Archive of Our Own ^beta

Trini sat in the front seat of her car and wondered how exactly she’d gotten into this situation. Not the Power Ranger thing, she’s already over that. Sort of. She was more upset about the fact that she was now the official Power Ranger chauffeur. It was really Kim and Jason’s fault, if she really thought about it. Kim got busted breaking curfew and her dad took her keys away and Jason’s truck still wasn’t street legal yet, not to mention Mrs. Cranston’s new van was completely out of the question.

So there she sat in her old Volkswagen Beetle, a gift from her parents on her sixteenth birthday in a vain attempt to get her to “branch out,” waiting for Billy to leave his house so they could pick up the other three. She glared at the radio, which she’d turned off because her father had accidentally gotten a Britney Spears CD stuck in the player. Now all that played in her car was Britney’s greatest hits. The loss of the CD had been very hard on her dad.

“Hey, Billy.” Trini greeted, offering a half assed wave and opening the passenger door. “Climb in the back. It’s easier when no one’s up front.”

“This is your car?” Billy asked as Trini put the car into drive.

“Yep.” Trini nodded as she took the turn down to Jason’s house.

“Why don’t you ever drive it?” Billy asked, Trini glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

“It’s kind of a piece of crap, Billy.” Trini replied with a small frown. “Honestly if Kim didn’t get busted, I’d never have to drive it.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to?”

“Billy, the AC doesn’t work, neither does the heat, the back windows don’t roll down, the passenger window doesn’t roll up, the passenger door handle is broken so it only opens from the inside, and the seats are held together with duct tape. My parents only got me this one because I told them that if they spent more than seven hundred dollars on a car, I’d use it to drive myself to Mexico.”

“Oh. It’s still nice.”

“Thank you, Billy.” Trini sighed, pulling up to Jason’s house. “Move behind my seat please.”

Jason raised his eyebrows at Trini’s car, but was nice enough not to make a comment. He climbed into the backseat and buckled up, earning a smile from Billy, who insisted that everyone was buckled in the car. “Click-it or ticket” he had said the first several times he had to remind everyone.

“I like your wheels, Trin.” Jason said after a few minutes. “Kinda suits you.”

“Are you telling me I’m a piece of crap?” Trini laughed, turning into the mobile community where Zack lived.

“No, I’m saying you’re small and you wear yellow.” Jason said, glancing around the inside of the car.

“You got me pinned.” Trini rolled her eyes.

“Well, you are very small.” Billy piped up, furrowing his brow when Jason let out a bark of a laugh. “What’d I say?”

“Only the truth, man.” Jason grinned, leaning back in his seat.

“That’s some big talk for someone who needs me to drive him to school.” Trini mumbled loud enough for Jason to hear. Hopefully.

“Just wait until my truck is street legal, then we’ll have a really slick ride.” Jason said, gently kicking the back of Trini’s seat.

“Doesn’t your cab only have three seats?” Billy asked with a furrowed brow.

“Trini and Kim will double up and we’ll make Zack ride in the bed.” Jason shrugged as they pulled in front of Zack’s trailer.

“I have a feeling that a couple people might have to double up in here too.” Trini said, looking around at the cramped car. “We still have two more people to shove in this clown car.”

“I’m more worried about how we’re gonna get out.” Jason mumbled.

Trini rolled her eyes and opened the door for Zack.

Zack stepped out of his trailer and stared at the car for a moment before heading over. “So, are we gonna strap Kimmy to the roof, or...?” He teased, climbing into the front seat.

“I was thinking about stuffing you in the trunk, but strapping you to the roof would totally be a space saver.” Trini replied, earning a loud laugh from Zack.

“But then who would provide us all with much needed humor and sarcasm?” Zack smiled, leaning back as Trini headed toward Kimberly’s house. “And why am I being stuffed in the trunk and not Kim? You’re picking her up last.”

“Kim smells better.” Trini replied quickly. It was the truth. “And she doesn’t yell “look out for that bird!” every time a bird flies by.”

“A-And Trini is good at sarcasm.” Billy added, leaning forward to look at Zack. “And Jason is very funny.”

“Thank you, Billy.” Jason said, smiling at Billy. “And for the record, I vote for Zack to be strapped onto the hood.”

“There’s room in the back.” Billy said, patting the middle seat. “Do we have to tie him to the outside of the car?”

“No, but where’s the fun in that?” Jason grinned. “Look at that face and tell me he doesn’t deserve bugs in his teeth.”

Zack smiled widely at Billy and Jason. “How can you threaten to ruin my perfect smile?”

“Easily.” Trini shrugged.

“There are other ways to ruin a smile.” Billy said in a matter of fact tone. “Maybe we can get Kim to punch your teeth out like she did to Ty Fleming.”

“Kim wouldn’t do that.” Zack argued, frowning a little. “Would she?”

“Not without the right equipment, we’ll get her some big rings before she punches you.” Jason put a hand on Zack’s shoulder. “She has a wicked right hook, right Trini?”

Trini rubbed her jaw and nodded. “I’m still feeling it from three nights ago.”

“That’s enough joking about knocking my teeth out.” Zack said with a small frown. “I like my teeth where they are. I had braces as a kid, my mom’s investment can’t be ruined.”

“Can we have the radio?” Billy asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Unfortunately, we cannot have the radio.” Trini replied, earning groans from the other two boys. “Because all that this car can play is Britney’s greatest hits.”

“Like Britney Spears?” Zack asked, now looking at the deck. “Your car only plays Britney Spears? The clock doesn’t even work!”

“Mistakes were made.” Trini said quickly. “My dad was messing with the deck and put in the first CD he could find to see if it was working. Unfortunately, only the CD player works, not the actual radio, so if you want music, you can have Britney. The only good thing about this situation is that he almost went for the Kenny Loggins CD but picked Britney instead.”

“So it’s either silence or Britney?” Jason laughed. “It’s one of the greatest questions of our generation.”

“After you go through the essentials of Britney seven times, you choose silence.” Trini said, pulling into Kimberly’s driveway. “Get in the back, Zack.”

“What? Why?” Zack asked as he crawled into the back, accidentally kicking Trini in the head on his way and landing on Jason and Billy’s laps with a soft grunt.

“Because Kim smells better, I thought we went over this already.” Trini rolled her eyes as Kimberly left her house.

“Hey guys, ready for another day of repaying our debts to society?” Kimberly asked as she approached the car.

“So ready.” Jason replied, shoving Zack into the middle seat. “I can’t wait to sit in a poorly ventilated basement with Mr. Jackson’s BO.”

Trini opened the door for Kimberly. “Just get in.” She said as Kimberly slid into her seat.

“Your car is adorable, Trin.” Kimberly smiled, buckling her seatbelt.

“Trini says it’s a piece of... poop.” Billy said with a nod. “And Jason says that it suits her.”

“That’s nice, Jay. You really know how to woo a girl.” Kimberly smiled at Jason.

“I try.” Jason replied, leaning forward in his seat. “Hypothetically, if Zack were being annoying and Trini and me had some big rings for you to wear, would you punch his teeth out?”

“Show me the rings and we won’t even have to wait.” Kimberly replied, winking at Zack.

“You guys are the worst.” Zack grumbled. “From now on, it’s me and Billy against the world. Right, bud?”

“I’d rather not be in the middle of this...” Billy replied quietly.

“Don’t worry, Billy, no matter how many teeth Zack loses, we’ll still love you.” Jason patted Billy’s arm.

“Have you guys just been sitting in silence?” Kimberly asked as the boys in the backseat argued about knocking out Zack’s teeth.

“It’s either silence or Britney.” Trini said quickly, earning a confused look from Kimberly.

“It’s a long story.” Trini turned on the car radio and watched as Kimberly raised her eyebrows when “Hit Me Baby One More Time” came blasting through the speakers.

“Nice.” Kimberly grinned. “Your car is so cool.”

“When do you get yours back, by the way?” Trini asked.

“When I can be trusted to follow my curfew.”

“So, never?”

“I mean, probably? I’m guessing a couple weeks, but really, I shouldn’t get my car back.”

“Yeah, I figured. How did you even get caught?”

“There was a slight miscalculation. I climbed in through the kitchen window and destroyed a bunch of our dishes.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, my mom still won’t look at me. I think she’s excited about getting more plates.”

“You should’ve been more careful, your SUV is so much... better than whatever’s happening in my backseat.”

Trini looked in her rearview mirror and sighed when she saw what looked to be the most cramped wrestling match she’d ever seen in her life.

“You guys having fun there?” Kimberly laughed, narrowly dodging Zack’s backpack that was flung at her.

“Babies had more room in the uterus.” Jason replied in a deadpan voice.

“Well, if you were better at fixing cars, we wouldn’t have this problem.” Trini said, earning a loud laugh from Zack.  

“I’m one guy,” Jason said, shoving Zack off his lap and leaning forward. “And no offence to Billy and Zack, but they’re crap at cars. Not to mention, Angel Grove has some strict rules about what makes a car street legal and that shit costs money.”

“And Jason’s truck is a lot smaller, we’d be better off if Kim didn’t lose her car.” Billy said, looking directly at Kimberly.

“Mistakes were made.” Kimberly replied, looking out her window. “But I think we can all agree that this is by far the greatest car on earth.”

“You’re right.” Zack said, leaning between Trini and Kim. “I love having my knees touch my chin.”

“Shut up, Zack, or you’re walking home after detention.” Trini grumbled.

“Maybe we can shove him in the trunk on the way home?” Jason suggested, earning a punch in the arm from Zack. “I’m just saying, it’d be a great space saver.”

“He’d probably have more room back there.” Billy said, scooting closer to the window.

“You did say you were crazy, Zack...” Kimberly said. “Wanna try?”

Zack was quiet for a moment before shrugging. “It’s not like I’ll die, right?”

“So, what’s your car’s name?” Kimberly asked after they’d dropped off the boys off at Billy’s house and learning that riding in the trunk was not the better alternative.

“It’s a car, it doesn’t have a name.” Trini replied, leaning back in her seat.

“Naming the car is like a rite of passage. It’s when the car becomes yours.” Kimberly said with a smile. “Jason has Clifford. I have Zorro. You have to name yours.”

“Fine, its name is Dean Cain.”

“Why?”

“First name I could think of.”

“No, it has to mean something. You have to put thought into it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Trini groaned and put her car in gear. “Fine, help me think of a good name.”

The drive to Kimberly’s house was relatively quick with Kimberly rattling off car names like “Luigi” and “Banana.” Trini didn’t want to engage, but honestly, no one should name a yellow car Luigi, it was obviously a name for a green car. This earned her a wide smile and a few more names that were strictly okay, but nothing Trini wanted to commit to. Though, Sunspot was a pretty cool name, she had to admit.

“You’re staying at my place, right?” Kimberly asked, hopping out of the car when they pulled into her driveway. “We have to nail down a name and we can totally make a fort.”

“You just wanna make them think we’re having more fun that they are with their boys’ night.” Trini replied, turning off the car and hopping out.

“How’d you guess?” Kimberly grinned, heading toward her front door. “And I’m serious about the fort.”

“You’d better be serious.” Trini said, following Kimberly into the house. “I’m kind of great at forts. Having two little brothers makes you ridiculous at forts.”

“Good to know I have an expert in my house.” Kimberly rolled her eyes and Trini felt a little indignant.

“I’m completely serious.” Trini replied, desperately trying to keep a straight face. “Now tell me about the structural integrity of your pillows.”

“Wow.” Kimberly rose her eyebrows and looked like she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

“And we’re gonna need Christmas lights.” Trini continued. “Which room are we building this thing in?”

“The family room.” Kim said, closing the front door and leading Trini to her living room. “It’s got the least amount of breakable lamps and the heaviest books.”

“We’re gonna need those.” Trini replied, looking around the room and plotting out the best places to put the fort. “We’re gonna get the TV in there and make a damn movie theater.”

“Hell yeah, help me get the building materials.”

Kimberly turned out to be a great helper, Trini would never admit it outloud, but it was nice to have someone taller than her to help hang the sheets and the Christmas lights. Trini liked the sheets that Kimberly had chosen as well, though she would probably have to wonder why the Harts had Harley Davidson bedsheets until the day she died because Kimberly had decided to be a jerk and not answer. It didn’t matter though because the hot rod flames on the roof made their fort look badass. Especially with the way that the Christmas lights made the sheets glow. Trini mentally named it “Fort Kickass.”

“Okay, get the pillows on the floor and make sure we don’t lose the remote, if we have to tear the fort apart looking for it.” Trini said as she wrote a “No Boys Allowed” sign on the large piece of posterboard that that Kimberly had given her. “Fort Kickass is gonna be the best fort ever.”

“Are we married to the name Fort Kickass?” Kimberly asked, popping her head out of the fort with a frown. “Because I’m kinda liking the name Serape Lounge.”

“Is there even a serape in the fort?” Trini’s brow furrowed.

“We’re covering the pillows with the one from the guest room.” Kimberly said, gesturing to the folded serape beside the fort.

“Fort Kickass Serape, then.” Trini shrugged, propping up her sign. “We’ve gotta get this in the picture that we send the guys.”

“I’m liking Fort Kickass Serape,” Kimberly grinned, climbing out of the fort and grabbing the serape. “Wanna order pizza?”

“Hell yeah.” Trini nodded,  grabbing the other poster board. “Do you think your parents are gonna be mad if I write ass in their house?”

Kimberly rolled her eyes and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Dad,” She called loudly. “Is it okay if I write the word ass on a piece of posterboard for my pillow fort?”

“That’s fine, sweetie, write what you want.” Her father called back.

“Thanks, Dad!” Kimberly turned to Trini with a small smile. “Unlike you, I don’t have little kids running around my house.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” Trini nodded, looking back at the posterboard. “Let’s write this sign.”

“No offence, but your handwriting is shit. Fort Kickass Serape deserves better, so I’m gonna write it.” Kimberly snatched the marker out of Trini’s hand. “We’re gonna do this right.”

“Rude, but fair.” Trini scooted back. “Use the glitter glue on Ass to make it look fancy.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, I know how to make an ass look good.” Kimberly said with a smirk.

Trini took a quick glance at Kimberly’s ass before looking away quickly. “I bet.”

“Have you thought of any good names?” Kimberly asked after a moment of silence.

“No?” Trini frowned a little. “I thought we like Fort Kickass Serape? It’s a good name.”

“I meant your car.” Kimberly replied. “Because I think Firefly would be good.”

“That’s too nice of a name. This piece of crap needs to a name that frames its shittiness.” Trini thought for a moment, then it dawned on her, the perfect name. “We’re calling it Armageddon.”

“Armageddon?” Kimberly paused and looked up from her poster. “That’s pretty badass.”

“How’s the sign?” Trini asked, looking at the poster. It was glorious. “Lovin’ the sparkly ass.”

“Thank you.” Kimberly propped her sign up onto the fort beside the “No Boys Allowed” sign and smiled widely. “Let’s get that pizza ordered and pick a movie.”

“You can put whatever you want on it as long as there aren’t onions.” Trini said, climbing into the fort. There was definitely enough room for two people, maybe a third if they had to. The walls were nice and high and they framed the TV perfectly. Trini smiled and laid back against the pillows. Perfect.

“I totally got pineapples on that bitch.” Kimberly said as she climbed into the fort and laid beside Trini. “It’s already happening. There’s no stopping it.”

“Okay?” Trini literally did not care at all about pineapple on pizza. “I literally do not care at all about pineapple on pizza.”

“That’s some aggressive ambivalence.” Kimberly laughed, looking around the fort. “This fort is badass, the guys are gonna be so jealous.”

“We gotta take a picture with the pizza so they can fully experience the badassery of Fort Kickass Serape.” Trini replied with a grin as she turned on the Christmas lights.

“You’re like the Pablo Picasso of forts.” Kimberly said stretching a little.

“That’s a damn lie and you know it.” Trini glared at Kimberly. “If I were the Picasso of forts, we’d be sitting under your couch wearing snuggies.”

“I don’t know why I said that.” Kimberly sighed. “Those faces he painted used to scare the shit out of me.”

Trini furrowed her brow and looked at Kimberly incredulously, smiling a little as Kimberly’s cheeks turned red.

“I was young.” Kimberly said, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest. “Like five.”

“That makes sense.” Trini shrugged, letting out a little laugh. “But I’m not a Picasso. More like a Da Vinci or a Michelangelo.”

“Absolutely not, your no boys allowed sign can not be compared to the sistine chapel.”

“Okay, well then I’m a fancy architect.” Trini replied, she really didn’t know the names of any renaissance architects. “I really don’t know the names of any renaissance architects.”

“Neither do I.”

“Or any famous architects.”

“Neither do I.” Kimberly repeated, furrowing her brow and grabbing the remote. “So, what movie do you wanna watch?”

“I was too focused on my fort building to even consider that question.” Trini paused, maybe she should just let Kimberly choose. It would definitely be easier, and she could claim veto power. “You pick.”

“What if you hate what I pick?” Kimberly smiled and bit her lip a little. Trini felt her heart stop for a moment.

Trini’s brow furrowed as she briefly considered what that just meant and came to the conclusion that there was nothing okay about what had just happened. It was definitely just one of those things that she’ll just ignore until she dies. That’s a plan. It was nothing, and if it wasn’t nothing, it would be pushed down forever.

“Well?” Kimberly snapped her fingers in front of Trini’s face with a small frown.

“Well what?” Trini asked, blinking twice.

“What if you hate what I pick?” Kimberly repeated, looking a little concerned. “You zone out there for a bit?”

“I was just marvelling at the greatness that is my fort.” Trini said quickly, her cheeks turning red. “And for the record, if you pick a shit movie, we’ll watch it because you want to. But I won’t stop making fun of you until we both die.”

“I agree to those terms.” Kimberly smiled widely. “You’re gonna love my choice by the way. It’s literally one of my favorite movies.”

“Oh wow. Well, then it must be amazing.” Trini propped herself up a little and looked at the screen. “What is this cinematic masterpiece that you’ve picked?”

“You’ll see.” Kimberly said teasingly. “But trust me, it’s great.”

It was Napoleon Dynamite. Kimberly had chosen to watch Napoleon Dynamite.

“It’s one of the greatest movies of all time.” Kimberly whispered, leaning close to Trini.

“My favorite part is when they mispronounce quesadilla.” Trini whispered back with a laugh. “It made my grandma so mad when I watched it the first time, she turned off the TV and I almost got sent to my room for laughing at her so much.”

Kimberly laughed so hard, she snorted and fell back into the pillows. “Holy shit!” She exclaimed, looking over at Trini with a wide grin.

Trini stared at Kim for a moment. “What. The. Hell. Was. That?” She asked before dissolving into laughter. “I don’t know what’s better, the fact that you snorted or that you laughed so hard, you were literally knocked over.” Trini wiped her eyes.

“Shut up.” Kimberly scrambled back to her original position and glared at Trini. “That never happened.”

“Whatever you say, Kim.” Trini tried to hold in her laughter, but was ultimately failing.

“Shut up.” Kimberly repeated, rising to her knees. “Or I leave this fort and never come back.”

“So, I’ll just be stranded in a fort in your house until the dawn of time?” Trini raised her eyebrows, tears forming in her eyes as she continued to try not to laugh.

“Or until you’re hungry and need to eat pizza.” Kimberly shrugged, her head snapping up when there were three knocks on the door. “Speak of the devil.”

Trini watched as Kimberly scrambled out of the fort, crawling on top of her in the process. Her mouth went dry and her stomach dropped when Kimberly’s breast barely grazed the tip of her nose. It took her a moment to recover before she followed after Kimberly, taking deep breaths as she left the fort.

“Thank you!” Kimberly said to the delivery guy as she closed the door. “Fuck yes.” She smiled widely, heading into the living room. “Full disclosure, I told the pizza guy that I loved him and he just nodded like he gets that everyday.”

“Probably, he is bringing people one of the best things on earth.” Trini said, pulling out her phone. “Okay, pose in front of the fort, but make sure we can see the signs.”

“Aren’t you gonna be in the pic?” Kimberly asked, moving toward the fort and to the side of the signs.

“Don’t worry.” Trini pulled up the camera and put on the front facing camera, positioning herself to take a picture of her and Kimberly in front of the fort. “We got this, now look hot, so they get jealous and ask for an invite.”

“I always look hot, don’t worry about me.” Kimberly replied.

Trini rolled her eyes, Kimberly was definitely not lying. She took the picture quickly and grinned at her phone before showing Kimberly. “Gonna send this to Zack.”

“Gimme.” Kimberly snatched Trini’s phone out of her hand and quickly started. “You’re not gonna say it right. I’m gonna make us look so cool.”

“What’re you saying?” Trini peeked over Kimberly’s shoulder. “Don’t tell them what’s on the pizza. They’ll just make fun of you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with pineapple on pizza.” Kimberly said, turning to glare at Trini.

“First of all, I already told you that I literally don’t care about that.” Trini rolled her eyes, watching as Kimberly typed out her message. “Secondly, you should know how controversial your pizza choices are by now. And third, Zack made fun of Jason because he had legs. Legs, Kim. Are you telling me he won’t tease you about pineapple?”

Kimberly was quiet for a moment. “That’s fair.” She smiled a little. “I’m not ashamed of my pizza choices.”

Trini scoffed. “Okay. Just live your life, dude.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes. “Sent. I bet whatever they’ve got going on has nothing on our fort.”

“And Napoleon Dynamite.” Trini laughed.

“It’s literally one of the best movies of all time.” Kimberly grinned. “Now, I’m going to the fort to watch my favorite movie and eat pizza. You are welcome to join me.” She quickly climbed into the fort. “Also I have your phone still, so hurry up. Or you’ll miss the part when they say quesadilla wrong.”

Trini laughed and rolled her eyes before following Kimberly into the fort.

They watched the movie in what could definitely not be considered silence. Kimberly knew almost all the lines to the movie and said a lot of them under her breath while the characters were talking. It was oddly endearing, but mostly a little bizarre. Trini couldn’t help but laugh at the way Kimberly’s eyes rarely looked away from the screen.

“You really like this movie, huh?” Trini chuckled, taking a bite of her pizza.

“I told you, it’s my favorite.” Kimberly said, not looking away from the screen. “We should do some bike jumps after this.”

“Like Pedro and Napoleon?” Trini asked, narrowly dodging Kimberly’s hand as she moved to smack her. “Or do you plan on pushing me off a cliff?”

“Is there a way we can meet in the middle?” Kimberly rolled her eyes.

“We build a ramp and jump a cliff?”

“And put it on the internet.”

“I think that counts as ‘using your powers for personal gain.’” Trini said, earning a tired look from Kimberly.

“That ship has clearly sailed because I saw you pushing dents out of Armageddon with your bare hands right before detention.”

“I take the fifth.”

“Amendment?”

“Yes.”

Kimberly looked at Trini for a long moment before shrugging. “Fine. But only because I didn’t take pictures.”

Trini smiled a little. “You have no evidence then.”

“Unfortunately.” Kimberly feigned disappointment and laid back against the pillows. “Now shut up, it’s the big dance scene. I’m gonna learn it one day.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Trini slid down and laid beside Kimberly, watching the scene and trying to visualize Kimberly doing the same dance as Napoleon did.

“Gonna rock it at prom.” Kimberly turned to look at Trini.

“It’ll definitely get you prom queen.” Trini replied, looking at Kimberly. She was painfully aware of how close their faces were. Almost an inch. She could feel Kimberly’s breathing.Trini glanced at Kimberly’s lips, quickly looking away to meet her eyes.

Kimberly smiled a little. “You really think so?”

“I mean, I’d vote for you.” Trini replied. “And so would Billy and Jason, we both know Zack will vote for me as a joke, but so far you’ve got three whole votes.”

Kimberly laughed. “I bet.” She was quiet for a moment. “So there’s something I’ve wanted to try for awhile.” She said slowly, her voice nearly a whisper. “I...”

Trini’s brow furrowed. “What do you want to try?” She asked, lowering her voice. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she thought about what Kimberly could have possibly wanted to try.

Kimberly sat there quietly, making eye contact with Trini. “I... am having a hard time wording this. So I’m just gonna do it quick, okay?”

Trini’s cheeks and neck went red and her mouth went dry. She nodded once, at a loss for words.

“Okay.” Kimberly said quickly, almost breathlessly, mostly to herself. “I’m so sorry about this.”

There was about three seconds where neither of them moved. Then, before Trini could ask what Kimberly was sorry for, she reached over slowly, but suddenly enough to startle Trini a little, cupping Trini’s jaw and leaning forward. Kimberly’s lips brushed against Trini’s lightly.

It was over quickly, but Trini felt like all of the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Kimberly pulled back a little and they looked at each other for a split second. Then it was like a switch was flipped inside of her, like her brain had just made the connection. Kimberly Hart just kissed her. Kimberly Hart had wanted to kiss her for a while.

Trini blinked once before grabbing the back of Kimberly’s neck and pulled her in again, kissing her again. It was a little rougher this time, a little more frantic. Trini felt like she had been set on fire, her breathing was already ragged. The kiss was warm and slick, and Trini felt intoxicated. She pulled Kimberly closer, which seemed impossible, but she’d managed it.

Kimberly pulled away again, but only for a moment, then she rolled the two of them over, landing on top of Trini. A gasp escaped Trini’s lips as she looked up at Kimberly. They looked at each other for a moment, and Trini had to fight the urge to grab Kimberly by the back of the neck and pull her back down. Trini looked at Kimberly’s lips again, licking her own before meeting Kimberly’s gaze.

“That’s what you wanted to try?” Trini asked, taking in a couple deep breaths.

“... Yeah.” Kimberly nodded, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face.

“Okay...” Trini sat up and smoothed out her hair. “Okay.”

They were quiet for a minute, Trini half thought that they were going to kiss again, honestly it was what she wanted to do more than anything at that moment. Her heart was still racing and she averted her eyes, feeling self conscious under Kimberly’s gaze. Kimberly put her hand on Trini’s shoulder, making her jump a little and look up.

“Was it? Okay, I mean?” Kimberly asked, her voice cracking a little. “Was it?”

Trini opened her mouth, but no words came out. It was definitely okay . It was better than okay. But then why did she want the ground to suddenly open up and suck her into the hole, burying her alive? She took in a deep breath and blinked a few times before raising herself to her knees.

“It... it's fine.” Trini nodded, moving toward the exit. “I have to... go. I should go home. I’m gonna go...”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Trini...”

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

“Tri-”

“It’s fiiine.”

“Oh. Okay.” Kimberly replied with a nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow... for training then.”

“Yeah.” Trini said, exiting the fort.

“Text me when you get home, okay?” Kimberly called, climbing out of the fort.

“Yeah.” Trini said, moving toward Kimberly’s front door. “Yep, don’t worry. I’ll text you before I even get in the house. Before I leave the car. When I’m on my street.”

“Don’t do that, the team really does need a car.” Kimberly replied, Trini stopped and looked at Kimberly for a moment. She looked upset, Trini took a moment to pretend that it was because of her bad joke.

“Well, prove to your parents that you’re trustworthy enough to have your own car, then I’ll crash Armageddon.” Trini said with a weak chuckled, gripping the doorknob to the front door tightly. She could feel her fingers making dents. “I’m gonna go.” She said with a nod. “See ya.”

“Later.” Kimberly offered a small wave as Trini threw the door open and left the house.

She climbed into the car and sat in the driver's seat. Her hands were on the steering wheel, but she had yet to even put the key into the ignition. Trini looked up at Kimberly’s house again, fighting the urge to go back in. She’d probably just kiss Kimberly again, and that certainly wouldn’t be a good idea. Would it? Trini’s brow furrowed and she shook her head. No, she needed to get away and think about it all.

Trini let out an irritated groan when she accidentally shoved her key too hard into the ignition. If it got stuck in there, she was probably just going to have to throw Armageddon off the nearest cliff. At least it still started at the moment, silverlinings and all that. Trini backed out of Kimberly’s driveway quickly and sped down the road at at least ten over the limit. Honestly Trini would rather have pushed the car home, at least then she wouldn’t have to had heard “You Drive Me Crazy” on the way home, which seemed weirdly fitting, but Trini was not going to get into that.

She slammed the button to turn her radio off and sighed in relief when she didn’t break the dash. Though, she could stage an accident and convince her parents to get her a new one. All she’d need was a rock and some determination. She wouldn’t even have to break the window, it was a hot day, they would believe that she left the window down. The only thing that stopped that train of thought was when a jerk in a red Acura cut her off.

Containing her anger was a lot harder without music to drown it out. She swore loudly and slammed her palm against the the wheel, she dented the wheel and Trini groaned when she pulled up to a red light. Trini leaned her head back against the headrest and sighed. Maybe Britney was better than silence, being alone with her thoughts was certainly not something she wanted to deal with at the moment.

All she could think about was how Kimberly’s lips felt against hers. How soft Kimberly’s hair was. How hard it was to breathe after the first kiss. Trini shook her head and frowned deeply. She was driving, she shouldn’t be thinking about how good it felt to kiss Kimberly. Trini’s brow furrowed as she reminded herself that she would not be hurt in a car crash, but it would hurt the other person.

She pulled into her driveway so quickly that the nose of her car was touching the garage door. “Shit.” She mumbled, grabbing her keys and tugging them from the ignition. “At least it’s not stuck.”

Trini entered her house, quietly walking past her family. She briefly noted that her mother had been kind of right when she said Trini was like a ghost, no one even looked up when she walked by. Rolling her eyes, Trini headed up the stairs and into her room, the only noise she made was the closing her bedroom door.

Now that it was safe to think about the kiss, Trini couldn’t help but think about the reasons behind the kiss. A few things came to mind. Kimberly could be experimenting, which was fine, she could do whatever she wanted, but Trini couldn’t help but hurt a little at the idea. There was also the chance that Kimberly really had feelings for her, Trini scoffed at the thought. Now that would be something, Trini marked that under “incredibly unlikely” before moving on to the next scenario. The last thing she’d considered was that she had simply taken a blow to the head and was now experiencing a weird coma dream and would wake up eventually.

It was farfetched, but Trini was sure it made more sense than Kimberly having feelings for her.

“Yikes.” Trini made a mental note to work on her self esteem.

After maybe three hours of lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling and going over every minute of the afternoon with Kimberly. From the moment she’d picked her up for detention to the moment she left Kimberly’s house. Every touch, every glance, Trini went over it with a fine tooth comb, hoping to find some warning, some kind of build up to what had happened. But she couldn’t. It absolutely came out of nowhere.

“Hi.”

Trini sat up immediately and looked at Billy, who was standing in the doorway, speaking of coming out of nowhere.

“Your mom let me in.” Billy said after a moment. Trini’s brow furrowed, but she nodded once. “She also said that she didn’t realize you were home. Which is weird because your car is parked really badly in the driveway, you should really fix that soon.”

“I will, Billy.” Trini sighed, watching as Billy entered her bedroom fully. “Close the door, would you?”

“Your mom said that I have to keep the door open.” Billy replied, looking around the room. “I told her that we weren’t dating and that you don’t even like me like that, but she really insisted. And she’s your mom, so I can’t say no.” He put his hands in his pockets and frowned. “She said that she didn’t know who I was.”

“I don’t really talk to my mom.” Trini said, noticing how Billy’s frown deepened. “It’s different from you and your mom, Billy.”

Billy shrugged, looking at the Power Ranger drawings her brothers did on her wall. “Hey, that’s us!”

“Yeah, they were arguing over who was the coolest.” Trini rolled her eyes and smiled. “They’re pretty stuck on blue being the best, but I rallied hard for yellow.”

Billy smiled widely and looked back at the drawing.

“Why’re you here, Billy?” Trini asked after a moment of silence.

“Kimberly is freaking out.” Billy said, his smile disappearing. “I don’t know what happened, but she’s really worried about you. She thinks she freaked you out over something and was scared to check on you.” He paused and looked at Trini. “You really have to answer your phone, by the way. We all texted you. Zack wanted to come over, but he’s got work, and Jason’s with Kimberly, so I got my mom to drive me over here. She really likes your house, too. It’s nice.”

Trini’s brow furrowed. Billy had an incredible ability to give a lot of information in a short period of time. “Okay, so. You’re right, I should’ve checked my phone. Sorry to worry you guys.” Billy nodded at the apology. “And thank you for coming to check on me, you’re a great friend and I love you.”

“I love you too.” Billy smiled, his brow furrowing after a moment. “Not romantically, though.”

“I get it.” Trini shrugged, hopping off the bed and grabbing her phone. “Here, sit. Make yourself comfortable, or whatever.”

Trini checked her phone and saw that she had several missed calls from each ranger, ten texts from Jason, six from Billy, three from Zack, and a whopping seventeen from Kimberly. It was only then did Trini realize that had forgotten to text Kimberly that she’d made it home. And now Billy was there, in her bedroom, checking in on her. All because Trini couldn’t be bothered to remember to text Kimberly. Trini sighed and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

Billy sat down on the bed, hands folded in his lap. “What happened with Kimberly? Is it okay that I ask that?”

“It’s okay to ask, Billy.” Trini nodded, biting her lip and leaning against the wall. “I don’t know if I wanna talk about it right now.”

“Oh.” Billy frowned. “Are you okay though?”

“I don’t know.” Trini sighed, crossing her arms.

“Did Kimberly do something wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Your fort looked really cool.” Billy’s tone lightened a little and Trini couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks, I’m kind of a badass fort builder.” Trini laughed.

“Oh, definitely.” Billy said with a grin. “We’re definitely going to build a fort together some time. With your fort building skills and my tools...” He paused and gasped. “We should build a treehouse.”

“Yes.” Trini nodded seriously. “Definitely.”

They were quiet for a minute before Billy spoke up again.

“If you need to talk about it, I can keep a secret.” He said seriously. “I won’t tell Jason, or Kimberly, or Zack, or my mom, or your family, or anyone else I know. I might tell my dad, but he really doesn’t count. I tell him things sometimes, I don’t know if he can hear me, but it’s nice to get things off my chest. And I know he’ll never tell anyone what I say. So, I guess I can be like that.”

“You want to be my dad?” Trini cracked a smile.

“What?!” Billy looked shocked. “N-No!”

“I was joking.” Trini said, putting a hand up to stop Billy from continuing. “Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Billy sighed in relief. “But I mean it. You can tell me anything. We’re friends.”

“Fine. But you have to swear not to tell anyone.”

“I swear.”

Trini took in a deep breath and looked at Billy for a long time. “Okay. Here it goes.” She licked her lips before speaking again. “Kim kissed me. Twice, kinda. She kissed me once, but it was barely a kiss, our lips barely brushed. But... after that. We kissed again. And then I kissed her back. Then I freaked out and left.”

Billy stared blankly at Trini when she finished.

“Are you gonna say something?” Trini asked brow furrowing.

“I don’t know what to say.” Billy replied quietly. “Why did you freak out?”

Trini paused, frowning a little. “I...” She had been so focused on why Kimberly had kissed her, that she hadn’t thought about why she was running. “I think it’s because I don’t know why Kim kissed me. And I was... am afraid of what the answer is.”

“You’re afraid that Kim likes you?” Billy asked, leaning forward a little. “Or are you afraid that you like Kim?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.” Trini sighed. “What if she doesn’t like me, and is just experimenting? I mean, all power to her, explore how you wanna explore and all that, but it would still suck.”

“Does that really happen?” Billy’s eyes widened.

“Yeah.” Trini nodded.

“Oh wow.” Billy frowned. “Would Kim do that? You’re friends. Like best friends. Wouldn’t you want to experiment with someone you don’t know so you don’t hurt them?”

“I’d want to experiment with someone I trust, so I don’t get hurt.”

“It’d be kind of a compliment.”

“It’s really not the kind of compliment I want.”

“Oh.” Billy still looked confused.

“It’s like when your mom gives you socks for Christmas.” Trini explained. “Like it’s still a gift, but you don’t really want them.”

“Your mom waits till Christmas to buy you socks?”

Trini stared at Billy for a moment. “It’s hard to explain, let’s just drop it.”

Billy nodded and looked around the room, his eyes landing on Trini’s bedside table that Trini had made out of cinderblocks she’d found at a construction site. “Oh, that looks like something my mom and I saw on Pinterest a few weeks ago. I thought it looked cool, but Mom said it was too shabby for the house, so we made a blanket holder out of an old ladder.”

Trini looked at her bedside table. “Oh.” She let out a deep breath, trying not to let the irritation she was feeling show in her voice.

“It looks good in your room though.” Billy said quickly.

“Thank you.” Trini smiled tightly.

“Not to change the subject, but...” Billy paused, looking confused. “I can’t stop thinking about it. But, you said that Kimberly kissed you?”

“Yeah.” Trini nodded.

“And you kissed her back?”

“Yeah.”

“Why did you?”

Trini stood there for a moment, her mouth had gone dry and she bit her lower lip. “I don’t know.”

“I think you should figure that out.” Billy said seriously.

“Thanks.” Trini sighed.

“Do you wanna know what I think?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you and Kimberly would be good together.” Billy smiled a little. “You get along, you’re both nice, you’re both pretty, you both smell good-”

“Do you want to date one of us, Billy?” Trini laughed.

Billy looked taken aback and began to stammer and try to backtrack.

“I’m just kidding.” Trini said quickly, making Billy stop in his tracks with a soft “Oh.” Trini smiled. “I have to think about some things and move my car. Want a ride home?”

“Yes, please.”

“Cool, I can’t have your mom thinking I’d make you walk home alone.”

After dropping Billy off, Trini drove to the mine. She sat in her car quietly for a while, just looking at the dirt and gravel, trying to think of a reason why she’d kissed Kimberly back. So far, all she had was that it was a reflex, or that she had feelings for Kimberly. But how could she have feelings for Kimberly without knowing it until now? Trini wasn’t sure that was possible.

Eventually, the quiet of Armageddon had gotten to be too much for her. Trini climbed out of the car and started to walk around the site, heading to her usual spot. It was mostly out of habit, Trini’s usual spot was near the train tracks, and since she was hit by a train, Trini wasn’t too keen on hanging around the tracks. It was a little irrational, Trini knew this. The train could run her over and she would walk away unscathed, she knew this too. But Trini was not a fan of being hit by a train and would really rather it didn’t happen again.

She sat where they’d had their first bonfire, the first of many. Trini idly thought about starting one by herself, but it seemed a little sad to just sit alone out in the middle of nowhere with a tiny excuse of a fire. At least when Zack did it, he ate a can of beans and wore a leather jacket, it made him look a lot cooler. Trini had neither of those things. Nor did she have a lighter.

“Planning a campout?”

Trini jumped a little at the sudden noise and made a mental note to buy a bell for all her friends. She watched as Kimberly walked over toward her nervously, wringing her hands together, her eyes downcast. It was weird seeing Kimberly act so unsure of herself, Trini felt a small pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach.

“I don’t have a lighter.” Trini said quickly.

“So you’re just sitting in the dark instead.” Kimberly sat down on a big rock across from Trini. “Solid plan.”

“Well, I already sat around in my room in the dark.” Trini replied with a shrug. “Needed a change of scenery.”

“Billy said he talked to you.” Kimberly said quietly after a few moments of silence. “He said that you told him some things that he couldn’t tell anyone.” She chuckled. “He didn’t even tell us after Jason and I told him what we knew.”

Trini smiled a little. “So Jason knows?”

“Yeah, I scared the crap out of him while he was playing John Madden.” Kimberly nodded.

“John Madden?”

“John Madden football.”

“Oh.” Trini’s brow furrowed in confusion, but shrugged it off. “And Zack? Did you tell Zack?”

“I didn’t want to tell him over a text.”

“He’s gonna be mad that he was left out of all the drama.”

“No he won’t. He’ll get it.”

“He’ll still give me a hard time, though.”

They sat there for a minute. Neither of them talking. Trini didn’t know what to say. Part of her wanted to apologize for running while another part wanted to be mad at Kimberly for catching her off guard like that. She even apologized for it beforehand, just like she did before she threw Trini off that cliff. Trini’s brow furrowed. She wished Kimberly had thrown her off a cliff again. It’d be easier to deal with all of this mess.

“I can hear you thinking from here.” Kimberly said, smiling a little. “Wanna tell me what it’s about?”

“I was thinking about how you apologized before you kissed me.” Trini said quietly, her eyes trained on the ground.

Kimberly let out a dry laugh. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Just like when you threw me off that cliff.”

“I guess.”

“I kinda wish you’d thrown me off the cliff again.”

“Oh.”

Trini’s head snapped up and she looked Kimberly in the eye. “I didn’t mean it like that.” She said quickly, earning a confused look from Kimberly. “I just meant that it’d be easier to know what to feel. I’d be pissed at you, and that would be it. But this...” Trini gestured to the both of them. “This is just... I was less confused when I was falling to what I thought was gonna be my death.”

“I’m sorry.” Kimberly said, biting her lip.

“Don’t.” Trini shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize. I... you’re a great kisser, so I guess it balances out. You know? I’m confused as hell, but I-” Trini let out a small laugh. “I really liked kissing you. And that confuses me.”

“Like sexually?” Kimberly asked. “I thought you knew that you... liked girls?”

Trini let out a bark of a laugh. “No, not like that!” She shook her head quickly. “Emotionally confused, Kim.”

“What?” Kimberly frowned a little.

“I kissed you back.” Trini said. “When you kissed me, I kissed you back. And until then, I never thought I wanted to.”

“You never wanted to kiss me until I kissed you first?” Kimberly asked, raising her eyebrows. “Because I definitely got the feeling that you wanted to.”

“Seriously?” Trini asked, furrowing her brow.

“Seriously.”

“Oh wow.”

“I thought you liked me.”

Trini smiled a little. “I mean, what’s not to like, right? You’re pretty, you’re smart, you’re funny, you smell awesome, like consistently awesome, you punched a guy’s tooth out, you’re hard core, you cut your hair in the bathroom during detention, you’re a ranger like me, so I don’t have to keep secrets, you chased me up a cliff, which was pretty cool, you punched a guy’s tooth out-”

“You said that twice.”

“I know, it was just really significant.”

“But I already told you why I punched him. I wasn’t being heroic or saving anyone. I just did it because I called me a bitch.”

“Notice how the whole revenge porn thing was not on my list.” Trini paused. “My unfinished list, thank you very much.”

“Well, then finish it.” Kimberly rolled her eyes.

“You’re just fishing for compliments now.” Trini shook her head. “Besides, so far, all you’ve said is that you wanted to kiss me and you thought I liked you. Do you like me? Or did you just want to kiss me?”

Kimberly let out a sigh. “Of course I like you.”

“You have to make a list.”

“Why?”

“I made a list until you interrupted like a jerk.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll make a list.”

Trini gestured to Kimberly to go ahead.

“Here it goes.” Kimberly took a deep breath. “I like you because you’re blunt, you say what’s on your mind and you don’t pull any punches, you smell good too, and you’re really pretty.” Kimberly laughed a little. “You’re ridiculously pretty, you kick ass, you stabbed me with a fork once, and-”

“I remember that.” Trini frowned. “That got you hot?”

“No!” Kimberly shook her head. “Oh god, no! No! I’m not- No! What the hell?”

“It’s not so fun when someone interrupts your list, huh?” Trini smirked.

“That smirk used to be on my list, but now it’s not.”

“Well your smile was on my list, but you don’t get to hear why.”

“There’s a reason you like my smile?” Kimberly laughed.

“Yep.” Trini nodded, watching as Kimberly smiled. She looked adorable.

“Well, I won’t finish my list.” Kimberly replied.

“Good.”

They sat there quietly again. It was a little less awkward, Trini appreciated that. All she wanted to do was kiss Kimberly again. God, she was such a sap today.

“So, I really do like you.” Kimberly said quietly. “And I definitely should have said so before this whole mess.”

“I mean, you don’t have a problem saying most things.” Trini laughed. “Remember when you told Zordon that you had a wet wedgie? You can tell an ancient talking wall that you have a wedgie but you can’t tell a lesbian that you have a crush on her?”

Kimberly opened her mouth to reply then closed it and frowned. “That... is not the same thing.”

“Yeah, one is TMI for an ancient wall  face you don’t even know and the other is-”

“Something that could ruin our friendship.”

“That’s fair.”

“Yeah.”

Kimberly stood up and walked over to where Trini sat, kneeling down so they were eye level. “I’m gonna kiss you again. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Trini nodded.

“You sure?” Kimberly grinned and put her hand on Trini’s cheek.

Trini leaned into Kimberly’s touch and laughed. “It’s fine.”

“I’m just making sure.” Kimberly teased.

“You’re a jerk.” Trini replied quietly.

“I’m really sorry.” Kimberly said, leaning in.