Chapter Text
Naga looked up from his spot beside Balance as Stinger passed by. He wanted to speak to the scorpion ranger but wasn’t sure what to say, so he just stayed quiet.
Stinger looked over his shoulder at Naga, trying to decide if he should ask the question he’d been thinking about for days. He sighed and shook his head, continuing to his voyager.
“Naga?” Balance asked in a light voice, “Did you complete the maintenance for those three?” He pointed to several other voyagers.
Naga sighed slightly, “All but Sasori. I’ll see if Stinger is completing it or if I still need to.” He headed over to Sasori. “Stinger?”
The voyager was listing to one side, Stinger’s feet underneath.
“I have completed maintenance on the other voyagers. Do you need help with yours?”
There was no answer.
Naga bent down to look under it. “Stinger?”
The scorpion’s eyes were closed, one of the legs of the voyager sitting on his chest. The tail was resting beside his head, the metal stained with blood.
Naga paled and quickly pulled the leg up before pulling Stinger out. His breathing grew rapid, “Balance! Stinger’s hurt!”
Balance quickly called for Raptor before checking over the scorpion. “He has a pulse still..”
Naga was shaking, his eyes going distant as a scene played through his head. A young girl from his planet, crying. He felt tears stream down his eyes before he swayed.
Balance quickly caught him, “Naga? You with me?”
Naga’s eyes refocused on Stinger, feeling a pain deep in his own chest mixed with confusion.
Stinger groaned, then coughed. His eyes fluttered and tried to open. Blood flowed down his face from a cut in his hairline and more trickled from his slightly parted lips.
“Balance? What is this?”
“You’re panicking, Naga. Just breathe.”
Raptor came in and went to start working on Stinger.
“Panic?” Naga asked, voice barely audible.
“Like I said, breathe. Not all emotions are good, remember?”
“I’m fine.” Stinger opened his eyes slowly and tried to push Raptor away.
Naga was slowly calming but didn’t hear Stinger. “What was that though? There was a girl crying..”
“The only girl here is Raptor..”
Stinger stumbled into Naga, his face pale. He was clenching his jaw, one hand on his chest. “Sorry for causing trouble. I’ll be in my quarters.”
Naga jumped slightly. “Stinger! You are awake.”
“Not willingly.” The scorpion slurred, trying to stay upright and headed toward the door.
“You should go to medbay.” Naga stated, emotion almost gone from his voice, the panic having subsided.
“Not necessary. I’m fi-” Stinger collapsed to the deck after grabbing his chest tighter.
Naga assisted Raptor in getting him to medbay, then sat and watched Stinger’s chest slowly rise and fall.
Hours later, Stinger stirred slightly. “Oww.”
“You are awake again. I shall inform Raptor.”
“What happened?” Stinger’s eyes were hazy, one hand reaching out and grabbing Naga’s sleeve. “Did we get in a fight? Are you alright?”
“You were hurt from your voyager.”
“Damn..must have been distracted.” Stinger let go and gingerly touched his head. “Sorry for worrying you.”
“It’s alright. Emotions are important, even if they are bad.”
“Bad? Naga, what are you talking about?” Stinger tried to sit up, his eyes worried as he watched Naga.
“I found a new emotion. It was unpleasant.”
“You had an emotion surface because of me?”
“Something called panic? It hurt. I also experienced confusion. I saw a girl crying.. but Balance said it was in my head. I don’t understand though, because she’s like me, but was crying.”
Stinger’s stomach twisted as he thought about Naga panicking because of him. He took a slow, shallow breath before frowning at the other ranger’s words. “You mean you had a suppressed memory surface?”
“I don’t know.. I don’t understand it. Balance said my brain might have imagined it. But I don't normally imagine much.”
“Can I ask something about your people?” Stinger bit his lip thoughtfully.
“Yes. What would you like to know?”
“Are you emotionless from birth? Or are you taught it?”
Naga looked thoughtful, “I’ve been emotionless as long as I can remember?” He tried to think if he’d seen any kids. “It’s rare to see children though, now that I think of it..”
“How would your people be able to make children emotionless? Babies can’t be controlled like that, I don’t think.” Stinger frowned.
“Do babies come with emotions?”
“They cry when they require attention.” The scorpion shrugged. “Very young children throw tantrums sometimes. They laugh and cry easily. They are taught as they get older to not show it as much, at least on my planet.”
Naga thought hard, his eyes going distant again. He suddenly held his head as memories flashed through rapidly.
“Naga? Are you alright?” Stinger touched his arm worriedly.
“There’s a chair.. and wires.. and everything goes away..”
Stinger sucked in a sharp breath as he thought about the statement’s implications. He tried to keep his voice steady. “Do you mean the adults made your emotions disappear?”
Naga’s breathing grew faster. “I don’t.. I don’t understand..” he held his head. “There’s a woman.. and she..” He shook his head as his breathing grew faster and words stopped coming out.
Stinger scowled as he realized his suspicions had been confirmed. He’d always thought something wasn’t right about what he’d heard of Naga’s people. He shook his head, ignoring the lance of pain before gently touching Naga again. “Naga, breathe. It’s alright.”
Naga didn’t seem to hear him, his breathing still rapid until he swayed before falling over unconscious.
Stinger swore softly, lifting his comrade into his previous bed. Him and his big mouth . He shouldn’t have asked Naga anything. With a heavy sigh, he covered the other ranger before leaving the medbay after leaving a note for Raptor.
Naga woke slowly, scenes playing over and over in his head. His people took his emotions away.. he suddenly felt a surge of anger, something he hadn’t felt since Akyanba. He pushed himself up and headed toward the bay.
Stinger was finishing the interrupted maintenance on his voyager, not hearing the door open behind him. He briefly leaned against Sasori as the room swam.
Naga was so focused, he didn’t notice Stinger. His eyes were set on his voyager, cold anger deep within them.
“Naga?”
Naga’s eyes darted to the sound, softening slightly.
“You’re angry, aren’t you?” Stinger took a step back. “I should have kept my mouth shut..”
“My anger is not at you.”
“I pried into something that was none of my business.” Stinger rubbed his neck nervously. “I knew I shouldn’t have joined you guys..”
“I am not angry with you,” he repeated. “If not for you, I would not have known the truth. So thank you.”
“If I hadn’t gotten hurt..This isn’t the way you wanted to learn emotions.” The scorpion sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“You helped me with several emotions. I knew I wouldn’t be wanted without them. But practicing doesn’t help.. I guess I need to go through things to gain them. But now I feel angry at my people. They need to stop. Maybe when I come back you can help me with more.”
“Hold on a minute. You can’t just go back. Jark Matter will capture you. Believe me, I understand anger. But you can’t let it control you.” Stinger shook his head. “And who told you that without them, you wouldn’t be wanted? I love you just the way you are.” The scorpion froze as he heard the words fall from his lips. Maybe he should have gotten Raptor to check for brain damage.
“But.. if I’m fighting the right people.. anger is okay, right?” He paused. “But.. I thought you wouldn’t want me if I couldn’t feel things correctly..”
“Naga.” Stinger looked at him. “Feeling and expressing are two different things. I’ve always known you felt emotions. You don’t have to show them to feel them. I love you for you . You’re already perfect.”
“I.. love you too. But I feel bad I don’t yet understand how to show it.”
Stinger chuckled softly. “You love me? I only usually show one emotion myself.”
“You showed worry for Champ. And happiness with Kotaro.” Naga pointed out before looking down, “So.. do I let my anger go? I want to save people from that fate. And make the elders pay..”
“No. You just keep it for after we defeat Armage. Then you can go back and burn the whole planet down if you want.” Stinger shrugged. “You can make a difference. But right now, it’s too dangerous for you to go back.”
“I blend in well though.. and if you are worried about losing the kyutama to Armage, you can hold onto it for me. I have the other one I can use..” he trailed off.
“I’m not worried about the kyutama. I’m worried about losing you .” Stinger’s voice was soft and scared.
“Oh.”
Stinger sighed. “Shit. Who am I to tell you what to do? You have every right to leave.”
“I’ll stay if you want me to. And I’ve already abandoned the team once for emotions.. I should stay and pay back their kindness for helping me.”
“Naga, you should do what you feel is right for you. The team doesn’t own you. Did you forget I left once too? Because I thought I had to. If you really feel that you have to go back to your people, I’m sure everyone will understand. They’ll welcome you back when you return.”
Naga looked thoughtful. “We both left. And those were mistakes.. so maybe leaving again is a mistake?”
“If I hadn’t left, my brother would have continued terrorizing people. And we wouldn’t have found the Argo and Tsurugi. We wouldn’t have been able to go back to the past. I don’t believe you will make a mistake this time. But only you can decide if you really need to go.”
“You said the team would welcome me back.. Will you?”
“Of course.”
Naga nodded. “I feel a bit less angry since talking.”
“That’s quite usual. Let yourself feel the troublesome emotion, then let go of it.” Stinger gave him a small smile.
“Ah.. Will you teach me more about the emotions?”
“Not sure what I can teach you?” Stinger looked surprised.
“You know a lot of emotions..” Naga then gave a smile before leaning forward and kissing Stinger. “You can teach me more about love. I hope that was okay.. Balance said when you love someone you kiss them..”
Stinger returned the smile faintly. “Balance is annoying. And most of my emotions are ones that are unpleasant. Not sure how to teach love. For me, it’s equal parts finding beauty in someone and being terrified for different reasons.”
“We could learn together?”
“Why do you love me?” Stinger asked softly. “I haven’t been the nicest person to know.”
“You are loyal to the team, you are always nice to me, you are attractive, you are good at helping with maintenance, minus earlier, of course..” he trailed off.
Stinger’s lips twisted wryly at the mention of his accident, then his eyes went wide. “You think I’m attractive?!”
“Is that bad?” Naga cocked his head.
“No..” Stinger tried to regain his composure. “Just surprised, I guess.”
“You are very handsome, and have pretty eyes, and your tail is cute when it’s not stinging people..”
Stinger choked off a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. “You have a sense of humor.”
Naga cocked his head once again but stayed silent.
“So how should we do this? I doubt you want to be open with the rest of the team watching all the time.” Stinger watched Naga through eyes that were suddenly heavy. He tried to blink without the other man noticing.
“Whatever you want to do. We can spend time together in the bay or in a room, but if you want to keep it a secret, you can keep pretending to be grumpy all the time around the team, and I’ll spend time with Balance.”
“Definitely a sense of humor. More worried about Balance threatening to kill me again.” Stinger leaned against the wall, taking a slow breath to counteract the dizziness he felt.
“You should rest,” Naga decided. “You were hurt badly, so I’m sure you are tired. We can discuss things later.”
“All the Jark people I’ve fought and it’s my own damn voyager that knocked me on my ass..” Stinger muttered unhappily. “I’m fine, Naga.”
“Well, you should rest anyway. My head hurts, so I’m going to rest too.” Naga said. “I apologize if I caused any issues today.”
Stinger stared at him in confusion. “What could you possibly mean by that? I’m the one that screwed things up today by getting hurt. We could have come under attack and I would have been incapacitated.” The scorpion once more cursed his inattention.
“I had a range of emotions, and memories, and fainted. You probably did not wish to deal with that after getting hurt.”
“Naga. I want to help you no matter what.” Stinger took a deep breath before speaking again. “To tell the truth, I’ve liked you since before Champ was hurt. But I didn’t say anything, partly because of the situation with my brother and partly because I did not want to take advantage of you.”
Naga nodded, “I’ve liked you for a while too, but, like I said before, I didn’t think you’d want me if I could not show emotions.”
“Honestly? I prefer your calm to Lucky’s over enthusiasm. There’s only so many times I can hear Yosha Lucky! before my tail tries to move on its own. I never want to sting you.”
“Well, that’s good. I prefer not to be stung.” Naga gave a small smile. “Sometimes I wish to use my venom on Lucky too.”
Stinger snickered. “Nothing like shared goals. Sleep well.” He pushed himself up and took a step before the room spun.
Naga wrapped an arm around Stinger before walking him to his quarters. “Here. Can you get to your bed safely?”
“Hope so. Though the floor was comfortable the last time I couldn’t.” Stinger immediately reddened after the words were uttered. Damn his brain. “Maybe just ignore that?”
“I can help you to your bed if you would like? I do not wish to intrude upon your room and privacy though.”
“You want to date me, but don’t want to come in my room?” Stinger chuckled before wincing. “Damn lights are too bright.”
“I just do not want to overstep any boundaries. I do not know much about dating but I want to be respectful of your wishes.” Naga said quietly.
“You are allowed in my room whenever you want.” Stinger gave him a pained smile.
“Well, let’s get you in bed.” Naga opened the door and helped Stinger to the bed, then covered him with blankets.
“Thanks.” Stinger blinked. “Hey Naga?”
“Yes?”
“In my bag, there’s a medicine bottle.”
Naga opened the bag, looking for the bottle.
“Think it’s at the bottom.”
Naga found it and held it out to him.
Stinger fumbled the lid open, dropping pills everywhere.
Naga carefully picked them all up and handed him one.
Stinger swallowed it dry, his face wrinkling at the taste. “Much appreciated.”
“Need anything else?”
Stinger sighed, appearing to want to answer. He finally shook his head, looking uncomfortable.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No! Nothing you did.” Stinger answered quickly. “Just me.”
Naga frowned. “Can I help?”
“Don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Stinger laid his throbbing head back, hissing in pain.
“You won’t.”
“I-” The scorpion hesitated, biting his lip.
“You’re okay.”
“I miss being taken care of.” Stinger’s face burned as he admitted what he’d kept secret. “My brother used to hold me when I was sick or hurt and run his hand through my hair till I fell asleep..” Gods, what possessed him to tell that?
Naga nodded. “I’ll be right back.” He headed to the door.
Stinger berated himself as he stared at his ceiling. He shouldn’t have said that. Then again, he’d revealed a lot tonight. He’d just blame the concussion.
Naga soon returned and sat down beside Stinger. He gently ran a hand through the scorpion’s hair.
“You don’t have to listen to my stupid ass.” Stinger said softly. “I did this to myself, just like getting hurt by my brother..”
“You’re fine. I am here to help and make you happy.”
Stinger went quiet for a moment before muttering something too soft to hear.
Naga continued rubbing Stinger’s hair until he himself drifted to sleep.
Stinger smiled to himself before allowing his own eyes to close.
Naga’s dreams were filled with random visions. Seeing the girl crying again. Feeling pain as he saw himself being knocked to the floor for asking a question. A glowing orb which he reached out to touch but it moved farther from him. He began running toward it but everything soon shifted to black again. He outwardly began muttering incoherently.
Stinger blinked his eyes open. Realizing the noise was coming from Naga, he gently shook the ranger. “Naga? Wake up.”
“Don’t make them go away…” Naga whimpered, still asleep.
Stinger’s heart broke and he swore he’d find the chair Naga had mentioned. He’d find it and rip it apart with his bare hands. And if anyone tried to stop him, well, let’s just say his stinger would be exhausted by the end of the day.
The scorpion carefully sat up and took Naga in his arms. “Shhh, you’re safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
Naga calmed, breath evening out.
Stinger stayed that way for the rest of the night, resisting the urge to fly to Naga’s planet himself.
Naga woke in the early morning. He blinked his eyes open and looked around slowly.
“Good morning.” Stinger gazed down at him.
“I apologize for falling asleep. I was supposed to take care of you..”
“You were tired. Nothing to apologize for. But sadly, I have to go.”
Naga nodded and glanced at the time. “Balance is expecting me. We need to go get some parts for the voyagers.”
“Shou Lompou is sending me to recon a planet nearby. Not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
Naga nodded, “Be safe.”
“You too. If you want, we could talk later through our blasters?”
“I’d like that.”
Stinger gave him a smile before grabbing his jacket and seiza blaster and leaving.
Naga headed out of the room, going to meet Balance. He was quiet, just listening to Balance talk as his mind wandered to his dreams. What was that orb? And who was the girl?
Stinger met with the Commander, then launched his voyager. He found himself thinking about Naga as he flew. Who knew he could be so happy with the other man?
Naga and Balance landed on the planet, going to pick up the parts. He was too distracted with his thoughts, he didn’t notice the Jark troops scattered in the crowd they had to walk through.
Stinger landed, getting out of his voyager. He greeted the people waiting, not understanding their joy at seeing him until he felt the pinch of a needle in his neck. He tried to attack, but found himself paralyzed before being carried away.
“I know we have other situations going on, but Stinger did not report in. I’m sending a team to go check on him.” Shou informed.
Raptor nodded, “Lucky, Hammy, Spada, Champ, and Kotaro were chosen to go.”
“Aibou better have a good reason.” Champ moo-ed.
“We can’t let what’s going on get us down! We need to bring Stinger back so at least everyone is safe.” Lucky grinned.
“I hope Aniki is okyu.” Kotaro’s voice was worried as they headed for their voyagers.
The group took off, heading toward the planet. They landed, Lucky leading the group to the last known location of Stinger’s signal.
Stinger thrashed against his captors as they began strapping him to a table. He growled as one of them injected something into his arm. Suddenly his muscles wouldn’t respond and he began to panic as a man in green scrubs approached with a scalpel.
Soon, the door burst open, Lucky shooting at the Jark workers as Champ and Kotaro went to release Stinger.
Kotaro paled as he saw a large cut in Stinger’s abdomen. “Aniki!?”
“Help..hurts..” The scorpion was shaking, eyes glassy as blood coated both him and the table..
“You’ll be safe soon, Aibou,” Champ assured.
“Gave me..can’t move..”
Champ gently lifted the scorpion, rushing him back to the voyagers. After getting to the ship, he handed him off to Raptor in the medbay.
Balance looked up quietly from his seat beside Naga.
“Naga..where is Naga? I want Naga..” Stinger’s voice was pleading.
“Naga’s… preoccupied right now. He’d be with you if he could.” Raptor assured.
Stinger frowned, then passed out.