Chapter Text
Kimberly was good at flirting.
She knew this about herself.
All the time she spent at the top of the social ladder meant hours upon hours of learning how to act like someone who had everything together—and flirting was just one of those actions that contributed to the overall façade.
So yeah, Kimberly knew how to flirt.
She would watch in amusement as simple words or actions could make a blush appear on somebody’s face, or make them stutter their words, or become flustered.
And as soon as she accepted she was no longer a part of the “in crowd”—well, Kimberly stopped flirting with people just to keep up appearances of someone who was always cool and confident.
This is not to say that she wasn’t actually these things.
Yes, she’s currently going through a slight identity crisis—and it’s not just the whole becoming a superhero thing, but it’s also finding that she can be the person she decided she wants to be.
Someone who is kind.
Warm.
Good.
Genuine.
Most of all, Kimberly wants to be genuine—she wants to be authentic.
Unapologetically and completely herself.
She thinks she might be on the way to that, as she spends more time listening to Billy talking about his latest invention, or helping Jason with his math homework, or racing Zack up the mountain when he just needed to take a breather from all of his worries.
Most of all, she feels like she’s becoming someone she is proud of—someone her parents could be proud of too, because she’s always been close with them and lately their had been a disconnect and she knows that’s mostly on her—when she’s spending time with Trini.
When she makes Trini—who holds her emotions so close to herself—laugh so hard there are tears in her eyes.
When she gets Trini to smile—not just the small upturn of one side of her lips smile—but a full-blown smile, one that stretches across her whole face.
When Trini is the one who seeks Kimberly out when she’s having a rough day, and Kimberly can feel how important that act alone is—that Trini trusts her enough to come to her for comfort.
But also—in the lighter moments she shares with Trini.
So while Kimberly might have stopped flirting with people just to keep up appearances—well, that just means the people she wants to flirt with are getting that much more of her flirting energy focused on them.
(See: not people, just person—as in singular.)
And Trini is Kim’s absolute favorite to flirt with.
Because when Trini gets that blush on her face and the usually calm and collected tough girl Kimberly has come to know suddenly gets flustered—it makes Kim feel special, knowing she has that effect on the other girl.
So when she had texted Trini, asking the other girl if she wanted to come to her house for dinner—she had bribed Trini with the lasagna she knew her mom was making that night—instead of climbing through Kimberly’s window later that night, she couldn’t help but tell Trini to “hurry her cute butt over here” and add a winking emoji (because never underestimate the power of a winky emoji, ok?!).
And it really wasn’t her fault that when she opened the door, and Trini was standing there still wearing Kim’s pink and black flannel with the sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms (and goddamn when the hell did Kim start finding forearms so attractive), she just had to say something flirty.
She took a step closer, catching Trini off guard as the other girl took half a step back.
“You know, my shirt really does look good on you,” Kimberly said, somewhat offhandedly.
“Oh…thanks?” Trini said, though it came out more as a question.
“It would look even better on my bedroom floor, though.”
And there it was—she was treated to Trini’s flustered face, mouth slightly agape and looking like she wanted to say something but she wasn’t quite sure what.
“Kimmy, is that Trini?” her mother’s voice sounded out from around the corner.
Her mom appeared in the doorway, smiling broadly at the sight of Trini.
Kim’s parents had met Trini and the rest of the Rangers a few weeks ago, when the team decided they deserved a night off from training. They had all come to Kim’s house for a movie night, and her parents were actually really happy to meet Kim’s new friends.
(Kim thought that maybe her parents could tell that these friends—this new family Kimberly had been given through fate or destiny or whatever the hell those coins they found saw in them—were more authentic and genuine than her old friends.)
Kimberly could completely be herself around the rest of the team, and despite her inner turmoil that popped up—but she was working on it, she swears, starting with tell Trini her truth tonight—she could admit that she was happier than she had been in a long time.
(She thought maybe her parents could tell that too.)
Her parents had taken a liking to the team immediately, but for some reason, Trini especially. Kim wasn’t sure, but it might have been the way Kim acted around the other girl—content and relaxed and happy.
Ever since that night, her parents made it a point to ask how her friends were doing—Trini especially.
“Hello Trini!” her mom greeted, smiling at the girl still standing on their front porch.
Kimberly grinned, turning back towards the shorter girl who still seemed to be gathering her bearings after Kim’s last comment, and was now trying to recover to properly speak to Kim’s mother.
Trini cleared her throat, before giving an awkward wave. “Hi, Mrs. Hart,” she said.
Kim’s mom gave an amused smile, gesturing Trini into the house. “Remember, I told you Trini—you can call me Maddy.”
“Uhh—right, yes Mrs.—Maddy,” Trini finished awkwardly.
Kim covered her mouth to hide the laughter.
Trini heard it anyways, judging by the slight scowl on her face.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Maddy said, leading the way to the dining room. “You’re just in time for dinner. And I bought more of that pink lemonade you liked from last time!”
“Trini does love pink lemonade,” Kim chimed in, smirking at the girl in question.
Trini just scowled back at the taller girl.
Kim thought it was adorable.
“Hello Trini,” Kim’s dad greeted from where he was standing in the kitchen, grabbing plates. “How’s it going?”
“Good, Mr. Hart—I mean, Ted,” Trini answered hastily when she saw the pointed stare Maddy gave her.
Ted smiled, bringing the utensils to the table.
Kim rolled her eyes fondly, before reaching out and gently grabbing Trini’s hand, leading her to the table. Kim made sure to take the seat right next to Trini.
And if she scooted her chair a little closer than necessary to the other girl—well, that was her business.
(Though the knowing looks hers parents exchanged made her think they knew exactly what she was doing.)
Dinner was an easy affair—the tension that had hung in the air for weeks after Kimberly’s horrible decision had finally dissipated, replaced instead with actual conversations.
Kimberly thought that maybe her parents had realized how large of a disconnect there was after the incident as well, and now their dinner conversations where filled with actual substance—they were getting to know their daughter, the real girl who for so long had hidden behind the superficial words and behavior.
And Kimberly was enjoying reconnecting with her parents after everything.
(She thought maybe the girl sitting next to her had something to do with that.)
Trini had made Kimberly realize that she should cherish the relationship with her parents—they actually, truly listened to her.
They wanted to get to know her—to talk with her, not at her.
And while it had taken a horrible decision from her to jumpstart their newfound relationship, she was glad for the place her and her parents where at.
(She felt sad, that Trini’s family dinners were not like this—it wasn’t filled with laughter, or gentle teasing, or easy conversation.)
Kimberly also enjoyed watching Trini come out of her shell a little bit. The team had slowly been breaking down her walls—Kimberly knew that while Trini still had her guard up most of the time, she felt so special to be one of the few to see glimpses behind the façade.
To see the real Trini.
And it seems her parents were doing a good job of making Trini feel at home, something Kimberly was exceptionally proud of.
Which is why she couldn’t stop smiling as her dad and Trini had an animated conversation about the new Fast and Furious movie while her and her mom looked on fondly.
She laughed as her mom pretended to swoon as Trini stood up to clear the dishes from the table, stating that “she would clean because Maddy had cooked and it was only fair”.
“Kimmy, you hold on to this girl,” her mom said as Trini was walking over to the kitchen, hands full of plates.
“I will, mummy,” Kimberly said quietly, standing up to collect the rest of the dishes and bringing them to the kitchen.
* *
Trini sat on Kimberly’s bed, leaning against the headboard as the other girl scrolled through her phone, picking a song.
The soft melody of some song Trini didn’t know filled the room, before Kimberly sat on the bed next to Trini. She sat cross-legged, facing Trini as she reached out and tapped a beat out on Trini’s leg.
It was silent, save for the music that provided some background noise.
“I have to tell you something,” Kimberly finally said, breaking the silent.
Trini met Kimberly’s gaze, furrowing her brows as she took in her friend’s demeanor.
Kimberly was fiddling with her hands, drumming against her leg. Her brown eyes were wide and imploring—as if Kimberly was trying to tell Trini something with just her eyes. Her mouth was pulled in a slight frown, and Trini could tell Kimberly was about to tell her something important.
“Kimberly,” she said softly.
Trini wasn’t exactly one for physical contact—except, it seems, when it came to one Kimberly Hart.
(Or when Jason gave her a piggy back ride to the cafeteria because she helped him with his homework or Billy held his hand out for a high five which she cherished because he never initiated contact or when Zack slung his arm over her shoulders when they were walking and joking which just somehow made her feel safe ok, and she just really had a soft spot for those boys who were becoming her family.)
She reached out, gently resting her hand on Kimberly’s still fidgeting fingers.
Kimberly paused her movements, meeting Trini’s gaze again before flipping her hand over so her palm was facing up, their hands resting together now. Trini smiled—she hoped it was encouraging—and let out a breath as Kim threaded their fingers together.
These small, intimate moments were also something Trini was getting used to.
She had never been this close to someone else—never met someone she actually wanted to get to know. Someone she wanted to get to know her.
There was just something about Kimberly—the other girl was so full of life, taking on headfirst whatever life threw at her.
(A perfect example was when Kimberly jumped off a cliff to god knows where with a girl she had just met the night before. Well, more like dragged a girl she just met off a cliff—but Trini still claims that was not her fault because she was only human and when a pretty girl asks for some water you give her some, ok?)
“I…” Kim began, pausing to let out a sigh. “I want to tell you why I was in detention. And I’m scared it will change the way you look at me.”
Trini nodded her head slowly, giving their connected hands a squeeze. She knew that it must have been something Kimberly was not proud of since the night of the bonfire they had on the mountain—something about the tone of Kimberly’s voice, like she was ashamed of what she had done, had caught Trini’s attention. She couldn’t imagine Kim doing anything so bad that it would change her feelings for the other girl.
“Whatever it is…it’s ok,” Trini replied carefully, not wanting to prod. “You know that I’ve got your back.”
She was horrified to see tears starting to well up in Kimberly’s eyes.
Kimberly shook her head, taking a ragged breath.
“It’s not ok,” Kimberly said, voice stilted. “It’s—I did a horrible thing. I’m a bad person.”
Trini was silent, knowing Kimberly was struggling to tell her. She wasn’t great at comforting other people, but somehow she knew all Kim needed was to feel her presence.
She brought her other hand to cover their connected ones, imploring Kimberly to look up and meet her eyes.
“Kimberly, you can tell me anything,” Trini said.
And she completely meant it. Maybe that was what prompted her to bring their joined hands up to her lips and place a soft, lingering kiss on the back of Kim’s hand.
Kimberly closed her eyes, taking another deep breath.
“I—do you know my old best friend, Amanda?” Kimberly asked.
Trini thought about the group of cheerleaders from the cafeteria, the ones Kimberly used to hang out with as she tried to remember which one was Amanda. Her eyes widened when she remembered why she could pick Amanda out from the group.
“Isn’t Amanda that girl whose picture got leaked and passed around school?” Trini asked, scrunching her eyebrows together as she vaguely recalled students around her in class talking about it. “The one where she—”
“Yes,” Kimberly cut in.
“What does—”
“I leaked the picture.”
Trini remained silent, prompting Kim to continue to speak.
“She…sent me that picture in confidence,” Kimberly continued. “And I sent it to Ty with the caption ‘Does this look like a girl you want to introduce to your parents’ and he sent it to his friends and it snowballed from there and I—I’m a really, really horrible person and sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you or the guys or the coin because maybe we’re all screw-ups in some way but I’m actually a shitty person.”
Kim squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry.
A sob escaped from her chest when she felt Trini let go of her hand.
And then a pair of smooth hands were on either side of her face, thumbs wiping away the tears that had managed to fall on her cheeks.
Kimberly opened her eyes to Trini staring back at her, dark brown eyes impossibly soft and caring despite what Kimberly had just confessed.
Trini’s voice was quiet, but nonetheless resolute as she started to speak.
“Kimberly Hart, you are not a shitty person,” Trini said firmly. “You did a shitty thing, but that does not make you a shitty person.”
Kimberly took a shuddering breath, shaking her head as she reached up and held onto Trini’s hands that were still cupping her cheeks.
“You’re not a horrible person,” Trini continued. “A horrible person is someone who doesn’t learn from their mistakes. Someone who doesn’t take responsibility for their actions—makes excuses and doesn’t care. And Kimberly, if there is one thing I know for certain about you—you care. You are caring, and you want to help, and the coin chose you because you are kind and smart and good.”
Kimberly closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmed at the care she could practically feel from the girl sitting next to her.
“I did a really bad thing,” Kimberly whispered, opening her eyes and meeting Trini’s gaze once more.
“That does not negate all the good you have done—all the good you will do,” Trini replied. “You made a bad decision, but you know that it’s bad and you’re trying to atone. And Kimberly,” she said, turning one of her hands so she was holding Kimberly’s, “you saved the world three weeks ago, which includes this dumb town. I think you’re well on the path to redemption, if you haven’t already surpassed it. Don’t dwell on the past. You’re not that person anymore.”
Kimberly was silent, but the small smile on her face told Trini that she understood what she had said.
It was a shitty thing to do, but she was not a shitty person.
Kimberly was not inherently mean.
She did something bad, but she’s trying to make up for it.
Making a decision, Trini guided Kim to lay on the bed with her, holding the other girl in her arms. Kimberly sighed, resting her head on Trini’s chest, arm across her stomach and intertwining their legs.
“I didn’t want you to look at me differently when you found out,” Kimberly finally said.
Trini smiled, turning to rest her lips against Kimberly’s forehead—not quite a kiss, but close enough to provide what she hoped was comfort to the other girl.
“Kimberly…eres increíble,” Trini said softly. “Thank you for trusting me enough to share this with me, Princesa.”
“Thank you for being here,” Kimberly replied.
“Siempre,” Trini promised, tightening her hold on the other girl.
And as the two of them lay there, Kimberly intertwining their fingers again as they moved on to lighter topics, Trini knew that she really meant it.