In His Eyes

Disclaimers:I do not own Power Rangers nor do I make any money from the writing of these stories. Any characters you recognize are the property of Saban/Disney. Any ones you don't come from my fertile little imagination.

Author's Notes:This story is set during PR Zeo, near the beginning of the series. It doesn't conform strictly to the timeline, however. You have to allow more time between significant events—definitely AU. This is more of a relationship story—not action oriented. I've tried to portray the characters in a more realistic way—we all knew they weren't that "goody two shoes", right? But I wouldn't say they are out of character, just a little more real. Please leave a review if you enjoy.

Warnings: Rating Teen to Mature. Starts out tame but won't stay that way, I promise! Slash—m/m, strong language, sexual situations. If you don't like Slash, don't read. Simple as that. Tommy/Jason.

Chapter 1

Geneva, Switzerland

Peace Conference—Boys Dormitory A

Room A33—3:43am

". . . no more. . .no. . .please. . .no more. . .can't. . .Stop!. . .can't stand it. . ." The sleeping young man thrashed his head back and forth, clenching his fists. He was quiet for a minute or so and then it began again.

". . .hurting him. . .Stop!. . .don't hurt him. . .please. . .Tommy!" With that, Jason Scott sat straight up in bed, gasping and dripping with sweat. He ran a shaking hand through his short, dark hair.

"Damn. This has got to stop," he moaned, trying to calm himself down.

"Agreed," came the exasperated reply from Jason's roommate, Jacques, who was getting thoroughly annoyed at being woken up night after night by Jason's bad dreams.

"Sorry, Jacques—I don't know what's causing all these nightmares. I don't usually do this," he explained, still shaking.

"Yeah. . .it's okay. Go back to sleep, huh?" Jacques said sleepily in his thick Quebecois accent. He turned over and covered his head, muttering something in French.

Jason lay back on his bed and tried to relax. He was so tired and his nerves were so frazzled, but he doubted that he would get any rest tonight.

'Why do I keep having dreams about Tommy? And why are they so violent?'

He lay awake in bed for the rest of the night, trying to recall his nightmares, attempting to make some sense of it all.

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"Hey Jase, how'd you do on that government test? Jase? Earth to Jason. . ." Zack waved his hand in front of the former red ranger's face.

"Hmmm? What? Oh, hey." Jason shook his head to try and wake himself. Zack plunked his lunch down on the table and pulled up a chair.

"Damn Jase. . .you look like hell."

"Thanks buddy. You really know how to make a guy feel good," Jason replied, propping his head up on his hand.

"Nightmares again?" Zack asked, the concern for his old friend evident in his voice.

Jason shook his head. "I don't know why it's happening, Zack. It doesn't make sense."

"You still haven't told me exactly what the dreams are about. Wanna talk about it?"

Jason thought for a moment. "I don't know, man. Part of me wants to tell you and another part is afraid to put it into words. You know, like if you don't talk about it, it isn't real sorta thing?"

"I understand, but Jase—you need to sleep. How long has this been going on now—three weeks?"

"Yep, just about."

"No wonder you look like 40 miles of bad road."

"There you go again, cheering me up."

"It might make you feel better if you talk about it, ya know? And who knows, I might even be able to help you make some sense of it!" Zack didn't fancy himself a psychologist, but his friend needed some help and he was willing to try. Besides, curiosity was getting the best of him.

Jason sighed heavily and looked around to make sure no one could overhear their conversation. He turned back to Zack and, in a low voice, began to spill.

"It's Tommy. . ." he started, but paused, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Isn't it always?!" Zack replied, a note of amusement in his voice.

"Not funny, Zack. I wish they were thosekind of dreams, but they're not—they're awful. . .violent."

"Green ra-" he stopped as a group of students passed close by. Then he began again. "Green ranger violent?"

Jason shook his head. "No, he's not giving—he's receiving."

The former black ranger cocked his head questioningly.

Jason wore a very worried look. "Zack, I've been dreaming about him being tortured—beaten, whipped, run through with a sword, shocked. . ." he broke off when his emotions threatened to get the better of him.

Zack's eyes had widened. "That's some heavy stuff, man. But you know they're just dreams, right? Haven't you talked to Tommy lately?"

"Yeah. . .three or four days ago. He was telling me about hanging out with David—you can imagine how excited he is to finally get to know his brother! And yes, he's fine. I know what you're going to say. But if I know he's okay, why am I still having these dreams?"

"Hmmm. . .good question. Do you think, maybe, you're harbouring some ill will toward him? Deep-seated resentment over the whole leadership thing?" He noticed an unpleasant look appear on the former red ranger's face. "I'm grasping at straws here, aren't I?"

"Uh. . .yeah," Jason said, sounding more than a little annoyed. "Man, you know how I feel about all that! None of it was Tommy's doing—he was as surprised as I was. And you're one of the only people who know how I really feel about him. Could I feel like that and resent him at the same time? No."

"Yeah, sorry. I know better," he sighed. "So then, why? No ideas at all?"

"Not really," Jason said. "Nothing I want to think about, anyway."

Zack suddenly understood what he had meant and his mouth dropped open. "You don't think that you're. . . 'telling' again, do ya?"

The former black ranger was well aware of Jason's intermittent "gift" of knowing something was going to happen before it actually did. Years ago he had joked, calling him a fortune teller.

"Oh god, I hope not—but I'm worried."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, what am I supposed to say? 'I'm having these crazy dreams—watch your back'?"

"Yes—exactly. Tommy knows about your intuition—he wouldn't think you're weird," he paused while a grin spread across his face. "Well, no weirder than usual!" The attempt at humour fell flat—Jason was in no mood to laugh.

Zack reined himself in—his old friend didn't need to be irritated as well as worried and exhausted. "Okay, sorry. At least promise me that you'll go to the infirmary and get something to help you sleep."

"I don't like taking chemicals, Zack--you know that."

"And you know that this is Switzerland and they probably have some 800-year-old herbal cure for anything that ailes you! Go—please—I'm worried about you. And you look like hell!" He winked at him and jumped quickly out of the way, lest he be swatted by one of Jason's large hands.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Three days later, things weren't much better. Jason was getting a little more sleep, thanks to the foul-tasting concoction the nurse had given him. At least that was something, but he found himself thinking more and more about Tommy—and becoming more worried. He began to wonder if his feelings for the current red ranger were influencing his judgment about these dreams.

Tommy was the main reason that Jason was in Switzerland to begin with. Ever since the former red ranger had admitted to himself that he felt more than friendship toward his bro, being in Angel Grove and having to see him with Kimberly every day had gotten more and more painful. He had been sure that his best friend would never return his feelings, and Kim was like his little sister—he didn't want to try to come between them—so when the opportunity to attend the peace conference presented itself, Jason jumped at it. However, he hadn't counted on Tommy's reaction when he told him of his acceptance.

Jason expected surprise and sadness, which he got, but he also sensed that the former green ranger was. . .hurt. Hurt that Jason would go off to another country without him. All of Tommy's insecurities came rushing back. His emotional scaffolding was being torn away and he would have to lead the ranger team alone. Could he do it without his best friend? Who would he talk to? Who would he confide in? Who would be there for him when the nightmares started again?

The look on Tommy's face was burned into Jason's memory—those big, chocolate brown eyes filled with pain and tears, his lips trembling. Tommy didn't allow himself to be that emotional with anyone but him. As a matter of fact, his bro was the only one who had seen him cry since he was 12. Jason hugged him tightly and promised that they'd always be best friends and that he would keep in touch while he was in Geneva, but. . .there was something else there—something intangible.

Jason had felt it again in the days leading up to his departure for Switzerland. Tommy was with him in his bedroom, helping him pack and something just felt . . . different between them. Not in a bad way—not like something was missing. Actually, it was more like something had been added. At the time, Jason had just chalked it up to the fact that they were emotional—sad, excited, scared, nervous, etc., etc.

But in the time that had passed since, Jason had begun to see things differently. Their relationship now was as close as it could possibly be with so much distance between them. Sure, it had been strained at first—there's a learning curve involved in any intercontinental friendship. But the strangeness didn't last long. They talked regularly, and sent each other long emails and even funny, some would say obscene, cards! They had talked even more in recent weeks, what with Tommy's discovery of his only brother and his breakup with Kim.

Concerning that, Jason had initially wanted to throttle Kim for breaking his bro's heart like that. How dare she take the coward's way out by sending a letter to someone as sensitive as Tommy? When he found out about it, Jason had called the girl he considered his lil' sis and thoroughly blessed her out. That was the last time he had spoken to her. But to tell the truth, a part of Jason was actually glad, though he would never tell Tommy that. It sort of opened the door for him to move in.

The last couple of times he had seen Tommy had gone rather well. Their hugs had felt more like embraces and they shared looks that were hard to define as anything other than love—brotherly love, yes—but there was more than just that. Jason was beginning, though cautiously, to have a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Tommy was beginning to feel for him what he had felt for Tommy for a long time.

And those freakin' dreams! Not the recent violent ones—the maddeningly hot, erotic ones! The kind that require two cold showers to get over! Jason had had several of those during the last month, too.

Sitting at his desk, he remembered a funny incident--the one that let him know that things were getting out of hand. He and Jacques had gotten into an interesting conversation one morning while getting dressed for their first class of the day.

"Okay, let me see a good picture of Tommy—I have to know what this guy looks like."

"Hmmm?" Jason was completely thrown off by his request.

"Well, I want to see the reason I'm losing so much sleep! Most nights you're either trying to save his life or you're fuckin' his brains out and I just want to see what the guy looks like!" His large, green eyes sparkled with amusement. Jacques didn't mince words—you gotta love the French!

Jason was mortified—he didn't know what to say. He just looked at his grinning roommate, mouth gaping open, blushing ferociously.

"Well? Let's see this gorgeous creature!" Jacques wasn't going to let it go.

Jason turned to his desk and pulled out his favourite picture of Mr. Thomas Oliver and handed it to Jacques. It was a picture that Jason had taken at the lake last summer on his short trip home. Tommy was stretched out on a beach towel and propped up on one elbow. He wore only a snug pair of white swim trunks which were, at the moment, slung very low over his hips. The color of the trunks served to emphasize his beautifully bronzed skin and the suntan oil he had applied glistened in the sun, causing the definition in his chest, abs, and arms to be even more pronounced. His hair hung long and loose around his face and shoulders, blowing slightly in the breeze. The look in those big chocolate eyes would melt you where you stood. He was, in a word, edible.

Jacques took a long look at the picture and then slowly shook his head and whistled in appreciation. "Mon Dieu! I understand now!" Jason laughed and just looked at his roommate. "Does he have a brother?!" Jacques added.

Out of habit, Jason started to say 'no', but he suddenly remembered David. He was still getting used to the idea of Tommy not being an only child. He giggled and said, "Yeah, as a matter of fact, he does!" He pulled out a new picture that his bro had sent him recently of himself and David standing with their arms thrown around each other's shoulders.

"That's David there with the choker necklace on." Jason indicated the taller of the two young men.

"Wow! They're both beautiful. Will you introduce me if I visit you in California?" Jacques grinned.

"Absolutely!" Then he thought of one major sticking point. "Although I don't know if either one of them is really into guys."

"What?! I thought Tommy was your boyfriend."

Jason looked at the floor. "No, I only wish he was. But he is my best friend. I just have to work on getting him to see things my way."

"Well, he'd be stupid to turn you down," Jacques said.

That was the first time that Jason and Jacques had ever mentioned anything about their sexual orientation. Turns out they were both bi, which gave each of them someone to talk to when the road got bumpy.

Back in the present, Jason was no closer to figuring out the cause of these disturbing dreams. He had sent Tommy an email telling him to be extra careful and told him that he had been feeling uneasy. Tommy wrote back calling him a mother hen, but said that he would watch out and thanked Jason for caring enough to let him know. He also told the former red ranger to take good care of himself because he was counting on seeing him soon. That thought delighted Jason—he just wished that he could shake this bad feeling he had.

Room A33—2:15am

(1 month after the nightmares started)

Jason sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and still clutching the bed sheets. After the momentary shock passed, he held his head in his hands and tried to slow his breathing and his heart rate.

"Oh god," he choked. This had been the worst one yet, but the horrifying thing was, he couldn't shake the darkness that had enveloped him. He had a lump in his throat and a knot in his stomach. Jason wasn't sure what a panic attack felt like, but he was sure this had to be damn close.

'Breathe, Scott. Come on.' It wasn't working.

Getting up from his rumpled, sweat-soaked bed, he walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Zack was right—he looked like hell.

'Well, another night with little to no sleep.'

He sat down heavily at his desk and looked at the picture of Tommy that lay before him. The knot in his stomach tightened. He called on every bit of training he had ever had to help him calm down. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his desk chair and tried to. . .just. . .breathe.

Room A33—2:45am

Never has a phone sounded so loud—ever.

The obnoxious ring shattered the peace of the dark room like a mirror being smashed on the ground. Nearly asleep at his desk, Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. He scrambled to get to it just to stop the noise and then it hit him—

'Who would be calling at this hour of the morning?!' The knot was back with a vengeance.

His shaking hand hovered over the receiver and stopped—he couldn't move any further.

'Pick it up, Scott! It might be important!'

After several tense seconds, he managed to grab the receiver and hold it to his ear, still shaking.

"H-hello?" he stammered.

"Jase?"

"Yeah?" He knew that voice—his entire body went cold. "Billy?"

'Why the fuck is Billy calling me at this hour?'

"Yeah. I'm sorry to wake you—I know it's the middle of the night there." He paused and Jason heard him take a shaky breath.

"Jase. . .it. . .it's Tommy. . ."

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Author's Note: As this is my first fanfic, I would greatly appreciate feedback. Please leave a review so that I know how I'm doing--the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!