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Gaynger: We’re going to Krispy Kreme after school, right?
Hartattack: its wed Trin course we r
Kim loves Wednesdays. Not because of her classes or because they don’t have training (although that is definitely a factor) but because, for an hour or so after school, she gets to sit across from Trini, sipping coffee and making her laugh.
Wednesdays are girls’ days. Best friend days. Kim loves them.
The donut of the month is chocolate raspberry. Kim spends the morning contemplating whether or not to get it before deciding to ask Trini at lunch.
She plops down on the bench next to Trini, scooting over so their sides are pressed together. Slouching down so she can rest her head on Trini’s shoulder, she groans.
“Triniiiii.”
“What is it?”
“Should we get the chocolate raspberry donut today?”
Trini lets out an exasperated sigh that Kim feels vibrate through her body. “ Oh my god, I literally do not care.”
“But, Trini, it’s important. I need you to help me decide.”
“Fine. get the barfian cream one. You liked that last time.”
“Barfi- do you mean bavarian cream?”
“Yeah, sure,” Trini waves her hand through the air flippantly. “Whatever. Get that one. Do you need more help or can I go back to my tots?”
“I’m good. Can I have one?” Kim asks, opening her mouth.
“Ugh, fine.” Trini tosses a tater tot into her mouth, Kim humming in thanks as she chews.
The rest of lunch goes smoothly. Kim only steals a few more of Trini’s tater tots. Billy snorts chocolate milk out his nose when Zack tries to do the same and gets punched off the bench by Trini.
Kim’s at her locker, grabbing her stuff and waiting for Trini to come get her.
She feels someone come up behind her (not Trini, she’d be able to tell) and whirls around, her armor wavering right below the surface of her skin.
It’s some dude from her finance class, Joseph or something. He’s an athlete. Maybe cross country...or hockey.
“Hey, Kimberly,” he says, leaning against the lockers.
“Hey, um,” she really should know his name; they had been partners for a project.
“Stephen.”
“Yeah, Stephen! Sorry. Totally spaced. It’s been a weird week.”
He chuckles, crossing his arms so they flex slightly and, oh, Kim understands what’s happening now. It’s been awhile since she’s been flirted with. Months, actually, since before the Rangers. Not everything about her old life was bad, and Kim finds that she’s kind of missed this. (It’s nice, feeling wanted, although the feeling isn’t as unfamiliar as she would have expected.)
“No problem, sweetheart. I get it. I just wanted to ask you a question.”
She closes her locker, inching closer to him. “I’m all ears.”
He smiles, crooked and charming. “I just want to know what you think my shirt is made of.”
Everyone knows this line, but Kim plays along, giggling and laying a hand on his chest.
“I don’t know,” she says coyly. “Could it be boyfriend material?”
Stephen winks. “Sure is, sweetheart.”
He speaks in a deep southern drawl, unique for Angel Grove. Kim likes it.
“It’s a nice -” Kim brushes her fingers along his pec. “-shirt.”
“You should come to dinner with me tonight.”
He’s nice. He’s funny and exactly the kind of guy she would’ve been all over before. Even though the spark (the attraction Kim wants) isn’t there, this little taste of normalcy has Kim agreeing.
“I’d love to go to dinner with you, Stephen. I just–I can’t today. I already have plans.”
There was no way in hell she was missing Krispy Kreme with Trini.
Stephen’s brow furrows and his lip curls for a second, fast enough that Kim might have imagined it.
“How about Friday?” he asks.
“Friday would be great.”
“See you then, sweetheart,” he says, walking past her.
Kim lingers around her locker for another minute, waiting for Trini to join her. When she doesn’t show, Kim checks Trini’s locker before going to the parking lot. Trini’s not waiting at Kim’s car either.
Hartattack: Hey T where r u
Gaynger: headache. Went home.
Hartattack: oh
Hartattack: feel better
Kim’s pretty sure Rangers can get headaches. (She’s actually 100% sure, thanks to Billy’s extensive research.) Something’s off with Trini, but Kim won’t push. She knows Trini will come to her when she’s ready.
(Kim was right. Stephen is a hockey player.)
Stephen likes to be around her. He enjoys introducing her to his friends. Kim hadn’t realized how isolated she had become in the past months until she’s entrenched in the popular crowd once more. She’s missed this, knowing everything that’s going on at school. Of course, there are downsides, and she shuts down anyone who speaks about the Rangers until they learn not to mention them (at least not in front of her).
Stephen has hockey practice almost every day. The days he doesn’t are usually spent like this, with the both of them tangled on Kim’s bed in her empty house.
She’s kissing him, trying to make herself feel something. They’ve been dating for a few weeks now, but she can’t seem to find more than a vague interest in the relationship. It’ll get there though. It has to.
She pulls away, inhales, leaning in at a different angle when she smells it. She can’t place the scent (it reminds her of sleepovers and Krispy Kreme and comfort for some reason), but it sends her heart racing and Kim finds it a lot easier to kiss Stephen after that.
She has practice today, but she’s finally getting somewhere in this relationship so she doesn’t think anyone will mind her missing practice. (She acts like she hasn’t been late all week.)
Kim doesn’t realize anything’s wrong until Zack avoids her gaze in the hall one day.
Zack’s not the only one who’s off. Trini’s been weird lately too. Kim doesn’t know how else to put it.
They used to hang out every day, either going to Krispy Kreme or hanging out at the mine where Trini would do yoga while Kim studied. It didn’t matter what they were doing, they were pretty much always together.
Trini’s been avoiding her, giving excuses for why she can’t hang out. They’ve gotten progressively more ridiculous, spanning from ‘I’m watching my brothers’ to ‘my brothers’ chinchilla needs a…bath’. (1. Diego and Nicolás don’t have a chinchilla, and 2. even if they did, Kim knows that chinchillas don’t take baths. Thank you, random Billy fact.)
Kim catches her in the hall one day. She’s just worried. She wants her best friend back and she wants to know how to fix thing between them. Wants to know when things went wrong.
She doesn’t mean to push Trini into yelling, into running down the hall and out of school. She almost follows her, but Stephen approaches her before she can.
“Hey, some of the guys are going out after school. We’re going too, ‘kay, sweetheart?”
“Um, actually, Stephen, I can’t today. I’m sure you’ll have fun without me.”
Her mind is still on Trini as she brushes a kiss against his cheek and goes to class, not waiting for his answer.
Whoever she expected to be at the door, it wasn’t Stephen.
He was supposed to be out with his friends. She had been thinking about their relationship. She really would have liked some more time, but he’s here so she might as well do it now.
“Hi, Stephen.” She smiles at him. She may be breaking up with him, but that’s no reason to be rude. “What’s up? I thought you were out with the team?”
“I was, but you weren’t there.”
What does that have to do with anything?
She’d think he was being kind of sweet, but there’s something under the sentiment, something sinister, angry.
“I-I texted you,” she says.”And I told you at school that I wasn't coming.”
“I told you I wanted you there. You should have been there.”
She really doesn’t like his tone.
“I’m sorry,” she spits. “I had things to do and my life does not revolve around you.”
“I am your boyfriend.” With each word he advances on her, forcing her further into the house.
Kim knows she can take Stephen easily. She knows that. It’s just - he’s so big.
He’s yelling now, still advancing. She doesn’t exactly know how the situation escalated to this, can hardly register what he’s saying. All she knows is that she’s suddenly yelling back. Yelling about his control and her need for freedom.
The fight escalates and ends in an instant, with a sharp motion and a sudden silence.
Stephen flexes his hand, looks like he’s going to hit her again. She stares stoically at him, even though her heart is thundering in her chest. He’s going to have to work to get a reaction out of her.
They haven’t moved when the front door flies open. Trini’s standing in the doorway, cheeks flushed and eyes wild. She looks from Kim to Stephen and back again. Her lips pull back in a snarl and she charges. Before Kim can do anything, Stephen’s on the floor, Trini’s arms around one of his legs. She twists and Kim hears two cracks before Stephen starts screaming.
Under the screams, Kim can hear Trini whispering but can’t make out the words.
Gathering herself, Kim moves forward to grab Trini around the waist. She pulls, but Trini doesn’t move back, strikes forward instead, her foot colliding with Stephen’s face. By the time she manages to pull Trini away, she’s landed a few harsh kicks to his torso.
Kim lifts her quickly, but not fast enough. Trini stomps down, the thick sole of her boot landing with a sickening crunch on Stephen’s shoulder.
“Trini!” Kim cries. “Trini, stop.”
The girl goes still in her arms, breathing heavily. After a second she wiggles, twisting around so she’s wrapped around Kim. Her face is buried in Kim’s neck, wet with tears. She hadn’t even noticed Trini start crying.
Kim holds the shaking girl close, trying to block out the sounds of Stephen’s groans.(She wonders how she ended up comforting someone even as she was falling apart.) She freezes when she feels Trini’s lips press into her neck. Trini pulls away, her feet falling from Kim’s waist. She picks Stephen up, his cries becoming louder as she slings him over her shoulder. Trini’s gone, leaving Kim alone.
(She ignores the bloodstains on the carpet as best she can, tells her parents the crusty brownish marks must be dried food.)
She hears Jason banned Trini from training. She knows the other Rangers have visited her. She can’t bring herself to go over there.
She can’t face her. Not yet.
She doesn’t know what to say to her, how to express how scared she is, how lost she’s feeling.
Doesn’t know how to equate sweet, gentle Trini with the violent girl who beat Stephen in to the ground.
She walks into the pit later, the smell of sweat and boy overwhelming. Under it all, barely there, was the smell from her room weeks ago when she had been kissing Stephen. The smell that made her feel safe and warm and oh no.
Everything clicks into place, the way Trini’s smile makes her face heat up, the feeling low in her gut when Trini gets protective.
Trini.
It–it was Trini.
The feeling in her chest, the thing that was missing with Stephen.
Trini.
Kim thinks about crawling through Trini’s window, desperate to see her friend. Desperate to make up after being angry with her (with herself? Who knows.) for almost two weeks. She thinks about the way Trini looked at her. The way she spoke.
God, Kim was in love with her and she had already ruined it. (But Trini had smiled at her, gone to Krispy Kreme with her, and maybe there was still a chance for her to fix this.)
And it’s anger lancing through the link and stay down, sweetheart and Kim realizing they’re both broken. Realizing they broke each other.
And maybe it’s childish but she feels Trini coming and slams down the lock on her window.
But then Trini’s apologizing and she looks like she’s about to cry, but Kim doesn’t say anything. Lets her leave the same way she came in.
What if they’re too broken to fix?
Hartattack: Jace u home
Scottfree: im workin on my truck u can come over tho
Hartattack: thnx
Kim jogs over to Jason’s house. After Zack, his house is the closest, so it only take Kim five minutes using some of her Ranger speed. When she gets there, Jason’s legs stick out from below the truck, the only part of him she can see.
“Before we get to whatever’s stressing you out, can you help me with this?”
“Sure.”
“Awesome. Grab that toolbox.” Jason motions to the side with his right leg.
Kim grabs it, sitting down next to Jason’s legs. “Just a warning, I’m not very good at mechanical stuff.”
“No worries. I’m mostly going to be asking you to hand me tools.”
True to his word, Jason mostly asks Kim for smaller things, occasionally asking her to lift the truck so he can have a better angle. The easy physical labor makes the anxious burn in her gut fade. It isn’t until Jason stops and rolls out from under the truck that Kim realizes that might have been his goal.
“I’m assuming this has to do with Trini?”
Is she really that obvious? “...Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“I realized I like her. And I’m –” Kim takes a deep breath. “I’m scared I’ve already ruined it.”
Jason doesn’t say anything, staring at her for a minute. “Jace-”
“How would you have ruined it?”
“I took so long to realize I liked her and I didn’t realized she liked me and I got super involved in my relationship with Stephen and left all you guys even though I know Trini–and Zack I guess–has abandonment issues our relationship hasn’t been the same since before I was with Stephen I don’t know how to fix it–”
“ Kim, breathe.”
She nods, panting a bit.
“Look, Kim. I don’t think you’ve ruined anything. Sure, you’re going to have to work a bit harder, but you guys will figure it out. You both have things to work on. Apologize and move past it together.”
Kim is still off balance, still unsure of how to approach Trini, but Jason’s words still helped.
“Thanks, mom.”
“Don’t call me mom.”
“Why not? You’re totally the mom friend.”
Jason grunts, shoving at Kim’s shoulder. “Go pine after Trini or cliff dive or something and leave me alone.”
“Aye aye, captain.” Kim stands and presses a kiss to Jason’s cheek. “Thank you for helping, Jason. Seriously.”
“No worries, Hart. Now get outta here.”
(Jason should get paid for dealing with his useless friends.)
Before she drifted away, before Stephen, Kim would sit with Zack on top of the train car whenever her parents would get to be too much. The hangouts slowly turned into venting sessions for the both of them. (Kim’s pretty sure she knows more about Zack’s mom and her doctor visits than any of the other Rangers.)
She’s glad to have these moments with him back.
It's a few days after her talk with Jason. Zack’s mom is doing well for once. Even Kim can feel the warm glow of his happiness. They sit in silence, Kim staring out over the quarry while Zack messes with his phone, sprawled over the roof.
The silence is broken by Zack’s laughter. Kim lies back, craning her head to look at him. “What’s so funny?”
“You know Trini doesn’t like Krispy Kreme, right?”
“What? Yeah she does. We go there-”
Kim thinks back over all their donut runs. Trini has a habit of buying water instead of coffee, even though Kim knows she loves it. (Except for the run after they made up...Trini had gotten coffee then and only taken two sips.) Kim also ends up eating most of the donut, no matter what flavor.
“- Oh my god she’s so whipped. Why hasn’t she said something?”
“Crazy Girl? Deny you something you like? Please.”
“She-she has feelings for me, right?” (Kim can't stop the self-conscious doubt that rises in her throat whenever she thinks of Trini.)
Zack scoffs. “‘Course she does. She’s crazy ‘bout you.”
“Then why hasn’t she said anything?”
“It’s Trini.”
“...Good point.”
Kim settles further onto the roof, considering. “I’m going to have to do something about this, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, T isn’t gonna do anything. She’s more of the suffer in silence type.”
“Awesome.” Kim deadpans.
“You got this, K. You just gotta be more...obvious.”
“I’m already dropping all the hints I can!”
“I know. Jason and Billy know. Hell, everyone knows you’re into her except for Trini.”
“I’m gonna take her on dates. Awesome dates. She can’t ignore that.”
“Good luck, K. And remember, no Krispy Kreme.”
“No Krispy Kreme,” Kim echoes, fist bumping Zack.
Thus begins Mission: Woo Trini.
(“Can I-” “No Zack, you can’t be my wingman.” “Party pooper.”)
“Hey, Billy,” Kim bounds up to the boy at his locker.
“Hi, Kimberly! What’s up?”
Kimberly’s glad her friendship with Billy is old news, she doesn’t exactly need a bunch of people staring at her as she tries to talk to Billy. (She’s never actually been sure why her friendship with the Rangers was such big news.)
They walk down the hall towards Billy’s calculus class. “I need your help.”
“Sure.”
“What’s a romantic date idea?”
“Am I really the right person for this? Jason and Zack are dating, so I assume they go on dates. Logically, they would be better suited to tell you about this stuff.”
“Yeah, but you’re more thoughtful than those losers.”
Billy smiles at her. They’ve about reached the classroom before Billy speaks. “I think you should take Trini on a picnic. She likes the outdoors, and food is always smart to have on dates. Just make sure it’s stuff she likes.”
“Who - who said I was taking Trini out?”
Billy just looks at her.
“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Stop staring at me like that.”
Billy turns to walk into the classroom.
“Thanks, Billy.”
“No problem, Kim. Good luck!”
God she loves that boy.
Hartattack: Zack what food does T like
BlckRngr: not Krispy Kreme bruh
Hartattack: no shit…..whats her fave food asshole
BlckRngr: her mom makes some killer tortas
Hartattack: I dont kno what that is
BlckRngr: make her grilled cheese tomato soup and chicken nuggets and she’ll love you forever
BlckRngr: not that she doesnt already lmao
Hartattack: jerk
Hartattack: she eats likes shes 10 omg
BlckRngr: she looks like shes 10
Hartattack: Zack
Hartattack: ...tru
Hartattack: Trin u busy sat?
Gaynger: No, I was just going to study bio.
Hartattack: great wanna meet at the quarry we can have a picnic
Hartattack: only if u wanna tho
Gaynger: Sure. Sounds fun, are the boys coming?
Hartattack: Nah just us, meet at 4?
Gaynger: 4 works
Hartattack: nice
Hartattack: See u tomorrow 4 the bio test <3
Gaynger: Kim what test?
Gaynger: Kim????
Gaynger: Kim seriously do we have a test?
Gaynger: You motherfucking asshole I texted Jenna to ask about this
Gaynger: Kim she scares me
Kim’s not sure if it’s a good thing that she gets so much amusement from messing with Trini.
Kim is not... great at cooking. She’s barely passable on a good day, so she’s not sure why she thought Billy’s idea was a good one.
So far she’s set 2 sandwiches on fire and burned half the soup. (She couldn’t exactly stir it while she was putting out the sandwich fires.) She hasn’t even started on the chicken. She bought dinosaur nuggets. She thinks Trini will appreciate them even though there’s not a sabre tooth shape.
“Maybe lower temperature?” she mutters, dumping another can of soup into the pot.
She has an hour until she meets Trini. She’s got this.
Miraculously, she does. She makes it to the quarry with five minutes to spare, lugging a tote with the food inside. She wanders into the trees around the cliffs to find a good place to eat, trusting that the bond would help Trini find her.
She’s setting out the thermos of soup and some bowls when Trini walks up.
“Hey, Kim.”
“Hey, Trin.” Kim smiles up at her. “How’s your day been?”
“Good.” Trini sits next to her on the blanket, helping her unload the rest of the food. “Did you make all of this?”
“Yup!”
“I’m impressed.”
“Why? It’s just soup, sandwiches, and chicken.”
“Yeah, but it’s you,” Trini teases.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kim knows exactly what Trini means. That does not mean she can’t be indignant about it.
“This,” Trini motions to the containers of food. “Would be easy for anyone else. Say my brothers, for example. Not you. I’ve watched you set a toaster on fire.”
Kim pouts. “You’re mean.”
Grabbing a chicken nugget, Trini says, “I only speak the truth, Princess.”
It’s nice, spending time with Trini like this. Kim watches her stuff her face, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster.
“How’d you know I like this stuff?”
“You’re child sized, so you have to like kid food.”
Trini stares at her, cheeks still partially full of grilled cheese.
“I’m just messing with you, I asked Zack. You do eat like a ten year old, though.”
Trini lunges at her, sending both of them flying. They wrestle, Kim ending up on top. “Pinned ya,” she snarks.
“Quoting Lion King doesn’t make up for calling me a ten year old.”
Kim laughs, ignoring how much she enjoys being this close to Trini. She rolls off, laying down next to her.
“Thanks for coming out with me. I like hanging out with you. Just us.” Kim reaches out and grabs Trini’s hand. She feels Trini flinch a bit, but she settles and grabs Kim’s hand back.
“I like hanging out with you too.”
Kim has never been one for yoga. She has, however, gained a new appreciation for it since she started watching Trini do it in the quarry. The controlled movements and smooth transitions highlight Trini’s muscles, the tight yoga pants and sports bras doing nothing to help Kim’s bi panic.
Let’s just say Kim isn’t getting as much homework done as she did before she started dating Trini. (Or, well, taking Trini out on dates. They haven’t broached the whole dating subject yet. She's not even sure Trini knows they're dates. Not that Kim’s been subtle. Trini’s just dense.)
Trini finds it endlessly amusing, smirking at Kim whenever she hears her gasp at whatever pose Trini’s moved to.
Kim knows that Trini doesn’t usually go to yoga classes, so when Trini suggests they go to one together, Kim appreciates it. She’s never done yoga before, but how hard could it be for a Power Ranger?
There’s only one one yoga studio in Angel Grove. It’s run by an older woman who Zack refers to as ‘a total hippie’. (“Like, she definitely does pot. You should see if you can get any off her. Can Rangers even get -” “Shut up, Zack.”) Kim doesn’t have a mat, but Trini assures her that she can rent one at the studio.
The class they attend has older people in it. Not old, just, y’know, not high school students. The second they walk in, Kim feels out of her depth. It doesn’t help that they come in just as the class starts, relegating them to the far wall where they can’t even set up next to each other.
Kim nabs the spot in front, not sure if she can deal with being behind Trini for an hour. (Sitting beside her while she does yoga is already torture enough.)
Kim severely underestimated how hard yoga is. Trini makes it look so easy, but it’s a lie. Kim can feel her muscles quivering as she moves into each new pose. No one else seems to be struggling, though, so Kim keeps her pain under wraps. She doesn’t feel like she should be struggling this much; she exercises for at least an hour every day. Something about the strict control and fluidity trips her up. She can see how doing this changes Trini’s style of fighting.
The lesson’s almost over when something goes wrong. Honestly, Kim’s surprised it wasn’t her who messed up. As a cooldown, they had moved into downward dog. Kim knew how to do this pose; for some reason, the cheerleaders had incorporated it into their own workouts. She bends down and hears a thunk and a muffled ‘oof’ come from behind her. She tilts her head, looking through her legs to find Trini on the floor. Kim stands, turning to help Trini.
“Oh, Honey!” One of the women says, moving quickly to Trini’s side. “Are you alright? What happened?”
Trini rolls onto her back with a grunt. “I’m not sure. My legs just gave out. I guess I’m-I’m not used to doing yoga.”
The woman continues fretting over Trini, but Kim stops listening. Trini does yoga all the time! There’s no reason for her legs to give out. Unless–
When things get particularly bad at home, Trini tends to overexert herself and not sleep enough. She’ll have to talk to Trini once they’re done, make sure everything is going okay at her house.
Once Trini assures everyone she’s good, they finish off the lesson.
Walking out of the studio, Kim loops her arm through Trini’s. “I really liked that. Thank you for taking me.” She presses a quick kiss to Trini’s cheek, watching a blush spread through her cheeks.
“No problem,” Trini says gruffly.
“I was just wondering about what happened back there. You do yoga all the time, so I’m kind of worried about you falling.”
“Kim, I’m-”
“The only time you’re off balance like that is if something is happening at home. Have things with your mom been okay?”
Trini smiles up at her, the blush darkening. “Everything’s fine, Kim. I really did just fall. Don’t worry about it.”
“I can’t help it. I-I care about you and, I don’t know, overthink things sometimes.”
“Thanks, Kim.” Trini’s soft smile makes Kim’s own cheeks heat up, though she blames it on the yoga.
They walk down the street in silence until Trini pulls away from Kim and breaks into a run.”Race you to the quarry!”
“Trini! Not fair!”
(Kim still wins.)
Ever since they went to yoga last week, Trini’s been off. Kim thinks about all their interactions that day, trying to figure out what went wrong. The only thing that happened that day was–oh, shit.
Oh , shit.
Trini is never going to live that down. Kim has figured out why she fell. (She knew she looked great in yoga pants, just not faceplant-in-yoga-class good.)
If Kim wasn’t sure Trini was into her before, she sure is now. Once Trini gets her act together and figures out they’re dating, Kim is going to tease her endlessly about this.
She stops Trini after training. Frustration has be buzzing under her skin all day and demolishing putties has done nothing to ease it.
She waves Jason off when he pauses before leaving the pit. Zack gives Trini a look too, and she brushes it off in the same way Kim did.
Trini is twitchy, clearly feeling Kim’s inner turmoil. She’s felt like this for days, though. Days of questioning whether or not Trini felt the same way. Days of dropping hints and waiting for Trini to say she liked her too.
The boys are gone, the buffer between them retreating from the tension. Trini has moved across the pit and she won’t face Kim. Even now they don’t know how to approach each other and Kim is done.
She marches over to Trini. She turns before Kim reaches her, walking backwards even as Kim advances. Kim spits a question at her, the words ‘What’s wrong’ burning their way up her throat.
Trini’s eyes dart back and forth as she denies that anything’s wrong. But Kim pushes, can’t help but keep pushing until Trini’s voice is breaking and Kim freezes.
The direct, angry approach was maybe not Kim’s best idea. So she adjusts.
She approaches Trini carefully, smiles when she lets Kim’s hand rest in the space between her shoulder and neck. This is what she wanted. This closeness where she can feel the slight tremor in Trini’s muscles.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” the words come out surprisingly steady for how her heart is thundering. Her anger has faded, leaving affection in its wake.
Trini’s answer, the broken ‘I’m scared,’ makes her hand flex, the elation she feels dampens to concern. She didn't know Trini was scared of how she felt for Kim, of how Kim felt for her. She steps closer, revels in the way Trini’s eyes roam her face.
“You don’t have to be.” And she can’t help it, the way she rocks forward, the way her lips capture Trini’s. It’s soft and gentle, Kim striving to comfort Trini through the pressure of her lips and the way her hands cradle her jaw.
Trini pulls away, makes a snide comment that hardly registers. Kim replies, something teasing, before asking, “Can I kiss you again?”
At Trini’s nod, Kim presses back towards her. She’s rougher this time, content that Trini wants this. One of Trini’s hands raise from her hip to her hair, tugging gently as her teeth sink into Kim’s lip. Kim grunts, her lips parting as Trini pulls. This is what they’ve been building towards. This heat, the way Trini clutches at her and shakes. It’s all Kim wants.
She presses Trini back until she hits one of the ship’s walls. The noise she makes sends Kim’s blood racing. It makes her want to press harder, kiss deeper–anything to get Trini to make that noise again. But–it’s their first kiss, and they really should talk.
Kim doesn’t want to stop. She just wants Trini.
She steps back though, doing her best to ignore the whine Trini lets out as she does. She looks at her like she’s grown an extra head. “Why’d you stop?” the question’s breathless.
“We should-” Kim can’t stop staring at Trini’s lips. “We should talk. Make sure we’re on the same page.”
Trini nods. “Yeah. talk. Talking is–important.”
Kim moves to an outcropping of rock, sitting down and beckoning Trini closer. Once they’re both sitting, (far enough away that nothing happens ) Kim speaks.
“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious, but I like you. Like romantically.”
“I think I got that,” Trini snarks, licking her lips. “You were being awfully direct.”
Kim rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t have had to be direct if you weren’t so oblivious.”
Trini goes to protest, but Kim stops her. “Don’t even. I took you on dates, flirted with you. I did everything to let you know I liked you without actually telling you. You’re just dense.”
“Those were dates?”
Oh my god, she’s so lucky I like her, Kim thinks.
“Yes, dummy. We had a romantic picnic, a movie date, yoga . We went to the observatory.”
“Those do sound like dates,” Trini says suspiciously. “Does this mean we’re dating?”
“Do you want to be? I don’t want to rush you into something you’re not ready for.”
“I want this. I want to be with you. I just-” she trails off. Fidgets. “A lot of shit’s gone down recently and I don’t want to start anything with that looming over us.”
“Wow, look at you being all responsible and mature,” Kim teases.
“One of us has to be, jerk.” Trini playfully pushes at Kim’s shoulder.
“Where should we start? Kim asks.
“I’ve kind of been thinking about what to say to you, so can I start?”
“Of course.” Kim lunges forward to press a Kiss to Trini’s cheek. It’s cute, the way her cheeks turn red as Kim pulls away.
“I-I started avoiding you because I was jealous of Chad.” Kim knew she had been jealous of– wait, what?
“Wait, wait, wait. Who the fuck is Chad?”
“Oh. Chad is Stephen’s douchecanoe name.”
Douchecanoe? Not important, Kim. move on. “Alright. Continue.”
“I let my jealousy get in the way of our friendship. I should have been there for you. I just let everything build up instead of dealing with it and it just all came out when we sparred. I went way too far. And I am so happy you forgave me. But yeah. I let my emotions get out of hand. I just wanted to get that all out there.” Trini trails off, tugging her beanie lower as her ears turn red.
Kim moves closer, wrapping an arm around Trini’s shoulder. “I should apologize too. I wanted to feel normal for a little while and i just ended up deserting you and the guys. In the interest of full honesty, there were kind of two reasons I ignored you after you, um, took care of Stephen.”
Kim still doesn’t like thinking about that day, about the violence Trini’s capable of. She makes a note to talk to her about it later.
“I was ashamed. Of myself. I couldn’t stand the thought that I couldn’t stand up for myself. I didn’t want to acknowledge that so I made myself angry at you.”
Trini’s lips brush her neck. “What’s the second reason?” she asks when Kim doesn’t continue.
Kim thanks her parents for her darker complexion as she feels her face heating up.
“I, um,” she really doesn’t want to say it. “I kinda realized I was attracted to you? And I needed time to figure that out.”
Trini pulls away, looking absolutely delighted. “Holy shit,” she giggles. “Watching me beat up your boyfriend got you hot!”
“No it-” Kim struggles to be heard over the sound of Trini’s laughter. “No it didn’t! Trini–stop. Stop laughing!” (And it didn't, it terrified her. But how can she say that that particular instance didn't without implying that the others do.)
Trini sobers suddenly. “Oh my god.”
“What? What is it?”
“ That’s what the feeling is!”
“What feeling?” Trini’s smirk tells her she shouldn’t have said anything.
“That day we sparred, under all that anger we were feeling, there was something else. Another emotion I couldn’t really pin down. It’s been showing up almost every time we fight recently.”
Kim knows where this is going. “Trini -”
“Fighting me turns you on!” she dissolves into cackles again.
“Trini,” Kim whines. “Stop making fun of me!”
She doesn’t dispute the claim - doesn’t truthfully know if she can. She just sits in miserable silence until Trini calms down.
“Kim-” Trini’s phone goes off. She opens her phone. “Shit, my mom wants me home. We’ll finish this later.”
Kim really doesn’t want to finish this conversation.
Trini moves to stand in front of Kim. She looks at her for a second. Kim squirms. Trini presses a harsh kiss to Kim’s lips, nipping at the bottom one as she pulls away.
“Don’t worry, Princess,” she whispers. “I like it rough too.”
She’s gone before Kim can respond. Kim can’t quite move. She’s just trying to process what Trini said. (And trying to breathe. Breathing would be a great skill to have right now.)
Bluebell: Hey, Kim. Can you help me with something at the ship?
Hartattack: sure b ill be there in 5
Bluebell: Thank you, Kim! I’m at the morphing grid.
Kim walks into the main room, finding Billy and Alpha gathered around the morphing grid, Billy taking notes furiously.
“Hey, Billy.” Kim crosses the room to be closer to him.
“Hi, Kimberly! This won’t take very long, but I wanted to show you something in the morphing grid, which is kind of hard to see from a picture, so I-”
“B, it’s fine. I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Oh, good. Come here.” Billy pats the space beside him, the quick staccato rhythm filling the room.
Kim sits and stares into the grid. Like every other time Kim has looked at it, the swirling mass makes no sense, not like it does for Billy.
“What exactly am I looking for?”
“So, you see here?” Billy motions to the upper left section of the grid. “For a while this part was going crazy. See how it’s in sync with the rest of the grid?”
Kim nods.
“Up until last week, this part was moving almost opposite to the rest of the grid. What do you think happened?”
Kim’s mind flashes back to pinning Trini against the wall of the pit. “Um...I’m not sure. It could have been anything.”
“That’s true, I guess. I just wanted to know if you thought it had to do with your relationship with Trini.”
“What?” Kim chokes out.
“Am I–am I not supposed to know you guys made up? I’m sorry, Kim. I thought you’d be okay with us knowing.”
“It’s fine, Billy. We just haven’t told anyone, so I wasn’t expecting you to say that. Why’dd you need me if you already knew why the change had happened?”
“I did the same thing with Jason and Zack when they started dating. I think it’s important that you guys understand how our mental states affect the grid. This is the only way I can think of doing it without you guys getting bored.”
Kim stares into the grid, slowly picking up the patterns within it. “So we need to communicate, as couples and as teammates, to stay efficient?”
“Exactly.”
“Huh.” They sit and look into the grid together, the quiet whirring from Alpha the only sound in the room.
Kim gasps as the grid flashes blue for a few seconds. “Billy, what was that?”
He chuckles quietly. “The grid picks up especially strong emotions.”
“What’s wrong?” Kim asks, her eyes tracking across Billy’s face.
“I know it’s stupid, and really not the most important thing I could be focusing on, but do you think I’ll find someone? Like you and Trini or Zack and Jason?”
“Billy, you’re not being stupid. Can I-?” she trails off, reaching a hand out towards him. At his nod, she rubs his shoulder. “You’re so amazing, Billy. Of course there’s someone out there for you. There’s no set timeline for this stuff, but I know that when it happens, it’ll be amazing. Even more amazing than Zack and Jason.”
“Not you and Trini?”
“I’m sorry, Billy Blue. Nothing can beat us.”
They laugh a little before Billy grows quiet again. “Thanks, Kimberly. I just get insecure about it sometimes.”
“I get you, Billy. You have nothing to worry about.”
She spends the rest of the afternoon with him, listening to him talk about the morphing grid and the upgrades he’s planning for the Zords.
Scout’s honor, Kim hadn’t meant for this to happen when she came over. She just needed Trini’s help with a bio assignment. (She’s been struggling to pay attention since Trini moved to sit next to her in class, so really, it’s Trini’s fault they’re in this situation.) This being Kim holding Trini against her door, kissing up and down her throat. Trini is whining, her hips bucking every time Kim’s tongue brushes her skin.
Kim’s right hand tightens on the skin of Trini’s thigh as her other slips under her shirt to grasp at her side.
“Kim,” Trini gasps, making Kim press her hips further into Trini. “Baby, please. ”
Kim lifts Trini higher on her waist and moves back to Trini’s lips, reveling in the hands tugging at her hair and shirt. They’re rocking steadily against each other, and Kim swears she can feel Trini even through her shorts and she wonders what it would be like to actually feel her and –
“Trinity? What’s that noise? ¿Qué estás haciendo? ”
Kim drops Trini to the ground, their eyes meeting in terror. “Hide!” Trini whispers, pushing Kim further into her room.
Kim looks around the room. There aren’t many places for her to hide, and she can hear footsteps coming towards the room. Kim throws herself into Trini’s wardrobe right as her mother bursts into the room.
“Why were you slamming your door?”
“Sorry, mom. I, uh, I thought I felt it shake some last night, like leftover damage from the attack. I wanted to check it to make sure it was good.”
“You think it’s still broken? Dios mío, okay. Let me get your father.”
“You really don’t – “
“Alejandro! Ven aquí, necesitamos tu ayuda !”
Trini’s dad joins them. For the next ten minutes, Kim can hear them messing with the door, rapid fire Spanish flying between them.
When her parents finally leave, Kim hears Trini close the door, her head hitting the wood a second later. Trini sighs, and a soon the closet doors are being pulled open.
Kim climbs out and stretches. She thinks Trini could fit comfortably in that small space, but her knees had been up to her chin and she was stiff .
“Sorry for like telling you to hide and stuff. I just didn’t want them to catch us.”
Kim ducks down and presses a chaste kiss to Trini’s lips. “Don’t worry I understand.”
“Maybe we just…don’t go near the door from now on?”
“That’s probably smart. I just–“ Kim giggles. “The attack ? That was the best you could come up with? It was months ago!”
She laughs as Trini buries her head in Kim’s chest, groaning. “ Kim. I was flustered and panicked. I couldn’t think of anything better!”
“Aw, babe, do I make you flustered?” Kim husks, nudging Trini until she looks up.
“Kim, no.” Trini says, clearly reading the intent in Kim’s eyes.
“What? You just said we have to avoid the door. That leaves,” Kim pauses, her eyes purposefully roaming around Trini’s room. “So many other surfaces for us to use.”
Trini squirms against her, a spike of lust dancing through Kim’s mind.
“Oh, feels like somebody likes that idea,” Kim says, bending so her mouth is next to Trini’s ear. “Do you like the thought of me pushing you against the wall?”
Trini whines and clenches her hands in Kim’s shirt.
“Or,” Kim runs her hands down Trini’s back and slips them into the pockets of her shorts so she’s cupping Trini’s ass. “Do you think using the desk would be more fun?”
Trini sucks a mark into the skin of Kim’s neck. The heat Kim felt as she pressed Trini against the door is back in full force and she pushes Trini across the room until they hit the desk. Trini moans and kisses Kim as she lifts her onto the desk. Trini shifts forward, wrapping her legs around Kim’s hips so she can grind against her stomach. Kim can’t stop herself from lifting the back of Trini’s shirt and scratching down the warm skin. Trini shudders and moans against her lips.
“God, please, Kim.” Trini’s fingers tangle roughly in her hair. “Baby, I need you.”
“I got you, Trin. Let me take care of you.”
Later, as she’s slipping out Trini’s window, Kim wonders how Trini’s going to explain the broken desk to her parents.
She doesn’t think blaming it on the attack is going to work this time.
Kim loves Jason. Especially now. They arrived at Trini’s house ten minutes ago and Kim hasn’t been able to focus since they walked in. She got through introductions all right, and hopefully she made a good impression on Trini’s parents. She doesn’t fully remember because the second she saw Trini, her mind went blank.
She’s not dressed much differently than she usually is, but the change is enough to render Kim speechless. In place of her normally baggy jeans, Trini wears a pair of slacks that follow every curve. A fitted pale pink shirt is tucked into in the pants. Trini has rolled up the sleeves, showing off the muscles in her forearms and sending Kim’s heart racing.
Jason elbows her as they follow Mr. Gomez into the living room, a whispered ‘behave’ following the action. She exhales, her breath coming out in a sharp whine.
Kim and Jason sit on the couch that faces the kitchen. Not Kim’s smartest idea, but it was either that or sit next to Mr. Gomez.
Jason carries the majority of the conversation as Kim tries to get used to the sight of Trini in pink. She laughs when they do, agrees in the slight pauses. It works until Mr. Gomez turns his attention to her.
“Kimberly, I know my daughter is beautiful, but I would like to get to know you instead of watching you stare at her.”
Jason laughs, doubling over next to her on the couch. Kim just gapes at him.
“I-I don’t - we’re not - she doesn’t -”
“Kimberly! Kimberly, it’s alright,” his voice is soothing, his face kind and free of judgement. (A very different picture than Trini usually paints of her parents. Kim is very confused.)
“W-what?”
“With the way you look at each other, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of you. I want to get to know Trini’s girlfriend better.”
“Trini...she told you?”
Even Jason’s gone silent now, and Kim knows they’re both thinking about Trini’s constant complaints about her parents. (Kim’s realizing she complains way more about her mother.)
Mr. Gomez reads the confusion on their faces. “She didn’t tell me, no. I am her father,” he says, shrugging. “I know when my daughter is in love.”
Love.
Kim’s heart trips up in her chest. Love. Trini must feel something from her because she turns and flashes her a soft smile before turning back around. And maybe love isn’t so far fetched.
“Oh,” she whispers.
“Mr. Gomez, I think you broke Kim,” Jason says.
“I’m fine,” Kim squeaks.
Both Mr. Gomez and Jason laugh. “Kimberly, don’t think about it so hard. These things just happen sometimes. The hard part is maintaining that connection.”
Kim thinks about how hard they fought to even reach dating status. Anything else will be a piece of cake, because Kim's never letting Trini go.
“You should hear how Kim finally got Trini to confront her feelings, Mr. Gomez.”
Mr. Gomez turns to her, raising an eyebrow.
Kim tells him the story, glossing over the fact that they were in a spaceship…and that they had made out right after the confession. (The gleam in Mr. Gomez ’s eyes tells her he filled in that blank.)
Again, it’s totally not Kim’s fault that she had to drag Trini to her room before dinner to make out with her in her bedroom. One minute, Trini’s bending over in those wonderful slacks, and the next Trini’s shirt is somehow half off and she’s moaning against a wall in her room.
Kim is not responsible for what she does when her girlfriend looks like that.
Kim’s lying in bed trying to do homework when her phone buzzes.
Gaynger: babe come over
Hartattack: Trin im wrkin on ap gov
Gaynger: kiiim
Gaynger: my parents aren’t home
Hartattack: ok meme queen i still have to do my wrk
Gaynger: kim
Gaynger: come over
Trini sends a picture, and Kim doesn’t hesitate to open it. Trini’s a private person, and they haven’t discussed these types of pictures. Kim almost crushes her phone (for the fifth time. The last three have been Trini’s fault).
In the picture, Trini’s lying in her bed. Kim can tell her desk lamp is on because of the way the shadows play off the dips of Trini’s abs. She can barely see the edge of Trini’s bra, but she can tell it’s the black lace one Kim likes more than she’d care to admit. A matching pair of underwear sits low on Trini’s hips.
Kim’s phone buzzes again, making her drop her phone on her face.
BlckRngr: Damn k, what’d crazy girl do? Even i can feel that
Hartattack: Fuck off Zack!
BlckRngr: then keep it in your pants! You think i wanna be feelin this????
Kim doesn’t respond.
Gaynger: you good, babe?
Hartattack: that is cruel and unusual punishment im trying to be productive
Gaynger: you could still be productive if you came over
Hartattack: not with my school work
Gaynger: so its a different type of productivity
Gaynger: it’ll be like a workout
Hartattack: ……
Hartattack: noooo
Kim tosses her phone at her desk where it skitters across the surface before embedding itself in the wall. Four phones. Four . Broken because of her stupid hot girlfriend.
Kim doesn’t get anymore work done that night, but she doesn’t go over to Trini’s. At this point it’s a matter of pride and Trini will not entice her over there with her nice muscles and cute underwear.
Trini shows her the tree a few weeks after they begin dating. At first, Kim really didn’t get what was so special about an oak tree on a cliff. (She’s also not sure how she hadn’t found the spot before. It was so close to her house.)
“Come up here,” Trini says, holding out her hand to Kim.
“Really, Trini?”
“Just come up here, doofus.”
Kim joins her on the branch.
“I found this place right after I moved here. It’s where I went to escape everything. A safe spot.”
Kim considers Trini as she stares out at the horizon. Her jaw is clenching and unclenching, her eyes fluttering. Kim can tell that this place is important to Trini, more important than she lets on.
“Thank you for showing me this, Trini. It’s beautiful.”
“I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” Trini whispers.
“What do you mean?”
“If I had to go through it all again, Rita and Goldar and all the shit we went through afterwards,” she laughs, sardonic and harsh. “Shit we’re still going through. I would do it over in a heartbeat cause it’d mean that I end up right here.”
Kim reaches out and tangles her fingers with Trini’s.
“I’m happy.” Trini laughs wetly. “Fuck, I’m happy and I can barely remember the last time I felt like this. I’d do it over and over again cause it brought me the boys. It brought me you. Even things at home are getting better. I’m never giving any of it up.”
Trini looks over at Kim, eyes misty. Kim’s crying. Trini brushes the tears from her cheeks.
“Don’t tell the guys this, but I’m glad you dragged me over that cliff.”