Fic: Confessions and Consequences (PR, Luan centric, Zack team fic)

[rivulet027]

Title: Confessions and Consequences
Fandom: Power Rangers, Zack gets his own team verse
Pairing: Justin/Dustin (established), Fran/Dom (past) with hints towards Fran/RJ and Rocky/Adam
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Luan watches and doubts his place on the team.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Power Rangers. It’s not my toy box, I’m merely playing.
A/N: I will do a team information post later in the week when school isn’t quite so hetic, but if you have bunnies you’re more than welcome to join in the fun. Hope my wacky pairing fun doesn’t scare anyone off.
A/N2: Much love goes to m14mouse with this piece. I still can’t remember how we decided on popcorn, but I do know you wrote some of the lines in the Fran/Clare/Luan watch Justin and Zack bit. Thank you!
A/N3: Also for schmoop_bingo prompt friendship.


Part 2:

Luan sat perched on the couch that Ara had gotten. He wasn’t exactly sure where Ara was getting the modern stuff to decorate the cave she’d introduced as their base of operations, but he’d already moved most of his ‘I like to travel a lot’ gear into his room. That they somehow each got their own rooms that looked like they were in a house and not a cave was a definite plus.

He laid his magazine on his lap and watched his team. His team? It seemed impossible and yet he was a yellow power ranger.

Being yellow put aside his doubts that Ara had meant to give his morpher to Theo. He was discovering that he wasn’t very blue. Luan found himself constantly comparing Justin to his brother, even though Justin had taken it upon himself to become the team ‘tech’ and he couldn’t believe Theo would even think about fixing any of his team’s equipment. Still he found himself finding similarities, such as the same serious expression when they were concentrating on a task.

Luan glanced over at Zack who was sunk deep into a chair, his feet propped up talking and laughing with someone named Jase. Ara was sitting at a nearby desk going over a computer program Justin had put together to catch her up to speed with modern times.

Idly Luan wondered if learning about the time period she’d awoken to meant Ara would get rid of her long flowing dresses. He frowned as he tried to picture her in jeans and a tank top.

Nah, that’d be weird.

He watched as Justin walked out of his room, an annoyed look on his face. Justin started to say something to Zack, but his cell rang. Justin glowered and answered, “Hi Tanya. Yeah…no…”

That was all Luan heard as Justin turned back around to go into his room, Zack watching with a worried look. Luan glanced down at his magazine, feeling restless and wondering if he’d get to meet Zack and Justin’s former teammates even as he wondered at the sudden calls Justin was getting.

He frowned as Fran dropped onto the couch next to him, then leaned up against him.

“What happened to you?”

Fran shrugged and played with the bottom of her shirt, “RJ is kinda not understanding why I’m not still wondering around with Dom and he’d trying to be his laid back self about it, but he’s not very good at faking.”

“You know him too well,” Luan said, putting an arm around her and pulling her in.

Fran shook her head, “Then I’d know how to make this right with him.”

Luan frowned, not quite sure what to say as Clare joined them.

“Popcorn?” she offered.

Fran perked up and grabbed a handful, “Popcorn makes everything better.”

Luan grinned as he grabbed a handful.

“Finally,” Clare said bumping him with her shoulder, “What are you over here brooding about?”

“Brooding? I don’t brood!” Luan protested, “I was looking at my magazine and watching my teammates.”

Fran looked around him to Clare. They shared a look. Luan groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Fran asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Luan tried.

Clare gave him a skeptical look as she grabbed a handful of popcorn.

“Yet,” Luan grumbled as he sank further against the couch.

They both looked at him expectantly. Luan gave the popcorn in his hand a forlorn look.

“I feel like I’m melting under your…”

“Deflecting isn’t going to work,” Fran warned him.

“We have patience,” Clare told him, “and popcorn.”

Luan took a deep breath and confessed, “I know we just started but I’m still having doubts.”

“Me too,” Fran said before she ate some popcorn.

“Yeah, but you’ll stick around,” Luan grumbled.

“I’m not following you,” Clare prodded.

“Is this a you and Theo thing?” Fran asked.

“What did Lily tell you?” Luan asked.

Fran gave him an innocent look. Luan raised an eyebrow. Fran shrugged, “I was practically the only other girl on the team.”

Luan rolled his eyes, then shook his head as he realized they were looking at him expectantly, “Look, Theo is better at this than me…Hey, let me finish before you interrupt. Theo studied Kung Fu for years, he’s even a Master now. He has all this focus, all these goals and I just…I just move from one exciting thing to the next. I’m worried about what will happen when this stops being new and exciting.”

“You think you’ll leave?” Fran asked.

Luan nodded.

“I can tell by the worry in your face that you don’t want to think that you’ll leave,” Clare told him.

Fran nodded her agreement, “I think you’ll stick around until we win, because that’d be the most thrilling part of all this.”

Luan smiled at that, maybe he could remind himself of that when he started feeling restless. He glanced down at the popcorn and pointed out, “This goes better with a movie.”

Before either of the young women could answer him Justin’s door opened and he leaned in the doorway, glaring at Zack. Zack gave him an innocent look as he began to say goodbye to his friend. Justin’s cell rang again. Justin stared at it, then shot Zack another glare before answering.

Justin listened for a moment then said, “We had dinner plans so I was going to tell you tonight. No I can still drive…yeah you’re right you should probably come down here…We’ve only really been active for less than two days! And…yeah I should’ve called you first thing…No, I’m fine…Dustin, I’m fine…yeah?...okay…see you about six. Love you too, bye.”

Justin hung up the phone and turned on Zack, “Just who’s idea was it to set up a phone tree to tell everyone and how did that lead to my boyfriend finding out before I could call him? And yet no one’s managed to get a hold of the Astro team?”

Zack stared at Justin a moment, his expression filled with a mixture of mischievousness and innocence before he said, “You know I think we can finally blame something on Hayley.”

“This is Hayley’s fault?” Justin asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

“Oh yeah, totally Hayley’s fault,” Zack agreed as he stood up.

Luan reached for more popcorn.

Justin crossed his arms looking annoyed.

“I don’t know how someone told Dustin before anyone told the Astro team,” Zack tried.

As Clare put the popcorn bowl in his lap Luan whispered, “I didn’t know being old school rangers could cause so much drama.”

“Maybe it’s the shock,” Clare whispered back.

Fran let out a snort as she reached for more popcorn, “I think we’re more in shock than them.”

“Are you going to tell them that?” Luan asked.

“Tell who what?” Ara asked as she joined them on the couch, “What is that? It’s smells delicious.”

“Clare made popcorn,” Luan explained, “And we think we’re still more in shock from being rangers than Justin and Zack.”

Ara peeked into the bowl, “May I?”

“Of course,” Clare smiled.

Ara took a handful of popcorn, watched how they ate it then tried some herself. She smiled delighted, before she settled into the couch and turned to where Justin was still venting his frustrations to Zack. They watched Zack’s arms flail as he tried to calm Justin down, he obviously wasn’t doing a very good job of it, since they both seemed to be getting more excited.

As Ara took another handful of popcorn Luan commented, “At least our leader is kinda cool. He didn’t get too mad when we blew up that rock.”

“We’re newbies,” Fran pointed out, “We’re going to be blowing up lots of stuff.”

Luan nodded, “That’s what my bro said.”

“Your brother is a power ranger?” Clare asked.

Ara nodded, “It’s part of the reason I picked him.”

Luan raised an eyebrow, but Ara went back to eating popcorn so he told Clare, “Yup, he’s blue. Fran’s boyfriend is purple.”

“RJ isn’t my boyfriend,” Fran protested even as she began to blush.

“Do you want me to there?” Luan asked.

Fran groaned, then shook her head at Clare.

“I’m twenty-five!” Justin protested, “I’m dating! I’ve been dating! I even have a degree and a job!”

“I thought you had degrees,” Zack pointed out.

Justin’s glare intensified.

Zack threw his hands up, “Sorry, just saying you shouldn’t sell yourself short.”

“Why don’t you tell Tanya that?” Justin shot back, “How is Tanya more okay with this than Rocky?”

“We threw Adam at him,” Zack answered.

Justin paused, mouth opened, about to yell again. His mouth closed and he smiled, shaking his head, “Now that sounds like Hayley.”

Zack shrugged, “What can I say? She’s a genius. Though I think we should make her squirm over the whole Dustin found out before you could tell him part.”

“No, I should’ve called him first thing, but I didn’t so…” Justin paused and shook his head, deflating as he frowned, “I’m just tired of being the baby of this dysfunctional family.”

“Well until we get someone young as you were or younger I think you’re stuck with it,” Zack teased.

Justin rolled his eyes and Luan frowned. Theo liked rolling his eyes at him, how soon would it be before Justin started rolling his eyes every time they talked?

“Sure,” Justin said, the sarcasm evident in his tone, “That’s going to happen.”

Zack smiled. Maybe they were done? Ara stood, moving cautiously towards the entrance. Zack and Justin turned to her, flanking her easily. Clare was moving closer. Luan put the popcorn down and stood with Fran, wondering at the tension in Ara’s shoulders.

“There is someone outside,” Ara said. She frowned turning to look around the room, “I used to have…”

She reached out a hand towards the computer and closed her eyes.

“What’s she doing to my laptop?” Fran whispered.

Luan shrugged.

An image wavered to life on the screen.

“Storm Blaster!”

They all watched Justin run out of the base.

Ara tilted her head towards Zack, “I assume this is a friend?”

“Must be,” Luan commented, “He’s hugging the jeep.”

Luan tried to picture Theo hugging a jeep and just couldn’t quite manage it. Why was Justin hugging a jeep?

“That’s Storm Blaster,” Zack explained.

“The jeep?” Clare asked.

“He’s a sentient jeep,” Zack answered.

“Sentient?” Fran asked, “How is a jeep sentient?”

“I have no idea,” Zack said, “All I know is he and Justin are friends.”

“Have I caused problems for him?” Ara asked as she looked towards where Justin had gone.

“Nah,” Zack said, “This might help the others see that he’s grown up.”

Ara nodded, “He wasn’t done being a ranger yet.”

Zack smiled, “No, he wasn’t.”

“Neither were you,” Ara smiled, “And the others needed the opportunity.”

Zack nodded, grinning before he smiled at Clare and then Luan and Fran, “Come on, let’s go get Justin to introduce us.”

As Luan walked with his team out of their base he wondered how interesting things would get before the mission was completed and Ivana was defeated.