Ordinary Adventures. by Terrie. PRJF, Casey/RJ
Title: Ordinary Adventures
Author: Terrie
Summary: The thing about saving the world is that life goes on afterwards.
Rating/Warnings: Teen, for language and non-explicit sexual contents. The author reserves the right to raise the rating on future parts at any time.
Part 2 - Family
By the time his bus reached the Greyhound station in Portland, Casey was tired, stiff and cranky. Being in tune with his tiger spirit meant that he was more alert, more aware. That was the last thing anyone wanted on a crowded bus. That many people packed together grated on his senses. It was a relief to step off the bus onto the asphalt and into the open air.
“Casey! Over here!” His older sister, Leslie, stood off to the side, up on her toes and waving one hand in the air to make sure he saw her.
Casey frowned as he headed over to her. “Wasn’t Mom supposed to pick me up?”
“She’s got a deadline that snuck up on her. So she sent me instead. Would you have preferred Riley? She finally got her license a couple months ago.”
Casey paused in the motion of tossing his bag into the trunk of Leslie’s car. “Riley finally got her license? And Mom actually lets her drive the car?” he asked. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the concept of his little sister driving. By herself.
“Well, sometimes. Around the neighborhood. Mom won’t let her drive alone during rush hour or at night, so Riley mostly takes the bus. And, anyway, you’re not one to talk. I’ve seen you drive.”
“Hey, I’m a good driver.”
“Sure, if you accept the idea that speed limits are simply polite suggestions. I blame Steve.”
Casey scoffed. “How can Dad be to blame? Mom’s the one who taught us how to drive.”
“Easy. Genetics.” Leslie gave him a quick smile before she started the car. “So, now that I’ve pointed out your shortcomings, tell me what you’ve been up to since the last time I saw you.”
”Things have been going really well. I’m even teaching some beginners’ classes.” Along with some of the advanced classes, but Leslie didn’t need to know that. He couldn’t tell his family about being a Power Ranger. He’d even worn a long-sleeve shirt to cover the Master mark on his arm. But he’d tell them what he could. “All those meditation and yoga classes Mom dragged us to must have given me a leg up.”
“My baby brother, the prodigy.”
“More like your brother who spent months working his ass off. Everyone else was so ahead of me. I had to catch up, if I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.” Though, getting killed by Dai Shi had been more of a concern than any injured pride.
“No one gave you a hard time?” Leslie had on her big-sister-to-the-rescue face, as if she could actually take on a senior Pai Zhua student and succeed.
“One of the guys did at first, but Theo’s been studying at the Temple since he was, like, eight, so not really a surprise that he didn’t like it when I was picked for the... same special program. Anyway, he got over it.”
“That’s the thing in Ocean Bluff that Mom mentioned, right?”
“Yeah. We were picked to study with a Master there, because we were all in touch with our animal spirits.”
“So what’s this Master of yours like?”
“RJ? He’s....” Casey found himself staring out the window, watching the buildings go by as he tried to think of how to explain. “He’s different. A lot younger than the other Masters. He’s about the same age as you, twenty-five or so. Quirky is definitely a good word to describe him. He does things - everything - his own way. Which, half the time, makes no sense to anyone else. It’s only later that you understand what he was doing.”
“Sounds like someone you’d like.” Leslie’s voice was soft.
“Yeah. He’s a good friend.”
Leslie let the conversation lapse into silence, and Casey was willing to go along with it. It was strange, talking about RJ and the others with his sister. Two separate parts of his life colliding into each other. He hadn’t seen his family since leaving for the Temple, and phone calls had been limited to special events, like birthdays and holidays. He’d been a different person when he’d left home. Just out of high school, with a few kung fu classes under his belt, though nothing like Pai Zhua, he’d had no idea what was ahead of him. He’d been a kid. Now he was a Pai Zhua Master, with students and responsibilities. He’d been a Power Ranger, defeated Dai Shi. But sometimes he still felt like a kid.
“We’re here.”
“Huh?” Casey looked around to find that they were sitting in the drive of his Mom’s house. “Sorry, must have drifted off for a second.”
“Well, grab your stuff and hurry up. I think Mom ordered pizza for dinner.”
Casey could only laugh.
***
“Oh my God, Casey!” Riley launched herself at her brother, forcing Casey to drop his bag and catch her. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know it’s been a while, but I don’t think it’s been that long.”
“Well, it feels like forever.” She stepped back and tucked a bit of stray hair behind an ear. “So, tell me everything.”
“Everything?” Casey asked.
“Yes, everything. I want all the gossip.”
“Can I say hello before you steal him, Riley?” Casey’s mom stepped onto the porch and held out her arms to him. “Hey, sweetheart.”
He stepped into her embrace. Casey could smell the faint rose scent of the soap she always used, and, for a moment, he was overwhelmed with homesickness. Which was strange, because he was home for the first time in months. He pulled away before he could start to tear up. “Hi, Mom.”
“It’s good to have you back.” She took a step back and looked him over. “My little boy, all grown up.”
“Mom...”
“Oh, you know I only say things like that to embarrass you. At least make me work for it. Anyway, take you your bag up to your room. Riley, give me a hand setting the table, would you?”
“But, Mom, I wanted to talk to Casey.”
“You can talk to him just fine at the dinner table...”
Casey headed upstairs, leaving his mom and sisters talking on the porch. His room was the second door on the left, and stepping inside gave him an intense feeling of deja vu. The last time he’d seen his room, it hasn’t actually been real. Looking at it again, the accuracy was uncanny. the baseball team pennants, the small bed that he feet had dangled off of since eleventh grade, all of it. Maybe he should have expected that. The test wouldn’t have worked if it hadn’t seemed real.
Smiling to himself, Casey put his bag in the closet and headed downstairs for dinner.
Author’s note: Just in case it wasn’t clear from the context, Leslie is Casey’s half-sister, with a different father. Hence why she referred to him by his first name.
Author: Terrie
Summary: The thing about saving the world is that life goes on afterwards.
Rating/Warnings: Teen, for language and non-explicit sexual contents. The author reserves the right to raise the rating on future parts at any time.
Part 2 - Family
By the time his bus reached the Greyhound station in Portland, Casey was tired, stiff and cranky. Being in tune with his tiger spirit meant that he was more alert, more aware. That was the last thing anyone wanted on a crowded bus. That many people packed together grated on his senses. It was a relief to step off the bus onto the asphalt and into the open air.
“Casey! Over here!” His older sister, Leslie, stood off to the side, up on her toes and waving one hand in the air to make sure he saw her.
Casey frowned as he headed over to her. “Wasn’t Mom supposed to pick me up?”
“She’s got a deadline that snuck up on her. So she sent me instead. Would you have preferred Riley? She finally got her license a couple months ago.”
Casey paused in the motion of tossing his bag into the trunk of Leslie’s car. “Riley finally got her license? And Mom actually lets her drive the car?” he asked. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the concept of his little sister driving. By herself.
“Well, sometimes. Around the neighborhood. Mom won’t let her drive alone during rush hour or at night, so Riley mostly takes the bus. And, anyway, you’re not one to talk. I’ve seen you drive.”
“Hey, I’m a good driver.”
“Sure, if you accept the idea that speed limits are simply polite suggestions. I blame Steve.”
Casey scoffed. “How can Dad be to blame? Mom’s the one who taught us how to drive.”
“Easy. Genetics.” Leslie gave him a quick smile before she started the car. “So, now that I’ve pointed out your shortcomings, tell me what you’ve been up to since the last time I saw you.”
”Things have been going really well. I’m even teaching some beginners’ classes.” Along with some of the advanced classes, but Leslie didn’t need to know that. He couldn’t tell his family about being a Power Ranger. He’d even worn a long-sleeve shirt to cover the Master mark on his arm. But he’d tell them what he could. “All those meditation and yoga classes Mom dragged us to must have given me a leg up.”
“My baby brother, the prodigy.”
“More like your brother who spent months working his ass off. Everyone else was so ahead of me. I had to catch up, if I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.” Though, getting killed by Dai Shi had been more of a concern than any injured pride.
“No one gave you a hard time?” Leslie had on her big-sister-to-the-rescue face, as if she could actually take on a senior Pai Zhua student and succeed.
“One of the guys did at first, but Theo’s been studying at the Temple since he was, like, eight, so not really a surprise that he didn’t like it when I was picked for the... same special program. Anyway, he got over it.”
“That’s the thing in Ocean Bluff that Mom mentioned, right?”
“Yeah. We were picked to study with a Master there, because we were all in touch with our animal spirits.”
“So what’s this Master of yours like?”
“RJ? He’s....” Casey found himself staring out the window, watching the buildings go by as he tried to think of how to explain. “He’s different. A lot younger than the other Masters. He’s about the same age as you, twenty-five or so. Quirky is definitely a good word to describe him. He does things - everything - his own way. Which, half the time, makes no sense to anyone else. It’s only later that you understand what he was doing.”
“Sounds like someone you’d like.” Leslie’s voice was soft.
“Yeah. He’s a good friend.”
Leslie let the conversation lapse into silence, and Casey was willing to go along with it. It was strange, talking about RJ and the others with his sister. Two separate parts of his life colliding into each other. He hadn’t seen his family since leaving for the Temple, and phone calls had been limited to special events, like birthdays and holidays. He’d been a different person when he’d left home. Just out of high school, with a few kung fu classes under his belt, though nothing like Pai Zhua, he’d had no idea what was ahead of him. He’d been a kid. Now he was a Pai Zhua Master, with students and responsibilities. He’d been a Power Ranger, defeated Dai Shi. But sometimes he still felt like a kid.
“We’re here.”
“Huh?” Casey looked around to find that they were sitting in the drive of his Mom’s house. “Sorry, must have drifted off for a second.”
“Well, grab your stuff and hurry up. I think Mom ordered pizza for dinner.”
Casey could only laugh.
***
“Oh my God, Casey!” Riley launched herself at her brother, forcing Casey to drop his bag and catch her. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know it’s been a while, but I don’t think it’s been that long.”
“Well, it feels like forever.” She stepped back and tucked a bit of stray hair behind an ear. “So, tell me everything.”
“Everything?” Casey asked.
“Yes, everything. I want all the gossip.”
“Can I say hello before you steal him, Riley?” Casey’s mom stepped onto the porch and held out her arms to him. “Hey, sweetheart.”
He stepped into her embrace. Casey could smell the faint rose scent of the soap she always used, and, for a moment, he was overwhelmed with homesickness. Which was strange, because he was home for the first time in months. He pulled away before he could start to tear up. “Hi, Mom.”
“It’s good to have you back.” She took a step back and looked him over. “My little boy, all grown up.”
“Mom...”
“Oh, you know I only say things like that to embarrass you. At least make me work for it. Anyway, take you your bag up to your room. Riley, give me a hand setting the table, would you?”
“But, Mom, I wanted to talk to Casey.”
“You can talk to him just fine at the dinner table...”
Casey headed upstairs, leaving his mom and sisters talking on the porch. His room was the second door on the left, and stepping inside gave him an intense feeling of deja vu. The last time he’d seen his room, it hasn’t actually been real. Looking at it again, the accuracy was uncanny. the baseball team pennants, the small bed that he feet had dangled off of since eleventh grade, all of it. Maybe he should have expected that. The test wouldn’t have worked if it hadn’t seemed real.
Smiling to himself, Casey put his bag in the closet and headed downstairs for dinner.
Author’s note: Just in case it wasn’t clear from the context, Leslie is Casey’s half-sister, with a different father. Hence why she referred to him by his first name.