A/N: So, SPD will never be mine (Sadly.) Neither will this song. This fic is set after Impact. This is a different sort of pairing for me, being a diehard Skydney fan, but when the bunny bites…
Shadow of the Day
And the sun will set for you And the shadow of the day And the sun will set for you
The sun will set for you
Will embrace the world in grey
From "Shadow of the Day," by Linkin Park
He tried not to be jealous as Jack walked off in search of Syd. Instead he wandered into the rec room, chose an apple from the replicator, and flopped onto one of the couches.
Sky crunched on the apple miserably. He could have destroyed the asteroid. He could have been the hero. But Jack had dangled the authority of being red ranger over Sky's head once more, just as he dangled the relationship he had with the pink ranger.
And Syd was the reason Sky had volunteered to destroy the comet in the first place. If something happened to him, then it wouldn't matter. No one here loved him the way Jack was loved.
But that was his fault. He had kept Syd waiting for too long. It was no wonder Syd had run to Jack's arms. If the situation had been reversed, Sky knew he would have done the same thing.
The door hissed open and the happy couple walked into the rec room. Syd's pretty face was positively glowing. Sky saw her lean in close to Jack, who tightened his grip on her waist. "Hungry?" Jack asked quietly.
"Get me a snack?" Syd asked sweetly. Jack grinned and headed over to the replicator to choose a meal for the two to share.
Syd plopped down on the couch next to Sky. "Hey," she greeted, touching his shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Sky nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."
"Jack told me you wanted to be the one to destroy the comet. Now, why would you volunteer to nearly get yourself killed?"
"Because it wouldn't matter if something happened to me. I don't have anyone to love, or to love me back. Jack does."
"That's not a reason, Sky, because you know the whole team loves you in their own way. No, I think the reason you tried to be the hero was because of me. You knew how much it would hurt me if Jack didn't come back."
"If that's what you want to think, Sydney, then go ahead. I wanted the mission because I was a much better pilot than your boyfriend. I was the better man for the job."
"Sky, if something happened to you then it would hurt me just as much as if something happened to Jack. You know that. You're still my irritating older brother figure." She smiled.
He nodded to show that he understood her position, even if it wasn't what he wanted. Older brother figure? When they could have been so much more if he'd just stopped working so hard?
Jack was sliding into the spot next to Syd now, a tray bearing two bowls of spaghetti and a little plate of garlic bread on it in his hands. Syd shifted her blue gaze from Sky to Jack, cuddling close to him.
Sky got up from the couch and stomped away without another word. He paused by a window in the corridor. The shadow from the meteor was gone now.
The shadows in his heart were still there.