10_hurt_comfort fic: "Flirtation Failure", PG, Bridge/Sky
Title: Flirtation Failure
Author: shurifanstuffs
Fandom & Pairing Power Rangers S.P.D., Bridge/Sky
Prompt: #5 Love
Rating: PG
Summary: Sky's attempt to show Bridge his feelings backfires.
Notes: Assumes basic knowledge of S.P.D. characters and canon. Written with lots of input & help from kikos_ai; this is dedicated to her.
And with this, I'm done with 10_hurt_comfort! Go me!
Bridge thought for a moment that he'd somehow walked into the wrong room when he came back to his and Sky's dorm late one evening to find it had all been straightened out. However, there all his stuff was- just neat and in place- and there was Sky, lying on his bed, absorbed in a book like usual, apparently not noticing or caring that there was something out of the ordinary. Puzzled, Bridge stepped in all the way, the door sliding shut behind him, and looked over his things. His bed had been neatly made. His guitars were both carefully propped against the wall near his bed, and his skateboard lay on its side next to them. His computer desk, usually a hopeless mess of wires, computer parts, toast crumbs, and remnants of many late-night snacks, was now immaculate- his monitor and keyboard had been wiped clean, and whoever had done this had even attempted to tame the tangle of wires underneath it. His books, usually in several untidy piles on his desk, on the floor, and on his shelves, had all been arranged on one shelf, and were alphabetized. His collection of knickknacks and little toys had also been straightened out.
He wondered how things had gotten that way- Bridge didn't consider himself to be a slob by any means, but he sort of liked his usual system of "organized mess", because he knew where everything was.
"Ah, Sky?" he finally spoke up.
"Hmm?" his roommate asked, not looking up from his reading.
"Uh, who came in and cleaned up? Because even when I clean up for inspections, it's not THIS nice."
"I did," said Sky, finally lowering his book and gazing at Bridge, his expression neutral.
"Oh. ...Why?"
"I was tidying up my side and... decided to tackle yours, too," Sky shrugged. "I was bored, and I knew you'd be gone for a while, so..."
"Oh," said Bridge, giving him a strange look. Though the two had had a silent "touch and use my stuff whenever you want as long as you don't break it" agreement ever since they'd moved in together more than 3 years ago, and Sky sometimes made scathing comments on Bridge's housekeeping habits, he had never gone so far as to actually straighten the other side of the room. Why start now? Bridge wondered. Was Sky so obsessed with his own perfection that he was now trying to make the rest of the team be that way too? "Thank you," Bridge added, not wanting to seem ungrateful, though it sounded awkward after such a long pause.
"Sure," said Sky, his face still unreadable as he picked his book back up and resumed reading. Bridge watched him, but he didn't seem to be acting out of the ordinary... aside from spending what must have been a lot of time cleaning, of course. Bridge, however, decided to let this go- maybe it had just been a fluke, or Sky had simply been bored as he'd said, or he'd started cleaning Bridge's side without realizing it and finished what he'd begun. That was probably it, he reasoned- after all, Sky was loath to leave anything he'd started undone.
Bridge thought that was going to be the end of it... until he opened his closet the next morning to get dressed and found that not only had his growing pile of laundry been done, folded, and put away, his uniform jackets and pants appeared to have been freshly ironed. He gawped for a moment before remembering that he was supposed to be putting his uniform on and quickly did so before going into the rec room for breakfast, hoping to find Sky still there- and indeed he was, sitting with the others in their usual corner.
"Morning, guys," Bridge greeted them with a yawn, and before any of them could reply, he added to Sky, "Uh, thanks for doing my laundry. That is, if that was you, and I didn't do all of that in my sleep or some weirdo didn't break in just to clean my clothes-"
"No, it was me," said Sky, smiling a little. "You're welcome." The others shot him and Bridge strange looks; Bridge merely returned the smile and went to make his breakfast, though now he was feeling uneasy. Cleaning his room was one thing, but starting to do his other chores, too? Why was Sky acting like this? More importantly, was he going to start doing it to the others...?
"Hmm... Captain Crunch, Count Chocula, or mega-cheesy omelette with ham and peppers?" Bridge wondered aloud, trying to distract himself from such thoughts, and Jack snickered.
"Why not all of them?" he suggested. "Mix up the cereal and make your omelette. After all, we've got a lot of training to do today- you'll need a lot of energy."
"Jack, that's a good idea," Bridge agreed. He made his meal in the synthesizer and joined his friends, becoming so absorbed in eating that he didn't even notice that Sky was looking at him until Z spoke up and asked,
"Sky, why are you staring at Bridge?"
"I'm not staring at Bridge," Sky said at once.
"Yes, you are," said Z. "You're giving him The Look. That special look that only you can give that says 'I disapprove of what you're doing'."
"I do not have a look like that," Sky snapped. "I was just thinking, Bridge... you eat that kind of junk for breakfast everyday."
"...And?" Bridge asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not good for you," Sky pressed on. "Since you're a Ranger, you have to-"
"Back off, Sky," Jack interrupted. "He can eat what he wants- we get enough exercise, he's not going to drop dead just because he has sugary cereal for breakfast!"
"I never said he would, just that maybe he could stand to be a little healthier-"
"And what's this about doing his laundry?" Jack added. "Do you think he can't take care of himself or something?"
"I was just trying to be nice!"
"Drop it!" Bridge said before the argument could go on. Sky grabbed his tray and stalked off without another word, his face red. Bridge looked uncomfortably at Jack and said "Was that really necessary...?"
"I don't want him telling you how to live your life," said Jack hotly. "And it sure seemed to me like that's what he was starting to do. Not all of us have to be anal-retentive and perfectly healthy like he is, and it's none of his business what you eat."
"...Yeah, I guess," Bridge mumbled, staring down at his plate and spooning up more cereal. "He cleaned our room yesterday, too... my side included."
"...He did?" Z asked, shooting a glare in Sky's direction. "Wow, that's totally not invading your personal space or anything."
"I didn't really care," said Bridge honestly. "We trust each other to not be bad about using each others' stuff... but that, added with the laundry, and just now... it's strange. I don't think he's trying to be a jerk, though."
"Then what else COULD he be doing?" Jack wanted to know.
Bridge couldn't think of an answer to that.
* * *
Sky avoided the others as much as he could for the rest of that day.
He couldn't stand the glares he got from Jack and Z, or the alternating concerned and puzzled looks from Bridge, or the strange looks and occasional smile he would get from Syd- almost as though she knew something he didn't.
Because he couldn't lie to himself- he was hurt that his friends didn't seem to believe that he really wasn't trying to be obnoxious. He did want Bridge to start taking better care of himself, yes, but that was because Sky cared about him... a caring that had begun, for Sky at least, to pass into something deeper than friendship. He wasn't sure whether or not Bridge felt the same way, so Sky had thought that trying to be nicer to him... in his own way... was the best way to let him know how he felt. After all, he WAS so good at reading people.
Even though this kind of behavior, let alone any possible relationship with Bridge, broke several regulations into pieces, he reminded himself sternly. He might not have even felt the same way about Sky... and this could damage their friendship... or make them be separated, or...
This was a stupid idea, he finally told himself. Maybe I should just back off and... find some other way to tell him how I feel. Be direct and stop beating around the bush. Or maybe I should just forget about these stupid feelings in the first place and leave well enough alone...
These feelings and arguing back and forth with himself all day made him extremely restless, so that evening, he decided to go for a run. He desperately felt like he needed to run, though he didn't know why.
He had just gone out to stand in front of the fountain and stretch when Bridge approached him. Sky, however, didn't look up at his friend. We're better as friends, he told himself firmly. Just act like nothing's wrong, and don't do something stupid like that again.
"Hey," said Bridge when he didn't respond. "Do... do you mind if I go running with you?"
"Be my guest," said Sky with a shrug. Nothing more was said as the two went through their stretches, then took off. Sky thought for a brief moment about speeding up and ditching Bridge, then felt sickened with himself as soon as the idea had come into his head.
He realized now why he'd wanted to run- because he felt like he'd be leaving his problems behind for however long he was out. And ditching Bridge would have meant leaving the source of the problem there, too.
I can't keep this bottled up, he thought. I shouldn't ignore my feelings, either, I guess. I just hope he doesn't respond badly...
"Need to talk?" his friend finally asked, snapping Sky out of his reviere. He glanced at the other man and nodded, so the two slowed to a stop, getting off the sidewalk and standing in a side alley. "I don't think you were being a jerk before, if that's what you were thinking I was thinking, which I wasn't," said Bridge, playing with a strap on one of his gloves. "And I was kinda annoyed with the others for leaping to that conclusion, 'cause while you can sometimes be a jerk I didn't see anything particularly jerky about doing stuff for me, in fact it's kind of a nice change from..." Bridge swallowed hard. "Sorry. I'll stop."
"...Oh," said Sky, then added, "Uh, just in case you were wondering, I didn't really have a reason for doing that..."
"Didn't you?" Bridge asked with a quiet smile. "Because when I thought about it, it was pretty obvious to me what you were trying to do." Sky felt his heart leap into his throat and said in a rush,
"Look, uh, I'm sorry for that- it was really inappropriate..."
"It's alright," said Bridge, and he and Sky stared at one another for a while. Sky could feel his brain rushing, wild thoughts rushing across it- what if he...? "I read your aura when you walked away," Bridge went on, looking slightly ashamed. "I hate doing that to you guys without your permission, but I wanted to make sure, and I saw... that you believed you were really trying to help me, which I expected, and- something else. I didn't know what at first, but when I thought about it for a while, it made perfect sense, you were..."
"Flirting?" Sky supplied.
"Yeah," Bridge nodded, his smile widening.
"...You're not mad?" Sky asked, inhaling sharply.
"Of course not," said Bridge. "I just... I'll say it. I kinda feel the same way about you." The two gazed into each others' eyes-
-and before Sky knew he was being kissed, it was over. He was in a daze now... but the kiss had told him more than mere words ever could.
"Bridge..."
"Let's go," said Bridge, starting to jog in place. "Last one back to base has to fight with the synthesizer to make dinner!" He took off, and Sky watched for a moment, dumbfounded, before darting after him.
"Bridge!" he called. "Wait up! Aren't you worried?"
"About what?" Bridge called, not looking back at him. "Rules? Regulations? You're the one who worries about that kind of stuff, so I won't! We break them all the time anyway, don't we?"
"But-" Sky put on an extra burst of speed, but Bridge was surprisingly fast today. "What about-"
"What the others think? Don't worry about that, either! Actually, Syd thought the same thing I did, and she told Jack and Z, and they thought about it then burst out laughing which I think means they're alright with it, too!"
"What about..."
"What we do next? We'll worry about that when we get to next."
"Bridge! Slow down!" However, Sky was unable to catch up to him until they'd both gotten back to the base. Bridge leaned over, clutching a stitch in his side, panting hard. Sky came up to him and put an arm around him. "You alright?"
"Fine," said Bridge. "I'm fine... just need to... catch my breath..."
"...You're seriously alright with this?" Sky asked, his head swimming. It had all happened so suddenly... and he realized he hadn't pondered all of the possible consequences...
"I am if you are," Bridge said confidently, standing upright.
"It's going to be a big risk," said Sky, but Bridge shook his head, taking one of Sky's hands in his own.
"I know that. But it's a risk I'm willing to take."
(crossposted to 10_hurt_comfort)
Author: shurifanstuffs
Fandom & Pairing Power Rangers S.P.D., Bridge/Sky
Prompt: #5 Love
Rating: PG
Summary: Sky's attempt to show Bridge his feelings backfires.
Notes: Assumes basic knowledge of S.P.D. characters and canon. Written with lots of input & help from kikos_ai; this is dedicated to her.
And with this, I'm done with 10_hurt_comfort! Go me!
Bridge thought for a moment that he'd somehow walked into the wrong room when he came back to his and Sky's dorm late one evening to find it had all been straightened out. However, there all his stuff was- just neat and in place- and there was Sky, lying on his bed, absorbed in a book like usual, apparently not noticing or caring that there was something out of the ordinary. Puzzled, Bridge stepped in all the way, the door sliding shut behind him, and looked over his things. His bed had been neatly made. His guitars were both carefully propped against the wall near his bed, and his skateboard lay on its side next to them. His computer desk, usually a hopeless mess of wires, computer parts, toast crumbs, and remnants of many late-night snacks, was now immaculate- his monitor and keyboard had been wiped clean, and whoever had done this had even attempted to tame the tangle of wires underneath it. His books, usually in several untidy piles on his desk, on the floor, and on his shelves, had all been arranged on one shelf, and were alphabetized. His collection of knickknacks and little toys had also been straightened out.
He wondered how things had gotten that way- Bridge didn't consider himself to be a slob by any means, but he sort of liked his usual system of "organized mess", because he knew where everything was.
"Ah, Sky?" he finally spoke up.
"Hmm?" his roommate asked, not looking up from his reading.
"Uh, who came in and cleaned up? Because even when I clean up for inspections, it's not THIS nice."
"I did," said Sky, finally lowering his book and gazing at Bridge, his expression neutral.
"Oh. ...Why?"
"I was tidying up my side and... decided to tackle yours, too," Sky shrugged. "I was bored, and I knew you'd be gone for a while, so..."
"Oh," said Bridge, giving him a strange look. Though the two had had a silent "touch and use my stuff whenever you want as long as you don't break it" agreement ever since they'd moved in together more than 3 years ago, and Sky sometimes made scathing comments on Bridge's housekeeping habits, he had never gone so far as to actually straighten the other side of the room. Why start now? Bridge wondered. Was Sky so obsessed with his own perfection that he was now trying to make the rest of the team be that way too? "Thank you," Bridge added, not wanting to seem ungrateful, though it sounded awkward after such a long pause.
"Sure," said Sky, his face still unreadable as he picked his book back up and resumed reading. Bridge watched him, but he didn't seem to be acting out of the ordinary... aside from spending what must have been a lot of time cleaning, of course. Bridge, however, decided to let this go- maybe it had just been a fluke, or Sky had simply been bored as he'd said, or he'd started cleaning Bridge's side without realizing it and finished what he'd begun. That was probably it, he reasoned- after all, Sky was loath to leave anything he'd started undone.
Bridge thought that was going to be the end of it... until he opened his closet the next morning to get dressed and found that not only had his growing pile of laundry been done, folded, and put away, his uniform jackets and pants appeared to have been freshly ironed. He gawped for a moment before remembering that he was supposed to be putting his uniform on and quickly did so before going into the rec room for breakfast, hoping to find Sky still there- and indeed he was, sitting with the others in their usual corner.
"Morning, guys," Bridge greeted them with a yawn, and before any of them could reply, he added to Sky, "Uh, thanks for doing my laundry. That is, if that was you, and I didn't do all of that in my sleep or some weirdo didn't break in just to clean my clothes-"
"No, it was me," said Sky, smiling a little. "You're welcome." The others shot him and Bridge strange looks; Bridge merely returned the smile and went to make his breakfast, though now he was feeling uneasy. Cleaning his room was one thing, but starting to do his other chores, too? Why was Sky acting like this? More importantly, was he going to start doing it to the others...?
"Hmm... Captain Crunch, Count Chocula, or mega-cheesy omelette with ham and peppers?" Bridge wondered aloud, trying to distract himself from such thoughts, and Jack snickered.
"Why not all of them?" he suggested. "Mix up the cereal and make your omelette. After all, we've got a lot of training to do today- you'll need a lot of energy."
"Jack, that's a good idea," Bridge agreed. He made his meal in the synthesizer and joined his friends, becoming so absorbed in eating that he didn't even notice that Sky was looking at him until Z spoke up and asked,
"Sky, why are you staring at Bridge?"
"I'm not staring at Bridge," Sky said at once.
"Yes, you are," said Z. "You're giving him The Look. That special look that only you can give that says 'I disapprove of what you're doing'."
"I do not have a look like that," Sky snapped. "I was just thinking, Bridge... you eat that kind of junk for breakfast everyday."
"...And?" Bridge asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not good for you," Sky pressed on. "Since you're a Ranger, you have to-"
"Back off, Sky," Jack interrupted. "He can eat what he wants- we get enough exercise, he's not going to drop dead just because he has sugary cereal for breakfast!"
"I never said he would, just that maybe he could stand to be a little healthier-"
"And what's this about doing his laundry?" Jack added. "Do you think he can't take care of himself or something?"
"I was just trying to be nice!"
"Drop it!" Bridge said before the argument could go on. Sky grabbed his tray and stalked off without another word, his face red. Bridge looked uncomfortably at Jack and said "Was that really necessary...?"
"I don't want him telling you how to live your life," said Jack hotly. "And it sure seemed to me like that's what he was starting to do. Not all of us have to be anal-retentive and perfectly healthy like he is, and it's none of his business what you eat."
"...Yeah, I guess," Bridge mumbled, staring down at his plate and spooning up more cereal. "He cleaned our room yesterday, too... my side included."
"...He did?" Z asked, shooting a glare in Sky's direction. "Wow, that's totally not invading your personal space or anything."
"I didn't really care," said Bridge honestly. "We trust each other to not be bad about using each others' stuff... but that, added with the laundry, and just now... it's strange. I don't think he's trying to be a jerk, though."
"Then what else COULD he be doing?" Jack wanted to know.
Bridge couldn't think of an answer to that.
* * *
Sky avoided the others as much as he could for the rest of that day.
He couldn't stand the glares he got from Jack and Z, or the alternating concerned and puzzled looks from Bridge, or the strange looks and occasional smile he would get from Syd- almost as though she knew something he didn't.
Because he couldn't lie to himself- he was hurt that his friends didn't seem to believe that he really wasn't trying to be obnoxious. He did want Bridge to start taking better care of himself, yes, but that was because Sky cared about him... a caring that had begun, for Sky at least, to pass into something deeper than friendship. He wasn't sure whether or not Bridge felt the same way, so Sky had thought that trying to be nicer to him... in his own way... was the best way to let him know how he felt. After all, he WAS so good at reading people.
Even though this kind of behavior, let alone any possible relationship with Bridge, broke several regulations into pieces, he reminded himself sternly. He might not have even felt the same way about Sky... and this could damage their friendship... or make them be separated, or...
This was a stupid idea, he finally told himself. Maybe I should just back off and... find some other way to tell him how I feel. Be direct and stop beating around the bush. Or maybe I should just forget about these stupid feelings in the first place and leave well enough alone...
These feelings and arguing back and forth with himself all day made him extremely restless, so that evening, he decided to go for a run. He desperately felt like he needed to run, though he didn't know why.
He had just gone out to stand in front of the fountain and stretch when Bridge approached him. Sky, however, didn't look up at his friend. We're better as friends, he told himself firmly. Just act like nothing's wrong, and don't do something stupid like that again.
"Hey," said Bridge when he didn't respond. "Do... do you mind if I go running with you?"
"Be my guest," said Sky with a shrug. Nothing more was said as the two went through their stretches, then took off. Sky thought for a brief moment about speeding up and ditching Bridge, then felt sickened with himself as soon as the idea had come into his head.
He realized now why he'd wanted to run- because he felt like he'd be leaving his problems behind for however long he was out. And ditching Bridge would have meant leaving the source of the problem there, too.
I can't keep this bottled up, he thought. I shouldn't ignore my feelings, either, I guess. I just hope he doesn't respond badly...
"Need to talk?" his friend finally asked, snapping Sky out of his reviere. He glanced at the other man and nodded, so the two slowed to a stop, getting off the sidewalk and standing in a side alley. "I don't think you were being a jerk before, if that's what you were thinking I was thinking, which I wasn't," said Bridge, playing with a strap on one of his gloves. "And I was kinda annoyed with the others for leaping to that conclusion, 'cause while you can sometimes be a jerk I didn't see anything particularly jerky about doing stuff for me, in fact it's kind of a nice change from..." Bridge swallowed hard. "Sorry. I'll stop."
"...Oh," said Sky, then added, "Uh, just in case you were wondering, I didn't really have a reason for doing that..."
"Didn't you?" Bridge asked with a quiet smile. "Because when I thought about it, it was pretty obvious to me what you were trying to do." Sky felt his heart leap into his throat and said in a rush,
"Look, uh, I'm sorry for that- it was really inappropriate..."
"It's alright," said Bridge, and he and Sky stared at one another for a while. Sky could feel his brain rushing, wild thoughts rushing across it- what if he...? "I read your aura when you walked away," Bridge went on, looking slightly ashamed. "I hate doing that to you guys without your permission, but I wanted to make sure, and I saw... that you believed you were really trying to help me, which I expected, and- something else. I didn't know what at first, but when I thought about it for a while, it made perfect sense, you were..."
"Flirting?" Sky supplied.
"Yeah," Bridge nodded, his smile widening.
"...You're not mad?" Sky asked, inhaling sharply.
"Of course not," said Bridge. "I just... I'll say it. I kinda feel the same way about you." The two gazed into each others' eyes-
-and before Sky knew he was being kissed, it was over. He was in a daze now... but the kiss had told him more than mere words ever could.
"Bridge..."
"Let's go," said Bridge, starting to jog in place. "Last one back to base has to fight with the synthesizer to make dinner!" He took off, and Sky watched for a moment, dumbfounded, before darting after him.
"Bridge!" he called. "Wait up! Aren't you worried?"
"About what?" Bridge called, not looking back at him. "Rules? Regulations? You're the one who worries about that kind of stuff, so I won't! We break them all the time anyway, don't we?"
"But-" Sky put on an extra burst of speed, but Bridge was surprisingly fast today. "What about-"
"What the others think? Don't worry about that, either! Actually, Syd thought the same thing I did, and she told Jack and Z, and they thought about it then burst out laughing which I think means they're alright with it, too!"
"What about..."
"What we do next? We'll worry about that when we get to next."
"Bridge! Slow down!" However, Sky was unable to catch up to him until they'd both gotten back to the base. Bridge leaned over, clutching a stitch in his side, panting hard. Sky came up to him and put an arm around him. "You alright?"
"Fine," said Bridge. "I'm fine... just need to... catch my breath..."
"...You're seriously alright with this?" Sky asked, his head swimming. It had all happened so suddenly... and he realized he hadn't pondered all of the possible consequences...
"I am if you are," Bridge said confidently, standing upright.
"It's going to be a big risk," said Sky, but Bridge shook his head, taking one of Sky's hands in his own.
"I know that. But it's a risk I'm willing to take."
(crossposted to 10_hurt_comfort)