Penny For Your Thoughts

Posted on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 @ 2:13pm by Damien McGinnis & Kilena Keithron

1,091 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Invasion
Location: Big Fancy House
Timeline: 2300 Hours, 16th November 2050

Most people had gone to bed somewhere and it left just Kilena cleaning up the kitchen and roaming the huge place with a bottle of alderian honey wine and her own thoughts. The woman had changed from the battered and bloody uniform to shorts and a vest top in black, she did not really own anything civilian in pink. It had not really been her colour until recently. She did not hear as someone stepped into the gallery with her as she stared at a relic that her parents had yet to catalogue from some ranger site.

"Wandering around in pyjamas?" Damien quipped as he walked up beside her, a sweat covered red tank top clinging to him and a slight sheen over his face while the black joggers he wore hung loosely "I thought I was the only one doing that tonight."

“I am not wandering about in pyjamas just wandering.” She mused blooming him over. He had obviously found the gym or had gone for a long run inside the security.

"Could have fooled me." He grinned, pointing to the bottle in her hand "Is that for me? I tried to find the a drink earlier but the closest I could find was the garden hose."

“You know where the kitchen is to get a glass.” She suggested cooly moving from the relic.

"I really don't." He replied slightly sheepishly "Look, this building is bigger than the whole of the farm I grew up on. It's really easy to get turned around."

Kilena sighed and closed her eyes for a moment centering herself. She could be a jerk to him but decided instead to just show him back down the gallery to where the kitchen was.

"So, are we just going to walk in silence or are we actually going to talk?" He asked, not giving her a chance to respond before teasing "Come on, you can't hate me that much. I mean, you were totally hitting on me in that bar. Remember, right after we got our powers?"

Kilena stopped in a doorway and looked at him intently. “I hit on you and you hit straight back.” She told him as she turned away. It had been straight up strained since that night.

"Wait, so you actually did hit on me?" He questioned "And then you proceeded to give me the biggest cold shoulder in the history of the universe? Because I was convinced I totally misread things and then you caught on that I misread them so you started to try to be clearer and then we nearly got killed and I'm going to stop with the play by play. Did I misread the misreading?"

Kilena just shrugged. “What does it matter?”

"I guess it doesn't, it's just..." He paused before continuing "I was assigned cadet team leader because I got the Red Ranger gig. Before that, I flunked out of the exact same position because I'm not the best team player. That didn't make me any friends. Still hasn't, and to be honest, at this stage I'd rather be making friends than enemies. I think I've got more than enough of those in that other Red Ranger."

“You made it clear how you felt.” She shrugged turning away to carry on with the walk to the kitchen. It was barely a few minutes walk but felt like forever.

"I did?" He asked, confused "When did I do that?"

Kilena just stared at him shocked that he was oblivious to how he had treated her. “I always pick jerks.” She sighed pouring two glasses pretty quickly.

"I'm the jerk?" He asked indignantly "Want to explain that one to me?"

Kilena shook her head. She did not want to explain it when he obviously did not realise just how it had been. “No so let’s just drink our drinks in silence.”

"Yeah, that's not going to work for me." He replied, looking at his drink for a moment "Maybe just shutting off when the discussion gets a little heated is how you were taught to do things, but that's not how Human beings work. I can't flick some switch and suddenly feel all better."

“Fine. It’s obviously not you is it.” She drank back the drink feeling the burn all the way down her throat. “ I found...find you attractive but you’ve been a jerk and I assumed that was you making sure I knew things weren’t like that so I’ve been being a jerk back.”

"That's not... It's not that I don't find you attractive, I have eyes." He replied "I just think that we're both in a very dangerous line of work, and to even think of you as anything other than a friend and colleague could be a problem in the field. I already find it hard enough to be objective when making those calls out there, I can't be... You know what, forget I asked. It was a stupid question and I was a stupid idiot for asking."

“Never stopped rangers in the past.” Was all she said as she poured another glass and sat at the kitchen stool to think about it all.

"Maybe not." Damien said, pausing as he took a swig from his glass "I can't take that risk though. Not with everything on the line. I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise, but all I can offer you or anyone else right now is friendship. Who knows, you might meet a nice, normal guy who doesn't run around in spandex. I mean, let's face it, the bright red suit is kind of Spider-man."

Kilena just shrugged at his offer. It was clear enough. The silence was deafening but what exactly could she say that would not make it more or less awkward. It was all out in the open at least.

"We're cool right?" He asked sheepishly as he necked his drink, sputtering "Say something?"

"We are fine." She told him grabbing up the bottle and her glass. "I am going to bed." She outright lied to him but seeing he was easily going to get lost she could go where she wanted without him bothering her.

"Alright. I'm going to hang out here a bit longer." He said "Night."

Kilena said nothing just disappeared off with the bottle and glass. She could drown her sorrows for that night. The security system would keep them safe and away from prying eyes long enough to work out next move.

 

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