Chapter Text
The hammock was kind of an accident. Except not.
The odd looks and hinted comments about Antonio sleeping in Jayden's room came as expected. But they were mostly playful, nothing malicious at all. Mike had a few jokes that Antonio felt a need to later 'correct' during training, but even he had his limits. Whatever the rest of the team thought about what was going on between him and Jayden, they seemed to mostly accept that they didn't want to talk about it.
But then Ji came to wake them in the morning for the fourth time. They had a tendency to stay up too late talking, and Jayden kept sleeping through the alarm. He didn't comment on the fact that they were sharing the bed, but there was a tight, pinched look to his face when he left the room.
Antonio went out shopping the next day. He wasn't looking for anything in particular; just some fresh air and time to think.
He could go back to sleeping in his own room. It wasn't like it changed anything, really. He might not sleep as well, but he'd still be at Shiba House, which was better than the apartment. He'd still be near Jayden, just ... not in the same room. Not distracting him from his Samurai duties, which was probably Ji's issue.
Probably. He still wasn't quite sure where Ji stood on homosexual relationships, let alone relationships that involved Jayden. He suspected Ji's biggest issue was that he still wasn't all that fond of Antonio.
And then he saw it.
It was bright, eye-catching red. It was big and long and sturdy, and even came with its own stand. And best of all, it had red fringe on either side. Lacy red fringe.
It was *perfect*.
****
"You bought a hammock?" Jayden asked blankly as he pulled it out of the bag.
"Yup. Isn't it awesome?" He held it up for Jayden to see, beaming.
Jayden just looked confused. "Why?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
Jayden eyed him.
He smiled brightly. Even if Jayden hadn't bothered to notice Ji's reaction, that didn't mean it wasn't worth paying attention to. "Help me make room?"
****
The first pillow was also an accident. Except that in this case, it really was.
He had a bright red hammock and the gold comforter from the bed in his room. So obviously the moment he found a matching gold accent pillow, he had to have it. Gold was a surprisingly difficult color to find, after all. Especially solid gold. He had to snap it up while he could.
And if the gold against the red made him smile for reasons he couldn't really explain, well.
He found the rainbow pillow while out shopping with the girls. It was hideous; covered in giant red, orange, and brown circles, with a large green flower. Whoever made it had had sequins and embroidery in every color they could think of. Best of all, there were hints of blue, yellow, and gold on it, too. He loved it instantly.
He found the corduroy pillow on the same trip. It was kind of the darker shade of blue his brother tended to prefer, but not quite as dark as navy. He spent several minutes running a hand over the soft texture, before picking it up and hugging it to his chest. It was deceptively soft, despite the rough texture.
"I didn't know you collect pillows, Antonio," Mia remarked as he paid for them both.
He grinned at her, grabbing more bags from each of the girls to help free up their hands. "Neither did I."
In another store he found a magenta pillow, covered in tiny mirrors. It reminded him of Aunt Kim, but then he remembered Rule #14 and put it down with a sigh. It was for the best.
He felt much better about his decision two days later, after they faced off with Duplicator. Clones weren't *quite* the same thing as a mirror monster, but still. Better to be safe than sorry.
The silver pillow came from another shopping trip. It was exactly the same color as Uncle Zhane's uniform, and sparkled in the light no matter which direction he moved it in. It was a feather pillow too, which he felt Uncle would appreciate.
"What's with all the pillows, man?" Mike asked one day, leaning in the doorway, to frown at him as he adjusted them.
Antonio shrugged. "I like pillows." He pulled his newest acquisition, a pale green metallic pillow with gold embroidery and a large gold object that may or may not have been a lotus flower in the center. "This one makes me think of you," he teased, playing with one of the green tassels.
It didn't, actually. It had reminded him of Uncle Cam, and hours of sitting through meditation practice. It was his favorite form of discipline for unruly students.
But the idea of getting a Mike Pillow stuck with him, so the next time he had to make a stop by the apartment, he took a few moments to browse the internet for something suitable. He settled on a giant round, bright green and fuzzy pillow labeled 'The Fuzz'. It was also a massage pillow, which made it obnoxious and awesome.
The site he'd found Mike Pillow at also gave him a pale pink pillow shaped like a rose, which reminded him of Aunt Kat, and a pillowcase shaped like green, boggly-eyed creature that was supposed to be a dinosaur. It had giant yellow and red flowers on it, and an awkward, friendly smile. He sent pictures of it to his cousins the moment it arrived.
Conner and Kira were suitably outraged. Ethan didn't understand why he'd even wanted it. Trent just seemed amused.
Later he received a grumbly text message from Uncle Tommy, asking why he bought such a hideous thing and insisting that it wasn't a real dinosaur. He deciphered it to mean 'why didn't I get pictures too?' and bought a fuzzy white pillow to make up for the mistake. He made sure to send lots of pictures of him snuggling it.
He made out like a bandit the day he wandered into a teenage girl's store by accident. There was a pillow of pink satin ruffles for Aunt Kim, along with a black faux fur pillow that reminded him think of Zack and his weird patterned shirts. He found a bold pink pillow for Mia patterned with silver and white swirls, a shiny blue sequined pillow that made him think of swimming and Kevin (even if it was technically Aunt Tori's color), and a purple velvet pillow because well, purple velvet. He later named it after R.J., because Earth obviously didn't have enough Purple Rangers yet.
By the time he found a green and blue pillow for his papa and dad, a pillow for Uncle Jason, and yellow patterned pillows for his mom, Aunt Trini, Aunt Tanya, and Emily, most of the hammock was covered in pillows.
He stood in front of it after he'd finished adding the last of the newest group, frowning in contemplation.
"You could try putting the pillows on the floor so you have a place to sleep," Jayden commented dryly behind him.
"You don't put family on the floor," he scolded, still staring at the hammock.
There was a long moment of silence where he waited to see if Jayden would ask, and Jayden struggled not to ask.
"Is that hammock even comfortable?" he asked finally.
Antonio scoffed. "Haven't you seen my couch?"
"You didn't pick out your furniture."
"Details. Here, help me move them to the bed."
" ... Why?"
"So you can sit in the hammock with me, obviously."
"Obviously," Jayden echoed, clearly amused.
The pillows were easy enough to move, and the hammock was big enough for two, but getting into it together took some careful maneuvering. When they finished, they reclined sideways hip-to-hip. Antonio kept a foot on the floor, swaying them gently back and forth.
"Comfortable, right?" he murmured eventually.
Jayden made a noise of acknowledgement.
Antonio closed his eyes, resting his head against Jayden's. Very comfortable, he decided. A nap was tempting.
"Why did you buy the hammock?" Jayden asked after awhile.
He could have dodged it. But he was comfortable, and Jayden was warm, and their voices were low enough. Probably. "Ji doesn't like me being in your room. Thought I'd make it easier."
"I'm not marrying Ji."
It was barely a whisper; he would never have heard it if he hadn't been so close. But it was enough to put his heart in his throat as he blinked rapidly, swallowing hard. For Jayden, just saying something like that out loud was a huge step.
"It's pretty full of pillows," he said offhandedly after a moment. "Not so much room to sleep in."
"I noticed."
"Might have to go back to stealing your bed, just so I can get enough rest at night."
Jayden huffed quietly. "Antonio. Stop making excuses and sleep wherever you want to."
He smiled; he couldn't help it. "Fine, bossy."
I'll sleep right beside you, for the rest of our lives.