Summary: (One-Shot; BZ) Z and Bridge have a conversation concerning matters of the heart. Will they let the opinion of others control their lives? Or will they take matters into their own hands?
Disclaimer: I'm not even going to waste time with this because you should know that NO ONE HERE owns ANY of the characters on There. Rant over.
In Between Us
Elizabeth "Z" Delgado woke up with a start. Her dream, though luckily she couldn't recall most of it, had frightened her badly. Always the same dream and she woke up at the same moment every time. She found herself sitting up-right, the sheets wrapped around her legs, sweat dripping down her face. She was out of breath. She tried to recall her dream.
There had been a man wearing a blue and green shirt. He was calling her name. The more Z ran towards the man, the further away he was pulled. Something was keeping her from this man. As she turned the corner, the man disappeared. She continued to search for him. When she found him, he was locked in a cage. Approaching the cage, a yellow and black monster jumped in between them. Z tried fighting the monster, but she was losing. The monster started changing, and, to Z's worst fear, into her. The monster had turned into an exact replica of Z. The real Z tried fighting her other self, but was no match for the imposter. Right before the monster could get her with her sword, the man cried out, "I love you, Z!" Before she could turn her eyes toward the man, she woke up.
'Great timing,' Z thought.
Returning to sleep was useless, and she knew it. Z slowly got out of bed, out on her yellow duck slippers that her roommate and pink SPD Ranger, Sydney Drew, had given her for her birthday, and quietly left the bedroom.
The halls of the SPD Academy were eerily quite. Normally, cadets and staff would be hustling to and fro around the building. Before she knew it, Z had ended up at the doors of the B-Squad Rec Room. At first, Z was hesitant to go in. A feeling of calmness washed over her suddenly.
'Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to go,' she argued.
The doors slid open, but the room wasn't completely dark as she had expected. The windows had been drawn open and a figure sat in a chair, their back facing her.
"Sorry, I didn't think anyone w-was in here. I-I'll just leave," Z stuttered.
The figure turned slowly in their chair.
"No, Z. It's ok. I'd actually like the company, if you don't mind. But if you'd like to be alone, I can leave. I mean, that is if you want to be alone. Not saying that you half to be alone, but-"
"Bridge? What are doing up this late?"
The figure had turned out to be Bridge Carson, her friend and fellow teammate, the green SPD Ranger. Bridge shrugged his shoulders.
"Couldn't sleep," he stated simply, giving her a small smile.
He turned back around in his chair and stared out the window. Z didn't have to be a psychic like Bridge to figure out what was wrong. A part of her felt the same way he did.
Both had been avoiding their feelings for each other for months now. No one else knew about them, which was the way they liked it. They were worried about what the others would say to them. They knew Sydney would be happy for them. It was Sky Tate and Jack Landors, the blue and red SPD Rangers, which they worried about. Sky had a thing for rules and didn't like the idea of teammates getting together, which was one of the reasons why he and Syd hadn't gotten together yet.
Bridge felt Z's worries, fears, and heartache at that moment, and it just added onto his own. Z pulled a chair next to him and joined him in starring at the nothingness. The two stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each others' presence.
Z turned her head to Bridge and stared at him. He knew what she was trying to do, but wasn't sure if he was ready.
"You know why already, Z," Bridge finally broke the silence between them after reading her thoughts.
"To hell with Sky and Jack, Bridge!" Z shot out of her chair, knocking it over and catching Bridge of guard. "To hell with SPD and their stupid rules. To hell with Grumm, to whomever else tries to get in our way!"
Z's voice softened as she walked away from the window. "I wanna be with you, Bridge."
Bridge sighed.
"I don't understand why you let Sky dictate your life so much, Bridge. Sure, he may have some kind of a point, but in the end, it's your decision, your life."
Z turned around and gasped. There he was, her Green Knight, standing just a few inches away from her with a look of desperate hunger, lust, and love in his eyes.
"Bridge?"
She couldn't peel her eyes away from his lips as she breathed his name.
"We'll take tonight as a first step," Bridge had just a hint of nervousness in his voice that Z caught onto. "And, if you still want me in the morning, then I'll just get Syd to get Sky off our cases."
Still staring at his lips, Z muttered an 'ok'.
'Here goes nothing,' he thought. 'Or is it everything? Or-…oh, never mind."
Bridged grabbed Z's hands and slowly walked her over to the corner of the room with all the floor cushions. Still standing ('barely,' he thought), he placed his hands gently on the sides of her face. He placed a small kiss on her forehead, then one on her nose. Z could just feel the love radiating off of him.
Bridge pressed his forehead against Z's and took a deep breath, both hands still holding her face.
"This is it: the point of no return. Are you sure you want this? Because we can stop if you don't. I mean, if you don't wan-"
"Bridge?"
"Yeah, Z?"
"Shut up and kiss me already."
Bridge chuckled a bit and kept the smile on his face. Leaning in slowly, he laid a gentle kiss on her lips, savoring every moment he was given. It was better than he'd ever imagined, then she'd ever imagined. Deepening the kiss, Bridge silently promised Z through kisses that he'd do everything in his power to keep her with him. That he wouldn't let anyone come between them.
Like it? Want a sequel? Read and respond. Please be gentle.
-J