Fic: Right Where I Belong (Dustin/Adam) PR fic

[rivulet027]

Title: Right Where I Belong
Fandom: Power Rangers, sometime post DT
Pairings: Adam/Dustin
Rating: Pg-15
Summery: A drunken night together leads to something more for both Adam and Dustin.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Power Rangers. I’m only doing this mostly for my own slash love and enjoyment.
A/N: Much thanks to moonlite_n_rose for not only introducing me to the fandom, but for also being nice enough to beta this. Also many thanks to m14mouse for making the pretty banner.


Right Where I Belong:

Dustin stared out at the waves crashing against the shore. He smiled as Tori sat down on the grass beside him. She gave him a playful shove on the shoulder before she hugged her knees and stared out at the water as well.

“You always come back here,” she commented, “Why?”

Dustin shrugged, “It’s a great view.”

“It’s the place where Lothor tricked us,” she pointed out.

“T, just cause something bad happened here, doesn’t mean it’s a bad place.”

Tori regarded him a moment before she asked, “Then why don’t you come back? Why do you stay in Reefside?”

“Like starting early today, huh?”

She frowned and looked back out at the waves, “No, I’m just worried about you.”

“Hey I can take care of myself,” he attempted to reassure with a goofy grin.

Tori looked over and raised an eyebrow.

“I got through college and have been teaching for like a whole year,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, and Cam reprogrammed your phone to keep you from forgetting anything.”

Dustin nodded, “It’s good to have a tech.”

Tori rolled her eyes, then frowned.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about this weekend,” she started as she sat up, “If I’d just checked with Shane…”

“Hey,” Dustin interrupted, “I thought we were over this apologizing thing. I’m good, still here, all in one piece.”

“But one of us always spends Friday night with you,” Tori pointed out, “and then we all went and made plans assuming that…”

“T, stop. I hung out with Tommy after I left my Mom’s and I’m fine.”

“Does he know?”

“Huh?”

“Does he know about what a bitch your Mom is?” Tori asked.

“Who?”

“Dr. O.”

“Dude he like wants you guys to start calling him Tommy,” Dustin pointed out.

“That’s not answering my question.”

“Why would he? He’d just back you guys,” Dustin looked away from her to stare back out at the ocean, “It’s stupid Tor. She’s my Mom, the least I can do is some cleaning and shopping for her.”

“Not when she doesn’t appreciate it! Not when she makes you feel like crap every week,” Tori told him with a scowl.

“Dude, can we like change the subject?”

“Fine,” Tori scowled as she hugged her knees, “Was it because of what Lothor did or the students?”

“Dude?” Dustin question as he moved a hand over his head to indicate she’d lost him.

“Why you left?” Tori elaborated with a hint of a smile and a roll of her eyes.

Dustin shrugged again, “I wasn’t a good sensei, so I went and learned how to teach.”

Tori eyes narrowed, “Then it was the students. Eric, Kyle, Tallee. Their being expelled wasn’t your fault.”

Dustin gave her a wistful smile, “But if I’d taught them better, maybe…”

“No, Eric was your only student, the other tested into different elements. Dustin, they just weren’t mature enough to handle ninja school.”

“See I think that’s where you’re wrong. I mean if I’d hurt a teacher…”

“If you hadn’t stopped that prank Avery would’ve had more than a broken arm and if one of your sensei’s was at your feet not moving because of something you pulled you’d have gotten help, not stood there and debated what to do.”

“Tor, don’t,” he begged.

“No Dustin. By the time Cam walked in on the situation you were going into shock!”

Dustin reached out and touched her arm, “I’m still here.”

“But if Cam hadn’t wheedled it out of them, if he hadn’t yelled them into action…”

“Maybe we should’ve had this conversation a long time ago,” Dustin attempted to defuse as he wrapped his arms around her.

She returned the hug even as she asked, “When? By the time you were back up to speed, Lothor’d tricked us and then you were leaving.”

Dustin pulled back and frowned, “You have your own thing too, outside of the Academy. A real life in the real world.”

“I still teach,” she pointed out.

“I do too, just in a different way,” he tried and then before she could rebut his statement he admitted, “I needed to learn some things.”

“Things you couldn’t learn at ninja school?”

Dustin smiled, “Yeah, Sensei should’ve warned us that even if you become a sensei you never stop needing to like learn stuff.”

Tori shook her head with a smile, “You should come back.”

“I have a life in Reefside.”

“There are students who still ask for you to teach again.”

Dustin frowned for a moment before he brightened and laughed. He gave her a shove, “Quit teasing.”

“I’m not.”

Dustin sank his fingers into the earth, he didn’t want to talk about his brief stint as a sensei at the Wind Ninja Academy. He was tempted to tell her that Sensei had asked to speak to him before he left and he suspected it had something to do with him teaching a class, at least for the summer. He tilted his head towards her and changed the subject, “How was Hunter and Cam’s first date?”

Tori stared at him silently.

“What? Oh man, don’t tell me it was that bad.”

“I didn’t think you knew about that, are you okay?”

Dustin started to wave his hand for emphasis and Tori wrinkled her nose as dirt hit her uniform, “Oh man sorry.”

Tori laughed.

Dustin smiled, “Hunter and I were a long time ago, and they like both asked me if I was okay with it before they even tried to go on a date, so I’m like invested here. How’d it go?”

Tori smiled and shook her head, “Pretty good from what I heard.”

Dustin nodded, “Good.”

“Speaking of new guys,” Tori segued.

Shane showed up at that moment and dropped down beside them, “Sorry, my class ran over, so what are we talking about?”

“Dustin’s new guy?”

“You have a new guy?” Shane asked even as Dustin made exasperated noises of protest.

“I like do not.”

“You’d had someone over when I talked to you,” Tori pointed out.

Shane nodded, “Yep, new guy.”

“That doesn’t…it’s not,” Dustin tried, “It’s just sex.”

Tori and Shane exchanged glances over his head before Shane pointed out, “Bro, you don’t do just sex.”

“I do s…” Dustin broke off as he took in the look Shane was giving him, “Okay, okay, Dude, so like I don’t, but it like so is.”

“Do you buy that, Tori?” Shane asked.

“Not for a moment,” Tori responded.

“He’s a friend of Tommy’s?”

“And that’s supposed to reassure us how?” Tori asked.

“Hayley likes him?” Dustin tried.

Shane tapped his chin, “Getting warmer bro, this guy got a name?”

“Adam.”

Tori raised an eyebrow, “You were going to try and convince us it ‘just sex’ when you say his name like that?”

“Huh?” Dustin asked, nose wrinkling in confusion.

Tori rolled her eyes, “So what he’s like?”

Dustin blinked at her. Saying ‘lickable’ probably was just going to get groans from the two of them. He shrugged and told them, “Um, he’s nice.”

“Nice?” Shane asked.

Dustin scratched his head, “Yeah, nice. He’s been living in L.A. but now he’s moving to Angel Grove to open a dojo.”

“Have you sparred with him?” Shane asked suddenly interested.

“Nah, he’s on vacation dude. How would I explain where I learned?”

“Good point,” Shane nodded.

“You took lessons,” Tori pointed out, “long before we were accepted to the Academy.”

Dustin shrugged, “It hasn’t come up. Hey, we’re going to the zoo tomorrow.”

“The zoo?” Tori asked.

“Yeah, Tommy and Hayley are going to pick us up and then we’ll like spend the whole day showing Kaley the animals,” Dustin smiled. His smile faltered when he noticed the confused looks they were giving him.

“Pick you up?” Shane asked cautiously, “As in stop at wherever he’s staying and then get you?”

With a sinking feeling Dustin told them, “Nah, just my place.”

“You moved someone in after only one night?” Tori shrieked, “That’s a new level of…Dustin!”

Dustin looked to Shane for help.

“Don’t even, Bro” Shane warned, “I’m with Tori on this one.”

Dustin flopped onto his back with a groan.

Adam eyed his cell phone wearily as it jittered its way across Dustin’s coffee table. Taking a deep breath he picked it up, checked the number, and greeted, “Hi Tanya.”

“Hi,” she greeted back brightly.

“Hi,” he repeated warily.

“So I just got off the phone with Aisha,” she told him.

Adam groaned and flopped back into the cushions of the couch, “I don’t need a lecture from you too.”

She laughed, “So what he’s like?”

Adam smiled as he tried to think of how to describe Dustin, “You mean other than a complete airhead?”

Tanya laughed again, “Is he hot?”

“What do you think?”

“Of course. So what’s his name?”

“You mean Aisha didn’t rant it at you?” Adam asked with a frown as he thought back on the verbal lashing his friend had given him.

“Hey,” Tanya tried to sooth, “she’s just worried about you.”

“I could tell,” Adam said dryly.

Tanya sighed, “She’s not ready to lose you yet.”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked confused.

“You guys have been inseparable in L.A. and now you’re moving. She’s being supportive, but that doesn’t mean she’s not going to miss you horribly.”

“So being mad at me about Dustin is her way of saying she’ll miss me?”

He frowned when Tanya hesitated.

“Yeah, something like that,” Tanya told him, “Also, this is kinda sudden.”

Adam agreed as he moved off the couch. He ran a hand through his hair, agitated and wanting to know how to explain his growing feelings for Dustin. Had he even known Dustin long enough to have growing feelings for him?

“Wait,” Tanya said, “Dustin? Is he a friend of Tommy’s and was at his wedding?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh!”

“Oh?” Adam asked.

“He’s sweet.”

“Sweet? You’ve met him?”

“At the wedding. I think I’m going to have to disagree with Aisha now and approve.”

“I have your approval?” Adam asked with a laugh as he started to look around Dustin’s apartment.

“Yellow’s his favorite color.”

“I can tell.”

Tanya laughed, “Well you always did seem to get along best with yellows.”

“What does that make Rocky?” Adam asked as he began to look over Dustin’s shelves. There were a handful of second and third place motocross trophies along with several pictures.

“A future male yellow?”

Adam paused, smiled and laughed at the image, “Yeah right.”

“You don’t think Rocky could pull off yellow?”

“More I’m not sure he has the attitude for it,” Adam countered as he spotted a first place trophy. He reached around the other trophies and picture it was buried behind and pulled it forward. He frowned when he realized Dustin’s name wasn’t on it. Who was Hunter Bradley? It had to be the Hunter Dustin was talking about earlier. They must have had a relationship at some point. He tried to shake off the wave of jealousy and focus on what Tanya was saying. He smiled, at least she agreed with him, yellow would be a bad color for Rocky and besides as far as they knew all yellows were female.

“Well except for Tideus, but he was from Aquitar,” Adam concluded.

He put the trophy back and picked up the picture. A dark haired young man and a blonde woman had Dustin in the middle of them and all three were smiling. He set the picture down, his eyes sweeping over the others on the shelf.

“Well a human male yellow would be cool.”

Adam laughed, “Yeah, that’d be something, though I doubt any yellow will ever match you or Aisha in terms of attitude.”

He could hear the smile in Tanya’s voice, “Have you ever met Taylor?”

“No, Taylor, she’s um…?”

“Wildforce.”

“Come on Tanya, you know I pretty much stopped keeping up after the Astro Rangers. I don’t even know what this Ninja Storm team that Tommy has us fighting with is like.”

“You know Dino Thunder,” she pointed out.

“Only cause Tommy mentored them and even then not that well. Conner, their red, didn’t even know what my name was yesterday.”

“Mmm, but he does know how to dance. Though I’ll have to say Dustin’s better, just don’t tell Conner I said so.”

“Wedding right?” Adam asked as he picked up another framed photo, it had the same two people with Dustin as the one before and three others.

“Right in one, Tommy asked me to help keep him and Dustin away from Rocky. It was fun.”

Adam set the photo down with a laugh, “And I was with Rocky all night which would explain why I didn’t really met either before.”

“So you missed the opportunity for instant sparkage, which is probably for the best. He had a date.”

“Yeah?”

“Someone is falling,” she was smirking, Adam could tell by the tone in her voice.

“Why would you think that? I haven’t even known him that long.”

“That hint of jealousy in your tone when I mentioned his date. He was cute too, blonde, and managed to pull off the dark red in his suit rather well. Not overly polite, had this kinda broody look to him, but he could pull it off.”

Adam’s eyes found the picture he’d just put down and he inspected the young blonde man who had an arm draped over Dustin more closely. He shook his head with a smile and complained, “Tanya.”

“What? I’m just sitting here having way too much fun imaging that cute moody look on your face.”

“You do this to me on purpose,” he groaned as he flopped back down on the couch.

“Blush?”

“You’d think I’d have gotten rid of it by now,” he groused.

“Nah, you wouldn’t quite be Adam if we couldn’t get you to blush for us,” she teased, “Besides I don’t think they were together, more that they’d just decided to be each other’s date for the night.”

“Really?” he laughed, then told her, “Thank you.”

“And just what am I being thanked for?”

“I’m in a much better mood now,” he admitted.

“You’re welcome. And Adam?”

“Yeah?”

He sat up at the concern in her tone, “Don’t over think this okay? You’re on vacation, having a good time and if something comes of this then something comes of this, just…you know what I mean.”

He smiled, “Yeah I do, I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask. Talk to you later?”

“Later sounds good.”

“Great, I’ll be prying details out of you I’m sure and call me if you and Aisha get into it again. Cause you get no where when you don’t vent.”

“I don’t remember venting.”

“That’ll come later,” she promised.

“Bye,” he laughed.

“Bye.”

He shook his head as he closed his phone and returned it to the coffee table. He looked around the room again trying to decide what bothered him about it. He thought back to his apartment, things that would need to be boxed up and moved soon. He sat up with a frown and began looking over the pictures again. Dustin seemed to have a thing for them, they were on the walls, the shelves. Most of them had a combination of the same six people in them, a lot of them were the dark haired young man and blonde with Dustin and others had Tommy and Hayley in them. One even reminded Adam of the old team photos he had and this one had who Adam recognized as the Dino Thunder team, with the six other people and an older distinguished looking gentlemen. He glanced over all the photos again and wondered where the family photos were. He understood how friends could become family, but where was a picture of Dustin with his parents or siblings? Did Dustin even have siblings?

Adam sank back down, the good feelings from his phone call with Tanya gone, as he realized how very little he knew about Dustin. Where had he grown up? What had made him want to become a teacher?

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Tommy had referred to Dustin as a ‘good guy’ so there was no reason to feel like he was in over his head. He was still trying to tell himself this when Dustin opened the front door looking as weary as he felt.

“Hey dude,” Dustin told him dully before dropping down on the couch next to him.

“Hi,” he greeted with a smile which caused Dustin to smile back and snuggle close to him. He wrapped an arm around the younger man and asked, “That bad?”

“Oh man, you like wouldn’t believe my friends today.”

Adam laughed, “Been there today too.”

“Get chewed out?”

Adam nodded.

“Okay, me too,” Dustin said as he began to play with Adam’s belt loops. They lapsed into silence.

Dustin paused, turned and asked in a worried tone, “So like um you’re not like straight are you? Or evil?”

“What?”

“Well I’ve like dated a guy who like declared that he was straight the whole time, it like sucked, dude. But like I’ve also dated girls who decided they were gay, or evil,” Dustin explained.

Adam wasn’t quite sure where to start. He stared down at Dustin, took in the earnestness in those eyes. Oh those eyes were beautiful, he almost allowed himself to become distracted by them, but he forced himself to focus, “You dated a girl who decided she was evil?”

Dustin bit his lower lip and frowned, “Yeah, no…wait, it was like this whole big thing. And I like kinda didn’t really date her, more like trusted her and could’ve seen dating her, but then she was all ‘I’m evil, you’re a moron’ and well why put up with that?”

“But you put up with a guy saying he was straight?”

“It wasn’t one of my brighter moments and it wasn’t for very long. You’re like not, are you dude?”

Adam leaned in and kissed Dustin, drawing it out, he closed his eyes and let himself become lost in the sensation for a moment before he pulled away and told him, “No, I’m not.”

He let his forehead rest against Dustin’s, as he waited for open eyes to meet his before he asked, “What about you?”

Dustin smiled, “I date whoever dude, why should I care what gender they are?”

Adam smiled back, kissed him again and tried to decide what he wanted to know first, “So, evil?”

“Yeah, but she’s not anymore,” Dustin reassured as he snuggled back down against Adam’s shoulder and Adam tightened his hold on him, “We’re friends now. I think she wanted more, but well um there were um things and it would’ve been too weird.”

“Evil as in…?” Adam trailed off not quite sure how to phrase the question to someone who might have a completely different definition of evil then him.

“Oh, she worked for Lothor.”

“Lothor?”

“Evil Space Ninja Dude, wreaked havoc all over Blue Bay Harbor before the Power Rangers kicked his evil butt,” Dustin told him.

Adam blinked, looked down at Dustin and pulled him closer, so maybe their definition of evil was exactly the same.

“Been there too,” he admitted.

“Blue Bay Harbor?” Dustin asked confused looking up at him

“No, interested in the girl who turned out to be evil,” he smiled before he leaned down and gave him another kiss.

“Really?” Dustin asked when they parted.

“Grew up in Angel Grove, remember?”

“Oh yeah, Dude there were tons more bad guys having to be dealt with there then Blue Bay Harbor, at least we only had Lothor. I mean he was like a scary dude, but at least he was just one dude.”

Adam laughed, “Yeah, at least he was just one guy.”

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Adam informed him, “You know you have a first place trophy with the name Hunter Bradley on it?”

Adam wished he could take back the words as soon as they were uttered. Why had he said that?

Dustin sat up, “Dude, where?”

Dustin snatched up the trophy when Adam pointed out the correct shelf. He stared at it a moment, confusion evident on his face, “How did I miss this? I’ve moved more than once since we lived together and that was like three no two years ago.”

Dustin deposited the trophy on his coffee table and dropped back down next to Adam, “That’s just like weird.”

Adam laughed, the indignant look on Dustin’s face made him no longer regret pointing out the trophy.

Dustin poked the trophy with a frown then shrugged his shoulders, “I’ll just like call him after we get back from the zoo and be all dude come pick up your trophy. Besides it’ll like let me gloat, he finally asked Cam out and they finally went on a date and according to gossip it went well.”

Adam smiled and shook his head, wondering how to ask his question about family. Dustin started to snuggle back down against him, but sat up quickly, “Oh!”

“Oh?”

Dustin grabbed the picture that reminded Adam of his old team photos and sat down, “These are my friends. Tommy you know, and that’s well um Cam’s dad. That’s Cam, that’s Hunter and his brother Blake, they’re like adopted, Dude, so that’s why they like don’t look alike. That’s Tori and Shane, they’re my best friends.”

When Dustin paused Adam pointed to Conner, “And that’s Conner.”

“Yep, and right next to him is Ethan, then there’s Kira and right next to Kira is Trent.”

“I’ve met Ethan and Trent, but not Kira,” Adam told him.

“Oh, well she’s like really busy trying to become a singer.”

“Yeah? I have a friend who’s a singer, just got off the phone with her actually. Tanya Sloan?”

“Oh, cool,” Dustin smiled, “She’s good.”

“Yeah, she is,” Adam smiled and nearly asked Dustin about his taste in music, wondering if they had anything in common there, but he had to know about his family, “Dustin, why aren’t there any family photos. I mean, you have a lot of your friends, but none of your parents or siblings.”

“Do you have brothers or sisters?” Dustin asked as he set his picture down on the coffee table next to the trophy.

“Only child.”

Dustin nodded, then frowned, “I…it’s complicated. My dad comes in about once a year, we pretend we’re best friends and then he like just leaves.”

Adam frowned, concerned at the sudden shift to melancholy. Up until he asked Dustin had been upbeat with an easy smile, but not now. Adam reached out and pulled him back towards him, “And your mom?”

“Let’s just like not go there Dude, okay?”

“Sure,” Adam told him uncertainty in his voice.

“Sometimes we get along, other times we like don’t.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just used to being really close to my family,” Adam said slowly, and then in a last ditch effort to make up for bring up an obviously sore subject he asked, “How bout siblings?”

If possible Dustin face faltered once again at that and he was back to playing with Adam’s belt loops as he answered, “Tori and Shane were always kinda like my sister and brother.”

“I’ve had friend I’ve been that close with too.”

Dustin finally gave him a hesitant smile. Unable to resist Adam kissed his nose, then his lips before he asked, “So subject change?”

“Like duh, Dude.”

“Motocross, huh?”