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morninkim · 9 months

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Season 2 Arc: Rita & Tommy Breakdown

ANOTHER STORY BREAKDOWN. WOO.

Most of RotMMPR's second season would focus on the Rangers' struggle against a resurfaced Rita Repulsa, now in possession of Tommy. A big motif, like with the rest of the series, would be Control over others vs. Freedom of Expression, especially in regards to Tommy's past and present contrasted with Rita's, as well as how that shapes their attitudes toward Individuality.

Leaving the full under the cut, but if you wanna take a read, please do! (it is... very long.)

Pre-series Background: Rita

Zedd, and by extension Rita, represent exertion of control over others and bending their wills to suit your own needs. Through manipulation, through coercion, through possession.

Rita's backstory involves her beginning life as a construct created from Zedd's seventh shard of the Zeo Crystal. Throughout the old war era with the Original Rangers, she takes several bodies, accumulating their abilities as time goes on and with each new body, growing stronger. During this time, she goes by the name Atir, an archaic word from the Eltarian language meaning "zero" or "empty". Initially this name is given to her by Zordon as a descriptor when she first appears on a battlefield, taking bodies from both armies and discarding them when they get too damaged, she claims it for herself as an act of spite.

Her longest sustained body was Bandora, a witch from an outer world who by far provided her the most abilities of any of her bodies. Bandora was a sweet older woman, who was able to maintain her consciousness within Atir's possession thanks to her own abilities. Over time, Bandora would wear Atir down, showing the shadow kindness despite her use of her body, exploiting and cultivating a need for self expression in it. Bandora would then exploit this need, using it to exorcise Atir from her body and help Zordon and the Power Rangers trap the shadow in an Eltarian urn. However, Bandora's advanced age and weakened form led to her death immediately following the exorcism.

The urn would be jettisoned and left on what would eventually become Earth's moon, with the crippled Power Rangers' spaceship crash landing in what would be the Mojave desert.

Atir would lay dormant in the urn for 10,000 years, until it is uncovered by one of the last Apollo missions in the early 70s and comes under ownership and study of Dr. Sean Finster, a xenobiologist and linguistics enthusiast. He translates the writing on the urn as "Rita Repulsa", unaware that he has translated it backwards, with the the text reading "Atir Asluper" in old Eltarian. A rough translation to English would be "Empty Vessel", the Eltarian equivalent of Earth's "This is not a place of honor" warnings placed near nuclear waste sites.

Atir, having had no life to latch onto or communicate with for 10,000 years, immediately started to feed off of the good doctor's insecurities, projecting thoughts into his head and manipulating him into eventually releasing her again to destroy the newly emerged Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

She takes possession of Tommy at this point, who had just moved to Angel Grove a few months prior and continued to have trouble fitting in.

Pre-series Background: Tommy

Tommy grew up an orphan, adrift either on the streets or the foster system. She'd not had an easy life and to an extent had grown used to moving around, never staying in one place for too long. When she was eventually adopted by Grace Oliver two years ago, she finally felt like she could stay somewhere and never have to leave again. But that only lasted just over a year before they had to leave Reefside and move to Angel Grove, due to Grace's new job that she could never be super clear or honest about to her daughter.

The dishonesty frustrated Tommy, which made it difficult for her to feel like she could really put down roots, start to make friends and build a life. She became friendly with a few of the other kids at school, like Zack and Curtis Taylor, and Richie Mendoza, even getting a little cozy with Kimberly Hart, but she never felt like she could open up to them, not really.

On the day Rita's shadow takes her body, she'd just been stood up by Kimberly after she finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date (Kim got called away for Ranger business which would end up resulting in Rita's release, go figure). She feels isolated, bummed out and her anxiety gets to her hard. Which gives the shadow an opening to take hold and enter her mind.

Rita then uses Tommy's body to visit Dr. Finster in secret at his home and coerce him into using his knowledge of xenobiology and study of the Putty Patrollers to create monsters to attack Angel Grove and kill the Power Rangers so she can conquer the Earth unopposed. All this in the name of her Lord, the Dark Specter, Zedd. It's then she takes the name Rita Repulsa, once again claiming a name given to her for herself.

Green with Evil and Tommy's Struggle

Rita doesn't have full control at first, she's been dormant in the urn for 10,000 years and her power isn't at the fullest yet. She soon hears word of the missing Green Power Coin from Dr. Finster, who was present at the Rangers' first meeting with Zordon and Alpha V due to passing out during the devastating Rangers vs. Shadow Rita fight.

Rita decides that the best way to regain her previous strength would be to claim the missing Power Coin and use it to regenerate herself, at the cost of her host over time. Tommy remains unaware of her body being under Rita's control for a time, slowly becoming more and more agitated and unwell, as she gets little sleep while Rita claims her body almost every night. She starts becoming aware of it as Rita slowly takes more of a hold on her, pushing her to sabotage herself and her social life so she'll let go and surrender to Rita's control.

On the flipside, Rita also remains dormant in Tommy's mind as she goes about her day.

She makes up with Kimberly, going on a few dates that are actually successful, despite the Pink Ranger's duties and Tommy's increasing restlessness.

Grace opens up just a little bit, becoming worried for her daughter and not wanting her work to interfere more than it should with being there for her, as Tommy's struggling becomes all the more clear. She starts taking more time off to spend time with Tommy, inspired by Dr. Finster's own increased days off - not aware that he's spending that time creating monsters for the shadow inside her daughter.

Rita sows discord in Tommy's head, but she's able to ignore it for the most part. That is, until Rita claims the Green Power Coin in a battle with the Rangers, and her host's identity is revealed to them.

With Rita at full strength, in bursts, thanks to the Power Coin and her new Dark Green Ranger powers, Tommy now takes a backseat, a prisoner in her own head as Rita goes about her wreaking havoc as much as she is able to, whenever she wants to.

Tommy flip flops between wanting to keep herself afloat and wanting to just give up. She's already so far gone. Rita even attacks her mother, Tommy's face uncovered by her Dark Green helmet, frightening the closest thing she's ever had to family. Grace even manages to discharge a weapon at her assailant, making it hard for Tommy to picture anything else when thinking about her mother for a while.

Dr. Finster, growing weary of the shadow's manipulation and what she's made of him, sees Tommy's disheveled form in Rita's hideout in a rare moment of the shadow's absence and, realising her connection to Grace, appeals to her directly. He tells her of how Grace always wanted to make something of herself, but never truly could until she stopped doing it for other people, for their acceptance, or because they'd told her to. Be and act unapologetically as herself, on her own terms. He urges Tommy not to give up, to keep going for her own sake, anyone telling her different be damned. Including the shadow in her mind.

Rita hears this appeal, taking control for just a moment to push back against his words, but the seed in Tommy's mind had already been planted.

Rita, meanwhile, had found herself thinking about Bandora more and more, how she'd encouraged her individuality, to make decisions on her own terms and not because it was what Zedd had ordered of her. She'd also begun thinking about how she'd been depriving her hosts of that all this time, never considering what they may have wanted to do.

She comes to doubt her place in everything, in the Empire. After all, her master was defeated thousands of years ago, and yet here she is, still carrying out what she thinks would be his will, collecting what remained of him and sending her lackeys to do the same off-planet on the off-chance she could eventually restore his form and his Empire. Still acting on his behalf instead of her own.

The good Doctor's words further stirred these thoughts, perhaps leading to her outburst in opposition. He'd planted a seed in Tommy's head, and that's exactly where Rita lived. Despite these thoughts, she'd think herself too far gone. Nowhere to go now but down. And she'll take everyone and everything she can with her.

Conclusions

Rita launches what she considers her final assault, going all out and drawing all the energy she can from the Green Power Coin to destroy everything, essentially turning herself, and by extension Tommy, into a ticking time bomb. The Dragonzord blasts the city and surrounding areas, only barely fought off by the Rangers' newly formed Megazord, a sight Rita had not seen since her final battle with the previous team.

The Rangers' new Megazord overpowers the Dragonzord, leading to a ground battle where the team wear down the Dark Green Ranger, desperately appealing to their friend, to Tommy, to fight the shadow infecting her. They urge and encourage her self image, tell her to keep going, echoing many of the sentiments Finster had seeded already.

There's a short scene within a liminal space, between Rita and Tommy.

"Your friends seem set on taking you away from me."

"Yeah... They sure do." Tommy stands from her curled up position on the ground.

"Do you truly think you can just stop being mine?" Rita levels her staff at Tommy's throat, preparing to erase her completely.

Tommy shoves the staff away, fire in her eyes. "I've never been yours," she manifests the Dragon Saber in her hands, the weapon taking on a purified, more compact form, the Dragon Dagger. "Now get the hell out of my head!"

With the weapon plunged into Rita's proverbial heart, she is exorcised from Tommy's body, breaking the spell and freeing her.

A weakened, shadowed Rita watches from the rubble as the Rangers comfort their friend and take her back to the Command Center. Rita acts in desperation, mustering what little energy she'd already gathered to take control of Dr. Finster's body and put all the pieces of her Lord back together. She uses her remaining magic to revive what she can of Zedd, hoping for forgiveness for what she perceives as going against his wishes.

The shadow she revives is not whole, but it is enough of the Dark Specter to congratulate her on bringing him back, and in time he'll return to full strength. Now the two of them can continue what they started all those millennia ago-

"The two of us?" The Specter seems puzzled.

"Yes, we'll destroy this world together. Then conquer all that remains in this universe," the shadow responds, an old man's voice obviously unsteady. Whether it's the body she now inhabits, or a sign of her own insecurity, is unclear. "Won't we?"

"My dear, dear shadow. There is no 'we', I will be the one to control all. You will simply listen and follow my command. As you always have."

"No! I deserve to rule! All I've done, I've done for you! I deserve it!"

"Oh? Do you mean to defy me, shadow?"

Rita grits her teeth, glaring into the Specter. "My name is not 'shadow'. My name is Rita Repulsa, and you will listen to me!"

"Ah, so you do," The Specter sighs, "Pity. You were one of my favourites."

Without another word, the newly resurrected Zedd re-consumes the shadow he once created, replenishing his powers with hers and absorbing all the knowledge she'd gathered. Including knowledge of these new Power Rangers and the services Dr. Finster can provide.

While Tommy is rewarded and thrives by striving for her individuality and making her own choices; Rita has never had that and therefore has no clue what to do with it when she has it, which sends her into a panic - only truly coming to terms with it when confronted with having it taken away again, far too late.

That wouldn't be the last of Rita though, she'd make a reappearance in the finale to assist the Rangers by holding Zedd back from the inside, giving them an opening to end him once and for all.

A final act. A final choice that was truly her own, for herself, and for the ultimate good of others. It's not redemption, but she never wanted that.

#rotmmpr #mmpr #power rangers #rita repulsa #tommy oliver #for those unfamiliar rise is my version of an animated reboot for mmpr!#meta for a show that doesn't exist GO #gonna make a few more of these going into depth on some more rise stuff like character dynamics and arcs - y'know. along w more designs #wanna do one focussing on the various romances the show would have - tommy/kim trini/richie zack/angela etc #plus the already established relationships like ernie/ernie bulk/skull and stuff #some are more of a focus than others (tomberly obvs plays a big role) but they're all important in one way or another #ANYWAY #my writing #as usual some details might be subject to change as i keep developing my ideas - this is also mostly off the dome. also as usual lmao

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earthpodd · 1 year

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Now We Seem to Be Just Mates, Or Do You Want to Be More Than Friends?

Fandom: Power Rangers (2017)

Pairing: Zason, Trimberly

Word count: 10K

Summary: No matter how old you are, life always seems to find a way to get messy. If Zack had known how much headache it would bring, he would not have agreed to Kimberly's proposal. In the end, bringing the whole gang back together could only mean disaster, and if one were not careful, it could open up old wounds.

Read on AO3.

“Can you tell me again why you thought this was a good idea?” Not that Zack wasn’t on board with whole fake dating thing, but he figured that out of everyone from their former crew he was the last person Kim would choose as her pretend boyfriend. He was flattered, really. He had always loved a good ego stroking.

“I haven’t seen Trini in ten years, and I bumped into you by chance, so why not?”

Zack couldn’t really argue with that logic. Back on their senior year they had thought that they would be friends forever, that nothing would break them apart, but hey, life happened, as it always did. First Kimberly and Trini broke up, then everyone gradually started growing distant. They had other things to worry about after school, like college, work, or in Zack’s case, taking care of his mom.

Now, after ten years, they were finally having their high school reunion. He was super excited to see his former friends again, and maybe, just maybe, he just jumped at any opportunity to party. Though, Zack did wonder if all of them were going to show up, it was not like he could ask them. They didn’t exactly keep in touch anymore.

“You gotta give me more than that, Princess,” he requested, using the old nickname the gang had for Kim. He was sure it had probably been a long time since anyone called her that, but he wanted to take this opportunity to reminisce about their good old days. Life had taken everything away from him after that…

Okay, better not go there.

Zack could practically hear the gears grinding inside Kimberly’s brain when he raised his eyebrow at her. It looked like she was trying too hard to come up with a reason why she was so set on not showing up alone to their reunion. Or maybe, she was trying to hide the real reason, even though he already knew what this was all about. Trini. Was it really that hard for her to admit it?

It looked like he was gonna find out soon enough, seeing as Kim had just sighed and braced herself as if in danger. “Okay, fine! I just don’t want to show up alone in case Trini is there with someone,” she admitted at last.

“Don’t you think she’s gonna see right through it?” He asked, making the most dumbfounded expression he could muster at that moment. Zack was pretty sure Trini would be able to tell they were lying as soon as she saw them together, but he was not gonna say that to Kimberly. She seemed stressed enough.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, and he decided to leave it at that.

-x-

“I guess old habits really do die hard,” Zack commented casually when he showed up at Kim’s flat to pick her up the following evening. Kimberly had dressed up in a tight fitting, yet still very high class, pink dress, and just like her, he was also dressed all in his formerly assigned colour, a three-piece black suit with a black shirt under it.

They ended up both laughing at that, yet the air still seemed heavy with tension. Zack was worried their former friends wouldn’t show up and Kim was scared Trini would be with someone else. That made him wonder why they even broke up in the first place if Kimberly was still so obviously in love with Trini. Neither girl had ever told him what happened, and he gave up asking after being repeatedly shot down.

Kimberly and Trini were that disgustingly sweet couple. Everyone always thought Kim would end up with Jason, but Zack knew better. He had seen, multiple times, the way Kimberly looked at Trini before they got together, when she thought no one was paying attention. Plus, there was also the matter of the unresolved sexual tension whenever they were in the same room together.

After they finally stopped dancing around each other, it was like they turned a switch, and no one could tell where one began and the other ended. It got to the point where it was almost unbearable to witness and they kept finding reasons to leave the two of them alone, but the truth was, they were happier then, than ever before, so they all supported their relationship.

“You know, you never told me why you two broke up. What happened?” He decided to ask after a while, breaking the silence. He figured that since it had happened so long ago, she would finally be ready to talk about it. They were both still in Kim’s bedroom since she was not ready yet when he got there to pick her up. She was currently fiddling with her earrings and trying to decide which one fit better with her dress.

Zack saw her visibly tense, and when she didn’t turn away from the mirror to look at him, he almost regretted having asked in the first place, but now it was too late to take back his words, and he did want to know.

“My parents,” she said, simply, and Zack frowned. That, it seemed, did the trick and Kimberly turned to face him at last, continuing from where she had stopped. “I was too scared to tell them.”

The admission only made him feel even more confused. As far as Zack knew, Kim’s parents were okay with her liking girls as well as boys, unless they were like those who only accepted queer people if it wasn’t in their family. He had met too many people like that. “But didn’t they already know? I mean, you two were not exactly subtly.”

He heard her sigh at that, and then she was nodding, but her expression seemed sour. “They probably did, but I was still too much of a coward to come clean.”

Zack regretted it for sure now. Sure, he had his curiosity satisfied, but Kimberly looked like she was on the verge of tears, and it made him feel like an asshole for being the one to put her through that.

Kicking up from where he was sitting on her bed, Zack rushed towards Kim and pulled her into his arms, trying to ensue at least a little bit of comfort to make up for the pain he had caused by reopening old wounds. It was the least he could do.

“You’re gonna crumple my dress,” she complained, light-heartedly as she pushed against Zack’s chest, and he knew the moment was over. He let her go, mumbling a cheeky apology and stepping back with his hands raised.

“Let me just put on these earrings and then we’re good to go.”

-x-

The car drive to Angel Grove High School was mostly spent in companionable silence. They had the radio on low volume as background noise, but they were too immersed in their own heads to pay any attention to it. The closer they got to their former school, the more nervous they got.

“Here!” Kimberly said, folding a pink handkerchief that matched her dress perfectly and putting it in the pocket of Zack’s suit. “I forgot to give it to you when picked me up.”

Zack just looked down at the handkerchief and nodded, just now remembering that they weren’t going as friends, but rather he was pretending to be Kim’s boyfriend for the evening.

“Milady!” He exclaimed, and offered Kimberly his elbow, so she could attach herself to it before they walked inside the school.

“Ready?”

-x-

Zack was honestly underwhelmed. The decoration, the music, the people… nothing was up to his expectations. He didn’t know most of his former classmates, that was a fact, but right now he felt like he didn’t know anyone aside from Kimberly. It didn’t help that he felt his hopes being shattered when he didn’t see anyone from their old gang there.

“Isn’t that one of your cheerleader friends?” He asked as he spotted a blond girl with two kids on her arms and a middle-aged bald man standing beside her. He knew friend was not exactly the right word to refer to any of the cheerleaders since they all turned on Kim when she quit the squad, but for lack of a better word, he went with that.

Kimberly frowned, squinting her eyes as she followed Zack’s gaze, and then he saw it, and as soon as she did, her eyes shone with recognition. Zack took the opportunity to be a little shit, for old times’ sake. “Wanna go say hi?”

Kim seemed reluctant, but Zack took her hand in his and tugged her towards the woman whose name he had already forgotten anyway. He was dying to see the look on her face when she saw Kimberly.

“Heeeeey, Heather Kristina Pamela Kendall Jackson-Johnson!” Zack greeted and he saw Kim roll her eyes beside him, meaning she had gotten his reference, but despite the silent reprimand, he could tell she was also amused by it, especially when her former squad mate looked at them with widened eyes.

“Hi, Kelly!” Kimberly’s greeting was almost shy in comparison to Zack’s, but he supposed it was probably because she was still on edge even though Trini was not there.

Kelly, as Kim had called her, still took a little while to recover from her initial shock, and then she was putting her kids down, avoiding both of their gazes. That was exactly the reaction Zack had expected, and he was very pleased with himself.

“Kimberly… what a surprise…” Zack tuned out the conversation after that. He had already had his fun, and even though back then he would had given anything to witness Kelly’s discomfort after what she did to Kim, he was more worried about taking a look around in hopes that he could spot any more familiar faces. He saw some of the guys from the football team, and if Jason was there, Zack would drag him there as well to make fun of those losers.

Man, he missed Jason!

“…I have my own clothing brand now…” Kim and Kelly’s awkward conversation was interrupted by a collective gasp.

Someone had just walked into the room and Zack recognised her right away, despite how different she looked. Long gone were the beanies and the slightly butch style. Trini’s hair was now much shorter, chin length and straightened. Her lips were tinted with a nude coloured lipstick and she was dressed in a white corset with yellow stylish khaki pants to complement the look.

Zack would honestly have wolf-whistled if he didn’t think Trini was still fully capable of kicking his ass. Beside him, Kimberly was having probably the same reaction. Her mouth was slightly open, and never had the term jaw-dropping fit a moment so well.

“Clean the drool. You’re supposed to be my fake girlfriend, remember?” He teased in a low tone, making sure to lean towards Kim’s ear as soon as Trini’s gaze fell on them. He saw her jaw clenching from the corner of his eyes and smirked. Good.

Completely forgetting about Kelly, they walked towards Trini. Zack was slightly in the front, trying to shield Kimberly’s disarray of emotions from vision. It wouldn’t work out if Trini saw any of that.

Before they could make it to Trini, though, two more figures emerged from the double doors of the gymnasium. Jason and Billy walked in together, and just like that, the whole gang was at the same place again.

Momentarily forgetting about Kim, Zack rushed towards the new arrivals, stopping short of hugging Jason with all his might, even though he knew that probably made things even more awkward. “Long time no see, Boss Man!”

Zack was grinning from ear to ear as he looked Jason up and down, and then he turned his smile towards Billy, greeting him as well, as if nothing had changed in the past ten years.

In the matter of a few seconds, before Billy or Jason could even respond, Zack felt a hand slipping against his and came back to his senses.

Right, he was Kimberly’s fake boyfriend.

Squeezing Kim’s hand, Zack spotted Trini behind her, eyeing him strangely.

Billy was the one to break the silence. “Are you two together?”

Zack hadn’t expected Billy of all people to blurt out the question like that, but still, he grinned, leaning his head towards Kimberly’s and pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her head.

“Yeah!”

“When did that happen?” This time Jason was the one to pose the question and Zack didn’t fail to notice the tone of accusation in his former friend’s voice. Maybe he was mistaken, but he thought he saw a flicker of hurt in Jason’s eyes when their gazes met again.

“This is obviously a ruse. Can’t you see it?” Trini asked, pushing past Zack and Kimberly and standing beside Jason. Zack couldn’t help but turn his face to smirk at her.

“What? Butthurt you lost the girl to me?”

Zack knew he shouldn’t aggravate the situation, but if he wanted Trini to get jealous for real and admit she was still into Kim as well he would have to do his job right. And if that meant being an asshole, hey, at least it was the most entertaining thing to happen at this reunion so far.

Instead of replying to him, Trini crossed her arms in front of her chest. Zack took that as a victory. He almost felt sorry for how exasperated Billy looked as his gaze went from Zack to Trini and occasionally to Kimberly. He had always been the most compassionate of them and the one to try to fix things when they were fighting.

“Well, this has been fun, but I need a smoke,” Zack announced as he started pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and moving towards the double doors. “You coming, Kim?” When she just shook her head, he turned his gaze on Jason. “Jase?”

Jason seemed to be waking up from his stupor after the question, but he nodded hastily, and then they walked outside side by side.

Zack leaned against the wall to the side of the gymnasium, placing a cigarette between his lips before he fished for the lighter. The first drag was the longest, desperate even, and when he finally breathed the smoke out, his shoulders slumped, visibly relaxing.

“So, how is your mom?” Jason asked, and Zack flinched, turning his attention on him again. His eyes raked through Jason’s features, trying to find any trace of a joke there, but he found none. Somehow that disappointed him even more, as fucked up as it sounded. He had hoped Jason would have at least kept track of him. They used to so close after all.

“She died eight years ago,” he said, after another drag from the cigarette. Shoulders rolling in a shrug that was supposed to pass as nonchalant, but the action was too stiff for it to seem believable.

The truth was that Zack hadn’t gotten over his mother’s death yet. When it happened, all those years ago, no one showed up to the funeral. It was only Zack and the priest. Not that he blamed them, they no longer had any contact with each other, but he had hoped against hope that at least one of them would be there. In the end it was all for nothing.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Zack chose not to acknowledge Jason’s words, he just shrugged again, this time more genuinely and continued smoking his cigarette, letting them fall into an engulfing silence. It was not exactly comfortable.

“I saw you coming out of a Starbucks a couple years ago when I got back to California,” Jason started, seemingly having opted to change the subject. “I was surprised to see you, of all people, wearing a police uniform. I tried to get your attention, but you ignored me and got into your car. I still can’t believe you’re a cop!”

That got Zack’s attention. His features scrunched up in thought, but he honestly had no recollection of seeing Jason.

“I probably didn’t see you,” he said at last, dropping his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it to extinguish the fire.

“How long are you staying in Angel Grove for?” Jason asked, and Zack had to commend his determination not to let the conversation die.

“I don’t know yet. I gotta ask Kim since we’re going back to L.A. together.”

The words were not even fully out of Zack’s mouth before he saw Jason’s expression souring up. Before he could ask what was wrong, Billy showed up at the gymnasium’s door, looking quite distraught. “Uhm, guys?”

“What’s wrong?” Zack asked as he and Jason started walking towards Billy, but as soon as they reached the door, he could hear all the commotion and the raised voices.

“You could have picked literally anyone, but you picked Zack? Seriously? I didn’t think you could drop so low.” Trini’s voice was full of anger and accusations, and Zack honestly had no idea what was happening. “You know how Jason…”

She didn’t get to finish that sentence because as soon as Zack took a good look at Kim and saw the state she was in, he stomped into the room and wrapped an arm around Kimberly, bringing her to him protectively. “I think we better go now, Kim.” As insulted as he was over what Trini had said, this was not the time for him to worry about a bruised ego. Trini’s hostility was to be expected. He was dating her ex now, after all, and on top of that, he was supposed to be one of her former best friends.

Zack only waited for Kimberly to nod in agreement before he started walking towards the exit, ignoring Billy’s protests behind them and Jason calling his name. He had been too stupid to think that everything would work out after all these years and that they would all somehow go back to being friends. Really stupid indeed.

“Are you okay?” He asked, as soon as they got inside the car. It was almost funny to think how he was taking Kim’s side in this when Trini was the one whom he used to be closest to back in their school days. Things changed over time, and Kimberly was the only one he even ever saw in those ten years since their gang broke apart.

“I’m fine!” Kim assured him, wiping the corners of eyes with a tissue. The tears had completely ruined her make up and seeing that only made Zack’s blood boil all over again with anger.

“What was that all about?” He asked, his tone a bit more serious and colder than usual. A few years back he wouldn’t even be able to act so serious, but he did a lot of maturing after his mom passed.

Kimberly took her time with the question, opening and closing her mouth, looking out of the window, breathing shallowly and slumping her shoulders. Zack was patient with her and just waited though. “Trini is mad at me for dating you. Not exactly because of the dating part, though I don’t think it bothered her, but for a different reason.”

“Does it have something to do with Jason?” Zack asked, as soon as Kim was finished talking. His forehead was scrunched up in a frown, being out of the loop was not exactly something he appreciated.

Zack saw Kimberly swallow in dry. Somehow that was answer enough.

“I can’t tell you about it, though.”

Zack had already expected that response, so he was not surprised.

-x-

“Are you sure you’re gonna be fine by yourself? It looks like your parents aren’t back yet,” which felt odd because it was already way past ten pm. Did corporate dinners really last all that long?

Kimberly seemed to think so, because she laughed and then opened the door of the car, turning back to look at Zack before getting out. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry! I’ll text you if anything happens.”

“Okay,” Zack conceded and waved her out with a smile, returning to his normal self at last.

“See you tomorrow!” Kim called as she closed the door. Zack just nodded and revved the engine to drive back to his hotel room.

-x-

Some food and a shower later, Zack felt more like himself again. He was just coming out of the shower, towel still wrapped around his waist and using another to dry his hair, when he heard his phone’s notification tone.

Thinking that it was Kimberly texting him, he rushed to the bedside table where his phone was plugged to the charger and sat down on his bed to read the text he just received.

[ TEXT | Unknown Number ]

are you doing anything tomorrow?

my dad keeps asking about you

you should come over

it’s jason, btw

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

how did u get my number?

[ TEXT | Boss Man ]

billy

“That little hacker,” Zack cursed out loud, even though there was no one there to hear him. He plopped down properly against the bed, ignoring the fact that he was still not fully dry, and kept on texting. That was a problem for future Zack, right now he couldn’t care less about wet sheets.

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

kim & I are going out 2morrow

wanna come with us?

[ TEXT | Boss Man ]

kim won’t mind?

Zack had to laugh out loud at that. If only Jason knew…

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

u won’t believe who just txtd me

jason !!!!!!!

[ TEXT | Princess ]

why did he text you?

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

he wants 2 meet 2morrow

I said I was going out with u

but that he could come with us

[ TEXT | Princess ]

no problem

Zack quickly switched back to Jason’s chat.

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

she said it’s fine

Since Jason didn’t read the text right away, Zack got up from the bed and went about his business. He stopped in front of his suitcase and took a pair of fresh underwear and put them on, moving to the bathroom next so he could drop out the wet towels.

When he got back in bed, there was a text from Jason waiting for him.

[ TEXT | Boss Man ]

see you tomorrow then

goodnight, zack

Sorry, force of habit

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

d’awwwn

who would’ve thought u’re such a softie

night, jase <3

[ TEXT | Boss Man ]

shut up

---

“Did you text Jason the address?” Kim asked for what seemed the hundredth time since they arrived at Krispy Kreme. She seemed even more nervous than the day before.

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t forget where Krispy Kreme is, Princess,” the use of the old nickname as well as Zack’s laughter was supposed to lighten the mood a little. Sure, Jason was half an hour late, but Zack was pretty sure he wouldn’t stand them up.

Taking Kimberly’s hand in his, he squeezed it softly, still playing the role of her boyfriend. “Why don’t we order first and then when he gets here he can order for himself? There is no reason to starve ourselves while we wait.”

When Kim nodded, he just ensued their orders and waited for them to be delivered.

Jason arrived before their order was delivered, and if possible, Zack saw Kimberly tense even more beside him. He wondered why she was so worked up. He was sure it had something to do with what Trini had insinuated at the class reunion, but he couldn’t possibly ask about it in front of Jason. Plus, she had already told him she couldn’t talk about it, so…

“Sorry, I was helping my dad fix the truck and lost track of time,” Jason apologised, looking mostly at Zack, though he did smile at Kim. “Thanks for letting me crash your date.”

Zack laughed to bring attention to himself so Jason wouldn’t see how Kimberly visibly tensed and started chewing on her lower lip as if she felt guilty about something. He stored that little information into a drawer in his brain so he could ask her about it later.

“It’s all good, Boss Man. We all need to catch up, though you should’ve brought Billy with you, so you don’t feel like a third wheel.” Zack was obviously joking, but when both Jason and Kim looked anywhere else but at him or even each other he started feeling awkward. He hated being left in the dark.

The destiny worked in funny ways, and Zack would be forever grateful to the waitress who arrived at their table to deliver the doughnuts and drinks they had ordered.

“Oh my god! Are you Jason Scott, the actor? I saw you on TV last night. Wait until I tell my sister you were here today. She is gonna flip.”

Okay, maybe he spoke too soon.

“Uh, I think you got my drink mixed up,” he said, just to break the tension and to save Jason from the waitress’ attention. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

That seemed to do the trick and soon she turned to look at him with a frown on her face. “I ordered a blueberry smoothie.” As if on cue, he lightly shook the plastic cup in front of her, like a pendulum, to show her what he meant.

“I’ll keep the strawberry milkshake, just bring him the smoothie,” Jason said, before she could collect the drink and ordered some fruit cakes along with it.

Most of the tension seemed to vanish after that.

“You’re such a cop,” Jason teased him as Zack picked up a doughnut and took a bite of it.

“Excuse me? I’ve been eating these since way before I became a cop.”

Zack looked completely offended, but it was just for show. He did fall under a few of the stereotypes people had about policemen, and he didn’t mind getting called out on them. It was funny, most of the time.

To his side Kimberly chuckled, a muffled sound. That was all the indication he needed to know that she was fine now, and that the initial nervousness she was feeling was at least mostly gone.

They talked for hours after that. Asking questions about each other’s lives, laughing and joking. It all felt almost like the good old days when they would go there after detention and just hang out until it was time for Jason to go home before his curfew, since he was still under house arrest back then.

“We should do this again sometime,” Jason said after they had paid the bill and walked outside towards the parking spots. “And you really should come over, so my dad stops asking about you.”

Jason chuckled, but Zack could tell it was forced. He seemed nervous all of a sudden, as if he feared being rejected. Weird.

“I’ll make sure to visit him before we go back to LA,” he agreed with a grin and was happy to see Jason visibly relax after that, though he could still notice some tension between him and Kimberly.

Moving to stand in front of Kimberly, Zack pressed a quick peck to her lips for the sake of keeping appearances and stepped back with a smile. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

Kim nodded promptly, but perhaps a little shaken by the kiss. Zack couldn’t blame her, he had spouted that out of the blue, just remembering that they were still pretending to be a couple. He kept forgetting it, and for some reason, it was always when Jason was around.

The gentleman code stated that he had to take her home after a date, but since they were only fake dating and no one would really expect that much chivalry from him, he figured he was safe from reprimand.

“Okay, I’m gonna leave first. The game starts in ten minutes, and I don’t wanna miss it,” he announced, waving at both Jason and Kimberly. In fact, there was no game, but Zack was in a hurry to leave so maybe Jase and Kim could work out whatever it was that was causing tension between them.

“You’re not staying at the Hart’s?”

Shit! Zack should have thought it would sound suspicious that they weren’t staying together.

“I didn’t want to impose,” he hoped that was a good enough save, but even if it wasn’t, he wasn’t gonna stick around to find out.

“Bye!”

-x-

“Mrs Cranston!” Zack greeted, enveloping her into a bone crushing hug and lifting Billy’s mom off the ground. It had been so long since he had last seen her, and she had always treated him so well whenever the gang came over. She was honestly the one person he missed the most outside of the gang.

That morning he had woken up to a text from Billy inviting him to come over for lunch, and since Zack had nothing planned for the day, he agreed. What he didn’t expect was to see the whole gang there once he put Mrs Cranston back down on the ground.

“Hey, guys!”

The greeting felt a little stiff, but just because he had been caught by surprise. Specially by Trini’s accusing glare. Oh well, he should better prepare for a day full of awkwardness.

Walking fully into the living room, Zack claimed the spot beside Kimberly on the arm of the sofa and kissed the top of her head, and when she fixed him with a look, he just grinned. She was probably worried about him antagonising Trini.

“Why don’t we watch a movie?” Billy suggested, probably trying to appease everyone and make things light-hearted again. Zack was sure he would rather avoid a repeat of the class reunion.

Whenever they would come over to Billy’s house back in their high school days, they would all lay down, all over each other and pick something on Netflix to watch. They never paid much attention to the plot, more interested in talking to each other and making jokes.

Right now, things were not quite like that, mostly because of the whole thing that happened in the class reunion.

“I’m gonna go see if your mom needs help in the kitchen,” Kim announced a few minutes after Billy had put on some random comedy film to play. They had been sitting there, stiff and awkward, and Zack figured she probably just wanted to get away from that. He’d do the same if he could.

“So, Billy, what have you been up to?”

The answer came from Jason, rather than Billy himself. “He’s always busy with his girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” Zack smirked, wiggling his brows at Billy and moving closer to him so he could nudge his side in camaraderie. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

Billy, for the most part just blushed and stuttered, trying to answer the question but stumbling over his words because of how embarrassed he was. It drew a chuckle from Zack, though there was no malice in it. He had actually kind of missed making Billy all flustered.

“He’s dating Tommy Oliver,” Jason came to the rescue again, and Zack’s eyes all but bulged out of their sockets.

“Tommy Oliver as in the same Tommy Oliver that Kim dated after Trini? Holy shit!”

Trini chose that moment to groan out loud and glare at Zack again. Apparently, she was way more butthurt than he had previously thought. That kind of made him feel bad for making jabs at her at every given opportunity.

“Oh, come on! Don’t get mad, Crazy Girl,” this time Zack aimed his nudges at Trini, trying to make up for being kind of an asshole to her, even if she was kind of an asshole to Kimberly at the class reunion. “You know she only dated Tommy to make you jealous.”

“Like she is doing now? With you?”

Zack visibly flinched with Trini’s tone. It was harsher than he had ever heard being directed at him. Even when he had fucked up, multiple times, back at school, she had never spoken to him like that. But before he could say anything back, she continued. “That’s not why I’m mad, y’know?”

There it was again. The secret they were keeping from him. As much as Trini seemed to be dying to share, she still didn’t give in. It should be something huge then. It only made Zack want to know even more, because it definitely had something to do with him.

“Why is that then?” He asked, his tone now more sombre and serious. All of his playfulness had been cast aside and he was genuinely angry, jaw clenched and all that.

“Ask your girlfriend.”

Zack scoffed. He wanted to point out that he already had, but that Kimberly wouldn’t tell him, but then he noticed how Trini wasn’t even looking at him. She was looking at Jason, that same fierce look she had been giving him just a minute prior, but differently from him, Jase had just paled under it.

“I heard shouting, is everything alright?” Mrs Cranston asked, showing up at the door that led to the kitchen, Kim right behind her.

“Y’know what, whatever.”

And with that Trini left the house in a rush, not even bothering to say goodbye to anyone. Unexpectedly, Kimberly was ready to run after her. “Trini, wait!”

Kim shot him a significant look and then she was bolting out of the door. Zack just sighed and sat back down with his face on his hands. He was wondering if it was worth it to keep this ruse just for the sake of getting Trini and Kimberly back together. Things were getting out of hand.

A moment later he felt the sofa dipping by his side and a hand brushing against his shoulder blades comfortingly. He could tell it was Jason by the pressure of the touch and the warmth of his skin. It had a nostalgic sense of intimacy.

“I should go,” he announced after a little while. The last thing he had wanted was to cause a scene at Billy’s house. He couldn’t even face Mrs Cranston properly right now, though he had to say goodbye to her and apologise.

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Mrs Cranston. Thanks for inviting me for lunch!”

She tried to argue with him to stay and at least eat something before leaving, but honestly, Zack didn’t even have much of an appetite at the moment. All he wanted to do was go to his hotel room and become one with the bed.

“What if Kim comes back?” Billy asked, as Zack was leaving, and after only a second’s consideration, he shook his head. There was no need to worry about that. Kimberly was definitely not coming back.

“I’ll text her on the way.”

And then he left.

-x-

Back in his hotel room, Zack flopped onto his bed, fishing his phone and wallet from his pockets so he would be more comfortable. He had texted Kimberly as soon as he got into his car, telling her that they should talk, but so far, he didn’t get anything back. He wondered if she was still with Trini.

A few minutes later, when he was just about to doze off, he finally got a text from Kim.

[ TEXT | Princess ]

I’m coming over

see you in 5

[ TEXT | Crazy Boy ]

just txt me when u get here

It didn’t take long for Kimberly to arrive, and Zack opened the door stoically. This whole thing had taken its toll on him, even though it had only been three days since he started pretending to be Kim’s boyfriend.

Keeping up the lie was harder than he had thought. Maybe if they weren’t lying to their friends, things could have been different, easier. He could even be enjoying himself. He knew it was not her fault, but fuck, he really wanted to put the blame on someone other than himself. It would be much easier than trying to figure out this mess. The spiderweb of lies only kept growing and he was not even the spider at the forefront. He was just another insect that got entangled due to his own dumb decisions.

“What are you hiding from me?”

“I told Trini we’re not together.”

They said at the same time and Zack gestured for Kimberly to talk first. He was actually curious to know what had happened when she went after Trini. So much so he could set aside his own worries and feelings for now.

“She already knew we were lying,” Kim confessed, and Zack resisted the urge to say I told you so, because he had been sure they wouldn’t be able to fool Trini, but if she already knew they weren’t together, then why had she gotten so mad?

As if reading his mind, he saw Kimberly sigh and press her fingers against the bridge of her nose right before she launched into an explanation. “She’s mad because we’re lying to Jason.”

That confused Zack even more. He had kinda figured it was because of Jason, but there were pieces missing in that puzzle that just made it impossible for him to understand what was going on.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

Zack folded his arms across his chest and supported all his weight on the right side of his body, a clear sign that he was feeling defensive, or generally worried about something.

Despite the clear conflict on Kimberly’s face, this time he didn’t budge. This was already the second time this same topic had caused a scene and he felt entitled to know what was going on so he could decide whether to jump train.

“It’s not my place to tell you,” Kim said at last, and Zack huffed out in disappointment and even a little bit of anger and frustration. He really thought he would get a straight answer this time. He wanted to press, but before he could, she continued. “You should ask Jason.”

Those words kept rolling around in his head long after Kimberly had left his hotel room and gone home. Why hadn’t he thought of doing that before? It was clear that he wasn’t going to get anything out of Kim, much less from Trini, so why had he neglected the third possible source, the one that was actually most relevant to the topic and directly involved in it?

Still musing around the thought, Zack decided to pick up his phone, intent on shooting a text to Jason, but then talked himself out of doing it. This was not the type of conversation he could have through text.

Picking up his car keys, he dashed out of the hotel.

-x-

The Scott’s residency still looked the same as it did when Zack was younger, except maybe for the paint job it got, and one detail or other. He didn’t use to come over there much in the beginning, the relationship between Jason and his father was already bad enough without the added presence of teenage guests, but as thing got better between them, the place started feeling almost like a second home to Zack.

He wondered if it would still feel the same now. He was, admittedly, a little scared it wouldn’t.

Making his way to the front porch with a pack of beer in his hand, Zack knocked on the door, softly, twice, as if to mask the nervousness he was feeling and not appear as overly desperate. Most feelings probably only detectable in his own head.

“Zack?!”

Jason seemed surprised to see him, and for his part, Zack just grinned and showed him the pack of beer he brought with himself. “Didn’t you say your dad wanted to see me?”

He didn’t know if it was a good time for Jason, and he knew that showing up out of the blue was not really right on his part, but Zack had been driven by his need of answers. If needed, he would just have to ignore the awkwardness.

“Yeah… come in!” Jason said, moving out of the way so Zack could actually step into the house.

Zack looked around the place in awe. It was the first time he set foot inside the Scott’s residency in ten years. “I love what your mom did with the décor.”

The casual comment earned him a small smile from Jason and then they were walking further inside the house. They stopped to greet Mrs Scott in the kitchen and then moved to the backyard where Jason’s dad was.

“Look who came to see us,” Jason announced, and Zack just mustered up his best grin to stay in character despite adversity. It wasn’t so hard. He was genuinely as excited to see Mr Scott, as he had been to see Mrs Cranston. He just hoped that there would be no other scene to ruin his visit this time. He was tired of bringing trouble to the people he cared about but hadn’t seen in forever. They didn’t deserve that.

Jason’s dad, as it seemed, had really been looking forward to seeing Zack, because as soon as he saw him, Zack felt himself being engulfed in a hug, a genuine one, none of those awkward half hugs men usually shared between themselves, which was why he felt comfortable enough to pat Mr Scott on the back.

Jason, Zack observed, was watching them with a strange look, almost like fondness. He didn’t know what to make of it.

“Look at you, kid, all grown up!” Mr Scott said as they pulled away from the hug, but not quite letting Zack go yet as he held him by his arms, just squeezing them as if he couldn’t contain himself.

Zack chuckled but accepted the compliment despite that. He was really proud of what he had accomplished considering not many people had much faith in him.

“Jason here told me you’re a cop now?” Mr Scott’s words were filled with amusement, like they were sharing an inside joke. Zack had been quite the rebel in his teenage years so he couldn’t say he didn’t understand.

“I bet you didn’t expect that,” he teased jokingly, still holding up that look of overconfidence that was characteristic to him.

“And you’re dating Kimberly?”

Zack visibly deflated when that question arose. So much for trying to keep an upbeat attitude.

“You know, I always thought you and Jason would be the ones to end up together.”

That made Zack stare at Jason’s dad in a little bit of a shock. He wondered if Mr Scott knew how big of a crush Zack had on his son back then. Not that he didn’t find Jason attractive now, but he had come to terms with the fact they didn’t have any chance of ever being together.

Mr Scott continued without even being prompted. “You two were always holed up together in the bedroom, and then there was that time I caught you two spooning when I went to wake Jason up to go to school…”

“Okay, dad! Enough with the embarrassing stories.” Zack looked at Jason only to find him completely flustered. The embarrassment was actually kind of funny, but also cute. He could perfectly remember that day. He shot out of bed so fast and then scrambled to find his clothes carelessly thrown around. Mr Scott had given him quite the scare.

Zack knew what it had looked like back then, but the truth was that he and Jason hadn’t had sex that day, or ever, to be honest. Zack had just shown up there when Jason was already ready for bed and since it was a hot summer night, he had stripped out of his clothes for the sake of being comfortable. They played video games late into the night, and at some point, eventually fell asleep.

Still to this day, he doesn’t know how they ended up spooning, but the fear he felt that day was off the charts. Zack had always been known for being careless and ruining things, for himself and for others, but his relationship with Jason and his family had been something he had never wanted to ruin.

He spent days without setting foot in Jason’s house after that, days avoiding his friend, thinking that everything had gone to shit. That was, until Mr Scott decided he had had enough of it and showed up at school to assure Zack that everything was fine.

Zack almost had a stroke that day.

Now, looking at Mr Scott, he wondered if that had been his way of showing his support.

“Come on! Let’s go up to my room,” the hand on his shoulder almost startled Zack out of his reverie, but still he nodded at Jason, shortly, before turning in a grin, a little less bright than before, at Mr Scott.

“I better not find the two of you spooning when I call you for dinner,” he warned, but Zack knew he was joking, so he found it in himself to laugh before following Jason inside of the house.

-x-

Being in Jason’s room felt different. Zack was thrown across the bed staring up at the ceiling while he waited for Jason to come back from the restroom. They hadn’t talked about anything important yet, both probably avoiding the subject, but he was fine with that, at least for now.

Taking a look around the room, Zack noticed a photo glued to Jason’s mirror. The sight of it was enough to get him up from the bed and stalking towards the piece of furniture. His fingers reached to rub across the surface of the printed picture. There he was with Jason, smiling, hugging each other. Things were easier back then.

“Remember that day?”

Zack was startled out of his thoughts by the question. He hadn’t heard Jason come back inside of the room at all. What would his cop friends think if they saw him being caught off guard like this? “Yeah… it was right before your dad’s birthday, when we went to the waterfall.”

His hand dropped from the photo and retracted back to his side. Zack didn’t dare to turn around yet. He knew his face would show a little betrayal if he did so. That had been the last time he and Jason went anywhere together before everything fell apart, so it brought both good and bitter memories.

A few seconds later Zack felt the pressure of a forehead being pressed against his back, right between his shoulder blades. It was another thing that brought back memories.

“Do you really love Kimberly?”

Zack didn’t answer the question, he couldn’t and didn’t want to. It crossed his mind to tell Jason that he did love her, which was true, just not in the way he was asking, but deflecting it seemed like the better idea. He wanted to get Jason to talk. “What are you hiding from me?”

Silence ensued after that, and only faint breathing could be heard in the room.

When Zack was starting to think that he would not get a response out of Jason, he heard him sigh against his back, and then the pressure was off his shoulder blades, causing him to turn around and come face to face with the one who withhold the information he needed.

“Let’s sit for a little bit, I need to tell you something.”

Zack didn’t waste a second before joining Jason on the bed. They sat across from each other, but close enough so that their knees were pressed together softly. They used to sit like that all the time back in high school.

His expression held all of the signs of anticipation, and as time dragged on and Jason still didn’t say anything, Zack wanted to enquire him, get him to just spill everything, but at the same time, he didn’t want to pressure Jason. It would do no good.

He could tell that Jason was struggling with something. He looked like a mix of nervous, anxious, scared and excited. Those were far too many emotions for a single person to handle all at once.

Since there was nothing he could really do until he knew what the fuck was actually going on, Zack simply reached out to take Jason’s hand in his and held it. He massaged the space between Jason’s fingers, trying to offer him some comfort, and also to get out with whatever it was that he wanted to say.

“Do you remember how we used to stay up together and fall asleep at pretty much any place?” Zack was confused by the question, but he still nodded anyway. They had even slept on top of an abandoned car once, just looking up at the stars and talking about how much of a pain in the ass their teachers were.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Jason was his safe haven back then.

“When we slept on the hood of that car after the bonfire. You didn’t see it. I know you were asleep, but I still can’t stop thinking that maybe that was the reason why we drifted apart.”

Zack tried hard to make sense of what Jason was saying. That night was the same one he had been thinking of, but he couldn’t remember anything special about, anything that would make them drift apart. Had he maybe said something bad in his sleep?

His head was slumped down as he gave it some thought. No, but that didn’t make any sense. Jason had said it was something he hadn’t seen, and even if he were of the habit of talking in his sleep, he couldn’t think of anything he could have said that would..

WAIT.

“Did I… Did I actually sleep talk and tell you I had a crush on you? Oh my… Fuck!” Zack was full on panicking now. He got up from Jason’s bed and started rethinking everything that happened after that day.

He could faintly hear Jason calling out to him, but he was so lost in his own mind that he wasn’t woken up from the current stupor by it.

After that day Jason had started hanging out with him less and less, and things kept escalating badly. First, they stopped sitting together in the classes they had together, then they stopped having lunch together, and eventually they wouldn’t even greet each other in the hallways anymore.

Fuck! Had that really been all his fault?

Before he could spiral even further down this bolt of self-despair, Zack felt hands on his shoulders, gently shaking him. His eyes were slightly unfocused, but his head had cleared enough for him to recognise that the blurry figure in front of him was actually Jason.

Eventually his hearing came back as well and he heard Jason calling out his name softly, as if soothing a scared animal. Zack shook his head, trying to rid himself from those clouded thoughts, even if it felt impossible right now. “Zack! Hey… breath.”

Zack pushed Jason away gently and took a step back. He didn’t have the courage to look Jason in the eyes, actually, he was not sure he could even stay around right now. His eyes were burning, and he felt like he could cry at any moment now.

It still didn’t make sense why Trini was so mad at him over it.

Maybe it was because their gang drifted apart after that. Had Jason actually told the others about that? Was that why everyone suddenly wanted nothing to do with him anymore? Did they think he was a traitor for ruining their group? Was that the real reason behind Trini’s hostility and why they kept mentioning Jason, but without telling him what it was about?

They were all older now, so it would make sense for them to not want to put him into the spotlight when the reason would be so humiliating.

Did they feel sorry for him now, so they put one last effort to tolerate him for old time’s sake before they went back to their own lives never to see each other again?

Whatever it was, Trini didn’t seem like she wanted to play along. Maybe she hasn’t been able to forgive him for making her lose her friends. He knew she had a hard time making friends back then, so maybe it hurt her deeper than it did others.

Jason’s discomfort when his dad mentioned them ending up together and spooning made sense now. He probably didn’t want to be reminded of the thing that made them stop being friends back in high school. He was probably trying to turn a new leaf and…

Zack choked up. He was feeling a little short of breath.

Jason moved closer to him once again, but Zack didn’t have any strength to fight his touch anymore. He felt as his cheeks being cupped in a firm hold, but even with how close they were, his eyes were still glossy, so he couldn’t actually see Jason properly. It was hard for him to catch his breath, and every moment felt like desperation was growing more and more inside of him, to the point he could basically pass out without it being surprising in the slightest.

“Look at me!” Zack tried, he really did try to listen to Jason’s demand, but it was hard to do so when he could barely see an inch in front of him. He heard Jason start muttering something, and along with those whispered words came the pressure of fingers massaging the sides of his head. He could hear Jason’s breath. He tried to focus on both of those things.

Despite Jason’s best efforts, it didn’t seem like he would get better any time soon. It was kind of humiliating for him to show this side of himself in front of his former crush whom he still actually had feelings for.

Zack tried to push Jason away again and escape, but Jason was seemingly prepared for it because he held him tighter. Zack wanted to struggle and to tell him to let him go, but again he couldn’t find his voice. There was a ton of pressure upon his shoulders, and this feeling of guilt was crushing him.

In the blink of an eye, things took a turn to the unexpected.

Soft lips pressed against his own. It couldn’t even be described as a kiss, but it did the trick. Zack froze, unable to grasp what was going on. He even went as far as thinking that it was all in his imagination and that maybe he was trapped in a dream… or nightmare.

Jason didn’t let go of him. Zack felt himself being pulled closer, securely held in a warm embrace. Jason kissed the top of his head and started whispering again. Or maybe he was talking in a normal tone and it was just the buzzing in Zack’s ears that was making it seem like Jason was whispering.

Zack took a deep breath, then he held his breath, and let it out again, in a little choked up gasp. He closed his eyes, again trying to focus on something that could help him even his breath, something that could help him calm down.

Jason’s words against his ear seemed to be it.

“I’m here, Zack. It’s not your fault. Everything is okay…” Zack decided to focus on that. Jason was repeating those same three sentences over and over until finally, Zack’s breathing normalised and all that tension that could be felt on his back muscles started dissipating.

Zack felt Jason holding his face again, and this time he could actually focus his vision enough to be able to see Jason’s smiling face. “Sorry! You shouldn’t have had to see that.” He pushed out a heavy sigh and tried to pull back from Jason’s embrace again. Zack wanted nothing more than to leave that place and go back to L.A. so he could pretend none of this had ever happened.

He felt so ashamed that he didn’t even remember that Jason had kind of kissed him until he looked at him again, eyes full of worry. Why had Jason kissed him? It didn’t seem to make any sense.

“You know, I’d think after all these years you would have gotten smarter.” Those words made Zack cringe internally. Fuck! Had he actually being talking aloud all this time and thinking it was all in thought?

Jason reached for his hands and Zack immediately looked down at them. One of his eyebrows shot up in confusion, but before he could dwell too much on that, Jason tugged on him and Zack was forced to look him in the eyes again.

His gaze was welcomed with a warm smile. A smile so beautiful that it made Zack feel short of breath again. “I like you, too, dummy. I’ve liked you all along.” Zack scrunched his face up at those words. What was this, some campy TV show with a dog blood¹ plot? Things like this didn’t happen in real life.

Jason, as if sensing the doubt in his eyes, leaned closer once again, pressing their lips together in a brief touch. Zack didn’t know if that was supposed to be reassuring or what, but he found the selfish part of his brain wanting to take advantage of this moment.

Before Jason could pull away from the kiss, Zack quickly slid his palm to the back of his neck, refusing to let him go. Zack closed his eyes and went all in. He parted his lips, almost shyly, and in a swift movement, he deepened the kiss, or rather, turned the touch in a real kiss.

This time he was the one to bring Jason closer, wrapping an arm around his waist and parting Jason’s lips with his tongue. People said that when you got a taste of heaven, it was hard to let go of it, and that was exactly how Zack felt right now. He wasn’t going to say Jason’s lips were sweet, make up some fruity taste for it, or any shit like that, but he could say that nothing in the world had ever felt better.

“Ahem!”

Comically enough, Zack jumped back and high up in the sky when he heard the not so subtle throat clearing that couldn’t have come from anyone other from Mr Scott. As if he was a teenager again, his cheeks immediately heated up, and he could tell his ears must be bright red. Oh, how he wished he could bury his face right now.

“I take it that Zack is staying for lunch?” Jason, that betrayer, all but laughed at Zack’s reaction. He seemed to be very amused by how Zack looked as pale as if he had seen a ghost. Just you wait, Jason. I’m gonna make you pay for this. Zack thought, his eyes already settling on that spark of vengeance.

“He is.”

Zack shot daggers at Jason with his eyes. He was fully capable of answering for himself, thank you very much. But before he could protest, Mr Scott turned around and left the room. Zack could hear him walking down the stairs, probably to add another plate to the table.

“You’re gonna pay for this.” Jason just laughed at his threat and moved closer again to steal a peck from his lips. When had the little shit gotten so cheeky and daring? Zack huffed but resigned to his fate. “You better be ready to explain yourself very soon, Boss Man.”

With that, Zack left the room, going down the stairs to have lunch with Jason’s father, and despite his words, there was a silly smile on his face.

Who would have thought they would get together like this?

Before he could even reach the kitchen, Zack felt a weight clinging to his back and Jason’s face rubbing against his shoulder. “Hey! That’s no way to treat your boyfriend.” Zack’s only response was to flick him on the forehead. Stupid Boss Man with his stupid contagious smile.

The End.

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