Disclaimer: If I owned them, PRNS would still be on the air and Dustin and Hunter would be together.

Author's note: I felt the need to write a NS story so this is the start of the new one! I hope this one will actually get finished. But I'm feeling good about this story! Anyway, this title is kind of temporary until I come with a better one (which is not likely to happen) Suggestions are welcome! Enjoy!

Love is in the air
The beach

Hunter Bradley, Thunder Ranger and master brooder, sat on his towel on the warm sand, staring out over a relatively calm ocean. The beach was one of his favorite places to come think because he found the sounds of the waves soothing. The beach was pretty quiet which was a bit unusual because the weather was really nice. Although it was seven pm, it was still warm out, warm enough for him to sit with nothing but a pair of swimming shorts on.

The past week had been crazy. Between training sessions, fighting monsters, riding his bike and work, he hadn't had any real down time. He was taking full advantage of the quiet now. He often still couldn't believe how his life had turned out. He was one of the Rangers, protecting Blue Bay Harbor and the entire world from a space alien with a bad taste in monsters and a habit of sending them at the worst possible times. Yet he never regretted his choice of joining the Wind Rangers because being a ranger made him feel like he mattered, it made him feel as if he could make a real difference in the world. And it had given him some great friends. They had gotten off to a rocky start but things were great between the rangers now. Blake got along with everyone too and it was great to see his brother happy. Yet another reason to stay in the bay. He quite liked his life here and he wouldn't give it for anything.

"Hey, dude."

Hunter looked up to find Dustin standing next to him, hands leaning on his knees while trying to catch his breath.

"Please don't tell me you've actually gone for a run. We've done nothing but train the past week." Hunter remarked.

Dustin smiled, pulled off his t-shirt and flopped down next to him. "I felt like going for a run so I did."

"You're insane."

"I know." Dustin smiled wickedly at him and Hunter couldn't help smiling back. The younger earth ninja had always had a calming effect on him. He liked being in his presence. He couldn't figure out though when his feelings of friendship had turned into more. He didn't understand where the sudden fondness for Dustin had come from. All he knew was that he didn't mind feeling this way about Dustin because it actually made him feel good.

He wondered what Dustin would do if he knew though. Would he still be sitting here next to him with that smile on his face and without a shirt? Would he still be so carelessly joking around with him and touching him casually? It were the answers to those questions that made him scared of finding them out. It wasn't worth risking his friendship over so instead, he pretended to be happy with being Dustin's friend. He told himself that was good but deep

down in his heart, he realized he wanted more than that. It hurt when he saw Dustin flirt with another girl. It hurt when that beautiful smile wasn't directed at him.

"What are you doing here by yourself?"

Hunter shrugged. "Blake had agreed to meet Tori and I didn't want to sit at the apartment by myself. Figured I should come to the beach, enjoy the peace and quiet and the sun while I still can."

"Yeah, I get what you mean, dude. No monsters, no work, no training. This is heaven."

"Shut up before you jinx it. Honestly, I'm not getting up to fight a monster now."

Dustin laughed. Hunter loved how his eyes sparkled when he laughed. It was so easy to open up to Dustin because he just had this very open, very trusting personality. One of Dustin's gifts was that he could cheer anyone up. Sure, the yellow ranger could be an airhead from time to time but Hunter didn't mind much. It was usually cute and funny. He had it bad.

No one, not even Blake, knew about his feelings. He'd kept his emotions for Dustin carefully hidden. He'd only had one boyfriend before and that hadn't gone so well. He wasn't really gay, more bi. He didn't easily fall in love with guys, but he'd fallen in love with Dustin. He didn't understand how anyone could not be into him. He was an incredibly sweet and trusting guy, always there to help. He was very handsome too. His brown hair was always messy but it fit him. There was always this sparkle in his warm, chocolate brown eyes and his smile was to die for. It could light up an entire room.

They sat in comfortable silence, looking out over the ocean.

"Hey, want to go for a swim?" Dustin asked suddenly.

"Now?"

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Come on, dude. It's still light and quite warm."

"Sure. Why not?" Hunter agreed. Why would he pass up the opportunity to see a wet Dustin? Besides, them going in the sea usually ended with them trying to push each other under water which usually happened with a lot of bodily contact. He was definitely up for that. Figuratively because literally might just scare Dustin off. He really needed to get his mind out of the gutter.

He stood up and helped his friend to his feet. The sun light fell on Dustin's face, it made his eyes glow and made them seem even warmer than usual. He quickly broke eye contact before Dustin noticed him staring.

"Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" Hunter yelled and he took off before the sentence was even finished. He heard a cry of disbelief behind him but he'd already reached the ocean. The water hit his legs as he ran in When he was in far enough, he dove in.

Dustin grinned and ran as fast as he could but by the time he reached the water, the blond mop of hair had already vanished below the surface. The water was quite cold but it felt good on his heated skin. When he was knee deep in the water, he followed Hunter's example and dove right in. For a second, he felt as if he was being frozen alive but then he adjusted to the water.

He came back up several feet further, near the Thunder ranger who was floating lazily on his back with his eyes closed. He swam the remaining distance.

"You're a cheater!" he said, playfully sending some water in Hunter's direction. The other boy spluttered when some of the salty water ran in his mouth. Dustin smirked.

Hunter glared a bit. "Man, salty water tastes too bad."

"Well, that's what you get for being a stinking cheater, dude." Dustin pointed out.

Hunter laughed. "It's not cheating, considering I didn't actually say when we'd start."

"Okay, but it's still low."

"Well, sometimes, a person has got to be sneaky." Hunter said, smiling sweetly before he closed his eyes again.

Dustin shook his head and wiped some wet hair away from his eyes. He decided to follow Hunter's example and laid on his back, floating easily. The sun was warm on his chest. The water seemed to be giving his back a massage. He could easily fall asleep like this. This was heaven, just relaxing, doing nothing and enjoying the weather and Hunter's company. What more could he want?

He was dimly aware of a shadow falling over his face. Before it fully registered, water engulfed his entire body. He opened his mouth automatically to cry out and got a mouth full of the salty water. He came back up, coughing and trying to spit out the water. He opened his eyes and noticed Hunter laughing like a maniac while swimming backwards away from him.

"Oh, it's so on!" Dustin yelled as he started swimming. His eyes stung a bit from the water but he was fully focused on making sure he would get his revenge on Hunter.

Hunter laughed when Dustin started swimming towards him. He was not worried although Dustin was a good swimmer. He was actually stronger. In the water, that didn't mean all that much but if it came to their usual fighting match, he would win. He turned in the water and started swimming forwards. Knowing it would be better to stay close to his towel, he started swimming to the right and back towards the beach. Dustin would catch up with him before he would have to stand up.

He was right. A hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him back, causing him to go under. Since he'd been expecting it, his mouth remained shut and he didn't get a mouthful this time. He turned under water, reached for Dustin's shoulders and pushed him under while he came back up. As soon as his vision had cleared, he let go and swam further while Dustin recuperated.

He could hear Dustin's laugh drift over to him, carried by the gentle wind. The wind made goose bumps break out across Hunter's skin. He smiled unwillingly at Dustin's laugh and swam further.

Next thing he heard was a cry of pain which had definitely come from Dustin. Fear settled on him and he turned around , fully expecting to see kelzacks or a monster. He only saw Dustin who had an expression of pain on his face and who had stopped swimming forwards. With a few powerful strokes, Hunter reached the other boy.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry sounding clearly in his voice. Had Dusting gotten bitten by something?

"Cramp, cramp. It freaking hurts, dude."

Hunter let out a relieved little laugh. Only a cramp, nothing serious.

Dustin glared at him. "Not funny, dude."

"Can you swim?" Hunter asked.

Dustin shook his head. "It's in my leg, it hurts like hell if I try to push it back.."

"Alright. Do you think you can swim a bit with one leg if you hold on to me? We need to get back to the shore."

Dustin nodded. He rested his arm over his shoulder, their sides were pressed tightly together. Hunter started swimming and Dustin followed his example, only using one leg and one arm. They went surprisingly fast under the circumstances. Dustin may only be using one arm and leg but his strokes were powerful. The yellow ranger was stronger than people, including himself, gave him credit for. They swam until they had to stand. Hunter wrapped an arm around Dustin's waist to steady the younger boy. They were still knee deep in the water and Dustin only using one leg proved to be difficult. He nearly slipped but Hunter managed to hold the both of them up.

It went slightly better when they left the water. They reached Hunter's towel and he carefully lowered Dustin down on it.

Hunter kneeled down in front of him. "Which leg and where is the cramp?"

"Right, my calf." Dustin muttered with an expression of pain clear on his features.

Hunter gently took Dustin's right foot in his hand. "Can you move your foot?"

"It hurts when I try."

"I'm going to push against your foot. It might hurt but it just might help the muscle to relax. Ready?"

Dustin nodded and bit his lower lip.

Hunter pushed Dustin's foot back. The other boy yelped. Hunter pulled his foot back and then pushed again.

"It's better now."

"Alright. Just keep moving your foot a bit." Hunter advised and sat down next to Dustin while he did what was instructed.

"Thanks, that really hurt."

"I can imagine. Cramps happen after you train too much. Guess the run was too much. And you didn't stretch either."

"That'll teach me," Dustin said, laughing a bit. He pulled his knees up to his chest and stared out over the water and the setting of the sun. He shivered lightly at the breeze.

Hunter placed his hands behind him and leaned back, looking at the younger boy who was now entirely focused on the sun. If they weren't just friends, this would actually be romantic.

He felt affection rise in his heart and he ached to pull Dustin in his arms. His hands clenched, grabbing a handful of sand. He had to restrain himself from doing exactly what he wanted to do.

A feeling of complete ease came over Dustin. He felt happy. He didn't know why but the happiness just overcame him. This moment, whatever it was, was perfect. Sitting here with Hunter, seeing the sun set. It was amazing. He didn't think anything of it. Why would it be wrong to enjoy seeing the sun set with a friend? It didn't have to mean anything.

As the last ray of the orange sun dropped below the horizon, Dustin let out a small sigh. Now that the sun was gone though, it was quite cold.

"We can better head back." Hunter spoke as if he'd read his mind.

Dustin nodded his agreement and pulled his shirt back on. The boys got to their feet. Hunter grabbed his towel and shook of the sand.

"Do you want a ride?"

"Yeah, that would be good." Dustin agreed.

By the time they reached Hunter's car, the moon and the stars shone brightly upon them. The temperature had dropped considerably. They got into the warmer car and drove of to Dustin's house.

Author's note: So, what do you think so far? Review! I've got a lot of great ideas for this story!