Weight of the World-p.r.s

27-little brother

The six made their way out of the subway station, and Brooke stood at the top of the stairs for a moment. She let Jayden catch up to her, who wore a small, but genuine, smile. "You're slacking, Red." She teased, and he rolled his eyes, the two jogging up to the other four rangers. Mia and Emily shot Brooke a knowing look, which she responded to by shaking her head.

Other than that, the team was going about their usual after-battle banter, and Brooke wasn't really paying attention to it. Her legs throbbed, and she wanted nothing more to change her shoes, at least. Her doc martens were starting to hurt her feet, and she raised her arms over her head, letting out a yawn as she stretched. Something cracked, and it felt good, Brooke making a quiet noise of relief.

Which Jayden heard, and he nudged her shoulder with his own. "Tired?" He wondered, and Brooke shot him a weary smile.

"That, and sore. My body did not like running up that mountain," Brooke answered, but then she pointed a finger at Jayden, who raised his eyebrows. "But, I beat you on your horse, so take that." She mocked, and Jayden shook his head with a small smile.

"I had a feeling you would bring that up." Jayden retorted, and Brooke nodded, snickering. The words he told Scott rang in his head, and he realized he was happy. He was sore and his arms throbbed, but he was happy. He just hoped Brooke realized that she made him happy.

"Oh, yeah, Brooke destroyed a whole army today!" Mike recalled with a grin, glancing at Brooke. Who looked somewhat surprised at the sudden attention, her eyes a grey-gold.

"That was an incredible use of symbol power. I've read about it in the archives, using two power disks on the same weapon, but I didn't think it was possible. How'd you manage it?" Kevin questioned, but there was something akin to awe in his tone.

Brooke raised her eyebrows, her eyes flashing. "Amaris just told me it," She responded nonchalantly, shrugging. "I technically do have more symbol power than you guys- so it was just that and spite. I didn't feel like watching Red die, so that's that." She added, glancing at Jayden, who wore a fond smile.

With her answer, the team just went back to having a light-hearted conversation. It was something about Scott's team, so Brooke and Jayden didn't really pay attention to it. They didn't talk to each other, just basking in each other's company without hating each other. Brooke took the time to sort her thoughts, because, while she didn't work on the despair symbol today, and she wanted to, she was too low on symbol power to get anywhere. And while the battle they just fought was exhausting, it was a good experience, and the soreness of her muscles meant growth. She knew she had to get stronger- that and the despair symbol were always the main tasks. But, for now, Brooke just let herself be proud of herself.

Compared to when she first joined the team, she had improved exponentially, in a lot of things. First was her training, obviously, as spending months fighting constant battles and training almost every day would lead to improvement. The second thing was herself. More importantly- her mental health. Brooke knew she wasn't mentally stable, but she felt better than she did living at Mary's. She felt like she had a purpose- and she couldn't get drunk anymore, which was a plus. She used to drink to shut off her wolf senses and be human, but now she felt somewhat human. Being able to be herself and not having to constantly worry about giving her wolf features away was great. Having six people to talk to- two of those being her childhood friends, made it even better.

The third was Jayden, which of course it was. Brooke couldn't really work her feelings out with him, or at least not with her jeopardizing the team and her friendship with him. But, even if she was just left pining over him- it was a good feeling, in a way. He was special compared to the guys she dated in the past, and not just because he was a power ranger. It was something else, and Jayden was just... Jayden. Nothing more, nothing less, and Brooke found herself happy with his constant presence. It was like Casper, but more.