Written for Cotton Candy Bingo.
Title: Glowing Guardians
Prompt: Glow in the Dark
Fandom: Power Rangers Dino Thunder/Power Rangers SPD
Pairings: Trent/Conner/Ethan/Kira
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine. Saban's, I believe.
It was clear to Ethan that Bridge seemed to be afraid of the dark. None of the others seemed to notice considering that Bridge was very quiet about it and if Ethan didn’t keep horrible hours, he may not have noticed either. It had been one night when he’d heard Bridge whimpered and noticed the boy was awake when he came in to check on him. He’d spent the rest of the night in Bridge’s room with the light on making sure he was okay while making calls to his work the next day to ask for an extension. He’d thought it was a fluke, however, and it took an identical situation less than a week later before Ethan figured out that it wasn’t just a one time thing.
If Ethan had to guess, he was pretty sure it had to do with Bridge’s powers even if the kid didn’t want to talk about it. He wasn’t sure how much help a nightlight would be with its shadow casting as well as only lighting up a small area. Ethan didn’t think that anything less that leaving the light on would help in that respect. Instead, Ethan was pretty sure that Bridge needed a distraction from his nightmares and a reminder that his family would always protect him.
It was this that lead him into heading to the store the next morning while Conner was with Bridge and putting the science skills he’d learned over the years to use. He vaguely paid attention when Conner told him he was going out when Ethan headed home, but he knew enough to know that it was his turn to was Bridge. The child in question climbed up onto a chair as his dad set everything down to get started.
“Daddy? What are you doing?” Bridge asked as Ethan set down the final ingredient to what he needed.
“Hi Bridge,” Ethan answered, concentrating on prepping the ingredients. “I’m making glow-in-the-dark material. Here.”
He handed Bridge some child sized goggles and glanced down to make sure most of the rest of the four year old was covered. After he was certain Bridge would be safe, he swung the computer around so that Bridge could see it. “Do you remember when we went to the store and got you the dinosaurs that you can put sand in?”
“Uh huh!” Bridge said.
“Can you go grab those for me?” Ethan asked. Bridge was off like a shot and Ethan smiled harder. When Bridge came back, he put the goggles back on him. “Now, don’t touch anything unless I say it’s okay. Understand?”
“No touching,” Bridge repeated, but he did watch intently. Ethan quickly followed the instructions given to him on how to make the ingredients before turning to Bridge.
“Open the lids to the dinosaurs for me, okay?” He asked. Bridge quickly did as he asked, amazed when Ethan poured the two solutions he had made into the triceratops and quickly put the lid on it. Extremely quickly, it was glowing. With Bridge helping, Ethan did the same for the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Pteradactyl, and the Braichiosaurus. “Now, we put them in the freezer.”
“Why?” Bridge asked.
“It will keep them lasting longer,” Ethan explained. “And we can play video games while we’re waiting.”
Bridge’s eyes lit up as Ethan and he proceeded to play video games until Conner got home and made dinner. When Bridge went to bed that night, Ethan placed the dinosaurs in his room with him, making sure they glowed as he turned off the light. “Good night, Bridge.”
“Good night, Daddy!” Bridge said happily as he closed his eyes, letting Conner and Ethan tuck him in. Conner didn’t question it, though he did glance at his partner who gave him the look of ‘Later.’ Conner shrugged and turned on one of the soccer games to relax as Ethan got to work. Long after Conner was in bed, Ethan checked on Bridge as he would several times over the next week. He wasn’t sure if the nightmares were over, but he did notice that the dinosaurs slowly made their way closer and closer to his bed. Ethan just smiled, pleased that Bridge was finally getting the sleep he needed.