Chapter Text
Weeks had passed after Scorpion’s resurrection. It had taken him just as much time to get accustomed to having his humanity back. He had to get used to actually caring for his body again. No more spending his nights meditating until morning. Now he had to sleep. No more endless days without food. Now he needed three meals a day. His schedule was suddenly much more full with needing to balance caring for his body.
But his days were never too busy for Kuai Liang, who took every free moment to visit the Shirai Ryu, and more specifically, Scorpion.
They spent every free moment together, experiencing Scorpion’s new humanity together. They ate new foods together, bathed together, cooked together, and learned new hobbies together.
And of course, eventually they had ended up learning each other’s bodies together.
Even now, Scorpion sat shoulder to shoulder with Kuai Liang. They sat in the gardens on a blanket, enjoying the warm sun at its peak in the sky. Their hands were locked together, of course, because they could not go longer than a few minutes without touching each other somehow.
“Are you sure we cannot just spend the entire day here?” Kuai Liang asked with a peaceful sigh as he leaned over to lay his head on top of Scorpion’s.
In return, Scorpion laid his head on Kuai’s shoulder. “I told you, I have plans today.” He answered, immediately continuing as Kuai opened his mouth to speak again. “And no, you cannot come with me. You were not invited. It is invite only.”
Kuai let out a dramatic groan before dropping down onto his back. “But can’t you invite me? I can be your plus one.” As he complained, he began to trace one of his hands across Scorpion’s back, taking notice of how relaxed he remained. He’d gotten so good at accepting physical contact in his brief time as a human- in fact, he’d already been getting good at it as a wraith. He’d gone from flinching away from any physical contact to accepting it and sometimes even initiating it. He still was not comfortable with strangers touching him, but when it came to those who were closer to him, he did mind being touched.
“I cannot invite you to someone else’s party, Kuai Liang.” Scorpion answered with a roll of his eyes, turning to grin at the older man. “Even if I did, I’m sure you’d be turned away the second you arrived.”
“The fact that I was not invited in the first place is a crime punctuated by the fact that you will not invite me for them.” Scorpion rolled his eyes at Kuai’s dramatized words and pushed at his shoulder. “You wound me, my love. But I suppose I can deal with it seeing as you have been doing so well in making your new friends.”
Any answer Scorpion wanted to give was cut off as Kuai rose to press a kiss to the younger man's lips. And just like that, his kind went blank. He was already often flustered by Kuai’s affection as a wraith. But now, as a human capable of receiving actual kisses on his lips instead of his mask, he found himself getting even more distracted by Kuai’s love.
“… I need to leave before you distract me.” Scorpion grumbled, choosing to ignore the laughter he received from Kuai as he stood to his feet. Kuai was quick to stand after him, and his hands quickly found their way to Scorpion’s as he pulled him toward him until they stood chest to chest. “You are going to make me late, Kuai Liang.” Scorpion said in a stern tone. His words were ignored by Kuai as he gently pressed their foreheads together.
“I am so proud of you, my Scorpion.” Kuai said with a small smile. And just like that, any annoyance Scorpion was feeling began to melt away. “You have been doing so well, and I know that you will only continue to do better.” His cold arms soon wrapped around Scorpion, pulling him even closer as he rested his chin on the younger man’s shoulder.
Scorpion did not hesitate in returning the embrace. He never did anymore. There was no more fear in touching Kuai. No fear of hurting him or vice versa. Now he craved the man’s touch, actively sought it out daily. “I love you, Kuai Liang.” He whispered, his voice slightly muffled by the cloth of Kuai’s shirt.
“And I love you, my Scorpion.” Kuai answered. Though Scorpion could not see his face, he could hear the grin on his face. He always smiled when Scorpion expressed his love for him, as if it was impossible for him to contain the joy he felt now that Scorpion openly reciprocated his affection.
They remained in each other’s embrace for a moment longer before Kuai finally pulled away. “I will keep you no longer, my love. I am sure your friends are waiting for you.” With that said, he leaned forward to press a kiss to Scorpion’s lips before pulling away. “Tell me all about it when you return.”
A small voice in the back of Scorpion’s mind told him to forget the party and lose the rest of the day in Kuai’s embrace.
Unfortunately, he could not miss his first party. So with a sigh, he stepped away from Kuai and nodded his head. “I will see you tonight.” He promised. The two men shared gentle smiles between each other, before Scorpion was disappearing in a swirl of flame.
When his flames dispersed, he found himself staring up at a large house. Behind him was a beautiful view of a nearby beach, a view that only Johnny Cage could provide. With a quiet chuckle, Scorpion turned away from the gorgeous view and made his way to the door of the house. He hesitated only a moment before knocking on the door.
There was a flurry of loud voices from within the house, and they only became louder as the door was flung open. “Scorpion!” Cassie Cage said a bit too loudly. Her face was flushed slightly red, a sign that she had already begun drinking. A fact that was accentuated by the way she threw her arms around Scorpion in a hug. “Glad you could make it! Everyone else is already here!”
Cassie pulled away from the hug before taking hold of Scorpion’s wrist and practically dragging him into the house. “Guys, Scorpion’s here!” She announced above the buzz of the other voices.
At the announcement of his arrival, Scorpion began to see familiar faces round the corner to greet him. First was Takeda and Jacqui, hand in hand as they greeted him with bright grins. Jacqui reached for a handshake, while her fiancé much more eagerly went in for a hug. After them came the Kung cousins. Kung Lao patted Scorpion on his shoulder while Kung Jin threw his arm around his other shoulder, making a joke about no longer being the only gay man at the party.
The most shocking appearance to Scorpion was the floating cloaked figure that approached him after.
“Ermac?” Scorpion asked with a raised brow. “You got invited too?”
“We followed your advice.” Ermac answered with a shrug as he removed the hood from his head. His face was still wrapped in loose bandages, but Scorpion had a feeling that it was more subconscious than anything, much like when Scorpion found himself reaching for his mask and hood every morning. “We properly introduced ourselves to some of the Earthrealm warriors. We figured if they could forgive you and your transgressions, they could work toward forgiving us and ours.” He nodded meaningfully toward Jacqui as he spoke.
Jacqui gave a half shrug as she nodded her head. “Can’t say I didn’t hate him originally, but I figured if Grandmaster Sub-Zero can forgive you for killing his brother, I can work toward forgiving Ermac for taking my dad's arms.”
Takeda nudged Jacqui in her ribs at the mention of Bi-Han’s death, but Scorpion simply held up his hand. That decision was one he made of a sound and conscious mind. It was his mistake to live with, for every day he had to look into the eyes of the love of his life with the knowledge that he caused him the greatest pain known to mankind. The loss of a family.
“I am glad you are here, my friend.” Scorpion said to Ermac, offering him a mostly awkward smile. He was still getting used to the movement, far more accustomed to emoting with his brows than with his mouth.
“We are glad to be here.” Ermac answered, setting his hand on Scorpion’s shoulder briefly. Scorpion patted the man’s hand before he pulled it away, and then turned his attention to the rest of the party.
“So…” He began, gaining everyone’s attention. “I have never had a girls night before… Mostly because I am not a girl. What exactly are we supposed to do?”
His words were answered with a bit of laughter around the room before Cassie stepped forward to answer. “Think of it as an all day party. We drink, we eat, we play games, we gossip. And then when the sun starts to set we get to the real fun.”
“Real fun?” Scorpion asked as he was led through the house into the living area.
“Self care is important, Scorpion.” Kung Jin answered from behind him. When Scorpion shot a quizzical look over his shoulder, Kung Jin explained with a grin. “Face masks, doing each other’s hair, painting our nails. The fun stuff.”
“… I have never done any of this fun stuff . Aside from doing hair.” Scorpion said as a push on his shoulder had him sitting on the couch. Ermac delicately sat to his right while Cassie came crashing down on his left. Slowly, everyone else began to find seats. Jacqui and Takeda sat hip to hip in the loveseat, practically in each other’s laps as Takeda wrapped an arm around Jacqui’s shoulder. Kung Jin chose to sit beside Cassie, while Kung Lao opted to sit on the floor beside the couch.
Once everyone was comfortable, the conversations began to buzz around Scorpion again. He and Ermac were the only ones who remained mostly silent throughout, occasionally nodding their heads and answering questions with simple answers.
The silence eventually ended when the line of questioning Scorpion had been expecting finally began.
“So, Scorpion.” King Jin began, dragging the attention of the group toward his grinning face. “Now that you are human again, how has your relationship with Kuai Liang developed? Any changes?” His question was met with the giggles from the others- minus Ermac and Kung Lao, the latter of which simply rolled his eyes at the questioning from his cousin.
Scorpion was expecting this. Everyone was always far too curious about his relationship with Kuai Liang, even more so now that he was human. It was always only a matter of time before the questions began.
“My relationship is as it was before.” Scorpion answered with a shrug. A collective groan echoed throughout the room followed by a wave of practically begging for more detail. “ Fine. ” Scorpion said with a roll of his eyes. “We have been exploring our relationship more now that I am human. We have still been going slow as we learn and communicate our personal boundaries. I no longer fear burning him, so I have been able to touch him more.”
Scorpion glanced around the room long enough to catch the expectant glances of his companions before he sighed and added on. “Yes, we have had sex.”
“I told you!” Kung Jin exclaimed, pointing accusingly toward Kung Lao who held his hands up in defeat. “There’s no way there wasn’t months of sexual tension built up in there… Who topped?” Jin asked, wide eyes staring into Scorpion’s as he awaited an answer.
Scorpion narrowed his eyes at the man, glaring at him before he finally looked away and muttered under his breath, “I did.”
Another uproar began with the Earthrealm warriors all moving to pass money around. When Scorpion quirked an eyebrow at them, Takeda gave a sheepish shrug and explained that they had a bet going. Scorpion decided he did not want or need to know more.
Once they managed to wring Scorpion dry of any further embarrassment, the day continued on. As promised, Scorpion was forced to sit between Jacqui’s thighs as she brushed products through his hair. When she was done his hair was pulled back into a bun before she and Cassie began slathering some type of product across his face. They insisted that it was supposed to be good for his skin, but Scorpion still spent the entire time glaring at them. When everyone was done caring for their hair and applying the irritating face masks, it was then time for them to sit and relax.
Scorpion sat back, one hand in Cassie’s lap as she patiently painted yellow polish over his now very neatly cut nails, and his other hand in Ermac’s lap, his face practically inches from Scorpion’s hand as he carefully pulled the polish over his nails with a focused frown on his face. He had insisted on learning after deciding that this was an important skill to know, which led to him closely watching Cassie do one nail before quickly going to do the other hand.
Jacqui painted Takeda’s nails, and Kung Jin painted Kung Lao’s. And as they settled into relative peace, the gossip started up.
“Liu Kang came to visit the monastery a few days ago.” Kung Jin announced, nodding when the others turned to look at him in shock. “He came with Raiden and Fujin. It was all business. They just talked about rebuilding the white lotus society and how they were going to move forward with protecting Earth.”
“And then they left.” Kung also added with a scowl.
Jin nodded his head, patting Lao’s shoulder comfortingly before continuing. “Lao’s pissed. Liu Kang didn’t even speak to him directly, he just spoke to Raiden and Fujin as if we weren’t there.”
And that really gained the attention of the rest of the warriors, all of them turning to Lao as if waiting for his reaction. The man in question was practically fuming, brows pulled into a deep frown as he watched Jin pull the polish over his nails. “My best friend. My best fucking friend. We have been there for each other for every moment of our lives. I was there to shave his head every time his hair began to grow too long. I was there to back him when he made the decision to grow it out. I was there when it was announced that he was Raiden’s chosen warrior. I was there for every tournament he won. By his side, on his side. And he did not even greet me.”
Every person in the room reacted to that. It was clear that they could all only imagine the pain of having someone so close to you pretend to not even know you. Scorpion imagined a scenario of Kuai Liang ascending to godhood just to come back and pretend he’d never loved Scorpion. The idea hurt. He could only imagine how much pain Kung Lao was in.
“We experienced something similar.” Ermac chimed in from beside Scorpion. He was the only one who remained unbothered by Lao’s story, far more focused on cleaning away the polish he’d gotten on Scorpion’s skin. “When Mileena was kahnum, the council of generals were quite close. Myself, Reptile, Ko’Atal, even D’Vorah. But when Mileena was overthrown and Ko’Atal took her place on the throne, he changed. He no longer considered us his companions. We were just his generals, his replaceable warriors. When he ascended to the status of emperor, he disrupted the peace of what we had. Suddenly we had nothing. D’Vorah only cared about securing her place beside Kotal Kahn to keep her Hive safe. Reptile left, and we still have yet to figure out if he is still alive in this timeline. We have a feeling we will never know. When Reptile does not want to be found, he is not found. Erron Black and Ferra and Torr were brought into the team, but even they could not fix what Kotal Kahn’s disappearance caused.”
The group all nodded as Ermac spoke. Kung Lao especially appeared empathetic, though his expression only looked even angrier at the story.
“Well.” Cassie said, raising the bottle she held ahead of her. “Here’s to shitty old friends, and better new friends.”
Light cheers filled the room as everyone raised their bottles and cups respectively. It took a bit of comfort from Jin, but eventually he managed to coax a smile out of Lao until he eventually began to calm down. The anger was definitely not gone, but it could at least be momentarily forgotten.
The next to begin talking was Takeda.
“My dad asked me to hang out again last week. I went, because I’m really trying to not hate him as much, but it was still very awkward. He kept trying to talk about my mothers death and why he needed to leave me. The whole time all I could think was… Why can’t you just say you wish it was different? That you wish you could have raised me the way I deserved to be raised? I’m tired of the excuses and explanations, I just want to hear that he regrets having to leave me.”
As he spoke, Jacqui gently ran her fingers through his hair and pressed gentle kisses to the side of his head. She comforted him silently, not bothering to speak as she waited for him to continue.
“It’s moments like that that make me miss Grandmaster Hasashi even more. At least before when I had to deal with him, I had Hanzo there to fill in. Now all I have is one terrible father trying to step in a few years too late.” Takeda said with a scoff. Scorpion still did not quite understand their relationship. Kenshi loved Takeda, but Scorpion wasn’t entirely sure if he liked that he had a son. And Takeda loved Kenshi, but he certainly didn’t like having him as his father.
Their relationship was complicated beyond what Scorpion could comprehend.
“I had to practically beat Jax off with a stick on my way here.” Jacqui chimes in after Takeda fell silent. “He kept insisting that he should come along with me and I once again had to explain how weird it would be to party with my dad's younger version.”
“I wish you would’ve brought him.” Kung Jin sighed, turning to give Jacqui a devious grin before adding on, “I’m still hoping to get a chance with him.”
Laughter filled the room as Jacqui threw a pillow at the man, and soon the lighthearted feelings were flowing once again.
“We returned to the Outworld kingdoms recently.” Ermac began during a lull in conversation. “We wanted to see how everything was going for ourselves. It was… as chaotic as we expected. On Shao Kahn’s half, he is as brutal as always. He is gathering his armies and forging deals. On Kitana Kahn’s half, she is being as diplomatic as always. She is offering every nation who once felt under-appreciated under Shao Kahn’s rule a fair place in her court. The Tarkata, the Naknadan’s, even the Shokan are trying to restore what they once had.” Ermac trailed off, his arms stiffly shaking Scorpion’s hand, mimicking the action he witnessed Jacqui doing to dry her own nails. “We will admit we mostly just wanted to check in on the people we once cared about. Shao Kahn, Kotal Kahn, Erron Black, Ferra and Torr. We miss what we once had, even if we know it was not good. We miss serving our kahn’s and having a sense of comradery with our fellow generals and warriors. But we cannot go back. Outworld’s kingdoms no longer have a place for us.”
Scorpion delicately placed one of his hands on Ermac’s shoulder, his fingers awkwardly splayed to avoid messing them up. “It is good you did not decide to stay. The Kahn’s do not appreciate you and what you do for them. Shao Kahn abused your power and Kotal Kahn allowed you to slowly deteriorate under his rule… and Kitana Kahn would probably want you dead.” He paused for a moment before patting his shoulder again. “Yes, it is for the best that you stay away from them.”
Ermac’s lip twitched at that, an attempt at a smile. He’d been working on it, but he was still awkward about it, much like Scorpion. At least they could both bond in how bad they were at emoting.
Cassie Cage was the next to speak, her hands held out in front of her as she inspected her nails. “All the drama I’ve got going on is the awkwardness between my parents. Young Sonya is trying to drown herself in her work, just like my mom did. Young Johnny is trying to get into her pants which is gross even if that’s what’s supposed to happen in order to create a Cassie. Still gross though. And then, of course-”
Her words were cut off by the sound of the lock on the front door turning. The group all fell silent, shooting each other questioning glances as they listened to the door open and shut.
“Cassie?” A voice called throughout the house, and the group rolled their eyes as they recognized the voice.
“In the living room, dad.” She called back, listening to the approaching footsteps until Johnny Cage stuck his head through the door.
He looked like he had just gotten back from the special forces base, still wearing his tactical vest and gloves as if prepared for a battle. “Hey there princess.” Johnny greeted with a grin before turning to greet the rest. “Sergeant princess and angry emo.” He said with a mock salute to Jacqui and Takeda, “Kung Pao, Jin and tonic, Mummy, yellow Sub-Zero.”
Scorpion scowled at the older man but otherwise kept his mouth shut as Cassie continued talking to him. “What are you doing here? I told you we were having a girls night, which you were not invited to.”.
At that, Johnny raised his hands in surrender. “Relax, daddy’s girl. I just came to grab some things. From my house that I pay for.” His voice grew more and more distant as he made his way through the halls of the house. The vague sound of him rummaging through a drawer could be heard for a few minutes before he was soon poking his head back through the door. “By the way Scorpion, you’re invited to my boys night out. Me, younger me, Jax, younger Jax, Kenshi, Kuai Liang, and Sonya because I’m afraid of not inviting her. We’ll show you some real fun.”
“Your real fun is just the same thing we’re doing but add on forcing everyone to watch the ninja mime series.” Cassie said with a roll of her eyes. Johnny only stuck his tongue out at her, receiving a laugh in return before he gave a thumbs up to the group.
“Alright, I’ll get out of your hair. Try not to break anything.” And with that, he was ducking out of the room, his departure soon followed by the front door closing once again.
“Would you believe that’s the most mature one of my parents right now?” Cassie asked, receiving a chorus of laughter from the group as they all fell back into what they were doing before.
By the time their nails were dry and their masks were peeled from their skin, the sun had begun to dip down as the sky darkened. And as the sky darkened, the teasing began once again.
“Isn’t it about time you got home, Scorpion?” Kung Lao asked from his place on the floor. He had a teasing grin on his face and he was soon joined by the other warriors.
“Oh yes, I believe it is getting past your bedtime. The sun is setting and I’m sure Kuai Liang is mere seconds from coming to find you himself.” Cassie added on with a chuckle, which was answered with a shove to her shoulder.
“I am a grown man. If I wanted to stay here all night I could.” Scorpion said with a scowl, pausing for only a moment before adding on, “It just happens that I do not.” His words were met with laughter as he stood from the couch, turning to bow to his companions. “As fun as this has been, I do have to return to Kuai Liang. He took a day away from the Lin Kuei and I plan to enjoy as much time with him as possible.”
“Dude you’re so whipped.” Kung Jin chuckled, earning a glare from Scorpion before the young man’s arms were wrapping around him. “Thanks for coming man. Maybe next time we’ll actually take you out somewhere real fun, like a carnival.”
After Kung Jin, the farewells continued from the rest of the group. He received hugs from Takeda and Cassie, hand shakes from Lao and Jacqui, and a pat on his shoulder from Ermac. Before long he was making his way toward the door with a group escort.
He gave them all a final bow before he exited the house, closing the door behind him and making his way back to the beach where he could teleport away without fear of damaging anything. He found himself hesitating for a moment, eyes locked on the house that held so many people who were now so important to him. He never could have guessed at the beginning of his journey that this would be the outcome of his life. Human once again with his clan, a new lover, and more friends than he ever recalled having.
With a warm smile, Scorpion let the image in front of him fade away as flames swirled around him.
The end of the night found him lying comfortably in his bed- his new bed. He had finally decided to take up residence in Hanzo Hasashi’s old room now that he could actually feel how uncomfortable his old bed was. He had moved his very few belongings into the room that felt much too large, and then had helped Kuai Liang move some of his own things into the room to help make it feel much less large. Though Kuai Liang did not live with him, he surely spent enough time in the Shirai Ryu to have his belongings stay.
Scorpion laid with the man now, the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms as they waited patiently for sleep to claim them. Scorpion was still getting used to feeling so suddenly tired at the end of long days, while Kuai took full advantage of being able to cuddle his favorite pyromancer.
“Your hair smells nice.” Kuai whispered, and Scorpion turned to see that his eyes were still pressed shut as he spoke. He did this often. Talking to Scorpion as he lulled himself to sleep. He never spoke of anything of importance. Most times he just babbled on about how much he loved Scorpion. Other times he found a meaningless topic to speak about until sleep overtook them.
“I would gladly recreate the scent for you in the future, but I did not pay attention to what Jacqui used.” Scorpion answered, receiving a low chuckle from Kuai in response. “I will be sure to ask the next time I see her.”
The two fell into silence once again after that. Scorpion felt his eyes begin to fall shut, feeling almost as if they were being weighed down. And just as he felt the darkness of sleep reaching out to grasp at him, a hushed whisper brought him back again.
“I love you, my Scorpion.”
The words were quiet and mostly slurred, spoken by a man who was barely conscious. It made Scorpion smile knowing that Kuai ensured that no matter how tired he was, the last thing Scorpion would hear was his love proclamation.
“I love you, sensei.”
And with his own confession whispered back, Scorpion felt the darkness finally consume him as he fell asleep with his arms wrapped around the one man he had once despised above all else.
His greatest enemy. His rival. The ice to his fire.
His lover, Kuai Liang.