Fic: 'Girls Talk About Their Social Lives' (Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, gen, G, 1/1) Title: Girls Talk About Their Social Lives Fandom: Power Rangers Operation Overdrive Characters: Ronny, Rose Word Count: 1080 Rating: G Spoilers: 'Heart of Blue' Disclaimer: No one mentioned belongs to me. [Title from "Runaway" by Bon Jovi.] Summary:On the street where you live, girls talk about their social lives. Rose contemplates hairstyles. Ronny wonders why.
Girls Talk About Their Social Lives
It wasn't as though Ronny didn't have her own bathroom at the estate. Se just liked Rose's better. Ronny's caught the morning sun through the small porthole at the very top of the wall, but bathrooms with windows freaked her out. Rose's bathroom was windowless. Rose's bathroom was also occupied with Rose, who was frowning at her reflection with intense concentration, a hairbrush clutched like a weapon.
To her credit, she didn't complain when Ronny stormed into the bathroom with a bucket of toiletries. She just met the Yellow Ranger's eyes in the mirror and said, "Should I do something with my hair?"
Ronny cocked her head to one side and studied both Rose's reflection in the mirror, and her dark hair from the back. "You know, no offense, but I never thought the headband did anything for you. You look much better with it up."
"Really?"
"Yep." Ronny took advantage of her height, grabbed the brush out of Rose's hand, and started whipping the Pink Ranger's hair into a calculatedly messy bun.
"It's funny," said Rose, standing perfectly still, "but I always thought you looked better with yours down, instead of back."
"Well, ponytails are much easier to manage when I'm doing stuff..." Ronny contemplated this. "You really think so?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
"Huh. Okay." She yanked one of her fistful of hair ties out of her bucket (cloth, not elastic, elastic snagged and trapped and hurt like hell), and finished off Rose's 'do. "There."
Rose studied it. "Looks good. Thanks."
"No problem. You know, I never really do this thing."
"What thing? The girly, do-each-other's hair, go to the bathroom in groups thing?"
Ronny laughed, surprised Rose had a sense of humor. "Yeah, that thing."
"Well, neither do I, really. So I won't tell if you won't."
"You've got yourself a deal." Ronny stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest and admiring her handiwork. "So, why the change of pace?"
"Oh," said Rose loftily, "you know. Something to do."
Which was total crap, because when Rose wasn't world-saving, training, looking up stuff with Mr. Hartford, or the occasional group-bonding session, she was crammed in her room with the door closed, working on her thesis thing. Rose didn't really have free time to kill with hairstyle contemplation.
"There's a boy," Ronny deduced, laughing.
Rose colored so her face matched her name, and Ronny's answer was totally there. "Who?" she demanded. "Gotta be one of the team, it's not like you ever leave here. Is it Dax?" She shook her head, dismissing this just as easily. "It's not Dax."
Rose seemed to relax a little, touched by amusement. "Why not?"
Ronny shrugged. "It's Dax. I mean, opposites attract, and all that, but I don't think you guys are even from the same planet." She pursed her lips thoughtfully, flicked a stray wisp of Rose's hair back from her brow. "Mack's too young. Besides, you'd need someone who can keep up with you mentally, a little."
"Oh, Mack might. He's not an idiot, you know."
"I never said he was an idiot. I just suggested that maybe he wasn't quite at your genius level. You're a genius, right?"
"According to that IQ test I took when I was ten, yes."
"I bet." Ronny made a sort of 'ew, nerds' face, and Rose giggled at the sheer absurdity of the expression. "See? But I still don't think it's Mack. That leaves Will."
"You know, a person is completely capable of deciding to experiment with her hair without having the ulterior motive of some clandestine relationship."
"So it is Will!"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Ronny."
"I mean, he's cute, too, if you like that whole cocky, egocentric, God's-gift-to-everything-ever type."
"Ronny..."
"I mean, that's not to say I haven't dated guys like that, so I can't judge. Hey, Eddie alone was... But that's neither here nor there," she cut in quickly. "I guess Will's got some stuff to be cocky about. I'm just saying I never would've pegged you for the type."
"Ronny!" Exasperated, the word seemed to explode out of her. Ronny blinked. "It's not Will."
Ronny twirled some curly hair around her finger, adding an extra sproing on release. She was actually pouting. "C'mon. At least tell me there's some potential for romance on the horizon."
"Unlikely!" scoffed Rose.
"I don't mean Will," Ronny said hastily. "If you don't want to. Just anyone, really. Makes things exciting, you know?"
"The life we lead isn't exciting enough for you?"
Ronny shrugged with a bright grin. "Hey, all action movies have romantic subplots. Wasn't Mira fun?"
Rose put on her best skeptical face. "When she was blowing us up, you mean?"
"Okay. Bad example. She was nuts squared. But Dax, Dax with a girlfriend was fun. What can I say? I like watching doofs in love. It's like all the fun of being in a relationship, without actually having to be in a relationship."
"Somehow, I don't think you're the person I should be going to for relationship advice."
Ronny clapped Rose's shoulder excitably. "Aha! So you're admitting you're in a relationship."
Rose shrugged off her attentions. "No."
"No you're not, or no you're not admitting?"
Rose laughed helplessly. The conversation was beginning to get confusingly circuitous. "Neither!"
"Okay, so you don't want to tell me. Fine. But I will figure it out, you know."
"Uh-huh," said Rose. "Listen, are you in my bathroom for any real reason?"
"Oh yeah. I was gonna take a shower. Would you mind..?" she gestured at the door.
"If you're going to be in here all the time, have you ever considered switching rooms?"
"No way! I like my room. Besides, yours smells like some kind of library basement."
Rose didn't need to say anything; her face said 'whatever' clearly enough. She started for the door, but Ronny's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Hey. Sorry to bug you about the guy... or lack thereof. Whichever. Your hair still looks good that way."
"Thanks," Rose said.
Mack was standing in front of the door when she left her bedroom. "Hey, I've been knocking for forever," he said. "Where've you been?"
"The bathroom."
"Okay. Have you seen Ronny?"
"Yeah," said Rose. "She's in the bathroom." In the recesses of her slightly cavernous quarters, she heard the shower start up. Rose closed the door to her room and joined Mack in the hallway.
He shook his head at her, bemused. "What's up with girls going to the bathroom together all the time?"