A/N: This one-shot takes place three years after Dino Thunder, so this would be set in the year, 2007/2008.

Dedicated To: Young at Heart21, thank you for always being the person I could bounce ideas off of. Thank you for recommending this song, and I hope you like this mini story.

A/N: I don't own anything. Also, I've noticed that most of the reunion fics with Tommy and Kim, have Kim coming back to Cali. I switched it up a bit, and I had Tommy go to Florida. =)

Summary- Tommy is offered a position as principal at a high school in Tampa, Florida. He takes the offer, not knowing a certain PE teacher knows the ins and outs of his life in California. Are the sparks still there? Love at first sight, twice?

Part I

Xxxxx

Playing with Fire

Principal's Office
Century High School
Tampa, Florida

"This is it." Tommy blew out a soft and hot breath, while he kept rocking back and forth on his leather, desk chair.

Today was Tommy's first day at his new job. Leaving his run of the mill job as a high school teacher, he opted for a little more excitement in his life. He missed fighting clumsy foot soldiers, firing powerful weapons, wearing colorful suits, piloting huge zords, and even mentoring newbie Power Rangers. Coincidently, he felt running a high school of about 3,000 students and over 150 faculty members would suffice.

He made a mental note to thank Principal Randall-Mercer, Elsa did marry Dr. Anton Mercer a year after her term as an evil henchwoman, for the recommendation and awesome character reference. In addition, he needed to send an Edible Arrangements to Dr. Anton Mercer for his reference check as well. Trent, the former white Dino Thunder ranger, Ethan, the former blue Dino Thunder ranger, Conner, former red Dino Thunder ranger, Kira McKnight, nee Ford, former yellow Dino Thunder ranger and wife to Conner, and their son, Tristan, resided in the house that still had the connecting Dino Thunder lair. Tommy was renting the house to his former students. Which made his move less nerve wracking, and he knew his house was in great hands.

Pushing his thoughts away, Tommy decided to make some rounds. He fixed his forest green dress shirt, black tie and slacks, and kept his red handkerchief in his right pocket. Next, Tommy lifted his black pants just a bit, and he saw his new socks were still fresh and white. His hair was gelled accordingly, and his goatee was edged up nicely. Eyeglasses finished the look.

"I had to have four colors." Tommy muttered to himself, and he walked out of his room. As he walked out of his office and down the halls, his female staff swooned over him. Old, young, plump, skinny, married, single, it did not matter, hell, even the women, who were lesbian, found Dr. Oliver to be cute. He was still able to uphold his doctorate in paleontology over in the state of Florida, so his title stuck, and he felt more important.

As he headed down the halls, he made sure to make eye contact with the students as well as the teachers. He promptly introduced himself, and he wanted to make everyone around him feel more comfortable. Without interruptions, the former Power Ranger made his way down. As he turned the corner, that's when it happened. His fit, muscular body collided with another person's.

The smaller woman felt the brunt of the hit. Her coffee spilled all over the floor. She was slightly annoyed with the other person, who she felt ran into her. "That was rude." She frowned, as she saw her Caramel Macchiatto made a puddle in the middle of the floor. Some of liquid slid away. She began to pick up her attendance sheets and newsletters. Too bad the newsletters had been piling up in her mailbox, maybe she would've been in the loop.

Dr. Oliver looked down, and his breath was knocked out of him. Not because of the impact, but because of the person, who he felt ran into him. This woman was petite, caramel, brown hair, slightly curved out body, and she was definitely dressed in clothes he was familiar with. If only she looked at him in the eyes, he would gain the confirmation he needed. Her voice sounded like music though. Something he knew she knew well.

"Are you sure it wasn't rude of you?" He questioned, while he tried to wipe off the splashes of warm coffee off his black slacks.

Momentarily, she stopped picking up her papers. That voice. It was deep, but not too deep. Different than the one she was used to as an adolescent, none the less. She remembered that voice, but she wasn't sure. She turned to face the man's black shoe. Her eyes slowly traveled upwards, and she saw black, then black, then green, and black again, and she saw that face. His chocolate eyes hidden by his eyeglasses, his freshly shaved goatee, and the toned, fit body behind his clothes was present. Hearing wise, she was familiar with him, but physically, emotionally, mentally, she wasn't so sure. As her shock wore off, the anger filtered in.

"You ran into me!" She irritatingly hissed. "It's not my fault you are built like a brick wall." She placed her files uniformly, and she stood up. She barely came up to his chest.

"If I'm built like a brick wall and taller than you, then you should've been able to see me." He looked down at her with annoyance. "You are still stubborn as usual."

"Takes one to know one." She snorted out right.

Dr. Oliver examined her body. She was wearing white and pink. He had to laugh, since she was still dressed in his and her color. "Nice to know you are still sporting my color." He winked at her.

"It's kind of hard not to, you've been so many." She irritatingly quipped, but she got hot over that damn wink. Every time he's done that motion, she got turned on. She never understood why.

"Funny, Kim. You know that funny." Tommy commented, and he smiled at her.

Coach Kimberly Ann Hart was standing right in front of Dr. Thomas James Oliver. Ever since she's left the Power Rangers and California, she's stayed in Florida. In between, there have been several times where she's left Florida: the incident with Maligore, Jason and Trini's wedding, Tanya and Adam's wedding, Aisha and Rocky's wedding, not to mention, Billy's wedding to Tommy's best friend Hayley. In addition, she's traveled to France, and anywhere else her boyfriend, of two years, wanted to go to. That could explain why she never knew about Tommy becoming the principal. Now, she needed to fire questions towards her ex.

"Ce que l'enfer faites-vous ici? (What the hell are you doing here?)" Kim expressed her thought in French. "Excuse my French though."

"You would say something like that to me." Tommy searched his brain. He remembered when Kim would try to teach him the language, so he remembered some of the words. Once it hit him, he had to laugh. "I'm the new principal." He smirked.

"Excuse me!" Kim found his new title to be outrageous. "You cannot be the new principal."

"And why not?" He crossed his hands together and held them there.

A lot of reasons popped in, but she couldn't say the inappropriate ones. She went with the obvious explanations. "Well, uh, well… what about that nice house in California, I mean it did house a command center." She whispered the last part. "And I thought you liked teaching high school science. I mean from what everyone has said you liked it. And you know Power Ranger duty could come back. As you can see this place doesn't offer too much of that adventure."

"So you've been asking about me, I don't think your boyfriend would like that." Tommy haughtily chuckled at her. "Anyways, my house is being rented by my former students, I did want a change, and Billy and Hayley built a teleportation module in my condo. I think I'm covered." He bent forward, and snootily whispered to her.

Kim rolled her eyes at him being so, being so hot! She, then, got upset with his first sentence. "Wait a minute, I have not been asking about you." She lied, not wanting to give away she was still interested in him. "Anyways, you must've asked about me, since you know I'm in a re-lation-ship." She enunciated her status, so he couldn't make a move on her. Even though, she desperately wished he would. Kim never understood why she's never talked to him following the letter, they've encountered each other plenty of times, yet they hardly spoke. Part of her wondered if she should even bother with it.

The letter still weighed on his heart heavily. He kept that to himself. "I did ask about you." He confessed without a shadow of a doubt. "I knew when I took this job, I was going to be in your area. Our friends aren't exactly discreet. They talked about you being this fantastic gymnastics coach in Tampa, and well, I had no clue this was your school." He explained.

"Now, it's our school." Kim interjected with a smile.

That smile still melted Tommy's heart. "I wasn't trying to pry on your life, but I do understand you have a boyfriend. I hope everything works for the both of you." He genuinely wished.

Coach Hart stared at him deadpanned. He nonchalantly wished her the best of luck with her new boyfriend. She wasn't sure how to take that. Split down the middle, Kim nodded. "Uh, I should go to class." She murmured sadly.

"I should continue making my rounds." Tommy gave a slight nod. "It was nice seeing you Coach." He began to walk way. The custodian came over to wipe up the sloppy mess of brown liquid. "Thank you." He acknowledged the middle aged man.

"No problem, Boss!" Lionel, the custodian, grinned. He grabbed the mop with the tattered, spaghetti 'hairs' and he whistled as he wiped up the liquid. His fluid motions sopped up coffee with ease.

While she turned to walk away, she wasn't ready to let go of him so easily. "Dr. Oliver!" She called for. However, that title felt odd to say. He turned to her. "Uh, would you like to get coffee later? I mean, you do owe me for my Caramel Machiatto." She pointed to liquid being strained from the mop.

Dr. Oliver lightly laughed. "I guess, even though, you did run into me. I have lunch at 11:00."

Kim nodded. "Me too."

The former lovers parted ways. She was playing with fire.

Xxxxx

Later That Day…
Starbucks

Cordially, Tommy opened the door to Starbucks for Kim. They walked towards the register, and one of Kim's old students happened to be working. He smiled at his former teacher, and he looked at Dr. Oliver. Randall, Kim's former student, was definitely 'batting' for the same team. He smiled at Kim.

"Welcome to Starbucks, my name is Randall, how can I help you?" He greeted in a charming voice. "And if it isn't Ms. Hart!" He hovered over his cash register, and he hugged his teacher. "How are you doing?"

Kim smiled. Randall was her best student, not to mention her favorite gossip whore. She also loved his gymnastics move. "I've been good. I wished you could've been held back, and still been on the team."

Randall giggled, and he moved his hands as if 'she should stop'. Basking in her compliment, he began to place her order. "Venti Caramel Machiatto, and what's for this guy, right here?" His green eyes gave Tommy the once over.

Tommy felt a little uncomfortable. "Uh, I'll just have a Venti White Chocolate Mocha." He ordered, for a motive.

Their cashier punched in the request. "Anything else? A scone, slice of cake, a sandwich?" The two shook their head. "Alright." He rang up the total. "$9.10, please." Dr. Oliver grabbed his Master Card out of his wallet, and he handed the card over to Randall. "What a gentleman for paying!" He praised, and he read the card. "Thomas Oliver. That's a strong name as well."

If the doctor of paleontology didn't know any better, he swore this kid was hitting on him. "Thanks." The older man muttered.

Kim giggled, and she placed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Uh, Tommy, why don't I get the drinks, you should find us a place to sit." Understanding her reason, Tommy did as told. He found a place in the back.

"Ms. Hart, know how to pick them." Randall loved Tommy's backside. "Do you see his ass? Absolutely, scrumptious." He clanked his teeth together in a biting motion.

Absentmindedly, Kim nodded. "Yeah, he's always had a nice ass."

Randall overheard. "What do you mean always?" He loved hearing the gossip among teachers.

"Well, when I was in high school, we used to date." Kim smiled at Tommy, and he smiled back. She turned to her former student. "I was really, really in love with him. I know he was in love with me too, but I moved for the Pan Globals. There, I met Jared, and well, my relationship with Tommy went down the drain because I began to have feelings for Jared. Tommy did nothing wrong though, but I made the choice, and I broke it off. The harsh part about it was I broke up with him in a letter." She summarized. "I stayed with Jared for three years, but we broke up after he cheated on me. I could never forget about what I had with Tommy, but at the time I wanted to patch things up, he was in a relationship. As of right now, I know they aren't together because I just got her wedding invitation in the mail."

"Aren't you with someone though?" Randall had to scramble through his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm with Sam still. We've been going for two years strong, but after seeing Tommy again, I don't know. It's sad to know one person can come between relationships but it happens." Kim solemnly described.

The cashier headed for the drinks. "Ms. Hart, here you go." He handed them over. "Well, if you still think there are sparks between you and Mr. Oliver-…"

Kim adamantly shook her head. Randall furrowed his brows. "That's Dr. Oliver." The former Pink Ranger mildly bragged about the multicolored ranger.

"Well, shit, you can drop Sam, he's only an accountant." Randall laughed.

"He's an accountant that makes money though." She laughed as well. "Thanks Randall."

"No problem, Ms. Hart. Let me know what happens." He winked at her and continued with his job.

The Crane Ninjetti made her way towards the Falcon Ninjetti. She placed his drink in front of him, and she sat on her side. Chocolate and Topaz pools gazed upon each other. There was silence, but it was comfortable. Each blew to cool down their drink, and they took small sips.

Kim broke the silence. "So, what happened between you and Kat?" She referenced the wedding invitation in her mailbox. "I thought you two were going to get married."

Tommy shook his head. "I've thought about it, but I realized we weren't the right fit." The cup was mere inches from his mouth, but he placed it down. "Kat and I dated for around 6 years, and I realized she wasn't the one for me. I think she realized the same, and we broke up."

"So, it was mutual."

The Multicolored ranger, as he's been deemed by former rangers, nodded his head. "Besides, she's really happy with Mike Corbett, the former Magna Defender. I'm good friends with his brother, Leo. He was the former Red Lost Galaxy ranger."

"Interesting." She sipped. "I'm happy for her and this guy." She hadn't remembered seeing Kat with anyone at Hayley and Billy's wedding, so she needed to call her up about that one.

"How are things between you and Sam?" He continued drinking.

"They're good. We've been together for two years, and he's a sweetheart. He treats me good, and we get along. He's faithful, I laugh, I smile, he's good looking." She didn't know what else to say about him.

"Why didn't he come to Billy and Hayley's wedding with you?" Tommy questioned, since he sounded like a good guy. "The wedding was last year."

"Sam's mother was sick during that time. He told me I should go without him." Kim replied. "How are Billy and his wife?"

"They're good. You know, Billy was a tech. advisor during my reign as a Zeo Ranger, and Hayley was a tech. advisor during Dino Thunder, I gotta say, together they can do amazing things. If there are a new set of rangers that need mentoring, those two can do it."

"Hey, I heard you weren't so bad as the mentor during Dino Thunder." Kim acknowledged.

"I don't think I was, but shit, pulling double duty as a ranger and mentor, man it got tiring." Tommy shook off the memories.

Kim had to laugh. "Are you done with the ranger business?" She looked at him seriously. "I mean, you got that teleportation thingy, and you are always involved somehow. I heard about the moon mission, you've helped in the future, and you never know when you could go back to fighting evil." She rambled, but she did so because she was scared. Tommy being a chronic ranger freaked her out. How could she ever maintain a relationship with someone who was going to the moon, KO-35, Eltar, Edenoi, or Onyx? All of the stories she's been told, Kim didn't know how Tommy continued that lifestyle.

Tommy honestly shrugged. "It will always be a part of my life. Like it is yours."

Kim's brows constricted in wonderment. "What do you mean, like mine?

"Tonight, we should work out. Let's meet up at the gym." Tommy offered. "I think we could spar, practice a few katas, and just act like teenagers." He knew he was playing with fire as well. His ex-girlfriend has a boyfriend. He couldn't possibly interfere, but he was doing so. He knew he was by asking about this request.

She looked at him dumbfounded for the second time that day. After all of these years, she could become putty in his hands? She stared into his eyes, and they were still warm, although, she did question if this was a front. No one should ever receive a letter, whether a 'Dear John' or a 'Dear Jane'. A letter like that is devastating. In the previous years, Jason, Adam, Rocky, even Kat and Tanya, have mentioned about the emotional funk Tommy went through due to the words she wrote down on a piece of paper.

"Sure." The Crane said quietly, and she gulped down her, now cool, drink.

"Kim, you don't have to, if you don't want to." Her silence publicized her hesitation. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you can let me know. I shouldn't exactly spring this on you, since we are finally talking after…"

"The letter." She softly finished for him. Tommy sadly nodded. "Tommy, I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it." He consoled. "It happened a decade ago, there's no reason to bring up the past." He had to lie because he was hurting still inside.

She didn't believe him. "You know you are a horrible liar."

Tommy smiled. "So, after school, the gym? I mean, I gotta work off his white chocolate mocha." He pointed towards the white and green decorated cup.

"Today, after school." Kim agreed.

The two continued talking until they were ready to leave. Once they left, Randall stood by the door. He smiled from left to right, and he wiped down their table.

Xxxxx

After School
Gym
Century High School

Already out of his 'uniform', Tommy walked into the gym dressed in a white tank top, black karate pants and his sandals. He tossed his gym bag to the side. As he stepped on the mat, he took off his sandals, and he began to practice for a bit. He bowed to the invisible person as a form of respect, and he stood in the middle of the mat, and he made sure his body was centered and focused. Bending his knees, his butt was aligned with the ground at the perfect 90 degree angle. Inhale and exhale was his natural breathing technique, but the breaths were louder, almost exaggerated. He stood up, as straight as a ruler. His fists were planted downwards, and his karate yell echoed in the expanse space of the gym.

To the left, right hand, downward punch, left kick, right kick, left punch, and right punch; to the right, left hand, downward punch, right kick, left kick, right punch, and left punch; facing forward, karate chop with the right hand, karate chop with the left hand, right hand punch, left hand punch; turning 180 degrees, he repeated his steps. His movements were strict, tight even; there was no room for error. He couldn't do that, and he needed keep his mind clear. Tommy stretched his left leg, as far as it could go upwards. His head was parallel to the ground, and he did several kicks.

Kim dressed in a black tank top, pink velour shorts and white sneakers, watched Tommy in awe. Not because of the powerful moves in the kata, but because of his body. Sweat began to form on the surface of his olive skinned body, and she observed his bigger muscles. Covered by his tank, there seemed to be a big tattoo. She had an idea of what it could be. Hers was similar. The petite, former ranger continued to watch him in silence. He had definitely grown up. Kim wasn't saying her boyfriend didn't have an awesome body, he did, but Tommy's was fairly out of this world. His looks were too good for words. As she watched, naughty thoughts filled her mind. She bit her lip.

She was there, and he stopped. He faced her, and he had to admit since her teen years, she's filled out quite a bit. She had a natural hourglass shape, and for a moment, he had to catch himself. Undressing her with his eyes, wasn't the best impression he should make on his ex-girlfriend, since she had a boyfriend. He looked at her purposefully though, and in high school he remembered how he would playfully tackle her. They'd roll in circular motions, and she would always land on top of him. He'd stare into her eyes, and he'd move back the hair strands that would frame her face. Their lips would meet until they needed to depart. He shook his head, and he needed to place those memories where they belonged, in the past.

"Hey." She croaked, all of a sudden her voice was dry. She swallowed, what felt like sand. "Um…"

"There's a water bottle in my gym bag." He pointed at the white one, similar to the one he used to carry in high school.

Kim opted to do so. She got the water bottle, and she chugged the thing down. This was a futile attempt to disregard her raging hormones. "Um… thanks!" She gulped.

"No problem." He picked up his towel, and he wiped his sweat. "So, I'm sure you are wondering why I said that the ranger life will always be a part of your life?"

"Yeah." Kim nodded, still nervous to be around him.

Eliciting the semi-circle, Tommy called out the saying Kim was familiar with. "Ninja Ranger Power…" Bringing his two hands together and extending his pinky fingers outward, he finished the command. "Now!" The white power surged through his body, and he heard the falcon coming through. Not only that, but Kim's crane was emerging as well.

The Crane arose in Kim's body, and instantaneously, the falcon's caw resounded. She saw Tommy dubbed in his white, Ninjetti robes, and she remembered the night they had spent in the Neola Jungle. She caught herself thinking about him naked, and she repeated his motions. "Ninja Ranger Power Now!" Inher pink robes, the power coursed through her body. She looked at her gloves, her body, and her boots. Last time she wore these was 10 years ago. "Oh my God…" She made her mask come off of her face.

Tommy did the same. "Did you forget?" He looked at her beautiful face and smiled. If someone had told him he'd be in the same room with Kim, and they were acting like they used to, that the letter was a figment of his imagination, he would honestly disregard them. However, in this one day, he was comfortable- like he was home.

Kim nodded innocently. "I didn't think this could happen. Does Rocky?" He shook his head. "Aisha? Adam? Billy?"

"None of them know. I realized a month ago I could do this. One night, I needed to relieve some nerves, moving across the country can cause a little bit of tension within a person , so I began to work out. I became close with one of the Ninja Storm rangers, Cam Watanabe. He helped me to bring out my inner Falcon. The others have been busy with their own thing, and I completely forgot to tell them when they held a going away party for me."

"Yeah, you still have the Swiss cheese brain syndrome." She joked, and she pondered about their friends. "And how is it that I still didn't know you were coming here and becoming my boss." She shook her head.

"Did you go on vacation? Aisha and Trini did say they were trying to call you, but you weren't answering."

"Yea, I went to France to see my mom and stepdad. And you know who else came…" She finished rather calmly. "Does it bother you that I'm with someone?"

Tommy shook his head on the outside, but in the inside, he was furiously nodding. "When I came here, I didn't think we'd come in contact so quickly. You are a grown woman, and you've been with Sam for a while. I shouldn't- er, I mean what we used to have- come between that."

Kim knowingly nodded. "Yeah." She walked onto the mat.

"You're ready?" Tommy challenged. Kim nodded. They bowed. "Hi-yah!"

The two engaged in a convoluted martial arts match. As they used their regular skills and power enhanced skills, they felt like they had traveled back in time. This wasn't the high school gym, no, this was the Youth Center. In the back, Ernie was making several smoothies, while Aisha and Billy were at the tables, working on their homework. Adam and Rocky were at the workout machines, grunting away. Tommy and Kim attacked each other with their flurry of moves. Pink and White flashed around the gym. Their breathing became heavier, along with their feelings of being with each other. They weren't positive if it was because of the day, or their animal spirits reconnecting, but they were definitely in lust with one another. Continuing their match, Tommy managed to tackle her to the ground. They rolled around, but stopped. Instead of Kim on top, he was.

She looked up, and she got lost in his eyes. His long eyelashes slimly obstructed the view of his chocolate brown eyes, but she still got through. Her hands covered each of his cheeks. Tommy's hands did the same, and she wallowed in them. This would be the perfect time to kiss, but he denied the opportunity.

"I'm sorry, Kim." He apologized truthfully, while he got up. "We can't do this." He held out his hand for her, and she took it sorrowfully. She stood in front of him. "It's not even because you have a boyfriend, it's because we don't know each other." He would love to kiss her again, but it didn't feel right.

"We do know each other, Tommy." Kim's hand brushed up against his forearm. Staring up, she didn't like his hesitation.

"Maybe when we were Power Rangers and teens, but not now." He hated to do this, to deny her, but he did so.

Kim kissed his cheek. "You've always been a good man." She complimented, and she quickly got out of her garbs. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Tommy nodded, and she walked out of the gym, understanding his reasons. The Crane Ninjetti did have a boyfriend.

Tommy fell to the ground. "Holy shit, I need a cold shower." He exhaled, and he quickly undressed from his ninja garbs.

As the petite coach arrived to her office, she began to gather her items. Her cell phone had a few missed calls from her boyfriend, a few texts, and one voicemail. Kim hadn't realized she stayed a couple of hours more than intended to. Her phone began to ring once more. Sam's name popped up, but she let the rings ride out. Happily, she waltzed to her car. On cloud 9, Kim felt like her and Tommy were on good terms. Then, she thought about some things. Were they really on good terms? What was going to happen between the two? Is Sam going to be an issue? Would Kim break up with Sam? She didn't know what the future held.