PRSW7

Title:

Author: Buffyxenaman

Relationship: Ryan/Carter

Rating: M

Warning: Contains male/male. If you don't like, then please go elsewhere.

A/N: This my first attempt at a PRSW challenges. It's a Ryan/Carter fic, so read and enjoy.

Words: Losing control, warmth, safety, and public dining.

XXX

Chapter 1

Carter was walking down the hallways of the new Lightspeed headquarters, though there was no destination in mind; he just wanted to explore the building to see what it was like. So far Carter was impressed. He got to see the new lab, the area where they were rebuilding their Megazords, the new training room, and some many other much-needed places for a base.

Carter deiced, after having been looking around for an hour, that he wanted to go out for something to eat. But those plans were put on hold when he heard a noise from the other side of a door he had just passed. Carter stop in his tracks for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.

The noise continued as he walked closer to the door. It was probably none of his business what was going on, but he was having this feeling something was wrong. Carter carefully pressed his ear against the door, and what he heard shocked him.

"Goddamn you, Dad. You claim to love me, but that was all a lie. I come to you in hopes that you would support me, but all I get from you is anger and... "Carter knew whoever it was, it was serious and he had to help.

Carter carefully pulled away from the door and went to the doorknob. Slowly, he turned the knob to take a peek to see who it was. When the door was cracked, he looked inside and to his shock he saw Ryan sitting in the dark, holding a knife to his wrist. Without really thinking, Carter threw the door open and ran in.

"Ryan, no!" he shouted, surprising Ryan. Carter tackled Ryan, still without thinking. Both fell sideways on the ground and the knife flew out of Ryan's hand. It took them both a minute to realize what happened, but to Carter's bad luck, Ryan was the first to recover. Ryan dove for the knife only a foot away, but Carter managed to get to his feet and run over to the knife and grab it before Ryan could.

Carter held the knife tight in his hand as he watched Ryan crumble into a crying mass, so he sighed and walked over to the door to close it. Carter carefully hid the knife in a nearby box, then walked over to Ryan's sad form and got on one knee. Carefully, he placed a hand on Ryan's back and began to rub it.

"Ryan, we need to talk," Carter said, trying to figure out what to say. It took a little while for Ryan to calm down enough to talk, but he managed to slowly sit up with his back turned to Carter.

"Why, Carter? Why did you stop me from ending my pain?" Ryan asked in a low voice.

Carter reached out a hand and touched his shoulder. "Because, Ryan, this isn't the answer to whatever your problem is."

Ryan shook his head. "Carter, this isn't any of your business, so you need to stay out of it and leave me alone," he hissed. Carter felt himself get annoyed and resisted the urge to smack Ryan on the side of the head.

"Look, you're my friend, and it is my business if you're trying to kill yourself. So tell me, Ryan, what's going on with you?" Ryan didn't say a word. Instead, he just sat there, determined not to say anything. Carter didn't feel like sitting here getting the quiet treatment from Ryan, so he reached over to grab Ryan and force him to face him.

"Ryan, I'm your friend and I will always be your friend, no matter what, so please tell me what's wrong," Carter said with a little pleading in his voice.

Ryan opened his bloodshot eyes to look at Carter's worried ones. "Do you promise not to freak out when I tell you...?" Carter nodded carefully. For some reason, this little gesture made Ryan feel he could trust Carter, so he took a few deep breaths before he went on.

"Okay, here's what happened. I went to talk to Dad cause I had something to tell him that I had been holding inside of me for years and took me a while to figure out." Ryan went quiet for a second, though Carter could guess what he told him. "I found him in his office doing some work. I knocked and he told me to enter..."

Flashback to Earlier

"Dad, can I talk to you?" Ryan asked from the doorframe.

Captain Mitchell looked up from the paperwork he was doing. "Sure, Ryan. Come on in and have a seat." Mitchell pointed at a chair in front of his desk and Ryan nodded. They sat there for a moment in an uneasy silence, as Ryan gathered his courage.

"Dad, there's something I need to tell you," he said in a low voice.

"What is it?" asked Captain Mitchell, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Ryan took in a long, deep breath. "Dad, I'm gay," he said quickly, hoping that it would be easier that way. All it did was put a shocked look on his dad's face.

"You're what?" he asked with a mixture of confusion and anger.

"I'm gay," Ryan repeated, now scared about what his father was about to do.

Capitan Mitchell shook his head. "No, you're not," he snapped back, anger seeming to come out of nowhere. Ryan was stunned by this announcement.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Captain Mitchell repeated himself, though this time there was a little more anger in his voice. "Ryan, you are not gay -- not any son of mine." Ryan was still confused. Why would him being gay be such a big deal?

"Dad, why are you so angry with me being gay?" This seemed to anger him more.

"Because, Ryan, being gay is sick. It's just plain sick and wrong and you're getting help to cure you from this disease." Ryan stood up at this last part. He might not know much about the world he was taken from, but he knew that this last part was just wrong.

"No, Dad, I will not get "help for this."

Mitchell glared at him. "Yes, you are, because if you don't then you aren't my son anymore," he hissed.

Ryan ignored the hurt by this comment. "That's fine by me." Ryan began to walk away. "You should be used to me not being around already, so it won't be hard for you to adjust." With that said, he slammed the door behind him.

End Flashback

Carter had his mouth open with shock. "Did he really say that?" Ryan nodded. "But wait, how did you end up here?"

Ryan, to Carter's surprise, smiled. "I don't know. I was wondering around thinking, when it finally hit me what Dad said. So I went into the nearest room and to my surprise it was the kitchen supply closet."

"Ryan... why did you try to kill yourself?"

Ryan's smile faded as he lowered his head. "I sat here for God knows how long, thinking my life was pointless now that my dad hates me, so it was then I deiced to just end my life. So I got up and went to the box marked "knifes," grabbed one out of there and sat back on the ground, willing to drain my life's blood." Carter didn't like this side of Ryan, so willing to slit his wrist to end all it all.

"Ryan, you know that this isn't the right thing to do. You can't just kill yourself because your hurting and you think there's no way out."

Ryan shook his head. "Carter, killing myself seems like the only answer I have."

Carter moved closer to Ryan. "No, Ryan, you still have a lot of options."

"Yeah, to be alone the rest of my life!" he snapped at Carter.

Carter moved a little closer. "No, there's something else."

Ryan looked up. "Like what?"

Carter reached out a hand and put it under his chin, then slowly placed his lips against Ryan's soft ones. Ryan's eyes widened with shock, for he couldn't believe that Carter was kissing him. Eventually, Carter slowly pulled away, smiling, though Ryan was slightly disappointed.

"Why did you stop?" he whispered.

Carter smiled as he moved his hand to Ryan's check and rubbed it. "I just made a point to you," Carter said, knowing Ryan had the answer.

"You're my reason for living," Ryan said, smiling.

Carter reached over and touched Ryan's shoulder, then pulled Ryan closer to him. Carter placed his forehead against Ryan's, so now both of them were looking into each others eyes. "Ryan, I care for you and I always have, ever since I first met you."

Ryan smiled at Carter's simple, yet comforting words. Ryan knew Carter and that what he was telling him was true. And without knowing it, all thoughts of suicide left Ryan.

"Carter, let's get out of here," Ryan suggested, not wanting to stay in the room any longer.

"Sounds like a plan," Carter agreed, and they both got to their feet. "Want to go out and get something to eat?"

'Sure, sounds fun," Ryan agreed. Carter smiled and led the way out of the room.

Carter, to his relief, managed to leave the Lightspeed building without being seen by Captain Mitchell. If he saw Ryan again, this time with Carter, then all hell would break loose.

They were now in Mariner Bay's city part. Carter led Ryan to a food cart, where they sold gyros. Carter bought one for each of them, and after they were paid for they went to the park. They found a bench toward the middle, so they could have some privacy. Carter knew it was past six and there would hardly be any people in the park. They were all at home, with family, lovers, and so one. Carter turned to his side and saw Ryan looking over his gyro.

"Is there something wrong?" Carter asked, worried that he bought the wrong thing for Ryan.

'No, nothing. It's just that I've never seen a gyro before," he said, sniffing the food. Carter sighed mentally.

"Oh. Well, it's good stuff; trust me." Carter then took a bite out of his gyro. Ryan watched and saw that it was safe. He took a bite out of his, and after chewing it a few times he found it was as good as Carter told him. They sat there and ate their food together. In the middle of the gyro, Ryan suddenly stopped eating and lowered his eyes toward the ground.

He knew what Ryan was thinking about. He was homeless, jobless, and scared. Carter felt sorry for him. He could give him a place to stay and help him find a job and calm his fears, but there would still be the hole his father left. This suddenly made Carter angry. He just found his son after many years of missing him then suddenly he finds out his son is gay, and he just as quickly cuts off his ties to Ryan just as quickly?

"I'm gonna to punch his lights out."

"No, Carter. It wouldn't be the right thing to do,' Ryan said in a low voice.

"Why not? It would serve him right for saying what he said to you," Carter said, defending his thoughts. Ryan took the final bite out of his gyro and crumbled up the wrapper.

"Carter, hitting him will only cause more problems. Let's leave this problem for another day, okay?" Carter knew what Ryan was telling him was true. After all, this was their problem, and as much as he'd like to help, he knew they had to resolve it on their own.

Carter finished his gyro as well and crumbled up the wrapper, then turned to Ryan. "Ryan, I've been thinking, and I know you have nowhere to stay, so I've been wondering if you want to come and live with me." Ryan was shocked beyond belief. Here he was wondering where he was going to stay and Carter suddenly asks him to come and live with him?

Before Ryan had a chance to think about it, something inside of him answered for him. Together, Ryan and Carter stood from their bench and were kissing and holding each other tightly. After a few minutes, they finally had to release each other so they could get some air.

"Well, I guess that is a yes, then," Carter said, trying not to grin. They simply stood there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. "So shall we head home?"

"Yes, we shall." Carter placed an arm around Ryan's shoulder and together they walked away.

"Oh, Ryan, I should warn you, I sleep naked," Carter joked.

Ryan began chuckle. "Don't worry. I can live with that."

TBC