Power Rangers Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Home ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
It was midday when the plane touched down at the Angel Grove airport. Once she had claimed her luggage, which for once had made it through a trip without getting lost or otherwise destroyed, Trini emerged blearily into the bright lights of the main airport. Her flight had left very early that morning, and now that she had finally arrived, she was groggy and tired and very much looking forward to crashing in her hotel room.

But Jason and Kim were waiting for her, and the thought of seeing them again lifted her spirits considerably. She had not been able to talk Kim out of coming with Jason to meet her, but at least she had been able to convince her not to turn out the whole town for the occasion. Or at least, she thought as she paused just inside the airport doors, she hoped she'd succeeded in convincing her.

She was in no condition to deal with something like that, and Kimberly had better by sympathetic.

Satisfied at last, she opened the nearest door and stepped outside, hauling her hefty suitcase behind her. Warm, Californian air surrounded her immediately. She thought fleetingly of Northeastern winters and shuddered. She had definitely missed the climate here.

Before she had finished enjoying the weather, before she had even begun to look for her friends – who actually seemed to have obeyed her request to wait for her outside, so as to avoid the throng exiting the plane – she heard Kim shout, “Trini!”

Half a second later, she found herself swept into a rib-cracking embrace. “Hi, Kim,” she squeaked, barely able to breathe.

When Kim finally released her, she gasped in a deep breath. In the meantime, Jason had wandered over, choosing a somewhat more sedate pace than Kimberly. He was grinning widely; he had been amused when Trini admitted she hadn't been able to convince Kim to let her arrive in peace, and he was obviously still amused about it now.

She would have to get back at him for that somehow. But for now, she would play nice.

“Hi, Jason!”

“Hey, Trini,” he said, his eyes glittering with mirth as he pulled her into a hug that was, thankfully, much gentler than Kimberly's. When they stepped apart a few seconds later, he caught sight of her abandoned luggage and, needing something to do, sprang into action. “Here, let me help with this stuff.”

The fact that he seemed more than willing to take care of her luggage almost, almost, made up for his earlier amusement at her expense. Almost.

Kimberly gleefully supervised their trek across the parking lot, making sure that Trini didn't get lost and Jason didn't let anything untoward happen to her friend's belongings. And all the while, she managed to keep a light conversation going; Trini envied her energy and struggled to keep up with her friends' animated chattering. She needed a nap before dealing with this.

After what seemed like an eternity, they came to Jason's car. It was really more of a sport-utility vehicle than a car, but was bright red and well-kept and pretty much instantly recognizable as his. Trini had to smile a little; maybe it wasn't so bad that she still had a definite preference for the color yellow.

She and Kimberly climbed into the vehicle to wait while Jason loaded the luggage into the back, Trini into the front seat and Kim into the back. Immediately, Kim leaned forward conspiratorially and informed Trini that, “I called the guys, and we're going to have dinner tonight. All of us, just like old times! Well, except Billy. But you knew that.”

“Yeah,” Trini sighed. “What time for dinner?”

“Sevenish.”

That would give her a few hours yet... which she planned to take full advantage of for her nap. “Okay, good. I can -”

“I know! It'll give me a chance to show you the mall! There are some fabulous new stores since the last time you where here, and -”

“But I've hardly slept. I need a nap.”

“But... the mall! You can sleep later!”

“Tired now,” Trini muttered. She leaned her head back against the seat and flung an arm over her eyes. “Talk later.”

Kimberly laughed, throwing in a pout for good measure. “Alright, alright, fine. We won't go to the mall yet. But you're not getting out of dinner tonight.”

“Fine, as long as I get to sleep first.”

Kim clapped her hands gleefully together, and she thought she heard Jason chuckle quietly before climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car... and she had to wonder: what was she getting herself into?