'THE GIRL IN THE WATCHTOWER'
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You liked the watchtower. It offered a place to escape to when you needed to drown out the world, and you had made it as comfortable as possible. You believed that no one ever visited the watchtower until Jennifer nearly shot you.
You were reading your book and placing a bowl of snacks you had brought with you down when the brunette appeared around a pillar, aiming her blaster at you. You screamed and followed her orders to lie face down on the ground.
“Wait! I know her! It’s okay!” You felt hands on your arms and looked at Wesley as he helped you to your feet.
“Wes?” You asked. “What the hell is going on?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” He said. “What are you doing here?”
“Reading! Or trying to.”
You looked at the four people behind him, and your eyes focused on a green-haired man before you forced yourself not to stare at the green light on his forehead.
“Again. What’s going on?”
“Long story.” He said.
You shook your head and lifted your bag. “Yeah, I’m sure it is.” You went to storm away when the green-haired man stopped you.
He smiled, jogging over to you and held out the book you were reading. “You forgot this.”
“Thanks.” You smiled faintly before walking away.
Wesley looked at Jennifer before following after you. “Wait! Please, you have to listen to me!” He chased you out the watchtower, and you turned around, unfazed by the rain. “You can’t tell anyone they’re here.”
“Aw, and I was going to tell the press and get a reward. Darn it!” You walked away, and he followed.
“Please!”
You sighed, turning around to look at him. “What are they cops or something?”
“Or something.” He smiled.
You looked over his shoulder when the four people walked out the watchtower and rolled your eyes. “Fine! I didn’t see them!”
“Thank you!” He hugged you and you groaned.
Your mothers were close friends, and you and Wes had been as well at one time. But as you grew older, his father played a part in separating you, and you drifted apart naturally. You only spoke in the streets when you saw each other, and that was what remained of your friendship—small talk.
He laughed as you looked up at the watchtower. “I can’t believe you still come here.” He stood beside you, looking up at the clock where you would spend your time together when you were younger, sitting and talking in-depth about your life.
“If you give me a hundred grand.” Wes pulled away, and you smiled at him. “Kidding.”
You missed those moments though you didn’t show it. The watchtower was a safe place for you to cry when you needed to and your memories with Wes remained in that room behind the clock. Boxes filled with toys, pictures, and books of your childhood.
You looked away with a sad smile. “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t say a word about them if I can read in that room.”
Wesley nodded. “Okay, deal.”
“No disturbances.” You warned before heading inside.
Over the next two weeks, you and Wesley grew close again, if not closer than you had been before, as he broke his promise to leave you in peace. He started looking in boxes, which turned into an afternoon laughing and reminiscing about your past together.
Then Trip came up to tell Wes that they needed to go - something that happened often. You knew there was something odd about the group, but you weren’t going to dive deeper into the mystery and kept to yourself. The only time you would talk to them was when you entered the watchtower or when you left.
Trip often looked at the ceiling as if he could see through the wood and watch you reading a book you had brought with you. He was warned off by Jen about talking to you when he expressed his desire to get to know you better. You had brief conversations - mostly greetings or goodbyes - but every now and then, you would bring snacks or visit the ice cream parlor and surprise them with ice cream.
When you first met, you appeared to be someone who didn’t like to get close, who killed to isolate themselves from the world. Which you did, but lately, he became less afraid to talk to you in fear you’d shut him down. He knew that you were unsure of what he was, reading your mind to find you were analyzing the gem on his forehead.
You were smart, and within a month, you had ideas and theories about who they were. You could hear whispers in the walls and knew they weren’t from this time and that he wasn’t human. But you were like Wesley and accepted him and weren’t unkind to him as others in the future had been.
It was Trip that told you the truth. The rest of the team was gone while he worked on equipment that would benefit their fight. You walked in with ice cream, which had become a weekly occurrence, and was surprised that he was alone.
“Hey.”
“Hi!” He smiled at you.
“Where is everyone?” You asked, approaching him and looking at the piece of equipment that he was building.
You sat beside him and shrugged your shoulders. “More for us then.” You handed him a spoon, and he smiled at you, which made you smile in return.
You started talking about the most random thing you could think of, which started off the longest conversation you had ever had with anyone who wasn’t Wesley. You learned about each other through twenty questions, and in the end, you decided to get some answers.
“Are you criminals?” You asked.
“What - no! In fact, we arrest them.”
“So space cops? I was right? Ha!”
Trip smiled at you. “Time Force.”
“Wait - as in Power Rangers? Like on the news?” You asked.
Trip told you everything there was to know about Ransik, about the fate of the last Red Ranger, and how they stole an aircraft to chase Ransik back to your time.
Jen wasn’t happy when the rest of the team got back. But Wesley was quick to remind her that you hadn’t told anyone that they had taken over the watchtower, that you could be trusted. She still wasn’t thrilled, but Trip’s excitement when he showed you around their temporary base was infectious.
The Yellow Ranger gave the strongest hugs, which was another thing you learned. Katie quickly became one of your closest friends.
Kissing Trip had been a split second instinctive action. He was laughing while you ate snacks you had brought. You surprised him, but he was quick to reciprocate when he felt you pulling away.
You knew he would have to leave when his job was done, but you both agreed that you would enjoy the time you had together as if he wasn’t going to eventually go back to his own time, which was harder than you believed yet worth it to relish in the time you had together.
Being captured by Cyclobots on your way to the watchtower wasn’t what you expected on a Saturday afternoon. You knew Trip would realize that you were late for your date, so you were as worried as little as you could be trapped in a cage in a quarry while a mutant threatened to destroy your friends after using you as bait.
You gasped when a Cyclobot hit the cage, and your smile grew when you saw Trip destroy three Cyclobots before gripping the bars on the cage.
“Ransik!” You looked up from the ground when Wesley called out, and a smile formed on your lips when you saw four of them. Your eyebrows furrowed when you couldn’t see Trip.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
You nodded. “Nothing, an ice pack, won’t fix.” You smiled when he opened the cage and hugged him tightly, feeling your feet leave the ground briefly.
He held your hand as you raced up the dirt, Trip blasting Cyclobots when they tried to stop you. Two arms grabbed you from behind, and you rolled backward down the hill.
“Y/N!”
He jumped, landing at the bottom, catching you when you rolled to the bottom. He kicked the Cyclobot away, shooting it with his blaster.
“Okay, not so good.” You murmured.
You looked at the circle of Cyclobots when they surrounded you, pushing yourself to your feet. “I have an idea.”
His expression was unreadable behind his helmet, but you could sense his confusion when you rested your hands on his shoulders.
Trip caught on quickly and spun you around. You kicked the Cyclobots down and ran up the hill.
“Stay here.” He told you when you found a hiding spot.
You placed your hands on his helmet and kissed the shiny green top. “Be careful.”
Trip smiled at you behind the helmet before rushing off and you watched as the Rangers fought with their megazord, resulting in a victory while Ransik escaped.
You bit your lip as he ran by before quickly deciding to follow him.
Which is how you ended up being used as a barrier between him and the Rangers.
“Let her go, Ransik!” Jen ordered.
“As you wish.” He tossed you down to the quarry before running away when their attention was on you.
Trip sprinted after you, slipping and falling a few feet away from you. He scurried over and rolled you onto your back.
“Y/N? Y/N?” His green suit disappeared as his eyes checked over your injuries.
“Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?” You whispered.
Trip bit his lip, smiling at you while your eyes opened.
“And how much I really hate that guy. Sorry, he got away.”
Wesley approached you with the others as they demorphed and smiled softly as he took your hand. “You’re more important.”
He and Trip helped you stand, and you leaned against Trip, who kissed your cheek.
You spent the night at the watchtower for the first time, and when you shuffled during the night, you woke up, causing Trip to stir. He turned to you and smiled softly.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
“Just thinking.” You told him.
“About what?” He leaned on his elbow and you touched his cheek affectionately.
“About how much I’m going to miss you when you leave.”
Trip kissed your forehead and wrapped his arms around you while you rested your head on his chest.
“I know. I’ll miss you too. I-I…I love you.” He confessed.
You lifted your head, meeting his unsure gaze. It was the first time those words had been spoken, although you knew how you felt about each other months ago.
“I love you too.” You placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him tenderly.
You didn’t know how you knew, but you did. You knew that your time together was almost up. Ransik would be captured soon, and the Rangers would leave you and Wesley behind.
That day on the cliff never stopped hurting. You would always remember the tears as your heart was broken as you said goodbye.
Wesley took you to the car, and once you were both inside, he handed you a letter. Your eyebrows furrowed when you saw the date and time scribbled on it. The date was weeks away, and you had no idea what it meant.
Trip went towards the aircraft and looked back before he was taken onboard. Wesley held you as you cried. You watched him join the Silver Guardians and did your best to smile.
You went to the watchtower every day, and Wesley would find you, bringing you out to rejoin the world that continued to thrive.
You were looking through boxes of photographs taken with Trip and the team when you heard the floorboards creak. You turned to find Trip standing with a smile and rushed forward to hug him.
“I knew I’d find you here.” He smiled brightly.
You buried your head in his white suit, tears falling down your cheeks.
“Don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.” He said, tears of his own falling down his cheeks.
You lifted your head and he wiped away your tears. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss you sweetly.
It was a regular occurrence. He would leave notes with a date and time for when to meet as if he knew where to would be. You could be walking down the street and see the note on, a telephone pole or at a flower shop.
You didn’t see him every day, but Trip made sure that your paths crossed often enough to have a future together.
You were the perfect bait to lure the Rangers back then. And you still were. Only this time, the team wouldn’t let criminals find out that a girl from long ago had captured the heart of one of their agents. You were safe in the past, and Trip made sure to keep it that way while still visiting you as often as he could.
Neither of you knew that it was an older version of himself that ensured you always bumped into each other. Even if it meant erasing his own timeline so that he could have the one he always wanted. Because in his mind, it was worth it.