Note: Okay, Thomas Paine was talking about the ties between man and country...but you can't deny it works here too. Thanks to The Second Batgirl for the beta and fixing my ending :)

Antonio wasn't entirely surprised to see Mia appear at the edge of the clearing. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Jayden still mad?"

"A little. He's almost done, though."

"Hmmph." Antonio leaned his head back against the tree, half hoping she'd go away.

She slid down next to him and they sat for a while, looking up at the stars. "I checked the dock first," she said eventually.

"I was hoping everyone would stop looking there."

She elbowed him gently. "Since I'm here, can I tell you a story?"

Antonio sighed.

"Not long after we all became Rangers, we learned about the sealing symbol and how only the Red Ranger could use it. And the rest of us decided that meant we had to protect Jayden...no matter the cost to ourselves."

His head whipped around and he stared at her in the moonlight. "Seriously?"

"We jumped in front of him to protect him." She didn't turn her head, but there seemed to be a small smile on her face.

"Dios mio."

"Yes. Jayden was so worried that he decided the only thing for him to do was run off, so he wouldn't put our lives in danger." She turned to look at him. "It's just how Jayden is. He's not really angry at you."

"Oh, really?"

She shrugged. "Well, not only angry at you. He's probably also angry at himself for getting into a position where you felt the need to protect him."

"Sounds right." Antonio leaned against the tree again.

Mia went back to looking at the stars again, obviously content to sit there as long as he did without pressuring him. Oddly, that made it easier to talk. "I built it all up in my head," he said softly. "Coming back here. All the years training, I had a whole little storyline of what it would be like and what Jayden would say and what I'd say. I kind of forgot that Jayden wasn't there for my planning."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's...in some ways it's even better than I imagined. Fighting the Nighlok, working with you guys, it's the greatest."

He could feel her turn her head to look at him, and he concentrated on staying relaxed and not shifting. "Oh!" she said suddenly.

"What?" His voice came out sharper than he'd intended and despite his best efforts, he turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't realize exactly how you felt, I mean, how you feel..." She trailed off.

"I don't know what you mean."

She bit her lip. "It's okay, Antonio. That you love Jayden. That you're in love with Jayden. Nobody will care about that."

"I don't, it's not-"

Smiling, she patted his knee. "Of course it's not. Everyone dedicates their entire life to being ready to help their childhood friend defend the world."

He crumpled in on himself, knees drawn up to his chin. "I guess I'm that obvious."

"If it's any consolation, it took me this long and I doubt Jayden would notice unless you taped a declaration to the dojo walls."

"It's not much of a consolation." Antonio sighed. "I had this idea that he'd see me and see that I kept my promise and..."

"Promise?"

"I promised that I'd become a samurai and come back to fight at his side when he became the Red Ranger." It sounded ridiculous when he said it aloud.

"Wow, Antonio, that's amazing." She really did sound impressed and not like she thought he was pathetic.

"I'm fighting with him and keeping my promise. That's what's important."

Mia sighed. "Jayden-"

"Don't lie to me to make me feel better," he snapped. It felt kind of like he was kicking a puppy, but then, Mia was made of stronger stuff than most anyone else in the world, even if she didn't look it. "I know the score and I'm okay with it."

She patted his knee again. "I was going to say that he cares about you or he wouldn't be so angry right now. I don't know what else is in his heart. For that you'll have to ask him."

"Right. I'll do that, then." It came out a lot bitterer than he'd intended and he winced.

"Antonio..."

"Can I wallow alone for a while?"

"Of course," she said, standing. "But if you don't come back soon, we'll all come to get you, you know."

That surprised an almost genuine smile out of him. "I know. Thanks, Mia."

He watched Mia walk out of the clearing and into the forest and then...it was the tiniest of movements, the smallest of sounds. Antonio froze, not even breathing, as Jayden slid out of the darkness and into the moonlight. "Um...hi," he said, hands stuck in his pockets in that way he had when he didn't know if he was welcome.

"How long were you there?" Antonio asked in a strangled voice.

"Long enough."

"That's not an answer. Long enough like we can laugh and forget this ever happened or long enough that I need to start running now?" He tried to make it sound like a joke but he really was ready to leap up and start running at the slightest sign.

It was hard to read Jayden's face at this angle and his voice wasn't giving any clues either. "Long enough that I'm glad I came out here."

"Oh." Jayden was going to let him down easy. It was going to be the 'I just don't feel the same way, but we can still be friends' speech and he was going to idie of embarrassment/i thanks to Mia. "Uh, yeah. Great. We should be heading back now. I'm sure Kevin wants to yell at me some more about not following orders and Ji probably-"

"Antonio!"

His mouth snapped shut and he took some careful breaths to keep from hyperventilating.

"Are you done?"

It was almost Jayden's leader voice and Antonio couldn't help but respond. "Yes."

Jayden came a few steps closer, paused, then quickly walked the rest of the way until he could kneel in front of Antonio. Antonio stared at the ground in front of him, unwilling to see the pity in Jayden's eyes. "Hey," Jayden said after a moment.

Still looking down, Antonio rolled his eyes. Jayden Shiba, master of conversation.

"I heard that."

Antonio looked up, scowling. "You did not. You can't hear that. You're a samurai, not one of those freaky ninja masters."

"I think it's just when iyou/i roll your eyes that I can hear it. Besides, it got you to look at me, didn't it?" Jayden was grinning now.

Antonio rolled his eyes again, just because he could and what else could you do when faced with Jayden acting like this? And maybe...maybe Jayden really hadn't heard too much?

"So, when were you going to let me in on the secret?"

Or...maybe he had. "Secret?" he repeated, stalling as he tried to figure out how to get away without bowling Jayden over in the process.

"Mia's right that I wouldn't have noticed anything until you wrote it out and posted it on a wall somewhere."

Jayden still sounded amused. Which was...better than angry, Antonio supposed. "I didn't want you to know. That was sort of the point of not telling you."

"You didn't think I deserved to know something as important as you being in love with me?"

Oh, there was the anger. Jayden tried to scowl at him, but it was adorable, like a small kitten trying to scare off a big dog. Antonio desperately wanted to smack his forehead for even thinking that and he tried to focus, but it was difficult with Jayden iright there/i. "I wanted to be your friend."

"You've always been that." Jayden frowned. "I can't imagine a better friend than you."

Antonio blinked, then wanted to smack his forehead again. Right. Raised in practical isolation. How could he have forgotten? "Um, there are guys who, uh, would be really upset to know that another guy had...feelings for them."

Jayden looked hurt, more like a kicked puppy than Mia had. "And you thought I-"

"No! I mean, not exactly. I just didn't want things to be all weird between us."

"We'll always be friends. There was a pinky swear involved."

Antonio glared at Jayden, who was clearly laughing at him. "Jayden Shiba being funny? Everyone has this idea you're uptight or something." A little below-the-belt, but he was mad.

Jayden tilted his head. "It's just for you."

There didn't seem to be a useful response to that.

Chuckling, Jayden reached out and touched Antonio's cheek. "Only you inspire that side of me."

It felt like the air was being squeezed out of Antonio's lungs as Jayden put both hands on Antonio's shoulders and drew him forward into a kiss.

It was just a brush of lips, which didn't explain why Antonio's entire body lit up like the Fourth of July. Jayden pulled back to look at him and—apparently satisfied with what he saw—leaned in again.

Jayden's lack of practice was clear and Antonio couldn't resist helping out a bit. Tilting his head for a better angle, he leaned in further and let just the tip of his tongue touch Jayden's lips. The result was better than he could have expected, as Jayden gasped and pulled back, fingers automatically gripping Antonio's shoulders harder.

Just as Antonio was starting to worry the reaction wasn't positive, Jayden yanked him forward into a harsh kiss. Their teeth clashed and Antonio pulled away long enough to say "Whoa, mi amor, relax."

They both took a few breaths and then Antonio rolled forward to sit on his own knees and gently tugged Jayden forward into another kiss, showing him what to do by example. Damn, he knew Jayden was a fast learner, but really...

All good things come to an end, though, and Jayden pulled back, looking serious. "You should have told me."

"And you're the king of revealing your emotions to others."

Jayden's mouth opened then closed. "Point."

"I worked too hard to get here, to fight by your side. I wasn't going to risk it."

"You'll risk your life every day-"

"But not my heart. Or yours." Antonio suddenly understood why characters in movies burst into song and dance. He wanted to leap up and dance around like a maniac. He settled for grinning so widely he thought his head would explode.

"What?" Jayden actually looked a little worried.

"Just thinking of the look on Ji's face when he finds out."

Jayden's own startled expression was so comical that Antonio couldn't help laugh, slightly hysterical with relief and joy. Jayden just grinned at him, shaking his head in mock disbelief.

A polite cough made both of them jump and Antonio sighed when he saw Mia leaning against another tree. She smiled at both of them. "Sorry to interrupt, but the others will be here soon if you don't come back."

Antonio looked at Jayden, uncertain.

Standing, Jayden held out his hand. "Come on, Antonio. I'd rather talk to the team on our terms."

Antonio grabbed his hand and stood. "Sounds good."

Still smiling, Mia turned. "Let's go home, guys."

-end-