Disclaimer: Thanks to WhiteZeo and Adri for answering colloquial and GPS questions. Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers.

Employee Perks
by Starhawk

He was milling. He knew he was doing it, but he couldn't help it. There was no one at the counter and he was one of a very few people on the floor, and there wasn't anything here he was really interested in. He didn't know the shop's hours well enough to say whether it was unusually empty or not.

"Hey, Cam! What's up, dude!"

Well, there hadn't been anyone at the counter a moment ago. He glanced over his shoulder, not surprised to see Dustin bounding toward him. He lifted his chin in acknowledgement, wondering what the other Ranger would make of his unaccompanied presence in the shop.

"Dustin." He made his greeting as casual as possible. "I was just passing by and I thought I'd stop in. Is it always this slow during the week?"

As he'd hoped, the question seemed to distract Dustin from his non-explanation. "Nah, man, the others are just getting ready for the rally this weekend. It's keeping a lot of people down at the track."

"The others?" Cam repeated. The rest of the staff or the rest of the Rangers, he wondered? Either way, there probably wasn't much point in him hanging around here any longer.

"Yeah, I think Shane's setting up and Tori's helping Kelly transport stuff." Dustin waved a hand vaguely when he said "stuff", as though Cam knew what he meant or it didn't matter, one or the other.

The door to the stockroom banged open, and Cam looked up automatically. Hunter backed through, turning and catching sight of them over the top of the box in his arms. He didn't hesitate, dropping the box on the floor and sauntering in their direction as though that had been his intent all along.

Dustin looked back, shooting a curious glance over his shoulder to see what Cam was looking at. "Oh, hey Hunter. Hey, did you see the new filters that came in this morning? Those things are awesome, man; they're so much easier to replace!"

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, nodding a greeting to Cam. "Did Kelly say where she wanted the rest of the tool kits?"

"Uh..." Dustin frowned faintly. "I dunno; I'll check and see if she left a floor plan."

Hunter considered Cam with interest as Dustin retreated. "Didn't expect to see you here without coercion," he drawled. "Careful. This voluntary visit might go to my head."

"I'm already regretting it," Cam said dryly. "Believe me."

The corner of Hunter's mouth quirked upward, but he didn't rise to the bait. "Want a soda?" he offered instead. "There's a machine out back."

Cam threw a look in the direction Dustin had gone, but he had been intercepted by a customer before he made it to the desk. It could be a brief question, or something that would keep him busy indefinitely. Of course, even if it was a brief question, there was no guarantee that Dustin would remember what he had been doing before he was interrupted.

"Sure," Cam said at last. "Sounds good."

Hunter jerked his head in invitation, and he led the way back to the door from which he had just emerged. Cam had never been in the stockroom before, but he supposed it was pretty much what one would expect. Cement floor, metal shelving, boxes everywhere and never a ladder where it was needed.

There was also a desk tucked into the corner, with several bulletin boards arrayed around and beside it. Some filing cabinets indicated that the area served as an auxiliary office, and a small refrigerator next to the vending machine implied that soda wasn't the only thing consumed back here. Cam wondered for the first time whether Kelly stayed until closing every day.

Hunter slapped one of the buttons on the vending machine and retrieved the can it spit out. "Help yourself," he said, gesturing at the machine. "It's free. Employee perk."

Cam refrained from pointing out that he wasn't an employee. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter clearing the top of the filing cabinets by the simple expedient of transferring everything on them to the floor. Then the Crimson Ranger sat down on top of one of them, the empty space beside him clearly Cam's for the taking.

Grabbing his soda, Cam tapped the top of the can absently as he joined Hunter. Before he could sit down, though, Hunter inquired, "Does that actually work? What's the point?"

Cam gave him an odd look, then glanced down at the soda. "What, tapping the can?"

Hunter nodded, making a show of moving over to make room for Cam. He didn't actually slide over at all, Cam noted, just made enough of an effort that it would have been rude to ignore it. He rolled his eyes at himself, leaning noncommittally against the second cleared filing cabinet. When had he started caring whether Hunter thought he was rude?

"It just dislodges the air bubbles from the sides of the can and makes them float to the top," he said, puncturing the top carefully and pulling the tab back. It barely hissed. "There's less soda between them and the opening, so it's less likely to spray."

Hunter grunted, though whether in acknowledgement or disbelief, it was hard to tell. "You would know that," he remarked. He popped the top on his own can and took a drink without another word.

Cam hitched one hip up on the edge of the filing cabinet, half-sitting on the metal surface. He sipped the soda, wondering whether to be relieved or annoyed that Hunter was taking his presence in stride. It was the first time he had sought the other Ranger out, and while he didn't want to make a big deal out of it, he wasn't sure he wanted Hunter to just accept it as his due, either.

"Why do you wear your watch on your left wrist?" Hunter asked abruptly.

Cam looked at the device on his wrist, then at Hunter in surprise. "Excuse me?"

Hunter shrugged. "Just curious."

Cam blinked. Giving Hunter's morpher a pointed look, he reminded him, "You wear yours on your left wrist."

"But I'm right-handed." He lifted his soda again, then seemed to think better of it. As an afterthought, he added, "Besides, it's a Ranger thing."

While that was true, Cam was more concerned that Hunter had noticed he was left-handed. It took a deliberate effort to notice which hand a person used, and the thought that Hunter had been watching him that closely was a little... unnerving. What else had Hunter noticed while Cam wasn't paying attention?

"It's not a watch," he said at last. That might not be the question, but he'd just as soon turn the conversation to something Hunter didn't know so much about.

"What is it?" Hunter leaned toward him immediately, trying to get a better look at his wrist. Cam wasn't entirely sure that Hunter would stop at a polite distance, so he transferred the soda to his other hand and held out his left arm.

"Looks like a video game," Hunter commented, tilting his head as though a different angle would make more sense of the digital display.

"It's a GPS," Cam corrected. "It's looking for satellites. It can't find them because I'm inside. It'll start working again when I leave."

Hunter grabbed his hand but didn't wrench his arm around as Cam had expected. Instead he just peered more intently at the device, as though Cam had been deliberately moving his wrist to keep Hunter from getting a good look. "It's looking for satellites?" he repeated.

The door to the stockroom swung open again. Hunter actually jumped, but Cam didn't have time to enjoy his reaction. He was too busy pulling his hand away and trying not to look guilty at the same time.

"Hey, bro," Blake was saying as he strode through the doorway. "Dustin says--

"Oh." He broke off, looking a little startled to see Hunter and Cam sitting side by side sharing sodas. "Hi, Cam. Didn't know you were here."

"I just stopped by for a minute," Cam muttered. "I was looking for... something."

"Really," Blake said, giving him an odd look.

When the Navy Ranger switched his gaze to his brother, Hunter supplied, "Cam was just showing off his watch."

"It's not a watch," Cam said testily. "It's a global positioning system."

"So it can tell time in Timbuktu," Hunter retorted. "So what?"

"It doesn't tell time," Cam snapped.

"Not a very good watch then, is it?" Hunter interrupted before he could finish.

"Whoa, chill, bro!" Blake looked half amused, half exasperated. He was clearly convinced by the childish display, and he rolled his eyes at Hunter. "If you don't lay off Cam's gonna think you like him or something."

He couldn't help it. He looked at Hunter. Unfortunately, Hunter was looking back, and for just a second their gazes locked. They both looked away immediately, but the damage had been done.

Blake was staring at them in surprise. "Hey, uh... anything you guys want to tell me?"

"Nope." Hunter slid off of his perch on the filing cabinet and headed for the door. "I'm gonna get back to work. Later, Cam."

Another advantage of being employed, Cam decided. You could always claim pressing business elsewhere. Feeling suddenly abandoned in hostile territory, he set his soda down and made for the stockroom door himself. He was almost free when Blake's voice made him pause reluctantly.

"Cam?" There was a brief hesitation, and he turned his head just enough to indicate he'd heard without actually catching Blake's eye. But all Blake said was, "See you around."

He didn't know whether that was a warning or an acknowledgement.