Shout out to daniaryezel!

Florida was not known for its cold weather, but tonight was an exception. A jacket-clad brunette stood at the doorstep of apartment 212, her breath coming out in cloudy puffs. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before knocking on the door.

I hope you're home, Jase, she thought.

Kimberly thought she saw a light in the window of his studio as she walked towards the complex, but she might have been mistaken. She knocked again, but there was no answer.

"Jason? Jase! Are you home? I know you're in there! Open up!"

She was banging on the door now, secretly praying that none of his neighbors would come out and yell at her. Or call the police, she thought morbidly.

Kimberly had been trying to get in touch with Jason for weeks and left dozens of messages on his phone. She finally found the time between gymnastics training and entertaining her mom to check on him. If there was the slightest chance that Jason was home, she would knock all night.

She vainly hoped that their friendship had not deteriorated to the point where he would outright ignore her. In a last ditch attempt, Kimberly reached for the knob. It was unlocked.

Kimberly squared her shoulders before inviting herself in. She tip-toed a few steps and took in her surroundings. Gray cracks covered the walls from corner to corner, and there was very little furniture. The click-clack of her footsteps drew her attention to the hardwood floor. Spare the pile of clothes and boxes in one corner, the apartment was cramped and Spartan-like. She almost laughed at the contrast. It was like someone gave up unpacking and heaped everything in one spot, though Kimberly was sure Jason had been living there for almost four months.

At last, her eyes landed on the source of her mounting frustration. Kimberly caught his eye as he rushed out of the bathroom, no doubt to investigate the loud noise.

"Knock, knock," Kimberly declared tentatively.

Jason stopped short with his mouth agape, startled at her appearance. Kim stared back. His hair was dripping wet and a pair of sweatpants hung low on his hips.

In high school, Jason was known for being muscular, as well as handsome. Kimberly often found herself staring daggers at the droves of girls ogling Jason during his katas at the Youth Center. She never did like the shallow ones. While she was not interested in him that way, she could not help but notice his leaner build. If anything, it made him more attractive.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Jason hastily grabbed a towel and cursed as he slipped on the wet floor.

She flashed a half grin, but her eyes remained tight, uncertain. She was glad he was not purposely avoiding her, but she still did not want to get off on the wrong foot. Not after finally making contact.

"Is that any way to greet your favorite pink ranger?" Kimberly quipped.

Jason grimaced as he self-consciously adjusted the waistband of his pants and frowned at his lack of furniture. His studio was not exactly visitor friendly.

After deciding that Jason was not going to kick her out, she stepped closer to him. "Your door was open."

As he toweled his hair dry, Jason quickly rearranged his face from annoyed to a more neutral expression. He sat on the edge of the bed.

Kim knew he was juggling a day job as well as classes, though that was nothing compared to high school and secret superhero identities. Not two years ago, he would wake up in the middle of the night to do perimeter checks to make sure putties or one of Rita's monsters would not threaten his family. Jason's carelessness was uncharacteristic.

"You look like shit though, so I'm not surprised," Kimberly continued. She glanced around and saw that bags of trash accompanied the pile of laundry. "You do know that you have to take the trash out, right?"

Her rapid-fire comments appeared to jerk Jason out of his daze.

"Thanks. You always know how to cheer up a guy." His response was clipped and sarcastic.

Over the years, Jason got used to Kimberly's blunt remarks. It was her tactic of choice when breaking the ice, and it usually worked. Tonight however, he was tired and upset that she came unannounced.

Kimberly, with her hawk-like perception, picked up on his mood. "Jason, when was the last time you slept?" She stepped forward, concern gracing her face.

Jason threw a glare in her direction, daring her to come closer. "Last night..."

"Bullshit." Exasperation crept into her voice. She did not drive an hour and a half in the rain to be met with a cold front, and she did not mean the weather.

"Kim, what are you even doing here?" Jason's eyes narrowed. "How did you find me?"

"Get this—your parents called me," She threw her hands up as Jason scoffed and slowly bowed his head.

Of course his parents would be his undoing. They were the only people he felt too guilty about shutting out. Jason had no real excuse for flying low on the radar apart from wanting some space to think and be alone.

Kim continued, "I thought you went back home after the Pan Globals, but they said you didn't come back. A few months later I get a call updating me on your life when you're just sixty miles away!" A strand of hair blew away from her face as she huffed her last words, all concern for Jason's health replaced with palpable anger.

"Look. I'm sorry you had to go through all this, but I'm fine. See?" Jason looked down at himself and met Kim's scowl with raised eyebrows.

"This isn't funny, Jase. Why didn't you tell me you were still in Florida? I mean, didn't you care about how I was doing after the meet?" Kim made a move to sit next to Jason on the bed. That is, until she saw him roll his eyes.

"Oh, I see. So it's really all about you."

Kimberly placed her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with you?" She was standing over him now. "Since when was ignoring my calls a good idea? I've been worried sick about you. You knew I would come knocking on your doorstep at some point!"

Jason observed Kimberly defiantly and decided to take a moment to regard his petite childhood friend. She remained unchanged. Her hair was the same shade of caramel brown he remembered, she had the same doe eyes, her lips were on the verge of a pout—typical—and she always, always had that aura of purpose.

He knew she cared about him—he had about fifty voice messages to prove it—but he did not want to deal with her. He didn't want to talk about his feelings, or what he was doing now, or what he was going to do.

"No, don't give me that look, Jase. I know you better than anyone, and I can tell you want to reach out, but you're too afraid. Why else would you still be here in Florida?" Kimberly tilted her head. "And why are you so angry with the world?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched. It was one of the many questions he did not have an answer to. Kimberly was standing close enough for him to smell her floral perfume, and he was uncomfortably reminded of his bare chest. He really wanted to be left alone, and he certainly did not want to have a heart to heart. Or a heart to Hart.

Jason met Kimberly's challenging stare and leaned back on his elbows. He hated how he had to angle his head to look up at her, and he knew she knew he hated it.

"If I really was trying to avoid you guys, I would have moved somewhere no one could find me, and if I secretly wanted to reach out, I would have moved back home, not here where you're up to your neck with gymnastics and your long-distance—"

Kimberly raised a hand before he could say more. "Stop! Just stop. This isn't about me." Both Jason and Kimberly noticed that her voice took on a shrill quality. It was a voice they had not heard since middle school.

"Listen. Kim," he wanted to prevent the argument from escalating further. "I don't want to argue with you. I didn't ask you to come here, so maybe you should leave." Standing up with his palms out, fingers splayed in a placating gesture, Jason walked past Kim towards the still-open door.

Being harsh was out of character for Jason unless he was dealing with alien monsters, Kimberly knew. There was something off about Jason tonight, and he was trying too hard to push her away. She wanted to find out why and debated whether to take the stern or gentle route. Ultimately, she did not come to argue, and her face softened. Kimberly silently removed her jacket, hung it on the closet doorknob, and eased onto the creaky mattress, arms crossed over her chest.

Jason regarded her warily. Did she not hear what he just said?

"I'm not leaving until you explain yourself," Kim said softly. "Give me something. Anything."

"Kim, I just want to be alone right now."

"That's not an answer." She patted a spot next to her.

Jason covered his face with his hands and muttered to himself. He clicked the door shut and plopped on the bed beside Kimberly. She waited patiently for his response.

Looking up at the popcorn ceiling, Jason said, "I just needed some alone time, and I didn't feel like flying into the thick of things back home with whatever the hell is going on there. How's that?"

"It's a start."

Hesitantly, Kimberly reached out to smooth an unruly wave from his forehead. Jason jerked away.

"Kim…" Her touch was unexpected.

She persisted and cupped his cheek so he couldn't pull away again. "Come on, JJ... it's me. It's Kimmy. I know something's going on in that thick skull of yours," she swept a lock of hair away from his temple. Kimberly always liked how his hair would curl a little when it was longer. "Tell me what's really going on with you. Please?"

Jason's gaze was hard. He would often cup her face in the same manner when they were younger, when Kimberly sought a reprieve from her verbally abusive father. She would climb through the window and they would talk for hours, protected by the dark cloak of night. Somehow it felt like she was using the closeness of their friendship against him.

"Don't pull that 'JJ' crap on me." Jason immediately regretted his sharp retort when he saw the hurt look in her eyes.

She sighed. "I'm serious, Jase." She was not going to give up when she was close to getting through to him.

"Well, so am I."

Kimberly tried a different approach. "Ok, how about explaining why you left Switzerland in the first place. And you can't use the Pan Globals as an excuse."

Jason slumped a little. "I don't want to get into it. I'm really tired and apparently look like shit. Can we just forget it?"

"No dice," Kimberly said with a shake of her head.

"Fine."

"Fine?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"I'll talk…if you tell me about Tommy."

All of a sudden, Jason desperately needed to know how Tommy was handling leadership with the current rangers. Being truthful with Kimberly would open a dam of anguish, and Tommy was a lifeline, an object at which he could direct his frustrations. Jason was not so out of touch with ranger life to know that Tommy now wore his color. A darker part of him was bubbling with jealousy, wanting to possess the power of the Red Ranger once again. With a mental shake, Jason put aside the dismal thoughts and attentively waited for Kimberly's answer.

Kim froze. Did Jason know about her and Tommy?

"He's doing fine. About as fine as he could be with villains popping up everywhere. Why?"

"No reason. I haven't talked to him in a while, that's all."

Liar, Kimberly thought. She was not sure why Jason was so interested in the current Red Ranger. Perhaps he missed being a ranger. Though, she never knew Jason to be envious…

Jason gave Kimberly a sidelong stare. "Do you get to see him at all?"

"Not really, no. We're both pretty busy, in case you didn't notice." There was something in her tone that bothered Jason, and he became self-conscious once again.

"Look at us Kim. We're sitting on my bed alone, and I'm half-naked," Jason glanced down at the slim arm resting on his shoulder. "If Tommy teleports here, it should be to see you, not to beat my ass." He cracked a grin in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Kimberly, unsmiling, withdrew her arm and her demeanor grew stiff.

A foreboding sense of dread washed over Jason.

Letting out a breath she did not know she was holding, Kimberly said, "Well, I don't think you have to worry about that."

Jason sat up to look at Kim more carefully, suspicious at the meaning behind her words. Despite her efforts to look away, a teary glint at the corner of her eye caught his attention.

"You split up?" he whispered gently.

"Yes," Kimberly said, her voice cracking.

Jason's eyes widened slightly, and suddenly everything made sense.

Let me know what you think!