Disclaimer: All owned by the bods at Disney.
Author Notes: This is the final chapter. Thanks to all the wonderful people who've reviewed this story, it really made me feel welcomed back into the fandom and like I wrote it right. I hope you like the way I've wrapped it up. As always, all feedback is appreciated.
Vida was arguing about something with Xander. Nick had given up trying to work out how it had started, but it was really amusing to watch. Fights between Xander and Vida always were. When Vida threatened Xander with a ketchup bottle, Nick decided that now was probably a really good time to move. Vida had very good aim when it came to edible projectiles and he didn't want to be anywhere nearby when the inevitable food fight broke out unless he had some serious back-up. There'd been a lot of fights during his year in Briarwood. Sometimes it seemed like Vida intentionally picked fights so that she could show off how much better her aim was than Xanders.
Matoombo had moved to defend Vida and Itassi was asking Daggeron to explain what human ritual was now taking place. As he headed off around the side of the house, Nick could hear Jenji shouting encouragement to Xander and Daggeron say that Vida and Xander were demonstrating an immaturity that was common amongst teenaged humans and that he hadn't much hope that they would grow out of it.
Nick snorted with laughter; Daggeron could be surprisingly funny sometimes. Chip had always insisted that Daggeron was a funny guy, even if the others didn't always see it. It was hard for Nick to see the Solaris Knight as anything other than the stern and relentless coach he'd been to the Rangers over that year. Maybe that would change as more time distanced them from their time as Rangers, but Nick doubted it.
A weirdly familiar thunk shattered Nick's thoughts and he glanced up to see Chip and Clare shooting arrows across the stretch of lawn at the side of the house. Chip was correcting Clare's stance and Clare was looking oddly focused for someone who'd always found it hard to handle even one thing at a time.
Nick watched as Clare's arrow neatly punctured the makeshift target close to the bullseye. That stopped his progress across the grass completely. It did make sense, bows and arrows fitted the world Clare came from. Maybe she'd learnt when she was younger. Maybe she could sword fight too. She'd proved she could hold her own when she'd become the Gatekeeper. There was a lot he had to learn about his new family.
"That was a great shot, Clare!"
At the sound of Madison's voice, Nick felt his whole body react but he managed to swing around towards the sound. There she was, almost hidden in the shade of the house as she filmed Chip and Clare with a wide happy smile on her face. He'd barely seen her at the barbeque, there'd been so many people to talk to, and she'd seemed to slip away into the background. She'd always been good at that.
Clare was bouncing excitedly, thanking Chip as she pulled him into a hug and Chip was trying to look modest but failing utterly. Madison laughed, moving out of the shade to talk to her friends and all Nick could do was stare because Madison looked beautiful.
She was dressed casually in white pants and a blue vest top, but she looked like she was glowing as she emerged from the shade. She was smiling and Nick felt himself smiling in response because the sun was making her hair shine and the relaxed happiness she wore on her face looked really good on her. It hit him like a punch in the gut, and reminded him that yeah, this was different.
When her smile became shy and uncertain (like the smile that had stayed with him for the past year), Nick knew that she'd seen him and his limbs came to jerky life.
"Hey, guys," he called, hands in his pockets as he moved closer.
"Greetings, Nick!" Chip used the voice that usually came with a cape and a superhero story, but he was dressed casually and his smile wasn't the childish grin he'd always seemed to wear before.
"Nick, did you see what I just did?" Clare asked eagerly. "I almost hit the centre!"
"Yeah, I saw it," it was so hard to focus on the others when Madison was stood right there, patient and silent, and it felt like way longer than a year.
"Chip's been teaching me," Clare's smile at Chip was full of adoration and Nick found himself smirking a little. "I mean, Udonna taught me when I was little, but Chip's teaching me now. He's a really good teacher."
"Hey, you've got a really good eye for it," Chip told her with a smile that had a lot of feeling in it. Then he cocked his head and seemed to be looking at something far in the distance. "Is that the sound of flying foods I can hear?"
"Probably, things were getting kinda heated between Xander and V when I left them," Nick replied.
"Then, my lady, we should away!" Chip declared, grasping Clare's hand comfortably in his and racing across the lawn with the sorceress giggling behind him.
In their wake, Nick and Madison stared awkwardly at each other. It was like all that had happened before was right there between them and Nick had no idea what to say to break through it. He'd handled a lot of tough situations in the past, but he had no idea what to say in this one. There'd never been a Madison in his life before, a girl he'd gone back for. Madison looked nervous, playing with the camera in her hands.
"Hey," he said at last, anything to break through the silence.
"Hi," Madison's voice was soft. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks. You?"
"I'm good too," there was a smile in her voice and then she paused. "It's……it's good to see you, Nick."
Nick's lips curved at that and Madison smiled back shyly. The wall was softening between them.
"It's good to see you too," he replied, taking a step forward. "Sorry we haven't talked today, it's been kind of crazy here."
"It's ok, I understand," Madison hesitantly moved a little closer. "So, what's it like, being back?"
"Overwhelming."
Madison nodded and Nick knew that she understood because Madison had always hated to be the centre of attention and he wasn't too keen on it either. It had been great to see everyone, but they'd all wanted to talk to him and he'd felt drained from having a year's worth of news and details crammed into his brain in one afternoon.
"Well, everyone's glad you're back," Madison told him before lowering her head to talk to her camera. "I'm glad you're back."
"Just glad?" Nick teased her, grabbing onto her tone immediately.
"Ok, I'm really glad you're back," Madison was smiling now, the shyness still there as her smile widened.
Nick took another step forward.
But he couldn't say what he felt, because he didn't want it to come out wrong and he didn't want to sound like a dork. This was too important not to get right. Instead he reached out a hand for one of hers. He'd always been more about impulse and actions anyway, and they'd always gotten his point across effectively. Her skin was smooth and her eyes were startled and hopeful when she caught his gaze.
"Maddie……"
That was all he could get out before they both seemed to move and then his arms were suddenly full of Madison, hugging him tightly. He was holding her just as close and now that he had her in his arms, after a year of memories alone, he really didn't want to let go. He heard Madison let out a shuddering breath and smiled against her temple; it looked like they were both better at actions than words.
Maybe they had their own language already. It felt like they were speaking without words.
I missed you, I'm sorry I left, I still want this.
I missed you too, please don't leave me again.
Or maybe he was just going crazy and hearing voices in his head again. He felt Madison tighten her grip, maybe she felt the words too, and heard her fumble to say something, anything. He knew exactly what that was like.
"You don't have to say anything," he told her quietly.
"No, I want to," Madison pulled back from him so that she could look at him properly and he thought he could see tears glittering in her eyes.
Whatever she was going to say was drowned out when a hugely powerful gust of wind shoved her into Nick and nearly pushed them both over. It was accompanied by Xander's voice.
"Hey, you didn't say we could do that!"
There was a slight tremor under their feet and Vida shrieked loudly.
"You ok?" Nick checked as he helped Madison right herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Madison looked around then, seeming to realise that they were stood out in the open. "Um…..maybe we shouldn't do this out here, you know, where people can see."
"Yeah, you're right. Any ideas?"
"We can use Xander's house. It'll keep us out the way of the food fight."
At Nick's nod, Madison turned to lead the way and Nick caught her hand and linked his fingers with hers. Madison smiled over her shoulder, her cheeks colouring prettily, and they walked towards the house together.
Xander's house was as messy as it always had been. Madison quickly grabbed her camera case with her free hand and picked her way through to the lounge. At least the couches were clean and empty and they'd be comfortable.
"Careful, I stepped on a week-old peanut sandwich here once," she warned over her shoulder.
Nick laughed and Madison felt her skin prickle with pleasure and a wide smile slip over her face. Nick had spent a lot of his time as a Ranger confused and angry about Koragg and then Leanbow and so his laugh always made her smile, like she couldn't believe he could make that sound.
As she sat down on the couch and Nick dropped into the spot beside her, their hands stayed clasped together. Madison tried hard not to focus on that too much.
The silence felt amplified. She could hear Xander's yells over the often-loud sweeps of wind, Vida's screamed replies, and the occasional whoop from Phineas. He and LeeLee had obviously joined them, returned from raiding the kitchen, and LeeLee was loudly complaining about the damage to her new leather pants. But she was laughing too and even now Madison was hit by the surprise of how much LeeLee had changed.
"So….." Nick drew the word out awkwardly.
Madison flashed an uncertain smile. They were both so bad at this. Moments ago, they'd been hugging in the garden without any embarrassment or worries (Madison couldn't work out how that had happened, but it had felt wonderful). But trying to speak it out loud seemed to fail them both. Maybe their speech was skin to skin and gestures.
"Oh! Right, I have something for you." Madison pounced on a stray thought and retrieved Nick's blanket from her bag. "I cleaned it, not that it smelt, but I thought I should… you know, keep it nice for you."
Nick's tight expression relaxed as he accepted the roll of soft red material and Madison felt herself relaxing too as she watched him. That smile looked so good on him, almost beautiful. She fought the urge to grab her camera and film him (no matter how good her memory was, on film he'd be preserved perfectly and then she'd always have his smile).
"Thanks, Maddie," Nick was looking at her now. "For taking care of it for me."
"It's ok," Madison managed to shrug, so aware of the feel of his fingers against hers. "Thanks for letting me have it for a while."
Another silence was in danger of stretching between them when Nick broke it with a rueful laugh.
"We are really bad at this."
"We are, aren't we?" Madison laughed and felt some of the awkwardness evaporate between them. "It's so strange."
"Yeah, we can hug and hold hands," Nick raised their joined hands for a few seconds for emphasis. "But we can't talk about this."
Madison could feel words bubbling in her throat in response, wanting to tell him how she felt. But her fears were still there, trying to strangle the words. 'What ifs' were crowding her mind, even though she could feel their hands together and remember his hug and his words. She didn't have a clear answer of what it all meant and she was afraid of the answers her questions could bring. Then Vida's words came to her.
"He came back, didn't he?"
Now he had the blanket and, if he left, was there a reason for him to come back for more than just a friendly visit? Madison squeezed his hand in subconscious response and Nick looked up at her, clearly expecting her to speak.
She bit her lip; she really hadn't meant to do that. The words were trembling on her lips now and she really did want to stop feeling so confused.
"Does this…….mean anything, Nick?"
The words hung in the air between them as Nick looked at Madison and his thumb started moving against her hand. Her heart was thudding so quickly, and she felt as though she was holding her breath.
"Yeah, yeah it means something," Nick replied at last.
Hope swelled inside Madison, and it released more words. It felt as though a switch had been flipped somewhere inside of her and she was aware that later on she'd probably be really embarrassed about how much she'd said.
"But what does it mean? Did you come back just to see your friends and get your blanket and then move on again? I need to know, Nick, because I haven't dated anyone since you left. I've been…...waiting for you and I don't know if you feel the same way because we can never talk about this. I'm afraid that I'm in this alone and that when you leave you're not going to come back and……."
Whatever else Madison had to say was cut off because Nick leant towards her suddenly and pressed his lips to hers. Madison's world went shocked and silent and she felt as though she was at the top of a really high hill about to head down the other side. Then sound rushed back into her ears and it was incredibly real and Nick was kissing her.
Madison's hand slipped from Nicks to find its way to his neck. He was cupping her face and gently deepening the kiss, not pushing but asking for permission that Madison just as carefully gave. She'd never thought he'd be this gentle, and she heard herself make a soft satisfied noise as he changed the angle of the kiss slightly.
She wasn't aware of how long the kiss lasted, she knew that time passed and eventually they separated. It was the best answer to a question Madison had ever gotten. She knew she was blushing and Nick smiled at her, stroking her warm cheek.
"I don't want to leave you again, Maddie," he said quietly and with a hint of apprehension that shook his words.
Madison let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and laughed a little shakily. Her insides were going crazy and, despite all the words that had tumbled free, one more shook itself loose.
"Why?"
"Why? You are nosy," the teasing echo of their first real conversation made them both smile and Nick tugged her closer. "This is all new for me, Maddie. I don't come back for people."
But I came back for you
The unspoken words were emphasised by Nick squeezing her gently and Madison wondered if he felt the words between them too. Maybe they didn't have to say all that much after all, maybe they understood each other more than she'd thought.
Her smile didn't fit her face and it felt like it was her turn to try and say something, but the words had left her again. So, still unsure and pulling together whatever courage she could, Madison leant forward and kissed him gently. It felt soft and simple and strangely very delicate. Delicate was not a word Madison would associate with Nick Russell, but it was perfect for that kiss and that moment.
It was too early to talk about love, but Madison felt warm from her head to her toes.
She was about to speak, when something hit the window behind them with a thick wet splat. The food fight was obviously still going on and was that…….
"Was that Daggeron on his magic carpet?!" Nick asked the question for her in clear amusement and disbelief.
"I think it was," Madison laughed, the sound feeling light and free.
"Want to join in?"
Madison had always tried to avoid the varied types of fights that erupted around Xander and Vida (it really wasn't good for her camera), but if everyone else was involved, even Daggeron, then there probably wasn't any way to avoid it. Vida would only drag her out soon anyway and Nick's devilish grin was very appealing. She found herself smiling back.
"I know where Xander keeps his water bombs."
Nick obviously liked what he saw in her face because as soon as they got to their feet, he swept her into his arms for another kiss. Madison started in surprise, but responded with delight. This was a different sort of kiss, it felt like relief and gratitude and 'I'm so glad I'm here and that you want me too' and it was only interrupted when something else splattered loudly against the window. Madison laughed against his lips and she could feel Nick shake in response.
What was happening to her? She felt bold with him, all those feelings she'd gotten just be being around him were hugely enhanced. It felt so right and prompted more words, shy and quiet.
"I….I'm really glad you're here, Nick," it wasn't 'I love you' but it was something and she knew that Nick knew that.
"I'm not going anywhere."
His expression was serious and Madison couldn't stop smiling, because she had solid words to lean on now. It was a promise. She had film school to eventually think about and Nick might want to take over Rootcore or he might even want to go with her wherever she ended up. But he wasn't leaving her and that from Nick, who had always wandered, was the best that she could ask for.
- the end, thanks so much for reading!