Hey everyone! Wow... it’s been awhile.. sorry for the lack of updates like promised- things have gotten really busy for me! Final exams are just around the corner and it might be awhile for the next update.

Many thanks go to Slshadowfox for beta reading! I must say, I’m really impressed with how fast you edit this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Power Rangers.

Well, after much prodding, Sky’s finally decided to ask Syd out. I’ve decided to speed things up a little and their first date isn’t going to be in much detail- trust me, they’ll be plenty more Sky/Syd moments to come! Hope you all aren’t too disappointed with this chapter!

-x-x-x-

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was a light breeze in the air the next morning as Syd took a walk through the park. But the pink ranger took no notice of the weather, as she sat on an abandoned bench, the star locket clutched in her hand. She let out a sigh, and felt herself relax as she listened to the soft melody of the small music box.

She hadn’t been able to sleep well during the night. Z’s comment had her pondering the meaning all night long, and as much as she hated to admit it, her roommate’s words gave her hope.

“Three gifts in one day, that’s gotta be some sort of record. Boy Syd, you’ve really got guys falling at your feet huh?” Z laughed, the tone of her voice was filled with amusement, “First your secret admirer, then Jake, and now you’ve got Sky too.”

Syd shook her head of the memory. ‘No use getting all worked up about it now,’ she thought as she stood from the bench. Making her way back towards the Academy, the pink ranger had a determined thought. She would definitely question the yellow ranger later.

-x-x-x-

Z had woken up earlier than usual that morning and left the room in order to avoid the pink ranger. She hadn’t meant to let it slip that their normally uptight blue ranger had feelings for their diminutive pink ranger. Heading towards the room that Sky and Bridge shared, she silently cursed herself. She should really learn to watch what she said sometimes. But what’s done is done. There was no use going back now.

“Bridge! Sky!” she called, knocking on their door, “you guys up yet?”

She waited patiently, smiling slightly as she heard groans through the door. A moment later, Sky’s voice answered, “You can come in Z.”

The yellow ranger entered the room. Bridge was sitting up in bed, yawning and rubbing his eyes. It was obvious that the green ranger had just woken up.

Sky, on the other hand, looked wide awake. He was sitting on his bed, his uniform perfectly in place as always, and a worn out copy of the SPD Handbook in his hand.

She rolled her eyes once she saw the book. ‘Typical,’ she thought. Didn’t Sky own any other books?

Bridge let out another yawn. “Morning Z. What’s up?”

The yellow ranger paused. “Actually, it’s more like, what’s out,” she turned to Sky. “You have the hots for Syd right? Have you told her yet?”

She watched with some amusement as Sky’s ears turned red. “I-I don’t… I-I… well, I… That’s none of your concern!” he sputtered.

Z bit her lip. “Well, you’re going to have to tell her how you feel.”

Bridge gave her a curious glance. “Why’s that?”

It was the yellow ranger’s turn to blush. “Well, umm… I ‘think’ I accidentally told Syd you were interested in her.”

“What?” Sky stood up, glaring at his teammate.

She held up her hands as if to defend herself. “Calm down Sky it just kind of slipped out, I didn’t mean it!” Z paused, looking at Sky nervously. “I don’t think Syd knows anything for sure, I ran out before she could ask.”

Sky suddenly looked ill. “I have to ask her out?”

“Don’t you want too?” Bridge asked, pulling back his covers.

“Well, yeah-“

“And haven’t you waited long enough?”

“Yes, but-“

“Stop being such a chicken Sky. What are you so afraid of?”

“Rejection!” Sky exploded.

There was a silence after that statement.

“All I can say is,” Z shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, “you have to take a chance on that Sky. Besides, I don’t think you’ll have that problem. Just ask her out.”

-x-x-x-

Several hours later, Syd was standing over the sink in her bathroom, holding on to the dish towels she’d hastily wrapped around the broken faucet, doing her best to stop the flow of water that had exploded toward the ceiling like a powerful geyser. She grabbed another towel, adding it to the others, and then tightened her grip, which reduced the spray somewhat. Unfortunately in doing so, the water ended up spraying at her.

Turning her face sideways, Syd reached over and grabbed her morpher, keeping her chin as high as she could to keep the water from hitting her face. Frantically, she pressed a button that would enable her to get in contact with the others. Quickly, she tried contacting the first person that came to her mind.

“Bridge! Bridge are you there?”

There was no answer. The pink ranger sighed with frustration. Quickly, she pressed another button, this time trying to get in contact with her roommate. Again, there was no answer. Next she tried Jack, but it was the same. No answer from him either. Disconnecting, Syd pressed the blue button on her morpher, praying that Sky would answer on the other end.

-x-x-x-

Sky was on the couch, munching on some vegetables, a tray of salad dressing in his lap and a novel in his hand. When his morpher suddenly buzzed, Sky was ripped from his novel and he jumped; his hand jerked upward, sending a handful of baby carrots all over the place, his book fell to the ground and he shifted spilling the salad dressing all over his lap. Acting on instinct, he tried to wipe off the dressing with his hand and ended making an even bigger mess. Great, now his hand was going to be sticky as well.

He reached for his buzzing morpher with his other hand. “Cadet Tate.”

“Sky!” Syd’s voice floated through the device, sounding stressed. “Are you busy?”

The dressing was beginning to soak through the fabric of his pants and he shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. “Not really.”

“You sound a bit distracted.”

“It’s nothing big, just had a little accident here with my snack.”

“Huh?”

Finally, he found a dish towel that had been tossed to the side and began cleaning up the mess he made. “It’s nothing, what’s up?”

“I need you!”

“What- You do?” His ego inflated, and for a moment he forgot about the mess he was sitting in.

“My faucet exploded! Help me please!”

“Oh,” he said, his ego deflating just as quickly. “How did that happen?”

“I don’t know! I just turned it on and it exploded!”

“So call Bridge- he’s the mechanical genius.”

Her voice sounded exasperated. “I tried! He didn’t answer. Can you help me?”

Sky chuckled. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“You won’t be long will you? I’m stuck holding a rag and I think there’s more water starting to flow out.”

“I’m on my way.” Sky felt a smile float over his face as he stood up. As he was heading towards his room to change clothes, that small feeling of happiness stayed with him.

-x-x-

“Syd?” Sky called out as he entered the room. Colors of pink and yellow flashed out at him.

“In here Sky!” Syd answered from the bathroom as she loosened her grip slightly from the faucet. “I think something happened though. It doesn’t seem to be leaking anymore.”

“I just shut off the water with the valve outside your room. It should be fine now.” The blue ranger entered the bathroom and one word immediately came to mind: breasts. The pink ranger was soaked to the point that he could clearly see the outlines of her breasts. It didn’t help that she was also wearing a white top.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Syd spoke as she wrung the excess water from her hair. “The water was totally out of control, and I couldn’t stop it!”

Sky barely heard her. ‘Don’t stare,’ he commanded himself. ‘Whatever you do, don’t stare at her chest. A gentleman wouldn’t stare. A friend wouldn’t stare. DON’T STARE!’ Squatting, he opened the toolbox that he had brought with him. “No problem,” he mumbled.

Syd tugged at her shirt that was sticking to her skin. “Are you okay?” she asked as she saw Sky shifting.

Sky began searching for a wrench. “I’m fine.”

The pink ranger gave him a searching look. “You’re kind of acting like you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset.”

“You won’t even look at me.”

“I’m not staring.”

“That’s what I just said.”

“Oh.”

“Sky?”

“Here it is!” he said suddenly, happy that he found the opportunity to change the subject. He held up the wrench for Syd to see. “I was hoping this was in here.”

The pink ranger just kept staring at him, her confusion showing in her eyes. “I think I’m going to go change,” she said finally.

“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Sky muttered.

Syd left the bathroom, and Sky let out a sigh of relief. The job at hand gave Sky something to focus on. He wasn’t a mechanical genius like Bridge was, but he knew enough to get by. He spread some towels on the floor and soaked up most of the water. By the time Sydney had finished changing, he was already on his back working to fix the faucet – only his torso and lower body was visible.

“How’s it going under there?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

At the sound of her voice, Sky raised his head, bumping it as he did so. “It’s going good. I’m just about done.”

“Already?”

“It’s not that hard –just had to tighten it a bit.”

Syd saw his arms cranking the wrench and admired the wiry muscles of his forearms as he worked. ‘Nice,’ she thought as she heard a plink as something dropped beneath the cabinet.

“Got it,” he announced. Sky slid out from under the sink and, seeing that she’d changed, felt himself relax. It was easier this way. Less threatening. Less revealing. He stood, brushing his hands as he did so. Then, excusing himself from the bathroom, he vanished out the door for a moment. After turning the water valve back on, he came back in and tried the faucet, making sure that it wasn’t leaking.

“Looks like you’re good to go.”

“You made that look too easy,” Syd remarked as she watched him wipe his hands with a towel.

Sky shrugged. “It was something I picked up from Bridge. I just know the basics.”

“Do you want to grab something to eat?” Syd looked up at Sky, hope shinning in her eyes. “In all this commotion, I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch yet. You up for some pizza?”

Sky smiled. “Pizza sounds great.”

She returned the smile. “Great, let’s go!”

-x-x-

They walked through the park, heading towards ‘Sunny Spot’. Once inside, the two laughed and joke all the way through lunch. They spoke of SPD, his parents, her parents, and their friends. As they were finishing up their pizza, Sky finally found the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind all day.

He looked at the pink ranger, suddenly feeling like a little boy again. She was awfully pretty and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what a girl like her would be doing with a guy like him, but darn it, he was going to give it a shot. “Hey Syd?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to go watch a movie and have dinner with me tonight?”

Her blue eyes rose to meet his, and she paused. Seeing her hesitation, Sky felt his heart slowing begin to sink.

“You mean like a date?”

Feeling the heat rush to his cheeks, Sky adverted his gaze and nodded. “Um, yeah.”

“I’d love too.”

Their eyes met, and the blue ranger released his breath. They smiled shyly at one another.

Tonight was going to be both interesting and nerve wrecking.

-x-x-

“So you finally asked her out huh?” Jack asked.

Sky sat on the floor, his back leaning against the couch in the recreation room, watching as Bridge and Jack played a video game.

“It was time,” Sky gave an elaborate shrug. He looked calm and cool on the outside, but on the inside, he was shaking with nervousness and excitement. It was obvious he was pretty pleased with himself.

“Are you sure it’s even a date?”

Sky raised his eyes as if Jack’s question tried his patience. “Oh yeah. It’s definitely a date.”

“Well, that’s good. I’m glad you finally decided to take some action instead of brooding around,” Bridge remarked.

Jack snorted from his spot next to the green ranger. “That makes two of us.”

-x-x-x-

Sky and Syd left a little before seven-thirty that evening. Halfway through dinner, Syd had decided that she didn’t feel like watching a movie. Instead, she wanted to take a walk through the park and Sky wholeheartedly agreed. Taking a walk meant that they would make conversation – much better than watching a movie and having no conversation at all.

There was a comfortable silence as they walked on the pathway. There was a slight breeze and Sky, noticing that Syd was shivering a bit, took off his jacket and covered her shoulders. The pink ranger smiled gratefully and slid her arms into the sleeves.

“So,” she spoke, her voice light and happy as always, “you never did tell me why you’re using ‘Tate’ as your last name.”

Sky smiled slightly at her curious tone. “My dad’s rich Syd. If people found out that I’m attending SPD, the newspapers would be hounding me.”

The pink ranger nodded, showing that she understood. Being that she grew up in a high class society, she understood all about always being in the public eye. Everyone always gossiped, and rumors were always spreading. Either you had money or you didn’t. And you were always judged based on the amount of money you had.

“Tell me about your parents.”

She was quiet, looking thoughtful as she contemplated her answer. “Well, my dad’s a businessman too. He and my mother were married for a year before I was born. Growing up, he was the only one that kept me sane. My mother drove me crazy- she involved me in all these activities. She really objected when I announced that I had wanted to join SPD. She really cares about our image and what society thinks of us. My daddy though, I think he just wants me to be happy. He didn’t complain when I said I wanted to join SPD."

There was a comfortable silence as they continued walking.

“It was a great idea to go to the park. It’s a beautiful night.” Sky sneaked a look at her and boldly reached for her hand.

Syd smiled with delight as his fingers interlocked with hers. “Yeah, it is,” she agreed.

-x-x-x-

Syd sighed happily as Sky left. The doors slid shut behind her and she gave an excited squeal, jumping up and down a few times. Z, who was sitting on her bed, lowered her book and gazed at her roommate with an unreadable expression.

“Why are you so happy?”

“He kissed me!” Syd gushed as she flopped onto her bed with a dramatic sigh. She leaned back on her bed and stared at the ceiling dreamily. Everything in her room suddenly just looked so much brighter; there was a slight breeze in her room from the opened window. But Syd took no notice of anything as she closed her eyes and replayed those last few moments in her mind, when Sky had leaned in and kissed her lightly.

“Who did? Sky?”

Z’s voice reached her ears and she sat up, her eyes dancing with delight. “Yup!”

The yellow ranger’s eyes widened and she placed her book down. “Whoa, you mean he finally had the guts to ask you out?”

“Yes! We went to dinner and then we took a walk around the park.”

Z got off her bed and walked over to Syd’s side of the room, settling herself onto her teammate’s bed. “Alright, you’re going to tell me all the details!”

Syd happily complied, and began her tale. Outside, a breath of wind shook the leaves above, sounding like the faint rattle of shaken pebbles in a jar. After a moment it stopped, but it wasn’t quiet. From the road, a passing car drove by, the sound of the engine rising and falling, before disappearing. A child’s voice carried from the distance. There was a faint brushing sound, something scraping the bark of a nearby tree. Something snapped, and a moment later a branch fell from the tree.

Lost in the pink ranger’s story, neither girl noticed a shadow slipping away.

x-x-x

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