fight!-”

“Hey, what's up everybody? What did I miss?”

The group had been so immersed in the story and their subsequent reactions, that no one even noticed the new face at the table, belonging to the newest member of the group. It was now Emile’s turn to sigh, due to dealing with antics like this on a daily basis. “Hey Tommy, you didn’t miss much, don’t worry about it-”

“My little pest of a brother started the damn Red Ranger rumour! I’m going to hit him in the head with a morning star if I get the chance!”

“Calm down babes, he's in elementary, you don't wanna be locked up for murder so lean back and settle for pranks like the rest of us.”

Tommy shunted his weight onto his hands to catch the others' attention at the table's sudden imbalance “I’m sure you’ll figure it out in time Remus, I mean, you can do a lot of stuff, you even helped me. Dealing with a rumour your brother started can’t be too bad, right? If anything, you could make a small rumour back that he loves his best friend to teach him a lesson.” The group shared an embarrassed expression upon realising just how much had actually been overheard by Tommy. They were meant to help him adjust, not the other way around. Once realising the group's flustered faces though, Tommy decided to carry on with what he initially came over to chat about, an impossibly high voice crack invading the beginning of his sentence. “That being said, I do have a question about all this, being still new and all.” Janus leaned forward himself.

“Go ahead Thomas, what’s on your mind?”

“You can just call me Tommy, Jan, but I’ve been wondering, why hasn’t anyone figured your identities out yet? I mean, you only dress in your colours. Remus is always in a green tank top and letterman jacket, Em is always in her pink cardigan or leotard from doing gymnastics, Remys always in biking jacket with a grey shirt and black glasses and shades, and Jay is always in that yellow shirt with a yellow bookbag!” Whilst pointing out the obvious, he gestured to everyone when saying their names, before finally gesturing to himself. “Hell, even I’m beginning to dress in only orange and I haven’t even been with you guys that long! I just, I don’t get how we can hide our identities whilst dressing like what people expect the casual versions of them to look like. Isn’t the whole point of not telling anyone other than each other to, you know, not let anyone know? I mean I figured it out after being here for a week, it's plain obvious to anyone looking in.”

“Thomas-Tommy, the only reason you found out, is because you became a ranger in that first week, remember it or not. It's the basic technology that protects the morphers, Zordon, the base and our identities. I understand you’re concerned, but trust me on this one, there's nothing I haven’t thought of. We are going and protecting a world that can harm you from not following some arbitrary rules, and I’ve done everything I can to protect us from the fallout of things like working outside of the government on the scale we do.” A pause of an eternity passed as a concerned expression only formed more prominently now on Januses face. “You’ve never brought this up before, is there something on your mind?” The last ranger finally took a seat at the table. It was clear that he was made of pure exhaustion at that point, not being used to the work of a ranger. He slumped over in his chair as soon as he sat down in it, ploughing his head into his hands. “ It's just,... I’m,... What I’m sayin’…”

Emile held his hand in a gesture of support. “Take your time Tommy, no one is rushing you or judging you, we’ll try and help, okay?”

“Thanks Em,” he looked up at the faces of his only friends, “What if people find out? My life, it’s gonna fall to shambles, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” His voice shook. He was new to this, he didn't know how to handle the stress, the pressure. The only people he trusted with this secret gathered around him to help calm him. “It’s not the normal fallout I’m worried about, I’ll have you guys to help me through it and I’ll help you. It’s just... I fought against you at one point. I-I know that I’m not Lime, and Lime isn’t me, but Lime is me at the same time. It was still my body, and my face, whether I knew that or not. I... I still hurt you guys, and I still threatened people, and I have no idea if people will believe what actually happened! It's just… a lot to actually take in… and I… I-I… Agh, I just don’t know right now.”

No one knew how to answer him. Yes, they would all be in the same base problem if people found out, but he had a point. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, Tommy was the Lime ranger after not even being there a week, and he kicked their asses daily. It didn’t matter if he was now the Orange ranger, and one of the best fighters they’d met. The past was still there, and it still stung like a really awkward papercut soaked in lemon juice and vinegar. They’d all be in the same trouble with their identities revealed, sure, but Tommy would be in so much more trouble for something he had no voluntary part in doing.

“Alright Tommy, I need you to try and calm down and look at me.” Emile got level with him, coaching him through breathing until it became much more steady, and he could only look at her with tearful eyes. “We know that you and the Lime ranger are not and were never the same person. What our enemies do is they try to get at our insecurities, and they saw you as a way to do that, but they knew what person you are Tommy.” The rest of the group had backed off slightly, giving the two room, yet still crowding them like a curtain for privacy. “They knew words wouldn’t sway you, so they used some kind of magic to sway you, and you lost who you were.” She wiped his tears. As silent as they were, they still formed. “Let’s say, hypothetically, people found out. Lets say, one day, Jan's tech failed, or Remy gossiped too much, or Roman saw Remus transform and spilled the beans, or if someone did figure it out. We wouldn’t let them hurt you because of that. But even if we keep going in this bad scenario, what's the worst that could have happened, that we can’t fix with evidence, and teamwork, and everything that has made you worthy of this power and identity as much as the rest of us, hm?”

Silence now pierced their ears and hearts as those words sank in for all of them, not just Tommy. They’d never want for each other to fall, but it still could happen. But they were chosen for this job. Chosen for some reason, something that made them more worthy than their classmates, their teachers, their neighbours. Whatever that something was, it counted on them to protect the world from an alien-initiated doomsday. But they were still kids. The silence soon transformed from a searing spear to a soothing tranquil river of thoughts. None of them had said anything. They didn't need to. They’d never let that bad scenario happen, and didn’t need words to communicate their camaraderie.

“Thanks Emile, I… really needed to hear that.” Tommy shook off whatever crippling fear was left inside of him at the moment, standing as proud and as tall as he did in the ranger line up. “You’re right, I have to focus on who I am, and if I do, I’ll probably be who I truly want to be.” Standing up herself, Emile couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad you got that from what I said, I was getting a bit worried you’d blame yourself, which you shouldn’t, because the guy standing in front of me right now is one of my closest friends, and isn’t to blame for anything.” An almost melancholic atmosphere spread through the group. They all knew that what she said wasn’t the truth, but it would be nicer to believe it was. Just for now.

“Seeing as we’re all standing up already, does anyone want to join me at the library? I’ve got a few books to borrow that might help me with Alphas coding.” Maybe journalism could wait after all, being rangers brought them closer than ever, and Janus would much prefer to be fixing wires than going and losing that friendship after all of that. As they all looked at each other, pondering the idea, the bittersweet expression on their orange friend’s face lit up with joy. “The library? I actually haven’t ever been there, we should all go and you guys can show me around! I wonder if there's any good books on biology there…”

“Yea! Or some more psychology books, I’ve been blazing through them like the Horde trying to blaze through Eternia!”

“What?”

“Kids cartoon reference coffee-brain,”

“Oh.”

Remus walked ahead before turning back to look at his group. His team. His friends. “Look at this! We’ve got a future therapist obsessed with cartoons, a biology professor, a future barista, and a journalist. That's like, at least two Doctors in the group. God I can’t imagine that. What futures we’re gonna have, Eh?” The group caught up to him as Tommy caught his eye.

“We’re rangers, Remus, we are the future.”

-End-

Hope you enjoyed this snippet of what's to come! I doubt I'll be fully consistent, but I'll try to not post too far apart.

#sander sides power ranger au #sander sides au #power rangers side force #Janus Sanders #Remus Sanders #TSS Remy #Emile Picani #C!Thomas

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