Where Are You Christmas
Chapter 16: Yellow, Blue and Green under a Christmas tree
By: Pink-Green-white-4ever
Last Revised: December 10, 2016

Summary: Three former Rangers finally get their relationships sorted…
Rating: M (for adult theme, nothing graphic)
Ship: Yellow/Blue/Green

Disclaimer: Don't own the Rangers (SABAN DOES!) and I don't own the song, that's Faith Hill's. This particular trio is the brain child of Engimaforum, who totally made me believe in it.

AN: Second chapter this year! Bet people thought I forgot. You can thank Enigmaforum for inspiration here. Please also remember, I know December isn't soccer season, at least it wasn't when I was in school. Let's just say that a certain soccer playing ranger is practicing since he's hoping to get scouted.

Warning: If you don't like triadic relationships, please don't read this chapter. I'm looking for constructive comments not negativity. All flames will be sent to the trash bin after I laugh my butt off at them.

Dedication: For Enigmaforum, who made me fall in love with these three together. Love ya Sis!

-
MIT
Cambridge, MA
Early December 2016

Sitting in his dorm, hunched over his computer, Noah Carver suddenly found it hard to concentrate on the code he was writing for his extra credit assignment for Professor Ziktor's class. Normally, the subject matter intrigued him to no end, especially since he knew the professor had a hand in technology for former Ranger teams. It had been a revelation when he'd gotten his scholarship to know he'd partially gotten it because he'd been a Ranger, just like the woman the scholarship was named after and just like several of the professors and students at MIT.

Sighing, Noah pushed away from his desk, spun around and flopped down on his bed in irritation. Grumbling and muttering to himself, Noah stared up at the ceiling. What the heck was wrong with him? He hadn't had attention span problems since before he became a Ranger! At that thought, he looked over at his bedside table. He, Jake and Gia were making funny faces while Orion looked at them like they'd lost their minds. Troy and Emma were snuggled together off to the side of their four teammates, Emma's head resting against Troy's shoulder while his arms were wrapped around her. Staring at his friends, Noah let his gaze linger on Jake and Gia. He felt a pang in his chest, rubbing at it absently. Maybe he was just homesick, because the pain reminded him how he felt when he first arrived on campus.

A loud knock on the door startled him out of his memories. Jumping up, he moved over and threw the door open. Standing before him were Dr. William Cranston and, Dr. Hayley Ziktor, and fellow students Ethan James and Justin Stewart. "How much trouble am I in?" he automatically asked when faced with the three former Blue Rangers and one Ranger tech wizard.

Ethan and Justin laughed while Hayley and Billy shook their heads. "No trouble, Bro," Ethan announced, giving him a one armed hug.

"Noah, what are your plans for the holiday?" Dr. Cranston asked him, a grin playing across his face.

"I'm staying in and studying, why?" Noah asked, confused. "My parents are on their church mission to Kenya and I don't have the money to fly home."

The other four just grinned at each other like the mad scientists that they were. "What if we could fix that?" Justin asked him, raising his eyebrows.

"I'd want to know how you think you're gonna manage that?" Noah demanded, looking skeptical.

Hayley wrapped an arm around him and announced, "Anything's possible, Noah, you just have to believe."

New York City, NY
Same Time

It didn't happen often, she thought, but she was completely geeked about going to a live acoustic set performed by none other than Kira Ford and Tanya Sloan-Park. In her line of work, she met a lot of famous people but something about going to see these two particular singers made her feel a little less homesick. Looking over at the t.v. stand, she stared longingly at the picture of her and her friends that Tensou had taken just before they had all left Hardwood Grove. They looked so happy, and incredibly young in the photo that was almost two years old. It had been almost that long since she'd seen any of them, to be honest. It made her a little melancholy remembering when they were just simple high school students. Of course, things hadn't really been that simple, what with them having spent that last year as Rangers.

"GIA! PHONE!" her agent yelled from another room in her apartment.

Heading out to the living room, she grabbed her cell phone from her agent. "Hello?"

"Gia Moran?" the soft voice asked on the other end.

"Yes. Can I help you?"

"This is Tanya Sloan-Park, how are you?" Tanya asked. Gia's face went sheet white.

"Get out! This is not Tanya Sloan-Park."

There was a twinkling laugh on the other end. "Yes, this is. Trust me. I'm actually calling you because of a mutual friend. I assume you know Troy Burrows?"

The former Mega Force Yellow Ranger went on instant alert. "What's wrong with Troy?"

"Nothing is wrong," Tanya assured her. "He's actually staying at my husband's best friend's house right now."

Gia gasped. "You're friends with Rocky?"

Tanya laughed. "Since high school, actually. That's why I'm calling. Is now a good time?"

"Yeah."

"This might sound a little weird, but Rocky and Troy told me we might share an affinity for a certain bright, sunny color."

"Are you serious?" Gia demanded, struck suddenly by the irony that one of her favorite singers had in fact been a Yellow Ranger before her. "You'd have had to been…"

"Sixteen. I drove a Zord before I got my driver's license and a car. In fact, the side job was the whole reason I came to the States, but that's a story for another time. Look, Kira and I are in a car right now, can we stop by your apartment and get you before we head over to the venue?"

"That would be awesome! Thank you!"

"See you in a few minutes then."

Los Angeles
Same Time

Standing in the locker room, Jake pulled up his socks and tied his cleats. It had been a long day, and he was already exhausted. He'd had a full day of classes, a four-hour shift at the coffee shop, and now he was getting ready to practice in front of some scouts for the U.S. National team. With a sigh, he reached into his locker to grab the photo frame there. He carried it with him everywhere he went these days, a reminder of simpler times, days when he had been invincible and had the support of five of the best people he'd ever met.

He smiled as he stared at Emma and Troy cuddled together. They were perfect for each other, and he hoped they were at least getting to spend Christmas together. His eyes moved to Orion, who was staring at the other three people like they'd lost their minds. He knew his friend was spending the holiday with the Space Rangers. He hoped his friend was happy. Then his gaze shifted to the other three people in the picture. Reaching up, he tapped Noah's chest, feeling his own tighten as he stared at his best friend. He missed him something fierce, but part of Jake knew it was more than that. He could admit now, he was attracted to the intelligent man. Shaking his head, he looked at the other person besides himself in the picture. Gia was squished between him and Noah, tongue stuck out and eyes crossed, both arms wrapped around him and Noah. He felt his heart take another long, slow roll. He really missed her. She kept him so damned grounded and he could use that the most right now.

"Jake, let's go!" one of his teammates hollered. Sighing, he tucked the picture back in his locker and headed out.

"Get a move on, Holling!" the coached roared a half hour later as the former Black Ranger jogged from the playing field, warming up.

Jake rolled his eyes and increased his pace, trying to concentrate on his breathing and not on the two men who were walking out onto the field. One had dark. black hair and was wearing a green shirt and a pair of black track pants. The other person was slightly taller, decked out in red shorts and a white t-shirt, a red ball cap pulled over his face.

"Dude!" his teammates uttered around him. "I can't believe it's them!"

Jake shook his head. "Who?"

"Carlos Vallerte and Conner McKnight!"

"I know of McKnight, but who's Vallerte?"

Another of his teammates laughed. "Member of the Houston Dynamos, U.S. National team and an Olympian and let's not forget, the man was a Power Ranger back in the day."

Jake found himself tripping at that. Carlos had been a Ranger? "Which team?" he demanded.

His teammates looked at him strangely. "Space Ranger from what I remember."

Looking at Carlos, Jake grinned. He knew that Rangers had an affinity for their colors, he'd learned that two years before during the war and just afterward when Noah had called from MIT to tell him that there were at least three former Blue Rangers on campus. Just from his knowledge of the other teams, Jake knew there was no Green Ranger on the Space team, so that led him to believe that Carlos had been the Black Ranger. "Holling, get over here!" the coach ordered.

Shrugging, Jake head over to the trio. "Coach?"

"This is Carlos and Conner. Both are professional soccer players, on the national and Olympic teams. They want to talk to you."

"Hello," Jake started as coach walked away from him, leaving him alone with the two men.

"Tommy, Wes and T.J. send their regards," Conner spoke, startling Jake. The newest Black Ranger's mouth dropped open. "Before you ask, Carlos wore green and black and I wore red."

Jake just nodded, numb that he was literally standing in front of two former Rangers. "What are you guys doing here?"

Carlos chuckled. "Other than scouting, which is part of our jobs in the off season, we're here on request of a former fellow Ranger."

"Who?"

"Ever heard of Rocky DeSantos?"

December 23, 2016
Los Angeles

Jake found himself pacing back and forth waiting. He was nervous as hell. Carlos hadn't told him who they were at the airport waiting for but given the amount of security around them he was pretty sure it was Gia. "Relax, Bro, you're gonna be all sweaty before you know it and girls don't like sweaty, except in certain circumstances."

Shaking his head, Jake leaned against the wall beside him and looked to where the passengers were coming into the baggage claim area. He turned his head to watch Carlos converse with one of the security guys who was with them and then stood straight up when Carlos smiled and started moving forward.

He was momentarily startled when he saw none other than Kira Ford and Tanya Sloan-Park emerge and give Carlos a hug. And that's when he saw her, striding toward him from behind the group. She wore her typical outfit of black slacks, yellow button up and her black leather jacket. He broke into a huge grin as he watched her and saw her answering smile the minute she saw him. He let out a startled yelp when she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Gia," he murmured, hugging her back. "Missed you."

Shock coursed through him as she cuddled close to him, her nose nuzzling his neck for a few seconds. He thought he was dreaming when he felt her lips press against the side of his neck before she pulled back, a soft smile on her face. "Really?" she smirked, causing him to roll his eyes at her. He turned to head over to Carlos, and abruptly stopped when he felt a tug on his hand. Turning back to her, he saw her looking up at him with a tentative, vulnerable expression that was so foreign to her face. "Jake…"

Reaching out, he wrapped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Come on."

"We need to talk."

Sighing, he nodded. "We will, just not here, okay?"

-
Later That Night
Angel Grove

Noah smirked as Troy and Orion traded funny stories back and forth about what they'd been up to, then looked around in awe at the gathering of Rangers. There were members for most of Earth's teams from the original to their team present. He was excited that Rocky had put together the idea to surprise Emma for Christmas, and knew that Troy was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. He just wished that the rest of their team was present, he felt like the odd man out right at that moment.

"They're here!" Cassie called from kitchen as she and Aisha came through the doorway together. His heart sped up and his head turned around, catching the opening of the front door. In walked Tanya and Adam Park – a shock if he'd ever had one. Tanya was one of his mother's favorite singers – so to find out she'd been a Ranger, let alone a Yellow, had floored him. Behind her was Carlos Vallerte, the famous professional and Olympic soccer player, as well as a very public identity ranger. Following Carlos were Conner McKnight and his fiancé Kira Ford, both of them famous in their own rights. He knew the two of them were Ethan's teammates, but it was still a bit shocking to know that so many former Rangers were world famous.

"You made it!" Orion suddenly cried out loud, jumping over the couch to tackle the next two people. He and Troy got up at a more sedate pace, moving toward their teammates. Noah felt his grin widen when he watched Orion start blabbing to Jake. That grin disappeared when he saw Gia lean up and press her lips to Jake's before she moved away from him to greet Troy. His heart shuddered, realizing in that second that the pretty Yellow Ranger and his best friend had finally gotten together. He tried to school his expression when Gia let Troy go and moved toward him. She stopped suddenly in front of him, tilting her head to the side as she stared at him.

"Hi," he greeted, ducking his head.

"Really Noah? That's all I get?" she asked, her voice quiet and subtly hurt. Her face was so serious, Noah wasn't sure what to make of it.

He sighed and pasted the grin back on his face. "It's good to see you."

"What the hell?" Jake's voice suddenly brought them both to attention. He turned his attention to his best friend and former teammate. "Noah, seriously, you looked like someone just killed your favorite science experiment. What gives?"

Before he could open his mouth, Gia was nodding to Jake who shot forward. Much to Noah's surprise, he was suddenly pulled into a lip lock by his best friend. He let out a startled moan as Jake sweetly kissed him and then pulled way only to wrap his arms around him in a tight hug. Too shocked to do or say anything, he was startled again when Jake moved away and then Gia was kissing him and holding him, pressing herself against him.

The poor former Blue Ranger and known genius of the newest team was at a loss for words as he was suddenly dragged outside by Gia, Jake following close behind. "Have fun Noah!" Orion and Troy called, a chorus of cat calls coming from the rest of the assembled Rangers.

"What the heck is going on?" Noah demanded as his teammates and best friends dragged him outside of the DeSantos household. Parked across the street was the Megaship, which they were headed toward.

"Carlos said we could have some privacy so we could talk," Jake informed him as the ramp opened and the trip headed inside.

When they got inside and made it to one of the guest quarters on board, Noah found himself sitting on the bunk while Jake stood near the door, arms crossed over his chest and Gia paced. "Someone talk please? Tell me why the heck you two kissed me when I could have sworn you were together," the Blue Ranger begged, struggling to understand.

Gia stopped pacing and spun around to stare at Jake, the two of them having a silent conversation between them before Jake gestured toward Noah. "Noah, Jake and I are together."

"Then why kiss me, both of you?"

Gia moved to kneel in front of him. "Because both Jake and I feel like something's missing from us. We talked about it before we got here today, and realized that we were already sure of what that something is."

Noah shook his head and kept darting his eyes back and forth between them. "What?" he demanded, a bit more forcefully then he wanted to.

"You."

The Black Ranger's blunt response metaphorically rocked Noah back on his heels. He hadn't been expecting that. "Seriously?"

Gia nodded and looked over her shoulder helplessly at Jake. Of the three of them, she was the least likely to talk about feelings, that was more Jake's area. They both knew Noah hadn't dated much before. Gia was super selective in who she dated and for a while there, Jake had had a new girl every other couple of weeks.

"Noah, have you ever wondered why it felt weird when any of us were with other people? Why it only seemed to feel right when the three of us were together?" Jake asked him, stepping close to the pair.

"I always assumed it was because we were best friends, because we loved each other as friends," he murmured.

"We are, we do, and it will always be that way," Gia entreated. "But Jake and I, we want more than friends with you. Is that okay? Are you okay with that? It's not going to be easy, but I think the three of us can handle this."

It was in that moment that Noah suddenly felt everything sort of click into place like a key in a lock. All the times he'd struggled with feeling the same thing for both of them, both when they were all together or when they were split up in pairs. It all made sense. Gia was right, it was going to be hard, harder potentially then if it was just two of them with the third in another relationship, but Noah knew that nothing worth having should be easy.

Looking up at the two of them, he smiled and shyly nodded, watching both of them break out in grins. Gia pulled him toward her, their lips softly connecting as they sealed it with a kiss. Seconds later, the pair were being bear hugged by an ecstatic Jake, who was smothering both of their faces in kisses, in between laughing like a loon and nuzzling at them both.

Suddenly, the soft strains of music started pipping through the room, startling them all out of their happy haze. "I know this song!" Gia laughed suddenly. "It's Where Are You Christmas by Faith Hill!"

"Why is there music playing all of a sudden?" Noah asked.

"I thought the music would be appropriate for a time like this," a mechanical voice announced.

The three laughed, Jake speaking up between laughs. "Thanks Deca!"