Chapter Text
Trini doesn’t consider herself a needy person, but when she agreed to continue her long distance relationship with Kimberly after high school she failed to anticipate just how much she’d come to miss her. How much she’d miss waking up beside her on a lazy Saturday morning, cuddled beneath a snug blanket with Kimberly’s arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace. How much she’d miss being able to call her up on a sudden whim to grab coffee, or see her at the drop of a hat should either of them have a horrible day and need to vent.
And okay, when Trini says long distance, she really means it’s just a six hour drive that separates them and she should be grateful that it’s not a flight halfway around the world, but going from a ten minute bike ride to a six hour car ride is still a significant adjustment in her books.
After high school graduation, Trini and Kimberly sent out several applications to various colleges and universities both in and around Angel Grove, as well as a few that were out of state. Kimberly got into one of her top choices miles and miles away.
Trini did not.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Kimberly had said one day when they were in her room with acceptance letters scattered around in a mess of papers and ripped envelopes.
“You’re not leaving me,” Trini responded softly, “you’ll just be leaving Angel Grove. I don’t want to be the reason you hold yourself back. You’ve got so much potential and if you got into one of your top choices then you deserve to go.”
Kimberly looked broken, absolutely torn with indecision, but Trini pulled her into a tight hug and told her not to worry. She wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay, but she also wanted to prevent Kimberly from seeing the pain that was so clearly written on her face. It would be a tough road ahead, and as much as Trini wanted to be selfish, to tell Kimberly to stay by her side, it just wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
“We’ll make it work, I promise.”
So off she went to a four year college while Trini stayed back to attend Angel Grove University. By all means, AGU is still a tremendously great school to attend, however it’s just not the same without the gang all together.
Trini went in undeclared. She figured she could knock out a majority of her required general courses first and would settle on a major later down the road. Her parents want her to be a doctor or a nurse, just anything in the medical field that’ll be lucrative, but they obviously don’t know her that well. Stitching people up has never been her strong point; she excels at putting bodies in the hospital, not the other way around. However, she has another year or so to figure it out before she has to declare so she’s not particularly worried.
Instead, the thoughts that occupy her mind are more often than not, entirely Kimberly-oriented, like what is she up to right now, or what new friends has she made.
What crushes she might be developing.
And it’s totally stupid, Trini knows. She can trust Kimberly - she trusts her with her life - but Kimberly’s activity on social media had a nasty habit of generating a conflicting cocktail of happiness, jealousy, and insecurity. Slowly her Instagram feed was filling with strangers’ faces and unknown names.
It felt like Trini was being replaced, and though it hurt like a bitch, she took solace in the fact that as long as Kimberly was happy, then so was she.
In the beginning, they talked on the phone nearly every night, recounting the day’s events to one another. Kimberly checked out several clubs on campus ranging from casual sports to cultural focused and she sounded absolutely ecstatic. Everything was new and shiny and it always brought a smile to Trini’s lips as she layed in bed with the phone pressed to her cheek, staring at her bedroom ceiling as Kimberly gushed about every little detail. She looked forward to her phone calls and the occasional video Skype with Kimberly, it’s often what motivated her throughout the day, but as the weeks passed through the quarter, things started changing.
The calls came less and less frequently. Between studying for classes and club obligations, Kimberly simply had no time or was too tired from spreading herself thin. It didn’t help that Trini applied for a job on campus at the convenience store near the food court so any respite from the hustle and bustle of work and classes was hard to come by.
Their conversations turned into sporadic texts whenever either could spare a moment and it was starting to take a toll on Trini’s nerves.
Once she had asked her mom if she could borrow the car for the weekend, to which June simply scoffed and denied her outright.
“The car is a privilege reserved for school,” she stated firmly, “and nothing more.”
It deflated Trini on the spot. She was this close to packing her bags for the weekend and toughing out a drive to go see Kimberly, but no car meant no road trip, so she skulked her way back upstairs and tossed herself onto her bed, dejected and full of frustration.
She wanted to talk about her feelings and reservations with Kimberly, but every time she tried, something held her back and she would end up having a change of heart.
I’m not jealous, Trini would convince herself, I’m not needy. Kimberly can hang out with whoever she wants. I’m not going to be that person who restricts her from having fun or keep tabs on who she sees on a daily basis.
“Dude, just tell her.” Zack, in his ever blunt yet insightful way, would advise. “If you guys are really that good with each other, then just communicate that clearly. Nothing good ever comes from bottling things up or assuming shit about how the other may feel.”
Zack remained in Angel Grove and got a job as an apprentice at an auto mechanic’s shop so he could help support his mom while feeding his interest in cars. This often made him the most accessible whenever Trini needed a friend to lean on, so they’d end up going to Krispy Kreme’s and Trini would treat him to donuts and coffee while she voiced her concerns. He’d try and respectfully deny the free food, but it was her way of paying him back for all the times she subjected him to her woeful rants.
“If it’s bugging you this much, you gotta say something,” he said before somehow shoving an entire glazed donut into his mouth in one go.
Trini cringed at his eating habits, but took his words to heart.
//
“God, why is this so difficult?”
With only a couple weeks left in the quarter, Trini finds herself lying on her back in bed on a Saturday night with books strewn every which way in preparation for finals. Carefully highlighted notes and open textbooks mean nothing to her when they look like ancient hieroglyphics given her current state.
It’s hard to study with Kimberly on the mind.
“Kimberly, can we talk? No, that sounds like I’m going to break up with her. Kimberly, there’s something important I need to tell you? No, that still sounds too… bad.”
Trini rolls over and angrily lets out a huff. Her phone rests inches away from her hand, the screen dark and inactive, and a yearning ache fills her chest with a swallowing, hollow emptiness.
She misses everyone.
She misses the gang altogether, she misses their hangouts and training sessions, and she misses that feeling of belonging , like a true family in many ways.
Her lecture halls at the university are far too large to make any true friends, and while her parents are trying their best to be more warm and receptive, Trini still feels like a stranger in her own home. The Power Rangers were everything to her, but now that they are fractured with their lives headed in different directions, Trini doesn’t know where she fits into the picture anymore.
Most of all, she misses Kimberly.
Warm tears pool at the corners of her eyes before trickling down the sides of her face. She doesn’t even try to wipe them away because there’s no use; they’re not stopping because the growing void in her chest isn’t going away.
She hates feeling so pitiful because normally people regard her as the strong one, where nothing can faze her, but things such as this strikes a deep chord within her. She knows what it felt like to be alone, but now that she knows what it feels like to have been a part of something bigger, she doesn’t want to go back.
“Why can’t things just be simple?” Trini mutters to herself quietly. “Growing up sucks.”
TAP TAP TAP
A loud rapping on the window startles her out of her wallowing musings and her senses fire on high alert. Memories of Rita flash before her eyes and fear begins to grip her nerves. Jaw clenched and fists balled, Trini slides off her bed and cautiously approaches the window.
There’s no way it could be Rita again. They knocked her into the sky ages ago so it makes no sense that she would return now, let alone have the common decency to knock. It could be a new enemy that Zordon didn’t inform them of, but once again, why would they even bother to knock. Unless…?
Gulping heavily with uneasy anticipation, Trini’s clammy hand grips the curtain and yanks it aside in one swift motion.
“Kimberly?!”
Grinning like a kid, Kimberly waves excitedly at her from beyond the weathered glass.
What the hell is she doing here?
“You going to let me in or not?” Kimberly asks through clattering teeth. “It’s freaking cold out here.”
Shaking off her stupor, Trini fumbles with the locks on her window before hastily yanking it open. A chilly gust of crisp winter air fills the room as Kimberly hops over the sill and lands on the carpet beyond the cluttered desk. Trini closes the window securely and gapes at her in stunned disbelief.
Her hair is longer than the last time they skyped, resting a few inches below her shoulders, and she looks absolutely amazing in her dark washed jeans, cranberry colored shirt and sleek leather jacket, but those details get tossed to the wayside the moment Kimberly’s lips come crashing down on hers.
Trini stumbles backwards from the sheer force, her back bumping into the desk, spilling pencils and papers everywhere, but she doesn’t care because Kimberly is pressing against her hungrily as if making up for lost time or the long distance that’s come between them.
In some ways it feels like it has been years since Trini’s felt the warmth of Kimberly’s body, smelled the comforting scents of her tropical shampoo, or heard her light, breathy moans. She’s missed how familiar her lips feel against her own and how her hands seem right at home clutching at the small of Kimberly’s back.
It leaves Trini wanting more, craving to dive deeper and lose herself to the fire running through her veins, but she has so many questions lingering at the back of her hazy mind that she can’t ignore.
Trini pulls back, breaking the kiss and causing Kimberly’s lips to give chase for a second before she pauses and gazes at her. Chest heaving in and out, gasping for air, Trini swallows thickly as she maintains eye contact, searching for the right words.
“What are you doing here, Kim?”
Flinching at the question, Kimberly chuckles weakly. “Not happy to see me?”
Trini presses a soft, gentle kiss to Kimberly’s lips and smiles. “Dummy. I’m always happy to see you, but…” Her words trail off in hesitation - where does she even begin? “...Why now?”
“I… uh…” Kimberly’s brow furrows, her eyes now averted. She’s biting her lip as if contemplating the heaviest question in the world, but after several more beats of silence - save for their now even breathing - she continues on. “Okay well, actually… I just miss you.”
“You do?”
“Of course!” Kimberly breathes out instantly. “And I know I haven’t been the best at keeping up with our calls and everything, but I’m going to work on it because god, I just miss you so much. I didn’t want to bother you since I know you’re busy with work and your family, but I think about you everyday and I finally couldn’t take it anymore so… here I am.”
Her glistening eyes are downcast through the whole confession, and it isn’t until she takes a deep, shuddering breath does she dare look back at Trini. “I’m not being too needy, am I?”
What an ironic turn of events.
Those very same thoughts that had been plaguing her mind for months on end had been the same thorn in Kimberly’s side.
A muted laugh escapes Trini’s mouth and at first it draws a sour, hurt expression on Kimberly’s features, but she immediately explains herself.
“Honestly, I was feeling the same way,” Trini starts tentatively. “I didn’t want to come off as too clingy or controlling and seeing how much fun you were having on your instagram and snapchat stories I was just… jealous? Afraid maybe? I don’t know, but whatever the case, I just want you to know that I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t know whether Kimberly can hear the pain in her voice or feel the trembling in her limbs, but at that moment she knew precisely what was needed.
Pulling Trini into a crushing hug, Kimberly squeezes her tightly and whispers just for her.
“I love you Trini.”
It’s sincere and vulnerable and exactly what Trini needed to hear. Beyond the words, the hug itself is charged with unspoken emotions–it says reassurance, it means unending devotion, it’s the promise of a future together.
“I love you too.”
//
It’s nearing four in the morning by the time Trini flops on her back, gasping for air and with a thin layer of perspiration coating her skin. Her face is flushed and fatigued, but clearly satisfied. “I’ve definitely missed this.”
Kimberly stifles a laugh, not wanting to wake anyone in the household - especially in their current state of undress.
Rolling lazily onto her side, Trini frowns slightly as she stares oddly at Kimberly. “You know, I’ve been wondering something.”
“Yeah?”
“How exactly did you get here? You don’t have a car and the buses don’t run this late.”
Kimberly inhales sharply. “So... funny story, but I might have borrowed the Pterodactyl Zord.”
“You what?!”
Zordon gave Kimberly the biggest scolding of her life about abusing their powers and risking exposure, but damn was it worth it.