Shiver

"You're under arrest!" Jack called, stepping forward. On the ground before him lay a particularly horrid alien, smoke rising off its battle-weary form. The other Rangers followed Jack's lead and powered down, standing all in a line behind him. Holding his Change Notebook in front of him, Jack pressed the button on the top, and it flipped open. The faux-pas clock began to wind its hand, on one side of the face a blue circle, on the other side a red 'x'. The alien stopped trying to get up and launch another attack; it accepted the fact that it'd been caught. Finally, the slow-moving hand on the SPD Change Notebook landed on the red 'x'.

"Guilty as charged!" Jack announced in a triumphant voice. The alien was then encased in a card, sulking. Jack walked over and picked the card up, turning to the others and flashing a cocky little grin. Z and Syd smiled, glad for a good days' work to be over. Bridge was also relieved, but a little tense. He'd had trouble sleeping recently. As a psychic, he was more perceptive to others' feelings, and the usually placid Sky - with whom he shared a room - had been a little... troubled, as of late. But far be it from him to pry.

"Bridge! You comin'?" Jack called, walking backwards to talk to Bridge. Snapping out of his daydream mode, Bridge turned to see the other Rangers all walking away. He smiled weakly at Jack and jogged to catch up.

"Good work, Rangers." Commander Kreuger said, hands clasped behind his back and feet planted a little apart from each other. The Rangers all nodded, standing in the same manner. Except Bridge. He hadn't been listening. He stood at attention like the rest of the Rangers, but his mind was wandering. He was staring off into space, particularly at a computer on the far side of the room. He was thinking about Sky... and what could be troubling him.

"Cadet Carson. Are you alright?" Commander Kreuger's calm but concerned voice snapped him into the real world. Bridge looked up, and nodded.

"Yessir. Sorry. I'm... I'm a little tired, is all." Bridge smiled, but it was a troubled smile. Commander Kreuger seemed to sense that everything was not right with Bridge, but he kept that to himself. And for that, Bridge was grateful. The other Rangers were chatting amongst themselves, but Bridge stayed where he was, losing himself in thought again.

"Bridge. We're off to play some Light Ball, gonna join us?" Jack asked, turning to him. Bridge pretended to think about it a moment, but he'd already decided.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go back to my room and catch up on some reading. There's an article in my new Computer Tech Monthly magazine that I want to read." There actually was, though Bridge doubted he'd be doing much reading.

"Alright, then. We'll see you later." Jack said, and the other Rangers - Sky included - all left the command room. Bridge lingered for a moment, and then with a polite nod to Kat and Commander Kreuger, he left, as well, going the opposite direction down the hallway than the other Rangers had gone. Kat looked at Commander Kreuger.

"Did you get the feeling that Bridge was sorta troubled, too?" She asked.

"Yes. But... it's best not to pry. If Cadet Carson needs to talk, he knows I'm here to listen." Commander Kreuger answered calmly. Kat rolled her eyes and made a little snorting sound. Commander Kreuger turned to her, an eyebrow raised.

"What was that for?" He asked warily. Kat couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Commander. You're not exactly... well, you're just not the kind of person the Cadets feel comfortable confiding in. You're the disciplinarian, not the friend." Though her words could have been taken offensively, her voice was filled with nothing but fondness. Commander Kreuger thought on this a moment, then made a little grunting noise, going back to other duties.

Bridge was almost asleep when the mechanical door to the room he shared with Sky slid open. Sky poked his head in, and Bridge sat up, quickly rubbing his eyes.

"Hey. I was just headin' out to dinner, and I thought maybe you'd wanna join me? Jack and Z are off doin' somethin' and Syd is painting her nails, so I figured I'd see if you wanted to go with me." Sky said with a small smile. Bridge was both honored and slightly offended. This was the first time Sky had asked him to anything with him, but it was apparently at a last resort. He figured that wasn't how Sky meant it, but that's how Bridge took it, anyway.

"... No thanks. I don't have much of an appetite, and I'm kinda tired. I think I'll stay here. Have fun though, and remember not to eat anything that tries to eat you back." Bridge knew instantly that it was a corny joke, but he was in no state of mind to think of a good one.

"Okay. I'll see you later, then." Sky said in a friendly manner, giving Bridge a little wave, chuckling a bit at the joke. As the door slid shut again, Bridge fell back in his bed, and closed his eyes. He was asleep almost instantly.

Bridge awoke suddenly. He didn't know why. Sitting up, he yawned.

"Ah. That's why. I fell asleep in my uniform." He muttered to himself. Bridge couldn't stand falling asleep in his uniform; in fact, he had troubling sleeping at all if he didn't change into his green pajamas. He picked up his stuffed dinosaur and held it tight for a moment. Though he didn't realize it himself, in a lot of ways, Bridge was still an innocent kid. He still slept in pajamas, had a stuffed animal, called his parents at least once a day, and thought sitting in his room with a new computer game and Boomer was about as fun as a Saturday night could get.

"Oh wow. It's later than I thought." Bridge muttered, looking at the clock beside his bed. When Sky had asked him to dinner, it'd been seven in the evening. It was now almost ten-thirty. And oddly enough, Sky wasn't back yet. But Bridge didn't dwell on it too much. That just meant he'd sleep a little better. He stood, setting down his stuffed dinosaur, and started over to his closet to get his pajamas, and then thought better of it.

"I should shower first." He said to himself. So he finished the trek to his closet, grabbed his pajamas, and headed out the door, towards the showers.

Bridge poked his head in the doorway to the locker room-slash-shower area. He listened for signs of life, and heard none. Good. Bridge always waited 'til the showers were deserted before going in himself. He didn't like showering with the other guys. It made him uncomfortable. But as the showers were deserted this late at night, he made his way in and over to his locker. It was a little bit of a walk, as the Academy had a lot of students, but there was a special locker area designated to the Rangers. Of course, the lockers hadn't been theirs long - they originally belonged to the A Squad Rangers. Well, the three in the men's locker room, anyway. All of the lockers were slate grey, save for the ones belong to Jack, Sky, and himself. Bridge gave another cautious glance around before pulling of his uniform's shirt, and stuffing it in his locker. After that, he removed the tight green T-shirt under it. After shoving that in his locker, he wrapped his arms around himself for a moment. It was chilly in the locker room, and Bridge shook a little. Then, slowly, half expecting to hear someone come in, Bridge began to take off his pants. Even though he knew he was alone, he still hated being naked in the shower room.

Bridge turned the knob on the cold water, then the hot. He never liked to take completely hot showers, but he didn't want 'em cold, either. As the water hit Bridge's body, he sighed a little. It came out warm. He closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards, letting the water fall over his face. Bridge took care of himself, though he wasn't so much into weight lifting like Sky was. Bridge's body was toned, but not all that heavily muscled. And aside from his head, Bridge was virtually hairless. He just didn't like body hair on himself; he thought it made him look... well, bad. Bridge stood there, under the now-hot water, hair matted his his forehead, arms wrapped around his shoulders. He was about to actually start washing himself instead of just standing there when he heard a sound that made him go cold, despite the hot shower. The door to the locker room had opened. Bridge stood there like a deer caught in someone's headlights. He heard a locker open, and a minute or two later, close. Bridge looked down and ahead, but his eyes cut to the side a bit out of curiosity for who could be showering, other than him, so late at night. What he saw made him even more nervous.

"Bridge. Hi. This is a surprise. I thought you'd be asleep." Sky said casually, walking over to stand beside him. Bridge just gave a generic 'Heh. Yeah.', and went back to staring at the floor. He turned himself a little, so that Sky couldn't see him from the front. His back wasn't completely turned to Sky - that would be rude. But still. Sky turned the knob in front of him, but only the hot. Bridge couldn't help but glance over at his room mate; he'd never seen Sky without a shirt on. Sky was more heavily muscled; it came from lifting weights several hours per day. He was surprised to see that Sky was hairy. Not, like, forest-on-his-chest hairy. They were short, fine hairs. But the farther down Sky's body he looked, the darker and slightly thicker the hair got. Bridge looked away quickly, a slight blush crossing his cheeks.

"So. How come you're up so late?" Sky asked, looking over at Bridge. He raised an eyebrow as he realized Bridge was half turned away from him.

"Well, I... I woke up, and realized I hadn't had a shower... so I came here..." He muttered, clearing his throat. It wasn't just the embarrassment that was getting to Bridge; he was starting to feel something from Sky with his mind. That same feeling that kept him awake at night, but on a slightly more subdued scale. They were both quiet for a while, Bridge just standing there, too uncomfortable to actually bathe. Sky, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem. All the while, though, the feeling that Bridge perceived from Sky kept getting stronger. Bridge wasn't quite sure what the feeling was, though he knew it gave him butterflies in his stomach for whatever reason. He absently laid a hand over his navel.

"Bridge. I think we should talk." Sky's voice made him jump slightly.

"... Okay, sure." Bridge tried to sound casual, but his voice was shaky. He turned all the way around now, his back to Sky. He knew it seemed rude, but he was rather uncomfortable. Sky cleared his throat, and then began.

"I know your psychic and all, and I pretty much gathered that the reason you're having trouble sleeping is, well, me. I know you don't purposely poke around in peoples' heads, I mean, you can't help it that you feel these things. But, Bridge... I can't help the things I feel either." Bridge was about to ask what he meant when he breathed in sharply. A hand slid around his stomach, coming to rest on his navel. A hand that wasn't his. Before he could say anything, another hand slid around to his chest. And immediately after, he felt Sky's chest press to his back. Bridge blushed deeply, but made no move to fight it. He felt Sky's chin rest on the top of his head, and his grip on Bridge's body tighten ever so softly. Though Bridge didn't know why, he shivered. But it wasn't a bad feeling. And, as if he was being controlled by someone other than himself, Bridge's hands came to rest on the back of Sky's.

"Your hands... they're rough." Bridge said quietly. Sky didn't move. At first.

"I'm sorry."He said, and began to take his hands away, but Bridge held them there; one against his stomach, one against his chest.

"Your hands are rough... but your touch is gentle." He almost smiled. But didn't. Sky didn't say anything. They stood there like that for a few minutes, the hot water falling over them, bodies pressed together. And then Sky broke the silence.

"I love you, Cadet Carson." He said sincerely.

"I love you, too, Cadet Tate." Bridge answered, a little shocked. He hadn't even realized he'd loved Sky until he'd said the words.

"You know SPD's views on our kind of love, though. We'd be kicked out." Bridge said, and realized that he was saddened by that fact. Sky said nothing, and after a few moments, kissed the top of Bridge's head. He let his lips linger there for a moment before sliding his hands from Bridge's body. Without even a look, Sky turned his shower off and made his way out of the shower area, wrapping a towel around his waist.

Bridge kept his shower running, and leaned his back against the cool tile, letting his mind wander over the feelings he'd just realized he had.

- End -