Thank you so much everyone for your reviews on the last chapter! It's good to know that people are actually enjoying my story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, though I really wish I did.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I spent most of my evening writing it (when I should've been doing my homework and studying!)

Be sure to expect another chapter by the end of the week, probably Friday or Saturday, depending on my schedule.

Don't forget to review!

Sky was leaning over one of the control panels when Syd entered the command centre. For a moment, the pink ranger just stood back, observing the blue ranger with interest. He was so focused, scanning the city, checking for any signs of disturbances. She admired his strong firm shoulders; his muscular arms….Syd shook her head and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to be daydreaming! With a smile on her face, Syd walked up to Sky and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey Sky,” she chirped cheerfully as he turned around.

“Hey Syd,” the blue ranger replied as he turned, but was soon struck mute as he saw Sydney’s appearance. Dressed in all pink, and clutching a stuffed elephant, she looked like an innocent angel. Her face showed no signs of makeup and Sky preferred it that way, all natural looking. She was a vision. Realizing that he was staring at her, Sky tore his gaze away and gulped. He could feel himself blushing. Sky was surprised, but at the same time was pleased that she felt comfortable enough to dress that way around him.

Sydney noticed that Sky was giving her what she thought was a surprised look, and felt the need to explain her attire. “You must be wondering why I’m wearing my pajamas. Well, I thought that…”

“It’s okay Sydney,” Sky interrupted, “You don't need to explain. I don’t blame you one bit for what you’re wearing. I’d rather be in my sweats right about now.”

The pink ranger sighed in relief. “So you don’t mind?”

“Why would I mind?”

Syd shrugged. ‘Sky used to be so uptight about everything, including looking neat and proper. Guess he’s loosened up a lot more than I thought.’

There was an awkward silence as the two rangers stood staring at one another, unsure of what to say. Finally, Sky broke eye contact first. Looking down, the blue ranger coughed and cleared his throat. “So.. um... are you sure you want to stay up? The night shift is pretty boring you know.”

The pink ranger smiled. “I know, but I’ll stay anyway.”

Sky turned so the Sydney couldn’t see the pleased smile that crossed his face. “Suit yourself,” he replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Syd sat down on the couch off to the side of the room and prepared to get comfortable. “So,” she began, trying to start off a conversation, “does anything ever happen at night?”

“Not usually, nope.”

And that was the end of the conversation for the next hour. As the night went on, slowly one by one, all the crew workers, cadets, and anyone else that happened to be working, all left, their work done for the night. Syd was still sitting on the couch, inspecting her nails, as the command centre became silent. Pretty soon it was just the two of them in the room, a few other cadets wandering in and out as they continued their night shifts. Syd let out a sigh. She was bored out of her mind. This was not how she had imagined the night would go. Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, the pink ranger suddenly sat up as an idea came to her.

“Hey Sky,” she called, startling the blue ranger, “I’ll be right back okay?”

Without waiting for his response, the pink ranger stood up and left, leaving him alone.

‘Great,’ Sky thought, ‘I blew it.’ The whole time Sydney had been there, Sky had been so nervous that he couldn’t think of anything to say. And now that she had left, he was left wondering whether or not she would actually come back. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something on the couch that Syd had only moments ago occupied. Turning, what he saw made him grin. Sydney had left Peanuts lying on the couch. Sky knew the pink ranger adored the stuff animal. He smiled wider, she would come back.

Ten minutes passed before Sky heard footsteps heading toward the command centre. Quickly, the blue ranger leaned over one of the control panels and pretended to look busy as Syd came back into the room, carrying a large steaming pizza, as well as other things to eat.

“Thought we needed some food,” Syd chirped as she set the tray down at a table, “You hungry?”

“Sure,” Sky replied, walking over and settling himself at the table, and reached for a slice of pizza. Syd sat next to him and followed his example. The blue ranger watched as Syd took a bite of her pizza. She noticed him staring and quickly swallowed. “What’s up?”

Sky shook his head and took a bite of his own slice. “I didn’t think you’d eat something like pizza. All those ‘calories’ and stuff.”

Syd shrugged and took another bite. “I figured it’d be okay since all we’re doing these days is training, it’s a good workout. Plus, I’m also eating healthy.” As if to prove her point, she pointed to all the fruits and yogurt on the table.

“I see.”

A moment of silence followed while the two rangers sat chewing their food. Finishing off his first one, Sky reached for a second slice. “So,” he paused, taking a sip of water, “Why did you decide to join me for night duty tonight?”

The pink ranger chewed thoughtfully as she searched for an answer. “Because I thought you might need the company. You’re alone too much Sky.”

“Maybe I like being alone,” Sky countered.

“Or maybe not.”

“Or maybe I do.”

“Yeah right,” Syd scoffed as she finished her first slice and reached for a second one, “lots of people like to be alone, but to shut yourself off from the world? It’s not healthy Sky. Don’t you ever get lonely?”

The blue ranger didn’t say a word and for a minute Syd was afraid she had offended him. She was about to apologize when he suddenly spoke. “Yeah, I guess I do get lonely.”

Placing her slice of pizza on her plate, Syd wiped her hands, and placed one on his shoulder. “Why do you close yourself off Sky?”

Again, there was another long pause, as the blue ranger hesitated. “I guess it was mainly because I wanted to be the red ranger so badly. It became my only main focus. And…” he trailed off.

“And?”

“I thought it would keep me from getting hurt.”

Syd squeezed his shoulder gently. “Oh Sky,” she said sympathetically.

Sky didn’t respond, only mustered a small smile and the two rangers resumed eating. A half an hour later, the two rangers finally finished their pizza, and moved onto their dessert. As Syd dug into her delicious slice of chocolate, strawberry cheesecake topped with whipped cream and cherries, she noticed that all Sky was eating was vanilla pudding.

“Sky!” she exclaimed, “Is that all you’re having?”

The blue ranger looked at his vanilla pudding questioningly. “What’s wrong with it?”

The pink ranger rolled her eyes. “Vanilla pudding is so boring.”

“I happen to like vanilla pudding.”

“But… it’s so… boring,” Syd protested, unable to come up with another reason.

“Like your cheesecake is any better,” Sky countered.

“I’ll have you know it’s delicious.”

Sky snorted. “I’ll bet.”

“No really,” Syd stuck her fork into her creamy cheesecake and then held it out to Sky, “Try some.”

Momentarily stunned, all Sky could say was, “What?”

“I said, try some.”

Without thinking, the blue ranger opened his mouth and Sydney fed him her dessert. Sky felt hot all over. His ears were burning, and the heat was spreading towards his neck, and… and… did the room just get hotter? Was he blushing again? Barely tasting the cake in his mouth, he swallowed and noticed that the pink ranger was looking at him expectantly. “Well?”

“Uhh...umm…” he stammered, still stunned.

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you tasted enough.” Once again she dipped her fork into the dessert and held it out to him. Obediently he opened his mouth. Sky was beginning to enjoy this. It felt… right.

“Well?” the pink ranger asked once more.

Sky smiled coyly. It was a rare sight for Syd to see him like that and she fully returned the smile. “You were right, that cheesecake is actually pretty good.”

Satisfied, she smugly said, “Told you so.”

Suddenly feeling bold, Sky took his spoon and dipped it into his pudding. “Your turn.” Holding out the spoon, he waited for Syd to respond. He was not disappointed. Sky felt a thrill run through him as he watched Sydney’s delicate mouth close around his spoon, tasting the vanilla dessert.

Leaning back, Syd thought about the taste. She grinned mischievously. “Not bad, mine tastes better though.”

“What? No way! You’re not using your taste buds hard enough, here.” Sky held out his spoon once more. And once more, Sydney leaned forward. This time though, the blue ranger was feeling playful, and at the last second, he moved his hand so that most of the pudding wound up on Syd’s left cheek.

Sydney pulled back with an indignant look on her face. “Heeeeeey,” she whined, but smiled when she saw that Sky was doubled over in laughter. ‘That really is a good look on him,’ she thought, ‘he should smile and laugh more often.’

Sky calmed down after a few minutes, although a few titters escaped every few seconds. Syd was sitting next to him playfully glaring. “Oops,” Sky grinned innocently.

“You meant to do that!” Syd accused, wanting to giggle.

“Sorry,” Sky said, though he didn’t sound apologetic at all, he reached for the napkin lying next to his bowl of pudding. “Here let me get that.”

Time seemed to slow down as Sky gently wiped off the pudding on her face with the napkin. Sydney felt her heart beating faster as she gazed into Sky’s brown eyes. Slowly, the two rangers’ faces leaned toward one another; Syd felt Sky’s warm breath on her skin as he leaned down further, and she raised her head, her eyes half closed. Just as they were about to kiss, the door slid open and someone walked in.

“Hey guys,” Jack strolled in and greeted his teammates sleepily, all the while yawning.

The pink and blue rangers sprang apart as though they had been struck by a bolt of lightening.

The moment was ruined.

Sky for his part was fuming with anger. Syd on the other hand, was blushing heavily and seemed to be avoiding the blue ranger’s gaze, all the while inwardly cursing Jack.

The red ranger was oblivious to his teammates’ angry stares and sat himself at the table the other two were occupying and reached for some fruit. “Just came in for a midnight snack.” He yawned once more, not noticing the tension in the room.

Syd sighed, disappointed, and moved towards the couch for the second time that night, while Sky turned his attention to the control panels.

For an hour, the room was quiet as Jack filled his hungry stomach. Sydney slowly fell asleep, her head resting on Peanuts. And Sky just continued observing the city, all the while still fuming. ‘Stupid Jack.’

The red ranger finished up his snack and yawned. Standing up he stretched and went to slap Sky on the back. “I’m going back to bed. Night man,” and with those words, Jack strolled out of the room, still oblivious to his teammate’s fury.

Sky sighed as the doors slid shut. He turned to face Sydney, only to find her fast asleep on the couch. His anger and frustration faded away as he gazed at the pink ranger. Syd just looked so adorable all curled up in her sleeping position, so at ease. For the next few hours, the blue ranger sat uncomfortably on his stool and was just contented to watch her sleep, all the while wishing the pink ranger really knew how he felt, and wondering what would’ve happened had they actually kissed.

The sudden beeping of his watch made Sky jump and shook him from his thoughts. Glancing at his watch, he saw that the time was 2:56am. There was only four minutes left of his night shift. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to leave a few minutes early. Getting off his stool, he stood up and stretched. Then slowly, carefully, he lifted Sydney up off the couch, grabbing Peanuts along the way. Syd stirred, but didn’t wake from her slumber. Instead, she snuggled deeper into Sky’s arms and sighed in her sleep. Sky blushed, glad that there wasn’t anyone around to see anything. Her vanilla scent was intoxicating, reminding him of the first time he smelled her scent. He smiled fondly at the memory. Maybe that was why he liked vanilla pudding so much, it reminded him of Syd. As quietly as he could, he began walking towards Syd and Z’s room.

Z was roused from her sleep as she heard footsteps walking towards the room she shared with Syd. The yellow ranger groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers closer to her face, her eyes closed. She heard the doors of her room slide open and her eyes opened once more. Although it was dark, she could make out the figure of a man, and stiffened. Was someone trying to attack her?

However, moments later she relaxed as she realized it was only Sky. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she watched Sky stop next to Syd’s bed, and silently pulled back the covers, trying his best not to wake the pink ranger in the process. Z felt a smile come to her face as she watched the blue ranger, for once she didn’t feel like throwing up at some mushy scene, instead she wanted to laugh, but held it in and kept watching. Sky gently placed Syd on the bed, making sure she was comfortable, and then placed Peanuts into the pink ranger’s arms. Pulling the covers over her, he tucked her in, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. After a moment’s hesitation, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on the pink ranger’s forehead. The yellow ranger watched on as Sky gave Syd one last look before leaving the room. Z waited a few moments to make sure Sky was really gone before placing her head under her pillow and breaking into silent laughter. She couldn’t wait for morning so she could tell Bridge what had just transpired.

The sun was shining brightly that morning when Syd woke up. For a moment she was confused as she had expected to be in the command centre with Sky, but instead found herself surrounded by colors of pink and yellow. Sydney blinked. She was back in her room.

“Morning princess.”

Syd looked across the room, to see Z smiling at her like she knew something that no one else knew.

Syd yawned. “Morning Z. How’d I end up back here?”

The yellow ranger rolled her eyes. “You flew in your sleep,” she replied sarcastically, then sighed and shook her head, “Sky carried you back here last night.”

At the mention of Sky, Sydney’s eyes lit up, only to have it be replaced with a look of annoyance a moment later.

Z noticed the change of facial expressions and immediately became curious. “What’s up?” she asked.

Sydney appeared not to have heard her roommate’s question as she got off her bed and stomped over to her dresser. Pulling out her SPD uniform, she muttered, “Jack Landors is so going to die,” before heading towards the bathroom to shower, leaving the yellow ranger in bewilderment.

‘What did Jack do now?’ Z wondered.

Bridge was not usually a morning person. In fact, every morning when he woke up, Sky would usually already be gone. But today was different. For one thing, he was dying of curiosity to find out what had happened during the night. He was so curious, that he woke up early just to see if Sky would give him any details, and if he didn’t, well… he was sure that Syd would be happy to fill him in later. He sat on his bed, watching as Sky got ready for the day ahead. The green ranger could feel all the emotions that his roommate was projecting, most were good, but a few were….

Well…. not so good.

As Sky’s back was turned, Bridge pulled off one of his gloves and waved his hand around. A wave of emotions hit Bridge and he was surprised at a few of them.

There were the usual ones. Excitement, nervousness, confusion. But the other emotions were what surprised him.

Anger. Annoyance. A bit of resentment.

Bridge quickly pulled his glove back on. Boy, Sky was not a happy camper this morning. He wondered what had happened to have made the blue ranger so irritated.

The atmosphere at breakfast that morning was tense. The pink and blue rangers seemed intent on avoiding each other. Both Z and Bridge ate silently, for fear that one word could set off their teammates’ anger. Only Jack was oblivious to what was going on (as usual).

“Cadet Tate, please report to the command centre. Calling Cadet Tate.”

The rangers all jumped as Sky’s name was called on the intercom. Without a word, Sky stood up and left the room, with Syd looking longingly after him. Eating a few more bites of her breakfast, Syd placed her fork down. “Well, I’m going to go for a walk, see you guys later.”

As Jack waved goodbye, the green and yellow rangers sighed in relief. The tension was gone. As soon as the doors slid shut behind Syd, Bridge and Z rounded on Jack.

“What the heck did you do?” Z demanded.

Jack was so startled by Z’s tone that he dropped part of his pancake onto his lap. Wiping his pants clean of maple syrup, and looking confused, he replied, “Nothing?”

Bridge looked at his leader in disbelief. “Did you not feel the tension in the air moments ago?”

Jack looked even more confused. “Huh?”

Z looked annoyed. “Alright, let’s put it into simple terms. What did you do last night?”

Shrugging, Jack decided that Z was just grumpy that morning and answered her question. “I slept. Oh and went for a little snack during the night.”

Bridge suddenly understood. “Were Syd and Sky in the room when you went looking for food?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied, and continued to finish his pancake, not giving the situation another thought.

Both the yellow and green rangers sighed. Bridge slapped his hand to his forehead and groaned, while Z just shook her head. So that was it, their leader had interrupted an important moment between the pink and blue rangers. No wonder they were so annoyed.

‘Jack has lousy timing.’

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