I told myself I wanted to see this movie but it left theaters before I got the chance. I finally got to watch it the other day online and holy hell. I Should have made time to go see it, it was awesome. I'm also a sucker for the found family archetype.

Honestly, I'm not sure how active this fandom is. Not to mention there seems to be only a handful of Kimberly/Jason. So here is my contribution.

Enjoy.

Home life was a complicated thing. Kimberly always knew this but only recently was it really starting to sink in. She had always found it to be a place of absolute safety, somewhere where fears and worries melted away. Parents were fully supportive no matter your choices and actions.

At least… that was how home was supposed to be. It certainly was for almost Kimberly's entire life. But when you start making choices that they didn't support? That was when the gold veneer was peeled away to reveal the rot beneath.

Kimberly had a comfortable and loving home life as far back as she could remember, but this was only because she had been subconsciously conforming all along. She never stopped to ask herself if what she was doing was what she wanted.

Every parent wants their kid to be part of the "popular" crowd, because they were somebody. In some cases, the town worshipped the ground they walked on. The popular ones were the people parents could look at and say "that's my child, I'm so proud of them".

The type of person Kimberly used to be. Just like Kimberly used to have a loving home life and family. Now she was just another problem child who ruined their own life. Something Kimberly's parents did not take well.

Kimberly could almost quote the regular lectures she was getting every couple of days now. How could you be so stupid, how could you be so cruel, how could you… how could you… It was never ending, it was suffocating.

Kimberly did have to be honest with herself, among the team her issues were pretty low on the spectrum. Between Zach mom, Billy's condition, and Trini's even worse home life, Kimberly's problems felt tiny by comparison. Perhaps this was why she never brought them up to anyone save Jason. Everyone had their own worse issues sure, but Jason among all of them was in Kimberly's same boat.

It was exactly this reason Kimberly came to Jason after their fireside confessions. At least at the time she had been hoping he would understand. She was fully ready for another round of verbal thrashing from their new leader. She probably deserved it too, it would have been only right for him to.

Except he didn't.

Jason listened and understood. Kimberly showed him her darkness, fully expecting him to turn her away in disgust, and he did not blink. More than that, he metaphorically raised her back to her feet with just a few words.

In that exact moment, all doubts about Jason that Kimberly still held vanished. If any one of them had the right to claim they were the leader of their team, it was Jason Scott.

Be the person you wanna to be. Those were the words that Jason said to her. Kimberly didn't tell him just how often she repeated those seven words within her mind. They brought her a strength she felt she was lacking.

Those words still swam within her mind. They became her mantra of a sort, any moment she felt herself slipping all it took was a repeat of those words and she knew she could fight on.

At the time, Kimberly was struck so deeply by Jason's speech that she was stunned into silence. Thank god for that, because the first thought she came up with was absolutely insane.

Um, honestly? I kinda wanna be the girl who kisses you right now.

Where in the holy hell had that come from? Even now, weeks later she still couldn't figure out an answer to that internal question. It plagued her thoughts constantly. Just as Jason invaded her thoughts, so too did he invade her reality.

It was inevitable, you don't save the world alongside four others without growing closer. Even Trini, master of the antisocial arts was warming to the group. Of course, this meant more time around each other. In school and outside it, in addition to more training.

It wasn't like Kimberly could avoid Jason or any of them, not without telling why and that was way off the table. It couldn't last forever, she was going to have to confess something eventually. The others were getting suspicious, their ranger bond allowed to feel each other's emotions to a limited degree but not thoughts thankfully.

Didn't help that Kimberly didn't know what she could tell them, she didn't even know herself!

That night in Jason's room was only the beginning. That was only the first time she started having these thoughts. The second was when they carried Billy back to the ship, as much as the memories of Billy's temporary death pained her, something else happened during the dive into the water. It happened again when their zords were crushed together during the final battle.

There was… something there in the looks they shared. Some kind of mutual connection that went further than their bonds as rangers.

It was not the end of it either. What happened next began with subtle things at first. Kimberly began standing closer to Jason than usual, she would automatically gravitate to his side on their private "ranger only" table as Zach called it. She became hyper aware of their leader's presence, even more so than the others. Whenever he took a hit during training, Kimberly would feel her stomach lurch uncomfortably.

None of this even seemed wrong, it all felt perfectly natural, like second nature. At least until Kimberly realized she was lying about having "accidently" left her textbook with Jason's stuff at lunch, just so she would have an excuse to see him and walk with him to his next class. The kicker? Said textbook and class were on the opposite side of the school to hers.

Needless to say, this was a problem.

Sometimes Kimberly just needed to get out, go… somewhere. Anywhere that was not her home, a place she could clear her head even for a little while. It was this same behavior that led to her midnight swim, which led to the coins, which led to her new job as a ranger. Such were the intricacies of life.

Another swim was Kimberly's first idea but she shot that down quickly. While the cold mountain water would work for a little but, it wouldn't last long enough or tire her out enough to sleep properly.

Hmm… distraction, tire her out, and keep her busy? Kimberly had the perfect idea for all three things. Although a swim was still required like it or not, one of these days they needed to ask Alpha about that. There had to be an easier way of getting into the ship.

"Kimberly!" Alpha chirped way too enthusiastically for Kimberly's tastes. Nobody had the right to sound that cheerful, except maybe Billy. "Good morning! What brings you here?"

"Few rounds in the pit." Kimberly brushed past him, but made sure not to bump him in the process. She was impatient, not heartless.

"Coming right up." Alpha zoomed past her to set up the simulation.

All five rangers sometimes came out here at weird hours for the exact reason Kimberly had come. It was an unspoken rule that they wouldn't talk about the why. They all had their reasons and there was no need for a rehash.

After taking her place, the hologram putties appeared. The sight of only three putties made Kimberly scowl. She could beat that in her sleep with both hands tied. This simply wasn't going to work.

"Give me a couple dozen." Kimberly stretched her arms.

"Uh… alright." Alpha acknowledged but just stared at Kimberly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to morph?" Alpha said it like his question was obvious.

"No." Kimberly briefly considered if before answering. "I need to practice fighting without armor. Give me some guys to smash." It was too easy to lie to the robot, Kimberly hated it but oh well.

"Very well." Alpha answered, obviously not liking this, as many more of the rock creatures appeared.

"That's more like it!" Kimberly grinned as she dashed forward, focusing her entire mind on the battle at hand.

It was inevitable she would take a few hits, and without her armor it certainly hurt, but Kimberly didn't care. Pain was good, it helped keep her distracted even better than the actual fight did.

As she ducked and weaved about, Kimberly did her best not to let the putties surround her, but there were a lot more of them than her. Even with ranger reflexes and speed, she could only keep track for so long.

She had just landed a brutal kick that destroyed a putties entire abdomen when a rock fist caught Kimberly in the back of the head. The blow stunned her long enough for another to land another blow to her stomach from the front.

Kimberly lashed out with a snarl of rage and destroyed both but other hits soon followed. The third a direct hit to her face and bloodying her nose. Before Kimberly knew it, she was on the ground.

If the rangers ever took too serious of a beating, Alpha would immediately stop the exercise. Which is what Kimberly had been expecting when the putties began to pile on top of her in a crushing wave of stone fists.

What Kimberly had not been expecting, was for the putties to be knocked off of her instead of disappearing.

Before she could try to take advantage of the opening to free herself, Kimberly felt another hand latch onto hers and jerk her back up. Only the pull was not to help her regain footing, it was too hard for that.

Kimberly had just enough time to blink before she was tossed up into the air. Recognizing the move from one of their training sessions, Kimberly used the momentum of the fall to take out three of the putties at once upon dropping back down.

The fight was so chaotic, Kimberly almost didn't see just who her rescuer was. But she did catch a glimpse before she came crashing down, and a glimpse was all she needed.

Jason.

The red and pink rangers immediately fell into step together. As one would strike, the other would block, the pair a twirling hurricane of destruction unleashed upon the putties. Most of the time they were facing opposite directions and unable to see the other, but still managed to move as a cohesive whole.

Strangely enough, smashing the rock monsters alongside Jason brought Kimberly a strange sense of… serenity. Even as her body ached from the exertion and the pain of the hits she'd taken, Kimberly felt good.

Over four dozen putties later, Kimberly and Jason were surrounded by a field of rubble that soon vanished into thin air. Only then did Kimberly realize she hadn't taken a single hit since Jason's arrival, even when she had gone on the offensive Jason had shielded her just as well as she had done him.

Deep breaths moving her whole chest and skin slick with sweat, Kimberly closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax against the muscles of Jason's back behind her. She didn't even realize she was doing it at first, it had been a subconscious act.

It took way too long for Kimberly to comprehend what she was doing and that yes, she really was not imagining it and Jason really was in the room with her. She almost panicked but was too scared to actually move off her fellow ranger.

"You alright?" If Jason was bothered by the girl leaning against him he certainly didn't show it.

"Um… yeah." Kimberly felt the moisture on her upper lip and brought a hand up to see what it was. When it came away smeared with fresh blood she remembered the lucky hit one of the putties got before Jason's arrival. She swore softly under her breath but it was loud enough for Jason to hear.

Jason moved but Kimberly was leaning so heavily against him she instantly started to fall. She would have landed flat on her back up Jason hadn't caught her with a hand to her lower back.

Making sure Kimberly was steady on her feet, Jason circled her to see her face. The grimace that came next made Kimberly's insides twist uncomfortably. "It probably looks worse than it actually is."

Jason sighed and took her by the hand to the rock they stash their first aid kit behind. Kimberly forced herself to ignore the tingles that still radiated from her hand after he let go to open the box.

As she sat there, Jason cleaning some of the blood away with a scrap cloth, Kimberly felt her heart sink. All the pieces clicked into place at once.

"Oh, this is not happening." Kimberly groaned, she would have slapped herself in the forehead but that would have stopped Jason from his work.

"Hey." Jason flashed her a tiny smile, so similar to the one he wore when she visited his bedroom that night this all started. "You were right, it's not so bad. Probably going to sting like hell, but should look good as new by morning."

"Yeah." Kimberly mustered a weak smile while her thoughts continued a different path. Sure, she was totally worried about her face being mangled. Yeah, and she totally wasn't at all scared about what these emotions she was feeling meant.

"There we go." Jason finished up and Kimberly found herself missing his touch far more than she had any right to. Jason paused for a minute before continuing. "You might have a black eye later."

"I'm sorry, what?" Kimberly shook herself from the small trance she had been in.

'Isn't that my line?" Jason light tapped her knee with his knuckles.

Kimberly remembered the first time they actually met and couldn't suppress the small giggle that left her lips. "I didn't see your name on it."

"But didn't you hear?" Jason gasped with mock offense. "It's in the script."

Kimberly just laughed until she recalled more of the day they first met. She had just dived into the water like she often did but when she surfaced she found Jason frantically calling her name. He had just peeled off his jacket and was obviously about to dive in after her, thinking she was in trouble.

Back then she was a little moved by the gesture but thought little of it. Recalling it right now brought back those stupid butterflies in her stomach.

Didn't crap like that only happen in movies and those sappy romance novels? Surely that wasn't a real thing.

"So, what brings you here at two in the morning?" Kimberly needed a change in topics right now, only to realize too late she had just broken the unspoken rule of not asking about midnight trips to the ship.

"Had another argument with my dad." Jason answered without missing a beat, replacing the first aid kit. "Tried to sleep it off but just needed to get out."

"You too huh?" Kimberly knew exactly how the other ranger was feeling.

"Sounds like fun times for everybody huh?" Jason's smile was a lot tighter lipped this time, no trace of humor in his tone.

"For what it's worth." Kimberly was about to pat Jason's arm, but didn't trust herself enough to do so. "Your dad doesn't know squat, and can go screw off."

"They do kinda have a point you know."

"They say you let them down, they say you're nothing. They're all wrong, you're a hero, Jason." And you're my hero, but thankfully Kimberly was able to keep that part as thoughts only. The malfunctioning brain to mouth censor was starting to become worrying. "Be who you wanna be, remember?"

"Yeah." Now that smile on Jason was more like what should be there. "What about you? Weren't you down here getting beaten to a pulp before I even got here?"

"Uh…" Kimberly knew she shouldn't be embarrassed for doing something so stupid. Damn Jason for making her feel things like this! "Yeah… pretty much same reasons as you."

Jason nodded in understanding. "Not to steal your words, but they apply to you too you know." Kimberly never got a chance to fire back her prepared self-deprecating response. "Let them talk, that's exactly what it is. Just talk. You're a hero too, you know."

"But…"

"Ah." Jason silenced her with a single finger in the air. "Be who you wanna be. Who do you want to be?"

"Um, honestly? I kinda wanna be the girl who kisses you right now."

It wasn't until she saw the look on Jason's face that it dawned on Kimberly that holy mother of god she said that out loud. The words were no longer safe within the confines of her brain and were now out and free to spread chaos and misery.

The cavern was quiet enough to hear a needle drop. Jason's face turned redder than his armor but he said nothing. Kimberly felt her own face flush but whatever words she could have said in a pathetic attempt to recover couldn't even form within her short-circuiting brain.

Kimberly could run. Running was definitely a viable option. She could surely escape the ship before Jason recovered and… yeah that was not going to work. Maybe she could scream for Alpha to summon more putties as a distraction. Alpha had vanished shortly after Jason's arrival though so no, that wouldn't do much good either.

Oh lord, she was so screwed. Too bad they were too far from the actual wall, otherwise Kimberly would have bashed her head against it in an attempt to punish her stupid, traitorous, brain. If she must suffer, so shall it.

"Do you?" Jason was first to recover his voice, shaky and not leaderlike thought it was.

"Y… yeah." Kimberly would deny to her dying day that she squeaked like a mouse when she said that. The truth was irrelevant.

"Oh." Jason choked out.

They had been sitting closely while Jason cleaned her wounds and scooted slightly apart when he was finished, but over the course of their short talk the pair had slowly gravitated closer and closer. Now they were less than a foot apart.

There was something in those eyes of Jason's that made Kimberly snap.

"Kim…" That was all Jason managed to get out before Kimberly pounced upon him, her lips crashing into his.

Normally, even to the other rangers, they tried to dial down their strength so avoid mishaps. Kimberly didn't even bother doing that here. She slammed into Jason full force, whom never had a hope of catching either of them.

The pair tumbled to the floor, being splattered by a cloud of dust and sand in the process. Jason landed flat on his back, slamming his head into the ground. Kimberly had slightly better fortune, she found herself straddling the red ranger but her knees banged into the ground at the same time as Jason's head.

Ignoring the impact, Kimberly reached her hands up to tangle in Jason's hair as her lips claimed his like a starving woman at a feast. She was briefly worried she was forcing herself on him when Jason didn't react at first. Until his hands found her hips and slid up her body to grip her shoulders and pull her flush against him.

It almost wasn't enough, Kimberly wanted more. It took what little shreds of her willpower to keep her thoughts from straying too far into deep waters and contented herself with kissing for now.

They were both covered in sweat, and now equally splattered in sand and grit now. The kiss was way too sloppy and Kimberly, who liked to think she actually had some experience kissing, found the whole situation completely unromantic.

But god was it perfect.

Kimberly didn't stop until she had to for air, she was starting to see spots already. Breathing even heavier than earlier after thrashing the putties, Kimberly peppered Jason's jaw and cheek with kisses. Every inch of skin she could reach she wanted to feel against her lips.

Eventually, Jason was able to sit up, but Kimberly had no intentions of vacating his lap any time soon. Jason must have realized this and allowed her to loosely wrap her legs around him while his hands roamed her back through the top she wore.

"Are we… going to talk about this?" Kimberly bit her lip hard as she looked down at Jason, her forehead against his.

"Do we really need to?" Jason's eyebrow arched ever so slightly.

"Hell no." Kimberly attacked his lips once again.

Huh, that kind of got away on me. There will be a follow up chapter since this one ended up being as long as it is.

I have ideas for more stories but it all depends on how active the fandom is. If I get reviewers then I'll do more after the follow-up.

Let me know how I did everyone.